I prayed about what I thought to be a prompting to help a sister who had just been in the hospital. Preparing in my mind to do works of kindness, I heard the voice of the Spirit say, “I’m not sending you.” My first thought was: ‘Surely this cannot be the Lord speaking.’ After all, scripture reads that we should “…respond when we see a brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it.” [I John 3:17 Message]

The soul can quickly argue with the Lord when His will crosses ours ~ or when we use a single scripture to explain our plan. My argument was my own concept of what love is. Surely, I thought, love would be to [1] take a meal; or [2] clean her house; or [3] babysit her children … something that would lift her load. After all, isn’t this what we have always and should have done?

A deeper lesson was to be learned. I heard His reply: “I’ll tell you what love is: Love is being led by My Spirit. I know what I am doing.” 

Arrested by His words, I pondered this truth. While still wrestling with what I had known to be my own concept of love ~ to be honest…stripping my soul’s gears ~ my mind was confused. Then my phone began to ring; others were hearing the same thing: “I’m not sending you.” They too were struggling with their personal concepts of love.

The friend who’d been hospitalized was also wondering where everyone was ~ no doubt having great needs. God was doing a far deeper work ~ sending her husband home to help her and the children rather than indulging in his extra-curricular activities. While he had presumed on others to take his responsibilities, he was on the playing field.

Had we insisted upon our own concepts of love, we would have hindered the greater work of the Lord. A wise brother once said, “If God has someone on the back burner, heated and stewing, don’t take the pot off the stove. The work is not done yet. You might be hindering His work.”

I’m all for helping someone in need; mistakenly too quick to do so. How much quicker though do I need to listen to the voice of the Spirit. I know what it’s like to be the one in need of the assistance of others and wondering where they are. I know what it’s like to receive great pleasure in helping another, especially when it’s God’s perfect timing. But the greater joy is knowing that I’ve heard from the Spirit of God and have gotten out of His way. Only He can lead us in such a way as to bear the best and lasting fruit.

“The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what He does for us, not by what we are and what we do for Him.” [Romans 12:3 Message]

The approval of man … how deliciously tempting for all of us ~ none exempt. Since we all want and need acceptance, the pit of man’s approval is the nearest and most enticing falter. Self-promotion, family pride, veneered appearances, seeing ourselves more highly than we ought, are tendrils that lure our affections.

Paul admitted to being tested thoroughly “to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message.” [I Thessalonians 2:1 Message] He convinced the church at Thessalonica that he and those who traveled with him were not seeking crowd approval ~ only God approval.

“Since we’ve been put through the battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.” [2:4-5]

There’s only one applause worthy of our attention: that of our Lord’s. Though man may stand in large numbers and wave hands of honor, and clap uproariously for an act of service or achievement we’ve done, in the final analysis, it’s worth nothing if it doesn’t meet God’s ‘building material’ standards.

“Wood, hay, or stubble,” Jesus called it. “Remember, there’s only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection…the inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing…No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred–and you, remember, are the temple.” [I Corinthians 3:14-15 Message]

Our environment stirs, charges, and over-stimulates our senses. We’re overloaded with noise and the tyranny of the urgent! ‘First things first,’ we say. Off we go into our worlds which demand our attention ~ or at least, we think they do.

The question is: To what do we give our attention? In prioritizing, we are prone to mentally list the things that seem the most urgent, the most important, the most demanding. Being a list-maker, I know all too well how easy it is to check off what I feel is most pressing, and leave off that which I deeply need ~ time with Him!

Quiet, meditative time … time without music … yes, even my favorite Christian music. Stillness and quietness with Him. Where He prioritizes my life for me.

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision–you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. [Philippians 3:17-19 Message]

Many pointless things draw our attention away from ‘the goal’ Paul speaks of.  A number of things drain our energies and re-direct our focus to that which is of the world rather than the Kingdom of God. Caught in that spiral, our spiritual senses become dulled to the point that we can no longer discern that which is of the Lord and that which is just empty, meaningless fluff.

Paul continues: “But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like His own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which He is putting everything as it should be, under and around Him.” [3:20-21]

‘First things [Kingdom] first’…then all these things [my re-prioritized list] shall be done unto me.

Jesus never tolerated ‘church as usual.’ In fact, at times He did what some of us would call outrageous. “He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: ‘My house was designated a house of prayer; you have made it a hangout for thieves.'” [Matthew 21:12-13 Message]

As a pastor, I have to ask myself: What would Jesus change if He walked into our church service? What would please Him or what would displease Him? No, we aren’t setting up tables to buy and sell. But, would He consider that we were fulfilling His desires as a house of prayer? Maybe we think we are…but would He consider it so?

The next line in Matthew 21:14 reads: “Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and He healed them.” ‘Now’ implies that something has changed from its previous condition.

Jesus had [and still does have] a way of disturbing what man considers ‘a church service.’ At the inception of our church, just weeks into meeting together, He stunned me with this question: “May I interrupt this program to have church?” My thoughts came under arrest! My soul grieved that we were missing it ~ missing His presence and His pleasure. Since that outrageous question, I’ve purposed in my heart to listen carefully to what He desires…though I’m sure I’ve missed it more than once.

Matthew’s account reveals His purpose. Jesus stripped the Temple of everything that did not fulfill His Father’s purpose and made room “for the blind and crippled to get in.”

What followed was …”they came to Jesus and He healed them.”

No doubt we must invite Him to interrupt our ‘programs’ in order that church services allow His purpose. Healing will flow.

I often try to recall something the Spirit of God has shown me, yet the full recall is dulled. I tried to unlock the mental file of something He told me just a few weeks ago, yet it was gone. After checking my journal, I found where I’d written a few notes. Oh, how dull can my ‘hearing ears’ be and how easily can I neglect something my Lord has said ~ maybe not with intentional resistance, but crowded out by the busyness of life.

Jesus taught in parables for the purpose of insight. The disciples had difficulty seeing and hearing His teachings, but parables opened their reception.

He spoke of those Isaiah had prophesied about, whose ears were open but could not hear a thing. He said their eyes were awake but did not see a thing. He went on to say: “They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; they screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with Me face-to-face and let Me heal them.” [Matthew 13:14-15 Message]

On the other hand, Jesus said to His disciples: “But you have God-blessed eyes–eyes that see! And God-blessed ears–ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.” [13:16-17]

Meditating on His words to me ~ chewing them, recalling them, chewing on them again ~ then heeding what He says to me will happen when my G0d-blessed eyes and ears are open.

I want to see. I want to hear. Speak, Lord, in parables … or in whatever way it takes to get through to me!

‘Love’ is a word thrown around among our varied affections. We love coffee. We love our pet. We love God. We love our children. We love a pretty sunset. We love chocolate. Though we haphazardly use the word ‘love,’ how easy it is for us to miss its true meaning. Compare what’s on our lips in conversation to the love Paul is describing:

“The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love — love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven’t the remotest idea of what they’re holding forth with such imposing eloquence.” [I Timothy 1:5-7 Message]        Ouch!

Nothing crosses our wills like releasing agape love ~ that which costs us dearly…severely…unselfishly…and oh-so-painfully. The Spirit’s expression of true love digs deep into the soul and begs for more than we can humanly offer. It plummets deep into the transformed soul that houses the Divine and calls it up in the midst of darkness all around. It’s God’s finest moment, though it’s our most soul-wrenching.

Jesus said to “take up your cross daily.” A continuing crucifixion of our selfishness…and, as predicted, at those very moments when we want to close off from the world and self-protect.

Paul wrote: “Stay right there on top of things so that the teaching stays on track. Apparently some people have been introducing fantasy stories and fanciful family trees that digress into silliness instead of pulling the people back into the center, deepening faith and obedience.” [1:4]

Was he looking into our windows over these past several days as we gathered as family and friends? Did the Spirit of God find authentic, self-less love? Lord, can we have a do-over, please?

Oswald Chambers wrote: “If human love does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.”

Love isn’t true when one is wrapped up in themselves ~ or in their circumstances. Love takes one beyond themselves … and into the presence of the Lord. “Martha, dear Martha, you are fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential and Mary has chosen it–it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.” [Luke 10:41-42]

I love that He said, “Martha, dear Martha…” He loves us Marthas too.

While preparing a meal for guests recently, I was “perfecting” [ha!] the details of the menu.  Being “sensible and calculating” over the timing and the readiness of the meal: Entree baking; check! Roasted veggies sliced, oiled, seasoned, and baking; check! Sweet potato casserole ready for the oven when it’s free; check! Then it came to me…

What about the spirit of the home? I was Martha-prepared to welcome my guests into my home. But I was not Mary-ready.         I was being pulled away by all I had to do in the kitchen and was neglecting the main course.

Hubby had been away from the house almost all day. I was about to exclaim ‘Martha words’…”Don’t you care that my sister [Mary] has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand!” Then the Spirit of God spoke.

“Martha had a sister named Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word He said.” [10:39]

It was time to prepare for the Main Course! He came.

The Apostle Paul urges us, in Ephesians 4:1-6, to “…Get out there and walk–better yet, run!–on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere.” [Ephesians 4:1-2 Message]

There’s a common thread running through Paul’s writings to the church at Ephesus and that is oneness. He adds: “And mark that you do this with humility and discipline–not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.” [vs. 3]

Staying together, guarding oneness in our hearts as well as in our actions, is his urgency. [vs. 4] That takes humility and discipline; because we all, like sheep, are prone to wander, every one to his own way.

Our Lord’s purpose is to join us as one. There is nothing disjointed about Him. Thus, there is no cause for the Body of Christ to be disjointed, divided, at odds, splintered into factions, nor unforgiving. In Him, we live and move and have our being — in oneness — joined as one Body to the Head, Jesus Christ.

Detours may be momentary. Wrong paths may be chosen. Yet, while traveling those ‘off’ roads, we are subject to confusion, despair, loneliness, and are open to dark influences.

Paul exhorts the church at Ephesus, while he is physically unable to do so. “While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there … on the road God called you to travel.” [vs. 1]

Even at that time, Paul knew the time was short, and souls needed to be won and discipled for Christ. Even more so, now.

Reflecting upon his boyhood, our friend remembered the train set that he and his father built one Christmas. Hours were spent leaning over the tracks and village they built together. A boy’s dream. Special memories were formed that would last a lifetime.

The notion came…why not share this memory with his three grandsons!! So off he went to the store, investing a significant amount of money in supplies to build the train village. All new pieces were purchased: train, tracks, and village pieces. Excitement was mounting as he called his son and asked for the three grandsons to spend the day. The boys had no idea about the surprise.

Sadly, not all memories are appreciated. The three boys could not believe they were being confined to the house .. “To do what??? How boring!!” Off they went outside to play. Granddad’s spirits fell! He spent the remainder of the day inside, all by himself, building his train village.

Time passed and a daughter was born to our friend. At two months of age, having a fitful night, she was unable to sleep or be comforted. Tired mom handed over baby daughter to our friend, and he took her into the room where the train village was displayed. He positioned her on his belly, facing forward, so she could see the lights and the movement of the train.

She quietened down and her little head turned left, then right, as she followed the train down the track. Round it went, bringing joy to her dad. It was then that our friend realized that his little daughter had restored to him the joy of Christmas.

Eight years later, this is one of their favorite joys of Christmas. Our friend says that she carefully checks to make certain there are no displacements nor obstacles in the way of the train’s pathway. She loves her time with her dad, while keeping watch over the village.

Sweet memories are made of such things as this when we allow God to design them. Our Redeemer makes something rich and wonderful out of something otherwise disheartening.

“I know my Redeemer lives.” [Job 19:25]

Countless times she said to me, “My dear…,” and I admit that I braced myself. Truth was getting ready to hit me in the face! More than a few times, after a teaching she would say to me, “My dear, you must first ‘flesh it out.'” It took years of walking with the Lord before I understood what ‘fleshing it out’ meant.

While in jail, Paul wrote a letter to Philemon about a man named Onesimus, to whom he’d become a spiritual father. Obvious change had taken place in this spiritual son’s life. “He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so.” [Philemon 10-12 The Message]

Paul came to value the relationship with Onesimus ~ one he called a “comrade-in-arms.” [17] He continued…”You lost him for a while. You’re getting him back now for good–and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother!” Paul took responsibility for anything that Onesimus had done to cause damage or to whom he owed a debt. He validated him, and said to Philemon that his accepting Onesimus “will do my heart good.” [18-20]

Father sees us through the eyes of love and redemption. Spiritual fathers and mothers accept their proteges as no less than their very own children. While parenting, mentoring, teaching/training [whichever term we use], no doubt truth must be served…that is, biblical truth that alters the soul.

Onesimus, probably a captive audience to the Apostle, hand delivered Paul’s letter to Philemon. The signature proof would come as Onesimus lived his life out in his walk and his talk every hour of the day. We ‘flesh out’ the Word of God the same way. Our renewed souls are living epistles, written by the hand of God ~ oftentimes delivered through spiritual parents who halt us in our tracks with opening words something like: “My dear!”