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Luke 10:25-37

30 Oct

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Luke 10:25-37

Dear God, I have the opportunity to speak to a private school chapel this morning. The students will be ages 5-18. That can be a tough crowd to reach with one message. And I am supposed to be talking to them about the nonprofit where I work. How do you make an 8-year-old child care about healthcare for low-income people who are uninsured? The answer, of course, is stories. That’s what Jesus did for his crowds.

I asked the woman who scheduled me for this if there was a special spiritual theme they would like me to hit while I’m talking. She said (Not judging any grammar because it was a text and I think texts should be an edit-free zone.), “[Our model] emphasizes personhood, in that all are created in the image of God. Secondly, learning is a “coming to know” the mind of the Creator, and this coming to know is a mind-to-mind meeting. In this way, learning is a communion with God. To unite these ideas within your work: If learning is a way to better know God, and all persons are created in God’s image–when we learn about people, when we relate to anyone, when we see all as image-bearers, we are given the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord.”

Honestly, I was intimidated when I read that. I’m not even sure I fully understand some of it. But as I thought about Jesus and his lessons to us, the parable of the Good Samaritan came to mind. So as I pray to you this morning, I would like for your to finalize my thoughts on how to present to these children. And I understand that this is one of 30+ chapel talks they will hear this year. And I understand that the odds are good that none of them will remember what I said by the end of the day. However, there might be a seed that finds some fertile soil in one heart in the room. Maybe more. And maybe that seed will grow into something beautiful. So I want to take this seriously, if not expecting something grandiose for them in their experience with me this morning.

  • I think I will start by simply reading the first part of the passage above. Up to where Jesus says, “Right!” and point out that this expert in the law is unique in that Jesus is impressed with how he sees his faith. Usually, Jesus is frustrated by people who consider themselves experts in the law, but he seems pleased with this one.
  • Those commands will answer a lot of other questions about what they should do in any given situation.
  • Why does God want us to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength.
  • Why does God want us to love others? To be curious and not judgmental?
  • I will let their parents, pastors, and teachers talk with them about what loving God with all their hearts looks like. The man in the story seemed to have that down. What he didn’t understand was how to follow the second commandment, so let’s see what Jesus said.
  • Then read the rest of the parable.
  • Here is an example of a woman who walked in the way of the Good Samaritan.
  • What kinds of people does God put in your path on a daily basis?
    • Parent
    • Sibling
    • Another student
    • A teammate on a team
    • Someone at church
  • When we find that person who annoys us, be curious, not judgmental. Sometimes, if something is making us annoyed or upset, it’s a sign that it is someone or something we need to pray for.

Father this feels a little disjointed right now. I’m not sure I will be able to hit every point. But I want these children to feel your love for them this morning. I want them to feel love for you and for everyone else, whether they consider them a friend, enemy, or are indifferent about them. I want the same thing for myself. I want to love you with all my soul, heart, mind, and strength. I want to love my neighbors generously. Help me to do that in your power and for your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 12:35-40, 49-53

24 Oct

49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

53 ‘Father will be divided against son
    and son against father;
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”

Dear God, we can’t read these verses without reading the context of what came before it. All of this started with Jesus warning the people to be ready like a servant who awaits his masters return and must always be ready:

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Once again, our subject headings make some things convenient, but they can remove passages from their context if we let them.

This has always been a hard passage. Why does Jesus come across as so angry and vindictive in verse 49? Well, it’s partly related to the people not being ready when the master (Jesus) came and also knowing the truth of what was about to happen to him. And what was about to happen was incredibly destructive and then re-creational. But it would divide. It did divide. It still does.

I was listening to a recent Andy Stanley sermon this morning about Jesus being who he said he was. And I’ve seen my faith in that message divide members of my own family. I’ve literally seen children be hostile with parents over their faith. And it’s hard to watch. And when I read these words of Jesus they both aggravate me and comfort me. They aggravate me because I think, Why does it have to be this way? Then they comfort me because I see that it will simply sometimes be this way.

This passage also reminds me of the pressure and even anxiety Jesus felt about his earthly future. He certainly didn’t want it to happen. He didn’t want to be beaten and crucified. He wished the atonement cold have happened another way. But let’s for a moment say it could have happened another way and his death and resurrection wasn’t necessary for that, then what would have differentiated him in history? Had he just lived taught, and then been assumed into heaven, how would he have ever been remembered. It’s the crucifixion and resurrection, and how they inspired the people who witnessed this miracle to then go to the world and proclaim it that made the difference. It was Their witness to this story that made the Gentiles take notice. It is the reason I am sitting here this morning.

Father, there are times I look around and it seems like the world is on fire. And maybe it is. Maybe you’re breaking us down to our bare essentials so you can build us back up, once again, in your image. Maybe you want to love and inspire us through some setbacks. Through some suffering. Maybe it doesn’t matter who wins the presidential election because either way the world is spinning away from you, and we need just a little more leash before we are ready to come to the end of ourselves, repent, and come back to you. Show me the role you have for me in all of this. Show me how to love and inspire my wife. Show her how to love and inspire me. Show me how to love my children and my family. My coworkers. My friends. Everyone within my sphere, show me what to do.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2024 in Luke

 

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Ephesians 2:11-22

22 Oct

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Dear God, I am one of those Gentiles that benefits from all of this. I am someone who was lost but now I’m found. And here I am now. Sitting here before work, praying to you. Loving you. Worshipping you. Looking to you for guidance. Asking you for your love and presence to be in my life and the lives of others. Asking you to guide your church in the midst of election fervor. Asking you to reveal my sin to me so that I might repent and then take up my cross and follow you. That is what I get to do this morning because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. Because of what you did in sending a piece of you to us. Because the Holy Spirit, your Holy Spirit, a piece of your nature, is now sitting in this room with me–in me–loving me and guiding me. Talking to me. Comforting me. Correcting me.

Father, I need your inspiration today. I need your love. I need to be able to inspire your love in others. I want people to hunger for you after being with me. I want others to find you on a deep and personal level so that they might experience the life you have for them here on this earth. Having finished Ecclesiastes yesterday, I don’t know that Solomon (if that was Solomon) ever really found what he was looking for, but I have. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. Not anything. Forget afterlife. For the here and now, you are everything I need. I worship you, and I praise you. My Lord and my God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 22, 2024 in Ephesians

 

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Ecclesiastes 11

20 Oct

11 Send your grain across the seas,
    and in time, profits will flow back to you.
2 But divide your investments among many places,
    for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
    Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.

4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
    If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

8 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.

9 Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. 10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

Dear God, I don’t normally spend too much time on the footnotes in the different translations, but the footnote for verse 1 seems important: 11:1 Or Give generously, / for your gifts will return to you later. Hebrew reads Throw your bread on the waters, / for after many days you will find it again. It’s interesting because it’s almost like this is putting a selfish twist on Jesus’s command to love others. It’s saying there is a side benefit to loving others that makes it worth it. That sounds like Solomon. That sounds on-brand.

I think the other part I’m going to focus on this morning is the truth of verse 5: 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. I don’t understand you, and I am okay with that. I don’t know why you’re doing thing the way you’re doing them. I think the person who holds on to the selfish motivation for doing what they do gets angry at this. And I’ve been angry with you before because I can be very selfish. I’ve been disappointed in you before because I thought I had made some sort of deal with you that you didn’t live up to. But you had never made that deal with me. Your deal with me is that you will forgive me of my sin, love me as I love you, and then let your Spirit and the fruits of your Spirit grow in me as I love you. Everything else is a hazy mystery.

It makes me think of the Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning out of Mark 10:35-45, when James and John go to Jesus and ask to sit at his right and left when he comes into his glory. I don’t know why, but I never thought too much about what they meant by Jesus coming into his glory. They had no idea what this would look like. Even though he had just told them about his death, they weren’t getting it. I don’t know exactly what they were envisioning, but it seems to me they were wanting to make a deal with Jesus in order to attain greatness. I don’t think they were thinking about heavenly greatness and new earth greatness like we think of it now. I think they were thinking of earthly power greatness. Judging. Intimidation. Punishment. Casting favor. Little did they know they would literally share in Jesus’s path. James would be the first of the 12 to be martyred while John would live in miserable exile. I don’t know what role they play in the new earth, and I’ll find out one day, but I’m sure they are embarrassed to look back and know they did this. Just like I am embarrassed by so many selfish things I’ve done.

Father, there is so much for Solomon to learn, and so much for me to learn from both his good and bad examples. Help me to learn every lesson you have for me. I know some of them will be harder for me to learn than others. Open my eyes so I can see. Open my ears so I can hear. Dispatch of the bad teaching I’ve observed over the years. Help me to link everything to the teachings I know of from Jesus through the Gospel writers and the other authors of the New Testament. They say on a football team, each player on the field just has to do their 1/11th. Well, if there are 2 billion Christians on the earth, help me to be the best 1/2 billionth I can possibly be. For your glory, and your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 20, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Mark 10:1-16

06 Oct

10 Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

4 “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

5 But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. 6 But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

13 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.

14 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. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Mark 10:1-16

Dear God, I wonder how much of Jesus’s typical day on earth was spent with him just putting his face in the palm of his hand out of frustration. The two stories here are completely separate, but a theme is Jesus having to teach and correct things that had been generationally taught to the Pharisees, disciples, and everyone else in between.

In the first case, it was 1.) dealing with the skepticism of the Pharisees (which I don’t blame them for. I’d have been skeptical too) and 2.) having to correct an errant perspective on what marriage is. And I have to say that I do not know exactly what a first-century Pharisee thought marriage was, but it apparently wasn’t going back to the one basic fact that you built us for each other. You built us to humbly love and serve each other. You built us to fill a need each of us has that is part of our human condition (the perfectly created human condition, not the fallen human condition). Yes, there are times when we hurt each other. Yes, there are times when divorce has to happen because of the actions of one of the spouses over the other. But there are other times when both people are just failing to live up to what you’re calling us to do. To fill the need in our spouse that you call us to fill. I am here for her and to build up your daughter. She is here to build up your son. Yes, we each have calls on our lives. And one of my jobs is to make sure she has everything she needs to fulfill the call(s) you put on her. And one of her jobs is to help me fulfill the call(s) you put on me. To discern when one of us needs to sacrifice for that call. That is what you intended. So later when Jesus says a divorced person who remarries commits adultery, he is pointing his finger at the person who was not wronged through adultery or abuse by the other and recognizing the sin they are committing.

Then there is the disciples scolding parents for bringing their children for blessings. It’s hard for me to imagine the celebrity entourage aspect of Jesus walking around, but it makes me wonder if the disciples acted as his gatekeepers and how they made decisions on who got through the gate. Maybe they only let the really sick and lame through the gate. I don’t know how they drew the line, but they obviously didn’t respect the idea that parents were just wanting a blessing for their children from Jesus. They must have seen that as a frivolous use of Jesus’s (and their own) time. But Jesus pointed out that he loved these children, that the adults have something to learn from these children, and he wanted to bless these children. I’ve asked this before, but I can’t help but wonder what became of these children. How did their lives play out after having been blessed directly by Jesus.

Father, I have a lot to learn. I have so much to learn. My knowledge of you is steeped in my own selfish perspective, bad teaching from generations of errancy, and then a mix of actual knowledge of you through good teaching and times like this. Too often, I cannot tell what is right and what is wrong. So I am sorry for when I am wrong. I am sorry when I say things to other people that are wrong and I cause them to stumble from my bad teaching. I am sorry when I hurt your daughter, the woman I married 32 years ago. I am sorry when I don’t give her everything she needs to be the woman you created her to be. And I am sorry when I miss the mark on who you call me to be. But I bring you an earnest heart. I bring you a heart that wants to love you and love others. Thank you for the gift of Jesus and that that is enough for you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 6, 2024 in Mark

 

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Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

04 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

40 Then the Lord said to Job,

2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the Lord

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

Dear God, this might be one of my favorite things in the whole Bible. I remember the first time I tried to read Job on my own I had a really hard time because some of the things Job, his wife, and his friends were saying seemed so reasonable. Why had things gone so poorly for him? Didn’t he deserve better? The whole thing is like a petulant child throwing a fit and then you coming in and setting the child straight. And Job was really suffering, so I’m not trying to make light of that or his complaining. I get it. I’m a complainer too. I can get roughed up a little and then feel sorry for myself. But we rarely see you deal with someone one-on-one like this in real time. We don’t see you bluntly correct an individual like this. We’ve seen you speak through the prophets and warn groups of people. We’ve seen you correct Moses for an act of disobedience. But to see you just let Job have it for three chapters is really quite something.

The thing that helped me turn the corner on this was the Introduction of a commentary on Job by David McKenna from the Mastering the Hold Testament series (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, General Editor). In it, he listed the six levels of faith as developed by James Fowler and his book The Stages of Faith. Quoting McKenna:

  • Intuitive-projective faith is associated with a child’s faith, based upon fantasy.
  • Mythical-literal faith is the family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  • Synthetic-conventional faith is an adolescent faith that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith whom it models or rejects.
  • Individuative-reflective faith is the faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and dialectical reasoning.
  • Conjunctive faith is a mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  • Universalizing faith is the rare faith of a world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

According the McKenna, Job opens with him and his friends at the synthetic-conventional level of faith. They all believe the same thing about you and part of that belief is the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Frankly, it is probably where the disciples are when they first meet Jesus. It is evident by this story from John 9:1-2: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” Jesus told them that neither is true: “3It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” So Job and his friends start here, but the road of suffering take Job all of the way to universalizing faith.

I’ve gone deeper down the rabbit hole on this than I intended, but I just love it so much. A book that totally confused me and eluded me was brought to life by McKenna and his application of Fowler’s work. One thing I notice about Paul is that he seems to get to this level of faith very quickly. In Acts 20:24 he says that his life is worth nothing to him. He only lives to complete the task you have given him. Then he goes on to suffer and see the opportunity in it without complaining. And there was amazing opportunity in Paul’s suffering. I am probably sitting here this morning because of Paul’s suffering.

Father, first, I don’t know what suffering is. I have sorrows. I have things that bring me to tears. But I have not truly suffered. So I want to just start by acknowledging that I mainly speak of this out of ignorance and from an academic standpoint. Watching Job go through real suffering and then be so chastened by you is also very sobering. And I don’t want to invite suffering. I’m not stupid. But I do, right here, right now, submit my life to you. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the tasks you give me. Help me to know exactly what those tasks are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2024 in Job

 

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Luke 9:51-56

01 Oct

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

Luke 9:51-56

Dear God, I think I want to look closely at verse 53 this morning. The Samaritans at that time made a huge mistake. All they saw was a rabbi wanting to stay there on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover. How dare this Jewish snob (probably their view of him) use them while he looked down on them! Their pride, anger, and hurt led them into a bad decision.

How much does that still happen today? I was listening to the Voxology Podcast for this week yesterday. They were talking about the culture war and how Jesus would fight it, leaning on what he said during the Sermon on the Mount. It made me think about the controversial Olympics opening ceremony where drag queens simulated a dinner that was controversial. When many Christians saw it they were indignant and let their displeasure be known. In this story today from Luke, the people who were mad remind me of the Samaritans who told Jesus he wasn’t welcome there and also James and John who were ready to call down fire on them for their insolence. Samaritans: How dare he?!? James and John: How dare they?!?

Father, help me to see all of this with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to see those drag queens with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to love them. Help me to love anyone who comes across my path today. Let it start with the children I’m about to read to at the school. Use me this morning in your kingdom. Use me at work. Use me in my family. Use me for my wife. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2024 in Luke

 

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Philippians 1:9-11

30 Sep

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Philippians 1:9-11

Dear God, I need to pray for this more for my friends who are Christians: that your love through them will overflow more and more, and that they will continue to grow in knowledge and understanding. For my relative who chose to follow you back at Christmastime. For my three closest friends. For my wife. For my coworkers who worship you and call on your name. I could go on and on. There are so many. And this is a good place to start as I pray for them. That your love will overflow through them more and more.

A pastor friend calls this having leaky buckets that will just drip you and your presence everywhere they go. I guess I might modify it that the buckets won’t be leaky as much as the love will just slosh over the top as they move through their days. That the love will overflow. And that they will grow in knowledge and understanding of what you are doing in the world around them and how you would have them interact with it.

Father, as for myself, help my bucket to overflow. Help me to access you to the point where your love is flowing through me and sloshing over the sides onto everyone I encounter. Love generously through me. Love mercifully through me. And help me to know how to interact with the world around me. How to interact with challenges at work. How to interact with challenges in family. How to interact with the news I hear. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, teach me, please. Bring me into complete oneness with you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2024 in Philippians

 

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Numbers 11:24-30

29 Sep

So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.

Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.
Numbers 11:24-30

Dear God, I wonder if I could consider this attitude “sibling rivalry.” This is the Old Testament reading for many churches today. The Gospel reading in Mark 9 has the apostle John doing something similar in verse 38 when he tells Jesus he saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’s name and John told him to stop because he wasn’t part of their group. And this is after John witnessed the Transfiguration earlier in Mark 9. It’s also immediately after Jesus got onto the disciples about arguing over who would be the greatest in your kingdom. How could they do this?!?

And of course, this is when I look at myself and think about how I do this. I want to be considered to be the best Christian. I want to be more devout than someone else. I want to be wiser. I want to be more Christlike. I want to be more Godly. Me, me, me. Funny how I was praying yesterday about selfish ambition vs. humble ambition. I think this reveals my selfish heart.

I remember a few weeks ago, I was thinking about a man in our town who is very Godly. He is a humble, gentle spirt. Probably the most gentle man I know. He exudes your wisdom, peace, and presence. For anonymity for anyone reading this, I won’t list his job here, but he is not a church pastor and yet he might be the most Christlike person I know here. The reason I bring him up is because when I thought about him a few weeks ago, and I was thinking about him in this way, I felt a pang of jealousy in me. Now, if I am responding sinfully like Joshua and John, then I guess that at least puts me in good company, but it is still sin. It is still selfish ambition. I want to be known as the best Christian. Sure, I might now want credit for deeds I do, but for who I am, I want to be known as the best. So sad.

Father, I really do appreciate this man. And the most beautiful part about his is that he probably wouldn’t even think of himself in this way. I know he has struggles in his life. I know he is trying to figure out your call on him on a daily basis just like I am. I know he gets confused in difficult situations. I’m not saying he is Jesus. In fact, what I’m saying is that he is absolutely not Jesus, but he is humble enough to know that, pursue you with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and then love others as himself. The fruits of your Spirit exude through him because of this attitude. I repent that I, for even one moment, felt jealous of him. That I had any thoughts of him that were not pure appreciation and admiration. I am sorry for thinking I have to be anything than your child who loves you, worships you, and surrenders his life to you.

I pray all of this through Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2024 in Numbers

 

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Luke 2 (Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna)

20 Dec

Dear God, this is a continuation of the project I started yesterday for a friend and her young daughter to use for Christmas. My hope is that it will help them to experience the Christmas story in a fresh way. I pray that you will be with them as they look through these passages. Be in their discussion over the questions I am asking them. And use all of this in their hearts, and mine (and all of our hearts) to draw us into deeper worship of you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Luke 2

1At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:1-7

  • How long do you think Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem before Jesus was born?
  • Think about the idea that Bethlehem was crowded with people who were there for the same reason Joseph and Mary were there. Given that circumstance, where do you think they were staying while they were in Jerusalem?
  • A manger is a feeding trough, often made of stone. What are some possibilities for where Mary might have given birth to Jesus?
  • How do you think Joseph and Mary were feeling while they sat wherever they were with their new baby? Do you think they might have felt alone and scared?

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Luke 2:8-20

  • God had choices when it came to announcing Jesus’s birth. One option was to not send angels to announce anything at all. Why do you think God chose to send angels to announce Jesus’s birth?
  • God could have sent the angels to anyone to announce the birth. He sent them to some of the poorest men in their society: the shepherds on the night shift. To whom else might God have chosen to send the angels? Why do you think God did NOT choose them, but chose the shepherds instead?
  • What impact do you think the angel visit and then seeing Jesus had on the shepherds for the rest of their lives?
  • What impact do you think the shepherd visit had on Mary and Joseph?

21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

22 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. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
    as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
    and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

Luke 2:21-40

  • Look at verses 34 and 35 again. These are the first recorded negative words Mary and Joseph heard about Jesus. How do you think this made them feel about Simeon?
  • How do you think what Anna did in verse 38 affected Mary and Joseph
  • When Jesus was an adult and Mary no longer had Joseph, Elizabeth, or Zechariah to talk about this with, how important do you think these experiences with the shepherds, Simeon and Anna were to her? How do you think they helped her if she ever started to question what Jesus was doing when he was an adult?
 
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Posted by on December 20, 2023 in Luke

 

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