Reward

spirits bloom in fields, fertile of mortal fray
they are blessed who stretch beyond the night
for there is a dawn for those who long to breach the other side
there is a home for those who will abide within the shadow of His pinions

rejoin and rejoice now the sound of these many waters
His voice is found as liquid gold to the soul
and breathe to paint us full awake
to dream the vain hope no more, but live aflame for He is our reward

He is the fullness, the source of our abundance
no, these are not vain yearnings as you are habit to suppose
but deeply the hunger grows
to be known by all the wonder we find in delight in You

- revel8r 5/21-27/2018

What Will Hold You to Him?

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

- Matthew 10:16

Jesus doesn't put forward vain promises.  He doesn't offer a happier day this side of the veil. In this section, he is telling the disciples quite plainly that life will be hard for those who follow Him. They will be arrested, beaten, betrayed, and even killed for believing in Him.

As they listened to Jesus, what was it that was holding them to this new leader?  At the time, they didn't know what He was truly about at the Messiah and sacrificial Lamb.  They were ignorant of the fact that he was going to be crucified.  And they certainly didn't know He was going to conquer the grave as rise as the firstborn from among the dead.  Yet here He is, telling them of the hardships to come.  This was hardly a pep rally designed to inspire.  So what was it that was holding them to continue to follow Jesus?

They must have known an inkling that something, someone significant was afoot.  Maybe that was what kept them from walking away.  Regardless, we can all be thankful that they did not for the Church would not have continued without their propagation of the Testimony.

But for us who now know the rest of the story, or at least much more of the story, we need to ask ourselves this question: "What will hold us when the tribulation comes".  Certainly, the promise of eternity with Him is very significant indeed.  But I dare say there needs to be much more.  For we must be able to stand in the face of brutal persecution.

Ours is not a testimony of wine and roses, or angels in diapers or shiny new cars.  It is a testimony of holding to the One who gives us our identity.  We must be willing and able to hold on when evil men are allowed to have their day.

Next Play

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

- Matthew 10:14

The gospel.  What is it? For the disciples at this point in time, it was the message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were given authority to back it up with signs of healing and deliverance.  But he warned them - that they would not always be received, in spite of what they had to offer.

Have you ever communicated the gospel, only to be rebuffed or blown off?  What was your reaction? Jesus' instructions enabled the disciples to "test the waters".  "Let your peace be on the place you enter."  In Hebrew, a traditional greeting is kinetic in nature: "Shalom aleichem", meaning peace be upon you.  If it is not received, let it return to you.

How then did Jesus encourage his disciples to react when they were rebuffed? They were to let their peace return to them, and in peace shake off the dust and move on.  Shaking off the dust, in peace, basically means don't let the rejection get on you; let the rebuff be like water off a duck's back.

In football, if a cornerback gets beat they can't afford to let it effect them; they' got the rest of the game ahead of them, and if they keep thinking about how they got beat that rest of the game will be like Nightmare on Elm Street!  They must be focused on the next play.

In the same way, we need to remain in peace and move on to the next opportunity to communicate the kingdom of heaven.  We must be focused on the next play. 

The stakes are too high not to remain at peace.

NK IV

the turning of one soul
ushers a fresh dawn on a darkling land
while kings have made their stand
this heart was turned
at the touch of one Hand

now what becomes
of those so long blinded from the Son
may they run to be known in the light
and delight in the bright-shine
of this new day

 - revel8r

photo © Jim White 2018

Nothing Like This Has Ever Been Seen in Israel

And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

- Matthew 9:33

The crowds had seen demons cast out.  They had seen paralytics healed and dead raised. What was it they had not seen?  The healings and the exorcisms that the Israelites were seeing was the result of something that had never been seen in Israel before this moment.  What was that?

When Jesus healed, it was always with a very human act of touch.  And often He touched people who were, by law, unclean.  When He cast out demons, it was always with authority.  These two things - compassion and authority were unheard of, never witnessed before, until this Son of Man walked among these mortal, very human beings.

Authority without compassion is easy to wield.  Jesus completely and effortlessly wielded authority with compassion.  And He did so because of one thing: He is the original authority.  He is the Creator of those upon whom He had compassion.  All others that Israel had known before Him - priests, scribes, Pharisees, et al, were acting on behalf of the Ancient of Days.  They were wielding as an acting authority.

The True Shepherd, even their Messiah, had arrived, an nothing like this had ever been seen in Israel.

 

When Authority Finally Overcomes Fear

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
-- Matthew 9:14

Leading up to this point, Jesus pushed people's "fear buttons".  We all have them - fear of letting go of what's secure, fear of letting go of family, fear of nature, fear of losing the status quo and fear of losing control of your control were the buttons He pushed in the verses leading up to this verse.

The scribe. The guy who wanted to bury his father first. The disciples on the stormy lake. The people herding pigs. And lastly the Pharisees from whom Jesus stole their power to hold unforgiveness over sinners.

But to those who had nothing to lose but their own lives in the universe of love from the Son of Man, fear was irrelevant.  Such was the situation of Matthew the tax collector - the one who took money "legally" from Jewish subjects.  The one who was reviled by all save other sinners.  In fact, he quite celebrated over the idea that Jesus would ask him to follow Him.

Matthew and the disciples had not "made the grade" to become a scribe or a teacher of the law.  Rather, these were regular men of mortal dirt who were simply getting by, making a living the best they knew how.  And then Jesus called.  And then they followed.  And then their lives were changed forever in the amazing walk with the Son of God.

So allow His loving authority to overcome your fears.  You will never be the same.

Song of the Son

I will woo Her one hundred days

then sing Her one hundred songs

and next - the day when We will wed

to remain as One

as Father, Ghost and Holy Son

We too shall be

I and She, and She and Me

- revel8r 3/11/18 -