Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

Then Jesus said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it.”  (Luke 9:23-24) 

Those words of Jesus warn us that suffering in some form is part of the ministry of Christ.  What does it mean for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus?  How do we do this and what would our “cross” look like?

Every person alive suffers pain, disappointment and troubles.  This cross that Jesus asks us to take up is not the cross of suffering that we all face by just being human. But rather this cross is about a special suffering that comes from following Jesus.

What does Jesus mean here by saying that we “must deny ourselves”?  The spirit of this world projects a strong message that we should strive to be important, and that we should act that out, use impression management, etc.  I have known Christians in leadership who have taken leadership classes where they were taught how to impress and intimidate.  One lesson they were taught was that if someone were to come to them with a request that the leader didn’t like, the leader could  intimidate the person by telling him/her that he was so angered by the request that he would need a cooling off period of two weeks before discussing the request. 

You see, to appear “important” in the eyes of others sometimes we have to play games that the Lord would not have us play!  But when we deny ourselves as Jesus calls us to do and we take the role of loving and serving, some people will not respect us.  I’ve seen it happen.  Is that what Jesus means when He calls us to take up our cross?         

 Jesus tried to tell his disciples why they would be persecuted -or why the cross.  Let’s listen:  “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you because you would be part of it.  But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  …If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”  (John 15:18,19,& 20b)

Jesus seems to be telling us that His followers are set apart from the spirit of this world even though they are living in the world.  Scripture says that when we believe in Jesus we receive the Holy Spirit, and the spirit of this world is at odds with the Holy Spirit that is in us and guides us.  So we don’t fit or belong even though we may not recognize it, and sometimes we may experience persecution because of this unseen spiritual battle. 

Being a disciple of Christ can be costly.  Down through history there have been thousands of martyrs who have actually given up their lives in defense of the Word of God.  But those of us who live in countries where we are free to practice our faith and not fear martyrdom, can still suffer persecution. 

  In his book “Sources of Strength” p. 226, Jimmy Carter writes: “Living as Jesus commands is not easy and sometimes not even safe.  If we work every day for the Lord, speaking out against injustice and hatred, sharing what we have, and seeking opportunities to help those who cannot help themselves, we will probably not run the risk of losing our lives, as Jesus did, but we may suffer in other ways.  Maybe people will think we’re a little odd; maybe some will look down on us.  If we’re in business maybe we’ll lose a few customers, because some people may find that being around us makes them uncomfortable; maybe we’ll even find ourselves isolated from some of our closest friends and family, who don’t share our beliefs and values.  To accept, with God’s help, any of these forms of deprivation is one way to take up our cross.”

Persecution may be especially hard to understand when it comes from inside the family. Jesus warned us about this.  His words in Matthew 11:35-36 tell us: “I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  And a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.”  If one family member is following Jesus and another is not, it can cause a problem in their relationship. Amos 3:3 says: “How can two walk together unless they be agreed” The pain of losing the love of a family member is indeed a cross that some Christians have to bear.  Can we accept this form of persecution and continue leaving the door open and loving our rejecting family member?  Is this taking up a cross?

There are many pastors today who preach a prosperity gospel.  They tell us that God wants us to be rich, drive flashy cars, and have fun times, etc.  This culture wants a pleasant non-threatening Jesus.  We like to dictate the terms and assemble a Jesus that suits our wishes. 

But Jesus wants us to follow Him and not a made up imitation.  He wants us to have the real deal – to live an authentic life. When we read the sixteen chapters of Mark we find that the first eight chapters – the first half of Mark- teach us how to accumulate, how to build and how to produce.  And the last half of Mark – those last eight chapters teach us how to give away what we have accumulated, how to let go and how to die.  That is the real deal.  

Soon it will be Good Friday and we will be remembering Jesus’ death.  Even though his disciples begged Him not to go to Jerusalem, Jesus went knowing that He would be put to death when He got there.  Scripture says that He “set His face towards Jerusalem”. (Luke 9:51)   For Jesus, going to Jerusalem meant taking up His cross.  And Jesus asks us to take up our cross and follow Him there also.  We too must set our faces towards Jerusalem. When we follow Jesus we will share in His victory, but we must also share in His cross.  So let’s take up our cross and follow Him.   

Real Simple

Real Simple

The message is so simple, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31) and “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)  and …Whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  God’s grace is all encompassing.  It includes everyone.  The heavenly Father loves everybody and is calling us all home. (John 3:16)  Come, we are all invited!  The door is wide open and the porch light is always on.

Paul and Barnabas were traveling around Greece and Asia preaching this joyous message and thousands of people were accepting Jesus as their Savior and becoming Christians!  People were being healed of diseases and turning from their sins. The Holy Spirit was in their midst and new churches were springing up everywhere Paul preached. These were exciting times!

But then some men from Judea arrived on the scene, went into the churches and told these new enthusiastic Christians that Paul was wrong.  That becoming a Christian was complicated. Just believing in Jesus was too simple! Simple faith wasn’t enough! And that in order to receive salvation they needed to be circumcised and follow the laws of Moses! The door to salvation wasn’t open.  It had a lock on it and one had to know the correct combination to open it. 

Paul was so upset that he decided to take a trip to Jerusalem and question the apostles and elders about this.  The very first Christian church had been formed in Jerusalem and many of Jesus’ disciples were members of this Jerusalem church.  Since the elders in Jerusalem had been the first to receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and many of them had walked and talked with Jesus, maybe they could answer this question.  Was Jesus enough for salvation- or did a person need to be circumcised and obey intricate laws in order to be saved from sin? 

When Paul arrived in Jerusalem and asked this question to the apostles and elders, it started up a long discussion among them. The elders argued and prayed together and fasted and asked the Holy Spirit to lead them. They all knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had died to take away sins.  But then, being Jewish, they had all spent their lives obeying the Old Testament laws. Was the new Christian church just supposed to forget all of those laws?  Jesus had said that He was the fulfillment of those laws, but what did that mean? What did God want?  They prayed and asked God to show them what to do and then they waited. 

After days of prayer, fasting and arguing Peter stood up and spoke to the men and women in the Jerusalem church.  Let’s read what Peter said.  “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, ‘Fellow believers, you know that a good while ago God chose me among our group to go to the Gentiles and preach the Word.  And the Gentiles believed the gospel. So God who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us.  And God made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt God, to put a yoke (of the law) upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.’”.  (Acts 15: 7-11)

So there you have it.  Peter through the power of the Holy Spirit was announcing to the Jerusalem church that a person is not saved by obeying the law but by believing “that  through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved,…”  There were strong willed leaders in this first Christian church who disagreed with Peter, but they all prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to guide them in the right decision.  And soon they were all agreeing with Peter that faith in Jesus was all that was needed for salvation.

This was a turning point in the life of the new Christian church, and one that was resolved through the influence of the Holy Spirit.  In such an important and hotly debated issue, the unity of the elders in the Jerusalem church is very impressive.

We can understand both sides of this debate.  All of us tend to want to define what a Christian is.  Should God just let everyone in through the door?  What about people who steal and cheat and kill?  How could God have standards low enough to include everyone?  But what seems difficult for us is easy for God:  He has His ways.

Scripture says: “He who believes in Jesus is not condemned: but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed.”  (John 3:18-20)

 This Scripture makes it sound like some people stay away from Jesus (the Light) because they don’t want Him to clean up the bad things they are doing. They love their sinful lifestyle (darkness) too much to be drawn to (the Light) Jesus.  Does believing in Jesus or having “faith” mean that we need to be willing to let Him bring us out of our darkness?  Sounds difficult but it’s not since the Light is warm and inviting and we are drawn to it. 

 How much faith does a person need to be able to accept Jesus?  Once Jesus’ disciples ask Him how much faith a person needed. And Jesus answered that all that is needed is the faith of a grain of mustard seed.  A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds there is.  Jesus was saying that the tiniest bit of faith in Him is all we need. He will do the rest. He can give us his Spirit, take away our sins and change us. Jesus paid it all. We can’t add anything to that. He is the heavy weight and we are the light weights. Our part is so small- just a tiny bit of faith- and He will even give us that if we are willing. The door is wide open. It’s real simple.    

 

  

   

Passing on Grace to a Black and White World

Passing On Grace to a Black and White World

When Paul was preaching to the Philippians he told them that the Lord wanted them to be moderate in their actions. Here’s what he said. “Let your moderation be known to everyone.” (Philippians 4:5) Gods’ people were to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.” (James 1:19) And above all Jesus said they were to love each other. “..all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)



It wasn’t easy to be a Christian back then. The religious leaders of that time – the Pharisees and the Scribes - were zealous about keeping all of the laws of Moses. Jesus told them that He did not come to do away with the laws of the Old Testament but to “fulfill” them. (Matthew 5:17) But they didn’t understand. For these legalistic men, every action was either black or white, right or wrong, pure or defiled. These puritanical priests cut no slack for the disinfranchised, had no compassion for the sinner, and gave no second chances.



If the Pharisees caught a Jewish person breaking one of the many Old Testament laws they would have that person severely punished. Whippings and stoning, chains and imprisonment were common place. These up tight leaders crucified Jesus because He admitted that He was the Son of God and the Savior. The grace Jesus extended to sinners threatened the power that these religious leaders held over the Jewish people. It upset their little world of black and white. And they tried to put Jesus’ followers to death too. The good news of forgiveness and salvation being spread by those first Christians was a threat to their hierarchy.



In John 8:3-11 we read the story of the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery. They wanted to trick Jesus so they asked Him: “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. Now Moses, in the law, commands us to stone such a person. But what do You say?” (John 8:4-5) The scribes and Pharisees were probably holding stones in their hands waiting to kill the frightened woman. Of course the married man that they caught her having sex with was not there. The religious leaders must have let him go and only charged the woman with this crime. As the religious leaders dragged the shamed woman over to Jesus she was probably shaking with fear.



So how would Jesus respond? Would Jesus agree with the laws of Moses and authorize these men of God to stone the woman to death? Or would He act as if the sin of adultery wasn’t serious and let the woman off? The Pharisees and scribes had gotten Him in a corner and they knew it! Jesus could either choose the right decision and help them stone her or He could choose the wrong decision and not stand up for the sanctity of marriage! These religious leaders saw their world in black and white – right and wrong. There was no middle ground in their minds – no grey areas (or grace areas)!



“But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing there. (John 8:6b-9)



What did Jesus write in the dust? Did He write down sins that these men had committed? Scripture says that these pious men were convicted by Jesus! They were reminded that they too were sinners like the woman.



“When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘neither do I condemn you: go and sin no more.’” ( John 8: 10-11) Can you imagine how relieved the woman must have felt at that time? Jesus had saved her from being stoned by the men of God. Scripture says that Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn us, but to save us. (John 3:17)



And then Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and to the woman and explained: “I am the light of the world; anyone who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Was Jesus telling them that He is the Light of the world and had come to change things? Make things different? Turn their darkness into light? He could clean up the darkness in that black and white world?



Jesus didn’t approve of what the woman had done. He told the woman to go and sin no more. (John 8:11) He (by His death) would remove the woman’s sin (darkness) if she would follow Him. But whatever He wrote in the dirt convicted the Pharisees that they were sinners too and should have compassion on other sinners.



Things don’t seem to have changed much today from back then! We still have religious leaders today putting women down! Judgmental church folk pointing fingers at the alien! And so called “Christians” picking up stones and murdering the sinner! If we come to Jesus today with stones in our hands and hatred in our hearts, what message would He stoop and write in the dirt for us? Would He go along with us in our black and white world when His grace has turned everything upside down? Would He not have the same message for us that He had for the Pharisees? That because He bestows His grace onto us, we can pass that grace on in our black and white world!





Questions: What do you think?



1) Do you agree or disagree that things don’t seem to have changed today? That many in the church today are judgmental? Circling the disenfranchised with stones in their hands?



2) What message would Jesus write in the dirt for us today when we are circling the sinner with stones in our hands?



3) How did Jesus “fulfill” the laws of the Old Testament?



4) How has Jesus turned your darkness into light?



5) How can we pass the grace Jesus has bestowed onto us to other people?

Pray For Your Enemies

Pray For Your Enemies!

The date was 597 B.C. and Nebuchadnezzar and his powerful armies attacked the people of Judah and overpowered their defenses. They broke down the walls surrounding Jerusalem and captured the city. After ransacking the homes and destroying Solomon’s’ temple, the Babylonians set fire to the city as the people of Judah stood by helplessly and watched.



After stealing everything of value, the soldiers from Babylon rounded up nearly everyone since workers and artisans were always needed back home. Thousands of terrified Israelites would be shackled together in chains and led away to Babylon. It would be a mass human exile – with crying and moaning and tears - a whole nation kidnapped and on a forced march into slavery. According to Jeremiah 29:2, this group included all of the leaders in Judah, the king, the queen mother and the royal court, and all the workers and artists. Thousands of Israelites would be forced against their will to live among those who had taken them from their homes. Only a few of the poor and the infirmed were left behind in the smoldering ruins of Jerusalem.



It was during this dark time that God speaks to the frightened people. Jeremiah the prophet of God writes a letter to the Israelites after they had arrived in Babylon and were trying to adjust to their new life as slaves in a foreign land. Jeremiah writes this letter from Jerusalem which is now a broken and desolate city. This once busy city- now lonely -almost a ghost town,- its’ leaders and farmers and artisans and builders all carried away. Parents and children gone. Noise and laughter and hope gone. Only a remnant of the once proud nation of Judah, a few stragglers left there in the rubble.



These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent to the homesick Jews as they were settling into their new lives in Babylon. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them: plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters: take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters: multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29: 4-7)



The prophets of old had a difficult job – since they carried God’s word to people even when often it was rejected. The people of Judah had never wanted to hear Jeremiah’s messages. For years he had warned them that if they continued worshiping idols and breaking Gods’ laws they would be exiled from their homeland into slavery. For years God, speaking through Jeremiah, had begged the Israelites to return to Him. But the people had refused to listen. They refused to give up their idols. They laughed at Jeremiah and refused to return to God.



So now all of God’s warnings had come true. Jeremiah’s prophecies of what would happen if they didn’t repent had finally taken place. Their exile to Babylon was a punishment for their rejection of God and they knew it.



And now God speaks again to them through Jeremiah, telling them how to live their lives among the people who had forced them to leave their homeland. Jeremiahs’ prophecy doesn’t tell the people to fight the Babylonians. He doesn’t write a letter full of anger or revenge. Instead, he instructs the people to carry forward- to marry, have children, plant gardens, eat and drink and build houses. He even tells the people to pray for the Babylonians – pray for the people who took them away from their homeland!



Can you imagine receiving this letter and reading that you were to pray for the very people who had stolen your home? To work for their welfare? The people of Judah had a radical God. But doesn’t Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies as well? (Matthew 5:44) To do good to those who hate us and seek their welfare? We have a radical God too!



It seems that so often we put forth quality time and energy hating our enemies. And these efforts spent hating enemies just might take away from time we could spend loving those closest to us. God called the people of Judah to pray for their captors – their enemies- and work for their welfare. Instead of using up time hating and undermining the Babylonians, they were to fall in love, have children, plant gardens, eat and drink and build houses. And God also calls us to let up on our enemies and rather focus on creating and tending and on family and caring. In other words we are to live a life of love- and not of hate.





God still loved the people of Judah even though they had broken His heart by their rejection. Through Jeremiah’s messages God promised the people that He would bring them back from Babylon in seventy years and restore them to their homeland. He tells them: “For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. …You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with your whole heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11and 13). Even though the people of Judah had given up on God, He hadn’t given up on them.



I believe that God has some of the same messages for us as He did for his people so long ago. He is hurt if we reject Him just as He was hurt back then with the people of Judah. And He wants good things for us and wants to give us a future and a hope as He wanted that for them. He also instructs us to pray for our enemies and to work for their welfare. That’s because like them we are to live a life focused on love and not on hate.




















Pray for your Enemies!

They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares

They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares

The year was around 700 B.C. and the Israelites were going through a very difficult time. Both the Northern and Southern tribes were engaged in terrible wars with powerful nations – Assyria and Babylon - and the unthinkable was happening. The ten northern tribes of Israel would soon be carried off into slavery by the Assyrians, never to see their homeland again. And later the two tribes of Judah would spend 70 years in Babylonian captivity. And all because for many years the Jewish people had broken Gods’ laws and forsaken their God to worship and sacrifice to the popular idols of the heathen tribes that lived around them.



And now they were in trouble and the idols they worshiped were not saving them. Frightened and helpless they watched as their land was stolen, their homes burned and their lives were uprooted. So it was that at this time, when everything was going wrong, that God spoke through the prophet Isaiah.



These prophecies of Isaiah held out a distant ray of hope to the Israelites during this time of despair. Even though they had rejected God and their lives were out of control, a future time would come – after death – that God would restore their country - and their lives too. God’s message was given to help these frightened people see beyond the mess they were in – way beyond to a day when God would restore creation– and life would be as it should be. A victorious day dimly shinning far off in the future – a day when people would beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. A time of planting and growing rather than of fighting and killing. A day of peace, ruled by the Prince of Peace!



Let’s read God’s Word as recorded by Isaiah to these frightened people. “The Word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the earth! And all the nations shall stream to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth Instruction in Truth, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (Isaiah 2:1-5)



This message from Isaiah shows that the Kingdom of God is very different from the systems we have created here. We create systems of power and control. But the kingdom of heaven will be based on growth and harvest and peace. It will be a kingdom where the lion will lay down with the lamb and the wolf with the cow and a little child shall lead them. A place where there will be no killing and we will be delivered from our selfish schemes. It is so over the top that we can hardly imagine what it will be!



We could beat our swords into plowshares today if our world was anything like the kingdom of God. But alas, it isn’t. We live in a fallen world – a world under the curse of sin, (Gen. 3:17) where we still must fight wars to try to stop injustice. So until the Lord returns to remove sin and rule the earth, how are we to live?



First we are instructed to keep the peace as much as we can. Occupy until He comes. (Luke 19:13) Jesus tells us: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9) Maybe as peacemakers we can speak words that build people up instead of words that tear down. Our tongues can be like swords that harm others or they can be like plowshares that spread life and hope. In our personal lives we can turn our swords (our anger and hate) into plowshares (loving and creating). And we are to forgive one another as Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9)



When we read the history of the First World War, we learn that this terrible war was started for no real reason except for honor and pride. When the war ended there were fifteen million dead and twenty million wounded – a whole generation of young men gone. One of the deadliest conflicts in human history. And all done out of vanity to prop up dynasties- long gone- and reputations!



As we live our lives as children of God we will find ourselves tempted to become a part of smaller wars – arguments, competitions, etc. in order to protect our reputations and keep our “honor” in tact. Some one will take advantage of us or insult us or compete against us. And to defend our precious pride we will jump in the fray using our swords and spears. And like in World War One, how much harm will we do to ourselves and others while we fight these personal wars?



God has not called us to jump into these personal battles to defend our reputations. He instructs us to turn the other cheek and be humble, -to allow Him to take care of our reputation. We are not to return evil for evil, insult for insult, – or play these “honor” games. How can the other side fight a war with us if we don’t show up? How can we use our God given plowshare (our life) to plant and harvest if we are busy using it as a sword to hurt and destroy?



Did Isaiah’s message of Gods’ distant day of peace help the Israelites when they were in the middle of war? Does our belief in heaven – in life after death – where we will be ruled by the Prince of Peace – does that help us live our lives today? First John 3:2-3 tells us that if we have this belief of being changed through Christ after death, it somehow helps (purifies) us. Let’s read: “…It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He (Jesus) returns, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He (Jesus) is pure.”



Ah, another mystery. We “purify” ourselves by just believing that Jesus will change us to be sinless and beautiful on the other side! Just having this hope does make a difference? It seems that Scripture implies that we are helped here in our earthly lives if we have the hope of heaven where God will rule and make everything right. And where all the swords will be beaten into plowshares!

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.