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Life Around "The Fire"
Life Around "The Fire"
Navigating Life's Transitions: Lessons from Jesus
Transitions shape our lives, yet they often leave us feeling disoriented and uncertain. What if I told you that Jesus himself navigated every type of life transition—and did so flawlessly? This revelation might just transform how you view your current season of change.
The Gospel of Luke offers us an extraordinary helicopter view of Jesus' transitional journey, from his humble birth to his glorious resurrection and eventual return. Far from appearing suddenly as a fully-formed Messiah, Jesus experienced the full spectrum of human transitions. Did you know his first blood wasn't shed at the cross but at his circumcision when he was just eight days old? Or that between ages 8-12, he relocated multiple times, understanding firsthand what it means to be "the new kid"? At twelve, he astonished temple scholars with his wisdom, yet honored his parents by returning home rather than demanding recognition.
Most surprising might be the eighteen years Jesus spent as a craftsman—working with his hands as a carpenter and stonemason in the family business—before transitioning into his public ministry at thirty. Think about that: eighteen years of routine daily work before his calling was activated! If you're feeling stuck in a job or wondering if your potential will ever be realized, take heart. Sometimes being "a nobody" allows us to develop the character and skills we'll need for our ultimate purpose. Jesus himself demonstrated that transitions take time, require patience, and often involve seasons where growth happens invisibly, below the surface.
Whether you're facing career changes, relationship shifts, identity evolution, or spiritual growth, Jesus provides not just an example but a companion who understands every step. His life proves that our transitions aren't random detours—they're essential pathways to becoming who we're meant to be. Come explore how Jesus' journey through change can illuminate your own path and transform your perspective on life's inevitable transitions. The gold is just beneath the surface, waiting for you to discover it.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
You know, I was thinking that, if you're anything like me when it comes to getting a good recommendation specifically concerning a book to read, and regardless of whether or not you're an avid reader or you're just a casual reader, you like to pick something up to read. A casual reader, you like to pick something up to read, and I'm suggesting something very specific and that's for you to pick up from the Bible in the New Testament, the book of Luke, in fact I'm going to be talking from the kingdom of God, with faith in Jesus, or you are a seasoned veteran, a good recommendation is typically most always welcome, right. Typically most always welcome right. And so the book of Luke because, first of all, it is God-breathed, meaning Luke was under the inspiring power of Holy Spirit when he was writing this gospel, was writing this gospel, god was moving him along in his writing, and so it is the word of God, and when it's rightly divided, it has so much to offer. There is gold underneath the surface, but sometimes you got to get underneath the surface to get the gold right. You got to dig a little bit, and so this book is worth digging into because it carries with it so many nuggets of gold, man, inspiration, things that just if you look at it, on the surface it could be, you know, informative, but if you go beneath the surface, it can be transformative. It can transform your life. It has mind, it is transforming mine. In fact, there's one portion of it right now that has captured my attention, and it concerns this whole thing of God bringing us through different transitional places in our life and using Jesus as the prime example.
Speaker 1:In the book of Luke, I found some interesting things. I'm going to share them with you so that when you're reading it, you can also see in it some of the gold that I found. But find some on your own, for your personal life, beyond what we're talking about here, and so I'm just going to give a helicopter view of the life of Jesus concerning going through transitions, because he did and he went through them without stumbling. Now, that's inspiring. That's someone that I can follow, even though sometimes I stumble To this very day. Sometimes I stumble, but I get back up. Doesn't matter how many times you fall down, you got to get back up, right, if you fail, if you blow it, acknowledge it, ask for forgiveness and move on as best as you can, with the help and power of Holy Spirit. And so we all, in our relationship with God, if we follow Jesus as we're led by Holy Spirit to do so, we're going to go through transitions.
Speaker 1:Things aren't always going to be the same, even if we like them or even if they are very difficult. Things change. We go through transitions because going through transitions brings us to a place of not only maturity, but it brings us into a place where we become like Jesus. We become like him, we're developed into his very image, and he is the perfect image of God as a man. And so he's our example.
Speaker 1:And in the Gospel of Luke, one of the first things that we understand about Jesus is that he was born right. He was born into this world, and he was born through. A woman Gave him birth and he entered into this world just like we all have, as a baby. So that was his entry point. He didn't just mystically appear, even though in the Old Testament we have some theophanies of him in which he appeared before his birth as a man, but in this instance he was born as a man. Emmanuel, god with us, completely God and completely man, kind of like the mystery of the Godhead Three in one, one in three Jesus, perfectly God, perfectly man, but yet setting aside his deity so that he could live life as a man. And so he was born, just like us. So he experienced what it was like to be a baby, and one of the things that I found out about the life of Jesus is that the first time he shed his blood wasn't at the cross, wasn't in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was when he was circumcised, at the age of eight days old. He was circumcised. He shed his first drop of blood at the age of eight days old, entering into the covenant that was cut with Abraham. He cut covenant with his father To live out that covenant and the law of it perfectly. No one else was ever able to do that. He, to this day, is the only one who has ever done that. But now, when we follow him, we can fulfill that very same law by virtue of following him, because he doesn't have to think about breaking it. He just lives according to the will of his father. Wow, and so eight days old, right, eight days old.
Speaker 1:And between the ages of eight and twelve, he has to move a few times. And so if you've ever been young and have had to pick up and move. It can be a little bit challenging, because you leave some friends and then you got to make some new friends, and then you leave those friends and make new friends, and you're always kind of like the new kid. And so Jesus knows what it's like to be the new kid, because he had to move from one location to another, and at the age of 12, though at the age of 12, we find him with his parents going to a large get-together, a feast, the Feast of Passover, at this gathering in Jerusalem, and people from all over Israel attended that get-together. So the place was alive with a lot of activity and Jesus was in the mix, and it came time for everyone in that particular party of people to leave, and they packed up and left, and the assumption was made that Jesus was with one of the relatives or friends of that particular party, and so they left and home alone right, that was Jesus, home alone.
Speaker 1:They took off and he was left behind, and it was several days later that they realized he wasn't anywhere in that camp or party of people, and so his parents were just panicked, struck in grief, just what happened to him, and so they're hoping that, against all hope that perhaps he's back still in Jerusalem. And so they go back to Jerusalem and they find him talking with a group of elders and scribes, scholars, pharisees, and he is talking from the scriptures and they are astounded at his understanding of the word. He was holding court at the age of 12. A prodigy. So if anyone here is a prodigy, you know the feeling. You know things and you know things, and you know them because they are clear to you where they're not so clear to other people.
Speaker 1:And these men who knew the Old Testament were astounded at the degree to which Jesus was explaining things from the scriptures. And his parents found him and they were relieved, but they were also a little bit upset and they asked him Jesus, why did you do this? Why did you? What would you? Why did you do this? Why did you do this? And he said didn't you know that I was going about my father's business?
Speaker 1:Now, mary knew and Joseph knew that Jesus was born. Mary knew and Joseph knew that Jesus was born, conceived uniquely, not because of sexual intercourse but because God overshadowed Mary and implanted within her the Word, the seed of God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and he was born as the Son of man, but also the son of God, and his father, being his heavenly father, was the one that Jesus was referring to, his father's business, even though his adopted father, joseph, was a craftsman, artisan, carpenter, stone mason, a worker with his hands blue collar. Jesus transitions from that spot where he could have demanded to stay and be a young king prodigy, but he chose to obey the law by obeying his parents, to honor his mother and his father, and he went back with them, and it says in the scripture that he grew in stature and wisdom with God and with man. Favor was upon him until he reached the age of 30. Now he worked as a stonemason, carpenter, worker with his hands, an artisan of sorts, craftsman, and had a family business.
Speaker 1:So if you as a person are involved in business to any degree, at least to some degree, jesus, least to some degree. Jesus can relate to you, and he did, and he had a business For Jesus. Then he went at the age of 12, he went to work with his earthly father, his adopted father, in the business, as well as going to school with others. But he was doing his father's business as a man. He was doing his father's business as a man, and sometimes we think that that's really where we're going to remain. We're going to remain at that job, and sometimes it's like my God, god, do I have to remain at this job? Or I love my job? Sure, I'm glad I'm going to be here for the rest of my life. If we're following in the footsteps of Jesus, there's going to be a transition at some point in time. Some of you might be facing that transition right now, and Jesus is your example. He, at the age of 30, 18 years later, 18 years, 18 years he was serving in that business and doing it well. But 18 years later and doing it well, but 18 years later he responds to the prompting that it's time for him to make a transition, and I'm telling you what a transition it was. He was to leave the business of being a carpenter, a stonemason, an artist and a craftsman and step into the role of being a rabbi, a prophet. A rabbi, a prophet, and one who is called to be a king and Messiah. What he was called into an office of being Messiah, the one Some of you have a calling upon your life, and you know it, and some of you may have been fighting it, still fighting it, still wrestling with it, or you've known it and you just wondered when is it going to happen, or is it ever going to happen?
Speaker 1:And the answer is yes. Yes to both. I for one have been one who was doing the kicking and screaming for a while. And someone asked kicking and screaming, why would you want to kick and scream against God's call upon your life? I said man, have you ever been a leader? One guy said the higher up you get on the ladder, the more rear end you got. Showing. It's like volunteering to be ugly. Being a leader, I mean, look, it can look glamorous, but man looks can be deceiving. And also, if someone's making something look smooth and easy, it's probably because there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. It's very hard. Anyway, if you have that calling upon your life, god certainly has not forgot about it. And also, if you're kicking and screaming, god certainly hasn't forgot about it. And one way or the other you're going to answer that call.
Speaker 1:If you are one who is born again into the kingdom of God and you're a child of God, you're a citizen of the and you're a child of God. You're a citizen of the kingdom and you're maturing Because, see, that's the process, the process of maturing. Jesus matured and sometimes it takes time. It takes time to mature. There's something about things that are done behind the scenes they're never wasted but sometimes it's good to, in essence, be a nobody, because you can relate with people better who haven't had a silver spoon in their mouth since they've been born, in their mouth since they've been born.
Speaker 1:So Jesus, at the age of 30, makes a transition into the ministry of ministry, but interesting. He was baptized into it, it was recognized and when you have people recognize things on your life, you can be fairly certain that it's not going to be too far down the road, that you're going to be baptized into something that is going to go over your head in a big way and you're going to become a new person or a new assignment. That's going to require a different reliance upon God. Jesus had to learn how to rely upon his Father in a new way now to see the manifestations of the glory and the power of the King of God. Jesus had to learn how to rely upon his Father in a new way now To see the manifestations of the glory and the power of the kingdom of God, the already and the not. Yet. He was going to start showing what the already was, because he said repent, meaning change your mind, change your ways, because the kingdom of God is here, is at hand. What a proclamation. And he backed it up with signs and wonders and words, words and works Powerful.
Speaker 1:But he had to learn how to become dependent upon his father and the faithfulness of his father and the relationship with his father that was nurtured behind the scenes. Nurtured behind the scenes. But it came time for him to come out into the open and demonstrate the fact that the kingdom was here now. But it's going to come even more later. It's going to be both a mustard seed and a big mustard plant. Right now, a mustard seed and a big mustard plant. Right now, mustard seed, later mustard plant and at times a mustard plant, a big plant, but at times a little seed. The kingdom is like that. Sometimes it's manifest and you see the whole big tree, sometimes you can't hardly see it at all. It's like a little mustard seed. Same thing goes with faith Like a mustard seed, then boom, it's big. These are things of God and we need to mature into them, and Jesus did, but he didn't stay. Even in that place. People wanted him to stay. People wanted to take him by force and crown him to be king.
Speaker 1:Because of the things that he was doing, thousands of people would flog to him in remote places, whereas the Pharisees and scribes and scholars of the day could hardly get a couple hundred people to get together and they had to pretty much put the screws down on them and make them feel guilty to get them to obey the laws that they were laying on people and weren't even keeping themselves. They were barring the way to the kingdom and weren't entering in themselves. And here's Jesus to the kingdom and weren't entering in themselves. And here's Jesus demonstrating the kingdom and saying come on in, but you got to come through me. I'm the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except he comes through me. No one gets into the kingdom except they come through the gate, the door, and I'm it. Not just anybody, not just a spiritual experience, not just spirituality, but relationship with Jesus, being drawn by Holy Spirit. And come not just to him but into him, so that he can introduce you to the Father, he can introduce me to the Father, so I can have a relationship with God complete, but he's the way, and he at times had to be clear about the fact that that was it.
Speaker 1:And sometimes we need to be clear about the things that God has shown us, and that's not always easy, because sometimes it would be easier to just make people happy. Give them what they want. Man, be a people pleaser, give them what they want, do a few things that impress them and let the royalties come on in. Live the cush life. You know, please, jesus chose to also hang out with publicans and sinners, the riffraff, the other side of the tracks people at times, and yet he could hold court with the people that were the elites. Amazing the spectrum in which he operated in and we're called into that same spectrum to operate in. And so it's going to cause us to stretch, and sometimes the transitions in life cause us to stretch. But it didn't stay there.
Speaker 1:Jesus then faced the cross, the crucifixion, the laying down his life for mankind, and sometimes we reach a place where we need to lay down our lives for the ones that we care about. We become sacrificial in our living and in our giving, and Jesus did, and we're going to focus in on that once again in the next episode, but for now, he transitioned to a place of experiencing pain, and sometimes we're going to experience pain. It's going to be difficult being a leader. We're going to lay down our lives on behalf of someone else. But he didn't stay there.
Speaker 1:He experienced the resurrection. He transitioned into the resurrection, a whole new realm and way. Death no longer had him. He was living above that and we're called to live above things. Come on up so my glory can come on down, and he ascended. Come on up so my glory can come on down. And he ascended. He transitioned to be not a person any longer on the earth, but still a man. He ascended to the highest place and is now seated at the right hand of the Father and he has caused us to be there with him in the spirit, and he's coming again. He's going to transition from that to come back here and he's going to get married in the process to us Transition and then he's going to ultimately defeat the enemies. Transition and then he's going to ultimately defeat the enemies, the devil and death, and put them into the lake of fire along with the false prophet and the antichrist and all that is evil will go there and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Talk about transitions. We're in for a ride and it's just really now getting more and more amazing. It's no longer unbelievable, it's becoming very believable because of the things that are going on in the world today, right now.
Speaker 1:Get ready, get ready to come on up and let the glory of God come down and see things that you have never seen before in a transition. God is providing. Let's pray, father. I thank you once again for who you are, for what you're doing, how you're doing it. You just I honor you. We honor you, jesus, we exalt you. We hold you in your name. High Holy Spirit, we thank you for coming and leading us and teaching us and guiding us, comforting us. Thank you, we honor you and we invite the kingdom of God to come and the will of God to be done in earth as it is in heaven, and we offer ourselves as living sacrifices in the name of Jesus. Amen, amen, amen, amen. All right, folks, I love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire, at gmailcom, or you can type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you In the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.