Satan entered…

“Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.” Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but he spent each night on the Mount of Olives. All the people rose early in the morning to hear him in the temple area. The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the legal experts were looking for a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. He went out and discussed with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he could hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted and arranged payment for him. He agreed and began looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them—a time when the crowds would be absent. (Luke 21:34—22:6, CEB)

Do not be overtaken by the anxieties of life or have your hearts dulled. We need to stay focused on loving others around us.

I also like how Luke here and the other Gospel writers say that Satan entered Judas. Like what Judas did would not have happened if it wasn’t for Satan or something evil. Maybe it was all part of a plan that was to get Jesus’ message more heard.

Peter Rollins talks about this in The Fidelity of Betrayal. A great book that goes into maybe Judas was following the plan lais out by Jesus for Jesus to be handed over to the authorities and it went a way Judas wasn’t expecting and that is why he killed himself.

Maybe, maybe not, but I wonder why we feel the need to blame evil for this.

Satan made me do it. I remember my mom having a little statue that said this. Seems like an easy out for when things don’t go as we planned.

Maybe if we just focused on love and loving others we wouldn’t need to blame anyone else.

Loving People. Loving God.

light or prey?

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. These reckless, brash people aren’t afraid to insult the glorious ones, yet angels, who are stronger and more powerful, don’t use insults when pronouncing the Lord’s judgment on them. These false teachers are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They slander what they don’t understand and, like animals, they will be destroyed. In this way, they will receive payment for their wrongdoing. They even enjoy unruly parties in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, taking delight in their seductive pleasures while feasting with you. They are always looking for someone with whom to commit adultery. They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sin. They ensnare people whose faith is weak. They have hearts trained in greed. They are under God’s curse. Leaving the straight path, they have gone off course, following the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the payment of doing wrong. But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. A donkey, which has no voice, spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet’s madness. These false teachers are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. The underworld has been reserved for them. With empty, self-important speech, they use sinful cravings and unrestrained immorality to ensnare people who have only just escaped life with those who have wandered from the truth. These false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of immorality; whatever overpowers you, enslaves you. If people escape the moral filth of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, then get tangled up in it again and are overcome by it, they are worse off than they were before. It would be better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having come to know it, to turn back from the holy commandment entrusted to them. (2 Peter 2:4-21, CEB)

Do you lead people towards God or towards your self fulfillment?

We can either be a light to send people towards God or away from God.

We are either lifting others up or using them for our own gain.

Which do you do?

Are you a giver of light and truth and a beacon for those to find safe harbor in the storm, or are you one who preys on the weak and uses what you can to get ahead?

Share light and love out loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

don’t sin…

My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. The one who claims, “I know him,” while not keeping his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know we are in him. The one who claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way as he lived. (1 John 2:1-6, CEB)

Don’t sin, but if you do Jesus will cover it.

But yet the one who says they know Jesus but don’t keep his commandments is a liar. So what are his commandments? The 10 commandments? The 613 Levitical Laws? Jesus broke down the 10 commandments in a way that no one can keep them, so then are we all liars?

Maybe the commandments are the easy ones, love God, love neighbor.

God loves you so much and wants you to love the world.

Love out loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

Since

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.” Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.” Jesus answered, “It’s been said, Don’t test the Lord your God.” After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity. (Luke 4:1-13, CEB)

This translation gets is partially correct.

Usually, in the NRSV we get the devil questioning Jesus, “If you are the son of God…” But here the CEB starts out, “Since you are God’s Son…”

Well I know I have written before, the Greek word here is εἰ and it means if, and since. And I have always believed that since the devil is a fallen angel, there was no doubt in the devil that Jesus was God’s son. Now the devil could have been saying if to make Jesus question that fact, but I am more prone to say that the devil said since you are God’s son, turn these stones to bread.

The devil doesn’t doubt who Jesus is, and Jesus doesn’t doubt who he is. Do we doubt who Jesus is?

Since Jesus is the son of God and stepped down from his throne to love us, can we not love the world?

Loving People. Loving God.

light

“Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard and said, “It’s thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to him.” Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (He said this to show how he was going to die.) The crowd responded, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Human One must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?” Jesus replied, “The light is with you for only a little while. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. As long as you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light.” After Jesus said these things, he went away and hid from them. (John 12:27-36, CEB)

Jesus says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” and the crowd responds that the Christ will remain forever. Do they think Jesus is the Christ? Then they ask about the Human One, that Jesus mentions a few verses before our reading today, when Jesus says, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified.” Jesus has made the connection that he is the Human One but the crowd doesn’t get it.

Jesus is here to give us light and to help us dispel the darkness. We who are in the light can show the light to the world and need to be salt and light so the darkness doesn’t take over.

Follow the light and love out loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

Golden Calf

“This is the same Moses whom they rejected when they asked, ‘Who appointed you as our leader and judge?’ This is the Moses whom God sent as leader and deliverer. God did this with the help of the angel who appeared before him in the bush. This man led them out after he performed wonders and signs in Egypt at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with our ancestors and with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He is the one who received life-giving words to give to us. He’s also the one whom our ancestors refused to obey. Instead, they pushed him aside and, in their thoughts and desires, returned to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will lead us. As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him!’ That’s when they made an idol in the shape of a calf, offered a sacrifice to it, and began to celebrate what they had made with their own hands. So God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the stars in the sky, just as it is written in the scroll of the Prophets: Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me for forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel? (Acts 7:35-42, CEB)

I know the calf is an idol and the people should not have made it, but really how did they make it?

They melted down gold that they had taken from Egypt. But they are in the middle of the desert and they are forming a calf out of gold. This is a huge undertaking of engineering. And we just look over it because it was wrong. They shouldn’t have down it, but seriously.

Moses was God’s chosen leader and the people didn’t want to follow him. Or they didn’t like where he led them.

We are all like this. We don’t want to go where God is leading because we think our way is better.

We need to let go and follow where we are led and know that God’s way is far better than ours ever could be.

Loving People. Loving God.

holy ground

“Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush in the wilderness near Mount Sinai. Enthralled by the sight, Moses approached to get a closer look and he heard the Lord’s voice: ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Trembling with fear, Moses didn’t dare to investigate any further. The Lord continued, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have clearly seen the oppression my people have experienced in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning. I have come down to rescue them. Come! I am sending you to Egypt.’ (Acts 7:30-34, CEB)

What would you do if you saw a bush burning but not consumed by the flames?

I would probably do what Moses did which was going closer to check this out. And then you hear a voice. I love how the reading tells us, Moses heard the Lord’s voice. Like how did Moses know the Lord’s voice? Had he heard it before? I do not recall a story before this in the Bible where God speaks to Moses. Or is this simply a writer’s tool telling us it is the Lord because the Lord says, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.“

Anyway, when the voice comes Moses stops. I admit I would probably have run like a scared person.

God has seen the oppression the people are undergoing. God knows our circumstances. God will rescue us.

As we journey these 40 days with Jesus to the cross, let us remember that God knows our struggles and is going to rescue us.

Loving People. Loving God.

Ash Wednesday

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you. “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21, CEB)

Most of us will gather this day to receive the imposition of ashes on our foreheads. We do this as a symbol of remembering we are created from the dust of the earth.

This is the traditional start to Lent where we journey for 40 days (plus 7 Sundays) to the great three days and to Easter. We prepare our hearts and minds this day to remind ourselves over the season of Lent of the lengths God went through Jesus to teach us to love. The sacrifices that Jesus made for us and the lengths God is willing to go to help us understand the depth of love God has for all of creation.

This text tells us it doesn’t matter how we look to others or what we think we have here. None of this matters in the grand scheme of things. We need to focus on God.

So this season of Lent, I invite you to focus on God. Don’t worry about giving something up, or taking something on. Just spend time focusing on God and where God is leading you. Let go of the things of this world. Let go of the things you think others are thinking about you. Let go of everything and focus on God.

Loving People. Loving God.

Never

The next day he got up and went with them, together with some of the believers from Joppa. They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Anticipating their arrival, Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in order to honor him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Get up! Like you, I’m just a human.” As they continued to talk, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them, “You all realize that it is forbidden for a Jew to associate or visit with outsiders. However, God has shown me that I should never call a person impure or unclean. For this reason, when you sent for me, I came without objection. I want to know, then, why you sent for me.” Cornelius answered, “Four days ago at this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me. He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayers, and your compassionate acts are like a memorial offering to him. Therefore, send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, located near the seacoast.’ I sent for you right away, and you were kind enough to come. Now, here we are, gathered in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has directed you to say.” (Acts 10:23b-33, CEB)

According to the teachings Peter had as a youth it was not allowed for a Jew to associate or visit with outsiders. So, anyone who was not a Jew, you could not gather with them. But God through yesterday’s reading vision God showed Peter that all things and people are made by God and therefore clean.

Never should we call people unclean. We are to be salt and light to the world and calling someone unclean or unworthy doesn’t help us share love.

Our calling is to share love with the world, and when we judge others we are not loving them. We are saying if they are worthy of love or not and that is not our place.

Our place is to love. Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

Made pure

At noon on the following day, as their journey brought them close to the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted to eat. While others were preparing the meal, he had a visionary experience. He saw heaven opened up and something like a large linen sheet being lowered to the earth by its four corners. Inside the sheet were all kinds of four-legged animals, reptiles, and wild birds. A voice told him, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!” Peter exclaimed, “Absolutely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke a second time, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.” This happened three times, then the object was suddenly pulled back into heaven. Peter was bewildered about the meaning of the vision. Just then, the messengers sent by Cornelius discovered the whereabouts of Simon’s house and arrived at the gate. Calling out, they inquired whether the Simon known as Peter was a guest there. While Peter was brooding over the vision, the Spirit interrupted him, “Look! Three people are looking for you. Go downstairs. Don’t ask questions; just go with them because I have sent them.” So Peter went downstairs and told them, “I’m the one you are looking for. Why have you come?” They replied, “We’ve come on behalf of Cornelius, a centurion and righteous man, a God-worshipper who is well-respected by all Jewish people. A holy angel directed him to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” Peter invited them into the house as his guests. (Acts 10:9-23a, CEB)

There were laws about what one could eat as what was clean or unclean.

Peter saw a vision of a sheet containing unclean animals according to the law, and in the vision, Peter heard, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.”

You see everything was made by God and is clean. We did not eat certain things probably because they were not cooked right by someone and people got sick. There are laws about watching pots and hands because people were probably getting sick and washing was one way they knew that kept people getting sick to a minimum. Pork was one of the things on the unclean list and we know now that if pork is not fully cooked you can get worms. So maybe the laws are for health concerns and this is not bad, it keeps people alive, but when we say the creations of God are unclean because we do not know how to handle them or cook them is not our place.

God created and it is pure, clean.

This is why the Gentiles were invited in and Peter will go to see Cornelius.

We need to be light and salt to all the world.

Go. Love out Loud, and do not call unclean what God has made pure.

Loving People. Loving God.