This morning I'm pondering the great value of the Gospel message. Many don't know they have a Savior and many don't care because they haven't felt the need of one. People resign themselves to their little personal programs and 'do what they can' saying it must be enough.
That is what we have all had to do if there was no one there to help us, isn't it? We did our best and either won or lost based on that might or weakness.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." - John 3:16-20 ESV
The Gospel changes the stakes. It changes everything. We can't say 'I am alone' anymore.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:31-39 ESV
The Gospel says, 'Because of Jesus you will never be alone. Ony believe in Him and you will never be forsaken by Heaven or condemned by the God of Heaven. Heavenly resources become your resources.'
Believers are not immune to trouble. They might experience even more potent trouble but they are not alone in trouble. They are never alone ever again. They have a Saviour. They have resources.
"But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie -- just as it has taught you, abide in him." - 1 John 2:27 ESV
If we have owned this truth an anointing of liberty and security rests on us and the Holy Spirit will teach us what to do in our liberty. God will give us people and use them but it is the anointing oil that turned a man into a king and it is what takes a slave and makes him or her into a free purposeful person.
We all have circumstances that seem to hinder us and obstacles in our path. Perhaps we are confident we can deal with them and overcome. Perhaps we think, 'If I win I will be a winner.'
God claims we can be winners right now if we embrace the fact that we have a Saviour. Then we can face whatever is next in life as winners before the battle even happens and that makes all the difference.
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Showing posts with label Acceptance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acceptance. Show all posts
Monday, May 8, 2017
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Tax Collectors
Social barriers and tax collectors. I'm thinking of the social outcasts this morning.
"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way." - Luke 19:1-4 ESV
Once upon a time Jericho was a walled city. It is there that Israel marched around the city and blew their trumpets. But now Zacchaeus was dealing with another wall. People were his wall because he was short but also because he was a tax collector and it was a very unpopular profession for obvious reasons.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
The word perfect is the Greek word teleios (Strong's G5046) and it's root is the same as teleĊ (Strong's G5055). When Jesus said 'It is Finished.' on the cross (John 19:30) He used that second word.
...even tax collectors...
...what reward do you have?...
...function in the perfection of 'It is Finished!'...
It wasn't easy to be a friend of a tax collector. He could betray you and hurt you financially. Also others would put you in his category if you spent time together. Tax collectors had mixed allegiances. The taxes they collected were for Rome.
Walls. There are many kinds aren't there.
"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.' And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.' " - Luke 19:5-10 ESV
Another wall fell in Jericho that day. Jesus blew his trumpet of love and unconditional acceptance and the wall came tumbling down.
There is a reward. It is behind a wall. Those we love are already on our side of the wall but there are others who need an invitation... not just 'everyone is welcome'... that wasn't enough. Everyone was welcome to see Jesus pass by in the street. The invitation is what healed Zacchaeus.
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"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way." - Luke 19:1-4 ESV
Once upon a time Jericho was a walled city. It is there that Israel marched around the city and blew their trumpets. But now Zacchaeus was dealing with another wall. People were his wall because he was short but also because he was a tax collector and it was a very unpopular profession for obvious reasons.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
The word perfect is the Greek word teleios (Strong's G5046) and it's root is the same as teleĊ (Strong's G5055). When Jesus said 'It is Finished.' on the cross (John 19:30) He used that second word.
...even tax collectors...
...what reward do you have?...
...function in the perfection of 'It is Finished!'...
It wasn't easy to be a friend of a tax collector. He could betray you and hurt you financially. Also others would put you in his category if you spent time together. Tax collectors had mixed allegiances. The taxes they collected were for Rome.
Walls. There are many kinds aren't there.
"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.' And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.' " - Luke 19:5-10 ESV
Another wall fell in Jericho that day. Jesus blew his trumpet of love and unconditional acceptance and the wall came tumbling down.
There is a reward. It is behind a wall. Those we love are already on our side of the wall but there are others who need an invitation... not just 'everyone is welcome'... that wasn't enough. Everyone was welcome to see Jesus pass by in the street. The invitation is what healed Zacchaeus.
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Monday, April 6, 2015
Sad Mary Or Street Smart Mary?
'And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?'
She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.'
Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."' " - John 20:12-17 ESV
This is such a touching account. It is so personal.
I know what I am about to say might offend some people but it is on my mind this morning and it has real application for us. It reveals grace in a deep way to me.
Was Mary Magdalene the chaste post transformation Mary that we commonly think of her as in this account? Or was she the street smart woman acquainted with the under belly of society that she had been in the later part of her life? She called Jesus 'lord' but that was a title a wife called a husband in the common vernacular. Was she pretending that Jesus was her husband to get access? Had she slipped into her old ways like the rest of the disciples had? Was she working the system to get to Jesus like she had so often done before in other situations or was she truly as shattered as she seemed? I wonder.
It is before Pentecost. The Spirit has not come to them to fill them, change them and encourage them. Jesus' words are still seeds. She is woman who knows how to get things done. Perhaps I will owe her an apology when I see her in Heaven for questioning her methods. I know her motive were good but is this as it seems? People are very interesting after all.
Either way... when the angels ask her a question it is not enough to bring her out of her apparent mournful (or possibly manipulative) state. But when Jesus called her name it all gets dropped. Any act that she might have been playing dissolves. Her desperation turns to wonder. Her hope is restored. The angels speak first but that was not enough. Jesus steps in to resolve what only He can resolve and with a word the veil is removed and light streams into her being.
Then Jesus told her gently, 'Don't cling to me.' Why? Because you have a father now and I am going to see Him. He was my Father but now after the Resurrection he is your Father also. You don't need to act like an orphan who has to fend for herself. You have a family.
Our Father drys our tears and it is our knowledge that we have a Father that gets us to drop our act if we are using manipulation to accomplish some spiritual end. Jesus calling our name in grace snaps us out of it. The rationalizations dissolve.
We are children of God and we have power to function in that knowledge (John 1:12). Perhaps all we need is to hear Jesus call our name and know He is saying it because we have a place at the Father's table reserved for us that no one can take away.
People just need to hear Jesus call their name. That is what I pray for...
"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." - Revelation 3:17-22 ESV
Have a great day. It is still Easter after all. The Resurrection was the first day of a life that goes on and on.
---
She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.'
Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."' " - John 20:12-17 ESV
This is such a touching account. It is so personal.
I know what I am about to say might offend some people but it is on my mind this morning and it has real application for us. It reveals grace in a deep way to me.
Was Mary Magdalene the chaste post transformation Mary that we commonly think of her as in this account? Or was she the street smart woman acquainted with the under belly of society that she had been in the later part of her life? She called Jesus 'lord' but that was a title a wife called a husband in the common vernacular. Was she pretending that Jesus was her husband to get access? Had she slipped into her old ways like the rest of the disciples had? Was she working the system to get to Jesus like she had so often done before in other situations or was she truly as shattered as she seemed? I wonder.
It is before Pentecost. The Spirit has not come to them to fill them, change them and encourage them. Jesus' words are still seeds. She is woman who knows how to get things done. Perhaps I will owe her an apology when I see her in Heaven for questioning her methods. I know her motive were good but is this as it seems? People are very interesting after all.
Either way... when the angels ask her a question it is not enough to bring her out of her apparent mournful (or possibly manipulative) state. But when Jesus called her name it all gets dropped. Any act that she might have been playing dissolves. Her desperation turns to wonder. Her hope is restored. The angels speak first but that was not enough. Jesus steps in to resolve what only He can resolve and with a word the veil is removed and light streams into her being.
Then Jesus told her gently, 'Don't cling to me.' Why? Because you have a father now and I am going to see Him. He was my Father but now after the Resurrection he is your Father also. You don't need to act like an orphan who has to fend for herself. You have a family.
Our Father drys our tears and it is our knowledge that we have a Father that gets us to drop our act if we are using manipulation to accomplish some spiritual end. Jesus calling our name in grace snaps us out of it. The rationalizations dissolve.
We are children of God and we have power to function in that knowledge (John 1:12). Perhaps all we need is to hear Jesus call our name and know He is saying it because we have a place at the Father's table reserved for us that no one can take away.
People just need to hear Jesus call their name. That is what I pray for...
"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." - Revelation 3:17-22 ESV
Have a great day. It is still Easter after all. The Resurrection was the first day of a life that goes on and on.
---
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
For Every Season
"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." - 1 John 2:12-14 ESV
God writes to us. For each stage and season of our life grace is for us and towards us. He writes forgiveness. He writes victory. He writes intimacy.
Are you young? He Is writing to you not just the older people.
Are you old? He is writing to you.
Are you sick? Are you poor? Are you weak? Are you lonely? He pens His thick book to you to give you the good news that you are not disqualified. Sin is paid for and your problem whatever it is has been accounted for. There is forgiveness. There is intimacy. There is victory.
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:2-4 ESV
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13 ESV
All of it is wrapped up in Jesus... who He Is and what He has done... He did the work... His shed blood has brought us who have believed close to God.
Do we get that or have we disqualified ourselves by looking at ourselves or someone else in an unwise comparison. Anyone with genuine spirituality has it because they look to Jesus not because they have some rare unattainable quality.
"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Jesus' time of shame is over and is sitting in the seat of acceptance. A present tense acceptance that will always be. It will go on and on into forever.
The forgiveness is complete. The intimacy is real and possible. We have yet to see the beginning of all the victories that God has planned. The best is yet to come.
--
God writes to us. For each stage and season of our life grace is for us and towards us. He writes forgiveness. He writes victory. He writes intimacy.
Are you young? He Is writing to you not just the older people.
Are you old? He is writing to you.
Are you sick? Are you poor? Are you weak? Are you lonely? He pens His thick book to you to give you the good news that you are not disqualified. Sin is paid for and your problem whatever it is has been accounted for. There is forgiveness. There is intimacy. There is victory.
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:2-4 ESV
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13 ESV
All of it is wrapped up in Jesus... who He Is and what He has done... He did the work... His shed blood has brought us who have believed close to God.
Do we get that or have we disqualified ourselves by looking at ourselves or someone else in an unwise comparison. Anyone with genuine spirituality has it because they look to Jesus not because they have some rare unattainable quality.
"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Jesus' time of shame is over and is sitting in the seat of acceptance. A present tense acceptance that will always be. It will go on and on into forever.
The forgiveness is complete. The intimacy is real and possible. We have yet to see the beginning of all the victories that God has planned. The best is yet to come.
--
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