* Today we have a guest post by Ruth Khanna (you can see information on Ruth at the bottom of this post). 

His mother came to Him and said, “They have no more wine.” It was a simple statement of fact. She didn’t say anything more, even when He countered her statement with one of His own – “My hour has not yet come.” Mary turned to the servants on that famous occasion when the wine ran out at a wedding in Cana, and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:1-11)

Our eyes are drawn to the six stone water jars that were used, quite simply, for water. They weren’t fancy. They were simple stone jars. They were probably not even embellished. Yet they were made for a purpose. And the servants were instructed to do with them as Jesus told them to. 

He told them to fill the jars to the brim, then draw some of the ‘water’ out and take it to the Master of Ceremonies. The text says, “They did so.” They were obedient. And we are told that the Master of Ceremonies took a sip of the ‘water’ that had been turned into wine, and was awe-struck at the quality. 

How often, when we come to the end of our resources, and the wine is running out…when we have nothing more to give, and there are still so many “guests” whose cups need to be filled  – do we come, like Mary did, to Jesus, and ask for direction on how to use whatever little we have to accomplish the impossible? Or do we throw up our hands and let the situation take control of us…while the wedding guests remain waiting for their cups to be filled? 

These words strike home with great emphasis – “Do whatever He tells you to.” But are we prepared to? It seems like we are yielding control to someone else when we’re meant to be in charge.  It’s like driving blind. We’re following instructions even when we cannot predict the results. It might not seem to make sense at first – using people and resources that do not look promising enough, to accomplish an important objective that will impact the very course of people’s lives…until we do as He commands and “fill them to the brim” with whatever we have. At the wedding it was water. Maybe in our own situation it’s faith. 

Pour faith into those inadequate looking vessels and see what God brings out of them. Because where we see inadequacy (even when it comes to ourselves), He sees a miracle. 

To lead is to be obedient… to follow His instructions and, “Do whatever He tells you.” What if the servants hadn’t done so? 

So was the miracle worked in the water, or was it worked in the jars? Or was it worked through that simple obedience to an even simpler instruction? 

How many times, as leaders, have we missed out on a miracle? Rejoice when the wine runs out, because it’s time for one! Of course, we will first have to “Do whatever He tells us”!

* Ruth Khanna is pastor of Grace Vineyard Church, Hyderabad. 

https://www.facebook.com/ruth.khanna  

https://www.facebook.com/Grace-Vineyard-Church-387132524955716/ 

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I wish. That would be great. Without problems life would go smooth. Nothing to worry about at all. 

But life doesn’t happen just like that. Even for God’s people. The variables are too many and the outcomes are often surprising. Yet God is with us as strong as ever. 

“I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The chords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the chords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.” (Psa 18:3-5) 

Those were the words of David as he was on the run. He was being hunted down like an animal by Saul and his army. David only had a handful of men with him and they were simply a group of outcasts. David spoke of God as his Strength, Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, Salvation, and Stronghold (Psalm 18 1-2).

With God on your side, maybe your problems are no problems at all.

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* Today we have a guest post by Jibi Thomas Kuruvilla (see below for details about Jibi).

Being persistent and having a healthy appetite for being useful is the way to go. Elisha walked that way. 

The sons of the prophets, having also sensed the departure of Elijah, have only bad news to tell Elisha. On the other hand, Elijah his master, asks him to stay back at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. In response, he asks the sons of the prophets to keep quiet. And to Elijah he said: “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” That’s persistence. “So the two of them went on.” (2 Ki 2:6)

And when Elijah offers him: “Ask what shall I do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elijah said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me” (2 Ki 2:9). Yes, Elisha did have a healthy appetite to live out a useful life. Here is his master, mentor, and a man of God who fearlessly served God in his generation. And Elisha wanted a double portion of his spirit on himself. 

Many a times, something that masquerades as humility reduces us to become mere spectators. And just because we are capable of so much more, we progress into becoming critics and discouragers ourselves. The people who give up on their inspiration and do not follow their passion remain as spectators, then they may progress to become critics who do not add value, and often end up as discouragers who fight it to keep the status quo.

Elisha wanted his life to be much more than all that and so also we too can desire to do a lot more than what we have resigned ourselves to be. Though there be thousand voices that say otherwise, we need to walk with that spark of inspiration. We need to open our mouth and voice our desires.   

* Jibi Thomas Kuruvilla serves as a Bible teacher and preacher with Missions India – Navajeevodayam. You can read his blogs at www.scribethomas.wordpress.com

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I love reading biographies of successful people. They’ve done much. Expanded much and earned much. Many of them came up through some of the most difficult circumstances. They surely are successful. 

But what is success? Of course, there are different measurements for success. We start out in our teens or twenties with lots of goals and ideals for success. Then by the time we get to our forties and fifties, we wonder how much we’ve accomplished. Many have forgotten our goals or have altered them considerably. 

Now, let’s define success as fulfilling your purpose in life. If that one thing your clearly articulated purpose is accomplished, then you’re successful. Who makes that evaluation? The evaluation is to be done by the one who set that purpose for you. 

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:28–29)

According to the word of God, our purpose is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Whatever you do in life, make sure that the main focus is to be formed into the image of Jesus. That’s your purpose. That’s your success.

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No one sees you. The silence and stealth of the night has its own special effects. We’ll hide what the light could reveal. It’s at night that the inmost recesses of the heart are laid bare. Then God comes. He shows up at the most unexpected time. Maybe even during the most unwelcome time. His visit may even be disturbing. The psalmist David expressed it like this: 

You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. (Psa 17:3)

Invite God into the most concealed parts of your heart allow him access to the places of doubt, fear, resentment, and other things you’re not proud of. 

When things are concealed within you, your relationship with God remains distant. Once it is revealed, the Holy Spirit will come and begin to transform you. Then your relationship with God becomes more intimate.

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No, your presence is not needed on center stage all the time. You don’t need to be the center of attraction. Of course, we know that this is the popular understanding of leadership.

In your role as a leader and mentor, your value doesn’t decrease because you’re not on stage so much. It just increases as you invest into those who will impact many others. Now, that’s a different level of leadership.

Be their trainer, encourager, and friend. It works. You’ll see them excel and develop much beyond what anyone can imagine. Of course the Holy Spirit will be their teacher and will empower them.

But you’ll be their visible teacher in the background encouraging them with a smile. Your presence is leadership.

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In some types of group discussions we often ask the questions: “What was good today?” Or,  “What can we celebrate?” 
Sometimes I stumble to come up with something significant. I know I need to be grateful even for the little things. But I’m looking for something significant. 
But frankly there isn’t much good to speak of. Then I come to the words of David. 

“I say to the Lord you are my Lord. I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:2).  

Hundreds of years later, Jesus said 

“Why do you call me good?” No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). 

Are you having difficulty finding the good in your life? Maybe you’re looking for that which is substantial and Lasting. You’ll find it nowhere else except in God alone.
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Dependency. Entitlement. Feeling of being used for the benefit of the one doing the caring. Resentment. Claustrophobia. Feeling smothered.
In the early stages, in the midst of a lot of instability and uncertainty, extra care is needed. Just like someone in the ICU. But as early as possible, the person needs to recover, come out, and live independently. 
If that high level of care continues, the dangers are many. As people struggled with various issues of life, we are prompted to provide care. The focus should be on recovery and independence from us and to move them to dependence on Jesus. But if this does not occur in a timely manner, we run the risk of over-care. 
This leads to an unhealthy dependency on us, eventually leading to a feeling of entitlement, of being used,  resentment, and even emotional claustrophobia. All the while we think we are helping. But it’s over-care. 

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV)

Let’s move people from dependency to maturity. 
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