If you read the headlines much, COVID-19 is probably going to be found somewhere in what you read or watch fairly quickly. It’s a virus that has consumed nearly every conversation. While there are many feelings being expressed about the steps the world has taken to protect us, at the end of the day, the inconveniences of it all can cause us to become more frustrated.
The exact number of those who have had the virus, those who have died from it, and those who have recovered, may be a little challenging to find. However, one thing that might be helpful to reflect on is that more recover than not. More people don’t even get it than do.
Another way to say it is, “be grateful for your health.” If you get out amongst people much (perhaps before Corona), you meet all kinds of folks: some better off than you, some not; some prettier than you, some not; some smarter than you, some not.
When you’re in a situation you don’t want to be in, remember it nearly always “could be worse.” Most likely, I’m writing to believers. And as believers, you can see how God has outlined a plan that can, and has, rescued us from a lot of awful things in this life. It’s our job to share this “good news.”
There were 10 lepers we read about in Luke 17 that had been ostracized from their families; they’d been regarded as rejects of society, yet they recognized what turning to Jesus was their only hope. What Jesus prescribed for them to do was to “go show yourself to the priest" and follow the law given by Moses.
Focusing on Jesus--and His way of living--isn’t limited only to those with diseases. His way of life is exactly what we need to promote in our hurting communities. Consider this passage from Romans 12:9-18 as a good pattern for us to follow. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
These actions aren’t easy, but they help people be grateful for the blessings they enjoy and even help them through the difficulties they don’t enjoy. Be a blessing!
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Law of Christ
Doing the “right and just” thing may not always be the best route to further friendships. However, ignoring sinful behavior or something that harms a relationship isn’t a good route either. Paul mentions in Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
What’s it mean to live according to the “law of Christ” as in Galatians 6:2? In the context of his letter, Paul is dealing with some “Jew vs. Gentile” issues like the lawyer who asked about how to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25). Sadly, many followers of Christ make stipulations for “carrying someone’s burden. Jesus answers the lawyer by telling him the famous “Good Samaritan” parable. That story focused on loving people by helping people regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.
Jesus continued to illustrate through a series of parables the difference between worldly kingdoms and God’s kingdom (Romans 8:5-8). Perhaps Godliness can seem impossible to live out at times. One of the most challenging attributes to adopt is forgiveness. To forgive someone who has wronged you is incredibly difficult for many people. Why? Pride? Vulnerability? There might be many reasons, but it has been a continual plague on societies since the beginning of time.
Jesus highlighted something in Luke 17 that I believe addresses what it takes to forgive the way God does – FAITH! “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you…” (Luke 17:3-6) A tree requires soil to grow, and it couldn’t survive without it. In the same way, it’s a foreign concept to forgive people who wrong you without seeking justice. Showing mercy, forgiveness, takes a lot of faith in someone who just hurt you in some way. It may seem like the relationship can’t grow, but Jesus was illustrating the power of faith in those situations. To have faith that NOT exercising justice may be best for the relationship.
Jesus carried our burden on His shoulders on the way to the cross, and His approach was unfathomable by religious leaders and people knowledgeable of the prophets. 1 Corinthians 2:7, “We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”
God’s wisdom of loving a neighbor as our self seems as impossible as planting a tree in the ocean, but to have faith that mending relationships by God’s way can mean growth in that relationship is still possible regardless of how they sin against us.
What’s it mean to live according to the “law of Christ” as in Galatians 6:2? In the context of his letter, Paul is dealing with some “Jew vs. Gentile” issues like the lawyer who asked about how to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25). Sadly, many followers of Christ make stipulations for “carrying someone’s burden. Jesus answers the lawyer by telling him the famous “Good Samaritan” parable. That story focused on loving people by helping people regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.
Jesus continued to illustrate through a series of parables the difference between worldly kingdoms and God’s kingdom (Romans 8:5-8). Perhaps Godliness can seem impossible to live out at times. One of the most challenging attributes to adopt is forgiveness. To forgive someone who has wronged you is incredibly difficult for many people. Why? Pride? Vulnerability? There might be many reasons, but it has been a continual plague on societies since the beginning of time.
Jesus highlighted something in Luke 17 that I believe addresses what it takes to forgive the way God does – FAITH! “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you…” (Luke 17:3-6) A tree requires soil to grow, and it couldn’t survive without it. In the same way, it’s a foreign concept to forgive people who wrong you without seeking justice. Showing mercy, forgiveness, takes a lot of faith in someone who just hurt you in some way. It may seem like the relationship can’t grow, but Jesus was illustrating the power of faith in those situations. To have faith that NOT exercising justice may be best for the relationship.
Jesus carried our burden on His shoulders on the way to the cross, and His approach was unfathomable by religious leaders and people knowledgeable of the prophets. 1 Corinthians 2:7, “We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”
God’s wisdom of loving a neighbor as our self seems as impossible as planting a tree in the ocean, but to have faith that mending relationships by God’s way can mean growth in that relationship is still possible regardless of how they sin against us.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Increase My Faith
In a court of law, good evidence is critical. With it, a jury can feel more confident about making a difficult decision about someone’s freedom. But evidence is key in bringing justice. While that makes perfect sense in the legal arena, what about in the spiritual one?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit, you will recognize them!” Meaning that our actions serve as evidence of our faith, or our lack of faith; our love, or lack of love. How we treat people becomes one of the most opportune areas of our life to show a lack of faith. What I mean by that is that people let us down, people have secret agendas, people don’t always show us the respect we feel we deserve, and therefore people probably test us more than any other thing in existence on whether or not we will demonstrate “faith” in God’s will.
Jesus prayed in John 17 an amazing prayer of selfless love for all those who would follow His example. I’ve taken the liberty to modify verses 14-21 to reflect how “the world” is really the people, and “the people” He’s referring to are those who oppose God’s will that we “love one another” (Galatians 6:2). So, prayerfully consider this paraphrase of Christ’s last prayer before His arrest. “I have [revealed to them what Your will is] (Matthew 22:37-39); and [people] have hated them [for it], for [these followers don’t pursue selfish desires] any more than I am [selfish]. My prayer is not that You take them [away from selfish people] but that You protect them from the evil one. They [are not living by selfish standards anymore], even as I am not [living selfishly]. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me [to reach out to selfish people], I have sent them [to reach out to selfish people. So, I set myself apart from that human weakness so they can follow My example]. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
Being “of the world” is more than just selfishness, but that is a flaw in humanity that causes more retaliation, more prejudice, more division, and more hatred than nearly anything else. The Pharisees' selfish desires were not only hurting their neighbors but also jeopardizing their own souls! “...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20). What must we learn from them? What must we do to increase our faith in God’s plan for mankind?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit, you will recognize them!” Meaning that our actions serve as evidence of our faith, or our lack of faith; our love, or lack of love. How we treat people becomes one of the most opportune areas of our life to show a lack of faith. What I mean by that is that people let us down, people have secret agendas, people don’t always show us the respect we feel we deserve, and therefore people probably test us more than any other thing in existence on whether or not we will demonstrate “faith” in God’s will.
Jesus prayed in John 17 an amazing prayer of selfless love for all those who would follow His example. I’ve taken the liberty to modify verses 14-21 to reflect how “the world” is really the people, and “the people” He’s referring to are those who oppose God’s will that we “love one another” (Galatians 6:2). So, prayerfully consider this paraphrase of Christ’s last prayer before His arrest. “I have [revealed to them what Your will is] (Matthew 22:37-39); and [people] have hated them [for it], for [these followers don’t pursue selfish desires] any more than I am [selfish]. My prayer is not that You take them [away from selfish people] but that You protect them from the evil one. They [are not living by selfish standards anymore], even as I am not [living selfishly]. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me [to reach out to selfish people], I have sent them [to reach out to selfish people. So, I set myself apart from that human weakness so they can follow My example]. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
Being “of the world” is more than just selfishness, but that is a flaw in humanity that causes more retaliation, more prejudice, more division, and more hatred than nearly anything else. The Pharisees' selfish desires were not only hurting their neighbors but also jeopardizing their own souls! “...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20). What must we learn from them? What must we do to increase our faith in God’s plan for mankind?
Sunday, July 5, 2020
The Why Questions of Life
Why? Such a deep question, or sometimes a thoughtless question. Sometimes it’s a lazy question. Truth is many people have the “why” question itching in their minds for a whole host of scenarios in life. We also find ourselves asking a lot of why questions when we read the Bible – “why is that?”
The big challenge is understanding what our Creator wants us to see. But in reality, it's no different than any other relationship we’ll ever be in. We might say of our spouse or a friend, “Why don’t they get it?” Or “Why do they continue to act that way when they know how it makes me feel?” There are just so many times we don’t really understand why someone acts the way they do… including our own actions!
The story of the Rich man and Lazarus has served as a sneak-peak into an “after death” scene for many people. Not all scholars agree that this is the intention of Jesus in telling this. But if not, then “Why tell it?”
One important step to take in trying to understand a passage of scripture is the context. The context is the setting: geographically, or the prior conversations, things like that. (Go back to Luke 14 for some help). Another important step is having an overall gist of God’s plan or His will. (A great example is found in Matthew 22:37-39.) Some might say, “How can I know the will of God?” Yet, that is in part the purpose of giving us a written word to go back through and discover how God reacted to one human behavior versus another. Romans 15:4, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” In a sense, the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 was an example of a foolish man. He ignored what apparently was already being revealed to him by Moses and the prophets. Proverbs 10:8, “The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.”
We’re not told much about the rich man except that he had an opportunity to help someone in need with the wealth he’d been blessed to manage, but he completely ignored that opportunity. Why? Why didn’t he ever feel compassion for the hungry man lying at his gate with boils? Why didn’t he give him anything? How about us? What kind of opportunities are right at our gate that we’ve been blind to?
In this story, the moral was that the scriptures (Moses and the prophets) were revealing God’s will to the rich man so that he could have listened and obeyed and avoided that awful place. He chose to stay ignorant. Perhaps that’s the big lesson that we should take from this passage even more than whether or not this story is a snapshot of the afterlife or not.
“Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest…” (John 4:1-38 – read this passage to get the context) serves as a great reminder of our purpose down here.
The big challenge is understanding what our Creator wants us to see. But in reality, it's no different than any other relationship we’ll ever be in. We might say of our spouse or a friend, “Why don’t they get it?” Or “Why do they continue to act that way when they know how it makes me feel?” There are just so many times we don’t really understand why someone acts the way they do… including our own actions!
The story of the Rich man and Lazarus has served as a sneak-peak into an “after death” scene for many people. Not all scholars agree that this is the intention of Jesus in telling this. But if not, then “Why tell it?”
One important step to take in trying to understand a passage of scripture is the context. The context is the setting: geographically, or the prior conversations, things like that. (Go back to Luke 14 for some help). Another important step is having an overall gist of God’s plan or His will. (A great example is found in Matthew 22:37-39.) Some might say, “How can I know the will of God?” Yet, that is in part the purpose of giving us a written word to go back through and discover how God reacted to one human behavior versus another. Romans 15:4, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” In a sense, the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 was an example of a foolish man. He ignored what apparently was already being revealed to him by Moses and the prophets. Proverbs 10:8, “The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.”
We’re not told much about the rich man except that he had an opportunity to help someone in need with the wealth he’d been blessed to manage, but he completely ignored that opportunity. Why? Why didn’t he ever feel compassion for the hungry man lying at his gate with boils? Why didn’t he give him anything? How about us? What kind of opportunities are right at our gate that we’ve been blind to?
In this story, the moral was that the scriptures (Moses and the prophets) were revealing God’s will to the rich man so that he could have listened and obeyed and avoided that awful place. He chose to stay ignorant. Perhaps that’s the big lesson that we should take from this passage even more than whether or not this story is a snapshot of the afterlife or not.
“Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest…” (John 4:1-38 – read this passage to get the context) serves as a great reminder of our purpose down here.