John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

My parents recently visited my wife and me. While they were here, my father shared a special insight into the story of the wedding at Cana (John 2:1–12) that I’d never run across before and would like to share with you.

Recall the story: at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he and his first disciples are invited to a wedding. During the course of the wedding celebration, the party ran out of wine. Mary, Jesus’ mother, noticed this and brought it to Jesus’ attention, telling him “They have no wine.”

Jesus responds with the quote above: “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour is not yet come.”

Mary then turns to the servants and says “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus orders the servants to fill several large stone jars with water, draw some out, and offer it to the master of the feast. When they did so, the master of the feast went to the bridegroom and said “Everyone serves the best wine first, and when people have had quite a bit, then the poor wine. But you’ve saved the best wine until now!”

At the end of the story, we’re told: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” His disciples apparently heard where the wine had come from, but there’s no indication that the rest of the wedding party ever did.

After recalling the story for me, my dad asked this question: “So if it’s not Jesus’ time, whose time is it?”

I think my response went something like this: “Uhh ... the servants’ time?” I really wasn’t sure and was taking a stab in the dark. Then Dad recalled the context for me: Jesus is at a wedding. Imagine yourself at a wedding, asked this question: “Whose time is it?” The light dawns: it’s the bride and groom’s time. If Jesus publically does a miracle here, the spotlight and attention is going to move from them to him. It will then be His time, and everyone will remember it as Jesus’ first miracle (as we do now, and Jesus’ disciples probably did) rather than their wedding. By choosing a subtle method, where only the servants and his disciples knew what he had done, Jesus does a beautiful job of saving the groom from embarrassment and keeps the spotlight on the bride and groom and their happiness. He shows a fine sense of tact.

It is a pleasing thing, to see that Jesus not only cares about saving face for a friend, but is wise enough to find a way to do it without drawing attention to himself.

As one last note, in many of the miracles of the Bible, it’s worth asking the question: who is demonostrating faith? It seems to be God’s perferred mode of action: to move in response to prayer through people acting in faith that He’ll do something. God loves to be bet on. And the way I read it, my initial answer to my Dad’s question isn’t so far off after all: it is the servants who demonstrate faith. The story doesn’t say that they tasted the wine first before daring to offer it to the master of the feast. The master of the feast was not surprised that it was wine: he was surprised that it was good wine, so it’s not likely that the servants said to him “Sir, can you please try this water for us?” It appears to me that they had faith in Jesus, and did what he told them to.

May we do the same.

-Dan L.-

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

2 Corinthians 6:8-10, ESV

I began these thoughts quite some time ago, but never finished them or showed them to others. Now that I’m filling in for Nathan for a time, I bring them out again in hopes they edify you.

A while back, I was reading a classic book on time management, called How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein. One of the many good suggestions in the book was to draw up a list of one’s priorities, spending time to think about what’s really important, things that I really wanted to do. In rough order, I came up with

1. To walk with God and do the work He gives me.
2. To love my wife.
3. To raise wise children (which I don’t have yet)
4. To be an excellent, virtuoso programmer.

Not bad goals. Could probably do with some fine-tuning, and I may have missed other important things that should have been included.

But those goals are incomplete. As I thought about the way I actually spend my life as opposed to the way I feel I ought to spend my life, it turns out I have another priority that wars against the others and strives to be first, or at least to be recognized.

I desperately want to be happy. When I look at how I spend my free time, as I play my games and read my books, and probe my motivations for doing so, I do it because I find so much happiness/pleasure in it.

The drive to be happy is a fairly universal one: I think all people share it. Christianity has a mixed reputation regarding happiness: both without and within. Certainly the outside world doesn’t regard Christians as having a great deal of fun: there’s a widespread thought that one should first get in all your fun before committing your life to God, ’cause you aren’t going to have much fun afterward. But we Christians are also conflicted about it. Look at our religious paintings of Jesus and great saints of the past few thousand years: there’s a lot of stern, longsuffering expressions. Very few smiles, grins, or laughs.

As I looked deeper into my heart’s thoughts and feelings toward God, I discovered a deep-seated fear that total submission to God would be the end of fun. That God’s desire for me (if He could get it) was a life of ceaseless toil in furthering His kingdom. For me, the desire to do what is right and the desire to be happy are frequently opposed. Much of that is because my desire to do right has great intentions to spend my life in ceaseless toil for God’s kingdom, and few intentions to spend my life rejoicing.

Satan easily twists a desire to do right into a desire to get things done for God, whether or not God wants things done. He easily tempts the desire for pleasure down any number of destructive/wasteful paths. But the truth is that all the desires of our hearts can only be satisfied in Him. Our desire for work, for purpose, for righteousness finds its satisfaction in Him, as does our longing for joy and for happiness.

Do you truly, truly believe that God is serious in His command to “rejoice in the Lord always”?

One final thought: as we come to God and submit to Him, we must do so without reservations. You cannot attach demands onto your submission, including your happiness. We trust that in Him is the fulfillment of all the desires of our heart, but we must submit to Him whether or not those desires feel fulfilled. It is not a “deal” we are striking with God, where we agree to surrender and He agrees to make us happy. It is an unconditional surrender, trusting in the goodness of the conqueror. And it is perhaps the most frightening experience of life. Particularly as it must be renewed again and again: after all, “the problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar.”

-Dan L.-

Matthew 6:31 “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'”

The provision of God is amazing. The love of God is astounding. The patience of God is awesome. Patience? Yes, patience. We all know God is patient, but here we see just how patient He continues to be. Despite our worrisome personalities He continues to remind us to aim and to try and attain what is right.

Back in high school, I tried to play sports. I say that I tried because comparatively I was not very good at them. I was decent at running track and field events and I could have become much better at it if I had stayed for more than one track season. In that season my coach forced me to run. My coach forced me to practice. My coach also instructed me in the basics such as starting from the block and how to maintain form throughout the race. A good start at the beginning is only part of the race and is an important part of it, but it is not the only important thing. Maintaining proper form for the duration of the race is also a key part of running. Someone who practices their starts and maintaining form despite all that may occur in a race is much more likely to win than someone who can run faster but is unable to keep form. Reliance, total reliance on God is one of the aspects of maintaining our form for the race of life.

To trust God is difficult, much like pacing myself during a race, despite the pounding sound of the guy right behind me or the guy edging past me in the next lane. I want to push my arms hards, push my legs, bend forward and try that much harder. When I do that, I feel that I am doing more and working and running faster, but did you know that it only slows me down? If I maintain an upright upper body and keep my cadence, my stride is lengthened to the most efficient yet also the longest that I am safely capable of utilizing. My arms, staying tightly controlled instead of becoming more erratic just reinforce the motion of my legs, increasing my speed instead of taking strength from my legs and I actually run as fast as I am capable at the moment although I do not feel like I am going anywhere.

In the game of soccer and rugby as well, it is the basics that count, just like chess or badminton or even poker (gasp and shock)! When we participate in the game of life, the basics become the most important things to understand and learn. Here we are told one of the basics of a life in Christ – trust and reliance. I know that this entire passage has been about provision and God taking care of us, but it is one aspect of our lives that we all struggle with. We all are constantly trying to take care of ourselves and worrying about what is going on in our lives.

God reminds us and even commands us to not worry. Public speaking teachers say that repetition reinforces important points. How frequently does this topic come up in Christ's teachings? How about how frequently in the Bible? Is it safe to say that this is important? If so, can we, dare we trust God to be faithful? I say yes! What then can we turn over to Him this week?

Blow, wind of God! With wisdom blow
until our minds are free
from mists of error, clouds of doubt,
which blind our eyes to thee.
Burn, winged fire! Inspire our lips
with flaming love and zeal,
to preach to all thy great good news,
God's glorious commonweal.

Matthew 6:28-30 “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

I personally have found it interesting and very intriguing that in His sermon on the mount, Jesus spoke and dwelt on three issues extensively and the rest of the sermon, though just as important, He did not give as much time to. The first and primary section of this sermon was the beatitudes, where Christ told us what a true believer's character is. The second issue was on teaching us how to pray. The third major issue on which he spoke was to deal with worry and anxiousness.

Oh how we as humans tend to worry! We worry that we are not the epitome of the true believer, showing the way to Christ. We worry that we do not pray in the right way. We worry about worrying too much! How much anxiousness can we find in our own selves? Yet despite our worry, God provides. Maybe it would be better to say then that this third important issue what Christ dealt with was God's provision. Then we would have the personality, the prayer, and the provision of one to whom Christ is all and the world is a passing thought. What does it take to trust God to keep His promises? Have we become so jaded by our own faithlessness and the faithlessness of others that we forget that God never fails to uphold His end despite our inability to do the same? Daily Christ gives us the answer, morning after morning we are faced with the proof of His grandeur and glory, his grace and giving! He shows us the flowers that bloom in the gardens. In the spring they show off their finery, in the summer they bless us with their fragrance, in the fall they give their petals to cover the earth and protect their seeds, and in the winter the seeds begin to change to bless us the next spring. If the very grass we walk unthinkingly on cries out about the splendor and reliability of our Creator how can we ignore it? We are daily reminded of His blessings in our lives and yet we persist in worrying, in being faithless, in trying to change our “deal” with God. There is no proviso, no fine print in our declaration and acceptance of Him. It is all or nothing, it is all and nothing. All of us or none at all, all of us and nothing left out with no going back.

Where are we in our walk? Where does our worrying and fretting fit in with Christ? Where do we truly stand? Our Rock is the most solid foundation to build anything, let alone our very lives, upon. Let us do so with all haste, with all determination, and all reliance. He is able and He is capable.

And are we yet alive, and see each other's face?
Glory and thanks to Jesus give for his almighty grace!

Preserved by power divine to full salvation here,
again in Jesus' praise we join, and in his sight appear.

What troubles have we seen, what mighty conflicts past,
fightings without, and fears within, since we assembled last!

Yet out of all the Lord hath brought us by his love;
and still he doth his help afford, and hides our life above.

Then let us make our boast of his redeeming power,
which saves us to the uttermost, till we can sin no more.

Let us take up the cross till we the crown obtain,
and gladly reckon all things loss so we may Jesus gain.

Matthew 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

One of the songs that has grabbed the imagination of people everywhere is titled “Don't Worry, Be Happy” and a couple lines from the first verse are “In every life we have some trouble / When you worry you make it double.” What does the bible say about being anxious or being worried? In Isaiah 35:4 we read “Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance,with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'” Jeremiah 17:7-8 teaches us “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." 1 Corinthians 7:32 begins with the statement “I want you to be free from anxieties” Philippians 4:6 reads “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Do not worry, do not be anxious. God has it under control.

So what then are we to do about being anxious or being worried? Well, in the words of a popular book (and now movie) “Don't Panic.” Being worried about something that we can not control does no good. Being anxious about it only makes it worse. But don't panic when these things come up. Don't start to twitch and splutter. Don't sit down and draw up diagrams and charts about how to deal with whatever it is. The first thing to do is to take it to the Lord in prayer. He is faithful in all things as we have learned through our own experiences. He can deal with it, or He will bring to mind what we can do to deal with it (which is essentially the same thing as Him dealing with it).

What do we have control over when we worry? Usually nothing and that is why we get so worried. It is when we have the least control, however, that Christ has the most control. That is the key point to remember. I know there are a lot of problems out there in this big old world we need to live in, and I know that we all have our share (and sometime more than our share) of problems and worries, but Christ is there and in the end, everything will work out for His glory. Don't worry; just remember that even Moses started out as a basket case.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms.