journey onWord with us

If you are a student, seeker, or follower, this is your day.  If you are an antagonist or enemy of Jesus, it is clearly not.  Jesus seems to move through Tuesday with a sense of urgency in reaching people with his teaching and meets many challenges along his purposed path.  Between an early morning encounter with the withered fig tree and an evening conversation with a few of his disciples on a hillside overlooking Jerusalem, those who surrounded Jesus today would certainly get their three squares of teaching.  There would be no mention of meals or stops.  Jesus was about his Father’s work and there was much to impart before He would depart.

His arrival in Jerusalem would begin with a bang, as he is immediately and passionately challenged by the religious leaders.  They confront Jesus and insist on knowing by what authority he is speaking and acting, and who gave him that authority.  This is a direct challenge that Jesus answers with a question; a question that confounds the religious elite, and twists them in knots as they confer.

This will begin a pattern of teaching and responding to challenge that Jesus will answer in parable, or as in this case, not at all.  It is a pattern that speaks to the divine nature of Jesus’ words and actions.  They are so rich and not-of-this-world that he can only illustrate with story, or leave it to a changed heart to wrestle with and believe.  And on a lighter note, this is one area that you may want to avoid following Jesus’ example.  Can you imagine me being confronted by my wife with a challenge as to why I didn’t have time to wash the dishes that day, and answering “Well sweetheart, there was a man who had two sons…”  Yeah, we can all see where that would go!

Jesus continues in Mark chapter 12 to teach about this new kingdom that he is here to build.  He calls out the religious leaders and lays out his earthly mission in the parable of the tenants.  He confounds them again later as he answers their challenge on taxes.  “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” (Mark 12:17 NLT).  Listen gentlemen, my Father doesn’t need your money.  The coins are Caesar’s; his face is clearly on them.  The heart is what my Father wants.  Give your denarius to man, give your heart to God. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees prove their ignorance and hard-heartedness so many times in one 24 hour span.  In one especially odd moment, they break into a nonsensical one bride for seven brothers hypothetical about who’s married to who in heaven.  Rather than belittle or dismiss, Jesus uses the question as another opportunity to teach truth about his kingdom and his Father.

Jesus answers every direct question and communicates truth to everyone with ears to hear.  He does not show anger, contempt or impatience, but rather takes each question as an opportunity to teach and lay out the truth of his kingdom.  There is so much of that truth to take in.  Take time today to consume Jesus’ words, digest his parables and allow the full measure of truth to saturate your true self.

The religious leaders went to school today.  With each divine response, their anger and hatred increased.  We are in full stride towards Gethsemane and Calvary, but Jesus will not be led by plots and schemes.  He is doing his Father’s work, in his Father’s time, sharing the good news of his kingdom.  A kingdom that is unlike any other before or after it and is not “to come”, but is right here, right now.  A kingdom of forever-changed hearts, whose currency is a sold-out love for their God, poured out in the form of loving their neighbor genuinely and completely.

Consume and digest the parallel narratives of Tuesday teaching…
Matthew 21:23-46, 22-25
Mark 11:20-33, 12, 13
Luke 20, 21

If you study today (Monday) in the last week of Jesus, you will find that it’s all about a tree and a temple.  The temple story is more dramatic and certainly well-known; the scene where he is turning over money tables and clearing the temple of all that has corrupted it.  But it is his early morning teaching when he happens upon a fig tree that sets the table for the action that is to come.

In Mark 11:12, we find Jesus making the trip again with his disciples from the town of Bethany to Jerusalem.  Not far out of town he spots a fig tree in full leaf.  This would not have been odd, since fig trees in that region would be in leaf at that time of year.  What would also be true is that a fig tree would not have full size fruit until mid-summer but would typically have small knobs called taqsh, that would drop off before the real fruit is formed.  These small knobs were edible and would often be offered to or eaten by the poor.  It is also important to note that if a fig tree in full leaf in the spring did not have taqsh, there would be no fruit on that tree that year.  This is how Jesus finds this fig tree – in full leaf, giving the clear impression to any passer-by that there was fruit.

Jesus knows, of course, there is no taqsh on this tree, but he takes the opportunity to teach a critical lesson, applicable to the life of any believer.  Jesus curses the tree, saying “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.“  I wonder if it seemed a bit drastic to any of the disciples.  Was Jesus hungry and became angry when he discovered that his hunger would go unsatisfied?  Obviously, no.  Then why would Jesus stop at and curse a fruitless tree?  I believe it’s because that particular tree symbolized something he does not want to be true in the life of anyone who chooses to follow him.  In his curse Jesus seems to be saying, “Don’t be a believer deceiver.”  Don’t be someone who takes great care and effort to give the appearance of a follower, but who brings a curse on God’s name by the way they live.  This tree is a poison to the kingdom Jesus is here to announce.

Having introduced this critical truth, Jesus continues onto Jerusalem with his disciples.  But before we arrive at the temple, I believe it is critically important to note that this is not the first time Jesus has been to the temple this week.  As parade day ended, Mark 11:11 says, “And He went into Jerusalem and into the temple complex. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”   Sometime in the late afternoon of that joyous day, Jesus purposed a visit to the temple.  The Bible doesn’t describe the scene, but I imagine that he finds a moment to slip away from his disciples and the crowd.  He often did the to pray, so there is precedent.  His visit to the temple is also not described in any great detail, which might lead one to believe that he simply took a stroll, and because it was late, he left and went back to Bethany.  But a closer look at the Greek suggests that this “looking around” was anything but a casual stroll, just checking the place out.

Much time and history had transpired since Solomon was assigned the task of building a fitting house for God.  This temple had been rebuilt by Herod, and while it was an architectural marvel, it was a far cry from a house of prayer or a dwelling place for the Most High.  Using time as a backdrop to the scene, this was Passover.  And their modern celebration of Passover had become quite the spectacle.  Hundreds of thousands of out-of-towners made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover, and the temple was at the center of the bustle.  Passover had become big business.  ”Vendors” packed the temple offering a myriad of services to the Passover pilgrim to “aid” in their celebration.  Before purchasing your Passover lamb, you first had to make a stop at the currency exchange booth, where someone was ready to take your native currency and exchange it for temple coinage (at a profit, of course).  Also from all that I have read, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the modern-day equivalents of a t-shirt vendor, carnival game operator and timeshare salesman, all packed within the temple walls, ready to “service” their out-of-town guests.

Jesus has observed it all the evening before and in his visit Monday we hear of no “looking around”, or “fact-finding”.  And we do not hear of a “posse” in the form of assistance from the disciples or any of his followers.  No, Jesus enters the temple with full intent and claims this as a one-man, or better described, God-man job.  Immediately he begins to make a mess of the mess that has been made of his Father’s house.  He turns over tables and drives out every last remnant of evil and vice that had corrupted this sacred place.  And in the midst of his righteous anger and action, scripture says that he taught, and reclaimed the temple as a house of prayer for all nations.

Tuesday’s dawn would provide punctuation to the powerful teaching in the midst of Monday’s extraordinary events.  As Jesus and the disciples once again left Bethany, they passed by a familiar place and witnessed a familiar sight.  Except this time there was no life or leaf to deceive the passer-by as to the existence of fruit on the cursed fig tree.  On seeing it, Peter exclaimed “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”  Now, apart from Peter sounding like a master of the obvious, think about what the disciples were looking at.  When was the last time you saw a tree completely wither in a day?  And add onto that, when was the last time you saw someone curse a tree with words, and see it completely wither in a day? 

The tree and the temple – one cursed and one reclaimed.  Both are strong and conjoined lessons of God’s hatred for the outward appearance of fruit with no evidence from within.  Let the events of this day cause us to honestly examine our own lives and allow the Spirit to do any necessary house cleaning.

Today is a very significant day in the life of every Christian.  Palm Sunday is the gateway through which we enter holy week.  A week of incredible significance that begins with Christ entering the city of Jerusalem, received and lauded as a king, and ends with a resurrected Savior.  But as you may already know, those two glorious punctuation points are not the full story.

This is my fourth consecutive year of practicing Lent and walking with intention through holy week.  In my pre-Lenten years, Palm Sunday was just a 30-second commercial for the anticipated “big day.”  There were palm leaves and talk of new Easter outfits.  There was the reminder to purchase baskets, fill the plastic eggs, and plan the Easter morning “hunt.”  It was the anticipation of a short work week, with Good Friday relegated to not much more than a welcomed vacation day.  It was season treason and full of everything but spiritual significance.

Then came the casual inquiry from a friend as to whether I had ever practiced Lent.  And on that blessed fulcrum, the spiritual momentum of my life began to tip in a wholly new direction.  The time of Lent, and my practice of it, has become central to my true self.  And the specific emphasis on holy week has awoken within me an entirely new and deep sense of thanksgiving for what Jesus did for me (and for you).  It has blown the seal off the cap that I had put on the spiritual side of Easter.  It has brought true and vibrant color to each day in my walk from parade to resurrection.  The bright colors pop, while at the same time, the grays and blacks have taken on new contrast and depth.

So today, I begin where holy week begins, with the image of a King riding into town … on a donkey.  I have known all along that the donkey was significant to this “triumphal entrance” story, but I had always stopped at the reasons of prophesy and humility.  In Zechariah 9:9-10 it was prophesied that Christ would arrive on the back of a donkey.  And as for humility, it is pretty easy and obvious to make the connection with our King’s birth.  Christ’s two big entrances were both made in great humility:  born, not with herald in the halls of a gilded palace, but in the anonymity and humility of a feed trough within a common stable; riding into Jerusalem as a King, not on the back of a noble and strong horse, but on the foal of a lowly donkey.  These are perfect illustrations that seem to wrap up the significance into a nice neat package.

As I studied this past week, however, I was introduced to a deeper significance in God’s choice of this animal.  I am certain that my father-in-law has explained this to me before (having owned a mule (the offspring of a male donkey and female horse) for several years), but I was reminded in my studies, that the donkey is a very smart animal.  It is true to its description as a beast of burden, but do not be mistaken.  This is no clueless, led-around-by-the-nose farm animal.  It is equal parts stubborn will and faithful servant, and this is where I found the nugget.

All of the gospels give an account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, underscoring its obvious significance.  But it is the complete lack of any other significant event during that day that began to intrigue me.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem to this glorious greeting, this major parade, and then … nothing.  Ok, there is brief mention in Mark’s gospel that he took a look around the temple, and because it was getting dark, he returned to Bethany.  But what else happened that day?!  It seems generally accepted that the time of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem was mid-morning.  And then the next detail we hear is of him looking around the temple just before dark.  Huh?  Wouldn’t this have been the perfect moment to take up the bully pulpit and play to the crowd?  Or better yet, march on to the seat of government and overthrow it?  The crowd was anticipating a conquering king.  They showed it in their use of palm branches (a symbol of military victory), and cries of “Hoseanna!” (which in Hebrew means “save us” or “save us now”).  But Jesus is not the type of king the Jews are expecting, and that is not what happens.  There is very little circumstance that follows the pomp.  There’s a parade led by a man on a young donkey, a quiet walk through the temple and then back home around dusk.

Now back to this young donkey.  In my studies on this seemingly lowly animal, I found an Old Testament story (Numbers 22:21-35) about a prophet (Balaam) who rode a donkey, who saw an angel, refused to confront the angel, got off of the path and was beaten by an angry prophet … how’s that for cliff notes?  That story reveals a great truth about the donkey.  Namely, that it senses danger and stubbornly refuses to go headlong into it.  A horse?  Sound the bugle and kick your heels, and he goes charging.  But a donkey?  No way, sister.  You can push and prod all you want, but this animal is holding its ground.  We see this same picture in the lack of mention of any significant event after Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem.  Although this might have been an opportune moment to go charging onward with the full support of an adoring and boisterous crowd, Jesus did nothing.  I would think there had to be some talk or even possibly some pressure to act.  These people were expecting a conquering king.  A man of action who would bring the rod and make right all those times the people of Israel were at the short end of the conquering stick.  Yet in the face of all that, this is a King who was not here for that purpose.  This is a King who knew his time and held his ground, refusing to move at another’s pace or for another’s purpose.

Further, there is the area of the donkey’s true nature.  It is very much a beast of burden, but bears those burdens as a wise and faithful servant.  Balaam’s donkey knew not to confront but also did not run.  He submitted himself to the beating of an angry prophet.  In Christ’s entry, He did not confront nor did he run from the suffering He knew was coming.  He submitted to God’s purpose and became the bearer of the greatest burden there ever has or ever will be, the weight of the sins of every person for all time.  In His birth, life, and purpose, there was never an intent to take an earthly throne.  Our King’s earthly throne would be a cross.  There He would hang, in His true nature, the full weight and burden of all our sins, faithfully born.

In Christ’s stubborn and unfailing will, He bore our burden as only He could, and paid the price so that we might live.  What a perfect choice God made in his plan for Christ’s entry and for our redemption.  Let’s all go into this week, and the remainder of the days God has for us, walking in the ways of a donkey.

I invite you into our journey onWord through holy week.  To take time each day, search the scriptures, and follow Jesus’ path to the cross, the grave, and out of the tomb.  What an amazing punctuation we have waiting for us at the end of this week.  Let us not reduce its meaning by running past the deep significance in the details of Jesus’ final days before death and resurrection.  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!!

Try looking back at last week and remembering all the specifics. So much happens in the course of seven days that we tend to lose connection with many of the events. But in seasons of difficulty, our memories become laser sharp in recalling the days of our week. Although Peter’s life was far different from ours; his memory probably never dismissed the events of one particular week. You know the week, as it started with the triumphal entry and came to a climax with our Savior hanging on a cross.

A quick read of the events gives us insight into the selfless love of Christ, and the struggles of His disciples. In the upper room He washed their feet in an incredible picture of love. Later that week in a garden called Gethsemane, Christ gave us the ultimate example of doing the Father’s will. And then, for you and me, He hung on a cross and took the sins of the whole world on Himself. There is no greater love.

Contrast that love with the week Peter experienced. How could someone spend so much time with Christ and make so many blunders? When Christ washed the feet of His disciples in the upper room, Peter had a problem with it. It’s a fascinating discourse as Christ provides an amazing picture of a humble servant, and Peter objects before relenting. Wouldn’t Peter have known, or trusted that his Lord knew what He was doing?  And how about the scene of Christ’s arrest?!  Do you remember Peter’s part? With a swing of his sword, he cut off a soldier’s ear, which drew a rebuke from Christ. Christ reminded Peter that the Father had prepared the cup for Him to drink.

To continue his “not so stellar week,” Peter had fallen asleep with two other disciples as Christ prayed in the garden. Obviously, Christ was not pleased that His friends failed in keeping watch.  But Peter’s ultimate failure came with his infamous denials. Christ predicted them, and Peter passionately in responded, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matt. 26:35). We all know what happened next … only a matter of hours later. I can only imagine that for the rest of Peter’s life, he contemplated how it all could have gone so wrong.

Can you imagine a worse week?!  I can!  Not because I have had one, but because as terrible as it may have gone for Peter, for Jesus it was infinitely worse. Gethsemane alone was wrenching, but the cross was beyond brutal.  The cross where he bore the sins of all for all of time, was crucified, and paid the price for us with the shedding of his blood.  But after all his suffering, and ultimate sacrifice, the sun broke on the morning of the first day of the next week and we find an empty tomb! He has risen!  He has risen, indeed!

Just as salvation’s story did not end at the cross, Peter’s didn’t either.  Further study shows that our risen Savior restored Peter, and he was used dramatically in God’s continuing work.  Oh what love, Oh what a Savior, Oh what grace! So the next time you have a bad week, remember Peter.  And remember your Savior who is ready with open arms to forgive and restore.

SPECIAL NOTE:  Our traditional format of two posts per week will be changing next week (and only next week).  Beginning on Palm Sunday and continuing through resurrection day, we will be posting once each day focusing on the events of Christ’s life on that specific day.  We pray that you will join us in going slower and deeper on Jesus final steps towards the cross, the grave, and resurrection.  We believe you must go through Friday to get to Sunday, but we also believe there is so much richness in Christ’s final and intentional steps towards those life changing days.  Join us as we journey onWord through Holy Week.

If you were to ask my wife Genel and I to give our thoughts on any subject, you would receive truthful answers, but from different perspectives. Genel would be more detailed and I would be more bottom-line. Her answers will always be filtered through her personality, background and being female. From me, answers will have a southern, male version of the same situation filtered through life experiences and personality. It is my opinion that listening to both of our truthful versions will also give a better and more complete answer to the subject we are discussing. When God chose to give us insight into the life of Christ, His method was often to give us His truth from different perspectives. And putting the different perspectives together provides a more complete picture. Take the temptation of Christ for example.

You have undoubtedly read or been taught about the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. The big details are easy to remember. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. There was an epic battle between Satan and Christ that included three specific temptations. Christ defended himself with God’s Word. More than one gospel writer tells the story, and we could just look at each individually.  But if we view each account of this scene in the gospels collectively, the picture becomes far more complete than just understanding some key details.

What most of us think about the temptation of Christ probably comes from the book of Matthew. This account gives a great summary of the three temptations following the forty days and forty nights of fasting. But to complete the picture of this wilderness experience the Father chose to give us accounts in Mark and Luke. Reading what Mark and Luke wrote doesn’t change the truth of the events, but helps us gain a broader perspective.

Mark only gave two verses to the temptation. But when you read his account, it becomes clear that Christ was tempted during the whole forty days. Luke also gives insight that the temptation lasted throughout the wilderness experience. Without reading all the passages, you and I could falsely assume from Matthew that the only temptations happened after He fasted for the forty days and forty nights. Mark also states that; He was with the wild animals, and angels attended to him. Mark’s attention was brief and to the point (he didn’t mention the three specific temptations). But when we know about the wild animals and care of the angels, it only heightens the fierceness of the battle.  

Luke reversed the order of the last two temptations as stated in Matthew. One opinion of the reversal is that Matthew listed the temptations chronologically and Luke listed them in order of significance. Luke also ends this section of Scripture with words not seen in the other passages; When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Obviously the wilderness was not the last of Satan’s temptations of Christ, which would culminate in Gethsemane.

God gave us the truth of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness in three gospels. Reading one account without the others would give us less than a complete picture. Often, in our study of Scripture we can miss the fullness of meaning because we don’t get a complete picture.

In the next few months, we at Journey onWord want to help you learn more of Christ by completing the picture. Our Bible readings each week will focus on an event in His life, and will include passages from the 2, 3 or 4 gospel writers who told the story. Consider reading and growing in Christ with us!

As the car next to you drifts precariously close, you want to scream, “Get off your cell phone!” But you stop short, remembering you’ve been guilty of the same offense. Momentary distractions on the highway can create a lifetime of regret. But in truth, loss of focus in any endeavor will eventually take its toll. Navigating our journey road well also demands focus, and we find distractions at every turn. Keeping our eyes on the road when our ears are attached to a cell phone is tough, but keeping our spiritual eyes focused in the face of all our worldly distractions is exponentially more difficult. To where (or whom) do we “look” to find help?

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Fix our eyes on Jesus! Isn’t that what all Christians know to do? After all, it makes logical sense that if I just focus on Him, things will work out right. In years gone by, many wore bracelets that said WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), or read a book whose title bore that same acronym that taught you to ask WWJD in any situation. But easy solutions for my (and your) noise-filled life never quite seem to work. You may even love the song, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” as much as I do, but having a great feeling during worship as you sing that beloved hymn doesn’t automatically translate to real focus. It takes more than feelings, bracelets and books (and I do think the bracelets and books can help) to live a life focused on Jesus. Having said all that, I do firmly believe a Jesus-focused life  can exist, and is available for you and I.

Jesus traveled the road that the Father marked out for Him with a singular focus. His earthly journey was not free of difficultly and hardship, but He was never distracted from His divine purpose.  He spent every day fixed on the Father, and lived every minute with purpose and discipline. If we succeed in living out our God-designed purpose, it will only be accomplished by fixing our eyes on Jesus. Fleshing this out takes a willingness to surrender our wills to His. And that’s a day-by-day, minute-by-minute, thought-by-thought surrender! From my Knowing Jesus Study Bible, I found words that will help you and I understand how to fix our eyes on Jesus. “The word fix means to deliberately set aside time and to concentrate, in stillness and with determination and commitment. In order to fix our gaze on Jesus, we need a deep longing to know him,coupled with a genuine willingness to devote time to him alone.”

Living with a gaze that is dominated by distractions, or with our eyes fixed on Jesus – it’s our choice. I am sure your desire is to seek Christ with better focus,  and we at Journey onWord want to help you. Starting in April, our devotional reading model will examine the life of Christ. Our intentional focus will give you a chance to look at scenes from His life as they are portrayed in each of the gospels. (More information to come next week)

May I encourage you to examine His life with us during April-June. If for one quarter you fix your eyes on Jesus, and study His life, it may change the way you deal with frustration, distractions and the hard journey turns that we all face. I trust that you will  find that the words of Helen Lemmel’s great song become more that just nice church feelings.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

What Would Jesus Do? There is no better way to find out than by looking at His life, and then applying what we see.

Yesterday I was listening to music on my way-too-complicated cell phone.  However, with just a little effort, I found a station that took me back to my roots – southern roots! It was on that station that I heard a song that impressed, fascinated and convicted me all at the same time. It was called The Broken Ones, by the Talley Trio. Day by day you and I are surrounded by the broken ones. And day by day you and I live with broken parts, and often broken hearts. Jesus came to a world of brokenness and hung on a cross to be broken for us. In a small way, you and I can reflect His love by stepping out and loving the broken ones. And make no mistake; you will rub shoulders with a broken one today.

Picture a little girl named Maggie coming home one day with a soiled and broken Raggedy Ann doll. She found it in a garbage can, with an arm missing, and one of the button eyes hanging by a thread. She carried it to her room, and placed it with her other dolls. Note the words in the first chorus of the song.

She loves the broken ones, the ones that need a little patchin’ up
She sees the diamond in the rough and makes it shine like new
It really doesn’t take that much, a willing heart and a tender touch
If everybody loved like she does, there’d be a lot less broken ones.

Who in your life reaches out to the broken ones? Is it you? It really doesn’t take that much. Follow Christ through the gospels and you will find him reaching out regularly to the broken ones. Think about the woman at the well, the lady taken in adultery, or the myriad of physically broken that He healed, and even how He restored a broken Peter. Broken people need(ed) Christ, and the broken ones need us. You and me! More of the song…

Twenty years later at a shelter on Eighteenth Avenue
A seventeen year old girl shows up all black and blue
with needle tracks in her left arm, almost too weak to stand,
She says, “I’m lost and I need help”, as Maggie takes her hand
And says, “Come on in!”

Chorus:
She loves the broken ones, the ones that need a little patchin’ up
She sees the diamond in the rough and makes it shine like new
It really doesn’t take that much, a willing heart and a tender touch
If everybody loved like she does, there’d be a lot less broken ones.

Bridge:
If you call her an angel, she’d be quick to say to you
She’s just doing what the One who died for her would do

Love the broken ones, the ones that need a little patchin’ up
See the diamond in the rough and make it shine like new
It really doesn’t take that much, a willing heart and a tender touch
If everybody loved like He does, there’d be a lot less broken ones
If everybody loved like He does, there’d be a lot less broken ones.

Connecting with some music from my heritage yesterday caused me to reflect on the broken ones. They are all around me (and you). With tender hearts and a willing touch, you and I may just help a diamond in the rough. Today is the day to love like Jesus does, and help those among us that need a little patchin’ up. Look around; you will find them.

If you feel broken, and need encouragement, email us at: journeyonwordwithus@gmail.com

Have you ever used the old adage, never say never? We have all used those words because circumstances that we think may never happen, often do! Another phrase that has been running through my mind this week is never say always. There are many things in life that I would like to always do; such as always eating enough of my daily fruits and vegetables, always working out consistently every week, always being sensitive to my wife and daughter and always living without worry or anxiety. You can probably relate to my never say always agenda of living. But words mean something, and my mind and heart were drawn this week to a place of always.

Before I state the passage that relates to always, it must be said that Scripture is not a hope-so book that is full of good motivation, but lacking in reality. Is it God’s Word, true for every situation and can be applied with success. The reason for my short diatribe is my belief that most Christ-followers struggle to believe that certain principles can work for them. It is not that we deny the principle, but somehow we just don’t think certain mandates will really work for us. However, when God gives us a Biblical mandate to follow, never doubt His ability to make it work in your life. He knows we aren’t perfect, but His Word is perfecting.  It’s absolutely and always true, and we can live it. But what if Scripture declares that we should do something always?

In my reading this week, I came upon a verse from Philippians chapter four. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Wait a minute! I want to be an obedient Christian, but rejoicing always is a little over the top for someone who never says always. However, I also know that Scripture is true, so I can live with a rejoicing heart. It’s also a difficult principle to wrap my arms around over the last few days; I have seen lots of pain in the lives of others. To just give them the platitude to rejoice always can come across as insensitive and even uncaring. But Scripture is true, and we can live rejoicing … always.

If you study Philippians, you will concur that life wasn’t perfect for the people of Philippi. And the writer of the book, Paul was in prison. So these words were not delivered in a perfect setting. And God still said through Paul; Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Trials and difficultly are no less stressful today than they were centuries ago in Philippi, and Paul’s words still ring true. We can live rejoicing in the Lord always. Note the following words from John MacArthur’s commentary on Philippians to help gain perspective on rejoicing always.

Some, wrongly identifying joy as a purely human emotion, find Paul’s twice –repeated command to rejoice puzzling. How, they ask, can people be commanded to produce an emotion? But joy is not a feeling; it is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything for the believer’s good and His own glory, and thus all is well no matter what the circumstances.

Life will always confront you and me with challenges. But when we choose to live each day (start today) with a deep-down confidence that God is in control, we can rejoice. And we can rejoice always when every day is filtered through that confidence. Sure, we will have some slip-ups, but rejoicing always can become our new culture. Joy doesn’t deny our pain, but rather yields control of pain and circumstances to the One who is in control.

Remember, Scripture is true, and we can rejoice always, and again I say rejoice. And I promise you that this is one area in which I will never use the words: never say always.  How about you?

Do you ever wonder how much value you add to the lives of those around you? An even more thought-provoking question is… “Am I doing anything that has eternal significance?” We all want to add value and as Christ followers it’s only natural to want to make an eternal impact on others. But the tendency is to focus on our weaknesses, and what we can’t do rather than accepting God’s special design and individual purpose for us. I am writing this article for anyone who has ever had those, “what can I do?” or “am I making any difference?” negative thoughts. Place yourself in Edward Kimball’s position, and realize that God can take your small gestures for Him and multiply them exponentially.

Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher from Boston. Read the following story that started with his faithfulness. I am not sure where the writing originated, but the content is simply profound.

Edward taught Sunday school at his church because he felt called to invest himself in the lives of young boys and men. To get to know his students better, he would often visit them during the week where they lived or worked. One Sunday a challenging teenager showed up in his class. The boy was seventeen, a bit rough-hewn, poorly educated, and prone to outbursts of anger and profanity. Edward thought about how he might reach this boy and one day decided to visit him at the shoe store where he worked for his uncle. Kimball passed by the store once, trying to get up the courage to speak to the boy.

What would he say, he wondered, and how would he be received? Finally, he entered and found the boy in the back, wrapping shoes and putting them on the shelves. Edward went to him, simply put his hand on the young man’s shoulder, and mumbled some words about Christ’s love for him. And apparently his timing was just right, because right there in the shoe store, the boy was moved to commit his life to Christ. His name was Dwight L. Moody, and he became the most successful evangelist of the nineteenth century, preaching to an estimated one hundred million people during his lifetime and traveling perhaps a million miles before the time of radio, television, automobiles, and air travel!

But the story gets better! Moody (in 1879) led a young man named F. B. Meyer to Christ, who became a minister. Meyer was instrumental in J. W. Chapman’s conversion to Christ, who later started a ministry to professional baseball players. One of the players, Billy Sunday, started working with J. W. Chapman in his evangelistic efforts. In time, it is said that Billy Sunday became the greatest evangelist of the first two decades of the twentieth century. One of Sunday’s revivals (1920’s) in Charlotte, North Carolina was so powerful that one of Billy Sunday’s associates (who accepted Christ at one of Sunday’s crusades) was asked to come back a few years later to hold a second series of meetings. And wouldn’t you know it; on one of the final nights of the crusade a young teenager came down the aisle to commit his life to Christ. The young man’s name was Billy Graham.

One Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball, cared enough to step out of his comfort zone and speak to young Mr. Moody. He was simply obeying His Lord. Millions have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ from that obedience. Your obedience may not reach millions, but it will have eternal benefits.  What you can do will make a difference!

My day started with good intentions and spiritual thoughts. Tuesday morning I had logged words about the Lord’s will for my business dealings that day. All of my great spiritual logic took place prior to boarding an airplane, and then during my first flight of the day. Spiritual Mike was seeking the Father’s best … and then the plane touched down. As soon as my phone came on, I saw the message. A friendly text revealed that my client had been called away and could not meet. Now I was in a battle for my emotions. Did I really want His will, or mine? To be candid, it took me awhile to regain my spiritual moorings. But in the end, I sensed the peace of accepting the Father’s will. Christ never took my detours in accepting His Father’s will. Not a day in His life.

The backdrop for one of His days was a very familiar story with the woman at the well. On Christ’s way through Samaria, Jesus met a woman whose life was less than appropriate. His love and care for her resulted in saving faith. Other Samaritans entrusted their lives to Christ after hearing her witness. Extra! Extra! Read all about it in John chapter four.

In the midst of the larger story, we find Christ having a brief, but powerful interaction with his disciples. It was a serious discussion about some not-so-ordinary sustenance.  Sandwiched between the woman leaving to go tell her friends about meeting the Messiah, and their return, we find the bigger-than-bread exchange between Jesus and his disciples.  As they returned from town, the disciples urged Jesus to eat.  Listen carefully to His response …

John 4:32-34
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then the disciples said to each other, “could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said  Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

The disciples were concerned with food, but real nourishment for Christ came from doing the will of His Father. On this ordinary day, the Father’s will included leading a Samaritan woman to saving faith. When you and I are confronted with our personal interests vs. His agenda, I wonder how often we miss His will in that moment. If you are in Christ, there is no doubt that the Father has plans for you. His will for us is far more nourishing than any business or personal interest. But there are still days when I battle His will vs. my agenda.

You may never get distracted like I did on Tuesday. I wanted my way. After praying for His will and receiving it, I came face to face with what I really wanted. Have you ever caught yourself with those emotions? In contrast to me, on that ordinary day for Christ, He took time to engage the Father’s design. And a less than appropriate woman gained redemption. I regained my spiritual moorings Tuesday, but if Spiritual Mike (and you too) isn’t careful, wanting my way causes me to miss life changing opportunities. So I learned a good lesson, and I hope you can learn from my mistake. My Lord is in control and His will is always best.