Hypocrites!

Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. When he saw her, Jesus called her to him and said, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” He placed his hands on her and she straightened up at once and praised God. The synagogue leader, incensed that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded, “There are six days during which work is permitted. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord replied, “Hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from its stall and lead it out to get a drink? Then isn’t it necessary that this woman, a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” When he said these things, all his opponents were put to shame, but all those in the crowd rejoiced at all the extraordinary things he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17, CEB)

Can you imagine, or do you know what it would be like to live with an illness, a sickness for 18 years?

I have probably been taking medication for hypertension for 18 years, but overall it really doesn’t seem to have an effect on my life. This woman had been disabled for 18 years and was unable to stand up straight. And so Jesus heals her. But he does it on the Sabbath when one isn’t supposed to work. And Jesus did it in the synagogue. So the leader of the synagogue was enraged and said there are six days to heal, why do you do that today? And Jesus’ response is classic, “Hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from its stall and lead it out to get a drink? Then isn’t it necessary that this woman, a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” Why should this woman have to wait one more day to be out of pain when she has already endured it for 18 years?

The law was created for man, not man for the law. The law should influence our love for others, not keep us from loving.

Do not get hung up on the rules, because when it all gets boiled down, it is about love.

Love.

Loving People. Loving God.

Why are their laws?

One Sabbath, as Jesus was going through the wheat fields, his disciples were picking the heads of wheat, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the Sabbath law?” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read what David and his companions did when they were hungry? He broke the Law by going into God’s house and eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests can eat. He also gave some of the bread to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5, CEB)

What are the laws for?

  1. To convict us of our sins.
  2. Good civil order.

None of us can keep the laws. Not the 613 Levitical Laws or the 10 commandments. It is impossible. These only help to show us how we are separated from God. So then why should we keep them? For good civil order. We can not go around just randomly stealing things from people or killing others, that would be anarchy.

But Jesus says that we need to care for and love people. Allowing the disciples to work the grain in their hands allowed them to eat, which is more important than not working on the sabbath.

We need to remember the greatest commandments and live by those, rather than be keepers of all the rules.

Loving People. Loving God.

Would you?

Paul and Silas journeyed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, then came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he entered the synagogue and for three Sabbaths interacted with them on the basis of the scriptures. Through his interpretation of the scriptures, he demonstrated that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He declared, “This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.” Some were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, including a larger number of Greek God-worshippers and quite a few prominent women. But the Jews became jealous and brought along some thugs who were hanging out in the marketplace. They formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s house, intending to bring Paul and Silas before the people. When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city officials. They were shouting, “These people who have been disturbing the peace throughout the empire have also come here. What is more, Jason has welcomed them into his home. Every one of them does what is contrary to Caesar’s decrees by naming someone else as king: Jesus.” This provoked the crowd and the city officials even more. After Jason and the others posted bail, they released them. (Acts 17:1-9, CEB)

Would you go to jail for the gospel?

Paul and Silas were in the synagogue for three weeks and talking to the people about the scriptures and telling them about Jesus and they worked up a frenzy and caused a commotion and when the officials went to arrest them they could find them and so they arrested the owner of the home where they were staying and others in their place.

Would you be willing to go to jail for the gospel?

Sometimes we need to say what we know we have to and stand in the place we need to stand for those who can not stand for themselves. And this could lead us to civil disobedience. Are you willing to go to jail for the gospel?

Loving People. Loving God.

Discipline

Think about the one who endured such opposition from sinners so that you won’t be discouraged and you won’t give up. In your struggle against sin, you haven’t resisted yet to the point of shedding blood, and you have forgotten the encouragement that addresses you as sons and daughters: My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline or give up when you are corrected by him, because the Lord disciplines whomever he loves, and he punishes every son or daughter whom he accepts. Bear hardship for the sake of discipline. God is treating you like sons and daughters! What child isn’t disciplined by his or her father? But if you don’t experience discipline, which happens to all children, then you are illegitimate and not real sons and daughters. What’s more, we had human parents who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live? Our human parents disciplined us for a little while, as it seemed best to them, but God does it for our benefit so that we can share his holiness. No discipline is fun while it lasts, but it seems painful at the time. Later, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees! Make straight paths for your feet so that if any part is lame, it will be healed rather than injured more seriously. Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone—and holiness as well, because no one will see the Lord without it. Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people. Make sure that no one becomes sexually immoral or ungodly like Esau. He sold his inheritance as the oldest son for one meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he couldn’t find a way to change his heart and life, though he looked for it with tears. (Hebrews 12:3-17, CEB)

The Lord disciplines whomever he loves and he punishes every son and daughter whom he accepts.

Reread that…

God disciplines everyone that is loved by God and punishes everyone God accepts.

So everyone is disciplined and punished.

And from the reading, this is a good thing because all children are disciplined by their parents and punished when they step out of line. So all of this is done in love.

Love to help us grow and become who God has made us to be.

So know suffering is a path to becoming better. I saw a meme the other day that said not all storms are there to take us off course, some are there to correct our own being off course. Sometimes we need correction and God does this out of love.

So go sharing love.

Loving People. Loving God.

prayer crooks

When Jesus entered the temple, he threw out those who were selling things there. He said to them, “It’s written, My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a hideout for crooks.” Jesus was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests, the legal experts, and the foremost leaders among the people were seeking to kill him. However, they couldn’t find a way to do it because all the people were enthralled with what they heard. (Luke 19:45-48, CEB)

So which is the church? A house of prayer or a hideout for crooks?

I recently read something about how it is easier for the institution of the denomination to remove leaders from the list of active pastors than to actually have proceedings to see if they need to be removed. It is easier to do this and less of a financial burden on the institution. Because it is more about the money than it is about people actually being cared for or getting a deeper connection with God. You see the institution of religion is sinful. We all are sinful.

We need to keep our institutions running and viable, but most of the time when we do that goes against what God has called us to do.

So which are we, houses of prayer or hideouts for crooks?

Loving People. Loving God.

Where is…

“The tent of testimony was with our ancestors in the wilderness. Moses built it just as he had been instructed by the one who spoke to him and according to the pattern he had seen. In time, when they had received the tent, our ancestors carried it with them when, under Joshua’s leadership, they took possession of the land from the nations whom God expelled. This tent remained in the land until the time of David. God approved of David, who asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built a house for God. However, the Most High doesn’t live in houses built by human hands. As the prophet says, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. ‘What kind of house will you build for me,’ says the Lord, ‘or where is my resting place? Didn’t I make all these things with my own hand?’ “You stubborn people! In your thoughts and hearing, you are like those who have had no part in God’s covenant! You continuously set yourself against the Holy Spirit, just like your ancestors did. Was there a single prophet your ancestors didn’t harass? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one, and you’ve betrayed and murdered him! You received the Law given by angels, but you haven’t kept it.” (Acts 7:44-53, CEB)

Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

So where is Heaven?

And Where is the house of God?

God traveled with the gathered in a tent, not a building ordained with riches but a mobile tent. And actually the word in John that talks about the Word coming to dwell literally means tented. Jesus tented with us.

But back to the original question, where is heaven?

If we look at just this passage and the one it quotes, heaven is above the earth because the earth is the footstool while heaven is the throne. But Revelation says that heaven and earth will be wiped away and a new heaven and earth will be created and God will descend to be with God’s people. So the way I read that is that heaven is here.

The point of this is we shouldn’t get too hung up on where and how things will work. God has that all figured out and it will work. We just need to have faith, trust and love now.

Loving People. Loving God.

confesses

Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they are from God because many false prophets have gone into the world. This is how you know if a spirit comes from God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come as a human is from God, and every spirit that doesn’t confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is now already in the world. You are from God, little children, and you have defeated these people because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world. So they speak from the world’s point of view and the world listens to them. We are from God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God doesn’t listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6, CEB)

Ok, this seems to be straightforward, if they confess that Jesus came from God then they are true, but if they don’t confess Jesus is from God then they are false.

But people confess Jesus is from God and say LGBTQIA+ are damned and others confess Jesus is from God and say all of God’s people are included, including those on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. So who is actually true and who is false? They can not both be right.

You see this verse was written to a community in a time when it was straightforward. Jesus was either from God or not and that was the determination of true and false prophet, but now the waters have muddied and there needs to be another test.

What is that test?

Love. I believe the test is love. If you read and speak of a way to love all of creation and help the world see the love they have available then you are a true prophet. If you read and speak of ways that keep people out, then that is not love.

Love God and Love Neighbor. Period. And that test tells true or false.

Loving People. Loving God.

old religion

“I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:49-56, CEB)

What does Jesus mean he came to cast fire upon the earth and he wishes it was already ablaze? Is this the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? Did that actually help?

Jesus says that family will be against family because some will follow Jesus and some will follow religion.

We can see how the weather will be but we can not see how society is and how God needs us to be. Are we really ablaze with the Holy Spirit or are we stuck in our old religion?

Loving People. Loving God.

The reader should understand this

“When you see the disgusting and destructive thing that Daniel talked about standing in the holy place (the reader should understand this), then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. Those on the roof shouldn’t come down to grab things from their houses. Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter or on the Sabbath day. There will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. If that time weren’t shortened, nobody would be rescued. But for the sake of the ones whom God chose, that time will be cut short. “Then if somebody says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘He’s over here,’ don’t believe it. False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. Look, I’ve told you ahead of time. So if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s in the desert,’ don’t go out. And if they say, ‘Look, he’s in the rooms deep inside the house,’ don’t believe it. Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One. (Matthew 24:15-27, CEB)

I love that parenthetical part, the reader should understand this.

Should being the key word there. The reference is to scripture, and if the person reading this has knowledge of Daniel they will have an understanding of what the writer of Matthew means. But isn’t that really the case in all of scripture? If you have an understanding of the Hebrew Scripture, the New Testament is easier to understand. But we also need an understanding of the context of the day to really understand the scriptures. So much is wrapped up in the passages we just read and quote and use to keep people in check.

The Bible was written to help us understand how much God loves us and how we should love the world God created. Does the reader understand this?

Loving People. Loving God.

Hold fast

But remember the earlier days, after you saw the light. You stood your ground while you were suffering from an enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes you were exposed to insults and abuse in public. Other times you became partners with those who were treated that way. You even showed sympathy toward people in prison and accepted the confiscation of your possessions with joy, since you knew that you had better and lasting possessions. So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. In a little while longer, the one who is coming will come and won’t delay; but my righteous one will live by faith, and my whole being won’t be pleased with anyone who shrinks back. But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved. (Hebrews 10:32-39, CEB)

Do not let the passing of time take you from holding fast to what you have known and know to be true.

Follow God and be prepared to give up everything for the love God has given you to share with the world. Know our timing is not God’s timing and all will happen when God needs/wants it to.

Do not lose heart, but hold fast and love the world.

Loving People. Loving God.