Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? Psalm 139: 7 NKJV
I enjoy driving through the countryside and watching cows, serenely munching on lush green grass. But many years ago, when I worked for a farmer I discovered a little-known fact. Cows are fast! Okay, maybe not as swift as cheetahs, but they can travel just a little faster than a boy chasing them on foot. That reality dawned on me the morning when one made it through a break in the fence. When I first saw her, she was happily chomping on the grass just outside of the pasture. “This should be easy,” I thought. “I’ll just circle around and drive her back into her field.” But as soon as that cow spotted me, she headed in the opposite direction, and no matter how fast I jogged, she ran just a little faster! Eventually, with some help from one of the other workers on horseback, we were able to get her home.
King David didn’t have cows to care for, but he had learned the same lesson from sheep, who like our cow, believed that the best pastures grew outside their own familiar meadow. And our souls, just like cows and sheep, easily wander from the pastures that God has prepared for us. But when David sinned and ran from God’s call, He came to realize, that no matter how far he ran, God would always run a little further. No matter where he tried to hide, God could see him, and no matter how deep a pit he had fallen into, God was still willing to pull him out. If you have been running from God and feel hopelessly lost, don’t despair. All He is asking you to do is turn around. Wherever you are, He is right there with you and if you are willing to follow Him, He will do whatever it takes to bring you home again!
Lifting up His eyes then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” John 6:5 ESV
Last Friday, God changed my notes, and substituted a short message about how Jesus sometimes spent more time asking questions than He did providing answers. In short, Jesus, unlike myself, was NOT a know-it-all. He rarely gave long lectures, and instead, Jesus often asked questions, and then took a breath to listen to the answers. In today’s verse, when the disciples were feeling stressed about how to feed the people, Jesus did not say, “Hey chill out guys. I have a miracle up my sleeve that will knock your socks off!”
Instead, Jesus turned to the closest disciple and more or less asked, “Hey what do you think we should do?” Jesus was not in a hurry to show off His knowledge, and He asked questions, even when He knew the answers. Why would He do that? The next verse tells us that He asked in order to test Philip. Now, there were at least five thousand hungry men, including the disciples, and though Jesus was concerned for their welfare, He was more interested in their hearts than their hunger. Then Jesus asked a second question,
“And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Mark 6:38
Strangely, when Jesus asks us questions, His next step is often to invite us to surrender whatever we have towards the answer. In this story, the disciples had only five loaves and two fish. Yet, despite of the absurdity of that tiny meal, they brought it to Jesus. Then Jesus gave thanks. He was grateful for the loaves and fish that looked insignificant to everyone else. Then, last, and most amazing of all is what happened next. Jesus gave them back everything they had surrendered, but with a blessing! And today, just like then, Jesus asks us questions, He patiently listens to our answers, welcomes what we give Him, and then, with a blessing He gives us back everything we surrender to Him!
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13
Over the years my dad became my best friend, yet when, we met one afternoon at the courthouse, I didn’t even recognize him. Now, it wasn’t that dad had changed all that much, it was just the fact that by that day when I was fifteen years old, I had only met him twice. We were all at that courthouse that day because my mom, and stepdad were working on having me adopted, but the procedures allowed my father an opportunity to respond. I truly had no idea of what was going on or of the dynamics between my parents. While I stood outside with my sister, my mom went in with my stepfather to the judge’s chambers and talked for a long time behind closed doors. While we waited, I did notice this oddly familiar man sitting on a bench across the hall from us, but I truthfully had no idea of who he was or what he was doing there. Finally, my mom came out and they called my name. Except for watching the Perry Mason show, I had never seen a judge, so I nervously entered, wondering if I was going to get into trouble. After the doors closed behind me, the judge invited me to sit down, then he asked a simple question. “Do you like your father?”
“I have no idea.” I answered truthfully. “I don’t know who he is.”
Now, I don’t recall if I was asked anything else, but because of that one brief conversation, my dad was granted visitation rights, and he determinedly began to build a relationship with me.
This being Father’s Day, I’m sure some of you can share about going fishing with your dad, heading out for vacation, or being taught how to ride a bike. With my dad and I, things were different. Dad was just a nice stranger who lived a couple of hours away and wanted to take me out to lunch. I spent most of that first year being introduced to a horde of aunts and uncles who in old-fashioned Italian style, kissed me on both cheeks, and gave me big hugs. Except for my mother, no one had ever hugged me since I was a baby, and I was relieved that my teenaged cousins were a lot less expressive! But strange as my dad and my newly discovered family seemed to me, I loved the fact that I was accepted, not because of anything I had done or what I looked like (though everyone said I looked like dad!). They included me in their lives because we were family. On this Father’s Day, let’s try to remember that God desperately wants us to come to know Him. Though the world stakes its claims on us, because of our sins, the courtroom proceedings aren’t over yet. Our compassionate Heavenly Father sits patiently just outside the judge’s chambers and through the legal authority given Him through the Cross of Calvary is ready to claim us as his child and to take us home to live with Him forever!
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