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- Written by: Don Goulding
On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21)
Our adult daughter, Ashley, had a growth in her ear canal that caused minor discomfort for two years before she had it examined. The doctor feared it was a tumor and referred her to a specialist. Ashley decided to go to her specialist first, to Jesus. After an anointing prayer by her church, she went to the recommended doctor. He found nothing, and the pain was gone. It seemed a miracle of God in response to prayer.
When I relayed the event to an American Christian, he typified our worldview by saying, “She probably had a plant seed that fell out between examinations.”
Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples with authority to heal, cast out demons, and preach. They returned, jumping with excitement over God’s power. Jesus said the miracles they experienced were hidden from the wise and learned. Only those with childlike faith can see what God does.
The problem is not the rarity of God’s interventions but the jadedness of man’s faith. With my worldly education, I wait for physical manifestations of spiritual realities. It’s like waiting for a bird to fly past before I accept that air must be around me. I have much to unlearn.
If I want to rejoice as Jesus did, I must return to innocent trust. Cold cynicism will never get me there. I need to make my request, then reach for the touch of God’s Spirit like a three-year-old.
Prayer: Father, give me childlike eyes for the unseen.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)
The few Christians surviving in Pakistan are unpretentious souls. Beige and brown clothes, mud colored houses, food cooked over a dried cow dung fire—it’s one of the simplest and most beautiful lives I’ve encountered. And these humble children of God gave me a sublime lesson about a complex doctrine.
A brother sat in a chair in front of everyone, posing as one of the many donkey cart drivers of the village. Another brother played the part of the donkey, but he pushed the cart with his head. Rolling laughter told us the Pakistanis saw the problem and understood the analogy to a Biblical truth.
The Apostle Paul speaks definitively on faith when he says, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Likewise, James is accurate in claiming faith without works is dead. Paul is speaking of the donkey, and James talks about the cart. Both parts working together carry me to salvation and must come in the correct order. Good deeds cannot push faith. Faith must pull good deeds.
God paid the full price on the cross for grace out of his own resources, and now he only requires that we not treat his colossal gift cheaply. Only a donkey of faith pulling a cart of works demonstrates our grasp of how much God spent. Good works by themselves accomplish nothing because our charitable deeds will never remove the sin that holds us apart from God. Likewise, an unburdened donkey of belief, frolicking about, is so insincere as to be pointless. I need a donkey pulling a cart—faith in the blood of Jesus that is reflected in my works.
Prayer: God, my Savior, may my life demonstrate my faith in your provision.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)
I wondered if a guy I knew in college would be interested in our friendship after thirty years. Oceans of life had pushed our continents apart. Did we even know each other anymore?
When I reached out, I heard the same cheerful voice I knew in college. Of course, I knew this guy—my old friend, Dave. We’d both changed, but I recognized his one-of-a-kind heart within seconds.
In Luke 13, Jesus said admission to God’s feast will be conditional on knowing the master. He warned us that many will knock and the banquet master will reply, “I don't know you or where you come from.”
Do I truly know Jesus?
The Lord told his apostles that they did know him and, therefore, knew his Father, too. But they ate and lived with Jesus. Me, not so much.
Judas, the betrayer, touched and spoke with Jesus, yet he never truly knew him, not the true essence of who he was. That lost soul didn’t understand Jesus’s heart. It doesn’t matter that I live in a different place on history’s timeline. I still have a chance to know the real Jesus, unlike Judas, who never did.
To know Jesus, I must go past my five senses, past my intellect, and press my heart into union with him. I must exchange my pettiness for his love. I have to hunger for his righteousness and seek to assimilate his teachings into my life.
By engaging Jesus in my inmost being, I come to know him more profoundly than any physical experience. I recognize his one-of-a-kind heart, full of love, humility, and joy.
Prayer: Awesome Jesus, thank you for allowing me to know you truly.