Mark 6:37 YOU DO IT!

In the Gospels Jesus' story is told but there are also sub themes weaved into the narrative. One of those is the training of the twelve, the Apostles. Jesus is teaching them to have faith. In Mark 6 five thousand people are hungry and the disciples ask Jesus to let them go and buy food. Jesus' response is "You give them something to eat." If you look back in Mark 6:13 that had driven out demons and anointed many people with oil to make them well. They were well aware of the power of God. In Mark 6:37 however, their response to Jesus directive "You give them something to eat" was, "That would take eight months wages." Seems they "forgot" about God's ability in them. How often we forget it is about God and not us.

"You do it" Jesus says, have faith in the Father. Jesus was not telling them THEY could do it. He was teaching them about trust in the One who can.

So we face all kinds of situations which seem insurmountable, impossible...and Jesus says "You give them something to it." And he is asking us to trust God. God can do it. Foree

ANSWER

I drive by Planned Parenthood often and see the Christians out their praying month after month - I have done it once - so I do not give it much thought UNTIL YESTERDAY. The DIRECTOR of Planned Parenthood sees a video of an abortion and begins to cry at her desk. She leaves the building drives to COALITION FOR LIFE and seeks refuge saying she should have never been involved in abortions...Amazing, all those people doing all that praying all those years and maybe getting discouraged...and then BANG...the heart of a person is touched and one more finds God in a hateful world...it will be great to see what happens next - watch O'Riley this week on FOX - it is supposed to be on....Blessings ...pray on!

Acts 17:27

This is the only passage I know of that tells us why God made the world and everything in it. The text says, "God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him though he is not far from each one of us." this little verse is packed with interesting items:
1) "Perhaps reach out for him" - the "perhaps" indicates that we do not have to. God is not forcing anyone to reach out to him even though he has built his image in us so that we have a natural inclination to spiritual things. We can ignore him if we want to. God has the power to make us reach out to him but then what does he have? He has those who reach out because they have to. No love, no desire just reaching out to God like an animal, by instinct. Not too satisfying huh? Kind of like telling your husband to tell you he loves you or having to tell him to wish you happy birthday.
2) "Find him" - as if he is hidden? I think the point here is that God is invisible and transcendent. He is not like a tree or a lake he is Spirit ( John 4:24) and "finding" him requires faith. In fact it is only by faith that we can find God. Hence the importance of scripture. God reveals himself there and in nature so that we will reach out AND "he is not far." He is findable.
So, how are we doing in seeking God?
3) Seeking God is left to us. That is our part in having relationship with him. We do not earn anything by seeking him and we cannot find him by being perfect since all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Seeking is our task and Jesus promised if we knocked he would open the door and if we would seek we would fine.

Happy hunting!
Foree

WONDERING

Recently we have been through a rather serious drought. We were told to only water two days a week - in some places they were told to stop watering altogether. Then, a few weeks ago in began to rain and rain it did. For several weeks in a row it rained every day and sometimes it rained "cats and dogs." At the present my sprinkler system is off and has been off for some time. So, for awhile we were dry and now we are wet.

In times like this I wonder what God has in mind. If I were God I would make things go along at an even keel. It would rain every once in awhile and then it would be dry so that things did not get too wet.

So, different times come and go. What is God doing? Maybe, nothing, he might just be letting take its course for a time. I wonder if the dry times make us pray and he waits to answer (like in the woman at midnight in the bible) to see if we will hang in there? Maybe in the long run it is good to be too dry and too wet form time to time? Maybe God mixes it up so that we will not get too secure? Maybe the dry times just make us more thankful? Maybe there is a lot about God we do not know and that is why we "walk by faith and not by sight?" (That is 2 Cor. 5:7 by the way).

I guess my job here is to trust God in all situations, at every turn realizing He does not change and is not effected by dry and wet....Perhaps my job is not to have all the answers but to trust the one who is really in control.....Foree

Grumbling

If someone asked me to make a list of sins I doubt I would include "grumbling." Maybe because I might be one? It is interesting what strikes us as unimportant. Probably we grumble along about one thing or another never really thinking about implications or even the effect it might have on others. Does not seem to be a really big thing to most of us most of the time, most likely. Then reading along in scripture you come to a passage like 1 Corinthians 10:10 and added to the list of Israel's sins (along with sexual immorality and idolatry) and there it is, "grumbling." One might even wonder why it is offensive to God. But then, it is. Given some thought it is obvious that the grumbling of Israel began the whole thing that led to the golden calf. Grumble a little, thoughts turn negative, grumble some more, thoughts crystallize, thinking changes and before you know it grumbling as developed into full grown dislike or even hate. Following that actions are changed and before long you are down on your knees praying to a calf or doing something you shouldn't and it all began with a grumble. "She sure isn't as pretty as she used to be." "He preaches to long." "Those songs sure were slow." ....grumble, grumble grumble....4E

RED LIGHTS

Saturday Dana, my wife, announced I had a letter from the City of College Station. I thought maybe they were going to name a street after me. However, it was ticket for running a red light. The cameras got me. It came as quite a surprise. I was having my normal Saturday doing lawn work, reloading amo, watching a little TV and just hanging around. Then the letter came. $75 dollars later I am reminded Big Brother is watching. So, the day of the Lord will come like a red light ticket. I wonder if we will be ready when the mail is delivered? Too late then to stop. Foree

RELATIONAL THEOLOGY

Relationship is the issue of scripture. Acts 17:27 tells us God made and ordered the world "so that men would seek out to him and find him..." That is our job and that reflects God's will. In the OT all the rules and procedures were not so that humanity could learn do do things just right but to form relationship with the Father (Matthew 23:23-26). Jesus tells us In Matthew 6:1-18 that "acts of righteousness" are between the Father and us, individually. As we reach out to the Father it is for the creation of spiritual connection with him. The acts we do only have meaning if that connection exists or is in process.

Relationship as foundational in the faith experience is reflected in the "greatest command" which is to love God and one another. Matthew 18:6 tells us that it cause another to sin is punishable by the millstone being tied around the neck while being cast into the sea (not much chance of reversal there!). In the same text we are told to cut off our hand if it destroys our relationship with God. Matthew 18:15 and 5:23-24 teach that relationship with each other has to precede any acts of righteousness before God.

Imagine brothers in Christ treating each other unkindly or dismissively due to disagreement. Imagine churches full of believers ignoring one another because they see things in the bible differently. Imagine fighting and arguing in a disagreeable fashion to the point that relationship is destroyed.

Jesus died for our sins. He died to establish our relationship to God. He died because he loves us. If we are worth that much to Jesus should we not be worth that to each other?

Relational theology is the theology of scripture. Relationship to God and each other (God being first) is more important that anything else. I wonder if relational theology would keep brothers closer to God and one another and perhaps stop the threats of division? Foree