John 1:36-39 And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What do you seek? They said to Him, Rabbi (which is called, being translated, Teacher), where do you live? He says to them, Come and see. They came and saw where He lived, and stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
As Yeshua (Jesus) was about to begin his ministry, many were listening intently to John the Baptist as He declared, “Behold the Lamb of God!” [John 1:36]. Some of those listening to John were intrigued with the man he was pointing to, and they followed Yeshua. So He turned and questioned them, “What do you seek?”
“What do you seek?” Sounds like such a simple question…but isn’t it actually the most significant question of our lives? What are we truly seeking? Their response, “Where do you live?” says, “We want to know more about you now…”
I love Yeshua’s response … “Come and see.” It was an invitation into an intriguing relationship and what a relationship it would be! These young men were about to become disciples of the Son of God. Could they have had any idea what that would mean? The small step of faith to follow him, discover his whereabouts, without knowing anything of what it would involve, the small step of faith…..but they were seeking Him.
Passover has ended, and we who have found our “Passover Lamb”, recognizing Yeshua, the Lamb of God, are we much different from the disciples who curiously followed Him, not having a clue what awaited them when He said, “Come and see!”
This narrative of the disciples is their great adventure into knowing and serving the God of creation. Something about Him, and the testimony of the Baptist, drew them forward in small irrevocable steps of faith and decision. Some of us sit on the fence until we have more proof or assurance, and the decisive question, “What do you seek?” sticks in our throat. Is it the fear of what it might mean to follow Him? If so, faith must be the answer. Following Yeshua is a great adventure precisely because we cannot know what it will involve. His disciples were invited to see “where He lived” and we are too. Now that we’ve been delivered from Egypt and passed through the water, not only can we see where He lives…… we can live there with Him! So let’s continue the adventure.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Our life, the life of faith, is pervaded by paradox. Life faces us with apparently irreconcilable conditions and realities that we struggle to understand and integrate, sometimes throughout an entire lifetime. The Lord himself exemplifies this reality in his dual identity as the expressed image of God and a fully human male who suffered the worst consequences of sin...without deserving them. We live daily within the paradox of God's perfect holiness and our fundamental human imperfection, constantly needing to accept His grace as we strive toward His perfection.
Throughout the history of the modern state of Israel, there have been accounts of angelic interventions protecting Israeli soldiers in the midst of intense warfare. One instance recounted by an Israeli military historian after the 1973 Yom Kippur war, describes an Israeli soldier in the Sinai taking captive an entire Egyptian column and leading them to where the Israeli troops were. The Egyptian commander was asked why he and his men gave themselves up to the lone Israeli soldier. He responded with surprise, ”One soldier? There were thousands of them.”
During 1941 the United States and Japan were in negotiations to resolve their difference as the rest of the world was at war. The special delegation of Japanese ambassadors, ostensibly sent on this “peace” mission, arrived shortly before the massive surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in which 2,403 Americans were killed, 1143 were wounded, eighteen ships were sunk or grounded, and 300 planes destroyed or damaged. President Franklin Roosevelt called it a “date which will live in infamy.”
The world these days is full of bad news, with tensions growing in the Middle East, economies on the brink of collapse, and nature constantly adding to the chaos with one disaster after another. It's a time of trouble all right, and for us believers it may sometimes be hard to believe – but it never is as bad as it seems. Let me illustrate with a joke I like to share with my messages.
When I’m dealing with what is beyond a normal, average trial, I need to muster a more militant attitude, and I remind myself of this promise; the Lord has given me authority to TREAD upon the enemy … to walk in His victory over every trial and tribulation that life brings.
An artist went searching the streets of New York City for a model to pose for a portrait he wanted to call -- 'The Prodigal'. One day was passing Central Park and saw an impoverished beggar lying on a bench and thought: 'He's perfect! That man would represent the prodigal son beautifully in my painting.' He asked the beggar if he would be willing to sit for his painting and he would gladly pay him for his time. Naturally, the beggar agreed.
Moses was used mightily by the Lord, yet we all know he had his inadequacies and limitations too. Still he was the vessel through which God chose to work through as He carried out the plagues over Egypt, divided the Red Sea and miraculously led and fed the children of Israel for forty years. That's pretty big stuff. Can you imagine having to be Moses' successor after all that? That's exactly what Joshua had to do. I can't even begin to imagine what Joshua was thinking at the time -- How can I possibly live up to Moses? But the Lord comforts and reassures Joshua and says, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!"