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January6 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:3:1-12 THE BAPTIST JOHN - The old prophecies fulfilled are beginning to flood forth. John is now a fully reasoning and consenting adult and so is Jesus. John is sent to prepare the way for Jesus and the way is through repentance. Jesus is relying on the timing of the Father in order to kick off His active ministry. God's timing is likely based upon the Levitical shadow or type regarding the Passover Lamb and it's requirements. He is close to beginning the time of inspection. The preparations made these millenniums are many and exact, just as the requirements of the role Messiah; they are not just anything some ambitious wanna be wants them to be. Jesus is prepared to go up against every imaginative preconception (and there are many even amongst the most devoted and zealous) to achieve His Father's will. It is His faith. Is it ours?

January12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:1-12 BLESSED ARE - If sin is the cause of all unhappiness/dread/curse, then theses attitudes go a long way to setting things back aright. Jesus is saying that these are 'the' attitudes... be this... thus we remember them as the beatitudes. These attitudes lead first to the acceptance of a Lord and Savior and then continue after as a result. The produce is properly a spiritual happiness, but, the word happiness in English has been considerably diluted. There is a notion of joy filled contentment even in the face of adversity, a sense of virtuous imperative moral excellence and the courage to stand against the viral hostility of wickedness, the calming certainty of a future tense reunion and just reward. Blessed is not only a vision of how man will one day be, it is a image to be held by those of such deepened spiritual traits. These are all traits of putting it all into God's hands, these are all traits heavily shunned by the natural man. The flesh is at enmity with the spirit. Jesus would not have declared this had it not been His faith.

January13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:13-16 SALT AND LIGHT - Think of light as being His glory. Think of salt as being His glory. There is no other. We become vessels of that light and vessels of that salt on earth by accurately reflecting His glory. We can easily become vessels of a light trying to be hid, vessels of salt that becomes unsavory. How would we become that? Not accurately reflecting His glory. If our light shining before all men is the light of our many good works then Christ's glory is hid, others will not see it as anything other than our own works nor will He receive the praise. If our light shining before all men is the light of His glory then they see our many good works as His and correctly give Him the glory. It is the faith of Jesus that in His earthly course He Himself must accurately reflect the glory of the Father exclusively; what He see's the Father do... that He does. Many great works are accomplished from this reflective mindset plus to each and every work He rightly and perceivibly gives the Father the entire credit. Likewise, it is His faith that we too would see what Jesus is doing and do it exclusively that so that when people see Him working through us they rightfully give Him the praise. We are preordained to do these good works because they are the works of Christ in/through us. We abide in His vine, we produce His fruit.

January15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:21-26 BUT I SAY UNTO YOU (MURDER) - 'Okay, so this is the way you have been taught, the way that I am about to teach you is the way it needs to be taught'; this is essentially what Jesus is saying. For instance, consider murder (one of several similar considerations). The key twist is the word 'therefore' because it ties two very different thoughts (so we think) together. You are bringing your gift to the alter. You remember or become aware of another person having ought against you. What ought would another have? An ought that places you in danger of judgment/tribune/hell fire. The alter that you thought you were standing at has become the throne of a Judge, in His hands you have been delivered to stand for the sin of murder. How so? A person was kept from heaven because you religious person were angry at him without cause. A sister was kept from heaven because you made her to feel her worthless. A struggling sinner was kept from heaven because he was called or was treated like a fool. Who have you kept from heaven's gate in your own pursuit to this alter? Who soul have you damned? This is a murder beyond all murder, the murder lasting eternity; the type of murder never considered nor taught against by men. Our Lord's faith is in a much higher calling, a completely different frame of mind and self image. All men fall short. All men have done this. Where then have we repented? Where have we turned our course? Agree with thine adversary quickly whiles thou art in the way with him....

January16 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:27-30 BUT I SAY UNTO YOU (ADULTERY) - The common teaching again falls short. It sees sin as actions and this action of adultery as mutual and consentual. Sin is of the heart however. You could cut eyes and limbs, anything would be better than nothing, but, you would still have the heart. The purpose of the law is to point us to the need for Christ, for Christ to be our fulfillment, not to provide a way for us to legislate against the flesh. One would have to legislate it in so many areas to the point where it would become sick and tired of any law and rebel against it out of spite. You cannot legislate the heart. The heart has played a trick already on us in defining adultery down to a remote and distant action. How many other other areas has it done this? It is Jesus' faith that the Law is correctly in place and can be used with the correct discernment to show us this errant heart. Remember He said 'blessed are thou'. Why? Because He 'has not come to destroy the law but fulfill it'. In what way then am I blessed? Because broken and humbled and contrite we turn to Him to be our fulfillment. It is our Lord's faith that Law and Grace (a specific grace - He Himself) work hand in hand to separate/lift men from their sin stained hearts.

January17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:5:31-32 BUT I SAY UNTO YOU (DIVORCE) - The common teaching again falls short, this time concerning the writ of divorce. A vow is made before God, one or both want out. Adultery has been made atleast by one as defined in the previous verses perhaps even murder regardless of whether any act has been commited (throw in false worship and lying as well). The common teaching would be to draw up a writ of divorce presumably to legally protect the helpless wife. The spiritual effect of such a teaching is that not only would sin be allowed and continued, that it would be multiplied beyond anyones narrow minded intention. Even at it's sincerest best, the heart is looking from it inside out to search what God may have meant by a commandment. The faith of Jesus is that He is looking from outside in, knowing as the Father would know the command's intention, viewing down into the effects of the heart's self fashioned faulty drive and reasoning. The allowance we cloth divorce in is the same filthy wardrobe we dress our other sins up in. If only we could see as He does the naked truth.

January21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:6:1-4 ALMS - For the needy receiving alms you'd think that the end result would be the same; what difference does the motivation of the giver make when the money is handed over? For the giver the difference seems to be in their personal final reward. But is it? Perhaps the true difference goes back to the earlier mention of being a shining light and salt, it is in the accurate reflection of God light. If Jesus is the fulfilment of the the law, if He has become our exceeding righteousness, if we are of truly broken and contrite and meek spirit, then alms is one tangible measurement of our sincerity and ability toward these spiritual objectives. In one manner His light is hidden and in another more secretive way the light is in full view. As much as the needy need to have our alms, they need to see it in God's light. The question may be whether God rewards us regardless of the outcome to the needy person or is the outcome all important to the reward? The faith of our Lord is in tangible things done from the proper heart making His light shown to those who need light most.

January30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:7:24-29 THESE SAYINGS OF MINE - Therefore. Therefore what? Therefore everything He has said in this sermon is something supremely wise for us to take hold and build our faith/lives upon. It is our Lord's faith that this series of sayings will make the needed spiritual difference in us. Not only will we be built up but built on solid indestructible footings, all focused and centered upon His righteous fulfillment of the righteous eternal demands of His/our Father. The difference is as radical and stark as darkness and light. The fruit of which exceeding the righteousness of the most zealous scribes and legalists. The entirety of fulfillment would still not be available to us until His death and resurrection, but, He is well on His way to providing us the reasoning and the means of the Father's plan. This one sermon is without doubt the greatest most concise and all encompassing teaching delivered by any person in human history. Well worth re-reading kjv@Matthew:5-7

January31 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:8:1-4 I WILL - Was the leper part of the show or part of the testimony? Jesus wanted him to be healed but, did not want him to tell anybody except as required by the Law. If part of the show, such a cleansing would garner great press and recognition. If part of the testimony a man would be healed and the Law fulfilled. Strangely, as a consequence, it seems that straight/honest fulfilling of the Law would bring greater press through controversy. The faith of our Lord does not operate on human terms of what will certain people think or what result will stir from this, it operates from the center of what is right to do. If it stirs controversy amongst this or that group, fine, it is because they are unaccustomed to seeing what is right being done. If ever you have opportunity to ask our Lord if He wilt.. be prepared for Him to say yes He wills it... oh and all of the consequence that comes along with that. The man might have better asked "do you want that I should stir up the hornet's nest by you doing simply what is right?" You see the faith of our Jesus do you not?

February8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:9:14-17 BUT THY DISCIPLES - Some of the remaining disciples of John the Baptist are a little behind the times now. The are struggling making the transition from 'preparing the way' to the 'I am the Way'. They are willing to follow the message of repentance, willing to follow a similar legalism to the Pharisees, but, not willing to follow the Christ. Many of us are in a similar position having done everything religious up to accepting the person of Christ. Without the person of Christ the religion of man is of no value. The person of Christ is not a patch placed on old leaky wine sack, it is an entirely new bag altogether. Neither Pharisee nor Baptist can patch the difficulties and inconsistencies of their faith, neither can we. The followers of Christ must be born from new stock; spiritual not human stock, the stock bonded together in the person of Christ. Afterwards by comparison the two stocks will have similar appearances and functions but, will be entirely different in their initiation motivation and intents. The faith of our Lord is in the new. He fulfills the old, we become His new.

February11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:9:35-38 MOVED WITH COMPASSION - Shepherd-less sheep scattered and torn about. He was probably the only one there that day that saw it that way. There were those that may have thought that they were doing a pretty good job holding the flock together. Those that thought that they were just steps away from having it all. There were plenty of others that thought that they were protecting themselves and others from Him. What He was looking at was the result of thousands of years of the human heart bending the Law into something unrecognizable, the consequences of deceitful ambitions trying to make it right on it's own terms. He was moved with compassion. Not blame mind you, though He knew where blame laid. Compassion. Not condemnation, they were already condemned. In the midst of this sight the faith of our Lord sees a harvest of souls and laborers going out to do the harvest. We are to pray for laborers, that the Father would send them. These laborers are important in the plan. Souls are ripe! Do you see that?

February19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:12:38-45 THIS GENERATION - Wait a minute...which is it? Is this a potential christ or a definite devil that they are asking for a sign from? Certain scribes? Whose kingdom is it now being divided? Be careful what you ask for a true sign demands a reciprocal action - repentance. Others have witnessed less and repented; do these certain men really know what they are asking for? We have mentioned here both an evil/adulterous generation and a wicked generation. One is seeking a undeniable proof. What would they ever do with such a truth if it meant disposing of their evil/adulterous ways? The other is accepting of the proof to the point of a cleansing, but, yet leaves the door wide open to be overcome by much more of the same. For a moment we are thinking of an individual man possessed, but, the conclusion involves a generation; this generation. The only sign offered to them is the only sign offered to us... the sign of His Resurrection. It is the faith of our Lord that this particular proof is to be timeless, ultimate and undeniable. Those that do dispute it do so for their own exaltation and peril. For the generations looking forward, the generations looking back it should be more than needed to conclude and repent to it's certain salvation. For those of this generation it is their dividing moment.

February20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:12:46-50 STANDING WITHOUT - Is Jesus saying that His mother and siblings are not doing the will of the Father at present? What were they going to tell Him? That they were being followed every where they go? That strange cults were beginning to develop outside the house regarding Mary? Was the public's curiosity making carnival acts out of their own lives? Were they projecting their own stress upon Jesus and asking Him to come home, rest, let things cool down? Were there threats circulating? It would all be conjecture, but, surely their quiet lives have been burdened as well. This lifestyle is not anything that they would have chosen themselves, at times it may have even been understandable for them to resent. Jesus is not pushing them away, He is desiring for them to come along side. He is asking them to consider the larger picture, the adoption of a great many into the brotherhood of the kingdom. The faith of our Lord regards many issues as one; it all comes down to obeying the will of God. It would be easy to be pulled aside by this problem or this concern or that wise motherly counsel. His followers must be able to follow along with Him even through the impossible and uncertain as much as is both humanly possible and spiritually empowered. Without this frame of mind we too could find ourselves outside the crowd insisting to advise Him on something that in the grand scheme of things is of little consequence.

February24 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:13:36-43 SO SHALL IT BE - The Lord's explanation of the 'Parable of the tares' has more to do with the end of the tares than anything else. 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear' He concludes. There is a consummation of time when the angels will be used to gather the tares for burning because they offend and do iniquity. They offend because they are moral agents of the enemy and even in their best of intentions/deeds they commit iniquity. Remember how often Jesus has spoken of no middle ground, the tree/fruit is either good or evil. Given that for so long there was little way for anyone else to tell the difference from the wheat this must come as a shock to a great many. The difference must be quite obvious in the final fruit. Many have faith in some form of His non-judgmental universal compassion, the faith of our Lord is not only in the execution of judgment but, that the judgment that He intends is entirely righteous; it is the ultimate form of compassion to those on whom it will be placed.

February25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:13:44-46 WHEN A MAN HATH FOUND - Is the man described here one of us or is it Him? Could be either, but, not as you might think. There is not anything that we could sell or trade to buy the kingdom of heaven ourselves. The price is not in our hands. The price has been paid however by Him. Is it so much to ask that we would not be better off now selling all that we have that is holding us back in this life for His life to live in us? He once said 'where a man's treasure is, there will be his heart'. Peter later implored 'having done all to make our calling and election sure'. There is the grace that saves us, that pays our price for us. There is the grace that we release ourselves into as a daily living sacrifice. There is the exceeding and overflowing grace that we share as a result upon others. The faith of our Lord is that He is willing to pay the price for this type of kingdom, even if it means hiding it away for the time that it takes to come up with the price. Now that He has the price, this is what He most wants to see and what He is most willing to give Himself entirely to. How about us?

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.

March7 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:16:5-12 TAKE HEED AND BEWARE - The Disciples have forgotten to bring bread (perhaps not even five loafs) and must think that the Pharisees are going to attempt to emulate the wonder with their own bread. In their minds I think that they feel that they've let Him down. That is an issue with their faith, Jesus is able to make bread from rocks if He has to. Instead the warning was to take heed (observe/examine) and beware (be alert to/take precaution against what has been discovered) of their false doctrines. Even a little bit of their doctrine ferments and puffs up the entire loaf. Leaven is essentially the left over or reserve from a previous batch of dough. Jesus at a latter point compares bread to His own body which is given for our sins; this is His doctrine, a new dough entirely. Anything other than this above or beyond (say legalism) produces a comparative diminishment of His doctrine and a swelling of man's. Amazing how the use of one word can describe the entirety of the doctrine held by others to such a tee. Little faith is that God does not have everything well in hand and is capable of doing whatever is most needed despite our effort or lack, corrupt faith is that salvation is anything less or more than the incarnation and sacrifice of the Son of God Jesus Christ. The faith of our Lord is that we will be able to take heed and beware of such corrupting doctrine once clued into this truth. However, it will be a constant effort and struggle against. A very small amount does change everything about what should be believed. And once altered, who do we get the loaf back to it's true unleavened form?

March8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:16:13-20 WHOM AM I - The base context throughout is who Jesus is, not Peter, not the Church, everything is His, God is unchanged about not being a respecter of persons. God has revealed who Jesus is first hand to the disciples for whom Peter is often spokesman, they in turn at this point are to tell no man. The label Messiah/Christ unfortunately has a much more corrupted political meaning outside the group than Jesus wishes to draw attention to at this time. They are the very first, there was no one other to tell/reveal it to them, in this respect they are truly blessed. The foundation He has built already in them through revelation knowledge and in person witness/testimony is the Rock that He will continue to build His Church upon. The Rock is who Jesus is. The keys for Peter are the same keys as to any gospel believer/evangelist, abiding in the righteousness and knowledge of God and Son and applying all diligence toward becoming fruitful. With faith in the person of Jesus Christ and obedience to the will of Jesus Christ both heaven and earth mirror each other in the ability to bind and loose for the Kingdom sake. The faith of our Lord in who He is and what the Father is doing through Him towards us. It is the same faith He calls His gathered believers to hold and identify with. It is not to establish an intermediary papal system; it is a direct assembly/submission to Himself and His immediate Lordship alongside other like minded servants. Nothing, not even death, not even a papal version of itself, will prevail against this type of Christ infused church.

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.

March18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:19:13-15 FORBID THEM NOT - People have their own ideas of what needs be. Sometimes you are thinking of giving the man space, holding the crowds back, keeping the madness under some type of control. Other times you are thinking of the predictable course ahead for a messiah, the steps that should be taken by Him. Who knows what the others are thinking, but, it could easily become a mob. As a Disciple you have His best interest at heart but, in anyway your thoughts come off to either Him or others as rebuke. People from all directions including our own selves are demanding of Him to do all sorts of things as they see fit. To the minds eye it all appears as chaos. It all doesn't seem to phase the Lord however. It takes the focus of the Lord to remind us of what is most important and that includes the children. Who would have ever thought in the midst of such an adult spectacle to bring the children up to Christ for His blessings? They should be commended. It is not just about us after all, our salvation and blessings and teachings, it is about the youngest of the kingdom and theirs. This is an embarrassing moment for the Disciples, but, a teachable moment none the less. The faith of our Lord is that they will remember this one in the times to come, to mark this one down and bring it up over and over especially when it all gets too hectic. Do not get so focused as to miss what things the Lord would have focus on. Do not forbid the children from having their time and experience with Him as well.

March23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:20:29 WHAT WILL YE - The mechanics of a crowd are always interesting. What makes a crowd behave as it does? In this case the expressed will of the multitude was for the two to hold their peace. The two are blind, this is their opportunity to regain their sight, yet the majority see them as a disturbance. The crowd may have been made up of those sympathetic to Jesus as they were following Him out of Jericho. Their intents may have been for Jesus' good and out of respect. The requests upon Jesus may have been so frequent that they had become common and distracting and keeping them from reaching their next destination. Jesus saw the event differently; not as the crowd obviously and perhaps not even as the two petitioners, but, as the Father did. We have seen so frequently that Jesus did not do things to garner more press; He forbid receivers to publicly tell. The faith of our Lord is focused much more on the present moment and the needs of the people around. The two men need their sight, the crowd needs to look beyond themselves. The impression of the truly needy should not be "oh he was too much in a hurry" or "yea she had to get somewhere" or even "should I disturb them". It should be "He was there when I needed/called" and "the first person I ever saw was the one who ever really saw through to me".

March24 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:21:1-11 HOSANNA - kjv@Psalms:118:26 is where 'blessed is he' comes from. Hosanna is better defined as both kjv@Psalms:118:25 'save us now I beseech thee' and kjv@Psalms:118:26 'blessed is he' combined. In turn we must recall kjv@Psalms:118:27 as well 'bind the sacrifice' 'unto the horns of the alter'. If Jesus is aware of the quote that the crowd is chanting (we must assume that He does) then He would know the context of how He is to bless/save them and why it is that He has come; He is the sacrifice. kjv@Zechariah:9:9 is where the 'thy King cometh' comes from which has it's meaning continued in kjv@Zechariah:9:10 'shall speak peace to the gentiles' and 'dominion...to the ends of the earth'. While this is the time for riding the ass and colt in, this is not the time for the ends of the earth. Why not? He is to be bound to the alter first. The palm branches I believe are from the Feast of the Tabernacles, a harvest time remembrance of the Lord leading the captives out of Egypt. The symbolism is to deliverance from sin. This day's events are rich with meaning, but, He is the only one that really knows really what that meaning truly is. The faith of or Lord stands alone. Even the closest to Him know little of what He sees even at jubilant times such as these.

March29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:21:33-46 MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES - Why did the Lord choose the Jews in the first place? To be husbandmen over His vineyard. What happened to the fruit of it? It was withheld, kept by them for their own purposes. Did the master not try to get the fruits back? He did, they would have nothing of it. So where are we at now? The master has sent His Son and they are days from killing Him. Why would they do that? Because they know that He is the rightful heir of the vineyard and they want it for themselves. Wait a minute...they know? Yes they know and thereby reject. We are not told how many know, but, it is enough to make useful minions of the rest. It is also suggested that this take over has been the plan since the vineyard was given over (WOW!). How could they not know with all of the prophecy being fulfilled before their eyes; do they not know their own treasured prophecies? Sure they appear to have their intellectual arguments but, in the end what it all comes down to is that they want what is His for themselves. So they perceived that He was talking about them, but, did they repent having been called out? No they sought to lay hands on Him. This changes our perspective of the faith of our Lord knowing how He sees them, knowing that He knows what they have done to those before Him, knowing that this vineyard is the Fathers and He is going to get it back. How He gets it back is what is a surprise to everyone but the Father. There is a twist in here however, the multitude still only see Him as a prophet.

March30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:22:1-14 MANY ARE CALLED - Of those called, there are those who refuse, there are those who make light of (some of which who strike back at the messengers), those that accept, those who come but are irreverent or ill prepared. The first thing to clarify is that we are not talking about the bride or any portion thereof rejecting Christ, these are strictly guests talked about here. The wedding is going to happen regardless and will be well attended by a most appreciative crowd kjv@Revelation:19:7-9. We are told even of bride's maids not having enough oil for the wait in their lamps having the door shut on them kjv@Matthew:25:1-10. If these people are outside of the bride then we must consider who the bride is. Some would say the Gentile Church; who then are the guests from the highways? Some would say the Raptured Church; where then would Tribulation Israel fit in? Some would say Israel and with Old Testament reasoning; but, she would have to be dressed in the righteousness of the saints kjv@Jeremiah:3:14. Israel would give cause for many of the invited to reject the invitation or run out of oil in the wait. Truth is that we may not know exactly who/what (as in institution) the bride consists, but, we know of the bridegroom. If we are merely guests it is best for us to be dressed as a reverent guest and not ourselves as a bride or a party crasher. If it is the institution instead that we are to witness then we best be reverent to the institution as well so as not the upset the groom. The faith of our Lord is in the marriage made by the Father. He has given Himself wholly and unreservedly for Her. If we see Her as tarnished or unacceptable it is very likely that we know nothing of who she is or have mis-identified Her altogether.

April4 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:23:1-39 MOSES SEAT - There is a place of honor and respect given by Jesus to Moses and the seat that remains that is to be carried on by His disciples. The life of a follower is a completely different mindset however because it is focused on Christ. Righteousness now is inputed because of His sacrifice and a new life is enabled because of His resurrection. This is what the Law had been pointing us to. Without the righteousness of Christ none of this is remotely possible. The woes described of the Scribes and Pharisees are more properly woes to any man who pursues righteousness minus Christ regardless of affiliation. In a sense these men are the most zealous and ardent of all religious men, but, this is the closest men's efforts can come to the target. Take the commandment to love the Lord your God. If Christ Jesus is God's offer of righteousness and such offer is pushed aside, how can it be said God is loved? Having justified not loving God in His entirety, what else then can be justified? Are not all the commandments broken at that point? The seat still holds authority (even if held by others) especially as schoolmaster over to those who have not received Christ, but, also to those who have. Do as they bid but, not as they do. It is almost a challenge to show them how in Christ things must be done. Remember that if God did not want them in the seat, they would not be in the seat. Today, these particular affiliations are not in power, but, others just as hypocritical often are. There is a means and a purpose in the life of the believer for this. Given all of these woes and faults the Lord's command has never been to pack up and start up anew. The faith of our Lord is firm, we must follow His lead. We don't have to know why it is this way only that He see's it as such. We are challenged considerably, we grow. We do as He see's fit in the midst of such darkness, He is honored. A rebel? no. A revolutionary? Yes!

April5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:24:1-35 AS LIGHTNING OUT OF THE EAST - It will be easy to deceive a great many but, perhaps not the elect. I think we have the impression that in the end days people just don't believe in God, that intellectualism will have out grown the need for God. The end Jesus teaches is of people flocking to false Christs. We live in an age now of relativism, a necessary precursor to an day of multitudes desperately gasping for any breath or hint of messianic slight. In a sense He is prophesying the end of intellectual relativism. Given that the gospel will have reached the ends of the earth (may have already have) this is a sign of just how much the people of Earth do not want to accept Jesus and will violently oppose Him, His approaching kingdom and His devoted followers. The injection of truth into the world causes it to fester and boil as if to expel it, but, somewhere in this process God's plan is fulfilled by producing vaccinated sin immune children from Earth to inhabit eternity. As the heat and pressure are turned up to final boil many false messiahs will bubble up leading to one ultimate false Christ; a world nearly of one religion. I suppose that there will be a sense of relief, even victory. Then, however, there will be an undeniable lightning from the east. The faith of our Lord is utterly remarkable. In so few words, how could such detailed insight into human nature and God's plan be revealed? Though we have a confirming picture of this event (disturbing in how quickly it can come about) in 70 AD it is clear that 70 AD is not this event. There will be no dispute remaining when this prophecy comes about.

April9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:25:31-46 UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN - Back up to the previous goods given the stewards to invest. Forward to the judgement of the tribes. Righteousness appears not only along the lines of individuals it appears also along lines of the human tribes. The implications are intriguing. The least of these my brethren appear in all cultures; they are the peoples Jesus identifies Himself most with. How these nations respond to the needs of these least brethren is the identifying factor that separates the nations on the right from the left. As stewards of the goods the Lord has given all tribes and nations, they are to faithfully invest such to the care of the least. It is interesting that tendencies could run so deep as to effect the judgement upon entire cultures. Men as individuals it seems can be heavily influenced by the attitude of the collective as it concerns the goods of the Lord being invested into the needs of the least. The Lord is seen either as a harsh man reaping where He has not sown or else a Lord of grace owed reinvestment toward those He would identify Himself so closely to. The faith of our Lord differs so greatly from the faith of most. What the righteous soul lacks most ahead of eternity is the judgement and clearing away of the unrighteous as a whole, nation and individual. Our's is not to presume this judgement on our own but, to be deeply conscious of it's universal need and to faithfully execute in it's stead the aid and investment required up to that. Some would ask where is the love of God? This is the love as given to us! We can draw men out from this impending judgement of nations by serving as would our Lord the needs physical/spiritual of their least.

April10 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:1-5 AFTER TWO DAYS - That is it. Not any longer. Not even the chief priests and scribes are in charge of what will happen. The elders will have their part, God will use their conscious decision, but, it will come about on His timeline. Note that they think that they will have to be crafty and subtle; the consult wasn't as to whether but, as to how. The faith of our Lord is perhaps best observed at this point by kjv@Isaiah:53 which He would have been well aware of. kjv@Isaiah:53:10-11 particularly give us the sense that it is God is doing the bruising and putting Him to grief making His soul an offering for our sins. The Father will see the travail of His soul and be satisfied.

April11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:6 A GOOD WORK UPON ME - Now that we are this far into the storyline and sense just how many people are daily around Jesus, let's count the number of good works done unto Him. Let's count now that one is done how many others see it as a good work. The next good work? Joseph of Arimathea and our Lord's secret acquaintance Nicodemus. Both of these good works have to do with His burial. How often today do we get caught up in what the Lord is going to do for me? How the Lord needs to go about doing my business? What the end result should look like? How I want His praise and blessing? This woman gets it. If but for a moment she is on a wave link few travel. It is not all about what we want/need things to be, it is not all about what is going on in our lives but in His. Where this woman got this perfumed oil and what she was hoping to one day do with it we just don't know. We are glad however that she decided to do what she did if even to remind us of the place we ourselves need to be in regards to our Lord. The faith of our Lord endures hardness even from His closest softest companions. These are all teachable moments. Hearts need to be taught to be softened all the more to their surroundings and to their core, locked into the present moment of the One and of others outside of themselves.

April15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:36-46 SORROWFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH - We should not think that these next several hours came easy for Jesus. To see Him as weak or having second thoughts while underplaying what He is up against severely misses the point. The sins of all mankind is not an easy thing to suffer for. The totality of griefs and sorrows being laid upon Him is wondrous to bare. Plus there is the additional concern for His sheep while they are scattered. He prayed the first time for and until He had certain confirmation. He prayed the second and third time confessing and bringing His other faculties into submission. All three prayers exhibit the fact that Jesus had His own will like we do. And as we, He needed at times to strengthen His connection to the Father by prayer in order to bring Himself fully into line; this was certainly one of those times. It is not a sign of weakness for either of us, it is a sign proper process and preparation (not neglecting to mention pure reverence). It is weakness when you are asked to maintain a level of prayer for the comfort of another or the group and cannot sustain that level long enough as Peter John and James those same hours; the temptation for sleep or distraction is too great. The faith of our Lord is unshaken. Faith however often requires the will and the impulse and body to submit and follow suit. Thus we have prayer. Side by side examples are pictured here, both a case study in what we need and need not do.

April17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:57-68 THOU HAST SAID - Imagine in a modern day court setting the judge (not the prosecutor) stacking the jury against the accused, gathering as many false witnesses as it would take, disallowing testimony for the defense, and forcing the accused into self incrementation. There would be grounds for a mistrial would there not? If Jesus is Messiah (there is evidence) would it be blasphemy for Messiah to state the obvious fact that soon the roles of judge would be reversed and He would be judging them? The chief prosecutor (who was also the judge) did not prove that Jesus was not Messiah, did not even try, for his judgement was predetermined (despised and rejected, esteemed not) and guilt was merely implied. There would be quiet a case for any defense attorney to use in the extradition proceedings to Roman authorities up to and including the physical mistreatment of the defendant if Jesus so chose. Jesus did not pursue such a course as prophesied by Isaiah, like a sheep drawn by her shearers He kept silent. There will be a proper judgement however of these proceedings and these men when the time is right. Those that smote him will be named and by the judgement by which they judged they likely could be judged as well. How is this relevant to us today? We too hold ourselves as judge and jury and prosecutor, the evidence we allow and disallow is based upon a predetermined implication of guilt. Jesus and the followers of Jesus are judged by this standard everyday and night in the high palace of public and civic opinion. The faith of our Lord is not in the legal rights He Himself has because He has forgone any such rights as sacrificial lamb. It is not in this worlds legal system (though in a negative sense it is). It is not in Peter and John outside gathering up the troops or moving legal mountains into the sea by faith. It is in His Father's plan and the report of the prophets. So must our's.

April19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:27:1 BLOOD MONEY - Isn't it interesting the chief priest's sudden concern the money for blood being put back into the treasury? It is as if it goes out holy and just spends an hour or two with an informant comes back and because they now have officially decided Jesus will die now it becomes contaminated blood money. Interesting the contortions the reprobate mind goes through to justify it's self. When was payment for info leading to the capture and execution of a man of miracles (possibly a prophet if not messiah), a man that you had to frame with false testimony and hung jury ever holy and just? Isn't it interesting that they bought a field to bury strangers with it? That makes it all clean and wholesome eh! Within just a few verses Peter feels his guilt, Judas feels his guilt, the chief and elders magically transform tainted money (tainted by another's guilt?) and make it whole again. So that essentially was the price Jesus was valued at, the price of a small clay quarry. The author quotes the prophet Jeremiah, though we are not actually sure were this quote is found in our canonized version. The importance still remains on the report of the prophets not being believed (as kjv@Isaiah:53:1 suggests). The Lord is silent at this point. It is not Him describing all these parts and pieces of the mob mentality. This is a collection of testimonies gathered later from insiders and onlookers that observed these events. The faith of our Lord is that by the hand of the Holy Spirit that the report of the prophets along with these collections of testimonies will be convincing and convicting and insightful to the future generations of Jews and Gentiles whom He seeks to deliver.

April20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:27:11-26 WHETHER OF THE TWAIN - One man washes his hands of the blood guilt and the others pour it on to their heads of themselves and their children. Blood by both is made lite of. One cannot be innocent of the blood simply by washing their hands of the matter. The fact is that matters were poorly and unjustly handled in the first place. Pilate proved coward to the pressures of the Sanhedrin. Others cannot take such minute opinion of any man's life so as to not guarantee a safe and judicious proceedings, so as to not be driven by impulse or shrewd coercion. After all Jesus had done to reveal the sinful hypocrisy and false teaching and spiritual callous blindness of the Pharisees/the Sadducee/the Scribes the make up the Sanhedrin, for the general public to be so easily intimidated and manipulated is a sin equal to that of Judas even if this had not been Christ. What then of the evidences in favor, the many and daily healings, the exorcisms, the wondrous and picturesque sermons, the miracles, the possible ties to long held prophecy, the hope of Israel? Were these possibilities no factor to them at all? The blood stains of guilt cannot be washed away. The price of guilt cannot be negotiated by the guilty parties involved. Jesus' blood is meant to redeem but, if it is not accepted as such it becomes a terrible pronouncement of guilt; guilt then, guilt today. There is a notorious thief that is given amnesty by us even at this hour. He is the embodiment of our being so easily turned and manipulated and used as a driving wedge between justice and those that must judge. Perhaps the greatest revelation of our hearts by Jesus was taught without a word. The faith of our Lord is not in the present but, in the future. It is a future ripped free from the clutches of man's continuous evil imagination and heart that is deceptive above all else. It may be a good time to review kjv@Proverbs:1:20-33 in consideration of this particular multitude and then ours.

April23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:27:45-56 MY GOD MY GOD - The gospel writers record Jesus saying seven things on the cross, Matthew records one - the most important. Few there on the scene are going to know that Jesus quotes from kjv@Psalms:22:1, but those of us that do know and are interested we should go on to read the entire chapter kjv@Psalms:22. There is a reason now that Jesus qualifies as the governor among nations deserving of all man's praises and adoration. He despised not the afflicted nor turned His face from them, the meek shall be satisfied, because that His Lord was not far from Him and saved Him from the mouth of the lion. He poured Himself out like water, His heart melted like wax, He was cast upon this will of the Father's from the womb. Now the course has been fulfilled. The full weight of sin had been transfered upon Him; because of which the Father stepped aside momentarily and was far from helping. Jesus yelled out victoriously with tremendous strength when no strength should have been left in Him. The faith of our Lord was in that He trusted in the Father and the Father did deliver Him. The weight of sin was not as great as the pain of separation and the drowning fatigue of death not so great as the defiant liberating yelp against it. Those that saw these things feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

April25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:27:62-66 THAT DECEIVER - We see the hatred or else the guilt of the priests and Pharisees turning to paranoia. As they saw it the first error was to be deceived into believing Jesus to be Christ, the last error to be deceived into believing His resurrection. If one could be deceived into either of these errors, one could be deceived into staging events and evidence to deceive others. Apparently, Pilate did not trust the Jewish temple guard either. Roman guards were already attached to the temple, so they were to be used to secure the sepulcher. So the tomb was sealed, move the stone/break the seal, and the guard was placed around it. This is the day after. The question becomes, with the evidence of the resurrection so central to the debate, why wasn't more done by either side to make sure the evidence? Given the accusation of deceit by the one and the accusation of extreme hatred and blood guilt by the other? The only one truly that could have done any better would have been Pilate and he had attempted to wash his hands of the matter. Others might feel that Jesus or the Father could have done better, but, really how much is enough? How much secured evidence does it take to make the issue convincing to ardent skeptics? Will there not always be areas of doubt? What about doubt and debate though is unhealthy? The Word of God has always been carried to the farther reaches more by its' opposition than it has its' friendly alliances. The faith of our Lord is in His read of the nature of man doing what it is going to do, the plan of God accounting for exactly that, consent and opposition to Him both carrying out His objective. Remember that He/we has thousands of years of historical insight into spreading His word ahead of this to know man's sparse obedience and coagulating opposition. He knows how to get things done.

April27 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:28:11-15 COMMONLY REPORTED - It may illustrative of what the truth is up against all of the time. The people most important outside the actual story know only what is reported. Two parties may be in cahoots together and put a third party to blame. It is reasonably cheap when you are in a position of power to disregard the facts and bend the will of the people. Who is going to know? Some one from within these two groups might confess at some point (could have in this case) but, as long as the majority holds to the deception suspicion can be redirected. How much of this has happened in the past? Who is to say; how deep into this do you really want to go? How much of this is happening now? How much of what we know to be true is rather a cover up or deception? It would drive one crazy with the manifold possibilities and puzzling conspiracies and produce nothing but isolation and seething contempt in general (the opposite of love). One would likely still be left no closer to the actual truth for having pursued this course minus Christ as well. This is the chaos surrounding truth and who is the author of chaos? Man wanted to be like gods knowing good and evil? Well here it is to know one of the vicious clinging tentacles of evil's reach, the ease at which truth/facts/evidences can be spun and commonly misreported. The faith of our Lord is fully aware of this and yet does not get side tracked by attempting to combat these tendencies directly; they are what they are. Instead, it must be felt that by sticking to the presentation of the full gospel light that these hidden things of darkness eventually will be exposed. And who is the author of such singular faith?

April30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:1:9-13 SPIRIT DRIVEN - The Holy Spirit is mentioned here descending upon Him, driving Him immediately into the wilderness. One action the result of an obedience the other testing for another obedience. And so He moves continuously one obedience to the next. We also have the ministry of angels and the symbol of the prophetic foundation that has been laid John the Baptist. All of these influences work together and are accounted for in Jesus. Then there are also the elements pushing against Him, the inhospitable wilderness, the danger of wild beasts and of course the probing of Satan. One other factor to consider is the voice from heaven confirming pleasure in the beloved Son. It is the faith of our Lord that because He is the Son, because He is anointed and driven of the Holy Spirit, ministered to by angels, He will continue onward in obedience to the goal at hand despite anything that would come up against Him. His faith contains a large measure of spiritual valor. So must ours, valor toward obedience.

May2 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:1:21-28 AUTHORITY - Witnesses of Jesus immediately attributed His power to some new doctrine, twice in this passage. He had shown uncommon power in His teaching and also in the exorcism of one man's demons. They weren't yet willing to attribute this to God the Father working through the incarnate Son of God. Jesus doing these things was not dependent upon their belief as is often thought (as in if everyone believes enough we can do this). It is not in trusting demons announce to everyone who He is (as shown by His rebuke). His power is exerted here in obedience to the Father for the sake of those who do/will believe and for the person possessed. The disciples may not have known about these abilities before this and it may take them some time to understand but, this authority does not come from any special doctrine, it comes from a special relationship Son to Father and a special promise made as far back as kjv@Genesis:3:15. The faith of our Lord is in the authority of the Father and the authority the Father in turn has given Him. It appears to us as authority because it is. His fame may spread but, that is not the purpose that is one of several results.

May3 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:1:29-34 PETER'S WIFE - Not much thought ever goes into the tremendous role of Peter's wife in the early church. Her husband in a sense is stolen away. What becomes of the finances and family business while he is away? What becomes of their plans? Who is her daily companion? She is left to care for her mother and possibly raise kids (assumed) by herself. We see that the ministry frequents their house, a blessing to have him near but, extra work for her and her mom none the less. We must also consider the burden of being Peter's wife when she goes out in public. I don't know that we are ever told how she truly felt about this and the types of struggles she endured so that Peter could become the influence that he latter became. We do know that she joined him latter on and came along at least part of the time kjv@1Corinthians:9:5. I have no doubt that she loved her husband and the Lord dearly. I have no doubt that she approved very much of what the 'boys' were out doing. I wish to think knowing my Lord's sensitivity to everything/one around Him that He had private conversation(s) with her maybe out there on her porch in the sunset on other days. The faith of our Lord isn't in just what has been written for us to digest intellectually it is in the practical and personal matters that each of these things imply. As with any ministry there are people and burdens being carried by those people behind the scenes that outsiders may not ever notice. Hopefully the people that they are serving take note. Their service is just as important to the storyline as those up and out front. Their sacrifice is perhaps more than any of ours and they should know with certainty that our Lord is very much pleased and honored. I do not know if this woman lived to see her husband's death, odds are so, if not she would have sensed (or have been gently told) that this was part of the deal. And yet, she would have looked at Peter the way only a wife could and encourage him to continue with the joy of her smile and the tears of her embrace. This women and others like her should be, nay will be highly sainted. They are as much a powerful wittness to Christ as those exorcised of demons.

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.

May7 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:2:13-17 HEARD IT - Some one has either told Jesus or He has caught the sounds in the corner of His ear that there is growing displeasure with Him eating and drinking with sinners. I don't know whether the religious elite are still holding out a chance for Him as it would be hard to deny His miraculous powers or whether they have outright given up. I do believe that there is something substantial going on culturally that modern audiences would not be attuned to; Jesus is being radical to their viewpoint. Often the best teaching is not discussed it is exposed. Jesus is not going to them and partaking in their sin, He is going out like a physician to where they are and gracefully calling them to establish the ground work of something much better. If that means eating in a room of them, then by all means. Contact with one man leads to the man inviting His circle of friends. These friends are coming to partake of their own friendships and because of their trust in their host in turn they trust in His goodness. No doubt fame precedes Him here but, even without fame the trust building process works the same; why not build upon what is already there? Other's fear the associations that may be implied, if one hangs out with sinners one must be a sinner. The faith of our Lord is not afraid of such possible negative associations, He is afraid of what may happen to these people should He not reach out. In His eyes He is a physician and physicians go where people are sick. He does not partake in their sickness, he partakes in the future fellowship that might come should He be able to win their further trust.

May10 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:3:7-12 LEST THEY THRONG - Arrangements have to be made for Jesus' safety; not hostile endangerment per se but, eager/desperate. The pressing of the crowds were like those in a famine at a food distribution line where innocent people do get trampled. Perhaps the most dangerous thing is that people now presume that they can get healed simply by touching Jesus. They don't even have to converse with Him or receive His consent/action. We are told of this being true in a few cases but, not as I am aware as a general rule. With this inhibition torn down the people feel free to press in on and through and around anything or anyone that might stand in their own way. Crowd control is always a major factor as multitudes take on a illogical unpredictable dynamic all of their own. As we see with modern terrorist tactics, a crowd can even be used against itself by malcontents when excited into a stampede or incited into a riot. How odd/nightmarish it must of seemed to be packed into a tight space of sickly even demon possessed people all moving in without self prohibition toward the center. The plan was to stay close to the shoreline cutting off half of the encirclement, providing a means of retreat via small swift boat. The faith of our Lord is very bold but, certainly not stupid. The nature of men, the nature of desperation, the nature of crowds is all taken into account. Being a disciple was often like being a body guard, intense, physical, eerie, and dangerous; not the place for mere academics. The whole experience must have been becoming more and more unimaginable to them. The Lord I am sure takes that into account too.

May11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:3:13-19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:3:13-19 HE ORDAINED TWELVE - Of several select individuals called to Him in the mountain Jesus ordained but twelve. There is the thought that if twelve why not have fifty, if fifty why not have five hundred....? Jesus is revealing something very substantial about the divine plan at this moment. It is not that He is cutting anyone out, all men are to be discipled under Christ's tutelage and all have been sent to declare the gospel. All men have been given communion with the Lord and been granted to suffer for and as their Savior for their own and the church's edification. These twelve will now be sent two by two to preach/heal/cast out demons. A hundred more will be sent soon after, they will be gifted similar ability but not in the same sense of being ordained. What Jesus is doing is establishing order not just for now but for all the future. The situation now is developing on the ground where both the following of disciples and the following of seekers has grown beyond capabilities of the loose fit organizational structure previous. As the numbers increase and the danger increases, as the training of the select few intensifies, the time has come to make the organization more formal. Think of a small business today that grows into that next bigger level and the changes necessitated by that. In the long run this move proves most valuable to the early first century when many falsely proclaimed to be apostles that most people knew better who their Apostles were. This move even later gave second century scholars a road map to verifying and canonizing certain Apostolic epistles over a flood of lesser. There are weakness of course further out to the system as we see in the centuries leading up to the reformation as men corrupt the system but, the scriptures yet hold true as pillars even in those turbulent times. "Sola Scriptura" (only scripture) (Hebrew old with Apostolic new) becomes the protestants reforming creed lessening but, not eliminating the influence of church held traditions. I believe that the faith of our Lord is in being fully aware of the future Church that He is building and the types of problems and issues it will undergo. These issues may be healthy in that they are a constant stirring of the resolution of mens' intents and wills but, certainly less resolvable for true seekers had He not taken the steps that He just took. His declaration of these twelve gives the Holy Spirit written reinforcement/authority to conduct it's operations on a massive scale after Christ's Accession.

May13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:3:31-35 THE SAME IS MY - It could very well be that Jesus' half brothers and sisters did not see Him as the Christ yet. To them He was still only their brother. Mary His mom probably knows too well His heavenly appointment and is having difficulty with what it all means; she may have been pressured into this. It may seem harsh that He would reply to their request in this way, but, it also seems harsh that they would call Him out in front of a crowd. Some commentaries suggest that they were the "friends" or a part of those that were suggesting that He was "beside Himself". I do not believe that Jesus is discounting His physical relationship to them, He is elevating His spiritual relationship to greater humanity and thereby expressing their need to get on board believing in Him fully as their Lord and Savior. It is a difficult relationship to fathom being the half brother say of the Son of God. Few will ever have to process faith in those terms. The time is short however. They will remember His words no doubt when His death comes. Also notice the absence of His dad Joseph, by all appearances deceased. Did Joseph ever come to true spiritual faith? Did Joseph ever do the will of God? We are never told. The faith of Jesus reaches out into all the world but, is also close to home in His brothers and sisters and mom. Their entry into His kingdom is on the same exact terms as all the rest. He is not willing that any should perish but, that they come to repentance and knowledge of Christ.

May14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:4:1-20 WITHIN WITHOUT WAYWARD - This is a foundational parable that helps us to understand the rest. Principal one is that it is not given for others to receive the payload understanding of these parables; the revelation of said parable is a Jesus to sanctified believer exclusive, spiritually discerned. In fact, no man can come to it complete with out living and proving it out which requires a strong devotion to Christ. Theoretically, a class of college senors can analyze a Jesus parable and probably come to the same initial message that a believer can, maybe to another level or two, but that is as far as they can take it. Because they do not believe in Jesus it holds no further interest, any further meaning is stolen away. Many religions can be/have been formed from borrowing the superficial understandings of these parables; this is what Jesus has always strived to protect Himself from. However, by believing squarely in the righteousness of Jesus the desire will be to search out and grow into the message further. The message has to be applied into the daily life of a believer and experienced fully before the payload Jesus is revealing comes to fruition. The heart to apply oneself to it's growth is where the difficulty comes, as some believers lack the root, others lack the valor and fortitude, others lack the will to keep worldly influences weeded out. As hard as it is for believers to come to this knowledge without sincerity and endurance it is outright impossible for the insincere and academic critic. The faith of Jesus does not cast it's pearls before the swine and it cannot be counterfeited nor universalized. This is utter foolishness to the wise and learned, but, this foolishness is deliberately made to be our wisdom. Take this introductory understanding into the remaining parables and your efforts to live/grow into this word will yield plenty fruit.

May17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:4:30-34 AS THEY WERE ABLE TO HEAR - When they were alone then He expounded. Don't you wish that they would have recorded these teachings? Saved us all a lot of trouble? That tells us two important things right off the bat. One, there is much to take in, too much for one parable/session/three year apprenticeship. Two, Jesus does not mean for just anybody to know because not everyone spiritually discerns it. Despite the huge amount of time He spent publicly/privately, I believe that it can be shown that not even the disciples discerned the message spiritually until after Pentecost. Not because it is too heavy intellectually but, because the mind always tries to discern it intellectually which leads to counterfeiting and approximation and various interpretations. It is almost as if Jesus is investing His teaching forward to the future. He is depositing into their memories knowing that these teachings will not take hold until after they become spiritual. For the moment it is a tiny seed, there is some potential/benefit, what it is though is not what it will become. There is process, there is nurturing, there is husbandry. Take the Kingdom message, He plants it now, He expounds it to those who will carry it forward after Him, they invest/devote themselves to seeking it/Him out, He infuses the seed/their efforts with Spirit, there is miraculous growth. The mind resists this, it bypasses the essential steps and determines the meaning that serves itself best, it universalizes the teaching with other teachings that it can come with on it's own. The mind wants/expects a kingdom of much different design on much different terms. Ask yourself, is this a seed of intellect, a seed of self growth and determination, or is it a seed of spirit, a seed of Heaven on Earth, ever lasting redemption? The faith of our Lord is in big plans and changes in the hearts of all men, a faith where the things of this carnal world are not much more than fertilizer for a much greater thing. That we so easily/readily confuse and contradict spiritual process even as believers by resorting to the present intellect such ethereal matters itself is every indication of the types of things Jesus is up against. The other thing to see is how several parables are meant to interact together as a whole to stimulate/compound growth and yet to protect growth from diseased carnal influences. It will be a substantial and healthy enough end product that the angelic community will be able to be mixed back into it and cohabitate with it as well.

May18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:4:35-41 LET US PASS - Fearful and no faith tie together in this passage. This Greek "no" may also suggest the definite no, as in never or not yet faith. Intellectual consent got them into the boat. Intellectual consent assumes that everything ahead will go alright, if trouble comes up there will be time to adjust or abandon. Spiritual consent assumes that no matter what comes up against it it will be as planned, placing more faith in the master of the wind than the obvious physical tumult of the tempest. Fear is natural in either respect, it is where intellectual consent hides to when faced with something greater or more threatening/unknown comes against it's approved consent/control. Just as these men had never faced fear to this level before they had never faced faith. Note that this took place at the end of one of the most successful single days thus far of their discipleship/ministry. The faith of our Lord challenges both faith and fear to it's core and calls for some uncomfortable occassions. It rebukes not the person nor the elements but the forces stirring them toward disturbance. Peace and calm are found in the divine settling of these compulsively consuming momentums. Let us pass over to the other side!

May20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:5:21 NO MAN SHOULD KNOW IT - Jesus is an equal opportunity healer. The woman with the blood issue has for twelve years been considered defiled. According to the law she must not go into the Temple, she must watch and wash every where she sits, she cannot lay with her husband. Once healed she ends her time of separation with more time apart and sacrifice. The ruler of the synagogue is about as high up as one Jew can get at that time. From all public observances his hands would be as clean as ceremony and ritual and stature could get. Both have needs, both people Jesus addresses. The experience for the three together does not go without complication however. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for. It is evident that the women has strong hope as her determination presses her through the crowd that is already thronging Jesus. It is evident in the ruler as he goes against the grain of what all his peers would think regarding Jesus. It is evident in Jesus as He works His way to the ruler's house though cornered by the throng, through the tumult of the professional wailers, past the jeers of the household, despite the urgent rush minding to touching details as stopping to acknowledge the woman's faith and sharing the private moment with both the father and mother. Clearly hope comes with plenty of opposition, plenty of obstical, plenty of objection. Hope often calls to Jesus as a last resort. Many things may be suffered on the way to becoming able to place all hope upon Jesus. When Jesus says "no man should know it", it doesn't mean that no one is not going to know it. Everyone that followed Him up to the house would know, everyone that saw the woman made whole would know, everyone in the house that was ordered out would know, the few that were invited in would know. And anyone who saw the young twelve year old girl walking out to play like nothing had happened would know. Jesus is wanting these people now in the know to figure this what has happened out on their own. The faith of Jesus faces resistance everywhere He goes. It is never as simple as hoping that mankind will understand, there is every evidence that He is determined to make it so. This is evidence in face of opposition.

May21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:6:1-6 HE MARVELLED - What is that? Our Lord marvelled? I find it interesting even in modern contexts the depths of prejudice within ethnic or racial groups themselves. We expect to see it spill out one group onto another back and forth, but, more curiously the type that never leaves it's own doorstep; it is a wickedness all it's own. Wouldn't you think that a Nazarene would have that home boy (small pond) making it big (big pond) hero coming home pride for the celebrity fellow Nazarene? Apparently not. They can't seem to get past the fact that at one point this was their town carpenter. I speculated previously that Jesus' family had sought Him out being convinced that He was beside Himself, that they had attempted to interrupt Him to draw Him back in, that I felt that they were under much pressure back home and had over reacted. Could this be the pressure that they lived under? Pressure from their own neighbours? If the works of Jesus to this point were not enough to change any minds in Nazareth then no future works while He was there would either. It almost makes you ask why did He go back home anyway? Was it to give them a final chance? Was it to minister to His mother and siblings? Was it a brief retreat? Was it for our viewing and further understanding? Was it simply because the Father told Him to? My own faith often differs from the faith of our Lord. I expect that if I am in the place God needs me then I will see the positive results and when I don't... I probably turn over/walk away from more crops than I plant because of this. But, who says that being in the right spot at the right time produces the right results? At least right as we see it?

May22 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:6:7-13 TWO BY TWO - It is further proof of the authenticity of Jesus that He can give portions of His anointing to others. The others would not have this power any other way but by Him giving it to them. It is not learned. It is not alchemy or potion. It is not positive thinking. That He would now trust these men is important; to trust these men in the hands of others is extreme. For those looking on it should be eye opening. The power of God is not just manifest in one but in twelve and later one hundred and later... Something is going on here that secularists should take note of, Jesus is pretty much doing whatsoever He wants despite massive resistance and the whole movement is gaining momentum exponentially. Therein lays a testimony against the scoffer; these things are being done and they are witness and yet they still disbelieve. Another side of this is that Jesus feels that there are enough believers to host these men wherever they go, they don't even need to pack a bag. Whether these are people whom He has healed or preached to we don't know; He does. For years I have thought of this as a acid test intended for the Disciples; this time I am thinking that it is more of a significant declaration of how far He has brought His sheepfold and how many others there are off camera. We are all tested and learn to depend solely on Jesus, but, at the same time it is reassuring to know our Lord has resources and people inline that we have barely considered. The faith of our Lord is manifold. He is operating on multiple planes and in multiple directions we can barely fathom. It is a most beautiful thing to behold. Wouldn't you love to hear these men recount these first time first flight stories?

May23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:6:14-29 AND THEREFORE - How do you explain Jesus? We see how vulnerable human reasoning in this passage. We have the reasoning King Herod, Herodias, her daughter, and others. Each have their bend. Some rationale is being bent by guilt/fear/drunken enticement/exaggerated commitments/justifying unlawful marriages. Other rationale is being bent by retribution/scheming/manipulation/deceit. Anothers' rationale is bent by the vanity of youth/sexual seduction/promiscuity and either a naivete or collusion of her mother's true intents. Others are bent by misinterpreted scripture or myth. All of this and more works against John and now Jesus. People like to think that they are free to make the right choices, that discernment and reasoning is their particular even inherent strength; it is simply not true. The carnal mind is at enmity against the spiritual, the closest it can come to being right is a counterfeit substitution of what God himself has chosen to reveal. Much of that is hidden inside parables and prophecies and large millennium wide swaths of history so that it can't be counterfeited and so that only true diligent seekers can be brought to it. In our own lives the question must be where is our rationale being bent? What sin or carnal trait is obstructing or altering the course of spiritual insight? What keeps us from true discernment of the facts and road map before us? The faith of our Lord is implied in this passage, implied that He knows what He is up against/what we are up against that He must save us from. When He contrasts light to darkness and groups all of mankind into darkness this constant bend is much of what He is talking about. Worse yet people more love this darkness more than surrendering it to His light. They continue to use the same rationale to make the same decisions and take the same actions with the same insolence and self determination and kill off the things that contradict or counteract their torturous corruptions. Somehow they justify this all as being right vaguely aware if at all of what is actually occurring. AND THEREFORE and with this bend they attempt to explain away Jesus.

May30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:8:22-26 NEITHER GO INTO TOWN - This time the man is taken outside of town, restored, told to no return back in to the town till after Jesus leaves. How long before Jesus left we don't know. Two options as I see it. One: It is almost as if the bigger miracles are exciting the crowds in ways counter productive to the ministry. Crowds stir leaders and leaders stir counter measures. Whatever the balance is between teaching and miracle and evangelism, the reaction to the miracles is becoming a major concern. Two: unrelated to the reactions of others these commands may be tests of the response those directly involved. He heals, He commands, they fail Him. If the disciples fail Him, the healed/unshackled fail Him, what are the chances that we will fail Him? It is not to discourage us that this is made known, it is to direct us to His pursuing love. If both options are at play we find a Lord of great love and great concern shepherding us, steering us away from the faults deep within us at great risk to Himself and His ministry with great oversight and insight into all the matters at hand. The faith of our Lord is immeasurable. It is hard to be puffed up with leaven when you know that you have failed and will fail but He keeps working to set you apart for His glory.

June5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:9:38-41 FORBID HIM NOT - We may have to come back to this one. I have thought about this one a lot and still am not quite sure where it leads. We know that many who had casted out demons in His name will be turned away in the end, Jesus never knowing them kjv@Matthew:7:22-23. Here we see that none of those miracle workers can lightly speak evil of Him. We know that one can have the faith to remove mountains and have not charity is nothing kjv@1Corinthians:13:2 and that whether in pretence or truth Christ being preached should be rejoiced in kjv@Philippians:1:18 . Add as well that some can propose to heal or cast out in the name of Jesus only to have it turn against them kjv@Acts:19:13-16 . It seems to suggest that if John was trying to deflect his present embarrassment by showing his protective zeal for Christ, Christ was not going to let it divert the current teaching. The teaching and correction of service over rank was pointed at the disciples. This man though he was performing miracles in Christ's name did not necessarily have everything all together. The Holy Ghost was performing miracles through him but the man would still have to come to know Jesus in his heart of hearts. Maybe he did believe and was saved, Jesus alone would know this, but, that is an issue other than what Jesus was tending to right now. Disciples need to be aware of the lesson at hand and not move the discussion elsewhere. We need also to know that the Spirit is working on multiple fronts in declaring/confirming Jesus as Christ; not everyone else is an imposter. The faith of our Lord is aware of and allows for some things that we may not consider, that we might feel compelled to defend Him from. It may be that it is better to inquire into the deeper faith of these workers as to their salvation than to criticize their not being part of our pack.

June6 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:9:42-50 LITTLE ONES THAT BELIEVE IN ME - Jesus, not to be distracted, continues with child in arm "And" or furthermore. We were talking service over perceived rank, we continue one step further with anyone with rank that scandalizes/entraps to trip or stumble/entices to sin or apostasy anyone lesser, in this case a vulnerable believer. The occasion would be for a priest, a teacher, a professor, a counselor, an officer or one impersonating one, a parent grandparent or immediate relative or family friend, anyone with the implied suggestion of authority over the youth/pupil/patient/client/parishioner up to and including king or president. The daily news is filled with cases where authority has been occasion for wicked sin and perversion. How much more goes un-reported? The classrooms are filled with persuasive coercion and acidic secular proselytization. The courts and prisons are filled with horrific domestic abuses. Worst of all the Church itself for some has come to symbolize molestation and pedophilia of the most egregious offense of authority. Where is the service to God? Jesus makes absolutely clear what His judgment will be of these people; He repeats it five times worms and hell fire. For those who argue for God's unconditional compassion it needs to be understood where compassion has to surely end in order to be compassion at all. If you think about all it's possible forms, the tentacles reach everywhere. It indeed would be better that before offending the offender would cut or pluck the body part off, but, they won't. That the disease has affected the Church which Jesus set out not to be authoritative in this sense shows how far these tentacles can reach. In face of this we that remain are to have salt ourselves and peace one with another. The faith of our Lord knows the necessity of certain levels of authority but, teaches without distraction against it's selfish propagations and abuses. It is clearly a fault and tendency of all human nature, however the Church must particularly be on the guard for such offenses and mark out each and every offender without tolerance nor delay.

June8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:10:13-16 FORBID THEM NOT - It is an encouraging sign of reverence that parents would bring children up to Jesus to be touched. That the disciples were rebuked for holding them back shows me that the event was not staged. Part of their discipleship no doubt was to hold back crowds allowing Jesus more room to operate. There must of have been a reason that they thought it best to hold back the children either for their safety or for their interruption or their encouragement of others. The parents on the other hand must have felt a let down, perhaps understanding but, still dejected. It is one form of worship to come to Jesus as an adult. It is another to encourage your children to do what you perhaps would be too shy to do yourself, actually go up to be touched. It shows an understanding of Jesus on these parent's part. The children themselves may not understand what is going on and all the oddity and controversy surrounding it. They are much more inquisitive and experiential. No doubt they sense that this man is a man of importance, He garners an interesting crowd, but, He also seems unusually friendly and approachable. That someone would wish to hold me off from Him makes me want to meet Him all the more. Perhaps I have to step around people and make my way through the tight corridors of stationary bodies but, He beacons me. And as I am touched, and my sister, and friends there with me, He speaks as if this the way all the town folk should be, brave enough to meet Him, calm enough to enjoy His gentle hand, joyful enough to look back on my parents and acknowledge that they put me up to something I genuinely enjoy. I will remember this man as the friendly important stranger I met. The faith of our Lord is that men and women of all ages can adopt the heart of a child. It is possible. The crowds grinding at Him would be a whole lot different if they were filled with truth and joy seeking adventurers. They would be different to Him and different to each other. For one thing they would allow themselves to be touched, some deeply, to the point of being reverent.

June9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:10:17-31 WITH MEN IMPOSSIBLE - Perhaps it was the innocent presumption and brashness of youth that made Jesus to smile, a youth talking about since he was young, a law had not yet worn down such adolescent confidence. No man can uphold the law just as no man can completely surrender to Christ unless it is God who makes him. The belief is often that riches are the blessing of obedience to God, the lack of riches the curse of disobedience. If so what reason would the rich man have to change anything that he is doing. Yet there is an emptiness or discomfort in the lad concerning eternity, perhaps the closest thing to truth he has said. Jesus counters that the true blessing is not from following the law but following Him who fulfilled the law. The riches from that extend much further into both this life and the next. Even those who have in fact given up all they have struggle to keep separated the doing it in a sense of duty to the law with reward verses doing it as an reverent response to the work of Christ regardless. Throughout the chapter there has been the theme of becoming as children. The adult mind has made entrance to heaven a needle's eye, the child's mind has few self imposed limits. The work of Christ makes the believer to perceive himself as a child, to look at her godly life through the lens of a child, the work of God makes all things even Christ work upon them possible. It does not come without persecution however. The faith of our Lord is that given the impossibility of any man coming to this themselves that it will be His Father alone that will bring this eternal salvation and all that comes with it to light. Who then can be saved? He who God makes to be saved who then follows.

June13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:11:1-11 THE LORD HATH NEED - So many times we have read where the Lord was playing it low key not wanting to stir up any politics, not forcing Himself where He wasn't wanted, commanding others not to make Him known. Now something has changed. He has sequestered a colt to ride into Jerusalem ahead of time. Does that mean the the others know to add the touch of the palm branches? Are these others from the caravan that escorted Him in through Jericho? While He has spent time in Jerusalem on brief occasions, the majority of His work has been out in the cities and towns, countrysides and shorelines. This is largely a outsider movement moving into Jerusalem. The words and accounts have been streaming in causing quite the stir in His absence. Now however He seems to be taking the gloves off and calling the elite to their defences. Few in the streets probably know what this is all about, many are getting swept along with the momentum, but, surely the leaders know what this is about; this is Jesus saying bring it on. He is on their turf now, He is the rich landlord's son who has come to the wine-press to collect whom the hired hands know to be the son and wish to kill him to make this vineyard their own. Jesus is all in now and pushing every one of their sore spots. They will soon lash back at Him. The faith of our Lord will not stand down, He will stir the viper den to show all what they are really made of, this is His course long planned for even from before the creation. We should not stand down in describing it as such either.

June14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:11:12-19 DEN OF THIEVES - Was the Temple in Jerusalem really as bad off as Jesus said or was He trying to making a bigger point? My guess is that it is far worse, that the Temple courts were just the most easily identifiable manifestation to the public of the darkness that dwelt within. He knows that like the fig tree what little fruit it does bare is not given to Him and is rotten to the core not of His liking; at this point He is just finished with it. Actions like these have targeted messages higher up. If this is the second temple event of this sort the message would be that "you've had time to think this through, we are back where we left off, now what are you going to do?". Notice that it is Jesus performing the action, He is not delegating to His disciples and not encouraging His crowd or other revolutionaries to do likewise. This is between Him and those with the power to make the decisions. Theoretically they have the choice to reform their Temple system or to try to destroy Jesus. Actually however, their choice has long been made, Jesus is just calling them to make it. The faith of our Lord knows of a time to calmly teach and instruct, convey and convince, but, also a time to curse fruitless fig trees and over turn money grubbing exchange tables forcing others to act upon the decisions that they've already made. It is not ever business as normal either way. People are astonished at His doctrine because His doctrine moves forward unafraid and unimpressed by fraudulent abusive power and principality; even in the den of thieves.

June15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:11:20-26 HE SHALL HAVE WHATSOEVER - A mountain often stands between here and there. On one side of this passage there is a mountain like the fig tree, a corrupt way of religious life that bares not fruit, which has been cursed, is dried and withered yet still holds much power. On the other side of this passage stands a mountain of unforgiveness needing to be removed and tossed deep into the sea. Perhaps it is all part of the same mountain, be it a system or be it an individual trespassing the power these things have over you can be removed if only you believe in His righteousness and power to do so. So often we see the mountain as the hole that we have dug for ourselves financially or in our relationships or in our careers, health etc; what a shallow inverse mountain. Peter did not ask if he would ever be as rich as he wanted to be if he believed. Why do we contort this passage so? The fig tree represents something that is planted by the master intending to have plenteous fruit; often it symbolizes the Church or Israel. When it is contradictory it hurts His children and trespasses His will. His well intending children outside the church in turn can be just as fruitless holding hard to their unforgiveness of the trespasses against them personally or as they feel done onto their Lord. Thus it is an surmountable mountain for runaway church and injured believer and or rogue believer and injured church. To accept this, repent of this, to allow God the presumption of complete righteousness in all things and thus the power to cast aside any ill effect from such without any doubt; this is miracle producing faith. Believe that these things shall come to pass and they will at least for you. The faith of our Lord is in overcoming insurmountable mountains, in calling things not only by what they are but by what they will be. Jesus has not given up on Israel and not the Church. He has empowered accepting individuals the power to cast aside the insurmountable corrupt and unfruitful and unforgiving mass one by one and thus make the true Church and true Israel to be whole.

June26 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:14:12-31 I WILL GO BEFORE YOU - Jesus could not have made it any clearer; betrayal, Shepherd smited, sheep offended/scattered, His body given, His blood shed, soon risen, will go before you to Galilee. All of this is said on the day (dusk to dusk) of unleavened bread (remember the parables?) at the feast of passover (remember leading up to the Exodus?). The many Hebrew connections are quite intense. Having been told this in advance how could one be offended? They are still convinced that there is an alternate way that Jesus could do this that He is not considering. Would He go through with it if they all vehemently swore to stand firm swords drawn at His side? How can you conquer death when you are dead? Is man's sin and transgression really serious enough to warrant this innocent miracle worker's sacrifice? Is this really the time or can He spend another three years preparing them? Can't a man the stature of Jesus make his own choices and determine himself when his time will be? Why is Jesus so set on this one thing and not listening to the counsel of His closest friends? After all of this time do they not have a say? Has He become moon struck like His kinfolk earlier suspected? We leave now out the back door and slip out to Galilee now and....? There are a hundreds way to look at this as a why not and what if. There are a hundred ways of becoming offended that Jesus carries through with this, puts you in the position He does. So He is betrayed, do something about it now beforehand Jesus! It is not like He hasn't escaped death many times before! The faith of our Lord is not moon struck it is awe struck by the righteousness of His Father, that the Father will see this act of obedient submission as satisfying the righteous demands of judgment and mercy, that the Father will see and be pleased, that HIS righteous servant shall justify many having bare their iniquities. The prophet Isaiah long ago asked "Who hath believed our report". The answer? Not even His disciples. When it should have been clear given all this simply by His words "I WILL GO BEFORE YOU INTO GALILEE".

July2 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:15:16-20 MOCKING HIM - It is interesting to see what each of the Gospel writers felt was important enough to the passion to leave into their condensed accounts. Mark left out the scourging which no doubt happened for it was prophesied; perhaps because it was widely known to his readers. Instead He makes sure to point out the mockery and treatment of Jesus by the Roman Praetorian Guard. This may be emphasized because Peter likely could personally attest to it or because Peter wants to bring out the level to which Christ was despised and rejected; we just don't know. It is true that we can focus too exclusively on the sufferings of Jesus and much too little on the mindsets that were inflicting such pain and humiliation. That leads us to ask why would they do this? What difference would it make to Roman guards anyway? Their boss Pilate was washing his hands cleaning from it, why not they? Why? Because that is simply human nature. There is a sense of power in it even for a grunt wanna be soldier assigned to lowly guard duty in miserable old Jerusalem. Everyone gets swept up in the current of the moment, some willing to inflict wrong when they feel it's right, when they think that they can get away with it. The faith of our Lord is willing not only to suffer wrong but, suffer it for the purpose of illustrating where we are, what stock we come from, how desperately we need His saving light. The passion is not just our judgment of Him, it is His judgment of us. If He came to fulfill the Law, the judgment of the the Law is now falling quick upon us.

July3 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Mark:15:21-32 SCRIPTURE FULFILLED - The best explanation of what Jesus is going through is kjv@Psalms:22 prophesied nearly 1000 years before. The details are excruciating and graphic. Essentially two horrific things are converging upon Him at once, the sins of mankind past present future being transfered upon Him as with the symbolic Levitical sacrificial lambs, because of that sin the departing/forsaking of the Father never felt by Him prior in all eternity. The physical pain must be intense no doubt, but probably the least of His grief and ill. You think about the weight of the horrid sins of man like vile mass hatred and murder, rape and pillage, the woeful sins of oppression and bondage, the perversions of lust, the passive sins of idleness and unclaimed/stolen potential, how all this adds up to a terrible nausea/dizziness throbbing within Him. To that you add the loss of Himself to His Father; He is doing this in obedience to the Father and it is a great thing, but, the Father can not be with Him at this point because of the transference. No doubt He is in prayer throughout this ordeal to try to regain focus, the madness of all men laid upon must make it exceedingly difficult, but His prayer minus the Father's hand must seem vacant. What is there left Him to cling to in amidst this torrent except the expectation of a promise? We tend to think of the real suffering of Jesus to be after death perhaps in a hell. Though possible, much of that is conjecture/secular tradition. I believe the worst of His suffering to be now (what more could be done to His soul?). The faith of our Lord continues on however. It in essence is to simply obey the Father, trust that HE will at the right time pull Him through this all. This is paying the purchase price of redemption and what a price it is. We should not forget nor under appreciate what is being laid upon Him from all angles nor underestimate the cost to Him/Father in securing the forgiveness of our immense debts. It should vibrate through every cell in our bodies giving us new and substantial spiritual life.

July7 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:1:1-4 IT SEEMED GOOD - Luke undertakes a considerable and detailed effort putting together two accounts a gospel and a book of acts for the audience of one man, Theophilus. Though the important man this is addressed to now may be forgotten, the effort remains as one of the best accounts of both the earthly life and ministry of Jesus and historical depictions and detailing of the early Church that followed. Luke suggests that he was aware of several others that had made similar efforts, most perhaps oral editions and some written, yet it seemed good to him for this man's sake to conduct this noble effort himself. Luke was a frequent traveling partner of the Apostle Paul and is considered an evangelist in his own right. This introduction helps us to understand how our Lord uses assorted types of individuals to perform His greater purposes. No one sets out to perform a work the size of Luke's, not even Luke. He starts out in this case by trying to help one man to know of the certainty of these things. The Holy Ghost is performing His work through the man but the man is engaged by a smaller more tangible personal desire or matter. How often do we wait to act until directed by a divine dictate (which can happen don't get me wrong) when the Lord all along is willing to work through the more tangible personal desires as well? Where do we think such desires to help others come from? If it was more of our attitude that every person we meet and associate with would be helped by knowing the certainty of these things and we therefore conducted ourselves to gathering together accounts and resources as Luke did with the intention to making known the certainties simply because it seemed good, the Spirit would likely work through us all the more as well. Believers often think of the Spirit's guidance as to "which job" or "which city" or "how can I afford this" instead of thinking "how can the faith of this other person be ministered to and built up gaining full certainty?". Isn't the Spirit more likely to work us through this before moving us to different job or city? The faith of our Lord is that (inspired by His gift grace) people are going to want to help others come to and be strengthened in the faith as well, such desire is both natural and spiritual, and He is wanting/willing to work through that type of desire also. Salvation being a gift cannot be earned by any other effort, but, sharing the certainty of our Lord's faith for the benefit of other's faith serves our savior pleasures well. It seems good because it is good; the process benefits our growth and confidence too!

July8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:1:5-25 THE BAPTIST - It must be noted how God is operating here with one man privately; big plans are coming to life, millenniums of preparation, Israel and mankind's redeemer, prophecies ripe and ready for the picking. There are ways that God could have made this much more public, worked within the system, flooded Israel with prophets, brought more witnesses and leaders into the game plan. God chooses to send Gabriel into the alter room alone, isolated from anyone else. The spread of the word from there is based on the public's reaction to a muted Zacharias. God seldom acts in conventional more recognizable/accepted forms. His reasons are manifold though mysterious. Add this sense to the time elapsed by generations of this plan kjv@Matthew:1, we see God working in a size and shape and scope no one fully understands or expects. The faith of our Lord challenges every man made convention and establishes a convention all its own.

July9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:1:26-38 NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE - We have a pattern shown to us already in this book of our (man's) common reaction to things when revealed by God; we limit things to our own field of understanding. Time after time old testament and new a man/women is dropped in on by a messenger and uniformly we behave like a doubt filled and defensive timid bird. Who will this be? How shall I know? I am but a stuttering man? My lips are unclean? These are common reactions. By just reading spirituality from a book I doubt that we realize how large and grand and unfathomable these spiritual things are. But when confronted face to face, when it is our own life and our own safety and our own well being we attempt to hide ourselves as it were in the wide open, reduce things down to the improbable or impossible. Gabriel and his crew have a difficult job dealing with the sons of men. We are always spooked. We are truly disbelieving and suspicious types. We have to be talked to in short picture like packets with constant reassurance and explanation. We are both short and blind sighted, highly imaginative and think we know much more about the larger scope than we actually know. It is natural however given our unfamiliarity with the spiritual. Mary responds better than most coming to a trust without much further struggle. God is still dealing one on one with the individual players which should be expected. The faith of our Lord knows what He is dealing with with humans. We are made in the image of God so that there is much that is recognizable, but in his present state there is something exceedingly damaged even in the best of us or introverted spiritually. By the God becoming the flesh of man He will be more recognizable and less threatening to man (perhaps too much so). It is however the way He chose so it must be the way that is best.

July11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:1:46-56 HE HATH HE HATH - Notice the past continuous tense in Mary's song. He hath. What has He done? Not everything yet appears to be rosey. She is carrying the God child, truly a blessing but,the circumstances of which have surely put her at odds for a short time with her fiance, longer with family perhaps, perpetually surely with her local community. We are never told of the presence of her mom and dad and must assume that they are either too far away, disowning, or no longer alive so that she decides to stay three months with Elizabeth. She was of low estate before and in the eyes of some now even lower. This does not matter to her though, it is not how she see's it. Much of what He has done for her has been for all of Israel, much of what He is doing is for all mankind. His mercy, His scattering of the proud, the exalting of them of low degree, the filling of the hungry are all continual things that He has to do. Israel deserves judgment much receives His mercy instead. Mary anticipates that the child within her has much to do with all this past present and future. He hath done, He is doing, He will do. She feels this, believes it, anticipates it, expects it even though she may not fully understand what it will mean to her and how it all will play out. The faith of our Lord is in this type of person. His mercy is on them that solidly fear Him.

July15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:2:8-20 AS IT WAS TOLD THEM - Did anyone follow up on Luke's proposition that there were Shepherds in/around Bethlehem that could attest to this event or people that knew of these shepherds these many years later? The Apostles seem to know of them or else they would have stopped Luke from making such unsubstantiated claims. These four canonized gospels are almost dares or challenges for others/critics to attempt to disprove the facts as depicted, as there are just so many examinable points put forth. Did the Sanhedrin of 45-70 AD make any effort for instances to investigate/rebut these testimonies; and if not then why not? Could they be refuted? The faith of our Lord is putting this all detail out on the line. His story is largely being told by the people around Him describing it; multiple people from multiple vantages. If anybody at that time did make inquiry worthy of debating the evidences provided here it apparently never got long term traction. One would expect that any counter (reliable or not) information would have received much play from Christianity's many immediate/vehement critics.

July16 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:2:21-40 REVEALOR - Hopefully you've noticed how much the Holy Spirit has been involved so far. The child has yet to say a word and already we know so much about Him. Notice also how the Spirit is working, through individuals, to individuals. Simeon is used to reveal further information to Mary and Joseph; how many others hear this conversation we do not know. Anna thanked God before them as a separate confirmation, she speaks of Him to all them that looked for redemption however that was surely over the course of time as few (if any) of these saints would have been present at the temple on this day. Already we have a good many in Galilee, the surrounds of Bethlehem and a very influential prophetess at the temple in Jerusalem are all aware of a strong and curious spiritual possibility. Though others may not yet be aware they have been prepared just the same. Jesus is foretold to come to reveal the hearts of men, the Spirit is shown to be the revealor of Jesus, having prepared the mission "before the face of all people". kjv@John:16:8-11 further explains the Spirit's role post accession of reproving the world of sin, sin in direct relation to our belief and treatment of Christ Jesus as revealed. To Mary the Spirit impresses that all will not go as expected, this will mean the fall and rising of many in Israel and will be for a sign spoken against, personally painful like a sword into her heart. Jesus will be? No, our reaction to Jesus will be. Mary/Joseph pay the poor man's version of the Levitical first born's redemption this day, but, will pay a much greater price through the months and years to come. The faith of Lord is in a very hard and very difficult road ahead, impossible for anyone other than the true Messiah (as need be). It will be hard for Him, hard for His parents, hard for His disciples and followers, hard for us. It will not come by the goodness of men's hearts, nor their tolerance, nor their sense of righteousness or judgment. It will come by God's grace and performance of mercy. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit...

July18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:3:1-20 PREPARE YE - Luke goes about the task of making these things certain. Theophilus has likely heard of John the Baptist as has most anyone in the region of that time that would be reading this. He would know or be able to look into the timing of the Caesars and Herods and Governors as well. These are certain things being made more certain by putting them in the context of Isaiah's prophecies and what John himself said was the scope of his ministry. In preparing the Lords way we almost have what would be a revival upon a revival, a revival based upon a general repentance with works and a larger spiritual repentance based upon God's ultimate performance of mercy. The Divine intention behind all of this is explained as bringing the exalted low and the meek higher to an equal playing field which He does literally in the raising/accession of Christ and then after a judgment as to the production of good spiritual fruit. John's part in this, as unimaginably important as it is, is minute compared to the workings of Jesus. The faith of our Lord like Luke is in by making known of the certainty of these things we too mat have the faith/certainty that leads us through to this path of repentance unto good abiding spiritual works/fruits.

July20 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:4:1-13 FORTY DAYS TEMPTED - This passage seems to be one of the oddest passages in the Bible along with the Devil standing before God asking to test Job. The questions that come up are many, some turn bizarre. Satan has had since kjv@Genesis:3:15 to prepare for a moment like this to tempt Eve's promised seed, and at least to this readers eye he never really takes the gloves off with these three efforts. Luke gives us room to interpret that this was forty days of temptation climaxing in these three notable ordeals. Not being privy to the events of those many days we can further interpret that it may have been Satan's plan to wear at Jesus and then at strategic points flash a quick barrage of punches hoping to intimidate Him with a commanding presence, awesome power and authority. The individual events hardly seem like tests plural as much as the overall duration and display. If this is the correct interpretation, we must also be on the constant watch for this multi-front long duration attack. Seldom is Satan outright identifiable. He does typically hide behind others using peer pressure and intimidation, he does hide behind scripture as well. The tactic isn't always to scare us into doing something wrong, it is often to scare us off or scare us into doing nothing at all. Therefore it is advantageous for him to wear at a believer any way and any time he can. Forty days of dull pressure is just as effective as three minutes of fright. Combined together, the impact could be devastating. Note however that Jesus fasted. His chosen preparation was to put His human flesh into submission to His spirit and to feed and strengthen His spirit upon the Word of His Father alone. This He did knowing the the dull test was constant and the barrage was soon to come. The faith of our Lord is in preparation. Not just waiting for events to happen that are then responded to with prayer/fasting but, putting oneself in front at the ready at all times should any sudden assault or need come about.

July21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:4:14-30 THROUGH THE MIDST OF THEM - A prophet in his own country would be a well known proverb, Nazareth would be a well known prophetical link to messianic prophecy. The people of this city had to have some expectation. Jesus did not however match whatever that expectation among them was. The reaction at the synagogue goes from wonder to wrath all on the turn of Jesus' own words. While still in wonder, Jesus flips it and says 'but, you will ask me to heal myself' and then relates to two OT bible stories where only single individuals received God's grace. It is almost like saying that you are asking me to prove that I can heal you before you will allow me to heal you. In one of these stories the widow was commanded to receive the prophet and that she did. In the other story the man was under the command of the Syrian king to go to the king of Israel who in turn commanded him to visit the prophet. In this case after the healing, a servant of the prophet attempted to extort payment for the healing, breaking the prophet's command and thus as penalty received the first man's departed leprosy forever. These illustrations must be mentioned by Jesus to show to us Nazareth's heart at this time. Jesus came that all men might believe; he is not a respecter of any man over any another. The progress that He seeks however requires faith on the part of the recipient of such grace along with obedience such as these stories illustrate. One cannot first ask this particular Physician to heal Himself from the ailments that only one possess (lack of faith/obedience and over abundance of iniquity). The faith of our Lord walked into Nazareth knowing what reception awaited Him and He walked in without disciples or guard. They in turn attempted to push Him off the side of a cliff. How disappointing and eye opening this entire exchange must have been to His family and kin there in ear shot.

July23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:4:38-44 THEREFORE I AM SENT - It is obvious that Jesus operates under the full assumption that He is servant that is sent. kjv@John:6:38 perhaps best explains this frame of mind in that He came down not to do His will, but the will of HIM that sent me. It is revealing that in so many places the people wanted Jesus out, one of the few times that they ask Him to stay it is not the Father's will. Imagine, let's say, that Jesus had stayed. He built a place to receive the people to Him instead of Him going out to the people. Say He trained thousands of disciples, anointed them, sent them out to plant similar institutions the world over. Makes a lot of sense does it not? It is not the Father's will! Imagine those loyal citizens that tracked Him to this desert place giving Him their sales pitch... "We've been thinking"... "You need a place to station your ministry"... "we need something that puts our name on the map"... "we think that we have much to offer"... "other cities can come here to you". All well and good, honest and sincere, but just not the Father's will. Maybe their pitch was smaller and more personal; who is to say. You'll remember that a few of the disciples were from this area; why not put down roots? There are a lot of things like that, I am sure, courses and objectives that just seem obvious and right; big plans, little plans, so many ways we feel we can help even counsel the Lord. The faith of our Lord is much more direct. The Father sent Him, the Father is going to guide Him which way to go. Our faith must resemble the same. It must be interesting (delightful) for Him to hear of all of our plans, encouraging to hear a kind welcoming word from us even if misguided. His path goes straight ahead to the next city however. What about ours?

July25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:5:12-16 HE WITHDREW HIMSELF - What would Jesus have to pray for? Prayer is the balancing weight in His life. There has to be balance. There is no doubt that Jesus could stand in one place all the day long not saying a word and heal every one that passed by. Where then is the word? Where is the gospel? Where is change? It is like hitting a reset button a computer, the symptoms are all cleared and the carrier can go right back to what he intended on doing, but the ailment still resides deep inside awaiting all new symptoms to project. With out the full word the likely reply would be "thanks a lot Jesus, I'll be sure to come to you first next time". Fame is one thing, fame for the wrong reasons is insulting. Physical healing must be balanced with spiritual regeneration. Fame must be balanced with humility. Responsibility for the souls of others must be balanced with responsibility to one's own relationship with God. This is where prayer comes in. Jesus uses prayer to keep His balance, to keep sharp, to keep invigorated. He separates Himself strategically more and more so that He can keep engaged with the others more and more. The demands upon Him at this point otherwise would become extreme. The faith of our Lord is in balance. He is an example to us as to how we can come to such a point even in our most demanding experiences.

July27 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:5:27-32 FOLLOW ME - Only people that know that they are sinners would know that they have need to repent, turn, follow. Those that don't consider themselves as such have absolutely no use for what Jesus would have to offer. I am not sure in today's terms that we understand how despised and hated tax collectors of that day were. This is yet another "in your face" move by Jesus. This reception would be difficult for even the loyal yet timid disciples, it would be revolting to the common citizen, it would be outright excruciating for a Pharisee or their scribe. But because of the undeniable command of matters Jesus is having this act must be fully considered (and for some countered). Matthew (Levi) is a truly inspiring story. Matthew not only leaves his lucrative position behind, he throws a huge reception and invites numerous friends over to meet Jesus. He puts on a huge feast. How many of us would be willing to do that for our Lord? Maybe for some this would be name dropping. Maybe for others this would be pomp ahead of his own career sacrifice. Jesus surely does not see it this way however else He would not be there. There is something important to notice here (many things); the importance of the balance of healing and teaching and public associations and staying on the offensive. The Pharisees have now made their decision about Jesus, but because they cannot explain away the mass healings for instance they cannot completely put down the teachings nor the associations. Because they must turn public perception they must somehow turn public associations that they themselves do not have. They are having to take hit and run sniper shots to remind the crowds of their disapproving presence. Really, how would you go about telling a blind man that can now see that he was healed by a devil or a leper that Jesus didn't actually have the power to forgive? That this was all a trick? Trick or not, they stand healed and sensing that they are forgiven. Likewise, how do you tell a reception of people that you have physical disdain for yourself anyway that they cannot congregate in this manner around this man? That He should not congregate with them? This is bold in deed. And it all is possible because of the balance of the many separate things that Jesus is doing right working together as a whole to multiply the effect of His ministry. Maddening it would be to to be on the other side of this tremendous unstoppable momentum. The faith of our Lord has no problem being with the people who need Him and desire to be with Him most. He doesn't mind even the occasional party to meet and greet a new disciples friends. There is a sincerity and a purity in this even when others might think that He is getting Himself dirty.

July30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:6:12-16 LIST OF TWELVE - Well here they are ladies and gentlemen The twelve top human candidates for disciples of God the Son Hand picked Ready for intensive specialized training A once in an ion opportunity Cream of the crop Don't believe it? Let's review the judging criteria. Willingness to leave all behind and follow someone doing something you can't comprehend in a manner that you don't understand. The eliminates the academics and philosophics and intellectuals. Willingness to die for this somebody and His cause after He Himself has died with extreme public humiliation for the same belief/cause. That eliminates the scientific and political. Willingness to present oneself a living daily sacrifice, a bond servant of the gospel. That eliminates any with ulterior motives. We could go on, but let's count who among us is left in the running. That fact is that not one of us has chosen Him not even the disciples, He has chosen us, He has chosen them. Whatever qualities they possessed He alone saw, He alone determined. Those that may have prepared themselves would not have known what to prepare for, most likely they would have been hidden qualities that only He could bring out of us. So why did these men follow at His call? Was it a tough decision on their part or a explainable feeling of destiny? How much of their future did they know upfront? How is it that brothers and partners were just as likely join Him? Recall that Jesus prayed for those whom the Father had given Him. That He did not loose any that were given but the son of perdition. The faith of our Lord is in that which is given by His Father. He has the spiritual balance and discipline afforded (by prayer mainly) to identify where the Father's hand is at this moment, what HE has given for this, what direction HE is leading, what next step will be obeyed. That may be all we need any given moment as well.

July31 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:6:17-26 REJOICE IN THAT DAY - Are you rich? Are you full? Do you laugh? Are these themselves bad things? Salvation is based upon holding Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior. His death upon the cross is our death to sin, His Resurrection the beginning of our new spiritual life, His ascension confirmation of His heavenly reign. To not hunger for His truth, to laugh alongside His many scoffers, to be rich with all the treasures of this earth yet minus His grace is a woe most threatening indeed. To be poor in spirit however, to hunger for His truth, to be weeping where there is chiding, to be reproached even cast out for His sake, in this there is a kingdom sized blessing. Who are these rich according to Jesus? Their fathers doing is the key. Who so treated the prophets of old? The so called religious leaders of Israel. Do I have to fear if I am a rich kid from America? If I let it effect me like it did the Scribes. Do I have any to fear if I am a poor kid from the streets of Calcutta? If I let it effect me like it did the Scribes. Jesus speaks this as He is healing the multitudes one by one. He is looking up to His newly confirmed main disciples. What a sight it must have been for them to see; what a lesson. The prophets were right as evidenced here this day. These men too will be right, prophets in their own respect. Look though at how the right are treated. What does this tell us about man? What does this tell us about man's religion? It is rich, it is full, it is spoken well of, but they have already received their consolation. The faith of our Lord is in the broken and hungry and mournful heart. This heart is the starting point for something big, something that fits into an even larger eternal kingdom the type of which has not yet entered our minds; well worth the fiery trails of this present earth to be part of.

August2 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:6:37-42 SHALL MEN GIVE UNTO YOUR BOSOM - Top and bottom: judgment, condemnation, forgiveness and a beam in one's eye. The difficulty with judging others is that we do not judge ourselves by the same measure. I am going to flip this around however to level that few are comfortable with. Let's take the example of Christians that are for the death penalty. There are many that would use these words against us; "judge not lest thou be judged". Are they not using the very words of non-judgment to judge us by? No doubt they have other words to say about Christians as well, and they are quite public about it too. Hiding behind such peaceable words in order to openly judge another is most "beamish". The measure that most all of us will be rewarded with largely has to do with the amount that we give. If a man or woman is known otherwise to be very giving of forgiveness and compassion and peaceableness, exceedingly so shall we say, the fact that they favor the death penalty in this one particular instance does not mean that there is a "mote" in their eye. Thereto, the man or woman known to be judgmental and unforgiving and slanderous in many more respects except in this particular instance and turns these peaceable words intentionally into canon fodder, here is a case for the consideration of hypocrisy. The law of Moses is filled with not only judgments about those who sin against God and society, it is judgmental against the society that does not execute judgment upon those individuals on behalf of the victims. The very ground it is said often cries out with the blood of the innocent. Prophets bemoan the times when there is no judgment, no one to stand the gap, no one to stand up against the evil. Rightly so. Has Jesus not come to fulfill the law of Moses and the prophets? A disciple is not above his master. He cannot judge and condemn and be unforgiving by his own selfish and hypocritical standard. His one allowance is as a society when the word of God so demands. Those that use the word of God, to which they have not the slightest belief otherwise, to box out those who do believe every word from the very public and very necessary debate over the death penalty are hypocrites of the highest order. This is not to say that there isn't a mote or splinter lacing our debate as well. The faith of our Lord is in the measure that we mete withall. Everyone that is perfect shall be as his master. Jesus has always been able to discern both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. The measure that He gave has been and forever will be pressed down, shaken, running over from the sincerest of men. What better reward or compliment. Just as He wants experienced in the bosom of His disciples.

August4 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:6:46-49 MY SAYINGS - When the flood arises (and it will) there are two possible outcomes, the house stands or the house falls. What is the house? What one believes? What one has done? What is the rock? Both builders are building. Because of one builder's hearing and doing of the Lord's sayings he has built his house in a certain way. He hears and does by faith, faith in the Lord and faith in the storm, and what he does by that faith he does long ahead of the first droplets. The other builder builds a very similar structure I am sure, roof, walls, rooms, doorways, may even be bigger with more luxurious accommodations; the difference being the ground on which the foundation is attached. One might say that this is the far superior build up until the storm. This builder by all appearance has drastically under estimated the storm or the solidity of the rock perhaps selfishly over estimating his ability in framing the structure. The type of storm is unforeseen. It could then be said that it is not so much the structure that the two builders constructed but much more the ground on which the structure was errected. It is much tougher to build on rock, some say impossible and do not try, some try but on their own meager terms. Those that do best do so on the terms of the rock. Note that when tested for all that the second builder put into it it all immediately fell. The faith of our Lord is that we will understand and not under estimate the approaching storm nor the ever present rock, that we will choose to do our building on the only ground safe enough to withstand. His sayings. Our hearing them and our doing them; it is all that stands between us and a house built on sand.

August9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:8:1-15 THE SEED IS THE WORD - Hear the word, keep it, bring forth fruit with patience; that is the process on our part. Fruit contains seed, more of the same original seed that was planted, lots more in each fruit born. For those that think that their good works are fruit this passage does not say that, unless to say that their works bare the spreading of more seed. How many of your works bare more of the word? Certain women ministered unto Jesus out of their own substance. Jesus was allowed to spread His word unencumbered. They heard the word and were delivered. They kept the word by caring for it's messenger (and later messengers). They bare fruit then and to this day as we are fruit in part because of their patience. Out of their substance? How much substance did a women of their means have in that day? Enough to help minister unto our Lord. Enough to be mentioned in this passage. Their faith did not choke the word off, it did not wither the word away, the word planted was not stolen away nor trodden down. They had experienced the power of the word in their lives. They sought to multiple the word into the lives of others even if they were not of the position or gender of the time to do so. What is your fruit? Does it bare the seed of the word? Else, does it minister to the sower of the word toward spreading? Else does it minister to the sowers of the seed? Is the seed being sown to all indiscriminately? Unto you it has been given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom; given as if not by your own discernment or worthiness. To whom other is it given that has not yet heard? That has not yet kept? That has not yet brought forth? If you take the seed to mean your faith or as your good works then you miss the interpretation given by our Lord. The faith of our Lord is in His word, the preaching and showing of the glad tidings of the kingdom. Is that word being snatched away in your ministry? Is it being withered? Is it being choked off? The word that is not anything other? Or is it baring fruit as it will one hundred fold with patience?

August10 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:8:16-18 WHEN HE LIGHTETH - When who lights? Did you light? With what did you light? The answer is that we did not light. Light typically symbolizes the knowledge of God, the candle-stand prophetically the church (or a church). When Jesus lit the light He placed it on a stand so that they that entered in might see the light. He had no intention of hiding it from them, but they did have to enter in. In the OT such a candle and candle-stand was the only light inside the tabernacle in the Holy Place. God's light was the only light that could light the darkness of mankind. Jesus says "I am the Light". John says "the Light came into the world". Jesus addresses seven candle stands, churches of the revelation, holders of His light, He Himself walking in the midst of these candlesticks. In the light of the knowledge of God nothing will remain secret, every dark hidden thing will be found out. God already knows these things, the revelation will be to those that have entered in. First and foremost are the things hidden within our own darkness. To those that have been revealed in His light more revelation will be given. To those that have not been revealed or yet turn away even what has been revealed will be taken away. We must then be careful how we hear. Some believe that the light is their own faith, nothing to do with their darkness being revealed and dealt with, that this is a call to believe all the stronger and let their own faith shine forth. The faith of our Lord is in those that will actually enter into His light, that willingly and consistently become more and more discovered/transformed in the knowledge of His light. It is in the collection of these discovered individuals as a body dedicated to holding true to His light, that stand to raise His light. We are revealed individually, we are revealed holding together as a group.

August13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:8:26-39 HE SUFFERED THEM - Why would Jesus suffer tormenting devils? Because they themselves did not wish to be tormented? I doubt it. What purpose would they have in His grand scheme of things? Let's look at the results. Most importantly a man is released from his torment and that man now want's to follow Him; a big win. That said, the townsfolk are very afraid of Jesus, perhaps intimidated by a god other than their own especially when that god stands before them in the flesh, or else they are superstitious as to what the demonic world may do in retaliation. Either way they are exposed; another big win. The demons, while they are not in the abyss, they are in dead carcasses in the bottom of the sea; winning with a touch of humor. We today have the advantage of viewing all of this without having to actually be there; big big multi-generational win. We see how we would likely react to true spiritual warfare on our shorelines. We see how tormentors don't wish to be tormented themselves. We see how Jesus Himself can handle a situation without being a tormentor Himself. Though there will come a day for these demons and their types, that day will be in divine judgment long after Jesus wins the crown. The faith of our Lord is in the full plan. Even difficult situations are handled with ease when born from a clear and obedient spiritual perspective. He suffered them for this time and still hit it out of the ballpark.

August14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:8:40-56 GO IN PEACE - There seems always to be an uncomfortable reaction of people to Jesus. When the crowd was asked who had touched Him, you can imagine the fright the poor women had (and others) as if she had stolen away a healing from the Lord. Clearly the Lord did not mean it as such, but the women felt as if she "not hid". The disciples have an odd discomforted reaction as if frustrated that they'd have to keep track of who had and who had not touched Him on top of everything else. The synagogue ruler had to be uncomfortable that his options had all dwindled down to Jesus, that it would be known by the rest of the congregation that he had approached this revolutionary. The mourners in the room have the uncomfortable involuntary eruption of distaste and scorn. Jesus has to remove them from the room. I would imagine most all of us would be uncomfortable placed in our Lord's presence no matter what He did or did not do. Almost like a stage fright, a fear of being found out, our fight or flight defense mechanism is more than likely to be reject and despise or else shun and run. Understanding these tendencies, Jesus must navigate these potentially explosive minefields everyday. Frightened and wounded birds we each are. His response to the woman "be of comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace", His taking hold of the girl's hand saying "maid arise", His words to the parents "give her meat", these are all very sensitive/sincere calming gestures and yet are commanding enough to firmly steer the situation aright. The faith of our Lord is rigid in heavenly obedience yet empathetic on multiple human levels. Not everyone's reaction is going to be met, however, it should be clear that the principal players are going to be thoroughly touched.

August15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:9:1 POWER AND AUTHORITY OVER ALL DEVILS - Except it didn't work on one type of devil, that type only came out with prayer and fasting kjv@Matthew:17:14-23. So was it a problem with what Jesus gave to the disciples or was it a problem with the way they utilized it? When the disciples asked Jesus replied "because of your unbelief". Why wasn't there enough belief? He later suggested "only by prayer and fasting". So we must ask what prayer and fasting have to do with the size or implementation of faith, what prayer and faith have to do with the conduit of power and authority? Without it it certainly appears that what whatever one does believe becomes as unbelief. This is not to say that the disciples did not achieve for the most part what they had been sent out to do. You can imagine what the critics said when not one but twelve mini Jesus's filtered through the entire region. It is not just that Jesus demonstrates the power and authority, but is able to delegate that same power and authority to others. It doesn't just happen once either, a hundred more are sent out a short time later. This is beyond slight of hand or trickery or mass illusion/hysteria; this is most unheard of. This is why the unbelief/fasting/prayer issue becomes so important to address, because in a herd of good white sheep it becomes the one black sheep every critic focuses on. The faith of our Lord is shown to be massive in scope yet minute in detail. For Him it is made easy because of His obedience to familiarity with the Father. With us it takes a much more diligent focus to overcome our carnal impulse, to find that obedience and familiarity; and thus the prayer and fasting. Not just for our needs, but more importantly for His.

August17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:9:18-27 WHOM SAY THE PEOPLE - Clearly the word is getting out about Jesus. How could it not? The thing being brought out here to me is that the word is spreading out in bits and pieces that are not logically being tied together. If He were John the Baptist then they are completely ignoring the fact that the two were cousins and had met together at the Jordan, Jesus having produced many miracles while John was still alive. If He were Elias then they are completely ignoring that Jesus referred to John as one having the spirit of Elias. And if He were an old prophet, what other prophet was ever prophesied to come back except Elias in the very end? I am not so certain that all the facts are available to them like as they are us to even put these pieces together in a form resembling the truth. It is partially to their blame for not searching it out further, but a greater measure is just in how word is commonly spread. In modern times great effort and expense is put out by the major companies/governments to make sure that their message is spread and disseminated correctly by the masses. Jesus at this point appears unconcerned, in fact He tells the disciples not to tell anyone. It could even be said that He is using other's misinformation out ahead of His true message. The faith of our Lord is in the spread and dissemination of a message that at this point still under construction. In order for that message to undeniably state what He needs it to state it must include His road toward and following His cross, what "has been" accomplished upon that cross. It is in that precise unalterable message that His message escapes the corrupting forces of human interpretation upon the spread of it's truth. Today, now that it undeniably states all of this, for us to conclude anything other as to who He is, it is in full measure our own condemn-able act. Whom say you?

August18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:9:28-36 THE FASHION OF HIS COUNTENANCE - There are two was we could logically approach this transfiguration 1). that He was suddenly raised to this glory so that we notice it 2). that He was always in this glory but it was being hidden (except for this one pre-pentecostal time) so that we did not notice it. The triune member of the eternal Godhead humbled Himself greatly in many (all) ways to become incarnate; humbling did not alter the fact that He was triune member of the eternal Godhead. If men were to judge and accept His work upon the cross for their salvation it was important that they be able to judge based upon the action as much as upon the person, therefore the appearance of the person had to stand aside. God not being a respecter of any man past present future had to give all men the ability to judge based upon what they heard not upon what they saw as not every man (3 only) would have opportunity to see Jesus this glorified way. These three men were strictly being used as the vehicle of transmitting the message to us from which to judge and they had to come to a similar if not tougher decision themselves not to tell till afterwards. This passage also visualizes the soon passing of the torch (over mankind) from the Law of Moses and the Law of the Prophets to Jesus and the Gospel of the Kingdom of His Grace. The faith of our Lord is not that He will become all this, it is that He is/remains all this even though for righteousness sake much of this kept temporarily out of focus. He has set out to achieve that which was planned before creation. Nothing of that has been changed or altered. He will not be hidden on His next return, He will be seen shining from out of the heavens.

August19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:9:37-45 LET THESE SAYINGS - Everyone wondered at all these things. Wondered most likely about possession, where it starts, what it is like, how such a terrible thing could happen? Wondered why the disciples had not been able to heal this particular one having been able to heal so many others, having been given "all power" to cast such demons out. Wondered at what was meant by faithless and perverse generation, is that why this child was possessed, why the disciples were unable, is this the dad at fault, why devils have their way with men? Faithless and perverse how? Who? To what extent? Wondered as to who this man was and from where did He get such powers? Wonder one would think is good. It makes one to re-think, to re-examine. You would think that it brings sincere people to understand. It does not. To bring others to accept the Lord's power and authority. It doesn't. It is more likely to scare people away. The tremendous mercy placed upon this child at the same time raises the resistance of others, creates fear and discomfort. Some act as if it had not happened, some as if they were tricked, some as if they were being forced to believe. Even amongst His own the sayings to follow that should easily sink down into their ears are stolen away. It is a faithless and perverse generation all the way around. Divine mercies bring these varied forms of darkness to light and corner them. Wonder does not always mean enlightenment at first it may mean exposure to the challenging and perplexing. The mind is very good at justifying itself. Not long after wonder comes self protection and entrenchment for many. The faith of our Lord is to work through these things. A moment of His glory revealed followed by evidence of a faithless perverse generation followed by the people He trusts to observe and participate in this great work not understanding, it is all part of the same day for Him. It takes patience, continued obedience, continued faith. It requires His being delivered into the hands of men. They feared to ask Him of that saying.

August21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:9:51-62 WHAT MANNER OF SPIRIT YE ARE OF - Have you ever stopped to wonder what manner of spirit you are of? John has two instances back to back where he has felt that he was in the right, forbidding a non-follower from casting out devils and calling for fire upon the Samaritan village dissing Jesus. Within the group he may have voiced the majority opinion. Was there anyone other than Jesus that was going to challenge John's perspective? He was after all looking after his master? It is likely that there are few if any in our own circles today that would discern enough to challenge our perspective as well. How would we know what manner of spirit we are of? As right as John is, as protective of his master as he is, as in the majority this "son of thunder is", as loved as this "beloved" is, it is not from the Holy Spirit that his spirit is operating from. Peter has likewise been called out on this as well. Without clear discernment the borders between spirits the human mind is likely to justify/rationalize it's way to wherever it intended originally. Without discernment from those holding us in their confidence how else can the question of manner be asked? There are certainly stiff and sharp lessons a disciple must endure on his road through sanctification. Just as we must consider the immediacy and personal price associated, we must consider the manner of spirit we proceed from. The faith of our Lord is not in discouraging these men from their holy ambition, it is to steer them toward a clearer road of spiritual discernment. We know what manner of spirit we are from; one likely to bend perceptions it's own direction. James and John would make it through this and other challenges. It is likely that these others did as well (by our Lord's guidance).

August22 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:10:1-24 JESUS REJOICED IN SPIRIT - It must be pleasurable to observe your followers making their first few spiritual steps. After all that you have invested in them, to set them out on their first solo flights, then to have them return with such encouraging words. These men are just babes and they are sent out among the wolves, but they have held their own. There will of course need to be adjustments, corrections, reproof, for what it is worth though it was a good first effort. Seventy people now doing the advance leg work of the Lord's final journey back to Jerusalem has to be on the radar of a great many chiefs and leaders. Tensions have to be ramping up. The so called wise and prudent are preparing their ultimate denial and rejection. Twelve, now seventy? What next 300 little Jesus' healers coming in to town for Passover? A great many works have been done by Jesus and now by His followers. If there were any chance of believing there would be signs of cracking by now. The faith of our Lord is in the mission ahead and it's timing. It is good that He had a moment of rejoicing and encouragement. However, there is a point where miracles and wonders are too plenteous to be noticed. What is there left to do by the time yet another town is on the "woe unto thee" list. It is time to make toward Jerusalem.

August26 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:11:14-28 WITH THE FINGER OF GOD - A lot is being said here by both sides. It is not a casual "I wonder how He does that" statement, it is a definitive and hardened accusation. Likewise, Jesus is responding in no uncertain terms that if this is the finger of God (and using even simple logic there is a great possibility), you have just blasphemed the work (the finger) of the Holy Spirit and the kingdom which stands before you. It is one thing to have doubts. It is one thing to be skeptical. It is another thing to throw down against God's Son and the Holy Spirit. Then extra insight is given to the disciples as to the inner workings of demons, that it requires one stronger than the strongest demons to cast them out and to keep them out; otherwise they return later in much larger numbers. Recall the times as with Mary Magdeline multiple (7) demons (even Legions) were cast out at once by Jesus. He is saying that not only is He strong enough to cast out any number of demons, He is more than strong enough to keep the increasing numbers out should the person allow Him to. This further information and self declaration is even more convincing to me than the "house divided falls" logic. Demons apparently have no rest in or out. They can bide their remaining time nervously tormenting a human like parasites, that is the closest the can come to striking back, but they know full well of the torment just ahead for them. The faith of our Lord can be stated in this passage as "he that is with Me and he that is against, he that gathers with Me and he that scattereth"; Two types of people as He observes it, no middle road. The others took a big step today declaring for public consumption the work of the Kingdom as the "lord of the flies/dung" doing. They are now against Him and seeking to scatter His supporters. They are perhaps more dangerous than the demons themselves. Even among His supporters, if all you get from this discourse is a polite or feminist appreciation for the womb that bore Jesus, you have missed a huge spiritual point.

August27 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:11:29-32 NO SIGN GIVEN - It can't just be evil to ask for a sign, it is evil that after everything that they've seen and heard that there hasn't been a movement toward repentance, that after all this they have not been convinced to turn. Those that have repented in antiquity did so based on less information from lesser sources. What keeps them from repenting? Evil. John placed it that they loved their darkness more than His light. The message is that they have seen everything that they need to see in order to believe and repent but they won't. Is this particular to this generation? Or is it a result of this generation being the one Jesus physically stood before? This is a rejection of Him and His physical presence kjv@Isaiah:53. Had Jesus stayed off in the prophetical and the theoretical distance, had He been an idea safe enough in the future tense people would not have had such an adverse reaction to Him. Even nowadays, where there is so much debate and academic criticism, it is not the same despising rejection as there was that once; He is no longer real enough to us for it to matter. Repentance today is something one offers another for having made an injurious mistake not a realization the entire direction one has spiritually been on in relation to God is wrong. We no longer hold that God has been injured or that God is any different than any of us in right or property or expectation. Oh we need repentance no doubt, but who is to say that we wouldn't have already repented had we not seen and heard the things observed by that generation while He stood in person. While we pride ourselves in our literacy and deductive reasoning, so much of what Jesus leisurely did daily so abruptly defied any explanation, we would be fish completely out of water on the occasions these crowds had. Now there will be a generation soon to come, we already see the evidences approaching (as did Paul) that men will completely be lovers of themselves, reprobate in every detail. That also will be a generation pivotal to the prophetic fulfillment. It is the faith of our Lord that during this meantime we will take every advantage to spreading His gospel, while there are ears eager and hearts accepting and directions that are turntable. There is a sign in each and everything to be seen; signs enough for a great plenty. We have this sign of Jonah completed by His resurrection. Should we still yet not believe/repent we would not be such an evil generation as a tragic one.

August29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:11:37-54 RAVENING AND WICKEDNESS - Esteemed Theophilus, so that you don't get swept away with this liberal notion of a gentile passive peaceful ecumenical Unitarian type of Jesus, you will recall that I mentioned twice now a light is not lit to be hid... that in His light men's works will be manifest... well welcome to the making manifest side of Jesus! Jesus is invited to dinner, remember that, He is their guest. The pharisee did not see the freight train heading his way. Jesus ties His hosts (the leading parties of this temple generation) to the blood guiltiness going all the way back to Abel. Another man, a scribe, takes offence at the implied association of scribes to the pharisees; Jesus pours it on even harder. The blood of the prophets is required at these men's hands. And there will be more prophets by the end that will be added to their account; namely Jesus Himself. There is no reason for us to believe that Jesus did not mean exactly what He said. If so it is shockingly profound as to the history we have recorded of Israel, it's true nature and the direction of it's religious leadership all of this time. What is interesting is the reaction to this; peppering Him with every type of question to draw Him out with things they can use against Him. It is a tactic to take the offensive without mounting the slightest defense; they believe that in the public's eye that they have that advantage... and they are right. Ravening and wickedness have been quite effective for them all this time, there are challenges publicly, but certainly not reason not to press hard at Jesus now. What is not explained is how Jesus walked away from this in one piece or on what note the gathering ended. The faith of our Lord is not about being peaceable and gentle it is about being true to God's word. Liberal theologians who confuse Jesus with Gandhi or a dove of peace have a much different version of Jesus than does Luke. If these men are what Jesus says they are there is no way that He is going to stay silent; not for the sake of politeness, not for the sake of His hosts, not for the sake of bringing all sides together for a big pow wow. Call the spade what it is... especially when the case is so clear, has been for so long, and the blood of your many servants is to be accounted for.

August31 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:12:13-21 RICH TOWARD GOD - To be rich with God is advisable no matter one's situation. Both problems identified here began with a material abundance; a family inheritance and a bringing forth of plenty. Covetousness often denotes fraudulence. In the case of the younger brother he is legally allowed one third; Jesus is not going to be manipulated into crossing over the law. In the case of the hoarder we are left to assume that something about his plenty is at the expense of others or people in his hire. Being rich does not preclude the rich man from an eternal spiritual abundance, the method and mindset that he allows himself to become his pathway does. This notion we are all guilty of in various forms. The soul can easily become servant to the possessions (accumulation, storage, usage, security) and not God nor what God is trying to do toward our sanctification. kjv@Colossians:3:5 associates covetousness with a specific form of idolatry right along with some other destructive sins of desire. Prosperity is often tied culturally with a blessing from above, a sign that one is doing something right and rewarded. Prosperity is indeed from God, however, we observe in scripture that it can in some cases be at the expense any future reward in heaven when the heart becomes insulated by these things from God. What then is required of the soul? That should be the first and most obvious question. It is not covetousness to prepare for the future, it is covetous to put it between you and God, have it steal your/others relationship with Him today. It is not covetousness to store away for a rainy day, it is to have the notion consume everything you do and say. Healthier it is to say that whether in plenty or in little that each thing is God's, from Him and for His glory. Be faithful in the smaller things, He will trust you in larger things. Seek first His kingdom and righteousness and these things will be added. Lay not treasures for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroys. That fact that Jesus tells us all to take heed is a sign of His hope. The faith of our Lord trusts that it is within our power by His light that we can take heed and beware to overcome this tendency within all of us. It is all in our relationship to Him.

September1 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:12:22-34 THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE - We surely know by now how important the heart is in the overall plan of scripture. Looking back on all the many examples of the Old Testament we've seen how the heart of a people waxes cold without much effort. It is almost the natural course to harden and takes special protracted effort to keep (on ours/God's part) to sustain any level of softening for any length of time. On both an individual level and as a nation we see how important the heart is in God's way of thinking and how He looks upon it to get to the truth of any matter. Where is the heart? Here Jesus says that it is with whatever you treasure. One could say "but I don't treasure one particular things, I have various interests, mostly people and family". Perhaps though we should re-examine how central to our core elements such as food and clothing and shelter fit into our relationship with God. Mostly He is something completely separate from these other elements, the control of these constant pursuits are difficult to blindly hand over. It is not that we don't have to make an effort towards these things, toil as Adam because of the curse, it is that we cannot allow them to be the things that harden us. Because they will. They always will. The moment after God performs something great in our lives we are likely to miss the onions back in our captivity in Egypt. The battle after the battle won by God will be the one that we try to win on our own. We will presume to be living by faith, but in these elemental areas proceed with confidence but one in God's provision. All these things the nations of the world seek. It is our Father's pleasure to give us the Kingdom. However, it takes a good measure of trust, a good measure of discipline, a good measure of obedience, a good measure of prudence and stewardship, planting/watering/harvesting. Most of all it take focus on God. To treasure God and His provision more than all and to work as for Him and His glory with thankfulness and a solid sense of His sufficiency. Much of what we worry about is out beyond that which we truly need. God will often lead us through a wilderness surviving on manna before leading us to land of milk and honey. It is likely that we will want to skip over the discipline of trust and obedience to get to the point of immediate plenty. These are the provisions that we inescapably tend to squander knowing not how to make best use of them. Israel squandered the promise land several times over. The faith of our Lord is in the heart. The heart has it's problems, but the heart can be true, it can be sincere, it can be focused. Our time here is a time to be spent becoming this type of heart.

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.

September8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:13:22-30 THRUST OUT - If the question presented is how few will be saved, the answer given is to just make sure that you are one of those who do enter. No number is given, we are told that many will not be able to enter. Why not? One common belief today is that all people will make it through. This presupposes that God wants the next life to be just the same as this life, we are free to be and do and believe whatever we want and will therefore spend eternity suffering these same consequences. Another common belief is that only good people will make it through and that this can be any good person of any good faith. This presupposes that Jesus' death and resurrection was not necessary and that Jesus is a liar about nearly everything He taught and said, but oddly His lies may have produced the will in some to do good. A view held by the people in this parable is that because they ate with Him and He taught in their cities that this brief familiarity should suffice for entry. It would be like us today saying because we greeted each other in an elevator you should consider me as friend that you know or that because my Grandmother believed I should be proxied. The thing that strikes me is that suddenly these people realize that they have to get in through the gate to the master. Suddenly they storm the gate demanding concessions from the master. Suddenly there is weeping and gnashing of teeth for seeing who does enter. In the case of these Jews those entering are those that they themselves presumed to be in league with but were not. What a terrible crashing down of all that you've believed in. They are called workers of iniquity. Is there any good that can be worked without God Himself working it? Is there any good that be worked if the work of Jesus Christ is denied or lessened, commingled or distorted? Is there any good that can be worked that in the end still must call/demand upon the concessions of God? Mercy is not a concession to allow one to remain the way that they are. Mercy is a person that is a "stand in" substitution receiving the penalty better deserved to us. The faith of our Lord is in being this stand in substitution for us without which we will in no wise enter into His Kingdom. There is no other good work than that. Separate yourself from that and you have essentially thrust your own self out the gateway of His Kingdom.

September9 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:13:31-35 PERFECTED - At first I was having a difficult time finding much to go on in this passage. I am now wondering why certain Pharisees would want Jesus high tailing it the other way. Jesus doesn't really come down on them. There is certainly enormous pressure building up as Jesus has publicly announced His intentions to go to Jerusalem, He has sent many disciples out ahead to the towns that He will go through to get there. These Pharisees use Herod as the reason for the warning, but it could well be their fear of Herod's reaction upon them that they fear the most. Herod has recently killed several Galileans in the Temple and mixed their blood with the daily sacrifice; a vivid message meant for the Temple elite, not so much for Jesus. It is essentially the Herods' temple built for the Jews. Jesus' reply may never make it back to Herod as it would put it's messengers in an impossible even deadly position. No, the Pharisees are going to have to come up with a better plan. Jesus will not back down and is probably amused by this most transparent effort. The faith of our Lord is moving ahead toward His completed work. As much pressure as there is from all sides round Him, as much as that pressure now is intensifying to a head, He is not phased nor distracted. Fearless? In many respects, but not without a painful nervousness (the weight of doing this Himself for the world) that needs to be prayed over. He'll soon be sweating blood. It is better understood as obedience beyond any measure.

September10 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:14:1-14 WHEN THOU ART BIDDEN - Jesus is bidden to a Sabbath feast by a local Pharisee. There is an interesting relationship between some Pharisees and temple leaders with Jesus. They (some) do on the surface appear to be hospitable to Him. Why? The answer may appear in His teachings that day. First comes the healing before He even enters. He likely does not plan for such events, but is prepared to take hold of the opportunities when presented. His mission even on Sabbath is to rescue lost souls from the pit contrasted by the Pharisee seeking to leisure with His guests. Next, Jesus speaks of a guest that abases himself so as not to be shamed. What an odd thing to point out if there were not those in the room habitually doing exactly the opposite. Then, He addresses the host that invites only top level guests with the hope of return invitations. Was it that Jesus was invited to be the hosts' spot light presentation (the draw) to his well connected guests? No doubt that the afternoon's conversation was a bit uncomfortable Jesus having set the tone. Just imagine how the conversation went after He departed. Self exaltation verses self abasement is really the issue. Most everything the host and other guests are doing is to exalt themselves. Self exaltation may be the biggest problem we have today with our younger generations and why they feel so imposed upon regardless; because they view themselves as so much above it (the real world that is). One that lifts him/herself to any higher measure than reality will bare will naturally be put upon by anything lesser, things that they feel they're above. Those that abase themselves are truly lifted because real world matters are not bringing them down, matters are seen as opportunities especially concerning our help to others. Job once said "I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame". What a wonderful viewpoint. He was able to be that because he was focused on the needs of others around him, not focused on how to take another step up the social ladder. The faith of our Lord is in accepting when bidden, even when bidden by those who will very soon sentence Him. It is going into places that He knows if all be said that He is not welcome, a room filled with ulterior motives and dishonest gamesmanship. He is the bird and they are the fowler setting the trap' yet He holds to what is true and right.

September12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:14:25-35 HE THAT HATH EARS - How does the salt losing it's savor fit in with the bearing of one's cross? Counting the cost before hand makes perfect sense. Putting Him before all else makes perfect sense. I would think that most of us would say that we are doing that. The question though is are we really? There is a great multitude of people going along with Jesus. You would think that it would be encouraging to see these numbers right now walking the final distance with Christ, but the numbers do not reflect the sincerity, the true understanding and commitment to the true cause, the lasting type of solidarity and sacrificial devotion of each heart there. Only the seventy, perhaps only the twelve disciples, have paid the first installment of the initial investment. Translate that into today and the hard numbers are probably much the same unbalanced ratio good salt to un-savored salt. The problem with the un-savored salt is that it didn't before hand count the cost, it went about being both salt and everything else at the same time. The problem with that is now that they think that they are good salt how do you tell them any different? They have the best of both worlds and no need to be any thing different. Spiritually though it doesn't have anything to do with what they now have, it has to do with what all they have forsaken. I can imagine the sight of this multitude crossing the horizon as one large caravan in the heat of the day. I can imagine one of the twelve disciples looking over the ridge and seeing even more, thinking that this is all looking good; more like what he had imagined to see all along. I can imagine Jesus knowing that disciple's encouragement, pulling him aside and filling Him in on the harsher truth of the matter. The faith of our Lord knows that there is a long way for the heart of man to go before there is a caravan this big of real disciples. Numbers may be impressive to those watching on, but it is the condition of the heart of each one in that number that matters most to this Savior. His faith is invested forward toward that day. What a different number that disciple/Apostle will see stretching over the horizon in the triumphant Christ's glory!

September14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:15:8-10 LIKEWISE JOY IN THE PRESENCE - The Angels of God have a similar reaction to the repentance of one sinner as the Lord. The Lord is proud enough to announce His finding to them. You would think sinner after sinner the joy of all in heaven would become just common place. How is this that it could remain such a big event each time? I guess it is that we do not really understand the depths of sin that we are in. We under appreciate the bond that Christ feels for the lost sinner and the obstacles and difficulties presented in bringing one soul back. We little conceive of just how valuable each soul is and the future plans He has for all. Certainly He has paid a great deal more than we will every know to have this opportunity. That He would pay that amount, that He would rejoice that amount, that His Angels would rejoice that amount, that this would be the case each and every time tells us a lot about what we don't know about ourselves and our future with Him and just the type of savior He is. The faith of our Lord is wondrous and mysterious. There is much that He sees in all of this that we have very little sense of. Sensing that there are others along with Him that can appreciate and share in what He sees is most encouraging.

September15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:15:11-32 A CERTAIN MAN HAD TWO SONS - Who are these sons? One son has served his dad all this time and has not transgressed his command. Every thing the dad yet possess is this son's. That takes every man/woman that I know out of the running. This son complains about the celebratory nature of his brother's return. The other son takes his inheritance in advance, squanders it, falls upon difficult times. This son would portray every single human in relation to God. This particular man realizes the error of his way and goes back to the dad even if to be a servant. This would portray every believer. So if one son is all people and the other is none, who is the other son? Who has not transgressed and retains their rightful inheritance that would now be confused and upset about the prodigal return of all repentant believing men? We heard in the previous parts of this discourse about the Angels rejoicing when a lost sinner is brought back by the Good Shepherd. Are all Angels that have not transgressed and still retain their rightful inheritance happy about mankind's celebrated return (unproven return) from such carnal reprobacy? I would say yes the Angels are happy, but with conscious effort. If this interpretation is true it would also suggest that the merriment amongst friends (like believers) is another area of initial angelic contention. It is better understood as the joy of the dad for the sons return being enjoyed amongst them rather than the friends carousing at the dad's expense. The faith of our Lord not only has to deal with the hearts and sincere feelings of men, but also of the Heavenly host. It would be easy for the dad to become so consumed by the actions of the lost son so as to diminish the sincerity and loyalty of the other. The righteousness of our Lord is that His mind/designs is always on both.

September17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:16:16-18 UNTIL JOHN - If the Law and the prophets were until John what is it about the Law and prophets that does not end? The Law could only save a person if they were able to keep it in it's entirety which no person ever was able to do. A person could continue to squabble as did the Pharisees over the best interpretation of the many details of the Law, but that would get them no closer to salvation which comes only in Jesus. Squabbling make in fact drag them further away. The Law does not end because all of those without Jesus still remain under the lordship of the law to keep it in it's entirety. Those under the lordship of Jesus have the Law fulfilled in Him by grace as a gift. What no one could do, Jesus does for them that believe in Him. Does that mean that believers do not have to keep the Law? No, that means a believer is not condemned by everything he doesn't yet know/understand/interpret correctly about the Law. The Law has brought him to the awareness of the need for Christ, now that he has Christ the Law is to keep him in remembrance of his continuing need. Adultery remains adultery, murdering is murder, to covet covetousness, the love of one God Yahweh and no other god before Him all things hold true. What has changed is that all the divisive striving in the Law has been superseded by a new personal relationship with the King of all Glory. The faith of our Lord is focused on the heart of the believer, if the heart be focused back on Him. If the heart be negligent on this one thing first, the heart has no way of pursuing the rest.

September18 @ @ rRandyP comments: m[FaithOfJesus} kjv@Luke:16:19-31 A GREAT GULF - There are a great many that believe that if the evidence were strong enough their minds would be changed about the Gospel of Salvation. Perhaps a tormented soul back from the dead. Perhaps a comforted soul from Abraham's bosom. Truth be told, the mind only sees what it wants to see. Take the condition of Lazarus. We chose to see his suffering in this life as a reward for sin, a curse upon him, a proof of his idiocy. Take the rich man living sumptuously. Wealth and health are a sign of God's blessing upon him, that he is rewarded for his goodness, favor is upon him, that he is doing something right that Lazarus is not. Take the general concept of sickness and/or poverty, that if you are doing as God commands that these horrors will be kept from you. This is the way that we choose to see it. The problem with evidences and proofs is that there is always more needed. It is not a condition of the mind; it is a condition of the heart and what it is willing to hear and believe. There is plenty of evidence in Moses (his life, the Exodus he lead, the wilderness experience, the Law) and the prophets (their words, their works, their fulfillment, their reception, their establishment in the scriptures/history long after their decease) to be more than convinced of something much more than hand of man. Yet the mind does not go that direction. Even those that were their with Moses or Elijah or Jeremiah at the time, they had little conception of what was transpiring before their eyes and murmured and conspired and persecuted. The curiosity of this parable tends to draw us toward the after life side of the equation when we should rather be looking at the present living side of it; how we rationalize sickness and poverty and wealth and prominence etc...; how we testify against ourselves in the midst of divine movements and revelation. The five brethren are the many of us and this life we still enjoy is the only chance we have to resolve these conditions of our heart. The faith of our Lord is in this heart and in everything He has put forth past present and future to turn it from it's disbelieving ways. More important than knowing what happens to us after our death is how we come to perceive things in this life and learn to depend upon Him to cross the immediate vast gulf.

September19 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:17:1-10 FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED - What does this mustard seed size faith look like? Does it not look like the servant simply plowing or feeding the cattle at his master's command? Doing that which is our duty to do? So if in the course of doing that which we commanded an obstacle outside of our control was in the way of us performing that assigned duty, because we are ultimately doing the task as told, we could if need be demand to the obstacle that it remove itself and it would. The faith is in the master and accomplishment of his command. The obstacle moving is only that, it is yielding to the master's authority. How else does the faith seed look? It is operating in forgiveness inspired by the forgiveness of our Maker upon us. Regardless of the number of times called upon it is given. Rebuke in many cases is wise (see: Proverbs), but forgiveness always required. It is not a matter of taking heed to the offender, it is taking heed to one's self. It may be better for the gross offender to be drown in the sea (similar to where the obstacle was removed), however that offender could well be you if you were not to forgive. Should we think that we are owed a reward from the Master for performing this faith consider that is only doing that which we had been commanded. Many people would think of this mustard seed faith as a positive energy or strong willed determination. If so, could not the offending man in the sea say to the millstone "be thou removed", climb the sycamore tree back out to safety, then call upon you to forgive him another 499 times? The faith of our Lord is in the obedience of His servants to the tasks He has assigned. If something/someone stands in the way of them performing that task, He has given them the authority to move many of these obstacles without having to go back and get His permission another time. It is nothing special or out of the ordinary if you knew the authority of this Master. The elements of faithful obedience (even the beginning seed) to the assigned task has to be present however. That is why this is told to His disciples.

September21 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:17:20-37 LIGHTNING - If you are looking for the Kingdom of God don't follow where others tell you to look, that it is a place, a political/economic system, a particular denomination or cult; the Kingdom is within/inside you. If you are looking for the second advent don't think that Jesus will slowly appear in California to re-establish a group of latter day followers, He will appear as a bolt of lightening from one end of the heavens to the other. This message is spoken throughout prophecy. The second coming is nothing like the first. It will not be "I wonder if this is so". It will be sudden immediate determined judgment (and not the final judgment even). If there is the time to think back on all of the possessions you will leave behind, don't do it. If there is a brief moment to turn and look back on your city, don't do it. This is not a "pull all the data together to finally decide" moment, this is a "decisions already been made and lived forward for sometime... now it's time to go" half second. This is not the light of regular lightning as well. A ray of light from one end of the physical heavens to the other would take billions of years to travel. This is the pinnings of space and time abruptly superseded by something much more powerful, something (shall we say "someone") at the same time snatching His followers up and away. How can this then be explained by those that do not get raptured up? The message and implications will be perfectly clear to them. If this in fact happens early in the tribulation as many believe, the ugly time that follows is the workings of God condemned souls that seek to put forward a full fledged rebellion against God. Not a few souls, nearly all, and with extreme hatred. The great deception may be that they actually think that they can stage this rebellion against God and win. The Anti Christ not only becomes anticipated but welcome. The flushing out of remaining nominal Christians and Jews by economic and legal means becomes number one priority. The mark of the beast is worn with extreme pride. A worldwide celebration remember is broadcast with people exchanging gifts when the final two great prophets are executed. How can any of this be possible unless such a vile defiance and "in your face God" rebellion has not become the absolute worldwide cause. The faith of our Lord is a tremendous thing when His love and mercy for us is considered. However at this particular unprecedented moment all things change like at no other moment (save Adam and Eve's perhaps). There will be no turning back, not for Him, not for believers, not for those left behind. His lightning is not a mere line drawn in the sand, it is a vast gulf that none can traverse save the relatively few tribulation saints. There will be a final final judgment. It will not be sudden. Everyone of these evil men will look back on this rebellion, and know that He is God, and will have only to bow their knee and confess Him as God before accepting their rightful eternal sentence. It is crazy how much of the picture we don't see that Jesus does.

September23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:18:9-14 TRUSTED THAT THEY WERE RIGHTEOUS - What does self righteousness have to do with despising others? Can you be self righteous and not despise others? Let's think it through closely. How is it that one can think himself righteous? He sees the faults of others and projects himself to be above that. He sees their works and judges them lacking. He sees their predicament and sees their blame. He sees their station in life and feels it well deserved. Does he not despise these others? Here then is the great commandment "love the Lord thy God because you are not a sinner and despise your neighbor because he is a low life. Okay, so maybe that is the extreme; let's take it down a notch. You are basically a good person because you have kept yourself from the types of issues that they are experiencing. You then are not blaming them so much as you are applauding yourself; right? What you are saying is that they are stupid for falling to such a thing, they are weak for not being as strong as you are. Let's turn it down yet another notch. How about "I came to believe in Jesus", "it was plain to see", "it suddenly made so much sense", "if you just search yourself it will come to you as well"? The truth is that the self righteous man gives himself a whole lot of credit where very little credit can be found. The self righteous man knows very little of the depths of the depravity within. He is disgusted by the depravity of others and puts himself above it when his type of depravity is perhaps the worst of them all. It is the depravity that keeps him from finding the need for God's mercy, from searching the righteous act of God performed for him on the cross, from accepting the payment made on his behalf for his depravity, from depending upon God's grace and nothing but. The faith of our Lord is in the man who knows that he is a sinner and is by God's hand ready to make a whole new start on more realistic terms. Self exaltation will be abased. The humbling of self will bring one closer to his/her exalted Lord.

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.

September27 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:18:35-43 FAITH HATH SAVED THEE - Does Jesus mean saved in the general sense delivered from blindness or in the eternal sense salvation? The man is observably saved from blindness. He persisted in asking for a mercy and despite the rebuke of others he received it. That alone is a good story. Can one be saved in the one sense and not the other? He also identified Jesus as Son of David which ties Jesus back to prophecy. Everyone in the group would also declare the same, however we know that the more that they know about the plan ahead the more difficulty they are having with it. Some have turned and walked away, others will swear to defend that it would not be so. The truth is that the death of sin/death lays at the foot of the cross and eternal salvation rises at the tombstone rolled away. This man has received mercy by being delivered from blindness like so many others. Many have been delivered in this way without knowing and believing in the full salvation simply by faith in the Lord's mercy. This man if he means what he says is well on his way to the greater salvation believing Jesus as Son of David. If he is just repeating what everyone else is telling him then he still has a ways left to go. The faith of our Lord is using the smaller case mercy healing to point this man to His upper case mercy salvation. If the man approached salvation with the same persistent faith that he has healing he will be sure to be with his Lord in his Lord's glory. This illustration happens at a time that all smaller case believers could use most given the days to come.

October4 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:20:20-26 WHY TEMPT YE ME - So the plan is to trap Him in His word, to use his words against Him before Pilate. To do that they have to disguise their approach. Their first approach Roman taxation. Nothing that Jesus could answer about taxes could draw the death penalty in and of itself, but it could along with other well feigned approaches could add up to the charge of sedition against Rome. Their means of future attacks are immediately telegraphed. They will use all the talk of His kingdom as intentionally sowing rebellion against the state, boasts of the destruction of their temple stirring the people into a frenzy, talk of Him being a God on the lines of the Caesar able to rebuild a temple in three days to therein manipulate Pontius Pilate's better sensibilities. All of this might still seem lame and harmless to the governor unless they can make the evidence and accusation stronger with some quotes as to taxation and/or government authority. The case even then would be pretty lame if it were not for the sheer numbers of people now gathered daily to hear Jesus in and around the temple. They will need to come up with numbers of their own to show the disruption Jesus is creating. It is a lot to have to go through just to rid yourself of someone unwanted isn't it? Especially when He is wise to your craft. Jesus probably knew the grounds on which they would attack all along, if not He knows now. He knows that this is all in the Father's hands and that there is no turning back. At the same time though He is not going to just make it easy for them by stepping into their trap without exposing to us what it is that they are doing. The faith of our Lord is that once we knew how and why these men acted against Him we would come to see how and why we have acted against Him in similarly disguised ways during our rebellious disbelief; the measures that we are willing to go through to make Him likewise no longer exist or be a nuisance. We however would know that He died to redeem us out of this corrupted nature and the cleansing of His blood. We would know by His resurrection that He has the power to make our better calling to a true glory and virtue happen.

October5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:20:27-40 GOD OF THE LIVING - It is amazing how many doctrines and layers of doctrine can be built from one wrong assumption. If wrong in this one area, how many other areas can one be wrong with? Add all the layers up and you can see how easy it is to live a religious life that believes in the same name of the one and only God, but is as wrong as wrong can get. Bring that truth forward into today's universalist notion that "all paths lead to God". A path derived from the assumption that there is no resurrection leads to a outlook and experience that differs from outlook and experience of others. It leads to a different perception of the necessity of Christ for salvation (salvation from what?). It is this perception and the many other possible combinations that allow one to rationalize the procedures necessary to kill off the Christ that stands today before them. How then do all paths lead to God if most paths lead to replacing Him? What the "all paths" argument is actually saying is that God is a big enough person to excuse these murderous (physically, intellectually, theologically) idolaters who blaspheme the work and testimony of the Holy Spirit, completely shun the design and plan of God the Father and disregard the sacrifice made on their behalf by God the Son. What this God is is whatever one wants Him to be; He is nothing more than a vain imagination. Do all paths lead then to a vain imagination? If even the believers of the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob can go astray at several essential points, what hope have the many would don't even believe that? The faith of our Lord is that man will not only be in heaven eternally, man will be on an equal footing with the angels that are already there. There is quite the transformation that has to occur between here and there. It is a transformation that only His death and resurrection can make on us. If God is the God of the living, then and now, how many of the living will have accepted Him for the God He actually is?

October6 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:20:41-47 GREATER DAMNATION - The concept of a scaled judgment is a tricky one. It would be easy for us to think that because we were slightly better than some others in good works we would receive slightly less judgment. We could extend it even further, that even though we did not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, we did believe that He was a very good man, we were inspired by Jesus to better love our neighbor and such, this would stand better in judgment than had we not believed/loved at all. Perhaps if we were on the verge of truly believing (teetering on the edge) we could avoid judgment altogether. The problem is that there are not separate areas in hell, one level of torment for the really bad, others graduated for the not so bad and almost good. Hell is hell. Hell is a complete separation from God (not varying degrees). What possibly may be the difference is the level of comprehension of one's utter guilt, that much was given to this servant and much was expected, that the expectation was not carried out, that what was carried out lead many of these tormented souls to this very place. Tyre and Sodom would not have this level of comprehension, but they would have the comprehension that they had lived vile and perverse lives. Those that sheepishly followed their leaders or peers into all manner of falsity and idolatry would know that they had been foolish and wrong, but they would not have the same responsibility for this eternal torment of others as would those given such responsibility over a great many. Interesting that this was tied in our reading to the momentary relief that the Pharisees felt in the debate over resurrection; they were right on one point, but yet absolutely wrong in the totality of their belief. The stumbling point for them was still Jesus being the Christ. This remains the stumbling point for many others as well including even the people who will prophecy and perform great works in the name of Jesus, but still refuse Him as their one and only Christ. Eternity is not a graduated scale of extreme torment to extreme serenity just as salvation is not a graduated scale slight acknowledgment to solely devoted. The faith of our Lord for His part is in absolutes. Absolute heaven and absolute hell. However He does know that on our parts, even the heaven that many will experience may be graduated by our comprehension of our responsibility to the dear ones there with us and how well we sought to fulfill our role in that responsibility. Clear (or clear-able) conscience may be our greatest eternal reward.

October7 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:21:1-4 OF HER PENURY - Wouldn't it have been a nice story to hear that because of her giving that she became rich beyond measure and never again had to give a miserable two mites? It never says that. Wouldn't it have been nice if we heard that the rich men were once poor, but they gave their last two mites one time and now are extremely wealthy. It never is said about them. What if the story was that the woman continued giving all that she had each and every time and never had anything more than twenty mite at any given time? Would that change the story? The story really isn't about the widow, it is about the rich men that thought that they were really giving something special to the treasury. Are these the same men Jesus said seek to devour widow's homes? Was the widow desperate and therefore gave even to her last. Nothing like this is said. The story is really about the excess from which many tithe from verses the essential core living that few tithe from. If you strip away all the individual motives and self rationalizations and story lines it comes down to how much of yourself is really being given. God's first and foremost expects a cheerful giver. Some hearts are never cheerful about giving even in giving the excess of their abundance. Some people are cheerful down to their last two half pennies. Few rich men would ever give all that they have just as few poor men/women would give theirs. It is better to give something cheerfully than to begrudgingly give little or nothing at all. Avoid the reasoning why and for what gain, avoid settling on the max and min cost and you will be on your way to becoming a much more cheerful giver. The faith of our Lord is in the heart of the generous and cheerful giver. Salvation or reward cannot be bought, however giving from the depths of appreciation for such salvation is most encouraged.

October12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:22:47-53 YOUR HOUR - The guards are there under orders, they are going to do what they are sent out to do. One has to wonder though what they are thinking individually as Jesus heals their buddy's ear. I believe that these are Temple guards; pretty easy uneventful duty til now. They are probably as unfamiliar with wielding a sword as is fisherman Peter. They are no doubt familiar with the crowds of followers Jesus has drawn to the Temple daily and the calls of Hosanna and probably not so familiar with the arguments being tallied by their bosses the Sanhedrin. Do they also know of the false witnesses being coaxed up? Here the man that has taken them to this park is pointed out by this possible messiah as having betrayed Him with a kiss. This possible prophet has called for calmer peaceful heads to prevail at this time and has questioned the chiefs and elders as to proceeding against Him as a common thief yet oddly in such secrecy as if they knew how the masses would react. Yet of all of this talk the most eerie statement is captain Malchus' ear and the look of startled awe in his eyes. What argument is there against that? The power of darkness is that to those serving it there is no argument involved. One does what one does because there is penalty and consequence to not doing it. One is not paid for thinking through the facts and coming to a rightful judgement. Realize however what these men are forced into questioning. Recall when you were a non-believer and the anxiety you felt approaching anything Jesus related. Translate that tense inner apprehension to these men and amplify it by the obvious fact that you are now called upon to enforce the capture of this Holy Man and take Him even to Pilate (the man who recently slaughtered a host of Galileans on your temple steps just to make a political point). There are times when one ear speaks louder than several mouths. This should have been one of those times. The faith of our Lord is voluntary towards it's duty to the Father. The duty of darkness is demanded and employed and coerced. These men will carry out what they have been directed to no matter what they believe personally, but so too will our Lord Jesus in His hour.

October13 @ @ rRandyP comments: FaithOfJesus *Luke:22:54-62 PETER REMEMBERED THE WORD - I think that the question we most commonly have is where are the other disciples? Why are they not there? It may perhaps be a better to question why did Peter go? What did He hope to achieve? Peter has followed the elite group to the High Priest's house. The servants of the house who would rather be sleeping, but because of the disturbance are out in the court yard and on the patio starting a bonfire to keep warm; this in the very late night hours. In the dim light of all this commotion there is a man who is not a servant, not one of the elders or chiefs or guards, and the servants are naturally wondering who this man is and why he is even there. I am not sure whether it would have made any difference to them had Peter been honest, they pretty much knew that he was a servant of the man being questioned inside. It is a very odd situation Peter has positioned himself in. And Why? He cannot hear what is being said. He cannot see who all is in there. He would not be able to do anything if the treatment of Jesus got out of hand. He may not even be able to see Jesus until Jesus sees him. He is likely there solely because of loyalty which to us is admirable, but in reality is opening himself to a sifting like few men have ever experienced. Now he feels himself as having to lie and deny Jesus. As much as Judas has betrayed Jesus, Peter has denied Jesus. Worse yet Jesus told both men that they were going to do it. I cannot tell you where the other disciples are. Perhaps/Hopefully they are gathered in small groups with other followers pastoring, waiting for further word. Perhaps they are scattered so as to not make themselves and their flocks easy marks. Perhaps now they are praying like they should have this earlier eve to not enter temptation as Peter has. The faith of our Lord hears a crow of a cock and knows what has just occurred and what that occurrence will entail. He looks to Peter. He does not get mad nor blame His friend, He prays again silently in a glance that His friends faith not fail. He prays that he will remember more than just those few words.

October14 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:22:63-65 PROPHESY WHO - There is someone within eye or ear shot that has relayed this information to us. Peter is no longer nearby and the other disciples no where near. I doubt (though it is a remote possibility) that it could be any of the women folk such as the Marys as this is still early on at the high priests house and guests other than the false witnesses and late coming elders are likely disallowed. That would mean someone we know to be in support such as Nicodemus or someone else unknown that was either sympathetic or later became so. It would be hard to imagine anyone not becoming unsettled about the treatment of any prisoner in this manner let alone a proven miracle man such as Jesus. This is the High Priest's house after all, not exactly accustomed to having prisoners interrogated there I am sure. There are still the Law and Customs as well to make ones conscious convulse, but apparently not. Those who were sincere about these godly things must have been few in number or quite silent. Thus we begin to see the makings of a mob mentality that will mushroom against Jesus. The aggressive are bullying and condescending and unrestrained. The cultured are overly quiet and self protective and timid. They may be brave and tell us about it after the fact, but, certainly not do anything about it at the time. The faith of our Lord is unswayed, He is there for whatever the Father wishes to put Him to. This is not about the sinfulness of these men right now, it is about the righteousness from above, the righteousness of the plan, the righteousness of the act. Like sheep to its' shearers He will remain silent and obediently willing. That was His prerogative. What should have been these men's?

October16 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:23:26-43 WHAT SHALL BE DONE IN THE DRY - There are several things to brought out by this passage. I will mention a few. One, the respect of women throughout the gospel for Jesus, not one instance of hostility or disrespect mentioned. Two, the prophecy Jesus is speaking of is eerily similar to one by Moses in kjv@Deuteronomy:28 . While there have been flirtations in the past with the fulfillment of this, this act on this day is the final and ultimate breaking of God's commandment and therefore comes the day like no time before has seen and the scattering to ends of the earth. They have seen God uphold His blessing even during their pitiful attempts to uphold their obedience. They have seen brief flickers of the curse meant to re-awaken them, but this is the moment of the breaking. The fulfillment will be executed within one generation 70 AD after the new church pollinates and takes hold elsewhere. Third, the petition for forgiveness is often thought as a petition for all involved, but what if it was more directly meant for the soldiers that were getting carried away in the moment without a clue of what this all meant to the Hebrews prophetically? Isaiah described Jesus as growing before God a tender root, Jesus now describes this as a green tree. If men are willing to do this when the tree has life, what can be supposed when they steal the tree's life? God's blessing till now has withheld a great turmoil and tribulation from these people. The faith of our Lord is now at it's sacrificial apex. This is what He came here to do, this is what He is now doing. The day is soon to come when the faith of our Lord will be at it's apex of judgment. There are those of of the Jewish fathers that will return from this curse by coming to grips with what has happened on this cross and what/who it has been done for.

October17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:23:44-49 INTO THY HANDS - His final words in Luke are a quote from David kjv@Psalms:31:5 . Was scripture like this what He was focusing on up there to get himself through this? He did always combat temptation with scripture quotes! So much of what David writes about mirrors what we'd imagine Jesus saying if He had He not kept His silence. kjv@Psalms:31 as a whole is very close in details with just a few oddities such as an iniquity that David had that Jesus would not (unless it is the iniquity of man He bore). There are several Psalms of David that Jesus could be reflecting on like this one kjv@Psalms:22 etc... David's Psalms have that kind of similarity to our struggles and are often used to empathetically encourage us. It could have been the same for Jesus as He felt His bodily functions shutting down. Perhaps these Psalms would be too focused on what He was going through and He was clinging to several of the more "Glory/Splendor of the Father" type writings kjv@Psalms:21 kjv@Psalms:104 etc... Jesus appears lucid to the end and amazingly strong to speak considering what is happening to His lungs (He is basically suffocating, drowning in edema and exhausting himself to death nJesusDeathScientific). Or could it be instead that David was reciting Jesus' silent Psalms. Our Lord has put absolutely everything on the line; there is nothing else for Him to give. If He were a gambler He would be said to be "all in". For it to be finished this way there seems to be a lot left on the table for the others yet to accept and understand and take on. The faith of our Lord is in everything now out beyond this certain death, and as to those He is leaving behind it is in the work of the Holy Spirit to tie all the pieces for them together.

October18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:23:50-56 BEGGED THE BODY - There is some guess work here to be done as to the faith of Jesus in the execution of this burial matter. One, all the arrangements could have been left in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Joseph and Nicodemus did as they were led of the Holy Spirit. Two, we had mentioned previously with securing the donkey on Palm Sunday and or the upper room at passover that Jesus easily could have made arrangements himself for these matters apart from the disciples. Knowing these two men He could have asked them to do this. Three, the men could have done this of their own volition seeing that other arrangements (or the lack of) were unsatisfactory. In this case the Holy Spirit would have supported their ambition. Four, it may have been the combination of any or all of these things that the Holy Spirit used to perform the necessary task. To one extent it wouldn't have mattered who or where that they buried him, thirty feet of cement, and He still would have come out. It could have been the vaults at Fort Knox with an entire division of Marines guarding it, it was still going to happen. What would be important is for more than just a few followers to have witnessed it in order to testify of it and I am sure that the Spirit would have made sure of that. It may even be better for the critics to know that there wasn't any set up to this alleged magic trick, that it happened quite organically. In this regard we may not fully know the faith of our Lord as to the means, I do not know of any prophecy prescribing how this played out, we can however know His faith in the outcome and results.

October25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:1:29-34 THIS IS HE - Not just anybody can claim another to be the Lamb of God and have it stick. The man who is giving testimony of this is a man whom God has established in very particular un-human ways. John the Baptist has not become who he is by playing his way through the system, by selling himself well to the public, by riding a tide of public sentiment to the top. He is who he is because of who God made him to be. God needed to establish a sentinel prophet and He did exactly that. Few if any of the testimonies we consider as central to our faith resemble anything that men would do to establish a faith. John the disciple/apostle himself was originally a disciple of the Baptist John and likely turned to follow Jesus based on the witnessing of this event and the Baptist's own testimony. Though the Baptist and Jesus are cousins, John swears twice that he did not truly know Him as such until this day when the Spirit descends and remains upon Him. A lot can be said as kids growing up, but until a sign from heaven the size of this happens it is not much more than talk. So we rely upon the testimony of the Baptist God established, and the Baptist's younger disciple brought up to testify to that event when the Spirit God sent to testify Jesus as the now present incarnate Son of God. The faith of our Lord is in the marvelous multiple threads of testimonies woven into the fabric of our honest faith.

October29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:2:12-25 DESTROY THIS TEMPLE - Jesus knew what was in man. For instance, men ask for a sign, but don't take the time to think the sign through, to see it for what it truly means. Jesus never said that He would destroy the temple, He said that they would. Therefore, regardless of anything said beyond that they are completely off track. This issue does come up again and we see that they are still of the mind Jesus intends to destroy the temple. They are asking for a sign of His authority and pinning it to a misconception that He wants to destroy. Once taken this direction, their minds are consumed by the obsessive thoughts of how a facility of stone of this size could be rebuilt in three days. Nothing of what He is saying is being understood. So similarly then why would He commit himself to men when they falsely believe on Him even for the miracles? We ourselves must be aware of this ill being within us. What are we mis-understanding? What are we falsely believing? What have we allowed into our zeal that has made our worship into a market place? Why didn't Jesus make it clearer at that time that He was talking of His body? There may be a fine line between making a permissive statement about what this human ill leads men to do and making it a outright suggestion or command. There is a difference between "why don't you kill me and we'll see" and "not even death can hold me down". He is not asking for them to kill Him, He is suggesting that because of what is in them that they will. He is suggesting that when they look back on all this they will remember these words and realize how far off track they really were, that He would have raised and that that would be the final sign of authority that they had sought. The faith of our Lord is not in the apparent success of numerous followers, but in the eventual belief that each will hold when His righteousness if fully performed. There is a long distance that they must be lead through to get them to where their belief is fully in that unadulterated mode. It shows how far the human heart universally has sunken and how much further it typically has to go before being turned around and set straight. It is interesting that His half brothers and sisters where with Him a short time, for down the road they too will later need to be turned as well.

October30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:3:1-21 GOD SO LOVED - God so loved the world.. Which world? The world that is or the world to come? If it takes this to get to that then the two are inseparable, He loves "The" world. Imagine God when laying out His plan foresaw a future so grand and glorious, communion so rich and wondrous with all angelic and human creation that He knew it would be worth giving the life of His only begotten Son for. Knowing that it meant a time detached and a temporary world that He would have to condemn, but through His Son He would be able to redeem, that all of this would be what brought us all of that which He foresaw. Imagine us hating what He foresaw, what He foretold, what He afore did. Imagine us choosing to continue even if eternally in this condemnation rather than accept entrance into that which God foresaw and so loved. Why would we do that? So that our deeds be not reproofed? How much then do our deeds mean to us? It is evident that God so loves this present world, but not then everything about it. He has given us allowance where the full consequence of our choice is not yet, a time to sort through this invitation. Does He love that many will instead perish? Surely it is upsetting. They might feel it to be His moral quandary having such a high opinion of themselves. It is actually a quandary that they have placed upon themselves for with all sincerity and simplicity He has given them awareness and option out. Jesus reminds Nicodemus of the Brass Serpent of Moses, a time when fiery vipers struck at all of Israel as a whole and only those that looked upon the risen emblem of their Messiah were saved. Can it be any different for the world of all people as it likewise clings to it's sin and rebellion? There is so much that God keeps us from that are of our own consequence, so much that He cannot forever defend us from or support. Does it mean that He doesn't love that world? No it means that the option that He had given them was not ever taken. The scripture says "choose you this day life or death". How hard of a decision can that be if He so loves the world of the living and what that living will be that He gives the life of His only begotten Son to redeem it? That world to come must really be something worth deserting our evil deeds for. The faith of our Lord is in the love of His Father and what His Father sees as being our ultimate destination within that love. Is our faith?

November1 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:4:1-26 IF THOU KNEWEST THE GIFT - Jesus is apparently avoiding/postponing conflict with the Pharisee's who are now taking notice of Jesus by the numbers He is drawing away from them in Judea. He takes the most direct route to Galilee venturing through the hated Jewish half breed land of Samaria. Jesus stops outside of Sychar and sends His band of Jewish looking fellows into the town to barter with the natives for food. A woman comes to the well to draw water just as she did probably twice a day, this time to find a lone road weary Jew sitting at the step of the well. What ensues is one of the most intimate conversations recorded in the gospels. It describes how Jesus pursued His way past her many defenses to bring her into an understanding of who He really was. First defense was ethnic, though they shared a common ancestry she made it a point to draw out their difference rather than their similarities. Jesus dislodged that defense by suggesting that who He was was someone that both and Jew and Samaritan had long looked forward to and that what He had to give was much anticipated by both. Her second defense was to claim ancestral rights to the lineage of Jacob. His response was to offer her more than an old decaying inherited landmark and to point to the vast difference of the shallow mountain runoff well's water to His eternal living water. Still calling Him "sir", her third defense is to make Him prove His offer. He replies by pointing her politely to a adulterous secret she holds that could not be known by any stranger. Now that she sees Him on the level of maybe a Jewish prophet, her fourth defense is to deflect His piercing gaze into her soul by diverting it to theoretical controversy as to the true singular sacred places of worship. It is an easy answer for Him to turn back on her for it does not matter where one worships as it does who the true object of that worship is given to. Her fifth defense is to put the concept of Messiah off into the future "well when messiah comes he will". Jesus declares "I am He". She has no other defense, she has only to believe His oath or not believe. There is no doubt that Jesus had many such conversations like this with a great many people. The few that we have recorded (like the previous with Nicodemus) are much glossed over and tightly edited with purpose. This seems to be one of the most open and free flowing of them all and show us a very intimate side of Jesus. He was not pushy, but very engaged and direct. He spoke in vivid pictures and concept that could be latched onto and remembered easily with time released multilayer payloads. He was able to work through her defenses with an intriguing honesty and sincerity and passion that she would come to respect. By the time the woman reaches her kinfolk she is convinced that He is Christ. The recorded record of our Lord is fast pace and compact with good reason. The faith of our Lord however is on a much deeper one on one plane that connects with the very core of the people He presents Himself to.

November2 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:4:27-38 TO FINISH HIS WORK - Seed has been sown, Jesus to the Samaritan woman, the woman to the townsmen. There is no need to wait four months till the agricultural harvest because there is a procession of souls rushing up from the town to harvest from today. It will be the disciples job now to reap the harvest of a simple exchange that started between the two. Jesus, on His way to finishing the Father's work, is teaching to the disciples the principles of spiritual sowing and soul reaping. When the Lord's work is completed the disciples will need to be well versed in this process. John must have been told the outline of the conversation by Jesus for him to remember it this long after. No doubt the conversation changes from situation to situation (this conversation could have turned at several points likely with the same results), but the principals taught remain constant. John would come to understand these principals and become a good sower many times over and a good reaper many times as well. Now it was risky that Jesus talked to this woman in public as it was often perceived as taboo and possibly compromising to His reputation. His disciples thought of it, but made no comment about it. Jesus' reply to their unspoken concern was that it was meat for Him to do the Father's will. One can not be careless about the perceptions of others, but at the same time one can not let other's perceptions keep one from performing the task at hand. So much of His future ministry will be amongst the big crowds, there won't always be the opportunity for these one on one conversations. We should never loose sight however how effective these intimate private moments are in bringing unexpected numbers others towards the eventual harvest. There is a lot of risk to Jesus from all directions, He seems un-phased by any of it. It is the faith of our Lord to do the "Will", finish the "Work" and the rest will take care of itself by His Spirit. And along the way He'll teach His followers to do the same. Look for the opportunity to plant even in the oddest and riskiest of situations. Look all around the field for the harvest and don't wait til a certain time. May sower and reaper rejoice together!

November3 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:4:39-42 BECAUSE OF HIS OWN WORD - It could well be that the towns folk knew of the woman's past and to hear her testimony that a stranger was able to tell her of all the things that they already knew was quite curious. It could be that they had attempted to rebuke her at times themselves, but until she heard it from this stranger it had no effect on her. Clearly now there has been an effect and they too are being drawn into the possibilities that this man is the Christ. Our exposed and honest testimony of ourselves in light of His gift of transformation can be this type of draw to others also, especially to those who have known our secrets all along. It may not be the final thing that wins them over, but it may be the very thing that interests them into a more serious examination of the words that the person of Jesus is speaking. Any serious examination of the man Himself is going sway the sincerest of inquirers, of which there are a great many. There is a difference in how we rebuke one another (or not) (even as well intending Chrsitians) and how Jesus presents His great and precious gift by grace to all the world even in the light of what could otherwise personally and socially condemn-able. These people, like all people have faults and iniquities of their own. It may be easier to see these trespasses and indiscretions in others without seeing them in ourselves. The glorious message of Jesus is that (taking all this sorted earthly business into account) He has been/will be/is now indeed "the Christ" (one most anointed of God) and "the Savior" (ultimate deliverer) of all the world (not just the Jews). The faith of our Lord is in the real and honest sincere seekers of this world giving Him a good and thorough look over, inviting Him to stay for a time to hear Him out completely, to not just take the words of those that are drawn to Him, but to take the "Word" direct from Him as a whole and to then decide upon that. If we by our personal testimony which much gratitude can help inspire others to search Him out the deeper... then why not let the sincerity gush/flow!

November4 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:4:43-54 EXCEPT YOU SEE SIGNS - I do not believe that Jesus was attempting to rebuke the nobleman by what He said, but was preparing Him. It is not as if the man had come to Jesus, sought a sign in order to have the confidence afterward to ask Jesus for a miracle then on his son's behalf. The man had heard of the wedding miracle in Cana and the buzz from the pilgrims returning from the Feast in Jerusalem and had enough belief so as to wait for Him during His brief delay in Samaria. The statement is to focus the man upon the Messianic claims and not on all the observable things done up to this. The strength of faith is not in what has been done prior, but in what is about to occur and why. As to why, many would consider that they like the man because they believe strong enough to receive the healing that the healing takes place; like a partnership with the healer, our faith/His power. Here you will notice that Jesus told the man of the healing before the mention of the man believing. What if the man had delayed in his believing until further down the road? Would the healing have occurred two hours later? I fear that people who believe that their faith in healing must be there in order to receive the healing are the same type of people who seek signs and evidences to buttress up their faith prior. They are close kin to the people have to have a healing or observe directly a miracle themselves before they would ever consider that the performer to be in the class of a Messiah. John has verbally taken us to three distinct spiritual climates so far, the hyper religious in Jerusalem, the distant and half bread in Samaria, and now returns to a commoner's middle ground in Galilee. He has had tremendous success in all three and now previous successes are beginning to compound or multiply on top of each other. Knowing these distinct base climates now, we should begin seeing strange evolution's and twist's of these bases as people begin to talk themselves out of what appears to be the long awaited messianic fulfillment and the efforts of the elite to regain their control. The faith of our Lord is that He can compel us toward the core belief in His Lordship. It is not all about His showmanship and what we might be able to have Him do for us personally, it is about His being and presence and authority over all creation.

November5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:5:1-15 WILT THOU BE MADE WHOLE - There are several points of interests in this passage. One, there is a great multitude of sick and diseased gathered at the pool, but Jesus is said to have gone to just one and then conveyed Himself away. Was it because of the Sabbath? Because of the number of years this man had suffered? Because of the hold this apparent non-biblical mythology had on the others? Could there be more for Jesus to achieve in His short stay than just the healing of all the sick? It is known that often times Jesus healed as many in a day as came to Him; some but not many on Sabbath. It is also known that healing does not guarantee belief toward salvation, the ultimate goal. Perhaps the answer is in what Jesus later said to the man "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee". Could it be that healing indiscriminately for the sake of merely healing has it's unintended consequences? The immediate relief of oppression that results in the increases of sin which brings even greater sickness and disease? Who are these people that would believe in a angelic healing of only the first person into the water? Where in the Bible is there an account of a angelic healing of humans? Does not this angel mock the "respecter of no man" God Jehovah? People that believe in this pool angel and not the Son of the living God among us are exactly the type of person that would sin all the more upon their release. Maybe Jesus is sending a stern message to these people in the form of the message they are sending everyone else by their mythology. Two, Jesus did not mention the man's sin to him before healing him, nor did He mention his faith or forgiveness. The man was healed strictly by the command of Jesus. Jesus then made it a point to go back to the man and warn him against any further sin. We can not say that this particular long term impotency was a result of an earlier sin. We only know that something worse could come if he sins from here out. Third, the healing of a man thirty-eight years ill is of absolutely no interests to the Pharisees, only the movement of his mat on Sabbath. You could imagine their horror if eight hundred cripples had risen and taken up their mats. Fourth, this account is likely out of sequence meaning that John inserted it here to support his point previous or to come. If the previous, it is meant to go along with the difference in believing having seen verses believing it will be seen. The faith of our Lord is in merciful mercy, deliverance from the sin that binds all of us leading toward eternal salvation. There is more to His plan then spending our days by a pool waiting for the troubling of water, more than seventy five second place paraplegics having to be rescued from out the water, more than many rising and going home to do whatever it is they have coveted doing from their beds all this time, more than rebuking one man who has just been given back his life carrying his bed roll to who knows where. The plan is for life and that life is in Jesus.

November8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:6:1-15 WHENCE SHALL WE - It says that Jesus knew what He was going to do. He was going to feed over five thousand here on a grassy knoll with whatever they had present. In so doing He was going to examine the hearts of those there with Him; for their sakes. There had to be wondering among the disciples as to how this was going to happen, obviously it could not happen by any earthly means, but that did not stop the disciples from obeying the command and moving forward into the crowd with their baskets. We could say same thing about nearly anything spiritual still today, "how is this going to happen", "there is no earthly way". These things become an examination of our hearts also. Will we obey and move forward? The men could have been made laughing stalks ("What did you think was going to happen? Did you really think?"). They were not. Now is the examination of the crowd. Are you really going to reach up and grab that imaginary piece of something that the silly disciple of this strange man is going to pretend to hand you? It looks like they are handing out something however. Could it be? Now that you have eaten to your complete satisfaction what do you think? Was that fish? Was that barley loaf? Are there really twelve bushel baskets of left overs? Well suddenly, unexplainably, you think that this strange man is not so strange as it first seemed. You are thinking that He very well could be "The Prophet come in to this world". By the utter gasp throughout the crowd you know that others are thinking the very same thing. Some have taken to psalms and dancing, others to contrite prayer, as a whole there is awe and amazement. Now comes the examination of the reader two thousand years after. What, you don't believe in "The Prophet"? "The anointed One"? How could He? How is it? The gasps around you continue; different times, different people, different ways, gasps just the same. People who were once just as skeptical as you; now they too are dancing. You are right actually you know! There is no earthly way; yes. That does not mean that there is no heavenly way however. Why is it that Jesus knows what He is going to do beforehand, but chooses by doing so to examine our hearts? Because our hearts need to be examined. We need to be drawn out of our disbelief and challenged by what is bigger then we are willing to accept. What if one of the disciples just said "no"? "I don't believe in this"? "I am not going to entertain this any longer"? "I don't need to be tested in this way"? "Just say what it is you are going to say and we'll get along to Passover"? What if one of the crowd had stood up and shouted "you are all crazy"? "I'm going back down this hill and getting me some real fish, some smoked fish"? Ask yourself, was there anyone there that day that did this? Why not? We have been talking throughout about witness and testimony. How Jesus on His single testimony alone would not be legally convincing. How that with all the other testimony and the witness of all else that there was no earthly way for things to happen the case is much better made (It is that part this we choose not to believe). And with all of that the realization is made that it is God the Father pointing to this "Prophet" as if He has never before pointed or never again, the evidence is near insurmountable. That the sacrificial Passover depicting the blood of the Passover Lamb and deliverance from bondage is always close in the picture, the proving then is a test of our willingness to step out from our sin by His grace and righteous provision and to move forward. This crowd collectively decided to take Jesus by force to make Him king making the examination both wonderfully passed and horribly failed simultaneously. They are not yet willing to step out from their sin, only ready to make Him the chief of it. The faith of our Lord is that this too will one day pass, and that is why the proving. To get from where a soul is to where it needs to be takes a complete transformation, yet the soul no matter where in this process it is believes that it is already fully arrived. The proving is a reminder that this transformation is not earthly possible. It is heavenly if at all. Continually stepping out and obediently moving forward through this proving is to be our part of this transformation. Whence then shall we?

November11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:6:60-71 WILL YE ALSO - The proving began with Philip and Andrew. It ended with many leaving. Jesus knew what He was going to do beforehand and He also knew who was going to believe because of it; not many. We are told no one comes to Jesus but those who the Father gives. We also are told later in the end when Jesus prays in the garden that Jesus did not lose a one of those given except the son of perdition Judas. This would suggest that originally Jesus was given as few as eleven. The others involved such as the women that often traveled and served Him might either be part of that number in a different sense or will become part of that number fully at His resurrection. Remember that there can be a difference between being in the process of being drawn to Jesus by the Father and being fully given by the Father, between being taught of the Father and receiving He that has been sent. The length of this delay however may be a pre-cruxification dilemma as now we can be taught by the Holy Spirit of the entire completed work of Jesus without Him first having to perform it as here. I do not believe that this meant all of those who walked away this day stayed away either, only that they no longer walked with Him physically while He was here on Earth. In a real sense not even the eleven disciples are fully aware of what it is that Jesus will be shown by the Father to actually mean to them. They believe proportionately and somewhat selectively, but yet are said to be given. That Jesus knew this beforehand says a lot about the human heart and it's condition; that it cannot come to this saving grace on it's own; that it is a divine drawing and a spiritual process. The conviction and acceptance realized of this condition may well be the initial result of the drawing. Many left Him initially rejecting this truth. Some of that many are likely because of this pending conviction to return at some point. The faith of our Lord is definitely in the process performed by the Father and Holy Spirit. He can prove out the stark realities present in this condition because He knows that the divine process is in motion and ultimately effective. It seems to be a very long and deep process, but it is what sets us apart preparing us for the eternal. In this we know He truly is that Christ, Son of the living God.

November12 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:7:1-13 AFTER THESE THINGS - Fast forward about six months after the fall out. We are reacquainted with Jesus' own family. They do not believe either. There are two reactions likely when one does not believe the claims of Jesus, hate enough to tempt Him into that which He is not or will not do, hate enough to seek to pull Him down or hold Him aside or eliminate Him altogether. There is a reason for this hate in the world, because He testifies of the evil in it. It is against the Law for the Jews to hate each other the way that they hate Jesus. Jesus has deliberately kept Himself from Judea to keep this hate from festering too soon (or in the wrong way). It clearly illustrates what Jesus is up against even at this point of His ministry. This is not a delay in the ministry it is the work of His ministry taking effect. The leaders certainly expect Jesus to return either to His family or to Jerusalem direct. What a prize it would be for them to both have Jesus caught on their own terms and to have His dissenting brethren bring Him in. Willingly or not, consciously or not, the brethren's words ring with the provocative entrapping tone that the leadership would have planted all around them. They have become the Pharisee's messenger. It is important to the grand scheme for us later that Jesus' half brothers eventually did believe and played active roles in the early church. Far to often the popularity of an icon for good is countered and tarnished by a brother or son or nephew for the bad; and the opposition knows just how to play it. Jesus does secretly go; on His terms not theirs. I feel to be there for His family and for His champions near enough by. The pressure on them is immense. In a sense it is risky having left His group behind. In another sense it simply is not yet His time, it is all to happen on the Father's time clock. We benefit from this visit as well by seeing a glimpse of the not so disguised hatreds that Jesus is up against even to this day. The faith of our Lord is keenly aware of what He is up against and remains mindfully present to keep matters on His terms and not anyone else's. His faith is working forward publicly when it needs to be, reserved and patiently at others, even secretly and undercover when it serves the greater purpose. His ministry is not only about the words and the miracles, it is also about timing and using the processes of the heart to the fullest.

November13 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:7:14-24 JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT - There is no doubt that we all are prone to judging by the appearances. In this chapter alone we have the family judging what would be best for the ministry of Jesus based upon the appearances as they saw them (even though they did not believe His claims). We have Judean disciples discouraged because all of His recent work appears to be done in Galilee not Judea. We have on lookers judging Him by the appearance of Him not being properly educated (as if that made any difference as to doctrine). We'll soon have Pharisees judging a particular healing on a Sabbath when their own practice of circumcision on Sabbaths gives the same appearance, guards not taking hold of Him because of their perception of the authority with which He speaks, others briefly believing on Him because of the number of miracles He has performed, a attempt to instill the false perception by repetition that Jesus is from Galilee not Bethlehem and therefore not Christ, an attempt to paint the appearance of the guards and Nicodemus as clueless rednecks that know not the law, and certain people questioning the appearance that the Rulers may know that He is Christ but are hiding it. A whole lot of this minefield that Jesus is having to navigate through is sown by the fault riddled human reliance upon appearance and perception. Appearance is largely what ever one wants it to be. There are so many convincing directions that it can go all of which are likely wrong. Jesus says that His doctrine is not His own it is the doctrine of the Father who sent Him. He says that He does not speak of Himself nor seek His own glory. His says that if we understood this we would know Him to be true. They know not the Father so it gives the false appearance that He doesn't know what He is talking about. Face it, evidences that we base much of our doctrinal decisions upon are nothing more than judgments based upon appearances; it appears that most other people believe that, it appears that I will be hassled if I publicly believe this, it appears that more learned men then I see many holes and contradictions in the New Testament. Friend, it appears that you have let these gutless scholars and History Channel (Alien and Ghost History Channel) documentaries make all your decisions for you. The righteous judgment is rather simple. You give Jesus the same open ear and investment into hearing Him out as you would hope to have yourself when you are similarly judged. You investigate His claims and give it opportunity to either prove itself true or fable, but you do that effort yourself just as you would want Him to do for you. The faith of our Lord is that He knows the Father and the Father has sent Him. It is a hard truth to convince to those who know not God and who make their judgments solely on appearances, but He believes that it will happen and that we will begin slowly to judge all things by righteous judgment.

November15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:7:45-8:11 AND TAUGHT THEM - With everything that is going on around Jesus it is good to know that there are still people that want to hear Him and are willing to be taught. Wouldn't you have loved to hear what the teaching was on this day? We are not told what it was and it seems that many times He is "teaching what?" when what we are told about what interrupts it or occurred outside of it. Take the feeding of the five thousand and others, times when He taught all day or three days straight, we know not a word, but we do know what else took place. We do have some of His teaching mind you, the sermon on the mount, the Olivett discourses, weaves of parables etc.. Chances are His teachings were much like those. Perhaps they were exactly those just for a different audience and that is why we are not told about it (we've already heard it). Wouldn't you like to hear Him tell it again and again? There is the chance just as likely that it was something completely different, perhaps reading and teaching from the Old Testament stories or from the Law or from the Prophets. Wouldn't you have loved to hear His take on ancient world history? A walk through the book of Job? Instead, we are privy to what the Pharisee's are thinking, how their minions are processing their reactions. We also have what He taught as a result of these occurrences. This leads us to believe that as important and engaging as the mystery teachings of Jesus were, often times what was going on around them is more of what we need to know; at least right now. I imagine that in Heaven we will have the time and opportunity to catch up to these lessons. There will be plenty of occasion to go over to Joseph's and hear Joseph himself recount his time in Egypt. It will be good to hear Job himself describe what he was thinking. How about an evening with Stephen or Silas or Luther; diner with the Grahms? There will be time for this I am sure, but for now we are faced with the task at hand which is often best understood by the contrary reactions of reprobates. It is a look into the heart of sin, the thoughts of those who seek to entrap, the insults and slander and hypocrisy of those who should know better, the short sighted reasoning's and justifications of the power hungry. The teaching actually is all about the cross and everything that led up to it so that we would be able to know what it means with and beyond and because of it. The faith of our Lord is there early in the morning every next day; He is always back at it. A storm surge of opposition and scheming can be brewing all around Him and you know what He'll be doing and where He will likely be found - teaching. Thank God our Father for that!

November16 @ @ rRandyP comments: FaithOfJesus *John:8:12-30 FOR I AM NOT ALONE - As far as I can tell the Pharisees are basing their rejection of Jesus on three key points. One, they do not know who He is. Two, they believe He is only testifying of himself. Three, there is no scripture relating to a p(P)rophet coming from Galilee. We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesus does not address this with them Himself, therefore He must be leaving this to them or others to find out. He does address the issue of them not knowing who He is stating that unless one knew the Father one would not know the Son. Again the burden is left to them, if they wanted to know the Father it would be as easy as getting to know the Son. Then there is the issue of one verses multiple testimony which again comes down to what they are willing to accept. John early on in this book made it clear that the testimonies of others was to mean everything to the gospel case.

November17 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:8:31-41 NO PLACE IN YOU - It may be wise for a moment to strip away any preconception of sin. It seems that these people are so focused on sin as adultery or idolatry or immorality or the like that they cannot see that sin is still more than all of that. Let's put sin simply on the level of our belief. The Father sends his Son to die and be propitiation for every man's sin; Jesus is that Son. What do we do with that information? Do we say that we don't need the Son? That we are different than all others? That we are better than all of that? The only thing that would make us say that is our perception of sin. Minus everything else that can be perceived about sin, what God the Father has determined and provided must stand true. If God says that all men have the condition of sin and therefore sin and that the Son Jesus is the only antidote then we must take that at full value. Now we can add back in all the other understandings and realize that like all of the excuses and denials given by the Jews in this passage, every evidence suggests that their present condition is opposite to anything that they are willing to admit. They are captive to sin. They are captive in every aspect because everything that they do and say and reason leads them away from latching on to their only antidote Jesus. If the antidote is Jesus and you are strongly considering killing Him or minimizing Him or setting Him aside or making Him something other than He is and has come to be, everything that otherwise should occur naturally, you then are slave to sin, sin is holding you captive. Not bloodline, not ceremonial cleansing, not ceremonial sacrifice, not even devout/zealous attempts at morality can free you from the nature you are bond by; everything you are doing is dictated by that nature. If Jesus is the bulk and meaning and fulfillment of God's word and you take it to mean something other, then quite literally God's word has no place in you, even if you believe in it in every other respect. What is making you to do that is the very evidence of the masterful self justification and impulse of sin. Before you measure sin by all the obvious markers of murder and covetousness etc.. begin at the insistence of God's word. Understand how it is intended to make us free indeed. The faith of our Lord is in a future where all sin and all the influence attached will be long distant and fellowship with true continuance therein will be profoundly deep and eternal. A day when father sin has been abandoned for Father God.

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.

November25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:11:1-16 BECAUSE HE SEETH THE LIGHT - The thing that is sure to catch the eye is the intensity of the miracle and the set up to it. There is something stated here that could slip by if not pointed out. The concern of the disciples is obvious and sincere. Without being there I believe it is hard/impossible for us to grasp just how dangerous getting to (and back from alive) this miracle will be. You and I would see the danger and we'd be able to come up with several self justifications dressed up in alternate but safer forms of ministry, a letter, an envoy, a bouquet, a tract, an evening of group prayer. If we were a messiah we could even issue the command to rise from far away. Jesus does not shy away from this. How does He know from all His options which course of action is the correct one? How does He favor the one when everyone else is convinced otherwise? How does He keep Himself from stumbling? Jesus inserts a quick illustration walking in the light of day; there being twelve hours. Though I don't claim to understand it with any certainty, at the same time I know that this insertion was not frivolous or placating. I believe that the answer He meant for us is in His answer here. So often we are faced with several immediate options only one of which we can actually take. We apply our wisdom to the discernment of which one to choose. As we process those decisions, by what light are we analyzing them by? Our Lord's decision is lit by the glory of the Father seeking to glorify the Son. Has that ever since changed? Lazarus's body was dead and decaying, his soul had not yet transitioned (nor would it this time) it was sleeping and unaware awaiting the Son to receive the Father's glory. Lazarus's condition is not a common condition of death for others, it is like being laid out on the ledge spiritually presented by the Father for the Savior to come and show Himself by. Who else's death can we say this of?. Jesus sees this presentation and knows that He must move that direction no matter what the supposed cost might be. IS this the type of presentation we should be looking for as well? If He is sent here to do the Father's work, here is where the Father's work is sending Him. We too must become more and more aware of the pathways appearing in front of us. We were created unto good works, works that He will direct us to should we be alert and not fear the assumed consequence. The faith of our Lord is that there is twelve hours in this symbolic spiritual day and that the work does not end until the lights are completely out. If the light shows another task to be done then what is to stop Him, HE SEETH THE LIGHT.

November28 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:11:45-57 JESUS THEREFORE WALKED - It was no surprise to Jesus how the Sanhedrin/Pharisee coalition would react, it was part of the equation going in to the miracle. One only has to go back to the times of Moses before Pharaoh to see how miracles tend rather to harden the hearts of those it should have softened. It is as weighing in the one hand the tremendous weight of the many works and believers in the works of Jesus against the weight of what is self important in the other; the more weight added to the side of Jesus the more the scale tips towards self. Self is a communal property here, there is much investment into it by these individuals. It is no less true in our day. What we call freedom of will is clearly very territorial and pack like. Measure again the imbalance between the one sent doing the works of God and the several who find it expedient for all that the one man be put to death. It is the same measurement we face today. Why should the works of God be put to death (in our case explained away)? Because they threaten the so called works of man. They see it as a work to keep their place and their nation. Their place is as spiritual and moral leaders of a pitiful run down thoroughly dominated depraved frontier outpost of Rome, a vague resemblance in name only to the nation that by God they once possessed. That is the work that they put above God's? What is our's? So what does it take, we must ask, for them / for us to see matters on the ground as they truly are? The results and consequences of our possessiveness and self (pack like) justifications? How the works of God are sternly pushed aside as if to the wildernesses? These men gather to purify themselves and at the same time they issue a state wide edict for His capture. The feast is being prepared for. The faith of our Lord knows more of what it is up against ahead of time than we tend to know even after the fact because it knows the heart of man; all men; the real state. He will spend this time now with His disciples preparing them and their faith for the similar battles they will one day face themselves. He will walk no more openly amongst these hardened.

December1 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:12:20-36 IF I BE LIFTED UP - There at least three objectives I see stated; that the Son of Man be lifted up, that the prince of this world be cast out, that men while they have light be drawn to follow Christ. Think of man's state as being compressed and flatted as if by a mechanical press where everything is at the same level. Look around and it all seems about the same including the person and works of Jesus. Slight variations, He (maybe another) might have been a better man, may have done some miracles and such, but near to our human level. Now think of Him as being lifted up off our compressed level by His resurrection and witnessed ascension. Our understanding is no longer as flat and perceptually relative, there is space between us and Him and we are drawn towards Him from out of our tight quarters. With that space we look back on His miracles, His healings, His parables, His teachings, confirming voices and testaments and we now see that God the Father was trying to show us something much bigger at the time than we could comprehend. There becomes an expanded middle ground so to say so that even the prince of this world cannot perceptually hide in the previous flatness. Satan is exposed and forced out into the open having not the same death hold on us as before; he then, when purpose unfolds, can be extracted. It all comes as a result of one man's death and resurrection; His uncommon lifting up. There have been those like Lazarus that have slept and been raise from sleep back into this earthly dimension. There is no one other than Jesus that has raised fully into His previous glorious state having conquered both sin and death, shown Himself tangibly to us glorified and ascended up through a parting of heaven and earth to the right hand throne of God His Father. Okay, so see how different that is, see how uncommon and not flattened that is, allow for what is expansive and drawing about that. "If any man serve me, let Him follow me" He says "where I am, there also my servant will be". Is Jesus in our flattened/compressed sphere or is He lifted far above it? There may be additional significance that there are Greeks in this audience with the Jews as well as they would more closely resemble us Gentiles today. For the moment they see the signs and hear the voices, but they as of yet do not know who the Son of Man is or what it means for the Son to be "lifted". The "Light" is amongst them also for this short preliminary time. Take notice of this time He tells them, remember what is said and done while I am here, it will help you to see how dark things are at my passion and death, how glorious and expansive things have become once I have raised and lifted up. The faith of our Lord is in the way things actually are that we cannot yet see and in the way they better need to be if we can just be made to see it. The first spiritual sight from our blindness we will ever see is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living Father God high and lifted up. These men are yet to see that, but then the act has not yet been physically performed. Today the act has been performed, are we willing now to see that? Are we willing to follow in the sense that He means for it?

December2 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:12:37-50 I KNOW HIS COMMANDMENT IS LIFE - Similar to God hardening the Pharaoh's heart, He has hardened many of the chief priests. I don't know if it is meant that He enacts this upon them, rather that the thought of Him as now presented makes their hearts hard. It is like us saying "you make me sick". You of course do not make me to be sick, my guttural response to you is sickened. The thought of God dwelling in the flesh? For the hardened sickening. The thought of messiah not coming from their ranks, sickening. The thought of them not knowing God, but this unlearned fool, sickening. The thought of Him calling them hypocrites and children of the Devil and a broad of vipers, sickening. That He heals on Sabbaths, that He claims to forgives sin, that He associates with sinners and publicans, that every answer to them is a parable or puzzle to solve, that He is leading the uneducated masses and them into a head on collision with Rome; it is all just sickening to the chiefs. Worse yet, there are suspicious people among these leaders who seem to believe on this Jesus, but wont stand up for Him (which must go to show what type of people He draws). You can see how hearts can become hardened with very little external pressure from God, in fact it is likely to believed that they are doing God the favor for putting this revolting lunatic down. Here is the thing though, everyone knows that Isaiah said that all this would surround the "Righteous One"; that He would be denied and rejected and tremoved from the living. Jesus said that if a man hear His word and believe not, He (Jesus)judges the man not; His word (Jesus speaking the Father's command) judges Him. If God has forced a hard heart upon one then how can HE judge him? HE has not forced, we have responded that way in facing His truth. Why not judged until the last day? Because until the last day there remains that possibility that a person's heart can be changed; and if not changed, used to strengthen someone's that has. The faith of our Lord is that the Father's commandment equals life everlasting. Therefore He speaks what He has been told. One that believes on Him believes on the Father. That same word is eternal life to one and judgment of similar kind to another.

December5 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:13:31-38 A NEW COMMANDMENT - You will remember the two great commandments "love the Lord your God with all your heart/soul/mind/strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself"? You have also heard "love your enemy"? The new commandment puts a much more practical face on all of this, to "love one another as I (Jesus) has loved you". How has Jesus loved us? While many would rightly to lay down one's life, consider this, Jesus Himself has not at the point of saying this done has not yet done that and we are not all likely to be put into that situation and Peter here is offering that very thing. While the giving of one's own life in the right situation (for the right glory) can be the greatest form of love, there must also be something much more daily and practical. The key may be in verse 31-32; the direction towards which the glory is given by Jesus. Jesus' love for us was directed toward the glorification of His Father. He did not seek His own glory; love does not seek it's own glory. Neither did Jesus glorify the people that He showed love, but pointed them to the glory of the Father. In His presence His love covered a multitude of transgressions and yet made it clear that this was not the behavior of the world to come, that the only way out from this death sentence was the answer that the Father had sent. He never criticized or convicted individuals, only the groups of religious hypocrites that held the people down. He concerned Himself with the spirit of the law rather than the letter. All this and more done for no better reason than to glorify the Father who sent Him. Compare this to the sacrifice of two opposing soldiers giving their life for country, you can see how Jesus rightly could have died and risen for the sins of both and how that His commanded form of love exceeds even this so great a human form of love. How does that apply to our love for others? There is much that has been modeled for us that all boils down to the Father's glory. Peter was ready to lay down His life for his master, true/loyal/much to the point we thought Jesus might be teaching through this passage. Despite the best of Peter's intentions, it is a love pointed toward his own glory. If the command was to love the others as Jesus loved them, how then would this self sacrifice on behalf of Jesus have servered the others? Would it not step all over Jesus' time of glorification? Peter will one day follow where Jesus now goes, but it will be in a time and manner that better illustrates a love for the others such as Jesus has shown to all believers. In it's time Peter's sacrifice will greatly serve us and glorify Father and Son and Spirit. Until his time of ultimate sacrifice (or the possibility of our's) there will be much learning on Peters part (and our's) to know the true meaning of this new command. God will be glorified in Jesus and Jesus will be glorified in HIM straightway and then by all. The faith of our Lord is that He one day will be known as our Lord by this very same type of discipled love one to another. It is a love for others that seeks to glorify none but the Holy Trinity. To love God with all heart/soul/mind/strength and others as self by loving as Jesus has loved us.

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.

December10 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjvJohn:15:18-16:4 BECAUSE I WAS WITH YOU - Notice that when the Holy Spirit comes He does not come to keep any of these things from happening. They happen, they continue to happen, they increase there is not an end of their happening at least till Christ returns. What does that say about the plan? The plan is to hunker down and absorb the fight that will be leveled by the world against Christ and His followers. And if that is the plan what does that say about the His love by which we are to love others? This passage does not say that eventually everyone will realize that the love of this world equates to hatred for God and turn from their ways, instead it says that what they do they will think that they are doing for God. It doesn't say that there will for a time be enough of a majority to hold the persecution off. It says that because He has called us out from this world and we are not of this world that the world hates us. It says because they persecuted the master they "will" persecute the servants. Why then do they today not hate the Christians in the United States? Is it that we are so Christ like? Could it be because we do not bear witness to the true image of Christ? Because they have not seen His works in us and are not called out from behind their cloak's? Earlier in the passage we were exhorted to abide in Him, to him who abides in the commandment the Father and Son will abide with him. Has this been done? Earlier in the passage we were exhorted to "keep" (fortress) the true meanings of His commandments from the influences of self and world. Have we done that? We are called to love one another as He has loved us. Have we done that? You see how the evidences stack up against us! I think the faith of our Lord is very evident here, that this is not the end of the process, this is the beginning. Added to His faith that the plan is right and that these disciples will be ultimately fruitful in it, it is a testament to the amount of effort/resource that He is investing into this long hard fought process to make it work. This is an important time for these men now to know this as without His physical presence they soon have to recall and depend solely on these words and the Spirit in the years to come as will we.

December11 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:16:5-16 HE SHALL RECEIVE OF MINE - We have been negligent in speaking of the Holy Spirit as He is so much the faith of our Lord. What Jesus has performed here is certainly monumental, in every sense beyond human/angelic comparison. What Jesus has done is to bring to this world new life and to set it into motion. What the Spirit is about to do is every bit as much monumental as He is taking everything Jesus has done, setting it into our hearts, spread it, help us to live it. New life is life indwelt by the Spirit, we need the Spirit like we do living water; there is no spiritual life without. His mission is to glorify Jesus, to take what is now Jesus' (the glory that the Father has given Him) and shew it to us. Shortly in these chapters Jesus will be raised to the right hand throne of the Father with the keys to life and death and release from the chains of sin in His hands. The ministry of reproof is one of many things He does ahead of indwelling us. It is a ministry because it is much needed and ultimately very loving. Now that Jesus is proven to be where He is at, sin in it's entirety has become not believing in Jesus Christ, the seal of righteousness is that Jesus was raised, judgment is that the prince of this world is judged. These things Jesus now has. These things the Spirit shows to us for us see the light of and turn from our ways. What a monumental task just in this alone. Once inside the Spirit will guide us in all truth. Just as Jesus, the pattern well developed, He will not speak of Himself but repeat what He hears divinely spoken. He is also called the Comforter, a title perhaps relating back to the previous section describing the hatred and persecution believers will be subjected to. It is obvious that as complete and triumphant as our Lord's work is needed along with that is the effort of the Holy Spirit to really put that in the clearest light and to make full use of it. Man left to his own though filled with every good intention would only take this as far as what would serve him and shortly it would all die off. The faith of our Lord, though in man, is in man because of abilities He knows of the Holy Spirit. The right for the Holy Spirit to do these things will be bought and paid for by the blood and ascension, but it is crucial living work just the same; eternal in scope and daily in nature.

December15 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:17:20-26 MADE PERFECT IN ONE - They that shall believe through their (those given Him) word are now folded into the Lord's prayer. All being one is the objective as we are made perfect in one. Not much said about the individual being made perfect outside of the "All". Why is it we approach as if we will be perfect with or without all the others? There are actually Christians that will have nothing to do with the All and believe that they are justified in doing so. Hmmm! I don't see anywhere in this that our Lord is having you stand aside while He is perfecting all the others so that then you will feel more comfortable joining back in. In fact, this could be read that the perception that the world has on whether Jesus was actually sent from the Father is based largely upon the oneness that they perceive in us. Read that the glory given by the Father to Jesus is shared with them that believe for the purpose that they might be as one. If we are not one then Jesus' glory is not being shared (not received), nor His love, nor the understanding the the Father and the Son and the Spirit and the Given are one. How then can such an individual's isolation be justified? One can say that is is too difficult, it hurts too much, it is too awkward or demanding. One can say that the others are too child like, too self centered, too worldly. Can that not also be said of you? The truth is that this is the path Jesus has set up for us. This is the path that He is using to perfect us. Easy no, not by our effort or resource. Painless no, perhaps the most painful obedience of all. You say the Father sent the Son... You say that the Father and Son are one... You say that the love of God is in you... now show it! Not just to whomever you want to show it to, but those whom God has commanded you to show it to. The "All those who believe because of their word". Not for you but for Him. Not because they are supposed to be perfect but because we are being made perfect in one. There is no other perfection for you to obtain, this is what it means to walk the walk and talk the talk. The faith of our Lord we have said all along is about process, a process we as believers are barely at the beginning of. If you separate yourself from the process it's effect on you ends. Jesus here is departing at a time when the disciples are not at the top of their game, there is in-fighting and posturing and they are each about to be completely broken down. You would think that there is a better time for Him to go when they are standing tall all on their own. He knows though now what is inside of them and He knows the power built into the process. And He prays this prayer knowing that the prayer is the pronouncement of faith in the process; a process that will eventually lead us to a perfection of all made in one.

December16 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:18:1-11 WHOM SEEK YE - The impression I take from this passage is that Father is in control of everything and Jesus is giving Himself to the Father. The officers and guards marching on the way over surely had rehearsed the situation over in their minds as they approached and were fully aware of who it was that they were coming to get. Others had been sent on the same mission other times and had come back empty handed. The pressure was on them this time. They may have been under orders to assume control of the situation, that they fell back may have been part of that plan (or not), but there was little control for them to be had. Judas may have thought that he was in control, but when the guard fell back exposing him powerless and later when the swords were drawn exposing him to danger and even later when the purse was tossed, control was found furthest from Judas' hands. The Sanhedrin thought themselves to be in control on many occasion and ended up being shown as the fool. This could easily play against them or even explode and cause the very same public rioting they most feared against. If there is any control or settling in their hands it comes directly from their understanding of prophecy oddly enough and Jesus' own words which ties us back into the Fathers control. Out walks Jesus like the shepherd before the pack of wolves, coming between the ravenous and His fold. He asks them twice who they have come after, making certain the release of the others (except for a momentary diversion from a mis-intentioned Peter). Had anyone other than the Father been in control this event would have gone much differently. So we must ask, why is it important that the Father be in full control of this? Couldn't this have played out more dynamically? kjv@Isaiah:53:10 may be our best source for an answer stating that it "pleased the LORD to bruise Him, having put Him to grief" and again "make His soul an offering for sin" and again "see His seed and prolong His days". The "arm of the LORD" is being revealed in this and the events to come. It won't be because of the success of any certain group or person or principality. These actors will play the part that they are given, they will be used as tools and Jesus will be shown as giving Himself freely and completely as sent and directed to perform the Father's ultimate long awaited for mercy. People today see the Father of the Old Testament as harsh and temperamental despite every evidence to the contrary. They point to specific instances like Abraham and Issac with horror not realizing that it was not Abraham that suffered this sacrifice it was HIM the Father. The faith of our Lord presents the Father in a whole new light, that HE is willing to do this for us and for HIS own good name, that HE loves us to this extent and price, that for all that we've mistaken and corrupted HE is still wanting to work it all out, HE will use all of HIS power and ability to make this what it best needs to be. Not only all of this, but that it was HIS plan all along. Maybe today you are part of that guard that is marching lock step to seize our Jesus away. Maybe you are the one who is turning Him/us in. Maybe you are in the elite thinking that you are doing God's work by ordering this to be done. Maybe you are just a simple fisherman at the ready with knife and sword. Regardless, you think that you are coming at this under control. Three words Jesus will have for you... "Whom seek ye?". Think about it!

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.

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.

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.

December22 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:19:1-16 EXCEPT IT WERE GIVEN THEE - Judas delivered Jesus to Caiaphas, Caiaphas to Pilate, Pilate to Herod, Herod back to Pilate, Pilate to the wishes of the mob. Who has the greater sin? Jesus in this case directly associates it with power/authority. Caiaphas delivered Jesus to Pilate. Caiaphas had been given the authority of high priest. Caiaphas had sought by various means to capture Jesus, Judas had approached the high priest but it was Caiaphas' decision to take Judas up on the offer, it was Caiaphas that had pronounced the expediency of one man dying, it was Caiaphas that not only had the scripture known to himself but had every further resource to investigate it with, it is Caiaphas that every other member of the Sanhedrin looks to and loyally follows.As for Pilate, this matter would have little concern to him if Caiaphas had not made it a concern; Pilate would just as soon had Caiaphas drag Jesus out to the desert and end it all secretly there. Herod was humored by the whole incident. The issue for Caiaphas boils down to Jesus making Himself to be the Son of God; there is no Roman law against making one's self such, so he has to make it appear the treasonous sedition presenting one's self as king. Let's go back then to the triumphant day of Jesus' entry with donkey and palms. Jesus had not allowed Himself ever to be portrayed as such until now. Why did He do it? He knew that it would be the last straw for Caiaphas. The moment Jesus ever portrayed Himself as He really is and on Caiaphas' turf that would be the tipping point as the entire matter was concerned. Caiaphas had long been after Jesus to kill Him, but know he had the power he needed over Pilate. Was it then Caiaphas? Now go back to the parable of Jesus stating that the keepers of the vineyard knew the son and wanted for themselves his inheritance. What reason would Caiaphas have to approach all of this in this way? Who would know and want Jesus' inheritance? (Think back to the Temptation a top the temple). Whose voice would have made Caiaphas to believe that Jesus was merely "making" Himself to be the Son of God? Who would have had the power to threaten Caiaphas of his own high position and authority? We began by asking who had the greater sin? Who had delivered Jesus to Pilate? I ask you, who had a hand with Judas? Who had a hand with Caiaphas? Who had a hand with drunkard Herod? Who had a hand with Caiaphas? Who had a hand with the mob? Who then delivered Jesus with the greater sin? Who had tried previously to get Jesus to volunteer His inheritance over to him? The faith of our Lord is in the process laid out and implemented by His Father. It is a process intended to go much farther and deeper than any one of us fully realizes because it is a process that needs to affect something none of us are fully willing to admit has happened to the whole of mankind. It goes all the way back to a garden with a man and a women and a serpent. A serpent that would bite the heel of the woman's seed and a seed that would crush the head of that serpent. Today is that day. That day is here. We know where the Son of God/Man has been all of this time, the question is where have we been? Where has that subtle serpent been? We know where Jesus' power is given from, the question is where has been our from? What other powers are there for us to get our authority from? Why is it that God has been so displeased and building to do something with all of this? Answer this and you will answer why it is Jesus must be raised back into the His ultimate power and why we must then un-yeildingly follow.

December23 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:19:17-27 THIS TITLE - A epitaph may not say as much about a man as it does about the meaning others held about him. Pilates' title for Jesus is mounted atop the cross for all to see, no doubt there could have been a thousand more titles that could have been nailed there as well. What title would you put on His cross to some up His meaning to you? Would it be "fable or myth"? Would it be "fool for believing as He did"? Would it be "good guy...wish He could have hung out a little longer"? Would it be "old dude back then.. not relevant today"? Would it be my Savior" (not fully knowing what all that meant)? The crowd on this day had their own private ideas about what the life and now death of Jesus was going to mean. Think of those near to His mother Mary. Think of the Sanhedrin. Think of the guards. Think of the casual observer. All had their own idea, some personal and emotional, some separate and detached, some involved with the clean up, few realistic, none searching nor understanding of the meaning to His Father God (after all this is HIS sacrifice). What tile would His Heavenly Father put on that cross? As promised? I told you? Beloved in whom I am well pleased? After all that I have done you still do not know me? How about "MY SON"? Could it be that the meaning we give this matter is only of secondary importance to the significance the Father places on it? Could it be that for all that we know we really know nothing at all? When you read this gospel did you really think that it was all about whatever meaning you wanted to give it or did you think of the meaning God wanted you to give it? Pilates' meaning, a slap in the face to get over on the Jews, a means of re-establishing his own power, based on nothing that Jesus told him. How about yours? The Jews' meaning, an accusation of a man foolishly claiming to be something that he is not, a man despite his miraculous abilities is an imposter to the legalistic faith they would rather hold to. How about yours? To His mother, a sharp pain in the chest, a stream of tears that is unending, a period of time and hope and physical separation now suddenly/forcibly ending. To the disciple whom He loved, a shock though prepared for never fully anticipated, a yet intellectual realm of spiritual possibilities, a new set of of obligation and responsibility. It could be that the title hung over a man publically (like in this case) has nothing to do with your perception, but you lack the power publically to do anything about it. What then about yours? What title, what meaning would you give this solemn occasion? Is it closer to these peoples meaning, closer to the principalities meaning or is it closer to His Fathers? One title comes to mind; Lord/King. Even it too comes with a multitude of selfishly saturated individual/public interpretations. The faith of our Lord is that somehow, someway, some time by the power of word and His Spirit that you will be drawn into the deeper meaning/the more rightful title. It is the richer fuller faith closer to the meaning that His Father has placed on Him. It is this meaning that reveals the Father's heart and intentions like no other. It is the banner we then must carry forward as a church into the fields of public perception.

December25 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:19:38-42 BEING A DISCIPLE - There is some apparent coordination between Joseph and Nicodemus. Nicodemus would not have bought so much spice unless there was some certainty the Joseph was going to be able to get the body from Pilate. There may have even been some discussion by the two of them with Pilate after the sentencing increasing the certainty. The two are both disciples of Jesus within their respective parties showing us that there may not have been a unanimous consent with the high priest, but not enough power to have changed the course of events. Some readers interpret this as a sign of their weakness of faith, I see it rather as just the harsh reality of things on the ground. They may have wanted things to be different, but this one thing was all that they felt the power to do. We must also be aware of such realities, that there are people in places and positions least expected of the faith and that there are limits to what believers within political structures can do. There is also the reality that this is what God the Father wanted to be done, there is no working against that. The faith if our Lord is presented in that during His life time He had measurable effect on a great many people, people that we would not at first expect. Whether He Himself had had any influence on these after plans we do not know, such a thought would be secondary to the greater sense that He trusted that the right thing would be done with His body regardless.

December26 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:20:1-9 AS YET THEY KNEW NOT - It is interesting to see the state of things as Jesus has left them. Remember, these are the very people Jesus has left the future ministry with. They seem totally unprepared; do they not? First of all, Mary doesn't seem willing to trust what she saw and had been told along the way to Peter and John; she appears to withhold information that we know from the other gospels leaving it all to their own inquiries instead. Second John, one of the two speed racers, willing admits that as much as Jesus talked about it neither man yet knew the Old Testament scriptures relating to the necessary resurrection. We can interpret this a couple different ways, either the men were just coming up short (a blinding of human pride say) or the information was being externally withheld (a purposeful blinding of sorts by the Spirit or such). The first option seems most likely, the second most intriguing. It may be that the initial apostolic contemplation of resurrection to His glory must come at the time after the crushing reality of the loss and finality of His death as a human is most deeply absorbed, when the guilt and shame of our own roles in this have been fully tasted. It is like tasting the bitters before the sweet. Think of the many believers today who grab on to the resurrection gospel without first grasping the ripping pain of His sacrifice. Do they really know the one without knowing first the other? Think of the many believers today that grab on to the pain and sacrifice without then grasping the glorification through resurrection gospel. Both halves are equally important, but there seems a proper order intended especially for these particular disciples who have been called to be the Apostles. Certainly there is a blinding of pride or doubt or such that each of us inflict upon ourselves. Certainly there is a blindness of newness and unfamiliarity with things spiritual, the thoughts of God not being ours and such. Why wouldn't it also be certain that there is an order and process (time released revelation) God is employing to reveal these things to those chosen to testify to and continue the earthly work of Jesus. Add now that Jesus knew and left the keys to His kingdom to this; meaning that the things that we are witnessing from these men and women are crucial first steps, a sign of the gradual unveiling, the crack of dawn growing brighter. What they have learned before this is set aside for an awakening. What they have learned before will by the Spirit be reintroduced into their remembrance. Now however is the rustling ahead of a new birth. The faith of our Lord is that we will know not by our own understanding, but we will know by His revelation. These men and women will be the first to know. They will begin to know when the Spirit is soon received. Already though they are sensing the motions of the heavenly fluttering near and surrounding them.

December29 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:20:24-31 BECAUSE THOU HAST SEEN - What would of happened with Thomas had Jesus not returned for Him? Thomas would have to come into his belief just like any other of us; by the testimony of others. The thing is that there are plenty of Thomas's out there that have their mind fixed that there is nothing in these testimonies to believe, that it is something that they will have to see and feel for themselves. Is Jesus obligated to return for them as well? The thing is that that don't really need to see and feel in so many other areas of their lives, why is it so important to them in this particular case? They will take another's word when it comes to politics. They will take another's word when it comes to economics, investments, history, future prediction, court testimony, science, global warming, etc... They will also swallow rumor and innuendo and false premise and distortion and murmuring and intimidation and unjust balance. Why is it not their intellectual creed in these cases? The point is that we try intellectually to be these things and to a certain respect we are, but the reality is that it is close to impossible to be this in the broadest respect. Truth is that we are inescapably made to rely upon the testimonies and opinions of others. Yes it is difficult and error prone and requires discernment; even trust. Yes others have their personal motives and view points and see the same event with dissimilar details. But for men like Thomas (well meaning though they think that they are) to say to the others "no, I won't allow your word even into my preliminary consideration" or "you all are liars" or "this is something so much different than what Jesus told us that would happen; I think you are all reaching" such is not much more than self inflating pride. So you won't believe until you see for yourself. Well where were you Thomas when the rest of us saw Him? How many times do you think Thomas that He has to come back when you just happen to show up? Is Jesus really obligated to meet you on your terms and with your objections? In a sense it is important for the over all record that there was dissent observed in the group, at least for us that long after would follow, but in Thomas's case it is merely a stroke of God's grace that he was given another opportunity to satisfy his hypocritical and prideful demands. What if Jesus had not come to any disciple? What if He had appeared to the common public or to Pilate and Ananias instead? Would that have changed the fact of our Lord's resurrection? The faith of our Lord is in the testimony of others testifying to the veracity of His word. He didn't even attempt to write it down Himself. He may be the only major world messianic figure that went about it this way. Such a defense would be more than proper in a court of law. Why would it not in the court of individual belief?

December31 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:21:15-25 FOLLOW ME - Two of our favorite personalities of the bible Peter and John face the ultimate question in our final passage. Peter is asked directly by Jesus "do you love me". John reports to us from a curious distance. Three times Peter is asked and what could he honestly say? What could any of us say? Peter just a week or so ago had denied Jesus three times. Peter has learned first hand of the often cloudy climate of intention and misguided result within our hearts. So must we. Jesus twice is asking however if Peter loves with the "agape" that Jesus loves him with. With much thought Peter admits that he loves Him more like a brother. Could any of us truly respond rather in the affirmative? Peter answers with naked honesty. I don't know whether John understands at this point either. He writes some sixty years later with much introspection addressing himself simply as "the one Jesus loved"; perhaps the best answer of all. We love Jesus best we can because He first loves us best that anyone can, in so doing He teaches us what it means to be agape loved. Any agape form of love we have is solely a reflection of the love with which He has always loved us. Peter is asked the third time "do you love me then like you say as a brother"? Taking the inquiry a step further, do any of us even know what the brotherly form of love is all about? Could we know without first knowing His agape love? Jesus here presents these questions to Peter further as a "if/then" conditional statement. It is almost better translated "if you feed on My agape then feed My agape to My other sheep as well". We easily fall into the trap of thinking that it is our love that we are to show and so too we forget that we are all His sheep; our love/our (or scattered disassociated) sheep/our feeding. His sheep need fed His agape not the mere human resemblance of it. If we have any resemblance of love of our own for Jesus we would know this. This ties into the notion of abiding fully in His love and therein/thereby producing fruit. The moment we step out of that love into a lesser forms of love from our own reserve our fruitfulness withers detached from the vine. It also ties into the notion that we are to crucify our former self daily as a living sacrifice being transformed by the renewing of our minds, as much of our mind is going about doing our own forms of love and not His. Couldn't the question be interpreted "I know from which love you love me by the love with which you are feeding my sheep"? Peter's love one day will become sacrificial and will glorify this very Savior, not to confuse it with the Saviors though. It will remain within the agape love Jesus has shown all men. In Peter's case it matters not what the other men like John will be called to do because it all is the working of the Lord's agape. We are compelled by the agape love of Christ to freely partake and distribute of said agape to the benefit of all His children. The faith our Lord is that we can come to know His agape love and that it is His agape love will can be presented and distributed to all men world wide. It is often best combined with our more agape infused brotherly forms of love as that is what we are more generally suited to produce. However, it must always be the focus of His agape not our forms for that is where all credit truly lays. The honor of fielding His banner into the unknown territories is the greatest form of due respect to Him possible. It is an honor men like Peter and John and others have followed and for some even died for.