Moments

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.   Luke 5:12-13 (ESV)

“The divinely-offered key to a right appreciation of Christ’s spiritual work, even to that which theologians call the Atonement, should be sought by observing how our Lord cleansed the lepers, made the blind to see, and the lame to walk. Let us endeavour to realize how He, whose name is the only name given under heaven among men whereby we may be saved, healed men’s diseases, in order that we may understand, so far as it has been revealed, how He saves us from our sins.” (William Wright)

The leper was in a hopeless situation and realized that only Christ could give him hope. Christ responded and cleansed him, as only He could do. I wonder what this man did with the rest of his life. I wonder how much this moment changed him forever.

God gives us moments, and what we do in the moment and after the moment matters and is driven by what we understood happened.

Leprosy and sin do the similar things to us. What we do with the problem and for every day after the problem matters.

The Start Of All Good Things

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Luke 5:8 (ESV)

The start of all good things comes to those who know that they are sinful and should be separated from God. Those who grasp this truth are firmly in the position to grasp the deeper truths of mercy and grace.

To those who are given much, much will be required, and those who were given clarity to their sinful status, and see the damage this has caused, are the ones who have received the most in this life, and therefore, should have the most required of them.

Jesus expected much from Peter, and He worked with him until he “got it.” The journey for Peter was tough, for he was often left confused, angry, and powerless.

Finally, after his seemingly biggest failures, the denial of Christ and the abandonment of his calling, Peter began to understand that the church Jesus was asking him to begin was about God and His abilities, and not Peter, for if it were about Peter, it would have surely failed.

As much as things have changed, nothing has changed, and what was important back then remains vital today.

Time to change?

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.   Luke 5:4-6 (ESV)

We often focus on what we have done or what we can do, and we forget about what God can do. Our efforts might have yielded a poor result or no result, but God is not dependent upon our effort.

So many evangelical/ministry committee meetings focus on what we can do when we should be focusing on what God’s will is, or what He can do. I am certain that we are not always certain what His will is, but that should never stop us from focusing on acknowledging that it exists and be looking for it.

The Scriptures seem clear that those who seek God will find God, and those who honestly seek His will, and are positioned to listen, will find His will.

Our churches and ministries are about God, not people, yet when they are about God, we become about people in a healthy manner. It is too easy for us to slip into playing to and trusting the hands we see, rather than resting in the One who is unseen. Perhaps there is time to change this.

Doing what’s right?

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. Luke 4:42-44 (ESV)

There is a plan. Jesus knew the plan and was to keep the plan regardless of the people’s desire.

It is possible that Satan uses the response of the people to hinder the plan of God. It is possible to be seeing a great response, as Jesus was, and to think that because the response is spectacular, it must be God’s will that we continue.

God’s will has to do with God and His will, not necessarily the response of the people. Those who walk with Him and minister to the people must be in tune with God’s plan, and not allow it to be messed with by human manipulation.

Jesus was doing what was right. The crowd was doing what they thought was logical. Sometimes the two do not mix.

No Doubt

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ."  Luke 4:38-41 (ESV)

There is not a disease that God cannot heal. There is not a problem that He cannot solve. However, that does not mean He chooses to heal all diseases and solve all problems.

God works to demonstrate Himself and His faithfulness to us, and sometimes He uses sickness or other tough experiences to accomplish His purposes. We may never understand His ways, but we should never doubt His power and purposes.

Acknowledging Truth

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. Luke 4:31-35 (ESV)

Satan and the demonic world know who Jesus is and know they must acknowledge Him and do so. They not only must acknowledge Him, they must obey Him. When you know the ultimate truth, really know it, you cannot ignore it. Satanic forces know God, they know their eventual demise, and they are committed to destroying as much that God loves as they can.

However, like every human, in the presence of God, they will acknowledge Him as God.

Those who want to live and end well realize the importance of acknowledging truth. The sooner the better. The more tenacious the better. For now, the choice is mine.

Tentmakers?

Tentmakers

We are all tentmakers.

The apostle Paul made tents by day and used his free time to teach and minister to those with whom he had an opportunity to do so. Indeed, he did not want to be a burden to those he ministered to, but perhaps there is more to the story. 

Paul was one who understood that God works through the ordinary, and it was ordinary for him to work at making tents. The work of making tents was a sacred calling, not just a job, and he used his resources to meet his needs (so he would not be a burden to others), and to meet the needs of those around him who were “needy.”

Acts 20:34-35 says this: You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.  In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Our first calling is to be faithful in the job we are currently doing. If we are a tentmaker, we are committed to make tents and to use the resources and the work itself to represent Christ. We were made to glorify God, to show the world who He is, and by working hard and being generous, we can do that. 

Today, at times, it seems as if young people who love God, spend time with Him, and want to serve Him are encouraged to go into “ministry.” We seem to treat people “like that” as if they are unusual, thereby admitting that we think that God does not especially call the ordinary worker in his/her everyday work. 

Those who love God who are lawyers, teachers, judges, doctors, grocery store clerks, and more should see their callings the same, other than daily chores, as those who are set apart for ministry. The work we do is sacred, and the rewards we earn are not for self-indulgence. Instead, they are for the building up of the kingdom.

Paul makes it clear that we should care for those who we have chosen to shepherd us so those who are set apart for this role should be cared for by the people whom they serve. There need not be fundraisers or special pleas for those who have given up hope of having the resources to care for themselves to minister to others. If those they serve are too spiritually immature to see their responsibility, or incapable of meeting all of the needs of those who minister, God will provide through other members of the body who are making “tents” elsewhere. 

It seems that “Christians” have lost the idea of all occupations being sacred, and the resources gained from such work belongs to God, not ourselves. I think we have learned to use our resources as ways to care for ourselves first, and others if somehow it still benefits ourselves or our agenda. Often, those who have an idea or believe they have a call from God spend more time and effort raising funds than working the mission. 

God loves cheerful givers, and we do not give grudgingly, or of necessity, therefore, we do not give to causes out of guilt or just because of need. We give because we are excited to be a part of God’s plan and our resources are His to direct.

There are many legitimate ministries that are looking to God to provide their needs, and if those who are believers are in tune with the Spirit of God, they will be burdened to provide what these ministries are lacking. All “callings” are sacred and have responsibilities attached to them, making us all the same, yet different.