Hi all,
Being about the Father’s business sounds very spiritual, but it disguises itself within the patterns of every day life.
Jesus was 12 years old when He was in the temple asking questions of the elders and answering them. When His parents came searching for Him, He replied in Luke 2:49: “….Didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”
He was about His Father’s business yet all He was doing was asking and answering questions. It was everyday life. Years later in Matthew 25: 33-40 Jesus would describe normal life in Him, found at His return, as giving food, water, clothing, and shelter to people, and visiting those sick or in prison. (In those days prisoners relied on relatives and friends for food and clothing levitra generika kaufen schweiz.)
What Jesus describes is not a glamorous faith. It is mundane, even boring, normal life. But it is supremely spiritual, doing the Father’s business. We must readjust our thinking to be like His: Water, food, clothing, shelter, visiting. The people living like that are the ones He puts in charge of the world at His return. Don’t you want to be part of that?
That is being about the Father’s business by Jesus’ definition – conversation, questions and answers, and providing physical resources and friendship to those in need. It doesn’t seem spiritual, yet it is. Unnoticed by man, noticed and known by the Father.
Being normal
I was reminded the other day how normal, how utterly mundane being about the Father’s business is. Our area has seen unusually cold temperatures and snow. This morning our air temperature was -17 F or -27C. We have about 6″ of snow (15cm) that has drifted to 2′ in places (.6m). Yesterday afternoon when the UPS driver knocked on our door, it was around 0 F, or -17C, and a wind chill making it feel much colder, -25F or -32C.
We weren’t expecting a delivery from UPS so I was surprised by the knock on the door. It was our normal delivery man, in his late 20’s, and he explained his truck was stuck in the upper road above us. Could I help?
I said of course I would, and was amazed he would walk so far when probably 25 homes are within the more than 1/3 mile (.5km) he had walked through the blowing snow and cold to get to our house. We live on a lake and the ‘lower road’ along the lake shore ends at our home, and he often uses our drive to turn his big truck around. The upper road goes to homes further away from the lake and up the hill, and it was in someone’s drive way he had gotten stuck.
He left to return to his truck and I got dressed for the cold, thinking options in my mind and asking the Father at the same time what I would need to pull that big truck out of whatever snow and ice covered hole it was in. I thought about my tractor, but it didn’t set right in my spirit. I thought about my pick up truck, an almost 20 year old Ford with a 4 wheel drive option. But like most trucks with optional 4 wheel drive, when you engage 4 wheel drive only about 20% of the power is diverted to the front wheels. Not the best option.
That left me with my trusty Subaru Outback. It felt right in my spirit and made sense in my mind. It has full time symmetrical all wheel drive meaning each tire gets 25% of the power with computer controlled traction that can give more or less power to whatever wheel needs it, automatically. I got a chain from the truck, tossed it in the back of the car, and drove up to the UPS truck. As I hooked the chain to the Subaru trailer hitch he hooked the other end to the frame behind his front bumper, and we had this exchange:
“I’m happy to help you and I’m honored you came and got me, but with all the houses around what made you knock on my door?” His reply surprised me: “You’re the most down to earth guy around, so I thought you would be willing to help me.” I replied “Thanks for that, I’m glad to help”, as my jumbled thoughts turned to how blessed that I could be about the Father’s business in this way, I was also sad that in his rounds of all the homes in our area, he walked past all those other people through sub-zero air and deep drifted snow to ask my help. What did it say about our neighbors?
It was a simple task, the Subaru dug in and supplied just enough pull for his dual tires on the back to make it out of the hole. The sun was setting and he said they had told him just deliver what he could for the day, and he concluded he was done. We shook hands as he thanked me again, and that was that.
Prophetic: Being normal means you stand out
Peter and Paul describe what is normal to us – faith, moral excellence, knowledge of the Lord, self-control, consistency, godliness, brotherly and agape’ love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, patience (consistency), meekness, kindness – the character of God and fruit of the Spirit – but that is not normal in the world around us, but should be for us. (II Peter 1: 5-10, Galatians 5: 22-23)
One of the things the Lord said during January’s 2 visitations included His focus on His body growing up, specifically He mentioned ‘fad’ doctrines and distractions in social and other media and those who have left their first love, for Him, by many of these distractions.
He spoke of how a person can exclaim their love for Him while wrapping it in meaningless distractions on social media and the busy-ness of life – some even ‘witnessing’ for Him in public and rejoicing in that, while ignoring what He is really trying to do in their lives. He likened them to the Laodecians who thought they needed nothing, but were in fact blind and in spiritual poverty.
He wants them growing in the above qualities of character and fruit, and dealing with their own heart and relationships around them. He explained many would rather be islands to themselves being self-deceived thinking online relationships are valid replacements in His eyes, for real relationships. He explained that for those who had an ear to hear, He was asking them to judge themselves by discipline in the voices they entertain, and join themselves with others of like precious faith.
(This does not include those who have no one around them on the same spiritual page and need to use technology to stay in touch with like minded believers. His comments were narrowed to those who purposely resist relationships and others speaking into their lives, etc)
Those qualities are the ‘normal for a believer’ description for us to be – is that who we are?
Paul calls the Galatians ‘little children’ in Galatians 4:19 and he was ‘travailing in birth again’ until Christ was formed in them. In Ephesians 4: 15 it says the Lord’s goal is that we be no more like children tossed to and fro by this teaching and that, like storm tossed debris on a sea of voices and wind, blowing us this way and that with no healthy direction in life.
That visitation is why this and next month’s series are about some of the teachings that have diluted and rendered powerless the faith of so many. Thinking they have believed gospel truth, in fact they believe the traditions of men thinking them to be God. (And some will fight tooth and nail to continue to focus on teachings which are never found in scripture nor Christian history)
But beyond that He is moving for those who have ears to hear, to direct the attention and focus of His body back to Him, to growing in Him, within a network of relationships – true relationships, not social media relationships. To a faith that is down to earth, real, simple, that is expressed through actions that go barely noticed by man but heralded in heaven.
If you want to be in the midst of what God is doing, look to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the person of peace who accepts you but doesn’t know your Jesus (like a UPS driver stuck in the snow) – that is where He is moving. He is moving where love and patience and kindness must be demonstrated, exercised in us. He is moving where people who need to be shown love and patience and kindness receive those things through us! Invest in relationships. As it was in the beginning so it must be now – more than ever. Relationships.
Home meetings are simple
Covid has reduced many auditorium churches to the size of many home based churches, and many other people are starting their own home-based churches. Acts 2:42 indicates they kept it simple: Teaching, fellowship, food, prayer. While there were often ‘go to’ houses like Philemon’s in Colossae, Lydia’s in Philippi, Aquila & Priscilla’s in Rome and later Ephesus, Nymphas in Laodecia, Justus in Corinth, Jason in Thessalonica, and so on, historically the faith grew from the 120 at Pentecost house to house, rotating homes and who led, multiplying out from there.
Those people you meet with are who we need to live with purpose for, living intentionally towards. They are elevated in our priorities in life. That is where miracles are found. That is where provision is found. “Do good to all men, but especially to the house of faith.” That statement from Galatians 6:10 is not just a metaphor, the house of faith he was talking about also included the house(s) where they met – do good to all, but especially them! Remember, the whole of the NT was written by apostles doing church in the house, writing to people doing church in the house. If you understand the NT any other way, you are taking the words of Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John out of context.
Are you moving towards stability?
Christianity saturated the Roman Empire from within, relationship to relationship, home to home, from the ground up not the top down. That is how we will change our communities, our nations – being down to earth, real, and good people. One of the main signs of the end of the age is what Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world – in context and history the gospel spread and now spreads person to person, family to family, home to home.
The characteristics Paul lays out to Timothy and Titus about those who wish to be leaders were three: Stable in godly character, stable in life, stable in faith. The Lord is trying to move all of us in these directions – stability in godliness, life, and faith – no matter how we function in the body of Christ. No matter our age. The Lord is moving us in that direction. Are we allowing Him to do that within us, even when it means rearranging our thoughts, time, friends, and priorities?
On a personal note
We will be making decisions on travel plans and meetings late this month, watch for updates in the headers in these e-newsletters and Weekly Thoughts.
We are planning on being in Bozeman, MT the weekend of July 31-Aug 1, more details to come.
We have penciled in the EU/Dutch conference for the end of May-early June time frame, but they must first allow travel from the US to the EU without a 14 day quarantine, and then the EU itself has to have freedom of travel within itself – so we will see.
We are all doing well enough, and trying to keep up with the sheer volume of people wanting to do house church or want to find one in their area. We appreciate your patience with emails especially. We were able to get Chris a new wheelchair which has an ‘arm drive’. It is a lever he pumps back and forth to propel his chair, and has a forward, neutral, and reverse setting he can adjust ‘Just like dad’s car’. He is thrilled.
I was talking with the TV producer of a well known TV Bible teacher who commented that his boss had over 250,000 people on their mailing list. I thought to myself, ‘No wonder he has his own jet’. For all the thousands we reach, there are only a comparative handful who donate to cwowi (without also getting a cd/mp3/book) – less than 500.
Those 500 are amazingly appreciated, prayed for, loved. When someone makes a donation, no matter small or large, it has a direct impact on us and we are so very thankful! They keep us going and we are so thankful. It’s just us 4, Barb and I, Brian and Amy, and a whole bunch of cwowi leaders who voluntarily invest in eternity by their time, energy, and resources to those they serve. Amazing people!
Thank you so much for being part of our lives! Blessings,
John Fenn
