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“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
Have you ever found yourself in the position of buying a ‘gift’ for someone under obligation? It’s not that you don’t like the person, or that you have no desire to be kind, it’s just that the gift you are looking for is out of ‘expectation’ rather than passion. Maybe it’s not a gift. Maybe it’s some other act of kindness. Rather than random acts of kindness we often perform random acts of obligation.
There is no joy in obligatory giving. It can leave us feeling violated, taken advantage of or used. We feel controlled and manipulated by the person we are buying the gift for and it’s easy to become bitter, angry and alienated.
Sometimes people see God as an obligatory giver. We see him as a controlling, manipulative being who is really intent on making our lives miserable and that we live in constant fear of his wrath. We see him as a being that is constantly looking for our sacrifice to prove our allegiance to him. It’s sad to say, but sometimes, organized religion has either intentionally or unintentionally propagated that idea by placing rules and regulations on how we act or making demands on our time and money.
In the middle of Jesus’ teaching on worry he gives us a picture of his Father that we should never forget. Jesus likens the Father’s love and care of us to his watch care over nature. The birds don’t worry about their next meal; the flowers burst forth to show their beauty without worrying about how the wind blows.
Then He says “Don’t be afraid little flock”. Pay attention to that phrase because it is a term of affection, endearment and protection. As the good shepherd Jesus knew that sheep would wander aimlessly into danger without guidance and leadership. While some want to paint God as a being who is, at best, hesitant to bestow his blessings and is angry or begrudging in showing kindness, Jesus says the opposite is true. He tells us God’s actions towards us aren’t based on his power, which he certainly has a right to do, but on his love for us.
The next phrase in this verse is important because it tells us of the very character of God. Don’t be afraid little flock because “your father is pleased’ to give you the kingdom. Did you catch that? The Father, the Creator God of the universe is pleased to give you the kingdom. God doesn’t hold back; He doesn’t give grudgingly. He is pleased, honored and looking forward to bestowing on us his good pleasure.
The problem is, sometimes we seek only the physical blessings of life. We seek the three R’s of riches, relationships and religion. We tell ourselves we are ‘blessed if we have a healthy bank account and retirement plan. We are blessed if we have a strong family relationship. We are blessed if we attend the right church.
While all these things can point to God’s blessings, God’s true blessings come through a healed heart, a contented soul and a hope built on the forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ. We have a God who takes great pleasure in giving us all the blessings of his kingdom; blessings of forgiveness, hope and peace of heart.
PRAYER: Father God, as I think of that phrase “it is your pleasure to give me your blessings’, I’m in awe. I’m so undeserving of your grace. I fail you daily. I hurt others and ultimately myself by my actions. I forget what is truly important in life. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for taking great pleasure in blessing me with your kingdom through Jesus Christ. Amen.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”Isaiah 42:3-4
Our family loves to go camping every opportunity we can. There’s something about hooking up the camper and heading into the woods to get away from it all, even if for only a couple days. On one such camping trip we stopped at the gift shop of the campgrounds we would call home for several days.
While we all love camping, my daughter enjoys it the most. She like the conveniences of a full service campground with playgrounds and pools, but she is equally enthralled with escaping to the remotest places in the world (our world anyway) to enjoy the barest of facilities.
On this particular occasion she saw a fire-starting kit complete with flint and steel. Now, mind you, I am NOT a Boy Scout. My idea of starting a fire in remote areas is making sure my Aim & Flame is fresh and ready to go! However, we bought the kit and proceeded to our campsite to start the fire that would cook our supper.
The task was quite a challenge for one novice and a young child. We tried over and over to get the flame started. A couple times we got a small piece of leaf to smolder but time and again it would die out and we’d have to start over. I confess to you that we gave up. Hunger proved more of an incentive than rustic living!
When Isaiah was writing to the nation of Israel they were a tired nation. Largely due to their own rebellion, they were suffering under enemy rule as God’s judgment of their idolatry. They were tired. They were full of hopelessness. They saw no easy solution to their problems. Many died never seeing the deliverance promised them.
Later, Matthew would quote Isaiah in his gospel. Not many things had changed for Israel. They were still a people under bondage. They were still a people in hopeless despair. They were economically depressed, politically oppressed and religiously distressed. Then Jesus came.
Isaiah’s description of the Messiah was just what the people needed in his day, during the time Jesus walked this earth and today as well.
We need a Savior who will understand the delicacy of a smoldering wick. We need a Savior that understands our fragile condition. We need a Savior that realizes that just one more puff of wind may put an end to our ability to cope.
As we feel the life ebb from our emotional souls it’s easy to look for the easy solution, to look at what I like to call the three R’s of life: Religion, Riches and Relationships. The problem is that we have learned, or are learning the hard way that none of these help. All of them may seem to fan the flame for a time, but eventually they snuff us out.
Jesus didn’t come to snuff out our flame. He didn’t come to break us into submission. This God that can calm the storm; this God that hangs the stars in their place; this God that casts out demons, is also a God of gentleness. He comes to shore us up in our weakness, to fan the flame that has all but died out in our souls.
Regardless of what is attacking you now, realize that Jesus Christ came to gently, but firmly rekindle the flame within you. It may take time, but he has all the time in the world.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you this morning for the power you showed in the storms of Galilee; how you healed the sick, the lame and those hounded by demons. Most of all, Lord Jesus I thank you that in my weakest moments when I feel the flame of my hope about to be snuffed out, you come to me to fan the flame once again in my soul. Amen.
Night prayer
* In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8; NIV).
* On my bed I remember you (Psalm 63:6; NIV).
* For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8; NIV).
* This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10; NIV).
* Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12; NIV).
Father God,
Thank you for today –
For every breath I’ve taken,
And each beat of my heart;
For my senses and emotions,
The ability to think, speak and act.
For my…
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Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn’t very deep. Matthew 13:5
A friend of m
ine was relating how he managed to shut down a sizable portion of the electricity in his neighborhood. He told how he was working on a yard project his wife had been asking him to complete for a long time. (Most of us men will be able to relate to that).
One of the last things he had to do was to plant a tree in the corner of the yard. As he tells the story, he completely ignored the sign in the corner of his yard warning that there were cables underneath the soil and no digging should happen without calling diggers hotline.
“I wasn’t going to be digging that deep, so I didn’t think that sign applied to me,” He smiled, “But on the fourth or fifth prod with the shovel I felt something solid. Thinking it was yet another rock I slammed the point of the shovel deep and pried up. It was getting late, I was getting tired. I wanted to be done and I was tired of rock! That’s when the spark happened.”
Within minutes his wife yelled out the window that they had no power. Further investigation revealed that nearly half of the houses in the subdivision were also lacking power. Needless to say, my friend learned a valuable lesson about digging. Always know what’s below. Always.
The same can be said in our spiritual lives I think. The ‘Parable of the Sower and the Seed’ tells of seed that is thrown on rocky ground. The seed sprouts and grows quickly, like the rest of the seed. However, when the sun came out and the wind blew the roots were not able to stand firm and the plant withered.
For years I’ve heard sermons on the negative aspect of the rocky ground. Sermons that spoke of not letting emotion get in the way of growth. Sermons about how vital it is to get ‘rid of the rocks’ in our lives so that we can grow our roots deep. All these sermons had important lessons for us to learn. However, maybe the story has a different twist for us as well.
Any good farmer knows the importance of working the soil before planting; of knowing what lay below the surface so that when you plant you know what you are up against. Understanding and preparing the soil is just as important as planting the seed.
I see the rocks of the story as those things in people’s lives that keep us from really turning over everything to God. It could be an abusive childhood. It could be the struggle of divorce or an unhappy marriage. It could be the realization, in later years, that the dreams of our childhood will never be realized.
Those of us on the surface can look with disdain on those intent on focusing on the emotional and not the deeper things of the spiritual life, or we can take the time to help those struggling with ‘rocky soil’ to withstand the penetrating and painful rays of the sun and destructive winds of life’s pain.
Perhaps the focus in the emotional and the surface things of life are all they can handle for the moment until they are able to remove some of those rocks hidden from view.
That’s what grace is about. Grace is about realizing that everyone we meet has some hidden burdens. It’s about patiently helping to remove the rocks before we can expect roots to grow deeper. Before you dig into someone’s life, know what’s below.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lift up to you those I know who may be struggling with things below the surface I never realized existed. I ask that I might have the insight and patience to help clear the rocks before being concerned about deeper roots. In your name, Amen.
Gifts
* This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10; NIV).
* In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! (Philippians; 2:5-8; NIV).
*Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13; NIV).
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the Living God,
The Magi brought you gifts of
Gold, frankincense and myrrh.
We too bow down before you,
Acknowledging your…
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Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 