Beauty and truth

“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy…” 

I always seem to ignore that and skip right to the abundant life… But as I read John 10:10, the first part jumped out at me. Jesus is warning that the enemy is at work around me, too. If I am aware of that, I can redirect my thoughts accordingly.

• When I think I am not enough, I need to realize it is the enemy stealing my motivation. The truth is I am made in the image of God, He equips me and I am a difference-maker when I am abiding in Him.
• When I don’t hear from a family member, I might think I’m not important to them or that they don’t need me in their lives any more. But that is the evil one twisting and distorting.
• When I take offense to a comment, believing the worst instead of the best about the deliverer, then I am letting the enemy ratchet up tension.
• When I say “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and delay the important conversations, meetings and missions or treat them as optional, the destroyer is getting the upper hand.
• When I feel too rushed, unfocused or exhausted to spend time listening to God, then I am letting the enemy’s influence in. The enemy plants lies, hoping I will believe God is uninterested, unresponsive or powerless. 

These are the schemes and scams of the cruel destroyer!

I cannot allow these thoughts to roll around in my head. 

I can instead focus on taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Some days it is a consistent struggle to test every thought at the door of my mind: Is it true, is it noble, is it right? …Pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? (Phil 4:8) “Think about such things,” the apostle Paul reminded the early church. “Fill your minds with beauty and truth,” is the way The Voice translates it.

Yes. To have the abundant life with Jesus is to hear His voice in my life and filter out the enemy’s.

“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10)

Jesus, thank you for the beauty and truth you consistently speak to me. Abiding and drawing near has made your voice familiar. There is none like it and I know the difference. Thank you for showing me the contrast—the way to the abundant life.

Feeding the multitudes x2!

I’ve long been inspired by the Bible stories of Jesus feeding the multitudes (see 2009 post). It greatly impresses me that Jesus can multiply our meager offerings, as long as we are willing to give them. 

This message is so important that Jesus performed this miracle twice! 

He fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish, and on another occasion fed 4,000 with seven loaves and a few fish (Mark 6 and 8, also Matthew).

This is amazing to me that the disciples were present with Jesus to experience the first event, and yet at the second event needed to ask, “Where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

What short memories! Wasn’t the first miracle enough? Hadn’t they witnessed all the other miracles (healing of bleeding, leprosy, deaf/mute; casting out of demons into pigs; raising the dead girl; walking on water) to realize and remember that Jesus could do anything??

When Jesus and the disciples sailed off to a new region, the Pharisees came and asked for a miraculous sign. What more miraculous sign would they need than the wonders everyone was talking about? Jesus sighed deeply and said no sign would be given because of their unbelief.

Back in the boat crossing to the other side, Jesus reminded His disciples of both loaves and fish events (Mark: 8:17-21), and asked them, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?”

Ugh. I have to admit there are times I have amnesia like His disciples or doubt like the Pharisees. How could I forget for a moment the wonders our Lord has already done? How can I set aside all the accounts of God-interventions I’ve experienced and heard from believers around me?

Dear Lord, I love you and am thrilled by your miracles! I’m sorry for missing the signs you are working around me, even today. Thank you for your infinite patience. Open my eyes that I may see, my ears that I may hear, my mind and heart that I may abide in your goodness and walk in solid faith.