nothing!

So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us. Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, We are being put to death all day long for your sake. We are treated like sheep for slaughter. But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. (Romans 8:31-39, CEB)

If God is for us, who can be against us? Christ stands in our place when it comes to the final judgment, and Christ is perfect. There is nothing that can make us not slide through, because God is for us and Christ has made the way clear.

Nothing will come between us and God. Not life, or death. Not angels, or rulers. Not things happening now, or things that will happen tomorrow. Not any power. Not heights, or depths. Nothing that was created, which is everything, right, because Genesis says that the world was chaos, a formless void if you will.

Powers and created things stand alone in a list of binaries. We seem to love binaries. We want something to be this or that, nothing in between, or no other options. But Life is not made up of binaries but spectrums. And even spectrums will not separate us from God. Our desires to push things into binaries will not keep us from God, or any one else.

Nothing can separate us from God’s love for us.

advantage?

So what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Or what’s the benefit of circumcision? Plenty in every way. First of all, the Jews were trusted with God’s revelations. What does it matter, then, if some weren’t faithful? Their lack of faith won’t cancel God’s faithfulness, will it? Absolutely not! God must be true, even if every human being is a liar, as it is written: So that it can show that you are right in your words; and you will triumph when you are judged. But if our lack of righteousness confirms God’s justice, what will we say? That God, who brings wrath upon us, isn’t just (I’m speaking rhetorically)? Absolutely not! If God weren’t just, how could he judge the world? But if God’s truth is demonstrated by my lie and it increases his glory, why am I still judged as a sinner? Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will come out of it”? (Some people who slander us accuse us of saying that, but these people deserve criticism.) (Romans 3:1-8, CEB)

God is just even when we walk away. Actually, God gives mercy and grace where we deserve to be separated.

God’s righteousness is what will always prevail.

The advantage of being a Jew is being a part of God’s people. But mercy flows free, and all of us are grafted in.

We are all loved.

cock crowed…

“Simon, Simon, look! Satan has asserted the right to sift you all like wheat. However, I have prayed for you that your faith won’t fail. When you have returned, strengthen your brothers and sisters.” Peter responded, “Lord, I’m ready to go with you, both to prison and to death!” After they arrested Jesus, they led him away and brought him to the high priest’s house. Peter followed from a distance. When they lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant woman saw him sitting in the firelight. She stared at him and said, “This man was with him too.” But Peter denied it, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him!” A little while later, someone else saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man, I’m not!” An hour or so later, someone else insisted, “This man must have been with him, because he is a Galilean too.” Peter responded, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the Lord’s words: “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably. (Luke 22:31-33, 54-62, CEB)

We can all read this and say I would never deny Jesus. But Peter was the rock, the main man; he was the one everyone else looked up to.

We all fall short, and Peter doing this should give us hope. Hope that even when we mess up, we are not alone.

What is the cock crowing in your life?

when???

Don’t let it escape your notice, dear friends, that with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day. The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a dreadful noise, the elements will be consumed by fire, and the earth and all the works done on it will be exposed. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God. Because of that day, the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But according to his promise we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. (2 Peter 3:8-13, CEB)

Do not think God is slow or has missed your needs. To God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a single day. God is patient and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, so that all might come to an understanding of the love God has for them.

So when will God come back?

That is really only for God to know. However, I think it is when we all get it and realize we need to love each other and bring the fulfillment of the kindom to earth.

good war

Timothy, my child, I’m giving you these instructions based on the prophecies that were once made about you. So if you follow them, you can wage a good war because you have faith and a good conscience. Some people have ruined their faith because they refused to listen to their conscience, such as Hymenaeus and Alexander. I’ve handed them over to Satan so that they can be taught not to speak against God. (1 Timothy 1:18-20, CEB)

I honestly sometimes have issues with the things we have in scripture.

If you follow the instructions you were given, you can wage a good war because of faith and a good conscience. What is a good war? How is war ever good? Maybe if you win, but does anyone really win a war? I mean, someone gets a victory, but lives are lost, resources are lost. No one really completely wins. And what is good war?

I would conjecture the only good war is the one we wage against ourselves to follow Christ or our own desires.

This reminds me of the song by Todd Agnew War Inside

Do you feel the tension, do you?
Do you feel the grind?
Do you see the battle ‘tween this
Flesh and soul of mine?

‘Cause there’s a war inside of me
Between who I want to be
And who I am

I do what I don’t want to do
And don’t do what I mean
I end up chasing all my nightmares
And abandoning my dreams

‘Cause there’s a war inside of me
Between who I want to be
And who I am

Is not who I want to be
Shackled like a slave when I know that I’m free
Wrong and right, truth and lie, death versus life
Everything in me is choosing sides
And the showdown begins

Do you feel the tension?

There’s a war inside of me
Between who I want to be
There’s a war inside of me
Between who I want to be
And who I am, who I am

Lost things…

All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives. “Or what woman, if she owns ten silver coins and loses one of them, won’t light a lamp and sweep the house, searching her home carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life.” (Luke 15:1-10, CEB)

These two snippets belong with the whole chapter here from Luke 15. Here we see the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, or Prodigal Son.

But if these stories are really about lost things, and those things repenting, as we get so often in the story of the Prodigal Son, which is not really the best name for that story, how does a sheep repent? How does a coin repent?

The sheep repents by saying, “Sorry, I was baaaaaad.” A coin repents by saying, “I promise I’ll change.”

But the stories above are not about a sheep or a coin, just as the rest of the chapter is not a story about the son.

The stories above start with “All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him, and he welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus welcomed and often sought out those whom others would shun or move out of the way.

The story of the lost sheep starts, suppose one of you had a hundred sheep. So one of those listening is who is the subject of the story. The story of the lost coin begins or what woman who has 10 coins and loses one of them. These stories are about the shepherd, the keeper of the sheep, and the woman. Just as the story of the prodigal son does not begin, there was a young man who had a brother and a father. It begins there was a man who had two sons. The stories are not about the things, but the people looking for the things and the great lengths they will go to find the things.

It is about leaving sheep in the wilderness to find the one that has wandered off, it is about turning the house upside down to find half a penny, or wandering the edges of your property looking for the wayward child to come home. It is about the love of the thing that makes you look everywhere for it, and when you find it, you celebrate with everyone.

This is not about lost things, but the love of a God that seeks us out when we go wandering off. The love of a father that allows disgrace to give grace, mercy, and love.

Know you are loved and never really lost. Even when you wander, God wanders after you.

His Voice

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd. “This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.” There was another division among the Jews because of Jesus’ words. Many of them said, “He has a demon and has lost his mind. Why listen to him?” Others said, “These aren’t the words of someone who has a demon. Can a demon heal the eyes of people who are blind?” (John 10:11-21, CEB)

When the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd, they are calmed and know they will be cared for.

Jesus says here that we, as the sheep, should hear His voice and know that we will be cared for.

Do you know Jesus’ voice?

Jesus says there are other sheep that are not a part of our fold, or community, and when they hear His voice, they will also know they are cared for. Who are those sheep?

If we do not hear or know the voice of Jesus, are we part of any fold that will be kept safe by God?

Listen closely and hear His voice.

corrupt cravings

But false prophets also arose among the people. In the same way, false teachers will come among you. They will introduce destructive opinions and deny the master who bought them, bringing quick destruction on themselves. Many will follow them in their unrestrained immorality, and because of these false teachers the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will take advantage of you with lies. The judgment pronounced against them long ago hasn’t fallen idle, nor is their destruction sleeping. God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment. And he didn’t spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others. God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people. And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.) These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day. This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord’s authority. (2 Peter 2:1-10a, CEB)

When we use God and scripture for manipulation, we are giving in to corrupt cravings. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of power and control. That is the corrupt cravings we need to flee.

False prophets rise and use the name of God to keep power, to make people fall in line, and to not seek justice or equality for all of God’s children. In their greed, they lie and manipulate the situations to their benefit.

See others first and do not give in to the corrupt cravings of power and control.

Power hungry

From Paul, who is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. To Timothy, my true child in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. When I left for Macedonia, I asked you to stay behind in Ephesus so that you could instruct certain individuals not to spread wrong teaching. They shouldn’t pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. Their teaching only causes useless guessing games instead of faithfulness to God’s way of doing things. The goal of instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Because they missed this goal, some people have been distracted by talk that doesn’t mean anything. They want to be teachers of Law without understanding either what they are saying or what they are talking about with such confidence. Now we know that the Law is good if used appropriately. We understand this: the Law isn’t established for a righteous person but for people who live without laws and without obeying any authority. They are the ungodly and the sinners. They are people who are not spiritual, and nothing is sacred to them. They kill their fathers and mothers, and murder others. They are people who are sexually unfaithful, and people who have intercourse with the same sex. They are kidnappers, liars, individuals who give false testimonies in court, and those who do anything else that is opposed to sound teaching. Sound teaching agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God that has been trusted to me. (1 Timothy 1:1-11, CEB)

The law was established to curb power. Those who do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and use whoever they want to get what they want and where they want to go.

The kill, lie, steal, cheat, rape, plunder, anything and anyone.

When one tells the truth and stands for what is right, they are a morally upstanding person. Those who seek power usually are not these people.

Who are you?

impossible

A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. You know the commandments: Don’t commit adultery. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.” Then the ruler said, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.” When Jesus heard this, he said, “There’s one more thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” When he heard these words, the man became sad because he was extremely rich. When Jesus saw this, he said, “It’s very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom! It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.” Peter said, “Look, we left everything we own and followed you.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, husband, wife, brothers, sisters, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom will receive many times more in this age and eternal life in the coming age.” (Luke 18:18-30, CEB)

Who can be saved? No one on their own. You can never do enough to be in the place you need to be to be worthy of God. But you also never have to worry about doing enough because with God, what is impossible for us is a walk in the park.

God can do whatever God chooses to do. God sent Jesus here to show us how to live and how to love, and the religious authority saw it as a grab for their power, so they removed the issue, and God made a way.

We need to do the good things Jesus called us to, not because they will get us something, but because we already got what we think we can get.

God saved us to love the world.

So go. Love the World!