Tag Archives: Jesus

Finished

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The first line is heart-wrenching, but it is what comes next that really blows your mind.  You are familiar with Jesus’ cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  But hold His horrible crucifixion in mind and ponder these lines from the same psalm He was quoting – Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1)

“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”” (Psalm 22:7-8)

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:14-15)

“Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” (Psalm 22:16-18)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI wonder if, when Jesus cried out the first words of that ancient psalm He intended for us to think through the whole of it.  It seems likely when you see how specifically it foretells the agony of the cross.  Read through the whole of it and you will be more amazed.  But that possibility becomes more likely when you consider the astonishing and wonderful way that psalm concludes:

“You who fear the Lord, praise him!…For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” (Psalm 22:23a & 24)

“The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it.“ (Psalm 22:26-31)

“It is finished!!!”

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
“Father Forgive Them” – Original oil painting by Ann Maree Beaman (www.annmareebeaman.com)

Jesus’ Harshest Criticism

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Jesus knew His time was short and spent His final days delivering His most urgent teachings.  You might have thought He would level His cannons at the Romans, the pagan oppressors of God’s people.  But He ignored them.  Jesus also mostly ignored the crooks and swindlers in Jerusalem.  He didn’t pick on the wealthy or those who seemed lost in sin.  No. Jesus spent most of His final time on earth scolding religious people, especially the highest leaders.

He did not mince words.  He called them “blind guides”, “snakes” and “vipers,” “fools” and, more than any other name, the H-word: “hypocrites.“   Jesus’ most biting criticism was against religious people who tried to look holy on the outside while, on the inside, they were morally and spiritually decaying and dying.  He compared them to tombs, whitewashed on the outside but full of dead men’s bones.

But why, when the city of Jerusalem was overrun with violent soldiers and scoundrels, liars and low-life’s, did Jesus pick on people who had focused their whole lives on being religious?

One reason He gave is that the religious leaders were tying people up with all their do’s and don’ts, keeping people away from God with all the ritual and legalism, when God’s intent is to invite us into a loving, intimate relationship with Him.  He said:

““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15)

When religious leaders care more about their own authority and controlling people than they do about truly connecting people with God, they are working against God’s purposes.

Another criticism He leveled against them was that they were not living in step with God’s ways.  God does not want us to be prisoners of rules, but champions of grace and love.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23)

Compare those spankings to what Jesus was teaching His followers just before He died:

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:33-34)

Each of us makes a choice about Jesus, deciding whether He is One we will follow or not.  Too often, the only things we’ve heard about Jesus come from religious leaders who are trying to control us.  How about going straight to Jesus’ own words, before you decide?

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

 

The Mousetrap Question

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Jesus did something that scared the living daylights out of His critics.  Do you know how?  Was it with a startling miracle?  A demonstration of mighty power?  Neither.  He did it with a question!  Jesus asked a question that frightened them and shut them up for good.  Like all good mousetraps, Jesus’ question seemed safe and simple at first.

“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.” (Matthew 22:41-42)

This looked like an easy volleyball lob for a return spike.  These guys were experts on the Scripture.  They knew all the answers.  And this one was easy.   They all knew that the Christ would be the son, or the descendant, of David.  You can almost see the cynical and triumphant look on their faces as they easily answered Jesus’ question.

But then Jesus’ trap was sprung!

“He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. “ (Matthew 22:43-46 – my emphases)

Whap!!!   Question is, what was it about this seemingly innocuous exchange that was so frightening to them?  Maybe this:

  • These self-proclaimed experts in the Scripture suddenly saw that there is more going on in God’s Word than they understood.  They didn’t know all the answers.  The Scriptures were written from God’s vantage point, not the limited and comparatively ignorant vantage point of humans.  To be confronted with this is humbling and frightening.  Especially for “scholars.”
  • Jesus trusted the actual words written in the Bible.  He didn’t pick and choose, as they did, according to what seemed right.  He accepted the words as they were written, even when those words didn’t conform with human, common sense.
  • Jesus knew that when the Scriptures were written, the human authors were “speaking by the Spirit” of God.
  • Because they could not refute what He said, the Pharisees began to suspect that the One with whom they were speaking was:
    • The Lord
    • The Messiah or Christ
    • Qualified to sit at the right hand of God
    • Would ultimately dominate all His enemies

When the rug is pulled out from under the things we think we know, it can be very scary.  Even more so when you cannot explain away the new insights.  The smart thing to do, despite your fear, is to re-evaluate your assumptions, looking carefully and thoughtfully into the things that have frightened you.  Such as what it says in the Bible.  That’s not what Jesus’ critics did.  They decided to kill Him.

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

Peace

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What do you want most in this life?  Seriously: make a list and then prioritize it.  What’s on top?  Is “peace” on your list?  If you think about it, peace should be number one.  Not world peace, but personal peace, the kind of peace that comes when we are content and whole, inside and out.  Shalom, the Hebrew word for it, conveys thorough harmony, security and tranquility.  If you couldn’t attain anything else on your list, but truly had peace, it would be better than having them all without peace.

Right in the middle of Jesus’ biggest moment of public triumph, riding into Jerusalem to the deafening cheers of the crowds, He paused on the hill, overlooking the city.

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)

Jesus wept for those who, for a thousand personal reasons, could not see Him for Who He was, go to Him and find  peace.  A few days later, He looked into the eyes of His disciples, gathered at supper and said:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Those guys had seen “what would bring” them peace.  They knew the secret.  But what is the secret?  How can we find peace?  Jesus told them:

““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” “ (John 16:33)

In Jesus you may have peace.  As we surrender and come to Jesus we come to life in Jesus.   He said,

“Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.“ (John 14:19b-20)

And in Him is peace.  Jesus knew that some would get it.  He wept for the others.

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

Working for a Living

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When you die, what’s going to happen to you?  Most people answer, “I hope I go to Heaven.”  If asked why they would, most will say, “I’m a pretty good person; I’ve tried to be good all my life …  well, most of my life…  there was that one period there when things went a bit haywire, but really, for most of my life I’ve lived by a pretty good standard of right and wrong.”  But when Jesus was asked straight out what it would take, asked by a guy who had really worked hard to follow God’s laws, Jesus told him he wasn’t qualified, at least not yet. (Matthew 19:16-22)

In fact, Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a guy like that to get into Heaven.  The disciples were bewildered.  They were asking, “If that guy doesn’t make the cut, who can?”  Same question each of us asks.  Will I make it?  Have I done enough?

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” (Matthew 19:26)

Jesus freaked them out more by saying, many of the people you might think would be at the front of the line to get in to Heaven are going to find themselves at the back of the line.  He illustrated the point with a weird parable about a man with a large vineyard going down to “Labor Ready” to hire some guys to work.  He went early in the morning and then several more times during the day.  But at the end of the day, he paid everyone the same amount, even the ones who had only worked an hour.  And they got paid first.  He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like that.”

Huh?  That goes against everything we’ve learned about being rewarded for working hard.  The guy who had really been trying to do the right thing, who really wanted to know, “what do I have to do,” wasn’t fit to get in! And Jesus seemed to imply everyone who does make it receives the same reward no matter how much or little they have worked for it.  Does that leave you with any questions?

That whole section of Matthew (19:16 – 20:16) is connected.  Read through it and you will notice that Jesus invited the man to follow Him, something he was unwilling to do.  In the parable, every one of the workers got the same reward, not because they had worked the same amount but because they had each agreed to go with the landowner.  The landowner, Jesus said, gave each of them the same amount because he was “generous.”

Getting into Heaven is not about working for it, but rather agreeing to follow Jesus.  It’s about being welcomed in with Jesus by the generosity of The Father.  This runs counter to a deep conviction we have.  We think, “This doesn’t seem right; there has got to be some work involved.”

Quite right.  There was some work necessary.  Here is the next 3 verses in Matthew:

” 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 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”” (Matthew 20:17-19)

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

Urgent Prayer

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ISIS continues to slaughter, enslave or exile thousands of Christians.  Last night’s “60 Minutes” broadcast featured interviews with some Christians from Mosul, Iraq, who can trace their local churches back almost 2000 years.  Now, all signs of Christian faith there are being destroyed by ISIS thugs.  It is horrifying and heart-wrenching.

This morning, as I was reading Psalm 69, I began to pray its phrases back to the Lord on behalf of my brothers and sisters in that region.  David, who was no stranger to violent opposition, used the imagery of flood waters as a metaphor.  Here is a brief sample:

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me…” (Psalm 69:1-4a)

Would you please also pray?  I find it helpful to use psalms as prayers, especially when I am so stunned by events, as I am by these, that it is hard to find the words.  We are invited to join in the conflict through prayer.  The plight of the Middle Eastern Christians is severe but I am certain their suffering is being used by God.  He is not surprised and will not be defeated by evil.  Even in persecution and death, these faithful ones bear witness to God’s salvation and grace.

Pray for them as David prayed:

“May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the Lord Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.” (Psalm 69:6)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Here is the link for the 60 Minutes story  –   http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-christians-persecuted-by-isis-60-minutes/

When You’re Ready

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My wife and I got mugged in Savannah, not physically but verbally, by a guy holding a sign and yelling Bible verses at us.  He literally followed us down the street, trying to “save” us by forcing Scripture on us.  He probably thought he was earning brownie points from God.  I was annoyed.  More than that, I was frustrated, wondering how many people he had chased away from God’s grace that day.  If you get accosted by someone shoving God or the Bible down your throat, don’t fight back; run away.  Because God doesn’t work that way.

It’s not that God doesn’t care; He really does.  Jesus’ brother, James, wrote of how God intensely yearns for His Spirit to live in us, just as He intended.  (That is my rough and loose paraphrase of James 4:5)  God is passionate that we be restored to the fullness of spiritual life by having His Spirit alive in us.  He wanted that for us so much He paid a terrible price to accomplish it.

BUT HE DOES NOT FORCE HIMSELF ON US!  He waits for us to be ready.  James continued his thought with this:

“But He [God] gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 – my explanation in brackets)

“The proud” in that verse are those who think they have life figured out on their own and who have no use for God.  He waits.  Stuff happens.  Sometimes “the proud” become “the humble.”  In the words of Bob Dylan (Like a Rolling Stone)

You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin’ out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal

When “the proud” become “the humble,” when they are ready to receive Him, then God approaches.  With grace.  Not with loud, angry shouting.  He sent His Son to find you and rescue you.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)

Jesus invited people to come to Him and find rest, saying He was “gentle and humble in heart.”  (Matthew 11:28-30)

I remember seeing a video on Facebook about a guy who rescued an abandoned, starving dog.  The dog was aggressive, unwilling for anyone to approach but the guy just sat there and waited him out.  After a long time, when the dog was ready to receive it, the man gave him “more grace” – care, nourishment, healing and a new life.  There was no yelling involved, no signs, no scolding.  It was very much like my own experience with God, Who waited until I was not so full of myself.  Then, when I was ready to receive His grace, without holding anything against me, He gave me the life of His Son, Jesus.

He waits for you, too.

Quotes:  The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Like a Rolling Stone lyrics: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/rolling-stone#ixzz3UwbEdylf

Your Choice

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Perhaps you have noticed the plaster dust?  “Fresh Bread of Life” is being remodeled.  We have recently posted “The Inside Story,” an audiobook with 67 audio messages about the Gospel of John.  You now have two choices for listening to this material:

  1. You can DOWNLOAD the whole book to listen at your convenience.
  2. You can listen to each message separately by STREAMING (no download necessary).

Click on the AUDIOBOOK button in the menu at the top of this page and the two options will drop down.

  • If you select DOWNLOAD, you will be directed to a page on which you will choose which format to use – Windows or iOS.
  • Because the download is so large (350 Meg) you may prefer to choose STREAMING. When you click on STREAMING you will then see links to each chapter of John.  Each of these have a few audio links arranged by the verses in that chapter.

For example, suppose you wanted to listen to a message about John 3:16.  First click on “AUDIOBOOK” at the top of the page and then on STREAMING from the drop-down menu.  Click again on John 3:1-36.  Menu Drop Down On that page, the second message, “What’s it Worth?” is about the passage beginning with John 3:16.  You start the audio by pushing on the arrow on the sound bar.

Menu Drop Down 2

Give it a try.  All the messages are not posted yet, but will be soon.  If you have problems or questions, please be sure to let us know…

Be a Real Tomato

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Ever picked a tomato out of your garden and chomped down on it right away, letting the juice run down your chin?  Remember the incredible explosion of taste?  I challenge you to repeat that experience with any tomato you find at the store.  The primary motive of those who grew tomatoes for the store was making money not developing taste.  In the eyes of business, it takes too long to let a tomato grow naturally.  It’s too expensive to grow tomatoes for deep rich taste.  They work for tomatoes that look good, don’t bruise and survive lengthy warehousing and shipping.   That’s why store-bought tomatoes aren’t tasty.

There’s an illustration there about the difference between living by the ways of the world and living by the ways of God.  The world’s ways are all about making money and having stuff.  The world is more concerned with looks than it is with taste.  God intends for us to live and grow in His garden, receiving His provision on His schedule – all the things Jesus meant by “daily bread.”  The ways of God may seem inefficient to the world, but God’s ways develop “tasty” people.  When we grow and develop in harmony with God’s ways, life is better – it just is.  If you understand that, this quote from James doesn’t seem as harsh as it otherwise would:

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

At first glance, that sounds like the angry utterance of someone who thinks it is sinful to enjoy life!  But what James is really saying is, “Be a real tomato!”  Live and grow in God’s garden in step with His ways and in harmony with His rhythms.  Receive your daily bread with gratitude and joy.  If you go chasing after beauty, riches and fame you just may achieve those things.  But you’ll miss out on the tastiest life.  Instead, look to your Father with humility and thankfulness.  Be a real tomato.

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

 

Real Wisdom

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See if  you can identify who said this:

“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”

That’s a quote from Albert Einstein.  Arguably one of the most intelligent scientists to have ever lived, Einstein was humbled by his awareness of a vastly superior “Spirit.”  It’s been said that those who know the most are humble because they realize just how much they don’t know.  People who know less, frequently become cocky with the idea that they’ve got it all figured out.  Real wisdom comes packed in a life that is free of arrogance.

” Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13)

Bible Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Einstein Quote: http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/einstein/