Category: Guidance

Three Times!

11/4/2019

"This happened THREE TIMES, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky." Acts 10:16

God was doing something BIG.
A major shift was about to happen--His Spirit was about to be poured out on a believing Gentile named Cornelius, and Peter was the means through which it would happen. The problem was that for a Law-abiding Jewish believer like Peter, it was forbidden to go eat with a Gentile. (Acts 10:28)

To get the point across to Peter that believing Gentiles were not to be considered "unclean" if God had cleansed them through faith in Jesus, THREE TIMES God sends a vision of unclean animals that descend in a sheet, and Peter is commanded: "Arise, kill and eat!" Interestingly, in the vision, Peter knows who the command is coming from. He replies, "By no means, Lord..." Just then the Gentile men knock on his door and ask him to come to their Gentile master's house. Peter finally understands the meaning of the message....and realizes that he must obey God even when it goes against his natural inclination and upbringing.

This wasn't the first time Peter had rebuked the Lord. Just after proclaiming in confidence that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Jesus tells His disciples that He will be beaten and crucified and rise again. Peter proclaims loudly: "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you!"
(Matthew 16:22)

Peter had an idea what the Messiah plan should look like--and it didn't include crucifixion. He had no idea that God's plan was for salvation for Jews and Gentiles, and that it could only happen through Jesus' death on the cross.

Again we find Peter countering Jesus when it is announced that all the disciples will fall away and leave Jesus alone to be crucified. Peter proclaims loudly: "Even though all fall away from You, I will never fall away!" (Matthew 26:33) Jesus tells him, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny me THREE TIMES."
There it is again...it wasn't until the third time that Peter realized how fully he had failed his Lord.

After the resurrection when Jesus met with Peter in Galilee, He asked him THREE TIMES: "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" And THREE TIMES He told him what his new job was going to be..."Tend my lambs. Shepherd my sheep. Tend my sheep."

So...what is the significance of the THREE TIMES?
Peter didn't have any idea of his own weakness nor of the bigger plan of God. Again and again he was rebuking THE LORD JESUS and telling Him how things should go. And over and over it took Peter three times before the Message sunk in to him.

How many times does God send a Scripture, a truth, or an exhortation from a believer to speak something that we are just not comprehending because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts?
Patiently He repeats what we are to do until we realize that God is working out His bigger picture according to His wisdom in ways we cannot comprehend.

Choosing a Traitor

9/12/2019

Luke 6:12-16
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus relied on His Father.

The Scriptures often record Jesus' times of slipping away alone to pray to His Father. On this occasion, the critical selection of twelve men to establish God's kingdom on earth was at hand. The selection wasn't based on their personality or request, but by the choosing and purposes of the Father.

The Traitor was not a Mistake.

The amazing thing is that Judas Iscariot was chosen after a night of prayer.
He was not a mistake that somehow got into the group unnoticed. From the outside, he looked just like the rest of the disciples. His covetous, unbelieving heart was unknown to the other apostles, but it was not unknown to God. From the beginning, Jesus knew that "not all of them were clean" (John 13:11) and that one of them would betray him. He knew that one of them was a "plant from Satan." (Matt. 13:38) From the very beginning, the choosing of a traitor was to fulfill the words given to the prophets made about Messiah. (Luke 22:22) The choosing of the Traitor was eventually going to lead Jesus to the Cross: the purpose for which He had come. (John 12:27)

When I am praying for wisdom about a situation, I often have in mind that there is going to be a "good outcome"...that all will "turn out well."

I don't often consider that a Judas Iscariot might be as much a part of the answer as a Peter and James and John--or that the long-range answer to my prayer is the way of the Cross.

Jesus did good to His enemies.

Immediately after choosing the Twelve Apostles, including the Traitor, Judas--
Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount. His words take on a new understanding when seen in light of Judas: "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." This wasn't pious advice delivered at a Temple teaching. It was the daily example of how Jesus treated a close friend who was going to sell Him to His enemies to be crucified for 30 pieces of silver.

Stand

8/8/2019

I like the feeling of Making Progress; of getting somewhere; of moving forward! But there are those times when looking at the needs and circumstances that are on "today's plate" stops me in my tracks, wishing there were a detour around the difficulties. Evidently, I am not alone.

When the Israelites were coming out of Egypt after 400 years in slavery, they were definitely making progress! God's Big Picture plan was advancing, their bags were packed, and they were Moving! But then they came to a screeching halt at the Red Sea with mountains on either side and an Egyptian army advancing from behind.

At that moment, they just wanted to disappear out of the situation. But what does Moses say?
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Ex. 14:13, 14
Don't panic and don't run! Watch this--God is going to fight for you. You are not stuck in your situation.

The believers that heard about Jesus through Paul faced unbelievable odds of living godly in their sensually-soaked cultures with antagonistic worldviews battering them, and caustic remarks being made about them. So what was Paul's encouragement them? "Get out there and make a difference!"? No--it was to STAND.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13

After Epaphras had left the young believers at Colossae and joined Paul, he wrestled in prayer for his friends. What was he asking for? Great progress and advancements? Actually, it was that they would "stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." Colossians 4:12 Simply standing firm, not giving ground, was deepening and maturing the believers.

If what you are facing is making you want to run and hide, be encouraged from Jude 24, 25:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

"Come!"

7/23/2019

How can a person tell when a thought is God’s Voice or when it is Satan’s lies?

One key indicator is that Satan’s lies are bent on attacking my value and destroying my desire to come to God.
Phrases like, “You’ve messed up again, God won’t want to see you!” and “You are such a failure as a Christian!” may sound like rational thoughts when considering the evidence, but they are in direct opposition to the truth that God’s voice always invites me to come to Him, regardless of where I am.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

If attacking my value does not keep me away from God, Satan will use the more subtle tactic of deceiving me about my true condition and need for God's changing grace.
Thoughts like, “I’m doing so well, praying and reading God’s Word.” “Everything is going well, I must be doing something right!” can mask pride and give a false security that equally destroys a desire to come to God. A person without an inner thirst will not come to God. A longing, a desire for the inner empty to be filled, a dissatisfaction with plastic facades and empty motions--that place of neediness and thirst for righteousness is exactly what delights the Father:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55:1)

Jesus made it very specific that the thirsty one, the needy one, the distressed one crying out, is crying out to Him--and the one who comes to Him will be satisfied, not just one time, but continually. The invitation is open.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’”
(John 7:37-38)

You know what the scary part was? The people who studied the Scriptures were the ones who wouldn’t come to Jesus. The reason? Although the motions made it look like they were seeking God, they weren’t thirsty. They didn’t feel a driving need that made them want to be changed. Their knowledge of Scripture kept them insulated from seeing or feeling their true condition—that they were not filled with compassion and love for others, they were concerned only for their own wellbeing.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
(John 5:39)

Whether we hear the lies that we have messed up too much and God doesn't want us to come, or we are subtly deceived with feeling no need to come, the invitation remains the same to the end:
“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)

This is Where We Should Be

7/18/2019

The Intentional 6-Hour Storm.

Looking at the event of Jesus walking on water from the disciples' perspective made me appreciate how intricately the TIMING of each part was woven together in order to benefit the disciples.

At the height of the drama, just before Jesus gets there, they are in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, being "buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it." So, why had I never noticed that they had been battling that wind for at least six hours and had only traveled a distance of about 3-1/2 miles?

The wind was the divine "pause button" to keep the disciples safely out of harm's way--but it looked like the obstacle that was preventing their progress.

The Protection.

Rewind the story, and we find that Jesus had just shown His disciples the hands-on lesson of giving the Bread of Life (Himself) to the crowds of 5,000+ women and children. Jesus recognized the groundswell movement to "come and make him king by force" before it happened, and "immediately made the disciples go on ahead of him to the other side." The danger for the disciples was that they would be swept up in the moment of excitement of a false view of Messiah; that they would be dazzled by His provision and not anchored in His person. What needed to happen?
1. Disciples needed to be removed from temptation to join the movement to "make Jesus king by force."
2. The crowds needed to be dismissed.
3. Jesus needed to spend time alone with the Father in prayer.
4. Jesus needed to re-join His disciples before the crowds got to them the next morning.

Voila--enter a wind that keeps the disciples safely in the middle of the Sea of Galilee for six hours.
Can you imagine the disciples' frustration going against that wind?! They were trying to follow Jesus' instructions--and it was hour after hour with very little to show for their work. Were they wondering why the God of Creation wasn't lifting or shifting the wind? Were they thinking that if Jesus were there, it would be different? Were they frustrated that Jesus had sent them "on ahead" into that storm? The truth of the situation was that they were exactly where they were supposed to be...and Jesus was there with them.

The Perfect Timing.

The timing of Jesus walking to them on the water focused their attention back to His person--the lesson they had missed in the excitement of feeding the 5,000--so that they confessed, "Truly you are the Son of God."

The timing of a frustrating wind protected them from staying on an 'emotional high' so that when the same crowds found them the next morning, they would be ready for Jesus' difficult words--words that caused many of His disciples to turn back and no longer follow.

The timing made them ready to answer Jesus' question the next morning, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" so that Peter, who had been rescued from the waves by Jesus just a few hours previously was ready to say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

The timing of the storm was Intentional and Necessary.
"This is where we should be, and Jesus is here with us."

It's Not About the Donkeys

6/25/2019

Donkeys Lost.

Have you ever had a "chance encounter" with someone, and when you walked away you knew that God was doing something so much bigger--even if you didn't fully understand what it was, you recognized the encounter as not a chance encounter, but a divine encounter? Maybe it was from seeing this in my own life recently that when I read I Samuel 9-10, I could see it in Saul's life.
In those two chapters, the donkeys are mentioned four different times--but the whole story, the BIG PICTURE story, is that God is about to anoint the first KING of Israel!

Saul and his servant leave home one day thinking they are supposed to find lost donkeys. Unbeknownst to them, they are supposed to go to Samuel's house. They look for three days: no donkeys. I wonder if God had sent an angel to lead those donkeys around, or hide them away somewhere--or if he just let them be their little donkey selves and enjoy their little spree of freedom?!

God's New King Anointed!

Not wanting to return home empty-handed, Saul's servant suggests the last option: asking the man of God--Samuel. When they ask where Samuel is, the woman says, "The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat." Little does Saul know at that moment that not only has he been invited, but he is the guest of honor!
When Saul first approaches Samuel to ask him where the seer's house is, Samuel says, "Today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found." From Saul's perspective, his whole "reason" for being there had been answered in the first couple minutes--but Samuel had a whole feast with Saul as the guest of honor, a talk time on the roof of his house, and private anointing the next morning already planned according to God's instructions.

Donkeys Found.

After Samuel anoints Saul, he says that the first sign verifying that these events were from God would be that two men would meet him and say, "The donkeys you set out to look for have been found." After all the signs were fulfilled that day, and Saul finally gets back home, his uncle asks him, "Where have you been?!" Saul replies, "Looking for the donkeys. But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel." Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."
After all the amazing and exciting things God had done, do you know what Saul replied? "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." End of story? No. Beginning of story. Because God had divinely directed Saul on a "wild donkey chase" to move His Big Picture plan into motion.

When I encounter people in unexpected places or at unexpected times, may I remember that God is doing something bigger behind the scenes--it's not about the donkeys!

"You've Stayed Here Long Enough."

5/19/2019

“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
‘Turn and set your journey, and go to…See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8)

Turn.

The Israelites had made it to Mt. Sinai relatively quickly by the light of the Divine Cloud. Now, after almost ten months of daily routine, the directive came to Moses that they had stayed “long enough.” Sinai was the memorial place to which God and the Israelites would refer in coming generations. These laws that had been given in the sheltered Wilderness were to be lived out in the new life in Canaan. And now…

it was time to move ahead, and the first step was to TURN TOWARD the place and the work to which God was leading them.

They could not wistfully be remembering Egypt, nor wishing for the routine of Sinai to which they had learned to adjust. To turn was to get their mind and heart facing what God was doing ahead.

Set.

The root meaning of this word is “to pull out tent-pegs,” i.e. to break camp. This word is used over 100 times in the book of Numbers alone! The reality of moving forward was that they had to “uproot” …to physically pack their things and move their tents to the next stage of the journey. In fact, Numbers 33 records a whopping FORTY-TWO times that they pulled out their tent pegs. That’s a lot of transition! The pilgrimage lifestyle of God’s people reminded them of their father Abraham who had been “a wandering Aramean.” (Deut. 26:5) It was as if to say: “Don’t get too comfortable where you are, because we are looking for a city whose builder and architect is God.” (Heb. 11:10)

Go to...

Then God reminds the Israelites exactly WHERE they are going—region by region is mentioned. This had been promised to Abraham, and they needed to be reminded that there was a permanent place ahead that was theirs by inheritance.

Go in...

Finally, God reminds the Israelites WHAT the job ahead entailed. They were to go in and possess the land. Their unique role in history demonstrated to everyone that God keeps His promises over generations. They were part of the Big Picture God was accomplishing in the world.

When the Lord moves us to a new place or to a new work, it is part of His bigger picture. Our first steps are to turn our hearts towards what is ahead and “pull up the tent pegs” in order to move forward.