Handled by the Proceeding Word

Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. :4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God

 

Deuteronomy  8:1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD

Lessons Take Time:

The thrust of God’s action into our lives is learning and growth and increased connection with Him and His ways.  When pressed against a challenge to faith, Jesus responded with a principle taught through many years to us.  Lessons take time. You don’t just read a story and a principle and get the gist.  Life embeds the lesson in your heart.  Experience makes it real.

 

Out of the Abundance of the Heart:

Great pressure reveals the deep parts of our soul.  For the Hebrew nation God tamped a daily lesson into them over 40 years.  That is a long school.  Then He made sure it was recorded in a clear format for all generations along with the story.  But the lesson does not become ours until we live it.  Then the lesson becomes a commitment and goes deep into the heart for other days to reveal.

 

Life is Long:

In the kingdom today there is a lot of feel good philosophy.  Theology is what I started to write instead of philosophy.  But, theology is the study of God and His revealed interactions with us.  When you study Him, yes, He wants us to feel good and created a large world of opportunities and relationships in which to enjoy.  But, the end and purpose of life and His word lived through us is not feel good, it is change and intimacy and trust at magnanimous impacts on our soul.  The little feel good, happy day, slough stuff of candy religion lasts about as long as cotton candy at the state fair.  It gives out quickly.  He wants long lasting impact on our soul.

 

Live and Increase and Enter and Possess:

Whew!  He is serious.  Intents of God are for prosperity and posterity.  When we step into that for which He has prepared us and spoken of us, He wants us to stay and take rule.  At the lake I have a large lot and a moderate home.  The beauty sooths my soul and gives me strength for other days.  First I hunger and struggle with the world, then I get to go take some refreshing manna at the lake and be strengthened.  Along with the lot and home is a boat.  My adult children love water sport. 

 

This weekend a belt on the engine broke.  By God’s grace the final stripping took place close to the boat ramp and we were able to get back to dry land.  At first inspection we decided to let it pass and just swim in the lake.  This would need a boat mechanic was our thought.  Then a neighbor, who is a mechanic, came by and offered some advice that made the task look simple.  Time to possess.  My son and I shot off to the local parts house and acquired a comparable belt to match.  Digging into the setup on the engine, we soon found easy was not in the dictionary on this one.  Encouraging each other, we kept convincing ourselves we could do it.  And we did.  And the boat is back on the water.  And we build relationship.  And we are humbled by our ignorance.  And we are tested in our faith and confidence.  And we are affirmed in our trust. 

 

Manna:

As we found ourselves at a juncture when we could not go forward a picture jumped in my mind.  Another belt had to be removed first and it looked to be a long process if we went forward.  Just two days before I had seen a bicycle tire tool for removing and remounting in my shed at the lake.  Laughing out loud, it struck me odd as to why this tool would be here.  It stowed away in a tool box that had had other items I needed for some job.  Right at this pause in the activities of the weekend, I was organizing my shed so we could fit all those big water toys around my woodland man toys (tractors, chainsaws, lawnmowers, etc..)  Even at the moment of seeing it, the questions hit me, “Why are you here tool?  Did some angel place you here for me?  Will I need you?”  Maybe you don’t see life that way.  I do.  Too many times God intervened in such a propitious manner for me.

 

So, I ran to the shed, snatched the simple small tool, ran back to the boat, and voila in a matter of seconds had the belt off, we were confident we could get it back on later, which we did, and we only had four or five more problems to solve to final solution of purring engine.  The humility of understanding we were in God’s gentle teaching hands kept us going.  And my son and other son got some wake board time before he had to drive back with his wife, my daughter, and my other daughter and her foster grandchild and my wife’s sister and her two children.  Whew again!  A lot of people get involved in living out our lessons of living and written word.

 

Proceeding Words:

Merriam-webster.com  Proceed

1: to come forth from a source : issue <strange sounds proceeded from the room>2 a: to continue after a pause or interruption b: to go on in an orderly regulated way3 a: to begin and carry on an action, process, or movement b: to be in the process of being accomplished <the work is proceeding well>4: to move along a course : advance

 

Proceeding words of God come from a source (Him), continue with us, take us in an orderly and regulated manner in activity, are part of a process of being accomplished or finished or developed while moving us along a course or designed path of God.  They are alive through Christ.  It is no longer us that are the living force, but Christ, the Living Word, that lives in and through us taking us through humility to greatness.

 

 

ACT! Take the plunge.  There is a challenge in front of you that wants to be avoided.  It cries to be avoided.  Resistance is written all over it.  Yet, you know there is manna waiting for you when you run out of ideas and strength.  You know you will hit failure in the task and need to depend on Him.  Engage.  Start.  Trust.

PRAY! Father, bring the bread of life, Jesus, into my dryness, into my hunger. Apply the word of life, Jesus, to my need that I might stay
strong in Your strength, not my own. When my understanding and strength run out then grace me with manna.  Put the unexpected and intentional tools into my hand and strength into my soul to continue with the proceedings.  It is Your way.  It is Your heart.  It is Your intention.  Take me through the process of embedding Your words deep into my soul that they will become my living source.  I live to be changed by Your proceedings spoken into me.