Give Us a King!

I Samuel 8:1 - 9:27

I like Samuel. His mother had no children and prayed to God for a child which she would give back to God. And that child turned out to be Samuel. Just think. Samuel was literally born, by design, to serve the Lord. But the people were not satisfied with Samuel’s sons as judges. Samuel asked God what He should do. He must have felt quite dejected by then. He was old, and his kids messed stuff up. God reassured Samuel that the people had not reject him, but they had rejected God as their King. And an earthly kings was chosen.

Something that I tend to forget, and I would guess that others forget as well, is that we are all born, by design, to serve the Lord. Do we have any say in it? Of course we do. God also gave us free will. Jesus did not have to be crucified for our sins. That was the plan, but He could have said, “No, I just cannot do this. It is too much to ask of me.” Who could have blamed Him. How many of us would choose to be crucified so that others would receive salvation? I doubt that there are many which is one reason, among many reasons, why Jesus is so important to us. He actually went through with the crucifixion…for us. I wonder how well we honor that…or even think about it very often? What would have happened to us if Jesus would have said, “No.”

For one thing we would not have a Lord and Savior. There would be no salvation. We probably would not have heard of Jesus. Christianity would not exist. We need to go down on our knees every day and thank God that we were given a king…but not the kind that people were asking for in Samuel’s time. We have the Christ, the Messiah, our Redeemer, and more who is our king…and our friend as well.

Carol

Bible Breath: The Lord our God / Is our King

The Question

John 5:1-23

In this section of the scripture, Jesus is in Jerusalem for a feast. The following describes the situation:

“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which is Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people use to lie…the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ “
John 5:2-5 NIV

What a terrific question. The paralyzed man had been in his situation for a long time…thirty-eight years. No matter what the quality of his life he was used to it. He may have subsisted as a beggar. We are not told that, but it would not be a big stretch to think that is what he did for funds.

The idea of becoming well must have been foreign to him…and perhaps just a bit threatening. We do not like change…are uncomfortable with it even if it helps us. If the man became whole, his entire lifestyle would have to change. He would have to be responsible in an entirely different way…definitely for himself and possibly for a family as well.

His spiritual and emotional being would change as well. Take it from a person who has been both very healthy for a long period of time and who has been less healthy for a long period of time. First, it is extremely difficult to accept not being healthy. It is difficult to find self-worth in something other than a job. I did not realize that I had received my sense of worth through my work so much as when I was unable to do it anymore. It took a long time to come to terms in a semi-emotionally and spiritually way…and I still work on. It is easy to slide downhill.

And I think if Jesus were here he would ask us as individuals, as families, as communities, as a nation, and as a world, “Do you want to get well?”

If we do, there are a lot of responsibilities that we need to pick up and do.

God, help us decide to get well…spiritually, emotionally, physically and to accept the accompanying responsibilities. Amen

Carol

Bible Breath: Help us God / To become well

Believing without Seeing

John 4:43-54

“And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ ” John 4:46-49 NIV

How often this happens in the Gospels. Jesus is one place and someone wants him to go another place in order to help or heal another person…usually a loved one. And it seems that it must have gotten tiresome for Jesus to repeat frequently that we do not need to see to believe…well, I would have become tired. Or as He put it in this passage, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.” But He, of course, healed the boy.

What is the point of this story for us? What needs to happen with us before we will believe? Do we also need to see in order to believe? I think many of us do. We are much more comfortable with something that is concrete…in many ways. If we can see something, hear it, feel it, smell it, or taste it, we can easily believe in the object, concept, or religion.

But if we would look, we would see all kinds of miracles which Jesus performs. They happen around us all the time. Isn’t it a miracle that you are living at all? How did that come about?

How is it that human beings haven’t been able to destroy the Bible after all of these years of war, turmoil, chaos. It isn’t because they haven’t tried to get rid of the Bible. There have been real efforts by some to reduce the Bible to a group of myths and people who are caricatures. Why hasn’t that worked after years and years of trying to rid the world of it?

Purely and simply it is because God is alive. He lives within and through us. He walks beside us. God is everywhere whether a person believes it or not. Jesus wants us to believe without seeing. In order to do that there would have to be nothing to see. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find thousands of things to see in people, in nature, in the expanse of the universes, in outer as well as inner space.

We are blessed. If we open our eyes, we will see and believe. If we stand still with our eyes close, we will still see. We are standing there as the Beloved children of God.

Carol

Bible Breath: Believing / Without seeing

The First Witness

John 1:29-51

Witnessing - how do we witness that Jesus is King, that he is our Lord and Savior, that he died for our sins, that through him we shall be saved? Or do we witness at all? I am certain that our behavior is a kind of witness. But other people, including people with no religion, can behave well and have a strong ethical base and a set of terrific values. Therefore, it would seem that how we behave, while important, is not what is most necessary.

The very first witness to Jesus’ divinity was John the Baptist. And he spoke so that all could understand. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have know him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

That, my friends, is a very strong witness. He made it absolutely clear that he was not the Messiah. John was the first witness…and he was the first wonderful example of a disciple as well. He did his “job” as God wanted him to do. I still do not understand why he lived in the desert, wore camel skins, and ate locusts and honey. But that is a story for another day.

John gives us the model for our own witness; however, as I listen to people around me, I do not hear such a resounding witness for Christ from very many people, do you? I find it hard to witness to a group of people. I will be the first to admit that. I am more “comfortable” talking one on one with a person. Now, why do you suppose that is? Do I think someone might laugh at me…possibly…misunderstand …possibly…reject me…possibly…think I was “out of line”…possibly…think I was crazy …possibly…but what if I don’t testify that Jesus is my Lord and Savior?

I have betrayed him just as surely as Judas did. If I am unable verbally and behaviorally to stand up for my Lord and Savior, then what will I be able to stand up for? There is nothing more important in my life. I must be able to witness just as well as the first witness did. If I don’t, what use is there in believing? If the love of God is not shared with others, do we really have it at all? Or are we just kidding ourselves.

We are all blessed. God help us witness to our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with dignity, grace, humility, and enthusiasm.

Carol

Bible Breath: The Lamb of God / Is with us

Who Is the Word?

John 1:1-2

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

What Word is this passage talking about? I have wondered for many years what those two verses meant exactly. I have taken some guesses, but none of them made much sense to me. And so I drifted about in the beginning of the Gospel of John.

I don’t know if anyone else has had this kind of difficulty while reading the Bible. Sometimes I just am not certain what is being discussed. Part of it has to do with the use of metaphors which sometimes I do not understand.

However, the beginning of John is now making sense to me for some reason. The “Word” in this instance is Jesus. What John is saying to us was that “in the beginning was Jesus”; and “the Word [Jesus] was with God; and “the Word [Jesus] was God”. “He [Jesus] was with God from the beginning.” Jesus = God as we have been told since we were children.

Maybe the Word has always been Jesus, and I didn’t realize it. That is absolutely possible. I did not think that “the Word” was a person. I evidently thought that “the Word” was God speaking…and so He was in a way which was different from what I thought. I must have been hiding my head in the sand!

Carol

Bible Breath: Jesus is Word / the Word is God

Who Is That Man?

Luke 24:13-53

I have wondered from time to time why the Jesus’ disciples did not recognize Him after His death. And then I tried putting myself in their shoes.

If I had been on the road with Jesus, I would have seen his miracles. I would have heard his teachings. By the way, it is interesting to note that Jesus taught the disciples how to pray…but not how to preach or teach except by using Himself as a model for them. And according to Luke, Jesus would have told me nine times about His coming death and resurrection.

Now, I ask myself, how likely I would I have been to believe what He said even though I was with Him. I doubt that I would have believed because I didn’t understand about resurrection…and I didn’t want to believe Jesus was going to be killed

Even after Jesus was crucified, people did not think that He was going to be resurrected. The women came to the tomb with spices for His body. They expected Jesus to be in the tomb. The disciples were the very first skeptics of the resurrection. The Bible says that Jesus was not recognized. Have you wondered why? I have, and I came to the conclusion that the people did not expect Jesus to appear in their midst and so in their eyes He didn’t…not until Jesus did something that they recognized for certain.

The couple on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus until the time He broke bread. He was the guest, and yet He was the one who broke the bread which, I think, was contrary to the tradition of that time or this time as well. Normally, the host would break the bread and present it to the guest. But it was when He broke the bread that they recognized Him…and He vanished.

It seems to me that the disciples did not recognize Jesus after His death until He did something that “proved” that it was He. One of the fascinating parts of the gospels to me is that various gospels relate different sightings of Jesus following His crucifixion.

But the skeptics were finally convinced that Jesus truly was raised from the dead…and He ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of God Almighty.

Carol

Bible Breath: It is true! / Lord has risen

The Denial

Luke 22:31-34

31″Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you[a] as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

In this day and age I wonder if we truly believe in Satan. I know we believe in evil, but do we believe in Satan. I think many of us think that is an “old-fashioned” idea. But many people say they believe in angels, and isn’t Satan a fallen angel?

Satan is rarely mentioned in the Old Testament at all. In Job he is referred to as the Accuser. I think there is one other mention in the Old Testament. Have you ever wondered why that is? I have, and I do not know the answer.

But I can tell you that I would jump right out of my shoes if Jesus told me straight to my face that “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat”. But I would also be relieved that Jesus said He would pray for me.

Peter seemed like a bold fellow. We know he was strong. He had to be to work as a fisherman and then to follow Jesus all over the place. He undoubtedly thought he was mentally strong as well. Who… me deny You? You must be kidding. Jesus wasn’t kidding. And Peter did deny Jesus three times. But he also returned to lead the other disciples as “The Rock” as Jesus had foreseen that he would be.

Peter denied Jesus three times. I think most of us have denied Him more than that if not in words then by our actions. It is a tough thing to do to be in a group of non-believers, atheists, agnostics and be able to stand up and say, “I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. He is the Son of God”…and stand your ground no matter what anyone else says to you. Whatever it is they do to you will not be so awful as what Peter and the first Christians faced when they began our journey so many years ago.

Thank God they were steadfast…despite their setbacks and denials.

Carol

Bible Breath: I am with you / One who serves

Can We Stand?

Luke 21:34-36

34″Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

One thing about Jesus is that He hits the nail on the head when He says, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”

That is straight-talk to us. And we need to listen to it. We do not know when the end will come…none of us. We don’t know when our individual lives will end. We don’t know when anything else will happen either. Therefore, it seems to be that it would behoove us to get ready for the end right this very minute. And we need to stay in a state of preparedness.

How would you like to die and stand before the “judgment seat” and have nothing to say other than, “I didn’t see it coming.” I don’t want to be in that position. We all know that we will not be perfect, but we can conduct our lives in such a way that we can stand before God…not as a perfect creature, but as a person who is ready to meet His Maker…no matter when that time is.

I wonder what all of us would do if we knew for certain that we would be dead at noon tomorrow? Makes me wonder.

Carol

Bible Breath: Stand up, lift / Your face to God

Giving

Luke 21:1-4

1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.[a] 3″I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

How do you give to the church…joyfully, cheerfully? And for what reason do you give money to the church…because you are “supposed” to, because you are “expected” to, because it is your “duty” as a member?

I watch people as the offering is taken. I don’t see cheerful faces. And I don’t see much money going in…and I see many people who give nothing. Now, I understand that I cannot possibly know how all people give. And it is none of my business anyway.

However, I would guess that most of us do not give like the widow gave. She gave out of her poverty. It seems to me, and I could be very wrong about this observation, that most of us give what is “left over” to the church. We do not put the church at the top of our list when it comes to giving money. We say that we put God first in our lives. If that is the case, then it would seem to me that the first money that would come out of our monthly or weekly checks would go to the church.

Instead, it seems to me that many of us, including me, pay all of our other bills…and if there should happen to be any money left, we give it to the church. However, that is not what we are asked to do.

The disciples in the Gospels did not appear to take along all of their possessions when Jesus said, “Follow me.” I have often wondered what happened to the families. I have a feeling that they all followed Jesus and lived in community.

It is very easy to give from abundance. Giving from poverty is difficult. But either way, we are expected to give abundantly to our church. It is too bad that we don’t. If we all gave what we could give, churches would not be in debt like we are, and that would save many people lots of headaches…and we would be doing what God wants us to do…tithe, at least.

Carol

Bible Breath: Giving well / Brings Jesus joy

Beware!

Luke 20:45-47

45While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46″Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”

Just recently I have been on a forum on which are several denominations of Christian, a couple of Jews, an agnostic, at least 2 atheists…and others. During this last week 62 different people have posted on the thread called “Who Threatens Christians the Most?” The discussion has ranged quite far from the original question.

However, one point was made that I had not thought of before, and I know I need to. The question is what do Jews think of statements like the one which is above? I had not given any thought at all to what Jews thought about the New Testament when they read it. I am not going to tell anyone right now what they thought.

But I would like for those of you who read this to consider the question. I think it is an important one to address.

Another thing I will say is that the Jews and atheists could make their “case” for what they believed much better than the Christians could on the forum. In fact, the Christians disagree vigorously and sarcastically with one another. Every time one Christian would try to bring the discourse back to some kind of civility, another one of the Christians would become sarcastic and accuse those trying to be civil of “chickening out”. I was called, among other things, a micro cephalic nincompoop, and I received a B- as a “Sneering Christian”. I would have received an A had I told the other person he/she was going to hell and needed to be saved.

I would say that as a congregation of disciples we have a lot of work to do in any and all communities. And, no, I was not able to hold my position very well either…even among the Christians.

Carol

Bible Breath: Love your neighbor / As yourself

The Crying Stones

Luke 19:37-40

19:37 When he [Jesus] came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

19:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

19:40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

One time I was at a program of religious music. It was played and sung by a wonderful choir, big organ, and an excellent orchestra. They played the kind of music I like best…oratorios. Now, I realize that doesn’t thrill too many people…I mean oratorios don’t. But think of a program of music that you absolutely love, which is important in your life for whatever the reason, and was played gloriously. In fact, it was played so well that you just wanted to clap your hands and whoop and yell because you were so happy.

And what if you were in a situation in which that would be inappropriate behavior. Wouldn’t that just make you want to “die” right on the spot? Perhaps you would leave the building just as fast as possible so that you could talk with another person who shared that kind of pleasure…the joy of the performance. And if you had to be quiet about the joy, you would just burst. I know that feeling. I imagine all of you know it as well

That is the type of thing which Jesus is talking about in this passage. The disciples were yelling and carrying on joyfully and praising God as they were coming into Jerusalem. Then some of the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke them…to pipe down. And Jesus had this wonderful line, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry.” What a terrific thing to say! I love it. I hope you do too.

Carol

Bible Breath: Blessed be the / Name of the Lord

The Rich Ruler

Luke 18:18-29

How many of us have asked someone a question…and then didn’t like the answer? I would guess that we all have many times over. However, I do not believe that I have ever said as the rich ruler said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Have you asked Jesus that question? I don’t think we ask because we know we don’t what to know the answer.

Jesus told this fellow that he needed to follow the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. And the Rich Ruler said he has been following the commandments since he was a boy. I think he must be an extraordinary fellow. I don’t know of many people who have followed all ten of the commandments throughout their lifetimes.

Jesus gave the Rich Ruler one other direction. He was to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. We look upon this as a parable in the Bible. However, it is a story for us as well. What will we give up to follow Jesus? Is He truly first in our lives. As you look around your homes, would you give all of it up to follow Jesus? That is what the Rich Ruler was asked to do. Jesus didn’t tell him that he could keep part of it. He said to sell everything and give it to the poor.

As I look around my apartment, I see books I wouldn’t want to sell. I see CDs, CD player, TV, and computer that I would not want to sell. And that is not counting my clothes and car. What are we to make of this parable? Do you think that Jesus really meant for the Rich Ruler to get rid of everything? I think He did. Now, I recognize this is a different time and place. I wonder what Jesus would ask us to give up in this day and age? I do know one thing. We wouldn’t want to do it. Many of us would think it was too much to ask…even to follow Jesus.

Carol

Bible Breath: Sell your things / And follow Me

How Do You Pray?

Luke 18:9-14

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” NIV

I think this is a terrific parable because it seems to me that each of us fits into one or the other category of “prayer”. I am not certain there is much gray area here.

The Pharisee begins by looking down upon other people. Now, I don’t know about you, but that seems like a poor way to begin praying to God. This guy likes to tell God about all the good things he has done. In fact, he has done them to an extent which is even greater than the law. He is truly full of himself.

Have you ever prayed to God in that manner? I know I have. I call it the, “Hey, God, look what I have done for You,” approach. There certainly is no humility in that approach.

Have you ever been glad that you weren’t “like those other people”. You know the ones I mean. They are the people who may be noisy in church or not have decent clothing to wear. They are the people that we just would prefer not to have in our midst. They just don’t “fit” in. And they most certainly cannot give as much or do as much as we can do. That is a given. In fact they may need something from us instead of being able to bring money for the offering. It has happened, you know. That is the bad Pharisee in us which is “praying”. What kind of a prayer can that person offer up. What he/she forgets is that God knows what he/she has done already.

But what of the publican or tax-collector who is one of the most disliked people around. Have we ever prayed like he prayed? I hate to admit that I do not so frequently pray in humility as he prayed. He could not even look up, and he was far away from the Holy of Holies. He was ashamed. Many of us need to feel both shame and humility for much of our behavior. It is so much easier to try to find a scapegoat for it than it is to say, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”…and mean it.

Carol

Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

The Other Son

Luke 15:17-32

One of the parables that most of us know and think we understand is the story of the prodigal son. The thing about parables is that we can put ourselves in the role of each of the players and consider what our reactions would be in the situations.

Many of us in some way or another have left home with our “inheritance,” however it may be defined, and have thrown it away. We have been unwise, ignorant, and just plain careless with what we have…and we lose it…whether it is money, status, gifts, or our spiritual, mental, and/or physical health. We have relied on ourselves alone. And we were found wanting…and had to return home.

I have never been a parent, but I can imagine that I would be concerned if my son or daughter just took off and went somewhere and seemed not to follow what I had been trying to teach him/her. I would feel dreadful. But what a joy it would be to have that kid return home…all in one piece!! Yes, there would be a celebration, we would all go out to eat at a special restaurant, or we would prepare a meal containing my son or daughter’s favorite foods.. If my son or daughter needed a decent outfit, we would get that as well.

But what about the other son? If I were in his shoes, I would be glad that my sibling was alive and well. However, I have no doubt that I would be offended by everyone’s making a big to-do over his return. That son or daughter who stays home and does the work expected of him/her would be a saint not to feel some resentment at the celebration.

The message it sends is that if you blow all your money and get in trouble, you will be welcomed home since you did not manage to get yourself killed or put in jail. But if you stay at home and do what is expected of you, you are taken for granted.

I am not a gracious enough person not to feel that way. I might not say anything. I might smile. But underneath I would not understand why this celebration is occurring. And I would be angry. I have no doubt about it.

I understand that the son at home is to represent the Pharisees in this parable. In this scenario, it takes God and Jesus to celebrate that the lost is found. I would be glad that the lost is found, but I would have difficulty celebrating. I am not that grown-up yet.

Carol

Bible Breath: My son was dead / Now he lives

The Luncheon

Luke 14:12-14

I have not invited anyone to a luncheon for a long time, but when I did long ago, I invited my friends. I did not go out and ask strangers to my dinner table. We all had a wonderful time. And at the time we could all afford to repay the invitation to one another. That was no kind of sacrifice for anyone. But we are not the people who need to be invited to a luncheon.

Those who need to be invited are those who do not have food…the people who are unable to return the invitation. Jesus is speaking in two ways again as He so frequently did.

He was not saying that we should never meet with our friends. No, that doesn’t make any sense. He met with His friends all the time. But what Jesus did that most of us do not do is to gather with people who are new to us…people we do not know; people who may be different from us; and especially people who don’t know about the Word of God.

All who know the Word of God need to share that Word…the Gospel, the Good News…with everyone. I am afraid that many of us do not do that. We talk about how terrible it is that people don’t attend church like they used to; we talk about the ways that movies, music, and television are teaching the young people the wrong set of values. We talk, talk, talk among ourselves.

It would seem to me that our small corner of the world would be much better off if we would stop talking about what can be done to make it better…and actually get off our duffs, get out into the community, and spread the Word of God…each of us using his/her own gifts to do so.

Let us give a huge luncheon and invite all of those people who do not know about God and Jesus. We can introduce them to the wonders that we know. We are not to keep this blessing to ourselves; we are meant to spread the information about Jesus, grace, and mercy as far and wide as we are able to. Let the people eat of this food of salvation.

Carol

Bible Breath: Feeding the flock / Word of God

The Tension Increases

Luke 13:1-21

How often do you think we refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace? I think we use that appellation often. How often do you think the people of His time referred to Him as the Prince of Peace? I don’t think anyone did.

One of the things we need to remember about Jesus was that He tended to upset the established Law…not be dismissing it but by reinterpreting it. Any number of time He points out to the Pharisees that they are supposed to be teachers of the Law, but they do not understand the law.

Jesus called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” at least twice. I doubt that they took too kindly to that description of them. Jesus said that He would split families up…part of the family would believe in Him; others would not.

Jesus was a rebel in the best context of the word. He wanted to change the status quo. He was here to do just that. If that were not true, He would not have been sent to us as the Messiah. He would have remained a good teacher of the Law. But Jesus was so much more than that. We are told to “repent of our sins or perish”. We are all sinful people. If we do not absolutely repent of our sins, we can be certain we will perish. There is no gray area in the matter.

And in my opinion I think that when we truly repent of our sins, Jesus does not expect us to repeat them again and again. One of the intriguing thing about this passage is the indication that God will wait for us, but He won’t wait forever. We do not know how long He will wait so we need to make ourselves right with God as soon as possible.

Carol

Bible Breath: Unless we repent / We perish

Do Not Worry.

Luke 12:22:34

Do you worry? In the past I have been known as a worry-wart, but I have finally learned that I cannot achieve anything at all by worrying…nothing. I am not going to say that I never worry. Nobody would believe me, and I would be lying to myself as well.

But I do not worry as I used to. In this passage of scripture Jesus points out that we cannot add one hour of time to our lives by worrying…about anything. He instructs us that life is much more than our material needs. We all know that is true, but we continue to worry anyway.

Some people seem to enjoy worrying so much that they seem to invent things about which to worry. I am certain that most of us have done that…at least I have. We might all ask ourselves why we insist on making ourselves so miserable. I feel quite certain that God doesn’t want us to feel miserable.

We are instructed to “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow…they toil not neither do they spin”. But God provides for those lilies as He cares for all of His creatures if we just allow Him to do so.

Do not worry. God is our Father. He cares about us all.

Carol

Bible Breath: Do not worry / God loves you

The Lord’s Prayer

Luke 11:1-4

I don’t know about other people, but I find it difficult to pray in public. It is just recently that I have been able to do so, but I feel uncomfortable and inept. Some people have the ability to pray beautiful prayers. They just soar to the heavens. My prayers are very homely. The prayers are sincere, but they have no poetic beauty to them.

However, I don’t know why I am concerned. Just listen to what Jesus tells His disciples when they ask Him to teach them to pray.

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive

everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

I don’t know of a prayer that is more simple, basic than that prayer. I do not understand something about it, however. The line “and lead us not into temptation” seems to me to indicate that God would lead us into temptation. I don’t see God’s doing that to us. I think we are tempted and make our own decisions…right or wrong.

I don’t think I am going to worry about prayer again. If Jesus can tell us to say such a simple prayer, I certainly am able enough to pray that prayer…and pay attention to what I am saying instead of mumbling it as we so frequently do.

When I am at home, I sing “The Lord’s Prayer”. There is no way to sing that prayer without paying attention to what I am singing; therefore it means more to me to pray in that manner.

Carol

Bible Breath: Jesus, please / Teach us to pray

Who Is Your Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

When we were kids, we had lots of neighbors…and we knew who they were. We played together, and our parents visited back and forth. Most of us had front porches where we would gather to talk, play games, be neighborly. We knew who our neighbors were at least in relationship to where we lived. Today, it seems that many of us don’t know our neighbors and even fewer of us visit our neighbors. We are afraid we will intrude upon their “favorite” TV show. Or we feel that we have to call. Whatever happened to dropping in to visit?

The expert in law who addressed Jesus and asked Him, “Who is my neighbor?” really didn’t want an answer. He wanted justification for not helping his neighbors.

Jesus was not going to be taken in be such a device. Instead, Jesus told the man the story of the good Samaritan. Now, I think we all agree that it is a terrific story which makes a good point for all of us. We need to help our neighbors when they are in distress.

But Jesus put a twist on this story. The people the we would have considered as the helpful ones…the priest and the Levite…crossed the street and left the man behind. I wonder how many of us have done the same kind of thing in word and/or deed? My guess is that we all have. But I will speak only for myself and say that I have. And it gives me no pleasure to admit that.

But what is it that makes the story of the good Samaritan stand out for us? We do know that he certainly went above and beyond what was asked of him. And he was willing to pay for extended care for the injured man. The reason this is such an amazing story is that Jews and Samaritans could not stand each other. When Jews were going from Capernaum to Jerusalem, they went around Samaria and made the trip 120 miles instead of 60-90 miles. Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans and vice versa.

Therefore the priest and the Levite were behaving as they were taught to behave. The Samaritan behaved as Jesus would have us behave…to show mercy to everyone…not just those in our church, our social status, our race, our religion, our intelligence…everyone. To do less gives Christianity a black-eye.

Carol

Bible Breath: Helping neighbors / Praises God

What Are Our Excuses?

Luke 9:57-62

This scripture should make all of us think in my opinion. We say that we will follow Jesus, but do we really mean that? I don’t think most of us do. We follow Him if it is convenient for us to follow Him. As long as we “look good” following Jesus, we will. But how many people have you told lately that you follow Jesus? And why not?

Jesus is explicit in His demands upon us. We are to “follow Him” purely and simply with no excuses. In this section of Scripture the men to whom Jesus said, “Follow me,” had excuses as to why they could not do so. We read that and think, “Oh my goodness, what were they thinking?”

Oh, my goodness, what are we thinking? It seems to me that we tend to be followers of Jesus and solid believers when it is convenient for us to do so…or when we have needs that prayer and fellowship can help ameliorate. Maybe I am just being harsh on people. But that is what I see. And I do not exclude myself from my criticism. Sometimes it is easy to follow; sometimes it is difficult to follow. But we are asked to follow Jesus first and foremost in our lives. He is to be more important than anything else including families, jobs, etc.

We need truly to follow Jesus with all our hearts and souls and might.

Carol

Bible Breath: Go proclaim / Kingdom of God