Peter’s Posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What will you decide today?

(Originally posted 1/31/2017)

Matthew chapter 8 starts out with one of my favorite stories.

8 “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”’

I like this story because I identify with the leper. I don’t have leprosy but I do have a deadly highly contagious condition that I cannot cure myself from. No one can. No one, except Jesus. The condition is sin. I have sin in my life.

For example:

In second or third grade I stole a green plastic army truck from my friend Miles Hancock. It was premeditated and well planned out. He had it, I wanted it. I took it.

Even if I could find Miles, repent and replace that truck right now, my act of thievery wouldn’t go away. I am forever stained with that sin.

This leper had a condition hat made him an outcast. He had to leave his family and friends. He could no longer be a part of society. He couldn’t worship. He was excluded from life. He had to live a life separated from people. He had to walk down the street yelling “unclean!” So people would know to stay away.

Jesus touched him. He was untouchable yet Jesus touched him and healed him. “If you are willing…” Jesus was willing to touch, cleanse, heal and restore this man. But Why? Why would Jesus be willing to touch this diseased man and risk contamination?

What about me, The truck thief, What is to become of me? Why would God have anything to do with someone who would break rules and violate trust?

Love. Love is the reason.

Between God and me there is gap, a break in our relationship. I broke a rule by stealing. I have become a thief. I am a sinner. But now I have confessed my sin and asked God to forgive me and because I have accepted Jesus death as payment for my sin. God has forgiven me. Because he loves me he forgives me. Because he loves me, he sent his son to die in my place for sins I committed.  Because he loved the man with leprosy he touched him. Because he loves me. He reached out to me. With that simple transaction I am made right with God again. Because he loves us, because he loves you, he reaches out to us today.

“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Then there is the practical side. I took something that didn’t belong to me.

Miles, if you are out there I am sorry. I don’t have the truck anymore. Contact me so I can make amends. I need to make some kind of restitution.

(Originally posted 1/30/17 edited to add the love 1/30/2020)

1 Thessalonians 5

Sum it up.

“for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

We don’t know when Jesus will come back. It could be today.

Live expectingly. Like as a kid you waited for grandma & grandpa, excitedly on your best behavior.

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

So many friends and family had members of their family die in December and January. Those who believe in Jesus have the the hope that they are not gone forever, but we will all be joined together when Jesus comes back again.

A couple more things, do these too.

“12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.”

I now make Paul’s prayer for them my prayer for us;

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls us is faithful, and he will do it.”

(Originally posted 1/29/16)

1 Thessalonians 4

That thing that you did yesterday, where you lived a selfless life, loving and serving the world around you? Living like Jesus and telling the world about him? Do that again. And again. And again.

“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”

Part of this lifestyle, a big part, is living a sexually pure life.

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

His (or her) own body. I must learn to control me.

Be quiet and mind your own business.

” make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

I have seen some very precious people laid into their graves. It hurts but I have hope that we are not separated forever.

“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.”

I am waiting for that day. Meanwhile I strive to keep moving forward.

No turning back, no turning back.

(Originally posted 1/27/16)

Looking at house plans is different than buying house plans. And buying house plans is different than building a house.

The 3 most important thing about buying or building a house, Location, location, location.

The last part of Matthew 7 is about location. Where will we build our future? What will our foundation be?

“24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

Where or on what or on whom will we build the foundation of our life?foundations are important. They are …… foundational.

“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand: all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

I built on Jesus.

Won’t you be my neighbor?

(Originally posted 1/27/2017)

1 Thessalonians 2

How to grow a church.

Use every opportunity to share Jesus with people.

“You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.”

Live honestly.

“For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. 7 Instead, we were like young children[a] among you.”

Love people. Share your life with them.

“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Live a good life. Be an example.

“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ”

Teach the word of God.

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”

Never give up! never surrender!

“17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”

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

Too little – too late?

Almost done reading through Matthew 7.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Originally posted 1/25/17)

1 Thessalonians 1

The tone of this book is just so tender. Paul really loves these folks and these folks really love Jesus.

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This group of pagan idol worshipping lost people, God loves them and sent Jesus to die for them.

“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

Guess what? God loves them too.

“For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”

Anything written to them is also written to us. Can we accept a loving warm embrace from a God who proclaims his love for us by dying to pay for our sins?

I still have to remind myself that God loves me. It’s not about my behavior but about His commitment to me to love me unceasingly. I don’t get it, I don’t always feel it it but I continue to believe it.

How are you doing with this incredibly good news? Jesus loves us.

(Originally posted 1/26/16)

There is a woody plant growing in my back yard. Right now In the winter, it looks like a stick. No leaves. No fruit.

Last spring it grew blossoms and then those blossoms turned into fruit. They were apples. I know what this wood plant is because I saw the fruit that it grew.

They were good apples. (Thank you Nadine and Rodger).

I know what the tree is by what it produces.

“15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

If I attach grapes or figs to the branches of my apple tree it will not then become a fig tree tree or a grape tree. (Grape tree?)

When I became a follower in Jesus and accepted his gift of forgiveness and allowed Him to come and live in my heart his Holy Spirit began to produce fruit in me. It was good fruit. It was love, joy peace, patience, gentleness, long suffering, I have trouble remembering the entire list so I will quote what Paul said in His letter to the Galatians.

“19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

These are the things that are happening in my life not because I am adding these behaviors to my life but because God is changing me from the inside out and I am becoming a good tree that bears good fruit.

You don’t become an apple tree from the outside in. You become an apple tree from the inside out. The same with being a Christian. We are transformed from the inside out. The fruit that grows in our lives is a manifestation of a transformed life. It grows as part of a life led by the Holy Spirit.

The philosophy of “fake it till you make it” really doesn’t work in matters of heart change. It is just exhausting.Before I became a Christian I was trying to earn my way into a relationship with God. Exhausting and impossible. How much good does it take to pay for bad? It takes all of it. All the good. Jesus is all the good and he has paid for us with his life.

Come into Gods garden and grow and produce good fruit.

“You need to act quickly the offer won’t last for long. Operators are standing by. Don’t delay, Call now”

A sales pitch to create a sense of urgency.

Jesus makes a declaration in Matthew 7.

Not all of these words bring comfort. All of these words are true.

““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Jesus doesn’t say it here, but he does say in other places that he is the only way to our heavenly Father.

In John 10 Jesus uses the example of a sheep pen where shepherds put their sheep to keep them safe. He says that he is the gate to the sheep pen. The only way in is through him.

Jesus said in John 14, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This is some news that isn’t bad, it’s just restrictive.There is only one way to God and it is Jesus. The good news is that he has come and died for us all. Not everyone will believe that. There is more good news and that is that he rose from the dead and now lives forever. Not everyone will believe that. These truths are true for everyone. No one is excluded from the promise of forgiveness of sin and eternal life in heaven but not everyone will believe it and receive it.

Every person will make their own decision. I have decided to believe in Jesus and be welcomed into the family of God.

We have a limited time to respond. We have today, well, we have now. Not all of us will make it through this day. God is always standing by waiting for us to respond to his offer.

Don’t delay, call now.

(Originally posted 1/23/17)

God is completely Just. Truth.

God is completely merciful. Truth.

How can those two statements be true of the same God?

“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. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2

“It is finished “.

When Jesus said those words from the cross it was as if he was saying, “I forgive you, you are forgiven, it’s over with, the slate that recorded all of your sins has been wiped clean”.

We were separated from God by a condition that there is no cure for, but there is a covering that washes away the condition of sin. The covering is innocent blood. When Jesus was crucified, killed on a cross he was innocent of any sin. They accused him of claiming to be God, he did claim that, but if you are God, it isn’t a sin to claim your self God.

Once we are saved by his mercy, Jesus continues to be our defense attorney and defend us against all the accusations that are made against us, even those that are true. We sent him to the cross through our rebellion and disobedience and yet he still Acts as our defender.

Yes, God Can be Just and merciful at the same time if he takes both roles in our life. He does. He is both the judge and in his body, the payment for our sins, then he takes on a third role as our defender.

What craziness is this? It is a crazy love that only a loving God can have for his creation.

How will we respond to this crazy love today?

(Originally posted 1/22/18)

Mark 5 don’t mess with my status quo

Mark chapter 5 tells a story of Jesus encountering a demon possessed man. The story is also told in Matthew 8 and Luke 8.

 

“They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”

Mark 5:1-17 NIV

 

The part of the story that stuck out to me this morning is when (if I  could i would italicize the word “when” for emphasis) the townspeople got scared.

They lived on an area where There was a man who should have been terrifying. who lived in tombs. He wandered around naked. He couldn’t be controlled or confined.  He howled at anyone who passed by. This did not scare them.

 

However when this same man encountered Jesus, was set free from a legion of demons was then dressed and in his right mind, then they got scared and asked Jesus to leave.

 

The fact that a herd of pigs were floating in the lake dead may have had something to do with it but the text doesn’t explicitly say that. It says when they saw the town terror “clothed and in his right mind” they were afraid.

 

Does change scare you? It scares me sometimes. I work in a job that uses computers and software and it is difficult to keep up with version updates and with advances in technology. We are in a building project and we are going to be using a new communication protocol. I struggled to learn the last one and now there’s another one to learn. Change is hard. Keeping up with change can be harder still. But something tells me this type of change wasn’t what scared these folks.

 

This situation makes me think of those hoarding shows that were popular in the US a few years ago. A person would have hordes of accumulated things. Most often it was anything and everything. The hoarder would be confronted by a family member or a city official to remove some or all of the stuff that they had accumulated. Some of these folks accumulated so much stuff that their lives were miserable. Safety was gone, sanitation was gone, sometimes it seemed even sanity was gone. People who specialized in removing hoards were brought in but the hoarders would sometimes violently oppose removal of the hoarded things, the things that were endangering their very lives. The hoarder had become accustomed to their status quo and changing it meant upsetting the status quo. It was unbearable to some of those lives that were shown us on TV. They would rather die by the hoard than go through the pain of seeing change come into their life.

 

It could be this type of fear of change that made the villagers chase Jesus away. We get connected to the world around us and cannot imagine a world without the hoard of our life in our future. This man had collected a hoard of demons and the town was willing to put up with them rather than change.

 

Maybe they saw what change would come to their own hoard of demons.

 

I had an event in my life at 8 years old when a big change came, and I was just a passenger in the way it was handled. I believe those around me did their best, they saved my life. I had been burned on my face and right hand. Most of the burns were severe, 2nd and 3rd degree burns. I remember them working on my right hand. A nurse held it out in front of me and the doctor slid the skin off like it was a loose rubber glove and then dropped it in the trash can. I remember thinking “aren’t I going to be needing that later?”

 

The truth is that skin was dead and if they had left in on my body it would’ve rotted, caused an infection and probably cost me my hand or even my life. I needed that change. What I didn’t need was that old dead skin.

 

The demoniac man needed to be rid of the demons tormenting him. Jesus slid them off and tossed them in the trash. By God’s Grace and through his mercy He was healed by the power and authority of Jesus.

 

Hoarders of trash or treasure or demonic hoards can get used to the mess and fear change. Those around them also fear change. When Jesus comes into a life, messes begin to get cleaned and organized. The stuff that’s dangerous and/or poisonous he will remove. What if it’s a pet sin, one we like to bring out and play with occasionally, or a pet grievance or a painful wound we don’t want to heal so instead of allowing Jesus’ healing touch we wrap in putrid rags of unforgiveness? Do we have to give all of our precious goodies to him to just toss into the lake, (or the trash)?

 

If Jesus shows up in lives of people around us and all hell breaks loose and runs off a cliff and gets destroyed and the people who have been entertained with their previous wild freedom (which was actually enslavement) begin to be clothed and set right mentally and spiritually, let’s not get freaked out and chase Jesus away. Let’s get excited and invite him home to our hoard and have the cleansing process begin in our lives.

 

Part of this change is who is the boss of me. If I let Demons have their way in my life or harbor hatred and unforgiveness or lust or slander or greed or any other unclean, unwholesome attitude or behavior, then I am enslaved to that and it all ends in a miserable death. If this is my condition, the condition of the man who was home to a legion of demons, then I am a slave to a master who hates me. But if I let Jesus in, He loves me, He wants what is best for me and He has the power to finish what he starts. He, in fact has power over sin and death because he beat them both by dying on the cross and rising again 3 days later.

The Gospel of John tells us what Jesus’ intentions are with us.

“¹⁶ 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.”

In those hoarding shows, the owner of the hoard was in charge of the cleaning process. If the hoarder said stop, the process stopped. Sometimes it would resume once the hoarder was able to see the benefit of the change.

I have a hoard of junk, both in my garage and in my heart.  I am sick of it and I love it at the same time. I am going to be bold and invite Jesus into my world, all of my world, and ask him to help me, to purge me and to not stop or leave until the job is done. Anyone else want to join us?

When I was 5 I told a cousin that they were going to hell for something they were doing. I think it had to do with a bicycle or a cookie, both very important things to a 5 year old.

“7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

In the 52 years since then I have changed my position. I hope that they don’t go to hell. In fact I hope they ask Jesus to forgive them and they go to heaven.

I cannot, in the few minutes I spent researching to write this, find proof of this but I believe that was Jesus was saying in this passage is do not condemn to hell another person. Do not condemn.

Later in this chapter we see the the golden rule. The one rule that if we follow it we will also be following all the other rules.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

I don’t want to be condemned to hell. I will not condemn my cousin, or anyone else to hell. There are people that make me crazy but I must treat them not as they deserve but as I want to treated. This is hard stuff.

Not doing so well with this this morning.

I am today just as I was when I was 5 in need of forgiveness for my own sins, to remove the plank from my eyes before I judge or condemn others, to practice forgiveness because I want others to be forgiving towards me.

Father forgive my sin. Help me forgive others.

(Originally posted 1/20/17)

If I said “Don’t worry..”

What would you say? My guess is you would say, “be happy”. That’s the hook from the Bobby McFerrin song.

Jesus said it first and then he gave a reason not to and then he redirects our attention to what we really need to be focused on.

“25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Our culture and our economy are based on what we don’t have. Advertising keeps showing us what we could have, or what other people have, so that we will be discontented with what we have now and keep going out and trying to buy our happiness. But I think that may be a sideways rant. Sorry.

I do not do well in this area, worry. The problem of worry is what lies behind it. I worry because I don’t trust. I don’t trust because I don’t know the one well enough that I should be trusting in.

All I can do is confess my failure and weaknesses, ask for forgiveness and then get back to the task at hand. Seeking the Kingdom first.

Father God, forgive me when I worry, pull me close and tell me you love me because sometimes, often times I forget that truth. I love you Father, show me what you need me to do for you today.

(Originally posted 1/19/17)

Wouldn’t it be nice if each time something broke, the repairman was already there to help us? Like as we are pulling off the highway with a flat tire, or steam billowing out from under the hood, the service truck was already there in front of us and the service tech was smiling and waving walking towards us with tools and parts in his hands? That would be nice.

God is like that.

That is why he sent Jesus to us.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8 NIV

The thing is, us humans come out of the womb broken and in need of repair.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

1 John 1:8-10

“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:10-18

God knows us and knows our predicament and that is why he sent Jesus to suffer and die in our place. Then to be raised to life again. He knows us AND he loves us. He wants us to be with him, to have fellowship with him.

“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:21-23

The bad news is, we all need a repairman for our souls. The good news is that God has already sent not just any repair technician, but God Himself has come down, in the form of his son to repair our broken condition.

Does everyone around us know that? Do all the people we know, know about Jesus? That he came not to condemn us for being broken but to save us from our brokenness? I wonder if the ones who don’t know, would like to know? Only one way to find out….

(Originally posted 1/19/18)

Was it my fear of the dark that eventually led me to become an electrician? It could just be a coincidence. It still thrills me to go through the process of wiring and conduit and termination of devices, to get to the reveal-drumroll- -click- then let there be light!

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:5-7

Electricians participate in what God started at the beginning of creation. He said “let there be light” and there was light. Since God is light, does that mean he just entered the void where nothing was and just him being there brought light? Or did he create light that would be part of creation?

I don’t know and I suppose it doesn’t matter. What matters is that God is light, his character is light. That’s one of the scary things about him. We can’t hide in the shadows, we can’t cover or shade ourselves AND be in his presence. He is light, exposing us his exposure is not intended to shame us, (shame not being the impetus for repentance) but to make us aware of our own condition, our own direction, so we can repent and get set right and get cleaned up.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:5-7

I get dressed in our basement in the morning. I dress in one room then turn off the light as I leave and head for the stairs up and out. Many times the darkness disorients me, I can’t find the stairs or the switch for the lights and I have walked into the walls and or tripped. What if once I found the switch and could see the way up and out, I refused the updated information and continued on my misguided path? that would be silly. So it is when we meet with God and refuse the information that his light of revelation brings us.

Jesus, being God also has character of light.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

This quote comes directly after Jesus defended a woman caught in adultery. His light exposed her sin but did not condemn her for it, instead he forgave her.

Someday this light will light the earth , until that day…? What will we do with the light we have experienced that did not condemn but forgave, forgives us? Will we share it? Will we use it? Will we spread it as we share the good news of what Jesus has done in us and can do for anyone else who will confess and believe?

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

Revelation 21:22-24

#Godislight #1john1

(Originally posted 1/18/18)

I don’t consciously try to work my truck into my posts but this morning the text just lends itself to it.

Matthew 6

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I have a 57 Chevy truck. I named him Rusty. I didn’t think about the significance of naming something made mostly of of steel, Rusty. Rust is the end of steel. It would be like naming a baby “Mortal” or “Death is Coming”. (Sorry Rusty.)

But that is the sad truth. Rusty has cancerous rust in many places and will some day dissolve back into the earth where his parts came from. The same is true for me. I will breath my last breath and I will be gone. Or will I?

In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about the resurrection.

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”

I believe in the resurrection of the dead. I believe this because Jesus rose from the dead. He cooked, he ate, he was seen by over 500 people in one place, he could be touched, Mary Magdalene grabbed him outside the tomb and he said to Thomas, “touch me”.

This life isn’t all there is to life. None of the stuff we gather up

Here can move with us to the next chapter of life but we can send something ahead of us by investing in the kingdom.

The treasure test is like in a murder mystery, Follow the money. Your money will tend to pile up on and around the things you love. If you love the Kingdom of God and his people your check register will show it.

I am going to look at my checkbook and then have a talk with God about my priorities. (Rusty…)

I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer but we all will die. What will our life show? Where have we invested our heart and money and our time?

I leave with this:

“12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.”[a] But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”

We by nature Put our money where our heart is. Who has our heart?

Jesus has an exclusive. It is Jesus plus nothing, and Jesus or nothing.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched —this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

1 John 1:1-4

There is no one else who can truthfully claim to be the Word of life.

Jesus said in John’s Gospel “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Our culture wants to downgrade Jesus, to make him one of many ways to God, but that is not what he said. He said we can’t get to the Father without going through him. Can Jesus lie and still be perfect? Can he exaggerate and still be sinless? Can he be mistaken and still be trustworthy? It looks like I have a choice to make, he can’t be one of many if he said he is THE way, THE truth and THE life. I choose to believe what he said about himself.

John also said this about Jesus in his Gospel “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:1-5

I can’t imagine how cool it would be to hang out with Jesus. John, the writer of this Book was a close friend, maybe the closest friend of Jesus. “We heard him, seen him, touched him…” He’ll say it again, “seen and heard”. John was an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry. He was one of 3 who got to see him transfigured on the the mountain top.

“Make our joy complete. “ John’s joy was to see people believing in Jesus and being saved. Our family, my dads side, us four siblings, any cousins and aunts and uncles we can gather will be meeting again this year. Loeffelbein’s are descendants of German immigrants. Our family has a history of being hard working industrious people. We know how to work. We don’t know as well how to play, how to relax. We are learning. We do enjoy getting together. There is sweet fellowship. There is family love.

Fellowship with God will be like this except beyond it, way way beyond it. Love that knows no boundaries or limits. Love that knows us completely, faults and fears, failures and foibles and still loves us completely. Engulfed in love, like the security of a warm newborn swaddle and the freedom of a moonlight skinny dip, blended together in perfection. I believe that I cannot fully comprehend what fellowship with God will be but I think it will be like the garden of Eden, fully exposed and unashamed. We receive Jesus not only to escape hell and avoid its tortures but to gain fellowship, with each other, the family of God, and with God our Father.

Jesus knew that sweet fellowship before he left heaven. He left that to come here to earth, to to live and love and serve, and in completion of that service, to suffer and die for our sins, for my sins, then raise to life again and go to back to heaven to intercede for me and make ready a place for me to spend eternity.

Today the Word of life is reaching out to each one of us. What will we do with his offer of forgiveness of sin and eternal fellowship with a God who loves us more and better than we can know or deserve?

Anthropomorphism. I do it all the time. It means to give human characteristics to non-human things. I do voices for our dogs to explain their facial expressions or their behavior. I do it for my truck Rusty, ascribing to him traits he doesn’t really have, or feelings or even masculinity. ( trucks are in fact gender neutral, but don’t tell Rusty).

When I looked up the word to make sure I was getting it right it said anthropomorphism is something we do to non-human things, especially deity, gods.

That’s strange for me to write deity, like there are a multitude of gods. I believe there is only one God and he exists in 3 persons but that’s not what I want to write about.

Matthew 6 has the prayer in it that we call the Lord’s Prayer.

I’ll quote it here in context but I really only want to look at the first line of the prayer.

“5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

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.”

Hallowed be your name. Why would Jesus recommend we start our prayers like that? Hallowed. It isn’t a word we use often. It means revered or holy. Holy is a word that grasps the meaning for me. Holy means separate or special or “other”.

All we see around us, all we can know or experience, is all part of the things God created but God himself is not part of his creation. He is holy, he is other, he is not from around here, he is different. Jesus knew our propensity to anthropomorphize things around us to help us understand them, but we cannot treat God that way. We cannot understand God better by attributing to him human characteristics. He made us in his image, it doesn’t work to return the favor and recreate him in our image. One reason for that is that that puts limits on God and God is limitless. When we sit down to pray and we start out by stating, “God, you are not from around here, you are not limited like I am, you are not a created being, instead, you are the creator, you are separate from us and yet you love us and joined yourself to us in Jesus, you became God in the flesh, you are to be hallowed, you are so awesome and great and fantastic that it makes me want to worship you”.

Once I have established that mind set, then I can get on with my prayer. I can pray for his kingdom to advance in our world because I believe only he knows what is best and can do what is best. I can ask for my needs to be met, I can ask to be forgiven, I can ask for guidance and protection because I am talking to my God, the creator of the universe.

Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

(Originally posted 1/16/17)

The good news / bad news of Matthew 5.

Matthew 5 starts out with the beatitudes.

“3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I like what I hear until I get to verse 10. I’m challenged by 10-12. I guess I kind of want to think about persecution as a surprise and not an expected upcoming event. You can’t surprise God. And he doesn’t want us surprised by negative push back. Persecution will come.

Who can reject the gospel message? Who would ? I mean the very word gospel means good news. Who doesn’t want good news? Well unfortunately along with the good news there is bad news. The good news is that God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. The bad news is that before we can receive Gods gift of forgiveness, we have to confess that we need to be forgiven. Everyone wants the forgiveness but not everyone wants to admit that they need forgiveness. Some people who have been hurt refuse the message of forgiveness because if they can be forgiven then so can the ones that hurt them. Everyone is invited to be forgiven. Not everyone will take God up on his offer. Some will rather damage or destroy the good news bearer than to hear and receive the message.

We are all in the same race. The human race. It’s a race that we all lose. We all lose to death. There was one who died and then came back from death. Jesus. If the race was to live life without sinning then there was the same one, Jesus, who lived his life as a man without sin. He is offering us to share in victories both over death and over sin.

There are many challenges in chapter 5. If we think our life is free of the “big sins”, he tells us that if we hated someone then we have killed that person in our hearts. If we have never touched another person sexually, but we thought about it, we committed the deed in our heart. It’s in the heart where sin is born and if our hands are clean but our hearts are dirty then we are dirty.

2 more challenges.

“43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Love our enemies and pray for the very person who is persecuting us? That is a challenge.

The last verse is the topper. Being perfect. How can I be perfect? My heart goes places my hands will never go and God sees that. How can I be perfect?

I’ve heard it said that you do not have to be Good to get into heaven. You do not have to be good……you have to be perfect.

How can a sinner like me be perfect?

Jesus.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

The bad news is we all need be forgiven. The good news is that God has already done that in Jesus

(Originally posted 1/15/17)