When Jesus went before the high Priest in John 18:19-23, he was questioned about his teachings and his disciples. The same questioning happens today. There are those who truly are seeking to know just what it is about this man and his teachings that set him apart from others. Jesus's response is great:
"I have spoken openly to the world. I have said nothing in secret."
He has given his Word to the world and made it plain for all to see.
Jesus then puts out a challenge to all hearers who doubt what he says "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?"
But Jesus also holds us believers accountable when he tells the doubters to ask his followers " Ask those who have heard me what I said to them, they know what i said". What a responsibility!
In 1 Peter 3:15 we are told "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect". It all starts in our hearts, as we seek to honor the Lord, we will desire to live for Him and be prepared when others ask about the hope we have been given.
The rights to private property and personal freedom are inseparable. However wealth from inappropriate means and misuse of money can often get us into trouble.
James 5: 2-3, "Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire." Wow, harsh words! Silver and gold don't have the ability to rust, so he was actually talking about their hearts. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. 2 Cor 12:14, 1 Timothy 5:8, It is necessary and encouraged to save and provide for family. However it is wrong to store up money if you owe someone else. James focuses on not only what we do with our wealth but how we earn it. And we are all wealthy here in America, we put our spare change in car ash trays.
Deut 24:14- "Do not take advantage of a
hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow
Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns."
Each of us have people that we hire, even if we are not a business owner. We all have bills to pay, credit cards, mortgages, rent, etc. and each have their terms when the money should be provided to them and they expect to be payed on time. Honor and integrity should be talked about more these days.
Leviticus 19:13 Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
Are we investing for the long term? A common Quaker saying is "tell me what thou need and I will tell you how to live without it."
Now is a good time to streamline, get out of debt and become mobile! Of the ten commandments, there is one that is in the heart: coveting, which deals with motivations of the heart.
Now wealth is not a bad thing, there were godly men who were able to handle wealth, such as Abraham and Job.
Wealth can bring uncertainty but the only certain thing we know is that we will stand before the Lord someday.
If our heart is set on things we will soon become discouraged. However if it is set on the Lord, we will be uplifted knowing that He will soon return and climax his promises!
We should be redeeming the time, a sense of urgency to make everyday count. Create alternatives with each opportunity.
In Schindler's List, he realized towards the end, the long term implications of his short term actions. There were wasteful years but if he had been a little more committed and aware of his stewardship he could have saved more people.
What good is a million dollar house without a home? What good is a million dollar diamond ring without love?
What we keep, we lose, but what we give to the Lord, we not only keep but get interest on.
I have recently been reading stories of faith and courage from those during the Civil War era. During this time, this brought a huge dilemma to the preachers in the North and South. Unlike other wars, this war pitted America against America, brother against brother. It must have been hard for them to know what God wanted from them in such a terrible time in our nation's history.
Pastor Joseph Atkinson spoke to the heart of the matter in his Thanksgiving day sermon on September 18, 1862:
"Never were Christians called to more diligence, self-denial,
courage, benevolence and industry than at this solemn juncture;
and it is, at such a time as this, that God and all good men are most
fruitfully active. In a contest like this every man must serve his
country according to his ability and in his appointed sphere.
Everyman must find the place and the duty suited to him, and to
which he is suited. None can be more important than practical,
prayerful labor for the religious welfare of our heroic soldiers; directly seeking their salvation by preaching to them by writing and
distributing tracts, hymns and Bibles and by praying for them,
by tender sympathy with them in the trials and temptations to
which they must be inevitably exposed. If God should breathe
over these Confederate States the spirit of devotion, of humility, of
dependence and of faith, it would be better than any victory in the
field, however brilliant, for it would be at once a proof of His favor
and a pledge of our prosperity."
Even though the South lost the war, it gained much in the spiritual realm. Confederate men and women learned devotion, humility and dependence on God.
When we go through battles in life, we may not win every one but we can gain much if we are willing to learn from our defeat.
1 Samuel 15:22, Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrificesas much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice,and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Based on real-life events in 1928 Los Angeles, the film Changeling stars Angelina Jolie
as Christine Collins who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is
an impostor. She confronts the city authorities, who declare her an
unfit mother and brand her delusional. Changeling explores female disempowerment, political corruption, child endangerment, and the repercussions of violence.
By
the time it was over, it would involve not only an apparent abduction,
but also impersonation, police coercion, false imprisonment, psychiatric
abuse and a court fight that stretched on for
more than a decade.
During the ordeal, one person stuck by Christine, the local church pastor, and pioneer radio evangelist. He stood up to the corruption around him even though it was unpopular and controversial.
In the midst of our recent tragedy with the Connecticut school shootings, we see many people speaking out and coming to the aid of those affected. Many ask where is God when tragedies like this happen but in the aftermath he can be found in the voices of his people who are not afraid to speak up and come to those in need in community.
The community as seen in Acts 2: 42-47 is is the church as it should be. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
In the beginning of Genesis, God said it is good after
each step in creation. But the first time in the history of the world
that God said it is not good was when He saw that Adam was alone.
Human beings were
created to reflect who God is. In every other religion there is
an impersonal God and human relations is secondary or peripheral.
But in Christianity there is a triune God, who is co-eternal, co-equal,
in a relationship forever.
A community where members live a Gospel centered life, build relationships with
non-Christians, and have the ability to communicate the Gospel clearly
will have a lasting impact.
In perhaps his best book, The Shoemaker's Gift, Leo Tolstoy tells of an elderly shoemaker Martin, believing that God has forsaken him after the loss of his family and that he has little to live for. Martin finds new inspiration when a clergyman leaves behind a Bible. His explorations of Bible stories shine a new light in the darkest corners of his heart.
In the book he asks "But how is one to live for God?" The old man answered: "How one may live for God has been shown us by Christ. Can you read? Then buy the Gospels, and read them: there you will see how God would have you live. You have it all there." These words sank deep into Martin's heart, and that same day he went and bought himself a Testament in large print, and began to read. He came to Matthew 7:24-27. He tried his own life by the standard of those words, asking himself: "Is my house built on the rock, or on sand?
He read Luke 7:44 and thought: "He gave no water for his feet, gave no kiss, his head with oil he did not anoint?" And Martin took off his spectacles once more, laid them on his book, and pondered. "He must have been like me, that Pharisee. He too thought only of himself ? how to get a cup of tea, how to keep warm and comfortable; never a thought of his guest. He took care of himself, but for his guest he cared nothing at all. Yet who was the guest? The Lord himself! If he came to me, should I behave like that?"
One night Martin then hears the voice of the Lord say to him that he will come and be his guest tomorrow. Martin is expectant to see the Lord throughout the next day but at the end of the day he has not come. But the people that Martin interacts with throughout his day were those that God had sent his way. When I was hungered, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in." "In so much as ye did it to the least of my brethren you did it to me."
And Martin understood that his dream had come true; and that the Savior had really come to him that day, and he had welcomed him. He who had repaired the soles of shoes, had his own soul repaired that day.
What great lessons we can learn from this story... and we all have a story to tell each day in the situations that we are given.
You can listen to the audio dramatization of this story presented by the Focus on the Family Radio Theater:
Imagine that God takes you on a guided tour of the cosmos, and He says, "Look at that planet over there."
And you say, "Hey, that's... " and you zoom in closer. "Wow, a planet that's totally inhabited by dogs.
"No, no. Look closer." And so you look closer. You zoom in a little tighter and you see that that planet, is inhabited by dogs. The dogs all have their fangs bared. Saliva is running down their mouth. They're bloody, and devouring, and fighting constantly, crazily, wild eyes flaming from within them you see.
"Oh Lord, that's terrible. What's the deal?"
"The whole planet", He says to you, "has been infected with rabies."
"Oh Father, wow, that's sad. Wipe them out."
"Well", He says, "you see, I really love those dogs."
"You do?"
"I really do."
"Well, okay. Help them out."
"I want to. I've got medicine for them that will totally and completely heal them."
"Well, give it to them Father!"
"Therein lies the problem", He says to you. "You see, I'm so big and awesome, and holy, and powerful, that they don't even acknowledge me. The only way that I can really speak to them and make this medicine available for them is if I send somebody to live among them and become just like them. That's why I brought you here.
"Let me get this straight," you say. "Those dogs that are sick and bloodied and fighting and devouring each other, you care about? And You have a medicine to help them?"
"Uh- huh."
"And You can't really connect with them because You're so awesome and big?"
"Right."
"And somebody's got to become like them to relate to them and share with them?"
"Uh-huh."
"And that's why You brought me here?"
"Yeah. I want you to become a dog."
"Wow."
"And not just any kind of dog. We're talking Chihuahua."
"You mean, You want me to become a Chihuahua?"
"That's right. Humble and meek, and the lowly of mind. And there's something else. When you talk to them, they're not going to listen to you. In fact, most of them are going to be viscously antagonistic toward you. In fact, they're going to sink their fangs into you and rip you apart and wipe you out."
"I'm going to become a Chihuahua, and tell these dogs that You have medicine for them, that You care about them, but they're going to turn on me. They're going to sink their fangs into me, they're going to shred me... "
"Yes."
"They're going to kill me."
"Yes."
"But, but,... but after that, I will resurrect you from the dead."
"Whew."
"But it's not that simple. You see, you will then be a resurrected, glorified Chihuahua - - forever. You will be resurrected and glorified, but you will remain a dog throughout eternity."
That's what happened to our Lord, our leader, our love, our hero, our king, our friend. Except that - the step Jesus Christ took down, to become like us; to dwell with us and die for us and remain like us, (for He still is totally human. A hundred percent God, yes, but a hundred percent man. He's locked into His humanity). The step that He took down to become like you and me, is a step far, far more radical than if you became a Chihuahua. I can't help then, but say "Lord, what can I do for You? In light of what You did for me, what can I do for You?" That's why Paul said, "It's the love of Christ that compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died."
I'm sure it will take an eternity to grasp just how much he loves us and what it cost Him to purchase us.
The book of Ruth is a classic love story of loyalty and devotion, yet it also contains some surprising insights that go far beyond the historical narrative itself.
One of the principal characters is Naomi, a Bethlehemite, who migrates with her husband and two sons to distant Moab because of a famine. The two sons take Moabite women for wives. During the ten years that follow, Naomi's husband and both her two sons pass away, leaving her destitute.
Upon hearing that things have turned for the better in her native Bethlehem, Naomi decides to return home. She encourages the two young girls to make new lives for themselves among their own people.
However, Ruth refuses, insisting upon remaining with Naomi, declaring one of the most famous commitments in the Scriptures:
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. Ruth 1:16, 17
Upon returning to Bethlehem, Ruth encounters the hero of the tale, the land owner, Boaz. To follow the plot, one must understand the Law of Redemption. In ancient Israel, land wasn't sold as we are used to. Since God was the real landowner, Israel was simply a tenant under conditions of obedience. When land was "sold," the buyer received only the use of the land, not clear title. There were conditions under which a kinsman of the seller could "redeem" the land back to the original family.
The scroll mentioned in Revelation Chapter 5 was written "within and on the backside," which identifies it as a deed subject to redemption. A Kinsman of Adam, in His role as a Kinsman-redeemer, Jesus will take final possession of what He already purchased with His blood as the sacrificial Lamb. He not only purchased the land; he also purchased a Bride. The Kinsman Redeemer needed to be qualified to fulfill the deed and be willing to fulfill it. Christ was qualified because he came to earth as a man and lived a sinless life. Also he was willing to take on our sin and shame, as he subjecting his will to His Father.
In the Book of Ruth, Naomi is viewed by scholars as a type of Israel, exiled from her land; Boaz is her kinsman, who performs the redemption of the land; and Ruth (a Gentile) is also purchased for a wife. It is interesting that Ruth is introduced to Boaz through an unnamed servant (functioning as the Holy Spirit). The Church, as the Gentile "Bride of Christ," is introduced to the ultimate Kinsman-redeemer by the Holy Spirit also. Boaz is not only the "lord of the harvest," he saves the day by performing the role of a "Kinsman- Redeemer." In Hebrew tradition, a Kinsman Redeemer was a qualified relative,
someone who could step into a situation, and assist with restoring
property, financial security, and future inheritance.
Boaz and Ruth marry and have a child, ensuring the continuation of the Davidic line. God works through the actions of a widow, a foreigner, and a wealthy farmer to bring about the birth of the grandfather of King David, which ultimately leads to the birth of Jesus.
It is interesting that the field of Boaz is near where the shepherds received the annoucement of Christ's birth. Caves where shepherds “kept watch over their flock” still abound in the area east of Bethlehem. The angel’s good news was not given to the noble or pious, but to workers of low reputation. Jewish literature ranked “shepherds” among the most despised occupations of the time — but Christ was to identify himself with this occupation when he called himself “the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11).
How can we be a Kinsman Redeemer to those in need around us?
1. Notice others. Take a look around you. Who do you
see lagging behind? Someone who has fallen on hard
times?
2. Clothe with Comfort & Kindness. Sometimes a big
hug or a listening ear is all that one needs. Clothing others with
kindness means that we are investing in their desires and care about
them.
3. Give. Go out of your way to give. When Boaz noticed Ruth,
first he showed compassion to her by listening to her needs. He made
sure she was protected by instructing his workers to look after her by giving extra food.
Boaz wanted to make sure that no further harm would come to her.
With the passing of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, here is a musical selection from his last album with his quartet, made 7 years ago at age 84. The other video following is an interview with Dave on World War 2 reflections when he served his country.
