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Today we will read John 11:25-26. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die - ever. Do you believe this?”

How do we even begin to probe the depths of Jesus’ words here or anywhere? We must do what we came here for, to receive His words. Here he tells a grieving Martha, whose brother Lazarus had recently died, that he, Jesus, IS the resurrection and the life. He doesn’t say He’s going to be resurrected. He says He IS the resurrection. In the same way He says He IS the life. He doesn’t have life. He isn’t just alive. He wasn’t given His life. He IS LIFE!

You and I have a bit of life. It’s temporary and it will end. We will die. We are currently alive. But He IS life. All life comes from Him. He doesn’t just get resurrected. He is resurrection. That is, He takes that which is dead and does what only He can do - gives it life again. Life is only His to give.

And those who believe in Him though they die, will live. And never die. He doubles down and says will never die - EVER!

He finishes by asking Martha…do you believe this? … Doesn’t that ring in your heart as well? Do you believe this? Believe what? A set of facts about Jesus? A doctrine, a creed? I refuse to add to Jesus’ words here. He simply says believe IN Him. I’ll take Him at His word. To believe that He IS resurrection - He IS life. I gladly entrust myself to Him.

“Jesus, how do I even start a conversation with You! It’s all from You, IN You, for You. Life and everything good is Yours by nature. And I believe You are generous and share with those who take You at Your word. You are Resurrection and Life and I am asking to receive it from You.”

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Today we will read Luke17:20-21 which says, “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come, He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable: no one will say, ‘Look here!’ of ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The Pharisees were a sect of religious Jews known for their strict interpretation and adherence to scripture. They also lived out their faith quite pretentiously. Here they are asking when the Kingdom of God will arrive.

And Jesus answer is shocking! His kingdom will not be observable. Incredible! But every other kingdom is. They come with force and violence. They have a dictator and oppress the non-compliant. How could a kingdom be anything but?

But not Jesus’ Kingdom. If it’s invisible, is it just spiritually all around us? No. It’s “In” us. “Within” us - like liquid in a cup. We contain the kingdom. We carry the presence and power of God in us. We are kingdom builders. We have Godly authority to build a lasting kingdom of which Jesus is King.

Do you believe this? Or are you sitting on your hands waiting for a yet-to-be physical kingdom? You - right now - seeking God - have. this. power. It’s happening now. You are a part. What are you doing with such power?

“God I don’t know that I even believe Jesus’ words here. They are so counter to what I’ve believed about You. But if it’s true, and if the kingdom is advancing in people like me, then I want to be active in it! Give me wisdom and strengthen me to be a Kingdom builder.”

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Today we read Matthew 5:3 which says “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

This is the first of what are known as the beatitudes spoken by Jesus. “Beatitude” comes from the latin word for blessed. Jesus says “Blessed are…” hence the word beatitude. Oxford Languages defines it as “Supreme Blessedness”. That is quite beautiful.

When we ask what is God like, the answer is - Jesus. God is like Jesus. When we ask what God feels, it’s what Jesus feels. What’s important to God? We can have a good idea by examining that which is important to Jesus. And here He tells us...

Blessed are the poor - the poor in spirit. The Kingdom! The kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

In what society are the poor the blessed ones? None that I’m aware of. We value strength, riches, capacity, good looks, charisma, self-assurance. The violent, and the winsome win elections and get power. The king is the most fit to rule.

But then there’s Jesus. And He flips it on its head. It’s not the mightiest. It’s the poorest. More specifically, the spiritually poor that own and rule the mightiest of Kingdoms - the Kingdom of heaven - or rather - the Kingdom of God Himself.

How do you respond to this? You’d be forgiven if you roll your eyes a bit since the idea is so foreign. But how do you feel? How strong are you really? How rich are you really? Are you a raging success? Are you beautiful? Are you charming? Are you self assured? Are you violent?

Or are you none of these things? Are even the potential of these things rapidly slipping through your fingers? Are you poor? Do you feel poor? If so, you’re right where Jesus says you’re most blessed. You can’t move the heart of God in your strength. But He gives the whole kingdom to the weak - the poor.

“God - I don’t feel rich. I feel poor. But I believe that’s what You want from me. And I believe that You give me the Kingdom because of it. That’s shocking. I don’t know whether to believe or disbelieve. Therefore, please give me the ability to see and know what that Kingdom is like. Help me see the way You do.”

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Today we will read 2 Samuel 6:14. This verse simply says “David was dancing with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ephod.”

This is a strange and fascinating story because of what is happening, what happened before, and what happens after.

King David’s men were bringing the Ark of the Covenant (the mystical presence of God among the people) back to Israel. A servant named Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark to steady it. Yet his gesture was not received well. God’s anger burned and killed Uzzah. And consequently David’s anger burned seemingly against God. The anger caused him to fear God more.

And then later, David is dancing, mightily. He’s not holding back. Wearing a linen ephod. Who knows what that looked like, and why it matters. But it’s there.

Later in the day the king meets up with his wife Michael. She chastises him for his lack of dignity. For his extravagant worship that seemed beneath a king. David doubled down and promised to give it even more energy next time. For Michael’s part, she was unable to conceive and reproduce because of this.

This story is strange, and there are many others like it. Remember we don’t approach scripture to answer every question, but rather we receive it from God. God is different than you think or I think. He is more energetic, more involved, more strange, more holy, better…yes far better than we could imagine. King David was far from perfect, as we are. And yet He was a man after God’s heart.

We like him, would do well to consider the harsh realities we see, the strangeness we perceive, and respond with true feeling, and extravagant response in our spirits and our bodies. Perhaps this isn’t how we’d naturally assume God to be, or our response. But it may be more true to His essence, and ours.

“God, sometimes You scare me. You always thrill me. But You are worth the pursuit. I’ll give even more to celebrate You and to know You. Reveal Yourself.”

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Today we will read Romans 1:20. “For His invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result people are without excuse.”

We are not the first to ponder the glory of the heavens and we won’t be the last. Since humans first looked to the stars and asked, “How did this happen?” we have been asking the same questions.

There are some things we can know about God because the heavens are revelation in their own right. They reveal His power, capacity, divine nature. These attributes are invisible. While we don’t see Him, we see His art. In fact we are part of His artistic expression. And we have a mind to contemplate it.

You would wonder why everyone isn’t contemplating God all the time. After all, there isn’t anything we experience or interact with that isn’t His creation. And yet many ignore Him. And because His art is so apparent, they are without excuse.

But for a worshipper, the prevalence of creative beauty compels us forward to pursue Him more and more. To at least ask this invisible God to reveal Himself more. It shouldn’t surprise us then that He reveals Himself in invisible ways. The visible plane is saturated. It’s the invisible, the spiritual where we most need Him now.

“God I look around. Anywhere, and I see You. Your power is on full display. That is obvious. And if Your artwork is this splendid, what does that say about You? I wish I could know You more. Come meet with me.”

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Today we will read 2 verses. Proverbs 18:10 and then verse 11. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.” And then verse 11, “A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall.”

These may not seem like a pair at first glance. But maybe they are. The name - YAWHEH - is a strong tower. Those who run to it are “protected?” Literally it means they are lifted up. They are elevated out of harms way. What is the Lord’s Name? Our names are combinations of arbitrary sounds. But not YAHWEH. When He revealed His “name” to Moses it was more of a description. “Yahweh is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, rich in faithful love. Forgiving wrongdoing but also One Who brings justice.” This is a good God - and if we’re honest, we wouldn’t want Him to be any different.

The righteous run to this Name. Do you? Are you willing to believe God is this self-description? How does that affect how you approach Him? Contrast that with verse 11. “A rich man’s wealth.” It’s his fortified city - he believes it to be a high wall. A high wall - lifted up - protected.

What protects you? Is it wealth? If you have wealth is your faith in it? If you don’t have wealth, do you pursue it as though it will protect you? Of course, money is something - it isn’t nothing. But it only takes a small accident, a tragedy, a funeral, even a birthday party, to realize that money is powerless ultimately.

But God - God is the real power. He has all resource. He has all time. And He is good. Run to Him. Take refuge in Him. “God I believe this. I don’t exactly know how to take refuge in You except to say that I believe You. I lean on You to be my protection and my provision. I need You.”

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Today we will read Philippians 1:6. This verse says, “I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Who is responsible for You? You might say yourself. And in most ways we ask the question, you’d be right. But if we get a higher view, there is Someone Who has taken responsibility for you long ago. That’s God. God is the One Who began a work - and not any work - a good work - in you. And it is on Him, not you, to complete it.

Let’s acknowledge then a couple things. First, it’s not complete yet. You may have noticed that you still struggle. Perhaps you struggle more or less with the same things you’ve struggled with for years or decades. You may wonder if God is through with you. Far from it! God will see to it that the good work is completed until the Day of Christ Jesus! Perhaps we’ll ponder what that Day is another time.

Our second acknowledgement is that we are once again thrown onto the altar of God’s character. If God had a limit, a governor, a measure of patience, then we’d have for sure maxed out. But we are dealing with a Being of infinite resource. The good work He is seeing to is based on Who He is - not who we are. While mysterious, we can allow this reality to fill us with confidence (not in ourselves) but in Him. He is our confidence.

“God there are days I’m ashamed to even show up here. But no matter, You are the One doing the good work. You took this responsibility on Yourself. You are the Hero - not me. You’re amazing! I want to be receptive to the good work you are doing in and around me.”