What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

Scripture: “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” Luke 18:41

Observation: Jesus comes upon a blind beggar, who cries out for Jesus to have mercy on him. Then Jesus asks him this question, “What do you want me to do for you?” At first, this seems like a question with an obvious answer. But the beggar could have been asking for a few coins. He could have asked for comfort, maybe a night off of the street. Jesus asks to get this man to specifically state what he wanted. And what he wanted was huge—healing of his sight. Only the Lord could do this. This beggar had the desperate faith to ask for the impossible.

Application: When I am praying, I need to really ponder Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?” What am I really asking for? Am I asking for a simple solution, the removal of a problem? What faith stretching request am I really bringing to him? And am I prepared to ask for more than a few coins, but for the impossible?

Prayer: God, as I pray, help me pray much larger and bolder. Show me where my prayers are small.

Letting God Redirect our Expectations

Scripture: As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ. Luke 3:15

Observation: The people were waiting for the Messiah. The way John talked, with such authority and certainty, maybe he was the messiah they were expecting. But John redirected their expectations away from him. Their core expectation was correct—waiting for a messiah. But they were off a bit in their expression of that expectation.
Sometimes our expectations are right, but we have the details wrong. This can be key for us as we are learning to be people of expectation.

Application: This hit home for me yesterday. I spoke with a friend who was struggling with expecting God. This person found it easy to expect God in things that were clear, like the salvation of a friend, but difficult to expect God in things that were not clear, like personal hopes and dreams. The question they asked was, “How do we know if our expectations are on track?” That is a tough one.
I think John helps us here. Maybe our desires give us guidance, but we need direction from God as to specifically how he will meet those expectations. The people desired a messiah; John redirected them away from him. Maybe some of the expectations we have are desires put there by God. We should still expect. But maybe the specific expression we are waiting for might be need further direction from God to the incredible way He will meet them.
We are people of expectation. We need to continue to listen to God to allow him to specifically direct or redirect our desires to the right expressions of those expressions. Sometimes this may take a few moments, like Luke 3. Sometimes it might take years. But we know that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts—the truest, deepest, God honoring expression of our desires.

Prayer: God, let me get to the heart of the expectations I desire. Let me keep in constant contact with you, that you can redirect my desires towards your best plan for me. Help me keep from putting too many details to the expectations I have of you.

Ode to Joy

Scripture: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! …And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Luke 1:42, 45

Observation: Mary is doubly blessed. First she is blessed because she gets to bear the Son of God. Second, she is blessed because she believed God would do what He said. She expected God’s word to come true.
Although Mary bore Christ in a unique, unrepeatable way, all believers in Christ also bear him wherever they go. They bear him at home, at work, in the gym, at Starbucks. We are Christ bearers, carriers of the Christ where we live, work, and play. And so we are blessed. But we are doubly blessed if we also believe God’s word and expect him to fulfill all he has said to us.

Application: There is great joy found in Mary’s Magnificat, her ode to joy over God’s grace and gift. But I can also know the joy of God’s blessing. I can bear Christ today to those around me. I can expect God to fulfill His word to me. These things get me excited and fill me with song just like Mary. While Mary’s role is unique, I am so thankful God so freely shares his blessings with me.

Prayer: God, today as I study Acts for the message Sunday on sharing your truth with others, help me to hear from you correctly, that I might help our people know the truth and enjoy the blessing of bearing Christ where they live, work, and play.

Expecting to Catch Fish

Scripture: And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

Observation: Simon Peter and his friends were fishermen. They knew how to fish. They had years of experience. They knew the currents, they knew the seasons. They knew how to do their jobs well. Along comes Jesus who tells them to go to a certain spot and let their nets down and they will catch fish. I am sure the fishermen were tired—they had worked all night. I am sure they were discouraged—they caught nothing. I am sure they believed there were not any fish to be caught in the spot Jesus pointed them to—if there were, these experienced fishermen would have caught some. They had no reason to expect to catch one fish…except Jesus’ words. They obeyed, they dropped their nets, and they caught so many fish their nets broke.

Application: When God shows up, he restores our expectations. When I look at a situation and think, “I am tired, I am discouraged, nothing will happen,” then I am looking like a fisherman and not a disciple. I don’t expect because I don’t have the faith to see that God can reverse trends and directions. I am sure there were no fish to be caught that day. But God did in a moment what a night of work could not.
God wants to reach people for Christ at Pulpit Rock. In some ways, we are like those weary fishermen. We have worked hard, we have been discouraged by a lack of fish, and we have lost expectation that there is anything to be done. But God has been showing up, calling us to go out and drop our nets. He is doing more than helping us change some lives. He is restoring our expectations. Our expectation that on our own, there are no fish. But with God, all things are possible.

Prayer: God, this restoration of expectation is the clearest call I have heard in awhile. It is your call for Pulpit Rock (and me) in 2010. I do not know how to do it. You have to show up and speak. You have to point to the deep and say “Drop your nets there.” You have to lead me and our people to say, “But at your word, I will.” O God, please do this and our mouths will be filled with laughter.