Tag: disciples

Following Their Lead

Today’s readings are Judges 17-18, Psalm 21, and Acts 1.

I’m excited today as we begin to read through the book of Acts which was written by Luke who also wrote the Gospel of Luke. Although I’ve been a Christian my whole life, I must admit I did not know much about the book of Acts until we moved to Bloomington-Normal, IL in 2011 and shortly thereafter our new church home, Eastview Christian Church, preached through it for many months. As we just celebrated Easter this last Sunday, I must also say there are few things that convict me more about the truth of the Resurrection and the Good News of the Gospel than the behavior of the disciples as told in Acts.

As far as we know, John is the only disciple who was near Jesus at the cross, as he is the only one specifically mentioned. We are told some of his followers were in the distance (of which we know he had many), but it does not specifically say any of the other 12 disciples, nor any by name.  At best, the disciples were in the distance and not near Him, presumably because they were scared. We know Peter denied Jesus three times just as Jesus said he would, and we know when Jesus appeared to the disciples on Easter evening they were in a locked room. Why were they in a locked room? John 19:19 tells us they were fearful. They had just seen what the Jewish leaders had the Romans do to Jesus who they thought was the Messiah and would be their earthly king restoring Jewish power and control. And why wouldn’t they think He was their earthly savior after seeing all the miracles He had done? Now, He had been brutally killed for all He had done and said. Would they be next?

In Acts 1:3, we learn Jesus appeared to them multiple times in the next 40 days telling them about the Kingdom of God. He also tells them He will send the Holy Spirit and to spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8). What did the disciples do? They did exactly what He told them, so that you and I would know Jesus and the Good News of His Resurrection today. Most historians agree every one of the disciples, and even Paul, who Jesus appeared to and who wrote much of the New Testament, were all martyrs or killed for their faith in Jesus either directly or indirectly with John being cast away and imprisoned dying on the island of Patmos.

We will read later in Acts 4 where Peter and John go before the same Jewish Council who sent Jesus to the Romans to be crucified. While being threatened to stop speaking about Jesus, they said in Acts 4:20, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Powerful when you think of what could happen to them for this. Why the behavior changes from running scared and locking themselves in a room to this? Why would they risk and ultimately give their lives? To me there is but one answer, they saw Jesus alive after being killed just as we are told in the Gospel and here in Acts. Well, I guess there is a second answer, we will read they will soon receive the Holy Spirit as Jesus tells them in Acts 1.

We know we are told many times in the Bible the Holy Spirit who Jesus tells of in Acts 1 also lives in us now as believers (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Timothy 1:14). Sadly, there are few times in my life where I have been more on fire for the Lord and desiring to tell others about Jesus more than when we studied the book of Acts in 2011. I pray that as we read through the book of Acts in the upcoming weeks we remember the Holy Spirit within us and we have the desire, courage, and boldness to tell others about Jesus just like the disciples in Acts.

Humble Love in the Upper Room

Today’s Reading: John 13

As we continue through John, Lynden shared with us the assurance of God’s glory in the midst of everything going on. I pray you were able to hear that yesterday.

Today, as we read chapter 13 John has so many different topics we can focus reflect on.  There’s betrayal, denial, and the humble act of foot washing.  This is where I landed today.  The other day as I was sitting at hockey practice for my son, subtle tears came to my eyes as I thought, “What would it look like if I knew I was going to die tomorrow? Would I even think to serve others or just myself? “  Would I still be consumed with trying to keep our students and staff at school as many days as possible during this pandemic? Would I continue to run my kids to their practice? Would I call family and friends or try to cross one more thing off the bucket list? Maybe I would just hang close to my wife and read books to my daughter until she falls asleep? I wipe my eyes and reflected on Jesus the Thursday night of Passover and ultimately his death.

Jesus had different thoughts and actions that night, not of the flesh like my own. His plans were completely selfless.  He was going to serve the disciples that were around Him that evening. Even the person who was going to betray Him later that evening. In verse 3 Jesus knew that everything was put under His power.   What did Jesus do? You already know. He took the spot of what was in the Jewish culture reserved for the lowest.  He took off his outer garment and started to wash the disciples’ feet. I was listening to a sermon by pastor John MacArthur where he said, “Selfless humility is the soul of love. The humbler you are, the less interested you are in yourself, the greater your capacity to invest yourself in somebody else.”  What was the response of the disciples?  They were in shock, speechless, or wanting their hands and head washed too. So here is our example, our lesson. Can we love like this. No matter the cost can I love selflessly, humbly, in the most menial, simple necessity of life.

Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you will not understand now, but afterword you will understand. “

How will you humbly show love today? What can you do today? 

Lord, you provided the example by sending your own son. A son who gave up His own life for ours.  What love you have for us. Lord help us to love like you.  May we humble ourselves, be meek, and lowly like You so that our love can be elevated. Every day we have the opportunity to love others.  I pray you to help us to show true love with selfless regard.  Amen

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

MacArthur, John, The Humble Love of Christ, January 18, 2015

Seeing, Hearing and Understanding

“Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:10-13

Good morning friends! I had a last minute opportunity to take the McGriff Party of 5 camping this weekend so I’m writing to you from my chair in the woods. If this post smells like a campfire, please grab a marshmallow and enjoy! There is just so much for us to soak up in Matthew 13 but I wanted to write to you today about verses 10-13. When I first read this part of scripture, when I was new to Bible reading I interpreted Jesus’ words differently than I do now. At first I thought Jesus was telling his disciples that not all people are chosen that there are only a few “lucky” ones. Now that I am reading through a different lens, I see that it is usthat must choose Him.

Recently I suffered a great disappointment. And by suffered, I mean suffered. It was the kind thing where I was left feeling singled out, rejected and just plain not worthy. To make things worse, many of my friends were selected to do the thing, the thing that I thought I wanted so badly. When the judgment came down I felt the feels. I cried the tears and mourned the loss. I told myself a story about the loser I am and I believed it. Have you ever told yourself that story? Have you ever thought of yourself as not as good as other Christians? Have you compared yourself to others and thought, I’ll never be as close to God as they are? After losing the thing a few good people in my life talked with me about who I really am. They reminded me that I am a child of God, that I am surrounded by abundance. I prayed and prayed for things to go my way but I wasn’t truly seeing. All of us who give our lives to Jesus have also been given the secret to the kingdom. It isn’t that the disciples were perfect people hand-picked by Jesus to be the perfect Christians. On the contrary, they were imperfect people that gave their life to Christ in an extraordinary, all-in kind of way. They committed despite having to live the everyday reality that we can’t see or hear God’s plan.

When it comes to my big disappointment, what I was lacking is understanding. Ok, maybe I’m still lacking it. Although I can see many great opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus in my future, I can’t really understand why God would skip over this one. And although I can hear the encouragement of Christian elders in my life that say, “wait for it, this plan will be revealed it’s just not time yet.” It’s still really hard to understand. What I can take away from our scripture today is that if I make that commitment to follow Him, I will have and experience more abundance in my life. If I choose to turn away, more could be taken from me. The disciples asked Jesus, why he speaks in parables. I think maybe as broken, fallen people we relate more to the story than we do the harsh words of truth. The truth is, I wasn’t chosen this time but I’m always chosen by God. You will always be His child no matter what hurt, sadness, loss or pain you’re experiencing. Jesus still talks with us in parables or stories. When we are willing to share those stories with one another I think we get closer to Him. So, I hope you’ll share your personal parable this week with someone that needs to hear it. I pray that God blesses you with abundance and then more. Have a great (holiday) Monday!

 

 

A Parable about the Parables

Matthew 13:52 and Psalm 111

And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

As we continue through this series of parables, we come to a moment where Jesus pauses and asks his disciples if they get the parables up to this point (verse 51), to which they reply a simple yes. I try to put myself in their shoes – would I have the faith to say yes? Or would I have had ten follow up questions to better understand? Even though we know that the disciples didn’t FULLY comprehend everything Jesus was telling them, they knew enough and had the faith to answer yes. And then we come to verse 52 where Jesus shares a parable about all of the parables!

In this mini parable break, Jesus is encouraging them to not replace everything they learned before with all of these new teaching and parables. Instead, add these new parables and teaching with the old (law).  Similar to how we have both new things in our home along with family heirlooms. One doesn’t replace the other – it’s all part of the collection.

I will admit that I have tried to line up God in the Old Testament with Jesus in the New Testament. The bright light that we can’t look upon and need to remove our shoes for, with the man that is fishing and eating with the lowest of the low. In my heart I believe and know they are one and completely unified, but sometimes my brain goes into overdrive trying to reconcile the two and figure it all out.

Recently a preacher shared this and it’s SO TRUE! Our human (barfo) nature wants our view of graceful bear hugging Jesus to deal with our own sin…. And we want OT fire + brimstone God to show up and deal with people that sin against us.  OUCH – that was a ZINGER! I can think of a time I had those thoughts.

Truth be told, they are perfectly unified. Balancing OT (law, teachings, etc) with the NT (parables, grace, etc) is similar to understanding the trinity. What a beautiful mystery!

Does anyone else love Paul’s comments to the church in Corinth about “now we see through a glass darkly…” – I can not WAIT for heaven, when it will all be crystal clear. Will we be like the disciples and simply say “yes, we understand”, or will we have a million questions?

As Jesus continues to fulfill the law, with his teachings and ultimately his sacrifice, my prayer is that we can have wisdom in balancing the old and the new. The Psalm that is assigned with today’s reading is Psalm 111. I love when the two readings come together so beautifully. Here are a few lines that really spoke to me in light of the parable about parables.

2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.

4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.

God caused us to remember the law in the Old Testament and Jesus’ parable of parables reinforces this. As we seek wisdom and understanding, knowing who God is and having fear and respect for Him is our first step in understanding.

 

 

Phantasma

Azure Window, Gozo Island, Malta

Today’s Readings: Joshua 6:6-27, Psalms 135-136, Isaiah 66, Matthew 14

The ancient greeks used the word phantasma to describe the experience of dream visions or spirit apparitions. It’s the word that’s used in Matthew 14, when he describes how the disciples felt when they were in the boat in the midst of a storm and saw Jesus walking on water. As I read Matthew 14 this week, I anticipated this very feeling. The story of the loaves and fishes didn’t surprise me. Of course, we’ve heard this one since we were young. Having been to several potlucks myself, I can imagine sitting amongst the crowd, awaiting my turn to eat and being awestruck that there was something left. After all five thousand people had eaten, he sent the disciples in the boat to the other side of the lake. He dismissed the crowd and went up onto the mountainside to pray.

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he ad dismissed them, he went up ton a mountainside by himself to pray.” (Matthew 14:22-23)

 He went by himself to pray. Did you catch that? I took that short phrase as my first and most important lesson today. Seeking solitude was an important priority for Jesus. He made time away from his “celebrity moments” to be alone with the Father. Spending time with God to nurture our relationship with him is critical. Jesus shows us here that disciplining ourselves to spend time alone with Him will prepare us to manage life’s challenges.

We know what happens next! The disciples are halfway across the lake in the boat when the water starts to get a little rough:

“But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them…” (Mattthew 14:24)

 Ever feel like the wind is against you, like you’re being beaten by the waves? Jesus sees that! He’s standing on the side of the mountain. We may feel alone in our boats. We may feel like we wish we hadn’t set out on that journey with a few of our best disciples and no leader on the ship! But the very best is yet to come:

“And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:25).

 In that moment Jesus revealed himself to his disciples. He revealed himself to us as his people. He wants very much to be there with us and for us when our boats are rocking in the wind. But the disciples responded with fear. They immediately said, “It’s a ghost!” I think I would have too. I don’t know that I find myself worthy of a walking on water moment. Certainly Peter and the other disciples didn’t either. In fact it looks like Peter gives Jesus a little test. He tells him,

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, “Come” so Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt.” (Matthew 14:26-27)

 What looks like a test is really an act of faith, right? Peter is the only disciple willing to step off that boat and meet his Jesus. He started to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the menacing waves. Jesus reaches out and takes hold of him, right in that moment of his doubt. Jesus is not a phantasma, he’s not a ghost that comes in and out of our dreams. He’s not intermittent at all. He’s revealing himself to us every day. Walking on water isn’t just a thing that happened in 400 B.C. He’s leading us to him, but we must be willing to follow. I loved that there was a little message to me in Matthew 14 today. That short sentence that told us about Jesus going to the mountain to be alone with his Father. It’s a holiday weekend. We’re all focused on our potlucks, parties and fireworks. But JESUS is the real fireworks. There’s nothing phantasma about him. I hope you spend time today with family and friends but I also hope you take time to be with the Father. Reach out, take hold of him. He’s waiting to walk with you.