Category: spiritual lessons

Drink Up!

water-running from-hand

Now on the final and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! 

John 7:37,   Amplified

The strangeness of this metaphor has never really been resolved in my thinking.  There is one other which strikes me as incredibly odd; it is when Jesus declares that He is “the Bread of life” whom we must eat.  With both of these I’m content right now to think that I am reaching through a cultural airlock, and things will resolve.  It isn’t doubt, I’m just content to wait for it to be sorted out.  I’m certain it shall be.

hands_of_jesus_pouring_waterBut I cannot minimize these declarations, and their significance.  “I am the Water for this parched world.  Come with your buckets and cups.”  If we but think about this, there is an implied exclusivity.  He has everything we need.  And there is no one else.  Also reading the text over again, I’m struck by the setting for this announcement.

They were standing in the Temple.  Jesus had been unveiling His ministry to be messianic, and His presence to be divine.  And the Temple and the feasts created the atmosphere for this dramatic revelation.  And the best part was this, “everyone, anyone who understands having a thirst, can come to me, and drink me.”

I lived for three years in the deserts of Baja, Mexico.  I learned about heat, and the exquisite value of water, and savoring it to the last mouthful.  I saw spring rains soak the desolate terrain, and saw the awesome results of a blooming desert.  And it was all about the water.

The world has been confronted by the real spiritual, and most don’t even understand this.  But yet we all know there exists a powerful thirst.  And thirst,  is perhaps the best word to use.  We walk through life parched and dried out, and nothing we’ve tried to drink has helped.  There has been a joint effort by many brilliant minds, but it has completely and definitely failed.

     “Is anyone thirsty?
      Come and drink—
      even if you have no money!
      Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
      it’s all free!”    -Isa. 55:1

Isaiah the prophet used the imagery of thirst.  He has shown us that thereis somewhere (or more precisely “someone”) who has the fantastical ability of meeting our needs.  I can’t say a lot about the “wine”, (but I’m sure it’s something good.)  And the milk? Well growing up in rural Wisconsin, I drank lots and lots of wholesome raw milk, straight from the cow. With the cream four inches thick in our gallon jar. It was grand, I loved it!

When we follow Jesus, He provides what we need.  When I come, as one of His flawed ones, He pays extra attention to me (at least that is what it feels like).  Satan’s lies fall away, and my understanding grows as I drink Jesus.

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ybic, Bryan

kyrie eleison.

A Teflon Faith

 

teflon-frying-pan
The reality called “teflon.’

“That I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ “

Genesis 14:23

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

Daniel 1:8

There is something that certain men and women face when their faith is flourishing.  It is an authentic commitment to walk exclusively in the will of God, no matter where it takes us.  But both Abraham and Daniel had considered the ‘pros and cons’ of having a faith that would bend.  They chose however not to become this flexible.

As people who call themselves ‘believers’.  We need to figure out exactly how we are to emulate Abraham and Daniel.  How bold are we to become?  That question reverberates through us, and demands that we seriously deal with this issue.  Exactly when will we compromise, where is the line?

The Bible gives us the distinct impression that our compromise will lead us into a period of confusion and doubt.  Compromise is presented as a deadly choice, a decision that will irrevocably bring us to a death–of sorts.  For believers who consider themselves as flexible, there may lift to us some immediate consequences, but the end result is brutal.

We cannot trade to get a temporary peace and comfort to enable ourselves to walk in the place of harmony and successfulness.  If we try we will discover ourselves to be unfaithful and negligent to the Lord’s purposes and will.  This is a place of shame, and comes incredibly close to outright denial.  In this present ‘day and age’ perhaps our faithfulness might matter more then our ‘results’.

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ybic, Bryan

The Wonder of It All

Fairy Blue Wren
Fairy Blue Wren

This day– this wonderfully good day, has been a flood of kindness for my soul. Sitting on my deck soaking up the Alaskan sun, I’m jolted by a considerable awe at the created world that swirls around me.

I haven’t though these thoughts for a long time. But now they visit me, and I think it may be time to entertain them.

If creation is wonderful, the Creator is more so. He is responsible for everything I see. And living in Alaska gives me ample things to see and ponder.

I sat and mulled over a very persistent question. “Why is there ‘something’ instead of nothing?” There is nature that we see and touch. We take pictures of it. Our artists and writers and poets work out of this wonder that surrounds us all.

I was stunned when I first saw this picture of this wren. He is so wonderfully blue– a masterpiece meticulously ‘manufactured’ by Someone. I am left with an authentic awe and reverence that is left behind like when the tide goes out.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1, NLT

“Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!” Isaiah 65:18

“For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.” Romans 8:19

“He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” Colossians 1:17

What we see and touch is full evidence of God the Creator. He reveals himself– what he is like. His character is seen all around us. We describe His faithfulness which is like the mountains. His love is like the ocean, and He also finds time to feed every sparrow that He has made. His fingerprints are on everything.

We enter a classroom, when we step outside our house. My problem is my “drone-ability.” (I just invented a new word.) I move through the creation blind, without really perceiving it. I can be completely impervious to the glory of God swirling around me. And I really don’t want to be this way. I want to live in wonder.

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ybic, Bryan

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Profound and Certain Issues

Walking through a wasted world

As stumbling and struggling believers in God’s grace, we gather in a simple circle and wonder out loud.  There are many things that perplex us.  We share notes and try to make sense of our Father’s sovereignty and grace.  Sometimes, it seems He is out to get us.  I remember reading a saint, she said something like, “[God] no wonder you have so many enemies, when you treat your friends so shoddily.” (You can tell that I’m working on my attitude here.)

But it isn’t that he is out to “get” us.  It is more like he is out to “make” us.  A distraught woman who just lost her children in a house fire sobbed bitterly. It was obvious that she was completely broken and shattered. She turned to a close friend,  “What is God doing to me?”  Her dear friend, an older saint, quietly spoke with a profound wisdom. “Honey, He has just now started to make  you.”

Beware of giving counsel.  As I age, I’m starting to see how stupid that really is.  The human heart has pain that only God, the Father can discern.  I really think it is more  important to love, than to be right.  It has taken me decades to come to this place, and I’m still not sure I’ve settled into this. (But isn’t something God might come up with?)

We can guide, but we can’t direct.  We can give out a road map, but honestly it seems that is the best we can do.  I’m of the opinion that Job’s friends have a real need within themselves– to be “counselors.”  They seem to fulfill a selfish interest when the give their friend directions.  They want so much it seems, to be regarded as perceptive and astute.  They seem to be like Boy Scouts trying to get their “merit badges.” Often people in ministry are this way.  It’s like it is an occupational hazard, that pastors, elders and counselors must be aware of.

We live in a twisted world, and we are all trying to make our way through it. We often are clumsy and bumbling. But there is an acquired humility and a gentleness that drips slowly on our own hearts. This how wisdom is secured. This is a wonderful work of God’s grace that ends up changing us.  Surely He is making us, and the promise is that when it is all said and done–we will be like Jesus.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Philippians 1:6, NLT

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ybic, Bryan

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