Put On The Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14)

Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

(Romans 13:14)

Another version of Romans 13:14 reads; “Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ…” It sounds like we are to put on Christ as we would a nice warm coat, doesn’t it? And the rest of the verse reads: “and make no room for sinful desires.” Many Bible passages tell believers that because Christ’s Spirit lives in us we are to “put on” Christ and “put off” sins. Let’s read just a few of them.



“Your body is the house of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God: and you are not your own.” (1 Cor. 6:19) “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. … And over all these virtues, put on love,…” (Colossians 3:12-14) “With your former way of life you were taught to put off your old self,…and to put on your new self in Christ, created to be like God …” (Ephesians 4:22-24) “If you remain in Me (Jesus) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:7) “The Lord is with you when you are with Him… (2 Chronicles 15:2)



The Bible has much to say about the Gods’ gift of the incarnation - how the Spirit of Christ is given to believers and how He lives in us. But what about the “human side” of this mystery (God with us)? How do our actions help or hinder us being able to live a “Spirit filled life”? How do we “put on” Christ? What is our part?



Scripture says we can choose to “put off” sin. And we can choose to “put on” Jesus Christ. What we want – our will- is all important. If we don’t want to let the Lord Jesus into our lives, He won’t force Himself on us. Revelations 3:20 reads: “Behold I (Jesus) stand at the door and knock, if anyone opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus is knocking – wanting to come into our lives. And our will – our choices – are like a door that we can open or close to the Savior.



So how do we “close” or “open” the door for Jesus? How do we clothe ourselves with Him? I think it is by our choices. Jesus says that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. (John 14:15) Virtues and vices (sins) are real things – real capacities for good or evil. When we obey Christ and “put on” virtues - with Gods’ help of course, we allow the Lord to change us. To choose to put on the Christian virtues is to practice the presence of Christ. And He will always help us when we choose good.



When we refuse to “put off” a sin, the sin can gain ground in our lives, become addictive and even take us over. Psalms 109:18 is a scary verse. It reads: “He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.” We can substitute “cursing” with any other sin. Whatever sin - dark coat- we “put on” – anger, lying, ambition, pride, hatred, bitterness or whatever, can enter into us, seep into our very beings and change us!



I have a problem-a sin- of getting angry with people. Christ commands us (me) to love others but instead often I get angry with certain people. It is easy for me to keep the door closed to loving these irritating folk as I know Jesus wants me to do.



Even though I wanted to obey the Lord and love a person close to me, I couldn’t seem to love her in my own strength. Finally I asked the Lord for help - to give me His love for this person. And then instead of seeing her faults I began seeing this person as new – beautiful - the way she was supposed to be. And I began praying for her to have whatever the Lord wanted for her. Sometimes I fall back and my old anger returns, and I have to pray again to see this person the way my Savior sees her. But if I want to love her, (if I want to “put off” my anger and “put on” His love) Christ comes along beside and makes it possible.



C.S. Lewis points out this same thought – how important our choices are – and how the Lord is there to strengthen our good choices. He says: “Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor: act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. …” (Mere Christianity, p. 115) And Scripture follows this idea up with: “Having done all to stand, stand..” (Ephesians 6:13)



We are not meant to live out our lives in our own strength alone in the cold. We are commanded to “clothe ourselves with Christ..” (Rom. 13:14) And what warmth and riches we are being offered! 2 Cor. 8:9 reads: “…though He (Jesus) was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” When we “put on” Christ we become rich. Along with eternal life, Christ brings us many other gifts!



For one, Jesus brings us peace. He tells us: “My peace I give you, My peace I leave unto you, not as the world gives…” (John 14:27) He helps us through our troubles and rescues us. “Casting all your care upon Him (Jesus), for He cares for you.” ( 1 Peter 5:7). When we open the door (our will) to Christ’s Spirit we receive the “fruit of the Spirit” which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) And we also can receive some of the gifts of the Spirit too, spoken of in 1 Cor. 12.



Life gets rough sometimes and we can forget the Lord is with us. Forget His promises and become discouraged. Since forgetting comes easily, could we make a special effort to remember? Remember that Christ is with us. Remember everyday to talk to Him, listen for His voice. Ask Him to help us “put off” the sins that come our way. Wrap ourselves in the peace He promises. We are tempted every day to forget that He is with us. To fight the temptation to forget, could we start each day by remembering? Could we remember every day to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ? – as we would a warm luxurious coat.

Thank You God That I Am Better Than Others

Thank You God That I Am Better Than Other People

Jesus was telling another one of his stories. This story was about two men who came to the temple to pray. The first man was a religious leader, a Pharisee. And the second man was a hated tax collector.



The Pharisee prays first: “God, I thank You that I am not like the other people around here– some of whom are extortionists, unjust, and adulterers. And I am so much better than this tax collector praying here next to me.” (Luke 18:11) Jesus goes on telling that this Pharisee is standing tall, so proud of himself. He goes on bragging to God about all the good things he has done. “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I have.” (Luke 28:12)



And then Jesus described the second man who has come to pray- the tax collector. The tax collector slumps into the temple with his head down and beating his breast. Bowing down to the ground he begs: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”



Two prayers of two men! A proud man showing off before God and a humble man pleading to God for mercy. Jesus ends his story by saying that God heard the humble mans’ prayer and took away his sins. But the proud prayer of the Pharisee was not pleasing to God. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the person who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus added. (Luke 18:14b)



When it came to the proud religious leaders – the “holier than thou crowd” - Jesus often had little patience. He sometimes lashed out in anger at the ones who bragged openly about their “values”. Once He even compared these religious “goodie goodies” to “white washed tombs”. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You are like white washed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27)



But Jesus always had compassion for the marginalized people in His society. One time during His ministry Jesus forgave a woman caught in adultery and another time He asked Zacheias, the cheating tax collector if He could spend some time visiting with him in his home. Jesus was always seen eating and praying with the bad folks – the undesirables! (Matthew 9:10-13)



People have always been impressed by outward appearances. And today these shallow values are exploited by the media where we are urged to look sexy and drive expensive cars, wear cool clothes and be seen with the “important” people. But God has never been impressed by our fancy clothes or showy appearance. Scripture says that what is in our hearts is what matters to Him.



Jesus called the religious folks hypocrites- the ones who prayed loudly or did good deeds on street corners or out where everyone could see them. (Matthew 6:5-8) and (Matthew 6:1-4) He said that we shouldn’t try to impress others with our long prayers or good deeds.



Instead Jesus told His followers to pray in secret. “When you pray, go into your room, and shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6) And Jesus also told us not to advertise how much we help others. “When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet …that you may have glory from others…But when you do charitable deeds; do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:2-4)



Years ago our family joined a church where most of the church members put bumper stickers with Christian messages on the bumpers of their cars. Some of these bumper stickers read: “Honk if you love Jesus,” “Praise the Lord” or “As for me and my house, we serve the Lord”. And most of the women in this church wore large fancy crosses around their necks and constantly talked about “the Lord” in pious voices. We joined this church group because we thought we could become closer to God by being around these wonderful Christians.



Another family joined the church shortly after we did and this family had a teen-aged daughter who was pregnant. The social norms were different back then (1970’s) and girls who became pregnant out of wedlock at that time were looked down upon and shunned. The family with the pregnant teen-ager seemed to be looking for a closer relationship to God and they tried to fit in at church. But soon the church ladies wearing the big crosses were whispering back and forth about this pregnant teen-ager and her “bad” parents.



Rumors and judgments flew around and soon none of the good church members would speak to the family with the pregnant daughter. The pregnant teen was nearly run over in the church parking lot by a church member in his car with “Jesus” bumper stickers displayed front and back. The family finally gave up and quit coming to church. They had been frozen out by the “holier than thou” crowd. And we quit going to that church too. I have often wondered if that family ever tried to go to another church. How many people have been turned away from God by judgmental Christians? No wonder Jesus got angry with these proud folk!



The Bible tells us that “Pride comes before a fall” (Proverbs 18:12) The Bible has a great deal to say about the dangers of pride. It’s no wonder, since it was pride that caused the downfall of our first parents. Adam and Eve disobeyed Gods’ command to not eat the fruit of a certain tree, since they thought they knew better than God. That was pride, wasn’t it?



But Jesus came to take away sin and restore what was lost. He did it all. The only part we need to play is to be humble enough to accept what He has done. If we are proud we may still want to be in control and not see our need for the Savior! Our hearts may be too hard to open to His salvation. Pride can mess up our relationships with one another so I believe that pride can also stand in the way of our relationship with God. Our foolish pride can blind us from trusting His way. So we need to do the opposite and humble ourselves before God. So important! Remember Jesus said: “The person who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

You Shall Not Bear False Witness (Exodus 20:16)

You shall Not Bear False Witness Against your Neighbor (Exodus 20:16)

One of the several U.S. presidential hopefuls was recently lecturing inside a church. He was telling the good church folk that President Obama and the U.S. Government will soon be allocating health care resources out to older people (or have death panels to decide who should live or die.) A prominent Christian radio preacher had spread the word that “for patients over 70 years of age, advanced neurosurgical care will not generally be indicated.” And this presidential hopeful was picking up on this scary message. “Well, who should we be allocating these resources to? We shouldn’t be allocating it to 70-year-old people who have strokes, according to Kathleen Sebelius,” he said. The frightened church folk angrily nodded in agreement and rose to lay hands on this man and pray that he becomes the next president of the United States.



The problem is that professional medical groups have called these statements bogus. Obama’s Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, has rejected such statements regarding 70 year old stroke patients being refused health care. Her good name has been falsely tarnished with this lie, but it is still being passed around.



The American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons issued a joint statement insisting that no such federal government document exists. The groups stated that such suggestions run counter to their responsibility as health care professionals, and they asked radio host Mark Levin to remove the radio clip from his website. But these two leaders who claim to be “Godly” men with “values” have continued spreading these frightening lies to the good church folk, even though they know that they are false. While emphasizing that their group has all the “values”, have they forgotten the value of telling the truth?



Have we Christians become sloppy about bending the truth? In our culture we generally tend to think of bending the truth (lying) as benign and funny, something that people can tell about media stars and politicians. But God feels very differently about lying. In fact one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16) forbids us to make false statements about our neighbor.



God gave the Ten Commandments to a tribal people. The Jews, who first received the Ten Commandments believed that they should not tell lies about another fellow Jew. But they didn’t think of foreigners as “neighbors”.



So when we read in Luke 10:25-37 where a lawyer asks Jesus what the definition of a “neighbor” is, we are amazed. Jesus answers him by telling the story of the “Good Samaritan”. The Jews hated the Samaritans and had probably never thought of them as their “neighbors”. But Jesus is telling the lawyer (and us) that everyone is our neighbor. And followers of Jesus were to help everyone in need and be honest with every human being. Jesus was expanding the definition of “neighbor” to mean every person in the world. Ephesians 4:25 reads: “Therefore, having put away all falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”



A close cousin to lying about our neighbor is gossiping about him, and that is also condemned in the Bible. The gossiper reveals embarrassing or shameful things about other people, usually with the intent of aggrandizing themselves. One of many scriptures concerning gossip is Proverbs 11:12-13. It reads: “A person who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a person of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.”



Words are very powerful. There is no way to draw a firm distinction between words and deeds. One of the Ten Commandments tells us that we are not to murder another person. But Jesus tells his followers that if we call our brother a “fool” we are also guilty of murder. (Matt. 5:22) How can this be? We know that hateful gossip and false statements often lead people to violence and murder. Could that be why Jesus compared a person who spews out hateful words to a murderer?



This year in Dallas, Texas, twenty-five older black men have been released from lifelong prison sentences. Even though proof was lacking, each of these men had been accused and imprisoned many decades ago of the crimes of rape or murder. Even though each man had insisted that they were innocent, these poor men had been behind bars for most of their adult lives, unable to raise money for an attorney or a decent trial. With the T.V. cameras rolling it was a joyous thing to see the expression on each of their faces as they were finally given their freedom and reunited with their families.



The Innocence Project had raised funds to take DNA samples from these prisoners. And when the DNA samples came back, these men were finally able to prove that their DNA did not match the DNA of the real perpetrators of their alleged crimes. Several of these innocent men had already been executed for their “crime” and several more had died while in prison, before the truth came out.



Of course our Justice System and our courts can make mistakes. But when a community is anxious for the District Attorney to find a criminal and solve a crime, couldn’t the truth be stretched to find a likely suspect and pin the crime onto him or her? How many more innocent people are still languishing in prisons around the world today because gossip and false witness have been used against them? Words are powerful.



Jimmy Carter in his book “Sources of Strength” p. 101-102 says: “So when Jesus tells us that hatred spewed out in verbal form is akin to murder, he isn’t exaggerating: he is expressing a fundamental truth, though one we’d prefer to overlook. Jesus’ words are still revolutionary today because they challenge our human tendency to built our lives in an egocentric, self-satisfied way. The things I do, the decisions I make, are usually chosen to meet my own needs and to promote my own self-image.” But then he continues: “But Christ challenges this complacent self-image. He demands more of us. We can’t just fulfill the letter of the God’s commandments, but we must fulfill its’ spirit, in our words …” Our words!



Jesus’ message is revolutionary. We are to enlarge our understanding of words such as justice, honesty, love, and compassion. We are to “never cause anyone to stumble” (1 Cor. 10:31) and “Speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:14)



The Bible says that we are Christ’s ambassadors –His witnesses. God is making His appeal to the world through us. (cf, 2Cor. 5:20) How is the world drawn to Christ through us when we and our Christian leaders gossip and spread scary untruths about those we don’t agree with? How will people find Christ in churches that spew out political hatred along with the gospel? Scripture says that “They will know we are Jesus’ disciples by our love.” (John 13:35) We can do our job better as Christ’s ambassador – be a better witness for Him to the world- if we put away our judgments and gossip and just practice loving folk into the kingdom.

Morning Prayer (Psalm 5)

Morning Prayer (Psalm 5)

“O Lord, in the morning thou dost hear my voice: In the morning, I prepare a sacrifice for Thee, and watch,” (Psalm 5:3) We have an image of a person bringing a sacrifice to God each morning in this Psalm. Eugene Peterson writes in his book, Answering Prayer, p.66 “Sacrifice isn’t something we do for God, but simply setting out the stuff of life for Him to do something with. On the altar the sacrificial offering is changed into what is pleasing and acceptable to God. In the act of offering we give up ownership and control, and watch to see what God will do with it.”



The act of offering our lives to God as a sacrifice is mentioned many times throughout Scripture. In Romans 12:1 Paul begs his fellow Christians to present their lives and their bodies as living sacrifices to God. “I beseech you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your lives and your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”



We offer our life each morning to God and then we “watch” to see how He directs our day. We watch to see what God will do with our hopes and fears. How He will direct our actions for the day! Morning prayer places us before the watchful God and reminds us to also watch for His guidance. The word “watch” seems to be the main word in the morning prayer of Psalm 5.



And we need to watch. The daylight world of action is often dangerous, full of enticements for us to go astray. We need to “watch” and be careful, because there are possibilities for evil actions in each new day. Psalm 5:5-6 lists some of the dangers. “The boastful shall not stand in Your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood: The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful person.”



And then the writer in Psalm 5:8 asks God for guidance into obedient action. “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies: Make Your way straight before my face.” We cannot be obedient in our own strength, especially when our enemies are tempting us to anger. We need Gods’ help, especially when it comes to our enemies, and He is always ready to give it. He will speak to us but we need to be listening.



The writer of Psalm 5 asks God to judge his enemies. He reminds God of how bad his enemies are and then asks God to do them in. This part of the prayer doesn’t sound “nice” to our ears. Let’s listen. “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth: Their inward part is destruction: their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels: Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.” (Psalm 5:9-10)



Enemies, especially for those who live by faith, are a fact of life. And it is so easy (and sometimes fun) to spend our energies judging and hating our enemies. But hatred and judgments can destroy us. God tells us that we are not created to judge and hate. Our job is to give the problems we have with our enemies to God and let Him judge them. He is big enough for the job. Romans 12:19 tells us “Never take revenge beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Perhaps the writer of Psalm 5 is giving his enemies up to God and asking Him to judge them, since revenge isn’t his job. In fact his job (and ours) is to forgive our enemies.



Psalm 4 is an evening prayer and it is introduced first - evening and morning made up the ancient Jewish day. There seems to be a rhythm to the prayers of the ancient Jewish worshipers. Their new day began at sundown with an evening prayer. Sleep (passivity) was the first order of their day where they let God work His will in them while they were dreaming. But then in the morning they would wake up to activity. And they needed to pray again (watch) for Gods’ leading in that activity. There was a rhythm here of evening and morning prayers.



As Christians we need to consistently spend time with God in prayer. If our prayers and Scripture meditation are hit and miss, our devotion to God may also be half-hearted. But if there is a rhythm to our prayers, -if we make time with God a high priority, it will affect a permanent change in our lives.



This month a popular magazine published an article by the famous Dr. Oz. The good doctor gives eight prescriptions for a healthy heart in this piece. First off Dr. Oz says to rise early each morning and start the day with six minutes of yoga. This practice will calm and strengthen the heart he insists. Many people make a habit of rising early to exercise, practice yoga, or run with the hopes of maintaining physical health. And this is good.



But what about our spiritual health? Can we develop disciplines for the spiritual too? The writer of the Psalms had the habit of beginning each new day with a morning prayer. He offered himself and the new day to God as a sacrifice. And then he watched to see what God would do, how God would lead.



My prayer life has been hit or miss. I like to pray when I feel like it in my own way. Public written prayers have always been difficult for me to pray. But of course there is a time for individual prayer and there is a time for praying as a body with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am inspired by the example in Psalms where prayer becomes a rhythm in the lives of Gods’ people and I need that rhythm in my life as well. I am going to follow the example and spend a few minutes before God each morning. Offer God my day, my life and then watch to see where He will lead. Would you like to join me?

Walking on the Water

Walking on the Water

It was the wee hours of the morning and I was lying in the darkness of my hospital room watching the screen above my head. My nurse had explained that the numbers on the screen were way out of line. The top numbers were showing how many times my heart was beating per minute. An average heart beats between 70 and 80 times per minute he explained but my heart was beating 189-190 times per minute, and that wasn’t good. And to add to that, my heart beat was irregular. I was in what is called “atrial fibrillation” a dangerous irregularity that is the cause of many strokes. My nurse would call a doctor and get medication to bring the heart rate down. It was an emergency.



I had just undergone a five hour back surgery and was now lying flat on my back unable to move. I felt worried and helpless there in the night waiting for the doctor to call back and prescribe the medicine that could bring the heart rate down. Two long hours passed before the doctor finally responded and those two hours seemed like an eternity.



In the darkness of night I continued to watch the screen with its’ scary numbers as they continued rising even higher and I began thinking about death. What if I died before morning? I am a Christian so why should I be afraid of dying? The lady in the room next to mine began to moan loudly in the night and fear began closing in around me. I prayed for the moaning woman in the room next door. And then I prayed for myself. “God, my heart won’t beat right! They say I could have a stroke. Please, help me!” “Father, what can I do? I’m afraid!” And then the answer came. The words floated right across my brain. “Just walk on the water.”



“Walk on the water!” What does that mean? My foggy brain didn’t comprehend right away. It wasn’t until morning when I asked my husband what he thought those words could mean that it began to come together in my mind.



That old familiar Bible story of Jesus calling Peter to come to Him across the water. (Matthew 14:29) Of course I remembered it. Peter gets out of the boat and while looking over to Jesus he walks towards Him on the water. But then Peter looks down at the water and realizes the impossible is happening - there’s nothing there to hold him up – just water. So Peter begins to sink. Jesus reaches out and grabs his hand. Nothing is impossible if Jesus is there to pick him up.



But we all find ourselves in situations like Peter’s more often than we would like to admit. We are in over our heads and sinking and we call out “Help” and Jesus is there to answer. The cry for survival develops into the shout of the saved. Prayer gets started in the time of trouble. Eugene Peterson in his book, “Answering God, the Psalms as Tools for Prayer” says that “the entire theology of prayer is that the world and I can be changed and that God is the One to do it,” (Pg. 41). Dr. Peterson states that the theme of so many prayers consists of just two elemental words – “Help” and “Thanks” and also two elemental emotions, one of terror and then one of trust.



Dr. Peterson points to Psalms 3 as an example of a prayer that goes from terror to trust, and from “Help” to “Thanks”. The opening cry in Psalms 3 goes like this: “O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, his God will not deliver him.” (Ps. 3:1-2) ” but then the Psalm continues “But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from his holy hill.” (Ps. 3:3-4)



There are three dimensions of trouble in Psalms 3 : 1. How many are my foes! 2. The enemies are aggressive and make the situation urgent! 3. And the enemies are mocking and debunking my faith! But these three dimensions of trouble \ are matched with God’s salvation that is experienced in the same three dimensions; ( 1. God covers his vulnerability and becomes his shield, 2. the enemies’ scorn is countered with God being his “glory”, and 3. His discouragement is reversed by the experience of God raising up his head in hope.



The center of Psalm 3 shows this person (David) going to sleep - unafraid even though surrounded by ten thousand enemies. His fears have been replaced by faith in God. “I lie down and sleep: I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” (Psalms 3:5-6)



And the last verses of Psalm 3 again show David asking God to change the course of events. “Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.” (Psalms 3:7-8) The violent language here may be disturbing. But we share all of our feelings to God in prayer and sometimes those feelings aren’t “nice”. There is an honest disclosure of the human spirit in this Psalm as in others as well.



Everything in Psalms 3 is personal. God is personal and the one praying (David) is personal. This prayer (Psalm) was prayed by David when he was fleeing from his own son Absalom, who had gathered an army against his father and was coming in for the kill. This Psalm ends with the exclamation, “Deliverance belongs to the Lord, thy blessing be upon thy people!” (Psalms 3:8) There is great comfort and peace for David in knowing that God is with him during this terrible trial. But even though David’s life was spared and his kingdom restored during this battle, David’s heart was forever broken by the betrayal and death of his son, Absalom.



We don’t have any guarantees in this life. Our children, like David’s’, can betray us. Our health can fail. Our finances can run out. God doesn’t promise to keep us free from trouble here on earth, but He promises to be with us in our troubles. And He also promises to bring us through them all. There will be victory in the end. All we need to do is look to Jesus and keep walking on the water.

Faith Alone (Sola Fide)

Faith Alone (Sola Fide)





Paul was upset. He had spent several years with the Galatians teaching them about how much God loved them. He had taught them that God had given each one of them a gift – the gift of His grace. Because of God’s grace (His unmerited favor), a gift was waiting for each one of them (and us)– the gift of eternal life in Christ. All they needed to do was to receive the gift. Christ had died to take away their sins. If they trusted Him and tried to follow Him they would be saved. The Galatians loved Paul and thousands of Galatians believed Paul and took God’s free gift. They joyfully gave their lives to Christ and the very first Christian churches in Galatia were born.



Paul stayed with the Galatians long enough to make sure they all knew that there is a freedom in Christ and that the gift of salvation was free. It couldn’t be earned- just taken by faith. It was all so simple. Faith was the key, not works. “For by grace you are saved through faith and not of yourselves it is the gift from God, not of works lest any person should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)



Paul had to say “goodbye” to his beloved Galatians, but he had promised to be back again as soon as he could. He felt like he was their spiritual father since he had been the one to bring them to faith in Christ.



But before many months had passed, Paul heard some bad news about his beloved Galatians. Some Jewish Christians had come to visit the Galatians after Paul had left and they had taught them that just having faith in Jesus wasn’t enough. These Jewish Christians had insisted that the Galatians follow certain Old Testament ceremonies along with believing in Christ. And they argued that the Galatians had to be circumcised in order to be saved. The Galatians were confused by these legalistic Jews and they started trying to follow the law and become circumcised along with believing in Christ.



So Paul was upset! Worried about his beloved Galatians! Had they really believed the legalistic Jewish Christians? Did they think they needed to work or do religious things in order to earn God’s gift of salvation? Paul wrote a long letter to the Galatians (and to us). The entire book of Galatians is about just one problem – the problem of believing you need to add your religious deeds to Jesus’ sacrifice in order to make it to heaven.



Listen to Paul as he pleads. “Do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through religious law, then Christ died in vain. Oh foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you ?…” (Galatians 2:21-3:1a) And: “But that no one is justified by the works of the law, for the just shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)



More than fifteen hundred years later Martin Luther insisted that Galatians was his favorite book in the Bible because Paul had argued so passionately about the importance of trusting Jesus alone for salvation. As a young Augustine monk Luther wrote the words, “Sola Fide” or “Only by Faith” in the margins of his Bible. And the Protestant Reformation was started with this cry.



Paul (and the Bible) clearly states that salvation is by faith and not works (sola fide). But the Bible (and Paul) also often mentions works. Whenever Paul says that salvation is by faith, he is speaking in the past tense about our deliverance from sin and our new birth in Christ. We can never work to achieve our own salvation. It is a free Gift.



However after we become Christians we definitely can add our part and do our bit. We can follow Christ, do good deeds, study God’s Word and grow and mature in the faith. Or we can disobey and remain baby Christians. There is work for us to do after we accept God’s grace and receive the gift of salvation through Christ. But in the beginning when we become a Christian we just receive.



Here in 1 Peter 1:17-20 we are encouraged to work and live a good life and then we are reminded that our salvation comes from Christ alone and not from works or human strivings (perishable things). “Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives (work) as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed …but with the precious blood of Christ…”



The Galatian Christians are not the only Christians who have been tempted to believe that faith alone (sola fide) in Christ is not enough. It has been a temptation down through the ages. A temptation to believe that just trusting in Jesus is “too easy”. That we need to give more money or attend more religious ceremonies or do more good deeds to earn our own way. This is a common temptation that Christians seem to have.



So let’s not fall for this lie - make the same mistake as the Galatians. God has given a Gift to us (salvation through Jesus) and all we have to do is receive it. Just have faith - faith in Jesus. Martin Luther had it right. “Sola Fide” Faith Alone.

My Operation

My Operation




I just wrote a Christian lesson for this week, but then I decided to maybe put it up next week instead of now. I may not get around to writing a lesson next week because I will be in the hospital for a few days. So I will save this week’s lesson for next.



Next Wednesday I am going to have an operation on my lower back. The large nerve that runs down the spine is being pinched so badly that it will die if something isn’t done soon. The discs in the spine are there to protect the nerve, but when they wear out they quit doing their job. And several of my discs have given up.



The doctor showed us the images on the mri and the X Ray and we could easily see where the discs had moved out of line and had cut off the poor nerve. My right leg hurts badly so I have no other choice than to have the operation.



The doctor will fuse four discs in my lower spine. I will have metal rods and screws put in the spine to keep it in place. He will grind up part of my bone and mix it in a grinder with my bone marrow and then put it back in the spine to help fuse the new bone with rods and screws all together. All sounds a bit macabre.



Hopefully then the poor pinched nerve will not be pinched anymore and it will finally have enough room to be a nerve again. The operation should take five hours but then I will have a new lower back.



I am so glad that we have good doctors and medical techniques and medicines and hospitals. I ask any of you who would be willing to remember me in your prayers - that the surgery will go well next Wednesday. Thank you so much. And I will be back next week with another lesson.







Jane

The First Shall be Last and the Last Shall be First

The First Shall be Last and the Last Shall be First

It’s that time of year again! Everywhere there is a buzz in the air. New Year’s Eve parties and special church services are being planned, and New Year’s Eve dances and celebrations with fireworks are in the works. Soon it will be the very first minute of a brand new year. We don’t care about the last day of the old year. We care about the first day of the New Year. We like new challenges, new beginnings, and new firsts. And when we can, most of us like to be first.



We want to be first in line and make the best grades. We want to live in an impressive house and make lots of money. We want everybody to like us and we want to be important. After all isn’t that what God wants for us? Doesn’t He want us to be up there on top?



We want to be first and best and all the while we want to follow Jesus and be in His kingdom too. But after we are Christians for awhile we find that it doesn’t always work that way. Jesus says that in his kingdom the first often will be last and the last will be first. (Matthew 20:16)



Some folks say that when we follow Jesus, ordinary life is turned upside-down. When we read the Bible we see things getting turned around for sure. Things that make a person important in our world are unimportant in the kingdom of God. And things like a humble or a meek spirit – qualities that aren’t so valued in this world are valued by God. Scripture says that “God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and the weak things of this world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor. 1:27) Note that Jesus tells us that “Whoever wants to be great would be a servant.” (Matt. 20:26) Jesus also tells us that his kingdom, the kingdom of God, is of another world.



We have a saying in our world that it is better to give than to receive. We want to be one of the “makers” not one of the “takers”. We want to write our own ticket, pay our own bills, earn our own way. But Jesus tells us that we can never be good enough to earn our own way into his kingdom. He says, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter in.” (Luke 18:17) So here we have it again- God’s up-side down kingdom. In our world we act like an adult, we earn our own way; but in order to enter God’s kingdom we must “receive” it as a little child would.



The principles of the kingdom of God are upside down from the principles we have learned here in our world. We keep expecting a set of rules to follow in this world, but following the letter of the law without following the Spirit of the Law is what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for. Scripture says: “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor. 3:6) Jesus said that mercy and justice matter most to God. So if we do all of the “right” things - the “religious” things, but we neglect mercy and justice – if we neglect doing our small part to see that the poor, the “ least of these” gets a fair chance, -then are we any better than the Pharisees?



One of the principles in God’s kingdom that is very different from our culture’s teacings, is the principle of “turning the other cheek”. (Matt. 5:39) I have sometimes had a hard time following this one and perhaps you have too. The principle is that we rely on God for vindication. We let Him defend us and we don’t fight for our own rights. Let’s listen to what Scripture has to say. “Never pay back evil with more evil. … Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. … If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. …Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)



Another principle in God’s kingdom that doesn’t make sense down here in this world is the principle of searching for righteousness. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached about the blessed life. One of the blessings –“beatitudes” Jesus spoke of was the blessing you will get if you work for or search for righteousness or for justice. Blessed are those who want to be right before God. Let’s listen to His words in Scripture. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) One of the translations for the word “righteousness” is “justice”.



If we hunger and thirst for our own causes, we will never be fully satisfied. But if we come to Jesus, (who is our righteousness) we will be satisfied. In this world we believe that things will satisfy us. A new car will make us happy – a new outfit, a better position, more money. We always need just a little bit more. But in the kingdom of God we don’t need any more when we find Jesus.



When we believe in Jesus we become part of His kingdom – the kingdom of God. And when we follow Him we receive His Spirit in our lives. And the Holy Spirit is with us to teach us how to live in this new kingdom – the kingdom of God. But we are still living in this world and we still have our old sin nature. So actually we are living in two worlds- two kingdoms – kingdoms that are opposite from one another.



Our earthly world or kingdom teaches us to grab all we can get, stand up for our own rights –and try to be first. And God’s kingdom teaches us to let go of our egos and let God defend us when we are wronged – to think of others and to be last. So what will we choose –God’s way or our own, a proud spirit or a humble one, first place for ourselves or last. Remember, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” (Matt. 20:16)

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

There is a wonder surrounding Mary, the mother of Jesus, -wonder because she was the one who was chosen to bear God’s Son. The angel Gabriel told her that she had found favor with God. She must have had a believing and humble heart to have been chosen as blessed among women. Even though she didn’t understand the mystery of God coming to live with humans, she accepted it with faith and joy.



When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Nazareth to announce Christ’s’ birth, Mary was troubled. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30b-33)



And Mary asks: “How can this be, since I have not had sex with a man?” (Luke 1:34) And the angel Gabriel answered: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) Then the angel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth, one of her relatives was pregnant. Elizabeth had been unable to have a baby and was elderly now - too old to be having a baby; but Gabriel encouraged Mary’s faith by reminding her that “with God nothing is impossible.” (Luke 1:37.



Mary bowed before the angel Gabriel and answered him: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)



Mary did not understand all that was about to happen in her life, but she was glad that she could be part of Gods’ plan and her heart was filled with joy. She sang a song expressing how she felt about being chosen to become the mother of Gods’ Son. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” she sang. (Luke 1:46-47)



As you can see here, according to Scripture, Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus is Son of God and Son of man (a mystery that we can not understand, we just accept on faith). Mary was engaged to marry Joseph at the time she became pregnant with Jesus, the promised Messiah. It would seem that Joseph was upset when he found out that Mary was pregnant, since he knew that her baby could not be his child. This pregnancy did put Mary in a bind.



No doubt there was whispering behind her back. Probably the rest of her family did not understand. Mary probably told Joseph that the angel Gabriel had appeared to her and that the baby she was having was the Son of God, but Joseph must not have believed her. (Would you have?) The Bible says that Joseph was planning to break up with her when an angel appeared to him and assured him that Mary was indeed a virgin. The angel informed him that the baby that she was carrying was truly the Son of God, and that the child should be named “Jesus” which means “the Savior or the One who saves from sin” (Matthew 1:19-25)



Even though Mary was blessed and highly favored by God, (Luke 1:28) her life was not easy. We all know the story of Jesus’ birth and how He was born in a manger. We have heard the magical Christmas story so often - the babe in the manger- that we soon forget that the manger was just a dirty animal shelter. There were probably flies and smells in the manger where Mary had her baby. The animals went to the bathroom in their stalls (the manger) and it was probably cold and muddy there too. Even though Mary was in labor, no one would make room for her in any of the inns in Bethlehem. Joseph knocked on door after door begging for a space for Mary as she delivered her baby, but everyone turned them away. Mary was rejected by everyone in her hour of need.



Mary’s life was not easy. When she and Joseph took the newborn baby Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him to God, the prophet Simeon came and prophesied over the baby. Simeon foretold of future emotional suffering for Mary. “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” he said. (Luke 2:35) And then when Jesus was just a month or two old, Herod decided to find him and kill him. Mary and Joseph had to get up and flee with the baby Jesus to Egypt to protect him from harm. We can only imagine Mary’s’ bewilderment at the problems and persecutions that this special baby of hers was causing.



Years later Mary must have been bewildered again when she and Joseph spent three days worrying and looking for the twelve year old Jesus after they lost him among the crowds in Jerusalem. When they finally found him in the temple, Jesus asked them: “Didn’t you know that I must be about My Father’s business? But Mary and Joseph did not understand him.” (Luke 2:49-50) The Bible tells us that Mary did not understand all of what God was doing with her Son Jesus. But she kept following God’s basic directive for her life.



When Jesus was a boy growing up he lived in the town of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and their other children. Scholars believe that back in Jesus’ day Nazareth was a small town and that most of the people living there were related to one another. But Scripture tells us that when Jesus returned as an adult to Nazareth, his home town, He was rejected by nearly everyone there. (Matt. 13:53-56) A group of Nazarenes even tried to throw Him off of the steep cliff that is outside of the city. These people were His relatives!



And the Bible also tells us that even Jesus’ brothers didn’t all believe in Him (John 7:5) and thought He was out of His mind.(Mark 3:20-21) We can only wonder how Mary felt when her relatives and neighbors in Nazareth didn’t believe her when she told them about the angel Gabriel’s message to her. Even Mary’s own children, Jesus’ brothers, didn’t listen to their Mother and rejected her Son. The Bible says that “He came unto His own, but His own received Him not.” (John 1:11) Jesus was rejected, but Mary shared that rejection and that misunderstanding with her Son. Her life was not easy.



Mary is a study in the pathway forward in God’s will. Instead of respect, it seems she suffered rejection. She never tried to obtain an elevated position among Jesus’ followers. She must have become a widow early on since Joseph is not mentioned after Jesus became an adult. In that patriarchal culture, being a widow often meant having to live in poverty. Mary didn’t seem to have a place to live at the time that Jesus went to the cross. From the cross Jesus asked John to take care of his mother and after Jesus died, Mary went to live in John’s house.



Mary remained steadfast with Jesus all the way to the cross. And can you imagine how her heart was broken there at the cross? And after Jesus ascended into heaven, Mary obediently joined His other followers in the Upper Room to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:14)



Mary is a model of obedience and an example for us. Perhaps we can all learn something from her life. When we are confused about what is happening in our lives can we, like Mary did, trust God with the confusion and with our lives? If loved ones reject us or our hearts are broken, can we like Mary keep on believing that God will work through the problems in ways that we can’t imagine?



There was a song a few years ago that went something like this: “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.” Isn’t that how Mary lived her life? She accepted the glorious mysteries along with the wildernesses in her life all on faith and then she followed. Her life could be described by the words she spoke as she bowed before the angel Gabriel; “Here I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Could we follow Mary’s example? Could her words be our words too? Could we bow before God and say those words to Him? “Here I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”















Merry Christmas! There will be no blog next week (Christmas) but please stay tuned for a timely blog on the New Year’s weekend.

Isn't That Communism?

Isn’t That Communism?

We were out of town last weekend so we visited another church – a church quite different from ours. The church we visited was a Baptist mega-church with 25,000 members, and with 12,000 people attending last Sunday. There were three restaurants, a video arcade, several banks, a gift and book store, a gymnasium, a media center, many classrooms plus the huge worship center; all in this gigantic church building, which was three or four blocks long. We took the elevator up to the fourth floor balcony and settled in to our seats for the morning worship service.



Our church back home with its’ 750 members has a candlelit altar with an open Bible in the front of the sanctuary and a large cross on the back wall. We have a railing in front of the altar where we kneel and pray. Soft candlelight and hymns accompany each service and there are stained glass windows on both the front and side walls of the church. Church members enter reverently and quietly to worship God, bowing to acknowledge His presence.



The Baptist mega church had a stage with colored stage lights overhead and an orchestra pit in front. Two large walls of colored light shows flashed on each side of the giant stage and two large media screens were mounted up on the front wall. We settled in for the worship service.



A choir of maybe a hundred or more singers filed onto the stage and began singing to the accompaniment of the orchestra down in the orchestra pit. Twenty or more well dressed song leaders stood in front of the choir with their arms raised high praising God and singing while swaying back and forth. One by one each song leaders’ smiling face was projected onto the large screens on either side of the stage while the words to the songs were also projected onto the huge screens. Colored lights flashed here and there around the stage illuminating the praise and creating a light show. The audience stood and sang several praise songs and then clapped for the choir and the orchestra. It was a performance.



A T.V. camera mounted on a large metal crane that stood several stories high, moved on wheels up and down the center aisle of the huge auditorium recording the service for the local television station. I noted that during the service, many people in the audience wandered in and out, talking on their cell phones or to one another.



My husband and I enjoyed praising God with these thousands of other Christians and tears rolled down my cheeks during the praise. After the singing was finished, there were several baptisms, which did not take place there in the worship center but were televised on the large screens.



And then the pastor came out to preach while cameras from every angle zoomed in on him. The audience could see his face on the giant screens, and more colored lights danced around behind him. This pastor was an excellent speaker, and he delivered his message forcefully and with much emotion. Over and over again he brought home the fact that we Christians have the obligation to go out into the entire world and tell everyone that Jesus is Lord and that He died to take away our sins. “Jesus brings life and without Him, people are living in darkness.” he shouted. “It is our sacred duty to go and ask as many others as possible to accept Jesus as Savior.” Tears were running down my face. It has been many decades since I have been in a Baptist church and have heard this message preached so clearly. But the words still cut to my soul.



The pastor continued by talking about the Great Commission. “Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and tell others that He is Savior,” he shouted as he pounded the pulpit. “Some liberals tell us we have to save the environment or to worry about social justice,” he added, -“and that isn’t what Jesus is talking about. Jesus tells us in the Great Commission to tell others about Himself”.



I caught my breath and wondered! Just a minute, isn’t Jesus interested in social justice? Didn’t He say a great deal about feeding the hungry and giving to the poor? And I’m not so sure that Jesus wants us to go around polluting the environment either! What is this pastor saying here? Who is this “non-involved Jesus” he is talking about? The Jesus I know is deeply involved with the poor, cares about the hungry and wants us to be involved too.



The pastor shook his fists and went on preaching; “Jesus instructed us through the Great Commission to go into the whole world and tell others that He is the Savior.” Just a minute, I thought. When Jesus gave us the great commission, didn’t He ask us to go into all the world and not only tell people the good news but to also “make disciples”? (Matthew 28:18-20) Wasn’t making disciples part of it? Didn’t this pastor leave that out? When we “make disciples” we not only tell people about Jesus but we teach the new Christians what it means to follow Him too. And yes, being a disciple (following Jesus) means being concerned about social justice. We are supposed to feed the hungry and give to the poor. As Christians we are supposed to get involved. Isn’t that part of the package?



Following Jesus isn’t just saying the right words. We don’t just “talk the talk” but we “walk the walk”. The pastors’ words were right but they didn’t go far enough. At least not for me. Accepting Jesus as Savior means obeying His commandments. And Jesus commands that if we see a person without a coat and we have two coats, we are to give that person one of our coats. (Luke 3:11) (Doesn’t that sound like Communism?)



The pastor preached on, but by now he had lost me. Verse after verse from the Bible began to flit through my mind. “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes from the hungry will get many curses.” (Psalms 28;27) “He who is kind to the poor, lends to the Lord. (Proverbs 19:17) “Whoever gives a cup of cold water to the least of these, gives it to Me.” (Matthew 10:42) “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and help the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom shall be as noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)



And of course Matthew 25:34-36 came to mind. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, needed clothes and you clothes me, was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Jesus has so much to say about the importance of taking care of the poor!



We filed out of church and wandered down to the book store. Beautiful jewelry was for sale along with statues of golden gilt angels. Bibles and right wing political books sat on a shelf side by side upsetting me even more. I stood there in the bookstore grumbling to my husband that Jesus wanted us to do more than tell others about Him, that He wanted us to help the poor. A lady buying a book nearby heard me fussing and entered into the discussion. “It was a good sermon,” I told her, “but as Christians we are also to be concerned with social justice. If we have two coats and we see someone with no coat, we are to give them one of ours.” I stopped and smiled at her. “My goodness,” the woman replied, “Isn’t that communism?”



You Gotta Come in by the Door

You Gotta Come in by the Door

(John 10:1-18)

Just one door to eternal life! Jesus is telling yet another of his famous parables here in John 10 and his message comes through loud and clear. Let’s listen to what He has to say: “I tell you the truth, the person who does not enter the sheep fold by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1) “I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)



Jesus is telling a story here about his sheep and the sheep fold with the one door where his sheep stay. Jesus explains to the disciples that He is the Door and the sheep must come through the Door (Jesus) to get into the fold. And of course the sheep are all those who belong to Jesus, the Master Shepherd. In his parable, Jesus also tells about two different kinds of helpers (under-shepherds) who come into the sheep fold with the job of helping out with the sheep.



There are the good shepherds –the ones who come in through the door of the fold; the ones who repent of their sins and let Jesus give them new life. And Jesus is able to use these changed helpers to lead his sheep out to pasture and back in at night. Jesus can bless his sheep through these good under-shepherds. Jesus gives life to his sheep and protects them from getting lost or being harmed by wild animals through the shepherds who came in through the door, because they hear His voice. The sheep recognize Jesus’ voice through these good under shepherds and they follow them. There is such freedom and abundance for the sheep when they are led by these good shepherds who have come in by the door (Jesus) and are guided by Jesus, the Door.



Let’s listen to how Jesus tells it. “Whoever enters by the door (Jesus) is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens to him and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them: and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but will run away from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger.” (John 10:2-5)



But then there are those other shepherds - the ones who climbed over the wall of the sheep fold and ignored the door, those who aren’t sorry for their sins and won’t repent – who won’t let Jesus give them new life. They want to do life their own way and forget the one Way. These false shepherds don’t care about the sheep but only take the job for the money. Jesus can not work through these guys and the real sheep won’t follow them anyway. The sheep don’t recognize their Masters’ voice when these false shepherds call them. The flock are never led out to pasture or allowed to drink in the streams and rivers. Poor little lambs! If a sheep wanders off and gets lost, these hired hands who jumped over the wall, won’t go look for it. And when the hungry wolves come around, these fake shepherds run off and leave the sheep to die and be eaten.



Let’s listen to what Jesus says about these false shepherds. “All who ever got into the sheep fold without Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep will not hear them. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. The hired hand is not the shepherd and he is not bonded to the sheep, so when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away: and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because he is only there for the money and he does not really care about the sheep.” (John 10: 8,10a,12 and 13)



Jesus finishes his parable by explaining that He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus has so many names in Scripture and the “Good Shepherd” and the “Door” are just two of his many names. He is our Door or our entrance to eternal life and He is also our Shepherd who leads us into the abundance of that life. Let’s listen to what He says here. “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd: and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:11,14,15,17and 18)



Jesus says that He lay down his life for his sheep (us) and He comes to give his sheep life-not just ordinary existence, but life in fullness and abundance. On the other hand the Enemy (Satan) comes only to steal, kill and destroy. The line is clearly drawn in this parable. There is no middle ground. Jesus makes it definite that there are just two choices – the choice to be on Gods’ side or the choice not to be. There are the real under-shepherds and the false hired hands, those who come in by the door and those who don’t. There is just one moral to this story. You gotta come in by the Door.

The Miracle Seeds

The Miracle Seeds

(Luke 8:5-15)



Jesus told a story (a parable) to His disciples about a farmer who went out to sow seeds hoping for a nice harvest. Some of the seeds landed on hard ground and the birds quickly ate them up. Some landed on rocky ground but when they sprang up they withered since they lacked moisture. Some of the seeds landed among thorns and the thorns chocked them out. But some fell on good ground and had plenty of room to grow. They sprang up and grew and yielded a big crop.



Jesus’ disciples ask what the story means, and this is what Jesus tells them. “The seeds, Jesus tells them, are the Word of God.” (Luke 8:11) “The hard ground that some of the seeds fall on is the heart of a person who hears the Word, but then the devil comes and takes the Word out of his heart, lest the person should believe and have eternal life.” (Luke 8:12) People who aren’t much interested in the Word and don’t think it is important are most likely the hard ground folks. When this indifferent crowd hear Gods’ Word they don’t take it too seriously. It makes no sense to them and they quickly forget what they have heard. The miracle seeds never have a chance to get into the ground of their heart, much less grow!



“The rocky ground that other seeds fall on is like the heart of the person who, when he hears the Word, he receives it with joy: but since he has no roots, he believes for a while, but then when the temptations come, he falls away.” (Luke 8:13) This person Jesus is describing perhaps pretends to be a good Christian but doesn’t take the Word seriously. He doesn’t see a problem with cheating on his wife during the week and going to church on Sunday. He takes advantage of others and does whatever he wants to do without worrying about what God would want. Those miracle seeds struggle to grow and take root in his life, but so many rocks are in the way. Alas, the poor seeds are never allowed to make it!



“Now the thorny ground that the seeds fall on is like the heart of a person who, when he has heard Gods’ Word, he goes out and is choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and is too busy with other things to bring the fruit from the seeds to maturity.” (Luke 8:14) Isn’t Jesus describing a person here who is busy shopping and playing video games and watching football and baseball and working two jobs and exercising and checking his messages and going to the movies and worrying about his portfolio and—the list goes on and on. Really there’s nothing wrong with these activities, but our persons’ schedule is so filled up with stuff that there is no room left for God. No room to pray and no room to read the Bible. The life giving seeds are never given a chance, never given space to grow and produce a crop. Never given room to sprout into eternal life.



“But when the seeds fall on the good ground, this is like the people who, when they hear the Word, with good and joyful hearts they hold onto the seeds tightly and keep them hidden in their hearts. And with patience they bear much fruit.” (Luke 8:15) Jesus is describing the people who belong to Him. Jesus wants us to desire and value his Word. He wants to plant his powerful seeds in our hearts. He wants to wait while his Word works its’ magic and we are born again! He wants us to give Him our heart. He, like the farmer, plans to cultivate it. Plow up the hard ground. Pull up the thorns and dig out the rocks. Fertilize the ground and make it ready so the seeds have room in our hearts to grow up into a life giving harvest.



This little story of Jesus’ wouldn’t make much sense if the seeds that the farmer went out to plant weren’t special seeds. But the seed (the Word) is special. The Bible has much to say about just how special Gods’ Word really is. We will just mention a few passages here that refer to the Word and its’ special place. Scripture says that “Faith (or believing) comes by hearing, hearing the Word” (Romans 10:17) The Word (the seed) has to be special if faith comes by hearing it and eternal life is given to those with faith.



Some may think that the Bible – the Word – is just an ordinary book like other books, but Scripture says that the Word (the seed) is “living”. “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword …”(Hebrews 4:12) The Bible also says that the Word was made flesh and lived among us. (John 1:14) Of course this is referring to Jesus, who is called the “living Word”. David loved Gods’ Word and had much to say about it. Here in Psalms he writes: “Your Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105) These are just a few of the many scriptures that tell us that Gods’ Word can change us if we let it.



After reading Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed, what lessons can we take away? For me, I think the story teaches the importance of opening our hearts to God and to His Word so that the Word can grow and do its’ magic in our lives. This parable says that the devil takes the seeds away, “lest the person should believe and have eternal life.” (Luke 8:12) Right there Jesus is saying that the seed (the Word) causes a person to believe and believing brings eternal life. What importance the seeds are in the story!



In the natural world we have seeds that grow into apple trees and seeds that grow into tomato plants. Seeds that grow into giant redwood trees and seeds that grow into stalks of grain. We have all kinds of seeds on this earth. But have we ever thought about the seeds we have that cause people to believe and receive eternal life? These seeds (the Word) are something out of this world, wouldn’t you say? Shouldn’t we call them “miracle seeds”?

The Parable of the Fathers' Love

The Parable of the Fathers’ Love

(Better known as the parable of the Prodigal son)

Jesus had many lessons that he wanted his disciples (and us) to learn. He often told parables –or stories- to get these lessons across. In Luke 15 we read three of Jesus’ parables that were all teaching the same message. It must have been an important message for Jesus to tell three stories that were all saying the same thing.



The message that Jesus is trying to get across in these three stories is that God, our heavenly Father, loves us and is emotionally attached to us. He worries and searches for us when we get lost in sin or when we travel down one of the roads that end up in a bad place.



The parable Jesus tells in Luke 15:11 begins with a father and two sons. The youngest son asks his father for his share of the estate and the father agrees to give it to him. Then this youngest son takes his money and “sets off for a distant country and squanders his wealth in wild living.” (Luke 15:13b) It didn’t seem to take this young man long to blow his inheritance, did it?



And to make matters worse, soon after he spent all his money, a famine occurred and he didn’t have enough to eat. The young man looked around and finally got a job feeding hogs for a farmer, but he didn’t get paid much. Jesus tells it this way: “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the hogs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” (Luke 15:16) Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it?



While the son was sitting in the hog pen with the hogs, dirty and starving, he began thinking of how much he missed his home and family. He thought about how the men who worked for his father were paid enough to have a good life, and here he was miserable and hungry. Maybe he could go back home and ask his father to hire him. He could be one of the workers. He had sinned against his father and he knew he wasn’t worthy of being his son anymore. But maybe his father would let him hang around as a worker. He got up and started off walking down the long road back towards home.



In the meantime the father hadn’t stopped grieving and worrying about his youngest son. Ever since the boy had taken off, he had spent hours each day gazing down the road and up to the hills just hoping to get a glimpse of his son returning. Finally one day the father saw what looked like a traveler way off in the distance! Could it be his son? The father took off running. Let’s read how Jesus tells it. “But while he was still a long way off, the father saw him and was filled with compassion for him: the father ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20b)



The son told his father that he wasn’t worthy of being his son any more and asked his father for a job as a hired worker. But the father wouldn’t listen to any of that. He called his workers and ordered: “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on my son. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was lost and is found again: he was dead and is alive.” (Luke 15:22-24) So right away all the neighbors were invited to a party with feasting, music and dancing (Probably drinking too).



The oldest son had been out plowing the fields all day and as he trudged back home, sweaty and tired; he thought he could hear laughter and music coming from the house. When one of the workers told him that his younger brother had come home and his father was throwing a party, he really got mad. He sulked outside and refused to go in and join the festivities. His father went out and pleaded with his oldest son to come in and celebrate his brothers’ homecoming.



“My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The father told his oldest boy. “But we have to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:31)



Jesus’ parable tells us a lot about our heavenly Father, doesn’t it? First it tells us that God doesn’t stop us from doing what we want to do. The father in the story gave his youngest son his money and allowed him to leave, even though he didn’t want him to go. God doesn’t make us to be robots. He doesn’t force us to be good. We can leave our heavenly Father anytime we wish. Scripture tells us that since God has free will, we have free will too, since we are made in His image. This parable also teaches that if we leave the Father, He will keep anxiously waiting for our return. God is devoted to us and He will always welcome us back.



Along with this parable, Jesus told two other parables that were similar. One was a story about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep. But one day he found that one of his sheep was missing. Upset and worried, he left the ninety-nine and went out in the fields searching for his one lost sheep. Finally after a long exhausting search, he was overjoyed to find his lost sheep. He went home and threw a party, inviting his neighbors and friends with these words: “Rejoice with me for I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:6b) Jesus added: “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)



And the third story that Jesus tells is about a woman who had ten silver coins and loses one. The woman turned everything upside down and searched everywhere in her house until she finally found her lost coin. And of course she called her neighbors and threw a party to celebrate the fact that she had found her lost coin. Jesus adds: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)



These stories all teach the same truth: that God loves us. That when we stray away He cares enough to search for us, run after us and keep looking for us, always anxious to bring us back. Our earthly fathers may have let us down, even abandoned us. But we have a heavenly Father that will always be there for us. A God who is so thrilled when we come back to Him that there is celebrating in heaven with angels rejoicing. If we have strayed away, gone down a wrong road, or squandered all our money in wild living, let’s go back to our waiting Father. He will be overjoyed and we will be glad we did.

Deliver Us From Evil

Deliver Us from Evil

Every time we pray the Lords’ prayer we ask the Lord to “deliver us from evil”. (Matthew 6:9) Some of us have prayed that prayer so much that we just say the words and don’t think much about what we are praying. So what are we praying? And along with that, when we pray the Lords’ prayer we also pray: “Lead us not into temptation.”



Don’t these Biblical warnings in the Lord’s Prayer alert us to watch out for temptations scattered along our way? Temptations to choose what’s wrong – wrong thoughts or wrong actions. We may play with wrong thoughts or actions– joke about them -but never really let them in the door. But they are dangerous just the same. Sin is seductive and addictive and if it is allowed to get a foothold inside our lives it can take hold and grow into real evil -ruining lives and leaving devastation.



Obviously there are truly evil situations out there that we can become involved in if we do not ask for the Lords’ protection. We have all read shocking news in the papers or seen stories on television of normal looking folks like you and me who have gotten themselves into desperate situations just because they gave in to a serious temptation! They said “yes” when they should have said “no”. And crimes were committed, lives torn apart, and things will never be the same again.



We Christians are told that there are things we are not to do, places we are not to go, and even thoughts we are not to think. Jesus says that if we love Him we will keep His commandments.(John 14:15) Sounds difficult, but He promises to help us. It appears that when we walk down the road of life we will have to make our way through a mine field of temptations, doesn’t it? And Scripture tells us that that is true.



Awhile ago the newspaper showed the photo of a man walking out of prison, a free man after twenty-four years behind bars. The innocent man had been presumed guilty for the death of his murdered wife twenty-four years ago and has been behind bars even since. Finally he is a free man! His attorney had worked tirelessly behind the scenes and had proven his innocence from DNA samples. Another man, who had murdered several times, was finally indicted for this crime since his DNA matched the DNA at the scene of the crime committed twenty-four years ago.



The newspaper reported that during the trial so long ago, the district attorney/prosecutor had withheld important evidence in court that might have proven that the husband had not murdered his wife. The district attorney/prosecutor knew the husband was innocent, but in order to win his case, allowed the innocent husband to go to prison for life. For this successful district attorney it was all about winning – winning at any cost.



When the district attorney was tempted with bearing false witness and covering up the truth in exchange for winning another case in the courtroom and bolstering his reputation, he chose winning and looking good instead of doing the right thing. Over the years this powerful district attorney has worked his way up the ladder of success. Now he is a prominent judge in our state; wealthy, a church member and well respected. I wonder if it ever bothered him knowing that his actions were responsible for putting an innocent man behind bars. He will keep his position of power as a judge. Perhaps this judge would not have become as “successful” as he is now if he had not given in to the temptation to bear false witness in order to win.



These same problems came up with the scandal that broke this week at Pennsylvania State. Years ago a young boy was molested by a valued assistant coach of a winning football team: that crime was not reported to the police. The teams’ success and reputation, money and power were all at stake. The temptation was strong to keep quiet so their winning team would not be jeopardized. Several prominent men gave in and said “yes” instead of “no” to the temptation - the temptation to win at any cost! Even at the cost of harming children!



A few weeks ago another story was told in our local newspaper. A husband and father shot his pregnant wife, his little five year old daughter and his father-in-law as they lay sleeping in their home. And then he set their home on fire in hopes of burning up his murdered family members and covering up his crime. He had met a go-go dancer in a local bar and had fallen for her. He wanted to be with his new girlfriend without his pregnant wife and family getting in the way. When temptation knocked, this man opened the door wide. He never got what he wanted -the new girlfriend- and he is in jail now for a very long time. Is this evil or not?



Another part of the Lords’ Prayer reads; “Forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins that others sin against us.” (Matthew 6:9) Probably a temptation that comes to all of us at one time or another is the temptation not to forgive someone who has hurt or harmed us. We may need Gods’ help in forgiving, but God will be there to help us forgive when it is too difficult for us to do on our own.



Sometimes we may want to pay back another person for harming us or our loved ones. But Scripture says that it is not our place to pay another person back for the harm they have done. God did not create to hating or “pay back” another person. Only God is righteous enough for such a job. God is a God of justice and He will take care of us and even out any score His own way. Scripture says: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) We need to remember that God will even out the score, even if it doesn’t happen until we are on the other side. “Every valley will be exalted and every mountain and hill made low.” (Isaiah 40:4)



We will face temptation as long as we live. But God promises to be there for us and to never let our temptations be bigger than we can handle. He also promises to give us a way out of our temptations. “No temptation has taken you except what is common to everyone else, but God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)



So many Christians have been willing to pay the full price –to die- before giving in to temptation. There have been Christians down through the ages who have been willing to face martyrdom before going along with evil. The Christians in Germany and Holland who risked their lives by hiding Jews during the Holocaust refused to give in to the evil all around them! The Christians in early Rome who were willing to be fed to the lions before renouncing Christ didn’t give in either. Most of us won’t be called on to make that ultimate sacrifice. But there is often a price we pay when we say “no” to temptation! And there is a cost to consider in following Christ! Are we willing to consider the cost and pay the price?

Words of Judgment and Words of Comfort

                                                        a murel from ancient Nineveh

Words of Judgment and Words of Comfort

Visions from Nahun

The main message in the short little book of Nahun is that God has judged the evil city of Nineveh and that it would soon be completely destroyed! Mighty Nineveh was the most powerful city in the ancient world in 600-700B.C. and it was the capital of the nation of Assyria. The Bible calls Nineveh a “bloody city, full of lies and robbery, where its’ victims never depart.” (Nahun 3:1) Again Nineveh is mentioned as “The mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through her harlotries, and families through her sorceries.” (Nahun 3:4a) Not a nice picture would you say? The ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh were discovered by archeologists just beyond the Tigris River across from the modern day city of Mosel in Iraq.



For centuries Assyria had been the strongest and cruelest nation in the ancient world. But then in approximately 630 B.C., Nahun, a Jewish prophet, arose and prophesied Gods’ message of doom against her. The surrounding nations hated and feared Assyria, and for good reasons! Ancient documents attest to the cruelty of the Assyrians against their neighbors. Assyrian kings boasted of their savagery, celebrating the abuse and torture they inflicted on their conquered peoples.



In 722-721 B.C., the Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel – ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. We now call them the ten lost tribes because these Jewish people were captured and scattered by the invading Assyrians and they were never heard from again. Most people believe that their identity as Jews has been forever lost. It has now been 2,722 years since the ten tribes were carried off to Assyria, and they never returned! Did these captured tribes of Israel intermarry with the Assyrians and lose their Jewish identity forever! Or were they all tortured and killed?



Nineveh was regarded as an invincible fortress. Beyond its massive walls, a system of canals, moats, outworks, and armed guards provided strong defenses. No one in the ancient world believed that Nineveh could fall. Nineveh was founded and maintained on murder, bloodshed, and constant warfare. But as strong and mighty as Nineveh was, God is always our real stronghold. Real strength stands on righteousness and never on evil. So Nineveh was doomed since God is a God of righteousness and justice. And there is a limit to how long He will allow evil to continue before judgment is meted out.



The end for Nineveh came just as Nahun predicted it would in 612 B.C. The Medes and Babylonians came against Nineveh killing the citizens and burning the city.

The powerful Assyrians were scattered to the mountains north of their land with no one to reassemble them. And the prophecies of Nahun were fulfilled to the letter. Nineveh disappeared from the scene of history and was no more. The great city was leveled, burned and completely destroyed. No one could even find the site where the great city had been until 1842 when French and English archeologists finally uncovered ruins they believe might have been the ancient Nineveh.



Nahun writes of her doom while Nineveh is still a powerful stronghold. And the book of Nahun ends with these words. “Your injury has no healing. Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you will clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not your wickedness passed over continually?” (Nahun 3:19)



The ten lost tribes of Israel- those tribes taken away by the evil Assyrians in 722-721 B.C.- are briefly mentioned in the book of Nahun. Other Bible passages foretell that those northern tribes will one day be restored. Ezekiel tells of the restoration of Israel in the amazing story of the valley of scattered dry bones. The story continues with God bringing the scattered bones back together into a skeleton. And then He adds flesh over the skeleton making it look human., but it is still lifeless. And then God breathes into this lifeless form and restores it again into a living person! Gods’ message in this story is that the scattered pieces of the tribes of lost Israel will be reassembled and given new life someday. This will be a true miracle from God just for Israel. It will most likely blow their minds!



But don’t some of the rest of us need a miracle from God too? We have children who have gone wrong or health issues that drag us down. Money problems that never stop or betrayals that we never expected. We’ve waited a long time for answers and finally all our dreams have dried up and have scattered and all our hope is dead. We have our own personal valley of dry bones!



But God has made us some promises too! He has promised to breathe new life into the dry bones and valleys of our lives. Let’s listen to just a few of His many promises to us. “And all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) “Exceeding great and precious promises have been given to us that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) and “Whatever you ask in My Name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) God tells us to pray over our problems and then He will answer. Sometimes we keep praying and believing and praying and believing and nothing seems to happen. Years pass by and still the answer doesn’t come. The dry bones in our valleys are scattered and dead.



Let’s remember that the dry bones in Ezekiel’s valley aren’t living yet, even though Ezekiel and Nahun saw the miracle ahead of time. That promise to Israel may not be fulfilled until the end of the age. That may be a long time to wait. And some of our prayers may not be answered until after we die. But our prayers will be answered. God will breathe new life into our dry bones. We just need to keep believing Gods’ promises.



And here in Nahun this promise of a restored Israel shows up even again. “For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob (the southern kingdom) just like the excellence of Israel (the northern kingdom). For the ones who empty have emptied them out and ruined their vine branches.” (Nahun 2:2) It does seem impossible to us that those ten lost tribes could be put together again after more than two thousand years. But we know that nothing is impossible with God. If He promises He will restore the northern kingdom of Israel, the kingdom which was lost so long ago, then He will do it.



The name “Nahun” means “comfort”. But how could Nahun bring words of comfort when his short message was mainly that of the foretelling of destruction? The truth is that Gods’ words through Nahun were words of comfort and also words of condemnation. Condemnation proclaimed to the evil city of Nineveh, and comfort proclaimed to Gods’ faithful people, Judah. Nahun 1: 7-9a gives this double message. “The Lord is good. A stronghold in the day of trouble: And He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place(Nineveh). And darkness will pursue His enemies. You who conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it.”



Gods’ people, the two tribes of Judah, were comforted when Nineveh was destroyed -when they no longer had to worry about being attacked, tortured and killed by these warring people. If God had not judged Nineveh and stopped them in their tracks, there would have been no peace, no comfort for Gods’ people.



I have known fellow Christians who can not believe that God is not only the loving Savior of the world but also the Judge of the world who condemns. They ask how a loving God could judge and punish people? The answer is that God condemns evil because He is loving! God loves us too much to leave us in our sin. Our world cannot have real peace or real wholeness as long as evil remains, just as a human body cannot be healthy as long as a disease remains. Jesus our Savior takes away sin (disease) and makes us righteous (healthy). But for those who reject the Savior, who rebel against good and choose evil, there will be a day of judgment.



When that final Day arrives we will be there. And it will be both a Day of Judgment and a Day of Comfort, just like it was back when Nahun, whose name means “comfort” foretold of both Gods’ judgment and of His comfort. Judgment and comfort – do they really go together?