Category: Uncategorized

The Provision of Jesus

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Uncategorized

Can the provision of Jesus meet my needs?  This is an important question today as we live in a world of uncertainty.  Many are fearful of the future with a poor economy, lack of jobs, loss of money, and the list could go on.  Do we need to be afraid?  Or can we trust in the provision of Jesus?  We get a helpful glimpse of an answer in Luke 9:10-17.

Jesus is preaching to a crowd of over 5000 in a desolate place.  Evening comes, and the crowds are hungry.  This is a big need.  It would take a lot to feed over 5000 people!  Have you ever had a big need in your life? Maybe you do now.

Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat.  They rightly recognize that they can’t – this situation is too big for them.  Ever been there – in a situation too big for you?  Maybe you are now.

The disciples manage to come up with five small loaves and two little fish, but that won’t even feed the disciples, let alone the multitudes.  They consider buying food, but where would they get so much food?  There are no Super Walmarts.  The surrounding towns are smaller than the crowd with Jesus.  Even if they could find the food, how would they pay for it?  Mark 6 gives us the figure of 200 denarii.  Each denarius is a day’s wage.  Estimate $100 a day and you get $20,000.  How many of us have that kind of cash on us?  None of the disciples did.  No place to buy food and no money to do it.  The situation seemed impossible.  Ever been there?  Maybe you are now.

But Jesus thanks God (literally blesses God) for the food, divides it up, and they all eat, are satisfied, and have 12 baskets of leftovers.  There was a great need beyond any of them, and Jesus provided for the need.  How has Jesus provided for your needs in the past.  Times when the need was so great you didn’t see how it could be met, but He did.  I can think of ways God has provided jobs in incredible ways for me.  I asked the congregation Sunday, and we heard a number of wonderful stories of God’s provision.  Don’t you think he can provide for your need today?

Of course Jesus provides in different ways for different people.  He might meet a need miraculously like he did in these verses.  Or he might use others to provide for our need as he did when he sent the disciples out in verses 1-6.  Often he provides a job for us to work that our needs might be met.  He makes our gardens grow that we might have food.  And on and on the list might go.  Sometimes he provides in totally unexpected ways.  We are waiting for provision in one way, and he provides in a completely different way.  We don’t understand why, but how he provides is up to him.

He also provides in various amounts.  He provided more than enough for the crowds in our passage.  In verses 1-6, he presumably provided just enough.  Verse 5 suggests there were times when they didn’t get any food, but God still provided enough to keep them going.  None of them starved.  Which reminds us that we could get by on much less than we think.  Paul tells us that if we have food and clothes, we should be content (I Timothy 6:8).  Most of us have much more than that!

Our greatest need, however, is not even food and clothes.  Our greatest need is God, a relationship with him, a home with him forever.  This too is provided to us by Jesus who died for our sins and rose again to give us a new life with God.  Should he choose to withhold food, clothing, or health, still in him we have our greatest need met.  The Psalmist reminds us of this in Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  One day it will come our time to die.  He will withhold our physical needs.  But he will provide something greater – a home with him.

With all this in mind, how should we face the future?  Do we need to be afraid?  Or is the provision of Jesus enough to meet our needs?  The answer is found in the feeding of the 5000.  The answer is found in our own past experiences.  He is more than able to meet our needs.  So let us:

  • Seek.  Seek his provision for our needs.  Let us pray as Jesus taught us to pray – “Give us this day our daily bread.”
  • Trust.  Trust the Lord to take care of us.  We need not be afraid.  God will give us what we need.
  • Be Content.  God may provide abundantly or just enough.  He might provide for us to come home to him.  Regardless of how he provides, let us be content.
  • Give Thanks.  God provides for us in measureless ways.  We always have reason to give thanks to God.

Finding Help In God

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

God must be trying to tell me something because my reading this morning again points toward relying on God.

Psalm 146 tells us not to trust in people, for in them there is no salvation.  It would seem to me that this includes ourselves.  Indeed Proverb 26:12 warns us about being wise in our own eyes.  When we think that our newest plan, idea, program, message, or whatever is hot stuff to change the world – we are being wise in our eyes.  We are full of ourselves and our own wisdom and cleverness.  The proverb goes on to say that there is more hope for a fool than one who is wise in his own eyes.  When I am impressed with myself, I am worse than a fool.  This is pretty strong considering the nine verses before all speak of the fool in in very negative terms.

Back to Psalm 146, instead of trusting in people we are called to trust in God.  “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (v5).  When we rely not on ourselves but on God, we are blessed.  And why should we rely on God?  Verse 6 continues the thought – because God is the maker of heaven and earth.  As the one who made everything, he can help us.  We should rely on him.

And how does he help us.  The Psalmist begins a list:

  • He keeps faith
  • He executes justice
  • He gives food
  • He sets free
  • He opens eyes
  • He lifts up
  • He loves
  • He watches over
  • He upholds

Of course this is only a partial list.  But the point is that God is the one we should rely on because he is the one who can truly help us.  May we be wise, stop trusting in ourselves, and look to him.

More Relying On God

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

A few more voices on our need to rely on God.

Mark Altrogge notes that we could be the greatest in our area of ministry, but without God all our “efforts would be useless.”

On a related note, Joshua Harris asks, “What are we leaning on?”  He also quotes Jerry Bridges on our need to know God that we might trust or rely on him.

Bless One Another

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

Heard Calvin Miller again last night.  With great stories he illustrated his main point to bless one another.  Praise someone when you see them doing a good job.  Thank people.  Encourage people.  Pray with people.  And do all of these things even when they oppose you – blessing one another draws us together.  Keep blessing people until it becomes so natural you don’t even realize you are doing it. 

Think about what our churches could become if we all lived this way!  Think of the witness to Christ if people thought of Christians and His church this way!  May we grow in compassion for people and so see the love of Christ formed within us.

Community of Redemption

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

Heard Calvin Miller speak last night.  He is a great storyteller, but one phrase stuck out to me – the church is to be a “community of redemption.”  I started thinking about that phrase:

Community – not just a collection of individuals but a community, a family, a group.  Think relationships.  Think loving one another, caring for one another, encouraging one another.  Compassion.  Community.

Of redemption – not just a social club or a holy huddle.  Rather a people who have been redeemed that go out to share that redemption with others in great need of it.  Again, there is compassion as we share that redemption with others.

May God help our churches (and may we do our part) to be communities of redemption.

Open Our Eyes

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

I read yesterday that a Christian musician I listened to a few years back is in a homosexual relationship.  What’s more, this person apparently finds this relationship in accordance with Christianity – despite the Bible’s clear statements against it.  Oh the deception of sin!  I find myself wondering if this person is simply trying to justify (excuse) their sin that they find desirable, or have they really come to believe that it is not sin – have they become blind to their sin.  I suppose it would be easy for many to judge this individual, but this entire thing brings two questions to my mind.

Are there sins that I enjoy and seek to justify or excuse?

Are there sins in my own life to which I am blind?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23-24

Disappointment at Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

It happens all the time.  People become disappointed in their church and leave.  Maybe they were offended by someone.  Maybe they didn’t feel like anyone cared.  Maybe an important crisis or milestone in their life was missed.  Any number of reasons can cause disappointment in church.

Yet the local church is the context God created for us to grow in our walk with the Lord.  We were saved individually to be part of a community – the body of Christ.  Leaving a church in most situations neither helps the person leaving or the church.  And those who walk away from church altogether do terrible harm to their walk with Christ.  Again, God did not save us to be lone ranger Christians – he saved us into the body of Christ.

How can the church address these disappointments?  What can pastors do?  What can the disappointed do?  Kevin DeYoung gives some great thoughts on this in a three part blog.  Part 1 is an introduction.  Part 2 is addressed to pastors.  Part 3 is addressed to the disappointed.  By reading and applying these ideas, our churches could become much stronger and more united.  May God grant this in each of our churches.

Living as a Body

On By BrianIn Uncategorized2 Comments

What would it look like for a local church to function as a body instead of as individuals?

I Corinthians 12 tells us that when we are saved we are all baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ.  As such, we are all members of the Body – with the local church being a local manifestation of the Body.  The metaphor clearly suggests that we are to be working together, functioning together.  We are not simply to be individuals who pop in on Sunday morning for a time of worship.  So again my question to you:

What would it look like for a local church to function as a body instead of as individuals?

Why I Love The Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized3 Comments

At the conference I attended last week (see last post), Ted Kluck gave several reasons why he loved the church.  Since I insisted in the last post that we must love the church, I thought I might make my own list of why I love the church.  Granted the church has its share of problems (it is made up of people like us!), but there are many reasons to love the church:

  1. Preaching of the Word – There is something wonderful about gathering together on a regular basis to focus on the Word of God.  And there is great value in having another person speak the Word to us.  Presumably this person has studied the passage and can bring out things we would have completely missed – both in interpretation and application.  In a sermon we hear the  Word proclaimed with the clear expectation of a response.  One thing I miss about being a pastor is not hearing the Word preached regularly every Sunday by someone else.
  2. Corporate Worship – There is something wonderful about gathering with the same people every week to worship God.  This is not something you can duplicate on your own, with a praise CD, or by hopping from church to church.
  3. Corporate Prayer – There is nothing like knowing you have a church family praying for you in difficult times.  Better yet is to have someone pray for you while you are gathered with your church family in prayer.
  4. Relationships – People who are often very different gather together in the name of Jesus.  Sure, this can create untold conflicts, but it can also enrich our lives in many ways.  And how much I have learned from older more experienced saints!
  5. Accountability – If I start to stray in life or doctrine, I know at least one person in my church will confront me.  I need this!
  6. Humility – The church reminds me that it is not about me.  How often things don’t happen as I may want them to happen, but that is okay, because it is not about me.  I may not always like this, but I do need this!
  7. Gospel – In the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and the singing of many hymns, I am regularly confronted with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Most of all, I need this!

These are just a few things I love about the church.  I’m sure we could add to this list.  What would you add?

Loving Christ and his Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I had the opportunity today to attend a pastors conference entitled “Don’t Stop Loving The Church” with Kevin DeYoung, Ted Kluck, and Mike Wittmer.  A few take home points:

DeYoung: Some folks want Jesus without the church, but if the church is built on Christ’s foundation, then without the church we have a basement without a house.  If the church is the body of Christ, then without the church we have a head without a body.  If the church is the bride of Christ, then without the church we have a wedding without the bride.

Of course all of these things are absurd (or disgusting), and in the same way so is trying to claim Christ without his church.  If we love Christ, we must love his church.

Wittmer: Some folks want to be part of the universal church but not a local church.  That’s like being married but never living together.  (Think about it.)

Also Wittmer: It is not enough to be Christ-centered.  We need to ask: who is the Christ we are centered on?

Indeed, a good question.  Is it the Jesus revealed in the Bible or a Jesus made up from our own imagination?  This question may have many applications, but on this topic consider that the Jesus of the Bible is passionate about his church (he loved her so much, he died for her – Ephesians 5).  If that is not our view of Jesus, then our view of Jesus is simply wrong.  Or if we hold that view of Jesus but still refuse to love his church, then to that extent we fail to love Jesus.  I will never believe you if you claim to love me but reject my wife.  It is no different if we claim to love Christ but reject his church.

Someone might say that church is full of problems (add your list here).  Granted, but Jesus still loved her and died for her, and he calls us to love with the same love he has.

Let’s drop the nonsense about embracing Jesus but rejecting his church.  If we really love Jesus, we will love his church too.