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Pressing On

When I was around 20 years old, I had an encounter with God, and I’ve never been the same since. I was a believer in Jesus Christ, had been since about the age of 11, but I was struggling with how to live the life I knew I should be living as a Christian. I’d been in church all my life and had been taught and absorbed many biblical truths that shaped the way I viewed the world and life, and the way we are to live it. But truthfully, I was nearly biblically ignorant. Though I knew some verses and Bible stories and could recite the books of the Bible, it wasn’t a cohesive whole to me. I didn’t know my way around it.

I was troubled and unhappy. I could tell how I shouldn’t live, but I didn’t know how to live the life that I knew I should be living. I cried out to God for months in my spiritual confusion and powerlessness. Then one evening God turned the light on inside me in a church meeting. There was a special speaker but I don’t even remember exactly what he preached on; something about the Spirit of God. As he spoke, God pulled the string on that spiritual “light bulb” inside me … and I knew. Or to be more precise, I came alive to the One who knows.

I had been taught God’s Spirit lived in me because I was a believer in Jesus, but I didn’t know how to access the power he had to help me do what was right. But when he opened my spiritual eyes, every other sense that could be in tune with God was awakened.

The Journey of a Lifetime Begins

I left that meeting knowing what people meant when they said they were walking on “cloud nine.” That is how I felt for weeks, singing the song that we sang in that meeting, feeling unaccountably happy (the proper term is joyful), and very much wanting only to live my life for Jesus and serve him. And though the euphoria waned, that sense of wanting only to live for and serve the Lord has never left me.

It was at this same time I developed a hunger for the Word of God, and I loved studying it. There was so much I didn’t know! And so much I began to learn from reading the Bible. I’ve been on that journey now for many years. I’m still learning, and I feel more and more like a child who has so much more yet to learn. My journey to grow in knowledge of the Lord and his will, gained through the Word (my own study and learning from godly teachers), began.  My walk by the Spirit began … with baby steps.

In these blog posts we’ve been considering what it means to walk by the Spirit. There truly is a spiritual dimension in our lives that is very real; God is at work, but it is up to us to respond. What Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, he says to us, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is knocking at the heart’s door of each one of us who is a believer. I opened that door as I cried out to him in my need … and Jesus came in to dine with me. And more; he set up house. It is by his Spirit he lives in and is with me each day.

Yes, I believe he was there before, ever since I asked Jesus to be my Savior when I was a child. But he graciously did whatever it is he does to bring us closer to himself and guide, teach, and commune with us. He became Lord of my life as never before.

Each of us has a story and a journey of faith in Jesus Christ. Our experiences may differ and undoubtedly do differ. But it is the same God who works in us all to desire and to do his will, to do what pleases him (Philippians 2:12-13).

When we seek the Lord with all our heart, as I did as a young adult Christian, we will find him. Then one day you may realize, as I did, (or perhaps you already have) that all along he had been seeking you, and you opened that spiritual door in your life, and he came in to be with you and give you meaning and purpose and power to live the life he calls us to.

Keep Pressing On

Wherever you are in your journey with Jesus, keep your eyes fixed on him, keep growing in knowledge of God and make your highest goal to know him and please him. As Paul the Apostle said, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:12-16, emphasis added).

Keep pressing on, walking by the Spirit, not by your old nature (the flesh) and by not the ways of the world.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. …19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16-25, emphasis added).

Words of life and light. Let’s live fully, pressing on to live in the light of the words of life, walking by the Spirit, keeping in step with God’s Spirit.

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Snatching Time, Walking with the Eternal

How do you walk by the Spirit when there seems so little time to spend in the Bible to learn what God has told us about how to live?

Maybe you are in a season of life where time seems to be at a premium and you find it very difficult to set aside time for Bible reading and study. And this can be for numerous different reasons. A habit of spending time in God’s Word daily is commendable, and in Joshua’s case, and other leaders in scripture, was commanded (Joshua 1:7-8; Deut. 17:18-20). It is a goal to strive for to learn God’s will and ways from his word.

However, we must not confuse good habits that help us grow in the knowledge of God and his ways, with actually walking by the Spirit in a godly lifestyle. If we are not careful, the former can become a legalistic act, but the latter, which is truly putting into practice what we know of God to that point in our lives, cannot be faked (Philippians 3:12-16).

Love God, Love His Word

God doesn’t want us checking off boxes on our spiritual “to-do” list to try and please him. He wants us to obey his word out of love for him, as we’ve previously established. Jesus said that God’s greatest commandment is, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30). The second most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Everything we do can be tested against that standard (Matthew 22:34-40).

Love for God and his word must fuel and undergird all our good habits (our “spiritual disciplines”) and our obedience to God’s word and will. Choosing to love God, we walk with him every day, keeping our spiritual eyes on him, learning to love him more each day, even, or perhaps because of, the mysteries and the unknowns we are confronted with when it comes to understanding God’s ways. His ways are different, much higher than our ways. That is a good thing! He is God; we are not. Our task is to become shaped to his ways, not the other way around. Recognizing this about God and ourselves is a great deterrent to discouragement with God.

We all have seasons of life when it is hard to make time to be alone with God and his word. I wrote about one incident in my early years of motherhood, in this quote from Teach Us to Pray, a Bible study on the Lord’s Prayer. [1]

“How often have you felt you just didn’t have the time to spend with God alone? Most of us will agree we do need to exert energy to make time to spend focusing on God because it will not otherwise happen. We live in a noisy, demanding world, and must be intentional to make the time to come aside and train our minds and hearts to focus on God. Spending time with God, focusing on him, using a psalm to tune our hearts to worship him, thanking and praising him, is how to nurture a deep love and longing for God.  

“The point of it is to be with God in those moments, and learn to be with him throughout each day, whatever our tasks or responsibilities; this is practicing the Presence of God and is the underpinning of true fellowship with God.

“It was the quiet hour before my eight-month-old son should wake up, the sun just starting to peep over the horizon; the perfect time to read my Bible.

 “Mommy!” his little voice called.

Oh no, I lamented. He’s already awake!

“Lord, how can I be spiritual when he won’t even let me read my Bible?”

Yes, I actually said that to God! Of course, I was immediately smitten with conviction, a chuckle of embarrassment in my throat colliding with my frustration; a mental image of God softly laughing and shaking his head.

There are times in our lives, sometimes years long, when it is hard to snatch a few minutes to read the Bible or focus on anything but the task at hand. God knows this. He understands. At the same time, that doesn’t mean he lets us become slack in our commitment to be with him. When we persist in seeking the Lord, desiring to know him better, and walk in his ways, we will find our way, even though it is by grabbing snatches of time here and there to read our Bible and pray, stutter-stepping to keep pace with our heavenly Father’s patient steps guiding us.”

We have established that love for God and his word are paramount. Even when our time is greatly restricted by other demands (job, children, husband, or other people) we can find time for God when we work at it because it is a high priority for us, because we love God.

Regardless of how difficult it may be to find “quiet time” in our lives—and this is key—our focus must always be on our Lord. Not on ourselves and what we cannot do; nor on others, trying to do what they do. Despite the demands on our time, recognizing that God is with us at all times will deeply enrich our walk with him moment by moment. That brings us to this important reality in walking by the Spirit:

Practice Makes …

Practice living in God’s Presence all the time, not just when you make time to read the Bible or pray or go to church services. It’s all about loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength all the time. If you have been born again into the living hope of eternity with Christ, you have God the Holy Spirit living in you who is always at work to transform you into the image of Jesus. He is always with us. Let’s learn to be with him.

Walking by the Spirit obviously cannot be done without the Spirit of God. If he is in you, he will teach you that walk. The Bible comes into the process because God had all he wanted to pass on to us written down (Deuteronomy 29:29). All Jesus taught that we need to know is available to us. That is why Bible reading and study should be a high priority.

But Bible study is only a means to an end, it is not the end itself.

Remember Jesus’ words that those are blessed who hear and do the Word of God. Walking with the Spirit of God in loving obedience to God’s word, recognizing the presence of God with us and communing with him at any time and all times, is the journey and the end. That is walking by the Spirit.

There is always so much more that could be said, but I’ll save those thoughts for another blog post as we consider what walking by the Spirit means and what it looks like when we do.

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[1] Excerpt from Teach Us to Pray, a Bible study based on the Lord’s Prayer, available as a free download at my website JacquelineGWallace.com/books.

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The Need for Holy Campouts

I’ve been discussing walking by the Spirit, and last time I said there were three vital things needed to do that: Love for God, Humility/Teachableness, and Obedience to God’s Word. Almost unspoken, because it is so obvious, is the need to read and study the Bible in this matter of growth in spiritual knowledge and ultimately walking by the Spirit.

I have found that a good long-term practice when reading scripture is to look for the direct commands, what I call the “to do’s” of God. These obviously are there for us “to do,” right? However, when we are reading scripture, it is easy to simply read over these commands to action and continue on our way, not taking time to think them through and act on them. After all, we’ve a time limit on how long we can sit still, be silent, and read the Bible each day before charging into the day’s tasks, so we’ve got to keep pressing on to meet our chapter quota … don’t we? Maybe not. Sometimes, like when we read a “to do” from God, we need to stop and let the words sink in so that we can actually do the “to do.”

I’ve done this numerous times, stopped and took time to think about what I’ve read (when you actually say it, it’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?).  When I do that, spending more time in one passage or even one verse, reading and re-reading over several days (even weeks), I begin to “get it,” that is, I understand more what God is telling us in his “to do,” his command.

I call this “camping out” in scripture.

When I was a kid, my family went tent camping for vacation many times. I loved the heavy green canvas tent, the unforgettable, one-of-a-kind smell of it, the heat of the tent inside when the sun shone on it; food cooked on the Coleman stove, meals eaten at the picnic table, Coleman lanterns and, of course, campfires at night, all of us sitting around it with sticks readied for roasting marshmallows. It was always fun to be in the great outdoors and though camping out took lots of work, it was always worth it, with wonderful memories made as a result.

So, I pull on those kinds of good memories when I think of “camping out” in scripture. What do I mean by camping out in scripture? I take the time to re-read and think about what I’ve read.  Sometimes I re-read a chapter or even several chapters to get the context—that is, the verses surrounding a section of scripture that reveal what the writer is talking about—firmly set in my mind. We read scripture in its context to rightly understand what the writer of that scripture meant, then from there we can make a right interpretation and ultimately an appropriate application, applying the truth in our own context, doing what God said to do.

You’ve heard the saying, “Repetition is the mother of learning.” Well, when we re-read scriptures, go over them in our minds thinking about them (that’s biblical meditation), the Spirit of God gives understanding of the passage. He often brings other scriptures to mind, which shed light on the passage or verse we are focusing on, and we can learn. When we give the Spirit of God the material to work with (mostly his own words) and ourselves the time to listen and process his words, he can and does transform us when we cooperate with him (Romans 12:2; 1 Cor. 2:7-13).

This takes time and effort, but it is well worth it. Just like real camping is worth the effort. Simply reading the Bible, without thinking about what is being said and without being obedient to God’s calls to action, his “to do’s,” does not garner the blessing of God. It is the obedience to his words that gains his blessing. I can say that with confidence because it was not my original idea, Jesus said it; I’m simply restating what he said (see Matthew 7:24; Luke 11:28; John 14:21, 23-24).

The truth is, when we obey Jesus’ words, we can be more blessed than Mary, his mother, who bore and raised him, and who was favored and blessed by God (Luke 1:28, 42). Listen to what Jesus said: 27 “Now while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed (happy, favored by God) is the womb that gave birth to You and the breasts at which You nursed!’ 28 But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are those who hear the word of God and continually observe it’” (Luke 11:27-28 AMP, emphasis added). [Sidenote: it is obvious that Mary was a young woman who loved and obeyed God’s Word, to receive such accolades from God the Father.]

When we obey his word, our God will make his home in us, his resting place, as Jesus said, “If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him” (John 14:23 AMP, emphasis added).

Harking back to our original topic, to walk by the Spirit means to obey the teachings of Jesus and by inference the whole of scripture; it is all God’s word. The Holy Spirit living in us is our Teacher (John 16:13) and he will work with us to transform us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29); that is our life goal. We should begin to look and act more and more like Jesus. But that happens only when we cooperate with him. The obedience part is on us.

Let’s make our lifestyles ones of “yes, Lord.” Even when we feel time-deprived, like we don’t have enough time for spending in the Word and meditating on it, then doing it.

Let’s consider that idea for a few days: “How can I make my lifestyle one of ‘yes, Lord’ and read, meditate on, and obey God’s Word when I have so little time to do it?”

In the next blog post we’ll talk about how to continue progressing in our spiritual growth and walking in the Spirit even when time is at a premium. 

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3 Things Vital to Walking by the Spirit

In my last post I raised the question, “What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?

Psalm 1:1-2 gives us a good picture of what walking in the Spirit is, because God blesses the one who loves and delights in God’s Word, and whose thoughts are not far from it, day or night and who is not living in the same way as the “wicked,” “sinners,” and “scoffers” around her.

Love

I also affirmed that love of God, indicated by love for his Word (Psalm 1:2), is the crux of our walk by the Spirit. Furthermore, to love God is to love his Son, Jesus Christ, who said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father … Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching” (John 14:21, 23). Here we see the circle of love completed. This is the love that undergirds our walking by the Spirit.

Humility

In our self-centered culture, where we all tend to want our own way, doing only what “I” want to do and resisting the concept that we are accountable to others, we have to remember obedience and submission are not bad words, especially in relation to the authority of God’s Word. They are requisite to walking in the Spirit. A humble spirit is a requirement for submitting to God. God’s blessing of favor is on the meek, the humble, the teachable person (Matthew 5:5). The teachable one learns from Jesus’ teachings and obeys them. Humility is a most vital step toward walking in the Spirit.

We struggle within ourselves to be that humble and teachable person. Jesus knew we would need help to understand and do his words, even when we are his children, so he sent the Holy Spirit to live in and be with his followers after he ascended to the Father following his death and resurrection. He said, 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you … 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:15-17, 26 emphases added). Learning through the Spirit what Jesus taught is another vital step in walking by the Spirit.

God’s Spirit living in us teaches us God’s words. He makes sense of the Word of God (see 1 Cor. 2:7-13). To live by the Spirit of God means to live in loving obedience to the teachings of God. Obedience to God is born of and nourished by the love of God flowing into and through us, enabling the circle of love to be completed in us.

Obedience

If obedience to God’s Word is crucial to walking in the Spirit, what has He said that we should obey? It is on us to find out. And I think we all know where to start; we read our Bibles to learn who God is, what he is like, how he has dealt with humankind since he created us, and what he has told us about how to live in the world. Among other things, we learn the lengths to which he has gone to redeem us (John 3:16; 17:3). This alone should humble us to listen to him and do what he says!

You can see, then, why daily Bible reading and meditating on (thinking deeply about) God’s word is so vital. Remember Psalm 1:2. Be someone whose delight is in the law/Word of the Lord, and who meditates on his Word day and night. Make the most of the opportunity to read and study the Bible. Not everyone in the world has that privilege and we should not take it for granted.

Personal Bible reading and study, combined with taking time to research and prayerfully meditate (think) on the scriptures is likely one of the most powerful and deeply affecting ways to learn what God has told us, since we ourselves put forth the effort of learning from the Word and listening to the Spirit of God teach us.

God has also given Spirit-gifted teachers and others to the church, so listening to speakers, reading books and articles by these men and women of God is a good way to enhance our study of the Scriptures. But remember, everything we hear and read must be put to the test of the Word of God. That is, God’s Word is the standard by which all of men’s words and ideas are examined and we hold tight to what is in line with God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).

In the past few years, I have begun to study the scriptures in a way that opens me up to having those “ah-ha” moments more frequently, as my mind (and the Spirit of God) puts the “two and two” of his truth together for me. When I show up to learn from the Word, the Spirit shows up to teach.

We’ll talk more about that in the next post, on our journey to understand what walking by the Spirit is all about.

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Walk This Way

If you’ve been in the church for any length of time, as I have growing up hearing sermons and Bible teaching all my life, you get familiar with lots of biblical phrases that, though you may have a vague understanding of their meaning, perhaps have never had them well defined in your mind. Yet we can read and use these phrases without thinking deeply about what they mean. A few years ago, I began contemplating more deeply the meaning of “walk by the Spirit.”

What in the world does it mean to “walk by the Spirit”? What does it look like when I do walk by the Spirit?

In scripture, the word “Walk” is often used to indicate our lifestyle, the way we live our lives. For example, read this familiar psalm: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers” (Psalm 1:1 NIV, emphasis added). It is clear that words of everyday activity—walk, stand, sit—things most of us do every day, are used to depict spiritual activities as well as physical realities.

The word Walk is often used interchangeably with Live; so then, to say “walk by the Spirit” is the same as saying “live by the Spirit.” So, what is walking or living by the Spirit?

Psalm 1 verse 1 tells us what we should not do and verse 2 gives us a pretty obvious clue of what we should do, a straight-out statement, in fact, as to our responsibility in walking by or in the Spirit. Not only are we not living like those around us (v.1), but we are one of those “whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

This love of the Word of God undergirds our life-walk, our lifestyle in the Spirit. And of course, love of the word of God both flows from and results in love of the God who spoke those words. This is the crux of the matter of our lifestyle: love of God.

36 “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’”

37 “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.”

If we focused on those two commands, especially loving God with all we are, we’d be walking in the Spirit. To help us in our endeavor to walk in the Spirit, there are things we can do to cooperate with God’s Spirit as he seeks to teach and help us.

More thoughts on that in the next blog post. In the meantime, we could spend some time thinking about being someone who delights in and meditates on God’s Word—where would that lead us? And what it means to keep Jesus’ commands, especially the greatest commands: loving God above all else and loving others.

Where would that lead us?

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Greater Things and Greater Works

Jesus answered him [Nathanael], “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:50-51 ESV)

I’ve been writing about Nathanael’s experience of coming to believe Jesus was the Messiah. It appears he did so based on the fact that Jesus revealed he had seen him under the fig tree, an occurrence that evidently Nathanael knew couldn’t have happened unless God revealed it. Jesus said to Nathanael that he would see greater things than that, as the verses above attest.

In my last blog I talked a little about the “greater things” Jesus alluded to and those mysterious angels, God’s spirit-servants who play a part in God’s will being done on earth.  Hebrews 1:14 teaches us that angels assist us, we who trust Christ for our salvation, who also have a part in doing God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus’ words about greater things in John chapter 1 makes me think of what he said about greater works in John chapter 14.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV emphasis added)

Could these greater things and greater works Jesus spoke of be related? Perhaps in the first instance, you will see greater things, Nathanael and the other disciples are simply observers of spiritual realities as they watch Jesus perform miracles, cast out demons, and heal the sick. As amazing as that is there is more, apparently. For in the second instance, you will do what I do and greater works than these, Nathanael, the other disciples, and even we as Jesus’ current day followers, become more than observers; we enter into the realm of initiators and participants in the spiritual realities of Jesus’ work on earth.

If this were a psalm, I’d insert “Selah” right here. Let’s Pause and think about this.

Because Jesus went back to the Father in heaven, we his followers, the church, will be carrying on his work on earth. We become participants in the greater things being done and observed by others by doing the greater works of Jesus. In these works, we willingly serve with all our heart and soul and strength.

But we do not depend on ourselves alone.

Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” and “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:18, 15-17).

Never alone, not on our own. How then do we do God’s will, those greater works? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b). The Holy Spirit of God lives in us to do the will of God, through the church, Christ’s body on earth.

Dove by Shubhankar Bhowmick on Unsplash

The Spirit is our Helper in this life as we seek to live for God’s glory, carrying out his will on earth. And remember, we are not the only servants of God; there is a world of spirit activity swirling around us, from earth to heaven and heaven to earth. Unseen but very real angelic spirit-beings serve God with us (Hebrews 1:4, 14); they in spirit, we in spirit as well as flesh and blood bodies doing God’s bidding in this world.

By what means do we do the will of God, those greater works he talked about?  “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). We ask in prayer according to the known will of God and Jesus, through his Spirit in us, does the work in and through us, his church.

Doing God’s will on earth begins and is sustained with prayer and the Word of God.

Would Nathanael have grasped what Jesus said to him (“Before Phillip called you, I saw you under the fig tree”) if he hadn’t been spending time communing with God under his “fig tree,” his prayer closet, his Beth-el? Would he have understood Jesus’ reference to “Jacob’s ladder” if he hadn’t been familiar with the Scriptures (Genesis 28:11-19)?

“You will see greater things than these … you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1: 50, 51). Jesus only reveals such truths to those who are listening, to those who have “ears to hear” and obey.

Nathanael was intimately acquainted with heavenly ladders, angels’ activities, and God speaking to His children, because he studied God’s Word and communed with his Lord. And he spent time with others of like mind. Though he may not have understood all the symbolism of ladders and angels’ work, he was yearning, leaning into God’s truths thus far revealed in Scripture, desiring to know more, desiring to know the God who stood at the top of the ladder, the God who spoke to his children.

And so should we be.

We should be making the space and time to commune with our God in prayer and study of his Word, keeping this in mind: The point of Bible study is to learn what God has said and then put it into practice. Jesus did not say the ones who hear his word are blessed. He said blessed are those who hear his words and put them into practice (Luke 11:28). Nathanael was among those of like mind who were blessed by God for he studied and paid attention to God’s Word, living it out, and when the Messiah stood in front of him, he was able to recognize him as his God and King, ready to serve with all his might.

When we pray, we do so according to what we know is God’s will, those things consistent with God’s character. We learn these things from studying his Word. When we pray asking the Father in Jesus’ name, in his authority, he will act to glorify the Father, doing those greater works through us, his body, his church.

And he may even use angels.

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Fig Trees, Ladders, and Greater Things

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me. …45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:43-51 ESV).

Believing is Seeing

In my last post I talked about Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus, and how he at first was dubious about how anyone from Nazareth could be the Messiah of Israel, for goodness’ sake.

However, because Jesus told Nathanael he had seen him under the fig tree when there was no way Jesus could have done that without divine intervention, Nathanael believed Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the King of Israel that Nathanael had looked for with longing. Then the Lord told Nathanael he and the others would see greater things than these, things like angels going up and down on a ladder reaching to heaven called “the Son of Man,” who was the Way into God’s presence. It was Jacob’s dream at Beth-el come to life, Jesus’ words declaring himself the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and finally to Jacob (Genesis 28:10-22).

Greater Things

The “greater things” Nathanael and the other disciples would see, according to Jesus, was a new realm of spiritual activity that they would become not only observers of but participants in, revolving around the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself became The Way to God. He is the “ladder” to heaven. God’s minister’s, his angels who serve him faithfully, though unseen and unrecognized by us, are always doing the will of God (Hebrews 1:4, 14). And we will be, or should be, too.

The appearance of angels can be found throughout the Old and New Testaments. I think because angels are so mysterious to us that though we give a nod of acknowledgement to them, we tend to skim over their activity spoken of in Scripture. Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, see angelic activity, good or bad, everywhere. We know very little about angels so we perhaps are wary of them.

 God has, however, given us all the information we need to know about angels, that they are “all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Angels do unquestioningly the will of God and in some way I do not fully understand, they assist us to also do the will of God, as they ascend and descend, from earth to heaven and back again, on the Son of Man.

Faith to Action

Someday we will all understand this angelic process when faith becomes sight. For now, we can find comfort and assurance that we are not alone in our quest to love and obey our Lord against all odds in this life.

But what is it we are to be doing in love and obedience to our Lord? We’ll consider that in the next blog post.

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Meeting God in Fig Trees and Ladders

Several years ago I was ambling about in John chapter 1, contemplating Nathanael and his encounter with Jesus.[1] Nathanael was the epitome of the Missourian, “Show me!” He wasn’t about to believe that a guy from the godless town of Nazareth was the Messiah and said so, but Jesus dissipated Nathanael’s skepticism in a moment. Just a few words and Nathanael was nearly falling on his knees in awe of Jesus, ready to follow him anywhere. Something supernatural occurred and it was not wasted on Nathanael. He knew exactly what happened and his life was forever changed.

Jesus’ words to Nathanael, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” held a powerful secret. I believe Jesus’ “I saw you” held a depth of meaning for Nathanael and the fact that Jesus saw him “under the fig tree” clinched it for him.

Photo by Johann Siemens on Unsplash

In a previous blog I likened the fig tree to Jacob’s rock pillow where in a night vision God appeared to him, standing at the top of a ladder which stood on the earth where Jacob was sleeping; the ladder reached up to heaven where God stood. God spoke to Jacob and conferred on him the promise He instituted with Abraham and passed on to Isaac, Jacob’s father. Jacob had the good sense to realize God had met with him there and called the place “The House of God,” Beth-el.[2]

A House Like No Other

This place, this Beth-el, held tremendous significance for Jacob and all his descendants. It was special in the heart and mind of Nathanael as well, who held the scriptures—the laws and promises of God—in high esteem. It is possible Nathanael sought out a private place where he could seek God’s face and listen for His voice and meet with Him. He may have found it under a certain fig tree, away from the eyes of all others; and in his mind he may have thought of it as his Beth-el, the House of God; his meeting place with God.

Perhaps it was because Nathanael knew there could only be One who knew about his fig tree/ house of God, that he was instantly convinced that Jesus was the Son of God when He revealed Nathanael’s secret, “…under the fig tree, I saw you.” Perhaps Nathanael had been fervently praying for the Messiah to come, and he knew in an instant Jesus was the answer to his prayer.

This is all conjecture on my part because the scriptures do not tell us the secrets of the fig tree. We are only told Jesus saw him there and Nathanael knew it was only possible by God’s power. But might not these thoughts come close?

Your House, Your Home

Do you have a place to which you resort to privately pour out your heart to the Lord? A place where you come aside to give vent to the yearnings of your soul? Where no one disturbs, for few know you go there? It is your private prayer closet. Your desert retreat. Your Beth-el.

Photo by Leon Biss on Unsplash

Would you be surprised to realize that what you thought was your longing for God drawing you away to your place of prayer, was really God’s longing for you, calling you to Himself? It was an epiphany for me to realize—after many years of telling others how at a certain point in my life God “met” me after I had been crying out to Him for months—that it was in reality God crying out and calling to me for years, His tears manifest in my own.

And my life has not been the same since that night. This was the beginning of my personal journey with Christ as His disciple.

Coming Home

I believe that the reality of the yearning within us for God is actually God calling to us to “come away” to be with Him and to follow Him. It is there in our Beth-el, in the deeps of our hearts that He can reveal Himself to us and lead us in His paths of righteousness, for His Name’s sake. There is where He can begin to show us the “greater things” he has in store for us to do who believe in Him. There is where we gain more intimate knowledge of Him, for He opens our eyes to see He is the One the angels “ascend and descend” upon. He is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life.

Nathanael knew Jesus was his Messiah because he was already acquainted with his God. He knew his God and recognized Him in Jesus.

The fig tree, our Beth-el, our place of deepening intimacy with God, is crucial to increasing our knowing and understanding the heart of God, learning from His Word and following His Way. Then we too will recognize Him when He reveals Himself, and we will say with Nathanael, “You are my God and my King,” ready to follow Him wherever He goes.

[1] John 1:45-51

[2] Genesis 28:1-5, 10-22

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Everybody’s Talking About …

There seems to be more talk about Revival these days. But just what is a revival and how do these things work? What do we expect of them and how can we make them happen? I would guess that for as many people asked those questions, you’d get as many different answers. We all have our preconceived ideas. But what does revival really mean and how is it maintained?

My husband has done a study on the history of revivals and has created a study/workshop on Implementing the Essentials of Revival.[1]  Quite an eye-opening study. Although we can know and agree on some things about revivals, such as, they are preceded by concerted prayer (though concerted prayer doesn’t always lead to revival), we cannot know how or when the most important element will manifest: the Spirit of God.

As the Wind Blows

We cannot put God in a box. He moves as he wills.

My husband was born again in a revival in the early 70s (aka the Jesus People Movement) so I know revivals happen and am thankful for such outpourings of the Holy Spirit! But what about after things settle back down? How do we maintain our own personal “revival” spirit? Is it even possible?

The bulk of the New Testament was written to speak to problems in the early church and how we are supposed to live as believers in Jesus Christ. Each epistle, especially, is a call to the people of God to align themselves in obedience with God’s word, with Jesus’ teachings. Here, in scripture, is the “food” for our growth, our sanctification (process of becoming holy); it is the material the Spirit of God uses to teach us God’s will and way.

It would take pages for me to highlight some of the things we have already been given (taught) in God’s word about how to live a godly life in Christ. It’s all there in scripture. Many in the world today do not have God’s word but I trust you are taking advantage of the fact that you have the word of God to study and learn from as God teaches by his Spirit.

Realities of Revival

As I mentioned above, we all can agree prayer is a major part of getting our hearts tuned for revival. Another is increasing in the knowledge of God; his will and way, through seeking him in the Bible, being teachable and learning, putting the word of God into practice in our lives. These things prepare us in everyday life to receive the work of God’s Spirit.

Oswald Chambers pointed out a crucial aspect of maintaining our walk with the Lord when he said, “One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. … all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than his way. And his way means absolute devotion to him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.”[2]

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).

“Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Revival indeed.

[1] For more information on Essentials of Revival contact jacqueline@jacquelinegwallace.com

[2] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, March 9, Updated English, emphases added.

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Goodness in the Midst of Bad

In the fall of 2012 Randy and I moved from West Virginia to California ending our hands-on ministry in McDowell County. We handed off the West Virginia work to others while we established ourselves and sought new avenues of ministry in California. I’m sure some people wondered why we left West Virginia for California. Well, in great part, winter weather (which WV has in abundance each year) was never my friend as one who has Myasthenia Gravis (severe muscle weakness) but after a traumatic injury, it became clear we needed to leave ice and snow behind us permanently.

I wrote a blog post about that traumatic event in 2010 and have reposted it here. It is another example of the goodness of God in the midst of bad. Don’t we all cry out for that in our times of trouble? Well, I’ve had a few of those times in my life and I’ve never been disappointed in God and his goodness. Read on.

Broken!

There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. And I am triply thankful to be here after 2 weeks in hospital, for surgery and then rehab hospital. It was not a bad place, just not home. There is no place like home.

Just in case you wonder why I was in a hospital for surgery and then rehab, on Wednesday, December 1, I was walking down our sidewalk to the house when my femur snapped in half and I fell, thankfully onto the grass. When I tried moving my leg the bottom half didn’t move. It was definitely broken. I knew I couldn’t crawl up the hill and cement steps, nor down to the house. I knew Wendy was expecting me to bring the car around (the reason for going to the house was to get my keys) so we could do an errand for the ministry and would wonder why I was taking so long. Surely someone from the office just across the street, which I could see from my position lying on my side, would poke their head out the door and look for me …. I refused to let myself panic, hunkering as best I could against the wind whipping a few snowflakes around me. The ground was cold but not yet snow covered nor frozen. As long as I didn’t move, I didn’t hurt … yet.  I prayed God would send someone out of the office soon so I wouldn’t be there too long on the ground. I tried yelling, “HELP!” several times and waved my arm. Amazing that you must use hip and leg muscles for yelling. And how quickly one’s voice gets hoarse.

Though I was scared and cold, I knew this could be much worse. I could be alone here, no one in the office, no one expecting me at any moment. I thanked God that others would soon come looking for me, that the ground and weather was not yet full blown winter, that I had gloves on, that I had a hood on my jacket which I put under my head on the ground; for so many things. It could have been so much worse.

Rescued!

After what we estimate was about 30 minutes, Randy came out the door of the office onto the porch. Just then I yelled and waved my arm and he yelled to those inside to call 911. I was going to be ok. Deliverance was on the way.

Everyone from the office piled out and did whatever they could to assist. I was piled high with blankets and a heating pad to keep me warm. I had begun to get seriously cold just before Randy showed up. It took another 30-40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and needless to say I have never experienced such pain as when I had to be moved onto a stretcher for the ride to the hospital, and subsequent moves from one pallet to another in hospital. It would be several hours before I received any pain meds. But I was thankful to be rescued, for that is certainly what it was. As I said, it could have been so much worse.

After an agonizing X-ray (my femur bone, in 2 pieces, was crisscrossed), it was determined I’d have surgery the next day. In mid-afternoon Thursday I went to surgery (in which a rod was inserted into my femur) and after a day or so transferred to the rehab hospital next door where I spent a week and a half.

Winter storms came rushing into our area with many inches of snow and single digit temps and even below zero windchill temps. Randy couldn’t even get out every day to come the 35 minutes to hospital to visit me. I was glad he was wise and stayed home in the worst of it, though I missed his company. Mountain roads can be treacherous. With this weather the prospect of getting me down through our yard into the house when I was released seemed daunting. It was of great concern to Randy. But God graciously let me be released on one of the only days we had calm weather, higher temperatures and sunshine. The roads were clear and with the help of 3 friends, who practically carried me in the little wheelchair I had, I got down the several steps in our yard and into the house with no incidents. Again, we are so thankful, so thankful.

Unknowns but No Doubts

I do not know why all this is occurring. The why’s belong to God. But I know beyond a doubt that God is good. I have simply yet pointedly prayed that God make something eternally valuable out of all this. Suffering of any kind should never be wasted. God doesn’t waste anything. He knows I am His, totally abandoned to Him; to live for, love and serve Him. May He work out His eternal, righteous purposes through this brokenness of my body.

I am doing rehab on my own at home so far. We do not yet know if there is a home health company which accepts our insurance which can provide in-home rehab. But I see my orthopedic surgeon this Thursday (23rd December) so please pray all is well, that I will mend properly with no problems, that I will have no blood clots or fat embolisms which can happen with a femur fracture.

Randy has been caring for me at home, fetching and doing everything for me that I am incapable of doing for myself yet, plus running the household: laundry, cooking, dishes, cleaning, etc.

Since our home has a step into our downstairs half bath and a flight of stairs to the only shower, and the yard is all incline and sidewalk steps, Randy has determined for my welfare and safety that as soon as I am ok’d to travel, I will be going back to California to live with our children for my recuperation. It will be a long road to complete recovery with incremental improvements, but by God’s grace I will improve every day.

Randy assures me he sees (my improvement) each day now. If you’ve been through anything like this, you know exactly what it is all about. (While in California, I had surgery to insert a rod into my left femur as it had the same damage the right femur had, with numerous fractures ready to break my bone.)

Thank you for your prayers for me. Please continue them and hold Randy up as he has the extra load of work and burden of concern for me.

Grateful to God for His mercies … and friends like you. May you know more deeply this year His goodness.

Today the Goodness of God Goes On

All those prayers have been answered! The goodness and nearness of God is our comfort and strength in hard times. And in all times. God is good.

First seen on Jacque’sjourney.blogspot.com. Reposted from December 2010 blog post.

Photo by Sadan Ekdemir on Unsplash