God of Two Days Longer

John 11:6-8


So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?"

*
After hearing the news of Lazarus, Jesus stayed two days longer rather than
rushing to the scene t o heal the ailing brother. He did this to bring out
God's glory more but to our eyes it didn't make much sense. To make things
even worse, He wanted to go back to Judea where they just left in order to
avoid their trying to kill Jesus. So now the circumstance got worse for the
disciples.

Jesus knows every need of mine. But His response to my needs are not necessarily
my ways. Here, Jesus waited two more days. It seems like He wants me dead
completely so He can clearly show that God is at work and I am not involved
at all. I can also see that He will risk it all to minister to my needs (as the disciples
were worried about returning into the trap of Jews). I must realize that when God
waits two more days before coming to meet me, it isn't because He is slow or does
not care, but He wants to reveal the awesomeness of God clearly and purely when
He ministers me through my circumstances.

To Server Him Shoulder to Shoulder

Zephaniah 3:9,12

"For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,
That all of them may call on the name of the LORD,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder."
"But I will leave among you
A humble and lowly people,
And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD."

*
When God calls His people out of His graciousness, He allows them to serve Him
shoulder to shoulder and they will call on His name through the purified
lips God granted them. It's all about God allowing us to be where we
don't deserve to be at. In fact, the book of Zephaniah introduces God's
anger toward His people and He was set to grind all of mankind back to dust.
But out of His graciousness He will raise the remnant to serve Him, and Him alone.
He will allow purified lips, hearts of unity to serve shoulder to shoulder,
humble-hearted people to take refuge in the name of the Lord.

God will leave the humble and lowly people as His remnant. I want to be
a part of that group; I must pursue humble and lowly heart at all times.

But ... Early in the Morning

John 7:53-8:2


[Everyone went to his home.
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.

*
After a session of the Jewish leaders arguing against one another about
whether Jesus is a valid person of God or not, people went to their own
homes. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives (to pray I assume). This displays
where Jesus considered his own home.

When things are hectic and chaotic due to the social atmosphere, my inclination
is to go home and rest -- i.e., veggie out -- while Jesus' model is to go
into the presence of God. I need to make adjustments in my life here.

Additionally, He started out early in the morning the next day to minister
to the people. When things get busier for me, I tend to put in more hours
to my chores and then I get physically tired which justifies my resting
longer (sleeping) because otherwise I won't be able to function. I don't
know why, but God seems to be telling me to kick away the blanket and get
up early in the morning to seek Him regardless. O, I need Your help, God
in this area. I am clinging on to You!

Seed Of Righteousness And Praise

Isaiah 61:11

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.

*
The earth grows all types of plants according to the DNA God
placed in each seed. The earth merely provides the necessary nutrients for
them to grow and bear fruits they are designed to bring forth. Likewise,
our lives are matured by God in similar ways. When we plug ourselves into
God's love, we all grow in our own ways eventually bringing forth His
righteousness and praise before all others.

This will be the sign of God's grace and love working actively in my life.
Is my life springing up God's righteousness and praise?

River Flowing from My Innermost Being

John 7:38


"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

*
In reference to Isaiah 44:3 ('For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;)
in the lives of those who believe in God, there flows the river that is
filled with life from God. In some translations it says, "out of the belly."

In my own innermost place, what is flowing out now? Is that the river of
the living water quenching other people's thirst in life? This is the
same living water Jesus gave to the woman at the well in Sychar. Her life
immediately was overflowing with the living water and shared it with the
town's people. The key thing about a river is that it keeps on flowing
as long as the source doesn't dry up. It's just a conduit of the source.
In my life, that source is my God Himself. My own belief in Him is my
connection to the source. And my own testimonies of HOW GREAT God is working
in my life is the river outflowing from my innermost being. I don't have
to try to let anything flow because once I am connected to the source,
the overflowing will happen naturally.

Shortest Path to Destination

John 6:21


So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

*
The disciples were faced with some fear in darkness and potentially jeopardized
of reaching their destination safely. Then Jesus appeared to them walking on
the sea. Initially this made them to be more fearful but after realizing it is
Jesus, they wanted Him to come on board. Then immediately they reached their
destination.

Life's journey without Jesus will bring many uncertainties, fear, and roadblocks.
When Jesus draws near I need to recognize Him first and then willing to open my
heart and receive Him into my journey in every aspect of my life. Once that
happens His leadership will bring me to my final destination in a flash.

No Short Hand And Dull Ears

Isaiah 59:1,2

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short
 That it cannot save;
 Nor is His ear so dull
 That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you
so that He does not hear. 

*
My first response to verse 1 was, "I knew that!" followed by, "but why do
I so often think that God cannot hear my cries, or that He does not want
to do anything about it? The fact of the matter is explained in verse 2.
It is my own iniquities that separated me and God and thus I am veering
further away from God while my mind latches on to many complaints I have against
God's "limitations."

God's hand is not short or His ears dull to hear me and then to do anything
He wishes in response to that. The bottleneck lies with my own heart
which, from my perspective, gives an illusion of God being unable to
do anything about what I am asking Him. I must claim verse 1 every
morning to not lose sight of how almighty my God is, and I must first
align myself to His will.

Do I Wish To Get Well?

John 5:6


When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

*
Jesus sees all of us in our own conditions deep down in our hearts. He truly
cares for each one of us and tends to our needs personally. He will offer us the
solution to move us forward from our own stagnation, but many times we do not
respond correctly to His invitation.

All along, Jesus had been asking me, "Do you wish to move on
from your situation/issues?" I wonder if I had truly answered Him with a
clear "YES!" or not? I hope my heart was not like this invalid where I
begin to list out my own excuses and complaints rather than with a loud
amen to His invitation and jump up and join Him. Jesus, I want to move
beyond my problems at church into Your awesome and wonderful plans and vision.

Leading Many Samaritans In The City

John 4:39


From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done."

*
Samaritans were the outcasts from the Jewish people and thus they had
given up on worshiping the same God in Jerusalem. They had desires to
worship God the Father but the social barriers were too high for them to
climb over. They are the second citizens. Out of this setting many
Samaritans believe in God (their hearts were opened up) because of the
woman's testimony. And later in v. 42 the people's hearts were sealed
with God's love because they heard Jesus' message directly.

The woman's testimony was nothing more than "He told me all the things
I have done," which was all the "bad or "wrong" things she has done. Nothing
to boast about. But the fact that her story highlighted why she was able
to do that -- God freeing her from her past -- caught people's hearts. Likewise,
what my life exemplifies should be what God is allowing me to do, and not my
own accomplishments. And through it, I must encourage many "Samaritans" to
believe enough to come hear Jesus.

Claim What's Been Allowed From Heaven

John 3:27


John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

*
God has to allow everything to take place in my life. That means I must
request everything my life so it comes down from heaven. This is beyond
just verbalizing some magical spell but it must originate from the
heart that believes and claims that once it comes from heaven, it is here to stay.

God has allowed many things from heaven already: The lost should come to know
the Lord; We must all rejoice (Isaiah 61:11); The devil is the one crushed under
our feet. Based on these principles my attitude must begin to reflect this
truth that the heaven already showered down.