master crafter

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:24-29, ESV)

Would you ever start a project without knowing you had the resources to complete it?

Or build a house or a building on a plot of land without testing it first to make sure it wasn’t like sand and going to shift underneath your building once it was done and make it topple?

Every time I read one of these texts I picture the building I use to drive by in lower Michigan. When we lived in Grand Rapids,OH we would visit with some friends on Lime Lake and we would drive by this building that wasn’t complete kind of like the one in the picture here. This was not the building we would pass, but I think of that building because someone obviously started a project and for what ever reason couldn’t complete it and couldn’t undo what had been done.

And that is what life will be like without God. You will start things and never complete them. You will go into projects and never come out of them with a completion.

If you hear the words of the Lord and follow where He leads you, your life will forever be built on a solid foundation and your life will be built by the master crafter!

promised

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ” Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord ‘s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ” Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty- four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him (Luke 2:22-40, ESV)

Before Simeon would see death he would see the Christ!

And he believed this. The Holy Spirit had revealed this to him and Simeon held to the promise he had from God.

And when Simeon beheld Jesus, he knew the promise had been fulfilled! He had seen the Christ, the one who would bring consolation to Israel, and he told Mary that she would have her own soul pierced by a sword, because of all that would happen to this child.

God is good on His promises, and to that we can hold true!

Authority!

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ” What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ” What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1:21-28, ESV)

You must respect my authoritah!

I can almost hear Jesus saying this as the scene unfolds.

Jesus is in the temple teaching and the man with the unclean spirit comes in and immediatly the unclean spirit picks a fight!

Jesus didn’t say anything until the spirit asked what He wanted with them.

But once the invitation is open, Jesus tells them to scram. And they must.

His authority is a true authority that all will obey.

Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess the authority of Jesus!

Are you Jesus?

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,… Romans 8:29

All of us are conformed to the image of Christ and fellow workers with Him in the mission field. We all have gifts given to us to use for the furthering of God’s mission.

But how often do we think of the other? Are we inconvenienced by the things that others do that get in our way? Are we inconvenienced by the things that others want/need from us that keep us from furthering our own agendas?

You see the thing is we are all conformed to the image of Christ. So have you ever been mistaken for Jesus?

I received this story a long time ago in an email, but when I re read it recently I thought it needed to be shared. So enjoy the story, and live so others see Christ in you!

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding…

ALL BUT ONE !!!

He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, ‘Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?’

She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, ‘I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.’

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, ‘Mister…….’ He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes.

She continued, ‘Are you Jesus?’

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: ‘Are you Jesus?’

Do people mistake you for Jesus? That’s our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day-to-day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

No Fear!

no fearGod is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46, ESV)

No Fear! We can live a life secure in the fact that God is with us and for us!

He is our very present help. Our refuge!

He will be with us and walk with us through every trial and mountian we encounter!

He will always be with us and because of that we can live without fear!

Live as you are called…

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. (1 Corinthians 7:17-24, ESV)

You do not need to do anything to prove you are a follower of Christ to anyone other than follow Christ!

People were saying that you had to be circumcised. So if you were a Greek you needed to be cut in order to be a follower of Christ.

But the circumcision that God worries about works for both male and female. It is a circumcision of the heart and is not seen physically by other people except in the light shining through you that points to Jesus.

So do not think you need to do anything to make other believe you follow Jesus other than follow where He leads you.

appointed…

He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mark 3:13-19, NRSV)

The 12 disciples. Or Apostles…

So Jesus appointed 12… Named here in Mark and 12 others in other gospels…

Which is interesting. We talk about the 12 disciples, but the list of names are different depending on where your list comes from. So how many disciples or apsotles were there?

Well given the actual meaning of the two words, there are as many as there are followers of Jesus.

You see disciple is learner and apostle is sent one.

All of us are sitting at the feet of Jesus learning and all of us are sent to show forth His love.

So go as a learner and one to tell of His love!

Do not fear…

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.” Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:4-10, NRSV)

Have you ever worried about what you are going to say?

I have all the time…

When I step up to proclaim the word of the Lord I am a nervous wreck! If I had to rely on my own understanding and powers I would not be able to do it.

But as the Lord said to Jeremiah, He says to each of us, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” You do not have to be afraid for I am with you and I knew you long before you were a twinkle in your mother’s eye…

Do not fear, for God is with you!

The plan…

So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.” He was stunned; he could not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before I die.” When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.” Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They also took their livestock and the goods that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. (Genesis 45:25-46:7, NRSV)

Israel, or Jacob, was not afraid to do what he knew needed to be done, because over his life God proved that He was with Him.

God told him to not fear, that Joseph would be the one to close his eyes after he died. That God was in control and He knew the plan.

Do you have that kind of relationship with God?

Do you know the plan He has for you?

What is keeping you from listening to Him right now?

Go

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and invoked the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb. (Genesis 12:1-9, NRSV)

Can you imagine being 75 and getting a call from God?

I want you to pack up your life and go to the land I will send you to. Pack up everything and go!

I can see the faces of the candidacy committee that would interview that person…

Really at this age? God is calling you to go?

But we have to remember that age does not matter to God.

God calls the person, every person into ministry with Him.

He has a plan for all of us, and that plan is the best life we could imagine, even better than the life we can imagine.

So be like Abram and follow God when He calls you to go, because it will be a wild ride and one you don’t want to miss.