HE Already Has in Mind What HE is Going to Do!

For the first time in a long while, I sat down and read the Bible. I am trying to practice Lectio Devina. (click here for more info) I started reading, out loud from the Book of John Chapter 6. The chapter starts with Jesus about to feed the 5000. As directed by Lectio Devina I read the first few verses out loud several times trying to let God give me a word or phrase to meditate and pray over. Here is what stood out to me;

Chapter 6, verse 5 -- "When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for those people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for HE ALREADY HAD IN MIND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO."

Wow!

With Jamie, my bride, accepting a new job in Waxahachie and all the effects of this (moving, selling the house, me finding a job (still) and the kids starting a new school), I have a lot of questions. I am sure Philip (and the other disciples) had lots of questions for Jesus as well, when 5000 people needed to be fed. Despite the questions I have, I do not need to worry; MY JESUS ALREADY HAS IN MIND WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO!

If Jesus were right here next to me at this moment, I could see/hear him asking me, "Mark, how do plan on finding a job and a place to live in Waxahachie, when you still have a house to sell in Longview?" All the while he is smiling on the inside, knowing that already knows what he plans to do with me and my family.

Sadly, like Philip, I sometimes forget who my Jesus really is and I respond in a similar way; "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite." -- Philip or "Eight months wages would not even come close to getting what we need to fix up our house to get it ready to sell." -- Mark English.

My Jesus has a plan. He knows what he is going to do. I need to pray to him that I have faith and despite my negative attitude, he will do what is good for me and my family.

Squirrels

I love watching the squirrels play in our yard. Something about them makes me feel peaceful. I like watching them chase each other up and down the trees. I like the sound they make when the run across our roof. I even break for the squirrels as they make their suicide runs across the streets.

Not, sure why I am blogging about squirrels. Maybe I just love the way God designed them.

This morning I watched some squirrels as they jumped from one tree to another. The "leap of faith" they take as they leap from one small swaying branch to another, takes "total faith" on their part, that the branches will hold their weight and keep them from falling. Maybe God reminds us all that sometimes we need to take a "leap of faith" and trust that He will provide a steady branch for us to land upon.

(Also check out my new gadget, added to the left. It is called Interesting Quote of the Week.)

Where Will You Choose to Meet God?

This question was asked during the lesson our minister gave last Sunday at our church. The lesson focused on the lives of the three young men in Daniel who choose to go to the firery furnace rather than bow down to the golden statue. (For a similar blog click here)

Our minister put the question to us to see if we fully trusted in our God as being a God who is in control at all times, not just the good times. Many Christians want to and choose to meet God. The problem is we choose to meet God in a place of our choosing. We want to meet God in a place where we don't have to suffer, or a place that makes us feel uncomfortable, or a place in which we don't have to sacrifice anything to get there. In effect we want God to come to us!

Our problem lies in the fact that God chooses where we are suppossed to meet Him. For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God wanted them to meet Him in the furnace. God could have rescued them from the furnace but He did not. He wanted them to meet Him in the furnace itself. These three young men, chose to have faith in their God and they choose to go into the furnace to meet their God. As a result God blessed their decision and he saved from the furnace after all.

God has the ability to save us from pain, suffering, death, disaster, disease, poverty, divorce, addictions, etc...but sometimes He chooses not to. Is it because He is mean and cruel? No, sometimes it is because of these painful times in our lives, that we learn the most valuable lessons of all. God sometimes uses the firery furnace to mold and shape us into what He wants us to be. He wants us to choose to meet Him in the fire. Only there will we then open to His power and will for us.

Many of the most powerful and faithful men and women in the Bible suffered because of circumstances allowed to happen to them by God. Moses learned of his true purpose while in exile in the desert. Joseph learned of his true purpose while as a prisoner in Egypt, after being sold by his own brothers. Abraham learned of his true purpose after being asked to move to a foreign land. Paul begged God to remove his "thorn in the flesh" but was told by God, "No" because only by suffering with his "thorn" could Paul truely appreciate his need for God in his life. Jesus himself begged God not to be crucified but instead He fullfilled His purpose by suffering and dying.

To be perfectly honest I have not yet chosen to meet God in the fire. I have "suffered" some because of choosing to follow God, but not to the point of putting it ALL on the line. As God continues to call me to meet with Him, where will I choose to meet Him? Will I again ask God to come to me, or will I become one of the "Furnace People" and choose to meet God in the furnace?

Dying to One's Self Is Not Easy

It seems the past few weeks or so I have been reading or hearing things that point to the need for Christians to "Die to their former selves and be reborn into their new life with Christ!" At first I was dismissing these "cues" as if to say, "I was baptized and I have repented of my sins. God loves me now and that is that!" I think God wanted me to hear more.

In my Sunday morning class at my church...we have been talking about how you must undergo a severe humbling process in order to turn your life fully over the the will of God. You must give up your own will, not only in mind, but in body, to the will of the Father. Even if the desires to continue in our sinful ways pull hard on our hearts, it's what the body does that shows the true desires of our hearts. We may confess all day long that we want to give up our sins, addictions, and selfish behaviors, but when we continue to choose to wallow in our hopelessness and choose not to act on our faith in God, we are showing that we are still giving in to the desire of our hearts to do what We want to do not what God wants us to do.

I have also been reading a book called "When Heaven Weeps" by Ted Dekker. In it the main character keeps referring to how Christians as a whole refuse to join Christ in His cruel and terrible death in order to show His love to others. He states we are perfectly fine to confess the love of Jesus, but we refuse to get our hands dirty to work to show that love. We say we love others, but if it means pain and suffering for ourselves, we will choose Self over Others every time.

God calls us to die our old self and join Christ in death. It is absolutely necessary to do this in order to fully understand, accept and act upon His Grace. There is a quote from the book that stands out..."Is the death of the will any less painful than the death of the body? Call it figurative if it makes you comfortable, but in reality the death of the will is far more traumatic than the death of the body." " In the death of the body the nerve endings soon stop feeling. In the death of the will the heart doesn't stop its bleeding so quickly."

Giving up our selfish will is hard to do. It's something I myself need to come face to face with. I am scared to death to do it. I have been a Christian for some time, but It's hard to show any tangible evidence of my faith as far as actively loving others is concerned. Recent events in my life have caused me to be much less judgemental when it comes to looking at the sins and actions of others, but I still have a hard time actively loving them.

My New Year's Resolution is to pray that God allows me to die to old self and be reborn a person who is fully capable of loving others the same way that He loves me. I am terrified of how God may choose to do this, but I know it will be the best thing for me. I am ready, I think. Pray for Me!