Proverbs 30:8 English Standard Version (ESV) Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

This is a great prayer. Over the years my ideas about what I need have changed. Part of the reason for that is maturity, part of it circumstances. What I failed to recognize is that God created us to be needy.

God does everything with purpose and being needy has its purpose. What I need and what I want are two distinct things and easy to confuse the emotions which were also given to us with purpose.

Adam needed a close personal relationship with God and had it in the best way possible. Adam didn’t realize he needed it until he lost if due to what he wanted. We often do not recognize what we need until we lose it. That thought can go down a deep dark hole if it is allowed to be explored. So let us not go there.

Luke 10:40-42 English Standard Version

⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but [only] one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

I added [only] to the ESV because other version point to Mary’s action of hanging on every Word as being the only thing necessary. That does not mean we want more, we just do not “need” them.

John 1:16-17 English Standard Version

¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The indwelling Christ is complete and there is nothing lacking in us that we need. We have received everything we need to temper and control what we want. When Jesus said “this is my body, take, eat” He was answering the prayer from Proverbs 30:8.

TBC means “To Be Continued” and this picks up where we left off yesterday.

What about the rest of the community that can see the change but did not pray to Jesus for our change? They can see the change but without faith they have no way to know it was Jesus who changes us. How do we express the changes in us that Jesus made without sounding crazy? “He spit on your tongue and put His fingers in your ears? Get out of here, that’s crazy.”

That is an exaggeration and silly. For those who have no faith but have seen the change, when asked we may be received as a witness of the power of God for the changed. We might not for many see the power to change is one of the mind, to think it necessary to change by whatever means. A 12 step program or yoga are ways to change that do not glorify God and the point to being a witness is to glorify God.

Being a creditable witness requires us to tell the truth without the hype. It becomes that much more difficult when we try to witness Christ to people who did not know us before the change.

John 10:37-38 English Standard Version

³⁷ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Give glory to God but understand that in doing so every action taken in obedience of faith will be judged by a world that doubts us in every way possible. We must not fear judgment by others, it will come. The alternative is to fail in the command to be a witness in the world.

“If you love me….” JC

The quality of our love is what is being judged.