John 6 - Part 2...The Exam

After a wonderful family vacation and a week long teaching excursion in the Rockies, I am back to the blog.  May God use this for His glory this day.

As mentioned in my previous blog, "John 6 - Part 1," the Lord prompted me to study the familiar passage of Jesus "feeding the five thousand."  It reminds me of the telling of a great memory or story that you experienced in your childhood.  And different details of the story seem to come alive each time the great tale is told.  I pray it be the same for you as you chew on the Truth of this text yet again...

John writes:

1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.(John 6:1-15, ESV)

Where I spent time previously discussing the crowd that followed Jesus while in awe of His signs, in this blog, I would like to address Jesus and his testing of Philip.  There are several places in Scripture which indicate that "testing" is a regular part of being a disciple of Christ.  It proves our authenticity in our faith, our commitment to our Creator, our desire to walk righteously in His steps.  

John 6 - Part 1...The Crowd

A few weeks ago, I had a particularly amazing time with my Savior.  Even though I sat in the midst of a crazy lobby, dinging elevators, blaring televisions, multiple cell-phone conversations happening all around me - the cacophony of my setting did not eliminate my ability to sit still in the presence of the King.  With my heart attuned to His voice and the harmony of His Spirit's illumination of the Scriptures, He led me to examine a passage from John 6.  May the Lord use this text and the next several blogs for His fame. 

The Gospel writer records:

1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said toPhilip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.  (John 6:1-15, ESV)

I am sure that this is an all-too familiar passage.  Probably one of the first stories you learned of was when Jesus "fed the five thousand."  Well, my encounter with this text was unlike any other I had previously experienced, again in that words that I seemingly read over before leaped off the page and straight to my heart.  Verse 2 indicates that there was a large crowd following Jesus because they saw the signs he had done.

I pondered this for a great while essentially asking myself,

"Why do I follow Jesus?"  

"Daddy," he cried...

2:40 a.m.  I throw the covers back and quickly orient myself to what's going on.  My family has been sick.  Stomach bug sick.  Vomiting.  And other gross things if you catch my drift.  Well, at this point, my oldest son was the only one still in need of fully recovering - my wife and middle son were for the most part on their way back to wellness.  Nevertheless, I was sleeping on the couch to be in the middle of the house to hear who would need help - the boys in one side and my better half in the other.  

So, there it was.  The sound of my oldest yelling, "DADDY! DADDY!"  Rubbing my eyes, I pull myself off the couch and dart to the guest bathroom, where I see my five-year old son hunched over the toilet.  I move behind him to sit on the side of the tub, as I had already done  probably six times so far this night, and I rub his back as that horrific sound of his stomach entrails entering the toilet.  Poor thing.  Helpless.  A victim to the sickly condition of his body. Exhausted.  Weary.  I wipe his mouth, hug him tight, and feel the weight of his body go limp as the utter nature of his fatigue and sleepless state take hold.

I carry him into the living room and make a bed for him on the love seat, tuck him in and kiss him on the forehead.  I know it won't be long until he is awakened again for another bathroom run, followed by the cry of "Daddy!" once more.

As he lay there, the Spirit of God pricked my heart and whispered to me as I sat in the darkness of my living room...

Well isn't that convenient...

Driving home, I have passed a landmark for my neighborhood that I have looked at and have  observed probably hundreds of times.  Each time I get the same sense inside, and each time it brings about the same response as well.  What has such power over my actions and focus?

A solar-powered radar post that is installed about a 1/4 of a block into the neighborhood.  Monitoring speed to ensure that drivers are going 30 mph or slower.

When speeds hit 31 or above, the sign begins to flash with an insulting, "In case you don't know it already, sir, you are driving over the speed limit," flash.  Like I don't already know I am breaking the law.  What adds intensity to this seemingly ordinary situation is that police tend to also sit behind bushes nearby and watch the radar.  No need for them to use their radar guns, the post reads speeds for them.  

So, needless to say, most of the time when I drive into the neighborhood and venture even remotely near the path of the radar beam, I am already driving obediently.  No flashing numbers for me.  

What a motivation to obey the law.  What a motivation to do what is right (even if every part of my flesh wants to break the speed barrier of 30 mph!).  

And so I pose a thought...what would be our rate of breaking God's laws if we had a solar-powered radar post that warned us when we were venturing too near the line of unholy living.  Too near the line of breaking His command.  Too near the line of the way of the world.  Imagine...posts put up in our homes that would let us know when we were too close to not loving like we should...or not cleaning our rooms and disobeying our parents...or not putting others first and cleaning up after ourselves...etc.  Or maybe in our workplaces...a radar post that would flash at the brink of gossip or lying.

It begins...

As I am certain most bloggers do, they begin by indicating the "start" of the blog was a long time coming.  I have to agree.  This has certainly been on my list to do since at least last summer.  Nevertheless, by a prompting today...it has begun.

And it began with a heart for the blog.  A purpose in writing.  A desire to communicate a word of encouragement or exhortation that would honor the name of Christ and build up those who are His.  In the Greek language of the New Testament, the word, "parakaleo," means, "to call, to urge, to exhort, to comfort, to encourage."

This is my intent in documenting the many thoughts that infiltrate my mind on a daily basis.  Thoughts that attack the way I think and live and propel me towards the way of Truth.  His Truth.  

This blog won't be for everyone.  It was never intended to be so.  It is for the people of God.  Those hidden in Christ Jesus.  They are the intended recipients.  And so, I end this brief entry with a word given to believers long ago through the hand of Paul.  To the Ephesian believers, he penned,

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)

There is the word, parakaleo.  In his position as a prisoner for the Lord, he urged - exhorted, strongly encouraged - the believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling as His people.  And that calling looks specific.  It looks like the Word of God lived out in their lives.  May these words that Paul urged long ago be descriptive of the life He has called His church to live today.

And not just the church as a whole, but for you as an individual believer.  It is a life worth being urged to live.  

May He be glorified and lifted up in the blogs to come.

#4hisfame.