Category: Christian

Devotional 28: Will You Also Go Away?

smithaw50Leave a comment

John 6: 60-70

Many Disciples Turn Away

60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[a]

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

Jesus had just alluded to what seemed to be acts of cannibalism and violation of the Law against consuming blood, much less doing it willingly.

Being simple men, these disciples did not understand that Passover itself embodied the coming of Christ through the symbolic eating of bread and drinking of wine.

A hard saying, indeed. “Who can understand it?”

Jesus’ attempt to clarify by teaching on the Spirit only served to further obfuscate.

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

It seemed that at this point, the desertion of Jesus began en masse, since He turned to Peter after the uncomprehending crowd dispersed and asked him, “Do you also want to go away?”

And Peter’s reply, eloquent and affirming as it was, did not keep him from denying he even knew Jesus at all.

I wonder if, even though Jesus knew from the beginning that this would happen, if it broke His heart to see the disconnect in the eyes, the stopping of the ears, and as they began to turn their backs on Him, if he felt hurt.

I’d like to think so, yet He loved on many who didn’t believe, and as they ‘walked with Him no more,’ neither did He walk with them.

I’m thankful that the year of the Lord’s favor, the covenant of grace, allow us to yet seek Him through the Spirit’s divine revelation, at the Father’s direction, while He may be found. But if we continue in doubt, willful disobedience, and outright rebellion, there will come a day Jesus can’t be found.

And it will be too late.

If, therefore, He will not let us be snatched from His hand, let’s not pry his fingers open with hard hearts, blind eyes, and stoppered ears.

Let’s not think eloquent prayer will keep us from sinfulness.

Let’s not think we won’t sleep in the garden when the hour has come.

Let’s not think we’d believe on His Name without signs and miracles.

Let us take heed not to think we stand, lest we fall, as the Apostle Paul admonishes us.

Let us hold fast to our Savior, knowing that the lamb’s blood sprinkled on the wooden doorposts of the Israelites delivered from slavery has become the Lamb’s blood shed on the wooden cross to break our spiritual chains to sin and death, and reconcile us in love and worship to our Eternal Creator, now and forevermore.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for grace and mercy, thank You for healing and restoration, thank You for blessings, and delivering me through my trials.

On the days, and in the moments, when I would turn my back to walk no more in communion and fellowship with You, I beg of You to call my name, and to remind me that I am in the Book of Life because of the Bread of Life, because of the vine that connects You to me, and us to the Father.

I repent of belief based on signs and wonders, and embrace the faith of the centurion, a faith so great that even You exclaimed in admiration of it.

I repent of not obeying Your words, for I am a foolish man in a house of sand, founded on sand.

Call me forth from my spiritual grave, Lord Jesus, that I may never turn away, because as Peter said, there is nowhere to go, for only You have the words of Spirit and Life, and You speak them to me, casting pearls…

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 27: Stretch Out Your Hand

smithaw50Leave a comment

Matthew 12:9-14

Healing on the Sabbath

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

The Sabbath, the sacred day of rest, when no work is to be done, knows no rest from the Pharisees’ plotting, yet Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law, not replace it.

We read where crowds are astonished at the way Jesus teaches, because He ‘taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes,’ who taught what they were able to glean, or manipulate, to keep the people docile, uninformed, intimidated, and under control of the powerful, and wealthy, religious leaders.

Yet their jealousy persisted, and with every attempt to trap Jesus in the things He said, they lost face with the people, and control of their power.

What they failed to realize is that the Sabbath itself is given to us as a day of restoration, to rest from our labors, restore our strength, our family ties, our relationships with others and our communities, and to reflect on the goodness of the Lord.

Their question “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” was therefore a foolish one.

Jesus, ever teaching to the secrets of the heart, answers them with an analogy that speaks to their need to preserve their wealth, for livestock was wealth, and they would rescue a sheep from a well in order that they might continue to profit from it, because they loved wealth rather than G-d and their fellow man.

But men are more valuable to G-d than livestock. Isn’t that why He sent us His Son?

Also, Jesus asks something of the man with the withered hand. We don’t know if the Pharisees brought him to the synagogue to be complicit in their plans, but we do know he didn’t go unnoticed and ignored by Jesus even if that was the case.

And so, a test of faith and obedience:

“Stretch out your hand.”

Jesus doesn’t touch him, but as the hand draws closer to the presence of the Lord, it’s made whole again, and useful now to the kingdom of G-d.

Obedience and faith must be our hallmarks as believers. We must act, ‘in faith believing,’ and pray ‘as if (we’ve) already received,’ and the restoring power of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will do its part.

Therefore I pray:

This, O Lord, is simply a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for restoring me to G-d, that I might see the light of His glory and not die, for You are the light of the world, and the bread of Heaven, and You have promised me eternal life through belief in your Name, and obedience to your Word.

Today, I stretch forth the withered hand of my faith, Lord Jesus, right where I am, right now, knowing You will make it whole again the closer it gets to Your presence.

Your unworthy servant bows low before You, to thank You for paying my debt, and granting me the mercy of Your shed blood for my sake, and Your grace to help me up when I stumble.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for making my spirit whole through Your broken body, now in glory, and seated at the Father’s right hand.

I long for the day we meet, and I am made whole anew, and forever.

Amen.

 

Devotional 26: They Begged Him to Depart

smithaw50Leave a comment

Matthew 8:

31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away[a] into the herd of swine.”

32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

Demons are ever evil, but they are also subject to the will of God. Our fallen state, our inability to grasp the mind, heart and will of God, narrows our focus on earthly things and earthly matters.

There is a reason why Jesus admonishes us to abandon those things if we follow Him.

Here Jesus comes to Gergesenes, and not one, but two demon possessed men, described as ‘exceeding fierce,’ sense His presence, and come to him with a fearful question: “Do You come to torment us before the time?” They too, as the other man Jesus delivers from possession, live in the tombs, for demons can only be themselves among dead people (in they spiritual as well as the physical sense).

They ask His permission to go into the pigs so they can steal the herd, kill the livelihood of the city, and destroy the wealth of those who’ve prospered from them.

Jesus knows this too, but He grants it, because the souls of pigs are worthless to the kingdom of G-d, but the souls of men are not, and Jesus’ kingdom, as He told us, is ‘not of this world.’

In v. 34 we read: “And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.”

What a contrast to the story of the other man, who went around telling others what Jesus had done for Him, about his deliverance, or those who came out with Samaritan woman, and asked Jesus to stay with them, the sworn enemies of Israel, and minister to them.

But this city, concerned with earthly matters of commerce and profit, took no pleasure in the divine deliverance of their countrymen, no rejoicing in the presence of the Messiah, who even the demons recognized as Lord. We read these sad words instead:

“…they begged Him to depart…”

*****************************

When Christ entered my life, I never thought I would ever ask Him to depart, but there were times when I did, and times when I still do, because my nature is fallen, my heart is evil, my motives impure, and I am fixed on earthly comfort, overly concerned with what the Prince of this world has to offer.

You’ll recall after the Resurrection, Peter told Jesus: “Depart from me Lord, for I am sinful man.” It was done in repentance, in the agony of the fact that Jesus loved him no matter what, would restore him no matter what, and that there was nothing he could do to earn it, deserve it, or drive it away.

How often do we use those words differently. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person.” It’s because I want to sin, and the power of the Spirit is beginning to bring the Word to mind so I don’t, but I want to, and I convince myself sometimes that I even need to, in order to keep my sanity when surrounded by stupid people who are making my life difficult, in order to make myself understood, because I have a right to be happy, and because I can, if all else fails, exploit and abuse the covenant of grace, sinning more that it may abound.

Have you asked Him to depart from the region of your soul, as it rages among the tombs?

As we sit on the fence, on one side, we see all the splendors of the world, the adoration, the wealth, the instant gratification, and the sibilant whisper of the serpent underneath: “All these things I will give you, if…”

On the other, we see the narrow road, leading to the narrow gate, full of stones and thorns and bloody brambles, with little to recommend it other than the promise that on the other side is where something better, greater, and far more lasting awaits us, if we’ll only follow…

Will we choose exceeding fierceness, or exceeding peace?

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, there are times when I run from the Father’s presence, manifested in You, because the darkness of my heart, which comprises the dark where I sin, is as bright as the noonday sun to both of You.

Pluck me from Hell’s fence into Your embrace, for You said no one can snatch me from Your hand; yet there are times when I would pry your fingers open, and fall into the unquenchable fire.

I would not be a drowned, unholy pig, having demons savage my condemned soul, for as Yu say, the grave has power too. You’ve broken it, but I need to receive Your power to be free of it. I would not t have You depart from me.

Take me with You, and I will follow.

In Your Name I pray.

Amen.

 

 

 

Devotional 25: He is Out of His Mind

smithaw50Leave a comment

Mark 3:20-21 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

How can it be that the family of the Messiah missed the fact that He was among them?

How could it be that His mother, who pondered the sayings of Simeon, Anna, and the Wise Men in her heart on the things concerning her Son, go after Him with His siblings, believing Him to be mentally unsound?

He is unlike anything we’ve ever known, and yet He is the most accessible to the most lowly man.

“If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” You’ve seen the heart of G-d toward mankind, that we be reconciled to Him through the spilled Blood of the Son, and come to Him through the risen spotlessness and glory of His resurrection, fastened in body, mind, and spirit to Him for eternity, as He was fastened to the cross for our mortality.

The cares of the day press down on us, however, and thoughts of Him fade as we go through the traffic and mayhem of daily life, suffering slings and arrows that assault our psyche when we would be holy, when our minds are in silent prayer, when we take a moment to sigh our thanks in an empty room, and request strength for the remainder of what lies ahead.

There are those who think us stupid to proclaim Him our Lord and Savior on the basis of faith alone, believing in the Promise of One long departed, yet alive and glorified. “The foolishness of the cross,” as the Apostle Paul says. Are we willing to be out of our worldly minds, and have them stayed on the One who came to save, or do we risk denial on earth to please man, and be cast into the outer darkness?

“I would that you were hot or cold.” Indeed, He’ll be more involved with you when you’re out of the will of God, then He will if you walk between earthly and heavenly realms of influence. He can convert sinners through the Spirit, but a double-minded person is wind-tossed, rudderless, without roots, and unstable.

Feed the spirit-man, for you cannot save the fleshly one; he is out of his mind.

That’s why He came to us.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, there are times I too, thought this message foolish, its standards untenable, its sacrifice of self too great a price to pay, and I turned, and backslid, and became a profane vessel unfit for service, unwashed within.

There are times I said that if your love is steadfast and eternal, I could indulge my fleshly desires, and it would be all right in the end.

There are times I said that the problem was with You, and not within me.

I, like Your family, like Mary herself, forgot who You were, and where You came from, and why. I was bent on backsliding, because it felt good, and eased my loneliness, and assuaged my pain in ways that I appealed to You to do, but You did not, for reasons I couldn’t understand.

So I went away and looked on the outer darkness waiting to receive me, and said it was good, and it was well with my soul.

Lord, forgive me. 

It’s I who am foolish, not the message of the cross.

It is my standards that are untenable, for they lead me to perdition.

It is the sacrifice of filthy rags of self- righteousness that is too great a price to pay.

And looking on the outer darkness, I am a blind sheep, unconcerned with Your worry as You leave the ninety-nine to come rescue a fool and bring him home, in love and grace and mercy.

Help me always to hear your voice when the void whispers prettily, and smells of jasmine and honey and clean earth, but holds the horrors of eternal separation from Your glory in unquenchable, agonizing fire that tortures my damned soul with no respite, and mocks the hope I once had as it burns the tears of sorrow away, and singes the cries of my hopeless, helpless heart on my tongue, and burns the praise from my throat.

Goad me along the narrow road to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and I will not kick against them.

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 24: Cry Out All the More

smithaw50Leave a comment

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

**********************

Bartimaeus had reached a point of weariness with his affliction, blindness, so when Jesus was near, he called to Him, his voice carrying above the excited din of the crowd as they saw Jesus approaching.

In his cry, Bartimaeus gives the designation of recognition of Jesus as the Messiah as ” Son of David,” and pleads for mercy.

Why mercy? Isn’t that something granted to the sinful? How would a blind man, begging alms, be sinful? We can only guess that Bartimaeus cursed his lot in life, and blamed God, and was angry at being treated as human refuse for depending on the patronizing, pitying kindness of strangers.

In his state, the people nearest him tell him to be quiet; he is a poor, blind beggar, and Jesus is a King, so they marked him as unworthy to be in Jesus’ presence by those who probably either ignored him everyday, or mocked him as they gave of their surplus.

Continuing to place his faith in Jesus, obeying the prompting of the Spirit within him, he cried out all the more. In his weariness with his affliction, he saw an opportunity to be free of it, and in his acknowledging of Jesus as Messiah, the faith in his cry for mercy caused Jesus to stop, and command Bartimaeus to approach.

The fickle crowd who at first told him to shut up, now tells him to cheer up, and to rise and go forward. Though none offer to help him stand, Jesus’ command also removes the human barrier of doubt, so neither will they hinder his way.

As Matthew left all, and Lazarus was loosed from his burial shroud, and the bedridden man lowered through the ceiling rose to carry his bed outside to throw it away, Bartimaeus throws aside the garment that marked him as an afflicted pauper, worthy of little more than pitied contempt and whispered judgement as to the nature of his sins, and stands before Jesus.

He answers Jesus’ question (though He knew what the man wanted; he wanted him to say it, to proclaim that he wished to be healed, and free), and says he wants to receive his sight.

Immediately, with no touching from Jesus, with no mud-making, with nothing more than the power of His Word, Jesus heals him through his conduit of faith, and tells him so:

“Go your way, your faith has made you well.”

We read that Bartimaeus did not go his way, but followed Jesus down the road, no doubt giving thanks and praise and glory to the Father.

*****************

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, You admonish us to ask, seek and knock. These are not only acts of faith, but of persistence, of effort with a goal in mind of building our faith to have our prayer answered.

Help me to understand, Lord, that as I persist in my petitions to You they will not be granted without these two things:

  1. faith in You, and the promise that You said all things are possible through the Father,

2. being in Your presence, for You said apart from You I can do nothing, nor can You work in me if I possess a sullied spirit and a skeptical mind.

Help me to listen to the still, small voice when the devil’s hordes are shouting for me to be quiet, to sit down, to trouble the Master no longer, for my prayers are stillborn in my mouth.

I thank You that in Your presence, we leave the garments of our afflictions in the dirt, no longer begging for strangers’ alms, but sitting at the King’s table, partaking of the bounty of Your mercy on us, and the goodness of your grace towards us.

Let me cry out to You all the more, Son of David, that You may say to me:

“Your faith has made you well.”

Amen.

 

 

 

Devotional 23: The Third Day

smithaw50Leave a comment

Hosea 6:  1- 3

Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

 

The thought of giving an account to the last Judge, King, Ruler, Savior, and Creator of the Universe is at once something we view as ‘far off’, as it depends to some extent on how soon we shuffle off these mortal coils (depart from life, for you non-Shakespeare readers).

Yet we are told by the Apostle Paul that to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord, and that the spirit of man returns to G-d while the body returns to the earth. We are told by him that we shall be like Christ in glorified bodies when we are called forth from the grave, ‘sown corruptible’ and harvested as ‘incorruptible.’

If our spirit returns, and our bodies are raised at a later time, what are we called to do in the interim before flesh and spirit reunite? Daily, our flesh sins, and while we’d like to think most of it is unintentional and unplanned, that doesn’t mean we’re not called to repentance.

We also make choices to sin when we know better. Just yesterday, I skipped people in a line at a convenience store when another registered opened to reduce the backlog. A man gently touched my shoulder to stop me, but I ignored it and paid for my item ahead of others who’d been standing there. It was a Saturday morning, and I wasn’t late for anything, so I don’t know why I did it other than that I just didn’t feel like waiting. It was wrong, and rude, and I felt bad for doing it, but not enough to hang around and apologize to the person who tried to correct me. I didn’t even look at him, because to acknowledge him meant I knew what I was doing.

Are there more heinous sins than line-jumping? Yes, but that didn’t make it right to do, especially since I know that Christ Himself would not have done that, and I profess to be a follower. It was a moment of fleshly weakness, and I indulged it as fast as the thought occurred to me. We must be ever-vigilant. Let him take heed who thinks he stands, lest he fall, right?

This doesn’t even speak to our so -called secret sins. They’re only secrets from others, but not from G-d, who sees all we do, no matter the time of day. We can also sin through neglecting our spiritual lives by not praying, not confessing our sins, not meeting in fellowship, not reading G-d’s Word, that which He holds higher than His Name.

So how much like Christ can we be then?

Let’s take comfort in the words of this verse, but let’s also obey it, for there is no other way to salvation.

Verse 1: We must act. In order to return, we must stop going that way and turn ourselves, around, that we may stop being afflicted and disciplined for our sins. The Shepherd walks behind us and before us, calling to us that He may remove our sin by the power of His Blood.

Verse 2: We experience restoration though revival, and on the third day, as the Father raised the Son, that we might know it’s by His power and through His will, the Lord Jesus Christ will summon us forth with a great shout, and we too, will feel that power.

When we repent, He resurrects that part of the Holy Spirit in us that we’ve neglected to communicate with, that we live and not die in His presence.

Verse 3: We must learn. From that perspective, we are to pursue of knowledge of Him as a lifelong endeavor, discovering the wonders of Our Father, our Savior, and the revelation of the Spirit anew, without ever coming to the end of our knowledge.

We read that when we seek this knowledge, we are refreshed in our spirits when He comes to us like rain to a dry land, with times of refreshing, covered in the covenant of Grace.

Therefore I pray:

Lord, when move out of your Presence to seek my own way, when I disconnect myself from that power of your healing, the protection of Your hand, I am never out from under the covering of Your blood.

I thank you, Lord Jesus, for not giving up on me, for not turning me away when I stop to pick up the shiny, worthless objects of the world strewn along my path.

Thank You for forgiving me.

Thank You for restoring me.

Thank You that I am free to pursue knowledge of You, without restriction.

Thank you for replacing the rags of my righteousness with Your perfect ones.

Thank you for allowing me to live and not die in the Fathers presence.

Thank You for times of refreshing, for the rain of your reign over my vaporous life, giving it substance, and calling it blessed.

I will return to You, O Lord, for You have said that You would return to me.

“Let it be unto me as You have said.”

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devotional 22: Do You Believe This?

smithaw50Leave a comment

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Today we celebrate the Risen Christ, and though He was speaking to Martha, who had professed her faith that her brother Lazarus would rise on the last day, Jesus tells her that the power of G-d that granted Him life through the Spirit is ever with Him.

This little family believed in Jesus as Messiah, and Jesus therefore tells her that even those who’ve already died, if they believe, shall live.

It seems a paradox, but it’s not. We are admonished to seek G-d while He is near, while He may be found, while we are in the Year of the Lord’s Favor. Jesus tells us He would prefer if we were hot or cold, for the lukewarm He will spew out. That means He’s more involved with those who are cold than with those who believe ‘there are many roads, but they all lead to G-d.’ To their eternal peril, those paths lead to dead ends and outer darkness.

I read of gods who’ve said similar things that Jesus said, but none ever said “No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”

Jesus never wavered in His statements of identity, but the question is now put to a mere mortal about matters beyond her scope. “Do you believe this?”

It is a question that has resonated through the ages, and it is there in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our world spinning slowly out of control, as He said it would.

Martha had a decision to make, and she answered rightly:

“Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

On this Resurrection Sunday, what is our response to this question?

Let us count the cost of our answer, be willing to leave all, and take up our cross, so that we, like Christ, can say:

“It is finished.”

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, I celebrate Your risen Presence in my life today. I praise the Father, that He allowed me to come to You, to come under the covering of your Blood, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that I may enter Your eternal kingdom.

You know my weaknesses, and see my secret sins, and know the motives of my heart that are not in alignment with Your will, even now, after I profess to believe, and struggle to follow.

But Lord, underneath my unrighteous rags, I believe in the Atoning work of the cross, I believe in Your promise that I will live after I die, I believe that I will be reconciled to my Heavenly Father through You, His Son, and live eternally under Your perfect rule, and live out the ultimate purpose of all created humanity:

To glorify G-d and enjoy Him forever.

Resurrect a renewed and righteous heart and spirit within me today, Lord, celebrating that You are Risen.

You are Risen, indeed.

Amen.

Devotional 21: So he left all…

smithaw50Leave a comment

Luke 5  27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

The Lord requires we carry nothing to distract us from what He would have us do in His service. When he sent out the disciples, he told them to take nothing, so that they would not be distracted with the things they carried over the preaching and ministry they were assigned to do.

I’ve heard the Gospel of Matthew referred to as the ‘testimony of Jesus’ enemies’ (Pr. James McDonald, Walk in the Word Ministries). The phrase stuck with me because it amazed me to realize that even your enemies can see the Power of G-d in your life, and come against it. But the Lord is our vindicator in these matters, and indeed, sets a table before us in their presence, that we might either make peace, or watch the Lord move them aside, as He fights our battles.

While the tax collectors weren’t necessarily enemies to Christ, their corruption and greed were widespread and well known, and Jesus often preached the evil of riches in the hands of greedy, corrupt men. So when He calls us to Him, we, like Matthew, must leave behind earthly treasures.

In Luke 18:18-23 we read the account of the rich young ruler:

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”[a]

21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

This was the only thing that separated him from the kingdom of God, but it was also the greatest thing, and he chose it over the kingdom. His heart was in the right place, but it was not prepared. Many of the things Jesus spoke about doing regarding wealth escaped the understanding of those who had it, as it was in this instance.

Yet when Matthew, called Levi then, heard the voice and saw the love in the countenance of Jesus, he left everything: his books, his writing tools, possibly even the stashes of overage he collected that day, and had a feast that night, as much to celebrate his own freedom as to honor Jesus.

The widow gave all with her two mites, and even Zacchaeus, called out of a tree by name,  gave half his wealth to the poor, and paid quadruple what he stole by the time Jesus was done, and the Lord blessed the tax collector’s house by saying it was now under salvation

So we see there is a spiritual currency for following Jesus, a currency for faith, and many of us are not sure we’re willing to pay sometimes. Yet Jesus makes several references to this currency throughout His ministry. He speaks of casting unprofitable servants into outer darkness, he speaks of being unfruitful, and counting the cost of taking up our crosses, and leaving everything, never to go back again. He speaks of taking on work we are not able to finish when we fail to count that cost.

 

And it is to our earthly shame, and our eternal peril that we do so.

Therefore I pray:

Lord, let me be willing to leave all for the sake of following You.

Don’t let my emotions of doubt and fear and loneliness lead me into temptation, where I would blame Your absence for my present, yet transitory plight.

Help me to empty my hands and heart of idols of my own making, however temporary, for tomorrow is not promised to me, and I would not die in sin.

Help me to know that my heavenly mansion is financed by my heavenly treasure, for I will take nothing with me from this world when my time is done, except a spotted soul made spotless by Your holy blood, which redeems me into the kingdom, that I may achieve what you say is the chief end of man: to glorify G-d and to enjoy Him forever.

In Your Name I ask it, believing I have received.

Amen.

 

Devotional 20: He Healed Them All

smithaw50Leave a comment

There is a scene in Godspell (insert eye roll here) where as the sick come in large numbers to christ (there’s a reason I’m using the small ‘c’,) they press in on him, reach out toward him, and begin pushing him to the ground as he succumbs to their numbers, and he cries out from under a mass of hands in front of his face and pulling on his robe, with a look of anguished resignation in his eyes:

“There’s too many of you!”

I serve a different Christ, who even in His weariness, had compassion and healed great multitudes, all of them, with all their different illnesses, regardless of the length of time they had it, or its severity.

In Matthew 15: 29-31 we read:

Jesus Heals Great Multitudes

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the G-d of Israel.

 

The key to it all is v. 31, where before Jesus told the woman from Canaan that she was not part of his ministry, though he granted her request for her faith. He said He was to go the lost sheep of the house of Israel. “…and they glorified the G-d of Israel.”

 

Jesus never took credit for the work of the Spirit through the Father’s dispensation, and even in His humanity, continued to work in the realm of the divine. The Spirit is as limitless as the Father, as eternally indwelling as the Son, and through perfect faith in the Father’s love for Him, and giving back to the Father the glory He inherited, Jesus healed, and healed, and healed.

How blessed we are to have such Power in the Savior of our souls! He can heal anything, according to our faith in that Power, our willingness to submit to the Spirit in Him, and our gratitude to the G-d of Israel for sending Him to us, and for us, that we might be healed of sin, and freed from the power of the grave.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, You said men will be forgiven their blasphemies, and certainly, Lord, in our mortal ignorance, You are brought as low as we are, when You’ve said that in Life we would be as angels in Heaven.

In our fallen state, we can’t conceive of higher planes of existence, at least where You’re concerned; we don’t believe in power that isn’t held in a hand with a vise grip. We don’t believe in not being defeated.

Lord, You knew that when the multitudes came, their motives were purely selfish. You gave freely, knowing they had nothing to give You, but came and took from You, over and over. Even then, Lord, Your compassion overwhelms, for You’ve said, “The poor will be with you always, but you will not always have Me.”

So keep our minds stayed on You, that we may have perfect peace in our afflictions, knowing that You are willing to heal us, knowing that You have compassion on us, despite our selfish motives. Even so, the multitudes came to You for selfish reasons, but also by faith, or they would not have come at all. You rewarded them, and they gave glory to G-d.

Help me, as I pursue Your purpose for my life, not to succumb under the weight of my cross, and cry out the burden is too much for me.

Thank you for being ever true to Your calling, Lord Jesus.

I too, will try to live up to mine, working as unto you, so all my work will be completed.

Amen

Devotional 19: Help My Unbelief

smithaw50Leave a comment

Mark 9: 17-24

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

A father’s faith in the works of Jesus had suffered a blow from the inability of the disciples to cast out a violent, life-threatening demon from his son. The demon threw the boy into fire and water, the father said, in order to destroy him.

How wearying it must have been for the father to be ever-vigilant in order to save his son’s life, how frightening to see that visage take over an innocent face, subjecting it to brief glimpses of hell’s horrors! But to his credit, he didn’t give up. We’re not told if he traveled a great distance to get to Jesus, but I believe he would have done anything to save his son’s life, as any good parent would.

Also to his credit, when the disciples couldn’t cast it out, though his hopes were initially dashed, he sought out the source of holy Power, and went to see Jesus.

When the man tells Jesus that his disciples failed, Jesus initially rebukes them (again, though indirectly) for their lack of faith, because now, as a result, this man has come to him full of hope, but also doubt.

As they bring the boy to Him, the demon does obeisance, albeit violently, and throws the boy’s body to the ground because even demons are unable to stand in the presence of the Lord.

After a brief Q & A with Jesus, the father, not surprisingly, qualifies his request with, “But if You can do anything…” This is the first time Jesus’ ability to do anything is called into question. Normally, when we read “if” statements in Scripture, it goes more like this: “Lord, if you are willing…”

But Jesus, having compassion, puts forth a condition of his own: “If you can believe…”

Faith is the conduit to answered prayer, and without it being in the person making the request, Jesus will not override doubt. Not cannot override doubt, but will not. This is why we are admonished to ask in prayer, believing we have already received.

The father now realizes what he’s done, and cries out, offering his remnant of faith for Jesus to take and increase. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

And Jesus casts out the demon with a caveat of his own. “Enter him no more!” for the father’s doubt has left his son vulnerable to repossession, as Jesus said. In Luke 11:24-26 we read: 

24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

And the gathering crowd now adds their voices of doubt to the scene, believing Jesus has killed the boy by delivering him:

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Is it any wonder Jesus cried out against the faithless generation He worked among? And as much as we would like to believe in our own piety, we too, even now, have our moments; but even faith the size of a mustard seed has to be nurtured.

Therefore I pray:

Lord, You say all things are possible to those who believe, but my faith is as a mustard seed, and the conditions surround its soil are not conducive to its growth: my senses, my circumstances, my finances, my health, my family, and other worldly cares cause it to struggle to break its small and fragile shell, and it suffers greatly, weakening from stagnation every day.

I would not have it die, Lord, so help my unbelief, for you cannot work where there is doubt.

Cast out that demon in me that wants to please man, and to do all that you say makes a man unclean from the inside out, and his soul before God impure and unworthy to enter the Kingdom. I would not be a whited sepulcher.

Bless, purify, sanctify, and forgive this unworthy servant who listens to hell’s whispering: “Did G-d really say…?”

Deliver me, O Lord, from myself: my way, my strength, my will, my thoughts not taken captive, for they are flying demons looking for an empty house.

Lord Jesus, I pray that You command them to enter me no more, that may stand guiltless before Your throne, and hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.

“Enter.”

Amen