Category Archives: The Good News of Jesus

Words of a Stranger

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Perhaps he was known by most as “that crazy old geezer.”  But he was not crazy; he was eccentric – dialed in to a different station.  Luke says “The Holy Spirit was upon him.”  Wow…   Think of the turmoil in Israel during that time, as everyone had to register in his family home town.  Roman soldiers were stomping around, belligerently exercising their positions of privilege and power.  It was not a time to be expecting anything hopeful.  Most people were focused on simply getting through the day without running afoul of the guys with the whips and crosses.

But not this guy.

“It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26)

Knowing that the Messiah was about to show up, he spent his final days hanging out up at the temple.  Watching.  Waiting.  And, somehow (Holy Spirit again, no doubt), when Mary and Joseph brought their 8 day old Son to be consecrated, the “crazy old geezer” knew Who it was.  How many people were thronging through the temple that day?  How many babies were being carried through that massive courtyard?  What can you see of a baby who is wrapped up in “swaddling clothes?”  But Simeon was watching, waiting and he knew Who the baby was.

“Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”” (Luke 2:28-32)

Again, Wow!   Imagine what was going on in Joseph and Mary’s hearts at that moment.  How amazed and exhilarated…    But Simeon was dialed in to a different station and he was not done.  After praising God for this Good News, he chilled their bones with this:

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”” (Luke 2:34-35)

I wonder who it was Mary told about this astonishing and yet horrifying encounter.  I can’t imagine how she felt that day.  Or, how she felt, calling those words to mind when they had been violently fulfilled.

Oh, wow…

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

Scary Christmas

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His scream was blood-curdling.  But there was nothing I could do.  It was the middle of the night, the house was dark, and just as I approached the bathroom door, my little brother came out and saw me standing there.  He woke the whole family.  You should have seen what Dad looked like when came flying out of his bedroom…   I got thinking about that night as I read these familiar lines:

” And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11)

Understandably, before the angel said anything about good news or about the Christ child being born, He said “Don’t be afraid!”  Don’t freak out, I’m not going to hurt you.  He probably was trying to stop all the screaming.  Can you imagine how the shepherds felt, out there in the field, minding their own business in the middle of the night, when suddenly they get lit up with a search light from above?  “Don’t be afraid!”

I’ve never seen “Don’t be Afraid!” on a Christmas card but maybe we should start adding that phrase to our Christmas greetings.  “Don’t be afraid – Merry Christmas!”  What do you think?  I sense a lot of fear out there concerning the Christmas message.  People seem to want to make Christmas go away.  Perhaps it frightens them?  It used to frighten me, back when I was a confirmed doubter.  I didn’t want to be a sucker and buy into any false legends.  I was afraid to believe – kind of like a little kid on the end of a diving board for the first time.

I know better now.  Come on in, He won’t hurt you!  Don’t be afraid!  Merry Christmas!

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

Just Wonderful

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Blow-up snowmen on the front yard look really festive at night, but the next day you drive by and, deflated, they look like a heap of old construction plastic, blown onto the lawn.  Doesn’t have quite the same effect.  The word, “awesome,” has become deflated by overuse and now lies, lifeless and ineffective.  Mostly, things called “awesome” don’t begin to fill us with awe.  Likewise, the word, “wonderful.”  Originally, that word meant something that would fill our hearts and minds with gaping wonder!  Something “wonderful” would take your breath away and cause your knees to fail.   When an infant opens her eyes for the first time, when she begins to try to imagine where she is and what is happening, she is seeing something “wonderful.”

Hang on to that full meaning of “wonderful” and read this portion of the Christmas prophecy of Isaiah:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful …” (Isaiah 9:6a)

Lots of people laid eyes on Jesus, but not all of them had the “eyes to see” Him.  His disciple, Thomas, didn’t “see” Him fully until after the resurrection when Jesus invited him to touch His wounds from the cross.  Something clicked for Thomas at that moment.  He saw that Jesus was “Wonderful.”

“Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”” (John 20:28)

Crossing over from looking at Jesus to truly “seeing Jesus,” knowing He is “Wonderful,”  is sort of like opening a valuable Christmas present.  For days you have seen it, wrapped, but you didn’t know what it was or even if you would like it.  Every now and again, you open a gift and discover that what’s inside is beyond anything you might have imagined.  When that happens with Jesus, you will call Him “Wonderful!”

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

The Costliest Gift

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Hammacher Schlemmer offers a slot car race track for $125,000!  I wonder who will be getting one of those for Christmas.  What is the most extravagant gift you have ever received?  How about the most extravagant gift you have ever given?  What did it cost?

Chances are pretty good that you have a Christmas card, sitting in the pile, that contains these words:

“For to us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6a)

The hope and joy expressed in those prophetic words make them a favorite for the makers of Christmas cards.  Isaiah knew Who was coming and wrote those words 700 years before they came to pass.  But the familiarity of those words might obscure the angst of the next phrase:

“…to us a son is given…”    (Isaiah 9:6b)

Brand new parents are fun to watch because they barely touch the ground.  They radiate joy and excitement and intense possibility.  But, as I remember well, a new father becomes instantly protective in a fierce way.  He is possessed by an instinctive and powerful readiness.   It’s like a one man Secret Service detail.  I cannot imagine what it would take to willingly give a newborn son.  The young mothers who give up their newborn babies for adoption, do so at unspeakable cost.  I honor them as heroes.  Perhaps they, more than any other, know how to read this phrase:

“…to us a son is given…”

The Father gave His only Son – gave Him to you and me – knowing from eternity past how that Gift would be eventually rejected and mistreated.  Amazing love…

“…to us a son is given…”   

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

Just the Name

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Iraq and Iran attacked the northern part of Israel, trying to conquer it.  Israel fought back, after making an alliance with a part of Syria.  To strengthen their forces they also asked Judah to fight with them.  Who?  Judah was a small part of the original nation of Israel, the only part left after the north seceded in a civil war.  They even lost the name, Israel, to the north.  Anyhow, when they won’t join the fight, they get attacked by their former brothers.

Sound like the future?  Nope, it was the past – roughly 2750 years ago.  The more things change…

Anyhow, the King of Judah decides to join forces with Iraq (then called Assyria) to protect himself from Israel and Syria (then called Aram).  He calls for his Secretary of What God Says to Do (wouldn’t it be great if we still had one of those?), a guy named Isaiah, who tells him, “God says don’t do it; He will keep you safe.”  The armies are marching, and the King is getting nervous.  And skeptical.

So Isaiah says, “God offers to prove it to you; ask Him for a sign – anything!”  The King thinks this has gotten weird; he is wasting time.  He’s got to strike a deal with Assyria before its too late.  So he says, “Thanks anyway…”

So, the Secretary of What God Says to Do says,

“...If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’ ”” (Isaiah 7:9b)

And then this:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

The king did not “stand firm in his faith” and missed the sign. Eventually both parts of Israel were wiped off the face of the map.  For a time.

But you don’t need to miss it.  You don’t need to know all the history, Just the name of the child.  You just need to know Who He was.  “Immanuel” means, God has come to live with us.

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

What to Look For

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If there is a puddle under a used car, don’t buy it.  Same thing with suspicious-looking paint jobs.  But how can you “kick the tires” on a church?  How can you tell if a church really represents Jesus in a true way?  You have heard horror stories about dysfunctional churches; how can you avoid the bad ones and find the good ones?  Here is one thing to look for:  How high and mighty is the pastor?  How closely does the pastor live by these words of Jesus?

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:25-28)

Jesus not only commanded His followers to adopt the heart of a servant toward one another, He demonstrated this attitude by His own act of sacrifice.

If you notice a pastor who expects to be treated with special privilege, who struts about with an air of superiority, you can be pretty sure that church is in bad shape.  It may look all nice and shiny, but there is something essentially wrong at its core.  Pastors who know Jesus and follow him will show it by their humbleness and readiness to serve.  The same is true for the rest of the congregation, but it is easier to notice by observing the pastor.

Sadly, this one test is one many, many churches would fail.  But, when you shop for used cars, most of those should be avoided, too.  Not every church is a place Jesus attends.  Don’t overlook this telltale sign.

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

Finding the Holy Grail

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Victor Borge used to hold out his wrist watch and say, “You like this watch?  My father gave it to me on his deathbed. (Then a perfectly timed pause…) Twenty five bucks!”  Hilarious, because who would try to weasel money from his son when he is just about to die?  Just as incomprehensible to us is the question James and John asked Jesus after He told them He was just about to die.  No, wait a minute… they didn’t ask Him, they got their Mother to do it!  Probably thought she could manipulate Jesus better…

” Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:20-21)

Are you kidding me?  Jesus had just told them He would be flogged and crucified and they are angling for the best seats?  It doesn’t make sense.  As Jesus points out, they really didn’t understand  what He had just told them.  They must have thought He was using symbolic terms when He said those things about being tortured and killed.  Jesus doesn’t criticize them for asking, but turns their insensitivity and ambition into an important lesson:

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”” (Matthew 20:22-23)

Jesus is going to be King, He is going to rule over a “Kingdom.”  But His path to that position for Him leads through the “cup” of suffering and sacrifice.  And absolute submission to the will of His Father.  Those who follow Jesus must understand that path and be prepared for that dynamic.  It’s not that all Christians will be crucified, or even all of the apostles (although most of them were tortured to death).  It is that following Jesus flips the idea of what it means to be influential.  

It’s not prestige and privilege, it’s humility and service.  That is the “cup,” the real Holy Grail of Jesus.  It is ironic how many stories have been written about how people, obsessed by greed, expended such effort to find the Holy Grail.  But the real “cup” of Jesus is right here to be taken up by anyone.  That is, anyone who first turns away from his own greed and ambition.

Chew on that…  More to come…

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

How Could Leaders be so Dumb?

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They should have known better; that’s the frightening thing.  They were leaders, trusted by the people to lead and guide, and yet, they ultimately did exactly the wrong thing!  Like trusted leaders so frequently do…  But God knew they would do it and incorporated their blindness and stupidity into His “Greatest Plan.”

” Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death …”” (Matthew 20:17-18)

The chief priests and scribes (Bible scholars) should have known about “The Son of Man.”  They had studied about the prophet, Daniel, and had memorized his vision:

““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

Daniel saw Someone like a human being (a son of man) Who also was an equal to God.  God gave Him “all authority, glory and sovereign power” and He is worshiped by all peoples.  The priests and scribes should have known “The Son of Man” was Jesus.  Why?  He used that title for Himself more than any other.  Moreover, He proved it to them!  After declaring to a paralytic that his sins were forgiven, and being accused of blasphemy (because only God can forgive sins), Jesus said:

“… “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home.” (Matthew 9:4b-7)

They should have known that Jesus was “the Son of Man,” the Savior sent by God.  The proof was tangible. They should have humbly begged Him to forgive their sins.  But instead, they, the religious leaders, condemned Him to death.   

Why were they so blind?  I believe they felt threatened by Jesus, felt their positions of importance and authority were in jeopardy.  Too often people in leadership positions care more about maintaining their position and privilege than they do about doing the right thing.  It’s a characteristic flaw in humans.

God knew that and used it.

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

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.