Today's Ruminating in the Word of God:

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 9:13,

"You give them something to eat."

One time, when Jesus and his disciples had gone to a remote place near Bethsaida, his disciples came to Jesus with a concern about the folks that had followed them there. After the crowd listened to Jesus speak of the kingdom of God, when the afternoon arrived, his disciples asked Jesus to send them away to get food and lodging as evening was drawing near. Jesus responded by telling the disciples to feed the people themselves.

What transpires next in the account is the miraculous feeding of the five thousand from five loaves of bread and two fish. It is an amazing account of a true miracle. As I read of it a number of thoughts come to mind. The feeding of these folks with what the disciples had is an obvious metaphor for what the apostles would be doing later as they took the gospel to the world and is yet still an assignment for all of us today.

I am reminded of what Jesus told the devil when he tempted the Lord while he was hungry, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus' answer was, "Man does not live on bread alone." Luke 4:3-4. The allusion of consumption of the gospel as with food is a common theme.

Jesus said in John's gospel, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:32-33. "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35 "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:47-51.

Just as folks need food to live, so they need Jesus Christ for eternal life. Deprivation of either results in death. The one a physical death, the other an eternal death.

Just as Jesus empowered his twelve disciples to perform the miraculous, so he continues to empower his disciples to do the miraculous today. Just as Jesus provided necessary food for the disciples to distribute to others, so he provides the necessary gospel for us to take to others.

Jesus could have fed these five thousand himself in some miraculous way without involving his disciples ("you give them something to eat") and, likewise, he could build his kingdom without using us. But he has chose to use us, to engage us in his grand enterprise. Through this he has provided us the most noble of all purposes life has to offer: service in the Lord's kingdom.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Where to look for joy.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 10:20,

"Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Seventy-two disciples had been empowered by the Lord and sent out in pairs to the towns and places he was about to go to. Upon returning to the Lord, in joy they told Jesus, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Luke 10:17. These were disciples of the Lord that experienced the thrill and joy of being set apart by him for his purposes and given special ability to do things that were otherwise not possible. Of them, it can truly be said, they were right in the middle of doing what the Lord wanted in the way he wanted it done, having been empowered by him.

Today we have all kinds of groups who claim to be just so. There are those who claim to have the inside scoop with the Lord because they talk in tongues. They say we should all join them because they are the ones who experience what God has to offer by way of empowerment. Some purport to have found the fulfillment of what the Lord intends for us all because they have found the key to success in life. "You can have that job..." "You can find happiness in your marriage..." "You can raise successful children..." All we need do is join their ministry and we can experience that success as well. Some claim to have the right theology, the right interpretation of Scripture because they can experience miraculous healing. The rest of us get sick and die because we don't subscribe to their doctrine, so we miss out on this special empowerment of God. And, of course, don't forget about the ones who offer financial blessings as the reward of godliness.

It seems there is a determined effort to lay claim to having the special blessing and empowerment of the Lord, that which provides us joy, by manifesting the different, the miraculous, the unusual, that which differentiates. I wonder if Jesus' response to these seventy-two might be instructive here. The specific issue here is power over demons, but I suspect what Jesus had to say extends to the genuine manifestations of any kind of empowerment he provides. It may be great to talk in tongues, it may be wonderful to experience miraculous healings. It may be unique and fantastic to be able to relieve folks who might be plagued by demons. But, according to the Lord's own words, regardless of any of these miraculous activities, this is the little stuff. There is something far greater than having demons submit, there is something that transcends any of these things, something that is a genuine miracle in and of itself that goes well beyond it all: salvation!

The voluntary sacrifice of the Son of God in payment for our sins, the credit for that payment being offered solely on the basis of faith, the reality that our names are written into God's book of life transcends anything. Here is where we should be exulting. Here is where our joy should flow. Here is where our hope and satisfaction in life should find both its origin and its fulfillment. 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Worthy for service...

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 9:62,

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Luke is a chapter that confronts me with a very important personal issue. That issue is, of what value do I esteem the Lord? Do the choices I make reflect that I exist for him and his purposes, or do they reflect that I assume he exists for me and my purposes? Is he here to fulfill my life as I might define it or do I abandon all that I might seek in deference to him? Am I willing to set aside those things in life, to subordinate all I might find important to me for that which he has expressed is important to him? Do I hold him in that high a regard?

Tough questions! Here are more verses that raise the issue from the chapter:  "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Luke 9:23-24. "He who is least among you all—he is the greatest." Luke 9:48. 

The verse above, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God", follows an exchange Jesus had with each of three men. One man came to Jesus and told him he would follow the him. The Lord told him of the deprivation involved, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Luke 9:58. Would the man esteem the Lord in such a way he would be willing to give up the comforts this life has to offer?

Jesus told a second man to follow him. The man replied that he wanted to "go and bury my father." Luke 9:59. Jesus responds, telling the man to let the dead bury their own dead, that he should go evangelize. A little research into the period of mourning for the loss of a loved one in that culture will reveal what the man was saying to Jesus... he wanted to do the Lord's bidding only after he satisfied the family obligation of the expected extended period of mourning (not literally to simply participate in a funeral at the grave site). Would the man esteem the Lord in such a way he would be willing to give up the expectations of others?

A third man told Jesus he would follow him, but only after he went home to say good-by to his family, Luke 9:61. Would the man esteem the Lord in such a way he would be willing to give up even his family if that be required? Would he be fit for service in the kingdom of God? It appears that fitness for the task resides in the priority placed on it.

Here is a commitment to priority for the Lord in our lives that is seldom seen. Where we spend our prayer time asking God to bring about success in the very things the Lord tells us we should be willing to give up for him, it makes for difficult personal reflection. Over the years I have heard all kinds of comments on these passages that, in the end, allow me to zip right past them, get on my knees and pray for that job I'd really like to pursue, that spouse I'd like to find, healing and infirmity removed so that I won't be hampered, acceptance into the college I want, the Lord to take the really tough decisions I'm faced with so I don't have to wrestle with them...

Yet, these are things we should be praying for. What a perplexing issue! One thing stands as clear to me - the Lord, in spite of anything, ought to hold the highest esteem from me. If I have a clear view of him, if I come to know him as I should, he will become the priority in my life, the single highest object of love and devotion that captures my heart. If he doesn't hold that spot, then I have some soul-searching to do.

As I say, tough questions!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Misery with a purpose.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 8:4,

"A large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town..."

This comment was made by Luke as he sets the stage for his account of Jesus' Parable of the Sower. Why were people coming to Jesus from town after town? In Luke 5:15 we are told, "Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses." People were suffering from sickness. They suffered from demon possession. Jesus spoke to their poverty and hunger in Luke 6:20-21. Lepers, paralytics, Peter's mother-in-law with a high fever, folks were suffering and looking for relief. As news of Jesus Christ spread, people flocked to him for that relief. Even dead people were raised back to life, providing relief for the grieving, as in the case of the raising of the dead son of a widow in Luke 7:11-17. To be sure, there were must have been many who came simply to hear of the hope Jesus Christ offered, to hear someone from speak from God, as say, Nicodemus in John 3. But many came to seek relief from the things they struggled with.

What misery! The gospels are full of accounts of misery folks lived in. A common thread throughout is the relief folks sought for their frustrations, their misery. We likewise see it today as nothing has changed. We may have technological advances available to us. We may have much improved heath care. We may have a much higher standard of living than the folks we read of in the gospels. But one thing that has not changed is that we all face our frustrations, our miseries, whether real or imagined, whether life-threatening or simply inconveniences. And as the folks in Jesus' day, we seek relief from them. 

A guaranteed best-seller for any author down at the Christian book store is a convincing volume on how to find relief from the things that break our hearts, the frustrations, the failures, the misery - in other words, how to have a happy and fulfilled life. The greatest scam in our day are the religious broadcasters who promise relief from our miseries if we simply send in our "faith-promise pledge" of so and so dollars. Many have gotten rich in our day by preying on the misery of others. Folks in the worst poverty, sending in what little they have with a promise they will receive tenfold. Why would they do such a thing? Desperation to find relief from poverty, misery or illness.

Why does such misery abound? Surely much of it is caused by our own poor choices. The account of man's fall in the garden of Eden begins the story of the misery mankind has brought on himself. Life comes with misery built in. We all get sick and eventually die. We all suffer the grief that the death of a loved one brings. Misery in this life is inescapable. If God loves us why doesn't he just remove those things from us that we struggle with? Even Paul spoke of something he suffered that the Lord would not bring relief for. He tells us of "a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." 2 Corinthians 12:7. There he speaks of his prayers that the Lord would bring him relief, prayers that were answered in a way other then removing the torment. He was told the Lord had a purpose for what Paul suffered.

So, is there a purpose for all the misery and suffering that afflict us all, at one time or another? If so, what is the Lord's purpose in it? I can't help but notice that in Luke's gospel, the very things that folks suffered from provided them the motivation to seek relief from the Lord. As then, often it is the frustrations we struggle with today that drive us to the Lord. Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

As in Jesus' day, our frustrations, our sufferings drive us to the Lord. How often I have prayed to God for relief from one thing or another to the One who took pains to bring it into my life for my own good in the first place! I have labored under the false notion that it is God's job to answer my prayers so that I can lead a successful and fulfilling life, a life filled with happiness and the absences of frustration, suffering and pain. After all, isn't life all about my happiness in this life?

It turns out this life is not all about me. God is building his kingdom. God loves me and I have my part in it as we all do, and a part of that involves God drawing us to himself, even if some desperation, frustration and misery may be required. As Paul goes on to quote Psalm 44:22, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

I wonder how many books this message might sell... I suspect not many...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Who are God's people?

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 7:16-17,

"They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.' This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country."

Those that were filled with awe and praise for God in this account were the folks in Nain, a town where Jesus, his disciples and a large crowd went shortly after he had provided healing for a centurion's servant. According to Luke, a widow's only son was raised back to life by Jesus. Those that witnessed the event were filled with awe, praised God and made the statement that God had come to help his people.

Just what they understood, at that time, as to how God had come to help his people may be somewhat different than what Jesus himself said. For instance, many at that time were looking for someone to help them remove Rome's control over Israel at that time. But, in any event, their observation was a true one! God had come to help his people. In Matthew's gospel, when appearing to Joseph, the angel of the Lord said, "... you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21.

The important question for all of us should be, who is it that are "his people"? This is a phrase used in both quotes from Matthew 1:21 and Luke 7:16-17. It indicates that out of all people, there are some that are God's and some that are not. How do we know who the people of God are? Who are the ones God has come to help, the ones that will be saved from their sins?

It is often observed that the nation of Israel, the Jews, are God's chosen people. One of them, the most prolific New Testament writer, the apostle Paul, said, "I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!" Romans 9:3-5. From this I find that Israel holds among many things, much of the things of God. Surely at the top of the list is that "theirs is the adoption as sons...". However, as that chapter continues, Paul points out that "it is not the natural children who are are God's children, but children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." Romans 9:8. Earlier in the letter Paul pointed out, "...he [Abraham] is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised." Romans 4:11-12. Both Jew and Gentile alike become Abraham's offspring, God's children, his people, when they embrace God in faith!

Here it is made clear that the people of God are those who manifest the faith Abraham had in God. In Genesis 15:6 we read that Abraham was credited with a righteous standing with God because of his faith. God seeks those who will embrace him in faith as Abraham did. He offers us salvation through faith in him and provides us a place at his table, as members of his family when we place our trust in him.

As we read in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." How wonderful to be included as one of God's people by simply trusting in him! Surely this is the greatest gift to mankind: eternal life as members of God's family by faith alone.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: On joining God's family.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 8:21,

"My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

I am reminded that the gift God gives when we embrace him in faith is entrance into his family. We are not merely subjects of a kingdom, though we are. We are not merely friends of the Lord, though we are - we are family!

In Romans 8:16 we are told, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." God's children are also called the children of Abraham, a perspective on us when we manifest the faith Abraham did in Genesis 15:6, "Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." Galatians 3:6-9. 

Look at this wonderful statement Paul makes in Ephesians 1:3-6, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." We receive "every spiritual blessing in Christ" because he determined ahead of time that he would adopt us as his sons, his children!

The writer of Hebrews makes an interesting observation, "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, 'I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.' And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again he says, 'Here am I, and the children God has given me.' Hebrews 2:10-13.

As children we become heirs of all that is Jesus Christ's, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17.

Contemplating, ruminating on the reality of being a child of God can cause you to have to catch your breath! What an exciting eternity we have as believers to look forward to!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Responding to the gospel - life or death?

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 6:47-49,

"I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

A dilemma that faced me when I was confronted with the gospel message was the message itself forced of me an exercise of faith. Either accepting the claims of the gospel, that I was a sinner and Jesus took my punishment on himself when he died on that cross or not accepting the message (and the One from whom it originated) was going to require faith. Either I embrace Jesus Christ in faith, or in faith embrace the notion I didn't have to respond to it - either at the time or at any time - either choice was an exercise of faith.

"Do you believe in the Son of God?" is a question that requires faith regardless of how we respond to it. Even if I opted for the alternative of putting the decision off till later requires faith that it will be OK to do so. I wonder how many have been thrust into eternity that had opted for the "till later" response and now are awaiting judgment day on their own...

Regardless, here is one of the countless times we find the intolerance of the Son of God. I note as I read the gospel of Luke that Jesus presents his offer of the kingdom of God without give-and-take, without tempering it to mollify the thoughts and feelings of others, without concern for rejection, humiliation and fear, without the "political correctness" that seems to infest our spineless society today.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh here, but the love of God is manifested in his sending of his Son to die a miserable death to pay the penalty for our sins, all our sins. It is not manifested in any equivocation of the message. Jesus here simply says, do what I say and receive eternal life or do not do what I say and spend eternity in a fiery lake of burning sulfur. What I see in the things the Lord says demonstrate a conviction, a certainty, a confrontation not often seen in our culture and society today. I'm not sure love allows any other approach.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com