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July17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:2:41-52 INCREASED - In just a few verses we have a wide picture of the Jesus at a very symbolic age for any Jewish boy/man. One, we see that many of His hometown were faithful enough to caravan south some 100 miles yearly from Nazareth to Jerusalem. Enough people traveled that it took nearly a day to sift the crowd to discover Him missing. Two, He was mature/trusted enough for His parents to go off on His own even in the big city, even on the road. Likely none of His siblings were not yet old enough to be in His responsibility. Three, not only are the scholars amazed by His questions but, also His answers. That He listens and ponders and probes others even while being under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit means perhaps studying more to how these men think and reason. Four, His first recorded words were in response to a rebuke from His mom for being so focused/enthralled with the intellectual curiosities as to have neglected timely obligations to the family; like many a boy. Unlike most young men of that age however, His interests were extremely spiritual; not an excuse so much as a predictable necessity if honestly judged by previous parental observation. Five, He was/remained subject to them though His mom would remember/consider this response long after; perhaps they both learned something about each other that day. Not only did He increase in wisdom and maturity, the righteous favor of God and man became central to Him as well. We do not hear about Him again for several years only that He replaced His dad Joseph at death as the town carpenter showing a patience and a waiting upon the Father's timing. The faith of our Lord is extreme in both it's eager ambition and it's temperate patience. A balance was found that gained Him stature and presence, discernment and favor. We must find similar extremes of faith and balance.

October20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:24:13-35 DID NOT OUR HEARTS BURN - What is effecting the disciples at this point is the same thing that effects us in our faith. 2Peter:1 would call it a faith that is being shortsighted to the point of being blind. These men have the hope that He would redeem Israel, but do not see that to redeem Israel something much bigger and broader had to be accomplished. They sense the need for redemption, but it is a smaller redemption from Rome. By means of these smaller fields of vision these hopes perceive an entirely different course of action, say the raising of an army, the winning over of several political foes, the standing against and defending Israel from the authority of Rome. But, here exactly the opposite is apparent, Rome has come out the victor. There is no wonder that they are sad and much confused. Everyone in Jerusalem is having similar conversations, each and every one based upon shortsighted hope now dying or dead. We tend to see things reduced down to our immediate needs whether it is Rome or potential divorce or recovering from addiction. We have faith indeed, but that faith has an entirely different set of expectations (shortsighted) as to how the Lord is going to perform it. It is these expectations that blind us to the person of Christ standing before us. He can be a mighty man of deed and words, however, until we see Him as the Lord that He really is and His actions as He rather intends our faith lays dormant and unfruitful; dead. The scriptures are opened up to them, the big picture becomes visible, the broad vision burns within the heart as they begin to see the revealing of the true "Arm of The Lord". Even then until He is recognized as alive and risen, the bread broken as before, that burning is incomplete. After knowing Him as risen, how could they not get up this evening and not walk the seven miles back to the others? How could they not proclaim it to all those along the road between here and there? The faith of our Lord is that we will see Him as dead but now living. And if living, then truly the Son of God. And if truly the risen Son of God, then the "Righteous Servant" spoken of throughout the prophets. And if the Promised One, then much broader in vision and scope then just this brief occupation by Rome or this occupation by the hypocritical and murderous Sanhedrin or occupation of the problems of this single day or time or lifetime. Engaged and concerned in these items? Most certainly! Lively faith however, knows His answer and performance for that are begun in and paid for by the broader course and objective of this. Many today are still talking, how many though have the big vision living faith?

November9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:6:16-24 BE NOT AFRAID - Between the point where Jesus left the people and where the people catch up to Him, there are three interconnected miracles (four if you count allowing Peter to walk on water); the walking on water, the submission of the wind, the immediate landing negating 3-4 miles of water. I would imagine each one of these fearful in their own right. You could imagine someone among your group standing up and commanding the wind to stop; and it does. You could imagine hitting shallow beach in the dark when you knew that you still expected more than 40 minutes of clear weather paddling left to do. Why these miracles were expended in conjunction on the same eve as the five loaves miracle is not hinted at; unless miracles just tend to string together or unless it was a continuation of the previous examination. Symbolically, if the loaves show God's heavenly provision when there is no earthly way to do it, then perhaps these show that when there is a earthly way (keep paddling or sink) but the tempest is prevailing it is God's heavenly provision that will both calm the storm and get you to the other side. What would keep us then from calling for that heavenly provision and receiving it? Either pride or fear; likely both. These lessons are only for the disciples and the true followers, the "Jesus for President" crowd don't need to be more emboldened. There is a point where one's (or the team's) confidence and ability will only get so far; likely to the point of drowning. That is when one must face their fears. Not with more self determination and effort but with Jesus as Lord. We, like they that night, seem more afraid of Jesus walking alongside us than we do our own boat capsizing. This comes from only seeing through our natural eyes. A man is simply not supposed to walk upon water storm or not. At the same time why wouldn't the Lord of Heaven and Earth be near to His disciples in their time of greatest need, even if it meant Him doing what can not naturally be done? There are going to be many tempests ahead of these men of various sorts. Their lives will constantly be on the edge of danger. That edge of danger however is often the crossing point between the natural and the supernatural (or the natural beyond how we define it). They will need to know this lesson. They will need to be fast learners and I believe that they are. Are we though? That's the question nowadays. Maybe right now our tempest is a much smaller situation, but our ability is being proven to be short of the need. Is our pride and fear going to keep Jesus outside of that boat or is He going to be allowed to do His thing? The faith of our Lord is that His truer nature is sufficient for calming the fear within us that we have against Him and the "extended natural". It is not that He has to create these situations to make us to realize this, there are plenty of these situations that we row into or create ourselves out there anyway. If you are going to try to go somewhere, be someone, land in the spot to which He pointed you, you are going to have to cross the edge into the supernatural at times. You will have to know this lesson... BE NOT AFRAID FOR IT IS I.

December14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:17:6-19 THEM WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN - I am overwhelmed this morning with the sense that I have long misinterpreted this prayer of Jesus. The consequences to my theology will have to be sorted out, but I have the feeling that this prayer is meant for the eleven men there directly (us only indirectly). There are more than eleven disciples within miles of Him tonight, they are not mentioned. There are many that have followed and even hosted Him these three+ years, they are not mentioned. There are many that will believe on Jesus because of these men, they are mentioned later on but not yet. The fact is that these eleven are the humans that He has invested everything into. They are certainly spiritually weak and frail at this point despite their blessed experiences and discipleship so far, but their meekness is exactly what He is looking for. He refers to them as the "given". He refers to us as "those that will believe because of them". I have a feeling the He refers to His other many devoted followers in the region as the nucleolus of "those" or us. What about Martha then? What about Mary and Lazarus and the blind man? What about Nicodemus and the others this night being shunned by the Sanhedrin? Evidence now suggests that there is a mission much bigger than our personal beliefs and sacrifices that our Lord needs these eleven hand selected men to proceed with. A mission or calling that the remainder of us are barely spectators/receivers of. Jesus begins by praying not for the world, but for these eleven men for they are "THINE"; He is glorified in "them". He prays that they be one, that they have His joy fulfilled in themselves, that they be sanctified through HIS truth/word, that they be kept from evil. He prays this because they are not of this world, they are hated, they are sent by Him into this world. Now these words could certainly be applied to us as we are often in similar (lesser) situations. The spiritual warfare that would surround these eleven men would be perhaps beyond compare. It is because of them however, their being given, their meekness and their being used of the Spirit to the extent that they were that we even have opportunity to follow their steps. We call these men today Apostles; the pillars of our faith. This is who this prayer is for directly. Men like this Apostle John. If not for them we would not know that this prayer was even made. The faith of our Lord barely needs to be said here. It is a tremendous thing to consider that all of this is bestowed upon them for our benefit and for those that will follow after us. The mission spreads out and takes us in and we pass it on to the next each in our smaller ways. Our thanks to "those which THOU hast given". Our praise to HIM who meant this to the continuation of our Lord's ministry after His heavenly glorification.