John 4

It takes a person to save a village

“28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”’

Sometimes it only takes one person in a village who has met Jesus and been changed by him to awaken the rest of the folks living around them to their need of a savior. There is only one. Jesus is the savior of the world.

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”’

Jesus is the savior of the world.

He knows everything about me and still died to pay for my sin, our sins. Who will I tell ?

John 4

Warranty repair

“7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”’

Mary’s car is under warranty. If it breaks the company will fix it. There are conditions to the warranty. Every 3 thousand miles or 3 months whichever comes first we are supposed to change the oil. I missed one. I may have missed 2. Mary doesn’t drive much so the months and Miles don’t line up. 27000 miles requiring 9 changes but we’ve owned it for 36 months which means we should have had 12 oil changes. Oops. How do I fix that? If I now change the oil 3 extra times are we good? Are we back on track?

Jesus met a woman. She had voided the warranty on her life. The warranty was sketchy at best. She was a Samaritan woman. A shirttail relative of Gods people. Gods people had a warranty of sorts, God would take care of them. At some point God was going to send the ultimate claims adjuster/repairman, the messiah and he would make all things right.

This lady, if you can call her that, and I think Jesus did treat her as a lady-so yeah, lady, had voided her warranty. 5 husbands and now sleeping with a man not her own. Warranty broken. But she was a charmer, she had charmed her way into and out of 5 marriages. But her charm was wearing off a little. She had a man but he was not so smitten as to seal the deal.

When she met Jesus she met a man who was impervious to her charm and yet knew how completely she had voided her warranty. She was exposed.

“21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”’

When she met this man Jesus who was impervious to her charms she also met the God who knew her whole story and yet……loved her and had come to this very spot on this very day to reveal himself as the claims adjuster/repairman that she had hoped existed but was sure she was unworthy of meeting. Certainly unworthy of being helped by.

The thing is, all of us, every one from the best to the worst, have voided our warranties. We are all without hope, unless there is a messiah, a claims adjuster/ repairman who can rescue us.

“Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Jesus was her only hope. Jesus is our only hope.

Repent and believe is our only course.

31%

I wish I could come up with a better way to say this but I don’t know that there is one. Living the life of a Christian is simple, but it is not easy.

Matthew 10 continues with more real life.

“32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

The life of a Jesus follower will include sacrifice. It will require devotion to Him in times of opposition. We believe in a God we cannot see, who sent a son who lived and died and rose again, who ascended into the clouds saying he would be back. 2000 years have gone by. We are still waiting.

The joke goes, what is it when a bus load of __ goes over a cliff?

The punch line is – a good start.

In some parts of the world the blank is filled in with the word Christian.

The best answer is, a tragedy. Christians make up 31% of the worlds population. What do you have when 31% of the world knows Jesus as their savior?
A good start. The truth is, there are no Christians on the bus. The bus load is a load of 69% of those who don’t know Jesus yet. We have 69% of the world in a bus going over a cliff. This a tragedy. We have a good start with 31% of the world eternally safe, but their is much to do, 69 % of the worlds population is in eternal peril and who knows how much time is left? Who knows? No one. How do we get people off the bus? Let’s get busy sharing our story of how Jesus has forgiven our sin and made part of his family.

31%.

#reachingthe69percent

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.”

I heard this recently from Alistair Begg, a radio pastor on Moody radio, the only way for sin to leave a persons life is through our mouth. The only way to get rid of sin is to verbally confess our sin.

James says this:

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Jas 5:16 NIV

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 Father God who forgives sin and welcomes us into his family.

The first mission of the apostles in Matthew 10 (apostle means one who is sent) is to the lost sheep of Israel, to the Jews, the lost Jewish people. Later on Jesus will broaden the scope to include all people.

“5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Shepherds of that time had it rough. There weren’t fences for pastures. Sheep would stray. Sheep who stray are easier targets for wolves to kill and destroy.

We have an enemy. He is actively seeking out those who stray. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

In the wild it’s the weak and the straying that get picked off. This entire world is wild.

Message to the sheep in the flock: Huddle up sheep. Huddle and and cuddle and stay close to the shepherd. Protect each other and follow the shepherd.

Message to the shepherds: Gather the strays. If we see a stray, so does our enemy. He wants to destroy them. Who will get there first?

Jesus is THE good shepherd. He is calling for us to come to him and be safe.

“11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”’

Jesus is the good shepherd who has laid down his life for us his sheep. I want to learn to follow his voice and stay close.

Jesus please don’t let me stray.

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.

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.

John 2

Cleaning house

“13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”’

Seeking God. It brings a lot of people. Back in the day in order to meet with God you had to bring an offering. An animal offering. If you didn’t have one you had to buy one but you couldn’t buy it with regular money. You had to use temple money so first you would exchange your money for temple money. A small(ish) service fee would apply. This was the system. It had the potential to be abused and it was. People who came from all over to seek God in his temple had to first be fleeced by the market on the front steps.

It’s not meeting with God that’s the problem. It’s the greed in the hearts of men. Always looking for a way to get a little bit more.

“The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”

The cross was always in the plan. Jesus knew what he had come for and how it would end. It wasn’t a surprise. Jesus knew how wicked men are and had come to take care of them, all of them. He would die for all men. He would die for me. Jesus died for me, for my sin. He paid for the evil in my heart.

“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.[d] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.”

Thank you Jesus for knowing what’s in my heart and dying to pay for the sins hidden there anyway.

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’s had started 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.

From 2017

Our little town of Ephrata experienced a weird thing last night. There was an explosion in a substation. The substation is behind our house about 4 blocks away. Because of a low hanging cloud cover the blue/green light from the arcing filled the night. The explosion behind us was shining in front of us. Just briefly I thought to myself, is this it? Is this how Jesus returns? Then all the lights went out.

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We are in the harvest season. Ice and snow with drifts up to our knees. Yet it’s harvest.

In case you are reading this and you don’t know who Jesus is or what he is done I will give a highly condensed version.

Jesus is the son of God. He came to earth through a virgin, he lived a perfect life, no sin, he was falsely accused yet submitted himself to a horrifically cruel death but rose from the dead 3 days later. Then he went back up into heaven to prepare a place for us to live. His death paid for our sin, our mistakes. I use the word our because all of humanity has sinned and is separated from God. But we were created to be with him so he made a way to bring us back together again.

The Bible says that God so loved the world, the word world there refers to the people of the world, us, you and me. God loves us. He gave up his son Jesus to bring us back together.

There is a little bit of business that must be transacted. The Bible says that if you confess Jesus is Lord, that he is your boss, your master, that he is your God, and believe in your heart that he rose from the dead, you will be saved.

If you just did that please PM me. I want to talk more with you about becoming a child of God.

For the rest of us who already know the story and are already part of the family, can we start sharing it? Can we tell someone that God loves them? Can we show someone that God loves them?

Jesus is adding to his number daily.

The next day two guys who used to be blind walk into a bar.

“Aren’t you the blind beggars?”

One of them answers.

“I was blind but now I see”.

“That’s impossible. How, how can you see now? What happened?”

“I’m not supposed to say anything. The guy that touched me asked me not to tell anyone.”

“The guy, what guy? Who touched you? Who healed you?”

“This guy, some teacher guy. His name is Jesus. He..he can do things, can fix things.”

“He’s a healer then?”

“Yes, the first thing we saw once we were healed was him
Casting a demon out of a mute and then he could talk. But its more than that. He says things, he talks about God. I can’t explain it. You should meet him. You need to hear what he says. Ah, I’ve said too much already..”

“Two blinds guys, healed…”

“Yup, we once were blind but now we see.”

“His name is Jesus you say, I gotta meet this guy…”

The day before.

“27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”’

I have been touched by Jesus.

He has forgiven all of my sin. He has set me in a family. He has provided for me. He has shown me love and mercy and grace.

I’m writing this today to tell people who don’t know about Jesus that he has died to Pay for our sins. I’m also writing to remind those of us who do know Jesus to tell others about him.

We get today. We only have today. What will we do about this Jesus? Believe him and receive him?Please do.

If we already know him will we tell other people about him? Will we live in such a way that we honor him and attract others to him by our gracious way of life? Please do.

Matthew 9.
I see the scene like this:

Jesus is busy teaching and touching and healing and in burst two big security men in the first century version of ear buds and dark glasses. They locate Jesus and isolate him from the crowd. Once they have his attention a smaller man steps out from behind them.

“While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.”

As they traveled to what was a sick bed but was now a death chamber, this happened.

“20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart,daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”

If it had been a different day, the security men would’ve lost their jobs or maybe their lives for this interruption. But not today.

“When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.”

Both the father and the sick woman had something in common, they had faith. Not in a “keep the faith bro'” way but in a “I believe you are my only hope” way. That faith was directed to the person of Jesus.

Having faith is not key or the answer. Who you have faith in? That is the key. Every other person who has ever been on this planet will fail, has failed. Jesus did not. Jesus will not.

The whole dead thing.

Except for those who are alive when Jesus returns? We will
all die. From the least to the greatest we will all die. In a fashion we are already dead.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

Our sin separates us from God. We are already spiritually dead. But there is good news.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

When we receive Jesus, accept his gift of forgiveness, declare him to be Lord of our life, we are brought from death to life.

I feel like I’ve been cramming too much in here.

Who do we believe in? More to the point, What do we believe about Jesus? The answer will
Change eternity for us.

John 1

The endorsement. The mission.

How cool would it be to know exactly where you fit in the history and development of the world? The World. Capital W World.

John the baptizer knew where he fit in Gods plan. The big Plan, capital P plan for the capital W world. The World for all time forward and backward.

“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d]

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

It’s good to know who we are and know our place but it is even better to know who Jesus is and his place in our world and our life.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”’

Jesus is the son of God.

From our perspective in history we know what happened to him. He was beaten and crucified, hung, pierced with nails through his hands and feet, hung on a cross until dead.

John called him “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. This is what that image was about. Annually the Jews would take a perfect lamb, select it and set in in amongst the family as a pet for four days and on Passover slaughter it and eat it. You can read about in Exodus 12. The lambs blood was protection against the plague of death that was coming on Egypt. Painted on the door posts and top of the door frame.

This is a new thing that God was doing.

He came down, became a man and walked among us. He came to be a sacrifice for our sin. God would sacrifice himself for our sin. He will be our lamb for sacrifice.

God himself has paid for our sin by sacrificing Jesus on the cross.

I’m jumping ahead in the story only because John the baptizer saw what the mission was.

The forgiveness of sins is available to us all today.

Will we receive the gift?

Is there someone we know who hasn’t heard this news yet?

John 1

The beginning.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.”

Jesus being God. He pre-existed everything that was created by God. Jesus was there when there was nothing, not just darkness but a total void and vacuum, and God said “let there be light”. And light though it had never existed before suddenly came into existence. The creation was made through Jesus. Jesus is the word of God so when God said, that was Jesus right there.

Jesus is the light of the world. We see who we are when we encounter him.

I am feeling very inadequate to be talking about these huge spiritual concepts. But here goes…

Can you imagine building something big enough to walk through? A model village where you built every building, painted every detail, created beings to live in the village and use it. Their very existence and way of life was dependent on you. And you visit this village but no one knows you or recognizes you as the creator?

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

That is a big deal, a big thing, a change in the way that God had dealt with man. God had been a presence in the world. He revealed himself in very big, very Godlike ways, burning bushes, plagues on enemies, bread from heaven, water in the desert, water parting. Big ways, but now there was this man, a guy, a carpenter who started gathering a following.

A rugged prophet out in the wilds said that he was special.

“15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)

Jesus, fully God, fully man.

That is enough to think about for today for me.

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.”

It’s a new life in the same world. The sin and sadness and anger and 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.

Long term or short term solutions? Why not both?

Matthew 9 starts out with the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. There is more details about the story in Mark 2 and Luke 5. The mans friends were so determined to get their sick buddy to Jesus that they hauled him up to the roof, made a hole, rigged some ropes, and lowered their buddy down from the ceiling. Kind of like a reverse jewel heist.

“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”’

(Matthews version is underwhelming in suspense and drama. )

I wonder what his friends thought about going through all the trouble to get their buddy to Jesus, only for Jesus to forgive his sin. But the story continues.

“3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”

My long term problem is the sin that separates me from God. If it isn’t taken care by the time I die I will go to hell. My short term problems, health, wealth (or lack of), clothing, shelter, they are what I pray about, what I worry about, what consumes my focus and energy but the real problem of sin is much more serious.

As I’m writing this I’m listening to an icy wind howling outside. It’s 19 degrees with a 9 mph wind. According to my weather ap It feels like 8 degrees. It reminds me of the harshness of our world and how real our problems are. Life can seem long but it’s measured in years. Death and what comes after? We can’t measure because you can’t measure something that continues forever. Eternity is eternal.

Is it easier for Jesus to heal me or forgive me? Which is more important? Healing seems very important when I’m sick but Since healing will only last my lifetime how important is it? Forgiving my sin will change my life for now and forever.

I am so grateful that I can go to Jesus and be forgiven and ask for healing. I know I will be forgiven, I don’t know if I’ll be healed. I think I’m still getting what’s important.

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 these 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?

#setfree

“We’ll follow the old man wherever he wants to go as long as he wants to go, opposite to the foe…”

The slam bang finish, The song on White Christmas just before the enemy planes fly over and disrupt the party. They joke in the song about following the general as long as it’s easy. But the next few minutes of the movie shows the real story. They followed orders even into danger and death.

Following generals into battle. Many people have done it and died for their loyalty and obedience.

Following Jesus has its own risks and rewards. Matthew 8 has a story about that.

“The Cost of Following Jesus

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”’

Jesus is my general. I am following him. So far in my life following has not cost me much. I have a warm house on a cold night. He has provided a job for an income. There may be a day when Jesus asks me to step away from my comforts and follow. Many Christians around the world are living without the comforts I have now and yet they follow Jesus our leader.

Thank you Jesus for the comforts you have given me. Help me to continue to choose to follow you even when the choices get difficult. Help me help others with the bounty you have given me.

Negative space. It’s the shading in a painting or the rest in a piece of music. God created negative space when he created light. Light causes shadows. Absence of light is darkness.

If Gods story and the life a Jesus is a piece of music then we are in the rest space, the negative space. There was a chord struck when he was born, one when was baptized, another when he was crucified and the largest and loudest when he rose from the grave, the last when he ascended into heaven.

We now watch and wait for that next chord, the chord that will roll back the heavens and reveal what he has been preparing for us. We will see him.

There has been much happening in this negative space. He has used the music to gather those who will believe in him and receive his gift of salvation. The reverberations of his death resurrection and ascension reverberate and those of us who have heard the song, now wait, poised to join in the music.

2 Thessalonians 1

Prelude

When I was 5 years old we lived in Moses Lake on Stratford road. My mom told me that my grandparents were coming to visit. I spent the morning straining my eyes, watching the road from the south, the direction my family always came from when driving to my house. I gave up watching at some point but I wouldn’t have seen them because they came from the north. I was overjoyed to see them but I remember being perturbed because they surprised me by coming from the other direction.

The people of Thessalonica were watching and waiting. Watching and waiting for Jesus to come back for them. Some had sold everything and basically sat down by the road to wait. This letter from Paul is to encourage them to continue to wait, but to stay busy until he comes. The first chapter sounds harsh but may have been intended to re-energize the waiters to get busy and share Jesus because eternity is hell for those who don’t accept him as savior.

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”

I saw an interview with the magician Penn Jillette who although did not accept Jesus yet, talked about an encounter with a christian who was praying for him. Penn reprimanded all Christians because if we believe God is sending to hell all those who don’t believe, then we should be better at telling the world. Otherwise it shows that we don’t really care if the world burns in hell. We have our salvation, too bad for the rest of you.

So what am I to do? What are we to do?

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”