A FISH FOR A NIGHT

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART; DO NOT DEPEND ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. Proverbs 3:5

"Well then," Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." His reply completely amazed them. Mark 12:17

Preach the word of God. Be prepared whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

For my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Philippians 4:19

Rejoice with me for I found the coin that I lost. Luke 15:9

PAYING THE TEMPLE TAX

Upon entering Capernaum, Peter was approached by tax collectors with yet another plot to stir up more controversy about the law. Little did they know they were setting up the perfect opportunity for Jesus to drive home deeper truth about who and who is not required to pay the Temple tax. Let's pick up the story in Matthew 17:24

On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

"Yes, he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” Matthew 17:24-27

                            

The annual Temple tax requirement was two drachmae (Greek currency) equivalent to about a half shekel (Jewish currency). The typical coin used for paying taxes was a didrachma, which was the same as two dracmae. The coin in the fish's mouth was probably a Tyrian silver shekel. Because Roman coinage was only 80% silver, the purer (94% or more) Tyrian shekel was required for the Temple tax in Jerusalem and was probably the coin that paid both Peter and Jesus' taxes.

One shekel (Jewish currency) is the equivalent to four drachmae (Greek currency)

The idea of giving a small piece of silver was mentioned in the time of Moses when the Lord explained the reasons and criteria for this particular offering:

Then the Lord said to Moses,“Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them. Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the Lord. (This payment is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel). All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.” Exodus 30:11-16

What can we learn from these verses in Exodus Chapter 30? Why was an Israelite required to give a small piece of silver?

• To be counted, one must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord
• To make oneself right with God 
• To be used for the care of the Tabernacle
• To bring the Israelites to the Lord's attention 
• To purify one's life
• To immunize against plagues 

We learn that the small piece of silver was never intended for the Temple tax but a sacred offering; it wasn't meant to be a hardship but a provision; it wasn't taken; it was given; it wasn't tribute money; it was ransom money.

Yet Jesus said, "Because we don't want to offend them, pay the tax." 

If Jesus reasoned with Peter that he was exempt from paying the Temple tax, why pay? Jesus was teaching Peter that he was free from the law. By paying the Temple tax he didn't break the law but fulfilled it. Temple tax wasn't mandatory for the citizens because the citizens were free. Jesus was demonstrating that Peter was free to 'give' rather than 'forced' to give just as Jesus was freely giving what was asked of Him.

• Jesus did not have to pay a ransom for himself; He gave His life a ransom to save the world.
• He did not have to make Himself right with God; He was God.
• The Israelites didn't need the Lord's attention; they had the Lord's attention
• His own blood purified lives    
• By His wounds we were healed 

He hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered (or counted) with the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 

A FISH FOR A NIGHT

After not knowing how I was going to pay my bills, including this year's income taxes (an ongoing trial of faith for me), I remembered this story about the coin in the fish's mouth. By now the disciples had left all to follow Jesus. No longer could they rely on their paychecks for the necessities of daily living, which included the annual Temple tax. When the tax collectors approached Peter, he immediately went into the house to talk to Jesus about the inquiry. Jesus, already knowing what Peter was going ask Him, told him how this year's tax was going to be paid. 

Even though it is 2017 I, like Peter, have left all to follow Jesus. I, like Peter, haven't a regular paycheck, and I, like Peter, rely on the Lord to supply my every need each and every day. 

Soon after David became King of Israel, the Philistines were on the attack. 

So David asked the LORD, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD replied to David, "Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you." 2 Samuel 5:19

David was the king. He made executive decisions every day. Yet, he prayed to God for direction. 

So I reminded God of the coin and the fish, and I reminded Him of the woman who found the coin that was lost (Luke 15:8-10). I even searched for a photo of a fish with a coin in its mouth so I could look at it as a reminder of God's faithfulness. I needed a fish like that. I needed a way to cover my expenses. Like Peter, I wanted to just walk into the house and find Jesus already on it.  

That weekend I was called away to help with a documentary project that had nothing to do with spiritual matters. I prayed about it first and God said, "Go." I had a good friend in LA who had a good 60's story so I invited him up to be interviewed in the film. While waiting for the filmmaker to arrive we lightheartedly chitchatted about old times and caught up on our personal lives. And then something amazing happened. "You need money, right? Watch this!" Just like that, he handed over just what I needed to meet my expenses. After I understood it was a gift -- and not a donation for the film -- he quickly changed the subject. 

"Did I ever tell the story of how I became a fish for a night?" 

Did he just say, "FISH FOR A NIGHT?" He began telling me about a night long ago when he helped the 60's band, Country Joe and the Fish, carry their instruments onto the stage where they would be performing later that night. He overheard them saying that their bass player was sick. "I can play the bass," he said. Without enough time to find another bass player, they took a chance on him and that's how he became 'A fish for a night.'

He may have become a fish for a night as a bass player for the band, but on that day he became the first fish I caught with a coin in its mouth. Usually I would have declined such a generous offer but after praying for a fish, I believe the Lord led me to a fish. 

Interesting to note that Jesus told Peter, "Open the mouth of the first fish you catch." I wonder what he discovered in the second, third and fourth fish he caught up with that day.  

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13

For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  Hebrews 6:13-15

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 

  

   

  

  

THE HEART OF THE KING

WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING. Philippians 2:12

THE HEART OF THE KING IS IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD AND AS RIVERS OF WATER, HE TURNS IT WHERE EVER HE WILLS. Proverbs 21:1 

I WOULD HAVE FAINTED HAD I NOT 'BELIEVED TO SEE' THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. Psalm 27:13

I used to wrestle with how to bring heaven down to earth ... meaning, how to fit God's promises into my everyday battles, especially where Caesar was concerned. The Lord did say render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar ... like bills and taxes, tires and car registration. David said, "I would have fainted had I not 'believed to see' the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living," which I believe means supernatural help for everyday life. He knew God was with him -- and we know God is with us -- but will the Lord deliver us in our time of trouble? David testified in Psalm 46:1&2 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. 

Yet we also read that David, upon realizing his idea of placing the ark of God back in its rightful place wasn't working out like he thought, was afraid of the Lord that day. 

And David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?" So David did not move the ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom of Gath. The ark remained there in Obed-edom's house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned. 1 Chronicles 13:12-14  

Let's take a closer look at David: we see very clearly that, like us, David struggled too. The ark was on its way into Jerusalem after wrecking havoc in the Philistine camp as well as in the company of their idol, Dagon. It would seem that the very appearance of a driver-less cart coming up the road into Jerusalem hauling the ark of God was proof enough that God was back! But when Uzzah died so instantly after trying to steady the wobbling ark, David had to re-evaluate just how he was going to accomplish it. How was he going to bring heaven down to earth? He got alone with God to work out His own salvation with fear and trembling. 

Working out your own salvation with fear and trembling is all about faith. God is much more than a last minute savior. When he said the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, He meant it. But what did He really mean?

Let's take a look at Daniel. Try to imagine you are in the lion's den. From scripture we see Daniel trusted God to the point of possible death. Daniel wasn't bold and courageous in his own strength. He needed to know how to fit heaven into earth. We know from scripture that by refusing to bow to the Babylonian god, He was working out His own salvation with fear and trembling. WE can see God is protecting Daniel from the lions but who on earth did Daniel have to rescue him from the Lion's Den?

In Chapter 5 we read that there was a new king in Babylon. His name was Darius. Daniel was a leader at this point and King Darius chose men to help Daniel. The men didn't like the idea of this captive foreigner being their leader. They observed Daniel praying three times a day, refusing to eat the king's meat, and refusing to bow down to their god so the men persuaded King Darius to draft a law that would get Daniel out of their way. When the men reported to the king that Daniel refused to bow to their god, the king had no choice but to throw Daniel to the lions. Because Daniel was faithful to God, his actions, attitude and behavior stood out. He was different. Darius observed Daniel. Rather than bring attention to himself, Daniel's faith brought attention to the reality of Daniel's God! 

In our own experiences we might be praying at this point for God to change the law, but the law could not be changed. Even the king encouraged Daniel that his God would save him. The king fasted all night. He couldn't sleep. In the morning the king went to the lion's den. He called to Daniel ... "Was your God able to save you from the lions?" The lions had not hurt him. He told the king that God had shut the lions' mouth. The king was very happy! Daniel was safe. Not only had God saved him, but God put heaven in the heart of an earthly king. Someone in Daniel's everyday life was on Daniel's side ... even the very one who decreed a law that couldn't be changed.

Let's take a look at Ruth. We pick up the story in Chapter 1. After a famine and ten years of marriage, Ruth's husband died. Her sister-in-law, Orpah, had also lost her husband. The two men were brothers, Mahlon and Kilon, and both widows were now in the company of their mother-in-law, Naomi, who also lost her husband, Elimelek. Now try to imagine yourself in Ruth's place. This is the time we'd be trying to bring heaven down to earth. What a dismal, lonely and scary scene! Grand-children are on Naomi's heart. She urges her daughter-in-laws to head back to their homeland. "Best possible way to find husbands and have children while I am still alive to see them," she exclaimed. Go, I am too old to bear you husbands now." Orpah agrees, but Ruth ...? Ruth longs to remain with her mother-in-law even though the likelihood of finding a husband is slim to none. Nevertheless, Ruth implores Naomi, "Don't urge me to leave you, for where you go, I'll go, and where you stay, I'll stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. May the Lord deal with me be it ever so severely, even if death separates you and me, I still want to go with you." Ruth 1:16. 

Naomi tells Ruth she can come with her but reminds her that she is heading back to where the elderly live. Ruth had observed Naomi's actions, attitude and behavior. She watched how she handled everyday life and so her hope, like King Darius, was in Naomi's God. Naomi had become very weary. She felt forsaken by the Lord and discouraged but Ruth was still hopeful. Like Darius, God had prepared Ruth's heart to encourage Naomi. You see, from scripture we see God's hand is on both Ruth and Naomi but who on earth was going to rescue these two helpless widows in the distress of everyday life?

Upon entering the city, the Bible says that the whole town was stirred up but did they give the women what they needed to survive?

v.20 - "Don't call me Naomi! Call me Mara, which means bitter. I went away full but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer, and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?"

Here we see a weary Naomi who must have demonstrated strong and consistent faith in the eyes of Ruth. Yet, isn't this a vivid description of how we as Christian believers feel when we know God is with us but there is no sign of relief  from the battle of everyday life? 

v.22 - Nevertheless, we read on that when Naomi returned to Moab accompanied by Ruth, her daughter-in-law, they arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was beginning. God knew something that the women didn't see. 

We pick up the scene in Chapter 2 with Ruth gleaning in the field along with the poorest people of the land.

What Ruth didn't see was a certain someone noticed her. God turned the heart of a man called Boaz in her direction. She didn't know that Boaz owned the field or that he arranged for the harvesters to leave more than usual behind for Ruth to gather. While she had been working out her own salvation with fear and trembling, God was at work in the heart of Boaz. God was moving heaven to earth for her.

Later, after he reveals himself as the one who redeemed her, we find Ruth sleeping at the feet of Boaz in overwhelming gratitude. He had already redeemed her before she saw him.

What a picture of redemption! Would that we would sleep in sweet peace at the feet of Him who alone has been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Psalm 90: 1&2   

Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven ...

If we would truly believe what Jesus told the disciples after then asked, "Teach us to pray," we would understand what follows next ...

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Notice David didn't say, I would have fainted (passed out, given up the ghost, laid down and died) had I not SEEN the goodness of the Lord ... He very carefully proclaimed, "I wouldn't have survived had I not BELIEVED TO SEE the goodness of the Lord in the midst of my daily helplessness." 

Let's take a look at me. I recently prayed long and hard to the Lord for new direction in my life. I prayed for two weeks waiting on the Lord. I laid down my own ideas. I asked Him to level the playing field. I broke up my fallow ground. Afterwards, I was as weary and empty-feeling as Naomi. And then, God led me to do something I never dreamed possible: to open a business when I didn't have much money. He did this by reminding me of a scripture -- a scripture with which I had a great deal of trouble understanding ... "She 'considers' a field and buys it" from Proverbs 31. That was the scripture that sealed the deal for me to pull over and shake my fist at God!

"I have no money, Lord!" And yet I knew He was speaking to me. He was teaching me how to bring heaven down to earth ... how to 'believe to see' the goodness of the Lord in my everyday perplexities, like paying bills when there were more bills than money. He was showing me how to render unto God what is God's and how to render unto Caesars what is Caesar's. If He says we are whole, and entire, and in want of nothing, than we are not incomplete, empty or in want of anything. What does that mean? It means that by faith we work out what we see with what we don't see and consider what we need as though it were already so. God told Abraham, "I have made you a father of many nations." Now God spoke these words to Abraham while Sarah, his wife, was yet barren. Nevertheless, in time she conceived Isaac. The Bible says that it came to pass because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Romans 4:17 (NLT). Abraham believed God who calls things which be not as though they were. (KJV).

Faith is further explained this way:

For unto us was the gospel (good news) preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Acts 4:2

I tell you he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? Luke 18:8 

This was the concluding question to an otherwise disparaging story. In Luke, Chapter 18 Jesus taught about a certain widow who was experiencing one of those 'near fainting' experienced in her everyday life. He tells of a a judge who admitted he neither feared God nor cared about people. Even after he dismissed her case, she continued to beseech him to avenge her of her adversary. Jesus said he was an unjust judge but because she was wearing him out with her constant requests he saw to it that she got justice. In the end he rendered a just decision.

So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? Luke 18:2-7

Not long after I stepped out into this new field that I had not purchased but merely 'considered' for two years prior, the income I expected to glean from it was not happening. My landlord was becoming concerned -- and so was I -- that I wasn't going to be able to pay the rent. 

It was the king's decree. The contract was signed, and the law could not be changed. I became afraid of my landlord because I knew, like Caesar, he meant business. I believed God was with me ... but was He going to deliver me from the mouth of the lions? I had no idea that God was dealing with the heart of my landlord. When I stepped into the lion's den, the king (landlord) was merciful and postponed what I owed for rent, giving me more time to develop my business. God brought heaven to earth. The heart of the king was in His hands of the Lord and like rivers of water He turned it in my favor. 

God brought heaven down to earth. He did it for David, Daniel, Naomi, Ruth, Abraham and Moses. Other men and women of great faith are mentioned throughout the eleventh chapter of Hebrews -- also known as the chapter of faith -- and he'll meet all your needs according to His riches in glory for all that put their trust in Him. By faith these individuals were able to keep on going because they kept their eyes on the one who is invisible. Hebrews 11:27 (NLT). "Now how does one keep their eyes on something they cannot see? By faith." - Cindy Farias

God has a way in which to bring the ark of God home to you and to me. Sometimes it is in the opposite direction of where we think we should go. Remember the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda? He complained that every time he tried to get into the healing waters, someone else got there before him. When Jesus came by, notice that he didn't turn into a lifeguard, blow his whistle, and order everyone out of the pool so this poor man could finally have his turn. He took the man to another place and healed him.

 The kingdom of heaven is at hand. It is also within us, and in the His name, Emmanuel, which being interpreted means, GOD WITH US. And if He is with us, He is also with the king whose heart is in His hands.

Amen.       

           

LIKE A ROOT IN DRY GROUND

THE SPIRIT OF MAN IS THE CANDLE OF THE LORD SEARCHING ALL THE INNERMOST PARTS OF HIS BEING. Proverbs 20:27 

THEREFORE LET US BE GRATEFUL FOR RECEIVING A KINGDOM THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN, AND LET US OFFER TO GOD ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP WITH REVERENCE AND AWE, FOR OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. Hebrews 12:28-29

AND SUDDENLY THERE WAS A RATTLING NOISE ACROSS THE VALLEY, AND BEHOLD A SHAKING, AND THE BONES CAME TOGETHER, BONE TO BONE TO BONE. Ezekiel 37:7   

Did you ever wonder why the Lord didn't call the Valley of Dry Bones the Valley of Dead Bones? Being dry can be a good thing or it can be dangerous. Jude describes a man without God as a cloud without water, blown along by the wind. He is like a tree in autumn, without fruit and uprooted, which Jude describes as twice dead. Now that's really dry! 

But dry can also be a good thing. For example, let's say you are stuck in the woods overnight. It's cold and you look around for kindling to start a campfire. Ever try to start a fire with unseasoned wood? At best, a freshly cut log will quench the flame of your match before it can catch fire. However, when dry kindling is gathered in a heap and seasoned wood is laid on top it catches on fire immediately. It is then useful for heating, lighting, protection, cooking, purifying, but also ... destruction. 

Let's consider the first few verses in Ezekiel Ch 37:1-11 (NLT)

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then the Lord said, "Speak a prophetic message and say, Come oh breath, from the four winds! Breathe life into these dead bodies so they may live again." So I spoke the message as He commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet ... a great army. 

37:11 Then He said to me, Son of Man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, "We have become old, dry bones, and all hope is gone. Our nation is finished!" 

They didn't realize they were the unlit candles of the Lord, in need of His consuming torch, or that they had been prepared for such a fire as this. However, their cry was heard on high and God delivered them. 

Then He said, "I will put my spirit within you and you will live again and return home to your own land."  

Ever notice when God's spirit returns to you, you feel alive again? Don't you experience a sense of relief like you are finally home after a long journey? The fireplace is glowing and you can snuggle up to it ... all is well with your soul. All is well between you and your God. 

I went through a dry spell recently and couldn't understand why the Lord would leave me there day after day in the doldrums of everyday life. I sensed His presence but my candle wasn't staying lit. But I was being seasoned for a big fire -- a fire that couldn't start until I became very dry. In God's eyes dry means as dry as bones; bones means a shaking is a coming, and when you hear the rattling of the bones, new life is a breath away. We may shake and we may tremble from the pressure of the unknown, but we are grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken for our God is a consuming fire. 

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is life!

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. In the Book of Mark the Bible says, Immediately the spirit drove -- impelled; compelled; sent -- Him out into wilderness. After forty days and nights of fasting the Bible says Jesus was hungry. He must have been parched, as in very dry. Isaiah wrote, For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. Isaiah 53:2. Yet, He was the brightest candle the world had ever seen. He was, is and forever will be the Light of the World! 

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is light!

                             

After Jesus ascended to His Father, one hundred-and-twenty believers waited in an upper room for ten continuous days. The Bible doesn't tell us what transpired while the faithful waited day after day in a similar valley of dry bones. They could have easily argued, "We have become old, dry bones, and all hope is gone. Our nation is finished!" But they didn't. Somehow they knew, the drier they became, the hotter the fire so together they waited for the promise of the Father. And when they were all in one accord, the mighty rushing breath of God filled their bones and the fire of God ignited each of them with cloven tongues of fire upon their ... wait for it ... heads. They all came to life and stood up on their feet ... a great army. 

The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty!

This is a message for those going through a dry spell. God is seasoning you. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching all the innermost parts of his being. For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) and are His offspring, coming forth from the same root and from the same dry ground.

Are you dry? Are you parched? Are you thirsty? 

Ho! everyone who is thirsty in spirit

Ho! everyone who is weary and sad

Come to the fountain, there's fullness in Jesus

All that you're longing for, come and be glad.

I will pour water on him that is thirsty

I will pour floods upon the dry ground

Open your heart for the gifts I am bringing

While you are seeking Me I will be found

Child of the Kingdom be filled with the Spirit

Nothing but fullness thy longing can meet    

Tis the enduement for life and for service

Thine is the promise, so certain so sweet.

Lucy J. Meyer - 1884