Bill Randall Writes

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
– John 5:17

“Everyday we wake up in the middle of something that is already going on”
– Eugene Peterson

A significant part of what it means to abide with Jesus is to believe that God is always at work in and all around us, and then to discern what it is he is up to in order to participate in it as he leads.  In this context the popular question, “What would Jesus do?” should rather be, “What is Jesus doing?”  In order to discern what Jesus is doing we must become very familiar with what Jesus did.  And we learn that by reading and meditating on Scripture.  We also must remain sensitive to the supernatural promptings of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that one’s spiritual discernment increases to the degree that one continues to grow in discipline and sensitivity.  Discipline in reading, meditating and studying the Word.  Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s presence and promptings.

To this end I have made it my habit to constantly read the gospels along with whatever other portion of Scripture I may be working through.  I also try to intentionally look and listen for any evidence of the Spirit at work in any given situation.  I also benefit greatly by exercising the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues, which I most often just speak quietly without anyone else even knowing I am doing so.

Discipline and sensitivity.  Both are biblical imperatives.  Both are accessible to every Christ follower.  Both are necessary if one is to grow in the ability to discern in order to participate with what God is doing.  And to participate with what God is doing is the greatest privilege and most satisfying experience one could ever have!

What is God up to right now?

“He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30)

These simple and profound words of John the Baptizer reveal a reality that is just as true for preachers, worship leaders as well as all Christ followers in general.  Our “job” is to serve the cause of making Jesus greater in the eyes of all those we have influence with.  He must become more manifest.  He must become the One people recognize and remember and talk about.  He is the point, not the ministries that are intended to reveal the point.

The “I must become less” part is so difficult to sincerely embrace when our identity is tied more to this world’s kingdom as opposed to God’s.  This broken and confused world never grows tired of announcing that we in fact need to increase and that we have the right to do so.  Yet in heaven there is no confusion or struggle with regard to Who must increase and who must become less.  “Oh God, let it be on earth and in me as it is in heaven!”

The truth is, when our identity is authentically based on being “in Christ,” then as he increases so do we as well as part of his body.  But the focus is on him, not on ourselves.  Increasing fruit and favor on our lives is simply the gracious bi-product of abiding in Christ.  Glory to his name!

So what can we do today to draw greater attention upon Him while not worrying about how we might come across to others?  What will this require?  What do you think?

Mark 10:46-52

This morning I was once again deeply blessed with Mark’s account of the healing of Bartimaus.  Jesus’ statement, “Your faith has healed you” is amazing.  It was Bart’s faith that positioned him for the miracle that would change his life!

When Bart heard that Jesus was within reach, he was faced with a crisis of faith.  Would he be willing to “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15) or remain in the realm of the familiar?  This decision would determine whether Bart would continue to just get by or get blessed.  Begging by the roadside made sense until he heard that healing was within his reach.  That revelation led to responsibility.  Bart would now have to take responsibility for what was now possible.  Jesus has made us all response-able.  What we do with that reality determines our destiny.

One of the things that strikes me as odd is the immediate opposition to Bart’s pursuit of mercy.  Bart was shouting.  He was obviously quite loud and passionate.  The response of many to this was to rebuke Bart for such excess and to tell him to be quiet.  Bart was here faced with yet another crisis of faith.  Would shut up or shout out all the more?

Bart’s perseverance paid off (Gal. 6:9).  His passionate persistence led to an invitation to encounter the presence and power of Jesus.  This then led to yet another crisis of faith for Bart.  Would he respond generally or request specifically in reply to Jesus’ question?  Bart was familiar with crying out for mercy.  He had done it all his life as a blind beggar.  It was what he knew and had depended on to get by.  To experience a blessing he had never known he would have to move beyond the familiar and speak specifically with regard to his need and desire.  It is often more difficult than one would imagine to pursue and relate with God outside one’s comfort zone.  Bit it seems that it is most often the most desperate and daring that get the miracles.

“Because many fear excess, mediocrity is embraced as balance.  Such fear makes complacency a virtue.  And it’s the fear of excess that has made those that are resistant to change appear noble minded…Risk takers, the ones who thrill the heart of God, become the targets of those who never fail because they seldom try” (Bill Johnson).

Journaling in Boise

“Teach me to number by days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12)

This verse really speaks to me regarding the importance of numbering the days of my Sabbatical aright that I might gain all that God has for me.  Clearly it is possible to number your days incorrectly!  Life is short.  Every day must count for what matters.  I don’t want to waste my life or any of my days on idols or living in fear, discouragement, bitterness or any other toxic emotion.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set me free!”  I want to embrace and fully live in light of that way of life that Jesus has put within my reach.

Thank you God for your grace and mercy.  I realize that you have been faithful when I often have not been.  May that not be a contradiction any longer.  I want to fully surrender every single area of my heart, mind…my whole life to your loving leadership.  I love you and want more than anything to abide in your presence all the days of my life.  Today I am with you as you are always with me…all this because we are friends!

Thank you Jesus.

“How fortunate are those who mourn for they shall receive the comfort of God.” – Jesus

I am writing this as I fly to Orange County for a very quick trip to join my family for my uncle John’s memorial service. My first thought when I hard that he had past away is the same thought I just had; “He was so young.” John was the youngest of four brothers. My dad is the oldest.

I have good memories of my uncle John. I remember him being at Optometry school in Chicago. He would come and visit us when we lived in Michigan, and I remember how exciting it was when he finally graduated. I remember the time when he and I drove in his VW Beatle across the states. We stayed at Motel 6’s and ate lots of burgers along the way. That triggers the memory of John flipping burgers at Fosters Freeze that was located a block away from where my great grandpa and grandma Murphy lived. I remember when John taught me how to play a couple chords on his ukulele. I have been playing music ever since. Soon after he introduced me to the ukulele he got one for me along with a “Mel Bay Teach Yourself Ukulele” book. I still can hear him sing, “My dog has fleas,” as a way to teach me to tune it. I remember many optometry appointments with him through the years. I’m sure I remained one his most challenging cases being such an extreme myope. I remember him telling me when I was in 5th or 6th grade that one day there would be an operation available that could improve my vision…an operation that I just recently had. I remember spending every weekend with John and Gayle for months in 1976 as I prepared for the Musical Americans’ tour in the Orient, and then I lived with them for the entire month before we left. While there John taught me about photography and even how to develop film. I well remember how John set up his optometry practice to be optimal for helping children with eye therapy. I remember how he loved his family and was so excited about the cabin on Whidbey Island where he and Gayle planned to retire. But most of all I remember and will always miss my uncle’s laugh. I really loved my uncle John and will be forever grateful for his imprint on my life.

“My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry” (Jeremiah 4:19)

This is the passion that I want burning within me for God and the advance of His Kingdom. My heart will pound to the proportion of how clearly I discern the sound of the trumpet and the battle cry. It is Jesus, the Head of the Church and the armies of God, who blasts the trumpet and raises this battle cry. That is what compelled the apostle Paul to persevere and keep announcing the good news from city to city across the Roman world (2 Cor. 5:14). It is Christ’s love for the broken and unreached that must be the compelling force of my life and ministry as well if I am to stay the course and make an impact for the glory of God.

So God, make my heart pound with a holy passion and stir me so I cannot be silent. Revive my soul so I can remain sensitive to your trumpet call and battle cry. Lead me so I can lead others into the mystery of your love and the activity of your Kingdom come. Amen.

Like so many things that Jesus spoke about, his description of what kind of person is truly great is the opposite of who the world considers great. In this world greatness is defined by position, privilege and entitlements. The great ones are those at the top and who prefer the receiving end of serving. Jesus turns this mindset upside down when he declares;

“If anyone wants to be first he must be the very last and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

Jesus taught that a truly great person is one who is not concerned with positional authority and does not consider practical serving as below their pay grade. Unlike what is commonly thought and practiced by “this world” people, the advance of the Kingdom of God is not a conspiracy of superstars, but of servants. Jesus is the perfect model of Kingdom greatness.

“The Spiritual authority of Jesus is an authority not found in a position or a title, but in a towel” (Richard Foster).

What might it mean for the advance of the Kingdom if a majority in any given local church embraced the attitude and lifestyle of true greatness? What changes might need to take place for you to become “the very last and the servant of all”?

Yesterday I discovered that I continue to be criticized and mocked for encouraging our church family to be open to God’s manifest presence and power. As I’ve thought about it, I believe the real offense is that God actually has shown up and revealed his love, truth and power in ways that are unfamiliar and even uncomfortable to some. The vast majority of those that I have the privilege to serve have relished this recent powerful move of God in our midst. And why not? People are being baptized with the Holy Spirit’s love, joy and power! Many are being healed physically and emotionally! Many have been set free from enemy strongholds! People love God and his Word like never before!

Anyway, back to being the object of malice and slander…whenever this type of thing happens to me I have to decide how to respond. This is important because how I respond determines my character and ability to be further used by God. Most everyone’s natural response (including my own) is either to defend and attack back or withdraw in whatever way is necessary to get out of the heat. Jesus makes it clear that retaliation is never to be a disciple’s mode of operation. So that’s out. Equally illegal is to stop obeying God in order to appease the attacker.

So both revenge and backing off are not the ways a disciple is to respond to attack. Jesus takes things even further when he says that we are not to hate our enemies, but rather we are to love and pray for them (Matthew 5:43,44). That seems crazy and impossible! Only God could command such a thing because he also is the only one who can empower us to do it.

It is striking to me that Jesus’ own example and his instruction to his disciples are to “move on, let it go and keep going for it” when attacked for the sake of the Kingdom. I love the story of Jesus’ ministry in his hometown of Nazareth that illustrates this;

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: “…Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them (Mark 6:1-13).

Notice that Jesus’ friends and family from Nazareth were offended because they only knew Jesus in the natural and were unfamiliar with the manifestation of his supernatural wisdom and power. Incredibly Jesus did not remain with them in order to defend himself. What he did do is very instructive and encouraging to me:

1. He took his message and ministry that was offensive to them to many other villages.
2. He commissioned his disciples to spread the word and works of the Kingdom further as well.
3. He prepared his disciples for what they should do when (not if) their message and ministry was not received. Leave them. Let it go. Keep going for it.

Jesus would not allow the doubters and the offended to re-define his or his disciple’s ministry. We must do the same. Jesus would not be distracted. Neither can we afford to be. In every revival Jesus “shows up” in ways that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable to everyone in one way or another. God is so “out of the box,” especially the boxes we try to keep him in! The temptation still exists to become offended by that which confronts our comfort zones. When this is not recognized and dealt with from the heart, the fear and discomfort a person feels often turns to rejecting the move of God and attacking those proclaiming and being transformed by it. I’m sure this saddens the heart of God. In Nazareth Jesus was amazed at his critics’ lack of faith.

I too feel sad and amazed at how brothers and sisters in the Lord can rationalize their unharnessed fear and anger that often manifests as malicious gossip and slander. By God’s grace I will never give in to this divisive temptation that so grieves the Spirit of God. By God’s grace I will love and pray for my enemies. By God’s grace I will never stop proclaiming his Kingdom and asking him to “show up” as he has promised in his Word. I will not let fear or the pain of persecution determine my destiny, for I trust the One who loves me. I am not ashamed of the good news that “God has placed his Kingdom within our reach.” I am proud of Jesus and all that he has done and is doing.

And with many others I cry out to God, “More Lord!”

“And on the seventh day God rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2)

Here I am on my third week of Sabbatical leave and I am just beginning to really rest. I’m sure this sounds ridiculous to many, but resting can be hard sometimes for people like me. To really rest you have to completely cease from all your work. That is what the Sabbath day is all about. This is God’s example and design for how life works…we work six days, rest one. God did it and he was not even tired!

This is clearly a faith issue for me. Do I really trust God and his Word? Or do I trust more in my own ability to determine the use of my time and what is best for my life? God’s command to rest is an invitation to get refreshed physically, spiritually and relationally. I have discovered that including this in my weekly rhythm recalibrates me from the inside out, which allows me to be more fruitful and effective in six days than if I worked all seven. Though this is clear to me I still have to be very intentional to maintain this discipline. I live in a world that seems to provide endless opportunities to do more stuff…good stuff. It’s way easier for me to say, “yes” to a ministry opportunity than to say “no.” “No” is such a simple and powerful word, but it certainly is not my default response.

Over the years I have developed a sophisticated array of excuses for adding more to my schedule than I should. For example, “I’m the one who can pull this off, and if I don’t do it who will?” “I think I can handle one more thing…” “If I say no, this opportunity might not come my way again.” “This is a unique situation that requires me to keep working without really resting. Oh ya, and that’s a unique one too, as well as that one.” And my favorite, “It’s God’s work. How can I say ‘no’?” So dumb!

Embracing the Sabbath will always be a discipline for me, but one that I won’t give up on. Perhaps it’s easier for me to say this now that I am actually resting and experiencing the benefits that come with it. People like me will need friends to remind them from time to time of what they need to be practicing on a weekly basis.

Just now an old and rather corny song came to mind;

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day.

Thank God for the rest He promises and gives to those who practice the Sabbath. Hope you have a bright, bright Sun-Shiny and restful day!

Bill