Tag Archives: Jesus

October 22

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Luke 17:20-18:14; John 7:1-52

Jesus is becoming more and more clear about his purpose on earth. In Luke 17:21 he spells out the following:

…the kingdom of God is within you.

He goes on to tell them the Son of Man will suffer and be rejected by “this generation”. Yet the people still expected that material kingdom.

For centuries, tradition looked forward to the Messiah who would sit on a throne after conquering Israel’s enemies. They were in no way ready to give up on that dream.

Even Jesus’ brothers didn’t get it. They may have believed Jesus could be that conqueror because they tried to push him into showing himself to the world ( John 7:1-5). And wouldn’t the flesh and blood brothers of the king have positions of royalty in the new government? They may have believed that, but John tells us they did not believe IN Jesus.

Jesus went so far as to tell his followers that where he is going they won’t find him. His disciples thought maybe he was talking about Greece. Again, they weren’t ready to give up on their hope of a material kingdom.

This subject is not over. It will be repeated and reinforced many times throughout the New Testament. My question is: Are you a citizen of the Kingdom of God? Have you bowed before him, accepted Jesus as your Savior, and made him King of your heart? Do you live your life with the knowledge that relationships, trials, successes, sin and disease, are temporary and bound to life on earth? 

Jesus said the kingdom of God is within us. It’s a spiritual kingdom with God himself on the throne. You are invited to be a part of this glorious kingdom and walk with God in this life and live with him forever when this life is over. If Jesus is Lord of your life, I rejoice with you. If you haven’t as yet confessed your sins and accepted his grace, becoming a citizen of the kingdom of God, I am praying that you’ll do that today. 

Your Majesty, we bow before your throne today as citizens of your kingdom. Thank you for Jesus who gives us access to your throne room, who went before us to prepare a place for us, and who wants to welcome each of us home when this life is over. May all who read this blog today know you as Savior, may we realize the joy of sins forgiven, the strength you provide for the challenges of life, and the assurance of eternity with you. You are Lord. You are our King. And you reign forever and ever. Amen.

October 18

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Matthew 17:24-27, 18:6-35, 19:1-2, 8:18-22, 11:20-24; Mark 9:38-5-, 10:1; Luke 9:49-62, 10:1-20

Who likes paying taxes? Do any of you wish our taxes were higher? I just wrote a check for my property taxes and it took quite a chunk out of my savings. I can’t say I wrote the check joyfully.

And after our recent government shut-down circus… don’t get me started.

Jesus paid taxes. He even paid the temple tax which was money used for God’s work and he was… well… God.

The United States is still a great nation and I’m glad I live here. Jesus’ example teaches us that we have a responsibility to pay our taxes so the government can run effectively and to support our local churches financially so God’s work can be done. But I believe we also have a responsibility to hold our leaders accountable, whether national, state, local, or in our churches. We need to speak up, to get involved, to make changes that need to be made according to Scripture. 

Are you planning to vote in November? Christians – we need to. We need to know the issues and the people wanting to be elected at all levels of government. We need to research, ask questions, talk about it with those we trust. And we need to pray before we push that button or punch that card.

Jesus gave us an example of responsible citizenship. Let’s follow his lead.

October 17

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Mark 9:2-37; Matthew 17:1-23, 18:1-5; Luke 9:28-26, 37-48

As a person new to the world of blogging, I have enjoyed getting to know many people around the world through their written word. I have read heartfelt poetry, shared sorrows and joys, learned from some pretty incredible life experiences, and laughed out loud at some very funny blogs. I’ve been challenged and convicted, even angered at some of the things I’ve read. 

And I’ve been saddened.

I’ve stumbled upon the blogs of some pretty intellectual thinkers. Some look into God’s Word and research the history, dig deeper into the original text, and share their insights. And I’ve been stunned at the responses of some. Sometimes atheists or agnostics or people who have embraced other religions reply with their intellectual sounding arguments, demeaning faith, and speaking from a self-centered place of importance. To we who know the Truth, their rantings sound like foolishness, yet they wear a superior air that we understand is based on lies.

Earlier we read where Jesus expressed concern that some might be tripped up because of him. Here in the passage we read today he tells us that unless we become like children, we won’t enter his kingdom. 

Faith is not the absence of reason or intellect. God doesn’t ask us to quit thinking when we come to him. But he demands we humble ourselves, depend on him like a child – even an intelligent child – depends on his father. He asks us to trust him like a child trusts a parent. He asks us to recognize him as our Father, our Superior.

Jesus invites us to come to him, the only way to the Father. He asks us to leave ourselves at his feet, to believe he is who he says he is, and follow him according to his Word. He doesn’t ask us to leave our intellect behind. But he does demand we leave our egos.

May you not be so self-important, so intellectual, or so proud to go to Jesus on his terms. Like it or not you do not have all the answers. But he does. Don’t let the simplicity of his message trip you up.

October 16

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Mark 8:11-31-9:1; Matthew 16:1-28; Luke 9:18-27; John 6:60-71

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” is the foundation of the church. Peter, who not too long after that, was called Satan because he refused to even consider the possibility that Jesus was going to die. Did he still believe the Messiah was going to establish that earthly kingdom? 

Jesus is beginning to reveal his mission to the Twelve. He wants them to recognize that he is truly God’s Son and that in order for the kingdom of God to come in power, he will die and in three days rise again. It must have been pretty confusing for his followers to hear.

Who do you say Jesus is? Can you, with Peter, proclaim without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Messiah, God with us? Do you believe what we read about him is true? Is he Lord of your life, Savior of your soul? 

If you are reading these passages for the first time you have just met God Himself. Whether or not you believe it doesn’t change the fact. This Jesus is God. And he lived and died and rose again to give you life.

Dearest Jesus, Lord God, Savior, we bow before you today in awe and wonder. We recognize that you created the world we live in, you know and love each of us intimately, that you died in our place so that we can walk with you in this life and in eternity. May we, with Peter, proclaim you with confidence. And may you find us faithful to share your Truth with others today.

October 13

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Mark 6:14-29, 30-44; Matthew 14:1-12, 6:12-13, 14:13-21; Luke 9:7-9, 6, 10-17; John 6:1-15

I wonder what it was like to be one of the twelve the day 5,000 men plus women and children were fed with five loaves of bread and two fish. Could they see the broken pieces morph into more broken pieces? Imagine the rush of excitement they must have felt as they fed one person, then another, and another. If they wondered before if Jesus was God, I have to believe they got it after that day. Or at least they knew they were a part of something truly amazing.

But after Jesus fed the multitude he left. He got off by himself and hid for a while, knowing that had he stayed, the people would have made him king of their flesh and blood nation. That’s not why God was here in human form.

He knew that if he stayed, people would be following him for what he did and what they would receive from him in terms of health and wealth and freedom from bondage. They wouldn’t be following him because of WHO is was. They weren’t ready to accept a spiritual king of their hearts quite yet.

I am reminded that the same is true yet today. Some people still consider Jesus a heavenly Santa Claus who gives them the things on their wish list if they can conjure up the right kind of faith, if they say the magic words in a prayer. That’s not why Jesus came and that’s not why he wants us to come to him.

As we read on in the New Testament this year, I pray that we will see Jesus for Who he truly is, that we will love him because he first loved us, that we will serve him out of grateful hearts for his work on Calvary. And that we will make him Lord of our lives, King of our hearts.

October 12

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John 5:16-47; Mark 6:6b-11; Matthew 9:35-10:42; Luke 9:1-5

Judas was a believer, a follower of Christ. He was one of the twelve who was given power to heal the sick, drive out demons, and raise the dead. He, along with Peter, James and John, went into cities and shared the good news of Jesus.

I wonder what that trip was like for Judas. Is this where his heart began to change from wanting to follow Christ to wanting something else?

God is asking me today what it is that I want? Matthew 5:34-39 says following Jesus is serious business. His is not an easy road to travel. It certainly is not always peaceful.

And Jesus is very demanding. On one hand the Bible tells husbands to love their wives. But in 5:37 Jesus warns that if you love her more than you love God you aren’t worthy of him. If I put anything or anyone above my love for Jesus I am not worthy of him.

What does that even mean?

Jesus demands that he be our life’s focus. That all the things we do, the jobs we have, the people we love, are to come second to our relationship with The Lord. None of these things are wrong and we are to be busy doing what God intends for us to do, loving each other, serving each other.

But somewhere along the way Judas lost his focus. And we know how that story ends.

May we keep our eyes on Jesus. May we love him more today than we did yesterday. And may we serve him with joy.

October 8

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Luke 7:18-35, 36-8:3, 11:14-26; Matthew 11:1-19, 12:22-45; Mark 3:20-30

Luke 7:23 always puzzled me. 

Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.

Jesus was talking about the things he was doing like healing the sick, raising the dead, preaching the good news. Wouldn’t people be drawn to him because of those things? Why would he express concern that some would “fall away” because of him?

As I sit here and think about that this morning it occurs to me that people still stumble because of Jesus. In the New Testament times the Jews were looking forward to the Messiah who would take the throne and return them to their former glory. They just knew their enemies would get what’s coming to them. Many of those Jews rejected Jesus when it became clear that was not his purpose. There are people yet today looking for that material kingdom.

People like to hear that God wants them to be healthy and wealthy. They like to believe that if they do good things God will accept them. They get tripped up when they hear Jesus calls his people to take up a cross and follow him, that he is the only way to the Father. They reject God because they refuse to humble themselves and accept Jesus as their Savior.

Blessed are we who confess our sin and enjoy fellowship with God through his Son.

October 3

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John 4:27-42, 43-46; Mark 1:14-15, 21-28, 1:29-39, 40-45; Matthew 4:12-17, 8:14-17, 1-4; Luke 4:14-15, 16-20, 31-37, 38-44, 5:12-16

Jesus prayed. He found a quiet place and spent time alone, talking to his Father. I wonder what those prayers were like. Did he pray for himself? For strength and safety? For health? Did he pray that Satan would be defeated so Jesus’ ministry would know success? Did he pray for Nicodemus and Peter and the woman at the well? For the leper he healed in one of the towns? And when he prayed for them did he pray for their physical health or their eternal souls? Or both?

We don’t know the words Jesus used when he prayed. But just the fact that he prayed speaks to me today. His example shows me that I, too, need to find that quiet place and talk to my Heavenly Father. Jesus prayed before continuing on to other towns. I think he’s telling me I need to pray before continuing my day, too.

The other thought that comes to me today is that Jesus is still praying. He is our mediator, our high priest who goes to the Father on our behalf. Jesus prays for me!

Father, forgive me when I neglect prayer. Thank you for reminding me today how important it is that I quiet myself in your Presence. Hear my prayers and answer them according to your will. Use this time alone with you to draw me close and strengthen me for what you have in store for me today. In Jesus’ name and because of his example, I pray. Amen.

October 2

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John 2:1-4:26

Do you know anyone who believes Jesus was a prophet and not the physical Son of God? Some people believe he was a good man, a gifted preacher, just one more person pointing us to God along with Buddha, Mohammed, or the Dalai Lama. How do you talk to those who reject Jesus as God in the flesh?

The book of John is full of proof. Jesus’ loving conversation with Nicodemus is a gentle introduction of God’s plan through the Son. Jesus spoke of our need to be born again, he foretold about the crucification, he explained that God so loved the world that whoever believes in the Son will have eternal life. Even John the Baptist testified in 3:36 that eternal life only comes through the Son.

We who know the end of the story know that those words were about Jesus. But Jesus was careful not to reveal himself as the promised Messiah to too many people at the beginning of his ministry. He had a lot to do in a short time and he knew if the Jews recognized him as the Promised One they would want to make him King. And that is not why he was there.

Jesus protected his identity to most. But he revealed himself to a Samaritan woman. Not a Jewish priest or powerful king. A Samaritan woman who had been married multiple times and who was living with a man she wasn’t married to. She was, however, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. I am so thankful for the words Jesus spoke to her that day because there can be no mistake. There needs to be no interpretation. The woman spoke of the Messiah and the fact that he would explain everything when he comes. Jesus answered her:

I who speak to you am he.

Is Jesus the Messiah? Is he God in the flesh? How much clearer could he be?

Dear Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, Eternal One, Creator, the Word who became flesh, we bow to you today as our Holy God in human form. Thank you for your plan of salvation and for coming to us, to walk with us, to feel what we feel and experience what we experience. Thank you for those who recorded your stay on earth so that there can be no mistake as to who you are. Thank you that because of your written word, we can get to know you a couple of thousand years later. And thank you that because of you we can know the forgiveness of sin and fellowship with you right this minute. May we be faithful to share you, the truth of your life on earth, with people who don’t as yet know you. May you be glorified in all we do and say today.

September 30

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Matthew 2:1-23, 3:1-12; Luke 2:41-52, 3:1-20; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:1-28

There are so many precious truths recorded in the verses we read today, and hundreds of sermon topics. The Magi’s search for Jesus. John’s baptism. John’s testimony and imprisonment. God becoming human. Fulfilled prophesy.

These verses are packed with one blessed word after another. Can you feel the excitement and anticipation for the coming of Jesus’ ministry? This is it! This is what we’ve been reading about for the nine months we spent in the Old Testament. This is what all the prophesies foretold. This is what Abraham, David, Elijah and others looked forward to.

How blessed are we to live this side of the cross. How amazing is it to open the pages of the Bible and have the opportunity to know God’s heart. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He made all things, he was the light of the world, he revealed himself to the world but we just didn’t get it. Then in John 1:14 it says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We can see the God of creation in the face of Jesus! As we continue to read about his life on earth in human form, let’s get to know him better. Let’s catch the excitement the people in the first century felt as they realized their world was going to change.  And let him change us, too!