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Settling for Barley Loaves

The most famous miracle Jesus performed was the feeding of the 5,000. All four gospels record it, but in John’s account there is a small detail the others don’t include. He records in chapter 6, verse 9 that the loaves Jesus used were barley loaves. Barley was a cheap grain. Rich people ate wheat bread. Barley loaves were for poor people. The meal provided was by no means extravagant or impressive. It was adequate and it was filling, something on the order of a modern-day peanut butter sandwich.

Even so, after that, the people followed Jesus around like puppy dogs. They wanted more bread, more barley loaves. What Jesus wanted to give them was beyond their imagination. For almost fifty verses, John records the conversation Jesus had with the crowd, trying in vain to get them to see beyond the bread, to see that in the very same way He had satisfied their physical hunger, He was more than capable of satisfying the deep needs of their souls.

He offered Himself. They settled for barley loaves.

I know I do the same thing. Jesus offers me more. He encourages me to see a bigger picture. He longs to give me a clearer vision of Himself, but I am focused on the here and now, on myself and my comforts and my needs. I respond like the crowd, “Just give me the bread.” The cheap bread. The barley loaves. And I settle.

I determine His words are too hard, His path is too counterculture and I decide to move back out to the fringes of following Him. That’s a dumb move. He has the words of life, the words of eternal life and the words that infuse me with life now.

I’ll miss those words if I settle for hanging back, digging through a basket of leftover barley loaves.

A Covenant, Not a Contract

By Paula Wiseman

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)

As a writer, I’ve had opportunity to enter into a few contracts over the past five or so years. We’ve signed agreements with homes sellers to buy real estate from them. We’ve accepted bids from contractors to do work for us. We even have an informal arrangement with our son to cut the grass. He mows. We give him twenty dollars.

We like contracts. They seem instinctive and natural and ultimately fair or else we wouldn’t be a part of them. They are everywhere. The news is full of stories of athletes negotiating the terms they’ll play under, and of unions seeking the best terms for their members. Loan agreements are contracts. Even the terms of use for your favorite website are a contract spelling out the services provided and the limits of those services.

Because contracts are such a common part of our dealings, we often fall into a trap of thinking our relationship with God is like a contract. If we pay with the proper obedience and devotion then God will, in turn, render the necessary service of providing answers to prayers, or bestowing blessings or what have you. If we fail, then He responds with judgment or a curse or mild irritations depending on the offense and its severity.

You can hear it in subtle “if … then” statements. If I have more faith, then God will hear my prayers. If I stop swearing for a month then God will help me find a job. That is the language of contracts and God doesn’t make contracts. He makes covenants.

God’s covenants rely solely on His holiness for fulfillment. He doesn’t require anything from us but acceptance of the terms. They are eternally binding and utterly unbreakable. When Jesus makes a statement like, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life,” (John 5:24 NKJV), He’s making a covenant. We just accept the terms and it is irrevocable. When He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV), that’s a covenant that we cannot undo, not with actions or words or attitudes.

God knows our frailties. He knows that if our salvation, our blessings or any of His good gifts depended on our ability to keep up our end of a contract we would be left destitute. His boundless love and His infinite grace won’t allow that. He takes all the responsibility on Himself. We just have to accept it.

Building Grace

By Paula Wiseman

We roofed a house last week. Hot. Strenuous. Truly a learning experience. (First lesson – I don’t want to roof houses for a living.) The first day was the most critical, because after all the old shingles were ripped off, the wooden roof decking was exposed and the house was vulnerable. That is, until we covered it with underlayment. Ours was stamped all over with the word “GRACE.”

I thought how fitting. Not only does GRACE protect and cover the flaws and vulnerabilities of the roof, defending it from all kinds of attack – sun, rain, critters, you name it … GRACE provides the foundation for the shingles.

God’s grace does that for us as well.

We are under grace. Romans 6:14 says so. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

And we build with it. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (1 Corinthians 3:10)

Grace provides the foundation for our salvation, for our daily walk and for our eternity. I love the way God used something as mundane as roofing material to remind me.

What ordinary things have reminded you of God’s goodness lately?

Witnessing a New Birth

By Paula Wiseman

“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day” Acts 2:47 (NAS)

The last two weeks I’ve spent some time teaching at church camp, teenagers last week and grade school kids this week.

When I got there yesterday, the chapel was mostly empty ahead of a large group teaching session. Mostly. Up near the front of the room, the camp pastor sat with a couple of kids and teenaged helpers. I caught snatches of the conversation – “Romans,” and “all have sinned,” that kind of stuff – and I realized I was watching a birth. A new birth.

I was struck by two things about the scene in front of me. First of all, it was a gift to be able to witness it. I find it is so easy to get wrapped up in other details (like having both cars in the shop and having to put a roof on) … that the amazing wonder of another precious human being being rescued from eternal judgment by a God who willingly sacrificed Himself to make that happen because of His boundless love … isn’t as amazing as it should be. Shame on me.

Second, what made the scene unique and honestly brought tears to my eyes was the support the other kids were showing to the one the pastor was working with. They hugged her. They put a hand on her back. They paced and prayed. They were like a little group of spiritual midwives trying to help the birth in any way they could. I later found out that one of the kids was barely two hours old herself, but she wanted her friend to know and experience the salvation that she had. How awesome is that?

So once again, God taught the teacher more than anyone else. God reminded me that He is at work all around me, but often I choose not to look for the signs. I get so focused on the areas I can’t see Him working that I miss the good stuff. “And,” He says, “Trust Me, there is good stuff.”

When was the last new birth you witnessed (or assisted with)?

2 Questions

By Paula Wiseman

Here are two multiple choice questions.

1. Who am I?

A. I will accept an identity thrust upon me by someone else. I will wear their labels.

B. I will forge an identity of my own choosing, often based on how others treat me. If they disrespect me, I will believe I lack worth and so forth.

C. I will embrace the identity my Creator bestows on me, including but not limited to: Accepted. Beloved, Chosen, Holy, Blameless (Ephesians 1:3-6)

2. Whom will I worship?

A. I will worship myself, and live in a way that provides me the best advantages. I will pursue pleasure, and comfort.

B. I will worship someone else, or a series of someones, my fortunes rising and falling as their wants and needs change. I will seek their approval and give myself to fulfill them.

C. I will worship the God who loved me and gave Himself to make sure I was never separated from Him. He strengthens, upholds, and helps me. (Isaiah 41:10)

Your answers make all the difference in the world, and all the difference in eternity.

6 Lessons from the River Run

By Paula Wiseman

I’m not a very good runner. I’ll just say that up front. And I’m even worse at races than I am at running around in the mornings. This past Saturday, my husband and I ran the Evansville River Run. It’s a ten-mile race starting in Henderson, Kentucky, crossing the Ohio River bridge and finishing in Evansville, Indiana. Talk about a learning experience … And all of the lessons apply to the race I’m running in my Christian life.

1. You think you’re prepared…

Training runs are a whole different ballgame from a race. The course was hillier than I was used to. I overdressed. (That was a calculated risk. I hate, hate being cold.) Running by the highway is mentally fatiguing.

We often think that after a weekly church service, we’re prepared for whatever gets thrown at us, but we’re often surprised by circumstances. Situations often prove more challenging than we imagined and we discover that theory and life are two different things. We need to make sure we are relying on God in humility and not trusting ourselves.

2. I started strong and finished strong. The middle … not so much.

Through the first six miles I was on pace to do better than any of my training runs. Then reality struck. And by reality, I mean pain. Everything hurt except for my hair and my eyebrows. And my hair was close. I chose to ease off on my pace and finish well rather than risk a real injury. My last 400m was my fastest all day.

We usually start out really strong, really gung-ho for Jesus, but somewhere in the middle of things we run into some painful times. It is extremely important to back off and give yourself time to rest and heal so you can stay in the race and finish strong.

3. Having folks cheer you on is awesome.

I have no idea who most of them were but it was a little easier to run with some encouragement, especially from the little guy who high-fived me toward the end and my son and a really good friend near the finish.

We really underestimate the value of encouragement in the body of Christ. It can help prevent burning out, dropping out and falling out. Let’s resolve not to be so stingy with it.

4. Having someone come along beside to run with you is even awesome-r.

My husband finished forty minutes before I did, but he came back and met me at mile 9 and finished with me. I told him everything hurt. He reminded me that my pace wasn’t bad, that in twelve more minutes we’d be done, that the finish wasn’t nearly as far away as it looked, that he was proud of me … all kinds of good stuff.

We not only have fellow believers to come alongside us, but God Himself is right there in the person of the Holy Spirit offering guidance and encouragement.

5. The effects last way beyond the race.

The race was Saturday. It was Tuesday before I could walk down steps without turning sideways.

Make no mistake, the things we do in this life will have an impact on eternity.

6. Finishing is what counts.

Oh, sure the guy who won finished in less than half the time that I did, but you know what? I got the very same medal they got. All the finishers did.

There is coming a day when we will each cross a finish line a receive a reward. I haven’t seen it, but I’m pretty sure it’s a lot better than a medal.

Have you done something that stretched you? What lessons did you learn?