When There Is No End, Everything Becomes a Means

This week we would like to share a blog from one of our members, Jeff Caldwell. Please check it out here!

True Obedience Is Complete

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

I learned this song in elementary school. Not only is it a cute song; it is a brilliant way to teach little ones to spell a big word.

As a kid I thought it was just a ploy to get kids to do what they were told. My skepticism has since been resolved by scripture, namely the words of Christ, God’s commands and covenant with Israel in the old testament, and the lives of the faithful throughout the Bible.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” God echoes this sentiment so many times throughout  the Bible. Obedience is a big deal to God. It is linked to punishment (Psalm 89:30-31), the (quality and length) thriving and sustaining of one’s life and the life of future generations (Proverbs 3:1-2; Deut. 5:9-10). In addition, obedience is a consequence or evidence of one’s love and  reverence for, and commitment to the Lord. 

An example of this that fascinates me is found in 1 Chronicles 21. David does something random and stupid, something the Lord never instructed him to do. Verse 1 of the chapter tells us that David was actually motivated by Satan! The result? “God was displeased and struck all of Israel”. All? Not just David? David was shook and repented immediately, yet God still insisted on punishment for David’s actions. Plot twist: God gave David options. David’s choice demonstrates his heart for, intimacy with, and knowledge of the Almighty. “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man” (verse 13). Wow. Wait, there’s more. After submitting to God’s judgement on behalf of his house and all of Israel, God relents midway, and David petitions God to make David and his house the target of punishment. God has very specific instructions for David. How David obeys and expresses his understanding of the situation and his responsibility as a servant of the Lord and leader of a nation challenges me. 

After moving to obey God, David is offered the means to obey for free and he rejects it, stating, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, so that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall charge me the full price for it, so that the plague may be averted from the people…No, I will certainly pay the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” David could have received Ornan’s offer as a blessing from the Lord. True obedience is complete. It does not seem to be actual obedience if  we are seeking to avoid inconvenience or loss. Does our love, referential fear and trust toward the God of Heaven require our obedience? When I make decisions that inevitably affect my family, especially my children, am I prone to be momentarily grieved only to shrug it off because “kids are resilient”? Or do I understand my responsibility as a servant of the Lord and leader of littles to repent, watch for the Lord, and respond like David, submitted, obedient and open to retribution? Do I believe God? Do I know or have I experienced God’s goodness, justice, and glory to trust? Do you? Build the altar. Make the sacrifice. ‘Tis the only way.

—Anyah E. R. White

Is Mustard Seed Size Faith Enough?

We all have prayers that we pray often, if not all the time. There are things we have been praying for dating back months. Maybe years. As time goes on we wrestle with thoughts about  the time when we will hopefully witness  God deliver on His promises and honor all the countless knee bending moments and heartfelt prayers with the answers we are seeking. A well known story in the Bible comes to mind, where our faith is related to a mustard seed with an implication that anything is possible with just a little faith. Even the humanly impossible act of geographically relocating a mountain from one place to another by merely speaking to it. I can’t help but to wonder, isn’t my prayer to God more realistic considering how outrageous it sounds to see a mountain jump out from point A to point B on a simple command? Is my faith Big enough to heal that illness; or avoid that failure; or rescue that family member from sin? 

That particular story is found in the gospel of Matthew. In  chapter 17  we read about a time when Jesus was rebuking the disciples for not having enough faith to cast demons out of a boy who was afflicted with epilepsy. It says that after they faithfully tried, the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked Him  why they weren’t able to perform the miracle. After all, they had faith! Or so they thought…they were, after all, following and walking with the Master himself! The Bible  tells that Jesus said to the disciples that  “if they had faith LIKE a mustard seed nothing would be impossible to them.” But wait; these were guys who left their lives to follow Jesus. There must have been some faith in their hearts after all. Why would they be following Jesus if they didn’t have at least the slightest faith in Him? In His rebuke to them, Jesus made  the allusion to a kind of faith able to move a mountain from its geographical position. A faith able to make the impossible possible. The kind that would even defy both laws of physics and gravity with such an insane request.  A faith that even the disciples apparently did not have. 

You see, I don’t think Jesus was referring to how big or small faith needs to be. I think e was referring to how strong it should be in order to ultimately see results. Please let me explain what I mean. The mustard seed has some rather unique characteristics that make a good argument for this assumption. For starters, the mustard seed  is no bigger than 2 millimeters in diameter, but it germinates quicker than many other seeds, and reaches maturity very fast, yielding  trees that can grow as tall as 30 feet with branches and leaves spanning across up to 20 feet in circumference. The seed itself is also documented to remain viable even if trampled or burned, making it nearly impossible to not produce results after such trauma. And one of the most important characteristics of the mustard seed is that it is non-hybrid. Even the most intelligent scientist in the universe can find it difficult, if not impossible to make a hybrid mustard seed. Meaning it is virtually impossible for them to combine two different mustard plants to produce another variety. Taking into account these three characteristics of a mustard seed, one could understand better why Jesus would relate productive faith to this seemingly insignificant seed.

Our faith needs to be like a mustard seed and not small-like a mustard seed. With the proper qualities built into it, the size of our faith becomes irrelevant. If it's small, we must work through prayer and trust in God for it to grow and mature fast so it can be capable of producing great results with miraculous byproducts that hopefully will make us stand in awe and span over generations. Our faith should be strong and not easily broken. It must sustain hurt, perceived disappointments, confusion, and fiery attacks. Not being able to sustain these would  forfeit the results that it could provide.  And ultimately, our faith must be unique. Not prone to combining with anything else. To hold its own. It must be genuine and stand alone. Not needing to mix with anything or others to produce any results.  

I often struggled with my original interpretation of this God-given lesson. I knew that I had at least a little faith. And my whole life I thought  that all I needed was faith as small as a 2 millimeter mustard seed. But there were countless times when that was obviously not enough. Seeing it from the perspective of this blog entry helps me understand that the problem was not that my faith was smaller than a mustard seed. At times any smaller faith in me would have truly  been impossible! I believe that the problem was in the quality of my faith at one given point or another. I wonder if my faith was qualitative enough. If it had the qualities found in the mustard seed.  I need to admit that  it often didn’t. But one thing is certain. I know the God I serve. And I know that He tells me His word does not go back to Him empty. So like the mustard seed, I will continue to grow in my faith.  Not focusing on how much trampling it is exposed to or the attacks it may go through. Knowing that in no time it is destined to  grow and mature well. I will remember what the promise is and how I am poised to see gigantic miracles at the right time. And most importantly, I will remember that my faith cannot and should not mix with anything else that may deviate it from its purpose of standing alone in genuine holy anticipation of what is to come. If it is God’s will, I will see my prayer answered.

God bless,

—R Bermudez

¿Es la fé del tamaño de un grano de mostaza suficiente..?

Todos tenemos oraciones que rezamos con frecuencia, si no todo el tiempo. Hay cosas por las que hemos estado orando desde hace meses. Quizás años. A medida que pasa el tiempo, luchamos con pensamientos sobre el momento en que, con suerte, seremos testigos de cómo Dios cumple sus promesas y honra todos los innumerables momentos de arrodillamiento y oraciones sinceras con las respuestas que estamos buscando. Me viene a la mente una historia muy conocida de la Biblia, donde nuestra fe se relaciona con una semilla de mostaza con la implicación de que todo es posible con solo un poco de fe. Incluso el acto humanamente imposible de reubicar geográficamente una montaña de un lugar a otro con solo hablarle. No puedo evitar preguntarme: ¿no es más realista mi oración a Dios considerando lo escandaloso que suena ver una montaña saltar del punto A al punto B con una simple orden? ¿Es mi fe lo suficientemente grande como para sanar esa enfermedad? o evitar ese fracaso; ¿O rescatar a ese miembro de la familia del pecado?

Esa historia particular se encuentra en el evangelio de Mateo. Donde en el capítulo 17 leemos acerca de un momento en que Jesús estaba reprendiendo a los discípulos por no tener suficiente fe para expulsar demonios de un niño que padecía epilepsia. Dice que después de intentarlo fielmente, los discípulos vinieron a Jesús en privado y le preguntaron por qué no podían realizar el milagro. Después de todo, ¡tenían fe! O eso pensaban... ¡Después de todo, estaban siguiendo y caminando con el Maestro mismo! La Biblia cuenta que Jesús dijo a los discípulos que “si tuvieran fe COMO un grano de mostaza, nada les sería imposible”. Pero espera; Estos fueron hombres que renunciaron a sus propias vidas para seguir a Jesús. Debia de haber algo de fe en sus corazones. ¿Por qué seguirían a Jesús si no tuvieran al menos la más mínima fe en Él? En su reprimenda, Jesús hizo alusión a un tipo de fe capaz de mover una montaña de su posición geográfica. Una fe capaz de hacer posible lo imposible. Del tipo que incluso desafiaría las leyes de la física y la gravedad con una petición tan demencial. Una fe que aparentemente ni siquiera los discípulos tenían.

Verás; No creo que Jesús se estuviera refiriendo a cuán grande o pequeña debe ser la fe. Creo que se refería a lo fuerte que debería ser para poder ver resultados en última instancia. Por favor déjame explicarte lo que quiero decir. La semilla de mostaza tiene algunas características bastante únicas que constituyen un buen argumento a favor de esta suposición. Para empezar, la semilla de mostaza no mide más de 2 milímetros de diámetro, pero germina más rápido que muchas otras semillas y alcanza  madurez muy rápido, produciendo árboles que pueden crecer hasta 30 pies de altura con ramas y hojas que se extienden hasta 20 pies en circunferencia. También está documentado que la semilla en sí permanece viable incluso si es pisoteada o quemada, lo que hace casi imposible que no produzca resultados después de tal trauma. Y una de las características más importantes de la semilla de mostaza es que no es híbrida. Incluso al científico más inteligente del universo le puede resultar difícil, si no imposible, producir una semilla de mostaza híbrida. Lo que significa que les resulta prácticamente imposible combinar dos plantas de mostaza diferentes para producir otra variedad. Teniendo en cuenta estas tres características de una semilla de mostaza, se podría entender mejor por qué Jesús relacionaría la fe productiva con esta semilla aparentemente insignificante.

Nuestra fe necesita ser como una semilla de mostaza y no pequeña-como una semilla de mostaza. Con las cualidades adecuadas incorporadas, el tamaño de nuestra fe se vuelve irrelevante. Si es pequeña, debemos trabajar a través de la oración y la confianza en Dios para que crezca y madure rápidamente y pueda ser capaz de producir grandes resultados con subproductos milagrosos que, con suerte, nos dejarán asombrados y se extenderán por generaciones. Nuestra fe debe ser fuerte y no fácilmente quebrantable. Debe soportar el dolor, las decepciones percibidas, la confusión y los ataques ardientes. No poder sostenerlos perdería los resultados que ella podría proporcionar. Y, en última instancia, nuestra fe debe ser única. No propensa a combinarse con nada más. Para mantenerse firme. Debe ser genuina y autónoma. No es necesario mezclarla con nada ni con otros para producir algún resultado.

A menudo tuve problemas con mi interpretación original de esta lección dada por Dios. Sabía que tenía al menos un poco de fe. Y toda mi vida pensé que todo lo que necesitaba era fe tan pequeña como una semilla de mostaza de 2 mililitros. Pero hubo innumerables ocasiones en las que obviamente eso no fue suficiente. Verlo desde la perspectiva de esta entrada de blog me ayuda a entender que el problema no era que mi fe fuera más pequeña que una semilla de mostaza. ¡A veces una menor fe en mí hubiera sido verdaderamente imposible! Creo que el problema estuvo en la calidad de mi fe en un momento u otro. Me pregunto si mi fe fue lo suficientemente cualitativa. Si tuvo las cualidades que se encuentran en la semilla de mostaza. Debo admitir que a menudo no fue así. Pero una cosa es segura. Conozco al Dios al que sirvo. Y sé que él me dice que su palabra no vuelve atrás vacía. Así como la semilla de mostaza seguiré creciendo en mi fe. Sin centrarla en los pisoteos a los que está expuesta ni en los ataques que puede sufrir. Sabiendo que en poco tiempo está destinada a crecer y madurar bien. Recordaré cuál es la promesa y cómo estoy preparado para ver milagros gigantescos en el momento adecuado. Y lo más importante es que recordaré que mi fe no puede ni debe mezclarse con nada más que pueda desviarla de su propósito de permanecer sola en genuina y santa anticipación de lo que está por venir. Si es la voluntad de Dios, veré contestada mi oración.

Dios bendiga,

R Bermudez

Finding Jesus

I couldn’t find Him. And I looked everywhere.

How could I lose Baby Jesus?

I was humming “Joy to the World” as I busily pulled my Christmas decorations from the stacks of boxes in my dusty basement. I smiled with pleasure, joy truly flooding my heart, as I rediscovered the charming Thomas Kincaid nativity set that I had inherited a couple years earlier. Because we had visited family out of state the past couple of years, I had only minimally decorated our home for Christmas. I had forgotten all about this beautiful gift.

Now this is not an ordinary creche with its traditional figurines. A dear elderly friend of mine with very limited means had splurged on this particular set, purchasing pieces of it separately over several years. And it has lots of pieces—all packed in a multitude of crumbling Styrofoam containers. Exquisitely crafted, sacrificially obtained, it was quite precious to her and she wanted me to have it when she was gone. So now, of course, it is very precious to me.

Thank you, dear Mildred.

I hauled the boxes upstairs and packed up all the dishes on my hutch to make room for the rustic stable and all the handsome figures. Beside the familiar cast of characters and creatures, this incredibly large nativity set includes a centurion, a multitude of various angels, and even the little drummer boy. There are even some figures I don’t recognize.

I was down to opening the last squeaky box when I realized I had not found Baby Jesus nor the manger. A massive search party of my whole house ensued…one that lasted for days.

I simply could not find Jesus.

And that gave me pause. I thought about it a lot.

In fact, it overshadowed my holiday season. It became the overarching, ever-present question or theme that replayed in my head like a stuck old LP record.

Where’s Jesus? Where IS He?

After all, isn’t He the singularly most significant figure in that stable, in the whole scene I so carefully arranged? Isn’t He the central focus of the entire Christmas celebration? Isn’t the holiday pointless without the Christ child?

Very good questions that prompted some very thought-provoking answers.

I was desperate to find Him, to put Him where He should be.

So I determined I would…even if it wasn’t in some forsaken, spidery corner of my basement. Or in the manger on my hutch where I thought He belonged.

And, you know, with my Father’s help, I did find Him. Over and over again in the hustle and bustle of Advent. Here and there in places I never expected to find Him.

He was exactly where He belonged.

And I am most grateful.

I found Him in the unexpected and paralyzing moments of grief over facing family holiday gatherings without my big sister for the first time ever.

I found Him in the busyness of shopping, food preparation, decorating, wrapping, planning, and cleaning for a house full of company, my most favorite and exhausting enterprise of the year, a season when I regretfully often overlook Whose birthday it is in my bustle.

I found Him in the quiet moments of my tearful prayers for so many that I love who are not looking for Jesus at all and for those whose physical and emotional and relational needs are crushing them and breaking them, whose days may not be so merry or bright.

I found Him in the laughter and warmth and blessing of just sweetly being together with the precious ones who are mine.

I found Him on the floor of the bedroom where I held my dear mother-in-law, waiting for help to get her back up to bed. I found Him with her the next day in the helicopter that air lifted her to Cooper because of a nasty stroke. And then when she had another. I found Him in rehab with her, holding her near as she struggles to make sense of what has ravaged her brain so heartlessly.

I found Him in the middle of my fear concerning my mother-in-law’s future care and the weight of that heavy responsibility and my very obvious inadequacies.

I found Him calmly and patiently whispering to me as I navigated my stress-related vertigo and double vision issues that threaten to take me out.

I found Him in the strength and prayers of my loving husband and my wise children and theirs. I found Him in the brilliant, star-studded winter sky. I found Him in the Advent messages delivered so powerfully the weeks leading to Christmas.  I found Him in the glorious and compelling traditional Christmas music that touched my soul. I found Him in thoughtful unexpected gifts and cards of friendship. I found Him in the intimate dinner shared with my Pastorate family. I found Him in the middle of the devastating and crippling news of wars, fires, earthquakes, riots, murders, abuses, shootings, injustices, feuds, inflation, crooked politicians, rebellion, addictions, divorce, betrayal, cancers, and mental illness.

I found Him in all these moments, in all these sorrowful, uncontrollable, mundane, confusing, exhausting, hopeless, or happy situations of life.

Why?

I was looking for Him.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13 ESV)

Like the prompted shepherds, like the curious wisemen, I sought Him this Christmas. Relentlessly. 

Because, unlike those obedient seekers, I already knew where He was and Who He was…and is. I even knew that I needed Him. I just needed a gentle push, a subtle reminder.

His name is Immanuel. God with us. GOD with ME!

Amazing. Humbling.

Oh, so helpful.

Because this is so not about me.

It is about the object of my search.

It is all about HIM and Who He is.

Because of His timely disappearance from my creche, my gracious Father reminded me of the importance, no, the urgency of finding Jesus, my Savior, in every moment of every day. Especially the busy ones when we are so easily distracted and our hearts are so carelessly wooed away to lesser gods. Especially the dark and pain-filled ones when we are groping for answers that just aren’t there.

But He is.

The Babe left Bethlehem in the dust and turned His lovely face purposefully to the cross. His earthly life was lived to accomplish the Father’s perfect plan to restore a broken and wayward world back into stunning relationship with Him.

In fact, in John 14:23, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Did you get that?

And we have a myriad of other verses in His Word that promise His nearness, His tender care, His love for those who have placed their faith in Him as Savior and King.  

He is here. He is with you. Really.

Call off the search party.

Be thrilled the manger is empty.     

Bow your knees in gratitude and raise your voice in adoration.

You can experience a very different 2024 if you fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith story. Diligently search for Him in every moment, in every situation of the year. See what He is up to and join Him. Look for paths where He is leading you and follow. Rest in His care and protection. Listen to His voice and hear His promises.

You will find Him.

He isn’t hiding.

Just be sure you are looking.           

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon him while he is near; (Isaiah 55:6)

—Eileen Hill