Courage to Move Forward

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."    (Josh 1:9 NKJV).

Courage is not the absence of fear. It takes no courage to face that which you are not afraid of. Courage is moving ahead despite your fears. I like what John Wayne said about courage: "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway."

It is not enough simply to know the word of God....or to sense his presence, we must put into action what he tells us to do. Joshua has to begin that process. He takes action....he begins the task of moving forward, knowing that God is with him and will keep His promises.

The movie, We Were Soldiers, tells of true story of an army commander in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Hal Moore. He leads his troops into the first major engagement of US Troops against the Vietnamese Communists army. It turns out to be one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Col. Moore is a Christian, a great leader, and an American hero (recently he was honored at West Point for his service to America).

At the beginning of the movie Moore gives a stirring speech to his troops, promising his absolute commitment to them and his dedication to sacrificial leadership. With sternness he says:

Let us understand the situation. We are going into battle against a tough and determined enemy. I can't promise you that I'll bring you all home alive. But this I swear before you and before Almighty God: that when we go into battle I will be the first to set foot on the field and the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together, so help me God.

Not long after that speech Moore is on the battlefield, Army headquarters realizes they've made a mistake by attacking an enemy that's far too strong for them (they were outnumbered at least four to one). As intensifying enemy fire eliminated their air support, the officers back at the base decide to send in one last helicopter to evacuate Col. Moore so he can report to them directly what is happening, leaving his men behind to be overrun by the enemy.

When headquarters radios the orders for Moore to take this last helicopter back from the front line, he is outraged. He grabs the radio and barks into it, "I am in a fight! I object to this order! I will not leave my men!" and then he slams down the radio and returns to the battle.

Moore ends the firefight by taking his remaining men on a daring charge deeper into enemy territory. This turns the tide of the battle and leads to a dramatic victory.

What a great picture of courage! Hal Moore was committed to stand with his men no matter what. Hebrews 2:10 calls Jesus the captain of our salvation. He has done everything that is needed to give us the victory in the spiritual battle. And He has promised never to leave us. Joshua had that same promise from God and he was determined to move forward.

How about us? We’ve heard the word of God...we have sensed His presence, and His leading...but are we still just sitting? What are we waiting for? “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”    (Eph 6:10 NKJV).

Let’s get going. There is ground to cover, battles to be won, a mission that is still unfinished.....let’s “be strong and courageous” and move forward!

(Read a 2007 interview with Lt. Gen. Moore, at ArmChairGeneral.com)

Who is the Messiah?

Yesterday in my post, Jesus on the Buffet, I wrote about the most important question in the world: Who do you say Jesus is?

Jesus had asked this question of His disciples. And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” (Luke 9:20). Peter was correct in his confession. But he was incomplete in his understanding. He knew Jesus was the Messiah, but he did not know what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah.

Peter’s “messiah” was surely not a suffering messiah. As Jesus began to explain His mission, to suffer, be killed, and rise again, Peter has a violent negative reaction, "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" (Matt. 16:22). The very same Peter who rejoiced in identifying Jesus as Messiah, rejected the possibility of Him being a suffering Savior. Peter’s idea of “messiah” was a distorted picture, a messiah of his own hopes and aspirations.

Peter believed that stopping Jesus was the loving thing to do. No doubt, Peter thought that this would be the greatest display of love to the Savior that could ever be expressed. But, Jesus knew the most loving thing would be to follow God’s plan that would take Him to the cross of Calvary. Peter’s version of love would have stopped salvations plan. God’s version of love made salvation available to all who will believe.

At this point Jesus clues them in to their future travel itinerary. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."(9:22).

Who is the Messiah?

(1) The one who must suffer. The cross of the Christ was mandatory. Notice how Jesus uses the word “MUST.” In other words, this thing wasn’t up for a vote. It wasn’t just some proposal that He was throwing on the table for a committee to think about it. This was His divine mission. He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer.

(2) The one who must be rejected. The cross of Christ involved more than the physical wooden cross, the instrument of His death. Jesus had to suffer the rejection of His people and their leaders. The Lord had to suffer not only the rejection of men, and death on that cross, with all its physical pain, but He had to suffer the alienation from God while bearing the sins of the world. The extent of His suffering is infinitely beyond our ability to grasp.

(3) The one who must die. Jesus’ death was God’s plan for our salvation. It was no accident, or coincidence, it was His whole mission. Leave out the death of Jesus, and you have no Messiah. The Christ had to suffer death on our behalf.

(4) The one who would be raised to life. The good news is that Jesus did not stay dead, but destroyed sin and death by His resurrection. The third day He came back from the grave. And now He gives life to all who come to Him in faith.

Tomorrow we will examine what kind of disciples we are to be if Jesus is this mind of Messiah.

Jesus on the Buffet

Twice a month after Sunday morning worship our church shares a fellowship meal together. Many of us bring food and we lay it all out on the table buffet style. Don’t you just love buffets? You can pick and choose between many scrumptious dishes. Some restaurants like the Golden Corral or Ryan’s have that kind of set up. If you go with a group of people everyone can get what they want. They can go down the line and pick and choose … Mexican food, Seafood, Chinese, Italian, good old American. You can try something new, and if you don’t like it … set it aside and go back for something else…

That’s great when you’re eating out (except that you may over-eat trying to get your money’s worth). It doesn’t work so well when you take the buffet approach to your faith. A lot of people think of “religion” as a kind of smorgasbord. They take a little of what Buddha said over here and try out some of what Moses said over there with a little Jesus sprinkled over it and some Scientology sauce on the side. And for dessert they try some Dr. Phil and Dr. Laura with a big dollop of Oprah on top. If it all tastes good, they keep it … and they’ve put together their own buffet of life. If they lose their taste for any part of it, they can set it aside and try something else.

The only problem is: although the Bible is nourishing to our souls, it doesn’t offer a buffet. God isn’t a buffet kind of God. The Bible presents ONE God and ONE way to be saved. Some people accept that as truth. Others don’t like it. They want to set it aside and find something else on the buffet table that looks better to them.

Ravi Zacharias in his book, JESUS AMONG OTHER GODS, says, “We are living in a time when sensitivities are at the surface, often vented with cutting words. Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true. Morally, you can practice anything, as long as you do not claim that it is a ‘better’ way. Religiously, you can hold to anything, as long as you do not bring Jesus Christ into it.”

Once when Jesus was alone with His disciples He asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" (Luke 9:18). They all began to suggest answers that they had heard. You see, everyone was talking about Jesus. It seems that everyone had an opinion about Jesus. Even King Herod heard about all that was going on and what people were saying about Jesus. The disciples gave the very same report that Herod heard, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." (9:19).

If we were to go around today and ask people who Jesus is we would probably get even more answers than the disciples had heard. Muslims will say that He was a prophet, but that He did not die on the cross nor was He raised from the dead. Buddhists will gladly call Jesus a “guru” and one of the incarnations of Buddha. Mormons say that Jesus is “a son of God” along with many others. Philosophers may acknowledge Jesus as one of the great minds of the ages. Historians point to him as one of the most influential people that has ever lived. Jesus has been called a first rate teacher, a political activist, and a worker of miracles.

Then Jesus asks the more important question, "But who do you say that I am?" (Luke 9:20).

That is the most important question any man or woman will ever answer. The difference between salvation and condemnation, between heaven and hell is bound up in the answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?”

This question is an individual matter, to be answered by every person. Frankly, the view of the masses will never be the right view of Jesus. We must stand apart from the crowds who may think of Jesus fondly but reject Jesus as the Christ of God. The world may want to just add Jesus to everything else on the buffet, but He will not have it. He calls people to make a choice, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered for the group, "The Christ of God." (Luke 9:20).

At this point Jesus “strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one.” (Luke 9:21). Jesus is the Christ of God. But before they start spreading the word, the disciples need to know what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah.  

Tomorrow we will examine from His own words what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ.

How to Make Much from Little

Jesus took five small barley loafs and two little fish. He looked up to heaven. He blessed them. He broke them and gave to His disciples. They fed five thousand people so everyone had enough. They picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. Seems impossible doesn’t it?

The story is found in all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. It’s the only miracle besides Jesus’ resurrection that is recorded in all four accounts. Maybe that gives us a clue as to its importance.

The equation was simple: Jesus’ supernatural power added to a little boy’s lunch equals plenty of food for all. Looking closely at the story I believe we can find four practical steps we can take so Jesus can make little become plenty.

YOUR LITTLE CAN BECOME PLENTY WHEN YOU:

1. Look up to heaven for your help.  When Jesus took the food, the first thing He did was to look up to heaven. When you face a need, don’t look at the problem and don’t look at your meager resources. Lift up your eyes and look to heaven. Here’s great advice from Psalm 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” It may be you feel overwhelmed right now with your marriage problem, your financial problem, your family problem or your physical problem because you are looking in the wrong direction? Like the song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim; in the light of His glory and grace.”

2. Thank God for the little that you already have.  The next thing Jesus did was to thank God for the food. It was only a tiny amount, but Jesus blessed it. Too often we spend much of our time asking God for more rather than thanking Him for what we already have.

3. See the value of brokenness.  Brokenness is an important spiritual concept. After Jesus looked to heaven and thanked God for the food, He broke it. It was in this act of breaking the bread that it began to multiply. God truly values broken things. David, a broken man, prayed this prayer in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” In our materialistic culture, a broken object becomes less valuable, but in God’s economy, brokenness only increases the value. The bread had to be broken before it could be multiplied; the alabaster box Mary brought had to be broken before the perfume could be poured out; the clay pots of Gideon and his 300 soldiers had to be broken before the light could spill out; the roof above Jesus had to be broken up before the friends could lower the paralyzed man to Jesus; and the body of Jesus had to be broken before our sins could be forgiven.

4. Serve others before you serve yourself.  Jesus instructed His disciples to serve all the people first. I’m sure every time the disciples returned for more they just knew they would be out by the time they could eat. Here’s an important lesson. If you are most concerned about meeting your own needs first, you will suffer through a pretty miserable existence. Be willing to help other people FIRST and you’ll find your needs and problems don’t seem quite as severe after serving others.

Five Loaves and Two Fishes

God uses
what you have
to fill a need which
you never could have filled.

God uses
where you are
to take you where
you never could have gone.

God uses
what you can do
to accomplish what
you never could have done.

God uses
who you are
to let you become who
you never could have been.

--Philip Clarke Brewer

Have you seen Jesus take your little and do much with it?

Does God Ever Ask Us To Do the Impossible?

Would God ever put you in an impossible situation? I’ve heard people say, “God will never ask me to do something I can’t do.” But I have seen that God allows His people to be in situations that are impossible so that we will learn to trust Him, to believe Him, to have faith in Him, to make Him known.

In Luke 9, as Jesus was teaching and healing, the disciples began to get nervous because they saw a huge problem developing. It was getting close to dinnertime and they were in a remote area with over 5000 hungry people. So they say to Jesus in verse 12, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” But Jesus refused to send the crowd away. Jesus wants to teach a lesson.

I love Jesus’ statement in verse 13. He says, “You give them something to eat.” Can’t you just hear the disbelief of the disciples as they complained to each other, “What? US feed them? That’s impossible.” Exactly.

JESUS ASKS HIS DISCIPLES TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE—TO TEST THEM

There were two big problems they faced that afternoon. One was obviously the lack of food. There were hungry people and no food to feed them. They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." They saw the problem as a lack of food, but there was another problem present that day, and it was a lack of faith.

In John’s Gospel, we are told Jesus knew exactly what He was going to do all along. He only said this to test the disciples. Didn’t you just love those school teachers who would start class by announcing, “Everyone clear off your desk except for one blank sheet of paper.” We all knew what was coming next: pop quiz. Jesus does the same thing for us today. When you face the very hardest times of your lives, it’s like God is saying, “Take out a blank sheet of paper. This is a test.”

The only question on God’s test is: DO YOU TRUST ME? The score on God’s test is not for His information; He already knows about our faith. It’s to show us our faith. God will allow your faith to be tested, not to shame you but to strengthen you. In James 1:2-3 we read: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the TESTING OF YOUR FAITH develops perseverance.”

Jesus was creating for His disciples what Henry Blackaby in His book "Experiencing God" calls a crisis of belief. Now there is no question that this was a God-sized assignment. This was way beyond their capability to accomplish and if the Lord did not intervene, they would fail and fall flat on their faces. The crisis of belief is a turning point, a fork in the road that demands a decision. You must decide what you believe about God and how you will respond to Him.

God uses these tests to develop our character, to make us more like Jesus. When you encounter a problem—whether it’s how to feed 5,000 people or how to deal with a difficult boss—Jesus wants you to respond in faith.

God gives me tasks and assignments that are far beyond my abilities and power in order to not only reveal Himself to me, but demonstrate His nature, His strength, His kindness and His provision to a watching world. People today need to see the super-naturally visible hand of God working in and through His disciples, so that when something happens there is no question that God had done it.

What impossible thing has God asked you to do?

Jesus' Supernatural Claims

Why Do Some People Not Believe?

Today’s post is fourth in a series from John 6 on why some people believe and others do not. Read Do You Believe the Impossible? to set the stage for today’s topic. The first reason why some do not believe was The Spiritual Nature of Jesus' Mission. The second was The Gracious Nature of Jesus' Offer. The third was The Demands on Jesus for a Sign.

Part 4: The Supernatural Nature of Jesus' Claims.

In the gospel accounts Jesus makes some astounding claims. In John 5 there is a long discourse between Jesus and the religious leaders in which Jesus claims over and over to have come from God, indeed to be the Son of God. And again, in John 6, he is claiming a uniquely divine origin.

It's the sort of thing you expect to hear in a mental hospital: from people who have lost touch with reality. In the space of a mere 7 verses, from 34 to 40, Jesus uses the words 'I' or 'me' or 'my' 17 times. His claim is for a divine origin: “I have come down from heaven;” a divine mission: “I have come to do the will of him who sent me;” and, a few verses earlier, a divine ministry: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35).

Yet, Jesus' claims, as amazing as they are, are tempered by an equally amazing modesty. He isn't on about his own agenda. No, he's come to do the will of his Father in heaven. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." (John 6:38-39). Jesus has come to satisfy the most important need of human beings: the need to fill the spiritual void caused by sin.

Do you know that hunger? It's a profound hunger that only God can satisfy. It's a hunger that Jesus says he has come to satisfy, as both the giver and the gift. "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . . . I am the bread of life." (John 6:33-35)

But, if you'll pardon the pun, they just couldn't swallow that. After all, they thought they knew Jesus. They'd seen him grow up. They'd bought furniture from his father. They'd eaten with his family. How could he claim to have come down from heaven? That's ridiculous! He may have a strange ability to heal people, even to produce food in unexplainable ways, he might be able to do amazing miracles, but it's another thing to claim to be a miracle. That's a bit unbelievable wouldn't you say? Yet that is his claim.

Of course it's still his claim today and it's still an obstacle to faith for many today. You see, we're so intent on understanding our world, of being able to judge for ourselves what's true and what isn't that we find it hard to accept someone who claims to come from heaven and to be so beyond our field of measurement.

Jesus made greater claims for himself than any major religious figure, before or since. In the biblical accounts of Jesus we clearly see Jesus as supernatural by all the miracles he did. And we clearly see Jesus making claims to be the Son of God, to be sent from heaven, to be the only way to God, to have come back from the dead, and to be equal with God.

You owe it to yourself to consider them with as objective and sincere a mindset as you can. I can testify that if you do you will not be disappointed. I have found Jesus to be the loving and just Savior and Lord that he claims to be. He also claims he will be our eternal judge concerning eternal punishment or eternal life. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40).

The only way to discount these claims is to discredit the biblical accounts. Of course that is what many try to do. If I can call into question the accuracy of the biblical record then I don’t really have to deal with the supernatural claims of Jesus. And if Jesus is not who he claims to be in the Bible, then I don’t have to deal with his claims on my life either.

What does it mean for you to take the supernatural claims of Jesus seriously?

Here’s Your Sign

I like Blue Collar Comedy. One of my favorites is Bill Engvall. What Engvall is most famous for is his catch phrase “Here’s your sign”. His explanation of this: “I just hate stupid people. They should have to wear signs that say, ‘I’m Stupid’. That way you wouldn’t rely on them, and you wouldn’t ask them for nothing.”

Here are some of his best:

• (In a hallway waiting for an elevator) A stranger approaches and asks, “Excuse me, are these the elevators that go up?” Engvall replies, “No, these are the ones that go side to side. The ones that go up are down the hall.” Engvall then explains to the audience, “He walked away!”
• Engvall’s wife (Gail) says, “Why do they put those [deer crossing] signs up? Deer can’t read.” Engvall’s reply: “No, but they can recognize pictures of themselves. Here’s your sign.”
• (Engvall and a buddy were getting off of a boat with a string full of bass) A stranger asks, “You catch all those fish?” Engvall’s reply: “Nope. Talked ‘em into givin’ up. Here’s your sign.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could count on a sign to direct us in every decision? But life is not that way. The Bible says, “we live by faith not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7). We cannot always depend on God to drop down a neon sign from heaven to point the way. And even if He did, would we really follow it?

In John 6 Jesus is talking to a crowd of people who have followed Him after He miraculously fed 5000 of them. They ask Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

It strikes me as odd that this crowd would ask for a sign in order to believe. They started following Him because they had heard of His miraculous signs or seen Him perform them. The experienced His miraculous feeding of the 5000. His disciples had seen Him walk on the water. Now they ask for a sign. Wasn’t all that enough? Do they really need more evidence to believe?

Elsewhere Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." (Matt. 16:4).  To the crowd in John 6 Jesus answers, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Jesus is the sign: His life, His death, His resurrection. Nothing else is needed. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.”

Miracles do not ensure faith. Many have seen the signs but refuse to believe. In fact, sometimes miracles can be a hindrance to faith because people look for the sign, rather than looking to the One to whom the sign points. Too many times I have heard people say, “If God would only do _________ for me, I would believe.” Only to make up another condition if that sign occurs.

When will we finally stop searching for a sign and simply trust the One who has already revealed Himself so clearly in Jesus Christ.?

Today’s post is third in a series from John 6 on why some people believe and others do not. Read Do You Believe the Impossible? to set the stage for today’s topic. The first reason why some do not believe was The Spiritual Nature of Jesus' Mission. The second was The Gracious Nature of Jesus' Offer.

Working for Heaven?

Today’s post is third in a series from John 6 on why some people believe and others do not. Read Do You Believe the Impossible? to set the stage for today’s topic. The first reason why some do not believe was The Spiritual Nature of Jesus' Mission. This post discusses the second reason:  The Gracious Nature of Jesus' Offer

A church had a yard sale. Well, it was actually a storage room giveaway. The pastor said, “We didn’t really sell anything. We had so much stuff that it took up too much space. Also, we wanted to reach out to the community. As people came up we told them, ‘Everything is free! Take as much home as you can. We want you to have it.’ People responded in curious ways. Many were noticeably uncomfortable. Some didn’t come thinking there was a catch. Others refused to leave without paying. Others, after much convincing, finally took the stuff to their cars, not believing their good fortune. And I thought to myself, ‘That’s pretty much the way people are about God’s grace.’ We insist on paying or working for it.”

The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law—each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional (Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?).

In John 6 a crowd had followed Jesus. He told them about, “eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27). He offered a gift. They offered to pay for it. They responded with the question, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" And in asking this question they demonstrate their world view. They think that eternal life is all about pleasing God through doing good works.

John Stott writes of man trying to justify himself by works, "It has been the religion of the ordinary man both before and since. It is the religion of the man-in-the-street today. Indeed, it is the fundamental principle of every religious and moral system in the world except New Testament Christianity. It is popular because it is flattering. It tells a man that if he will only pull his socks up a bit higher and try a bit harder, he will succeed in winning his own salvation. But it is a fearful delusion. It is the biggest lie of the biggest liar the world has ever known, the devil, whom Jesus called ‘the father of lies.’ Nobody has ever been justified by the works of the law, for the simple reason that nobody has ever perfectly kept the law."

Instead Jesus says to come by faith. Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:29). Believe, it sounds too easy for some. They want to work for it, to earn it. But you cannot earn a gift, that is the nature of a gift. An old Middle Eastern story shows the futility of salvation by works:

A man was traveling on his donkey when he came upon a small fuzzy object lying in the road. He dismounted to look more closely and found a sparrow lying on its back with its scrawny legs thrust skyward. At first he thought the bird was dead, but close investigation proved it to be very much alive. The man asked the sparrow if he was all right. The sparrow replied, “Yes.” The man said, “What are you doing lying on your back with your legs pointed toward the sky?” The sparrow responded that he had heard a rumor that the sky was falling. The man replied, “You surely don’t think you’re going to hold the sky up with those two scrawny legs, do you?” The sparrow replied, “One does the best he can.”

The little bird’s futile works were obvious. In the same way man’s condition is so desperate that his works are no more effective than a bird’s legs in the air trying to hold up the sky. No one will ever be saved by works.

Believe. So easy a child can do it. So hard the wisest stumble over it. The humble receive it. The proud refuse it.

Have you seen people who refuse to believe because they are trying to earn God’s favor?

Next post will look at the supernatural nature of Jesus' claims.

Why Do Some People Not Believe?

Today’s post is second in a series on why some people believe and others do not. See yesterday’s Do You Believe the Impossible? to set the stage for today’s topic.

Part 1: The Spiritual Nature of Jesus' Mission.

At the end of John 6, Jesus speaks some words that show the insight He had into the minds and hearts of His hearers. He says, "But there are some of you who do not believe." And John adds the commentary, “For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him … From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” (John 6:64,66).

What caused some of these people to walk away from Jesus and not believe in Him? The episode here in John 6 gives us several clues about their unbelief. First, let’s understand the context. Jesus had just fed over 5000 people with a little boy’s lunch (John 6:1-15). Now these same people had caught up to Jesus again on the other side of the lake, looking for more to eat. Some of the people recognized what Jesus did as being a sign that Jesus was the new deliverer, like Moses. They thought Jesus was the one who would bring them liberation from the Roman oppression, the way Moses brought deliverance from slavery in Egypt. They thought Jesus would provide food to eat that could sustain an army in battle the way God provided manna in the desert.

Jesus says to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." (John 6:26-27).

Jesus says that they've got it all wrong. There are two kinds of food: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life." There's the bread that nourishes our physical existence, but which is doomed to perish in the end; and there's also bread that nourishes our spiritual existence which is destined to last forever.

The trouble was, these Galileans were basically materialists. They'd eaten the loaves and had their fill. They saw the economic benefits of following Jesus and had decided they were onto a good thing. But they'd completely missed the spiritual significance of what had happened. They'd seen the miracle but they’d missed the sign.

One reason many fail to believe is that they are so stuck in the material that they refuse to see the spiritual. This is especially true in 21^st century America. Let's face it, we're probably more materialistic now than the people of Galilee were in Jesus' day. We certainly have more material. People spend so much time, effort and energy working for material needs and wants today to the neglect of spiritual needs. Some will follow Jesus as long it pays off in this world, but walk away if the perceived gain is not forthcoming.

So Jesus' words come to us today with renewed urgency: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."

Jesus’ mission and message are essentially spiritual, not material. And some simply will not move beyond the material. Do you remember what Jesus said to Satan during the first of his temptations in the desert? “Man shall not live by bread alone.” or “Human beings don't need just physical bread.” There's far more to life than our material needs.

Yet there are still those who disagree; who argue that such an idea is just a way of seducing the masses; of stopping them from worrying about their real state of existence. Marx claimed that religion (especially Christianity) was the opiate of the masses, something to keep the poor happy and ignorant of the economic oppression under which they live. But according to Jesus the opposite is true. It's actually materialism that's the narcotic, which deadens us to our spiritual state.

Just listen to our politicians some time. They'll tell you that all that matters is our economic well-being. And it seems to be true doesn't it? As long as we're acquiring the latest gadget, the newest car, the toys we enjoy, we don't seem to think about the spiritual side of life. Not, that is, until we realize what a spiral we're in: where our latest purchase is never quite enough, where the appetite for more becomes insatiable, where our buying becomes a substitute for satisfying what's really a hunger for something else—for significance, for acceptance, for love, for a relationship with the living God.

Do you know unbelievers who fall into this category?

The next post will examine the gracious nature of Jesus’ offer.

Do You Believe the Impossible?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).

“Let's consider your age to begin with - how old are you?”

“I'm seven and a half exactly.”

“You needn't say ‘exactly’,” the queen remarked: “I can believe it without that. Now I'll give you something to believe. I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day.”

“I can't believe that!” said Alice.

“Can't you?” the queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”

Alice laughed. “There's no use trying,” she said: “one can't believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven't had much practice,” said the queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lewis Carroll is commenting in that passage from Through the Looking Glass on the enigma of faith. Why is it that some people manage to believe things that others find utterly incredible? As far as the Queen is concerned it's all a matter of effort. Just hold your breath and shut your eyes. You can believe anything if you try hard enough. But we, like Alice, realize that it isn't that simple. There's a big difference between faith and mere wishful thinking. To fail to understand that is to confuse reality with fantasy. If you have to make yourself believe it then there's probably something wrong.

Yet having said that, many people do believe the impossible. Certainly we Christians appear to, don't we? That God would become a human being and walk on earth. That He would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. That He healed the sick, raised the dead and did other miraculous signs. That He would be killed but then come back to life in a body that could be touched and yet at the same time walk through walls.

Alice would be excused for laughing at such an idea wouldn't she? Yet most Christians would argue that they're not forcing themselves to believe. They're not suspending their rational faculties in order to believe all this. No, rather, we believe because of a deep inner conviction that the Christian message is the truth.

Now why is that? It can't just be that we're all gullible. I’m sure that there are plenty of gullible people and probably even gullible Christians around. But there are also plenty of intelligent, reasonable, rational Christians around as well. So why is it that some people believe, while others don't?

Well that's the question that Jesus addresses in the conversations we find in John 6. Stay tuned for the next few days as we examine why some do not believe and why others do believe.