PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Every Spring, people trudge through the woods with their eye to the ground sporting a sack or a bucket in which to store these treasurers. They grow in the woods when the ground begins to warm. A true sign of Spring – Morels. Mushroom hunting is a yearly event. I say event as some take Morel hunting very seriously. Funny thing about Morels is you either love them or hate them. Dredge them in flour, fry them in butter and I’m a lover. As tasty as Morels are, not all mushrooms are edible, some are deadly and you’ve got to know the difference between the two. Did you know mushrooms are a member of the fungi family? Sounds gross, doesn’t it, fungus cannot be good for you. Technically, mushrooms are the fruit of the fungus – calling fungus fruit doesn’t make it sound any more appetizing, does it?

One thing I learned is that fungi is 90% of living things in forests and 50% of living things in farmland. Another thing I learned is that yeast and mold are mentioned right beside mushrooms as fungi. Weird huh? They are not in the same category but nevertheless they are all listed in the fungi kingdom. They all have their good qualities – think Morels for mushrooms, penicillin for mold and leaven for bread – and they all have their bad qualities – think poisonous mushrooms, inhaling black mold and tummy trouble from too much yeast. The thing about fungi is that no matter what form it comes in it quickly spreads. Mushrooms have spores that are dispersed by wind, water or animals, making more mushrooms. We all know how quickly mold grows, and yeast can completely permeate its surroundings.

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 – KJV

That verse six is quite a tongue twister, isn’t it? Yeast is a symbol for sin, and here Brother Paul is talking about allowing sin to exist in the Church. To drill that down a bit, let’s look at where sin in the Church starts – with us individual Church people. Ouch, sorry! Sin is not a word we hear very much about and we’re okay not hearing much about it, right? But, Jesus died for our sins, so it is something we must take a look at. Why? Because it has an impact on absolutely everything around us. We think sin only affects the sinner, the individual, us, but that’s simply not true. You’ve heard folks say “you’re only hurting yourself” and that’s just never a true statement. Our sin touches everything we touch and since our lives are intertwined with others, our sin, in one way or another, touches everything or everyone we touch, directly or indirectly. We will never be sinless, only the Passover Lamb was sinless and He died so we could be sinless, but that doesn’t give us permission to sin. It’s not a pass.

Remember, when we came to Christ, we became a new creation, the old creation fell away. Sin lost its grip on us. We are no longer bound by sin. Hallelujah! It doesn’t mean we won’t sin, it means we are not slaves to sin. It means Jesus has broken our bondage to sin. Hallelujah! With God’s help, we need to look inward and identify the sin in our life – you know, that yeast that spreads. Ouch, sorry! Just as Moses told the Israelites preparing for the Exodus to sweep the yeast from their homes, we need to do the same. But sometimes, looking for the sin in our lives is hard to see, isn’t it? I mean it’s always easier to see the sin in someone else’s life before our own, right?

Biologist Joe Lacefield said: “Morels are pretty camouflaged. You have to develop an eye for it. You have to key in on what you’re looking for. It definitely takes experience.”

Rooting out the sin in our lives is kind of like looking for Morels. We must first identify the fungi. We have to key in on what we’re looking for in order to sweep it out of the house. But, we cannot do that if we don’t first pick up the broom.

Do you see these twisted trees?  They are in the woods by our house.  They fascinate me.  We have tiny little forests of these twisted trees.  I sometimes stand and stare at them for a minute (if they were people I’d be considered rude) trying to figure out how they got that way.  Was something in their way and they had to grow around it?  Why do they grow in groups like that?  Is it a certain species of tree?  What caused the twisting?  Is the twisting contagious?  Is it a nutrient problem?  Is the soil bad?  Some of you may already know the answer to these questions and actually wonder why I wonder about my forest of twisted trees.  I’m just weird.  Anyway, I’ve done a little research.  I’m no arborist, so I found no good answer.

My research found lots of twisted trees, but not many that exactly matched mine.  I’m pretty sure they are not the mysterious twisted trees of Poland for obvious reasons – we’re not in Poland.  They’re not the Saskatchewan trees for obvious reasons – we’ve not seen a Big Foot.  So what kind of trees are they?  I’ve come to the conclusion they are just what they look like, twisted trees.  They started out growing normally, you can see that from the trunk, but somewhere in their growth they started turning, started twisting, started wringing.  But the most interesting things about these trees is that because of the twisting, the roping, they eventually all point downward and they break off right above the twist.  For some reason, they just can’t get straightened out.  Is it a genetic flaw?  Is it because once the twisting begins, they can’t get untwisted?  Is it because of the trees around them?  Who knows, one can only surmise.  Why would you even care, you ask?  Because I think part of practicing the presence of God is looking for Him in absolutely everything He created and asking —  Is there a lesson to learn from Him?  A change to be made in me?    When I look at the twisted trees, I think, yes.

Could this mini forest of twisted trees be an illustration of how our lives are sometimes?  We get twisted, turned around, gnarled, tied up in knots, and that always leads us to point in the wrong direction, right?  I know this is strange thinking, but I hope you see where I’m coming from. Think about your life.  Are there times you have felt like the twisted trees?  All wrung out, twisted up so tight you’re heading in the wrong direction and ready to break off?  Me too. So how exactly do we get straightened out?  There’s only One Way…

Come…

Incline…

Seek…

Call…

Turn…

Isaiah 55

Wednesday Read Isaiah 55.  Make a list of all the verbs – the action words – that God tells us to do.  Beside each word note how we are to put each into practice.

Thursday Read Isaiah 55.  Make a list of all God’s promises if we put our list of action words into action.

Friday Read Isaiah 55.  Read from a different version today.  Make a note of what we are to turn from and what we are to turn to.  The only way we can untwist something that is twisted so tight that it can cause breakage is to turn it back.  What has us so twisted that we feel about to break?  Instead of continuing to turn to that which is causing us to be twisted, we must turn away from that which is causing us to be twisted.  How do we put that in action in our daily lives? 

Saturday Read Matthew 13:1-23.  So, do we get twisted up because of our soil?  Four soils, four responses to God’s message.  Which one are you?  Which one do you want to be?  Which soil should we be?

Sunday Spend some time in praise and prayer today.  Praise God for the power to untwist our lives and pray God’s power on the untwisting of our lives.

Monday Read Mark 4:35-41.  When the waves of life are crashing around us, do we rely on Jesus to keep His promises and calm the waves, or do we automatically twist into knots and only rely on Him when we’re about to break?  Do we need to change our reaction to the storms of life?  It may be difficult, but it is certainly doable, with the Holy Spirit’s power.

Tuesday Read Acts 3:12-26.  Our twisting may be a result of sin.  It could be our sin or another’s sin.  It could be our sin or our reaction to sin in our life or another’s.  Verse 19 tells us what to do – you may have that on your list from Monday.  Verse 20 tells us the result of that action.

We have been washing our hands a bunch more lately, right?  I was washing my hands at work the other day for the umpteenth time with soap and water and had an interesting discovery…as I stood in front of the white basin with hot water running, massaging the antibacterial soap into my hands while singing Country Roads or Stayin’ Alive, hmmm, I noticed that no matter how many times I wash my hands in a day, they are always dirty.  When I rinse my hands after scrubbing them, the water is always brown, every time, even just a tinge.  Now I’m not a dirtaphobe, I mean I can eat breakfast while mucking a stall, but the dirty basin was striking to me.  You see, I have been washing my hands in the sink about 15 times a day, they shouldn’t be that dirty, right?

Here’s another observation in hand washing – in between hand washings, I use hand sanitizer at least every hour, that’s supposed to clean hands too, but when I put my hands under the faucet and turn on the hot water and lather up with soap, the water is always brown, even just a tinge.  The hand sanitizer might kill the germs but it doesn’t remove the dirt, sanitizing doesn’t mean you’re clean.

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,  “When a man shall have a rising in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests:  and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean. Leviticus 13:1-3

Unclean.  Sounds harsh, doesn’t it?  I mean who can help the diseases the body contracts?  Leprosy in Biblical times was a word used for many different contagious conditions and was quite alarming.   Lepers were separated from their communities until they were considered by the community Priest to be healed, or clean.  It sounds so harsh and unloving but those actions were for the protection and health of the entire community.  Reasonable but disturbing.  Those diseases for which there was no cure could not be brought into their communities.

One of the diseases which requires one to be made clean, you know, one of those diseases that is contagious and has no cure, one of those diseases synonymous with leprosy in the Bible, is sin.  Ouch!  I’m a leper.  How about you?  It may not look the same today as it did in Biblical times although it is always active, causes great illness and symptoms, and is more deadly than any earthbound leprosy.  Unclean is unclean. No amount of washing or sanitizing on our part can rid  us of the leprosy of sin.  But my friends, there is a cure!

It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.  As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.  They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Luke 17:11-12

Oh, couldn’t we all use the mercy of Jesus?  What is mercy?  Mercy is God’s attitude toward those in distress.  Who’s in distress?  Because we live in a fallen world, because we are sinful, because we are lepers, we are in distress.  The skin disease of leprosy actually destroys the nerve endings  in a body.  People with leprosy would often times unknowingly damage their fingers and toes. Again, sin is not so different.  Oft times our sin causes damage in our lives and the lives of others and we don’t even realize it.  The only cure for our distress is God’s mercy.   God’s mercy upon us that came through the grace of His Son.  Grace that can only come from Jesus.  His mercy makes the basin clean and by His abundant grace our sins are washed away, there’s no dirt in the sink, not even a tinge.

Wednesday Read Luke 17:11-19.  The lepers stood at a distance because they were unclean.  Do we stand at a distance from Jesus because we feel unclean?  Do we fail to approach Him?  Do we cry out for mercy?  Why don’t we? Maybe it’s because we don’t believe?  Maybe it’s because we don’t feel like we need mercy?  Maybe it’s because we don’t feel like we deserve mercy? 

Thursday Read Luke 17:11-19.  With a look from Jesus the lepers were freed.  Freed from the disease.  Free to reenter society.  Free to get back to life.  Free from the power of the disease.  The same is true for us.  With a look from Jesus we can be freed of our leprosy.  Free from the power of sin in our lives.

Friday Read Luke 17:11-19.   Jesus told the lepers to go show themselves to the priest, the only one who could declare them clean.  Look at Hebrews 4:14-16.  Who’s our great high priest.  When will we receive his mercy and his grace…when we need it.  He’s always there.

Saturday Read Leviticus Chapter 13.  The diagnosis of leprosy.  Read about leprosy in Biblical times.  How is this applied to spiritual leprosy?

Sunday Read Leviticus Chapter 14.  The cleansing of leprosy.  How is the cleansing of leprosy applied to our spiritual cleansing?

Monday Read Luke 17:11-19.  It’s interesting, check out when the lepers were healed.  Jesus healed the lepers “as they went.”  He didn’t heal them and then send them to the priest.  He didn’t make them wait until they were healed. Jesus healed them along the way. In what ways does He heal us as we go?  Are the effects of His healing always instantaneous in our lives?

Tuesday Read Luke 17:11-19.   Praise God, I’m healed!  Is that ever our response?  When Jesus has shown us mercy and grace and broken us from the bondage of sin and it’s consequences?  Do we then go to Him, fall at His feet, and praise Him?  What happened when the leper did so?  Jesus told Him he was not only healed from leprosy but He was healed from sin!  Praise always strengthens our faith!

I was driving home from work the other day and I had to smile. The world has come to a screeching halt and people are flipping out. We’ve gone from 100 miles an hour, every hour, to creeping, at best. I wonder if the Lord looks down on His children – that’s us – and says oh my youngins, and He smiles. We know full well that our God is not a God who is sitting on the throne laughing at the state of the world. He’s not saying haha, you got what you deserve. He’s not saying you should have, you could have, if you would have.

We know that when life is going smoothly and when life is in calamity, in every circumstance, our God is looking down with tender eyes, with a gentle heart and with pom poms in hand cheering us on. He’s saying – hey guys, I love you, I’m in charge, come over here, nestle right here under my arm. I will give you rest. I will give you what you need. I will give you hope. I will give you… I will give you…I will give you…Just come to me.

You see those are His promises and we know that God always keeps His promises. This is how it works. He makes a promise…He keeps His promise. He makes a promise…He keeps a promise. He makes a promise…He keeps a promise. He committed to us and when we commit to Him all those promises are fulfilled in our lives. Do we believe that? God makes a promise. We believe that promise. He fulfills that promise in our life. Easy-peasy, right? Maybe.

But, if you possibly can, have pity on us and help us.” “‘If I possibly can!'” replied Jesus; “why, everything is possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe: strengthen my weak faith.”
Mark 9:22-23

Have you ever felt like this dude? Jesus, if you possibly can? Are you relating to this father or are you thinking to yourself this dude just didn’t’ know Jesus. How could he doubt Jesus? Come on for real? He must be a weakling in the faith. Before we go getting all Phariseeical and offering the should ofs, let’s be honest. We’ve all felt that way at one time or another, though we may not have said it out loud. How do I know that? Because, Jesus is the only perfect. There are times when our faith is just as imperfect as this worried father. Think about your life, I’m sure there are times you can relate to how this father feels. Maybe your child hasn’t been demon-possessed, but aren’t there other things in our lives that cause us to question, even unintentionally – Jesus, if you could possibly help us…

Here’s the thing, God does not demand us to have perfect faith. He knows we need help with our unbelief. He knows our faith needs strengthened. He accepts our faith, as small as a mustard seed and continues to work in our lives. As we continue to focus growing our relationship with Jesus, He helps our unbelief, strengthens our weak faith, helps us not to doubt. Through His power in our lives, through our surrender to Him, He gradually changes our unbelief, our doubt, our weak faith, bit by bit into a more perfect faith. You see, faith is complete, humble dependence on Him and obedience to His will.

Wednesday
Read Mark 9:14-29. Write down all the red-letters. Make a list of all of Jesus’s statements, one right after another. Do you get a sense of the whole story, just in the red letters? This story could be your story, right? Read the list of red-letters you made. Think about an occurrence or situation in your life and fill in the back story.

Thursday
Read Mark 9:29. What is the key to unlocking our faith? Evaluate your prayer life. Do you spend much time in prayer? Do you ask the Lord to fill you with faith and power?

Friday
Read Luke 17:1-10. Do you feel the same way the disciples did? What is more important, the amount of faith you have or the authenticity, or realness, of your faith?

Saturday
Read Romans Chapter 4 about the faith of Abraham. This faith is not just for Abraham and his children, but this kind of faith is for Abraham’s children’s children, for us today, and for those children of tomorrow. Focus on verses 20-24. Make notes about Abraham’s faith. How can we use Abraham’s faith as an example?

Sunday
Read Psalm 86. David’s faith grew in times of trouble because he knew the character of God. David prayed to God. God responded. David’s faith grew.

Monday
Read 1 Corinthians 1:8. Write down the promises. Read Philippians 1:6. Growth. God promises that He will complete the work He started in us. Look back over your life with Christ. Do you see those completions of His good works in your life, those growths?

Tuesday
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. Spend time in prayer today thanking God for keeping His promises, thanking God for planting a mustard seed within, thanking God for using His power to grow the seed of faith in our lives and perfecting our faith in and through Him. Amen.

So, I was reading a book the other day and the author was relating how she had been struggling with something (she didn’t even remember the details of what it was) she went to a Christian counselor to help her sort things out.  After relating whatever it was that was bothering her, the Christian counselor said “Grow Up!”  Ouch!  Doesn’t seem like something you’d hear from a professional counselor, does it?  I mean after all, she’s paying for this advice.  Now she didn’t say, oh grow up, like we would say when we’re impatient or frustrated with someone.  It was said with the kindest intentions – with the intent to encourage someone to, well…grow up, move on, get over it, rise above.  I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I thought to myself, yep I could use me some growing up.  You too?

How do we grow up from the many things that bother us in a day that we can’t even remember the next day, but we spent so much time and energy on the previous day?  How do we mature ourselves?  We get into the Word of God.  Therein lies the secret to growing up.  Getting into the Word of God and then applying the Word of God to our lives.  I know this is a common theme, imagine that, a Jesus blog that encourages spending most of your life in the Word of God, but that’s how growing up is done.   Without food there is no growth.

Spending time in the Word is not an exercise in self-improvement.  The Word of God was not written about us, it was written about God.  The Word was not written so we can be better people, it was written so that we may become Godly people.  Spending time in the Word is really about growing up.  Growing up is completely dependent on Whose you are, not who you are.

Spending time in the Word of God leads to the adoration of God.  If it doesn’t, it is pointless.  Growing up, maturing, is a process of development.  Growing is about becoming.  If we are not growing we are declining.  If we aren’t knowing more, we are knowing less.  Why so?  Because the world is constantly moving, life is constantly changing, we grow or we are left behind.  Grow we must in love, in the Spirit, in knowledge, in Christ.

The world we live in right now is crazy.  Our daily lives look different than they did a month ago.  But, Praise God for the amazing blessing – more time on our hands.  For those of us who have always said if I had more time I’d read my Bible more, you’ve got it!  No excuses.  Here’s the thing, take just a minute to imagine what the world would look like in 30 days if we all committed to reading the Word of God daily.  What would our lives look like if we shifted our focus from self adoration to God adoration?  What if we allowed our love for God to change our lives? Sometimes our life circumstances require us to grow up faster than we expected or even wanted.  Maybe now.

So, with the kindest intentions and the intent to encourage you, I say  (and I hope you say to me) grow up, move on, get over it, rise above, no more excuses.

Wednesday – Matthew 26:1-13.  You think Jesus ever wanted to say to people, grow up?  Those who knew Him, had heard His teachings, had witnessed His healings and still needed growing up, didn’t they?  From Caiaphas to the disciples.

Thursday – Passover ends this evening.  Read Matthew 26:14-30.  Although the disciples may not have realized it, this was no ordinary Passover meal.  How would this Passover meal look different than those celebrations in the past?  How did the disciples prepare for Passover?  What is communion?

Friday – Read Matthew 26:31-35.  Look through the scriptures and right down each instance of Peter’s denial of Jesus.  Peter’s story is a beautiful story of love, forgiveness and growth.  It’s also our story, right?  Peter was not perfect, neither are we; however, Peter grew up because His faith was tested.  Look at Peter’s life.  Look at our lives.  Have we grown?  Are we growing in Christ?

Saturday – Read Matthew 26:36-46.  I can so relate to Peter, James and John.  How so, you say?  Hasn’t your faith ever fallen asleep?  Jesus told Peter to keep alert and pray or temptation will overpower.  Isn’t that the same for us?  Growing up means being alert, keeping our eyes open for overpowering temptations.

Sunday – Read Luke 2:21-40.  Simeon and Anna.  They had been waiting for the promised King.  Jesus was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem as an eight-day-old to be circumcised.  In an instant they recognized Jesus, at eight-days-old.    Simeon prophesied that Jesus would  be the light of the world.  Anna told everyone the King had come.  Simeon and Anna were grown up, mature in the faith, folks who were unusually close to God.  Where did they spend their time?  What did they spend their time doing?  How else did they know that Jesus was the Messiah?

Monday – Read Luke 21:41-52.  These last thirty one verses (including yesterday’s) take us from an eight-day-old Jesus in the Temple, to a 12 year old Jesus, to an adult Jesus.  Where was Jesus found?  In the Temple.  Sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them., growing up – trying to grow them up.  What were Jesus’s practices?  Spending time with the Father.

Tuesday – Read Hebrews 4:12-6:12.  What do these verses say about growing up?  Are we reluctant to move beyond the basics?  What’s holding us back?  Growing up is the process of obedience, even when it’s hard. Jesus was obedient unto death.  His death for our life.

Now I’m not an English major, that’s probably more than obvious if you’ve read any of this stuff. I stink at the rules of grammar and punctuation. I don’t use commas well (should that be good?) – way too many. I’m one big run on sentence – that’s why I use so many commas. I love dashes – they separate my thoughts. I just can’t stand quotes – where do they begin? where do they end? one mark or two? punctuation inside or outside the quote mark? – that rule seems to be ever changing. I do love me some dot-dot-dots…because many times my thoughts are left hanging because I’ve moved on to my next thought already and just don’t have time to complete the last thought…What brought up this subject? Sinclair Ferguson:

In the grammar of faith, all the imperatives in God’s word (commands: “this is what you are to do”) are rooted in indicatives (statements of fact: “this is what God has done, or will do, for you and in you”). Gospel grammar works like this: it is because of what God has done that, therefore, you are to be this or do that.

I read this the other day and immediately thought about my own use of grammar and punctuation. Of course, I was looking at his quote and thought he may have broken a few of the rules too. But the two things that jumped out at me were the words indicatives and imperatives. It’s good for us to learn new words once in a while and today’s the day.

Imperative means absolutely necessary. I think we can all agree that God’s Word is filled with imperatives. Things we must absolutely do. Things that are absolutely necessary. Requirements. Commands. Indicatives are demonstrations, indications, to point out, to show. Sinclair explains it perfectly – because of what God has done we are to be this or do that.

Sinclair calls these words the logic of the gospel. Each command given by God has reasons. So how does the logic of the gospel work? I think it goes something like this:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38

Imperatives – what we must do – NOT JUDGE, NOT CONDEMN, FORGIVE. Indicatives – what God has done – He has not judged, not condemned, He has forgiven us.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Luke 23:34

That’s logical, right? Let’s try another…

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16-17

Imperatives – what we must do – BELIEVE. Indicatives – what God has done – LOVED, GAVE, SAVED. God has demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to save us. The logic: We Believe because God says His Son will save us and we will not be condemned. We can see that in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection on the cross. That’s logical, right?

Wednesday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read 1 Peter 1:13-21
What must we do? What has God done?

Thursday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Romans 5:1-11
What must we do? What has God done?

Friday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Isaiah 53
What must we do? What has God done?

Saturday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Hebrews 13:15
What must we do? What has God done?

Sunday
Pray the Lord will open your mind to the Word of God. Pray that He will give you understanding of His Word so that you can apply the Word to your life.

Monday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Romans 12:1-2
What must we do? What has God done?

Tuesday
Read Matthew Chapters 5 and 6. Pick two logic lessons and write down what must we do and what has God done?

I love that term, don’t you? A baker’s dozen. Who doesn’t want a baker’s dozen of anything, especially donuts, homemade rolls, loaves of bread, you know, bakery stuff. I’m a lover of all things carb and when I’m given a baker’s dozen, I feel compelled to indulge – I must eat it! All 13. I was interested in where that term came from after my prayer time the other day.

So what exactly is a baker’s dozen other than yummy? In medieval times, bread was sold by weight. Just like today many of our foods are sold by weight. A stroll around the grocery store proves it. Farmers’ Markets affirm it. Meat is priced per pound. Fruits and vegetables are priced per pound. Canned food is sold by ounces. Dried foods like spaghetti and rice are sold by pound. Ice cream used to be sold by the gallon – there are some tricksters out there though who have kept the gallon price but not the gallon size – check it out. Anyway, you get my drift.

The best things in life are sold by the dozen! The most precious things in the world, think about it, it’s downright true, are sold by the dozen. Donuts – by the dozen. Breads – by the dozen. Cookies – by the dozen. Muffins – by the dozen. Nowadays you only occasionally stumble across a baker’s dozen – 13 of something! When bread was sold by weight, bakers used to throw in an extra to be sure they complied with the weight standards. You see, a baker could be fined or flogged for cheating customers out of their fair share. In those medieval times, it was a little more difficult to be precise. Temperature control, air flow, baking conditions, yeast quality, moisture control (especially in England), etc. made it difficult to make sure that a roll was a roll was a roll. Size and density varied. No two rolls were alike – I’ll take the big one! In order to avoid the harsh penalties, a baker would throw in an extra just in case there was shortage.

So, what’s all that rambling got to do with my prayer list? You know how my mind works, it makes weird connections and here’s another. I have a baker’s dozen on my prayer list – oh, it’s not a written list, it’s a mental list. A list of 13 people, my baker’s dozen, that I love who either don’t know Jesus, outright reject Jesus, or are just dabbling in Jesus. Not a criticism, just an observation. Thirteen precious people! Thirteen sweet, wonderful people who I want to meet in Heaven – no time soon mind you. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are tons of folks I want to see in Heaven, but the Lord has imprinted these people on my heart for some reason for right now. You see it’s personal for me – these are the people Jesus has entrusted to my prayer care. Sure, there may be other pray-ers praying for my baker’s dozen, and sure there are others that I am praying for outside my baker’s dozen. The point is the prayer.

And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved.
2 Peters 3:15

Just think what the world would be like if every believer committed to adopting a baker’s dozen. You’re thinking great, add one more thing to my to-do list, add 13 more things to my prayer list that I can’t get through already. Why yes, yes I am. You see the most important thing we can ever do for someone is to pray for their salvation. Sure there are many things on earth to pray for, but everything here on earth is temporary – everything. Everything here on earth can be taken care of by Heaven. Salvation. Every hurt on earth can be healed by Heaven. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. So, how am I going to find time to do this, you say? Easy, I say. We waste away how many hours a day with mindless mind-chatter. You know, those conversations we have in our heads – I’d say this, I’d do that, I’m gonna – Preparing for this, preparing for that. Those moments of wasted time and energy can be captured. Thirty sincere seconds without the radio or TV, or whatever else it is that pulls us away from presenting someone to God for eternal life.

Here’s the thing, our prayers for others don’t have to be novel sized. A thought, a whispered prayer, a moment. Lord, turn their hearts to you. Lord, fan the flame. Lord, open their eyes to you. Lord, draw them close to you. Just…Lord.

Praying for others sometimes seems like a daunting task – just be honest. That’s because when we pray, we try to tell the Lord all the things wrong that need fixed. Oh yeah, then we try to tell Him how to fix them in the way we want, or in the way we think would be best for them. Who are we? Our job is simply to present them to Jesus and allow Him to work it out with them. We cannot save people, only Jesus can. We cannot heal people, only Jesus can. That takes the daunt out doesn’t it? We offer them up to Him, The One, The Way, The Only.

Look at it exponentially. My baker’s dozen, if even one of them eventually has a baker’s dozen, and then even one of their baker’s dozen has a baker’s dozen. Think about it. That’s how the Good News is spread, one person at a time.

Wednesday
Read 2 Peter Chapter 3. Peter notes how we should live each day until Christ returns. Write down what Peter says about how we should be living. Let’s compare that with how we are truly living. What are we doing while we are waiting?

Thursday
Read 2 Peter 3:13-15. Read Romans 2:4. Both passages talk about God giving us time. List the reasons in those passages.

Friday
Read Ephesians 3:-1-13. What is the secret plan revealed. Write it down. As Followers of Christ, we have been given the responsibility, the task, the honor, the joy, the courage, the power to spread the Good News. How are we doing?

Saturday
Read Ephesians 3:14-21. Paul’s prayer. Could this be a prayer for our baker’s dozen? Are there folks for whom we would fall to our knees on a regular basis petitioning the Lord to open their hearts to Him?

Sunday
Think about the folks around you. If you were to commit to praying for a baker’s dozen, who has the Lord laid on your heart? Children, parents, friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, folks you may not yet know? We have an opportunity to be part of God’s divine plan for others – Salvation.

Monday
Read Ephesians 2:8-10. We were not saved for our own benefit. We were saved to glorify God and bring others to Him.

Tuesday
Read Ezekiel 12:19-20. Read Jeremiah 29:11-14. Read 2 Corinthians 5:15-21. Use these verses as the base for our prayers for our baker’s dozen. Search for more scriptures to use as prayers.

I read a verse the other day that made me look at the bottom of my purse. You see, as a woman, I’ve always been on the quest for the perfect purse. Ladies, I know you know what I’m talking about here. You know, the perfect bag to carry all my stuff in. (Guys, you too may identify – a comfy money belt, the perfect wallet, bifold, trifold, or a rubberband?) I’ve always sought the perfect design. One that’s not too big or too small. One that’s not too heavy but has substance. One with two straps or one with handles? A backpack or a purse on wheels? Cloth, pleather or leather? As I age, I’m not opposed to one that has built in pockets to keep my stuff organized like you see on those infomercials. It’s funny that the definition of purse is really a “small” bag, pouch or case for carrying money. We use them as small suitcases. Anyhow, regardless of how much I search for the perfect purse (I’ve stopped looking by the way) there’s just not one out there. The problem? No matter how big, small, etc., everything always falls to the bottom. When you reach for something in your purse it’s like diving into the bottomless pit, right? Sometimes it’s two arms, your head and a flashlight in to find those coins in the bottom. Since everything goes to the bottom, what happens if your purse is worn out and has a hole in the bottom?

Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor.
Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out,
and save your riches in heaven,
where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them,
and no moth can destroy them.
Luke 12:33-34

This made me think that for many years, I had been searching for the wrong purse and the wrong design. I’d been looking for a purse to carry all my earthly junk in, my treasures, my money. You see most, many, all of my earthly treasures, junk, mean nothing if they are not used for Kingdom purposes. As believers everything we do, say, have, have not, should be about the work of the Kingdom. We may say we’ve worked hard and we deserve this trinket, this new outfit, this new car, this vacation, this whatever, but that’s a huge lie that we have been told by the evil one and we have bought it hook, line, and sinker. If we look at who God is and then look at who we are, if we’re honest, we will begin to see that everything we are, everything we have is a gift from Him. We deserve nothing and can earn nothing. If it’s from Him, it should be used for Him. Should everything then not be used for the furtherance of His Kingdom?

So, are our investments in this world or in the Kingdom? We need to look at those worldly investments – time, money, junk, treasurers. I think the world (us) should shop for a new purse with a very different design. The one we have has a massive hole in it. Many things we had stored in that purse have fallen through the holes. It just might be time to change purses. It just might be time to sell our worldly stock and invest in the Kingdom.

Wednesday
Read the Book of Haggai. All two chapters. How we use our resources – time, money, treasures – reflects our priorities. List your top five priorities – be honest! Look at your list again and see if those priorities are in the right order. Do you need to reorder your priorities?

Thursday
Back to Haggai. Haggai was calling for the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord. What seemed to be the problem with the rebuilding? (vs. 3-6) Are we putting our resources in pockets or purses that have holes in them? (vs. 6) Like the Jews, have we started out with the right priorities and then all of a sudden our list has been reordered and we don’t even know how? Has work somehow moved into first position? Has family somehow moved into first position? Has money somehow moved into first position? We must constantly evaluate the order of our priorities.

Friday
Look at Haggai Chapter 2. Are we sometimes afraid to move forward with God’s priorities because of the “dangers” of the world? “Dangers” being persecution, loss of friends, loss of worldly possessions. But look what God says in verse 4. What is His promise if we put Him first?

Saturday
Look at Haggai 2:6-9. More promises! What are the promises? Who is the Promise?

Sunday
Reread Haggai today. All two chapters. Write down two things you didn’t notice on your first read through on Wednesday. Spend time in prayer today specifically concerning priorities. Do we need to confess the wrong order of our priorities? Do we need to ask for forgiveness? Do we need to ask for God’s help in setting priorities? Do we need to ask God’s help in making Him first in our lives? How about we praise Him for being the One the only one to help us reorder our lives? How about we praise Him for choosing us to help Him fulfill His plans?

Monday
Look at Haggai Chapter 2 verses 10-19. Will our Kingdom work take care of our sin? What can wash away our sin? Only the blood of Jesus. How does His blood wash away our sin? Through our repentance and obedience. When we are obedient to His Word, what happens? See verse 19. While the seed is in the barn – before it’s even planted – His promise is to bless us when we are obedient to Him. The Lord has a way of blessing us even before we know we need a blessing.

Tuesday
Reread Haggai 2:20-23. What is the significance of a signet ring – look it up. What was God promising? Look at Matthew 1:12. The Book of Haggai is a lesson in getting our priorities straight. Are we providing for ourselves purses that don’t have holes? If we give God first place in our life, if we’re more concerned with His work and with worshiping Him, He will bless, guide and protect us. God is a promise keeper!

It’s a Great Day to be a Mountaineer! As I write the Covid-19 virus has not yet invaded the Great Mountain State. We are a hardy folk. No one ever wants to come to West Virginia, until now!!! Something very strange, or should I say stranger than usual, has just happened to the world in which we live. We’ve been hit with a healthcare crisis for which some think the cure for is toilet paper! I think we have just lost our collective minds. It’s really a very strange feeling, isn’t it, to lose one’s mind? We here in the U.S. are boundless folks. We’re used to having everything we want, when we want it, let alone everything we need and suddenly the jokes on us, right? If you’re looking for toilet paper, you’re just plain out of luck. The toilet paper is gone. It’s quite a mystery. Do you have a square to spare?

So I went to the grocery store Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. Me and a bunch of other folks. I was doing a weekly shopping, having been completely oblivious to the run on sundries – toilet paper, milk, bread, frozen vegetables. It was an odd feeling to walk through the grocery store and see bare shelves. That’s not something I had experienced before even in the best of snowstorms. It was surreal – kind of an out of body experience. Creepy. I got my groceries and traveled to my parents’ house. As I unload the bags from the trunk, I turn and see the picture above. As I looked at the sky I could feel the ominousness of the grocery store falling away. As I looked at the sky I was reminded that God was in complete control of everything going on in the world today. I didn’t have to worry about it, He could handle it. Thank you, God!

In the midst of this turmoil, some may ask where is God. God was on the throne yesterday. God is on the throne today. God will be on the throne tomorrow. God will reign eternally. God keeps His promises.

But the LORD will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
For the LORD is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the LORD,” he says,
“and there is no other.
I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the LORD, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
Isaiah 45:15-19

Well, what should we being doing amid the craziness of the world today? The same thing we did before the craziness of the world today, if there ever was a before. Seek God. Praise God. Proclaim God. Exhort God. Stand on His promises.

We don’t really understand what in the world’s going on, but we are assured of Who is going on in the world. Amidst the chaos and turmoil of our new lives, we need to turn our focus to the One who brings everything into perfect focus. Jesus.

Wednesday
Have you wondered this past week about whether or not you have everything you need? Read Luke 12:22-34. Write down all the promises that Jesus makes in these verses. Does this change our list of everything we need? What should be our primary concern? Don’t allow the world to make you panic. Stand on the promises of God.

Thursday
Read Psalm 46. Write down all the promises that God has made. What will be our response to His promises?

Friday
Read Matthew 6:25-34. What do we do with worry? It’s a creeper.  It seems to creep up on us and before we know it we’re full on worrying. But, what does Jesus say about worry? What are the truths Jesus speaks of in verses 32-33? Many things we do not know, but constantly reminding ourselves of what we do know, like Who is in control, can help push worry down. Carry this hymn with you today and when you feel worry creeping in, sing at the top of your lungs!

Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

Saturday
Dig through the Psalms and find one that speaks to your heart. Memorize it. Hold it. Pray it. Post it. Share it. A verse spoken to a friend. A verse texted to a friend. A verse written in a note. Make sure that there is not a shortage of the Word of God in our minds and hearts. Cling to the Word.

Sunday
Read Philippians Chapter 4. Reread verses 4-7. During this time of turmoil, where do we find peace? In prayer. Take your worries to Jesus, you can’t handle them, but He definitely can.

Monday
Read Deuteronomy 33:26-27. There is no one like our God! Sing this song as your morning Praise and then write your own morning Praise. List all the promises found in this song.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Tuesday
Read 2 Timothy Chapter 1. Study verses 7-8. Do you know of anyone having a difficult time with the world’s crisis? Is there someone you could talk to about Jesus? Is there someone who needs to hear His promises? Is there someone who needs to lean on Him, but doesn’t know who He is? What have you to dread? What have you to fear? Speak life to those around you who need Life.

There she is, the Worst-Best, the complete opposite of what we’re talking about today…

The final fruits of the Spirit – gentleness and self-control – the final potential markers on our life path. I said early on we were going to take each fruit of the Spirit individually. The author of Galatians, Paul, listed each one separately so we should study separately. But, as I studied the last two fruits listed, the relationship between these two characteristics was so striking to me. I made a weird connection in my brain. I said we weren’t going to bundle, but on these last two, I’m bundling, partly because they’re related, partly because they are the two I struggle with most.  Maybe I’m not so different than the Worst-Best.

In addition to the direct relationship between the last two fruits of the Spirit, another interesting point is the verse referencing of these last two fruits. Do you see it? The version you are studying from or the translation you are reading may be a little different, but here’s how the verses are set in the New Living Translation:

22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22-23

Isn’t that curious? The next two fruits are set out separately. Is there a reason. Does it matter? Well, Brother Paul did not separate the fruits. Chapter references were added in about 900 AD and verse numbers were added sometime in the 1500’s. In the original manuscripts, no such references existed. Paul did not say to his scribe – Chapter 5, verse 22, But the Holy Spirit…The Books of the Bible were written in poem, manuscript, or letter form. Enough of that, I just thought that was interesting, I’ve always wondered about chapters and verses. You can check it out sometime. Ok, enough said. Oh wait, one more thing. These divisions can sometimes lead us to think that we should read and study in bits and pieces. Not so. In order to understand the writings and the entire message of the Word, we cannot just pluck out a verse or a part of a verse to study, without studying the whole. We must study the entire context – when, where, how, who, what, place, time, audience, etc. Ok, now enough said.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives…gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22-23

And here we pick up…What do you think when you hear the word gentle or gentleness? Do you think meek, mild, easy, soft, quiet, sweet, tender? Or do you think the opposite, harsh, rough, violent, hard, difficult, unkind, severe, merciless?

What about self-control? That’s pretty self-explanatory, right? What does that really mean? Disciplined, restrained, controlled? Pretty easy to understand, right? Plain and simple. Here’s the problem – it’s not so plain and simple.

Is your life marked by the fruits of gentleness and self-control? Here’s where the bundling comes in for me. In order to be gentle, I must have self-control. Remember, we’ve been talking for the last forever weeks that we humans do not naturally display the characteristics of the fruits of the Spirit. Only God does. We can only display these fruits, we can only leave these characteristics in our wake if we are governed and guided by the Holy Spirit. We were not born with the fruits of the Spirit existing within, we are reborn so the fruits of the Spirit exist within. Get it? In order to be gentle, I must be guided by the Spirit. Otherwise, I am naturally harsh, rough, difficult, merciless, out of control.  Surprise, surprise.

I love the definition of the Greek word for self-control – egkráteia. Two words put together that mean true mastery within.  In other words coming from within oneself but not by oneself. It takes self-control, discipline, perseverance, endurance, all of which come from the power of the Spirit to display and drop on our path the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These do not conflict with the law, they fulfill the law. Just as Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law, to offer salvation for all, we are to reflect that message to the world by the marks we leave on our path.

Wednesday
Read Luke 10:38-41. Note how Jesus addresses Martha. What is His tone? Does He speak unkindly to her? Are His words harsh? How does He get the message across to Martha? Doesn’t He speak to us in the same way?  Martha, Martha…

Thursday
Read John 4:1-30. Note how Jesus speaks to the woman. Speaking His message of hope gently, respectfully, but firmly. He announces to her that He is the Messiah. What does she do with His message of hope?

Friday
Read 1 Peter 2:11-12. Why must we be careful how we conduct ourselves? Read 1 Peter 3:13-22. Are we prepared to give an answer gently and respectfully for the hope that we have?

Saturday
1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Do we practice self-control? Are we disciplined? What are the benefits of practicing self-control and discipline?

Sunday
Read James 1:19-27. Write down all the ways we should practice self-control in these verses.

Monday
Read Galatians 3:15-29. What was the purpose of the Old Testament law? Does the Old Testament law apply today? Why does the Old Testament apply today? What does it teach us about God? Can we be saved by keeping the law? How are we saved?

Tuesday
Search the Book of Proverbs and write down a scripture verse for every fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Post these verses as a reminder of the character of God. Spend time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to teach you and guide you as you mirror these images of God to others.