Walking With Jesus

Are Your Prayers Not Powerful Enough?

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12 NLT)

Today I want to raise more questions than I’ll answer. I believe on the one hand we tend to get frustrated with prayer, believing our prayers should be more powerful, and on the other hand fail to pray boldly because we rarely dare to ask with even “mustard seed” faith. What do I mean by that?

Think of Luke 9 when Jesus sends out the twelve disciples. Verse one says: “One day Jesus called together His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.” What’s the implication? They didn’t possess those powers until Jesus gave them.

But think, too, of the ones to whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 7 who said: “’Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you.’”

Obviously, the disciples, including Paul, were given power to perform miracles after Jesus’ ascension, the primary source of that power being the Holy Spirit, which is the same Holy Spirit we were given when we believed.

In Acts 19 the seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were casting out demons “in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” They learned the hard way that wasn’t a good idea, but it reveals the power of the name of Jesus even in people who clearly weren’t His followers.

So, let me think “out loud.” What are the common denominators present in these passages? And yes, I realize this is a small sampling, but as I think of others, I still believe this will hold true. Certainly Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith/belief, and relationship.

It’s evident in the above examples that faith in the name of Jesus can activate the Holy Spirit’s power apart from a saving relationship with Jesus. Casting out demons, healing, and other manifestations of miraculous power can bring Jesus honor and glory irrespective of whether or not the person is walking in harmony with Jesus.

Think of the last days. How do you think Satan will deceive so many? He will claim to be the Messiah and perform many miracles. Jesus said in Matthew 24:24-25: “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.” Obviously, Satan has power to perform miracles as well.

So, what’s my takeaway? We MUST focus on the Author and Finisher of our faith – the Lord Jesus. We MUST place our full faith and trust in Him alone. Our relationship MUST be squarely built on the foundation of God’s Word, and the Spirit’s presence in our heart and life MUST be evident in and through the way we believe, speak, and pray.

Belief is given visibility through how we live. If Jesus is Lord, it’s going to show up in two major ways: through how we spend our time and money. Look at your calendar and your checkbook, and if He’s not there Jesus very likely isn’t in your heart. If we’re not reading His Word, faithful in our attendance at corporate worship, developing godly relationships, praying regularly, giving, and sharing our faith with others, we may need a heart check.

Powerful prayers grow out of a powerful relationship with Jesus, not just in His Name.

We’ll look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Blessings Of The Fruit Of The Spirit

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

*Please read carefully and be attentive to the Holy Spirit as you read this devotional by Sylvia Gunter. This was just too good not to share. Blessings, Ed 😊 Used with permission.

The fruit of the spirit is not an emotional response. It is God in you. Be blessed to keep in step with His Spirit and draw on who He is.

Be blessed with God’s love that gives freely without asking anything in return. Be blessed with increasing and overflowing love for others.

Be blessed with the joy of the Lord that gives you strength. Be blessed to brighten and refresh weary hearts with the joy of Jesus.

Be blessed with receiving the Lord of peace who is with you always dispensing His peace to you.

Be blessed with grace-filled patience, not just tolerance. Be blessed with God’s patient endurance in battles long fought.

God’s kindness leads to repentance. Be blessed to pass on that kindness to others. Be blessed with His grace softening all that could be harsh.

Be blessed with active goodness that does not think to repay evil but considers how to bless from the goodness of Jesus in you.

Be blessed in His faithfulness that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Be blessed with the gentle answer of Jesus that turns away wrath. Be blessed with being wise as a serpent but gentle as a dove.

Ponder the immense self-control of Jesus. When He was taunted and crucified, He uttered only forgiveness. Be blessed with a disposition that is even-tempered and in step with His in spirit.

Taken from Sylvia Gunter’s Blessings For Life: Words Of Hope And Healing. © Sylvia Gunter, 2017 Blessings For Life includes a biblical foundation of spirit, soul, and body and 50 blessings for yourself and your family. Click here to learn more and order.
An archive of past devotionals is available on the website.

What Lies Beneath?

“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? (Galatians 5:7 NLT)

God has given me a heart for discipleship. It’s thrilling to watch God’s life grow in a new believer, especially when I know how much of a struggle it’s been for them to change direction in their life. It takes discipline and determination to be a Jesus follower, just as it takes effort to make a marriage work, or any relationship for that matter.

What’s disappointing is when someone in whom you have high hopes, it seems they have everything going for them, then suddenly, they’re off the grid. You call, text, email, inquire with family or friends, but it’s like they’ve disappeared.

One man I discipled really touched my heart. I grew to love and appreciate him and thought we were getting close. I met his wife and he and I worshipped together at church and just the two of us. Though he’d been addicted to drugs, he went through rehab and was making what I thought to be a sincere effort to put that life behind him. We met regularly and he told me often how much that meant to him. Then one day – poof! Gone.

What happened? In the verse above, Paul made the observation that the Galatians were running their race so well, then asked: “Who has held you back from following the truth?” Did you see it? He didn’t ask “What” held you back. He asked “Who!”

It’s nearly impossible to blaze a new trial with your life and keep your old friends. Craig Groeschel wrote: “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” When I first came to the Lord, I reached out to one of my friends with whom I was close. Though he was not a good influence on me, I didn’t just want to never see or talk with him again. But when I told him I’d decided to become a Christian and invited him to church, he had no interest.

It’s rarely easy to walk in a new direction, that’s one of the reasons it’s better to come to Christ early in life. The longer we walk in sin, the more distractions we have when we turn to Christ. Bob Goff said: “We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose.” Jesus IS that purpose that captivates our heart and mind.

Distractions come in many forms, but the most difficult from which to turn is a destructive habit. Why do so many people turn to alcohol or drugs? They lower inhibitions and/or numb the pain. The problem is that we never know what lies just under the surface in a person’s life. Like some whom I’ve sought to disciple, they’ve had issues in their past that they said were no longer a distraction, only to find they were.

Another issue which distracts people, that they want to keep hidden beneath the surface of their lives, is a lie they’ve come to believe. They believe that because Jesus has made appropriation for their every sin, and grace is God’s unmerited favor that allows us to find forgiveness and peace with God, that they can continue to live in sin, never growing or maturing in their faith, and God will be fine with that.

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:7-8: “Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Beware of what lies beneath. It can literally kill you.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When You’re Singing the Wrong Words

“Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21 NLT)

When I was a boy, like so many at Christmas time, I sang the song: “Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh…” But that’s not what I heard. For years I heard and thought the song said: “one-horse soap and sleigh.” Of course, it made no sense, but that’s what I sang because that’s what I thought it said.

We’re so often like that with the words of Jesus. For example, in Matthew 10:38-39 Jesus said: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.”

Those can be hard words to follow, but what we too often here is: “This crumby job I have is the reason I can’t serve Jesus like I’d really like to.” Or “If I just had a better spouse/child/church/___________” and you can fill in the blank – “THEN I could be more effective for Jesus.”

We want to believe that if everything “out there” would change, then I’d have a better life and I’d feel more inclined to follow Jesus more closely. What we “hear” is all about external things, while what Jesus is saying speaks to internal things.

Taking up our “cross” speaks to our moment-by-moment decision to put Him first in everything, beginning with our own heart and mind. If all that consumes us is our circumstances, that gives evidence faster than anything else that we’re “clinging to our life.” What we’re hearing is: “When Jesus gives me better circumstances, I’ll follow Him.”

But what Jesus is saying is: “When you give Me your life, I’ll teach you to be grateful for your circumstances.” We’re hearing “See and believe.” When what the Lord is saying is “Believe and see.”

As Jesus followers we walk by faith, not by sight, because until God’s Spirit illuminates our heart and mind, we’re walking in darkness. “Worth” is never to be measured by who we are or what we’ve accomplished. It’s always and only measured by Whose we are; by who owns our heart and rules our mind.

Giving up our life is not about quitting on life and living carefree and without regard to Biblical directives, it’s about allowing Jesus to become our life. He will give direction, meaning, purpose, fulfillment to what we do, whether it’s fulfilling our responsibilities as a spouse, parent, grandparent, employee, employer, neighbor, or friend.

The point is, Jesus becomes the center of our universe. Our life revolves around Him, not ourselves. Our worth, from a Kingdom of God perspective, is measured by our willingness to surrender to Him, and to allow our lives to be governed by His Spirit every moment of every day.

Giving up our lives doesn’t mean no longer caring about what we say, think, or do. Quite to the contrary, it means caring more about those things because we see them as opportunities to exalt Jesus’ life being lived in and through us. We’ll finally discover what our life was always meant to be when loving Jesus and serving Him become the supreme mission and call of our lives.

When Jesus is our life, we’ll finally get the words right as He plays the melody of who we’re becoming in Him.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Stick With the Church?

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” (Romans 12:4-5 NLT)

The Covid Virus was allowed to compound an already existing problem when the government chose to refer to the Church as “non-essential” when placing restrictions on who could and could not meet. Even now most churches haven’t come close to what their pre-Covid attendance was, and many have had to close their doors.

While many today view church attendance as “optional,” historically it’s been a significant indicator of vibrant faith. It was viewed as a church “discipline,” right along with reading God’s Word, praying, and sharing your faith. God established His Church so that together we could work for the greater good, not only of those who believe, but for those who still need to believe.

Our individual efforts, while vital, can be multiplied through a vibrant and growing fellowship of believers. Our corporate mission is essential, not only for the spiritual health of each individual, but for reaching those who have yet to believe in our Savior.

John Stonestreet of the Colson Center wrote: “If believers struggle to remember why church matters, they cannot effectively share the love of Christ with the world.”

When this great nation was founded, our forefathers penned a document that served as the guide in the establishment, not only of the few states that then existed, but for the massive expansion that would one day follow. When our Constitution was presented, those who signed knew they were putting their lives on the line. It wasn’t for them alone, but their families for generations to come.

Much blood was spilled to purchase our freedom as a nation, not only then, but across the years. Blood was also spilled to purchase our freedom as believers in Jesus. To view participation in the Body of Christ through faithfulness to a local fellowship as an option is a slap in Christ’s holy face.

To pretend that saying a prayer and believing a creed is all the Lord requires is to miss the point of salvation from our sin. It’s never been about us alone. It’s always been about the Body of Christ, His Church, submitting corporately to His authority and spreading the news of salvation through Christ alone by faith alone.

The Church is designed to give credence to our calling. Our corporate worship builds faith, and fellowship with other believers gives us courage and verifies we’re not in this battle alone. I heard an interesting statistic recently that said: “More than half of the Civil War soldiers never fired their weapon. They would just add shells to their already loaded weapon to make it look like they had.”

An argument could be made that there’s nothing more frightening than combat, but fear can drive us in many directions. In literal war our sense of self-preservation may move us to hide, while for others it drives them to heroic acts that boggle the mind. But what about spiritual warfare?

It’s estimated that only about 3% of professing Christ followers ever share their faith, and a growing number are “hiding” in the face of so many other options. Church attendance has taken a back seat to sleeping in, children’s sport’s leagues, and a myriad of other “better” offers.

Tim Keller said: “We’ll never know what prayer is for until we learn that life is war.” We’re in the battle of a lifetime. Satan is doing everything he possibly can to take as many people to hell with him as he can. The Church is God’s army to battle against the forces of evil. If we don’t stick together as Christ followers, lost people don’t have a chance. We MUST stick together

Blessings, Ed

When There Seems to Be No Way

“Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land.” (Exodus 14:21 NLT)

There are difficult times in the lives of every Jesus follower, but God ALWAYS makes a way. It may be unorthodox and unexpected, but He will never abandon us.

The children of Israel had just left Egypt where they’d been in slavery for four hundred years. Those living had never known freedom, yet, miraculously, God had delivered them. But now they stood on the shoreline of the Red Sea, trapped between the uncrossable water and the approaching Egyptian army. It seemed hopeless.

No doubt in the minds of many of the children of Israel they wondered why God would go to all the trouble of freeing them, only to allow them to be murdered. It didn’t make sense. Yet, God knew all along what He would do, and the result was celebration and worship of the only true and living God.

Being trapped in seeming impossible situations isn’t an isolated occurrence for lovers of God. After my divorce I felt trapped in what to me seemed like an impossible situation. Divorced pastors aren’t exactly “hot items” in the job market, so the only job I could find was a commission only position as a car salesman. I was grateful for the job, but had no money, so waiting for a paycheck seemed like an eternity.

Photo by Matthias Groeneveld on Pexels.com

My wife and I had accumulated debt based on both of our incomes, but when she left, I was stuck with about $60,000 of debt after we sold the house. I couldn’t in good conscience file bankruptcy because the Lord convicted my heart that I’d made the debt and was responsible for paying it back. On some levels it was like standing on the shore of a raging sea, with an army of debt-collectors bearing down on me. What impossible “mountain” are you climbing right now? Whatever it is, God WILL make a way!

My wife has a dear friend who is crippled with scoliosis, among other physical issues, and her husband has severe Alzheimer’s. Their day-to-day goal is survival. My precious wife helps in many ways, but there’s only so much anyone can do. They need a miracle. That’s where God comes in. We don’t yet know how He’ll do it, but He WILL meet their needs.

There are many other examples of tragic circumstances that I could share, but my goal in this post isn’t to paint such a picture of bleakness that it leads to despair. Rather, having walked through very hard times, I know that God can be trusted. He will make a way where it seems there is no way.

Wondering if I’d ever have opportunity to pastor again after my divorce, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a call from a church in Michigan inviting me to candidate. It seemed that everything went “right” when I was there. The people were loving, responsive to me as a single parent, and seemed excited to have me come. But there was a “check” in my spirit.

In the meantime, my mentor called and asked if I’d be interested in checking out a church in Ohio, but I couldn’t consider that until the Lord gave me an answer as to whether I should accept the call to the other church.

Long story short, I went to Ohio. Nothing spectacular about that, except for two very important reasons which never entered my mind. First, Cleveland, Ohio had the only approved site for a National Cancer Institute for many miles. Why is that important? Because my son and I arrived in Ohio in May of 1991. In February of 1992 he was diagnosed with leukemia. You don’t get better Cancer care than at an NCI facility.

But secondly, my son’s primary Nurse was beautiful and available, and has now been my wife for nearly 30 years. God ALWAYS makes a way where there seems to be no way. And His plans are always better than anything we could have imagined.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Heart or Head?

“You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say.” (Psalm 17:3 NLT)

The real measure of a person’s life isn’t what’s found in their head, but what’s in their heart. I can say and do many right things, but if my heart is wrong, at least from the standpoint of what pleases the Lord, I’ve said and done them in vain.

King David understood this principle when he wrote: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NLT) And in Psalm 119:11 the writer records: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

Vance Havner wrote: “It is not the Word hidden in the head but in the heart that keeps us from sin.”

Why does it matter? There are at least two issues this topic addresses. First, if a person’s relationship with God is built and dependent upon knowledge, that which is conceived, pondered, considered, and followed predominantly from an intellectual perspective, they very likely aren’t following the God of the Bible. Why would I say that?

Jesus quotes Isaiah in Matthew 15:8-9 when He says: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” Then again in Matthew 22:37 Jesus says: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Yes, of course, the heart will often reflect the understanding of the mind, but the point is, we cannot love the Lord with our mind alone.

The Gospel can be understood with our mind, but if we don’t respond with our heart, it’s valueless. It’s not what we know to be true that saves us, it’s our willingness to respond to that Truth, opening our heart and yielding our will to the governing presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

This is not to say that we follow with “blind faith,” a faith that is built on emotion void of a reasoned understanding. It’s not an “either or,” but a “both and” consideration. We need a faith that’s built on a clear understanding of God’s Word, but which is applied through a surrendered heart.

Which leads to the second issue that needs to be considered. Notice the Psalmist instructed us to hide God’s Word in our heart, “that I (we) might not sin against You.” How do we hide God’s Word in our heart? Primarily by memorization.

Reading casually, even if we read every day, will not suffice. Especially if we’re reading to fulfill an obligation or to satisfy a spiritual commandment. We’ve got to read every word with attentiveness and if we lose our train of thought, go back, and read it again. The point is not how much you read, but how much you understand and are hiding in your heart.

If a verse stands out, write it down on a 3 X 5 card. On the other side write the reference. Have an ongoing list of 8-10 verses you’re committing to memory. Why is that important? If you’re speaking with someone on a break at work, in a casual setting, on an airplane, etc. you likely won’t have your Bible with you. But if you can draw verses quickly from your memory, the Lord can use His quoted Word to apply Truth to the heart of the one with whom you’re speaking.

Here’s the bottom line: We need an informed faith that stirs the heart to share God’s love with others in order that our lives bless people and glorify God.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Does It Matter What We Believe?

“They (the apostles) told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.” (Jude 1:17 NLT)

Considering recent posts that I’ve written, the Lord prompted me to address a question that some may have. Someone may think: “So does it really matter what I believe, as long as I don’t cause division in the Body of Christ?” The fact is it matters very much what we believe. Some form of “believe, belief, faith” is used nearly 350 times in the New Testament alone.

We’re instructed in the Bible to believe many things related to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, prayer, the Gospel, holy living and on and on. Right living results from right belief. We live based on what we believe. But my point is that none of us get it all right. We’re all flawed human beings with imperfect minds and hearts.

My heart is to promote unity and loving tolerance within the Body of Christ, not to excuse heresy or teachings that clearly disregard or contradict Scripture. Jesus didn’t come to bring unity to the world, He came to bring unity to His Church, His Body, His eternal Family. Jesus certainly loves the world, but only those who trust Him and choose to believe and follow Him are invited into His eternal Family.

As one of my readers rightly pointed out, Jesus’ teachings can be very divisive, demanding we come to terms with what we believe about Him. We must also recognize that that decision alone will often bring division between us and those who don’t believe in Jesus, even within our own families. But even then, we don’t have to be obnoxious as if we’re better than those who don’t yet believe in Him.

We’re sinners saved by grace and still capable of anything anyone else in the world could do, say, or think. I love Jesus with as much of my heart as I know to give Him, but apart from the power of His Spirit I’m no better than the worst of sinners. We’re saved by grace, but we also live by grace. That’s why it’s so important to keep short accounts with God and others.

As God teaches and leads me from day to day, He will point out areas of my life that need to change. Ideas, intentions, attitudes, anything that’s unlike Him must go. That’s why I can’t be critical of another believer. We’re all works in progress.

It’s also critical that I’m kind, caring, polite, thoughtful, and non-judgmental even of those who don’t yet believe. I’m not aware of anyone who has ever been argued into the Kingdom of God. Yes, of course, I speak with unbelievers, but my life must speak much more loudly than my lips. I might think I believe perfectly and explain things with authority, but if it’s not done with love, humility, and kindness, I’ve missed the point of sharing in the first place.

Perhaps the Apostles’ Creed can serve as a starting point for our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ, which says: “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived from the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell, rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, who will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (the Body of Christ worldwide) Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Who Are You Following?

“Some of you are saying, ‘I am a follower of Paul.’ Others are saying, ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Peter,’ or ‘I follow only Christ.’ Has Christ been divided into factions?” (I Corinthians 1:12-13 NLT)

There were times I read the above passage and marveled that people could be so thoughtless. How could anyone be so stupid as to follow a man and not Christ? Then it was as if the Lord said: “Okay most bright one, do you actually dare to believe that you follow only Me?” And, at first, in my naivete I still clung to the hope that I was.

Then He asked me questions like: “Where did you go to school? Look at the names on your many books? Do you not think they’ve influenced how you see Me? Whose messages do you listen to? What do your closest friends believe about Me?” It caused me to question what it means to bear the name “Christian.”

There are so many opinions. Think of the many denominations, and factions even among those of the same church group. Even within any given congregation it’s difficult to get consensus on some issues.

Then we read a verse like Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that I mentioned in yesterday’s post, that says: “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

It’s frightening to realize that each of us as so-called “Jesus followers,” derive so much of what we believe, not from the Bible, but from the pens and lips of other so-called “Jesus” followers. Many who profess faith in Jesus rarely if ever read the Bible for themselves. The sum-total of their daily or weekly “readings” of God’s Word come from those in whom they’ve placed their faith, mostly their pastors’ messages, or podcasts or youtube messages from various pastors/teachers.

And the irony is, each profess and believe that their messages are straight from “God’s Word.” I get it. I really do. I say the same thing. But in my more lucid moments I understand that I rarely have a thought that hasn’t been influenced by something I’ve read or heard.

So, what are we to do? The message the Lord has been giving me, thus the reason I continue to write these kinds of posts, is to stop arguing! If we push back virtually everything anyone in history has ever taught, it rests, not on the Bible alone, but upon the teachings of someone’s understanding of the Bible.

Over the years the predominant “voices” have been Luther, Calvin, Arminius, Whitefield, Wesley, Spurgeon, Tozer, Lewis, and on and on. And today we listen to Jeremiah, Keller, Piper, Stanley, Warren, MacArthur, and on and on. And don’t hear what I’m not saying – I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t read any of these men’s accounts. Yes, absolutely, read them. But understand that the only Person who possesses absolute understanding of Truth is Jesus.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Every other human being who has ever lived, is living, or who will ever live, does not and cannot know and understand everything that can be known about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. What’s my point? Stop arguing and causing division in the Body of Christ seeking to persuade others to adopt your flawed understanding of Scripture.

What I share with you are simply insights gained from walking with the Lord for many years. But I’m a flawed human being and there are many things I don’t yet understand. None of us will fully understand everything until we pass from this life to the next, then it will all be crystal clear. Always test what I say with what you read in the Bible, not necessarily and only what you read in someone else’s books.

In the meantime, let’s be agents of good to embrace one another and walk with one another regardless of whose opinion we favor. Satan celebrates every time we separate as brothers and sisters because we don’t agree on points of doctrine.

Let’s read God’s Word and embrace what revelation the Lord gives us and use it to follow Jesus as closely as we can, while not using it to push those with whom we don’t agree away. Lord help us!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Jesus Sees You!

“’How do you know about me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, ‘I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.’” (John 1:48 NLT)

One of the most powerful desires we have as human beings is to be seen. In the world in which we live it’s so easy to feel invisible. The Covid virus surfaced and magnified the loneliness that many were already experiencing but had gone undetected. Being forced to be alone has caused an increase in anxiety, depression, and suicides.

What does “being seen” mean? Think of a continuum. On the one end is literally “being seen, acknowledged, being noticed.” Then slide a little further and you see things like “worthy of someone’s attention.” Keep moving along and you’ll finally come to “understood for who you are” and, for our purposes as children of God, “identified as having a legitimate place in the family of God.”

God sees us! Another way to say that may be – He gets us! He understands the idiosyncrasies that each of us has because He designed and created us to be this way. He doesn’t see us as odd or different, He sees us as His beloved child whom He has gifted and equipped to be the man or woman of God, He specifically desires us to be.

There’s a contribution to the Body of Christ that no one else can make; a role that no other person who has ever lived can play – except YOU! I believe that was the message Nathanael heard when Jesus told him He saw him under the fig tree.

It’s pure speculation as to what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree but suffice it to say that whatever it was it was important to him. The second season of The Chosen includes a scene in which Nathanael, a trained architect, has had a disappointing setback in his career. He goes to the fig tree to escape people, in order that he might pour his heart out to God.

He explains to God that his whole purpose for becoming an architect was so that he could build temples that would honor God. At one point he says something like: “Didn’t you see that what I was trying to do was all for YOU?”

Then to come face to face with God in human flesh who says to him: “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Think of the impact Jesus’ words had on his spirit. Nathanael was broken, defeated, discouraged, downtrodden, and on the verge of depression, yet Jesus spoke the very words he most needed to hear – “I see you!”

When we push all the exterior coverings away, isn’t that what you and I most want to hear? In our heart of hearts, isn’t what we most desire is to have someone see us for who and what we really are – warts and all?

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged.” I get weak knees just thinking about that day. I can’t conceive of having the strength to stand in my Savior’s presence. Kneel? Maybe. Lie prostrate? Probably.

As Jesus followers we’re all on a pilgrimage of faith that ideally will render us more and more like Jesus as we grow and develop as His children. But to stand before pure holiness and perfection will surely reveal that the little bit of progress we’ve made is still grossly different, immeasurably less than that of the One in whose presence we stand.

Aren’t you grateful He sees you – not only for what you were and are, but for what you’ll one day become – in Him!

Blessings, Ed 😊