Free Food!!

With one out of every seven people in this country receiving food stamps as well as hundreds of food banks and churches who give away food for those who show up to take home a sack…..this story seems to fit into life today.  And yet nothing can compare with this “free food”!

Jesus had been teaching his disciples, preparing them for service. He was their rabbi and teacher.  According to tradition the disciples would follow their rabbi for a period of three years, leaving families and work and devoting time to study with him.

One occasion when the Lord and his disciples needed a time of rest they took a boat to Lake Galilee.   But the crowds heard about their trip and followed on shore. (See Matthew 9; John 6; Mark 6).  Jesus had been healing and teaching and the crowds wanted more.

I often wonder if they followed Him for the show, to hear His teaching or see miracles of healing….probably all the above.  In any case the Lord loved this motley group of people.  He did heal them; he preached to them of the kingdom and spoke as no man had spoken before.  He spoke with authority.  He healed with compassion.  He loved them as only God could love. And what a show they were about to see!!!

So this great crowd of 5000 men….not to mention the wives and kids had followed Him.

It was late in the day.  Everyone was tired and hungry.  The disciples told the Lord to send the people home or go to the local 7/11 and buy food.

Did they have any food among them?  Well, there are five loaves of bread and a couple of salted fish…that won’t handle this crowd.

Fortunately, the disciples had obtained their “food handler’s” license and the fish were declared free of antibiotics and not farm raised. There was a warning label as to the sodium content but after having spent hours in the sun a little salt would benefit these people.  There were no additives in the bread and although it contained saturated fat a small slice would pass.  The calories consumed were within guidelines of the hungry multitudes.

He gave the traditional Hebrew blessing and those fish and loaves multiplied enough to feed that crowd, plus they had extra baskets left over.  What a miracle!

Why didn’t this crowd prepare for themselves?  Couldn’t they have brought their own bread and fish? How does this story apply to us?

I often think how we too don’t prepare for the “end of the day”.   Here we see God’s love and care for his people, but there is warning also.  There will be a time when the fish and bread might run out.

The “end of the day” might be fast approaching.

Prepare now……..the Lord’s return might be closer than you think!!

Think loaves and fishes……….then prepare.

                              Giants Are Real.

Don’t you remember the story of Jack and the Beanstalk?  Jack was the winner.  He took the gold, the goose and then cut the beanstalk, which killed the giant.  David, also killed the giant, Goliath. David confronted him, in the strength of God, and gave that Giant a permanent headache.  What bravery!

There are several references to Giants in the Hebrew Scriptures.  They were a people to be feared.  Their size sent chills down the spines of God’s people.

“There we saw the Giants (the descendants of Anak came from the Giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33).  God’s chosen people were told to possess the land but how could they possibly defeat those huge warriors?

We still have Giants, of course…..fears, frustrations, and hopelessness that come constantly to confront us and our faith…..obstacles that seem too big to move. We even inject every day small problems with emotional steroids that make them into Giants!! I know, because I do.

Overcoming our Giants requires that we continually stay in contact with the “Giant killer”.    Our Heavenly father gives us the strength to confront these Giants just as He gave courage to those early warriors.

Yes, we too, are warriors of a sort.

 Paul in his letter to the Ephesians 6: 11 ^“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. “

We need God’s armor.  My own isn’t sufficient for defending myself.  Staying in contact with my “commander in chief” gives me the power I need as a Giant killer.

(Insert your name here)_______________Slayer of Giants.

                        Wonder Bread.

Have you ever thought why bread is mentioned so often in scripture?  What brought this to mind was  my last trip to the market……there were at least forty types of bread or bread products……maybe more if you count the donuts!

 As I remember the first bread  mentioned in scripture was the unleavened bread used in the first Passover in the book of  Exodus…The people were told to make their bread in haste without leaven, because they had to leave quickly before the bread would rise and then  baked.

 Then the manna that God sent to the desert wandering Hebrews after they left Egypt.  It is called the” bread of heaven” so I guess it must have been a type of bread which was wonderfully designed to provide complete nourishment.

On a table in the Tabernacle there were twelve loaves of bread which were to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.  David and his men when on the run from King Saul, and entered the tabernacle and ate that bread.  Apparently, God forgave him.  Hunger and survival were more important than those twelve special loaves of bread.

 Our Lord himself, said. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48) or again…..in His special prayer “Give us this day our daily bread.”  (Matthew 6:11).

As in most Jewish writings, there are layers of meaning in everything.  Bread can mean sustenance, assurance of life, and food for our souls.

The Book of Leviticus contains no fewer than fourteen mentions of bread.. Yet the theme of bread in this context seems to have more to do with developing and maintaining closeness to God; first by means of purity (Leviticus 21 & 22), then festivals (Leviticus 23), and finally by rule of law  or the Torah (Leviticus 24).

 And yet another meaning might be that bread is associated with wealth or work ethic.

 He who works his land will have enough bread…(Proverbs 12:11)

In Scripture “bread” can mean money just as it does in colloquial slang: “Got any bread?” “Can you lend me some dough?”  or “what field are you in?”

Again and again in the Bible, the word bread plugs us into reality. Bread reminds us to keep our feet on the ground.  We are grounded on our faith, we are supplied spiritual bread for our souls, physical bread for our bodies and we are told to work for our bread.

            Yes, it’s Wonder (ful) Bread

                             Thievery….Do We Steal?

“Thou Shalt Not Steal.”  Genesis 20:15…….  That’s it??

 God didn’t elaborate on just what He meant.  No wonder the rabbis spend a lifetime contemplating this command.  Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?   Why, we know what it means…… don’t take something that doesn’t belong to us!!

I certainly haven’t spent my lifetime trying to figure this out.  But I do know this……there is more to this command than we read in those four words.

Thievery does involve our usual concept of stealing something from others.  But what else?

Think about this: Stealing is not limited to taking a tangible object.  It could be the theft of time, energy or attention that rightfully belongs to someone else……perhaps our family or husbands.

 It’s easy to steal from God when it comes to times invested in His work or activities.  We rarely give time to God or even think about Him during our busy day.  This is a type of stealing…..taking away from Him what rightfully belongs to Him. This is our time and devotion.  Don’t count your church attendance in this.  That’s easy because it is a matter of habit.

Giving sacrificially, doesn’t always mean money either.  What about taking time from something we would rather do and simply spending more time with God….perhaps giving up your favorite TV show. Or like me…..shopping on the internet!

Of course we must care for our family, our friends, and even ourselves. This is all part of our work as Christians.  We show our love to God by how we care for others.

          Now it’s up to us.  We can be reformed thieves!!

                                      The Bone Box.

The ossuary or bone box was a type of burial box used during the 1^st centuries in Israel and other societies of that era.  About seven years ago a particular ossuary turn up in an antiquities shop in downtown Jerusalem.  What made this box special were the names carved on the front of the box……James, son of Joseph brother of Jesus.  Not sure of its authenticity,  the dealer called in several authorities on early Hebrew script as well as other various experts in carbon dating and those who could date the  patina or dust from the grooves of the box.

In antiquity, after death, the body was laid out  in the family burial tomb.  After several months of decomposition, the bones were removed and placed in this burial box and returned to the tomb.  So this particular James was so well loved and honored that some thought he needed his own bone box.  Only the wealthier could afford this type of box although it could also be used to honor special people.  Perhaps this was the case for this ossuary.

Most experts agreed……..this was an original 1^st century bone box and the carving on the box was original as well.   The names were not carved into the box at a later date…..in other words this was not a forgery.  Many well done forgeries have been bought and sold passing them off as originals.  Herein lays the controversy.

This ossuary was declared to be a forgery by the Israel Antiquities Committee.  Three men who studied the box declared that the writing on the box was not from the 1^st century but was carved during a later date.

Why is all this important?  Why are we concerned about this particular ossuary?  Well, for one thing it might be a link to James, the brother of Jesus. It could be ossuary of James himself. He certainly lived in Jerusalem during the days after the crucifixion.   We read that he headed up the council of Jewish elders who discussed admitting Gentiles into the community of believers.  Read Acts 15 for clarification.

This gives us fuel to fan the flames of our faith.  We can believe that the words of Acts are verified in having this become  “our” James.  Of course this can never be proved.  Undoubtedly there were many men named James, men named Joseph, and men named Jesus or Jeshua.  But the ratio of the three being related becomes narrow when the statisticians do their work on the actual size of the city during the 1^st century.

Now after seven years of discussions, heated arguments and testimony by experts, the box has been declared to be the real thing.  It is not a forgery. The box and its carving were done in the 1^st century. (for more information check the internet)

This doesn’t affect our faith but simply affirms what we have known all along.  The words of Scripture are true.  They are God inspired.  They are words that can guide our life.

          The bone box helps…..

The Power of Purpose.

Life should be about Purpose (notice I use a capital P).  We all have goals in life…..  whether it is acquisition of money in the bank, acquiring a new skill, or perhaps even getting ourselves “right” with God.

When we purpose……with sincerity and honesty…. we seek to find God’s will for our lives.  He opens some doors and closes others.   We should be open to finding a purpose based on what we know the Lord requires of His disciples.

He doesn’t wake me up at night with a message about my purpose.  Wish He did.   Things might be easier that way.  He lets me muddle through at times and finally, with a little push I find my purpose.

Some of my purposes or goals are long term……such being better equipped to “rightly divide” God’s word.  My Jewish friends feel that study and worship go hand in hand.  When I study I worship.  I have a purpose. Study provides me with an opportunity to acquaint myself more fully with my Creator and to become more pleasing to him.

Other times my purposes are more short term.  Now that I am on the short side of life I need to purpose what I must do to prepare for leaving this world and entering the next one.  Seems like a long term purpose……..but believe me, at my age……..its’ short term!

So what’s my purpose……and yours…. for today and tomorrow?  I can’t answer for you but I am going to purpose to be more attuned to God’s working.  How each day will present something unique just for me to do. Perhaps I will be reminded to make encouraging phone call; giving a smile to the little overworked waitress; helping the young mother unload a few groceries.  Who knows?  Nothing spectacular but it will be meaningful.

Having a sense of purpose will put me to work.  My good deeds will benefit both me as the giver and hopefully give encouragement to the receiver.

So a purpose of the heart gives me a direction that I need for my Christian walk.

                                My purpose will give me power.

                      The Main Attraction

I must confess that the title of this blog came from a recent church bulletin.  I am hoping that perhaps the writer would feel flattered that I chose it for my heading.

How has Christianity come to a place where we attract people into our services by offering amusements as a lure?  Since when do we compete with the entertainment industry?  The Romans had their Circuses but the early believers left those pleasures for a new divine leader, whose kingdom was not of this world.  His message was not entertainment for the senses….but the active moving of the God’s Holy Spirit within the lives of the believers.

So today are we still offering “Circuses”…or Is Jesus the main attraction in our worship?

I’m afraid many Christian churches are now offering gimmicks, games, and give- a-ways.   Instead of calling for a change of life style…… we offer musicales and rock bands.  We offer high dollar dramas at Christmas and Easter, and coffee houses, in an attempt to get young people more motivated in Christianity.  Is it working?  A gathering place for the biblical minded isn’t a bad idea,  however this does not take the place of solid Bible teaching.

The lovely dramas are inspiring and beautiful but they are not the gospel.  They may present the gospel but the focus is more on the entertainment itself rather than on the “Person” of the Gospel.   Am I wrong?

Many pulpits contribute to the I’m Ok you’re OK philosophy.  These preachers appeal to the masses by teaching a Gospel based on “feeling good about me”.  “Entertain me and stimulate me and then see I how I feel!” How does “worship” make me FEEL?

Wait a minute. Let’s rethink what we are doing.

 What is worship?  It’s putting ourselves aside and making a special time for God.  It’s realizing that I am really not special at all.

 In fact, you know what?  I am nothing and yet I am everything.

I am nothing because of sin, but everything to God.  He gave himself up for me because I am not capable of saving myself.

Do you know the greatest commandment?  Read Matthew 22:37-40                                      Carefully!!!

Do you love God with all your heart, soul and mind?  Do you love your neighbor as yourself?         Really???

It’s not about you after all.

It’s all about God!

                                    Under His Wings

We sing a beautiful song in our worship service.  It’s called”Under His Wings, I am safely abiding.”The meaning of those words are precious to believers.

I am reminded of Psalm 91:4, “He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and defender.”

Our Lord uses the same type of analogy, when he looks over the city of Jerusalem and the coming destruction……

Matthew 23:37  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

The idea of being “covered with God’s wings” means protection.  We are under God’s constant love and care.  He never leaves or forsakes us.  We pray knowing that we are under the “wings” of our Father.

The Orthodox Jewish men wear the tallit.  You have seen them in pictures.  This is the shawl which has fringes at the bottom and blue strips.  There is deep meaning spiritual meaning to the shawl itself as well as the fringes and the color blue.

When the man wears his tallit he is under the “wings” of God. The tallit when opened resembles “wings”.  Wrapping himself in his tallit, he symbolically places himself under God’s sheltering love.

 The man enters his “prayer closet” when he puts on the tallit.  Didn’t the Lord tell us to go into our closet to pray?  He was speaking of this shawl, which was worn by every faithful Jewish man.  Of course the Lord wore one himself.  Remember the woman who touched the hem of his garment? She received healing when touching the fringes of his tallit.

Even without the physical tallit we too come under God’s protective love through Jesus Christ.  We are under His wings and with love and mercy he surrounds us.

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.          Psalm 57:1

                                                Vision Problems?

How is your “good eye”?

In Matthew 6:22 the Lord said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light”.  Without understanding the Hebraic context in which Jesus is speaking…… we are missing His teaching.

In case you are wondering whether or not you have a “good eye” then read on and see for yourself.

Proverbs 22:9 “He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.”The actual Hebrew text says. “He who has a good eye is blessed because he gives bread to the poor.”

What about the evil eye?

Proverbs 28:22 “A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know what will come upon him.”

 Jesus, who always upholds the Hebrew Scriptures, is reaffirming the necessity for generosity in life. We are not to be greedy or avaricious. We work, we receive, and we are blessed. We give to others.

We assume this is our money or material wealth.  Not always. Money might be the easiest of God’s gifts to give.  But perhaps it isn’t always the best for the person we are helping.

A Jewish medieval treatise (Orchot Tzaddikim) says, “There are three kinds of generosity; generosity of money; generosity of one’s body; and generosity of one’s wisdom.”

This fits into the Christian mindset as well.  Generosity need not always be demonstrated with money. Sharing one’s ideas, talents, and knowledge; assembling with others in worship and work; taking time to be with a sick one; being a sympathetic listener….. is showing our “good eye”.  These are things money can’t buy.

So ……“How’s your eyesight?”

If you aren’t sure, visit the Divine Ophthalmologist for a check-up.

May all God’s people have 20/20 vision!!

                                                Something Fishy

Channel flipping last night, I decided to catch the latest “discovery” on National Geographic Channel.  I should have known……evolutionary humbug.

This “discovery” is really an old theory but with a few added elements of the evolution of man from a fish. First, a fish with feathers!  Next step……..one million years later………more feathers on a bigger fish…..then moving on a million years, a small land animal with feathers.  Millions of years, one or two flying animals. (we call them birds!)  And on it goes.  Unfortunately, evolutionists have so few of these fossils that to make absurd statements about “early types” is simply outrageous.  They depend more on suppositions than scientific data. Other scientists debate whether these were feathers at all but merely decayed skin fibers.

They have yet to produce life in a test tube under the best of scientific conditions.

Most evolutionary scientists, date the fossils by the rock strata in which they are found.  The geologists then date the rocks by the fossils.  This is circular reasoning at its best.

Our mighty Creator didn’t need eons of time to bring life to this universe.  He is the great designer of all things.  He gave within each species the propensity for change and diversity……but only within the species itself.  A horse can be large, small, brown, black etc. A horse was never a dog!

Man share similarities with chimps.  Remember Tarzan’s Chetta?  That little chimp was so cute and smart.  He could do most things Tarzan asked of him……but he was still a chimp.  He’s not my cousin or yours.

God’s word starts with ‘in the beginning”. This basic understanding of origins is the truth of creation.  Without that, we are product of slime and debris.  We have no moral compass for our lives. It is the truth about our beginnings that we can fully understand God and his plan for us and the redemption we have through His Son.

Life isn’t “fishy” after all!!