I have heard it preached several times that it is a good idea to think about what God would think of what you are doing.   For example, would God approve of this movie I am watching? or, Do I really think, God who is with me right now, is enjoying this movie?

Here is this new, deeply challenging thought that crossed my mind for the first time this week.  Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing.

Is perhaps the right question?  Can I see any example in the Bible of Jesus or the Father doing what I am doing?  Cuz if Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing, and we are called to follow His example….?  Changes everything.

An example from this week.  I see and read about Jesus telling people the truth about God.   I don’t see Him spending hours trying to convince those who didn’t believe.  I see Him showing great mercy to the woman caught in the very act of adultery.. and I hear His stern admonition to “sin no more”.   I see this same admonition to the man paralized and sitting by the pool waiting for that angel to stir the waters…  A miraculous healing and later, that a variation of the same “sin no more lest something worse comes upon you”.   Seemingly in His interactions, He left the ball in the other person’s court to pursue Him further or return to their old ways.  A whole new perspective has been opened to me.. Lord I pray that You will lead me in all wisdom, love and truth to follow Your every leading.  In Jesus name.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.”
John 14:9-11 “Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.”

John 5:19-30 “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man] Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. “

Hmmm… many healed not all.  Why?

Mark 5:22-43 (specifically the part about the hemoraging woman)

Although there was a throng of people pressing in on Jesus so hard, there was something unique and different about this woman that caused the annointing to spontaneously flow from Jesus to her.  What was it?

Mark 6:55-56

I am pondering this question today in light of a conversation I had at lunchtime.    I can barely remember the story from highschool english class but “Great Expectations” left one imprint on my brain.   It is a sad sad thing to sit waiting for something/someone that isn’t coming back.

In this pursuit of understanding the Lord, this question becomes significant.   Isn’t it awesome that the Bible says the Gospel will be preached in all the world

^” And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

– Mark 16-15

..and sent His disciples out accordingly.   How much time between that initial preaching and reaching and the those daunting, wonderful awesome words… “Come follow me.”

 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

² After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

³ Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

-Hosea 6:1-3

This verse foreshadows the truth to come.

Matthew 4:18-20 gives us an account of the first invitation for discipleship.

 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰ And they left their nets at once and followed him.”

In this case, we have no hint of just how well they knew Jesus and how much of what He taught they had been exposed to, but clearly we get the message that it was an invite to leave something behind and to follow him.  I am beginning to wonder how many are stuck waiting for Jesus to come back to them over and over again, when He has moved on and left them with the standing invite to come and follow Him… and that the answer to their every prayer, concern, heartache, hurt, need, want etc… will only be met if they do just that, take up their cross and follow Him. (Matthew 10:38 and Matthew 16:24 give us further insight into this invitation)

The question that came up, was did Jesus always heal them all.

The scripture mentioned was Luke 4:42-44

^“42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. ⁴³ But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.””

Mark 1:34-39

Amplified Bible (AMP)

³⁴And He cured many who were afflicted with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to talk because they knew Him [intuitively].And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.³⁶And Simon [Peter] and those who were with him followed Him [pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out],³⁷And they found Him and said to Him, everybody is looking for You.³⁸And He said to them, Let us be going on into the neighboring country towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.³⁹[So] He went throughout the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. “

The point was that Jesus left the town before the people in the town were fully satisfied and met in their every need.  There is also “he cured many”, all not being mentioned in this case.   Each of the people now had a choice to make, to pursue Jesus were He went, or sit back in their own town, in their own place of comfort and hope that He would return to them.   Somehow this seems like a parrable to me.   Is it possible that we believe God yet miss the message that we are called to follow Him and be His servants, not for Him to dote on us and meet us on our terms?

Here is another scripture that points to a different yet similar circumstance.  The one scripture that illustrates this well is when he healed one single man surrounded by many who were sick.  This was at the pool of Bathsheba

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. ² Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. ³ Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. ⁵ One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

⁹ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, ¹⁰ so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹² “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.¹³ The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. ¹⁴ But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.” – John 5:1-15

The man had no idea who it was that had come upon him.  His eyes and life were so centred on that pool, in his sickness he was literally cloistered away in this pitiable place of knowing the pool was so near and yet that he himself would never be the one to make it in and receive.    This is surely a time that Jesus came and met the man where he was at.   What is challenging is that he was surrounded by a multitude of others who were also sick and yet this scripture clearly states he was the only one healed.   Jesus was gone before anyone could really register all that had just happened.    I am going to dip into my own understanding/revelation of this verse, so please pray that you would see only what is really in the Word here.

Some things that stand out.  The man had no idea who Jesus was.  He had no preteaching, very little post teaching, basically the sum total being “sin no more lest something worse come upon you” and yet God met him in his misery in that place.   Isn’t God’s mercy awesome.    All eyes were fixed so steadily on the pool that they missed Messiah Himself walking in their midst.   Is this true in our lives somewhere?  Worth asking God about, no?   Here is the amazing thing, while Jesus only healed the one, he healed one that everyone in that place would have known… a regular who had been sitting there for years upon years in this place of utter futility clinging desperately to the tiniest thread of hope that the impossible could somehow happen.  And then Messiah comes and asks him “Would you like to get well?”  His immediate response, eyes ever fixed on that pool, “I can’t for there is no one to help me”.    Hope still had him coming to that place but acceptance of his situation ruled his answer.   Is it possible that somewhere we have locked ourselves into a similar holding pattern, hoping and yet denying in the very same moment that our healing will come?  And then, the wonderful, awesome grace, power and mercy of God bursts through… not with gentle words of understanding and compassion, but with a simple command “get up and take your mat with you”.  All done on the sabbath none the less.

In that instant, God revealed Himself to a whole crowd of people whose eyes had been fixed elsewhere…  I can hear the silent invite to each one, come follow me, come see for yourself if Messiah heals, come and learn, see and hear the gospel He is preaching for yourself.   They now had a choice whether or not to return to that pool and hope that they would be the one that someone got in.  Or, they could seek out Messiah and be among the throngs, hundreds and thousands who are described in the Bible as “and he healed them all”.

“They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.”

-Matthew 14:36

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from those who made the choice to pursue Jesus for themselves and from those who brought others to Him.    I believe the promise still stands today, and the challenges as well.  Often we have to push through a large crowd of doubters, nay-sayers, evil reports, and distances to close the gap that stands between us and the fringe of our Messiah’s robe.  As all who touched Him, who pushed through, who pursued, received… Praise God.

This post is really truly and confession and realization for me of how deeply I have lived deceived in a very critical important part of my life. So for those who are looking for a Word first post, usually my heart, this one isn’t that. But probably one of the most radical life changing revelations I have had so far.

I am amazed at how much my comfort zone interferes with my confident trust in the Lord. I am also beginning to wonder how significant this scripture is to the state of marriage in North America today.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” – James 3-13-17

I think the pieces of this puzzle are starting to make sense to me.   I am recognizing just how deeply I have  been living in a mind set of entitlement, selfishness, fear and control and envy to boot.   This is not in the least bit surprising considering the amount of training that went into developping these lovely characteristics.  The truth is I have been raised right from day one to compare myself and value myself based where i fit in the scale amongst others.   In my own marriage, I am beginning to wonder if all areas of discontent, disenchantment, disatisfaction etc can be linked back to these four things.   Envy loves to hide itself in the guise of comparison.   Unfortunately, this rears its ugly head in so many of my conversations with my hubby.   He unwittingly becomes the mark and is compared to the litany of books, movies, tv shows, people, self-help books etc that have bombarded my brain from a vary young age.   The media would have us all convinced that a man who isn’t hyper romantic is defective in some way.  The marriage and parenting books (I have really mostly read on christian ones and find them on par in this area), have set me up for false expectations and have painted lovely pictures of little things livk chore sharing, weekly dates, having a hubby who somehow gets the hormonal ins and outs of pregnancy and nursing.   Truly I have been brainwashed from so many different angles to be unhappy with things…   And I am only now waking up to how intentional all this actually is.  First, we have an enemy who has come to steal, kill and destroy….   but then we also live in a culture that literally functions and thrives only in a highly consumeristic market.   When the economy takes a downturn, we are encouraged by the media to keep going out and spending money so the economy doesn’t get worse.

Here is the bottom line… People who are truly content with what they have make for terrible consumers. Really, it is in no ones interest, humanly speaking, for us to be joyful, living gratefully for what we have and peaceful. All the things that the Lord wants for us. Yet again, the world and the Word are at odds… and silly me, I have been siding with the world for far too long.

I am making a new choice.   I am choosing to go against the world and be happy with what and who I have.   I want to look back and see the beauty that surrounded my life, the wonder, the provision and the mighty hand of my Creatoxszr.  I am going to accept my situations, husband, relationships etc as they are today, all those things that are not mine to change, as they are right now, with no expectation or need for them to change for God’s Word to be completely fulfilled in me.  I will press into my Lord in greater in measure so that HE can do that awesome incredible work in my heart and life to change me into His likeness in greater and greater measure, for His Kingdom, for his glory, for His purposes.

I am going to lay down all of the mindsets, captivities, habits, thoughts, words associated with entitlement, envy, selfishness, strife, fear and control to the best of my ability and with all of the help of the Lord to help me succeed and I am committing to doing everything to see this word of the Lord fulfilled.  Confession and   Praise God I will see my heart and home become more and more “pure, peaceable, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruit without partiality and without hypocrisy”

As we met and studied together last night, this one scripture stood out in a way I had never experienced before.

Psalm 106:24-26 “The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord. Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.”

So much to notice.  The first is that the people “refused” to go to the “pleasant land” that God had promised them.    For me, this pleasant land could be representative of any of God’s promises.     And then it goes on to explain the “how” of their refusal.  They didn’t believe God’s Word, his promise to care for them.

“Instead they grumbled in their tents (interesting that in the New Testament our bodies are called tents) and refused to obey the Lord”.

It was bad enough that they never made it to their destination, living out the remainder of their years in the wilderness and desert, but that wasn’t the only consequence according to this scripture.

“Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.”

Is it possible that many of us aren’t catching on to this precept, this biblical truth.   The cost of not believing God is not just not receiving our birthright, etc…   but it can result in a death sentence over our own lives (just might be one reason why so many are sick and dying and not seeing the victory in their lives) and why so many of our children and grandchildren are falling away, running away at times, from faith in Jesus Christ.

If so, this scripture gives us a very strong leading to bringing these things back into order and our lives back into the Lord’s blessing.

The keys are so clearly stated, believing God’s Word and trusting in His promises, obeying him and refusing to grumble and complain regardless of what the hardship seems like in the human.   Thank God that we can do all of these things with the help and strength of the Holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ.   No striving here,  after all “human effort accomplishes nothign.”  If you read the account below of what brought them to this place of complaining, the scripture below gives an account on one of the times they complained in the wilderness.

Exodus 17:1-7 “At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. ² So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt. Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”  ⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. ⁶ I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.⁷ Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?””

Psalm 102:5 “Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.”

And one last thought, Miriam was also struck with leprosy immediately after complaining and grumbling about Moses.   Biblically, there is at least 3 situations in which grumbling and complaining are directly linked to poor health or a death sentence.

“A good God acts like….”
“God would never do….”

How deeply challenged I am when I hear these words… I am sure some variation of them have slipped through my mouth.

Here is a Biblical Truth that is astonishing in its clarity and permanence. God Himself is willing to be permanently separately from those who insist on sinning. While He never stops loving us, He willing breaks from fellowshipping with us when we persist to turn from evil. Hell stands as a firm proof of this reality.  There is no part of my human understanding that gets this, in fact, this truth in itself ministers to me as it makes it clear to me that God’s ways are indeed higher than my own, and beyond my understanding.   God is absolutely and perfectly Good, Fair, Just and Faithful. Our Lord, God, flooded the earth and killed every person outside of Noah and his family. He utterly demolished and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  So these things too must be perfectly good, right, just, fair and loving.

Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. If we follow Jesus, we must be willing to follow His lead in all things.

John 5:19

“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”

Matthew 18:15-18

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
New Living Translation (NLT)
“I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.”

Interestingly enough, this is labelled in my Bible as “Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride”.   Is it possible that in pride we tell ourselves that we can resist the yeast, avoid the contagion, escape the curse explained in this verse….   “don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch?”

1 Corinthians 15:33-34

“Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.”

Matthew 5:27

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

Interesting that we are known as the body of Christ..  When these two scriptures are set one next to another, one can see a similar truth being conveyed.  The cost is too high to cohabitate, to be accomplice to, to tolerate and/or accomodate sin.   The practicalities of how all of these truths fit together are still beyodn me…   but I think well worth fighting through to learn how to apply them.

Isaiah 40:1-5

“Comfort, comfort my people,”     says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone     and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.”Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness  for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.  The Lord has spoken!”

That we would boldly prepare the way of the Lord and follow in all of His ways.  In Jesus Christ’s powerful, precious, beloved name.