Uncategorized – Page 8 – Wisdom From the Word

The Church Part 1

If you are happy and content with church as you experience it, perhaps stop now. I want to look at church as we practice it here in the West and look at whether what we are in engaged in is actually what Jesus had in mind. As you walk through this with me consider how you think the average 1^st Century Christian would view our practices in light of what they knew and understood.

The obvious starting point in understanding what we are to be as the church is looking at what Jesus taught us. In His preaching and teaching Jesus talked about both the church and the kingdom. A simple way of understanding the relationship between the two is that the church is called to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom. A kingdom is simply a place where the king rules or has dominion. In this case we are to extend Jesus’ authority in the earth, we are to bring heaven to earth (see Matt. 6:9-10, 28:18-20). We do that by being the church, or more accurately the ekklesia. Ekklesia refers to an assembly or congregation. You may be familiar with the term ‘called out ones’ as that is literally what ekklesia means. In the Greek culture from where we draw the word, the ekklesia is both called out from something and to something. In ancient Athens all adult male citizens were considered part of the ekklesia, the assembly, and could participate in governmental decisions for their city. It seems that this is what Jesus had in mind when He instituted the church. Not a secular or human government but an assembly of those who could proclaim and demonstrate His kingdom in the earth. Below are some key passages from Matthew that will inform our study.

⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9–10 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18–19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:18–20 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

There are some key phrases in these verses such as, ‘on earth as it is in heaven,’ ‘the gospel of the kingdom’ and the concept of ‘binding and loosing.’ We will look at those and more as we continue. For now, I invite you to mediate on the above passages. For example, the idea of ‘agreeing’ in Matthew is generally used of prayer. Have a look at the context. It isn’t about prayer.

More to come.

Jesus Answered

At times we come across interesting verses. Here is one.

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Matthew 11:25 (NKJV)

The verse starts out noting that Jesus ‘answered.’ I have thought about this in the past because it is evident that no one was speaking to Him. At least that is evident on the surface. In Greek the word ‘answered’ means just that, to answer or respond. The answer for us requires a little digging, but first a seeming rabbit trail.

Recently I was out for a walk with a pastor friend and he asked what I thought it meant to ‘walk in the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16). He was going to preach on the passage and felt the Spirit had focused him in this verse. We tossed our ideas back and forth while focusing on the significance of the word walk.

This was significant for me because I often think about our walk with/in the Spirit and this dialogue brought me back to something I read a couple of decades ago. It was Rick Joyner relating a prophetic vision he had. He shared how he was caught up in this prophetic vision and found himself standing on a shoreline by the water with a mountain in the distance. Far down the shoreline he could see a figure walking toward him and said he knew it was the Lord because “He is never in a hurry.” The image has stuck with me all these years. Jesus walking purposefully down the beach. Not dawdling, not running, not distracted. Walking with composure and purpose.

This is how I see we are to navigate our daily ‘walk’ in the Spirit. I also see this as where we find Jesus ‘answering.’ In His earthly ministry Jesus walked in communion with the Father and lived out of that reality. Here are some examples from scripture.

¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. John 5:19 (NKJV)

⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” John 12:49–50 (NKJV)

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Mark 2:8 (NKJV)

In each of these example Jesus was describing or demonstrating how He lived from another realm while walking in this one. The Greek word translated as ‘walk’ in Galatians 5:14 means to walk or conduct ourselves. That is what Jesus did and we are called to do the same. Let’s learn to look to Him and live in and out from an awareness of His presence. Let’s ‘walk in the Spirit.’

Following Your Heart

Recently I was again exposed to a short list of ‘Thing Jesus never said’ contrasted with ‘Things Jesus said.’ One point in particular was that Jesus never said to ‘follow your heart.’ While I get the intent behind the phrase, I also find it simplistic and scripturally inaccurate. On the occasions that I have challenged the simplistic idea that it may not be entirely wrong to ‘follow your heart’ (I have no issue with the other points) I have received the obvious follow up, a reference to Jeremiah 17:9 saying I am wrong because our hearts are ‘deceitfully wicked.’ I don’t want to go too far down a road here but frankly I find a lot of my fellow believers come across as far better at quoting standard scriptures than engaging in some scriptural research and critical thinking.

Now, lest I simply come across as a cranky old man, I have a deep concern, backed up by numerous research studies and polls others have done, that a great many who claim Jesus’ name do not seem to know His word. Granted, He has called me to teach so I am more invested in scripture, but I think we all need a level of investment that goes beyond cliché scriptures. Thus, let’s explore the issue of heart from both the Old and New Testaments by looking at some sample scriptures. Here are some scriptures followed by my comments.

⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 (NKJV)

This seems to support Jeremiah quoting Yahweh as saying our hearts are deceitfully wicked. Yet in context if we read a few verses further we find that Noah was a just man and the ‘intent of the thoughts of his heart’ were not continually evil. Well both Genesis 6 and Jeremiah 17 seem be blanket statements I think they are generalities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NKJV)

If our hearts could not be cleansed then David’s prayer of contrition and repentance was not inspired by the Spirit.

¹ My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; ² For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. ³ Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, ⁴ And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; Proverbs 3:1–5 (NKJV)

²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

We are enjoined in Proverbs 3 to keep His commands with our heart, to write His law on the tablet of our hearts and trust Him with all our heart. Seemingly summed up in Proverbs 4:23. All things contrary to what can be done with a completely wicked and deceitful heart.

⁹ “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)

Here we come to the core verse everyone seems to know without seeming to know the context. Jeremiah is delivering a message and contrasting those who follow Yahweh with those who do not. The very next verse is always left out.

¹⁰ I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:10

This takes us back to the context. If every heart is deceitfully wicked then the only proper response is judgment for everyone but that is not what we see in Jeremiah’s message. Yahweh is judging people as good and evil according to their ways.

²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV)

This is the promise of the new covenant and minimally should teach believers that when we have been born again our heart has been renewed.

⁷ And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, ⁹ and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Acts 15:7–9 (NKJV)

Here Peter teaches that our hearts can be purified through faith in Jesus.

⁴³ “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:43–45 (NKJV)

Here, prior to the inauguration of the new covenant Jesus taught that our hearts could bring forth good our evil depending on the values we had embraced.

⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)

Here Paul taught us that it is with our hearts that we encounter Jesus. The heart is where He shines into our lives.

¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10 (NKJV)

Lastly and most importantly, if all of us have desperately wicked hearts how could any of us ever be saved? After all, Paul is telling us here that our heart is the organ of faith!

In conclusion. If we ignore the whole counsel of God, we can wholeheartedly embrace what is regularly taught from Jeremiah 17:9, that all of us have deceitfully wicked hearts. However, if we embrace scripture, we see that the issue is much more nuanced and that our hearts can follow Jesus and we can follow our hearts. What led to my conversion was that I followed mine right into His presence. If you have not yet done so I invite you to do the same.

The Lamp of the Lord

The title is from a phrase in Proverbs. It encapsulates the need to pay or give attention to our spirit.

²⁷ The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. Proverbs 20:27 (NKJV)

The phrase ‘depths of the heart’ is literally ‘rooms of the belly’ in Hebrew. We can discern from Proverbs that we can experience our spirit and that Yahweh uses it as a lamp, that is, He ‘lights up’ something inside of us when He wants to get our attention. I trust most of you have experienced this inner probing or awareness. In the New Testament we have a number of phrases that refer to this process. They include the ideas of being ‘led by the Spirit,’ ‘walking in the Spirit,’ being ‘filled with the Spirit,’ and ‘hearing what the Spirit is saying.’ Each of these points us to one thing, dependence upon, and relationship with, the Spirit, which points to our need to understand how to do each of the above. I am sure that as believers most of us want to walk, be filled with, hear from and be led by the Spirit. Practically we can look at this process in scripture as presented in 1 Corinthians 2.

⁹ But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:9–12 (NKJV)

Obviously key to understanding and walking in what Paul shared in 1 Corinthians is the meaning of the word ‘know’ along with Paul’s statement in verse 10 that the spiritual things we can know are revealed by the Spirit. Some translations have different words instead of ‘know’ in verses 11-12 but in Greek the word is consistent and it means to know, understand or recognize. Clearly to walk in or be led by or walk in the Spirit we need to understand or recognize His leading. Practically speaking Paul is saying the Spirit knows the things of God and is willing to reveal them to us and we need to be willing or know or hear.

In my experience I spend time in prayer and in His word each day. I also seek to hold an internal awareness and be sensitive to His presence during the day and pray at various times during the day. Not set prayer time but simply carrying things before him throughout the day, offering up prayers for people and circumstances He brings to mind and seeking to hear His voice so that I can walk in and be led by the Spirit. This may mean sharing a scripture passage or concept with someone, sensing a need to call or connect with someone to encourage them or a sense to pray for a certain individual or circumstance.

I see these experiences as Him ‘turning on the lamp’ inside of me to direct my walk with Him. If I have no internal leading, I simply seek to walk in the light of His word and what I have learned of His character over my many years of walking with Him. I believe this way of ‘walking in the Spirit’ is available to all who seek His face.

Others sense the spiritual atmosphere in cities or regions. Some sense what is happening in someone else physically as a call to prayer or intervention. I know I am at times aware of what is happening with someone and at times I am aware of someone’s gifts or callings. Having said that, I am not given to great prophetic experiences and dreams and visions. These are very practical ways He reveals things to us and I would love to have them as ongoing experiences. Yet He seems to have me anchored in the main, plain and seeming mundane, which is where I think most of us live. Given that, how is He lighting your lamp?

The Word of the Lord Tested Him

This phrase is taken from the life of Jospeh, not in Genesis, in Psalms. I have often been struck by the phrase. It was the ‘word of the Lord’ that tested Joseph. To better understand the idea, I will break it down and we will look at other examples in scripture that illustrate the same principle then reflect on how to apply it to our lives. We start with the phrase then the context.

¹⁹ Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him. Psalm 105:19 (NKJV)

Psalm 105 chronicles the history of Israel. We all have a story and this is the story of a nation. Embedded in this national story is a key character, Joseph. The idea of the ‘word of the Lord’ here is that Joseph was given great promises, then he quickly experienced the opposite. The story of his promises, slavery and imprisonment and eventual rise to their fulfillment is found in Genesis 37-50. A significant portion of the book of history. Joseph’s test and fulfillment took place over a long period, thirteen years. He was sold by his brothers at age 17 (Genesis 37:2) and raised up out of prison and given authority by Pharoah at age 30 (Genesis 41:46).

Joseph received prophetic promises via a dream from Yahweh then endured hardship and affliction with the word. The word, these promises, tested him until it they came to pass and he had developed the character to carry the authority he was given. Abraham and Sarah waited years for the promised son. We know that Abraham was 75 when Yahweh first promised him descendants (Genesis 12:1-7) and that he was 100 when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). The promise of a son born to him was more explicit in Genesis 15:1-4 but we do not know Abraham’s age then. We do know that Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born to Hagar. Like his descendant who followed him the word of the Lord had tested Abraham.

While two examples do not constitute a pattern there are many more in scripture. David was anointed as king and soon became a fugitive instead. The word of the Lord tested him over many years. Moses knew he was called by Yahweh to deliver Israel (Exodus 2:11-13, Acts 7:25). He tried in his own strength and then spent 40 years in the wilderness until he encountered Yahweh at the burning bush (Acts 7:25-30). The word of the Lord tested him.

We even see this pattern in the life of Jesus. He was baptized in the Jordan and received affirmation from His Father that He was the beloved Son and His Father was pleased with Him (Matthew 3:17). What followed was a glorious entry into ministry – no actually, what happened was He was immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by Satan (Matthew 4:1). The word of the Lord tested Him.

Given these examples and this pattern should we expect different treatment? He has called each of us and once He calls us, He tests us. One of the words He spoke to me nearly three decades ago was 1 Corinthians 4:2.

² Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV)

This means like Paul who wrote it, our faithfulness is the primary test. Joseph had to remain faithful and hold onto his dreams after slavery followed by prison. Abraham has to hold onto the promise of a son in spite of his circumstances – he and Sarah both past the fathering and bearing stage of their lives. David had to remain focused on his calling and commission to be king well the present king sought his death. Moses had to believe Yahweh after his failure and subsequent encounter in the wilderness. Jesus – I, nor anyone else, fully understands His humanity but I believe He had to develop and walk out a trust relationship with His Father in spite of His wilderness experience.

I have a list of things He has spoken to me both directly and through others over the years. Some I am walking in, some I am not. As these words test me, I seek to be found faithful. How about you? What are you reflecting on? How is the test going?

Here to There

Many years ago, I attended a work seminar given by a popular international executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith where he focused on a book he had written, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. His focus was on the need to increase skills to move from one level to the next and his core concept was something call ‘Feed Forward.’ I won’t go into it in depth, it is easy enough to look up and his focus was on how to move up in the corporate world. Not exactly the primary value we find Jesus promoting, although He is not opposed to that for those walking with Him. However, if we are serious about our walk of faith our primary goal is to be successful in walking in the Spirit in His kingdom.

In our pursuit of walking in His kingdom there is a progression and what took us to one place will not take us to the next. Think of the tabernacle of Moses or the temple of Solomon. The outer court required sacrifice at the altar and cleansing at the laver. The inner court required bread upon the table, light in the candlestand and incense rising before the curtain to the holy of holies. I, like others, have long viewed this as the ground flour for the bread representing a submitted will, the burning oil in the lampstand a mind illumined with the truth of scripture and the incense on the small altar a heart of worship. In summary, a soul in passionate pursuit of His presence.

We see that what got one past the outer court was not sufficient for the inner court and what was sufficient for the inner court would not get one into the holy of holies. This was reserved for the high priest and then only one time per year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Now you may be wondering if I am promoting some sort of works mentality through which we earn great favour with Jesus. I am not, He is our ultimate High Priest. He offered Himself in the outer court, lived out of a submitted will, had a mind illuminated by scripture (Hebrews 10) and then took His own blood into the Holy of Holies and poured it out upon the altar (Hebrews 9:12).

Jesus made it possible for us to live in and out from the Holy of Holies, the throne of grace. What is required from us is the continual laying down of our agenda to embrace His. Just as the manna in the wilderness had to be gathered each day, the obedience that brought us to today won’t work tomorrow. We need to seek His face each day, which requires a submitted will, a mind illumined by the truth of scripture and a heart engaged in worship. Paul expressed it this way.

³¹ I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 1 Corinthians 15:31 (NKJV)

And Paul was merely affirming what Jesus instructed us to do.

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23 (NKJV)

Now back to where this post began. The principle applies, what got us here won’t get us there. In the kingdom what we need to accomplish our goal of going deeper in Jesus is daily submission and obedience. An increased laying down of our lives marked by a mantle of humility. Knowing this let us engage in it and like (and with) Jesus be about our Father’s business as each day we present ourselves to Him afresh and seek His will for this day. After all, He is The Great I Am, not the great I Was or Will Be. He is a present saviour who desires that each day we live in and out of His presence.

Weeping to Blessing

Tears, we all have them, sometimes tears of joy, sometimes tears of grief or sadness. In scripture we see tears in a variety of settings in scripture. Yet they are primarily associated with grief, which we will look at.

⁵ “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 20:5 (NKJV)

⁶ I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. Psalm 6:6 (NKJV)

²⁰ My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out tears to God. Job 16:20 (NKJV)

A particular portrait of tears is Jeremiah. He is often referred to as ‘the weeping prophet” for the many tears he shed over the state of Jerusalem. In fact, Jeremiah’s second shorter book is titled ‘Lamentations’ due to all of his tearful laments.

In highlighting the reality of tears, in this case in the Old Testament, we see that the Hebrew people were not stoics. Grief was expressed rather than denied. Yet we also see people moving beyond their tears and in many Psalms, we see laments turn to praise. In this first reference above Hezekiah poured out his heart in tears and received the blessing of health and added years from the Lord. This means that tears can be a place of transition, which brings us to a specific passage in Psalm 84.

⁵ Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. ⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. ⁷ They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5–7 (NKJV)

These verses highlight the transition through tears to blessing. Though it isn’t obvious on the surface the reference notes in my bible point out that ‘Baca’ means weeping and ‘pools’ refers to blessings. The Amplified bible puts verse 6 this way,

⁶ Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. Psalm 84:6 (AMP)

The passage is about a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a difficult journey and near the end Baca is reached before Zion (the hill of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). This is another Sons of Korah Psalm where we don’t know the timeframe, pre or post Temple. We do have a clue though in that the first verse literally says ‘dwelling places’ in Hebrew and we know that prior to the Temple of Solomon being constructed there were two dwelling places, the Tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon where the daily sacrifices were offered and the Ark of the Covenant in a tent David set up on Mount Zion with open worship before the ark in His presence. The latter seems to be in view.

What the writers of the psalm are telling us is that when we encounter tears on our journey to His presence they will turn into blessing if our hearts are ‘set on pilgrimage.’ If our focus is on walking in His presence then in this life or the next our tears that come as a result of faithfulness will turn into blessing. I am confident that when I appear before His judgment seat I will have tears as a result of sin, failures and opportunities I have missed. Yet I also know that I will rejoice in His presence with ‘joy unspeakable and full of glory’ because for decades my heart has been ‘set on pilgrimage.’ I look forward to the blessing of continually encountering His presence. Tastes here and fullness there. How about you?

Paying Attention

There is an old saying, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Emerson was an American thinker and philosopher of the 19^th century. He lived in a time still more in tune with natural rhythms and reflection. In our current internet and social media environment I think we need to add a precursor to ‘sow a thought.’ We could say, ‘respond to a stimulus/impulse.’ If we think back to Pavlov and his experiments, we recognize that most of us are conditioned by our environment, more influenced than influence. We can reverse that.

Prior to exploring this further I want to look at what another ancient philosopher and thinker had to say.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:7–9 (NKJV)

Like Emerson, Paul also addressed the importance of sowing but his focus here was more on behaviour. In his letter to the Philippians (4:8-9) Paul presented the connection to right thoughts producing right behaviour.

Putting together the ideas of thought and action, we need to be intentional about how we live in our current era of culture wars and hyperstimulation. A couple of decades ago I used to say that if you gave your average ‘busy’ person 5 minutes alone in a room with no stimulation it would drive them crazy. I think the issue has simply been exacerbated in the intervening years. We know how to be ‘busy’ but I don’t know that we know how to prioritize our time and how to filter out the unimportant and filter in that which is truly of value.

Here is my attempt at some of the how. Start by setting aside time and minimizing distractions. Turn off and tune out the unnecessary and unhelpful. We can train ourselves to focus our hearts on Him. Read and reflect on varying opinions. The social media algorithms send us down the same path and simply reinforce what we already think. Great if we are on the right path, not so much if we are on the wrong one.

Lastly, my title. Paying attention carries with it the idea of cost and exchange. We are giving something (our attention) as a payment in exchange for something else. The question is really whether we are doing that by design or default. For any of you that follow my Facebook posts you know how much I enjoy and appreciate the outdoors, particularly being in the mountains. To truly appreciate those environments, I need to give them my attention – an exchange. When I was a child and we went on family vacation my parents would get frustrated with myself and my siblings when we wanted to read comics in the car rather than look out the window at the view. At that stage comics had my attention, now the mountains and other aspects of nature do. The latter is of greater value for how it imparts to me the grandeur of creation and turns my thoughts to Him. Let’s find ways to ‘pay attention’ to the things that truly matter. If we embrace Paul’s injunction that I referenced earlier we will do just that, he tells us how to pay attention.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8–9 (NKJV)

Thoughts on God

Some decades ago, early in my Christian walk, I wanted to know the Lord better. In seeking to accomplish this I came across and purchased J. I Packer’s book Knowing God. I confess, I found it very dry and never finished it, as from my perspective it was more theoretical than practical. Given the popularity of the book (over 1,000,000 copies sold in North America) the shortcoming may have lain with me at the time. Be that as it may, I am presently not inclined to revisit the book. I am however inclined to think upon scripture and meditate upon the Lord’s attributes as that is a major part of knowing Him and what drew me to this verse.

⁹ We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. Psalm 48:9 (NKJV)

This is a Psalm from the sons of Korah. They were prophetic musicians and worshippers as set up by David (1 Chronicles 6:22, 31) and were descended from the Korah who rebelled against Moses and Aaron. He and those with him perished (Numbers 16, Jude 11) yet since our Father’s heart is to redeem, we find that Samuel the prophet and judge of Israel was a descendant of Korah and an ancestor of the sons of Korah (1 Chronicles 6:22-23, 33-34).

Whether the temple of Solomon or the heavenly temple is in view in Psalm 48 we don’t know as it is not clear whether Solomon’s temple had been completed when this Psalm was written. What we do know is that being in the temple inspired them to reflect on Yahweh’s lovingkindness. The word in Hebrew is an important one, chesed, and it is generally translated as lovingkindness or mercy. It is the word we have in the famous Micah 6:8 passage where we are enjoined to ‘love mercy.’

Since we are now His temple it seems appropriate to reflect on His chesed and how it is evident in our lives. We may be tempted to view chesed in our lives in terms of health and abundance but that is not the case for many believers around the world. For the persecuted believers around the world life is very different and many have little in the way of material goods. Yet what they do have is a good and loving Father, one whose care and presence can be tangibly experienced where they are, just as it can be here.

One way to become more conscious of His presence and His chesed in our lives is to simply turn our thoughts to Him and reflect on His character. If we wonder what He is like Jesus said He came to reveal Him and in John 17:26 promises to still do so for us. We also have in scripture His character unveiled to Moses.

⁶ Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; ⁷ who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Exodus 34:6–7 (LSB – Legacy Standard Bible, a new update of the NASB)

The word translated as ‘lovingkindness’ in this passage is chesed. We can thus pray something like this as we respond to the invitation from the sons of Korah,’ Father, I thank You that You are merciful, gracious and patient. I thank You that You abound in lovingkindness/chesed and that Your heart is toward me.” Pray and think about that and see how it affects your day.

Here is a song by Jesus Image extolling the virtues of Jesus.

https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=Awr92XwqhgVlJqYU_gDrFAx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=Jesus+image+Yeshua&fr2=piv-web&type=E210CA1485G0&fr=mcafee#id=1&vid=774aff9752b071439ca761344a0db4c7&action=view

How is the Soil?

I briefly wrote about the parable of the sower in part of 4 of my New Wineskins series in September 2020 (http://wisdomfromtheword.ca/new-wineskins-part-4/) and there I focused on the importance of purpose. Here I am focusing on Mark 4 and a different aspect, the power of the seed. Here is how Mark presents what Jesus taught.

³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸ But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Mark 4:3–8 (NKJV)

We know from Mark 4:14 that the seed is Jesus’ teaching, the word of God. From Luke we know that that the type of soil is representative of our heart condition and the seed produces a harvest in good soil.

¹⁵ But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke 8:15 (NKJV)

In Hebrews, more light is shed on the power of the seed.

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

What is significant is that if the seed, the word, encounters good soil it increases thirty, sixty or one hundredfold. The application is obvious. If we are not seeing a harvest from the seed, then Jesus is telling us we need to examine the soil where the seed is being sown.

In the parable there are four condition which includes three types of soil. We have soil that is rocky and shallow, soil infested with thorns and good soil. The first seed never germinates as the birds make off with it. Even though the seed germinates in the rocky shallow soil the seed won’t continue to grow due to the poor quality of the soil. The second type of soil is that in which the seed can grow but due to the thorns the life is choked out of the seed. The fourth type of soil without the rocks and thorns produces a harvest.

In explaining the parable (Mark 4:13-20) Jesus says the birds of the air represent Satan stealing the seed that has been sown. The shallow rocky soil represents a lack of depth in us. The thorns in the soil represent all of the things around us that distract us and take our attention away from the word that has been sown in our hearts. If we want His word to produce fruit in our lives, we need to keep the soil in our hearts tilled and free of rocks and thorns so that it is receptive to the seed. I know in my life that I regularly need to address distractions to keep my heart focused on Him so that when I interact with His word it produces change in me. As for you, how is your heart? Do you need to remove some rocks or thorns?