Reading these chapters in the Gospel of Matthew, I get upset with Jesus’ disciples. Don’t you? If not, why not? After all, how dense can they be? Okay, what do I mean? Maybe I should get off my high horse and cut them some slack. Think so? Well, let me explain and try to get back into your good graces, if I can.

In Matthew 14, we read of the miracle of the feeding over 5000 people. From almost nothing in hand, Jesus feeds the multitude, leaving leftovers that fill twelve baskets. The point is that whatever is in Jesus’ hands, more will come if He so desires. The sky’s the limit. Really, there’s no limit. Period. Not with Our Lord. Get the point? Let that sink in. Fix it in your craw. I’ll try, too.

Then Jesus walks on water only to call Peter to do much the same, but this disciple finds himself sinking fast, looking everywhere around him in panic. And down goes Peter, but only for a moment. Jesus encourages His chief disciple to grow his faith a bit more–‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matt. 14:31).

Sometime later, another crowd gathers to hear Jesus’ teaching and also receive physical healing. The day gets a bit long in the tooth, and the disciples get fidgety once again. What are they to do? Stomachs are growling all over the place. As recorded in Matthew 15, Jesus tells the disciples to feed these poor folk who are fainting with hunger. Feed them, already. But His followers are perplexed. How could they possibly feed over 4000 people with only 7 small loaves of bread and a couple of fish? Some might have laughed behind Jesus’ back. Others wonder why He keeps putting all these burdens on their backs without lifting a finger (!). I would have been in the griper group.

And once again, Jesus does it all, this time resulting in seven baskets full of life-giving leftovers. The light should go on. About what? In Jesus’ hands, nothing is too small for Him to make the right size to meet our needs. Should be obvious. But to Jesus’ bunch? Is anything getting through? Hello! Anybody home? How dense can they be?

Now read Matthew 16, and you’ll discover how much more dense they can be. Traveling to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they remember what they forgot…food. No bread in the boat. The midnight buffet kaput. Not a crumb. Maybe one or two, but that’s it. Panic time. We’re going hungry, and what can we do? No help in sight, even with Jesus right there in the midst of them. They moan and groan about having nothing to eat (v.7).

Listen to what Jesus tells them–‘O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand…’ (Matt. 16:8-11).

How dense can they be? Just them, huh? What about me? Or you? All the times the Lord has been there for me. Especially when it seemed I was in a death spiral, down and out, yet He lifted me up. How easily I forget about God’s fulfilled promises. His answered prayers…to my prayers. My cries for help find Him way ahead of me, taking care of messes before I mess them up. How many times must He keep proving Himself? That He’ll take care of me in His way and in His time? How many? Must I be so dense as to thank Him one moment only to come rushing back, reminding Jesus that He needs to get off His duff and help me? As in NOW!

So, who’s the dense one after all? Me? You? The disciples? The ones who saw Him face to face? On this multiple-choice test,the answer is ‘all of the above’. Isn’t it time to show some faith and trust in Jesus when something hits you totally out of the blue? He’ll never leave your side. Do the same with Him. Tell Him all about it. And have a little faith while you’re at it, for a change.

Thank you, Jesus, for being my Lord and Savior always. Amen.

You’ve read those two verses in Proverbs, right? Come on now. Do it. Won’t take but a few seconds. Notice what they say? About laziness (ch. 20) and humility (ch. 22)? Both resonate with me. Lazy, I’ve not been. Well, you could say that I am in certain areas, as with mechanical issues. I’m not like my brother, who is a genius with his hands and mind. I truly admire him. But I’m not lazy. Just realistic. I don’t enjoy making projects worse than they were. Pay the professionals and get it done right! Amen? Amen!

When it came to education, I always wanted to do my best. Study hard. Hit the books early. Go to the top schools when I could afford them, and be admitted. No forgiving of student loans for me. I paid back every last dime. Took years and years, but a debt owed was a debt paid… in full, interest included. I worked a couple of jobs, both in college and graduate school. The amount of debt was minimal by today’s standards, yet it still required 8 years, clipping monthly coupons to reduce what I owed down to zero. My parents helped with undergraduate costs. Sadly, I don’t think I showed them proper gratitude. I know they sacrificed. Wish I could thank them now.

I worked hard in my two professions to be better than the average Joe. To give back more than the required minimum. Adding extra value for parishioners, as well as to financial planning clients, when I worked for a large US investment firm. Do more than expected. Certainly do what you said you would. But even then, one church I served briefly turned out to be a dead end, leaving me out of work for the first and last time in my life. It was brutal. No one won. I was at fault in some ways, but was given the short end of the stick by only a few who demanded their own way or else. And they got it to no one’s benefit, even their own.

It’s ironic how the Lord works in our lives, even in what looks like abject failure. Almost 20 years after crashing out of that church, I find myself the pastor of another congregation, in a different denomination,right down the street and around the corner from the first one. Really? Me? And it’s serving again in that same town that I was voted by the populous the first ‘Best Pastor for Two Counties’ for our local newspaper’s annual ‘Best of…’ section. Really? Me? Am I dreaming?

How did that happen? Only one explanation. The Lord. For I still wanted to serve Him. No particular type of service roamed around in my mind. But wanting what was on His mind for a change. As a young pastor, I was filled with myself. That tempting pastoral career ladder. Always looking for that leg up into an ego-gratifying church. More and more. Upwards and onwards. Big…bigger…biggest..boom and.bust! Crashing in some distant ministerial canyon.

As I look back, trusting more in my Lord and His will, all this pain and suffering turned out to be beneficial. Made me wake up to what’s important. Like serving Jesus. Being faithful to Him. Seeing what He wants of a church family. Doing what’s best for others. For Him. With a living and loving relationship with my Savior, the best of all.

See the difference? Humility has to be shoved down my throat, resulting in much less resisting His way. Not perfectly. Always need improvement. Nevertheless, a lovely piece of humble pie!

You too? Seek God’s will first and foremost. At least, get off the dime. If necessary, get shoved His direction, for a change. Don’t be afraid, as I was. And usually am. I keep reminding myself that Jesus really does have a great plan for my life. And yours. Really? Did I hear an ‘Amen’? Even a faint one?

Thank you, Lord, for new beginnings in you. For Jesus’ sake ,this time forward. Amen.

‘Fiddler On The Roof’ was the first movie musical I ever saw. Such fun, with music to dance to and hum along with all day long, and yet it carried a certain sadness of antisemitism throughout. Of a people hated for no good reason. A group despised and taken advantage of. Some of the authorities didn’t have a clue as to why they had to be so mean and vengeful. Again, why?

Life since the original sin of Adam and Eve has taken a nasty turn. All the potential the Lord created becomes marred and scarred. We need not be surprised when the wheels fall off our life’s vehicle, and we wind up in some ditch, unable to get out on our own. Any hope out there? A tow truck to get us back on track? You know! Think of Tevye. Who? The main character in ‘Fiddler’, who, inspite of it all, still sings ‘To life! To life! L’chaim! L’chaim! L’chaim!’ To life’!

Better yet, turn to the Old Testament in your Bible. To Proverbs 19: 23–‘The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm’. This is a quote, not from Tevye, but from God Almighty.

‘L’chaim…to life…’ means to fear the Lord. Not because He’s some irrascible cosmic meanie, relishing getting back at us. No, not at all, uunless you shun Him continually. Tell Him to take a hike. Want nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with the One and Only. Then watch out, I’d say. Be forewarned.

But for believers, we fear by honoring our God, by respecting Jesus, and worshipping the Lord alone. Not some soupy, syrupy buddy-buddy familiarity, but with love and admiration and reverence. A mature relationship with our Lord brings us ‘L’chaim, To life’!

And don’t forget those blessings. Or imagine that those words about harm not coming our way mean that we’re immune to the virus of sin’s effects. I wish. But no guarantees are given here in Proverbs. Rather, principles to live by. That thumbing your nose at God will lead to no good eventually, and that when we love Him, blessings come our way. What exactly those will be, and when, and how, is for you to discover as I have.

Be surprised by the life God gives you. Open your eyes and get ready to experience all the good our Lord provides. How about the best blessing of all? You know. It’s the gift of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just to be with our Lord can hardly be imagined. It’s beyond our finite minds capabilities. Way beyond. But will be ours one day. All that heavenly glory. Forever. That’s a promise you can count on even when this life dishes out more disappointments than we’d like or expect. Nevertheless, we can alway sing–

‘To life! To life! L’chaim! L’chaim! L’chaim! To life!’ And mean it.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the good life you give me. Amen.

Next to Christmas Day, the Fourth of July was my favorite holiday growing up. Independence Day! Back in my hometown, we had a full day of activities. Beginning at 7am, we could hear aerial salutes, fireworks going off at specific intervals with loud booms for probably a good hour. Then at 10am, it’s off to our high school field for a circus and a particularly scary high-wire act.

After a BBQ lunch at home, we scurry off to Taylor Park for a variety of rides–ponies, jeeps, twirling carnival ones, all culminating in each of us being allowed one free popsicle that usually dripped all over the place on a usually hot and humid summer day!

Another picnic BBQ at dinner time included lots of family before we packed up our blankets and headed back to the high school field for an amazing array of illuminations, culminating in a thunderous grand finale! From morning to night, all that fun was packed into one day.

Independence Day signals freedom. Here in the United States, it’s our 250th! As Christians, we know who gives us true freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom to live God’s way, choosing what’s right, as the Almighty One defines it. Freedom to be criticized for being a bigot when we’re trying our best to obey a higher power, rather than a bullying, god-defying crowd. Along with freedom to be humble, to listen to others, and keep our mouths shut, at times, for a change. Freedom.

Who gives us all of the above and then some? Jesus, of course! John 8:32–‘…and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ Jesus says that, and He means it. He also says that ‘…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6).

Jesus’ truth is easily found in the pages of God’s Word, the Bible. But isn’t it amazing how quickly knowledge of Scripture has gone out of favor in our time? Considered outdated. Medieval ignorance. Narrow-minded intolerance. Yet it’s here, in the truth of God’s Word, where we discover freedom. The truth that unleashes joy, happiness, and eternal life. So, what’s wrong? How have we gotten so far away from the Lord? You tell me.

What can we do about it? All I know is to take God’s Word seriously. Getting His truths deeper into my stubborn and willful mind and heart. I need more of God’s gospel, His good news. Lots more. Only me? Don’t you wish. Get with it yourself. Stop playing footsies with the Book of Books. No skimming allowed. Forget my ‘Speed Reading Dynamics’ shortcuts. We need to put the brakes on, never being low-minded godless groupies, ignoring what the Lord has to say. Get it? Then, let’s get cracking!

You see, we’re free to follow in the footsteps of the Master. But will we take that step?

Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedom I have only in you. Amen.