Tag: love

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When we invite Jesus.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”” Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Everyone has figured out that a Jewish accountant, working for the Roman empire is not an honorable, tasteful employment for a nice Jewish young man. However, it still happened. Some hated it, some understood its necessity. No matter what people felt about it, Jewish tax collectors needed God’s grace and mercy just like anyone else. Was it shocking that Jesus invited a tax collector (at the tax collector’s booth) to follow him, making himself a target for criticism with the religious leaders? Sure, but Jesus didn’t mind rubbing the religious the wrong way and seemed to handle negative publicity just fine.

Something extraordinary happened after the tax booth encounter. Matthew invited Jesus, the other disciples AND his friends to a meal! Jesus chose to recline at the table with Matthew and his friends. Matthew records his own admission about these “friends” of his. He calls them the (hamartólos) – deplorable sinners! Jesus was not shocked about being invited, nor was he surprised by who showed up. This is how life works, we share what we care about, it’s also how good news travels. When something significant, something spectacular happens in our life, we look for friends to share it with. We LOVE sharing hacks, tips, wins and life changing announcements with friends. Matthew was genuinely excited about deciding to follow Jesus, and wanted his work buddies to know about it. And, Matthew wanted those friends to meet Jesus.

The most effective moments in a new believer’s life is the first few years after coming to Christ. Every family member, every close friend, every co-worker has a front seat opportunity to watch the effects of Jesus in our lives. I don’t know what the stats are, but as believers go forward in their walk, they tend to have less connections with non-believers. That makes sense, right? Our ways change and it follows that our relationships change as well. My friend group in High School told me they preferred I not “hang out” with them at lunch anymore. They immediately saw the shift in my behavior after committing my life to Christ. I wasn’t hurt by that reality, I understood why – they thought I was going to get preachy with them. I don’t think I instantly began acting religious, but if they could see the changes Jesus made in my life in just a couple of days, I understood that they weren’t ready for how I might behave in the future. I spent the rest of my Junior year eating lunch alone. I later found out that one of my best friends (non schoolmate) did miraculously experience Jesus while on the way to a planned party weekend in the mountains.

The point is whether we’re surrounded by fellow tax collectors or just normal “sinners” like us, people tend to watch our lives and notice what’s going on.

Prayer

​Dad,
I often think of the immediate changes I saw in my life when I first surrendered my life to you. I didn’t realize then how many of those changes were apparent to folks close to me. If I understand this idea of constant and transparent change happening in my life, I also need to remember how many people see that change. Hopefully it’s especially seen when I am invitational in my own walk and talk. I saw two folks baptized yesterday and they invited friends to come and see their public declaration. I heard that those closest to them have already seen the changes you have made in their life. Your grace is so beautiful to see working in others! Thank You.

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Evil Consensus.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When Peter writes to the Church about ridding themselves of evil, he chose five words that every sensible person believes is WRONG. Peter says, “put these away!”

  • “dolos” – trickery, crafty deceit. The word comes from the word decoy.
  • “kakia” – malice, nasty naughtiness, wickedness, no shame in breaking the law.
  • “hypokrisis” – acting under a feigned part, a stage actor, a fake, a pretender.
  • “phthonos” – envy, spiteful jealousy.
  • “katalalia” – slander, backbiting, evil speaking.

Here’s what struck me. No one likes to be deceived. No one likes hypocrites. Everyone dislikes jealousy and nasty gossipers. And, when it comes to malice or a purposeful disregard for the law, it’s only those who are attracted to the bad boy/girl type who “like” it.

Point: You don’t have to be a believer, unbeliever, church or non-church goer, religious or non-religious to understand what Peter is writing about – they all agree! These are things we ALL hate and all struggle with. We have a general consensus and agreement that bad is bad.

We might not all have these behaviors frequently or all of them at once. But we do recognize them as wrong. Whether folks admit it or not, we have an internal, God-given conscience that tells us when we’re wrong. That means we have to actively override that conscience, struggling to silence it to continue to deceive, purposely pursue malice, hypocrisy, envy and be a backstabbing gossip!

Even still, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy that people can sear their own conscience in 1 Timothy 4:1-2, and get “life-advice” from demons! “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.” Our conscience is God-given and within each of us, Romans 2:15. “God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive and become ineffective! It is wild that folks can “fry” their conscience but continue to convince themselves and others that everything is alright.

Is it more egregious to see a follower of Jesus continue to practice these behaviors with no remorse? Yes, I believe it is! Followers of Jesus should be the first ones to recognize these common human behaviors/sins and the first ones to say “I’m sorry.” We should be humble enough to not deflect our bad choices, defensively blaming others or making it sound like it’s not that big of a deal. The consequences of deception, intentional nastiness, hypocrisy, jealousy and spreading gossip is primarily pain for others. It’s also a poor representation of Jesus to the world that already believes that “Christians” look down on everyone else.

Peter’s admonition (truthful encouragement) is to get rid of these behaviors, but when we do fail and hurt someone, we should be honest about it and be quick to apologize. Even though there is an evil consensus about what is clearly bad, we can be examples of owning our own sin and show contrition (remorse) for it.

Prayer

Dad,
I have to admit, even though these behaviors are awful, I have caught myself acting them out. Not every one of them is a constant battle, but checking my behaviors and the motives behind them is a regular part of struggling. Especially when I’ve been hurt, want to get even or just feeling spiteful or awry. It is when I see a poor reflection of myself in Your Word, that I feel the pinch of Your Spirit to own it, repent of it and apologize when necessary. Honestly, the pain of asking someone’s forgiveness should be enough to help me to not act on these nasty behaviors. I am so thankful for the Holy Sprit nudges, and your mercy.

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A 🐸 god?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Really? For most of my life as a follower of Jesus, I thought the plagues on Egypt were just strange and creepy. Just annoying enough to make people’s skin crawl and get nauseous just thinking about. Some people hate frogs and are terrified by them. I was forever years old when I heard that each plague was attached to the gods of Pharaoh – and all of Egypt WORSHIPPED them! They worshipped a frog god? Yep, it’s true.

The plagues were judgment on Egypt’s religious system, not random disasters. And, “Pharaoh is part of that picture too, because Egyptian kingship was religious, not just political. Pharaoh was regarded as a divine ruler and mediator of cosmic order, so the plagues also function as a humiliation of Pharaoh’s claimed sacred authority.” Some of the gods are speculative, but a few are historically documented!

Heqet – the frog god is one that is well known. She was an ancient Egyptian goddess, usually shown as a frog or as a woman with a frog’s head. Her main spheres of influence were fertility, birth, regeneration, and rebirth. She was deeply connected to childbirth and became especially associated with the final stages of labor. She was given the title “She who hastens the birth.” Frog amulets linked to Heqet were used by women in connection with childbirth. Sounds like a sci-fi right? Yet she was serious in the Egyptian culture, because she “controlled” the future generations of true Egyptians. Her favor meant increase, and conversely, her anger meant death. So for God to send a plague of frogs, meant that it was a clear sign to Pharaoh and the people that it was a source of judgment instead of blessing. And, more importantly, that God was over the gods of Egypt.

The Bible does not mention the god, Heqet, which I understand. Giving these hybrid or half-breed spirit beings any acknowledgment would be giving them recognition. History gives us these beings identity and role. We now know it was clearly to distort God’s truth and lead humans away from Him. These beings can’t create, only deceive. God mocks them by creating plagues showing the ridiculousness of trusting false gods.

I used to think these gods were just fakes, figments of our imagination and false projections of an actual being. Now, I’ve come to understand, they were and still are active spirit beings who’s sole purpose is to join with Satan in deceiving and creating havoc in human lives, keeping them from seeing and experiencing the one true God who has a plan and purpose for redemption and reconciliation to Himself.

These gods are very real and powerful, but many people dismiss them because they don’t understand how and why they exist. I don’t know if the “frog” god is still active like she was back in Ancient Egyptian days, but I can tell you similar gods exist around the world today, even in the “disbelieving” USA.

Pharaoh recognized the difference between his gods and the one true God, yet he still refused to submit. The Bible says that this act of arrogant defiance hardened Pharaoh’s heart and it cost him the life of his own son as well as every Egyptian firstborn in the nation. Only the Jewish people, with the blood-sign on their doorposts would be protected or “passed over” the Angel of Death. This was the meaning of Passover. We still have a “Passover” in place today, it’s Jesus blood covering over our sins, meaning the final death will pass us over when we die.

Prayer

​Dad,
I am so very thankful for your love, protection and provision. Even when I was duped into believing the subtle lies coming at me as a young teen, you broke through and made yourself known to me. I am forgiven and redeemed because of the price Jesus paid for me on the cross.

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Dilemma of the deceiver and our desires.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Paul gets gritty as he describes to the Ephesians what is really going on in us, around us, and specifically above us. He writes, “once you were,” and “we used to” obey the “archón,” the ruler/prince, the “exousia,” the authority of the air. This “pneuma,” spirit is working in the sons of “apeitheia,” disobedience – the willful refusal to be convinced by God’s voice. Wow! That’s a lot more going on than I ever understood. Paul bluntly writes, we were “walking in the ways of the world!” What? What way is that? It’s an order of disorder, a pattern, a flow. We THINK, actually we delude ourselves into believing that we are autonomously, independently following our true self – our will, our way. But Paul says, that is not TRUE. When we believe we are self-driven, we are really falling in line with a ruler, with an authority that lives in the unseen cosmos, an other worldly realm.

This entity is “energeó,” energized and working in the sons of disobedient. Who are these sons? This isn’t a demon-class of fallen angels, nor the ever mysterious “sons of God,” some sort of half-breed angel/human hybrids. No, these are people, just regular old human beings with one massive bent – they are people whose identity and conduct are shaped by disobedience. In other words, they are the true nature of the “worldly culture.” Their vibe, their end goal isn’t about freedom or some “true to thyself,” ideology. It’s much simpler, but darker – it’s just pure disobedience to God’s order. Their own personal “stick-it-to-the-man” isn’t a sixties mantra, it’s an all out flipping off God by purposely challenging Him on who He is and His will and ways. It’s choosing to be God’s enemy. Everything that God is, they are against!

And yes, they are being led by the “ruler” in authority over the air, but they do so in preference to rebellion, not naivety. Paul says “all of us” used to live this way – following our own “theléma,” things willed of the flesh. The disordered desires of our own heart and soul. The desires that may start off as real needs, neutral and harmless, but turn quickly to grasp what we want immediately and untimely, or obsess with something not good for us. That’s why Paul says we were “by nature deserving of wrath.” Not necessarily because of the desire or urge, but the actual follow through of rebellious disobedience. We know it’s bad, but choose it anyways – making us enemies of God and literally ourselves.

Thankfully, Paul writes that this “used to be us,” and we “were” under God’s wrath! For “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8). While we rebelled, and grasped for disordered desires and joined with the ruler of the air and the disobedience of the world culture – Jesus died to set us free from the deceiver and our mis-driven desires.

Prayer

​Dad,
I always bristled against doing whatever my friends did. I wasn’t a good follower of culture, even though I was often persuaded into doing some very foolish things. I had a conscience, but ignored it way too often to do my “own thing.” I wouldn’t have understood that as rebellion against you, nor complicity with the deceiver or my own desires at the time. It wasn’t clear until I saw my life following the disastrous pattern or my parents – that scared me! That’s what it took to see you as my only way out, my hope for a different future. You not only fathered me, you lovingly disciplined me and showed me how to live the life you always intended for me. Thank you for saving and transforming my life!

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Honoring Family Matters.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt,” Moses said. “I don’t even know if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A lot had transpired in a chapter and a half of Exodus, God won as well Moses won in many ways. Moses had no idea what the next 40 years would look like for him! Who really does know what will happen when you say “yes” to God’s will?

Remember what Moses’ day started like in Exodus 3? “Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.” Jethro, or Reuel, was a well known, well established non-Israelite priest, a descendant of Abraham through Keturah. Jethro had taken in a fugitive, allowed him to marry his daughter and trusted Moses to care for his flock, becoming a vital part of the family business. Moses at forty, had found a new family. And, it’s likely that Moses brought God’s blessing for Jethro taking him in and helping rebuild his identity.

After negotiating with God for likely the whole day, Moses returns with the decision that he will obey God and must leave Midian and go back to Egypt. But before he does so, he meets with his father-in-law. Moses asks Jethro for permission to leave. He honored Jethro in his ask! Moses had not only become an integral part of family, giving Jethro two grandsons, Gershom and Eliezer, he had also become invaluable to the family business. Letting Moses go must have been difficult on the whole tribe. It must have been a difficult plea of reality, because he had become such a big part of family. Moses tells Jethro, I must go back to see my relatives (not knowing if they were even alive anymore).

Moses does not tell Jethro at this point, at least, “God spoke to me and I must obey!” Wouldn’t that sound like a better reason for leaving? Jethro, being a highly wise and religious man, would have understood Moses’ dilemma. But Moses chooses to tell him he had to return to his birth family. I just think it is significant that Moses records what had happened before he met with God and what happened after. Moses left Jethro one day and came back a much different man. Jethro releases Moses with a blessing, “Go in peace.”

The Bible is open and honest about the family dynamics throughout God’s grand story. Moses’ story is key in showing us the tragedy of a forced abandonment as a baby. Also a view into being raised by a foster family. Then, being received and accepted into a kind of adopted family – even as a grown man. And finally, Moses recognizing how to honor both his father-in-law and willingness to go back to reconnect with his birth family. God even reassures Moses on the trip back home, “the Lord said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.” Studying Moses’ family struggles and structure is fascinating and becomes very much a big part of the leader that God called him to be!

Prayer

​Dad,
I think about all that Moses went through to become the man you would use to lead Your people out of 400 years of slavery and head towards the land of promise that would be theirs. The land of Israel today is just as contested and controversial as it was in ancient history. And, the Jewish people, are still prominently involved in Your story. I am so thankful that you have included the raw truth of family struggles and redemption. It gives me hope for all those, like me, who have been adopted twice. Once as a child and again as your son!

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Trying to escape a calling.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses is the classic example of trying to dodge a clear, direct order from God. In Exodus chapter 3, God says, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

“I am sending you,” and “you must,” is pretty straightforward. Moses, having a common, self-reflecting moment, asks God the BIG question. “Who am I?” Wow. That’s a really good question to ask under normal circumstances!

We now live in a saturated milieu of self awareness – it’s expected that one knows their own faults and failures and are also well aware of their ability to harm others. Not everyone is there yet, but the expectation is culturally common. Comments like, “I didn’t know I was a bad mother”, or “I didn’t know I was an alcoholic, are met with suspicious surprise with little sympathy. The underlying idea is “you should have known, everyone else did!”

Did Moses know he had deep traumatic issues that grew into a hair-pin justice trigger, causing him to often snap with rage? Was he aware that his speech impediment was likely caused by his perceived abandonment and identity crisis? Moses question went far deeper than just a question of calling or capability, it hit a nerve of apparent failure to be the kind of man everyone expected him to be. “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬.

God patiently addressed his question, but doesn’t tell Moses who Moses is or what he will become. God just says, “I will be with you.” Anyone who has struggled with mother or father abandonment issues knows how difficult it is to trust anyone! In Moses’ case, he wasn’t abandoned, because he was supposed to have been murdered by drowning him in the Nile. Moses’ mother, Jochebed, hid him for 3 months, then saved his life by life-rafting him down the river.

In a second volley of trying to get God to just move on and leave him alone, Moses asked God, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” Which is interesting because God already told him who He was, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” causing Moses to pause and reflect on his extraordinary heritage. Moses’ father was Amram, but it’s unclear if Moses ever had a meaningful relationship with him. Moses was a rejected foster son in Pharaoh’s family. Moses boldly asks for God’s name and in that tender moment God tells Moses His personal, intimate name – “Yahweh,” God says.

Yet, even after God tells Moses He will go with him and allow Moses to use God’s personal credentials in an audience with the Pharaoh, Moses is still not convinced – he truly believes God is choosing the wrong man for the job! First it’s I’m not qualified, then it’s no one knows me, now it’s – what if they don’t believe me. Moses questions his convince-ability.

It is here that God allows Moses to have a crutch, a literal shtick, a physical object lesson to carry with him to boost his confidence – the humble shepherd’s staff that becomes a symbol of supernatural power! Moses continued beg God to choose someone else, even reminding Him of his speech impediment. Moses, was not able to get God to completely let him off the hook, but was happy that God allowed his brother Aaron to step in and be the spokesperson.

Prayer

​Dad,
What a journey to convince Moses not only of who he was – a leader, but who he would become, a great patriarch and hero in Your grand story, It seems as though Moses did grow to be a man of great faith, but always carried some of his sorrows and frustrations of his early life as a Jewish foster son in the house of Pharaoh. I see many folk’s trying to escape their calling, even when You assure them that You be will them and use them in the Kingdom of God. Thank you for your patience with all of us!

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Battle of “if’s.”

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.” Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As mentioned before, this is first battle Jesus, as the son of God, faces with the adversary (a descriptor more than a title). Every mention of this evil character never gives this supernatural being the honor of a title. It is a specific insult to remind us, this creature is not worthy of anything! It has many descriptors, all of which designates a single, personal, supernatural being who stands in absolute opposition to God and His redemptive purposes. He is neither a mere force nor an impersonal principle but is consistently portrayed as a conscious, strategic adversary with intellect, emotion, and will. Its bag of title-tricks include, slanderer, tempter, accuser, schemer, murderer, prince of the power of the air & beelzebub (ruler over all other demons, some of which are fallen angels, but also include other spiritual beings, even mythological figures, and malevolent creatures that exist in our world.)

In this first physical, spiritual standoff, Jesus, at what will be his weakest moment, is led by the Holy Spirit to go out into the Judean wilderness. Jesus’ task; to be tempted, tested! This battle had no physical weapons, no swords, spears or slings – just words. It was all a verbal, mental battle of specific questions to be asked by a liar and refuted by absolute truth. All the training and preparation from birth until the pre-launch of His ministry, Jesus would have his moment with the one cast out of heaven and given dominion over this dark planet.

It was only a three question examine, but it would both reveal the patterns and plans of the accuser that had been used since its first conversation with the woman in the garden – undermining the will of God. These three questions did not directly confront God, nor His will or ways. What questions would you ask God’s own son to get him to betray his father and please himself, rather than doing the hard job of fulfilling God’s will? The deceiver didn’t just go after Jesus’ hopes and dreams, his aspirations and future accomplishments. It went after Jesus’ identity!

Three temptations all started with, “If you are the Son of God.” If, if, if… then prove it by: Taking care of your own physical needs. Challenging the true nature of care, love and safety of your Father, by choosing self-harm. And, taking the shortcut to power by accepting a path that does not require suffering. It might seem simple. It might seem silly.

To authenticate his own self perception and purpose, all he to do was make some bread out of stones, leap off the 450 foot, 30 story building to the desert floor below. And, to quickly secure his inheritance in the future, all he had to do was accept the seemingly “generous,” “no-strings attached offer,” from the temporary governor of the planet. Three questions that start with identity, then the attempts at subverting God’s will taking shortcuts to self fulfillment. Sound familiar?

Even in Jesus’ exhausted state of mind and body, he saw through the lies and was not fooled by the veiled threats of God’s ability to keep his promises. The enemy of God and of our soul has not changed its primary motives or methods. The liar still lies, the supplanter still schemes and slanders. And, not surprisingly, we still fall for it all the time.

The tricks of temptation still attack our identity first. “If you are a child of God.” Then the same ol’ process to get us to take shortcuts in our own disordered desires. To buy now, pay later. To click and receive immediate results. To have our physical, emotional and soul’s needs cared for expediently.

We’ve all got our battles of “ifs.” No desert, or forty-day fasts are necessary to reveal the schemer’s real motives. The murderer cannot kill God, nor win THE battle. So the tempter comes after us, to take as many as it can, to ultimately be separated from God forever. Know this; WE choose the lie over truth, we desire the shortcuts of sin – to fulfill the now, forgetting the later. Even though we (all of us) are a created child of God, God still gives us choice, the autonomy of will to walk away from his love instead of living in it.

Prayer

​Dad,
The battle is very real today as it was since the beginning. Even when we see truth, and know truth, we still choose the lie. We can still question who we really are and struggle with what we really desire! But your love, your grace and mercy is stronger, especially when we hide Your Word in our heart and use it as a powerful weapon against the “ifs” and the shortcuts. Help us O’ Lord! Help us to know you, walk with you, trusting you over our own delusions and delights. To resist the lie and the liar so it will flee!

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Small but significant.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, in speaking of the Kingdom of God, uses two words in his object lesson illustrations – tiny and little. Well, really he says it’s like a “kokkos” a grain and “zumé” yeast. The New Living Translation inserts the word “little,” but it’s not in the original language. Apparently yeast is so powerfully pervasive that it needs no modifier word.

Is Jesus saying that the Kingdom starts out small, but grows and expands to something much bigger and more powerful? That’s what it looks like. I don’t want to read too much into Jesus’ word-play here, but it’s interesting to think of God’s plans or His ways being anything but gigantic!

Are God’s ways subtle? I can see how they would be hidden, mysterious, even secretive in the way that would peek our curiosity. It’s hard for my brain to understand words like omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent by descriptions like a mustard seed or a smallest smidgen of yeast!

God does love to start small; creating humans from dust, choosing one unknown nomadic (Abram) to become a nation, a people that would become more populous than the sands of the sea or stars in the sky. And the most famous small to significant example, a chromosome supernaturally implanted into Mary’s ovum, where God takes on flesh and becomes a man. Yeah, this is how God has always approached us and world in which we experience life.

God comes like a grain, a smidgen of greatness, so small, so understated, that it can be easily dismissed or even entirely missed. But it does not remain small, nor nearly invisible. It grows exponentially larger than we can even imagine. Yeah, that sounds exactly like God, like Jesus’ birth, life and death, like what the Kingdom of God will become. It starts small, but hardly insignificant. To find it, to discover it, to live it, we must look for it, like a young child, so curious to touch everything, to exploring their environment constantly. God is not hidden, and neither is His Kingdom. He’s just waiting for us to find Him.

Prayer

​Dad,
It is an absolute wonder to know that, in all your magnanimity, you are still subtle when it comes to us! You still whisper to us. You still want us to come, taking a second look. You still wait to be big in our life and still patiently approach everything that exists in our world and beyond. Small enough, gentle enough for a child to see you and know you. Yet, big enough to be just, right and true above and beyond all other gods. You are enough.

Posted on

Global Justice Justified.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Isaiah writes that things were not looking to good for the planet and its inhabitants. God was about to devastate and scatter. Wipe out the surface of the earth and scatter the people. Sounds apocalyptic and final doesn’t it!

What is Isaiah writing about?
Did it happen?
Is it still yet to happen?

Most scholars agree, this is a future evert known as the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22). This chapter is known as the “Isaiah Apocalypse.” Isaiah writes this in the 8th Century BC, almost 3000 years ago!

It is interesting that so many predictions by a man named Nostradamus pop up every so often, but virtually nothing is mentioned about the prophetic promises all through the Old Testament. Nostradamus, a 16th-century French astrologer and physician, is famous for his cryptic predictions, many of which have made their way into mainstream media. It’s estimated that hundreds of references exist across various media platforms. While Nostradamus wrote around 942 prophecies, the interpretations of these predictions are highly subjective, and few if any became a reality.

If we tracked Isaiah’s prophecies, around 20-30 percent of Isaiah’s prophecies are cited as having been clearly fulfilled historically. The remainder, roughly 70-80 percent, is seen as potential future fulfillments, especially regarding eschatological themes. Isaiah’s end-of-planet, is a massive doom-n-gloom prophecy, yet there are virtually no stories, no mad-max style scripts, no CGI/A.I. effects making to the theaters. The promise of the end of all ends, and there’s barely a peep about it out of Hollywood. There have been hundreds of apocalyptic films released in theaters since the dawn of cinema. Only four of them draw from the Isaiah style theme, The Book of Eli (2010), Knowing (2009), The Omega Code (1999) and the Left Behind Series (2000).

The point is this, God’s track record to fulfill His will, His way, His promises is flawlessly perfect, yet many still don’t take it seriously. Paul in the Book of Romans, uses the phrase, “without excuse” in Romans 1:20. Paul writes about how the invisible attributes of God are evident in creation, making humanity accountable for their disbelief. This implies that the evidence of God’s existence is clear in the world around us, leaving no justification for rejection of Him. So, just as clearly of creation leaving evidence for every human being to see and ask, we also have these prophesies tell of past events that have already happened and that yet unfulfilled ones that will absolutely take place. God’s mercy and love is absolutely long suffering and future events hold the finality of His justice which is also 100% love – evil cannot run rampant forever.

Prayer

​Dad,
I did not come to faith through the loud proclamation of creation nor the proof of promises fulfilled. I came to Jesus through the crushing reality of how my parents lived, knowing it would become my own life if I did not have help and make completely different choices. I came through faith! But, through Your Word, I learned about Your prophetic promises and the perfection of Your plans. I have come to believe there are no excuses, and there will be no excuses, as Paul said. Thank you for your patience and grace towards us.

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Community Concerns Matter

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Paul, in writing to the wildly mixed cultural community of Corinth, spends quite a bit of time discussing social, ethical, moral and even spiritual concerns of others. Paul digs deep into the those who are strict adherents to the Old Testament Law as well as those who live in the freedom of Christ and the New Testament fulfillment of those laws. Jesus himself said, he did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

This concern about the Law was a major contention among the Jewish congregations intermingled with their Gentile brothers and sisters. Corinth was certainly the perfect city to watch the gospel work in both a Jewish tradition as well as a heathen one! Paul boldly pushes the idea that freedom, because of the grace of Christ, does not mean it should be exercised when it offends the conscience of another believer. Paul uses the “meat offering,” as an example of this dilemma. We know today there are many areas that believers may be free to participate in, but not free to offend and hurt other believers in the process.

We see a number of community issues brought to light in the Corinthian letters. Paul even used an example of abusing the sacrament of Communion to highlight the importance of guarding each other in love. Yet, in vs 29, Paul asks a seemingly contradictory question. “Why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks?” Great question – great dilemma! Why prefer someone’s conscience, OR exercise your freedom? Isn’t it just a question of momentary sacrifice on behalf of another’s sensitivity? Is this more about Christian maturity than it is about flaunting freedoms? Yes & yes. Although we are truly free in this example, there are also many other situations where the principle applies.

Are we willing to limit out of love?
Are we willing to pause on pushing the point when it might actually harm someone else? – Paul says, “causing them to stumble.”

I have heard several arguments about rights and freedoms, but very few arguments about humbling themselves, submitting to the love of Christ on behalf of another. Which attitude, which position, honors both Christ and a brother or sister. In those moments it is not the time to lecture, trying to help a weaker soul understand the true depth of freedom they should have in Christ. It’s a time to pause and remember how it was when we were once the young believer trying to figure out our faith under real world circumstances.

Not everything has to be argued or positioned.

When Jesus was asked about punishing the woman caught in adultery, he did not take the opportunity to lecture the Pharisees about mercy, which they sorely lacked! He simply reminded everyone watching and waiting for him to choose sides, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” He put each one of them on the spot to risk playing the role of God who is both just and merciful. But they would have to do so by admitting they were perfect.

As much as I write about this, I am absolutely convinced that God wants us to take our theology, our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what God wants to do in our life, and practice it on each other. And, until we do – until we learn how to apply God’s work in us to the place where it goes out in others, we will just continue to struggle with the legalistic traps of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Prayer

Dad,
The hardest and the most beautiful parts of the gospel working in me is actually the gospel working through me. That’s where real change happens. That’s where real humility happens. That’s where discipleship makes the most sense. Even though I seriously value “my time,” along with my ways, I know that it also can stunt my growth in becoming like Jesus. Thank you for your grace and long suffering in getting me to look more like Christ.