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The Heavy Lifting
““The Gershonites by family and clan will serve by carrying heavy loads: the curtains of the Sanctuary and the Tent of Meeting; the covering of the Tent and the outer covering of dolphin skins; the screens for the entrance to the Tent; the cords; and all the equipment used in its ministries. The Gershonites have the job of doing the work connected with these things. All their work of lifting and carrying and moving is to be done under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. Assign them specifically what they are to carry. This is the work of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest is to supervise their work.” Numbers 4:24-28 MSG https://www.bible.com/97/num.4.24-28.msg The Gershon family gets the heavy lifting. They carry the important stuff around. They don’t get the glamorous or prestigious bit. But they do get recorded for all history to see right here in God’s Word! Others may think they have it tough - God Himself acknowledges the Gershonites are doing the heavy lifting. So what’s the point for you today? God knows what you are dealing with - right now! He knows when you are going through the tough stuff and he acknowledges it is hard! Maybe there’s something too here - something about how some of us DO have the tougher “ask”. Some people DO get the heavier lifting. There’s no answer why, just the acknowledge meant that it is real, and God does know. So today - you there - whatever you are going through, whether you feel like it’s not far that you get the hard stuff, or if you feel like nobody knows what you have to face - either way, take peace in knowing He sees, He knows, and He has a reason for where you are and what you are having to carry today. Spark.
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Fully Rely on God
Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to rely on God completely? Well, I know what it doesn’t mean – relying on anything else. In math terms, anything other than 100% is defined as not complete. In other words, it puts the question of our coping mechanisms out to pasture. Meaning? No eating our feelings, going on a shopping spree of distraction, drinking until it feels better, giving that person a peace of your mind, watching a little porn to get in the mood, having longer than necessary talks with that coworker because they make you feel wanted, watching that guilty pleasure tv show to escape, actually escaping/running away to another location, exercising manically to make the hurt stop, playing the blame game, smoking down to get calm, being controlling of your kids because you can’t deal with your spouse, pushing your fingers into your eyes – or self-harm of choice, shouting and screaming to get your authority back, putting others down so you can feel good again, drowning out your problems with super loud music, withdrawing and not speaking to anyone, and the list could continue. Yes, I know that there are varying degrees of “coping”, and don’t get on the condemnation train- just because it’s not your particular branddoesn’t change the point. Any time we replace our reliance on God with anything, we are choosing to put road blocks on our own path to Christ. It is our pride shouting, “I know how I can handle this, I’ll just ______ to make it through”. And we all know the pride and fall thing… but a new found visual is that it’s not our pride that we trip over, it is what our pride told us to stick in the road. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Back to those percentages… the point is not that we will evolve to a place that we never see less than 100%, but instead to submit it to God when we don’t. It is unrealistic to suggest that our lives won’t have difficulties outside of our control. Make the decision today to acknowledge when you feel weighed down, doubled-over, or hunched to one side. Don’t pretend you don’t need to lean, but just be clear about on whom you should be leaning! Cry out to God – Abba Father! And in return, Jesus Christ himself will stand guard of your heart and mind with the unexplainable peace of our Lord. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
My dad went through a spell where he was very serious about woodworking. At one point, his hobby had overtaken our garage completely, and resulted in several pieces of furniture that filled our home. One of the few things I saved from my childhood was a wooden barn that he had created for my Breyer horses (or Barbies, depending on the day). The cool thing about the barn, was that as a child, I helped with the design. The idea that since it would be for my purposes and use, it should be created to function and contain in all the ways I wanted. I could imagine that if he wanted to build something awesome, he could have forgone some of my suggestions and tried some design plans of his own. The problem though, would exist that even though it may look cooler, it would not perform authentically as I intended. And so, he stuck to the plan I originated, and he created the play barn that I have passed down to my children. Can you imagine if we were trying to have a discussion with our Lord about building ourselves up for his purpose? Sounds audacious, right? But yet, sometimes that is exactly what we do. “Well God, I know that if X, Y, or Z, happened, it would be a great way to use things to your glory…” – We will “use” God to justify our wants, plans, and attitudes. It happens quite subtly really, any not with any ill-intention. Just the simple thought that since he is making us new, he must be making us new in a way that makes sense. But that’s just it, he is, but in a way that makes sense to him, not us (Is. 55:8-9). Eph.2:22 In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit. Hear what that is saying… not only are you being built for his purpose, but you communally are being built for his Spirit. Meaning that you and all the believers are a “building”, with Christ as the Cornerstone (yes, just like the song 😊). The overarching plans for the individuals make it possible for them to link up and create the whole of the “building”; the unity established in us through Christ. Sometimes those things that don’t seem like they would fit in with what you would choose for yourself are for the greater purpose of building unity for the Holy Spirit’s dwelling. Eph. 2:21, “In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” I love that it says, “grows”. It establishes the visual of more and more being incorporated into the building, and it is getting higher and more functional. I would LOVE to be more functional for our Lord. But these verses seem to indicate that it is best if I don’t put my two-sense in about how to get there. The blocks don’t build themselves into a building, just as we don’t build ourselves up for our God. So, my thought today? Let God be the stonecutter, and builder of his Holy Temple. As for me? I am a member of God’s household, saved by grace and being created anew according to his purpose… and if I get a wonky corner-cut, then Praise God, it is for his glory and the continued building of his Holy Spirit’s dwelling place. Have you ever seen a camel run? It’s pretty funny; they look a hot mess.
https://youtu.be/ZIOBTCBHyAw There was actually an episode of a tv show years ago that it reminded me of – two of the main characters found that they both love to run in Central Park, so they decided to run together. It was a nice idea until they discovered that they both ran very, very differently. One ran with steady breath, and rigid arms timed with her leg movement, and she made a whoosh-whoosh (obnoxiously so) noise every time her feet hit the pavement. The other ran with arms flailing, free-spirit, and jagged steps (quite frightening to the other park-goers who probably thought she was about to attack!). The point in their story, was that they were both embarrassed of the other, but yet didn’t see how off their own styles were. Similar to our own Christian walk (or run)- how often are we concerned with how others are performing their run? Heb. 12:2a Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God… It is so incredibly important that we keep our eyes on our Lord. He knows where he’s going- where we want to go too! We don’t have any place in our faith for distractions- yet the world around us is full of them. Now, back to that camel… Matthew 19:16-24 tells of a rich young ruler who was asking Jesus about eternal life. After Jesus responds to him about selling all his possessions and returning to follow him, starting in verse 22 we read this: That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go. As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God's kingdom? Let me tell you, it's easier to gallop a camel through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter God's kingdom." Now that you’ve seen that camel galloping, do you understandthe picture he is trying to paint? We, in our own humanity trying to earn our way with God, are even on our best day, simply all over the place. And, did you hear what the girl said to the camel at the end of the video? “That was too scary, I didn’t want to get anywhere near you” … hmm. Something to think about if we are trying to reach others for Christ. The rescue for us, comes in the next verse after the disciples asked, “what chance do any of us have?”: Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it." (Matt. 19:26) Consider for a second, if rich doesn’t mean moneyed, but plentiful. “He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go” … what are you holding on to, that breaks your heart to let it go? The phrase “give up the ghost” comes to mind, a bit un-context, but if all the things of this world are going to pass away, then free up your hands, grab tightly to God! He will never disappoint. And besides, who wants to run like a camel anyways? I absolutely love Super Nintendo. I love my Mario All-Stars, (the original) Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Inspector Gadget(tiny Gadgets come out of his hat!), and Top Gear. Heck, I even loved Mario Paint, although I never owned that one. My friend,however, did own it, along with several other games that I thought were just too cool. Her dad worked for IBM and then Sprint, and let me tell you, she was ahead of the game on everything – it was the early Nineties, after all. She and I remained friend for several years, even after both of us moved to different states. We would take turns in the summer spending one week at my house, then one week at hers. Some of my best memories (of the gaming variety) were watching her and her brother play Metroid and Mario for hours on end in their basement. I recall when Mario Kart came out, and I got a cartridge (yup, cartridge) of my own. I was so excited, but it was Just. So. Hard. I could not get past any of the circuit races, even the slow ones. What was I doing wrong? This was supposed to be awesome! But it wasn’t.
That year, as summertime came around, I was not as enthusiastic for my visit to Atlanta. My friend knew that I had received the game, and we had been exchanging phone calls about how great it would be to play it together. Now I would have to admit, or worse, demonstrate, that I …well, sucked. I just wasn’t any good at it. Sometimes we feel like this in our Christian walk. Once we begin to walk in the Grace of our Lord, we are excited. This is gonna be awesome! But then, it isn’t. We fall to old behavior patterns, have outbursts of anger, jealous fits toward strangers (or friends), say bad words in traffic, don’t forgive family, and harbor bad feelings for others (hello politics). It doesn’t mean that we aren’t trying, wanting to get it right… but it is Just. So. Hard. Thank God for our God! He already knows us, inside and out, and Jesus addressed this exact issue in Matthew. Matt. 11:28-30 (MSG) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” What a promise! My favorite is the wording, “unforcedrhythms of grace”. I don’t know about you, but so often I find the grace that I extend others to be very forced. Definitely not something that sounds and feels rhythmic. Hmm. BUT, the promise he gives is this: the more we walk with him, work with him, and watch how he does it, the more unforced and rhythmic it becomes. This is not to be confused with easy… after all the metaphor still includes us “yoked” and “working”, but alongsideChrist, and certainly not towing the line of our Faith. Once I got to my friend’s house, we decided that the first night we would stay up all hours playing SNES. But instead of being disappointed that I wasn’t up to snuff, she just offered to let me watch what she was doing. She talked about what choices she made and why, and let me see the controller as she played. By the end of that week, I had beat her brother at the Flower Cup (which is like silver). It became what I imagined it to be; I was playing more fluid and purposefully. I did not lose control at every turn. And then, the joy of it all returned. This morning my daughter was working on one of her activity books, and from across the room she announces, “now we just need to tape it to the door”. My response was one of confusion, followed by declaration of how we can’t go taping things to our doors, we are in a rental, might remove paint, etc. I sensed some minor (understatement) disappointment, so I said, “well, let me see”. She appeared beside me with a bunny face that she had colored and cut out of the pages, and sure enough, right between his little ears was a square that said, “tape here”. Then I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why they wanted the front taped to the door, and how you would still get to see the bunny that was colored in if it was flipped over and taped. My next statement was this: “Let me see the book, I need a little context.”
It struck me later that this is very similar to our behavior sometimes when we hear a prompting from the Holy Spirit. Often it doesn’t make sense, we don’t understand why, and it seems like an inconvenient request. Jn 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. This is Jesus talking, explaining about his departure and the Holy Spirit the disciples will receive. This verse comes just before he says, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don't let your heart be troubled or fearful.” (Jn 14:27) Why? Because the disciples were in the habit of getting their context and explanation from Jesus. If he’s gone, who will explain it all to them? They didn’t want to mess it up, and they were unsettled about the weight of figuring it out all on their own, not to mention trying to lead others in explanation. What a comfort he left them with… and us! They will not be alone, and they have someone who will call to mind all that he said and taught. Not just that but will also give context so as to bring the full glory to God. They walked with Jesus, so those are the conversations and experiences that the Spirit called to mind. We walk with Jesus too, yet it is important that we read our bible to know what he said and is still saying to us today. Sometimes the context doesn’t come until later, but in perfect timing completing something we were told (or read) at an earlier time. John 2:22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. John 12:16 At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him. It is a cycle, bringing us back to God’s word, bringing him glory, and encouraging our faith. So today, read his Word, trust his Spirit, and look and pray for context for your actions. It will bring encouragement to believers and Glory to our Lord! And about that bunny? Turns out it was a doorknocker to be taped to the front of the door on a page following the one she cut it out of… glad I didn’t just tape it to my front door. When we read the Bible, we have the benefit of seeing the big picture: we see the story from beginning to end. Take the account John gives us about Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding – we know there wasn’t wine, then there was. But as we receive encouragement from seeing over and over again how God comes through, it is important that we take note that in our own lives we are limited to only our current perspective. Now take a minute to think about the wedding story again, but from the angle of the servants carrying the water. Jesus’s mother said to the servants “do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5), and they did. They had no idea he was going to perform a miracle- he did not discuss or plot out his end game. They knew the wine was gone, and here this man is telling them to go with giant jugs to collect water. And they did. I wonder what they were thinking on their walk to go get the water? Were they chatting to each other on the way back? Reality is that they couldn’t just run into the kitchen and get some from the tap, so they undoubtedly had some time to “walk” in their obedience. When they had gathered the water jars (which by the way were thought to be used for washing the dishes or the guest’s hands… think about that!), about 20-30 gallons each, the bible is pretty clear about the fact that it was still just water in there. In other words, Jesus didn’t do a big whammy-kazzamy style performance to assure the servants that a change was taking place, he told them to draw some out and take it to the headwaiter. And they did. The mention of the water becoming wine is made at this point, when the headwaiter tasted it. The servants never taste-tested the water, they never saw it change, they were never told that it would change, they just obeyed. Is this the type of obedience that you walk with, following instruction with out full understanding, but knowledge and belief in the end result? I’m sure that the solution did not look like what the servants thought, or would prefer. Do you “suggest” solutions to God, or do you bring your concern to him and walk in obedience? The interesting (and very encouraging) point to mention is what typeof concern this was. The first miracle recorded that Jesus performs was to save a family’s reputation. Let that sink in. How often are we stingy with our problems, unwilling or embarrassed to bring them to our Lord? Peter tells us to literally throw them to our savior… he cares!
1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. Trust that God will take care of it, and let him! Whether you see something happening or not. Whether there’s lots of walkinginvolved or not. Whether it looks like a solution or not. Remember that our perspective is that of the servant’s, but make no mistake, he is working it out. Key point, HE’S working it out, not YOU. Your job is obedience. ““If you have two coats, give one away,” he said. “Do the same with your food.” Tax men also came to be baptized and said, “Teacher, what should we do?” He told them, “No more extortion—collect only what is required by law.” Soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He told them, “No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content with your rations.”” Luke 3:11-14 MSG http://bible.com/97/luk.3.11-14.msg John was the forerunner of Jesus, and his hearers clearly knew his message wasn’t just about intellectual assent but also practical action. Just like these people, I heard the prophetic message and the immediately asked “what do I need to do?”, so also I should always hear God’s word and be sure to follow through with practical steps. Lord what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do now? What do you want me to do and how? Father, help me constantly find that balance between believing in the natural outworking of my faith to action as opposed to performance Christianity which says I have to do in order to be accepted and loved. Show me today what to do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 2 Cor 6:1-2
Working together with him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.” For he says: At an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation! Have you ever gotten a gift that you just didn’t feel like you could accept? Perhaps the giver was someone who you knew would hold the “good gift” over your head and remind you or expect something from you in the future. Sometimes you get a gift valued much higher than your offering to them. Or worse, they gave you something nice, and you didn’t get them anything… couldn’t afford to, completely forgot about them, or frankly don’t like them and thought they felt the same about you. Think of God’s gift of salvation… some of those same thoughts might apply, and sometimes they leave us insecure or unwilling to fully accept our new standing with him. The Bible talks a lot about God’s grace, and the action of receiving it. It is stressed that we are a “new creation”, that the “old has passed away” - we are now “children of God”, and on our way to receive his “full inheritance” as such. When Luke 18:17 (or Matt. 18:3) talks about the kingdom of God, Jesus tells us about becoming “like a child” … “I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." So, what does that mean? Well, today, for me, it means this: If I am to put on my “robe of righteousness” and accept/claim my inheritance that Jesus died to pay for, I am going to have to take off my “filthy rags” and decide they are no longer mine. Literally, Hester Prynne style, throw down my Scarlet Letter (or letters, the devil loves to shame us), and no matter how much I feel like the Robe is undeserved sometimes, never pick up my old garment and put them on again. You see, we can’t wear both. Think of how stupid we look, trying to pin our old letters on top of Christ’s robe, as we go out as ambassadors for him. My current problem? I can’t seem to let go of those letters. And there are lots of people (and some family) that really don’t appreciate me dropping them and keep trying to hand them back to me. But my epiphany this morning, came in the form of a movie line that really represented what the above verses were talking about. Now it’s been a minute since I’ve seen it, so I am slightly paraphrasing, but still. How come you never told me you lost Ben? - Stepmom You know why. - Ben’s Mother Well, Ben didn’t say anything. – Stepmom He doesn’t remember getting lost, he just remembers that I found him. – Ben’s Mother Today, find you freedom from those letters. You have been found, and that’s what really matters. Yum… Tis the season for cooking, baking, and candy-making! It is fun to try a new recipe, or taste something that longs to become your new holiday favorite. However, if you have ever tried cooking something new, or cooking anything at all really, a crucial step is to tasteit before you serveit. Sometimes you got a bit more tomato paste in your sauce, and maybe need more herbs. Perhaps you had some bitter basil, and now need some more sugar to balance out. There is always the opportunity to correct before serving, because after all, it is about the serving and those who are eating your creation.
So it is with our faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can't you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you--unless you actually fail the test? We are called to test ourselves, examine our faith, and to “work out our own salvation, with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). It is important to note two things here before moving to the point: 1.We are not called to work out someone else’s by causing them to fear (or “shaking some sense into them”). 2.This is with the assumption that we are accepting the terms (God’s Word is true, Salvation comes through Jesus, etc.) …NOTthe same as arguing the terms of the transaction of our Salvation If our call is to love God, and love people as he did, shouldn’t we make sure we know what we are serving up? Can you imagine if you put everything into the pot, never stirred, never tasted, never time checked, and then blamed the failure of taste on the recipe, or even on those who were eating your dish? Sounds absurd, right? Well, examine yourself. Take a taste of what is in that pot, and make sure it lines up with what you are trying to serve. Don’t be scared to even lift the lid because you may have questions. In fact, the whole point is that you will. And we are told to take those to our Father, and through reading his Word, and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit, taste it, test it, and get direction of where to go from there. Advice for this holiday season? Look up, to know what you should serve up. Cheesy but true, but just make sure you have tasted it first. 😊 |
what is "spark"?Its a small thing - like the flash on a spark plug that hopefully ignites something bigger to propel you forward. Archives
August 2019
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