While sitting this afternoon in the parking lot about to pull out of my coffee run, I observed a car in front of me that was literally filled to capacity in both the back and passenger seats with what appeared to be belongings from home being moved. The lamp shade was smashed against the front window. The boxes were being crushed in the back. Bags and bags were filling any open space (at least from where I was able to see). The scene was overwhelming. And I sat and wondered in that brief moment, as the Lord impressed upon my heart, what do I carry around that clutters my life? What past failures do I allow to crowd my present? What baggage that I should have surrendered to Christ still crams my heart and mind today?
And I said to the person next to me, how is there space for anything else? Anything new? Anything fresh? As Scripture promises, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). If our lives are so full of yesterday's baggage and mistakes, of yesterday's hurts and sins, then how do we have room to embrace the newness of His mercy today?! The car drove off carrying all of the heavy load being moved from one place to the next, and I was grateful of the reminder that in the faithfulness of the Lord, He has taken my sin from me and cast it as far as the east is from the west. Now I move on in the freedom of Christ...still aware of the past, but not bound by it in my present. He has poured out His steadfast love to ensure that my heart would be His home. And that the clutter of sin would be trumped with the washing and renewal of His Word.
Friend, let the baggage go. Christ can handle it. Then embrace His mercy. Embrace His love. Perhaps even better, feel His mercy and love embrace you. Pray for Him to clean up your heart, so that it is fresh and ready for what today holds.
4Hisglory.
Showing posts with label Character of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Character of God. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Monday, May 12, 2014
John 6 - Part 3...The Details
It has been too long. So much has been going on, glorious things of the Lord, yet I am thankful to be able to be back to share the Word of the Lord again. I recommend scrolling down and reading some of the older blogs before continuing to read this one...at least the ones previously written on John 6.
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, emphasis mine)
We start this selection of the text with a different disciple speaking up after Philip expressed his sentiments on the matter at hand. Lots of people = a large supply of food. LARGE. Philip simply mentioned what appeared to him to be fact, perhaps, in some form of sarcastic tone. Yet Andrew directs the attention to a boy who happened to be present carrying a SMALL selection of fish and bread.
Now before we continue, let us make mention of the fact that our God is a God who exists as sovereign over all things, including the intricate details of the situations we face on a daily basis...as in the case of these disciples and the large crowd of hungry people. We often get so caught up in the details that we forget He is a God of the details. The Scriptures indicate this often...as in the case of the building of Noah's Ark. Or how about the Tabernacle. Or perhaps the giving of all the specific laws. Maybe even in the details of David's life as he walked as a shepherd boy before becoming King. Or how about the details of all the specific prophecies mention in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah that were TOTALLY fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. He chose 12 disciples, not 11, not 13. 11 followers + 1 betrayer. And so on, and so forth.
Even here, we see how He works all things together in His intricately woven plan to accomplish His purposes and bring God the glory He is so worthy to receive.
So...back to the text. There is a boy with five loaves and two fish...again, Andrew adds like Philip, "What are they for so many?" Jesus' response? Let's see what it is NOT...
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, emphasis mine)
We start this selection of the text with a different disciple speaking up after Philip expressed his sentiments on the matter at hand. Lots of people = a large supply of food. LARGE. Philip simply mentioned what appeared to him to be fact, perhaps, in some form of sarcastic tone. Yet Andrew directs the attention to a boy who happened to be present carrying a SMALL selection of fish and bread.
Now before we continue, let us make mention of the fact that our God is a God who exists as sovereign over all things, including the intricate details of the situations we face on a daily basis...as in the case of these disciples and the large crowd of hungry people. We often get so caught up in the details that we forget He is a God of the details. The Scriptures indicate this often...as in the case of the building of Noah's Ark. Or how about the Tabernacle. Or perhaps the giving of all the specific laws. Maybe even in the details of David's life as he walked as a shepherd boy before becoming King. Or how about the details of all the specific prophecies mention in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah that were TOTALLY fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. He chose 12 disciples, not 11, not 13. 11 followers + 1 betrayer. And so on, and so forth.
Even here, we see how He works all things together in His intricately woven plan to accomplish His purposes and bring God the glory He is so worthy to receive.
So...back to the text. There is a boy with five loaves and two fish...again, Andrew adds like Philip, "What are they for so many?" Jesus' response? Let's see what it is NOT...
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