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Three Questions

“…Jesus asked Simon Peter,  ‘Simon, son of John,

Do you love me more than the other disciples do?”

Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

Jesus asked him again, a second time,

‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’

Peter answered him,

‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’

Jesus told him,

“Take care of my sheep.”

Jesus asked him a third time,

“Simon, son of John,

Do you love me?”

Peter felt sad because Jesus had asked him a third time,

“Do you love me?”

So Peter said to him,

‘Lord, you know everything.  You know that I love you.’

Jesus told him,

“Feed my sheep.”

John 21:15-17

Jesus was alive again, and for a third time was with His disciples.  He had made them breakfast.  They knew who He was.  Then, Jesus asked Peter, specifically,  an important question, three times.  Why 3 times?  Where was Peter’s head each time?  What is it about something repeated three times that makes a difference?

First time:    A question comes in the midst of “something else” going on….my mind is focused on something at hand…things bombarding my mind at the moment the “new” topic comes up.   Distracted.  Focused elsewhere.  Experiencing something else at that time.

Watch children, for example.   “Seth…come here and _________.”   Didn’t even hear me.  Fully absorbed in his present moment.  

Second time:   “Seth….you’re not listening to me.  Come here and ________.   RIght now!”       Now he’s aware of the conflict he’s feeling.   He wants to keep doing what he was already doing.  I’m pulling him / his thoughts away from something else that has captured them.  Awareness begins…a choice is being required.  Continue what he’s into or choose to change his focus….probably to something that will require some kind of change in his actions.   An internal struggle begins.  He’s going to have to make a choice. 

Third time:  “SETH!”   Seth has not yet given his focus to me.   I must go to him, put his little face in my hands and require him to look into my eyes. It’s the only way I can truly get his attention.  His eyeballs are still going all over the place…avoiding looking in my eyes. That requires a “connection”  with me.  He is going to have to make a choice….either continue his own way, or give in to obedience to me.

What happened with Peter?  He was a fisherman.  His “catch” didn’t require long-term, 24/7 care.  Fishermen don’t develop a relationship with the fish.  One hard whack on the head – done!   Peter knew how to do that.  He knew fish.

What Jesus was asking him to do would require his life.  24/7.  Challenging, tireless, physically demanding, time and life-sacrificing.  It would require being away from home and comfort for months at a time.  Lonely. And Peter didn’t know how to do it. Fishing he knew.  Feeding sheep he didn’t.  It required a completely different skill set and temperament.  It would require everything.  It would require his life.

What is happening in my own life, my own heart as Jesus is asking me that same question?

THE END POINT:    IF YOU LOVE ME, FEED  MY SHEEP.  It’s about “the others”….no matter how bedraggled, skittish, dirty, wayward, flea-ridden, head-butting, stubborn, needy, troublesome, sickly,  funny, odd, disobedient or loveable.

This is the whole goal of a good shepherd….find food so that they can eat, and make them feel safe enough to be able to eat.  Whether it means months away from home so that they can be in good pasture, or whether the good pasture has been prepared for them right at home…

Loving Him must play out as “feed My sheep.”  It will require everything.

 

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Family Resemblance

Family Resemblence

 

“God had Christ, who was sinless,

take our sin

so that we might receive God’s approval

through him.”

2 Cor. 5:21

 

Have you ever met a child or close relative of someone who is/was dear to you, and instantly recognize your dear one in the face of the stranger before you?   When that has happened to me, there is an almost automatic affinity that I feel towards them.  Without even knowing this new person, I immediately am reminded of the person with whom I’d had a relationship, including the emotional joy or delight or sweet reminders of their relative.

It’s a frail human example of what may hint at God’s response when he looks at one of His earthly creations…..anyone who has chosen a personal relationship with Jesus, and God sees His Dearly Beloved’s face in ours. What a thought!  Does His Heart leap in joy…love…delight when He recognizes Jesus in us?

Though we have fallen so far short of who we were created to be, so frail in our earthly, human condition, God’s desire and love for us never changes.  Encountering Jesus, and choosing to walk with Him throughout our days, changes us . . . and changes the way God sees us.  No matter the mud we’ve been splattered with, the darkness we’ve lived with, the dust and rust that has settled on and in us, and the brokenness we carry, our sinless Jesus draws us to Himself.  He dusts us off, washes away the mud, gives us brand new clothes, transforming us inside and out.  And we begin to look like Him.

In the desert, in my early years of being among the people there, the few of us who would come were the first Jesus Followers they had met.   One day, a beautiful young woman who was sitting beside me noticed that the room had cleared of any other people.  It was just the two of us.  She leaned in, and in a hushed voice whispered, “Do you know Jesus?”  I wasn’t sure if this was some sort of “trap” or not, but I nodded in response.  Her eyes immediately lit up, and she whispered, “Tell me!”   What followed was a life-altering hour of telling her stories of Jesus, and of how He had become the most important relationship in my life. How did she know?  Family resemblance, I believe.  Over the years this has happened time and time again. If God has put His thumbprint on every soul He created, it should be no surprise that people can sense that Spirit in one of His Family, even if they don’t know what it is. 

Through the miraculous transformation that only Jesus can bring about in our lives, we begin to reflect Him in the way we live out our days on this earth. We need to hold tightly to His Hand, walk closely, listen carefully, talk with Him daily, and allow His transforming Presence to continue to change us to be more and more like Him.

May the Family resemblance become so evident that we can respond in delight when it is noted by another.  Especially by our Father.

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Anything but Cowards

“God didn’t give us a cowardly spirit

but a spirit of

power,

love,

and good judgment.”

2 Timothy 1:7

Cowardly:   Fearful, unwilling to stand  against opposition, ‘runs from’ rather than ‘stands for.’

God does not want this to describe nor define the spirit He has given each of His children.

The Spirit He has given us, designed to live within us, is very different:

      Power,   (controlled strength, focused on a clear objective needing change)

   Love,    (patient, kind, not self-focused, …1 Corinthians 13 list.)

and  Good Judgement  (clear thinking, accurate perceptions and decisions).

What does that look like?   What is the interplay between those three words?  They’re each uniquely different, yet allgiven within the very spirit of each person who is one of His Children.

All three are powerful words, yet under control, and employed to the benefit of “the other person.”   It’s not about personality….isn’t tied to being a quiet or a loud person.  Introvert or extrovert.  It’s deeper within than that, and impossible to contrive or fake (at least not for very long!)

Those who think that a God-follower is weak, or a person who needs “a crutch,” don’t have any accurate understanding of the very Spirit He has placed within those who are His.  These are leadership qualities.  They describe people who make a difference in their circles of relationship.  ..people of influence.  These are those who have impact and are catalysts of change in their personal world and beyond.   And notice there is no distinction of male or female here.

When God’s Spirit is invited into someone’s life, impact and influence will be a direct outcome  if we cooperate with the Spirit He has given us…put inside of us.

Every tiny or grand corner of our world needs this.

So pull up those bootstraps and…. BE!

Let His Spirit BE within you!

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God is Faithful and Reliable

“God is faithful and reliable

 

“God is faithful and reliable.

If we confess our sins, he forgives them

and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong.”  

1 John 1:9

 

I was in a quandary this morning regarding a decision I had to make.  I had gone back and forth on whether to do something or not.  I knew that either choice would be “OK”…but I wanted to be more sure of making the best decision.

Then, this verse popped out to me, and the reminder that He is faithful and reliable.   It is stated as such a strong fact.  As I struggle with circumstances that seem to be changing by the hour, I needed to return to that grounding fact that God is faithful and reliable.  What follows seems to be an example . . . one of the most basic facts of our faith.  We hold to that fact as a foundational example  of our faith:

Confession, Forgiveness, and Cleansing “from everything we’ve done wrong.”

I can easily trust God to forgive and cleanse me.    Confession, forgiveness and cleansing are the foundation of why I can even havea relationship with Him.   It is easy for me to accept, practice and believe.

It gets a little harder to keep in the forefront of my mind this verse’s two named facts of His very Character in the day to day circumstances that call for decisions and actions.  When I’m not sure of what I must do or not do, I need the reminder of His faithfulness and reliability.  No matter which decision I make (when it’s not a matter of sinful actions), I need to remember that He is faithful…..He will continue to be with me, hold me in His Hand, and walk with me through whatever is ahead.   And He is reliable.  He doesn’t come and go.  I can be confident that He might let a rug be pulled out from under me, but will BE there with me, no matter what is going on around me.

If I can trust Him to forgive me and that He has removed that barrier of sin that had barred me from spending eternity with Him, then I can also trust Him to  be faithful and reliable….both qualities I need to keep in mind in the daily, moment-by-moment decisions and actions that I take.  It would be easier if He’d just shoot a memo to me with clear directions of what to do or decide in my daily life.  But that’s not been my experience.

So, knowing Who He Is in my life, I can walk through my day and make the choices and decisions that seem to be right.  And His Character, especially faithfulness and reliabilityare with me each step of the way.  Even in the “mis-steps”, His unchanging faithfulness and reliability will be there to guide, correct, and calm my heart and mind.  He will is there, present, to guide me through whatever may come.   What a sweet reassurance!

 

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Nothing Can Separate

Nothing Can Separate image

 

“We know that all things work together for the good

 of those who love God

—those whom he has called

according to his plan.”

Romans 8:28

 

In the context of talking about the impossibility of ever being separated from God’s Love  for those who love Him, we see this beautiful encouragement.  It helps to put everything that happens in our lives into God’s Perspective.

He called your name.  He called my name.  And since we experienced  His Call …. perhaps a whisper…. He has been working out the Plan into which He has written our names.  We can be sure that it’s allgood.   No mistakes on His part.  Nothing missed or forgotten.  Nothing random.  Nothing too messed up for Him to weave into His Plan, and create something even more amazing by using the flaws He lovingly works into His Artistry.

He has Called your name, because of His Love for you.  He has chosen to weave you into His

Plan . . . for Eternity.

Whatever our pain . . . loss . . . failures . . . tragedies . . . His Plan has not changed. Set in motion before this world existed, His Plan moves forward.  And, oh so patiently, He has chosen to weave us, flaws and all, into His Masterpiece.

And someday, we will see the unveiling, including our own beautifully flawed piece, of what He has been creating.  It will be finished.  And all we who love Him will see . . . and at last understand.

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Practical Love

“Love is patient.

Love is kind. 

 Love isn’t jealous.

It doesn’t sing its own praises.

Love isn’t arrogant.

 Love isn’t rude.  

Love doesn’t think about itself. 

 Love isn’t irritable.  

Love doesn’t keep track of wrongs.” 

                                                                                                 1 Cor. 13:4-5

Let’s get practical.  Love is practical.   So…..

 

  1. Read each description from Paul’s writing.
  2. Note a person that you know has been difficult for you to Love in each particular way.
  3. Ask God to give you one of His Thoughts toward that person.
  4. What practical action can you take that demonstrates that facet of His Love for him/her?

 

 

 

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Morning Song

“But I will sing about your strength.

In the morning I will joyfully sing about your mercy.

You have been my stronghold and a place of safety in times of trouble.”  

Psalm 59:16 GW

David was absolutely freaking out.  Although he was destined to be King, he was being viciously targeted by the current King Saul.  Saul wanted David dead, and he had sent his top henchmen to do the job.

Yet, in the midst of David’s panic and well-warranted fear, knowing the absolute reality of what was intended as his physical demise which literally surrounded him, he looked Up.  What is it about those nighttime fears that can send us into a tailspin of hopelessness?   It seems that the Enemy of our souls does his best work in the night.  It’s his primary domain.  He loves the darkness…hates the Light.

BUT, thinking of “morning” literally, it begins at 12:01:01 AM.  It’s the official start of a new day.  Though everything seems to look and feel worse in the darkness of night, it’s all “Light” to God.  And it’s in the midst of that darkness of a new day that God’s Strength, Mercy, Stronghold of Safety and Protection become the most critical place for us to be.

It’s definitely something to sing about, right through the darkness and into the Light.

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Gentle Reminder

 “Ask, and you will receive.

Search, and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

Everyone who asks will receive.

The one who searches will find,

and for the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Matthew 7:7-8

 

I have known this verse since I was a child. Sometimes the most familiar things lose their meaning.  Today, this was one of those moments….

What strikes me today is the gentleness of the tone of the passage.  Yet, there is power behind each phrase….There is a Response following each one-word instruction.  The Response is from God.  There is a tenderness here.  There is a Listening Ear.

It’s the way a child would be spoken to….taught something very simple, very basic.  The simple repetition of each, and the subtle re-wording is as a teacher would use when speaking with a child.

What if it’s this simple?  Uncomplicated?  Clear and straightforward?

There is One on the other side of the Door, ready to open it.   Ready to give what we need.  Ready to reveal what we can’t find.  . . . He’s just on the other side of the Door.

Ask…………       Search………….        Knock

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Measuring Faith and Love

“We always have to thank God for you, brothers and sisters.

It’s right to do this because

 your faith is showing remarkable growth

and your love for each other is increasing.”

 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Orange vase -alexandra-gorn-328026

What do you usually thank God for concerning your spiritual brothers and sisters? What do you look for in them?  Often, we focus on ways they have impacted our own lives.

Paul is noting something special in his spiritual family.  It does not seem to have anything to with himself personally. He notes two specific characteristics(measurements) he sees growing in their lives in regard to their relationships with God and with each other.

  • Their faith is showing remarkable growth;
  • Their love for each otheris growing.

He is talking to them as family….as his brothers and sisters.  And the growth he notes is combined in the same breath. They go together…..faith growingand growth in loving each other.    

How is faithmeasured?  It is deeply personal…an internal thing.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faithisconfidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Paul had been seeing this increasing faithin the lives of his spiritual family.  How does that look in someone’s life?  It is a growing confidence in what we hope for, and growing assurance about what we don’t even see yet.  There will be more confidence as we step into the future…more surety with each step forward….not fear that stops us.  One will not fear for what is ahead…but rather, hope.  There will be a willingness to take the risk, even if other voices are telling us “you can’t.”  You will cling more tightly to His Hand as you move forward, trusting Him more with each step. It’s like trusting your GPS to be guiding you to your destination rather than guessing your own route.  Except that this GPS is perfect.  “God’s Perfect System”

Paul’s other measurement is seeing the lovethat is growing for each other.  Whereas faithis more connected to personal relationship with God,  LOVE is evident in human relationships.   It is very “normal” for there to be challenges when strangers begin to move into relationship.   It is significant for Paul to see noticeable love growing between people who were not in relationship before becoming part of the Family of God.

What would Paul note if he had been watching us?  What areas of growth would he notice about our faith?  What would be the evidence he’d see concerning our love for our spiritual family?