His Return from the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11 tells us about Jesus' sufferings and victories in the wilderness. We know that He suffered for us, and that He was victorious for us. There are lessons we may learn from His return from the wilderness. "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:" Matthew 4:12-13. Luke 4:14 says that He "returned in the power of the Spirit."

If we thoughtfully consider the nature of the events that Jesus went through and the reason for them, as well as the aforementioned verses, something becomes evident. Notice that He didn't boast about how He had conquered the devil, or about the fact that He had done it in our behalf. The Bible gives no such record. Rather, we find that He, to put it as Peter did, "went about doing good." Acts 10:38. He gave us an example of humility even here. Think about this in light of the contrasts presented in Philippians 2:5-8 and Isaiah 14:12-15. Isn't the character of our God amazing?

Let us look at where Jesus went next. "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:13-16, emphasis added. The people Jesus went to were not those who needed little or no help; He went to those who needed a lot.

Lastly, let us ponder Luke 4:14. "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about." Mark 4:23-24 says, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." The Holy Spirit is with us to enable us to do good, to follow in the footsteps of our Master in serving others, not ourselves. Oh, may we gaze upon the selfless character of our Saviour, and allow the Holy Spirit to make us like Him!

 Blessings,

Jean

"Parted His Garments"

"And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on Him, and led him away to crucify him." Matthew 27:29-31.

How do we mock the Saviour? Do we crown Him King with words alone, with self as the true sovereign?

"And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Vs. 35-37.

They crucified Him, but they took what they could get. They hated Him, but wanted what He had—as far as material things went, anyway. They didn't care to be like Him in character. Are we like that?

 

Blessings,

Jean

Something You Won't Regret

"If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto Me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of My sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory."Jeremiah 4:1-2. According to Strong's Concordance, the word for "remove" in the original can mean, "to nod, that is, waver; figuratively to wander, flee, disappear." If the Israelites listened and did what was said, they would "not remove." They would be stable!

More than that, through Israel's obedience, the surrounding nations would "bless themselves in Him." In the same way, those around us who don't know God will be led to Him by our obedience. After the LORD saw that Abraham would obey Him no matter what the cost, He told his servant, " By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son:] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:16-18, emphasis added. Abraham was blessed with being able to keep his son, as well as being able to understand the plan of redemption more fully; and succeeding generations have been blessed in that they have his example and a type of Christ's sacrifice to learn from. What if he hadn't obeyed? We wouldn't have it to inspire and encourage us today.

Don't you want to have stability in your life instead of confusion and trouble? Take hold of the promise in Jeremiah! One day when you're gone, don't you want to leave those you love with memories that will help them to follow Jesus and experience a blessing long after you are gone? Follow the example set by Abraham. Cultivating obedience is something you won't regret.

Blessings,
Jean 

A Lesson from Jael

The Israelites were fighting against Jabin, King  of Hazor, specifically against Sisera, the captain of the king's host. After "all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword" "Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for [there was] peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite." (Judges 4:16, 17). Judges 1:16 says, "And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which [lieth] in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people." Heber, however, "had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh." (Judges 4:11). It seemed, too, that he had made an alliance with the king of Hazor.

For the time being, Jael acted in accordance with this agreement, playing the part of the solicitous host. She entreated Sisera to come in and told him not to fear, covering her endangered ally with a concealing mantle, or rug. She even went so far as to give Sisera milk when he asked her for water (see vv. 18-19). Nevertheless, there was one request of Sisera's with she wouldn't comply.

"Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No." (v. 20). The wife of Heber chose a drastically different course. "Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." (v. 21).

Notwithstanding the "peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite," Jael was faithful to God and didn't suffer this enemy of His people to live. Yet, take note of what the next few verses say, particularly verse 23. "And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel." (vv. 22-23, emphasis added).

Even though Jael performed the act that subdued the king of Canaan, the Bible ascribes the glory of this victory to God. Think about it: who gave her the idea, and the brain to receive it? Who gave her the will and the strength to act upon it? She certainly didn't create it right then—it came from Someone other than herself. It's only fair that He alone should receive praise. Shouldn't we give glory to God also, then, for everything we accomplish, instead of to ourselves?

 

Blessings,

Jean

 

God Helped Me

Written January 29, 2016

It was in the evening. Around four o'clock or so, I had lie down on the couch to do my devotions, as I was feeling tired. My sister was in our room doing her devotions, and my father was back and forth between the house and the garage. I believe by this time it was six o'clock or later. In any case, I wanted a drink of water. My bottle was on the table in front of the couch, but I knew I shouldn't drink while not sitting up.

I had already needed my sister earlier on during our devotions, and I didn't want to bother her again. Dad was in the garage, so I couldn't ask him for help—and to be honest, I wanted to do it myself. Well, I reasoned, if I was by myself, I'd have to figure out some way to do it. I think it was then that I prayed, remembering Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

I asked the Lord how we were going to do this, and attempted to sit up the way I recalled able-bodied people doing it, by swinging my legs over the side of the couch and using my stomach muscles to lift my upper body. After a few tries, it was apparent that wasn't going to work. I admit that at this point I doubted whether the Lord was going to help me. Maybe He just wanted me to call for somebody.

Then I attempted something I had done in the past with no success. First, I endeavored to move myself as close to the back of the couch as I could. Next, I grabbed a table leg with my left hand on which to pull to roll myself over, hoping there was enough space on the couch to shift my elbow under me, push up on it and move quickly over to avoid falling off. I'm sorry if that explanation doesn't make much sense; I'm not skilled in the art of explaining, and my methods for doing things are unorthodox as it is.

The venture was no easy one. I quickly realized there wasn't enough room on the couch when I rolled for me to move my elbow without my losing my equilibrium and potentially falling off the couch. To try to give myself more stability, I put my right hand (by that I mean two fingers that decided to work enough) on the table while I made an effort to move my left elbow over. The first time was precarious and scary. As was the rest of me, my two right fingers were sweaty and therefore somewhat slippery on the table, which really put me in danger of hurting myself—one wrong move and...

 I wished that Friday was a service dog and could lend me some assistance. I even thought of calling him over, but I didn't know if he would make a bad situation worse, so I remained silent and recovered myself. I rested for a minute and then attempted the process with all the speed I could muster. Perhaps that would aid me. Sure enough, it did, and while it was still risky and frightening, I managed to move at the right time.

I was now on my stomach. From there, I moved so that my feet were off the couch, and used my left arm to push myself up into a sitting position. I found myself on something hard. I was puzzled until I remembered the cold pack my sister had wrapped in a towel and placed on my leg. I had moved it off before I started, but then forgotten about it in my struggle—that's what I was sitting on!  I tried to move it, but when I realized I couldn't without falling, I chose to think that maybe it was there to give me more stability sitting up.

I grabbed my bottle of water and emptied it shortly; but the fact that I obtained what I wanted isn't the greatest thing out of this whole incident. It is the fact that God helped me, and in more than one way. Not only did He bless me with wisdom and strength to accomplish the goal, but He also blessed me yet again with a will to do. This is especially significant for me because for many years, I had a nearly unchangeable "I can't!" attitude, but He is changing my outlook through His grace—and this experience testifies to that. It also testifies to the truth of the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 2:13:"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

Blessings,

Jean 

"He Shall Direct Thy Paths"

A co-worker had told my mom about a house in Presque Isle that was a rent-to-own. It had three bedrooms and a garage, which sounded good for us. I also knew that an old friend of mine from middle school lives there, and the possibility of rekindling the friendship and being a better witness for Christ—by His grace—excited me. We would have to wait for more information, however. Mom no longer has a Facebook, so her co-worker was going to give the man with the house her E-mail.

Yet as much as I relished the prospect of perhaps living farther out and reconnecting with my friend, I knew it may not be God's will for us to move there. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I prayed about it privately, with my sister, and in the family circle when I remembered. I didn't want to go somewhere that God didn't want, even if there were things to enjoy there. I prayed and waited, trusting that God would show us what He wanted.

Then my mom came home from the gas station with an update. The roof of the house in consideration had fallen in! We wouldn't be taking it. God does answer prayers for guidance—and sometimes quite dramatically! Never fear. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

 

Blessings,

Jean

Iron

The children of Israel were supposed to drive out the Canaanites, but what they ended up doing was putting them under tribute instead (see Joshua 17:13).

 The children of Joseph asked Joshua why he had given them "one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?"  (v. 14).

Joshua told them, "If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee." (v. 15). It seems the people were discouraged, for in replying they mentioned that their enemies, the Canaanites, had "chariots of iron," (v. 16).

Their commander assured them that they would "drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong." (v. 18).

In chapter 13:1, the LORD had told Joshua that, "there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." Joshua had faith in God and believed in His power, despite the apparent insurmountable difficulties. He knew that chariots of iron were nothing to God. As long as he and his people obeyed God's instructions, victories were sure; and they did gain them. "And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that He sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:43-45, emphasis added).

I know that iron refers to Rome in prophecy (see Daniel 2 and onward), but I wanted to see whether it had any other significance. Speaking of "behemoth" in the Bible, God says, "His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron." (Job 40:15, 18). He told His people in Isaiah 48:3-4, "I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;" Iron appears to refer to something that is strong or hard, nearly unconquerable or impenetrable.

In fact, God told the prophet Jeremiah, "For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee." (Jeremiah 1:18, 19, emph. add.).

Yet the Bible reveals One mightier, the One Whom Joshua trusted. "Thus saith the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:" (Isaiah 45:1-2, emph. add.).

Sometimes circumstances in our lives seem as formidable to us as the chariots of iron did to the children of Joseph—but if we trust God and obey Him, He will help us just as He did them. He will cut "cut in sunder the bars of iron" in our lives, just as He did for Cyrus in literal terms!

Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!

Blessings,
Jean

"Simon's Wife's Mother"

Recently I finished reading the Gospel of Matthew, and now I'm reading the Gospel of Mark. "And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them" (Mark 1:29-31). Jesus had just delivered a man from an unclean spirit (vv. 23-26), so certainly He could cure a fever.

Yet, that wasn't what caught my attention this time. It was verse 31 (emphasis added). "And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." She served them as soon as she was well. I think there is a lesson we may learn from this woman.

I'm a disabled person, and I long to experience physical healing, to be like almost everyone else. That feeling is natural, I suppose; and maybe good as well. The Bible says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 1:2). From this, we see that it isn't wrong to want to "be in health"—else why would the apostle John wish this for his friend—but our reasons for wanting this may be wrong.

The few Scriptures concerning Peter's mother-in-law don't give us much information about her—not even her name—but they do send one message through loud and clear if we're paying enough attention: she used the blessing Jesus bestowed upon her as a means to bless others, not to serve herself. This should be our main reason for wanting any gift from God, even the gift of health. Perhaps some of you reading this live largely in a wheelchair as I do, or maybe you're hindered some other way physically, and just want out of that situation. I understand, believe me; but instead of focusing on our desires and their fulfillment, maybe we all should focus on preparing ourselves daily to make good use of them if and when they are fulfilled (our desires aren't always the best for us, you know). Let's focus our attention on blessing others now, in whatever way we are able, so that when we receive greater privileges in the future (whether here or above), we will use them to bless others then as well, in a greater way than before.

Blessings,

Jean

"Behold, We Have Forsaken All"

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him" (Matthew 4:18-22).

Peter and Andrew did not stop to ask how about wages, housing, and so on. James and John did not ask what would become of their father. They simply followed, and left it all to their Leader.

Let us look at another event earlier in Jesus' ministry. After Jesus had finished His conversation with the rich young ruler and given admonition about riches, Peter asked, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" (Matthew 19:27, emphasis added).

"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My Name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (vv. 28-29). While Jesus' answer mentioned things material, we know that we must forsake even more. Like the rest of the disciples, Peter was slow to learn that he truly would have to forsake "all."

" Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33, emphasis added).

 

"All that he hath" includes an unforgiving spirit—"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22).

 

"All that he hath" includes selfishness—"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee. But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matthew 16:21-23).

 

"All that he hath" includes self-confidence and boasting—"Peter answered and said unto him, Though all [men] shall be offended because of thee, [yet] will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. … Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before [them] all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another [maid] saw him, and said unto them that were there, This [fellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto [him] they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also [art] one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, [saying,] I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly" ((Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75).

 

"All that he hath" includes slothfulness and indifference—"And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak" (vv. 40-41).

"All that he hath" includes rashness and insubordination—"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?"

(John 18:10-11).

 

"All that he hath" includes worrying about what others are supposed to do—"Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what [shall] this man [do?] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what [is that] to thee? follow thou Me" (John 21:20-22).

As we can see from Peter's life, Jesus wants us to be willing to give up not only positions, possessions, and people for His sake, but also undesirable traits of personality. It may seem like a divesting of individuality to some. Yet, would a man with a cleft lip refuse to have it fixed if he could because it was part of who he was? That would be utter foolishness to go around with such a deformity if there was the possibility of eliminating it. To refuse to surrender characteristics that make our lives and the lives of those around us unhappy is even worse because, unlike a cleft lip, it will have a poisonous influence upon everyone now and it will ruin our chances of going to heaven as well. Why don't we do as Peter did and forsake "all" for the Master?

Blessings,

Jean