Redirect Our Perspective
Father, we are in the midst of winter – cold and blustery. We may (or may not) get a good snow tonight but we are blessed with a toasty home around us and the warmth of Your abiding presence within us. What contentment there is in You!
Luke 6:35-36 (<<click to read the passage)
We get what we deserve, right? At least those who perpetrate evil deeds should get their just deserts. Pedophiles, rapists, murderers, those who “punish” their own children by starving them and caging them until they are the point of death – they all fall into the abysmal pot of the detestable refuse of life! …don’t they?
Our society today seems to fall heavily on that side of thought. Incarceration is too good for many of them. Many Regular Joe’s would be crying “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!”
That is from the Bible, you know. It is found in the Law given to the Israelites by God through their leader Moses. Exodus 21:23-25 reads,
“…the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.”
I wrote about this a little over two years ago (see REVENGE!) but to cap that post, this law was not meant to give us free rein to punish the guilty – in actuality, it was included in the Law to place limits on those who would seek to vent their anger on those responsible for suffering and pain.
I couldn’t leave the passage that I’ve been looking at now for a couple of days without addressing verses 35 and 36. We are called to act “as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.” Verse 36 in the Amplified Bible reads,
“Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.”
Merciful… Responsive… Compassionate… Tender…
Hmmm… it just doesn’t seem fair, does it? What about all the heinous acts committed against innocent victims?
Let’s redirect our perspective. How about us? Is there anyone who is not guilty? If others had access to our closets, how many skeletons would they find tucked away in the corners?
Let’s redirect our perspective once more. If we, in faith, have confessed our sins to our Heavenly Father, how does He see them? His response? “What sins?”
Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:9 (AMP)
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103:10-14 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, may we seek Your heart of compassion. May we realize that sin is sin and that we are all guilty. May we extend the mercy that is graciously extended to one and all by You. Strengthen us, O Lord.
Feb 12th, 2020, Wed, 12:33 pm
In the World Not of the World
Father, You are my God. You are my all in all. I am because You are. And thanks to You I am complete, no longer lost, no longer searching for what life is all about. Praise Your Holy Name!
Luke 6:32-36 (<<click to read the passage)
I find the idea of parallel universes intriguing and its concept, though viewed as pure science fiction to many, is held to be at least a possible reality by some in the scientific community (see The Case for Parallel Universes, from Scientific American, July 19, 2011).
First of all, for all of you non-nerdy types, a parallel universe is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one’s own. Or in even more simplistic terms, we have our world, but some believe that is another world (or several worlds) that exists (usually with some variation) alongside ours though we cannot see it.
Yes, it’s out there (but it does make for some entertaining movies and television shows!) But before I lose you entirely, I want to make the proclamation that believers in Jesus do live in an alternate universe!
Each day those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus wake up and realize that we are just sojourners passing through this world. We live here. We work here. We love here. We eventually die here.
But truly, we are not of this world. Our citizenship is in God’s kingdom. If we are seeking to follow and love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength then the things of this world are not enough.
Loving only those who love you? That’s not enough. That’s what the world does.
Doing good only to those who do good to you? That’s not enough. That’s what the world does.
Lending money only to those who can repay you? That’s not enough. That’s what the world does.
Jesus calls us to walk in the way He has walked before us – a parallel universe, if you will. In the world but not of it.
Shortly before His arrest prior to the crucifixion, Jesus prayed for us. Here are His words. (These are a few excerpts but read the whole 17th chapter!)
“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.”
“I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.”
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. John 17:9, 14-16, 17-19
What the world does is not enough but the kingdom of which we are citizens places us with the citizens of this world so we can show them the true and right way.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:35-36
Lord Jesus, may we be as You in word and deed. Amen.
Feb 11th, 2020, Tues, 12:42 pm
Division Eradicated
Due to several contributing factors, this day has been a bit of a downer (except lunch with Karen!). But Father, You are the even keel in times of turbulent seas. Karen and I can share and encourage one another but You are the only one that can actually do something about it! And even if it is Your will for us to go through those kinds of things, You are a sure foundation upon which to stand when everything else is shaking us up!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Lord Jesus, I am finding great reward in the new vein of sermon preparation that I have been undertaking the last few months. I don’t know about other bi-vocational pastors but for me I have found it easiest to work through other preachers’ sermons, making them my own. I’ve had about three pastors from whom I have found great treasures to share and I always give them credit for their work.
But recently, I have gotten my core from my denomination’s Discipleship Ministry’s website. It provides me with just enough of a base that I can run with it from there. I’ve been striving to write my own sermons but with working and with posting this blog five times a week, it’s not an easy task.
We have been working through 1 Corinthians and after reading through this Sunday’s foundational core I sat down to write this afternoon and my mind just sort of began whipping all my thoughts together.
The Corinthian church was a church divided and the Apostle Paul’s letters to them were aimed at helping them to regain their focus. And that focus was Jesus – not Paul, or Peter or Apollos. They were all great men of faith and God surely used them in a mighty way to impact the infant Church. But not one of them placed themselves above their Lord and Savior but humbly bowed at His feet in submissive service.
No matter where you look, our world is a world divided – homes, families, places of employment, governments, and sadly the church continues to be a part of the mix, as well. I guess if you think about it, even the very first brothers – Cain and Able – were divided. Able did what God wanted, and Cain did what Cain wanted – division. It is what sin does. Sin divides.
“In the beginning” (Genesis 1), Adam and Eve had a beautiful union with God. But when given the opportunity, they allowed sin to enter the picture and in doing so they put a division between God and us, one which we could not overcome.
But God knew what we would do before we were even created (Ephesians 1:4) and He laid the groundwork to redeem us, though it would cost Him dearly. And now we can have that division eradicated for eternity if we will but come to Him.
Lord Jesus, in my heart of hearts I know that You, and no other, can heal the division which we have between us – between us and You and between us and others. There is hope and healing only in submission to You. And Lord, You don’t want us corralling this in just a couple areas of our lives. You want us to diligently seek to eliminate division from every aspect of our lives.
Lord, use me as a catalyst for change, in my home, at my job, in my church…throughout my life. In Your strength and wisdom may I be used to bridge the many divisions. Only then will peace – true peace – abide. Amen.
Feb 10th, 2020, Mon, 12:32 pm
Best Response for Enemies!
Father, thank You for Your influence upon today’s sermon. I knew You were with me as it came together, and I could tell by the looks on faces that You were speaking to people in our services. May Your word bear much fruit! Amen.
Luke 6:27-31(<<click to read the passage)
I tell you; I have some of the most heinous crimes committed on my bus. And it may surprise you, but they occur on my elementary route!
Several times a week I will have students come up, usually kindergarteners or first graders, and tell me that – brace yourselves! – “So-n-so is looking at me!” I’m sorry, I hope that wasn’t too upsetting for you! Or maybe they were called a name – and we’re not talking anything gross or degrading or inappropriate. They might be called “silly” or even “cute”. I had one kindergartener at the beginning of the year – and I can’t remember the harmless and somewhat complementary name that was used – but she was put out and told me several times about it!
Now, many we see these interactions as cute and funny but for some of the students, It can be pretty traumatic! Many are still navigating the pathways of social interaction – what is appropriate and what is not. You can tell that some have certain boundaries that are adhered to in their home settings – and they attempt to hold other children to the same boundaries usually without much success – and others have almost no boundaries whatsoever!
Of course, adults don’t have any issues, do they? Yeah, right!
In this passage from Luke’s Gospel Jesus is admonishing his listeners to do some pretty difficult things.
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- love your enemies
- Do good to those who hate you
- Bless those who curse you
- Pray for those who hurt you
- If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also
If I suggested these things to my kids, how do you think they would respond? Would they thank me for the opportunity to do so? Or would they look at me like I was crazy?
And, honestly, wouldn’t we respond the same way?
I have to admit, reading through those words for this first time as I sat down, my reaction to them was on the edge of saying, “Yeah, right!” And I can’t even tell you how many times I have read these words and heard these words and taught these words. But isn’t that the knee-jerk reaction to those kinds of things?
So, how do we even begin to tackle these assignments? For starters read through those verses from the Amplified Bible.
Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity].
Once again my Life Application Study Bible notes are spot on!
Jesus wasn’t talking about having affection for enemies; he was talking about an act of the will. You can’t “fall into” this kind of love – it takes conscious effort. Loving our enemies means acting in their best interests. We can pray for them, and we can think of ways to help them. Jesus loves the whole world, even though the world is in rebellion against God. Jesus asks us to follow his example by loving our enemies. Grant your enemies the same respect and rights as you desire for yourself.
Remember, if we are striving to be a citizen of God’s kingdom, it is upside down compared to the kingdom of the world. It may not be easy. If fact it may not do a bit of good, from a worldly perspective, to do what Jesus has commanded but…it might surprise us how it does impact others. And it will surely impact us.
How many situations in life would be diffused if we would turn the other cheek and love and bless and pray? Only God knows…but we can, too, if we will obey.
Feb 9th, 2020, Sun, 12:54 pm
Plant the Seed Deep
What a day, Father, not all that I thought it might be. Other things would have been best if they had not been. But amidst it all, You are the constant. Thank You for who You are.
Luke 6:24-26 (<<click to read the passage)
I occasionally post entire sections of Scripture when they speak louder than anything I could ever say. First of all, Hebrews 4:12 speaks very clearly in reference to Scripture – God’s word.
(One thing I will interject, we who have been around the church for a while have a very bad habit of seeing a passage of Scripture and realizing we are familiar with it, and then we just skim through it.
For those who fall into that category and for others who do not, I would challenge you to deliberately read through these passages. Don’t rush through them, read them slowly. Allow them to sink into your soul. Think of it as planting seed. In this case, we are not just talking about broadcasting seed willy-nilly here and there, but each seed needs to be firmly planted in responsive soil so that it will then germinate and grow and reproduce itself in our lives as God meant for it to.)
For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (AMP)
That is the impact that God’s word has upon us, especially when we allow it to impact us the way God wants it to.
Now, please, read today’s passage in the same manner.
But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you].
Woe to you who are well-fed (gorged, satiated) now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now [enjoying a life of self-indulgence], for you will mourn and weep [and deeply long for God].
Woe to you when all the people speak well of you and praise you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. Luke 6:24-26 (AMP)
Lord Jesus, I would think that at least some portion of what You said in this passage would hit its mark in the way we live our lives…and, honestly, it stings! May we take to heart the words we have read, and may our prayer be that they would be planted deep within our souls. May they grow and produce fruit in our lives as is Your intention. Amen.
Feb 6th, 2020, Thurs, 7:15 pm