“Give The Bread Impression of Presence”

 We've all been there before: you snap out of a daze, look around, and realize you've driven all the way to your destination without really noticing it. It's a bit scary when you think about it, but it happens to all of us at some point not giving the impression of being.

All things have meaning only in relationship to God. Therefore, let all of our conversations and questions stay focused on Him with the thought, “all roads lead to Calvary” You see as we join Jesus on his mission our personal focus should always be on the end of the road. It was especially helpful when I was a coach, a teacher or in a leadership role. Ultimately as children of God, we want to direct other disciples’ minds and hearts to Christ, to help them find their strength in Him and in what He has already accomplished for us through His suffering, death, and resurrection. 1 Sam 23:16; Heb 12:2-3

What does that mean? God is most glorified in us when we bear fruit in a desert. God will put us in a hard place to shine for Him, so don’t cheat Jesus in that moment by getting emotional. Be an encouraging disciple for encourage means paraklesis, “to call by the side, a calling to one’s aid” the Holy Spirit. What you do is not as important as the person for whom you do it. Let everything you do be to the Glory of God! Nothing else matters. Thus, with God’s spirit inside us moving us using us as fellow disciples of Jesus Christ.

As I daydream during Group time my mind is on the following: When you want to have a dialogue with someone about certain passages or topic, how do you begin? Do you stand in front of that person and scream and hope they will hear you? Are you aware during those exchanges through “coincidences”? Is your conversation reflective seeing little things that stirs excitement, enthusiasm’? Or is it a deep theological conversation full of getting it right? In a sense, listening is easy — or hearing is easy. It doesn’t demand the initiative and energy required in speaking. That’s why “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” Romans 10:17.

The point is that hearing is easy, and faith is not an expression of our activity, but our receiving the activity of another. But despite this ease — or perhaps precisely because of it — we often fight against it. In our sin, we’d rather trust in ourselves than another, amass our own righteousness than receive or notice another’s views, but speak our thoughts than listen to someone else’s. 

The wise Christian does not assume he or she has attained sinless perfection. Doing so is pride, which is sin James 4:6; Proverbs 16:5 We should examine ourselves continually to see if our ways please the Lord. We can pray with David, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”Psalm 139:23-24. Not on the temporal worries of this life. 

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. “Matthew 13:33

Jesus uses this story as an object lesson to illustrate the kingdom of heaven.

1.    the kingdom of God may have small beginnings, but it will increase. 

2.      the kingdom of God exerts its influence from within, not from without.

3.     the effect of the kingdom of God will be comprehensive. 

4.     although the kingdom of God works invisibly, its effect is evident to all.

But the practical result of being in God’s presence is joy! Many Christians seem gloomy and dejected because they lack this sense of God’s presence.Let me explain as I talk about bread! I don’t really worry about whether or not I’ll have some to eat; the only question I face is what’s the ingredients,” I will eat”? 

There’s food I suspect most of us eat at least once a day. It’s a slice of bread. I want to tell you something about a slice of bread. Looking closely at a slice of bread, do you see little holes and air pockets in it? Humm. Bread is just full of these. It’s all of these holes that make the bread light and fluffy. You ever wondered what puts those holes and air pockets into a loaf when it is baked. It’s this substance called yeast. When the baker mixes up his bread dough he always puts in some yeast. When the yeast gets warm inside the loaf of bread it starts producing gas that forms bubbles inside the loaf. This makes the loaf rise and becomes nice and fluffy. Without yeast the loaf of bread would be so small, heavy, and hard that you would hardly be able to eat it. 

Yeast almost seems like a secret substance because it works so quietly that you don’t notice it. You can’t see the bread dough rising and getting bigger because it happens so slowly. Jesus says the God’s kingdom is like yeast. God’s kingdom is the good influence and control he has. It’s like yeast in that it influences people’s lives slowly and quietly.

The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it contacts. When we accept Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence in the world at large. As we “reflect the Lord's glory, [we] are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”. 2 Corinthians 3:18 

It all comes down to this: love God more than anything, and love others sincerely Mark 12:30-31. At the judgment seat of Christ, those who are faithful to the Lord who saved them will hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” No true servant of the Lord could ask for more.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Word on the Street,” Needs of the world, makes me sensitive?”

 Dear Lord, I remember praying, “what am I going to do?” 

Dealing with the poverty I see, on our cruise travels, is quite traumatic. It is difficult to come to terms with (as I remember after ordering two main dishes most nights at dinner) what you see, to understand it and accept it as you return to your own life. Instantly you promised it wouldn’t happen, but your own difficulties begin to take priority. Back to my vision reality of the “Streets” declaration, are boxes of crap I have not used in years, arguments over trivial matters about a set of guidelines at church, complaining endlessly about traffic and struggling to balance your own pain in your life over your family life’s, are you kidding me? I just want to scream as the ghosts of song play on, “Stump all night in the neighborhood “preoccupy me even more than before. 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36

But knowing that God, is present everywhere without being any more present in one place than another, still shows himself to be present in special ways at various times helps during these times for the caring process of thoughtfulness. Just like salvation, God’s joy, is a free and perfect gift from God, and we must reach out and accept that gift. 

Sensitivity to the world’s needs is a healthy sign that you are not completely self-absorbed. Pain, hunger, sorrow, and tragedy are regular occurrences in this once-perfect world, now ravaged by the effects of sin Genesis 3:16-19. With the invention of satellite and the internet, we are bombarded by information from around the globe as it is happening, and our responses to the needs we see can range from apathy to anxiety to hopelessness. Apathy is not an option for a Christian, but neither is anxiety or hopelessness. We want to remain sensitive to needs and be aware of the desperate struggles in the world, but we also must learn how to set emotional boundaries for ourselves. Without those boundaries, we may become depressed or angry. We want to be sensitive to needs without being overwhelmed by them. We want to sorrow over the world’s condition without losing hope.

Jesus should always be our model. We can look at His years on earth to see how He handled living in a world filled with needs. His heart was sensitive: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” Matthew 9:36. The Bible records two times that Jesus wept: He wept at the gravesite of Lazarus John 11:35, and He wept over the stubborn sin of Jerusalem Luke 19:41-42. His heart was tender, and seeing the effects of death and sin moved Him to tears. But Jesus did not allow Himself to be overwhelmed. He saw the enormity of the problem, but He did not give in to anxious thoughts or sink into depression. He knew who He was and why He was here. He had come to earth on a mission Luke 9:51. He was not merely sad about the human condition; He had compassion, and He did something about it Mark 1:38. What say You? Can you cover all your troubles for a minute?

Paul is another example of one who was sensitive to the needs around him. He poured out his life as a drink offering for the benefit of others Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6. In Romans 9:2 Paul expresses sorrow over the lost condition of his fellow Hebrews. The Corinthians, in particular, saddened him with their immaturity and carnality, and he expressed his sorrow to them: “For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” 2 Corinthians 2:4. The needs of the world often caused Paul grief, but it was not an impotent grief. He was called by God to be a preacher to the Gentiles Romans 15:16, and he faithfully did what he could to further the gospel of truth.

It is good to be sensitive to the needs of the world in proverbs 14:21 and 19:17 reminds us:

 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,    but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy. 

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,    and he will reward them for what they have done.

One of the characteristics of the wicked is their “unfeeling heart” Psalm 17:10. But our sensitivity must lead to positive action. Frosted flakes in my belly, the needs of the world on my mind; as weighty as they are, can overwhelm us when we remain motionless in our sorrow. We journey through stories of misfortune, country after country, feel an ache in our hearts, but do nothing. Because the needs seem so overwhelming, we cannot imagine that we can do anything about it, so we do nothing. However, acting of some kind puts our sorrow to work. By serving, giving, and joining Jesus on his mission’ hands and feet on earth, we can channel inner turmoil into outer productivity.

We cannot solve all the world’s problems, but we can help someone. We may not be able to end world hunger, but we can feed one hungry child. We cannot singlehandedly stop human trafficking, but we can join our resources with ten thousand others to rescue some victims. We feel overwhelmed when we don’t know what to do. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” Galatians 6:10. We should be sensitive to needs and then allow our sorrow to propel us to action. God does not hold us responsible for solving the world’s problems, only for being obedient to everything He has placed before us Proverbs 3:27, John 9:4. When we do that, we can entrust the rest of it to Him.

God Bless You and This Ministry!