Called for a greater cause

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…(Matthew 16:17-19).   

Jesus’ mission was a redemptive mission.  He came to restore the broken relationship, caused by sin, between mankind and God.  Jesus’ mission included training and equipping the disciples to continue the work.  Although, the disciples thought Jesus’ mission was to rise up an earthly kingdom, Jesus plan was to bring the Kingdom of God on earth.  The mission was to claim the lost and lead them to eternal salvation.  From the beginning of Jesus’ mission, He called disciples to follow Him and gave them the authority to continue the mission, to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

Although God had revealed to Peter Jesus was the Christ, it’s safe to say he was still unaware of his calling. Peter was called to a greater cause, probably bigger than he could have ever thought.  He would be a foundation part in the beginning of the church. 

God calls us for a greater cause too.  Honestly, we usually have limited vision to the initial calling God has for us.  It’s to continue His redemptive mission and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to lost, hurting, and dark world.  The Good News of Jesus Christ; the message of eternal salvation, hope, healing, love, restoration, and redemption through Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross.   

Father, by Your Holy Spirit You reveal Yourself to us.  You have called us to a greater cause than we could ever understand.  May Your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven.  In Jesus Name, Amen. 

Everything begins to change

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are my witnesses of these things (Luke 24:44-48). 

The disciples knew what was written about Jesus, they spent time with Him, and He repeatedly told them what was to come.  Ironically enough, they walked with Jesus for three years and still weren’t getting it.  Everything they had known of Him, and about Him on a cognitive level (in their mental thinking) suddenly was all challenged that weekend.  After Jesus’s resurrection everything changed.  Now they saw it, they experienced it, Jesus had risen on the third day, just as He said He would. Their minds were opened and this was when everything began to change.

It’s amazing how we can read the Bible and still not understand.  I mean sure, we may know it cognitively, it may be rolling around in our heads, yet still may not fully understand it.  However, then comes the day Jesus reveals Himself.  A little experiential revelation of the Risen Christ in our lives, and everything begins to change.  

Then Jesus says, and behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.  But stay until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49)

Jesus, open our minds that we would understand!  You came and suffered, You died, and on the third day You rose, so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in Your name to the ends of the Earth.  Father, thank You for Your promise, the promise of the Holy Spirit.  Come Holy Spirit, come, and may we receive, greater is He who lives in us than he who lives in the world.  In Jesus Name, Amen. 

Heart to heart

From my heart to yours.

Know you loved.

Know you are cared about.

Know you are prayed for.

I have a few years of life experience and oh, I wish I could impart to others the knowledge of past failures and that they would understand.  I heard it said once, a wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns form the mistakes of others.  As a mom, a friend, there’s nothing worse than that chilling fear that grips through your whole body, when someone you love walks away. 

As much as I love the story of the prodigal son and how comforting it is that God will always take us back no matter how far we stray, it’s hurts from the side of the one waiting.  The heaviness of the homecoming.  Yes, there’s the joy of the return, but there’s also the weight of sadness for the time missed. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose those years. 

Heavenly Father, You’ve created us for relationship, first with you and then with others.  Our relationships matter, enough that you tell to go and reconcile with each other before even going to your altar.  I’ve learned far too often, almost all the time, division happens through misunderstandings and wrong perceptions.  Please intervene and clarify these things before we lose valuable time with each other.  In Jesus Name, amen.  

Interrupted

I love the story of King David.  David, titled a man after God’s own heart by God himself.  David was anointed as a young shepherd boy to be the next king over Israel.  God had big plans for his life, but David would spend the next 15 years in the shepherd field. It was through his everyday living, the good, the trials, and learning to see God’s hand at work in his life, that God would shape him and grow him for his calling. 

Fast forward some years, and now David is placed as king.  He finds himself in adulterous sin.  Remember, he is a man after God’s own heart, yet he is still human, and we see clearly his sinful nature rising up.   So, what’s one to do?  Well… David chose to lie and murder to cover up his adultery.  Most likely, this was an emotional response out his feelings of desperation.  However, God would not let him live with the guilt and shame of his past.  And so, God sends Nathan,

“Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel.  I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul…”  (2 Samuel 12:7). 

God never comes at us with condemnation, but He will convict us. Why? He doesn’t want us to live hiding or running from our shame.  In His great love, He calls us to come to Him no matter where we are.  David’s actions weren’t original, rather the actions of original sin.  From the beginning, we see Adam and Eve hiding from God in the garden after their sin when God calls them out to come to Him. 

Right from the start, God would use Nathan to remind David of his identity; chosen, anointed, and big plans.  But David had to go through some stuff first, and here, Nathan reminds David of God’s faithfulness and protection from the abusive King Saul. 

Remember God’s faithfulness, know His conviction is for a greater work within us.  One of David’s greatest attributes, a repentant heart.  God never changes, He deals with us the same way.  In His great love, mercy, and compassion, He leads us to conviction and repentance, then redeems and strengthens us for the greater plans He has for us.  Don’t miss this step!

Thank You Jesus for redemption. 

#beloved #redeemed #chosen

Impossible Odds

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but God likes to show off when a situation looks impossible.  Take David and Goliath for example, a young shepherd boy against a giant Philistine. When Goliath repeatedly comes out taunting the Israelites, and David steps up to the challenge.  A young man with a sling and a stone, against a giant who trained from his youth with sword and javelin.  But David knows a little something about the God he serves.

 

And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 37). 

Or the showdown of altars in the book of Kings.  Elijah challenges those who are following Baal.  The challenge was to prepare an altar with a bull on it without any flame.  Then call out to their god and the one who answers is God.  As they called out all morning with no avail, Elijah instigates, “call louder, maybe he’s away, or perhaps sleeping.”  When Elijah’s turn came to call on God, he saturated his altar, not once but twice with water.  Then he calls on God,

“Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, stones, and dust.  When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God” (1 Kings 18:37-40). 

Or when the disciples watched Jesus’ death on the cross.  Even though He repeatedly told them about His death and resurrection, they were slow to catch on.  In that moment when Jesus cried out, it is finished on the cross, I’m sure they felt the weight of Jesus’ death.  But three days later, Jesus appeared as He said He would, defeating all impossible odds, even death. 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Thank you Jesus for your VICTORY, thank you for turning our hearts back to you!

Love, Compassion, and Celebration

But he was angry and refused to go in.  His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!”  And he said to him, “Son you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found’ (Luke 15:28-32). 

We’re entering the middle of the story and we have an older brother whose angry.  Let’s catch up, the younger son tells his dad he wants his part of the inheritance.  Basically, he’s wishing his father was dead, so he could collect his money and live as he pleases.  The father gives him his inheritance and the son goes on his way.  He wastes all the money on wild living. After having nothing left, he comes to his senses remembering his father, and realized he is in need, so he decides to go back home.  To his surprise the father is watching and waiting for his return, welcomes him back, and announces a homecoming celebration. 

Now, the older brother comes on the scene and he’s angry.  He had stayed home all this time, and was the obedient son.  Everything the father had was always available to him.  But when the younger brother comes home after spending his inheritance recklessly, he couldn’t join in the celebration of his brother’s return. 

The father pleads with the older brother to join them, but he refuses and goes off angry, probably some resentment and jealously as well.  The bigger problem with the older brother, although he lived at home with father, he never fully received the love of the father, therefore he had no compassion when his younger brother returned. 

As a mom, this is heartbreaking, how do settle this when you’re on both sides? 

Father, may we remember, You see us through eyes of unconditional love, no matter where we are and what we have done. 

There’s a verse for that!

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:66-68).

Have you had one of those moments when you just don’t know what to say, but a bible verse comes to mind. Yeah, me too, and usually it’s God’s prompting.  However, on the other side of that, we can’t just spit out bible verses to people and expect some miraculous result.  Look again at Simon’s response to Jesus, “to whom… WHOM shall we go?”  They had spent time with Jesus, they knew Him, and they knew He had the words of eternal life. They believed Him, and had come to know who He was.  It was relationship! 

Christianity is not just mere religion with a list of do’s and don’ts, it’s relationship of knowing God and knowing He knows us.  It’s revelation of Jesus, the incarnate God, who meets us right where we are.  Why?  Because you matter to Him. 

Father, You have given us Your words, so that we may believe Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing we may have life in His name.  Thank You Jesus, you haven’t lost an that are Yours, sanctify them in the truth! Amen.