Walking With Jesus

Born Into Royalty

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-16 NLT)

There is no one who has ever been born who is more important or more loved than you! If you would take that to heart, and believe it, it could change the trajectory of your life. Depending on the circumstances of your birth and the environment in which you grew up, you may doubt or deny that it’s true, but whether you choose to believe it or not, it’s eternally true.

Ron Hutchcraft says it like this: “I picture God, our Heavenly Father, holding every baby and telling them that. Born rich, born poor, born ‘planned,’ born an ‘accident,’ born ‘normal,’ born ‘special,’ born ‘wanted,’ born ‘unwanted’ – all divine masterpieces, designed by God; loved by a Creator who makes no mistakes, who has a plan for every life. The worth of every human is conferred on them before they’re even born. So, no one on earth can give you your worth – and no one on earth can take it away.”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

If you’re courageous enough, go to the mirror. Look at yourself with new eyes and say to yourself: “I was chosen by God to be created and loved. I may not look like it and I may not feel like it but thank You Jesus for helping me to understand that it’s true!” It doesn’t matter if you know Jesus or have never heard His name, it doesn’t change the fact that He created you and to this day, loves you and has a plan for your life.

Ron continues: “We never really understand our worth, though, until we have a personal relationship with the One who gave us our worth in the first place. Jesus came and died because the relationship was broken by our sin; by our self-willed running of our own life; our way instead of God’s way. ‘Created by Him, created for Him,’ yeah, but living for me. And facing an eternal death penalty for defying God’s rule of a life that He created. And that’s why Jesus came. It’s why He died, to pay the price… not for sinning He had done, but for the sinning I have done, and you have done.

One thing I’ve learned over the 76 years I’ve been taking up space on this planet – I’m a horrible master of my own life. Every time I’ve taken charge of my life it’s ended in disaster. And I realize that you’re not me and you may still believe that you’re doing a pretty good job of running “you!” But one day, sooner than any of us can imagine, our time on earth will be up and we’ll stand before the One who created us.

On that day we’ll know without being told, that we’re either a sinner saved by God’s amazing grace, or we’re a sinner lost and responsible for paying the penalty for our own sin. But here’s the kicker, there’s only one payment for our sin and it can’t be paid by us, even if we had all of eternity, it can only be paid by the One in whose presence you will one day stand to give an accounting of your life – the Lord Jesus who created you to live for and to be loved by Him.

He’s loved you all of your life and has reached out to you in multiple ways on multiple occasions, but you’ve continued to refuse His offer of eternal life by faith in Him alone. The good news is, if you’re reading this, it’s not too late. Click on the highlighted link and find out how you can know with certainty that your life is securely in the hands of the One who created you and will walk with you every step.

His name is Jesus and He alone has paid the penalty for your sin. Please click this link – Bridge to God.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Pretend?

“But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. ‘There are six days of the week for working,’ he said to the crowd. ‘Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.’ But the Lord replied, ‘You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?’” (Luke 13:15-16 NLT)

What is a hypocrite? It’s interesting that the word used in the verse above translated “hypocrite,” can also be translated “actor or stage player.” Isn’t that essentially what we’re doing when we are hypocritical? Aren’t we playing a part, pretending to be something or someone other than who we were designed by God to become?

Like the pharisees of Jesus’ day, we often pretend to be something we actually desire to be but haven’t yet become. We want to become like Jesus, so, in our frustration with who we are, not who we want to be, we pretend, especially when we’re with our “church friends,” to be nicer, smarter, kinder, but especially, more “Christian” than we really are. Why is that?

Part of it is simply immaturity. We haven’t read enough, lived long enough, or understood enough to realize that the Lord wants us where we are, warts and all. We fail to realize the Lord knows not only who we are, but where we are in our journey. We may be able to fool others temporarily, but we’ll never fool Jesus for one second.

He knows us best, even better than we know ourselves. He understands what we’re trying to do or accomplish by pretending to be different or more than we actually are: more mature, more spiritually minded, more caring, more insightful, more knowledgeable, and on and on it goes. But why?

Why do we feel so compelled to pretend? Why not come clean with ourselves, our friends, our family, others, but especially why not come clean with the Lord. We’re not hiding anything from Him anyway, and the irony is, there’s nothing we can do to make the Lord love us more and there’s nothing we can do to make Him love us less. He loves us – PERIOD!

He came to us when we were at our worst, lowest point in our lives, when we thought we had to look up to see the bottom. He nurtured us as spiritual infants, showered us with affection and attention, not so we could run away or pretend to have come further or matured beyond where we are. But why? My sense, it has more to do with other believers we admire, respect, or look up to.

It’s not Jesus we’re trying to impress, it’s other believers whom we’ve failed to understand are just as messed up as we are. One of the most sacred and satisfying discoveries in my walk with the Lord came in a small group meeting with other couples. We hadn’t been together very long, but one young lady was very open and candid about where she was, not only in her life, but spiritually. At first it startled me that someone could be that honest, but then I realized that it was healthy, positive, and good.

It prompted me to share things I’d concealed for years, terrified if people knew that about me they’d turn away and reject me; but I was pleasantly surprised it actually deepened our love for each other and enhanced our friendship. I learned that day that there’s no reason to pretend.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Serve?

“Then the devil took Him up and revealed to Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ‘I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,’ the devil said, ‘because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.’ Jesus replied, ‘The Scriptures say, “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”’” (Luke 4:5-8 NLT)

There are three primary reasons we serve as a Jesus follower.

First, it was an example Jesus set for us as He began His earthly ministry. There are at least three words in the Greek language that are translated “serve” or “servant” in the New Testament. One is “douleuo dool-yoo’-o” which is used often in reference to those in bondage or who are slaves. That’s the word that is commonly used in Paul’s writings.

The second word is “diakoneo dee-ak-on-eh’-o.” This is often translated “minister” or “ministry” and is probably more closely akin to our understanding of a servant. The third word, which is the word used in the verses above, is the word “latreuo lat-ryoo’-o” and can also be translated servant or minister but can also refer to those who do the most menial tasks, those things most people would be hesitant to do if they could possibly avoid them.

What’s our takeaway? Jesus knew before He was ever born in a manger in Bethlehem that He would die on a cross, the most savage, indecent, and painful way a person could die in that time. Yet, He didn’t hesitate to take the assignment. But why? Because there was no other way and no other person who could have had the credentials that would qualify them to make that sacrifice. What’s my point?

He was God in human flesh. He literally spoke the world into existence. He was the last person who should have been on the cross; the least of all persons who have ever existed or ever will exist who deserved to be on that cross, yet He willingly submitted Himself because that was God’s plan and He was the only One who could have carried it out.

The second reason we serve is because God gives us the privilege to serve, to be His menial slave, to participate in what He’s doing whatever that may look like, not as a duty, but as an honor we carry out to glorify Him and seek to make Him known. We don’t have the capacity to understand fully what Satan was offering Jesus. We only get glimpses, which ironically, are all it usually takes for us to turn from God. But the Lord Jesus didn’t flinch when He saw the glories of sin and evil, because He’d come from heaven, and He knew firsthand that nothing Satan or this world can offer can compare to the riches of heaven.

The third reason we serve the Lord Jesus is because it offers us the opportunity to serve exclusively. What does that mean? It means in much the same way as Jesus sacrificed Himself for the needs of others, we can serve Him without any expectation of receiving anything for ourselves in return. We don’t serve to get anything! We serve to give everything! But why? Because that’s what Jesus did.

If you’re trying to gain anything for yourself through your service, you’re wasting your time and squandering opportunity. Jesus said of Himself that He came to serve, not to be served. Our salvation has been secured for us by Jesus, there’s nothing we could ever do, even in all of eternity, that would enable us to earn or deserve what Jesus did on our behalf. We receive what He offers us – eternal life and an eternal home in heaven – by faith alone in Christ alone. Everything we give, including our very lives, is only an effort on our part to show our appreciation for all He’s already done. That’s why I serve, how about you?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Not Your Best?

“Do your best to improve your faith.” (2 Peter 1:5 CEV)

*Please Note: This article is written by Pastor Rick Warren and the post Why Not Your Best? appeared first on Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. God used Pastor Rick’s words to stir my heart. I pray He will use them to stir yours. Blessings, Ed (used with permission)

Admiral Hyman Rickover was the father of the U.S. nuclear Navy. He once interviewed a Naval Academy graduate and asked him a very direct question: “When you were in school and in all your life, did you always do your best?” The young man started to say “yes” but then realized it wasn’t truthful. “No,” he said, “I didn’t do my best all the time.” Admiral Rickover looked at him with piercing eyes and said, “Why not?”

Why not? The question burned in the young man’s heart, and it was a turning point in his life. That young cadet, Jimmy Carter, became the 39th president of the U.S. and wrote a book called Why Not the Best?

If you want to give your best to God, there are three things you must do that every soldier understands.

1. You must define what you would die for.
Soldiers know there are some things more valuable than their own lives. Even Jesus talked about it: “The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 TLB). You measure love not by what people tell you but by their willingness to sacrifice everything they have for something.

2. You must sacrifice your own comfort.
Soldiers do this all the time. They serve in extreme circumstances and don’t make much money. They give up a lot of things.

You don’t become a great man or woman of God by doing what’s easy or comfortable. You do it by committing to something greater than yourself and then being willing to sacrifice for it. The greater your sacrifice in life, the greater your character will be. “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3 NLT).

3. You must eliminate distractions.
“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Soldiers know they can’t be distracted if they want to be ready to respond to a leader’s command.

If you want to be great, if you want to be the best you can be, you must start spending more of your time, money, and energy on things that are going to last forever and less time, money, and energy on things that don’t really matter.

If you want to give your best to God, why not start with these three steps?

Pastor Rick

Why Read the Bible?

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)

One of the reasons many professing believers struggle, leave the church, and walk in the ways of the world and not of God, is because they’ve never formed the habit of daily reading and study of God’s Word, the Bible. When I ask people about the Bible, too many use excuses like: “I hate to read.” Then get an audio Bible! “I don’t understand what I read.” Then find someone who does and read together! “It’s old and I get confused with all the ‘Thee’s and Thou’s’.” Then buy a modern speech translation.

Of course, there are many more reasons why people don’t read the Bible, but the primary reason, at least as I see it, is they don’t know it’s Author. To know Jesus is to hunger to know Him as well as you can, and there’s no better place to learn of Him than the Bible. We see Jesus from Genesis to Revelation, from a burning bush, in a furnace with three Jewish teens, to the clouds as He returns for His people.

We’ve grown accustomed to the “CliffsNotes” versions of books, that may be a good way to get an overview of something, but it’s not the best path to deep study and meaningful learning. John Stonestreet wrote: “Nearly 300 years ago, Jonathan Edwards offered five marks of a true work of the Holy Spirit. A true revival elevates Christ, opposes sin and Satan, prizes the Bible, distinguishes truth from error, and manifests love.”

If your desire is to be like Jesus, then you must be a student of God’s Word. God will not work where He’s not welcome. C. H. Spurgeon wrote: “Nearness to God brings likeness to God. The more you see God the more of God will be seen in you.” The Bible paints the clearest and most accurate picture of Jesus from which to model your life. If you want to be like Jesus, you have to learn to treasure His holy Word.

Jesus was the Author of God’s words and was able to bring clarity to His words and motivation to the hearts of those who sought to understand them. Which brings to mind a problem I had when I was in ministry and had to preach 2-3 times a week. Because my time was very limited, I used to rely heavily on Commentaries, thus the words of men about the Bible.

The Lord called me on it one day and challenged me to listen to Him first, then check the Commentaries. Most times what He gave me was similar to what was in the Commentaries, but sometimes He pointed me in ways and opened my mind to things I would never have seen had I skipped His input. Steven Lawson said: “There is only one lamp unto our feet and one light unto our path. The blazing word of God.”

In my experience when people begin to drift from the Lord, including myself, it’s because they’ve reduced or removed their time in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus said in John 10:27: “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” The Word of God, the Bible, IS HIS VOICE! If what you think you’re hearing from the Lord isn’t verified in Scripture, it’s not His voice.

The quickest way to lose your way is to bypass reading and studying the words of God in Scripture. The more I study, the closer I listen to His voice as I read, the more I grow in my love and dependence upon Him. These are just a few of the reasons why I read God’s Word regularly.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How Vital Is Prayer for You?

“So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, ‘We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.’” (Acts 6:2-4 NLT)

Please note a couple of things about the above verses. First, there were leaders (the Apostles) and those who listened to them (the believers). The highest priority for the leaders was prayer, study of God’s Word, and teaching God’s Word. The highest priority of the believers was to devote themselves to learning God’s Word, primarily from the Apostles because there weren’t many written texts available, and the likelihood is that not many of the believers could read.

Some of the Apostles wrote down the words of Jesus, which became their instruction guide for the new Church, then others – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, and Paul primarily, wrote the Gospels and letters as the Church grew and expanded.

Notice in the verses above, the “servants” who would lead the “food” ministry, weren’t slackers. These were the proverbial “cream of the crop.” These men were students of the Word and men of prayer. See Acts 7 for an example of the quality of these “servants.” But what I’m getting at is simply this, the reason the Apostles wanted others to lead the food ministry wasn’t because it was below them, it was because it robbed them of time they needed to devote to the absolute necessity of prayer and teaching God’s Word.

The wonderful church I attend and to which I’ve committed myself as a servant of the Living God, makes those of us who serve feel like we’re very special. That’s because, first, we are, not because we individually are exceptional, but our service is invaluable to the Body, just as those who served in the Food Ministry. But secondly and ideally, our service grows out of our personal ministry of the Word and prayer, largely guided and encouraged by our Pastors who are students of God’s Word and men of God committed to prayer. (Do you get the idea I love my church? 😊)

Francis Chan wrote: “If prayer isn’t vital for your church, then your church isn’t vital.” Our church is vital to our community for the same reason the first century church was vital to their community – the leaders of the church were students of God’s Word and devoted to prayer. Does that seem too simple?

How about this – you’re alive because you breathe air. Take away your air supply and it’s “bye bye” for you. Are you getting the picture? Reading, studying, learning, and sharing God’s Word are vital, but it’s ministry to us couldn’t be accomplished without the oxygen of prayer. Prayer is literally our lifeline to God. Take away prayer and you take away our usefulness.

Without prayer I literally cannot function. As my memory challenges heighten, so does my need of moment-by-moment communion with my Father. Until prayer is your lifeline, your vital connection to your heavenly Father, your ministry will be stunted and ineffective. If you’re studying hard and learning all the right things, but leaning on the energy of the flesh to share it with others, it will be bland, pointless, and powerless.

God’s Word is so much more than a collection of information, it is God’s window to our life, the pathway over which we have a ministry. No God’s Word, no ministry. And without prayer we’ll not correctly understand God’s Word. That’s how vital prayer is.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Do You Expect?

“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!” (Isaiah 64:3-4 NLT)

God answers us in direct proportion to our expectation. If we expect nothing, we’ll most certainly receive nothing; however, when we pray with fervor, sincerity, and expectation, there is no limit to, not only what He does for us, but in and through us. Many years ago, I went to another country to lead Pastors in a series on prayer that had been helpful to me.

After meeting them and learning about their ministries, I confessed that they should be leading on this subject, not me. Perhaps that’s why these words of Ron Hutchcraft spoke to me so powerfully: “I didn’t realize how shallow our faith here is until I met Christians in other countries. They know how to pray powerfully, extensively. They’re hungry, not for jokes and stories. They want solid, biblical teaching. They’re interested in the substance of Christianity, not the style of the speaker. And while we’re having socials, they’re having revivals. While we accept mediocrity, they’re expecting miracles.”

Why do we struggle so much with verses like John 14:13, 26; John 15:16, and John 16:23 which tell us plainly that whatever we ask in faith we’ll receive? Why are we so hesitant to believe boldly that God’s Spirit is working in ways we don’t see to accomplish ends for which we’ve asked? Great need often leads to great faith, which inevitably leads to God working greatly on our behalf.

John Piper gives us insight into our need for powerful prayer when he said: “We cannot know what prayer is for until we know that life is war.” We see things differently when we understand that lives are at stake, not only for this life, but for all eternity.

Several months ago, as I began to lift my neighbors to the Lord in prayer, at first, it seemed what I was asking was overwhelming, like it was too much for God to handle. Then I remembered Jeremiah’s prayer in chapter 32:17: “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by Your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”

Then in Jeremiah 65:1-2: “The Lord says, ‘I was ready to be found, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for Me. I said, “Here I am, here I am!” to a nation that did not call on My name. All day long I opened My arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes.‘”

My sense is there are few, if any, nations in the world today who are more rebellious and less interested in finding the living God of the Bible than the United States of America. There is a deep sadness that is gripping the lives of countless millions who are seeking pleasure and fulfillment in the things of this world.

Their emptiness screams for help and healing, but the thought of the living God of the Bible rarely if ever crosses their warped and rebellious mind. Nothing can dispel their darkness, because Satan has them tightly in his evil grip, distracted from the Treasure by the trinkets of this world. Please, man of God! Please, woman of God! Join me as I pray with expectation that the God with limitless resources will find someone to reach them. Might that someone be you? Or me?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s Your Answer?

“And he trembling and astonished said, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.’” (Acts 9:6 KJV)

In yesterday’s post we looked at the powerful result of the Lord’s question to Bartimaeus, but today I’d like for us to turn our focus to how we might respond when the Lord turns that question around.

There are times we get so focused on what has us, whether sickness, possessions, position, or whatever, that it seems we’re blind to what we can believe the Lord will do for us. It’s like we have the attitude, though we’d likely never admit it: “I think I’m good now Lord, everything’s under (my) control.” But how does that perspective change when the proverbial shoe is on the other foot; when we are bold enough, and insightful enough to actually ask the Lord, like Saul (who would become the Apostle Paul), what He desires of us?

Admittedly, I wrestle with this, because on some levels common sense would dictate that I should ask the Lord for physical healing for my ailments, but instead, I’m seeking to be more focused on what the Lord wants me to learn in this season, and to whom I should reach out who might have something similar?

The obvious issue in my mind is to ask – where’s my focus? If my focus is on me my attention gravitates to my wellbeing, thus, my healing – and don’t misunderstand, that’s sometimes exactly where our focus needs to be, like it was in blind Bartimaeus’ case. But if I/we continually focus on our ailments or difficult circumstances, we’re likely not going to ask Jesus what He would want us to do IN those circumstances.

Too much focus on me (ourselves) can cause us to miss opportunities to be of help or support to the many in our spheres of influence who could be helped and encouraged by what the Lord is teaching us in our season of anguish, pain, or suffering. Think of all the Lord taught Job before He healed and restored him.

That’s why I want to continue to write as long as the Lord allows. As long as He’s my focus, I believe He will allow me to share things that I pray will be of value to you. I know with certainty that healing will come to me, either in this life or the next, and either way is good with me. The Lord is my Shepherd, so, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me.”

In any season of our lives we will face challenges, that’s the nature of life on this planet, but it’s in the valleys we see the Lord’s face most beautifully; it’s in times of trial we hear His voice most clearly and sense His great love for us most warmly.

Questions can be helpful as long as we’re asking the right questions and listening to the Lord’s questions to us. When our channel with the Lord is clogged by “Why’s” we’ll too often miss His instructions that will lead to not only greater usefulness for us, but also greater blessing to others. A more appropriate question may well be “what!”

Lord, WHAT would you have me to learn in this painful and very difficult season? WHAT are the avenues you’d have me pursue that would enable me to maximize my usefulness to You? WHO would you have me reach out to who could benefit from a word from You through someone they know understands what they’re going through.

Life is a lot more enjoyable and fruitful when we’re able to get our minds off ourselves long enough to hear the Lord’s voice.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Simple Question

“Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked. ‘My rabbi,’ the blind man said, ‘I want to see!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go, for your faith has healed you.’ Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.” (Mark 10:50-52 NLT)

Three things jump to the forefront of my heart and mind as I ponder this conversation between Jesus and the blind man. First, what do you not have in this season of your life that you’d really like to have, but have never asked Jesus to give you? Perhaps you have a serious physical issue, a financial need, a family or relational crisis, an issue at work. Whatever it is, do you not realize that it’s at the center of Christ’s heart and mind when He thinks of you?

Yet, even as I write these words it occurs to me that there are often deeper, more pertinent needs that exist that are being overshadowed by the obvious or apparent. The blind man’s most prominent need was, at least from all outward appearances, his blindness, but the reality was, it was only symptomatic of his deeper, spiritual need to know and love Jesus. That’s our most prominent need as well.

Regardless of what demands our attention, unless and until Jesus is Lord of our life, our circumstances will always overshadow our real need.

That’s what leads to the second observation from this passage: notice Jesus’ words to Bartimaeus: ‘Go, for your faith has healed you.’ Obviously, Jesus healed Him, but Bart’s faith unlocked the avenue to his healing. It’s apparent to me, in my life and in many others, trusting Jesus isn’t the issue, our faith is what stands between us and healing.

Bartimaeus was healed because he knew in his heart, mind, soul, and body that if he could only get to Jesus, he’d be healed. That illustrates faith at a much deeper level than most of us possess, even after walking with Jesus for many years. Yes, of course, Jesus has the power to heal us, but are we willing to risk everything to prove our faith?

This crazy blind man disrupted the sensibilities of every respectable Jew when he began to scream the Name above every name. He realized Jesus was not only his last hope, He was his only hope. As I implied in yesterday’s post, we not only have various sicknesses and diseases, they have us. So much so that while we may strongly believe in the power of Jesus to heal us, our real faith is in the doctor(s) we see and the medicine(s) they prescribe.

And I realize that I’m treading on thin ice here, so, please don’t hear what I’m not saying. I believe the Lord has given us doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to help and serve us; as well as medicine that can help us in “miraculous” ways. But in much the same way as Bartimaeus’ faith was the trigger that resulted in the Lord healing him, we have to believe whatever course of treatment the Lord has opened to us is leading to a healing result.

That leads to the third piece of this process. It’s interesting that Jesus said to Bart “Go…” while in many previous conversations He said “Come to Me.” Yet, my sense is it never occurred to Bart to go anywhere but to be as close to Jesus as he could possibly be. Could that be why we know Bart’s name? Because he became a “fixture” in the family of God at that point? Everyone knew the name Bartimaeus.

I believe there’s more here, let’s look at it more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Has You?

“But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Matthew 19:22 NLT)

What’s holding you back? I’m reminded of Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Why do you think the writer mentions “the sin that so easily trips us up.”

Each of us wrestles daily, sometimes moment by moment, with things we have or, perhaps, wished we had. We have health, but the fear of losing it restricts us and prevents us from risking anything that may threaten our health. We have money but are tormented by “what ifs.” What if I lose my job? What if the market dries up?

We have a house we dearly love but can’t have anyone over for fear someone will damage something or in some way mess it up or destroy the “perfection” we’ve worked so hard to achieve. Perhaps it’s a hobby or sport in which we’ve so deeply invested ourselves, the thought of not being able to do it nearly cripples us with fear.

Even our walk with Jesus can sometimes cause us such angst that rather than engage our family, friends, neighbors and others in conversation about our faith in Christ, the fear of doing or saying something “wrong” cripples us from sharing Jesus with anyone.

There are many other examples we could use, but the point is, we don’t have those things, they have us and the common denominator is fear. We so quickly forget John’s helpful words in chapter 4:16-18 in his first letter where he wrote: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.”

In the verse at the top of the page from Matthew 19, it became evident very quickly that the “young man” didn’t have riches, they had him. Even though intellectually and spiritually he was able to see his great need of Jesus, he was crippled by the fear of having to give up what held him so tightly.

What has you? What is it in your life that’s restricting you, holding you back from being all the Lord would have you be? In this season of my life the Lord is giving me insight into why someone with a debilitating disease can be so entangled by fear of what might happen in the future, they miss what God has for them in this moment.

The reality is, each of us, from newborn to senior, has only this moment in which to live. The last moment is gone, and we have no promise of the next, yet we fret and fear by borrowing troubles from the future that only cause us anguish in the only moment we have to live faithfully and fruitfully for our Savior.

Please focus your thoughts on Jesus and His will and desire for you IN THIS MOMENT! Let Him take care of whatever the future may hold. Whatever has you in this season of your life, surrender it to Jesus while you can.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊