Good morning!

Have you ever been reading a book or listening to something and the words you are reading or hearing just hit you right between the eyes? And the experience leaves you thinking wow, why did I not see that or understand that before? And all of a sudden you know that your understanding is deeper than it had been before?
 
A few years ago, a couple things that I was involved in overlapped and resulted (at least I hope so) in a deeper understanding of God’s Word.
 
First, one of the things our IT team at FMSC did while I was there, was to have a monthly meeting where we focused on spiritual growth and team building to help us stay on the same page.

For several months we were reading Francis Chan’s book “Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a relentless God”. The month we were preparing to review chapters 5 and 6 is when some things came together for me. This book is convicting and illuminating in so many different ways but three things jumped out at me in chapter 6 at that time, that I want to talk about in this blog post.
 
And these three things overlap what was being covered in Bible Study Fellowship at that time, as we walked through the Gospel of Matthew that year. I saw a few connections.
 
Regarding the first one found In chapter 6 of the book, Francis Chan brings up two pieces of scripture
– Philippians 2:6-11 where Paul talks about how Jesus lowered Himself to the point of being nothing and to the point of dying on the cross for us – He did this for anyone, anyone who would heed God’s call
- Matthew 25:31-43 where Jesus contrasts those on His left and right. The ones who served the least of these and those who did not
 
In one case Jesus models how we treat others as God’s image bearers by lowering ourselves in service to them – sometimes even to the point of dying for them. In the other case, Jesus shares that the Father sees how we treat the least of these and whether we lowered ourselves in our life in service to others seeing them as image bearers or whether we did what we did for others selfishly – to check a box or to look good to others.
 
Connecting this to the study of Matthew in BSF this year, we see two stories of Jesus feeding the crowds – one group of 5000 and one of 4000. (See Matthew 14:15-20 and Matthew 15:32-37). In both cases Jesus calls out his disciples asking them to have the compassion He had for the crowd, to see them as fellow image bearers – telling them that they should feed the crowd.
 
This particular scripture also ties to the two other items I will bring up but for the first thing that hit me between the eyes – so this first thought - clearly how our hearts view others is critical and this question by Francis Chan in chapter 6 left me convicted:
 
“How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ?” Even as I type this I am caught short by God – this is a question I should answer every day with my actions and interactions.
 
I could say so much more here but there were two other things I wanted to share so moving on…so the second item Francis points out is this – “Jesus was forcing His disciples to trust Him.”. We see that clearly above in the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000. We fear something God is calling us out to do is too big for us, so we find it hard to put our feet into motion. When I worked at FMSC, I loved how the focus was on Christ and because of that the executive team lived on the edge financially choosing to not have a lot of buffer but rather to feed more kids.

This is the sort of trust Jesus is looking for – in ministry organizations like FMSC, our church communities but more importantly in our individual lives and in our decisions – listening to Him when as He says in verse 16 of Matthew 14 – “But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” He is telling them to have faith and act to feed the crowd.

Are you willing to trust Jesus that much?
 
Finally, Francis Chan asks this piercing question – “What are you doing right now that requires faith?” This one floored me maybe more than the other two. Jesus often points out the importance of faith. As believers we cannot be passive when it comes to faith – faith leads to fruit, faith is active. In Matthew 13:53-58 we see Jesus return to His birthplace Nazareth. In verse 58 Jesus says “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” We see in the feeding miracles, before the actual multiplication miracle, Jesus is healing many, casting out demons. An amazing number of miracles. What was the difference? Seems to me it was faith. In Nazareth, the level of faith was low – a lot of unbelief. With the crowds, these people believed or at least held out some hope in Jesus and who He might be.
 
Faith. Faith in Christ. If I am not living in a way that requires me to have a deep faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, maybe I am missing out on bearing the kind of fruit God has prepared for me to produce. (Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”)
 
Definitely something to dig deeper into. How do I live an active faith in all that I do?
 
Anything strike you in any of this?
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that we remember to see all others as God’s image bearers, to trust you Lord Jesus and then use the faith this requires to help produce Your fruit in the world we live in today knowing we have an eternal future with You! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Patrick

Good morning!

As I read God's Word, I find myself hearing the Lord as if He is speaking to me. Sometimes these are convicting moments for me, sometimes related to lingering sin and the need to change. And I praise Him for such clarity!

The need for me to step away from prideful living and return to the kind of humility Jesus demonstrated for us (Philippians 2:1-8), is resurfaced by God. And the last few days God pointed it out again. This is so appropriate as God asks us daily to draw near to the Cross, God’s Cross, His solution for bringing us home  (Matthew 16:24).

We need to be humble when we approach the Cross – because we know what Jesus Christ suffered – so that God could, through the power of the Resurrection, allow us to approach Him.
 
This conviction this week has caused me to re-engage God’s Word and look again at what humility looks like from a Jesus perspective (Philippians 2:1-8) – so I love in those moments to turn to the image of Jesus kneeling before each of His apostles to wash their feet – as I imagine this in my mind, I see the love and humility of Christ pouring out into the room, humility on display as we should be humble…read and reflect:

John 13:3-17 - 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.(P) 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” 

Notice the rebuke Peter receives from Jesus in verse 8. Peter is being prideful, thinking he knows what's best. But Jesus responds that we need to receive in humility, to learn the lesson He is teaching, and to learn to give in humble service motivated by our love for Him.

I need to love and serve others humbly and I need to humbly receive as others serve me...including my family, my neighbors those I clash with at times and even my enemies. It is just that simple – I need to live it out in all my relationships.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend you is that we find you speaking to us of how we can live to glorify you through humble, peace and love filled living that looks like you Lord Jesus – a beautiful in expression of perfect love embodied by Your Cross! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

​Planning - even in retirement, I feel the need to look ahead and plan. I am OCD when it comes to having routines - I feel less likely to forget things. One of the times of day I love my routine or have a set plan for is right after i wake up in the morning.

I normally use my time in the morning to reflect, to pray, hopefully to get aligned with Christ. Sometimes, even in the early morning, things happen to take me out of that routine. Sometimes my best laid plans for starting my day are derailed, my perfect routine is fully disrupted. 

Has or does this ever happened to you?

This can be very unsettling. You can look at these “plan / routine interruptions” in a couple of ways. One is to let this kind of unexpected set of events frustrate us, throwing of our whole day – ending up being misaligned with Christ.

Or we can take look to these pieces of scripture below. God shares with us through these pieces of scripture that however our day starts or how it unfolds, whatever we are doing, to do it with our whole heart for God, for Jesus Christ. That sometimes our plans are not God’s plan – that he will establish our steps.

Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
 
Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

It is an opportunity to put Him first. To use the situation as prayer, worship and proper reflection on why we are here doing this work. Because we have been called by Jesus Christ to serve, in love.
 
It is an opportunity to trust God and be obedient to God in what is unfolding and happening in that moment which is unexpected and unsettling.
 
These situations should not be a big deal. Before retirement, they happen for me somewhat often. But when I would think about those I was serving because of the disruption of my routine, about who at that time needed access or something else to do their job, it was really important that I do my work with my whole heart, for our Lord, Jesus Christ and for whoever I was serving. To accept the steps God has established for that moment and that day.

The same is true in retirement - God's purposes and plans supersede my routines, desires for order, my OCD. And that means surrendering my desires for a certain way of doing and planning things to Him, and following the path He has for me. 
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer going into the weekend is that we treat each situation that has the potential to frustrate us as an opportunity to pray, to be obedient, to align with our Savior, Jesus Christ, committing our whole heart to a positive and love filled approach forward, shining His light! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick
​

Good morning!

It seems easy - at least for me - to forget to be grateful for both the blessings and the challenges through which God has shaped my life.

It seems right then, that we align our perspective to one of gratitude. To praise loudly our God for our salvation through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Gratitude, it seems to me, is partly a celebration of the Light we are given as believers. So here are some thoughts about finding and celebrating with gratitude being in the Light of Christ:
 
Light…
 
Have you ever been in a place so dark, that you could not see anything at all? Where you could only hear your breathing and noises around you? Or you could touch surfaces but not see them?
 
Has your life ever been this dark? How did this make you feel?
 
I have been in that dark place where no light was shining – my fear was palatable, it paralyzed my life, it lead to bad decisions, selfish behavior, self-loathing. In those times, I couldn’t believe God loved me or that he created me – in His image - or that he gifted me and had a purpose for me and my life while in this world.
 
And then there came a moment in my life when the Light started leaking in – not because of my effort to seek His Light – but because He loves me and He called me. And then suddenly one day, I felt the full Light of Christ shine into my life, leaving me praising God for all He has done and filling me with gratitude for each moment, each day, each relationship (with each of you and all others) and thankful for the work He calls me to do.
 
Are you seeing the Light of Christ in your daily life?
 
Scripture has a significant number of references to light – not all relate to light and darkness as I am presenting here. However, there is an overwhelming number that point to the fact that being a believer and follower of Christ places us in His Light and removes us from darkness:
 
John 1:3-10 “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.”
John 3:18-20 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
John 8:12 ‘When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’
2 Samuel 22:29 “You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light”
Psalm 4:6 ‘Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us.’
Psalm 13:3-4 ‘Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”’
Psalm 18:28 “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
Psalm 19:8 “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Psalm 27 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (See also Luke 11:33-36)
Luke 8:16-17 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
 
If you get a chance, go back and read the entire book of Acts. It is full of stories of the Light of the World pushing back the darkness. Acts is the story of how the Good News of the gospel, how the Light spread throughout the world and eventually reaching us today.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that when we look up, we see Your Light  in those around us. And that we shine Your Light back to others as we live centered in You, Lord Jesus Christ! That in Your Perfect Light, we have gratitude even in these difficult times we live in. Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick