Category Archives: The Good News of Jesus

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.

Drastic Measures

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Aron Ralston cut his arm off.  Breaking the bones of his forearm and then cutting through the muscle with a dull knife made sense but only because, if he did not do so, he would die.  His arm was pinned under a rock, he was alone in the wilderness, and rapidly running out of time.  It was worth it.

Jesus was exaggerating when He said:

“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” (Matthew 18:8-9)

He was exaggerating about what to do, but not about the consequences.  It took five days for Aron to realize he had to take drastic action.  But if you understand what Jesus said, you don’t need five days; you know it now.

Jesus didn’t really mean to cut your hand off or pluck your eye out.  The fact is, those two organs do not cause sin; the brain does. If you pulled out one eye, your other eye would simply take up the slack.   Jesus wanted to startle us and convince us that it is worth it to do whatever it takes to pull ourselves away from habitual sin.  Drastic measures are appropriate.

It’s important to understand that these warnings were given to us because Jesus loves us.  He is passionate that we not hurt one another or destroy ourselves.  Jesus had been explaining how precious it is whenever anyone places receives Him with childlike faith (See: Hand in Hand).  He takes it personally when someone causes such a person to sin (See: It’s Personal).  And then He looked each of us in the eye, so to speak, and said, “Also, make sure you don’t hurt yourself, because you are precious to Me, too!  Do whatever it takes!  Trust Me on this: the consequences are horrific and final.”  Jesus was talking with the urgency and seriousness that you would use if you saw toddlers playing with hand grenades.

But, if cutting off body parts is not intended, then what kind of drastic measures?  A friend of mine signed up for a service that would notify a trusted friend if he looked at internet pornography.  I canceled the free premium cable channels that showed sleaze at night.  Another friend attends AA every week and meets regularly with his sponsor.  Some set themselves strict, modest limits in casinos.  Others don’t go anywhere near a casino.  Of course, sex, drinking and gambling are not the only areas that cause people to fall. Maybe you struggle with gossip, overeating, or lack of compassion.  No matter what it is that drags you down, do whatever it takes; it’s worth it.

To illustrate God’s personal love and concern, Jesus continued on with a parable about a lost sheep.  Stay tuned…

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

Hand in Hand

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You have seen him: He’s just caught the game-winning touchdown pass and now he stands in the end zone, his arms raised and his hands lifted up to receive the adulation of the crowd.  His face says, “That’s right, I’m the greatest!”  Picture him.  Now compare ???????????????????????????????him with this little boy, also with his arm extended, but this time with his hand holding tight to the hand of his father because the waves are so high.  (http://annmareebeaman.com/)

You’ve seen him, too, perhaps as he goes into the schoolyard for the first time, or approaches the lions’ cage at the circus, holding onto Dad’s hand.  Two boys with their arms held high: Who is the greatest?

” At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

In our world, we think that the greatest is the strongest, the most gifted, the richest, the coolest, the most famous, the most powerful, the guy with his arm raised up in the end zone.  Jesus said that guy doesn’t even make the cut for the Kingdom of Heaven – that is, unless he changes and becomes like a little child!  But like a little child in what respect?  In humbling himself.  

A child knows he needs help, that he can’t succeed on his own, so he reaches up and takes the hand of his father.  When it comes to entering the Kingdom of Heaven, becoming a child of God and attaining eternal life, we need to begin by realizing we cannot do this on our own. To do so on our own would require absolute perfection, from the moment of our birth until we die.  Impossible.  We need to reach up and take hold of the Hand of the Only One Who can accomplish it, Who can open the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we reach out for His hand, we change from the world’s “can-do,” arrogant attitude, and adopt the humility of a child – trust and dependence.  In that position of weakness and trust, we hold on to His strength and competence.

Like Elvis sang:

Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself
And you can look at others differently
Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee

(Put Your Hand in the Hand – by Gene MacLellan)
Bible quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

God Tax

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Should a church charge admission?  Why not?  It costs money to run the air conditioner and keep toilet paper in stock.  They have to pay the light bill and the custodian; why not charge people a small fee?  Rubs you the wrong way, doesn’t it?  But why?  In Old Testament times, God set up a fee system for the tabernacle expenses, that in Jesus’ day, was called “the temple tax.”

Here’s what Jesus said about it.  If you fully understand what is going on with this, then you are the first one…

“ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”  (Matthew 17:24-27)

When commentators write about this passage, their favorite word is “perhaps.”  No doubt there are some intriguing, puzzling aspects of this story.  The deal with the fish sounds like a David Blaine routine.  I don’t understand it fully, but here are a few “take-away’s.”

  • When we accept Jesus’ invitation into His Kingdom by faith, we become children of God – “sons” in His words.

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” (John 1:12)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! …” (1 John 3:1a)

  • The relationship we have with God  radically changes when we are received into His family.  He does not require a payment from us but, rather, provides for our needs as Our Father.  That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in Heaven…  Give us today our daily bread…”
  • As God’s children, to some extent we are exempt from many of the world’s rules and requirements.  Our citizenship is in Heaven.  Nevertheless, as we live on earth, it is right for us to peacefully submit to its taxes and rules, so as not to cause offense.  Jesus said that we are no longer “of the world” but that He sends us “into the world” to be “salt and light” in the world.  We are not obligated by the world’s rules, but submit to them voluntarily as a witness of our love for God.

Jesus frequently acted out His lessons to the disciples, and I think the coin in the fish’s mouth was an example of that.  I  don’t fully understand it, but like to “chew on it.”

 

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

 

Not Even Close

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When George (not his real name) said he’d seen Heaven, his son believed him.  So did I, because George was a no-nonsense, straight shooter (literally: he was a crack shot with a hunting rifle…).  George was more at home with farmers than he was with most of the people for whom he served as a pastor for many decades.  A couple of days before he died, God gave him a quick peek; He showed him a glimpse of Heaven.  When George tried to describe it to his son, he wound up gasping and weeping uncontrollably, and choking out, “It’s so beautiful!”  He eventually pulled himself together, but never was able to find words to adequately describe what he had seen.  But there was no doubt: this was no hallucination.  It wasn’t a dream.  George had taught people about Heaven all his life.  But now he had seen something beyond anything he had ever imagined.  His understanding of Heaven was not even close.

Jesus did that for a few of the disciples.

” After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” (Matthew 17:1-8)

When Jesus invites us to trust in Him, to believe in Him, it’s not like anyone else saying, “Trust me…”   Jesus is God, Who appeared to us on earth as a human, so we could see and touch and hear and understand.  But He is much more than a mere human.  He is fully human, but also fully God.  That sounds contradictory, but human words cannot convey Heavenly mysteries.  They describe them to some extent, but they are not even close.

It’s easy for people to underestimate Jesus, thinking that, because He came as a human, He is just like you and me.  People tend to imagine Jesus and think they fully understand Him, that they’ve “seen” all there is to see.

Not even close…

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

Close Encounter

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When it comes to alien space creatures landing on earth, Steven Spielberg does it the best.  Compared to the jittery, puppet-like, bubble-eyed “aliens” in the sci-fi films of my youth, lurching about in with ray guns and saying “Greetings, Earth people,” Spielberg knocks it out of the park.  Go YouTubing and check out the end of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”  The response of the clueless government officials and scientific experts (with their skinny black ties and pocket protectors) is hilarious.  In contrast, Richard Dreyfuss and the little kid are swept up in a rapturous sense of amazement and awe.  Spielberg makes us want to be there, and gives us the sense that we would “get it,” we would not be blinded by the computers and oscilloscopes.  We’d be like the little kid, gazing in wonder and awe but taking it in with openness and acceptance.

But Spielberg doesn’t know the half of it.  The scenes he has imagined will look stilted and silly compared to the glorious, mind-blowing return of Christ!

“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:27)

Try to imagine what “His Father’s glory” means.  “The Father” is the One Who created the blaze of a supernova, the brilliance of a desert sunset, and the sparkle in a drop of dew.  When His “glory” is revealed, it’s going to be astonishing.  Jesus gave a brief preview to a few of His disciples (see: Matthew 16:28 – 17:9) and it terrified them.  Talk about “close encounters…”

But as powerful as that will be, you don’t need to be terrified by what Jesus said next: “…and then He will reward each person according to what he has done.”  Jesus wasn’t saying He will get out the heavenly yardstick to see if you measure up, to see if you have done enough.  The words “what he has done” literally mean your “practice,” the essence and sum of your life as a whole.

But the idea of being judged by what we have done caused the people to ask Jesus,

“…“What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” (John 6:28b-29)

When Jesus returns in His Father’s glory and with angels, He will reward those whose life and practice were marked by a wholehearted belief in Him.  He will welcome them into His eternal kingdom.  And what will that be like?  Spielberg, himself, couldn’t imagine it.  But when that day comes, you will want to be there.  Some will miss it, blinded by their religious presuppositions.  But if you put your faith in Jesus, you will be one of those who “get it.”

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

Priceless

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How much would you pay for your soul?  How much would it be worth to you to know that your soul, the essence of who you are, would come into its full potential and live forever?  How much?  If something is rare, it costs more.  Someone bought a 1962 Ferrari for $35 million!  Presumably, it was pretty rare.  How much would the Ferrari guy pay for his soul?  Souls are priceless, so rare a value cannot be determined.  How rare is your soul?  It is one of a kind.  Jesus said:

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

Why is any payment necessary?  Don’t we already have our souls?  Yes, but our souls are dead – separated from the Spirit of God with which they were designed to be filled and brought to life.  This separation came about as a consequence of not trusting God and turning away from Him.  Adam and Eve initiated that “death” or separation.  We continue their pattern of rebellion in each of our lives.  If you don’t pay your phone bill and they shut off your connection, your phone dies.  You can pay the bill to restore your phone to “life.”  How much would you have to pay to restore the life of God’s Spirit to your soul?  The life of your soul is priceless.  Not even the Ferrari guy would have enough to pay to restore your soul.

“No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him—” (Psalm 49:7)

No one who has ever turned from God – ever – could pay for your soul.  The only one who could ever pay enough would be someone who led a perfect life and did not owe a payment for his own soul.

Consider these words of Jesus:

“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10b-11)

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