You Know Where I Came From

Matthew 1: 1-17- The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

¹The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, andJacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,⁴and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶andJesse the father of David the king.  And David was the father of Solomon bythe wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,⁸and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.¹²And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Notes:

God’s promises are fulfilled through Christ:  Matthew begins the origins of Jesus with Abraham.  Abraham was given a promise and Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise.  All of God’s promises are fulfilled through Christ.

Purpose: Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to include Jesus’ genealogy. Each man mentioned had a vital role in the coming of Christ.  We may not know all the details of each man’s life but just the fact that each of their names are mentioned testifies to God’s divine purpose in each of our lives.

Shepherd-like character of God:  God not only knows our name and our origin,  He keeps account for each of us throughout all generations.

God cares about our suffering and remembers the trials we have been through: evident by Matthew being led to include the occurrence of the deportation.

God’s promise will come to fulfillment:  When God gives a promise it will come to fulfillment.  It may take time and we may have to go through trials but it will come.

The Why

By: Charity Gutierrez

John 3:16 is a verse that most Christians know by heart.  I have heard it and seen it countless times; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Many including myself, have professed to know it.  It is funny how God can show us just how little we know.

Last night I took on the task of editing the short biography of my husband that would be included in our second “What’s Around Town” publication.  The original was well written, but the more I read it the more I felt like it was just missing it.  It described who he was, our family, where he was from, and what he was currently doing.  It was all true but it was a narrow perspective, focusing too closely on a few things that mattered but not what mattered most.

As I thought on it I realized that there was just too much of his past to cover.  Where he was from, where he has been, what he had done and what he was doing were all important.  But my task was to somehow reveal him to those who did not know him and communicate the reason for what he had done with few words.  I realized it was not enough to know who he was and what he had done.  What mattered most was to also know why.

Perhaps the reason John 3:16 is so well known is because it does just that.  In one short line it reveals who Jesus is, where he was from, what he had done, and why.  I cannot say how many times I have read it and concentrated on the “what”. God sent his son.  Other times I would read it and concentrate on the “who”.  Jesus is God’s son.  But what stands out the most for most Christians is the “why”.  For God so loved the world.  If we could really get our mind focused on that one aspect of God, what difference there might be in our lives.  If we could just believe that he loves us, that he is working for us, and that he desires for us to be with him for eternity, then nothing could separate us from drawing nearer to him.

What a Friend

By: Charity Gutierrez

Precious friends who are willing to help are beautiful examples of the love of God. They show me one of the greatest desires of his heart- his desire to help. Yet, they are human and imperfect as am I.  I know of only one friend that can show me the whole heart of God and that is Jesus Christ.

I needed (and still need) God.  I needed someone to help me know God intimately. I needed someone who knew all there is to know about being God and all there is to know about being human.  I needed someone who could sympathize with me and teach me to be sympathetic of God. I needed someone who would hold out his hands and lead me to the hands of God.  I needed someone to help me bridge the gap.  I needed Jesus as my friend.  I still do.

When he came he came offering his friendship to all that believed and followed his word.  He came healing, teaching, feeding and working miracles- the greatest miracle being his overcoming of the cross and the grave.  He is the same today.  And the gifts he gives to his friends are the same: healing, understanding, provision and abundance, power over sin and peace.  What a friend I’ve found.

 

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,  but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. -Proverbs 18:24

The Creation of Me

By: Charity Gutierrez

Reflections on Genesis 1 (the creation story).

 It always hurts when God’s shines a light on areas of my life that are -to my surprise- in darkness. Strange to think that the light can hurt… that my God who warms my heart can also pierce my soul and melt me down in one quick moment by revealing truth ABOUT ME to me- the refiner’s fire he is.  I am far from perfect and God continues to reveal areas of darkness in me on a daily basis- areas that are chaotic, actions and attitudes that create emptiness in myself and my loved ones.   What I have found matters is this: that when the light shines-  I see the light and desire to separate the darkness.  That I admit when I mess up to God and to others.  That I repent.  That I accept forgiveness (like a sea washing away all my transgressions) and I make the decision to get up in new strength. I place my feet on the solid rock- Christ (like the solid ground coming from the waters) and allow him to create new life in the areas that used to be in darkness.   It is then that the fruits of his spirit emerge as his spirit awakens the seed of his words in my heart. Like water awakening the sleeping seed, I become like a tree planted by waters bearing his fruit.    The earth spinning in circles- unable to turn its face from the sun for long without being found back in its warmth- so is creation with the creator and I with my God- I cannot escape his love.  Every morning his mercy is what I see.  He lifts me up and calls me to shine like a star in the night. In the end I know I will be made in the likeness of God.  Once I get passed the days of my animal-istic ways and my childish ways. Passed my moments of aimlessly floating (like some fish in a sea of fishes), ramming my head into others (like a goat staking its claim to its side of the mountain) ; my moments of complete foolishness (like a monkey laughing in its cage), wildness and destructiveness (like an untrained dog dragging garbage through the house), stubbornness (like a mule refusing to take step) and contentedness  (like a pig in the mud).  Once I get passed my my selfishness, my temper tantrums,  and my pity parties.  In time he will perfect me into the woman he has created me to be.  He is indeed creating me still.

Searching for Sheep

By: Charity A. Gutierrez

“The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed the injured you have not bound up, the STRAYED you have not brought back, the LOST you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.” 

Ezekiel 34:4 (ESV)

Is there a difference between being lost and going astray?  When you say “I am lost”… how do you know? Isn’t it because: you KNOW where you want to be. You KNOW you are not there. You KNOW that you have no idea how to get there. You KNOW you need help.

If you know your way home from where you are then you are not lost. Instead, you have intentionally gone far from where you should be.  For whatever reason…  you have gone ASTRAY.  When you have wandered far from where you are supposed to be AND you are perfectly comfortable with where you are you have gone astray. If Christ was revealed to you and you have chosen to wander away from Christ’s teachings you have gone astray in your faith.

The sheep is ASTRAY-finding greener grass in another pasture…  enjoying its new found “freedom”… getting fat and happy until a  wolf comes its way.  All of a sudden it starts looking for a shepherd and none can be found.  It becomes devoured because it was not where it should have been- in the safe pasture of its shepherd.

What pasture have you been feeding in?  What people do you surround yourself with?  What WORDS do you feed on?  Have you gone astray? Have you wondered away from the Word of God and the people who speak it to you?  If so,  is better for you to head home to the Lord than wait for disaster to strike.

When disaster comes who can be blamed? You can blame yourself if you ignored all the warnings… but what if there were no warnings?  What if every Christian friend that you had avoided speaking truth into your life? Who then has left you to the wolves?  I do not want to be one of those friends.

I can just imagine the voice of the Lord tenderly whispering… “Little sheep… it is time to come home.  You are in the wrong place.  You are with the wrong friends.  I cannot rescue you until you come back to my word.  Come back to my pasture my little sheep.  Come home to your father who loves you.”

 

My Prayer Today:

Lord- I give you my voice so that you may speak to your people.  I give you my fingers so that you my type to your children.  I will not block out your truth.  Use me to strengthen the weak.  Use me to heal the sick.  Use me to bind-up the injured in spirit and body.  Use me to lead back the strays.  Use me to bring back the strays.  Use me to seek the lost.  May I not judge others but instead see others with your eyes.. filter my eyes and my judgments with your truth, your grace and your love.  In Jesus’ name- Amen.

Feeding Sheep

By: Charity A. Gutierrez

 

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

John 21:17

 

I’ve been thinking a lot today about how over and over again Jesus asked Peter if he loved him and then over and over again as Peter responded “yes” Jesus replied ”feed my sheep”.   You know so many Churches want to reach the “lost” and “Save” the “unsaved”… but for me… lately my heart is for the “saved”. 

My heart is crying out to preserve and strengthen the faith by meeting the needs of “the sheep”.  Christians are “dieing” – falling back into sin due to a lack of knowledge.  But this lack of knowledge is not just knowledge of the word of God but also knowledge of the JOY of God. 

 I want people to see it is FUN to be a Christian.  I want youth to see how exciting and bold walking with the Lord truly is.  I want families to see how comforting and peaceful the Christian life CAN be.  I want married couples to experience the deep passions and unwavering commitment of a Christian marriage.  I want people to experience God. 

I am praying for God to inspire me with various ideas on reaching out to my community and providing “Christian alternatives”.  I am tired of hearing people say Christians should not substitute… where is that in the bible?  I believe we absolutely should not compromise but we must begin to substitute… actually REPLACING in our lives the poor choices leading to spiritual and physical death with choices that preserve life. 

In thinking about the old testament- In the old testament they were not just destroying the paganistic places of worship… they would destroy and build places for worshipping the Lord.. I think of this with my community.  We have got to start making Christian alternatives for people.  We cannot condemn the sinner if we do not present the solution.  Jesus is the solution and Jesus can penetrate every area of our lives… including our sources of entertainment.  We do not need to change the sound of every “bad” music- in fact most of the time we simply need to change the words.  We do not need to stop playing every video game (though grant it many should be considered pure trash)- instead we need to relate them to Jesus Christ. 

I want to encourage Christians to reflect on God every moment and in every situation…. Constantly asking God, “Teach me a spiritual principle by what is going on right now in the physical.” I want to encourage Christians to NOT avoid the world but instead allow God to USE the world to reveal himself through his creation.

Putting Isaac on the Altar

By: Charity Gutierrez

 

 

A good friend of mine is getting ready for her husband to be deployed.  She sent me a passage she had been reading.  I wanted to take some time to reflect on it.

Genesis 22:9-14 (New Living Translation)

⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

“Isaac” means laughter. Isaac was the joy of Abraham’s life. He was the channel through which Abraham believed his blessings would come.

When I read the bible I always ask the Lord: “Who am I in this story?”

For the wife preparing for deployment the answer becomes clear: ”You are Abraham.  Your husband is Isaac.”Your husband is the channel through which many of the blessings of God come to you. Through him God comforts you and provides for you and brings you much joy.You must be willing to again put him on the alter.

You must be willing to walk up the mountain. You must be willing to take this walk of faith. As you continue to walk in obedience, continuously sacrificing all that he has given you, you will see that he will continue to provide. He will provide you with comfort when your husband is not there. He will provide you with company when you are lonely. He will provide you with encouragement and strength.

There is something beautiful that happens when the Lord takes away the channel by which he sends his blessings- The Lord himself takes us to the source.  In nature we see animals flock to a stream to quench their thirst. When the stream runs dry the animals are forced to start walking and seeking out the source. Likewise, have you ever gone hiking and found a dried river bed? If you follow a dried river bed and start hiking up- it will eventually lead you to the body of water from which the stream flowed from. The Lord is leading you along that river bed… He is leading you to the source of his blessing and truly that source is him alone.

God is your creator who loves you and he chooses to use the physical world he created to reveal his love for you. God is spirit. He is the source of our love and truly in his entirety he cannot be seen. Yet he reveals himself to us in the things we can see. Do not confuse the channel with the source. Truly your husband is not your source but a precious gift, a precious channel. He is a man willing to be used by God to reveal God’s love for you and there is no greater gift.

Your husband is a gift. In his face you see the love of God for you. The test is what you do when God takes away the face. When what we see disappears it does not change what we cannot. Love cannot disappear. The stream may dry but the water remains. Take these times to seek God and enjoy the beauty of the hike up the mountain.

When your husband has left again and you have to again walk in the door to your quiet home walk in that door and say out loud, “Jesus I’m home!!” Sit down in that place where you would sit with your husband and begin to tell Jesus all about your day. Feel free to laugh and cry and open up to your heavenly husband- he indeed is there. Take solace in his word. Before going to sleep say, “Goodnight Jesus. I love you. Thank you that you are here.”

So while your husband is here enjoy him. Thank God for him daily. How blessed you are to have such a beautiful example of God’s love for you. When he leaves it is okay to mourn. But you must not stay in continual mourning. Missing him and longing for his presence is a beautiful reminder of how we should long for our Lord.

“Missing someone you love is a tribute to that person and to his or her influence in your life. Moving forward, making the necessary adjustments, and finding new purpose for yourself is a tribute to God and to His influence in your life.” –Tony Cooke

Let his absence teach you about your walk with the Lord. Think about it- when he is gone you cannot touch him in the flesh yet you can still feel his presence. He is still working and providing for you though you do not see him doing it. You can still hear from him through written messages and at times hear his voice.

A Precious Wounded Soldier

By: Charity Gutierrez

My husband served in the Army.  Now he is in the Air National Guard.  He is a C-17 pilot.  He tells me of the men and women he brings home on his plane… the dead, the wounded, those disfigured beyond recognition both in body and mind.  They are soldiers who are misunderstood and not appreciated by many… who endure things that my mind cannot begin to fathom in order to secure peace for a people who do not give them the honor they deserve.  They are men and women who have taken the punishment for the wrongs of our country… who have faithfully served against their own will in order to bring us peace.

Many soldiers are wounded in war. We hear about it in history books.  We see reports of it on the television and internet.  Many grow weary of hearing the reports.  The wounds of the body often pale in comparison to the wounds in the heart and mind.  Have you ever wondered what wounds remain in the soldiers’ hearts?  Do you wonder how they feel as many deny the need for the wars they fight and debate their victories?

Sadly, Jesus is like many American soldiers and veterans today.  He fought a battle he did not start.  He carried the pain and grief that was a direct result of the wrongs of those who he fought for. His suffering was so horrible it was perceived as a curse from God. Yet he endured it to secure our freedom. Jesus’ service and sacrifice continues to be misunderstood, unappreciated, denied and debated by many.

One can read of Jesus’ physical suffering in Isaiah 52:14 and Isaiah 53:3-5 as well as in the New Testament accounts of the crucifixion.  One can even watch full length movies to see the story.  Even Christians have grown weary of the reports.  But have you ever wondered how wounded Christ’s heart was as he hung on the cross?  Do you wonder how he must feel still as many deny the war he fought and debate the victory? I can imagine much like many of our soldiers and veterans feel today.

It matters to the veteran on the street when you reach for his hand and say thank you.  It matters to the soldiers fighting across the world whether or not you value them and speak their praise. It shows you value them and appreciate their sacrifice.  So next time you see a soldier or a veteran what will you say or do?  It matters.  And next time you think of Jesus what will you say or do?  It matters most.

Ready for Christmas?

By: Charity Gutierrez

My favorite Christmas carol by far is “Holy Night”.  In the hustle of the Christmas season it is so easy to forget what Christmas is all about.  We spend so much time getting ready for Christmas and yet are we really ready?  In the midst of the busyness I ask you, do you need a Holy Night?

Forget about all the stuff in catalogs and in the stores that you think you need.  What are you really needing? Does your life shine with hope, peace and joy, victory and love? That is what Christmas is all about. 

There is light of hope, peace and joy, victory and love shining for you to see. There is a God who desires for you to know him. He is not just up in heaven looking down and untouchable, like some star in the sky.   He is the  light of the world.  He is your Heavenly Father and he has a face. His face can be seen in his son Jesus Christ.

God has placed before you a gift. He has wrapped up hope just for you. You may have already opened up the box it came in, but perhaps you returned it as we do so many other gifts or simply never used it. 

Have you read a few verses in a bible?  Have you prayed a few words?  Will you keep looking, keep reading and keep seeking?  Will you allow his word to take root and grow to the point you find yourself saying, “I think I am ready to truly accept this gift. I think am ready to accept Jesus as my Savior and King. I think I can actually… Believe“?

Are you ready for Christmas? Are you are ready to receive all God’s gifts? Not just the gift of salvation but all of his gifts in abundance; the gifts that come with becoming his bride?  Are you ready to Marry Christ and be welcomed into the Kingdom of God with the mass of his followers?  Are you ready to find yourself feeling like a new born babe, wrapped in the words of his love and blessed with the gifts of his spirit?

Celebrate a Marry-Christ-Mass. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. And may every night that follows be a  Holy Night.

 

 One Holy Night

One holy night the Father proposed,

To the world which he loved.

He offered no ring, but a babe in a manger.

This babe, even before his birth, was not received by men.

And the moment he was born he was placed in a stable among the beasts.

  

On one holy night angels appeared to shepherds,

And revealed the coming of the Christ.

Without question they believed and ran to see the Son of God.

They beheld him and worshipped him.

They could not cease to praise him after seeing him face to face.

 

On one holy night the mystery of God was born.

Wise and determined men who had knowledge of the scriptures,

Were already long on their way to meeting the child born that night.

They took all that was precious to them on their journey,

And offered it all to him on the day they found their King.

  

On one holy night a child was born.

All God and all human he was.

This child would grow in wisdom and stature and favor.

This child would become a husband who would lay down his life for his bride.

This husband would one day bring his bride home to meet his father.

 

One holy night the Son of God was born.

Jesus Christ is his name.

When he was born light was born in darkness.

When he was born hope was born in hopelessness.

When he was born a victory was determined to be won.

The victory to be won was yours.

 

- Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

Back to the dinner table

By: Charity Gutierrez

Last night I prepared a meal for my children. It was something new that they had never eaten.  Something new that they had never seen.  It was similar in ingredients to their favorite dish yet noticeably different. The dish had hearty green and red vegetables, added to make them stronger upon consumption.  The sauce was noticeably lighter than their favorite sauce and it had been noticeably seasoned with choice herbs to add flavor and stimulate their taste buds.  I was delighted in the new creation and excited to bring forth something new to the table.

I thought about Jesus Christ.  I thought about a tiny infant being placed in a manger, prepared from the beginning of time by God above.  He was the very word of God’s salvation in the form of a human being.  He was the word of God seasoned with love and grace.  The word that would bring restoration and joy to those who would be willing to receive him.   I cannot begin to imagine the joy in the heavens when baby Jesus was brought forth that night.  There he was, all of God’s word… his promises, laws, commandments and prophecies fulfilled in one tiny baby.  A gift of mercy sent from God above… placed on the table for all his children to receive. Yet what happened when Jesus was sent into the world?  Back to my dinner table…

My children were not at all excited.  Upon the very sight of it they turned their noses up and complained. They did not want it.  They did not like.  I asked how they knew if they never tried it. How many people reject Jesus this way? My oldest son complained and requested his favorite plain dish with his familiar sauce.  Since we had some left over from the night before I gave him the old dish as he requested.  I was not irritated.  I knew they would act this way.

This made me think of God’s loved children, the Jews, who were given the precious gift of their messiah from God above… yet because he was not presented in the way that they had anticipated they rejected him and still to this day choose to remain with what they know and are confident in… the law.  God knew this would be the case.  Back to my dinner table…

Even though I knew that my children would reject this meal I made it none the less.  I had made the dish being hopeful that perhaps they just might try it. That the exposure to its flavors would change their taste as they tried it.  I was not mad nor had a “let my son win” by giving him what he was used to.  How fair would that be?  I know him.  Better than he knows himself.  I knew he would not eat it.  I was not going to let him go hungry.  My hope was simply that he would try the new dish.

It is known that some children can be introduced a food and reject up to ten times before they actually get acquired to the taste of the food and accept it and actually start to like and it.  After numerous rejections, the child begins to love the food and devours it upon presentation.  This was my hope.  That even if they rejected it tonight the exposure to its taste would begin to put a taste for the ingredients in their mouth.  The hope that if I continue presenting the same hated ingredients, eventually he may learn to love them.  It will take a lot of patience on my part, yet in the end it is worth it if it means seeing them eat healthier.

So again I reflected on the Jews today.  Is it possible that they can learn to love Jesus Christ?  Can his message of love soften their heart?  Can their eyes be opened to the freedom in his love?  Is it possible that God has patiently watched and waited on his precious children to accept their savior… continuing to present him to his children in a variety of ways?  I think it is very possible.  Back to my dinner table…

Upon setting my meal on the table, I was even more hopeful for my younger sons who had been accepting of new food and had a stronger liking of the dishes sauce.   For them I made no other dish.  I had faith that they would eat the new dish. Expecting them to perhaps push aside the vegetables but finding no excuse for them to push away the main ingredient.

My younger sons reminded me of the gentiles who should be more willing to accept Jesus because they had no preconceived ideas of God or a savior… just a hunger for God and a willingness to be filled.  Back to the dinner table…

We all sat down at the table.  I prayed with them and then watched to see what they would do.  As expected, they all sat with the meal before them.  Poking it with their fingers, pulling out and showing me every ingredient that they did not like.  I continually just replied for them to try it that it was good for them.  I called it good.  They called it bad.

Is this not what all unbelievers do with the message of Jesus?  They toss the message of Jesus around in their mind and try yo point out all that is “wrong” with it to those who believe.  They refuse to accept it and instead choose to dissect it.  They call bad what indeed is good.  Back to the dinner table…

My eldest son finished all his dish, refusing to even try the new one.  My younger sons then began to turn up their noses at a dish they very well should have eaten.  They were influenced by their older brothers opinions.

At this point I realized how the effect of the critic of Jesus on the searcher of God.  It became very clear to me how one man’s opinion can gravely influence a crowd.  I realized the danger of a man’s words.  As men search for God they weigh their beliefs about God based on others opinions.  Men spend more time reading opinions than reading the word of God. Men read books about the book and search on the web for the popular thought on any given belief and make a decision based on the beliefs of men.  It is not to say that council is foolish… it indeed is not… but depending on the majority to establish the right belief is foolish.  We see this is the bible when the Prophet Elijah challenges the believers of Baal.  Elijah the prophet was one man who believed the Lord was God.  He was up against six-hundred who didn’t… in the end Elijah was right in his belief.  We cannot allow the popular decision to determine our final decision.  Back to my dinner table…

In the end my oldest son was full, yet undernourished.  He felt satisfied and content with his choice.  I knew he had not received the ingredients that would strengthen him. I knew it might be a long time before he ever would.

Many who do not believe in Jesus are content.  They are satisfied and full.  Yet they indeed are missing out.  They are not living to their full potential because they reject the one who can created them to reach it.  The problem is their perception.  They believe they have it all. They have sold themselves short.  If only they knew God had even more for them.  Back to the dinner table…

My youngest sons were left hungry and preferred to remain that way rather than eat the new dish I had prepared.  I had no compassion on their hunger.  I had prepared something they should have eaten.  They allowed their brothers refusal to influence their choice.  I was not angry at any of my children, but I was in awe of their stubbornness. In the end I stood firm on my decision to offer my youngest sons no other meal.

Does God show mercy on those who he chooses?  Does God’s favor sometimes seem unfair?  I think the way we answer that question weighs heavily on one question: Do we believe God knows us better than we know ourselves?  I believe he does.  As I looked at my children I wondered if our heavenly father stands in awe of our stubbornness.

We all left the table.  It was getting late so I chose to bathe them and prepare them for sleep time and left the mess to clean later while they were sleeping.  It is always easier to clean up their messes when they are sleeping.  When they are awake they don’t sit still, constantly creating new messes all around them.  Cleaning up consumes most of my time for this reason.  Not to mention taking care of their baby sister who is extremely needy.  I would have to get them all to bed before returning to clean up the leftovers and the mess they had made.

Many times we make a bigger mess of our lives because we won’t just be still and let God take care of things.  We want to do do do and fix fix fix.  Many times when I clean up after my children I reflect on the messes I make in my own life.  I imagine God saying to me, “Be Still!!!”

By the time they had got all of them asleep it was very late.  I did not want to clean up the mess.  I wanted to rest but I knew I had to return to the kitchen.  I could not rest knowing the food had been left out and things were out-of-place.  I did not want bugs to come after the leftovers.  Yet who can blame them?  Why not devour a wonderful meal that had been foolishly rejected by those who it was offered to?

I actually had compassion on the bugs. For the first time I saw a bug in new light.  As a persecuted creature forced to live hidden in darkness because of their appearance.  A creature who is anxious to feed on quality food yet has been forced to feed on the left overs, the rotting and the dead.  It is a brave bug that steps into the light.  Its life is always at stake.  It is not that they love the darkness, they have been forced to reside in it by more powerful creatures that live in the light and refuse to welcome their presence.  People who view them as disgusting and hide their quality food from their reach even leaving poison in their paths to try to kill them in their tracks.  People who have been created physically and mentally superior yet misuse their superiority to oppress every creature that has been created seemingly inferior. Yet by nature, who is truly superior?  The man who turns his nose up at the choice food in front of him or the roach that consumes the choice food when given the chance?  The creature that is disgusting is the creature that knowingly choses to consume filth when choice food is abundant.  Is that men or bugs?

Something profound dawned on me.  Jesus came for the Jews… the believers in the Lord… yet the Jews refused him.  They left out the bread of life for the taking and so God made it possible for any who believed to receive.  I thought of how Jesus had called a Samaritan woman a dog.  Many view it as insulting but was that really an insult?  I think not.  He was testing her faith.  He knew her.  She was faithful in her belief, like a dog is faithful to its master.  She proved herself in her response.. that even dogs pick up the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.  Jesus was indeed her master and he had placed his body… the bread of life… out on the table for his chosen Jewish children.  Yet they refused him… just as my children refused the meal I prepared for them…and so the Samaritan woman was allowed to eat of the bread of life…like a roach coming to eat the food that was left out from my children.  She was able to receive salvation from the Jewish messiah through her belief in him… not that I was actually going to allow the roaches in my home free access to my children’s left over’s.

That night the pan in which I had cooked the meal in was crusted with hardened food… food that had sat out too long and become stuck to the pan.  I let it soak overnight and in the morning all of the hardened food had become so soft that with just one turning of the pan by my hand all of the contents poured out with ease.

I said a prayer for all of God’s children that God’s grace… that was poured out through Jesus Christ’s blood on the cross long ago… the grace that has been soaking this world for two-thousand and nine years would begin to soften the hearts of God’s chosen people.  So that when the message of Jesus once again reaches out to their hearts they would be willing to let him turn over their lives to his love and pour out all the hardness that they have kept in their heart.

Ask God to teach you in the midst of your daily grind… start seeking Him with a new passion and allow everything you see and do to teach you about the Lord your maker… consume his word and be satisfied in his love.

 

 

Psalm 22:26
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD!

Hebrews 13:9
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.