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Matthew 9:18-26

Sometimes when Jesus preformed miracles, he tried to keep them a secret, but it’s hard to keep those kinds of things quiet.  People tend to talk.  Imagine if they’d had the internet back then!  We would have known every detail of every miracle the second they happened and there would have been video proof.

While there wasn’t a video of the miracles in today’s passage, it does end by saying “News of this spread through all that region (v. 26).”  The days of Jesus trying to quietly go about his business were long over.  Once news had spread, everyone was looking to get close to him.

The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years said to herself, “if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed” (v. 21) and she was.  How amazing it must have been to be there and witness Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead and driving out demons.  I’m guessing it would have been pretty easy to become a follower once you’d seen something like that.

So, I’m wondering if that’s one of the reasons why Jesus wanted to keep things quiet?  Was it because he knew how easy it would be to gain followers with miraculous acts and he didn’t want it to turn into a chaotic show? Was it because he knew faith is rooted in never seeing yet still believing?

Most of us will go our whole lives never witnessing miracles like the ones Jesus performed, but our lives are still filled with them.  We just have to know what to look for.  It may be an addict entering treatment for the third time or a job coming through after months of unemployment.  God is at work and like the synagogue leader’s daughter we want Him to take us by the hand and raise us from death to a new life with Him.

Calm Amidst Chaos: What is the Secret?

Mark 1:35-39

The 2017 iPhone App of the Year is called, simply enough, "Calm."  I discovered it on Instagram.  Their mission is simple yet profound:  "We're here to help you cultivate a regular meditation practice, sleep better and feel happier."

The Instagram posts are lovely: usually it's a sunset, or the ocean waves lapping the shoreline, or a beautiful flower.  These words scroll across the screen:  do nothing for 15 seconds.  And they even count the seconds down as you take in the spectacular sunset, the mesmerizing waves,  the gorgeous flower.

Please raise your hand if you don't need any 'calm' in your life.  No hands?  I didn't think so.  My workplace always has drama.  My family life is busy and yes, often stressful.  What about school?  Our political landscape?  'Calm' is hardly the word I would use to describe America in 2018, or probably anywhere else, 2018.

And "Calm" is the Facebook app of the year.  Certainly we all need more 'calm' in our lives!

What did Jesus do when he needed calm in his life?  Verse 35 tells us that "very early in the morning while it was still dark, he got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." His goal, contrary to "Calm's" mission, wasn't to sleep better and feel happier.  His goal was to serve His father.  He told his disciples when they finally tracked him down and told him that people were looking all over for him: "Let us go to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also.  That is why I have come. (v. 38)"  He had a mission, and he fulfilled it.  He grew in faith as he spent time with his Father.

Dear Bible Blast readers, I wish I could tell you that I, too, daily seek a solitary place and meet my Father for prayer.  I struggle mightily to incorporate daily prayer in my life.  My prayers are often fleeting and self-centered, and I rarely linger at the throne long enough to hear God's still, small voice. It's much easier to click on the 'calm' Instagram photo, enjoy 15 seconds of nature, and return to my busy life, hoping that God will bless me.

The Christian life doesn't work that way.  True peace, and yes, calmness, only comes when we invest time getting to know the Lord of the universe.

Lord, help me take time to seek a solitary place and spend time in prayer.  Thank you that you forgive me when I fall short, which is often.  Help me to seek your face and know how much you love me and have a future and a hope waiting for me. Grant me calmness that only comes from you. In Jesus name, Amen.  

The King is Revealed - Shh!

Reading: Matthew 17: 1-9

 

How are you at keeping a secret? Today we join the disciples as they become privy to an extraordinary truth which they were to hold top secret at Jesus’ command.

Just days before the incident in Matthew 17, Jesus was walking with His disciples and asking them who people were saying He [Jesus] was. They offered various thoughts:  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Then He asked, “But who do you say I am?”  “You are the Messiah, the Son of God,” Peter answered…and Jesus warned them strongly not to tell anyone who He was.

Later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain, where they were joined by the Old Testament saints Moses and Elijah.  Then an amazing thing happened (as if seeing these two men wasn’t amazing enough!) – God the Father revealed to them what Peter had professed a week earlier, Jesus was, God’s “beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

Wow, what great news – everyone should know this!

Again Jesus told them to keep secret what they had seen.  What? Are you kidding?  This is such good news – the word needs to be spread, doesn’t it?  Why would Jesus put the brakes on the disciples’ enthusiasm?  Two words we perhaps don’t like to hear, “God’s timing” seem to be at the heart of it.  He told them to wait until He had risen from the dead, until they had received His Spirit (Acts 1:8).  When the Spirit came, bringing power to them, now was the time to go and tell – once they were equipped.  

They needed to wait on God before stepping out to proclaim Jesus to the whole world.

Through them, we, who have come after the Apostles, see the King revealed; And today, through us, others see Him as their King.  Through us, God “manifests the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place (2 Cor 2:14).”  He equips His saints in every generation to manifest His Messiah, His King.  Without His power, we are inadequate for the task. Praise God, our adequacy is from Him (2 Cor 3:5)!

 

Father, thank you that you plainly revealed Your Son to the world through your word and your people. We pray that this Lenten season many more may see Jesus as Their Messiah, their King. Amen

The Secret Reward

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6: 1-7

“Mommy, watch me skip rope,” little Joanie begs, “I’m really good at it.”

 

“Will you be able to come to the game tonight and watch me pitch?” Tony asks his friends, hopefully.

 

We all love to be at the center of attention, don’t we?  To be noticed by others for doing something special?  It’s in our nature.  We need accolades, and we turn often to our fellow humans to get them.

But Jesus, in today’s scripture from the Sermon on the Mount, is calling his disciples to give up their natural human desire for center stage, as He points out the spiritual hypocrites’ motivation for making sure their religious behavior is observed:

·         They practiced their righteousness before men to be noticed by them

·         They sounded a trumpet when giving alms to be honored by men

·         They prayed standing in synagogues and on street corners to be seen by men

Jesus is teaching His disciples, then and now, that man’s accolades are fleeting, the applause, short-lived.

Stand before the Lord in private – your audience of One who sees you, notices you, honors you – will repay you in secret.  And His reward is long-lasting…ever-lasting, in fact.

“Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master (Matthew 25:21).”  Could there be any better reward than seeing the joy on our Father’s face?

 

Prayer:  Thank you, Father, that we know the joy of your reward in the privacy of our heart – and that it is more than enough. Amen.