His Whisperings

Luke 4:31-37 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

After leaving Nazareth, Jesus returned to the region of Galilee and went to the city of Capernium. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue and taught the people who were amazed at the authority with which he spoke.

A man in the crowd was possessed by a demon who knew who Jesus was. The demon began mocking Jesus and identified him as the Holy One of  God. Jesus told the demon to be quiet, and then commanded him to go out of the man who had been possessed. The demon left throwing the man down, but did not injure the man.

The people were all the more amazed at Jesus, at his authority in his teaching, and at his power to command the spirits. And the people spread the word about him to the surrounding communities.

Jesus wasn’t just another teacher, he had demonstrated his authority in many ways to the people. It was in his teaching, in his miracles, and in his ability to cast out demons.

Today we have many spiritual teachers who use various techniques to get their messages across to their listeners. Some have earned our respect through their command of the Scriptures, and are able to bring many people to their knees under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Many great teachers also effectively use their spiritual gifts for healing and for casting out demons even today. Praise God for his faithful messengers who are able to use their God-given spiritual gifts to reach the lost for Jesus.

Unfortunately, we also have spiritual teachers who have resorted to less than honorable methods to reach the lost. They use manipulation to create an appearance of a “movement of the Spirit.” While there are many examples, a few of the more common ones include noise for the sake of noise, people falling back with a push on the forehead rather than an authentic experience of being “slain in the Spirit,” and tongues that can be self-generated instead of Spirit-generated. Often spiritual leaders who use deceitful methods can also be spotted by an over-indulgence of self-promotion as well.

I am aware that I will have probably offended many of my readers at this point. I am not saying that all instances of noisy worship, people being slain in the Spirit, or people speaking in tongues, are less than acts of God and his Holy Spirit. We serve an awesome God who manifests his glory and his love in more ways than we can count. He has used each of these and more to meet the needs of his people.

Heavenly Father, grant us discernment as we seek out genuine Christian teachers who will handle your Word faithfully as they help us to draw closer to you. Give us wisdom that we might recognize the wolves in sheep’s clothing who might deceive us into blindly following their leadership which may lead us farther away instead of closer to you. Help us to fix our eyes on you alone as revealed in your Son, Jesus the Christ.

Luke 4:16-30 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

After Jesus began his public ministry in the region called Galilee he went to his hometown of Nazareth where the people had already heard rumors of the wonderful things he had been doing in the other towns.

Jesus first went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, the same as he had done in the other towns. When he stood up to read he was given the scroll that contained the book of Isaiah. He unrolled it to the prophecy that was written about himself and read it to the people. Then he put the scroll down and told the people that today the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing.

Because the people had already known Jesus they could not believe this message. His purity up to this point had been taken for granted, and they were unwilling to give him credibility as the Messiah or as a miracle worker or healer. Instead they ran him out of town and attempted to throw him over a cliff. Because of the disbelief of the people of Nazareth, Jesus was unable to bless them with his miracles.

How often do we deny God the opportunity to do miracles in our lives because we take him for granted or because we think the miracle we hope for is too big for God to handle? Are we sometimes afraid to risk our own credibility by publicly asking for prayer because we are afraid God won’t answer our prayer and we will be seen as foolish? I have known people whose liberal “Christian” theology and sceptical faith in miracles have prevented them from asking for blessings they could have received.

Let us not be guilty of having the hometown mentality that the people of Nazareth had on that Sabbath day. We need to be careful that we don’t let our familiarity with rituals and the Christian language become a form of vaccination that prevents us from understanding the Christian message in its fullness, and keeps us from digging deeper for a closer and more genuine walk with Jesus.

Father God, walk with us daily. Help us to see the good news of Jesus as fresh and new every morning so that we don’t lose its meaning in its familiarity. Help us to keep our faith alive and well so we never lose the blessings that are ours through faith in you.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Luke 4:14-15  Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

 These two verses immediately follow the account of Jesus and his time of temptation by Satan in the wilderness. This was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

Jesus went in the power of the Holy Spirit and began his ministry in the region around the Sea of Galilee. From these two verses, he must have been an instant success as the word spread quickly about him. He was permitted to teach in the synagogues and all the people praised him.

The emphasis for this verse, especially as we apply it to our own lives, is on the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t it exciting when we know we are doing the right thing - serving in the will of God - when we feel the blessings of the Holy Spirit on our efforts, and our efforts are recognized and appreciated by others?

But have you ever striven in your own strength and felt as if you were beating your head against the wall because you were going nowhere? This is not a pleasant feeling. We must be careful to always seek God’s direction before we try to do a great work for him to keep from spinning our wheels and wasting our strength on a lesser task he did not ask us to do.

But we must also consider that he may want us to persist in a task for a long time before we may expect to see the rewards from our labor. There are many testimonies of persons who prayed for the salvation of a loved one and witnessed to them for years before that person accepted Christ. There are testimonies of Missionaries who struggled for years before they saw a spark of interest in the hearts of the people, yet that first spark eventually did come as hostile communities finally opened their doors to Jesus.

Lord, help us to always seek your will through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Give us your discernment that we may know the difference between our own ideas and the leading that comes from you.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Isaiah 11:1-3  Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

Jesus is the branch that was to come up from the stump of Jessie. This is one of the prophesies of the Old Testament that predicted the coming of the Messiah. Jessie was the father of David, and the Messiah was foretold to be descended from King David.

The rest of this passage elaborates on the attributes of Jesus as they were foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Jesus came with the Spirit of the Lord resting in him including the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and of power, as well as the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Verse 3 tells foretold that Jesus would not judge by mere appearances and here-say, but he would be able to judge correctly by seeing deeper.

Father God, thank you for the Scriptures of the Old Testament which foretold of Jesus’ coming long before he appeared on this earth, for by them we are given yet one more piece of assurance that you are who you say you are and that Jesus is truly your Son. Help us to worship him with our whole hearts.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Philippians 3:12-16 Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

 Since the first verse in this passage reflects on the previous few verses, I’m adding an extra link here to keep us from taking anything out of context. When the author claims he hasn’t yet attained “all of this,” a reflection on these earler verses shows that he has been discussing the source of his righteousness and his desire to know Christ, to know the power of Christ’s resurrection, and the fellowship that comes from sharing in his sufferings, enabling us to become like him even in his death. What a tall order! The outcome of it all is that we too will be resurrected from the dead.

Fortunately for our consciences, Paul acknowledges that he has not already attained this, nor has he been made perfect, but it is his goal. He is committed to continue in that direction, not looking back, but straining as in a race toward his goal, the prize that God challenged him to attain through Christ Jesus.

Before we try to cop out on that last verse as if it had been an exclusive call for Paul, we need to consider verse 15 which says that all of us, if we are mature, should take this view of things. We can only expect that God will make it clear to us eventually if we beg to differ.  And verse 16 challenges us to live up to what we have already worked our way through in our faith journey, and not slip backwards when the going gets tough.

True Christianity is not an easy street. It is more than getting perfect attendance in Sunday school. It is taking everything we learn and making changes in our personal lifestyle, changes that reflect our faith in God. It is a faith that makes a difference, not mere lip service as if we were doing God a big favor by speaking well of him. Are you growing in your faith - growing at the pace of a runner striving to run a race? Or are you limping along just enough to get you by, enough so people will see you in church and know that you are a “good” person.

 Father God, pour the discipline of your love on us if it is needed to get our attention. Incline our hearts to draw so close to you that it will be obvious to us where we need to change our walk and our talk, and empower us to make those changes. Help us to get back into the race and out of the sidelines.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Hebrews 13:10-16  Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

Verse 10 opens the door to a question. Why did those who ministered at the tabernacle have no right to eat at Jesus’ altar? Verses 11 and 12 explain that Jesus’ blood was shed outside the tabernacle and not in the Most Holy Place. The high priests rejected Christ, and caused the shedding of his blood outside the city.

So if we are to come to Christ’s altar we must look outside the tabernacle of the Old Testament. We must meet Christ at the foot of the cross accepting his atoning blood sacrifice for our sins. We also look forward to the promised city that is to come, not to Jerusalem.

The writer of Hebrews urges us to continually offer our praises to God though Jesus by confessing his holy name, by doing good and by sharing with others. This is the kind of sacrifice that pleases God.

This passage was initially written to the early Christians, many of whom were converts from Judaism. So the concept of going outside the camp to worship Jesus meant that they were to leave their old forms of worship before they could worship the Living Christ. It may not be all that different for us. Once we gain a Biblical understanding of who Jesus is, we need to stand out from the crowd to begin a new life in him. We may also need to leave one church and find another if we have been worshiping with a group of people who don’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Father, work in our hearts so that we will seek Jesus alone to cleanse us from our sins. Thank you for your unthinkable gift of your Son, that we might have a share in your inheritance.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Hebrews 13:7-9  Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

Who led you to faith in Jesus? What was it about him or her that made you want to know more? Verse 7 encourages us to imitate the faith of those who led us to faith.

Verse 8 reminds us that Jesus doesn’t change. We need to remember that when we are presented with some of the off-the-wall theology that we get thrown at us from every direction today. We have people in high places (on popular TV programs, running for office as President, the list goes on) who are coming up with some very creative ways to validate themselves as Christians, but their claims don’t hold up to the teachings in the Bible. Jesus isn’t changing to fit the needs of people today, we are simply getting bombarded with today’s people trying to justify themselves and the changes they want to bring about in our country. The sad part is that so few people know what the Bible says that they will swallow any theology thrown at them, unable to discern fact from fiction.

Verse 9 aptly follows verse 8. Don’t be so gullible as to buy into the most popular theology of the day. Satan is out to deceive all who will listen. The day of the Antichrist can’t be too far away.

Don’t be deceived. Take Bible study seriously. Read it for yourself. Don’t take my word for it or anyone else’s until you are willing to dig in and start reading it for yourself and applying what it says to your own life.

Dear Jesus, please shake us and wake us from our sleep. Stir our hearts to want to know you more, to hunger and thirst for your Holy Word, as it truly contains the wisdom that we need for our day. You haven’t changed. Wisdom isn’t new, nor has it changed. People have simply allowed their own lusts and desires to lead themselves down reckless paths that will lead them and all who follow them into destruction. Forgive us Lord, and restore our nation to the glory it once knew when it declared itself to be “one nation under God.”

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Hebrews 13:1-6  Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

Verses 1-3 remind us to look to the needs of others including strangers, people in prison, and people who are being mistreated. I am often intregued by verse 2 where it says to entertain strangers because in so doing we might be entertaining angels. I wonder how many times people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Verse 3 instructs us to remember those in prison as if we were in prison with them. I’ve heard people speak of this verse who add that there are many kinds of prisons - depression, despair, and abusive relationships are a few examples. These are good examples, but I wonder if they are sometimes used to ease our consciences for not doing anything for the prisoners in the more traditional sense of the word. We mustn’t neglect either.

The next time you or I are inconvenienced by a stranger or someone who doesn’t exactly measure up to our standards of who we would choose for a close friend, remember these verses and consider that this inconvenience just might be an appointment that was created especially for you by God in heaven.

Then on a more introspective level verses 4 and 5 command us to maintain sexual purity, reserving ourselves for our marriage partners alone. We are also instructed to free ourselves from the love of money and to be content with what we have, for God has promised never to leave us or to forsake us. We should never fear what man can do to us when we have the Almighty God as our helper.

Lord, work in our hearts freeing them to love as you love, and to serve others as you served. Help us to recognize those divinely appointed situations that come into our lives, and help us to be sensitive to their needs. Help us be your light to the world.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Colossians 1:15-20 Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

 These verses shed much light on who Jesus is, yet unfortunately, this kind of thinking is are “outside the box” for many Christians. I suspect if these verses were made into a true-false test there would be many church-goers who would miss many of them. Let’s give it a try. Answer each of the following statements as true or false. 

_____ Jesus is the image of God who is invisible.
_____ Jesus is the firstborn of all of creation.
_____ Jesus created the heavens, the earth, and everything in it.
_____ Jesus created the powers and authorities in the spiritual realms.
_____ Jesus holds all of life and all of creation together.
_____ Jesus is the head of the body called the church.
_____ Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead.
_____ Jesus is supreme over everything.
_____ All of the fullness of God dwells in Jesus.
_____ All things in heaven and earth may be reconciled to Jesus through his blood shed on the cross.

Every one of the above statements are true according to Colossians 1:15-20. Doesn’t this stretch your mind in wonderful ways? The better we get our minds around what these verses are saying, the easier it should be for us to bubble over in praise to Jesus and to God the Father.

Jesus, how we stand in awe of who you are. There is nothing in this universe that you haven’t touched, in fact you hold it all together. Thank you for coming down to earth and putting up with the indignities that the people inflicted on you during your earthly lifetime, even death on the cross, that we might be joined with you in heaven. You are so awesome. Amen.

I encourage my readers to either copy the above questions or print out the attached file and give it to the members of your Sunday school class. Then come back and leave a comment on this post to share how they scored.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Psalm 118:5-9 Click on link to read passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

 Is the Lord your refuge? When your financial security gets pulled out from under you do you feel secure? If you have experienced the rejection of divorce or alienation from a close friend, did you feel secure? There are many trials that may come across our path that test whether we are putting our confidence in people and relationships or whether we are putting our confidence in God.

I think this is one of the hardest lessons for me to learn. It isn’t that I don’t trust in God, I do. But when it gets down to facing the future with abandon knowing that my job will be terminated just before Christmas, I am filled with panic. It seems that this is a pattern that has followed me throughout my lifetime, and I have often given in to feelings of panic and fear. I cannot glorify God when I give in to these feelings.

It is time to step back and remember just who this awesome God is.

• He is the creator of the Universe and everything in it. 
• He died on a cross to give us eternal life.
• He has walked this earth and knows our troubles from the inside out.
• Death could not keep him in the tomb.
• He uses sand to keep the ocean in its boundaries.
• He knows the stars by name.

Read Psalm 139 and know that God is with you in every circumstance.

Recount times in the past when God rescued you in times of trouble and know that he will do it again.

Re-read today’s passage, Psalm 118:5-9, and remember that David went through many desperate times himself, yet he was able to put his trust in God. Read it again with praise and celebration in your heart. If you don’t feel like praising on the second or third time, read it again and again until it finally sinks in. God is faithful and his Word will not return void. Use his Word to lift your spirits.

Father God, who knows me better than I know myself. Protect me from moments of despair by lifting me up and drawing me close to your heart. Help us to truly trust you in every circumstance.

One more note: as I was writing this prayer I had to pause and listen to a song that was playing on the radio that meant so much to me in a critical time in my past. Isn’t that just like God?

The song is He’s Been Faithful by Carol Cymbala.  I did a quick search online for a sound bite of the song and found the words of the song along with a very brief but beautiful sound bite.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green