Matthew 11:30
"30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
I guess it really depends on how you interpret this scripture before you really understand what it means. There are two schools of thought; one being that this is a physical statement, and one spiritual.
From the physical side, I don't think that anything about Jesus' yoke was easy, nor do I think that His burden was or is light! You see, Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to sacrifice His life for the redemption of all mankind. How can we possibly think that Jesus was telling us, Christians, that life was going to be easy if we followed Him? He tells us the exact opposite! We often hear this verse in reference to hard times in our lives. "Surrender it to Jesus, His burden is light!" While it's true that we should put our faith and hope in the Savior, not everything is easy. Sometimes the will of the Father isn't for us to give back the trouble we have, but to learn, accept, and inspire others through it. Surely if Christ was speaking of our physical existence here on earth, we as Christians would be all living the good life. We'd be free from disease, financial troubles, and all of the other problems of the world.
Jesus wasn't saying "Come to Me and life will be easy."; He was saying, "Come to me and I will give you rest." Spiritual Rest. This is so much different from physical rest. Jesus was speaking of a spiritual comfort, the kind that only comes when you surrender to Him. By giving Jesus the burden of your sin, you (we) are able to take upon us the easy yoke and "burden" of His righteousness while He becomes our unrighteousness.
If we were to truly take His words in the physical context (as we so often choose to when speaking of this passage) how could we possibly believe His burden was light; that His yoke is easy? Being born knowing that your people would reject you isn't easy. Knowing all your life that you would be taken before the Romans and skinned alive before being nailed to a cross isn't easy. Hanging in total agony and accepting the full wrath of God the Father, being the Atonement for the entire human race IS NOT an easy burden! The only "rest" that Jesus got from His burden, from His yoke, was when He offered up His Spirit to the Father and finally had a place to lay His head. (Matthew 8:20)
So let's be spiritual about this. Surrendering your burden of SIN to Jesus and accepting His yoke of righteousness and redemption for the burden of being heir to all of the Kingdom of Heaven is in fact EASY! If, however, you choose to read this passage and wish to live it out in the physical interpretation, then accept the cross of Christ. Accept His burden of being a reject, even among your own family and friends. (Luke 9:23-24) Accept the harsh reality that the world HATES you, but the Father loves you. Be crucified, daily. When the problems of this physical existence come, welcome them with arms stretched wide and hands open.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The poor old slave.
Luke 18:18
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
A certain man came to Jesus with a simple question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. It’s a question I’m sure that we’ve all asked at some point in our lives, and hopefully have come to the realization that confessing Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior is the correct answer. That’s not the answer this man was looking for, however.
It seems that this passage is often misinterpreted and used as an excuse to get people to give up their money. Because Jesus told the man that he must sell everything and give it to the poor, we think that He was laying the foundation for capital campaigns and sacrificial giving sermon lessons, but that’s simply not the truth. Jesus knew far more about this man’s life than we’ll ever be able to understand, but He gave us clues in this story as to the heart of this man.
Being brought up under the Law, this man was a slave to religion. He was raised to believe that by rigidly following the Commandments he would be granted passage into eternity. So when he came to Jesus with his question, he was already under the assumption that he was good enough for God. Jesus used his arrogance to show the man that he had not followed all of the Commandments; he was guilty of breaking the Law.
Jesus then goes on to tell the man that he must keep the commandments, but He specifically leaves out the first few. Jesus lists them out for him: don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t dishonor your parents, don’t murder. (Matthew also adds love your neighbor as yourself.) The man quickly responds to Jesus by saying he’s kept all of those commandments since he was a boy. Then Jesus lays it on him. “Sell everything you have and give to the poor.....” (Luke 18:22) When the man heard this he went away sad.
Why did he go away sad? Jesus pointed out that he had not kept all of the commandments. He showed the man that he had made wealth his god, and broken the first commandment. He showed him that his possessions had become an image of his god and that he’d broken the second commandment. He had even shown him that he used the Lord’s name in vain, calling Him (Jesus) “Good teacher”, breaking the third commandment. Jesus had already confronted the man with that, but his eyes were not opened to the teaching. (Luke 18:19)
You see, the moral of this story is that no matter how good we are, or think that we are, we’re still not keepers of the law. Jesus is the only keeper of the law, because He is the fulfillment and author of the law. We are law breakers! This man went away sad, not because Jesus said that he needed to become poor, but because he looked at the face of grace and asked for the law!
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
A certain man came to Jesus with a simple question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. It’s a question I’m sure that we’ve all asked at some point in our lives, and hopefully have come to the realization that confessing Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior is the correct answer. That’s not the answer this man was looking for, however.
It seems that this passage is often misinterpreted and used as an excuse to get people to give up their money. Because Jesus told the man that he must sell everything and give it to the poor, we think that He was laying the foundation for capital campaigns and sacrificial giving sermon lessons, but that’s simply not the truth. Jesus knew far more about this man’s life than we’ll ever be able to understand, but He gave us clues in this story as to the heart of this man.
Being brought up under the Law, this man was a slave to religion. He was raised to believe that by rigidly following the Commandments he would be granted passage into eternity. So when he came to Jesus with his question, he was already under the assumption that he was good enough for God. Jesus used his arrogance to show the man that he had not followed all of the Commandments; he was guilty of breaking the Law.
Jesus then goes on to tell the man that he must keep the commandments, but He specifically leaves out the first few. Jesus lists them out for him: don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t dishonor your parents, don’t murder. (Matthew also adds love your neighbor as yourself.) The man quickly responds to Jesus by saying he’s kept all of those commandments since he was a boy. Then Jesus lays it on him. “Sell everything you have and give to the poor.....” (Luke 18:22) When the man heard this he went away sad.
Why did he go away sad? Jesus pointed out that he had not kept all of the commandments. He showed the man that he had made wealth his god, and broken the first commandment. He showed him that his possessions had become an image of his god and that he’d broken the second commandment. He had even shown him that he used the Lord’s name in vain, calling Him (Jesus) “Good teacher”, breaking the third commandment. Jesus had already confronted the man with that, but his eyes were not opened to the teaching. (Luke 18:19)
You see, the moral of this story is that no matter how good we are, or think that we are, we’re still not keepers of the law. Jesus is the only keeper of the law, because He is the fulfillment and author of the law. We are law breakers! This man went away sad, not because Jesus said that he needed to become poor, but because he looked at the face of grace and asked for the law!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Followers
Matthew 12:15
“But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all.”
Jesus had been doing many great and wonderful things while He traveled with His disciples. He had been casting out demons, giving the blind sight, the deaf hearing, and even making the lame walk, but all of this wasn’t enough to keep away the harsh criticism of the Pharisees. They had to question whether it was lawful for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. Because the Sabbath is the Lord’s day and is reserved as a day of rest and meditation, it was unlawful for a Jew to do any labor on that day. Jesus, however, being the fulfillment of the law and the cornerstone of God’s righteousness, bucked this man-filtered interpretation and did His Father’s work, even on the Sabbath. This enraged the Pharisees and they began to plot and devise a way to kill Jesus.
Jesus left the area, knowing their evil plans, and knowing that His time had not yet come. There were people, however, who had not yet received healing from Him. These people obviously had a desire to be close to Christ, to listen to His teachings, and to receive His healing, so they followed Him when He left. How fortunate for them, because He healed them all!
Often times in our study of the Bible, when we read what Jesus did and said, we get caught up in the parables He used or the accounts of specific healings. We read how He made a blind man see, or a raised a girl from death. We marvel at His wisdom and how He used simple stories to tell us about our lives, but we miss the secret. Here in this verse, hidden in the center of a completely different issue, is the secret. HE HEALED THEM ALL. The people who chose to follow Jesus all received healing. The Bible doesn’t give a great account of what ailments they had. I’m sure some were sick and others were lame. Some may have been blind or deaf while others may have had addictions, hurts and hang-ups. The fact is that the Bible doesn’t specify; it simply says that all who followed Him were healed.
What a great and marvelous, simple, hidden treasure this verse is. It’s not deep and theological. There aren’t 100 different interpretations to what it could mean. It’s pretty simple, “He healed them all.” That doesn’t leave much to be interpreted. As people who have chosen to follow Christ, I would think that we fit in this category. It’s not important what we need healing from, it’s important to know that all who followed were healed. The Bible doesn’t even mention if they asked for healing; it doesn’t mention if they even knew they needed healing. It just says that they were all healed.
Sometimes we get lost in our lives. We get locked down in this world and we may forget that we have problems. We may not even know that we have problems. But Jesus, the Great Physician, He knows. He knows what ails you; you know that all who followed Him were healed.
“But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all.”
Jesus had been doing many great and wonderful things while He traveled with His disciples. He had been casting out demons, giving the blind sight, the deaf hearing, and even making the lame walk, but all of this wasn’t enough to keep away the harsh criticism of the Pharisees. They had to question whether it was lawful for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. Because the Sabbath is the Lord’s day and is reserved as a day of rest and meditation, it was unlawful for a Jew to do any labor on that day. Jesus, however, being the fulfillment of the law and the cornerstone of God’s righteousness, bucked this man-filtered interpretation and did His Father’s work, even on the Sabbath. This enraged the Pharisees and they began to plot and devise a way to kill Jesus.
Jesus left the area, knowing their evil plans, and knowing that His time had not yet come. There were people, however, who had not yet received healing from Him. These people obviously had a desire to be close to Christ, to listen to His teachings, and to receive His healing, so they followed Him when He left. How fortunate for them, because He healed them all!
Often times in our study of the Bible, when we read what Jesus did and said, we get caught up in the parables He used or the accounts of specific healings. We read how He made a blind man see, or a raised a girl from death. We marvel at His wisdom and how He used simple stories to tell us about our lives, but we miss the secret. Here in this verse, hidden in the center of a completely different issue, is the secret. HE HEALED THEM ALL. The people who chose to follow Jesus all received healing. The Bible doesn’t give a great account of what ailments they had. I’m sure some were sick and others were lame. Some may have been blind or deaf while others may have had addictions, hurts and hang-ups. The fact is that the Bible doesn’t specify; it simply says that all who followed Him were healed.
What a great and marvelous, simple, hidden treasure this verse is. It’s not deep and theological. There aren’t 100 different interpretations to what it could mean. It’s pretty simple, “He healed them all.” That doesn’t leave much to be interpreted. As people who have chosen to follow Christ, I would think that we fit in this category. It’s not important what we need healing from, it’s important to know that all who followed were healed. The Bible doesn’t even mention if they asked for healing; it doesn’t mention if they even knew they needed healing. It just says that they were all healed.
Sometimes we get lost in our lives. We get locked down in this world and we may forget that we have problems. We may not even know that we have problems. But Jesus, the Great Physician, He knows. He knows what ails you; you know that all who followed Him were healed.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Take a seat.
Matthew 15:19
“Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
The 23rd Psalm is probably one of the best known writings in all of the Bible. Kids learn it when they are young and carry it with them all their lives. It’s a comforting passage, often times read at funerals. It was written by David as an expression of his feelings toward God. Being a shepherd himself, David used the analogy to describe how God acts in our lives. He wrote this passage so that even the commoners of the time would understand how incredibly loving and protective their God was.
How fitting, then, that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was born in a stable. As He grew it became obvious that the leadership qualities He possessed were unlike any other. Everywhere He went, people followed. He provided for them with healing, teaching, wisdom, knowledge, and food. Like any good shepherd, He was even willing to lay down His life for their salvation.
Often times we read the accounts of Jesus’ miracles and miss some of the hidden fulfillment of prophesy. Sometimes we read prophesy without even knowing that it’s a prophesy. I grew up knowing the 23rd Psalm; I never read it as a prophesy until this week. I’ve read this passage before with the understanding that it’s about God and with the knowledge that Jesus is God, but I never saw it as a prophetic passage to be fulfilled by Christ on a hillside somewhere near the Sea of Galilee. I didn’t see it in that light until this week.
There’s Jesus on a hill with His disciples. They’ve come to tell Him that the people are hungry and they don’t have any food to give them. They’ve come to tell Him, “Send them home!” But Jesus’ response is simple. He ordered them all to sit down in the grass. Then He took the food, blessed it, and passed it out to the crowd. Everyone ate, and they took up the left overs at the end. I read that verse and thought, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3) It would have been easy for Jesus to tell His disciples to have all the people form a line. It would have been convenient to dole out the fish and bread that way, but it wouldn’t have been shepherd-ly! Jesus, our Good Shepherd, wants us to sit, to know that He is in charge, and to receive the overabundance of grace that He has for us.
I bet you’re going to read the 23rd Psalm tonight!
“Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
The 23rd Psalm is probably one of the best known writings in all of the Bible. Kids learn it when they are young and carry it with them all their lives. It’s a comforting passage, often times read at funerals. It was written by David as an expression of his feelings toward God. Being a shepherd himself, David used the analogy to describe how God acts in our lives. He wrote this passage so that even the commoners of the time would understand how incredibly loving and protective their God was.
How fitting, then, that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was born in a stable. As He grew it became obvious that the leadership qualities He possessed were unlike any other. Everywhere He went, people followed. He provided for them with healing, teaching, wisdom, knowledge, and food. Like any good shepherd, He was even willing to lay down His life for their salvation.
Often times we read the accounts of Jesus’ miracles and miss some of the hidden fulfillment of prophesy. Sometimes we read prophesy without even knowing that it’s a prophesy. I grew up knowing the 23rd Psalm; I never read it as a prophesy until this week. I’ve read this passage before with the understanding that it’s about God and with the knowledge that Jesus is God, but I never saw it as a prophetic passage to be fulfilled by Christ on a hillside somewhere near the Sea of Galilee. I didn’t see it in that light until this week.
There’s Jesus on a hill with His disciples. They’ve come to tell Him that the people are hungry and they don’t have any food to give them. They’ve come to tell Him, “Send them home!” But Jesus’ response is simple. He ordered them all to sit down in the grass. Then He took the food, blessed it, and passed it out to the crowd. Everyone ate, and they took up the left overs at the end. I read that verse and thought, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3) It would have been easy for Jesus to tell His disciples to have all the people form a line. It would have been convenient to dole out the fish and bread that way, but it wouldn’t have been shepherd-ly! Jesus, our Good Shepherd, wants us to sit, to know that He is in charge, and to receive the overabundance of grace that He has for us.
I bet you’re going to read the 23rd Psalm tonight!
Friday, October 22, 2010
"Give me your shoes...."
John 3:3
“Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. No person can see God's kingdom if he is not born again.' “
I thought of this verse this morning after attending a David Crowder Band worship event last night. My incredible wife, Maggie, took me there for an early birthday surprise. I am a huge David Crowder fan and the event was fantastic, but that’s not what this is about. During the service, Crowder stopped to read some signs that fans were holding up in the audience. One in particular caught his eye. It read, “Give me your shoes. It’s my B-day!”
Crowder, in all of his Crowder-ness, was wearing bright yellow sneakers. The kind that really stand out in a crowd. They were shoes that he said, “Give you sunshine from the ground up.” During this moment with the crowd, Crowder took off his shoes and gave them away, without thought or hesitation. In the process he told the story of how special they were to him. He told us all how he had purchased them in Hong Kong and has not been able to find a pair like them anywhere else on the face of the earth. What really struck me, however, was his willingness to surrender them without a fight, without a fee, without a trade.
As the night went on, and into this morning, I began to see a picture of Jesus in this Crowder moment. Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again” in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He (Jesus) went on to explain that this meant surrendering your old life to a new life for Him. At that moment in time, God gives you a new birthday. It’s the day you are born into the bloodline of Jesus Christ through His sacrifice and atonement on the Cross. On that day, Jesus Christ took off His shoes and freely gave them to us. In return, He wore our shoes and went to the cross in our place. Christ surrendered His glory for our birthday.
There is no where else on the face of this earth that you can receive such a gift. The gift of eternal life and salvation can only be found at the foot of the cross. It’s a priceless gift. It was given to us without a fight, without a fee, and without a trade. It’s the gift of Grace from Jesus Christ so that we can have the everlasting opportunity to walk in His shoes. While Crowder said his shoes are like the sun shining up on you, wearing Christ’s shoes allows the Son to shine upon you!
“Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. No person can see God's kingdom if he is not born again.' “
I thought of this verse this morning after attending a David Crowder Band worship event last night. My incredible wife, Maggie, took me there for an early birthday surprise. I am a huge David Crowder fan and the event was fantastic, but that’s not what this is about. During the service, Crowder stopped to read some signs that fans were holding up in the audience. One in particular caught his eye. It read, “Give me your shoes. It’s my B-day!”
Crowder, in all of his Crowder-ness, was wearing bright yellow sneakers. The kind that really stand out in a crowd. They were shoes that he said, “Give you sunshine from the ground up.” During this moment with the crowd, Crowder took off his shoes and gave them away, without thought or hesitation. In the process he told the story of how special they were to him. He told us all how he had purchased them in Hong Kong and has not been able to find a pair like them anywhere else on the face of the earth. What really struck me, however, was his willingness to surrender them without a fight, without a fee, without a trade.
As the night went on, and into this morning, I began to see a picture of Jesus in this Crowder moment. Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again” in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He (Jesus) went on to explain that this meant surrendering your old life to a new life for Him. At that moment in time, God gives you a new birthday. It’s the day you are born into the bloodline of Jesus Christ through His sacrifice and atonement on the Cross. On that day, Jesus Christ took off His shoes and freely gave them to us. In return, He wore our shoes and went to the cross in our place. Christ surrendered His glory for our birthday.
There is no where else on the face of this earth that you can receive such a gift. The gift of eternal life and salvation can only be found at the foot of the cross. It’s a priceless gift. It was given to us without a fight, without a fee, and without a trade. It’s the gift of Grace from Jesus Christ so that we can have the everlasting opportunity to walk in His shoes. While Crowder said his shoes are like the sun shining up on you, wearing Christ’s shoes allows the Son to shine upon you!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Cleaning House
Leviticus 14:40
“40 then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city.”
My mom always talks about how bad mold and mildew are. She’s told me over and over about how the Bible is very specific about what to do when you have mold or mildew in your house or on your furniture. “Get rid of it!” is typically what I hear. A true statement and a very healthy approach to cleanliness in the house, but there’s more.
Some translations of the Bible refer specifically to mold and some to mildew. Some call it a plague in the house and others, still, a mark. What none of the translations differ on, however, is that it is the priest who is to inspect and order out the contaminated parts of the house. They are to be removed and brought outside the city gates, to an unclean place. Why is the Bible so determined to have the priest do the inspection and supervise the removal?
The book of Leviticus is specific in how the mold (plague) is to be removed. The priest must come into the house and inspect what He sees. He must identify the plague and order it scraped and cleaned. His orders are that the contaminated parts be removed and taken outside the gates to an unclean location. After a week (according to Leviticus) the priest returns and re-evaluates the situation. If the plague is there or it has come back and spread, He orders the entire structure be torn down and disposed of. He then instructs that a new house be built, clean!
Our bodies are a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), which is the HOUSE of God. If our bodies are a house or dwelling place, then they can’t be filled with mold and mildew! I actually prefer the term plague or mark. Leprosy is a plague and is commonly associated with sin. So couldn’t this mold in the house be sin in our hearts? Our High Priest, Jesus, is invited into our hearts when we accept Him as Lord and Savior. We invite Him in and show Him the sin that has crept in through our walls and has infested our lives. He orders it to be removed! Sometimes, though, we stray from Christ; we wander from His teachings, and the sin returns. We have to allow Christ, our High Priest, to come back in and re-evaluate our lives. He will order us to be made new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
While the scraping and removal of the sin in our lives can be painful and even leave holes in our walls, Jesus has a redemptive plan to make us a new, CLEAN, house!
“40 then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city.”
My mom always talks about how bad mold and mildew are. She’s told me over and over about how the Bible is very specific about what to do when you have mold or mildew in your house or on your furniture. “Get rid of it!” is typically what I hear. A true statement and a very healthy approach to cleanliness in the house, but there’s more.
Some translations of the Bible refer specifically to mold and some to mildew. Some call it a plague in the house and others, still, a mark. What none of the translations differ on, however, is that it is the priest who is to inspect and order out the contaminated parts of the house. They are to be removed and brought outside the city gates, to an unclean place. Why is the Bible so determined to have the priest do the inspection and supervise the removal?
The book of Leviticus is specific in how the mold (plague) is to be removed. The priest must come into the house and inspect what He sees. He must identify the plague and order it scraped and cleaned. His orders are that the contaminated parts be removed and taken outside the gates to an unclean location. After a week (according to Leviticus) the priest returns and re-evaluates the situation. If the plague is there or it has come back and spread, He orders the entire structure be torn down and disposed of. He then instructs that a new house be built, clean!
Our bodies are a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), which is the HOUSE of God. If our bodies are a house or dwelling place, then they can’t be filled with mold and mildew! I actually prefer the term plague or mark. Leprosy is a plague and is commonly associated with sin. So couldn’t this mold in the house be sin in our hearts? Our High Priest, Jesus, is invited into our hearts when we accept Him as Lord and Savior. We invite Him in and show Him the sin that has crept in through our walls and has infested our lives. He orders it to be removed! Sometimes, though, we stray from Christ; we wander from His teachings, and the sin returns. We have to allow Christ, our High Priest, to come back in and re-evaluate our lives. He will order us to be made new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
While the scraping and removal of the sin in our lives can be painful and even leave holes in our walls, Jesus has a redemptive plan to make us a new, CLEAN, house!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
If I had wings.....
Malachi 4:2
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”
Doesn’t this scripture paint a wonderful picture? I’m sure we’ve all read this verse or heard this verse at some point in our lives and had a mental picture pop in our minds. Probably we’ve thought of a mother hen, or any bird for that matter, gathering her chicks under her wings and providing protection for them. I’m sure that we’ve seen birds protect their young by standing up with their wings flared out in a display of power, while their chicks hunker down behind the shield. This is how we like to picture God, like a protective mother hen. While this is a nice image to have of God, and does hold some validity, it’s not what this verse is about. Fear keeps us behind the wings, but this verse clearly states that we’ll go OUT with joy! We aren’t going to stay hidden and cloaked behind momma-hen’s wings.
The key to understanding this scripture is understanding the language. Wings, as referred to in this verse, is a translation of the Hebrew word Tzitzit (zeet-zeet). The Tzitzit is the fringe on the end of the Tallit (tal-leet). The Tallit is a rectangular garment with four corners traditionally worn by Jewish men who had reached the age of maturity (age 13). The Tallit was also used in worship. The men would place the garment over their heads in order to create their own private space to pray and seek God’s will. Jesus, a Jewish male, over 13, and a Rabbi, most likely wore a Tallit.
As Jesus traveled with His disciples, He healed many people. He stopped along the way to ask certain people if they wanted to be healed. He just walked up and healed some, whether they wanted it or not. Others, however, took healing from Him. (Mark 6:56 “and wherever he was going, to villages, or cities, or fields, in the market-places they were laying the infirm, and were calling upon him, that they may touch if it were but the fringe of his garment, and as many as were touching him were saved.” Luke 8:44 “having come near behind, touched the fringe of his garment, and presently the issue of her blood stood.”)
When Jesus healed, whether out of request or because someone just took healing from Him, the result was always mobility for the recipient. The lame could walk, the blind could move about freely, the woman could stand up straight, and the dead could come out of the ground! We aren’t supposed to hide behind Jesus’ wings; we’re supposed to grab hold of them, take what He’s always willing to give, and jump for joy at the salvation He offers!
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”
Doesn’t this scripture paint a wonderful picture? I’m sure we’ve all read this verse or heard this verse at some point in our lives and had a mental picture pop in our minds. Probably we’ve thought of a mother hen, or any bird for that matter, gathering her chicks under her wings and providing protection for them. I’m sure that we’ve seen birds protect their young by standing up with their wings flared out in a display of power, while their chicks hunker down behind the shield. This is how we like to picture God, like a protective mother hen. While this is a nice image to have of God, and does hold some validity, it’s not what this verse is about. Fear keeps us behind the wings, but this verse clearly states that we’ll go OUT with joy! We aren’t going to stay hidden and cloaked behind momma-hen’s wings.
The key to understanding this scripture is understanding the language. Wings, as referred to in this verse, is a translation of the Hebrew word Tzitzit (zeet-zeet). The Tzitzit is the fringe on the end of the Tallit (tal-leet). The Tallit is a rectangular garment with four corners traditionally worn by Jewish men who had reached the age of maturity (age 13). The Tallit was also used in worship. The men would place the garment over their heads in order to create their own private space to pray and seek God’s will. Jesus, a Jewish male, over 13, and a Rabbi, most likely wore a Tallit.
As Jesus traveled with His disciples, He healed many people. He stopped along the way to ask certain people if they wanted to be healed. He just walked up and healed some, whether they wanted it or not. Others, however, took healing from Him. (Mark 6:56 “and wherever he was going, to villages, or cities, or fields, in the market-places they were laying the infirm, and were calling upon him, that they may touch if it were but the fringe of his garment, and as many as were touching him were saved.” Luke 8:44 “having come near behind, touched the fringe of his garment, and presently the issue of her blood stood.”)
When Jesus healed, whether out of request or because someone just took healing from Him, the result was always mobility for the recipient. The lame could walk, the blind could move about freely, the woman could stand up straight, and the dead could come out of the ground! We aren’t supposed to hide behind Jesus’ wings; we’re supposed to grab hold of them, take what He’s always willing to give, and jump for joy at the salvation He offers!
Monday, October 11, 2010
MMMMMM Bacon....
Leviticus 11:3
3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
Recently I have started to eat a traditional Hebrew diet. I haven’t chosen this lifestyle for health reasons, but for Christian reasons. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (Matthew 5:17) but today it seems that we’ve decided that He did abolish it, or at least certain parts of it. It seems that we use the law to our benefit most of the time, and when it becomes an inconvenience, we decide that it doesn’t pertain to us anymore because of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Ten Commandments are still good and, of course, tithing is still good, but all of the laws about eating, those are just trivial. Why? We say things like, “It’s not a salvation issue, it’s a faith issue” in reference to tithing. We unapologetically get out there in our Sunday morning best and guilt the guiltless into forking over the cash, but we fly right by the other rules. It’s not a salvation issue if you tithe or not, and it’s not a salvation issue if you eat pork; it’s a love issue!
I’ve realized over the past 3 days since starting this diet that, more than ever, I think about God. In EVERYTHING that I do, shopping, cooking, eating, drinking, I find myself thinking about God’s rules for food and whether or not I’m following them. By following this simple diet, I am putting God’s thoughts first. It’s not hard and it’s not controlling. It’s simple. Perhaps God gave these rules and regulations to us so that we would put Him first. Being that He is the Creator of everything, I guess it’s safe to say He knew that we’d forget about Him and choose ourselves over Him. I guess that He gave His people (which we all are--not just the Jews) specific rules and guidelines so that they’d still remember Him. I guess that from my side, it’s a love issue. Do I love God more than bacon cheeseburgers? Am I willing to think about God and His plans for me, my heart, and my colon, before I eat this lobster bisque with a porter house steak, baked potato with sour cream and bacon bits, and green beans sauteed to perfection in butter? By thinking about the “rules” before putting food into my mouth, I’m forced to think about the Rule Maker. By putting His plans first, I’m worshipping Him.
The rules haven’t changed; our hearts have. By following the rules not out of fear of punishment but by a heartfelt desire to draw closer to God, I feel my heart refocusing on Him. And that’s way better than any bacon cheeseburger.
3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
Recently I have started to eat a traditional Hebrew diet. I haven’t chosen this lifestyle for health reasons, but for Christian reasons. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (Matthew 5:17) but today it seems that we’ve decided that He did abolish it, or at least certain parts of it. It seems that we use the law to our benefit most of the time, and when it becomes an inconvenience, we decide that it doesn’t pertain to us anymore because of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Ten Commandments are still good and, of course, tithing is still good, but all of the laws about eating, those are just trivial. Why? We say things like, “It’s not a salvation issue, it’s a faith issue” in reference to tithing. We unapologetically get out there in our Sunday morning best and guilt the guiltless into forking over the cash, but we fly right by the other rules. It’s not a salvation issue if you tithe or not, and it’s not a salvation issue if you eat pork; it’s a love issue!
I’ve realized over the past 3 days since starting this diet that, more than ever, I think about God. In EVERYTHING that I do, shopping, cooking, eating, drinking, I find myself thinking about God’s rules for food and whether or not I’m following them. By following this simple diet, I am putting God’s thoughts first. It’s not hard and it’s not controlling. It’s simple. Perhaps God gave these rules and regulations to us so that we would put Him first. Being that He is the Creator of everything, I guess it’s safe to say He knew that we’d forget about Him and choose ourselves over Him. I guess that He gave His people (which we all are--not just the Jews) specific rules and guidelines so that they’d still remember Him. I guess that from my side, it’s a love issue. Do I love God more than bacon cheeseburgers? Am I willing to think about God and His plans for me, my heart, and my colon, before I eat this lobster bisque with a porter house steak, baked potato with sour cream and bacon bits, and green beans sauteed to perfection in butter? By thinking about the “rules” before putting food into my mouth, I’m forced to think about the Rule Maker. By putting His plans first, I’m worshipping Him.
The rules haven’t changed; our hearts have. By following the rules not out of fear of punishment but by a heartfelt desire to draw closer to God, I feel my heart refocusing on Him. And that’s way better than any bacon cheeseburger.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sinner?
1 John 2:2
2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
It seems to me that a great mistake has been made in the teaching and preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, across this nation and around the world. There seems to be some misunderstanding that in order to become a Christian you must first confess your sins to God, then ask, beg, and plead for His forgiveness. This flat out isn’t the truth. The truth is that both the believer and the nonbeliever have already been forgiven for their sins. Whether they are willing to accept that forgiveness, or even acknowledge it, is a completely different story!
In John 8, the Pharisees brought a whore before Jesus and asked Him what they should do with her. The law at the time stated that she was to be stoned, and that’s what they wanted Jesus to tell them to do. Jesus, being God, had a response. He bent down and wrote with His finger in the ground. The Bible doesn’t say what He wrote, but I would hazard a guess that it was the Ten Commandments. When He completed His writing He stood up and said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Whoever among you hasn’t broken a law, go ahead and throw some stones.” Jesus knew that they were all sinners, and that He was the only one worthy of casting a stone at her. When they were all gone, and it was just Jesus and the woman, He said, “I do not condemn you; go and sin no more!”
She was forgiven without asking for forgiveness. She was forgiven before she was brought before Jesus. Why? Because she is our example for life. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for all sins for all time. Before we were born, every sin in our life was already forgiven by the Father because of the death of His Son on the cross. The penalty for our sins was also put upon Him, spiritual death. Jesus bore it all on the cross. Today, all we have to do is accept His sacrifice, admit that He is God and that He was raised from the dead and we’ll be saved. (Romans 10:9)
Jesus told the woman to go and stop sinning. Did that mean that she never sinned again? Of course not, it meant that she was going to try and sin no more. We are the same today. After an encounter with God, we should realize that our sins were forgiven before we ever got to His feet, and we should leave with the plan to sin no more. Of course we’re going to sin again, but those sins were already forgiven too!
Don’t be fooled by Pharisaical rules and regulations and a “sinners prayer” that requires an open confession to God that you’re a sinner and formal request for His forgiveness. That’s already been taken care of by Jesus on the Cross. God knows you’re a sinner; He’s not an idiot. The woman in John 8 never asked for forgiveness. She never looked up into the heart-piercing eyes of Jesus and blurted out all of her wrongdoings to Him. She didn’t make a list, check it twice, then read it out loud and tell it to her neighbors. She simply looked at Him, got up, and walked away, free. If you have to confess and request forgiveness in order to get it from God, then it’s no longer completely by Grace you are saved. The request is a work that you have to do. Grace is what has been given, by God, to man, with no request. Forgiveness of sins is the Grace of God. To request forgiveness, to make an effort to gain it from God, robs Him of the blessing that comes solely through His Grace.
The only confession that you need to make is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man can come to the Father except through Him.
2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
It seems to me that a great mistake has been made in the teaching and preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, across this nation and around the world. There seems to be some misunderstanding that in order to become a Christian you must first confess your sins to God, then ask, beg, and plead for His forgiveness. This flat out isn’t the truth. The truth is that both the believer and the nonbeliever have already been forgiven for their sins. Whether they are willing to accept that forgiveness, or even acknowledge it, is a completely different story!
In John 8, the Pharisees brought a whore before Jesus and asked Him what they should do with her. The law at the time stated that she was to be stoned, and that’s what they wanted Jesus to tell them to do. Jesus, being God, had a response. He bent down and wrote with His finger in the ground. The Bible doesn’t say what He wrote, but I would hazard a guess that it was the Ten Commandments. When He completed His writing He stood up and said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Whoever among you hasn’t broken a law, go ahead and throw some stones.” Jesus knew that they were all sinners, and that He was the only one worthy of casting a stone at her. When they were all gone, and it was just Jesus and the woman, He said, “I do not condemn you; go and sin no more!”
She was forgiven without asking for forgiveness. She was forgiven before she was brought before Jesus. Why? Because she is our example for life. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for all sins for all time. Before we were born, every sin in our life was already forgiven by the Father because of the death of His Son on the cross. The penalty for our sins was also put upon Him, spiritual death. Jesus bore it all on the cross. Today, all we have to do is accept His sacrifice, admit that He is God and that He was raised from the dead and we’ll be saved. (Romans 10:9)
Jesus told the woman to go and stop sinning. Did that mean that she never sinned again? Of course not, it meant that she was going to try and sin no more. We are the same today. After an encounter with God, we should realize that our sins were forgiven before we ever got to His feet, and we should leave with the plan to sin no more. Of course we’re going to sin again, but those sins were already forgiven too!
Don’t be fooled by Pharisaical rules and regulations and a “sinners prayer” that requires an open confession to God that you’re a sinner and formal request for His forgiveness. That’s already been taken care of by Jesus on the Cross. God knows you’re a sinner; He’s not an idiot. The woman in John 8 never asked for forgiveness. She never looked up into the heart-piercing eyes of Jesus and blurted out all of her wrongdoings to Him. She didn’t make a list, check it twice, then read it out loud and tell it to her neighbors. She simply looked at Him, got up, and walked away, free. If you have to confess and request forgiveness in order to get it from God, then it’s no longer completely by Grace you are saved. The request is a work that you have to do. Grace is what has been given, by God, to man, with no request. Forgiveness of sins is the Grace of God. To request forgiveness, to make an effort to gain it from God, robs Him of the blessing that comes solely through His Grace.
The only confession that you need to make is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man can come to the Father except through Him.
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