Category: wisdom

Is Jesus Your Center?

Jesus, the Center of Life and Time

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught.”

Mark 6:30, New Century Version

We need to become accountable to Him for the things we say, and the things we do.  A liberated discipleship is one that can’t be trusted–there is no supervision, and no direction.  And we need to be accountable.  It is not a question of freedom– but of slavery, and duty (kind of a “neutral” word.)  Within our culture, we are dancing on a knife’s edge, and we become intensely counter-cultural when we live authentically as His disciples.

The text has noted, “They gathered unto Him.”  That dear one, is the real essence of your walk.  He is the absolute center, that fact will never change.  Without Him we will drift in and out, unfocused and confused.  But these wonderful disciples know absolutely that Jesus Christ is their common focus, no matter what their own personal proclivities.

A simple word about all the plurality and variety among Christians.  We are intensely different.  Some of us are Pentecostals, and some are Roman Catholics.  Some Orthodox, Lutherans and Quakers. We are Mennonites, Baptists and Methodists. There is so much variety in the Church.  But I think that all of us are coming to Jesus–He is our center!

I no longer doubt or fear the amazing variety that is in the Church.  We are dealing with a God who can’t even make snowflakes alike!  We make Styrofoam cups that are exactly alike, and He does snowflakes.  He insists on creativity and being unique. Shouldn’t our churches reflect this?

The verse tells us that the disciples had the freedom to come to Jesus and report.  There wasn’t a need to embellish or exaggerate their work. They are not in competition with each other.  They have a broad confidence, an easiness and sureness about Him.  Jesus is the easiest master to work for.  Bob Dylan told us, “You gotta serve somebody.”

And serving Him is kind of demanding, but it is also a great and wonderful joy.  Only those caught in the middle are miserable.  They can’t make the choice.  They’re in a tough place. We must pray for them.

“Done and taught.”  The disciples have been active on their journey.  They have travelled different directions. They work, and then they teach.  And really that is all that disciple comes down to.  Working, and talking.  Talking, and working.  I believe that it was significant that this would become the focal point, and bulk of their time with Jesus was essential.  That tells me something.  In some real sense, this is how we are to monitor and evaluate ourselves.

1)  Do I gather onto Jesus with others?

2)  Do I share with Him things that matter?

3)  Do I evaluate my service with His light?

4)  Do I tell Him everything– “honest and truthful?”

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ybic, Bryan

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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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Ears That Hear

Used during WWII to locate bombers over London
Used during WWII to locate bombers over London

It intrigues me as I think of how much we need each other. For most of my life, it seems the opposite was true. I thought I needed my independence, to be entirely self-reliant and to be bolder and more assertive.

But much of my struggle, through health and mental crisis’, through the death of a child, really has broken a strong back of this resolve. The question I hear now from the Lord; isn’t how strong are you– but rather, how weak are you?

“The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
    so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
    and opens my understanding to his will.
5 The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
    and I have listened.
    I have not rebelled or turned away.”

Isaiah 50:4-5, NLT

“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples” is the NASB translation of verse 4. It is a serious mistake if we see ‘discipleship’ as a solitary endeavor. Instead, it is like the connective tissue that surrounds our muscles. The body needs to unite efforts, activities, ideas, and purposes through our combined discipleship.

Isaiah 50 advances this idea. The simple picture is of a person sleeping who is suddenly awake. Lying in bed, they start to listen. It’s not the birds singing. It is God speaking. And not only is there a gentle voice, but accompanying it is wisdom and grace to unleash what has been said. And that is an art that we must learn.

“The weary” are everywhere, but typically you share with just two or three. But the right words, at the right time, with a perfect wisdom can really rock. Lives can be turned with just a word.

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ybic, Bryan

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The Prize is Waiting Just For You

 2008 Ryder Cup Previews - Day 3

 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14

 Paul’s wish was a heavenly one.  He understood that this world had absolutely nothing to give him.  Simply put,  his faith was the bulldozer type.  He pressed forward, and he would not compromise or vacillate.  He would have all that Jesus promised.

“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.”

 Vance Havner

Paul ‘presses’ and his goal is very close.  He is God’s ‘pit bull,’ and once he latches on, everything changes.  He wants the prize.  We can only look and wonder.  What Paul has faced should empower us, and give us a sense of what is real.  Life is just a little bit away.  If we turn we will never see it.

There is a life that is far beyond what we think is possible.  Our only real option is to press into what has been pledged.  We must cling to all these ‘possible promises.’  But we must let Him decide what is true.  He has promised us life, and we cannot turn from this.  He is not some ‘shyster or a liar.’  We must push forward and then proclaim Him as ‘Lord of the Guarantee.’

He alone is worthy of such concentrated focus.  We must admit that there is no one who can compare.  Jesus Christ has an intensity and a radical commitment to what is really real and really true.  We must turn to Him and beseech Him to become Lord and King.  No one can compare.

Paul has a deep conviction.  We must follow him, and duplicate his focus.  We must concentrate on his aspirations, and follow him into what is true.  Real Brokenbelievers have very few directions to go.  Paul’s focus and direction should direct and motivate us into a very different direction than what this world system offers us.

“Press on”, or reach for a fresh understanding of Grace and goodness.  Simply put, you really have few options.  Captivity is very degrading and we lose our way very quickly.  We really are much more than this.

Please consider all the good that has been given to you.  The presence of Jesus is not to be trifled with.  He gives all that He is, to bring you to Himself.  But we must commit, and turn His heart to us.  His love is amazing, and all those who turn to Him are brought into safety.

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kyrie eleison, Bryan

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