Category: PASSION Reflections

Better Than You

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility

“An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest” (Luke 9:46).  Can you imagine that?  Grown men arguing about who was the greatest!  And this, just after Jesus, the truly great one, had spoken of becoming low for us! 

To get their attention, Jesus takes a child – with no status, no power – clearly not great.  “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.  For he who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Luke 9:48).  The child, least in their eyes, is great.  Greatness is not about status or power.  It is not about being better than others, exalting oneself above others.

If receiveiving a child is like receiving Jesus, like receiving God, then the child has great significance.  And so do all of us, for we are all made in the image of God.  No one is better or worse than others, we are all equally valuable.  So arguing about who is greatest is nothing short of foolish.

I suspect few of us would argue with someone else about who was greater.  And yet, how easy it may be for us to act like we are greater than another.  How easy to start thinking we are better than another.

I’m better than you because I am a Baptist, a Methodist, a Charismatic, a Calvinist, an Arminian, a Dispensationalist, and the list could go on.  I’m better than you because of my spiritual gifts, and I minister this way, and you don’t.  I’m better than you because my family does things this way, and your family does it that way, and that seems really odd to me.  I’m better than you because I make more money than you, I have a higher standard of living.  I’m better than you because you hurt me which makes you a terible sinner.  I’m better than you…. 

Father, how easy it is for us to begin to think that we are better than others.  The smallest differences can introduce this idea to our minds, and our pride grasps and feeds the idea.  Guard our minds.  Throw down our pride.  Help us to give up our pursuit of being being better than others.  Let us learn from Jesus who, though greater than all, humbled himself and became one of us to save us.  Amen.

Marvel

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, God & His Glory, Idolatry

After Jesus came down from his Transfiguration, he cast out an unclean spirit (Luke 9:37-43).  “And all were astonished at the majesty of God…they were all marveling at everything he was doing….”  In his actions they saw the majesty, the greatness, the glory of God, and they marveled, they were astonished, they wondered, they were amazed.  We too should marvel at the glory of God.  So why don’t we marvel more?  Let me suggest two reasons.

First, we are distracted by idols.  Our world is full of stuff marketed in shining wrappings that make it look glorious.  The glory often fades as soon as you buy it, and it eventually ends up in the trash heap, and yet it still allures us, attracts us, distracts us.  We fill our homes and lives with this stuff that distracts us from the true glory of God.

And it is not just stuff.  Power, sex, fame, popularity, and on the list goes.  All these things present themselves as glorious.  And indeed there is nothing wrong with them in their proper contexts.  But we are attracted by the empty promises that these things will satisfy, will fulfill, and they distract us from the one who truly does.  They are idols distracting us from the true glory of God.

Second, we don’t marvel more because we fail to see the glory of God.  His glory is all around us, but we miss it in the hurry of life.  We need to slow down and open our eyes.

We need to open our eyes to his glory revealed in the Bible.  We get so used to the stories, we miss the glory of the one who is acting in incredible ways.  See his glory in the miracles of Jesus, in the proclamations of Isaiah, the glimpse of heaven in Revelation, the praises in Psalms, and on and on it could go. 

We need to open our eyes to his glory revealed in creation.  I love to camp on the shores of Lake Superior each summer.  As I see the powerful waves of the big lake, as I see the incredible sunsets over the lake, I am struck with the glory of God.  But is his glory not revealed where I live the rest of the year?  Of course it is, but I miss it.  I miss it because I am in too much of a hurry.  I miss it because we have manufactured our own indoor world that keeps me away from his creation.  I miss it because I spend too much time on man’s ultimate creation to date – what we are on right now as I write this and you read it.  I need to go outside and see the sunset outside my home.  I need to open my eyes to the wonder of the towering trees in my backyard, the incredible variety of flowers, and the way the garden grows.  I need to see the glory of God’s image in my family, and my co-workers, and my church.  I need to open my eyes and see his glory all around me in his creation.

We need to open our eyes to his glory revealed in his providential working in our lives.  The ways he answers prayer.  The ways he guides our lives, protects us, cares for us, strengthens us, provides for us.

We need to open our eyes to his glory revealed in our salvation.  That he would come to earth as a man.  That he would suffer and die in my place.  That he powerfully rose from the dead.  That the Spirit of God would choose to come into my life and transform me.  That my sins are washed away.  That I have a new life in Christ.  That I am righteous in his sight.  That I am his child.  That I have an inheritance.  That I will spend eternity with God.  We just need to open our eyes to see his glory.

Father, you reveal your glory all around us.  Help us to topple the idols that distract us.  Help us to open our eyes to see your glory.  Help us to be a people that marvel at your glory.  Amen.

Listen

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

During the Transfiguration recorded in Luke 9:28-36, a cloud overshadows them, and a voice says, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”  The Father commands the disciples to listen to Jesus.  We too must listen to Jesus, but how?  He does not walk among us as he did then, so how do we listen to him?

Some might suggest that the words that he spoke while he was here that are recorded in Scripture – the words in red – are his words that we must listen to, but that does not go far enough.  We know that the apostles and prophets wrote the entire Bible as they were led by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:20-21).  We also know that the Spirit speaks the words of Jesus (John 16:13-14).  That means that the entire Bible is the words of Jesus.  When we open the Bible and read, Jesus speaks to us.  We must listen.

We must stop and listen.  Peter wakes up to find Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah, and he bgins to chatter on about building three tents.  But is this a time to talk?  Would you interrupt Jesus, Moses, and Elijah?  Wouldn’t you want to hear their conversation?  This is a time to stop all other thoughts, words, and actions, and just listen.

As we gather on Sunday mornings to open the Book which contains the very words of our glorious Savior, this is not a time to get up and wander about, to daydream, to think about lunch or afternoon plans.  This a time to stop and listen.

As we wake up each morning to open the Book to read the very words of Jesus, we must stop all distractions, stop thinking about our plans for the day, and just listen to Jesus Himself speak to us.  Stop and listen.

But we must not just stop and listen, we must also listen and respond.  We cannot listen to Jesus like we often listen to a news announcer – in one ear and out the other as they say.  When God speaks, we must respond.  The Parable of the Sower in the prior chapter reminds us that we must not just hear the Word, but must respond (8:4-15).  Jesus tells us his family are those who “hear the Word of God and do it” (8:21).  We must not just hear the Word; we must do what it says (James 1:22).

So as we gather on Sunday morning to open the Book, do we come planning to not only hear but also respond?  As we open the Book each morning, do we intend to respond?  Do we intend to obey that command, or claim that promise, or believe that truth, or confess that sin, or follow that example?  Do we plan to listen and respond?

Father, you have given us a great gift – the very words of Jesus.  As we open the Book, help us to remember that we are reading the very words of God.  Help us to stop.  Help us to listen.  Help us to respond.  For your glory, we pray.  Amen.

It Is Not About Me

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

In the last post, we considered the identity of Jesus.  We considered his claim to be the King and Savior of the world.  We suggested that either he was the King and Savior or he was an egotistical nut.  Assuming we believe his claim to be the King and Savior (as I do), how should we respond.  Jesus continues in Luke 9 to tell us.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (v23).  We are to come after him, to follow him, and this following includes self-denial.

I have a card on my computer which says: “Oh yeah.  I keep forgetting.  It’s not about me.  It is about Him.”  Self-denial is living out this card, not living for myself but rather living for him.  If he is my King, I must live for him.  If he is my Savior, I owe him my life.  How might this play out in practical terms?

It means first of all, that I deny my life (v23-24).  Verse 23 says we should take up our cross.  The disciples knew this was an invitation to die.  As Jesus died for us, we should be willing to die for him.  And countless Christians through the centuries and around the world have given their lives for Jesus and continue to do so today.

Yet, he says to take up your cross daily.  This takes us beyond a willingness to literally die to the idea of dying to ourselves; that is, not living for ourselves, but rather giving of ourselves each day for him and indeed for others.  Because it is not about me, I can set aside my agenda to serve Christ by serving people.  Verse 24 goes on to say that if I seek to save my life (live for myself), I will lose.  But if I die t myself, giving of myself, I will find true life.

Secondly, I must deny nt nly my life, but my stuff (v25).  Yes, I can enjoy what God gives me, but I don’t live for it.  I am willing to give it away.  I can give to others rather than hoard my resources seeking to gain the world.

Thirdly, I must deny my reputation (v26).  Not ashamed, I must be willing to lose my reputation for Jesus by telling others about him.  People may laugh, scoff, or ridicule, but it is not about me, it is about him.  It is not about lifting up my name, but his.

Jesus is our King and Savior.  It is not about me.  It is about him.  May God help us live this out more and more each day.

The Identity of Jesus

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

Who is Jesus?  What is his identity?  As Jesus traveled around teaching and healing, people were talking.  They wondered who he was, and they came to some interesting conclusions, as we can see in Luke 9.

Popular Ideas (v7-9, 18-19)

Herod wondered who Jesus was and heard what people were saying.  Some thought Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead.  Others thought he was Elijah.  Still others thought he was another ancient prophet raised again.  When Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was, they responded with the same ideas – John, Elijah, an ancient prophet.  All three options agree on the idea that he was a prophet.  Curiously, all three ideas also agree that he was a dead prophet raised from the dead.

Today, people have their own ideas about who Jesus is.  Some children presumably might think Jesus is simply a swear word, as that is the only time they have ever heard the name.  Others think he was a great deceiver of the people.  Most I suspect would simply say he was a good teacher, a moral person, a spiritual leader akin to the Dalia Lama and others.  Who is Jesus?

His Claim (v20-22)

Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was.  Closer to the source perhaps they had a better answer.  As usual Peter takes the role of the spokesman and suggests that he is the Christ of God; that is, he is God’s Messiah, the one predicted in the Old Testament to be sent by God, the coming king.  It is clear from parallel passages that Jesus agrees with Peter’s assessment…as far as it goes.

And yet the popular view of the Messiah at the time was that of a political leader who would free the Jewish people from their Roman oppressors.  And so Jesus goes on to redefine for them who he was as the Messiah.  He must suffer.  He would be rejected by the Jewish leaders.  He would be killed.  And then he would be raised from the dead.

The Old Testament speaks of one who will in fact suffer, be rejected and killed, an even hints at a resurrection in various places.  The clearest passage is surely Isaiah 53 which clearly predicts these things, as well as giving the reason – he will die to pay for sins.  As Jesus seeks to broaden their understanding of the Messiah, he points to himself as not only the King but also the Savior.

Sorting the Options

This didn’t fit with their understanding.  Indeed parallel passages tell us that Peter rebukes Jesus.  This view of Jesus overall doesn’t fit today either.  A good teacher is fine, but not the King and Savior of the world.  And yet, suppose I claimed to be sent by God to reign over you as king and to save you from your sins.  Would you call me a good teacher?  A spiritual leader?  No, you would think I was an egotistical nut.  Such claims to be king and savior negate the idea of being a good teacher, unless those claims are true.

Who is Jesus?  He is either the King and Savior as he claims or he is an egotistical nut, a fruitcake.  And yet he doesn’t act like a nut.  He is not at all like the mentally disturbed folks you might meet wandering around downtown cities claiming to be the Messiah.  He speaks and acts with sanity, and indeed with power – casting out demons, calming storms, healing disease, and even raising the dead.  The evidence, I suggest, points to him being who he claims to be – the King and Savior.  Have you come to believe in him as your King and your Savior?

The Provision of Jesus

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Uncategorized

Can the provision of Jesus meet my needs?  This is an important question today as we live in a world of uncertainty.  Many are fearful of the future with a poor economy, lack of jobs, loss of money, and the list could go on.  Do we need to be afraid?  Or can we trust in the provision of Jesus?  We get a helpful glimpse of an answer in Luke 9:10-17.

Jesus is preaching to a crowd of over 5000 in a desolate place.  Evening comes, and the crowds are hungry.  This is a big need.  It would take a lot to feed over 5000 people!  Have you ever had a big need in your life? Maybe you do now.

Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat.  They rightly recognize that they can’t – this situation is too big for them.  Ever been there – in a situation too big for you?  Maybe you are now.

The disciples manage to come up with five small loaves and two little fish, but that won’t even feed the disciples, let alone the multitudes.  They consider buying food, but where would they get so much food?  There are no Super Walmarts.  The surrounding towns are smaller than the crowd with Jesus.  Even if they could find the food, how would they pay for it?  Mark 6 gives us the figure of 200 denarii.  Each denarius is a day’s wage.  Estimate $100 a day and you get $20,000.  How many of us have that kind of cash on us?  None of the disciples did.  No place to buy food and no money to do it.  The situation seemed impossible.  Ever been there?  Maybe you are now.

But Jesus thanks God (literally blesses God) for the food, divides it up, and they all eat, are satisfied, and have 12 baskets of leftovers.  There was a great need beyond any of them, and Jesus provided for the need.  How has Jesus provided for your needs in the past.  Times when the need was so great you didn’t see how it could be met, but He did.  I can think of ways God has provided jobs in incredible ways for me.  I asked the congregation Sunday, and we heard a number of wonderful stories of God’s provision.  Don’t you think he can provide for your need today?

Of course Jesus provides in different ways for different people.  He might meet a need miraculously like he did in these verses.  Or he might use others to provide for our need as he did when he sent the disciples out in verses 1-6.  Often he provides a job for us to work that our needs might be met.  He makes our gardens grow that we might have food.  And on and on the list might go.  Sometimes he provides in totally unexpected ways.  We are waiting for provision in one way, and he provides in a completely different way.  We don’t understand why, but how he provides is up to him.

He also provides in various amounts.  He provided more than enough for the crowds in our passage.  In verses 1-6, he presumably provided just enough.  Verse 5 suggests there were times when they didn’t get any food, but God still provided enough to keep them going.  None of them starved.  Which reminds us that we could get by on much less than we think.  Paul tells us that if we have food and clothes, we should be content (I Timothy 6:8).  Most of us have much more than that!

Our greatest need, however, is not even food and clothes.  Our greatest need is God, a relationship with him, a home with him forever.  This too is provided to us by Jesus who died for our sins and rose again to give us a new life with God.  Should he choose to withhold food, clothing, or health, still in him we have our greatest need met.  The Psalmist reminds us of this in Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  One day it will come our time to die.  He will withhold our physical needs.  But he will provide something greater – a home with him.

With all this in mind, how should we face the future?  Do we need to be afraid?  Or is the provision of Jesus enough to meet our needs?  The answer is found in the feeding of the 5000.  The answer is found in our own past experiences.  He is more than able to meet our needs.  So let us:

  • Seek.  Seek his provision for our needs.  Let us pray as Jesus taught us to pray – “Give us this day our daily bread.”
  • Trust.  Trust the Lord to take care of us.  We need not be afraid.  God will give us what we need.
  • Be Content.  God may provide abundantly or just enough.  He might provide for us to come home to him.  Regardless of how he provides, let us be content.
  • Give Thanks.  God provides for us in measureless ways.  We always have reason to give thanks to God.

Freedom Prayer

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Father,

Thank you for our country, and the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.  Thank you for freedom of speech, press, and travel. Thank you for the freedom to gather to worship you, and the freedom to scatter to share the good news with others.

Even more we thank you for Jesus, and the freedoms we enjoy as Christians.  Thank you for freedom from the penalty of sin, freedom from the power of sin, and the promise that one day we will have freedom from the very presence of sin.

Thank you for the wonderful freedoms you have blessed us with in this country and in Christ.  Amen.

Rely On God

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer, Virtue of Humility

I was listening to part of a message about John Bunyan by John Piper this morning which referenced II Corinthians 1:9 – “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

How easy it is for us to get this wrong.  We try to rely on ourselves or on our bank accounts or in our own cleverness or…you fill in the blank.  This is a huge issue in ministry as well.  Am I relying on God or trying to do it myself?  Of course, we have to minister, to do the work.  But God is the one who blesses our ministry, who makes it effective…or not.  We always need his grace, his help, his Spirit to be at work, or we labor in vain.

We know this, yet that self-sufficiency can creep in.  We can get so excited and impressed with our newest sermon, program, idea, whatever.  We think, “Certainly this will make a difference!”  But if God doesn’t bless it, it amounts to nothing.

Perhaps God doesn’t bless our churches more because we simply couldn’t handle it.  We would start to think too much of ourselves, begin to rely too much on ourselves.  We would forget that we need God, and that it is all of God, not of ourselves.

I think this is where prayer comes in, though that too can become a mere formality tacked on to our own self-reliance.  But if we truly believe we need God’s help, we will pray.  We will plead with God to work through us.  We will pray with fervor – “Your kingdom come.”  We will join the Psalmist in praying, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17)

May this be our prayer as we rely on him.

Let Us Go Over

On By BrianIn Church Life

Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”  And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.  Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” – I Samuel 14:6-7

“Come, let us go over”

The Philistines had invaded Israel.  The two armies were camped on either side of a large ravine.  Jonathan wanted to go over to these uncircumcised – those who were not God’s people, those who did not know God.  His mission was to defeat them and chase them out of the land.  We too need to go over to those who are not God’s people, who do not know God.  Our mission however is different – to make disciples, to show the way to God, to point people to Jesus.

Jonathan needed courage to go.  There was a great risk.  He could have been killed.  We too need courage to go, though the risk is not usually physical death but death to our pride – they might ridicule us, laugh at us, reject us.  It would be easy for us to sit around as Saul did (see v1-5), but God calls us to go.  Are we seeking opportunities to share the gospel with others?  Come let us go over.

“It may be that the Lord will work for us”

Jonathan is hoping God will deliver Israel from the Philistines and bring about a great salvation.  We hope that God will deliver people from their sins and bring about a great salvation.  Salvation is God’s work.  We must go over and share the gospel, but God must convict of sin, and give grace to respond.  We are completely dependent on God for the results of our going over.  As such, we ought to pray, asking God to bless our efforts, asking God to change lives.  Pray – it may be that the Lord will work for us.

“By many or by few”

Saul was concerned with numbers – 600 Israelites against thousands of Philistines.  Jonathan understands that numbers mean nothing when God is at work, and so he goes over.  The result?  God brings a great victory (see v8-23).

Have you noticed that God loves to use the small, the humble, the few?  Jonathan and his armor-bearer against thousands.  David against Goliath.  Gideon amasses a great army, and God says, “Too many.”  God reduces the army until we would say, “Too few.”  But God uses them to bring about victory.  There is a church near us in a town of 125.  Four years ago the church had 6 people.  Today it has over 100.  God delights to use the small, the few, the humble.  Will we trust that God can work through us?  By many or by few.

“I am with you heart and soul”

Jonathan’s armor bearer is also a great example to us.  He is of one heart with Jonathan.  They will go over together.  As local churches, we must be united around the great commission.  We ought to pray for each other to have opportunities to share the gospel, and courage to make use of those opportunities.  We ought to support our church’s outreach efforts – whether through prayer, or inviting people, or helping to do the work.  What a wonderful thing when each person in a church can say to the other – “I am with you heart and soul.”

Come, let us go over!  It may be that the Lord will work for us – by many or by few.  I am with you heart and soul.

The Coming of the Spirit 8

On By BrianIn God & His Glory1 Comment

The Holy Spirit changes us.  At the moment of salvation, he comes into our lives and gives us a new life.  We are born again of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).  Though we were spiritually dead and unable to please God, the Spirit makes us alive in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:1-10).  The Spirit changes us.

Not only does the Spirit give us a new life, but he then begins a process of making us more holy, more like Christ.  He produces within us the Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  He changes us.

The Spirit changes us, but we must walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).  We must cooperate with him.  We must follow his lead.  Suppose I see my son playing in the middle of a busy road.  I am going to go out and change his location.  He can either cooperate and walk with me off the road.  Or he can drag his feet.  Are we walking with the Spirit away from sin?  Or are we dragging our feet?

To conclude this series – the Holy Spirit comes and does amazing things in our lives:

  • He empowers us for witnessing
  • He makes us part of the church
  • He empowers us for ministry in the church
  • He dwells in his church
  • He makes us God’s children
  • He helps us in our daily lives
  • He dwells within us
  • He changes us

Let us give thanks to God for the work of the Spirit in our lives!