Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 27

Friday, Day 27                                  

Reading for today:
Mark 12:41-44
Luke 21:1-4

What a contrast from what we read yesterday. Yesterday Jesus excoriated the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, telling us how they put on a show of being religious but devour widow’s houses....

And today he gives us a glimpse into giving all. Only he would have known that what the widow gave was all she had. The lesson in this isn’t about disparaging what the wealthy gave – but the contrast. In reality, if all she had left was a fraction of a penny, she wasn’t going to live long on that anyway –  but what this gift reflects is an attitude and a model for us. Truly all we have is the Lord’s – a gift from His hand. We are stewards. Our resources –  whatever they are – are to be at His disposal – or else we make them our security and our god. It is ‘living on the edge’ when we submit all to Him.

We are saved by grace – but we are saved to do good works. True religion helps orphans and widows in their distress. True religion heals wounds and binds up the broken-hearted. True religion feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. Love is not a suggestion.  It is a command.  Love is an action verb. Love responds to God’s call – whether it is to go or to give. That’s why I prefer Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 over Matthew’s quote in Matthew 22:37, as he leaves out the last component. Both Mark and Luke challenge us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. The strength part is the action. All the others are internal.

In my 38 years as a Presbyterian, one of the many things I loved was the charge given to us as we were commissioned each year to serve in our various capacities. Our charge and resulting promise was ‘to serve with energy, imagination, intelligence and love.’ It was a wonderful annual reminder that we were about the Father’s business, whatever area we were serving in. 

Jesus was doing precisely that. He is walking toward the cross – and beyond that toward Resurrection – but the reality of what he will have to endure is on his mind. Giving all is on his mind. He could have focused on the reality that if the widow gave her all she would be going home to die. He didn’t. He focused on the gift. The same is true for Him. He could have focused on his death. He didn’t. He focused on the gift and on Easter morning – His story didn’t end with death, but with resurrection.... Ahhhhh...I keep getting ahead of the story.

Humor for today:
The company’s boss was complaining in a staff meeting that he wasn’t being shown proper respect. Later that morning he went to a local sign shop and bought a small sign that read “I’m the boss!” He took it back to his office and taped it to his office door.

Later, when he returned from lunch, he found a note taped to his sign. It stated, “Your wife called. She wants her sign back.”

Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 26

Thursday, Day 26                                           

Reading for today:
Matthew 23:1-39
Mark 12:38-40
Luke 20:45-47

The statements from Mark and Luke are concise – and practically identical. They do the ‘Cliff’s notes’ version – but Matthew was there. His story was not passed down. It is worth paying attention to the reality that John was also a dedicated disciple – and he doesn’t record this indictment at all.... It is also notable to me that some manuscripts of ‘original texts’ from Matthew include the majority of the statement made by Mark and Luke – but it is not printed in Matthew as text, just as a footnote.

What is clear is that those who make a show of their ‘religion’ but don’t demonstrate a right relationship with God by the way they treat others will be judged severely.

This is a ‘house-cleaning’ chapter in Matthew. Remember who he was before Jesus redeemed him – a tax collector. His former profession linked him to two worlds, and I believe it is for that reason he takes to heart all of the woes declared to the Pharisees and teachers of the law and carefully records them. It is a bit of the ‘but for the grace of God, there go I....’

It is a hard chapter to read when I think of it in personal terms. I would be crushed to hear these words, but Jesus only has a short time left on earth – and He is trying to get through to these ‘leaders’ who are pursuing Him trying to find something to kill Him for. In reality, the only people Jesus was ever hard on were ‘spiritual leaders’ who were religious phonies. These were men who professed to stand up for the teachings of the Torah – and for the laws passed down through oral tradition.  Lots of laws.  They taught ethics – but didn’t practice them, obviously. Their walk and their talk didn’t line up. Jesus calls them out...not their followers, but them, personally. He was able to do that because He could look into their hearts.

They are beautiful china cups on the outside – and full of sludge and grime on the inside. They are the ones who ‘speak for God’ to their generation –  and they are whitewashed caskets – clean-looking on the outside, and dead inside. They do not represent God well. In fact, they don’t represent God at all. Jesus words to them are brutal.

Jesus can say that. As I said, He looks at their hearts – and He looks at ours. What does He see? It’s all about what is on the inside – not what people see on the outside.

I am wounded by the cruelty expressed by some who claim to be followers of Jesus. When I saw a report on television of people holding placards who were declaring to grieving families that the deaths of their sons in the war was God’s judgment I was appalled. Jesus would never have done that.

I’ve been approached by people carrying placards near the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  I’ve been informed I was going to hell for celebrating 'Easter' (instead of always calling it Resurrection).  These radicals’ behavior discolors all of Christianity for those on the outside.  They come across as angry. I don’t want to reflect the same trait in my interactions.

We are told to speak the truth in love. I Corinthians 13 tells us what love is. Love would lead us to pray for those who despitefully use us. Sometimes love must also speak up – but love is not spoken through castigations on a megaphone or bullhorn.

If we want to assess if the Spirit of God is in someone’s life, we only have to remember the list of what will be portrayed. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience (longsuffering/forbearance), goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. I find that is enough challenge for me to work on in my own life...and I believe our lives speak a lot more loudly than words.

So, since I am sensitive today for the Body of Christ  – the church which meets in buildings that we also refer to as ‘church’ – I will just say: I am glad to be part of a body of believers – a segment of the church universal – who call ourselves Christian (Christ-ones) and who sincerely try to honor God by living intentionally for Him in community. A church that knows it is people who are the church – even though the structure has been gifted with the same name. A church that has a ministry that reaches out locally, and reaches out around the world globally. A church that is comprised of people who love and serve the Lord, who make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ. Some plant. Some water. Some harvest.

The reality is, I am out of my comfort zone often in the body of believers I worship with – but that’s O K. Someone asked me recently what I like about my church, and my reply was “That they offer HOPE along with help.” That hope is extended both locally and long distance. It is a clear hope in the reality of a Savior who cares.

Some in the body are further on the path toward becoming whole and healthy; some are broken and being restored; but the Word of God is proclaimed, lives are touched.   Some are healed physically; many are healed emotionally and spiritually; the Holy Spirit’s presence is evident. They (We) are by no means perfect – but what I see is a lot of love poured out: nurturing, caring for, reaching out. Some are called to ‘go’ and some are called to support them – but we are all called to be His light to our hurting neighborhoods and a hurting world, and our faithfulness in responding to Jesus’ commandment to serve touches others’ lives.

No one lives to himself. When one part of the body hurts we all hurt. Those going through a horrible battle with cancer touch my life in their commitment and faithfulness to the Lord in the face of extreme challenge.

Those who give up ‘normal’ life and go to foreign mission fields touch my life with their ‘sold-out’ commitment. Those who stay when they’d rather go because that is what God directed them to do touch my life. Those who take food to someone who needs it touch my life. Those who serve in the food bank touch my life. Those who serve the children, or keep the bathrooms clean, or type the weekly bulletin touch my life. We all have a part in the body wherever that body meets when it meets in Spirit and in Truth. God’s body is huge – and universal – and there are many parts.

I hate to hear about one part of the body pouring lye on another part. It is ultimately self-destructive. There is so much hurt in the world to address. We are called to minister to the hurting, not hurt the helping. And – we don’t have God’s ability to look on the heart, so we have to be very, very careful about trying to step into His very capable shoes.

There is a little song I learned as a child that says: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with Mr. In-between.” Positive encouragement. Positive reinforcement. And being very, very careful about trying to be someone’s Holy Spirit.... When He does ask me to speak, it is done with fear and trembling...and very personally.

I love Jesus’ compassion portrayed from His heart after all he said. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing....” Just like a mother hen who will sacrifice her life for her chicks, sheltering them under her body to protect them from fire, soon He will demonstrate His love in the most palpable way. His analogy using a mother hen as his example is not lost on me.

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Already Jesus is foretelling his Second Coming!

Lord, come into our hearts in such a way that our segue to eternity will be seamless. Lord, there is so much to be done to turn men’s hearts to you. Help me be faithful in my part of Your story. Help me to do to/for others what I would like to have done to/for me, to faithfully follow Your leading and be obedient to Your call on my life. Thank you for Your amazing love and grace.  Amen

Humor for today:
A Sunday School teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would grasp the drama. Then she asked the class, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?”

One little girl finally broke the hushed silence. “I think I’d throw up.”

Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 25

Wednesday, Day 25                                  

Reading for today:
Matthew 22:41-46
Mark 12:35-37
Luke 20:41-44

Today’s passages are a reminder for me that the Gospels were first translated to Greek – then to English – and that those who translated these passages relied heavily on the Greek. At least that is the assumption I draw from their use of the reference to the promised Messiah as ‘Christ.’ Christos was the Greek word. I don’t understand why the word used is not Messiah – or Meshiach....  It’s a triviality – but Jesus was talking to Jews. Jews who knew that Messiah was to come...so logically, I presume His actual question referenced Messiah by the name they would identify with....

In this passage, He doesn’t state His claim to the title, He just asks them whose Son the Messiah (the Christ) is. They are Scholars of the Pentateuch and the writings of the prophets from the written ‘scriptures’ – what we now refer to as ‘The Old Testament.’ There is no hesitation in their response. Messiah is the Son of David.  In other words, the promised Messiah will come from David’s line.

Then Jesus asks them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord.’ ”

He challenges them to think deeper than they have ever thought. They are stymied. He is setting the stage. Very soon He will live out the reality of being Messiah.

He is also providing future readers a reminder. We already know from His prior questions to Peter: “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” that Yeshua/ Iesous/ Yesu/ Isa/ Jesus (by whatever name we know Him) is the Messiah/ Christos/ the Christ – the promised One. We know He is God/ YHWH/ Jehovah incarnate. The Great I Am; the One who was and is and is to come; LORD, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and The End. In this age of Grace I take Him too much for granted. He, the LORD of Glory, allows us to come to Him as Abba – Daddy.

He leads me into Truth – His Truth – and His Truth is revealed most clearly with His incarnation – His being willing to come into the world He created to redeem what was lost through the separation that occurred in the garden, when ‘man’ decided to take matters into his own hands instead of being obedient to God’s one restriction – and we’ve fought God ever since with defiance and independence – a self sufficiency that says, “I can handle things on my own;” or even more insidiously, “I have a better way.”

That ‘better way’ claimed by many has led to the creation of most of the false religions that have come into being since His time of living on earth. To be a religion of Truth, it must teach that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life – the only way to God; and that Jesus was God incarnate  – ‘in the flesh’. All other religions are false – and the greatest ‘lies’ are the ones with the most truth mixed in. Satan is a liar, and he appears as an angel of light. He doesn’t care what people believe – as long as they don’t believe the Truth and the One who is Truth. Jesus is the complete representation of God. God Himself took on the form of man, and dwelled among us. Jesus was fully God and fully human. He was everything He claimed to be.

Many people – including false religions – will say that Jesus was a good man, or a prophet – but no more than that. Good men do not base the premise of their entire existence on a lie – and if Jesus was not who He professed to be, then He was the greatest liar of all time. It hurts to even write that – because HE IS TRUTH. It is Lucifer, the one who was created as a beautiful angel of God’s making, who defied God, and became the Great Deceiver – the ultimate Liar and Father of Lies. What a horrible title.

Lucifer/ Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He wants God’s place. He will tolerate Atheism, but what he wants is worship – and one way he gets that worship is through false religions that do not place Jesus in His rightful place. It breaks my heart to see that deception  – yet, I will confess, I am not brave enough about sharing my faith, and sharing the Truth. I am far too aware of ‘offending someone’ or having them reject me along with the message, I suppose. Why else would I not tell those I love that Jesus loves them – and that He is the only Way to God?

We just recently had Missions week at church. Listening to the missionaries was a poignant reminder that there are people throughout the world that know accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior is a death sentence in the societies in which they live. Yet – when He is introduced to them, many hear the Truth and accept Him, knowing they will die for their faith. In reality, they probably would have been willing to die for the religion they left as well, so now that they know Truth, they recognize it as something truly worth dying for.

We live in such a different world in America. We don’t have a clue what it is like to truly be persecuted. I pray we never have to find out – but I also know I need to be more faithful to pray for the persecuted church.

Very soon in our journey Jesus will pay the price to become Redeemer. And He wants to be our Lord – but we are the only ones who can give Him that place in our lives.

Humor for today:
A Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Johnny interrupted, “My Mommy looked back once when she was driving, and she turned into a telephone pole.”