Tag Archives: Bible

A Closer Walk

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It was the religious people who gave Jesus fits.  Jesus showed great compassion to those who were stuck in sin.  Jesus loved the unlovable, not by overlooking their bad stuff but by showing them the path to forgiveness, restoration and freedom.  But the religious people, the self-righteous, legalistic, judgmental people?  Jesus blasted them with harsh criticism.  Because He loved them, too, and they were traveling a far more dangerous road.  When you are in trouble, it is far more dangerous if you either don’t realize it, or pretend that you are not.

After being challenged one day because His disciples were not strictly following the religious ritual of hand washing before eating, Jesus turned on His accusers.  He pointed out how they used religious tradition to thwart the real purposes of God.  (See Matthew 15:1-20).  He said:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”” (Matthew 15:7-9)

When people try to make themselves righteous, they do so by following religious rules.  The problem with that approach is that, inevitably, they begin to keep score, becoming proud and looking down on others.  When people try to make themselves righteous, they become self-righteous.

Much of the time, religious rules are designed and followed to make a person look good to others.  Instead of expressing genuine love for God, rule-followers say, “Look at me, people; I’m religious, I’m better than you…”  Sometimes when people say things in a way that sounds religious, they do it for the same motive.  But God says, when people “honor Me with their lips, but not their hearts” they are “far from Me.”   Their worship does not cause them to draw close.  No matter how religious it sounds, their worship has no real effect.  It is “in vain,”  which means it is empty.

God’s Word is given to us with the purpose of drawing us into a living and loving relationship with Him.  You don’t form that kind of relationship with anyone by following rules and keeping score.  That, in a nutshell, is the problem with most religion.  It’s why religion doesn’t work.

But relationship does.  You want to draw close to God?  Stop being religious, and get close to Jesus.

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

 

Imposs-ability

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What the heck just happened?  Or, what was that all about?  When you read about Jesus, you may find yourself scratching your head, asking that kind of question.  Good!  If you want to get the most out of Jesus, you have to ask.  Because Jesus frequently used object lessons, where there was more to be learned in what just happened than there was in what He said.  Here’s a good example:

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if (since) it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (Matthew 14:25-32 – I’ve changed “if” to “since” in v. 28 for clarity)

What was that all about?  What just happened?  One obvious lesson is this: When  Jesus asks the impossible, keep your focus on Jesus, not on all the scary things that hinder you.  Jesus let Peter learn that truth through what happened to him.  Jesus underlined the principle with what He said to Peter:

…“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”” (Matthew 14:31b)

That important principle, is repeated in the Book of Hebrews:

” Therefore, …, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  [How can we do that?] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, ….” (Hebrews 12:1-2 – excerpts plus my question in brackets)

Jesus frequently asks or motivates us to do things considered impossible in the world.  Impossible things like forgiving.  There are times that forgiveness seems as impossible as walking on water.  But, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, and not on all the hurt, when you allow faith to push aside doubt, you can walk across that impossible “water,” you can walk toward Jesus.

That’s just one example.  When Jesus asks the impossible, do what Peter did.  Call out to Jesus and say, “Lord, since it is You, tell me to do the right thing, the thing that looks so impossible.”  Then trust.  Likely, you will be amazed, as were His disciples on that windy night:

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”” (Matthew 14:32-33)

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

Why and How

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Do you want to know how Jesus walked on water?  You’ve probably heard people telling jokes about walking on water (I think my wife walked on water once when she saw a snake) but how did Jesus do it?  What Jesus told His disciples gives us a clue.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:26-27)

You may want to review how Jesus set this experience up (See: Jesus Throws a Combination).  Point is, they were really terrified.  When you first experience terror, it’s like suddenly falling.  Most people scream and their arms fly out involuntarily.  Some faint.  Like that time your brother pranked you with a fake spider that dropped on your head?  Like that.  Jesus set that up.  He deliberately terrified them.

And then, He told them three things, important things.  Things He wanted them to really know.  Us too.  Two of those things were commands:

  • Take courage!
  • Don’t be afraid

Essentially, “Stop freaking out and get a grip.  Allow your heart to be filled with understanding and confidence.”  And then, “Don’t become afraid in the future.”

But it’s what Jesus said in between those two commands that is the key to why they make sense.  (It’s also the key to how He walked on water.)  It’s not clear in the English translations, but Jesus pronounced the Holy Name of God, applying it to Himself.  He said, “I Am!”  Which meant, “I am God!”  In our culture, where people use the names for God in a casual and disrespectful way, it’s hard to understand what a big deal this would have been.  But know this: when Jesus said those words in public (John 8:58-59), the people picked up rocks and tried to kill Him.

Jesus could have gone with the disciples in the boat.  But He sent them off by themselves, into a developing storm and came to them, walking on the water.  He intentionally blew their minds, shaking them loose from everything they thought they understood.  Then, with them in that vulnerable condition, He explained, “You can take courage and confidence; you can put away fear.”  Why? “Because I, Jesus, am God. With Me, all things are possible.”  That is why Jesus walked on water, so they would know that in their bones.

So then, how did He walk on water?   Same answer.  He is God; He did it any way He wanted to.  Sorry about that…   But the important thing is to know why He did it, to fully understand it and believe that He is God, take courage and put away all fear.

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

Blinded by What You Think You Know

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If you put an old man in a short-skirted cheerleader outfit, most people driving by will think they saw a young woman.  Researchers have proved that we tend to see what we expect to see.  Our expectations limit what we experience.  That’s the reason so many of Jesus’ neighbors from His hometown didn’t “see” Him!

” When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. “ (Matthew 13:53-58)

The people that knew Jesus as a little kid, mostly couldn’t “see” Who He was!  Why not?  They were limited by their expectations.  They were blinded by what they thought they knew about Him.

People have that same problem today.  When people think they know everything there is to know, they rarely learn anything new.  That is true for most hard core atheists and it is also true for most dogmatic theologians.  If Jesus hasn’t surprised you and confounded you, perhaps you haven’t really “seen” Him.  Put down your preconceived ideas of what is possible, and let Jesus show you Who He is!

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

Still Growing

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When I first heard the rumor, I was skeptical.  But recent research has backed it up: Facebook is about to decline.  It was a pretty impressive run – more like an explosive flash in the pan.  But Facebook is about to follow CB radios, Hula Hoops and Bell Bottoms off into the pastures of relative obscurity.  Seems like nothing but nothing keeps on growing; every trend has its few years of popularity and then it wanes.

Everything, that is, except for the impact on the world of a homeless, itinerant teacher from the lesser regions of a conquered country the size of New Hampshire, Who was tortured to death 2000 years ago.  His followers, who originally numbered only 11, have added to their number.

Before He was crucified, Jesus made a preposterous prediction about how His “Kingdom” would grow:

” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”” (Matthew 13:31-32)

At last count (2010), people who called themselves Christians accounted for roughly 1/3 of the world population.  That number is still growing…

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

It’s Up to You

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Jesus wasn’t being fair. At least He sounded unfair, when He told his disciples why He spoke in parables, instead of laying out His truths in a straightforward way.

“He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:11-15, NIV)[1]

Sounds unfair, doesn’t it:  “Whoever has will be given more, etc.?”  Did Jesus arbitrarily try to confuse some people and keep them from His salvation?  The answer is revealed in the words Jesus quoted the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9ff).   There are some people who cannot “see and hear,” who will never understand God’s truths.  But that is because “They have closed their eyes!”  By that choice, “this people’s heart has become calloused…”   When people shut their eyes to God’s truth, when they turn away from God, their hearts do become hardened, and it becomes tougher – potentially impossible –  for them to understand anything about God.

You have seen a lesser example of this dynamic as most teenagers close their eyes and ears to what their parents try to teach them.  For a time, in the minds of those adolescents, the parents have become stupid  and ignorant.  The youth’s make a choice that hardens their hearts.  In most cases, the resulting separation and angst is temporary.  No harm, no foul.   But when people close their eyes to God, the effects are potentially much more serious and long-lasting.

When Jesus told a parable, it was like a bunker-buster of truth, designed to penetrate beyond the callouses on our hearts.  Once the seemingly harmless story has gotten past our defenses, the truth contained within it “goes off.”  But the impact of that truth separates the HAVES from the HAVE-NOT’S.  For those who HAVE a readiness to learn and receive, the truths contained in the parable produce “aha moments” of increased understanding.  Those who DO NOT HAVE that readiness don’t get it.

When those who HAVE, respond to what they understand, when they TURN, Jesus heals them.  He erases their separation from God by fully paying for their pardon on the cross.  He reconciles them with God and gives them eternal life – His Holy Spirit.  This Spirit is born in their souls and grows, producing a crop of fruit (of the Spirit) in the world. (See “Sow What” and “Seeds of Truth“)

In other words, the impact of Jesus’ parables in your life, depends upon you.  It’s up to you.  It depends on whether you HAVE a willingness to learn His truths, or whether you have closed your eyes and HAVE NOT.

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

Don’t Just Stand There

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One of the most mysterious things about the Bible is how it all fits together.  If it had been written by one guy, and he was a genius, it would be amazing to see how the early books fit neatly into the later ones.  But when you understand it was written by more than 35 different authors, from several different cultures and spanning 1500 years, the symmetry and unity of the Bible’s writing is mind-boggling.  For example:

” Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12:38-41)

Admittedly, the story of Jonah is a head-scratcher.  You might read it (I suggest you do…) and wonder, “What is this all about and why is a story like this in the Bible?” But then, several hundred years after Jonah was written, Jesus shows that Jonah unknowingly and prophetically acted out a preview of the crucifixion!  The more you prowl around and ponder the Word, the more you discover that the writings are deliberate and intentional.

Amazing!  So is the point of both of those accounts: When God tries to get your attention, respond!

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

Rest Assured

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The most intimate conversations with my wife tend to happen when we are out for a walk – away from the phone, the TV, the dishes, etc.  Something about the pace of walking together draws us closer.  Taking the time for that, periodically, breaks the gradual crescendo of stress and distraction of daily life and helps us re-connect.  God knew that principle and blessed us by commanding us to periodically observe a Sabbath rest.  Think of the Sabbath as God saying, “Hey, let’s go for a walk together…”

But then the religious authorities (an oxymoron?) layered the Sabbath with so many do’s and don’ts that their rules actually separated people from the heart of God.  The Sabbath became a burden instead of a rest and time of re-connection.  Naturally, Jesus’ approach to the Sabbath caused conflict, especially among those who tried to use religion as a way to control others.  Jesus said, “Come to Me and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  That, in a nutshell, is the idea of the Sabbath!   But an invitation like that was a threat to the makers and enforcers of strict religious rules.

 “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” (Matthew 12:9-14)

I wonder if they called their meeting on the Sabbath?   No doubt.  Do you need rest? Do you wish you could be close to God?  Stay away from people like that.  Go to Jesus.  Find your Sabbath rest in Him.   He said,

…“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6b)

Words of Warning

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“Convert or die!”  That is the message ISIS is giving to thousands of Christians in Iraq.  This is no idle threat; it has been followed up with crucifixions.   But this latest and most publicized example of hostility toward Christians is not new or unusual.  Jesus told us to expect it.  The first time Jesus sent out His disciples to tell people the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, He warned them:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.” (Matthew 10:16-17)

His warnings were not merely for that first assignment.  They pertained to the whole age until His Second Coming:

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted [not “if”] in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:21-23)

Jesus warned of opposition, cautioned His followers to be on their guard and ready to flee, but not to let up in spreading His message without fear.

“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” (Matthew 10:26-27)

The opposition to Jesus brought by ISIS is bold and direct.  The opposition in the United States is subtle and indirect.  There has been a groundswell of public pressure brought to bear in opposition to any Christian who might dare to “proclaim [His faith in Jesus] from the roofs.”  The First Amendment specifically prohibits congress from making a law restricting the “free expression” of our religion.  Nevertheless, bills have been recently introduced in response to the “Hobby Lobby decision” that would do just that.

Do not be surprised.  Jesus warned us to expect opposition, even violent opposition but to speak up anyway.  He said:

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:32-34)

Please take a moment and pray for those who are suffering and dying right now because they believe in Jesus and follow Him.  Thank you.

 

According to Plan

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Was Jesus racist?  it sounded like it when He first sent out His apostles.

“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6)

Why only tell Israel?  Didn’t the other nations deserve to hear the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven?  It was not that He cared about them more than the other nations.  To the contrary, Jesus’ ultimate goal was to give the invitation and opportunity to everyone on earth.  As He explained to His disciples, late in His ministry:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

So, why did Jesus send His disciples only to the people of Israel in the beginning?  it was how God’s plan was designed to work.  When you split wood, you can’t use a sledgehammer.  You must hit the wood with a sharp point and then gradually spread the force outward.  When you start a fire, you cannot pile all the wood on at once and try to light a log with your match.  You must start small, with carefully prepared kindling.

For 2000 years, through the times of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah and Daniel (to name but a few), God carefully prepared Israel to “get it” when Jesus would come.  Their history and cultural DNA gave them the context to understand His message, His sacrifice and His offer of redemption.  All these things had explained to Israel through their prophets and other sacred writings.  When Jesus struck His “match,” it needed to be applied to the kindling of the “lost sheep of Israel.”  For more about that strategy, see “Sourdough Theology.”

Expert professionals sometimes do things that seem illogical or counterproductive to us,  But then those things work and we think, “Hey, they really do know what they are doing.  In a similar way, I am awestruck by how God’s plan to rescue all peoples by choosing one people, revealed many hundreds of years in advance, was applied, unchanged, by Jesus,   After His resurrection, Jesus reiterated how the plan would work:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8)

Their small, local witness, would gradually expand outward, until all the world had heard the News.  That original plan continues to work, 2000 years later.

Perhaps God really does know what He is doing…