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When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:51-62 NRSV)
May the blessings of the Lord Jesus be with you and yours during this Monday, dear Friend! I pray time in prayer and study bring rich and wonderful blessings to you. As we pray, let us raise our praises to the Lord for answered prayers. Mr. Bill Keck is home as of Saturday. He and Willa were overjoyed to leave the hospital and spend a couple of days with their son, and then to come home. We thank You, Lord! Please continue to pray for the family of Rosaline Neuse, whose funeral was Saturday, and for the family of Patricia Ray, a delightful woman who blessed Nellie and me when I was her pastor at FUMC-San Marcos. She had a memorial service on Saturday as well. May God's comfort be with all who mourn these two or others whom may have passed away during these days. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
Nellie and I have had our share of laughter and delight with each of our four girls' especially when one of them had set their face to doing something. The most memorable was our youngest when we lived behind the church in Mission, TX. Across the street from the church was the butcher shop where we bought our meat. One afternoon, Nellie, and I, walked to the shop to buy meat for the week. Caty, our youngest, saw us leaving and decided she needed to join us. She was determined! She chose a pair of Mom's shoes, and put them on, and filled a bag with clothes, and comically started out the back door and down the alley towards the street. Thankfully, our daughter Nellie saw her, and ran to get her. There's no stopping a person who has "set their face" to a task. Nowadays, we might say they're "in the zone."
Jesus was in the zone. He knew the importance and magnitude of His mission. Jerusalem was the city where it would all take place. Jesus sends messengers ahead of Him. All that needed to happen, the room where Jesus would have supper, the foal, donkey, etc., all had been taken care of by Jesus. This even included a stop in a city that did not want to receive Him, but it didn't matter; the bigger plan was now in motion and there would be nothing nor no one that could stop it. The disciples reacted like probably you and I might have; "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them?" (I might have added, "Please?? Please??"). Okay, I would have understood the rebuke from Jesus.
Some timeless lessons follow on the road to Jerusalem. A well meaning would-be follower of Jesus comes to volunteer himself. HIs offer seems sincere,"I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answers honestly, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." The person probably decided a nice warm bed in one's home was better than the challenge of following Jesus in the way Jesus demanded. Jesus invites another with the famous, "Follow me." But, this man says, "Lord, let me go and bury my father." William Barclay in his multi-volume collection of commentaries on the New Testament explains it this way. Whenever a person said let me go and bury my father, they were in effect saying, "While my dad lives I have to comply with what he has asked of me; let me serve him until he dies and then I can follow you." You can understand that no one knows how long or how short that might be. Yet, the concluding part of Jesus' command, "but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." In other words, whatever excuse you might think you have, you still have the greater obligation of sharing Jesus. A third one comes and sort of offers himself, if he can first say farewell to his family at home. Jesus responds with an illustration that most everyone would understand; that of plowing. No one can plow who cannot keep his/her head towards the work ahead, not behind. We want straight rows, not crazy ones. To follow Christ involves setting your face towards the task. Turn back and lament "could-have-beens" is not healthy. There is nothing sadder than to hear someone say, "Had I married this person I would have been here," or "Had I stayed with the career I had before God called me into ministry I could have been (title) or making (Salary)." Onward and upward should be our motto. When The Beatles, the group that would become the number one group in the world, encountered setbacks or huge obstacles, their leader would ask, "Where are we going boys?" And they had been taught by him, John Lennon, to say, "To the topper most of the poppermost, Johnny!" meaning to the tops of the pop music scene.
So, our question for today remains: Have we set our faces towards what God has called us to? Are we full in, and in the zone for Jesus? Any doubt or question threatening to derail your faith? Now is not the time to doubt, but the time for action. Now is the time to proclaim the Kingdom of God as Jesus ordered. The writer of Hebrews said it best, "Now Fatih is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews11:1). Note the key words, assurance, which means no doubt - you are sure of Who you believe in. And hope is an awesome word that means possibilities and salutations and ways out still exist and are still available to those who hope. Then we have the word Conviction, which is a word that runs deep, a certainty of, get this, "things not seen." It's one thing to believe in something you've seen; it's a God thing to believe with absolute certainty in something you have not seen. The world may mock us, Satan may taunt us, but God honors those who have faith.
So how do we set our face? We turn and look to Jesus. Our faith is in Him and He will guide and bless us. Our face set to Jesus is all about prayer. And prayer involves as much listening as talking; we share with God in prayer, and after Amen, we listen to see what God may be saying. It is about learning more about Him through scripture reading and study. It's all about worship and the realization that we place God in His proper place in our lives and we allow Him to guide us.
PRAYER: Loving God, help us set our face towards You. We know You will show us the road and You will guide us. We want to proclaim you in whatever setting or opportunity You send. We want to glorify You. Increase our faith, with an assurance, a hope, and a conviction that will withstand all the darts the enemy may shoot at me. It's in Christ Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be Faith in action today! Let Christ shine in and through you!
Blessings of love,
Eradio Valverde
