This is a less eloquently written piece... It's one that is direct, and outlines some exact takeaways from a beautify Biblical passage. While reading John 14 this morning, I saw something I had never seen before. The reflectivity of the trinitarian dynamic between God Himself, and us.
John 14:15-23 “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them.” + + + + + Let's start with verses 17-18 + + + + + John 14:17-18 "He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you." Takeaways: - He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The Holy Spirit is therefore the spiritual manifestation of Jesus. - The Holy Spirit was living with them "now" (Jesus), but He would soon be in them, in the same way that the Holy Spirit was in Jesus in Himself and in His humanity. When you have the Holy Spirit in you, the reality is that Jesus is walking with you as He was walking with the disciples. We start to see the manifestation of the Trinity here. The Holy Spirit was with the people, because Jesus was with the people. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are connected, the same, inseparable. - Jesus would come to them, not leaving them as orphans, because they were (we are) His children. By the Holy Spirit, His children (us) and Himself are connected. We are inseparable from God because we have the Holy Spirit, so we literally have God with us, the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus - God with us. Holy Spirit is the tie that has sealed us and is holding us to Himself. John 14:19-20 "Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." Takeaways: - Since Jesus was raised to life, so are we. Because Jesus lives, His new life and the entirety of God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is readily available to us. - As we love Jesus, He reveals Himself to us. John 14:16 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you" - Jesus ASKS the Father. He doesn't demand. The relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit is one of respect, gentleness, love, submission, and gratitude. - We see this in 1 Cor. 13:14 & Galatians 5:22-23 - As we love Jesus they way the Trinity loves each other, we are welcomed more fully into the presence of God. There is a dynamic between us and the Trinitarian relationship that is so closely interwoven, that it's clear, yet also still a deep mystery. We are to reflect in our interactions with God the way they (they persons of the Trinity) interact with each other – with patience; kindness; without jealousy; without boasting; without pride; without rudeness; without demanding our own way; without irritableness; without record of being or feeling wronged; without rejoicing about injustice, but rather rejoices when the truth wins; with a love that never loses faith, is constant in hope and endures perfectly no matter the circumstance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). We are to interact with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). * We've heard that we are image bears of God - created in His image - and this passage brings more clarity into what that actually means. We are to be reflective of how God interacts with Himself - both to Him, and other people. God is relational, and the way He is relational within the Trinity, we must also be with Him and with humanity. John 14:23 - "Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them." - When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive ALL of God - Father, Son, Spirit. They cannot be separated from each other, so when you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive the FULLNESS of God. When you get one, you get all. To start with a thought. What would it mean to be like Lazarus? It's an odd proposition, and I'll admit that myself. But, within this idea, there is a revelation of humanity and the life of Jesus that we need to explore.
John 12:9-21 In John 12 verse 9-10, it starts with saying "When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus." Wow. Have you seen that before? The power and example of Jesus' power in Lazarus' life was the reason that many people deserted their prior way of life. Q: Are people desperate to meet Jesus because of the life we now have? Verses 17-19 continue this idea, stating - "Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyonehas gone after him [Jesus]!” Verse 20 goes onto say, "Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” Notice that people didn't gather to hear Lazarus boast in speech about what Jesus had done for him (although I believe that we must, and that it's our duty to do so as well), but rather because they were desperate to meet Jesus and to see Lazarus' life. It was the people's chatter about the tangible power of God through Jesus' miraculous sign in Lazarus' new life that had people desperate to meet Him. Q: Are our lives a testimony to the resurrecting power of God to those around us? Which leads to the main takeaway... This example of Lazarus' life ultimately points straight into the heart, power, and lifestyle of Jesus. Like Lazarus' new life, Jesus' wasn't defined by words without action. Jesus didn't only talk about what He was going to do - He actively lived it. For example, if Jesus had only talked about the morality of sacrificial love, but didn't display it Himself, His words would have held no power. But, because of His nature of both speaking and putting things into action (for whenever He speaks, His Word impacts reality causes an eternal ripple effect), we have a God who led Himself to the cross, to rise on the third day, displaying the most powerful act of sacrificial love that the world has ever seen. Thanks to Jesus, we have the chance at resurrection life, like that of Lazarus' (whose ultimate resurrection was the resurrection of His soul in Christ, not just His earthly body). So where do we go from here? To prayer. May we ask Jesus for our lives to draw people desperately to Him, and that they're reflective of His miraculous resurrection power. May we pray to have an outcome like that of His miraculous work in Lazarus' life - salvation for the many. Amen. Prayer can often times feel like a mystery. Other times, it can feel like direct, tangible, connection with our Creator. We can feel Him near, hear His whisper, and experience His power. Prayer can feel like we're venturing into the mysterious, into the unknown, and that's a reality that is daunting, yet beautiful, because - we are.
Within the adventurous exchange with our Creator, we can experience many things - clarity, power, peace, joy, healing, completeness. We obtain a fuller understanding of who He is each time we enter into a dedicated time of prayer. Each time we go into His presence undistracted, we leave with a more clear glimpse of His character - His humility, gentleness, wisdom, love, and authoritative power. Each time we pause and step away from prayer until our next meeting with our God, we leave a little more whole than the time before. In His presence He sanctifies us. In His presence He makes Himself know to us, and makes us known to ourselves. The more time we spend in conversation with our Father, the more He shifts our prayers to align with His heart. Our desires become less and less our own, and increasingly more like His. We begin to realize what to pray for, what we do and do not have power over, and what prayers our God desires to answer in our lives and in the lives of others. Prayer ultimately alters our will to align with His, and transforms our character to reflect the reality of our image bearing nature. Each time we pray and are still in worship to our God, He changes our perspectives and aligns our minds with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). As Christ followers, it is likely that each of us has seen tangible results of prayer through the power that only comes from the name of Jesus. It's also quite probable that you've noticed that His answers to your prayers, in His name, have only reflected that which has been His will. Any Christian who has spent ample time in prayer has likely come to the realization of the seriousness of asking in the name of Jesus; as, at that point, your ask no longer becomes your own, but is subject to His decision and outworking according to His purposes. One should realize that when closing our prayers in the name of Jesus, we're declaring that it be done for and in His name, as though it should represent Him and associate with Him perfectly. Ultimately, the meaning of this declaration is that we are forfeiting our right to demand or bargain for a certain outcome of our prayers, rather in humble submission, we honor and thank Him for whatever His response is. With this being said, in a Christian's prayer life, there's often a misconception that if we don't hear God's answer immediately in our spirit or in our circumstances, that He hasn't answered us, or pushes aside our prayers as foolishness. Rather, I'd like to suggest that the opposite is true. Instead feeling as though God hasn't heard your petition or request, it would be wiser to think that God has responded according to His will and now our job is to simply wait and thank Him for His action. Our God always responds... He has been eternally responding, as once He speaks His word never returns void. This means that if His answer is "no", then He's moving in accordance to His future "yes", and if His answer is "yes", then nothing can get in the way of His positive response. Either way, His plan prevails, and as we've seen by the Cross, His response to us is always covenant and His intentions for us are always holy. The next time we wonder if God has our best interests at heart, may we look from Genesis to Revelation and notice how faithful our God is – so much so, that He bound His future to ours, no matter how many times we tried to sever the cord. So, what can we do? What can we take away from this simple thought around prayer? A simple thought calls for a simple response – May we become less greedy in our prayers – less self-indulgent, less self-concerned, and may we communicate with God in ways that reflect His heart and His cause rather than our own. May we start thanking Him for His will in situations, no matter what that may be. May we humble ourselves and stop declaring our opinions and rather start thanking Him for the provision that will come from His ways. May we offer our worship in our prayers, making it the cornerstone of our exchange with Him. May our prayers be God focused, Spirit led, Kingdom purposed, and anchored in the identity and power of Christ... The next time we pray, may we ask ourselves whether or not we're praying in His name, or our own. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” - Matthew 4:1-11 Observation: Jesus led Himself into temptation in the human body so that He could overcome humanity’s weakness to the tempter once and for all. The Spirit was with Jesus in the wilderness, not forsaking Him. Jesus refutes the tempter, not by arguing with him or complaining, but rather by rebuking his lies with the truth (scripture - the word of God). Jesus understood that the tempters offers would return void, but the word and promises of God do not. The tempter tempts Jesus with things that He was entitled to in the Kingdom of God. The enemy tempts us with things that are meant for us, but tempts us with them outside of their intended and proper context. The tempter offers humanity empty satisfaction and glory. Application: In what ways am I succumbing to the tempter? For example, My motives. Am I out for selfish gain and glory? My relationships. Am I using people to further my own agenda? My thought life. Are my sexual desires in check? Am I declaring lies and devaluing statements over myself? Am I more focused on myself and my problems or on the love and glory of Jesus? My words and speech. Am I tempted to slander other image bearers? Am I tempted to lie rather than speak the truth? Am I tempted to speak in negativity and offer complaints rather than speak light and life? Am I more concerned about turning the conversation towards myself and my strengths more than focusing on the exhortation and building up of others? My ambitions. Am I tempted to seek worldly riches over the Kingdom of God? Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Jesus knows what it looks like and feels like to be led into temptation. Jesus, please lead me away from it. Empower me by Your Spirit to follow You as You lead me away from the tempter. So, as of yesterday I've decided to go through the Bible in a year. It's something that I've been wanting to do for awhile, but I have not been in a place to where I could take it in and appreciate it like I should until now. I started the One Year Bible plan via YouVersion (because digital bibles are Gods gift to millennials, but don't worry. I'm actually reading from my study Bible. There's nothing quite like having the Bible in your hand), and thus far have seen God's Word take on new life in my spirit.
Today I read through Genesis 3 & 4, among other passages, but these two stuck out and spoke the most to me. Besides the book of Genesis being one of my favorite books in the Bible, because you can really see the character of God through these chapters and amidst our sin... but, I'm jumping too far forward. We'll get there. I simply wanted to share a few thoughts on some passages that stood out to me and screamed "God, friend of sinners". Genesis 3 The Man and Woman Sin 1 "The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Thoughts: Mistrusting God was what ultimately lead to the first sin. The woman (Eve) ultimately trusted the enemy and his way over the way of God. Ultimately, Eve placed her trust in the lies of the enemy rather than the truths of God. This shows how important it is that we trust God and how unfortunate our reality becomes when we don't. 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Thoughts: You se one of the first fruits of sin here - blame and lack of personal accountability. Here, man (Adam) denies his personal choice and decision to also eat the forbidden fruit, and rather blames his sin on woman. Woman, (Eve) does the same and places and blames her sin on the serpent rather than taking responsibility for her choice as well. We see how blame and lack of personal accountability becomes a downward spiral and creates an environment of displacement when it comes to taking responsibility for ourselves and our choices. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Thoughts: Here you see God caring for humanity even though they had just chosen the way of the enemy over Himself. God is already showing His fallen creation grace (reference v. 15 - lineage of Christ). 22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings[a] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the LordGod banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Thoughts: I love in verse 22 you see the implication of the trinity - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. I also love the "exclamation" seen in verse 22. God cares so deeply and personally about humanity that He banned man and woman, kicked from the garden - away from the tree of life. The thought of humanity living in sin for eternity was not a the reality God was willing to accept. At this moment, you see that God would rather give Himself for us than to not have us at all. Having us for eternity is more precious to Him than having us with Him in the garden in that moment. He sacrificed His own desire of having us in the garden with him for the betterment of our future - here you begin to see the selflessness of God. Genesis 4 1 Now Adam[a] had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced[b] a man!” Thoughts: Within their sin, humanity still gave God the glory for good gifts and for life. We can see here, that even though creation is now moving forward within a fallen state, humanity is still created with inclination to worship something or someone higher than ourselves. God. 3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, Thoughts: Cain presented "some" of what he had in contrast to Abel bringing a "gift" - the "best" portions of his labor. Here you see the difference in posture between the two brothers when it came to their hearts and what they were willing to bring to the Lord. I think we can all figure out what this means with no further explanation. 8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.”[a] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. 9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” “I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. 12 No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment[b] is too great for me to bear! 14 You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!” 15 The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.16 So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod,[c] east of Eden. Thoughts: You still see grace and love within the character of God, even within His justice towards Cain's sin. Despite the distrust, reckless decisions, and poor character we see in Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel - we still see the grace, justness, and sacrificial love of God towards His creation. Despite the fact that humanity ultimately decided to turn their back on their Father, their Father still chose, watched over, and provided for His children. We are Adam and Eve. We are Cain and Abel. We are reckless, untrustworthy, distrustful and poor in character. But in God, we are none of these things. In God we restored to who we once were supposed to be – co-heirs and beloved children. We are loved, trustworthy, and rich in character. We see in Genesis 3 and 4 that despite who we are, our God is the friend of sinners. Our God is a friend of humanity. Our God is the friend of us. That the goodness of God doesn't rest upon who we are, but who He has always been. In a culture focused on conditional relationships, "the one" - the perfect relationship - and what to do to make sure you keep him forever, it's easy for us to believe that in order for God to give us His best, we must walk through life with impeccable behavior... That we must and can EARN grace. We may even get frustrated thinking - God, I've been SO good. What is it that I'm not doing? What can I do better? Oh, the glorious paradox of our lives with Christ... Now, I'm not saying that we aren't rewarded for a life obedience and faithfulness. I'm saying that God doesn't redeem His blessings solely off our behavior.
As Jesus told me once "When I bless you, it's not because you've deserved it but because I want to give it to you. Accept it as a gift". This being said, I want to clarify that I do believe that we are only ready to receive some blessings once we've reached a certain point of growth and understanding of our identity, but that's another post. Anchoring our identity and hope in a blessing proves futile. Anchoring our identity and hope in Christ ALONE is fruitful. God blesses us because He is unconditional, extravagant, grace. He disciplines us because He is the most righteous of Father's. He loves us because he knows no other way. He changes us because He intends us to live a life free of of brokenness. He renews our souls and our minds because in He desires that we know what is fullness of joy. Women, despite our best efforts, our best successes, our willpower and our accomplishments, our healthiest of relationships, we will always need Jesus. More than anything. More than any man. So back to this concept of deserved blessings (which is an oxymoron), and the mental tie between behavior and inherent worth [behavior and inherent worth - another oxymoron) that needs to be broken. You may be sitting here reading this thinking I've been single for years, I've been pursing God and I've seen his blessing unfold rampantly in my life.. I've followed the Spirits pull and have kept myself sexually pure, but I still haven't met the man of my God-dreams.. God, what's with that? First off, your pain is real. Your ache for a Godly relationship is real. And, it is justified and natural, but so many times we can find ourselves asking God when or why rather than what we can learn and how we can grow within our season waiting. Maybe, your heart needs to know that the more steady you are in your relationship with Jesus, the better you'll know how to fight the temptation to idolized your partner. The more your heart will understand that as long as God is your foundation, you can stand on solid ground through the trials that will shake your relationship. Your heart may just need to understand that you are a daughter of God first, and a man's partner second. The health of your heart for God and humanity should precede your heart for a man. The truth behind why "nothing has worked out" with any attempted relationship is because God is working on the man who will actually met your God-dreams instead of your expectation of them. I may not know your story, but God does and He knows exactly why He it's good for Him to have your undivided attention this very season. Or, you might be the girl who decided to stay sexually pure today after your decision to give yourself away last night left you feeling even more empty than before. You may be thinking - No guy commits to me. No guy pursues me. I give them my all, my everything, and all I get in return is a broken heart and a crushed spirit. Now I'm scared to even be open to a relationship... How will I ever be worth love, will a man ever see my worth? The truth, loved one, is that your pain is real, and your brokenness is heavy. As someone who has been there, I can relate to the weight of your burden surrounds you in darkness. But, there is a way OUT. I can attest to the healing power of Jesus and His perfect love for you. He loves you, calls you beautiful, and I promise that He will pursue you, your heart, your soul and your mind in such a way that you will be overwhelmed with light rather than the shadows. Healing is your reality if you'll take the second step in claiming it. Jesus took the first step when he took the cross for you pain. Maybe you're the girl whose reputation seems irredeemable... The victim of pointed fingers and vile names. The girl whose choices seem to define - name - who she is. We all know that pointing fingers and calling of names can represent extreme awe or persecution... There is power in the words that we use and the names that are used to identify or characterize us. For the girl who desires to change, to heal, and to be free, every time the enemy says "you're unworthy", Jesus says to you "take my name instead." Every time the enemy calls you something less than beautiful, Jesus says "take my name instead." Every time someone defines you by something other than what or who you really are, remind yourself that Jesus's love for you on the cross declared, "Identify with me. Take my name instead". When you take someone's name, it means you identify with them and you are humbled yet proud to represent, or be associated with, them. Every time someone calls you a name that doesn't match up with you identity in Christ, cast it away and remember to call yourself by your true name -- loved one, daughter and woman of God, visionary, stronghold, beautiful, redeemed - forgiven, warrior, disciple, leader, activist, humanitarian... Christ follower. The promise waiting for you, daughter, woman of the Most High God that you have immeasurable worth, because your worth is identified with the one whose worth is immeasurable - Jesus. Your worth holds weight in the balance of eternity because Jesus does. Jesus is what worth looks like, what worth feels like, and what worth ultimately is. You are beautiful, not because of your looks but because of the condition of your soul - made righteous, made pure, made holy with Him. You are loved, because the creator of the universe took on the hate of the world so you would know perfect love. You are healed, because in His scars you will and do find your freedom. You are worthy of pursuit, because Jesus pursued you to death on a cross to have a perfect and eternal relationship with you. Don't fall for what the world sells that love is when you have access to who love is. Jesus, the ultimate form of love, said "take my name forever". Identify with me. Call me your own. If you'll take me, I will promise myself to you for eternity. "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" - Psalm 139:17-18 In today's world, we live within a culture influenced by racism, corrupt politicians, and a hypersensitivity that shrouds hearts of indifference. Where compassion is mistake for acceptance, and acceptance is mistaken as compassion. We live in a world that favors progressivism, yet finds itself in moral stagnation.
As Christians, we're automatically sworn in as royalty, leaders and influencers. We are called to a life of activism, compassion, mercy and grace, while also bringing forth the truth in love. This is our responsibility not because we carry the term "Christian" but because of who we are in Christ. Once we're baptized in the Holy Spirit, we go from a loved creation to a beloved son or daughter of God. Romans 8:16 "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God..." 2 Corinthians 6:18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." See also: Romans 8:16; John 1:12-13 This family privilege comes with weight, with responsibility, and with a call. Within this identity of sons and daughters, we ought to view ourselves as followers of Christ, but as leaders of others. This is said with a heart that believes leaders are, in nature, to be the greatest servants of others. Mark 9:35 "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Therefore, as leaders, we bear great responsibility. The responsibility to carry the name of Jesus well, which ultimately means to love people and love them sacrificially. The responsibility to die to ourselves daily so others can live. Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In our relationship with Jesus, to bring forth life in those who cross our paths is our ultimate purpose. It's common to believe that being a leader is being someone who sits beside, teaches, yet is unavailable in perfection to the people they are leading. It's easy to fall into the torrent of idealism and expectations that come alongside positions of leadership. It is easy to go from becoming a shepherd to being the executioner. This is why it is important for us, in positions of leadership, to be available. To be vulnerable. To be present. It is of the upmost importance that we are more concerned with the well-being of others under our care more so than of the opinions of spectators. In a world ridden with opinions, it's easy to try to change the world with our own. But, rather than using our voices the primary catalyst, why don't we challenge ourselves daily as leaders by our actions and examples? By letting our lives and our way with people speak louder and more often than our words. As leaders, we are a work of art... Of creativity, and we should take that into consideration as we morph ourselves into the example of truth rather than solely speaking it. In no way am I saying that our voices carry no weight. The greatest writers, preachers, and poets prove otherwise. What I'm portraying is a picture that in a world drowning in a sea of voices and silent actions, we can be the light amongst a shadowed people. A visible version of the truth. A visible, present day, personification of love. Jesus is love, and the truth is Jesus, and His truth is to love people. To love them well. Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." 1 Corinthians 16:14 "Let all that you do be done in love." The heat is blaring, and as the sun is glaring into your eyes you can't help but strain your vision for the hope that's there, yet left unseen. As you're fixing your eyes, that hope begins to fade into doubt and that vision begins to transform into an mirage, a delusion? As you thirst amongst the dryness, you feel your strength begin to fade and your soul begin to crumble.
You begin to search around in desperation, for something to satisfy you, as the hope ahead of you seems impossibly out of reach. Cacti hold water, right? Or is that a myth.. At this point you're not quite in a state to care, and the problem of threatening spikes on the otherwise seemingly harmless cacti seems somehow less problematic than it may have in the past. You find yourself trudging through the sand towards the cacti in hope of finding something that will distract you and comfort the idea that maybe, just maybe, that hope ahead of you is something you could live without. Maybe, just maybe, you'll find something where you are that will allow you to get by. It's safe to say that when we do this, unfix our eyes, we go from being led to leading ourselves into a wilderness we weren't meant to forge in the first place. We go from what feels like wandering in a desert to being lost in a sandstorm. We find ourselves unable to see, unsure of which direction to head, and stung from the consequences of our environment. How true is this of our souls, our mindsets, our attitudes through desert seasons? How often do we turn, shift our focus, and find our thoughts, or actions, in pursuit of an oasis? An alternate realtiy appearing as though it will quinch our thirst in our current state of "need". In these seasons, do we allow the shout of comfort to overpower the close whisper of God to move forward? "Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice." (Deuteronomy 4:12) I'm here to remind you that the true oasis doesn't lead you from God's promises to you, His plans for you, or the call upon you. Anything less than living water in the desert is a mirage. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14) "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18) In the seasons where you feel as though the enemy is grabbing at your feet, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, our hope and the hope for humanity. Keep walking, keep trudging, because there is ultimately One source that quenches our thirst amongst the desert, and He is worth pursuing above all else. *Side note: my challenge to you is to lead a life that's not easy, is uncommon, and against the status quo. A life where you live empty enough for God to fill the gap, yet full enough for God to pour into others. So, as of yesterday I've decided to go through the Bible in a year. It's something that I've been wanting to do for awhile, but I have not been in a place to where I could take it in and appreciate it like I should until now. I started the One Year Bible plan via YouVersion (because digital bibles are Gods gift to millennials, but don't worry. I'm actually reading from my study Bible. There's nothing quite like having the Bible in your hand), and thus far have seen God's Word take on new life in my spirit.
Today I read through Genesis 3 & 4, among other passages, but these two stuck out and spoke the most to me. Besides the book of Genesis being one of my favorite books in the Bible, because you can really see the character of God through these chapters and amidst our sin... but, I'm jumping too far forward. We'll get there. I simply wanted to share a few thoughts on some passages that stood out to me and screamed "God, friend of sinners". Genesis 3 The Man and Woman Sin 1 "The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Thoughts: Mistrusting God was what ultimately lead to the first sin. The woman (Eve) ultimately trusted the enemy and his way over the way of God. Ultimately, Eve placed her trust in the lies of the enemy rather than the truths of God. This shows how important it is that we trust God and how unfortunate our reality becomes when we don't. 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Thoughts: You se one of the first fruits of sin here - blame and lack of personal accountability. Here, man (Adam) denies his personal choice and decision to also eat the forbidden fruit, and rather blames his sin on woman. Woman, (Eve) does the same and places and blames her sin on the serpent rather than taking responsibility for her choice as well. We see how blame and lack of personal accountability becomes a downward spiral and creates an environment of displacement when it comes to taking responsibility for ourselves and our choices. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Thoughts: Here you see God caring for humanity even though they had just chosen the way of the enemy over Himself. God is already showing His fallen creation grace (reference v. 15 - lineage of Christ). 22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings[a] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Thoughts: I love in verse 22 you see the implication of the trinity - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. I also love the "exclamation" seen in verse 22. God cares so deeply and personally about humanity that He banned man and woman, kicked from the garden - away from the tree of life. The thought of humanity living in sin for eternity was not a the reality God was willing to accept. At this moment, you see that God would rather give Himself for us than to not have us at all. Having us for eternity is more precious to Him than having us with Him in the garden in that moment. He sacrificed His own desire of having us in the garden with him for the betterment of our future - here you begin to see the selflessness of God. Genesis 4 1 Now Adam[a] had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced[b] a man!” Thoughts: Within their sin, humanity still gave God the glory for good gifts and for life. We can see here, that even though creation is now moving forward within a fallen state, humanity is still created with inclination to worship something or someone higher than ourselves. God. 3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, Thoughts: Cain presented "some" of what he had in contrast to Abel bringing a "gift" - the "best" portions of his labor. Here you see the difference in posture between the two brothers when it came to their hearts and what they were willing to bring to the Lord. I think we can all figure out what this means with no further explanation. 8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.”[a] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. 9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” “I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. 12 No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment[b] is too great for me to bear! 14 You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!” 15 The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.16 So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod,[c] east of Eden. Thoughts: You still see grace and love within the character of God, even within His justice towards Cain's sin. Despite the distrust, reckless decisions, and poor character we see in Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel - we still see the grace, justness, and sacrificial love of God towards His creation. Despite the fact that humanity ultimately decided to turn their back on their Father, their Father still chose, watched over, and provided for His children. We are Adam and Eve. We are Cain and Abel. We are reckless, untrustworthy, distrustful and poor in character. But in God, we are none of these things. In God we restored to who we once were supposed to be – co-heirs and beloved children. We are loved, trustworthy, and rich in character. We see in Genesis 3 and 4 that despite who we are, our God is the friend of sinners. Our God is a friend of humanity. Our God is the friend of us. That the goodness of God doesn't rest upon who we are, but who He has always been. |
|