As he went along

I'm always reminded when I read the gospels that Jesus was never in a hurry. He had a sense of urgency about proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of God, but he was never in a hurry. Whenever he was interrupted, he stopped and dealt kindly with the interruption. Even when he was specifically headed to an appointment, he never hesitated to stop and interact with people along the way.

I'm beginning to think that this is not just a ministry style, but this relaxed pace, this refusal to be in a hurry is a characteristic of God revealed in Christ. During creation, God could have just done it all in one micro-nano-second or less. But instead, he took his time. He was deliberate. He was not in a hurry. This is difficult for me, because I struggle with this. I'm from the digital generation. I want it yesterday. If my computer or phone takes more than one second to do what I tell it, I get frustrated.

God, I want to reflect you in every way, every part, every characteristic. Jesus, let me model this refusal to be in a hurry in the say way that I seek to love, share grace and extend mercy.

Because you say so

There is a moment in Luke 5, when Jesus finishes preaching and gets into Simon Peter's boat and tells him to go to deep water. He then tells him to cast his nets. Peter, the fishing expert, tells Jesus that they just spent all night and caught nothing. He tells Jesus that they worked really hard, used all their expertise and caught nothing. I can hear the fatigue and frustration in Peter's voice. I can sense the anger bubbling under the surface. I can sense the angry stares of his crew, the aching muscles and empty stomachs.

A people prepared for the Lord

My thoughts are brief today. I love this verse.

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

That was John the Baptist's calling, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This was a moment to reclaim the place that Israel held by virtue of God's covenant with Abraham. But, this is not about exclusivity. God promised Abraham that all nations, all people, all of humanity would be blessed through his offspring. Israel was prepared for the Lord, but John was called to make them ready to do what God called them to do, to embrace the Messiah, to spread the good news, to tell the nations that there was a way to be reconciled to God where there wasn't before. This isn't about God choosing Israel to enter eternity and everyone else is screwed. This is about how God chose Israel to be his messenger, to be his ambassador, to be his herald, to the his agent of love, hope and restoration in a world full of people disconnected from his salvation.

Now, that's us. We are the children of God. We've been adopted into the family, grafted into the root. We are now God's chosen instrument of grace, peace and love. God, I want to be ready. You chose me. You prepared me. Now make me ready to spread your good news everywhere I go. Help me to use words if I have to. Let my life itself be an offering, a sacrifice to you.

Not what I will

It's worded a bit different in Matthew and Luke, but I'm always convicted and moved by the moment that Jesus prays in Gethsemane.

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Help me with my unbelief!

I love Mark's gospel because it is so straightforward. Mark is the Hemingway of gospel writers. Simple sentences. No extra words. Straight to the point. As I read today, I found two verses from two different passages that seem completely unrelated and yet God made a connection for me today. Take a look at them. 

 ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 

¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The Kingdom of God is near

The message of Mark's gospel is quite simple. Through all the stories and parables, one theme pervades. The kingdom of God is near, and the only proper response to this fact is to repent.  It is that beautifully simple. As I read the first seven chapters this time, I noticed something else. The more deeply someone is connected to the law, the more deeply religious a person is, the more devoutly Jewish a person is, the less likely they are to hear, understand and respond to Jesus' message. The Pharisees respond to Jesus' teaching by looking for a way to kill him. The disciples follow him, but are repeatedly confused by and frustrated with Jesus. And then there is everyone else, the crowds, the hoi polloi, the commoners, the sick, the broken, the sinners. These people flock to Jesus. Their simple trust in him, their faith in his authority is always rewarded. They always come away changed.

Jesus, I come before you today with nothing more than the knowledge that you are the hope of the world. Today, I set aside everything that is me so that I might have more of you. Fill me so that I might empty myself for the sake of others.

What are we living for?

These few chapters are HUGE! I actually feel overwhelmed at the task of picking a few moments that stood out to me, or even trying to summarize it. We have our first experience with communion, the betrayal of Christ, the crucifixion and then finally the resurrection. It doesn’t matter how many times I read this, I am still overcome by God’s willingness and Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Even more specifically God’s willingness and Jesus’ sacrifice for me.

I think it’s important to personalize this experience. I’ve come to the conclusion over time that believing that a man died on a cross for the sins of the world isn’t that hard to believe. The hard part, and the part that requires faith, is believing it is good enough for you. I assure you it is! Jesus, fully God and fully man came to earth and died a tragic death on the cross for you and for me, as atonement for our sins, to provide a way for us to heaven.

The choice we have is whether to accept this as truth and move forward in Christ or not. The beginning of Chapter 25 Jesus tells a story about this choice. We do not want to be caught off guard in our last moment on earth but rather be ready, vigilant and waiting. It is easy to assume that life keeps going, that life will end one day when you’re old and ready. I can also assure you that this is not always the case. Sometimes your whole life changes in a second. If you’re lucky your alive and you have the chance to do it right. I thank God everyday that he gave me that chance. I also thank God everyday that since Nathan didn’t have a second chance that he was wise enough to use his first one right.

Everyday we are choosing to live for something. I propose we live for Christ and see the way that affects our lives and the lives of everyone around us for good.

If you didn’t notice, there are no verses in this post. Therefore it does not count as reading the bible. Duh! I encourage you to go read Matthew Chapters 25-28 with fresh perspective and an open heart.

Forgetting who we are

I've read, heard, seen the story of the trial, execution and resurrection of Jesus hundreds of times, and yet it never ceases to hit me like a hammer. Each time something different makes the heaviest impact, but the weight of the sacrifice, the intensity of the love, the honesty of Jesus' relationship to the Father, it is always intensely moving for me. This time around, it was Jesus predicting Peter's denial that spoke to me. Take a look.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

The Least of These

These two chapters (Mt 24-25) are full of some tough teaching. Jesus lays out the eternal consequences of remaining in our rebellion and refusing his grace and mercy. There is prophesy, references to prophesy (Daniel 9) and lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Much of what Jesus talks about in these two chapters is beyond our influence and control. But at the end of chapter 25, we get this reminder.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Love!

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV)

Makes it seem so easy. I think it really is that easy. God is waiting every second of everyday for us to choose life – to choose Him. If we begin to give thought to our relationship with the Lord and then choose to grow this bond by being in the word, in prayer and worshiping with other believers, we will know no other feeling but love for the Lord. As that love grows, so naturally will our love for others. I find that if I just focus on Jesus than He works the rest out. That is not to insinuate that the other facets of my life do not require work and attention but through the grace of Jesus Christ, the other pieces of my life fall perfectly in to place one at a time. Not always immediately and not always the way I thought, but perfect.

Go show Jesus you love Him by reading Matthew chapters 21-24 and then go love someone else!

Broken or Crushed?

In Matthew 21, Jesus references Psalm 118. He tells the Pharisees that he is the capstone, and that they are the ones who are rejecting it. Then he says this.

"He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

 Without lots of pomp and circumstance, without super theological discussion, without digging into the original language, I see humanity's choice in this verse. We can choose to fall on Jesus and be broken, humbled and ultimately restored into right relationship with God, or we can refuse, remain in our pride, try to do it our own way and be crushed by the very one who offers us salvation.

Jesus, I choose to fall on you, to allow you to break me, allow you to mold me, allow you to restore me.

Eternal Words, The Rich & The Call

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

Matthew 18:18-20 (Message)

It is so easy to assume that God can only here us when we are praying. It is rather sobering to think of our words echoing in eternity. I think about how my words echo in the hearts of my children. I know I am rather cavalier so often with my words and I am convicted to be more intentional with every sound that leaves my lips.

What kind of soil are you?

If you have ears, hear:

“What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

Matthew13:3-8 (Message)

Although I have read this many times, I am always challenged by the soil my heart is made of. The soil we prepare for the Lord in our hearts is a daily preparation. I don’t think much else needs to be said here.

People are more important

I know I sound like a broken record, but there is so much great stuff in today's reading. There is a theme that I noticed. In several different ways, Jesus takes the time to teach the religious leaders, his disciples and the crowds who just want a miracle that people are always more important than rules and traditions. No matter how noble our intentions, if we choose rules or traditions over people, we've made the wrong choice. This is not at all to suggest that we become foundation-less relativists. Truth is truth, but the truth of Jesus is always expressed in love. Always. No, seriously, always. This means that anything short of sin is fair game when it comes to sharing the good news with people who need to hear it.

Inspired at every turn...

Matthew continues to blow my mind chapter after chapter! I chose to write a little less tonight and really focus on a few things that hit me hard. Before that, I have to again say that I am encouraged and baffled by the unending faith of the multiple individuals in these chapters. I read a blog post of some friends of ours today and their journey and the faith with which they have pressed forward mirrors the men and women found in Matthew! I am inspired by the real life example I have of radical faith! Thank you Jason & Kameron for allowing the Lord to use you. Your story will continue long after you done writing it.

~

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do!”

Matthew 9:12 (NLT)

Big Gulps

I love scripture reading plans. They keep me focused and motivated. But, the downside is that it forces me to take big gulps of truth, and sometimes that causes me to miss some of the subtle details and textures. There are all kinds of amazing things in today's reading. But, I want to zoom in on just one verse that stopped me in my tracks.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.