BUT

 "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under Him, though now we see not yet all things put under Him. BUT we see Jesus . . . " Heb 2:8-9. 

I suppose the hardest road a disciple of Jesus must travel is putting what is true about Jesus and himself above what his experience teaches him. Our EXPERIENCE teaches us that our world is fallen, that we are sinful men, hearts cold and broken beyond repair. So this is very hard to overcome, as long as our focus is on subjective things we see, hear, taste, feel and smell. Faith is the key, which is the substantiation of that which, as the writer tells us in Heb 2:8, we do not yet see. 

When the eyes of faith see something, and we pray for it, why is the first thing we do to look to see if the prayer is answered? Maybe we just don't know how to look. There is a new frame of reference, a new way to see: Turn and look to Him. I find my flesh resisting this message with all it can throw at me. "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" Mark 11:24. 

So turn, Dean. Everything you're looking at screams at you, so DON'T look there! Always keep Jesus as your focus. He is the "Author and protector of your faith". Turn to Him. Fight off the overwhelming temptation to "check" to see if the mountain has been removed. Set your eyes upon Jesus and don't look back. Lord, increase my faith. 

Faith and Trust

 "By faith Abraham, being called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going." Hebrews 11:8

And yet . . . when threatened, he twice passed his wife off as his sister (technically true, but not the whole truth). When the promise in Genesis 12:2 became long in his eyes, he went in to his wife's maid to have a child. What does this reflect about his character? Seems likely he did not really love his wife. Or at least he did not respect her. 

I wonder how often Christian husbands are similarly tested, at every level. Does our physical desire for her so overwhelm us that we forget that she is the weaker vessel? Does our need for respect drive how we treat her? Even as the spiritual head, does our idea of mission come before her needs? Have we truly, like Christ and the church, given up our selves, and waited for her to respond? 

Some men have a very clear vision, and place the fulfillment of that vision above all else. It may be something he wants to accomplish, or something he wants to get. It may even be something he believes God is laying on his heart to do. None of these are inherently bad, but do they rise above the call to love our wives as ourselves? 

Abraham found out the hard way. The fulfillment of God's vision for him is God's business, not his. More important than self preservation, or accomplishing the vision, loving Sarah was really his only mission. Now obviously God still blessed them with a son, and grandchildren. But the reward for Abraham's impatience was a thorn in the side of his promised inheritance, which is still true today. 

Oswald Chambers writes, "Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul's welfare that we get caught up the practical busy work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision". Saints, let's work patiently, but let the fulfillment of the vision be God's business. 

Something from nothing, or a lot from a little?

 "And Jesus answered and said unto them, 'you give them something to eat'." Mk 6:37

They were worn out. Hungry. Ready for a little R and R. Jesus has invited His disciples to an out of the way place. Just them. But when they get there, the crowd has followed. So much for the promised break in the action. Jesus has compassion on the crowd, though He, too, must have been exhausted. They were like sheep without a shepherd, hungry and lost. 

Andrew, perhaps in charge of logistics, has obtained a lunch of five loaves and 2 fish, which hardly seems enough even for Jesus' small crew of disciples. Jesus asks him for an inventory of what they had in stock. Well . . . this kid here has offered us his dinner, but it would hardly fill our own bellies, let alone 5000 hungry men. What are we to do? Go buy happy meals for everyone? NO. You give them something to eat! Really, Jesus? So Jesus blesses the food, has them sit in groups of 50, and bids His disciples to distribute to the people. Not only is there enough, 12 basketfuls of leftovers are available for the next road trip! (Or in the case of the disciples, a "row" trip!). 

I suppose we all learned this lesson in Sunday school. But what is Jesus teaching His disciples, and us, in this story? Was it really about satisfied stomachs? As Satan himself knew, Jesus could simply have taken the rocks and made bread for that multitude. Being God, he had the power to create "Ex Nihilo", something from nothing. But His objective here was not so much feeding that crowd as it was teaching the disciples that what little they had is more than enough when offered in faith. A lot from a little is better than something from nothing.