Jan 28 - Acts 4 - Does anyone know you have been with Jesus?

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted. Time gets away so quickly. I've been enjoying reading some of my favorite passages in recent weeks about Joseph and Moses and the Day of Pentecost. Today In Acts 4, verse 13 stood out to me. "When they (elders, rulers, high priest) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized thay they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

What hits me is that it stood out to those questioning Peter and John that they had been with Jesus. Affected by Jesus, taught by Jesus, empowered by Jesus, encouraged by Jesus. These men were doing and saying things way beyond their worldly capabilities and education. This was only possible because of thier encounter with Jesus and the empowering of the Holy Spirit sent by Him. It made me wonder, would anyone know that I have had an encounter with Jesus? Do I operate beyond my natural abilities because of Him and the working of the Holy Spirit? Do you?

Now these questions can feel judgmental and condemning if the answer is something along the lines of "Not so much." But for me it is more of a challenge. I believe it happens over time.
2 Cor 3:18 says "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Ever-increasing implies to me that we forever grow into His likeness, it doesn't happen at once. So the challenge to me is to let my words and my actions reflect more and more the fact that "I have been with Jesus!"

Jan 9 - Gen 23 - Do the Right Thing

I've been enjoying reading about Abraham the last several days, and then I came across this curious story in Gen 23 today. Abraham's wife Sarah had died and he wanted to buy a burial site in the land in which he was living. He asked the Hittites if he might purchase a suitable site to bury his wife. The Hittites viewed Abraham as a wealthy and powerful prince and they told him that any one of them would happily give Abraham their best tomb site for his family. Again Abraham insisted that he buy the site and he apparently had his eye on a specific location, a cave at the end of a field that belonged to Ephron. Abraham insisted that he pay full price.

Ephron came to Abraham and said he would gladly give him the field and the cave. Now at this stage of the story, I'm thinking this is an amazing gesture of kindness and respect. I'm thinking Abraham should accept the gift with dignity and go on to bury his wife. But no! Abraham insists again on paying full price. Ephron tells him what the price of the field is, Abraham pays him and goes to bury his wife with a clear conscience.

This got me to thinking and wondering why Abraham was so insistent on paying for this land. Several thoughts have come to me. First, when you accept a gift, there is a sense of obligation or indebtedness to the giver. Abraham did not want to be indebted to the Hittites. Second, I felt that there was a matter of honor about where you buried your family. To bury a loved one on someone else's property would not accord the proper respect to your departed family member. But I felt that there was something more than this. Now Abraham had trusted God his whole life and exhibited tremendous faith in various situations. So while this whole incident may simply have been a matter of doing the right thing to honor his family, it may also have been that Abraham's trust in God would somehow be lessened if he accepted such a great gift. His sustenance and his blessings all came from God. He needed to trust God for provision, not these strangers that he lived among. It does happen that God will bless someone through the kindness of others, but Abraham knew this gift from the Hittites was not from God and would turn him away from his faith in the Lord.

These kind of situations require much discernment. In a different setting and with different players involved, this could have been how God provided. How do you know the difference? Only by the Holy Spirit can we discern God's will. And then only if we are transformed from the world's ways to God's ways by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2) - and I believe this renewing is also the work of the Holy Spirit within you. Then we will be able to know God's will. Then we will know what the right thing is.

Jan 5 - Luke 5 - The Call to Follow Jesus

Today in my reading, I noticed a difference in the call of Simon Peter, James and John from that of Levi. Peter, James and John spent the day listening to Jesus teach the crowd from one of their boats. They then experienced a miracle in the huge catch of fish they had when Jesus instructed them to put down their nets again (after a long night of catching nothing!). When Jesus asked them to come with Him to catch men, they were ready. They had been convinced, they knew there was something about Him, they expected to see and do great things.

Levi on the other hand, simply had Jesus walk up to him and ask him to follow Jesus. Levi responded immediately. Now we can suppose that Levi had heard something about Jesus, maybe even saw Him at some point. But all we have recorded in Scripture is this simply "Follow me."

I believe it has been the same for all people down through the ages. Some people need to hear and think and comtemplate what they have heard and seen about Jesus. They slowly become convinced that He is who He claims to be and ultimately make a decision about following Him. Others have this immediate recognition that Jesus is the Son of God, a Savior who died for them and they know right away that this is what they want for their life. In both circumstances, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that speaks to the heart and mind of the person. Is either path to Jesus more holy or spiritual than the other? No, not at all. For those of us who are Christians, this tells us we need to have patience and let the Spirit work in the way that is most effective for any given individual. The last thing we want is to pressure someone into making a decision they are not ready for only to see them rebel, or make a choice that they quickly fall away from later (see the parable of the seeds, Matt 13, Mk 4 & Luke 8). Our job is to show the light of Christ in us and let the Spirit do the rest. Praise God for the many ways He can deal with us!

Jan 1 - Home with the Lord

My entry today will be short and simple. Our in-law Peggy went home to be with the Lord last night. While my heart goes out to my daughter and her husband, all the family and especially Peggy's husband Perry, I also rejoice that Peggy's suffering was not long and she is now in that wonderful place - in paradise with Jesus.
God bless all the family who are mourning the loss of this special family member. May your time of sadness be short and may your memories be sweet and sustaining.