Yes Sensei!

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding

Prov 9:10

January is the first month of the year...

Genesis is the first book of the Bible and when we read it, we see the “beginning” 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1

John 1:1 reads “In the beginning was the Word” 

Let’s Jump forward to John’s Gospel.

John 13:3-7 

“Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 

I love this picture and I love and treasure Jesus’ words here. You see I often wonder at what in the world Jesus is up to.

I know Jesus is Lord, King, Sovereign and able to do above and beyond all I could ask or think of... 

....but I don’t get it....

I just don’t understand what He is up to.

I love the movie Karate Kid.

I can watch it over and over again.

We love when the kid that gets bullied ends up winning the trophy.

It’s awesome!

The other day I was thinking about how as Christians we are in training.

Psalm 18:34

He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 

Psalm 144:1

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; 

We are in a REAL spiritual battle.

We get that.

Jesus is the Victor.

We get that too.

But your methods Lord... they seem kind of odd, kind of weird, kind of strange.

Enter Mr Myagi.

Where did Daniel go to initially to learn karate?

He went to the Cobra Kai studio.

He went to the “world’s” way of training 

This would not work.

He needed a new Sensei ...(or teacher)

He goes to Mr Myagi who tells him to wax the car. Wax on, wax off...

You gotta be kidding me.

Then paint the fence...

Not right and left horizontally... but up and down.... breathe in, breathe out.

Daniel did not understand Mr Myagi’s methods and in fact at one point he starts feeling like a fool.

But then Mr Myagi lets loose and let’s Daniel in on something...

He has been teaching him Karate the whole time! 

Similarly, our Rabbi, our Master Teacher Jesus is slowly, faithfully, and daily teaching us...

Wax, on wax off...

Breathe in, breathe out...

Since “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” 

Prov 9:10 we must go back to the beginning.

Fear God.

That’s step one.

Reverence Him

Worship Him. 

Learn His ways.

Study the Gospels.

Notice sometimes Jesus is stern (He calls the religious leaders out “you are white washed walls.” Ouch!) 

Other times He is tender, holding up children and praying for them.

Jesus.

He is our sensei.

He wants us to learn from Him!

He actually says “Learn from me”

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I do not understand His methods of training.

I might feel foolish, but I choose to fight my flesh and my strong desire to “understand “ what Jesus is doing...

Instead, I will daily check in with Him

“What is on the agenda today Jesus ?” 

Paint a fence, wash the car, sand the floor? Fold clothes, pray with someone? 

I’ll do it; I’ll obey because I trust you and I will obey your teachings... you are training me to be a warrior for your kingdom! 

Reward, Achievement and Checking the Box

A friend of mine in law school once said  

“Cs get degrees” 

I had never heard that before!

Average...

Most of us don’t want to be average.

Some of us are programmed to be “do-ers” 

There are lots of dreamers but the key is do-ers

Jon Courson said recently in a sermon... 

“Successful people get things done ...”

True. 

Now is the time to follow through !

Give Jesus your best- the morning devotion, your heart, the tithe, etc. 

Though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor!

But for some of us we tend to be natural at getting grades or earning trophies or driven to be busy with activity we need to focus on what Jesus did when he departed to pray...
We need to slow down...
Jesus was about His Father ‘s business...

Jesus was able to set aside those early morning intimate moments with God to pray ...to be still ... 

I cannot be so activity driven that I use up all of my energy and become depleted and drained. 

Remember when Jesus  was in the boat? He was sleeping... He was so exhausted from ministry and then the wind and the waves begin to come and they said (paraphrase)

“Jesus! Wake up! Don’t  you care that we’re perishing? 

Jesus rebuked them. He calmed the wind and waves, but He was troubled at their assessment of the situation. 

I can get depleted, drained fatigued.

But I don’t stop...

I keep going...

Now I must confess, I do sleep well

7-8 hours every night.

But for me, getting sleep is not the issue.

For me, I need to not beat myself up if my “to do” list is too long, or I don’t complete the tasks I have assigned myself.

I need to during the day to stop and pray and read, or to just breathe.

I often ... go go go go. 

And God is telling me to slow down.

You see for me, I love to be still. I love to sit in a prayer meeting or at a retreat and date Jesus. For me, that’s not the issue... the issue is my daily activity driven behavior that incorrectly skew my view of my self.

I got 10 things done. 

Woo-hoo I had a great day.

I only accomplished 4 things today. Man God, am I lazy, was I on social media too much? Please God help me be better at time management 

Laura- 

Time management isn’t the issue- your estimation of a successful day, or unsuccessful day is the problem.

This is the day the Lord has made, not this is the day Laura has made.

I’m the maker of heaven and earth and I am the one who gives your life value and meaning!

I made you to be like Mary, so stop trying to be like Martha. 

I read a beautiful article : 

“10 Ways to Simplify Your Life in 2019”

And here are some take aways I learned ... 

Ask yourself “is that little check mark worth it?” 

“It’s not all about saying ‘no’—you also need to know when to say ‘yes.’ Approach God in prayer and ask Him to lead you. God will show you what He needs from you. Before you fill your calendar, ask where He may need you to leave a little space open for Him.”

Look at what God told Abraham 

Genesis 15:1

 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

    I am your shield,

    your very great reward”

God Himself is the reward we are all longing for. Not checked boxes, or even ministries we have completed... but to truly be like Mary- sitting at Jesus’ feet is the ultimate reward!