The Holy One calls to me this morning. So many mind-bending things are happening in the world and humanity needs help.
The call to be an intercessor came long ago in my life. Lessons on intercession are always being taught. It seems so strange to look back and see the honing process over time. I feel the burden to pray for specific things that I think the people or situations "need". When people ask for prayer, it usually comes with a desired resolution to the problem.
Sometimes it seems that the Lord wants me to participate in being part of the answer like when a person voices a deep need for something I can provide such as food or clothes or paying a bill in their behalf. Other times it seems that He wants me to think of a creative resolution and petition for that resolution, thus co-laboring with Him in the crisis.
Today He speaks yet another response to the burden to help as I am slowly learning to see all things in light of eternity. He simply said, "Mary got it right".
His words are often so mysterious at first. But that is His way to lead me into all truth. He knows I love a mystery and He is the greatest mystery that exits for man to try to solve.
He first reminds me of the essence of the model prayer that Jesus taught the disciples to pray. That prayer begins with the acknowledgment of the One from who all blessing flow: Our Father who is in Heaven. Then He moves on to the honor due His name. But then, Jesus teaches us to surrender all things to Him:
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
in earth as it is in Heaven.
As one who prays and all who should, this passage cuts through human pride and motivation. We struggle with this because we allow the chasm to exist between God's will and our own. If we truly understood the Kingdom of Heaven and God's will, we would pray without ceasing for all the goodness that Heaven holds and is God's ultimate will for His beloved.
As I ponder His statement, the Holy One directs me back to the very first miracle we find in the Gospel of John. Jesus and His disciples were in attendance at a wedding in Cana. It was a time of great celebration and running out of wine would be a horrible social faux pas.
As the story unfolds, Mary, the mother of Jesus was aware of the problem: they had no more wine.
As I imagine the scene, Jesus was just a guest and the people at the celebration had no idea who He was for He had not yet revealed himself as the Son of God.
But Mary knew her son and most likely watched Him handle other issues in their lives. But upon that we can only speculate since there is no record of that in scripture.
I am fascinated by the exchange between Mary and Jesus in
John 2:3-5, "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine". "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come". His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you".
Here was a major social crisis unfolding. A beautiful wedding feast that was still in progress was about to be ruined. One very important element in their celebration was the fruit of the vine I.E the wine and that well had run dry.
The failure to have enough wine for the duration of the entire wedding feast was an unspeakable humiliation for the parents. That social custom was loaded with Spiritual symbolism, since the Jewish wedding and marriage celebration is a picture of the ultimate wedding of Christ to His Bride, the Church.
For all the arguments that focus on the alcohol issue pro and con, the turning of the water into wine is much different and deeper than the drink it represents.
John, the disciple who penned this Gospel, was intent on sharing the "miracles" as "signs" and not to be enamored with the miraculous details but rather to stand in awe of the One sent from Heaven who could change earth's reality. These were "signs and wonders" that identified Jesus as God in the flesh.
As I read the account and the exchange between Jesus and His mother, I understand what the Holy Spirit has pointed out today: Precious Mary, went to her son Jesus and simply stated the crisis that she saw in the making, "They have no more wine".
She did not go into all the explanation of what it would do or what it would mean to the host or the guests or the social standing of the family. Nor did she go to Him with a blueprint, or list of suggestions on how to handle the uncomfortable situation. There was no evidence of her opinion or personal plan as to what Jesus could or should do to resolve the problem.
What an amazing picture of how we as believers are to handle our problems in life especially those we cannot personally fix. And then to try to understand the answers that come in light of eternity and the bigger picture of God's purpose in each trial.
Our Father in Heaven cares about the details in each one of our lives, but His perspective traverses all of life and all of eternity, past, present and future, where ours is limited to the very specific hour and day that we are in at this moment.
To delight ourselves in the Lord is not to delight ourselves in merely the momentary provision for our needs met or done our way, but to delight in His Being and the relationship He operates in with regard to His beloved.
I know that apart from Him we can do nothing yet by His Holy Spirit within are set apart to do (and witness)
incredible things, all according to the bigger picture that brings glory and honor to the Creator and provides the evidence of His being and life to the world around us.
The answers we are provided are not just to ease our pain or win a battle victory so we can get puffed up with pride. The answers are not for us to "brag" about having God's ear or to justify our righteous cause.
The answers come for a much higher purpose and that is to bring glory and honor to the One who provides them and recognize His greater purpose in them.
My lesson in today as I look at the account of Mary, Jesus and the problem that presented an opportunity to connect with the Power of heaven, is to follow the model of Mary and the exhortation in Philippians 4:4-6:
"Rejoice in the Lord always I will say it again rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Mary reflected the peace, confidence, and trust that Jesus would take care of the problem and He did.
Our world today is a crazy terrifying place, but God is still on His throne and still giving all of us the evidence of His being. As we face what seem to be impossible circumstances in our lives, I pray we all will remember that "Mary got it right" and what we can learn from her simple assessment of an impossible situation that brought her to her powerful God: "They have no more wine."
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The call to be an intercessor came long ago in my life. Lessons on intercession are always being taught. It seems so strange to look back and see the honing process over time. I feel the burden to pray for specific things that I think the people or situations "need". When people ask for prayer, it usually comes with a desired resolution to the problem.
Sometimes it seems that the Lord wants me to participate in being part of the answer like when a person voices a deep need for something I can provide such as food or clothes or paying a bill in their behalf. Other times it seems that He wants me to think of a creative resolution and petition for that resolution, thus co-laboring with Him in the crisis.
Today He speaks yet another response to the burden to help as I am slowly learning to see all things in light of eternity. He simply said, "Mary got it right".
His words are often so mysterious at first. But that is His way to lead me into all truth. He knows I love a mystery and He is the greatest mystery that exits for man to try to solve.
He first reminds me of the essence of the model prayer that Jesus taught the disciples to pray. That prayer begins with the acknowledgment of the One from who all blessing flow: Our Father who is in Heaven. Then He moves on to the honor due His name. But then, Jesus teaches us to surrender all things to Him:
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
in earth as it is in Heaven.
As one who prays and all who should, this passage cuts through human pride and motivation. We struggle with this because we allow the chasm to exist between God's will and our own. If we truly understood the Kingdom of Heaven and God's will, we would pray without ceasing for all the goodness that Heaven holds and is God's ultimate will for His beloved.
As I ponder His statement, the Holy One directs me back to the very first miracle we find in the Gospel of John. Jesus and His disciples were in attendance at a wedding in Cana. It was a time of great celebration and running out of wine would be a horrible social faux pas.
As the story unfolds, Mary, the mother of Jesus was aware of the problem: they had no more wine.
As I imagine the scene, Jesus was just a guest and the people at the celebration had no idea who He was for He had not yet revealed himself as the Son of God.
But Mary knew her son and most likely watched Him handle other issues in their lives. But upon that we can only speculate since there is no record of that in scripture.
I am fascinated by the exchange between Mary and Jesus in
John 2:3-5, "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine". "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come". His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you".
Here was a major social crisis unfolding. A beautiful wedding feast that was still in progress was about to be ruined. One very important element in their celebration was the fruit of the vine I.E the wine and that well had run dry.
The failure to have enough wine for the duration of the entire wedding feast was an unspeakable humiliation for the parents. That social custom was loaded with Spiritual symbolism, since the Jewish wedding and marriage celebration is a picture of the ultimate wedding of Christ to His Bride, the Church.
For all the arguments that focus on the alcohol issue pro and con, the turning of the water into wine is much different and deeper than the drink it represents.
John, the disciple who penned this Gospel, was intent on sharing the "miracles" as "signs" and not to be enamored with the miraculous details but rather to stand in awe of the One sent from Heaven who could change earth's reality. These were "signs and wonders" that identified Jesus as God in the flesh.
As I read the account and the exchange between Jesus and His mother, I understand what the Holy Spirit has pointed out today: Precious Mary, went to her son Jesus and simply stated the crisis that she saw in the making, "They have no more wine".
She did not go into all the explanation of what it would do or what it would mean to the host or the guests or the social standing of the family. Nor did she go to Him with a blueprint, or list of suggestions on how to handle the uncomfortable situation. There was no evidence of her opinion or personal plan as to what Jesus could or should do to resolve the problem.
What an amazing picture of how we as believers are to handle our problems in life especially those we cannot personally fix. And then to try to understand the answers that come in light of eternity and the bigger picture of God's purpose in each trial.
Our Father in Heaven cares about the details in each one of our lives, but His perspective traverses all of life and all of eternity, past, present and future, where ours is limited to the very specific hour and day that we are in at this moment.
To delight ourselves in the Lord is not to delight ourselves in merely the momentary provision for our needs met or done our way, but to delight in His Being and the relationship He operates in with regard to His beloved.
I know that apart from Him we can do nothing yet by His Holy Spirit within are set apart to do (and witness)
incredible things, all according to the bigger picture that brings glory and honor to the Creator and provides the evidence of His being and life to the world around us.
The answers we are provided are not just to ease our pain or win a battle victory so we can get puffed up with pride. The answers are not for us to "brag" about having God's ear or to justify our righteous cause.
The answers come for a much higher purpose and that is to bring glory and honor to the One who provides them and recognize His greater purpose in them.
My lesson in today as I look at the account of Mary, Jesus and the problem that presented an opportunity to connect with the Power of heaven, is to follow the model of Mary and the exhortation in Philippians 4:4-6:
"Rejoice in the Lord always I will say it again rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Mary reflected the peace, confidence, and trust that Jesus would take care of the problem and He did.
Our world today is a crazy terrifying place, but God is still on His throne and still giving all of us the evidence of His being. As we face what seem to be impossible circumstances in our lives, I pray we all will remember that "Mary got it right" and what we can learn from her simple assessment of an impossible situation that brought her to her powerful God: "They have no more wine."
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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