Easter 11

 How much of our faith today rests on our comforts?  How much of our church going experience relies on our consumer mentality - what can I get out if this?  But when the dark nights, the worst of life happens, when grief and loss gut our normalcy, where is our faith?  Today’s study and Scripture point to our Savior who experienced the worst that our world could throw at Him. He knows exactly that our world is lacking a long list of corrections. He came to redeem and reconcile and we wait for our full redemption and reconciliation. It will happen but we wait. We move forward with His presence in us as the deposit of what is to come. 

“So, we need not fear the dark. It’s not the absence of God but the refining of our sight. It’s not death but gestation. The Western soul may be aching and disoriented, but hasn’t been abandoned. It’s being gently led into mystery.

The question is: How do we remain faithful in the dark? How do we listen when there’s no sound? How do we trust when the path disappears?

Faithfulness in the night means letting go of what no longer gives life, practicing unseen acts of love, turning toward God even when God feels absent, and waiting with hope, even when there’s no guarantee of dawn.” - Graham Joseph Hill

“Oh, that you would come and begin simply to listen to His Word and to ask only the one question: Does He really mean that I should abide in Him? The answer His Word gives is so simple and so sure: By His almighty grace you now are in Him; that same almighty grace will indeed enable you to abide in Him. By faith you became partakers of the initial grace; by that same faith you can enjoy the continuous grace of abiding in Him.” - Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ: The Joy of Being in God's Presence

Easter 10

 Have you ever been scared beyond belief?  Afraid that all that you had hoped for was in ruins?  Our pastor used to say that you are either coming out of a crisis, in one, or about to have one. I don’t think that is a cynical statement but a realistic one. Whatever we have faced or will face, Jesus knows every detail and our Triune Hod is right beside us. I’m praying that I will be much stronger, much more present with His presence, for my next traumatic situation. I want to train my heart and mind to take refuge in Him, not me or my circumstances. 

“The Kingdom is where everything is turned upside down. Those who are marginal, those considered not respectable, are suddenly proclaimed as the people who are called to the Kingdom. The part of us that is weak, broken, or poor suddenly becomes the place where something new can begin. Jesus says, “Be in touch with your brokenness. Be in touch with your sinfulness. Turn to God because the Kingdom is close at hand. If you are ready to listen from your brokenness then something new can come forth in you.” - Henri Nouwen 

“It is only into the thirst of an empty soul that the streams of living waters flow. Ever thirsting is the secret of never thirsting.” - Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

Fatherless World

 Hero Worship Is the Symptom of an Orphaned Generation

A fatherless world makes idols out of men.

And the weaker the man, the more he worships them.

Hero worship is counterfeit masculinity.

It’s a mask for helplessness. A cloak for insecurity.

It’s what boys do when they’ve never seen true fatherhood in action.

Men of God don’t bow to other men.

They honor. They respect. But they don’t worship.

Because they know the only Hero worth imitating died on a cross.

Let a woman see you hero-worship another man?

You’ve just told her: “I’m not enough.”

You’ve shown her weakness in disguise.

There is only one model: Christ.

And He doesn’t ask for fanboys.

He demands followers.

Never forget that.

Walk like you’ve been adopted by the King.

Eyes up. Chin firm. Spine unshaken.

Easter 9

 How have you viewed the promise of the Holy Spirit?  I’m certain that I haven’t encountered enough teaching from the Bible even though I’ve encountered multiple viewpoints. I’m trying to learn more, especially from respected authors, current and classic. His presence is with me, in me, protecting me, providing the mercy and grace needed each day. The Spirit points to Jesus, and in essence is Jesus in me. The mystery of His presence, invisible, untouchable, can only be experienced by following the Way of Jesus.

“The Creator who breathed life into dust to create people filled with his Spirit is also the Re-Creator who breathes life into the lifeless, refilling people with his Spirit.” - Excerpt, The Familiar Stranger by Tyler Staton

“The Holy Spirit is not courage, or energy, or the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather and Santa Claus the personification of wanting to give someone a tie. The Holy Spirit is not a personification of anything, but the Holy Spirit is a person just the same as you are a person. He has all the qualities of a person. The Holy Spirit has substance but not material substance. He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and He has intelligence and He has feeling and He has knowledge, sympathy, and the ability to love and see and think and hear and speak and desire and grieve and rejoice. And Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (John 15:26” - A.W. Tozer

When God Became Man

 Many men have tried to become God.

Only one God became man.

Not to conquer.

But to serve.

Not to be worshiped.

But to bleed.

The Pharaohs built empires.

Caesars claimed divinity.

Dictators demanded worship.

But only Jesus Christ—

“the Word made flesh”—

humbled Himself to be rejected by the world He made.

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

(John 1:10-11, KJV)

He did not cling to His throne.

He descended.

Put on flesh.

Walked among traitors.

Died for them.

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…”

(Philippians 2:6-7, KJV)

That’s not weakness.

That’s the highest authority wrapped in humility.

And one day?

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

(Philippians 2:10-11, KJV)

Don’t bow later.

Bow now.

Before the God who became a man—

So you could become a son.

Easter 8

 I have glossed over the impact of John 13. How do the words of Jesus hit you?  One thought hit me is that our world focuses on acquisition of power, influence over others, and an accumulation of wealth and knowledge. We often calculate comparisons with who has more or who knows more. But there is no scale to measure the depth and length of love. Yet the world has a right to see if we are a hypocrite, or whether we are truly authentic in our faith by the we treat others. I’m guilty of failing so many times but God’s grace gets me to stand up again after falling down. Instead of making attempts to do more ‘for’ God, I’m learning to be ‘with’ His presence, allowing me to experience His working. 

“In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he is not a Christian. Here Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.” - Francis A. Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian

"If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of loving others." - Richard J. Foster

How Do I View Mh Life? Acts 20:24

Acts 20:24 - “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

How do I view my life at this point?

Many have reached the apex of their career.

Others have accumulated investments that compound beyond imagination. 

Some have power and influence envied by those still climbing to the top.

Yet others feel crushed by burdens, trapped by their past.

Regrets can lead to bitterness and futility.

But gratitude is my playbook, thankful for His presence.

Difficult times could have demoralized and crippled, 

Long standing dysfunctional relationships or torpedoes unexpected

Could have led to despair.

But His presence has assured His security, His safety, regardless of the chaos.

Some expect problems and find them with ease,

Others seek Him and He searches for this gold character quality

Can I take credit for my life? 

Is anyone truly self made? 

Transformation of character is not self induced.

The inside out process is a mystery of responding to His call to follow, not to lead.

The secret things of God are not to be understood, 

He has shown us what we need to know, 

It is enough to respond by His wisdom and power.

Understanding the mystery of our decisions matching the opportunities we encounter is impossible. 

Who can understand our infinite Creator as He searches the hearts of those who seek Him?

The idols of our age aren’t golden calves but power, certainty, and control. True faith isn’t found in possessing all the answers but in surrendering to the mystery of a God whose love is always larger than our understanding.

Avoid negativity

Victim ology

Entitlement

Calloused to the Soirit

 “Paul uses a second phrase in Acts 20:24: “my course.” He says, “Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy. . . .” That word course suggests a race with Paul as one of the runners. Paul often used athletic illustrations in his letters, and this is one of them. No doubt he had often seen the athletic games in various Greek cities, and they suggested to him truths about the Christian life.

  No one could compete in the Greek games unless he was a citizen. Well, no one can run in the Christian race unless he is a child of God, a citizen of heaven. When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, He saves you and takes you off that broad road that leads to destruction. He puts you on the narrow road that leads to heaven, and He assigns a track for you on the course. In Philippians 3 and Hebrews 12, God compares the Christian life to a race, and He assigns each Christian runner his own special lane. The important thing is that we obey the rules, keep running for the prize, and stay in the correct lane. ”

“Please don’t measure yourself by some other Christian. Measure yourself by the plan God has for your life, the prize He wants you to win.

  One of the worst things a runner can do is keep looking back. Paul writes in Philippians 3, “Forgetting those things which are behind. . . .” Let’s keep our eyes on the goal; let’s be sure we are running in the lane God has assigned to us. Let the Lord take care of the other runners. Jesus says to us as He did to Peter, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.”

  Paul wanted to finish his course with joy, and he did. We read his words in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” He was looking forward to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ and sharing in that crown of righteousness. The race would soon be over, and the prize of the high calling would soon be his. One day the race will be over for you and for me. Will we be able to say, “I have finished my course with joy”?

  ”

Excerpt From

Bumps Are What You Climb On

Warren Wiersbe

https://books.apple.com/us/book/bumps-are-what-you-climb-on/id1025051388

This material may be protected by copyright.

Excerpt From

Bumps Are What You Climb On

Warren Wiersbe

https://books.apple.com/us/book/bumps-are-what-you-climb-on/id1025051388

This material may be protected by copyright.