Wednesday Wake Up #39

Love Like Jesus

There are time we read parts of verses and never fully quite understand fully what is being said when it was spoken. For instance, we can read part of a verse like Ephesians 5:2 and simply think that loving like Jesus might mean just being nice. Jesus wasn't a "nice guy." His acts of healing and his service were not because he was nice. It was because he was loving. In love is being nice and acts of kindness, but without love, then can kindness and being nice even exist? Ephesians 5:2 states "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Remember the part that says "gave himself up." That means sacrifice for others. How do you know when to do that? Would you be willing to sacrifice getting your daily Starbucks and save that money to buy homeless people lunch each day for a week? Would you be willing to do something as small as carry water in your vehicle and pass it out to those that are in need? What will you sacrifice for others that honors God? Without love there is no sacrifice, kindness or being nice.

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Hebrews 9: Blood for Sins

Blood for Sins

The old covenant was solidified by blood (Hebrews 9:22). It was the blood of animals that were used as a sacrifice for sins of men. But when Jesus sacrificed himself, did that not hold more weight with sacrifice for sins than an animal? The writer makes this point once again by pointing what would be flawed logic for those that say Jesus was equal to or less than High Priests. Jesus shed his blood for your sins further solidifying his sacrifice. And that shedding of blood by Jesus was what we needed to be redeemed to God.
 

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Hebrews 7: Jesus the High Priest

Jesus the High Priest

Jesus was not equal to High Priests. If anyone sees Jesus as just another prophet then they are sadly mistaken. If you read the entire chapter of Hebrews (especially Hebrews 7:11-25) you will see how the writer explains in context how Abraham had a high priest to whom he would pay tithes and that priest was one of a number that would be named the High Priest (one at a time) and that also allowed for the belief that perfection could be attained this way (I hope I am understanding this correctly). Now, if that is the only way perfection can be attained then how did Jesus do it? He didn't go through the same process as the other High Priests. And it was written "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever'" in reference to Jesus. Therefore when we comes across Hebrews 7:27 we know that Jesus did not have to pay tithes or offer any kind of sacrifice to God for his sins (because he was sinless) we know that Jesus died for our sins so that we can be reconciled to God.

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2 Timothy 1: Why Are You Saved?

Why Are You Saved?

We can forget from time to time and get haughty (prideful) about our salvation thinking that we deserve it, but in all honesty, we do not deserve salvation, i don't think there is any Bible reading believer that can honestly say scripture backs up the belief that we earned our salvation. The truth is, as we have seen through the life of Christ and the words of Paul, our salvation is a gift. You cannot brag to someone about something that someone gave you. A gift is given, while a prize is earned. So, did you earn Jesus through all of your hard work? Or was Jesus's blood shed due to God's grace? That salvation was a gift that you didn't earn. In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul writes to Timothy about Jesus "who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began..." If that is the one thing I can teach you today, then I am satisfied in that, because in this time many of us have forgotten our gift from God.

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Friday Focus #31

One Another-ing

It is very easy to get caught up in thinking about ourselves and our wants and even perceive those wants as needs. When we truly focus on what God wants from us we can see how important it is for us to honor Him and be loving to one another. During this times of the year there is much discussion regarding politics and a number of divisive things are being said. While not everyone engaged in these discussions are Christ followers, some of these people are or at least believe themselves to be overlooking that in favor of personal wants that are outside of the glory of God. Doing a Google search of "how many one another bible verses" I found a document that counts 59 uses of one another in the New Testament. Here are a few that I would like to highlight.

In Mark 9:50 Jesus is talking about having salt in ourselves. Salt here can be used as a reference to sacrifices that were covered with salt and/or salt being a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, " Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." This does not mean do it on your own accord but have the Holy Spirit in you as that also relates to a sacrifice of self. By that sacrifice of self and having the Holy Spirit in us, we can "be at peace with one another." It is hard to say or do divisive things when you have submitted your will to God. If you stay focused on being served then you are part of the problem.

We have probably covered John 13:34-35 numerous times about loving one another (Jesus's command) and that is how people will know we are Christ followers. But, let's take it a step further. What task is so beneath you that you would never do it? Cleaning toilets? Taking out the trash? Well, Jesus was so humble in his living that something as low as washing someone's feet was not beneath him. How would you sacrifice for your brother or sister in Christ if they needed you to? Would you allow yourself to be degraded in a sense to meet a need for them? Jesus says in John 13:14-15 that since he has done this that we should do the same type of activity as he has shown us an example of how to be. 

Finally, I leave you with one more. Being a Christ follower does not equate to perfection from the eyes of others. It means being dedicated to God's will. It means accepting the Holy Spirit as your guide and God's grace through Christ. In Romans 15:7, Paul says something very important that often gets overlooked. He says, "Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." This does not mean that we accept sin and just say it is okay, but remember where you were when first became a Christ follower. Remember the grace you needed or had. Now apply that to others. We are all works in progress. Love them enough to let them grow.

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Philippians 3: Shed Selfishness, Seek Sacrifice

Shed Selfishness, Seek Sacrifice

For those who spent more time thinking about doing what makes them happy and doing what pleased them, they showed that they were not honoring the Lord. God is not waiting for us to find what makes us happy and just live doing that, but He is wanting us to sacrifice. Paul points out that some were focused on worshiping their bellies (literally and figuratively on living for self). Paul points them out in Philippians 3:19 and says their end is destruction (more figurative to eternal damnation). He says that since they worship their bellies, their minds are on earthly things. Look, we all slip up, but some are living lives of missing the mark when it comes to the target of seeking to be Christ like.

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Friday Focus #30

No Greater Love Than This

Are you a friend of Jesus? How do you know? How do you check that or test that? Are you willing to do as He commands? Are you willing to lay down your life for your friends? You can say yes to all of these things, but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. In John 15:13, Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." What did he mean?

In the very next verse (14) Jesus says "You are my friends if you do what I command you." If you think you are a Christian, it may only be in thought. If you are not willing to submit your will to be in accordance with what God says and how Christ taught, lived and commanded, then how can Christ be in any title that you associate with your spiritual perspective? Are you willing to die for you friends? If so, are you willing to stop, slow down and make a phone call? Visit? Before you say you can do the big stuff, are you already doing the small stuff? Or are you too busy?

Remember Jesus was not "some guy" but he was God in the flesh and was also human. He read the scriptures and learned from them. He applied them when applicable. He sacrificed himself for your sins and mine. We can't even sacrifice time for our friends so how can we say we would lay down our lives. We can't even sacrifice parts of us that make others stumble. Are we really friends of Christ willing to sacrifice? Or are we just being selfish and thinking we are doing what we ought to be. 

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Ephesians 1: Redemption through Christ's Blood

Redemption

Let us not forget, not matter how bad we think we are or how far apart from God we feel, that we can be redeemed to God. How does that happen? In Ephesians 1:7 the redemption is through Christ's blood. Christ shed his blood and became the sacrifice for our sins. When we accept Christ, our sins are forgiven because of God's grace. We don't have to be perfect, we just need to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.

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Galatians 2: Christ Lives Through Me

Christ Lives Through Me

We have to understand, as Paul tells the Galatian church, that it is not us who are just so great, but it is God working through us. Paul said that he died with Christ. His statement was answering a question that he would have been asked from the Galatians. His point in saying that he died with Christ was that he died to the rules of the law when Christ died in his place. Christ died in all of our place. He died for our sins. So, when Paul says "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me", he is saying that because he accepts Jesus as his Lord and Savior, it is now the Spirit of God that lives through us and guides us (Galatians 2:20).

In verse 21, Paul validates what he stated before. Paul is showing the church that the law cannot save them, but only the grace of God through Christ. Paul says, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." Paul's point is to say that the law cannot save someone for if it could, the Christ's sacrificial death was wasted.

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2 Corinthians 9: The Cheerful Giver

The Cheerful Giver

As discussed in chapter 8 the amount one gives to a church or whatever should come from the heart. The old testament had a standard of 10% but God knows what you can give and what you cannot give. As a matter of fact, due to reading yesterday's text and today's text I remembered to give to my home church as I had forgotten the last 2 months. I gave what I could, not what some might say I should. As Paul says here in verse 7 "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." My Pastor Rick Warren has stated that if you feel pressure to give, then don't. It's not coming from the heart. I would agree with him as what he says is backed up by scripture (see what I did there- not every pastor gets everything right). 

But before that in verse 6 Paul tells us that the point is if you give sparingly (little) in dedication to God, you will reap sparingly (little). The opposite is true where if you give bountifully (much/more than you can afford) then you will reap the same. The reaping does not have to be money, it can be, If the focus is on "how can I get more money?" then you have forgotten about the heart of Christ. Seek his will as it was entrenched in the Father's (God's).

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2 Corinthians 5: Heavenly Dwelling and Reconciliation

Heavenly Dwelling and Reconciliation

It is hard to read this section of text again (2 Corinthians 5:1-10). The last time I did, a friend of mine was reading it after he was diagnosed with ALS. He died within the year he was diagnosed. He knew then that his earthly body while imperfect was not his only body. It was a tent that was temporary. He knew that his Heavenly dwelling with the Father was eternal and would be painless. He was courageous and walked by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

And since Christ died for our sins we must know why that happened. He was God in the flesh and sold out for the will God too. His dying for our sins made it so we could be reconnected and reconciled with God even though we sin. We had to accept what Christ did through God's grace and minister about that reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). We do not have to live in distance from God on earth or in Heaven. 
 

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Romans 12: Be a Living Sacrifice & Marks of a True Christian

Be a Living Sacrifice & Marks of a True Christian

There is so much in this chapter that we can pull out and apply to our lives in order to serve the Lord and serve others. Romans 12:1-2 tells us to be living sacrifices for God by being holy and acceptable. That is how we can worship God by not conforming the world's ways and doing what they think is okay, but by doing what is pleasing to God. We need to be transformed by renewing our mind. Then we can test that and see what the will of God is and what is perfect to Him. 

Romans 12:3-8 reminds us that we are not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We are to have sober judgement (not drunk with misconceptions or misunderstandings). We need to see ourselves as who we really are and that will keep us from being prideful or boastful in our work for the Lord. Even our being saved is a gift from God so there is no sense in being prideful in that. And we must understand that we are all (those who submit to Christ) in the body of Christ (the Christ follower community/the church) and we all have different roles and need to respect the roles others have. 

Romans 12:9-13 tells us to hate evil and love genuinely (don't fake your love for God or others). There is a focus on true humility when we are to out do one another in showing honor and contribute to the needs of the saints. We are to rejoice in our hope and be patient and prayerful in our tribulation (trials/problems/situations). 

The final section of the chapter tells us, in Romans 12:14-21, that we are to bless those who persecute us. We are to show empathy by weeping with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. we need to live in harmony with others and not seek revenge on people. We have to remember that God will have his vengenace to those who do us wrong. We are to take care of our enemies because all that we do is to be done in love for God and for his creations. 

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Luke 21:34- Watch Yourselves

Watch Yourselves!

This chapter outlines several things from sacrificial giving (giving that really makes you sacrifice) to the destruction of the temple, wars and persecution and Christ's return. But something else struck me. Jesus gave us a warning. It is easy to miss if you are just reading and maybe even distracted, but I wanted to point it out. 

In verse 34, Jesus says to "watch yourselves." He tells us to watch our hearts so that they are not filled with "dissipation, drunkenness and cares of this world."

Jesus know that if our heart isn't aligned with him, then it is aligned elsewhere, like the world. The world then and now often says things like "everything in moderation." Folks, not everything is legal and not everything is good for you even if it is legal. Jesus is warning us to not let culture be our guide. Culture changes, but the word of God stands firm. 

For those that know of my former employment, you will remember that I was a bouncer/security guard for bars. A bar's focus is to sell alcohol to you. Some to many places will even sell it to you even after you have had enough. The world celebrates this lifestyle, but the world doesn't show you what happens to your liver and other organs from years of that lifestyle. The world doesn't show you the broken homes and lost souls that come from spending too much time drinking and not enough time with Jesus.

Jesus warns us of being hungover (surfeiting/carousing/dissipation) from alcohol and in other words, being hung over form the world's way. When you are hung over you have had too much alcohol and the body begins to shut down. Have you ever seen someone pass out from too much alcohol? Maybe it has happened to you. That is the body's way of rejecting more consumption. But, with the world's way and culture we don't get that feeling like with alcohol, it just overtakes you and then you look up one day wondering how you got there. You may even try to make excuses for why it is okay to be where you are, but where you haven't been was aligned with Christ in obedience with God's will.

This blog post was not to bash bars or my former employment, but to shine light on a culture that is dictated by reformed ways of thinking that separate you from God's path. How culture thinks today will not be that way tomorrow. Stand firm with God's word.


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Mark 14:6- Anointing of Jesus

Anointing of Jesus

In Mark 14:6, we get to see Jesus stand up for a woman who, in a sense, was being bullied by people. A woman used expensive oil and poured it over Jesus's head. It was used to anoint him, which symbolizes empowering, blessing and protection in religious ceremonies. Many were upset that she "wasted" the oil on Jesus when it could have been sold for 300 denarii (which would be worth today $30,000 USD).

What these men overlooked was their own selfishness. They overlooked what was being done for Jesus and thought of what they could have done with the money. I equate that to skipping on tithing because you would rather use the money for your own personal gain.

Jesus stood up for her and asked the men why they troubled/bothered her understanding that she did a beautiful thing for him. She did what she could to anoint his body for burial. Jesus is saying that he is going to die.

 Jesus knew he was fulfilling prophecies. He knew the role Judas would have and what part Peter would play. He knew that they would "not always have" him. He foretells his betrayal and his death on the cross.

Jesus knew what his purpose was and went through with it anyway. The more I read about Jesus the more my heart breaks for what our sin did to him. The more my heart breaks for how he was treated when he dedicated his life for us.

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Matthew 10:39

Matthew 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, & whoever  loses his life for my sake will find it." commentary- The words of Jesus are strong here. He is not saying  'just do what makes you happy.' He is not saying 'there are many ways to heaven & I am  just one.' What is Jesus saying? He is saying that those who live their lives & are not seeking Christ have missed the  point. Many would rather do what they want for their own comfort but that is not what God wants from you. What is blocking you  from seeking & following Christ?