The LORD God is a Good Shepherd - A Meditation in Psalm 23

Who you think God is, is the most important question you can answer. Framing up the character of God and how he relates to you is the most important thing you can resolve in your thinking. Unfortunately, scripture can be used to paint all sorts of narratives about God, but at his core, God is a loving father who chooses to define himself as a good shepherd, a shepherd who is kind to his sheep and leads them peacefully to green nourishing fields.

Psalm 23 NLT Pause and think about each point as you read through this Psalm

1. The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

2. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

5. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

6. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

A shepherd walks among his sheep; sometimes he walks behind them, sometimes in front of them and sometimes in the middle of them. The shepherd makes sure the sheep have all that they need.

He is the shepherd, you are his sheep. God lets you rest in him while he meets your needs. He leads you down healthy, productive paths in life and is glorified as you experience his promises in your life. His promises are an invitation into his divine nature. His divine nature in you is a source of life that strengthens and restores you.

Even when you mess up of face loss in this world, God is right there with you. God may even lift you up and carry you through tragedy when you can't find the strength for another step. He will not leave you for dead, he will not abandon you. All the while, he is leading you to that place of blessing, that place of nourishing green grass.

God places his spirit in you to guard your heart and help you renew your mind so those pesky lies that buzz around your head don't settle in your thinking and take root to destroy your life. He pours his spirit over you from within you heal the wounds that you've received from walking through this dark world. He oils you up with his spirit so the attacks of the enemy slide off and bring no harm to you. While he's protecting you he daily loads you with benefits and fills up your life with his blessings.

You can rest assured, knowing for a fact, that God's intentions toward you and his plans for you are kind and merciful. God walks with you moment by moment just because he wants to be with you, God wants you to live with him forever. The LORD your God is actually pursuing you so he can shed abroad his love in your heart and kindle his grace within you to bring about his character within you. He sees you as a precious child and is only seeking to lead you to a place where he can meet your needs, be kind to you and enjoy your company.

The LORD your God is a good shepherd and he can be trusted!

AMEN!!!

Hold A Vision of God's Word in Your Heart

Carnal thinking: I am depressed
Spiritual thinking: The joy of the Lord is my strength
It's really that simple...or is it? 

Knowing the truth is simple but applying it takes wisdom. We know that carnal thinking leads to death and spiritual thinking leads to life and peace (Romans 8:6). The question that should leave you with is this; how do I think spiritually and how does it produce life and peace?

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Carnal mindedness isn't necessarily depraved, sinful thinking, carnal thinking in its most basic form just leaves God out. Carnal thinking reasons based on what seems logical according to the way of the world. Spiritual thinking reasons based on God's ways and the fact that God can make a way where there is no way.

Carnal thinking is influenced by what it can see, spiritual thinking realizes there's an unseen element that can change things. Spiritual thinking realizes that with God, all things are possible.

If you are facing a challenge and don't see how God can do anything about it, you're limited to what makes sense carnally and you simply need to repent, change the way you think.

This article is more than an exercise in defining carnal and spiritual thinking, it's an exercise in wisdom, taking the next step to apply the truth.

I have a question for you, do you really believe that spiritual thinking is life and peace? How is it life and peace? Why is it life and peace? When exactly does spiritual thinking become life and peace? Is there something magic about spiritual thoughts that makes things happen?

To answer those questions you have to understand the nature of influence and the concept of seedtime and harvest. Over and over Jesus instructs us to hold his word in our hearts. He teaches that holding his words in our hearts will bear fruit. That fruit is the very thing that God expects from his children, in fact, it's the only way to actually bear the kind of fruit he expects. But the question remains, how does holding his word in our hearts and spiritual thinking produce life and peace?

Here's the answer...it transforms you. That's it. As you think about what's true and get a vision for it in your heart, it grows into your life. As you begin to think like Jesus thinks, you will live like Jesus lives. It's really that simple. It's so simple that we think it's too simple and we just don't do it. Or we think about his words in terms of laws and we become focused on our lack of holy living and boil the whole process down to performance-based religion.

Spiritual thinking works because it changes us. As we change, our choices and actions change. As our choices and actions change, our lives change. 

I wish I had something more mystical or profound to tell you but it's just really that simple. Thinking like Jesus thinks brings about the changes we want to see in our lives. It shapes us to follow him into the good plans he has for us and the abundant life we can experience.

Try this...

• Think of an area in your life where you're frustrated and it seems like prayers aren't being answered. Maybe you're depressed, your marriage is in trouble, your grandson is on drugs, your job doesn't pay enough, a loved one is sick, etc...

• Now think about how that makes you feel when you pray about it. Does it seem like it's impossible to change the situation?

• Now ask yourself this, can Jesus change this?

• Look in the Gospels and see if you can find a place in Jesus' life that relates to your situation.

• Now see Jesus facing your situation as he faced it when he walked the earth. See it to the degree that it begins to feel possible that something can be done about what you're facing.

There's nothing magic about meditation or visualization, it just makes God's promises and intervention seem like a possible option. Getting a vision of God's intervention in your life, based on the track record of Jesus, makes his promises believable. I pray that you engage the process to the degree that God's faithfulness to his word and his promises in his word not only seem possible to you but they begin to be more real and true to you than the thing you're facing.

You can trust God, he is faithfiul and he will show himself faithful to you! God keeps his promises!

Who Is Jesus and What Did He Do?

WHO IS JESUS?

Think of a few words to describe Jesus…  What are those words?

Now think of a few words to describe Christians…  What are those words? I'm betting those words are not as favorable as your words are for Jesus?

The point is we often have a different view of the people who follow Jesus than the man himself. I’d like to take a few moments of your time to give you some good news, good news about Jesus. Just because his followers often do not live the way he did doesn’t take away from who he is. Most people know he worked miracles, performed healings, taught his followers to love people and died on a cross but how much do you know about what happened on that cross? And one more question, do you know what it means for you?

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

Did you know there were over 300 prophecies about his birth ranging from 3500 years to 50 years before his birth? If just 8 of those prophecies came true it would be statistically impossible; 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. The odds of all 300 prophecies coming true about him would be impossible to calculate.

There is actually more written about Jesus by his contemporaries than Alexander the Great. The earliest writing of Jesus was within 5 years of his death. The earliest writing of Alexander was 400 years after his death. Though people do not question the existence of Alexander, they do question the existence of Jesus. It’s not because of the lack of evidence, it’s because of who he claimed to be.

THE LIFE OF JESUS

Who is Jesus and why did he come here?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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. ~ John 1:1, 14

Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh. The book of John was originally written in Aramaic and translated into Greek, which is the earliest version we have to date. The Greek word for “word” is logos, i.e. in the beginning was the logos. The word logos is where we get our word “logic.” Logos refers to the integrity behind the words, the logic behind the words and all of the intention of the speaker of those words. As the old-timers used to say, you’re only as good as your word. Our word once meant something. This is the idea of “logos.”

The logos of God, the character of God, the way God thinks and does things…became a human being.

The Son is the exact representation of the invisible God. ~ Colossians 1:15

In John 14 Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” Meaning that he talks like God, treats people like God would and lives like God if he were human. To fully understand God we must look at Jesus. He is God’s idea of what it looks like to be human. 

WHY DID GOD BECOME HUMAN?

In Genesis 1:26 God gave mankind dominion (rule, authority) over all the earth. Humans are responsible for this earth and what happens in it. The world is in the condition it’s in because of what mankind has done, not what God is doing. God’s creation was perfect. Humans were even perfect in the beginning. We introduced sin into this world by thinking that we could be our own gods. This led to lying, deceit and even murder.  

Introducing sin in a sense broke the system. Since humans have dominion, a human had to correct it. But because all of mankind had been “infected” with sin, God himself become human, to “fix” the system. He became human in every way to legally qualify to operate in this dimension. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that God became like we are in every way but he never sinned.

The goal of this plan was to redeem humankind back to himself spiritually. No human could be good enough to earn righteousness and eternal life on their own. God came here himself, as a human, to ensure the job would be completed and every human would have the option of receiving forgiveness and eternal life.

God’s motivation is love. Love for every human that has ever lived or ever will live. God is not willing that we pass into eternity without him because he loves us beyond our comprehension.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ~ John 3:16-17

JESUS WAS A PERFECT SACRIFICE

Now that God had emptied himself of his divinity to become human, he had to live a perfect life without sin. He didn’t do this and then turn around and ask us to be perfect, he was perfect for us. He also remained perfect so he could be the sacrifice for all sin. Under the old covenant, the Jews would bring a sin offering, usually a bird or a goat. The priest would examine the sacrifice to see if it was perfect enough to qualify for that person’s sacrifice. If the sacrifice was good enough, the person would be forgiven after the blood of the sacrifice was shed. Those sacrifices were temporary under the old covenant. Under the new covenant, Jesus is a good enough sacrifice to remove your sin forever and make you right before God since you could never be good enough for eternal life on your own. 

THE CROSS

After Jesus lived a sinless life, having shown us what God is really like, he went to the cross on behalf of all mankind. The purpose of the cross was to receive the spiritual death and punishment for mankind’s sinful nature and sinful actions.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

This is perhaps the most important aspect to understand about the cross. After qualifying him to be the perfect sacrifice, God changed Jesus’ nature from perfect and holy to our nature, sin and shame. Jesus didn’t just carry our sins, he literally became our sin nature and took the punishment for our sins. In this process, God poured out all anger and penalty toward sin on Jesus. All of God’s wrath and anger was poured into Jesus until it was exhausted. This is called propitiation.

This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:10

God did this because he loves you! He knew you could not be good enough on your own to earn salvation so he came here himself to make it possible for you to accept it as a free gift through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

In him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. ~ Ephesians 1:7

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to be sacrificed and why all the focus on his blood? Sacrifice seems so barbaric if misunderstood. God did not need to kill someone because he was angry at humans. Jesus does not save us from an angry God. The sacrifice of Christ was necessary to exchange human life for eternal life.

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. ~ Leviticus 17:11

Because the life is in the blood, Jesus had to shed his blood (life) as a human so he could exchange it for eternal life. Jesus was a representation of all mankind in his death just like the Old Covenant sacrifice. Jesus exchanged his perfect, spiritual, eternal life (blood) for human life (blood) so he could give us his life. Sacrifice and propitiation are best understood as an exchange, not an appeasement of an angry God. God's wrath and anger toward sin was poured out on and exhausted in Jesus but that is only a portion of what the cross is all about. The cross is the place where our sin is forgiven and we’re given the invitation to receive eternal life.

JESUS OUR SUBSTITUTE

Jesus was the substitute for many things in his life, death, burial and resurrection. He was forsaken by God so we would never have to be. Jesus received the punishment for sin because we are not able to. He took our sickness and disease so we could have abundant life. He passed into the grave to face death so he could conquer it for us. Believers will not taste death, we will pass through death into life with God forever. In the grave, Jesus faced eternity apart from God yet remained faithful. Let’s look a little deeper at the period of time Jesus was in the grave.

THE DEATH OF JESUS

Once the sacrifice of Jesus was complete, he died and passed into a place called Hades. This is not the Lake of Fire we see at the time of the final judgment, it’s the place where the unrighteous go after death to await the final judgment. He went there because he died the death that you deserve so he could give you his eternal life if you’ll receive him.

While in the grave Jesus remained faithful toward God. God had promised Jesus that all his enemies would be conquered and he would rule and reign from his right hand forever. Jesus never gave up on that promise. It must have been very difficult for Jesus to live a sinless life but imagine how difficult it must have been to still believe you’re the Messiah and you’ll deliver all those who believe in you while you’re dead.

At some point, his faith gained that eternal righteousness promised to him. He then turned from the suffering Messiah into the conquering king. He won the battle over death, hell and the grave. He also stripped satan and all demons of any and all power over humankind. You don’t have to be afraid of or fight the devil because Jesus has already won that victory for you. 

Colossians tells us Jesus made a show of him openly. This is an old phrase referring to the time kings would drag another defeated king through the streets of their village to show all the people this king had no more power, he had been defeated.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Jesus then rose from the grave to ascend back to Heaven. A very interesting thing happened when he went back into Heaven immediately after his resurrection.

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ~ Hebrews 9:12

Jesus took his perfect, sinless human blood into Heaven where God dwells to exchange human life for eternal spiritual life for all those who would approach God through Jesus.

He presented his own life (blood) as an eternal offering for righteousness. This blood is available to cleanse and make righteous anyone who will receive Jesus as their ‘righteousness’ or ‘right standing’ before God. You can’t ‘get right’ with God on your own so Jesus lived perfectly, died and rose again so you could be right with God.

Once you believe in him, then his lifeblood, his eternal life, cleanses (sanctifies) you and makes you holy. When you say yes to him he washes you clean and removes your sin from you.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- ~ Colossians 1:22

It’s like Jesus takes you in his arms and walks you into the presence of God and says, I’ve made them holy, they have received me and now I am one with them. At this moment you are forever hidden with Christ in God. The old you dies, never to return. Your sin is removed from you and your spirit is made one with God. You become the dwelling place of God.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

JESUS MAKES US PERFECT

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. ~ Hebrews 10:10, 14

Once you say yes to Jesus, from then on you are as perfect before God as Jesus is because God now sees his spirit in you. God doesn’t relate to you based on your behavior.

God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:16b-17

When God looks at a believer he sees what Jesus did for him.

A NEW HEART

As if this news wasn’t good enough, God also gives you a new heart. The heart is where you believe things. You could say the heart is the real you. Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. And, out of your heart flow all the boundaries of life.

This new heart you receive once you’re born again knows how to follow God. It knows how to hear God’s guidance. This new heart has encoded within it the best way to live in this earth for righteousness, peace and joy.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ~ Ezekiel 36:26

PROMISES

For the rest of your life, God is determined to bless you and establish his promises in your life. He loves you so much and wants the best for you. Jesus came to give you an abundant life.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:20

SAY YES TO JESUS

Would you like to receive eternal life through what Jesus did for you? You don’t have to convince God how sorry you are for your sins, just acknowledge that you know you’re not good enough in your own strength to be right with God. True repentance is acknowledging you need a savior. Whoever calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved, there’s no formula, there’s no magic prayer, it is simply a decision you make in your heart.

The important thing is that you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and rose from the grave. If you believe that, say something like this to Jesus: “Thank you for exchanging places with me. Thank you Jesus for making me righteous through your sacrifice. Thank you for giving me your spiritual, eternal life. I open my heart to receive everything you have for me. I want to be transformed by you. Thank you for the gift of eternal life.”

If you prayed something like that please let someone know. You can call or email us if you like. 770-828-5826 info@forward.church

NOW WHAT?

Begin reading the Book of John in the Bible. Read the rest of the New Testament once you’ve read John. Use it to renew your mind about who you now are in Jesus. Always remember that you are righteous because you are in Jesus. You did not earn it by works, you can not ‘un-earn’ it by works. Never forget that God loves you. He’s for you and he has good plans for you

Water baptism is an outward, public expression of what happened in your spirit. It’s a point of reference to identify with dying with Christ and being raised with him. Find another believer or church and ask them to baptize you.

Find a church where the people are accepting and the messages are focused on Jesus. You can call us to help you find a church in your area. You can also listen to free messages at www.forwardministries.org.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10

Contact us if we can help you in any way.

Forward Ministries
info@forward.church 
770-828-5826

The Science Behind Spiritual Thinking and How the Words of Jesus Can Abide In You

Discipleship is the point of organized church. Of course, The Church (proper) is people, but organized church is for building people up in their identity in Christ and equipping for the work of the ministry. "The work of the ministry" being multi-faceted and highly creative in terms of expression. In other words, ministry can be nearly almost anything as long as it ultimately points people to faith in Jesus. And you know what I mean by "anything."

A MASSIVE element of discipleship is self-discipleship, or self-discipline. If we can become masters of self-discipline, The Church would become much more mature, healthy and effective, no question. I think that's possible. The more The Church identifies with Christ, the more we will live accordingly. The problem is that we have too much water under the bridge of our previous life (before Christ) that the hard wiring of our brains hasn't full transformed like our spirit has.

I want to address 2 passages and a scientific point relating to discipleship:

1. Allowing the words of Jesus to abide in us - John 15:1-8

2. Spiritual thinking - Romans 8:5-10

3. How the brain recalls memory

Jesus is speaking of discipleship when he talks about fruit bearing. His followers / students / disciples should bear fruit. If they don't, he lifts them us. By the way, the actual definition of "takes away" in John 15:2 is "to lift up." The picture is a gardener lifting up and supporting a weak branch so it becomes strong enough to bear fruit. He says, "apart from me you cannot bear fruit." Jesus instructs his disciples to "allow his words to abide in them." It's really another to address the idea of his power being perfected in our weakness.

Then, in Romans 8 we see that spiritual thinking, or a mind governed by the spirit, will yield life and peace, whereas carnal thinking will produce death, pretty simple. That's the two passages, I'll address the scientific in a moment. First, a little more on Romans 8.

What is spiritual thinking and what is carnal thinking?

SPIRITUAL THINKING

1. Allowing the words of Jesus to abide in you until fruit is produced

2. Thinking that agrees with what God says is true

3. Bringing thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ

4. Setting your mind on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father

5. Whatever is true, lovely, of good report, noble, just, honest, has praise or virtue

CARNAL THINKING

1. Did God really say...

2. I see it in the Bible but why don't I see it in my life

3. I don't understand what God is doing

4. Why won't God just do it

The bottom line is this, spiritual thinking looks at who God is and what he says is possible and holds on to it no matter what, even if it looks impossible. Carnal thinking looks at life and then looks at the promises of God and gets confused. The promises and ways of God seem confusing or impossible to the cranal mind.

The spiritual mind looks at the circumstances of this life and says, "I don't care what it looks like, God said this _________________."

That's what Sarah and Abraham did. When she was too old and he was "as good as dead," they gave birth to a son that would bring about the lineage of the Messiah. When God tested Abraham's heart to see if he could be trusted, Abraham said, "I don't care if God has to raise Isaac from the dead, through him the whole world will be blessed."

Spiritual mindedness simply believes God's promises over physical circumstances.

I'm not talking about how much faith that individual has, I'm talking about how convinced a person is that God is faithful. The spiritually minded person is more convinced that God can be trusted. That's the difference.

Neuroplasticity and the Recollection of Memories

Take the definition of spiritual mindedness and apply that to how the brain recalls memories. Your brain stores memories in neurons. Those neural pathways also store emotional data with the actual event. The brain secretes neurochemicals for emotion when it's recalling data from specific events. Meaning, when you remember something, you don't just recall the images or memories, you also recall the emotions you experienced during the event. You also remember how you felt about yourself in that moment.

In addition to that, every time you recall a memory, not only do you expoerience the old emotions, you experience new ones, which subsequently also get stored with that memory. You may recall an event over and over again, over a period of years and become more and more angry or guilt-ridden each time your recall that memory. Before too long, the emotions you feel about that memory begin to shape how you see yourself even more than the actual event. The problem is that you may not actually be remembering the facts of the event, you're also recalling the judgments and destructive emotions you mixed in the last time you recalled the memory.

This is how you overcome the pain of the past but this is also how you reinforce it. 

Now, let's join that bit of brain science with the concept of spiritual thinking. When you recall an event, you have to also mix in the current truth of who you are in Christ. For example, if you remember a particular failure that causes you to feel defeated, you have a choice; you can allow that feeling of defeat to rule in your thinking and most likely end up repeating the behavior, or you can intentionally mix in a current truth about who you are in Christ, with a promise God has for you in that area, and override the negative association that's stored with that memory.

If you successfully traverse that situation, you have successfully repented and replaced old destrustive, carnal thought patterns with new, in Christ reality truths (he who knew no sin became sin so I would become righteous), which will bear fruit. These newly stored/believed truths will begin to shape that part of your brain and subsequently that part of your life each time you think about it through the filter of your New Creation identity. The words of Christ will have borne fruit.

For example, if someone feels guilty for getting drunk, watching porn or screaming at his child, when he remembers the last time the did it, he can choose to think of himself in terms of his identity in Christ and break the power of the guilt. Of course there is remorse and humiliation assocoated with failure but if the shame and guilt are the only things remembered, the behavior will continue. If those memories are interrupted with the hope of behaving a different way, it becomes easier and untimately more natural to choose the godly option next time the opportunity arises.

The overarching point being this, choose life in your mind. When you start thinking about the past, distant or recent, be careful because you may be reinforcing the negative patterns and end up repeating the carnal cycle which leads to death. Mix in some spiritual thinking. Mix in some life thinking. Mix in some "in Christ" thinking. Put on the new man, don't just beat yourself up for the past, decide that you'll override the destructive programming and disciple yourself into victory.

This is the power of the logic, character and integrity of the word of God in your heart. When you behold it, over and above your failures, doubts and fears, it not only gives you emotional peace, it also changes the biochemistry of your body. It reorganizes the electrical patterns of your brain and rebuilds your physical body to reflect your spiritual reality. When is unseen becomes seen, as you behold him and allows his words to abide in you.

Have Faith in God and Hope in His Promise

YOU CAN CONFIDENTLY EXPECT GOD TO BE GOD FOR YOU

Eternal life is the promise from God that we are saved from sin, death and separation from him. We can have hope in the promise because the one who made the promise is able to keep that promise.

This is the crux of Christianity, we can trust the one who has made us promises. Problems arise when you don't know what he's promised. Debates arise over what he actually has promised.

We know for sure that God has promised eternal life to all those who come to him in the name of Jesus Christ, by grace through faith. So we can rest assured that we can hope for (confidently expect) to live with God, in God, for all eternity in a perfect place, the restored Eden, Heaven.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ETERNAL LIFE?

How many can you think of? No more pain, sickness or disease, for starters. How about no more lack, no more achy knees, no more confusion or depression. No more arguments about whose doctrine is right. No more war. No more injustice, false accusations or imprisonment.

Those are just the freedom from negatives, what about the capacity to see God face to face, hear the angels sing all day and chat with Jesus one on one by the River of Life. Wow! Any more like that? It's fun to imagine all the things eternal life holds for us. 

I recently challenged my church to make a list of all the benefits of eternal life they can imagine, you may enjoy that exercise as well.

WHEN DO THE BENEFITS OF ETERNAL LIFE BEGIN?

Well some of them obviously don't begin until we die or the Resurrection takes place, but is it possible that some of them are available now? Do we have the right to expect any of the benefits of the hope of the Gospel now? Scripturally, the benefits of the promise of eternal life are the promises that God has made to those who are in Christ.

Here's a few of them

• He will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory

• He has delivered you from the power of darkness and translated you into the kingdom of Jesus

• He who knew no sin was made to be sin so you could be righteous

• He has placed his spirit in you

• He has given you a new heart

• He has made you great and precious promises so you'd be a partaker of his divine nature

• There is no condemnation for you

• The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is giving life to your physical body

I could go on for a very long time. When I say those things, I am not just quoting scripture. These are promises from God that I take personally. These are promises from him to me because I'm in him and I believe that he will and has kept those promises.

We can have hope (confidently expect) God's promises to be available for us when we need them because we have faith (persuaded) that God has made and will keep those promises.

These are not just promises for the well deserving, they are covenantal promises that are secured for us by the faithfulness of Jesus. Covenantal promises are different from regular old promises, covenantal promises are decrees from God that he has bound himself to and sworn to uphold for those in the covenant.

CONTINUING IN FAITH, NOT BEING REMOVED FROM THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL

Let me walk you through some points from the sermon at the top of this page...

Colossians 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel...

This is pretty much the only "IF" in the Gospel, if you continue believing you get to experience the benefits of salvation. So keep believing and don't walk away from the hope of the Gospel, eternal life and the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Hoping in the fruition of the promise of the Gospel means hoping in unseen elements, like the redemption of our bodies, but also for those things that relate to this life. Here are a few examples we can learn from Hebrews 11.

By faith, we understand. Faith comes before understanding. Be willing to trust God, because he's trustworthy, then patiently wait for understanding, if you even need it.

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Noah took action before the danger came because he trusted God was telling him the truth.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Abraham followed God when he didn't know where he was going because he believed God was telling him the truth, he fully persuaded of what God said.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Sarah was too old and Abraham was so old he was as good as dead.

11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Abraham said, "I don’t care if God has to raise my son from the dead, I know that he will keep his promise."

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Here's the conclusion

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Consider Jesus and keep your eyes fixed on him. Specifically his faithfulness and the promises that are for those who are in him, for you. You can confidently expect God's promises to you to be in your life because the one who made those promises will keep those promises.

Communion and Powerful Spontaneous Worship

Examine yourself to see if you're in faith, not sin

Communion is a powerful ceremony that has been stolen from the church. Communion is a remembrance, it's not something you should avoid if you sinned this week. If we could only take communion when we're sinless, we'd never take communion.

Think about it, "anything not of faith is sin." If that's the standard, then you'd never take communion. Communion is a ceremony to put you back in faith toward God and what he's accomplished through Christ. It's a meditative exercise where you engage your heart with the fact that you died with Christ and you're washed clean in his sacrificial blood. The life is in the blood, an exchange happened, you should celebrate that!

The next time you take communion, remember that Jesus' body was broken and cursed for you. Remember that his body in the veil through which you enter the presence of God. Remember that he took your pain, suffering, sickness and punishment. Remember that his blood was shed to wash away your sin. Remember that he passed into the grave to conquer death. Remember that he rose with his own blood to sprinkle his life/blood in God's Heavenly Holy of Holies as a testimony of righteousness for all who place trust in that blood. Remember that you're safe in Jesus!

Where Soul Meets Spirit, the Dwelling Place of the WORD of God

What is The WORD of God?

• Through the WORD of God, all things were made and continue to consist -

• The WORD became flesh so it/he could empathize and become like humankind to set humankind free from sin and death - Hebrews 2:14-15

• The WORD of God is alive and active in the innermost being of mankind -

• A heart that is receptive to the WORD of God will be pruned, taught, transformed and brought to rest in Christ -

Based on all this, the WORD of God sure seems important, what is it exactly?

The word of God is not just the written word...AND it's not just the spoken word. The Greek word for "word" is logos. In Greek philosophy, Heracleitus, Plato and Aristotle agreed on the basic meaning of logos, which is; the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.

Essentially, the Logos was the order and structure behind nature. Philosophers for thousands of years have looked at nature and recognized there's an order to things; a tree bears fruit, rainwater nourishes the plants, humans are sustained by the food that grows, etc...

In some cultures, the logos is called "The Way." Taoism, an ancient Chinese monotheistic religion, looks at the "intelligence" behind the natural world and recognizes that there is order and even design. In fact, in the Chinese Bible, John 1 says, 'in the beginning was the Way."

In addition to being used to describe the order and design upholding nature, Logos is also defined as the logic, order, intent, character and reasoning behind that which is spoken or written. It refers to the character, logic and integrity of the person who has spoken or written those words.

Now let's use this understanding to gain a bigger picture of the WORD of God.

The Word of God became flesh, what does this mean? It means that God's integrity, character, a way of thinking and doing things, became a human. This human is Jesus. Jesus is the exact physical representation of what it looks like for God to be on this planet in human form. The way Jesus treats people is the way God would treat people, the way Jesus conducts himself with the natural elements of the earth are the way God would, the way Jesus teaches is the way God would, etc...

The Word of God was not contained alone in Jesus, it's bigger than him in a sense because it was still holding the universe together while Jesus was in human form. So the Word is in all things and upholds all things. This living essence of God is very similar to spirit in nature, in a sense it is spiritual. You could say spirit gives life to the word.

What does this mean for us?

What do we do with this word? It's obviously more than something that you read. The letters, poems and historical accounts of God's dealings with mankind are certainly an important part of the expression of the living word of God, but it must be more than that for us as humans. It must be a source of influence to which we yield to teach us how to be human, as God intended. 

4:12 NLT For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

We know that God's goal for us is that we are conformed into the image of his dear son, Jesus. We now that God gave us his spirit to insure salvation and our eternal inheritance. We know that transformation happens through mind renewal. Given those things, in light of the Word exposing our innermost thoughts and desires, we can assume that it's for the purpose of transformation so we'll be more like the kind of human Jesus is.

Jesus gives us more insight as to how this Word works in us. He basically says that the receptiveness of your heart to this Word determines the degree to which it will bear fruit after its kind in your life. The Word bears kingdom of God fruit, spiritual fruit. If those things are not in your life, the word of God is not fruitful in your heart in those areas. It's pretty simple really, the seed isn't growing due to the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things.

When you want something in the world more than what the word of God can yield into your life, you will stop the growth of the Word into your life in pursuit of the worldly thing. This is the continuation of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we seek to establish our own will and desires rather than yield to the influence of God's logic and character within us, which will establish his will and bear the fruit that fulfills that desire in a way that's consistent with his logic, integrity, intention and character.

The Word Will Do Its Job

The only thing you can really do in harmony with the way God created the world to actually function is yield to it, tune yourself in your mind to it. Believe it, trust it, co-labor with it. But the paradox is the way you believe, trust and co-labor is to rest.

The author of Hebrews gives us insight to the intent of the word through a story about the Hebrews wandering in the desert for 40 years. We know God's intention for delivering the Israelites was so he could have a people group on this planet through which to reveal himself and bless the entire world. The Hebrews were the people God picked to establish his spiritual kingdom into this physical world.

Rather than just saying ok and letting him do that, they looked at what was in the world and questioned if God could really do those things. They looked at their present circumstances and questioned if he would do those things for them. This caused their hearts to be desensitized, hardened or untrusting toward him so they quit following/obeying him. Because they didn't just allow him to lead them they eventually came to a place in their minds and hearts where they simply could not receive his leading and therefore could not enter into the blessing that he wanted for all nations through them.

The author of Hebrews admonishes the believers of his time to not be like the Hebrews. Don't look at the condition of your lives and the world to determine what you think God can and will do. In fact, he gave you a tradition in the Sabbath to ready your mind to receive the real Sabbath he wanted for you, which is to cease from your labors for righteousness and blessing from God.

This part of the letter of Hebrews applies directly to us. We too should not look at our lives and circumstances in the world to determine what God can and will do. The reason is beautifully constructed in the first 4 chapters, bringing us to the conclusion that God, who made everything and upholds everything, because human, to empathize with us and set us free from this limiting physical world so he could bring us to a place of rest in Him and so his people would be the conduit through which he blesses all nations. He still wants that.

That is Logos, God's desire and intention to live through us and give life to all creation. When we reject that we will not and cannot participate in that life, on this planet and in the afterlife. You have to let God's logic, integrity, wisdom, character, power and understanding live in the innermost part of your being so he can establish his will in you. His will for you is life, peace and blessing in his grace all the days of your life and all throughout eternity.

Reading the Bible

So when you read the Bible, it should testify of God's power and intention. Yes, there is doctrine to understand and instruction to apply but there is a bigger picture. There is a stream of consciousness to engage with, there is a wisdom that is born of the ancient of days that you can walk within, there is a level of character and integrity that you can be empowered by to display to the created world what it looks like for a human to yield to God.

The Word of God is alive and powerful, able to sustain and transform you into the vessel he always wanted humans to be. Don't allow a temporary, fallen world system determine how you'll think about God. Lift up your minds higher than that, set your eyes on Jesus and allow that logic to infiltrate everything you understand. Think on what's eternally true and bring that level of consciousness into this realm.

Trust God and allow him to glorify himself through you!!

Learn to Live from Your True Eternal Self

I want to exhort you a little bit today rather than lay out a teaching. Be encouraged and know that God's spirit is within you as a promise of eternal life and an inheritance that you can enjoy now!!

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

You live on when you die because you have an eternal tent, house, body; i.e. a spirit. The real you is already eternal, your temporary body will become dust and fade away but your true self will live on. When that body fades away, so will sickness, pain, lack and all the things that limit us on this planet. The amazing news about your true eternal identity is that you can live from it now.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

The power of eternal life is in you now! That power/spirit is supplying life to you daily, moment by moment. God is not waiting for you to die to give you eternal life, God is trying to help you renew your mind so you'll live in abundance now, in fact he's promised it to you.

Ephesians 1:14 NLT The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

God wants you to be confident in what he's placed within you. He wants you to be secure in your salvation and trust in his promise, he is glorified from doing so, so let him bring glory to himself by letting his spirit work in you.

2 Corinthians 1:21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

Standing firm in Christ is not something you do, it actually recognizing what you are. Standing firm in Christ is another way of saying to "put on the new man." You're already in Christ, what God's spirit is seeking to do is help you know your identity in Christ, in which you already stand.

Why is this important? Because you probably feel like something is missing based on the circumstances of your life. You can stand on God's promise of provision because Christ is in you. You may feel like God is far away when he actually promised that he would never leave you. You may feel like you're not good enough because of your behavior while the truth is, he's already given you righteousness when he put his spirit in you. Do you see how that works? Because his spirit is in you, he can supply your inheritance.

God Spirit Is His Delivery Service

God's spirit in you is like a port through which you receive what he has for you. It's not far away, you can't earn it, you don't have to get to a certain place to gain it...all of his blessings for you are currently being supplied to you because his method of delivery is within you, his spirit.

So how do you interact with that delivery method? In your mind and heart.

Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Here's the final thought, put it into practice. But what do you actually put into practice? While you can take away several practical things to put into practice, I suggest that you practice acting on inspiration.

When you do take the time to pray from peace, think about what's true, think about what's pure, etc... there's a funny thing that happens, you feel like doing those true and pure things. Those moments of inspiration can pass quickly if you don't put them into practice.

To explain a little further, the next time you've thought like Philippians 4 suggests, pay attention to what you are inspired to do, and ACT ON IT! Act when you're inspired to walk away from sin, act when you're inspired to be patient, act when you're inspired to walk in self-control, act on it when you're inspired to be gentle with someone...do you see the picture? Act on it when you're compelled by compassion to pray for someone.

Because you have been made new, because God has made you promises and placed his spirit in you to establish those promises in your life, you can think on that same frequency so he can establish his will in your life

ACT ON IT!!

The Most Challenging (and potentially offensive) Sermon You'll Ever Hear

In my last article I talked about the miracle of the loaves, here’s a recap...

In Mark 6 we see this progression...

1. Jesus gives his disciples the power to heal people and cast out devils (he later gave that same power to the 72 other disciples)

2. They come back to Jesus to report that it was working

3. Because it’s working, thousands of people gather as they’re meeting

4. Jesus preaches to them

5. After he preaches, his disciples tell him to send the people away so they can go buy food

6. Jesus says “you feed them"

7. They say, "it'll take 6 months to make enough money to feed this many people."

8. So Jesus feeds 5000 men with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread

9. That same night the disciples get caught in a storm and are afraid for their lives

10. Jesus sees them struggling and takes a walk ON the lake they’re afraid of

11. We’re told he intended to pass by them (why? listen to last week’s message)

12. They cry out to him, so he gets in their boat and calms the storm

13. We're told they are afraid and their hearts are hard because they didn't understand the miracle of the loaves

What were they supposed to understand from the miracle of the loaves? I asked myself that question, here's what I came up with.

1. Jesus can control the physical world, it responds to him.
   (He multiplied food and calmed a storm)

2. He is Lord over all creation

3. He expected his disciples to do the same (you feed them)

4. In similar circumstances, when they couldn’t, he rebuked them for they unbelief

5. When we can't do what he empowered us to do and expects us to do, he holds us responsible and he calls it unbelief

Examples of the Power of Unbelief

When Jesus went to his home town to preach and minister to people, he was amazed at their level of unbelief.

Mark 6:5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith (unbelief).

The Phrase "could not do" in verse 5 is the Greek word dunami, which means; "to be able to do something."

The Young's Literal Translation says, "he was not able to do any mighty work there."

"Hey Jesus, why didn’t you heal those people?" "I couldn’t, they didn’t believe.”

Ouch...

Here's another example of the power of unbelief.

Matthew 17: 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” (speaking to his disciples) Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because of your unbelief. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

“Hey Jesus, why couldn’t we heal the boy?" "Because of your unbelief.”

Double ouch...

That kind of scenario happens over and over, people are afraid or don’t operate in the power Jesus gave them and he holds them responsible due to their unbelief.

So what do we with that?

Side note; Some translations add "this kind comes out only by prayer and fasting even though most original manuscripts do not. Some charismatic folks have interpreted that to mean prayer and fasting gains you power of stronger demons. It's dangerous to base a doctrine on a contested passage but there is also no precedent anywhere in Jesus' teaching to suggest as much. There are, however, many places where Jesus holds people responsible for not having faith or belief. Belief is simply confidence in Jesus, it's his faith working in you, it's a reliance you have in his power in you rather than something you need to get more of.

Jesus puts the responsibility on the person being prayed for when they don't receive. Jesus also puts the responsibility on his followers when they can't heal a boy. That sounds like a contradiction but the truth is, they're both matters of unbelief.

So what do we do?

Jesus starts talking about a mustard seed when addressing the issue of unbelief in Matthew 17. The disciples should have some insight already because Jesus had recently taught on the mustard seed. I'm so glad Matthew wrote these things down so we can look at Jesus' responses and build a foundation to stand on, thank you Matthew.

Matthew 13:31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

His point? It's basically the parable of the sower, plant the word in your heart and let it grow. The receptiveness of your heart to God's logic determines the yield. 

So what is the mustard seed or yeast you mix into your heart? Is it a particular passage? What is it that you pray? What is it that you are supposed to understand from the miracle of the loaves?

The answer is in this last passage we’ll read today, see if you can catch it.

Mark 8:1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

It's not a particular doctrine or formula, it's understanding the heart of Jesus toward people. Jesus is concerned for the people's well being. Read Mark 8:1-2 again. Can't you just feel the compassion oozing from Jesus toward the people? This is what we must understand from the miracle of the loaves, Jesus loves people and wants to provide for them.

He wants to provide food, he wants to provide wisdom, he wants to provide healing, he wants to provide freedom from sin, he wants to provide salvation, he wants to provide eternal life!!

Jesus simply wants the best for people, he doesn't want you struggling to feed yourself, he doesn't want you sick, he is concerned that life may become too much for you along your journey and he wants to help you.

Jesus is the bread of life and he wants to feed you, he's concerned that when you go back to live your life that you might collapse. Jesus cares for you and wants to provide for you in every way imaginable, it's just who he is!

This is what the disciples were supposed to understand from the miracle of the loaves, Jesus loves people and wants to help them. It's so simple it gets lost in our pursuit of doctrine and power. It gets lost by life's circumstances. It gets lost in the endless number of denominational differences within his body. While it should be plain and simple, Jesus cares for you and he wants to take care of you. You can have great faith in that!

I want to encourage you to watch the full sermon above for a more complete picture of God's heart toward you.

Feeling Stuck in Your Faith? IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE "MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES."

Remember when Jesus told his disciples their hearts were hard? Was it because they were evil? Was it because they kept sinning? Nope. I'm going to take you through Mark 6 to show you the answer. The progression we see the disciples go through in Mark 6 is insightful, see if it applies to your life.

1. Jesus gives his disciples the power to heal people and cast out devils

2. They come back to Jesus all excited and tell him it's working

3. They get in a boat and go preach to thousands of people

4. After they preach Jesus tells his disciples to feed all those people

5. They respond with, "it'll take 6 months to make enough money."

6. Jesus then feeds probably 20,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread

7. That same night the disciples get caught in a storm and are afraid for their lives

8. Jesus goes and saves them and tell them not to be afraid

9. We're told their hearts were hard because they didn't understand the miracle of the loaves

All of this happened within a matter of days. The same guys who were just healing people and saw one of the most profound miracles in history are described as having hard hearts the very next day. More on that in a minute...

I love this part...

The disciples said "send the people away so they can go eat." Jesus said, "you feed them." The disciples said, "it'll take 6months to make enough money to feed this many people." So Jesus fed them all. paraphrase of Mark 6:36-37

Jesus asked his disciples to do something they thought was impossible. I take a valuable lesson away from this story, if God calls you to do something, he'll provide, every time. It's as simple as that.

The story picks up a little later that same night. Jesus' disciples were in the middle of a lake on a boat and a huge storm came up that made them think they were going to die. Jesus comes walking by on the water and they cry out to him, so he hops in the boat, calms the storm then promptly rebukes them for having hard hearts. The reason their hearts were hard and afraid was that they didn't understand the miracle of the loaves. FASCINATING!

Do You Understand?

The word "understand" is the Greek word syniēmi which is pronounced soo-nee’-uh-mē. It means to set or join together in the mind. They had not joined together in their mind the storm they were facing and the miracle they had just seen. Apparently, Jesus expected the miracle to teach them a lesson.

What do you think that lesson should have been? What would you have learned from watching Jesus feed nearly 20,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread? How does that miracle apply to your life today?

If we look a little deeper into the word "afraid" we gain more insight. The definition of afraid is to be seized with alarm. The word seized means to be stuck or jammed. The word alarm is an anxious awareness of danger. The disciples were stuck due to their anxious awareness of danger. Does that ever happen to you? You feel like you're stuck, afraid and confused, not knowing your next decision? According to Jesus, you should have learned something from the miracle of the loaves that is greater than the fear.

Mark 6:47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

A lack of understanding results in a hard and fearful heart.

What didn't they understand?

1. They didn't understand who Jesus is.

2. They didn't understand that Jesus desires to provide for and protect them.

3. They didn't understand that Jesus was willing to be their shelter.

4. They didn't understand that Jesus had power over the elements of this earth.

5. They were more aware of their circumstance than the character and willingness of God to be God for them at that moment.

Does any of that relate to what you're facing in life? God gave us great and precious promises so we would partake of his divine nature. He gave us his life essence, he washed us clean and promised the gift of eternal life...those are the things we must understand about God.

Jesus Is Powerful Over Creation

The last point I believe the disciples didn't understand about the miracle of the loaves was the supremacy of Jesus over creation. His pupils had just watched Jesus multiply food and calm a storm, the greatest lesson to learn and point to understand is that Jesus is Lord over creation, it obeys him, it responds to him. It doesn't mean he's controlling everything that happens but it does mean that he can give the created realm instructions and it will respond to his will.

What's even more profound is that every time Jesus displays this kind of supremacy over life and creation, it's for the benefit of mankind.

1. He never creates storms, he calms them.

2. He never causes sickness, he heals.

3. He never takes away a provision, he supplies more than enough.

4. He never incites fear, he instructs to not be afraid.

5. He never causes confusion, he says don't worry.

So you have a choice, will you understand the miracle of the loaves? What does that understanding mean to your life? Do you know who Jesus is in the midst of your storm? WIll you let go of fear, become unstuck and allow Jesus to get in your boat and be God for you?