A Stumbler's Walk | SACK LUNCHES

Jesus then took the loaves…

- John 6:11-13 

A massive crowd is hanging on Jesus' every word. And the disciples are growing concerned. It's been a long day, the people are hungry. This crowd could turn into a mob.

Peter: “There is a boy here who has five little barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

Boy (Earlier that morning): Mom, I'm heading out… all my friends are going to see this guy from the other side of the sea."

Mom: "Don't forget your lunch."

Boy: "Ok, did you pack me enough for a few of my friends, in case their moms forgot?"

Mom: "Son, you know we don't have much. There's only enough in the sack for you and one friend, tops."

Jesus (Late in the day): "Give me the sack."

John 6:11-13: Jesus then took the loaves… distributed them. So also the fish, as much as they (5,000 men, plus women and children) wanted. And when they had eaten their fill… they gathered up twelve baskets (of leftovers).

Boy (Later that night): "Mom, I'm home. You won't believe what happened!"

Mom: "Did you have enough to eat?"

Boy: "Mom, You won't believe what happened!"

Never doubt that what God asks from us, with his blessing, is more than enough to accomplish what he desires. To put it another way, when we give what we have, God blesses it. And what he blesses always accomplishes his purposes. And we get to tell an incredible story!

God, I don't have much, but it is yours.

For now...
D

A Stumbler's Walk | GET UP

"Do you want to be healed?"

John 5:6 

It seems like a silly question; almost patronizing. The man has been an invalid for 38 years. Countless times throughout the decades he has been hauled to that pool, hoping one day would be the day.

Today is the day. Though it doesn't come as expected or hoped.

Legend had it that once in a while an angel would stir the surface water of the Bethesda Pool (excavated in the late 19th century and just as described in the Gospels). The first person in the natural spring pool, it was said, would be healed from whatever malady they possessed when they entered the water.

What a sight it must have been. Day after day they came, by whatever means possible. A mixture of waning hope, dying expectations, and cruel possibilities. This particular man had an additional problem. As close as he was to the water, even if an angel stirred, he could only watch. He had no way into the pool. So close to promise, yet never realized.

Paralyzed body. Paralyzed spirit. Paralyzed hope. 

He did not know, but the Promise himself walked up to the pool that morning. (Ironic, that healing supposedly came through the waters of the pool, and now the giver of living water (remember the well from chapter four?) shows up.

"Do you want to be healed?"

It's not silly or patronizing. The fact is we are often most comfortable in our discomfort. We hold to our infirmities and find identity in them. Sometimes it is easier to see ourselves as victims of circumstance than to humbly face our disabilities and turn to God for help.

God may not always heal (others, ourselves, circumstances, etc.) the way we think he should. He is not bound by our expectations. But he has an amazing way of turning weaknesses into strengths.

Therefore, it is possible that the most miraculous healing of all, is the one that doesn't look like a miracle. It is when God changes a heart, strengthens a spirit, and gives new purpose and direction. God can do whatever he wants in any way he wants. Our job is to turn toward him and away from our preconceptions.

My version:
Jesus: "Do you want to be healed?"
Man: "There's no way into the water."
Jesus: "Get up."
Man: "OK."

I wonder if after 38 years, he walked off like a wobbling newborn giraffe, or like an Olympic champion. Maybe a bit of both.

God, laying by the pool is comfortable because in doing so, I can pretend I want change. Instead, let me hear your voice say, "get up!"

For now...
D

A Stumbler's Walk | WATER

If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you…

- John 4:10 

We often miss the best God has to offer when we settle instead for what is simply good.

In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus meets a woman at a well. It is the hottest time of day in the deserted village center. The woman is a social outcast. She is that woman others talk about in hushed whispers. Frankly, she has earned the reputation. She has lived a hard life, a decadent life. Though seldom lacking for company, she is alone.

She is not the kind of person that God blesses; or so we would think. Thankfully, grace doesn't ask the worthiness of its target. If the recipient were deserving, grace would cease to be grace.

The woman went to the well for her daily water. What she received was so much more. That's the way it is when we meet Jesus. He seldom offers what we think we need. Instead he offers more. Like the woman at the well, we may argue, bargain and try to dance our way around our need. All the while, there is Jesus with the offer of living water.

We often miss the best God has to offer when we settle instead for what is simply good.

God, I never want to be satisfied with mere water.

For now...
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A Stumbler's Walk | NO CONDEMNATION

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

-  John 3:17 

Even those completely unfamiliar with the Bible are familiar with a few things found within. 

Among these are: "Judge not…," (usually quoted out of context - but that's for another post), "The Golden Rule," and John 3:16. (Does anyone remember the multi-colored afro guy that used to hold the sign up at sporting events?)

There may be no better synopsis of the gospel than, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." In this one verse we find God's motivation: love; his action: the sacrificial gift of his Son; our response of faith: believe; and the result: life.

The gospel is good news. It is actually better than that. It is the best news! It is the news of a gracious God who cares intimately and intensely for us. It is the news of this God doing for us what we can not do for ourselves.

And yet, the verse following "For God so loved the world…," gets right to the heart of an issue that many of us deal with - usually quietly, secretly. What is it you ask? Condemnation. The word itself casts a bit of a dark shadow.

Many faith-people deal with a sense of condemnation from time to time. We feel guilty and unworthy. Worse, we feel that God's love is conditional; that it is based on what we do and don't do.

We know this is not true theologically, biblically; but we can't escape the sense. We sometimes go about our days with the feeling God will love us and be pleased with us only if we do more (or stop doing some things). We feel that we must win God's approval and blessing. This is a damaging lie, and a self-defeating place to live.

"God didn't send his Son into the world to condemn… but (to) save…" (John 3:17). Paul emphatically states, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ…" (Romans 8:1).

To tell someone to stop feeling condemned is like telling them to stop being depressed. It just doesn't work. The only way to work out of a sense of condemnation is to know the heart of Christ more intimately. We do this by spending time in his word and in prayer; by investing in relationships with believers, and by doing the things we know to do - small steps of daily obedience. Condemnation is a dark place. But remember Jesus - the light of the world - meets us in the dark places.

One last scripture from the Apostle Paul: "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death," (2 Corinthians 7:10, NASB). There is a massive difference between conviction and condemnation. The first turns our face toward God. The second causes us to hide our face from God.

God, I turn to you.

For now...
D

A Stumbler's Walk | WINE

Fill the jars with water…

- John 2:7 

Jesus' first recorded miracle seems odd; almost insignificant. He turned water in to wine at a wedding. In comparison to sea-walking, storm-calming with just a word, feeding thousands with a two fish happy meal, and raising a dead man… well, it pales. Unless you are the groom.

The groom was traditionally responsible for the wine, both its quantity and quality. Here is a man on the happiest day of his life. All should be smiles and celebration, but he has a sinking feeling and a knot in the pit of his stomach. He's been told the wine is running low and the reception is only half over. He (and his new bride) are about to suffer the ultimate in public humiliation.

"Fill the jars with water…" No one asked for Jesus' plan. They just did it. Six Gatorade sized wash jars are filled to the brim. "Now take it to the master of ceremonies." The MC's reaction? "Usually people serve the best first, then follow up with the cheap stuff when everyone is tipsy. You have saved the best for last!"

The miracle may seem insignificant - again, unless you are the groom. Only the servers, groom, Jesus, his mom and his little group even knew it took place. At face value, it is a very personal and pretty cool thing. 

I don't want to stretch too far, but it is worth thinking on some of the biblical symbolism. Biblically, six is the number symbolizing man - created on the sixth day. Six also signifies incompleteness; seven being the number of completeness. It is not trivial that there were six stone jars that needed to be filled. Six common jars, used for common purposes, became the vessels of a miracle. Do you see where I'm going with this? You and I are common pots. In the hands Jesus, we can be the vessels of miracles.

It is significant that the jars were filled with what was on hand - water - and entrusted to Jesus. The water of the day was usually less than desirable. Jesus once said to a woman at a well in the heat of the day that he had "living water" that he would cause to spring up inside us. So again, common pots filled with common water… the result? The best wine.

Wine is symbolic in scripture of the Holy Spirit and newness. Jesus spoke of the new wine of the Spirit in Matthew 9. Jesus is still in the "water-to-wine" business.

In 1989 a bottle of Chateau Margaux, 1787, was on auction at a dinner in a fancy New York City event. It was at the time the most expensive bottle of wine ever. Each pour was valued at $37,500. However, no one ever tasted the Chateau Margaux. Its cork was never smelled or the first pour swilled; its merits and bouquet never pontificated. Instead, it was broken against a tray when being brought to the front of the room. The bottle, valued at nearly $400,000, and once owned by Thomas Jefferson, spilled out on the fancy New York City carpet.

We are common jars. By faith we are to fill ourselves with what we know, the best we know. And it still feels so very common. Then, at a time of God's choosing, we are poured out. And amazingly, he has produced in us a Chateau Margaux for others to taste and enjoy.

Like the groom of Cana, we sit back and smile in amazement. Because we know the vessels that winemakers will be trying to emulate in the future were just common wash jars. And the Chateau Margaux… it was just water. 

But in the hands of Jesus…

God, In faith I will fill what I have with what I have, and I will leave the results to the Winemaker.

For now...

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A Stumbler's Walk | GOD GOT PERSONAL

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

- John 1:1; John 1:14 

John’s account has been called “the gospel from above.” Where the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) begin from an earthly perspective – the birth of Jesus in a Middle-Eastern stable; John begins with a view from heaven. Jesus, the Word who has always been… who spoke and creation leapt into existence… Jesus, the life-giver... the light of the world… steps in to time and space. Emmanuel, meaning “God with us,” has come.

God got personal.

Religion can be personal. Often it is not. The major religions of the world teach of god or gods. The three great theistic religions teach of an all-powerful god. But there is a divergence. The Bible alone speaks of this all-powerful God as a personal God. More than that, he is an intimate God. He is Emmanuel, God with us; the Word become flesh.

And the result of incarnation? Life and light. Later in John’s writing we will come across these words of Jesus: “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly,” (John 10:10).

Emmanuel desires intimacy with us today. He desires to give us life and light by which to live it. I write this confidently, not because I can speak for God, but because he has made it plain in scripture. We can be confident of God’s great desire for intimacy with us because “…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

God, “Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.”
― Jim Elliot

For now...

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A Stumbler's Walk | JOYTITUDE

Rejoice in the Lord always…

- Philippians 4:4 

Joy and happiness are cousins. They are not twins. And they are definitely not one in the same. 

Think of the hap in happiness. It is the same root found in happenstance or happening. (I'll leave further Google-search etymology to you). Happiness is, at least in part, based on haps or outside circumstances. As a matter of fact, in ancient days, happy and lucky were synonyms (these were the twins). 

OK, a lot of words to get to this point: happiness is typically dependent on something outside, and it works its way in. Think child… Christmas… box… puppy. Circumstances make us happy.

Joy however, is not based on externals. Joy is internal. Joy works its way from the inside out. Joy is not dependent on circumstances. Joy is an attitude of the heart and a choice of the will. Joy is the response of intimacy with Jesus, who said, "… my joy may be in you… that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). I have witnessed unfiltered joy in areas of the world and among people that seemed to be in the unhappiest/unluckiest of circumstances.

Paul tells us - in very strong terms - to rejoice. It is active. We may say, "but wait, my circumstances are…" It doesn't matter, rejoice! Why? How? "… in the Lord…." It is God's imminent and abiding presence that enables us to have this joy. And how often should we actively rejoice in the Lord? "Always." In case we didn't get it, Paul repeats the command; "...again I will say, rejoice."

A joy attitude determines our life altitude. Sorry for the cliche, but it is true. We often quote (and very often without context) a verse later in chapter four: "I can do all things through Christ…" (v.13). What is easy to overlook is the tie that the power of overcoming in v.13 has to the rejoicing of v.4. It is the attitude of joy, no matter the circumstance, that produces the contentment (vv.11-12) that empowers Paul to exclaim: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

There is so much more about joy to be said… and lived! For now, I am going to joyfully go to sleep.

God, I rejoice in you.

For now...

D