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January26 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:7:1-6 JUDGEMENT - Judgement is so very closely related to hypocrisy. We are so much willing to hold others to a standard that we would never hold ourselves to. We can sniff out hypocrisy in others from a mile a way, perhaps that is because we fully expect it. Judgement cannot be avoided in our day to day lives. Most every activity and relationship encountered in a day requires some form of judgement. It is not judgment that is being forbidden here, it is the type of judgement; the most common type - Hypocrisy. One should learn to expect it from themselves and know how to look for it. We want to be judged a fair judge, one whose judgement applied first and foremost to their own-selves. Judge as one who knew his on weaknesses yet was brave enough to battle his weaknesses and to help others through theirs as well. What use is it to strive not to judge at all, neither owns-self nor others? The Lord's faith is not that we will become a bunch of passivists, it is that we will be able to judge right from wrong, truth from falsehood, help from oppression........

February9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:9:18-26 THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE - It is one thing to go along with the flow against Jesus, another when presented with a deep need that you rebellion cannot negotiate and He becomes your only chance. Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue. We are not told whether he was a believer either before or after, we only know that he was for this moment. The woman with issue took it upon her own, nothing had been said about touching His garment to be healed that we are aware of. Surely many people had touched Jesus, she however believed. Had they not need or faith or initiative? Is Jesus looking for a certain type of faith? Perhaps a faith planted by the Spirit alone that becomes all one's own? A inner faith that compels a person to do the unlikely? Propels a person against the tide of the mass of commonality? The faith of our Lord does what it sees the Father do. In a crowd of many outward faiths it sees the lone inner faith as a indicator of the Father's doing and therefore does the Father's will to it in response.

February12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:10 FREELY YE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE - Twelve men sent out like sheep to the wolves. You would think that men with these powers and this kingdom message would be gladly received. Is it not time in Israel for such good news and such manifestations? Wouldn't one's own family be ecstatic? We see the depths of the sin nature, the news is not well received, in fact it is vehemently opposed. They might say that they want a sign but they are not willing to let the sign into their own household. They might say that they want God's mercy but they are more willing to forcibly escort you outside of their city. The truth is very upsetting. Always has been. Always will be. The truth exposes the heart, all of it's imaginations, all the games it would rather play. These twelve men, their hearts are barely any different. The faith of our Lord is in these twelve men. He pairs them up and sends them out with His anointing. Who is to say that they will do according to what He commands any more than we ourselves would facing such resistance. They are targets. They are being shown something that He knows all to well. The nature of man is evil to the core. Healing and deliverance and justice and the kingdom here and now, those are just words, disturbing words. Proven with an undeniable God given anointing to such human and common men, fighting words.

March5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:15:29-39 HOW MANY HAVE YE - Ever notice how Jesus is using whatever the disciples have available? In the days of the Exodus He brought the manna from Heaven out of nowhere; it had nothing to do with what anybody there had available. Now that He is the manna from Heaven, whatever the disciples have available He is making it work. Maybe this is the way His healing works at times as well! I think that we often skip passed the three non stop days spent by the multitude witnessing/partaking in this healing fest; that is really the true miracle, dinner is just the 'how do you top this' communion experience. Imagine being there during this time and what you would have seen. Imagine recapping these many events hillside in the calm evening air with the taste of fresh fish on the tongue. When Matthew says glorifying the God of Israel, he means glorifying! If anyone is counting back in Jerusalem, every person that is healed by Jesus is one more than any Priest there has been able to do. Wouldn't you count that as a sign? If there was to be a legitimate trial upcoming, do you not think that some of these three day thousands would be more than willing to take the stand? The faith of our Lord is in the testimonies of individual people; multitudes of individual people. Remember, He is not telling us of His successes, transformed people like you and me are. There are more details given in these accounts than Matthew could ever take note of himself, these are surely his collection of other's testimonies.

March15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:18:15-20 THERE I AM IN THE MIDST - Within the flock there are things that can separate and drive members away. We have seen enticement/offense and then despising those gone astray and the effort made to regain them. Now we see internal trespass between two and the response to that trespass. Before either give the other up for lost there is a progression expected to include more and more witnesses to establish/settle the case. Plenty of opportunity is given for the one or both to work matters out civilly. Binding here is in the sense of legal agreement. If the two shall come to a mutually agreeable arrangement, Heaven and the Father will stand behind that; as agreement within the flock is most desired from above. It should be fairly natural for the two parties to desire/achieve this if both parties are sincere about moving forward in the name of their Lord. The picture of the flock very much describes the faith of our Lord. It is His flock, He is it's shepherd. The inner workings and resulting culture within the flock are therefore most important as it has the ability to keep souls away and drive souls out; and as this reflects directly upon His leadership. If we are truly gathered as a flock in His name then agreement amongst us, binding agreement, should be every man's pursuit and petition. If the offender or offended cannot abide by this then certainly He/they should be loosed from the flock at least until they fully repent from the hardness of their hearts. The offended party should then not despise the efforts of Christ and Christ's body to win the lost soul back else they become an offender as well.

March17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:19:1-12 LET NO MAN - The answer seems fairly simple, Let no man. There are three test given to this, one from the Pharisees trying to catch Him in a 'no right answer' dilemma, one from the Disciples thinking if it is really that tough then it would be better not to marry, one from their use of Moses making allowance for the hardness of men's heart. What is it that is so difficult about about marriage in the first place? Men's hearts. Why is it so difficult? The heart can not and will not be legislated against, it will always find reason and logical provision out. If it doesn't find a way out it will just make up a different legislation or none at all. Jesus is not trapped by either three, His statement stands above them all: What God has joined. The heart will find infidelity to be found whether married or eunuch or single. One cannot say that one form is better than the other unless one has received such personal direction from God and then it becomes a matter of personal fidelity to God. Where the Lord's answer is simple 'let no man' man's answer revealing 'but, but, but'. The faith of our Lord is in what God has joined together and to that be faithful. Man's faith is in everything else he can come up with not to remain faithful.

March20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:20:1-16 WHATSOEVER IS RIGHT - What is fair and just to us is largely a matter of perception. It shouldn't be that way but, it of course is. At the end of the day the first laborers hired think the master harsh and the last think that he is the greatest. The first had agreed to a penny, it was a very good day's wage. What upset them was that those that followed got the very same wage for half or quarter the work. What difference would it make if they made a very good day's wage? A wage they agreed to from hour one till the time wages were issued? The master said that he would pay each person whatever was right and he did. He was more than generous to all with his money and helped a great many unemployed people. Would you be upset that a man receiving Christ on his death bed was rewarded the same as you who had served the Lord all your life? Would you not be happy that the man was not left cold and dark and hungry? Let's take it a step further, would you be angered if a nominal believer received a certain blessing but not you? Is the blessing not His as well as the many long range reasons? Is not the kingdom His, first last and last first or what ever? The faith of our Lord is in whatsoever is right as a kingdom just as much as it is what is right for the individual. His warning is that we, being short sighted, may not see it that way. Many will be offended even though there is no cause because of their personal perception of fairness.

March25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:21:12-17 HOUSE OF PRAYER - Though not recorded by Matthew, John depicts this event as the second time in but a few years that Jesus has done this temple cleaning. The problem continues. Currency exchanges and selling doves (the poor man's sacrifice) were not wrong per se, they were actually needed especially this time of year due to volume. We believe that either the profit margins or inconstant arbitrary rates or the location (Court of Gentiles) or all were amiss. The temple priest surely were by now aware if not complicit in the unfair trade. A house of prayer is made a den of thieves and many more than just the vendors were involved thus giving the Temple a bad public reputation. The issue more than anything is how quickly these weed like practices reseed and take root and flourish. It leaves us to wander if in the Lords eye it is not seen the same today. How much of what we know as our "Temple" experience isn't clouded by greed and profiteering and unscrupulous religious industry? The faith of our Lord is in the access for all men to a common place of worship. A place for congregation. A place of prayer and healing. A place for the perfected praise of devoted adherents young and old alike. A place undefiled for sinners and weary souls alike to return to their most holy God. He knows that without Him it just doesn't happen on it's own; in fact He is likely to displease those to whom He has given charge.

April13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:17-30 THOU HAST SAID - The Lords supper is a monumental event for the disciples to look back on the remainder of their lives. You think back on all that they have seen and all the stories that they would have to talk about, what would be their most cherished moment of all? This would probably rate second after seeing Him resurrected/glorified. The memory would be tainted however with the undercurrent of betrayal throughout. Like when a close friend unexpectedly takes his life or is caught in a criminal affair, the shock that the others would later be left with regarding Judas and the clues that they would feel that they might have missed would be considerable. Jesus did not flush Judas out other than to Judas himself. Judas remained with the group for a good part of the evening trying to keep his cover. Some would conjure that Jesus somehow wanted him to betray Him. I rather think that Jesus was not going to stop him. The weight of the evening did not cause either man to buckle. The disciples surely, though it is undocumented, would have discussed this under current extensively in the weeks to come. The dipping could have been anyone of them at the time. The faith of our Lord is in Him being the sacrifice. The strength of our Lord is in holding true and not letting the gut wrenching emotion of this evening distract or sway Him. Satin's three previous tests were juvenile compared to these matters at hand this night. Judas's test comes after he finishes what he is about to do.

May6 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:2:1-12 SAW THEIR FAITH - Faith is visible. It may not always be what you'd expect to see though, at times it may appear as resourcefulness and with some of those times it may be the resourcefulness of others. In this case the oddity is that it seems like pretty destructive and dangerous faith at the expense of Peter the home owner. We are not told what it was that these men believed about Jesus other than the implication that He was the one who could heal their friend. We no nothing other the paralytic's faith. Accusation isn't always seen at first, it is more often perceived and has much to do with a man's reasoning. You can almost expect that it is hiding somewhere out in the crowded room in multiple places. Doubt that raises up to the charge of blaspheme may be easier to detect as it may show up in the eyes and faces. It may also come from knowing the men's hearts with whom you have been dealing. In Jesus' case, He would almost have to start each occasion from the presumption of the other's disbelief, even of His disciples, but, He'd be looking for every occasion to help who He could to believe. Some times an occasion may not be ideal such as the unruliness and disorderliness of these four. On the other hand it may have been the most opportune occasion given the foul reasoning filling the room air. The faith of our Lord encourages risk taking. He is honest about His surroundings but, faithful to the Father and therefore on the look out for opportunities that may even fall from the sky to engage and promote the faith of others.

May24 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:6:30-44 GIVE YE THEM TO EAT - It is not just that Jesus took what the Disciples were able to come up with and make it to feed five thousand plus, it was when and why He did it. The Disciples had just returned from their first paired solo excursions and reported everything that had happened. Imagine the testimonies of these men! But, they were tired and needed rest. Yet five thousand other men (not counting women and children) had followed them out to the rest sight. Imagine the disappointment of these men. Did they get their rest? Little energy and barely enough food to feed themselves, what they did have Jesus was able to make more than enough for everybody. Yes. At the point where they thought they had the power to do anything settling quickly to the point of fatigue and human impossiblility, Jesus shows them who the Master still is. His strength is in divine compassion; compassion for these men, compassion for these shepherd-less crowds, compassion for fallen mankind. Divine compassion continually invigorates and supplies. The faith of our Lord is that these many men will experience this divine love from Him and come to accept the terms of it. It is not their love nor power, it is His, it is His Father's, it is the Spirit's. It is there to taste of, to sustain us, to replenish us, to be filled of, to rest assured of/in. We gather together and offer up what little we have collectively, He makes it miraculously all sufficient. Is there rest for the weary disciple and shepherd-less? Yes, in His compassion! GIVE YE THEM TO EAT.

June21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:12:35-40 BEWARE OF - The teachers of the law in that day were unwilling to correct an interpretation of David's words that the common folks were glad to hear. Maybe it was not so much that the public understood/agreed to the full implications, but, they knew the parading and predatory practices of those teachers in general. How could the scribes be right on the point of interpretation and so wrong on the point of practice? they might ask. If their infamous practices were so commonly known it is more likely that their interpretations were part of a means of disguising of hiding their false practices behind. Logically, the interpretation of Messiah being a mere descendant of David (not David's current Lord) puts the scribe always in charge and in supreme necessity, for there are many descendants of David and only the learned scribe could sort a certain one out. They alone would have the power to mark Messiah out. All that the scribe has become is a desire to be in charge; in charge of doctrine, in charge of interpretation, in charge of tradition, in charge of the law, etc... I have been conjecturing that this has been a day that the Jewish elite have gone about to do all that they could to prepare the public to move forcibly against Jesus. The success that they have been able to have will soon bare out. This passage however seems to tell that the crowd was at least as skeptical if not more so of the elite trying to call the shots and yet were easily whipped into a feeding frenzy when the blood began to surface. The faith of our Lord is that we need to be aware of the same type struggles for power and misuses of power as they effect us as well. Manipulation of a crowd did not stop with the scribes. Manipulation of a crowd against the truth seems to fairly simple fare. Audiences can be glad to hear, know exactly the examples and practices that you are pointing out and still when all is said and done be moved forcibly against you. We should not be surprised by any of this, in fact, expect it from both those who exhibit such self serving practices, and those who would still rather invest themselves under them.

June25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:14:1-11 SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD - It can't be said that there weren't those who knew that this was the last they'd see Jesus. How much Mary of Bethany understood we are not sure but, at least enough accept this ending and to know to respectfully anoint the body for burial. Peter was willing to fight that the end not happen, others were more concerned about who would be promoted into charge should it end, others were not so sure where it was He was even going, most all could agree with Judas' complaint of her excess. It really is a somewhat sorry state of affairs concerning His disciples except for perhaps one. What is it that we are suppose to remember about this woman in memorial? That she could afford 300 pence of ointment? That she had long saved it for some proper (perhaps her own) occasion? That she had gone out earlier that day and sold something/everything of value to buy this for this specific reason? That God had worked through her to make this happen? We don't know the whole of it for sure. What we can take away from this is that something special happened for a brief moment, a deeply real connection, and that the Lord received the thoughtful and meaningful/costly act of adoration from an admiring follower without even a word. The faith of our Lord is on the look out for moments such as this, moments of connecting. There can be a crowd of intellectual diversions and hypocrisies all around Him and yet He seems quite attuned to these one on one opportunities. This Mary perhaps may be His first true convert.

June29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:14:53-65 I AM - We see the weakness of the Law; the rule of which is bent by man's own judgment. The greatest truth of all is judged to be blasphemy. If the question was to be asked "how do I lawfully kill this man (forget that He is Christ momentarily), and the answer that they came up with is to invite others to bare false witness/force the defendant to perjure himself and to exclude more defense minded or sympathetic ears from the inquiry, one has to assume that upholding the Law had very little to do with their proceeding. The Law became something to hide their true intents behind. Thus it is it's weakness. There must be the political calculation that they have been able to turn the swell of public support towards their cause or that they've been too lax given the situation; they are comfortable in doing this now. Here then the weakness of public sentiment is shown as the majority respects the show of power over all else even miracle and scripture. The leaders are offended to the point of slapping Him and spitting and yet are obliged enough to Roman government not to carry out the Levitical sentence of death from Deuteronomy themselves. Thus the weakness of the Sanhedrin itself is manifest. This is all a tangled corrupted mess. Jesus takes it as it is and as it comes. The heart of man is really what is on trial here and the prosecution of it is from the Father. The faith of our Lord is that His sacrifice will bring a change to all this. Change for most will not be for quite some time, but, change for a few (like the man downstairs by the servant's fireside) will be the unquenchable starting point.

August12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:8:22-25 JEOPARDY - News Flash. "Boat with Messiah capsizes, no survivors, details at ten". I know it would be highly unlikely to think of it in the midst of a hellacious sea storm, but here on the sidelines it appears to be fairly normal course for these adventurers; if you're gonna "fly" with the master you're gonna have to expect a severe test or three. So where was their faith? Was it in "let the master sleep, we can handle this all by ourselves"? Was it "He always says to believe in ourselves"? Did He? Was it in "He will wake up at some point all we have to do is keep bailing until then"? Was it "oh no... somebody on board has crossed God and we need to throw the scoundrel overboard" like the sign of Jonah that He'd promised? Surely it wasn't that they needed to have the faith to take on the winds themselves? Only one has the power to grip the wind and seas into His fist, to rebuke them and set their limits. Only one has the power to walk on water, to bid another to walk out to Him. This isn't about self will or self determination or extreme confidence. This is about our faith in His redemptive will and sovereign ability over all things. The faith of our Lord is that in order for us to get from here to there (to where He commanded us to take Him) we need see that it is all in His mighty power, authority and resource. He believes that these men will at some point see this. We may not know exactly why the storm or why a tragedy or why it is we stand face to face with our own mortal jeopardy while serving Him but, we do know that He is God our Lord, not one thing escapes His precise dominion. These men's faith would later show up in their later days, what the Lord was able to accomplish through them fearlessly to us ward, what they were willing to endure and suffer. It is faith born with trust and acknowledgement and selfless abandon. Where then is jeopardy when there is this kind of faith in Him? kjv@Proverbs:30:4 kjv@Mark:4:40-41

September5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:13:1-9 CUT DOWN - To what extent is God involved in catastrophe or mayhem? There may not be as much here in this passage as we'd like there to be for a complete theory. We know that even the hairs on our head are numbered and not a sparrow falls without His knowing. Somewhere we get the notion that these things are a punishment from God or that these people were sinners. It doesn't say that though does it? What it does say is about Israel the fig tree expected to produce fruit. This may be what a fruitless tree looks like; lunatic vengeful leaders and poor building codes, inspection and code enforcement. Who is to say that these Galileans weren't believers as Jesus spent so much time preaching in that area? We are looking for Jesus to answer the question on the small micro scale and He rather answers it on the macro. This is what one must expect when they turn their backs collectively on their God. They make bad decision, they become civilly corrupt, they are lead by tyrants and it is all because of their action and inaction, their faithlessness. This does not completely answer the tornado hurricane issue. It cuts through some preliminary issue however. The faith of our Lord is focused on big pictures, pictures behind pictures, pictures within pictures, knowing how things work and how they don't.

September6 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:13:10-17 WHOM SATAN HATH BOUND - Jesus has said that He can only do what He sees the Father do. He sees the Father loosening here. #G630 The word means to send away, divorce, pardon. The woman goes one direction and the infirmity goes the other. The more classical view is that God would be causing infirmity either because she is a sinner or because there is a break down in His genetic codes. If we go back one passage to Jesus' talk regarding catastrophe and mayhem, the context may be that this is what it looks like having a fruitless tree. You will recall in the wilderness for forty years people did not get sick, their clothes did not fray, their shoes even did not wear. When they were in God's complete care infirmity did not appear. As they have removed themselves from God's complete care infirmity abounds more and more. You will recall all the many quotes through the prophets that God has always been willing to heal Israel if they would just keep things straight. Like with the collapse of the towers innocent people may be caught under societies rubble. In fallen societies (from God's view) normal sexual inhibitions lessen, diets change, fears of pain and infirmities and deformities and bad deaths rise and thus odd prescriptions and remedies worsen the situation, medicines and surgeries are mis-prescibed, the entire course of affairs have dire affects upon what was otherwise made to work by God's command. It is an environment dominated by abject fear. Worse yet the door is left wide open for Satan to operate at his will. If God's will is not being followed, whose other will is strong enough? Does this mean that this woman was a devil worshiper? Probably not. Does this mean that she was a sinner? Well we all are. Why are we not all folded over? When so much of God's creation works so well as designed, when it does not these relatively few times (and there is no apparent reason why it shouldn't have) it should be a sign that we have as a society left the door open to another's will. It is not as easy as any one person reaching up and closing that door, it is opened by the whole, it effects the whole, it is closed by the Lord when He sees fit (re-establishes a final closure) for the whole. We also have Israel receiving a double measure sworn from the Lord. God's blessings to us are magnified in them for our observation; so too His curses. Israel was given something Holy to possess: His Commandments, His Covenant, His Name, His Temple, His Seed. Moses warned them of how such blessings would turn to curse should they not fulfill their obligations to that covenant. We today possess a similar (extended) form of that covenant in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Should we not expect the same double measure or more should we as a group neglect so great a salvation as well? Jesus appears to be walking in an extraordinary time of infirmity and demonic possession. The fruitless tree as a whole is rotted from the core outward. Yet for now, His work was being done on a smaller individual level because that is what He saw the Father as doing. It is not the time yet to remove all sickness because it is not a time yet where we have all come back to HIM. The holiness of His that we hold is yet held by defiled and idle hands. That this miraculous and instantaneous healing was done on Sabbath better states the idleness that prevails week long because of defiled (dead) religious traditions. The faith of our Lord is simply beyond our capacity to understand; our perception of it is too short sighted if not blind. Signs and indications that we should be seeing as messages and proofs are seen rather as God abandoning us. The big picture healing for mankind is not as instantaneous; it has taken several thousand years already to develop. And each one of us (believer and non-believer) are swallowed up in that plan till it comes to full fruition. That it hasn't already is a sign of the size and scope of the problem.

September7 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:13:18-21 BRANCHES OF IT - The Kingdom resembles the planting of a mustard seed. There is a interpretive practice of scriptural consistency that when scripture uses a picture type like a mustard seed or leaven the picture type is always the same, it does not change meaning. There is also an interesting consistency with the fowls of the air that you should search out. The seed is somewhat tricky because it is associated else where with the "Word" and with faith and with the Kingdom. The three can be thought of as one thing. The kingdom is built upon the Word, faith is built upon and is in the Kingdom Word, it can be said the kingdom is built upon those who have faith in the Word. Leaven however is always associated with corruption. The kingdom is not built upon corruption nor can it be corrupted nor is it hidden, but there is a direct attempt by many at making it appear corrupted to those that would have faith. One way to do that is to put the emphasis on one's faith and not the word or the kingdom. Another is to produce a glorying in the traditional articles and bureaucracies of an outward faith. Another way is to cast doubt upon the whole by puffing up what it should be and then deflating it what it is currently not. That these two parables are placed in the larger context of a mis-understanding of mayhem and infirmity framed by a fruitless tree of Israel and it's widespread resistance to that which would make it fruitful shows the depth to which the Lord's work is having to go to move forward. The faith of our Lord is strongly placed in the Kingdom. It would seem rather easy for Him given the extent of man's depravity to give it up. The kingdom/word/faith He believes in so strongly to be our answer, He is willing to give His life to make it happen. Of all His miracles this future accomplishment will be by far His greatest. Now find the placement of those pesky fowls and you will have the more complete picture.

September24 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:18:15-17 SUCH IS THE KINGDOM - As adults we all come to the kingdom supposing our own terms. That the kingdom is this or that. That it will accomplish this and benefit fit in this way. That I have this to offer. That it will make me into that. Here a child is just handed over, doesn't know what to expect, has no preconceived notion of who this is or what it's reaction is supposed to be. Wrapped tight in its swaddling, closely protected by mom and dad, handed only to the aunts and grandmas and close trusted friends; well here is another trust-able face, Jesus. I don't know of any strict tradition, but I imagine that children were often handed to the rabbi and it may have been tied into some kind of a notion of a blessing. The fact that the parents are doing this may not be much more than evidence that they see Jesus as a rabbi and they are seeking His blessing. Jesus however is not addressing the parents, he is addressing the disciples and using the children as examples. Being received in the kingdom is much like being given into the hands of Jesus. We have very little concept of who He is and what it all means and certainly not the concept of blessing. We are consumed with intrigue and curiosity with the many features of this friendly increasingly familiar face, locked into the gentle tone of voice, giggling and slobbering with joyfulness. Our approach to Him as adults too often misses this much more natural organic childlike air. What do we really know? What do we really think? What do we really expect to bring to this table? The faith of our Lord is in something much more like what we have with our own children except now we are the child. The kingdom should not be full of children that have raised themselves and now have returned on their own terms and for their own benefits. Be today more like a child and allow others to be the same as well.

September29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:19:11-27 WOULD NOT THAT I SHOULD REIGN OVER THEM - The purpose of this parable is stated right off, some thought that the kingdom should appear immediately. What we have then is an prophecy/illustration of what will occur until He returns in the future. The first note of importance is that the nobleman Christ will leave to a place where He will receive His kingdom. In His absence ten servants receive ten pounds each from Him to investment. This differentiates this parable immediately from the parable of the talents where three servants receive three different sums for the same purpose. Second, the citizens here of His kingdom have rebelliously declared that they do not will for Christ to reign over them. This describes the general sentiment of the people/world all around us to this day. So we have the picture of a limited number of servants given the identical amount of resource (could be the gospel message whole as opposed to the varying of individual talents) being invested in a world where the majority of citizen are in outright rebellion. It would be natural to expect the return on investment to vary given differences in location and time, level of risk and engagement, etc... What we are shown however, is only two of the ten having any notable return and at least one of the ten not having invested the given resource at all. We are not told the end of these servants from whom what they had was taken away. We only know the end of the remaining rebellious citizens. So if you are a servant and if you are expecting the kingdom to appear immediately, it may be best that you ask what return on investment have we made in this interim. If you are waiting for the mood of the citizens to improve, don't. If you are of the mind that serving this Lord is bitter and course and that only He unfairly profits, don't. The faith of our Lord is not in finding the favorable conditions for investing His word, He is a sower that sows His word even on the wayside. Because we tend to think that the kingdom is right here or just rounding the corner home we tend not to serve (invest His gospel into the darkness) any more than need be. Because we tend to think the push back and effort required harsh and unrewarding we tend to hold to the gospel for ourselves and not invest. The Lord feels that He has given each of us equal resource. Along with the resource He has given us the time to put it forward. If the resource were to be taken away what would you then do? Would you go back to being a citizen?

October1 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:19:45-48 DEN OF THIEVES - Two worlds collide, the world of a heavenly kingdom, the world of tough daily realities. The reality is that for all the miracles and tremendous teachings and wondrous prophecies for the chief people Jesus lacks one major thing; an army to face up against Rome. To get on board with Jesus is to sign the temples' death certificate. Jesus talks about the destruction of the temple because of Israel's disbelief and hardness, but really what happens to the temple and Jerusalem when Rome finally says enough is enough? Masses of people are coming to hear Him now and clinging to His every word. Tax revenues and money rate exchanges are being over turned, rebellion to the rule of Rome fills the air. Jesus being warned not to come now has come. How do they back a man with no army however when Rome would tear this little heaven fest to pieces? Rome expects the Jewish leaders to take care of this. Favorable deals have been struck, intimidating statements have been made, strongman knuckles are being cracked. The leaders are being backed by both sides up against a wall of very harsh realities. What a terrible state for Israel now to be in. How far have they fallen from the glory years to be at the point of sacrificing their own Messiah for the sake of their own safety. Is there then any choice left for them now that they have gone down this road for this many years? The faith of our Lord is about something much larger than even Israel, it is about a very definite undeniable truth. Israel turned it's back several centuries ago and lived a subservient and shadowy existence for far too long. It now will be made the executioner of it's own Righteous Servant. The Scepter of Judah is being ripped from it's hand and all possibility of it's continuance beyond its grasp. The table merchants may be called a den of thieves, but it is a long series of sinful rebellions against God that has stolen this chosen nation away to this.

October8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:21:5-38 POSSESS YOUR SOULS - At a time when all of this is happening around you the command is "In your patience possess ye your souls". It would be easy for the heart to be over charged, men's hearts failing them for fear, being distress and perplexed. This is not however the heart of the follower of Jesus. Listen to the commands stated here - go ye not therefore after them, be not terrified, settle it therefore in your hearts, in your patience possess your souls, then look up, lift hands, know that the kingdom is nigh, take heed to yourselves, watch ye therefore, pray always to be found worthy. It would be easy for the mind to chase after only the maze of prophetical details. One could ask how are all these odd un-connectable details ever connect to be fulfilled. The Jews looked upon the earlier messianic prophecies the same way and saw the near impossibility of putting all the prophetic pieces together. So much so that they missed the actual fulfillment happening before their eyes in real time. It was really quite easy to put all the many pieces together once we saw how easily God fulfilled them. These end time prophecies could very well be the same for us; illogical or impossible to see as one completed puzzle, but there is no doubt God will have an easy time preforming them all as one as well. More than the individual details revealed, we should consider that within the many details is a fairly straight forward way of keeping ones head through the time to come; obey the commandments contained therein. They are nearly the same commands that would see us through most any other trial or personal tribulation. One other thought. When this time comes what has ever happened to all the tolerant secularists and intellectuals? What has happened to humanism and pacifism and the great enlightenment? Why are they attacking the elect so? Could it be that they cannot withstand the terrors and perplexities of what is come? The faith of our Lord calls a whole lot upon the obedience of these end time saints. The things that they are asked to do and suffer is almost for to shame to us who have it so good now. It may not be their time now, but it certainly is our time now. What have we been asked to do and suffer? Should not we get to doing it before this time sneaks up unawares?

November20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:9:1-12 WORKS OF GOD MANIFEST - We must be very careful not to make this say what it does not. The issue is disease and impairment, specifically prenatal. Does it come from the sin either of the parent or the affected? We know that in the case of a heroine or crack addict mom, her sins can cause deformity and severe often fatal consequence. A father also with his sexually transmitted diseases etc... So it is possible. If we are talking about all sin in general then why are not all kids born of sinners diseased and sickly? And if not all born to sinning parents then why any at all? We could also see the possibility of an adult of consenting age doing something dietary or promiscuous or risky etc.. that would result in their calamity. Again if sin is the cause why not all sinners and if not all then why any? In this particular case we are talking about a man blind from birth. Like so many similar cases it defies explanation unless we are to take into account the original curse and the removal of the tree of life. This explanation would make such disease and deformity and impairments much more indiscriminate on God's part. Man falls, death is sentenced and enforced, tree of life removed, toil and pain added, genetic disturbance and entropy, sub mutation and viral/bacterial balances altered, sickness and disease obvious and increasing. Add to this the theory that Israel itself is under double measure of God's blessing/curse given their possession of the sacred articles and covenants with God. We see more blindness and deafness and leprosy and demonic possession particularly at this biblical time of reprobacy than perhaps ever before/since. That Jesus would say that this particular man's blindness is not because of any one person's sin does not mean to say that sin, especially original sin and the sin of Israel mishandling of the sacred are not involved. Neither does it mean that the man's condition was forced upon him just so that God could show that Jesus can heal him. The works of God being manifested could rather go to show the indiscriminate nature of the curse, the compounding of the curse by Israel's indolence and irresponsibility, God's undeserved mercy pointing from all directions to His Anointed One, this same Jesus Christ. Now, we must ask in the other cases when Jesus concluded a healing with the words "thy sins are forgiven" how many of these times was it said in addition/conclusion to the healing and how many times was it necessary in order to provide the healing? The faith of our Lord is that the works of God will be made manifest and that He is the one that must work these works. What kind of works would these be if He was the one that necessitated them just to show Himself capable? Sin undoubtedly made for the necessity. His manifestation is the mercy presented to atone for it.

November29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:12:1-11 AGAINST THE DAY OF MY BURYING - It is ironic that Jesus in large part is being sentenced to death for raising a man from the dead. Name me another such case. Now the reasoning behind the sentence will quickly evolve into more, but at this point the fear is that Jesus is now performing things that have serious internal and external consequence. Lazarus is also marked out (sentenced to death for once being dead). There are many aware of Jesus' whereabouts. They are commanded to report it to the leaders, not many did. They could be held as duplicitous cooperatives (knowing that the dead man raised and the man who raised him were meeting). You can see just how ridiculous the leadership has gotten. Then there is Mary, Martha's sister. We have already spoke of Martha's uncommon faith; it appears that it has rubbed off on to Mary. Mary and Martha had kind of gone back and forth with the lead of obtaining the fullest measure of faith, Mary having been the un-distracted pupil first and Martha recently having accepted the Lord's omnipotence first. Mary now comes forth with nearly a years worth of common wages to pour over her Lord's head, intuitively realizing that He is about to die for mankind's sins. The men folk are not this far along yet as some are swayed (or confused) by Judas' reasoning. They do not yet know Judas as the Lord knows him, nor do they know the road that has been leading him to betrayal. Judas will betray Jesus. He'll be the one to tell Sadducee where Jesus will be at. We suspect that it will also be about the money, but the money may just be the gateway drug to something much more determined. Judas trips up here and crosses Jesus and nearly brings the other men crosswise along with him. Surely he knows that. There is more than just ointment that has been stored up that is about to be broken open and spilled out. There was a prophecy given to the young mother Mary that the Christ child she bore would one day cause her great pain because that He would reveal the hearts of many. See then the hearts revealed. Feel her pain amongst otherwise anticipation and excitement. The day now is soon coming and is already. How much more do you need to see to be convinced? Not enough revelation yet? The faith of our Lord is that none of this trouble is by accident, it is raised by His presence. A son cannot do any of the works of his father in this darkening light without the whole world coming to pieces. And why this? Because of the hearts of man. A hundred billion hearts all with such busyness to do. How crucial this quiet personal moment of sincere personal homage by a long haired woman of such great compound yet simple faith. A moment saved up for against the day of His burying!

December3 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:13:1-17 THOU SHALT KNOW HEREAFTER - What information is it that Peter is without that He will come to know shortly that will make this lesson of the master washing the feet come to full light? He doesn't know that one pair of those feet has already put plans in place to betray our Lord. Another of those pairs of feet will deny Him. Other's eyes will drift to sleep when they should be on watch and pray not to enter temptation. One of those pairs will refuse to believe the other's testimony till he sees the resurrection with his own two eyes. Like Peter there are many things that we do not know about ourselves or those around us that the master knows and yet He does what He does because it is the right thing to do. Remember this because soon the role we are to play changes. Instead of our master washing our feet it will be us washing other's feet. There likely will be things that you come to know about the others that they may not even know about themselves that would cause a less Christ like person to simply walk away from. Perhaps it is people in your congregation, persons in your family or community, even key individuals within your ministry, perhaps it is not just one but all of them, because of what you know about them you may feel above humbling yourself to this level of service with. Our Lord went ahead with it; so should we. If anyone should be above this it would be the one whom all things had been given, who came from the Father and is going to the Father. Yet, Jesus loved His own which were in the world and loved them to the end. Let's ask it this way, these men have been with Jesus more than three years, at what point were they perfected? At what point did they fully believe to the complete saving and cleansing of their soul? The faith of our Lord put into this light is truly amazing. For three years the completion of this work upon these men has always been out into the future. It could even be said that the true work has only just begun. These men have loyally followed, they have some information, they have many amazing experiences, they have been made to feel part of the group and future of this ministry, however, it has all gone to help Jesus show Himself to the world as the Messiah. Now comes the individual transformations and the transformed group taking shape. Now it it comes to what a faithful believer in this Messiah is looks like and doing and why he is doing it. The faith of our Lord has been a total investment into what these men could be after He departs from them. So the investment comes round to us; it is now our holding. There is what you know about yourself and other people. There is what our Lord has faith that we will become. There is a lesson as to how best we show that we understand that lesson and how we show it forward to those whose weary feet like our's may need a little refreshing.

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.

December19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:18:19-24 WHY ASKETH THOU - How do a few powerful elite (but not powerful enough to do this deed on their own) sway the perception and support of enough others to get this job done? Think of those others as the jury. The prosecution's effort here is intended to grab the focus of the jury away from anything Jesus might be defending Himself by. The officer appears offended by the defendant's answer with the purpose of setting a definite tone of authority and gamesmanship by the defendant for the room fully in mind. Whether he was told to do this or whether he just felt it necessary we do not know; I believe it though to be staged. The high priest is seeking to set a similar tone releasing into the room air the scent that Jesus is being secretive for the blood hounds to sniff without having to prove it. Irregardless of any answer, the jury (many of the same) is left with the sense of Jesus disrespectfully toying with authority and that authority knows something that Jesus would rather hold back. It is all an act, but very effective in increments. One does not break the will at first, but bends it. Knowing that this ploy is in place our Lord's comments are as they should be, essentially "what is your intention in asking me that". Jesus is not going to defend Himself here. He has already proved Himself on a much bigger stage. His silence instead will be proof against intents and methods of His accusers. The trial is much the same in our age. His accusers are setting the stage for the jury by filling the air with nebulous scents; no need for proofs (less effective). The scent of holding something threatening back, the ora of descent and rebelion, the air of war mongering and brainwashing and alterior motive, the tinge of stirring crowds into fanaticism, all thrown out not to be answered (how could we) but to set the tone and put the adherent on the defensive. Where then is the Lord's defense? Is it really in us becoming more vocal and defensive? Or is it in us keeping true to what He has been teaching and commanding all along? Is not our love and fruitfulness in the knowledge of Him His best defense? The faith of our Lord is in the work that He has already been doing, it is in knowing from this initial work what in the future will be done. His faith is not in the trial or the defense or the court of corruptible opinion, it is in the righteousness of His Father. So must ours! Not everyone else is an accuser, they may simply be the jury. They should be aware of the tactic just the same.

December21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:18:28-40 TO THIS END - Apparently when you are breaking your own law by having a trial at night and coming to a judgment of condemnation in the same day it is important that you not break your own traditions of not dirtying your hands by going into a Gentile's house; it makes it all better. Apparently if you yourself do not have legal power to perform capital punishment it is okay to take him to someone that does; it is all right. John doesn't go into the false evidence and witness that the Sanhedrin itself trumped up, but apparently it too is okay as long as you don't sully your hands and your image by expressing concern over not missing the closing hours of the paschal festival. Aren't you glad that they thought this all through and got it to where they could murder God's Son without breaking their ceremonial traditions? Why should Pilate entertain this motion? Because they wouldn't have brought him had He not been what they said he was; you can take their word on that. Oh so Pilate doesn't find anything wrong with the man, but it is okay to offer him in a trade for a seditious robber? Did that come out of left field or what? Is it article ?#$& that says that it is lawful to trade an innocent man for a convict tried by Roman law if the Jews insist? What business does Rome have with a man who won't tell you directly that he is a king, with no army, with no intent of removing anyone from their throne, who has gone out of his way on several occasions not to present himself to the public as someone who would? Some would say that Pilate felt for Jesus but cowarded to the pressure of the Jews. WHat? Pilate (who has been tyrannical and utterly vicious to the Jews as recently as a few months ago on the temple stairs) and the Sanhedrin suddenly being buddy buddy should alert us to something politically motivated happening here in a big way. They are both trying to present themselves to the public (and to history) as having clean hands. Don't riot against me Jerusalem for well I pretended not to want to be involved in this when most vehemently I did. Don't riot against us thousands of followers because we did not kill Jesus, Jesus killed Himself by what He said to Pilate. This is why all the detail is given to public perception. Little did they know that it was going to be written about. A few weeks and all this messiness would be done with, so they thought. It was written in a time span where if the written testimony that we have was false that the many witnesses could have fought back, we would have historical evidence that these misrepresentations had been vigorously disputed.Truth is that Rome didn't think much of this little incident until it had stirred the people so that they had to destroy the Temple, burn the records and ransack the city a few decades latter. What we do have is our Apostles talking about it quite openly to the public in a tone that everyone else knew about it and accepted it; many were convicted by it. The words here of Jesus then take on deeper meaning when He says that He came into this world to "bare witness unto the truth" and everyone that is "of the truth" heareth His voice. Truth is not the perception portrayed of washing ones hands of the matter, nor is it of making it back to the festival in time, truth is why it is you feel the need to trip all over yourself and the law on the way to portraying yourself as innocent of a most guilty matter.Truth is proving man his nature so that then you can show them God's. The faith of our Lord remember is that this is all in the Father's hands. No it is not right what they are doing, but what else could be expected. How does this ever change unless the Son of God suffers this wrong and takes it in His flesh to the grave along with every other wrong so that He might raise up a people free of it's corruption. Born into to bare wittness, to this end completed.