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January 11

The Samaritan Woman
Joh_4:5-26

Theology is found in strange places.  Who would think that a woman with such a history would know, or care, about the right place to worship?  Even those of us with the worst records of sin may wonder, "Just what does God want from me?"  Some may wonder from a desire to please;  others just from a desire to get God off their backs.  But it seems that mankind is insatiably curious about, "What does God want from me?"

We usually picture it in some form of bargain.  God wants me to perform some ritual—pray three times a day, give ten percent, go to church every Sunday—in return for which he will look with favor upon me.  But if you want the right answers, you must ask the right questions!  Perhaps the right question is, "What does God want to give to me?"

Consider:  what could he want from you?  The woman assumed that she had what Jesus wanted.  It seemed simple enough until He began to speak about "living water."  But God is spirit;  whatever it is He wants, it must be pleasing in a spiritual way.  Things material, therefore, are of use only as they represent the spirit within the man.  God seeks after the heart.

Christ gently reminds her of her condition.  She has had five husbands.  The rabbis of this time would perform no more than five marriages for a divorced woman.  So she is unable to have a legal wedding with the man she is living with.  It's wrong;  she knows it—and is surprised that Jesus does too.  But she gets the point.  She's a sinner;  He is something special.  At first she thinks he might be a prophet, but he tells her plainly that he is the long promised Messiah—the Christ.

This is the gift that God wants to give us—Christ Himself.  Out of him flow the streams of living water, giving us eternal life, the free gift of God.  It is this salvation that God wants to give us, his very own Son.  The gift is a very expensive one, for it cost Jesus his life upon the Cross.

What does he desire in return?  Worship.  Not worship in ritual, not worship in empty form, but real worship.  Real worship is worship in "spirit and in truth."  It comes from deep in the soul, and flows up in truth; there is no hypocrisy in it.  As the fountain of Living Water flows from our Lord, so we too must become fountains of worship in spirit and truth.

All I can say brother, is AMEN!

January 12

Spiritual Harvest
Joh_4:27-38

There is a limit to worldly reformers:  their lifetime.

It is not so in the kingdom of God.  The Messiah had been prophesied for over a thousand years.  The prophets of the Old Testament period had laid the foundation of knowledge about God which enables us today to see the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  All those whose activities are recorded in the Old Testament went without seeing the culmination of their labors—the coming of the Messiah, and his kingdom.

Christ selects a dozen men, and then provides them the opportunity to reap what the prophets have sown.  They will build on the work of all who have gone before them, but did not see the fruit of their labors.  It is a grand feeling to be the one who sees the harvest coming in.

But turn the situation around.  How many of us have looked at our church, our town, our situation and declared it hopeless because we can see no way to remedy the situation?  With God all things are possible, even those which will take beyond our own lifetimes.  The curse of abortion runs through my land, and someday God will lift that curse.  It may not be in my lifetime, but in my lifetime I must do what I can to further God's cause.

Why, then, do so many become discouraged?  See if you see yourself in any of these pictures:

There are those who see only what can be done in their own strength.  They do not really trust God.  "Oh Lord, where will we get the money, the people, ."

There are those who see only their own timing.  If God's army is on the march they will follow along, but if the war is in the trenches they want no part of it.  They lack perseverance.

There are those who look only at the strength of the enemy, and say, "What can we do against so many?"  They forget that those who are for us are more than those against us.

There are those who see only their own problems, and think no more of the church than a place to complain.  The church is not a mob, but a body.

But some see with the eyes of faith—beyond time, beyond their own strength or troubles.  Of these God fashions those who serve.  Are you willing to be one of these?

January 13

Signs and Wonders
Joh_4:46-54

One of the most annoying things in times of trouble is the glib Christian who tells you, "Have faith—everything will work out all right."  It sounds pious enough, but you know that it's just a trite little phrase that "sounds like the right thing to say."

The reason this sounds so hollow is that there is no commitment in it.  Advising someone to have faith costs me very little indeed.  But consider this father in our passage.  He comes in desperation to a man who has done a few miracles—down in Jerusalem.  One miracle in the home town.  Before that, he was the local carpenter's kid.  Can you picture the desperate longing?

The man is a royal official;  perhaps he felt himself high enough to command.  But he does not;  he begs.  In such circumstance Jesus' reply seems strange—a condemnation of sorts.  But the original makes it clear that he was addressing the crowd.  They were looking for the side show of the circus.  The father had something much more important in mind.

So it is that he approaches Jesus in humility.  Indeed, we may imagine that Christ may have had a lot more to say to the crowd, but the father interrupts him.  The matter is urgent.  His son is dying.  We can see this humility in action in Christ's reply.

He dismisses the father.  "You may go.  Your son will live."  It is as simple as that.  It is not even worth the time of the Christ to come with the man and touch the boy.  It can be done with a word.

Would you like a practical, working definition of the faith your friends so glibly tell you to have?  You can see it here:  "The man took Jesus at his word, and departed."

There it is.  Nothing deep, nothing mystic.  The man took Jesus at his word—and acted upon it.  Many of us are quick to say that we trust the Lord, but few of us are quick to act like it.  This man, without a further word, trusts.  The Lord of Life has spoken;  no disease, no power, no demon—nothing– can change what has been spoken.  He who spoke and the worlds began has pronounced.  It is sufficient for this man.  It should be sufficient for us as well.

Faith without commitment is idle chatter.  Faith with commitment is life eternal.  Most of us dither about the commitment—as if we could mount the diving platform, leap and only go half way into the water.  God has so ordered the universe that we cannot.  Trust him—and make the commitment.  Make it with all your heart, and you will never need to look back.

January 14

Home Town Boy
Luk_4:16-31

George Bernard Shaw once remarked that the only sensible man he knew was his tailor—because he always took his measurements each time he came in.

So it is with the home town boy from Nazareth.  They have heard of the miracles, they are expecting something, but they also know him to be "just one of us."  They are infuriated to find out that things are not what they thought they were.  We are often enraged when the world does not live up to our expectations.  We don't like to keep taking measurements.

What, then, is this man going to do?  He gives us four things:

To bind up the broken hearted.  It is a curious phrasing, "bind up."  It as if Christ is going to take the pieces of a broken heart and put them together again.  But that is just what he wants to do!  He came to reconcile us to God –to restore us to the right relationship with God.

Free the captive.  How many of us are prisoners—prisoners of our habits, prisoners of our lives.  We may know what we need to do, but lack the ability to do it.  Jesus can provide that, for in him all things are possible.

Release from darkness. Some of us are worse than captive.  The captive at least knows where to find the door to the jail cell.  Those in darkness don't even see that.  But have no fear!  Our Lord is the Lord of Light, and in him there is no darkness.  Seek him, and see.

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.  This was the year of Jubilee—every fifty years in ancient Israel, all debts were cancelled, and each man returned to his inheritance.  It is a picture of our salvation—we obtain again what God originally gave to us.

One thing is missing.  If you will turn to the original verse from which Christ is quoting, you will see another phrase—"the day of vengeance of our God."  The Day of Wrath, the day in which God will judge the living and the dead, is omitted.  In this time, our Lord does not come for judgment.  The matter is not forgotten, just postponed.  In his first coming our Lord graciously proclaims his salvation and mercy.  Accept it now, and all is well.  But the day will come—perhaps very soon—in which this kindness will no longer be available.  Hear what the Lord says—and listen to what he leaves out.  The time is short.

January 15

Fishers of Men
Mat_4:18-22

What is the purpose of your life?

Do you go to work each day, longing for the weekend, and spend the weekend being bored until Monday brings meaning again?  There is no profit in this.  Yet it is the way of life, and eventually death, for most of us.

In that boredom we admire those who have a real purpose in their lives.  We think highly of Mother Theresa—with no wish to follow in her steps.  We want the call to high and holy things, but not the work that attends it.

Christ makes the opposite call to his innermost disciples here.  It is significant here what Christ does not offer:

He shows them no miracles—nothing to dazzle their minds with the promise of magic.

He offers them no promise of reward—nothing to tempt their wallets or their pride.

He offers them only the work—the high, holy calling of hard work, being the fishers of men.

Nothing high, nothing holy, nothing adventurous or glamorous—just the hard work of the kingdom.  He knew his workmen, did Jesus.  Look at their reaction:

They left everything—nets (the tools of the trade), boats (the repository of their wealth) and even their families.

The left all this—at once.  Immediately.  There was no debate, no looking back.
There is the measure of the men whom Christ called.  Were they really capable of bearing the load?  Not without the Holy Spirit—but they were capable of trying.  The dangers ahead might have chilled their enthusiasm, but their response is one that says that danger does not matter.  All that matters is the call, and their response to it.

There it is.  There are no half measures in the kingdom of God.  You are in, or you are not.  If you are, there is no debate with your Lord and Master over the terms of service.  The terms of service are simple, expressed in two words:  "Follow Me."  Brains, wealth, education, talent, ability—these mean nothing to the Creator of all things.  All that matters is your response to two simple words:  "Follow Me."

January 16

The Holy One
Mar_1:21-28

We see here the confrontation of good and evil—and we see that evil flees.  So it is that we are taught to resist the devil, and he will flee even from us.  Perhaps we can learn from this passage a little more about this.

"What do you want with us?"  From this question alone it is apparent that the demon wants nothing to do with Jesus.  This is logical.  Evil's only effect on righteousness is to corrupt it, and this man cannot be corrupted.  Therefore, evil runs.

Like the insects running from the light, the demon is exposed.  No longer overpowering, he flees in terror from the eternal light of God.  When a real Christian walks into the room, have you ever noticed the change in language?

"Have you come to destroy us?"  From this question we can see that the demon knows two things:  first, that destruction is his ultimate end—the fires of hell are set for Satan and his angels.  Second, that Christ has the power to destroy these demons, and they fear it.  Do you fear evil, or does it fear you?

The Holy One.  This is a title that goes back into the Old Testament, and deeply.  It is the title of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the one set apart by God himself.  In this name, we see prophecy fulfilled, righteousness displayed and God's coming into the affairs of man.

"Be Silent".  The Holy One neither wants nor needs any witness from the legions of Satan.  It's somewhat like getting a character reference to your honesty from a man convicted of perjury.  It may be a grudging form of respect, but you probably wouldn't list it on your resume.  The one who is pure righteousness can have no alliance with anything evil.

"Come out of him."  The word is one of command.  The authority is there, and there is no question about it.  It is shown by the results, and the people are amazed.

Many of us view evil and good as equal and opposite.  It is not so.  Evil is the twisting or corruption of what is good.  When evil sees what it was meant to be before the twisting, it is a painful experience.  Those who are evil do not like to be reminded of what they should be.  For that reason the world wishes to silence the righteous, so that evil may be serene.

But the power of God is infinitely greater than that of Satan.  The victory is assured;  it was won on Calvary.  The only real question now is, will you march with the Victor?

January 17

Choosing Your Witnesses
Mar_1:29-34

There is a curious phrasing in this passage.  Jesus would not let the demons speak—because they knew who he was.

Part of his motivation was that he wanted no witness from anything evil, for pure righteousness can have nothing to do with the corruption of evil  But perhaps there is more to it.  Is it just possible that our Lord wanted to concentrate on the work at hand?  He is at the very beginning of his ministry, and perhaps the word that the Messiah had come would be premature.  God often reveals things in stages, carefully laying the groundwork so that hearts will be ready to receive him.

In a sense, Jesus is choosing his witnesses.  He wants no testimony from the demons, and needs none from us—but gladly accepts the testimony of the sinner turned to God.  Why?  Not for his own sake, but for ours.  Things that are high and holy may be difficult to understand, but each of us has been sick.  We understand healing.

There is a touching moment here.  Peter's mother is ill, and the brothers bring this fact to Jesus.  No record is made of the plea, but it seems that Jesus wanted to establish his ability to heal one and all, and this was a good start.  Peter's mother then sets an example herself.  She rises from the sick bed to serve.

There is a tender humility to this from which we may learn much.

She does not picture herself as especially favored by God in this, and therefore "above" menial service.  Rather, her gratitude is shown in service.

There is nothing extraordinary about what she does.  How many of us think that if we were to be healed miraculously that we would immediately become evangelists!  It is not so.  She gets up, and serves, as she has always done.  Our response to the love of God should be to do the work he has given us.

Interestingly, she does this on the Sabbath.  The Lord of the Sabbath is with her, and in his presence the lesser rules of the law are set aside.  How often we make a rule for ourselves, and then let it keep us from serving our Lord.

We don't know her name;  she is known only by her sons.  Her service seems ordinary to us.  But it is in the ordinary service of the extraordinary Savior that the kingdom is revealed to most of us.  Are we too special to serve?  She wasn't.

January 18

A Sinful Man
Luk_5:1-11

Fish, it would seem, are where you find them.  Anyone who has worked with rod and reel will tell you that sometimes they are just not biting.   Each year the marketplace brings us new gadgets which promise miraculous results when fishing, and the next year finds them rusting in the bottom of the tackle box.

So often in our work for the kingdom of God we wonder:  just why am I not more successful?  Whether it is in our personal lives or in reaching out to others, it is common to wonder.  We ask ourselves, "What's wrong?"

The disciples could have asked themselves that on this particular night.  It certainly wasn't a lack of experience.   They were born and raised as commercial fishermen.  They knew the lake well.  It wasn't a lack of hard work.  They'd been at it all night.  Then the Carpenter tells them to let down the net one more time.  Was Peter being sarcastic when he agreed to do it?

If he was, it didn't last long.  He pulls in a record catch, swamping the boats.  Suddenly the professional fisherman sees the master of earth and sky, and realizes just exactly who he's been speaking to.  The revelation is a shock.  Peter does what many in the Old Testament did:  he wants this man far away from him, for he knows what a sinner he is.

It also means he knows that sin cannot exist in the presence of true righteousness.  His very life is at stake.  But Christ has a different purpose in mind.  He is teaching Peter a most important lesson.  In the work of the kingdom, hard work and diligence are necessary—but not sufficient.  The presence of the living Christ is required as well.

But with the living Christ, the catch is overwhelming.  Peter must call to his partners for help, and even then the boats almost sink.  So it is with us.  If we labor hard at "being a good Christian," and omit the presence of the living Christ in our lives, we will spend the night in fruitless labor.  But once we open up our hearts and genuinely invite him in, all is changed.   The long night of the soul's dreary toil gives way to a morning so full of his blessings that we cannot contain them.  We must then call to our friends and share such things with them.  Have you ever noticed that the most blessed Christians are those who are most willing to share the blessings?

The matter is one of the heart.  Invite the Living Lord into yours, completely—and experience the Lord's bounty.

January 19

As Moses Commanded
Luk_5:12-16

Do you wonder why your life in Christ is weak?  Perhaps you should take a lesson from this man.

Note his attitude towards Christ.  He treats him as he would a king.  Does your prayer life show such respect?

He does not bargain;  he does not even ask for healing.  He begs.  He understands that he has no standing, no favors owed.  How often do we assume that God should bless us because we have done what he commanded?

He approaches Jesus with confidence.  He knows that Jesus can heal him;  the only question is, will he?  This is faith, not doubt, not debate.
Jesus reply gives us insight into him as well.

"I am willing."  Do you ever accuse your Lord of being uninterested, uncaring about your problems?  Remember he is willing;  he desires all that is best for you.

He displays here his very nature:  Lord of the universe.  He does not put on a display of magic;  rather, he commands the man to be clean—and the universe obeys its master.

Then, in what puzzles modern readers, he tells him to show himself to the priest and make the appropriate sacrifices under the Mosaic law.  It seems superfluous, but with Christ even the smallest details are worked out by the Master's plan.
The time of the Old Testament is drawing to a close, but is not yet over.  These sacrifices are commanded.

More than that, the ritual is a "testimony."  It is the way by which this man can bear witness to Christ in a most powerful way.  When we want to say deep and powerful things, we reach for ritual.

As parallel passages make clear, the man not only made the sacrifices—he talked!  To the point that the sick flocked to Jesus for healing, even to the hindrance of his teaching.

Consider well your life of prayer.  Do you tell Jesus what he must do—or do you treat him as King of the universe?  Do you bargain or beg?  Do you approach him in faith, or wishful thinking?  When he grants your desire, do you bear witness to it, telling others what your Lord has done?

We don't know this man's name.  But we should become more acquainted with his faith.

January 20

Proof of Authority
Mar_2:1-12

Authority, in the wrong hands, can be a terror.  But in the right hands it is a blessing.  The paramedics coming with sirens blaring have the right of way—so that someone's life might be saved.

Here we have the demonstration of authority of an ultimate kind.  Look at it this way:  suppose that I have insulted you.  You then have the opportunity to forgive.  (Some might insist you have the duty to forgive, but we'll pass on that point for the moment).  It would make no sense for someone else to forgive me for the insult, for you are the one who is offended.  You have, in effect, been given the authority to forgive in this instance because you are the one who is offended.

Now, in every sin, God is the one who is offended.  He may not be the only one, but he is always offended, for sin is an offense against his pure righteousness.  Therefore, God always has the authority to forgive.  Suppose, however, that someone comes along saying that God has given him that authority.  That would be very convenient for us, but the skeptical among us might just say, "Prove it."

That's exactly what Jesus does here.  By telling the man his sins are forgiven—and confirming it by having him rise up and walk—he shows one and all that God has indeed given him such authority.  The Pharisees quickly see the point.

Interestingly, the man's friends understand it too.  After all, they have gone to the trouble of hauling this man up on to the roof, digging through the thatch and lowering him down.  That's proof that they think Jesus can heal the man.  They're willing to risk the wrath of the homeowner to see their friend healed.  They wouldn't do that without a lot of confidence in Jesus.

Note, please, this confidence is shown in two things:

They are quick to think of a different way to reach Jesus.  The conventional methods don't work, so they go through the roof.  How often are we stymied in our walk of faith by our respect for the way we've always done things?

Not only quick to think; they are bold to act.  They tear through the roof, an action which cannot be done by halves.  Their belief results in action.  Have you ever come to the edge of action in faith, and then hesitated?

Christ has the authority;  your sins can be forgiven.  But you must act, not just think about it.

January 21

Calling the Sinner
Mar_2:13-17

It is joked that sharks will not eat lawyers—out of professional courtesy.  I wonder what they would do with tax men.

In this time, tax collectors were a particularly vile lot.  Israel was under Roman rule, and the Romans appointed local citizens to collect their taxes.  Indeed, it was common for the tax collector to purchase the position—expecting to recoup the price from the possibilities of extortion of the taxpayers.  This did not lend them an air of popularity.

Levi, also known as Matthew, was such a man.  In following Christ he risked everything, for the "righteous" of his day would not accept him; his job would be sold to another; and he would be completely dependent upon Jesus.  Perhaps it was just that which appealed to him.  For the first time in his life, there was something greater than money and the sleaze that surrounded it.  It was his one chance to escape from his sins.

But he did not leave alone.  He called all his friends—who would no doubt be as socially acceptable as he was—to a party to meet this Jesus.  That he would throw such a party may surprise you.  That Jesus went certainly surprised the Pharisees, the "righteous" of his day.  They were greatly offended.

Their point sounds logical.  Here is a man who is calling the world to repentance.  How then can he go to a party with such men?  What would we think if our District Attorney attended a party given by the Mafia?  It just wouldn't look right!

Jesus is not concerned with appearances, but with the salvation of the lost.  One does not dispatch an ambulance to the healthy.

"Yes, but surely we shouldn't consort with evil people.  We might be corrupted ourselves."  Then let us so strengthen our faith that we can consort with them without being corrupted.  Otherwise they will be lost because of our lack of faith and courage.

For two thousand years the world has attempted to keep Christ in the confines of polite, dignified society.  Time and again he breaks out, reaching out to the derelict, the drunk and the defiant.  Polite society is shocked each time;  we dare not get our hands dirty.  But the love of God for his lost children will not be contained in our social customs.

But suppose we tried to reach them?  Visit those in prison?  Care for those with AIDS?  It sounds radical, and it is.  It is also the imitation of the Lord who loves us—and them.

January 22

A Reason Ignored
Joh_5:1-9

Some background is necessary to understand the story.  The more modern translations leave out the explanations which do not occur in the oldest manuscripts.  While this is proper handling of the Scriptures, it does leave out something which helps us understand.  The man was waiting for the "stirring of the water."  It was believed, evidently with good cause, that an angel stirred the water.  When this happened, the first person in the pool was healed of whatever diseases he had.

The man is a sweet commentary on the subject of faith.  First, consider how long he has been coming to the pool—thirty eight years.  That is persistence!  It is also evidence of faith in God, and faith in as much action as he can manage.  So we see the value of keeping the faith.

Evidently the man who is healed has no real idea just who Jesus might be.  It is clear that he does not completely understand the one to whom he is speaking.  It is also clear that he doesn't need to, for the power is in Jesus, not in man.  This is a comfort to those who struggle with issues of doctrine.  We should make our doctrine as sound as we can—but the ultimate authority is not our understanding but his holy power.

The man also shows a common characteristic of Christians at prayer today:  he tells God how to solve the problem.  The Great Healer asks him a question—and he doesn't answer it.  He explains instead that the problem is a lack of a porter, or at least a swift one.  How often we tell God just how to solve our problems, instead of  leaving the solution to the one who knows best!

God's response to such is often like this instance.  He does not explain anything;  he commands.  Explanation may come after obedience, but not before.  God is not accountable to us.  He need not negotiate.  But when he commands, the issue becomes entirely clear.  We can obey, or we can refuse.  If we obey, we acknowledge God as the one who knows best and has all power to accomplish his plan.  If we refuse, we tell him that we have a better idea.

This man hears the voice of command.  Note that our Lord gives him a positive action to perform—so that he will know for certain that the matter is settled.  The lame man's response is a model for us.  With no further discussion he picked up his mat and walked.  Perhaps the reason our prayers seem to be unanswered is that we are not willing to pick up the mat—trusting our Lord to deliver what he promises as we do.

January 27

Lord of the Sabbath
Mat_12:1-8

One of the most annoying things in life is discovering a hole in your theory.  The temptation is to patch the hole—or shoot the one who found the leak.

The Pharisees have that problem.  They have built up, over time, an elaborate set of rules of conduct.  Their theory—that the rules are everything—is full of holes, and Christ takes no effort to avoid pointing them out.  Indeed, the Pharisees practically hand him the opportunity here.

Christ points out two inherent problems of legalism:

First, sometimes the rules just don't cover all situations.  That's the point of his reference to David.

Next, even when they cover a specific situation, the exception clauses actually point out the principles behind the rules.  The priests had to work hard on the Sabbath, with all those sacrifices.  The principle—a day of rest for man, looking to God—is shown clearly by what they are allowed to do.

In Mark's parallel account, he tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  What does that mean?  It means that the rules God has given are for our benefit, not for our annoyance.  Traffic rules prevent accidents, which is why you obey them.  And just as the traffic rules are set aside at the sound of the fire engine's siren, so the rules of life are set aside when the Lord of Life is present.

That must have shocked the Pharisees.  Perhaps they understood the argument about the rules, but the statement about the person can be interpreted only one way—here is a man who speaks with God's authority, who is God in the flesh.
Which brings us to the questions:

Have you tied yourself up in your own set of rules?  Don't associate with "that"
kind of person—even to the exclusion of love and mercy?

Do the rules you have in your life bind you—or bless you?

Do you follow the rules—or follow the Ruler?

Some view the Christian life as one in which we drag a sled loaded with rules, uphill.  But Christ said his burden was easy, his yoke is light.  Take him as Lord, abandon all else, and you will see that his way is the one of blessing.

January 28

Counsel With the Herodians

Mar_3:1-6

Often Jesus performs his miracles quietly, out of a desire that healing should not become a circus.  But sometimes he does the opposite.  He makes a show of his work—for a purpose.  Not for the purpose of ostentation, but that those around may see and learn.  The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

We can imagine that the man with the withered hand was a member of the synagogue.  Likely enough he had been coming there for years, and the Pharisees may have come because they knew he would be there.  It would be easy for Jesus to be elsewhere.  Note the first requirement of righteousness:  courage.  Jesus does not hide his work in the corner, but confronts the hypocrites directly.

His question—"Is it lawful" - may be taken in two ways:

It can certainly be argued that if you are able to do good for someone, and fail to do it, that this is sin.  The circumstances may admit some excuse, but in this instance the circumstances were contrived to prevent any such.  Jesus could heal;  would it not have been sinful for him to refuse?  If you went to the emergency room of a hospital, what would you think of a doctor who refused to treat you—because your accident happened on a Sunday?

It can also be argued that having the ability to do good imposes an obligation to use it.  Remember the parable of the Talents?  The master gave no specific instructions, just the trust given with the money.  But he condemned the servant who failed to use the money in any way.  Jesus is the Great Physician;  how could he not heal?

There is a certain sadness in this little story.  We see Jesus grieved—not at their doctrine, nor at their regulations, but at their hard hearts.  Their actions showed this.  Their next move was to meet with the Herodians, a political party which would normally have been a stench in their nostrils.  The poverty of their doctrine is shown in how much they must compromise it to get rid of the one who showed it to be false.

The Gospel is like that.  If your heart is open and accepting, it is indeed Good News.  If your heart is hard and unyielding, the Gospel will drive you into opposition.  When it does, you grieve the very heart of God Himself.  This is true when we first hear it, and when it is brought to mind by hearing it again.  May your heart always be open to hear the Good News.

January 30

Chosen in Prayer

Luk_6:12-16

Christians frequently complain that their prayer life is hollow, weak and meaningless.  We might observe, however, that the relationship between prayer and righteousness is not what we might think:

We feel that if a man is righteous, he has little need of prayer, for he must be in good touch with God.  By that test, Jesus would never have felt the need to pray.

Note, however, that the more righteous a man becomes, the sweeter prayer seems to him.  We think it a burden to endure the "sweet hour of prayer;" he thinks it a joy to pray all night.

In this simple section of Scripture, our Lord gives us a grand example of how to pray:

Note the time of day which he selects.  It is after the rush of business, when all distractions have left.  Ordinary men would rush to sleep, but the man of God has a more urgent appointment.  Now is the time with God alone.

Likewise, consider the place he selects—a mountainside.  Again, he separates himself from all others, to avoid distraction.  Also, in the dark of night he can see the witness of creation reminding him of his Father.

What impresses us most is the time spent—all night.  Evidently he had no fear of running out of topics for conversation with his Father.

Consider, though, the cause of this night of prayer.  It is the selection of the Apostles themselves.  We might think that this list of names would have been revealed to Jesus in an instant, but he takes all night about it.  Was it the selection, or was it our Lord taking each name to the Father, asking for protection and guidance for each man, one at a time?

Note that he selects them all at once.  The inner circle of four we are well acquainted with;  the next four are less known; the outer four are anonymous, except for Judas Iscariot.  Even those who are just a name to us were the cause of an all night prayer meeting for our Lord.

That is comforting, for we know he is our advocate with the Father.  He stayed up all night, praying over twelve men, some great, some unknown.  It is good to know that the "unknowns," like us, are the subject of prayer for our Lord and Savior.

February 1

Those Who Mourn

Mat_5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  It sounds like one of the paradoxes of the Bible.  How can mourning be a blessing?
Perhaps it depends upon what you are mourning for:

Most of the scholars of the Bible will quickly point out to you that Christians are commanded to mourn—to have "godly sorrow" - for their sins.  This is a step in the process of repentance.  It is to recognize that you have done wrong, and feel genuinely sorry that you did.  All of us are familiar with the "I'm sorry" of a small child, who is usually sorry that he got caught.  This is the sorrow of one who means it.  It is an art that needs practice!  But consider what happens when you do it.  God, the Almighty, the Just Judge, hears your advocate in heaven, Jesus the Christ, and agrees with his plea for mercy toward you.  Think about it this way:  how do you feel when the traffic cop says, "I'm going to let you off with a warning this time?"  God's comfort is even greater.  In Him you are completely forgiven.

Sometimes we mourn for our circumstances.  We consider our lot in life and say, "Poor me!"  So often when this happens it drives us to our knees in prayer and back to God.  But this is good!  If I could sell you a magic potion that would bring you closer to God, it would be worth a fortune.  But it seems that your troubles already are doing this, at no charge.  Take those troubles to him in prayer, and receive the sweet comfort only God can give.

The word "mourning" is often associated with death.  We say that someone is "in mourning" for the loss of a loved one.  But even here there is comfort from God.  If this loved one trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead—and what a grand and glorious day that will be!

Mourning has the virtue that it drives out all other emotions, and keeps us from much that is sinful.  It is the starting point of self-denial.  It is also a method of getting clear touch with reality.  As often as we deceive ourselves about sin, circumstance and death, mourning is our friend to bring us back to a clear view of the truth.  To this our Lord adds the blessing of God, that you might know that he works all things together for the good of his children.

February 2

Blessed Are the Meek

Mat_5:5

J. Paul Getty had a rejoinder to this.  "The meek shall inherit the earth," he said, "but not the mineral rights."  Without knowing it, he has given us the key to understanding this passage.

Getty was once asked how much money was "enough."  His answer was simply, "More."  In this attitude we see the world's view of "who wins."  The winners are the powerful, the strong, those who can take what they want.  The purpose of life is to accumulate more and more possessions.  But then what?

Our Lord gives us a very different view.  He says the meek shall inherit the earth.  But just who are the meek?

The word can also be translated "gentle."  So at the very least these are not those who are the pushy and aggressive so favored by our modern thought.

The word is sometimes rendered "humble."  Remember that the Bible tells us that Moses was a humble man, so humility is not the opposite of greatness.

Humility starts with an honest evaluation of yourself—by the standards of God.  Things look different from that viewpoint.

Because pride does not cloud their view, the meek can discern what is good, and what is evil—and choose wisely.

Meekness carries with it the ability to withstand evil—not with the weapons of the world, but with patient endurance.  The storm may lash the rock, but it remains a rock when the storm is gone.

The meek are those whose actions are governed by a love of God, and their fellow men.

At the very least these are the kind of people who will enjoy this earth much more while they are here—for they are not concerned with scraping more of it into their back pockets.  Getty was a man who was owned by his mineral rights.

The key to this passage is in the verb—"inherit."  You do not earn an inheritance, it is given to you.  So if you go out to conquer the earth, you cannot inherit it.  But if you remain among the meek, our Lord promises that you shall inherit it.  The day of the New Heaven and New Earth will see new owners evidently—the meek shall then inherit.  It is good to know that they will enjoy this planet much more while they're waiting for it, as well.

February 3

Hunger and Thirst
Mat_5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Just what does that mean?

Perhaps it will be simpler to understand if we take it phrase by phrase.  Let's begin with "hunger and thirst."

If you hunger and thirst after something, it's clear that you desire it very much.  It's something that rouses your passions, and more—you think it essential to life itself.  So if you are to be blessed in this way, you must make righteousness like water in the desert or food to the starving.  You must make it a passionate desire.

If you hunger and thirst after something, it certainly implies that you don't have it.  So you must begin by admitting that your own righteousness is not what you are seeking..  If you think you are "good enough" for God, think again.

Anything you hunger and thirst for must be obtained from outside yourself.  You don't generate your own food and water, you get them from outside yourself.  So this righteousness is something you must obtain from outside—from God.

Next, we see that it is a hunger and thirst for righteousness.  We can learn from that as well.

Whatever else righteousness is, it is not something tangible.  We are chasing something spiritual when we pursue righteousness.

If we are pursuing something spiritual, we cannot pursue it in a bodily way.  We may fast to keep the body from interfering with our pursuit, but ultimately this must be sought spiritually, for righteousness is a spiritual thing.  Prayer, study and meditation are the tools of our pursuit.

Last, we can see the promise given: they will be filled.  Again, we can learn from this:

We will "be filled" - not stuff ourselves.  It will not be our own doing which produces this righteousness, but God's action which does it.

But we will be "filled" - we shall have all we need.  God's righteousness, in Christ, is given to us and it is sufficient for our every need.

Passionately pursue his righteousness, in prayer and study, and you will have all you need.

February 4

The Merciful
Mat_5:7

Twilla Paris said it best in song:

If I close my ears to the feeble cry
Of the poor man's child as he passes by
I can mark your Word there will come a time
When my cries will fall— on ears like mine!

Consider the beggar by the road.  You have no obligation to him;  he may appear dirty and ragged and undesirable.  Nothing in him appeals to you of his own merit;  whatever mercy you show must come from within you.

Have you ever considered the fact that you are God's beggar?  God has no obligation to you.  To Him you appear filthy, ragged and undesirable beyond all possibility of self-improvement.  There is nothing in you, of your own merit, by which you can appeal to him.  Whatever mercy He shows must come from his own essence.

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest,-
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Mercy blesses both the recipient and the giver.  God reaches out to us in mercy, the mercy of the Cross.  Is it too much for him to ask that we let the world see the Creator in the creature, the workman by the work, as we imitate him in showing mercy?

God's mercy is two-fold for us:

His mercy is shown in his forgiveness to us—the grace bought at the Cross.
His mercy is also shown in the many blessings he gives us in this life, and in the life to come.  He owes us nothing;  he will give us all that we need.

But there is a difference between God's mercy and our mercy.  The mercy of men is small, but the mercy of God is great.  It seems here that we shall receive the great mercy of God in exchange for giving the small mercy of men.  This is so.  When pouring out mercy upon us, God uses our own measuring cup—the one we use to pour it out on others.

February 5

The Pure In Heart
Mat_5:8

Towards the end of the 19th century a scientist named Henri Becquerel put some pitchblende—the ore of uranium—in a drawer with some photographic film.  Upon developing the film he noticed some white, blurred spots, and remembered the ore.  He went back and did it again, and discovered radioactivity.  It has been with us since the beginning;  but we did not know it until photographic film was invented.  We did not have the right instruments for detecting it.

The pure heart, our Lord tells us, is the correct instrument for seeing God.  How can this be?

God need not be seen by us at all.  If he chooses to withdraw from his creation, then we could never detect him.  Why would he do that?  Because he is completely righteous, and can have no alliance with sin.

At a more pragmatic level, have you ever watched a cynic in a living church?  He's trying to figure out what all these people are getting out of it;  what's "the angle."  Because it would never occur to him to have pure motives, he cannot fathom anyone else who does.

Another practical reason is this:  every time someone meets God in the Old Testament, their reaction is to think they're going to die.  "I am a man of unclean lips," says Isaiah.  The Lord must take away his sin before he can see God, or he will certainly die.

To see God is the ultimate in virtue.  We see him "darkly" now, but when Christ returns it will be face to face.  Think of the things that will be so obvious then that are so clouded now!  Purity of heart is the ultimate goal of every righteous person.

But how can this be done?

Faith, says St. Augustine.  This is how God purifies his servants through trial.
Working out love, says St. Paul (1 Timothy 1:5) - for out of a pure heart comes pure love.

Ask God, says David in Psalm 51.  The Creator of all things can create a clean heart in you.

How's your vision?  Does God seem lost in the mist, an empty form to whom you pray with no response?  Or is he the living God seen by those who are pure in heart?

February 7

The Persecuted

Mat_5:10

Mention "persecution" to an American Christian of this time and you will hear a slight clucking noise.  Sympathy with the poor missionaries will be heard; sympathy, but no thought that we could ever join in their sufferings, or would want to.

Why?  Because we are afraid.  Life is comfortable and we like it that way.  The loss appears great, and our courage small.  But the Scripture paints a very different picture, commanding us to be fearless in the face of persecution, even to death.  For hundreds of millions of Christians, the watchword has been that of the Royal Navy:  "Fear God; dread naught."  How, then, can we overcome our fears and please our Lord?

Imitation

A glance at Christian history will reveal any number of martyrs who went to their deaths for Christ.  Indeed, Athanasius tells us that in his time (around AD 400) it was common knowledge that Christians were executed—and went to death boldly.  These were ordinary men with extraordinary faith—and a great example.

But they were doing this in imitation of our Lord.  Are you greater than Christ?  He suffered and died as the Lamb of God.  If you are persecuted for righteousness, you have the privilege of following in God's footsteps.

Results Now

Those who establish persecution are often disappointed with the results.  The first thing it does is strengthen the Christian!  This is not surprising;  muscles grow stronger with exercise, and persecution exercises the muscles of faith.  But persecution does more than that.  As Tertullian put it, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church."  As the world watches the persecuted Christian die, the people ask themselves, "Is there really something worth dying for in this world?"  If it is worth dying for, it is worth living for.

In all this we have sweet communion with our Lord, for no persecution can separate us from Him.

Results Forever

One must look at things with "forever eyes."  If we endure persecution with our Lord, we are promised to reign with our Lord.  The world's reaction is completely logical:  the righteous expose the wicked, and the wicked try to stamp them out.  But the world is not forever.  God will some day bring forth the New Heaven and New Earth, and at that time those who saw things clearly will be those who reign.

February 8

Rejoice and Be Glad

Mat_5:11-12

An enduring joke from World War II concerns one of the prayers required of the British Army.  Said at a meal, it was:  "O Lord, for what we are about to receive, may we be truly thankful."  More than a little satire went into the tone of those who recited this just before an artillery bombardment.

Christians tend to have the same attitude when told to rejoice in the face of persecution.  We have come to expect life to treat Christians with respect, but our Lord tells us otherwise:

We will be insulted.  If we stand up for righteousness, we will be called intolerant.  If we stand up for brotherhood, we will be called fools.

We will be persecuted.  It may be blatant, as it is in many parts of the world where just being a Christian is illegal.  It may be subtle, as it is in many corporations where being a Christian is a bar to promotion.  But it will be there.

We will be falsely accused.  The wildest of tales will circulate, "urban legends" that will be displayed as fact, and taken as truth because "experts" say so.

Rejoice

In this, we are to rejoice.  Rejoice?  James tells us to count it "pure joy."  Why?  Perhaps it's because Satan has found in you a worthy opponent—and God has confirmed it, for he would not allow it if you were not able to withstand it.  It is a badge of honor.

Limitations

Our Lord places two limitations on this:
First, the suffering must be for his sake.  If you are suffering on your own account, this may be God's discipline.

The accusations must be false.  If you are being jailed for your offenses, and the charges are true, it is no joy.

Good company

Jesus mentions the persecution of the prophets in this context.  Indeed, most of them met rather grisly ends.  If you will look at it from the eternal point of view, though, the prophets are greatly honored.  Their words came from God;  their suffering under persecution was their service to God.  It is not their words that made them great, it is their suffering.

So rejoice, Christian!  If you are persecuted for Him, you just made the varsity team of eternity.

Some good stuff in here!  :o

In this, we are to rejoice.  Rejoice?  James tells us to count it "pure joy."  Why?  Perhaps it's because Satan has found in you a worthy opponent—and God has confirmed it, for he would not allow it if you were not able to withstand it.  It is a badge of honor.
 :D

Those who establish persecution are often disappointed with the results.  The first thing it does is strengthen the Christian!  This is not surprising;  muscles grow stronger with exercise, and persecution exercises the muscles of faith.  But persecution does more than that.  As Tertullian put it, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church."  As the world watches the persecuted Christian die, the people ask themselves, "Is there really something worth dying for in this world?"  If it is worth dying for, it is worth living for.

February 9

Salt of the Earth

Mat_5:13

Salt occupied a higher place in the society of this time than it does in ours.
The Latin word for salt, salarum, is the word from which we get our word, "salary."  Roman soldiers were paid in salt, because it was valuable and easy to carry.  So salt was akin to gold in that respect.

We know it well today as an antiseptic—has your doctor ever told you to gargle with salt water?  It was their antiseptic too, and they saw it as a cleansing agent.

We also recognize it as a preservative—and a flavorful one at that.  Bacon and ham, for example, are preserved this way.

So we, then, are to be "salt" - to be of high value, a cleansing agent and that which preserves what is good.  Does this not sound like the life of a solid but ordinary Christian?
"of the earth"

We often forget that last phrase.  We are not just to be "salt" amongst ourselves, but in the world.  Why?  Because Christ gave us the Great Commission.  We are to go and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and in so doing be greatly valued by God, cleansing the nations of sin and preserving all good things until He comes again.  But—the warning is clear—if we lose our saltiness, that which makes us salty, then things will be much worse.  It is much worse to have known the joys of the kingdom and turn your back on them, than to have never heard the word.  How can this happen?  How does salt become unsalty?
Losing saltiness

The salt of that time and region was not quite like the material we buy today.  It could lose its saltiness.

It could lose its saltiness because it was impure.  Other minerals were mixed in it.  So too with us.  If we add to or take away from the faith, we are impure—and in danger.

It lost its saltiness when impure if it was exposed—either to the air, the sun or the ground (which was usually wet).  So it is with the impure among us.  The cleaning air, the discovering sunlight and the water which invades anywhere—the spirit, the knowledge and the obedience of the church—will cause this.

Are you "salt of the earth?"  Taste, and see.

February 10

Light of the World
Mat_5:14-16

The character of light

It is often stated that evil is the opposite of righteousness, just as dark is the opposite of light.  In a sense this is true, for evil is the corruption of what is good.  It has no existence in itself.  Nor does darkness exist in itself;  it is but the absence of light.

Light—our example to the world—does not enlighten.  It does not teach;  it merely makes others able to see.  They must still do the seeing.  But note:  even a little light can be sufficient.  The question is, what do they see?  So then, what do others see when they watch us, the light of the world?
Christ, the Light of the World

In another passage Christ describes himself as the light of the world.  It is not a contradiction, for the light which is Christ is in us;  it is his light.  Have you ever been on a dark river on a starry night?  The reflections of the stars are sufficient to show you the river's path, and navigate to safety.  Christ has kindled the light of the world in us;  we are to keep it burning.
Our Conduct

This little metaphor is very compact;  it packs a lot of observation in it:
Do you teach or preach?  Don't hide the light, but let it be seen.

As Chrysostom tells us, we must be careful of our "walk and conversation" — for they will certainly be seen.

The men who received this were unknown at the time—and soon lit up the world.  No matter what the world thinks, the Gospel light cannot be hidden.

We are to "let" it shine.  It is to happen naturally, not something of a religious exercise.  We don't have to shove the light in the faces of others.

The light has a focal point:  the glory of God.    We are not to do this so the world will know what great Christians we are;  we are to do it so they'll know how great God is.

The bushel

Sometimes it goes wrong.  It's fitting that the bushel basket is used as the covering, for it represents the things of this world.  The desires of the flesh get in the way of letting the light of God illuminate the world.  But please notice one thing:  you can't put that basket over the light—unless it's empty.

Hello Sincereheart,

I don't know how I missed your post, but I did. There is a lengthy history of persecution and execution for the LORD and the Gospel. YES, the LORD and the Gospel are worth dying for. I have a subscription to Voice of the Maryrs, and it's a good reminder about how much we take for granted. There is much to pray about and much to give thanks for. Appreciation for what we have is the real lesson that we should learn.

There might come a day when Christians in this part of the world will face some real persecution. We've really had it easy, and we need to educate ourselves about what Christians in other parts of the world are going through. If nothing else, we should be motivated to pray for Christians around the world and use the freedom that God has given us for His Glory.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Romans 15:1-3 NASB  Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME."

February 11

Law and Righteousness
Mat_5:17-20

Christ came to "fulfill" the Law—what could that mean?

It means that he, alone among men, kept the law in perfection, fulfilling its every demand, and becoming the acceptable sacrifice for our sins.

It means that, by his sacrifice on the cross, he fulfilled the demands of the Old Testament Law.  That Law required a spotless sacrifice for sin, and he became that sacrifice.  When he did, the need for sacrifice ended.  It was fulfilled.

It means also that his coming was in accordance with the prophecies of the Old Testament.  He is the Messiah foretold for 1500 years in Israel.

It also means that he came to establish the fullness of that Law—to literally "full fill" it, or fill it up completely.  What the Law left unexplained, he showed in his teaching.

The Least Stroke

Until recently in human history, most men would have agreed that the universe is a moral place.  The universe has certain moral laws which are connected to it just as much as the law of gravity.  There is great common agreement between the religions of the world on this.  The disagreement is on the source.

Christ is that source.  He, the agent of creation, put the moral law in the universe.  He would no more invent a "new morality" than he could invent a new gravity.  So it is his teaching completes the law, and makes it new, yet eternal.

The teacher's burden

Do you have an heirloom?  Imagine a piece of sterling silver, handed down from previous generations.  Would you take great-grandmother's tea service and drill holes in it to install a radio?  Of course not.  You would take care to pass it on just as you received it, for it is precious.  So it is for the teacher;  he must pass on, untarnished, unmodified in any way, the shining silver of the Gospel of Christ.

Righteousness exceeding

The call to righteousness in these verses is high and holy indeed.  It is well to admit that we cannot, in ourselves, have such righteousness.  But praise God!  He has sent his Son to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, that we might have his righteousness, the eternal righteousness.  Let us take great care to pass the faith along, untarnished, unmodified, unblemished.

February 14

Legal Advice
Mat_5:25-26

Abraham Lincoln put it this way:  "Discourage litigation.  Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.  Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser in fees, expenses and waste of time."  (And Lincoln was a lawyer.)

Some of us are so fond of argument that this saying bothers us greatly.  Why should I settle quickly?

First, do you really need the effect of a long, vicious argument upon your soul?  The matter is merely money;  eternity needs none of that.  You may win the case but lose control of your temper.

Next, is it not better that you should settle the matter here—before your opponent dies?  After all, the day of Judgment is coming, and he will have another chance to press his case—at a much higher court.

Our Lord says not only "quickly," but he emphasizes the point with "do it while you're on the way."  It's as if "quickly wasn't fast enough.

Others will complain, "It's a matter of principle.  I'm in the right."  Let us suppose you are.  Christians are forbidden to go to court against each other, for the sake of the reputation of the church.  As Paul said, "Why not rather be wronged?"  Are you completely unwilling to risk injury at your Lord's command?  Is this a matter of principle—or obedience?

Still others will say, "I can't afford it.  I have to win."  What a terrible lack of faith this is!  Do you suppose your Lord is not capable of providing for you a hundred times over?  If you suffer loss for Him, has he not promised to do so?  Take him at his word.

The word used for "agree" in this passage is unique in the New Testament.  It means "well minded" if you translate it literally.  Jerome says that it means benevolent or kind in agreement.  We are to make our agreements not with an eye to squeezing out the last possible dollar, nor to produce triumphant vindication, but to show the world (and our Lord) that we are his disciples.  His covenant with us provides salvation and eternal life, blessing and comfort, and does so at the price of the Cross.  With such an example before us, shouldn't we be both quick to agree and generous in settlement in our disputes with others?

February 15

Adultery
Mat_5:27-28

Emotions were not designed to be put in a bottle.

Have you ever bottled up your anger?  How it festers in the soul!  You chew over the raw ends of dispute in the middle of the night, and imagine revenge.  Is this sin?  Sin is that which damages the soul, and this is sin.

Have you every bottled up your envy?  Why should that man have so much;  why do I have so little?  It's not fair!  Is it sin to degrade your brother in your mind and think evil of him for what you desire?  Sin is that which damages the soul, and this is sin.

Have you ever bottled up your greed?  Oh, if only that rich relative would have the courtesy to die and leave me the money!  Is it sin to wish your brother dead in return for mere money?  Sin is that which damages the soul, and this is sin.

But if I say the same about lust, what do you say?  "What harm could there be in that?"  Let me tell you a story:

Once there was a lady who was stunned to find her husband's lawyer serving her with divorce papers.  We fell to talking about it.  I asked her how she met her husband.  "At the college," she said.  "I was in one of the classes he was teaching.  He divorced his first wife to marry me."  Would you hazard a guess as to where he found his new lust?

Desire is the incubator of sin.  If you will allow your desires to go unchecked, sin will be at your door.  We restrain our desire for safety at all costs, and call it courage.  We need the same restraint with our eyes, men, for without it we will certainly sin against our wives.  It may not result in divorce, but it will result in the endless comparisons.  Over and again, in subtle or direct ways, she will hear that she no longer pleases you because she is no longer young.  Would you condemn your wife to such misery, having her know that you'd really rather have someone else in your marriage bed?  Would you do that just because God allows the human body to change with age?  Controlling your lust is not just self-discipline;  it is a matter of justice toward your life-partner.

The world's solution to emotions in a bottle is to "let it all hang out."  Behave like animals, like sheep in rut.  God's solution is self-control;  behave like spiritual beings in communion with God.  One leads to death, the other leads to eternal happiness.  But you must choose now.

February 18

On Honesty
Mat_5:33-37

The world in which Jesus lived was permeated with a concept that we have forgotten:  the oath.  The idea is relatively simple.  If you take an oath in God's Name, you know that God is jealous for that Name.  He will not hold you guiltless if you use his Name when making a promise to someone else—a promise you had no intention of keeping.  Therefore men took such oaths, and required others to take such oaths, so that they might be trusted.

The practice is rare now.  I have taken two solemn oaths:  the first at our wedding, the other upon entering military service.  For the rest, the bank wants a check that won't bounce.

Things were more primitive then.  Men elaborately constructed all sorts of oaths which sounded extremely binding—but, by some twisted theological reasoning, were not binding at all.  The oath had become something which could not be trusted.  This is because the men who gave them could not be trusted.  Men regularly used the Name of God as we today would use a check guarantee card.

Which brings us to the reasons Christ forbids the oath:

If you take them often enough, sooner or later you're going to fail to perform your oath.  Then you have begged for the wrath of God.  Count the cost!

When you fail to perform your oath, you bring the Name of God into disgrace.  Your character was not sufficient guarantee, and so you brought God's character—and now you have blackened it.

The oath was to invoke the fear of penalty.  Even today, perjury—lying under oath—is considered a crime, at least technically.  For the Christian, however, there should be no need to take an oath.  It should be plain to those around him that his words are true.

"Your word is your bond," my father taught me.  To watch him carefully count his change at the store, and then hand back some of the money with the words, "You gave me too much," has quite an effect on a young child.  It has even more effect when he discovers the miscount at home—and goes back to the store to rectify it.  He was a finance officer in the Army;  his government entrusted millions of dollars in cash to him on his signature alone.  It was no great risk.

Do you want your light to shine before men?  Then let your yes be yes and your no be no—you need nothing further.

February 20

Financial Advice

Mat_5:42

There has been a remarkable change in attitude towards things financial between the time of the early church and today.

In the early church, giving was largely to the poor—others in need.  We often hear the phrase, "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver."  Look it up;  you will see that Paul wrote it in the context of giving financial aid as a remedy to poverty.  There is no passage in the New Testament that talks about giving to the church—only to those in need.

It is also the consistent attitude of the early church that those who gave were not to evaluate the need of those who asked.  One writer, Hermas, put it this way:

"Do good, and give liberally to all who are in need from the wages God gives you. Do not hesitate about to whom you should not give. Give to all. For God wishes gifts to be made to all out of His bounties."

The Old Testament tells us to be "open handed" and to freely lend.  Our Lord here repeats this attitude.   You may not be able to provide completely for someone—the phrase is "give to the one who asks," not "give what they ask"- so it would seem you are not responsible for the result;  only the giving.  How can this be?

First, because the wealth is not ours—it comes from God.  We are stewards, not lords, of our money.

Second, if we will not give, we must hoard.  This leads only to hardness of heart and misery.

Third, because you have received from those you cannot repay.  If you cannot repay, you must  do the next best thing:  pass it on.

If you truly believe, then you will know that your giving is only lending to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17) - and he will repay you, now or at the resurrection of the righteous.

Finally, are we a family, the family of God?  Then should we not behave like members of that family?

Consider this:  if the church stopped judging those who beg and ask, and gave or lent generously, this would no doubt affect the capital campaign of many a congregation.  But which is the better witness for our Lord Jesus Christ:  a shining cross on the top of the steeple, or the shining deeds of love done by the Christians therein?

February 21

Love Your Enemies

Mat_5:43-48

We have reached the highest pinnacle of Christian conduct.  It is also the rarest.

That most Christians are friendly people is commonly seen.  We are often polite, careful to repay any favor, and generally inclined to good relations with one another.  We often tell our children that this is to "set a good example for others."

Would you really like to set a good example?  Then love your enemies, as Christ here commands.  Nothing so astonishes the people of this world as when a Christian returns good for evil.  Perhaps it is astonishing because it is so rare.

Note what Christ would have you do:

Love your enemies.  Not merely like them, or smile at them, but genuinely put their welfare on your "to do" list.  This is an action, not an attitude.

Pray for those who persecute you.  When you encounter someone who seems to specifically target you—lift up holy hands to the throne of grace on their behalf.  Christ is not fond of half measures.

If you do this, you will be known as God's children.  The Scripture is plain that the test of fatherhood of God is obedience to his commands.  In doing this, you will be made "perfect."  The original word means "complete, fit for a task."  You will be completed as a son of God.

If this was easy, everyone would do it.  But see how everyone wants it!  Which would you rather have:  an enemy to persecute or a friend to love?  Our complaint is not that this is a poor idea—it's that it's hard, and we are weak.

Are you too weak to do this, and therefore ask God to excuse you from such a difficult commandment?  This is not wise;  instead, you should ask him for strength to do as he commands.

You already have two examples of how powerful this love is:

The greatest example is Christ himself, who went to the cruel Cross for the sake of those who sent him there.

But you are another example.  Are you proud of everything you've ever done?  No one is.  Yet you have no difficulty in loving the sinner you are, even if the sins are terrible.  Christ is simply asking you to apply the same standard to everyone else.

February 22

Secret Giving
Mat_6:1-4

You can almost imagine it.  The band assembles at one end of Main Street.  Behind them is the convertible with Mr. Big inside.  The trumpets blare, down the street they march, and at the other end Mr. Big presents a generous donation to the church.  It's almost comic;  it lacks only a pie in the face at the other end.

Jesus provides the pie in the face.  He shows here the abiding desire in human beings for empty glory.  He divides the world into two types of givers, by various means:
The crucial dividing point is not whether or not the giving is public, but whether or not the intention was for everyone to see it and applaud.

We characterize that as the love of being seen.  Some, however are shy, and would do things privately—as long as word leaked out soon enough.

Spectators you will have, in any case.  But who would you rather have as your audience:  a collection of rattling tongues in empty heads, or the Lord God Almighty and all the heavenly host?

You must have a reason for giving.  Which reason would you choose:  the fleeting glory of the moment, bought over and over again, with diminishing joy—or the reward of God, the Eternal One, and joy that never fades?

Glory will certainly be given;  people will praise generosity.  If you get it, then that is your reward.  If God gets it, then He will reward you generously.

It comes down to a choice of righteousness:  you can create your own mist of righteousness or accept the rock solid righteousness of God.

Our Lord took it for granted that his disciples would give to the poor.  Even the widow gave, and was praised for it.  Giving, though, is a matter of the heart much more than a matter of the checkbook.  The desire for your own glory is a slithering snake, sliding in to tempt the most generous.  Satan has no scruples in whom he will attack.  So our Lord says, "Be careful."  Almsgiving is a time for careful planning, quiet doing and prayerful reflection.  Plan that only God will know;  do the giving quietly, and then thank God for the means to give—and the method.

February 23

Secret Prayer
Mat_6:5-8

The admonition to secret prayer is well known to most Christians.  Indeed, there are many who will not pray aloud in a group;  this is largely due to shyness.  Our Lord is speaking here of prayer for show.  So why "in secret?"

First, when you are in secret, you are much less likely to be influenced by others.  There is no crowd to follow, so you follow God instead.

Prayer is a way of honoring God; after all, if you are asking someone for a favor, that means that the person can do something you cannot.  Therefore, there is no need for anyone else to see it.  God can afford to be modest.

This can also increase your faith.  If you pray to your Father in secret, no one knowing your request, and He grants it—tell me, how did this happen?

It is possible that he will not grant your request in secret—but note that he will reward you.  Even when God says "no," he brings blessing with it.

Some may object:  "Why, then, pray at all?  After all, God knows everything we're about to ask.  What purpose has it?"

Your Father knows your every need—but he also wants you to know that you are not delivering a laundry list to him.  You are approaching the throne of grace with humble petition.  Prayer, in secret, establishes the correct relationship between God and man.
Prayer calms the soul and readies the mind for action.  When you pray, you must be prepared for the time when God calls on you to do something.  If you pray that God will feed the hungry when you have a full larder, you can expect a grocery order.

Our Lord adds the injunction that you should not babble on.  This is not a barrier to a long prayer, nor even repetition—remember the widow and the unjust judge?  It is the cure to a common misconception among Christians.  "If I just had exactly the right words in my prayer," we think, "God would do exactly what I want."  Those are the words of one who thinks that prayer is a form of reciting magical incantations.  The right wording matters very little compared to the humble heart.  Remember just who is beseeching whom.

February 24

Our Father
Mat_6:9

In the opening of what is now entitled the Lord's Prayer, Jesus condenses into few words some of the greatest idea in history.

Our Father

This is a new concept.  The Old Testament hints at it in Isaiah, but now it is made clear.

This is a great source of hope.  Our Father!  Is there anything more dear to a good father than his sons and daughters?

He is "our" Father—not "my" Father.  In that one little word we see that our prayers should not be for ourselves but primarily for our brothers and sisters.

The Fatherhood of God implies the brotherhood of man.  You cannot go to God in prayer, calling him "Our Father", and then deny your brother in need.

In Heaven

If you are going to ask someone for a favor;  if you need to beg for some assistance, it is best to begin with something which is both favorable and true.  Your hearer will appreciate it, and it sets the proper tone for what follows.

This phrase reminds us where He is—and we aren't.  We need to recognize that we are not standing on level ground with Him.  We're looking up to Him.

If your Father is in heaven, then you are an heir to the kingdom of heaven.  Does your life show it?  Do you act like one of God's children?

Hallowed

The word means, "to be kept holy."  Why is this necessary?

First, the prime purpose of man is the glory of God;  by this prayer we acknowledge that.

We are asking that it be;  and that commits us to keeping it holy.

Moreover, we should do this daily (remember daily bread?) - so that we are constantly reminded of it.

We, too, are called by that name.  We are the children of God;  it is our family name, and for that alone we should keep it holy.

This is the first petition in the Lord's Prayer.  It is the most important one too, for it concerns the glory of God.

February 26

Daily Bread
Mat_6:11

Until this phrase, Christ has taught us to pray for eternal things.  He now turns to temporal things.  But if we are to pray for temporal things, we must still have the eternal view in mind:

There is only one time in our lives where we touch eternity.  That time is "now."  Only in the present do we live.  But to God, the author of time, all times are "now."  So when he commands us to deal with temporal things in the eternal view, it must be with a time of "now."  Hence, our "daily" bread.

It is also a matter of faith, of trust.  If we obey his commands and take no thought for tomorrow, then we need ask only for today's bread.

And for what do we ask?  Bread.  Why "bread?"

Bread is the symbol of the physical things we need.  God is interested in all of our lives, not just the spiritual.  He wants all of our lives to be under his command.

We ask for bread, not for cake.  The peril of pursuing wealth is known to all Christians.

When we ask for daily bread, we are asking for just enough for today.  This is so that we will not have too little, and be forced to steal; nor that we shall have too much, and deny God by boasting in our own wealth.

By asking for "just enough" for today, we deny gluttony its great chance.

We ask, "Give us."  The plural is important.  We are to pray for the physical things we need, both for ourselves and for those around us.  If you go to God asking bread for the hungry, it is hard to deny them some of your own.

Bread is a very basic item.  Martin Luther points out that when bread cannot be obtained, it is usually because of the chaos coming from a lack of sound government.  So in praying for our daily bread, we also ask for an orderly society—the kind in which the Gospel spreads quickly.

Hidden in this passage is another meaning.  Bread—the Bread of Life is also present.  Given to us by God at Calvary, we are to ask for that Bread too.  We are to ask for it daily, not just once a week, lest we have spiritual starvation.  We are to ask for ourselves, and for those around us, that all may be fed from heaven.

February 28

Temptation
Mat_6:13

There is a lesson in humility hidden in this verse.  Have you ever noticed that it is the mature Christian—whom we would think would have the best defense against temptation—who most often prays this prayer?  This is a reminder to each and every one of us that , of ourselves, we are not strong enough to deal with temptation and evil.

Temptation comes in many forms:

For the young Christian it may come in the form of the flesh—lust, in particular.  As you mature, the things of this world become more tempting.  But Satan reserves his most powerful weapon—pride—for the mature Christian.

It may be a spiritual form of temptation (your prayer life versus your television) or a physical form (why did you go into that bar in the first place?)

It may be obvious temptation, quickly visible to all.  It may also be very subtle, the sly wink and offer to join in something not quite ethical.

It may be a sudden temptation, such as anger.  It may be a persistent temptation, as with envy.

But whatever it is, when we pray this way, we recognize that God has all power over it.  We are asking him not to leave us to it.  Rather, we ask him to prevent it.  But if that time has passed, then we ask him to deliver us from evil.

We ask him to deliver us from evil, not just now, in the present, but also those evils which haunt us from our past.   We ask also for protection from those which may come later.

We ask so that Satan himself will not have a handle with which to throw us around.  Blackmail is not always done for money.

We ask for deliverance from those who persecute us, whether physically or socially.  Deliver us from our sins, so that they might not taunt us—and deliver us from them.

In this last phrase of the Lord's Prayer we see the Christian's complete and utter dependence upon God.  We are saying that by ourselves we know we cannot stand up to the sin in our lives.  So we ask God to keep us from the opportunity to sin, and pull us out of trouble when that opportunity comes along.  He is our lifeboat in a sea of temptation.

March 3

The Bank Account
Mat_6:19-21

In your home is a book whose reading is somewhat difficult but extremely informative.  It is your checkbook.

The disposition of the money you have is a sure sign of the heart you have.    This passage is a clear warning to Christians.  We are often told that God looks on the heart, and this is our best advice on how to make sure he'll like what he sees.

The passage talks about your treasure, not just your money.  What is it that we treasure more than the kingdom of God?

For some of us, it is indeed money.  We measure ourselves by our bank accounts and stock portfolios;  Wall Street is our number one topic of conversation.  One key indicator is this:  if you can't understand why someone else does not think the same way, your money has your heart.

For a while our treasure may be in the things of the flesh—usually the opposite sex.  But human beings are complex, and we cannot rule them.  This usually fades.

Our treasure is much more commonly the prestige this world has to offer.  We may see money as fleeting and the flesh as vain, but we are so concerned with our image, our position, our prestige.

In each of these circumstances, there is a good question:  Just who owns what?  Do you own the money—or does the money own you?

Our Lord does not condemn money.  Indeed, the Scriptures tell the rich to be generous, but the rich are not condemned simply for being rich.  When they are condemned, it is because their wealth comes before their devotion to God.

You are the steward—not the lord—of your possessions.  God has entrusted them to you for a little while.  (If you think not, give it a hundred years or so).

Recognize that the things of heaven and the things of this world must be kept separate;  worldly things can be made to serve heavenly purposes, but not the other way around.  If your Lord commands you to give to the poor, the fear of becoming poor in the process should not bother you at all—for the God who provided your riches in the first place is certainly capable of providing much more.

A man with much money once put it wisely to me:  "Money is an excellent servant—but a poor master."

March 4

The "Single" Eye
Mat_6:22-23

This passage poses some difficulties in translation for the modern readers.  The King James talks about an eye which is "single" - and that is the meaning of the word in Greek.  It is variously translated "good," "healthy," or "clear."  The medical point to the ancients is fairly obvious. An eye whose lens was clouded—by cataracts, for example—wasn't much use in seeing things.  You wanted one image, and a clear one at that;  a "single" image.

If you didn't have that, you were in a lot of trouble.  You could see just enough to get into trouble.

The same is true with the eye of the soul, the human understanding.  We use the phrase "I see" to mean "I understand."  And if my understanding produces a double image, or a blurred image, then my soul suffers greatly, even though everything else is in order.  This eye is the light of understanding by which the soul sees God.  How, then, can a man be of "single eye?"

Integrity.  Integrity means "oneness"- it comes from the same root word as "integer."  If you have integrity, you are one person in spirit and action, heart and belief.

Simplicity.  How often we "adjust" our style of dealing with others based upon who the others might be!   We are smooth in dealing with the boss and harsh with the subordinates, foxy with our peers.  Simple honesty works better and takes less effort.

Purity.  We demand it in our foods and medicines but see no value for it in ourselves.  One heart, open and compassionate, with no deception in it—this the Lord desires.

Fidelity.  It means faithfulness.  It means to be the husband of one wife (and not looking for another playmate).  It means to stick with your friends, your church, your country through the tough times as well as the good times.

Fidelity is faithful not because it is profitable, but because it is right.  One wife, one God—faithful to both.

Have you ever met a man like that?  I hope so.  This is the kind of man we like to do business with—we know he won't cheat us, and any defects of product or workmanship will be made good.  This is the kind of man you hope your daughter brings home to introduce to Daddy.  Such men are hard to find, but there is a good method for locating them.  Be one, yourself.  Then the eye of the soul will recognize the others quickly.

March 9

The Narrow Gate

Mat_7:13-14

The people of Jesus' time would have understood the comparison.  If you built a city in those days, it would have a strong, fortified wall about it.  Into that wall you would set gates.  Gates could be of two types:

The broad gate was one which was designed to promote commerce.  The merchants came in and out of these.  They were closed at sunset, and opened at sunrise.
The narrow gate was designed for defense.  It was usually not open at all;  during times of attack it was easy to defend  and also served as a useful sally port.

From that alone you can see that a narrow gate was the hard way to get into the city.

Christ here points out to us that all have two choices in life.  We'd like to believe there are many options;  in fact, there are two.  One of them is the way of life.  All the others can be lumped together, making a broad way and wide gate, leading to hell.  Is this really so unexpected?  Most of life's problems have many answers—but only one right one.  As your father taught you, the hard way is usually the right way.

The words our Lord uses here have some descriptive power:

The word for "small" (strait in the King James) does mean narrow—but narrow because there are obstacles placed on either side of the gate.  As we go through the gate of life these obstacles are there to remind us of the way we should go.  Thank God for your obstacles;  by them he puts you back on the right path.

The word for "narrow" (translated "hard" in other versions) means "afflicted, or troubled."  The Christian life is not the life of ease;  it is a life of trouble.  There is trouble because this world is not our home, we're just traveling through.  There is triumph because at the end we receive our reward from our Savior.

Whenever I would tell my mother that "all my friends are doing it," she would reply, "If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?"  She understood the narrow way and the hard road.    If you are not bumping into obstacles; if you are not afflicted and troubled on the way, then ask yourself just how much traffic is going by.  Perhaps you are on the wrong road.

March 13

A Funeral
Luk_7:11-17

It is easy in our culture to recognize a funeral procession.  We, like the ancients, call our family and friends to our side.  We, like the ancients, bury our dead in a particular place.  They did it to avoid ceremonial uncleanness.  Perhaps some of that thought stays with us today, for it is still a test of courage to stay in a graveyard after dark.

The woman in this instance was indeed an object of pity.  Nain is a small town;  likely enough all the townsfolk were with her.  As a widow, she would be poor and dependent upon her children for her living.  As this was her only son, she
would now be destitute financially as well as emotionally.

Into this ordinary, daily drama steps Jesus, the Christ.  In it we can see both sides of his nature.

We see Jesus the Son of man.  Luke tells us his heart went out to her, and indeed it is easy to see why.  She has lost the one last love in her life, her only son.  She is utterly alone.  Into that "alone-ness" comes someone who tells her not to cry, an act of human sympathy and compassion.  It is not until he has comforted her that the miracle is done.

We see Jesus the Son of God.  In his command to the body of the young man, we can see nature of his power:

The command to the corpse is personal.  There is no sense of magic incantation here.

It is indeed a command.  This is not a plea to the Father, but the word of true Authority.

It is a command to the corpse—just as one day He will give that command to all who are dead, and they shall rise at the Last Judgment.

There are two kinds of funerals.  For those who do not know Christ, the funeral is a bittersweet ceremony.  Some try by pomp to hide the fact of death;  others tell happy myths about reincarnation or other spiritual life.  The tales about the dead which bring so much joy in recollection are the knives which stab us with loss.

But—for those who do know Christ, the funeral is very different.  Through the tears there is an unmistakable joy.  The Christian knows (as the Navy burial service puts it) "the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead."  At the command of Christ, we will rise again, to the glory of God.

March 12

The Centurion
Mat_8:5-13

(There is a parallel account in Luke, chapter 7, with some varying details.)
There is something almost unique going on here.  Perhaps Christ senses the faith of the man, and therefore is willing to do more than he will ask.  This may be the cause, but it is also possible that his reaction comes from a desire to use this man as an example of virtue.  What kind of virtue?

Faith, to be sure, is what we see first.  Our Lord here commends it as being indeed rare.  That is often the end of the matter, but there is still something to be seen.

This centurion understands the authority of Jesus Christ.  So many of us conveniently forget that all authority in heaven and on earth is given to our Lord.  This man sees authority in Jesus.  How did he know?  It is because he himself is a man of authority—and one who knows how authority is rightly handled.

First, though he is a Roman in conquered territory, he loves those he rules over.  This is a true understanding of authority;  authority is given for the benefit of those in submission to it.  Such authority flows best when motivated by love.

Next, he is, by his own words, "not worthy" to have Jesus under his roof.  He knows the greatness of the man to whom he is speaking, and his own insignificance.  Humility is an honest opinion of yourself, especially when compared to God.

He has practiced this authority—and learned from it.  His eyes were open to see how authority worked well, and poorly.  So he knew the real thing when it arrived.

Christ takes the man in the form requested.  The command of authority is given instead of the visit and the tender touch.  To those of authority, Christ responds in authority.

But what of those who deny the authority of Christ?  There is only one way to do that:  they must rely on their own authority.  This may be their own learning, or their position, or their money, or simply their own arrogance.  The omniscience of God, the authority of the ruler of heaven and earth, the wealth of God the creator—these things must be denied too.

Sadly, there are those who call themselves Christians who do this.  Those who do not acknowledge the authority of Christ in this life will be obliged to do so at the Day of Judgment.  Authority will render Judgment in Power.

March 15

John the Baptist
Mat_11:7-15

It is an awesome thought that the least of the kingdom of heaven must be greater than John the Baptist.  Since Jesus affirms him to be the greatest prophet ever given, we might indeed conclude that entrance to the kingdom of heaven is quite beyond us.

The passage is a difficult one, but not one without hope.  Jesus is telling them that the entire order of things in the kingdom of God is about to change completely.  John is the last of the old order and the herald of the new.  So let us look at the old order—and then the new one.  First, the old order:

If you tried to be in the kingdom of God you would indeed need to be one of the "forceful men."  Everything depended upon your good works.  Tithes of this, sacrifices of that, ritual obedience in regulations that go on for pages—personal force was required.

A personal firmness of character was required too.  You could not be a reed blowing in the wind, shifting this way and that.  You had to be prepared to stand firm, for if you departed from the way at the end, you were doomed.

All this was accompanied by a personal asceticism—you fasted, you lived in tents one week a year, you practiced a life of self sacrifice and self denial.

The better you were at ritual, firmness and self discipline, the higher your rank in the kingdom.  That is how greatness was measured in the old way.

But greatness in the kingdom of God is now measured by one thing:  how closely you are in contact with Christ.  No one in the old way had such contact—which means that Christ must be very great indeed, if such contact lifts you above all those.  And Christ is indeed great.  Firmness, forcefulness and asceticism are no longer pillars, but adornments, gracing the one who has accepted the grace offered at the Cross.

Since the time of John, neither prophet nor king has arisen in Israel.  Moses prophesied it this way:

(Gen 49:10 NIV)  The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

The scepter has departed, for He has come.  The supreme prophet, our High Priest, the King, has come.  Soon, he says, he will be coming again.  Soon!

March 19

My Yoke
Mat_11:28-30

Insomnia is a wonderful teacher.  One late night in a hotel room I was reduced to watching taped reruns of a weight lifting competition in Russia.  Out came Ivan, and lifted an enormous weight.  The barbell was so heavy they sent ten Russian soldiers out to carry it off.  On came Igor, and an even greater weight.  But to clear the stage this time they sent one skinny Russian soldier—with a forklift.

We read these words of Christ and ask, "How can his yoke be easy?"  This same Christ told us of the narrow road, the pearl of great price.

One way to see it is to compare it to the burden of the Old Testament Law, and all its requirements.  Another is to compare it to the burden of sin.  Think what a cruel burden it is, for example, to be so enamored of riches that you always want more.

The best answer, however, is found in that forklift.  The weights are very heavy when you must lift them by yourself;  but if you will seek the aid of Jesus, the burden will be light.

But you must ask!  All things can be done through Him, who gives you strength.
If you are repairing your car, you know that the easy way is to do it the right way the first time.  In life it is the same;  do it His way the first time and it works.

You complain of being weak?  Remember that his power is perfected in your weakness—so that others might see him through you.

Things are hard when you hate to do them, easy when you love the work.  Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?

Weight means nothing until measured.  Are you measuring yours by how others appear, or by the eternal reward of glory your Lord has promised you?

He asks you to take his "yoke" upon you.  The yoke unites you with Christ—and if with Christ, then with all Christians.  He will comfort you so that you may comfort others.  They in turn will come to your support, and lighten the burden.

Some of us are weightlifters, capable of huge burdens.  Most of us are not.  Let the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, be the forklift of your burdens.  Your burdens will be light.

March 23

Brood of Vipers
Mat_12:33-37

One of the features of modern "argument" is the attack upon another person's motives.  Christians do what they do because they are "repressed," or "hung up on sex," or "think they're better than anyone else."  Christ points out two fallacies in such argument:

First, it is impossible for the evil ones to consistently do good works.  So if you see someone consistently doing good works, they must be good at heart.  Hypocrites may imitate this for a while, but it can't be kept up.

As good works come from the heart, so do our words.  If you hear anger and slander coming from someone consistently, you have a window onto their soul.

The world understands this;  it's just that it's not convenient.  Mother Theresa was honored by all for her good works;  what a difficulty she posed to "modern thinkers" with her condemnation of abortion!

Note Christ's words:  "Make  a tree good."  This implies that a tree can be changed;  that one which is producing nothing of value can be turned into a good one.  This is true of trees;  the garden shops are full of chemicals and implements to do just that.  So it is that we can turn from our evil ways and bear fruit for Christ.  The test:  our works.  Note that our works are not our salvation, anymore than pinning apples on a cactus would make it an apple tree.  But they show our salvation being worked out in us.

Our words, too, show what is in our heart.  Most of us have trouble keeping our mouths from saying what our minds are thinking!  Here we see the characteristics of those who hearts are evil:

They are first a brood—some translations have "generation" - meaning that they come close to each other for mutual support and courage.

They are a brood of vipers—the word conjures up the snake, Satan, in the Garden.  They are those who seek to destroy by sly ambush and sneering tone.

They cannot speak what is good;  their hearts are evil.  Have you noticed that those who favor abortion also favor homosexuality, adultery and fornication as being desirable?

Our works and our words show what we are.  But—praise the Lord—we can be changed.  Let us make the tree good, and bear great fruit for our Lord.

March 24

A Lack of Showmanship
Mat_12:38-45

Have you ever had your child say something like this to you:  "If you really loved me, you'd give me a cookie!"  Your reaction as a parent was perhaps not quite what your child desired.  You probably reminded the child of just who is the parent here!

Jesus is doing the same thing here with these Pharisees.  The signs, or miracles, of Christ are not a show to be commanded up to please or amuse the critics.  Nor can these hypocrites provoke the living God into showing off just to prove who's God.  God does things in his high and holy way, not our ways.

Remember that these are the same people who, a few verses back, said that Jesus was demon possessed.  Now they fawningly address him as "Teacher."  His answer is cold and to the point.  You will get a sign.  The sign is that of Jonah, by which he means the sign of the Resurrection.  That will be all you will see.

This is a result of their attitude.  Christ makes this clear in his two comparisons.  First, he brings to their mind Jonah:

Jonah was a prophet of God, a servant.  Jesus is the Christ, the Master.  If you listened to the servant, surely you should listen to the Master.

Jonah escaped from the "great fish;"  Jesus rose in glory from the tomb.  Which is the greater?

The Ninevites represent all the evil people who, upon hearing the call, repent.  Their example will entitle them to accuse this generation—for they repented at the call of a lesser servant.

But—it is a possible argument—I have no need of such repentance.  I am not evil;  I do all the ritual things the law requires.  Then you consider yourself wise, correct?  For the wise there is an example also.  The Queen of Sheba came a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  Solomon too was but the servant of God.  If she came that far to hear the servant, should you not hear the Master when He comes to you?

The point is simple:  the more you know about God, the greater your responsibility to act as a child of God.  The lesson applies to us today.  Are we so wrapped up in our church activities that we neglect the greater things of God?  When the poor man's child knocks at our door, do we feed the hungry?  Do we take care and expense to spread the Gospel, here and abroad?  These are the weighty matters.  We know this.  We will be held responsible for this.  Will we be accused because of this, at Judgment Day?

March 25

Family
Mat_12:46-50

My mother tells my wife that I come with a "no money back guarantee."  No matter how much money my wife gives her, Mom is not going to take me back.

As we grow older we discover that mothers usually don't think they have finished with their children—ever.  It would certainly seem that Jesus is encountering that attitude here.  For most of us this would be appropriate—a sign of mother's love—but this should not be seen that way:

Christ was still talking when the interruption came.  At the least, this is rude.

It reflects their anxiety, for as Mark records, they thought he'd gone crazy.
Most likely, Mom was just trying to keep the boy out of trouble.  But this could not be done.

As appropriate as this might be in the usual case, Jesus is simply not the usual case.  He is God in the flesh;  he is not to be interrupted or dragged home quietly.

Taking care of your children, even your grown children, is a good thing.  Following the will of God is the best thing.  It is still true:  the "good" is the enemy of the "best."

For some of us this matter strikes home.  We live in families where some are Christians and some are not.  The agonizing question comes:  who do I please?  Who do I obey?  The matter cannot be settled by explicit rules, but the principle is this:  the will of God must prevail in your life.   (Recall, however, that the salvation of those you love is distinctly God's will.)  If you value your family and its harmony over God and his salvation, you risk leaving the family of God.

Note, too, that even though she is His mother, this gives her no particular standing above others.  Even the distinction of being Mary, who is indeed the most blessed of women, is nothing if she does not do the will of God.

But for those who do the will of God, they are mother, sister and brother to Christ.  Brother and sister we can see, but mother?  As the church is mother to us, raising us from spiritual infants to maturity, and what is done for the least is done for Jesus, even "mother" applies.  Mother—but not Father.  That title is reserved for our heavenly Father.  The family is defined by its father, and we are the Family of God.

March 26

Parable of the Soils
Mat_13:3-23

This parable is a favorite among teachers—because Christ explains it.

The picture would have been familiar to the farmers of the time.

The path—beaten down by many feet—resembles the mind through which evil thought continually flows.  Pornography is like this;  it numbs the mind to true beauty.
The rocky soil—really, shallow soil on top of bedrock—stands for all those who live shallow lives.  Putting the ship out into the deep seems risky;  we'll stay here along the shore—and come to shipwreck.

The thorny ground is most familiar to us.  The cares of this world drive the fruitfulness out of the seed.  These thorns are natural;  they were there first.  But they are still deadly.

It is only the good soil of an obedient mind, working in deep honesty, that truly bears much fruit.

This much, we are familiar with.  Jesus has answered the obvious questions.  But there is a not-so-obvious question:  just why did the sower throw this seed in all those places?  Can't he see where the good soil is?

Perhaps it is to be an example to us:

First, that we should not be selective about who we tell the Good News of the Gospel.  Jesus talked to all manner of sinners;  why should we limit ourselves to the respectable types?

Next, that we might be true children of our heavenly Father.  As it is written, He causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  Evidently, it is his desire that the seed of the Gospel be distributed the same way.

Further, unlike the ground, the heart of man may change.  We may see stony ground, hard and bare.  But have you ever seen a tree growing from a crack in a rock?  The living word of God is a seed with power to crack the heart of stone, bore through the hardened paths of sin and grow taller than the cares of the world.

One last note:  it is the same seed sown in each place.  There is no different Gospel for the hardened, or the worldly, or the shallow.  There is only the Gospel itself, the Good News of Jesus Christ.  God is just.  He offers to all the same opportunity of salvation, making no distinction.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

March 27

Lamps
Mar_4:21-23

There is a wonderful, recurring contradiction in our time:

We are absolutely certain that "the powers that be" are continually engaged in one hidden conspiracy after another, things of which they should be ashamed.  We know that they think they'll never be found out.

How do we know this?  By the large number of conspiracies unmasked—not by intrepid journalists or crusading reformers—but by the terminal ineptitude of the conspirators themselves.

Perhaps, just perhaps, it is the nature of things—the God given and here proclaimed nature of things—that "whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed."  The principle has several applications for us:

There are many things "hidden" in the Old Testament—dark sayings which puzzled the learned of old, but now are clear in the light of the New Testament.

If you are a faithful follower, you know that prayer is something that is unseen by the world.  Unseen, but not unnoticed.  For what God tells you in prayer must be displayed in your life.

Has God given you a gift of ministry?  It may not be readily seen—until you use it.  You must not hide it under the bushel (the symbol of food and the things of this world) or the bed (the icon of laziness).

Ultimately, all things will be revealed at the Last Judgment.  Many are the theories of when and how this will happen, but one thing is certain:  Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead.  The secret things will soon be public.

Therefore, for that exact reason, we should not pass judgment.  Who are we to do so, not yet knowing all secret things—and knowing that someday they will be revealed?  Let judgment be reserved for the One who knows, and is just.

The candle on the candlestick cannot be hidden, but gives light.  The Christian likewise must be such a candle, placing his life on display—not boasting, but visible to all.  The world will draw the correct conclusions.  But beware, Christian.   The candle of life is only so long—and you do not know the day it will sputter out.  Let your light shine, therefore, starting today, for the rest of your life.

March 29

Parable of the Seed
Mar_4:26-29

There is a continuing source of frustration to many Christians.  It seems so simple—for some—to be personal evangelists.  They write books with four step programs which give the impression that five minutes of conversation will infallibly produce salvation in the hearer—if only you follow the plan.

Christ here gives us the correction of that idea.  Consider:

The nature of the sowing

In the kingdom of God, we are laborers with God.  Our part is to scatter the seed, the message.

We scatter the message to others, but He gives us the increase.

This is so that we will not boast that "we" have saved anyone, but give the glory to God.

In all this, as we scatter the truth to others, it may seem as if it has no effect.  But wait:

The nature of the growing

The seed grows of its own accord—the Greek word here implies that it is automatic, by its own nature.  It is natural for the seed to grow.

We may be puzzled as to how this works.  Whether we know how or not, it still does.

God does this in his own order, not omitting the steps, so that when complete, it will be ready for use.

And He does it in his own good time—not ours.

The resulting grain in this parable has a number of interpretations:
The nature of the grain

This could refer to the harvest at the end of the age, when Christ comes again.

Or, it could be a reflection of our works upon our death.

It might indeed be the good works we do now.

But there is one thing we may see for certain.  Grain that is harvested has a number of uses.  One of them is to become seed for the next crop!  Those to whom we preach and teach today will someday mature.  When they do, they will carry on the faith to another generation, teaching as they have been taught.  The methods change with the times;  the message is eternal, and therefore eternally up to date.

March 31

Mustard
Mat_13:31-32

One of the most beautiful road trips in the world is along California Highway 101—"El Camino Real", the King's Highway.  It was so named during the time of the Spanish, but the name might still be appropriate.  Look along the side of that road and you will often see a green plant, about four to five feet high, bearing yellow small yellow flowers.

That's mustard.  It was originally brought to California by the priests who founded the Missions of California.  Father Serra used to scatter the seed on his way from one mission to another—to mark the path for next year.  That path is now Highway 101.  Mustard marks the path of the King's Highway.

That is fitting, for our Lord and King chose the mustard as a symbol of his kingdom.  Why?

It is a small seed;  the smallest of seeds in an herb garden of the time.  Christ started his church with just a few men.  The word in the parable means a single seed.

It grows.  It does not spring up by magic, or by force, or by brilliance of philosophy.  It grows—rapidly.   The early church did too.

It grows where it is planted.  The church has always had evangelists and missionaries to plant the tiny mustard seed of faith in new places.  Father Serra was one, for example.

When it grows, it becomes quite large.  Did you know that both Los Angeles and San Francisco were founded as missions?  The church grows like that too.

God has a taste for the small and the weak.  Look back into the Old Testament:
Moses explaining how his brother was really the man for the job;  David's father Jesse, so sure that David wasn't the one that he didn't even bother to tell him to come in; many others as well.  God chose them so that his greatness might be seen in their smallness.  So he chose the mustard seed as the symbol for the smallness of his church and the greatness of his church soon to be.

But mustard has another quality:  it is pungent and irritating.  The church is a shelter for all who come to her, but an irritant to the world around her.  She brings forth the truth in an age of fraud.  It puts the question to us:  we may be small, but are we growing?  We may be few, but are we pungent with the truth?  If we are, like mustard, we will mark the way for many yet to come.

April 1

Yeast
Mat_13:33-35

One of the delights of my younger years was a plate of sourdough pancakes.  To make this dish, you must first have a sourdough starter.  These come from Alaska, where the pancakes originated, and it is said that a prospector would preserve this starter after eating everything else.  The starter is made this way:  the original starter is placed in a bowl with most of the ingredients, and left to permeate them, like yeast does bread.  This then makes the new starter.  The last ingredients are added, and the process begins again.

Now, the kingdom of heaven is like that.

The quality of your pancakes is determined by the starter—the original sourdough.  So it is that the quality of a church is determined by its leaders, those who start it.  The closer their doctrine to that of Christ, the better.

Only a small amount needs to be used.  Christ started with twelve men who turned the world upside down.  Just as the starter converts the raw ingredients into its own kind, so the church, starting with but a few, changes the world around it.

The starter is mixed throughout the ingredients.  In its early days, the church was scattered throughout the known world by persecution.  At the time this was thought to be an evil thing—but look what God did with it!  This scattering produced the spread of the Gospel.

That "starter" -  that set of churches—has continued to multiply to this day.  The method is the same:  the church selects a few who are to go out and start a new congregation, whether in a new land or just in a new area.  Then that church becomes a starter as well.

But not all starters go this way.  Sourdough starter makes an excellent gift, but if the cook leaves it sit in the refrigerator long enough, it will go stale—and it will not work.  The secret is to continually allow the starter to permeate a new batch of ingredients.  We, as Christians, must do the same.  It is of no use to come to church on Sunday if we will not spread the Gospel.  We cannot contain the starter in our refrigerator without it going stale.

Sourdough pancakes—a great delight to the taste—are like the good works of the church.  They come only from the active use of the starter—the spread of the Gospel.  How's your starter?  Stale, or fresh and ready to grow?

April 3

Hidden Treasure
Mat_13:44

Say the words, "Hidden Treasure," and the tale of Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, comes to mind.  There is something fascinating to the human mind about buried treasure, and Christ uses that fascination here to describe the kingdom of heaven.

It is hidden from the world.  The world at large sees the church as a building, a social club, and wonders what all the fuss could be about.  Why are these people so serious about this?  Until you discover it, it is hidden.

You didn't earn the treasure.  This is the source of the magic in the tale.  By ourselves, our ability to become rich is limited.  But suppose we stumbled across that casket!  It is extremely valuable, satisfying all our wants.  How many of us have longed to be extremely rich!

But you must seek it out.  Stevenson's adventurers had to take ship and go to the island, following the map.  We too must seek out the kingdom of heaven, diligently searching the Scriptures for the words of life.

Then you must hide it again.  Even Stevenson knew that;  the treasure was moved and buried again.  But for us, the matter is simpler.  We must hide this treasure in our hearts.

It will cost you all you have.  The picture is a vivid one.  The poor man sells all he has to buy this one field—and hopes not to raise suspicion in doing it.  We too must give all we have to the kingdom, for God wants all of us—heart, soul, mind and strength.

It will bring you great joy.  Imagine your life if you suddenly found Blackbeard's treasure chest.  Suddenly freed from the shackles of your situation, what would you do?  The answers are many, but one thing is certain:  it would definitely change your life.  So it is with the kingdom of God, the hidden treasure—your life will change completely.

The remaining number of buried pirate treasures is somewhat limited, and their whereabouts seems to be rather poorly documented.  But the kingdom of heaven is infinite in its availability;  it is open to all who will come.  Its whereabouts are well known.  Even pirate treasure takes some digging.  The treasures of heaven will cost you all you have—and more than worth it.

April 5

Dragnet
Mat_13:47-50

The picture would have been familiar to the commercial fisherman—then and now.  The net in question is a seine, and in this time was drawn by two boats.  The purpose is simple:  scoop up all the fish in a given part of the waters, and sort them out on deck.  In some ways the method is still used today.

The fact that two boats were used led many ancient writers to compare the dragnet to the Old and New Testaments.  These are the handles;  the net is composed of what is written therein.

Some of us are caught by the prophecies.  How can we know that this Jesus is truly the Son of God?  We can look back into the Old Testament and see the prophecies made many hundreds of years before his arrival, and how they were fulfilled by Jesus.  Upon that faith, we can then look forward to his return, knowing what awaits the righteous and the evil.

Some of us care nothing for prophecy—but everything for forgiveness.  Where else is forgiveness and cleansing found but in our Lord?  Other religions proclaim a standard of righteousness, or tell us that guilt doesn't matter;  this is the faith that meets the deepest need of the sinful soul—forgiveness.

Others are attracted by the wisdom and righteousness portrayed in the Scripture.  When something is true, we often say it "holds water," or there are "no holes in it."  The Scriptures are like that—a net with no holes, catching all.

Our Lord tells us the kingdom of God is like that net.  We can see that in the church.  There is no such thing as the "typical Christian."  We are taken from almost every tribe, nation, land and tongue in the world.  There are Christians who are rich, and of course many more who are poor.  From the highest levels of society to the lowest, some will find the faith.

Interestingly, we also have our share of gar.  Gar?  Gar is a fish which—while it puts up a game fight—is not fit to eat.  A fisherman with rod and reel hates gar, because they eat your bait and take up your time—for nothing.  We have the same.  Those who are inside the building but not in the church.  Hypocrites, half believers, hangers-on—the list is long.  But the time is coming when these will be separated from the true church.  At the end of the age, our Lord promises, these will be cast out.  So, if you're in church just because your school of fish swam in, remember:  there's a net at the end.

April 6

The Householder

Mat_13:51-52

The parable may be confusing to some, for most of us no longer have a storeroom.  But we usually have a garage.

Buried in the depths of my garage are tools old and new.  There are tools handed down to me by my father which he got from his father;  there are tools (somewhere in there) that I just purchased.  But their age doesn't matter—only their usefulness.

So it is with the Scriptures.  Jesus pictures here a scribe, somewhat like Ezra.  This is a man who spends his life studying what we now call the Old Testament.  Now God, in the form of man, brings out a New Testament.  The good scribe, understanding this, now adds to the treasures he already had these new things.  In this we see that the Old Testament is not to be neglected.

But it is not sufficient simply to read the Scripture.  The pipes will not be repaired just by finding that old plumber's wrench.  You must use the tools given to you.  What, then, are the uses of the Old Testament?

Example.  Most of us can remember a precept, but we learn by example.  Consider David, the King.  Is there any better example of the trouble caused by chasing another man's wife?  Or Elijah.  What a comfort to know that he, too, had his doubts.   The Old Testament paints these characters with their warts so that we may learn from them.

Precept.  If we learn by example, we keep the memory sharp by precept.  The pithy sayings of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes—books that must be read a verse at a time—stick in the mind.  Do you remember that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people?

Expression.  Did you ever go into a card shop to find a card to express just the right sentiments?  You borrow someone else's words to express your feelings.

Now, have you ever wanted to do that with God?  That's what the Psalms are for.
Building the faith.  From the prophecies fulfilled to the stories of courage and truth, the Old Testament is a witness to the righteousness, goodness and omnipotence of God.

The Scriptures are a treasure house, full of good things old and new.  But like the tools in the garage, they are of no use until they are brought out.  So then—do you bring these good things out of the Scripture and into your life—and use them?

April 7

Calming the Sea

Mar_4:35-41

How we admire the spirit which is calm and cool in crisis!  It always seems to belong to someone extraordinary;  here is the prime example.  Calm flows from Jesus to the sea.

Note, please, that the calm is centered in Jesus Himself.  Why is he so calm?
He has complete confidence in God the Father.  So many of us say we believe he is omnipotent—and then act like he's helpless.  Jesus knows better.

He has complete confidence in his relationship with God.  He knows he is the Son, and that God's will is to be worked out in him.  "No water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and sky."

He has demonstrated this—in the most practical way—by going to sleep.  It is his way to leave these things to God.  As an old friend once told me, "You might as well give your troubles to God.  He's going to be up all night anyway."

The calm itself shows us much about the nature of Jesus as the Son of God:
By his voice he calmed the sea.  Is this not the agent of creation, who spoke and the worlds began?

The calm comes at once.  There is no argument, no rebellion by the universe against its creator.

Jesus couples this with their faith.  He makes it clear that their lack of faith brought the trouble on—and his faith took care of it.

For us, this passage gives us a clear picture of the choices we face as Christians in this age:

We can go through life in fear, blaming God every time something goes wrong.
We can rest in faith, and let the Lord of All calm the seas of our lives.

But the choice is made not with words but with faith.  Our actions in trusting Him make the difference.

The difference is not just for ourselves.  Read the passage again and you will see that there were other boats with them that night.  No doubt the squall affected them the same way.  By your calm faith you may save not only your boat, but those of many others.

April 8

A Shocking Carelessness

Mar_5:1-20

The subject of demons tantalizes the modern Christian.  Satan's ploy to modern man is that he does not exist, and therefore God doesn't either.  It's a different tale in third world countries.

There are some things we can learn from this story about the demons:

It's quite evident they know who Jesus really is—and it frightens them.  The fright is due to His power and their sin.

It seems you torment a devil by taking his plaything away from him—the body of a mortal man.

They can do nothing without God's permission;  as you see, they had to beg to go into the pigs.

In a curious sense, most of us think that if encountered one genuine demon, our faith would be greatly increased.   It would be proof that passages like this are reasonable.  But notice something:  the locals here needed no such proof—and they asked Jesus to leave the area as quickly as possible!  Why?

There is a rule in cartoons:  the bomb in the package never goes off—until you look into the package and have time for a double take.  There is something of a double take here, too.  The Son of Man seems a reasonable teacher—but then reveals an immense power and holiness.  Perhaps the fear of God had struck them, and they realized who they were talking to.

Sadly, it is more likely that they are more concerned with pigs than with people.  It's nice that the local crazy is now in his right mind, but what about my three thousand pigs?

Dorothy Sayers said that Jesus had a "shocking carelessness in the matter of other peoples pigs and property."  Perhaps this is because he sees us as the stewards of his property, rather than as the owners.  After all, he is the agent of creation through whom all things were made.  Those pigs came from his power.  We often think that God has given dominion over the earth to us.  He did—to Adam in the garden.  After the fall you get stewardship.  Dominion is for the sinless.

How do you see your property?  God has blessed you with certain abilities;  you have used those abilities to acquire material things.  Sometimes you get "lucky" - or blessed.  He is the true owner of all;  you're just the steward.  (If you think not, check back after your funeral).  So, how are you using his property?

April 9

My Little Daughter

Mar_5:21-43

Daughters are different—to fathers.  My daughter needed delicate brain surgery at age five months.  This was the precious child that almost cost my wife's life during birth, the one I sang to in her first cradle.  To watch her going into surgery was almost unbearable.  I know how this man Jairus felt, for I went to the Lord that day too, asking for my little girl's life.

He had to overcome a great deal of pride and dignity.  He was a ruler of the synagogue, a man of prominence.  From this position of privilege and power he started.  Fathers are supposed to be calm and in control, dignified—but not this day.

He had to go through the barriers of prejudice.  Jesus was from Galilee ("the sticks" to us).  He was not a noted rabbi but an itinerant preacher.  It is likely he had only heard of Jesus.  The surgeon was unknown to me until the need for the surgery came up.  Could I trust my little girl to this unknown doctor?

The ruler came through all this to fall at Jesus' feet—and beg.  For we know that when we go to the throne of grace, it is not on our own merit, but on his compassion and mercy that our pleas must rest.
He did so in faith.

Notice something:  Jesus' words are "Don't be afraid; just believe."  These are words of comfort and encouragement.  Before the healing comes the comfort.  Our Lord cares not only for the little ones but for each of us.

Mark has probably taken this story from Peter, for it rings with the details of the eyewitness account.  The crowd laughs, and Jesus puts them out.  His command to the girl, quoted in the original Aramaic and translated for us, so we can hear the sound of it.  Jesus' instruction to give her a little food, a little kindness unrelated to the miracle.  The mind's eye can see it clearly.

Turn that mind's eye now to the subject of death.  The crowd, the ruler's friends, all thought death was the end.  Nothing could be done.  But this time things were different, for the Author of Life was present.  His view of death is very different from ours.  He is not the god of the dead, but the God of the Living.  He tells us that we shall rise again in a new and glorious form.  He ought to know.  Why then, do we persist in fearing death?  It has lost its sting, at the Cross, and will one day be completely defeated.  Praise God!

April 10

Who Touched Me?

Mar_5:25-34

Have you ever noticed that some medical procedures are worn like a badge of honor, and others discreetly hushed up?  You can get a man to tell you about his triple bypass operation, show you some of the scars and complain long and loud of the hospital food.  But there are some medical problems which we consider just a little too delicate to make public.  When the prayer requests are passed around, they usually ask us to pray for someone's "condition" - without a word as to what it is.

We do not need to know the specific condition to pray, of course;  and there is much to be said for not being nosy.  But it reminds us that pain from illness may not be entirely physical, but also emotional.  This woman certainly had that pain:

This illness made her ceremonially unclean.  She was therefore forbidden to go to the synagogue or Temple to worship God.  She was without the comfort that comes from this.

More than that, if anyone touched her, he or she was unclean until evening.  So she would be politely—"Nothing personal, you understand" - ostracized.

She was a woman who was not only ill, going broke from it but also alone.  Jesus knew this—did you really think he did not know who touched him?  He knew!  His purpose was more than healing her physical illness:

What she did in secret, he brought into the light—so that all would know that she was healed, and no longer to be ostracized.

He calls her "daughter" - a term of affection, showing that she is welcome in his presence.

He commends her faith, showing that she is approved in the way she comes to God.
The purpose of Christ was to heal her completely, not just physically.  Do we accept the purpose of Christ?  For those whose illnesses make them less than socially acceptable, do we welcome them into our presence?  This is hard.  We may think we will not know what to say, or how to act.  What do you say to a person who has cerebral palsy, or Parkinson's disease?  Can you speak to someone who has AIDS?

Our Lord did.  If we are to be true children of our heavenly Father, let us imitate our Lord in this—so that "whosoever will," can come.

April 11

I Am Able
Mat_9:27-34

Is it true that the blind develop their other senses to a greater degree than the rest of us?  Perhaps.  This little story shows us much about the nature of Christ.  One wonders just how much they perceived of this.

They begin by calling him "Son of David."  It is a favorite title for the long expected Messiah.  This they must have heard.

When confronted with the choice, they call him Lord.

Note the phrase:  ". I am able. "  His Lordship is acknowledged not as messenger but as Messiah.  He does these miracles of Himself, in imitation of the Father.

Jesus has performed several miracles immediately before this.  Here he brings in a new note:  He explicitly challenges their faith.  It is sometimes supposed that God cannot work without our faith.  This is not the case.  He constrains himself in this way so that we might see the virtue of faith.

One curious phrasing does happen here.  If you will notice, the men begin begging his mercy on the road, but it is not until he enters a house that he turns his attention to them.  Why?

First, there is the question of having his fame spread too early in his ministry.  By doing this privately, and telling them not to talk about it, he minimizes the premature spread of his fame.

Also, he wants them to demonstrate their faith.  If you want to know if faith is genuine, it is best not to ask in front of a crowd of religious people.  There may be peer pressure.

Of importance to us personally is the example of humility this sets.  Jesus does not trumpet his good works to the world.  Instead, he does them quietly.  We should follow this example as well, doing our good works as discreetly as possible.

You will note that Jesus sternly warns them not to talk.  This is fitting with his humility.   It is also futile.  It seems that nowhere in his ministry does anyone obey this instruction!  It's easy to see why.  Good news is hard to keep quiet.

We are told to be silent about our good works.  Jesus tells  us that every secret thing will ultimately be revealed, and here is an example.  It seems that added to the reward of God the Father will be the witness of those we have helped.

April 12

Small Town, Small Minds
Mar_6:1-6

The Western is an enduring form of cinema.  It has an appeal that crosses culture and time.  The small town, one sheriff, a few bad guys, the townsfolk, the schoolmarm, the kid—all stock characters to be picked up at any time by any writer.  Nothing ever changes in the Old West—and we like it that way.

Why?  There is a comfort in knowing that nothing will change.  Nothing in the plot will disturb us;  the white hats always win.  We like the fact that it doesn't change;  it only varies.  That's part of our nature:  change makes us uncomfortable.  Very often, we do our best to see that it doesn't happen.

Jesus encounters that here in his home town of Nazareth.  He's the carpenter's kid, the guy who worked with his hands, just another tradesman who evidently doesn't know his place.  He came from the wrong side of the tracks, evidently, and folks were not about to let him cross over.  Their minds were made up:  he was not to be allowed to be anything different than their idea of him.  It's interesting to note Jesus' reactions to this:

First, there is the fact that he returned at all.  He had to know what was in their hearts;  he knew he was asking for a rejection notice.  Why?  Perhaps it was his love;  he wanted to give them a fair chance.

He works only minor miracles there, a few healings.  Christ is not a sideshow host coming back to impress the home folks with his new fame and fortune.  He has come for the divine purpose:  to seek and save the lost.  Miracles, in some way, are the reward of faith.  If there is no faith, there will be no reward.

The characteristic attack of the small, weak mind is ridicule.  If fact and logic are absent, there is always a well timed sneer available.  It is an emotional reaction; it says, I don't want to change.  I don't  want things to be different.  Get back in your box where you belong, Jesus.

This is why he is called the Rock of Stumbling.  The ridicule bounces off the Rock, for it has no basis in fact.  The only result was to make the people of the town look like what they were:  small minds from a small town.  But look to your own mind:  have you put Jesus in his box?  Is he allowed into every aspect of your life, or just those marked "religious—handle with care?"  Jesus—sideshow or Savior?  You decide.

April 13

Harvest Workers
Mat_9:35-38

"There they go," says one cartoon, "and I must catch up with them, for I am their leader!"

Jesus saw people like that.  When he did, he had compassion.  The original word expresses deep emotion of great intensity.  It is his humanity we see here, for he sees humanity, and weeps.

Why?  I once worked with a woman who achieved what she thought was salvation about every three months.  The cause was always different—it ranged from ESP to country-western dancing—but the result was always the same.  She chased the fashion of the moment, and it lead to nowhere.  She refused to consider Jesus Christ, for he is out of fashion.  It is still true:  where there is no vision, the people perish.  People then, people now, worry over where to find the rainbow's end.

The harvest is plentiful.  There certainly seem to be enough of them.  But do we recognize them around us?  Some of those around me I will never be able to reach;  they speak a different language.  Isn't more common, though, to meet those we will not reach?  Consider the "ordinary invisibles."  These are the waitresses, flight attendants, clerks—all those people with whom we don't want to make eye contact.  So many people see them each day; so few will speak to them of Christ.

Did you notice how Jesus described it?  The laborers are few—not members.  We have plenty of auditors and consultants.

So what is the solution?  Jesus gives us two principles:

First, we are commanded to pray.  This is how God works.  He delights in those who come to him in earnest prayer, and wants to grant their requests.  Those who establish the right relationship with him will see his favor.

Second, we are commanded to pray for more laborers.  Why?  Why not ask for the gift of becoming "super-preacher?"  It is in weakness God's strength is shown;  by this means the result  will be to his glory, rather than our ego inflation.

As more come to work, those who are brought to faith will be able to learn from personal contact, not television sermons.  God spreads his kingdom in this way so that we might be welded together as the church, not just a gaggle of listeners.

Do you see the agony of those around you, chasing after the wind?  Have compassion, have pity on them.  Ask your Heavenly Father to send out those who will bring his children home.

April 14

Training Mission

Mat_10:1-10

Jesus sends his disciples out on a little tour of the countryside.  This is a training mission;  for that reason he places certain restrictions upon them.

To the Jews

He sends them to the Jews first.  He has not yet been rejected as king by them, and it is only fair to do so.  In doing this, he arms them with the credentials that all Jews would recognize—the miraculous powers that can only come from God.

Power

One of the marks of true greatness and power is humility.  Notice that Jesus sends them out to do the very same things he has been doing—and in the same miraculous power.  This does not make them his equals;  He has the power, they have received it.  But there is no trace of jealousy in his giving it to them.  Indeed, he trains them to use it by his frequent example.

Freely receive, freely give

Why does Jesus include this instruction?

First, it is to remind the disciples that they have nothing, in themselves, of which to boast.  They do not have this power of themselves;  it is the gift of God.

They are told to freely give—which is to help them from becoming greedy and selling the grace of God.  That grace is beyond any price we could pay;  it therefore must be given away.

Traveling outfit

Jesus is rather specific about what they should not take—and most of it revolves around material possessions.  But you must make a choice:  would you have the reward of men, or the reward of God?

Take no staff—no sign of protection and power—so that you will rely entirely on God for your protection.

Take no coat—make no preparation for tomorrow but God.

The disciples are to have nothing—and therefore they have no cares.  They may receive their necessities on a daily basis, but that's all.

Do you wonder why your spiritual life sags and creaks?  Perhaps it is the load you are carrying on it.  Grace you freely received;  do you share it the same way, with no thought of reward?  A heavy wallet is a pain in the backside.  Live in simplicity, taking no thought for tomorrow—and let God lead you peacefully.

April 15

Travel Arrangements

Mat_10:11-15

If you have enough frequent flyer miles, you have a collection of nightmares concerning travel arrangements.  Our Lord here gives his disciples commandment concerning their travel arrangements.  We can learn from this, and apply our lessons to the travel which is life.

Book your hotel room carefully

Jesus does not give them supernatural wisdom to discern the best host, nor make arrangements for them.  He says, "search."  We are to watch where we reside, spiritually.

Choose your teachers with great care.  Brilliant eloquence is no clue to sound teaching.  See if the life matches it.

Choose your friends with even greater care.

Hospitality—a test of virtue

Hospitality is one of the tests of a Christian.  So many of us complain that God has not given us great "spiritual" gifts.  If he has given you a roof over your head, then use that roof to show hospitality when you can.  If you are faithful in little, you are faithful in much.

Don't switch hotel rooms

Hospitality came from individual homes at this time.  The temptation was to do a little social climbing until you got into the best possible house.  Jesus tells us not to do that.  Rather, we are to be content with what we have.

As return for the hospitality, he tells his disciples to let their peace rest on the home.  It is a form of praying for the peace of the home.  So many of us pray that the Lord might take us out of our circumstances and send us to a place with harmony!  His command is that we pray for harmony to come to us.
Rejection

Stubbornness, when cloaked in the word persistence, is considered a virtue.  Christ here tells us the opposite.  If our message is rejected, we are to move on!  We are to shake dust as we go (a sign of rejection and a last chance to repent), but we must move on.  There are others who must hear the Gospel.

This world is not our home, we're just passing through.  We are travelers, pilgrims.  Let us therefore accept the hospitality offered and, in return, bless those who offer it to us.  Picking our teachers with care, working in harmony with each other, giving and receiving true hospitality—these can make the journey light.

April 17


Greater Courage

Mat_10:23-26

The disciples are being prepared here for their training missionary journey, and Christ now turns from the desire for security to the matter of fear, in particular fear of persecution.

His first comfort is this:  it won't last long.  For this journey, they would not even make it through all the cities in Israel before the sacrifice at the Cross.  So it's a short training trip.  (Others see in this a prophecy concerning the salvation of Israel).

This touches upon the nature of courage.  For men in particular, courage is often bound up with pride, so it is useful to us to distinguish courage from its counterfeits:

Being devoid of fear is not courage.  If someone is shooting at you and you are not afraid, you are mentally ill.

Denying your fear is not courage;  it is bravado.  This is a game for teenage boys with no real accomplishment.

True courage is acknowledging your fear—and doing what you must despite that fear.

In that light, it sometimes takes more courage to appear to be a coward than it does to appear to be a hero.  Much of bravado comes from not wanting your pride injured by your buddies.

Christ here commands them to flee when persecuted.  Why?

First, because it is their mission.  If they are persecuted, it is for the sake of the Gospel.  Persecution is rejection;  when rejected, shake dust and move on.

Next, Christ prevents them from putting God to the test.  Can God deliver them?  No more than he did Daniel!  But should you presume upon him and test him that way?  It is written, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."  To remain defiantly is to do just that.

Finally, Christ knows the heart.  It is better to flee than to remain, and through weakness deny your Lord.

Christians throughout the century have considered it the highest honor possible to be persecuted and martyred for the faith.  The reason is given here:  you are sharing in the suffering of Jesus Christ.  That shows you are his servant and disciple.  It may not appear at the moment, but the truth comes  out in the end.  All will be revealed, and those who fled for Christ's sake and those who were martyred for Christ's sake will share in his glory.  Christ prepared the disciples for this;  are you prepared for it too?

April 18

Self-Revealing

Mat_10:27

For anyone who preaches, teaches or simply shares the good news of Jesus Christ, this verse is extremely important.   The permanent temptation to the preacher is to be bland and acceptable.  The permanent temptation of the teacher is to be accepted.  One way to give into this temptation is to speak about only those things your hearers already know.

Christ demands that our preaching, teaching and sharing be free and unrestrained.  He touches our imagination here to show us this lesson:

Darkness

Darkness is often a place of fear.  Who among us at one time or another has not been afraid of the dark?  Often, however, you would think that some Christian speakers had never had a moment of fear in their lives.  That's sounds good—but their hearers think, "I could never be like that."  Christ hear tells us to share our fears with those to whom we speak.  We need to tell them how with his help we overcame those fears—even if those fears are now very embarrassing.

Darkness can also be seen as a state of ignorance—we still say, "I was in the dark."  For teachers in particular, it is hard to let out the impression that you've ever been anything but a walking encyclopedia of the faith.  But all of us have been in the situation where we did not know what to do—in darkness.  We need to confess this and share how God has rescued us from that darkness.
Whispered in the ear

The phrase means any private, inner conversation with God.  For example, we need to give praise to God in public for the prayers he has answered—even if we did not particularly want to share that certain request.  More than that, each of us has an innermost core, touched by God.  If the world is to see how deep, wide and broad is the love of God, they must see it in us.  How shall they see it if we do not reveal it?  This is a call to the deepest form of honesty in teaching, preaching and sharing—holding nothing back so that others might know the Lord.

Even the quietest word from God is more valuable than all the chatter on the street.  Proverbs 1:20 gives us the picture of wisdom, calling aloud in the street.  God intends that we share with others that which he has shared with us—and share it freely, generously and without holding back.  Are you willing to open your heart to others, so that they may see God?

April 19

True Value

Mat_10:28-31

Mention the word "audit" to the average business man and you'll get a shudder.  No one likes to be audited.  But companies persist in sending the auditors around?  Why?

In the simplest sense, they are checking on things which they consider important.  It is the way of human beings:  if you think something is important, you check on it.  If the "something" happens to be enumerable, you count it.  We count dollars, sheep and books. We put numbers on ships, cars and airplanes.  We don't count the dirt we sweep up or the sand we walk on.  If it's important, we count it.  Otherwise, not.

And the more important the item, the more important the one who counts.  You may value your books, but the tax man looks at your money.  So then, both from the count and the counter, it appears that you, the child of God, are highly valued—for he counts the hairs on your head.

If, then, God so highly values us, why are we so often afraid that he will let us down?  Why are we so afraid?  Augustine gave us the secret:  I fear, therefore I am not afraid.  Because I fear God, and he values me so highly, I know that in life or death he will care for me.

Even in death?

Is this matter really in the hands of the doctors or the authorities?  They think so;  but remember Jesus before Pilate:  they would not have such authority if God had not given it.

If I die, then is God no longer able to care for me?  Or is to be absent from the body to be present from the Lord?

And—as all die—when I die, should I not look forward to the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead?

Perhaps our fears are related to our attitude towards death.  If we see it as the greatest of terrors, we place a great weapon in the hands of Christ's enemies.  But if we remember that the death of his saints is precious in his sight, we take the power of that weapon away from them.

Oscar Wilde once defined the cynic as the man who "knew the price of everything and the value of nothing."  The world counts people as so many interchangeable units, so many tax dollars, so many Christians to be eliminated.  God counts every bit of us as precious in his sight.  We have the choice:  the view of the cynic, or the view of God.  Our view determines how we face death.

April 20

Confession

Mat_10:32-33

Some other translations render the word given here as "acknowledge" with the word "confess."  There is something to that.  To acknowledge Christ, publicly, is a form of confession.

It is a confession that we are sinners.  Who would seek a savior if not a sinner?

It is a confession that we are not capable of dealing with our own sins, but need Him to do it.

It is a confession that we are being guided by Him, rather than going our own way.

What's curious here is that Jesus does not use the phrase, "have faith."  He uses "acknowledge"  or "confess."  It seems we must make the announcement to the world at large that we are believers in the Christ.  Why?

First, it trains us in boldness.  The life of a disciple is one which requires courage.  We must begin somewhere.

In addition, even the least eloquent of us can add our acknowledgement to those of others.  This adds one more witness to the glory of God;  yours may be the one witness which moves another to come to Christ.

Most important, when you commit yourself to Christ—you "put your money where your mouth is" - you will find the love of Christ growing in you.  You cannot wage war by halves;  you cannot love by halves.

We might look at this as "mere words."  Note that God rewards those words much more richly than we speak them.  If we confess Him, our names go before God in heaven.  If not, then we are denied in heaven.  Think of it this way:  even those who persecute Christians to the death admire the courage with which they go.  If they honor this confession, how much more will God reward it?

How can we do this?  Most of us are neither eloquent nor particularly courageous.  The original wording gives us a clue.  It is almost beyond translation, but the phrase "acknowledge me" really means "acknowledge in me" - that is, you acknowledge Him, but you do so in Him, in His strength—not your own.  He will give you the courage to do so.

But if you will not take that courage, then your denial is his.  You will hear, "Depart from me, you accursed;  I never knew you."  The choice is yours—in this life.

April 21

War and Peace

Mat_10:34-37

This is one of the most troubling and painful passages in the New Testament.
It is painful, because most experienced Christians know from personal experience just what Jesus is talking about.  In our own families we have those who screamingly, stridently object to anyone who is a Christian.  One thing which must be said for this statement:  Christ has in no way tried to minimize the difficulties and troubles of the disciple.  This one may be the most painful.

Christ says he brings a sword—not "war," but a sword.  Why?

The sword is a weapon of personal combat.  You cannot wage war with the sword without being face to face with your opponent—and that is what family warfare feels like.

The sword is an instrument which cuts in pieces—that which divides.  It is fitting, therefore, as a symbol of the civil war which takes place in divided families.

The sword, when wielded properly, cuts in places where divisions already exist—at joints, for example.  The divisions in the family exist as well, between those who seek after righteousness and those who seek family first.

This same sword, however, would have been seen by the people of this time as being something symbolic as well as actual.

It is the emblem of authority.  The sword was not permitted to ordinary citizens, but only those of authority.

It is also the symbol, in the Roman Empire, of impartial justice.  Even today, the statue of justice seen on so many courthouses holds up a sword, which is for impartiality.

In this light we can see why Christ used it.  Why do we cherish the family and its bonds?  Because God ordained the family as the basic unit of society.  It exists, and is upheld, because of the authority of God.  God has granted all authority in heaven and on earth to Christ.  Therefore, the same authority which ordained the family now tells us of something greater—the kingdom of God.  If the family stands in the way of the kingdom, the kingdom—in the form of the Sword of the Spirit—will divide the family, for the kingdom is not to be divided.

It is painful.  We try our best to minimize that pain.  But ultimately we must decide:  the things of this world—even the good things, like the family—or the things of God.

April 22

The Paradox of Life

Mat_10:38-39

Most of us are familiar with the idea of investing money for our future needs.  Depending upon your circumstances, your "investment strategy" may be conservative or risky.  But one thing all the investment advisors agree upon:  diversify.   Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Mark Twain had a different bit of advice:  put all your eggs in one basket—and watch that basket!  There is something of that in what Christ says here.

We have a great desire for security, for the sure thing.   Christ tells us that our security is in God—but that to have that security, we must have faith in Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God.  But faith implies trust and trust implies risk.  Here Christ gives us the measure of the risk:  our entire lives.

This is not investment advice.  It is a description of the way that God works.  He is not interested in the half-hearted, play it safe financier who invests a little time on Sunday just in case this God thing pays off.  He puts it to us quite bluntly:  take up the Cross.

Take up the Cross?

Take up the Cross—and be willing to suffer persecution in this life.

Take up the Cross—and be the willing steward of what God blesses you with, rather than the owner of your own fortune.

Take up the Cross—and be the one who loves others instead of putting yourself first, looking out for number one.

Take up the Cross—ignore the world's way, remain faithful and righteous no matter what the smart crowd is doing.

Why?  Because God will not deal in halves.  He will not have half of you, only all of you—or none of you.  He who commands that you love your family is love Himself, and He comes first.

How often have you heard that the best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother?  Love comes in a hierarchy;  your wife comes before your children, and this benefits both your wife and children.  But at the top of that hierarchy is God himself.  If you do not love him beyond all other things and people—including yourself—it is of no use.

But, if you will put him first in all things, he will reward you richly.  As is the risk, so is the reward.  You risk all in this life;  he rewards you with strength and compassion here and life eternal in the world to come.  That is the real winning investment strategy.

April 23

Rewards

Mat_10:40-42

The phone rings.  It's the preacher at the church.  It seems that Billy Graham is coming to town, and would like to stay in someone's home.  The preacher has recommended yours—but Dr. Graham will be there in an hour or so, we hope this is convenient?  I submit the next hour will be spent in furious housekeeping.

Not that you would view this as a burden—rather, you would see it as a privilege, an honor, to have the joy of hosting someone who has brought so many to Christ.  To have an extraordinary man in your company is reward itself.

Christ gives us much the same principle here.  The Apostles, the prophets, even the least of the disciples are his ambassadors.  The ambassador is due the honor which is due his sovereign.  More than that, Christ's ambassadors are ambassadors of reconciliation—so that they are all the more welcome for the good news they bring.  It does not matter if they are not "great men."  In the army we had a saying:  you salute the uniform, not the wearer.  If he wears the uniform of a prophet of God, salute it.

It is a form of partnership.  The church is composed of members—individuals with differing functions.  The function of those who receive those who travel is an honored one:

First, it is a ministry of encouragement.  How difficult it must be to be a missionary, dependent upon the hospitality of those who might know nothing but your name!  But when you find true hospitality, what an encouragement it must be.

Christ makes it clear that the measure of hospitality is the heart, not the wallet—even a "cup of cold water" in his name will be rewarded.  Even the least, ministering to the least, will be rewarded if this is done for Christ.

God does not view things the way we do.  He looks upon the heart rather than outward appearances.  If your home is beautiful and well appointed it will be of no use if it is not also warm and hospitable to God's traveling saints.  If your roof is humble—even leaky—this is of no consequence either, if your heart is open to the needs of the saints.

There is a joy in this.  No qualifications are posted for this task.  You need not be eloquent, or pious, or learned—just one with an open door.  In this you can reflect your master, whose door is always open to the sinner.  It does not matter how little you have to share;  what matters is that you share what you have.

April 24

Come Away

Mar_6:31-34

As a young child I was raised on military posts.  One of those posts had the last live bugler in the Army.  The entire post ran on bugle calls.  One of those calls was "Retreat."  It does not, in this sense, mean to run away.  It means instead to go back to your tent (or house) and go inside.  But it is not yet time for sleep (that's "taps").  It is the time to reflect upon the day, write the day's reports and prepare for the next day.

Christ understands that we need such things.  Here he attempts to take his disciples away to such a place.   He looks for a solitary place.  This is fitting, for in solitude it is much easier to be humble.  Jesus never sought his time away from the crowds in the houses of the rich, but rather in the desert.  This is fitting to the humility of the son of Man.

The retreat here is with Jesus.  There is no sense of sending the disciples away to think.   Rather, it is a time to get closer to God.  It is a time of refreshing, a time of contemplation, and that requires contact with the living God.

Nothing is more characteristic of Jesus in the handling of the disciples than this.  He tries to given them rest—by having them come away with him.  He is a man like us, and he understands what we need to come back to the work stronger and fresher.

The press of the crowd, in this instance, makes it impossible.  There is an example in this.  These people saw Jesus and the disciples take to a boat.  They then ran around the lake to reach the other side before him.  How many of us, I wonder, are so eager to hear the words of Christ?

James tells us that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.  The sequence is interesting.  These people were quick to listen, and that is the starting point of "retreat" with Christ.  There is no sense getting away from the press of humanity if you do not get away to the presence of God.  That demands the habit of listening.

We often see this as a once a year matter, but Christ did not see it that way.  Perhaps we can learn a lesson from the army.  Retreat comes every evening at the same time.  The bugle is blown, and the disciplined soldier retreats to his quarters, there to think, write and plan.  Should we not also hear the trumpet of Christ calling us to retreat to our private places, and there to be quick to hear what our Lord is saying?  The next day's work depends so much on this night's retreat.

April 25

You Feed Them

Mar_6:35-44

This miracle, often quoted, is full of instruction in a subtle way.  First, note that the miracle occurs at the end of a day of teaching.  Christ feeds the masses with the living word of God before he will feed them bread.  How often we have reversed that!

The disciples have learned one thing by now:  their master's compassion for the multitudes.  They see them;  they have pity and they do what comes naturally.  They go to their master and ask for help.  Did his reply surprise them?

"You feed them."  It is a challenge.  It is an indication that they have something yet to learn.  Why did Christ do this?

First, because he knew he would not always be with them.  Therefore, they needed to understand that God would give them power as well.

Indeed, he tells them later that they will do even greater things than he has done.  This is the preparation for that time.

The lessons do not stop there.  Another key lesson is this:  work with what you have.  How often have we heard a church pray that God would give them increased offerings, greater teachers, other material things?  Yet here Christ starts with the things they have, no matter that they seem so inadequate.  We ask for material blessings;  he takes the blessings we have and multiplies them.

He does not convert the bread and fishes into something else.  There is a divine style here:  if we have bread and fishes, bread and fishes we shall use.

But we will begin by asking God's blessing upon it.

Why this blessing?  Is it just a formality, or proper Jewish ritual?

It prevents presumption.  The Jews in the wilderness challenged Moses to have God rain down bread on them;  Jesus will have no such challenge.

It also shows that He and the Father are one.

The disciples distribute—note that even in miracles there is work to be done—and come up with twelve baskets.  Twelve baskets?  Yes, one for each of the Apostles.  There is a point here too.  It appears that there is more than enough, but Christ has them collect it too.  It is not fitting to waste God's bounty.

Are you at a point where you are feeling the "All I have." blues in your life?  Do not look to your difficulties, but look to his power.  With God, all things are possible.

April 26

Take Courage

Mar_6:47-52

The incident seems strange to us.  It is most noted in Matthew's account for Peter walking on the sea, but there are other features worthy of our attention.  For instance:

Why did Jesus go away alone to prayer, sending them ahead?
He had been intending to be at prayer from early in the morning, but the crowd had pressed him.  He's overdue.

As Son of Man, he is in need of prayer, contact with his heavenly father.
As Son of God, it sets us an example that we too ought to get away to prayer, no matter what else presses.

Why did he wait so long to come to them?

The disciples have been rowing for several hours;  it's about three in the morning.  He wanted them to be at the end of their strength—so they would rely on his.

He also wanted to teach them patience—the great virtue of waiting upon the Lord.
Why did he start to pass them by?

It was certainly not inattention to their plight.  But perhaps it gave them one last chance to do it themselves.

Certainly, however, he wanted to cause them to cry out to him, for in crying to God we trust in him.

Why did they not understand?

The passage tells us that they did not understand the miracle of the loaves.  They saw Jesus as man in the universe;  He taught them that he is Lord and Creator of the universe.

They did not understand because their hearts were hard;  perhaps he arranged all this to crack those hardened hearts.

It is comforting to note that he spoke to them first, telling them who he was—and to take courage.  The disciple knows the master by his voice.  "It is I" - an echo of "I AM", the very name of God.  Note too that when he enters the boat and sits down, the wind and waves die down.  When Christ enters the ship—or the human heart—there is peace, for the master of all things created cannot be overthrown by his creation.

If there is no peace in your heart today, is it because you have not allowed the Creator himself to come in and sit down?  If the heart is hard, he must crack it first.  Soften it first, and have peace.

April 27

The Work of God

Joh_6:22-29

When you consider the answers Jesus gives, you must begin by finding the nature of the hearers.  This is a rather low bunch.

We have a fondness for the idea that seeing one miracle would make us instantly into super-saints.  This is not the case (think how much the ancient Israelites saw, and how little they believed), and here is another example.  This group has seen the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, so they follow Jesus around — but not for the miracle, or the hope of another miracle.  They like being fed.

Like so many of us, they are seeking the tame god.  The tame god is a very popular one.  He sits in your closet until you have a problem—then you take him out, he solves your problem, soothes your fears and quietly goes back into the closet, demanding nothing further of you.  A very useful god, that.  The only problem is that this is not the one true God.  It is this idea that Jesus is attempting to correct.

He begins with a concept they understand:  work.  It's perfectly reasonable in their minds that the tame god would want them to do something in return;  in fact, it's common to try to bargain with him.  The usual bargain runs something like, "I'll give up this or that bad habit if you'll do ."  So Christ takes as his starting point the idea that God wants you to work.  They think so, and so does Jesus.  But their conception of that work is very different.

You can see their conception in their question:  "what must.."  They are looking for a list of good deeds to perform.

Christ takes them back a step:  why are you working at all, if the rewards are not eternal?

Then he makes the breathtaking leap:  the work of God is to believe.

To believe, of course, is not merely intellectual assent.  It is trust.  Whom should you trust?  The one God has sent, the one on whom he has put his seal of approval—Jesus, the Christ.

The utter simplicity of the concept stuns them.  That's it?  No long list of rules and regulations—just trust the One, and act on that trust?  No rabbinical debates about how far we can walk?  St. Augustine rephrased this point by saying:  "Love God—and do as you please."  For if you truly love him, you will please him; you can't help it.  This is the real work of God:  to love, trust and obey the one He sent:  Jesus, the Christ.

April 28

The Bread of Life

Joh_6:30-36

There is a great difference between what something is, and what it is made of.
Consider, for example, the moon.  Whether it is made of green cheese or basaltic rock peppered by meteorites, such is only a list of its ingredients.  The moon is not basaltic rock;  that's only what it's made of.  If you think not, ask any lover on a warm moonlit night.  You will find it is something entirely different.

Jesus must make that same distinction to the gluttonous crowd here.  Bread is on their minds—they have just been fed with bread and fishes by his miraculous power—so they challenge him with the remembrance of manna in the wilderness.  The challenge is very careful:  "our fathers ate."  The obvious point to avoid is the source of the manna.  But Jesus understands their minds.  He rephrases the question in the form of the answer.  It was not Moses who gave them manna, but God.  God—whom Jesus describes as "My Father."

Manna is a great picture of the bread of God:

Like manna, the bread of God comes only from Heaven, no other source.

Like manna, the bread of God gives life.

Like manna, the bread of God is a gift from God, not something anyone could earn.

Whatever manna was made of, that's not what it is.  Now Jesus tells them that the same bread of God is before them.  Jesus stands before them in physical body—certainly not made of the same ingredients as manna—but he is the bread of God.

We proclaim the same thing every week in communion.  We take a small piece of unleavened bread (recipe unknown and unimportant, except for "unleavened.")  We take it, and in so doing eat the very bread of life itself.  "This is my body" said Jesus, referring to just such bread.

"You are what you eat," goes the old saying.  It is true spiritually at least.  For if you will not eat the bread of life you will not have eternal life.  To do this you must take into yourself the very essence of that bread—what it truly is, not just what it is made of.  If you do this, you will become like that bread.  As you imitate your Lord, Jesus Christ, you become like him.  As you take him in—in meditation, study and prayer—you become like him, and imitate him more.  In so doing, God gives you true life.

May 1

Words of Life

Joh_6:60-71

In this deep passage Christ sifts his followers, weeding out those who are not capable of going with him.  He tells us plainly:  no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him.

Some of these were drawn by the show.  Miracles, after all, make a good story to tell your grandchildren.  Some of us today are drawn by the show, also.  The music is lively, the preacher's words alive—we walk out saying, "Good sermon."  Unless the good sermon affects our lives, we are not drawn by the Father but by the show.

Some were drawn by the crowd.  Many of us follow the crowd to the fashionable church.  After all, we might need a place for a wedding or a funeral some day, and how much better that it should be an elegant building, full of fine musicians and excellent speakers.

Some were drawn by what they saw as an opportunity to succeed in life.  Like Simon the sorcerer, they saw the Gospel as a chance to make money.  A place to make all the right contacts for the business, and—after all—it never hurts to have the reputation of being an honest Christian businessman.

All these are sifted out by the hard words of the Gospel, for they were not drawn by the Father.  Note those who remain, however.  Jesus, seeing the many depart, queries those who stay.  They give us the clue we need to see who is really drawn by the Father.

"To whom shall we go?" they ask.  "You have the words of eternal life."  There it is.  Those who were sifted out had their sights set too low—the show, the crowd, the opportunity.  These men had their sights set on God himself, and they understood the price of that quest.  It does not matter if it costs you everything you have, including your physical life—if you gain eternal life.

There is only one source for that life.  Peter knows it, and puts it in the form of a question:  "to whom shall we go?"  The question answers itself:  there is no one else.  It's better to take the hard, slow road to the right place than the easy road to anywhere else.

Jesus, with the foreknowledge of God, knew who was who—but still suffered at their departure.  It was their choice.  We have the same choice today.  Do not let the show, the crowd, or the opportunity blind you to the call of Christ.  Allow the Father to draw you to the living Christ, the source of eternal life.  The way may be hard—but there is no other.

May 2

Wash Your Hands

Mar_7:1-13

Tradition, it has been said, is the vote of those who do not happen to be walking around on the surface of the planet.  To the extent that tradition represents wisdom, or the solution to a problem, it is good.  The apprentice must learn the trade, and he does so in tradition.

But like any good thing, it can become the enemy of the best thing.  This is what has happened here.  The Pharisees are a long way from home;  they came from Jerusalem to the north of Galilee to challenge this Jesus.  But they have learned not to be careless in their charges;  note that they refer to the "tradition of the elders," not the Law of Moses.

This tradition has indeed become a terrible thing.  It is common in our day for adult children to take on the care of an aging parent.  Often, this care consists of taking the estate of the father and using it for the benefit of his widow.  This was true in their day too.  Most commonly it would be a son caring for his mother.  But the pious sons were deceived by the Pharisees.  They were told that their late father's estate would be much better given to God (and, of course, received by the Pharisees) than used to support mother.  The devout son (and probably mother) saw her poverty as holy.  It is in this sense that Jesus accuses the Pharisees of "devouring widow's houses."  For in those days a widow with a son still living would be under his masculine dominion.

Jesus opposes their tradition with Scripture.  It is worth noting that the New Testament confirms the Old Testament in this matter;  parents are to be cared for.  It was a matter of great concern in the early church, giving rise to the first instance of the appointment of deacons.

The Pharisees have forgotten the warning of Moses (in Deuteronomy 12:32) that they are neither to add to nor take away from the Law.  A similar warning is found in Revelation 22:18-19.  This is one reason we are told to search the Scriptures;  so that we might not make the same mistake.  "God said it, therefore I believe it" is not at all the same thing as "I believe it, therefore God said it."

It is wise for us to examine ourselves, just as we must occasionally make a full audit of our books.  Are there beliefs in your mind which are not justified by the Scripture?  How would you ever know?  The answer is given here by Jesus:  the Scriptures themselves.  If you study them diligently, the Spirit will bring these things to mind—if you will hear.

May 3

In and Out

Mar_7:14-23

My wife's first visit to a prison was a memorable one.  I had often visited prisoners before, but it was a new experience for her.  As we were leaving the prison she was very quiet.  Leaving a prison is done in layers;  first one checkpoint, then another, then another.  Each one carries with it the slight fear that someone will accuse you of being an escaping prisoner.  The atmosphere is tense, and with good reason.

Her silence was very unusual.  As we passed the last checkpoint, she still said nothing.  Finally, we got into the car and drove off the prison grounds.  As we were out on the public highway she spoke for the first time:  "I want to go back to the motel, take off all my clothes and burn them, and take a shower."

What makes a man unclean?  What is it that makes us see some as being morally filthy and others as clean?  Sometimes we can get that impression from our laws, as my wife did.  The security system conveyed the underlying message:  you're probably just like the people in prison, otherwise, why would you be here?  You're just like them.

The Law is like that.  It deals with the externals, for it has no power to deal with the human heart.  When the Law scowls, you want purification.  But the intent of the Law is to affect the internal—to change the human heart.  The Christian knows that only the Spirit can change the human heart.

We are so affected by external things that we sometimes miss that point.  Our Lord ended his explanation here with, "He who has ears, let him hear."  (Not found in all versions).  In other words, He said it was obvious.

But his disciples ask him to explain this "parable" to them.  He sees them as dull witted in asking this;  he was speaking rather plainly.

There are two dangers in dealing with the externals.  One is that you will feel dirty and cleanse only the externals;  the other is that you will cleanse the externals and convince yourself that you are clean.  Jesus clearly separates the internal and external, but we see from the disciples  how difficult this is to accept.  How often we invent our own rules, proclaim them to be God's rules, and then—since we can keep those—we feel clean.  Our feelings are not the issue, for God is stronger than our feelings.  Our forgiveness is the issue, and that is available only through grace.  Throw the rulebook away, and seek His grace.

May 5

A Sign From Heaven

Mat_16:1-4

Have you ever seen a bear ride a bicycle at a circus?  It is quite amazing that someone could train a bear to perform so unnatural a feat.  That's why they put such an act in the circus.

There is a sense of circus about the challenge the Pharisees put forward here.  In a sense, they are saying to Jesus, "If you're so great, let's see you make the bear (meaning nature) ride the bicycle (do something unnatural, or miraculous)."

There is something profoundly wrong with that.  When we go to a circus, we pay to see the performances.  If the performances aren't good, we don't go; we don't pay; the circus goes broke.  So we the public determine what a circus shows, and what it doesn't.  We are "in charge" because they are selling to us.

God is not a circus.  We are not God's customers.  We are in no sense "in charge" of what God does.  Indeed, it is just the opposite.  Without God as Creator (for example) we would not even exist.  It is important that we know who He is and who we are.  This is why the Old Testament tells us, "Do not test the Lord your God."  To demand of God that he perform tricks at our command is the highest form of insolence.  And that is just what the Pharisees are doing here.

Ostensibly they are asking so that they may truly know if Jesus is indeed the Christ.  The Christ would be known by certain signs.  Jesus simply turns the matter back to them;  they know that there are certain signs—so look for them.  The example he gives them is that of predicting weather.  So look at the signs:
Some are the signs of his coming in power at the Day of Judgment, when he will judge the living and the dead.

But others are the signs of his coming to seek the lost.  The sign they will see is that "of Jonah" - meaning his death, burial and resurrection on the third day.

There are lessons in this for us, too.  Most obviously, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus tell us clearly that he is indeed the Christ, the Son of God.  But we may take a further lesson too.  In the New Testament (and indeed in the Old Testament) are the signs of his return.  You look at the clouds and say it's going to rain.   Should you not also look at the times, to see if his return is imminent?  Examine the signs.  If his return is soon, then the question comes immediately:  what should I be doing to prepare for it?  An umbrella for rain, repentance for his return.

May 7

Blind Man

Mar_8:22-26

Many Christians have wondered:  why did it take Jesus two attempts to restore this man's sight?  Perhaps the answer can be found in the location:  Bethsaida.
Bethsaida is the home town of Philip, Andrew and Peter—and evidently when they left almost all the faith in God went with them.  Note the sequence of events:
Some people from the town bring the blind man to Jesus.  They beg Jesus to touch him, for they have heard that his touch will heal miraculously.

Jesus does not heal the man immediately.  Instead, he leads him away from those who brought him, and takes him out of town.

Jesus' first attempt produces sight—but not very acute sight.  See however that Jesus spit on his eyes first.

When the man does not yet see clearly, Jesus puts his hands on his eyes.

This sequence explains the problem:

The reason is quite simple:  lack of faith.  Bethsaida is a town over which Jesus pronounces his woes, telling them that if Tyre and Sidon had seen such miracles, they would have repented long ago (Matthew 11:21)

By removing him from town, he removes him from that faithlessness.  But he himself is still afflicted with it.

Once he begins to see, however, his faith is increased—and the touch of Jesus heals him.

It is interesting that Jesus starts with spit—coming from the mouth, the symbol of words—and ends with the hand, the symbol of work.  We may preach as we please, but if the work is not there, neither is the harvest.

His last instructions—typically ignored by the hearers—are to return, but tell no one.  Since his sight will be a little hard to disguise, one might ask why.  It may have been a lesson to the disciples:  when you work your miracles, do not seek popular favor but rather the will of God.  More likely, though, it was to keep this man from being attacked.  His faith was weak, and Jesus did not want it to be ridiculed by his neighbors—who had probably given him alms for years.  So should our good works go without acclaim, and for the same good reasons.

May 8

The Messiah

Mat_16:13-20

This passage has caused much grief to the church, for it has been used as the "proof text" of papal supremacy and infallibility.  It therefore has often been ignored in Protestant circles.  This should not be, for this is a very rich passage.

Consider, first, why Christ has taken these men away.  Is it not to keep them from the opinions of the Pharisees?  He is revealing the ultimate truth to them, and he does it in private.  What he whispers we are to shout.

The opinion of the people is interesting.  Unlike the Pharisees—who see a demon from hell—the people see a prophet.  That's because he has performed miracles, and in their mind they see miracles connected with the prophets.  But which prophet?

Elijah—for Elijah never died, and therefore could come back from heaven.
Jeremiah—for Jesus is ready to pronounce woes.

John the Baptist—that's King Herod's opinion.  A result of guilt, one suspects, as Herod beheaded John.

But Peter, at least, is clear.  He makes the classic pronouncement of whom Jesus is:

He is the Christ—the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel, promised for over a thousand years to be the salvation of the people.

He is also the Son of God—of the very same essence as God the Father.

Christ then tells Peter he is blessed.  Why?  Because God the Father has revealed this to him.  Think of it:  if God the Father revealed something to you—something of ultimate importance—would you not feel that you had been blessed?  The Father has revealed the Son, just as the Son reveals the Father.

To make the point clearer, Jesus refers to Peter as "Son of Jonah."  Jonah (or in some places John) is Peter's earthly father;  Christ is making the comparison.  But to such as Peter are given the keys of the kingdom.

The early church authors are clear on this:  this is not the authority of the Pope, but the authority of the church.  But hear this:  the church has such authority.  All who believe constitute the church;  they, and they alone, are those who are saved.  The matter is one of authority, and all authority is given to one—Jesus the  Christ.

May 9

Giving Advice to God

Mat_16:21-23

It is just after the great confession that Peter makes.  So many of us think that if we have that mountain top experience, we will be free from sin.  Satan knows better;  he knows that the mountain top experience is exactly the time to strike—for we think ourselves invulnerable.

Perhaps that partially explains Peter's words here.  The remark is incredibly presumptuous.  Peter has just acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God, and now he presumes to give him some good advice.  He is not the last disciple to make that mistake.  How often have we told God just exactly how to settle things?

In this instance, however, Peter explicitly tells Jesus that he's wrong.  It's a sure bet that this is not true.  But why then did Peter do it?

It comes from Peter's love for Jesus—just as our advice to God comes from our love for those around us.

It comes from Peter's awe of Jesus—it is not fitting that he should suffer so.  Sometimes we forget that God's dignity is often served in humility.

It comes by judging things from earthly standards.  We see by the things of earth, and estimate God accordingly.  But who can put limits upon God?

The primary reason is this:  the Holy Spirit has not yet been given.  Without this, it is impossible to truly discern the things of God—for these things appear foolish to those without the Spirit.

So it is that Peter is rebuked:

He is called a "stumbling block" - the phrase resounds in the Old Testament as a prophecy of Christ.  He is a stone to trip over;  small—but deadly if not dealt with.

He is called Satan.  It is always good to recognize the enemy.

There is a lesson for us in all this.  So often, when we go to prayer, we are full of good advice for God.  We tell him who should be healed;  who should be rebuked or embarrassed; and who should be saved.  In all this we are presumptuous.  We should rather tell him our pain that someone suffers (for we should suffer with them); the terrible damage of sin in another's life (and our misery at seeing it) and ask his help in bringing others to salvation.  He is God;  it is well to remember that fact.

May 10

Paradox

Mat_16:24-26

Peter has just been rebuked for telling his Lord to take the easy way out.  His Lord will now give him the right way.

The saying seems hard;  but note that our Lord uses no compulsion—"if anyone."  If you can't see the blessing, why would you do this?  So let us consider first the price.

Deny himself

The phrase might best be turned around to "self-denial."  But that really doesn't capture the meaning.  Consider what it is to deny someone else.  Suppose your child is arrested, again, for drunk driving.  He appeals to you to bail him out of jail.  You refuse;  in so doing, you deny him.  The test here is the same:  will you refuse to take the easy way out of suffering for the cause of Christ?

It may also mean to push down your pride;  to be humiliated for the cause.  It is essentially a negative thing:  a "don't."

Take up his cross

If "deny" is negative, "take" is positive.  It means that you will do more than "put up with."  You will actively do things which are painful, even to death.

To "take up" the cross starts with carrying it to the place of execution.  By this Christ means that we are actively to work for his kingdom, at our own expense, life long.

But the cross ends in death, and if need be, we should be willing to die for the kingdom of God.

The Greek word used here carries with it the idea of take up the cross "at once, immediately."  We are not to delay.
Follow me

The Greek in this case does not carry the idea of "immediately" but of "continuously."  Anyone can suffer for their own sins and stupidity;  we are to face suffering and death for the cause of Christ.
Why?

If you've ever been in the army, you know that the training is tough—because in combat, you will need that training.  It is no kindness to train combat soldiers to be soft and lazy.  Our Lord tells us the same here:  to live in pride and ease—in what Paul calls the "carnal nature" - is not wisdom, but foolishness.  The choice is our pride and comfort versus his kingdom;  that same choice is life in this world alone versus life eternal.  The choice is entirely voluntary.  The choice is yours.

May 15

Afraid to Ask

Luk_9:44-45

Some years ago my wife was scheduled to have major surgery.  The subject was a delicate one, and I was not entirely convinced of the merits.  We therefore asked the doctors for a second opinion from a specialist.  This doctor replied, in the jargon of the medical profession, that "this particular surgery is indicated as mandatory."  That phrase was supposed to relieve my anxieties, but it didn't.  Surgery is a friendly attack with a knife, and major surgery should not be performed at the doctor's whim.

The solution was provided by my own doctor.  I went to him for a routine examination.  He was an extremely polite and proper individual, gifted with the ability to deal with a delicate situation.

"I perceive that you are having some difficulty in accepting your wife's surgery.  May I ask what is troubling you?"

"Well, doc, I'd just like to have someone explain to me, in plain English and not medical talk, why we're doing this."

"Ah!  It is simple.  If we don't, some day she'll bleed to death."

That put the matter in a different perspective.  Once I knew why it was necessary, I had no further objections.

The disciples, I expect, had the same problem here.  They knew, as we do, that the burden of the future is lighter if you know what is going to happen and why.  Here Christ tries to explain it to them—including his betrayal as well as his death—but the Scripture tells us that the meaning was hidden from them.  And just as I had a socially trained reluctance to inquire about the surgery, so they had a reluctance to inquire about death.

The matter was hidden from them, I suspect, so that they would not bear any guilt in the matter.  Had they known who would betray Jesus, it would have burdened their consciences later.

There is good news in this too.  If the foreknowledge of dangerous and grim things lightens them, then what about the foreknowledge of great and glorious things?  Does it not also change the way we should think?  Should we not view our sufferings now with a lighter heart, knowing what great things are to come? We know that some day our Lord will return, and at his return the dead shall rise from the grave.  We know that at his return to judge the living and the dead the righteous shall receive what is their due, and that we shall live and reign with him.  What a glorious hope!

Therefore, in the meanwhile, let us not worry about tomorrow's pains and sufferings, but keep our eyes on our Lord, working until he returns in glory.

May 20

Lost Sheep

Mat_18:12-14

Please remember that Jesus' enemies produced two charges against him:  first, that he claimed to be the Son of God (which to them was blasphemy) and second, that he lived, ate and drank with the wrong kind of people.  It is the second charge that Jesus addresses here.  There are two reactions we can have to the sinner, especially the repentant one:

We may look down on him, knowing what he has done, and treat him as dirt.  He deserves it.

But that doesn't mean we are privileged to do it.  We could also look on him with compassion.

That's what Jesus does.  He sees the sinner with compassion, and to make the point to his hearers, he begins with, "will he not."  It is an appeal to the common feelings of mankind.  If we'd do that for a sheep, what should he do for a lost soul?

See, too, how this search is conducted:

The search is single minded.  The shepherd does not stop to participate in anything else.

The search is all absorbing.  The shepherd thinks of nothing else.

The shepherd searches for the sheep where it might be found—which might not be the most pleasant of places.

The search is an active one;  the shepherd doesn't just think about searching, he goes.

The search is a personal one.  He doesn't send someone; he goes himself.

The shepherd is persevering—the shepherd does not quit until he has found the sheep.

Why all this compulsive behavior?  After all, it's just one sheep, right?  We could here the shepherd answer:  "Yeah, but it's my sheep."

We are his sheep;  we are bought with the price of his precious blood, and he will seek us single-mindedly.  We, as those he has appointed to take the Gospel to the world, should imitate our Lord and put his cause first in our lives.  Is there a lost sheep in your life that your Lord has tasked you to find?  Then be diligent and sincere about it.  And when that sheep is found, imitate your Lord by showing compassion and joy.

May 21

Church Discipline

Mat_18:15-17

In the context of not allowing his little ones to be led into sin, Jesus now gives us instructions for church discipline.  First, he says, we should go privately:

If for no other reason that this:  if we're wrong, we won't be nearly so embarrassed.

By the same token, if he's wrong, we will not have stirred up his pride, and made things worse.

Consider too:  if you have been wounded by him, and he doesn't know it, should you not prevent the next shot?

Why don't we do this?

Because we are afraid that our brother will be mad at us.  But recall that perfect love casts out fear.

It may also be that our own sins are sufficient to haunt us.  We do not go as judges, but as physicians—and the greater our sins, the more sincere our warning.

Is there any real harm in just letting it alone?

If we do, do we not condone the sin implicitly?

And do we not allow a bad situation to become worse?

Is it not possible that we are not the only victims—just the only known victims?
Would you not have mercy on those unknown brothers?

If we fail to do this, does this not show a lack of love for our Christian brother—and thus for our Lord?

Warning:  we are not to

Start by telling others.  It says "just between the two.."

Criticize.  We are here to heal, not destroy.

Go in self-love ("I'm so hurt") but in love of our brother.

You are to show your brother his fault .  Not his sinfulness;  his fault.  The sin is to be exposed, the sinner to be loved.  Does this sound fishy?  How would you like it done if you were on the receiving end?  Then go and do likewise.

Even if we need to escalate to other brothers, or even the whole church, the object is the same:  the repentance (and forgiveness) of our Christian brother.  Jesus did not say this was easy.  He did say it is required.  Better sooner than later, better one than a crowd, better a sinner restored than an outcast.

May 24

Timing

Joh_7:2-10

So many Christians seek magic instead of faith.  They want a god they can command, one that will perform tricks at their whim, rather than the Living God.

The brothers here are like that.

They presume upon their family relationship.  Since they are kinsmen, they assume Jesus has to take their advice.

They are looking for Jesus to become a "circus lion" - a famous performer of miracles, a tame lion at their command.

Why?  Because they don't really believe.  "Show us another trick" has been the cry of the unbeliever since the time of Moses.

Christ's gentle reply

Jesus could have sharply rebuked them, but he did not.  He enlightens them instead.

By saying it is not the right time—the Greek might also be translated as saying it is not the proper occasion—Christ honors God.  He waits for his time and occasion.  Passover, not Tabernacles, is the right time.

The world cannot hate them.  They belong to the world's system.  They imagine Jesus does too.  They cannot understand, therefore, why he won't just "get along and go along."

The reason is simple:  when the light goes on, the cockroaches run.  When righteousness appears, evil responds with hatred.

Secretly

Christ waits some time and then goes up, after they have gone.  It is a lesson for us:

First, that we must learn to await God's timing—his appointed occasions in our lives.  And then to be content with them.

Next, to remember that the purposes of God are not brought about by magnificent show, but in humility.

And that we need not take our direction from the world at large, but from God the Father.  Our "brothers" may think they have a better idea;  we should be listening to God.

Good timing is essential in comedy, car engines and football.  God's timing is essential in Christian life.  Learn from your Lord to live on God's time.

May 25

Fire From Heaven

Luk_9:51-56

Background

To understand this passage we need a little background first.

In this culture, to refuse hospitality was considered a rude insult.  There were no hotels;  travelers stayed with whom they could.  It was considered an honor for the traveler to choose your home.

But these were Samaritans, and the racial hatred between them and the Jews was intense.

This account occurs only in Luke's Gospel.  Luke wrote specifically to the Gentiles, which is why we see it here.

The Apostle of Love

If you ask most Christians about the Apostle John, and what he wrote, you will find two answers.  One is Revelation;  the other is love, for John is known as the Apostle of Love.  Why, then, does he propose to bring down fire from heaven?

He is zealous for the Lord.  Perhaps he remembers that it was very near this town that Elijah called down fire from heaven upon the messengers of the King of Israel.

Perhaps this is nothing but a beginner's mistake.  He is zealous, but like many beginners he has trouble balancing his thoughts, knowing when to condemn and when to be patient.

Most likely, however, we are seeing the difference the Resurrection makes in the life of the true Christian.  Before the Resurrection, the thunder of the Old Testament is heard.  After the Resurrection, the sweet song of grace.

Reaction of Christ

Some older versions carry the phrase, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."  It is probably not in the original, but it expresses Christ's view clearly.  He did not come to pass judgment on the world, but to save the world from its sins.  Therefore, he will bring fire down on no one.

The key is found in one word:  "steadfastly."  Jesus had a mission to perform.  He had to go to Jerusalem, to suffer and die for the sins of the world, and be raised from the dead, first fruits of the resurrection to come.  All he did was for that end.  Thus he will not condemn to the fire those for whom he is about to die.  We are the recipients—and ambassadors—of that grace.

May 26

Foxes have Holes

Luk_9:57-58

Jesus seems to have a curious way about potential disciples.  He has a habit of turning away volunteers—and drafting the least likely people.  This passage is a good example.  Matthew's Gospel tells us that this man was a teacher of the Law, one who would know the Old Testament intimately.  Christ gently exposes his failings, and turns him away.  It is instructive to see the difference in their views.

"I"

Here is a man who is confident of his worth.  Why shouldn't he be?  His society honors him as a teacher of the Law of Moses.   We have no reason to believe him a hypocrite.  Why, then, does Jesus turn him away?

He came to do God a favor.  This sounds noble and indeed pious, and he probably thought it was.  Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the Cross;  with that, no man can put God in his debt.

It was his own idea—he thought it up.  He saw an opportunity and put himself forward.  This was not God's plan.

"Willing"

There is no doubt he was willing.  The problem is, he wasn't called.  We are to play the part God assigns for us;  even the Apostles did not choose their own service.

He was willing—but he had not counted the cost.  He had not thought it out to the very end.

"Follow"

His conception was geographic—a tour of the Holy Land, if you like.  It didn't matter to him what city they were in.  But—had he known it—it did matter what state he was in.

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem.  To him, this is not just a geographic point.  It symbolizes what Christ has left behind:  his heavenly glory and splendor.  It symbolizes what he is going to: suffering and death.  That is a destination this man had not contemplated.

The man's measure was taken and found wanting.  Perhaps that is true of all of us.  Christ bids us count the cost of joining the kingdom of God.  It will cost you all you have, all you are.  It will give you all you could rightly desire and all you could rightly be.  A severe choice;  but is it really a difficult one?

May 31

Cryptic Words

Joh_7:32-36

One of God's most disturbing habits—at least to the serious scholar—is the use of cryptic prophecy.  It has two key characteristics:

You can derive some sense from it now—but no meaning that is clearly understandable.  It is a present puzzle.

But after the event, you see clearly what was meant.

By this method God teaches us two things:

First, that he is in definite control of the future.  The universe and all time are his.

Second, so you will understand the difference between the God who knows and the man who thinks he does.

It is just barely possible that Revelation contains one or two passages like this.  This should give pause to those who know the complete explanation of that book.

In this instance, however, it clearly shows us that Jesus, the Christ, is indeed God in the flesh—for he follows that same irritating habit.  In this passage he foretells not only his death, but also his resurrection and ascension.  A close examination of the passage will also bring out some other points:

"Where I am"

Did you notice the tense of the verb?  Not "where I will be" but "where I am."  This may be a veiled reference to his Godhood (the "I AM" of the Old Testament) but it certainly means this:  he is with the Father—always was, always will be, for he is eternal.

"I go"

Not "I will be forced to go" but simply "I go."  No one forces the Christ, for God is omnipotent.  His trip to the Cross of Calvary was voluntary.  He did it out of love, not out of necessity.

"You cannot come"

Again, present tense.  It means you cannot come to him and you never could and never will—unless he makes a way.  Of our own efforts we can never achieve heaven;  we cannot by our own merit see the face of God.  We are sinners;  only grace can make a way.

"You will look for me"

The Day will come—a day when the world will look for Jesus, the gentle Savior, and find nothing but Jesus, the Christ of glory, coming to judge the living and the dead.  No notice will be served, but the signs of the times will be evident.  Perhaps we should say, the signs of the times are evident?

June 1

Living Water

Joh_7:37-52

There is in this simple proclamation a deep lesson on how the Gospel of Jesus Christ works:

Jesus cries aloud—the Gospel is not a secret to be whispered but a truth to be shouted.

He cries to one and all—for indeed, it is the will of God that all should be saved.  For that reason alone we should cry the Gospel to all we can.

He cries on the last day of the Feast—a symbol of the patience of God, who will cry out to man until the very last day.

Our reaction

Jesus cries out—to the thirsty.  What does that mean?  Do you not remember that "blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."?  The cry of Jesus reaches those who thirst for righteousness—whether they are those who try to live a good life, and desire its perfection, or those who are the worst of sinners, seeking to be clean.  Christ forces no one to accept the call of the Gospel;  he seeks those who are willing, those who desire intensely.

Note, please, that the route to these  living waters is clearly marked:  they
come from Jesus himself, and no other source.  No collection of good deeds, no chanting of a creed, no brilliance of doctrine will bring living water—the only source is Jesus himself.

The result

The result is Living Water, flowing out from the saved.  The writer John tells us what this means:  the Holy Spirit.  But see another subtlety:  there are "streams" of this living water, not just a stream.   Would these not be the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?

The supply is more than adequate, and never failing.  The streams themselves are numberless, and flowing abundantly.  They flow out from the believer to bless those around.  The only real question left is this:  will you thirst?  Will you thirst for the things of God?  When a man is thirsty, nothing else matters but water.  When a Christian is thirsty for the things of God, nothing else should matter but the Holy Spirit.  But—praise God—we may ask the Father who gives the Spirit abundantly.  Are you thirsty?

June 2

Woman, In Adultery

Joh_8:1-11

The earliest manuscripts sometimes left this story out.  It is easy to see why;  the immature mind might have taken this as approval of adultery.   That entirely misses the point.  It must be stated that there is no sense of approval for adultery.  It must also be stated that there are worse sins.

St Augustine has pointed out an interesting history, based upon this verse:
(Psa 45:4 NIV)  In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds.

The Pharisees have tried the assault upon his truth, and failed;  they have assaulted him about his humility, and lost, and now they must assault his righteousness.  So they construct this clever trap.  Will the Friend of Sinners call for the wrath of God as expressed in the Law of Moses?

An answer in truth, humility and righteousness

As if Jesus was answering not just this assault but the previous ones, his reply contains truth, humility and righteousness.

Truth

The truth is simple:  these people were sinners too.  We are apt to forget this (how many of you condemned President Clinton for his affair?)  But Jesus does not point this out in anger;  just in fact.

Humility

If there is a prime characteristic of humility, it is that it does not pass judgment.  That Jesus did not pass judgment on the woman is clear, but notice also:

He does not ask, "Where is the man?"  Therefore he does not pass judgment on him.

He does not even pass judgment upon the Pharisees!  Rather, he points out the truth, and gives them time to repent.

Righteousness

Righteousness is not neglected.  Having dismissed the Pharisees, he tells the woman to leave her life of sin.  There is no thought that she has done no wrong;  rather, mercy has triumphed over judgment.  Mercy is unnecessary for the sinless.  The sinner counts it precious.

The same problem arises for the Christian today.  Are we so sure of our own righteousness that we can condemn others?  We must examine ourselves for truth, humility and righteousness.

June 3

Light of the World

Joh_8:12-20

One of the most difficult moments in high school comes when you encounter the word "trigonometry."  It seems horribly abstract and useless, full of theorems to prove with no value whatever.  But seen from the light of later years, it appears the universe runs on sines and cosines—with an occasional tangent thrown in.

Mathematics, especially the more abstract variety, tends to divide the world into those who understand and therefore see the use of it, and those who don't—and don't.

Jesus Christ is like that.  Those who know him, those who love him, see no difficulty at all in calling him the light of the world.  It is obvious that he is.  Those who don't know him can't understand what this phrase might mean.  So let us look at the light of the world in ways clear to those who love him:

Light—full brilliance

To say that Jesus is the light of the world is to say that in him is found the full brilliance of God the Father.  The Bible assures us that he is the "exact representation" of God, and that includes the glory of God.

Light—which cannot be impure

Any material object can be made dirty;  just ask the mother of a toddler.  But light cannot;  it is therefore the symbol of purity.  In this sense we see in the light of the world the holiness of God.

Light—for revelation

Sometimes, no matter how familiar you are with the house, you have to turn on a light to find something—or avoid stumbling over it.  When you have the light, things become clear which otherwise remain darkened.  Jesus is like that;  with him the things of God become clear.  Otherwise, they remain a mystery.

Light of life

Jesus explicitly tells us he is the light of life—which tells us that, as light itself can only be changed or absorbed, never destroyed, that the life in him is eternal.

There is one other thing we must note.  He is "the" light of the world.  God the Father, holiness, revelation and life can be found in no one else.  It is fashionable today to say, "all religions are equally true."  Which means they are equally false.  Truth does not carry this characteristic;  it is a single valued function, as the mathematicians might say.  Come to the Light of the World, and you will indeed see.

June 4

Die In Your Sins

Joh_8:21-30

The phrasing here—that a man could "die in his sins" - has become unpopular.  Hellfire and brimstone preaching is out;  the Gentle Jesus is proclaimed.  But this misses an important point.

Jesus Christ is the creator of all things;  all things were made by him and through him.  He therefore cannot be "of this world" anymore than the potter can be the pot.  But the rest of us can certainly be "of this world" - for we were born to it.

Those of this world would be well warned to be familiar with the Old Testament thought on this.  God is described as merciful, and one way that mercy is shown is that he does not visit the sins of the fathers on the children—each man dies "for his own sin."  Unlike the kings of the time, who had a habit of wiping out not only their enemies but their enemies' families, God deals with us individually.

So what does it mean, to "die in your sins?"

It means to die without a mediator between you and the Holy God—no one to plead your case, to argue your cause.

It means to die without the Atonement—no way to pay for the sins of your life.
It means to face the Holy and Sovereign God with no hope.  It means, therefore, to be condemned to hell.

But there is hope.  If you will look carefully at your Bible, you will note that the words following the phrase "I Am" are in italics.  That means they are not there in the original.  They are supplied by the translators.  Without them, the phrases carry a double meaning—for "I AM" is the name of God.  Therefore, Christ is the self-existent one, in fundamental union with God the Father, and as the Author of Life itself he can offer such life to us.

How?  He tells us here that when he is "lifted up" they would know.  He is speaking, of course, of the Crucifixion, when he was lifted up on a Cross.  It is no accident that the symbol of Christianity is a cross, for in the Cross we have life from the Author of Life.  In the Cross he became our great Mediator, pleading our case before the Father.  In the Cross he became our Atonement, and paid for our sins, in full.  In the Cross—and only in the Cross—we can face the Holy God, the pure one, and not be condemned but welcomed.  Welcomed?  Yes, but not for our own good deeds and merits, but because the Son of God was lifted up—and we were drawn to Him.

June 6

Testing Time

Joh_8:33-47

My doctor is a careful man.  Sometimes he will make his pronouncements by simple observation ("you need to lose some weight") but other times he will order up a medical test.  Some things are not immediately open to observation, but by some test they may be measured.

These tests run after a pattern.  Some form of stress or some sort of pharmaceutical is given, and the reaction of the body is measured.  For example, I've taken a fasting blood sugar test.  No food for several hours, let's see what his blood sugar looks like.  There is also the treadmill test;  running in place, let's see how his heart reacts.  It is the reaction which is measured, and being measured, diagnosis performed.

Spiritually, it is much the same way.  A bank robber with a gun or a prostitute in "uniform" is open to observation, but other spiritual maladies require some testing.  The basic test is a fairly simple one:  the presence of a true Christian, one who loves God deeply.  Here we see Jesus as the ultimate example of that test.  And the results?

If you love God

You would love Jesus, and those who love him, for you would see in them the kind of person you love.

You would rejoice to hear the truth

You would recognize the authority of Jesus (and of his church)

If you do not love God

Jesus and his disciples become hateful to you.

You want them to be quiet—politically correct thought only!

The only authority possible is man;  God has nothing to say.

Does this seem familiar?  Consider homosexuality.  For six thousand years this vile practice has been called what it is:  sin.  But today man calls it virtue—and despises those who think otherwise.  Our culture says there can be no debate;  man has spoken.

Or consider abortion.  From the time of the ancients who threw their children into the fire of Molech (for much the same reasons we sanction abortion) this has been murder.  Now it's "choice."  It is still sin;  that is a fact which cannot be changed no matter how much we are "politically correct."  The test has been made;  the reaction observed—and the patient is dying.

June 7

I AM

Joh_8:48-59

This passage is the end of a bitter argument between Jesus and the Pharisees.  It is interesting for several reasons:

Unlike all others with whom Jesus debates, these men claim to be the authorities on God.  Jesus says they're wrong, taking God's name in vain, hypocrites—and does so sternly.  To no other sinners does Jesus react like this.

The argument does not wander about—Jesus leads them by degrees to his ultimate statement:  "I AM."

Is it not curious how some will not see?  Like Pharaoh in Egypt, their hearts are continually hardened.

Unlike the gentle Lord of forgiveness, you can see here that Jesus is the one escalating the argument.  He's the one who's forcing them to deal with his claims.

Just what are those claims?

He very clearly implies that he is superior to the common victor over mankind:  death.  If you keep his commandments you will not see death, he says.  That he is referring to the second death at his return is not clear—but his power over death is definitely claimed here.

He says that God the Father glorifies him.  No one is superior to God;  how then could God glorify this Jesus?

He also says that he knows God the Father—personally, if you will—and keeps his commandments.  In other words, he is sinless, perfect.

He ends the argument with the stunning statement that before Abraham was (meaning, came into being) "I AM."  It is the name of God, given to Moses.  It is the statement that only God can make.  It is a clear claim:  this Jesus of Nazareth is claiming to be none other than God Almighty.

Many today think of "gentle Jesus" as the good teacher, the fellow who said some marvelous things, but otherwise just a man.  You cannot read this section and come anywhere close to that conclusion.  As C. S. Lewis once put it, he is either liar, lunatic or Lord.  If one of the first two, he should be cast into the dustbin of history.  Man has often tried to toss him there, but it seems the dustbin just isn't big enough to hold him.  The choice is not optional:  just who do you say that Jesus is?

June 9

Mary and Martha

Luk_10:38-42

In the daily walk of the Christian we find two strains:  the contemplative—study, prayer, meditation—and the active—service, charity and good works.  The works are visible, and it is easy to neglect the contemplative for the active.  But if you must choose, choose the contemplative—for this is the best.  "One thing is needed," says our Lord.

That one thing is this:  to sit at Jesus' feet.  All else flows from our personal devotion to him.  The gesture itself means so much:

Submission

It is the gesture of submission, the gesture that says, "I am the student, you are the Master."  To be in submission is to completely recognize, acknowledge and follow the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  It is to be obedient to his commands.  In this there is life.

Faith

It is the gesture of faith, for it acknowledges the Teacher as the one whose very presence puts aside all other duties.  Who has the words of life, but Jesus?  Who else ever claimed the power to put on hold the religious duties of the day—just because He had arrived?  To sit at his feet is to acknowledge this—the faith.

Discipleship

Do you sit at his feet merely to decorate?  No—you sit to learn.  Therefore you think learning of him a good thing.  If a good thing, then share it with your neighbors—make disciples of all nations!

Service

What, sitting at his feet implies service?  Yes indeed, for faith without works is dead.  "The sons of Mary lay their troubles on the Lord," said Kipling, "and the Lord, He lays them on the sons of Martha."  Pick up your share of the load.

Love

Is there any position which a woman can assume which more completely says, "adoration," than to sit at a man's feet?  It says, "Just to be with you is joy."  It is a gesture of true love, and it is the gesture that the Christian should run to make.

Christian, does your life in the faith seem dull and scratchy?  Perhaps it is because, like Martha, you are trying to work when you should be at his feet.  Do you study?  Meditate on his word?  Seek his face in prayer?  Add to your habits the gesture of submission, faith, discipleship, service and love—sit at his feet.  In your mind place yourself there;  it is the one thing needed.

June 10

Persistence

Luk_11:5-13

This passage often gives rise to a misconception about prayer.  The idea is put forward that Jesus is saying that you have nag, pester and bite after God to get him to do anything.  That's not the case;  Jesus is giving us a contrast between men and God, not a similarity.  His argument is pretty simple.  Look, even when friendship fails, if you are persistent, your friend will give you what you need.  Therefore—since God is good and we are sinners—how much more generously will God treat us!

But Jesus does give us a clue as to how God answers prayer.  Let's take it step by step.

Ask

There is a subtle question answered here.  So many of us say, "God knows my needs;  God knows what's on my heart.  So why do I have to pray about it?  Isn't his knowledge sufficient?"  Here Christ tells you it is not.  If only in obedience to command, you should ask.  More than that, God knows what's good for you—and what's good for you is a deep trusting relationship with Him.  How will you develop that if you will not ask?

Seek

OK, I've asked.   Now what?  To seek means to look for.  Look for what?  Perhaps you ought to look for the answer to your prayer that God has already supplied.  So many of us sit back and wait for God to gift wrap the answer for us and then throw a party to present it to us.  If you have the faith that he has supplied your every need, then you will be willing to go out and look for it.   Seeking is act of faith, not an act of doubt.

Knock

So having sought, what will you find?  Sometimes you will find all arranged for you;  sometimes God will work his mighty power in such way that all who see say, "this was the hand of God."  But sometimes he arranges matters differently.  He puts the door in front of you and tells you to knock on it.  Have you ever set a challenge before your children so that they might grow?  God cares for you in the same way.

We must remember that God is not a cosmic blessing machine, if only we could find the right magic formula.  He is our heavenly Father, and he loves us.  Loving us, he desires us to know him deeply.  He uses prayer not only to hear us, but to cause us to seek and knock—and love him more deeply.

June 11

House Divided

Luk_11:14-26

In this familiar saying (Lincoln quoted this in his famous "House Divided" speech before the Civil War) there are the answers to three of the more common misconceptions about Christ and his Church.  We take them in their common form:
"Can't I be a good person without being a Christian?"

One is tempted to respond, "Why would you want to?"  But the answer to the question is simply, "No."  Suppose you have some besetting problem, a sin, which dominates your life.  By your own efforts, self discipline and whatever aid the world can give you, let us suppose you throw it out and triumph over it.  This is good—but our Lord tells you what happens next.  Satan is not through with you;  if lust will not do, then greed; if not greed, then pride—for the seven spirits here could indeed be the Seven Deadly Sins.  Satan's object is to have you "safe" - the word in the original means "at peace" - quiet and comfortable in your life of sin.  He will not quit until he has succeeded—or you have found the Strong Man who throws him out, taking his armor (his ability to fight).

"Aren't Satan and Jesus equal and opposite?  Really, is there a difference?"
The picture here is quite clear.  Jesus is the "strong man" who throws out Satan;  Satan does not throw out Jesus.  You have to do that if you want Satan back.  There is a difference between right and wrong;  the victory is already decided.

"I don't really have to make up my mind about this, right?  After all, God will forgive me for an honest mistake."

Calvin Coolidge had it right:  "Sometimes being open minded is just being too lazy to make up your mind."  As verse 23 makes clear, you have already decided.  You are either with Christ or against him.

The matter is fairly simple.  Can you choose to make an honest mistake?  No, you can't.  You can make it out of ignorance—but if you're reading this, you're not ignorant any more.  You can make it because you're misled (not if this author can help it).  But you cannot know about Jesus and then decide, "I'll just make an honest mistake."  Jesus' words were not a challenge;  they were a statement of fact.   You're either with him, or against him.

Not to decide is to decide.  You cannot wage spiritual warfare in a half-hearted manner.  The fence you want to sit on is topped with Satan's spikes.

June 12

Family

Luk_11:27-28

It is a curious thing:  throughout our record in the Gospels, Mary, the mother of Jesus, does not display any greater understanding of our Lord and his mission than any of the disciples.  After the period of birth and childhood, we hear very little of her.   What we do hear does not indicate any special knowledge or insight.  It is as if God knew her faith, and made no further explanations.

But we can understand the woman in this passage.  Have you ever had the privilege of someone coming up to you and telling you how well behaved your children are?  They are paying you the compliment that comes from the assumption that you must have done something right.  How much more, then, the praise due someone who would raise up one like Jesus?

Jesus does not rebuke this thought., but he sets it in its proper place.  We can draw no conclusion from this passage about Mary—but we can concerning ourselves.  The essence of the matter is simple:  even Jesus' own mother (who has been called "Blessed" since the earliest days of the church) is not blessed compared to those who hear and obey the word of God.  God is no respecter of persons.  We often think that a person has to be specially chosen to be blessed by God.  Christ makes it very clear here that this is not the case.  God blesses the one who hears and obeys.

Hear

That we need to hear the word of God would seem to be obvious, but so many of us think otherwise.  We have so many other things to do on a Sunday morning!  Besides, we know all that, right?  We need to see the wisdom in the thought, "Men need not so much to be taught as to be reminded."  Your mother knew what she was doing when she repeated herself so much.

Obey

But a thousand sermons will do you no good without obedience.  Indeed, it is better to hear nothing than to hear and not obey.  So many come to church to get their minimum weekly requirement of righteousness, as if it were a pill to take to ward off spiritual disease.  It is not so.

Hearing enlightens the mind and refines the obedience, and obedience is the habit of the heart which welcomes the hearing.  Each fertilizes the other.  If you do both, then our Lord assures you that you will indeed be blessed.  So look about your life:  if blessing is missing, do you not see that hearing and obedience are also?  If you hear and obey, you will know why.

June 13

Greater than Solomon

Luk_11:29-32

One of the sure signs that Christ claimed to be divine is here:  he claimed to be greater than Solomon.  Solomon was the comparison point to the Jews, but we can see much of Christ by the comparison:

Wisdom

Solomon was stated to be the wisest of men, the wisest of kings.  People came great distances to hear his wisdom.  But what is that to the wisdom of God?  And if wise, why do you keep your dilemmas and problems from Jesus?

Great books

Solomon wrote most of Proverbs as well as Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon (a great love poem).  But in Jesus we find the Living Word of God, the ultimate love story, ever ready for our time and place.

Great ruler

The kingdom of Israel reached its height under Solomon;  its greatest  extent.  But this kingdom ended;  the kingdom of Christ will never end.  How sad that so many of us are so restive under his rule.

Great works

Solomon built the Temple of the Name, the most magnificent building of antiquity.  As with the pyramids, his men moved huge blocks of stone to do this.  Jesus is the one through whom all things were made;  the Creator.  We marvel at the works of the ancients;  do we pay due homage to the one who created all things?

Great wealth

Solomon was so wealthy it was said that silver was almost worthless during his reign—it was so abundant.  Our Lord is Lord of the universe;  do we trust him to provide for his children's needs?

Prince of Peace

Solomon's very name means peace.  God granted him a reign of peace, with no wars.  Jesus is the peace between us and God, tearing down the wall that divides us from God the Father.  So many of us seek peace—in all the wrong places.

Do you lack wisdom?  Ask Him.  Do you seek love?  He is love.  Not satisfied with your leaders?  Try the King of Kings.  Do great works impress you?  Stand bareheaded in a desert night.  Do you fear for your provision?  Lean on the one to whom all things belong.  Do you seek peace?  It is found in no one else.

June 14

The Lamp

Luk_11:33-36

Q.  How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
A.  One—but the bulb must really WANT  to change.

OK, it's a lousy joke.  But it reflects a truth that is shown in this passage.  If the light that is within you—the intent of your heart, your will, your understanding—is dark, there is no point trying to see.

Jesus has a gift for hyperbole.  The phrase "place where it will be hidden"  (cellar, in other translations) is a translation of the Greek word from which we get our word "crypt."  If you don't want to see the truth, your understanding is about at useful as a light bulb in a coffin.

The eye, in the physical realm, is the primary instrument by which we understand things.  We say things like, "I see what you mean."  This shows us the important of "seeing" in the physical sense—and also in the spiritual sense.  But if you can't see—or won't see—then what good are eyes?

In the spiritual realm the same is true.  If you can't, or much more likely won't, see the evidence you will never be convinced.  It's stunning how our society has become accustomed to "debunking," "deconstructing" or otherwise treating all spiritual truth with a cynicism that refuses to see.  We, as a society, have decided that there can be no truth.  Therefore, the evidence for it becomes invisible.

The result is simple but not surprising.  Since we can see no truth, we assert that there is none.  Since our eyes are darkened to the truth, we cannot see it, and therefore we have concluded it doesn't exist.   But how were our eyes darkened?  By the brilliant assumption that truth can't exist—and notice how easily it is now proven.

Facts, however, are nasty things.  They can be debunked, done away with, deconstructed and ridiculed—but like Edgar Allen Poe's cats, prematurely interred, they come back howling.  And with an equal capacity for upsetting the fine haired logic of the politically correct.

So much depends upon your willingness to see.  The universe is nothing but a collection of bright images on your eyeballs, if you will it to be so.  But open those eyes, and imagine what you might see!

Q.  How many atheists does it take to change a light bulb
A.  One.  But they still don't see the light.

June 15

Woe to You

Luk_11:37-54

This passage contains the seven-fold test for hypocrisy.  Take out a number two pencil, and begin:

Inside and outside

Are you more concerned with how you appear than what you are?  Do clothes make the man (or the woman?)  Is respectability much more desirable than righteousness?

Small and large

If the devil is in the details, then God is in the magnificent.  Do you worry about the tiny details of your Christian life—do I have perfect attendance?  Did I give the "right" amount of money?  Do I say "Amen" at just the right moment? - to the neglect of the larger things, such as Christian charity, forgiveness and repentance?  Jesus does not condemn the small details—only the lack of the major items.  The good is the enemy of the best.

Teacher's trap

Do you tell others of their sinfulness, encouraging them to repent, working on their guilt—and all the while you don't take your own advice?  Just when was the last time you repented of something—and when was the last time you told someone else to?

Important places

Does the church owe you respect?  Are you one who can always be counted on to pray out loud, work on the right committees—but never pray in silence, alone?

Other man's burden

Does the unwed mother know of your disapproval while your wife wonders where you were last night?

Traditional villainy

We've never had a ministry to the poor;  we've never had a ministry to the immigrant; we've never had a ministry to the homeless—and now it's a tradition, so we never will?

Key to knowledge

You know that the Scriptures are a high and sacred mystery, well beyond the understanding of the ordinary mortal—and you want to keep it that way?  After all, "Scripture Wizard" is a wonderful title.

OK, put your pencils down.  How did we do?  Did the tradition of the church triumph over the will of God?  See how the anger of Christ is stirred by such things!  The matter is not trivial.  Let a man examine himself—and thoroughly, too.

June 16

The Advantages of Hypocrisy

Luk_12:1-3

It must be admitted that hypocrisy is possessed of some redoubtable advantages.  If it were not, who would attempt it?  So let us take the matter from the other side and see what might be gained from it.

The world's opinion

There is not much sense in being a hypocrite if you can't earn the high praise of men.  The minister, the elders and deacons know your name, nod and smile as you come into the sanctuary of God.  You smile as you are held up (with blushing modesty, no doubt) as an example.  Of course, there is a winking secrecy to this.  You never know whether under that smile the minister might just have his suspicions.  That's the trouble with hypocrisy:  it makes an evil man afraid of having his evil disclosed—there might be a good man around to hear of it.

Worse yet, it causes a good man to conceal his righteousness for fear that the hypocrite might get wind of it.  Then the good man's generosity will become profligate spending;  his mercy a lack of sense.

Armored against the sermon

Preachers, as a rule, have an opinion about sin.  They're against it, by and large.  This doesn't bother the hypocrite;  in fact he rather enjoys it.  He usually knows someone against whom the sermon should be directed.  You can't be a hypocrite without learning to be severe with others while you're lenient with yourself.  As Spurgeon once put it, "The sun of the Gospel which melts wax hardens the clay of your heart."

Good for business

While it's not really the first thing, you must admit that having that little fish on your business card does tell people what an honest businessman you are.  And as long as Monday doesn't get back around to Sunday, that fish will do its work.

The cure of hypocrisy

The cure?  It's to remember that God sees—and proclaims aloud.  The word used for "concealed" here is an odd one in the Greek;  it means to completely cover up.  It doesn't matter if you wrap your Monday character completely in silk, the naked truth is still before God.  He makes it clear that the time is coming when it will be clearly known.  It will be shouted from the rooftops in God's good time—which may be sooner than you think.

June 17

Whom to Fear

Luk_12:4-9

The modern American Christian is, in general, a chicken-livered soul.

We are afraid of every minor authority on the planet.  How far different we are from our forebears!  Athanasius, writing in the early 4th century (a longer time from Christ than we are from George Washington) could point out as common knowledge how casually, how calmly Christians went to their deaths—and those were no easy deaths in hospital, but horrible deaths by torture.  Not just some Christians;  millions of Christians who died in the reign of Diocletian.  He used this "present fact", as he called it, as a proof of the Resurrection of Christ.   Who would go to such a death so calmly if there were no resurrection?

Why?  Because we no longer believe in the providence of God.  We do not have faith that He will provide for us.  We're worried that we'll "get in trouble," and that God has no power to get us out.

Permit me to enlighten you as to two things:

If you are a sincere Christian, you should have been in trouble by now.  Persecution by the world is a sign of your faith, not a sign of lack of intelligence.

God makes it very clear—especially in this passage—that not only can he provide, he will provide.  He also makes it clear that he considers the task rather trivial.

Trivial?  Indeed.  The God who looks after the sparrows, knowing their every heartbeat, can certainly care for you.  The question comes down to whether or not he has any reason to do so.

How would he know that you are casting your cares, your very life, upon his care?  By the way you acknowledge him, in word and deed.  Are you careful to conceal the fact that you are a Christian?  Then he won't notice it either.

Isn't the problem one of fear?  We are afraid—of what the police might do, what the boss might say, what the neighbors think.  But we are not afraid of God—and we should be.  Look at it from the extreme point of view:  what can the authorities do to you?  They can throw you in prison for life or even execute you.  And then?  Nothing.  God can send you to hell itself.

The Royal Navy used to have as its motto the phrase, "Fear God, Dread Naught."  Fear Him, and have nothing else to fear.  He will care for you;  even if you must perish for him.

June 18

The Unforgivable Sin

Luk_12:10

One of the enduring mysteries for Christians is the "unforgivable sin."  To some, it is a land mine.  They tiptoe around, not knowing where it might be planted, but knowing that stepping on it is eternally fatal.

The clue to the real answer is found in the "forgivable sin" - the one against the Son of Man (Jesus).  Why is this one forgivable?

Jesus is a human like we are;  as Son of Man he claimed no honor on this planet (though he was due all honor).  By his humility (and not our merit), sin against him can be forgiven, for he forgives.

He is tested like we are.  He knows what it's like to have the authorities on your back.  He understands our weakness, and he is compassionate.

Most important:  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  What does it matter if a man blasphemes him, if he later repents and comes home?

But with the Spirit matters are different.  The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost;  the Spirit came to convict the world of sin and judgment.

If you are not a Christian, and you refuse to be convicted—for example, if you deny the facts, or simply say, "That must be Satan's work" - then you cannot be saved.  Salvation comes by faith, and there is no faith for those who refuse to believe.

Matters are much the same for the "Christian."  If you call yourself a Christian, but refuse to hear the Spirit prompting you to confession and repentance,  your refusal is your own condemnation.  You crucify Christ anew.

God condemns no one to hell.  Neither does he bar the road for those who defiantly march down it.  In the most real sense possible, those who go to hell are volunteers.

Examine yourself.  This passage was written in the context of warning against hypocrisy.  The heart of the hypocrite is so hard that it rejects all the tender pleas of Christ, and all the stern warnings of the Holy Spirit.  When was the last time you admitted—to God or anyone else—that you had sinned?  Or do you think that you are such a saint that God is in your debt?  If so, drag yourself back to the foot of the Cross and see if the books still seem so unbalanced.  Do not quench the Spirit;  be forgiven.

June 19

Speaker's Notes

Luk_12:11-12

There are a number of things for which every man wishes to have the right words:  when you meet the perfect girl, when you're telling your mother about her, or just what to say to the traffic cop when he stops you.  This passage assures us of right words.  But it seems to prohibit us from preparing for the occasion.

Why would we need to know what to say?

Because we are going to be persecuted for our faith.  The state regards itself as supreme;  those who think otherwise are a threat.  The religions of this world know that you should be more tolerant;  no one could possibly be absolutely right—right?

So don't worry about it.

Don't worry about what?  Don't worry about how to defend yourself.  Why not?  So that you will say what the Spirit wants said, not what you want said.

Don't worry about what?  Don't worry about the words you will use.  Why not?  So that you will not be tempted to sit up the night before in jail, thinking, and thus be tempted to hypocrisy.

The Holy Spirit

If I'm not going to plan what to say, it's good to know that someone is!  It's a great reassurance to know that the Holy Spirit has this one covered.  But there is another reason:  this assures that the honor and glory will belong to God, not to us.

"Teach"

Note that verb.  This is not expected to be some form of zombie speech—mouth moving but brain disconnected.   We are going to be in this up to the neck.  It's just that the inspiration comes from God.  They'll know that it's our voice, our passion—and his Spirit.

"At that time"

For those who are perpetually late, this will sound like a blessing.  For those who like to plan ahead, we have to wonder why we won't get the words before the trial.  But did not our Lord say that sufficient to the day is the evil thereof?  Hence we need not borrow any trouble;  it will arrive of its own accord, soon enough.

Your author has met the perfect girl, and he didn't know what to say to her.  When I took her home to mom, she did all the talking (and still does, the two enjoy each other very much).   I've given up on clever excuses to give the traffic cop.  Praise God;  the defense of the faith does not rest on my tongue, but His Spirit.

June 20

Greed

Luk_12:13-21

"Greed," said Dorothy Sayers, "is the sin of the haves against the have-nots."  Certainly we see that here;  we see also the clamorous insistence which is greed.  Jesus was in the middle of a lesson, and is interrupted by this man.

In response Jesus warns his disciples to be on guard.  Evidently this sin of greed needs watching;  it seems it cannot be stamped out all at once.  We may think our poverty eliminates us from such temptation.  Christ therefore warns us against "all kinds of greed."  The word in the Greek simply means, "the desire of having more."

It is a dreadful sin.  See how in this parable Jesus calls the man a fool.  Fool?  The things he does are common in our day;  let us see what it takes to make a fool by greed:

There is the pronoun:  "my."  "My crops" or "my goods."   Shouldn't he praise God—from whom all blessings flow?

He desires to hoard all.  This is not being "frugal;"  he already has a full barn.

He assumes the future—enough goods for many years.  Do we hold the future, or does God?

Would his care decrease with his new barns—or would they become a worry too, as they were built?  When built, wouldn't their larger size seem an emptiness to be worried about?

"I will" - not "if God wills."  It is not good to make plans without the living God.

See how charity would have eased both his cares—no barns to build, no surplus to store—and fed the poor as well!

He assumes that ease comes from wealth—but his own experience shows that a lie.  If it were so, he'd already be at ease.

Does ease consist of "eat, drink and be merry?"  Or does it come from a heart at peace with God?

This man's cares sprang from his poverty toward God—and he showed himself a fool when he proposed to use the same technique to cure his cares.  Has God made you wealthy?  Then be the supply of the poor and needy.  Your material blessings will not follow you to the grave and beyond;  your wealth towards God is eternal.

June 21

The Cure for Anxiety

Luk_12:22-34

The historian Froissart tells the story of the death of Sir James, the "Black" Douglas of Scotland.  For twenty years he had been the faithful sword-arm of Robert the Bruce.  After Robert's death, Sir James took a small casket containing his master's heart, intending to take it to the holy land for burial.  At a Spanish port he joined a hard pressed band of Christians in their war against the Moors.  Charging the Moors, he threw the silver casket into the thick of the battle.  "Forward, brave heart, as thou wert wont.  Douglas will follow thee or die!"  (He was killed in the moment of victory).

It is a touching story of chivalry;  that a man would follow his lord's heart, even after death.  So many of us, however, will not even follow the heart of the Living Lord.  We seek to do things after our own hearts.

Some of us seek what the Chinese call "the iron rice bowl."  We seek security, the rice bowl which will not break.  No matter how much we have—and we in America are rich beyond the dreams of those in many lands—we worry about our security.  Christ tells us this is a sin;  Christ tells us not to do this; but we do it every day.  We may call it "planning for the future" or "being foresighted" but what we really mean is this:  we want to make absolutely certain, as a first thing, that we know where our next meal is coming from.

Others of us have passed beyond that.  We seek what the Chinese call "the golden rice bowl."  Security we no longer worry about, if we ever did—but extravagance we must have.  Our clothes must be the latest fashion;  the watch on our wrist need not tell time but must make a fashion statement;  we will diet to lose weight but must eat at a gourmet restaurant to do it.  As a first thing, we seek the best in material things—and ignore the best of eternal things.

This passage is often quoted without the last two verses, but they are essential to the understanding of the passage.  Our Lord was not giving us an unrelated thought, but the capstone of the lesson.  We have been given the kingdom of God, with all material things we need thrown in.  Therefore, says Christ, in the same spirit that cuts off the arm that drags you to hell, get rid of the riches that do likewise.

Sir James threw the heart of Robert the Bruce into the battle, and out of bravery and loyalty, he followed, even to the death.  Our Lord makes it simpler.  Take your treasure, throw it into heaven (by giving it to the poor) and observe:  your heart will follow, even to eternal life.

June 22

Readiness

Luk_12:35-40

Have you ever locked yourself out of your house?  You usually notice this fact just after the front door goes "click" while locking closed.  But it does happen that you return home and find you have left your house keys inside..  Now, picture for a moment that one of your children is at home—watching TV.  They don't hear you knock—the TV is too loud—but they hear the tiny scratching sound of you coming in through the window.  (Selective hearing seems to be a prevalent disease).  Just what are you going to say to that kid?

Christ has something of a similar message here for the Christian.  He makes it very, very clear that he is returning—in power and glory.  He makes it clear that this will be at a time which is unexpected.  And he makes it clear that he has told you how to be ready.

Dressed ready for service

This is the "physical" side of Christianity.  All the aspects of charitable service are included in this.  We are to be ready to do those things.  How?  The easiest way is to be doing them continually.  Then it doesn't matter when he comes;  your works will be in progress, and you will be ready.

Lamps burning

This is the "contemplative" side of Christianity—including such things as prayer, meditation and Scripture reading.    Without such things, your lamp is out, and you can't see where you're going.  Not much sense in being dressed for service if you can't see your way to it, is there?  Again, the secret is simple:  the habit of regular prayer;  the practice of continually meditating on the words of our Lord and reading the Scripture will keep your lamp lit.

Unexpected hour

Jesus gives the picture of returning in the second or third watch—the middle of the night.  How are we to be ready?  Take a hint from St. Francis of Assisi.  He was gardening when he was asked what he would do if he found out the Lord was returning that afternoon.  "Finish my gardening," he said.  He lived his life in such a way that it did not matter when the Lord returned;  he was doing what he had been appointed to do.

There is one unusual point here:  the master will serve the servants.  When our Lord returns it will be a great and glorious day for those who are ready, and their rejoicing will be great.  He will be unexpected—but they will be ready.  Will you?

June 24

Fire on Earth

Luk_12:49-53

How is it, the reader may ask, that the Prince of Peace can speak of kindling a fire on earth, creating division in families?   Surely he wants us to be at peace within our families?

The matter is relatively straightforward, and we need to review it once in while.

To be a Christian is to separate yourself from the world.  If you act like every other worldly person, I would seriously question your faith.

That separation—it is called holiness—carries with it an intense hatred for sin, for sin cost the life of our Savior.  That attitude towards sin must be balanced with a love for the sinner (but the world usually won't make that distinction).

It also carries with it the fear of—and obedience to—God.  It changes what we do and how we do it, for we now are out to please Him, not ourselves.

That results is a powerful witness.  The world can ignore changed words;  it cannot ignore changed lives.

That right living, powerfully portrayed in us, forces a decision upon everyone who sees it.  Either they are attracted or repelled;  there are no "neutrals" in this war.

The fire is kindled by the existence of the tinder of sin and the blaze of righteousness and faith.  The choice must be made.

Love must be balanced with wisdom.  It must be arranged properly.  My God tells me to love my wife;  my wife should not be allowed to tell me not to love my God.   The right order produces peace;  the wrong order produces chaos.

This, of course, can be a great trial.  I am not suggesting that it is trivial;  I am stating that it is not optional.

Can we have peace without righteousness?  Certainly!  It goes by the name of oppression.  For if the force is great enough, all enemies can be overborne.  That's the world's way.  We need not think of abortion, homosexuality and adultery as "sin" - just "alternate lifestyles, choice and `improving your marriage'."  That's the world's view.  But notice what happens when righteousness is seen!  That is why the politically correct are so desperate to silence the church!  That is why the oppression has begun.

The fire of God is kindled, and is spreading.  The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church, and we will soon know this truth again.

June 25

Signs of the Times

Luk_12:54-59

We are told that all military situations are met with three steps.  First, analyze the situation.  Second, type up your situation report.  Third, start shooting.  Rumor has it that General Custer was found slumped over his typewriter.

Some decisions just won't wait.  Here Jesus presents just such a decision to the people of his time.

The crowd

It's important to see that this remark is not addressed to the Pharisees.  It's unusual in that Jesus calls the crowd, "hypocrites."  The word is usually reserved for the religious leaders of his day.  We can conclude, therefore, that the interpretation of the signs before them must have been pretty obvious, if they were called hypocrites for ignoring them.

What signs would those be?  Jesus gives us two categories:

Interpreting the time.  The events that were going on were pretty obvious.  We live in such a time now;  abortion, homosexuality, adultery, corruption—and a world which proclaims these things as virtues.

Judging what is right.  Even if the times escape you, surely you can see right from wrong.  Examine the man Jesus, and tell me what you see.

Immediate decision required

Sometimes the immediate decision is not an option.  You would make such a decision with regard to your money  if need be:  indeed, you would have no trouble deciding when to take an umbrella.  How, then, is it that you put off the decision of whether or not you will follow Christ with your whole heart?  Your money, even the weather, would cause you to decide.  You do not know the hour of your death, and yet you are sure you have plenty of time to make up your mind.  Perhaps General Custer did too.  He wasn't expecting that many Indians.

God's judgment is final.  It is made upon the basis of your life in the here and now.  In particular, all depends upon your commitment to Christ.  Can you see the signs of the time?  Do they really say, "peace and safety?"  Or do they say that judgment is coming.   Can you discern right from wrong?  Do you think that God is such a fool that he cannot?  Then draw the right conclusions!

The day will come when there will be no more time—either by death or Christ's return.  Will you be ready?  Are you ready now?

June 26

Why Me?

Luk_13:1-5

It is the common lot of mankind to suffer.  Indeed, we expect it—at least in others.  Our usual question when tragedy strikes is not, "Why?" but "Why me?"

Often, as we look at the suffering of others, we presume that this must be the result of some secret sin.  Oh, that fellow may appear righteous enough;  he may teach Bible School or preach, but be sure that his secret sins have found him out.  Job's "comforters" were largely of that opinion.  There is some merit in this view, but it is not sufficient.

It is the "small view" of the righteousness of God.  God is righteous, we say, and who would he be more likely to smite than a secret sinner, a hypocrite now revealed?

Jesus tells us to the contrary.  Using some local examples now lost to history, he points out that all of us are sinners.  Therefore, the righteousness of God must be greatly tempered by his mercy—for so many of us are not stricken—yet.

The key to understanding this mystery is to remember that God is both righteous—and therefore cannot abide any sin—and also merciful.  So then we need to know the secret of obtaining his mercy.   And that is no secret;  it is repentance.

Our reaction to the punishment of others

There is a temptation common to all of us:  when we see a sinner punished, we rejoice.  The feeling that "he got what he deserved" is very strong.  But do remember:  you don't want what you deserve—you want mercy.  Else why become a Christian?

So follow our Lord's commandment and treat them as you would be treated.  Do not rejoice when the Lord disciplines some other child.   Rather, make that discipline be an example to you.  It is exactly true that "There but for the grace of God go I."  It is grace, and grace alone, that keeps you from a similar (or worse) fate.  Therefore, when you see such a thing, commiserate and help to bear this discipline if you can, and in any case use it as an example to further your own repentance.

Jesus tells the crowd that unless they repent, they will perish in the same way.  It is a prophetic statement.  The Romans slaughtered some of those mentioned;  walls collapsed on others.  Both of these things happened to Jerusalem a  few years later when the Romans sacked the city.  Do you know someone enduring the discipline of the Lord?  Repent at such an example.

June 27

The Fig Tree

Luk_13:6-9

The fig tree is generally known to be the symbol of Israel.  So when Jesus began to talk about it, his audience would quickly understand he was speaking about them.  Its use shows us two things about how God treats his people:

This fig tree was in "the vineyard."  That meant that it had been specifically planted in the most fertile of soil—given special treatment, so to speak.  Certainly this was true of Israel, planted in the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey.

The measure of the tree is the fruit.  If you want the measure of a nation in God's eyes, look for the fruits of righteousness and justice.

Under such circumstances, the justice of ripping out the fig tree is easy to see.  No fruit—no more tree.

Christ as intercessor

The man who took care of the vineyard—a picture of Christ, who is the one through whom all things were made—begs one more year.  This is a model for us of the intercession Christ makes for us to the Father.  He is the one who keeps the righteous wrath of God held back "for one more year."  But note, too, what he does:  he gives that fruit tree special treatment.  It should serve as a warning to us when Christ makes it look easy to be fruitful for God—especially if we decline the effort to do so.  It could very well be that one last year.

The fate of this fig tree brings us two lessons:

God's patience is great—but he will not hold his hand forever.  All of us die;  a church that refuses to be fruitful will be plucked up.  This is final.

Moreover, God has other vines—the tree is in the midst of the vineyard.  In Israel's case, this meant the Gentile nations.  In our case, it is all those other churches and Christians on whom God can call for faithful service.

Perhaps this bothers you.  Would God really rip the tree from the ground?  Would he destroy your church?  We can learn from history's example.  The Jewish nation, in AD 70, was destroyed by the Romans, and scattered throughout the Gentile world.  Their history since has been one of misery.  This does not condone those by whom the misery has come.  But it should serve as an example to any church too busy being "righteous" to be fruitful.

June 29

Growth of the Kingdom

Luk_13:18-21

It is possible to understand these parables in many ways;  here are but two.
The growth of the church

There are two key characteristics of the mustard seed:

It is small, but the plant grows to be the largest of herbs in the gardens of that time.  So it is with the church.  It began with those few men on Pentecost but soon exploded to change the entire known world.  Why did God choose this method?  So that you might know that it was not the power of those few which made this happen, but the hand of God.

Mustard is also rather pungent.  It is very visible.  In short, you notice it.  The ancients used it medicinally (remember mustard plasters?) - which may signify the role the church has in being the moral lighthouse of the world.

The leaven also has two characteristics:

The New International says the woman "mixed" the leaven into the flour;  the actual Greek means "hid."  The church is hidden in the world—for we are in the world but not of the world.  Christians are not identified by having three eyes.

The leaven changes the dough into more leaven.  So the church grows by changing those of the world into those of Christ.

The growth of the Christian

Like the mustard seed, a Christian's faith usually begins in a small way, and grows slowly but surely.

Eventually, if the Christian perseveres to the end, that faith will become the purpose of his entire life, permeating the whole man.

Like the mustard plant, the Christian starts small but grows to be someone who will support others and shelter others.

And like mustard, the character of the Christian is evident to all, either for admiration or as a reminder of their wickedness.

Lessons

The leaven is inward growth;  the mustard, outward.  Is your inward spiritual life growing?  Is prayer sweet and reading the Scripture profitable?  Is your outward life growing?  Do those around you know you as one who is ready to help?

June 30

The Works of God

Joh_9:1-7

Have you ever asked a dumb question?

The disciples didn't know it, but they did here.  The question seems a good one, for our sense of justice tells us that no one is punished by God without reason.  Surely someone was being punished here;  the man was born blind.  Was it possible for him to sin before birth (and what could he have done?)  Perhaps it was his parents—but where is the justice in punishing the child?

We forget, of course, that the blind man was not entitled even to existence.  Is it better to be born blind, or not at all?  But in this instance, Jesus tells us, there was a great purpose at hand.  God had prepared this man for a specific time.  Why, then, did Jesus do this?

First, so that we might know that God's purposes are high above ours—but that in all those purposes, his love for us is entirely sure.

Next, so that we might see the visible signs of Christ's work, for we need more than words.  If by this example one is saved, then what do those years of blindness count?

Third, that the Pharisees once again be exposed—and silenced as the hypocrites they were.

And note, please, how Jesus does this.  He heals the blind on several occasions, but here he uses a physical thing—clay—and tells the man to wash.  The creator once again takes up the stuff of which man is made—the dust of the ground and the breath of God.

This shows us (like Namaan the leper) the virtue of simple obedience.  The blind man asks no questions, but obeys.

It is also a sign for us;  we see more clearly when something physical occurs.
Then, almost as if it were an incidental thought, Jesus tells us that He is the light of the world.  It seems unrelated to the story, but it is not.  The man is blind;  therefore, whatever sins might be committed by sight are foreign to him—and he knows it.  He cannot have the lust of the eyes;  it is impossible.

Turn the case around:  those who say they can see are responsible for what they look at.  A blind man flipping through the pages of a pornographic magazine is innocent.  Those who can see bear the guilt.  It is so with all sin:  those who say they see (or understand) bear the guilt.  Those who see and deny their guilt are hypocrites.

July 1

Who Is He?
Joh_9:35-39

One has to have some sympathy with the man born blind.  He is in combat against hypocrisy, legalism and self-righteousness, and he is armed with feeble weapons—namely, the facts as he has experienced them.  Today he would be told, "It's only your opinion that you were born blind.  All viewpoints on that subject are equally valid.  You must allow for diversity of view!"  And with smiling condescension he would be dismissed as a man whose views were too primitive for politically correct society.

But such is the stubbornness of facts that he insists that he is right, and he suffers for it.  It is a great honor to suffer for the name of Christ;  this man earned that honor by his simple obedience.   We can see Christ's opinion of the matter by the fact that he sought him out.  The man's honesty can be seen in his question here.  He has no real idea who this "Son of Man" might be—but he trusts the man who gave him sight.  His doctrine may be inadequate, but he knows the Man.    When enlightened, he worships.

Jesus then brings in the subject of judgment.  He makes two points:

That he has come into the world for judgment—despite his earlier sentence that he had not come to judge the world, but that through him the world might be saved.

He connects that with the idea that the blind will see, and those who say they see, will be in fact blind.

These two are part of the same thought.  Jesus has not come to pronounce judgment upon the world in his first advent.  But his coming brings judgment.  How?  Judgment is measurement.  There can be no measurement without an accurate measure;  if you want to lay out a football field, you must know accurately just what one yard is.  Without a yardstick, the football field cannot be laid out.  When the yardstick comes, all football fields are exposed to measurement.

So it is with those who claim to know the will of God.  When the true Son of God arrives, our spiritual yardstick, we cannot help but see our failings.  Or can we?  We can avoid seeing them if we simply refuse to see!  So it is that those who were blind (without the spiritual yardstick) now see;  but those who say they see (and say they don't need that spiritual yardstick) are the most blind of all.  Born blind or eyes tightly shut—you still can't see.  But only one of those conditions is curable.

July 2

Judgment

Joh_9:39-41

As a student of physics at UCLA, I once came across an intriguing problem in acoustics—which was well beyond my ability to solve.  In seeking for help, I was directed to the office of an elderly professor.  He showed me the solution, but then went on to talk about his experiences in World War II.  He had been part of the scientific team which had worked on the development of sonar.  It was fascinating to hear him discuss the problems which arose, and the human dramas which accompanied their solution.

One thing became clear as he talked.  A frequent cause of difficulty was this:  one group or another would simply refuse to admit the existence of a problem.  The scientists, the bureaucrats and the sailors would all, at one time or another, say "that can't be."  The work would then be delayed until the doubters could be convinced.  Only the pressure of war enabled progress.

We often think that  someone who is blind, in the spiritual sense, is someone who is ignorant.  We say things like, "He is blind to how much his wife loves him."  But more often the difficulty is that the person will not see.  It is a matter of the will.

Why would someone choose not to see?  There is a glimmer of the answer here.  The Pharisees have a sense of self-sufficiency about them; they, and they alone, are the ones who truly understand the Law.  Since they believe this to be so, anyone who contradicts this must be in error.  The Pharisee must choose between being self-sufficient and seeing the truth.  They—like most of us—want to be self-sufficient.  Since they thought they had a choice, they decided that they were indeed self-sufficient, and Jesus in error.

A man is a prisoner of whatever holds him back, and the Pharisees were prisoners of their own darkness.  That darkness was self-inflicted.  Forced to choose between their own self-sufficiency and the facts, they denied the facts.

Have you ever stumbled around in the dark and banged your knee on a table?  There is no sense in saying, "I can't see the table, therefore it doesn't exist, therefore I can't have banged my knee against it, therefore my knee doesn't hurt."  Reality has a way of banging us in the knee.  This is because God created the universe so that sin would have consequences, and those consequences would convince us that we indeed are sinners.  If you refuse to see the consequences—call them bad luck—then you are a prisoner of your own darkness.
The only solution is to turn to the Light of the World—and never walk in darkness again.

July 3

The Good Shepherd

Joh_10:1-18

Twice in the passage, Jesus uses the phrase, "I am."  He repeats each phrase twice, for emphasis.  These statements form the core of his teaching here.

I am the gate

A gate is designed to control the entrance and exit.  It is a defining point.  You were in or out of the city of that era depending on whether or not you had passed the gate.  The meaning was clear;  here is the dividing line.  What shall be the lot of the man who passes the gate named Christ?

First, he will be saved.  That's blunt enough;  the question is one of heaven or hell.  The Scripture is quite clear on the point:  Jesus is the only way.

Next, he will "go in."  He will go in to the presence of God, enjoying the sweet fellowship which comes from the very nature of God—love.

But he will also "go out."  He will go out into the world, carrying with him the power of God for righteousness and peace, and the eternal hope of salvation.  He will be the ambassador of Christ.

He will "find pasture."  His needs will be met, and peace will be his.  Not the transient peace of the world, but the eternal peace that comes from God.

I am the Good Shepherd

The phrase is so familiar that many churches have it in their name.  Here Jesus gives us the characteristics of that shepherd:

He knows the sheep.  Do you ever wonder about your salvation?  Do not worry;  he knows your name.

The sheep know him.  He is not hidden; those who do what he commands know who he is—for they find him in their prayers and works.

He lays down his life for his sheep.  All hinges on this.  It is the sacrifice at the Cross which brought this about, for this is the way God reconciled men to himself.

J. S. Bach wrote a piece entitled, "Sheep May Safely Graze."  It is a musical expression of peace and security under all circumstances.  Its melodies remind us that sheep safely graze under the tender care of the Shepherd, who gave his life that we, his sheep, might have eternal life.

July 4

Recognizing the Real Thing

Joh_10:22-39

For those exploring the cost of the kingdom, it comes up often.  They ask, "How can I know for sure that this Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God?"  We must take this in two steps:

Did he ever claim such a thing?

If he did, is there any evidence to support it?

The claims of Jesus

In this short passage, Jesus makes three specific statements which indicate that he and God the Father are one in the same.

"No one can snatch them out of my hand," he says—and then echoes that thought with his Father's hand.  He is equating himself with the Father.
He gives his sheep eternal life.  But who has the power of eternal life—except the eternal God?

Finally, he makes it explicit:  "I and the Father are one."

Some smiling heathens will tell you that Jesus never claimed to be God.  Don't you believe it;  even his enemies understood this claim.
The evidence

Claiming to be God (besides being blasphemy) could be a sign  of insanity.  Is there any evidence to support this claim?  Jesus gives us here three categories of evidence for his claim:

The evidence of the Scripture.  Over and again we find reference to the Scriptures prophesying the Christ.

The evidence of the miracles.  How does a man who is a lunatic or liar do such things?

The evidence of family likeness.  Search the Scriptures.  Find out what God the Father is like;  then see if this Jesus is not the living character likeness of Him.

The challenge to us

If you are a Christian, then you believe that this Jesus is the Son of God.  But do you act like you believe it?  Are you indeed one of his sheep?  Do you hear his voice and follow, obeying his commands?  Do you tell others of his call to salvation?  Do you show his care for the sick, the poor and the weary?

Jesus, the friend of sinners, is also the God omnipotent and omniscient.  Do you honor him both as friend and God?

July 5

First and Last

Luk_13:22-30

The question

The question is impertinent.  If you want the right answers, you must first ask the right questions.  Why is this the wrong question?

Christ is not here to gratify your curiosity.  He is not a tame lion to perform tricks at your command.  Few or many, what does that matter?

The real question is, "easy or difficult?"  That's the one that matters, and the Man who knows says, "difficult."  Therefore, you must make every effort.

The answer

The answer gives us two pictures of the entrance to heaven:

"Every effort" must be made—the Greek implies a struggle.  So many of us think it easy;  it is often said so from the pulpit.  Our Lord never left such an impression.

Moreover, the door is narrow—which implies that a precise aim is required.  It is not good enough to be good enough.

The picture of the Master

Christ then draws an interesting picture of the householder.  It is as if he is looking on at the wanderings of the people—but the time will come when he has seen enough, and will close the door.    When that day comes, he says to those who are remaining outside, "I never knew you."  They are shocked!

Argument

How can our Lord say He never knew us?  They make two arguments to him, both of which are rejected:

We "ate and drank" with you—perhaps meaning Communion, or perhaps meaning we went to all the church potluck suppers.  In either case, attendance and ceremony are external;  God looks on the heart.

You taught in our streets—as if his presence itself somehow rubs off on the unconcerned.   It is an attempt to use influence which doesn't exist.

The shock of this will come to many who are secure in their religiosity.
They've put God in his place;  they have a nice little shrine, but of course he has no real effect upon their lives.  They see themselves as great in the kingdom of God;  God can hardly see them for their smallness.  The first shall be last, and the last shall be first, indeed.

July 6

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Luk_13:31-35

There is a certain bittersweet sensation to watching a grown child go astray.  The heart yearns for earlier years, happier times.  The mind wants to scream warning—and the mouth sometimes does, even knowing that it will be rejected word for word.

There is something of that in this passage.  It begins with the King of Kings putting a king in his place.  Herod, like all the rest of us, is accountable to God.

God's plans, not Herod's, will prevail.  His threats are nothing to the living God.

God's timing will prevail as well.  His steps are deliberate and the days are numbered.

Even so, the end will come rapidly—and who will be prepared?

Jerusalem—the prophets' slaughterhouse

Nothing so shows the rebellious nature of man, his utter sinfulness, than this.  Jerusalem, the city where God placed his Name, designated to be the one place on earth where the presence of God could be found by anyone, is the prophets' slaughterhouse.  Those who come in the name of the Lord find a bludgeon, an axe or a saw applied to their bodies.  In this case, it will be a cross.

And what is the reaction of Jesus to this?  What does he want to do with the city which has so foully treated the prophets, and is about to crown that performance by crucifying the Author of Life?  He wants to hold them in his arms and love them.  He loves these people;  his mercy is very tender toward them, as a mother would be toward her wayward child.  But it is not to be.

The truth is very bitter indeed.  Within a few years the city will be ripped from the hands of the Jews, and they will be destined to wander the earth for centuries.  Only in our own time have they returned, in war, to the city of David.  Many feel that this is a sign of the times, signaling the imminent return of our Lord.  This may be;  no one knows that hour.  But the time will someday come, that is sure.

This follows close upon Christ's words about the narrow door.  It tells us how he will feel when he rises to close that door, keeping out the ones he never knew.  It will be a bittersweet time for Him, for he came to seek and save the lost, and he does not wish for even one to perish.  The choice is not his;  it is ours.  We make it now, as we live.  Will he grieve over us?

July 7

Invitations

Luk_14:1-11

It is the custom in our day to invite guests to a wedding and arrange the seating for them.  This is commonly done with round tables, place names at each, thus ensuring pleasant conversation and no damaged egos.  It is a reflection of how much we value pride in our land that this is necessary.   It is also a sign that politeness still is of value in a land in which the young are taught that rudeness and maturity are the same thing.

See the politeness of our Lord here:

Does he condemn this Pharisee, as he does so often in other circumstances?  No;  he teaches him, and by the gentle means of a parable.

Even the parable itself is gentle, for it  concerns a different kind of feast—a wedding feast.

The virtue of politeness, especially as a guest, is hereby proclaimed.  One of the reasons politeness needs to be taught so well is that it helps us over our pride.  Are you the lowest of the guests at the wedding?  This can really hurt if you thought you deserved an important place.  But if you are not a family member or long time friend, you understand that you will be at the outer tables—and are therefore not offended.  Politeness can be used to control our expectations, and these must often be kept in check.  Being the lowest only hurts when you expected to be the highest.

Our Lord is the same kind of guest.  When we first take him into our hearts, it appears that he is the lowest and meekest of guests.  Does he insist on perfect sinlessness in behavior immediately?  No, he begins his gentle (but firm) work upon our souls with polite persistence.  At first it is the very noticeable sin that is remedied, but as time goes by we note that he brings up one thing after another, only as we can bear to deal with them, correcting them gently, as is His nature.

But see what this does to us!  We come to him with the sense of awe which is the natural result of meeting the Living God.  As we grow in the faith, we go "higher up."  Our place at the banquet becomes closer to the Host.  We should lose none of the sense of awe, but we should grow in the familiar sense that here is the Friend of Sinners, the one in whom love is completely perfect.  As we grow, we come closer to Him.  As we come closer to Him, we become more like Him.  We start at the back of the hall—but our Lord calls, "Friend, come higher up."

July 8

Dinner Guests

Luk_14:12-14

The good hostess works hard at inviting the "right" guests for the party—those who will be pleasant in conversation.  If the dinner is a political occasion (whether of party politics or business) then the guests will be selected carefully to construct relationships which will further the purposes of the host.  All this must be done carefully.

But there is more:  the meal, the entertainment, the table settings, all must be "just so."  Nothing must be left to chance;  the exactly correct impression must be presented.  The show must go on—and perfectly.

Not so with our Lord.  Consider some of the people he invited to be among the twelve:

Some were fishermen;  of such fiery temper they were known as the "sons of thunder."  Inviting a guest whose mouth is open before his brain is engaged is not wise.

Some were of the radical persuasion.  In this time Jesus included a genuine revolutionary, ready for bloodshed.

Consider how well that radical got along with Matthew—a toady for the Roman regime, a tax collector, a man hated as a traitor to his own people.

These were some of the people Jesus gathered around him,  and to whom he promised rich rewards.  These were the honored, first guests at his eternal banquet.

We are his disciples;  therefore we are to be his imitators.  Does the circle of our friends include such disreputable characters?  Or do we confine ourselves to those who are respectable?  Those whose reputations will enhance our own?

It is easy enough to give money to feed the poor;  there are any number of agencies willing to collect it and use it properly.  This is good.  But a better thing is that we, ourselves, take up the cross and deal with the matter directly.  The beggar by the roadside looks filthy, but he is made in the image of God.  Will we pass him by?  Or will we feed him?

If we feed  him, we feed the least—and our Lord tells us that as we treat the least, we treat Him.  It takes imagination of the spirit to see Christ in that beggar by the roadside.  The Lord of all reality, who spoke and all things began, assures us that it is so.  Have pity on the poor;  lend to the Lord;  he will repay—and with rich interest.

July 9

Courtesy

Luk_14:15-24

Under the mask of politeness much evil may be done.  We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that a polite failure is better than a rude success.  Consider the excuses presented:

Real estate needs looking after;  such are the cares of this world.  But what care in the world matters against eternity?

The deceit of riches often appears urgent;  after all, I have gained so much wealth I must look after it.  But money is a poor master, and will soon consume you.

The pleasures of this world—including those sanctioned by God, such as marriage—are argued as well.  Will I ever have a chance to replay today's pleasures?  All eternity is before you, and you are worried about today's pleasure?

But see how God deals with this situation!  Does he give up, or strike in condemnation?  No, his reaction is characteristic of his grace:

First he calls those who have no cares for this world, for they are poor;  who are not deceived by riches, for they have none;  who cannot have the pleasures of this world, for they are crippled or blind.

But these are not enough;  once all the poor have been called, he goes to the ends of the earth to obtain a full house.  Neither status nor geography stands in his way.

Note, too, that his servants are ordered to accept no excuse—to compel them to come in.

You're too sinful to come to God?  Hah!  It is an absurd thing that your sins could possibly be greater than the omnipotent mercy of God.

Later?  What is later to the God of eternity?  He is always "now," and now is when he calls you to come.  The past is his;  he controls the future;  only "now" is yours to give to him.

Don't know enough yet?  What is that to the omniscient God?

His objective is clear:  that his house might be full.  If it will not be filled with the respectable righteous, he will fill it with the prostitutes and thieves;  he will fill it with the desperate murderers on death row and the mothers of abortion.  It is said that nature abhors a vacuum;  the same can be said of grace.

July 10

All or Nothing

Luk_14:25-26

In many a movie you will find the villain, the evil genius, sitting at the keyboard of the organ, thundering away as the heroine shrieks in terror.

Phantom of the Opera  comes to mind;  picture Claude Rains behind the mask.  But give an ear to the music for a moment.  It is almost always Bach;  it is usually his Toccata  and Fugue in D Minor.  It is a piece of great complexity and thus loved by performers.  Melody plays against melody, building higher and higher.

If you can grasp the concept of melodies which support each other to a grand climax—even though they seem to be different—then perhaps you can see the root of Christ's words here.  The problem is simple:  everywhere in Scripture I am commanded to love my father and mother.  Everywhere, and by everyone, but Christ.

Let us begin with that melody.  Where did that command originate?  From God Himself.  So then, the authority my parents have over me (and I over my children) has a source:  the love and authority of God.  And in all matters of authority, any authority which is rightly derived is derived from a higher authority.  So by accepting the commandment to love my parents, I must also accept the authority that gave it—and acknowledge that authority as higher than my parents.

Add another melody.  Suicide is, often, a form of murder, self-murder.  I am commanded not to commit murder.  Indeed, for the healthy mind, such a command is buttressed by love of self.  But again, the command comes from the higher authority.  So even my love of self (see how Christ adds, "even his own life?") comes from a higher authority—a ruling melody in the piece.

That ruling melody is Christ himself, for all authority is given to him, in heaven and earth.  All rightful authority is derived from his authority.

Therefore, anything—commanded or not—which attempts to usurp his authority is indeed evil.  Even if that something is someone I love.  The Old Testament commanded that even your wife was to be stoned if she tried to lead you into idolatry.

The choice may come:  Christ or the ones I love, Christ or my own life.  If we think with our emotions, this is difficult.  But if we clearly understand who is Lord, who holds all authority, the matter becomes simple.  It does not become easy, just simple.  In all matters of emotional pain it is wise to prepare beforehand.  That is what Christ is having us do in this passage.

July 13

The Prodigal Father

Luk_15:11-24

Thinly veiled, this is the story of God's love for the repentant sinner.  It is also the story of the outrageous God, the Prodigal Father.

Consider the illogical actions of this prodigal Father of ours:

When the younger son demands division of the estate, does the father refuse?  No;  like our heavenly Father, who causes his rain on the just and the unjust, he treats him in perfect fairness , despite what might come of it.  Does our Father force us to behave?

When the young man returns, he barely hears the confession of sin and unworthiness.  Is it not the case that he already knew the facts?  Knew them, and considered them of little consequence and no notice now that his boy was home.  Our Father in heaven acts likewise;  the angels rejoice at the repentance of even a single sinner.  This despite the fact that the boy is right;  he has sinned against heaven and his father.  Our Father took this principle to the point of the Cross.  Our sin is forgiven;  the sinner has come home;  we must rejoice.

One might think the father would have the dignity to put the boy in his place.  But no!  He brings out the best robe for him, as if to make sure he understands that he's back in the family.   Not just a clean robe, the best robe.  He treats this young man not as the humble and repentant sinner he is, but rather as an honored member of the family.

Surely, however, the father would not give the son any responsibility in the family business—right?  Wrong.  He puts a ring on his finger, a sign of authority and power.  Is it not the case that Christ has given authority to his church on earth—composed entirely of repentant sinners, please recall—and charged them to do even mightier things than he did?

And, instead of a trial and judgment of the young man for squandering the family fortune, the father throws a party!  We have not seen our Father's party—yet.
But it will come, when our Lord returns.

By our standards, the father is irrational.  He should sit in judgment over this son of his, and let him know just how evil he has been.  Certainly the son expected it.  But God's ways are higher than our ways, and He turns judgment into joy.


(My Note: I give thanks that none of God's children get what they really deserve. JESUS CHRIST took in His own body on the CROSS what we really deserve. Thanks be unto GOD for HIS unspeakable GIFT - JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour forever.)

July 14

The Older Brother

Luk_15:25-32

There is a deep tension between righteousness and love.  Righteousness demands that all be perfect;  love demands that all be forgiven.  The tension is only reconciled at the Cross.

It is interesting to see the older brother and his reaction to the return of the other son.  One can understand the resentment.  The appearance is that the younger son is being rewarded for his evil behavior, and the older son's behavior—which the father acknowledges as being righteous—never got such a celebration.  But in this, the older brother misses the point.

The celebration is for the father, not the son.  The celebration is not being given to acknowledge the worthiness of the younger son, nor of the righteousness of his repentance, nor anything else relating to the son.  It is being given to celebrate the joy of the father.  The younger son is not worthy of such a celebration—but the father's joy certainly requires it.

So it is with us.  We sometimes mistake our repentance for true righteousness, and begin to imagine that God "owes us."  In fact, we can do nothing which would put God in our debt.  It is his love for us that brings us home.

Interestingly, we can see this love in the way the father treats the older brother.  As he had compassion on the younger son, he had compassion on the older son.  He does not rebuke him for his lack of understanding.  When the older son refuses to come in, he goes out to him, just as he ran to the younger one.  His words are gentle and kind.

Even though the older son replies in terms of anger and scorn, the father does not turn on him.  He does not resent the insult, but gently instructs the older son in the matters of a father's heart.

We see love in a small and relative sense;  only God is love, absolutely.  For that reason his actions sometimes appear strange to us, as if he did not reason through the matter.  Wisdom is justified by her children, however.  Think what the love of God has done for us on the Cross!

Many of us see things the older brother's way.  We want to go to church with the right people, and want no contact with the filth of our society.  We substitute respectability for righteousness.  The cure for this is not another set of rules and regulations, but the love God pours out.  As he was merciful to the younger son, the profligate, he was also merciful to the older son, the refrigerator.  Perhaps there is hope for all of us.

July 15

The Unrighteous Steward

Luk_16:1-9

My father expounded to me—early and often—the principle of the trapeze.  "Never let go of one trapeze," he said, "until you have a firm grip on another."  By this he hoped to encourage his irresponsible son to think ahead, plan for the future and (most importantly) not leave one job until another had been secured.  The point is generally well taken, but he also allowed that at times the only proper thing to do was to choose an honorable unemployment over a dishonest job.

Something of the same sense is in this story from Christ.  He is not commending the dishonesty of the steward, but his shrewdness in planning for the future.  The shrewdness in this instance was the use of dishonest means for the end—but at least the fellow was planning for the end.  So often we give the end no thought.

Our Lord encourages us to a parallel application here.  He is not encouraging us to be dishonest.  He is encouraging us to think ahead.  In particular, it might be put this way:

You have a certain amount of money in this world.  Some have a little, some have a lot.  That's not the point.

You will not always have that money.  When you die, it will go to another, and you will face your heavenly Father to give account.

Give account of what?  Your stewardship of the things he has given you on this earth.  If he has blessed you greatly, he will ask what you have done with his blessings.

So the question comes down to:  what did you do with the temporary blessings God gave you—in eternal terms?  Did you use those blessings for eternal purposes, or temporary ones?

We understand this, in a sense.  How often have you said, "People are important, money isn't?"  But do you really believe it?

Here's a test:  if people are important, what have you done to help those people whose supply of money is much less than yours?  There are such people all around us.  We cannot solve all problems, but we can solve the ones God gives us to solve.  He would not hand them to us if we could not.

Are you using the wealth of today to obtain things eternal?  "He is no fool if he would choose to give the things he cannot keep to buy what he can never lose."  Sometimes we need to review our investment strategies for eternal gain.

July 18

The Temptations of Lazarus

Luk_16:19-31

Much can be learned by listening to what is not said.  We know little of the character of this Lazarus, except this one thing:  when he died, he was found to be in paradise with Abraham, the father of the Jews.  It is a signal honor.  From this we may conclude that Lazarus was indeed a righteous man.  We may therefore consider the sins which would be common in his case, and that he overcame them.

Envy.  Imagine yourself just out of reach of luxury, living in poor health and poverty.  The man could not move;  he had to be laid at the rich man's door—and see all the wealthy guests going in and out of the lavish parties.  As he starved, how he must have been tempted to have the bitter heart.  "Why should he have so much when I have nothing?"  But that is a sin;  for it tells God he was mistaken in giving you so little of what you value so much more than He does.

Blasphemy.  Most of us don't want to know why bad things happen.  We want to know why they happen to us.  When we can't see a reason for our suffering, the temptation is to blame God for it.  This too is sin, for it says that the holy and righteous God brought evil upon you for no reason but his enjoyment.

In this suffering we can imagine that Lazarus built up certain strengths.  Like the blind man whose hearing becomes particularly acute, his spiritual senses became strengthened by his ordeal.

Slander.  He would certainly know how to deal with this.  Why?  Because of all the "righteous" people who would walk by knowing that he must have done something terribly evil to have deserved such punishment.  They'd probably quote the book of Job to him, too.

Consolation.  Through all his troubles, he would be led to seek the consolation of the one who would never fail him.  The very difficulties that others would see coming from God would drive him towards God.  He who goes towards God is indeed headed in the right direction.

Suffering produces character, your mother told you.  She was probably referring to your vegetables, but the point remains.  Life is but a stage, we the actors;  but sometimes we do not know the parts we are really playing.  One of these two was made a rich man for eternity.

July 21

Go, and Die With Him

Joh_11:1-16

It is one of the most curious remarks in the Bible:  "Let us also go, that we may die with him."  It is said by Thomas, later known as Doubting Thomas.  It shows us the view from before the Resurrection, and gives some light on our own faith.  Consider for a moment how things appeared to Thomas:

First, there is the apparent contradiction of Lazarus' illness.  Here is a man that Jesus loves;  he sickens and eventually dies.  Have you ever asked yourself why some particular saint was taken home, particularly at a young age?  If Jesus really loved Lazarus, how could he let him die?

Indeed, Jesus not only permits it, he waits for it.  Although Bethany is not far away, Jesus remains right where he is for two days.  Can you see how this must have appeared?

Then—after the man is dead—he decides to go.  Thomas would have understood not going at all;  remember the Jews are trying to kill Jesus.  His safety would be a good reason to stay where he is.  How absurd it must have appeared that he decides to go now.

But Thomas is a man capable of height and depth.  He doubts the other disciples, but leaps from denial to complete understanding when he proclaims Jesus "my Lord and my God."  We see something of that here.  Thomas does not understand; Christ's actions puzzle him greatly.  He doesn't "get it."  For this he has been criticized (after the fact, of course) for a lack of faith.  But please note:  our Lord does not rebuke him for this.  For whatever Thomas lacks in faith he puts into loyalty and courage.  Jesus is going to his death?  Then let's go too, and die with him.

How about the rest of us?  It's easy to look back upon the story of Lazarus and criticize this lack of faith—because we see the end of the story.  Thomas didn't.  But he did face some of the puzzles we face today:

When God has his own timing, do we wait for it—or complain about it?
When God has his own direction, do we follow—or grouse?

When all appears lost and over, are we complaining—or do we continue to be loyal, like Thomas?

If God has not given you the faith to understand his timing, direction and power, use the faith you do have to remain loyal to Him.

July 22

Confession

Joh_11:17-27

One of the great tests of the faith is found in the corridors of the hospital.  What does one say to the grieving?  When a loved one dies, it is hard to be the counselor.

We see that here.  It is fitting that Martha, the pragmatic one of the two sisters, comes out to Jesus first.  Is there a touch of reproach in her voice when she says that Lazarus would not be dead had Jesus been there?

Jesus first reply is rather cold.  The Jews, with few exceptions, believed in the resurrection of the dead on the last day.  But this doctrine was of little comfort;  that day was a long way off;  no one knew much about it — a theoretical concept, if you will.  Martha has been crying in the corridors of the hospital, she is worn out, and grief has taken hold.  The resurrection of the dead is cold comfort to her now.

But Jesus does not rest on that.  "I am the resurrection and the life."  It may be the most stunning statement ever uttered on earth.  The man claims to be supreme even over death itself.

There is only one true question:  "Who do you say that I am?"  There is only one true answer, and this is it.

I am

It is the name of God by which he introduced himself to Moses.  No other name could hold such power.

The Resurrection

There is no other.  No other power can triumph over the grave.  No one else can do this.

The Life

Life?  True life, life in himself.  Not life derived from parents, but the genuine source of life.  The one and only, the original.

The Son of God

God in the flesh, walking the planet with us, as human as we are and divine in every way.

Who Was To Come

Not the afterthought of God, but the central part of his plan, revealed through the prophets.

In one sentence Jesus has transformed the remote, impersonal doctrine of the resurrection of the dead into the living presence of God.  Because He lives, we shall live and never die.  The theory became flesh, and walked among us.  The resurrection is real because he is reality itself.

July 23

Reasonable People

Joh_11:28-44

The world is full of reasonable people.  There were a lot of them at this miracle.  What do reasonable people make of Jesus?

Reasonable people know something about God

They know he is loving;  see how Jesus wept!

They know that reality is stronger than God

If you move that stone there will be an awful stench.

They put limits on God's power

If Jesus had only been here, he could have prevented this tragedy.  He could do good things.

But he couldn't do all good things—like raising the dead.

They reproach God

When things are painful, it must be God's fault.  Why did God let Lazarus die?

Reasonable people have to be commanded by God

They won't move out on faith.  Jesus has to tell them to move the stone.  Even when they see Lazarus rise, they have to be told to remove the grave clothes.

Reasonable people will ultimately see the glory of God.

They may not discern the time of its coming, but come it will.  Being reasonable people, they will be sure that God timed it wrong.  After all, they weren't quite ready yet, and that couldn't be right, could it?

Christians are often accused of being unreasonable people—starry eyed dreamers with no true concept of reality.  That's one view the world has of the Christian.  Reasonable people don't look at things like that.  They look reality right in the eye—and fail to see Reality itself.

The Way, the Truth, The Life—the Resurrection and the Life—walks into a small Judean town and raises a man from the dead.  Reality has just changed.  That same man rises from the grave to give us eternal life.  Reality is now revealed for what it truly is.  Let us be unreasonable—and rejoice.

July 24

Healing Ten Lepers

Luk_17:11-19

We may take this from two points of view:  the lepers', and Jesus.

The lepers

They begin by calling him Master—and then they beg.  They met him at the edge of the village, intercepting him where he could not avoid them.  Standing the proper distance, they do not bargain, nor do they plead their case as ones unfairly punished.  They beg the Master's mercy.

Note that without exception they show their faith.  Jesus tests that faith by telling them to go and show themselves to the priests.  All ten go.  Note that they were healed "as they went."  This is faith in action, for faith is best demonstrated by obedience.

Only the Samaritan comes back to praise God and thank his healer.  Why?  The root of the matter is probably this:  a leper is an outcast;  a Samaritan leper among Jewish lepers is an outcast among outcasts.  He who is forgiven much, loves much.  Perhaps that applies to healing as well.

Jesus

It's a long and weary day, the journey is long and the road is hot.  Jesus meets these men at the end of that journey.  His weariness does not prevent his love from taking action.

Note how rich our Lord is in supply!  Are there ten lepers?  Then ten shall be healed.  And note how poor we are in return;  only one comes back with praise.
Above all, note that he prefers to work through our faith.

It is a compact little study.  But it raises some questions for us:

Do you beg, or bargain, with your Master?

Do you demonstrate your faith by your obedience?

Does your love match what you have been forgiven?

Are your good works dependent upon your good mood?

Are your good works given generously, or grudgingly?

What do all these say about your faith?

Test yourself;  then your Lord will not need to.

July 25

Signs to be Observed

Luk_17:20-21

May I ask you to cast your mind back to the beginning of the 20th century?  Pity the poor physicist.  He is just beginning to explore the world of the atom — a world he cannot see with the aid of any known microscope.  Indeed, his inability to measure things at this level will give rise to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.  Roughly put, if you know exactly what a particle is doing, you have no idea where it is.  And if you know exactly where it is, you have no idea what it is doing.  Teenagers are a lot like that, too.

So how, then, did the scientists discover so much about this world beneath our visibility?  The technology is complex, but the method is simple.  The could not directly observe the workings of the atom, but they could observe the results.  From the results they could draw conclusions.

A similar problem confronts the Christian today.  "The kingdom of God is within you" - where it cannot be seen, heard or felt.  No amount of careful observation will tell you who is genuinely a Christian and who is not—there is no telltale mark, no sudden decrease in blood pressure, no symptoms at all.  The metal detector at the airport registers nothing new.

But the results are there, for the kingdom of God is given to those who will produce its fruit (Matthew 21:43).  So if you wish to know if you are in the kingdom of God, should you not observe the results in your life?

Are you "poor in spirit?"  To these belongs the kingdom.  Or are you proud in spirit?

Are you persecuted for righteousness?  To these belongs the kingdom.  Or are you content with "getting away with it?"

Are you humble, like a little child?  To these belongs the kingdom.  Or are you happy with an adult rating?

Are you one who is generous with his wealth, or are you still trying to push the camel through the eye of the needle?

Do the things of God grow in your life, like the mustard seed, or are you content with a "silk plant" religion?

Does embarrassment over sin hold you back?  Remember that the tax collectors pushed their way into the kingdom.

Most especially, are you one of the obedient souls who does the will of God?  Of such is the kingdom.

Test the results;  see what is within you.

July 26

Days of Noah

Luk_17:22-30

Many years ago we came upon an automobile accident.  We were the first on the scene;  the car had jumped off the freeway and landed on its side on a road parallel to the freeway.  The children and the mother had managed to free themselves, but it was clear that just a few moments before they had been traveling down the freeway with no thought that this might happen.  The father was still in the car;  there was no hurry about removing him.

Details blur with the years, but how could I forget the look on the faces of the children?   Their entire world, their complete security, everything that protected them—was gone.  It was the very picture of hopelessness.

In a small way these children are symbols of the world as it will be when our Lord returns.   While some speak of knowing the time of his return, or of knowing all the signs that must be fulfilled before his return, these are things which are but learned opinion.  Our Lord gives us one certain thing:  it will be unexpected.  People will say, "It's been a long time—just exactly where and when is this Jesus coming back?"  And after a laugh they will return to work, to play, to the cares of the day.  The striking element is that it will be so ordinary.

Then, with a sudden moment, our Lord will appear.  For those who do not know Him, the mask of hopelessness we saw on those children's faces will become their appearance.  For at his return it will be too late.  When I saw those faces, I wanted so much to be able to turn back the clock just a few minutes and make a slight correction.  Such power is not given to mortal man.  Nor will it be on that day.

But let the Christian rejoice in this;  for his return will be a great joy for us.  The triumph is certain;  the matter is done;  we simply do not know the day and hour.

The only question

So the question comes: what will be your reaction on that day?  It is certain to come;  you have the word of God on the point.  He has been quite explicit;  there will be no "just a minute."  It could come before you finish reading this.  Will it be an eternity of joy, or of hopelessness?  The answer to that depends upon your answer to "who is Jesus Christ?"  If he is Savior, Lord and God to you, then rejoice.  If not, go to him this very moment and make it so.  You do not know how much time you have left.

July 27

Training

Luk_17:31-37

A curious description is given here.   It seems that when the Lord returns, and heaven and earth are renewed, there will be some who will stop along the way—to their great peril—and attempt to retrieve their possessions!  Surely, we might think, no one would be so foolish as that.  But our Lord assures us that this is so.

An incident might shed some light on this.  My parents went through the Sylmar earthquake of 1971, suffering a great deal of property damage (though only minor injuries).  It took me several hours to make my way through the twisted wreckage of roads to their home.  As I pulled up in front, my mother came out to greet me with these words:  "Grandma's pitcher is ruined!"  Of all the rubble in the house—and there was plenty—she was concerned about her grandmother's crystal water pitcher.

That earthquake did not make Grandma's pitcher important to my mother.  It simply revealed that it was important to my mother.  So many of us think that we need not worry about the small sins of life;  after all, when the crisis comes, we will rise to the occasion.  It is not so.  The small sins indicate what we really are;  the crisis will reveal it.

The army knows that.  In basic training the elementary skills of a soldier are repeated over and over, so that the soldier will do them instinctively in combat.  You can tell a soldier what to do—but to turn him into a real soldier, you must drill it into him.

Our Lord knows that too.  So it is that he trains us in being Christian soldiers, teaching us to watch and pray, to remain honest and true in small things and large, and to imitate his love in all our doings.  But most important on that day will be our love for Him; if it is real, we will run to him, leaving all behind.  His coming will reveal us for what we are.

The disciples—quite naturally—are curious.  When will all this occur?  Should we start packing now?  Christ's answer is typical of his nature.  The times and circumstances of these things  are not fit matters for humans to know.  But he will not leave his children without guidance and comfort.  The cryptic comment—where the body is, the vultures gather—is fitting to his style.  It tells you everything you need to know and nothing you want to know.

How is this?  Surely the dead body represents sin, for by sin death came to Adam.  By this and other passages we may conclude that the time of the end will be a time of great wickedness.  The vultures will gather;  will we be ready?

July 28

The Unjust Judge

Luk_18:1-8

The widow, in this time, was the symbol of one who was poor, oppressed and without help.  If you've ever had to fight a massive bureaucracy with no assistance—and watch others go in with their expensive lawyers and lobbyists—you have an idea of how this woman was treated.

The judge is a contrast to God.  He doesn't care for her;  no cry of justice opens his ears—but even he gets tired of hearing her.  So he will grant justice in return for her persistence.

The picture would be familiar to Christ's listeners.  They were a conquered people under Roman rule, and such a judge was all too common.  But Christ pauses, and takes their breath away:  if the evil judge will do that, what about God?

The judge is evil, but God is pure righteousness.  Will he not be all the more eager to see justice done?

The petitioner to the judge is a widow—the judge doesn't care a bit for her.  But God is beseeched by his saints, his children whom he loves so dearly.  Will he not be ready to give them justice?

The widow is but one, with her own petition.  The church is many (yet one) and the petition is in chorus.  Can he not hear?

How, then, is it that God has not yet adopted the simple expedient of slaying the wicked without notice?  Surely that would be more efficient?

When  God is slow to give us our heart's desires, the desire grows stronger.  So it is he hones in us a desire for justice and righteousness—not only as applied to us, but as we apply it to others.  Is He slow to avenge?  Consider:

He has granted all a season of repentance.  Many of us were as wicked as the judge.  Suppose he had not waited!

But when the measure of iniquity is full, God will act.  He has delayed his justice so that the wicked might have time to repent.  Hell will not be allowed to annul heaven by indefinite delay.

But like little children, we are impatient.  Why will he not strike down those who are evil?  Do we consider that we, too, were evil until he brought us into the church?  The day shall come, do not fear.  Only keep the faith until then;  so that when our Lord returns he will not need to search to find the faithful.

July 29

Lord, Be Merciful

Luk_18:9-14


Two men with the same purpose:  to pray.  Did you notice that?  The Pharisee did not go up intending to glorify himself, nor the tax collector to humiliate himself.  They both went up to pray.

The Pharisee, it would seem, had all the advantages:

He had the advantage of training.  Hundreds of years of great wisdom, by the most learned of rabbis, would go into his prayers.  Is it a question of the right words?  He had them.  Is it a question of making sure you have all points covered?  He knew them.  He was an expert.

He had the advantage of frequency.  He did this often, at scheduled times.  Nothing prevails like practice!  His practice was sure, so he approached this prayer with confidence, the confidence of one greatly experienced.  He was an expert.

He had the advantage of self-discipline. He fasted;  he watched every action;  all his details of life were regulated by the Law of Moses, the highest he knew.  Like the true professional of any occupation, he had disciplined himself to the point needed.  He was an expert.

But there was a problem in his approach to prayer.  He is bargaining with God.  By his training, by his practice, by his self-discipline he has concluded that God owes him.  It is not so.

The tax collector takes the opposite approach.  Perhaps his deficiencies produced desperation, for he came to beg, not to bargain.

He does not state what he has done, rather what he is—a sinner.  It is well to know yourself when talking to the Almighty.

He does not appeal on the basis of his good deeds but rather upon the character of God—for God is merciful.

The Jews tell a similar story to this day.  An emperor asked one of the sages for a compilation of prayers suitable for any occasion.  He was expecting a book with prayers by formula.  He wanted to fill in the blanks, so to speak.  The sage returned the next day and handed him an axe.

Naturally, the emperor was puzzled, and asked for an explanation.  The scribe reminded the emperor that every door in the palace had a lock, and for each lock there was a particular key.  But the axe would get through any door.  The axe in prayer is the pure and contrite heart, which opens the door to heaven.

July 30

On Divorce

Mat_19:1-9

One of the strongest desires in human thought is the urge to prove yourself right.  Especially when you aren't.

Jesus has spoken on this subject before, and his position is likely well known.  So the Pharisees are not engaged in idle curiosity or genuine interest—they're out to trap him.  But it's interesting that this is the subject.  There were two schools of thought.  One held that adultery, and only adultery, was grounds for divorce.  The other held that man's dominion over woman was such that any displeasure was sufficient, as long as the legal forms were followed.  Perhaps you can guess which opinion they held.

Jesus' reply deals less with legal form than with first principles.  This is somewhat like aiming a rifle.  The slightest deflection from the true aim at the beginning can produce a wide miss at the target.  Let us see what God was aiming at:

The married couple are to be "one flesh."  One widow told me that her ache for her late husband was "like having your right arm torn off every day."  That's how God views divorce.

This relationship is above all other human relationships, for it is superior to the parent-child relationship.

This relationship was established by God, by direct action, at the very beginning.  That alone should tell us that the joining was done by God.  How presumptuous of us to split it!

You can imagine the counter argument.  Why did Moses "command" the bill of divorce?  Doesn't that mean it can be done?

There is a difference between "command" and "permit."  Moses could not have taught the people God's perfection in one generation—he also permitted polygamy.
There is also a difference between manner and matter.  If you're going to divorce, do it this way.  But that is not the same as blanket permission for divorce.

The matter is essentially one of cruelty and injustice.  By far the most common case then (and still surprisingly so today) is that of a man who enjoys a wife for many years, taking all he can.  He then finds a younger, prettier woman—and discards his wife like so much rubbish.  He labels his lust as "love," and declares himself justified.  He proves himself right, even when he isn't.

But have a care;  God counts a woman's tears.  He is the God of righteousness and justice—and judgment.

July 31

A Hard Saying

Mat_19:10-12


Let us be clear about the point:  the teaching of Jesus is that divorce is permissible only in the case of adultery.  To that St. Paul adds this:  a Christian whose non-Christian spouse leaves is not bound to remain in marriage.  And from those two statements we may conclude two things:

God's intention is that once married, only adultery or death will split the bond between husband and wife.

There is some sense of exception when one of the partners is not a Christian—but the Christian may not initiate the divorce in that circumstance.

It raises a natural question.  What about (for example) the wife who takes up the regular practice of throwing butcher knives in the vicinity of her husband's head?  Is one obliged by God to remain in the marriage?  (I know of nothing in Scripture which forbids you to duck.)

Just where should the church draw the line?  There are many answers to this.  It is easier for a husband to deal with his own lust than with an evil woman.  Jesus knows that.  His answer is interesting both for what it says, and what it doesn't.

He does say that this is a "hard saying."  Not everyone can handle this problem.  For that reason, some will find it best never to marry, as if they were eunuchs.  In our day the thought of doing without sex for one night seems difficult;  a lifetime, impossible.  But if you seek first the kingdom of God, and sex is in the way, what else can you do?  A hard choice to bear, but an easy one to think through.

He does not launch into a list of exceptions.  That would only start another round of legalism in the church.  It seems that Jesus has left us with the problem and the statement that it is a hard one.  He had no intention of making divorce easy, and so gave no list of exceptions.

At the very least this should cause us to enter marriage only after grave thought and seeking wise counsel.  So few of us do that;  we hurry into marriage and hurry into divorce.  We should be slow to marry;  much slower to divorce.  Remarriage after divorce should be even tardier, both for our Lord's words and our experience.  Marriage is God's doing;  we should be reverent in starting it; remorseful to break it and reluctant to do it again.

August 1

Little Children

Mar_10:13-16

Have you ever asked a baseball player for an autograph?  We all have the feeling that, somehow, something of another's "greatness" will rub off on us if we can make physical contact.  Something of that is seen here in these mothers who brought their children to Jesus.

The drama comes from the disciples.  They try to hold the children back.  The great man is busy, there are huge demands on his time, children this small are unimportant, he can't be bothered with such things.  It is not respectable!

And it isn't respectable.  It's righteous.  The Creator of time itself has time for these little ones;  who more?  He does what polite society thinks unreasonable:  he loves the least.  In their society children were not possessed of  "high marginal incomes," and thus courted by advertisers.  They had nothing, and therefore the world considered them as nothing.

Consider the least of our society today.  Take, for a specific example, a young woman who is addicted to drugs, has a baby, no job and is single.  How does the body of Christ, the church, treat her?

Do we shoo her away lest her terrible example rub off on decent Christian teenagers?

Or do we take her in our arms with the love of Christ?

Such a person resembles a child of that time.  Spiritually, they are often completely uneducated.  Economically, they're at the bottom of the heap.  Their burdens are greater than they can bear, and like children they need a lot of help, encouragement, counsel and even wisdom.

Christ tells us that "of such" is the kingdom of heaven!  Why would God welcome "such" into his kingdom?  Is it not so that his mighty power and great love might be displayed?

Power?  Yes, even the worst of sinners can be redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
Love?  Yes, no matter how undeserving, God looks upon the sinners of this world as his children, and has compassion on them.

Christ does not just "put up with" these children—he welcomes them into his arms.  He blesses them so that we might see that no one is too low to enter the kingdom.  We, the church, need to open our arms to the wayward children of this world, so that we might bring his blessing to them, too.

August 2

The Rich Young Ruler

Mar_10:17-22

Suppose you had the chance to ask Jesus one, and only one, question.  What would it be?  It might depend upon your circumstances;  if you were ill, you might ask for healing, for example.  But what if your circumstances were high and good indeed?

That's what we have here.  The man is rich in the things of this world.  We may conclude from the fact that Christ does not rebuke his presumption but instead loves him that he indeed has kept the commandments.  In short, he is a man who has been blessed by God with all earthly blessings, one who is righteous under the Law of Moses—and still he has a question.  "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

If you want the right answers, you must ask the right questions.  Jesus points him to the Law, but only to bring out the fact that something is yet to be fulfilled.  Jesus is that fulfillment of the Law.  He makes that point to the young man by pointing out that only God is good.  It forces the question:  who is this man Jesus?  If he is indeed God in the flesh, then he is lord over all who worship God.  It is that lordship which is at the center of this tragedy.  Many of us are willing to accept Jesus as a great teacher and moral authority — but that is not his claim.  He claims to be God.  If he is, then he should be your Lord.  If he is not, you should despise him.

The matter becomes even more radical in Jesus reply.  Note that it says that he loved this young man.  And why not?  God loves those who keep his commandments.  Why then did not Jesus simply commend him?  It is precisely because he loved him that he challenged him—on the issue of lordship.  Either the man's money was his master, or God.

Like Nicodemus at night, the ruler was looking for the last small step.  As Nicodemus was told to be born again, this man is also told to renounce his life and turn about radically.  One thing stands between him and eternal life:  his money.  Get rid of it;  then follow your Lord.  The issue is not the money;  the issue is lordship.

How about you?  Is there something in your life which stands between you and your Lord Jesus?  Is there anything which causes you to put Christ "on hold" while you deal with it?  Many things can do this;  a job, your stocks and bonds, your hobby, your spouse (or the one you are pursuing), the new house, the new car, or just the everyday cares of this world—how will I make it until the next paycheck?  One Lord—the question is, which?

August 3

Eye of the Needle

Mar_10:23-31

The disciples have perceived a problem with the case of the rich young ruler.
Perhaps we should take it step by step:

In the Old Testament God frequently mentions that prosperity is the reward of the righteous.  This is so from a human point of view (thrift and hard work are virtues) and also from the actions of God's providence.

It appeared to the disciples that the rich young ruler was an example of such a case:  virtue rewarded by God.  He's a "most likely" to get into heaven.

But Christ tells them how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now the problem becomes personal.  They saw the rich young ruler as more righteous—in God's eyes—than themselves.  Certainly God had given him more in the way of reward.  If he has no hope, then what hope do the poor fishermen have?

Jesus replies with one of those maddeningly enigmatic sayings.  Only after the Resurrection will it be clear that good works—no matter how extensive—are not sufficient.  But the grace of God is sufficient for all.

That brings up another problem for the disciples.  While they may feel themselves inferior to the rich young ruler, they also know they have sacrificed greatly to follow Jesus.   Peter makes two points:

The disciples have left everything they have (which he now knows is not sufficient).

They did this to follow Jesus (which is sufficient).

So then, if the rich young ruler can't make it, and we've given up everything trying to make it, but only grace can bring us into the kingdom of heaven, what's the sense in sacrifice and suffering?  Why not just kick back and relax?

Christ could have pointed out (as St. James did) that faith without works is dead.  But he knows their faith is alive.  So he points instead to reward.  He understands quite clearly that humans need to see the point in doing something.  So he makes it clear that God is both just and generous in reward.

Which means, of course, that when we examine the results upon his return we may be surprised by grace—"How did he get in?"  The last first, the first last.  Sometimes you just never know.

August 4

The Generous Landowner

Mat_20:1-16

Jesus now explains his cryptic "last, first" remark.  He does so by the familiar means of a parable.  In this parable some see the hours of the day to mean the span of a man's life;  others see it as the span of time of the church.  We shall take both meanings to heart.

The marketplace and the vineyard

Consider for a moment the men in the marketplace.  It represents our world:

The men are standing around—they have no purpose.

They stand where the only value is found in a price tag.

They stand there because no one has called them

But the Master comes to them and calls them, as he tells us to bring the Gospel to them.  They go from no purpose to the cause of Christ.  Their value is no longer measured in money, but in the salvation given by the grace of God.

It's not fair!

At the end of the day, the first (who shall see themselves as last, now) complain.  There are several answers to this:

Salvation is not divisible!  You cannot give one man complete salvation and another half, nor another twice as much.

Look at the alternative:  if salvation depended upon how much we did, there would be no hope for those whose days remaining are few.  What hopelessness!

Isn't the real complaint here not why I got so little, but why he got so much?  Is this not envy?

Christ ignores all these—and points simply to the generous love and grace of God.

Hope

In this story there is a great deal of hope:

If the day represents the history of the church, then take comfort in this:  the call of the Gospel will go on until the last day.

And if it represents the span of a man's life, then remember that no one is too old to receive the blessed gift of salvation.

Perhaps both views are correct.  The love and grace of God span all of a man's life, and all of time—and beyond.

August 5

Prophecy of the Resurrection

Luk_18:31-34

It is faintly possible that my dentist is more expensive than most.  He knows how to deal with the dentally terrified.  It is a valuable skill.

He begins by letting me get a death grip on the chair.  He then explains, in a clear and smiling way, all the gruesome details of whatever procedure is about to be performed.  He lists the steps for me.  As he goes through the procedure, he reminds me of the steps and tells me which one he is performing.  At the end, he pries my fingers off my chair and tells me what a good boy I've been this time.  You'd think we could get through teeth cleaning with a little less effort.

Sorrow foreseen is easier to bear, especially with a good end in sight.  Jesus knows that too, and so he takes the twelve aside to explain what's going to happen.

He wants them to understand that no matter how wild events may seem, all is prophesied, all is foreseen.  God is still in control of events.

He tells them alone so that we might know the truth:  the Resurrection was the plan all along.  Thus he gives his enemies the chance to perform their evil, so that God may make a greater good from it.

He tells them all this very clearly.  They don't understand it.  We cannot be certain why, but it very likely is due to that natural human tendency to see only what you want to see.  They saw the coming of a conquering king, not a suffering servant.  Their vision is yet to come.

But their vision is just as sure as Christ's prophecy then, for our Lord tells us of his return.  Many things could have "gone wrong" during the next few weeks, but all happened as God intended.  Christ's enemies were not little robots following a program, but still all arrived as prophesied.

This should be a comfort to us.  As my dentist explains his work to me, step by step, and then performs it, so too God explains his work to us.  We may not understand all the details;  some, indeed, are hidden from us.  My dentist never uses phrases like, "and then there will be a stab of excruciating pain."  But through it all I remain in the chair—because I trust my dentist, and I know it will turn out right.  So too we should remain in Christ, trusting Him, for we know that all things will turn out right at his return.

August 6

Ambition

Mat_20:20-28

You can sometimes learn as much from what Christ does not say as from what he does.  Here is one of those instances.

By any test of man, James and John are certainly guilty of running back door influence.  It is likely enough that their mother travels with the band (we know that several women did), and probably as a widow.  It is not unreasonable to assume that she has cared for one and all of them, and feels herself entitled to ask the favor.  She might see it as "first ask, first get."  The others see it as favoritism.

What of the other ten?  Surely they are guilty of envy.  They see the request as one which asks the best of Christ, and they'd like to be in the running too.

So we might expect Christ to come back in stinging rebuke to these deadly sins.  He does not.  Like a man explaining to a small child why he can't drive the car, our Lord starts by making clear that they have no idea what they're asking for.

How often we do the same!  In our prayers we frequently give earnest advice to God, telling Him who to heal, who to punish, who to expose and who to forgive.  We do this as if it cost us nothing.  But it is not so;  prayer means commitment.

Commitment—and willingness to suffer in it—are the key to this passage.  The higher the authority that God proclaims, the greater the service that authority must perform.  But we don't see it that way.  The supreme example is Christ.  But as Matthew Henry said, the most confident Christians are the least acquainted with the Cross.

Consider our Lord:

Is there any question that he is always Master and Lord?

Is there any question either that he is the Suffering Servant?

He is both, because he is obedient to the Father.  The Father's will commands that Jesus suffer at the Cross for us.  Jesus is obedient to that, and therefore is exalted by God.

The same is true for us, if we live in imitation of him.  We cannot approach this with blind ignorance and think that all will be well;  rather, we must go in with eyes open.  But as we do, remember that as our Lord is the example of suffering, he is also the example of honor.  God the Father honored him in his obedience with the Name above all names.  So too will God honor those who serve in his kingdom in obedience to his will.  If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him.

August 7

Bartimaeus

Mar_10:46-52

In this sweet little incident there is much for us to see.

The titles of Christ

Bartimaeus refers to Jesus by two titles:

He calls him "Son of David" - meaning not only a descendant of David, but also implying that he is the promised Holy One, the Messiah.

He calls him "Rabbi" - meaning teacher.  One wonders if we have not lost the sense of the word, for we call him friend and often ignore his teaching.

The call of Christ

If Christ does not call out to us, we cannot come.  We, like Bartimaeus, are blind, at least in spirit.  So we must call out for help.  If he does not answer, we are lost.

But if we call out, he will answer!  And when he does, this is comfort indeed.
But note one thing:  the call comes through someone else.  Jesus does not call him;  he tells someone else to call him.  So too we must be the ones who call on his behalf.

The question of Christ

At first it seems foolish:  why would Christ ask him what he wants?  Anyone would know that what a blind man wants is his sight.

But Christ wants us to know what we are asking for—so that we understand the important from the trivial.

In this instance, he asks so that more than just the blind man will see.

The incident ends with a curious fact.  Jesus tells the man to go his way.  Human gratitude and joy constrain Bartimaeus, however, and despite this command he follows the Lord.  Jesus evidently permits it;  his healing comes from his grace, which is provided at God's expense, not our own.  Bartimaeus can do no good work to merit his sight;  but he can express his gratitude and adoration of the one who healed him.  We hear nothing more of him than this:  he followed.  Let us do likewise.

August 8

Call and Answer

Luk_19:1-10

It is the simplest of stories, often sung by children.  It is but a call and an answer.

The call of Christ

The call is personal—Jesus calls Zaccheus by name.  The call of Christ is always person to person, and never collect.

The call is one of haste—he tells him to come "immediately."  So many of us linger in our doubts, now willing, now reluctant, always thinking that tomorrow would be a better day to answer.  Here we see the better way.

The call is one which humbles—"come down" says Jesus.  Get off the perch, stop looking at the parade, cease to be a church shopper—and come down to meet the Master.

The call is one of necessity—"I must" stay at your house.  To have such a guest was an honor;  but Jesus makes it clear that his presence is necessary.  Indeed, eternal life depends upon it.

The call is one which endures—he is to "stay" at the little man's house.  So we should expect our Lord to stay with us, all our lives.

Above all else, the call is powerful—for it changed this man from a despised sinner to a glorious saint.

The reply

Zaccheus received him speedily—"at once."  How many of us dawdle in reply to our Lord?

He received him gladly—how many of us grouse at his commands?
He received him sincerely—as is evidenced by his works.

The crowd

The crowd reacted as we might to the news that Billy Graham ate dinner with the head of the Mafia.  But our Lord has a purpose:  he came to seek and save the lost.  For that purpose he ignored public criticism and ate with the worst of sinners.  Do we have that same sense of purpose?  Perhaps if we gave the call of Christ as he did, and received it like Zaccheus, we would know the same results.

August 9

Responsibility

Luk_19:11-28

In this dark parable our Lord lays out the end of time and his return to earth.  It is a time of great reward and great punishment, and we would do well to hear the parable.

The citizens

There is a certain comic aspect to the citizenry.  This, after all, is a kingdom.  One of the defining characteristics of a kingdom is that it is run by a king!  If you don't like that, you revolt.  Those fond of American democracy may see the virtue in that;  but all depends upon whether or not your revolt is going to be successful.  If it isn't, the penalty is swift and severe.

Why, then, we have so many who think that a loving God would not condemn anyone to hell is rather beyond comprehension.  It's like asking if a loving government would refuse to imprison a murderer—because, after all, prison isn't a very nice place.  But note that, like the criminal, those who revolt against God make that choice themselves.  Hell is a result of their actions.

The servants

The servants, however, are given things in trust.  There are a few lessons here too:

First, when our Lord returns, our reward will be much greater than the sacrifices we have made for it.

Next, that our reward will be in proportion to the results we have achieved.
But—and it is a chilling thought—there will be some who will have earned punishment rather than reward.

These last are those given ability and opportunity by God—and who have carefully ignored it.  These are the ones who have done nothing for the kingdom.   The depth of this failure is seen in that they were so careful to do nothing that they prevented anyone else from using what they had for the kingdom.

The simplest example of this is money itself.  Some of us are greatly blessed with a substantial amount of money.  Suppose by honest hard work and the grace of God you have become rich.  You may conclude you have no abilities to render to God;  but you have the ability to empower others with your money.  It is a lesser thing, but at least do the lesser thing.  Even in that our Lord will be faithful to reward—or repay, as required by justice.

August 10

Anointing of Jesus
Mat_26:6-13

We live in a world which understands everything about prices and nothing about value.  The thought that anything—or anyone—could have intrinsic value not associated with a price tag is most foreign to our thinking.  We are the losers in this.
Here is an act which honors the intrinsic value of Jesus.  Does it matter the price of the perfume?  Any work done for the sake of Jesus should indeed be valued, whatever its price tag.

The disciples certainly see this action in a financial light.  They are indignant.  They have yet to realize that Jesus has but one last week with them before the Crucifixion.  They are indignant at such a waste.

One in particular raises the most serious of objections—by John's account—and that's Judas.  It appears he was having some trouble balancing the books, and was short of funds.  By about thirty silver coins.  It is interesting that this ointment could have been sold for three hundred denarii.  That would be thirty sesterces—silver coins of the Roman empire.

The woman has performed an act of devotion.  Such acts have three common characteristics:

First, they are expensive to the giver.  John's account tells us this would have cost a year's wages for the common laborer.

Next, the world views them as wasteful and extravagant—a poor business decision.  Even if the business is charity, such an act looks like a poor investment.

Finally, such an act brings honor both to God and to the one who performs it.

God looks on the heart, and here Jesus proclaims this act of devotion to be her memorial.  He understands the act of devotion all too well;  consider the Crucifixion:
It cost our Lord his very life.

The world saw it as useless—a waste.  Salvation for sinners?

But it brought great honor to God—and to Jesus.

We, the Christians, are those who imitate our Lord Jesus.  He has prescribed the pattern for the act of devotion, and given us the supreme example.  Will we follow it?

August 11

Transportation

Mar_11:1-11

A glance at most Bible reference books will reveal an avalanche of footnotes beginning at this chapter.  The entry into Jerusalem is an event about which much prophecy was written.  In a small way Jesus adds to it—he tells the disciples where to find the colt;  that someone will object, and what to say about it; and that they will be permitted to take it.  Consider just a few of these prophecies:

Zechariah tells us that the King of the Jews would come riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The time of this entry can be derived from the prophecies in the book of Daniel.
The words chanted by the people are found in the Messianic prophecies in the Psalms.

Some of this can be arranged by humans; some by the providence of God.  All is foreseen.

His entry—King David would have entered the city in triumph in much the same way—is his presentation of himself as the peaceful king of Israel.  The people see it much that way;  reading from the events of the Old Testament we can see that the palm branches were a form of honor.  "Hosanna" means (roughly) "save now" - a cry to the deliverer king.  The phrases they chant bring honor to God.

The new colt has its meaning too.  It had never been ridden—making it fit for sacred ceremony.  It was the colt of a donkey—the animal a king rides when he enters the city in peace.  All these pieces dovetail to make the presentation of the king.

All is foreseen, including the rejection of the king.  But at this moment we see the offer being made.  Through it all, Jesus maintains the air of complete humility.  It is important.  Jesus, in his arrival as king here and in his arrival in our lives, forces no one.  There is no military presence;  there is no demand;  there is nothing but the offer of the rightful king.  What is that offer to us?  That he take his rightful place as ruler of our hearts.  That we take our places as citizens of his kingdom.

Some, when they see him come, shout hosanna and welcome him—for a while.  Others endure through time and suffering and share in the kingdom with their Lord.  Those who quit after the hosanna will miss the Crucifixion—and the Resurrection.

August 12

Stones Cry Out

Luk_19:39-40

Jesus shows a shocking casualness in the passage.  For a man of such great humility, this statement is tossed off lightly—and lands heavily.  The stones, it seems, are his in a manner like no other.

He has already told them that God could raise up children of Abraham from those stones.  By implication, so could he.  But this tells us, again, that man is made from the same stuff as the earth around, and the Creator is still the Creator.

Here he tells us the stones would cry out.  But does not the Psalmist say the same?  In the Psalms the rivers clap their hands, and the mountains sing.  The stars praise their maker;  is it not a little thing then for the stones to cry out in praise of their Creator?

Interestingly, stones are not to be made bread.  Cry out and shout, yes—but bread, no.  God is not the God of chaos and confusion, but the God of order and peace..

With our feeble imaginations we can see only what goes on day to day, in our own limited time.  God the Creator can see so much more.  But all must be done in accordance with His plan.

The plan?  The plan from the beginning was the coming of the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel.

In that plan he was to become the cornerstone rejected—the one center of the universe which his people would despise and crucify.

In that plan he becomes the stone of stumbling—over which the pride of men tumbles.

In that plan he becomes the chief foundation stone of the church, his body on earth.  We have the privilege of building upon that foundation.

He is indeed the living stone on which all else depends.  We are told that in him all things exist and have their being.  We borrow from him the very concept of existence;  as part of his church we are stones in his temple.

The plan included one more stone.  A rather large, prosaic rock, it had the original purpose of sealing off the tomb until the stench of decay was gone.  Christ's enemies set a guard on that stone, but no military force could alter the plan of God.  The stone was rolled away;  Jesus arose from the tomb, the atonement for sin was finished—and the stones still wait their turn to cry out for their God.

August 13

Triumph and Tragedy

Luk_19:41-44

Jesus, the Scripture tells us explicitly, wept.  He wept at the grave of Lazarus, and he wept here.  It is a remarkable event.

He wept

One might wonder how it is that the King of Kings could weep at all;  is this not a sign of weakness?

It is actually a sign of strength.  The truly strong care nothing for the opinion of others as to their strength—for they know what they are.

It is also a sign of integrity—the oneness of the emotions and the logic.  This seems like a triumph, but it is actually a tragedy. Jesus knows it.

He wept during the Triumphal Entry

It might seem strange that with the crowds shouting hosanna and hailing him as the Son of David, he wept.  Why?

Great moments—and this is certainly one—bring out emotion in those who genuinely care.

The tragedy is this:  that he is offering himself as king, and Jerusalem has but to accept to rise to triumph.  He knows this will not happen.

He wept over Jerusalem

He came over the Mount of Olives, which is slightly higher than the city.  As he did, he could see all of Jerusalem.  As God he could see it not only in the present, but past and future as well:

From ancient times it was the city of Melchizedek;  the city in which the name of God was placed, the most sacred spot on earth.    This is the city that stoned the prophets.

In the present, the city that did not know its opportunity.  What peace could be hers—"if only."

In the grim future he could see the legions of Titus, barely forty years away, slaughtering the inhabitants and leveling the city.  He could see the centuries of wandering.

Sometimes we don't know triumph from tragedy. We see ourselves as having Christ in our lives.  The real question is, does Christ have us in his eternal kingdom?  Does Christ lead your life, or is he only a parade, passing through an empty parade ground?

August 14

Praise of Infants

Mat_21:14-17

My wife works on the campus of the university across the street.  Often I have the pleasure of walking over in the evening and escorting her home.  As I do, I pass a man in a wheelchair.  His legs are nonfunctional;  his arms and hands palsied and his voice is weak.  But as I pass by, if he is not engaged in conversation, he will cry out, "Jesus loves you."

A little further on in the campus there is a table devoted to Islam.  The university, in its wisdom, forbids Christians to distribute literature—but all other faiths are welcome to do so.  Indeed, any form of Christianity is forbidden on campus, on the grounds of separation of church and state.  All other faiths are welcome in the marketplace of ideas.  The enforcement of this, I am told, is quite strict.  You know what evil people those Christians are.

The man in the wheelchair is usually occupied in conversation.  He takes on all comers;  his voice is feeble but his brain, it seems, is not.  It is not unusual to see him engaged in vigorous debate with other students.  He has no way of leaving until a friend comes to pick him up, so—win or lose—he cannot walk away from the conversation.

Now, you might ask why this man has not been arrested for his obviously illegal activities, done in such blatant defiance of the university's sacred policies.  It is not certain, but I suspect it is this:  would you want to be the policeman who arrests him?  Would it not be the very picture of repressive police brutality to arrest and (literally) haul away a paraplegic whose only crime is calling out, "Jesus loves you?"

The children at the Triumphal Entry were much the same.  Would you arrest a child for shouting "Hosanna?"  Christ tells the Pharisees as much in his quotation.  It's from Psalm 8:2.  Note the part that Jesus leaves out:  it's why God ordained such praise!  Why indeed?  "To silence the foe and the avenger."

"My power is made perfect in weakness," says our Lord. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  So often we complain that we, in our weakness, can do nothing.  It is exactly at this point that we should realize the strength of God.  When we realize how utterly feeble we are, then we can see how powerful He is.  If we glory in our own strength and ability, we cannot see His greatness.

The man in the wheelchair seems so frail.  The sea is great and stormy, and the lighthouse a small and crumbling thing.  But its beam is sure and strong, guiding many to safe harbor.

August 15

Cursing the Fig Tree

Mar_11:12-14

This incident provokes a simple question:  Why?  Why would Jesus curse this tree for its failure to provide figs—which were not in season?  There are some interesting answers:

The power of God

Remember that Jesus has, up to this point, cursed no one.  He's pronounced much woe upon the hypocrites, for they pretend to be the agents of God when they are not.  But up to this point he has never pronounced doom upon anything else.  You can almost hear some theologian arguing, then, that only the hypocrites will go to hell—for Jesus never actually did anything to anyone else.  By this simple act, Jesus saved us from a great deal of poor theology.

It is fitting, however, that the act was performed not upon a man, nor even an animal (used in the Old Testament as a sacrifice), but a plant.  In his first coming, our Lord came to seek and save the lost, and it is his Father's will that none should perish.

The disciples' faith

Jesus is proceeding to his death.  It is important for the disciples to know that he has the power to crush those who would crucify him.  It is also important that they know he is capable of the willpower to crush and destroy such evil.  Knowing this, no other conclusion is possible:  Jesus went to the Cross willingly, in order to make atonement for our sins.

Symbolism

Perhaps the most significant way to see this is symbolically.  Jeremiah made the fig the symbol of the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 24).  We know that Adam and Eve made coverings of fig leaves to hide their sin.  So if we see the fig tree as the nation of Israel, and the leaves as covering for sin—we should expect to see figs, the fruit of the tree.  Fruit is often used by Jesus as a metaphor for righteousness.  Jesus is telling the disciples that the nation of Israel will soon be withered and gone, for it failed to produce righteous fruit.

Know this, then:  our Lord wants all to repent and be saved.  But if we will not, he has both the power and will to destroy.  He is patient for a time, waiting for us to repent.  But his patience will end.  Will we show the fruit of righteousness by then?

August 16

House of Prayer

Luk_19:45-48

One of the chief tactics of Satan is to attempt to deny the church either space or time in our lives.  From those who insist that a church building would ruin the neighborhood (think of the evil influence it would have on the sales of the nearby adult book store) to those who know the best time to schedule an event is on Sunday (too much competition on Saturday), the world knows it must deprive the Christian of time and place to worship.  Satan's objective is to see that you have no place to be with other Christians, and no time to spend with God alone.

We see an earlier version of this here.  In all the planet there is one spot—and not all that large—where God has placed his Name.  In that spot we find (for the second time in Christ's ministry):

The merchants of religion are working happily—selling "approved" sacrificial animals, changing common money into sacred money.  It's quite profitable, and look how convenient it is!  Right there in the Temple;  one stop shopping.

Indeed, the Temple itself has broad plazas.  Traffic is thick in old Jerusalem, and this is a convenient shortcut.

They, like so many of us, had forgotten the simple meaning of the phrase, "house of God."  It  means simply that the Temple is God's own possession, and subject to his command.  You can no more lead your donkey cart through it than you could through my house.

Time moves on.  Paul tells us that we are God's temple (1 Corinthians 3:16).  So it seems fitting to ask if we, as the temple of God, are suffering from the same conditions:

Is our religion for sale?  We usually think of this in terms of a money-grubbing TV evangelist, but it applies to all of us.  Do you give up the command of Christ to make a buck?

Is your temple a shortcut for earthly desires?  If the church is nothing but a good place to meet girls, or to make business contacts, then you're leading that donkey through God's house.

Be warned:   If you do not make him the sacred center of your life, you are risking the scourge of Christ.  He will come to you and drive out all that does not belong.  How much better that you should examine yourself, and throw out what does not belong in your temple!  Then when your Lord returns, he will come to his temple and, finding it in order, praise the one who kept it that way.

August 17

We Would See Jesus

Joh_12:20-26

It is one of the curiosities of the New Testament.  We don't know who these Greeks were;  we're not even sure if the answer given here was actually delivered to them.  They are standing just outside the Temple in the Court of the Gentiles—as far as a non-Jew could go.  Jesus is most likely teaching in the next court, the Court of Women.  So these Greeks catch a disciple with a Greek name (Philip) and ask for an interview.

The traditional history of the church tells us that these men were ambassadors from the king of Edessa, bearing an invitation to Jesus to visit that country.  (Edessa was in what is now eastern Turkey).  If so, Jesus declines their invitation in a magnificent way.  In doing this, he lays out three principles for us:

Sacrifice for God brings great fruit.  Christians often ask why they have to sacrifice.  After all, God doesn't really need whatever it is we are offering, right?  But our Lord makes it clear that God takes that sacrifice and multiplies it.  As a father will push a child in a swing, so our Father pushes us to greater heights.  He's just waiting for us to get started.

Sacrifice to God brings honor.  We understand this from our earthly experiences.  We honor those who sacrifice for the good of others.  We award medals to soldiers who sacrifice.  Is it so surprising then that God honors those who sacrifice on his behalf?

There are no half-way Christians.  The temptation for those facing sacrifice is to do the job half-way, keeping back a portion for personal pleasure.  Our Lord draws us a picture here:  can you plant the grain of wheat half-way into the ground?  If you do, it is neither fit to eat nor will it grow.

There is an old saying:  you cannot jump the canyon in two leaps.  The Christian life is just that:  a leap across the canyon of this life into the table land of heaven.  Some of us have a wide canyon to leap;  others are fortunate enough to have a narrow one.  But all of us must leap it in one bound.  If you do not commit your all—heart, soul, mind and strength—to your Lord, it is not worth the time and trouble to commit anything.  He will accept nothing less than all of you.  In return, you will receive all of Him.  His love, His life, His grace—all these are yours when you commit yourself entirely to him.  But do not be timid about it.  You don't want to change your mind half-way across the canyon.

August 18

Troubled Soul

Joh_12:27-33

It is exceedingly comforting to see that Christ was troubled in his soul.  It tells us that he is completely human as well as completely divine, and therefore understands the agony of pain foreseen.  It is easier to talk to someone who knows your pain.

We see here the true nature of courage:  Christ is well aware of what is to happen, and he is (naturally) quite distressed by it.  He is also quite determined to go through with it.  Indeed, the voice from heaven is not for his comfort but for the disciples.  In this he makes three statements:

He tells us that judgment is on this world.  At first this seems strange, for we know that judgment is to be made at the last day, when he returns.  But the matter is simple.  We know how difficult it is to be the accuser when your own hands are dirty.  For this reason we have the state render justice to our criminals.  If we had the victims try this, we would have revenge, not justice.

Now the man of clean hands is to be sacrificed, and now there is true judgment.
He tells us that the prince of this world—Satan—is driven out.  This too seems curious, but think of this:  for the next 18 centuries or more, any new religion which arose (including Islam) was essentially a heresy of Christianity or a "new revelation" which was added to it.  No one suddenly discovered the gods of the rocks and trees again.  Idol worship is cut off at its roots and has lost its power.

He tells us that he will draw all men to him—if he is lifted up.  By "lifted up"
he means the Cross, the Resurrection and the Ascension.  These things show him to be God, and bring to us the atonement of God.  Anyone can find a local god to promise earthly blessings, but salvation from sin and eternal life are found only here, and they attract men powerfully.

Christ says this, evidently, in the presence of those Greeks who wanted to see him.  This is a way of proclaiming the fact that the Gospel will reach far beyond Israel into the whole world.  The Greeks represent the world outside Israel, knocking on the door to see this one who raises the dead.

How can we obtain such seekers after Christ in our day?  In the same way:  by lifting him up.  We need to proclaim him, and in particular to proclaim his death and resurrection.  If he is lifted up, he will draw all men to himself.

August 19

Walk in the Light

Joh_12:34-36

Most of us have had the dilemma at one time or another.  We see a dear friend, or relation, making a serious mistake in their life choices—and somehow we just can't find the words to tell them what an error it is.  Perhaps it's a friend, going into a marriage that you know will be a disaster.  One of the most frustrating things about the situation is that you have so little time to persuade that friend to think again.  You feel like shaking them and yelling, "Wake UP!"  But you know that will do more harm than good.

You feel obliged, however, to at least say some things that will be grounds for, "I told you so."  So perhaps you make some cryptic remarks, or ambiguous statements.  You're saying, "He's a very handsome man," and thinking "and a first class rat."  You hope your friend catches on;  it seems they never do.

Jesus has something of the same problem here.  The crowd has their idea of a Messiah—an earthly king who will throw out the Romans and rule the world.  He sees them not willing to change, and having so little time—less than a week is left before the Crucifixion.  So he gives them this answer.

In doing so, he shows us another frustration for Christians.  Some of the passages in the Bible make perfect sense to the Christian—and no sense at all to the world.  This might be one of them.  But in this passage Jesus gives us the key to understanding such passages:  faith and obedience.

We understand this principle in a worldly way.  Have you ever been involved in a discussion, related to your own special field of employment, when someone from "outside" starts asking questions?  You know that anyone in your field would understand what you said, but it can be difficult to explain to outsiders.  (Computer people have this all the time).  Unless you have experience, you don't understand.

The way a Christian obtains experience is to "walk in the light" - to trust in Jesus and obey his commands.  When you do, you become "children" of the light.  That means you begin to understand what would have puzzled someone outside.

But — as Jesus points out—you have that light only for a short time.  While He was with us, He was the light.  Now we are the light of the world.  But for those outside, the time is short.  We need to do everything we can to persuade them to become children of the light—before the darkness comes at Judgment Day.

August 20

Riding the Fence

Joh_12:37-43

The business world has a phrase for it:  "what goes around, comes around."  By this we mean that by whatever methods you deal with the world, you will suffer the consequences, good or bad.  If you are a kind and generous person, you will discover that the world is kind and generous.  If you are stingy and rude, the world is full of nasty people who are tight with their money.  My father worked in the movie business for many years.  The motto there, often given to would-be stars, was:  "Be nice to the little people on the way up.  They'll be nice to you on the way down."

But what happens if you've been living your life in the stingy and rude way—and then something comes along to tell you that you've been doing it wrong?  God arranges his universe that way, you know.  He wills that all should repent;  so he made his universe such that the ordinary, natural consequences of sin should tend to produce repentance.  The question is, how do we react to those consequences?

Those who made up the crowd here reacted by sitting on the fence.  "Maybe this Jesus is right;  but on the other hand, if I say so, I'll be thrown out."  So they tried to have it both ways.  We often want to do repentance half way.

The Bible here gives the answer to that.  Consider the example of Isaiah:

He saw—and what a sight! He saw the glory of the Lord, a scene in heaven itself.
It was a scene of majesty and power, of awesome holiness and righteousness.  His reaction?

He spoke—the true words of repentance.  He recognized immediately that no half-way measures would do;  in fact, he thought this was his death.  But by acknowledging his sin, and the sin of his people, God allowed him to be purged and his sin atoned for.

That experience—with the revelations given to him—made him write the words quoted here.  Looking into the future he saw this generation, and knew their heart-problem.  He knew that all God had to do to secure an appropriate punishment for their evils was to let them go on being what they were.

But see how God brings good out of evil!  Out of their failure to see and hear came the spread of the Gospel to all nations.  This too is part of how God constructed his universe.  Both the consequences of sin and the triumph of good are the will of God.