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February5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:8:28-34 BEFORE OUR TIME - Demons have a time? We dive into the realm of the uncomfortable. Most of us have reduced this life down to a series of good and bad choices. Devils and demons are but characterizations of thought patterns/tendencies. What makes a thought pattern jump from two men into a herd of swine making them rush to their death over a cliff? The faith of our Lord knows a much larger battle with fierce and possessing entities that are just as aware of their allowance and time frame as He is. The people that watched and the people of the city that later heard about this reacted in a very troubling way. Some commentaries suggest that they were troubled by the loss of the herd. I suggest that they were troubled by there limited understanding of discomforting spiritual realities.

November30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:12:12-19 THY KING COMETH - It had been said that "no man taketh" the Sons's life that He "gladly giveth it". The Sanhedrin watched on powerless and self defeated. The disciples watched on not understanding. The effect of the raising of Lazarus is stunning even months latter. The part of the crowd that awaited waited to see what blessing the miracle man would bless them with next. The part of the crowd that had followed Him in were following expecting Him to be their King immediately just as a year before (and Jesus had refused). A part of the crowd gathering just to not to miss a good commotion. Jesus on the one hand, the perceivable side was boldly defying the Sanhedrin and political elite. On the other hand, the one not to be understood till after, He was giving Himself over to His death; not by anyone's power but His own. Hosanna is to say "Come save". Only He at this point understands what to "save" means and from what. "He that comes in the name of the Lord" is taken by the crowds in many different ways as well; only He knows from just how far He has come and for what. He has come and entered in and it will take days before anyone in power will know what they are going to do. They won't know till it walks up to them in the form of a betrayal. The faith of our Lord is that in the weeks after to come the true understanding will closely follow. There wont be the understanding actually until it walks up and fills the room in the form of tongues of fire, The Holy Ghost. It will walk up to us because of Him, the one who freely gave His life that we might live. It will draw us in because of Him, the one that took Life back. This is for our salvation and that is our King and that will be the fold of His kingdom. THY KING COMETH... COME SAVE.

December8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:14:15-31 KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS - A conditional statement "If you love Me" is used to present an actionable practice "keep My commandments". The action that is being pointed to is illustrated in the Greek word Tereo #G5083 guarding as to prevent loss. It is a picture of a military fortress. It appears as if the commandments could be taken or lost or surrendered. It reminds me of the parable of the sower where birds of the air swooped down to snatch the word, where some seed fried up in the sun not having root in itself. Surely the command does have to be obeyed and acted upon (kept in another sense), but before even that can be done the protected meaning (the meaning Jesus has for us) has to be understood by being kept (in the primary sense) from the influences of self, life and world; thus the picture of a fortress. The meaning is detained, it is secluded, it is watched over. In order to do this one must first be aware that there are plenty of influences the change or corrupt or steal away the meaning; external and internal. "Love thy neighbor as yourself" can change to mean calling evil good and good evil. "Love one another as I have loved you" can come to mean what ever odd notion of self love you feel comfortable exhibiting. From whatever that understanding then becomes so then follows any form of obedience to it we care to offer. This is how we can come to the point where every single one of us believes that they have loved their neighbor as themselves without one ounce of the love of Jesus Christ being shed. What fools are we? In order to fortress the true meaning the true meaning must first be sought out and received. For that we have the Holy Spirit who will teach us and put all things into our remembrance. We cannot have the Holy Spirit unless Jesus has died for our sins and is risen back to the Father. Even today, this simple point of faith eliminates many a nominal Christian from receiving the true meaning as revealed/reminded. Their actions, though well intentioned, are not drawn out from the sacred fortress, they are drawn from the meaning altered or lost. The need is definitely for the revelation of the Holy Spirit, but also for the "keeping" of the revealed meaning and the obedient action upon the revealed meaning. For this we also need the strength of resolve. Why all of this? This is what it means to "love" Jesus. He/she that loves our Savior to this extent and in this manner the Father will love, the Lord will love, the two by the Holy Spirit will come and make THEIR abode with him/her. What peace this will leave with us. The faith of our Lord is in abiding with man. The way for Him to abide with us is as much in the true meaning upon which we base our obedient actions as it is in the concept that we even know to love Him at all. He will take care of His part in this and so then must we.

December20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:18:25-27 THE COCK CREW - It is almost like following two stories simultaneously, the most important time for Jesus, but His story keeps getting interrupted by Peter. The stories though are not separate and it is not an interruption because Jesus had predicted this. Jesus' concern was always for His disciples and friends, Peter being high on that list. He has invested so much into these men and women. Like you and I as parents though where you know that you've done everything you can to see your kids off on the right road at the same time you know that they are going to have to make their own mistakes. You can talk and talk until you are blue in the face and they are blue in the ears. You would think that they know, you pray that they would know and not have to go through these things, but they are not truly going to know until they go out on their own and are tested. I believe it is much the same with our Lord Jesus as He looks upon Peter and therefore us. Peter may be the first of His kids to spread his wings out as he was the first in so many other things. He certainly has the desire to be there, yet at the same time he has the "know it all" cockiness that can spell big failure. Peter swore that he had the control not to allow this to happen and he meant every word. Now the cock crews. Interesting that it is a cock, meaning everybody there outside and in probably heard it, it may have stood out like a sore thumb (is it really already that time?). It is not just that we make mistakes, it is often mistakes that other people can't help but know about; in this case John and Jesus would have known the special significance. John may now have tearfully understood that the two story lines are really one. The story line is where the ministry stood as Jesus approached the climax of His trial as He watched along the dawning horizon of His disciple's new frontiers. It stood broken and flat and scattered. We could say that it was unprepared for the reality happening all around it, just like with our kids. On the other hand it has been prepared, the only way it can be prepared, trained up in way it must go, shown the path that it must return to. Note that these men are not operating in the Spirit as of yet; the Spirit is yet to come. Until we come to the path in the Spirit, say what we will, intend what we intend, be as bold and confident as we can muster, we will be much like Peter is right now - strongly believing yet denying the very person we desire to glorify, sticking out to those who know the significance, being noticed for the peculiarity by everyone else. The faith of our Lord is in us operating in His Spirit. He is willing to allow us our mistakes at first. Our mistakes however should be bringing us to realize our need for His Spirit in short order else they are not just mistakes, they become short sighted disobedience. Thankfully, Peter figures this all out in short order; the investment in Him made by the Lord pays off.