Month: February 2023

“One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side.”

John 13:23  (NAB)

John, the apostle, describes himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. His identifying feature was leaning on Jesus and laying His head on His chest.
Imagine identifying yourself not by name, but by your posture with Jesus. This is how John wanted to be known and remembered, and maybe he also wanted his readers to find the deeper meaning in their own posture with Jesus. Our posture with Jesus is how we see ourselves being loved by Him. It reflects the self esteem of our soul.
We cannot physically lean on Jesus today, but we can visualize ourselves doing so through prayer and meditation. When you close your eyes to imagine yourself with Jesus, what is your posture? You may see yourself laying your head on His chest or kneeling down before Him. Whether you see yourself standing, sitting or kneeling, your posture with Jesus is a place of safety and security. Since He considered us worthy to suffer and die for, He desires our postural response to reflect intimacy as John’s did. When He took our sins upon Himself, He also took all of our anxieties, and exchanged it all for His peace.
He invites us to cast all our cares upon Him, and it starts with the posture of our soul. Jesus told us to come to Him as children, uninhibited and trusting. He receives us with gentleness because He is the gentle Lamb of God.
As you visualize your head laying on His chest, you are transferring all the worry and anxiety from your head to His heart. While your head is on His chest, you can hear His heart beat, and in this posture of listening to His heart, you find yourself caring about the things He cares about. His shoulders are broad enough and His heart is big enough for everyone to lean on.
You are now the disciple Jesus loves, and while you are leaning on Him, He turns to look at you. His eyes meet yours while you are resting peacefully on His chest, and He says “I am with you always, ask anything in My name and I will do it.”

Lord Jesus, help us to practice your presence each day, as we lean on you, leaving the anxieties of our mind upon your heart, in exchange for your peace. Amen

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (RSV)

If there was a reel of video images playing back our entire life, it would consists of a series of moments. We cannot recall every detail that happened in our life but we do have a collection of moments stored in the treasury of our minds and hearts. Days, weeks, months and years are condensed into key moments. We have childhood moments that we treasure, memories spent with siblings, cousins and old friends. We remember the sacred moments of our last goodbye to a beloved friend or loved one. We cherish the joyful moment of first meeting a new born addition to our family.

Whether moments bring laughter or tears, they are the moments that compose the playback video entitled “Your life.” I remember a moment in my life when I was so sick with a virus while I had four month old twin babies to care for. My husband was on strike but had an obligation to his union to go to the picket line that day with the other bus drivers who were striking. No one was available to help with the babies and I was too sick and weak to care for them that day, so he took them with him to the picket line.
I packed diapers and bottles and he took them in a twin stroller for a few hours as he attended the picket line, while I was able to rest at home. A newspaper reporter who was covering the strike, came by and took a picture of him with the twins in the stroller and the local newspaper article the next day read, “Bus driver does double duty on picket line.” It was a memorable moment, and we were all amused.
Not every key moment in life makes it to the newspaper, but in every moment, we give Jesus the steering wheel of our lives. We trust Him to calm the storms that come, and we proclaim Him Lord of our life through sickness and health, through the best and the worst of times.
There have been moments where we win battles over sin and moments where we lose, with moments of rebellion followed by moments of repentance. If we reviewed the moments of our lives, some will make us laugh and some will make us cry, some with cause a sense of achievement and others a sense of shame. Our faith waxes and wanes through the different storms of life, but we always pick ourselves up again and keep moving forward, because God’s grace and strength is perfected through our weaknesses.

Thankfully, all those sins we have already confessed to God are removed as far as the east is from the west. So much in my own life video is covered under the redemptive blood of Christ, and that is my living hope. It is those redemptive moments that secure our confidence to keep coming back to God.

Everything in the video of our life that is summed up in this combination of moments, is a brief flashback compared to eternity that we will spend with Jesus. We were created to live eternally, and our present life is the time we are given to live out the key moments from this day onward, in a state of grace.
Lord, thank you for your grace in giving us time and a fresh start to do better, in living every moment for your glory. Amen

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

1 Timothy 6:19 (NIV)

I recently lost a friend I had known for fifty years. She was childless and her husband passed away three weeks prior to her death. I met with her closest relatives, who came to clear out their home. The relatives left me with some boxes of home decor items, to do what I want with.

I put photos of the items on a website, to give away for free. The last item, a picture frame, was picked up by a very kind woman who cherished the unique frame made of carved wood. She planned to use it to display a photo of her great grandfather. Then she said something very special to me, “We are all caretakers of our treasures for a little while, until they are passed on to other loving hands.” Her wise words stirred my thoughts. I knew my friend would have loved this woman for taking her picture frame as well as her intended use for it, and I felt good that it went into loving hands.

I also thought about our “treasures” on earth, pondering what Jesus said about it. He told us not to store up treasures that can be destroyed or stolen, but to store lasting ones. Timothy encourages believers to be rich in good deeds, by sharing and giving to others, which lays a foundation for lasting and eternal treasures. As the lady said, we are just care takers of our treasures for a little while, until passing them on to other loving hands. Whatever we share that counts for eternity, is passed into the loving hands of Jesus.

Someday He will introduce us to the souls of people in heaven, who have benefited from the eternal treasures we are sharing here and now. 

“We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

2 Corinthians 10:5 (RSV)

Every spiritual battle begins in the mind. How we think affects how we live our life and the choices we make. Taking control of our thoughts can change our life and our eternity. If you think it, you will live it.
One example of how thinking affects things is my mother, who was very gifted in learning foreign languages. She always said if you think in the language, you will speak it. When she married my father, who was from Greece, she wanted to learn to speak Greek, but he was determined to speak only English as a new American. My mother decided to hire a tutor to teach her Greek, and she learned to speak fluent Greek without an accent, which amazed all of our Greek relatives. She always said that her secret to mastering the language fluently, was to think in it. That principle also applies to living the Christian life. We have to think it to live it. It’s probably why we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
If I encounter something that triggers my anger towards someone, or have any thoughts that are against the knowledge of God, I don’t want to cover it up by merely acting like a Christian. Sincerity of thought produces sincerity of action. 

When my friend was in a nursing home, I offered to help her husband who was left living alone. I checked on him every weekend, ran errands for him and washed his dishes while I was there. As time went by, I felt that he was taking advantage of my helpfulness, and after a while, it grew into feeling a strong resentment towards him. I felt like a hypocrite in doing good for him while thinking bad of him.
I took all my thoughts of resentment to God, telling Him how I honestly felt. I asked Him to forgive and change me, since change can only happen when I come as I am and confess what I lack. After being honest with God, He intervened in my thoughts and changed my attitude. I was reminded that what we do for others, we are doing for Jesus.
With a fresh new outlook, I was planning to go to the next visit with the state of mind, that I was doing it for Jesus. When I arrived at his home, I was shocked to find him lying  lifeless on the floor. After all that, he died of a probable massive heart attack. It was an awful experience, but a sober reminder not to grow weary in doing good. I’m glad I helped him when I did, God surely knew he didn’t have long to live, but He also knew that I needed an attitude adjustment.
Our minds are where all the battles take place, and there is so much to take captive there. Although it’s up to us to take our thoughts captive, only God can transform and change our way of thinking.
He makes us new creatures in Christ, so we don’t have to pretend to be something we aren’t. When God changes our thinking, we can live genuinely with actions born out of sincerity. He helps us to think right so that we can live right. 

“He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came…”

1 Kings 19:14-15. (NIV)

When I am overwhelmed with fear, sorrow or discouragement, I have a tendency to retreat to a cave. I’m more of the withdrawing type, than the reaching out type, so I can relate to the story of Elijah. His enemies were trying to kill him, and when self pity overwhelmed him at the lowest point of his life, he hid himself in a cave. A silent gentle wind blew into the cave and the Lord was in the wind. Elijah heard a soft whispering voice asking him. “Why are you here, Elijah?” and after he expressed all his sorrows and woes, and how he was being hunted down, the same voice simply told him to get up and go back. 

When we are spiritually depleted, with nothing left in us, the Spirit of God whispers gently to us in our secluded place. I call Him the Soul Whisperer. He whispered to me one day after months of taking care of my husband, who passed away. During most of that period, I never attended church or read my bible, and barely prayed. I was living on a spiritually empty tank. 

Then one day I heard a soft voice within me, not audible, but the words within my soul were simple and clear, “I want you back.” The Soul whisperer came to me in my cave, calling me back. For me it meant to come back to prayer, reading scripture and be refilled with His Spirit. He began to refill me and now I try to start each day asking His Spirit to speak to me. 

Caves and mountain tops were never meant to be our permanent dwelling places. The Soul whisperer will always lead you back to the real world, because He has a mission and purpose for each one of us. He comforts us in our place of isolation and then tells us to go back and walk the journey of faith. If you tell Him you cannot walk with the same vigor, He answers, “walk with whatever you have left, and I will help you.” He will refill whatever was depleted, and He has a surprising way of pouring out an abundance of new gifts. He always has more to give us even when we feel we cannot go any further. 

He wants to refill you and send you back into the real world with the unique mission and gifts that only you can fulfill. He will equip you and lead you into new territory, and it all starts with His whisper, “Go back, I will be with you.”

Lord, help us to hear your whisper and draw us out of our cave, and fill us, Holy Spirit, with your love and gifts, to share with the world. Amen

“The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was.

The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:3-4 (NAB)

I love the story of Samuel, the little boy who was dedicated to the temple by his mother, Hannah. It’s a story usually told to children about a little boy who hears the call of God while he is sleeping. The story of Samuel has a lot to say about a grieved heart, both the heart of God and the heart of a parent. Hannah had a grieved heart until God answered her prayer and gave her a son. The high priest Eli had a grieved heart over his irreverent sons. God’s heart is also the heart of a parent, and He becomes grieved over sin. We can learn from Samuel to tune ourselves in to what grieves God.
There are many details in this story that are never told to children. The high priest, Eli, raising Samuel in the temple, and preparing him for priesthood, had two adult sons who were priests. Being a very passive father, Eli’s two sons grew up to disrespect God, and abuse their office of the priesthood with bribery, sexual promiscuity and greed. They brought shame to their office, to their father and to God. Eli begged his sons to reform but he never had the courage to remove them from the priesthood.

God was very grieved over their wickedness and planned to raise up Samuel to be a priest after His own heart. While Samuel was still a boy, learning the roles and rituals of priesthood from Eli, one day God spoke directly to him. He called his name out in the middle of the night, waking him up out of his sleep. After the third time Samuel heard his name called, he answered “Hineni”, meaning “Here I am”, in Hebrew. Then God revealed His heart to Samuel, explaining that He was going to remove the two evil sons of Eli and cut their lives short. Samuel went and reported all the words of the Lord to Eli.
This was the beginning of Samuel’s personal relationship with God. He grew up to understand what grieved the heart of God as well as what pleased Him, leading Samuel to become an intimate friend with God. Jesus called us His friends, not slaves or servants. If we were meant to have friendship with God, then friends share their joys as well as their sorrows with one another. This would mean that Jesus wants to share his joys with us, but He also wants to share what grieves Him.

Other faiths do not believe we can have friendship with our Creator, but rather believe men are only servants of God, but Christianity is clear that we are called into a friendship with God, our Father. Jesus said in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” God desires to share what is on His heart with us, just as He did with young Samuel.

Friends listen to each other, sharing joy and grief. It’s a two way communication that Jesus wants to have with us as well. We are all sinners like Eli’s sons, but we have been washed and cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus, renewed by His Spirit, and adopted as children of His Father.  The friendship Samuel had with God is offered to us through Jesus.

The same Spirit that dwelled with Samuel, dwells in us and is there when we sleep and when we wake up. He has things to say and share with us. Lord, help us to shut off all the outside noises, so we might hear what you are saying, and we can answer like Samuel, “Hineni, Here I am, speak Lord, I am listening.”

“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.”

Mark 14:3 (NIV)

Greeting with a kiss, washing feet and pouring fragrant oil on the head were all routine customs of hospitality in Jesus’ day. These acts of hospitality were done for house guests who spent hours walking in the hot dry sun.

This woman went beyond the routine custom of the day, and poured out all her oil on Jesus, saving nothing for herself. As others complained about her waste, Jesus praised her for showing Him so much love.

For me, the valuable oil kept in my alabaster jar is my time. Time is sacred and sometimes I just want to keep it for myself. When we sacrifice time to serve others, it’s like washing Jesus’ feet or pouring oil on His head. I remember once staying late at church washing silverware after an evening event, and I kept thinking how much I disliked washing dishes, and wished I was at home relaxing on my couch. This bible story was an awakening for me, and I realized that whether I give my time in a menial task like washing church dishes or taking the time to call someone who is lonely and struggling, it is like pouring oil out of my alabaster jar. Serving others, is serving Jesus and there’s nothing menial about serving Jesus. The narrow spout on the alabaster jar was used to moderate the flow of oil and avoid waste, but the woman broke off the spout, and poured it all out on Jesus. In holding nothing back, her action was interpreted by Him as a gesture of love.

Jesus loves us in the same way, and gave Himself for us without moderation. He held nothing back, but emptied Himself completely, all the way to the cross. This story is a reminder that He is worthy of whatever we hold valuable in our alabaster jars. Whatever we do for others is done for Him. In breaking off the spout, Jesus becomes our first priority and our first love.
Jesus, thank you for showing your love to us in giving all of yourself. Help us to love you more by giving you more of what is kept in our alabaster jars. Amen

(Matthew 6:9-13)

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer to pray, but also to use as a template for all prayer. In breaking down one line at a time, we can better understand what He is teaching:

Our Father who art in heaven;

God is the King of the universe, the judge of all mankind, and yet He wants us to address Him as father, because we are sons and daughters, not subjects or servants. A father relationship is important to God, since He has a beloved son, who He gave up for all of us. As our father, we don’t earn His love with good deeds. A natural father loves his children from the day they were born, before they could do anything right or wrong. God also loved us first, before we even knew of Him. 

Hallowed be Thy name;

God is to be hallowed, which means to treat Him as sacred and holy. I love the contrast of the first and second line in this prayer. He is our loving intimate father but He is also the most high, sacred and holiest God. We are loved by a holy God who requires purity, self examination and regular confession of sin to Him. Unconfessed sin puts distance in our relationship with our father in heaven. This is typical of any healthy father and child relationship. The child honors and seeks to please their father, and not disappoint him with disobedience. Our holy God is pleased when we cling to Jesus, our redeemer, who cleanses our sin by His blood. 

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven;

This line reminds us that there is more to come and our life in this world is not all there is. God has a coming kingdom, and until that kingdom comes, He desires that we let His will be done in our lives. In all that we pray and ask for, our wishes and desires are still yielded to His will, saying as Jesus said, “Thy will be done.” We can say it because God always knows what’s best for us and we trust in His perfect will. 

Give us this day our daily bread;

Bread is nourishment, and for us it is both physical and spiritually nourishing. Jesus is our daily bread of spiritual nourishment. Everyone is on a quest for nourishment, but sometimes we look for it in all the wrong places. We look for it through relationships or things we can buy, but Jesus called Himself the living bread of heaven. Jesus is our daily bread and no other bread satisfies the soul and spirit as He does. 

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

We are reminded that forgiveness needs to be a two way street. Here is the biggest challenge in the entire Lord’s prayer. Every statement in this prayer is one that Jesus talked about regularly. He reminded us many times about forgiving others, through his parables. If we want to be forgiven, He says we must forgive others. There’s an old Irish proverb “ We bury the hatchet but mark the spot.” Forgiveness is easier if we have a short term memory, and forget where all the hatchets are buried. 

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

The previous parts of the Lord’s Prayer pertain to things which we  take control of, in order to line our will up with God’s. We seek His daily nourishment, we allow ourselves to be loved and fathered by Him, and we forgive our enemies, but this last line is a plea for divine help. It’s asking for what only God can do, in keeping us from all evil. He is our good shepherd, who leads us away from temptation, and delivers us from evil. One old testament title for God is “El Gibor,” which translates from Hebrew to, God our hero, or Mighty God.
Jesus saves the best line for last, because after all is said and done throughout this prayer, God is our hero, who intervenes to deliver us from evil. After the many times we have experienced His deliverance from evil, it’s easy to finally say, “To Him be the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.”

Amen 

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

Holding a child’s hand is a gesture of protection, guiding them safely through danger. Lovers hold hands to express mutual love. Holding a friend’s hand in trouble, comforts them with your presence.
Jesus is all of the above, since we are His children, His bride, and His friends. Isaiah tells us that the hands of the Lord are always outstretched towards us. We live busy lives, using our hands to work, serve, and comfort others. Our hands are symbols of our own efforts, our contribution to this world, as Martha’s busy hands were, when Jesus visited her home. Jesus told Martha she was anxious about too many things, and should only be concerned about one thing. Mary, her sister, chose that one thing, spend time adoring Jesus in His presence. Between Mary’s devotion and Martha’s anxiety, Jesus reminds us to find time to pause our busy hands and find His.

When I was five, I dreamed someone took hold of my right hand and walked me out of a school building that was on fire. I was led peacefully through the halls, around corners and out the door of the burning school. When I looked up, Jesus was holding my right hand. It was a divine life lesson through a vivid dream. Life is like a school, where we walk through fiery trials, as we grow in our relationship with Jesus. All that happens in our “school of life” is benefiting us for an eternal purpose, because this school is not to make us scholars, but saints. I didn’t need to know where the exit signs were in my childhood dream, because Jesus knew and He held my hand.

In the fiery trials of life, when we have no control, filled with panic and confusion, Jesus is at our side holding our hand, and leading us. He never promised to put out all the fires in our lives, but He knows where all the fire exits are. Whenever I become over burdened and stressed, I close my eyes and recall my dream, raising my right hand to Jesus. He loves you and always stands before you, reaching for your hand to lead you through the fires of life in perfect peace, saying “Don’t be afraid, give Me your hand and I will help you.”

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NAB)

“For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.”

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NAB)

On Pentecost, the Spirit of God filled the temples of the believers in the upper room. Afterward they all left the room and began their journey as renovated people, empowered with His Spirit. It didn’t end with Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit is working an ongoing renovation project within our temples today. Renovation requires tearing down the old and adding fresh new features, giving a beautiful new look. It’s all for the purpose of pleasing Jesus, the one who dwells there. Every uncomfortable event in our life is part of His renovation design project within us. By allowing Him to tear down and remove the old, our temple becomes more pleasing for Him to dwell in. We wouldn’t argue that our old deteriorating kitchen cabinets with broken drawers and loose hinges are not so bad, or that the filthy carpeting isn’t filthy enough to remove. To paint over deteriorated wood is like trying to get along with sin, instead of ridding  ourselves of it.
The final reveal is going to look fresh and beautiful to the one who dwells there. Jesus becomes an honored guest during this renovation, He doesn’t wait until it’s finished and perfect. He dwells within us every step of the way, as our interior designer, coordinating all the plans and implementing the changes. He wants to discuss His renovation plans with us, and will never force His will upon us. He patiently helps us to realize that we are not finished products yet. We want Him to feel comfortable dwelling in our temples, so we give Jesus the seat of honor and talk with Him every day. He enlightens us with wisdom from His word while He brings about those changes within us.

He is the chief designer of our renovation and He loves meeting with us daily, to discuss His newest design plans and how He is working them out in us. We may not always understand what or why He is doing what He is doing, but we can trust that He loves us and holds the perfect blueprint to complete our interior design.