Not Even Jesus’ Family Was Perfect
Father may our time be productive. As I looked over the passage earlier today, may the extra time that it has percolated in my heart and mind bring to mind what You would have me say. Amen.
Acts 1:12-14(<<click here to read the passage)
Being a part of a family can certainly be a handful. Some families may look like they have it all together but, truth be told, that is very rarely the case. And honestly, the free will that God has bestowed upon us impacts our relationship with Him, but it also impacts our relationship with others…families included.
In my life I’ve witnessed the workings of many families, some have been thoroughly immersed in the church and others have had almost nothing to do with it. And you may be surprised, that many times a stringently held religiosity doesn’t necessarily guarantee that every relationship that comes out of that initial family unit will be free of strife. I would say there is just about as much division and divorce as there is in any other family background situation.
I’ve also seen, families birthed out of very disjointed and dysfunctional families, that are whole and sound, full of love and stability.
Would you be surprised to hear that Jesus’ family wasn’t perfect? The One who was wholly God and wholly man unquestionably had family issues. Scripture seems to lean in the direction that Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, the carpenter, died early on. So, that would mean that Jesus would take up the leadership role in his family.
Today’s passage tells us that after Jesus returned to Heaven that the disciples “met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.” v14
So, what do we know about Jesus’ family? Several New Testament passages refer to them but one that is pretty all-inclusive is Mark 6:3. It reads in part,
“[Jesus is] just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” NLT
There are at least six siblings that we know of. Scripture isn’t totally clear on their relationship with their older brother but all in all, it seems to point to them really not believing in who He was until after His resurrection.
His brother James (not the disciple by the same name) became a leader in the Jerusalem church. He also wrote a book that bears his name. Judas – also known as Jude – authored one of the New Testament epistles, as well.
So let me say this. Never give up on your family. Continually pray for them all – for those who don’t believe as well as for those who do. You know that life is hard, and it is no easier for any of them. Pray that those who believe will stand firm in that belief. And pray for those who have yet to believe. And just as important is to walk the talk before them. You may just be the only Bible they ever see!
Dec 13th, 2021, Mon, 6:32 pm
A Sip of Cold Water
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
….will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
….he is my God, and I trust him. Psalm 91:1-2 NLT
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The only reason I would not have my insulated cup of ice water on my bus with me every time I drive is that I inadvertently forget to bring it with me on rare occasions – even in the winter months. I don’t drink nearly all of it in the couple of hours I’m out, but I like having it with me to grab a sip when I feel like it.
One thing I’ve noticed is that, especially with my first drink, I can feel the coolness of it in my mouth. I can feel it flow through my esophagus. And then I can feel it glide right into my stomach. You probably think I’m weird, but it really is a pretty cool sensation. Of course, if I take another sip right after that, I don’t feel it the second time, but after several minutes without it, I notice it once more.
It’s cool because our Creator made the crowning glory of His creative genius so intricately detailed. Science discovers previously unknown things about the human body all the time.
For example, Massey was sharing with me recently that although anesthesia has been in use for well over 100 years, we’ve never really understood how it works…that is until the last couple of years. I’m talking 2020! They still don’t understand everything about it but they’re heading down the right path! (Don’t ask me for details, I tried reading a couple of articles on it, but it’s over my head!)
With all the advancement of science and technology, there are still things we don’t know and can’t figure out!
It reminds me of a favorite verse from the Book of Psalms. David wrote this one.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
….and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
….Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
….as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
….Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
….before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
….They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
….they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
….you are still with me! Psalm 139:13-18 NLT
We most certainly are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (NKJV). We are special. We are by no means an accident. God made each of us. And He knows each of us, through and through!
I love it when the simplest things of life remind me that our Sovereign God is in charge, and I am in His ever-loving hands!
Dec 12th, 2021, Sun, 8:15 pm
The Last Time and Nobody Knew It
I have been distracted by many things but need to sit and quiet my heart and listen to You, Father. Nothing else matters. Enable me to focus on Your words. Amen.
Acts 1:6-11(<<click here to read the passage)
There’s a meme that’s been circulating on Facebook. It’ll have different pictures associated with it but the words that accompany it are pretty much the same.
At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it.
Being my dad was a pastor, we moved frequently, never living in one place for very long. I think the longest we ever lived anywhere was four years. Most often it was two. Thankfully, it never bothered me very much. I seemed to readily make friends. I can remember many of my childhood friends.
There was Louie in Quick, WV – I was there for 1st grade and part of 2nd. There was Darla from the church in Archdale, NC – the rest of 2nd grade through part of 5th. In Mason, OH, Richie Davis and I become good friends. (He kept two eggs in a coffee can for a very long time for whatever reason. I was always afraid they would break!) We lived there through my freshman year in high school. Then we moved to Parsons, WV where my best friend was Rob Klein. He introduced me to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, crepes and wassail at Christmastime, and the board game RISK (which I still love playing!)
Some of those relationships may have had more formal closure but I’m sure there were many relationships over the years where we did our thing and that was the last time, and we never saw each other again.
The disciples were with Jesus and asking when He would free Israel and restore our kingdom. Only the Father knew the answer to the question and after He once more reminded them of the Holy Spirit’s coming upon them…He was taken up into a cloud before their very eyes! One minute they were talking together, the next He was gone! And while they would soon have the Holy Spirit, they never saw Jesus again as they had for the last three and a half years.
Would they have asked different questions if they had known this was the last time? Would they have hugged Him (if men hugged in that era)? May they have sat down for one last meal with Him? What might they have done differently?
We never know when our “last” day will take place? I could be much closer than we think, or I might be many years down the road. We can’t really know, so we need to make sure everything is in place as far as our relationship with Jesus is concerned. It’s something we can’t afford to put off. Our decision needs to be made and we need to live our lives taking that relationship seriously. May we never forget that today may be our last day, and we won’t even know it.
Dec 9th, 2021, Thurs, 7:09 pm
A Hodgepodge Collection
HillBilly Mall, Tuskegee, Alabama is built with recycled materials trees from the last big storm in Notasulga, used rusty tin from an old, demolished house, and leftover materials gathered from here and there.
Another beautiful soul laid to rest today. Thank You, Father, for the opportunity to pass along words of encouragement and the certainty of the hope we have in You!
Acts 1:4-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
In our area, it seems that new homes are being built just about everywhere! And usually, it doesn’t take them too awful long to go up. As I travel, I can watch the progress from the lot being excavated, to the foundation being laid, to deliveries of building trusses and lumber, until the house is completed, and the new owners move in.
I’ve yet to see a new home be built with a hodgepodge collection of this and that from wherever it could be scrounged up. (The back room of our almost 50-year-old home, was finished off that way! It used to be a carport and a previous owner put up walls using cast-off two by fours – on the outside wall not a single one is complete. When we redid the room a few years back I had to shim them all to put drywall up!)
New homes are not built that way, but what about God’s house? I’m not talking about our church buildings. I’m talking about us. Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Father’s promised Holy Spirit. And though John baptized with water, they (and we!) were to be baptized and empowered and united with Him.
The notes in my Life Application Study Bible spoke of how the Spirit unites the Christian community in Christ and pointed to Ephesians 2:19-22.
Paul, in this passage, wrote to the Church in Ephesus. It had a fairly good-sized Jewish population but was predominantly inhabited by non-Jewish peoples (Gentiles – that includes most of us too!) In God’s Kingdom, those divisions become non-existent! We are no longer strangers and foreigners. We are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. We are members of God’s family. v19
But here’s what I want to focus on today. Verses 20-22 read,
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. NLT [emphasis mine]
Talk about a hodgepodge collection! That’d be it! I know we struggle. We have issues. The history of the Church is replete with division. I have no idea how many denominations there are in the world, and then we have all the little independent churches scattered everywhere across the globe. We are all-out determined to separate! But not the Holy Spirit!
In Him we are u-n-i-t-e-d…UNITED! Not divided, not separated! United! From God’s perspective, we are one.
Here is Jesus’ expectation. So, let’s get at it!
“I am praying…for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. John 17:20-23 NLT
Dec 8th, 2021, Wed, 5:20 pm
No Better Place than Here
[It’s one of those days that I feel it best to share a post from the past. So here is one from September 2015. I had only been writing for a few months at that point, but this is where I was. – Dec 7th, 2021, Tues, 7:42 pm ]
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Father, after all these weeks I am still amazed and overwhelmingly blessed that You so gently wake me for our time together. Thank You, for You love. Thank You for the great privilege of spending one-on-one time with the Creator of all that is! It’s hard to wrap my brain around the concept that You really want to spend time with me! Praise Your Holy Name!!
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Lord, Jesus, this morning I feel compelled to save the next portion of scripture for the next time we come together. I feel the need to just write this morning. As I look back over my life, Lord, You have been there every step of the way. Through every heartache and trial, through every victory and all the joy, You have been by my side. I have been obedient, and I have rebelled, but You have never given up on me. The word “grateful” doesn’t even begin to express how I feel.
As I wondrously proclaim, “Even before You made the world, You loved me and chose me in You to be holy and without fault in Your eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4 NLT) That’s like forever but I honestly cannot recall a time in my life when I didn’t know You or at least when I didn’t know of You. I was blessed to be born into a family the loved and wholeheartedly strove to serve You. And it went beyond Mom and Dad, four of my grandparents and every one of my aunts and uncles were of the same heart and mind. What a heritage! What a foundation on which to build my life! All the building blocks under me were solidly, securely placed on You! (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Now clearly, I did not pop out of the womb perfect and without fault (Lord, You know that is true!) but Your hand has guided me. You have aligned my heart with Yours. Over the course of my life, I have wandered, I have blatantly sinned, I have hurt You and dirtied Your name in the process, but I could never go beyond Your reach. The pull of Your love has always brought me back.
After 50+ years of living, some may look at who I am and what I’ve accomplished, and they may shake their heads and think that I really haven’t done a whole lot with my life. I don’t have a huge bank account, I live in a nice but modest home, I have not ascended the ladder of success (by human standards) in the business world or in any denomination I have served. But Lord… I am where You have placed me. I faithfully serve as Your child in my home, at my job, and in the two churches with which You have blessed me.
No, I am definitely not perfect. I stumble. I fall. But I am not defeated. Lord, You patiently work with me each and every day. You encourage me. You direct me. You help me. You encourage me. I am blessed beyond measure!
I am full of joy! I am content – but not to the point of complacency. I would follow You anywhere You would lead me, but for now, I am where You want me to be – in the center of Your will. Help me to listen. Help me to continue to expand my horizons in You – to draw closer to You, to more and more be able to hear Your direction, and to have the courage and wisdom to do and be all that you desire for me to do and be. There is no better place than here!
Sept 20th, 2015, Sun, 6:41 am