Kissed by the Spirit

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;”

Job 13:15 (NIV)

Since no author is identified as  being the writer of the book of Job, some think the story is an allegory, doubting Job was an actual person, but scholars from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all recognize Job as an actual person, a wealthy and godly man who lived long ago, and suffered many hardships. 

Ezekiel and James’ epistle, both list Job along with other righteous believers like Daniel, Noah, Elijah and Abraham. Job had a faithful relationship with God, who in turn, blessed him in every area of his life. Everything seemed to be going great for Job and his family, until the “accuser” shows up in the story.

Satan wanders before the throne of God and a conversation ensues. God asked him where he’s been and Satan replied,

“Roaming the earth and patrolling it.” (Job 1:7)

He wasn’t asked to patrol the earth, but he does it for his own reasons. In the book of Revelation, Satan is given the title of “accuser of the brethren”,  and the story of Job demonstrates it. Satan’s motive was to bring Job down, to prove that he wasn’t the man of faith that God thought he was. 

Satan is the founder of gossip and slander, and though he’s good at it, he wasn’t smart enough to realize that God is all-knowing, and knows the hearts of all people. Satan snidely tells God that Job is only faithful because he has wealth, health and happiness, but would curse God if he lost any of these. We can see why Satan has the title of the “accuser of the brethren.” 

Whether that conversation between God and Satan actually took place, is not known, since no one was at God’s throne, to come back and verify it. We do know that God knows every person’s heart, while Satan only thinks he does.

Job’s losses began with a wildfire that destroyed thousands of his livestock and acres of land. Thieves from Chaldea plundered and took the rest of his flocks and herds. A tornado struck the area where all ten of his children were gathered, with their extended families, and he lost his entire family in one day, except for his wife who was with him. 

On top of losing all of his wealth and family, Job developed so many painful boils over his entire body, that his friends could hardly recognize him. His wife, whose faith was nothing like his, told him every day to just curse God and die. He told her that she talked like foolish people do, asking,

“Should we only accept good from God?” 

Job later said the most famous line in the whole story, 

“Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.”

Even if the mysterious poetic writer of Job embellished some parts of the story, all scripture as it is written, is inspired by God for us to learn from. God gave us the story of Job to teach us life sustaining truths and to correct false expectations about God. 

The book of Job is not a book for deciphering doctrinal truths of how Satan interacts with God or why bad things to happen to good people. It’s a book about a good and loving God, who will be more than enough for us, even if all Hell breaks loose in our lives. 

The main point of the book of Job is to teach us that the healthiest response we can have in the midst of suffering is to place our hope in God. Job made it through the worst days of his life, but through his story, we learn that if we trust and praise God in all the fires and storms, He will bring us through it with a sound mind and a soul that is heaven bound. 

There is a real enemy of our souls, who patrols and roams the earth, which is Satan, but Job reminds us of the power of endurance, hope and strength, that comes by totally surrendering to God, who loves us. 

Job knew that God was enough for him, and he summed it up by saying, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” 

Lord, we praise you for bringing us through every trial, please give us strength and faith to know that you are more than enough and will keep us faithful to the end. Amen

“….the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”

Romans 4:17 (RSV)

This simple verse of scripture alone can give us the faith to believe for almost anything. The words, 

“God gives life to the dead and calls into being, things that do not exist,” can pertain to any aspect of our lives that is perishing and needs a resurrection. Who doesn’t have something that needs to be brought back to life?

The Lord can bring life back to a dying marriage, a declining health situation and to people who’ve lost their faith. Jesus stood over Peter’s mother in law, and rebuked her fever, and the fever left her body immediately. She rose out of bed with a burst of energy, and began serving her house guests. We walk by faith, believing that Jesus is always standing over us.

I received sad news from my son Michael yesterday, that his wife filed for divorce and left him, taking with her, their two children, ages 11 and 13. This is a shock to all of us in the family. We never saw it coming and my son was also totally blindsided. He is devastated and I pray for him, their marriage, but especially for strength for my grandchildren who love their dad. I ask for prayer since this has left us all reeling.

Whenever I need to re-anchor my faith, and believe for God’s intervention in a devastating situation like this, I remind myself of the miracles that God has done in the past for me and other people I know. 

I’m thinking of a miraculous healing of a man named Tom in my previous church. He had surgery to remove a tumor that was between his neck and shoulder, but woke up from surgery with a paralyzed arm. 

In removing the tumor, the surgeon accidentally severed his nerves, which left irreversible damage. They tried performing corrective surgery and physical therapy, but he had no recovery of his arm function. 

Thinking he would have a paralyzed arm for the rest of his life, Tom was praying about this  one day, when he opened a bible, and saw the words, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you.”  (Psalm 50:15) 

Those words stood out as if they were highlighted and shining.

Tom felt a surge of faith to believe God for healing. Shortly afterward, he heard about a healing prayer service scheduled to take place at a church in the city. 

Tom went to the healing service, and the sermon theme was about how forgiveness must precede healing. Faith moves mountains, but healing flows when we forgive others, so in his heart, Tom forgave his surgeon for the injury he suffered. 

Tom and many other people were prayed for at that prayer service, and when hands were laid on him, his pain disappeared immediately, but his paralysis remained-until a week later. One night while he was asleep, a male voice woke him up saying that he was sent to heal him. Tom felt himself touched by some heavenly being, though he saw no one. He was suddenly able to move his arm as he could do before his injury.

The damaged nerves in his body were regenerated by the power of God. Tom has had no deficits ever since then, and his physical therapists and doctors have no explanation for his amazing recovery. He is a man of faith who would love and trust God whether he was healed or not, but to this day, he tells his miracle story, giving God the credit and all the glory. 

God is almighty and able to bring something out of nothing. He brings dead nerves back to life, restores life and love to dead marriages, brings faith to those who stopped believing, and can heal every physical or mental health illness in our bodies. We place all our hope and trust in Him. 

Lord, thank you for bringing life to what was once dead, and calling into existence that which did not exist. Jesus, please send resurrection power into our lives to save, heal and restore us. Amen

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:8-12 (NASB)

Have you ever had deep regrets about something and mumbled to yourself, things like:

“What was I thinking?, “Why did I trust him?”, or “Why did I confide in her?”, “What made me do that?”, or “Why didn’t I say this or that when I had the chance?”

We have all had experiences where we were hurt by someone we trusted or might have hurt others by our careless words. If we live long enough, there will always be something in our past  to have regrets over, making us wish we could go back and do it over. 

What about God? Does He ever regret His faithfulness to us, or regret showing us His mercy?

These verses from Psalm 103 tell us that He does not. God abounds in lovingkindness. He removes our sins as far as the East is from the West. That means it’s a done deal, and He doesn’t regret it. God is willing to forgive us of anything that we confess to Him. He tells us that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5)

Thankfully, He never has second thoughts or thinks, “This person has screwed up once too often, so I’m done with him or her.” God never stops pursuing us, never stops believing in us and loves us all unconditionally. He has no regrets because it’s His nature to be, “slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.” The heart of God is perpetually full of love, and love leads to mercy, and mercy gives us everlasting hope.

This Psalm is a description of grace, which is defined as God’s unmerited favor toward us. His anger is for a moment but His lovingkindness is everlasting. Instead of giving us what we deserve, He pours out favor and grace upon us, and that’s what unmerited favor looks like. 

David wrote the words in this Psalm by the inspiration of the Spirit, and if anyone has experienced a lifetime of God’s grace, David has. He struggled in making some bad choices and committed serious sins, during his lifetime walk with God. 

We all stumble, sin and make mistakes, but God’s grace raises us up over and over again. While talking to a wise lady in my church, she reminded me that everyone is doing the best they can. As I thought about her words, isn’t that how we all want God to see us-as doing the best we can?

Therefore, if we choose to look at others as we want God to look at us, instead of criticizing them, we can choose to see them as doing the best they can. Wisdom is seeing things from Jesus’ point of view, and He said that the way we judge others, is how we will be judged. (Matthew 7:2)

To trust in Jesus and confess our faults, is doing the best we can, and God, who knows all of our imperfections, forgives us without any regrets. He continues loving and believing in us,showing us mercy, and then He expects us to do the same toward others.

While writing this meditation, I overheard a TV interview with a Christian Neuroscientist regarding faith and the brain. She made a complex subject easy to grasp, explaining that research shows that our brains have what scientists call neuroplasticity. This means that wherever we direct our attention, is where the neurons, or nerve cells of our brain will continue to grow and reorganize positively, even after an injury.

This scientific finding supports the belief that a person of faith can grow new neurons, and can renew and transform their perspective by willfully directing their attention to faith in God through prayer or scripture study. 

The negative thoughts of regret or criticism need not overcrowd our minds, because if God has no regrets in loving and forgiving us, then we should have no regrets either, in forgiving others as well as ourselves. God created our brains with Neuroplasticity, so that we can make new brain cells and literally renew our minds through Christ. 

Lord, thank you for having no regrets in loving and forgiving us, and free us of all regret, by renewing our minds as we focus on your lovingkindness and mercy. Amen

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

These are some of my favorite words, spoken by Jesus in the gospels. His words are personal enough that we can read them, close our eyes and imagine Him standing in front of us with arms outstretched, saying, “Come and give me everything that is worrying you.” Who could resist such a compassionate plea?

Yet we still end up carrying our burdens instead of giving them to Jesus. There’s a common Yiddish word for that kind of carrying, which is to “schlep.” It refers to dragging and hauling heavy baggage around. Having grown up in a very Jewish neighborhood of Chicago, I regularly heard this term used in daily conversations by my Jewish friends. They might say, “ I can’t schlep any more than this,” or “This is too much to schlep.”

I grew up in a three flat apartment building which my parents owned. Since it’s easier for a landlord to rent the first or second floor apartment than a third floor, in a building without an elevator, the landlord’s family ends up living in the hard to rent, third floor unit. Needless to say, my family and I did a lot of “schlepping”, up and down three flights of stairs. We schlepped all kinds of heavy things, like groceries, furniture, laundry, school books, household items and our own bodies.

Carrying heavy burdens around in the spiritual sense can be considered spiritual schlepping, which is an encumbrance of the soul. The bible refers to spiritual schlepping except it uses different words. It warns us to “stay sober” and guard against spiritual lethargy. We are to keep building on the foundation of our faith, who is Jesus, the rock, but schlepping can misdirect our focus towards other foundations. 

We are warned by Peter and Paul;

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

 (1 Peter 5:8)

“So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:6)

When we don’t remain sober and awake spiritually, we end up over encumbered and constantly schlepping. We have two options, either to keep on schlepping or to give it all to Jesus. It’s easy to forget that He is always asking us to come and give our burdens to Him. 

So what are the burdens which spiritually encumber us and lead us to schlepping?

One common burden is being too busy. When our agenda is so packed and hectic, our busyness becomes the baggage that we schlep. When my twins were three years old, I took an art job that I thought would be easy to do from home. 

It wasn’t as easy as I thought with twin toddlers. They started acting out and getting into mischief beyond the norm for any toddler. One day I called out to them from my desk where I was drawing, and said, “You are both acting like you’re not the same boys!” Then my three year old son, Michael, answered, “You’re not the same mommy.” When a schedule finds no time for Jesus or family, then it’s too hectic. God can speak through a toddler at times, and I was clearly encumbered and schlepping more than I could handle. 

Another burden is distraction. A distraction can be anything that has all of our attention but leaves the Lord completely out of it. It’s easy to schlep distractions like anger and unforgiveness, so that we miss out on what God is trying to say to us. Jesus asks us to take His yoke upon us in order to find rest for our souls. By schlepping distracting thoughts around with us, our souls miss out on the true rest that Jesus gives.

Another burden that we schlep along with us is false guilt and shame. Jesus has forgiven us, but other people’s condemning words and self condemning thoughts may get stuck in our minds and weigh us down with baggage which has already been washed away, but we are schlepping it around anyway.

The last thing that is schlepped are the expectations which we place on ourselves. When we compare ourselves to others or to what we used to be, or what we think we should be, it all becomes baggage that we are schlepping. It weighs us down, so that we don’t look up and see how much we are loved by God just as we are. When we stop schlepping the false expectations, and lean into how wonderful God has uniquely wired each one of us, we will find the rest that finally unencumbers our souls.

It’s helpful to periodically ask the questions, 

“Am I schlepping more than I need to carry? Have I given my heavy burdens to Jesus? Once we do, there’s a shower of blessing in store, because His yoke is always easier and His burden is much lighter than what we put upon ourselves. 

Lord, we surrender to you, all our anxieties, our burdens and the thoughts we have schlepped for too long, and we receive your gentle rest for our souls. Amen

“The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”

John 5:22-23 (NIV)

A Franciscan priest from NY, Father Benedict Groeschel, is a speaker with a rerun TV show that I enjoy listening to from time to time. It’s amusing to hear him speak in typical New Yorker style, even when he is teaching spiritual truths. He once said, “God is not a chump”, as he stressed the importance of giving the respect and reverence that God deserves. Only a New Yorker could make a point about faith using those words. 

One day he told a true story about his own family. His mother died when he and his brother were young and his brother was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of twelve. His father was a believer and raised his boys as a single parent, while he grieved the loss of his wife for years. The boys grew up, and the diabetic son was an atheist since the age of twelve, while his other son entered full time ministry, as a Franciscan friar with a psych degree and a TV ministry.

One day, the aging father was talking to his friar son about heaven, and asked how he could be sure he would find their mother when he gets to heaven. He asked many questions, like how souls without bodies, will be able to recognize and communicate with their loved ones in heaven. 

Fr. Groeschel assured his dad that he would be united with his mom again and that there is constant communication in heaven. 

Soon afterward, His father suffered a brain aneurysm and became terminally ill, lying unconscious in an ICU bed. 

While Fr. Groeschel traveled to be with his dying father, his brother, who lived nearby, was at his bedside continuously. 

His father never did wake up again but before he died, a change of facial expression came over his face. His son witnessed his face suddenly change into a big smile. Then his father stopped breathing and passed away in peace, with that smile on his face. The atheist son immediately knew that his dad had just entered the realm of heaven, probably saw Jesus, but definitely saw his wife who he lovingly missed for years. 

As his son witnessed his father die happy and in peace, he was convinced that God, Heaven and the afterlife is real. His faith was restored and he shared what happened with his Friar brother, when he arrived after their father passed away. The atheist brother believed ever since then and told his brother that he had committed the rest of his life to Christ. Sadly, six months later, he died suddenly, and Fr. Groeschel had lost both his father and his brother within six months time. In spite of his loss, he knew that God’s providence was working all along in his brother’s life. 

According to His own timing, God has a special way of giving someone a heart to know Him, by restoring faith in those who’ve grown indifferent towards Him. When a person realizes that souls live after physical death, that this life is a mere dress rehearsal for the eternal one, it opens our eyes to the unseen world of faith around us, and brings a fresh awareness of God’s love and Presence in our lives.  

God’s love reminds us of loved ones who believed and went on before us, and of the rich meaning that heaven holds for them as well as for our friends and family living today. 

Lord, we pray to keep the faith and that special smiles in special moments will give others a heart to know you and fill their hunger with your truth. Amen 

“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: 

Be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 (NIV)

Jesus had the Mission of all missions, in reconciling the whole world to God, when He became the sacrificed Lamb for mankind.

Every Christian has a mission or many missions to accomplish as ambassadors for Christ during  our lifetime. Paul describes us as Christ’s ambassadors, who are called to inspire all those around us to be reconciled to God. There are different ways to fulfill a mission like that. It could mean setting an example of kindness by going the extra mile for someone, or it might require something more, that will save a life or a soul.

During my youth, I remember watching the popular TV show, Mission Impossible, which started out with an anonymous voice on a tape recorder that described a particular mission to the secret agent, and then it said, 

“Should you choose to accept this mission…….”

We all have the choice to accept a mission or not, since God won’t force anyone to do His will. I just heard a true story about someone who not only accepted a mission but saved a life. 

A healthy man in his early sixties had a massive heart attack while he was driving one morning. Public video cameras captured his car veering off the road, going between cars, trees and light poles, until finally slamming into the side of a commercial building. Miraculously, no other person or car was hit or injured.

There was a young doctor on his way to work that morning, who just happened to be driving right behind that man. He saw the car veer out of control and then crash. He stayed behind him, pulled him out of his vehicle, and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. 

That doctor accomplished an unexpected mission that day. He had to continue the CPR for ten minutes before the man’s heart finally restarted. The most unusual part of the story is that both men took alternate routes that day to avoid heavier traffic. 

It seems they were meant to be on that same road, at the same time that day. The man survived his heart attack and had no brain injury from not breathing for so long. He later met the doctor who saved his life and thanked him, calling him his angel. 

There is another story about an unexpected mission that was accomplished by a man named Maximillian Kolbe. He was a 47 year old priest living in Poland, during the Nazi occupation. He used to publish a newspaper that spoke out against the Nazis, which eventually got him placed in a concentration camp, where he continued to share his faith and inspire other prisoners. 

One day a random prisoner was pulled from the camp to be killed, as an example to discourage other prisoners from escaping. Maximillian Kolbe realized that day, what his mission was in being sent to Auschwitz. He stepped forward and offered himself in place of the young man, who was about to be killed.

The Nazi officer was at first shocked but he had Kolbe taken away, where he was given a lethal injection, and died. The young man’s life was spared and he was sent back to his camp until he was freed after the war, and returned to his family. He told the story of what Fr. Kolbe did for him until he was 97 years old when he died.

Kolbe’s mission seemed like an impossible one to comprehend but God gave him the courage for the mission he was called to. It’s mysterious how certain events can bring two strangers together and a mission emerges out of a dire need. That’s what happened with both of these stories. God still uses regular, everyday people just like us to bring a light into a stranger’s life and fulfill a mission, that makes a difference forever. 

Not everyone is called to a mission of exchanging their life for a total stranger’s. Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ, as God makes an appeal through us, the church, for the reconciliation of the world. Our mission could be as simple as listening to a lonely person who has no other friends, or it may be one that helps someone in a moment of crisis.

Whatever the mission may be, it’s best illustrated by the famous painting of Jesus standing and knocking on a door which has no outside handle. That’s because the door of our heart can only be opened from the inside by us. Only we can open the door and choose to accept the mission Jesus is calling us to. 

Lord, thank you for all missions, great and small, and we continue to open our door to whatever you have for us as your ambassadors in this world. Amen

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1 (RSV)

There are three words that I say way too often, which are not of faith, and definitely not pleasing to God. No, they’re not swear words, although I am guilty of that too. It’s the three word phrase, 

“I give up.” Whenever I become overwhelmed and frustrated, it’s the first phrase that flies out of my mouth. It’s worse than swearing because it’s an expression of total faithlessness coming straight from the heart, through my lips. I try to catch myself before saying it, but it still slips out.  

God rewards faith, but He doesn’t reward giving up. The phrase “I give up” doesn’t even exist in the language of faith, because it’s a language of heroes.

There are many kinds of heroes to admire. There are war heroes, civil rights heroes, first responder heroes, sports heroes, Super Bowl  heroes and not one of them utters the phrase “I give up.” Heroes of faith are believers who speak the language of faith fluently. They believe, speak and act in faith, not based on what they see, but on what is unseen. 

The 11th chapter of Hebrews is known as the “Hall of Faith” chapter. By reading the 40 verses of this chapter, it summarizes the heroes of faith throughout the bible, and the words “I give up” were never part of their vocabulary. 

By faith, Noah started a massive building project to save him and his family from a destructive flood that God warned him of. Building the ark took a lot of work, sweat, and perseverance, while the whole time, Noah’s neighbors mocked him daily, since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. In spite of it all, Noah never said “I give up.”

By faith, after hearing God call him out, Abraham left his home town to travel to a new “promised land” where his descendants would form a brand new nation. He had no idea where that promised land was, but he started walking anyway. Then he married Sarah and believed God, waiting for descendants until he was 100 years old, and finally had a son of his own. In all those years, Abraham never said “I give up.”

Moses’ mother hid her baby boy at home for the first three months, from Pharaoh’s assassins, but she finally decided it was safer to place him in a waterproof basket, and send him floating down the Nile River. Three month old baby Moses looked at his mother from inside the basket, with his arms outstretched, but to save his life, she sent him down the Nile River, by faith, and never once said, 

“I give up.”

Joshua followed God’s unusual orders to march around the walls of Jericho, blowing ram’s horns for seven days and then give a victory shout. After marching six times around, nothing happened, but on the seventh day, the ground opened up and the walls collapsed straight into the ground. Archeologists found the ancient remnants of the city of Jericho and the relics of the walls give evidence that the ground opened up and the walls fell straight down into the earth, instead of falling outward. Thankfully, Joshua never said, “I give up.”

I may sound redundant but it’s to inspire my own faith, so that I would speak the language of faith more fluently. It’s a language that is foreign to carnal minds, since carnal minds live by their senses. If I believe only what my senses perceive, through hearing, sight taste, touch or smell, then no faith is involved. 

Faith has nothing to do with our senses, because faith is the assurance of what is not seen, nor what is heard, tasted, touched or smelled. Faith speaks into being, what we don’t see, because it originates within our spirit, not our mind. Jesus often said, “Your faith has made you well,” or “Be it done according to your faith.” Faith accomplishes what the natural mind cannot, and it’s a language that every human being can speak, though at different levels of fluency. 

The beauty of faith is that it’s a language that turns God’s head, raises His eyebrows and makes Him smile. We know this because that’s how Jesus responded to people of faith that He met. It’s a language that also calms storms, moves mountains and resurrects the dead. Knowing how pleasing our faith is to God, that should forever motivate us. In the faith chapter we are told, 

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Many heroes of faith endured mockery, torture, imprisonment or death. Some were delivered before being killed, and others refused deliverance, in order to obtain an eternal reward. Despite the challenge, heroes of faith left an example for us to follow. They lived and spoke the language of faith, inspiring us to “Never give up!”

Lord, teach us the language and vocabulary of an enduring faith that won’t give up, that is storm proof, fear proof and reaps eternal rewards. Amen

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NASB)

This scripture was read in church last weekend and it made me think about the words that God has, “chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

People who follow Jesus, putting His teachings first, may find themselves ridiculed or called foolish by today’s standards, as it was in past history. Jesus assures us that in the end, God will exalt the humble and humble those who exalt themselves. 

Yet, it doesn’t always appear this way when we look at the world around us. Instead, it seems that the powerful exalt themselves, have no shame and get away with everything, while the weak and lowly can barely find justice. 

If we look back at the first century culture when Jesus lived, the world at the time, didn’t accept that all people were created equal. Slavery was prevalent for centuries and was common in many nations at the time. Religious authorities excluded certain ethnic groups from being a part of their community, and it was unheard of for Jewish rabbis to include women among their disciples. Rabbis in the first century allowed male only audiences at their public teachings, but Jesus was a complete revolutionary of his time. 

He had women following His ministry, gave them roles of service, and included them as He taught all His disciples. It caused Jesus to stand out among the Rabbis before Him. Being the divine son of God, He not only performed miracles, but His whole way of thinking was completely outside the culture and thinking of His time.

Jesus took what people thought of as weak, and showed that the weak will shame the strong. He elevated and dignified those who were the least respected in society. He showed that God sees people from the heart, not according to birth status, gender, or cultural privilege, and that we are all equally children of the Most high God. 

Jesus broke many cultural rules of His time, especially in His treatment of women. He was not offended by the hemorrhaging woman, who touched the edge of His garment, or by the woman who poured all her fragrant oil upon His head, or the scandalous woman who washed His feet with her tears. Others were highly offended by these women who all violated some cultural rule in their approach to Jesus. 

The woman who was bleeding was forbidden by Jewish law to touch anyone, much less a man, causing anyone she touched to be unclean, requiring isolation and a ritual bath. 

The woman who was once a known neighborhood prostitute repented, but shocked every bystander, to see her handling Jesus’ feet, kissing and bathing them in her tears. 

The woman who poured her whole jar of rare fragrant oil, worth one year’s wages, upon Jesus’ head, was considered to be a fool and extravagantly wasteful. Despite the outrage of onlookers, Jesus praised all of these women for their faith, love and acts of adoration towards Him. 

The Samaritan woman at the well was from an ethnic group considered to be half breeds, who were not aligned with all of the Mosaic teachings, so that her people were unworthy to have full status as Israelites. Jesus spent a long time alone with her at the well, just talking to her. It was unheard of for an observant Jewish Rabbi to be alone talking to a strange woman, much less a Samaritan. 

Jesus continually shocked His disciples and the entire crowd of observers, by permitting women to break their rules, customs and cultural traditions. Jesus did what today’s scripture describes. He took what was thought of as the foolish or weak things to confound those who considered themselves wise and strong. To women labeled as outcasts for certain reasons, Jesus showed them dignity and esteemed them as daughters of God. He caused everyone to rethink the rules, traditions and customs of the day. 

God, through His son, lavished His love and grace upon those who were thought by society to be the foolish, weak, lowly and nobodies of the world. Jesus made people stop and question their rules and customs, comparing each one to God’s way of thinking. 

We are all somewhat influenced by cultural rules and popular trends of our current society, but Jesus teaches us how to think outside of our culture, and to put His teachings first. The gospels show us who Jesus is, and what He taught, but most of all it shows us how valuable people are in God’s eyes. 

Jesus wants everyone to know that background, gender and past mistakes do not define who a person is. We are all sons and daughters of the living God, who showed us His unconditional love through Jesus. God chooses in much different ways than people do. 

Lord, touch every person who may be feeling inadequate, unseen or alone today and exalt them with assurance of your love for us as sons and daughters. Amen 

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:6-7 (RSV)

I think we all have a tendency to underestimate God’s interest in the details of our lives. It’s hard to process Jesus saying that God knows the exact number of hairs on our heads. After all, He must be far too busy to care about small details like that. 

It’s easier to believe that God cares more about getting us all into heaven, than being interested in the details of our daily lives. Yet, scripture, biology, astronomy and all of nature prove that God is very interested in the details of our daily lives. 

The first five books of the Bible are filled with details of how to arrange and handle every sacred object on the altar of God’s temple; the menorah candlesticks, the holy bread of the Presence, the ark of the covenant, the curtain, incense and the various offerings. God had specific requirements about all these details, and if He cares about the details of temple worship, how much more does He care about the details of our lives, since we are the temples of the Holy Spirit. 

When God decided to have Jesus become a human being, He thought out every detail of the plan. He chose to have the Son of God conceived in the womb of a woman-but not just any woman, but an unmarried Jewish virgin, and not just any virgin, but Mary, who He created with the qualities and characteristics that He wanted in the mother of His son. That alone required attention to detail. 

Out of all the nations in the world to be born in, He chose a tiny land in the Middle East, no larger than the state of New Jersey. Of all the various ethnic cultures, nations, kingdoms and races on the earth, He wanted His son to be born of Hebrew lineage with a family ancestry linked to Abraham, and specifically from the tribe of Judah. 

Not only did God have in mind the particular tribe, place, culture, mother, and father to raise His beloved son, but the God of details also selected His son’s name, and told Mary to name Him Jesus, – “Yeshua,” meaning salvation in Hebrew.

It was part of His detailed plan that Mary and Joseph live in a poor town of Nazareth, and raise His only son devoutly in the Jewish faith, in accordance with the writings of Moses and the prophets. He wore a prayer shawl garment with tassels at the edge, and adhered to all the prayers, customs, holidays and festival observances. God selected a culture that was full of details to raise His only son in, as if details really mattered to Him. 

Dates are the other details that matter to God. The Passover lamb was to be slain on the 14th day of the month of Nissan, a spring time date on the Hebrew calendar. Historians and archeologists can verify that Jesus was crucified and died exactly on the 14th day of Nissan, or April 3, 33 A.D. He became the final Passover lamb, dying on the designated date given to His chosen people.

Regarding the many fascinating details of dates, the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27:51-52, mentions an earthquake that shook the ground at the exact moment Jesus gave up His life on the cross. 

The International Geology Review published evidence of seismic activity located 13 miles away from Jerusalem, that happened on the exact date that Jesus died. That would explain the rumbling earthquake that the gospel writers recorded, which tore the temple veil, split rocks and mysteriously opened graves.

How awesome to have science, history, geology, astronomy and scripture all correlate on the day of His crucifixion. Almighty God is in all the details, and He cares about the details of our lives as well. When I find myself thinking God wouldn’t care about some details in my life, then my thinking is too small. God is big enough to know the details of every human being on earth, and loves us enough to show us He cares.

We might as well acknowledge Him in all our ways, since He already knows all of our ways. He knows the number of hairs on our head, and all the thoughts in our mind. He knows our worries, our fears, and our deepest hopes, at every moment of the day. He is a big God, and if we can open our minds to grasp how big He is, we will discover as Jesus once said, “With God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 18:26)

Lord, thank you for caring about all details, and for the beauty of your detailed plan of salvation. As your eye is on each sparrow, your eye is also on each of us today and always. Amen

“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

John 2:11 (NIV)

The bridal party was the platform used to first introduce Jesus as Messiah to the public. A crowd of wedding guests watched as He performed the first miracle of His ministry at the wedding in Cana. It all began with an embarrassing moment of running out of wine at a wedding reception. Jesus told the staff of waiters to fill all the large vessels with water and then He changed the water into wine.  

Commentaries on this section of scripture say that the total amount of wine in those vessels was about twenty to thirty gallons. Whether all the water  was changed instantly or it changed as it was drawn into pitchers, is not known for certain. What we do know, is that turning water into wine, was the miracle used to first introduce who Jesus really was. His disciples had no doubts once they saw with their eyes, common water turned into wine. 

I would have liked to know how He did it. I wonder if Jesus held His hand over the water in the vessels as Moses held his staff over the sea when it parted. Or did He speak to the water inside those vessels and command it to become wine, the way He spoke to the stormy sea and made it become calm. Maybe he just directed the waiters to draw the water out, and it became wine, in the same way He told Peter to recast his net into the sea, and it overflowed with fish. 

God does amazing things in and through water. Water is the most ordinary every day element, but when God manifests His glory over it, extraordinary things happen. The wine that Jesus made from water at that wedding, was extraordinarily high quality wine. It was so good that the head waiter questioned why it wasn’t served first. 

The water turning to wine was  symbolic of people who surrender themselves to God in faith. Every apostle that Jesus chose was an example of the ordinary becoming extraordinary. Peter wasn’t chosen because of his saintly nature. He was an ordinary man with an impulsive personality, a bad temper, and was intimidated by public opinion. When he was under pressure, being questioned, he denied knowing Jesus altogether.

In spite of Peter’s weaknesses, he had many gifts, which came out later as he was transformed into a bold, charismatic church leader and preacher. He led the early church with resilient faith, all the way to his own martyrdom. 

There were many other disciples who followed Peter with a similar transformation. Whatever faults we have, God can do anything in any person’s life, when they give Him their empty vessels to fill with wine as He chooses.

Whenever I used to read scripture, I would jot down notes in a journal, of what I thought God was saying to me. I kept these notes and read them from time to time, but never expected to ever share what I wrote with others. Until 2020, writing, for me, was a hidden treasure, discovered during my journey in the wilderness soon after becoming a widow.

Since then, I have been writing a scripture based meditation every morning, hoping to publish a book of meditations, after gathering fifty of my favorite ones. The title will be “Kissed by the Spirit; 50 days of comfort after loss.“ When I prayed about a name for my book, I woke up at 1 am with that title in my mind. For now, I place each day’s meditation on a website which is also called Kissedbythespirit.com

It seemed that during that period in my life, God turned water into wine. We are all like ordinary water, that is transformed, time and again, into quality wine, as often as we surrender ourselves to Jesus. We first need to offer Him our vessel of water, for Him to transform it into a vessel of wine. 

Jesus used wine as His first miracle because wine represents celebration and joy. Whatever sorrow we go through, He waits to restore our joy, once we surrender our vessel to Him. His joy is not a giddy shallow happiness, but a deep confidence within our soul that God loves us, is always with us, and restores our joy in the morning. When we live in that assurance, we will never again  remain ordinary. 

When we seek the purposes of God, He changes the ordinary into extraordinary. To Him who is able to accomplish far more than we could ever ask or imagine, by His power working within us, may He be glorified forever. 

(Ephesians 3:20-22)

Lord, we surrender ourselves to you, to transform our ordinary into extraordinary, changing us from water to wine, so that your power may work freely within us. Amen