Showing posts with label Abiding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abiding. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Learning Jesus, Finding Rest

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
The yoke Jesus is talking about here is not for plowing the fields or pulling the carts. It is about being with Jesus, side by side, and learning from Him. We can think about it in three ways, each one leading us to the next.
  • Learning of Jesus. This is hearing about Jesus, learning about Jesus, and coming to Him. it begins with His invitation, “Come to Me.”
  • Learning from Jesus. When we come to Jesus, He becomes our teacher and we become His disciple. We begin to learn from Him about many things.
  • Learning Jesus. This goes beyond knowing about Jesus, and knowing the things He has taught us. It is about Jesus Himself, knowing Him more and more.
My wife and I have been married now for 35 years. We know each other. Not just about each other. She knows me and I know her. We have learned each other so that we can even anticipate one another (not that we cannot still surprise each other — the more I know her, the more each day becomes a revelation of her). It happened over time, day after day, year after year. Turning to each other, tuning to each other, deepening with each. There is now an ease that we have with each other. A confidence, a trust, a rest with each other.

That is what Jesus invites us to, to learn Him — and find rest.

Praying through my psalms for the day, Psalm 131 seems particularly appropriate to this:
My heart is not proud, LORD,
My eyes are not haughty,
I do not concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
Like a weaned child I am content.
(Psalm 131:1-2 NIV2011)

Friday, June 11, 2010

What Do You Seek? Where Do You Dwell? (3)

Part 1 | Part 2
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” (John 1:38).
The Greek word for “stay” in this verse is meno and means to abide, to continue, to dwell.

“Where do you dwell?” the disciples asked.

“Come and see,” Jesus answered.

They came and saw and became His disciples. They dwelt with Him for over three years, the length of His ministry. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). The word for “mansions” here is mone, which is derived from meno. It is the place of abiding, a dwelling place.

Many people believe Jesus was talking about the Second Coming, that is, when He returns at the end. They imagine He is spending all of this time between now and then preparing a big house for us. But I don’t think that is what He is talking about here. I believe the place He went to prepare for us has already been prepared for us long ago.
  • It happened at the Cross, where Jesus prepared the way for us.
  • It happened at the Resurrection, when Jesus came again to the disciples.
  • It happened at the Ascension, when Jesus ascended to the throne in His Father’s house.
There is a place for us with Jesus on that throne at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power, might and dominion. Paul tells us,
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-6)
God has made us alive with Jesus, raised us up with Jesus and seated us in the heavenlies, where Jesus is seated — the place of ruling and reigning. Notice carefully the tense. It is not future, a promise of what will be. It is past tense, more precisely, the Greek aorist tense, which signifies completed action. In other words, it is a “done deal.” Jesus has prepared a place for us in His Father’s house and He has received us there, on His throne at the right hand of the Father (see Ascension: Receiving Us Unto Himself). It is our dwelling place, our mone with Him.

There is only one other place where this noun, mone, is found in the New Testament, and that is just a few verses later, in John 14:23, where 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 [mone] with him.
Not only has Jesus prepared a dwelling place for us with Him, He has also prepared us as a dwelling place for the Father and Himself. If we love Him and keep His word — that is, believe what He says — He and the Father come and make their home with us (see The Abodes of God).

“Where do you dwell?” the disciples.

“Come and see,” Jesus answered.

He comes to dwell with us and invites us to dwell with Him.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

What Do You Seek? Where Do You Dwell? (2)

Part 1 | Part 3
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” (John 1:38).
Two disciples of John the Baptist began to follow Jesus. They were seeking a place to dwell, an abode with God (see Part 1).

David said, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 21:6). And now here was the Son of David dwelling among men. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” John’s Gospel says (John 1:14). This is the same Word that was with God in the beginning, and indeed, is God (John 1:1).

The Greek word translated “dwelt” here is the verb form of a noun that literally means “tent” or “tabernacle.” In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was the place where God manifested His presence and met with His people. And when David recovered the Ark of the Covenant, he brought it into Jerusalem and set up a tabernacle, a tent for it, and he danced before the Lord, whirling and leaping with great joy (2 Samuel 6:16-17). It was the “House of the Lord,” God’s dwelling place on earth, and the only place David wanted to be in all the world.
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
(Psalm 27:4)
This is echoed by another psalm writer:
How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
(Psalm 84:1-2)
Now Jesus, the Word that was in the beginning with God, and is God, came to tabernacle among men, and the disciples of John the Baptist wanted to meet with Him in His dwelling place.

“Where do you dwell,” they asked.

“Come and see,” Jesus answered.

It was an invitation from God.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

What Do You Seek? Where Do You Dwell? (1)

Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following said to them, “What do you seek?” (John 1:38)
One day, two disciples of John the Baptist heard him say, as Jesus passed by, “Behold the Lamb of God!” So they followed after Jesus. Realizing this, Jesus turned and spoke the first “red letter” words that show up in the Gospel of John.

“What do you seek?” It is a significant question. John didn’t waste any words on chit-chat in his gospel, and certainly, every word Jesus spoke had import. Here were two disciples who formerly followed the Baptist; now they were following Jesus. Did they even know what it was they were seeking?
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” (John 1:38).
The Greek word for “stay” is meno. It means to abide, to remain, to dwell. “Where do you dwell?” they asked Jesus. They were seeking a dwelling place, a habitation. Not a physical abode — they were not homeless — but a dwelling place in God.

They had heard John say, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and it was full of prophetic significance. Some people thought John himself might be the Messiah, or Elijah, or “the Prophet.”

“No,” he said.

“Then, who are you? What do you say about yourself,” they asked.

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.” He identified himself as the one spoken of in Isaiah 40:3.

“Then why do you baptize, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” His ministry of baptism had prophetic significance. God had promised, through the prophet Ezekiel,
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Now here was John, with a baptism of repentance, of purification. Surely, he must be the Messiah. But no, he is a forerunner. He can only baptize with water, not with the Holy Spirit. So he answered them, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (John 1:26-27). Later, when he finally recognizes who Jesus really is, he says,
“I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:31-35)
John could only baptize with water, but he understood that Jesus is the Lamb of God who can cleanse us from all filthiness and shame, and baptize us with the Holy Spirit. John identifies Him as the Son of God, which, according to the expectation of the Old Testament, identified Him as the Messiah.

These things were not lost on John’s disciples, so when they heard him say, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” as Jesus walked by, they recognized that He was the One. They called Him, Rabbi, Teacher. They were ready to be His disciples now, to learn of Him and find their dwelling in God with Messiah.

“Where do You dwell?” they asked — and were they not saying, “We want to dwell there, too”?

“Come and see,” Jesus answered.

Part 2 | Part 3

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Don’t Strain, Abide

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Have your ever considered that the branches of a vine or fruit tree do not have to strain to bear fruit. It comes forth very naturally from the life of the tree. In fact, the fruit is the overflow of the life of the tree.

Many Christians are struggling and straining to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. They wrestle with themselves to honor Christ by living godly lives.

But instead of struggling, what we need to do is abide in Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches, and the life of the vine will itself bring forth the fruit through the branches.

We do not have to make fruit come forth, we simply need to let it come forth. Pal said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit within you to bring forth the fruit of Christ in your life. You have the mind of Christ within you to think with the thoughts of heaven. Abide in Christ, yield to the Spirit, and let God do the work within you. You bring the basket, He’ll bring the fruit.

Sunday, June 5, 2005

What’s in a House?

A house is a an abode, a dwelling place. It is a place of decision and destiny. Don’t think “building,” think “family,” for a house is a place of relationships, a place where inheritances are imparted. Every house bears a name, and that name establishes the family.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Amen.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Abiding Even in the Face of Evil

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it is good.
(Psalm 52:8-9)
The inscription of this psalm reads, “A contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him, ‘David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.’”

You can read about the treachery of Doeg in 1 Samuel 22. Doeg was an exceedingly ruthless man, and King Saul had fallen so low in his bitterness toward David that he made Doeg his right hand man. When Saul’s own royal guards would not slay Ahimelech and the house of priests, Doeg gladly performed the task, killing 85 who wore the linen ephod. Not only that, he also turned against Nob, the city of the priests, where he slew men, women, children, and nursing infants, as well as oxen, donkeys and sheep.

In the midst of this evil and treachery, David puts his trust in the Lord:

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.” A green olive tree is a symbol of prosperity and stability, reminiscent of the tree planted by rivers of living water in Psalm 1. Olive trees are also long lived, with many years of fruitfulness.

“I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.” David continually looks to God for refuge. He trusts in the hesed, the steadfast love and faithfulness of God, for he is in covenant with Yahweh. That is his plan from now on, emphatically — forever and ever!

“I will praise You forever because You have done it.” He lifts his hands to Yahweh in thanks and praise, because the LORD has the situation well in hand and will render the judgment. His heart is set.

“And in the presence of Your saints, I will wait on Your name, for it is good.” David has a patient expectation in the Lord. This is not something hidden away and done in secret, David has gone public with it. He has declared himself, his trust, his gratitude, his praise before all the people of the LORD who are in his company.

No wonder then, that he opens this psalm with, “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.” He has already seen the end of this matter from the beginning, and that is where he makes his stand.

Yes, there is evil round about, but it is the goodness of God that will endure. So take your stand with David: 1. Trust in the covenant love and mercy of God forever. 2. Keep on giving your thanks and praise to the Lord. 3. Wait on the Lord in patient expectation, for He always will uphold His name’s sake.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

The Abodes of God

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:24)
The commandments of the Lord are these: Believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another (1 John 3:23). On our own, these are very difficult — in fact, they are impossible. But with God they are simple: Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so it becomes easy to believe in Him when we have received His Word. And God is love (1 John 4:8), so with Him at work in us, it becomes easy to love one another. The Bible says that faith expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6).

It is really not a matter of doing a work, but of receiving a gift. It is letting His Word and His Love be at work in you. It is not your work, it is His work in you. It is allowing God to be who He is in you. That is why John said, “He who keeps His commandments abides in Him,” because it is all about God living and working His way in you. By faith, we become His dwelling place. Not only do we abide in God, John says, but God abides in us.

God abides in us. That’s potent, or perhaps I should say omnipotent (seeing that we are talking about God).

Remember in John 14, when Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions. …I go to prepare a place for you” (v. 2) The translation “mansions” lead us in the wrong direction. We think of mansions as huge houses set apart. That is not at all what Jesus was talking about. He was not picturing places of separateness, but places of intimacy. The Greek word is mone, and refers to dwelling places — abodes. The NIV says “rooms.” Jesus has prepared rooms for us to dwell within our Father’s house.

This is not “end time” truth, or about when we die someday. It is about right now, in this life.

Jesus continued, “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (v. 3).

Jesus went to prepare a place for us — He did this at the Cross. He was gone for three days, and then He returned (the Resurrection) to receive us to Himself.

Now our abiding place is in Him, and we dwell in His Father’s house. Right now. Not only that, but Paul says that we are now seated in Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father, far above all principalities, power, might and dominion (Ephesians 2). That is, not only do we dwell in our Father’s house, we rule and reign from there as well.

Again, Jesus said, “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” (John 14:23).

The Greek word for “home” is mone. The KJV renders it, “make our abode with him.” This is the word translated “mansion” in verse 2. These are the only two places in the Bible where this particular Greek word is used.

Jesus also promised this:
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
The Greek word for “abide” is meno (closely related to mone). God has prepared a place for us in His house, and a place for Himself in us, and He dwells in us by the Holy Spirit.

Remember that, in his epistle, John said that we would know that God abides in us, and this knowledge would be by the Spirit whom He has given us. This is the Spirit of truth whom God has given to dwell in us. He knows us and we know Him, because He dwells in us.

When we keep God’s commandments (believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and walk in love) we know that we are abiding in God and God is abiding in us, and He gives this witness to us by His Spirit. Enter into this love relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Believe and abide. Be at home in Him and enjoy His abiding presence in you. These are the abodes of God — us in Him, and Him in us.