GraceNotes

Their Problems
Matthew 9:35-36
Jim Stephens
11-21-09

Scripture:

35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36 NLT)

Jesus felt pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help. These were basic problems of spiritual oppression or of disease and premature death due poverty and lack of medical care. Maybe that's one reason missions ministry in Third World countries is so exciting and fulfilling - the problems there are basic and obvious and compassionate care makes a real observable difference.

In America and other developed countries, people's problems can be just as great but not so obvious. The standard of living is much higher and people can have food, shelter, and transportation and yet be going deeper and deeper in debt until, for some, they cross an invisible line and become homeless. Or they succumb to addictions. Or their lives are consumed by materialism. Or their relationships unravel. Then suddenly they appear to have great problems and don't know where to go for help.

In small town America we have better health care, though unevenly available, so people are not so much lying on mats on the sidewalk begging or roaming the edges of town crying out "unclean!" But the people in our town still have great problems and like the people of Galilean villages, they don't know where to go for help.

I didn't mean this to become a big philosophical thing about people's problems, but what if every Christ-honoring group of believers spoke simple words of truth and hope and used their faith and resources to help people whos e "problems are so great and they don't know where to go for help?" What might happen?

Prayer:

Father, please forgive me for concentrating so much of my energy on how things are going for me and how I'm feeling and what I need. People's problems are so great and they don't know where to go for help. What should the church be doing about that? What should I be doing about that? I want to make a difference.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Father
Matthew 6:7-8
Jim Stephens
11-20-09

Scripture:

7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" (Matthew 6:7-8 NLT)

The Jews were not only religious in their thinking about God, they were superstitious. They believed that God's name, Yahweh, was too holy to write down or say out loud. Jesus talked about God in a whole new way, a way that challenged their concept of who God is and how we are to relate to him.

Jesus talked about God as "My Father," and then he said God is "Our Father," and then he matter-of-factly referred to God as "Your Father." Jesus said in so many ways, "This is not about religion, but about relationship." It's not "How're you doing with the practice of your religion?" It's "How's your relationship with your heavenly Father?"

Through faith in Christ, I'm a child of God. He's my "heavenly Father." I've got the terminology for it, "Our Father in heaven." But there's a difference between believing that God loves me in a generic sort of way because he loves the human race and believing that God loves me in the intimate personal way a Daddy loves his little boy.

What I've been working on for most of my life of faith is to get it into my heart as well as my head that God really loves me as a father loves his son. He even likes me just as I am because he made me just the way I am!

I am a child of God - the same God who made the universe, who has in every generation chosen people to know him, to know his will, to partner with him in his redemptive purpose - I am a child of God. I'm his child and he's my heavenly Father.

Prayer:

Father. Dear heavenly Father. Dad. Abba. Daddy. Our Father who art in heaven. My Father. Thank you for adopting me into your family of fa ith and for loving me. Thanks for the privilege of calling you Father . Thanks for loving me just as I am and for loving me too much to leave me just as I was. In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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The Carpenter's Dream
Matthew 1:19-20
Jim Stephens
11-19-09

Scripture:

19 Joseph, her fiance, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. 20 As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:19-20 NLT)

Joseph is often a kind of shadow in the background of the story of Jesus' birth and early life. We know he had to be there to lead the donkey Mary rode on to Bethlehem. Someone had to have a job and work to pay the bills while Jesus was growing up. Apart from that, Joseph is kind of like a piece of furniture on a stage set, necessary but largely unnoticed.

The thing that caught my attention today was that Joseph was actually a very spiritual man and without his spiritual sensitivity and willingness to respond in faith, the st ory of Christ's birth could have been very different. Four times in Matthew 1 and 2, God communicated to Joseph in a dream. Four times Joseph responded in faith and obeyed the message God gave him. Four times Joseph believed God's message and took the crucial action that provided and protected and fulfilled the prophecies God had given hundreds of years before.

God needs ordinary people who are spiritually sensitive and willing to take bold steps of faith when he communicates to them. God needs people who do the things that are necessary to fulfill his purpose even though they may never hold center stage in the drama.

I want to be willing to just "be there" and play my part in God's plan. I want to be spiritually sensitive so that I'll take the necessary steps when the time comes. I'm thankful for the example of Joseph, the hard-working, matter-of-fact carpenter, who was able to hear from God and respond in faith at crucial times in God's redemptive plan.

Prayer:

Father, whether it's center stage or in the shadows, let me be sensitive to hear and willing to obey. It's your plan, after all. I am willing to play my part. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Benediction
2 Corinthians 13:14
Jim Stephens
11-18-09

Scripture:

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14 NLT)

This is Paul's Benediction to the Corinthians at the end of his very challenging and difficult letter. Bene Dictus - Blessing Spoken.

During the years we lived in the United Kingdom we ministered in churches of many denominations and cultures. It was always a significant thing to me when we were in one of the more traditional churches and the leader of the service (often me) would pronounce a Benediction. I loved to speak these very words from Paul's letter over the congregation as the people were dismissed, "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Saying "The Grace" had become a tradition for many of them, a ritual that merely signaled the close of a Sunday morning church service. To me it was fresh a nd real, the speaking of a blessing over the people by the one in authority.

This concept of Bene Dictus, the speaking of a blessing, is important. We have authority in the Name of Jesus. When we speak to others and about others, we speak for Jesus. Think about that for a minute. Pretty sobering. Pretty exciting!

I'm free to choose the words I speak. It's disturbingly easy to get drawn into a conversation that is not Bene Dictus, a conversation that involves spoken words that do anything but bless. But I can choose the words I use. I can make the decision to be one whose words are Bene Dictus - Blessing Spoken. Then I can discipline myself to awareness and improvement. I can repent and confess and move on when I mess up and speak words that don't bless. I can speak a Benediction!

Prayer:

Father, thanks for blessing me. Thanks for blessing my friends and family. Thanks for your Word which speaks words of blessing and hope and encouragement to me and about me. Help me to speak the words of Bene Dictus to others and about others. In Jesus' Name. This morning I speak The Grace over all who read this: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Seed and Bread
2 Corinthians 9:6, 10
Jim Stephens
11-17-09

Scripture:

6 Remember this - a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 10 For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (2 Corinthians 9:6, 10 NLT)

In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul lays out God's heart for giving, God's plan for providing, and God's promises to those who give. It's clear, simple, and sweet. I love it!

Everything that comes into my hands is a gift from God. God faithfully provides for my needs, and I must realize that as resources become available to me, part of the provision is bread to eat and part of it is seed to plant. If I selfishly and short-sightedly consume everything I get, and even obligate God's future provision through unwise debt, I have no seed left to plant!

Our wester n economic system calls us "consumers." If we use everything we receive as bread to eat, then it's true, we are only consumers. But if we plant some seed through giving away part of everything we receive we become producers as well. Our giving to meet legitimate needs is planting seed for a future harvest. And don't forget - when the future harvest comes, part of it is bread to eat and part is seed to plant!

When I look ahead into my own future, there are many uncertainties for Jean and me (and probably for you!). I really don't know how our needs will be met. I know they will, because God is faithful to his promise. And part of the adventure is that God likes surprises!

I do know that part of everything God gives me is seed to plant and if I plant that seed in good soil by giving and serving and caring and encouraging and blessing others, the harvest of that seed will be bread to eat. God promised.

Prayer:

Father, thanks for giving me your Wor d which, when planted in my heart, grows faith. Thanks for giving me the seed that when planted through giving will produce bread to eat. Thanks for the gift of your Son, a gift too wonderful for words. You're the one who gives. I want to be like you when I grow up (and while I'm growing up!). Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Both-And
2 Corinthians 6:10
Jim Stephens
11-16-09

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT)

All the way through 2 Corinthians Paul contrasts joy and pain, blessings and trials, hope and despair. As I read Paul's words to the Corinthians, I think, "Come on Paul! You're the greatest apostle of all time! You wrote most of the New Testament, man! What does it matter what these immature Christians in this trouble-filled church think of you? Who cares how these 'super-apostles' strut their stuff and flaunt their 'revelations' and build a following for themselves? Who cares? What does it matter? You're the man!"

But then Paul had no idea that he was writing part of the Bible - God's Holy Word. Paul had no idea that the Corinthian trouble makers he was trying to get through to and the 'super-apostles' he was being unfavorably compared to would be lost to history and that he would be the d efiner of Christian doctrine and practice for all time.

Paul was living it out one day at a time. His highs were prompted by the faith-victories he saw and his lows were as real as a heart attack. He did his best to be obedient, to live his values and faith, to hold on to the confidence that his labor was not in vain. He didn't know how it would turn out. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) So Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian church and felt like a fool even as he dictated the words to Timothy. Thanks, Paul. I wonder if you know how much it helps me - how much encouragement I draw from your honesty about how you were feeling.

I remember when Patrick, an Irish student at East London Bible Training Centre, said to me half way through his first year, "Jim, you've got a great life!" He had listened to the stories Jean and I told from our experiences, illustrating the principles we were teaching the students - stories as much about our failures as our successes - and he c oncluded that our life of faith and attempted obedience was a "great life!"

That's how Paul makes me feel. He writes about the highs and lows, the joy and pain, the disappointments and encouragements, and it makes me want what he had. It gives me courage to keep on going. And I think, "I've got a great life!"

Prayer:

Father, I am so thankful Paul's honesty about the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the "both-and" of the life of faith. Thanks for the great life you have given Jean and me. Help me to be as honest with others about the "both-and," the highs and lows, the battles and victories, of a life spent in your service. Thanks. Simply thanks. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Who Fight I
Psalm 35:1, 27-28
Jim Stephens
11-15-08

Scripture:

1 O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me. 27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, "Great is the Lord, who enjoys helping his servant!" 28 Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long. (Psalm 35:1, 27-28 NLT)

Every time I read this psalm I think of a scene from our days living in the highlands of central Jamaica. At a "Y" in the potholed track that led from the main road outside Linstead, St Catherine, towards the village of Time and Patience, there was a Rasta man's shop at the roadside. The little shop was painted forest green and in bold white letters across the front it said, "Jah fight dem who fight I. Ps 35.1" For those who don't read Jamaican patois, it loosely quotes Psalm 35:1 in the King James Version. "O LORD, fight against them who fight against me."

Like the Rasta man on the road to Time and Patience , St Catherine, David was confident that his greatest defense was to leave his defense in God's hands because God enjoys helping his servant.

Life has its injustices. We can contend for fairness, fight for our rights, and spend huge amounts of time and energy defending ourselves. Or we can leave it all in God's hands and rest in the assurance that "God enjoys helping his servant."

11 The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms: "Do not think like everyone else does. 12 Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. 13 Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else." (Isaiah 8:11-13 NLT)

Life has its injustices. God's word challenges us to fight for the cause of the oppressed, the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan. How about if we put some energy into fighting for the weak, the oppressed, and the defenseless and let God figh t for us!

Prayer:

Father, I thank you that you enjoy helping your servant. I want to leave my welfare and my defense in your capable hands and use my influence and efforts to help others. Help me to keep growing my heart until it becomes a heart like yours. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Never Useless
1 Corinthians 15:58
Jim Stephens
11-14-09

Scripture:

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT)

Each year I'm glad to read chapters 15 and 16 of 1 Corinthians. Paul interspersed his instruction about the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our resurrection to eternal life with comments about his hard work, the trials and challenges he faced, and the cost of his own discipleship and service. It's like he was reminding himself as well as the Corinthians (and you and me!) that it's really worth it.

I need to be reminded that nothing I do for the Lord is ever useless.

Whether we're serving vocationally in a church or organization or serving others individually as a mentor, counselor, and encourager, the outcome of our service often seems to be in the hands of others. Someone in the organizati on can decide to scrap our project or sideline the work we've done. The person we've served and encouraged can decide to walk away from the relationship and ignore the help and input we've offered. The money we've given sacrificially in faith is under the stewardship of others and it can be used in ways we didn't intend.

*  I need to remember that when I invest time and energy and heart in something for the Lord, and then it gets sidelined or changed beyond recognition, that Nothing I do for the Lord is ever useless.
*  I need to remember that when I pour my time and love and advice into someone, and then they make choices that apparently erase any benefit from my investment, that Nothing I do for the Lord is ever useless.
*  I need to remember that when God prompts me to give sacrificially, and then my gift seems to miss its intended purpose, that Nothing I do for the Lord is ever useless.

Prayer:

Father, today I will approa ch each task, every detail, and each interaction with another person as something I am doing for you. I will work enthusiastically, love unconditionally, and give generously because I know that whatever the apparent outcome, nothing I do for you is ever useless. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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Lessons Learned
Job 42:1-6
Jim Stephens
11-13-09

Scripture:

1 Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 "I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. 3 You ask, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me. 4 "You said, 'Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.' 5 "I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." (Job 42:1-6 NLT)

I'm glad to be finished reading through the book of Job. It's not my favorite book of the Bible to read. Without the discipline of a "Through the Bible in a Year" reading plan, I'm afraid I'd skip it more often than not.

Job learned some important things through his experiences that have become part of our understanding of the truth about God and about ourselves. Here are some truths that sto od out to me:

*  The Lord gave me everything I had and the Lord has taken it away. (Job 1:21) Even though God was not actually the one who "took it away," Job realized that God has the right to do what he chooses and sometimes it is easy for us and sometimes it is hard for us. But God is still in charge. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad? So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. (Job 2:10)
*  "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God. I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!" (Job 19:25-27) Job received a revelation of eternity, of life after death, that very few people really understood in the Old Testament. His revelation of resurrection is completely consistent with what is revealed in the gospels and in Peter's and Paul's letters and in the bo ok of Revelation.
*  Job never really understood why all this stuff happened to him, but it didn't shake his faith in God or in God's justice and righteousness.
*  Job's friends spoke a lot of things that were true but consistently failed to speak "The Truth" to Job, but he forgave them and prayed for them.
*  It was when Job prayed for his friends, those who had hurt him the most, that God restored him physically and materially.

Prayer:

Father, I don't want to have to go through the experiences of Job to learn the lessons I need to learn.
*  Help me to learn from his story and his experiences.
*  Help me to be a true comforter to those in trouble, not always looking to place blame.
*  Help me to stand firm and steady in faith during the hard times as well as the good times.
*  Help me to trust you and not always feel I have to understand "why" in every situation.
Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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The Answers
Job 40:1-5
Jim Stephens
11-12-09

Scripture:

1 Then the Lord said to Job, 2 "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God?s critic, but do you have the answers?" 3 Then Job replied to the Lord, 4 "I am nothing - how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. 5 I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say." (Job 40:1-5 NLT)

God reprimanded Job for his criticism of God's justice and fairness. It wasn't that things were obviously fair and just from Job's or any other human's perspective - they weren't. It was that Job thought things through and came up with the wrong answers because he couldn't see the whole picture. He lost his point of reference - that God is loving, just, and good.

Into every life come situations and circumstances that seem to have no right answers. Through the centuries, Job's story has helped a lot of people deal with unexplained tragedy and loss.

Interestingly, God did n't explain why all the bad things had happened to Job. Seems like it would have been nice to know!

Encouragingly, Job humbled himself and repented for challenging God. And his faith trumped his unanswered questions.

I need to know that God knows the answers. I need to know that he has the answers to the things I will never understand. I need to know that he will forgive me for my fear, frustration, and questioning when I'm in the dark. I need to know that the answers to life's most challenging questions are revealed on a "need to know" basis.

Thanks, Job, for living the story that helps me deal with life when it seems to be all questions and no answers.

Prayer:

Father, please help me learn all I can - all I need to learn - from Job. I don't want to unnecessarily repeat lessons you've taught through the life experience of others. I don't want to hurt unless it's the only way to be who y ou want me to be and to get to where you want me to go. Thank you for having the answers. I love you and trust you. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Resource Ministries International
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