Can you imagine being with the disciples during the forty days following the resurrection? Fresh from despairing that all hope was lost, Jesus is alive! Oh, the questions they must have had! And after all the time spent following Jesus, the unfolding of His plan was still a mystery to them. We can still say that today in many ways. As we look at what is going on in our world and even our own lives, we don’t always understand his ways. Jesus knew the disciples would still have questions. But he gave them clear instruction before his departure, and I believe the men in white were reiterating his point, “Why are you standing around looking up? Jesus will return, now go and do as he instructed you to do!” (my paraphrase) We too, can be distracted from Jesus’ commission to us by events happening around us.
My husband loves working with his hands and loves to create and build. Something I’ve seen him use often through the years is called a chalk box or reel. It’s a small container with a reel of line full of chalk inside. He will run this line across wood or drywall and pop it, leaving a perfect line to follow as he makes his cut. It guides him. Jesus gave us many instructions for living a kingdom-minded life and sent the Holy Spirit to guide us the way a chalk line guides a carpenter. When events around us don’t make sense, Jesus does. As we keep our eyes fixed on him, we’re able to navigate sometimes difficult situations with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit guiding us. He helps us stay the course, even amidst a myriad of questions.
At the time, the disciples didn’t understand what was about to happen. But they’d walked with Jesus, believed him, and seen him defeat death…they knew to obey and wait as instructed. And what a gift was coming!
Recently, I found myself facing a situation where I would have the opportunity to share Christ with some who are lost. I prepared in prayer ahead of time and was willing to serve the Lord however he chose in order to make Jesus known. (Don’t get me wrong – this is a great thing to do.) What I did not expect was coming away with a fresh perspective from the Holy Spirit for me. To be honest with you, I went pridefully believing that I carried what they needed. God reminded me that the work of the Spirit is His. Yes, I carry Christ, but I can trust his work and his timing. He reminded me that he was at work before I arrived on the scene and would continue to move long after I left. Repentance and salvation are the Holy Spirit’s work. We simply have the joy of reflecting his love to those we encounter and the privilege of watching him move.
Scholars far more knowledgeable than I have taught and will continue to teach on the Holy Spirit. That said, what I have learned in a lifetime of following Christ is that I’d be lost without the gift of the Holy Spirit to draw, comfort, guide, teach, correct, and so much more. Let’s remember to invite His most precious Presence into each day. He has so much life for each of us.
Jesus’ sermon on the mount abounds in direction for living the Christian life. This particular passage is often misappropriated to acquire our wants and desires. But Jesus was always guiding us toward kingdom living, setting our minds on substance of eternal value rather than the trappings of this world. As we set our mind on God’s will and purposes, our prayers begin to align with his will, and we learn to trust him all the more.
The second part of this passage makes me smile. Jesus points out how just as we love to give good things to our children, our Father loves to all the more. But as his sons and daughters, I believe sometimes we ask our Father for delectable desserts to fulfill us, while He knows what we need is more green vegetables in our lives! That’s a good Father!
In all of this, the truth is God loves to teach us and reveal more of himself to us. He tells us to ask, seek, knock. He never withholds without purpose. In areas where we may not understand why he’s not responding or why he answered a prayer in the manner he did – we can trust that he knows what we need far more than we do. How good it is to trust that our Father knows what is best for each of us.
For many years I made my own plans and set my goals as though I understood what was best for me. I looked at the pros and cons and did my best to eliminate negative outcomes because I didn’t want them interfering with the good I was planning to accomplish.
I would ask God to bless my endeavors because that made me feel like I was getting His approval. Now I realize how foolish and presumptuous I was. What I was doing was nothing more than a fantasy. The only person I was fooling was myself.
I am so grateful that the Lord’s light shined brightly and exposed the darkness of my ways. Once again, His truth set me free. Now I am focused on simply abiding in Him and trusting the Lord to direct my steps, one by one.
I am eternally grateful that Jesus came to give me abundant life and teach me how to live God’s way instead of man’s way. Everything I need to sustain my existence in Him has been provided by the Lord through His life and teaching.
His death on the cross is the greatest demonstration, in all of human history, that God loves me, my family, my friends and everyone else. His resurrection from the dead assures me that there is no circumstance or situation that will ever happen that can separate me from Him.
My old nature, the one I was born with when I came into the world, has been conditioned by my senses and for many years I thought that reality was in the material and physical things that surround me.
However, since I started following Jesus, I have been in a transition that has been gradually helping me to see that the true and eternal things are spiritual in nature. I am progressively more and more independent from the tangible things and am relying on my Heavenly Father, His Word, the Holy Spirit and Jesus to support me in all of my activities.
I thank God for guiding me into this awesome experience I have of living continually in His presence, one moment at a time.
Wherever I look, I see people with many different kinds of needs. Some of them are close to death and others are recovering from surgery. Some need God’s guidance and others are seeking help for their loved ones to be rescued from addictions.
The list goes on and on but one thing is certain; our heavenly Father knows every one of these needs before I ask Him to take care of them. After Jesus ascended to heaven to be with His Father, the apostles recognized that they had two important things to which they had to give their highest priority. Nothing was more essential to them than prayer and the ministry of the word.
The wonderful thing about those two ministries is that I can always find time to do them if I make them the highest priority in my life. When I am focused on those two activities I discover that I am also dwelling in continual fellowship with the Lord. Nothing is more important than that.
Early on in my walk with the Lord, many of my problems arose out of my discontentment. What I believed was a perceived need was nothing more than a carnal desire.
Instead of trusting God to provide something, I would go in debt. All that did was put me in bondage to banks and financial institutions. One of the greatest lessons I ever had was when I learned the secret of being content with what I had.
Now, when I think I need something, all I have to do is talk with the Lord about it. If I have peace and the money to purchase it, I look for the best bargain. If I have peace but not enough money, I wait until He provides it or I have the cash.
If I don’t have peace I don’t get it.
I thank God for meeting all of my real needs through Jesus Christ.
No matter what is happening around me, I can always take refuge in the Lord. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in me and around me so I am engulfed by Him.
When something negative happens, all I have to do is rejoice in the good things I know to be true about the Lord and my heart is filled with joy. His protection from terror enables me to live each day, moment by moment, in the awareness of the reality of His Kingdom so that I never have to be afraid.
His love is a shield that quenches all of the fiery darts of the wicked and I am confident that He will make everything work together for good. I thank God that every morning when I awake, He is always with me to begin another day.
When something breaks down or goes wrong, I sometimes have thoughts of blame. Even when I don’t have all the facts, my mind engages in negative reasoning, imagining worst case scenarios.
In those situations I need the Lord to help me realize that no matter what is happening, He is with me. My awareness of His presence enables me to put everything in proper perspective and experience His peace and joy.
The calming effect of knowing He will make every situation work for a positive outcome is immeasurably valuable. What, just moments before, seemed like a calamity of huge proportions miraculously becomes a simple ordinary event.
I am supremely grateful that the fellowship I have with the Lord grows increasingly more delightful in every adversity.
For many years it was difficult for me to understand the paradox that the Lord is both inclusive and exclusive.
He never keeps a person out of His Kingdom because of race, nationality, gender, age or any other distinguishing feature. Whosoever will may come and drink from His fountain of life.
At the same time, He prohibits anyone from coming any other way than through the cross of Jesus Christ. If there was another way, He would have spared Jesus the agony and excruciating form of death He endured.
That is the offense of the cross and the reason for resistance to the gospel. God appears to be exclusive by refusing to allow anyone to come to Him by their own righteousness. As the creator of all things, He alone has the right to determine how people are reconciled to Him.
I thank God for His ingenious plan of redemption that enables me, a sinner, to experience His peace and joy, and maintain your perfect justice.
