Pliable
Wow, our guardian angels were working overtime this evening, Father! You hand was surely with us as we journeyed back from Newark on very treacherous roads. The glory goes to You for getting us all back safely home!
Mark 2:22 (<<click to read the passage)
Since our son, Massey, has been in grad school in Texas, we have visited him several times. Most often we have a layover at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. If you’ve been there you know that they have Skylink, an automated people mover, a train-like mode of transportation. There are a few seats but many just stand, as they travel from one end of the airport complex to the other.
Now if you choose to stand, the one thing you can do is to stand with a rigid posture with your legs pressed together. There are lots of curves and many stops and starts. Doing so will cause you to topple over in short order. You have to be flexible – legs spread apart so that you can bend and move as that moment demands. And in doing so, you stand firm and do not topple over.
That is a very similar idea to Jesus’ illustration of old and new wineskins. Old wineskins had already been stretched and over time had become rigid. New wineskins, on the other hand, were pliable, flexible and as new wine was poured into them they were able to stretch and move as fermentation caused the wine to expand.
The Pharisees? They were confined to the old wineskins – no room for growth or change. The Gospel – the Good News – that Jesus proclaimed was for new wineskins.
Jesus calls us today, but we have to be flexible. We have to be open to change. The Apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “…that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Lord Jesus, help me to not be hard and rigid. As I get older it is more and more easy for me to get stuck in my ways – to avoid change. As my study Bible says, may I “keep my heart pliable and open to accepting [Your] life-changing truths.” In Your strength and wisdom, may I stand firm and so as not to topple over! Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 10th, 2019, Sun, 9:04 pm
I’m Being Watched
Well, Father, it is just me and You. I am sitting on my bus in a school parking lot waiting on the middle school basketball team and cheerleaders to finish up. I am glad that we are together. I am grateful that You are with me no matter where I go. May I hear Your words for me this evening. Amen.
Psalm 139 (<<click to read the passage)
A couple of days ago I sat down with the school’s transportation director concerning a problem I was having with a student. Now I know there are cameras on my bus. I know they are DVRs, so they record pretty much everything – high-quality video and full audio as well. Every time my bus is running, it does its thing.
There are actually four of them – one in the front facing the back, one in the back facing the front, one in the middle facing the back and one over my left shoulder. And that one? It records everything I do and say. They are there to protect my passengers and to protect me as well.
When we were talking she brought up the recording. And there I was clear as day, the placement of my hands on the steering wheel, me looking in my mirrors, checking on students and traffic.
Now I’m a “by the book” kind of guy but, honestly, it was a little unnerving, Anybody of proper authority could watch my every action! Listen to my every word! It haunted me throughout my afternoon routes and I was very self-conscience!
But the more I thought about it, I realized that it only records my actions about 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. And unless there’s some kind of issue, nobody will probably ever bother to look at them. But there is Someone who sees literally everything I do…and say…and something the DVR doesn’t do, He sees everything I think!
In Psalm 139 David does a great job of communicating this concept. Here are the first 6 verses.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
Lord Jesus, help me to be aware of Your presence. There is nothing better than You looking over my shoulder. Who better to guide and direct me? May I be sensitive to You. Amen.
Feb 7th, 2019, Thurs, 6:10 pm
Lost
A very foggy morning brings a two-hour delay for school which allows me to have some time with You this morning, Father! I was already up and ready to go when I got the news so here I am. Father, bless our time together as my day begins on the best foot possible! Amen.
Luke 19:10 (<<click to read the passage)
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Are there any additional qualifiers in Jesus’ statement? Anything that narrows the field, so to speak?
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Not just people we like…or those with whom we are comfortable. There is no mention of race or gender or age or sexual preference or political affiliation or any other limiting qualifier. Sin is sin. Lost is lost. Lost grandmothers are just as lost as lost rebels with a cause.
This is a lesson I have been learning more and more over the last several years. And though I am no longer in a predominantly adult world, my learning continues. Regardless of age, some people are easy to love and others? Well, honestly, it is a challenge.
I’ve recently read through Jesus’ love for “tax collectors and sinners” and I, for one, am glad He has no qualifiers. To quote John Newton’s Amazing Grace, “I was lost but now I am found.” But for the grace of God, I would still be utterly lost. But, praise be to God, I wasn’t labeled as not good enough. I wasn’t thought of as hopeless. I wasn’t looked upon with rolling eyes and thoughts of “Oh, it’s him again!” I am loved. I am cherished!
Lord Jesus, first of all, may I never for a moment forget Your love for me. May I always hold dear the sacrifice that You made to find this lost sinner, oh so many years ago. And secondly, may I never forget Your love for others. May I have that same fierce love. May I not write them off because they seem hopeless but may I be a beacon of hope shining forth, leading the lost to You. Amen.
Feb 6th, 2019, Wed, 5:28 am
Patches
It has been a long, full day, Father, and my mind is fuzzy and my body is weary but I must push on! It is of utmost importance that I sit with You and listen to what You have for me this day. Help me to hear You clearly. Amen.
Mark 2:18-21 (<<click to read the passage)
Growing up I remember on occasion that my mom had to patch my pants where I had worn out the knees crawling around playing and doing the things that boys do. At one point iron on patches even became available. In order for it to work, you couldn’t patch an old article of clothing with new cloth because when you washed it the new cloth would shrink then you’d have a new hole!
Religious leaders in Jesus’ day had added all kinds of patches to the Law that God had given them. I understand that to some degree they were trying to preserve what was very important but over time they lost what was truly important and ended up putting equal value on the patches as well.
For example, the act of fasting (essentially giving up food – or something else – for a period of time in order to focus your thoughts on God) is found in both Old and New Testaments. But the Pharisees over time began fasting two times a week – but the rub comes in that it was not to focus their thoughts on God but to focus other people’s thoughts on how holy they were.
Jesus didn’t come to patch. Jesus came to fulfill the Law in its entirety. It was fresh and new because it was the real deal! It was from the original author Himself! It was authentic! It wasn’t just rules and regulations it was livable – challenging, yes – but livable. And most importantly it went straight to the heart of the issue.
Again, another example…we would agree that murder is bad. But Jesus fleshed it out, putting hatred on an equal level. Murder is bad but if we hate someone it’s just as bad as killing them. Adultery is bad. But lusting after someone in our hearts and minds is the same thing according to Him. (Matthew 5:21-30)
A New Covenant – the real deal was needed. Too many manmade patches on the old one. New. Fresh. Authentic. Real.
Lord Jesus, help us to throw out the old man-tainted Law – if that’s what we are clinging to. May we embrace the genuine article from the Author Himself! Amen.
Feb 5th, 2019, Tues, 7:28 pm
Sinners Wanted
How often, Father, do Your angels watch over and protect me? Just this morning, as I tried to make sure I was as far to left as I could be while passing a car, I felt as if I’d gone just a little too far but even as that thought entered my mind, I could feel that the bus hadn’t gone too far. Your hand was surely with us! Thank You, Father!
Mark 2:13-17 (<<click to read the passage)
When Jesus added Levi (also known as Matthew) to his band of disciples, Matthew had a big shindig with Jesus, His disciples “along with may tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.” (I absolutely love that!)
And when the “teachers of religious law who were Pharisees” saw what was going on they wanted to know why He was eating with such “scum” as the New Living Translation puts it. Levi and his fellow ilk were despised – the lowest of the low.
Jesus’ comeback illuminates exactly who He is – casting an unmistakable spotlight on that unmissable attribute of God. We are loved! We don’t have to fix ourselves but we do have to come clean. We have to be honest about who we are and to be willing to humbly fall upon His mercy.
Here’s what He told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Let’s break that down a bit – “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
The Pharisees thought they were all that – masters of the holier than thou mindset. But that mentality only blinded them to the truth. They couldn’t see Jesus for who He truly was because they were so wrapped up in themselves.
“Sinners” on the other hand were open to the truth. They held no delusions as to who they were – they knew they were “scum” if you will. But Jesus opened their eyes to that fact that they were definitely more than useless!
Lord Jesus, may I always be about Your business – in all the ebbs and flows of life. Each day my path may cross with someone who needs to know about You. May I seek to make the greatest investment in those who will be most receptive to Your truth. Amen.
Feb 4th, 2019, Mon, 12:12 pm