Tag: Jesus

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Valuing our next-gen.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke closes out the temptation of Jesus in chapter 3, writing, “When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came” (4‬:‭13‬). Satan later, visited again, returning in force through the chief priests and temple guards in the Gethsemane moments – “But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns” Luke 22:53.

Jesus returned to Galilee filled with Holy Spirit power! And word got out. But then he went home, his roots, where he was raised. There it was a completely different challenge. Jesus had risen to be recognized as a Rabbi, so he went to his local synagogue (https://bit.ly/nazarethsynagogue), and led the people in the reading from the scriptures. For Jesus, going home was critical, but risky. He wanted to let his family and friends know what was coming, but they could not get past the fact that he was a son of their own carpenter, Joseph. The neighbors could only remember Jesus as a youth. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”‭‬ ‭(4‬:‭22‬).

Mathew tells us that Jesus addressed this, Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matthew‬ 13‬:‭57‬-‭58‬). And in Mark “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people” (‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭6‬).

Interestingly enough, these same passages are quoted by young, next-gen leaders who perceive that Church folks that knew them as a child or as youth, are not capable of letting them grow up and mature into adults, very much gifted by God, to lead Jesus’ Church. They often have to leave to find “belief” in their abilities. Is it true that we can’t value or find honor in those that grow up among us? Does this not add a sense of “unbelief” when the church continues to treat its own up and coming adults as children? Do we not want them to stay and use their talents and gifts among us? Do we not think that God can use our own to teach us and lead us? The Apostle Paul had to tell young twenty-something Timothy not let anyone “despise or disregard” his youth (Timothy 4:12). Why? Because the church folk were seeing him as too young! Timothy ended up pastoring the church in Ephesus for 60 years! And becoming the Bishop over several churches in the region.

In my own life, just a couple of years after coming to faith at fifteen, I was already teaching Junior High and High School classes on Sundays and served as an interim youth pastor as well. I knew I was young and still had a lot to learn. My wife, Robin, ended up becoming the children’s pastor at 20 years old! At 22 years old, Robin and I accepted a ministry position in Bakersfield, CA. Except, Robin was the one hired to direct the preschool at the church, I just went along for the ride. I was the unpaid, unofficial youth pastor, and the official sprinkler-repairer and janitor for our small church. The former Pastor had an affair with the church secretary and had left. Our friend was asked to come in to pastor the small, now brokenhearted people. The previous pastor’s wife, now abandoned, still attended the church! We were only there for 18 months when we were offered a position at a larger church in the Los Angeles area.

All through our 20’s we were pastoring children (Robin) and youth (Glenn), it was called “Christian Education” back then. Robin and I both knew we were still young, even though we were parents of three children. We didn’t mind folks thinking of us as young. Even so, we were kept out of more serious conversations and decisions concerning our own church, because those were for the real adults, the elders. In my late 30’s I initiated and started an elder’s team, but some of the church folks felt I was too young to lead it because of course, the word “elder” to them, meant old! The Bible definition for elder has nothing to do with age. Maturity yes, age – no.

All through my late 30’s I wondered when I would get my chance at being a lead pastor, it wasn’t going to happen. I went on to become a Vice President of a nonprofit that focused on children of foster care. I was out of the leadership of a local church for 17 years. Then in my late 50’s I was elected to return to the church in Los Angeles as their lead pastor. I tell our church, I am their CSO, Chief Servant Officer. My heart’s desire is to both pastor those who are our super-seniors as well as our next-gen. My hope is to find, support and release our young leaders into the big decisions now, as well as for our future.

Prayer

​Dad,
Clearly your Church is filled with all ages, from infants to senior adults. For married couples, single parents, singles, and widows. And for every group, every generation, there is a need for called, gifted pastors to love and lead the gathering of believers. It is Your Church, whose Chief Shepherd is Jesus. Help us Oh God, to look for your guidance and wisdom and be obedient to Your will. All of us should be following the voice of the Holy Spirit! Amen.

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Parents doing things right.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

”Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus was the firstborn in more than one way – Paul said that Jesus is the “firstborn of all creation” in Colossians 1:15 . There is so much information out there about birth order. There are studies, stats, science and lots of controversy. I often wonder if it always comes back to the old B.F. Skinner theories – is it nature or nurture. Are we born with specific traits and characteristics? Or are these personality quirks brought about by our family of origin and the influence of siblings.

Luke, the doctor, is very specific about Jesus’ beginnings. Here in this passage Luke makes sure we know that Joseph and Mary followed the law perfectly. “It was time for their purification offering.” God instructed Moses about the firstborn, “The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal” Exodus‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬. The New International Version correctly translates “firstborn,” as firstborn male. “Bakar,” meaning “to be born first” or “to bear early fruit,” is “prototokos,” in New Testament Greek. As mentioned, in the New Testament it refers to Jesus as the “firstborn” over all creation (Colossians 1:15) and the “firstborn from the dead” (Revelation 1:5). Not only is this firstborn son theme an echo of of the death of every firstborn male in Egypt, it is also seen in the entire sacrifice/offering system that God set up to teach humanity all about both the penalty, but also the consequences of sin.

Jesus, was circumcised and dedicated, completely fulfilling Old Testament requirements. In this purification offering, there is fulfillment of prophecy and the future picture of completion for all of us. GotQuestions.org writes, “In the Old Testament, purification was associated with ceremonial cleanliness. The Law of Moses included numerous rituals and sacrifices to achieve purification from physical and spiritual impurities. It [symbolizes] both the cleansing and liberation from impurity.

What effect do you think Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, doing everything right, had on Jesus? It was critical for Jesus’ life and mission. Being the Son of Man and Son of God meant that Jesus’ parents played an important role in his early formation. God trusting Mary to carry, deliver and care for His only Son is pretty crazy! Then relying on Joseph to father Jesus as a foster dad, following every detail of what is required in the Jewish Old Testament Law. That’s a lot of pressure to get it right. There are only a few glimpses into the young life of Christ. But what we do see is Joseph and Mary doing everything humanly possible to give Jesus a wonderfully, normal, orthodox Jewish upbringing. What a difference it makes when parents do things right in raising their children! I have seen the difference in the way my wife, Robin, was raised and the way I was raised. Her parents raised her in a Godly environment and followed God, mine did not.

Prayer

​Dad,
Even though I did not have the benefit of having godly parents or even an attempt at giving me an understanding of who you are, you watched over me. Even as I heard your voice at fifteen, I had a vague sense that I recognized it. There was a strange recollection of familiarity. That gave me comfort and definitely increased the odds of me listening and saying “yes” to you. Robin had a completely different experience with her parents raising her in Godly ways. So we were quite the mixed-marriage when it came to raising our own children. Thank you so much for her parents and her upbringing! I am grateful that you have fathered me all along. And, gave me the opportunity to be a father to our own children. Your grace was more than sufficient!

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Religious Entrapment.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?” Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.” Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Snakes and vipers are the slipperiest serpents in the animal kingdom. They are silent and smooth in movement and hissper so subtly in the garden. It reminds me of Kaa, the snake character, in Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 anthology collection, The Jungle Book, with his mystical powers of hypnosis. Or Nagini, the snake who was always at Voldemort’s side. Mark’s gospel lets us know right up front, this scene was a setup.

The religious leaders sent Pharisees AND supporters of Herod. No matter how Jesus responded to the cleaver question, it would be captured by eye witnesses and sent out through the social media of ancient days – word of mouth! But first they had to butter-up Jesus real good, trying to distract him from the nearly invisible snare. “We know how honest you are,” interpretation – we know you can’t lie. We also know you “do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances,” – interpretation – you are not influenced by others and can’t be fooled (even though they were trying to do so even then). And, “we know you are a “alétheia,” a truth teller,” – interpretation – you are morally bound by God’s character.

So… standing there with the religious and secular leaders salivating with their own diabolical deception, they deliver the inescapable question. “Is it “exesti,” It is lawful or permitted to pay “kensos,” taxes or tribute to Caesar? Is it proper to “didómi” give or grant this? I wonder how long Jesus paused before he answered? It must have seemed like a timeless, slow-motioned moment for the eager ears of these wise guys!

Mark tells us that Jesus saw through their “hupokrisis,” hypocrisy, an interesting theatre word used in those days by the actors in a play. It comes from the idea of filling in the cracks of statues with colored wax, thus giving the appearance of wholeness, without fault or blemishes. So to be a hypocrite was to be disingenuous, fake, pretending to have no flaws. Oh, these religious leaders had cracks and crevasses in their hearts – that’s for sure!

Jesus famously retorted with his own question, “WHY?” But then he did answer them by using an object lesson. “Does anyone have a denarius handy?” A denarius, a small Roman coin, used by most of the people in the city. Jesus didn’t have or carry any coins, Roman or Jewish (shekel). Someone handed Jesus a coin while the trappers waited in puzzled anticipation.

Great, “whose likeness and inscription – whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.” Well then, Jesus implied, you have your answer don’t you? Since that coin clearly belongs to the one whose picture and title are stamped on it – give it back to him. However, since we all bear the image of another stamped on our human hearts, we should therefore give ourselves back to God because we belong to him! Right?

Prayer

​Dad,
We are such an odd bunch, us and our unique peculiarities. We play our games. We challenge our own creator. We question goodness, true justice and love – thinking we can certainly do better! If it weren’t so sad, I’d have to say we’ve got to be kidding. We may not be trying to entrap Jesus specifically, but we are still working hard to skirt your will, your way. Since we bear your imprint, your image, why are we trying so hard to get away from you? I’m sorry for our lackluster faith and pushing the boundaries of your grace. Amen.

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The root survives.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the language of ancient agricultural days, everyone would know what the “root” represents. In more modern concepts, we might think of it as kind of a sourdough “levain,” or “starter.” Of course using leaven or yeast is probably not the best object lesson because yeast was often compared to sin in the Bible. You can see how this mysterious mold is alive and incredibly enduring, but no one knows why.

The root survival object lesson is much more aligned with spiritual endurance. Plants or tree roots can be dormant for years and even appear to be dead. If you’ve ever cut down a tree in your yard, but did not pull up the roots, you know how durable the tree can be. The root was a common illustration used to describe the nation of Israel, the people of God.

The once flourishing, life- giving tree would be burned or cut down, but underneath there would be this enduring root. In Biblical writings this type of durable root was called the “root of Jesse.” Jesse, being King David’s father, the patriarch that began the kingly lineage so long ago. The unique and amazing thing about the particular family lineage, this “root” survival is that it would endure until its spectacular reemergence as the tree of life, otherwise known as the Messiah – Jesus.

The root illustration always gave the people of God hope, that although things looked awful, dead in fact, they knew that one day a young, healthy, green shoot of life would come out of this root, this promise of God. The reality is this root would not just survive, it would wait until the proper time to burst into new life, thriving, giving shade and bearing fruit for all of humankind!

This is yet another ancient illustration that gives hope still today. Even cooler than that, this glorious tree of life, personified by the Son of God means that we as non-Jews, heathens – Gentiles can be grafted into this tree! This would become our own heritage, our adoption, our salvation! The Apostle Paul extensively writes about this powerful miracle that God planned before the world began in Romans 11. So whether the tree is trimmed, burned or destroyed, the root of our faith – Jesus, yet endures!

Prayer

​Dad,
As I have discovered in the later days of life, your stories are VERY long. To think about the eternal story-arch of the Bible is amazing, yet hard to grasp. This idea of our human effort and cyclical failure, even after Jesus’ work on the cross is both expected and disappointing. We are broken, and healed… but not yet fully so. It does make me ache for finality, fulfillment and truly an end to my ​constant disorder desires and failures. Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen.

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Is this is good enough?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mark lays out a scene that every Rabbi, teacher or pastor would love to have happen. A man RUNS to ask Jesus about eternal life! Whoa. Where do we start? What do we say? Jesus banters back with an odd response.

The running man opened with “good teacher.” Good. Good. Good. The man compliments Jesus. Jesus volleys and hits it back to the man with a question, “why do you call me good?” Then Jesus follows it with a strange, but 100% true statement, “only God is really good.”
Jesus continues with a good declaration. One that clearly the man was already doing – the man was living a good life! “You know the commandments,” Jesus said. Is that a question? No. Jesus knows this is a good guy, doing good things. Then Jesus lists the “good” standards of the law, all of which are horizontal, mano-e-mano, human to human measures of good.

No murder – ✅.
No adultery – ✅.
No stealing – ✅.
No lying – ✅.
No financial cheating – ✅.
Honor your parents – ✅.

This guy was a saint, an Eagle Scout, a really decent good man. Check. Check. Check. He’s good! He humbly told Jesus, “I’ve obeyed all these since I was a kid.” So, why was he asking Jesus how to get eternal life? What was missing? He was already good and we find out he was already living the good life! What’s not adding up here?

Mark writes that Jesus (emblepó) deeply stared, engaging into the man’s soul and truly loved him. Jesus saw what was missing in his life. And in that moment Jesus’ love for him caused him to reveal the truth. There was one thing keeping him from really knowing God, thus really loving God.

There was another love, another god in his life. Oh, he was a commandment keeper, but he was holding on to something else, something that would keep him earthbound verses heaven-bound. He was rich! Jesus peered into this man’s soul and saw his true love, his true hope, his true heart. It was stuff and things. It was possessions and wealth. He wouldn’t make it to eternity because his heart was chained to his riches. Jesus, now answers the question the man did not want to hear, but desperately needed to hear, “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Jesus even offered him a chance to be a disciple, to experience God in flesh, here on earth. Jesus said it for AFTER you’ve sold everything, “come, follow me.” Jesus offered the man, not goodness, but greatness! If he wanted to be great in God’s Kingdom.

The man’s eager face, once filled with goodness, now fell to sadness because he was really really rich. Goodness is great until it replaces God. Well, how can anyone really be saved from themselves? Jesus told us, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” The miracle lies within complete surrender to God, giving all and not holding onto anything that gets between us and His love. With this good man it was his possessions. What about us? Is it pleasures, our plans? Hey! The guy likely believed that his wealth was a blessing from God. And, what if it was? But God did want him to amass wealth, he wanted him to give it away to bless others. But his wealth became what Christians call an idol. Rachel in the Old Testament stole and hid her father’s household idols. Michal helped David escape through a window and then took a large household idol and placed it in his bed to fool the guards. Idols are trinkets, statues or anything that becomes a secret hope, a secret faith, a secret life or pleasure. It’s a way for us to give “most” of our heart to God, but not all of it. God hates idols because they keep us appearing to be good, but in our hearts we’re not sold out for Him.

Prayer

​Dad,
What a story to help me get at the real issues in my own life. At first, it’s easy to just breeze through this as “rich man” issues – it is far more than that. It’s a story about being good vs great in Your Kingdom. Making you first and giving you every part of my heart, soul and strength should be a daily, hourly, priority in this life, in this world. Help me direct my passions towards you! Amen.

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Barriers to God.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you want to make God angry? Just create barriers to not allow people to experience Him! And most importantly, do not do anything, say anything or misrepresent God to CHILDREN. Jesus’ popularity as a Rabbi meant that parents (read mothers) were thrilled to just have Jesus smile at their kids, and speak a blessing over them.

Ya know, this is supposed to be a priority as a parent – getting your children to Jesus. This nonsense of letting children choose everything for themselves is awful. “Oh, we don’t teach religion, because we want them to choose for themselves.” “Oh, we let the children decide their morals, their choices for good or bad.” What a load of donkey-crock. Mark’s gospel points out that parents were doing what parents are supposed to do. They brought their children to Jesus for him to touch them, to physically bless them.

But the disciples strong-armed and scolded the parents for this. Did they think that Jesus was too busy? That there were more important people he should be spending time with? We don’t know. But Jesus wasn’t going to let it go. When he saw what the disciples were doing, he was (aganakteó) to grieved/indignant! Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, release them to come (positive) and do not (kóluó) hinder (negative) them. Why? Because littles like these are the true owners of the Kingdom of God. In fact, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God in similar fashion as these children will never enter it!

Mark writes, “then Jesus (enagkalizomai) to take into one’s arms, to embrace them!” Jesus placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. There are basically two words for “bless” in the Greek. One is to make happy (makarios) the other to speak good words over (eulogeó: to speak well of, praise). Jesus spoke good words over the children that day.

Why would someone prevent a child or adult from coming to Jesus? I don’t think folks do it on purpose. The disciples thought they were being helpful to the busy Savior. They were not helpful. Some think that others might not be worthy enough, holy enough, or good enough to be in Jesus presence. Many thought this of the sex-worker woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears. The religious thought it improper for such a sinner to have contact with a holy representative of God. Lots of folks think others should clean themselves up or get their life together BEFORE approaching Jesus. The children weren’t unworthy, they were innocent.

As the Church, we have propagated so many barriers with our religious preferences, that we had a generation tag us with “Church hurts.” Church should not hurt! Of course it is bound to happen, because we are human, but we should also be ready to repent or say we’re sorry. For any and all the barriers we block those who simply want to come to Jesus and be blessed.

In another conversation, I brought up all the things we do as adults that cause barriers preventing children from really seeing Jesus. Because, to a child, we represent authority and a sense of what is supposed to be right. When adults misbehave or selfishly choose to follow their own will and ways, children are watching and it creates a fracture, a moral dilemma in their hearts. All they see is the hypocrisy and it takes a ton of grace to erase those episodes from their soul. We want to be people that let children get to Jesus! Even further, we can actually do what Jesus does – speak good words over a child!

Prayer

Dad,
I love this story, this scene so much. I am a huge fan of adults who see children as you do. Seeing them as innocent and open, curious and hopeful, playful and full of joy. And to know how quickly that season passes. Our challenge, my challenge is to foster those qualities in them as well as in our big-people, adult lives, to receive the Kingdom of God with wide-eyed wonder. Let it be so Oh Lord! Amen.

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The mystery of the faithless village.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home. Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, arriving in Bethsaida, is met with folks bringing him a man who is blind. Bethsaida, home to apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip, was also known as the city that rejected the gospel. “Bethsaida has come to represent those who have heard the gospel, understood God’s plan of salvation, and rejected it. Jesus implied that their eternal punishment would be harsher than that of those who did not have such a privilege (Matthew 11:22).”

Mark notes some particularly odd details about Jesus healing this blind man. One, Jesus led him out of town. People brought the man to Jesus, then Jesus walked him away from the crowd. Why?

Looking up some of the commentaries, they suggest that Bethsaida, as a city, was known for a lack of faith. Similar to the sad pronouncement about Jesus’ own hometown, Nazareth, where few miracles were done because of unbelief, (Matthew 13:58). Jesus’ compassion for the man meant that he needed to remove him from his neighbors, even though they brought him in the first place. Can a city-vibe of unbelief be so strong, so prevalent that it prevents God from moving in miraculous ways? It seems so with these cities. This may be why Mark points out the second oddity.

Jesus had to touch the man’s eyes TWICE! And, after the first touch Jesus asked him IF he could see anything? The man responded honestly, I see but everything is blurry. Well that won’t do at all. Jesus touched his eyes again. Mark writes, ”his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly, (‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭25‬). Was this “second touch” also necessary because of the deep lack of faith in the man’s village? Did unbelief dull this man’s own faith? This also seems to be the reason.

The city’s anemic spirituality might also explain the third strange thing that happened. Jesus told the man – “don’t go through the town on the way home.” Wow, that’s specifically weird too. Normally, Jesus would say, “don’t talk about your healing,” or “go and show yourself to the priest,” who would verify and document the miracle. Jesus was clearly trying to protect this man’s fragile faith and didn’t want the town trashing his belief or his healing.

Do you find that we have a lot of cities that are known for unbelief? Traveling around the United States, folks were surprised that California has believers at all! We’ve got top healthcare, technology and personal rights, why would California need faith? If you live in California, as a believer and fellowship at a Bible believing church, you know it’s true – faith is a rare spiritual attribute in our cities. I’m certain that Jesus would be cancelled because of his sermons and miracles. People are in awe and wonder when a pictogram of Jesus’ face shows up on toast, a tree or a cloud, but a real miracle would be mocked on late night comedy shows.

Faith is harder to find and to live by in some of our own towns. Yet, Jesus still finds a way to take the hurting by the hand, lead them away from disbelieving crowds, touch them twice if necessary, and send them back home, avoiding the negative gossip-gab places. Jesus’ faith finds a way to help our unbelief!

Prayer

​Dad,
There are places and people of influence who not only lack faith, they mock it! I am so fortunate that you got me out of town, away from my friends and touched my life as a teenager. You broke through to me and for me! I know you will do that for many who are broken and hurting. When they seek you, they will find you! Thank you for faith that rescues us even from unbelief. Amen.

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Seeing through eyes of mercy.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs. Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In Mark’s gospel, written from Peter’s firsthand, eyewitness accounts, he wants to show the reader the power of Christ. As Jesus reveals more and more about who he is, he also progressively shows more authority. Jesus doesn’t hoard or self consume the power and authority given him. As son of man/son of God, he freely disperses it among the broken, the outlier. And in this case, to a Syrian (Gentile) Woman and her demon possessed little girl.

Jesus breaks through racial and cultural barriers to bring mercy and freedom. Jesus, raised in a typical, but poor family, would have learned all about God’s Laws and God’s ways. But if we look at the common cultural understanding of how young Jewish men and women were instructed, it was very much a separatist mentality. Gentiles (non Jews) are not good people and they should not have any interaction with them. A Jewish male would not culturally be allowed to have any contact with a woman, let alone with one who was a long historical enemy with Assyrian heritage. So either Joseph and Mary instructed Jesus differently (which is completely possible), or Father God had been teaching His own true intentions of rescuing the entire human race – not just the Jews (Isaiah 56:6-7). Either way, Jesus continued to baffle his followers and invite hostile criticism for this kind of cultural faux pas.

If Jesus was so religiously and socially counter-cultural, why do we struggle with being like Him today? I think our heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), but we forget there is both religious (legalism) AND humanistic wickedness. The religious have always despised Jesus’ counterculture ways. And, equally the self-serving humanist despises him as well. Normal, common people, who know they are broken and have need of being saved, have always loved Jesus’ ways. Why? Because they reflect exactly how God sees us. Religion and/or humanism both make us arrogant.

Jesus explains to this Syrian woman that his first priority is to the Jews, the people of God. Jesus, not so subtlety referring to her own people as dogs, wasn’t offensive to her at all. She knew the comparison was true. Folks have tried to soft-pedal this “dog reference” as a beloved pet in the household. That’s nonsense. The enemies of the Jews knew they were like wild dogs and were possibly proud of it! The feelings were mutual between the ethnicities.

The woman, similar to the Samaritan woman at the well, had some comments in response to Jesus’ words. She said, “but even the dogs…”

She calmly kept her cool.
She was smart.
She knew who she was, but she also knew who Jesus was!

She was telling Jesus, “I know our story,” “I know God’s intention is for His own first,” “But I don’t need the full on life of blessing and favor as given to the Jews,” “I just need the scraps, the leftovers.” Her faith saw that even the scraps of mercy from God would be powerful enough to free her daughter. Jesus commented about her faith, saying “your faith is great” (Matthew 15:28). You know the gospels record Jesus being amazed just a couple of times. One, he was amazed at his hometown folk’s “lack of faith” (Mark 6:6). Two, he was amazed at the Roman centurion’s extraordinary understanding of authority and faith (Luke 7:8).

Here in this story, the woman got what she wanted. Jesus complimented her retort, “Good answer!” She received what she came asking for. Jesus told her, “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” Jesus was clearly impressed.

Do we want to know how Jesus really feels about the non-religious, even enemies of God? He shows mercy to whomever he chooses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Exodus 33:19). I believe we can be just as culturally contrarian in how we see people today. Folks can know how we feel about them simply looking at our facial expression! Following the ways of Jesus means we see with eyes of mercy. If we see with eyes of mercy our face will follow!

Prayer

​Dad,
I absolutely know this is how you saw me, and how you see me still – through eyes of mercy. I absolutely love to wake up each morning with fresh, new mercy in my account for the day! “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”(Lamentations 3:22-23). I am ever in amazement of your enduring patience and grace. Thank you. Amen.

Posted on

Ignore and substitute.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition. Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you ever find yourself amazed that Jesus cuts through the complicated minutiae of religion and clarifies truth? Ah, it’s so obvious after Jesus says it, yet so painful when he says it directly to you!

As we get older, it is completely normal to establish patterns and customs of the way we like to order our day and live our life. Habits and systems are ways to control the chaos that life can bring. Most religious rituals started out as earnestly simple with all intent of purity in our heart. It’s when they become rote, rigged and mindless routine that it becomes disconnected from relationship.

Earlier in this passage, the religious leaders saw that Jesus’ disciples were eating with defiled, dirty hands. It’s important to note, it’s not that they saw filthy hands and stood aghast that anyone would eat like that. No, it’s what they did NOT see that bothered them.

They did not see the disciples do the typical ritual cleansing before eating anything or using anything that would touch their mouths. The ritual cleansing was this idea that any item that came in contact with the body had to be “washed,” but the Pharisees used an odd word for cleaning their utensils, cups, and dishes. They used the Greek word, “baptizó,” to dip or sink. This wasn’t a health code, it was a religious addendum to an Old Testament purification exercise.

Following the “letter of the Law,” and missing its intent was a favorite pastime of the Pharisees. The Law of Moses did prohibit contact with many things known to be unclean; and if any one had touched them they were seen as “unclean.” This cleansing was a health code, but had a hidden spiritual code to it as well. The command was given to the people so that a person would not approach the temple until they had cleansed themselves by the washing, prescribed in the Law. The spiritual object lesson was that by means of these ceremonial and bodily washings the Jews might be awakened to the necessity of spiritual cleansing when they came before a Holy God.

The Pharisees elevated and twisted the command to be purely an outward act of looking more holy by exceeding the simplicity of cleanliness to a legalistic practice for show! They even insulted their parents and God himself by adhering to and misquoting Ezekiel 20:18, “Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.” They made the simple spiritual lesson of “washing,” or preparing your heart to meet with God into an arrogant act of faking righteousness!

Now, as we often might do, we look at the religious practices of the Pharisees and say, yeah, “boo on organized religion,” or “deconstruct everything and cancel all the religious rules.” We would be missing Mark’s point of writing this story. Jesus was angry that God was misrepresented! And God’s Law was twisted and tweaked for human gain. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

We have the fulfillment of all the Law of God in and through Jesus himself. We complicate God and do similar as the Pharisees – even today. We have to stop adding things to the gospel! We have to quit making it difficult for people to see Jesus in us. The only people that respected the Pharisees were other religious leaders! The normal folk, despised them and feared them.

Jesus summed up God’s law – love God, love people. Jesus summed up how we should treat people, “love them LIKE I have loved you!” How has Jesus loved us, accepted us, forgiven us multiple times over? How often has God been patient with us, merciful towards us? Do not ignore God’s law and substitute our ideas of holiness, righteousness or forgiveability and pass them off as godly!

Prayer

Wow! I love Your word. I love Jesus words that cut through my religiosity, my judgmental attitudes and competitive comparisons to others. But oh how it stings when I must make decisions based on truth rather than customs. Help me, Oh God, to live to represent you well! Amen.

Posted on

Desires for decompression.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The New Living Translation takes too much liberty here describing the disciples reconnecting with Jesus and with each other. Of course, it’s true, they had just returned from their assignments and I’m sure they were full of stories and a lot of questions. But Jesus did recognize their need to get away from the crowds and just be alone, together. Mark notes that there were so many people with so many needs that no one got a chance to even eat. Eating in New Testament times was very much like it is still today in the middle east. It’s a LONG process involving several courses of food, but it is clear that long conversations and long stories are the priority over the main course being served. A meal easily could last a couple of hours! I don’t think they had any concept of “fast food,” or just grabbing a bite to eat.

Even though Jesus’ intentions are given, Mark lets us know that the crowd had figured out where the group was going and were waiting on the other side of the boat ride. “So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.” Maybe there was time to talk on the boat? With the crowds gathered, Jesus just could not ignore their passion to hear the words of God. Compassion once again drove Jesus to work while there was still light!

I find that in full time ministry these kinds of dilemmas happen far too often. Pastors used to brag about zero vacations and no days off, thinking it was honoring the responsibilities of ministry. Jesus intended to get away from the crowds with his team! He would often slip away at night or before sunrise to pray and spend time with Father God, but in this instance he wanted the group to get some rest. No breaks, no rest, no quiet, no solitude is a recipe for personal disaster! The difficulty was that Jesus ministry time on earth was rather brief – just three years. Three years to establish His mission of being the living gospel – the good news that God had prepared the way to make things right with sinful humanity and repair the breech that had been created in the very beginning of creation.

The crowds, that Mark wrote about, the ones who represented sheep without a shepherd, would be the object lesson or picture of humanity searching for something more than the misery of life under the religious and political leaders of that day. That crowd has only grown larger!

Look around the current situation in our world today. With unending ability to see around the globe from our screens, we know that the United States is not the only country in religious and political crisis. So, even though it is necessary to find places of quiet to rest, it is also possible to be available when the hurt and heartaches of the crowd stir up a passion and a hunger to hear the voice of God for themselves. Will we be available to speak truth and feed them the bread of life? Is the Church ready to set aside its bickering, complaining and judging hearts to BE the gospel of life for those who are searching? I hope so.

Prayer

​Dad,
You see how tiring it is to be serving in the Church today! You see how exhausting it can be to carry the hurts, struggles and sicknesses of families. Yet, out on the horizon, I see a crowd forming. A crowd filled with despair and grief. A gathering of people who have discovered that they have been lied to and are living in that lie. Sheep who are looking for their good shepherd. The crowd is coming! Will I be ready? Will we be ready? Will we have the strength and clarity to give them the bread of life, the living water – your good news? Help us Oh God, in our time of preparation, to not lose heart, hope or strength! Amen.