Coming to the Still Waters

Our "Wednesday in the Word" covers the passage found in John chapter 6 and verses 15 through 21, which read, v.15 - So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. Jesus has just performed the sign of the feeding of the 5000 men not counting women and children.  The crowd must have been totally blown away by what they had just experienced.   "This guy needs to be our king.  Free food.  If Jesus can do this and give us physical food without working for it, what other physical comforts could He get us?"   They were conversing amongst themselves and devising up a plan to force Jesus to take the place of their earthly king.  Jesus would be a king like King David of old.  The Israelite nation would rise again to prominence that it once was.  The people could see no downside to this forceful action to write-in Jesus on their ballot. ...

The snow and cold are making their presence known in north central Illinois.  So let's get our mind off of those and think about some summer time fishing.  If there is something that I hope I can factor back into my life, it would be some stream fishing with a fly rod or an ultra light rod and reel combo. Tim Challies put out a recent blog post titled "How Evangelism Is Kind Of Like Fishing."   I recommend his blog for great content and he is very good at collecting articles from around the web to be aware of.  www.challies.com is the website and https://www.challies.com/articles/how-evangelism-is-kind-of-like-fishing/ is the link to this post. Do you remember the children's Sunday School song, "I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men.  I will make you fishers of men, if you follow Me?"  This phrase given by Jesus to fisherman Peter would have given him an instant connection to start to relate the two activities.  "I kno...

As we walk through the 7 questions of Explore God Chicago initiative, the pain and suffering of this world is our topic this fine, cold morning.  We live in a world that is full of us humans who make choices and I can vouch for myself that my decisions are not always ones that eliminate pain and suffering.  I sometimes create pain and suffering for myself and others.   God can do some great miraculous things at times, according to His will, but He also gives us instruction on how we are to live our lives through pain and suffering; to care for others in pain and suffering; and to create atmospheres where the opposite is to be dominant like within in family, the Church.   Adam

(quite a while ago) I have immersed myself in another 21 days of prayer at a local church in the area.  I have used these events as my own prayer retreat and time to listen to others share their own journeys in speaking to our good, good Father.  Let me share with you this morning some thoughts from one of the presenters. It seems in every family there is an "instigator."   This one you need to watch a little  closer than the rest.  This one doesn't want to hold your hand but run on ahead.  In our family, it was our youngest named Jason who is pictured here.  We have many very goofy pictures of him who made us laugh but also caused some gray hairs to come a little too prematurely. If the family goes beyond one child, then there is also the possibility of  an  "enforcer."   This one takes charge.  As a parent you are thankful for the extra help with  "the in stigator"  when you are not there.  In ...

Let's get into our Wednesday in the Word which takes us to John chapter 6 and verses 1 through 14, which read, v.1 - After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). Some context is some time has elapsed  between the end of chapter 5 and the start of chapter 6.  It could be six months to a year.  Chapter 5 events happen in Judea of the south and in and around Jerusalem.  Chapter 6 events happen in Galilee of the north and in and around Capernaum.   v.2 - A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. Why are people gathering to be around Jesus?  Is it for His words or is it for His miracles?  It seems that they were waiting for the next spectacular sign showing Jesus' power.   v.3 - Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. Jesus escapes the crowds to get alone with His disciple...

We are back from Colorado.  It means a long 15 hour trip across our great country.  What do I do to fill up the time while driving that distance?  I listen to sermons so yesterday it was one sermon from the late R.C. Sproul from Ligioner Ministries, two sermons from John MacArthur from Grace Church in California, one sermon from Alistair Begg from Parkside Community Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and one sermon from Mark Dever from Captial Hill Baptist in Washington D.C.  In the midst of those instructions from God's word, I think it was Alistair who made a reference to Winnie the Pooh and specifically Eeyore.  That little illustration got my mind drifting back to all those Winnie the Pooh adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods.  A. A. Milne gave us some characters with some distinct qualities.  Here is the list. 1.  Winnie the Pooh - very optimistic - the dreamer 2.  Eeyore - very pessimistic - the doomsayer 3.  Piglet - an int...

A couple big words this morning to share with you, desolation and consolation.  What way do I turn on a regular basis?  I would like to think it is consolation but I am not sure that is my first reaction.  What about you?  Where do your turn your attention?  Jesus gives this instruction to His disciples and the Apostle Paul does the same for those like Timothy, Titus, and Silas.  So here is something to think about today as I face the facts of life that come upon myself.  I have a decision to make of where I will focus my attention.  I think this is how you can come out of a bad situation with an eventual appreciation for it.  I came to that point with my own cancer walk but there are still times I have to war off the desolation thoughts so the consolation thoughts will direct me to be used of God. Adam

The last couple of Fridays we have looked at the subject of prayer.  This spiritual discipline keeps popping up in my internet searches and internal thoughts as I continue on with a local church that is conducting a 21 day early morning prayer event.   I love recommended great resources and one of them is the chapel services held at Dallas Theological Seminary.  Here is the link to the YouTube session I recently watched:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlMcE2IElD4&t=1490s    The speaker is the President of DTS, Dr. Mark Bailey, and his topic, of course, was prayer.  His opening verse was 2 Timothy 2:1 which reads, "First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,..." He noted that these are four different Greek words for prayer and therefore 4 different types of prayer.  My mind wandered to thinking about how many types of prayer there are.  I keyed over to another...

Let's get into our Wednesday in the Word and cover the passage of John chapter 5 and verses 31 through 47, which reads, v.31-35 -  "If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.  There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.  But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.  He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light."  Jesus has been speaking in a way that connects Himself very closely with God the Father.  He is on mission from God and His position is to give the eternal life of salvation and fulfill the duties of the judge who justly does the will of the Father.  This language from Jesus is probably making the Jewish religious leaders uncomfortable with His proclamations of who He is, what He is...

How are you on your "follow through?"   I am not talking about your golf swing but the completion of the task that is before you.  Now that I think about it, the golf swing might make a good analogy.  You have a back swing when you are loading up for some forward motion; you have the downswing when you are approaching what you are aiming at; you have the point of impact when you start something into action; and you have the follow through when you swing through and hold position in a finishing form. This could be a really good diagram or illustration to use to explain what happens when you approach a new idea or program.  The idea floods into your head and you start that backswing of excitement and the possibilities of this new venture lead you to load up to put some energy behind it.  The idea transforms into a strong possibility and so you start your downswing toward the actual start of this project.  Everything seems to be supporting your thoughts ...

The snow has descended on Illinois and everything is slowly turning white.  It resulted in a lazy Saturday at home and maybe that is what I personally needed.  The snow has alluded us this winter and many have been thankful for its absence but I remember living in its presence sometimes up to 6 months of the year.  A fact of life was to get up and move some snow to get out again.  I realize that we might be back in it next winter depending where the Lord plants us.  I hope I am not too much out of practice over this 4+ years in north central Illinois.   The radio broadcast is the second in the series for Explore God that we are participating in along with 815+ other churches in the Chicagoland area.  During prayer this week, the main point came to me about my sermon that didn't make it into the radio broadcast because it was already recorded.  The main question out of the question of the day that came to me was, "What is our greatest ev...

Last week I wrote about a book I was reading on prayer but this week I have been able to participate again in a 21 days of prayer adventure with a local church in a neighboring town.  It means rising earlier in the morning to make the 15 mile drive through some winding rooms to join others to lift our voices to God.   Each morning I enter the room to the musical notes of another Christian song and the greetings of others who have come to participate in the same thing.  We start by singing a song together.  A short devotional follows by one of the members of the church and then we move onto the matter of praying.  There are prayer cards on the platform that are available to pick up and pray for but there is also the freedom to just stay put or wander about the room talking to God.  The music is playing and sometimes a very familiar song comes over the PA system and I find myself stop praying and singing along these words back to God.  The time...