Peter’s Posts

God’s love is amazing

How small does a matter have to be to fall off Gods radar screen of our life?

In money value? Less than 19 cents. According to my exhaustive research , (2 websites from a google search) the drachma was worth about 19 cents. When the tax collector came around, Jesus knew, he cared and he provided.

“24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

It seems like a non story. Why is this little story even in the Bible? The Gospel writer Matthew was by trade, a tax collector. That may be why this story stuck out in his memory. But the Holy Spirit has something to teach me from this.

It has some odd things in it too, Jesus didn’t reach in his purse or pocket to get the money, he didn’t pull a 4 drachma Coin from behind Peters ear, he had Peter fish for it. Not catch a fish and sell it, but catch a fish and pull the coin out of the fishes mouth(?). What an odd way to provide. Jesus showed so much of his power and knowledge and ability in this coin retrieval system. The ocean is his piggy bank.

As Gods son, Jesus was exempt from the tax but he paid it anyway. Jesus was exempt from the punishment for sin, yet he paid it anyway. He paid the price for my sin, he paid the price for our sin.

My take aways from this story:

God hears our life story live, he cares about what is happening, he has knowledge of and possesses all the earth, it is all at his disposal, he will pay my way, he has paid my way into the temple and beyond, into Gods presence in heaven by dying for me on a cross.

Now he lives forever, not to brag about his own goodness and selflessness, but to continuously intercede for me to God as I am stumbling through life. Intercede for me, for us, the ones who put him on the cross.

God’s love is amazing.

I just found this on the road while i was taking my walk. Sometimes it feels like I have one just like it rattling around in my chest. A heart of stone.

I have been reading the second half of John 14 but I keep stumbling over part of it.

“15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

If you love me you will obey my teachings.

Obedience, do what he says AND don’t do what he says not to do.

I was thinking about this and how I fail and being hyper self critical when my dogs crawled up on the couch with me. We have 2 dogs one smart one and one cute one- (I hope I can bring this all together, stone heart, obedience from love, dogs), and I realized something. My dogs love me and I love them but they are not always obedient. They don’t do what I tell them every time. Sometimes I will even change my command so that what they are doing matches what I’m saying. (The analogy sags a bit here). My heart feels stiff because my will is not always His will. Sometimes my will is counter his will. He still loves me. Jesus died for me and forgave before I committed any sins because he knew I would need to be bathed in forgiveness from birth.

I constantly need to have my heart softened towards God and towards the people around me. I have received grace, I need to dispense grace.

Change my heart o’ God make it ever true, may I be like You.

Jehovah Nissi. The lord our banner. It’s one of the names of God that I struggle to connect with… Or did until today. I saw a picture in my mind in a flash. It was like a second. I’m going to try to describe to what I saw In my mind. I was a young soldier reporting to battle. It was ancient times. I couldn’t see the battle field until I was almost on it. As I cleared the last hill a huge valley spread out in front of me. As far as I could see there were soldiers and horses and weapons, every menacing tool imaginable was there. The valley was filled with encampments, each encampment had at its center a banner. Every banner was the name of the tribe… Or so I thought, but as I got closer the banners each listed one of my sins. One banner I read said “Peter Loeffelbein should die because he on May 5th 1970 he stole Mike Hancocks green army truck.” That was the only one I feel comfortable sharing here but all my sins were there. My enemies wanted to destroy me for them. Myriad of enemies all ready to do battle against me because my sins. I was overwhelmed. But then I saw it. In the center of all this hatred of me I saw another banner. It said ” I love peter Loeffelbein! my son Jesus will die in his place”. There was Gods camp. His banner declared his love for me. He would send out his son, his only son to die in my place. All of my sins which in the enemies hands had become weapons would strike him and not me. I ran to that banner and fell down and wept at the feet of my king and my Champion. Jesus.

Jehovah Nissi, his banner over me is love. He has a banner for each one of us. Run to his banner.

Yesterday, as I was leaving work to have my teeth cleaned I overheard a conversation between friends One friend was listing and defining his recent court appearances, how his DUI had been reduced to a lesser charge. As I walked away I was congratulating myself on my spotless driving record.

I could almost hear God say to me, “really? That’s what your take away from that conversation? You are being a Pharisee Peter, ‘thank you God that I’m not like that sinner’, but you are, you are all fallen…”

I repented of my pharisaical heart and continued on my way to my appointment. The radio station was tuned to moody radio and a pastor was talking about how wrong it is for us believers not to care about whether or not our coworkers are going to hell.

My coworker, could I know that he was going to hell? Isn’t that being judge-y?

The Bible truth is, we are all going there unless we accept Jesus death as the payment for our sins. I believe this statement is true, harsh but true. If we haven’t heard about God’s gracious offer of salvation through Jesus before we die, we will be eternally separated from God, and spend eternity in hell, which is a place of torment and suffering.

The radio pastor likened not caring enough to warn others to being in a large gathering at church, and knowing that a bomb was going off at 12:15, but not wanting to bum anyone out, so as not to bring anyone down or share bad news, instead of relaying the message that the bomb would go off at 12:15, we just quietly leave at 12:14. There is death coming to everyone. We Christians believe that if a person has not received Jesus as their savior, death will be the entrance to hell. It doesn’t have to be. Death can be the entrance to heaven. All it takes is confession and belief.

When I am privy to a private conversation, not by my own means of spying or eavesdropping, I tend to think that God is giving me a glimpse into a life. This information can be used in many ways. It can used to help or hurt. I can gossip or? Maybe I heard this so that I can know part of their story, so I can know their pain, so I can know how to pray for them, so I can know how to serve them. Hmmm.

John 3:16, “for God so loved the world… “ is often quoted. I would like to add verse 17 too.

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

John 3:16-17

I wonder if this coworker knows about Jesus. How can I be used to help him?

He knew.

Jesus knew how he would die and he did it anyway.

Matthew 16 Jesus begins to tells his disciples that he was going to suffer and die.

“21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

He did it any way because he knew why he would die. Without his death as payment none of us would have a chance at having our relationship with God restored.

He died for me, a sinner. We can all say that sentence and it will be true, the sad part, being a sinner, and the happy part, that Jesus died for us, all true for each and every person.

If you didn’t know that yet, what will you do about it today? Don’t wait, act today. Decide. Will you receive the gift Jesus has given?

If you’ve read this and you heard it before and you acted on it and now are a disciple of Jesus, I am so happy but I have a follow up question, who have you told about this Jesus who loves enough to knowingly die in our place? 2/3rds of the world still hasn’t accepted his gift. There are many who need to hear. Who will we tell today?

Mark 14:3

While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.

I heard a radio pastor speak on this section of scripture and his explanation really moved me.

He pointed out that the jar was very special. It would normally be used for either a dowry in marriage or a burial ointment.

The woman didn’t just crack the seal and dip some out. She broke the jar. She was all in. This jar that would either marry her or bury her she gave it all to Jesus.

Her commitment, her willingness to throw it all in poked my heart. Am I willing to commit like this? Am I 100% given over to this Jesus who has given all of himself for me?

John 12

Are you in darkness? Jesus is the light of the world.

“John 12

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”[h]

39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 “He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their hearts,

so they can neither see with their eyes,

nor understand with their hearts,

nor turn—and I would heal them.”[i]

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”’

I am afraid of the dark. As a child it paralyzed me. As an adult I’ve worked past the fear, and I carry a flashlight. All of us with phones carry a flashlight. Jesus can be our spiritual flashlight.

Jesus being light and bringing light into our lives is one of the things that can make us uncomfortable. There are things done in darkness, or memories hidden in dark corners of our hearts, things done by us, things done to us that we want to stay hidden. Hidden and forgotten.

Jesus came to expose those things not to shame us or hurt us, but to forgive us and free us from the pain and the stench and the mess and the clutter.

Some of us are hoarders of bad memories.

I challenge all of us today to let the light of the world into our darkest corners so that cleansing and forgiveness can begin.

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

Seed faith. Size matters.

Pictured is a mustard seed. No matter what seed we talk about, inside the seed there are plans and genetic design plus the unknown life force packed into the seed to recreate the parent plant as soon as the conditions are right for growth. It’s magic or masterful at the very least.

In Matthew 17 Jesus talks about faith and how it affects our ministry.

“14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ‘

I don’t like being scolded. Who was Jesus scolding here? The dad? The son? The disciples?

In Mark there is more of Jesus’ conversation with the dad recorded.

“20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”’

If you can. The dads faith seems to be the faith in question. The Mark version adds prayer to the cure, some manuscripts also add fasting.

I have a list of people that I pray for, a written list. There are four names scribbled out. These four names represent four people who are dead now. I was praying for them and they died anyway.

Jesus says in this passage that if our faith is as big as a mustard seed that I can move mountains, that nothing will be impossible for me. So what size IS my faith?

If we look at the details of Marks version of the story I must ask myself, did I ever fast for these sick people? No. I did not.

I have an ineffectual prayer life in part because I don’t take it seriously. Who am I talking to? The dog? (Sometimes they are the only one in the room). Who am I talking to and what can He do about what I am asking him about? Gods will and his plan are sovereign but I am still seeing things that I would like to change. Do I believe God can do them? If I don’t believe, why am I wasting my time?

I have either never or seldom asked God to increase my faith. Today that changes.

God, please make my faith bigger. I want to see change in my world. Use me. Help me to see what to ask for and to believe in your bigness enough that people lives can be set free from torment and disease and the repercussions of sin. Grow me so the kingdom, Your kingdom can grow through me.

Amen?

Amen.

John 14

Come home.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

God our father is beckoning us to come home.

He stands on his front step of his house smiling and waving, scooping the air in a “come here” motion. He is smiling and pleading. “Come home! Come and spend time with me, rest here with me”.

As we approach we are scared and disappointed by the fact that between us and him is an expanse. The expanse is uncross able, impossible. We recognize the expanse for what caused it, our sin. We stop and shout across to our father, “how? How can I get to you? I want so much to come home to you but how?”

He smiles and points. There is a bridge that we didn’t see. As we run towards the bridge we notice it’s odd shape and as we get even closer we see the bridge is covered in blood and then we hear a voice, his voice, Jesus’ voice, “it is finished” and we realize the bridge isn’t something, it is someone. The only bridge to our father is his bloodied and beaten son, stretched across the expanse of our sins.

The only way to God our Father is across the bridge of Jesus’ death. Will we take it?

The father is calling us, come home.

Becoming a Christian will change a person. I have been one for so long, for me I became a Christian at age 20. I am now 58. I have forgotten how it is to not believe in God and not trust in his word.

When I became a Christian the Holy Spirit took up residence in me. It was like I had a spiritual GPS guiding me. Not an audible voice but more like an unspoken suggestion.

I took a trip in 2009 for training. the car I drove was a fancy (for me) company car, it had a built in GPS. Someone at work helped me put in the coordinates for my destination. I was guided directly to my training. They didn’t tell me how to turn it off or how to put in a new destination so on the way back home at every intersection the GPS would give me a new route to get back to where I had come from. I did finally pull over and figure out how to switch it off. But that’s what the Holy Spirit does in a believer when we stray. I can’t remember the term the GPS used, something like “recalculating” trying to show me how to get back. The Holy Spirit will use any and every bit of scripture that is in my memory bank and say “remember this? I think this applies here…” that’s why it’s so important for me to keep a fresh supply of God’s word in my head and heart.

“15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:15-17 –

“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.”

Philippians 1:27-30 –

Paul encourages me to live as a citizen of heaven, I have changed my citizenship and it changes the rules and guidelines l live by. At the company I work for we have rules for safety. If we have a contractor come on site to work they have to work under our safety rules unless their rules are more strict or stringent. In the same way I am to live under the rules of the land, unless the rules of my citizenship are more strict.

My basic rules are to love the Lord my God and love my neighbor.

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40 –

I don’t have a lot of experience in one on one personal conversations about Jesus with people. My faith in Jesus will come up in conversations because it’s part of my life but I don’t try to start conversations talking about him. I think my point of this post is that I need to remember what it was like not believing in God so that I can share my faith in an intelligible way, a way that can be understood by someone who doesn’t have GPS (God politely speaking) in their head and heart.

I will most likely not sway or convince someone of the truth of God and his word in a conversation , but I can leave seeds of faith, seeds of God’s truth, and I can definitely tell them, better yet show them in a tangible way, that God loves them.

About 69% of the worlds population doesn’t believe in Jesus. Do they even know about him? Have they heard? Has anyone told them what Jesus has done for them? Can I have a part in that? Will you be a part of that? Will we be a part of telling a people that don’t know yet that Jesus died to save us from our sins? Will we be apart of telling the world about a God who loves them so much that he gave his only son, so that whosoever would believe on him, he gives the right to become a child of God?

It’s scary but I’m in. Are you?

John 13

Dirty work

” It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

I’m not sure how we got away from this, the foot washing. I guess some groups still do it. It’s a Maundy Thursday thing. Some groups do it more often. I have washed feet but never have I had my feet washed.

Washing feet is an act of saying we are all human. I fail at perfection. No matter how well I cover up, conceal, perfume or otherwise hide my imperfections my feet will still sweat and stink.

Will you help me not stink? Will I help you not stink? Life is dirty. Feet get dirty. We can cover up or we can confess our human-ness and participate in keeping each other less dirty and less stinky.

It’s not just our feet is it? It’s my heart and my mind. My life and my actions. Will we help each other clean up our life and actions? Will we trust each other?

“But my feet have been in some really deep poop”.

We are all at times in deep poop. Life is at times, deep poop. Deep stinky sticky poop. Are we committed to clean others as we ourselves are cleaned?

Confession and forgiveness. Cleansing each other in a close and personal way.

Christianity isn’t living the perfect life. Christianity is living the forgiven and forgiving life.

Christianity is about loving others as Jesus has loved us. How did he love us? He loved us literally, to death. Did he wait until we were all cleaned up and pretty before he lavished his love on us? No. He washes us clean himself. He washed his disciples feet when at there dirtiest. He suffered and died for me, while I was still a sinner. That’s how he loved us, and that’s how we are to love others.

Did they have name tags?

When Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain top and spoke with Jesus, how did Peter James and John know who they were? Did Jesus say, ” Hey Mo, how are you Elijah? What’s up?” Or was it just deduced from the context of the conversation?

Maybe there was an introduction? “Peter, James, John, this is Moses, the law giver, and this is Elijah, the mighty prophet..”

Let’s read the text from. Matthew 17.

“17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”

The Jewish people were looking for a messiah, some one to come and shake off the oppression of Roman rule. They knew from the prophecies of the Old Testament that Elijah was supposed to come and usher in the messiah.

Here is Elijah, not an Elijah type but the real original Elijah standing before them. As a bonus the leader of leaders, a messiah of his own generation, freer of the Jews from Egyptian bondage, Moses, was standing there too. Two of the most influential humans to ever walk the planet. If they were talking to anyone other than God himself, they would be the ones to to listen to, they would have the message from God, they would be the star of the show but the voice from God said, “this is my son, listen to him”.

I think this scene may have been like a prize fight ring where the trainer and coach are in the corner encouraging and pumping up

The champion before he takes on the two ugliest and strongest forces known on earth. The forces Jesus was about to fight were Sin and Death. Up to that time these two, sin and death, were undefeated. Jesus was about to battle them not for himself but for us.

He will win. He did win. As he said from the cross, “it is finished”.

Jesus has defeated our enemies, sin and death. By defeating sin he removed the separation between us and God. Our debt is paid, the slate is clean and we have access to our loving Heavenly Father. By defeating death he took away the period at the end of the sentence so our life can go on with God. Physical death can now be the doorway to eternal life with God.

There is a questionnaire to fill out.

Who is Jesus?

What has he done for you?

It’s an open book test. There is a strong hint in Romans 10:9-10.

“9 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.”

I took some time off posting because of some personal family matters. Those matters are not resolved, may never be resolved and I am not at liberty to discuss them here.

Yesterday I opened my bible to Isaiah chapter 5 and read this:

“What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.” What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

Isaiah 5:18-21 –

I don’t want sorrow for anyone. But there are those who will have sorrow because of what they are clinging to.

I hadn’t decided what to do about posting yet. This morning I continued to read in Isaiah chapter 6. It is the record of when God reveals himself to Isaiah. He then asks a question.

“Whom should I send to this people? Who will go?”

Isaiah replies, “here I am, send me”.

My hope is that the posts I post will shed light on who Jesus is and what he has done. I write as if I’m writing to someone who doesn’t know about Jesus but I think many of the people that read my posts already know him and are following him. My second mission then is to encourage the folks reading these posts that already know him to share Jesus with others. But to tell them about him while they are serving them in some fashion so that they are showing God’s love while they are talking about God’s love.

I’ve been doing some gardening lately. I have had mixed success. Usually I buy bedding plants but I am starting from seed this year. Some seed didn’t germinate, some did. One way to guarantee failure of a seed to grow is to never plant the seed. I think it is The same with sharing the word of God. The word that is guaranteed to not bear fruit is the word that is not “planted”. So I am going to continue to plant seeds of God’s word in my readers hearts and minds.

Thank you for being a reader. May God bless your day, may you understand something about Him today in a fresh way. May you have opportunities to share Jesus with your world as you serve others today.

I’m going to be taking a break.

I don’t know how long it will be.

Everything I’ve written is still here.

More importantly, all of God’s word is still there to read, to grab onto and cling to. The Bible is the lighthouse in this stormy life, it is the fog horn. It is the GPS and shows us the way back to God our father through his only son Jesus.

I encourage anyone who reads this to add time to your day, set your alarm xx minutes ahead, rise up early, get your bible and begin reading it. Start in the Gospel of John. Read it. Read Paul’s letter to the Romans, read a psalm, read Isaiah. Read God’s message of love to us. All of these books in the Bible are written to us and for us by a God who loves us.

““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:16-17

Read God’s love letter to us.

May I ask you a favor? Will you please Pray for My wife Mary and I and our family? Thank you.

Thank you for reading my posts. May God bless and protect you. May your love for him become new and fresh and real and may you find new and fresh ways to share God’s love with those around you.

Who is this Jesus guy?

That is the most important question we can ever answer. Who is Jesus?

It’s not just a life and death question. It’s an eternal life or eternal separation from God question.

In Matthew 16 Jesus asked his disciples this very question.

“13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”

In my mind I see Peter answering this casually, with a mouth full of the first century version of potato chips.

Muffled by the food in his mouth and crumbs tumbling out and he said it, “you are the Christ, the son of the living God…”

Only God’s Spirit can reveal this truth to a person.

I pray today that folks that read this post would stop and answer the question for themselves.

Who is Jesus?

For those of us who already know him, I pray there would be fresh revelation of what that means to us and to the world. For those who haven’t discovered who he is yet, may Gods Spirit shine it into your hearts.

Jesus is the messiah, the son of the living God.

This morning I woke up 1/2 an hour before my alarm. As I woke my dreams became reality. I had been dreaming that I had a headache and as my brain became alert enough to have conscious thoughts I felt the pounding and pain at the base of my skull. I tried all of the things that never work to relieve the pain. I was too tired and sleepy to get up but had too much pain to go back to sleep. The tug of war ended with my alarm going off. I let the dogs attend to their needs and i stumbled to the bathroom. Just before arriving I felt like I heard God say “judgement, warn them of my coming judgment”. I had been thinking about what to read and post about. I’m reading through the book of Philippians off and on and there is not much of anything about judgement in that letter. I have interspersed my study of Philippians with random crack open and read whatever is there studies too. One such study included Ezekiel 33 which warns Ezekiel that if he doesn’t warn the people of God’s coming judgement, no, I won’t explain it, I will quote it.

“Once again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live. “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right. For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die. But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live. O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”’

Ezekiel 33:1-20 –

Is my little town of Ephrata facing an enemy? Not that I know of, not a physical enemy. Is there a danger of floods or tornadoes or earthquakes? Not that I know of. We were covered by volcanic ash once but that actually turned out to be a blessing. Is there a mass judgement coming to my town? Not that I can foresee or tell, but there is a judgment coming individually to each one of us. At death God pulls up a chair, looks each one of us in the heart and asks, “why should I let you in my heaven?”

The verses I quoted above talk about a change of heart that leads to a change in behavior, but this situation I’m describing is deaths door, no time to change. It’s time to cash in. All we’ve got is what we’ve brought to the bargaining table and it it is woefully inadequate.

There is a bargaining chip that can get us out of the bind and into God’s graces. That chip is Jesus.

I write this post because it’s what I experienced. Was the word judgement of my own making? I don’t know. But because of what we have now read together in Ezekiel I felt bound to share it.

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. Are you lost? You can be found. Are you finding yourself in darkness? Jesus is the light of the world. Do you feel left out? Jesus is the door into the sheepfold. Are feeling abandoned and alone and in danger? Jesus is the good shepherd who leaves the 99 in search of one the lost sheep. Are you hungry or thirsty? Jesus is the bread of life and he is the spring of eternal life. Are you overgrown with extra stuff sapping your strength and making you fruitless? Jesus is the vine and God is the vine dresser. There are many more examples but my time is up.

Do not wait. Choose Jesus today.

You can have chili, cedar cheese crackers and raspberry sorbet for dinner but there is a day of reckoning or in my case, a morning of testing. That meal doesn’t sound like a diabetic rebellion but wow. Ding ding ding! High score for blood sugar.

Spiritually there is stuff we do and get away with that’s off our spiritual diet. We ingest and partake of things that we shouldn’t and because of grace and mercy we are forgiven when we apologize to God.

But there are 2 things I wonder about. The first is, is saying we are sorry the same as repentance? Repentance means to turn around, change course, do a 180 degree turn. The second is, what does this cheating on our spiritual diet do to our spiritual health? We may be forgiven but are we killing the spirits moving and working in our lives?

In the Lutheran liturgy each week as he began his sermon the pastor would say “grace and peace to you, from God our father and from our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ”.

It’s the greeting Pail used in many of his letters, Peter used it too. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

The reason I mention these scriptures is that they state Jesus’ dual role in the life of the Christian. he is our savior, his death pays for our sin and he is our Lord, our boss, our master, our sovereign King. It means he can tell us what to do and we will obey him. He can also tell us what not to do and we will obey him.

Do we really need a boss in our life telling us what to do and even harder, what not to do? Yes. Yes We do need that because this boss ordering our life Is the same boss who can and will forgive us when we fail him. And besides that His orders are always for our best good.

I sum up.

I fail, in my diet, in my spiritual life. There is forgiveness but there may be consequences, physically and spiritually. Jesus wants to fulfill his dual role in my life, save me from my sins and lead me as a good King. When I fail I should repent, turn around, throw the cheese crackers away! (the sorbet is gone already, burp).

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

John 12

The horn button principle.

” Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[g] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.”

The horn button principal. I have A 57 chevy pickup. His name is Rusty. For close to 30 years before I had my truck, I had a 57 chevy truck horn button. It sat on a shelf in my garage. I wanted a truck. I had horn button. When anyone asked about the horn button I would say “I’m growing to grow a 57 Chevy pickup from that horn button”. A long time passed. Finally one day I gave away the horn button. That ended my dream. Or so I thought. Several years went by but around my 50th birthday I got a letter from an uncle saying he had a 57 Chevy truck that he wanted to give me. It was the same person that I had given the horn button to. The day I got the truck I also got the horn button back. I had planted the seed and it germinated and grew into a truck.

The principle is that you have to let the dream die so that it can come back to life. Bigger and better than you could hope for.

Jesus literally planted himself in the earth for us. He died and was buried and came back to life changed. The people who were following him had an idea of who and what Messiah would be. It was wrong or at least incomplete. Messiah wasn’t coming to set Israel free from Roman oppression. Messiah had come to set mankind free from sins oppression. Jesus had to die, the incorrect or incomplete messianic dream had to die so that Jesus could become the real and only hope of freedom from sin.

“25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12

Our king is here.

“12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna![d]”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[e]

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;

see, your king is coming,

seated on a donkey’s colt.”[f]

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”’

Kings usually care about controlling real estate. They want to control parts of this planet. Our king cares about a much smaller but more significant area. My heart. Our hearts. Jesus wants to rule from where we love. From where we decide. He wants to rule in our hearts.

Personally I struggle with allowing him to sit on the throne in my heart. One minute I say “welcome King Jesus!” As I show him to the throne. The next minute I’m tipping the throne forward and dumping him onto the floor.

Why? Why does he put up with me?

Thank you Jesus for being patient with my willful and wayward heart. I long for the day when the struggle will be over and you will be my permanent King. Forever enthroned in my heart.

Beware!

Sorry celiacs but you may want to skip this next post. I’m going to talk about the glory of bread.

Bread glorious bread! The crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy insides. All of the yummy ways we can use it to carry other delicious food types into our mouths like pepperoni and garlic butter and sandwich fillings! I think the best part of bread is the delightful aroma as it bakes. The yeasty smell.

Yeast is pretty amazing stuff. It turns a ball of dough into a loaf of bread by puffing it up. As the yeast activates thousand of bubbles create little pockets of nothing.

In Matthew 16 Jesus talks about yeast. It’s not always a good thing.

“5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Just like yeast in dough, self righteousness can puff up a person. A puffed up

Person thinks themselves larger and better and self approved and not in need of a savior. But they are, as is a loaf of bread, Full of holes.

When Jesus died he got holes put into his hands and feet. But his death paid for my sin and restores my relationship with God. His holes make me whole. It is nothing I have done. I receive his holiness as a gift because he was willing to receive holes in his hands and feet.

Jesus called himself the bread of life.

“32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”’

Beware.

Beware of bread? No.

Beware of yeast, the yeast of the self righteous. Receive the bread of life, Jesus who became hole-y to make us holy and restore us to wholeness.