Following Jesus in today’s world by studying and applying God’s word.
Author: Peterloeffelbein
I am a man. I am an older man. I am a husband and a dad and a grandpa. I am a disciple of Jesus. Because I am a disciple of Jesus much of what I write is about him, and I usually end what I write with a question, do you the reader know that Jesus loves you? He does. He loves us all but he loves you specifically. He loves me specifically. What will you do with that information today?
I have been working my way through Matthew 22 and it ends on this verse about whose son is the messiah. What does that matter?
“Matthew 22:41-46 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. “
If the messiah is just the son of David then the kingdom he will rule is at a minimum, Jewish. Even if he were to rule the Jews and the Jews were to take over the world, his kingdom would be earthly and only continue as long as he or his son would maintain the throne.
But, if the messiah is God’s son? The playing field just got bigger. The players list just went from exclusive to inclusive.
Jesus had come as the messiah, the redeemer, the savior from the Jewish people but he was promised to all people, all the way back in the garden of Eden, God would provide a way for us to re establish our relationship with Him. He was from the Jews but he will be for all people.
We have a king, we have a savior, we have a redeemer. His name is Jesus. He has beaten our two biggest enemies; death and sin. He has restored our broken relationship with our creator God.
It is a transaction that you must initiate. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I am sitting here in Ephrata Washington reading this tiny little book in the Bible , only 4 chapters long, about a person from Ephrata. Bethlehem Ephratha, the original, in the land of Judea, which is now in the nation of Israel.
It’s the story of a regular working class guy Elimalech, who tries to make good for his family when famine strikes, he leaves town and goes to another country. He heads East to neighboring Moab. He had a wife, Naomi and 2 sons, Mahlon and Kilion. I see it’s a little like Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies show from my childhood, “They loaded up the the ox cart and moved to Moab”…Doesn’t have the same ring to it as the Beverly Hillbillies theme song and the story line runs in the opposite direction, the TV Show was a bad to good story and the Bible story is bad to worse. Naomi’s sons both find wives among the Moabite women but then one-by-one her men folk die, leaving her and her daughters in law widows.
Naomi hears that things had gotten better back in Bethlehem so she packs up and begins the journey towards home. Her daughters in law begin the journey with her but Naomi encourages them to go back their families. One daughter in law, Orpah takes her advice and heads back to her family but her daughter in law Ruth says this about that: “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Ruth 1:16-17 – NIV
Naomi and Ruth end up back in Bethlehem Ephratha as 2 poor widows with no visible means of support. Ruth begins to glean the leftovers of the barley harvest. The harvest crew she works with just happens to be that of a family member, a rich farmer named Boaz.
Boaz takes notice of Ruth, her hard work and dedication to her mother in law and begins to help her.
Boaz becomes Ruth’s kinsmen redeemer, marries her and has a baby with her.
“So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. Ruth 4:13-22 – NIV
Because there was a Ruth, there was an Obed, because there was an an Obed there was a Jesse, because there was a Jesse there was a David, as in King David. Jesus is a descendant of King David.
Was it the right thing to do for Elimelech to leave town and go to Moab? Was it the right thing to do to allow his sons to marry foreigners? It looked like the trip was not sanctioned, the activities were not permissible or at least not advisable, the entire enterprise looked like it was cursed, all 3 men dead and buried in a foreign land and the return trip included a foreigner but no family.
But God can and does uses detours as the main path to accomplish his desire and complete his design. The apostle Paul says this about God and the way he works in our lives; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 – NIV
In my own life I was badly burned when I was 8. The burns left my face scarred and deformed. Later we moved to a new town and on a trip between towns my family was in a bad car accident which among the other injuries, broke my jaw in 5 places. The doctors were going to wire my jaw closed but because of the burn scars, instead they chose to install a steel plate.
The scars and steel plate were instrumental in me meeting and marrying my wife. The scars made me stand out among my peers, she liked me and we became friends then started dating. The steel plate kept me from joining the Air Force and leaving town during a break-up period my senior year. In a couple of days we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We now have 4 kids and 11 grandkids.
God used what looked like detours if not complete roadblocks in my life to bless me.
For Naomi and Ruth God uses a famine and death and loss and poverty to not only bless them with marriage and a baby but he has blessed us all, every human who has ever drawn breath because in 3 generations from Ruth and Boaz would come a simple shepherd who became king of unified Israel and God promised David that a descendant of his would have an everlasting kingdom.
“and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. “‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”
1 Chronicles 17:10-14 – NIV
That king was and is Jesus. Jesus’ reign will never end. He was crowned king with a crown of thorns. He bought all of us back from a life of slavery to sin. He purchased our freedom not with gold or silver but with his own blood.
I sit in my recliner, reading about Elimalech and his famine avoidance strategy and marvel at a God who never loses track of us, no matter where we scamper off to. Then an alarm goes off and I am brought forward from Bethlehem Ephratha in BC days to Ephrata Washington in 2020, COVID-19 days. Can I still trust a God in this pandemic to be working “all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”?
I think so, no I believe so. How about you? Can you trust God even in this? Do you have any stories of how God used detours and roadblocks to get you to a better place? Will you share them in the comments?
In 2015 Mary and I had an opportunity to travel to Italy. We rode a lot of trains and busses. One thing I noticed that many of the plants and trees that I saw in Italy were also back home in the USA. One plant in particular is what we call Virginia Creeper. Spotting that very familiar plant in an unfamiliar place got me thinking…
Train musings:
As I’m looking out the window of our train to Venice I’m realizing that the air, the water, the plants and trees don’t know or seem to care what country they are in. They listen to and obey a higher authority than a man who draws a line in the dirt and says “this is mine and that is yours”. They obey a higher authority, the one who made them.
People have some strong opinions about who belongs where. I’m sure that there were meetings in a smoke filled room somewhere. men wearing suits looked at a map and argued where the lines should go.
I don’t think that God sees it that way. The planet that is. One reason might be his vantage point looking down from Heaven it all looks the same. No colors of states or countries. No lines.
Another reason could be that it is all his. All the land, all the animals, the trees plants fish birds all are his. He made it. He made it and he made us. All of us. No matter what hue our skin is or what language we speak or inside which lines drawn on the map we find our feet or our home. We are his. God is an international God because he only made one planet earth.
Growing up I thought God dressed like captain America Except he wore a robe but his robe was red white and blue because he loved America more than any other country. We were right and they( whomever) were wrong. In any fight, God was on our side.
In the revelation of John the apostle described the vision of the city of God. In that vision he describes the foundation stones of the heavenly city. It is made of 12 different colored stones. I wonder if those 12 colors encompass the colors of all the flags of all the nations?
From Johns description There isn’t going to be an American heaven and an Italian heaven and a French heaven. There is just going to be heaven, the place God dwells. Neither will there be sections for Catholics and a part for Protestants, a space for Jews there will be an all inclusive home for those who believe and receive Gods gift of salvation, being bought back to be a child of God from slavery to sin. No denominations of Protestantism , one God, one heaven, one family. Strange to think about.
One of the creeds I learned as a child said about us believers that we’re one holy catholic, which means universal, church. We are after all part of one body, the bride of Christ, his church.
My heart is heavy. I grieve with the families. I am so sorry for your loss.
“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.” 1Thes 4:13-18
This life is fragile and uncertain.
Choose the gift of life that Jesus offers us. Choose today. Forgiveness and freedom are a prayer away, and a reunion with the God who created us, sustained us and redeemed us with the blood of his only son Jesus. Like the father of the prodigal son, (Luke 15) He is watching and waiting for our return.
I’m not sure when I tasted my first red vine. In my family we called it red licorice. It immediately became a favorite candy of mine. Being red you would think the flavor would strawberry or cherry or raspberry but it’s actually more like vanilla. Later in life we visited a Costco store and there they had pallets of 3 pound tubs of red vines. Every Costco visit would be a chance to reconnect with a humongous supply of my favorite childhood candy.
I’ve had to quit, or at cut way back on my candy consumption. About 8 years ago I found out that I have type 2 diabetes. I now get one small package of red vines at Christmas in my stocking and that is my annual supply. It’s July. I haven’t had one since January and won’t get another until December and yet this morning I was thinking about red vines.
This seems random and insignificant until you read what I read in my daily bible reading.
The nation Israel was camped on the east side of the Jordan. Their mission was to cross the Jordan and begin taking the land that God had promised to their ancestor Abraham. The leader of the Israelites, Joshua, secretly sent 2 spies in to scout the city of Jericho. The spies spent the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. Somehow the king of Jericho found out about it and he sent soldiers to apprehend the spies. Rahab hid them on the roof and then lied to the soldiers, telling them that he spies had already left the city, and that if they hurried, the soldiers might catch them in the hill country.
Rahab had a reason to protect them. Here we find out what her reason was.
“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them —and that you will save us from death.” “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.” So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear. ” “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
Joshua 2:8-21 – NIV
I have established my love for red vines. A red vine. A scarlet cord. Coincidence? I don’t know. The Israelites will come in and destroy Jericho and every man woman child and animal will be killed, except for the family in the house with the scarlet cord, (red vine) hanging from the window. Rahab and her family were held back from the slaughter. Rahab ended up marrying one of the spies.
Hooray for the rescue! But wait, there’s more. Rahab’s name will continue to show up in the Bible, her faith in God will be praised, but she also becomes a link that makes us all eternally in her debt. In Matthew chapter 1 we read the lineage of Jesus. Verse 5 we see the link.
“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
Matthew 1:5 – NIV
The scarlet cord, the red vine, became a link in the chain of events that led to the birth of Jesus.
In one way I could say red vines made me sick, but a scarlet cord saved my soul. No, that’s too corny. It’s true but not completely accurate, red vines didn’t give me diabetes. Instead I will say I love red vines, and I love the scarlet cord that brought fulfillment of Gods promise to save and redeem all of mankind. Because Jesus came a died for us and was raised to life again, a restored relationship with a God who loves us is always just a prayer away.
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” Isa 25:7,8. The hill was Golgotha, the place of the skull where Jesus died once for all. He defeated death and sin. Sin and death like unholy debt collectors waiting to haul us each away but Jesus paid it all for everyone of us. that day. On that hill.
There were 2 missing. One was dead, suicide, and the other was AWOL.
John 20
Where was the second guy? The group had been tight for 3 years now it seemed to be unraveling. Thomas was no longer hanging with the the 12, now eleven, (Judas had hung himself).
I speculate that the second guy was being proactive. He was moving on to plan B. Plan A had been a miracle working messiah but he was dead. I think Thomas had seen Jesus body some where, either on the cross or on the way to the tomb. It is not stated in scripture but his firm belief that Jesus was dead, hints to me that somewhere between the cross and the grave, Thomas had caught sight of the nail pierced hands and spear pierced side of Jesus’ dead body. Let’s read about how the resurrected Jesus changed his mind.
“Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,[a] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
I don’t blame Thomas. I have seen dead bodies before. My uncle Charlie and my mom. They don’t look the same. It was difficult for me to even recognize my mom in her coffin. I think Thomas saw the body of Jesus and so in his mind, Jesus was dead. And he was dead. But not for long. Thomas said “unless I see, unless I touch”. He got to do that but today we don’t have that option. We do however receive a blessing by believing without seeing.
Jesus suffered and died. He was dead. But he came back to life in a way that a doubter could see and believe.
What do you believe about Jesus?
There is a lot weighing in the balance of your answer. Believe and come home to our Father.
It cost him his life but he did it. Jesus saved the world.
John 19 & 20
Superheroes are doing it all the time, supposedly saving the world but they never fight our two worst enemies; sin and death.
Jesus took on the battle over sin and death and beat them both.
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Jesus’ Side Is Pierced 31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”’
It doesn’t read like a victory but wait, there’s more to the story.
Jesus rose from the dead.
“11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.”
From the cross Jesus said “it is finished”. The battle over sin in our lives has been won. Sin wants to enslave us but Jesus paid for all of us and all of it on the cross. What is left for us is to confess our need of forgiveness and to receive the gift. It sounds too simple.
Paul summed it up in his letter to the Romans, ” if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”’
Today could be the day that changes eternity for someone. If you have already received Jesus’ gift then take the next step and tell someone. Once everyone has heard we get to go be with Jesus in the home he has built for us. Maybe the last person that’s waiting to hear the good news is sitting across the aisle from us at work, or lives across the fence from us, next door. We need to Tell our story.
He knows stuff. He knows the future and he knows the past. In Matthew 21 Jesus predicts not only what would happen within days but then what would happen in about 37 years.
“33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”
It all came true. They will arrest him. They will try and convict him. They will beat him. They will force him out of the city. They will kill him. And then God will boot them (the religious leaders) out of the city, destroy the temple and the city in 70 a.d.
Jesus knows stuff. Not just general events kind of stuff but heart and mind stuff. He knows my heart. Even when my heart wants something bad, something wrong, or when it will not forgive, or when it hates. He knows that stuff about me, about us. And yet…
And yet he died for me, for us. He died the death we deserve. And then…
And then he rose from the grave! Jesus is alive! Today, right now, he is alive and well and is waiting for us to choose to accept his deal, the deal of all of eternity, we confess we need him, and he forgives all of our bad and we become part of his family!
He knows stuff. He knows stuff about us. And he still loves us.
My wife Mary and I were sitting on the couch watching TV. I snuggled up and smelled her hair. It was like walking through flower a garden.
Then I moved a little and got a whiff of my own fragrance, or should I say stench, okay we’ll settle on smell. Woof! I was not smelling good. I told her that she smelled like the flowers and I smelled like the soil.
It was just before bed time so I chose to shower but I didn’t prepare very well. I got a towel and under garments but I didn’t grab any fresh pajamas. After I got out and dried off, I had to dress in last nights jammies. It had been warm I get sweaty at night. Sure, I had showered but all I had to wear was my used sweaty pajamas. What good did it to to shower and put on dirty clothes?
I kept thinking about how this situation and started thinking that this seemed familiar. Being clean, but having to put on unclean things. How many times have I done the same thing with my sins? I repent and confess and then go right back to my old ways. How long will it take till I’m stinky again? Or how long will it take until my patterns of life lead me back into sin?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2 – NIV
I need to break free from the patterns of this world.
In my morning reading I read Exodus 19. It is a little out of the ordinary but in it, God tells his people to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves in preparation for meeting him.
“And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.” On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.”
Exodus 19:10-11,14-19 – NIV
The washed clothes, I almost missed that. Clean clothes and a consecrated heart. They even abstained from sex. They set their heart right, cleaned their external appearance and set aside marital relations just to be ready to meet God. They changed the habits of their lives.
Our sins can only be washed away in the precious blood of Jesus. His sacrifice is the only thing that can make us clean. However, we are responsible for our actions, our habits and hangouts. Jesus blood won’t necessarily change our surroundings. Repentance means a change of direction and will sometimes require a change of location and/or of activities.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 says this about our new clean life.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 5:16-21,6:2 – NIV
Sometimes when I have confessed a failure and repented the desire to repeat the sin is also removed but most of the time I would say it is not. My sin nature usually continues to want what it wants. Then enters my choice. Will I choose to alter my life so that I am less likely to be tempted?
Here is an example. As a diabetic I have to be diligent with my diet. The food I put in my mouth is always my choice. If I get week and have a candy bar at home I can toss the rest of the candy out and not be tempted. However if I am in the candy aisle at the grocery store and I fail and eat one, Even if I repent and say I won’t have another I will be surrounded by temptation. My best plan of action is to leave the store(after paying for what gobbled up). So it is with life. I can’t surround myself with temptation and expect to not fail.
This has been a long post to say something short and sweet, once clean, don’t put on the stinky pajamas. Meaning, if I have been forgiven and cleansed of my sin, I can help my self by setting out new pajamas, new habits, new routines, new ways of living life that keep me away from temptation.
If I am diabetic, i should Stay out of the candy store, or at least the candy aisle. I still want the candy in the candy aisle. Change may not be overnight. It may take me years to reduce my cravings and gain control. We are all spiritually diabetic. We have a sin condition that makes us want what isn’t good for us. God will help us, but he won’t do it for us. He paid for our sins and now we must begin the journey to spiritual maturity so that we begin to be able to say no to temptation. To walk free.
My post is not intended to burden anyone with guilt or shame but to show to the way to an escape ladder out of temptation or at least make us aware of the process to find the escape.
Jesus understands our weaknesses.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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. 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.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 – NIV
Another encouragement: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – NIV
To sum up I say this to myself; Put out fresh pajamas, don’t go down the candy aisle, don’t walk into temptation but if you are there, look for the escape.
Meekness is power under submission. In the dictionary there should be a picture of Jesus next to the word.
John 18
“When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”[a]
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
When the soldiers fell to the ground, was it Angels doing sweep kicks to the back the knees? It could have been the force of his breath. The one who created the air and the wind that moves it was speaking. Maybe the ground was yanked like a throw rug. However it was accomplished it shows that Jesus was in charge even while he was submitting to His Fathers’ plan to be arrested, tried, convicted and executed.
That plan would lead him to die on a cross. That death would change my eternity. Change eternity for all people. We now have a way back to our Father God. The door, the path, the way, the only way is through Jesus death on the cross.
He went willingly because he loves us. Will you accept his gift of life today? If you have already accepted His gift, will you tell someone who hasn’t heard the good news yet? God has forgiven our sin. We can come home.
I am damaged goods. I’m not just talking about my body. My heart, my soul are damaged. They are always wanting their own way. I am sitting in church listening to songs about how much God loves me, but my mind keeps flashing back to my failures, telling me I don’t belong here. Then over all the other voices and memories I hear Jesus words from the cross, “it is finished”.
Jesus finished the work it took to forgive my sins. I entered black with sin, but bathed in his red blood I am washed white. I don’t understand it but I cling to it like a drowning man to a life raft.
Join me if not in this place at least in this position. I have Asked Jesus yet again to cleanse me and his blood is just as effective today as it was the very first time a I called out to him to save me.
Church starts at 10 am here but there are church’s every where and if you can’t make it to church Jesus is available 24/7 and makes house calls.
It isn’t Sunday but the thing is, all days and nights are the same for God. God is Holy. That means he is separate and separated from creation. He is not subject to time. With God it is always now. Today, right now God is calling us to come home to him. To come home and get cleaned up, to be loved on and cared for. To have our wounds and sicknesses healed, to be fed and to rest and enjoy love and mercy and tenderness. To be clothed in new clothes, pure and white and taylored to us. Today, right now, come home to a father who loves us, loves you and loves me.
The house had been abandoned. Left alone and derelict. Windows and doors had been boarded up, not cleanly with sheets of plywood but with random slats and planks, crossed and crisscrossed, nails and screws haphazardly pounded and bent, screws at odd angles and stripped heads. Pity the fool that ever takes on the challenge to remove them. And yet there he stood, “the fool” with a tool Kit in one hand and the deed in the other. He looked long and hard at the old place. He walked around it slowly looking it up and down. Taking note of every flaw and failure. The longer he looked the more his expression changed. When he first arrived his expression was serious, even concerned, but as the mental list Of all the repairs grew, the corners of his mouth began curling up, up and upUntil At the End of his survey and tour he was smiling, smiling a broad smile and he even began to whistle a soft tune, as he hit the chorus he began singing softly as he ran his hands over the siding of the old house, the dry cracked paint crumbing under his calloused And scarred hands, “yes, Jesus loves you, yes Jesus loves you, yes Jesus loves you, the Bible tells you so…”
Chapter one: Jesus at the door
“20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20 – NIV
The title of this blog is how to build yourself a basement, but what I intend to write is a short book on how to build your self abasement. Building humility. It will be a book about how the life of following Jesus starts, how to keep it alive and healthy and growing. It will use the analogy of Jesus our carpenter/savior/redeemer rebuilding a house. The house is me. I was a mess when Jesus bought me and I am now in process of renewal and restoration. The process is similar for every follower of Jesus. Similar, not the same, so some things will ring true for other followers and some? Not so much.
The first chapter will be about letting Jesus in to my life. I feel like most of my blog posts have covered that so condensing around 800 posts into a chapter will be challenging.
Stay tuned. As I write it I will share it.
Thank you readers for continuing to read, like and comment. My hope is that I am encouraging you, and that together we are expanding God’s kingdom.
Can people really change? Does meeting Jesus and having him become our master really have any affect on us?
(Col 4)
Once upon a time there was a slave who lived in Colosse. He was a young man born into slavery. He stole some money from his master and ran away to the big city of Rome. He was hoping to lose himself in the crowds. In stead he met a man named Paul who introduced him to a God/man/savior named Jesus. This slaves name was Onesimus. Paul had this to say about the character of this guy; “He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.”
And this “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[b] who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.”
The second quote is from the book of Philemon. Philemon was Onesimus’ owner. How strange to own another human yet he did and it was within his rights to do anything to his slave. Paul asked for mercy and forgiveness.
The name Onesimus means useful.
Jesus can change people from useless to useful. He can set the the heart of one enslaved free, even if his body is still owned.
There are many modern slaveries that we get sold into. Jesus can set us free by washing away sin and breaking chains, spiritual chains the keep us locked into patterns and behaviors.
Can people change? Hmmm. Can Jesus change people? Yes.
(It could be that the man called Onesimus in Paul’s Lester to the Colossians is not the same Onesimus mentioned in Paul’s letter to Philemon. But it could be and probably was).
The next bit of bible I’m going to quote is how to get along with people. How to live in community. The very next sentence is a very controversial, counter cultural bit of advice. The way our society recoils at it you would think it said that God hates puppies. God doesn’t hate puppies. He loves puppies. You know what he loves more than puppies? Us. People. Men and women. And he wants us to live in the best possible way. Since he created us he probably (probably?) knows how we can best live. He gives us the manufacturers recommended way to use this thing called life.
Here it is:
” 18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers,[c] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. 4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”
Jesus loves us and has died to pay for all of our sin and now he lives forever and we can too, with him.
If we fail….when we fail at the above list of interpersonal relationships we have forgiveness in Jesus.
I recently read this in this very same book; “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Mary and I were talking last night as we sat out under the stars and watched the planes fly over. Seeing the planes makes us think of our adventures in Italy last year. We want to go back but we would change one thing. We would pack lighter. Images of the two of us taking busses, trains and boats with 3 suit cases pops into our heads. It was comical.
Have you ever been lugging around baggage (or is is bagging around luggage?). Carrying more than is comfortable? It’s so hard. Pulling around a huge box of stuff that seemed so very important at the time. It was meant to be an asset but in actuality becomes a liability.
I went to a family gathering this last weekend. One thing that happened there is that it reminded me of baggage that I carry of things done in my past. Things done Not to me, but by me.
Colossians 2 says this about our sins:
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
I know Jesus has forgiven me, but I haven’t done the next step and and confessed and repented to the offended. With every year it seems more difficult to do. Soon. I’m really tired of carrying this luggage or lugging this baggage.
I don’t hold any grudges, not with my family anyway but that’s another set of bags that we can drag around with us.
There is a warning at the bottom of the Lord’s Prayer, one that states Our own forgiveness hinges on whether or not we forgive others.
“9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation,[a] but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’ 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Forgiving others is like having your luggage sent ahead, like checking it at the gate. Something I wish Mary and I could’ve done on our leg of the trip that took us to Venice so we both could enjoy all that we were experiencing.
We are all travelers. How much luggage or baggage are we carrying unnecessarily? My goal is to lose as much as I can so I can be free to enjoy the journey. All of the “Venice’s” of this life are much easier to enjoy without baggage.
We worship the one who created us and then bought us back when we sold ourselves into sin. We worship With our words, with our music, with our gifts and offerings.
It is so easy to get caught up in business of church that we miss the real reason that we came together.
Matthew 21 records Jesus’ encounter with the folks who had lost their way.
“12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]”
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?” 17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.”
I lose my way. I’ve been there recently, so concerned about the mechanics of how we worship that I have forgotten who I worship.
Forgive me Father God. Help me see you and worship you well. You alone are worthy of my praise and adoration.
“But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.” In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 – NLT
It was late and it was dark and the stars were out. I was out on the patio waiting for the dogs to do their business before bedtime. I sat down in our outdoor lounge chair and leaned back to enjoy the view of the Big Dipper. The air was soft and warm and scented…what was that scent? Sniff, yuck. Hmmm cows? Sniff, no not cows…wow that’s really strong. Wow that’s a strong poop smell. Just then I remembered that We had had company, our daughter and kids had come over to pick raspberries so I spent a few minutes scooping up dog poop and put it into a bucket. After I cleared the yard I had set the bucket down and then got distracted. The poop filled bucket was now just a few feet from chair. That is what was scenting the air.
So the stars would have to wait while I dumped the poop and put the bucket away. As I dumped the bucket out I was reminded of verses I had just read, the ones quoted above. I felt like God was trying to show me something. He asked if I’d like to get a drink. If so, would I drink from the poop bucket? My answer was Yuck! No way! That thing is filthy!
Then he reminded me of the verses from 2 Timothy and he zeroed in on the last half of verse 19, “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.”
I heard him ask me, “how can I use you to bring refreshing pure water to thirsty people if you are treating yourself like a poop bucket? Who will drink from you? You need to be careful what you allow to be put into you…” I thought of some of my viewing choices I had made recently, and I as I write this now I’m also thinking about my choice of topics to talked about at the men’s bible study i had just attended , not bad, but not helpful, not edifying, nothing to build up our character or help us mature and make us more like Jesus.
I don’t want to be a poop bucket follower of Jesus. I want to be a sparkling clean glass, so nothing from me taints the refreshing words that pour out of me.
To answer the title question “who wants to drink from the poop bucket?” Not me. Nor do I want to be a poop bucket in the lives of others. I will strive to be more aware of what goes into me. I can choose what I watch, and what I read, and what I ruminate on.
We can use the list Paul gave us in his letter to the Philippians.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 – NLT
Father God, keep me clean enough to use. Forgive me and wash me then fill me with the good things of you so I have enough to share. Do not let me become a poop bucket.
He left to prepare a place for us. When that is ready and the full number of people who will believe in Him do believe in him, he will come back.
Matthew 21 records Jesus’ triumphal entry in Jerusalem before his death on the cross.
“21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a] 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c] “Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”’
We who are alive today have an opportunity to ask the same question about Jesus.
Who is this guy?
Eternity is balancing on our answer.
He is coming back and it won’t be the same. I’m not trying to scare anyone. It is just the truth about his return. Will you be one of his followers? Or will you be one of his enemies? If you are a follower then you are one of God’s kids and are safe but as God’s kid, I am one too, we bear the responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus’ and forgiveness to a world that either doesn’t know or doesn’t care.
“11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
It happened again just the other day, I was walking to the garage, I had a paint brush in my hand, a can opener in one pocket, ziplock baggies in another pocket and I suddenly stopped walking, I was about half way between the garage and the ladder I had just been climbing up and down. I stopped because I had forgotten why I was walking to the garage. I knew I was painting but I had come to get something, what was it, a tool? How much time should I waste standing there trying to remember? I decided to go back to where I had been to see if something would jog my memory. Sure enough, it only took a couple of steps to think back through what I had been doing, painting, I was doing the window frame, I stopped because I saw… loose paint! Scraper! I came for a scraper! Yes! Exciting! I remembered!
I hope you can relate to my mental lapse and the process of recovering my mission. I am getting older. I will tick over onto a new group of numbers with my next birthday, from my fifties into my sixties. That’s a lot of birthdays. A lot of birthdays means a lot of life and stuff are packed away in my cranium. My thoughts can get distracted as my mental synapses wade through the memories to get to the main things.
That was a long introduction to my bible reading. The chapter I read this morning isn’t where I ended up. I started in 2 Corinthians 12 but I bounced around and found myself back in chapter 5 of the same book.
I thought it might be worth sharing. In this current COVID-19 climate where everything is uncertain, we recently got an order to wear masks and i was ready to comply but then I read an article written by a nurse about the strain wearing a mask puts on a body and now? I don’t know. Everything is so uncertain. Who do we trust? Who do we obey? What’s my favorite color? Wait what? That’s how my brain is responding to all this chaos, it’s getting discombobulated.
I am a believer in Jesus. As a believer, my mission and purpose never change. One reason for that is that God never changes. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Paul summed it up in 2 Corinthians 5.
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 – NLT
As a believer in and follower of Jesus I have one job to do. Reconciliation. I am to plead with those who don’t know yet, to come back to a God who loves them. Come back to God! All is forgiven in Jesus. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father has been restored!
I end with this, if you my reader are a follower of Jesus, don’t let the current situation distract you from our mission, reconciling a lost world to our God and savior. Go tell someone, better yet show someone how much God loves them.
If you my reader have yet to meet Jesus, just let me tell you this about him he has died to meet you. It’s okay, he came back to life and now lives forever. He left briefly to prepare a place for us and will return someday, possibly soon, to gather his followers up to be with him. You can join us. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that he rose from the grave, you will be saved.
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 – NLT
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