Let’s Go Somewhere Else
Why would Jesus leave someone behind? When they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else …” (Mark 1:37-38 TNIV). Following Jesus and ministering in his name fills life with hard choices. I faced some of those tough choices this past Friday. These hard choices led me to ask some hard questions: When does compassion become the opportunity for others to take advantage of God’s community? Is there a time to ignore the professional “panhandler” who continues to live irresponsibly by taking advantage of well-intentioned people? Can you walk away from someone, even those who are trying to take advantage of your kindness, and move on to another pressing need you feel is more important? How do you know the difference between your own self-serving avoidance of a needy person and true mission-guided opportunity? Jesus faced these challenges often. Many folks are startled to learn that Jesus actually did walk away from folks who were seeking him for a miracle (Mark 1:35-45) and he did “run off” folks who were trying to take advantage of his miracle-working ability for their own selfish interests (John 6:26-66). Yet, as the story about healing a man with leprosy makes clear (Mark 1:40-45), Jesus ministered out of his deep compassion for broken and wounded folks who needed his touch, his grace, and his power. So how can we know how to do what Jesus did and do it appropriately? Clearly, Jesus didn’t walk away from folks in need out of selfishness or avoidance. When he left behind those who were looking for him, he did so to specifically live out his God-ordained mission (Mark 1:38). He was able to discern between the two because he had tuned his heart to that mission through his regular times with the Father early in the morning while it was still dark, in a time and place of intentional prayer (Mark 1:35). What’s more, when presented with a need directly in his path, Jesus did more than just physically heal: he touched and validated the value of people even when it wasn’t culturally acceptable to do so (Mark 1:41). When Jesus did “run off” folks with his strong teaching, he didn’t do it for selfish reasons. He did it to avoid the misperceptions and wrong desires of those seeking to highjack (John 6:14-27) — in other words, people were wanting Jesus to abandon his God-ordained ministry to give them what they wanted. So what are we to make of all this? For me, Jesus’ example provides us some good principles to help us in this struggle to balance compassion and mission. First, I’m called to be compassionate as a follower of Jesus and I will be judged based on how I respond to people’s needs (Matthew 25:31-46). Second, I must stick to the mission God has given me and not get side-tracked by doing what is good when God has called me to do what is best (Mark 1:38; Acts 20:24; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Third, when a person who has needs is in my path, I must act with compassion and care, even if it interferes with some things I have planned to do (Mark 1:40-45; Luke 10:25-37). Fourth, and the focus my concern today, I’ve got to spend time with the Father tuning my heart to his will if I’m going to know how to stay on mission (Mark 1:35-38). While we can distill guidelines — like we’re doing here — there’s nothing that can replace living in the stories and events of Jesus’ life to help us get a feel for how to live for him in these situations. When added to personal prayer where we offer ourselves to God and ask for his wisdom, this time with the Father in Scripture and prayer becomes a conduit of God’s guidance and grace to help us (James 1:5-6; cf. James 4:17). Those of us who claim to follow Jesus are so often involved with books about Jesus and Christian stuff, we are so into the personalities and events of our religious world, and we are so busy in our regular lives that many of us have simply given up spending time with God on a daily basis. We’re often just living off the residue of a past relationship with God, but are no longer in direct daily communion with our Father. What we offer at www.heartlight.org — daily devotionals, Scripture graphics, and articles — are supplements to your daily walk with God. They can’t replace regular daily Bible reading and prayer time. I strongly encourage you to commit yourself to daily time in the word using a method like Wayne Cordeiro outlines in his new book “The Divine Mentor” or by using one of the daily Bible reading plans from Heartlight. Without opening our hearts to God, without his stories from Scripture in the hands of the Holy Spirit to shape us and form our values, we are left adrift on the sea of good intentions, caught in the winds of our own culture’s biases, and left to decide based on our own selfish whims. How do open your heart up to God so you can be tuned by the Holy Spirit to live out your mission in the world? How do you decide whether to “go somewhere else” or spend time with the folks clamoring for your attention and service? What are some Scriptures you would add to this discussion that can be used to form us into the people God wants us to be? I’d love to hear from you on my blog: http://blog.heartlight.org/phil/2007/09/tuned.html About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four
Flying High with Freedom!
We have been set free, so let’s not give up our freedom? Freedom has always been purchased at a high cost. For years, I listened to a dear friend and Elder share his experiences of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge during the July 4th holiday. He spoke of the terror. He reminded us of the blood-stained water. He talked about surviving the biting cold of a brutal winter. He spoke of the weariness, worry, and despair as ammunition and food ran low right at Christmas. He reminisced about the hard nights sleeping on the cold hard ground so far from home. For us as Christians, we must use every opportunity to reawaken our hearts to the high price paid for our spiritual freedom. Jesus’ coming, his life, and his death all testify to God’s incredible and sacrificial love to redeem us. At great cost, Jesus purchased us from law-keeping, sin, and death. So we shouldn’t be surprised by the apostle Paul’s biting words, sharp toned warnings, and urgent pleadings in his letter to the Galatians to hold on to their freedom. Paul spoke specifically of two great dangerous temptations back toward slavery for Jesus’ followers: For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. … For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another (Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:13 NRS) The first of these temptations is to use law-keeping as the basis for our personal sense of righteousness. This process is sometimes called legalism. This practice is not to be confused with Christian obedience, which arises out of our sense of love and appreciation for the salvation given us by grace. Law-keeping becomes our way of identifying ourselves as better, more saved, more holy, and more righteous than others. We choose the laws that are most important to keep and define our righteousness by those laws. The problem with law-keeping, Paul told the Galatians, is that if you break any law, then you are a lawbreaker and guilty of all the law. While the Mosaic Law was good and holy because it pointed to the character God was seeking in our lives, the law could only help us see how we failed to measure up to God’s holiness. We needed a Savior to pay for our sin. We needed the Holy Spirit to empower us to a new way of life. This new way of life is the way of the Spirit — not the written code — and is built on the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1 and 2 Corinthians 3:1-18). To go back to trying to justify ourselves by keeping the Law, any law, is to fall from grace and abandon the justification that comes only through the sacrifice of Christ (Galatians 5:4). Paul went ballistic with those who were trying to make law keeping the basis of their Christian faith in the book of Galatians. The second form of slavery is to say that we are saved by grace and then get caught up again in immoral and unrighteous living because we know that grace will cover that sin. If the first form of slavery is called legalism, the second is called license. Jude warned about such teaching and such people (Jude 1:4). While doing what our desires lead us to do can feel like freedom at first, it is actually another form of slavery. Jesus warned that if we sin, then we become a slave to that sin (John 8:34). The Lord came to liberate from sin — not just our past sin, but from a life of sin in the here and now. We must not think we can go on recklessly sinning and nonchalantly depending on grace to cover our sin (Romans 6:1-2). In fact, when the Spirit is at work in us, the power of sin is broken (Romans 6:11-14) and the fruit of God’s character comes to life in us (Galatians 5:22-26). To go back to our old sin, Peter warns, is like a dog returning to its own vomit (2 Peter 2:22). For me, one way to understand the differences between grace, license, and legalism is to look at a kite. A kite may decide it wants to be free — not bound by a string, but free to go anywhere the wind takes it. After all, isn’t this true freedom? The problem is a kite can’t sail or soar without the string that ties it to the kite master. Instead, it is at the mercy of the wind. Blown in whatever direction any ill wind wants to take it. It will not rise to the skies. It will be bounced along the ground and torn by all sorts of obstacles until it is destroyed or shoved under a mound of wind-blown debris. At the same time, legalism can be understood as trying to fly a kite without the aid of the wind. We can try all we want to make the kite fly and soar. However, any flight is temporary. We are not strong enough and fast enough to keep our kite in flight by our own efforts. Sure, the kite is tethered and controlled. Yet without the wind, it cannot soar, dart, and dance as it was designed to do in the wind. When all is right in the world of kites, the true Kite Master lets the kite rise on the power of the wind. It soars, dips, sways, rises, dances, darts, and dives with great elegance and freedom. It is kept from danger and disaster by the true Kite Master’s careful influence, guidance, and care. The kite is then free to be all it’s supposed to be powered by the wind and guided by the true Kite Master’s loving control. If we understand the wind in this analogy to be the Spirit of God,
Your Life in God’s Mission
Can you visualize your workplace as your mission? For the sake of argument, let me assume that you have a career path. It may have been challenged of late, and you may be functioning outside your sweet spot. But there is something for which you see yourself best suited. You hope that career will make it possible for you to pay your bills, take care of your family responsibilities, and provide a certain standard of living. You probably also expect it to provide certain less-tangible rewards as titles and social standing. But do you also have a calling? Consistent with the way most people hear that term, a calling involves a clear sense of being commissioned by God for some holy task. It is an awareness of the sovereignty of God over who you are and what you are doing with your life. It is the sense that God’s hand is on you and that he has a sense of genuine pleasure in what you are doing. The real secret to fulfillment is for career and calling to merge into one. Don’t you sense Billy Graham has viewed his as one and the same? What about you? I believe God is offering you an opportunity to make a difference in the world. I am convinced he wants you to change the world. And I further believe that he wants you to see your job, business, or profession as an extension of his kingdom reign on Planet Earth. Here’s what I mean. The sense that one’s career is also a holy calling really shouldn’t startle us. If slaves-become-Christians were counseled to “render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord” (Ephesians 6:7-8 NRSV), then surely you are supposed to be the best employee or employer the Acme Widget Company has ever seen. If not, why not? Above paycheck or promotion, do something that contributes to the good of your world. Let your routine reflect the character and excellence heaven is building into your life. Know that your work is inseparable from your spiritual life — and reflects its authenticity. When your faith cleanses and consecrates your workplace to God, you have found a calling larger than your career. Solomon put it this way: There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their work. This, I saw, is from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25). Ready to change the world today? God is ready to be your partner. About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades, been a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities and a med school. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Religion at Lipscomb University. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles.
What is CORE: Finishing
I remain convicted that these passages give us the CORE of what we must believe and practice as Jesus’ disciples. Sometimes, I make things more complicated than they need to be to make sure I haven’t missed something important. That might work when you visit your future mother-in-law for the first time, and you eat more than you should while bragging about how good a cook she is! That no longer works when you are in your sixth decade of life and visiting your mother-in-law. She sees through your compliments and worries that you are ruining your health with your overeating. Trying to say too much when writing about clear and simple truth can have a similar effect. As I have focused on “What is CORE” in the New Testament, I have emphasized three key passages. Each passage claims and stresses that it is central to our faith. Much of the rest of our Christian doctrine and teaching hangs on the structure of those CORE truths: The things of “first importance” we must believe about Jesus (what I call “The Great Faith”) (1 Corinthians 15:1-7). The two “The Great Commands” that Jesus said were the most important commandments in the Scriptures (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus’ last commandment about making disciples of all nations, what we call “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). I remain convicted that these passages give us the CORE of what we must believe and practice as Jesus’ disciples — what we need to become JESUShaped. I don’t believe these truths are CORE because I am a great theologian who discovered something novel or new. I believe they are CORE because they claim to be essential. I also believe they are CORE because much of what the Bible teaches elsewhere orbits around these key ideas. As we conclude this series, let’s finish using a principle important for us in a world with so much noise and so many distractions. We need to live faithfully and teach the truth of the Bible using the KISS principle — Keep It Short and Simple. So, here is a KISS statement to help us remember “What is CORE”: I will live for Jesus by loving God, loving people, and making a difference in the world. To put it another way in bullet format: Jesus is our Lord and Savior because of death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-7 — The Great Faith). We will love God and love people like Jesus did and commanded us to do (Matthew 22:34-40 — The Great Commands). We will make a difference in the world by reaching out to all people and inviting them to become disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20 — The Great Commission). I hope these short summaries help you grab hold of the truths of this series for yourself. We do need to explore the deeper truths about “What is CORE.” Those deeper teachings matter. However, we must not cloud our understanding of the clear and simple CORE principles of our faith. If we live these principles, we are disciples of Jesus. Our goal as Jesus’ disciples is to honor him by becoming like him in what we do and say (Luke 6:40; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:28-29; Galatians 4:19). So, let’s get busy doing “What is CORE”! Which brings us to the questions we want to ask each week of our series: Do I believe this? Do I let this change who I am? Do I let this guide me to what is important in life, in fellowship, in worship, and in doctrine? How can we not? Articles in our series entitled: What is CORE? Jesus! Believing Disciple-making Going Baptizing Training Loving Communing Worshiping Finishing Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus’ ministry from The Lumo Project and Free Bible Images. About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
It’s All About People!
Through the years and all the changes, one thing remains true about the heart of God. First Words: The life of Jesus revolved around people. He always made time for people, even when he was so tired that he desperately needed to get away to a quiet place for rest. When the human inclination was to send them away, “he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:30-44). He saw people at the center of every problem and opportunity. Sick people needed to be healed. Hungry people needed to be fed. Lost people needed to be found. People in distress needed to be comforted. Maybe the issues of our time are so overwhelming because we have forgotten that people are at the center of every problem. What’s more, people are at the center of every solution. We may never call a group of 56 people to meet and draft the founding documents of a new nation, or answer the deep life and death questions, even to our own satisfaction. But Good Samaritan opportunities are everywhere. No training required, no vetting necessary, no permission needed. People are in need, we help them, end of story. Created Equal: The hot and sultry Philadelphia summer was even more uncomfortable when windows were closed and drapes were drawn to keep the deliberations of the Second Continental Congress secret. King George might well consider a declaration of colonial independence a treasonous document; so it would be debated and drafted away from prying eyes. The Revolutionary War had been going for a year when the Congress convened on May 10, 1775, with representatives from twelve of the thirteen colonies, and Georgia to send representatives later. The most vigorous debate was about independence and how to achieve it. Thomas Jefferson’s original draft was altered at least 86 times before an acceptable version could be approved on July 2, 1776, and signed on July 4, 240 years ago. The second sentence of the Declaration is the one Americans know best: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Critics noted that there were almost 700,000 slaves living in the colonies, maybe created equal, but not treated as equals. And others were quick to point out that women, often considered chattel in those days, were hardly treated as equals. Proclaiming equality was easier than practicing it. Saving All: Go back 2,000 or so years to another declaration, this one in the form of a sermon. Urging repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter then declared, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off…” (Acts 2:38-39). Just eight chapters later, that same apostle resisted God’s command to preach the gospel to Gentiles. He preached that the gospel is for all, perhaps not realizing that all included Gentiles. Preaching equality was easier than practicing it. Pausing in the Present: With the benefit of hindsight, we wonder how congressional delegates and apostles could have been so unaware of the inconsistencies we see so clearly. Or, do we? We may not handle our issues any better than people in the past handled theirs. I often think that all the easy questions were resolved before I got here, for all the questions now are hard. Life is complex, from beginning to end. I believe that human life begins at conception, but that is my religious conviction rather than a scientific or medical conclusion. Living tissue is not always a human life. Unfertilized eggs and unattached sperm are living, but they are not a human life. Even if we agree that human life begins at conception, we may still have to make painful choices about what to do with that life. If for example, fertilization occurs in the woman’s Fallopian tubes rather than her uterus, that embryo — baby, in my view — cannot survive and the danger to the mother is life-threatening. Rather than labeling and categorizing people who have to make painful choices, maybe we should just love and accept them as PEOPLE. End of life decisions are no less vexing. As a chaplain volunteer in hospital and hospice environments, I have spent a lot of time helping people think through the ethical and moral questions they have about allowing their loved ones to die. Technology enables doctors to keep people “alive” artificially long after meaningful life has ended. Letting go is an awful, yet merciful choice. Seventeen years ago, I had to make that choice when there was nothing else to be done for my father. He had made a Living Will, had DNR orders, end-of-life directives, and a Power of Attorney document giving me a responsibility I would have gladly relinquished. I’m still haunted by my mother’s plaintive question, “Isn’t there just one more thing the doctors can try?” The pain of losing my father was no greater than the pain of having to answer my mother as gently as I possibly could, “No, Mother, there’s nothing more to be done.” Final Thoughts: It’s a long way from Pentecost, to Philadelphia, to beginning of life and end-of-life decisions, yet they are all alike in that they center on people — people who sought forgiveness, people who sought freedom from tyranny, people who would bring new people into our world, and people who help people leave this world peacefully. Don’t turn away from people of a different color; they’re people. People of a different nationality are people. People with different religious beliefs are people. No matter how they may be labeled, people are people. God loved the people of his creation so much that “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). About the author: These Encouraging
Pentecost!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, A new era began after My resurrection. On the day of Pentecost, I poured out the Holy Spirit first on My closest disciples. Then I poured out the Holy Spirit upon all those who responded to their message (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-5). The pouring out of the Spirit upon My disciples was done loudly and with no small disturbance. The apostles spoke about Me. People from many countries heard the message in their own languages. Yes, there were some skeptics — as there always are. Undeniably, something dramatic was happening. The words spoken by Peter and the apostles were powerful, but there was something more than convincing words touching the hearts of the people. My life, death, and resurrection were proclaimed. Conviction swept through the crowd like wildfire. Their yearning hearts cried out for relief from their rejection of the Messiah, their Lord and Savior — Me. Peter let the crowd at Pentecost know that the same Spirit Who propelled this message past their defenses and brought conviction to their hearts was now available to them if they repented and were baptized. And many were immersed that day based on their faith in Me and turning their lives around to follow Me! Luke, the writer of Acts, described it this way: Whoever made a place for his [Peter’s] message in their hearts received the baptism; in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples. The movement of the Spirit in My disciples had begun and would sweep across the Mediterranean area in about thirty years. And you, My dear disciple, are a part of that movement that began at Pentecost. You are part of a movement centered on My death, burial, and resurrection. This gospel is proclaimed by people filled with the Holy Spirit. These people are built into a spiritual family that reflects my righteous character and gracious compassion. You can see that Luke emphasized all of this in his telling of the Pentecost story. Please know that I long to do in your day what happened in that time long ago. Come! Believe! Ask for the Spirit’s power to be at work in you, among your spiritual family, and with your efforts to bring the kingdom of God to the lost world around you. Verses to Live These verses talk about the birth of the new era of the Holy Spirit. Read through them a couple of times and then ask yourself if you have responded to the call of My gospel the way those early disciples did. Then open yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit in your day. I long to reanimate My people with grace and power. Don’t let the power of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, be dead in your day! When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they [the disciples] were gathered together in one place. Picture yourself among the disciples: A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them. Because of the holy festival, there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages. They are shocked and amazed by this. Pilgrims: Just a minute. Aren’t all of these people Galileans? How in the world do we all hear our native languages being spoken? Look — there are Parthians here, and Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, and Judeans, residents of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygians and Pamphylians, Egyptians and Libyans from Cyrene, Romans including both Jews by birth and converts, Cretans, and Arabs. We’re each, in our own languages, hearing these people talk about God’s powerful deeds. Their amazement becomes confusion as they wonder: Pilgrims: What does this mean? Skeptics: It doesn’t mean anything. They’re all drunk on some fresh wine! As the twelve stood together, Peter shouted to the crowd: Peter: Men of Judea and all who are staying here in Jerusalem, listen. I want you to understand: these people aren’t drunk as you may think. Look, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! No, this isn’t drunkenness; this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Hear what God says! In the last days, I will offer My Spirit to humanity as a libation. Your children will boldly speak the word of the Lord. Young warriors will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams. Yes, in those days I shall offer My Spirit to all servants, both male and female, and they will boldly speak My word. … Everyone in Israel should now realize with certainty what God has done: God has made Jesus both Lord and Anointed King — this same Jesus Whom you crucified. When the people heard this, their hearts were pierced; and they said to Peter and his fellow apostles: Pilgrims: Our brothers, what should we do? Peter: Reconsider your lives; change your direction. Participate in the ceremonial washing of baptism in the name of Jesus God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Then your sins will be forgiven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit will be yours. For the promise of the Spirit is for you, for your children, for all people — even those considered outsiders and outcasts — the Lord our God invites everyone to come to Him. Peter was pleading and offering many logical reasons to believe. Whoever made a place for his message in their hearts received the baptism; in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples. (Acts 2:1-18; Acts 2:36-41) Response in Prayer Almighty God, do in our day what we heard
Can These Bones Live?
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Believer, My resurrection was a surprise to everyone, including My closest followers. It was a glorious shock to their system in many ways, but the truth of My resurrection became obvious through My many appearances. The reanimation and the reinvigoration of My followers — their “resurrected” lives — suddenly became a possibility with My resurrection. New life was no longer a symbolic truth, but a genuine reality. When I poured out the Holy Spirit — the Helper as John the beloved disciple liked to call the Spirit — the power that raised Me from the grave was suddenly poured into the lives of mortal people. That’s why the apostle Paul could pray the following prayers for My disciples in Asia Minor: God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power. Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. (Ephesians 1:17-20) Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings. Now to the God Who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21) This power and glorious reanimation of what was dead was foreshadowed by the prophet Ezekiel hundreds of years earlier. Seeing the people of Israel “beyond dead” — nothing more than symbolically being a bunch of scattered, dried, and unburied bones piled high and abandoned in an open valley as the remnants of war — the Father told Ezekiel to speak life into those bones. When those bones took on sinew and flesh, the Father told Ezekiel to prophesy the breath of the Eternal, the Spirit of the living God, to make those bones live. The gloriously strange vision you find in the verses below is what the coming of the Holy Spirit means to My followers. Where there once was death, the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Heaven, can bring life. As the Father said, “I will breathe My Spirit into you, and you will be alive once again.” With My resurrection, I defeated death, sin, and hell. I poured out the Spirit on My people at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21; Acts 2:33-39). I continue to pour out the Spirit on each believer (Titus 3:3-7) when she or he shares in My life, death, and resurrection based on faith and experienced through immersion with Me into My saving grace (Romans 6:3-7). The Breath of Heaven that Ezekiel prophesied to make the dead bones live was at work in My resurrection. This same Holy Spirit, Who was the power behind My resurrection, has also been at work in the lives of My disciples from Pentecost up until your time and will continue His work among My disciples until I return. This Breath of Heaven, this glorious power of the Holy Spirit, is available to you now. The Spirit has the power to bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and strength out of powerlessness. Can these bones live? Yes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can begin to experience everlasting life! Verses to Live Do you feel dead and lifeless in your spiritual walk? Are you ever frustrated with the powerlessness you see in the lives of those who claim to be My people? Do you long for the powerful influence of the Spirit that you see in the book of Acts? Then I ask you to read Ezekiel’s old prophecy and remember this: the Holy Spirit, Who has this power, is available to you and is at work among My people who pray for the Helper’s power to be released among them and in them (Luke 11:13). The Eternal had a hold on me, and I couldn’t escape it. The divine wind of the Eternal One picked me up and set me down in the middle of the valley, but this time it was full of bones. God led me through the bones. There were piles of bones everywhere in the valley — dry bones left unburied. Eternal One (to Ezekiel): Son of man, do you think these bones can live? Ezekiel: Eternal Lord, certainly You know the answer better than I do. Eternal One: Actually, I do. Prophesy to these bones. Tell them to listen to what the Eternal Lord says to them: “Dry bones, I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. I will attach muscles and tendons to you, cause flesh to grow over them, and cover you with skin. I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. After this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal.”
Commissioned!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, The two passages below tell about My commissioning the disciples right before My ascension to the Father. You cannot ask for a more dramatic moment to leave My last instructions for My disciples. Some of them worshiped Me. Others were filled with a holy fear, wonder, and awe. A few even doubted. Anything I said was with authority. So the words here, what you call the Great Commission, were said intentionally with the claim of that authority. After I had finished giving these words of mission and purpose, I ascended out of sight, returning to the Father. Two heavenly messengers told the disciples to go back to the city and do what I previously instructed them to do. They were to return to Jerusalem. They were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit with power. They did as I instructed and they were in “constant prayer” while they waited. I wanted My last words to be dramatic, powerful, and convicting. I wanted the results of the disciples’ obedience to these words to be world-changing! I wanted My last words never to be forgotten. These last words are the words I want you to remember as well. These words of the commission are for you also. This is what I want you to do: Make disciples! That was My primary command as I left the earth. You make disciples by going to all cultures of people — including your own, by baptizing those who believe in Me, and by teaching them to obey all I have taught. That’s your mission. Those are My last words. Let them inspire and motivate you. I want you not only to remember them but also to put them into practice! Verses to Live As you look at these last words of mine from Matthew’s gospel, please notice that I don’t want you just to know My teaching. I want you to obey My words, and I want you to teach others to obey My teaching. The second scripture is from the book of Acts and records the events immediately after I issued the commission. Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him — but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 NLT) As He finished this commission, He began to rise from the ground before their eyes until the clouds obscured Him from their vision. As they strained to get one last glimpse of Him going into heaven, the Lord’s emissaries realized two men in white robes were standing among them. Two Men: You Galileans, why are you standing here staring up into the sky? This Jesus Who is leaving you and ascending to heaven will return in the same way you see Him departing. Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem — their short journey from the Mount of Olives was an acceptable Sabbath Day’s walk. Back in the city, they went to the room where they were staying — a second-floor room. This whole group devoted themselves to constant prayer with one accord: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), Judas (son of James), a number of women including Mary (Jesus’ mother), and some of Jesus’ brothers. (Acts 1:9-14) Response in Prayer Holy God and loving Father, thank You for Jesus’ words of commission to His closest disciples and words for me. Empower me, O God, with the power of the Holy Spirit to be a part of fulfilling Jesus’ mission. I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Family Is Important
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, Family is important. Your spiritual family is important to you. Your physical family is important to you. Family is important to you just as it is to Me! One of the great hurdles I faced in My earthly ministry was that most of My physical family didn’t believe in Me. Most of My brothers and sisters along with relatives and friends from my hometown did not believe before My resurrection. My family situation was very complicated like the family situations of many of My followers today. One time My family thought I was crazy because I ministered so passionately without thinking of My own bodily needs for food and rest (Mark 3:20-21). On another occasion, because My siblings did not believe in Me as God’s Son (John 7:1-7 — found in the verses below), they teased Me very harshly, mocking My call to be the Father’s Messiah. So when I was raised from the dead, I appeared to My spiritual family, and I also appeared to My physical family, most notably James. One of the touching things for Me in the New Testament is the way My half-brother James began his letter with great humility toward Me and great admiration for Me: James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, to the twelve tribes of Israel who are spread across the earth: I send you my warmest welcome. (James 1:1) Sometimes the hardest people to bring to faith are the people in your own family. I want you to know that I know that — not just because I AM God and know everything, but also because I have experienced it in human flesh. So I remind you that an essential and powerful part of your testimony about Who I AM and what I have done is your resurrected life that shows My power, love, and grace (Romans 6:1-14). Don’t give up on those around you who do not believe. I will work in their lives to give them the opportunity to change, and I challenge you to show that I have brought new life to you. Demonstrate the power of that new life in the way that you live with righteous character and gracious compassion. Verses to Live The beloved disciple was close to My physical family, especially after My ascension back to the Father. When I was dying on the cross, I asked him to look after My mother, Mary (John 19:26-27). He knew about the struggle My half-siblings had in believing that I had come from God. His words in the first verses below capture the emotional tension that their lack of faith produced between them and Me. One of the most profound blessings after My ascension was to have some of My brothers become a part of the Jerusalem disciples praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). One of those brothers, James, went on to become a great leader in the Jerusalem church. That is why My appearance to him after My resurrection was so important. (See the second set of verses below.) My resurrection and My appearance to My brothers changed everything for them and for what they believed about Me! After these events, it was time for Jesus to move on. He began a long walk through the Galilean countryside. He was purposefully avoiding Judea because of the violent threats made against Him by the Jews there who wanted to kill Him. It was fall, the time of year when the Jews celebrated the Festival of Booths. Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): Let’s get out of here and go south to Judea so You can show Your disciples there what You are capable of doing. No one who seeks the public eye is content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus. Jesus’ own brothers were speaking contemptuously; they did not yet believe in Him, just as the people in His hometown did not see Him as anything more than Joseph’s son. Jesus: My time has not yet arrived; but for you My brothers, by all means, it is always the right time. You have nothing to worry about because the world doesn’t hate you, but it despises Me because I am always exposing the dark evil in its works. Go on to the feast without Me; I am not going right now because My time is not yet at hand. (John 7:1-8) Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I [Paul] preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned. (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) Response in Prayer O Father, my words will be few today, but My heart yearns for them to be fully true. Let the beauty, grace, love, and character of Jesus be seen in my life by
ASK!
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, James, my half brother, hit the nail on the head when he taught about why My people lack so many of the simplest and yet most essential things they need to live the committed life of a disciple: Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia? You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask. And when you do ask, you still do not get what you want because your motives are all wrong — because you continually focus on self-indulgence. (James 4:1-3) You are a child of the Father in heaven. Your Father paints a fresh sunrise every morning and mellows the sky into a new color palette every evening. Your Father listens to you attentively. He cares about what is happening in your life. So ask the Father for what you truly need. Seek after Him. Share your burdens, both spiritual and physical, with Him. Be honest with Him. Ask for Him to reign in you and in your world. As you pray, realize this: your Father longs to give you the gifts you need to live for Him. So one of the greatest blessings you can ask the Father to give is the Holy Spirit. The Father longs to give this gift, even to those who already have the Spirit living inside them. He wants you to be: full of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, comforted by the Spirit, purified by the Spirit, transformed by the Spirit, and reminded about Me as the Holy Spirit reminds you of My words and My actions. Praying for the Spirit to be present with power is one of the most basic of all prayers for My disciples. Before the apostles began their mission to reach all nations for Me, they first prayed… and they prayed… and they prayed (Acts 1:12-14). I had asked them to go back to Jerusalem and to wait for the coming of the Spirit with power. That is what they did. As they prayed, just as I promised, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with power. Because of this Spirit-power, they changed the world… for good… forever! So can you, if you… PRAY! So are you praying for the Spirit to come with power in your day and in your life? The Father longs to give you the supremely good gift of the Holy Spirit. So ASK in prayer! Verses to Live There are so many truths packed into these few verses that you find below. As you read them, I want you not only to notice My simple teaching at the end of these verses. Request the Father send you the Holy Spirit. Also, notice the simple, childlike prayer I teach you to pray at the beginning of these verses. Pray as a child speaking to your loving Father in heaven. You don’t need a lot of words. You don’t need fancy words. Come and offer your heart to the Father in humble adoration and ask Him for the most basic needs in your life. From His loving grace, your Father wants to bless you with what you most need and what He longs to give to you: the good gift of the Holy Spirit! Another time Jesus was praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples approached Him. Disciple: Teacher, would You teach us Your way of prayer? John taught his disciples his way of prayer, and we’re hoping You’ll do the same. Jesus: Here’s how to pray: Father in heaven, may Your name be revered. May Your kingdom come. May Your will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need for tomorrow, And forgive us for our wrongs, for we forgive those who wrong us. And lead us away from temptation. And save us from the evil one. Imagine that one of your friends comes over at midnight. He bangs on the door and shouts, “Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread? A friend of mine just showed up unexpectedly from a journey, and I don’t have anything to feed him.” Would you shout out from your bed, “I’m already in bed, and so are the kids. I already locked the door. I can’t be bothered”? You know this as well as I do: even if you didn’t care that this fellow was your friend, if he keeps knocking long enough, you’ll get up and give him whatever he needs simply because of his brash persistence! So listen: Keep on asking, and you will receive. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened for you. All who keep asking will receive, all who keep seeking will find, and doors will open to those who keep knocking. Some of you are fathers, so ask yourselves this: if your son comes up to you and asks for a fish for dinner, will you give him a snake instead? If your boy wants an egg to eat, will you give him a scorpion? Look, all of you are flawed in so many ways, yet in spite of all your faults, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to all who ask. (Luke 11:1-13) Response in Prayer O Father, I want to see the influence of Your grace triumph. I want to see Your name glorified above all other things and all other beings. I have been so blessed with earthly blessings and with the blessing of Your grace. I deeply