Why Bother?
A very foggy morning for driving, Father, but thank You for Your guiding hand for us all; drivers, parents, and students – no incidents! All praise to You. Amen!
Luke 5:12-15 (<<click to read the passage)
At the very end of last school year elementary school leaders and bus drivers, in an attempt to encourage safe behavior on our buses, came up with an incentive. The bus with the most “thumbs up” runs, with opportunities in the morning and the afternoon, gets to be “Bus of the Month” and students and driver get a pancake breakfast prepared by school administrators.
Striving for safety is a never-ending battle for all of us, but I would have no idea how many times in just one run that I repeat many phrases, “Sit down. Get out of the aisle. Don’t lean over the seat.” And the mantra for most school bus drivers which is visually displayed at the front of the bus and verbally repeated continually, it seems, is, “Seat on seat. Back on back. Feet on the floor. Hands on your lap. Quiet as a mouse.”
You’d think with all the repetition it would sink in…but it doesn’t. Even my middle and high school kids have to be reminded of it all the time. But we continue to say it all, in hopes that it will accomplish the desired ends – safety.
Jesus, in today’s passage, makes a request that he verbalizes but knows beyond any doubt that it will not be adhered to.
When He healed the man with the “advanced case of leprosy” He asked that he “not tell anyone what had happened” but instead to go and fulfill the requirements of the Law before the priests in regards to his healing.
Because of the public revelation of the leper’s healing about Jesus, Luke tells us that “vast crowds” began coming “to hear him preach and to be healed from their diseases.”
Why did Jesus even bother? He knew what was going to happen.
But here’s another question, why does Jesus bother forgiving us? He knows what is going to happen. We are fallible. We are most definitely not perfect. There are some things that don’t tempt us and somethings that rarely tempt us, that we can readily say no to. But other things…oh my! We are hard-pressed to avoid. Temptation surrounds us and we may hold off for a season but… Yielding comes far too easy.
But does that stop Jesus from forgiving us? Not one bit. He continues to do so because He also knows His persistence will accomplish the desired ends.
Many can testify to the fact that though temptation may still be out there that through God’s continuing faithfulness in forgiving us combined with regular time spent with Him, that we little by little begin saying “no” more and more frequently. Because of God’s persistence, we become victorious! His long-suffering becomes the foundation for, as the Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 8:37. “…we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].” (AMP) To God be the glory! Amen and amen!
Jan 15th, 2020, Wed, 7:33 pm
To Touch the Untouchable
I would ask today, Father, that You would be my bastion of strength. The holidays are behind me and nothing is before me but my own weaknesses and vices. Physically, mentally, and spiritually I need to move forward and conquer! May I feel your presence close by my side. Amen.
Luke 5:12-13 (<<click to read the passage)
I try to sweep my bus daily. Although kids aren’t supposed to eat on school buses – they do, hidden behind their seats – and inevitably they leave all kinds of trash. They track on dust, dirt, and mud, leaves, and grass clippings. And you would not believe the amount of glitter that I discover on a fairly regular basis sprinkled on seats and floor.
But one of the grossest (at least to me) things I find while sweeping is hair! Now if you just walked down the aisle and casually looked on the floor, you wouldn’t even see any but by the time I sweep from the back to the front of my bus, the end of my broom is a tangled mess of hair – YUCK!
It’s disgusting but I just can’t leave it there, doing so would begin the make the broom unusable. So, I take a paper towel and grab ahold of the wad of hair and usually a majority of it (not all!) comes off and into the trash can it goes.
I would never dream of pulling it off with my bare hand – eeewwww! In my mind that byproduct of my cleaning is abhorrible! It is absolutely untouchable!
But you know what? Jesus didn’t let the untouchable stop Him. He didn’t even hesitate to reach out and touch what everyone else would have run from!
The untouchables of Jesus’ time here on earth were the lepers. My study Bible* does a good job of defining it.
“Leprosy was a feared disease because there was no known cure for it, and some forms of it were highly contagious… Because leprosy destroys the nerve endings, lepers often would unknowingly damage their fingers, toes, and noses. The man with leprosy had an advanced case, so he undoubtedly had lost much bodily tissue. Still, he believed that Jesus could heal him of every trace of the disease. And Jesus did just that, reaching out to touch this untouchable, contagious, man in order to restore him.”
Now I don’t know about you but in my mind’s eye, the tangled mess of hair on the end of my broom is nothing compared to this poor mess of a man that fell before Jesus. But Jesus didn’t even flinch…He just reached out and touched him
And you can guarantee that Jesus didn’t just brush the man with the tips of His fingers. He didn’t stand as far as He could from him and the stretched out His hand to just touch him with the very tip of one extended finger. Can’t you see Jesus firmly placing His hand on the man’s shoulder or better yet cupping the side of his face in His open hand?
Jesus is in no way deterred by our filthiness. The putrid stench of sin emanating from our souls does not for one second stay His hand from reaching out and touching us…healing us…making us whole…for that is what a Savior does. And He is magnificent in who He is!
*Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation
Jan 14th, 2020, Tue, 12:38 pm
You Are Who We Were Made to Be
Thank You, Father, for the wonderful time we had with Massey being home. It was longer than we had hoped but far shorter than we would have liked, of course. Please be with him as he embarks on the final push, in the up and coming months, to complete all the many hours of work for his doctorate. Amen.
Luke 5:8-11 (<<click to read the passage)
How often do we struggle with catching something that is very important the first time we encounter it? Sometimes we need a wake-up call to get us moving in the right direction. The miraculous catch of fish was Peter’s – and for that matter Andrew (his brother), as well as, their fishing partners, James, and John – it was their wake-up call.
This is the only occurrence mentioned in Luke’s Gospel but Matthew (4:18-22), Mark (1:16-20), and John (1:37) mention first encounters with Jesus. They were called to follow Him and for whatever reason went back to fishing. But remember Jesus knows each and every one of us intimately. He knows where all of our strengths and weaknesses lie and because of all of that, He knows best for us.
One online comment I read was, “Having been with Jesus, Peter was impressed, but not committed. He apparently did not think he was made of the ‘right stuff’ to be a ‘holy man’. But obviously, as history and God’s word records, Jesus knew better.
As I pursued Peter’s calling, I read a few things online and came across some thoughts on the matter by the great 19th century “Prince of Preachers”, Charles Spurgeon.
In essence, Peter’s journey in his following of Jesus began with his being called out of darkness into marvelous light. Next, he was called to not just believe but to draw closer to Jesus and because of that closeness to take action on his belief in Him. Then lastly, Peter was challenged to draw yet closer to Jesus and to take upon himself the special work he was chosen to complete.
Jesus knew Peter. He was a rough fisherman but through Jesus’ love and attention Peter became the rock (which is what Peter means in Greek) of the Church that was to come.
None of us…let me repeat that, none of us – not one person who calls themselves a follower of Jesus – is beyond being used of Jesus to impact the world in marvelous and miraculous ways.
Jesus knows me. Jesus knows you! We are not Peter. We are who God made us to be. We are not all preachers or Bible teachers but again we are who God made us to be. We may not be called to impact 1,000s but we can impact one here…one there…and little by little we become instruments used of God to impact the world in marvelous and miraculous ways!
Jan 13th, 2020, Mon, 7:37 pm
Indignant
Father, I give You thanks for Your blessings and watchcare over the weekend’s festivities. I am so grateful to not hear of any incidences of problems in families travels and I give You praise that You were amongst us in our celebrating.
Luke 5:1-7 (<<click to read the passage)
One struggle that occurred fairly often in retail was when people felt they were at liberty to tell you how to do your job. Now that might possibly be accurate in certain circumstances, i.e. if an experienced associate from another Kohl’s store came upon an inexperienced associate. But for the most part, most associates (me included!) would be, “Just be quiet. I’m the trained, experienced associate here…not you!”
In the first portion of today’s story in the life of Jesus, He, as He is teaching, is being hard-pressed as crowds, in an attempt to see and hear Him more clearly, are pushing Him closer and closer to the water’s edge. He steps into a boat just offshore and asks Simon (Peter), the boat’s owner, to push it out into the water. Now here comes the potentially testy part of the narrative.
When he had finished speaking, he [Jesus] said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” v.4 NLT
Now we definitely have to give Simon credit here in that he is not just some puttering little tyke with a stick pole who has had a poor day of fishing. Simon is a trained professional. Fishing was his job. He knew it in and out. His boat. The water. The fish. He had to know it all – it was his livelihood. It kept food on his table. And with all that skill, he could have laid into Jesus but he didn’t. This seasoned sailor politely replies, and the Amplified Bible fleshes it out a bit more.
“Master, we worked hard all night [to the point of exhaustion] and caught nothing [in our nets], but at Your word I will [do as you say and] lower the nets [again].” v.5
Now I don’t know about you but I would have put a little bit more on that last word… “lower the nets again.” How many of us would have been at least a little indignant? “Who does this guy think He is? Yeah, He’s a good teacher and all and I really didn’t mind Him using my boat as His podium from which to teach, but, I mean, we’ve fished all night and caught absolutely nothing! I know my trade and out of the blue, He thinks we can just drop out nets and ‘poof’ they’ll be full of fish? Well…”
But that’s exactly what happened! Not just Simon’s boat but his partner’s boat, as well, became so full of fish that they both were on the verge of sinking!
We’ll look at Simon’s response to the whole thing tomorrow but aren’t we hesitant to move forward when God directs us to do something? Oh, we try to shrug the Holy Spirit’s suggestions off as wild ideas. “Where in the world did that thought come from? Crazy!” …right? But especially if you are striving to follow Jesus in all the ins and outs of each day, you know that He guides you. You know that He is the One who is putting those thoughts in your mind…because you have asked Him to!
Lord Jesus, help our actions to follow suit with our words. We want to do Your will – we say so – but we would ask that You would enable us to do not just to say. Amen.
Jan 12th, 2020, Sun, 4:38 pm
Slavery to Selfishness
This week is quickly rolling to a close with a full weekend ahead, Father. As our time with Massey wraps up may we make the most of it. May Your hand be upon the wedding about to transpire. And may all parties involved find a hedge of protection around them as we come together and then return to our homes. Amen.
Luke 4:42-44 (<<click to read the passage)
Reading the notes associated with these verses in my Life Application Study Bible (NLT) I came across a sentence written in regards to Jesus’ proclamation that He “must preach the Good News”. It states, “It is Good News for us…because it means freedom from slavery to sin and selfishness.”
I got to thinking if I had written that line, I probably would have not thought to include the word “selfishness”. But it sure fits, doesn’t it? We would all admit that sin enslaves us but think about it, doesn’t selfishness enslave us, as well?
What is one of the first things as toddlers that we have to be taught? We have to be instructed to share. It doesn’t come naturally. It is not automatically encoded into our DNA. We are selfish right from the get-go – no education needed. “My toys! My book! My food!”
And unfortunately, we do not outgrow it. Someone getting in line in front of you isn’t just taboo in grade school! How many of us have our tempers flare when someone squeezes in from of us in heavy traffic? “It’s not fair! I merged over when I was told to! I was here first! You cheated!”
What is the Golden Rule?
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 NLT
What is the greatest commandment and what is second?
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:36-39 NLT
What is the opposite of selfishness? Love. We don’t take. We don’t hoard. We give. We place ourselves last and others first.
And what does Scripture tell us about God?
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:7-12 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, may we – this day – truly embrace Your Good News! Amen.!
Jan 9th, 2020, Thurs, 1:13 pm