Gone in the Blink of an Eye
Father, regardless of what is going on in the world around us, You remain the constant. I find great comfort in You being the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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This past Monday, early on my high school/middle school route I turned onto a road in the semi-darkness and not two hundred yards ahead a deer crossed the road. When he saw me, he stopped perpendicular to the bus, standing stoically near the left shoulder right in the crosshairs of my high beams. The beautiful 8-point buck looked squarely at me for a few seconds and then turned and continued on his trek into the woods.
The above picture is not mine – I found it online. It would have been cool if I could have gotten a picture but one, we’re not allowed to have our phones out on the bus and two even if we were, I wouldn’t have had time to get it out and open my camera app to take a picture.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve taken pictures of abandoned homes, beautiful spring flowers, and magnificent autumn trees. But there was no way I could go back and snap a shot of that buck. It was a random interaction that will probably never happen again in that spot, in that way. Indeed, it was a fleeting opportunity…there at one moment and irretrievably gone the next.
How often in our lives do we encounter unexpected opportunities? At times we have the privilege of acting upon them and other times the openings for interaction quickly present themselves and are gone in the blink of an eye.
Reading through the Gospels, we see that Jesus never missed opportunities like that. He acted quickly…and things were never the same when He did so. I understand that in addition to being totally man, He was also totally God which gave Him foreknowledge of peoples and circumstances. But are not we all His children? Are we not to pursue with all that is within us to become more and more like Him each day of our lives?
Recently Karen and I visited a local Cracker Barrel. Shortly after we were seated an older gentleman was seated not too far from us. Earlier I had held the door for him to enter and then before we were seated, I noticed that employees had provided a chair for him while he waited for his table.
I leaned over and told Karen that if we weren’t in the middle of this whole COVID thing that we should’ve invited him to join us and she said she had thought the same thing.
The sad part is, I let it go at that. I could have slipped my mask back on and sat across from him and chatted before his food arrived…but I didn’t… Opportunity missed? Only God knows…
This past weekend we picked up a few things in Columbus. While we were loading them into the back of the van. A man, who was obviously in need, asked if we could help him out. Our reluctance was obvious, and he left muttering apologies if he had made us feel uncomfortable.
My mind raced to a sermon about comfort in mourning that I had delivered a couple of weeks back and I remembered someone close to us had given us some money to use where we saw fit to help those in need.
Karen and I quickly pooled some cash together and ran after the gentleman. After a short conversation, I slipped him the cash, and with a heartfelt “God bless you” and left him to go his way.
Don’t you think that to truly embrace Jesus’ love for us that it is of the greatest necessity that we love our neighbors, as we are reminded of His deep, deep love for us? Make the most of every opportunity for far too often the openings for interaction quickly present themselves and are gone in the blink of an eye. Amen.
“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV
“Give to everyone who asks you…” Luke 6:30a NIV
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36 NIV
Nov 11th, 2020, Wed, 1:10 pm
Divisiveness
Root canals are not how I prefer to spend my time between bus routes, but Father I am glad that even there I could call on Your name and know beyond any doubt that You were with me. Thank You for Your abiding presence.
Luke 20:20-26 (<<click here to read the passage)
A common point of discourse between myself and Karen is when I ask her a question with two possible options. “Would like to do A or B?” Quite often the response I get is a “Yes” or a “Sure” or pretty regularly a “Whatever you want.”
Of course, as we all know, those kinds of answers to that kind of question are not really answers. (I can see Karen now with a cheesy grin and a big ol’ “What?” expression on her face – haha)
You would think that a question asked with only two possibilities would garner you one of the two responses. But, obviously, that is not always the case….
Israel’s spiritual leaders sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Jesus in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him] v20 AMP
They had to portray Jesus in just the right light to ensure that their trap was properly set. So, they said,
“Teacher…we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” v21-22 NLT
A or B, right? They thought they had a fool-proof plan and were forcing Jesus’ hand to pick one…or the other. Either way, they had Him! If Jesus said they should pay taxes; they would call him a traitor to their nation and their religion. But if he said they should not they could report him to Rome as a rebel. *
As we have already established, they thought themselves wise, but they had no idea with Whom they were dealing!
He saw through their trickery and said, “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” v23-25 NLT
A or B? Yes.
There they stood with their mouths agape and verse 26 tells that,
They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent. AMP
In our world today we have bought heart, soul, and mind, into the “us against them” way of thinking. The Church – of which we are a part if we claim to follow Christ – often puts forth the slogan, in the world, but not of the world. I read an excellent article entitled, Let’s Revise the Popular Phrase “In, But Not Of” (click on the title to read it yourself).
But let me just say, every one of us is “in” this world. And because of that, we are responsible – no matter who you are or where you find yourself and truthfully it makes no difference what we think of our own talents and abilities – we are responsible to impact the world for Christ.
We pick sides all the time. There will always be those with whom we do not agree. But does that give us cause to shun them so that we are not “of” the world…at least the world that we define as right and just. I emphatically shout, “NO!”
Throughout my adult life, I have interacted with all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs. And I will tell you that I have never impacted anyone by getting in their face and telling them they are wrong. I also have never impacted one single person by turning my back on them because I don’t agree with their lifestyle or belief system. I’m not saying to not stand for what is right but, even if they push back and push back hard! – why can’t we love them?
Lord Jesus, help us to love others as You love us. May we seek to draw them to You, no matter how difficult the task, and not be all about pushing them away from You because they’re not good enough, and never will be. Help reality to dawn on us that we will never be good enough either…it is only because of You that we can be accepted by a pure and holy God. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 10th, 2020, Tue, 7:29 pm
Broken or Crushed…It’s Your Choice
We are so excited that Massey will be home soon! Thank You, Father, for seeing him through all he has pursued. You have opened so many doors and provided in so many ways! Praise Your Holy Name!
Luke 20:9-19 (<<click here to read the passage)
Many of Jesus’ parables communicated truths but contained general characters. But in this parable, it is pretty clear who the characters are. And even though they were not happy with their understanding, the religious leaders saw very clearly who the characters in the story were supposed to represent.
The owner of the vineyard is God;
….the vineyard is Israel;
….….the tenant farmers are the religious leaders;
….……..the servants are the prophets and priests God sent to Israel;
….….….….the son is the Messiah, Jesus…
In yesterday’s passage
They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” v2
In this passage they get their question answered in the guise of a parable. It also showed them that he knew about their plan to kill him.
In that succinct little story, Jesus had laid out a huge swath of Israel’s history. Time and again, God had laid claim to that which He had planted – the nation of Israel. Yet over and over again, leaders had refused to yield to His authority.
Notes from my study Bible* gave me some interesting things to chew on. In our human way of thinking is there any way to put a positive spin on the word “broken”? No matter the context – bones, hearts, toys, etc. – we would not choose to have something we value to be broken.
But when we speak of our relationship with God, brokenness is not just a good thing, but it becomes an essential thing.
God uses only people whose hearts, volition, and pride have been broken. Jesus gives a double warning: those who stumble over that stone – himself –“will be broken to pieces,” while it will crush anyone on whom it falls.
God offers a choice of “brokennesses” if you will. Those who cast themselves on Jesus, submitting their wills and all that they are to him, will be broken by him of arrogance, hard-heartedness, and self-centeredness. It is not a pleasant process but an absolutely necessary one. For those who do not submit to him, he will ultimately “fall on them,” an experience that can only be described as “crushing.” The choice is yours: broken before him, or crushed by him.*
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 9th, 2020, Mon, 7:56 pm
Turn the Tables
Table set manufactured by Wyrmwood Quality Gaming Supplies.
Father may my heart and mind remain focused on You. As I sit here to begin our time together, I would ask that You open Your word to me. May I be a vessel through which Your truth will spill forth. Amen.
Luke 20:1-8 (<<click here to read the passage)
You have probably heard the phrase “turn the tables” before. The Collins Dictionary, says that if you turn the tables on someone, you change the situation completely so that instead of them causing problems for you, you are causing problems for them.
But what are the origins of the phrase? Mentalfloss.com says, believe it or not, from board games!
Backgammon…belongs to a class of board games referred to as “tables,” a general name given to games played on a board with dice. If the game wasn’t going in your favor, you would have to “turn” them, figuratively, if you wanted to win. You can’t actually “turn the tables” in a game of backgammon, although that would be nice. The phrase is a metaphor, a substitute for the common idea of a “comeback,” because you would have to reverse the board/the players’ current positions/situations in order to change the outcome.
One thing we can give credit for the religious leaders of Jesus’ day is that they were persistent and consistent in trying to get Him to trip up by getting Him to say something or admit something that would incriminate Him. But Jesus, clearly knowing their hearts and minds, readily turned the tables on them over and over again.
This passage is but one example,
They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” v2
My study Bible* states,
This group of leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus, so they tried to trap him with their question. If Jesus would answer that his authority came from God – if he stated openly that he was the Messiah and the Son of God – they would accuse him of blasphemy and bring him to trial. Jesus did not let himself be caught. Instead, he turned the question on them. Thus, he exposed their motives and avoided their trap.
Jesus had no problem holding His ground in the attacks of the religious “know-it-alls”. They should have been smart enough to figure it out, but they refused to believe that He was Who people said He was. Honestly, I think deep down they knew He was the Messiah, but since He didn’t fit their preconceived notions, they fought it tooth and nail!
At least for those of us who follow Him, we know that God is in the middle of everything we are. There is never a time when He is not with us. It’s a little strange to say but we may know that is the case but often we don’t acknowledge that it is the case.
How often do we push ahead with our agenda, doing what we want with no input or influence from anyone else…especially God? We have preconceived notions, and no one is going to change our minds and we fight tooth and nail to get what we want.
We would be so much better off to yield our wills to Christ, if we would allow the tables to be turned on us and our preconceived notions, how much better off we would all be! Lord, open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to Your direction. Amen!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 8th, 2020, Sun, 7:14 pm
Den of Thieves, There?
What a day, Father! I am glad that You went through it with me. Nothing too crazy just enough crazy to shake my head some! What a blessing to have you by my side.
Luke 19:45-48 (<<click here to read the passage)
This may get me into trouble, but I think the story in today’s passage alludes to a potential problem that all of us in the church must be wary of. Quoting two different passages of Old Testament Scripture (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11), Jesus proclaimed,
“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” v46
Jesus drove out the people selling animals for sacrifices from the temple. From past sermons, I have learned that a big part of the problem was that things were rigged to benefit the buyers and not the worshippers. First, there were the money-changers – to buy anything one would have to exchange the money they had for money that would be accepted in the temple. Also, not every sacrifice brought by worshippers was “acceptable”, so if one wanted to offer a sacrifice, they would have to buy one that met the “requirements”. So that’s where the house of prayer became a den of thieves.
Now we no longer offer sacrifices in that Jesus paid the price for our sins once and for all! (Praise His Hoy Name!) But in every church, regardless of music style, regardless of if we abide by a structured order of worship or a very free Spirit-driven one – it makes no difference the components involved. I think that participants have to be wary of becoming thieves.
Don’t we all like getting strokes? We enjoy the praise of our fellow worshippers. Musicians and preachers, even those reading the Scripture or collecting the offerings, can be found guilty of stealing the praise, that only God deserves, for ourselves.
“Pastor, I think that was the best sermon on the Good Samaritan that I have ever heard!”
“Why thank you! I spent all week working on it and searched for just the right illustrations. It was tough but it did turn out pretty well, didn’t it?”
“Your solo today, took my breath away! I wish I could sing like that.”
“I appreciate that. Yeah, I’ve not had the first lesson, just natural talent, I guess. I’ve spent a lot of time for the past month getting it just right. Gotta smile, you know!”
Humility goes a long way and no matter how much time and effort we have put into whatever it is that we offer, all praise should go to the Provider and Sustainer of us all – our awesome Creator God!
Lord Jesus, it makes no difference what our talent may be, inside or outside the church, may we solely be a beacon for You. May our light shine brightly for all to see but may we never stand in the limelight but shine only for Your glory! Amen.
Nov 5th, 2020, Thurs, 4:33 pm