Gifted

Acts 1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

Sometimes when we don’t get exactly what we want it leads to disabling disappointment. Jesus was planning for something else in the lives of His disciples.

They asked a reasonable question based on His presence in a resurrected body, and by His teaching that He had come to bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth. “Lord, is it time? Will we now be princes and rulers and such over all the earth?”

Jesus response was immediately off-putting and mind-changing at once. “It is not for you to know!”

But wait, there’s more! And rather than disabling disappointment, Jesus points to an enabling power, even explosive power. Rather than focusing on this world and your power in it, Jesus tells His disciples, (and us,) that He wants them and us to be focused on the next world and power from it.

‘Dunamis’ or “dynamite” power from heaven on earth, that we may be witnesses – or martyrs for Christ.

And we will need to be because in the next moment Christ ascended from earth to heaven and left His disciples, but not only His disciples to complete the work. And this is what He told them to wait for: Another Helper. Another helper just like Him, just like Jesus. A Helper who would work from the inside out rather than from the outside in. This would be the Holy Spirit. The Promise of the Father. The Spirit of Almighty God living in each human heart who would receive Him.

And this is what produces a witness who has seen the Lord, even in those who have not seen Jesus with the physical eye. Of all those re-born of repentance there is an inherent incumbent gift which is received, and it is the gift to see God with the eyes of the heart, and this gift is commendable and communicable. This is why Jesus has said we are to go into the whole world to share it.

- Pastor Bill

Wanderlust

Malachi 4:1 "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the Lord of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

After Christmas, we do tend to feel a lot like fat, stall-fed calves, especially in the good ole U.S. of A. All our desires, (or at least most of them,) have been fulfilled. We’ve seen and visited with all the family and friends we can stand. All of our physical needs have been met – for the time being. (Especially once we’ve had the time to take back all the things that didn’t exactly meet with our desire, so we can get EXACTLY what does.)

I don’t know about you or the rest of the world – but that pretty much sums up what I believe to be the majority Christmas experience in America. Stall-fed calves are what we are. Never having to raise a hand to feed ourselves, or even to over-feed ourselves.

How natural it is to take our eyes off of God in times like these, as our flesh is more or less satiated. Satisfied. Filled to the brim. Filled to overflowing.

The main problem with being filled to overflowing with stuff is it leaves no room (in our thoughts and our hearts,) for the Holy Spirit. These are the times when the Holy Spirit is crowded to the side by truckloads of stuff. Trainloads of weariness.

We do really well looking forward to the coming of the Lord. Not so good looking back. What happens to the fervency we had leading up to Christmas?

God says, “Hey, wait – there’s more!” Not only did Jesus come to earth, as had been prophesied in Malachi 3:1-2, but He’s coming back. And just as the followers of Jesus were not certain of the timing of His advent, we cannot be certain of the time of His CERTAIN return. All we do know is it will be soon. All has been fulfilled for Christ to come for His church.

As the Christmas song professed of those awaiting Christ’s advent, they spent a lot of time wondering as they wandered, gazing into the night skies awaiting the One to be born of a virgin. Keep that wanderlust always. It makes the heart prepared for the True King. And it takes a prepared heart to receive Him still.

- Pastor Bill

Bragged On

Zech 9:12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you. 13 For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man." 14 Then the Lord will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. 15 The Lord of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar. 16 The Lord their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land-- 17 For how great is its* goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.

Mal 3:17 "They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him." 18 Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.

If you had the blessing of growing up as I did, (with a loving mom and dad,) then you know the blessing of being “bragged on.” There is hardly anything better than to hear your mother or father telling someone else of something you have accomplished, and how they are proud of you. Now, as a father, I understand what that is like from the other side. How wonderful it is to be able to “brag on” my son for something he has done. Because I love bragging on my son so much, I watch him very carefully for any possible reason my chest may be filled with the joy of something brag-worthy that I can share with others.

Toward the end of the Old Testament, God looks out prophetically to a time when His people will be “His jewels.” Think about what that means for a moment. In both Zechariah and Malachi, (the last two books in the Old Testament,) the Lord proclaims His people will be made into something extraordinary – even made as jewels.

What will make God’s people God’s jewels? According to His Word, it is because they have finally learned to discern between the righteous and the wicked. In learning THIS discernment, the Lord declares He will MAKE those who have learned this lesson His jewels.

We may wonder exactly what is meant by this - but why not accept the plain meaning? He is making us into something He proclaims to be worthy of examination, something worthy of being handled, something worthy of being placed in the light so all the facets may shine forth brightly for all to see and value. It sure sounds all like those who learn God’s discernment will one day make God brag. I’m guessing He can’t wait!

- Pastor Bill

Time Out

Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the Lord of hosts. 2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.

One of the modern forms of discipline for an unruly child is known of as a ‘time out.’ The loving parent places their misbehaving child in a quiet corner by themselves, and there they remain alone and without communication until a time known only to the parent has expired.

How similar this is to the quiet time which existed between the Old and New Testaments. God was dealing with an unruly people – His people – and He just set them aside to wait in a 400 year period of preparation. (The blank page in your Bible between the Old and New Testaments represents this period.)

What had happened? God had been dealing with His children for about 2,000 years, (since the time of Abraham.) They had continued in cycle after cycle of rescue, wealth, distraction, estrangement, idol worship, rebellion, downfall, repentance and finally - rescue - to begin a new cycle. These cycles seemed dependent on the leaders the people chose, which in fact were a reflection of where the people were in the cycle when they chose their leaders. God would respond accordingly with a desire to draw the people, His people, back to Himself.

Now, upon nearing the appointed time for the coming of the promised Messiah, God set His people in a sort of “Time Out.” They were placed in a corner by themselves, and God drew very quiet. Silent, in fact. For hundreds of years the Lord had provided direction, correction, and comfort by the words of His prophets. Now, the last prophet (Malachi) speaks with the sole intent of preparing the hearts of the people for the season. The season? The season of the coming of Christ. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

As we approach the time we set aside in our hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ, (the literal coming of God into the world He created,) we are provided the opportunity to witness the things God desires we hold in our hearts as the birth of Christ draws near. Those things are not parties, presents, family visits, foods, candies and desserts - but holiness and purity. And here and now we are given a ‘time out’ to think about that. (‘Tis the season!)

In their case the ‘time out’ lasted 400 years before the Messenger (John the Baptist) spoke.

- Pastor Bill

The Point

Nehemiah 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

The “point” of ministry should not be a secret, but these days it seems to be.

I don’t see many promotional materials or flyers about churches which speak of their desire to read the Word of God together as a church. As a consequence our society has drifted. We can blame the government or court cases which have promoted atheism, but the truth is the Church no longer lives and breathes the Word of God. As a direct result, people in the Church don’t know the Word of God, and so they are and have been easily influenced and moved by an agenda of secular humanism and moral relativism.

The same was true in Nehemiah’s day. Interesting to me is what Nehemiah did with his presumed power. He had been appointed governor of Jerusalem in Judah by king Artexerxes, and he had come to Jerusalem and been wildly successful beyond anyone’s imagination – rebuilding the walls of the city in only 52 days. To say he was a popular figure in those days is probably a large understatement. Nehemiah’s popularity was probably off the charts, as he had accomplished what they thought could not be done, and he had done it in record time. He could easily have proclaimed himself ruler of that part of the world.

Instead, Nehemiah calls the people of God together in a sacred assembly. To hear a great speech by Nehemiah? No, Nehemiah calls the people together that they may have the Word of God read to them aloud by Ezra, the chief scribe. Amazing, considering the history of this people and how far they had drifted into secular humanism and moral relativism. But Nehemiah knew building stone walls around the city would accomplish nothing unless the people also built walls in their hearts.

Nehemiah 8:7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

There has never been a time when it is more important for people to know and understand the Word of God than right now. Much has changed over time, but the need for the Word to be the very center and foundation of our lives has not. That should be the whole point of ministry. Everything else should flow from that.

- Pastor Bill

Rock Steady

Matt 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

1 Cor 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Neh 5:8 And I said to them, "According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?" Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. 9 Then I said, "What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Hypocrisy is the great terror to the Christian. Or should be.

Lest we forget the fear of the Lord, we are more than likely to place our feet on shifting sand. That’s just how we are because of the lure of the world and the weakness of our flesh. In this we place ourselves in grave danger – but even worse, as Nehemiah reminds us, we poorly represent the Lord to a world that desperately needs Him.

If we call our self a Christian, and use our position as a Christian for our own personal interest – are we not disavowing all Christianity stands for? Are we then no different than the world? Have we not been changed by our love for the Lord?

This is exactly what Nehemiah faces as he deals with those wealthy brethren of his at Jerusalem who are using the poor condition of the people for gain. We recognize this behavior as ‘gouging,’ and we are familiar with it taking place in the times just before and immediately following hurricanes. People who ‘have’ use the opportunity to gain even more from those who ‘have not,’ (in our case gasoline, or maybe motel rooms.) In the case of the Jerusalem, the situation was much more dire than maintaining a condition of relative comfort or convenience – it was life and death. It was charging usury (interest) to those who were starving, in direct contradiction to God’s Word, causing their own brethren to sell their sons and daughters into slavery to pay the interest. Nehemiah says, “Stop!” (as if God’s Word had not been enough – because clearly it had not been!) What we must always remember is the fear of the Lord. Hypocrisy, (self-interest,) is always a life and death issue, because it holds the potential to turn people against God.

- Pastor Bill

What Do You Want?

Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?" 4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Now here’s an opportunity if there ever was one! But is the answer obvious?

King Artaxerxes, the most powerful king in the world presently, is entertaining the request of one of his trusted servants, his loyal cupbearer Nehemiah. For Nehemiah, I suppose the possibilities are potentially endless. After all, he has heard the homeland of his people is in shambles – and the situation seems entirely hopeless back in Jerusalem of Judah. Things are so bad there, in fact, Nehemiah has been sickened by the plight of his brethren. It is that very sickness displayed on Nehemiah’s face which has prompted the king’s query: basically, “What is wrong with you?”

This is an opportunity for sadness and despair to go one of two places. An attempt can be made to do something about the problem which is causing the sadness, or an attempt can be made to treat the symptom of the sadness itself.

In this example, we see clearly how the Lord desires to move. According to the Word, Nehemiah has been praying to the Lord for four months about the problems back in Jerusalem, (Nehemiah’s emotional and spiritual homeland, even though he has never stepped foot there.) After 90 years of return from exile, the city still lies mostly in ruin, and the walls have not been touched. The temple has been rebuilt, as well as some of the houses, but there is absolutely no protection from any outside force which may desire to destroy the Jewish people.

I suppose after 90 years the most likely response from an observer might be that there is nothing that can be done about this problem. It appears the people have absolutely no desire to do what needs to be done to protect themselves. Who could possibly motivate them? The amount of work to be done to bring about restoration must appear completely impossible.

So, the choices: Is it time to take a vacation to try to forget all about this despair? Is it time to buy some stuff to help distract himself from his sadness about the problem? If Nehemiah had looked within himself, perhaps these may have been the answers. (Treat the symptom of sadness.) But Nehemiah, in his wisdom, did something we should not take for granted: He asked God. And God called Nehemiah to do what he could about the root cause of the problem – not the symptom of his sadness.
- Pastor Bill

Gone Fishing

John 21:1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also."

The statement is often made in Biblical teaching that we are to, “wait on the Lord.” Isaiah 40:31 put it this way, “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” The question is: what are we to do while we are waiting?

I really believe Peter thought he was “waiting on the Lord” when he decided to kill some time while waiting on the Lord near the Sea of Tiberias. According to Matthew’s gospel, the disciples were instructed to head to the Galilee where they were to meet Jesus. (Another name for the Sea of Tiberias.)

Once they arrived at Galilee, Jesus was nowhere to be seen. And so we have a classic “wait-mode” situation. What were they to do while they waited? I can imagine the guys kind of meandering along the seashore for a while, perhaps throwing smooth stones into the water, and generally just hanging out and killing time.

Peter, being the natural leader that he is, probably felt a greater degree of pressure about coming up with something to do. He was most likely the one in the crowd who would be looked to for ideas – as it is with most leader-follower relationships. Peter apparently went into default mode: Fishing. Fishing is an obvious time-killer. It occupies the mind in distraction. A perfect veg activity. After all, you can’t just sit around and do nothing while you are waiting...

So Peter makes the declaration he is going fishing. Since he is the straw that stirs the drink, the rest of the guys go along. They fish all night in fact, and catch nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Jesus appears on the shore the next morning, unrecognized. He shouts out them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” The question arises again, What are we to do while we are waiting? Is waiting simply an uncertain amount of time to kill with leisure activity, vegging out, watching TV? Mindless, distracted activity to pass time? Perhaps we are to be feeding ourselves on the Word of God, and spending time in prayer that we may have plenty of food for His use when Jesus asks us, “Children, do you have any food?” This should ring especially true when we are not just waiting, but in fact are waiting on the Lord Himself to appear.
- Pastor Bill

Likeness

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

The question of how to produce an exact image of someone has always been a difficult one. Some people work in mediums of wood, paint on canvas, stone, or maybe even bronze. Some of the greatest artists history has produced have been excellent copyists, able to wonderfully create an external representation of some of history’s greatest men.

But there has always been something missing in the images which have been created, no matter how closely they have resembled the person for which resemblance is desired.

God knew the shortcomings inherent with all of man’s attempts at resemblance. He also knew of man’s desire to produce resemblances for himself, as an indicator of man’s desire to cling to a hero or leader, once that leader has gone and is no longer physically present. In many cases, this desire of man to identify the greatness of a particular leader and to emulate that life can be admirable, as it is with Christ.

The problem is that no matter how lifelike or “perfect” the representation of the person to be emulated is - there is something huge which is missing: Life itself. I’ve seen some really great statues of George Washington in my life, (having grown up in Washington, D.C.,) but none of those wonderful statues truly captured the essence of Washington because the life was not ‘in’ the statue. The lights were on but no one was home. This is why God abhors idols and idolatry and idol-worship.

Jesus comes to His disciples and says, “I want you to be like Me. I want you to emulate My life. In fact, they will eventually call you “Christians” in My honor, because your very lives will be ‘Christ-like’”, (what the word, ‘Christian’ means.)

In order to accomplish this awesome goal, Christ could have handed out small statues of Himself to each one of the disciples to carry around in their pockets, to pull out and look at and be reminded of Christ each time a decision was necessary. Would this bring them into “Christ–like-ness?” No. Jesus’ answer was to breathe His life INTO the disciples, that their lives might be changed into the image of Christ from the inside out. Jesus lets us know it is the INSIDE which counts in the kingdom of heaven.
- Pastor Bill

Blinded

John 19:7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."

If you had seen and heard all Jesus had done as He walked the earth, perhaps you might be looking into His claim He was the Son of God rather than simply dismissing Him as a blasphemer. But this has always been the mode of those who object to Christ. (It still is.) Rather than examining His claims, people reject Him out of hand - and often very vociferously.

Of course, the High Priest was blinded by jealousy, and Judas had been blinded by pride and lust for power, and now the Jews were seeking to blind Pilate with fear for his future position as governor of the region of Judea. “Crucify Him, or we will report you to Caesar!”

Blindness is a very strange thing in a “seeing” people. Especially in the presence of The Light of the World, Who has come to give sight to all men.

Physical sight is so precious, so fragile. There are so many ways physical sight can be blinded. In reality, it is a kind of wonder more people are not physically blind – especially with all the harmful ingredients to sight we are constantly exposed to in our daily lives.

But we will do anything and everything we can to preserve our physical sight. I cannot think of a single example in my entire life where someone intentionally blinded themselves. It is unheard of.

Yet, people go to such great lengths to blind themselves spiritually, and much of that blindness is self-inflicted. Is ignorance bliss?

Do some ignore the brevity of life? Do some ignore statistics on death? Do some ignore the sense of constant nagging emptiness?

At this point, the challenge is to examine the claims of Christ. (What the Sanhedrin was in no mind or temper to do.)

Can you sit down and read through the Gospels with an open mind? I am completely at rest with allowing anyone to examine the scriptures for themselves. In an hour or so, with an open mind, anyone can examine the claims of Jesus. There is no cajoling necessary for those who are willing to see for themselves.

“He makes Himself out to be the Son of God!” What say you? What do you see?

- Pastor Bill

Under Arrest

John 18:3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" 12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

Silly to even think about arresting God isn’t it?

This is exactly what we see happening in John 18. Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, bound and led away. Found and identified by His betrayer, (Judas Iscariot,) captured by a regiment of Roman soldiers serving at the behest of the Sanhedrin, tied up like a common criminal and taken.

Only Jesus wasn’t taken against His will. He was taken according to His will, which was in complete accordance with His Father’s will.

Gen 3:22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

The first Adam had been driven out of the garden God had created for him due to sin. Ever since, mankind wandered the face of the earth in toil, separated from the Father by his own defiled, sinful flesh and a wicked heart. And now Jesus had come to put an end to the enmity. An end to the brokenness. An end to fruitlessness. An end to blocked access to the Tree of Life. (Rev 22:12)

And so, behold, the invitation back into God’s Garden comes by way of the hand of The One who is likewise driven out of a garden – only through no fault of His own - but through the further fault of man. What love is this? What gentle, arrested glory!

- Pastor Bill

Pray Tell

John 17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

As Jesus entered the garden of Gethsemane, which appropriately means, “olive press,” He stopped to pray with and for His disciples, before going further.

This was a wonderful, audible gift rarely known of or received in the world before. God prays. God praying…

Just as the disciples not only heard but recorded this prayer for further study and recollection, we have the opportunity to do likewise. Some important questions are answered beyond doubt:

How does God pray? What does that look like? When does God pray? Why does God pray?

As confusing as it may seem to our tiny, finite brains, Jesus is in fact God in the flesh, and there are probably few more important lessons He can demonstrate for us than in telling us how to pray by watching and listening to Jesus - as He prays. Pray tell…

His posture? With open eyes He looks toward heaven. Silent or aloud? Jesus spoke these words so they may be heard and recorded. What did He pray for?

Here the answer is somewhat longer, but even more important because the heart of the Father is revealed in the words of the Son.

Praying is the most intimate form of communication known to man. In prayer, God is known to man, and through prayer, as God reveals the heart of man, man is known to himself. I have never known myself so well as I have when the Lord truly reveals what He sees in me. I have never known others so well as when God has revealed His heart for them to me.

In John 17, Jesus reveals the heart of God for His ministry on earth. Jesus reveals God’s desire through the spoken word of the Son – and this becomes primarily important to us, as we see the wondrous capability of God to speak through His people. Listen now to the voice of God speaking through you as you pray…

- Pastor Bill

Teach Me Your Ways

As parents, one of the greatest concerns we have is the legacy we instill in our children. How will they conduct themselves when they are apart from us – and how will they continue in their lives when we are gone?

What we are really speaking of is influence. In part, even worldly people desire to have influence over their children and against the world. For them the cause has more to do with temporal protection or family identification or reputation rather than eternal deliverance from evil.

“Like father, like son.” “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” “He’s a chip off the old block.”

These statements express what we are about in some sense as parents. We have a (I believe God-designed) desire to see ourselves in our children, and how closely our children resemble us – both physically and emotionally - often has a lot to do with how proud we are of our children.

So we have to do a lot of convincing along the way, don’t we? Because when we are gone our ability to convince goes away with the removal of our presence. We are at a disadvantage according to the world. We can no longer convince our children to do what we would do if we were with them. Jesus says something quite different to His ‘children’ (His disciples)…

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

The advantage Jesus has is intensely Spiritual. He is going away that we might take our eyes off His physical presence and be convinced (convicted) by His Spiritual presence. If only we could instill ourselves in some sense into the hearts of our children to guide them in their day-to-day decisions. Jesus promises exactly that. He instills and installs His presence, essence and guidance immediately into our lives when we open our hearts to receive His saving grace. The advantage: His presence never fades or loses the influence we allow it to have in our lives. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

- Pastor Bill

With – or Without?

Hebrews 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Here we see Paul expounding upon what Jesus had to say to His disciples in John 15. When Jesus tells His disciples, “He is the true vine, and they are the branches,” He is speaking of the discipline and the devotion necessary to continue in relationship with Jesus Christ, in the manner He had also put forth in John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”

There is, of course, more to this than meets the eye – and because of the invisible nature of relationship with God in the Spirit, Jesus provides the necessity of continuing to abide, and Paul provides the assurance of the discipline you will surely receive from your loving Father, but ONLY as you continue to ABIDE.

John 15:2” Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Jesus had said in John 15:1 that “My Father is the vinedresser.” He is The Caretaker.

So here comes one of those challenging questions: “Are you with - or without?” “With or without what?” Discipline. Chastening. Rebuke. Redirection. Pruning. Cleansing. All of which comes when you have not resisted sin unto bloodshed. All of which comes when your fruitfulness is either minimized by your actions, or at an end by your laziness. Hebrews 12:7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

Are you with – or without?

- Pastor Bill

Directions to Christ

John 14:4 "And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Maps have become sort of obsolete in these days of on-line address locators, direction-finders, and GPS systems. These days all you need to know is an address, and you can instantly get exact driving directions including mileage and time of travel and stops along the way.

How fortunate we are to be living in these days. I can remember when maps were a big deal, especially as you needed to travel across the country. A whole business was built on providing travelers the maps they needed, (that being AAA.)

In terms of eternity, the Bible we hold in our lap is just like that. A map, that is.

This is why Jesus could properly proclaim to His disciples that not only was He going away - but they already knew where He was going, and they already knew how to get there.

Thomas, however, (in all probability along with the other disciples,) failed to comprehend all that Jesus was alluding to in this case.

It seems no matter how many times Jesus had told them He was going up to Jerusalem to be crucified, they failed to grasp all He was saying – as if the news was so bad they didn’t want to think about it. As if they refused to think about it.

So Thomas, on behalf of the remaining 11 disciples risked being perceived as impertinent and uninformed – and he asked the question they all needed an answer to. (I’m glad he did.)

John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"

When Moses encountered God in the burning bush in Exodus 3, he asked God to tell him Who it was that was sending Him to be the leader of the Israelite people? God’s reply: “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM’ has sent me to you.”

To Thomas, Jesus responded in a very similar way: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Just as Moses had led God’s people to the Promised Land, and no one else could claim that right of leadership but Moses alone - Jesus Christ is leading God’s people into the Kingdom of Heaven, and NO ONE else can claim that right of leadership. There is indeed only one way to be where Jesus Christ is. Follow Him there.

- Pastor Bill

Dressed for Success

John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"

There are all kinds of television shows and magazines and websites which will teach you how to ‘dress for success.’ The idea, of course, is to be perceived as a successful person simply by the clothes you wear.

Jesus had this in mind when he arose from the dinner table and stripped off His outer garments, girded Himself with a towel, and began to approach each of His disciples. He had in mind to wash each of their feet.

For the King of Kings and Lord of Lords this was quite an example. Jesus had been teaching His disciples humility, and even exemplifying it on several occasions. But they weren’t getting the message. (Any more than we seem to.)

In a very real way, (in a way that we may relate,) the Lord of All Creation was putting on the uniform of a janitor, with ‘Jesus’ embroidered in red thread in a white oval on His chest, and He was bending down to scrub the nasty bathroom floor of an inner city gas station that has not been cleaned in weeks. (Or whatever task you may regard as completely disgusting and beneath your dignity or His.)

This is shocking in more ways than we may count. For those who have been following Jesus with a very real expectation of RAISING their station in life – after all they were about to be princes in a new kingdom – this had to have been one of the greatest disappointments of all time. Was this really happening? The offense of having your leader stoop to this indignity is palpable and disturbing. Especially so since His indignity is practiced on you.

And there you sit gazing down on the top of the head which will bear the crown of thorns, and seeing the flesh of the back which will be ripped to shreds, and feeling the touch of the hands which will be pierced and bloodied – as He gently washes your nasty, dirty feet. I think I know exactly how Peter felt as his mind worked out the equation of what was happening. “Is this the way a king would behave? What have I done? Who have I given my life to?” All without the slightest thought of the indignity of human sin that has led to this.
- Pastor Bill

Countdown

John 12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.

Mary, who loved Jesus very much, seemed to know something about Jesus which no one else knew. Did she alone have a special foresight not possible for anyone else to have? Did she alone view Jesus with the eyes of love, which took her perfume ‘outside the box’?

Maybe. But maybe she was just paying attention. Of all those present in the room with Jesus, Mary alone knew He was about to die. Which is why they were all (see Matt 26:8) indignant about the extravagant “misuse” of the perfume Mary was pouring out on Jesus’ feet. (“That money could have been better spent!”)

How could Mary have known what was unknown to all the others present? Perhaps she alone was counting down the days.

On May 14, 445 B.C., a countdown had begun. A time fixed - which was certain. God’s clock. God’s countdown of days – to the very day “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.” 173,880 days, to be exact.

That’s a lot of days. 483 years. Expressed as 69 “weeks” or “heptads” or “sevens” of years. The angel Gabriel had declared all of this to the prophet Daniel in Dan 9: 25-26. 483 years X 360 days (a 360 day year according to the Jewish calendar,) = 173,880 days, to be counted down beginning with the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem and its wall. Said decree was proclaimed March 14, 445 B.C. March 14, 445 B.C. + 173,880 days = April 6, 32 A.D.

On Palm Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D., Jesus dropped by Martha and Mary and Lazarus’ house for a farewell visit. It seems Mary alone had done the math. The Lamb of God had come to take away the sins of the world, and the hour was at hand for this to be accomplished.

When Jesus came the first time so few recognized Him for Who He really was based on Biblical accounts. When He was raised and went to be with His Father, a new countdown was begun for His return to rapture his church. But who’s counting?

- Pastor Bill

Campaigning

There is no doubt our country is in the worst shape it has EVER been. At least if you listen to one political party – that is. One political party’s job is to convince us the country is in terrible shape – the worst shape ever – simply because they want you to vote for them. It’s understandable. That’s how it works.

The concept is simple. Motivate the people to vote for you. Change the system because the system is THE WORST IT HAS EVER BEEN! Get the picture?

If we’re not careful, we can buy into this sort of negative mindset. All of the sudden, even as Christians with a full understanding of how the Lord is working in this world, we find ourselves skulking around and worrying ourselves to death over things like the ‘state of the economy.’ “Oh no…Just look how bad it is!!!”

Really? Is God still in control? Do you believe this?

Martha and Mary faced a similar ‘political’ enemy. An enemy whose sole intent was to distract them and rob them of their joy in this life, and to disconnect them with Jesus in the next. An enemy with the power to shake men’s hearts and bind their souls. An enemy who makes it impossible to focus on the true meaning of life, because all meaning has changed.

That enemy is death.

The enemy of all enemies. The last enemy. The enemy over which men have no power.

Jesus, being informed of His friend Lazarus’ sickness, tarried in a remote location until Lazarus was dead. Good and dead. 4 days dead. Decomposition dead. Mournfully dead. Martha and Mary totally disconsolate dead. Inconsolably dead.

Never mind. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Wait a minute! What is Jesus saying here? What has Jesus declared? The world is on a highway to hell, and destruction lurks all around, death rules, and Jesus says, “Never mind?” Who is this Jesus? Who is this Jesus?

Jesus was and is campaigning for the hearts of men. Are you listening? Do you believe this? (BTW – You must vote.)

- Pastor Bill

Genuine

John 10:1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

It seems as though healing a man blind since birth would earn you at least a little props. Instead, Jesus was driven out of the Temple, along with the blind man He healed. And why? Because of the day He chose to heal. It was the Sabbath.

It was the day in which He saw the man who was in need. Jesus healed the man as He passed by. There is a good chance He may not have passed by again. After all, Jesus was passing by after having the Pharisees take up stones to stone Him. (John 8:59)

Shepherds have an eye for the sheep. Thieves and robbers have an eye for themselves.

Jesus healed one of His sheep, who was in trouble. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for the healing because it threatened their idea of how to religiously maintain the Sabbath. They had their eye on themselves, and how their authority might be undermined if “a work” was performed on a day when no works are allowed. Not even good works. Not even works of love for the sheep.

In a short period of time, hirelings, thieves and robbers will turn the sheep against them, and then eventually the owner of the sheep whom they supposedly represent. They are false, evil misrepresentations of the Owner of the sheep. The sheep see they are fake.

Jesus makes this patently clear. Yet still the Pharisees do not see His clarity because He is directing it at them. In Jesus’ words, the Pharisees are hirelings, thieves, and robbers because they rip off the sheep, and in so doing they rip off the Father, who is the Owner of the sheep. They grossly mismanage the flock which belongs to God - and worse – it appears intentional.

Jesus willingly calls Himself a shepherd, and then describes the attributes which comprise a good shepherd. He enters through the door. His desire is apparent. He says what He means. He means what He says. He loves the sheep, and His concern is for the sheep because that is the concern of His Father in Heaven, Who is the Owner. The Pharisees have no such stake. Their god is their belly. Jesus is clearly indicating what a personal relationship with God looks like. It is, above all, genuine.

John 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
- Pastor Bill

Stormy Tuesday

Psalm 107:23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. 28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

The only way to understand the emotions humans experience in the approach of a dangerous storm is to live in a place where dangerous storms approach.

This past week, we all collectively experienced the same thing at the same time. We were all thinking the same sorts of thoughts. We were all in the run-up to the storm at the same time, we were all IN the storm at the same time, and we were all in the aftermath of the storm at the same time.

We are all closer to each other as a result of facing danger and potential difficulty together. In terms of human fellowship, there is nothing that draws us closer than going through the storms of life at the same time, with each other alongside. A shared sense of anticipation. A shared fear. A shared sense of relief afterwards.

This is what God had in mind in Psalm 107. We are, in a sense, “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters.” We could live somewhere else. God has called us to Naples, Florida. And so we collectively encounter what comes with life, “on the ships,” or by the seashore, if you will. There is an inherent danger in living here, just as there is an inherent danger in going down to the sea in ships. It goes with the territory.

But only those who go down to the sea in ships fully understand God’s care in the storm. You can’t read about it in the paper, or tell your friends in California about it. It must be lived and experienced. You can’t even read about God’s care in the Bible and truly understand what it means to be under God’s care.

And so those who “live on ships” see both the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. There is a power there which melts the soul because of the trouble, and there is a genuine crying out to the Lord which only takes place at such times. And then He guides them to His desired haven – which may even be Heaven. Only those who live on ships truly understand this.

- Pastor Bill

On the Waterfront

I live on a piece of “waterfront” property. Not that I sought it out or anything – it was the only piece left when I bought my house. (I did have to pay a hefty surcharge for the “bonus” of living “on the waterfront.”)

What “waterfront” means in my case is that I live alongside a water-retention pond. The south Florida method of building is to scoop out a bunch of dirt in order to raise the houses built above sea level. When they scoop out the dirt, it makes a big hole in the ground that eventually fills up with water. They arrange the houses around the perimeter of the hole, and they call that “waterfront living.” No wonder we have to pay extra for that privilege – as everyone wants to live by the water. It’s an exclusive address.

John 8:6 …But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

How a water-retention pond works is by rainfall run-off. Since the ground surrounding the pond has been raised up, all the rainwater runs into the pond and fills it up. Then we sit on our lanai and gaze out at the water and get far-away looks on our faces as we relax.

Our lives are like that. From cradle to grave, our lives are filled with sins because we are sinners. We are not sinners because we sin – we sin because we are sinners. There is a huge difference.

The sins rain down daily and come so frequently and so often we forget all about them. Easily, readily, so many, so often, our sins slip right by into the pond of our forgetfulness.

And then the sprinkler system comes on to water the grass and we are suddenly reminded where the water for the sprinkler system comes from. It comes from the water-retention pond. All the water that ran off into the pond and was forgotten has suddenly reappeared in our lives, and we cannot help but see it. Sin long-forgotten is just like that. It reappears when we least expect it.

John 8:8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.

Do you realize the Lord keeps track of ALL of your sins, from cradle to grave? He can recall them in an instant, and will in the Day of Judgment, should you choose to be judged rather than forgiven. In the same way Jesus recalls your sin by etching them in the ground – even publicly if necessary – He can also just as readily wash them all away with His blood. When is the last time you were convicted in your conscience, and instead of melting away with the crowd you ran to the Lord for His forgiveness and cleansing?

- Pastor Bill

Unpopularity

We measure our opinion by the opinion of others.

That this is true is undeniable. Especially in politics and entertainment, we are more like lemmings than independent thinkers, and we often find ourselves following the crowd. It is simply more comfortable being “part of something” rather than being independent. The irony of all of this is we are encouraged to be “independently minded” as we follow the crowd. Advertisers have recognized how we like to think ourselves renegades – and so the ads we follow tell us things like, “No rules, just right,” (Outback Steakhouse,) or, simply, “No rules.” (Dodge.)

I have just read an article in the London Times proclaiming it is now becoming “un-cool” to be ‘green.’ It seems the crowds are discovering the pain of the no-carbon-footprint lifestyle is not equal to the perceived former “coolness” of the position. Apparently living the green life is not as fun as thinking about living it or talking about it.

John 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews* sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."

Dealing with unpopularity says a lot about who you are. Are you genuine? Are you sincere? No one has ever walked in the kind of unpopularity Jesus faced as He walked the earth. He had raised a crowd, but then chased it away by defining the sincerity required to remain part of it. (See John 6.) He would eventually go to the cross accompanied by only one disciple, His mother and a few other women who remained to support Him.

In a word, Jesus’ ministry had become about as unpopular as it could possibly be – and the reason is because of the sincerity of heart Jesus demanded of His followers. You could not just hang around as part of ‘the crowd.’ Jesus demanded more. And when those demands were stated, the crowd melted away in the “hard sayings.” Where will we go now? What’s the popular position?

Jesus’ brothers may have been earnestly concerned. He had a crowd and lost it. Could He win it back? Surely the possibility existed if He would go up to the Feast of Tabernacles and “show Himself.” Could He not win back a whole new crowd with some more “works?” Certainly, with the million or so folks piling into Jerusalem for the Feast, the opportunity of a lifetime was presenting itself. It was only a matter of time before Jesus would be back on the top of the popularity charts. All He had to do was please the crowd…

How did Jesus respond? (See John 7.)
- Pastor Bill

Abundance

John 6: 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

The word, ‘abundance,’ could probably be defined in a few ways. One of those ways might be to say you are certain of having enough. Another of those ways would be to say you are certain of having more than enough.

All of us have been in a place of abundance at some point in our lives. Even the poorest on earth at some point have understood what it means to have more than enough of something or other. We understand the principle of “too much!”

Jesus is making a sublimely divine point to all those who care to look in on the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. One of the main points is that it didn’t matter a bit whether it was 5,000 or 50 million. There was going to be abundance as long as Jesus was ministering. Jesus did not serve out of poverty, though He had none of the trappings of riches. He served out of the abundance of wealth capable of more than meeting any need. This is the power of creation.

We think our problem or tribulation is more than we can bear, that our potential impoverishment too great for Jesus to meet. Alternately, we are just as likely to think our need is too small to be noticed, (too unimportant to make the Lord’s radar screen.) Neither is true. Just as the Lord met the need of the Israelites wandering in the desert 40 years, and the need of His 5,000 disciples here, He will always be aware of – and be willing to – more than meet whatever need each of us have as children of God. This is the power of creation. When you can speak matter into existence, nothing is beyond your reach. Nothing is too hard for God.

Mark 8:15 Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." 20 "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." 21 So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Our job is simply to focus on Jesus, and He will take care of the rest. There will always be abundance in what is needed.
- Pastor Bill

Sanitized

John 4:10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." 11 He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'" 12 Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?" 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.

It used to be commonplace to find strips of paper which declared, “Sanitized for your protection.” Whether the item in question was legitimately sanitized or not is anyone’s guess, but the paper declared it and so the tendency was to believe it true.

What if the item had been sanitized, but no paper of declaration affixed? Alternately, what if the paper was affixed, but the item had not been sanitized?

Do you see the point? How does the existence of a man-made strip of paper provide a basis one way or the other for belief?

Here we have a man, (a MAN!), walking – who has not walked in 38 years – and the lawyers look on to see if he has the strip of paper affixed. What do we see? We see a man walking while carrying his bed. This is a man who could NOT walk 5 minutes ago, and therefore he could not carry his bed. Hello? Is anybody paying attention? This man is…WALKING!!!

A flat out miracle based in love has happened, and those who are in the know look instead for the paper to verify the case of the miracle having occurred. The man is walking without having been ‘sanitized’ for his own protection. In fact, he is judged unsanitary since he is now carrying his bed.

The problem is the paper was created by man and not God. 24 chapters in the Mishna deal with what man can or cannot do on the Sabbath. God had merely said, (in the fourth of His Ten Commandments,) “Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it Holy.”

Somehow having God heal you – on the Sabbath, by the way – was not regarded as keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. It was somehow NOT reflective of God’s glory to perform a wondrous healing on THE day God had set apart from all the others that He might be remembered and cherished above all names. Hmmm…

One consistent ploy of Satan is to do everything he can to make God appear a hard master. Adding TO God’s Word is a sure way to do that. If God’s Word is Holy, then it stands to human reason adding TO God’s Word makes it even MORE Holy! We have to be careful we never do LESS than God’s Word calls for, but we also have to be just as careful not to impose MORE than God’s Word calls for.

- Pastor Bill

Many Returns

John 4:1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."

Have you ever been in that place when/where Jesus asks you for something? Are you kidding? Do you mean…me?

Sometimes when we least expect it, when we feel least deserving, when we feel least able – that is the time Jesus shows up and asks something of us. Can we not see His heart in this? Here we are going about our life, depraved or otherwise enthralled with the morass of everyday issues and problems, and Jesus shows up with an answer in the form of a question.

Basically, “Hey, can you do something for me?” Have you got a minute? Can I trouble you for a sec?”

Would you, "Give Me a drink?"

Jesus is ALWAYS interested in drawing us into His circle, His discipleship. The last thing Jesus desires is for anyone to be an outsider. The fact is if you’re going to remain an outsider, you’re literally going to have to do so over Jesus’ dead body. He is just that serious about drawing each of us into His influence. But are we open to it?

Sometimes - in fact most times - what Jesus asks of us instead of a drink, is for just a little bit of our time. And that may seem strange at first, considering we are ‘Samaritans’ and we are steeped in sin and we know it. But still, Jesus says, "Give Me a drink.”

How we respond determines who we are capable of becoming in Christ. You see, the Lord will never violate our will. If we are open to the first step, He will lead us to the second, and so forth. If we are closed to any offer of extending ourselves in His direction, He will never impose. We may find each and every day’s experience to be just like that.

Tomorrow morning, first thing, when Jesus asks for you to “Give Him a drink” - (just a moment of your time) – how will you respond? John 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." There is a principle of eternal multiplication and reciprocity in everything we do for the Lord. No matter how small. The returns are more than we can ask, think, or imagine.
- Pastor Bill

Matter of Time

Time is something we can’t quite figure out, can’t grasp, cannot fathom.

It seems a blessing that it moves so slow when it comes to the length of our lives, but a curse that it moves so slowly when it comes to something we want.

This week is my son’s birthday. As he has matured, his desire for his birthday to come is waning. It used to be he would be practically counting down the days, then the hours, then the minutes in the weeks and days leading up to his birthday. This year he announced to me he really “wasn’t that excited” about his birthday. What a change!

And that’s the way it goes with this matter of time. We don’t know why or how it changes, but it does. It seems relative to us because it is. That’s one thing we sort of inherently understand.

Now try eternity. If we have a tough time grasping time, which is linear and palpable – and real to us in our existence, imagine coming to grips with eternity. Imagine the finite grasping for the infinite. Poof!

Jesus wants us to know what is coming. We actually do know what is coming but we have a great way of putting off thinking about it because time moves so slowly relative to the perceived length of our life.

So Jesus comes along and says, “Excuse Me, but I’d like to talk to you about your eternal destiny.”

That’s exactly what happened when Nicodemus came to see Jesus in the evening after a long day’s teaching and ruling over the Jews. Nicodemus came for one thing and left with another. He came seeking to know what Jesus was doing right now, and Jesus sent him away with a certainty about what He is doing forever. Imagine the interruption in the train of thought.

John3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Talk about a reversal of direction. Nicodemus comes to inquire of Jesus, and Jesus sends him on a mission to inquire of himself. The question he MUST ask himself – this religious leader, this teacher of the Jews, this one who has given his entire life to the church: “Are you born again?” You MUST be born again, nothing else matters. Are you born again? Nicodemus? You MUST be born again. Are you born again? Are you? Are YOU? Time matters, but eternity matters more.
- Pastor Bill

Water Pots

John 2:6 Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.

Wedding feasts were a very big deal, culturally speaking, (even bigger than weddings of our day,) and so you can imagine the amount of planning and expense that were invested in the proceedings. There was to be joy all around in the celebration, and nothing depicted that joy more than the presence of wine. Historically, for the Jews, wine and joy have always been inextricably linked.

And suddenly, the wine was gone. Mary, Jesus’ mother, became aware of the situation and alerted Jesus to the potential problem. Her concern over the wine may have indicated that she was in some way a participant in the planning of the wedding, or even a close relative of the wedding party.

What happened next is a startling revelation of the work Jesus has come to do on earth, and a picture of the transformation process which takes place in the lives of believers.

It is a simple command, really. "Fill the water pots with water." But for those not knowing what to expect it may not have been so simple. We seem to have a built-in resistance to things which either don’t make sense to us, or are not clearly defined for us. But the servants conveyed Jesus’ exact wishes, and they filled the water pots to the brim.

A.W. Tozer used to say you can have all of The Holy Spirit you will allow. I suppose the opposite is also true. Will you allow yourself to be filled to the brim – or are you hesitant, not really certain of what it might all mean? It is, after all, undefined territory.

Jesus brought about an amazing transformation when those pots were filled, but not before. He changed the water into wine. He turned the mundane into the sublime, and, in so doing, the water pots – and what they contained - became presentable to the master of the feast. Prior to the transformation they would have been unacceptable.

And when the master of the feast tasted the wine, he called the bridegroom. Do you see the picture? Will you allow yourself to be filled at Jesus’ command? - Pastor Bill

Hands-On

John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Much is made of this very famous text theologically speaking. It is hard to imagine our Bibles without this verse. Of course, one of the great certainties we have of Divine Authorship of the Word is its Completeness. There is nothing the Bible lacks, and there is no area that says more than needs to be said. In a word, The Word is perfect.

How many books authored by the hand and mind of man can make that statement?

The text of John 1 is foundational in so many ways, especially establishing the eternality of Christ. John makes every effort to have us completely understand the true nature and character of Christ – and therefore of God.

But beyond understanding, there is something even more here for us: John1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

When I received Christ it was on this point: He dwelt among us. For me personally, it was not God’s awesome wonder that drew me to Him, it was His personality. His personable-ness. His personal appearance. His dwelling among us.

I can remember the very first time it struck me God had walked the earth, and it gave me chills and fear and awe to consider the possibility of having been in His literal presence. It still has that affect on me today. My heart goes to its knees before the personally-appearing love of Christ.

Gospel-author John himself gets at this point later on in his first epistle. 1 John1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

I focus on verse 1 of 1 John 1. John says they have “handled Christ with their hands.” This is not an impersonal God. Can you imagine?

- Pastor Bill

Just One

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Have you ever longed to be the ONE in the crowd who could make a difference FOR God?

I don’t really think that is such an uncommon desire – especially among true Bible-believing Christians. After all, that is exactly what Jesus commanded us to do – make a difference in the world.

We have a couple men who are bent on making a difference right now in a very public way. We call them presidential candidates. The most profound part of their message is they both want to “change things.”

Again, that is not an uncommon desire. Most of us would like to “change things.” Only if we could.

We tend to think presidential candidates have a greater opportunity to do that – change the world that is - but I don’t think that’s true. In fact, there are NO political solutions which change the world…

But you can.

Ponder that for a moment. How can you change the world? How can I change the world?

It begins with a desire planted in your heart by Jesus Christ – not a political affiliation. Ezra is a great example of this to us.

Here we see a small man in a distant time carving out a huge part of enemy territory FOR God. The reason Ezra was successful where so many others failed is because he prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to teach others.

It does no good to teach others if you have not prepared your heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and it does little good to prepare your heart seek the Law of Lord if you have no desire to teach others. Both things must be in place to be useful to God to change the world. Your world.

Ezra focused on changing his world. He sought to affect a change in the hearts of the men and women he knew personally - his brothers and sisters. He had no idea in doing so what a profound affect he would have on the entire history of the world by preserving the Law of the Lord, one person at a time. Just one.
- Pastor Bill

Do It for Me

Ezra 5:1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

The job was going undone.

The people had faded from the original assignment God had stirred their souls to perform. In chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Ezra, we read of how the Lord had called His people out of Babylon after 70 years of exile. They had left everything behind to follow after their hearts – just as God had called them to do.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they encountered negatives which undid everything God had called for. In the first case, they found piles of destruction and rubble which made it impossible to conceive of ever cleaning up the mess left behind in the destruction of Jerusalem 70 years earlier, and in the second case they found themselves opposed by an unlikely source – those who had supposedly wanted to help them rebuild the temple.

Zerubbabel and Jeshua had wisely rebuffed the efforts of the Samaritans to lend a hand. (We can only suppose what might have happened had they allowed the Samaritans to join in the work.)

Well, it became pretty clear after they were rebuffed. The Samaritans became a thorn in the side of those called to build the House of God, discouraging the people, and even going as far as hiring professional counselors, (see lawyers,) to oppose their building efforts at every turn. We can just imagine those lawyers rearranging the zoning laws and over-turning building permits and so on and so forth. (Sounds very modern, doesn’t it?)

In the face of all the negativity the people simply wore down and wore out. They got as far as completing the foundation of God’s House, and then they simply quit. Too much opposition…For 20 years, the foundation of the Temple rested, waiting.

But is anything too hard for God? We ALWAYS have to remember what we have been told to DO.

The place for prophets of God is with the people, helping them. In this office and in this practice we find both Haggai and Zechariah, amidst the people who had returned to Jerusalem with a job to do for God. In all this opposition, God says, “Remember Me?”
- Pastor Bill

The Resurrection

It has been well-said that unless there is a death, there can be no resurrection.

This applies first and foremost in the life of Jesus Christ. We have recently studied the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of both of those events is of paramount importance to each one of us – as well as to all the people who have ever lived on the face of the earth.

But this also applies in ministry. One of the first things that must take place in a life in ministry is a death. (The death to the flesh of the minister.) Sometimes this may take years. But before a life of ministry can arise, the death of the flesh must take place. There must be death to pride and ambition. Death to striving and seeking. Death to emotional response which obscures truth. Death to attraction to the world. When this death to self has occurred, the Lord Himself brings about a resurrection, and in that resurrection there lives a newness in ministry in which God alone is glorified. God will not share His glory with any man.

In the Book of Ezra we are bearing witness to another resurrection of sorts. The nation of Judah has all but been destroyed for its insolence before God. Jerusalem has been completely destroyed as a city of flesh, ground under for its falling away in idolatry and fleshly practices and abominations. In order for Jerusalem to be raised again, a death had to take place.

For 70 years, the people learned a hard lesson in exile. But now, in the spring season, there is a new life stirring again in the ashes of destruction. God is working. God is arranging. God is doing everything He said He would do. He is resurrecting His people from a tattered remnant.

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

Just as God raised His own Son, He can raise a people - and He will raise you. The Lord is in the business of resurrection. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
- Pastor Bill

The Fire of The Word

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah had a very unpopular ministry in a very difficult time. Jeremiah was a prophet in Judah in the days leading up to and during the exile into Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar.

There were times in his life when Jeremiah felt like packing it all in and giving up his ministry. After all, no one was listening, and not only were they not listening, they were punishing – punishing Jeremiah for the things God was telling Jeremiah to tell the people. And so, Jeremiah resolved to keep quiet, but alas, he could not…Jer 20:7 O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. 8 For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the Lord was made to me A reproach and a derision daily. 9 Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name." But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.

The reason Jeremiah could not hold back the Word of God? It was because it burned in his heart like fire. He could not hold it back.

Cut to 600 years later. Two men walking along the road which travels from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The men are disconsolate. Downcast. Discouraged. They may be escaping Jerusalem in fear of persecution, or in fear of their lives. At the very least, they have left their greatest of all hopes behind – their hope in the Messiah – and are headed sadly back to their ‘normal’ lives. All the faith they had placed in Jesus had not panned out. Jesus was dead.

Suddenly the two men are joined by a fellow traveler, whom they fail to recognize. He asks questions about their sorrow, and what has caused it? The men respond as Jeremiah had responded 600 years before. They had been induced and persuaded by the Lord to believe, and now they were in a position to be mocked for that belief. But then, the stranger declared, Luke 24:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

He ventured into Emmaus with the pair, joining them for supper, and blessing and breaking the bread with them. And then they recognized Him! Luke 24:2 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

The Word of God has always been capable of fanning the smallest embers of faith and trust into a raging fire in the heart.
- Pastor Bill

Cross Wise

Luke 23:26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. 27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.

I received one of those ‘forwarded’ emails this week. (You know the kind: email that has already been sent to hundreds of people - and now is being sent to hundreds more.)

This email was very interesting in what it presented. There was an illustration of a person carrying a large cross, and they were complaining to God about the size and weight of their cross. Each time they complained God complied, and made the cross a little smaller and a little lighter. At the end of their life, this person approached the great divide between God and man, and discovered the tiny cross they now possessed was not long enough to bridge the divide. Only those with large crosses were able to cross over into the presence of God. While this illustration is merely allegorical, it does serve to illustrate what we may understand about the crosses we are to bear in our lives.

Earlier, in another ministry setting, Jesus had declared: Luke 9:23 …"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.

Now here, in this setting on the streets of Jerusalem, Simon, a Cyrenian, is confronted with something altogether different. How about carrying someone else’s cross? As little as we like bearing our own – what about somebody else’s as well? You could say Simon had no choice. You could say he was compelled by a Roman soldier to do so. You could also say God arranged all these circumstances to demonstrate to us what an act of worship looks like from His perspective.

Simon has come to Jerusalem to worship God at Passover, and he finds himself engulfed in this tremendous distraction…his attempt to ‘worship’ diverted by forced compliance to carry someone else’s cross. (Only to find out this is the cross of Christ, and it is indeed the very implement of the redemption of all mankind.) Amazing! Historic! Awesome!

Who knows what you will be called to do while you are on your way to worship?
- Pastor Bill

Bag Men

Luke 22:63 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. 64 And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?" 65 And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Deut 18:15 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

It is hard to imagine any Jewish person thinking or acting in a way which they know to be directly contrary to Moses. Yet here we see the Temple guard acting in exactly that way, with the explicit permission and direction of the leadership of the church.

It is a horrible thing to see when church leadership goes bad. Unfortunately, it is the leaders of the church who are least-well depicted in the Gospels. (They are even depicted as relatively worse than the Roman governors, who were despised by the Jews.)

The question is, how could this happen?

Moses had predicted ‘The True Prophet’ would come. Church leadership knew it. The Jewish people knew it. What are we to expect when ‘The True Prophet’ comes? Joy! Worship! Yet, subservience!

Instead we see them place a bag over Jesus’ head and beat the tar out of Him - as the elders of the church look on approvingly. All the while taunting Him that if He really is ‘The True Prophet’ He should be able to say who it is who is hitting Him. Of all the hurtful things Jesus endured before and during His crucifixion, this may have been among the worst. Imagine God, having a purple robe placed upon His shoulders and a crown of thorns placed roughly on His head - thorns deeply implanted - and then taunted about His office as ‘The True Prophet.’

This suggests they knew exactly what they were doing. This was no accident.

Who would do such a thing? Are these inherently evil men? Are these thugs representative of some mob of local gangsters? No, they are the representatives of the church. They are, in fact, the ‘guardians’ of the church. (Indeed, The Church Guard.)

What does it say about the church when there is no longer a fear of God present within the church? I take this as a stark warning of how men seeking power eventually find themselves directly contending with God. And they willingly lead others into that same contention.
- Pastor Bill

Mother Mary

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

It is hard to imagine the responsibility being placed upon this young teen-aged woman we know as Mary. She has found favor with God, and the ‘favor’ she has found is reflected in the personal ministry of the angel Gabriel. Reassurance. Concern. Provision.

I think back to the day Tina and I found out “we” were pregnant with James. There are a flood of emotions and challenges that overcome you in that moment – coupled with unbridled joy in new life.

But Mary’s situation was very different in a number of ways. In the first place, she was not yet married. Her pregnancy would be a shaming embarrassment in a time when unmarried pregnancy could be punished with death by stoning. At the very least, she would be shunned and made to be a social outcast. In the second place, since she has never ‘known’ a man, she has a great concern over how these things could happen to begin with? How can a woman be impregnated by the Holy Spirit? But yet – how can a woman be found in conversation with the angel Gabriel? All of this is stunning and alarming

These times in the life of Mary – and for the rest of her days for that matter – would be entirely supernatural times. Mary was about to head down a path in which she would be charged with the most important responsibility I could ever imagine. Mary is the one chosen to nurture and raise God’s Only Begotten Son.

If we were to choose an example of motherhood, how could we choose one greater than God Himself has chosen? What do we see in the life of Mary that we might seek to emulate, since what is revealed by her life is well known as being pleasing to God?

I think we may bring it down to one point, above all others: she is willing to allow God’s will to be done through her.

- Pastor Bill