God blesses us with various things in life and with not a single one of them does he expect us to selfishly go on and selfishly keep to ourselves. Or in other words – own wastefully. There are plenty of examples of this from the Word, one of the clearest of which is found in Matthew 25:14-30. It’s a story about money but I see it also as a story of trust. The master entrusted his servants with his wealth. Two of them picked up on that and went ahead to multiply it. The third one played it safe.

Today, you and I are entrusted with more wealth than we could count. But what do we do with it? Yes, many complain that they’re poor and can’t do much to help it… But read the previous part of the series for more on resolving this. Am I doing enough today to multiply the wealth I have been given? Am I going to dig out the one buck from the back yard or will I have a whole bag to carry back to my master? In other words – do you invest your blessings or you simply enjoy them?

Receiving is passive and therefore extremely easy. Recognizing what you’ve received does take some effort but doesn’t necessarily make you active. Investing, on the other hand does require some intentional actions. Lots of them, actually. I believe this is why it’s so difficult. We’d rather sit around and have what we have. Moreover, what if we start on this whole investment thing and become dependent on it? Even worse – what if we waste it all? That ought to be less appreciated than keeping the one buck, no?

Remember, it’s a story about money and a story of trust. God wouldn’t give us stuff to invest if He didn’t already know we’re able to do it. And we shouldn’t go about investing without trusting that He who initiated it will also complete it. Yes, we do owe God the care and diligence in dealing with His blessings, but this should be a joyful ride for us. Not a dreadful task we’re trying to avoid. The fact that we’re entrusted with so much should mean something. The promotion at work boosts our energy levels, why doesn’t this also?

There’s a choice to be made. Play it safe and hope for the best or play it real and multiply what we’ve been given the responsibility over. It includes time, relationships, material possessions and money. What we do with the result we’ll look at in the next, part 3 of the series but for now, picture this:

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!

- Matthew 25:23, NIV

The Bible says that Bartimaeus was doing the regular daily “exercise” – sitting at the city gates and relying on the pilgrims’ mercy for his dinner. There must have been a decent amount of dust on his clothes… over his body… And the heat certainly couldn’t have made his situation any better. But what else could he do? He’s an outcast after all – a cast out one.

But Bartimaeus isn’t just any outcast. Not just any blind guy. He isn’t just any beggar either. Bartimaeus is a believer, but not just any – a true one he is. The Bible says he heard Jesus approaching and began to shout – perhaps a usual picture given the popularity of the Lord. He was an emerging star for many of his time. The picture becomes unusual when a minute goes by and blind Bartimaeus is still shouting. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some from the crowd tried to shut him, but apparently whatever he had lost with his sight had now turned into a voice amplifier.

“Jesus stopped and said, Call him.” I have to pause here and wonder if he really didn’t hear him the first time. Never mind, perhaps the crowd around him was far too big. So, they called Batrimaeus – “Cheer up!” they told him, it’s your day today. And oh, boy, did he run! In fact, he was so determined that his sole possession didn’t concern him. His roof and blanket, his mat and jacket – his cloak… thrown away for the by-standers to have, should they wish. For he knew there was something of much greater value waiting for him.

Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. - Hebrews 11:1, NIV

“What do you want me to do for you?”, Jesus asked him. Man! What kind of a question is that – from the One who ought to know everything? That didn’t seem to bother Bartimaeus though, not even a bit. “Rabbi, I want to see.” Period.

Have you realized that nowhere in the stories of Jesus’ miracles do we read “Lord, you know, perhaps, if it’s possible and won’t be too much to ask – could you heal me… But, really, just the basics – I’ll take care of the rest with some herbs.” The people in need which Jesus came across seemed to know what they want. Recall the woman with the bleeding – she was telling herself, only if I touch his cloak I’ll be healed. And, and that Roman centurion – he said, listen, Jesus – I, like you, am also a man of authority. I say “do this” and it gets done. Don’t even bother coming over, just say it and my servant will be well again.

Have you ever wondered what you would answer to Jesus if he was to ask you that very same “What do you want me to do for you?” I’d understand if you say “no” – I hadn’t thought of it myself either. After all, how often do we get asked such a question these days. But now that you know the question – what would your answer be? Would your answer reflect where your hope really lays… or would it reflect where your hope should really lay? Or would it reflect something completely different?

See, Bartimaeus knew what he hoped for. He also knew that Jesus could give it to him, although he had probably only heard about him… rumors and stuff. Remember, he was blind – couldn’t have seen it done before, that’s for sure. Yet all this, combined with an immeasurable certainty and conviction gave him the power to shout all the more when people told him to shut up. Getting to Jesus just became a whole lot easier – no possession held any importance at all… If he had anything else which could potentially make him run slower, he would have abandoned that as well, giving it no second thought. That’s faith – a blind man’s certainty that he will see again.

The more I read his story, the more I wish I would be as blind as Bartimaeus, so that I may have the hope that one day I will see; the power to not stop shouting even when everyone tries to shut me up; and the certainty that knows no obstructions.

I cannot help but wonder what went through God’s “mind” between the time of completing creation and the events of Genesis 6. Even more – what changed from Genesis 6 to Genesis 9? There’s little we can know about it, besides that God set off on a mission – a mission that’s one of a kind.

See, when, let’s say your TV breaks down and you want to continue watching TV – you have two options. Either repair it or get a new one, the latter being the more convenient, easier one. While the flood was God’s way of starting all over again – more convenient and certainly quicker, his covenant with Noah and later on with many others is rather astonishing. He basically said “I won’t get rid of you, but will do whatever it takes to fix you up – make you look good again; as good as you were when I first looked at you.” This might also seem easy until you grasp the scale of the repair that needed to be done. Consequentially, that decision didn’t come at no expense for God. The toll was the death and resurrection of His Son – a rather high price, but as I said – a lot needed fixing.

Today we look at the story and it changes our lives. We get closer to it and realize – we’re invited to participate in it; to fellowship with God, to be part of his repair team. Little do we know about the task ahead of us, but that doesn’t seem to stand on our way of getting matters in our own hands. Yes, Jesus did say to go and teach, disciple and love, but He never said we ought to do it alone. Just because we have the manual doesn’t mean we know how to make everything work again. Neither are we capable of making this even remotely possible… without God’s enduring, faithful and loving leading. Reverse-engineering is not an option here.

We set off building churches and raising communities back on their feet until one day we (as inevitable as it seems) fail. It’s one of those devastating moments when we think “It’s all gone in vain; we messed up so big, there’s no hope of recovery.”

Because we believe we’re the ones who can make things look good again. We seem be deep in the belief that if we don’t do it – it can’t be done. Therefore, when we failed, it all failed.

But not God’s mission – it’s a different kind of a mission. It’s first of all – God’s mission in which we’re just participants. He initiated it, he sustains it, he envisions it, he guides it… he completes it. Period.

Take Jonah for example – God called him to fellowship with him, to participate in making things look good. He ran away. God shook him up on that ship, woke him up to the reality – he did repent and spoke words of hope and thanksgiving. So God thought – I might was well use him anyhow and called him a second time. As hesitant as we often are, Jonah set off to do the work. He didn’t only end up doing 1/3 of what he should have done, but he didn’t even do this right. Yet, this didn’t stop God from bringing the people of Nineveh to repentance.

So could we get it right for once? Can we look at our mission as what it really is – God’s mission? Can we endure the failure while standing on our feet with sheer confidence that what God has started God will finish? We’re not in this to win, it’s not a race. It’s a marathon and we’re in to finish.

Today we tend to take relationships for granted. The Internet offers them at practically no cost, and so does the local school, sports club… oh, yes – even the church. So far – nothing wrong. Sadly enough, the fragrance of the koinonia seems to have faded away. Instead of being like a fresh Spring bloom, it’s more like a frozen vegetable which has then been microwaved – you wouldn’t know it smells like something if it weren’t for the big fat colored label on the package that tricks your mind into believing it does. We’re either really dumb fools or really lazy and indifferent to our own lives.

We like having partners in life as long as they don’t require much of us. As long as they don’t disturb out comfortable and well planned and organized living. It seems to me that the fancier mobile phones one can buy, the less we care about sincerely maintaining our relationships. Perhaps this would be quite a shock to Johann Philipp Reis (whom I credit as the inventor of the telephone). Nevertheless, my point is – the things that ought to draw us closer to each other seem to actually scatter us apart.

I believe the answer is to be found in Matthew 6:21 where Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (NIV). So long as we place other things at the top of our life, instead of God, we won’t be able to enjoy that hard-core, pure bread koinonia that the first believers had in Jerusalem shortly after Pentecost.

The Bible says in Acts 2:42, that they were προσκαρτεροῦντες (proskarterountes) or earnest towards, constantly diligent, continually giving themselves upon the teachings of the Gospel, remembering Jesus through communion, sharing the precious time of meals with each other and last but not least – praying. It’s that kind of devotion towards God that enabled them to be devoted to each other as well. It’s that kind of devotion that allowed them to flourish in what appears to have been a rather hostile environment. It’s that kind of devotion that empowered them to sacrifice without constraints and barriers, so that the needs of the people around them may be met.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (NIV)

Seriously, when was the last time you saw a brother sell his iPod in order to feed another? When was the last time you heard of a sister selling her collection of unused t-shirts, so that a child somewhere else may have the chance to go to his first day of school wearing shoes as opposed to wearing the dust from the road on his bare swollen feet? That’s just about whre the believers in Jerusalem started – some went as far as selling their land, cattle, estate property – knowing that they could meet a need, and knowing that God will faithfully deliver. Moreover, they didn’t just do it – they were diligent in constantly doing their best in selling stuff away as they saw needs emerging from around them. Not foolishly, but as the Holy Spirit led them.

While most scholars agree that these events could be described as an ongoing revival, they also claim it’s rather improbable that this can occur in our culture and society today. I beg to differ. If people could be changed by God so much that they could be true partners in life, I see no real reason why we could not undergo the same transformation. But then again, we Christians often fall back on the “unreal” and “insignificant” as reasons for why we don’t do the things we should do.

image by: Morozova Tatiana | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Jesus uses the example of worrying to show us how strong our faith ought to be and how we need to live and consequently – pray. Let us turn to his words from Matthew 6:19-34:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:19-34, NIV)

The worrying which Jesus is talking about leads to division between us and God. In fact, the Greek word translated as the very “worry” means  “to part, to disunite, to divide, to distribute between.” Simply said, the more we worry about things different from God’s kingdom and our holy living, the farther we go from God. Instead of Him, we place money clothing, food and all the rest in first place.

So, it is necessary to keep an eye on how we’re doing in this aspect of life. It is important to check-up on our prayers as well. It is far too easy to drift away slowly in our prayers and one day end up being far from God’s way. Do you pray that it will be God’s will first or do the daily troubles and worries take His place? Is your faith strong enough to enable you to ask for His will, even when this means that you’ll face even more sufferings and struggles?

It’s a well known fact that we’re all standing before material needs and this continuously. However, it is our reaction to them that reflects our faith in God, not the needs themselves. Jesus’ promise to us is not for a flawless life and absolute safety and independence. If that was the case, it would actually draw us away from Him because there would be little need of a mighty God. But our Savior promised and gave us peace like no other. If we believe Him for our salvation, then we are also able to place Him at the top of our lives and prayers. Seek God’s kingdom first!

One of the biggest problems before the Christian faith today is that all Christians claim they believe in God, but not all of them live according to their own claims. In other words, many of us daily call ourselves Christians, but far too many of us don’t live like Christians.

Let’s look at the relationship between a child and his or her parents as an analogue of ours with God. When a child truly trusts his or her parents, he or she waits patiently and faith till their promises come true. When mummy and daddy promise their son a new bicycle he doesn’t immediately run out, seeking for ways to buy it himself earlier than it’s promised to him. Where there is trust in a relationship between two sides, there is also patience and faith.

Between many believers and God, however, the trust is little… so, naturally, many Christians quickly run out of patience and lose faith. God, on the other hand, doesn’t cease caring for us, but how is it possible to feel Him caring if all the time we’re trying to solve our problems on our own and pay more attention to them than we do to God?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7, NIV).

Apostle Peter encourages us to humble ourselves before God. In other words – to confess that without Him there is nowhere we can get to; without Him there’s no feature for us; without Him our lives will be an endless fight against yet bigger problems. It’s about time for us to realized that we are the weak and God is the strong one. Doing this doesn’t mean that all of a sudden our lives will be flawless and problems will be nowhere to be seen. If we are humble before God, however, the problems will not dominate our lives but daily we will be above them, with our focus turned to what is of true matter – God.

When we start trusting God as much as we claim that we believe in Him, then we will begin to feel his care in a different, for some of us even unknown way. If we really have trust and faith in God, then as a problem comes before us we will first turn to God with a prayer for help. We will wait on His answer patiently and full of faith. And because God Himself has promised us – the answer will come, undoubtedly.

If, on the other hand, we chose to first go and try fix everything ourselves, with our own strength… or even worse – with money, then we better get ready for catastrophic consequences. Not only materially, but also spiritually. Although God will not cease caring for us and loving us, should we continue living our lives in such a way, we will one day wake up with more faith in ourselves than in God. And this is the day God will become unnecessary. We can easily lose our faith, the people around us, but worse of all – our future.

Our life with God requires daily care and a continual communication with Him. Two or three quickly put together prayers just won’t cut it. We ought to first establish our trust in Him. When this trust is real, then it won’t be hard for you to turn to God even for the smallest of things in life. It will be a joy to tell Him even of the biggest issues and troubles in your life. So, cast your cares on Him because He cares for you. Then you will have even more time to spend growing in your faith and relationship with God.

Anyways, it features a song called My Savior My God by Aaron Shust. It captured me from the first time I heard it, so I decided I’d investigate on the lyrics… It turns out it’s basically an old hymn with the chorus added to it and apparently one verse changed. More about the story of this new song and the complete lyrics of it you can read here: www.aaronshust.com.

Here’s the original lyrics of the hymn which is written by Dorothy Greenwell and first published way back in 1873 in England.

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Stands One who is my Savior.

I take Him at His word indeed:
“Christ died for sinners”—this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior!

That He should leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I
Before I knew my Savior!

And, oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring—
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!

This text reminded me of how simple, complete, and full of power our relationship with God is intended to be.

I hope it will be a blessing to you as well… one way or another.

This verse is a part of a passage from the Gospel according to John in which Jesus teaches a lesson on faith to one of his 12 chosen disciples. Although the described event took place newarly 2000 years ago, Jesus’ answer is just as relevant to us today as it was back then to Thomas. Let us question ourselves sincerely – do we walk by faith or by sight? Do we pray by faith or by sight?

The truth is, for many Christians the saying “Gotta see to believe” has become a way of life. Don’t also skip the fact that the society around us encourages us to not trust anything or anyone, before we can touch and see first… And that goes on daily basis. Thus, slowly but steadily many forget about the true meaning of the word faith. This becomes an even greater problem when it comes to prayer. There is a real danger that each of us can lose faith if it is not being nurtured by a continual fellowship with God through His Word. One day you or I can wake up with an unsolvable problem in our lives and offended or even angry turn to God with the words: “Show me and I’ll believe that you have not abandoned me!”

A significant part of the non-believers today use precisely this argument for their unbelief – God has not shown himself in this and that way and that’s why I don’t believe He exists. Sometimes God choses to show Himself in a supernatural way and the faith of those who believe then is counted – just as Jesus reaffirmed Thomas’ faith. But as He said in that same passage – blessed are those who first believe.
A brief look at God’s Word reveals that all who were healed by Jesus had faith before that healing took place. Nowhere is it to be found in the Bible something like: “You have been healed because you first waited to see me and only after that you believed in me.” We should, instead take a lesson from what we can read in Luke 7:1-10 as a part of the dialogue between a Roman centurion and Jesus: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. … When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” So, do you have the faith to say in your prayer “Lord, I know you hear me. If it is your will, do heal… do provide… do save…”?

Sometimes God does not answer our prayers. Other times His answers have nothing to do with how we thought He will answer… One thing is for sure though – if you and I approach prayer with faith and not with requirements or demands, then whether God answers or not we will be drawn closer to Him. And our faith will grow as well.
If, on the other hand, we pray wanting to see a miracle, so that we may believe, then there is a chance we will lose even the little bit of faith that drives us to pray.

Pay attention to how you pray! Move forward fearlessly and in confidence with faith in God through prayer. Only then nothing and no one will be able to stand on the way between you and God.

It is not only once that Jesus is giving us an example how and what for to pray. In the gospel according to Mark (as well as in Luke 4:42) Jesus’ prayer is an example for us when to pray. This is perhaps one of the most difficult examples to follow today. But before you continue on reading about it, turn your attention to what happens before Jesus goes to pray in the morning. Throughout the whole evening before that he is surrounded by people who are sick and demon-possessed – and they want healing. And after this, as well as all the other busy days that have passed, Jesus does not try to seek an excuse but gets up before the sun has come out completely and talks to the Father.

For most people today the morning has to do with awakening, followed by quite some stress around the trip to work or school… And yet, in between of all this there’s somehow time for a coffee, a smoke for some, and perhaps a quick and unhealthy snack. But there seems to almost never be enough time for God. Thus, day after day a large number of Christians are overcome by the daily routines, stress and demands without even noticing it. Some new believers manage to find a free slot for God in the mornings, but as they grow older in their faith often things change and prayer becomes just one of the things Christians do. So far for the intimate conversation with God that all of us can remember from their first days in the faith. As we have mentioned not only once in our devotionals, in no case should we think that the longer we’re Christians the less attention we ought to pay to prayer. It never becomes automatic.

So, do not seek excuses from last night, but set up a plan of how you will make more and more time for God in your mornings. We all are facing the temptation to excuse ourselves before God because see, last night there was something weary and tiring, and now we have to hurry for the next thing. Instead of excuses, we should be lifting up petitions for forgiveness to the Father and our Savior. We cannot call ourselves Christians and yet find silly excuses while we manage to spend hours watching movies, news or checking Internet sites. If it is difficult for you to find time to pray in the morning – set the cheap excuses apart and see what you can actually do to change this reality and pray after you wake up.

Begin your day with God and you will continue your day with God. This is just another reason to give your best to pray in the morning. When your day begins in a bad way it often happens that it continues so till the end… When you wake up angry or upset very few things can change you for the rest of the day. In the same way – if you wake up and start your day with God, it is more likely that you will continue your day with Godly thoughts and being close to Him… as opposed to being trapped in the worries and demands of the everyday life around. Notice that even Jesus – God’s very Son, the holy and immaculate one, finds that it is important to pay attention to His relationship with the Father and the Spirit with the break of the day. And if He who is one with the Father and the Spirit does so, then how much more do we have to? Nothing can excuse the lack of action on our side if we don’t follow Jesus’ example.

Psalm 119:147 reads: “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word” (NIV). Don’t be late to do this yourself!

This is the way in which Paul prayed for the brothers and sisters from the church in Ephesus. Today, for some it may be surprising that this prayer does not include, say, a petition for a larger home for the church, more income from offerings and tithe, or even those prayers by name for the ones from the church who are sick or have other urgent material needs. On the other hand, apostle Paul may be well surprised at the prayers we say when lifting up our brothers and sisters before the Lord. What is different about Paul’s prayer? How can we also pray in a similar way, and why is it even important to pray in this way? Read along for more information answering these questions.

If you listen carefully to your words when you pray for other Christians you will most likely notice that often (if not always) the physical and material needs occupy the first place in your prayer. Then comes the church building or the like, and only towards the end you happen to quickly mention the spiritual needs of your brothers and sisters. But that’s only if you get that far. Often the material and physical needs are so many that there is hardly any time left to pray for the spiritual condition of our family in the Lord Jesus. There is no doubt that the needs for healing and material provision are important, but what we should learn from Paul is that they are not more important than our relationship with God (or our brother or sister’s relationship with Him). This is why Paul begins his prayer namely with these needs – the spiritual ones… and in this particular case he only addresses them directly. This is how God remains in the center of the prayer.

But what exactly does Paul pray about? Firstly, he prays that according to God’s glorious riches and His Holy Spirit the believers might be strengthened. This is, that God will give them endless strength (for his riches are endless), so that they can continue to grow in their faith and at the same time sustain the pressure of the society against them, the persecutions they will face, as well as the attacks of Satan. For through God’s strength alone we can grow in faith and devote our lives to Him more and more.

Apostle Paul continues by praying that the Ephesians will remain rooted in the love of Christ and together will all other believers will grasp how immense this love is – the love with which Christ loved us. By this way alone today we could overcome the divisions and hatred among believers. But if we continue to pray only for financial or similar needs then we have given up on Christ’s love. Moreover, we are not anymore rooted in that love. In other words – we live our lives not driven by love… and we turn to God only to ensure that He provides us with a comfortable life.

At the end of his prayer the apostle finishes not with a word or two about the spiritual condition of the Ephesians, but with a praise to God, who notice – can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. The end of this prayer is at the same time a declaration of how much God can do when the Holy Spirit is at work in us. Without His Spirit we would also not be able to either know what to pray for, nor how to do it. As for the reach of God’s abilities – you yourself can surely testify of times when God has provided you with what you’ve needed already before you’ve prayed for it. Sometimes we just need to be more patient with our physical and material needs and through this show that we are fully dependent on God and also that we have surrendered our lives to Him entirely. But not on the larger building or the quick healing of the broken arm, so that we can go back to work as soon as possible.

This is the way we ought to pray not only for our brothers and sisters, but also for ourselves. Only then will we be able to keep God at the very center of our lives and become witnesses of His love and power before all other people.