To encourage and edify, impart love and hope, and steer others to Him and His purposes for us is imperative if we are to build His body and care for one another as believers. Believe it that He is alive and well - the Alpha and Omega - never changing, and currently working at this moment. Sitting on the edge of your seat to see what He is going to do next working. Following Him is an adventure working. Can't wait to see what the next moment brings working :-)
Along the way He leads us with light - and sometimes breadcrumbs. So our prayer should be that our father will teach us to truly care for one another looking for the breadcrumbs of an opportunity to show love and leverage what we know to impact their life for eternity. To listen for the guidance of His sweet voice moment by moment on the edge of our seat keeping the mission of Jesus in the front of our conscious thoughts. To come to church not expecting a miracle, but with the expectation that He can do anything! He hasn’t changed and is still the miracle working God He always was and always will be. Nothing is impossible for God – from personal experience we know this is true. This is the love the world will recognize - our love for one another sets us apart and identifies us as one of His own.
That is a God size work.
Faith. Five letters that mean so much to so many. The Bible mentions faith - Abraham's was counted for righteousness, Noah spent 120 years demonstrating his faith and preserved humanity, the list goes on. It is said that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Jesus said that without faith like a little child one will not see Heaven. Wow, means so much to Jesus that he taught it!
But all the biblical descriptions and definitions only go so far to describe something so utterly simple it appears elusive to one hardened and trying to survive the constant barrage of the world trying to tear us down and apart.
The hope and purpose of His calling for us is taking steps toward a rising up of deeper faith within His body that will draw others into His light. As this life goes by it is more and more clear that obedience is joyful and with hope comes joy to you.
Posed to you a simple question: what is the substance of your faith? No scriptures, politically correct, or Sunday morning answers. With prayer open your heart with the fullness of transparency and really express what makes you continue to trust and follow Jesus. Ask Him to show you a mirror. Write it down. Make it a part of your conscious thoughts. Add to it. Share it. Get out there and proclaim the miracles He has brought to your life.
This may seem a bit out of the ordinary, but He hardly ever does things the way we expect. What we do know and expect is that He does not change nor does His plan which includes us doing our part to bring others into His marvelous light!
The motivation and intention here is to encourage in faith and lead you and others to a deeper relationship with Him. Besides – I’ve learned to be obedient...it is pleasure to reach out. I don’t need to know why I’m writing this...doesn’t matter. What does is the message and that the hope contained within it reaches you.
What is the substance of your faith. A very difficult question indeed. My prayer was that you ponder on it, think about it, wonder about it. The word substance refers to something that is tangible, real, solid… When something has substance it has definition, purpose, reality. So how in the blazes do you make spiritual things tangible – can’t see it, touch it, smell it…can’t manipulate it, move it, or cause any change in it… No-one can see air, but we can manipulate it. If it is not tangible how can you possibly persuade someone else that it is real?
How can you convince yourself that it is real? The concept just does not compute.
The answer lies in experience. Either personal or perhaps from another. Hey – don’t touch that it is hot! I just slipped right there. Eyewitness accounts. Touch it yourself – fall on your butt. Jesus saved my life! You get the idea. By their testimony… On many occasions multitudes have had changed lives from a testimony. Ripples on a pond.
We are just watches that are loved by our creator more than we can comprehend. Challenge yourself to evaluate your faith. Then take your experience and share it to convince others that faith is a tangible thing. It has substance. It is real. Remain faithful to the task. Press on with endurance. Make a difference. Polish some gears. Shine some light. Not cliches.
May the Lord bless and keep you, shine His Light upon you, and lead you in the way of righteousness.
True faith is so utterly simple it appears elusive. So simple...
The Watchmaker
There lives a Craftsman of the most beautiful and wonderfully made watches that has extraordinary talent. The works He creates are meticulously and oh so carefully fabricated with great care and foresight. Each of these have been carefully thought out so that not only are they somewhat self sustaining, but each slightly different to fit together combined into a magnificent clock making Big Ben seem as a cracked and broken failure.
These watches are individually designed to be unique and perplexedly intricate - none exactly the same and all with designed imperfections. The design also integrates small mechanisms which require connections in order to wear in not only the individual watch, but the watches it connects with. The connections take place through portals which as a somewhat self sustaining watch it can open or close these portals at will. The overall parameters and rules demand that each watch must decide if any or all portals are open or closed.
The craftsman’s well thought out design makes the watches by themselves just a bit unbalanced with internal frictions and rough edges around the gears intending to not only be worn smooth with connections to other watches, but when properly connected will help balance and wear in other watches as the desired result is the masterpiece of the finished work where all the watches fit together and function perfectly balanced and broken in like a favorite pair of shoes. Some of these conflicts in the watches manifest as seeming defects in either the function or appearance of the watch, but the master craftsman has a big picture and as each watch must function connected together as a whole these imperfections are intended for the end result of magnificence. As such, the seeming defects - although some internal and made to be worn in as the watch runs – are made to balance, complete, wear smooth, and nestle in connection to other watches that have portals open, functioning where the craftsman carefully places them. Without the hand of the Master’s guidance these watches unsuccessfully attempt to perfect themselves by incorrectly connecting to others wearing in and polishing the wrong places for the end result of the collaborative work.
The Master knows that the internal conflicts within each of the individual watches require constant tinkering and the most precious portal of all is the one in which He can tinker. When the somewhat self sustaining watch recognizes that it is a created part of a collective and maintains that portal open, the Master not only can reach in with great care and adjust the functionality, but can guide the watch into making all the intended connections as He continues to His goal of the finished masterpiece.
Most watches have one very special portal in which they connect and integrate closely with much of their mechanisms combining with one other watch into a module which has the ability to sustain, balance, and wear in each other completely mated together as one, but also to become a just a bit larger part of the puzzle. The Master intends for there to be an intimate meshing together and if both watches keep the portal open, He can do His work connecting the pieces together and the result is a smooth working and balanced module that has the ability to make even more intentional connections with the deliberate goal of the Master’s plan of binding the modules into larger and larger segments until they form the beautiful masterpiece.
As the Master has designed the watches with the ability to lock Him out, He knows that there will be many that will and without His tinkering will eventually break, so He places very special watches in the midst of these segments. He has carefully made these particular watches so that when they have been worn down by the surrounding brokenness they will fit perfectly into the masterpiece and carefully takes them from the perfecting and places them where the smooth and polished gears can smooth and polish other watches exactly where they need it.
The Craftsman never tires of creating new watches and has a deep love for His creations. Although they are always needing adjustments and guidance, His commitment to the project causes Him to tinker with His creation without ceasing and as the Master has need for balance and order that requires that each watch perform the function it has been designed for.
When the watches close the main portal to the Master the result is that they are not guided to the correct connections and wear incorrectly as to not fit into the overall masterpiece of the grand clock. He places much time and effort into each and will never stop trying to mend it into a part of the puzzle He can use. The special watches carefully placed to be surrounded by these groups are designed to make every effort to help balance and polish the watches around them by demonstrating the smooth mechanism the Master has tinkered into a bright light guiding them out of darkness and chaos, but if their portal for tinkering remains closed they wear in the wrong places for the end result of not meshing perfectly in their final location rendering them unusable as an apple tree that has grown under great duress and inhospitable conditions that bears no fruit - the Master demands perfection. The special watch has not failed, but instead has become a bright polished jewel that has deep luster and shines like His Son.
As the brilliance of the Master’s tinkering hand shines through this watch it is known by the deepness in which it reaches out to the broken watches, making the connections that transfer the glow of the Master’s careful and perfect handiwork and drive away the darkness to all those around it with a bright, enduring, unquenchable light. As this infectious glow spreads from one to another the darkness begins to flee, the shadows and rough edges deep within are coaxed into a union with the master where perfection will be achieved and only the light remains.
The Master is patient and gentle. He designed your imperfections and uses them to spur you and others into faith and toward the glorious one who in Him is no darkness at all - as iron sharpens iron. He also knows your internal turmoils – all of them. Open your portal and allow Him to tinker and smooth out the rough edges. Be still and listen for His voice. Let Him guide you into the connections that will certainly be sandpaper to your gears – for His light to shine through you takes polishing. Recognize that you are really His, follow Him with all your heart, and put away your worn out sandpaper for a future integrated perfectly into His grand plan bound with perfect harmony, functioning as a body of connected believers performing their role with unity, shining light to the world.
