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Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, Hebrews 6:1
Ever noticed how everyone is drawn to a baby? It’s always amazed me how a little, helpless bundle of flesh can turn otherwise normal and intelligent human beings into babbling idiots! Okay, maybe that was a bit strong, but how else do you describe the antics, silly words and gestures we do to make ‘baby’ smile?
We coo and aah. We smile and make funny faces. We say senseless things like “So Big!” What does that mean? What’s the significance of a 12 pound, 25 inch, bald bundle of joy spreading his or her arms and smiling like they have a clue as what you are talking about?
Okay, I’ve ranted on long enough on that. The fact of the matter, as I’ve stated earlier, is that we all love babies. There isn’t a one of us parents that haven’t said something to the effect of “I wish they wouldn’t grow up” as they leave the toddler years and become more independent. Then, of course they become teenagers and we change our tune to “I wish they’d just grow up!”
Fact of the matter is, if a baby doesn’t grow up and become more mature physically, emotionally and intellectually they simply can’t function in society. All of life is centered on the idea of maturing, growing and becoming more independent.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. The Apostle Paul talks of the Corinthian believers as being immature children still needing milk when they should be eating steak! Peter says something similar when he tells us we should long for the milk of the word so that we can grow up!
Too many times we get hung up in our walk with Christ. We are, so to speak spiritually, developmentally delayed. We focus on our failures when we should act on our freedom. We worry when we should work. We criticize when we should cooperate. We protect the ways we always did things when we should press on to new horizons.
Our God is not a shallow God. He is not stagnant. He is unchanging in character but not in how he interacts with others. Remember that in order for relationship, any relationship to be strong it must grow deeper. A love relationship is one in which two people continue to learn more and more about each other.
The same is true with God. Don’t get hung up on your past. Don’t get hung up on your failures. Don’t allow yourself to become stagnant because you don’t have this gift, or that ability or the right amount of money or resources. Grow deep with God. Devour His word. Don’t just read a passage, study it. Mediate on it. Talk with God often. Grace teaches us that your heavenly Father wants to deepen his relationship with you so that he can show you great and mighty things.
Be willing to listen and learn. Don’t be like the infant that never grows up. The closer you walk with God the deeper and more exciting your life will be.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that sometimes I act more like a spiritual two-year old than an adult because I demand my own way even if it will harm me. Other times I’m like a teenager and think I know more than you do about how things should be. I get hung up on me rather than growing in you. Empower me with your spirit to grow deeper in my understanding of you. Help me love you more so I can live in the freedom you intended. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
I’m always amazed when I watch the birds as storms approach. I remember one time in particular. The sky to the west was ominously black as a severe summer storm was approaching. The distant rumble of thunder grew louder. The lightning flashes became more frequent. I was watching the impending storm from my deck and getting ready to head inside for cover as the first drops of rain began to fall.
As I slid the patio door open I noticed out of the corner of my eye a robin perched on the top of one of our young trees. The wind was beginning to blow, giving the robin quite a ride. In my concentration on the storm I’d never even noticed that the bird was singing at the top of its lungs!
While the rest of the world was preparing to take cover, the bird was singing praises to its maker! I stepped inside to watch the storm…and my friend, the robin. The sky grew darker. The wind increased and finally, my little friend flew off for the safety of a larger oak standing nearby.
My Heavenly Father put on a great light show complete with pelting rain and window-shaking thunder. I stood at the window enjoying the show and occasionally looking into the oak. The storm occasionally grew too severe for me to see clearly, but the robin sat in its place of refuge until the rain stopped and a beautiful rainbow signaled the end of our adventure.
Jesus’ words came to my mind as I replayed what just happened. Look at the birds of the air. Birds don’t worry about where tomorrow’s food will come from and they aren’t concerned about 401k’s or pension plans. They don’t concern themselves with planting and harvesting and all the other things we humans worry about. They know that their Father in Heaven will provide exactly what they need.
Every once in awhile I see or hear a robin singing at the top of its lungs. I remember the lesson my friend taught me in the storm. I’m so much more valuable to the Father than a robin. He sent his Son to die for my sin. He made me in His image. He gave the promises of his Word and the assurance of eternal life with him.
If he loves me that much do I need to worry about tomorrow? If he loves me that much do I need to be anxious when the storms of life attack? I don’t think so. As the old gospel hymn says, “For His eye is on the Sparrow, and I know He watches me.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I thank you for the extreme passion you have for your creation. I praise you for the fact that in all of your greatness and power you think enough to protect the birds during a storm and provide for them in their need. Forgive me for the times I’ve worried. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to trust you completely. When the storms of life approach help me to cling to the promises you have given me. In Jesus name, Amen.
I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. John 13:15 (NLT)
“And Jesus had compassion…”
Those words spring up throughout the ministry of Jesus while he was on earth. He had compassion on the woman caught red-handed in bed with a man she wasn’t married to.
He had compassion on the parent whose child had just died or was very sick.
He had compassion on the rich young ruler who, tried as he might, just couldn’t do what was necessary to receive the gift of eternal life. He just couldn’t let go.
He had compassion on the traitor who sold out to the enemy and, as a result, was a social outcast.
He had compassion on the person so steeped in religion that he couldn’t comprehend the simple steps it took to receive eternal life.
He had compassion on those who were his closest friends and yet were more concerned about their own status than they were their brother.
He had compassion on the guard that beat him nearly to death and then pounded huge spikes into his already pain-filled flesh.
“He had compassion….”
Why did Jesus have compassion on so many people that rejected him, either openly, or unintentionally? What drove him so such lengths to give his very life for the very people who thought they took it from him?
Jesus had compassion because he knew the Father and knew that the Father was, in his very essence, compassion. That is what drove Jesus to reach out to the weak, the frail, the sick and the rebellious. And that’s what drives Jesus to reach out to you. Not a single deserved the touch of Jesus compassion. Not a single person can repay him for what he did. Neither can you.
Jesus says to us, “Follow my example”, and when he does so he is asking…commanding us rather, to show compassion in the same way that he did.
Our reaction to those around us is a reflection of our view of God. If we see a god of revenge we will seek justice rather than mercy. If we see a god of anger we will respond to those who have hurt us in anger. If we see an unforgiving god we will refuse to forgive those who have hurt us. But if we see a God of compassion, we will respond to those around us as Jesus did.
PRAYER: Father, once again I am humbled as I approach your throne today. I confess that it is easy to show compassion to those I don’t know, or those who are like me and who are kind to me. It’s hard to show compassion to the ‘bad people’ around me, yet that is what you would do. Fill me today with the power from your Spirit to show compassion to those who need it the most. Thank you for the example you gave us in Jesus. In his name I pray, Amen.
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:3 (NLT)
Ever wondered what it would be like to be a member of one of those exclusive Country Clubs? You know the kind. Expensive, fancy cars packing the parking lot. Valets making sure you don’t have to bother with parking your car, or going to find it. Great food. Well kept gardens complete with pools. Beautiful scenery. Excellent service always delivered with a smile and a Mr. or Ms. and, of course, red carpet treatment.
Most of us will never experience that kind of treatment. We wouldn’t meet the entrance qualifications, or wouldn’t have the money it would take to purchase those benefits. At least not in this world.
That’s not the case in God’s Kingdom. In God’s kingdom it’s the poor who are elevated because they are the ones who are most aware of their need for God.
It’s the person who constantly struggles with life who is uplifted because they know how much they need God’s grace.
It’s those who suffer the injustice of broken relationships, addictions and persecution who will feel the warmth of Jesus’ arms as they endure the pain of life.
It’s those who are merciful to those who mistreat them or don’t deserve their generosity that are clothed in the satisfaction only Christ can give. Satisfaction in knowing someone is better because they gave.
It is those who give up their own rights to make sure the rights of others are protected that enjoy the peace that passes all understanding.
The elite Country Club has a long list of qualifications. God has one: Love me and in so doing love yourself and others.
The elite Country Club has membership dues that need to be paid. God paid your dues through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The elite Country Club offers many benefits to make your life comfortable while on earth. God promises and eternal life in heaven with Him, free of pain and heartache, and all because of Jesus.
Because of Jesus you meet the qualifications, the membership dues have been paid, and the benefits will last for eternity.
PRAYER: Holy God. I thank you for the promises of blessings far above what the world offers. There are so many times I feel insecure. So many times I worry. So many times I feel completely inadequate for the task before me. Thank you for Jesus and the comfort, forgiveness and hope for eternity I have in Him. In Jesus name I pray, Amen
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19
What is God like? Some see him as very old. After all, “In the beginning” was a long time ago! Others focus on the parts of the Bible that tell us about earth quakes and thunder, of anger and wrath, of being distant and demanding. There are those who see God as and angry tyrant or a disinterested bystander.
Some don’t see him at all, really. The whole thing about religion and faith and a ‘god’ you can’t see, or a god that seems distant until you mess up. Then he’s there. Boy is he there. Ready to send a lightning bolt of despair, hardship, sickness or relational destruction with your name on it.
There are those who see God as a jolly old elf in a red suit who knows if you are naughty or nice and when you are sleeping and…no wait. That’s Santa Claus…or is it. Don’t we think that God will send us nice gifts (spelled b-l-e-s-s-i-n-g-s) if we are good and punishment when we are bad?
Knowing what God is like is really quite easy. He’s not old because he’s an eternal being. Get rid of the picture in your mind of some old man. See God as a young, say, 20 something. Ready to take on the world. Excited about the possibilities. Seeing the world and future ahead of him and anxious to see what good can happen.
He’s passionate about love. Excited with life. Sees each day as a new, exciting challenge. God can’t wait to sit down with his friends in a coffee shop to talk about life, love and nothing important. Is more than willing and able to be a shoulder to cry on or to give a hug. God is the kind of person you go to in whatever mood you are in because he’s there for you.
There’s another way to see what God is like. See Jesus. See the passion when he healed the socially outcast leper. See the emotion as he visits the grave of a dear friend. See the compassion as he lifts the prostitute to her feet and tells her she isn’t condemned. See the love as he stands by the widow whose only son just died. See the sympathy as he walks with the worried dad just after he hears that his daughter has died.
That’s God. That’s Jesus. Always there to forgive, to love, to laugh. Passionate. That’s what God is like!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. This morning I’ve seen you in an entirely new way. Thank you for showing me who you are through Jesus. Thank you that you aren’t some stodgy, old, cantankerous coot. I praise you for the passion you have for me. Empower me with your spirit to show that passion in life and towards those around me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 