With Christ in the Redwoods

February 15 - Mark 1:1-28 - The Christ Ultimatums

2011-04-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

They still have a drive-in movie theatre in Sacramento, and that's where I saw the Matt Damon action-thriller, "The Bourne Ultimatum." I gotta tell you, the action in that movie moved so fast sometimes, it made my head hurt. The gospel of Mark is not quite so frenetic, but it does move apace. In the first 28 verses we have the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus' baptism, Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, John's imprisonment, Jesus initiating His preaching ministry, Jesus calling His first four disciples, Jesus initiating His teaching ministry, and an exorcism!

During this swift sequence of events, John defers to Jesus, God the Father endorses Jesus, the Holy Spirit guides Jesus, Satan is resisted by Jesus, angels minister to Jesus, disciples follow Jesus, and evil spirits obey Jesus. Hmmm, that last one is an interesting one. Evil spirits obey Jesus. He gives orders to demons and they comply. Wow. Demons obey Jesus and people don't. How bold are we? How bold and foolish.

I look at the passage again and notice that so far, Mark has only recorded commands from Jesus' lips. Christ came with authority and with imperatives:

"Repent and believe! The time is now and the Kingdom is here."

"Come follow Me! We've got more repentant believers to gather in."

"Be quiet, demon, and come out of him!"

Mark's gospel moves with urgency and doesn't mince words. And why shouldn't it? There is evil to be quashed; there are souls to be saved; there's a new community to be formed. The time is now and the Kingdom is here!

Those same dynamics exist today, too; always will. The Kingdom is here and the time is now. What are we doing to drive out the evils of our society? To heal its victims? What are we doing to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God to the people arounds us? What sort of disciple-making disciples are we? Have we learned to be fishers of men?

Life's events run swiftly by us. Everything seems to scream for priority and urgency. It is a kind of tyranny. But that's not the realm God calls us to. He calls us to His Kingdom. The domain of peace, love and joy. And the domain of obedience to the Savior and His imperatives.

The demons comply.
Will you?

Pray: Jesus, you are as Mark says, the Messiah and the Son of God. And what you bring to us is good news. Even if that good news comes in the form of imperatives, they are the divine imperatives that guide us toward everlasting life. Help us all to defer to you like John. Help us to follow you urgently like Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Help us to learn every lesson you have for us. And to live out those lessons in your Name.

February 14 - Matthew 28:1-20 - RISEN

2011-04-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

There isn't nearly enough space here to discuss the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. For those who would like to dig into about 400 pages of pros and cons regarding the Lord's emergence from the tomb, you could try the recently published Defending the Resurrection, edited by James Patrick Holding. Suffice it for me to say, my life has been transformed and continues to be impacted and blest by a lively Son of God, so instead of dis-believing until someone proves it to be true, I'm going to believe it until somebody proves it to be false. I'm open to receive all comments for and against the resurrection.

This leads me to a couple of observations for the last five verses of Matthew's gospel. From both the angel that rolled the tombstone away and the risen Christ Himself, the promise went out that the disciples would all see Jesus alive on the mountain in Galilee. So they travel to the designated place, and Jesus shows up, they go to their knees, their faces, in worship, and then the text records - "but some doubted." Wow! Really? They doubted? Doubted that it was Jesus? Who else would it be? It says they all worshipped Him, so apparently they recognized Him as their Jesus, their Master. They revered Him as God, because you don't just worship any old body. So, those who doubted -- what were they doubting?

Looking up the word in the Greek text, I found edistasan, which literally means to stand in two places at the same time. Like walking past someone at an airport halfway around the world and swearing it's an old buddy you haven't seen in thirty years. "Is it him? No it can't be. But it sure looks like him. What are the odds? No, he just favors him. But wouldn't it be something? He's looking knowingly at me. Should I approach? Nah, what if it isn't? But ... what if it IS?" At a crossroads and halting back and forth, that's the idea behind the word translated "doubting."

I don't think the disciples doubted it was Jesus back from the dead. The hesitancy wasn't about the 'who,' the hesitancy was about the 'how.' The cruelly tortured, drained and lifeless Jesus, wrapped and sealed -- how ... how? It is truly incomprehensible. But it is not unbelievable. I cannot comprehend how a plant turns toward the Sun to drink up its light. The plant has no brain, no nervous system, no musculature. How does a plant know that the Sun is a necessary element in photosynthesis? How does it translate the rays of the Sun into data sent to the stem cells to tell them to flex and relax to twist the leaves toward the light? I cannot comprehend that. But I certainly do believe it.

I cannot comprehend the Incarnation. I cannot comprehend the Trinity, nor the resurrection. But I believe in them. And that's why I believe that Jesus' authoritative command is for me. "Go make disciples of all peoples ..." Go live like a believing follower of Jesus Christ so that others may, though doubting, worship and follow Him also. And seeing as He's alive, not dead, He is with us all the way.

Let's go turn some people toward the Son!

February 13 - Matthew 27:32-66 - I'll Believe in Him on My Terms

2011-03-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that arguments are frequently won or lost at the very beginning of the exchange; at the framing of the question? If I get to establish the approach to the question, and continue to dictate the terms of the discussion, I will probably win the argument. That's why you'll often hear an interviewee on television answer a different question than the one that was asked. They prefer to frame the question and dictate the terms of the discussion. Hard sell sales people use the same approach.

When we observe the crucifixion of Christ as described by Matthew's gospel, we see a variety of people talking to Jesus. Some said, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Others challenged, "Come down now from the cross and we will believe in you." And, "He's God's Son, so let God rescue him." Most of them thought that to authenticate His claim to Messiahship and deity, He should save Himself.

You see what they're doing? "We'll set the terms, and if you comply, then we'll believe in you." "We'll accept you as God if you'll defer to our terms." Now, does that even make sense? If God, by definition, is the Supreme Being, then He does not defer to anyone. If God is sovereign creator and sustainer of life, then life is lived on His terms not mine. This is the primary problem that people have with accepting Jesus as Lord. Lordship means Jesus gets to frame the question; Jesus gets to dictate the terms.

The fools at the foot of the cross didn't understand the purpose of the cross. Jesus was dying to save their souls. If they understood the question, they would never have asked Him to come down. Jesus didn't live His life on man's terms for man's shallow desires according to man's myopic view of the world. Jesus lived and died and rose again to open our eyes to the expansive dimensions of life on God's terms.

Many have re-framed the life and teachings of Jesus to make Him more palatable. We just want a God we can manage. We want a God that doesn't challenge or threaten us. We want to fit neatly and comfortably into our God's parameters, so we shape Him rather than make changes in ourselves.

Jesus said, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father accept through Me."

You can challenge His terms. You can ask a different question.
Or you can bow down and worship Him.

Pray: Jesus, You are God and I am not. I defer to You. Help me to see that Your way is the best way. It is the way of discipline and of sacrifice, and some suffering. But it is the only way to anything abundant and joyful and eternal. Thank you for Your death, which opened the door to that blessed life for all who believe.

February 12 - Matthew 27:15-31 - Who's Yer Daddy?

2011-03-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

My Dad enjoyed football. Played for the Clason Point Rams (google them and you get zip; does anybody know anything about the Clason Point Rams?) He followed the pros on TV. When we moved from the Bronx in December of '67, one of the first great memories to be made in our home in Centereach was Dad and I watching the famous "Ice Bowl" victory of the Green Bay Packers over the Dallas Cowboys. I enjoy football. Played for the McCarville Ford Mustangs, and still follow the pros on TV.

My Dad was an artist, too. And he loved vocabulary and plays on words. He was the PunMeister. I'm also an artist, and a wordsmith of sorts. I see the imprint of my father in who I am and what I do. In today's text, we are presented with some father-son pairings and we are presented with a key life decision.

One of the ways the Romans attempted to keep the fringes of the Empire intact was to allow a certain degree of autonomy to local jurisdictions. A bit of freedom to decide and act; a bit of appeasement on the part of the Romans to keep the locals from insurrection. The Roman governor, Pilate in this case, would release on a feast day a prisoner of the mob's choosing. So, two native sons were put up for the crowd to pick from - Barabbas and Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of the Heavenly Father. This 'sonship' is figurative and not literal language, as the New Testament testifies to Jesus being God Himself. (see Matthew 28:17,18; John 1:1-5,14; Colossians 1:15-20). So, Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, embodies and reflects the character of God the Father. Barabbas, however, was a murderer and a rabble-rouser. His name translates literally, Bar (son), Abbas (father). He is also a "son of the father." Odd, seeing as all men are sons of their fathers. But perhaps the name is to be understood, "his father's son," as in 'a chip off the ol' block!' Like father, like son.

My skills and preferences reflect my Dad in me and his influence over me. God the Father is reflected perfectly in His one and only Son. And perhaps Barabbas' father was a violent and unruly man like he was. Fathers impact their sons. One generation influences the next. In presenting the choice of Jesus or Barabbas, I wonder if the Scripture is asking us to make a key life decision. That is, to decide ourselves to release the life of God into our lives, embracing Jesus and pursuing a holy imitation of our Holy Father, or to decide to release the rebellious and hurtful nature of our forefathers in our lives.

We have earthly fathers, some wonderful, some woeful. We stand in the stream of many generations, and as experience and history tell us, they are generations of broken and sinful people. To rise above the common stream and be the wonderful, not the woeful, of our generation, we must reach beyond our earthly forebears to the Father in Heaven. 'Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be THY name."

I love and honor my Dad, and am proud to be called the son of that father. But to have blessed him well, and continue to be a blessing to my own children and the world about, I cannot aspire to merely imitate my earthly father. I must be a true child of my Divine Parent.

Pray: God, I know that you have created me in Your own image. You sent Jesus to love and die for me that I might have Your adoption as a true son. Stir the Spirit of the Son of God in me, that I might reflect You and honor You in all things.

February 11 - Matthew 26:69-27:14 - So Many Useless Words

2011-03-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

We email. We chat. We text. We tweet. We post. We blog. We feed. We surf. We kindle. We self-publish. We Wikipedi-ize. And does anybody know how many titles are available on Amazon.com? We have satellite talk radio 24-7 and digital television channels in the hundreds. Song lyrics, magazines, t-shirts, point-of-purchase and outdoor advertising all add to our inundation with words. But how many of them really matter? And what about speech? What about all the words I utter every day? What does all my talking accomplish? Is there something to be said for silence?

Now, Peter was a talker. He was a first-talker and a fast-talker. Ask a question and Peter is immediately responding. He is a passionate talker. "Everyone else may desert You, Lord, but I will never leave you. I'll die wiith You before I'll leave You." That's what he said. But less than twelve hours later he is saying something quite different -- "I don't know this Jesus." "Do you hear me? I have no acquaintance with the man." "Listen, g-- d--- it, I don't know Him!"

Fearful lies. Foolish talk. Useless words. The result - he weeps uncontrollably.

Judas was a talker. He was a sly-talker. A deal-striker. And double-tongued. (see John 12:4-6) One minute he wants to sell ointment for money for the poor, the next minute he's selling Jesus for his own gain. Pangs of conscience seize him, and now he wants nothing to do with the money. His words of remorse fall on deaf ears.

Deadly dialogue. Foolish talk. Useless words. The result - he hangs himself.

Enter Jesus. As the rabble keeps raging and the religionists keep accusing and the governor keeps probing, Jesus ...

stands ...

silent.

In the cacophony of useless words, Jesus stands silent with the testimony of a life of purity, prophecy and service. The wake of His words and work swell around Him who without a sound resounds with divinity, and leaves the whole world babbling without knowledge. If only everyone would just shut up. If only the politicians and the priests and the populous would just be quiet - stop texting, stop tweeting, stop posting, stop blogging

and listen with their souls to the eloquent silence of the presence of God.

"Be still, and know that I am God," the psalmist urges us to sing. (46:10)
Finally. Some useful words.

February 10 - Matthew 26:47-68 - Then All the Disciples Deserted Him

2011-03-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Today's passage is so full of sad and dramatic moments - the kiss of betrayal, the impulsive violence, the 'kangaroo' court, the mocking humiliation. But to me, the real jolt of sorrow comes at the end of verse 56.

"Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled."

Do you see where that statement is lodged in the text? Right after Jesus declares, not once but twice, that what is happening is according to and in fulfillment of Scripture. "What the prophets told us about is now coming to pass. Revelation is becoming reality right in front of you." And in the face of those affirmations of Divine orchestration -- the disciples desert the Lord. Christ brings a Word out of heaven and His followers run like hell.

What?

Isn't the unfolding of the plan of God something to stick around for? Wouldn't they want to be there as prophecy comes to fruition? Ah, but it's not happening the way they expected. What they understood about prophecy is proving to be somewhat off center. Where is the power and the justice and the triumph? Where is Messiah finally flexing the arm of God? Why does this look, smell and taste like we're losing? Why are we being admonished not to fight back? Our momentum isn't gathering, it's unraveling! I'm, I'm out of here.

It's easy to follow Jesus when what He says turns out the way we anticipate. When He says 'love God,' and we anticpate that that will look like singing sweet praise songs in a low-lit sanctuary, and it does and we do. It's easy to follow Jesus then. But when 'love God' means obey His command to you to quit your job and sell your house and move cross-country; that's when we rather lace up our running shoes. Like the soldier who enlisted to get an education and job training, and goes AWOL when the combat deployment orders show up - even though it's plainly part of the commitment, it's not really what he signed up for.

What sort of Jesus-followers are we? Fair weather followers? Low-risk followers? Comfort and convenience followers? Will I run when it gets confusing or hard or scary? And what will I forfeit?

The most expensive seats at performances of the "Blue Man Group" are right up front. Those are also the seats that will guarantee that you get paint (and any other stuff the Group is using) all over you. You won't just be 'at it,' you'll be 'in it.' When it comes to following Jesus, we need to be in it. We need to shell out for the front row. We need to know that if we stick close, we will see the unfolding of the Eternal story. We will be covered in the stuff of eternity. We must not forfeit that.

Pray: Faithful God, courageous and unshakable, make me into a true disciple. One who stays close even when the chaos comes. When my mind can't comprehend and my body wants to bolt and my emotions are rattled, let my trust in You remain. I want to sit in the midst of Your miracles.

February 9 - Matthew 26:14-46 - Here Comes My Betrayer

2011-03-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

We are moving into the final days of Jesus' earthly ministry in our readings. But these are not the waning moments. This is the height of His ministry. This is the time of ultimate victory, and the time of His greatest challenges. Jesus will now triumph over betrayal, over abandonment, over fear, over man's ignorance and inhumanity. Jesus will overcome torture, pain and death. He will accomplish all that the Father sent Him out to accomplish. For the praise of His glory, and the salvation of our souls.

First comes the challenge of betrayal. What a wound betrayal inflicts! Are you familiar with it? It is not the attack of a faceless enemy. Not the ongoing salvos launched by those who have long been your nemeses. Betrayal is that blindside blow to the heart from someone you cared for, and thought cared for you. There was history there; significant moments shared, investments made, hopes established. But now the kiss of that friend is a dagger to your soul. How do you spend three years with someone, living together and experiencing together the deep truths of God, only to have them sell you out - treat you like a thing and not a person? Betrayal is confounding and cruel.

Judas' betrayal of Jesus is out of greed, out of carelessness and selfishness. Peter's denial is anticipated in today's text and it is also a kind of betrayal, but a betrayal out of fear. Then, Jesus' closest disciples show their weakness in the face of the challenge to pray in Gethsemane. The spirit is willing, but... These critical hours are proving too difficult for them.

What happens in the critical moments of OUR lives? When prayer, loyalty, and faith are needed most, does our flesh dominate our spirit? Does Jesus find us asleep, in denial, in betrayal? All thanks and praise to the Son of God and Savior of the world who did not fail to give His body to be broken and His blood to be shed. He triumphs for us over our weaknesses, fear, and rebellion. In the Lord's Supper which He instituted that night, we have the reminder of His sacrifice for our salvation. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!"

Yes, when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, "Here comes my Savior."

When Jesus saw Judas Iscariot, He said, "Here comes My betrayer."

When you come walking down the street, what does Jesus say? "Here comes My ________ ..."

Pray: Help me, mighty God! I want to stand with You in the hour of my testing. I want to overcome my fear, my weakness and my callousness. I have pledged my love and my life to You. Help me never to betray that vow.

February 8 - Matthew 25:31-26:13 - Jesus In the Least

2011-03-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Where is Jesus?

I heard a joke about a Mom who was so proud of her seven year-old son. He would sit on the floor in the playroom every Sunday afternoon and repeat to his four year-old brother what he learned in Sunday School. After a while, the younger brother began to repeat the lessons to his stuffed animals! On their way home from school one day, Mom dropped by the Pastor's office with her boys to show them off. "Ask them a question about the Lord," the woman prompted. The Pastor folded his arms across his chest and bent over toward the eldest boy. "Where is Jesus, Johnny?" The boy didn't say a word. He had never been in the Pastor's office before, and the big man with the big voice was a bit intimidating. "Johnny, where's Jesus?" he repeated. The two boys looked worried now as they clung to each other. Frustrated that her boys were making her look the fool, the mother put her hands on her hips and stomped, "Johnny, tell Pastor where Jesus is!" Instantly, Johnny grabbed his brother by the arm, flew out the office door and down the sidewalk two blocks to his house. He raced up the stairs to his bedroom, threw open the closet door and huddled with his brother behind the coats in the dark. The younger brother whispered in confusion, "Why are we hiding, Johnny?" "Quiet, Billy. Somebody has stolen Jesus and they're blaming US!"

So, where IS Jesus? Most people say He is in heaven. Many people say He is in their heart. One day He will come in His glory to judge the people of every nation. Jesus Himself describes this separation of people into two groups. In light of other Scripture, we know that Jesus is not describing a salvation based on good works. But what Jesus reveals in today's passage is an essential characteristic of those who are saved. The righteous have compassion upon and are moved to action on behalf of the needy. People in right relationship with God are also in caring relationship with people. They feed the hungry. They clothe the naked. They show hospitality to strangers. They visit the sick and imprisoned. Mercy and service are signs of a saved soul.

Christ gives us a glimpse of His glorious return, and answers for us the question, "Where is Jesus?" Jesus is behind the empty bowl. Jesus is in the stranger's shoes. Jesus is in the sick bed and in the jail cell. He is the orphan, the widow, the marginalized and disenfranchised. And the sign of the righteous is that they care and are moved to action for them.

Funny tough, Jesus teaches that neither the righteous nor the unrighteous recognized Him in the poor and lonely. They simply demonstrated the true nature of their hearts when confronted with "the least." What does your response to the weak, the hurting, the needy say about YOUR heart? From today's text, we know where Jesus is...

Where are you?

Pray: Lord of all compassion, stir up Your mercy in me. Help me to see You in the eyes of the broken. Compel me with Your Spirit of goodness and love to meet the needs of my fellow man. I know I can't help everyone; but I can help someone. Make me an instrument of Your grace.

February 7 - Matthew 25:1-30 - Ready To Go!

2011-03-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

How soon before you take a trip do you get ready to go? Do you plan well in advance, make lists to check off, anticipate a variety of scenarios and pack accordingly? Maybe you're so familiar with the trip and all it entails that you can wait until the final hours to pull it all together. My wife and I are opposites about this. She starts preparing long before I do. I try to keep her from getting anxious about too many details and she helps me not to forget anything important. The balance works nicely and we always have a great time traveling together.

Today, Jesus tells a pair of parables about being ready to go when He returns. At this point it would be good to remember that parables are not allegories or extended metaphors -- a parable doesn't usually have special and detailed symbolism. A parable is usually told to make one point. You can try to make the oil and the lamps and the talents of gold represent something, but they are probably just oil and lamps and bags of gold.

In the first parable, ten young women are anticipating being part of a wedding party. They are waiting for the groom to arrive so they can go out to welcome him and join his entourage. As he may arrive at night, the girls would be wise to have lamps and an adequate supply of oil for them. Of the ten, five prove to be wise and five foolish. The groom arrives at midnight; five lamps are burning brightly and five are flickering out. Five young women meet the groom and are ushered into the wedding feast. Five others make a last minute dash to buy more lamp oil and miss the whole affair. The window of opportunity to go with the groom was narrow and only those who had prepared in advance were ready and able to go.

We need to help as many people to be ready to go as possible. We know the Bridegroom. We know that His arrival cannot be anticipated with split-second accuracy. Our own time of departure from this world is also unpredictable. So the time to be ready to go is now. The groom told the foolish virgins, "I don't know you." If we really know Jesus, then we know we don't want to miss His coming! To enter into the wedding feast of the Lord is the ultimate blessing, and those who know Him won't be scrambling last minute. Help as many as possible to know, love and eagerly anticipate Christ's return.

Along with being ready to go to the wedding feast of the Lord, the second parable tells us that we should present a nice gift when we get there. This story involves a master and his servants. The servants are given varying amounts of gold to take care of while the master is away. Even the servant who is given the least is still given a hefty chunk of change. Translating the original unit of measure used in this parable, the servant who received one bag of gold was still holding about twenty year's worth of day-laborer wages!

The servant with the most, put that gold to work and doubled it. The servant with less put his gold to work and doubled it, too. But the one with the least didn't understand his master, but rather feared him and worried more about losing some or all of what he had. So he buries it. When the master returns he discovers two servants who have doubled his trust. Amount was not the issue. The one with ten bags and the one with four bags in the end received the same commendation and reward. The issue was investing the trust to present a good return to the master. The one who feared and could only return exactly what had been given him was dismissed and punished.

We need to recognize the extraordinary wealth we have been entrusted with by God, and steward it wisely. When Christ returns, we must have a fruitful life with return on His investment to offer Him as He comes. Your life is golden, by the grace of God. Invest it in the things that Jesus values and holds dear. And when He comes you will receive the blessed commendation -- "Well done good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master!"

February 6 - Matthew 24:29-51 - Clueless

2011-02-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away."

Jesus gives us some insight into the days of Noah. Here's a guy who embarks on a building project so out of the ordinary, so out of proportion to anything anyone has ever seen up until that time, and still there were some who had no clue what it was about. Could people really have something so unavoidable, so newsworthy in the midst of their daily circuits, and yet be so unaware of its significance? Or was Noah's explanation received as the eccentric exaggerations of an aged zealot? Was the ark present and under construction for so many decades that they simply took it for granted? Did it's extraordinariness fade over time, slipping into the background of their more individual concerns - 'what's for dinner, did you get the wine, who should I marry, do you like his fiancee?'

Jesus taught that it would be the same way when He comes again. But let's not jump all the way to the Second Coming. Isn't it true that the resurrected Christ is alive today? Isn't it true that He can speak to the heart today in an extraordinary, unavoidable and life-altering way? And today, wouldn't the ark that stands as a testimony to the activity and intentions of God in our midst, and holds the family of the faithful and the hope of all - wouldn't that 'ark' be the church? And yet so many have no clue what it is about. They are unaware of the church's significance, or they have chalked it up to a construction of eccentric zealots.

Sadly, unlike the steadfast witness of Noah's clan, the church has done quite a bit to undermine its own credibility. Our voices HAVE sounded at times like senile ranting. We have frequently veered off God's blueprint and built country clubs and fortresses and walmarts instead of sea-worthy vessels. So, even though there are many who are clueless, careless and callous, there are many who are just confused.

Let's get back to building an ark, a temple, a church, a community that actually resembles the plans God gave us through His Son (with project management by the Holy Spirit.) Let's make sure the clueless get plenty of clues. Let's make sure the connoiseurs and the courtiers are primarily hungering and thirsting after righteousness and planning to be members of the Bride of Christ.

Pray: God, help us to know truly what You mean for your church to be and do. Make us clear witnesses to the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Use us to make sure the least amount of people possible are taken by surprise at Your return.

February 5 - Matthew 24:1-28 - Honey, I Think It's Time ...

2011-02-27T21:26:00.000-08:00

We've all seen it played out many times to peals of laughter. The young wife appears in the doorway and announces to her neophyte husband that their firstborn is about to arrive. Instantly he is a frantic dervish without a brain. He is running into walls. Wearing one untied shoe he grabs an armful of pre-packed bags and throws them and himself into the family car. He is down the block before he realizes he has left his contracting bride at home.

Sometimes I observe a bit of the same high anxiety when I hear some believers talk about the "last days" or the "end times." It is true that on more than one occasion the final days of history and the return of Jesus Christ is described as "birth pains." But Christians don't have to respond to this reality of our faith like the father-to-be in the aforementioned comic scenes. In the paragraph before Paul's writing to the Thessalonians about the Second Coming, he urges them to "aspire to live quiet lives." There is no need to become panicky or alarmist as end time signs begin to appear. Here are some of the signs Jesus lists in today's passage:

The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem
(accomplished A.D. 70; Titus and the Romans)
Deceivers claiming to be the Messiah
Wars and rumors of wars ("don't be alarmed," Jesus adds)
Famines and earthquakes ("just the beginning," Jesus indicates)
Hatred and murderous persecution of believers
Many will betray Jesus and turn from the faith
Wickedness will increase and love will grow cold
Daniel's prophecy of the "abomination of desolation" will be fulfilled
The greatest distress the world has ever seen will take place
False messiahs and prophets will perform amazing wonders
The gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to all the nations

In the anticipation of all this, can we heed the words of Jesus to 'not be alarmed?' Can we live "quiet lives" in the face of the approaching crisis? Jesus' last comment at the end of this passage seems at first cryptic. "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather." But maybe it is very straight forward. Vultures tear up the dead, not the living. As long as I am alive in Christ, I don't have to panic. The vultures will come for the deceivers and the warmongers and those who abandon the faith, for the cold-hearted persecuters and the cockamamie messiahs, but they won't come for me. I am alive in Christ.

Jesus Himself says He doesn't know the day or the hour of His return and the moment of it is described as a flash of lightning and a thief's arrival under cloak of night. If it is to be sudden and unexpected, then I ought to be doing today and tomorrow what I hope to be doing when He shows up. I believe that is a calm and unalarmed discipleship that participates in the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom to all the nations. Yes, make Christ known in word and deed, steady as she goes, until the Groom says to His Bride, "Honey, I think it's time."

Pray: God, you have made known to us the end from the beginning. You are life and life eternal; You are fullness of joy forever. We have all this guaranteed to us by Your grace through faith. Heaven is our inheritance, and no wordly distress of any magnitude can strip us of it. Glory to You, true Prophet, Messiah and King!

February 4 - Matthew 23:13-39 - Woe...Woe...Whoa!

2011-02-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been warned that you were going to be read "The Riot Act?" In 1715, the British under King George I instituted a "Riot Act" to be able to control unruly crowds of twelve or more, particularly those who opposed King George. Once read in public to the crowd, the gathering would have to disperse within an hour or face severe penalties. Nowadays, we use the phrase to mean any occasion when a person or group is sternly warned or corrected. In light of the modern idiom, Jesus definitely reads the Pharisees the "Riot Act" in today's passage from Matthew.

I have preached on this passage before under the title, "How Not to Be a Pharisee." Although the format of Jesus' rebuke indicates 'seven woes,' I find there are twelve solid instructions within this chapter to guide us away from the foolishness of phariseeism.

Practice What You Preach (23:1-3)
Lighten Other People's Loads (23:4)
Work for God's Approval, Not Man's (23:5-10)
Lead By Serving (23:11)
Practice Humility (23:12)
Make It Easy for People to be Saved (23:13)
Make Disciples of Jesus, Not of Yourself (23:15)
Value Christ, Not the 'Things' of Christianity (23:16-22)
Prioritize the Higher Virtues (23:23-24)
Be Righteous from the Inside Out (23:25-28)
Accept God's Correction and Wisdom (23:29-36)
Live Under the Savior's Wing (23:37-39)

Instead of an unruly mob of twelve, be glad to have this gathering of twelve rule your approach to the Christian life. Consider each of these bullet points as twelve stalwarts calling you to join them in exalting Christ, His Kingdom and it's principles. The "Riot Act" was employed to disperse any activities contrary to the rule of the King. I think I'll read the Matthew 23 Riot Act to myself, to disperse any phariseeism that might be gathering in the back alleys of my spirit.

Pray: Lord, thank you for your boldness and your clarity about what does and doesn't reflect true spirituality, true devotion and Kingdom character. Help me to conform to your refinements and transform me. The last thing I want to hear from you is "Woe!"

February 3 - Matthew 22:34-23:12 - Sometimes Too Hard; Sometimes Too Easy

2011-02-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

You might just have one or more

of these at your house. It's a two-pronged robe or towel hook. Once, when I was asked to speak at Council Time in AWANA, I unscrewed one from the back of my bathroom door and stuck it with duct tape to the fellowship hall wall. The kids were memorizing Matthew 22:37-40.

"Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The hook was the "hook" for the lesson. It represented the two-pronged imperative that the entire life of a disciple is lived out of. The child of God, the follower of Christ, needs only to remember one thing -- to love. If you forget everything that's written in the Law and in the Prophets, but you remember to love, you've got it covered. One supreme action, commanded to be poured out in two directions - like the two beams of a cross. Vertical love; loving God with everything I've got. Horizontal love; loving other people, all people, as if they were me.

Today's text begins with Jesus having silenced the Sadduccees. So the Pharisees took a shot at Him and the result of that volley was, "from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions!" Jesus baffled the self-proclaimed experts. His sayings were too hard to understand. Hmmm. Really? Or were they too easy? Love God. Love others. Done. But then, how could these holymen maintain their reputations through position, power and meticulous piety? Jesus had brought them low by the profound simplicity of love. They had exalted themselves and Christ humbled them. But those who humble themselves to love God and man through selfless service - these he promises to exalt.

Don't ever be a Pharisee. Don't be a "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrite. Don't preach and not practice. Be a disciple of Jesus. Be His follower, His student, His imitator. Pour out love in two directions. And keep asking for His help. So easy, yet so hard.

Pray: I do love you, Lord. Help me to love you more. And help me to demonstrate that love by the way I love others. I cannot say I love You and hate my brother. Humble me. Teach me. There are no greater lessons than Your lessons of love.

February 2 - Matthew 22:1-33 - Power Lines

2011-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Many of you are all too familiar with the concept of heavy snow and ice bringing down power lines. The nation has suffered severe storms this winter. Thousands have had to endure the consequences of crippled electrical supplies to their homes. There was plenty of current being generated; it just couldn't get through. The lines were down.

After explaining to the crowds another charactersistic of the Kingdom of God, staving off a challenge by the Pharisees and correcting the theology of the Sadduccees, Jesus states, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." The Scriptures are the Word of God and the power is the Spirit of God. Together, the Word and the Spirit are the dynamo that generates the current of truth by which we can conduct our lives. We can understand the nature of the Kingdom of God when we are connected by the Spirit to the Word. We can become wise and discern with subtlety; we can know, trust, and practice sound theology when the line to the source remains up.

Stay plugged into the Word. Lean on the Spirit of God to empower the Word and your understanding. "Lean not on your OWN understanding ..." as the ancient Proverb teaches. Whether it's the mission of God in relationship to human history, or the relationship of faith to human government, or the practical implications of doctrine - all this and more becomes clear through Spirit and Word.

When the storms came up and the power lines came down, people suffered a loss of comfort, a loss of food, a loss of communication, a loss of light. Similar losses on a spiritual level are experienced when the conduit is cut between our souls and God's truth. Don't let the blizzard of busyness or the whiteout of doubt or the weight of life's challenges keep you from being connected to the empowering Word.

Pray: Lord, it is so easy to let the stuff of earth cut me off from the treasures of heaven. Help me to prioritize my time with You, in prayer, study and meditation. How can I expect to stay charged up when I keep pulling the plug?

February 1 - Matthew 21:23-46 - God Has Three Expectations

2011-02-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

I'm attending an evangelism conference in Torrance next week, so my wife and I drove down early together to visit our daughter in Santa Monica. We had heard of a barbecue place in Venice called Baby Blues on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, so we thought we'd check it out. Until my introduction to Sprayberry's in Newnan, GA, I had always considered the noun 'barbecue' to mean an event or a cooking apparatus. Then I ate a pork barbecue plate with brunswick stew. I discovered "barbecue' as a noun meaning amazingly tender and tasty meat cooked over low, slow smoky heat. So Sprayberry's hooked me, and Baby Blues continued to confirm that barbecue is THE best way to eat meat. And Baby Blues met my three criteria for an excellent dining experience -- friendly staff, great food, and prices commensurate with the quality of the meal. Those are my three expectations.

There's no barbecue in today's reading, but there are expectations. Three expectations. Jesus confronted the chief priests and elders and clarified God's three expectations, but they are not just what God expected from ancient Jewish leaders. God still expects these three activities from everyone He calls upon.

First, God expects transparent dialogue. God IS alive and He gets people's attention and speaks to them - through His creation, through His Word, through His followers, with immediacy through His Holy Spirit. God is a God who speaks. Are we willing to have an open and honest conversation with Him? Are we willing to pray with candor? The religious leaders who spoke with Jesus refused to answer His question. They didn't like the facts that their answers would reveal, so they didn't answer Him at all. They ducked and dodged in their conversation with God. Don't do that!

Second, God expects repentance and faith. At some point in an open and sincere conversation with God, God is going to broach the matter of sin in your life. He will expect you to agree with Him (He is GOD after all) that your sin is a serious issue with deadly consequences. He will expect that you will turn away from sin and put your faith in Him as the remedy for it. Jesus offended the religious leaders of His day by saying that the prostitutes were entering the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of them! But the prostitutes were repenting and the self-righteous priests were not. A hard truth to swallow, but the truth nonetheless. Don't expect to be in right relationship to God and heavenbound by any other means than repentance and faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ.

The third of God's expectations is fruitfulness. Once we have heard and answered the call of God, and out of a transparent talk with Him confessed our sins and turned from them to faith in Jesus Christ, God will then expect us to be productive as colaborers of His. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. They are unique to every one of us, but fruitfulness is the common element. An abundance of godliness should tumble out of our lives. We should overflow with the character of Christ, bounteous in love joy, peace, patience and all the fruit of the Spirit. There should be plenty of good works that glorify God in our lives and the reproduction of new believers - disciplemaking. When God, who owns the 'vineyard' you've been placed in to live and work, comes for a harvest from you - what will you have to present to Him?

Everyday we go out into the world with expectations of how we ought to be treated and what we ought to gain. Shall we rather go out focused on meeting God's expectations of us?

Pray: Father, you made me, saved me and set me free to live a life of transparency, faith and fruitfulness. Help me not to forget Your appropriate expectations of me as Your beloved child.

January 31 - Matthew 20:29-21:22 - Lord, Have Mercy on My Eyes

2011-02-16T23:06:00.000-08:00

See more spectacular nature photography at www.juzaphoto.com

As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem for the final week before His crucifixion, He encountered two blind men. These men exhibit great faith and great persistence. They cry out and demonstrate that they believe Jesus is the Messiah, and that He has supernatural power. They ask for mercy and call Him, "Lord." The crowd tries to hush them, but the prospect of being treated by the 'Son of David' is too much for them to be silent. Jesus wants them to say specifically what they desire. "We want to see!"

With compassion, Jesus gives the men the sight they asked for. He touched their eyes and more - now they are following Him. They are following Him into the most intense week of His life. And they will see it all. I wonder if Matthew puts this healing story here for a special reason. It isn't unique - Jesus has done many other healings before, including restoring sight. These men are nobody special and the circumstances are fairly insignificant. Except, this is the beginning of that final week. It's almost like Matthew wants to say to his readers, "Open your eyes now. Cry out for clear vision now. Don't miss any of what I'm about to show you."
Matthew lets these men model for us the prayer he is encouraging us to pray - "Lord, have mercy on my eyes."

If our eyes have been opened and we are following Jesus, what is it the writer says we will see?

1. That Jesus' life is a fulfillment of prophecy. God promised us Christ the King, and He delivered.
2. When we follow Him, Jesus will immediately place us in the midst of what He is doing. (It's quite possible that the 'two disciples' He sent for the donkey were the two He had just healed of blindness!)
3. Jesus is One to celebrate over; to give entrance to with a joyful heart.
4. Jesus is intense about the church getting it's priorities straight: prayer and worship - number one!
5. Jesus prefers innocent praise over indignant 'piety.'
6. Jesus is hungry for us to bear fruit.
7. Jesus wants us to pray in faith; ask, believe, receive.

When you follow Jesus with fresh eyes, there's a lot to see! Stay alert. Don't blink.

Pray: Lord, you know how blind I am. Open my eyes to see You wherever You show up this week. Help me to perceive Your Word correctly, to recognize opportunities to celebrate You in public, to see the importance of prayer and worship, to identify my pride and judgmentality and seek a simpler, more innocent way of honoring You. Help me to see my way through to fruitfulness and faithfulness.

January 30 - Matthew 20:1-28 - Counter-Intuitive

2011-02-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

Our natural intuition and conventional wisdom may help us flow well with the ways of this world, but if we want to track with the Kingdom of God, we have to learn the counter-intuitive ways of Christ. An excellent book on this subject is Donald Kraybill's The Upside-Down Kingdom. In today's text, Jesus teaches two more lessons about the inverted nature of God's Kingdom.

In the kingdom's of this world, reward is earned. There are pay rates and scales. The expectation is that the longer and harder you work, the greater will be your compensation. The problem with applying that principle to Christ's Kingdom is that right relationship with God and entrance into the Kingdom can not be earned. This is perhaps the greatest misunderstanding in the realm of religion and spirituality -- that somehow, we can work our way into Heaven. 'I must be good enough. I must be holy enough. I can perform spiritual exercises and grow in faith and goodness. When death comes, I will have amassed a spiritual resume sufficient for access into eternal bliss.' But devout religious ritual + sincere good deeds DO NOT = the gospel of Jesus Christ. Careful study of the New Testament would lay that fallacy to rest, but few are willing to read it much less study it with care.

Jesus tells a story about how everyone who responds to His call to join Him in His work receives the same reward. Heaven is for those who labored with Him, one hour or eleven. The only way that that does not qualify as unfairness is if the reward is not based on the work. And it's not. The reward is based on God's grace and generosity. Of course, this story of His is not a complete theology, so one has to read more to understand how it fits with things like repentance, regeneration and discipleship. But the core concept is clear - salvation is not merit based. It is mercy based. The meritorious work is referred to in the verses after the parable - "the Son of Man must be ... mocked and flogged and crucified .." The only work related to our heavenly reward is the work of Christ on the cross. His work accomplished what our meager efforts could never have achieved.

The second counter-intuitive lesson in our reading is Christ's definition of greatness. In the world, the 'great ones' rule from on high with dominion and authority. In God's Kingdom, the great ones are the servants. Sacrificially meeting the needs of others is the sign of greatness, which is exemplified in the surrender of Christ to the aforementioned work of the cross. He loses that we might gain. He lowers Himself that we might be exalted. He dies that we might live. He is the greatest of the great -- because He is the servant of all. How topsy-turvy is that? It's how the first becomes last and the last, first. It's how we get paid when He did all the work. It's the way of the upside-down Kingdom.

You do well to let Jesus stand your life on its head!

Pray: Lord, help me to see life the way You see it. Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways not my ways. Teach me Your Kingdom perspective, so I can be in the world, but not of the world.

January 29 - Matthew 19:13-30 - Leave Everything Behind

2011-02-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a rich man entering the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Jesus' picturesque teaching. Some say that Jesus was referring to an actual passageway or door in a city gate called "the eye of the needle." For a camel to pass through it, the beast would have to be stripped bare of its cargo. No historical, archaeological evidence exists to substantiate this explanation, but it is still pretty close to capturing what Jesus was saying. Another explanation is that behind the Greek word for 'camel' in this text is the Aramaic word 'rope.' Camel and rope are the same Aramaic word -- "gamla." It would be nigh impossible for a rope to be shoved through a needle's eye, also. Unless - we untwine the rope and strip it down to just one of its component threads. Again, the idea of stripping down to the minimum to accomplish the goal.

Jesus speaks this memorable phrase in reference to how hard it is for the rich to inherit eternal life. When the wealthy man asks what he lacks to gain passage through heaven's gate, Jesus says, "Sell all you have ..." Divest yourself of your cargo, Camel! Unravel your rope down to the last thread, friend. Then, come follow me through the gate to glory! The man couldn't do it. He was bound up in his own rope; burdened down by his own wealth. He didn't have IT. IT had him. So he turned away from Jesus and went away in sorrow.

Notice earlier in today's text how Jesus embraced and blessed the children. The Kingdom of Heaven is their's, because they don't have any baggage or bindings. They have no earthly 'riches.' They are paupers in the kingdom of this world, but princes in the Kingdom of God. This weaves perfectly with Jesus' closing statement, "Many who are first (in this world) will be last (in the world to come)..." and "many who are last (by man's estimation) will be first (in Jesus' eyes)."

By the way, those riches don't have to be money. The 'riches' that keep us from eternal life are ANYTHING that we value more than following Jesus. In the same vein as His statement to the rich man, what if Jesus said, "Leave your current job behind and follow Me?" That's how I ended up at seminary. He said, "Leave your job, sell your house, move 2000 miles to a place you've never been before and take up Master's level studies after 11 years away from academia." I'm not bragging; I'm saying that Jesus is still in the "unraveling" business. Still calling for divestiture. Still encouraging us not to win the whole world and lose our souls.

"If I were a rich man, ...?" Um... Nah.

I'd rather be a pauper Prince.

Pray: Lord, to gain more of You and the Kingdom, I have to lose more of my worldly self. Help me to make the trade willingly. Unravel me.

January 28 - Matthew 18:21-19:12 - Forgive From Your Heart

2011-02-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

Well ... shouldn't you?

Pray: "Our Father, who art in heaven ... forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Help us to imagine what we would be like if the forgiveness we received from You were only equal to the forgiveness we have extended to others.

January 27 - Matthew 18:1-20 - Link Arms with Their Guardian Angels

2011-02-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

Even as a Pastor, I sought to be involved with Vacation Bible School and Children's Church in a front line role because, I love children. In most cases, they are not so tainted or jaded by the world, and what you get is purity and innocence of relationship. Their transparent wonder, self-expression and affection melt my heart. They are easily influenced and molded, also, and great care must be taken in our relating to them.

And if you ever wondered what Jesus thought about our precious little ones, this passage in Matthew 18 makes it crystal clear. Jesus puts forth children as the exemplars for greatness in the Kingdom of God. And Jesus reserves some of His most aggressive and violent language for those who would cause harm to children.

In a moment when Jesus is surrounded by inquiring adults clamoring for the label of "great" in God's Kingdom, He calls a child to come to His side. Not great in stature, nor power, not in knowledge, nor accomnplishments, this child simply comes by humble obedience and trust. And therein is the greatness. So Jesus instructs - "Change! Become like a little child or you will never see the Kingdom of Heaven." Great humility; great obedience; great faith ... THAT is what Jesus is looking for.

We must not look down upon the children but rather look for Jesus in the children. We welcome Christ when we welcome them. And Jesus reveals a unique reality - that the children have angels who serve and intercede for them before the face of God! (verse 10) God speaks to our children and ministers to them through His appointed messengers. Ought we not to link arms with their guardian angels, to minister the Word and the blessing of God to them, too?

And how serious is Jesus about the children not being caused to stumble in sin? He says if you trip a child up, having a stone tied around your neck and being flung into the sea would be preferable to the punishment you're going to get. Oh, sorry, not a stone, a "large millstone," and not just into the sea, "drowned in the depths" of the sea. Jesus isn't pulling any punches here. He is dead serious. If your hand or eye is going to cause a child to sin, "cut it off, ""gouge it out." This is not a literal prescription, but an indicator of the magnitude of God's concern for leading our children in holiness and not in sin. "Not one child should be lost." Is that your commitment to the children in your life?

Deal with sin rightly and swiftly - within yourself, with other adults, and in the presence of the children. When we burden the next generation with the consequences of our prideful disobedience to God, it is as if we tie the millstone around THEIR necks ...

May it never be.

Pray: Lord and Savior of every precious child, help us to see their beauty and innocence and do all we can to preserve that. Help us to grasp the ramifications of our sin for the children in our lives. This should be ample motivation to serve You and so bless the little ones.

January 26 - Matthew 17:10-27 - Crazy Quilt

2011-02-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

This quilt segment can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and was made by Elizabeth Keeler and Ellie Keeler Gorham around the year 1883. They called the quilt, "Crazy Pattern." It appears that every scrap of material that could be found at the Keeler home was salvaged and used to produce this engaging work of art.

New Testament gospels are quilts of a sort, too. Each author had a variety of sources to choose from, edit, and arrange in order to tell the story of Jesus in the most compelling way for his unique audience. Sometimes the pattern of narrative swatches is plain, and at other times it's a crazy pattern. In today's reading, Matthew has quilted together some story snippets and their inter-relationship is not so clear. Perhaps the craziness of the pattern reflects the crazy spiritual state of the people around Jesus, and why He says, "You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?"

In these eighteen verses, we see misunderstanding, weak faith, grief and presumption on the part of Christ's disciples. "Who IS the Elijah to come?" "Why couldn't WE cast out that demon?" "What will we do when You are DEAD?" "Why WOULDN'T You pay the Temple tax?" Jesus' followers are such a confused and immature bunch. They are pushing the One who invented patience to the end of His rope. But He will never let go. He will persevere through craziness, through the betrayal and the denial and the abandonment - and die for the redemption of them all.

And 'them all' means you and me. We are among the disciples who drive Jesus crazy. We misunderstand His Word. We fail at our tests of faith. We fret, panic and weep, even though He has told us that in Him we overcome. Then, on the other hand, we speak with bold assurance of things about which we are dead wrong. Oh, the unsearchable riches of His grace toward the insanity that is humanity!

How long-suffering
and merciful is He
to persevere with a 'crazy quilt'
like you and me.

Pray: Thank you, Lord! Thank you. I have so far to go. And I have ignored, mis-represented, and mis-interpreted Your Word so many times. Yet You continue to show me grace and supply the help that I need. Your grace IS truly amazing!

January 25 - Matthew 16:13-17:9 - Denial, Diligence and Deference

2011-02-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl XLV (45, for those of us who aren't Roman) will be played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. Which team will lift the Vince Lombardi trophy in victory? Well, I'll tell you which one. The team of denial, diligence and deference. The team whose players deny their individual status and function together as a seamless unit; who devote themselves to effort and execution at the highest level of excellence on every play; who yield to the leadership of their decision makers - their quarterback and coaches; the team that does that best will win.

The Lombardi Trophy

Those three qualities are also the marks of the true disciple of Jesus. He told them, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Self-denial, diligence in carrying the sacrificial burden of God's calling, and deference to the will and wishes of Jesus are what it takes to be a genuine Christian. There are plenty of Monday-morning Quarterbacks and Sunday-morning Christians; neither of which should be taken very seriously. They both have something in common - an armchair. From their place of comfort they presume to analyze and criticize the game without ever getting in the game. And most won't, because they don't want to deny themselves, or sweat the sweat of diligence, or humble themselves in deference to somebody who actually knows the game.

Of course, with Jesus we're talking about the 'game' of life! And if it weren't for His status as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (as Peter correctly named Him), the consummation of the Law and the Prophets (as seen in His transfiguration), we might have a hard time accepting His 'upside down' insight into the game of life. Jesus says, "whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.

Jesus is saying that His team wins eternal life. But that calls for losing our self-centeredness, losing our self-protection, and losing our self-rule. Yet with Jesus, when you lose, you win. It's not easy to grasp that. That's why Peter rebuked Jesus when He started talking about crucifixion. Peter was way off base. Could Jesus coach us to deny self and take up a cross if He hadn't done so Himself?

Jesus exemplified denial, diligence and deference to the Nth degree, and walked out of the grave victorious! He won. And we win in Him.

Pray: Lord Christ, I want to have the victory over sin, death and hell. I want to be counted among Your true followers. Help me to do what it takes to follow You daily with my cross in hand.

January 24 - Matthew 15:29-16:12 - Reading the Signs

2011-02-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

Each time I packed up and traveled to Tecate, Mexico for a mission trip, I anticipated learning more Spanish. One helpful activity on the van ride from San Diego airport to Valle Redondo was to try to read the signs. I would look carefully at the businesses that stood behind the signs for clues to try to interpret the words.

In today's text, people are having a hard time with interpreting signs. Jesus is healing people left and right. And the text says this caused the people to, "praise the God of Israel." But it seems they were praising God for the display of power and for the healing, and not for what these miraculous signs signified. Jesus never performed miracles just to show off; just to give people what they wanted. Jesus' miracles were signs. Signs that pointed to Him as God and Messiah. The physical healings were signposts to the deeper spiritual healing that Jesus had more importantly come to accomplish.

When Jesus fed thousands miraculously after His hillside teaching sessions, the bread was meant as more than a meal. It was a sign. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This bread -- that multiplied itself, that fully satisfied, that in the end was more than they started with -- was a sign of His teaching. His teaching is God's Word. His mouth is God's mouth. Jesus is the ultimate manna; the ultimate bread which came down out of heaven. Don't hunger for mere bread and be satisfied, and praise God for a full stomach. Hunger for Jesus; find soul satisfaction in Him!

The Pharisees and Sadducees were good at interpreting the signs of nature. But the signs of Jesus' life and work baffled them. So they wanted signs at their request, on their terms. That's not how Jesus rolls. Man does not dictate terms to God. Defer to Christ. Accept Him on His terms.

And beware of the "yeast" of the ones Jesus called, "blind guides." In this case, the yeast represented the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Why follow the directions of people who can not even see where they themselves are going? Again, they are the blind leading the blind. So, follow Jesus. Interpret His signs correctly. Arrive with Him at His destination - the place of salvation and abundant life without end!

Pray: Jesus, teach me! Help me to understand Your Word. Help me not to be dull and miss the true meaning. Keep me focused on the eternal, not the temporal. Help me not to reject Your teaching when it challenges me or calls for me to change.

January 23 - Matthew 15:1-28 - Hypocrites, Blind Guides, Dullards and Dogs

2011-01-31T23:32:00.000-08:00

Do you recall a time when someone close to you, who had a reputation for patience and kindness, did the "no more Mr. Nice Guy" thing? They blew their cool. They laid down the law. Maybe they even lost their religion! You stood there stunned. A whole other strata of the person broke through the surface. What did you think about that person afterwards?

There are times when Jesus surprises us with the manner of His speech. The jewel of Jesus gets torqued in a situation and we see some different facets. His brilliance becomes a fierce and penetrating beam. He makes us reassess our understanding of Him. He challenges our concepts of righteousness and love.

In today's text, Jesus does some name-calling. 'Hypocrites, blind guides, dullards and dogs' show up on the lips of the Savior. What are we to make of this? Well, first we have to re-set in our minds that Jesus is the Holy One. There is no malice, no sin in these expressions. So often when we resort to name-calling, it is for vengeance and punishment's sake. Jesus is not trying to injure anyone here. Though sensibilities may be offended and feelings hurt, Jesus still rather intends to shake people from their current condition to rise to a better one. His intentions are to build up, not to tear down.

There is simple truth behind the first three descriptives: the Pharisees ARE hypocrites because they champion holy living and yet harbor unholy motives. Their spiritual lives constitute "lip-service." Jesus is confronting them so that they WILL literally "lose their religion." The Pharisees need to lose their religious traditions and facade and actually give their hearts to the Lord. Because their hearts are so far from God, they can not possibly lead others to Him. They are remote from the true light, and so stumble in their darkness and lead others down into the shadows. The blind leading the blind.

The disciples are called "dull" because of their need for an explanation of the parable about what goes in the mouth and what comes out of the mouth. Perhaps they are still too literal minded, thinking that Jesus is referring to eating and vomiting. Jesus calls them 'dull' as a way of saying "Think harder!" "Think in spiritual terms; about the inner man and not the outer." Sometimes we need a whack on the side of the head to snap us out of our old patterns or laziness of thinking.

Finally, Jesus' poetic reference to Gentiles as "dogs" calls for some of that hard thinking. In some Jewish minds, there were only two types of people - Jews, who were God's children, and Gentiles, who were 'dogs.' Jesus does not fall into this mindset as evidenced by His statement to go and make disciple "of all the nations" - of the 'goyim,' the Gentiles. But Jesus, as a Rabbi, a Master Teacher, used His knowledge of this dichotomy to draw out the faith of the Canaanite woman. He calls her by the typical derisive slang of the day to see how she will respond. "Shall I throw the children's bread to the dogs?" She replies, "Whether I'm a child or a dog, you are still my master." Jesus marvels, "Now THIS is tremendous faith!"

Did Jesus' name-calling stun you a bit?
What name does He call YOU by?.

Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to be a devoted student of Yours. I want to go deeper in understanding and wisdom of Your words and Your way. You are challenging, shocking, intriguing and I want to know all about You!

January 22 - Matthew 14:13-36 - 'LittleFaith,' Why Do You Doubt?

2011-01-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of French funambulist Charles Blondin? Blondin was the first ever tight rope walker to traverse Niagara Falls. On June 30, 1859, 100,000 people witnessed this amazing feat. Charles accomplished the Niagara crossing seventeen times. In September of 1860, the Prince of Wales was a member of Blondin's audience and watched as the daredevil crossed the Falls with his assistant, Romain Mouton, on his back! Blondin asked the Prince if he would like to ride on his back for the return trip. The Prince declined.

Even if you hadn't heard the name Charles Blondin, you might have heard his story as an illustration of the difference between belief and faith.
The Prince of Wales surely believed that Blondin could walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope with a man on his back -- he had just seen it! But given the opportunity to entrust himself to Blondin as 'the man on his back,' the Prince refused. The Prince had belief, but he didn't have faith.

In today's text, Jesus continues to do amazing things; feats far greater than high wire acts. He is healing diseases. He is feeding over five thousand people with a single serving of fish and bread. He is walking on the surface of a wind-whipped sea. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny that Jesus is God-like. No ordinary man can do the things He does. And at the end of this passage, Jesus is worshiped as the true Son of God.

But in between the miracles and the worship, one of Jesus' followers had the opportunity to move from belief to faith. Peter believed that Jesus had exceptional power; believed that He could impart to Peter the ability to walk on water. And for a brief moment, he entrusted himself to the powerful Word of Christ. But sadly, it was only for a moment. What happened? Why such a short-lived faith? "Peter" was a nickname Jesus had given Simon BarJonah. But in this instance, Jesus calls him, "LittleFaith."

Our faith is small, too and fails under various circumstances because we doubt that what we believe about Jesus will be applied to us in our moment, under our circumstances. Blondin can carry a man across a wire; he HAS carried a man across a wire; but can he do it with ME upon him upon the wire? We believe that Jesus can. We just don't believe that He will. He can heal, but will He heal me? He can love, but will He love me? Jesus saves souls through people's testimonies. But if I don't have faith that He will use me, then I am not likely to share my story.

Dear friends, don't just believe. Have faith! Belief talks the talk, but faith walks the walk. Sometimes over the waterfall. Sometimes right on the water.

Pray: Jesus, you are indeed God; God who walked the earth and demonstrated the character, power and purposes of the Divine Kingdom. Help me to not just believe that, but to act that out day by day. Bring us all challenges to prove our faith.

January 21 - Matthew 13:47-14:12 - Challenges to the Kingdom of God

2011-01-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Jesus taught us to prioritize the Kingdom in our praying. His model prayer begins with a three-fold petition: May your Name be revered on earth, may your Kingdom come on earth, may your Will be done on earth - even as it is in Heaven. Oh, to have holy reverence, utter deference and full obedience for the King of Kings! That triune perfection will be ours one day when the King and His kingdom are established in their fullness forever. But until then, we have to do our best to revere, defer and obey right where we are. We must worship and serve Jesus and follow His instructions in this world to give others a glimpse of the new world that is coming.

Unfortunately, there are many challenges to the Kingdom of God, and we see three of them in today's text. The first is that the wicked and the righteous live near and among each other. The most challenging aspect of this truth is that they frequently go to the same church together! So then, the self-righteous give the righteous a bad name. The 'hypocrite religionist' is often identified as the first reason by those who reject the church and the gospel. But there are truly good and righteous people in the church who represent Christ's Kingdom well. If only the rejectors would focus their gaze on them. When the Kingdom comes in it's fullness, the wicked and the righteous will be separated like the catch in a fisherman's net. Until then, just devote yourself to genuine righteousness, regardless of who's swimming next to you.

The second challenge to the Kingdom in our text is the familiarity that undermines faith. Jesus had a hard time teaching and performing miracles in His home town because most of the people there were familiar with Him and His family from a human perspective. They assumed they knew all about Him, and so discounted His claims on the basis of "He's just the carpenter's son." In fact, they were offended to think that Jesus would make Himself out to be more than just another one of Mary's kids. Even today, so many are so "familiar" with church and Jesus and Christianity that they can easily wave it off. Let's do our best not to show people an institution or a cultural icon or an ideology. Let's show them a living God whose Spirit lives in us and manifests Jesus through us.

The final challenge for today is the struggle for power. The Kingdom has spiritual power and moral authority. But sinful humanity loves to possess power and exercise authority, too. In Matthew 14, John the Baptist comes with the power of God's Word and the Kingdom's moral law. But Herod has a kingdom of his own and rejects the Word of God. Herodias has power over her daughter, the dancing girl. The dancer has seductive power over Herod, the King. Herod flaunts his power to make an unconditional oath. The crowd shows their power to hold him accountable. And in the end, the Baptist loses his head! If only we would all acknowledge the superior power of God in Christ and defer to His Kingship. If only we would wield what power we possess to bring the Kingdom in - on earth as it is in Heaven.

Pray: King Jesus, help me not to be a stumbling block or a hindrance for the in-breaking of Your Kingdom. Help me to represent You well in this world. Help me not to wait for Heaven to act like a citizen of Heaven. I can do that here and now and transform the circles in which I have influence.

January 20 - Matthew 13:24-46 - He Had Always Told the Truth; Lord, He Was an Honest Man

2011-01-21T23:41:00.000-08:00

My youngest daughter, Angel, had a favorite song was she was a kid. Written and recorded by "Looking Glass" in 1972, it was a story song about a barmaid who loved a sailor whose love was the sea. Her name was Brandy, and the bridge to the song goes like this ...

"Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor's story.
She could feel the ocean fall and rise, she saw it's raging glory.
But he had always told the truth, Lord he was an honest man;
And Brandy does her best to understand."

Brandy is entranced by the stories of glory that she can only begin to capture in her imagination. "What is it like...?" "What is it like ...?" "Tell me about the majesty of the sea and the exotic ports of call!"

I imagine the followers of Christ were much the same as Brandy. Jesus came preaching, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" Jesus came teaching, "Pray like this ... May God's Kingdom come on earth ..." And so His followers must have egged Him on - "What's it like? Tell us more about the Kingdom." And so He did.

Five times within today's brief text, Jesus says, "The Kingdom of God is like ..." Five parables, each illustrating an aspect of God's Kingdom.



The kingdom is like a farmer whose goal is to raise and harvest an abundant crop.

The kingdom is like a mustard seed that starts out very small and ends up very large.

The kingdom is like yeast; a little bit has a huge effect.

The kingdom is like a discovered treasure, or the finest pearl; the finder will sell everything they've got to make it their own.

God IS at work populating His kingdom. At first only a few were called and received the message, but what began small has become very large. A verse, a testimony, a sermon, a good deed are bits of Kingdom yeast, but watch the life-changing effect they can have. Yes, God's kingdom is a treasure; it's a pearl of great price. Have you sold out to it?

Pray: Father, as a child of the Kingdom, help me to re-capture the glory and wonder of the Kingdom. Help me to tell the stories of the Kingdom that I know - how you are the Captain of my soul; how You walked on water; how You calmed the raging sea; how You calmed the raging sea in me! Let each person watch my eyes as I tell my Kingdom stories. Let them feel the Spirit fall and rise, and see Your blazing glory ...

January 19 - Matthew 12:46-13:23 - It's the Seed that Proves the Soil

2011-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

In High School, Chem Lab was the best!

Do you remember your science labs? They were awesome! I guess it's a toss-up between Biology and Chemistry as to which was best, depending on whether you prefer cutting things up or blowing things up. Did you like gross or grandiose? There was one experiment we did where we had three samples of substances, and on visual inspection you couldn't distinguish between them. They all looked the same. So they each got placed in their own test tube and we added a known liquid to the samples. Knowing the kinds of reactions one gets when adding this liquid helped to identify and distinguish the samples. If it turns blue, it's this. If nothing happens, it's that. And if it sparks and sizzles, we're glad we didn't skip lab. (Not that I ever ditched a class in High School; just sayin'.)

Jesus' comments about the use of parables, and the seminal parable of the Seed and Soils, reveal something quite similar to the Chem Lab experiment. One thing that can't be distinguished well by visual inspection is the condition of a person's heart. Of course, Jesus' use of the word 'heart' is not a reference to our physical blood pump. He is speaking of our soul; who we are at the core of our being. When Jesus uses the analogy of 'soil' to the heart, He is illustrating the importance of receptivity and purity in the soul. Where the introduction of the liquid was the element that defined our lab substances, the introduction of God's Word (the seed) is what proves the nature of our soul (the soil).

So, people hear the message of the kingdom of God and they are unimpressed, unmoved, careless, dismissive. The seed has proved their soil to be hard-packed and resistant. Pray for those souls of cement.

A person hears the good news of Jesus Christ and accepts it enthusiastically. But then the trials and persecution that are also realities of the Christian walk come, and as quickly as they turned to Jesus, they turn away. Pray for the young believer who has developed no roots, no depth.

A person hears that Jesus is their Savior and Lord and they embrace Him. But then they are discouraged by life's challenges and distracted by life's wealth. Their Christian walk becomes weak and unproductive. Pray for believers who have taken their eyes off of Christ, stumbling through the weeds of their worry and wants.

Finally, a person hears the great, good news of Christ and His Kingdom and they receive it firmly in their soul. Open, deep, pure, this heart persists in devotion and development, producing much fruit for God.

When God's Word is broadcast in your direction, who does it prove you to be?

Pray: Lord, break up and seed my fallow ground. Cast your Word in my direction and reveal the true nature of my heart. And should I be found hard-packed, tear me up! And should I be found shallow, plow me deeper! And should I be found overgrown with weeds, strip them all away! Help me be receptive, deep, pure, productive for Your name's sake.

January 18 - Matthew 12:22-45 - Before You Ask, The Answer is No

2011-01-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

Do you like peas? Cheese? Brussels sprouts? Cream sauce? I don't. I imagine all four could be combined quite neatly into one recipe, like Creamy Brussels Sprout Soup. But, if set before me I would probably freeze in horror. However, there is no prejudice here. I have tried each of these food items. When I put them in my mouth, they didn't taste good. That's why I don't want them in there again. On the contrary, I have known some folks who simply just decided they didn't like something. Never tasted it. No experience with it. And yet, they adamantly insist they don't like it.

Fettucini with Peas. Meh ...

In Matthew 12, the story continues with episodes that reveal more of Jesus and more of the group called Pharisees. Matthew wants to contrast Christ with this subset of Jewish believers because the Pharisees were revered by many as holy men. Their stated purpose was to live in a way that upheld the value of religious purity. But, they were so deeply committed to their own brand of spirituality that when Jesus shows up, they reject Him out of hand. "Don't like Him."

"But have you given Him a chance ..." "Don't like Him."

"But have you considered ..." "Have you walked a ways with Him ..." "Don't like Him."

"Just give Him a try; a little taste ..." "Don't like Him!"

"But the mute speak and the blind see because of Him." "Don't like Him."
"He frees people from demon-possession!" "He must be commanding the demons by the authority of the Chief Demon."
"He teaches with divine wisdom and with clarity." "He hasn't proven Himself on our terms to our satisfaction."

Wow! That's prejudice. That's stubbornness. And Jesus implies that this type of unbending religiosity is blasphemous. It may be 'religious,' but it is anti-God. Jesus calls them a "brood of vipers" who speak evil and empty words. They are blind men asking for visual evidence. The evidence of unmatched greatness stands before them in the Son of Man, but they can't even recognize it.

So, what has the Spirit of God been saying to YOU lately? How has Jesus been making Himself known to you? Are you willing to respond? Or are your heels dug in somewhere; you have a prior commitment to thinking or doing in a certain way, and even though One greater than Jonah and Solomon is speaking to you, you still refuse to move, to change.

Take a taste of what Jesus has for you first, before you pass judgment.
Psalm 34:8 "O, taste and see that the Lord is good!"

Pray: Lord, I am so inclined to get stuck where I'm at. I am prejudiced and stubborn. I wax wise in my own estimation. Please persevere with me and break me out of my religious ruts. You are so good and so amazing; help me to trust You, to try You, to taste You in a fresh and daring way. You always satisfy.

January 17 - Matthew 12:1-21 - The Ridiculous Insanity of Religious Fanaticism

2011-01-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

"[Jesus said] it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Eating when you're hungry and healing are unlawful, but killing someone is ...
Really, Pharisees? Are you kidding me?!

Pray: Please Lord, help the blind religionists to wake up before they hurt anybody else. Help us all to emulate Christ, of whom You said -

¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
   the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
   and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out;
   no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break,
   and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.

January 16 - Matthew 11:7-30 - Influence and Control

2011-01-17T23:39:00.000-08:00

Many people and organizations have the strong desires to influence and to exercise control over others. There is a sense of power and authority, a sense of being able to accomplish one's goals when influence and control are flexed. Unfortunately, this is often done at the expense of others. Individuals and organizations merely use people to advance their own agendas. Influence and control from other sources are perceived as threats to the agenda. Resistance to 'outside' influence and control becomes a tactic.

Jesus described His generation as a generation seeking influence and control. "You shout in the marketplace, 'We played a tune; why didn't you dance? We sang a funeral song; why didn't you mourn?'" They were so committed to their own influence that they resisted, rejected God's influence (the One who truly IS in control). John the Baptist came as a great prophet and the forerunner of the awaited Messiah, a divine influence under the control of God, and yet he was rejected by many. "John came with a commitment to fasting and preaching, yet people said he was demon-possessed!"

Jesus came, God in the flesh, to draw people to Himself, away from sin and toward salvation. Jesus came to ordinary people, enjoying the food and drink of the common man. "[Jesus] came eating and drinking and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" He came to influence them for the Kingdom, but many resisted His influence.

Jesus had performed amazing wonders in the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. But the citizens did not turn from their sin to Christ. I guess they had their own agendas. They were too busy attempting to control their own fates to submit to the Lordship of Christ.

Or maybe they thought they could do a better job of managing their lives and finding their own comfort zones. That's just foolish. The weight and weariness of this life press down on us and only One has the remedy. Jesus.

“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.”

Pray: Father, help me to see the superior advantage of allowing You to influence and control my life. Your desire is to give me rest and ease, to lighten my load and bless my soul. You send me messengers and You do miracles before me and on my behalf. Help me to see and hear them clearly and receive them as one who wishes to live this life as a grateful blessing to You.

January 15 - Matthew 10:24-11:6 - What We Face in Following Jesus

2011-01-16T23:40:00.000-08:00

Advertisements and salesmen are so good at emphasizing the advantages of their product or service, and ignoring or minimizing the disadvantages. Contracts have infamously included "the fine print" since the invention of writing. Think about the car commercials you've heard on the radio that end with the announcer shifting to a monotone and reading at three times normal speed a dense paragraphful of disclaimers. There's the hype, and then there's the truth.

Jesus didn't work that way. Jesus was honest, plain and thorough in His description of the cost of discipleship. Jesus could have wooed us with just stories of heavenly glory and the blessings of eternal life. But He didn't play that game. No fine print with Him. Jesus laid it out in a nice big font in bold face. Look at what He says about the Christian life in today's text --

1. As a student and servant of Mine, you will be slandered and derided just like Me.
2. Getting killed for being a Christian is a real possibility.
3. Paying mere lip-service to allegiance to Christ has serious consequences.
4. Devoting yourself to Me can cause major division in your family.
5. Painful responsibilities are part of the Christian life; you will take up a cross.
6. Commitment to Me is devotion of the highest order; love Me more than family, more than life itself.
7. Following Me is a challenge that will cause you occasionally to stumble.

But here are the promises --

1. Your worth to God is great; He will take care of you
2. Christ will be the devoted disciple's Advocate before the Father; heaven's reward is yours
3. True and eternal life comes from surrendering your life to Him
4. Your life becomes enmeshed in the life of God; you are blessed and a blessing

Pray: Lord, grant me the courage to consecrate myself fully to You. It is a great challenge to walk in Your footsteps, but the reward has no equal.

January 14 - Matthew 10:1-23 - Leading Your Team

2011-01-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, we would designate 'captains' to 'choose up sides' when we wanted to play a sport. The dynamics of that were interesting. We would usually push to make the two captains the two kids we didn't want on the same team together. Basically, the two best players simply could not be allowed to join forces. Their opponents would lose miserably. Once the two best were separated, they got to pick alternately the members of their teams. We'd do some sort of random game to determine who picked first, like 'rock, paper, scissor.' Then the choosing would begin. Smart picks were not only based on athleticism, but also on skill, the demands of that particular sport, and 'chemistry.'

One has to wonder what the criteria were that Jesus used to pick His twelve apostles. As you follow them through the gospel story, you come to be acquainted with a bunch of prideful, impetuous, dense, ornery and ordinary men who frequently demonstrate a serious lack of 'chemistry.' However, tracing the story out further, we come to see (apart from the betrayer, Judas Iscariot) a team of courageous, devoted followers of Christ who turned the world upside down.

As leaders, we find ourselves in the position of having to bring teams together. What might we glean from today's text about the 'Jesus way' to create teams?

1. Choose your team; some volunteers may not be the right fit.
2. Empower the team; give them freedom, authority, power.
3. Know the team members by name. Connect. Respect.
4. Choose diverse team members for breadth and depth.
5. Give teams clear, specific, thorough instructions.
6. Model the attitude you want your team to adopt.
7. Discuss team strategy.
8. Identify the obstacles and risks.
9. Commit to ongoing support of the team.
10. Cast a vision of success and reward to keep the team encouraged in the face of adversity.

Pray: Jesus, help me to learn more and more about Your way of doing things and how Your ways can be translated into the stuff of my particular, unique life-work.

January 13 - Matthew 9:18-38 - Harassed and Helpless

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³⁵ Jesus (The Specialist) went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (The Diagnosis)

³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to

send out workers into his harvest field.” (The Remedy)

Pray: Jesus, grant me your compassion, your words, your power. I want to work in the harvest! I want to rescue Your lambs from the harassment and helplessness that haunts them.

January 12 - Matthew 9:1-17 - What's Wrong with Jesus?

2011-01-13T23:16:00.000-08:00

Stained Glass, Rhine Abbey
c.1070

Jesus says blasphemous things.
Jesus hangs out with the wrong people.
Jesus doesn't do religion according to tradition.

What's wrong with Him?

Well, the only reason Jesus' words are considered blasphemous - words like, "Your sins are forgiven" - is that His accusers don't believe in His deity. If you believe He's God, then there's no problem with Him speaking and acting like God.

Jesus hangs out with the 'wrong' people because some people think God shouldn't care about all people. But Jesus knows we all need a relationship with God. No exceptions.

Jesus doesn't do 'religion' because our purpose isn't to preserve tradition; our purpose is to celebrate the Lord.

What's wrong with Jesus?
Is that really the question?

We try to tame Jesus; fit Him into our flimsy little box. "Don't say that, Jesus!" "Get away from those people, Jesus!" "Get with the program, Jesus!"

Hmmm. Isn't the question really, "What's wrong with you and me?"

Pray: Lord, shut my mouth and open my eyes, my mind, my heart, to receive You as you really are.

January 11 - Matthew 8:18-34 - Winning Friends and Influencing People?

2011-01-12T23:20:00.000-08:00

Up to this point in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus has been doing some mind-blowing teaching and some eye-popping healing. He has attracted large crowds. So large that He is going to take a little boat ride to the other side of the lake to get some respite. Today's text captures three events. They occur on this side of the lake, on the lake itself, and on the other side of the lake. And whereas Jesus' words and deeds have been magnetic, drawing people to Him, the words and actions of these three events show a more aggressive Jesus. He is influencing people still, but I'm not so sure about winning friends. Thus we come to understand - Jesus didn't come to be everyone's buddy; He came to be God, like Him or not. And some didn't.

"I'll follow you, Jesus, wherever you go."
   "Yeah, well prepare to be a vagabond."

"I'll follow you Jesus, but first let me spend my elderly father's last days with him."
   "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

"Lord, this storm is furious. We're going to drown!"
   "Nail-biters! Why is your faith so puny?"
   And to the storm - "Shut up and sit down!"

After casting demons into a herd of pigs which promptly commit mass suicide, the people of the region go out to Jesus and plead, "Leave us, please! Go away! Go!"

When Jesus comes into your life He says some beautiful things, does some wonderful, compassionate things. But Jesus will also say some hard things to understand, hard to accept. He will challenge you. He will rebuke you. He will stir stuff up. And that's when you have to answer the question again, "Who do I believe that He is?" Because how you respond to Him and what you do with Him will be determined by the answer to that question. Does He have the right to say what He just said to you? Does He have the authority to mandate something from you? Is it audacity that He should take something away from you?

Who does He think He is?

Who do YOU think He is?

Pray: Jesus, help me to remember who you are and what you came for, that I may retain my faith and submit to your will when things get challenging. You are God, and your desire is to bless me by transforming me into the image of your Son, Jesus Christ. That process can be quite the sculpting process. Chisel against marble. Sparks and shards. Bottom line is ... I've got to trust you.

January 10 - Matthew 8:1-17 - Universal Health Care

2011-01-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

After initiating His teaching ministry with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus initiates His healing ministry. We can draw a number of conclusions from this. First, that Jesus is concerned about the body as well as the mind and the spirit. Corporal afflictions are relieved by the compassionate Christ. In the bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we see that He is ultimately a Redeemer of the whole person.

Another conclusion we can draw is that Jesus wants to accompany teaching about Kingdom things with demonstrations of Kingdom power. Credibility can be attached to divine declarations when divine power flows from the same source. Jesus explains this plainly in the healing of the man lowered through the roof in Mark 2:9-11:

⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

A third conclusion could be that Jesus has not moved from teaching to healing, but that He has moved to teaching BY healing. We notice in today's passage that each of the four healings recorded are for four very different individuals - a leper, a centurion, a woman, and a demoniac. Jesus is crossing all sorts of lines here, teaching us that His love and power make no distinctions; He is healer and Lord of all.

A leper was an untouchable outcast in that culture. But Matthew makes sure that he includes in the account, "Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man." No one is too 'unclean' for Jesus. The centurion is a non-Jew, an outsider to the "people of God." Some Jews referred to Gentiles as "dogs." But Jesus, the King of the Jews, is very willing to extend favor and power to him. As for women, even among the Jews, women were treated more like possessions than persons. But Peter's mother-in-law didn't even have to ask for Jesus' mercy and power like the previous two men. He saw her. He had compassion on her. He touched and healed her. Finally, the demon-possessed have a unique and bizarre affliction; something akin to Satan himself. Nevertheless, Jesus heals them with His spirit-vanquishing word.

So, where are YOU hurting? In your body, your mind, your soul ... ? Jesus cares, wherever the pain may reside.

What are you believing? Jesus punctuated His teaching with loving and powerful action. He wields the incredible to make His words credible. You can trust Him. All authority is His.

Who are you? Does it matter? Not to Jesus. He cares for you. He knows everything about you, and He loves you anyway.

Pray: Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof; speak but the Word and my soul shall be healed. And with the healing of my soul shall come the peace and strength to persevere through all other suffering. If there is no thorough healing for me in this life, there is complete healing in the resurrection from the dead. I trust You, my Rock and my Redeemer.

January 9 - Matthew 7:15-29 - Photoshopping Our Lives

2011-01-11T00:19:00.000-08:00

Is she thin, or not?

Does he have a tattoo, or not? Is that car really parked atop the Eiffel Tower? These days it's hard to know exactly what's real with the special effects afforded by computer software like Photoshop. Things can appear to be one way when they are really another.

In today's passage of Scripture, Jesus speaks to the phonies, zooms in on the pixels and reveals the retouching, and offers His warnings. There are severe consequences for false prophets, false disciples and false foundations.

False prophets are wolves that have been 'shopped to look like sheep. They come with a smile and a caring demeanor, speaking words that seem to come from the very mouth of God. But, give them time, says the Lord. After awhile, the disguise will wear off and the true nature will come through. A true prophet will serve the sheep. Period. The false prophet will serve the sheep ... with roasted red potatoes and a mint demi-glace! The consuming greed of the false prophet eventually shows up. Switching metaphors, Jesus says, this bad tree might fool us for a while in spring and summer, but come time for the fruit to appear -- well, this bad tree is going to produce bad fruit. The falsehood will be revealed. And the warning? Bad trees get chopped down and burned up! Let's check our motives. And carefully discern among those we would place in leadership.

False disciples think they are close to God because of their religious performance. "We did all the 'spiritual' things! We used all the Biblical words! We got results! We're in!" But as they swagger toward the pearly gates, Jesus asks, "Where do you think you're going?" After a clamorous and lengthy recitation of their resumes, Jesus responds with power and brevity -- "I never knew you." "Be gone!"

Knowing Him. That is the result of true discipleship. Drawing near, spending time, laboring with, talking long into the night. Knowing Him. How well do you know Him?

False foundations get tested. A house can appear beautiful and well-built, but what is it resting on? All the exotic fixtures and imported materials can't make up for a foundation of sand. Soon the trials will come. The wind. The rain. The flood. Undermined and unstable, the house twists and splinters and collapses. Any foundation other than the Word of God may have the appearance of stability, but it will not stand up to the tests. Build your life, establish your family, on the Word. This is wisdom, says Jesus. And He is clear - it's not just the knowing, it's the putting into practice. Life's hardships will test you. Will you stand? Or will you fall? That wind will blow right by your Photoshop facade.

Pray: Lord, your name is Truth; help me not to be false. Help me to use your Word to exalt your Name and bless my fellow man, not to line my pockets. Help me to prioritize my time with You and the closeness of our relationship. You are looking not for religiosity, but for intimacy. Help me to make persistent practice of your Word the foundation of my life.

January 8 - Matthew 6:25-7:14 - Tendencies

2011-01-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

Are you pointing out my tendencies?

I'm a football fan, so this is the best time of year for me -- the playoffs! One of the keys to winning at a high level in football is to be keenly observant of your opponents tendencies. Are their corners ball-hawks who are susceptible to a double-move? Is the defense aggressive to the point of over-pursuing on mis-direction? Do they quickly abandon the run game when they fall behind? By picking up on tendencies through film study and during the game, you can adjust your calls and strategy to take advantage of them.

As Jesus continues to teach in His Sermon on the Mount, we see how He is calling attention to our tendencies. In today's verses, there are many, implied by the admonishments of Christ.

We tend to worry about material things. -- Jesus says, put spiritual things at the top of your concern list and I'll take care of the material stuff for you.

We tend to be judgmental of others. -- Jesus says, don't be surprised when your critical and merciless approach comes right back around at you.

We tend to want to fix other people's 'problems' before fixing our own. -- Jesus says, this is about as ridiculous as a blind optometrist.

We tend to suffer needless pain from trying to help people who don't want to be helped. -- Jesus says, go bless somebody who will appreciate your effort.

We tend to get lax about praying. -- Jesus says, keep it up - it gets results!

We tend to want more from others than we are willing to give. Jesus says, the things you want from others are the things you ought to be giving to others.

We tend to go with the flow and go the easy way. -- Jesus says, the way to all that is best calls for courageous and disciplined effort.

Do you recognize yourself in any, many, all of these tendencies? These tendencies are what come natural to us mortals. But Jesus is calling us to live beyond the natural; to live "super-natural" lives. This will require His help. Thanks be to God for the helper, the Holy Spirit.

Pray: All-wise and knowing God, help me to know myself. Help me to identify my tendencies and to develop strategies that allow me to overcome them. Give me super-natural victories through the presence of your Spirit in me.

January 7 - Matthew 6:1-24 - The Prayer

2011-01-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

Jesus teaches about the nature of the Kingdom of God and makes clear that citizens of that kingdom are not about promoting themselves. Media, promotion, public relations, marketing - all that is priority stuff in our culture. And the idea that we must do our best to remain front page news has been around a while. The Irishman Oscar Wilde wrote in the late 1800s - "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." The Pharisees and religious hypocrites of Jesus' day had the same self-serving concern. They made grand entrances and blew trumpets prior to giving their offering at the temple. During their fasts they made themselves up to look as miserable as possible to impress onlookers. And when they prayed, they loved to pray aloud on the street with long, articulate prayers. All these activities, intended to bless God, were abused to exalt self.

Jesus teaches lesson after lesson on the humble secrecy of true spirituality. Our giving, fasts and prayers are not for anyone but God. Not that we cannot participate in corporate worship or prayer, but that we recognize that our audience is an audience of One. Our spiritual purpose is to serve God, no one else.

In today's text we also have what is known as The Lord's, or The Model, Prayer. In this prayer we hear Jesus' clarification of our priorities. First, God is called "Father" with the word "abba," which is more specifically translated, "Daddy." This is the familiar, affectionate form of the word and so shows that our first priority is intimacy with God. Prayer is for drawing near to the heart of God. It is in His lap, our ear pressed to His chest, that we come to know His heart, His priorities. Second, there are three phrases spoken in parallel form that give us our triune priorities for living. "May your name be revered as holy; May your kingdom come; May your will be done -- on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus is speaking to each of us. We must take these priorities personally. We can't pray for and hope for these realities and not expect that we are each personally responsible to do our part. We are not to set ourselves apart to be awed. We are not to build our own little empire. We are not to influence others to perform our bidding. All that belongs to the Lord.

Before exploring The Prayer any further, that is quite a huge chunk to swallow and digest. It challenges us to ask ourselves - How do I demonstrate my reverence for the name of God each and every day? How do I reflect His character, defer to His power, cooperate with His purposes, enhance His reputation (all aspects of His Name.) How am I a conduit of God's coming kingdom? Jesus rules in His kingdom. Does He rule in my heart? Do I submit to His Lordship in all things? Do I know the will of God and how it specifically applies to my circumstances? Am I seeking to grasp the desires of God's heart to fulfill them? How obedient am I to the will of God that I have already come to know?

This is an amazing prayer. Just two sentences in and I have a divine assignment that will last my lifetime. But isn't that what most people are looking for -- their purpose; their reason for being? Because of The Prayer, I know why I exist. I exist to glorify God's holy name as a partner in ushering in His Kingdom through obedience to His will.

So, would I rather be front page news for fifteen famous minutes? Not a chance.

Pray: Dear God, my precious Dad, help me to make your name great everywhere I go in everything I do. Use me to usher in more of your heavenly dominion right here on earth. Help me to know what Your heart desires so that I might run out and get it for you. Let all this be my labor of love for You all the days of my life.

January 6 - Matthew 5:27-48 - We Couldn't Make the Last Height and Now He's Raising the Bar!

2011-01-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

Innovation? Dedication? Courage? What does it take to turn ones back on the standard and traditional and start a revolution? In the world of track and field, that is exactly what Dick Fosbury did. Literally. Up until 1968, the high jump had always been executed by attacking the bar face down, chest down toward the bar. You kind of 'rolled over' the bar as you soared to your highest height. But in the 1968 Summer Olympics, a Junior from Oregon State won the gold medal for the USA by turning his back to the bar. His approach was 180 degrees different from the status quo. He innovated, committed to his new method, practiced and refined it, and dared to bring it out on the world stage. Fosbury revolutionized the event!

Jesus was a revolutionary, too. In His sermon on the mount, He took the standard approach to right relationship with God and stood it on its head. The standard approach then (and pretty much still prevails in all 'religious' systems around the world) was "right" behavior. "Don't murder; don't commit adultery; balance justice; love your neighbor and hate your enemy." That's where the bar was set in Jesus' day. Clear the bar, and you and God are on good terms. Fall short, and God will punish you. And while many were falling short, Jesus raised the bar!

"True, you shall not murder, but there is a way of treating people that disregards their life; this too is a form of murder." "True, you shall not commit adultery, but there is a way of being unfaithful in the lust of your heart; this too is adultery." "An eye for an eye? No, press on past mere justice to mercy." "Love your neighbor? Yes, AND your enemy."

Jesus has raised the bar too high for Dick Fosbury or anybody. How can anyone be right with God if we are called to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect? This is unattainable. But Jesus has not revolutionized the idea of holiness; He simply has clarified the full implications of it. It's like being a little pregnant. There is no holy ENOUGH. Either you is or you ain't. And, if that's the case, who can achieve right standing with God? Here's what Jesus revolutionized. He revolutionized the approach. We don't approach God with our spiritual Gold Medals in hand. We don't recite to Him our Olympian feats of righteousness. And He just smiles and shakes His head when we try to justify our "good-enoughness."

Go back to Jesus' prelude in the sermon, the Beatitudes, to put this revolutionary approach into perspective.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit ..." Aah! I fall short of the spiritual high bar and I ADMIT it! I have no gold medals. I am impoverished. To acknowledge it and admit it is the beginning of right relationship with God.

"Blessed are they that mourn ..." I can't clear the bar and it brings sorrow, not excuses. Tears, not justifications. The Lord sees me mourn my spiritual bankruptcy and He comes and comforts me.

"Blessed are the meek ... [and] ... the merciful ..." So, we humble ourselves before the perfect One.
"You are holy and I am not; have mercy on me."

Let's say it plainly now. Good deeds don't get you to heaven. Being in right relationship to God isn't about being 'spiritual' or 'holy' enough. What is enough? Jesus says enough is perfection. And you and I can't jump that high. So it's not about 'good enough.' It's about humbly seeking forgiveness; our meekness and His mercy. It's only the love and grace of God through Christ that will carry us over the bar.

Pray: Father in heaven, have mercy on me, a sinner.

January 5 - Matthew 5:1-26 - Crazy, Man.

2011-01-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

Freedomland opened its gates in 1960 and shut them forever in 1964. Such a short lifespan for the "Disneyland" of the Bronx. But my family lived a short car ride south of that entertainment wonder, so I got to experience with seven-year-old senses one of the 'meteors' of amusement park history. The park was laid out like the lower 48 states, and had regional theme rides and attractions throughout. I got to enter the flying saucer which was also a radio station and caught a glimpse of Connie Francis. I got to help the firemen bring down the blaze of the Chicago Fire by manning the handle of the old pumper.

But the memory that is preserved most indelibly is the Casa Loca. Located in the Southwest region of the park, this Crazy House was built such that everything seemed to defy physics. Empty cans would roll uphill across a table top and out the window into a waiting garbage can. In the Casa Loca I saw for the first time the "magic faucet." Here's a gigantic sample of this impressive optical illusion. Even at seven I kinda figured how it worked, but it was still awesome eye candy.

The spigot levitates while providing an endless shower.

As Jesus begins His teaching ministry, He introduces his followers to the nature of the Kingdom of God. It becomes immediately clear that it is a topsy-turvy Kingdom. There is something 'upside-down' about it. There is something out of proportion and logic defying about it. It doesn't work like the kingdoms of this world. The house of God is a bit of a Casa Loca. (In the very best sense of the word 'loca!')

In God's kingdom, an impoverished spirit is an advantage. In God's kingdom, you can be happy and mourning at the same time. In God's kingdom, the ones who don't seize anything end up owning everything. In God's kingdom you're blessed if you're insulted, slandered and discriminated against. You have to stay hungry and thirsty in the Kingdom, famished for righteousness. That's the food they serve at the table of God and it doesn't show up much on the menu of the world.

In the world they feed on ego, and never admit 'poverty'. But there's no blessing there. In the world they feed on pride, never admitting a loss - fearless, tear-less - but there's no blessing in that. In the world they consume and consume some more. It's all about having, but it's never enough. No. No blessing there. In the world they feed on domination and they put themselves high by putting others down. But when the kingdoms of this world are laid low, down they will go.

Live upside-down. Defy the world's logic. Follow Christ, the Ruler of the Upside Down Kingdom, the Teacher on the hillside. Learn from Him that accepting the impoverished state of our spirit is the point where the outpouring of endless mercy begins. Learn that mourning losses due to sin brings a new longing for the good and the holy. Learn from the Master that yielding to him in meekness assures us of a Kingdom inheritance. Learn that we will all take on an identity; so let your scars mark you as a 'righteous one'! And let this life of running against the grain penetrate the world's darkness as Divine light. Let it penetrate the stuff of earth and preserve it against decay. Righteous salt. Righteous light. Uncommon members of the House of the Holy.

It's a crazy house. But it's the forever freedomland.

Pray: Lord, I am exposed constantly, relentlessly to the world and its ways. It is so easy to go with it, think like it, shape my values by it. Help me. Help me devote to the discipline it takes to expose myself to Your Kingdom and its ways. Help me absorb that. So I can live in stark distinction to prevailing unrighteousness.

January 4 - Matthew 4:12-25 - Jesus' Strategy in a Nutshell (Seashell?)

2011-01-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

"Turn to Me."
"Follow Me."
"Obey Me."

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

“Come, follow me,”

“and I will send you out to fish for people.”

What Jesus came to do is not complicated. He came to bring light to darkness. Evil and all the bad stuff that comes along with it casts deep shadows across our world. We stumble in darkness. We hurt ourselves and each other groping and falling in the dark. Where's the light? Where's the switch, the torch, the match? It's Jesus.

Evil and its entourage draw the pall of hell over our lives. Christ comes and drives it away with but a glimpse of the glory of heaven. The kingdom of heaven did not come in its fullness when Christ came the first time. This was not the expectation of eager Jews, anticipating a Messiah who would set all things right and establish His Kingdom immediately. That comes later. But Jesus came with heaven's light, brought it near enough to woo us to repentance and faith, follow-ship and devotion. There is so much power in His single shaft of light that we are willing to stand steadfast on the world's midnight shore and shine as a beacon of heaven's haven.

Jesus' strategy is a simple one. He brings something of heaven near to capture the soul, makes it willing to turn from the things it is pursuing and turn to Him. That's repentance. Once captured, He continues to expose the soul to heavenly truths and experiences, enabling ease of absorption through the gift of His Spirit within us. Uniquely connected to Him in this way, we follow Him - in a going sense, in a thinking sense, in an imitative sense. That's discipleship. Then, as a true citizen of heaven we go out at His command as ambassadors of that kingdom. Or as Jesus said poetically to these fisherman, "I will send you out to fish for men." That calls for obedience.

Fishers of men, the lure is the light and Spirit of Christ in us. Our testimony of repentance and transforming discipleship is the line. And the presence of God working in and beside us is the strength that lifts them into the boat.

Let your light shine. When you come near me, may it be like the kingdom coming near me. "Thy kingdom come ... on earth as it is in heaven." Didn't you know that it comes through you? Tell your story. People don't want to hear your raw theology so much as they want to see it with flesh on. And be intentional about it. You were saved to be an instrument of salvation. You have been sent, Ambassador, Fisher of men.

Repent.

Follow.

Obey.

Rejoice!

Pray: Light of the World, you turned and taught your followers that they were also the light of the world. We are in this life-transforming, world-enlightening work together. Help me to turn from any evil way in me. Help me to follow You all the more closely. Help me to be obedient in my role as your representative in this place.

January 3 - Matthew 3:7-4:11 - With the Holy Spirit and With Fire

2011-01-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

What if someone could sneak up to you while you were sleeping and pour amazing knowledge into your head? What if that knowledge were specialized and deep, like ... knowing how to perform life-saving surgery with a tube sock and a ball-point pen with one hand tied behind your back? When you wake up, you go out into the world as you normally do, doing the things you normally do. You have no idea that you possess this new knowledge. How will you ever know that you possess this new knowledge? It's in you. Now something has to bring it out of you.

Your car hits a slick spot on the highway just like the car in front of you. You're both out of control and there is an hellacious crash. You stagger out of your vehicle, wincing in pain. Your arm dangles at your side, broken in three places. You catch a glimpse of another victim laying face down on the shoulder of the roadway. You feel for a pulse. You feel the blood. A rush of adrenaline goes through you. You suddenly, inexplicably, rip off your sneaker, jerk off your sock, tossing it between your teeth as your hand dives down into your pocket for a pen.

Now you know. What got poured in came pouring back out.

In today's text, Matthew tells us of Jesus' baptism and wilderness temptation. In the one, Jesus has the Holy Spirit flow down upon Him, in the other He has the demon of hell fly in His face. John the Baptist was baptizing with water so the people could demonstrate their turning from sin and toward faith. But John says of Jesus, "He is more powerful than I." "He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire." How fluid is Matthew's storytelling that after that statement, the Spirit shows up and then, a fiery trial!

The baptism of the Holy Spirit pours something special and deep into you, and the fiery trials of life bring it out of you. Most of what we have abiding in us through the Holy Spirit is a mystery to us. Only when the test comes do we discover what we possess. And as generous as God is at sending His Spirit into those who turn from sin and toward faith in Him, He is just as overjoyed at drawing Him out. I suppose James understood this when he wrote, "² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

What a conundrum! I want to be mature. I want to be complete. But, I do want to lack something -- trials and testing! Nevertheless, Matthew and James are in agreement; no fire, no refinement. no painful struggle, no proven Spirit. OK, then Lord. I've turned from sin and to You. I have demonstrated that by my baptism. And You have baptized me. You have immersed me in your Spirit. Now immerse me in Your flame. I thank you for your Spirit. Teach me how to thank you for the fire.

Pray: Teach me how to thank you for the fire.

January 2 - Matthew 2:13-3:6 - What Does God Have Planned for Me?

2011-01-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons there are four gospel accounts and not just one is that each writer had a different particular audience in mind as he wrote. Matthew was especially interested in demonstrating to a Jewish audience that the life and work of Jesus fulfilled the proclamations of their prophets. In today's segment, Matthew indicates four prophetic fulfillments. Matthew is telling us that God has a plan. That plan began to be revealed through the ancient Hebrew prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and that plan came to a head in Jesus Christ. Jesus is a surprising fulfillment because the previous 'words' from God's mouthpieces needed some interpretation. And no one had the breadth or boldness of imagination to interpret those words as radically as God would flesh them out. Can THIS one, this stable-born Nazarene, this "Joshua Carpenter," really be the Son of God?

God has a plan for each one of us, too. I must say that I have not had the breadth or boldness of imagination to predict that plan for me - where it would take me, what it would have me do, and experience and suffer. Michael Card wrote the lyrics, "There is a joy in the journey ... there is a wonder and wildness to life ..." Yes, life is wild, and God is a bit wild. No, strike that. Not "a bit wild," God is thoroughly wild. No one tames Him. Although we try. We try to size Him down; a God we can handle. One we don't have to think too hard about or wrestle with. A God who is god-on-our-terms.

But then what do you do with Matthew 2:13-18, the "Slaughter of the Innocents?" God has a plan and the power to preserve the Christ of His plan, but He doesn't preserve the lives of these infants and toddlers? Their mothers must weep inconsolably? Didn't God foresee this in His planning session?

God has a plan. But it is a wild, unpredictable, too big to handle, MUST-be-wrestled-with plan. A plan we must think hard on on God's terms. If Jesus' birth is good news of great joy, then what do we tell Rachel in Ramah? The virgin Mary would soon join Rachel in her maternal grief, having pondered all these things long and hard in her heart. We must meditate long, hard and deep also if we are to begin to grasp it.

This is what God has planned -- for all of us, from the beginning until now: to know Him. To grab on and grapple with this Wild Thing to grasp the meaning of life by it. Not a tame life, not a one-third scale life, not a god-on-our-terms, easy to handle life. But to know how to live in the midst of the unimaginable, the homicidal, and inconsolable. Life where faithfulness and holiness are valued above liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

What does God have planned for you for 2011? Good news of great joy? Yes. Trials to form your faith? Yes. Glimpses of glory to inspire holiness? Yes. Losses to grieve your soul? That, too.

God's plan is wilder than we imagine. So is the joy of its fulfillment.

Pray: Lord, take me where you want to take me this year. Do with me whatever you see fit. Just don't let me put you on a pillow in the corner of my couch where I can pet you as and when I will. I will have no domesticated God this year. Take me to the place of sanctification. Form Jesus in me at any cost.

January 1, 2011 - Matthew 1:1-2:12 - The Ragged Path to Glory

2011-01-02T23:56:00.000-08:00

I wonder if God's last name is actually 'Mulligan.' He's just so gracious at letting us have another chance. And another. And another. He is the Lord of the Do-over. He has no problem letting us start again. And as each year gives way to a new one, I find myself reflecting on the mercy of God. He grants me fresh beginnings. Thanks to Him, what I was unable to achieve in the past, I may yet accomplish.

And thank you, to all who have followed this blogger through five months of writing, not quite meeting my goal of daily entries. I have been especially spotty this last month of 2010, but perhaps you will forgive me. To those who were looking forward to commentary on Revelation - you will have to be the most gracious of all. I feel that I should begin the new year at the beginning, and so will jump to Matthew and a true January correspondence with the One Year Bible. (Revelation in summation - Jesus and His team win! Completely and forever!)

The gospel of Matthew starts with a genealogy; a means for looking backward (as we often do at the turn of a new year.) Genealogies help us remember how we got to where we are. They remind us of whose shoulders we stand on. And they encourage us, as ones who may not assess ourselves too highly in light of last year's failures; some of our forebears were as flawed and wounded as we are.

Jesus' family tree was a flawed and wounded bunch, too. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fathered dysfunctional families, Tamar was raped by a relative, David was an adulterer and murderer, Solomon, insatiably lustful, Manasseh, a wicked idolatrous ruler. And yet, God never gave up on His plan to bring a Redeemer to the world through this line.

We mess up, but God never gives up. Diseased trees produce amazing fruit under the careful cultivation of Christ. Have faith! Is your family dysfunctional? God is not done with you. Have faith! Have you done shameful things? God can transform you, redeem you, give you another chance. Have faith! Have you been wounded and scarred? So was Jesus. He will heal you; make your scars badges of courage and victory. Have faith!

In Matthew 2, a virgin teenage bride is given a shot at glory. An unremarkable carpenter is given a shot at glory. A Jewish King and Persian astrologers are given a shot at glory. The ones who had faith would persevere and behold His glory! You and I -- we have a shot at glory. Doesn't matter who you come from. Doesn't matter what you've done. Doesn't matter how you've suffered. Have faith! Persevere! And you will behold His glory.

Pray: Lord, you are so good to us. Your mercies are new every morning. You know where I've been, how I've failed, and yet you never have given up on me. You still have a plan where I get to experience your glory. Help me to grab hold of that by faith. Thanks for all I learned in 2010. Thanks for all you have in store for me in 2011. Thanks for another new beginning!

December 15 - Revelation 6:1-17 - Know it or Not, We'll All Have to Handle It

2010-12-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

    Col. Jessep: You want answers?

    Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.

    Col. Jessep: You want answers?

    Kaffee: I want the truth!

    Col. Jessep: You can't handle the truth!

What a memorable stand-off between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the film, "A Few Good Men." Where do YOU stand on truth? Do you want to know the truth? Do you believe you could handle the truth if it were given to you? Do you believe that the truth can be known? Post-modern philosophies state that truth cannot be known for sure; our senses are too unreliable, our minds are too limited, and so truth is something we can never hope to capture completely.

Perhaps the post-modern dilemma stems from the assumption that truth is a set of data; some stagnant pool of information that can be probed to a degree but never comprehended. What if we change our approach and start from Scripture's assertion that Truth is a Person? Then Truth is not a lifeless list of digits, but the sum of reality which can actively, wisely and clearly make itself known, in ways that CAN be absorbed by us in its self-distributed doses and comprehended in its refined revelations.

What our text for today reminds us of is that the One who is True will allow all that exists to play itself out. Conquest, war, greed, death, persecution and cataclysm are realities, and their true consequences will be allowed to unwind. But what is also true is that the True One is still on the throne, stilll in control. Truth IS, Truth is about destroying destruction and letting life live. Truth stands against evil and is greater than all evil. So even though evil spins itself all the way out as A truth that becomes fully, awfully known, it cannot triumph over THE Truth. In this way, we come to understand judgment not as some arbitrary despotic punishment, but a discerning sorting out of all things truly valuable and worthless. Death will be brought to death, hunger will be starved, war will be conquered, evil will be eliminated! Goodness will reign victorious.

The take home is, don't wait until later to align yourselves with Truth as the person of God. If there is anything at all in us like violence, domination, avarice, hatred - anything evil or destructive - its time now to distance ourselves from it. Judge it now yourself and ask the Good and True to help you purge it from your character.

Cling to Christ, the Lamb on the throne. He is the Way of Truth unto Life.

Pray: Lord, help me to understand that I can know truth, and also The Truth, in spite of my limited ability to comprehend the universe. You ARE the Truth and You can make yourself known to me. I want to know you. I want to be like you. When all things become truly revealed and judged in truth, let me be found aligned with You and not with evil. By the grace of your gift of Jesus, may I escape your judgment and live in the glory of your truth forever.

December 14 - Revelation 5:1-14 - Worthy of All Worship and Fits In a Manger

2010-12-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight will be the first Christmas Eve in seventeen years that I have not led a Christmas Eve service at my church . I am very blessed to have my son-in-law and his family hosting us this year, because they love the Lord Jesus Christ and took us all out to their Christmas Eve service at Desert Springs Community. Celebrating with the Mendez family, I am able to have my wife, my two daughters, my two granddaughters and all our Mendez family together all at once! And this year, that meant that instead of leading the service, I would be worshipping the birth of the Savior with my four-month old grandchild sleeping in my arms.

"Sleep in heavenly peace ..." "What child is this who, laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping ..." "The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay..." How sweet and powerful it is to sing those lyrics and consider the fleshly reality of Immanuel with a baby warm and cooing in your arms!

I'm glad I broke the string. Seventeen years in a row is good enough. And Isabella Grace in my arms on Christmas Eve is better.

And then I read today's verses from Revelation 5 and I am blown away, because the seven-horned Lamb who is both slain and sovereign and worthy of the chant of a hundred million angels - "power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - this Lion, this Root, this Victor is the One wrapped in stable rags and staring up at Mary, like the daughter of my daughter gazing up at me!

My prayer for you this Christmas is this - along with the fun of family and the joy of tradition and the blessing of giving and receiving, may you encounter a moment in which the deep meaning of God in human flesh breaks through to your soul; a fresh moment of 'sore afraidness' and 'In Excelsis Deo.' But not with the sound of a thousand angels, but the sound of a single voice, your own voice, declaring with wonder and pure certainty from the center of your being - "It's true. It's true. It's true."

December 13 - Revelation 4:1-11 - I Exist Because of a Perfect, Powerful, Eternal Master

2010-12-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

'Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.” ' v. 8

"Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
Adonai, Elohim Tzevaoth
Asher hayah V'hoveh v'yavo" (hebrew)

Ought we not to do the same, and live lives of worship?

December 12 - Revelation 3:7-22 - Held Up and Held Close

2010-12-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

In a Times Square, NY subway station

Have you ever pictured Jesus as a graffiti artist? I was surfing the 'net images of pillars painted with street art and the work is amazing. Then I came across the one above. Nothing like the spray can Picassos that surely must have taken days to produce. This artist was done in about 37 seconds. And unlike the other municipal masterpieces, this one got me thinking about the Lord and Revelation. Today's verses include the last two letters Jesus dictated to John, one for the church at Philadelphia and one for the folks at Laodicea. I think we can use the pillar motif to tie the two together.

The Philadelphian letter is unique among the seven, because Jesus doesn't identify any sin in this church. He says that they have "little strength" and probably this means strength of numbers or of social influence. These would not be moral or spiritual shortcomings, so this church stands alone as the one Christ does not have to rebuke. They have actually shown their strength of character in persevering in the faith. Jesus says He will make their enemies bow down to them (Jesus is going to flex HIS strength on their behalf!) and make the enemy acknowledge that God loves the Philadelphians. If this little church continues to overcome and hold up under trial, Jesus is going to install them as pillars in the eternal temple of God! And He will write on them. I wonder if He will use spray paint, or a Sharpie marker? Maybe they'll look like the pillar at the Times Square train station.

The Laodicean letter stands in stark contrast to the former. Jesus rebukes them; calls them to repent. He attempts to shake them out of their blindness, their denial. "you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" "I am about to spit you out of my mouth" Whoa! Jesus means business. How did this community of believers get so far from what they ought to be. Yes - FAR is the answer. Jesus calls them lukewarm. The city of Laodicea was famous for a lot of cool stuff, but they were also known for their lousy water. It was famously lukewarm. The pillars of Laodicea were the ones that held up the aqueduct, and man was that ever a long aqueduct. By the time the water ran down from a remote southern source, it was wretched. Nauseating.

Being far from the source is the key to comprehension here. The Laodiceans had gotten into their self-deceived, adverse position with Christ because they had wandered off. They were far from intimate with their God. They did not hold Him near. Perhaps they would hold up under His discipline. It was a loving discipline. "I'm knocking at your door. Let Me in and we'll dine together!" "If you'll repent and overcome, I'll sit you on my throne beside Me."

Are you of little 'strength' in this world, but mighty in Christian character? Then you are a pillar of the Lord. Are you self-sufficient, self-satisfied and so, have wandered away from God? Pride and possessions can insulate us from intimacy with Him if we're not careful.

One appeared weak, but they were wonderful. The other appeared powerful, but they were pitiful. Christ saw them aright, and named them accurately. I think I'll let Jesus label me; with Krylon, Sharpie, whatever ...

Pray: Hold me up and hold me close, Lord. I don't want to get discouraged in the fight of faith, and I don't want to get self-deceived that I'm all that in You. help me to estimate myself accurately. I want to be an overcomer.

December 11 - Revelation 2:18-3:6 - How Wide are Your Tolerances?

2010-12-16T23:52:00.000-08:00

Remember the 1993 Nissan Altima commercial with the ball bearing? The announcer says that Nissan got the idea from Lexus engineers, who used a ball bearing to test the tight tolerances of their craftsmanship. Careful, high quality manufacturing allows for tighter fitting parts and narrower openings between sections like doors and frames, and hoods and fenders. Yes, in some cases it's good for tolerances to be narrow.

Stan Gaede wrote the book, "When Tolerance is No Virtue," and describes how the idea of tolerance as a virtue is really an unfinished thought. To say that someone is tolerant is much like saying that someone is "very." Very what? you ask. "Exactly," Dr. Gaede would reply. Tolerance must also have a modifier. Tolerant of what? With a little exploration we can quickly see that some things can be tolerated and others can not. It's OK to crate my dog overnight. It's not OK to leave him there for days. The one is comforting; the other is cruel.

Today's text in Revelation contains two more of the letters Jesus dictated to John. Both letters appear to have an inappropriate tolerance at their center. In the letter to Thyatira, the church is told not to tolerate a self-proclaimed prophetess nicknamed "Jezebel." She is teaching in a way that is leading people into idolatry and sexual immorality. These are clearly anti-Christian and should not be tolerated.

The letter to the church at Sardis identifies a more subtle tolerance. There, the congregation was tolerating unfinished ministry. On the surface they looked like a fine, upstanding church - alive. But Jesus sees beneath the facade - 'you're dead.' The call to fight the good fight, and keep the faith, and finish the race - that's the call they have fallen asleep on. "Wake up!" Jesus cries. He says that those who have succumbed to carelessness have "soiled their clothes." It is sin both to do the wrong thing, as in Thyatira, and to not do the right thing, as in Sardis.

So, break out the ball bearing on a regular basis. Test your tolerances. Are you permitting something in your life that ought not to be there? What sort of sin is sliding through the wider cracks of our overly tolerant consciences? Tolerance is a virtue only when it permits that which is edifying and prevents that which is destructive. And the micrometer for that is the righteous character of Christ. Let's see if we can re-calibrate and engineer lives that are truly Christian.

Pray: Jesus, this same John to whom you dictated the seven letters is the one who described you as "full of grace and truth." Help me to be like that; like You. Help me with grace to tolerate the unfinished nature of my self, my neighbors and the world. And with truth, assist me to stay narrow and focused on what is right and good, intolerant of sin in all its forms.

December 10 - Revelation 2:1-17 - Got Your Ears On?

2010-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have to thank the CB radio craze of the mid '70s for helping me to do what few married men are able to do. After 32 years of marriage I still have not forgotten the date I asked Sandie to marry me. That's right, guys, I am not talking about remembering the wedding anniversary (which, even that, some husbands have difficulty recalling.) I'm talkin' engagement anniversary; popping-the-question anniversary! On October 4th, 1977 at the Liberty Diner on Middle Country Road, I asked, ring in hand, "Will you marry me?" And she said, "Yes, I will." So what do CB radios have to do with this? October 4th is also 10-4, which is the CB code for 'OK, message received.' She got my message and I got hers; that was a big 10-4, good buddy!

I think Jesus would have enjoyed citizen's band radio. At the end of each of the seven letters he dictated in the book of Revelation, he states, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying ..." Sounds much like, "Got your ears on?" CB slang for 'are you on the air and listening?' Since the word for Spirit in both Hebrew and Greek is "breath, wind or air," it all seems to fit together. So let's get our ears on; let's listen and hear what the Air of God is broadcasting.

Separate blog entries could be written about each of the letters to the seven churches, but there are three such letters in today's One Year Bible passage. Let's compare them and see what they have in common:

1 Each one is written to the "angel" of the church, or "messenger" of the church. That would be the preacher, the one who brings the message from the Lord. God speaks through the leader to engage the whole group. This also makes the leader accountable.

2 Each one has a special description of Jesus, the author of the letter - "These are the words of Him who ..." Watch how the unique description fits in with the thrust of the body of the letter.

3 Each one reveals that Jesus is familiar with the churches and their circumstances. "I know ..."

4 Each letter has an imperative from the Lord - "Repent; Be faithful; Repent."

5 Each one has a call to focus on the message - "Whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Implicit is the encouragement to take what they hear seriously and act upon it.

6 Each one has a reward offered for persevering to the end - "To the one who is victorious," or "To the one who overcomes ..."

There are more CB 10-codes than just 10-4. Jesus would have used them here with His seven letters. 10-44: I have a message for you. 10-17: Urgent business! 10-67: All units comply. Then in the end, He could tx a big 10-99: Mission completed, all units secure.

Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for being a God who communicates. May your Spirit in me continue to speak to my soul and guide my thoughts, delivering wisdom just when I need it. Keep reminding me of who you are, and what you know, what I need to do, and what I can hope to receive.

December 9 - Revelation 1:1-20 - Don't Miss the Forest for the Trees

2010-12-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

A journey into the book of Revelation can transform us all into those suddenly befuddled seniors who stop short and ask themselves, "Why did I come in here?" It is so easy to get caught up in the details, and the symbolism, the fantastic imagery and the speculations about meanings and timetables and historical parallels, that we lose sight of what the book is actually intending to communicate. We forget that the title of the book is 'Revelation,' which means an unveiling, a making plain, a throwing back of the curtains, showing us what's really going on. So let's just look at the words and absorb what they are revealing to us, and not plunge headlong into trying to unpack the mystery hidden in a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, ... that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads ... blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it ..."

"Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins
by His blood,
and has made us to be a kingdom
and priests to serve his God and Father-
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever!"

"... with a golden sash around
His chest. The hair on
His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and
His eyes were like blazing fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and
His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In
His right hand He held seven stars, and coming out of
His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance...

He placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"

Just let that wash over you.
Jesus is being revealed.
Look at Him. LOOK at Him!

Behold.
Your God.

December 8 - Jude 1-25 - The Perverse and The Persevering

2010-12-14T00:25:00.000-08:00

Descriptives according to Saint Jude --

Aspects of The Perverse: (vss. 4,7)

Are among the church; even leaders in the church
Deny Jesus' sovereignty and Lordship over them
Twist God's grace into a license for immorality
Are strongly motivated by their ungodly imagination
Reject authority and pollute their bodies
Slander the spiritual realm even though they don't understand it
Do understand their animal instincts
Lash out at the rebuke of God rather than learn and change
Pursue influence among God's people for financial gain
Are jealous of God's leaders and resist following them
Are self-absorbed, without blessing, dead in sin
Uncontrollable, shameful, lost
Are grumblers, faultfinders, scoffers, braggarts and flatterers
Pursue their evil desires

Aspects of The Persevering: (v. 21)

Are God's holy people; called, loved and kept
Defend Biblical doctrine
Build each other up in a faith that features holiness
Pray in the presence and with the help of the Holy Spirit
Center their lives on loving as God loved
Anticipate Christ's mercy will bring them eternal life
Are merciful to unbelievers
Take action to share Christ with at-risk people
Are careful and discerning when engaging the ungodly
Find their greatest joy in Him ...

"... who is able to keep [them]from stumbling and to present [them]before His glorious presence without fault"

And they ascribe glory, majesty, power and authority to the only God, their Savior through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus, in whom there is no perversion, will persevere in His glory, majesty, power and authority forevermore!

Amen?

December 7 - 3 John 1-14 - A Reputation You Can Write Home About

2010-12-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

"Dear Santa, ..."

Don't you love to read the little notes kids write to Santa? They've heard the song; they know that "he knows if you've been bad or good," so they usually like to tell him JUST how good they've been. You have to establish a reputation that Santa will approve of if you're going to get what's on your wish list.

But then kids grow up and they grow out of Santa Claus. They trade the philosophy of "be good for goodness sake" for the philosophy of other songs - frequently the philosophy of Billy Joel's 'My Life.' "Either way, it's OK; you wake up with yourself." The only person your reputation should matter to is you. If you can live with yourself, who cares what anybody else thinks.

The problem is that the "he sees you ... he knows you" lyrics were ascribed in error to Santa Claus. God is the one those lyrics apply to. He does, in fact, see you all the time and is intimately aware of your goodness or lack thereof. Your reputation does matter to Him. And in the end, it's not whether you can look yourself in the mirror and feel self-satisfied, it's whether God can look at you and exclaim, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Three followers of Christ are mentioned by name in the brief Third Epistle of John - Gaius, Diotrephes and Demetrius. Each one had established a reputation for themselves. John is an elder of the Christian community at this point and sees the members of Christ's body, the church, as his children. And so he writes, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." This is the joy desired by tens of thousands of Christian parents and elders of the church. This is the joy of the Lord Himself. We ought to bless our God with the reputation we are building for walking in the truth.

Gaius has a good reputation; he is faithful and persevering in the truth. His love and hospitality for fellow Christians, though strangers to him at first, is commendable.

Diotrephes, on the other hand, has some work to do. Although a leader in the church, he is self-aggrandizing, a gossip and a liar, and a careless tyrant. John says he is going to call him on it when he gets there. Even so, God is definitely going to call him on it.

Demetrius has a much better reputation than that. He is spoken well of by everyone, which in one sense might only speak to his popularity. But John says "the truth" speaks well of him also. I take this to mean that his way of life is consistent with God's truth. He measures up well next to the measuring rod of the Word as well as the measure of popular opinion.

How's your reputation? Make it good. Not for goodness' sake; but for the Name's sake (v. 7). That is, for the sake of God's reputation in the world.

Oh, yes. Our reputation is inextricably linked to His.

Pray: As your follower, help me Lord to be keenly aware that my reputation reflects on Your reputation. I represent You, your Name and Your family in the world. Help me always to honor you and make Your reputation great. Then mine will take care of itself.

December 6 - 2 John 1-13 - Love and Obedience

2010-12-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

John was known as the Apostle of love, but that didn't mean he was a 'softy.' He showed great affection for Jesus as he followed Him through the seasons of His earthly ministry; was found leaning against Jesus' bosom at the final Passover in the upper room. But Jesus had also nicknamed him and his brother, James, the "sons of thunder!" There was also something energetic, loud, even explosive about John. The Spirit of Jesus guides that personality and the pen of John in this tiny epistle.

John says there is grace and mercy and peace in Christ, but these gifts of God's love do not render our relationship with him free from discipline. John says our love for Christ must still take the form of a very disciplined lifestyle. A life of true love exhibits careful obedience to the teaching of Christ. One might think with all that mercy and grace and forgiveness, that the Christian walk wouldn't sound so much like the Old Testament compliance to the Law. And it's not the same, as the love of God in Christ has set us free from the Law. But John, as a disciple who liked to sit and follow close to Jesus, still has the Master's words ringing in his ears - "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is still a huge part of the Christian faith.

We must devote ourselves to pressing in close, leaning on the bosom of our Lord, attending carefully to His words as captured by the Scriptures and reinforced by the convicting and guiding Holy Spirit. Obedience to a clearly defined teaching, the teaching of Jesus, is the hallmark of the one who truly loves God. The word "disciple" was not invented by Jesus. That idea and the reality of that idea existed long before Jesus came on the scene. The people of Jesus' day who recognized Him as a Rabbi, a master teacher, saw Him as 'disciple-worthy.' He was worth leaving home and occupation for. He was worth traveling behind and crowding near so that the pearls of His teaching would fall into their palms. It was worth getting into trouble with Him and watching Him enflesh His teaching, for Jesus did not practice what He preached - He preached what He practiced. This required of His disciples devotion and discipline and sacrifice and hard choices.

Do you love Jesus? Are you His disciple? Do you love Him? Are you obedient then to His teaching? Do you know His teaching? Do you love Jesus? Are you committed and sacrificing and making the effort it takes to sit at His feet to learn the truth of the Master? John did, and remembers Jesus saying this ...

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11

So to grace and mercy and peace -- add another gift -- joy! Know God's commands. Obey them. This demonstrates your love for Him. And in this lifestyle of careful obedience, the joy of Jesus comes to fullness in you.

Pray: Master, make me a disciplined, studious, imitator and follower of Yours. Help me to know the teaching that John is talking about and help me to obey it. If obedience is an act of love, then help me to obey -- because I love You.

December 5 - 1 John 5:1-21 - Accept No Substitutes

2010-12-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

A young adult textbook on the history of American advertising has chapter titles with the familiar phrases - Satisfaction Guaranteed, Ask For It By Name, and New & Improved. In fact, the title of the book is the classic exhortation of manufacturers to "Accept No Substitutes!" However, the variety of choices one faces within a single product category let's you know that people did NOT just stick with the 'genuine article,' the original. People DID accept substitutes. And they did for myriad reasons. They got bored with the original. They had a bad experience with an original. They couldn't afford the original. The newer version was better than the original.

Our text today is the final chapter of 1 John, and it ends in a quirky, abrupt manner. There is no farewell, no greetings sent by John from his partners in ministry, no benediction. There is just that one short sentence, detached from the previous paragraph. One brief exhortation that stands alone; the parting shot meant to ring and linger in the readers' ears.

"Keep yourselves from idols."

Considering that John has made so much of the necessity to believe in and trust Jesus as the Son of God and our only hope of eternal life, this final salvo from the pen of the apostle resonates as an ancient

"Accept No Substitutes."

Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Jr. expressed in an interview with Newsweek's Jon Meacham that "The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority. It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step." To this Meacham responds, "The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods." Mohler is observing happening in the 21st century what John warned against in the First! People are not keeping themselves from idols.

Mohler's interview is part of an article Meacham wrote entitled, "The End of Christian America." The subtlety here is that self-identified Christians are already idolaters because they are devoted to a religious culture that they understand to be Christianity, but have very little devotion to Jesus Himself. Others call themselves Christian because they have mined some values and principles out of the text of Scripture and are living by them. They are devoted to ideas but not devoted to Jesus Christ. This is the de-personifying of God and the mythologizing of the Biblical narrative. These are forms of idolatry.

And John gave us a twenty century head start on recognizing and resisting these idols. Thus, his heavy emphasis on the reality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. 'We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him!' John emphasizes Jesus' person and His work and the outcomes of that divine life. He came by water - He was born of Mary as an actual human being. He came by blood - born to die the atoning death for the remission of sin for all mankind. He came by the Spirit - who led Him and raised Him victorious from the grave, and resides in each believer to assure us of these truths.

Do you want to know truth? Do you want peace and joy and hope? Do you want freedom from the burden of evil and strength to walk in a new way of life? Do you desire eternal life?

It is all to be found in Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the 'genuine article.'
Accept no substitutes.

Pray: Jesus, engage me and place Your Spirit in me that I may know for certain that you are not fiction or force, but a living personal God who loves me beyond measure. Help me when my faith wanes and I begin to entertain the idolatrous substitutes of the world. Testify with water, blood and Spirit; take me to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.

December 4 - 1 John 4:1-21 - Digging Down to the Heart of the Matter

2010-12-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

Bear Grylls filters water (< see the video) from a stream by digging a trench parallel to the stream. As his trench goes below the level of the stream, water filters through the earth and sand and seeps into the trench. The water drawn from the trench looks brown and unappealing, but it has been filtered and will not carry the parasites that would have been ingested from drinking directly out of the stream. On the surface, one source of water looks just as good as the other. But one is safe and free from disease and the other isn't. Funny, the good stuff is NOT the water drawn from the mainstream, but from a smaller source off to the side.

Love is like that. The definitions and behaviors called love in our mainstream culture are tainted and unhealthy. It is the less obvious, off to the side definition of love found in the gospel that is the good stuff. "I wanna know what love is," anguished Foreigner in the pop rock ballad. It is an age old question asked every minute of every day. What does the apostle John tell us about love? How do we filter out all the many-varied definitions and worldly behaviors and come to the real thing? Here's what he says ...

Love comes from God.
God loves us.
God demonstrated love when He sent His Son into the world.
God's love was self-sacrificing.
Love will give up something so that another may gain.
Our love can reflect God's love.
God's love can be made perfect in us if we will strive to be like Jesus.
Love never frightens or intimidates because love never seeks to harm.
Love doesn't discriminate; love is for all.

Jesus Himself said, "No greater love has anyone than this - that they lay down their life for a friend." Love is willing to give up everything for the one it loves. Jesus did more than that. "Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us." He laid down His life for an enemy. His is the ultimate love.

He gave up everything, that we might gain everything.

Pray: Dear God, teach me how to love!

December 3 - 1 John 3:7-24 - What's in a Name?

2010-12-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

What do these surname prefixes and suffixes have in common? O' , von, Fitz, de, sen, Mac, vander, son. Yes, these beginnings and endings indicate a family relationship. I have known an O'Brien, a Fitzgerald, a deJesus, a Pedersen, a MacDonald and a Richardson, among others. Now, can you imagine a last name of Satansen, Fitzdevil, or vanderDemon?

In our text today, John appears to group all people into one of two families. There are those who are "of the devil," and those who are "of God." This is not a description of actual genetic family linkage; John is not saying that there are actual spawn of Satan out there. Membership in these families is dependent on whether one has believed and received the Spirit of Christ or not. This is the same John who wrote in his gospel (John 1:12) - 'to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.') In a sense, the last name of every believer becomes, 'Christian.'

Did you ever live in a neighborhood where a particular family had such specific attributes that you knew the minute you saw one of them that they were members of THAT family? There is a family resemblance that is unmistakable. John says you can pretty much do that with 'the Christians', too. "Oh yeah, she's one of the Christians. She stands for doing the right thing." "Yup, he 's one of the Christians. He has that special love for people." "I see compassion in him. I see generosity in her. I know what family THEY belong to." Do you demonstrate the same values and character qualities as God? Your relationship to Jesus is showing.

The 'other' family is known by its values and character as well. The FitzDevils are known for living with moral standards that fall short of what God prescribes. They exhibit hatred. They have murder in their hearts, but no pity. Their love shows up as lip service; it doesn't follow through and proves false. John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."

If you call yourself by the name of Christian, then you must uphold the reputation of your family name by living with a noble and godly character. One of my favorite old world words is 'besmirch.' It means to soil or tarnish, and also to defame or dishonor one's name. May we never besmirch the name of Christ with FitzDevilian behavior.

Pray: Jesus, you died to grant me the opportunity to live as a member of your family. You've given me your Spirit to enable me to live up to my new name - Your name. Help me when I start leaning toward and living like the child of another. Help me to remember whose I am.

December 2 - 1 John 2:18-3:6 - What Child Is This?

2010-12-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

It's time for Christmas music! You have to love the fact that for a little while we can walk about in public places and catch phrases like "Jesus, Lord at thy birth" and "Joy to the world, the Savior reigns." Spiritual truths in secular places - awesome! Now if we can get people to really hear and consider the lyrics that are floating past their ears. If we could get folks to seriously and sincerely ask the hymn question, "What Child is This?"

In 1865, at 29 years old, William C. Dix fell suddenly and severely ill. Out of his suffering and the accompanying depression, he wrote the lyrics ...

What child is this, who, laid to rest,

On Mary’s lap is sleeping,

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,The babe, the son of Mary!

Out of an experience that placed the young writer face to face with the fleeting nature of health and mortality, he communicates to us our urgent need to settle the identity of Mary's baby and to worship Him. "Haste, haste ..." Wait no longer to acknowledge the son of Mary as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He is your Savior and mine. Laud Him, praise Him, honor Him ... now.

Today's reading in 1 John also speaks to identity - the identity of Jesus and the identifying marks of the true follower of Jesus. In regard to the identity of Jesus: He is the Messiah, the Christ, He is co-equal with God the Father, He is righteous, without sin, pure, He is the giver of eternal life, and He is coming again. John says a lot about Jesus in a few sentences! Do we embrace these clear and powerful truths? When we imagine Mary's baby on the hay, a swaddled newborn, is this who we say that He is? If you do, you bear one of the marks of a true follower of Jesus.

In regard to the identifying marks of a true believer, a child of God, John declares: they remain faithful to the doctrine and to the church of Christ, they have an "anointing," which is John's poetic way of saying that God's Spirit lives in them, they pursue right living, purity, and put aside sin, and they recognize the blessed condition and hope that they have as a lavish gift of great love from their heavenly Father.

Who do you say that Jesus is? Are you a child of God? Do you possess the marks of a true follower of Christ? When the Christmas carols ring, do you understand the lyrics deep in your soul and sing with a heart of worship? Or will you have to be diseased and depressed and near death for the light bulb to finally go on?

"Haste! Haste ..."

Pray: Jesus Christ, son of Mary, Son of God, Savior of the world, have mercy on me. Heal my unbelief. Anoint me with your Holy Spirit. Adopt me as a true child of Yours. As Philips Brooks wrote in 'O Little Town of Bethlehem,' "be born in me today!" Grant me your truth, hope and perseverance.

December 1 - 1 John 2:1-17 - Loving Jesus is Living Like Jesus

2010-12-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.

the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world or anything in the world... The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

November 30 - 1 John 1:1-10 - Light is Pretty Heavy

2010-12-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

The galaxies are awe-inspiring. An AP release today stated ... "The universe may glitter with far more stars than even Carl Sagan imagined when he rhapsodized about billions upon billions. A new study suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion of them, or three times as many as scientists previously calculated. That is a 3 followed by 23 zeros."

300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

That's a lot of zeros. That's a lot of light and mass and energy, too.

Our Sun

Today's text tells us that God IS light. I know that this is a metaphorical use of the word and John is actually referring to God's holy character, but I wonder. If the amount of light in the universe can make our jaw drop, what should the pure and unfathomable light of God's character cause us to do? And then to consider that John is saying that that Person of incalculable light was seen and heard and touched by him. The Light took on the mass of a man, retained and exhibited some of His miraculous energy. Einstein's E=Mc² takes on a new luster as we consider mass and energy as functions of the speed of Light. Perhaps G=E²M²c^{2 !}Maybe Jesus is God at a slower speed.

John wants people to know that Jesus did walk among men and that He was indeed the God of holiness, forgiveness, unity and joy. He is light and mass and energy -- He is Life itself. And so we embrace Him and honor His Word.

There is no darkness at all in God, that is, there is no evil. But there is darkness in us. It manifests as sin and this is a condition that must be acknowledged. Not to do so is to call God a liar. With His light of truth He reveals it; with His incarnational mass He destroys it, and with His resurrectional energy He triumphs over it. And all this is for us, if we will but believe.

Paul wrote to the church at Rome, "what may be known about God is plain...because God has made it plain... For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." (1:19,20)

Yes, it's as plain as the stars in the night sky. All 300 sextillion of them.

Pray: Creator, Sustainer, Savior God, let me see you in all You have made. Help me to feel the reality of being connected and intertwined with You and your universal purposes. Help me to shine with the light of Your glory.

November 29 - 2 Peter 3:1-18 - The Maker and Re-Maker of It All

2010-11-30T23:12:00.000-08:00

The city of Boise, Idaho estimates its annual cost for repairs due to vandalism at around $54,000. The Canadian province of British Columbia describes their vandalism costs as "in the tens of millions." Can you imagine what that number must be for the entire United States of America? With self-control and a fresh respect for the property of others, we could redirect a billion dollars into other worthy causes. People make things and then have to re-make them because of selfish, careless acts.

Our God is the Maker of heaven and earth. He is also their Re-Maker. Peter reminds us that the One who spoke the universe into place and formed this formless planet will one day have to demolish them and put new ones in their place. The sins of humanity have vandalized God's marvelous creation, and its re-making is also described as an act of judgment against the marring of evil. (v. 12,13)

As we stand in the midst of a sin-vandalized world destined for divine replacement, how ought we to conduct ourselves? What does life look like between the making and the re-making? For some, their lives as vandals will continue. They will continue to scoff at God, mock His truth and twist the Scriptures. They will deface the image of God and spray paint over the words of life, all to serve their own selfish desires. But those with self-control who respect the property of God will live differently. They will preserve and protect the sayings of the prophets and apostles and of the Lord Jesus Himself. (v. 2) They will live holy and godly lives (v.11) and pursue "peaceful lives that are pure and blameless." (v. 14) They will remain on guard and sure-footed as they traverse the rubble of vandalism. Between the making and the re-making, these will "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (v. 18)

And what will the Lord be doing in between His creative and re-creative work? He will be being patient for the sake of the vandals. "He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." (v. 9) "the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved." (v. 15)

May the time afforded by the patience of God be filled with His unaltered Word and unfettered Spirit. May it be filled with the exemplary lives of growing Christians drawing many to lay down the tools of their vandalism and in repentance, take up the cross of Christ.

Pray: Thank you, Lord, for your patience. Thank you for reserving your judgment for some time in the future so that many might turn from their selfishness and toward their Savior. Help me to be one of the pure and godly; one who can be used as a tool in Your patient renewal process.

November 28 - 2 Peter 2:1-22 - You Are a Slave to Whatever Controls You

2010-11-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

Do you know about the debate over "a carrot on a stick" versus "a carrot or a stick?" I had only been exposed to the image of a carrot dangling from a stick in front of an animal to lure it forward. Apparently, this image has been challenged, said to come from a mishearing of the latter phrase which proposes reward incentive or punishment incentive. The carrot is the reward and the stick (presumably for whipping) is the punishment. If this debate arose in English, I could even see where the "r" in "or" might be written in such a way as to be mis-read as an "n." The first phrase may have been born out of a sloppy rendering of the second.

Whichever phrase you believe is the 'correct' one, they both paint a pretty good picture of control. Some people are motivated by fear (the stick). Whenever fear pops up, that person turns in another direction, and so, fear becomes the thing that steers them. Some people are motivated by satisfaction. Whenever something shows up that they imagine will satisfy a desire, they pursue it. Again, the steering is done by the 'satisfier.' The scare or the lure takes control. Our text today says, "You are a slave to whatever controls you." Many are slaves to fear; others enslaved by their desires.

Peter observed that many of the false teachers of his day were slaves to greed and lust. These false teachers found that they could manipulate those who sat under their teaching. They were able to warp and deliver their lessons in such a way as to gain money or sex from their students. A good read is Richard J. Foster's book The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, which deals specifically with the lure of money, sex and power. These are good measuring rods to use when assessing a pastor-teacher-evangelist. What appears to be their approach to the use of power, their emphasis on wealth, their moral character? If there is a hint of manipulation, greed or licentiousness in their teachings, steer clear.

And what about us? What controls us? Is their something in our life that steers us with it's influence, either positive or negative? What, if dangled in front of us, will almost surely seize our attention and powerfully draw us in its direction, away from every other direction? Whatever or whoever can control us like that is our Master. We are slave to it.

Notice that Peter begins his letter by calling himself the "servant" of Jesus Christ. His friend, Paul, starts his epistles in similar fashion, calling himself a "bond-servant" or a "slave" of the Lord Jesus. Their 'carrot' is the Christ. The controlling factor in their lives is the Holy Spirit of God. The great and precious promises and the divine mandates drive them forward.

There is great reward for those who remain faithful; faithful to receive, obey and impart the true teaching of the Word. Shunning fear and greed and lust, let us all press on toward the prize of the upward call of Christ Jesus. He is the true teacher. He is the Truth.

Pray: Teach me, O Lord, all the great promises of your Word and direct me with Your commands. Sustain me as a student and follower, a disciple, by your Holy Spirit. May my only fear be reverent awe of You. May my greed and lust be transformed into an insatiable desire to know You and to do Your will. You are my priceless reward.

November 27 - 2 Peter 1:1-21 - Adding It All Up

2010-11-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

Sarah Pardee married William Winchester in 1862. Winchester was the manufacturer of the "Gun that Won the West," the Winchester repeating rifle. When William died, Sarah became the heiress to a 20 million dollar estate. Sadly, the death of her husband came soon after the death of their infant daughter, Annie, a loss that had thrown Sarah into a deep depression. In this severe state of grief, Sarah sought out advice from a medium whose strange assessment and counsel for Mrs. Winchester's depression initiated the building of what is now known as The Winchester Mystery House. A small eight-room Victorian in San Jose, California became a sprawling mansion containing 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens. Briefly put, the construction of the house was supposed to preserve the life of Mrs. Winchester. As long as the building work continued, Sarah's life would continue also.

Sarah Winchester's Obsession

Of course, building a house is NOT the way to eternal life. Sarah Winchester died and her legacy is one of sad superstition and spiritism. Rather than adding windows and doors and other architectural elements, today's text suggests we build more meaningful elements into our lives. Peter writes ...

"make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love."

Just like a construction project, one phase builds on the previous.

Begin with the foundation of faith. Sink the cornerstone of Christ and let everything else in your life rest upon Him. Christ can be the basis for everything because He has shown Himself to be so good. Imitate His goodness. And after committing yourself to a life of good, commit yourself to study to learn more about your great, good God. This is the knowledge we add. And as we add knowledge of His Word, pride can sneak in with its Pharasaism. So the next phase of building must be self-control. We must know how to use that knowledge wisely and under the Spirit's control.

Faith, goodness and knowledge under divine control is a manner of living that must be persevered in. Can't live like that short-term or in spurts; we must persevere. With an enduring character like this, we begin to reveal God to others. Godliness comes and adorns the structure of our lives. Then, even as God acted in the best interest of others with mercy and generosity, so too will we demonstrate His affection toward others. A life constructed like this becomes other-oriented. And the ultimate expression of this Christ-like lifestyle is true 'agape,' self-sacrificing love.

Unlike the misguided counsel of a Boston medium to a vulnerable Sarah Winchester, this building program from the letter of Peter will indeed lead to eternal life.

Pray: Builder of the Universe, help me to fashion a life worthy of your goodness and mercy toward me. Guide me away from false prophecy and hollow counsel and found me firmly in your Word and Spirit. Take me through the phases that will produce a life that reflects keenly my Architect.

November 26 - 1 Peter 4:7-4:6 - It Is No Shame To Suffer for Being a Christian

2010-11-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

¹² Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.¹³ Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

¹⁴ So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. ¹⁵ If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. ¹⁶ But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!

November 25 - 1 Peter 3:8-4:6 - A Completely 'Other' Way of Living

2010-11-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

⁸ Finally, all of you should be of one mind.
Sympathize with each other.
Love each other as brothers and sisters.
Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
⁹ Don’t repay evil for evil.
Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you.
Instead, pay them back with a blessing.

That is what God has called you to do,
and he will bless you for it.

November 24 - 1 Peter 2:11-3:7 - Do the Right Thing Even When It Hurts

2010-11-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

²¹ For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

²² He never sinned,
      nor ever deceived anyone.
²³ He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
      nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
   He left his case in the hands of God,
      who always judges fairly.
²⁴ He personally carried our sins
      in his body on the cross
   so that we can be dead to sin
      and live for what is right.

November 23 - 1 Peter 1:13 -2:10 - Holy, Holy, Holy

2010-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

November 22 - 1 Peter 1:1-12 - Faith with Love Brings Joy and Hope

2010-11-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

⁸ Though you have not seen [Jesus], you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

November 21 - James 5:1-20 - Praise From One Who Prays

2010-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

November 20 - James 4:1-17 - Whose Pleasure Is It For Anyway?

2010-11-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. I've had some special opportunities attached to Thanksgiving. I have had the pleasure of being raised with a thankful family that introduced me to the traditional turkey-stuffing-cranberry sauce-pumpkin pie feast, sometimes at our house and sometimes at grandparents' place. I've had the childlike joy of being in the press at Central Park West for the Macy's Parade. One Thanksgiving we celebrated with the Kobayashi's in their classic Japanese dining room with sunken seating and rice paper panels. The menu was Japanese-American as well. In New England our family tradition became to invite anyone from our church who didn't have family in the area to come eat with us. And this year, we ate Thanksgiving on the beach, just south of the Santa Monica pier! Without a doubt, the most blessed Thanksgiving was in 1985, when our youngest daughter came into the world. Happy Birthday, Angel!

Unfortunately, there is a sad piece to Thanksgiving, the piece where so many treat it as "Thankfulness Day" and not Thanksgiving Day. You see, to me, being thankful means being happy about one's circumstances; of appreciating one's advantages and possessions. Thankfulness is a state of being or a condition. "Thanksgiving" is an act; an act of communicating gratitude to the One who is the source of my blessed circumstances, advantages and possessions. Being thankful must lead to giving thanks. As James said in the first chapter - "Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father ..." If only more thankfulness would result in worshipful thanksgiving.

Today's text deals with people who aren't even satisfied with what they have. They want more, and they'll do what it takes to get it. They will even resort to violence. This is craziness. James says, "You don't have what you want because you haven't asked God for it." What a concept! Ask God. Have we considered how much quarreling, fighting and war could be eliminated from our lives if we would learn to pray? Wow - the opposite of war isn't peace, it's prayer! It's the contrast between an action and a condition again. War is an action. Sometimes it produces a kind of peace, but usually that peace comes as a vanquishing or exhausting of our opponent. That's not the best kind of peaceful condition - one that comes out of the destruction or defeat of another. But let us wage prayer like we wage war. Prayer is the action that stands opposite war's violent action. The peace of prayer comes not from destruction but from reconciliation. The best kind of peace - where all parties win!

To give thanks and pursue prayer unto peace is pleasing to God. Seek to please God first and foremost. Everything that pleases God is also a blessing to humanity. He knows what's best for us. HE is best for us. To please God is to participate in and enjoy God's pleasure. And there is no better pleasure than God's pleasure. It's not a matter of Him getting His or me getting mine. It isn't either-or; it's both-and.

To grasp and apply this requires humility. The proud will be thankful but never give thanks. The proud will pursue their selfish desires and do whatever it takes to attain them. The proud will continue to quarrel and fight and wage war. And God will oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. The humble will pray and prioritize the pleasure of God. They will draw near to God, and God will draw near to them. They shall be the friends of God.

Pray: God of grace and all good gifts, humble me. Remove every bit of self-centeredness from me and every tendency to fight for my own self-satisfaction. Make me a prayer warrior. And make me a pleasure for You to behold. And thank you, my Father. Thank you for everything You have blessed me with. You are generous beyond description.

November 19 - James 2:18-3:18 - Exhibits A, B, and C

2010-11-22T23:35:00.000-08:00

Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853), one of the principle founders of Harvard Law School is the author of the classic “Treatise on the Law of Evidence.” Greenleaf also endeavored to disprove the biblical testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was certain that a careful examination of the internal witness of the Gospels would dispel the ‘myths’ of Christianity. But this brilliant legal scholar came to the conclusion that the witnesses were reliable, and that the resurrection did in fact happen. Afterward, Greenleaf wrote “Testimony of the Evangelists” and served for many years as the president of the Massachusetts Bible Society.

Simon Greenleaf

Evidence is important in legal proceedings and in how we proceed with our faith. In today’s text, James contrasts professed faith and faith in action. He comes to the conclusion that faith must manifest itself in action, otherwise it is dead. If a body has life, there will be evidence – warmth, breathing, a pulse, movement. Where there is no evidence commensurate with our testimony, no integrity of our walk with our talk, we have a corpse; a faith cadaver. The evidence is in our actions. Our deeds put the warmth and the breath and the pulse into our faith. Faith and deeds work together – faith informing the actions and the actions completing the faith. They are inseparable.

What sort of evidence are you setting before the world that demonstrates your faith and argues for the truth and acceptance of it? James refers to several exhibits we could produce as evidence of a living faith:

Exhibit A – Obedience. There are many imperatives in the Bible, a good many of them universal; applying not only to the original hearers, but to all who hear them. We can approach these commands as opportunities to demonstrate our faith. As James wrote earlier in the book, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.” If God’s Word constructs a platform that we say we trust, then we must go stand on it. Has He told us to pray, to study, to love, to make disciples? Then what are we waiting for? Exhibit obedience!

Exhibit B – Control of the Tongue. What picturesque speech James finds for the power of the tongue! It is a wild horse in need of taming. It is a small rudder that turns great ships. It is a spark that sets a whole forest ablaze. This power is exceptionally difficult to harness and control. But it must be attempted. Our tongue can reveal our faith in a holy and blessed God through wholesome and encouraging speech. As the Psalmist wrote, “May the words of my mouth … be acceptable in your sight, O Lord …” Ps. 19:14

Exhibit C – Humble Wisdom. The wisdom of the world supports the pursuits of envy and selfish ambition. But the Word says these will only produce disorder and all sorts of evil practices. The wisdom that is divine values humility and exhibits itself in purity, mercy, sincerity, and peacemaking. What sort of wisdom do we function with?

There is the old challenge, “If you were arrested and put on trial, accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Is there enough ‘deed’ in your life to show that your ‘faith’ is real? What is your Exhibit A?

Pray: Holy Lord, help me to complete my faith by living it out, demonstrating each point of my theology with a solid action. Help me with my integrity. Save me from hypocrisy. Grant my faith a warm glow, a deep breath, and a steady pulse.

November 18 - James 1:19-2:17 - Go With the Flow

2010-11-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of this? From the British publication 'The Telegraph'...

Undersea river discovered flowing on sea bed

Photo: University of Leeds

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent 8:00AM BST 01 Aug 2010

Researchers working in the Black Sea have found currents of water 350 times greater than the River Thames flowing along the sea bed, carving out channels much like a river on land.

The undersea river, which is up to 115ft deep in places, even has rapids and waterfalls much like its terrestrial equivalents.

If found on land, scientists estimate it would be the world's sixth largest river in terms of the amount of water flowing through it.

Pretty cool! I've heard of rivers that flow underground, but rivers that flow underwater?!

As I re-read the first chapter of James, I'm beginning to think this underwater river thing could be a metaphor for his writing. At first run through, it looks like James is tossing up waves of New Testament wisdom almost like the book of Proverbs, where the topics change quickly from one to another. But underneath James' "sea" of content there is a "river" of logic. I'm sensing a thread of reason that might be flowing through the flow. Here's how I'm connecting it ...

We should be quick to listen and slow to speak.
We should especially be quick to listen to and receive the Word of God.
We should not only listen to the Word, but we should do it.
We should not only listen and do, we should look intently into the Word on our own to do it.
And when we do it, it should look like compassionate ethical action and not just "religion."
And when we act, there should be no favoritism in our actions.
And when we act, they should be acts rich in mercy.
And when we act in this way, we prove our faith to be genuine;
Pure faith, acceptable to God, not dead religionism.

What is intriguing to me about this, even more intriguing than the discovery of an undersea river with rapids and waterfalls, is that a pure and acceptable faith begins with the ability to be quiet. What a challenge in the media-overload world we live in. Do we have the discipline to switch off our iPod, our iPhone and our iPad and be still? Do we have the restraint to keep from emulating the pantheon of talking heads, shock jocks, radio ranters, political commentators, stand-up comedians, etc.? How do we get to "slow to speak" in a world that speaks faster and more frequently than ever?

To navigate the rapids of a river that flows to true faith, we would be wise to develop the discipline of silence. Put yourself regularly in a place where the heartbeat of God is the only sound around. Like the submarine that photographed the sub-marine river --
run silent and run deep.

Pray: Help me, Lord. I'm battered in a tumult of noise. Help me to submerge beneath the crashing chaos. Let the storm of words rage on above me as I sink deep into the calm of Your presence, Spirit and Word. Buoy me and carry me all the way to pure and acceptable faith.

November 17 - James 1:1-18 - You Can’t Stay Young, but You Can Live Forever

2010-11-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

Since the post-World War II era, the American emphasis has been on youth. The birth of Rock and Roll, the automobile culture, and the challenge to authority all indicated that 16-26 was the age to be. “Cool” was the new highest priced commodity. Consumer marketing turned vigorously in this direction. And it seems the wave is yet to crest. Baby boomers are spending like crazy now on remedies for aging, working out, getting injected, and having surgery. All because it isn’t cool to be old. Wouldn’t it be great if folks started trading in some of their cool for a much more needful commodity – wisdom?

The book of James is a New Testament wisdom book. And the thing is, Biblical wisdom often runs against the grain of conventional wisdom. So to really live as wise in this world, we must live above and beyond the world. There are those who do not seek wisdom, there are those who have a natural wisdom that manages itself in this world, and there are those who pursue supernatural wisdom. Let us be among the latter.

Right off the top, James introduces us to the other-worldly nature of divine wisdom. “Consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials …” The joy of trials?! The mind of youth says, “Joy is avoiding and having no trials.” Conventional wisdom says, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” But supernatural wisdom says, “Count your many, diverse hardships as pure joy.” God’s wisdom always looks beyond the now and the feeling – unlike youth. It goes beyond the stoic acceptance of circumstances. It understands that there’s a living God, who can work all things together for good; who has begun a good work in us and is committed to finishing it (not just bringing it to an end, but bringing it to complete perfection.)

Our trials become a means to maturity in the hands and under the wisdom of God. That’s why we rejoice in them. As in a previous blog regarding the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, let us consider the chisel of God in shaping us into masterpieces of faith. Trials become the Divine strokes of the Ultimate Sculptor for those who have His wisdom. And the acquisition of this superior wisdom is simple. Ask for it. James encourages us with the character of God – “[He] gives generously to all without finding fault.” Ask, believing! Youth serum and plastic surgery are not the great gifts to the world in our time; the great gifts come from above, from the Father of the heavens. And after saving grace, wisdom may be the greatest.

Pray: Generous Father, grant me a fresh dose of Your wisdom. As I grow older, help me to accept my fading youth, as it is fading into something better – spiritual maturity. Help me to persevere under trial, that it’s work would be made complete in me, and the true crown of everlasting life would settle upon my head.

November 16 - Hebrews 13:1-25 - Kneading Our Knowing into Doing

2010-11-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

On my recent trip to Anchorage, AK, there was sort of a theme that emerged. It had to do with 'dough.' My granddaughter Mckenzie is a fussy eater, but she does like pizza. Which, if you live in Anchorage, demands a visit to Moose's Tooth. I must admit - and I have eaten NY pizza at a trat in the Bronx, Chicago deep-dish pizza in Chicago (OK, the airport), and California haute-cuisine pizza in Marin - the best pizza of all is at Moose's Tooth! Me and Mckenzie enjoyed that doughy crust together. When we got home, her Mom wanted to serve us fresh cinnamon-raisin toast for breakfast, so she got out the bread machine. Mckenzie and I had fun looking down through the glass top and watching the kneading process. Go, dough, go! And then there was the obsession; the addiction. Mckenzie is hooked on playdoh. Her 'Ba' (that's Kenzie-speak for her maternal grandmother) had sent me up with six little tubs of 'doh, and that's all she wrote. Kenzie approached me every day, sometimes twice a day, leading me by the index finger to the dining room table, repeating "doh? doh? doh?" We worked it for hours!

Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of the Christian life is working our theology into practice. Kneading what we know into 'doing-dough. ' Our daughters heard their Mom say about a kajillion times the phrase that may end up as her epitaph, "Knowing and Doing are Two Different Things!" We remind our kids of their principles and responsibilities and they answer, "I know! I know!" Enter the aforementioned proverbial phrase. Most of the New Testament epistles are structured as a diptych with theology appearing at the start of the letters and practices/ applications following in the last half. Today's text is chock full of exhortations to practice the faith.

I count sixteen ways to knead our faith into action. I'll comment on a few. First, there's the one about entertaining strangers. The possibility noted is that we may "entertain angels without knowing it." True, angels are spiritual beings, but the word literally means "messenger." Sometimes God doesn't send us 'Gabriel-in-disguise,' He just sends us a stranger who, if we will be kind and accepting of them, will have a message for us from the Lord. I wonder how many times God attempted to talk to me through the words of a stranger, but I was dismissive or careless of them? If my theology is that God speaks and can do so in a myriad of ways, then my practice should be to pay attention - even to strangers.

We frequently speak our theology by declaring that God will never leave us or forsake us. But rarely do we recall it's antecedent in the text - "Keep your lives free from the love of money ... because God has said, 'Never will I leave you ...'" The Lord is saying that His presence with us is money in the bank. God's support of us is true and lasting. Cash is a fickle lover. It will leave you flat! If you had to choose between telling money to "take a hike" or telling God to "take a hike," which would you pick? Practice this one in these hard economic times.

Last reflection for now - how does the phrase, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" flow with the text around it? Does it come out of the exhortation to imitate the faith of our spiritual leaders? Or does it begin the warning to resist adopting strange teachings? The NIV suggests the former with its placement of the paragraph break. But a case could be made for the latter. Why don't you chew on that one, and let me know how you work the theology of the phrase into the pratices of the surrounding verses.

There are twelve other practices mentioned, and that's not an exhaustive list. There's a lot to this walking with Jesus Christ! At least we have the hope of the Hebrews benediction: "May the God of peace ... equip you with everything good for doing His will..."

Pray: Yes, Lord, equip me. I don't just want to be a Jesus scholar; I want to please You in all that I do. Help me to avoid hypocrisy, and let my theology and practice, my talk and my walk, match up.

PS For all you list makers, here are the sixteen imperatives ...

Keep loving each other
Entertain strangers
Remember those in prison
Empathize with the mistreated
Honor marriage
Shun sexual immorality
Don't idolize money
Consider and imitate the faith of spiritual leaders
Don't get caught up in strange teachings
Avoid religionism
Carry the gospel to a persecuting world
Lift up praises to God
Do good to others
Share with others
Submit to appropriate authority
Pray

November 15 - Hebrews 12:14-29 - What is This Church Coming To?

2010-11-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Sandie and I and the Armstrongs were headed down CA 4 to Concord Korean Church for the night of student presentations in the CLD Bible Teaching class. We were following printed directions, but the sun had already gone down which made it difficult to see inside the car. Once on Highway 4, I reached up and turned the overhead light on to read the next instruction. I recited "take Pacheco Road Exit" just as Pacheco Road exit passed us by on the right. Too late. We could u-turn at the next exit and try to hit it again, but traffic on the other side of 4 was all jammed up. I grabbed my iPhone and put in the address to Concord Korean and GPS did the rest. We got our alternate route and barely missed a beat. In the "old days" it would have been read the map by flashlight and who knows where we would come to.

The author of Hebrews 12 tells us as followers of Christ, as people of 'the Way,' as pursuers of His path, where we will come to. We will come ...

to The heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Living God.
to Thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.
to The church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven.
to God, the judge of all men.
to The spirits of righteous men made perfect.
to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant.
to The sprinkled Blood that speaks a supreme word.
to The unshakable Kingdom.

Wow! What a destination! And the way to arrive is only via GPS - God's Precious Son; God's Propitiating Sacrifice; God's Perfect Solution; God's Promised Salvation! "Be thankful," the text says. "Worship God in an acceptable manner, that is, with reverence and awe." If you're never lost because of GPS and you thank God for your Garmin, how much more should we be thankful for the 'Great Personal Sacrifice' that will transport us all the way to glory?

Since our destination is sure, how shall we act along the road? On the way to heaven, how shall we live? The author has some instructions for that -- "See to it that no bitter root grows up among you," See to it that no one is sexually immoral," "See to it that no one is godless." "See to it that you live in peace with all people," "See to it that you pursue holiness," and most of all "See to it that no one misses the grace of God!"

Don't let anyone miss Him. Don't let anyone remain lost when you know the way and what it all comes to.

Pray: Thank you, Lord, for the amazing glimpses of our promised eternal destination. Help me to live in such a way as to reflect the glory of the Kingdom to come. Jesus, guide every lost soul to the threshold of heaven and carry them over by Your cross.

November 14 - Hebrews 11:32-12:13 - The Joy that Sustains Endurance

2010-11-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

A lover of fine art lived in a small town in the Italian countryside. Two barns stood out back of his humble cottage, one serving as a storage shed and the other, renovated into a gallery. One day, the owner of that tiny gallery made an extraordinary discovery. A superb example of marble sculpture was unearthed on his property. He cleaned it carefully and set it up at the center of his showplace. Many visitors came and were thrilled to see this exquisite and timeless masterpiece. After several years on display, it became clear that the statue was buckling the floor of the gallery. The pillars and joists beneath the weight of solid marble were threatening to fail and put the masterwork in danger. Two options presented themselves. The statue could be removed to the only place barely large enough to accommodate it, the storage shed, and thus spare the gallery floor. Or, the gallery floor could be reinforced to sustain the weight of the marble. Moving the statue to the shed would cost nothing – except that the beauty and inspiration of that work of art could no longer be seen. The reinforcement of the floor would be costly and laborious and force the closure of the gallery for a period of time; significant sacrifices. As you might anticipate, the gallery owner sacrificed time, labor, and finances to preserve his ability to display the masterwork.

Today’s text stretches across two chapters and might appear to treat of two separate topics. I believe it all fits together around the masterwork of faith that Christ is chiseling out of the marble of our lives. Jesus initiated and will complete His faith sculpture – He is “the author and perfecter of our faith.” On either side of this statement at 12:2, are descriptions of painful struggles and hardships. Chapter 11 ends with a litany of torturous conditions endured by past heroes of the faith. In chapter 12, verses 4 and following, the present struggles of the author’s audience are alluded to. And yet, through all of it, the concept of victory is invoked. Those who were tortured in the past endured by faith, and have become that great cloud of witnesses. Jesus is then presented as the ultimate victor, having endured and triumphed over the cross. And so the encouragement for the text’s original readers and for us is this – hardship is permitted by the Divine Sculptor to produce a masterpiece of faith. The author calls this God’s discipline. Our persecutors, our broken world, the devil himself may mean to make us suffer, but God will turn it into discipline resulting in victory.

The key for us is the secret of joy. “Fix your eyes on Jesus,” the Master Artist, who was once a block of marble like you. “Fix your eyes on Jesus,” the one who suffered the ultimate hardship and torture, and yet maintained His discipline and endured unto victory. “Fix your eyes on Jesus … who for the JOY set before Him, endured the cross.” There’s the secret! Was there hardship before Him? Yes. Was there torture and suffering before Him? A humiliating, life-sapping cross? Dear God, yes! But where were His eyes fixed?

A joy was set before Jesus that captured His concentration. The cross loomed, but He looked right through it to the joy. Jesus endured the cross because He had fixed His eyes on the joy of becoming a masterwork of faith and on the fullness of joy that would come to all who placed their faith in Him.

When sufferings and trials come, two options will present themselves - to pray for the burden to be removed, or to pray for reinforcement to stand up under their weight. Choose the trial and the reinforcement, which is the transforming discipline of God. And as you choose the chisel, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Joy, the Victor, the Masterpiece. He is sculpting you in His image.

Pray: Discipline me, try me, prove me, shape me, Master. You authored my faith, now finish it. Whatever it takes to chip away what is not of your divine design for me – do it. I want to experience the heights of joy.

November 13 - Hebrews 11:17-31 - Mirror, Mirror ...

2010-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

It is rare that you or I go through a single day without encountering a mirror. It is that necessary evil, waiting each morning to reflect back to me just how awful I look first moment out of bed. But then it becomes helpful, guiding, as I work the weird part and cowlicks out of my hair and shave gingerly below my nostrils. Finally looking good enough to venture out among the public, I encounter more mirrors – in my car. These are probably the most necessary and useful mirrors in my possession. While I work to maneuver 3,000 lbs. of lethal machine, these mirrors allow me to see all around it. Most of my maneuvers are successful thanks to my mirrors. With them I can see backward and forward at the same time.

Spiritually speaking, faith allows me to see backward and forward at the same time. Hebrews 11, the 'faith chapter', records the faithful actions of past heroes. We are inspired by their victories, results of their trust in God, His character and His Word. And as these acts of trust were responses to divine revelations, we understand our forebears as looking backward to the prior promise or instruction, and forward to the indicated reward.

Abraham received a promise in the past through a miraculous gift, his son Isaac, and so was fortified to exercise faith in sacrificing that same son. God’s former instruction to Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and the future vision of deliverance into a promised land steeled Moses’ faith. There were pleasures of sin for Moses in Egypt, but instead he persevered in faith. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

There are still a lot of “treasures in Egypt.” There is still time to “enjoy the pleasures of sin.” These are the temptations that surround us and attempt to seduce us every day. And Satan is the master of the Funhouse Mirror, distorting reality and casting an image that entertains but at the same time lies. Only the Word of God portrays reality accurately and reflects the requirements and rewards of faithful obedience.

All seven examples in today’s text display people who mirrored the character of God. And in so doing, help us to see backward and forward at the same time. Backward to the ancient yet timeless truths and promises of God, and forward to the rewards secured by those promises -- by the God who can be nothing else but faithful.

Pray: Faithful Father, help me to be a faithful reflection of your character, trusting Your power to pull me through, acting each day according to Your purposes, sensitive to reflect well on Your reputation and fame in this world. There ARE pleasures in sin, but they are short-lived. The real joy is in my victories of faith in Christ Jesus.

November 12 - Hebrews 11:1-16 - How To See the Unseen and Believe

2010-11-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

During my stay in Alaska, we drove down the Seward Highway, tracking with the railroad along the coast of the Chugach National Forest. At the place where Turnagain Arm gets really narrow there's a trail head with wonderful amenities - plenty of paved parking, picnic benches with coal grills, sturdy planked boardwalks to get you started into the forest and beside the roaring waterfall. The Chugach is a forest that yields to a range of snowy mountain peaks. But that day, I just had to take my daughter's word for it. The cloud ceiling was so low that it obscured the timberline. There was no way to know that those pines and birches fell away to display rugged black ridges framed in white.

The definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 is frequently quoted, and yet it can be misunderstood. In the New International Version of the text, the last phrase is "certain of what we do not see." How can that thing that cannot be seen be so clear and compelling in my mind that I can assert with boldness that it exists? The first phrase of this definition of faith is, "being sure of what we hope for." Can we be sure of whatever we hope for? Can we just conjure up an image of a preferred future and be sure that it will arrive? With 'faith' can I be certain of anything I can imagine? Is it the strength of my 'faith' that makes it so? Is faith the power that makes any dream a reality?

Some folks say the answer to those questions is "Yes!" Conceive it, believe it, achieve it - that's the non-Biblical concept of faith. You have the power to believe anything, and by the strength of that belief, pursue and obtain the object of your faith. That is not what Hebrews 11 is saying.

Like mountains I could not see, but believed were there, I based my faith on the word of my daughter. I trust her, so I trust her word, and believed in that which she described for me. We see what is unseen by putting our faith in the description of the one who HAS seen it. The writer of Hebrews himself, along with his list of Biblical stand-outs, are demonstrating faith in a hope that God has revealed; an unseen future that God has cast a vision of by His Word. Biblical faith refers to trusting God at His Word, not convincing ourselves that we will achieve our own imagined desires.

Look at all the references to God's Word in the text: verse 3 - "the universe was formed at God's command;" verse 4 - "God spoke well of [Abel's] offering;" verse 7 - "Noah, when warned about things not yet seen;" verse 8 - "Abraham, when called to go;" verse 11 - "[Abraham] considered [God] faithful who had made the promise." This entire "faith chapter" is about illustrating conviction and certainty in the Word of God. We don't conjure and imagine as the prerequisite to exercising faith, we read and listen for the realities that God would describe to us and we put our faith in them. In Him.

There are mountains up there above the clouds. There is hope for eternal life. There is a heavenly rest for our souls. There is perfection and joy waiting for us. But it isn't so because I have imagined it so, and desire it so, and am camping out on my vision and "that's my story and I'm sticking to it." It is so because God said so. I don't trust my imagination. I don't have Creator-power to make something out of nothing. Only God can do that. Trust Him.

Pray: Maker of heaven and earth, You are the source of truth and the source of all that is and ever will be. Help me to know You through knowing your Word. Help me to trust you and place my faith fully in you. Your Word is full of love and hope and blessing; it is not a burden or a risk to trust you. It is a delight.

November 11 - Hebrews 10:18-39 - Five Kinds of "Let Us"

2010-11-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, lettuce was lettuce. My Mom can correct me, but as far as I can remember she only used Iceberg lettuce in our salads. When anybody said "lettuce," that's what I understood them to mean - Iceberg.
Then I got older, and started shopping for myself and wandering down the produce aisle. Hey! What is this Romaine stuff? It's what? Lettuce? There's more than one lettuce? Wow! Arugula, Radicchio, Boston, Mesclun, Mizuna ... Leave it to the Lord to be generous even in the lettuce department.

Today's text is pretty generous, too, in the "Let Us" department. Five times in four verses, the author rallies us to action in light of having an amazing Savior. Jesus has made a way for us into the eternal presence of our God. With such a certain path to future glory, we should be sure to act in the present, thus ...

LET US - draw near to God with a sincere heart.
LET US - hold unswervingly to the hope we profess
LET US - spur one another on to love & good deeds
LET US - not give up meeting together
LET US - encourage one another

Sometimes working and dealing with others within the body of Christ can become frustrating and discouraging. We are a tossed salad of sorts - so much diversity; so many differences to blend. Unfortunately, the challenge of serving with folks who are not like us can lead to conflict and controversy, and leave a bad taste in our mouth. The author of Hebrews addresses five issues that appear to be related to discouragement. When we get wounded in the church, the temptation is to withdraw and not to reconcile. Once discouraged, we drift -- away from God, away from hope, away from love and good deeds, away from fellowship, away from positive words.

The mixture of Jews and Gentiles in the early church presented many possibilities for misunderstanding and conflict. The persecution from without the church added another layer of oppression and cause for losing heart. But a fresh spin of their attention off of their crises and onto their Christ could pump new life into the crest-fallen congregation.

We have an accessible God! We have an unshakable hope! We have love and goodness to spare! We have the strength of Spiritual unity! We have truth to speak to trials! We have all of this because we have Jesus Christ. LET US rejoice! And Let Us ...

Pray: Jesus, how generous You are, to have spilled your blood and atoned for our sins once and for all! Help me to keep my eyes on you, my Savior, and not on my circumstances. Yes, I will always have some kind of obstacle, conflict or crisis to deal with, but I don't ever have to doubt You or your Word. Help me to persevere and do your will and receive what You have promised.

November 10 - Hebrews 10:1-17 - On Their Minds and Out of Mine

2010-11-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
   I will put my laws in their hearts,
   and I will write them on their minds."
¹⁷ Then he adds:
   “Their sins and lawless acts
   I will remember no more.”

Author's Note: I'm back from Alaska, having had a delightful time with daughter, son-in-law, and the greatest grandchildren in the world! I have experienced love at a whole new level. Back to blogging on the 'morrow.

November 9 - Hebrews 9: 11-28 - Sin Taken Out, Salvation Brought In

2010-11-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

November 8 - Hebrews 9:1-10 - The Temporary Give Glimpses of the Eternal

2010-11-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.

November 7 - Hebrews 8:1-13 - Honor Beside the Throne

2010-11-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

¹ Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. ² There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

November 6 - Hebrews 7:18-28 - Forever in 4D

2010-11-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

November 5 - Hebrews 7:1-17 - King of Justice, King of Peace

2010-11-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” ³ There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

November 4 - Hebrews 6:1-20 - A Strong and Trustworthy Anchor

2010-11-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

¹⁷ God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. ¹⁸ So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. ¹⁹ This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

Author's Note: The following week's worth of posts will be Scripture portions for you to meditate on and perhaps to share your insights about in the "comments" section. I will be traveling to Alaska to visit my granddaughters (one of which I have yet to meet in person) and I'm sure I will find it difficult to pull myself away from their sweetness. The blog is yours!

November 3 - Hebrews 5:1-14 - No Meat on Baby’s Menu

2010-11-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

When my wife and I go out to eat at a new restaurant, we have very different approaches to the menu. I go to a new restaurant to try something new. I will look for an entree on the menu that I have never eaten before. If I steer away from the few items on my personal “nasty list” – strong cheeses, Brussels sprouts, and cream sauce – I usually have a very nice dining experience, in spite of the risk. Sandie is not a risk taker in this situation. If she likes the ambience and the wait staff and the prices, she will also want to like her meal. So, she will look for something on the menu that is familiar; a standard; predictable. If she ends up with something hard to swallow, having to pay for it will be really hard to swallow.

Looking at today’s chapter in Hebrews, I see spiritual truths described as menu items. There are the milky items and the meaty items. Like physical food, spiritual truths are palatable and digestible according to the development of the eater. Infants drink milk. The mature eat meat. It takes some growing up to be able to wield a knife and fork well, and to be able to chew and swallow something of substance. Slicing up God’s Word carefully, breaking it down and digesting it also takes some maturity. Unfortunately, many prefer not to grow up in their faith. The author writes, “though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths … all over again.” You need milk, not meat!

If you haven’t already done so, set your bib and your Peter Pan booties aside, and make a commitment to grow up. Make up your mind to master the milk and then the meal and then the meat. Each stage provides preparation and strength for the next. Knowledge leads to wisdom and discernment. Then our efforts become Kingdom-effective and truly Christ-like. Let’s look at a few truths in the text that are hard to swallow for the infant, but manageable for the mature.

The mature are able to deal gently with those whose weaknesses are showing, because they are sensitive to their own weaknesses. The immature deny their own weaknesses and have little patience for those they see as faulty. They try to mask their weakness by coming on strong with others. How far grown are you with this truth? Are you milky or meaty?

Next, the text reveals that the mature do not take for themselves the honor of leadership among God’s people; they must be called by God. Some pursue leadership in the church as a privileged position, but pride and true piety do not mix. The mature are humbled by the honor to serve God and His people, carefully administering grace as representatives of Christ. How do you fare on the maturity scale with this menu item?

Some of the harder truths to explain, and thus to swallow, are those related to Jesus, the God-man. His incarnation is a mystery at many points. How is it that He is God and yet cries out in prayer with tears? How is it that He must learn obedience through suffering? These concepts challenge well-developed minds, much more the elementary thinker. Hopefully we see in these mysteries the models for our own behavior – the need to submit with reverence to God, to channel our passions in prayer to the One who can satisfy our heart’s cry, and to understand the value of pain in the formation and steeling of our faith.

So, what’s on your menu tonight? Similac? Or steak?

Pray: Lord, help me to grow up. Help me to cooperate with you in the development of my faith. Nourish me, strengthen me. Build me up to serve You, your people and the world well, in the pattern of the perfect man, Jesus Christ. Jesus, you are my model for maturity.