Under the heading "Here I am" I wrote the following thoughts concerning Jesus teaching on the two foundations.
Who is the wise man/woman? The one who hears and acts! Not the perfect man or woman, but the one who hears the Word and acts, the one who hears, listens and says, "Here I am, LORD!" It is not just hearing the Word, it is combining hearing with faith, trust and action...the righteous shall walk by...faith! You notice storms come to both, but how they weather the same storm is very different.
You must be in the Word to be able to hear, you must meditate on the Word to be able to say, Here I am, send me.
Today's reading contains the same thread concerning faith. What in the world do you do with Jesus words in Matt 9:2 to the paralytic? Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” I am not going to try to explain this one, but it is worthy of much meditation...how does seeing the faith of friends translate into forgiveness, maybe it was the faith of the whole group, including the paralytic...I don't know. I do know that Jesus saw their faith and acted on it.
So a few days ago we see the Christ stunning faith of the Centurion, the next day we see the "little faith" of the disciples and today Jesus tells us of the faith of men carrying a paralytic.
Now backup a bit in Genesis, Rebekah, when she is pregnant with Jacob and Esau wondered what is going on inside me and God gave her this explanation.
Gen. 25:23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two people will ⌊come⌋ from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
Rebekah received a word from God, the older will serve the younger and yet like Abraham (sleeping with Hagar) took matters into her own hands. God would have fulfilled HIS promise, HIS Word will not return void! Jacob, surpplanter, did not need to get Esau to sell his birth right, he did not need to deceive his father to have the blessing, God had promised that he would be blessed. Rebekah and Jacob did not trust God, they took matters into their own hands, God blessed him in spite of their deceit, but that deceit caused Jacob much heart ache and trouble as we will soon see.
As I read and prayed I was convicted of the countless times that I have tried to take matters into my own hands and obtain the blessing now or through my methods. Satan offered Jesus a short cut to gain the world, I could hear him saying...you don't have to go to the cross, you don't have to suffer like that...simply bow down to me and I will give it all to you...avoid the pain, the suffering, avoid the bloody mess...I will give it to you, just bow to me.
We read Jesus response just a few chapters back in Matt 4:10...Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.”
The awesome thing about the way Jesus answered Satan, is that HE answered him in the same way that you and I may answer...WITH THE WORD OF GOD! The thing is that you never know when the attack is going to come that is why you must have the Word of God stored up in your heart, treasured up, hid in your heart. Then when the attack comes you draw the "Sword of the Spirit" (the Word) and lay a deadly blow on the temptation that so "easily entangles." If we long to have a VISIBLE FAITH, visible to Jesus and visible to others then we must have the Word stored up, you must spend time with the Lover of our souls daily to be able to do this. It is not easy, nor for the faint of heart...we must combine the hearing of the Word with faith and action, faith and trust...some times that action is moving and doing and some times that action is being still and knowing that HE is God! Psalm 4:10
Holy Father, Holy Father, Holy Father...would YOU do this work in me, in my heart...I am desperate for YOU to work and move on my behalf, by YOUR indwelling Spirit enable me to love YOU, enable me to pursue YOU with a singleness of heart...Oh God, be glorified in my heart, mind, soul, be glorified in my precious family, in my marriage, in our class, in our church, in our community, country, world...be glorified...for YOUR namesake lead me in paths of righteousness.
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Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; 10 then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.