Thursday, November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks

1. A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; - now generally used in the plural.

If ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
- Luke vi. 33.

What great thank, then, if any man, reputed wise and constant, will neither do, nor permit others under his charge to do, that which he approves not, especially in matter of sin?
- Milton.

Thanks, thanks to thee, most worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught.
- Longfellow.

His thanks of his or her own accord; with his or her good will; voluntary.
Full sooth is said that love ne lordship,
Will not, his thanks, have no fellowship.
- Chaucer

OT Yada
1) to give thanks,, laud, praise
2) to confess, confess (the name of God)
3) to confess sin
sometimes translated praise

Ps 107:1 OH, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever

NT eucharisteō

1) to be grateful, feel thankful

2) give thanks

1 Cor 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

It is very difficult to express by means of definition or example the full meaning of the idea of giving thanks.  It is more than just speaking the words.  How can words possibly express what I feel inside, the recognition that a gift has been given to me beyond what I deserve.

As I think of what God has done for me it is beyond imagining.  He has first of all given me through Jesus Christ His Son.  He has blessed me with an incredible family, friends, people I work with, neighbors and folks from far away.  I just got a call today from a Pastor in Tanzania. 

I just want to take this opportunity to remind you that you have been blessed beyond measure.  That God has given you life, he has given you love and he has given you others.  As you wake up tomorrow the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.  You can still give thanks.  And then the next day, and then the next all year long.   Giving thanks brings blessings to us as we are reminding ourselves what we have to be thankful for.

So remember to give thanks.  Oh!  Before I forget thanks for reading this.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Looking for the Truth

I have discovered that absolutely everyone believes they have found the truth or are seeking to know the truth of what are lives are all about.  It's sort of the haves and the have nots.  Some believe the truth is what ever you believe the truth is.  Some believe that the truth is embodied in the wisdom of a special person.   In our polite society it is not acceptable to discuss some one's faith, their belief in a certain truth.  This in itself is a statement of belief.  The belief that what you believe is private and should not be shared with others.   Unless that person is someone in religious authority, though we are seeing a breakdown even there. 

In the passage we are looking at the questions that arise are what is truth, what is faith and how do we practice it.  In this setting public debate is not feared.

Luke 5:29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

In the previous post we already discussed Levi's reason for a celebration.  What we will see next is the reaction of the Pharisees to this event.  Please see my entry on who the pharisees are. Short and Sweet.
As the religious leaders for the Jews they felt that they were compelled to condemn Jesus on his hanging out with tax collectors and sinners.   They believed that they were stand ins for God.  They took the truth of the Old Testament and interpreted according to man's wisdom.  Their focus was on the rules and not the blessings and compassion of God.  God is both justice and love. 

Jesus didn't respond with "Hey!! these folks are cool", "Chill" or "My relationship with God makes it OK to hang out with who ever I want".   He acknowledged that the folks he was hanging out with were sinners, they were sick and needed healing.  Jesus doesn't propose the possibility of something to consider as truth.  He states boldly that "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance".   Some would equate Jesus to other religious teachers like Mohamed, Buddha, Gandhi, etc..  Again a tendency to make truth relative.   This might make us feel good and fair.  But when we do that we are taking God's son and making him less than who he is.  He is the Son of God.  He speaks the only truth.  He is the only truth.

We have a choice we can believe anything we want to make up, we can believe in the truth of a man, we can believe the truth of organized religion or we can believe the truth that God has revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ.

If you are seeking the truth, if you are seeking a savior?  Then I want you right now to close your eyes in a prayer.  This is all I want you to say in that prayer:

"Jesus, are you calling me?  Are you calling me to repentance? I want to follow you.  I am a sinner and I believe you are the Son of God and that you died for me"

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Celebrate!!

We are going to spend several entries on this passage because there are so many important messages here about who Jesus is, who we are and the whole viewpoint of religion.

Luke 5:29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”


Lets just look as verse 29.  Levi has been called by Jesus and he has left everything behind to follow him. Levi's decision to follow Jesus became a celebration.  Was it a banquet for Levi, was it a banquet for his friends or was it meant to make the Pharisees mad (which it did)?  Primarily it was none of these things.  We need to see that in this verse the banquet was for Jesus. 

Levi is proclaiming that Jesus has done a great thing in his life and he wants to honor him with a banquet.   Remember the last time?  Levi left his old desires, his old goals and his old behaviors behind.  Why would giving up who he was be a cause for celebration for the person who asked him to do that?

We can pretend that our life without Jesus is fun, exciting and full filling.  But in reality it is not.   You might be familiar with the quote from Henry David Thoreau: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."  Though this was not a plea from Thoreau to urge folks to follow Jesus.  I believe it is an accurate depiction of what is really inside of those who hold back from following Jesus.


Levi experienced the true joy and peace from giving up his life and now following the only true savior, Jesus Christ.  The banquet is for Jesus, but the celebration extends to all of Levi's friends.  He wants them to know who Jesus is.  This is the same compulsion for all Christians.  Just to be clear I don't get a notch on my belt when I tell others about Jesus, instead I have the joy of revealing what God has done in my life.  I have the joy of sharing something that can change your life.

So if you have decided to follow Jesus, celebrate!!  If you haven't then please examine your life of separation from God.  See my first blog entry to know what you can do to follow Jesus.

http://searchforsavior.blogspot.com/2008/03/simple-answers.html

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Follow Me

It's days like today that make me so glad that I am blessed to be living in Maine.  It's the first week of November, 40 degrees Fahrenheit, some leaves still on the trees, not raining, but mostly cloudy.  Hoping to got for a ride on the motorcycle or a walk.  Some of my friends out hunting. 

Though we have lost our house we are blessed and well established in our mobile home and looking forward to early next year when the house is completed.  And then I read this verse from Luke.

Luke 5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

When confronted by the thought of leaving everything to follow Jesus, what is my first reaction.  Its to think of what I would be leaving.  My home, my bed, my family, my friends, etc..   Is that the point of this verse.  We have to note that Levi was a tax collector.  Remember that Israel is  an occupied country.  At this time in Israel a tax collector was considered a legal criminal.   He was protected by Rome and did their dirty work in the eyes of the Israelites. 

When asked to follow Jesus, Levi left his old life.  He turned his back on sin, on his old selfish desires, his old goals, his old occupation and set his sights on following Jesus.  In Levi's case this meant also going physically where Jesus went.  He became one of the 12 apostles.

But I think the main idea we need to take away from this is not what does it mean to leave everything and follow Jesus.  It means to leave behind our old selves, our old desires, our selfishness and the goals of where we were heading.  We are leaving everything about us.  This is about looking forward to see where we are going.  Where are we going?  We are going Jesus way.   We are following Him.  Our desire now becomes to be more like Him.  To follow his commands.

Mt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Who Are You? You Are My Neighbor.

You are the neighbors and the passersby who saw the smoke and called 911.  You are the ones who broke down the door to the garage to let the dog out and wheel away my wife's motorcycle.

You are the emergency crew that responded on June 15, 2010.  You are the firemen who managed the traffic, drove the trucks, ran the pumps, laid the hoses, rescued the photo albums, succumbed to smoke inhalation, worked hours to remove metal roofing to finally extinguish the fire in the sheathing, came as a second shift to relieve the exhausted crew, the on site chief and the men and women who manned the hoses.  You are the rescue workers who treated the firemen, provided water, ran for pizza and asked if we were all right.

You are the many folks in this community, at work and around the country who prayed for us.

You are the ones who were ready when I got home to comfort and offer help. You are our neighbor who took in our dog and cares for her until we find a home.  You are the ones who parked way down the street somewhere and made the hike to stand beside while we watched and waited. 

You are the folks who stopped by the next day for a quick greeting, a hug and a "I won't keep you, but we are thinking and praying for you".  You are the one who paid for my donut and coffee at Dunkin Donuts at the drive-through.  You are the motel folks who gave us a discount rate and moved our stuff to the room with the Jacuzzi. You are the folks who came the next several days in a professional capacity but were respectful and kind to us.  You are the service person who came and liked the shirt was given to me.  You are the man outside the store who didn't know me or my situation but we were able to share that Jesus Christ can change lives in our community.

You are the lady on the phone crying out for help.  You believe in God, but you are angry at Him.  You are the man who called on the phone so that we could cry together, not because of the fire, but because of the miracle of what God is doing in our lives. 

You are the one who organized the yard cleanup and the crew who came to do the work.  You are the young man who came by the next few days to standby for any little task that popped up.

You are the folks who gave cards and gifts to help us get by, including a man who does not know us at all, but works with someone in my extended family.

You are the many people in the community, our church, the fire company and at work who have insisted that we contact you for help, including a man I work with who lives in Tennessee and was ready to hop on a plane to come for the weekend and help. 

You are the folks who posted on facebook, words of encouragement.  You are the ones who have touched our lives unnoticed and will touch our lives in so many ways in the coming days and weeks.

Who are you??  You are our neighbors.
 
Luke 10:25And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37, New King James Version)

The interesting thing about this parable by Jesus was the emphasis on the one providing mercy being the neighbor. 

Who are you?  You are the one who provided mercy.  You are our Neighbor.  And we thank you very much.  God bless you all.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

According to the Grace of our God

On Tuesday, June 15, 2010 I drove home from work on my motorcycle.  As I got within a mile of the house the road was blocked by emergency fire crews.  I detoured up the street and around.  I thought I had cut around where ever the fire was, however as I rejoined the street I could see the column of smoke in front of me.  I was dismayed thinking it was one of my neighbors.  As I got closer their was another road block manned by one of the guys I knew from the fire company that I am a member of.  "Carl is that fire over there at my house?".   "I think so".  What  a shock.  I parked my motorcycle at a neighbors house and started to walk toward my house.  I was met by my oldest daughter in tears and I could see that the whole back of the house was on fire.  Smoke and fire were coming from the front section also.  I now realized that my life was going to be changed dramatically.

What did I feel?  First I thought of my wife, who I was told was on the way back from shopping for a dress to wear on Sunday, when our son gets married.  I worried about her driving and not knowing what was going on.  I prayed for her safety.  Then for about 5 minutes I was very sad, to think of the loss of the home we had invested our lives in for the past 23 years.

But then folks made it very clear that no one was home and the dog and cat were out and safe.  I looked around and saw my friends from the fire company doing their very best.  I saw neighbors greeting me and consoling me.  I was overwhelmed at the blessing that God had given to me.  In a very short time I came to accept what had happened.  It was stuff, my home was after all a building and my life consisted of so much more than this.  Would my wife feel the same?  Our house projects over the past several years were coming to a conclusion with a brand new kitchen under construction, according to the desires and design of my wife.


My wife drove up to the neighbors house that I was waiting at and then we walked down the street to see our house on fire.  She realized the extent of the loss.  She looked at me and I knew that she felt the same as I.   We shared with each other our perspective in light of the abundant blessings God has given to us.  We would be sad, but not devastated.  We would know loss, but we would also know the blessing of God as manifest through the folks that came to comfort us.  We would have a lot of challenges dealing with living arrangements, insurance, recovery, rebuilding and reshaping our lives.  But we would have opportunity to share and celebrate with others what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

2 Thes. 1:12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was a long night that night as the women and men for the fire departments worked exhaustively to put out the fire and retain our possessions.  That night many of my family, christian brothers and sisters, neighbors spent the night hugging and crying with us.  Many of them seemed more devastated then my wife and I.  Many who were praying for us at that moment were making it possible for the Holy Spirit of God to confort us.

I hope to share with you many of the little stories of things we experienced over the past several days that God has done for us.  Some things that touch the personal lives of others I can't share, but I want folks to know that God is working in very powerful ways even when we can't see it.

I will say this several times of the next several days.  My wife and I are fine.  We are not putting on a brave front, we are not in shock, we are not trying to be private or independent.  We have received very generous offers for help.  Maybe as the days go by and we understand our situation better we will be able to reach out and ask for help. 

For now we have a bed to sleep in, food to eat, clothing on our back and a weekend away to Illinois to spend time with family as my son gets married on Sunday to my future daughter-in-law.  Celebrate and be happy with us.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Picking Fruit

Wow!! What an early spring here in Maine. Yes its true we have had a couple of early morning snow storms about a week and 1/2 ago, but we had grass to cut and tulips come and go. Our crab trees are in full bloom. They are about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I planted 2 apple trees also out back about 5 years ago. They haven't born any edible fruit so far. Maybe this is the year they will be mature enough to bear good fruit.

Which is my tie in to the next verses we will look at.


Luke 6:43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 45 Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.


So we are continuing on with snatches of passages from Jesus preaching to the crowds. These are the crowds that are trying to understand where they fit into a relationship with God. I know that I am going to sound like a broken record or have some sort of vendetta against the pharisees, but much of what Jesus criticized them for seems to fit into these illustrations that Jesus is using here. 
The question here is how do we recognize a good tree.  By its placement in the yard, by how tall it is, by the flower in the spring or maybe the number of branches.  This might be good for ornamental trees, but if the purpose is to have a tree to supply your families needs then you want a tree that bears good fruit.  The bearing of good fruit is the indication of a good tree, a healthy tree.  If for some reason you mistakenly plant thorn bushes and briers don't expect figs and grapes.

People are just like that.  Good people will bring forth good fruit.  What is the good fruit, the good things that they do.  They do these good things because of the goodness stored in their heart.   Just as evil people bring forth the evil in their hearts.  Now specially in this case Jesus is referring to what they say.  The Pharisees were concerned with ceremonial cleansing.  They were worried about what went into the mouth.  Jesus is concerned with what comes out.  

So what we say can be a blessing (good fruit) or bring hurt and discouragement (bad fruit).  Each question and challenge from the Pharisees was meant to destroy the work of Jesus and discourage the crowds from following him.  

Please think on the words you say or even the ones you leave on Facebook.  Are they meant for encouragement (good fruit) or discouragement (evil fruit).  May you seek God's strength is expressing your self with compassion from the heart, as you search for the Savior. 

Monday, April 12, 2010

Plank Eye

Jesus continues with many more illustrations or parables that speak to our hearts about how we view and treat others.  


Luke 6:42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye. (Luke 6:42, New King James Version)


First thing I want to point out is that the illustration identifies a relationship between one person and another as a brother.  This could be a blood relationship or a fellow believer.  However I think what is important here is the illustration is judgement on someone that is close to you.  The use of the extreme "speck" and "plank" is referred to as hyperbole.  Even as an illustration it is difficult to picture someone walking around with a plank in their eye.


Yet Jesus wants to be clear we need to examine our own selves before jumping on the faults of those around us. This isn't just a sore of guideline by Jesus.  He has harsh words for those who examine the speck of sin (disobedience to God's commands) and yet have a plank of sin in their own lives.  Who are these people?  Hypocrites!!  They are so consumed with finding fault in others they miss the arrogance and self-important attitude in themselves.

So what is the remedy?  Do nothing?  NO!!  Jesus says remove the plank.  Work on your relationship with God.  Seek God's wisdom.  A restored relationship to God where you confess your sins (remove the plank) and pray for your brother.  In this way you will adopt a loving and compassionate approach to correcting your brother.  I might be stretching the illustration to far, but if I am right with God my eyes will be able to see clearly the speck in my brothers eye and counsel them on a right way of restoring their relationship to God.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Eyes Wide Open

We are about to be exposed in Luke to something new a parable.  This is a story used to illustrate a principle of spiritual teaching.   These are very powerful ways to make a point.  A wise student of God's word understands when a narative is a parable and when it isn't.  This one is easy the verse tells us.

Luke 6:39 He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Here is a warning about who you follow.  Where are they taking you?  This is a recurring theme from Jesus, because he knows that Satan will first try to deceive those who lead, because they in turn will deceive their followers.   To listen to Satan is to be blinded.  Blinded to what?  Blinded to the truth.

What happens when we follow someone who is blind?  They will attempt to guide us away from the pit, our downfall.  But instead because of their blindness they will lead us right into the pit with them.

Looking back at prior verses and the circumstances of Jesus teaching, we can imagine this is another example of a warning against the teaching of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees put an emphasis on outward obedience.  Following traditional law.  Your actions more important than your heart.  

However Jesus speaks about going beyond traditional observance.  It's about the heart.  "Love your enemies",  "pray for those who mistreat you", "give to everyone who asks"...  Jesus is calling us to awake from blindness.  He has a story of compassion, forgiveness and restored relationships.

As you start this week open your eyes.  Don't be blind.  Seek your wisdom and teaching from Jesus.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Measure

Today I took time off from work to go for a ride with my wife on the motorcycle.  What a great chance to get in an early season ride.  The purpose of the trip was to ride, but we needed someplace to go so we thought we would take a chance on a surprise visit to some friends we haven't seen for a long time.  Unfortunately no one was home.  That's ok; our next stop was to the cottage at York Beach.  We knew it wasn't open for the season yet but like I said before we just needed somewhere to ride.  

What is so great about riding on the motorcycle?  The sun on my face, a cool breeze and time to think.  I would never like to be the type that has to have speakers blasting at me or a headset built into my helmet.  It is so hard these days to find time just to be quiet.   It gave me time to take stock of my life.  I thought about the joy of having my wife with me, the blessing of how my kids have turned out as adults, the friends that I have, my brothers and sisters in Christ and how much God’s grace has been given to me. 

The next words from Jesus are somewhat paradoxical.  He asks us not to judge, not to condemn, to be forgiving and to give of ourselves to others.  If we do these things we will not be judged, we will not be condemned and much will be given to us in good measure.

Luke 6:37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

I certainly cannot obtain in my own life the ability to live up to these expectations.  Each day I need to look to God for forgiveness and strength.  I am overwhelmed with His grace, and His good measure. 

We live in a cynical world.  We are condemning, just as the Pharisees in earlier passages.  We are quick to judge and criticize.


Do you think you are a good person?  Do you think you don’t need a savior?  Spend the next couple of days to examine how you treat and think of others.  These commands from Jesus apply to each one of us. We need His forgiveness.


I know I probably should have had an Easter message here.  But these are the verses before us.  I pray they speak to your heart as much as mine.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Golden Rule

If there is one thing many people remember or know about the Bible is that somewhere in there is the Golden Rule.  It is often misquoted as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  In a backhanded humorous way we hear people say "do unto others before they do unto you".  Its quoted as a sort of proverb, something clever or helpful for your life, but not something to be taken seriously.


In the passage we are going to look at, where Jesus is addressing the crowds, we are going to see the full context and just how serious this passage really is.


Luke 6:27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.


  Jesus has just finished telling us that we should expect people to hate us for following Him.  Ok, maybe you bought that and realize that yes following Jesus means that some are not going to like you, some might even make fun of your faith and in some parts of the world you will be persecuted for believing as a Christian.

So what should be our reaction?  How human wisdom and our society would expect you to be hurt, resentful, angry, frustrated or vengeful.

But in this passage we are confronted with an even more radical idea.  We are to love our enemies.  LOVE!!! That isn't easy.  What do you mean love?  Send them flowers?   In this passage we are to:

  • Bless them 
  • Pray for them
  • Turn the other cheek if struck
  • Allow yourself to be robbed
  • Give to anyone who asks
Yes we are to do all these things to our enemies.  This is a tough teaching.  Even the most devout Christian struggles with this teaching.  Anyone who follows this teaching, will be viewed as weak.  Not able to stand up to a fight. Like many of the teachings in the coming passages we are confronted with commands that we will never be able to fully live up to.   We can't do it.  Many people will say I am good enough, I am nice to other people.  But when confronted with enemies at the best we walk away and try not to acknowledge they exist.  At the worst we hate them.

This is what brings us closer to God.   We look at His commands and we can't live up to them.  We fail.  Sin is our own weakness.  Instead of doing what God commands we do what we want.  Till the point where we realize we don't have a relationship with God, we can't make up for our rebellion.  There are no grand scales where our good works are balanced against our bad.  We will always come up short.  When we reach that point we need an answer.  Jesus is that answer.  His death on the cross wasn't not some miscarry of justice.  Their really was a penalty to pay.  The penalty for our sin.

When you get to the point where you see that you can't do it. You can't follow the golden rule and you want a relationship with God.  Then you need to confess your sin, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and accept His gift of sacrifice for you as your savior.

If this is something you want to do or have questions about, please leave a comment on my blog or Facebook entry.

Praying for you always.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Two Sides to Every Story

So Jesus has just finished with a couple of verses about those who are blessed.  There is a contrast between our condition and the blessing.  Those who are poor, hungry, weeping and persecuted for Christ, will be blessed with the Kingdom, they will be filled, laugh, rejoice and leap for joy.   We see in these verses a progression.


We are poor in spirit. As we discussed this means you realize your condition is so desperate that you are a beggar.  You can't overcome the consequences of your sins on your own so you need to come to God begging forgiveness.  Here is the beginning of the blessing the Kingdom of God is yours.  After receiving God's grace your hunger is for righteousness.  You see the evil and unfairness in the world and you want it made right.  Jesus promise to us is that we will be filled.  The sadness and grief for the consequences of evil will be replaced with laughter when we are finally with the Lord in glory.  In the mean time following Christ will still have a consequence as we are ridiculed and persecuted for our faith.


Now for the other side of the story.

Luke 6:24 “ But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.


Here we clearly see that there are two groups of people.  Now we move on to the other group.  First we start with the rich.  If we believe that the reference to the poor is not measured by the amount of money in the bank, but a condition of our spirit that feels we are not good enough for God.  That our selfishness makes us unworthy of God.  We would then have to conclude that a rich man in these verses might not necessarily have a bulging bank account.  But in contrast to the poor in spirit, this would be someone who is confident in his worthiness.  This would be an arrogant person.  Self-righteous in their attitude.  Certainly their are times that Jesus made it clear that his reference to a rich man was about someone who did have a lot of possessions.  Mt 19:16-23

However I truly believe in this passage he is referring to the Pharisees.  They were confident in their self worth.  They made the rules and followed them.  They made other people follow the rules.  They were the law makers, judge and jury.  Their high standards and condescending nature was the reason for the crowds following Jesus.  The crowds knew they could not live up to the expectations of the Pharisees.  Coincidentally for people who were the religious leaders of Israel they appeared to be well off.  So they were rich in their arrogant attitude and the material sense.  

So what does Jesus have to say about them?  Woe!  You got your reward now.  You are accepted by your peers.  You have the admiration of the world.  So don't look to God for a reward later.  You are filled now, you laugh now and you have the praises of men.  This is what you want, then this is what you have.  Woe to you! You shall hunger, mourn and weep, when you realize you have gained the world, but lost your soul.  This is the other side of the story.  

There are those seeking and looking for the Saviour and there are those who don't think they need one.  

Which are you?

Monday, March 15, 2010

This is a Blessing??

So we are strolling along through the beatitudes, the verses in Luke 6 that start with "Blessed are you...", and we see the way these first few play out. We have this bad thing going on and Jesus gives us hope for something better.

Bad Thing
Good Thing
Poor in Spirit
Yours is the Kingdom of God
Hunger for Righteousness
You shall be filled
Weep now
You shall laugh





This sounds pretty hopeful.  We find ourselves in a world where there are evil things going on, it effects our feelings.  We feel poor in spirit, hungry for justice and sad because of all we see.  So these couple of verses we have looked at so far give us hope as we look to Jesus.

THEN BAMM!!! We read the next 2 verses:

Luke 6: 22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Wait a minute!  What is going on here.  I can understand being poor in spirit, hungry for righteousness and being filled with grief.  But why would I want to put myself out their for my faith and have people hate me, exclude me, revile me and call me evil?  I thought Jesus was our savior?  I thought he came to make our lives better.  Aren't Christians supposed to be happy?  Why would people want to bother you for being a Christian?  That's supposed to be a good thing.

If Jesus simply came a brought a message of brotherly love.  Kind of a "...go along to get along".  Don't make any judgments about others and they won't make any judgments about you.  This is the popularization of the gospel message.

But we can see from these verses that is not the case.  If we are going to buy into this radical gospel message that Jesus brings us, then we will not be popular.  I won't use this post to list all the evidence in our popular culture that rejects Christians and their beliefs you only need to read the news, share the gospel with friends and mention that you go to church on Sunday to get a cool reception from some.  In the USA we have it mild.  In south east Asian countries, Philippines, China, etc being a Christian pretty much unlawful.

So the reality is we can have a milk-toast Christianity that does not offend, in which case we will not really be following Christ.  Or we can give our lives totally to Him, which will lead to hate, exclusion, revile (taunting) and being called evil.  At that time we need to "...rejoice and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is great in heaven".


Saturday, March 13, 2010

More Blessings

In the last post we saw a beginning to understanding the blessing from God.  We need to be poor in Spirit.  We need to be in that place where we are left to beg.  What are we begging for, God's mercy.  We come to the place where we know we cannot obtain merit with God through religious acts or good works.

Jesus starts out these verses with this condition.  In order to obtain salvation.  In order to obtain the blessing of the kingdom of God we must come to the realization that we are without merit. We need to trust in Jesus.

Luke 6:20 “ Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.

After we trust in Jesus, after we obtain the blessing of the kingdom of God only then do the next verses make sense.  Again if we look at the same verse in Matthew we see a hunger for righteousness.  As we come to Jesus that hunger will be filled.  Our hunger for righteousness is realized through Jesus.  It is not from this world.  It must be pretty obvious to anyone reading this blog that there isn't righteousness and fairness in this world.  As our culture turns away from Jesus we see an increase in violence, broken homes, selfishness, corrupt politicians and a lack of justice.    

As we come to Jesus  our weeping will turn to laughter.  We will not just stop weeping.  We will laugh.  Its possible that some in the crowd that came to hear Jesus were even weeping as he spoke.  They were desperate, depressed and in need of comfort and encouragement.  Jesus speaks to their hearts and says your weeping can be over, you can know the joy of a relationship with me.  You can laugh again.

Blessed are You

I think we are really going to get bite size here on these next few verses. They are commonly referred to as the beatitudes (from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy") because the versus start with "blessed".

Luke 6:20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“ Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.

So lets set the stage.  Jesus has had a number of confrontations with the Pharisees.  Those who view themselves as Holy than the average Joe.  Crowds are following Jesus looking for answers, delivery from evil spirits and healing.   

If Jesus had such hard criticism for the pillars of the community, what about the rest of us poor, sorrowful, downtrodden and sinful people.  Sure Jesus heals the sick and delivers those with evil spirits, but what does he really think of us.

Thus I think that the verses that start out this discourse are ones of radical encouragement. Though we do not have the exact same words here as in Matt 5:3.  The similarity is enough to assume that poor in spirit is meant here also.

The use of poor here is not relevant but absolute.  So poor that you would be forced to beg.  So someone who is so poor in their spirit would believe that there is not hope for reconciliation with God.  However Jesus says the Kingdom of God is theirs.  As a matter of fact the condition seems to be required.  Only if you acknowledge that you are so poor in spirit that their is nothing you can do to deserve God's merit, will you inherit the kingdom of God.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

He Was a Great Teacher

Over the years as I have been confronted by those who are in doubt about Christianity being the only truth. They are offended that I take such a fanatical stand on Jesus as the Son of God, the truth, the only way and the life.  They want to project open mindedness and acknowledge that Jesus was important, but will not go so far as to call Him the Son of God or acknowledge the need for Him to be crucified.  So I will hear something like "Jesus was a great teacher" or "Jesus led a life that we all should follow by loving those around us and doing good".  The implication is all this fanaticism about Jesus was man made, the result of leaders in the church manipulating who Jesus was in order assert control.  I might be reading more into this than intended, but interestingly enough when I ask the person if they have read the Bible, they say no.  Thus their conclusion is one of convenience due to their unwillingness to confront the Savior face to face.

As we go through the Gospel of Luke we will continue to confront the Savior face to face.  In these next couple of verses just before Jesus begins to teach we see the following verses.

Luke 6: 17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil[a] spirits were cured,19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

A large crowd had gathered to see Jesus.   As might be argued by my friend, they gathered to hear Jesus teach. "who had come to hear him".  But there is more.  "They came to be healed".   It goes on to say:
  • Those troubled by evil spirits were cured
  • power was coming from him and healing them all.  
So now what do I do with this great teacher?  According to the Bible he was a miraculous healer, and able to drive out evil spirits.   We are confronted now with someone that is more than a man.  Someone with power.  Someone with power over evil spirits.  Someone able to heal all that came to him.   This is just the tip of the iceberg as we go through the gospel being exposed to claims about Jesus and claims he makes himself that will require us to either reject him and his followers as delusional  and needing to be ignored OR more than a great teacher, he is the Savior that we need to be searching for.


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Picking the Twelve

As a kid we all remember those times down at the playing field when it came to choosing sides for a sport.  The self appointed captains would choose who would be on their team.  Sometimes the qualifications were based on the skills of the person for the particular sport, whether they were popular, the best friend or brother of the captain.  It didn't matter to you if you were picked second, third or fourth.   As long as you weren't picked last.  You knew that the captains were all about the game, it really wasn't about the people.  There wasn't careful consideration about the potential over the long haul.  As kids the experience was dramatic and could shake our well being down to our very soul.  As adults I hope we can see in perspective that the slights we experienced as kids was the result of a selfish and fallen world.

In our passage today we are going to look at how Jesus chooses a team.

Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. (Luke 6:12-16, New King James Version)

This is the story about Jesus choosing the twelve apostles.  This will be His team for continuing His work after He is gone.  Given how radical the Gospel message would be, it would seem that Jesus would choose men well qualified for speaking publicly, vast knowledge of the scriptures, full of wisdom and bold in faith.  Instead he chooses fishermen, tax collector, zealot and others from Galilee considered the back country of Israel.

What led up to this unorthodox selection of men.  Verse 12 tells us just before the selection Jesus went up to the mountain and prayed.  Was it a quick prayer like "Father show me who to choose?"  No it would appear he prayed about the choosing all night.

Jesus sought the understanding of who to choose from God.  This was not a game.  This was not a popularity contest.  This was based on potential.  Jesus was looking for faithful men.  Men who did not bring their own power into the equation.  Men that would be remarkable because of their humble beginnings.  Men who by the power of God would turn the world upside down.

On the day of Pentecost those who heard these men speak, commented "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?"  

We need to remember that our wisdom is not God's wisdom.  We are not His judge, he is ours.

Is 40:28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.

       (Isaiah 40:28, New King James Version)

Monday, March 8, 2010

When will They Ever Learn

From the time I was in Junior High until even today I have been a Peter, Paul and Mary fan.  What I consider their signature song is "Where Have All the Flowers Gone".  The refrain at the end of each verse goes "when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn".  This reminds me of the passage we will look at today.  

As we already discovered the Pharisees were out to get Jesus.  Jesus was a challenge to the established religious order.  He was breaking down the control the Pharisees had over the Jewish people.  Though Jesus responses during these confrontations basically made the situation worse for the Pharisees they never seemed to learn.

  
Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:6-11, New King James Version)

It is hard to imagine but the Pharisees believed that healing was work and thus was forbidden on the Sabbath.  Did you notice the Pharisees compassion for the man with the withered hand?  Neither did I.  In the Pharisees eyes this man existed for one purpose to provide an opportunity to accuse Jesus.

Jesus calls attention not to the issue of the interpretation of the command to keep the Sabbath Holy.  Instead is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath.  I don't think its too much of a stretch to assume that Jesus was in turn accusing the Pharisees of doing evil on the Sabbath waiting in anticipation to accuse Jesus.  Think how desperate they would need to be to use a persons misfortune as a means to trap Jesus.

This must of hit home, because the Pharisees were not just disappointed, but were filled with rage.  This was no longer just a past time with the Pharisees to accuse Jesus.  They have now reached a point where they plan to work together to decide what to do about Jesus.  You can be sure that the discussion wasn't about mending bridges or inviting Him out to dinner.

For now we will leave the Pharisees and their plots to see how Jesus will extend His ministry.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

So What's the big Deal

Previously on ...".  Have you noticed with a lot of shows on TV they no longer say "Here are some scenes from last week...".  Instead there isn't any TV season.  The show are big productions that can start anytime, skip several weeks for special events like Christmas, the Olympics or award shows.  With this chaotic schedule, they have to start the show with "Previously on ...".  And then they have to shows scenes several weeks back so you can remember what the show is about.

Well this blog is a little bit like that.   On March 1, I started to see if I could maintain a daily posting as we work our way through Luke.   With such short entries have had to take awhile to get through a single passage and then missed yesterday.

So what was I doing yesterday?  It was a beautiful day here, especially for March in Maine.  Started the morning with the Men's breakfast at the church. Then went over to my sister-in-laws house to copy over some files from her old computer.  Came home and played with my grandson in the backyard and picked some parsnips, while the ladies had their breakfast meeting.  As soon as my wife was available to watch our grandson, Ben and I started laying down a new dining room floor.  One of the Cruisers came by and I was faced with a difficult choice continue working on the floor or go for a short ride on the motorcycle.   I did the responsible thing and went for a ride on the motorcycle.  After all its important to maintain relationships.  Did some more work on the floor after getting back, till it was too dark to see.

Well lets look at out passage and see if we can wrap it up:

Luke 6:1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5, New King James Version)

Jesus and His disciples were walking through the grain field and as they were walking the disciples were picking the grain and eating it. To the Pharisee, this was harvesting and threshing grain, something which one could do on any other day, but not on the Sabbath.

This certainly sounds odd.  The scene sounds like Jesus and the disciples were simply walking through a field.  Where did the Pharisees come from?   What were they doing in the field?  From their question it would appear they were following Jesus around.  Looking for an opportunity to "catch Him".  This is an issue with those who try to control others.  They are threatened by Jesus outspokenness and His acceptance of the sinners and tax collectors.  He was undermining their control.

Ah hah!!  We got you!  You and your disciples are doing work.  They are not keeping the Sabbath Holy (according to their definition, not God's). 

Jesus responds with a story from the Old Testament, about David their hero eating the showbread that was set aside in the tabernacle.  He relates the story as a question and asks didn't David do something unlawful when he ate the showbread and gave it to those with him.  Though the showbread was set aside before God in the tabernacle, there isn't a reference to it only being available for the priests to eat.  Again the law comes from man, not God. Jesus pointed out that their laws were hypocritical. They were all about show and not about compassion.

Finally, and most importantly from this passage it comes down to, who is Jesus.  The pharisees thought he was a false prophet.  This is bad enough, but He was encroaching on their territory.  They had appointed themselves as spiritual leaders of Israel.   They made the rules and the people needed to obey or God would be angry with them.  Jesus was a threat to their authority.  They needed to show Jesus as just a renegade.

But who did Jesus say He is.  The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.  Jesus is the Son of Man.  We will actually save this term for another time.   So what does the Lord of the Sabbath mean.

First of all the Sabbath was for rest.  Six days shall you work and on the seventh you shall rest.  The Sabbath was rest from the Law.  The burden of the Law.  Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law.  He is the rest we need.  Why work to obtain rest under the law, when Christ gives us rest from the law?

Col 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17, New King James Version)

Mt 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, New King James Version)

Secondly, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.  He is greater than the Sabbath.  To deny His authority over the Sabbath is to deny that He is the Son of God.  Jesus as not about to debate with the Pharisees on what is lawful and what is not lawful on the Sabbath.  He cut right to the root of the issue.  Who is Jesus. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.  He is our Savior.  Stop looking for fault.  Look to Jesus our rest.  Our Savior.

Friday, March 5, 2010

The Family Business

If you drive around our area it is very common to see contractor businesses and others with a "name" followed by "and sons".  Of course those aren't the only family businesses, there are many others where the spouse and the kids might be working behind the counter, in the office or helping with the farm work.

Just like those businesses, priests in the old testament were in the family business.  God designated Moses brother Aaron and his sons as the priests that would serve God.

Ex 28:1  "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

So this is the tradition that grew into law that the showbread in the tabernacle was Holy and as such could only be eaten by a priest. 

So what is going on in the story that Jesus relates in our passage in Luke 6:1-5?  David and his men were in need of food.  The only food available was the showbread put before the Lord and was supposed to be only for the priests.  But there was a real human need for food.

Here is Jesus first point. People are more important than ceremony.  He is not saying people are more important than God.  What is interesting about the story of David eating the showbread is that no where in the old testament is it commanded by God that the showbread could only be eaten by the priests.  So this was a ceremonial law.  A tradition that became more critical than the needs of the people.  

This is a danger when religious leaders lose sight of what is truly important. Here is what Jesus points out as the most important commandments.

Mt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Tomorrow we will wrap up this passage with our last two terms and the resolution of the conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Set aside for the Lord

Wow!!  This has been a challenge trying to get through just this short blog entry.   I am watching my grandson up in the family room.  We have had supper (BLT my favorite), played with the web cam on the computer, patted the dog, watched a TV program about Willie and his Wellingtons, read a book, shot some hoops, picked up toys and had a bath.  All the while I was typing a sentence or two below.
Hey we are halfway through our list from Luke 6:1-5. For such a short passage it is hard to imagine we need to establish our understanding of so many words. But we need to remember that this story took place 2000 years ago and referred to another story that happen about 1000 years before that. So there are a lot of cultural and historical ideas we are not familiar with. Here is our list.
Sabbath
  • Pharisees
  • Lawful
  • David
  • Showbread
  • Priests
  • Son of Man
  • Lord of the Sabbath
Lk 6:3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

So what is the showbread?  First we need to know what the tabernacle was. It was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God (Yahwe) to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites on their wanderings in the wilderness and their conquest of the Promised Land.  The tabernacle was surrounded by an outer courtyard.  It consisted of a enclosure divided into two sections.  One section was the holy place containing the table with the showbread and a holy of holies containing the Ark of the Covenant.  Everything in the tabernacle was specified by God including how the table was made, the table cloth, the utensils and the show bread.  All set aside and considered Holy (set aside) for God.

It was up to the priest to take care of the showbread and made sure it was always fresh. But that's a topic for next time.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Our Hero

There is a show on television called "Heroes".  If you have watched it you might begin to wonder where are the heroes in the show, who are the villians.  If you watch any type of TV show or movies these days this is a problem, trying to tell the good guys from the bad.

At the time that the incidents took place in the Bible passage we are looking at Luke 6:1-5, the Jewish people viewed King David as a hero.  David was the second King of Israel, wrote many of the Psalms, the slayer of Goliath and favored by God.   David was far from perfect having also committed adultery and murder.  These shortcomings of David were overlooked, as people viewed him as a hero larger than life.  It was not considered appropraite to ever say anything disparaging about David.


So here is the response of Jesus to the accusation of the Pharisees:

Luke 6:3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

Jesus just made 2 points.   Asked them if they had read about David.  This would have been an insult to the Pharisees who claimed intimate knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament.  And brought up an incident where David their hero did something that was unlawful. 

Tomorrow we will say why it was unlawful.  As we look at how the Showbread played a role in the worship practices of Israel.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

What is Lawful

We are always worried about what is lawful.  What are the rules?  What can I do that is OK?  How do I stay out of trouble? Over the next several days we will continue to look at Luke 6:1-5. Yesterday we discussed what is the Sabbath and in a previous post we talked about the Pharisees in Short and Sweet.

So now we come to the crux of the matter from the perspective of the Pharisees.  "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

For the pharisees it was all about the Law.  Following the rules.  They are not simply asking a question of Jesus.   They were here to persecute Jesus and were using the disciples actions to condemn Jesus.  We caught you.  You broke the rules.  You are a disruption to the order we have established.  What you are doing is against God's will.  What you are doing in not lawful.

When the term lawful is used it is NOT referring to the civil laws in force by the Roman government, or King Herod over the nation of Israel.  The Law they were referring to was the Law God gave to the Israelites when He led them out of Egypt.  This included the command "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, Six days you shall labor and do all your work" Ex 20:8,9 NKJS


So how is Jesus going to respond.  The Pharisees have accused Him of breaking the Law given by God.  The Pharisees are calling Jesus to account.  He is trapped.  How will Jesus respond? 

Next time we will look at Jesus response.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Starting Over

Been away from the blog for 2 months.  I think the long entries on a weekly basis makes it a challenge to keep up.  I am going to try for short and daily.  That means I will need to work a passage over several days in order to do it justice.

 1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5, New King James Version)

What are some of the unfamiliar words in this passage?  We will take one a day to complete the story.

  1. Sabbath
  2. Pharisees
  3. Lawful
  4. David
  5. Showbread
  6. Priests
  7. Son of Man
  8. Lord of the Sabbath

We already talked about the Pharisees in a previous post called Short and Sweet.

So lets talk about the Sabbath.  It was a day of rest for the Jewish people as prescribed by God through Moses.  You might remember this is one of the ten commandments, Exodus 20:8-11.  Essentially the point is to rest from all busyness.  How are the Israelites to have a relationship with God if they are always running around doing stuff.  On the Sabbath "you shall not do any work".  It was set aside (made Holy) by God for the benefit of the Israelites.  It wasn't enough for the words that God had given through Moses to understand what this means, so a whole group of folks like the Pharisees, Scribes and Priests created volumes of books describing the rules on not working.

I think this will give us enough background as we look at the other terms over the coming days ahead.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy New Year

Well the New Year is off to a white start.  I little snow earlier this week, some yesterday, a little today and they are predicting a real strange change of direction for a storm off shore in the Gulf of Maine to loop back and stall tomorrow night into Sunday morning.  Not sure what our plans will be for church Sunday morning.  I am hoping we can still have the service time.  I really miss the folks and I will be in India the following Sunday.

I have a sense of anticipation coming into the new year more than I have had in the past.  Some of my anticipation is a concern for where people are at.  We are living in tough times, though some have been able to pretend that life is normal.  It isn't.   It doesn't take much to look around and see that evil abounds, suffering is everywhere and we are living in a world and age without purpose.  Yes there are glimmers of light, the promise of hope, generosity and kindness.  There are still vestiges of our Christian heritage.  But these are being challenged all the time.

Lets take a test to see if I am right.  Lets focus on who Jesus Christ is according to our society:
  • A philosopher
  • A teacher
  • A Jew
  • A religious person
  • The founder of Christianity
  • A man
  • Someone to be mocked - See Best Church of God   (this is not an endorsement for this site).  I could have filled up this blog with internet references to sites dedicated to the demeaning of Jesus Christ.
  • Someone to hate
  • Someone to ignore
  • irrelevant
  • A name to be used when your mad

Now lets look at the truth from God's Word as we continue our study of Colossians:

Col 1: 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.


 What a contrast in these verses where we see:

  • Jesus is the image of God.  We can't see God since He is Spirit.  He is not created.  But Jesus is the manifestation of God in the flesh.
  • Before creation, Jesus existed.
  • All things were created through Jesus.  Apologizes to those who believe that stuff just happened.  It didn't.  Including things we see and can't see.  Interesting that the Bible acknowledges that there is an unseen creation, even before microscopes, telescopes and shows like Cosmos.
  • Rulers were created by Him
  • Jesus is what holds all things together.  No matter how clever we become with scientific investigation, there are given forces that just exist that hold all things together.  
  • Christ is the head of the church of true believers
  • Jesus Christ is the first born of the dead, we refer to this as the resurection.
  • Jesus Christ is fully God.  Not a god, not a little god, not one of many gods, but the only true God.
  • Jesus Christ is the savior for reconciling our lost relationship with God.  We can have peace with God because Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
I hope my sense of anticipation is that lives will be changed.  That many will leave behind the self serving philosophy of this world.   As is always my prayer I hope that your search for a savior ends with finding the true Savior Jesus Christ.