Observation:  OK, here it is…conflict with the religious leaders.  Jesus has started doing his thing–healing, preaching, casting out demons, restoration.  Countless people experiencing the power and hope of God, the work of the Kingdom.  The life of Jesus produced fruit–immediate, lasting, life-changing fruit.  He displayed the power of God, compassion, and authority.  And the religious leaders didn’t like it.  They were offended because Jesus didn’t stick to the script.  He didn’t follow their traditions and ritual formalities.  Jesus tells them to go home and think about PURPOSE.  Is it God’s goal to get everyone to buy into lifeless ritual, or does he want to see people restored?  Jesus points out the difference between showing mercy and going through the motions of religion.  He calls them to choose between love and life-less tradition.

Application:  I can find myself squarely in the camp of the Pharisees.  It’s so easy to slip into the mindset of religion and church-ianity.  Jesus reminds me that it’s not about being busy offering the sacrifices, keeping the church machine in motion.  He has called us to show mercy, to show love to the people who are around us.  What can I do today that will show mercy to people who are in my community?

Prayer:  Jesus, help me to take your words to heart.  I don’t want to be busy offering the sacrifices while people around me go through life without mercy.  I don’t want to miss your Kingdom because I’ve been been too busy doing the “stuff.”  Lord, will you fill my heart fresh with your spirit?  Will you set me free from the life-less rituals and traditions, and open my eyes to the people around me?  Help me to show mercy…

Observed:  I love the way the scriptures are connected.  Today’s passage from Job recounted how Job lived his life: expressing his faith in love and service of others, righteousness and purity.  Paul is writing to the Galatians to remind them that faith must have a practical application in their lives.  Faith is not a private matter between the individual and God; it’s a communal thing.  We belong to each other, need each other.  The fruit of the Spirit is interactive, and shows up as that body of Christ rubs shoulders with other people.

Application:  Remember Dan’s words from a couple of weeks ago?  Do Good.  Here.  Now. If I am going to be growing in my walk (Paul challenges the Galatians to pay careful attention to their own walk with the Lord), then I’ve got to be expressing my faith in love.  Paul details several ways that shows up:  serving one another (5:13), the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23) humility (5:26), confronting sin & accountability (6:1-3), doing good (6:9).  The bottom line is that the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Gal. 5:14)

Father, I am taking a long look at my life to see where I need to grow.  I know all the facts and believe all the right things(at least I like to think I do.)  But I want to see how my life reflects the love of God.  If my faith doesn’t express itself in love, then maybe my faith isn’t as good as I thought it was.  I don’t want to find myself getting confronted by someone like Paul with these words:  You were running the race so well.  Who held you back from following the truth?  Please show me my sin, those places where I fall short.  Give me the courage to make changes, the strength to discipline myself to be proactive, and to react in grace/truth/love.  I want to be filled with your Spirit, my God.

***a couple of confessions:
1.  I’m taking some pretty strong codeine-based medicine today, so if my thoughts are a little loopy, give me some grace! 
2.  I so wanted to write about Galatians 5:12, but I just couldn’t do it!

Observation: Jesus got slammed by the religious leaders of the day for hanging out with disreputable people.  They didn’t get why he operated the way he did.  But Jesus knew his purpose.  He was here to help those who were aware of their need.  He wasn’t trying to convince the religious people of their sin; he came to call those who knew that they had fallen short back to God.  He went on to talk about the need for new wineskins.  Old wineskins weren’t suitable for holding new wine.  If Jesus was going to see something new happen, he needed a new way of approaching life and ministry.  He built relationships with people who were marked as outsiders by the religious leaders.  He invited them to follow him, to hang around, to be his friends.

Application: I posted about this on my blog last month while reading the parallel passage in Luke’s gospel.  The challenge for me is CHANGE.  If I am going to see Kingdom change in my life/neighborhood/church, then I have to be willing to change.  My old ways of doing things are going to continue to produce the same results that they always have.  If I want different results, I have to embrace a new way of operating.  That introduces fear, risk, possible failure, misunderstanding…all things that are not high on my “Things I Like” list.  There is a cost that accompanies change; but there’s a cost that comes with missing the change, as well.  The bottom line for me is this: I don’t want to miss what God has for me, my family, and my community.  It may not be comfortable or easy.  It will come with consequences and sacrifice.  But I want to be part of what God is doing now.

Prayer: Father, help me to keep in step with your Spirit.  I want to be full of faith and the Spirit, to join you where you are at work.  Help me to trust you, to hear your voice, to follow you with conviction and courage.  I realize that New is not the enemy of Old.  New doesn’t discount the value of Old.  I believe that your heart is still for those who are separated from you.  Please reveal our sin to us.  Help us to recognize our need for a Savior.  Help me to embrace the New, to find ways to build relationships with those who need to know that you love them.  Help me to be a friend like Jesus.

Observation:  Paul and Barnabas were selected by the Holy Spirit for a special work.  They set out on the first-ever mission trip, telling people everywhere they went about Jesus the Messiah.  And they had tremendous success.  Jews and Gentiles, leaders and lame people…the people begged to hear more, and many became followers of Jesus.  But not everyone was happy.  Some of the Jewish leaders rejected the message, stirred up a crowd, and decided to attack.  They even followed Paul and Barnabas to Lystra, where Paul was nearly killed.  How did Paul react to this persecution?  He got up, dusted himself off, and walked back into town.  Back to the people who had just tried to kill him.  Back to the people who needed to hear what he had to say about Jesus.  Maybe this following Jesus isn’t all warm fuzzies and smooth sailing.

Application:  I tend to identify more with the part of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry on their return trip back through the places they visited.  On their way home, they met with the people who had become believers, strengthening their faith, appointing and developing leaders.  But I think that God is reminding me that there is a world of people who need to hear a clear presentation of his message, who need to see the love of Christ, who need to know that He loves them/us.  Like most of us, I tend to shy away from confrontation.  (I’m sure some freaky people out there actually like confrontation, but I don’t!)  And even less than I like confrontation, the idea of persecution–even losing my life–is enough to give me pause.  But I know this: Deciding to follow Jesus means embracing his mission, taking on his values.  And it’s clear as a bell that he wants us to be his ambassadors.  The message might not be popular.  The hearers might not react well to the message.  Yet the truth is that I have a message: I have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God…  (Acts 14:15)

Heavenly Father, King and Rescuer, fill my heart with courage and compassion.  Help me to love you, and to love other people the way you do.  I know that you want to see my neighbors and friends come to know you.  Help me to find a way to share this Good News with them.  Help me to be less concerned about myself, and more concerned about them.  Let me value you and your Kingdom, to weep for those who are separated from you, to humbly tell your story, my story…Please don’t let fear and the possibility of rejection make me hesitant.  Give me words to speak, and open the doors for your Kingdom to come in the lives of the people you love.

Observation: Trees are supposed to bear fruit–that’s their purpose.  In fact, the fruit of the tree reveals it’s character.  It produces more of itself through the seeds that are in the fruit.  But trees grow and produce in cycles.  When the hot, dry winds blow and the water runs out, the fruit fails, and the leaves wither and die.  But there’s something supernatural about in the lifecycle of the trees planted by the water.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper (bear fruit).  The people who are intimately connected to the word of God (delight, meditate) are compared to trees planted by water.  The difference isn’t in the effort of the trees; it’s in the water.  The water (Word of God) has live-giving, life-sustaining properties that transform the trees from normal to super-producers.  Those who belong to God, who are continually fed by his Word, are connected to the source of life, and produce fruit.

Application: If I want FRUIT–if I want to be a healthy and productive member of God’s family, I must be planted by the riverbank, fed by the stream of God.  It’s not enough to be around Christian people, listen to Christian radio, and wear Christian t-shirts!  If I want the fruit that God promises, and the eternal “never wither” leaves, then I have to connect to God through his word on a regular basis.  I need to be fed by God, so I will spend time with him in his word every day.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, feed me today.  Speak to my soul, and nourish me from your word.  Strengthen my heart.  Convict me of sin. Release your power in me.  Teach me.  Fill me with your spirit.  I want to be a man of your word.  I believe that you have the words of life, and that you sustain those who will turn to you.  I will be teachable, open to your voice.  Speak to me, and make me fruitful.