Paying Attention

After having yet another encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus warned the disciples that they should beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, but because they had forgotten bread they thought Jesus was referring to that error. In response, Jesus again brought up their little faith and reminded them of how much they gathered after the feeding of the five thousand and again how much they gathered after the feeding of the four thousand. Jesus asked them how they could not perceive that he was not speaking regarding yeast from bread. Then they understood that he spoke of the Pharisees’ teaching and not about bread yeast.

How often do we misunderstand what the Holy Spirit is teaching us, because we interpret in the context of a perceived lack that we have in our life? Our little faith leads us to focus on the perceived lacks and needs we have in our life, which Jesus indicates are really non-existent. Twice the disciples had experienced multiplied provision from what they already had; then almost immediately afterwards they were anxious about having forgotten to bring bread with them. They were so concerned that they completely misunderstood what Jesus said to them. How much time and energy do we expend due to what we think we need in our lives, when over and over we have experienced Jesus’ continual care for us? As with the disciples our distraction over the material aspects of our lives, could cause us to completely miss what Jesus’ Spirit is teaching us about even more important areas for our attention. When Satan challenged Jesus to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, Jesus responded that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In his parable, Jesus declared the Rich Man with an abundant harvest requiring bigger and better barns, a fool, because he had focused on material things rather than on kingdom gold. That wealthy man illustrated Jesus’ question, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet to forfeit his soul? Oh, that we would pursue those words that proceed from our Father’s mouth with even more tenacity than we pursue our daily bread.

Faith & Perseverance

When Jesus retired to Tyre and Sidon, he was met by a Canaanite woman requesting healing for her demonized daughter. At first Jesus didn’t respond. Then he told her that his mission was to reach out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Later he told her that it was not right for him to give the children’s bread to little dogs. When the woman persisted, Jesus commented on how great was her faith and healed her daughter.

Jesus’ comment to the Canaanite woman that her faith was great, deserves further examination. Typically when we think of having faith in Jesus, we believe that Jesus can or will do something. In this case, I would have thought that Jesus would have commended her perseverance, rather than her faith. The fact that he commends her faith reveals a connection between perseverance and faith. In other words a person’s faith is revealed by their perseverance. This reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. A widow goes before a judge to get justice against her adversary, but he ignores her. Rather than accepting the situation, the widow kept returning until the judge, who Jesus said didn’t really care about justice, ruled in her favor so that she would stop badgering him. Too often we are distracted by Jesus’ using an unrighteous judge in contrast with God, that we miss the point of Jesus’ teaching. His point was to encourage his followers to keep praying even when circumstances are contrary and often don’t change for an extended period of time.

In both passages Jesus connects faith with perseverance. At the end of the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus made a cryptic statement. “Will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when he comes”. We often do not connect faith with perseverance. At times, we get a negative response to what we are seeking and give up. From both of these passages it is evident that this is not what Jesus is seeking to develop within us. The widow sought justice, the Canaanite woman sought healing and freedom for her daughter. Both are good and worthy requests, that are in line with our heavenly Father’s heart.

Both women refused to be deterred by an initial and continual negative responses. They perceived the heart of God and insisted that what was good be done. While we may not initially perceive this as faith, Jesus indicates in both situations that perseverance is a reflection of great faith and is what he expects to see practiced upon the earth until he returns. We are not to become discouraged when we do not immediately receive the response we want, or as in the case of the Canaanite woman, Jesus initially and repeatedly told her “no”. What if Jesus’ initial negative response is actually an invitation to persevere, rather than acquiesce? Consider the fact that Jesus’ initial refusal to help the Canaanite woman is oddly out of character for him. He said he had come to seek out the lost sheep of Israel, yet he had already healed the Roman Centurion’s servant. The Roman Centurion was no more Jewish than the Canaanite woman, yet Jesus didn’t hesitate to help him. What is fascinating about the Roman Centurion and the Canaanite woman is that Jesus praised both of them for their great faith. In the case of the Canaanite woman her great faith was revealed because she refused to accept Jesus’ initial negative responses. Now, that is something to ponder! When Jesus gives us a response that seems out of character, then we should assume that his intent is something different than a refusal to assist us. Our response then, should be perseverance, not acceptance.

What if?

On a number of occasions, Jesus referred to the disciples as having “little faith”. He used the word five times in the Gospels, four times in Matthew and once in Luke, always in reference to his own disciples. In the Sermon on the Mount, he addressed their anxiety over what to eat or what to wear, when their heavenly Father feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies. Later, when Jesus rebuked the storm, he addressed his disciples as having little faith. Again after he called Peter to himself and Peter descended from the boat and walked on the water to Jesus, but began to doubt when he saw the wind and the waves, Jesus referred to Peter’s “little faith”. The fourth time in Matthew, Jesus again addressed his disciples, because they were anxious since they had forgotten to bring bread. In Luke the word was used in the parallel passage in the Sermon on the Mount, regarding anxiety his followers feel about their material needs being met.

Jesus’ multiple usage of the phrase “little faith” indicates a possibly common problem among followers of Jesus. The contexts of provision for our material needs, authority over the creation displayed by Jesus calming the storm, as well as his and Peter’s walking on the water indicates that we, his followers have been severely hampered by what Jesus diagnosed as little faith. On another occasion Jesus told the disciples that they should feed the crowd, even though they had only five loaves and two fish. Although he didn’t use the term “little faith” on that occasion, he implied that they had much greater potential to address the need at hand than they realized. Jesus implied that they his disciples had the solution to the problem, just as he did. Then he proceeded to show them how it was accomplished.

What if the only thing preventing us from doing what Jesus did was merely our “little faith”? That raises a potential question of lies we’ve believed that result in our being creatures of little faith. The obvious lie that Jesus pointed out is that we believe we are incapable and unable to do that which we’ve been empowered to do. A second lie concerns the character of our heavenly Father, who will gladly provide for what we need just as he does the sparrows of the sky and the lilies of the field. What if our limitations are linked to what we believe or possibly what we don’t believe? What if our potential is greater than we’ve ever imagined? What if our theology about God, creation and ourselves has limited us to accomplish what our heavenly Father desires for us? What if what we call the supernatural, is not so much supernatural as it is something that we have not accomplished yet? Consider the fact that much of what we take for granted today because of advances in science and technology would have been considered “supernatural” in the past. Our concept of supernatural is often linked to our inability to explain the occurrence. Often we study to prove what we already believe is true. However, what if we changed our approach and actually questioned and tested to see if what we believe needs to be modified to reach an understanding of an even greater and more clearer truth? How might our lives be transformed if we actually applied what Jesus taught us, as Jesus’ disciples did in the book of Acts?

Powerful Words

In one of his confrontations with the Pharisees, Jesus addressed the evil in the Pharisees by teaching us that our words reveal what is in our hearts. The way we speak, not just the words themselves but the way that we speak reveals who we are on the inside. The Pharisees’ words toward Jesus were intending to destroy him; Jesus responded with very strong language by calling them offspring of serpents. Why did he use that description of them? Their actions reflected the actions of Satan whose intent is to steal, kill and destroy. By their words, the Pharisees sought to condemn and destroy Jesus, they were revealing who they really were and who they were unknowingly following.

On the other hand, a person’s words and communication that reflect love, joy and peace reveal all that the apostle Paul identified as the fruit of the Spirit. That form of communication identifies an individual as being a child of God. We often don’t think of how important and revelatory our words and communication are. The proverb, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is actually a lie. Words can devastate an individual, even though they may never break a bone. On the other hand our words can impart life to an individual who sorely needs it. Have you ever considered that Jesus, and later the early church, used primarily words to bring healing and even life back to people? Our words carry both great power to help others, while at the same time they also reveal what is in our heart.

Take to heart what Jesus teaches and reflect on what your communication with others reveals about yourself. What impact does your communication have upon those who receive it? Does it build others up and impart life, or does it tear others down and seek their downfall?

Addressing Opposition

It is interesting to observe the opposition rising against Jesus. As the crowds increasingly came to the conclusion that Jesus was the long expected Son of David, their Messiah, the Pharisees became more radical in their opposition. Since Jesus demonstrated that he had power and authority over the demonic spirits, the Pharisees literally demonized Jesus by declaring that he did so by the power of Beelzebub, which was one of the names for Satan. Of course, Jesus easily refuted such a claim, by demonstrating that no kingdom or household that was divided against itself could long survive. In other words, if Satan were casting out Satan, his own kingdom would fall. Jesus even went further to show the absurdity of their claim, because some of the Pharisees own also cast out demons from individuals. Did their own also cast out demons by the power of Satan? Of course they would not make that assertion. So, the authority that Jesus possessed was also being demonstrated by some of the Pharisees themselves. They couldn’t have it both ways. Jesus pointed out that rather than Satan casting out Satan they were witnessing a demonstration of the advance of God’s kingdom.

The deeper question was why the Pharisees were in such opposition to Jesus. There could be many reasons for their opposing Jesus, but we see that Jesus challenged their belief system. He demonstrated their own failures and mistakes, which for those who have obtained some measure of status and power can be quite irritating. The fact that Jesus was right and could clearly demonstrate it became beside the point. The Pharisees entered into a mission to maintain their own positions of status and power as teachers and guides of the people. Jesus challenged their role in society and so they reacted against him.

In their opposition against Jesus, the Pharisees demonstrated their own hypocrisy. This is what can happen when we become so attached to our own position that we become blinded to the valid points someone from an opposing view makes. Since we cannot refute their position, we resort to attacking their character and the character of those who align themselves with them. Such opposition also blinds us to the hypocrisy of our own position when we condemn others, while we may practice something very similar to what we are condemning in others. We see such behavior in many areas of our society: in politics, in religion, in any area where people hold strong opinions. We see it when people raise their own opinion or position over the importance and value of relationship with others, even those who disagree with us. On another occasion, Jesus pointed out that we should address our own issues before trying to correct someone else. Like the Pharisees, our desire to be proven correct can drive us to making absurd statements, which are really lies, that we cannot back up. So we become louder and more energetic in our opposition. Eventually the absurdity of what we have said and done comes to light to our own regret. This is why Jesus’ instruction to us to be very cautious in our condemnation of others is so powerful and practical to us.

Living Consistently

It seems strange that Jesus and his disciples were traveling through grain fields and the Pharisees saw his disciples eating the heads of grain on the Sabbath. Were the Pharisees constantly around Jesus? Were they traveling with him? How would they have seen what the disciples were doing traveling along a footpath through the middle of a field? What it does show is that someone is often watching what we do and will point out any inconsistencies they see, particularly if they disagree with what we believe.

Jesus had an answer to those who criticized his disciples. He pointed out inconsistencies in those the Pharisees looked up to. King David and his men ate bread that was reserved for the priests because they were hungry. The priests themselves work in the temple on the Sabbath yet are innocent of breaking the Sabbath laws. Then Jesus concluded with God’s value. He desires mercy over sacrifice. If the Pharisees had practiced that value, they would not have condemned the disciples’ action. We too, are to have an answer to explain our actions and why we act in a certain manner. How do we do this?

Our actions should be reflect our being intentional and consistent with our values. This requires forethought on how we are to act and a consideration for the implications of our actions. Can we give an explanation for why we did something, or why we didn’t do something? It also means that we say and demonstrate that our values impact our behavior. If our behavior does not coincide with our stated value then we need to re-evaluate what our values are.

We should assume that someone may disagree with the approach that we take, not because they do differently, but because they disagree with us. We must recognize that we are in a conflict and those who disagree may point out things to discredit us. Jesus said we are to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Jesus always had an answer for his actions; with his help we should do the same.

Grateful Hearts

On this Thanksgiving Day I’m reminded that following Jesus begins with our heart and proceeds to our actions and lifestyle. As Donelle and I sat drinking coffee this morning in the sunshine on our back courtyard enjoying the view of palm and citrus trees, we were both reminded of how much our heavenly Father has blessed us over the years. In a few hours friends and family will come over to share a meal with us as we give thanks for all that Father has done for us.

As I reflected earlier this morning I was reminded of the apostle Paul’s words to the Philippians, a group of believers with whom Paul seemed to have a particularly close connection. He reminded them to rejoice always in the Lord, not sometimes, but always. I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to be more joyful when I perceive that things are going well for me and less joyful when I perceive difficulty, but this is not what Paul instructed. I’m reminded of Jesus’ instruction to the seventy, when they returned full of joy after healing those they encountered. Jesus told them not to rejoice because disease and demons obey them, but because their names are written in heaven. When our names are written in heaven, no circumstance will ever change that. If our joy is rooted in that reality then we can easily do what Paul instructed, to rejoice always.

A few verses later, Paul gave them counsel regarding how to feed their joy. They were to reflect on that which is honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent or praiseworthy. These are the subjects with which we are to fill our minds. That practice, I suspect will bear additional fruit along with joy. To the Galatians, Paul identified that fruit as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I also believe we must be intentional in this practice, because we are surrounded by information that is anything but what Paul told us to fill our minds with. Much of the media that we encounter more and more with the advance of technology is negative and violent provoking in us anger, anxiety and fear. While it is next to impossible to avoid the media, we must approach it through the lens of heaven so that we can continue to practice what Jesus and Paul taught us.

When we practice gratitude, not only for the material and relational blessings we have received, but also and more importantly are grateful for our continual relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus, then our lives will be filled with light and love, which will be both a blessing to us as well as those we encounter each day of our lives. May you have a grateful and blessed day this day and everyday!

Miraculous?

While Jesus was walking along, two blind men came up to Jesus and cried out for him to have mercy upon them. After Jesus entered the house where he was staying, these same men came up to him. Jesus asked them if they believed he was able to do this, meaning that he was able to heal their blindness. They told him “yes”. Jesus then touched their eyes and said that it would be done according to their faith. Then their eyes were opened. He instructed the two men that no one should know about what happened, but the two men went out and told everyone in that area what Jesus had done for them.

Sometimes we can miss things by being focused on one aspect of a passage. Jesus’ healing the men’s blindness often grabs our attention, but there is something else of note here as well. In this passage I find one word interesting. It is the word “ability”. Jesus asked the two men if they believed if he was able to do what they wanted. What is curious about that word “ability” or “able” is that it is the same word used to translate what we call “miracles”. This raises a question in my mind. Why do we sometimes call an action a miracle and other times the very same word is translated merely “power” or “ability”? The word “miracle” comes to us in English from the Latin term for something that causes us to wonder. While Jesus’ powerful works do cause us to wonder and be amazed, originally that was not the meaning of the word that was used. In fact there are other words that meant “wonder” that at times the authors did use, but not here. On this occasion Matthew chose to use the word for “power” or “ability”. So why do sometimes we see the word for “power” or “ability” gets translated as “power” and other times as “miracle”? We have an internal criteria that we use to categorize something as a normal expression of power and another as an extraordinary use of power that is not common among men, the latter we refer to as miracle. However, that distinction is not present in the gospels. Rather it was categorized as an ability that Jesus possessed and later others who followed Jesus also possessed. What is further curious is what we categorize as a “miracle” actually changes over time. Much of what we take for granted today, such as driving cars, flying in airplanes, treating and curing certain diseases would have been considered miraculous in previous centuries.

The way that we interpret or understand Scripture is often a result of our belief system. As people living in the Western world, we have been powerfully influenced by Greek philosophy, which separated the world of “God”, the supernatural world, we would call it today, from the world of men, the natural world. However, that distinction does not seem to be present in the New Testament. Jesus and his followers didn’t move from living in the natural world at one point in time to living in the supernatural world at another point. They just exercised the abilities that had been bestowed upon them as if they were the most natural thing in the world. This is why Jesus was often surprised at his disciples’ inability to do what he did and called them men of little faith. In fact the word, “supernatural” doesn’t even occur in the New Testament. It is a word we have created to describe what Jesus and later the apostles did that we cannot do now with the same regularity. Let me suggest that we might want to rethink what we call “supernatural” or “miraculous” in order to bring our thoughts into alignment with how Jesus thought.

Scripture tells us not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That could include the way that we think and the assumptions that we have. As we journey through life with Jesus, he will from time to time challenge some things that we have always thought were true in order to bring us into greater alignment with how he thinks. That leads us to ponder an important question. What might be some assumptions that we have now that might need further evaluation?

Kingdom Transformation

After Jesus instructed Matthew the tax-collector to follow him, Jesus went and ate at Matthew’s home with other tax-collectors. The Pharisees, who observed Jesus’ action, were offended by Jesus’ association with tax-collectors and sinners. The Pharisees lived according to a principle we have today: “Bad company corrupts good character.” However, Jesus hung around tax-collectors and sinners, but was not corrupted, rather he transformed them. Jesus suggested to the Pharisees to consider the Scripture, God desires mercy not sacrifice. The Pharisees thought they were maintaining their purity by avoiding sinners, but they failed to grasp that their avoidance of them was also a failure to demonstrate mercy toward those same individuals.

Bad company does not have to corrupt good character, if we like Jesus seek to transform others, rather than fit in with them. Bad company corrupts good character when an individual associates with bad company in order to be accepted by them. Many of Jesus’ disciples came from questionable backgrounds. Matthew was a tax-collector. Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman who were probably crude and not well educated men, later some would be called illiterate. They had violent tendencies; they wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village; Peter attacked the servant of the High Priest. Simon was called a Zealot; we’d call him today a terrorist. These were the men whom Jesus called friends. Jesus didn’t become like them, they became like Jesus.

How Jesus lived is how we are to live. We are not to be conformed to those around us, but we are to transform those around us, by who we are, by practicing justice, being kind, compassionate and forgiving, by lovingly caring for them, in order to reveal to them who Jesus is and encourage them to follow Jesus as well.

Kingdom Potential

Early in his ministry, Jesus revealed himself to be a different type of teacher. He didn’t accept everyone who wished to follow him. The scribe who wished to follow was discouraged because Jesus said he didn’t have a fixed place to live. To the disciple who desired to stay and care for his father until his father died, was told that to follow Jesus was to leave behind loved ones. The point being that following Jesus was more important than having a home, more important than even maintaining expected familiar obligations when others could do so. These are implications of Jesus’ statement, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” To follow Jesus is to discover life, not to follow Jesus is to forfeit that life.

Immediately after those two encounters, Jesus revealed his power and dominion over the earth. When the storm arose on the Sea of Galilee that threatened to submerge the ship, Jesus rebuked that storm and it became calm, so much so that Matthew described it as a great calm, a calm that was not a normal calm, but even more still and quiet than normal.

Since the time of Jesus, men have tried to explain Jesus’ great power in relationship to the natural laws of the world. How did Jesus calm the storm? Some conclude that these accounts in the gospels are fictional stories to encourage trust in Jesus. However, the fact that powerful works have been done by others who follow Jesus since the time of Jesus indicate that everything we read in the Gospels is factual. At creation God told Adam to subdue and have dominion over the entire world (Genesis 1:28), but when man sinned he also caused that same world to be corrupted (Romans 8:20). It is possible that the physical laws that we believe have always existed in the universe did not, because they too may have been corrupted when man sinned. That means we can’t be completely sure what physical laws were functioning on the earth prior to man’s disobedience to God. We also don’t know the extent of God’s command to subdue the earth given in Genesis 1:28. That could mean that Jesus when doing his powerful works while on earth, could have been revealing what God meant when he originally told Adam to subdue the earth, but because of sin, man lost that vision of what he could do. Add onto this Jesus’ statement to the disciples when they called out to him for help. He described them as having “little faith”, not “no faith”, but little or weak faith. What did Jesus mean by that statement? Did he mean that the disciples should have realized that Jesus could calm the storm, possibly he meant that the disciples should have understood that they could have calmed the storm. Later Jesus would tell his disciples that if they had the smallest of faith, they could move mountains. However, if we believe something is impossible, then we will never even attempt it. That is little faith. Even when we begin to attempt something we’ve never done before we may still fail, not because its impossible, but simply because we don’t have the maturity. For example, it is not true that an infant will never walk, run or speak clearly, just because they are unable to do so at birth. It just means that they have not developed the maturity to do those things. What we know and take for granted in the natural growth process of infants to children to adults, could also have its parallel in relationship to exhibiting the same powerful works that Jesus did. An infant grows and matures to do many things we all take for granted because that child is encouraged and taught to do so. In other words, the potential of a follower of Jesus, may be much greater than we have assumed, not because it is impossible, but because we suffer from little faith and fail to attempt and practice what Jesus did and indicated that we could do as well. We fail to encourage others to make the attempt and practice, because everyone is afraid of failure. Consider what Jesus said to his disciples, that every work he had done, anyone who believes in him will be able to do and even greater things than what Jesus himself did.(John 14:12). Jesus implied that what we consider impossible may not be impossible, when we actually believe and practice what he instructed us to do.