Author Archives: tombeaman

First and Last

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Our first exposure to line dancing was humiliating.  My wife and I had turned our most exuberant country swing moves loose at the local roadhouse, when we noticed that all the other dancers were in formation and were laying out beautiful, complex steps – in unison!  Wanting to learn and take part, we joined the back of the group, where we could watch and try to imitate what they were doing.  We were back there, lurching about and trying our best, when they all turned around, putting us in the front.  We watched the rest of that dance from the safety of our table.  I was reminded of that embarrassing moment as I read these words of Jesus:

“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. “ (Matthew 19:30)

Jesus wasn’t talking about line dancing but the “renewal of all things” after the end of this age (verses 28-30).  Throughout the Old and New Testament, God makes clear that there will be a time when He will establish a new and perfect world in which everything will work according to His perfect design (eg: Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13).  Perfect peace, perfect harmony, perfect love, perfect life.  Perfect intimacy between God and His people.  Jesus said, when that  time comes, “many who are first will be last” and vice versa.  But what did He mean?

It’s important to notice that this comment (which He repeated in other settings) immediately follows His observation of how hard it would be for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23-24).  Not because it is a sin to be rich, but because it very hard for the rich to not trust money and trust Jesus instead (verse 21-22).  In that culture, people commonly assumed that those who were well off were rich because they were held in special favor by God.  Jesus said, “Not so.”  In our day, deceptive preachers, who call themselves Christian, say something similar: “God wants you to be rich.  If you do what I say I’ll make you wealthy.”  The preachers of such heresy invariably wind up rich, but they do so by deceiving gullible people who think success in life is measured by money.  Jesus said, “Not so.”  Many of those who are “first” in this world, will be the “last” to make it into the next one.

However, I believe Jesus’ words held meaning far beyond how big your bank account is.  I think He meant this: When God renews all things, restoring them to perfection, we will probably be dumbfounded to discover who He includes and who has been left out.  Many who seem to be at the head of God’s VIP line may not even make the cut.  Many who seem insignificant and unworthy to our worldly eyes may be welcomed into His Kingdom with open arms.  The “first” in our eyes may well be “last.”

So, where are you – first or last?  Don’t answer that question in terms of how rich or famous or religious or beautiful or successful people think you are.  Measure it by how much you trust Jesus.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Attaining the Impossible

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Babies tell lies.   By the age of only 6 months, they have learned to pretend to be hurt, cry, and then look around to see if anyone is paying attention.  How about you: Do you lie?  Have you ever?  According to a communication study done in 2010, the average human tells 1.65 lies a day (that is if the subjects were telling the truth).  If you say you have never lied, that’s just the most recent one.  Lying is breaking the Ten Commandments.

Jesus was confronted by a wealthy young man, wondering what he needed to do to get eternal life (See: Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough).  Jesus told him to obey the commandments.

““Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”” (Matthew 19:18-20)

Notice that the man was lying when he claimed to not lie.  His idea of keeping that commandment was, “I usually don’t lie – at least not very much… unless it is really necessary.”  But “keeping” the commandments means always.  The standard for attaining “eternal life” is absolute perfection!  We see this in Jesus’ response:

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  (Matthew 19:21)

If you want eternal life, if you want to earn a place in Heaven, you must be perfect.  Startling, but logical because, if God let’s imperfect people into Heaven – even somebody with smelly feet – it won’t be Heaven any longer.  Nobody qualifies for Heaven because nobody has been perfect.

But there is a way:  Jesus told the man, if he wanted to be perfect, to sell his possessions, give to the poor and follow Him.  That is not a universal formula, since many of those who follow Jesus are already poor.  Jesus was not requiring a life of poverty.  But that young man was convinced that his money was his life, his security, his happiness.

“When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Matthew 19:22)

He was unable to trust and follow Jesus, because, his money was more important.  Trusting Jesus doesn’t require giving everything up, it means letting go of everything.  Trusting Jesus means that nothing else is more important to us than Him, that nothing else has a greater hold on us than He does.  That is why Jesus then told His disciples that this kind of trust is very tough for those who are rich (verses 23-24).

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” (Matthew 19:25-26)

It is impossible for man to attain perfection and qualify for Heaven.  But God has made it possible for us through Jesus.  We are “credited with perfection” (righteousness) when we let go of all our other “security blankets” for life, trust Jesus and follow Him.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

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I think I know this guy.  For that matter, so do you.

” Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”” (Matthew 19:16)

We know him because he is our spokesman.  He asked the question we have all asked: “Have I been good enough to go to Heaven?”  “Do I measure up?  If not, tell me what good thing to do so I can take care of it.”

Interesting.  We find out later (verse 22) that this guy is loaded.  Great wealth.  Presumably, if he wants something – anything – he only has to get out his wallet and he can have it.  He’s traded up for a three car garage. He’s sampled wine and brie in Paris.  Got the newest phone.  Or maybe he’s famous, stands in the wings and listens to the sellout crowd chant his name. He’s the guy we secretly wish we were.

But somehow, he realizes that it isn’t quite enough.  He’s not “in” yet.  There’s something missing. He senses that he hasn’t quite done enough good.  Other people look upon him as a good person.  Maybe they even named the hospital wing for him.  But he knows himself too well.  Old regrets steal his sleep.  But no matter: just tell me what good thing to do. I’ll get out my wallet and get it done.

Jesus zeroes in on the word, good.

““Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. ”” (Matthew 19:17a)

The only “One” Who is good, is God.  Anything short of God’s goodness isn’t “good.”  Almost good, pretty good, good enough, as good as it gets – none of that is perfectly “good.”  If you had a strawberry shake, made just the right way at the old fashioned soda shoppe, and then I put a tiny drop of spit into it, it wouldn’t be “good” any more.  You don’t measure good by comparing yourself to other imperfect humans.  You measure good by God’s standard.  Anything less isn’t “good.”

Jesus says,

“If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17b)

If you want to be good enough, do what God has said to do.  Perfectly, like the only One Who is good.  Like the only One Whose goodness qualifies Him for eternal life.  But the guy doesn’t get it.  He doesn’t think that way.  Which becomes obvious, with his next question:

““Which ones?” the man inquired.” (Matthew 19:18a)

How much is good enough?  We will come back to this.  But for now, let’s go stand next to the guy and puzzle over the way Jesus used the word, “good.”

I know this guy, don’t you?

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Attitude of Gratitude

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Thank you for reading this.  Really, I am grateful.  I know, I know, most people will glance at the first  two words and keep skimming down through Facebook.  But not you; you are still reading.  Thanks.  I’ve been amazed (and also grateful) about how many different countries are represented among the people who read this.  Not all of you observe Thanksgiving, a time for reflecting on why we are thankful.  But when I’m thinking about that, one of the reasons I am thankful is you.

It’s curious to me how seldom we read in the Gospels about people thanking Jesus for healing them.  Of ten lepers He healed one time, only one returned to say thanks.  Another woman wept at His feet, expressing her thankfulness.  But of the 20 occurrences of the word, “thanks,” in the Gospels, almost all of them are of Jesus giving thanks to The Father.  Sometimes before the simplest of meals. Consider this:

“Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.” (John 6:23)

It must have been that Jesus’ thankfulness was so moving, that John couldn’t speak of the meal without also including that last phrase.  Perhaps, if we could see as clearly as Jesus, our thanks would be expressed in a much more frequent and heartfelt manner.

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Divorce: Yeah, But…

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Nobody goes through divorce without getting hurt.  If you have been hurt that way, it is understandable if you feel judged by Jesus’ blunt teaching about divorce (See: Handle with Care).  If you want to argue with Him, if you want to say, “Yeah, but…” you are not alone.

““Why then,” they [the Pharisees] asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”” (Matthew 19:7-9)

Moses didn’t command people to divorce, but permitted it as an accommodation to their hardheartedness.  And, once again, Jesus points us back to the original design of God for marriage: a lifelong oneness between a man and woman, formed by God, and protected by a mutual covenant of faithfulness.

Right after “You shall not murder,” the seventh commandment is “You shall not commit adultery.”  Although we tend to equate adultery with a sexual act, adultery, at its root, is any act that violates the marriage covenant of faithfulness.  Adultery goes against this solemn command:

“…Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”” (Matthew 19:6b)

Divorce is an act of adultery, Jesus taught, because it breaks the covenant of faithfulness, that is, unless it has already been broken.  Jesus wasn’t being judgmental.  He was teaching an important truth to help people stop hurting themselves.  He showed the same attitude when He spoke to the woman who had been caught in adultery:

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”” (John 8:10-11)

Think of marriage as a fertilized egg.  The shell is part of the egg, the part that protects the living and growing part and holds it together.  If you break the shell, you destroy the egg and it stops growing.  The mutual covenant of faithfulness pertains to much more than sexual behavior.  And faithfulness, like the shell of the egg, protects the living and growing part of a marriage.  If you break faithfulness, you damage and likely destroy the marriage.  Divorce certainly breaks it.

In effect, Jesus said, “Don’t do that to yourself; don’t break faithfulness with your spouse.”  I am convinced Jesus understands why people choose divorce.  He certainly knows the pain of betrayal.  But He does not back away from advocating the importance of living by God’s original design in marriage.  He knows it’s better.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Handle with Care

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Is it okay with God if you get divorced?  That question has literally been asked for thousands of years.  But it is the wrong question.  To see why, look at how Jesus answered it:

“Some Pharisees came to him to test him [Jesus]. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”” (Matthew 19:3-6 with my added emphasis and note)

When Jesus was asked about divorce, His response began with the origin, design and formation of marriage.  At the beginning of creation, marriage was designed by God as a union between a man and a woman.  God forms the two together, mixing them to become one.  Kind of like how epoxy is mixed together from two separate and different parts.

If you have epoxied two things together, is it okay with the guy who invented epoxy if you try to take them back apart?  Wrong question.  If you asked him, he would say, “You can’t take them apart because they are now one.  You can break them apart, but  I wouldn’t recommend it, because you will damage them.”

The question with divorce is not, “Will God get mad?” but, “Are we going to hurt ourselves (and a whole bunch of others)?”  God gave us marriage to bless us.  He has told us that this “oneness” is a precious thing that He has done.  He warned us not to break it.  Why?  Not because He will get mad, but because we will hurt ourselves.  Divorce is contrary to God’s design.

In this day and age, the chances are pretty good that you are already divorced.  Can the damage be healed?  Of course, but only partially, as you already know.  Is God mad at you?  To the contrary, He loves you and aches for you.  He longs for us to live with joy, according to His design.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Unlimited Forgiveness

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“I’m sorry, Man, I did it again.  I thought it would be different this time, but…   I don’t know why I keep doing this…   All I can say is, I’ll try to not do it any more.”    Ever hear that from someone?   That first time was bad.  You got angry but you forgave him and got past it.  But then he did “it” again!   There was a bit more shouting and screaming that time.  But lets say you forgave him again:  What if he does “it” again?  What then?

” Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”  (Matthew 18:21)

Peter knew Jesus was into forgiveness and figured He would praise his generosity and patience.  Seven times!!!  Can you imagine being that forgiving?  But Jesus responded, “Not even close…”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22)

In effect, Jesus said, “Don’t put any limits on your forgiveness.”  Why?  Wouldn’t you think after 3 times it would be reasonable to reach your limit?  Jesus told a parable to explain His reasoning:

““Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents [Modern equivalent = $6 Billion] was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii [Modern equivalent = $12,000]. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” ” (Matthew 18:23-35)

Here’s the point:  When we surrender to Jesus, God (the King) cancels our unpayable debt.  He doesn’t simply erase it, but arranges for His Son, Jesus, to pay it for us.  When others need our forgiveness, there is no way we can refuse if we are truly mindful of how much we have been personally forgiven.  God’s forgiveness comes with a change of heart, so that our heart actions resemble His.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Post Election Prayer

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Here’s my fantasy: A skilled mediator meets in private with two government leaders from opposing sides of the aisle, coaching each of them to listen attentively to the other until they each could articulate the other‘s position to his (or her) satisfaction.  Each of them would keep trying until his adversary would smile involuntarily, and say, “Yeah, that’s right; you completely understand.”  Then, and only then, they could look for any area of common understanding, Hopefully, they could proceed from there, working together to govern in a harmonious way.  Wouldn’t that be nice?

Much of that scenario comes from principles Jesus taught His followers about settling disputes:

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

Notice these important principles:

  • Reconciliation works best when the parties meet in private.
  • If you are feeling wounded, take personal responsibility to initiate reconciliation.
  • Listening is the key to understanding.
  • If you cannot agree, still keep it small and private, but bring in a couple of neutral witnesses because it is possible that you are wrong.

The last part of Jesus’ teaching pertains especially to followers of Jesus in a church setting.  Local churches are supposed to operate as a bodies.  If a part of your body has caused hurt to the rest of your body, the rest of your body acts in a united way to take care of it, to bring the offending part back into line.  For example, perhaps you have heartburn: your whole body gets up and goes to get an antacid. You chew it and swallow it, working to restore peace.  When such a thing happens in a church and is not resolved easily in private, it is necessary to see if, working together, the whole church body can restore harmony.

If not, Jesus says, “…treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (the worst example of a social outcast).  How does Jesus teach us to treat pagans and outcasts?  He commands us to love them and tell them about the good news!  To reach out to them and invite them into the fellowship of Jesus’  followers in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I know, I know: ain’t no way Congress is going to resemble the Kingdom of Heaven.  But my prayer is for the believing Senators and Representatives to obey Jesus and start acting as though it could.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

What Will You Do?

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It’s supposed to be easy to install the new operating system on my Android phone.  But when I read the instructions, I froze up, because I couldn’t understand all the special terms and acronyms.  Even knowing that OTA means “over the air” made no difference.  I felt stupid and backed away.

Too often, Christians say things like “accept Jesus by faith,” a quote from my last post, forgetting that those words might sound like secret code-talk.  People don’t understand, feel stupid and back away.  Worse, many have a distorted idea of what those words mean and back away.  If I don’t install a new operating system on my phone it’s no big deal.  But failing to “install God’s new operating system” in your soul is tragic.  It’s a life or death thing.

So, what does it mean to “accept Jesus by faith?”

Your car breaks down in the middle of Montana, shudders to a stop and emits a brackish smell.  You get out and open the hood, looking down at the engine and trying to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.  You don’t realize it, but you only have a short time to fix it before a deadly storm blows in from the west.  You reach down and fiddle with the thingamawidget and tap on the fuse box.  Along comes a guy in a van, who stops to help.  After assessing your situation, he says,

“There is no way you are going to be able to fix that on your own.  But if you would like, I’ll be glad to take you with me into the next town.”

What do you do?  You might say, “That’s ok, I appreciate it, but I think I can get it…”  To which he replies,

“You don’t want to be out here much longer; there’s a really bad storm coming.”

You have two choices: you can continue to take care of your problem by yourself, or you can “accept his offer by faith.”  If you trust him, and truly believe he can save you from the coming storm, that he really has your best interest in mind, then you abandon your own efforts to get yourself going and surrender to whatever it is that he will do.  You climb in, and let him take over.

“Accepting Jesus by faith” is the same kind of decision.  There is something desperately broken with human life as we know it.  Most of us try one thing and another to fix it, or at least to make the best of it.  Jesus comes along and says,

“You will never get that fixed on your own.  But if you will trust Me, I’ll take you with Me and take you to the only One Who can fix what is broken.  You don’t want to stay out here, though, because before long it will be too late.”

What do you do?  If you accept His offer, you trust Him, so to speak.  Jesus then brings you to The Father (John 14:6), Who forgives you completely (Romans 8:1), receives you in a loving and sustaining way (John 1:12), and gives you His Holy Spirit to fill your soul (Acts 2:38; John 14:16).  This Spirit is life, a kind of life we cannot imagine without experiencing it, and it lasts eternally  (John 7:37-38).  It truly is a new operating system.

What will you do?

You are Precious

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The pushing and shoving has already begun.  Now that the nastiness of the political campaign process is over, the winners are now jockeying and maneuvering to be the greatest in the new government, to have the most power and prestige possible.  That’s the way we do it here on earth.

But not in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus said the greatest in His Kingdom would be those with the simplest, humblest faith.  He said that each believer in His Kingdom would be personally loved and treasured by God, so much so that He would take it personally when anyone caused harm to any of them.  He spoke in the strongest terms about how horrible it would be if we hurt ourselves by getting stuck in sin.  In other words, Each of us who join His Kingdom by faith is precious.  Our importance and significance is measured by this:  we are important and loved by Him.

Therefore,

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18:10-14)

When you accept Jesus by faith, you are more than accepted by God.  He receives you into His family.  You are precious to Him, so much so, He will pursue you if you wander away.  God is not willing that _____________________ (put your name in the space) ever be lost!

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.