Killing The Light of The World to Cover our sins

I love the word of God. The more you look into it, the more you get out of it. God calls us to meditate on his word day and night – why? Because there is treasure hidden in this field. Let’s read about David in 2 Samuel 11

David and Bathsheba

11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

2 Samuel 11: 1-26

Now we read about how God felt about David’s actions.

Nathan Rebukes David

12 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the LORD, the son born to you will die.”

15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.[c]

26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 David took the crown from their king’s[d] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent[e] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[f] David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 12:1- 27

How did David respond to God’s rebuke?

Psalm 51[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict

and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;

you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

you who are God my Savior,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 Open my lips, Lord,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart

you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,

to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,

in burnt offerings offered whole;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 51:1-19

This is when God asked me to look up what the name Uriah means, and when I did, did you know what I found?

The Hebrew name Uriah (אוּרִיָּה) means "my light is Yahweh" or "flame of God".

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• Origin:

The name Uriah is of Hebrew origin.

• Meaning:

It is a theophoric name, meaning it contains the name of God (Yahweh) and signifies "my light is Yahweh" or "flame of God".

• Biblical Significance

Uriah is a name mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible, with prophets and priests sharing this name.

• Example

Uriah the Hittite, a soldier in King David's army, is a well-known biblical figure with this name.

And what does the bible call Jesus?

38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

John 6:38

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

So what does this tell us? The Old Testament and the New Testament are connected, God has been showing us for centuries his plan for Jesus’s coming and his purpose to die and cover another person’s sin.

To cover our all of our sins.

David sinned in several areas:

• Failure to walk in God’s calling for his life (He should have been at war as a King)

• Lust of the eye

• Greed

• Pride of Life (I’m the King, bring her to me attitude)

• Rape

• Adultery (He made her a sinner here.)

• Deception

• Murder

He killed Uriah (the flame of God) to cover up his sin of adultery. He wouldn’t have to kill Uriah except for the fact that his sin had consequences, and due to her pregnancy, his sin would be exposed.

So, David killed Uriah to cover his sin. Uriah (the flame of God) (The light of God) Jesus is God's and the world's light. David is foreshadowing that Jesus would have to die to cover for his sin. This is why, later in Psalm 51:4, he states that it is against God only that he has sinned because Jesus will die due to his sinful choices.

God knows the end from the beginning, and nothing is a coincidence. Thank you, God, for the gift of your word and the treasures that are hidden within.

Jesus, What Did You Call Me?

Let me confess one of my sins (Pride). One of them is that I can become easily offended. I am a sensitive person, and I get my feelings hurt easily. I truly believe that the biggest lie Satan has ever had circling the planet is that “Sticks and Stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

This is not true – Words are POWERFUL – God created the entire Cosmos with WORDS.

And since we are made in HIS image and likeness; what we say can create the world around us, as well.

Before I share what God gave to me and how much it encouraged me, let's look at some background scriptures and remember HIS character and nature so that we can all be on the same page.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:1-5

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Genesis 1:26-28

18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 2:18-25

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.”

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:17-20

Now that we have a foundation to build on, I will share that I have always felt a little funny when I read how Jesus spoke to some of the women around him. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful that he spoke to them at all. He gave attention to women when most in that day did and would not. But it always puzzled and slightly offended me that he would always refer to them as “Woman”.

This same Jesus who could read minds. The same Jesus who if we look in Luke 19:1-6…

9 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

Luke 19:1-6

This same Jesus saw a man up in a tree and called him out by his name. This was a man who he had never met or spoken to before because if he had Zacchaeus would not have had to climb a tree to “see who Jesus was”. This was their first encounter and Jesus called him by name. So then why in these next scriptures did Jesus call these ladies “Woman”

Who Jesus called "woman":

• The Canaanite Woman: Jesus addresses her directly as "woman" in Matthew 15:21–28 (v.28)

• The Bent-Over Woman: Jesus calls her "woman" in Luke 13:10–17 (v. 12 & v.16)

• Mary, his mother: Jesus calls her "woman" in John 2:4 and John 19:26–27 (v.4 & v.26 respectively)

• The Samaritan Woman: Jesus calls her "woman" in John 4:7–26 (v.21)

• The Woman Caught in Adultery: Jesus calls her "woman" in John 8:1-11 (v.10)

• Mary Magdalene: Jesus calls her "woman" in the Gospels in John 20:11-18 (v.15)

Seven instances in the Bible where Jesus referred to different females by the term “Woman” even though he knew their names. Okay, praise GOD cause here is where it gets good!

Romans 11:29 states “29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” If God gives you a gift or puts a “call” on your life (ordains you with a specific task) he does not take that away from you without you still doing the task. We might stumble, we might fall, we may be weak, and we may have sinned, but you will still do what God called you to do – ask Jonah, Saul, David, Moses, and Paul. They were called to do a task, and they had to do it no matter what they may have thought about that task at that time.

Now let’s look back at what Adam’s call was.

God told us in Genesis 2:19 “Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”

So what did Adam call his suitable helper? “WOMAN”

I didn’t realize until just the other day, that Adam did not name his wife “Eve” until after the curse, until after sin came into the world.

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:20

Well - what is Eve?

It is the beginning of darkness.

She is the mother of all the living (those living in the darkness). We know that from creation “God called the light “day’, and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning - the first day.” (Genesis 1:5)

“Evening” was the beginning of darkness (night) just as the “Morning” is the beginning of the light (day).

So what does this tell us?

Whatever Adam called his wife (the living creature) became her name.

“Eve”, is the beginning of those living in darkness.

Thank God though there is always hope.

The Bible says in Galatians 3:13-14

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Galatians 3:13:14

Christ redeems us from the curse of the law. The name “Eve” was a cursed name, but the name “Woman” was the name provided before the curse. When Jesus calls these females “Woman” he was redeeming them from the curse of the law!! Even before he went to the cross! He knew that he was going to the cross. He knew that he was going to sacrifice himself for these very women. He knew their hearts were the hearts of those who loved God. These women had the heart of the Original Woman – The suitable helper. He was doing what was stated in Romans 4: 17 (KJV).

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

He was calling those things which be not as though they were!

His use of the term “Woman” was not an insult! It was a redemption!

I am blessed that my name is Anna because it means “Grace” and since it is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, I am extremely happy and blessed.

But if HE decided to only call me “Woman” in the Lamb’s Book of Life wouldn’t I still be just as Blessed? Because that could mean that God would no longer be using my enslaved person's name but a free person’s name for me instead.

We can praise God for the light of Jesus, the beginning of a new day a day in which God calls me woman!

Scriptures used in this study:

John 1:1-5

Genesis 1:1-5

Genesis 1:26-28

Genesis 2:18-25

Genesis 3:17-20

Luke 19:1-6

Matthew 15:21–28 (v.28)

Luke 13:10–17 (v. 12 & v.16)

John 2:4 and John 19:26–27 (v.4 & v.26 respectively)

John 4:7–26 (v.21)

John 8:1-11 (v.10)

John 20:11-18 (v.15)

Romans 11:29

Genesis 3:20

Genesis 1:5

Galatians 3:13:14

Romans 4: 17 (KJV)

Discovering Who God Created You to Be.

Introduction: A Journey of Discovery

Hey there, friends! Today, we're diving into a topic that hits home for a lot of us: discovering who God created us to be. It's a journey, isn't it? We go through life wearing so many hats and trying to fit into so many roles, sometimes it's hard to remember who we are deep down. But here's the good news—God knows exactly who we are, and He’s ready to help us discover that original masterpiece He created us to be.

The Original Creation

Let's take a moment to think about Psalm 139:13, which says, 'You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.' Isn’t that an amazing thought? From the very beginning, God was there, crafting us with intention and love. Every part of us—our personality, our passions, our quirks—was designed with a purpose. So, while the world might try to tell us who we should be, God already sees who we truly are.

The Struggle to Remember

Life can be overwhelming, can’t it? We get caught up in expectations—our own, those of our family, friends, and our society. We can lose sight of that original person God created. But here's the thing: God hasn't forgotten. He’s patiently waiting for us to turn back to Him, to trust in His design, and to let Him guide us back to our true selves.

Embracing God’s Love and Purpose

When we start to believe in God’s love for us, something incredible happens. That love begins to reveal His purpose for our lives. It's like a fog lifting, and suddenly things start to make sense. We realize that we’re not here by accident. Every part of our journey, even the messy bits, has been shaping us into the person He meant us to be.

Taking Action: Trust and Apply

So, how do we take this from being just a comforting thought to something actionable? It starts with trust—trusting that God’s plans are good, even when we can’t see the full picture. Then, we choose to apply His promises in our lives. Maybe it’s stepping out in faith into a new opportunity, maybe it’s letting go of something that’s not serving us, or maybe simply being kinder to ourselves. Whatever it looks like, each step we take towards trusting God is a step toward becoming more like the person He created us to be.

Conclusion: A Lifelong Journey

Friends, discovering who God created us to be is a lifelong journey. It’s one filled with grace, love, and purpose. Let’s encourage one another to embrace this journey, to trust in God’s love, and to take those steps of faith, knowing that He’s with us every step of the way. Remember, you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”, (Psalm 139:14) and God’s got some incredible plans for you!

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)

Do We Learn?

“A Rebellious Nation

2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!

For the LORD has spoken:

“I reared children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knows its master,

the donkey its owner’s manger,

but Israel does not know,

my people do not understand.”

4 Woe to the sinful nation,

a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the LORD;

they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?

Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart afflicted.

6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

or soothed with olive oil.”

Isaiah 1: 1-6 (NIV)

Do we understand that repentance is simply the definition of effective learning? We are doing things a particular way and either it isn’t going well for us or someone shows you a more effective way to reach your desired goal. If we change our thinking and put the new information into practice we will recognize a new outcome. That would be great if it helps us achieve our desired goal. If it doesn’t but does get us a little closer then we learn from it, tweak it, apply the new method, and if it works great, if not we tweak again.

We don’t have to berate ourselves for not getting it right the first, second, or fifteenth time, we are in the process of learning and repenting, and eventually, we will learn. This only works for those who are willing to put the new information into action. Why do we keep hitting our heads against the same walls but don’t change?

God speaks to this in the scriptures.

“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,

but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.”

Proverbs 13:1 (NIV)

“13 Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it,

but whoever respects a command is rewarded.”

Proverbs 13:13 (NIV)

“18 Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame,

but whoever heeds correction is honored.”

Proverbs 13:18 (NIV)

We are not to lose heart when God shows us what we are doing wrong, after all, “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) (NIV). But God is light, He is love, He is a teacher, He tells us what we should do and how we should live because he is trying to protect us from harm. “Love always protects.”

1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)

“15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”

Proverbs 22:15 (NIV)

“24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children,

but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”

Proverbs 13: 24 (NIV)

God doesn’t spare the rod because he loves us, he doesn’t hate us - so he is careful to discipline us.

“4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.”

Hebrews 12: 4-7 (NIV)

God disciplines us out of love to correct our behavior as long as we learn from it and change. Do you know who didn’t change when he was being corrected? A Pharaoh in Egypt named, Rameses. The ten plagues were the application of the rod that was used to discipline him but instead of being corrected - he hardened his heart and continued to rebel and it cost him everything, even his son.

Why do we think that we don’t have to apply the scriptures to our life, and put into practice the new teaching that God has taught us?

When our teacher in school taught us something new we had to practice it all week in class and as homework so that we could use these new methods to pass the test on Friday afternoon.

When God is teaching us about ourselves and shows us new methods and ways to live you can believe that a test is coming. We only pass when we have practiced obedience to this new method and that is repentance.

If we practice enough it gets easier to do, but we must persevere in the new method and not turn back to the old that wasn’t working in the first place.

It hurts, it’s awkward, and change is challenging but we are better off when we deny ourselves and simply learn and apply the new teaching.

“11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

Hebrews 12:11-12 (NIV)

Why do we need to keep being beaten by the rod? God is asking this same thing in Isaiah 1:5-6. We are hurt and suffering and yet - we refuse to change? It doesn’t make any sense. So maybe we need to ask ourselves the question - Do we learn?

Communion math

We know most of the communion messages are taught from the gospels. Usually, we share the story of the Last Supper and the First Communion. (Luke 22:17-20)

"17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Luke 22:17-20

Communion is a time when we were asked, by our Savior, to remember Him. Are we only remembering what was done in that small upper room?

Yes, it is meaningful to think about how Jesus broke the bread that represented his body and how they drank the wine that represented his blood.

I believe that God shared with us other scriptures that would help us understand, and may even appreciate communion even more.

After all, this is the symbolism of the grace, that we will be able to partake of due to Jesus’ sacrifice.

But now let’s get excited about these scriptures… I trust that you guys are Bereans so you can write these down and review them later.

In John 2:1-11 Jesus turns water into wine.

“2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 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 2:1-11

What about, what is written in Matthew 14:17-21? Where Jesus feeds the 5,000?

“15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Matthew 14:15-21

And Matthew 15:33-38…

“33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.”

Matthew 15:33-38

Did you know that an adult Human Body has approximately 10.5 pints of blood inside?

Do we know what that looks like? (See the photo above.)

It is the size of 9 1/2 (16.9 oz) bottles of Poland Spring Water.

Have you ever questioned? How could 10.5 pints of blood from Jesus’ body could cleanse all of us, all over the world, throughout all of the world’s generations?

It is because when our Lord and Savior prayed for the first communion HE was MULTIPLYING!!!

HIS HOUR CAME!!!

He was multiplying his blood and body so that it could cover us all; and still have basketfuls of Grace left to spare, and the best-tasting wine to satiate the Father’s palate for justice that would provide Grace for us that would last throughout an eternity!

What does Jesus want us to remember? “That HIS grace is sufficient for us because HE prayed and multiplied the bread (his body) and the wine (his blood) so that we need not fear approaching the Father.

Let’s get excited about Communion again.

He Counted the Cost… And He Adopted Me Anyway

One thing I love about God is that He counts the cost of his projects before he starts them. It is not just a mere suggestion that He tells us to do this, but it is a principle of wisdom, that we should apply to the things in our lives because God does.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

                                                                                                            Luke 14:28-30 (NIV)

Why is this so important to me? Because I am one of God’s projects. This principle means that he didn’t decide to adopt me as His child without thinking about all of the ramifications of, and the hard work required to make me his own.

If we look at adoptions here we see the kind of challenges that adoptees would have to learn to overcome to accept love and acceptance from another person. This list is simply a few of the things that adoptive parents must be ready to tackle with patience, hope, and love, to overcome; especially if the children are older than babies before adoption.

Adopted teens can face several challenges, including: 

·         Loss and grief

Adopted teens may experience grief and loss, which can lead to fears of abandonment and rejection. They may also have difficulty letting go and holding on. 

·         Identity

Adopted teens may struggle with their sense of identity, as they have been removed from their birth family and placed into a new family. This can lead to feelings of not belonging. 

·         Self-esteem

Adopted teens may experience issues with self-esteem, and may feel different, out-of-place, or unwelcome in social circles. 

·         Depression

Depression is a mental health disorder that can be a major issue for adopted teens. 

·         Intimacy issues

Adopted teens may have difficulty developing intimate relationships. They may pull away from new friends and adoptive families to avoid repeating the cycle of loss and grief. 

·         Shame

Adopted teens may experience feelings of shame and failure when they don't succeed in taking care of themselves. This can deepen their fear of attachment and connection. 

·         Projection

Adopted teens may project their feelings of anger, rejection, and abandonment onto their adoptive parents. 

                                                                                                                  Google AI-Generated  Listing (10.4.24)

Does this sound familiar to you? Because it sounds familiar to me. I am not adopted but once I was adopted by God, I have to still navigate these identity issues daily; to feel safely placed into God’s family.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

                                                                                                                      Romans 8:14-17 (NIV)

After 29 years with God I still at times have shame that I have to overcome before Him. I wrestle with projecting human attributes to a Holy God. My self-esteem takes a hit when I want to identify as his child, but it is hard not to recognize the lack of family resemblance. My overwhelming fear of loss and grief when dealing with the onslaught of emotions that have me thinking that He will abandon me – like others in my past have. The intimacy issues that I have when I think about being honest with God are tremendously hard to overcome because that means that I now have to be honest with myself as well. And don’t even get me started on when I am going through my bouts of depression and am feeling worthless and doubting my being of use to Him in his kingdom.

But God gives us comfort in telling us to call Him “Abba Father.” Abba also means Father, we are to cry out to him “Father, Father” a respectful term but still it connects us with God in a relation of personal intimacy. God knows the challenges He would have to go through and how long it would take to help me understand and accept the new identity of being His child, He counted the cost, willing to put in the work and effort, and he adopted me anyway.

Why Do We Doubt?

“Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.””

Matthew 14:22-32 (NIV)

Why do we do it? If we truly know the character of God, why does doubting come so easily? You are going along with your life and everything seems to be going okay but then the small whisper to doubt an outcome tickles your ear. You try to clear your mind, “That’s a stupid thought.” sometimes we say to ourselves as we shove it down to the lowest wrung of our psyche. But, like a buoy, in a few moments, it pops back up to the surface of our minds again.

So now you aren’t just chastising yourself for having the thought but you’re also doing it because you allowed this negative thought to resurface. We try to think of something else, “Something positive”, you say to yourself. But, the thought returns, and now it is bigger and certainly more resilient. “You know that you can never overcome your laziness right?” or “Why do you never learn? You have already overspent again this month, and you have another week and a half to go!” or “I promised myself that I was going to keep up my exercise program and eat more healthy meals; that was at the beginning of the year and instead I just gained another 10 lbs. - it’s hopeless.”

Didn’t the Bible say that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me? (Philippians 4:13) So then why am I always so weak when it comes to denying myself?

Because like Peter we let our faith shrink according to what we see around us. Peter misunderstood what was happening. Peter wasn’t walking on the water himself God was on the water and using Peter’s body to do it.

The scriptures tell us that “It is in him that we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). It is God who leads us. When Peter started to see the storm swirling around him he probably started thinking something like “I can’t do this! This is crazy!’ And he would have been right to think it- he couldn’t do it, he never could, and he never did. It was God all along.

When we see the winds and the waves in our own life can we remember that we are not overcoming the storms; God is. God never loses his power, God is never worried that he can’t get something done. God is the one who does the impossible - through us. So yes, I don’t exercise enough, I eat the wrong foods, I don’t spend wisely, and the mere thought of how undisciplined I am drains my energy and throws me into a lazy state of being. I can’t do these things on my own, I need God’s miracles, and I need his Spirit moving through me to accomplish and overcome any of these challenges in my life.

The inability to do these things is my natural state of being, just like sinking in the water, rather than walking on it, is Peter’s natural state of being.

What we have to remember is, we always get it wrong, and if we ever get it right? It isn’t us who is doing it - it is God; always. Then why should we doubt and to begin to sink?

Instead, we should be in awe when we walk on the water, at all. On my “good days” when I am productive, eat healthily, exercise consistently, and spend sparingly - that is me walking on the water, and it is a true miracle. And God does it through me and for me. I do not need to doubt or fear and if He is willing he will help me again tomorrow too. I don’t doubt it.

The Power of Silent connectedness

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job 2:11-13

As a person who suffers through bouts of depression, I cannot stress enough the power of silent connectedness. When I am going through the last thing I need is for someone to ask me constantly; how I am feeling or how am I doing? Depression hurts, it hurts to think, it hurts to move, and it hurts to try to shout over the negative voices in your mind screaming at me all at once. I can barely comprehend what you are saying to me - let alone provide a comprehensive answer that will fit your liking.

Sometimes I need a person who doesn’t need me to explain. I need a person who feels that my friendship is still considered valuable even if I have nothing to give and that sitting in silence together is still okay because our love for each other transcends words. Someone, who knows that their silent prayers for me are enough. Someone, who knows that their presence will be enough of a reminder for me to know that when I come out the other side, there is still someone expecting me, loving me, and willing to wait for me without being offended by the length of time it took for me to return.

Sometimes, I just need someone around me who is fluent in silence.

Don’t be Afraid…Judgement is Direction…if you CHOOSE wisely.

“Judgment \JUJ-munt\ noun. 1 a : the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing. b : an opinion or estimate so formed. 2 a : the capacity for judging : discernment. b : the exercise of this capacity.

Judgment Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster

https://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › judgm...”

Some people get so offended by being judged, but we are judged often - we even judge ourselves; it is how we make decisions. Don’t you look in the mirror to see if you are wearing the “right shirt to wear with these shoes?” Are you offended when you decide that there is a better option in your closet instead and so you switch? Don’t you do the same thing when someone asks “What do you want for dinner tonight - Chinese or Thai? That is a judgment call. It is a choice that you make to gain the desired outcome that you want and like the best.

Don’t we realize that when sin entered the world - the world became dark? We all stumble in the dark and cannot find our footing. It is also difficult to make the proper decision since we cannot see the choices that we have, so we can’t determine the proper outcome that we would want. If we see these judgments as daily occurrences with no threat whatsoever to our identity, then why are we offended by the “Law of God” it reveals judgment so that we can make a better choice.

“The Ten Commandments

“And God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”

Exodus 20:1-21 (NIV)

If we understand that since we cannot see in the darkness this was God’s mercy on display showing us (illuminating for us) the way. He showed us the path and said if you are doing any of these things then stop because you are going the wrong way. When you do these things, you are walking further away from me and not coming closer to me as I have called you to do.

“19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)

He didn’t have to do this for us but His love compelled him to give us another chance, an opportunity to repent and go the right way. It was supposed to be an easy decision like choosing Chinese food or Thai food - what was the desired outcome? For some reason, people got offended. We became hard-hearted, stiff-necked, and rebellious. Instead, every fiber of our being screamed out loud that we won’t obey. We are free! We have free will!

And this is true, it means we have free will to follow the wrong road and never make it to our “Father’s” house. He gave us a map and we tore it up and threw it away.

God’s word is the light of the world. He illuminated the way.

The Word Became Flesh

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.”

John 1:1-5 (NIV)

What is so interesting is that darkness did not overcome it. The word is here now, still, for all to see. All of the darkness in the world could not obscure it - but free will did. He told us in his word…

“6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (NIV)

“12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

John 8:12 (NIV)

He told us to choose life and yet we didn’t. We chose death over and over again instead. What I find fascinating, is, that people are angry at God for showing them the right path! How dare HE pass judgment! Really? The Creator, who knows all of the answers and all of the proper paths; as well as, his knowing what is harmful to us versus what is helpful to us. It is out of love and mercy and grace that he held up the sign of “The Ten Commandments” to tell us that we were going the wrong way and yet people would rather be kept in the dark than to have the proper directions.

When we see a sign on the road that says “Wrong Way” it is usually to help prevent us from being killed. Change direction and don’t drive into oncoming traffic. God was trying to prevent us from being killed spiritually driving headlong into the devil’s schemes that lead us to hell and eternal damnation. And to prove how simple-minded we are - we not only refuse the right directions but then blame God for our bad choice! “If HE really, loved us he would prevent all of the suffering in the world.”

You chose suffering because you didn’t follow his lead, his map, his way. He didn’t choose that for us, we did. Compounded suffering is what we experience here on Earth due to our choices.

So he gives us another chance in Jesus. He demonstrates his love by suffering with us for going the wrong way, and spiritually? Despite and in place of us for going the wrong way on purpose.

And people don’t want to accept that act of kindness and love either. Keep driving around lost in life, driving in the dark, running into things, never being humble enough to follow the directions:

• Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

• Believe that HE walked a sinless life

• Believe that He allowed himself to be sacrificed on A Cross for you (to open a pathway of forgiveness and repentance)

• Believe that he resurrected three days later due to God’s faithfulness to him and his obedience unto death

• Be Baptized in the Name of the Jesus (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit)

• Repent your mindset and your behaviors out of gratitude for the sacrifice that Jesus took on for you

• And share your testimony about how God showed you grace and mercy. How he saved you from going down a deadly embankment, and invite others to learn about God’s love and the opportunity that he has for them as well - because God has no favorites - HE will accept all who believe and walk in the way.

Sober judgement

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

                                                                                                Romans 12:3-5

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 10:11-13

The Believer’s Freedom

23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 10:23-24

32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 10:32-33

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

                                                                                                Philippians 1:3-6

: a relationship resembling a legal partnership and usually involving close cooperation between parties having specified and joint rights and responsibilities.

                                                                                                                Definition of Partnership by Merriam-Webster

Have any of you ever seen a three-legged race?

The objective is to reach the goal (the finish line) together.  You are to work in conjunction with each other to move each other forward, to move in unison, and to consider your partner so that you don’t move in such a way as to make them stumble and fall – because their falling doesn’t help you either in the long run; not when it comes to achieving your goals.

Unfortunately, when we only think about ourselves, and our eagerness to move forward without taking into consideration (to be considerate of) the other person – then we can become the biggest obstacle to our own goals. We may want to blame the other person because they fell but we don’t blame ourselves when we were the cause of their falling.

: an obstacle to progress

2

: an impediment to belief or understanding : perplexity

                                                                                                Definition of Stumbling block by Merriam-Webster

a circumstance that causes difficulty or hesitation.              

                                                                                                Definition of Stumbling Block by Oxford Languages

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

                                                                                                 Romans 14:13

Are we aware that passing judgment on someone doesn’t always have to be negative but it could be a positive judgement as well?

What I mean by this is that there are times when we meet someone and we start to think that they are a nice person, a sweet person, a kind person, a trustworthy person, a good person, and a loyal person. We may spend a great deal of time with them and in every encounter, we solidify our “judgment” of this person. But we are putting people on a pedestal that they can never live up to.

In my OA group, we have a saying that we are supposed to remember:

“Expectation Breeds Resentment”.

We are not looking at people with sober judgment and then we are shocked when we realize that we are disillusioned, and it all comes crashing down around us.

In doing so we have not only placed a stumbling block in this relationship, but we’ve erected one from both sides of this relationship.

The Bible tells us:

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 

                                                                                                                Mark 10:18

If we think that they are “good people” ( we are not thinking with sober judgment).

10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”[b]

                                                                                                                Romans 3:10-12

Why would I think another human being will be faithful in their relationship with me when humans aren’t even faithful to God their creator? (we are not thinking with sober judgment).

The Bible clearly tells us:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in humans.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.

                                                                                                                                Psalm 118:8-9

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

                                                                                                                                Psalm 1:1

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

                                                                                                                                James 1:27

Why are my expectations so high of the humans that I share my life with? (Not using sober judgment)

Did you ever think that The Disney Production Company was wicked? I mean it is clean entertainment for the kids and family – a safe space. Right?

Except when it counsels me (from a young age – ungodly things) like all I have to do is wait for my Prince to come and save me from my unsatisfactory lifestyle.

But the bible told me not to put that kind of trust into my prince – even if I wind up marrying him. (Psalm 118:9)

Because that becomes a stumbling block for me because he will disappoint me and dissolution me when reality hits.

 It is not if, but when.

 And I will do the same to him (the Bible states in Proverbs 31:10)

[b]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.

So guess what the Bible is saying, she is rare! Most people will never find her and searching for it is a stumbling block for him as well.

In trying to hide who he really is, he will become deceitful with me so that he can try to live up to a false narrative I conjured up for him – its lies, deception, and witchcraft, it is stumbling blocks.

How can either of us expect not to fall in our three-legged race to eternal life with that kind of obstacle placed before us?

He has also been polluted by the world to believe in only one standard of beauty on this planet and if your partner doesn’t look like that then you are missing out. (Another lie from Satan)

This is where they both need to be fearful because they are not “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”    ( 2 Corinthians 10:5)

We are not demolishing those thoughts instead we are standing on them as if they are foundational gospel.

So he goes to pornography, lust, and follows that deception (the stumbling block and the devil has won –  and we fall down), then I go (to low self-esteem, unforgiveness, hesitancy over whether I am good enough to even breathe not just be a wife, and I land in bitterness (the stumbling block and the devil has won – and we stay down) now we have both fallen onto the ground and are struggling to get back up to continue our race.

And even if we did get up to continue the race together, we are no longer unified or in sync because I can’t trust where he is going and he is too timid, now, to try to move anywhere at all. We are stuck in the quicksand of resentment of each other because we are not moving forward and killing each other's dreams of getting to eternal life.

He is thinking “Why does she make me feel so bad for being human and making a mistake?” and she is thinking “Why does he make me feel so bad about myself for being a normal human being and therefore not good enough for him?”

Do Everything Without Grumbling

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

                                                                                                                Philippians 2:12-13

So if we are grumbling and complaining about our spouse/ or partners, are we really obeying God?

We are not working out our salvation with fear and trembling, surely. Because if we were we would not be a hypocrite.

 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

                                                                                                                Matthew 7:5

The odd thing is the Bible says that “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the lord should be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)  But a man who has been polluted by the world will find no worth in that whatsoever.

He will have nothing good to say about her, ever – because he doesn’t find that valuable enough. (He is Not using sober judgment).

Sober judgment is for us to recognize that we are not supposed to expect the “best” from people but honestly, we are to expect the ‘worst” from them and then still choose to love them anyway. It is the same sober judgment that God has and uses with us.

It is not a license to sin, but it is a reality check that we need to stop thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to. The thought of  “Oh, he would never do that to me?”  Isn’t sober judgment.  Why would he not do this to you if he is already doing it to God?

So, who are you? (Reality Check).

Or, if a man who is unwilling to say nice things to his wife or even partner because “If they were more like so and so then I might say something nice about them but since they are not…then I won't.”

Okay, but how are you obeying…

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 

                                                                                                                  Ephesians 5:25-27

If your woman looks down and depressed – how did you cause that?

We need to face the reality that just as men think that women are letting them down men are letting women down too. The women may just have more empathy towards men than to mention it out loud to you. But we are all disappointed – Just like God is.

5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 

                                                                                                                        Genesis 6:5-7

God came to this reality and so do we have to come to this reality. The only difference is that then God chose to love unconditionally which changed the game and why he sent Jesus Christ to Earth to die for our sins.

We just need to realize that when we fall into these sinful patterns, we are not only bringing ourselves down but also the person who we are tied together with within this three-legged race – our partner in the gospel.

We are dragging other people down with us who were simply trying to run the race that was marked out for them.

Remember the Bible told us this…

Achan’s Sin

7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

(Look how far they had come before (their ancestors who were spies) thought that they were like grasshoppers in the eyes of those God sent them to fight and they had more fear than faith. (Numbers 13:33) Now after all this time building up their faith in God it gets destroyed because of the sin of one man.)

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

                                                                                                                                Joshua 7:1-12

Because one man sinned who had been tied to all of the others in this race to conquer The Promised Land - they all fell down. Thirty-six random men lost their lives who didn’t even commit, the sin themselves. (How fair was that of Ai just because he couldn’t stop the lust of his own eyes and stole what he should not have to possess for himself). Does no one have any idea how their wives and children must have felt? Their lives were never the same again). We may not think much of this but if you were the one who wasn’t sinning and someone in your Bible Talk was and they brought you down with them and you had to die for it – how would you like it now?

The strong faith that Joshua had was shaken to his core- He had so much faith that he sent them in to fight with less people because of his assuredness that God would fight for them. But, it was the lust, theft, secrecy, and deception that led to this massive failure. He put more faith in his brothers-in-arms than he should have. He should have had them all checked to make sure that they were being obedient to God’s last directive, but he didn’t, instead – HE TRUSTED THEM- A BIG MISTAKE.

This is not being like Jesus because being like Jesus means…

 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.[d] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

                                                                                                                                                John 2:23-25

Let’s have sober judgment about ourselves and the others around us. Stop putting your trust in mankind but instead put your trust in God. Stop putting people (including ourselves) on pedestals – that is not sober judgment. And stop allowing ourselves to be deceived by the ungodly worldly expectations of each other – these are lies from the pit of hell.

We are all sinners, disloyal, disobedient, and dishonest, and it is disheartening but - it is the truth. Once we can truly start living in the truth that we are sinful partners in the gospel, worldly, fleshly, beings, who are only covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ from God’s perspective but not from our own perspective with each other.

Only then can we choose to love truly unconditionally and then the tactics of the enemy can no longer make us fall –  because we are no longer on pedestals but have our feet firmly planted on the ground.

We need to have sober judgment and stop putting stumbling blocks in front of those who are running this race with us. We need to be mindful that we are damaging more than ourselves with these sinful choices.

Instead, focus on Jesus who doesn’t sin and never fails you. He is the third strand that is not easily broken. Focus on running the race with him, don’t focus on the others, we are called to love them but not to trust them – it is Jesus who can and will keep us in step with the Spirit.

A Perfect Design

Have you ever fallen asleep using your arm as a pillow? Do you remember that feeling when you first wake up? Not the tingles, before then, when it feels completely numb - now it could be because I have a big head but if you have ever had that feeling, I think that you can understand. We know what happened, it is because we have cut off the circulation to our arm. The blood flow stops reaching the entire extremity and your arm essentially dies, and becomes lifeless. We can’t get it to move - at least not without the assistance of our other hand.

It’s a strange, eerie, feeling and for a split second, I panic - “What if it never regains its feeling?” Only to start to feel the blood flow return which is noticeable only because now I can feel the tingling as it moves down my arm and towards the tips of my fingers. Then finally, it’s fine. No more of the tingly feeling, full mobility, and all is as it should be. My arm is just as strong and useful as it once was.

So this, of course, made me think of what Jesus stated…

“5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

Veins and Arteries are the branches of the human body and Jesus is its life’s blood. If he stops flowing through us we can feel numb. He also said that…

“53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.”

John 6

We know that the bread of life is the word of living God, are we taking it in every day like we do a meal?

So how about another question?

Has your discipleship ever felt numb? You can see that you are a spiritual person because of the Bible on your desk at home, your cross hanging from the rearview mirror in your car, and the bumper sticker in the shape of a fish with Jesus’ name prominently displayed inside. It is just like how we can still see the arm attached to our body, but it doesn’t matter what we see - if it is numb and unusable. Without Jesus’ Spirit (The Holy Spirit) coursing through our bodies we have no life.

What heavy thing has been lying on top of our hearts that has stopped the Spirit’s circulation there?

Whatever it is. Could it be the reason that we are cold and dismissive when we see a mentally challenged person stumble past us on the train platform? And we turn a cold shoulder in disgust, fear, and resentment that we have to deal with this today? The numbness that arises when we have seen the same homeless person in front of the supermarket for weeks on end asking for a handout? Or, how about the screeching, screaming baby that you can hear from the next outpatient clinic over from your doctor’s appointment at the hospital? Are you thinking warm and fuzzy thoughts or are you thinking in a very cold-hearted manner - “That someone needs to shut that kid up!” With no care or concern for the pain that the baby must be feeling to elicit such a response?

Numbness is a sign that something is wrong. Could it be that too much pressure has been applied in one area of your life and it has cut off the circulation of the Spirit? Are you pressured by doubts? By fears? By money concerns? Are you pressured by disrespectful co-workers? Maybe just crushed under the weight of unforgiveness? Or, a million other things that apply pressure in our lives. Are we not now just as numb and spiritually useless as that bloodless arm?

Talk to another spiritual person, confess your fears, resentments, and doubts to them, and pray together. In this way, you will be allowing your other hand to help you when you are too numb to move on your own. And then with…

Faith in Jesus’ name through prayer, Faith in God the Father’s promises, and Faith in the Holy Spirit’s power, then we must allow Jesus to flow into those areas that we have blocked through unbelief and worry.

The beautiful thing about God is that HE IS LIFE, HE brings LIFE wherever HE goes - we just have to let him in. Allow God to bring back feelings, usefulness, purpose, and life to those numb places. I know we can feel that quick sense of panic but when we let Jesus (our life’s blood) into our hearts again, we become as strong and useful as we were before.

I am so grateful that jesus is a carpenter

“26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  

                                                                                Matthew 7:26-27

This is me before my life changed and God called me into a relationship with him. Exposed, falling apart, unfit, unuseful, and dangerous to be around.

I am grateful because of how God sees things.

“7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

                                                                                                1 Samuel 16:7

God looks at the heart of the house, the weeping broken, fearful heart. If God only looked at what I looked like…couldn’t He even be discouraged? Look how much work he will have to put into fixing me, how much money, how much time? Is this a project to even begin? Or could he have just passed me by declaring that I am not worth the effort?

Glory be to God that he is not like that. Oh yes, he looked and saw the damage because God is wise.

“28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

                                                                                                Luke 14:28-30

God determined that I was worth the time, effort, and expense. He determined that He would start my renovation project anyway. He counted the cost and thought I was valuable enough to do the work. He saw value in me where I saw none. I am a costly project and yet God still believed that what I could become was worth so much more than the investment that He had to make.

And I can also hold on to the promise that he made me.

“4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

                                                                                                Philippians 1:4-6

The work takes time. He has to gut the old ideas and behaviors, the trauma and the drama, the anger and the issues. It takes time to retrain and time to reframe.

But the work continues.

He is building, for me, while teaching me that forgiveness should be placed at my entryway. He is redefining the molding throughout my kitchen so that I don’t believe the lie that love is the food that is given but instead, it is the fellowship that is shared over the plates. He wants me to know that grace is to be found in every mirror of the house, and hope should spring from every phone call I make. My bedding should be made to comfort the distressed and the broken-hearted. My bathroom cabinet should contain a Balm for healing and the bandages of safety. And my house should be a house of prayer.

But I am that house. I am the temple of his Holy Spirit. I should be like a stream in a desert for a weary passerby. I should be the light noticed on the hilltop beckoning others to come out of the darkness. And, I should be willing to share my portion of the bread of life – the word of God to all who enter.

And once he completes my renovation, he will put his blood over my doorposts and across its top. So that, he can protect me from the evil one’s destructive schemes. God will make, all things, work together for my good and allow me to be a refuge to the wandering stranger.

And God will call his project – “Justified.”

HE will call this project – “Daughter.”

HE will call this project – “Me.”                    

And when HE is done, he will declare that I have been built on the rock and now I am a safe place for others.

“24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

                                                                                                Matthew 7:24-25

And as I stand remade, renewed, and reassured. God will tell me…

“8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death.” 

                                                                                                Romans 8:1-2

And I will love him all the more. 

I am so grateful that Jesus is a Carpenter.

Are you relying on God or on Money?

“3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

John 12:3-6

Do we understand what a blessing is? Truly? A blessing can be God putting us in a situation that requires us to obey him to get through it.

We have to have our faith in God and not in money. I have a question for you.

Do you think that Jesus didn’t know that Judas would steal from the money bag when Jesus first put him in charge of it?

The answer: Of course, he knew it. But Jesus put him in charge of it anyway.

After prayer and meditation on this scripture, I will tell you why I think he did so. I believe that Jesus did this so that he would not have his faith in the moneybag taking care of him.

Jesus traveled constantly and knew that the accounting of those funds would never be correct.  Putting a thief, in charge of the moneybag, guarantees that you won’t have what you need when you need it.

Matthew, the tax collector, would have been more trustworthy in handling the money bag than Judas was! And we know the history of tax collectors!

Jesus trusted that God would take care of him – not money.

Do we believe that God takes care of us? Or do we think and believe that our money takes care of us? Do you know how you can tell what you believe? Are you a cheerful giver or a reluctant one? The only disciple who complained in this passage was Judas.

I don’t think that we want to be in his company.

“10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”

Deuteronomy 8:10-18

God is taking care of you, not money.

why are we willing to wrestle with God rather then say that we are Sorry?

Genesis 32

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 [a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.[b]

3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”

6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[c] and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[d] the group[e] that is left may escape.”

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”

17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[h] and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Don’t you find it interesting that Jacob prayed to God because he was afraid to meet up with Esau? He was worried about having to meet the consequences of his actions because he knew that he did Esau wrong. Why was he so afraid of a human being but felt perfectly content in wrestling with God? Did he feel that he was on an equal plane or playing field with God? Why would he think that was ok to do? In Jacob’s state of fear, he made a wrong calculation; like many of us do. He decided instead to fight the more powerful opponent.

I can be like this as well, fear of people or people pleasing can set me up to fight larger battles within my soul and conscience and with God who told us “not to fear people because that would prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25).

What I find interesting about this chapter is, that Jacob, wrestles and then gets his hip wrenched from its socket (v. 25). He is hurt. He leaves this encounter with a limp. He asked for a blessing and his name was changed but I believe now that his being physically hurt was a blessing as well. Why? Two things occurred: 1) Since he became physically injured in the scuffle he is weaker when meeting up with his brother Esau. Now he has to lean on God’s grace and not on his strength. 2) Jacob will come to understand a truth about God that he didn’t know or understand before. This personal encounter of praying for courage, strength, and maybe even power to overcome his “enemy’ came to yield something that he never expected - opportunity. An opportunity to understand God’s grace in a new form - not getting what his sin deserves (Psalm 103:10).

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11:

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

He went out to meet Esau in a worse condition than he would have before his prayer. He is weaker, unstable, and in pain, more so now than even before his encounter with God. I think it is safe to say most of us would have preferred to meet Esau in his original state - at least he could have run after seeing him if needed, but not now. Now he has to face his demons head-on with only God as his shield. God sees things differently, now that Jacob is weak, now he is strong. Because he has to rely on God only - he has nothing else.

We don’t know why Esau showed him kindness. Esau rode out to meet Jacob with 400 of his friends so it looked like he was ready for a fight. But we don’t always understand how God works. Maybe it was because Esau saw Jacob limping towards him that made compassion swell up in his heart and so he changed his mind about harming his brother. Maybe that limp caused Esau to pity him and see that there was no need to hurt him because the world had already done that (Remember in Ruth when Naomi told people in her hometown to call her “Mara now because she went away full but came back empty?”) (Ruth 1:20-21).

All we know is that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Call on God for help, call on his name when you are fearful, trust in him and lean not on your own understanding.

But also think about the idea that it may have been easier if you just went ahead, confronted your past, and said ‘ I am sorry’.

Why Did Jesus Weep?

God showed me something about why Jesus wept.

“11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” John 11:1-4 (NIV)

The Bible tells us that when a man named Lazarus was sick his sisters reached out to Jesus to help heal him. The faith that these women had in Jesus and in the relationship that he had with them and their brother. They referred to their brother as “Lord, the one you love is sick.” There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus loved him. They believed that the kind of relationship that they had with Jesus would warrant an expeditious response from him - but that wasn’t the case. God’s love for us is not dependent on how quickly he responds to our prayers. He loves us unconditionally and wholeheartedly and that never changes.

“8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:8-16

Jesus had previously had trouble in Judea and he knew that it was dangerous for He and his disciples to return there but that did not stop him from returning. Jesus is always willing to sacrifice himself for others so he returned anyway. But before he left he had to make it very clear to his disciples that Lazarus was in fact dead and he that he would have them witness something that should strengthen their faith in him and his message.

“17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.” John 11:17-33

Upon Jesus’ return he meets with Martha and then with Mary both, as expected, are devastated due to not only the death of their brother but also the fact that Jesus who always preaches about the love of God and the healing of the sick - somehow did not see it worthwhile to come and help his devoted friends and followers during their time of need.

Martha misunderstands Jesus’ comment about Lazarus rising again and perceives it to mean some time far off in the future at the end of the age. And Mary who was always a devotee of his was sobbing at his feet this also presented a feeling of finality to him. She also has no hope that a change is going to come, despite their belief that he is the Messiah.

Here is where my heart breaks and God shows me that Jesus is watching the sorrow of the women and those who have come to mourn Lazarus around him and that he became “deeply moved in spirit and became sorrowful and troubled.” Now why did he feel this way? He already had a full understanding of what he came to do at this moment. He came to raise Lazarus from the dead. He also knows that his Father in heaven answers every prayer that he has and he will not fail at this task. Lazarus is most definitely going to rise again. So why is he upset? It could be because he can tell that no one around him understands the depth of God’s love and the blessings that the Father wants to convey to those who love him.

And although it could be those things, I now believe it was for another reason. When did Jesus start weeping? Once they said to him “Come and see, Lord,” then…

“35 Jesus wept.” John 11:35

I believe that he became overwhelmed because he was now going to come face to face with his own mortality.

“36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” John 11:36-39

Did you notice it? In verses, 38 & 39?

“Jesus once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.”

What does that remind you of? Maybe Matthew 27:57-61?

The Burial of Jesus

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. Matthew 27:57-61

Jesus is forced to go and confront a tomb in a cave (cut out of the rock) with a big stone laid across the entrance. I believe that Jesus wept because it is one thing to know that you are going to die, it is another thing to know that you are going to die in a particular way, and yet it is another thing to come face to face with your destiny and knowing where you are - that your own demise is rapidly approaching.

Jesus is sorrowful, deeply moved, troubled, and weeping because he has to see what is awaiting him in technicolor 3-D. Not only is this stressful for him but he has to shoulder this burden alone because his disciples don’t understand what this trip is costing Jesus emotionally.

Why would he cry about Lazarus? As far as he is concerned Lazarus is just sleeping, but to face your own end and to understand the terrible suffering that he will after to go through before that even happens - this has become all too real for Jesus at this point. Jesus is fully human and he knows what the scriptures say about the demise of the Messiah there are clues alluding to it all through the Old Testament something that he understands very clearly.

Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Fear, maybe even Hopelessness because he knows he has to carry this cross because that is why he came - Jesus understands our emotions because he has had to deal with the hard things too. When you are broken in spirit and trembling due to stress and fear, Jesus understands, Jesus cares, and Jesus has compassion on you because he has experienced it as well.

“40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:40-44

Although we go through some terrible things in this world, we are not without hope. There is nothing too hard for God to fix and it is never too late for him to do it either. So “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3-5

God knows why we weep because he has wept too.

Value

The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)

A penny never changes its value, a penny equals a penny-period. When does a penny become more valuable? When a penny hangs around four other pennies - now it is worth a nickel (5 cents). If the one penny hangs around nine pennies now it is worth a dime (10 cents). If that one penny hangs around nineteen other pennies it is now valued as twenty cents (20 cents), and if the one penny will hang around twenty-four other pennies it is now worth a quarter (25 cents).

A part of a whole - a piece of a puzzle. Its value never actually changes but its worth grows by being in a group. Likewise, my worth grows when I am part of a collective. But…everyone in the collective is still equal - each one holds the true value of a penny - no better and no worse. We are equal but when we come together we all become valuable.

I’ve spent too much time trying to stop myself from being a penny. How many wasted hours did I try to force myself to become a quarter? My problem was that I always tried to do this alone. My value never grows when I am alone, only my frustration does - only when I become part of a group of my peers do we become valuable together.

This widow didn’t have much to give (she did give her all though). She understood that what little she had joined in with the collective could help many. What she gave mattered, no matter what the perceived value may have been separately. The worth of what she gave rose because it was joined with the other contributions. I am a penny and I will always be a penny that is my value but, my worth can be whatever I open myself up to be. If I am one penny in 100,000,000 pennies, I am now worth a million bucks! If you want to find your worth and not just your value - stay connected to others.

Keeping in step with the spirit

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 (NIV)

Keeping in step with the Spirit means paying attention and moving when the Spirit is moving. When my middle son Jordan was about 3 years old, at the time, we were invited to an “Ice Cream Social” in a small Greenaway between these large buildings. So, my husband, Vaughan, Jordan, and myself (our oldest Jonathan, who was about 6 years old, was visiting his grandmother at the time) went to this gathering with a group of adults - in the early summer season.

My husband works a type of job where he is isolated most of the time and I being a stay-at-home mom with only two small children as company all day, had also been eager to spend some time with other adults. This Greenaway also had a small park with swings, monkey bars, slides, and the like, so this could be a win-win for our whole family.

While wrapped up in conversation with some of the women in the group my eyes darted to where I last saw Jordan playing by the monkey bars - but he wasn’t there. My husband is talking to a group of men and Jordan is not near him either. As my eyes dart around the Greenaway I see no sign of my son. Panic sets in, I only took my eye off of him for a second ( I thought) but it must have been at least 50 -60 seconds because now he was gone. The guilt arose in me immediately “I am a terrible mother,’ I thought “and now something terrible may happen to my son.” those thoughts kept racing as I began shouting his name and darting around the Greenaway.

I immediately started praying fervently in the hopes that God would restore my son to me safely. My husband seeing me being frantic, and noticing my confusion, also immediately joins in on the search racing around in the other direction. The fear of God crept over me, “What have I done?” I thought still shouting his name, when I suddenly spotted him. A woman is walking with him and bringing him towards me. As I shouted his name and ran towards him, the woman smiled at me and stated that he was playing with her son at the playground, and when they left to go to their car, he followed the little boy.

“This could have gone very wrong.” I thought. I thanked God and her, thank God she was a mother too and understood the implications of a lost child on a mother. After hugging my son tightly you can understand, that I never let go of his hand for the rest of the afternoon.

This episode in my life reminded me of the scripture in Luke 2:41-52 when a young Jesus is misplaced by his family. They started to travel on the road home for a full day, with a large group of adults, and because of that, they had taken their eyes off of Jesus. When they realized he was not in their company that is when their panic set in. That is when they also had to go on a search for their son.

The scripture states “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) And as you may know Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6 (NIV). But they took their eyes off of Jesus and their peace vanished with him.

Anxiety can seize us at a moment’s notice, how do you combat it? With breathwork? Sure. With prayer? Great. But why and how did they lose Jesus? Because they were not “walking by the Spirit’ - meaning not just “by” (as in the power of the Spirit) but the word “by” as not walking in close enough proximity to the Spirit (Jesus).

How often do we take our eyes off of the Lord assuming that he will be the same place that we saw him last? Taking for granted that he will stay put and wait for us to return to him. We wander away like sheep and then when we see something frightening like a wolf and when we turn again that is when we notice that the Shepherd is nowhere to be found. Why? Because when he moved we didn’t. We didn’t keep our eyes on Jesus.

The next time your anxiety rears its ugly head - think about this… how long had it been since I kept my eyes on Jesus? When my “Peace” moves, I need to follow.

Having God with you is enough

I thought that I would share one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. It is a testimony. Years and years ago, when my children were still small, I remember what my days were like - always rushing. My oldest suffered from night terrors and would wake up screaming three times a night easily. I could never wake him or help him in his distress. Then in the morning, he would be sleeping like a stone. I couldn't wake him up. It would take forever! I had to get my kids ready and fed in the morning, get myself ready, drop them off at school, and then catch the subway to go downtown to work ( I live in New York City - The Bronx).

My husband worked nights so he wasn't home yet to help with the kids in the mornings. One day, I got on the train after one of these harrowing mornings and I was exhausted. I was so tired, frustrated, and downright sad, so tired that I was shaking. I was working so hard and I had not even two dollars in my pocket - I only had the travel money on my MetroCard for my two trips - going and coming.

I was on the train and tears were streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably. I couldn't stop them - the silent tears of women that I think we all understand. And I prayed and asked God to help me. I didn't know what to do. I was working so hard and had nothing to show for it. I was stressed. I was fairly new to reading the Bible back then so I didn't even know what was in it that was when God whispered to me to read Habakkuk 3:16-19 (NIV).

“I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

My tears turned to tears of Joy because I knew God was with me and he heard me, he was listening to me and I was not alone. On those stressful days remember you are not alone God hears you, he is watching you, he knows you, and he loves you. Stress is real but so is my God.

So what if my fig tree wasn't ripening, so what if my crops were failing? I had God and that was enough! Have a blessed day!

Am I the biggest mountain that faith needs to move?

I have just been noticing that I can have big dreams but getting them from dreams to fruition can be a daunting task. I only need a mustard seed-sized faith to move any obstacle - Jesus said so. So what stops me? I have faith in other people but not always in myself. This is where the work begins. Stop having a perfectionist mindset. Everyone starts somewhere so I might as well start now. Ok, so I may fail a zillion times but this doesn’t make ME a failure it makes me a learner. I can learn from my mistakes as long as I don’t doubt myself, or doubt my existence - I am here for a reason.

All of the things that I have gone through always taught me something. Sometimes it taught me what I wanted. Sometimes it taught me what I didn’t want. Both lessons are valuable. Sometimes I learned how to never give up on things. Sometimes I learned how to give up graciously and with my dignity still intact. Sometimes I decided that I wasn’t going to take being mistreated anymore and left the situation. Sometimes I learned how to stay and stand up for what I believed in. Sometimes I laughed. Sometimes I cried. Sometimes I even wanted to end it all but mercifully my God told me that I am tougher than that as long as I have Him on my side.

So it won’t be easy. But, it may not be hard. All I can do is try. Then try again. And then try again. If I keep my faith sooner or later that mountain will move. Even if the mountain is me.

Taking all thought captive…

Sins are the things that we do - the wrongs we commit to ourselves or others. Traumas are the sins that other people inflict on us and the scars that they leave behind; emotionally, psychologically, or physically. Many times it is our lack of understanding of these differences that causes a skewed view of how we see ourselves or others. As we wrestle with these skewed thoughts inwardly we begin a pattern of self-deception, self-condemnation, and negative self-talk, and we tend to lose our boundaries in the process. Not everything is your fault.

The things that are our fault we should own and challenge ourselves towards change. For the things that are not our fault, we need to find the road of truth, self-forgiveness, the forgiveness of others, and finally how to let go and move on.

These things our challenging if we have had the wrong outlook for many years but it is not impossible to reframe your thinking and walk in the peace that Jesus died on the cross to give to you. Repentance is changing how you think, which changes how you act. We must also remember the call that God has on our lives and how He is teaching us what is true.

3 For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 6 And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Begin today! Challenge your thoughts don’t allow them to run rip shod over your existence. We create our world with our words which begin as thoughts. God loved you enough to leave Heaven to make a way for you to be saved. He would not have done so if He did not think that you were worthy of the trip.