Bourland Family Blog

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them (the cloaks). Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.” Matthew 21:6-8 ->me: [This is yesterday’s QT notes.  I will send today’s later in the afternoon.] This picture of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem hit me in a new way today.  The laying of cloaks on the Donkey and Colt as well as the road in front of Jesus is a note for my life and how I move forward in fellowship with Him.  The people were laying down whatever they were wearing.  Some had been traveling with Jesus for some time and their coats would have been dusty, sweaty, and dirty; but it is what they had.  What was impressed on me is how I can bring whatever I have to worship my King.  Whatever I have chosen to clothe myself today can be laid before Him as an act of signifying Him as the Lord of my life.  As a life group leader and man of God I set the example for others (just as the disciples did) by laying my cloak down first.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  Zechariah 9:9 -> me: This wonderful passage is one of which Jesus was fulfilling in scripture when He rode into Jerusalem on the Donkey.  The other passage is Isaiah 62:11.  My reading this morning was actually Matthew 21:1-5 but this reference really had an impression on me.  Over the last week I have whipsawed through emotions and attitudes.  Work has been challenging as I have provided some pretty critical feedback to my management chain although with respect and integrity.  But I ask myself – was I modeling my Savior in being humble, lowly, meek, kind, and patient?  Maybe some, but not totally.  I, like Jesus, must come into every situation with a meek and lowly agenda.  Agendas from which flow a kindness and peace that come from a place of true love.  There are trials that I, and my family, are in the midst of right now that will call on us to come to the table with these attributes of Jesus.  I am confident that If we do, we will not only be making our Lord and Savior proud we will be reflecting Him to those involved in our circumstances.

“And Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, What do you want Me to do for you?  They answered Him, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened!  And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed Him.” Matthew 20:32-34 -> me: In this day and age I find myself desiring to know God more but my sin and passions for this world can blind me from what Jesus has to offer through fellowship with Him.  I love how Jesus STOPPED and then asked the 2 men what they wanted from Him -> He already knew what they needed but proceeded to ask anyway.  Jesus knows our trouble but wants us to make our requests known to Him.  Having pity on them, He restored their sight IMMEDIATELY.  In verse 34 it says that Jesus “touched their eyes [Omma]”.  The word used for eyes here is not the same word the blind men use when they say “we want out eyes [Opthalmos] to be opened”.  Omma is a poetic way to say eyes and might have been used by Jesus to denote a healing more than physical blindness.  This is so cool!  Jesus not only restored their physical sight but gave them a way of seeing that changed their spiritual perspective as well.  I believe that is what God does for me when I believe in His Son and put my trust in His hands.  I receive a perspective I can only have when I am in fellowship with Him; I move into a place of a consistent ‘renewing’ of my mind.

“Not so shall it be among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave.” Matthew 20:26-27 -> me: I just got back from Virginia on Friday night and I can not tell you how good it is to be home;  good to be home on so many fronts.  I am thankful for the sacrifice of my family, the providence of God to give me godly men in my spiritual life, the health that I enjoy, and the blessing of a life here on earth I do not deserve.  I have been so consumed with work while on the East Coast but I have seen God’s hand moving in my life and others.  The Lord provided 2 men, Pastor Jimmy King and MAJ John Morris, who I had the pleasure of sharing in fellowship on our mutual love of our Savior.  I have missed my time with my Lord God Almighty and this morning I sit here waiting for Sophie (my 11 year old, who is in her last training class before heading on her missions trip to Santiago, Chile on this coming Friday).  I am humbled by His power and faithfulness.  My quiet time today was another reinforcement that our goals here on earth should be motivated by our desire to be like Christ in service to others.  Not like the world who’s aspiration is Self-Importance, the desire to get noticed and respected, the ambition to make one’s own mark, and impose one’s will upon others.  Lord God in heaven, have mercy upon me -> a sinner saved by the ransom Your Son paid to secure my freedom from sin and shame.

“And behold, there came a man up to Him, saying, Teacher, what excellent and perfectly and essentially good deed must I do to possess eternal life?  And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good [perfectly and essentially]—God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:16-17 ->me: Hello!!!  What a crazy last 3 weeks!  From prep for this trip, leaving my family on the 20th, and then 16-18 hour days has been quite the ordeal.  Today was the first day of a little downtime since.  I have been able to stay in God’s word routinely but have not had time until now to write up my thoughts on a passage.  I have been between Matthew (My personal devotions) and 1 Corinthians (our Life Group Study).  Today was a great reminder that my relationship with Jesus is not based on a checkbox action of GOOD but being in fellowship with the One Who IS good.  I am so thankful for God’s faithfulness and there are issues afoot that He is definitely leading….just don’t know where He is taking me (an adventure!).  Please pray that I can continue to stay in His precious word even though you may not hear from me in the text form.  This ‘crazy’ ends on the 22nd of this month but God has given me the strength to find it manageable.  So GRATEFUL!

“But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin], so then, as it is written [in Scripture], “He who boasts and glories, let him boast and glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 ->me: What a culmination of my previous 2 quiet times!  Until you have been called, the gospel is foolishness and a stumbling block (hard to comprehend without faith).  Those who are called are lowly in spirit and not prestigious…so that God will be the One glorified when His work is done.  God CHOOSES the foolish and the weak of this human world to shame the wise and the strong.  It is because of the work on the cross that I am given a place in Jesus, who has become our wisdom through His Spirit, a righteousness we don’t deserve, and given a Holiness in sanctification that would could never achieve ourselves; so we have been saved from God’s wrath at the end of time.  So…where does all of the glory and boasting go? To the One Who works in the smallest and weakest to accomplish His great work.  I must realize that man’s opinion means nothing; God’s opinion is the only that matters.  His Character is spelled out through His word which is entirely sufficient.

“For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).” 1 Corinthians 1:21 -> me: Earthly wisdom displays the skill of human beings and brings praise to them, which is not the message of the gospel. Those who search for God by applying earthly wisdom will become frustrated. God’s plan for us is that we cannot truly know Him through our own logical thinking. It is only through the denial of ourselves that we can attain the beauty of God’s covering and peace in our lives. One thing I have learned through my own frailty is that the moment I take back control from God, I immediately feel myself moving away from Him…it always presents an opportunity for sin.  Because I have experienced the calling of God on my life and KNOW the peace and love only God can provide, turning away from Him in these moments is shameful. Lord God, give me the strength to say no to my own ‘ways’ and cleave to Your Way in every decision, problem, and joy.

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” 1 Corinthians 1:17 -> me: <Sigh> Today is the first day in 2 weeks that I have chosen to sit down for a dedicated time in God’s word.  Let me be clear – I could have made this happen but my earthly desires to spend every waking moment either focused on my family or on work pushed out this time I have so desperately missed.  What I keep failing to internalize is that when time with God supersedes everything else, the ‘everything else’ becomes more manageable.  How feeble my heart and mind are to this truth. This verse today helps me see how God designed us to fully rely on Him…not just in our earthly lives but in our ministry as well.  ‘not with wisdom words’ speaks to that immediate mindset to take control of things ourselves.  The gospel is most powerful when we let God work through us rather than trying to manipulate the message with our own wordsmithing.  A great reminder to seek His will in every action, moment, conflict, and trial.

“And Pharisees came to Him and put Him to the test by asking, Is it lawful and right to dismiss and repudiate and divorce one’s wife for any and every cause?  He replied, Have you never read that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female,” Matthew 19:3-4 ->me: When I was reading this passage the other day it struck me what Jesus said here – “Have you never read…?”.  The Pharisees were probably some of the most Bible-Read people on the planet during Jesus time.  What the Pharisees had done was conformed the scripture to their purposes rather than God’s true intention.  This goes to the pride of these very religious men.  The Pharisees were known for dictating law through the interpreted word of God toward their own edification.  I know churches right here in our surrounding area who have spun God’s word in such a way that they claim supports a social issue or cultural shift.  This is so very dangerous…and I have no hill to stand on.  I can think of various passages where I ‘chose’ to take a certain viewpoint because the spirit of the passage felt unfair…well, this is me being no different that these Pharisees.  It is easy to sit back and see Jesus smack down these religious leaders but I better take a step back and make sure the Lord isn’t trying to point to something in His word that I am trying to massage into something more comfortable and fitting to the culture and society I live in.

“And He will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 ->me: These verses are so powerful! Last week in our Young Marrieds Life Group, we started a study of 1 Corinthians. This week was spent on the first 9 verses of chapter 1. The amount of theology and significance in the words of Paul and the heart of God is amazing. Just in these first verses, Paul sets the stage for the entire epistle but these 2 verses are just so influential right now. Notice how there are no conditions – God WILL keep us to the end and there, when Jesus returns, we will be without reproach and guiltless! Do I represent in deed, action, and living what I receive in grace? It isn’t just that God is faithful…oh no, He has also called us into fellowship with His only Son…the same one who paid the price for my guiltless, blameless, and shameless status when He returns. I am NOT without sin, no, but I am without the penalty for that sin. Will I be able to look at the face of my returning Savior representing the guiltless life He bought for me?..or will He find me embroiled in a striving for earthly greatness and self-worth?