“You are asking the impossible!”

The person who is serious about following Jesus soon runs into His ‘impossible’ requests. He says to you and me -  “Build my Church!”  “Make disciples!” “Love your enemy!” “Forgive as I forgave you!”  “Die to Self.”  Maybe you are more optimistic about yourself than I, but that list, which is just a beginning, is marked by things that are simply not possible for me in my own natural strength.  

That is where faith meets my inability.  I trust the Spirit to work a daily miracle of grace. Will you?

Here is a story about a day when Jesus made an impossible request of His friends.

"When Jesus heard what had happened, (the execution of John, the Baptist) he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:13-21, NIV)

“You give them something to eat!”  The crowd numbered in the thousands, they were miles from any major town, and they had no money. Jesus seemed to be ignoring the reality of the situation. John’s Gospel adds the detail that it was Philip who spoke up. He said what they all thought. “It would take a small fortune, nearly a year’s wages, to buy bread, even if we could find any.” John tells us that Jesus "was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." (John 6:6, NLT)  Andrew brought a boy and his lunch to Jesus, who gave thanks for it and miraculously multiplied so that it fed the whole crowd, with 12 baskets of leftovers!

God already has a plan for me, for you.
It may not align with our understanding in the moment. Who thought that a boy’s lunch was of much use in feeding a crowd of thousands that day so long ago? Instead of raising our objections, we can take our cue from Isaiah who teaches us to "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." (Isaiah 55:6, NIV)  Present yourself to Him, ready to respond. He can, and often does, work in our lives outside of our expectations.   

Why? “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV) As you read Isaiah’s words are you tempted to say, “How can I ever know His plans?”  The Spirit of God lives in us. When you face an ‘impossibility’  if you will readily respond in faith, given what you know of Him in this moment, He will unfold the mysteries of His plan as you need to know it.

Andrew may have felt foolish bringing a boy’s lunch to Jesus in response to His direction to feed the crowd, but it was all he had and he offered it.  That kind of faith pleases God and prepares us to find His way and will sufficient to live in obedience.  Is that a difficult truth for you to accept, sounding like nonsense?  Pray for the mind of Christ. Submit your thoughts to Him, choosing to be quiet, to wait, to listen.  This is not about being gullible, or charging off to just do something because you think God must bless every choice YOU make. That’s not faith, that is presumptuous nonsense. To see the hand of God at work often demands that we wait with patient hope.

God does ask the impossible of us – that we live as His children in this world. But, He is not cruel, nor does He throw us into the deep water and abandon us there. He leads, He empowers, He is present. So, take this word from the Word. My prayer is that the Truth will inspire a new faith in us, that readily believes the plan of God that has been established from the dawn of Creation. "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NLT)

Now, where is that hungry crowd that needs to be fed His Word?

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Christ Be Magnified

( A new worship song by Cory Asbury.
Let it be your prayer today.)

Were creation suddenly articulate

With a thousand tongues to lift one cry

Then from north to south and east to west

We'd hear Christ be magnified

Were the whole earth echoing His eminence

His name would burst from sea and sky

From rivers to the mountain tops

We'd hear Christ be magnified

O Christ be magnified

Let His praise arise

Christ be magnified in me

O Christ be magnified

From the altar of my life

Christ be magnified in me

When ev'ry creature finds its inmost melody

And ev'ry human heart its native cry

O then in one enraptured hymn of praise

We'll sing Christ be magnified

I won't bow to idols

I'll stand strong and worship You

And if it puts me in the fire

I'll rejoice 'cause You're there too

I won't be formed by feelings

I hold fast to what is true

If the cross brings transformation

Then I'll be crucified with You

(You can hang me there with You)

'Cause death is just the doorway

Into resurrection life

If I join You in Your suff'rings

Then I'll join You when You rise

And when You return in glory

With all the angels and the saints

My heart will still be singing

My song will be the same

Cody Carnes | Cory Asbury | Ethan Hulse

© 2019 Cory Asbury Publishing (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Writer's Roof Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

The Carpenter’s Son

You know that phrase – “Familiarity breeds contempt” – don’t you? When we know someone closely, it’s hard to think of them as uniquely gifted or talented. It is possible to completely miss the value of a friend’s advice just because they are a friend. That wisdom that comes from Mom or Dad that is so treasured by other people just sounds like the same old tired stuff we have heard them say from childhood. Our church can seem so boring or dull compared to the one two towns over because we know the patterns of our worship so well. Yes, we can overlook the love of our spouse, the stability of our home, the value of our steady job – just because those things are so close to us, so familiar, that we do not see the whole picture.

Here is something that is seriously important to remember – we can grow close to Jesus, knowing His goodness and grace for a long time and that familiarity can rob us of the wonder of faith.

Take a look at this from Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus went home to minister and when He stood up to teach in the local place of worship, at first the people were astonished, but then they grew offended. “Who does He think He is?”  "Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matthew 13:54-58, NIV)

One way to keep our faith fresh is to renew the full understanding of the revelation of Christ Jesus.

The Man of the Gospels is approachable and relatable. I love thinking of Jesus walking with His disciples, laughing in the sunshine, getting irritated with them when they were slow to learn, showing them the power of God when He stopped to heal a blind man. It’s a comforting, human, accessible mental image of my Savior, but if that is the only way I think of Him, it could be difficult to trust Him when life gets crazy or confusing.

I need to see the image of the majestic, mysterious Revelation of John, too. "On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:10-18, NIV)  That can just stop me in my tracks, make me draw a deep breath, and say reverentially, “Jesus, Majesty!”  It’s not as comforting as thinking of the Carpenter, Mary’s Son, but it is the completed picture of the Lord of Glory who desires our full faith and complete obedience.

Let’s not make the mistake of making God too small, taming Him in an attempt to make Him accessible. If we do this, we risk growing offended when things go upside in our lives, when He (as we think of Him) does not do as we think He ought to do.  C. S. Lewis, in his famed allegory of Christ, as Aslan, the lion, reminds us of the wonder. “Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”  (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)  Lord, make that my conviction – that You are powerful, not ‘safe’ but always good. Amen.

The word from the Word calls us to both mystery and love. "Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:19-23, NIV)

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Majesty
(one of those classic worship choruses)

Majesty worship His majesty

Unto Jesus be all glory

Honor and praise

Majesty kingdom authority

Flow from His throne

Unto His own His anthem raise

So exalt lift up on high

The name of Jesus

Magnify come glorify

Christ Jesus the King

Majesty worship His majesty

Jesus who died now glorified

King of all kings

Jack Hayford

© 1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Are you ‘good enough’ for your church?

My Christian training was built around experience and ‘doing good.’  I learned to approach worship primarily through emotions as a Pentecostal. Church in my childhood years included joyous shouts, crying, exuberant singing, and some crazy, unexplainable things done in God’s name. We were also taught about holiness and it was easy to feel like a bad Christian, or even ‘not a Christian’ when temptations took root and grew into some sinful behavior. There was a great deal of emphasis on being pure, some impossible standards set in place, and some people who would not or could not ‘conform’ were treated as second class, on occasion even rejected by the church. 

The tendency to try to make Christ’s work happen by human effort has not diminished over time. Christians still tend to decide who is in and who is out, failing to account for the immeasurable grace of God and the persistent power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told a story that calls on us to leave the judgment to Him and to trust that He can preserve His work in the world. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ”‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ”‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”" (Matthew 13:24-30, NIV)   

His story made little sense to anyone familiar with agriculture. Getting the weeds out of the field was basic to getting a better harvest. But, in His field, the separation of wheat and weeds IS NOT the work to be done by us. What a radical concept but it is perfectly aligned with His message of supernaturally inspired love and grace. The farmer leaves the weeds; the farmer forgives the weeds.  The citizens of God’s kingdom deal with evil by forgiving it. We set aside the temptation to “moral superiority”  and we let the weeds grow right alongside us because we are secured in God’s grace, not our own righteousness.

Jesus teaches the full meaning of His story to the disciples. "His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:36-43, NIV)   

There will be a day of judgment! God will not ignore disbelief and sin. It is not pleasant to read of the destruction and punishment of those who refuse the grace of God, is it?

His story leaves us with two important conclusions. 

First is that He will take care of His children and keep us as we live among people who care nothing for Him, even those who are imposters that sit with us in the congregation of God. IF we are walking with Him, living in the Spirit, we need not fear that somehow the sin of the world will overtake us. We live with full confidence that God is greater.  It is for us to continue to hold out the grace of Christ, to accept people with the hope that they will believe and receive, being changed along with us into saints of the Living God. If we wrongly shut the doors of the Kingdom to those we deem unworthy, beyond help, or too sinful; we are stepping into the role that belongs to God alone.

Second, there is a time when God will separate good and evil and those who have loved Him will become radiant with His goodness, when the ‘weeds’ are removed in the Judgment. Hopeful? Yes. Sobering? Yes, too.

We are making our way into the second week of Lent, a time to reflect, repent, perhaps even practice some form of self-denial. Let’s keep our focus on Jesus! We are not ‘better’ because we fast two meals instead of one, because we are willing to give up social media and some others will not. Those kinds of choices must be made for the sole purpose of inviting Christ to be Lord of our lives, to remind ourselves that we are more than flesh and appetite, people of soul and spirit. The moment we choose to decide, even subtly, who is more worthy, who is a ‘real’ Christian by our own estimation, we assume the role that belongs exclusively to Christ at the End of the Age.

Our word from the Word comes from Paul’s final letter, written to Timothy. He reminds that timid pastor of God’s wonderful grace for us. May these words inspire us to love Him, waiting patiently for the full revelation of His Kingdom. "But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn away from all wickedness.” In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right.  

Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." (2 Timothy 2:19-22, NLT)

Don’t slip into the error of trying to be ‘good enough’ by comparing yourself to others in your fellowship. Instead, thank God that He is making you complete in Christ and grow on in grace.

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O Come To The Altar
(an invitation song … from Elevation Worship)

Are you hurting and broken within

Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin

Jesus is calling

Have you come to the end of yourself

Do you thirst for a drink from the well

Jesus is calling

O come to the altar

The Father's arms are open wide

Forgiveness was bought with

The precious blood of Jesus Christ

Leave behind your regrets and mistakes

Come today there's no reason to wait

Jesus is calling

Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy

From the ashes a new life is born

Jesus is calling

Oh what a Savior

Isn't he wonderful

Sing alleluia Christ is risen

Bow down before him

For he is Lord of all

Sing alleluia Christ is risen

Bear your cross as you wait for the crown

Tell the world of the treasure you've found

Chris Brown | Mack Brock | Steven Furtick | Wade Joye

© 2015 Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055