Did curiosity influence God’s ‘NOW’?

In the series of reflections on God’s ‘NOW’, I have come to the second time Jesus said: “my time has not yet come”. It was said in response to his brothers who had urged him to go to Judea for the Festival of Tabernacles (1). Jesus also told his brothers that they could go. They left for the festival whilst Jesus remained in Galilee, and the story continues:

“However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.”
John 7:10

What on earth made Jesus change his mind? What influenced God’s ‘NOW’ this time?

I think the answer is found in the next verse:
Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking,

“Where is he?”

It is likely that the Jewish leaders were looking for him with wrong motives, but other people at the festival were ‘seeking’ him because “He is a good man” (v 12).

When Jeremiah shared God’s word to the people in captivity about future and hope, he also included this promise:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you”
Jeremiah 29:13-14a

When people are whole-hearted and sincere in their search for God, I believe that they influence God’s NOW. I believe that He is there already, ‘but in secret’!

‘Manna’ for today

God is already where you are – but in secret

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(1) John 7:1-13
NB - this reflection is linked to General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Did the Samaritan woman influence God’s ‘NOW’?

Last week(1) I asked the same question related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Today I visit Jacob’s well near Sychar in Samaria and follow the conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. For Bible-readers, this story from John 4 is well known, and like the rest of John’s gospel, there are so many layers of truths, both obvious and hidden, that it deserves to be re-visited again and again.

In one moment, it seems as though John is ridiculing the woman’s ignorance with regard to what Jesus was trying to tell her. In the next moment, John is suggesting that the woman actually grasped spiritual truths which for scholars, like Nicodemus, seemed inaccessible mysteries. This is why I love his gospel and regard it as a master-piece.

When Jesus speaks about the water he can give, the woman replied: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” For many years I thought and taught that she didn't understand what Jesus spoke about. But what if she actually did understand?

It is clear the Jacob’s well had a religious significance. May be it was part of her religious thirst that made her come all the way to this special well? In the context of the whole conversation, I believe that was what she meant.

When the woman later asked where the right place of worship is, I believe that Jesus knew that she was about to grasp what worship was all about, and he answered:

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”
John 4:23

So, yes, I believe that the woman influenced God’s NOW. Jesus said “Yet a time is coming” – which points to the future; however, because it was revealed for the woman and she had believed it as true, Jesus continued: “and has now come!”.

‘Manna’ for today:

Faith in what God has revealed to me, influences His ‘NOW’!

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(1) This reflction is part of a series on the "Call to Mission - NOW!'

Did Mary influence God’s ‘NOW’?

I ask this question in the context of the call to be ‘battle-ready’ NOW (1). There is no doubt that Mary played an important role as the one who gave birth to the Son of God. Her readiness to do so, made her a vital participant in God’s NOW. However, today I will focus on her role in the first miracle of Jesus.

This took place at the wedding in Cana. When Mary heard the embarrassing news that the host was running out of wine before the wedding-reception was over, she brought the matter to her son. And in a somewhat abrupt way Jesus dismissed her by saying:

“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:4

When Jesus said: “My hour has not yet come” – it tells me that he was still waiting for his Father’s ‘NOW’. So what made Jesus change his mind?

I believe it was Mary – not by addressing the issue once again to Jesus, but by saying to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”

Mary had not seen Jesus do any miracles, but she had kept many words she had heard about him in her heart. She believed in him, and she showed it in action and in words. Such a faith touches a son's heart. As Mary in faith, gave physical birth to Jesus, in the same way her faith and love gave birth to the mission he had come to fulfil.

I believe that faith and love still touches the Son’s heart.

‘Manna’ for today:

Faith and love can turn ‘NOW’ into God’s right moment.

I will follow up with more thoughts on how we can influence God’s ‘NOW’ in the next blogs. (2)
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(1) See: 'Do you know what prayer is?'

(2) See: “Now is the time”
NB - this reflection is linked to General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Now is the time

We are already a few days into 2019. A new year always makes me think about time. One of the Bible-passages I love to read again and again, is Jesus’ personal mission-statement, simply because His mission is my mission (1). In the statement, Jesus said:

In short, the Spirit is upon Me to proclaim that now is the time;
this is the jubilee season of the Eternal One’s grace.
Luke 4:19 (The Voice version)

Many translations say that Jesus came to proclaim ‘a year of God’s favour’ – a year of grace. However, time is neither past nor future; time is always ‘now’!

God is the great “I am” = God is the “Eternal Now”. 

Paul had discovered this, and wrote:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2b

For this reason, I can pray: “I am here, God, and I know that you are here too, and I know that 'now' is the accepted time of grace!”

‘Manna’ for today:

Grace is that ‘now’ is always the right moment!

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(1) It is the mission of all disciples, because as God sent Jesus into the world, Jesus is sending us into the world – See John 20:21.
* Source
NB - this reflection links in with General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

The end of the age – a time for everything *

NORSK
Yesterday I wrote about the ‘ends of the earth’ and when I today use the ‘end of the age’, it is because today it is about eschatology and not geography. The Great Commission, which is Matthew's version of Jesus' farewell-speech to the disciples, takes care of the time-perspective:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matt 28:18b-20

Eschatology was very important for me when I was young. I still believe in the return of Jesus Christ and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. I also believe it is important that we do not stop preaching what the Bible teaches about this. However, I am increasingly concerned that every moment is ‘the end of the world’ or the ‘end of the age’. In fact, it is also an explicit part of the Bible's teaching. John has many Jesus quotes that take care of this aspect. Here are a few examples:

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:18

“Yet a time is coming and has now come…”
John 4:23a

That is why the end of the age perspective points to the place where I am right now. I always live in the end of the age of the world and there he is always with me. That is the place and time where our mission both has its beginning and eventually its end.

‘Manna’ for today:

NOW is important, because it is important NOW.

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(1) In Norway, we have a place called “the end of the world”, and we also have places called e.g. “kingdom of heaven” and “hell” – it is an interesting country…
* 'A time for everything' is connected with the Bible's teaching about a 'season for every activity' Eccl 3 This series is about the teaching in the time between Easter and Pentecost

A time for everything * - but when?

NORSK
This question is one of at least two questions that appear every time I read this verse:

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”
John 16:25

When Jesus says “a time is coming” – it is always hard to interpret, especially in the Gospel of John. It is all about the tension between the time of chronology, as in “a time is coming”, and the time of faith as in “already now” (1). The disciples' response in this narrative indicates that they interpreted this as concerning the time of faith = it is now Jesus speaks plainly and not figuratively (2).

This interpretation is at least in accordance with how they felt, because the next words from Jesus are very plain, but again I think that Jesus spoke about the 40 days he will regularly be visible and physically present in the period between the resurrection and the ascension – the time for reparation and confirmation of the faith and the mission.

The second question is a mystery both in the Gospel of John and in the other Gospels: Why was speaking in parables and images perceived as a distortion of truth rather than making truth more accessible? (3)

When I grew up, the Bible narratives were a natural feature in homes, schools and churches. The parables were used for the purpose of building faith, not to confuse it. The stories were explained as they were read. I think this is the reason why it is hard for me to understand that the images distort instead of enlighten. For the disciples and the people surrounding Jesus it was different. Only a few of them had grasped the faith-content in the pictures, so unless Jesus interpreted the content, as in the parable with the Sower, the parables remained mysteries until the Holy Spirit revealed the spiritual truth.

‘Manna’ for today:

The Holy Spirit … will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (4)

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(1) “Yet a time is coming and has now come” John 4:23
(2) See verse 29: “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.”  
(3) “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” Mark 4:11-12
(4) John 14:26
* 'A time for everything' is connected with the Bible's teaching about a 'season for every activity' Eccl 3 This series is about the teaching in the ime between Easter and Pentecost

Knowing when to remain silent - a step on the journey

"There is a time for everything", the ecclesiastic wrote and then followed a tirade of opposites such as the following:

“a time to be silent and a time to speak”
Eccl 3:7b

Most likely I was more inclined to overspend the time to speak in the past, and I was probably regarded as rather ascetic in my use of the time to be silent. However, I have become more conscious of the importance of taking a deep breath and testing out the art of listening rather than speaking. Sometimes I succeed, but not always.

After Jesus had affirmed Peter and told that his confession was right, he came with an exhortation that must have seemed strange for his disciples:

Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matt 6:20

A couple of days back, I stated that it is important for others that I confess who Jesus is. Therefore, it may seem a little strange that Jesus came with this message.

The quote from Ecclesiastes is part of the explanation. It was important for Jesus to 'buy time'. Jesus knew that the scope of time he had to teach his disciples about what would happen in Jerusalem, was limited. If the disciples began to spread the news that Jesus is the Messiah, he could risk being stoned before they reached Jerusalem. I think the simple explanation is that Jesus needed every minute of the journey to the preparation and teaching of the disciples. In a few days’ time, I will return time set aside to speak.

Today I am reminded about how important it is to listen to what the Lord says when it comes to art of being silent.

‘Manna’ for today:

God, tell me when it is right to remain silent!

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* Something made me silent even when I was young

Winter and spring – today is all I have got

NORSK
Normally I am too busy to think about it, but occasionally I wish that I could be at ‘Brødsjø’. That was not the case yesterday. At breakfast, we listened as usual to the radio-news from the county of Telemark. As the morning temperatures were read, I noticed that close to our home it was registered -18 degrees, which normally means that the thermometer must have dropped below -20 at our place.

One hour earlier, we woke up to a beautiful and warm spring day here in Chisinau where the maximum temperature reached +17 degrees during the day. There is a big difference between winter and spring, and it is easy to understand Paul’s message to Timothy:

Do your best to get here before winter.
2 Tim 4:21a

Although it is tempting to give the word "winter" several interpretations, I think Paul's concerns were of the practical kind. If it was John who had written this, I would immediately have asked myself: "What else than practical concerns can be hidden in this message?"

Paul’s main concern was to get Timothy to come on a visit as soon as possible. May be Paul thought about his own bad experience of traveling during the winter. He had warned against sailing after the 1st of October (2), but his warning was not heeded to. It all ended up with a dramatic shipwreck. It is easier to travel in the summer, that was and is the simple truth.

However, in this simple verse I am once again reminded about how important it is to use the good days in the right way. This again reminds me of another of Paul's exhortations, which is important regardless of what kind of approach I make:

… make the best use of your time.
Col 4:5b

‘Manna’ for today:

Today is all I have got!

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(1) The thermometer at Brødsjø showing -18 during Christmas 2009. -35 is the coldest we have registered there. With such temperatures, I think I would have dropped a visit to Paul, and waited for the spring...
(2) Cf. Acts 27:9-12

A year of the Lord’s favour

2017 is already one day old. The heading is the last phrase of Jesus' mission statement, the declaration he made in the Synagogue in his hometown. The scroll with the prophecies of Isaiah was handed to him, and he read that which in the best way described him and the mission he had come to fulfill. He was sent:

“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Luke 4:19

Because Jesus also said: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (1), I know that his mission is also my mission. The favour is God's grace that makes every day to a New Years day, and because the world still exists, I will take part and proclaim the year of God's favour. I will also state that this means now, because  

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
2 Cor 6:2

‘Manna’ for today:

The time of God's favour, is the right time

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(1) John 20:21

It is about fruit in the right time

NORSK
In a spiritual perspective, it is expected that the fruit-bearing is constant, which means that it should always be possible to find fruit on the ‘tree of life’. It is therefore interesting to read about those who find joy in reading the word of God and ponder upon it day and night, because

They are like a tree replanted by streams of water,
which bears fruit at just the right time
and whose leaves don’t fade.
Psalm 1:3a CEB

I do not think that there is a contradiction between ‘constantly bearing fruit’ and to bear fruit in ‘the right time’. I believe ‘right time’ is about a situation occurring, which will need a ripe fruit with a specific quality.

I have been in many situations where I have asked myself:
“Will I be able to show love?” – “Will I handle this great challenge?”
The answer is simply: “No!”
However, very often the experience has been that the Holy Spirit has given me exactly the fruit I need just at the right time. The fruit has been ripe in the very moment I needed it.

Paul quoted Isaiah in several of his letters, and to the Corinthians he wrote: “I listened to you at the right time, and I helped you on the day of salvation” (1). But Paul did not stop with this, he continued:

Look, now is the right time! Look, now is the day of salvation!
2 Cor 6:2

This tells me that there will always be a time that is right for one or the other of the qualities of the Spirit’s fruit. And if I am to bear that fruit, the precondition is that I am ‘like a tree planted by streams of water’.

‘Manna’ for today:

Every day is just the right time to bear the fruit of the Spirit

NB In John 7:6 Jesus said: '...any time is right for you.' (2)
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(1) Isa 49:8
(2) See reflection on this verse (NB in Norwegian only)

Today is a ‘D-day’

NORSK 
Today my reflection is a little bit different. I know it is not the 6th of June – but nor was it the intention that anybody should know that it was just that day. It is about the nickname for the operation in 1944 that should be the beginning of the end of WW2. D-day is an abbreviation of Day-day, an unspecified day when something will happen. It was carefully prepared.

The first day of every month is “Recharge Day” in our territory. That means a day when we “charge” our batteries to have power for everything that will happen. It is a possibility for officers to use the day to reflect on the most important thing: My personal relationship with God. If that relationship is not working, nothing of lasting value will happen in the Kingdom of God. It is about preparation.

What has also made me think about “D-day” is the letter “D” which is Roman numeral for 500. I have just discovered that I on my blog in September for the first time had an average of more than 500 visitors on my blog every day. It makes me humble, and I pray that it may lead to something happening in the Kingdom of God. I also think about Paul who wrote about how Jesus revealed himself for his disciples after he had risen from the dead. I believe that it happened due to divine preparation:

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time.
1 Cor 15:6

I believe that an encounter with the risen Jesus led to a change in the lives of the five hundred, because a meeting with Jesus does something with us if we meet him alone, or in a fellowship of more than 500. I my blog-reflections make people draw closer to a living Jesus, every day will be a D-day, because it will be a day that will make things happen. It is about me preparing myself.

‘Manna’ for today:

Today it is possible to meet with Jesus – alive!

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