Author Archive

Posted on January 12, 2012 - by genes

Luke 12: 35-40

Old conventional wisdom says When the cats away the mice will play.  However, Jesus advised His followers to behave quite differently: When I am away, don’t get comfortable and don’t doze off and fall asleep.  Stay dressed and ready to serve at any moment of the day or night.  It is an image of preparedness that was also used in the Old Testament.  On the night of the original Passover, Exodus 12:1-11, the Hebrew nation was supposed to eat that meal with their cloaks tucked into their belt, sandals on their feet and staff in their hand.  God wanted them to be ready to leave Egypt on a moment’s notice.  In much the same way, Christ asks His servants to remember they are supposed to be ready 24/7 so they can answer His call.  No master wants to get home in the wee hours of the night and find himself locked out of His own house because the servants have “clocked out” for the night.  Of course, the imagery is not really about locks and doors – its about service … yielding ourselves to the service of our Master, Christ Jesus.  Not only will Christ, our master, be happy to find us ever ready to do His will, He will, literally, serve the server.  Christ may be away … but he will come back and we must be ready for Him when it happens.  

Posted on January 11, 2012 - by genes

Mark 8:38

If anyone is ashamed of Me in this world … I will be ashamed of that person at the judgement – that is my rather loose paraphrase of Mark 8:38.  In a world that increasingly seems ashamed of Jesus’ message of complete commitment to the word of God, we would do well to remember this warning.  And, rest assured, it is a warning.  I know, I know … our culture isn’t big on warnings or any sort of absolute truth that might cramp anyone’s personal style.  We are all about our personal freedoms … doing what we want.  But, for the Christian to use that sort of personal philosophy as a justification for backing down on the claims of Christ or being hesitate to talk about the claims of Christ … well, it’s just plain shameful considering how Christ never backed down as He moved to represent us and our needs.  Christ died so that we could be redeemed – brought from an old life to a new one  … but its a new life where He calls the shots.  That is good news not bad news and I am not ashamed to say so.  

 

Posted on January 10, 2012 - by genes

Matthew 25: 31-46

This is one of the longest passages that we will be reading all year.  There just isn’t any way to break it up into sections without destroying the impact of the statement.  And, rest assured, Jesus wanted to make an impact with this message.  While the narrative recounts both “sheep” and “goats” who get surprised by Jesus’ statement, if you think about it, there really isn’t anything surprising about it at all.  The passage recounts how Christians are supposed to treat “the least of these brothers of mine.”  While “brother” often refers to a fellow believer in other places in the Bible, in this case, it simply means a human being.  Jesus wants His followers to treat all human beings with compassion, practically helping them in which ever ways benefit them the most.  This really should not surprise us since God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son … and He expects us to give of ourselves to the world as well.  In fact, He equates discipleship with that sort of proactive compassion and makes it a condition of fellowship with Him.  

Posted on January 9, 2012 - by genes

John 14:27-29

Most people hear the word peace and think that’s the absence of war.   While the world might greet one another with the word peace, talk about peace, negotiate for peace or even give each other  the “peace” sign, it has a rather dismal history of achieving any sort of lasting peace.  Yet, to the apostle John, peace meant something much more than world peace.  He understood peace as being in a right relationship with God, a special gift from Jesus to His disciples.  Peace, or unity with God, is the natural result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, promised to repentant believers who enter into a faith covenant with Jesus at their baptism.   Once marked with the Spirit’s presence, the beliver also becomes the special possession of God.   In such a relationship, regardless of life’s circumstances (and Jesus disciples would face very challenging circumstances) Christ’s followers can rest assured that they are in perfect union, or peace, with God.  The world can never offer such peace.  It is the unique bequest of Jesus and the reason why, in all of life’s ups and downs, we should never be troubled or afraid.   No matter what happens in this life, nothing can take away our special relationship with God. Jesus made that promise, then and now, to all who would be His disciples.  

Posted on January 8, 2012 - by genes

John 6:53-58

Good grief!  

To the casual reader, John 6:53ff sounds almost like it could be a scenario for a gory book or TV series.  Those who heard Jesus say these things, as well as many people since, find the whole reference rather odd, if not downright unsettling.  Of course, they seldom bother to do a background check on the historical events that would cause Jesus to make such a bold statement.  The Jews listening to him (vs. 52) should have quickly connected those historical dots.  After all, one of the greatest examples of continued care for the people of God manifested itself during the wilderness wanderings of their own Hebrew nation.  For 40 years, manna (bread) miraculously fell from heaven every day to sustain God’s people.  That bread provided not just for their daily needs but also, because they were alive and strong, for their spiritual needs, as they were now physically able to follow God’s leadership and exit the wilderness for the promised land.  It was a vivid picture of God’s care for His people and a shadow of what would come year’s later when the Messiah (Christ) would sustain His people with his broken body and shed blood.  Eating His flesh and blood alludes to communion, the covenant meal that Christians partake of every week as they gather together to memorialize the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ.  The broken bread represents Christ’s broken body – the wine represents his spilled blood.  That weekly time of repentance, remembrance and renewal provides spiritual sustenance and spiritual union with both the Father and the Son.  It is a way to keep us all – the church, Christ and the Father – connected in a life giving union.  Consequently, it always surprises me to run into people who think this covenant meal is optional.  Jesus Himself said in vs. 53:  Unless you eat the flesh (bread) and the blood (wine) you have no life in you.  (It is reminiscent of another verse:  Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.)  Jesus’ statement provides a rather compelling reason to faithfully present ourselves together each week, as the body of Christ, to feed on Christ.  It is we can live  … forever.  

Posted on January 7, 2012 - by genes

Luke 24:46-49

There are two startling revelations contained in this passage -

1.)  Jesus was alive and standing in front of the disciples.  It should not have been such a surprise since He had predicted that He would rise from the dead on the third day.  Still, they were startled, frightened and amazed thinking He might be a ghost.

2.) Jesus expected His disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations.  While none of the disciples would have had any problem with repentance and forgiveness to their Jewish kindred, the idea of salvation for all the ethnic nations of the world was  a ground breaking thought.  It should not have been such a surprise since it had been prophesied by Amos and others.  Even so, that message would not really sink in until much later (Acts 10) when Peter meet Cornelius through the direct intervention of the Lord.  

While it is easy for us to look at these historical figures and wonder why they did not pay better attention … I can’t help but wonder if we ever are guilty of the same thing – Being around the words of Jesus but yet not really paying attention to them.  Or, even worse yet, picking and choosing the words we want to hear and ignoring the rest.  Our goal with every message from Christ is to read it, hear it, pick it apart, ingest it, follow it, do it and remember it.  

GRS

Posted on January 6, 2012 - by genes

Matthew 28:18-20

All the messages from Jesus we have studied so far this year have a similar purpose:  They tell us, in Jesus’ own words, exactly who He is and why we need to listen to Him. Few verses are more pointed in this regard than vs 18 – All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me.  One does need to remember, when reading this verse, that it comes from the lips of the risen Lord just days after He has triumphed over death.  This is not an idle boast.  This is an authoratative statement empowered and sanctioned by the heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit.   There is to be no doubt about who Jesus is or any question about the authority with which he speaks.  Equally, there is to be no doubt about the mission of those who hear His words:  As you are going about your daily life, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Sprit, teaching to obey everything I have commanded.   While that is a bold mission, followers of Christ should be emboldened to carry it out since Jesus, full of divine authority,  promised to be with those who do.    As our children sing:  Be bold, be strong, for the Lord our God is with you!

GRS

Posted on January 5, 2012 - by genes

Matthew 16: 24-27

When reading this passage it is important to remember the context in which it was uttered.  After Peter’s good confession that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus talked more openly about His impending crucifixion.  That was not something the apostles want to hear.   Once again, it was Peter who blurted out that this could never be allowed to happen.  Jesus rebuked him with the explaination that his crucifixion was a part of the master plan of God.  It was at that point that he taught a very hard lesson:  Following Jesus was more than believing Him to be the Christ, it meant following a crucified Christ by dyeing to their old self  and putting the kingdom work of God before their own desires.  The true good confession is not so much something that is merely said but something that is done as we order our daily priorities based on the example of Christ. 

Posted on January 4, 2012 - by genes

John 15: 1-8

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

If you are expecting all 366 messages from Jesus in this year’s daily Bible reading to make you feel warm and fuzzy, maybe it is just as well that you loose that notion early in the year.  Today’s section from John 15 certainly has a cationary tone about it that will make many people feel uncomfortable.  After all, even suggesting that a lax follower of Christ might be picked up, thrown into the fire and burned is not something that most of us want to hear.  Yet, we would do well to remember that while Jesus may say things we don’t want to hear, they are always the things that are the most beneficial to us – things we really need to hear and understand.  Of course, the point of today’s passage is to stay connected to Jesus so you have no fear of ever being separated from Him – Remain in me and I will remain in you.  Just as vines flourish and thrive by drawing their strength from the stalk, so too do the followers of Jesus flourish and thrive by drawing their strength from Christ and His message of salvation.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  Listening to the words of Jesus – meditating on them so they dwell in us – that is the best way to stay connected to Jesus.  How else can we be His disciples if we do not know Him?  Whether His message is happy, hopeful or a stern reminder, if it comes from Jesus, you can be certain it is a message worth storing away in your heart.  

Posted on January 3, 2012 - by genes

John 14: 1- 6

The setting for John 14 is one of turmoil and uncertainty.  Jesus has just told his discples two rather remarkable things that were sure to make them upset – He would soon be going to a place where they could not come and that Peter was about to disown Him 3 times!  Never one to leave His disciples hanging, His follow up comments are some of the most comforting words in the New Testament:

-  Do not let your hearts be troubled

- Trust in me

-I am going to prepare a place for you with plenty of room for all

- I will come back and take you with me

Even with such encouragement, Thomas was still unsettled, prompting a final piece of advice for him and all Christians:

I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  

There are lots of things in this life that we do not know, cannot fathom or even remotely understand.  We may feel discouraged, alone and unsure about the future.  Yet, if we put our complete trust in Jesus, we will find a direct path to God the Father.  Such assurance is found no where else or in no one else.   Jesus and Jesus only, is the way to the Father.  There were many things that Thomas did not know … there are many things we don’t know.  But Jesus, revealed to human kind in flesh and blood, as well as the written word, is a savior we can know with complete certainty and it makes all the difference in this world and the next.

GRS