Kissed by the Spirit

“Under His feet there appeared to be sapphire tilework, as clear as the sky itself.

Yet He did not lay a hand on these chosen Israelites. They saw God, and they ate and drank.”

Exodus 24:10-11 (NAB)

Moses wrote about an awesome mountain top experience he had around 1400 BC. After he chose seventy men, elders from all the tribes of Israel, along with his brother Aaron, and two nephews, Nadab and Abihu, they all went up the holy mountain of Sinai. Moses, his brother and nephews, being from the priestly tribe of Levi, offered the blood sacrifice on behalf of all the Israelite people. 

After they made the sacrifice, it says that as they ate and drank, they saw the feet of God on a magnificent floor of sapphire. As beautiful as the glistening blue sapphire floor sounds, I can’t help but be more fixated on the feet that were on it. God is a Spirit and He doesn’t have a body, so whose feet did they see? Scripture does say that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.” 

(Colossians 1:15)

The feet they saw on the sapphire floor had to be the feet of Jesus, the second person of the divine Trinity. Though Jesus rarely appeared to people in the Old Testament, before His incarnation, it’s called a Theophany when He does. Were the feet seen on the sapphire floor, the feet of Jesus?

The elders beheld God as they ate and drank in His Presence. Who prepared the food they ate? Are there angels who serve as master chefs to prepare meals for special occasions? Was it a complete meal or only bread and wine, as a foreshadowing of the sacrament of communion that Jesus initiated later?

I certainly have more questions than answers, but one thing is clear, those men were given a limited glimpse of God, through a theophany of Jesus, and lived to tell about it.

So, there was a chosen group of men who ate and drank, dining in God’s Presence, on Mount Sinai after offering a sacrifice for sins. I’m beginning to see something strangely familiar about this whole scene. 

The twelve apostles were chosen men who also ate and drank in God’s Presence, at the last supper meal with Jesus. Moses and his men were on the mountain top and the twelve apostles were in an upper room. While there, Jesus spoke about His blood of the new covenant, that will be offered for forgiveness of sins, once and for all. 

The last supper seems like the fulfillment of the Mount Sinai event, except there was no sapphire floor in the upper room. It’s estimated that Jesus walked 1,968 feet, carrying a heavy cross up a hill, until being nailed to it, with Roman spikes driven through His hands and feet. 

These images are meant to reflect on as we participate in holy communion. We are privileged to eat and drink in the Presence of God, just as the chosen men on Mount Sinai and the apostles in the upper room did. Every time we receive communion, it becomes our upper room and mountain top moment, because if communion were only a meal, then the crucifixion was only an execution. It’s a sacred moment to worship and cherish Jesus, who is now seated at the right hand of God, the Father. 

Today, His nail scarred feet rest on that beautiful sapphire floor in Heaven, the same one that appeared to Moses and the elders. Though we cannot see Him now, we know how beautiful His feet are, because they brought us good news and paid the cost of our salvation. 

In Heaven, we will see everything clearly. We will see His face shining like the sun, a glorious throne, angels singing, gates of pearl, streets of gold, fragrant incense, and all who have ever believed, worshipping the Lamb of God who now lives to intercede for us. 

Until that day, His Spirit dwells in us, as His living Temples, which  may not have sapphire floors, but the more we surrender our hearts to Him, the more we beautify our Temple for Jesus to dwell in. 

Lord, thank you for the privilege to dine in your Presence through the new covenant made perfect by your precious blood. Help us keep our inward Temples beautiful for you to dwell in. Amen 

“Even now, declares the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”

Joel 2:12-13 (NIV)

Since I started writing meditations over the past four years, there is a prevailing message within my spirit, which constantly emerges  through everything I write, and it’s that God keeps pursuing every human soul to reveal His love and mercy to them. Sometimes I say to myself, why am I writing the same theme again, but then I realize it’s not my decision, since  I’m being compelled by the Holy Spirit. 

Last week I was watching a show on the Christian TBN network, where a man was sharing his renewal of faith through a near death experience. I have read and heard many near death stories, but his especially drew my attention.

Marty always believed in Jesus as a child and a teenager, but as an adult, he drifted away from his faith. Through the stressors of his life, working as a County Sheriff, having two failed marriages, and in increasingly poor health, he was aware of his need to return to the Lord, but for some reason, he kept avoiding Him.

At the age of 51, Marty suffered a cardiac arrest, was hospitalized, intubated and lying comatose in intensive care. While unconscious and in a coma, he had either some type of lucid dream or near death experience. 

Marty found himself standing in the presence of Jesus. He felt the power of His love but he was so ashamed, he covered his face with his hands, expecting Jesus to point out all his faults and failures, but instead, Jesus spoke gently, “Son, come back to Me and do what I’ve called you to do.” 

“Return to God” is the message of all the prophets in the bible and it’s still the message today. Marty awoke from his lucid comatose dream conversation with Jesus, with a desire to return to the Lord he knew in his youth. He now lives with a strong sense of mission to remind people that Jesus loves us and is returning one day. The most prevailing truth that stayed with Marty is that Jesus never stops pursuing all people, driven by His pure love and mercy.

I‘ve never had a near death experience, and never heard the voice of Jesus talking to me, but the idea of God being in constant pursuit of every human heart, driven by His love, is a truth that has always propelled me to write. It sounds simple but as Augustine once said, every person needs to know that God loves them as if they were the only person in the world.

In his coma experience, Marty heard Jesus call him “son”, and like a father of a prodigal, He asked him to come back and do what He called him to do. I believe Jesus is saying that to everyone, from every background of faith.

Jesus will return someday, but He is still busy adding more members to His church. Whether He returns as a Father to a prodigal child, or a Bridegroom to a beloved bride, or a faithful Friend to the lonely, it’s His divine love that perpetually draws every human heart to Him. Jesus desires that all people return to Him, but He also desires that we long for His future return to us, as was the cry of John’s heart in the book of Revelation, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Whatever we know and believe about God, we all have hearts that are prone to wander and attention that easily drifts from God, but Jesus never stops pursuing us, inviting us to partake of His unconditional mercy and love. He’s in an endless pursuit to reveal His love to all people. His love is incomprehensible to our human minds, but it can be fully embraced with our hearts, as we yield ourselves to Him.

Lord, open our hearts to keep returning to you, listening to you and doing what you have called us to do, as we keep believing that you, Jesus, will come again. Amen

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?”

John 14:9-10 (RSV)

These are the words of Jesus when Philip asked Him to show them the Father. Jesus spoke so much about His Father in Heaven that the disciples finally said, “Show Him to us!”

At the transfiguration, a voice spoke audibly from the sky and said, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!”, so by listening to Jesus, we can learn all we need to know about His Father. Every thing He did and everything He taught reflect His Father. If anyone thinks that God is nothing like Jesus, they haven’t been listening to Jesus, because He told us that He and His Father are one.  (John 10:30)

Jesus constantly reached out to the most marginalized and untouchables of society, such as lepers, gentiles and prostitutes. Many of His parables were focused on the relationship of fathers and sons. Everything He did in His ministry revealed His own paternal nature. When He spoke to the woman who was healed of bleeding, He called her “Daughter”, then said, “your faith has healed you.” (Matthew 9:22)

Jesus is also the good shepherd who will leave his flock to search for the one who is lost. Just like a father of many children, He loves them all but would leave to search for one who is lost. These are the images that God wants us to see about Him.

When Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” it’s an open invitation to all people, but especially to the burdened, broken, and forgotten ones. He goes on to say, “Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and lowly in heart….”  Since Jesus describes Himself as gentle, then so is His Father. 

I never had this understanding of God while growing up. I imagined a stern God, with standards so high that I would never measure up. I pictured Him always frowning at me, for not being good enough.

That misconception was the enemy’s deception which kept me from discovering the most powerful truth, that God is my good and true Heavenly Father. I know now that God doesn’t love us because we are good, He loves us because He is good.

I am certain that Jesus was trying to speak to me at different times in my youth, probably saying something like, “If you only knew that I love you and want to give you my peace.”(Luke 19:42) 

At first I wasn’t listening, but God never gives up on us, and the day came when I finally ran toward Him instead away from Him. 

God is a good Father, who longs for every person to return and be reconciled to Him. The word reconcile is defined as restoring a relationship, but with God, it involves so much more than that. It’s moving us from doubt, separation and brokenness to healing love, forgiveness and wholeness.

It’s the lovingkindness of God, not the fear of wrath, that leads people to repentance and a long lasting relationship with Him. 

(Romans 2:4)

When Jesus stood looking at the city of Jerusalem, He lamented over the people who rejected Him, saying that He longed to gather them as a mother hen gathers her chicks, but they would not come. 

Those are very parental words, desiring to gather and reconcile one’s own children. Jesus gives us a glimpse of God’s true nature, as the prototype of a good Father. 

To know Jesus is to know God, who is our good and perfect Father, longing to gather His children who are separated, hurt and broken. The Father’s sole desire is manifested through Jesus, to love, heal, and forgive, making us truly whole.

Lord, help us to see you as our good and loving Father, who longs to gather and reconcile all people to Yourself. Amen

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.“

Philippians 4:8 (NASB)

We can spend our thoughts just as we can spend our money. As we can invest money in wasteful things, that cannot bring lasting benefits, we can also invest our thoughts in things that don’t benefit our faith, but rather increase our anxiety. There are contributors to negative thinking based on what we are investing  our thoughts in.

In today’s scripture, Paul teaches us that there’s a thinking skill to practice and develop. We have the choice to invest our thoughts in what is good, honorable, and worthy of praise, or to allow our thought flow to be inundated with the negativity all around us.

If we adopt and practice Paul’s way of thinking, we will strengthen our inner person. Jesus told us that what goes into the mind and heart is what comes out of our mouths. (Matthew 15:18)

In realizing that my thoughts precede my words, I found that reshaping my thought life to a more praiseworthy focus, also results in speaking words that are more fruitful. 

We’ve all been dragged down at some time, by allowing negativity to permeate our thoughts. One person may talk to us for only a few minutes and unintentionally load our mind with a fearful, angry or hopeless flow of thoughts. Though unintentional, that person could be a stranger, friend, relative, coworker, doctor, or even a news anchor. 

Listening to a lot of bad news in a day contributes to a negative thought flow. We don’t always have a choice, but we can still influence our thought flow by the books we choose to read or what we watch on TV. I don’t believe in burying our head in the sand, but ever since I have chosen to only listen to contemporary Christian music in my car, the lyrics seep into my subconscious mind and nourish my soul. 

It’s as if I am entering another world in my car, despite whatever problems are happening that day. When I’m at home, I read inspirational books and often switch to a Christian cable channel to watch and hear news that is praiseworthy, given from a spiritual, Christ centered perspective.

When the Holy Spirit controls our thoughts, we are able to hear anything and our mind will filter it according to God’s truth, and His wisdom guards our mind and hearts from being overwhelmed by negativity. 

The human psyche needs to hear the true stories of the good things God is doing in people’s lives, which Paul’s calls “praiseworthy.”

Everyone has real problems that cause real anxiety, but we can choose to invest our thoughts in what is praiseworthy. Soon we will reap the benefit of increased faith and a profound peace that passes all understanding. 

Paul’s advice to “think on these things”, implies that we are the ones who decide and choose what to invest our thoughts in. Based on what we read or listen to, we can choose to spend our thoughts in gratitude for God’s goodness and things that are praiseworthy, which transforms our thought flow and defeats the spirit of worry and anxiety. 

It seems that whenever I meet people who are exceptionally upbeat and cheerful, they’re also very thankful people. Gratitude begins in the mind, with a thought, but it was never meant to remain as a thought. Gratitude requires  expression in words, both to God and to be shared with others. 

When I listen to someone else’s story of what good things God has done for them, it inspires my faith and renews my hope. If we choose to think about true stories  of God’s intervention and grace, there is no room in our minds for negativity, only praise. 

Praise is a powerful weapon that resists evil and sends the devil fleeing. Thoughts of praise and gratitude overcome the thoughts of fear, anger, worry or anxiety.

Everyone faces difficult times in  their journey of faith, but those times are not the end of our story. Investing our thoughts in God’s goodness fills our hearts with praise, reshapes our thought life, renews our hope and flows like a fountain from our lips.

Lord, help us to reshape our thought flow to a more positive one, by choosing to spend our thoughts on what is praiseworthy and good, guided by your Spirit. Amen

“Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.”

Ecclesiastes 7:10 ( NIV)

In today’s scripture, the wise King Solomon, advises not to reminisce too much over the good old days. If the old days were so much better, it implies that the current days are full of worry, doubt and disappointment. There’s no faith or spiritual growth by living in that mindset. 

Solomon is right since we cannot change or relive the past and only God knows what the future holds, it leaves us with one option; to find joy in the present and live in the now. 

A lady named Virginia, who lived in Maine, worked in the lobster industry until the age of 105. She was officially the oldest working lobster harvester in the state of Maine. Virginia used to rise up early each morning, put on lipstick and earrings, and go to work with her 82 year old son, Max, on a boat, trapping lobsters. Virginia passed away from complications of pneumonia last month. 

She was a widow for many years, and outlived all her friends, yet she didn’t sit home, longing for the good old days. One could easily feel very alone in her situation and become depressed, but instead, she had the energy level of a 30 year old. Those who knew her said she was always laughing and shared her joy with others. Not knowing anything about Virginia’s personal faith, there is a faith lesson for all of us to learn from her example. 

She unknowingly followed King Solomon’s advice, never dwelling on the old days or comparing how much harder things are now than in the past. She lived in a present day state of mind, just as Jesus told us to do, when He said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:34)

So, Solomon advised us not to dwell on the past and Jesus advised us not to dwell on the future. If we merge the example of Virginia with the advice of both Solomon and Jesus, it means cherishing today, finding things to be grateful for in the present, loving God and enjoying others while they are with us. I just call it “living in the now.”

This week, I checked on my son, Michael, whose wife filed for divorce a few weeks ago and left, taking their two children. Since then, many friends and family members have been praying for them, and Michael told me that he can feel those prayers, and is able to see God working through it all. 

Through faith and the prayers of many people, Michael seems to be living in the now. He and the children, 11 and 13, are all doing better and stay in touch with each other daily. Instead of dwelling on the past or thinking too far in the future, he is enjoying his children every day, and he told me they are going to the movie theater this week. He thanks those he doesn’t even know, who have been praying for him. 

King Solomon’s advice for a healthy, happy mind, body and soul is to be grateful for the good things in our lives today, by living in the now as Virginia did for 105 years. 

Psalm 118:24 tells us every day is from God, so “Let us be glad and rejoice in it.”

Living in the now means today is sacred, because it’s the day the Lord has given us to share our gifts, our love and our joy with all those who are with us.

Lord, give us the wisdom and energy to always live, love and serve in the now, every day of our lives. Amen

“For He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.”

Psalm 91:11 (NIV)

We all begin life with a personal guardian angel who is appointed to guard us from womb to tomb. Jesus talked about angels, who rejoice and celebrate one single person’s repentance. Scripture tells us about times when angels appeared to Isaiah, Elisha, Jacob, Gideon, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, and the apostle John.

Today’s verse says angels guard us in “all our ways.” Sometimes all our ways refers to a cause that goes beyond physical protection or saving lives. Angels work on our behalf in any way that will prepare us for eternal life. They are sent to lead us in the path that is best for our souls. They may inspire us to show mercy or prompt acts of rare courage in a crisis. Courage is a core virtue that every soul needs in order to stay faithful to God.

Agent Lillie Leonardi was the first FBI agent to arrive at the crash site of Flight 93, which was in a rural field of Shanksville, PA, on Sept. 11, 2001. All 44 people on board died, included the four Al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers. It was a little over an hour after the World Trade Center was struck by a different  plane. Lillie arrived to find the plane incinerated from the impact of the explosion. Smoke was everywhere, but she saw something in the smoke that she never expected to see.

The white misty smoke billowing in the air began to take shape, moving and swirling into patterns of white light across the field of the crash site. Hundreds of figures of angelic beings emerged out of the white mist. They were 8 to 10 feet tall, dressed in ancient Roman soldier attire. The tallest one led the group, holding a large sword, and then they all vanished.

Lillie is not a particularly religious person and being stunned by what she saw, she was hesitant to tell her two partners about it when they arrived. The three agents walked around the crash site, when they spotted a Bible on the ground which was not burnt at all, but perfectly intact, lying among the ashes. As they picked it up, a wind came from nowhere and blew the pages open to the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

With all the strange things that were happening, Lillie decided to tell her superior officer about the field of angels dressed as Roman soldiers. He believed her, but there was still more to learn about what happened on Flight 93 that day. 

Many of the passengers and crew members united together, trying to stop the four hijackers, who were in the cockpit trying to force the plane toward a specific target. Agents later suspected that they were aiming for a power plant in the area. Passengers Tod Beamer and Thomas Burnett Jr. were the two heroic men who led the passenger resistance, inspiring faith and courage all the way to the last moments of their lives. 

We know of these details only because several passengers and crew members called their loved ones one last time, in the fateful minutes before the crash, telling them that they were trying to stop the hijackers and were heading to the front of the plane. The plane then veered away from any power plants and crashed in a rural field.

The passengers on Flight 93 displayed a courage that seemed to be from another world, and because of their efforts, they averted a much greater disaster. Angels, whether seen or unseen, were on board that flight, inspiring Tod and Thomas as they led the struggle. 

How else could forty passengers and crew members find the grace to move into such bold action, instead of freezing in fear during such a terrifying event. It was later learned that the Bible which was found in the rubble belonged to Tod Beamer. The FBI agent who witnessed that field of angels, found a new personal faith in God.

Something sacred happened on Flight 93 that day, and though we mourn the loss of all lives, we know that an army of angels from Heaven joined with them in their heroic final moments. May those forty brave souls rest in the peace of God’s Presence forever. 

Lord, thank you for the gift of your angels, who faithfully help us in all our ways, by inspiring courage and faith in the hour of our need. Amen 

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1 (NIV)

I recently heard the testimony of a young lady from Virginia who had a history of depression after she survived being raped when she was seventeen. For years, she suffered attacks of anxiety with abdominal pain, and frequent visits to the ER, where she was  repeatedly diagnosed with panic attacks. 

Today she is in her early twenties, but recently became unconscious one day, going into cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital. She was stabilized but found to be in renal failure. While in the Intensive Care unit, she suddenly coded and was without a heart rate for 16 minutes. While being resuscitated and brought back, she had a vivid life altering near death experience.

She recalls being in a pleasant place with trees, grass, colorful flowers and a refreshing body of water. Then she noticed Jesus standing  beside her. He looked at her and said, “I love you so much, and you are mine.” She was stunned as He kept repeating those same words to her during her dream state between life and death. After being resuscitated, she woke up, and fully recovered. 

The words Savanna heard Jesus repeatedly saying were similar to some of the words in today’s scripture;

“I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” The words He spoke to her fit with much of what is written in scripture to all of us, so Jesus would say those same words to each one of us, as well. Everyone needs reminding that Jesus is telling us “You are Mine.”

Savanna also heard Jesus saying He loves her “so much.” He didn’t just say He loves her, but He added the words, “so much,” which fits with the gospel of John, that says, God “so loved” the world, that He gave His only son…”(John 3:16)

God doesn’t just love the world, but He loves it so much that He sent His son to demonstrate it. We may not hear the audible voice of Jesus speaking to us, but whatever is written in scripture can be personally received by any one of us. Jesus completely embodied the message of His Father’s love. That message of love is often missed, because the noise and clamor of this world drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our spirit every day. 

Most of us don’t get to see Jesus or hear his voice but when Savanna was unconscious and her life lied in the balance, her mind was totally shut down, while her spirit was yielded to God, so that Jesus could speak to her spirit not her mind. 

He speaks to our spirit as we yield to Him. He speaks to us whenever we pray, hear or read scripture, read inspirational books and He also speaks to us through the words and actions of others people. In special cases, Jesus may go to extreme measures in order to speak His truth to someone’s spirit. The clarity of God’s love seems to be more lucid during a near death experience. 

The Spirit of God speaks to our spirit, that He so loves us and we belong to Him, but that message is frequently drowned out by the noise, chaos and distractions of this world. 

Savanna died for 16 minutes, when Jesus stepped in to get her attention. He knew what she needed and she responded to Him. Savanna was healed but she received a gift much greater than the healing of her body. She received the healing of her soul, and now she knows that Jesus always has and always will love her.

God so loves us and has shown the magnitude of His love through Jesus, in everything He said and did on this earth. The Lord will occasionally go to great lengths to persuade people of one eternal truth – that we belong to Him who always has and still does, love us “so much.” 

Lord, thank you for loving us and calling us your own. Help us to yield our spirit to you, so that we may clearly hear you speak to us. Amen

“On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 

Genesis 22:4-7 (NIV)

The sacrifice of Isaac by his father, Abraham, is one of the most prophetic images concealed in scripture. Isaac carried the wood for sacrifice in obedience to his father and Jesus carried the wood of His cross, in obedience to His father. Isaac walked up Mount Moriah, unknowingly becoming the sacrifice, and Jesus walked up Golgotha, offering Himself as the final sacrifice for the world.

Isaac had full confidence in his father, expecting no harm to come to him, knowing his father loved him, and had his best interests at heart. Abraham could only do what he did, as a father, having total confidence in God to intervene if necessary. It’s what makes Abraham the patriarch of all Faiths. He had faith in the perfect goodness and love of God, his Heavenly Father.

I’m fascinated by two facts that I previously overlooked when reading this story. The words of Abraham to his servants reveal two very important truths:

Abraham told them, “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.” 

Abraham told the servants that he and his boy will “come back”, even though he knew he was going to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham’s words imply that he believed God could and would intervene or raise his boy from the dead, if necessary. 

Abraham served a God who he knew was good and righteous, and can restore life. We all know how the story ends, that an angel was sent in time to stop Abraham from going through with the sacrifice. 

The other truth revealed in Abraham’s words, is that sacrifice is a form of worship. He told his servants he was going up to the mountain to “worship” God, knowing full well that he was going there to sacrifice His son. For Abraham, sacrificing something or someone he loved is equivalent to worship. Lent is a period to remind us that whatever we sacrifice, give or do extra during these forty days is not for the mere purpose of self denial, but to demonstrate our love and worship to God. 

If worship only meant singing songs in church or reciting nice words of praise to God, we would forget the great cost of sacrifice that Jesus paid for us, and what sacrifice really means. This story reminds us that worship can be given in many forms of sacrifice. 

Abraham walked an uphill stride of Mount Moriah alone, leaving his servants behind. Sometimes we go through trials that feel like we’re on an uphill tread, while no one else can walk with us, except God. There are sacrifices that we make by choice, and others that are made by fate, which we have no control over, but Abraham shows us that giving more of ourselves to God is the spirit of worship. 

Paul explained this to the Roman church saying, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Mount Moriah is geographically in close proximity to the hill of Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. Moriah with Abraham foreshadows God’s plan of salvation coming through Jesus, later at the cross.

Abraham left his servants behind as he walked up Mount Moriah alone with Isaac. Jesus walked up the hill of Golgotha alone, and none of His disciples could go with him. Abraham believed God would come through, and that’s why he told his servants that he and Isaac would be back. Jesus similarly told His disciples that He would come back, rising from the dead on the third day. 

Young Isaac, Abraham and Jesus all had one common attitude that we can all live by, 

“What could go wrong with a Father who loves me so much?”

God, our Heavenly Father, loves us just as much and He wants the best for us. We can walk up our Mount Moriah with Jesus beside us, with hearts full of faith, worshipping our good God.

We shouldn’t assume that sacrifices and suffering are punishments, nor do we need instant deliverance from every problem, because Abraham shows us that sacrifices offered to God have always been the highest spiritual form of worship.

Lord, we offer up any losses or sacrifices that we have gone through as our spiritual service of worship to you, knowing nothing can go wrong with a good Father who loves us so much. Amen

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)

Three years ago when my son  had a motorcycle accident and was in a coma, I went to the bank to drop off guardianship papers. I was explaining the accident and his current condition to the bank clerk as she added me to his account as his legal guardian.

Afterwards when I exited the bank, a little elderly lady followed me out and stopped me to say she couldn’t help but overhear about my son’s accident. Then she asked me what his name is so that she could pray for him every day. I was surprised but touched by her compassion for a stranger. I told her Jon’s name, thanked her for her prayers, then we parted, and I never saw her again. 

I make very few trips to the lobby of that bank, since most of the banking is done on line. This week I needed to go into the bank lobby for a certain transaction. The bank clerk knows me and she asked how my son was doing. After I updated her, she told me that a certain bank customer still inquires about Jon, whenever she comes to the bank. It has to be the same lady that approached me three years ago. I was so surprised to hear that she is still praying for him all this time. 

I told the bank clerk to let the lady know that I really appreciate her prayers and that Jon is awake, walking, feeding himself, though not talking much, but has come a long way from being comatose, when she first heard about him. 

What kind of dedicated prayer warrior prays diligently for three years for someone she has never met? I remember the day that the lady approached me to ask his name. For a moment, I wondered if she was a real person or an angel in disguise, just sent to comfort me. Now I know that she’s not only a real person but a person God must have inspired to pray for and bless total strangers.

Once again, I left that bank feeling especially blessed. I felt as if God was reaffirming His unfailing love and compassion for Jon and me. It had to be God who stirred that lady’s heart to pray in the first place. That, to me, is nothing less than a sign and affirmation of God’s unfailing love. 

There are times when we face situations that seems like what was once stable and smooth sailing, suddenly becomes unstable and shaken, but God’s love for us is never shaken. We still believe during those unstable times but occasionally the Lord chooses to send us a sign that affirms His unfailing love and covenant of peace, which can never be shaken or removed. 

Prayer accomplishes so much, and I am also thankful to the many friends who have been praying for Jon for years. It seems that the longer we live, we learn that God enjoys reaffirming His faithfulness to us by blessing us through other people. 

Lord, we praise and thank you for sending us signs of your unfailing love and peace, always affirming that we will never be shaken. Amen

“He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

John 21:17 (NAB)

This conversation took place after the resurrection when Jesus was making appearances to several people over forty days. He went to Peter, asking him three times in a row if he loved Him, and Peter told Jesus, “Lord, you already know.”

Jesus did already know, so why did He still ask him three times in a row? We don’t know for sure, but maybe Peter was still paralyzed by his shame of denying Jesus. Whatever unworthiness Peter felt over his past, Jesus wasn’t interested in the past, only whether he loved Him in that present moment.

Jesus never brought up Peter’s previous failures, because He moves among us in the present tense. We tend to obsess over our past more than God ever does. By asking Peter three times in a row, Jesus seemed to be saying, 

“Forget the past, do you love me today? Then let’s move forward with the good plans I have for you.”

In another questioning moment, the disciples were telling Jesus what the crowd was saying about Him, and Jesus brought the question back to the disciples, asking, 

“But who do you say that I am?”

He wasn’t interested in the whole crowd’s opinion, but wanted to know what was in their hearts. Jesus cares about each of our personal convictions of faith, because He desires a one on one relationship with each of us. 

Next, Jesus encountered a paralyzed man at the healing pool of Bethesda, and asked another question in which the answer was obvious,

“Do you want to be healed ?” Instead of saying a direct and simple “yes, Lord”, the man proceeded to ramble on about the 38 years that no one helped him into the pool, and how others went in first, and why he was never healed. Jesus ignored his long story about his past and said,

“Pick up your mat and walk.”

God already knows our story, He knows all of our disappointments, failures and losses, but He calls us to the present moment, instead of dwelling on past hurts. When we live in the present, the Lord can move us forward to healing, salvation and new opportunities. That’s what it means to spiritually pick up our mat and start walking. 

In reflecting on all three questions that Jesus asked in the stories above, the desired answer is:

“Yes Lord, I love you, I believe you are the Son of God, and I do want to be healed.” Those are essential answers to essential questions. 

Jesus always leads us to forgive, to be forgiven, to receive inner healing, and to become His messenger of healing for others. 

It begins by moving us from a stagnant place in the past to today’s opportunity to embrace our full potential.

God is writing a beautiful story, and we are all part of it. As we begin this period of Lent, now is the time to answer His questions, pick up our mat and walk in the Spirit by God’s grace.

Lord, help us to always remain in the present with you, that we may answer your questions, be healed and move forward, to be blessed and to bless others. Amen