Archive for the ‘Pastor’s Blog’ Category

Posted on January 24, 2012 - by genes

Luke 15: 4-10

We live in a world that is consumed by averages.  While I am the first to agree that a 99% success rate is better than a 94% success rate, when it comes to people, even a 1% loss is too much.  That thought is reminescent of a conversation I had with a lady in the first church I ever served.  Although she was happy about some growth the church was experiencing, the influx of new people also alarmed her, causing this remark: I think the perfect size for a church is 200 – A church should never grow bigger than 200.  What do you think?  My response was simple:  200 is a perfect size for a community of 200.  Being safe in the fold is always a really great feeling as long as you are one of those safe in the fold.  If you are the one person lost, it is a sure recipe for eternal disaster.  Just as the faithful shepherd made the effort to seek out the lost, so too must we.

 

Posted on January 20, 2012 - by genes

John 8:31-32

In this passage, Jesus is talking to people who had made an outward commitment to Him that did not go very deep.  They probably thought everything He said was true – just not prepared to sell out to Jesus 100%.  The test of real commitment is that it produces real disciples.  I like the older translations on this passage:  If you abide in my word, then you are truly a disciple.  The liberating truth that is promised to disciples is not some sort of secret information but a truth or realization that is bound up in the person and work of Jesus.  To combine old words and new slang I would make a paraphrase that went like this:  If you abide in my word, the you are truly a disciple, one who ultimately “gets” what life is all about – redemption through Christ.  That is truly liberating a liberating position.  

Posted on January 19, 2012 - by genes

Luke 22: 67-70

I suppose, for some people, truth just gets in the way of their personal agenda.   That is certainly the case in today’s text.  While the religious leaders go through the motions of questioning Jesus as to being the Messiah, their minds are really made up before He even gets to speak.  Even though Jesus knows they really aren’t interested in truth, He does, eventually, admit, in a way that is cool calm and collected, to being the Son of God, which only fuels their efforts to get Him killed.  Then, if things could get worse … they do.  As is the case at many other times in Jesus life, it is a strange oxymoron to see the keepers and custodians of the Jewish Law purposely rejecting the promised one sent by God to fulfill the Jewish Law.  They never seem to be interested in truth, just expediency.  Still, even though it would not change anything, it is right and proper for the truth to go on record in the midst of such darkness.  No one can ever say that these leaders weren’t given every opportunity to redirect their devotion and follow Christ.   Just a few verses later, Jesus will also admit to Pilate that He is the King of the Jews.  Again, the Romans will not ever be able to say that the Romans weren’t warned as to the identity of Jesus because He went on the record!

Increasingly, it seems, we live in a world that really isn’t very interested in truth.  Many people have a bias against Jesus and His followers that colors their perception and they aren’t remotely interested in contemplating any other options.  When I encounter such animosity to Christ, my gut reaction is to just clam up and ignore them … or maybe get in an argument with them!   Jesus example in this passage really provides us with a better example of how to behave –  actually, a loving example.  He does not argue.  He does not ignore.  Jesus gives them one last chance by going on the record.  Yes, I am the King of the Jews.  His responsibility was to tell the truth in a loving, winsome way.  The listeners’ responsibility is to accept the truth.  While we can never make people believe,  we should never ignore an opportunity to go on the record.  

Posted on January 18, 2012 - by genes

Matthew 23: 8-12

I suppose we all like to be noticed for our efforts.  That is just human nature.  I can even think of a few times when Jesus singled out noteworthy individuals for some well deserved praise.  (The widow [Mark 12:41ff.] who gave her two mites and the Centurion [MT 8:5-10] who asked Jesus to heal his servant, to name just two.)  Today’s passage, however, addresses the other side of the praise coin – religious people making a show of their devotion to God in order to be seen and honored.  It is service designed to bring glory to themselves, not to the God who called them into service in the first place.  Jesus actually describes that whole situation as a trap to be avoided.  Don’t even accept titles of honor that might let you get a big head.  The people I notice are not they ones that grab the headlines – I notice the ones that take a back seat and simply put others ahead of themselves.  It’s all about being a servant of Christ and His heavenly Father.  The faithful servants are the ones who make all their decisions by what will bring honor and glory to their master.

Posted on January 17, 2012 - by genes

Matthew 16:13-17

It all comes down to this:  Who do you say that Jesus is?  Just as He asked His disciples for a response, as recorded in Matthew 16, so too does He want to know our response.  Of course, He is never interested in stock answers or answers that might be “technically” correct. Jesus, then and now, wants to hear both lips & heart in a unified answer.  Peter came through with an answer that did just that.  It is a little hard to capture, with just one language, what Peter said, but I will try.  You are the Christ/Messiah/long promised Anointed One!  Today, lots of people refer to Jesus as the Christ.  I hear His name (Jesus Christ) invoked frequently when in the community, at the movies or at home watching TV.   However, in that context, His name is used as an exclamatory statement, not a point of faith because the speaker believes in his or her heart & mind that Jesus really is the Christ/Messiah/long promised Anointed One.  Even though it might be technically correct, that usage is, at best, an ignorant slur.  It would be just as incorrect to call Jesus the Christ in a respectful manner at church, then live in such a way as to deny His sovereignty as the Anointed One of God.  It is that whole lips & heart in a unified answer thing.  Speaking the truth and then living the truth so that all might know we serve Jesus, the Christ, God’s Messiah and Anointed One.

Posted on January 16, 2012 - by genes

John 6: 37-40

Do you ever get irritated when people describe God as being full of wrath, hate, judgement and a general indifference to our welfare?  I’ll admit it – I get irritated with that constant, inaccurate, complaint.  Yes, I do realize that there is a lot of drama in the Bible.   However, the drama usually happens when someone, some group or some nation is trying to derail the reconcilatory plan of God.    It’s true, when His plain is in jeopardy, He goes into action like a mother bear protecting her cubs.  He reacts that way because there is a lot at stake – eternal salvation and eternal resurrection for those who believe in Him.  After all, that is His agenda for the world.  As it happens, Jesus would also describe God’s agenda that way.  So, next time you hear someone railing against a hateful God, remember the will of the one who sent Jesus to die on the cross so that all of the faithful can be raised on the last day. 

Posted on January 15, 2012 - by genes

John 17: 20-24

I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message … that is us.  We know about Jesus Christ and believe in Jesus Christ because of the apostolic record.  Were it not for them, we would not know.  That means, when Jesus prayed this prayer, he was praying for you and me.  This passage always affects me.  That Jesus would be praying about us … thinking about us … being concerned for us … shortly before he was apprehended, tried and crucified … well, it gets me every time.  May each of us live up to the vision of His prayer – unity with Him and unity with each other.

Posted on January 14, 2012 - by genes

Revelation 3:1-2, 12

Would you rather think about these words now … or at the end of your life when there wasn’t any time left to make changes?  Even though much of Revelation’s advice to the 7 churches of Asia Minor seems pretty harsh, the words are meant to bring about changed conduct, not judgement.  Judgement will come, of course, if the various churches being singled out don’t change, but the whole point of the message is that those churches have time to make changes.   The message is proactive because Christ’s desire is for fellowship.  He wants to be joined – built together – with those who changed into His own likeness and image.  Fortunately, if you are reading this, you have time to make any changes that you need to make before coming face to face with Christ.  I can’t say how much actual time there is, just advise you to make the most of it.  

Posted on January 13, 2012 - by genes

Luke 21: 29-36

This passage is a good follow up on the one we looked at yesterday.  Do you ever get weighed down by the anxieties of life to the point where it negatively affects your ability to function as a member of Christ’s body, the church?  I can’t tell you how many times church members have explained their unfiathfulness by citing personal problems – some created by external sources and some created by their own bad choices. Either way, Jesus calls that lack of focus a trap because it makes us concentrate on ourselves instead of on Jesus, the Son of Man.  It’s not that Jesus is so insecure he needs our attention 24/7.  The warning centers on the fact that we put ourselves at risk when we loose our focus.  If we loose our focus … we loose our way.  There is a reason why you shouldn’t be driving while talking and texting on your cell phone at the same time:  You can easily loose focus and not be prepared for what is coming down the road.  Whether it is the opportunity to serve Christ or even the second coming of Christ, we need to be free from anything that might misdirect our attention.  

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.