paravanes:meditations

(c) Deborah Evans A meditation for  the next week on what Jesus Christ will do for you: When you see the One who is Truth and follow Him, the false and fearful beliefs begin to fade, and finally die. Amen.

(c) Deborah Evans The resurrected Jesus did at least four specific things for his followers. I will summarize them for you. Look for these actions in your life and think of ways to expand the effects of these actions.  1. Jesus personally demonstrated his power and answered doubts his followers may have had about him. In Matthew 20:19-29, Jesus passes through locked doors to join his disciples and then reveals his wounds, uniquely verifying his identity. No imposter could completely copy or hijack his identity because what Jesus displayed was totally unique to him as both human and God. Also, read Luke 24:36-44. 2. Jesus personally passed his life energy to his followers by breathing on them and baptizing them with the Holy Spirit. In John 20:22-23, Jesus baptizes his followers with the Holy Spirit. Note the traits and actions of these Holy Spirit baptized followers: the power and persistence to follow Jesus completely right up to the moment of death, the courage to own...

(c) Deborah Evans When Jesus says you cannot follow him unless you "deny yourself" (Matthew 16:24+25), he doesn't mean for you to neglect your well-being, your fitness and health, or your mind. What he does mean is you must give up the life this broken world wants to give you: the life you have when someone is more important than Jesus, the life you have when there's no time for the Bible and fellowship with other believers, the life you have when you're too busy to pray. Denying yourself means ripping the unholy (habits, people, priorities) from your life and keeping the unholy out of your life. Self care isn't sinful. Your body and mind are designed by God and are gifts from God. Designed to glorify God and to house other gifts of God, your body and mind require self care in order for you to carry out God's will for you in this life. Rest, good food, exercise, positive social connections, and life long learning are all forms of self care that...

(c) Deborah Evans If you allow yourself to step away from the busy-ness of preparations for Easter celebrations, you may experience a powerful truth. Jesus did not step away from experiencing betrayal, extreme pain, abandonment by his friends, suffering, torture, and an excruciating public execution. He experienced what many have or will experience right up to the point of death --and beyond. We never need to deny or pretend about any honest expressions of grief, sadness, or pain. God understands. Jesus Christ is completely filled with compassion, mercy, and healing for anyone who is completely honest with him.  You can't always trust power or wisdom or greatness, but you can always trust the compassion of Jesus Christ because he has experienced the deepest possible pain. Then, he overcame all of it. This is why you can trust him to save you from yourself and your mistakes and failures. Because of his compassion, you can also trust him to love you through it all.

(c) Deborah Evans " Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' " --Matthew 21:4. This verse in Matthew is a description of the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Zachariah 9:9. This is a picture of a leader, Jesus, who maintains humility in the middle of the cheering, shouting crowd. This crowd, so thrilled to see him and acknowledge him as a king, will chant "crucify him!" later that same week. Seek humility in yourself and any human leader you follow. When your actions are powerful, you can easily choose and afford humility. When you have honest knowledge of human nature, that knowledge will help insulate you from deception by flattery.  Wrap the shield of humility around you and keep it close. Human nature is often too false and too fickle to do anything else. Imitate the humility of Jesus, and honor others who lift humility above pride, self celebration, and the...

(c) Deborah Evans These words from the prayer known as The Lord's Prayer and also  referred to as "the prayer Jesus taught", sum up the essence of true Christian discipleship. The one who prays this prayer desires God's visible and open rulership: "your kingdom come." But more than that, this prayer seeks an unchallenged and uncontested rulership : "your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." Whether you understand Heaven as a physical place or a state of being, or both, Heaven is the place where God's will is done instantly and without delay, question, debate, or negotiation.  In the heavenly kingdom, this immediate and complete obedience is expressed because those of that kingdom know God's love as deeply as they know God's holiness and power. Consider Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest and crucifixion. Even in that place, he said to the Father "not my will, but your will......

(c) Deborah Evans The best advice I ever received about prayer came from my father. This is what he said: "Pray as if everything depends upon God and work as if everything depends upon you." My father was very well read, so it's possible he found this somewhere, or modified a quote he remembered from someone who advised him. My father passed away over 20 years ago, and this is some of the best advice he ever gave me. Prayer comes first because the disciple always seeks the will and the way of the teacher. Work can show up as: embracing new habits, accepting a new level of discipline, resting-eating-exercising sensibly, learning to speak up, learning to speak less, saying yes to new and different experiences, or in a hundred other ways. Prayer is an invitation for God to change you.  If you want to pray the prayer that works, be ready to change yourself, your perspectives, and your actions.  For prayer to work, your actions must align with the words of your pra...