Upside-down Kingdom
Father, it is a wonderful feeling knowing that You are with me each day – lifting me up, encouraging me, enabling me to accomplish the tasks before, helping me to, in Your strength and love, to abide in You. Praise Your Holy Name!
Luke 6:20-23 (<<click to read the passage)
As believers in the salvation that is offered to us by Jesus, quite often our lives are a challenge to live out day by day. Though now that I have typed that out, the entirety of humanity struggles with that. The big difference, of course, is that those who follow Jesus are not going through those struggles alone – Jesus is by our side all the way!
Another difference is that those of us who struggle in God’s kingdom, truly are swimming against the tide of those whose allegiance is to the kingdom of this world.
One thing that we must grab hold of and hold close to our hearts is the proclamation Peter made in his epistle.
…you are a chosen people. You are [a royal priesthood] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. 1 Peter 2:9a (NLT)
We are sons and daughters of the King of glory! We will be victorious because our King was and is and will always be the Victor! And regardless of what the world’s kingdom says or does, without any doubt that will never…ever…change!
But for now…we strive to live out God’s call upon our lives in this sin-ridden world.
Something of which we must be aware is that God’s kingdom is diametrically opposed to the world’s kingdom. They are polar opposites of each other. What the world claims is right and worthy are at the other end of the spectrum from what we know is right and worthy in God’s eyes. In essence, we live in an upside-down kingdom!
Just reading through today’s passage it becomes clear. Things this world holds as undesirable are the goals of followers of Jesus.
Here are verses 20-23 from the Amplified Bible. I have separated them from each other and placed emphasis on important words. Take and moment and read slowly through the passage.
“Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].
Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied.
Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].
Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.
Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for their fathers used to treat the prophets in the same way.
Lord Jesus, may we embrace what it truly means to be a part of Your eternal kingdom in the here and now. Amen.
Feb 5th, 2020, Wed, 12:57 pm
He Is Not a Magician
Father, thank You for safe runs this morning, for an enjoyable lunch with my wife, and a productive day between my routes – answers to prayer!
Luke 6:17-19 (<<click to read the passage)
Reading through this passage I am trying to get a picture in my mind of what it would have been like to be with Jesus. The physical aspect of it alone makes me think of footage I have seen of Elvis Presley or the Beatles at the height of their fame being mobbed by their fans. I’m sure there were people pushing in from every side trying to see or touch Him. People trying to see would be pressing enough but literally the attempts to touch Him would have been crazy! He was one man. I think it would have been hard to breathe even!
It must have been wild, but would we have done any different? Think of all the people you know who are sick or dying. Wouldn’t we all do whatever it took to have them healed if we could do so?
Early on in the Gospels Jesus asked individuals not to share what He had done (most recently Luke 5:14) but to no avail. Word spread like wildfire! Here’s what my Life Application Study Bible has to say about Him being swarmed like He was here in today’s passage.
For many, he had become a magician or a symbol of good fortune. Instead of desiring God’s pardon and love, they only wanted physical healing or a chance to see spectacular events. Some people still see God as a cosmic magician and consider prayer as a way to get God to do his tricks. But God is not a magician – he is the Master. Prayer is not a way for us to control God; it is a way for us to put ourselves under his control
It makes you stop and think. God’s greatest desire is to have a relationship with each of us. Not just some overlord/servant kind of thing but a real, deep, loving, passionate, intimate, know-everything-about-each-other kind of relationship. And I for one am so grateful that He stays after us. He never gives up! …even when I fail Him. …even when I forget about Him.
Back in 1986, one of my favorite Christian artists, Larnelle Harris released this song. I think it’s fitting to close with it.
♪♫♪ I Miss My Time with You ♫♪♫
There he was just waiting,
in our old familiar place
an empty spot beside him,
where once I used to wait
to be filled with strength and wisdom
for the battles of the day
I would have passed him by again
but I clearly heard him say
(chorus)
I miss my time with you
those moments together
I need to be with you each day
and it hurts me when you say
you’re too busy
busy trying to serve me
but how can you serve me
when your spirit’s empty
there’s a longing in my heart
wanting more than just a part of you
it’s true
I miss my time with you
What will I have to offer
how can I truly care?
my efforts have no meaning
when your presence isn’t there
but you’ll provide the power
if I take time to pray
I’ll stay right here beside you
and you will never have to say.
(chorus repeats)
Feb 4th, 2020, Tues, 1:09 pm
His Team
As I am been preparing for Sunday, Father, my text speaks of a wisdom that is not of this world but is of the Spirit. May my heart and mind be attuned to that wisdom. Use me as a vessel for Your work. Amen.
Luke 6:12-16 (<<click to read the passage)
I am not into sports all that much but my wife’s family? They are into sports! My father-in-law played the major three in school – football, then basketball, then baseball. Her brother followed suit – even playing football in college. Karen played volleyball herself. My son, Massey, enjoyed playing football from when he was little all the way through high school.
In the last year or so a cousin’s daughter and a niece, one in volleyball and one in basketball, have found themselves in challenging situations. They both excelled in their field and pushed and trained and practiced, and either their teammates just didn’t have the skill and ability they did or the rest of the team just wasn’t that interested in investing any time in developing the team – they didn’t practice and played half-heartedly.
I’m not well-versed on a lot of the technical rules and whatnot but one thing I do know is that it takes a whole complement of players to make a team. You can’t have a good football team without a talented quarterback. But the quarterback, no matter how good he is, can’t do what he needs to do unless his offensive line can protect him from the defensive line of the opposing team.
The men that Jesus appointed apostles made up His team. It was a mix of personalities and abilities, but He chose them all because of what they could bring to the table.
1 Corinthians 12 is a wonderful, Spirit-inspired passage from the heart of the Apostle Paul.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ…we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. … If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. … The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (verses 12-15, 17, 18, 21, 26,27 NLT)
Today we all make up Jesus’ body – His team. We are all different. We all contribute different things. But each of us is valuable and when we don’t do our part the team doesn’t function as well as it could.
Feb 3rd, 2020, Mon, 1:02 pm
Triple Dog Dare!
Father, what an awesome weekend! A wonderful time of learning and inspiration with friends at a conference on Saturday. Then today, we were blessed with Your presence in our times of worship. May I clearly hear Your voice as we come together tonight. Amen.
Luke 6:6-11 (<<click to read the passage)
This may shock some, but I have never watched the 1983 classic movie A Christmas Story. I’m familiar with a lot of things associated with it, such as the desire for a Red Ryder air rifle, the infamous leg lamp, and Ralphie’s pink bunny suit. But, surprisingly enough, one scene that I remember popped into my head as I read today’s passage. First, the scene.
Ralphie and crew are on the school playground in the dead of winter. Two of the boys, Flick and Schwartz argue over what would happen should someone stick their tongue to the frozen flagpole. Flick says it won’t stick and Schwartz says it will. Then comes their bantering back and forth, as boys will do, of one daring the other. It starts off with a double dog dare, then would normally progress to a triple dare, but instead, Schwartz jumps right to the “coup de grace of all dares” – the triple dog dare! Flick, being the boy he is, has to comply and, of course, gets his tongue firmly frozen to the pole!
Back to our passage, verses 6-7 read,
On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. (NLT)
And there we have the triple dog dare! If Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, He would be in their clutches and boy would He pay!
But Jesus was one step ahead of them, knowing their thoughts and quickly turned the tables on them. He had the man step forward then asked,
“Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” v.9
Now, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were the ones in trouble! I love how the New Living Translation puts the next sentence.
He [Jesus] looked around at them one by one… (emphasis mine)
Talk about squirming! There was nowhere to run – they were stuck! Jesus went on to heal the man right before their very eyes! And boy, they were ticked! But…there wasn’t a single thing they could do about it!
We may think we are smart, but we cannot play games with God. He knows our every thought. He knows our motives. Many in this world today thumb their nose at God, in essence, sayings, “I’ll just do what I want and what are You going to do about it, huh?”
God grants us our free will but, believe you me, there will come a time when we will stand before Him and we will answer to Him and Him alone. We will have to answer for our actions. We will be responsible for the choices we have made. And payment will be due.
Will we be able to lay claim to the payment Jesus made for us in the giving of His life for us? Or will the penalty of eternal death in being separated from God be handed down to us because of our refusal to accept His payment on our behalf?
For each of us, the choice is ours.
Feb 2nd, 2020, Sun, 8:10 pm
The Law Is the Law – No More, No Less
Heavenly Father, thank You for helping me work through some things on my mind today. It was a burden that I did not need to carry. I am grateful for all You do for me.
Luke 6:1-5 (<<click to read the passage)
Sometimes the law of the land can be a tricky thing. Being on the road quite a bit now with driving a bus I see lots of “trickery” when it comes to the law. Rolling stops occur way too often. Another one I have seen several times is when one person legally stops at a stop sign the person behind them will roll right through the stop as if their stop behind the car in front of them was good enough. It’s not!
A law, at least here in Ohio, that many ignore is school zone speed limit signs. Several years ago, we were under the impression that the only time you had to go 20 mph in between the signs what held the flashing yellow warning lights was when they were flashing…wrong! My wife was heading back to school one day and a State Highway Patrol officer pulled her over for doing 35 in a school zone. Her argument was that the lights weren’t flashing. We even went to court to argue her point. After more expense for court fees, we were very clearly informed by the judge that it makes no difference if the lights are on or not. A marked school zone is 20 mph.
During my training to drive a school bus, it was stressed that when you are driving a bus the best procedure is to drive 20 mph in every school where students are present! We have 3 marked school zones around our schools and people blow through them all the time – except of course when a sheriff’s deputy is sitting in the middle of one!
In today’s passage, the Pharisees were actually breaking God’s law by adding too to that law. Yes, God says we are to rest of the Sabbath day and keep it holy, but they accused Jesus and His disciples of breaking the Law just by rubbing a few heads of grain in their hands for a bite to eat.
One big issue in this addition was that in doing so they actually were undoing another portion of God’s Law. God in His Law took into consideration the poor and needy. My Life Application Study Bible correctly states that “…farmers were to leave the edges of their fields unplowed so travelers and the poor could eat from this bounty.” Deuteronomy 23:25 goes on to say, “And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand…” You weren’t to run in with equipment to rob the farmer of his yield but taking a few kernels didn’t hurt anything!
When we start interpreting the law, getting it to say what we want it to say, we get ourselves into trouble!
Again, the Bible – God’s Word – clearly says in Deuteronomy 4:2(NLT), “Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.”
Dear Jesus, help us to abide by the laws before us. The law of the land and more importantly Your Law. May we adhere to it as You have proclaimed it with no additions or subtractions. Amen.
Jan 30th, 2020, Thurs, 4:49 pm