Human

Matthew 4: 2: And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

 

There is a fallacy in meeting Jesus that bears great correction.   At times we approach Him as if He had some special advantage while He lived in that body born of Mary.  Jesus was fully human.  He got really hungry.

 

In being human, Jesus sanctified humanity.  He made it okay to be fully human.  He made it a good thing to be all the human we could be, to live up to our human potential - with God.  Remember, while being fully human, He was fully God.  Our task is to work on being fully human, with God.

 

Being fully human, for us means being full of mistakes.  Being fully human, means being able to correct those mistakes.  Today I had a great opportunity to change my mistakes.  A co-worker was upset with me about my actions.  I had presumed what I did was okay with him instead of asking.  It was okay.  If I asked.  Not asking was presumptive.  It was inconsiderate.  By repenting and asking, my mistake was changed to okay.  He gave me that grace.  It was good.  Jesus helped me be human.

 

ACT!  Think of your most human moment this week.  Thank God for making you a human.

 

PRAY!  Father, thanks for making me a human like Jesus.  It must be really special to you, this human thing.  You sent Your own Son to be one, just to make it special.  Wow!  I really don't deserve it, but I really appreciate it.  Thanks.

 

Human

Matthew 4: 2: And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

 

There is a fallacy in meeting Jesus that bears great correction.   At times we approach Him as if He had some special advantage while He lived in that body born of Mary.  Jesus was fully human.  He got really hungry.

In being human, Jesus sanctified humanity.  He made it okay to be fully human.  He made it a good thing to be all the human we could be, to live up to our human potential - with God.  Remember, while being fully human, He was fully God.  Our task is to work on being fully human, with God.

Being fully human, for us means being full of mistakes.  Being fully human, means being able to correct those mistakes.  Today I had a great opportunity to change my mistakes.  A co-worker was upset with me about my actions.  I had presumed what I did was okay with him instead of asking.  It was okay.  If I asked it was okay.  Not asking was presumptive.  It was inconsiderate.  By repenting and asking, my mistake was changed to okay.  He gave me that grace.  It was good.  Jesus helped me be human.

ACT!  Think of your most human moment this week.  Thank God for making you a human.

PRAY!  Father, thanks for making me a human like Jesus.  It must be really special to you, this human thing.  You sent Your own Son to be one, just to make it special.  Wow!  I really don't deserve it, but I really appreciate it.  Thanks.

 

Led of the Spirit

Matthew 4: 1: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

 

Interesting that Jesus, the Son of God, would be led by His own Spirit.  A man's spirit is an incredibly powerful guiding force.  When we meet with Jesus, we meet with His Holy Spirit.  His Spirit becomes available to us to lead us and guide us.  His Spirit communes with our spirit to build us in the right direction.

 

The consistency of those led of the Spirit is born of the Spirit, Himself.  So often we can encounter like-hearted men and women, who seem to be thinking the same thoughts at the same time we do.  They are.  It is a connection born of God.  He brings us to the same place to make life move forward in His plan more rapidly.  Our understanding of those relationships might not mix with God's intent.  He will take us where we need to go.

 

A friend asked for prayer for Godly relationships and connections.  That strengthened me.  He has been struggling to step away from those that want him to go out and party and dance like he did before he met Christ.  He wants good, God connections.  That is an easy prayer for me.  To ask God to connect us with the right people is to ask God to be God.  His Spirit yearns to connect us that way. We struggle and we act.  We ask and He answers.

 

ACT!  God is Spirit.  The separating force in us that distinguishes us from animals is our spirit created in His image.  Think on that for a minute.  Write down five aspects of you as a human that separates you from other forms of life.  Note that they tend to be spiritual in nature.

 

PRAY!  Father, let Your Holy Spirit of Jesus instruct me in the way I should go.  You showed me in Jesus that it is Your Holy Spirit that can guide me even in the hard times.  You showed me that it is Your Holy Spirit that will even ask me to do what I am unable to do without Him.  Keep me connected.

 

Pleasing God

 Matthew 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

When we connect with Jesus we connect with pleasing God.  Jesus pleases the Father.  When we are with Him, we are pleasing the Father.  That is important.  So often in life, we want to please our Father.  When you meet with Jesus, you are in the environment of pleasing Him.  You can't miss pleasing Him.

 

Pleasing God may mean doing tough work.  While working through some conflict mediation, we came to the point of closing in prayer.  It had been a tough night.  Everyone had spent emotional energy to embrace peace.  It was the right thing to do.  It is greatly pleasing to God to do everything that leads to peace and building each other.  That does not make it easy.  But it is pleasing.  The scripture came to mind as we prayed from Zephaniah 3.  God joys over us with singing.  That word joy means to jump up and dance and pirouette. What a picture of God singing and jumping and spinning over us with joy!  Doing the hard thing is pleasing to Him.

 

ACT!  Take one item you are unsure about in your relationship with God.  Examine it.  Is Jesus involved in it?  If you were doing it or being involved in it would you invite Jesus to be a part?

 

PRAY!  Father, help me to please You.  Help me to meet with Jesus when I plan an activity.  I can always be sure it will be pleasing  to You when I meet with Him to do it.  Help me keep that focus, Father.

 

Mystical

Matthew 3: 16: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

At times a relationship with Jesus can get a little mystical.  Doves, spirits, voices from heaven, and the heavens being opened all make for a mystical moment.  Jesus transcends what we see on a daily basis.  He operates in heaven and earth simultaneously.  That may throw our normal pattern, but be thankful that He provides access to the Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit on earth at once to affect our lives.

 

Listening to the message of the moment from the pulpit, my life seemed to be the content.  The preaching pierced pointedly and profoundly into the core of that night’s dilemma.  All day, I had lived the problem being answered.  It was exhilarating.  God’s timing in bringing my pastor to the present point of my life is amazing.  There are too many times to tell of when this has happened.  The scriptures come alive with fire and stir me up to new levels of faith.  How could God care so much to make the message match my messes?  What an amazing God!

 

ACT!  Need anything from heaven?  Some things we need don't exist right now on earth.  Jesus is access to heaven.  Ask the Father for the impossible in Jesus.  Go ahead and plan the rest of the day as if you had it.

 

PRAY!  Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy is Your name.  Cause the heavens to open for me in my life.  Cause Your Holy Spirit to brood over my life and cause chaos to come to order.   Release all You are in heaven and earth in me that Your will would be done here even as it is there

 

Jesus - Correct

Matthew 3: 15: And Jesus answering said unto him, Allow it to be so now: for it is correct for us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he allowed him.

 

Correctness, accuracy, honesty, and truth are all words that blend together.  Jesus is correct in action.  Jesus is correct in motivation.  Jesus is correct in word.  Jesus is correct in thought.  Jesus is correct.  The great thing about meeting with Jesus is that His correctness overflows onto us.  He likes to do it the right way the first time.  I like knowing that's what He wants to do with my life.

 

Correct has not been to word for the day for me.  All day, uncorrect items have surfaced.  Projects that I thought were going great had to have adjustments due to being incorrect in plans.  Relationships that I thought were in good stead need to be adjusted due to incorrect assumptions.  Work details are askew due to incorrect decisions on my part.  Man!  Am I glad I have Jesus to help me get correct and accurate and honest and truthful?  You bet I am.  His grace will give me the ability and insight to apply correction.

 

ACT!  Think about what you are doing today.  Pick an item and make sure you do that one "correctly according to all righteousness".

 

PRAY!  Father, You are Holy and Perfect and Correct.  Let me enter into the "correct" ways and "allow" Jesus to build me in all righteousness in action, thought, word, and motivation.  I allow You to overflow my mind, will, and spirit with Your correctness.

 

 

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Living Large - All

All of this touch, light, sound, smell, and the softly discernable breath of the spirit inside us comes of grace. There is no scientific reason that explains it all. There is no logical construct that can be boxed and ended. Our quest for understanding and control is limitless when we seek for life. Just grace.

Living Large - Light Sustains

Light sustains. Light gives color brightness and depth. Light gives life to our receptors of the eyes. Light paints the palettes of all the artists. Light is an act of grace. Coming from many sources of sun and moon and electrical spark and chemicals imbedded in the oddest plants and animals, light lives. Grace gives us light.

Living Large - touch

Touch sustains. The blind see by touch. Emotion reaches out through touch. Sensuality requires touch. Touching is essence in our being. Touch deprived infants quite quickly leave the life of this world. Why touch? I don't know. Grace sustains touch.

Living large - sound

Sound sustains. Silence detects death. A silent turkey in the woods means death has visited. A silent armadillo in the night would be no armadillo. They are noisy creatures. Rustling about for food, they shout of life. Explanations of instinct and intentional design and need to communicate fall short of explaining sounds of life. Sound happens through grace. Without it, we would be hard pressed to decipher where life is happening.

Living Large - motion

Motion sustains. Should motion of the atoms stop, implosion comes next. Somewhere the eternal balance of motion keeps all in order and alive. Should motion of cells stop, our bodies would mass melt down to the surface. Motion tells us grace exits. Nothing seems to make it happen. Grace does.

Living Large 1

Living Large

Grace becomes an undefined force at some point in progression of thought. How do I find words and pictures to describe the illogical? Grace is a free expression of the heart of God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Yes, God is both the original mind and expressive force of creation and the daily breath that keeps sights, sounds, feelings, touches, and smells in motion.