Danny Panter

Dancing

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day six)

And David danced before the Lord with all his might. 2 Samuel 6:14

I imagine we would have felt a little uncomfortable with David’s dance, but consider something with me for a moment. What if dancing is the most whole expression of worship. The Lord commanded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Dt. 6:4) As westerners we tend to emphasize our mind (we pride ourselves in our theologically rich hymns) and affections in worship, but we fall short of the whole self. Not so with dancing; dancing can express heart, soul, and might.

So, maybe dignified worship is not worship’s fullest form, maybe dancing (while singing of course) is. This week when Kenyan women (in greet need) received buckets of non-perishable food, they sang…and danced unto the Lord. It’s easy to chalk that up as cultural, and maybe so, but what if dancing is more than cultural.

It’s just a thought, a consideration.

So, when’s the last time you worshipped with all your might? If you had, you probably could not have helped yourself; you probably would have danced…a little; maybe just the slightest shuffle. 🙂

King

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 1; 2:1-7 (day six)

2 Samuel is the story of a king, a better king. After Saul’s death David makes a savvy move under God leadership by making his way to Hebron in Judah. There elders crowned him king, although one of Saul’s sons remained. It was a brave political move, but more simply, the Judeans longed for a better king, and they found one in David.

David’s kingship is an epic tale, but the longing still remains at its close. But God did that on purpose. His covenant with David ensures us a even better king is coming and has come.

Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise, and the satisfaction of a longing for a better king.

“Jesus, King of the Jews.”-Pilate

Simple

Re:Verse passage – John 21 (day six)

John concludes his Gospel alluding to the wealth of activity and teaching of Jesus that simply would not fit in his book. What I find amazing is, instead of including something more glamorous, John chooses to include these simple and intimate final moments with Jesus by a campfire. They are not necessarily spectacular; after all, we’ve seen Jesus do that thing he does with fish before, so why include THEM?

If eternal life is to know the one true God and the one who he has sent, Jesus Christ, then these last few moments with these seven disciples make so much sense. They are a picture of closeness and knowingness. It is in these simple intimate moments that Jesus reminds them of who He is and who they are.

Sometimes we look for the profound in the glamorous, when what we need are simple intimate moments with Jesus. When we find ourselves there, we discover once again who we really are because we are reminded of who He is.

Rise

Re:Verse passage – John 20:1-21 (day six)

No one expected this. No one. Not even after he told them so. Not after Jesus did the impossible in raising Lazarus, and Talitha, and a young man from Nane from the dead. Not to mention the countless miracles. Not in a million years did they expect Jesus to come out of that tomb.

The resurrection is the firstborn of an untold number of unexpected moments, i.e children of wrath becoming children of God. And yet to this day, we still struggle to belief He can bring dead things to life. He can and he does, like marriages or people you never thought could change.

The resurrection is why we cling to hope, even when there seems to be no way. He is the way.

“Father, we believe, but help our unbelief!”

Reflection

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day six)

John is doing more than retelling a historical account, albeit the greatest story ever told. He’s casting our own reflection.

We see Pilate, passive but intrigued. We see the soldiers, indifferent to Jesus, but enjoying the mockery and the torture. The chief priests and Jewish officers, far from indifferent, they hated Jesus. And the crowd, they were the cheering section, disappointed because Jesus wasn’t the messiah they wanted him to be. We see the criminals by his side, one humble, the other a cynical skeptic. And then there are the four Mary’s and John; heart broken and in disbelief.

Do you see yourself in the reflection John casts. I do. Which one are you?

Presence

Re:Verse passage – John 14:15-31 (day six)

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” -Jesus, John 14:18

Jesus promised them His presence, even though he would no longer be present. He said, “…the world will see me no more, but you will see me.” Enter the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our helper in that He enables us to truly see Jesus, to know His presence, until He comes again. It’s really no surprise then, that the Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance all that Jesus had said to them. It wasn’t a peculiar feeling that the Holy Spirit would give them, or even us now; no, it wasn’t like that. It was more than a feeling; it was Jesus’ very words brought back to them. Right there, in the memory of truths and promises spoken, they saw Jesus in all His beauty and goodness.

This is the reason we read God’s Word, to see and savor the beauty and goodness of Jesus by the power of the Spirit. So, if you want to see and experience Jesus’ presence in your life, you must be in His Word.

Don’t Be Discouraged

Re:Verse passage – John 12:20-37, 42-50 (day six)

“…they still did not believe in Him.” John 12:37

Don’t be discouraged. That’s one of the messages of John 12. After all Jesus had done, they still did not believe; His own people rejected Him. Those closest to Jesus had to feel defeated and discouraged. This is why John includes Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10; it serves as a reminder that nothing or no one can thwart the plans of God.

When the seemingly unexpected happens, rest assured it is not out of God’s control. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, do not lose heart. When the church seems to be losing ground, and the world advancing, do not forget God’s promises.

Nothing can stop God.

Method

Re:Verse reading–John 6:52-69 (day six)

You must be born again…a spring of water welling up to eternal life…If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Jesus had a way with words. So far, Jesus has used the tangible (new birth, water, bread) to make sense of spiritual realities, although no one fully understood him at the time. Even though Jesus rarely went out of his way to explain his metaphors (he did with his disciples), his methods say a lot about his character. Jesus chose words that were relevant, relatable, and meaningful. Yes, these truths were still challenging, but Jesus did not got out of his way to make them so; they are so, by their very nature juxtaposed to a broken world. His words are the kind of words that required presence; being with people in the moment.

That’s a very good method. A good method indeed.

Authority

Re:Verse passage – John 5:1-24 (day six)

You don’t walk away from this story thinking how sweet Jesus is; you shouldn’t. This is no cuddly Jesus; he is all power and authority. The kind of man who knows how to walk into trouble. The kind that commands decrepit old legs to get up and walk. The kind that demands, “Stop sinning.” And when confronted by the “powerful” he didn’t back pedal, or debate with them, he said plainly, “That’s right, I’m working on the Sabbath, just like my Father is working.”

Sometimes our Jesus is so cuddly and sweet, there is no need to obey him all the time or take him all that seriously. Just like a teddy bear we cozy up with from time to time, but give little thought of the rest of our day.

Maybe our view of Jesus needs to change. John would certainly insist on it. Oh, and so would Jesus.

Full

Re:Verse reading–John 4:4-30, 39-42 (day five)

”I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” -Jesus, John 4:32

You would think this brief conversation with his disciples is disconnected from the rest of the story, but it’s not. The disciples had no clue what he was talking about, in the same way the woman at the well couldn’t wrap her mind around living water. Food and water? It’s almost as if Jesus is trying to say something profound (that’s sarcasm).

They are two sides of the same coin. Both believing Jesus and doing what he says yield similar results-satisfaction, wholeness, restoration, or in other words never thirsting again and full from food of another kind.

Drink up and have your fill; you will never be disappointed.