Walking With Jesus

Being a Doer of God’s Word

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.” (James 1:22 NLT)

It will be nearly impossible for you to believe this, but my beautiful, wonderful, dearly beloved wife believes I have “selective” hearing. She thinks I pick and choose what things to listen to when she speaks. What’s going to be even more difficult for you to conceive is that you and I do the same thing with God’s Word, the Bible, and it’s having devastating consequences.

A new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, directed by George Barna, revealed that less than 50% of pastors in America have a Biblical worldview. An article on wnd.com about this study said: “A new poll has revealed that most Christian pastors believe what they want to believe, a ‘blending of ideas and applications from a variety of holistic worldviews into a unique but inconsistent combination that represents their personal preferences.’”

The Apostle James was one of Jesus’ literal, biological brothers by the same mother, but he didn’t put His faith in Jesus until after the resurrection. James was a “doer.” He believed if you professed to be something, you should live in a way that confirms that. I agree.

The reality is, the only way to become a “doer” of God’s Word is to read, study, and know what God’s Word says. The terrifying piece of the above referenced study that frightens me most is the statistics of Senior pastors mentioned has a trickledown effect. Only 12% of Youth and children’s pastors have a Biblical Worldview. Yet, they are commissioned to teach the next generation what the Bible says.

How can the next generation learn how to become a “doer” of the Word when their teachers and leaders don’t know what the Bible says? If you’ve read many of my posts, you’ll know that the Bible is central to what I share.

A Biblical worldview essentially means that everything we see, learn, and live is filtered through the lens of what the Bible teaches. Whether it’s marriage, the sanctity of human life, politics, health, as well as our theology and rules of faith, all must be rooted in what the Bible teaches. Tragically, what most professing believers today depend on is what their pastor says on any given Sunday, more than half of whom aren’t teaching the Bible.

James said in 1:25: “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says then God will bless you for doing it.” “Carefully” in this verse literally means “to stoop to a thing in order to look at it; to look into something with the body bent.” It’s a metaphor that means “to look at something with great care, to inspect curiously; it speaks of one who would become acquainted with something.” (Strong’s)

And the irony is, it’s not even how much time or effort you put into learning what the Bible says, as much as it is allowing the Holy Spirit to apply what you learn to the way you live. If studying the Bible doesn’t lead to positive life change that enables people to see Jesus in and through your life more clearly, what’s the point?

Being a “doer” of the Word has very practical implications. Foundationally, what you believe about God will be reflected in how you treat the people in your spheres of influence. How you care for yourself and others; how you respect what God is doing, not only in your life, but in the lives of fellow believers; how you treat your spouse, children, and extended family; and how you order your life as a child of God.

To profess faith in Jesus, but not regularly read and study the Bible is like a toddler drinking nothing but milk. Their growth will be stunted, and their physical capabilities will be reduced. A child needs nourishment that only solid food can provide, and a child of God must have the nourishment of God’s Word to grow to maturity.

We must become not only “listeners” or “readers,” but “doers” of the Word.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Another Look at Forgiveness

“So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6a NLT)

Jesus often tied forgiveness with physical healing or other very practical issues. The paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by his friends likely wasn’t thinking of his need of forgiveness, yet that was the priority for Jesus. One reason is that His will for us is to walk in wholeness of life – physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.

There’s a sense in which physical healing is incidental to walking in harmony with the Lord yet should enhance and multiply our effectiveness for Christ if we’re healthy. Forgiveness of sin should open a door of opportunity for us to seek health in every avenue of our lives, especially in our relationships with ourselves and others.

Related to that, today I’d like us to consider what forgiveness should look like for us if we’re the one needing to forgive someone who has sinned against us. I believe there are some misunderstandings that when seen in their proper light can liberate us to forgive, thus freeing ourselves to live a more fruitful and enjoyable life for the Lord.

Pastor Rick Warren used a helpful quiz in a recent devotional entitled What Forgiveness Really Is (05-21-22). How would you answer the following questions?

1. A person should not be forgiven until they ask for it.
2. Forgiving includes minimizing the offense and the pain caused.
3. Forgiveness includes restoring trust and reuniting a relationship.
4. You haven’t really forgiven until you’ve forgotten the offense.
5. When you see somebody hurt, it is your duty to forgive the offender.

All five are false.

On some levels, forgiveness isn’t about the other person, so waiting for someone to ask for forgiveness just prolongs your own suffering. Also, forgiveness doesn’t demand relationship. Forgiving someone who has hurt you physically, financially, emotionally, or otherwise, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to continue or begin a relationship with them. In a marriage or family situation, restoration may be a desired end, but learning to trust that person again may take a long time, if ever.

Another factor that is commonly misunderstood about forgiveness is forgetting. Forgiving someone doesn’t in and of itself mean you must or even can forget. Depending upon the severity of the trauma that was caused by their sin against you, you may never forget.

The picture that comes to mind when I think of forgiveness is letting loose of the “stranglehold” we have on a person’s throat. Our tendency is to want to hurt them like they hurt us, but God says: “vengeance is Mine” (Romans 12:19). What’s helped me is to understand there is nothing I could ever do to a person that would punish them as severely as God can. Nobody gets away with anything in God’s sight. They may avoid prosecution from the penal system, but they’ll never escape God’s justice.

Also, it doesn’t mean the hurt or pain they caused is immediately gone, it just means you commit them into the capable hands of God. Neither does it mean that what happened is being minimized in any way, it just means you’re allowing the Lord to take responsibility for the consequences of their sin in their life.

Holding a grudge or continually hoping there was a way to do to them what they did to you, at least from the standpoint of the pain they caused, is a dead end that only cripples you. Take a step towards healing by releasing your hands from their neck and placing them in the hands of your Savior.

He will guide you on the path of healing, enabling you to live in the freedom of the responsibility to punish another person. That’s God’s job. Please, for your sake, let Him do what only He can do.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Gift of Christ’s Cleansing Blood (Part 2)

“It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:19 NLT)

In yesterday’s post I wrote: “His life-sustaining blood has washed every stain from our heart and life, enabling us to do and be for Him and with Him anything He desires us to do and be. Yes, but what about my ongoing sin patterns?” The reality of our lives in Christ is that sin will be an ongoing issue for as long as we live. But how much of an issue is largely up to us. What do I mean?

For many years I wrestled with lustful, wrong, and inappropriate thoughts, attitudes, and actions. And, honestly, I still do on some levels. But, by God’s grace and with His Spirit’s strength, my focus is now so intently zeroed in on Jesus and His plans for me, the devil has his hand’s full getting through my “armor.” Let me see if I can explain why that is.

Think of the most important young person in your life. It can be your child, grandchild, a niece, nephew, anyone you love and with whom you have a connection. Now, for sake of illustration, let’s say you and that child go for a canoe trip on a nearby river or lake. You’re an excellent canoeist and have full confidence in your skills, but you didn’t anticipate the child’s enthusiasm and they begin to jump up and move around, one thing leads to another and over the canoe goes. What’s your first concern?

The child’s welfare, right? That’s all that will occupy your mind until they’re safe. May I ask you a question? Will you likely be concerned about your sin in those moments? Probably not. Why not? Because your mind is so focused on the wellbeing of another that in those frantic moments you have no thought of yourself. What’s my point?

Simply this: sin is only in the forefront of your mind when you give it your permission to be there. Satan is an uninvited guest. Don’t let him in!

The Lord knows our hearts. He knows the intent of our mind in our walk with Him. We need to be so focused on what He wants that we have very little time or energy to devote to giving Satan more than a few seconds of our attention. If we mess up, we need to confess it and move on.

In 1 John 1:9 John writes: “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” We need to keep our focus on Jesus and obedience to Him, but if we do mess up, we have immediate access to the One who can cleanse us and enable us to keep moving forward for Him.

Something beautiful that Peter in chapter 1, verses 18- 19, helps us to see, is how much Jesus thought you and I were worth. We may never, even in eternity, begin to fully comprehend it, but this is what Peter said: “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

The word that Peter uses that’s translated “precious,” means of incalculable worth. You can’t put a value on it. The estimate of the value of global real estate in 2020 was $326.5 trillion. One drop of my Savior’s blood is worth far more than that. That’s how much you’re valued in the eyes of your Father.

Now tell me you can’t bask in that knowledge and let it lift you from the dregs of selfishness and sin so you, under the power of the Holy Spirit living within you, can walk in holiness before the Lord for the rest of your life! Yes! You can!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Gift of Christ’s Cleansing Blood

“But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9 NLT)

After a long, hard day of working in the hot summer sun, nothing is quite as refreshing as a drink of cold water and a long, relaxing shower. To literally watch the dirt run off and into the drain as you lather your body is on some levels a metaphor of what Christ’s cleansing blood does for us spiritually.

Blood, in the Bible, is the seat of life. Without blood there is no life and without the gift of the cleansing blood of Jesus there is no forgiveness of sin; no newness of life in Christ. Redemption is what Jesus accomplished on the Cross when He gave His life’s blood in our place. We deserved to be on that Cross, not Jesus, but He saw such value in us He believed it would be worth the sacrifice of His own life, so that we might be with Him forever, not only in heaven, but even during our time on this earth.

Each morning as I walk my pups, my neighborhood becomes my cathedral of praise to my Savior. Part of my prayer every morning is filled with gratitude for all God has done for me in Jesus. I follow the outline of the Lord’s Prayer, praising God for His Holiness and my desire to see His Kingdom come and His will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven, not only in my life, but in the lives of each of His children worldwide. I thank Him for providing everything I/we will need (He alone knows what that will be) to do and be everything He will lead me/us to do and be to His honor.

I’m not just praying for my literal food, but that with which I will need to feed my soul. Things like a keen mind and alert and sensitive spirit, that I may commune with Him throughout the day, drawing sustenance and strength for whatever He has planned for me, and for whomever He will put in my path.

Then I thank Him and praise His holy Name for His cleansing and purifying forgiveness. Because of Christ’s shed blood, I, and every other “blood washed” brother and sister, can walk in newness of life. We’re filled, fed, and led by the Spirit as sinless, spotless children of the living God, able to maximize our usefulness to God as we continually yield our will to His.

One of the miraculous and very practical aspects of Christ’s cleansing blood is not only our personal forgiveness, as vitally important as that is, but God’s equipping us to forgive those who sin against us. Over and over in the Bible, what Satan intended for evil, God worked for good and for His honor.

When I question whether I can forgive someone who has deliberately sinned against me in some way, all I have to do is think of the leading priests’ spit sliding down my Savior’s cheek, His priceless blood flowing from His crown’s cruel thorns, or the nails being driven into His holy hands and feet. What can anyone ever do to me to compare with what has already been done to Jesus?

His life-sustaining blood has washed every stain from our heart and life, enabling us to do and be for Him and with Him anything He desires us to do and be. Yes, but what about my ongoing sin patterns?

We’ll look at that tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Forgiving Like Jesus

“If another person sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” (Luke 17:3b-4 NLT)

How does Jesus forgive? Think of the most insidious, demonic, vile, painful, horrific sin anyone could commit against you! Then ask yourself: “How could I ever forgive them?” The short answer is – you can’t! There are some things that are humanly impossible. But what is impossible for us is possible with God.

For some, it doesn’t take a second to bring something to mind, because they live with the horror of that remembrance every day. Why? Because there are some sins that we commit against one another that are inconceivable for us to even imagine, thus impossible to forget.

The truth is, what we, yes, what WE did to Jesus is far greater than anything we could ever do to one another. John Stott wrote: “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.”

Another consideration that is difficult, but with which we must come to grips, is this – you and I are capable of ANYTHING given the right set of circumstances.

Why is it so important that we understand these two truths? Because our tendency is to believe we’re better than we are, thus setting ourselves above those who commit sins of which we can’t conceive ourselves possible of committing. The other reason is, we underplay “our” sin, believing we’re a good “catch” for Jesus. Yes, of course, we’ve sinned, but not like __________, and you can fill in the blank. (i.e. murderers, rapists, child molesters, villains like Hitler, etc.).

That’s why forgiveness is so hard. We can’t envision ourselves ever doing to someone else what has been done to us. The fact is, we’ve done far worse when we nailed Jesus to the Cross and ignored His sacrifice as not needed by a good person like “me!” The same “goodness“ that prevents us from finding forgiveness from Jesus (because we don’t think we need it), is the same “goodness” that blocks the path of our forgiveness to those who sin against us.

Jesus forgives us COMPETELY! He casts our sin into the sea of forgetfulness NEVER to be remembered against us again. He doesn’t hold grudges. He doesn’t dig up past sins and hold them up in our face every time we come to Him – even far beyond four hundred and ninety times a day for the exact same thing! How can He do that? Because to Him, since He’s chosen to forget every sin, every time we ask, it’s as if we’re asking for the first time, every time.

Jesus forgives us REDEMPTIVELY! What does that mean? It means to Him our sin doesn’t disqualify us from future service. His blood “buys us back” from the pit of hell. He restores. He redeems, qualifies, and equips us to be whatever He has imagined we can become. Our sin doesn’t destroy His image of us, because He sees us through the lens of His holiness and perfection. He doesn’t focus on what we’ve done, but on what we can become, because of His sacrifice, and by His grace.

Yes, of course, what has happened to you is deeply regrettable, but by God’s grace and with His help you CAN forgive. What’s impossible for us is possible with God. Trust Him. Seek Him. Believe Him when He assures you that He will NEVER leave you or forsake you. You’re NOT ALONE in your pain. What happened to you isn’t your fault.

Forgiveness isn’t beneficial to the person that hurt you, it’s your lifeline to a new beginning. Please, for your sake, learn to forgive like Jesus.

Blessings, Ed

What Is Forgiveness?

“Then Peter came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’” (Matthew 18:21-22 NLT)

What is the Lord seeking to teach us about giving and receiving forgiveness? What will we do with that knowledge? How are our lives being affected by what we believe about forgiveness? What does it mean to be forgiven? To forgive? These and many other questions invade my mind as I wait before the Lord to hear what He would have me share today.

Forgiveness is a multi-faceted consideration. God needs no forgiveness, but we do. Yet, His forgiveness of us is often contingent upon our willingness to forgive others.

In Matthew 18 Jesus tells the story of a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with his servants. He brought one servant in who owed him millions of dollars. Because the servant couldn’t pay his debt, his master ordered that the servant, his wife, and each of his children should be sold in order to pay his debt.

As the story unfolds, the servant fell down before the king and begged him to be patient, telling him that he would find a way to pay the huge debt. The king was so moved by his pleading that he decided to forgive the servant his entire debt.

But when the servant left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded immediate payment of his debt. The man fell down before him and begged for a little more time. But, unlike the king who had forgiven him his debt, he demanded his fellow servant be thrown into jail until every penny was repaid.

When some of the other servants saw what had happened, they went to the king and told him. Then the king called in the servant whose debt he’d forgiven and, because of his unwillingness to extend mercy to his fellow servant, the king had the man sent to prison and tortured until every penny was repaid.

Then Jesus said: That’s what My heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Obviously, He’s speaking of our brothers and sisters in Christ, because, while He paid the debt of sin for everyone who would seek His forgiveness, only those of us who have received His mercy and grace and found forgiveness from our sin, can begin to fathom the mountain of debt we owed that we could have never repaid, even if we had an eternity to try. We have no recourse but to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.

But what of those outside the family of God who hurt us in innumerable ways? What of those who’ve committed sins against us that literally have eternal consequences? Drunk drivers who have killed a family member or maimed us for life? Assaults against us, our children, or others we love, the consequences of which we’ll struggle to our last breath? The scenarios are too numerous to list, but you likely drew to mind a person or circumstance even as you were reading these words.

We’ll look at this more closely tomorrow but consider this: the reason forgiveness of others is so essential is because the grief, agony, and suffering experienced because of our unwillingness to forgive isn’t an issue for the offender, it’s an issue for us. It’s as if we’ve swallowed a cup of poison, expecting the other person to die. Unforgiveness only hurts one person – us!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Christ-Life

“And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple.” (1 Peter 2:5a NLT)

As I reflect on some of my posts, the Lord is enabling me to see a couple of things that are critical that I understand. First, I’m not the “judge” of another person’s lifestyle or character. I cannot know another person’s heart, thus have no business trying to figure out why someone does or says something that I don’t understand or with which I may not agree.

My goal in these posts is to share what the Lord shares with me, believing He alone knows whose eyes will read the words He gives me. If I can bare my heart, I’m not writing to receive credit or recognition, I only want to exalt Jesus and point others to Him. HE gives me the words, so if any credit is due, it should all go to Him. So, to that end, today I’d like to share a few things that have helped me in my walk with the Lord, things that I trust will be useful to you and others with whom you do life.

In John 5:24 Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” Our eternal life in Christ doesn’t begin when we die, it begins the moment we “listen … and believe.” Further, just as Jesus did only what He saw His Father doing, in our lives we should be doing only what we see Jesus doing. He IS our life, thus the life we live should give visibility and, on many levels illustrate what living the Christ-life should look like.

For example. In John 17:16-17 Jesus said: “My message is not My own; it comes from God who sent Me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own.” If we desire to do God’s will, God’s Spirit within us will give us insight and understanding that what we’re reading in His Word is from God. I believe the same principle applies to those of us who are following Jesus. OUR words should be from the Spirit of God, modeled after the patterns of Jesus’ words. What might that look like?

The Light “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Beth Moore wrote: “It will become increasingly vital that we learn to distinguish between what is pro-Christian and what is actually Christlike.” Jesus, in John 8:12 said that He is “the light of the world.” We can believe that statement without walking in the light ourselves. In other words, we can be “pro light” without leaving the darkness.

If I’m walking in the light of Christ’s life, I, too, must bear His light. If His life resides in me through the power of His Holy Spirit, it will be reflected, not only in my words, but in my life. To walk in light is to leave the darkness behind. How do I know that? Because Jesus said in the same verse: “If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Corky Calhoun wrote: “A journey only becomes a journey once you’re clear about the destination; otherwise, it’s just aimless wandering.” Walking with Jesus is a journey that begins the moment we step out of the darkness of sin and disobedience and begin to walk in the light of His loving grace and forgiveness. Trying to live with one foot in darkness (sin) and the other in the light of Jesus is like trying to hold onto the tails of two wild stallions headed in opposite directions.

To faithfully walk the Christ life doesn’t mean we’re perfect and will never sin again. But it does mean the longer we walk in His light, the less we desire the darkness.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Lesson on Prejudice

“Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Please give Me a drink.’” (John 4:6-7 NLT)

Many, including Jesus’ Disciples, would have questioned Jesus’ judgment in traveling through Samaria. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans was well known. Yet, as the story unfolds, it becomes evident that Jesus planned this visit through Samaria because there was a specific person with whom He wanted to meet. Like in yesterday’s post, the “person was the purpose” of going that way.

It’s ironic that though Jesus was God in human flesh and had only three years to train eleven men to change the world with the Good News of His coming Kingdom, He was never in a hurry. Though He likely did as a child, there’s no evidence that Jesus ever ran as an adult. He walked circumspectly, in the sense that His life always had purpose. His mission was to “seek and to save the lost,” and He never missed an opportunity to go to the ones who needed Him most, yet likely would never have come to Him.

Jesus took a pause every day to seek His Father, from whom He would get His day’s assignment. On this day He didn’t pursue anyone, He just waited for her to come to Him. Why a well? Because it was the place the women of the village would come for water. Why noon? Because none of the other women would be there. Why not? Because all the “respectable” women came in the morning when it was cooler.

This unnamed woman who had been married five times and was living with a man to whom she wasn’t married, came to the well just as Jesus knew she would. To open His conversation with her He had only one request: “Please give Me a drink.” No doubt startled, not only that a Jew would ask a Samaritan for anything, but a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman was very unorthodox. I encourage you to read the discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4 but let me make a few observations.

Their discussion touched on religious practices of the Jews and Samaritans, but then the woman revealed that she knew “the Messiah is coming, the One who is called Christ. When He comes He will explain everything to us.” And, for the first time, Jesus makes His true identity known, thus launching His public ministry. He said to her: “I Am the Messiah!”

Can you begin to grasp the significance of what He’s doing? The disciples’ believed Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, but Jesus is declaring – I AM is the Messiah for ALL lost sheep, not just those who are Jewish. He was telling this woman and US, the same thing He had told Nicodemus earlier: “For God loved the world (not just the Jewish people) so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that EVERYONE who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

It would have been like a black Jesus going into an all white neighborhood in the South in the 60’s. Hearts were blocked, not to God, but to each other because of prejudicial things that blinded them, but through which Jesus could easily see.

Jesus also knew that this very lost, and very hopeless woman, once she understood who He was, would tell anybody and everybody she could. So much so, the Bible says: “So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.”

Who are you telling about your Messiah? Like the Disciples, we’re often very prejudiced, not simply because of race, but mostly because we don’t like anyone who is different from us. But Jesus loves EVERYONE! That’s one of the many reasons I love my church so much. We have more than 50 language groups represented in our church. It’s literally like heaven every week when we worship together. When we come to Jesus, we’d better leave our pride and prejudice at the proverbial door, because there’s no room for hatred of any kind in the Kingdom of God.

Take a pause! Kneel in worship of Jesus, then rise to tell the world how loving, kind, good, and gracious He is. Perhaps He will use your testimony to draw others to Himself, as He used the testimony of the woman at the well.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Take a Pause!

“When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet Him.” (Mark 5:2 NLT)

Jesus told His disciples in the later verses of Mark 4: “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” There were two very significant events that took place on that short journey.

First, there was “a fierce storm” that threatened to sink their boat, while Jesus slept. Who caused that storm? Who rules over nature? God! But why that storm, on that lake, at that time? The disciples, in a panic, woke Jesus. Remember, this was in the midst of loud wind and crashing waves, so they’re shouting, “Teacher, don’t You care that we’re going to drown?” Jesus didn’t respond to their question, but immediately “rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then He asked them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’”

These are simply words on a page to us, but to those early disciples the storm was an object lesson to build faith in a bunch of very fearful disciples. Do you understand that Jesus is still “causing storms” in people’s lives? Not to “drown” them, but to help them see who He is more clearly and to build their faith. Why is that so vital?

Remember the point of the boat ride? To go to the other side, right? What was waiting for them on the other side? A naked demon possessed man who was shrieking and screaming, and he was running straight for Jesus and His disciples. Can you even begin to imagine how frightening that would be? What do you think the disciples were thinking? Yet, what had they just experienced moments before in the boat?

Jesus had essentially taught them, that regardless of the severity of the “storm,” He has authority over it. Then He immediately puts them in this other horrifying “storm.” That may have been a “Depends” moment for me, and I suspect for some of the disciples, but as with everything else Jesus did, He had it under control. His mission wasn’t a location or an event, it was a person. This man WAS the reason for crossing the lake. We can learn a lot from that if we’re willing to take a pause.

The demon-possessed man was healed and wanted to follow Jesus, but instead, Jesus told him to “’go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been.’ So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.”

How like us when we have a “mountain top experience” spiritually. We just want to “camp out with Jesus.” But that’s not always God’s plan. Every circumstance in our lives, both good and bad, is a tool which Jesus is using to build us into His faithful followers who can share what He’s done for us with those in our spheres of influence. Some are orchestrated by Jesus, but some are not. Some are experiences that terrify and change us in ways we can’t imagine ever getting over. We carry the “nightmare” of those things so closely they begin to define us.

On some levels they become the “demon” that robs us of our will and dictates our behavior. Only Jesus can free us of those. No amount of willpower, counseling, or determination can do what only God can do in and for us. Trust Him, He knows your pain and He’s able to deliver you, if you’re willing to run to Him and cast your pain and fear at His feet. Let Him change your focus from what you were, or what happened to you, to what He can free you to become. He’s still a miracle worker. Take a pause with Jesus and let Him set you on a new course.

Blessings, Ed 😊

No Place Like Home

“But Jesus said ‘No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been.’” (Mark 5:19 NLT)

Recently my wife and I met some dear friends in Utah and visited Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Wow! Trying to process what your eyes are seeing is a little bit like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. IMPOSSIBLE! Paul wrote in Romans 1:20 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

The beauty and majesty of parks like Zion and Bryce Canyon become extended times of worship as we bask in God’s presence, realizing only God could make something that awe inspiring. But then, the natural progression of thought becomes: “If earth is THIS magnificent, what will heaven be like?”

Of course, nature is only part of what makes life on this planet so enjoyable. As believers we have not only our biological family, but we are members of the Body of Christ, the Family of God. It’s impossible to imagine what heaven will be like, not only in terms of its splendor and appeal visually, but also in terms of the people we’ll have opportunity to meet and get to know.

Think of Biblical characters of whom you’ve read. How about Jonah? How many people do you know on earth who have taken a three-day ride inside a huge fish and lived to tell about it? Or Daniel, who spent a night counting stars with the lions? Or David as he faced the giant? Or the three Jewish young men who took a walk with Jesus in the blazing furnace? Do you realize you won’t need to be introduced to any of these people, or anyone else in heaven for that matter, you’ll know them and they’ll know and love you.

What about language? Who cares! All I know is we’ll be able to know as we’ve been known, without ANY barriers between us and Jesus or other members of our eternal family. Also, you know that memory that seems to have taken leave? It’s coming home to you when you get to heaven. Every fond memory will be like you’re experiencing it for the first time. What’s my point in all these musings?

Simply this. When Kathy and I returned from our wonderful trip, even as we marveled looking at photos we’d taken, you know what we said when we pulled into our driveway? Yep, you guessed it! “It’s so good to be home!” There’s really no place like home is there?

Yet, even as I write these words, I realize there are millions of people across our world who don’t enjoy the privilege of a home of their own, or even a bed of their own. I’m reminded that the writer of the Hebrew letter speaks to the fact that as children of God we are “strangers and pilgrims” on this earth. We’re just passing through. This earth is not our home for long.

One day those of us who have pledged our allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of lords will go to our eternal home and to our loving Father. Whether we’ve lived in a castle or a cardboard box on this earth, we’ll be given a home of our own – one that we’ll enjoy for all eternity! One that will never be taken away! One that we’ll love, because it will be designed specifically with each one of us in mind.

This world, on many levels, is wonderful and enjoyable for many of us, but for far more, it’s a daily grind in a cycle of suffering, torment, and misery. By the grace of God, ANYONE and EVERYONE is invited to have a home in heaven through faith in God’s only Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the verse above from Mark, Jesus is telling a former demon possessed man who was begging to go with Him, to go back to his family and tell them the wonderful things God did for him. I believe that’s what Jesus is asking us to do.

Starting with our family and reaching out to everyone in our spheres of influence, let’s tell everyone about the unimaginably good things our Savior has done in, through, and on our behalf. We don’t want anyone to miss an opportunity to go to heaven. After all, there’s no place like our eternal home – with Jesus!

Blessings, Ed 😊