Category Archives: The Gospel

They Were Flogged

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Acts 5

We rejoice over God’s miraculous freeing of the apostles from prison – as we should! But sometimes I overlook the fact that even though God rescued them, the men were flogged, or caned, beaten with a stick before the religious leaders were done with them.

This is only one of countless atrocities the apostles experienced as they diligently spread the Gospel of Jesus and established the Church. Being a Christian, especially a vocal Christian, came with some tough stuff.

Gamaliel was right. If these men had struck out on their own, decided to make up a religion to counter the Jewish religion, it probably would have died a natural death. Who in their right mind would be beaten and/or killed to protect a lie?

But the disciples didn’t just stop because things got tough. They even counted it a joy, a privilege to take the beatings for Jesus’ sake. They kept preaching the Gospel, wearing the bruises.

The same Gospel they preached is still being preached today. We in the States still can preach it loud and strong without fear for our lives or the lives of our children. That’s not the case everywhere in this world. People are being mistreated and killed for sharing the Gospel, just like they were in the early days of the Church. But the Gospel keeps going because those people are willing to endure unimaginable hardships.

It makes me wonder what I’d be willing to endure to keep the Gospel going.

The Beginning

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Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19

The people watching the crucifixion thought Jesus was stuck up there, unable to save Himself. What they refused to see was God choosing to stay on the cross so He could save them.

The proof that Jesus is God, the perfect, spotless Lamb sacrificed to redeem sinners, is in the fact that He didn’t come down off that cross. He died in order to pay our death sentence, and that of the very people who hung Him there.

When you read the crucifixion account in all the four Gospels, the beatings, the mocking, His mother and John, the soldiers, His words, the thieves, the darkness, the curtain, the prophecies fulfilled that day, you are reading about the King not defeated – victorious!

His enemies thought this was the end of HIm. But it was just the beginning!

What It Cost

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Matthew 26; Mark 14

Do those of you who have lost loved ones to cancer or some other slow progressing and painful disease like to recall those moments when the pain was its worst? Do you enjoy remembering those nights when the pain was so intense that no amount of morphine seemed to help, when the slightest touch or movement caused a whimper? Do you like remembering those sleepless nights when there was just no comfortable position to lie? And do you remember that feeling of helplessness, the realization your loved one had to go it alone and there was nothing you could do to change that?

You knew they didn’t deserve what was happening. And watching them suffer hurt you, too.

That’s kind of how I feel reading about what happened to my dear Jesus on the night He was arrested. It hurts me to read about his beatings, knowing it was much worse than the words convey.

He didn’t deserve all that. Yet He stood there and took it, for love of me. I will never know this side of heaven what really happened that night, what it cost Jesus to go to the cross.

And, sadly, sometimes I don’t give it a thought. That careless word I said, that unkind thought, the lie, or the laziness, all cost Jesus a night of horror and pain, beginning with the sham of a trial, and the relentless beatings he endured, to the agonizing hours hanging on the cross. I can’t feel good about that.

But I am so grateful. I am overwhelmed by His love. It’s hard to remember what He went through. But I’m glad God inspired the account to be included in His Word. I don’t want to forget. I want my life to honor what He did that night on the way to the cross where He died for love of me.

Jesus’ Prayer For Us

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John 17:20-24

Jesus prayed for us. Not in general terms, He prayed specifically for the following:

  1. That we will be one in the Lord
  2. That our oneness would speak to the world that they might believe in Jesus
  3. That our unity would perfectly show God’s love to the world
  4. That we will be with Him where He is
  5. That we would reveal the glory of God.

You know what He didn’t pray for? Hefty bank accounts, healthy bodies, happiness, easy living, speaking in tongues, miracles, popularity…

He prayed that you and I will be united with Him to continue His ministry of saving lost souls, introducing sinners to their Savior.

Earlier He had told the disciples that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one – NO ONE – can go to the Father except through Jesus. Then Jesus prayed that you and will pass that Truth on.

One of the last things Jesus did in His human body was to pray for you and me. Are you as blown away by that as I am? Let’s be the answer to His prayer by uniting with Him and each other, the Church, and demonstrating to the world what being united with Christ looks like. And let’s not grow tired of speaking the Truth in love, so that lost souls can be found, sinners can be saved.

To the glory of God!

The Second Greatest Commandment (it might not mean what you think)

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Matthew 22-23; Mark 12

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied: Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

However, the modern church has seemed to skip over that and rushed to what Jesus called the second greatest commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Our churches are so full of love, they’ve neglected to understand God’s love. We’ve come to believe love is the same as acceptance, tolerance, respect. But is that godly love?

I challenge you to read Matthew 23:13-36 and point out one loving thing Jesus said to the teachers. Is it that he repeatedly called them hypocrites? Or that they are sending people to hell? That they are blind guides, or that they are ignoring the most important aspects of the Law? He called them white-washed tombs. Is that your definition of love?

Well, that’s God’s definition of love. As harsh as Jesus’ words to the pharisees, it’s all about love. Love enough to point out sin – not tolerate it. Love enough to point out their misguided religious beliefs – not accept them. Love enough to call them what they were without worrying about disrespecting them.

Jesus got in their faces. Why? Because He loved them.

If the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, then we must also adopt God’s definition of love. His love sent Him to the cross. I’m worried my love might hurt someone’s feelings. That’s not God’s kind of love.

If I love God sincerely with all my heart, soul, and mind, I can’t help but shout out a warning to people who are rushing to hell, people for whom Jesus died to save.

YOU ARE A SINNER. YOUR BELIEFS ARE WRONG. YOU NEED JESUS. BELIEVING YOU HAVE YOUR OWN TRUTH IS BELIEVING A LIE. YOU CAN’T CHOOSE YOUR GENDER. YOU AREN’T GOOD AND CAPABLE AND WORTHY. YOU ARE A WORM FOR WHOM JESUS DIED TO SAVE. AND UNLESS YOU COME TO GOD ON HIS TERMS, YOU WILL GO TO HELL.

Does that offend you? Hurt your feeling? Make you angry? I love you enough to tell you I don’t care. I care more that you hear the warning and turn to God. I care more that you offer yourself to God and receive what He longs to give you.

If I simply love my neighbor with a love I manufacture, I could easily tolerate, accept, and respect your sin and wrong ideology. But because I love God with all that I am, I can’t do that. Because of that love I am begging you to know Him according to Scripture and through the blood of His Son. There is simply no other way.

I’m praying for you today.

I Guess That Depends

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Luke 17:20-18:8

As our world continues its rapid downward spiral into sin and insanity, we Christians look toward the sky, expecting, hoping to hear that trumpet and see our Savior descend once again, this time to take us home. We see the signs and believe it could happen any minute.

But it could be another 10,000 years. Only God knows when life on earth will cease to exist. So what do we do in the mean time?

Jesus used the examples of Noah and Lot to remind us that the people in those days were living life; parties and weddings, eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building until they weren’t. They were doing their thing until God came and judged their sin, found them guilty, and demanded the death penalty they deserved.

But there was a difference. The people in Noah’s day heard the Truth and rejected it. They died in the flood. The Ninevites heard the Truth and accepted it, repented, and were spared.

Jesus tells us that, much like those examples, “it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

It won’t be just sinners living life as usual. Christians will be doing the same. So what does ‘life as usual’ look like for you? Parties and weddings, eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building?

Of course. All of that is part of living this life. But shouldn’t we all be the Noahs and Jonahs of our time, too? As we go through our day, meeting our responsibilities, enjoying our blessings, shouldn’t we also be the ones shouting out the warning? THE END IS NEAR!

Very few people alive today will still around 100 years from now, a fraction of a millisecond in eternity. The end for all of us is near whether Jesus returns today or tarries another millennium.

Jesus clearly states that when we die we will face the Judge who will bring perfect justice to everyone. Our fate is sealed the moment we take our last breath, depending on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus in this life.

Christian, do you believe that? Then what are you doing in these last days to warn the people around you?

When the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?

I guess that depends on how many people hear and accept the warning from me and you.

The Light

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Luke 11:35

Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.

I can’t help but think of the “woke” lie about living your own truth. They think they’ve found the light. But they are living – and dying – in darkness.

Jesus is the light of the world according to what He Himself says in John 8:12.

The Apostle John knew the truth of that first-hand. In 1 John 1:7 he says:

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.

There is no other truth. There is no other light.

Even The Wind And Waves Obey Him

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Mark 4, Matthew 8, Luke 8

I picture a dad trying to get a nap on the couch while his rambunctious toddlers are wrestling on the floor. Giggles turn into crying and shouting at each other. So the father sits up, and in his sternest Dad-voice barks, “SETTLE DOWN!”

I see the toddlers sit down in mid-strike, afraid to move, eyes wide open and mouths firmly shut. Dad is not kidding.

I kind of think that’s how the wind and waves reacted when Jesus sat up in the boat and barked, “SETTLE!” Scripture says He rebuked the wind and waves. He wasn’t kidding. And the wind and waves obeyed immediately, probably afraid to move.

I know that’s not necessarily the main lesson here. I’ve heard more than one great lesson on Jesus’ power and the disciples faith from these passages. Today, I see it as a lesson about obedience.

Maybe that’s because God has been working in my heart about my own obedience. I am reminded that God is serious when He says something.

Be holy.

Be separate.

Confess sin.

Go make disciples.

Love one another.

Worship me only.

I don’t read in Scripture about a little renegade wave that impishly slapped up against the boat Jesus was in, testing to see if He was serious. Yet sometime I think I do that.

“Just one more tiny sin, God. Look at me. I’m so special, how could you get mad at little old me?”

The answer is that our Holy God spoke. Period. Disobedience is not an option.

After all, He is God – and even the wind and waves obey Him.

Transplanted

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Mark 4:1-20

My heart is heavy this morning thinking about the parable of the seeds. I’m especially sad about the seed that is choked out by the thorns. Jesus tells us they represent people who hear God’s Word, even grow spiritually to a point, but allow “the worries of this life, the love of wealth, and the desire of other things, so no fruit is produced.” (Mark 4:19) Matthew and Luke quote Jesus as saying the plant is choked out by the thorns.

I’m sad because I have loved ones who heard God’s Word from their youth. Yet the thorns have overtaken them. I’d like to believe the only thing they’ll lose is their fruit, their witness of the Gospel of Jesus. But I’m reminded Jesus also tells us branches that don’t bear fruit are cut off and throw into the fire. (John 15) Jesus goes on to tell us no branch bears fruit on its own. It must be attached to the vine, which is Jesus.

We are all living in a weed-infested world. May our spiritual roots grow deep in the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s choke out the thorns instead of letting them get to us.

How?

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. (John 15:4a)

Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Put on the whole armor of God , that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. (2 Corinthians 6:17a)

These are only a few of the many places in Scripture that assure us that we can and should stand against the things of this world, by the power of God in us. We can. And we should.

A daisy has no choice as to where it’s planted. It has no ability to remove itself from ground overgrown in weeds.

But we’re not daisies.

We can choose where we’re planted. And we have the Savior who can transplant us into fertile, healthy, ground where we can grow in grace and knowledge of Him, and bear fruit that will bring Him glory.

It’s not too late. You may be choking on the things of this world. But say the word, and your Savior will lift you up and graft you into Himself, the Vine that brings life.

Where are you planted? Do you need a transplant today?

The Hope Of All The World

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Matthew 12:15-21

Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah to the men who were plotting to kill Him. They were angry because He had healed a man on the Sabbath.

He healed a man.

But it was the Sabbath, a day they had put so many restrictions on, believing they were following God’s Law and then some. And the law was much more important than the healed man. Their idea of the law blinded them from really seeing the miracle.

It’s ironic that they were so concerned about following God’s Law when they were looking at the Author. Jesus wanted them to know that. He wanted them to know He was their long-awaited Messiah.

“I am the beloved Son of God. His Spirit is in me. I haven’t come shouting or fighting or crushing the weak. I bring justice to the nations.”

The fact is, they wanted Him dead because He healed a man on the Sabbath. They didn’t just want Him punished, excommunicated, or simply stopped from continuing His ministry. They wanted Him dead. And Jesus wanted them to recognize who it was they wanted to kill.

I say all of that to point you to verse 21.

And his name will be the hope of all the world.

Our world seems so intent on looking everywhere except to Jesus for hope. Yet here He is!

Some reject Him because He doesn’t fit into their idea of what they think He should look like. Some reject Him because they don’t like His message. Many look to the government, or religion, autonomy, even good deeds to find their hope.

If our civilization has any hope it won’t be because we tolerate differences or are accepting of every thought or belief out there. It won’t be because everyone’s bank accounts have exactly the same balance as everyone else’s. It won’t be because we have a preconceived notion of how things ought to be, like the Pharisees had in Jesus’ day.

Isaiah knew, and Jesus reinforced the truth that Jesus is our only hope.

Jesus is the hope of all the world.