You want to sit where?

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus along with her sons. Bowing before him, she asked a favor of him. “What do you want?” he asked. She responded, “Say that these two sons of mine will sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink from the cup that I’m about to drink from?” They said to him, “We can.” He said to them, “You will drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom my Father prepared it.” Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that those who rule the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— just as the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.” (Matthew 20:20-28, CEB)

I always found this verse to be interesting. James and John’s mother wants Jesus to let them sit at his right and left side in the coming of the kingdom. Now I will give you they do not have the Nicene Creed yet, but the audacity of the request is mind-blowing. But if we look at the creed it tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Which means who is sitting at Jesus’ left-hand side? The Father, so their mother just asked if one of her sons could sit in the Father’s place.

And rightfully so the other 10 were upset about this, but probably not because they said it out loud, but because they wanted that seat.

We get so hung up on what others have that we don’t that we fail to see what we have that they don’t and realize that we all receive grace but we also all receive differently and that is part of the beauty of life.

We need to serve others if we want to be great and lift up their gifts.

Serve.

Loving People. Loving God.

Give

The end of everything has come. Therefore, be self-controlled and clearheaded so you can pray. Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins. Open your homes to each other without complaining. And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good managers of God’s diverse gifts. Whoever speaks should do so as those who speak God’s word. Whoever serves should do so from the strength that God furnishes. Do this so that in everything God may be honored through Jesus Christ. To him be honor and power forever and always. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11, CEB)

It is better to give than receive. We have all received more than we could ever need from God and still receive from God. We should share what we have been given abundantly.

By giving we are loving and by loving we are showing that all were made for love.

Loving People. Loving God.

Do evil?

Finally, all of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate, and modest in your opinion of yourselves. Don’t pay back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, give blessing in return. You were called to do this so that you might inherit a blessing. For those who want to love life and see good days should keep their tongue from evil speaking and their lips from speaking lies. They should shun evil and do good; seek peace and chase after it. The Lord’s eyes are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord cannot tolerate those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:8-12, CEB)

We need to love others and not seek revenge but shower others with love.

Do not pay back evil with evil or insult with insult but give a blessing and by showing love we heap burning coals on their heads and allow them to see love the way God intended!

Do not give hurt for hurt. But show love to all.

Loving People. Loving God.

Sabbath rules

On another Sabbath, Jesus entered a synagogue to teach. A man was there whose right hand was withered. The legal experts and the Pharisees were watching him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They were looking for a reason to bring charges against him. Jesus knew their thoughts, so he said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” He got up and stood there. Jesus said to the legal experts and Pharisees, “Here’s a question for you: Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and his hand was made healthy. They were furious and began talking with each other about what to do to Jesus. (Luke 6:6-11, CEB)

It is illegal to go more than a mile on the Sabbath, or cook, or use an animal, to do any kind of work. So healing is work and not supposed to be done on the Sabbath. So couldn’t Jesus just wait until tomorrow so that way he just keeps the peace?

Yes, Jesus could have waited, but the regulations for the Sabbath were put in place because man was not resting like God did. The Sabbath was put in place because God rested, so we need to rest. And the rules were put in place to help people, not har, them, so while Jesus could have waited, why should the man have to wait to be healed?

The greatest commandments are love God and love neighbor. If that means we heal on the sabbath, we heal on the sabbath.

Loving People. Loving God.

Shut

“Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: These are the words of the one who is holy and true, who has the key of David. Whatever he opens, no one will shut; and whatever he shuts, no one opens. I know your works. Look! I have set in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have so little power, and yet you have kept my word and haven’t denied my name. Because of this I will make the people from Satan’s synagogue (who say they are Jews and really aren’t, but are lying)—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and realize that I have loved you. Because you kept my command to endure, I will keep you safe through the time of testing that is about to come over the whole world, to test those who live on earth. I’m coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. As for those who emerge victorious, I will make them pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my own new name. If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:7-13, CEB)

You have so little power and yet you have kept my word and haven’t denied me. Who is this? I know it is literally the people of the church of Philadelphia, but who is this today?

So many people say they have the complete understanding of the bible and know who is in and who is out and usually today it falls along the lines of who you choose to be physically intimate with. And there are people who are a part of the alphabet mafia, as it has become known, LGBTQIA+, who are truly devoted to faith and being followers of Christ, and yet those who are of the synagogue of Satan say they are not followers. Do not let anyone other than God tell you you have not followed Christ. We do not live up to the standards of people but to the standard of God.

Stand fast in your faith.

Loving People. Loving God.

Living God.

So, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear his voice, don’t have stubborn hearts as they did in the rebellion, on the day when they tested me in the desert. That is where your ancestors challenged and tested me, though they had seen my work for forty years. So I was angry with them. I said, “Their hearts always go off course, and they don’t know my ways.” Because of my anger I swore: “They will never enter my rest!” Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that none of you have an evil, unfaithful heart that abandons the living God. Instead, encourage each other every day, as long as it’s called “today,” so that none of you become insensitive to God because of sin’s deception. We are partners with Christ, but only if we hold on to the confidence we had in the beginning until the end. When it says, Today, if you hear his voice, don’t have stubborn hearts as they did in the rebellion. Who was it who rebelled when they heard his voice? Wasn’t it all of those who were brought out of Egypt by Moses? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with the ones who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And against whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest, if not against the ones who were disobedient? We see that they couldn’t enter because of their lack of faith. Therefore, since the promise that we can enter into rest is still open, let’s be careful so that none of you will appear to miss it. We also had the good news preached to us, just as the Israelites did. However, the message they heard didn’t help them because they weren’t united in faith with the ones who listened to it. We who have faith are entering the rest. As God said, And because of my anger I swore: “They will never enter into my rest!” And yet God’s works were completed at the foundation of the world. Then somewhere he said this about the seventh day of creation: God rested on the seventh day from all his works. But again, in the passage above, God said, They will never enter my rest! Therefore, it’s left open for some to enter it, and the ones who had the good news preached to them before didn’t enter because of disobedience. Just as it says in the passage above, God designates a certain day as “today,” when he says through David much later, Today, if you hear his voice, don’t have stubborn hearts. If Joshua gave the Israelites rest, God wouldn’t have spoken about another day later on. So you see that a sabbath rest is left open for God’s people. The one who entered God’s rest also rested from his works, just as God rested from his own. Therefore, let’s make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience, (Hebrews 3:7— 4:11, CEB)

God will not let us into glory if we abandon God and do not follow after where God leads us. And there are a lot who claim to be Christian who say there are many who have stopped following God and are allowing all kinds of abominations to happen. The line above that really struck me was, “Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that none of you have an evil, unfaithful heart that abandons the living God.” And many in what is termed Evangelical Christianity today would say that those who allow women to preach and allow LGBTQIA+ to be full members have an evil and unfaithful heart that abandons the living God. But…

The thing that really struck me about that sentence was living God. Living. As in changing and flowing. Water is dead when it is pooled and stagnant. Living water is moving and changing. God does not stay the same and yet is always the same. God is never changing and always changing. God is living and if we take texts written thousands of years ago and simply say they need to be applied at face value without using context of when they were written and working on how that applies to today, then we are not following the living God.

You need to be ready to give up what you learned for what God is telling is the way now. Pull your head out of the sand and listen and follow.

Do not abandon the living God to follow your evil, unfaithful heart.

Loving People. Loving God.

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.