28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” John 6
The crowds in John 6 followed Jesus b/c they enjoyed seeing Him do miraculous, supernatural acts, like multiplying food for thousands to eat. I know that He has drawn me to Himself b/c I too have needed a Savior and continue to need One who can perform acts in my life that are beyond my abilities.
My abilities and God’s abilities seem to be a line of demarcation in my life; if you look the origins of that phrase up, it can represent a sort of “cease-fire” which is often what the Lord is trying to do in our lives. Allowing His abilities to take over make a cease fire necessary on my part, I have to agree with Him to stop my efforts and allow His to take over.
There’s kind of an example I believe, of this when I read about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. We read that He was led into the wilderness to be tempted. You can read Scriptures many, many times over the years and the Spirit brings up nuances that you need for your situations in life. And I guess I’m impacted this morning because Jesus was able to be led, He was within His ability to flex, to be moved. I can’t always say that I too am that way in fact, I’m more of the garden variety “no gain until there’s pain” type of Christian.
I have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired and as a friend and I were speaking the other day, we both talk to ourselves often and have some pretty good conversations. My point is that I am usually trying to preach/teach/tell myself something or a myriad of things and it’s a good idea to listen today. The point is that in the aging process, in this walk with Christ, the heart makes a convert of the mind. And when you find yourself doing/saying/thinking what your mind clearly rejects as unhealthy/unholy/un-edifying, now is the time to take action! And as Jesus was asked the question of what was to be done to be doing the works of God, His response was both staggering and provocatively simple.
He told them to believe, to trust, and to know and then to know again 5 minutes later, that Jesus is God. And then again 5 hours later and even 50 years later. So that’s really where the rub is b/c, b/c, b/c, the temptation in this life is this; I know that Jesus is Lord but, how do I keep Him as Lord at work?
I know that Jesus is Lord, but how do I keep Him the Lord of my words when I’m upset as a parent, as a spouse, as an automobile operator, you fill in the blank. And not only that, but, if I really believe in Jesus, I’m believing that He’s going to move/provide/allocate the way for me when my circumstances lack the appearance of profitability.
Let’s face it; the money isn’t always there, our bodies aren’t always functioning right, our peoples in this life don’t always come through for us in the way we’d like, and we can find that our minds keep us up at night.
So to believe today means that He’s working it out and it means that He wants me to pray for these things that cause me to wonder and it means in the meantime that by faith, I can offer to Him my heart at this very moment when the potential for it to be a traitor is within my means. I know that like a two year old, I can give it to Him and take it back.
But the interesting thing is this; a Savior takes my feeble faith, my want for words, and any inane inabilities that I can produce and brings about a fragrance to this crazy life that I simply could not imagine was possible. His means, His timing, as well as some of the unseen behind the scenes workings is beyond my grasp and it causes me at times to wonder about how much more common the interaction of angels according to the bible, occurs from what we realize. And so on this seemingly humid Saturday where my daughter and I will be test driving a car for her, I confess to you my friends that I believe this morning.
My faith is not perfect, my words will fall short, and my heart is subject to failure at any given juncture. But my belief in what my Jesus can accomplish is everything that I have this morning and that is enough!
The crowds in John 6 followed Jesus b/c they enjoyed seeing Him do miraculous, supernatural acts, like multiplying food for thousands to eat. I know that He has drawn me to Himself b/c I too have needed a Savior and continue to need One who can perform acts in my life that are beyond my abilities.
My abilities and God’s abilities seem to be a line of demarcation in my life; if you look the origins of that phrase up, it can represent a sort of “cease-fire” which is often what the Lord is trying to do in our lives. Allowing His abilities to take over make a cease fire necessary on my part, I have to agree with Him to stop my efforts and allow His to take over.
There’s kind of an example I believe, of this when I read about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. We read that He was led into the wilderness to be tempted. You can read Scriptures many, many times over the years and the Spirit brings up nuances that you need for your situations in life. And I guess I’m impacted this morning because Jesus was able to be led, He was within His ability to flex, to be moved. I can’t always say that I too am that way in fact, I’m more of the garden variety “no gain until there’s pain” type of Christian.
I have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired and as a friend and I were speaking the other day, we both talk to ourselves often and have some pretty good conversations. My point is that I am usually trying to preach/teach/tell myself something or a myriad of things and it’s a good idea to listen today. The point is that in the aging process, in this walk with Christ, the heart makes a convert of the mind. And when you find yourself doing/saying/thinking what your mind clearly rejects as unhealthy/unholy/un-edifying, now is the time to take action! And as Jesus was asked the question of what was to be done to be doing the works of God, His response was both staggering and provocatively simple.
He told them to believe, to trust, and to know and then to know again 5 minutes later, that Jesus is God. And then again 5 hours later and even 50 years later. So that’s really where the rub is b/c, b/c, b/c, the temptation in this life is this; I know that Jesus is Lord but, how do I keep Him as Lord at work?
I know that Jesus is Lord, but how do I keep Him the Lord of my words when I’m upset as a parent, as a spouse, as an automobile operator, you fill in the blank. And not only that, but, if I really believe in Jesus, I’m believing that He’s going to move/provide/allocate the way for me when my circumstances lack the appearance of profitability.
Let’s face it; the money isn’t always there, our bodies aren’t always functioning right, our peoples in this life don’t always come through for us in the way we’d like, and we can find that our minds keep us up at night.
So to believe today means that He’s working it out and it means that He wants me to pray for these things that cause me to wonder and it means in the meantime that by faith, I can offer to Him my heart at this very moment when the potential for it to be a traitor is within my means. I know that like a two year old, I can give it to Him and take it back.
But the interesting thing is this; a Savior takes my feeble faith, my want for words, and any inane inabilities that I can produce and brings about a fragrance to this crazy life that I simply could not imagine was possible. His means, His timing, as well as some of the unseen behind the scenes workings is beyond my grasp and it causes me at times to wonder about how much more common the interaction of angels according to the bible, occurs from what we realize. And so on this seemingly humid Saturday where my daughter and I will be test driving a car for her, I confess to you my friends that I believe this morning.
My faith is not perfect, my words will fall short, and my heart is subject to failure at any given juncture. But my belief in what my Jesus can accomplish is everything that I have this morning and that is enough!