Could this happen?

Dear friends,

As I was reading in 2 Kings 7 last night, I came across a powerful passage which I would like to share with you. The context of the passage is a severe famine in the city, which caused food prices to rise so dramatically that some mothers even began to eat their own children. Convinced that the famine was from the Lord, the king of Israel became so frustrated and angry that he went with one of his officers to kill the Lord's prophet, Elisha. Below is Elisha's response to the king and to the king's officer.

1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"

The first impact of this passage comes from the reminder of God's power to completely transform even the most desperate situation overnight. We become blind to the power of God because we rest in the sin of unbelief. To protect ourselves emotionally, we make excuses for why God is not transforming our situation - but the deeper reality is that we are beginning to doubt his power.

The sin of unbelief is a bitter root which can destabilize and cause hopelessness in even the most committed Christian. It is better to protect ourselves from the sin of unbelief than to have a mindset that "must know" why God is not doing a certain work in our lives in the timing that we find acceptable.

The second impact of this passage comes from the realization that the officer of the king represents me! When I am in a desperate situation, I sometimes say or think, "Could this happen? Could God really change this desperate situation I'm in?"

Elisha's response to the officer is shocking: "You will see it (God's provision) with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" Literally, the next day, the officer of the king saw the provision of God yet was trampled to death by people running to get it! This is shocking and frightening because we are also in danger of letting our circumstances lead us into unbelief and an inability to receive the Lord's provision when it comes.

We can walk in step with the Spirit of God by being a people who continually preach to ourselves against our hardness of heart. Pray with me now: "O Lord, my heart is so hard. I have made so many excuses to myself about why you have delayed the provision that I am waiting for. In my heart of hearts, I have doubted your power.

Forgive my unbelief Lord Jesus. Forgive my unbelief. I yield to you and give up my need to know how you are at work and when you will answer me - only do not let me miss out on tasting of your provision when it comes. I want to persevere with you to the end, believing that at any moment you can radically transform my situation. O Lord, even if you choose to keep my situation as it is - for purposes greater than I can see - cause my heart to soften and to rejoice in your great power! Let my heart sing your praises just as king David did in the depths of his despair. O Lord, How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art."

Let your soul sing in the Lord Jesus,

Jonathan

A Better Hope

Dear friends,

I have always loved to read. When I read, I become so engrossed that I literally “tune out” the world around me. Even as a young student in school, I would become so engrossed in my reading that I would neither see nor hear the entire class line up for lunchtime. Their favorite strategy was to repeatedly shout, “Earth to Jonathan, Earth to Jonathan,” until I tuned back into my surroundings.

Many of us do the same thing in our everyday lives. We become so engrossed in “our story” that we cannot see or hear anything else. We rise and fall in tune with our own characters and events – until our hope in life is completely dependent on the outcome of our story.

But this kind of hope always disappoints us in the end. People die, jobs are lost, relationships are destroyed, children grow up and start their own families, and friends move away. Even the best stories come to an end.

There’s a much bigger story, however, that God wants us to pay attention to – and it’s unfolding all around us. In this story, the hero and the enemy are clear, and there is only one hope which burns bright – and you and I are the bearers of that bright light to a dark and hopeless world.

In this greater story of creation, fall, redemption, judgment and glory, the only hope which does not disappoint is the hope of eternal salvation through faith in the saving work of Jesus the Christ. To hold this hope and this hope alone as the foundation of all of our stories is to experience a deep, abiding and unshakable joy and confidence in the One who loves us.

But such hope does not come cheaply. It comes first through the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross, and it comes secondly through our suffering – used by God to open our eyes and ears to the better hope he offers through Jesus Christ. Paul describes this hope in Romans 5:4-5:

4And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. 5Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5 Amplified Bible)

Keep in mind that Paul is writing to believers. Sometimes we confuse the outcome of our hope – which is certain – with the holding of hope – which is developed through suffering, perseverance and character formation. There is often no other way than suffering to shake us loose from “our story” and into "God's story."

Once we understand the role of suffering in our lives – that God is calling us into a better hope – in which we will experience the love of God being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit – we will be able to regard our suffering with the mindset Paul describes in verse 3:

3Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

With this new mindset, we can re-enter our story with a looser grip on the outcome and a better hope in the One who has already written the final chapter.

Let’s pray together:

“Lord Jesus, thank you for the suffering that you endured for me – for all of us – on the cross. Thank you for giving your Holy Spirit as the deposit and guarantor of our hope in you for eternal salvation.

Lord, we need your help. I need your help. My hope is too often shaken because I keep basing it in my story – so I have become disappointed, hurt, and sometimes bitter.

Please forgive me for getting lost in my story. O Lord, use this present suffering in my life – use whatever you need to use – to open my eyes and ears to the joyful and confident hope that is found in you alone. Amen.”

With a better hope,

Jonathan

Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2)

What are your exact thoughts as you read this verse?

Mine include disbelief and despair; disbelief that this kind of attitude is possible, and despair that I fall so short of the standard. I desire to face my trials with an attitude of pure joy, but mostly I’m just trying to “get through.”

This verse cuts through our self-deceptions and exposes the gaps in our faith. It brings us to confession: “Lord, forgive me for seeking my own way out of trials – for trying to close the gaps by myself; I always fall short. Show me how you desire to close the gaps in my faith and life.”

3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

My wife and I spend a lot of time teaching our daughter to persevere. She doesn’t like it, but she is learning to grasp the freedom that perseverance brings. When we cut short the lessons, she misses opportunities to grow in maturity and completeness. The gap remains.

God loves you and me so much more than we love our own children. His fatherly desire is to move us into maturity and wholeness, so that we do not lack any good thing. He leads us through trials because he wants to give us more of himself, not less.

God is a giver. He demonstrated that in sending Jesus the Christ to be our righteousness – to forever close the gap of eternity of between us and the Father. We face our trials with fear and despair because our fundamental perception of God is flawed. We view trials as God’s way of punishing us because he’s angry with us, but James faced trials with joy because he saw them as God-given opportunities to make us more complete in God’s love and grace - to make us whole.

As we move through our trials, we preach to ourselves, and the God of love moves us deeper into pure joy: “Lord, my perception of you is as a taker, not a giver. I have heard of your great love for me, but in practice I take my trials as signs of your displeasure with me – not as signs of your desire to give me more of yourself and to make me whole. Teach me to receive your work in my life with joy. Teach me to receive you as a good father. Drive out the fear in my life with your perfect love.”

In the Father’s love,

Jonathan

Native Speaker

Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? If yes, then you know that the most difficult part is learning to think like a native speaker.

When it comes to the grace of Jesus, we are all non-native speakers.

Jesus is the native speaker of grace. If we are to become like him, we must learn to think and to speak in his native language. Half-hearted attempts to “study on the weekends” will never turn us into native speakers of grace – it will only make us conversational. We need total immersion.

Jesus invites us to join him in community to experience total immersion in his grace. Through faith in Jesus, we enter into the only true community of native speakers of grace: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we enter into his church – among fellow learners and supporters in the study of Jesus’ native language of grace.

Jesus uses every opportunity to teach us his native language. Like learning an earthly language, trials, mistakes and difficulties become great teaching moments and move us into greater understanding and fluency. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, we see Jesus leading Paul through a trial and a teaching opportunity. Let’s let Jesus use it to teach us as well.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (New Living Translation)

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.

Paul was an experienced learner. When he struggled, he approached his master for help. How long do you struggle along before you come to Jesus for help? Like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Paul approached Jesus three times, pleading for him to remove his trial.

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Jesus told Paul the same thing 3 times in a row before Paul got the message. I’m sure Paul kept hoping for a different response, but the important thing is that Paul listened to Jesus. Sometimes we get so focused on escaping our troubles that we close our ears to Jesus. We miss his instruction to us because we are waiting for a “better answer.”

Jesus’ answer is this: “My grace is all you need.” In your current trial or difficulty, do you believe in your heart that the grace of Jesus is “all you need”? Jesus says that it is. Paul believed that it was and it completely transformed his way of thinking and living; he became fluent in the thinking and speaking of grace because he believed what Jesus told him. Let us repent of our unbelief and receive the “bread of grace” for each day. It is sweeter than honey, wine or the kisses of a lover.

Jesus also gave Paul the conditions of grace: “My power works best in weakness.” Paul says that he learned to delight in his weaknesses and hardships, because Jesus had taught him that these were the ideal conditions for Jesus’ power and grace to perfect him and to showcase Jesus’ glory.

Have you been impacted by Jesus through this message? Preach the truth to yourself.

I preach this to myself like this: “Jesus, I have been living as if your grace were an appetizer or even dessert – but thank you for teaching me that it is the main course. Forgive me for not listening to you and for hoping for a “better answer” of my own choosing. Your grace is all I need today. Help me to become fluent in thinking and speaking your native language of grace. Thank you for this difficulty I am in, because you are using it to instruct me in a better way to live – a way of freedom and joy dependent on you and not on my circumstances. Amen.”

expectations of Jesus

Dear friends,

We all have expectations of Jesus. We believe that Jesus should respond to events in our lives in specific ways. When he doesn't respond the way we want him to, we become discouraged and lose faith in him. Times of trouble are best for revealing our expectations of Jesus. Even Jesus' disciples experienced this, as you can see below in Mark 4:35-40.

35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

When Jesus says, “Let us go,” we expect smooth sailing ahead. But these verses show something different. When Jesus says, “Let us go,” do you focus on the word “go” or on the word “us.” Jesus wants us to focus on both words. The word “go” is a calling, and the word “us” is a relationship. Following Jesus is a calling and a relationship.

Because Jesus did not respond according to the disciples’ expectations, they accused him of not caring about their lives. Like the disciples, we sometimes accuse Jesus about his lack of care for us. But the cross is Jesus’ ultimate sign of care for us. He gave up his life to die on the cross so that we might have life in God. Then he gave us his Holy Spirit as a personal sign of his eternal relationship with us. The next time you accuse Jesus in your heart of not caring for you, remember the cross and the gift of his Holy Spirit in you.

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus calmed the storm with a simple command. He can do the same for us, but first he questions us: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He wants to get to the root of our unbelief in him. Instead of taking each new storm as a test of Jesus’ power and love for us, he asks us to believe in him.

How can we do this? We talk to Jesus and we preach to ourselves. For example, this is what I might say to Jesus and preach to myself: “Jesus, this storm is really scaring me. I’m afraid I might die or lose everything I hold precious. But I know that you love me because you went to the cross for me. I know that you have the power to calm my storms if you want to, because you rose from the dead in great power. I know that you are in the boat with me even in this storm. Thank you for calling me and starting a relationship with me. Forgive my unbelief and show me how to live in your love and power. ”

In His Peace,

Jonathan

Desert Places

Dear friends,

As I’ve struggled through the difficulties and worries of work – the “desert places” – the past few weeks, I have been encouraged by a passage in Deuteronomy which I’d like to share with you.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (New International Version)

2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

1. God leads us: The focus is not on the desert, but on God who leads. When I am weary, I can say with full confidence, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” I don’t need to understand or like the desert place or even trust myself, but I can trust the One who leads me and keep my eyes on Jesus.

2. God restores us: Verse 2 says that God uses desert places to humble us and to test us. God reveals what is hidden deeply in our hearts – the ideas and beliefs we have about God which are only revealed in times of deep crisis. As the poison of our heart bleeds out, he leads us to repentance and restoration and a renewed hope in him alone. Then he restores us to his calling and his mission with a right spirit. As Jesus questioned and restored Peter to himself, he restored him to his mission: “Feed my sheep.”

3. God feeds us: God causes us to hunger in order to teach us to feed on him. He removes our regular sources of food to redirect our hunger to him. The root of idolatry is a hunger (or over-desire) for something other than God – even an over-desire for a good thing (work, sex, relationships, money) can become an idol of the heart. Jesus uses desert places to root out the idolatrous hungers in our lives so that we can “eat and be satisfied.” What are your hungers?

4. God fathers us: Like most parents, I discipline my daughter because I love her. I know that if she gets everything she wants, she will become a slave to her own hungers and desires. Hebrews 12:7-8 says, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…If you are not disciplined, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” God wants us to know in our hearts (see Deut 8:5 above) that we are his true children. He fathers us into a love relationship with him so that we can say, as Job said, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”

From a desert place,

Jonathan

Gethsemane Prayer

Dear friends,

Below is a passage from Matthew 26:36-46, followed by some reflections.

Matthew 26
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

As I reflect on this passage, I am struck by the following thoughts:

1. Jesus suffered sorrow "to the point of death." Jesus experienced both the highs and the lows of the human condition. He knows what it is like to be overwhelmed with sorrow. Jesus brought his sorrow to his father. He wants us to bring our sorrows to him as his children.

2. Jesus gathered close friends from his community to be with him in his time of sorrow and temptation. Even Jesus did this! Why do we so often isolate ourselves when we're suffering or depressed instead of surrounding ourselves with the support of close, believing friends?

3. It's not mentioned in Matthew's description, but in Luke 22:45 we read that the disciples fell asleep because they were "exhausted from sorrow." Jesus urges them to stop sleeping and to pray through their sorrow so that they will not fall into temptation. Satan uses our sorrows and struggles to tempt us away from God. Jesus shows us how to avoid this trap: prayerfully bring your sorrows and struggles to God.

4. Jesus wrestled with his own human will. He asked God to take away the suffering of the cross from him, even through he knew the answer. Wrestling with your will is bringing your deepest desire(s) to God and then asking that his will be done instead. Too often we do not give voice to our desires. They remain hidden, even from ourselves, and so we never give them completely to Jesus. When you are struggling with something, bring it to God and ask him clearly for what you desire to happen. Then ask that his will, not yours, be done. Jesus did it three times. For you and I, it may be one, five or a hundred times. It depends on how deeply we feel about what we are struggling with and how long it takes to reach the place where we fully surrender our will to God.

5. In the end, it was God's will to allow Jesus to suffer death on a cross - even though Jesus himself asked God to take it away from him! Here's a thought to chew on: The important thing in times of sorrow or struggle is not just what happens AFTER we pray. The important thing is first the submission of our deepest desires and will to God in each particular situation. We almost always focus on the results of our prayers, but God will take care of those. The first result he is looking for is the submission of the desires of our hearts and the will of our minds.

In Christ's love and grace,

Jonathan