Shepherds and Sheep

One of the ways God describes his people is as a flock of sheep… not as a gaggle of geese or a herd of cattle for instance.

The human/animal bond between sheep and a shepherd is very advanced. The sheep are dependent upon humans… much more so than geese or cattle would be.

The sheep’s best method of defense is to “flock” together… to circle up and depend upon each other for defense. Of course the best defense for sheep is a caring shepherd.

Sheep have economic value to the shepherd. The shepherd doesn’t just have sheep because he likes sheep. Their wool can be gathered to make fabric, they provide milk which can be converted to cheese and butter and of course they provide meat.

The church is compared to a flock of sheep because of their dependency upon the great shepherd Jesus Christ and also because of their dependency on the human shepherds of a local congregation/church. Christians like sheep depend upon each other for their defense against Satan and his agents and of course depend upon their shepherds for defense.

Christians like sheep have an economic value to their owner. God doesn’t just have Christians around because he likes Christians. Christians have a spiritual economic value to him. In Ephesians 2:8-10, God saves us by his grace, (the free gift of Jesus Christ) but we were created (in a relationship with Jesus Christ), to perform good works.

God provides shepherds to his flock so they can be spiritually nourished through his word. That spiritual nourishment builds faith and faithful Christians in turn live sacrificial lives through the performing of good works for the benefit of other Christians and the world.

In this New Year work hard to attend every service you possibly can because in that “flocking” together we build relationships and find opportunities to serve each other. Get involved with the congregation. We grow together by shared experiences. Cast fear and doubt away and remember what Jesus told his disciples… if you just had a little bit of faith you could move mountains.

Let’s move a few mountains in this upcoming New Year.

Growing Christians

I have failed at growing Avocados for many, many years and that’s not an easy thing for me to admit because I fancy myself as a bit of a Horticulturist. I would buy an Avocado tree which costs about $50… plant it, water it and fertilize it. Invariably in relatively short order it would die and I would be very frustrated and vow never to waste another $50 on an Avocado tree. Eventually though, because I’m an optimist, I would try again but had the same results.

Finally I did some research and understood that Avocado trees grow up in a forest where they are shaded and protected and that tropical forests get consistent rainfalls. You see we live in South Texas and those young trees were getting scalded by the sun and I couldn’t water them as much as they liked.

So I bought another Avocado tree and I planted it under some larger trees put it on a drip irrigation system. Voila! That tree is into its third year now.

Growing Christians… first of all every human being in this world is a little bit different and some are a whole lot different. When they step out of the waters of baptism they all have the same basic needs like an Avocado tree has basic needs… soil, water and sunlight… but those needs have to be in the right proportions for that specific individual.

Every new Christian has to become grounded in God’s word so they can know what God expects of them. In addition, every new Christian needs to build a social relationship with other Christians so they can learn from good examples. And they need these things in the right ways and in the right proportions.

You might lose a new Christian if you over/under fertilize or over/under water him. You might lose a new Christian if you set him out in the hot South Texas sun and don’t have older more mature trees to protect him.

Christians like Avocado trees need to be monitored on a regular basis… look for wilted and dropped leaves. You might think your irrigation system is working only to find out that the batteries have failed.

You can’t just hand a new Christian a Bible and tell him to attend every church service he can and figuratively pat him on the bottom and turn him loose. Care, protection and monitoring must be given to every single individual Christian.

You can lose a $50 Avocado tree from time to time but woe be to the one who loses a new Christian due to laziness and neglect.

A Few Odds and Ends

Here are a few notes that I’ve written in my Bible over the years

- The branch that bears the most fruit bends the lowest.

- The central feature of Satan’s power is pride.

- Is a religious practice consistent with who God is and with his character?

- How we understand the Bible depends on the lens we look through… It cannot be understood? Old Testament is of little value? Is the New Testament a pattern?

- The first Law of physical life is self-preservation. The first Law of spiritual life is self-sacrifice.

- Most denominations are the same morally and only differ doctrinally.

- When we withhold joy we reveal a darkness of heart.

- Anger distorts reality, creates extreme emotions and leads to harmful behavior.

- When we’re justified it’s like we have never sinned.

- Good deeds, without confession, is self-promotion.

- The oldest son had not been sick with sin, had not lost his reputation and had not lost his self-respect… his younger brother (the Prodigal Son) had.

- God’s grace was the free gift of Jesus Christ.

- God’s grace; over emphasized by some, under emphasized by others and misunderstood by many.

- Two ways people become believers… through logic and through emotion. The reality is we need both.

- Baptism is not the finish point… it’s the starting point.

- Because I can only do a little… I do nothing.

- Service is manifested in menial things.

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The Tears of Jesus

Luke 19:41-44 tells of Jesus entering Jerusalem where he would be crucified in less than a week. As he enters he starts crying… not for himself but for the citizens of Jerusalem. As he entered he saw children playing, mothers tending their children, old men sitting at the city gates, and people busily engaged with living their lives.

But Jesus saw something else, he saw about 40 years into the future and saw what the Roman soldiers would do to these very same people… besieging the city, starving the people, slaughtering the men, raping the women, bashing in the heads of the young children, and carrying the few survivors into captivity.

The prophetic vision of this horrible calamity caused Jesus to cry but also caused him to want him to help them. His help started with offering faith to them. Faith that he was the son of God. To those who believed in him he gave ample warning of when to get out of town and leave Jerusalem and save their lives.

He also sent his Apostles for 40 years after he died to work miracles and teach. The reality is that when the Roman soldiers surrounded Jerusalem to destroy it, the only people left in the city were those who totally rejected him.

God sent the Roman armies to punish Jerusalem and the Jewish system for crucifying his only Son. It was a well deserved punishment and yet Jesus, as he viewed the happy people of Jerusalem, cried for them.

I have to believe that as Jesus looks at us today he still cries for those who are going to end up in the fires of Hell. Ample warning has been given and the punishment will be well deserved but he still sheds tears for those condemned souls… as should we.

Let’s do the best we can to reach Heaven but let’s also, like Jesus, care so much about others that we do whatever we can do to persuade them.

Naaman and Baptism

During the reign of Joram King of Israel (2 Kings 5) the rival King of Aram had as Commander of his armies a valiant warrior named Naaman. Naaman didn’t know it but God had blessed him and through him made the King of Aram very successful. However, for all of Naaman’s (God given) success and riches and honor he was humbled with the disease of Leprosy. No matter what he achieved he was still Naaman the Leper.

Through the advice of a young Hebrew slave girl he traveled to Israel to be cured by the great Hebrew prophet Elisha.

Naaman with his entourage and fabulous wealth traveled to Jerusalem and came to the door of Elisha’s home to be cured.

Elisha did not even answer the door, instead he sent a messenger telling Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan River and he would be cured. Naaman was furious at this treatment and said,

“I thought that he (Elisha) would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy”.

One of his servants talked him down from his great anger and Naaman calmed down, went to the Jordan River, dipped in it seven times and was cured. And said,

“Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

Naaman’s experience reminds me of how man’s sins are washed away in the waters of baptism. Naaman had no faith in the power of Elisha he just came out of curiosity and great hope. Elisha didn’t manage Naaman’s expectations. Naaman expected some big deal to happen for him. After all he was very important and had an incurable disease. But a servant reasoned with him and just enough faith grew in Naaman to cause him to follow God’s instructions. When he saw the results his faith grew.

The same thing happens for humanity today. We are inflicted with a horrible, incurable disease… our own sins. The great cure is the blood of Jesus Christ available to us in the waters of Baptism. It doesn’t require great faith to be a Christian, just enough to lead us to that first step. As with Naaman the great blessings that come with being a child of God causes our confidence and faith to grow

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What if Naaman had said, bring me a pitcher of water from the Jordan River and sprinkle it on me seven times? What if he had dipped six times instead of seven? What if he had chosen a different river?

The answer is he would still have leprosy because faith requires obedience to God’s instruction. So too Baptism for he remission of sins.

Satan, Judas and Peter

In Luke 22:1-34, we read of Satan’s activity with two of Jesus’ disciples

- Satan entered Judas. Note that Satan did not have to ask permission to enter Judas… he just did. Presumably because Judas’ heart was not right to begin with. Judas immediately began scheming with the Chief Priests on how to hand over Jesus.

- Satan asked permission to tempt Peter… he could not just enter Peter the way he had Judas. Why? Presumably because Peter’s heart was right and he belonged to Jesus.

- Jesus warned Peter about Satan but did not warn Judas. Why? Because Judas had sold himself to Satan. Jesus warned Peter to prepare him. Peter would become stronger because of this experience and would use it to strengthen his fellow Christians.

- Jesus prayed to God the Father that Peter’s faith would not fail. Make no mistake… it failed at the early going but it rebounded and became even stronger. Just because you fail once doesn’t mean the game is over.

- Jesus did not pray that Judas’ faith would become stronger because Judas had no faith. He rejected Jesus and sold him.

- Why did Jesus allow Satan to test Peter? I don’t know for sure but I suspect it may be due to the arguing the disciples were having about who was the greatest. I have a feeling that Peter thought he was the greatest, after all Jesus had given him the keys to open the door to the Kingdom and he had taken him up on the mountain for the Transfiguration, etc. I suspect that Peter needed to be tempted and fail to make him more humble so that he could have more compassion for spiritually weaker Christians and be dedicated to never failing again.

- Jesus called out Peter before the other 10 disciples but he didn’t name Judas as the one who betrayed him. Why? Perhaps because Jesus didn’t want the other disciples to try to stop Judas. He named Peter because Peter was the boldest and if it could happen to Peter it could happen to any of them. All Satan had to do was ask.

- Why did Satan specify Peter? Perhaps because he thought if he could spiritually cripple Peter (who was arguably their leader) the others would scatter.

What lessons can we get out of this? Satan’s powers over us are limited. He has to ask permission to test Christ’s faithful people. If Jesus allows the test he also offers his strong encouragement to us and prays that our faith not fail.

Don’t entertain sin in your hearts. It may take root and grow like a cancer until you don’t have a heart left and you do things you never thought you would and Jesus quits praying for you.

Forgiveness

In Mt. 18:15, Jesus began a discourse on forgiveness. He illustrated a procedure for what to do when your “brother” sins against you. In short you address it privately with him and then if needed take 2 or 3 others with you and then if needed inform the whole congregation. If the individual won’t repent or ask for forgiveness then you are to sever all social relations with him.

Peter then asks the question, “how often shall I forgive my brother (who asks for forgiveness)… seven times? Jesus responds… seventy times seven times, which means that every time forgiveness is asked for… you give it.

Jesus then tells a story to illustrate the concept. A great King called a servant in who owed him 10,000 Talents. The servant couldn’t pay so the King ordered for him, his wife and his children and all that he owned be sold to pay the debt. The servant begged that the King have patience and he would pay it all. The King was moved by this and forgave the whole debt… the whole amount.

Nice story but it doesn’t end there. This recently forgiven fellow looked up a fellow-servant who owed a lot less… 100 Shillings and took him by the throat and demanded payment. This servant also begged for patience and he would repay it but no patience was granted and he was thrown into debtor’s prison.

When the King heard of this he took the first servant who was forgiven a great amount and delivered him to the Tormentors. Jesus summarizes the whole thing when he tells Peter… so shall my father do to you if you don’t forgive from your heart.

Get this… forgiveness is not an option for a Christian. A Christian must MUST give forgiveness if he is asked for it. And it can’t be pretend forgiveness it has to be from the heart. Here’s what people do sometimes when they “forgive” people…

- They may say OK I forgive you but this is your last chance

- They may say OK I forgive you but socially it’s changed. The relationship is changed and for all intents and purposes you are forgiven in name only.

- They may say OK I forgive you but then they go around telling everyone what you did.

Folks who forgive that way are in danger of burning in Hell for eternity.

It’s not easy “forgiving from the heart”. Maybe it would be easier though if we considered the great debt that Jesus paid for with his life perhaps a debt worth millions of dollars or however much we value our lives. If we thought like that maybe it would be easier to truly forgive one of a hundred dollar debt.

Healthy Immune Systems

We see a lot of Parvo virus in young dogs, frequently, every single day. Distraught owners will come in with pathetic little puppies ravaged by vomiting and diarrhea. I explain to our clients that I don’t have any medications that will kill the virus that our treatment is a supportive treatment to build the puppy up so its own immune system can fight off the virus. Hospitalized puppies who survive can be sick for seven days. Even with those meds and bills that can be over $1000 we can’t save them all.

Puppies are very susceptible because they have weak and developing immune systems. I’ve had families crying their eyes out over their sick pets. The sad thing about this illness is it can easily be prevented through relatively inexpensive vaccination.

I’m a keen observer of why people visit churches they’ve never darkened the door to. I’ve seen people come in who have a sick child with a poor prognosis. All of a sudden it’s time to find God and invoke his healing power.

I have also seen folks whose lives are a mess… marital problems, parental problems, etc. Again it’s time to find Jesus.

Many times when the problem goes away or calms down, so do peoples spiritual interest. They quickly revert back to the way they were living until the “problem” resurfaces again.

Folks, who are responsible purchase a new puppy, control their internal and external parasites, put them on a good plane of nutrition and don’t let that developing puppy hang out with other dogs until they are fully vaccinated. Those puppies rarely get sick.

Folks, who want to have good lives look for God early and develop a relationship with Him and with his people. They go to Bible classes and feed themselves spiritually, they limit their associations with people who might be bad influentially and they live according to biblical principles and generally they don’t get spiritually sick. Oh, Christians are going to suffer the same physical illnesses that everyone else does and there are going to be family problems too. But they have vaccinated themselves against Satan and their spiritual immune systems are strong enough to survive the fiercest attack. They have built a relationship with God who is carefully listening and eagerly waiting to answer the prayers of his true children.

Don’t be like that young puppy that may have only a 60% chance of survival. Be like that fully vaccinated and well cared for puppy that can live life to the fullest and bring many years of joy to its family.

Seek God early and often… he won’t fail you.

Healthy Choices

In Daniel chapter one, we read of four young Jewish men who were slaves to the Babylonian Empire. They were to be trained to serve the empire for three years and during that training period were supposed to be fed a diet that by Babylonian standards was the best and choicest food they had.

The problem for these four Jewish young men was that the Babylonian diet violated the food laws that God had set forth. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah knew that God’s food laws were given not just to be arbitrary but were given to promote good health… and so a trial was set forth, God’s diet vs. the Babylonian diet. Of course after a ten day period Daniel and his friends looked healthier in every measurable way. God wins.

Here’s the thing, even though we don’t live under the Mosaic Law and have food laws, God still wants his people to be healthy. God wants healthy (not handicapped) soldiers in his army to wage battle against Satan.

We no longer live under a law that regulates every aspect of our lives (including food) we live under a law that is full of liberty and freedom and choices. Christians are responsible for making healthy choices so that we can be better servants to God.

I know of two former members who were diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and have since passed. I would go to the cafeteria with them after Sunday morning services and watch them load their plates with Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes slathered in gravy and macaroni and cheese. Of course I would comment to them… don’t you have CHF? And they would say, “yes but we want to eat the way we want to eat”.

They both left widows, children and grand-children and in my opinion short changed God in their responsibilities to Him both in their poor health and in their shortened lives. All, those years of wisdom that could have been shared shortened by poor choices and rejecting the advice of their doctors.

We can’t control everything in our lives in regards to our health but there are plenty of things we can control. Do your best in regards to your spiritual health and your physical health so we can be better servants to God.

Of Riches, Camels and Needles

Two rich men are introduced in Luke chapters 18 & 19. One was a Ruler of the Jews who lived according to the 10 commandments and as such was well liked and well received in Jewish society. The other was a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman Government. He, on the other hand, was hated because he worked for the enemy. In essence, he was stigmatized and ostracized by his fellow Jews.

The Ruler was living a righteous life and even Jesus recognized that. However, Jesus knew something that the Ruler may not have even known about himself… he loved his money and possessions too much. When Jesus told him to sell it all and distribute the proceeds to the poor the conversation ended and the Ruler walked away with great sadness. He loved his money too much.

The Tax Collector, like the Ruler, had heard of Jesus and when he heard Jesus was in town he climbed a tree just so he could catch a glimpse of Jesus. He wasn’t blind or crippled or in need of any miraculous healing from Jesus he just wanted to see him. And then Jesus did something that violated all the social norms of Jewish society… he noticed the Tax Collector and stayed in his home. You see the Tax Collector suffered from a non-physical malady he suffered from a love deficiency. He had all the money he could want but no one cared for him.

At Jesus expression of love the Tax Collector, Zacchaeus, was over whelmed and offered something the Jewish Ruler wouldn’t give… he offered to give 50% of his possessions to the poor and offered a four fold restitution to anyone who he might have over charged for taxes.

Jesus’ response? “Salvation is come to this house.”

The Jewish Ruler asked what he needed to do to be saved. Zacchaeus already knew the answer and with great enthusiasm offered the price.

How does a rich man enter the kingdom of God and how does a camel go through the eye of a needle? By understanding the true value of wealth and using it properly.

God's Vineyard

In Matthew 21:33-41, Jesus tells the story of a man who decided to build a vineyard and start growing grapes. He planted the grape vines then built a hedge around the whole place to keep out sheep and goats and other animals who might destroy the plants. He also built a tower with a hut on top to be able to watch over the vineyard and he dug out an area for a wine press to collect the juice from the grapes.

Once he had it complete he rented the place out to share croppers and left the country. When the time of the year came to collect his share of the crop the owner sent servants to get his share. The renters instead beat up and killed the owner’s servants. So he sent more servants who got the same reception. Finally the owner reasoned they will respect my son and he sent his son to collect his share. The renters schemed that this was the owner’s son and that if they killed him the owner would finally get the message that they weren’t going to pay.

The story ends with the question, what will the Lord of the vineyard do to these men and the answer is he will kill them and rent out his vineyard to other renters who are more righteous. Nice story, but this story isn’t about growing grapes. The vineyard is God’s people (Jews), God is the builder and owner. The renters are the High Priest, chief priests and Pharisees who ruled the Jewish nation. The servants who were killed are the prophets God sent including John the Baptist. The son of course was Jesus Christ. Because the Jewish leaders killed Jesus, God promised he would kill them which occurred (finally) in AD 70. The vineyard/kingdom would then be turned over to faithful men including Gentiles who would act more righteously.

When we eat of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday we recall that God gave up his only born Son for our sakes. Usually when we remember the death of someone we are sorrowful and sad and those are some of the emotions that we should have when we remember Jesus but paradoxically we should also be happy and glad because without God’s sacrificial gift we could not receive the blessings that we have as being God’s sons and daughters. We would be lost and without hope.

Don’t neglect the assembling with other Christians on Sundays to take of the Lord’s Supper… mourn but also rejoice… after all it memorializes God’s great and unspeakable gift to us. To do less would be shameful and insulting.

Knowledge vs Love

One of the problems in the church at Corinth was some of the members didn’t feel they were important. They thought that no one appreciated them.

The medicine for that problem was love. The other members needed to identify those members and apply that healing salve. That’s kind of a problem because generally those weaker members don’t just stand up and say “I’m weak”. So… the more mature members need to be on the look-out for signs of weakness. Keep their ear to the ground so to speak.

I knew a family many moons ago that thought that everyone else thought they were better than them… kind of had a chip on their shoulder. I also knew a fellow who really wanted to teach a Bible class but the Elders had decided that they only wanted professional teachers teaching those classes and said… no thank you. He was hurt by that.

1 Cor. 8:1 says, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.”

Knowledge might address the above problem by stating, “everyone is equal in this congregation” and “we want the very best teachers”. But knowledge doesn’t really solve the issue does it? In fact it might make it worse.

Love addresses the problem by acting like this family was the most important to them in the world… inviting them over for Thanksgiving, asking their opinion, seeking out their company , etc., etc., etc.

Loving Elders might say, OK you might have all the teaching talent in the world but we’ll never know unless we give you a try… have at it. Or ask them to team teach with someone else, or lead a home Bible study, etc., etc., etc.

As a congregation we need everyone looking forwards, not sideways and certainly not backwards. If our vision is distracted by ancillary issues our mission is also distracted. Don’t tear people down with superior knowledge but make a few sacrifices along the way and demonstrate love, patience and understanding because after all that’s how God is with us.

Self Doubt

There were a lot of problems in the church in Corinth, Greece. One of the big problems was that some of the members didn’t think they mattered very much (1 Cor. 12). There were others who were front and center in the congregation and who got a lot of attention and acclaim so they felt that in comparison they weren’t worth too much.

Feelings aren’t necessarily facts but if they’re your feelings they feel like facts. It’s a problem because if you buy into those feelings you can become non-productive in the Lord’s Kingdom and cripple the church.

Paul answers this by comparing church to a human body. Everybody understands that to have a fully functioning body you have to have all the parts that make up the human body. To run and jump you have to have legs and knees and toes. To climb mountains you also have to have strong arms and hands with all their fingers. To see, smell, hear and feel you have to have all of your sensory organs. Otherwise, you’re handicapped and crippled.

So too the church.

You can’t have a congregation made up solely of preachers or solely of song leaders or composed of only young people or only of old folks. You’ve got to have all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities. I’ve said before that I’m glad the church isn’t made up of people just like me. If it was I would probably go find somewhere else to attend.

The church needs all its parts and every different kind of member; families, widows and widowers, young people and old people, smart people and people who are not so smart, quiet people and people who are outgoing.

When a small member like the toe can say… I’m sure proud to be a member of a body that has such good eyes, ears, arms and legs, etc. I can’t do what they can do but I can do my part then as a church we can accomplish some things. Otherwise as a church we’re going to need a handicapped parking sticker and just putter along the road as others pass us by.

Let’s make sure we appreciate all our members and build each other up so we can accomplish great things!

Invest In Heaven

In Luke 16, Jesus was with some Pharisees and he figured out they liked their money a little too much so he told two stories that both started the same way, “there was a certain rich man”.

The first story was about a rich man that was unhappy with the fellow who was managing his money so he told him he was fired and to settle up his books. While he was looking at the books he realized that he wouldn’t be able to support himself in the future so acting within his authority he called in one of the ones who owed the most and said if you’ll pay your debt now I’ll give you a 50% discount. The second one who owed he gave a 60% discount. He curried favor with them so they would give him a place to live after he was out of work.

The money manager then went over the books with his master and the master saw what he had done and commended him for his shrewdness in preparing for his future at his own expense and then fired him. Jesus using this story said to pay attention to what the money manager did and follow his example to use your earthly wealth to prepare a home in eternity.

The second story was about a rich man who dressed well and enjoyed his life but wouldn’t stoop to help feed a poor beggar or tend his wounds. They both died and the rich man suffered torment and anguish while the beggar (Lazarus) was carried up by angels and was in comfort.

Message to the Pharisees and other lovers of money… remember who gave you that money and instead of spending it in merry making and entertaining your other money loving friends take a long look at helping those who are poor or have some other need because that’s an investment in Heaven.There won't be any merry making in Hell

Ofelia Guzman's Funeral

I went to the funeral for Ofelia Guzman today. I find that in this point of my life I’m attending more and more funerals. Today I got there early so I could have a seat and was visiting with all the people, learning family connections and giving my condolences. Luis Torres (Ofelia’s brother-in-law) was the speaker and one thing he said that sticks in my mind was that he thought God had looked down on Ofelia and said “you’ve suffered enough… it’s time to come home.”

The Guzman’s children attended at Parkway and I know them very well. Every time I see Ron he calls me “Guero” and every time I see him I call him “Uncle Ronnie” (because that’s what his niece and nephew call him.)

As we were filing out of the auditorium today and everyone was expressing condolences to the family I saw Uncle Ronnie sitting next to his Dad and the emotions hit me and all I could do was shake hands. See… you would think I would be prepared for that because it happens at every funeral I go to… but no it always catches me by surprise.

When I was standing by the hearse I was still choked up. Uncle Ronnie came up and said… It’s Ok Guero. But at the internment Uncle Ronnie was going around asking people if they needed anything (like water) and I said, yeah I’ll take a Whataburger with cheese, fries and a Coke and he grinned and said that’s my Guero!

I see my parent’s generation quickly fading away and know that there are some big funerals awaiting me. We’ve lost three old timers at church this year and there are several more right behind them. It’s at times like these that we need God the most… when we hand over our most beloved to him to care for them forever.

I lost my Dad when he was 62 years old. I still ask God to find him and tell him that I love him.

Oh and by the way, Ron and Sylvia Guzman drove all the way from Corpus Christi to Houston to attend my Dad’s funeral in 1998. I’ll never forget that.

I’m always torn about what would be best… for me to attend Julie’s funeral or for her to attend mine. We’re hoping that God takes us at the same time. We know there’s no marriage In Heaven but Julie says maybe we can hold hands.

I attend a lot of funerals and I’m glad to attend them because it reminds me that this life won’t last forever and every day I live brings me one day closer to eternity. Rest in eternal peace Ofelia… you have lived well.

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son

Luke 15 starts out by describing the reaction of the super-righteous Jews (Pharisees and Scribes) to Jesus socializing with the worst sinners of Jewish society. They criticized Jesus and felt morally superior to him.

Jesus then tells three stories; the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. There’s a progression in these stories.

A sheep wanders off, the shepherd leaves 99 sheep to go look for the one that was lost and when he finds it there is great rejoicing. Of course everyone knows that.

A woman loses one of her 10 coins. She searches the house to find it and when she does she is over joyed and tells her friends and they rejoice. Of course she does.

A man has a rebellious son (one of two sons) who leaves the family and goes to a far country and lives a live of debauchery and sexual misconduct. The son repents and comes home and the father rejoices and throws a big party in celebration. Some understand this and some don’t.

The super self-righteous Jews criticized Jesus for caring about the lost children of God. Their spirituality was messed up. They mistakenly thought that God’s children couldn’t have anything to do with those whose lives were sullied by sin.

Perhaps they thought those lost should repent first and clean their lives up and then and only then could there be any social contact. Sound familiar?

They were spiritual failures. They didn’t understand that God loves all his children and is anxiously awaiting the day that they would repent and that repentance always, 100% of the time results in great rejoicing in Heaven. Maybe, not always on earth but always in Heaven.

They didn’t understand the process of bringing people to repentance. They didn’t understand the need for social contact to demonstrate care and concern and correction for the ultimate well-being of those who are lost in sin.

When I’m working with someone I have to ignore a lot. I have to ignore bad language, bad behavior, bad jokes, immodesty, etc. So I can build a relationship to show Christ living in me so that they will look at their own lives and want something better. If I condemn every little thing I lose my chance to address the greater things.

I’ve seen that process work.

Jesus worked hard with the morally bankrupt of Jewish society… should we do less?

Story Telling

Jesus was a fellow that liked to tell stories in fact you could always count on him for a story. He was also a keen observer on things going on around him and when he noticed something in particular he would begin to tell a story.

In Luke 14:7-11 Jesus was at a feast put on by a “Ruler of the Pharisees” that’s Jew talk for a really big dog in the Jewish religion. Jesus noticed that the guests were competing with each other for the best seats and of course started in with a story. Here’s how it goes… there’s a big party and one of the guests decides to sit up by the host but then another guest came in, perhaps the mayor of the city, and the host tells the guy sitting next to him… “do you mind sitting at the end of the table I had intended for the mayor to sit here.” Jesus concludes that the embarrassment is intense and it would be better when you came to the party to kind of hang back and let the host sit you in a better place if he chose to.

And then he concludes, “For everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Keep in mind that Jesus tells this story in the middle of the party to guests who had been involved in inappropriate behavior. It does kind of kill the mood at a party.

I like it that Jesus was a story teller because I like to tell stories too but I guess one of the differences between me and Jesus is I usually like to tell stories to entertain people and make them laugh. I’ve never seen Jesus tell a story just to entertain people.

It’s not wrong to bring joy into people’s lives… in fact it’s a good thing but let’s also be attentive to what’s going on around us and instead of taking the short cut of condemning behavior, illustrate it with a story that will stick in the mind of the listener.

That’s reminds me of a story.

No Joke

There’s an old joke about a farmer who was going broke farming so he quit and started selling hammers. He would buy hammers for $3 apiece and sell them for $2 each. He was happy and doing a pretty good business but a friend advised him that for every hammer he sold he was losing $1. His reply? “it’s more profitable than farming”.

That joke is similar to what people sometimes do with their lives. Activities like drunkenness, sexual immorality, unfaithfulness to a spouse, etc. can cause folks to view their lives as being spiritually bankrupt. So they decide to go to church or pray or read the Bible every once in a while without actually correcting the behaviors that got them into such a big mess to begin with.

Going to church, praying and reading the Bible are good things to do but until we take some corrective action in our lives and commit ourselves fully to Jesus Christ and his teachings, we are still “going broke”… Like buying hammers for $3 and selling them for $2. Don’t make a joke out of your lives.

http://parkwaychurchnews.blogspot.com/2013/05/no-joke.html

Medal of Honor

The newspapers recently had a story about Garlin Murl Connor, a deceased WWII veteran who won four Silver Stars, one Bronze Star and three Purple hearts. His military actions were reviewed and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for one of his heroic actions.

I don’t know why, but I did some investigation to find out just what Murl Connor did to merit such an honor. It seems he was recuperating from a wound (shot through the hip) in a field hospital when he heard the Germans were going to counter attack so he slipped out of the hospital to rejoin his comrades. He then volunteered to move to a forward position to call in artillery strikes on the advancing German army. Including calling in artillery on his own position, he was willing to die to save the lives of his fellow GIs.

It made me wonder why you would leave the comfort of a hospital bed and risk your life for others. I mean he had already done plenty.

I’ve read other accounts of American GIs who so loved their fellow soldiers that they wouldn’t leave them. They wouldn’t go home on their own they wanted to keep fighting until they could all go home. Many of them thought they weren’t getting out alive anyway so they would do anything to protect their fellow soldiers so they could go home.

What does a hero look like? His wife who was 16 years old at the time said when she first saw him he was just 5 foot 6 inches and skinny as a rail. She wondered aloud how he could be a hero. They were married a week later. She said he would frequently wake up in the middle of the night having nightmares and would just go out on the porch and smoke a cigarette to calm himself down. That’s what a hero looks like, just like anyone else.

Garlin Murl Connor, just 26 years old, was willing to die for his fellow soldiers whom he loved.

Jesus Christ said in John 13:34-35 that the identifying mark of his people would be sacrificial love for each other. Ultimately that means giving up the most important thing to us… our own lives, but includes everything leading up to that including our time, our money, our possessions, etc. If we can’t give up those things then we’re fooling ourselves if we think we’ll give up our lives for someone else.

Our congregation is an army of Christian soldiers. We have a great enemy who must be defeated. We can’t conquer him with hand grenades or artillery or bombs or any kind of munition. He can only be defeated with love.

I’ve got a feeling that when we march into Heaven the Angels will be clapping and cheering for those who have been victorious over Satan and the spiritual cowards will be skulking ashamedly to their destination.

Remember Garlin Murl Connor for his sacrifices on the battlefield but there is a greater one that he who died so we all can live… never forget Him.

Be Perfect as God is Perfect

In the “Sermon on the Mount” the Beatitudes serve as an introduction or preview to the over-all sermon.

For example, “Blessed are you when men shall reproach you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for me sake. Rejoice… great is your reward in Heaven” (5:11) Fast forward to 5:43-48, “You have heard it said… love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say…. Love enemies and bless those who persecute you…that you may be sons of your Father…” See the connection? In the introduction they are blessed when persecuted but in the extended teaching (5:43-48) they are to “love” their persecutors and “pray” for them. They cannot just be persecuted for righteousness sake and expect to receive a blessing from God they have to “love” their persecutors and that love is made evident by bowing the knee and praying for them.

If they don’t behave in this fashion they are just like the “publicans” and Gentiles” (whom they would ordinarily despise) and are not like…God. To God they look like Publicans and Gentiles. In my opinion this may be the hardest thing God asks us to do.

But let’s look at one more thing (verse 48) “you shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.

Most people look at this verse and say, “that’s impossible no one can be perfect like God is perfect all we can do is try and fall short” and that would be incorrect. God doesn’t give us an instruction that is impossible to keep… hard but not impossible.

Let’s look at a few examples. Jesus while hanging on the cross prayed to God to forgive his persecutors because they didn’t really know what they were doing.

Stephen as he was being stoned by his persecutors prayed to God to not lay their sin against them.

Paul in Phil. 3:8-15 identifies himself as being “perfect” and advises the others who are “perfect” among his readers to be similarly minded.

We are instructed to be “perfect”. We have instructions on how to be “perfect” and we have examples of individuals who are “perfect” so that we can become perfect.

No one said it would be easy but it can be done.

The bigger question is why does God want us to be like him? Think about that.

What is Subjection?

Ephesians 5:22, introduces the concept that Christians are required to be in “subjection” to each other.

The word translated “subjection” is a Greek word that is ordinarily used to describe soldiers who are under authority in a military sense.

In the above context Christians are to view other Christians as being superior in rank (whether they are or not).

The word “subjection” is next used as a directive towards wives. They are to be in “subjection” to their husbands.

It is important at this point to see what the requirements are towards children and bond-servants. Children are supposed to be “obedient” to their parents and bond-servants are supposed to be “obedient” to their masters.

Here’s the point about wives… they are not children and they are not servants. They are not required to be in “obedience” to their husbands they are supposed to be in “subjection”. That’s important because some husbands can get those two things confused.

Note that “subjection” is based on “love”. Christ first “loved” the church and she (the church) “subjected” herself to him. Same thing in marriage, the husband “loves “ his wife and because of that love she willingly agrees to “subject” herself to him and respect his headship.

Also note that the word “fear” modifies both “subjection” and obedience as it concerns Christians, wives and bond-servants. When you read “fear” think “respect”.

Why is that word used. I’ll tell you why. It’s not fake “subjection” it’s real “subjection”. Sometimes people can fake when Jesus wants it to be real (from the heart).

Without real “subjection” and real “love” the marital relationship cannot become what God intended for it to be.

God promises great blessings to those who follow his directives. Have a little faith, follow the recipe… do your part and God will do his part.

Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman

Two character are introduced in John 3&4.

Nicodemus was a Ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee and a Teacher of Israel. That means he was a student of God’s word and knew it forwards and backwards, inside and out. He came to Jesus with a simple statement… “Rabbi we know that you are a teacher sent from God because no one can do the signs you are doing unless God is with him”.

Jesus, never one to mince words or waste time, cuts to the chase…. “Except one be born again he cannot see the (coming) Kingdom of God.”

You see, Jesus knew who Nicodemus was and knew that Nicodemus knew what was in the Old Testament (from a human perspective). Nicodemus was obedient to the 10 commandments, kept the proper form of worship, kept the Sabbath and feast days properly, etc., etc., etc. Jesus just needed to correct some misconceptions that Nicodemus had about the coming Kingdom.

The second character introduced was different than Nicodemus. She was an un-named Samaritan woman. In contrast to Nicodemus she knew next to nothing about the Old Testament. As a Samaritan all she had been taught and all she knew were the first 5 books of the Bible. Samaritans had improper worship and they didn’t celebrate the Passover properly. The Jews despised them for their corruption of God’s commandments.

Jesus was sitting at a well when the woman approached and asked her for a drink of water. The woman, knowing that Jesus was a Jew, was surprised that he would even acknowledge her presence and was bold enough to state that to him.

Jesus replied, if you knew who I am you could have asked and I would have given you living water. The conversation evolves into the age old question between the Samaritans and the Jews… where is the proper place to worship? Jesus informs her that the Jews are worshipping correctly (and the Samaritans are not) but then proceeds to tell her that a time is coming… the coming of the Kingdom… when neither place will be the correct place to worship.

So we might ask the question… why didn’t Jesus answer the Samaritan woman like he did Nicodemus? Why didn’t he tell her… “except one be born again he cannot enter the Kingdom of God?” And the answer is because they were in different places in their understanding of God’s word

The reality is Jesus taught them both the same basic thing. Both audiences had to believe that in the new Kingdom, citizens would have to worship in Spirit and in Truth, he just took different approaches to accomplish that task.

Of course the same thing is true today. You cannot necessarily teach two individuals the exact same way but we do have to end up in the same place. If we have the idea that we can just quote some passage like Acts 2:38 with the idea of accept it or reject it and feel like we have done our job as a teacher then we are sadly mistaken.

The Gospel is for all including those who know their Bible (but misunderstand it) and for those who know next to nothing about the Bible. As a teacher prepare yourself for every kind of student.

Pray for the Holy Spirit Luke 11:13

Luke chapter 11 begins with Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. He first gives them the initial form of prayer and then he teaches some concepts about prayer.

The first concept about our prayers is a comparison of asking our neighbors for something and asking God for something. Sometimes we almost have to beg our earthly friends to do something for us but God is not like that… he will willingly answer our prayer requests.

The second concept is the value of the thing requested in prayer. Parents will willingly give and address their children’s physical needs. God however will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for him.

That raises several questions… We can ask for the Holy Spirit? Who would even think to ask for the Holy Spirit? And just what are we asking for?

Right on the heels of this teaching, Jesus casts out a demon, i.e. an evil spiritual being. This isn’t just some random story Jesus decides to tell. There is a connection.

In verse 24, Jesus describes a man who had an evil spirit in him and the evil spirit decides to leave and find another human to live in. He can’t find one so he decides to go back home to the human he used to live in and takes seven other evil or unclean spirits to go with him. Jesus concludes that the last state of the man is worse than the first state.

Who would ask God for the Holy Spirit? Perhaps some poor soul who had an evil spirit.

You see, the demon decided to leave the man on his own accord. He was looking for another place to live. The man had not done anything to get rid of the demon or made any change his life to prevent demon possession.

Including, having faith in God and manifesting that faith by praying for God’s protection in the form of the Holy Spirit. Without God's help the unfortunate man was at the mercy of demons.

This dovetail sweetly with Ephesians 1:13-14… “In whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Once we believe, God seals us with the Holy Spirit. A seal is an identifying stamp. What is its purpose? It’s a no trespassing sign for Satan. It is also a down payment of our inheritance which when fully paid is life eternal with God.

Have faith in God. Pray to him because he will answer and he can give greater gifts than can be found on earth. Then… you won’t have to worry about Satan.

45th Wedding Anniversary

This is something I posted to Facebook on June 1st. Happy anniversary to my wife of 45 years. 45 years ago today, one week after graduating from High School, we eloped to Lake Charles, Louisiana. I tell people the reason we did that is because at the time... in Texas... they wouldn't let first cousins marry. But they would in Louisiana. Of course that's a joke. Julie Bedwell is the only girl I ever dated. A lot of people would say that we somehow found our soul mates as if failures in marriage are somehow due to bad luck. The truth is that we were committed to each other based on our faith in Jesus Christ and would not allow Satan to separate what God had put together. God has blessed me in many ways but my greatest blessing has been Julie Perkins.

At lunch the other day I drove out to Starry’s pawn shop just west of Robstown on highway 44. I like to go out there because Mr. Starry has a lot of stuff laying around that you can make good deals on. But i also like to go out there so I can visit with Mr. Starry. When you walk into his pawn shop he’s sitting in an easy chair pedaling some contraption to keep his legs in shape.

Mr Starry is 86 years old and I like talking to him because he’s an old South Texas farm boy and he knows a lot of things. And he’s colorful and I know how to talk to people like him.

He told me if he wanted to he didn’t have to work he could just stay home. I told him but Mr. Starry if you did that I couldn’t visit with you. He stopped and looked at me square in the eyes and pointed at me and said that’s it exactly. The old man likes to visit with people.

Then he told me a while back he was at Driscoll Children’s hospital and there was a really sick baby and he and his wife decided to adopt the boy. He was 3 months old weighed 5 pounds and had what I would call divergent strabismus but what Mr. Starry described as “looking at Georgia”. He had ear problems and he was born addicted to heroin. They fixed his eyes and ears and put him on Methadone. Mr. Starry said it took 7 months to cure him and that every time the doctors reduced the methadone dose the boy would cry for two days.

He told me the boy is in middle school now and doing fine. He told me they give the boy $5.00 for every “A” he makes and one time he made four “A’s” so Mr Starry gave him $20. The boy looked at it and said… Dad, don’t you think an 89 ought to be worth $5.00?

Anyway Mr. Starry says that boy has added years to their lives… he comes home from school and fills their lives with joy and love.

I guess that’s the way things are though…. the Lord told us not to think about ourselves but to think about others. God bless Mr. Starry and his wife for helping someone who needed so much help.

It might do you some good to go see the old man every once in a while. It sure has done me good. Take a look at the photo I attached. I got that water cooler and bike (for my grandkids) for $15.00

A Few Thoughts on Healing in Luke 8

Here’s a few thoughts on how Jesus heals in Luke 8.

The woman with a chronic bleed had been bleeding for 12 years so it was a regenerative anemia. Her bone marrow was producing enough new Red Blood cells to keep up at some level. I’m assuming that this was some sort of menstrual bleeding caused by a persistent estrogen producing ovarian follicle which would include other symptoms of menstruation like cramping.

So she had persistent vaginal bleeding, cramping and some level of anemia which would have resulted in poor oxygenation of the tissues and chronic fatigue. I feel sorry for the poor woman.

When Jesus healed her the blood flow was immediately stopped and as she herself reports she was immediately healed. That immediate healing could mean that all of her symptoms were gone… the blood flow, the cramping, the fatigue and the anemia.

The 12 year old girl was probably dealing with an acute problem, certainly not the chronicity of a 12 year condition. The list of conditions that young people suffer is a lot shorter than the list that old people suffer from. It was probably not organ failure, cardiovascular or cancer. She probably had an infectious problem. A lot of people then and now suffer from gastro-intestinal infections and respiratory infections. Rapid dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea or lungs that are filling up with pus.

Whatever the problem was she was at the “point of death”. Usually point of death looks like poor coloration to the tissues (purple not pink), coma or agonal breathing. When I get a patient like that there is usually not much that can be done. Whatever her final symptoms were her Daddy new he was about to lose her and in an act of desperation ran as fast as he could to find Jesus. His expectations were probably pretty low but when you are about to lose the most precious thing in the world to you, you’ll run after even the smallest chance.

When the family heard the news that she had died they fell apart. They probably had a lot of questions like… Jehovah we have devoted our whole life to you, how could you let this happen? Their friends were probably offering solace like… she’s in a better place. Those are true words but probably not enough to stop the flow of tears.

Jesus enters the room with just Peter, James, John and the parents and says don’t cry she’s just asleep. The text says they laughed at him. I imagine that their sad emotions turned to indignant emotions. Like… don’t play games with us Jesus we know what dead people look like.

Jesus takes their little princess and says “arise”. She gets up immediately and Jesus turns to her parents and says, “get her something to eat”. Like everything’s back to normal now. Go clean the house, mow the lawn, etc. Just another day for Jesus but certainly not just another day for that family.

Their problem was that they really didn’t understand who Jesus was, but that day they knew a little better.

A Miracle Interrupted

Luke 8 records a miracle interrupted by another miracle. Jesus is on his way to heal a 12 year old girl who was about to die when a woman with a 12 year illness interrupts him.

The Ruler of the Synagogue approached Jesus on his knees to beg Jesus to cure his daughter. The woman who was slowly bleeding to death had no one to intercede for her and had spent every dime she had hoping for a cure. Unlike the Synagogue Ruler she was “unclean” and stigmatized for her uncleanness.

For the Ruler it was like the journey was taking forever… crowds of people thronging Jesus slowing down the travel time. And then Jesus stops and asks, “who touched me?” Another delay… everyone was touching Jesus. His daughter could die at any minute, even seconds could make a difference. If only he could get Jesus to his house so he could lay his hands on her and cure her before it was too late.

Finally the woman comes forward and identifies herself. And then Jesus says something that was probably lost on the crowd but was not lost on the reader. He says, “daughter your faith has made you whole”. You see there were two daughters in this story, one who was 12 years old and one who had been sick for 12 years. They were both important to Jesus. And just as he says those words the father hears some other words… your daughter has died.

One daughter healed and one daughter dead. In the mind of the crowd Jesus is batting .500, but what the crowd doesn’t know is that the game isn’t over for Jairus and his little daughter and Jesus is still batting and when Jesus bats he hits a home run every time.

Sometimes someone dies and people think what a shame she was so young and beautiful almost like if you are plain or ugly it’s no great loss. The learning point for us is that Jesus cares for everyone whether she’s a 12 year old girl or someone who has a disease for 12 years that everyone including the doctors have given up on. Jesus doesn’t give up on people he values and loves every single soul and so should we. Don’t ever give up on anyone… just stay in the game and maybe, just maybe you’ll jack one out of the park with Jesus’ help.

Good vs. Poor Teaching

In Luke chapter 6 Jesus does some teaching. He pronounces blessings and woes upon people and offers instruction on how to live with your fellow man. Specifically he tells his audience to love their enemies and to do good to them even if you are mistreated poorly by them.

Then he uses a parable to contrast his teachings with the teachings of the Pharisees. He says that the Pharisees are blind teachers and because of their lack of spiritual vision are going to fall into a pit and their students will follow right after them.

He also says the Pharisees are blind or visually impaired when it comes to correcting others. They are so busy looking for fault in others that they fail to take a look at their own faults which are huge in comparison.

Teachers are also like orange trees. A good orange tree (Jesus) produces sweet tasty oranges. A sour orange tree (Pharisees) looks identical to a grafted orange tree and the oranges look exactly the same but they taste so bad that they’re worthless.

Pharisees are teachers that are blind, hypocritical and whose teachings will cause their students to be spit out by God.

Jesus on the other had is a good teacher, he can lead you the way he ought to go, his correction is non-hypocritical and will lead you to cause a very sweet taste in God’s mouth.

Preachers and teachers in Christ’s church should be the same type of teacher that Jesus was. One way to tell is to look and see kind of people a church is producing. Are they sweet and ripe? Are they bitter or are they just tasteless? Whatever they are… they are a reflection of their teachers.

James 3:1. Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

"It's Easier to Believe the Bad Things"

The movie “Pretty Woman” tells the story of a young woman who made some poor choices, went down the wrong road and became a prostitute. One of her customers sees some good qualities in her and tries to get her to see those qualities. She has a hard time believing him and says something that has stuck in my brain for a long time. She says, “It’s easier to believe the bad things”.

Every level of self-doubt and lack of self-worth exists among people; I’m unlikeable because I’m not pretty, because I’m too heavy, because I’m handicapped, because I’m a failure, because I’m not good at anything, etc., etc., etc.

Self-doubt is crippling.

Jesus Christ had the ability to engage with the broken people of society and lift them up. He also empowered his people with the same ability.

People tend to respond positively if they feel that someone truly cares about them and won’t give up on them no matter what.

Encouragement, edification and admonishment are powerful weapons when wielded by someone who truly cares and has demonstrated that care. Otherwise they are just empty words that fall on deaf ears.

Here’s the challenge for the Christian warrior… find the most unlikeable person you can find and make them your true friend. Seek their company. Invite them into your home. Make them part of your lives. Be resilient and patient and don’t give up and the love of God which surpasses all understanding can cause a wonderful transformation to take place in them and in you.

Goodness, Humility and Confidence

In the town of Capernaum resided a Roman centurion. His duties were to keep the peace in that region and to make sure the Jews paid their taxes to Rome. As such Romans were hated by the Jews because they were forced to pay taxes to a false religious system and to fund a gentile nation that did not revere Jehovah.

It was against Jewish law for a Jew to have a Roman for a friend or even to go into a Romans home (Acts 10:28).

While performing the duties of an official of Rome something surprising happened to the centurion… he came to love the Jewish people and from that love built a synagogue for them out of his own pocket

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I’m assuming the centurion came to love the Jews because they were God’s people and reflected the power of God in their lives. The centurion was probably used to seeing how Romans treated each other (murder, false religiosity, perverse sexuality, extortion and idolatry) and by comparison came to love something imperfect (compared to Christianity) but far better than what he was used to.

In addition, the centurion loved his servants (probably Jewish). Imagine that… his servants weren’t just some tool for him to use and abuse. He loved and cared from them and when one of them got sick and was at the point of death he asked for a favor. He asked the Elders (of the very synagogue he had built) if they would go to Jesus and ask if he would come and heal his beloved servant.

The scriptures reveal for us why he asked the Elders this favor. He did not consider himself worthy to even approach Jesus and didn’t feel worthy for Jesus to even enter his home.

The centurion in his goodness probably did not expect anything in return from the Jews and wasn’t helping the Jews with any expectation of some kind of reward. But sometimes in life the unexpected happens and we find ourselves in a need of a power greater than ourselves.

The formula for the centurion was goodness, humility and confidence in Jesus Christ. That formula still works today

Beatitudes

Luke gives his version of the Beatitudes (Mt. 5: 3-11) in Luke 6:20-26. There are some stark differences between Matthew and Luke’s account. Matthew offers 9 blessings and no woes. Luke records 4 blessings and 4 parallel woes.

Luke offers no blessings for those who are meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers or those who are persecuted.

Luke’s blessings are contrasted directly with woes. The physical conditions are described as happening “now”. The blessings and woes shall occur in the future.

1. Blessed are those who are “poor” but woe to the” rich” who already have their reward. These are not the ones in some sort of spiritual poverty because if so those who are rich would have to be interpreted as possessing spiritual wealth which would not earn a “woe”. This is contrasting earthly wealth/poverty. The followers of Jesus who were poor would inherit all the “wealth” associated with a life in Heaven. Those who love money and the things money can buy have bought their way into Hell.

2. Blessed are those who “hunger” but woe to those who are “full”. Those who don’t have food on a daily basis will be filled in their new life in Heaven. Those who are full of food now and who had great feasts for their friends but who ignored the hungry will be hungry in the after-life.

3. Blessed are those who “cry or weep” but woe to those who “laugh” now. Their positions will be reversed in the after- life. There won’t be any crying in Heaven but there will be plenty of it in Hell.

4. Blessed are those who are “hated, and spoken evil of” (for Jesus’ sake) but woe to those who are “spoken well of” (like the false prophets of old). Jesus’ people would be hated and people would talk bad of them but when that happens they should be happy because that is evidence that they have become who Jesus wants them to be. However, those who reject Jesus and are favored by the enemies of Jesus will inherit the woes of eternal condemnation.

There are some differences between Matthew and Luke’s account of the Beatitudes but they both give the same message. Jesus gives great hope and encouragement to his people on earth who are spiritually minded but who live in adverse conditions. Those who live for the moment and who live like there is no after-life are in big trouble.

Faith and Fishing

Luke 5 records the story of Jesus calling Peter to become a “fisher of men”. Peter was by occupation a fisherman. He was the son of a fisherman and probably knew everything there was to know about fishing on a lake.

Peter and his crew had been fishing all night long and come up empty handed. Jesus (the carpenter), who had been teaching from Peter’s boat to a crowd of people on the bank, advised Peter to go out a little deeper and lower his nets.

Peter, having fished all night and having just cleaned those nets, replied (to the carpenter)… we fished all night and caught nothing but will do what you say. That’s the kind of language that suggests Peter didn’t really want to do it.

Peter caught the most fish he had ever caught before. He caught more fish than anyone could even make up a story about. He had so many fish that the nets began to break and his boats began to sink. It was a lot of fish.

Peter’s reaction? He fell down on his knees before Jesus and called him Lord and asked Jesus to leave because he was a sinful man. Peter fell on his knees another time also. When Jesus was transfigured and the voice of God proclaimed Jesus to be his Son. Long story short… Peter knew he was in the presence of deity and was afraid and humbled.

And then those immortal words… fear not, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Peter could not have known what that meant until Jesus gave him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt. 16:18) and allowed him to open that wonderful door by proclaiming the Gospel message on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41). On that day 3000 souls were baptized into the blood of Jesus Christ. The nets were breaking and the boats were sinking (figuratively) on that day’s great “catch”. Peter had become a “fisher of men”.

Jesus makes a lot of promises to us. Don’t ever under estimate Jesus and don’t ever be afraid. With just a little bit of faith he can bless you beyond your comprehension and expectations and make your house great. Just “follow” Jesus and see what happens.

Helping Beggars

There was a discussion recently on a Veterinary group email that I am a member of and one of the Veterinarians wrote the following. I was impressed and hope you will be too.

Jesus says that whatever you do for the least of these you have also done for me (Jesus).  I believe his story about the good Samaritan really reveals his heart and addresses most of the reasons I have heard for not giving.  The Samaritan found a man wounded on the side of the road.  There were two real scary possibilities as to why he was there: Robbers (maybe still in the area) had done this to him or he was faking so that he could do this to anyone who offered assistance.  The Samaritan ignored common sense and decided to help. 

He did not ask if the man qualified for food stamps or any of the criteria of the local shelter. He gave all that was necessary to care for the man through the crisis.

 

As for questioning what will be done with the money, I have no guarantee that the money I give will be used for God’s purposes whether I give to a beggar or the elders at my church.  But God never asked me to look into how the funds would be used.  He told me to give.  Each of my donees will one day answer to God for how the money was used.  God will never ask me why I gave, but He may ask why I didn’t. 

And let’s face it, God is an enabler.  There is no need for alcohol on this planet but God saw fit to put it here and continues to see fit to put it here.  Alcohol is not the problem. In fact, it can be good for you at the right dosage.  Many over dose.  That’s not the fault of alcohol, the Lord who put it here, the money that bought it or the donor of the money.  Money is not the problem.  The love of money (a money overdose so to speak) is the problem.  God is fine with you being an enabler just like He is.

   

After many years, I have come down to this:  When approached for money, I give all that is in my pocket.  Is that easy?  One day I had a $100 bill and a $20 bill in my pocket and was approached by a man as I was leaving a store.  He said he needed money for food and, if I could spare it, a few bucks for a bed at the Salvation Army.  I reached in my pocket and pulled out the $20 and handed it to him.  He was amazed by my generosity and I was ashamed of my greed.  God gave me the money and I had committed to give it to this man and had not done so.

 

I was scheduled to have my gall bladder removed in a few weeks and had three doctors telling me it was necessary.  I asked this man if he would pray for my health.  He readily agreed and wrapped his arms around me and began praying for my health.  As he prayed I was more and more convicted about the $100 bill still in my pocket hidden from this man and in plain sight of my Lord. When he said “amen” I reached in my pocket and tried to give him the $100.  At first he refused saying it was too much.  I assured him that it was not my money but God’s and that God had instructed me to give it to him.  He took the money and invited me to attend services with him at a local church the next Sunday.  I declined as I am well connected and serve at my own congregation.  The next week I had my preop appointment with my surgeon.  He checked me over and said, “there is no way I will remove your gall bladder.  I can only make you worse.”  Me: “But you said…”  Surgeon: “you have no symptoms to warrant a cholecystectomy. “ 

Jehovah's Bride

Jehovah looked out at all the nations and families of the world and chose one to be his wife. He made a contract with his bride Israel and promised her all of his blessings and favor if she would just subject herself to Him and be faithful to him by carrying out all his laws.

 

He fulfilled everything he promised even though she was not the perfect wife. And then one day his wife Israel started looking and lusting after foreign gods. She committed adultery with them and made them her lovers.  

Her husband Jehovah was incensed and angry and reminded her of her vows and reminded her of all that he had done for her, but she would not listen. After a while Jehovah decided that if his wife loved these foreign gods so much then fine… she could have them.

 

So he allowed the gods of Babylonia and Assyria to have her. They raped and abused her.

 

Jehovah still longed for his wife of old and continued to send messengers to her in an effort to change her behavior. At some point Israel took a long look at her condition and remembered how well she had it with her husband Jehovah and repented and came back to him in great sorrow.

 

Jehovah took her back and cleaned her up but had a bigger plan for her which she didn’t even begin to understand.

 

Jehovah made the ultimate sacrifice… He allowed himself to be killed to dissolve his marriage with Israel so that he could remarry her under new conditions.

 

Jehovah allowed himself to be killed by allowing the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ and issued the call to the whole world, including Israel, to be in an intimate relationship with him best described as a marriage. This marriage would have better laws and conditions than the first and was designed to make her better and to create a better appreciation of him as a husband.

 

The church is the bride of Christ. Jesus Christ loves and cherishes her so that she will love and cherish him and be in subjection to him. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the first wife.

 

40 years and 40 days

I was reading in Luke chapter 4 the other day about Jesus fasting and being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days.

At the first temptation by the Devil of Jesus, Jesus quotes Deut. 8, “Man shall not live by bread alone”. The casual reader of the Bible might miss what the Jewish reader of the day must have seen very clearly. Jesus was referencing the 40 year wandering of the Jewish people in the wilderness. The fuller quotation goes like this…

“…you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these 40 years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

And He humbled you, and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”

Let’s look at some similarities between what Jesus was doing and what the Israelites had done.

- Jesus was baptized prior to the 40 days in the wilderness.

- Israel was baptized prior to the 40 years wandering in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:2)

- Jesus ate nothing during his 40 day fast (God sustained him).

- Israel ate nothing during their 40 year fast except for the manna which God provided.

- Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit (which he received at his baptism) and was led in the Spirit into the wilderness

- Israel was led into the wilderness by God after Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Cor. 10).

The 40 years wandering by Israel in the wilderness was a punishment by God for believing the bad report of the spies they sent into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy we find that its purpose was not strictly punishment but was also to humble them and test them to see whether they would keep his commandments and to teach them that their priority was not to serve their physical appetites (with bread) but to live by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

So what does this say about Jesus’ purpose in his 40 day fast and temptation?

Let me suggest that his 40 day fast was similar to his baptism…. It was to fulfill all righteousness. He wasn’t baptized because he needed his sins washed away and he didn’t endure the temptation to because it was possible for him to sin

His 40 day fasting and temptation by the devil was to demonstrate his humility, to demonstrate passing the test of temptation and to demonstrate that he didn’t live by bread alone but by following God. When Israel after 40 years humbled themselves and passed their test they could move on into the Promised Land.

The message for Christians today is that we also are undergoing testing and passing that test starts with humbling ourselves and living by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of our Lord. And if we do that we can join Jesus in our promised land.

Glen Torno's Funeral

I went to Glenn Torno’s funeral the other day. I try to make every funeral of church members and their families that I can. It was pretty easy to attend this funeral. Glenn attended at Borden Street Church of Christ in Sinton, Texas. I had come to know him on a casual basis because of my relationship with his family. When we first moved to Corpus Christi in 1982 we met Ray and Linda Torno. Our kids grew up with their kids. Of course Glen’s other son Tim was at Parkway too but I had known him since college days.

Even before I met Glen I felt like I knew him because I knew his sons. Anyone who raised godly men like Ray and Tim must also be godly.

When I first met Glenn I sensed we had something in common… Glenn liked people. He was very gregarious and welcoming and Julie and I were even invited into their home. I was impressed.

I was also impressed to learn things about Glenn. Things like when he was 14 years old during the Depression he would drive a truck across the state delivering pipe. Farm raised kids aren’t like city raised kids. I also learned that he set the 440 record in Track and Field at Sinton high school. That record lasted until 1964 when his son Ray broke it.

I really enjoyed hearing what Keith Miller his oldest grandson had to say. Keith and his Paw Paw would leave Sinton in Glen’s old truck and his Paw Paw would start a story and that story wouldn’t end until they pulled up into the driveway in Bayside 30 minutes later. As a kid he used to be so bored with those stories. As an adult he wishes that he could hear them one more time. Keith said they would drive around looking at the cotton fields. As a kid he thought… all these cotton fields look alike. As an adult he wished he could just drive with his Paw Paw just one more time.

Of course those close to the family knew that Glenn developed Alzheimer’s and I guess he knew the progression of that horrible disease and kind of quit talking. Keith said Alzheimer’s took everything from Glen but it couldn’t take his soul… powerful words.

I hear Christians say frequently that “we just need to get to know each other better”. One of the best ways to get to know people is to go to the funerals of their families.

This was an easy funeral for me to go to for a lot of reasons. The truth is that if they had charged admission I would have been happy to pay it.

Rest in eternity Glen Torno, you did well.

Jesus and the Two Thieves (Luke 23)

Jesus was, of course, crucified between two thieves… one on his right and one on his left. They not only suffered the same brutality as Jesus suffered but also witnessed all the emotional abuse he suffered.

The Rulers “scoffed” at Jesus. The word “scoff” means literally to “hold the nose up”… to sneer and to show contempt.

The Soldiers “mocked” Jesus. The word “mock” literally means to make sport or to jest.

One of the thieves after witnessing this joined in and “railed” at Jesus. The word “rail” means to literally blaspheme which is “speech defamatory of divine majesty”. A sin punishable by eternal death.

The other thief didn’t join in with the crowd. He had witnessed all the things the first thief witnessed and had witnessed what his fellow thief said and “rebuked” him for it. He stood up for Jesus.

It’s never wrong to stand up for Jesus or to stand up for anyone else being abused wrongly. The thief was guilty of being a thief and accepted his punishment for that crime but he was smart enough to know that the door to eternity was about to open for him and the one hanging on the cross next to him held the keys to that door.

In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John asked that her two sons be permitted to sit at the right and left of Jesus when he became a King. Jesus replied that was not his honor to give.

I guess that if you can’t be honored by sitting on the right or left side of Jesus in his Kingdom… it might be very honorable to be on his right or his left when he was crucified.

One thief is in Heaven right now wearing that honor. The other thief is in Hell lamenting his foolish mistake of blaspheming God as he hung on a cross. Be careful not to scoff, mock or rail (by speech or by action) at Jesus. It could be a fatal mistake.