The Wine of Choice

Well, I was getting ready to teach my Sunday School class (10-12 year-olds) again this Sunday. I had a couple of new students and was explaining how I like to do things. My plan was to teach on Adam and Eve and explain the curses and promises God pronounced, but before I start teaching, I like to do a little Bible Trivia. I was explaining to the new students that I like it as a starting activity, and it helps me see what kind of things they know and don't know. I told them that sometimes, if I think it's just too ridiculous that they don't know something, I will change my plan and teach on the question they don't know.

So, I took out a trivia card, and I picked the easiest (I thought) question there: What did Jesus turn water into at a wedding ceremony?
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. . . In a class of eight, two thought they knew. One thought that it was blood, which at least happened in Genesis with Moses, but really. . .

So I taught on Jesus' first miracle.

It's found in John 2. I'll include it here in the New Living Translation. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202&version=NLT)

John 2
New Living Translation (NLT)

The Wedding at Cana

2 The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

There are a few things I want to point out about this passage.

First, it clearly states that this is the FIRST miracle Jesus performed. "This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory."

Up to this point in Jesus' life, he was the son of Mary. We can tell by the lack of mention of Joseph during all of the accounts of Jesus' ministry that Joseph must have died in the years before. And based on what we know of Jewish tradition and culture, we know that Jesus, as the oldest son, would have been the provider for Mary and would have continued Joseph's work.

When we see Jesus in the book of John, He is roughly thirty years old. Presumably, He has turned over the carpentry business to one of the other sons, but in chapter 1, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist, and the Spirit of God comes down, and God's voice can be heard to say the Jesus is God's "beloved Son, in whom [God] is well pleased."

This marks the point where Jesus officially takes on the role of the Son of God/Messiah. This is where He begins His ministry. It is right after this that He begins to call His first disciples--some of whom witnessed the baptism; some did not.

And then, in chapter 2, it says "The next day. . ." The next day after He starts His ministry and His new role. . .

Mary was invited to a wedding--Weddings were huge community events that usually involved inviting most of the people in their villages or towns--so, Jesus was invited too, and so were His disciples. What follows is a great testimony to the character of Jesus that I think most people overlook.

When the hosts ran out of wine, they told Mary, and she told Jesus. . . Most of us would naturally think that this made sense, after all, don't we go to Jesus when we need something? But remember this: Up to this point, Jesus had never performed a miracle. . . (Let that sink in)

Mary turned to Jesus and told Him what the problem was. Jesus, knowing that they weren't responsible for the wedding, and fully aware that His purpose was now to First be God's chosen man and Secondly to be the son of Mary responded, “Dear woman, that’s not our problem. My time has not yet come.”

Jesus knows that providing wine for people was not what He was "there for."

But here's where the testimony comes in. Mary turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. She totally ignores Jesus' comment that this wasn't their problem and then puts it all on the line TRUSTING THAT HE CAN TAKE CARE OF IT.

Now if Jesus hasn't been performing miracles His whole life, Mary's trust here indicates that when Jesus was put in charge of something--no matter what--it was taken care of. Mary had no reason to believe that Jesus was going to work a miracle, but she apparently had every reason to believe that it didn't matter--without miracles, Jesus was the kind of man that could be depended on.

This is so important! So many of us are quick to dismiss Jesus as a life example where day-to-day living is concerned because "well, He's Jesus; He can do anything." Well, for thirty years He did it the same way we do. . . Kind of takes the wind out of that argument, doesn't it?

This means that for thirty years, Jesus did it the hard way, and He only had the miracles for three years. He spent 90% of His life doing things the same way we do. . . or SHOULD do.

Anyway (I hadn't actually meant to go there; it just sort of came out).

So Mary put Jesus on the spot, and what did Jesus do? He told the servants to go fill the jars for the ceremonial washing jars with water and serve the master of ceremonies. And turned the water into wine.

The question I asked my Sunday School students was this: "Why?"

Why, after telling His mother that this wasn't why He was here, that it wasn't their problem, Why did He go ahead and do it?

The first answer, I'm proud to say, the students came up with after discussing it: He was honoring His mother--she trusted Him, and He took care of her.

The second goes a bit deeper. Remember: Jesus has been baptised into His official ministry; He's entered the period where He "does what the Father does and says what the Father says."

So what does this miracle say about the Father who made it come true? Remember also, that Jesus has been a businessman for years, and in a way that left His mother without any doubt that He could take care of things. Jesus COULD have made arrangements for a local dealer of wine to deliver more wine, or He could have done it any number of ordinary ways, but He didn't. God stepped in and showed Jesus' glory. . . WHY?

Well, what was accomplished?

The most obvious thing that was accomplished was what the scripture comes right out and says in verse 11: "And His disciples believed in Him." This could have been just about encouraging the disciples to really believe what they were suspecting about this strange and fascinating man.

But that could have waited. . . why THIS?

So we look closely. This is the first miracle, but it's not a healing, no one was raised from the dead, nothing profound was taught. . . He just save someone from embarrassment and helped people in a celebration.

Stop and consider that for a moment though. How often do we think of God as someone who can step in when things are too bad for us to handle? God is the God who can make a way when there is no way. Amen.

But how often do we think about God as someone who cares if we're embarrassed? Or that He would do something just to make a party better? Just so we'd have a good time. Remember: The wine wasn't just wine; it was the best wine.

So why did God choose to step in here? He cares about people. He cares enough that He'll step in even when the world isn't at stake. He could have done anything He wanted to "first reveal Christ's glory," but what did He do? He chose to join a party and do an act of personal kindness.

Why was the wine the best wine? Because "only the best" for the ones God loves.


Drink deeply.

My Name is Benjamin . . . NOT Ben

Ok.

So, when I was about eighteen, I generally went by the nick-name "Ben." I've found that most people automatically shorten the name Benjamin without thinking about it. It was just easier to go by "Ben" than to correct people, and, truth be told, when I was younger, I wanted kids to like me, and "Benjamin" sounded like a "nerd name," or so I was told.

Well, (back to when I was eighteen) my pastor preached a sermon on the names of different people in the Bible. He paid special attention to the names of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Daniel 1:6-7

6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

My pastor explained that each of them had names that honored God, but it was the practice of the Babylonians to change the names of their captives. This was a way to rob them of their national identity--really, it was a way to tell them who they were, period. If I can change your name, I can tell you anything I want about you--what to eat, how to dress, what to think of yourself. Also, when you claim the right to name someone or something, you accept ownership of it, as in the way that parents name their children.

Each of the Hebrew young men had a name that included something of God, either the "ah" (like the breath of God as was added to Abram's name making it "AbrAHam") or the "el" (a name of God as in "El Shadai").

DaniEL -- God is my Judge
HananiAH -- God has favoured
MishaEL -- who is what God is
AzariAH -- Jehovah has helped

Belteshazzar = "lord of the straitened's treasure"
Shadrach = "royal" or "the great scribe"
Meshach = "guest of a king"
Abed-nego = "servant of Nebo"

I could pend a great deal of time on the word study, but that is not my purpose here. I may go into it later though.

The point is that this message really got my attention.

I have always known what my name means: Benjamin = Son of my right hand (an expression that means Son of Favor/ Son of strength/ Son of(with) Authority)

I also knew the story where Jacob changed his youngest son's name from Ben-oni (son of suffering) to Benjamin.

So. . . here's where things get interesting for me. I had many issues where my relationship with God was concerned, not to mention who I was supposed to be or . . . whatever. I felt like there were many expectations of me, but I didn't even know who I was or what I was supposed to do. Then I hear this message from the pulpit, and something about it "rang true" for me.

For the next week or so, every time someone would talk about me and I'd hear the phrase "Ben and I did such and such, instead of hearing "Ben and I," I heard "Ben-oni." So, in effect, every time someone said they did something with me, I heard "Son of suffering."

I probably don't have to tell you that, for someone with identity and self-worth issues, this was NOT cool.

It finally got to be so annoying that I turned to God.
"Are You trying to tell me something?!"

"Yes." I wasn't actually expecting an answer; I just thought my brain was fixating on the whole "name thing, but that "yes" was as clear as I could have hoped for.

Then God said, "I called you to be Son of Favor, not Son of nothing." This took me a second, but then I realized that "Ben" is a Hebrew prefix that means "Son of. . ." So, by going by "Ben," it was like I was calling myself "Son of . . . . what?" I had allowed myself to be called what others wanted to call me (no harm meant by them), and to let them change who I saw myself to be (this is part of a MUCH longer backstory), and by not accepting God's definition of who I was, I was leaving myself without the identity He'd planned for me, which was the source of my "suffering."

God told me that day that He claimed me--deliberately, specifically. He claimed the right to name me; He was calling me "Son."

So, I'm Benjamin, NOT Ben.

Who are you? :) (here's a hint: It has to do with being LOVED by Him)

WORD to your problems

I have had the honor of teaching the Wednesday night adult class at church for several weeks now. This has been happening even while I was finishing up my internship (and my degree--hallelujah!), and I have needed to overcome some serious mental and emotional stresses to be able to share.

Things did not go as expected during my internship. They all ended up well, but there were points where I wasn't sure if it was even worth finishing. It was even traumatic at a couple points.

At possibly the worst time in the experience, when I was ready to throw in the towel, crawl under the house, and sleep the world away, I had to teach on a Wednesday night.

I didn't know how I was going to be able to do it. I was struggling so much, but I'd been given a word from God through my pastor the previous Wednesday night. The word began with an acknowledgement of things I'd been through in the past, things I'd tried and failed at, things I'd never mentioned to anyone. They weren't major things, but they were significant to me--especially since I don't talk about them. Those things seemed petty in the grand scheme of things. But the word given to me that night started with God saying that they weren't petty to Him.  It was an eye-opening way of saying "Hey, before you hear what I'm going to say, you need to REALLY understand that this is ME--God, and I KNOW you."

What followed was a confirmation that I have been called to teach the Word, and that God had given me a special mantle for understanding and explaining the Word. God knew me, and had appointed me to be what I was and meant that I should know it in a very real way.

I had to deny the mental and emotional mess I was in and reject what the "evidence" around me was saying. To do this, I NEEDED that word from God. I had to know (and hold on to that knowledge) that God was happy with who I was and what I had accomplished (so far). It was one of the most difficult struggles I've gone through to date. Interestingly enough, I had also taught on rehearsing God's truths to "transform us through the renewing of our minds" that same week, so I had a bit of a pride issue going on: You know--"you just told all of them how you're supposed to get through this kind of thing, so did you believe it or were you just blowing 'pretty words' out there to sound good?"

Well, I did believe what I'd said. So I grabbed tight to it and plunged in. I got my Bible out and began studying for the lesson I was going to share that night, and within 15 minutes, I felt a supernatural peace flood through me. It was beyond my understanding. My problems were still there. I still had to deal with everything, but it was okay. I was in my "God place."  I shared all this that Wednesday night.

The next week started out well, but gradually the weight of the problems I was facing drew me down. It wasn't as bad this time, but that's like saying "he only knock out my teeth this time." The thing was, I still had that word from God, and this time, I had an experience to hold on to as well--God met me where I was, showed me that He cared, and did it in a way that showed He knew what I'd need before I needed it.

I got a call that Wednesday night to teach again. I laughed out loud. God was apparently trying to teach me something.

The same thing happened again. Not as profoundly this time, but that doesn't make it any less amazing.  I did need as much this time, but God still showed up. (Hello awesomeness!)

I have been teaching every week since, and SOMETHING crazy has happened either through the week or (for the past two weeks) something happened on Wednesday starting at about 3 PM. Two weeks ago, I was doing great. All was well, and then, around 2:30/3:00 I suddenly had a MASSIVE headache, dizziness, and exhaustion. I got home from picking up my kids from school, and hit the bed.
I woke up at about 5:30, and the first thing I thought of was "I have to teach tonight!" (Church starts at 6:30) "who can I get to cover?" But I didn't WANT someone else to cover. I truly LOVE to share God's Word.
Then I remembered the weeks that God met me when I had problems, and I decided that before I called someone else to do the class, I was going to give God the opportunity to do physically what He had done mentally/spiritually.

He did. By the time I got to church, I felt so much better, and by the end of church that night, I felt fine.

This week (LOL) At about 3, a little cough I'd been dealing with got suddenly worse, and I nearly lost my voice.  I was at a bit more than a whisper.

So, I went to my Bible and started studying. . . . . and nothing. I could be heard, but it was pretty rough. But I wasn't about to give up without a try. So I figured that I would just go, and if they couldn't hear me, or it was too unpleasant to listen to, someone else could share.

I shared, they listened, and it was good.  God didn't heal me, or do some supernatural intervention in my heart, but He DID let a guy with almost no voice, talk for an hour and share His word anyway.

A couple of people said it was one of the best messages they'd heard in a while. That, my friends, is ALL God.

Just thought I'd share. ;)

Day is done. . .

Well, I'm closing the book on another chapter of my life. I have finished my internship and turned in my last assignment. I'm just waiting for confirmation from my teacher that all is acceptable and I'm done.

It's kind of strange. I can't even begin to describe how glad I am that it's finally finished (Lord willing). But this has been a major focal point of my life for nearly five years now--this has been my "reality."

I find it difficult to trust the feeling of freedom that I want to feel right now. Something in the back of my head keeps whispering, "You don't need to get comfortable. As soon as you think you can relax, something else is going to jump up and require your undivided attention."

But here's the thing: I came into this whole "Go to school/Become a teacher" thing because I believed that God was calling me here. I STILL believe that this whole journey was God's plan. (I have learned so much about myself, and GOD, that I would gladly have gone through it all for just that). I went into this with the attitude that just because God was calling me to the Education program (Teaching Degree), that didn't mean He was necessarily going to call me to be a teacher. I was pretty sure that was what He had in mind, but He has thrown me some curve balls in the past (and I'm okay with that), but I wanted to make sure that I kept in mind that He might have other things for me to get out of the experience--other than getting a degree.

And I have gained much.
I have struggled through this process. Many times I came very close to quitting. I'm talking about standing in front of the Admin building ready to walk in and resign, email typed and ready to send, phone in hand number dialed and . . .  you get the idea.  I have been stressed to the point of illness. And I've questioned God's plan for me in this over and over.
Many times I decided that God couldn't want me to teach, so WHY should I finish this, only to have God re-kindle a passion for connecting with students or some other thing. (He repeatedly gave me what I needed to hold on "just a little bit longer.")

I finished this thing. And there is something REALLY significant about pushing through difficulties and completing a thing.

I had a chance to work in both the public schools and in the private schools, and I have come to a conclusion: I don't want to teach in a school.

As I have learned how to be a better teacher (and student), I have applied what I learned in my Christian walk. This includes the time I spent teaching the Tweens in Sunday school, and moved into the opportunities I've had teaching the adults on Wednesday nights.

I've opened up new things in my own Bible studying and been able to share those things in a way I didn't even know was possible a few years ago. I've learned so much about how to communicate with a purpose, that has helped me deliver a message that is IMPORTANT to me.

THIS is what I want to teach. I want to open up God's Word and share the AMAZING author of wondrous thing. If I'm going to pour over a text and spend time and energy preparing to share information, I want it to MEAN something. I want it to be something WORTH sharing.

I also want time to devote to the passion that I have kept buried for years and years. I want time to write the stories that dance around in my head. I feel very strongly that God has a plan for me where writing is concerned. (I'll go ahead and say that I'm prepared for this too to be a direction that could lead somewhere other than being a full-time author.)

So.
I will have a degree, but more importantly, I'll have the education and the life experience that came with that degree.

God may call me to a classroom one day. If He does, I'll go.

For now, this chapter of my life is complete. I have but to turn the page and see what's coming next. I don't know what the future holds, and I'm not sure what paths I'll eventually travel, but I know one thing: I won't be alone, and it won't be meaningless.

Good night, everybody.
Until next time,
God bless!

Last Time, On Blogspot. . .

Well, I began my internship at one school, and was moved to another school and told I'd have to start over. This was okay because of circumstances to complicated to relate in anything short of a very boring book. And, the school I was moved to is a Christian school where I was given the opportunity to take classes over and run the way I wanted.

My time at this new school has been a blessing. I've made some really good friends with the staff and some great connections with the students. I've been there for 4-5 weeks now, and I just got word that my college supervisors are satisfied with my performance so: Good news is I can be done whenever I'm ready (they suggested that today be my last day), Bad news is I hate to leave.

The staff at this school have really welcomed me in--they have even offered me a position (a paying one). I have had to pray hard about this. It's so tempting to want to say yes to people who so openly want you. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but my wife and I have sought God in this, and we both feel that God is calling me somewhere else.

So, next Friday will be my last official day as an intern. All I will lack is typing up all of the documentation I have built up and turn it all in, and then, I'll have my degree.

This has been a long and crazy journey. I've learned so much about myself, my God, and so many other things, that I can't even begin to put it into words.

So.

Here I am.

Take a deep breath.

Let's go.