How Hungry are You?

Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

Matthew chapter fifteen describes the miracle of Jesus feeding a multitude of followers with just seven loaves and two fish. Although the miracle is rightfully the centerpiece of the passage, one thing that also stands out is that the people had been following Jesus for three entire days, without anything to eat. The multitude so hungered after Christ that they suppressed their physical hunger, focusing only on the spiritual bread of His teaching. Another interesting part of the story is that Jesus waited three whole days before feeding them. No doubt, he could have fed them earlier, but He divinely chose to wait until they were about to depart and needed strength for their journey.

As I considered the timing of Jesus’ supplying their physical needs, I began to think of applications to our lives today. First, He supplied their physical needs after He met their spiritual needs. The multitude was so hungry for the Lord, that they disregarded their own desires and focused only on Him. In like manner, we must possess a single-minded desire for God. He must be our focus and priority. We should desire for the Lord to feed us spiritually more than provide for us physically. As Job expressed, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” We often miss God’s miracle in our lives because we do not have burden for Him above all else. Second, the people had to deny themselves, and be diligent about abiding with Christ; otherwise they would not have seen the miracle. If a member of the crowd had decided they were too hungry and left on the second day, they would have missed the miracle entirely. In our lives, we must also stay faithful in following the Lord if we want to see His miracle. If we allow ourselves to falter or turn back from following Him, we will not see His blessings. Even if we have physical needs that God does not seem to be meeting, we cannot allow them to distract us from following after Christ. Surely, if we are faithful in abiding with Him, He will provide for us in His time. Lastly, although Jesus was concerned about their physical needs, those needs were secondary to His desire to feed them spiritually. We often expect the Lord to have the same urgency to meet our physical needs as we do. However, God may have spiritual lessons He needs to teach us before He provides for our flesh. God’s priorities are spiritual not carnal. He does indeed have compassion on us, and He promised to meet our needs, but He did not promise that we would always be comfortable, basking in all manner of physical blessings. However, if we keep our desire wholly on Him, focusing first on the spiritual food Christ has for us, He will surely meet our physical needs and we might well even see a miracle.

A Good Soldier

II Timothy 2:3
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ

The Navy SEALs, who have come into recent fame with their operation on Osama bin Laden, are elite combat experts and go through some of the most rigorous training in the world. All told, a SEAL recruit may undergo as much as 30 months of training before being deployed for an operation. Their training is designed to push them to the absolute limits of mental and physical stamina. They are expected to perform in conditions of extreme heat, cold, and exhaustion. One segment of the training involves 132 hours of continuous physical training (mostly while cold and wet) with only a few hours of sleep over that period. SEAL training along with any special operations training is designed to push an individual to his absolute limit of mental and physical endurance.

Of course, the reason that this training is so intense is because the special operations soldiers are selected to perform some of the most important missions in the world. Those who pass the training are given elite assignments that require solid execution and often change history. Their training is difficult because their assignments are so important.

In II Timothy 2:3, God tells us to endure hardness as a good soldier. Without a doubt, we Christians are in a battle. Our warfare is not carnal, but spiritual, and our operations have eternal consequences. Although we often expect our lives to be smooth and stable, with every desire supplied by our Heavenly Father, God often has a different plan. Sometimes it is God’s will for us to endure hardness, just like a soldier. Sometimes God wants to push the limits of our faith, emotions, and sometimes even physical stamina. Being a good soldier is God’s army is not easy, and we should not expect it to be. However, we can be confident that God has a reason for the hardness of His training. Just as the SEALs train through unimaginable difficulty in order to serve in critical missions, those soldiers whom God trains are being prepared for critical operations. God’s training is hard because He knows how to prepare us for the future. He knows what missions lie ahead for us and is bringing things into our lives to prepare us to meet those challenges and accomplish His will.

We have many examples of this principle in God’s Word. Joseph went through years of struggle and unfairness, difficulty and prison in order for God to use him to save an entire nation along with his family from famine. Job went through an incredibly grueling trial having lost his children, health, and possessions in order to be an eternal example of faith and God’s sovereignty. The list could go on, but we can glean from these stories the faith to be a good soldier. Sometimes we must understand that the harder our training, the bigger God’s plan.

If you have been feeling discouraged recently because life has been hard, let me encourage you to find strength in the Lord and endure hardness as a good soldier, knowing that God has a reason for bringing difficulties into our lives, and that surely He is training us for an important plan where we can accomplish His will.

Are You on the Right Road?

Psalm 18:30a
As for God, His way is perfect…

The other day, I was driving to an office that required me to travel down a local interstate and through a long tunnel. As I was approaching the on-ramp for the interstate, I heard a traffic report on the radio claiming that the tunnel was blocked. I quickly altered my route and chose a highway that runs almost parallel to the interstate. As I merged into the highway, the traffic was moving along smoothly, and I was quite happy with myself for avoiding a potential delay in my commute. However, after travelling a few miles, traffic began to slow and soon slowed even more. Before long, I was sitting still on the highway and began wondering if I had made the right decision. It wasn’t long before cars began to move, and I was on my way again, albeit slowly. As I rolled lazily along the road, I passed a part of the highway that crossed over the interstate which I had previously avoided. Looking over to see what would have been my destiny, I saw that the interstate approaching the tunnel was in total gridlock. Not a single car was moving, and the backup did not end for miles. For the remainder of my commute, I relaxed, knowing that even though my drive was not as smooth as I had hoped, I had made the correct decision to avoid the interstate.

In life, we are rarely as fortunate. When we make a decision and proceed down a path, we normally do not have the privilege of looking over to a parallel highway to see if our judgment was correct. Most of the time, when we choose a direction and begin a journey, we are unable to know what might have been if we had chosen differently. We can never really be sure if the path we took was really the best choice.  In fact, when our way becomes difficult to travel or when our progress is slow, we quickly begin to question whether or not we are pursuing right direction.  

So, how can we be sure we are on the right road? Fortunately, God has an answer. Psalm 18:30 says simply, “As for God, His way is perfect…” If we are following God’s Word and living in God’s way, we can be sure that we are headed in the right direction. Even when the way becomes difficult and when things are moving slowly, we can have confidence that we have made the right decision. We do not need to see the other roads around us, nor do we need to trust in our own judgment. When we follow God’s way, we know it is perfect. There is no better road for us to travel.

Lovest thou Me?

John 21:15
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?

As we read God’s Word, it is important to pay attention not only to what is being said, but also when God says it. When God speaks, the timing of His holy word is not randomly chosen but rather carefully selected for the moment. Certainly, whenever Jesus said something, we can be sure He said exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.

In today’s verse, Jesus is sitting on a quiet shoreline after preparing a fish dinner for His disciples, and He chooses this moment to ask Peter the question, “lovest thou me?” It does not appear from Scripture that Jesus ever asked this question before, and it is interesting that He waits until the last the last chapter of John before posing it to the outspoken disciple. By this time, Peter had seen Christ’s miracles, witnessed the crucifixion, experienced personal failure, and was now eating with the risen Savior. When I last read this chapter, I began to think about why Jesus chose this time to ask him if He loved Him.

When Jesus first met Peter in Mark chapter 1, he asked him to simply “come after me”. It was not until He and Peter had spent much time together, and He would shortly ascend back to heaven that He asked him, “lovest thou me?” He could not have asked that question in Mark 1, for Peter barely knew Him. At that time, He only asked the disciple to follow Him.

In our lives it is the same. We do not truly love the Lord until we follow Him. When we first gets saved, everything is new. We do not really love God, because we have just begun our relationship. However, if we seriously follow Him, we will learn to love Him along the way. As we walk daily in God’s Word and prayer, building a relationship with Him, facing life together, we will in time develop true love for the Savior.

Today, make an honest assessment of your heart and ask yourself if you sincerely love the Lord. If you cannot say with assuredness that you have a rich relationship with God, let me encourage you to commit first to following Him. If we sincerely follow the Lord and develop a daily relationship with Him, just like Peter, we will surely develop a deeper love along the way.

Christmas in June

Matthew 2:1-13
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Even though we are fast approaching the middle of June and sweltering this week in 100 degree heat, my Bible reading has taken me to the story of Christmas. Matthew chapter two is a famous passage of Scripture, detailing the events we see on display in every frosty December manger scene. As I was reading through the story of the wise men seeking Jesus from the east, I began to see very practical application in these verses to something with which we deal every day, namely: making assumptions.

In verse 1, a group of wise men suddenly show up in Jerusalem and begin questioning the townspeople concerning the whereabouts of their newborn King. They claimed to have seen His star and had taken a long journey to come worship Him. Their visit, though full of good intentions, ended up bringing danger to the life of the Holy Child, and caused Joseph and Mary to uproot and move to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. While the wise men returned to their country rejoicing, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt running.

The wise men made a few incorrect assumptions that led to a dangerous situation for the Christ Child. First, they assumed that the people of Jerusalem already knew that their Savior had been born. However, the residents of Jerusalem were completely unaware of the Messiah’s birth and were no help in locating the Child. The wise men must have been quite surprised that the people had no idea their King had been born. After all, they had been following a star from a distant country, but the people who were in the immediate vicinity had no knowledge of the glorious miracle happening around them.

The second erroneous assumption of the wise men was that the people actually understood the significance of their situation. The Bible does not give us the details of the star the wise men saw nor does it describe how they were able to associate the star with the birth of Christ; however it is safe to conclude that they were consistently looking for the sign of the Messiah’s coming into the world, and in their search for the Savior, they made a logical assumption. They assumed that if they had studied the stars, earnestly looking for the birth of the King of the Jews and had at great peril and expense travelled from afar to worship Him, certainly the people to whom Jesus came would be aware of the miracle that had taken place in their own locality.

However, their assumption was wrong. The people of Jerusalem had no knowledge of the Messiah’s advent and God finally had to lead them directly to Jesus by the star. Another assumption they made was that the people would understand why they were there. I can imagine the wise men with a caravan of camels and supplies, conspicuously riding into Jerusalem and inquiring of people on the street “Where is the one born to be your King?” and the people frowning with confused surprise and returning the question “What King?” The wise men then saying “You know, the child who is born King of the Jews. We have followed His star from the east to worship Him.” I can imagine the people looking even more incredulous and responding “What star?” It must have become quickly apparent that the wise men and the people were “not on the same page”. Again, the wise men made as assumption. They assumed that the people would understand why they were there. After all, the star was not invisible. The people of Jerusalem must have seen it as did the wise men, but the people paid no attention to it. Even if they saw it, they certainly did not associate the star with the birth of Jesus.  Even after the wise men met with Herod, the star guided them directly to where Jesus was, and the people could have surely followed along with them, but there is no indication that they did so. The wise men had assumed that the people would know that Jesus had been born, and that they would understand the significance of the star, but their assumption was incorrect.

The final assumption that the wise men made was if the people knew about the Messiah’s birth, they would also excitedly come to worship Him. They seemed to have believed Herod’s story when he deceitfully asserted his desire to worship the Child; otherwise, God would not have had to warm them not to return to Herod. It seems they were going to find Christ, worship Him, and return to give Herod the good news of the Messiah’s location, but God intervened and warned them not to do so. For the wise men, it was inconceivable that anyone would reject Jesus as King, and they certainly did not expect that there would be those who wanted to kill Him. In their minds, they were excited, having “exceeding great joy” that the Savior was born into the world. They could not fathom that there would be those who did not share their joy. Although their only conceivable response was worship, but the response of others was much more sinister.

In our lives, we must also be very careful about making assumptions as they often have unintended consequences. When a situation arises in our work or home, it is easy to get “tunnel vision” and assume that others view the situation the same way we do; however, that is often not the case. We can learn from the assumptions of the wise men and make application to our lives today.

1.       They assumed others knew what they knew
Just as the residents of Jerusalem were unaware of the important happenings immediately around them, we must be careful not to assume that others approach a situation in the same way that we do, no matter how obvious the facts may seem to us. People in the same environment may not all have the same information and not everyone may be operating from the same set of facts.

2.       They assumed others understood what they saw

Just as the wise men were the only ones who understood the significance of the star, we must also be careful not to assume that others are interpreting information in the same way that we are. Two people may see the same situation and come to different conclusions.

3.        They assumed that others would have the same response

Just as the wise men were unable to perceive the animosity of Herod toward the newborn Christ, we must be careful not to assume that other people will have the same reaction to a situation that we do. Not everyone has the same goals and motives. Individuals in the same business, church, or school may not sincerely have the same outcomes in mind, no matter what they may say.

Remember that even the wisest men can fall prey to inaccurate assumptions. In the end, we must rely on God for discernment and direction. God can see what we cant see and ultimately guide the situation to His glory. Just as God directed the wise men back to their country another way, we must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in every situation of our lives.

Idol Manufacturing

Isaiah 45:16, 17
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

When I was young, my father and I were hunting on a particularly cold day just after an afternoon snow. As the sun was going down, my dad shot a deer, but it ran deep into the woods, leading us to track it further and further into the darkness of the forest. At first, I was confident that we would soon find the animal and shortly be back at the warmth of camp; after all, we were prepared with proper equipment and had our flashlights. However, as minutes went by, the woods became darker and darker. I remember watching my father slip on a wet fallen tree and tumble to the ground, slamming his flashlight into the ground which shattered the bulb. As everything went black, I quickly fumbled around with my backpack to access my flashlight, only to discover that its power switch had somehow been turned on inside my pack, and the batteries were dead. At that moment, in the blackness of the thick forest, with only the light from the moon reflecting off the snow, I found myself completely confused. I became unsure of any direction and was afraid to decide on a path of escape.

Obviously, my father and I made it out of the woods that night, but I never forgot about the pervasive sense of confusion that I felt in that moment. Confusion is paralyzing; it makes us fearful and unable to make decisions, not knowing which direction to take.

Isaiah 45:16 declares that those who make idols will be ashamed, confounded, and confused. Most people would not consider themselves idol to be idol manufacturers. After all, very few Americans spend their time crafting little statues to which they bow down and pray. However, idol making does not require wood and stone or even silver and gold. Idols are made in the heart before they are made with hands. This makes them harder to see but no less destructive to our lives.

An idol is constructed in our hearts when we put our trust in something other than God. Maybe we find ourselves trusting our own intelligence when we need to make a decision rather than praying and asking God for His will. Maybe we trust our large bank account to secure us from future trouble without realizing that God owns everything and that wealth can vanish in an instant. That in which we put our trust, whether visible or invisible is what we worship.

Unfortunately, making idols in our hearts has destructive consequences in our lives. Our Bible passage for today clearly tells us that if we make idols, we will end up being confused. We will wonder why things in our lives are “just not working out”. We will be paralyzed, without direction, unsure of what decisions to make, afraid of what the future holds.

However, when we tear down the idols we have made in our hearts and trust only in the Lord for our direction, provision, and protection, we will be secure and steadfast in our minds. As Psalm 20:7,8 declares, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.”

If you are feeling confused, examine your heart for idols. It may be that you need to return God to His place of preeminence in your life.