Goodness and the Fisherman

 

This little story is about an all too common reaction to God’s goodness and is a slight deviation on the Bridegroom theme. If we’re to know His love, we must first learn to accept His goodness, in spite of ourselves.

Goodness And The Fisherman (Luke 5)

The Creator takes the fisherman out for a delightfully supernatural fishing trip. Just after He’s finished teaching the pressing crowds by standing in Peter’s boat off the shore of Lake Gennesaret, Jesus tells the expert fisherman to row out into deeper waters (Luke 5). Problem is, Peter has just gotten through washing his nets after a whole night of unsuccessful trawling in these same waters and it took several hours to remove all the entangled shells and seaweed they collected, as well as other sundry items that clog the nets. But it had to be done, so that the next time they go a-fishin’ there’ll be a better chance of a catch. A whole night of snagging only sea-clutter and the last thing Simon wants to do with his freshly cleaned nets is get them plugged up again for no reason.

 

But he reveres this Rabbi, who’s already healed his own mother-in-law and because of honor, Peter informs Jesus that even though he and his partners have just spent the night catching absolutely nothing, zip, zilch, nada, not one fish, if you say so, Jesus, I’ll put down the nets. The master seaman wants to honor the Master Teacher, maybe even humor Him, since He’s such a man of high esteem. Even though Simon has done this fishing thing as a livelihood and after all, should know how to read the water and whether the fish are biting or not, and Jesus is just a Carpenter – what does He know about reading signs of the sea that indicate good fishing? – even though Simon’s just finished laboriously cleaning all his nets, he’s willing for the sake of honor to go to the extra trouble of throwing them overboard. Again. Even though it’s done merely out of respect.

 

As the Lord and the fisherman finally arrive in the deeper waters and Simon tosses the nets into the brine, I can imagine Jesus grinning widely. He is immensely pleased with Himself and with what is about to happen. The nets begin to move and Simon’s deeply tanned face registers absolute surprise as the Lord watches with amusement. Turns out a whole school of fish must have gone straight into the nets because, soon they really begin to move and THEN they actually start to pull the boat along in the water!

 

Simon the strong man has to struggle physically to manage the ropes and it dawns on him that he’s in the middle of a very large catch.  Straining to bring in the nets that have begun to tear under the weight of a heavy load, he yelps for James and John, his fishing partners, to bring another boat and they quickly they arrive to help collect one of the greatest draughts anyone’s seen in these parts for a l o n g time. These brawny-muscled men finally succeed in getting the fish into their boats but alas, the hulls are so overloaded they actually begin to sink! Again, I imagine Jesus grinning ear to ear as everyone panics and hurries toward the shoreline, eager to save their lives, their boats and perhaps their largest, single money-making catch of the year.

 

When all is safely ashore, Jesus laughs and claps Simon heartily on the back, thoroughly enjoying the fact that the fisherman and his partners have just made a lot of money, thanks to Him. The Master loves blessing these hardworking men and He senses that financially, the timing of a big haul couldn’t have been better for their families.

 

The miracle of it all has begun to hit Simon squarely between the eyes. He knows this sea and in all his years of riding its waves, in all his father’s fishing stories or his grandfather’s fishing stories, there has never been a catch of this magnitude. He is aware that this Man, the One who also healed his wife’s mother, somehow caused a great school of fish to come out of nowhere. He created the catch. He gave them this large, unexplainable gift.

 

Suddenly, the fisherman feels utterly vile. He senses the greatness of heaven standing before him and recognizes his own arrogance. Ashamed that just a few hours ago he’d sworn in angry exasperation when their nets came up empty again, Simon is overwhelmed with guilt that this Teacher from God could bless him, especially when he is so undeserving, so unworthy. Simon knows himself and has a sudden urge to run away from One who could perform such a mighty miracle. He wants to escape as far away as his legs will take him but instead, he falls to his knees and remarks painfully to Jesus, “Oh, Lord, go away from me: you don’t know how sinful I am! You shouldn’t be around me at all! Leave me, please, I feel so guilty and horrible about myself because you, a holy man, are here! Jesus, Your holiness makes me feel really bad about myself!”

 

Staring at the benevolent kindness and goodness of God, Simon’s heart is only able to see his own failure. He doesn’t see that Jesus is in love with him. The Lord adores this passionate fisherman and He only wants to bless him, to really do something generous for this ruddy, fervent, intense man. The Lord is enamored with the man’s heart of gold. He likes Simon immensely!

 

So what is Jesus’ response to Peter’s self-disgust?  He calmly and mildly turns to Peter and, with a vision of who Peter really is, in his spirit, with a vision of who Peter is becoming, Jesus says with mercy and encouragement, “Don’t be afraid, Peter. From now on, you’ll be catching men!”

 

Jesus sees all of Peter from heaven’s vantage point. Don’t worry, Peter, about your sin. I’ll take care of that. Come with Me. Be with me. Live with Me. Love being around Me. Everything else will take care of itself, and you’ll be able to gradually receive my goodness in all the ways I want to give it to you.  Just follow Me!

 

Jesus knows our spirits. He sees who we are in the spirit realm where we live with Him. He says the same to us: Be with Me, and you’ll know My extreme goodness in your life and it won’t frighten you anymore.  Don’t reject yourself: just keep your eyes on Me. I’ve already provided all things. Live here with Me, and know yourself according to My realities. I really like you and I love you and I’ve done all things for you. Spend time with Me and you’ll get used to My generous heart. Be with Me.



Intimate Union

Luke records the first words of Jesus, when he was a boy sitting in the temple of Jerusalem. His Mom & Dad had been searching for him for three, panic-filled, worried-parents days. When they asked him why he did this to them – why he disappeared and made them search all over creation for him – he answers, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

Interesting.  That his first words reveal the spiritual unity of Father and Son….never separated, always one. He was already, as a boy of about age 13, entirely given to His Papa in heaven.

This is the way Jesus and you and I are:  never separated, always one.

This is the way lovers are.

If you have ever been in love on this earth, remember those first days when you couldn’t think about anything else but this precious person whom you loved, loved, loved!  You were captivated, absolutely, by his (or her) face, his voice, his smile, his words, his talents, his mystery. You wanted to be with him every possible moment of the day!

That’s how Jesus is toward us. Every single moment of eternity. He is always in love, always adoring us with passionate affection. Jesus can’t take His eyes off of you. Of me. He is smitten with us!  Each one!

It’s our hearts that need to catch up to the reality, the truth that HE adores and is infatuated with us. That he is thrilled to spend time with us.

God is the universe maker. He’s also the Supreme Lover. He’s both. He’s so big, he can be both. He loves you perfectly intimately while he’s also having private audience with every other believer, all at the same time, and while he’s running the universe.

We feel we’re the most special, most loved one, we feel completely adored, like we’re his favorite.  And everybody else feels that way too.

That’s just the way it should be.  We are all ‘the favorite’ one. His love isn’t like human love, where love is apportioned in limited measure. His love is always full, 100% and always given completely and freely to every single person.

I come back to Holy Spirit again (as in previous blogs).  He’s the bridge.  He’s the one who gives us this knowledge, who draws our hearts into Jesus. He’s our ability to meet Jesus, He’s the firewall that protects our hearts from wandering. Holy Spirit is our love-connection to Jesus and our ability to love: 1 John 4:13 – “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

Come, Holy Spirit.  Fill us!  In the same way you baptized Jesus (Luke 3:22), baptize us (Luke 3:17).

The body of Jesus needs a new baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit baptisms occurred more than once in the NT church, so don’t think He only fills once:  He comes and fills again and again, more and more.

Jesus’ oneness with the Father, that I spoke about at the beginning of this blog, is what Jesus desires for us. He prays to this to the Father:

“I pray…that…just as you are in me and I am in you…may they (believers) also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  (John 17:21)

The Holy Spirit fills us: He’s the one who brings us to be IN Jesus and IN the Father. Holy Spirit is THEM in us.

That’s when the world will believe.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with Lover God!  Fill us with Trinity!

Fill us, possess our beings with love! One at a time, and all together.

Take us into intimate union with Jesus, with Father.

devotion

My heart wanders. In the pursuit of the Bridegroom, one of the first things that has occurred is I see how distracted, how disloyal I am, in all my pursuits of other things, in pursuit of gaining the favor of human beings and wanting to be affirmed by others.

Since I made this commitment to pursue the Bridegroom and Him alone, all the ‘personal agenda’ motives in my own heart have risen up and tried to accomplish mutiny! My flesh doesn’t want to be unnoticed by humans around me, to be unsung in the earthly realm! I am dead in Jesus, yes, it’s true, but in laying down all else to know him, I see just how much the ‘old, dead me’ tries to come back and haunt me from the grave.

I am also alive in Jesus. But, how can I love you purely, Jesus? How can I be devoted to you alone? The dictionary definition of devotion is, “love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.”

When Jesus walked in the earth He only did what he  saw Father God doing.  He is completely devoted to Father God, never independent of him, entirely loyal, entirely loving. They are  always together, always in each other, always one.  Jesus is always yielded to the Father, doing the Father’s will.

In the garden of Eden, Adam and God had this same kind of perfect union, without any separation. Adam’s relationship was like the relationship that exists between Jesus and Father: he just ‘naturally’ did God’s will, never independent of him, always loyal, always loving.

Jesus restored me to that kind of relationship, to walking in perfect union and dependence with God, through the cross and through being resurrected in him.

But in pursuit of the Lover, in pursuit of Jesus alone as my bridegroom, I need the Holy Spirit to come and be love in me. I am convinced I cannot love purely without Him. He is love, and He, living in me is how I will love purely, love with devotion. I cannot, on my own, love Jesus wholly and purely.

Think Peter before Pentecost, and then compare Peter after the Holy Spirit comes. The difference is as obvious as night and day.

So, Come, Holy Spirit, fill me with love for the Bridegroom. Give me devotion, loyal and loving devotion that supersedes all earthly desires for the praise of humans. I cannot love on my own strength.  Holy Spirit, I ask you for love that satisfies Jesus. Give me devoted love for the Lover that makes Him happy and full of joy.

Jesus, let me find my satisfaction in you alone.

Swimming Upstream

Swimming against the current pursuing love, pursuing a Bridegroom’s love – coming into a season of loving Jesus and laying down the polishing cloth, the hoe, the carpenter’s saw -and sitting down to relax with Him, enjoy conversation with our Lover-God: it’s all like swimming upstream in the present-day church. The “revival corners” of the church are busy, busy, BUSY, as is most of the body of Christ, with programs, conferences, and activities of bringing the Kingdom to earth.  It’s all good ‘stuff’.  But sometimes even good ‘stuff’ has to go.

I was at a gathering recently of ‘revivalists’ and we were ‘soaking in God’s Presence’.  Why, then, did I feel like a Salmon swimming upstream, going against the current to meet Him?  Everyone was laughing, laying on the floor, “whoa-ing”. I wanted to run away, I felt entirely awkward, I felt out-of-sorts.

Anything can become religious, even revival ‘norms’ like soaking or laughing.  Anything can become a pattern.  Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is like the wind, always moving, always changing.

One thing He will always anoint is LOVE.  Love for one another, love for Him.

I felt out-of-sorts at the revivalist soaking meeting because for me, it’s the season of the Bridegroom, and that means intimacy.  Intimacy often means meeting in quiet, hidden obscurity to share thoughts and to express love.  Intimacy means brothers and sisters sharing from the heart, openly and honestly. Intimacy means learning how to be family for each other.

Intimacy is not (usually) laying around on the floor with a bunch of strangers and never really connecting heart to heart with any of them.  Intimacy is not (usually) leaving the room two hours later, having done nothing but laughed together. Intimacy is love and love is communicating, blessing each other, caring for each other, honoring one another, helping one another, meeting eye to eye.  Intimacy is meeting one another spirit to spirit, heart to heart, soul to soul. Intimacy is listening, hearing, swapping thoughts and feelings and encouragement.

Intimacy is risking that I will share my heart and you will receive my heart.  Intimacy is you telling me what is deep within you, and my treasuring what I hear and what you share.  Intimacy is risking that if I am open and vulnerable and weak, you will receive me and sift out what is becoming like Jesus but hasn’t arrived yet (Heb 10:14). Intimacy is having the faith to see the anointing in your life, and calling your character up to integrity and faith, equal to your anointing (and vice versa). Intimacy is time spent together to know another person. Intimacy requires time, risk and truthfulness at its core.

This is true in relationship with Jesus, with Holy Spirit, with Father God and it’s also true in relationship with other believers.

If we are to be intimate with each other, we’ll first need to get real. Honest. Open. Learn to love by sharing and hearing. Be strong in front of others, as well as being weak with those who are our family, those who know us.

No more playing Church, where we have to put on our public, Sunday best appearance emotionally, and pretend we’re a giant-slayer – and that’s the only side we ever show to anyone.

I’m tired of the church being a teaching center.  There’s MORE!

We need to learn from the Bridegroom how to be lovers again.

Come, Holy Spirit, draw us into this season of the Bridegroom, or we’ll miss the Lover’s subtle invitations – again.  Come, bring us so many clues that it’s all about love, that we are enticed, curious, eager to stop what we’re doing and turn aside.  Draw us, Spirit of Jesus!  Woo us in the middle of the desert of Christian activity!

I am coming, Jesus.  Draw me after you until I come daily. Give me courage to swim upstream.

with love, Janet

The Bridegroom Prince

The whole thrust of my spiritual search these days is to know God as a passionate lover. For two years, I’ve been ‘knowing God’ – in the sense of intimacy – as Father, tender Holy Spirit and Jesus as Brother. But things are growing, increasing and I sense that it’s now the season of the Bridegroom. For any guys reading this, just remember, if we women get to become ‘sons of God’, you all get to become the ‘bride of Christ.’ Let yourselves go to that love: it’ll be good for your heart.

That said, knowing Jesus as Bridegroom of the body of Christ has been a little scary for me, honestly. As a child, I experienced several traumatic incidents of sexual molestation, so the idea of God having male qualities, let alone being a ‘lover’ has, until recent years, had its pitfalls. But healing comes, thank God and now I’m excited that the Holy Spirit has opened up new aspects of seeing God’s nature.

There is something incredibly rich about Jesus, the Brother-Bridegroom coming from heaven to earth for us. He’s the valiant, handsome Prince on the white horse who leaves the halls of his father’s castle and travels to the land of the enemy, risking even death to rescue his beloved princess (that’s us). He chooses to go deep within the bowels of filthy evil in the red dragon’s lair, giving his life in order to return his bride to her rightful place as a co-ruling heiress.

The Prince does this with joy because he has set his sights on loving her forever, in ‘happily-ever-after bliss.’

That was the whole point of the cross: to bring you and me into this incredible love relationship with the Trinity. Colossians 1:13 says God has ‘rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’

We’ve been ransomed by the blood and we’ll never be snatched away again. We’ve been permanently returned to the kingdom and we walk around in the throne room, not as the servants of the castle, but as family. For the rest of eternity, we’ve got all the rights and privileges Jesus has. Really.  We’re co-heirs. That gives us equal privilege.

So what’s the main focus of a princess? Is it decorating the castle? Giving tours to show off the palace? Making sure the kingdom runs smoothly?

Nah. Religion would say there’s so much to do in the Kingdom, that we better get busy….in a recent movie spoof, a secular film showed this tattoo on a priest: “Jesus is coming: look busy”.   I think they pegged us (the church) pretty well! Religion wants us to focus on the job of being princess, on what needs to be done around the mansion.

But the Bridegroom is calling me back to HIM. It’s time to lay down the cleaning cloth for a while and stop polishing the windows. He’s calling me and I need to go. He misses me. He misses us. He wants our love and attention and he doesn’t care that there are things waiting to be done.  Let the stuff wait. His eyes are on me, longingly waiting.

I’m coming, Jesus.

Janet

All About Family

A Series On The Trinity As Family

Janet Richards

Made In Their Image

For six days God fashions the earth, keeping His crowning creation, mankind, for last. “Let’s make this creation in Our image,” God-plural remarks, and commences to fashion us as little representations of the Trinity.

Then, They tell us to fill the earth. We’re to increase in number. We’re to create family. As church-goers, we’ve been so fascinated by the fact that we’re made in Their image as male and female, and stunned by the wonder of being given dominion over the earth, that we’ve often glossed too quickly over an important aspect of what it means to be made in their image. In Genesis 1:28, God-plural’s first recorded words to the man and woman are, “Be fruitful and multiply”. This command is given even before our directive to rule and subdue. Some of the married men and women reading this are smiling, gratified that the joy of carrying out procreation is part of our job description! But procreation is only the beginning; only the conception, of God’s full plan.

First and foremost, God-plural wanted humans to be made in family, because They wanted us to know Them as Heavenly Family. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the original Family, so humans have also been created as father, mother and children. Please hear me, I am not saying the Holy Spirit is a woman – the comparison is simply that our (uncorrupted) natures as human beings who have been set in families reveal the character and essence of the Trinity. Male and female, parents and children, imitate aspects of God’s relationship as Three-in-One.

They wanted loving, covenant relationships between man and woman, in part because of their desire to have godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). Jesus is called the Firstborn of many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He tells the pressing crowds “Those who do my Father’s will are my brothers, my sisters, my mothers,” (Matt 12:50, Mark 3:35). He makes us a part of the “household of God” (Eph. 2:19), and in the greater context of Scripture, this reference indicates we are not just in the earthly ‘household of God,’ the church, but we are also adopted right into the heavenly Family of God, the Trinity.

We belong in the ‘tribe’ of God (Rom 8:14-17). As heirs of God and co-heirs of our brother, Jesus, we have all the privileges of being at home with Them. Ever since Jesus completely restored us to our rightful place in the Trinity’s Family, we can enter Their presence with all confidence (Hebrews 4:16; John 14:2). That word confidence means we come speaking freely, matter-of-factly, boldly, knowing we have every right to say what we think, because we’re God’s child and brother, and They delight to hear us from a Father and Brother’s perspectives.

I imagine myself walking into the mansion of heaven and sitting down in the living room to prop up my feet and relax with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  We laugh together, discuss the Family business of the Kingdom, we encourage each other with praise, we bask together in the Family’s glory. I am comfortable with who I am as a member of this Family, because I know They have created me, chosen me for no other reason than love. They like me! They find me interesting, They love my personality, They thrill to be with me.

That the Creator of the universe wanted many people to love is made clear by the fact that Jesus said, “God so loved the (entire) world, that He gave His only Son….” (John 3:16).  God wanted a whole world of human beings to dote on, to caress, to enjoy, to walk alongside in intimate relationship. The Father “…from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…” has created us to walk in the earth and in the heavenlies, as family (Eph. 3:14,15 NKJV).

There is so much to unpack about the reality of being in The Trinity’s Family, that we will spend future installments of this weekly blog to get to know our Father, our Brother, and our nurturing Holy Spirit. We want to understand their hearts toward us and we want to know what it means to live as one of Their Family members, so that, like our Brother, Jesus, we can have great joy in fulfilling our destiny, in being loved and in being filled with hope and purpose.

Enjoy the Family gathering!

June 2010 Newsletter

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focus

Focus is not the same as striving. Focus is keeping your head in the game. Working toward a goal is not striving, it is discipline. Discipline is essential and good. What you focus on is what you see. Seeing is believing. If you focus on the kingdom of God and his righteousness, you will see it. Then you will believe it because it will become your reality.

You cannot believe for what you don’t already see in your spirit. People perish for lack of vision, but seeing life brings life. Seeing hope brings hope. What you see becomes the reality of your experience and you live according to reality. You move within the laws and structures of the reality you perceive. Anything else is delusion, fantasy or insanity.

So if I focus on the faithfulness of God, I see it. As I see it fully, I believe it. It becomes my reality and basis on which I make the decisions that determine my path.

groanings

The recent earthquakes are the groanings of the earth for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed. The movement of tectonic plates represents the shifting of foundations. This is being played out in a clash of kingdoms: kingdoms of the world becoming the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. This is happening all over the planet.

The volcanic eruptions are a part of this, also. The ash cloud overshadowed Europe, cutting off air travel. Economies are affected and people are powerless to stop it. It has caused thousands of people to be stranded outside of comfort zones, making them alter their lives and plans, causing a shift in focus on how to do business.

It is essential to understand that the battle is happening in the heavens and the earth. It was a poor decision in the face of adverse weather that brought down the Polish airplane, killing the president, his wife and many of the highest ranking military personnel and government advisers. Pilot error. For Christians, it is essential to press through on the assignments from God, listening carefully each step of the way, following instructions completely. He will make a way where there is no apparent way, and this path will be better than planned, and best.

The shifting of foundations will bring down kingdoms. Many people will feel lost and displaced in the new landscape. This is an opportunity to lay for them a new foundation. The migration of populations from places of lack to places of hope demonstrates the need to make room for them and to make a way for them to get there through God’s economy. The migration must increase for the potential is enormous.

Our mandate is to rebuild ruined cities, so we must seek God for the right plans. Human ingenuity is good, but inadequate for the task without divine guidance. We need to stay focused on heaven and allow the transitory things which have outlived their usefulness to pass away. We need to reduce the clutter (including busyness) so that we are not distracted from the essentials.

God’s economic stimulus plan is generosity in taking care of widows and orphans. It calls for being sold out to trusting in God, embracing his goodness, his good heart toward us and his abundant more-than-enough ability to supply us with an unending flow of resource for all of our need in doing that which we are called to do.

God is the ultimate foundation, the Rock that doesn’t move. Faith is our connection to the eternal.  The foundations are shifting and it’s about time.

Seasons

arch of constantine

This is a really interesting season we’re in. Institutions are being shaken as various forms of abuse are uncovered. Institutional structures are being challenged for the way they protect those in power at the expense of those without power. Foundations are being shaken and recent worldwide events are indications of this at the deepest levels. The movie “2012″ is a prophetic statement of the unraveling of these bedrock structures; this will leave a whole new landscape.

Political systems are being exposed along with financial systems. Governmental upheavals are pending. Church and state governments are being tested and found wanting. The desire for power and control expressed through greed, money, ambition, sex, etc., is driving the kingdoms of the world to a climax that will produce change. Probably revolutionary change.

The wealth of nations in monetary systems has been built by powerful people who control financial institutions whose assets have largely been accumulated through the manipulation and exploitation of poorer people. Call it life in the food chain. Much of the Chinese manufacturing success has been from cheap labor and stolen ideas. It can be argued that people in China have more economic opportunity to improve their standard of living today, but do they get the full reward of their labor? And how is intellectual property protected in the Chinese market?

We in the West have been blinded by “acquisition syndrome” in the lust for MORE: bigger houses, newer cars, latest fashions, more choices of unnecessary luxuries. When is enough “enough”? What happens when we stop buying? If we have negative population growth, how do we continue to feed the industrial machine?  With a shrinking tax base, how do we manage to pay for social services and infrastructure?

Remember the stimulus package? Did the economy change as a result? No. Most people took the money and used it to pay down debt. Maybe we are getting wiser, maybe it’s a case of “too little, too late”.

Abuse of power. We see bishops dropping like flies. The ones most capable of protecting the innocent are the ones who exploit them for self-serving gain. It would be wonderful to see institutions built on the foundation of service to mankind.

It seems to be our nature to blame the thing that we trust for our own failures so that we can avoid having to take responsibility for our choices. “It was Hitler, it was the Nazis; I was only doing what I was told.” The truth is we DO have responsibility for our choices. In the end, we will be held to account for them. There is no excuse “the devil made me do it.” That was settled with Adam and Eve. We make choices.

How is it that we don’t know the seasons?