Author: Peter Loeffelbein

Mary and I have been binge watching Leverage. It’s an action series and on almost every episode there is a rescue. Audiences love to watch a Rescue.

If the Jesus story were rewritten for a modern audience Matthew 11 might be very different. John the Baptist was in prison. He had endorsed Jesus as the messiah, Jesus was showing himself to be powerful in word and deed but John was still languishing in prison.

“11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.[a]

2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’[c]
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,[d] and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

I think what John was asking in a roundabout way is, “when may I expect my release?”

The release doesn’t come. John will be beheaded while in prison.

Jesus answer to Johns disciples was to affirm that he is the messiah and God’s plan is moving ahead. It may not look like what John was expecting. No daring prison break. No overthrow of the Roman Empire.

Sometimes the center of God’s will is to be unjustly imprisoned. It may even to be unjustly killed.

Does God know? Yes.
Does he care? Yes.

Now a question for us, can we still trust and believe in God if life is not going the way we want?

What if there is no rescue? Can God really be God if there is no rescue?

Yes.

But there is a rescue for each of us. A freeing us from a prison that each one of us is in, The prison of sin.

Jesus came to set us free, free from sin. No one else can do that and without it no other freedom matters. We will all face death. Without Jesus our sin will forever separate us from God. With Jesus even the physically imprisoned can be spiritually free.

God is good. Life is sometimes hard. God is always good.

John 5

Take him at his word

“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.”

I think I would’ve insisted that Jesus come with me to see the boy.

This father just accepted what Jesus said and went back home.

Maybe the circumstances of the water to wine incident were well known, so I propose this Galilean conversation.

“How did he do it? What did he put in the jars?
“Nothing, he never touched the jars or the water.”
“Did he do any incantation or have a wand or magic powder?”
“No, none of that, he said ‘fill those water jars’, they filled them and it became wine…!?”
“Well that’s a miracle!”
“Yup, miracle”
“Who is this guy again? Jesus? The carpenters son…?”

He can turn water into wine. What else can he do? He can heal people. He is not a genie. He is not obligated to us to do whatever we ask but we can ask anything. I’ve asked him to heal my grandsons. I have 2 with bad allergies. Not immediately life threatening, unless a peanut comes into play. So I’m kind of annoying God with requests for healing and so far the answer has been no or not yet. I continue to ask because I believe he can do it. I believe he will do it. I don’t understand why it hasn’t happened yet but I believe it will.

I contend in prayer for friends family and coworkers who haven’t met Jesus yet. That they will meet and believe in him. Believe that his death paid for their sin and his coming back to life guarantees our eternal life.

I take him at his word.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

God is not a genie. He is better. Genies have no conscience and no foreknowledge of how what we ask for will affect our lives and those lives around us. You wish for a bazooka, you get a bazooka. You ask God for a bazooka and he knows what you really need. If you’re a weapons specialist involved in a military conflict or if you are a 7 year old boy with bully issues. The answer will fit the situation.

One of the sillier things that I’ve prayed for is a 57 chevy pickup. I prayed for 30 years. Then out of the blue My uncle gave me this one. I had to work on it a bit but here it is. Answer to prayer? I think so.

What is it that you want? What do you need? Ask and take Jesus at his word.

Read more about Gods answer to my silly prayer here. https://www.facebook.com/Rustys-Page-532927836827647/

I have been reading a devotional of collected works of C.S. Lewis.

He was a brilliant person and sometimes I have to read and reread what he wrote several times before I understand what he means.

He makes me think. Most of the time he brings very complex ideas into focus so that the subject can be understood by common folks like me. Like looking through a telescope or a microscope, he brings hard to see things into view, and explains them in ways that make sense.

This morning the devotional was from a portion of “Mere Christianity”. He talks about the sin condition, why its here and where it came from.

“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first-wanting to be the center-wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake. (The story in the book of Genesis rather suggests that some corruption in our sexual nature followed the fall and was its result, not its cause.) What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’- could set up on their own as if they created themselves- be their own masters- invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history-money, poverty, ambition, war prostitution, classes, empires, slavery- the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. ” C. S. Lewis “Mere Christianity”

Some of us have a humble smugness, seeing the depravity of some and assuming God grades on a curve, we deem ourselves “pretty good”, assuming that the most evil among us pushes the meek and moral yet irreligious further forward. Like a recent test I took, I scored an 80% and passed. I didn’t have to be perfect. We need to realize that God does not grade us on a curve, he does not compare our “pretty good” behavior to the most vile and evil and sigh and wave us on in to eternity, while sadly shaking his head and muttering, “well at least he’s better than that guy…”. Thinking like this is made up non-sense. We tend to take our week and wimpy ideas about our own “goodness” and paint God with that same brush of wishy-washy standards, thinking he is scoring us, keeping track of the good stuff and winking at the not so good stuff.

We are broken. We are all, each and every one of us, broken. the bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The word sin, it doesn’t mean much anymore to our time. Our culture has watered it down, allowing each person to define right and wrong and with that, have an individual definition of what sin is. What I have heard about the bible word sin, is that to sin is to miss the target, the bullseye. We are all shooting at moral perfection and declaring ourselves excellent marksmen even if the arrow we shot lands behind us. At least it left the bow, right? No, wrong. God in his ultimate holiness, for us to be near him, needs us to be absolutely perfect. No missed arrows. Every action, every thought to strike the bullseye.

That sounds impossible. It sounds impossible because it is impossible. There has only been one person who lived a perfect life. One, just one. His name is, and it would normally be said of anyone else, his name was, but his name is, although he was born around 2000 years ago, he was killed around 2000 years ago, his name is, because he rose from the dead around 2000 years ago, his name is, Jesus. He is God’s son.

The really unbelievably gracious thing about Jesus is that he can and he will and he does share his perfection with us. It doesn’t sound doable, sharing perfection, but it is. Jesus’ perfect life is like a robe, he can and will hand us his perfection and we can wear it like a robe and have it cover over our sins and then God looks at us, and sees his sons perfection and we are accepted. The way it is transferred is through the blood that he poured out as he was sacrificially crucified for all of us. Because God’s son Jesus was willing to die for us, we can be covered over with his sacrifice, with his blood and with that we are clean, cleansed, absolved, forgiven, freed, redeemed, adopted and welcomed in. We are loved and accepted.

The bible say this about Jesus in the letter to the Hebrews, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 4:15-16

And later the writer says this, “Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” 7:26-27

The transaction goes something like this, “Jesus I need what you did to cover me, I want to be clean and forgiven, I believe in what you did and that you rose from the dead.” Then tell some one, tell some one about the cool robe of purity that you just got given by Jesus. You can message me if you want.

If you are reading this and your are already a believer, would you do me a favor and share this post? Send it in email, put it up on Facebook or some other social media. Maybe someone who has never heard about Jesus will read this and receive his gift.

If you don’t like how I wrote this, write a better one and then share it. Write your story and share it.

#sharethegoodnews# #goodnews#

John 3

Behavior vs belonging

Did this ever happen to you? As a kid You invite a friend to join you for a day of family fun. Then this friend out shines you in every way in front of your parents. They are more helpful, more courteous, more polite. By the end of the day you can’t stand your friend anymore and you are pretty sure that your parents are looking into trading kids. But then the friend goes back to his house and you go back to live with your parents. You are still their kid.

Good works don’t earn us salvation like behaving for our parents doesn’t make us more of their child. The good behaving neighbor kid didn’t earn his way into our family through their good behavior. Our bad behavior didn’t make us lose our last name. Birth makes us a child of our parents. Being “born again” makes us a child of God.

New birth makes us a child of God. Our good works please him but they won’t make us part of his family.

“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b]gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”’

God wants us in his family.

“‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”‘

When I sin as a Christian, what do I do?

The same man that wrote the Gospel of John also wrote this in one of his letters: 1John 2

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

If we are born again we belong to God, we are part of his family. Our behavior won’t change our family status. If we’ve sinned we need to confess it, admit it and get it cleansed by the blood of Jesus. It’s his death that washes away our sin. We need to Stay clean, but if we stumble, we get back up and get cleaned up. Then we get on with sharing About this amazing God who forgives sin.

We love our stuff. Americans, we love our teams, our beers our coffee, our political parties, our birthday parties, our jeans, our sneakers, our car brands (or truck brands). We love our stuff. I love my stuff.

I love watermelon and I love pepperoni pizza and i love sitcoms and crime dramas and tools and toys. I love cars and trucks, some more than others (wink-wink Rusty!) I love my wife and kids and my grandkids. (This is not a prioritized list).

To not love stuff, well it’s downright unamerican. Who doesn’t love stuff? Who shouldn’t love stuff?

As it turns out… me. I shouldn’t love stuff.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:15-17

Everything in the world is good, God declared it so at the end of creation but it has in it an enticement that can lead me away from my love of God. My little human heart has only a certain amount of love. How will that be divided?

If I love God first and foremost it opens the chambers of my life to more love. Like when I see my wife from across the room my pupils dilate. They open up as if to get more of her visage and likeness into my head and heart. When I love God first, my heart is opened up to allow more love for people. When I understand that God is creator of all things then things take on a different level of respect and admiration. I see things as part of a creators creation and I start to see people differently. I start to see Each one as a person created to spend eternity in fellowship with God but just now separated from him by sin.

We are separated Unless.

Unless we meet Jesus and accept his gift of reconciliation.

This is how that reconciliation happens: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:9-13

Say out loud “Jesus you are now my Lord, (master-boss-king-ruler-leader) and I believe that you rose from the dead. “

Can it really be that simple?

Yes, but try it and see.

What changes? Down here? Not much. In heaven? There’s a party, in your heart? Sin is forgiven. And the driver seat of your heart is now occupied by the Holy Spirit.

Buckle up. You are beginning a new adventure.

This is the anniversary of the day that I died.

The date was February 18, the year was 1972.

There were 5 of us in the old crewcab truck. My foster brother Rodney was driving, my sister Judi was sitting in the middle of the front seat, my sister Kitti and her boy friend Steve were in the back seat and I was riding shotgun. The truck was a Forrest service surplus. Seating for 6 and under the hood each passenger was represented by one cylinder, the long way to say it had a small 6 cylinder engine. It was not fast.

The night was foggy and cold. It was February fog, thick and sticky. We were driving from Milton-Freewater to Pendleton. The Loeffelbein family had embarked on a great adventure in leasing Curl’s Drive in in Milton-Freewater but were having trouble selling the house in Pendleton. The trip was supposed to be a chance for us kids to see our friends and help pack up the house. We didn’t make it very far.

Just outside of town there is a long steep grade that at that time had only two lanes. (I believe it’s 3 lanes now). I don’t know the ladies name in the slow car that was in front of us, I think she was driving a Rambler. Rodney thought it would be safe to pass. We were slightly ahead of her car when we saw the lights of the on coming car, they weren’t headlights, just park lights but it was a car in the lane in front of us. Rodney tried swerve back into our lane, there just wasn’t enough time.

I’m not sure which car hit us first but both cars did. I’ve heard that by the time it was all over there were 17 cars involved. The impact tore the cab we were in free of the truck frame.

When my dad who was at work in Pendleton heard about the accident from the state patrol all he knew was that his kids were in an accident and that there had been a fatality.

When he and my brother arrived on the scene our crewcab was in pieces strewn around the hi-way. The cab was upside down just off the road.

I don’t know the sequence of events except from my experience so that’s what I’ll tell you. When I woke up I was laying on the ceiling of our truck. People were all around, there were flashlights and people were asking me questions. I tried to talk but the lower half of my face felt like jello. I would find out later that my jaw was broken in 5 places. Somehow all 5 of us stayed in the cab. None of us were using seat belts (seat belts?).
Rodney had been pushing so hard on the brake that his foot had gone through the floor. His femur was shattered. Judi broke her wrist. Kitti broke her ankle. Steve was the worst of us. He had a skull fracture. At that point we were busted up but alive. The driver of the oncoming car had died on impact. My condolences to his family.

Somehow they got me out of the truck and into an ambulance. As I lay there on the gurney I started to panic but I heard a voice in my head that said “Jesus will take care of you”. I relaxed and either passed out or fell asleep or died. I don’t know. I just know that I’ve never known rest like that before or since. It was blissful.

At the hospital things were a little hectic. My gurney was in the hallway and when my mom arrived the doctors in triage were working on me. When My mom arrived she saw the doctors walking away from me she asked if she could talk to me, one doctor answered, “well it doesn’t matter now “. She started gently rubbing my leg and I started to cough. The doctors spun around and started working on me with renewed vigor.

I remember this scene but I remember it from a view above my body. As the gurney was wheeled into a room I remember sort of sqooshing back into myself.

All of this kind of got shoved aside as the crisis of all of us was being taken care of.

My jaw was set with a plate. They were going to wire it shut but my burn scars were too tough to cut through so they went with the plate. At a follow up orthodontic appointment the doctor who had been at the hospital when I arrived told my mom that I was clinically dead when I arrived. She almost fainted. After we got home we talked about all the details. I remembered the weird way that I recalled the event, from above my body.

I’m not sure how to close this. I’ve given the facts but it doesn’t seem complete. Dying and coming back to life. It happened. It changed me I’m sure but since I was so young (11) I don’t know how different things would be without the experience . One thing that happened because I had the plate in my jaw. Mary and I broke up
My senior year. I was trying to get out of town so I signed up to join the air force. I was going to leave early, before graduation. I had scored pretty high on my ASVAB so they were excited to get me. Everything was a go until during the medical questionnaire they asked me if I had any pins or plates. I told them
About my jaw and everything came to a screeching halt. Due to the plate I would not be joining any of our armed services. I stayed in soap lake. I graduated in June of 1979 and eventually (August of 1979) Mary and I went to a movie and before the sun rose the next day, we were not only back together, but engaged. The rest of the story is our marriage and family.

I died, I don’t know how long I was gone. I have no other memories from that experience. I don’t know why it happened. I do know this, God works all thing together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. I do love him and he has brought good to me even though life, at times was very rough.

Thank you mom for pursuing us to the hospital, for your loving and gentle touch that brought me back.

Thank you Jesus for bringing me back. My story could have ended on February 18, 1972, that may have been the date on my tombstone but you have other plans for me. Plans to prosper me, not to harm me. Plans to give me a future and a hope. Not only a future on earth, my future then, is now my past, but you have given me a future in eternity.

We can read about Jesus raising the dead on more than one occasion. Here’s one example.

Jesus was traveling with his disciples and they came upon a funeral procession.

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”
Luke 7:11-17 – NIV

Jesus will go on to raise Jairus’s daughter from the dead, and then he will raise his young friend Lazarus from the dead. And although the leaders of the day condemned him, Jesus, to die on a cross. He rose on the third day. Death has been defeated.

There are a couple of things that are true of all of us. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Truth. The wages of sin is death. Truth. We are all going to die. Truth. Ok so that’s 3 things.

I personally stepped through the door of death. I was on the other side looking back at my body. Death is not an end. It is a doorway.

I stated earlier that Jesus died and rose again. The thing is, he was a perfect man and he was also God. Fully man, fully God, living life without sin and then killed. Why? His death was a sacrifice. He was our sacrifice. The Jews have an annual celebration to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egyptt. They sacrifice a lamb. The lambs blood kept them safe from the angel of death. The lamb had to be perfect, spotless and without blemish. Jesus was our perfect, spotless lamb, without blemish. His death paid for our sin and protects us from death.

There is only one thing left to do. We have to claim that for ourselves. We have to say, “Jesus I accept what you did, dying on the cross as payment for my sin and I believe that you rose from the dead and are now living forever in heaven, preparing a place for me in eternity with our Father in heaven.”

If you have stated that, tell someone. And welcome to the family of God.

In August of last year we moved into a new house, not just new to us but brand new. We are as surprised as anyone that we are here. We feel very blessed and grateful.

One of my favorite parts of our new house is the ensuite bath. Our last house did not have this feature. My favorite part of the bath is the tiled and glass enclosed walk-in shower.

Because of COVID-19 I have been working from home. I used to have to shower every night after coming home because my clothes would pick up the smell of one of the chemicals we make, it smells like old fish. Now that I work from home I lose track of when I showered last.

I showered last night. I had spent a long weekend in the garage working on a project and i was dusty and sweaty and dirty. It felt good to get clean.

Getting clean, washing away dirt and sweat and stench and filth. It feels good. What about our inner person? How do we clean our souls?

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the hot shower of the soul. Who can we go to to get forgiveness?

Let’s read a bit of Luke 7 and find out.

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”’
Luke 7:36-50 – NIV

Are you feeling dirty?

Our sins, whether few or many can all be forgiven and washed away by Jesus.

Like in my shower whether I am caked mud and filth or just need to wash off a stinky smell, the forgiveness of Jesus works to cleanse me, cleanse us.

John 1

Seeking and finding

What are we looking for?

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.”

The disciples of John were looking for the messiah. John pointed them to Jesus. When they met Jesus he seemed to already know them.

“Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[k] the Son of Man.”’

Jesus know us. I mean knows us. Every deed done in secret. Every deed done by us. Every deed done to us. He has seen it all.

Here is His message about all that.

It is forgiven.

We don’t need to look for anything or anyone else. Jesus knows us and has come to forgive us and welcome us into his family.

(Winter is loooong. Life can be cold and hard and messy. I hope this helps. God is in the beautification business, it may not show on the outside because he always starts in our hearts).

I was listening to a radio pastor yesterday and heard something new or at least fresh. A fresh thought.

As I get closer to Jesus , the light he brings into my life continues to expose more and more of the mess in my life.

Like if I were with Jesus in a dark room. He asks me if the room is clean. Hmm, the room is dark, nothing under my feet, I say yes. He then lights a match and we see just a little way around us. There are dirty dishes, litter, a pair of underwear that didn’t make it to the hamper. Then he turns on a flashlight and we see deeper into the room, more mess, then he flips on a light and we see clearly, smudged walls, mildew and mold.

The longer I hang out with Jesus the more stuff he exposes. Sometimes the pain and shame of a life exposed is too much and I want to push Jesus back out of my life and shut the door and please oh please, kill the light. The mess doesn’t go away when Jesus leaves and the light goes out, but if we don’t have to see the mess of our lives, we can pretend it isn’t there, and the pain and shame fall and fade.

Meeting Jesus and inviting him into my life will not make my life a blissful rose garden. Well not just the flowery part. Jesus will begin to clean up and the fascinating thing he will do is to use the poop of my life to grow beauty. The bible says the he will give us beauty for ashes. Ashes are the waste product of the end of something, something gone and useless. God has the ability to turn that part of life, and poop is a useless waste end of life product too, the poop and ashes and reuse them to bring us beauty, like roses.

This will only happen if we allow him into our lives and trust him enough to expose the mess behind the door. Denying a mess doesn’t make it go away. Admitting to a mess doesn’t make It go away either but it can start the process of cleansing.

Isaiah 61:1-6 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.”

Today will you let Jesus into your life to help you declutter your your heart and soul? He will turn it around for you. Beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for despair. He loves us and just wants to help.

In the fall of my 5th grade year I got the mumps. Mom and dad both worked full time so I stayed home alone for a week. I had a children’s bible that had been given to me by my God parents, Mr & Mrs H. H. Rieky. (I’m probably spelling that wrong). I read it. I read the entire Old Testament and the gospels and acts. I tried reading the Epistles but got bogged down when there was more words than pictures.

At the back of the Bible was a sinners prayer, a place to confess your sin and receive forgiveness, accept Jesus as Lord and savior. I did that. And waited. Nothing changed. My dads stack of Playboys didn’t go away, mom and dad still fought, my dad still drank and got angry.

I thought my Prayer didn’t work. I expected my world to change but it was my heart that changed. A transaction had occurred but I wouldn’t realize it for 11 years, when I finally understood that salvation comes by grace.

Matthew 9 talks about how you can’t add new things to old. They don’t go together.

“14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”’

Christianity is a new way of life. It’s not Judaism. It’s not animal sacrifices and rituals. Christianity is about Jesus, what he did for us. He forgave, once for all and all eternity, our sin. He paid for it, covered it over. It is no longer animal sacrifice. It is a human sacrifice, one human man died to redeem all of mankind.

The transaction is simple.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9,10

It’s a new life in the same world. The sin and sadness and anger and all of the yuck will all be there, but now we can shine on it.

Darkness does not overcome light, light overcomes darkness.

Jesus is the light of the world.

Titus 2

I love the Andy Griffith Show. I long for life in Mayberry. Living life, doing what’s right, fishing, (what? I’ve fished before), talking with folks, living in a black and white world.

The instructions that Paul gives for the folks on Crete sounds like a life from a bygone era but it’s the life of a christian. The way we live today may seem antiquated to the world and culture around us and that’s ok.

“Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.”

This lifestyle won’t sell more beer, or guns or pickup trucks. It’s not what our culture wants but it is what our culture needs. We are Not to impose this on anyone but to live this way in front of everyone.

Ladies, your turn.

“3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Busy at home and subject to our husbands? Be pure? Think pure? 50 shades of white?

Yes.

Young men what can your lives look like?

“Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”

Next are the Slaves, not many of those this century but there are a lot of employees. If we have someone to answer to at our job this week lets try and live like this:

“Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.”

Why? Why this self control and good behavior?

“11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Jesus died to save sinners. Not all the sinners have heard that yet. Let’s Tell somebody about Jesus today.

The winter.

It means short days.

Short days means that when my work day is over at 5 pm it’s already dark outside.

We have two small dogs, Piper and Cooper. They use our backyard for all of their bathroom needs. When it’s dark outside I can’t go and pick up their stinky deposits so they accumulate.

Dogs are weird. They like to stink. Sometimes they will roll in and on stinky stuff to make themselves smell “good”. Smelling good to them is smelling bad to us. We won’t let them share the couch if they stink. Their behavior has separated us.

Another thing that happens is that between groomer visits the hair in all areas of their body gets long, even on their backside so sometimes they collect an unsavory berry, what we call dingle berries. This also adds to their unpleasant odor.

Their smell, in part brought on by their behavior and in part brought on just being dogs has separated us.

I was already thinking about how my relationship to our dogs is similar to my relationship with God, how he feeds me and cares for me and cleans up my messes. But then bathtime came for our dogs. We had to take action, do something to make them clean again so we could both enjoy a snuggle on the couch.

God has taken action to make me clean. He couldn’t stand the stench of my sin so he sent Jesus to die for my sins, so I can be made clean again. Why would he do that? Because he enjoys snuggling with me. Or at least the God/human equivalent of a snuggle, we call it fellowship, but that word doesn’t really convey the sweetness of a couch snuggle with a puppy.

This idea started with me reading Matthew 14, Jesus heard about John the Baptist being beheaded and he got into a boat and sailed off to be alone and mourn but when he came ashore there were a bunch of needy people waiting for him.

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:13-14 – NIV

God has had compassion on me, on us. He wants a couch snuggle but we stink, from our behavior yes but from our very humanness. He sent Jesus to provide a way to wash away our stench and make us clean.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 – NIV

It’s winter and it’s cold outside and I long to snuggle with my dogs. Is God feeling a similar thing about me? About us? Are we clean enough to approach his couch? We can be through Jesus. Need a bath so you can snuggle? I did. How about you?

But wait, there’s more…

How many times have we heard that line in a TV ad?

The next story in Matthew 8 is about Jesus healing 2 demon possessed men that lived in tombs.

When I read it through I was distracted by the fact that Matthew talks about two men but when Mark and Luke tell the story they only mention one.

I did some extra research and read what the experts had to say. While reading about that, one expert mentioned the fact that while Jesus was in the midst of a successful ministry time, crowds were gathering, he hopped in a boat and went to the very place where two man who were being tormented by a demonic legion. No one could contain theses guys. Not only were they busting ropes, they were breaking chains. If they couldn’t be contained then they also couldn’t be helped. Jesus dropped everything and crossed a lake in a storm to get to These men.

“28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,[c] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.”

Jesus knows us, knows our troubles. He knows where we are and what we are going through and how to set us free and is able to set us free. No matter who or what or how many, Jesus can set us free. These men were not able to be held prisoners by anything but were in fact enslaved by evil. Jesus set them free with a a word. He said to the legion, “go!” And they went.

I want add just a little from Luke’s telling of the story.

“34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”

Jesus can restore us. He can bring release from enslavement to evil, he can bring sanity back. Jesus sought these guys out. He then set them free when no one else could. They couldn’t be chained or freed.

Today, right now, Jesus is still seeking the lost hurt and damaged. How do I know? I am one. I am damaged on the inside and the outside yet, Jesus loves me.

He loves us. Will we allow Jesus into our lives and let him clean us, clothe us and set us right?

Quarantined

In the first century a person with leprosy was made to isolate themselves from everyone, they were were required to stay a certain distance away from everyone, even their own family. They were not allowed to enter the temple. They were alive but dying slowly. The disease was highly contagious. They were not allowed to touch anyone and no one could touch them. In public places They had to shout “unclean! Unclean!”

Here and now during the COVID-19 pandemic we understand the quarantine, we understand the fear of contagion. My wife and I have been isolating ourselves for months so that we could provide and clean and safe place for her mom to recover from heart surgery. We haven’t allowed anyone to visit and we have been staying home, working from home, worshiping from home. We understand a tiny bit, the loneliness and isolation of quarantine.

In Matthew 8 Jesus met a man with leprosy. He did the unthinkable. Then he did the impossible. Then he told the man to do the traditional.

“When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Matthew 8:1-4 – NIV

The unthinkable was touching an unclean, untouchable person.

The impossible was healing an incurable disease.

The traditional was showing himself to the priest. The first century equivalent to passing a COVID-19 Test and completing a 14 day quarantine.

Here’s my take away. I was spiritually unclean when Jesus came into my life, I was a sinner and Jesus is a Holy God and yet he was willing then to reach out and grab me and hold me and heal me and wash me clean. Now he asks me to “show myself” to declare that I am changed.

He will do it for you too reader.

Jesus says today to us all, “I am willing!”

2 Thessalonians 2

The thrill of a good carnival ride is when we get taken right to edge of danger… And then we are yanked back to safety. The thrill is seeing the danger and then not going past it.

Our world economy is like a carnival ride right now taking us right to the edge….but this carnival ride is not built of welded steel, it’s made from a stack of playing cards. How strong can it be?

Are we scared yet?

We are waiting for Jesus. We have been waiting for 2000 years. When will he come? What is he waiting for?

“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

We have never been closer to Jesus return than we are right now. The stage of the world, the political unrest, the fragile economy, it could be the his return is immanent, or maybe it’s just one more twist and turn of the carnival ride.

He will return. It could be today.

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings[c] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

I say this to myself, fear not little one. Your God is able to save you. From the next chapter, “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. “

There may be a catastrophic global economic collapse. If there is Jesus will be our strength. If the economy recovers Jesus will be our strength. Jesus is our strength. Living for him and telling other people about him, what he has done in our lives does not change. Our master and our mission remain the same no matter where the ride of life takes us.

“The answer is Jesus, now what’s the question?”

Sometimes I can sound like that.

How true is it?

Who am I going to call? When Life is overwhelming and doom is looming. Who do I call? I call a carpenter. I call Jesus. That’s what the disciples did in Matthew 8.

“23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”’

One thing that I saw in this story is the humanness of Jesus contrasted with his divinity.

Jesus was exhausted. I don’t want to be glib or irreverent but God was tired. The needs of the people had exhausted Jesus. He understands my human need for rest.

The disciples woke him up. What did they think he was going to do? He wasn’t a sailor. He was a carpenter by trade and a pastor/teacher/healer by practice. They were surprised when he calmed the storm. They wanted help in the storm but from their response it seems they didn’t expect the storm itself to go away.

Jesus shows us his divinity in his authority over the wind and the waves.

Mary and I joke about scary situations and will usually say, “so this is how we die”. Somehow those words can take away the terror. There is in us an innate fear of death. This last hospital stay for Mary I don’t remember saying those words. I was trying to keep Mary from thinking that way. It was another brush with death. We didn’t say “so this is how we die”. Instead we prayed fervently that it wouldn’t be her death.

The answers to life’s questions, why am I here, what is my purpose, what is my value? Those can be answered in Jesus.

I was created, created for a relationship with God, and when that relationship was separated by sin, God made a way for us to be together again through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

What is death? Why are we so afraid?

The answer is Jesus?

Jesus died and rose again.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Sometimes the questions we are asking boil down to , who cares, who can help, where can I go?

Jesus.

Warning: broad generalizations ahead.

I have been thinking about how godlessness is so normal now. We have made a world where life without God is normal and a person who believes, loves and serves a god, especially the God of the bible is an oddity and to be held in suspicion and disgrace and thought at least a fool but more likely, a villain.

We binged on one of my favorite shows, Longmire and after several episodes where the good guy wins I began to wonder what it is that makes him good? There is no mention of God, the bible or any standard of morality, and yet, every episode is a moral conflict. I understand the conflict and what the moral choice should be but I have a standard to live by. The characters have nothing to base their decisions on.

Satan on the other hand is very popular this season. He is represented in several TV shows. According to our culture the devil is more normal than a christian. I haven’t watched it but there is a show called Lucifer. Maybe it’s about Cinderella’s cat. I don’t think so though.

Could it be that there is a plan to desensitize us to the person of Satan? To make him a fictional character, at the whim of some slick hollywood writers? to make him normal and to make God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit odd?

I am also seeing so many revisionist story lines where the character that we grew up believing is the bad guy suddenly becomes the much maligned and misunderstood good guy. Wicked the musical comes to mind as well as Maleficent.

Is this all part of some grand evil plot?

Yes. Yes it is.

“28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

Christians beware and be alert and be filled with the love of Jesus for this fallen and broken world that we live in. We aren’t here to condemn, but to offer forgiveness in Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17 – NIV

“You are my favorite!” Said God….to everyone.

On the eve of the invasion, not d-day, Jericho day, Joshua had a visitor.

“13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?”’

The Fighting was about to start and every man woman and child in side the walls of Jericho would be dead within a week (with the exception of Rahab and her family).

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Still God had not taken sides. All people are Gods creation. All of us are his kids. Even in this situation on the eve of destruction God had not taken sides.

Another example of this is found in the book of Jonah.

Jonah had tried to escape going to Nineveh. Ninevites were an enemy of the nation of Israel. The were horribly cruel. I can’t substantiate this here but I have heard that Ninevites would skin their prisoners alive and disembowel pregnant women. They were wicked and evil yet God sent Jonah to warn them of his coming Judgement.

He walked through the city and proclaimed Gods coming judgement and the city repented so God did not judge them. This made Jonah angry.

“4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”’

The last example is from the Gospel of John. A familiar verse. I will add a few on the end to give it more context.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

God does play favorites but we are all his favorites. We can choose to accept this or reject but the offer is extended to every person who draws a breath.

If you don’t Him, he loves you and has a plan fir your life. What will you decide today? Will you receive him as your your savior and king?

If you do know him, have you adopted His heart for the world? About 69% of the world’s population does not know about Jesus. What will you do to help them know him?

God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save the world through him. How should that influence us to treat others? As enemies or as future family?

CS Lewis

From Mere Christianity on being good.

“Even the best Christian that ever lived is not acting on his own steam – he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could never acquire by his own efforts. And that has practical consequences. As long as the natural life is in your body, it will do a lot towards repairing that body. Cut it and up to a point it will heal, as a dead body would not. A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that to some extent repair itself. In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble- because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ himself carried out.

That is why the Christian is in a different position than other people who are trying to be good, to please God if there is one; or – if they think there is not- at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.“

In my early adulthood, I was on a quest to earn God’s favor and his love, I was enrolled in college taking a pre-ministry course. My plan was to become a pastor so God would have to love me and accept me. That plan was flawed. I could not earn Gods love by being good. And As they say life happens, literally a life happened, my wife was pregnant with our first child, our son Aaron, so I left school and took over my parents Cafe. It was in the back room of the cafe, standing next to the dishwasher when I heard God speak to me the words of Ephesians 2:8-9.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 – NIV

I realized that I didn’t need to become a pastor for God to love me, I didn’t need to do anything, God already loved me, and he completed my salvation through his Son Jesus and he was (is) willing ready and able to by his grace share his salvation, pour his salvation on me, over me, to cleanse me and envelope me and include me in His family.

That same grace is extended to every breathing soul on this earth. God loves us, loves you my reader. Will you accept his gift of love today? If you already have accepted his gift, will you share the good news of God’s love with one person today?

May God bless you and wrap you up in his love today.

I could call myself a Seattle Seahawks fan but you would be hard pressed to find evidence of it in my life. I am a fan in the loosest terms. I watched more Seahawks football than any other team in the NFL. Unless you count the other team that was also playing the day I turned on the game and saw 2 or 3 plays. But I was rooting for the Hawks. Go Hawks!

Too little – too late?

Almost done reading through Matthew 7.

There are some people who call themselves Christians but there is no evidence to that fact in their lives. Calling Jesus Lord and living as Jesus being Lord (Lord means master or boss or the one who can give direction to us and we follow without question or hesitation) are two different things.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Prophesying, driving out demons, performing miracles, that all sounds like evidence of Jesus being Lord but those are all very public, very showey activities. God looks at our heart and our motives, not at our actions.

Later on in Matthew, chapter 25 Jesus will talk about behavior that proves a heart change. A heart ruled by Jesus will have evidence.

“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”’

Does my life show a concern for the physical needs of others. Do I care about and for those around me? Does Jesus have control of this heart of mine? I am I a show-er or a go-er?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.