demonstrated mercy

A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37, CEB)

Who was the neighbor to the man, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Go and do likewise…

Who do you show mercy to?

Those who are like you?
Believe the same as you?
Are a part of the same ethnic group as you?
Won’t make you ritually unclean?

We are to show mercy to all people. To gain eternal life, you must love God and all as yourself.

Demonstrate Mercy at all times!

Loving People. Loving God.

judge

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son. “This is the basis for judgment: The light came into the world, and people loved darkness more than the light, for their actions are evil. All who do wicked things hate the light and don’t come to the light for fear that their actions will be exposed to the light. Whoever does the truth comes to the light so that it can be seen that their actions were done in God.” (John 3:16-21, CEB)

We all think it is our place to judge others. We need to judge ourselves and make our own lives be in line with what God has called us to do and be, not others.

Actually, John 3:17 says it clearly, “God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world,” and if God did not send Jesus here to judge, I am pretty sure They didn’t send you to judge either.

Show love in all you do.

Loving People. Loving God.

God watched over

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem. (Acts 7:9-16, CEB)

We are told that when we follow God that life will be easy and a walk in the park. Yes, it will be a walk in the park, Jurassic Park. And hard times will still come and be a part of what we endure.

When we follow Christ, God says they will never leave us or forsake us. So they walk with us through the hard times. They joined Joseph in Egypt and made a way for Jacob to be there and to be cared for.

Life is not a rose garden and easy. Life sometimes is hard, but God is always there.

Loving People. Loving God.

dead faith

My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it? Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat. What if one of you said, “Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal!”? What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs? In the same way, faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity. Someone might claim, “You have faith and I have action.” But how can I see your faith apart from your actions? Instead, I’ll show you my faith by putting it into practice in faithful action. It’s good that you believe that God is one. Ha! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble with fear. Are you so slow? Do you need to be shown that faith without actions has no value at all? What about Abraham, our father? Wasn’t he shown to be righteous through his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? See, his faith was at work along with his actions. In fact, his faith was made complete by his faithful actions. So the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and God regarded him as righteous. What is more, Abraham was called God’s friend. So you see that a person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute shown to be righteous when she received the messengers as her guests and then sent them on by another road? As the lifeless body is dead, so faith without actions is dead. (James 2:14-26, CEB)

Martin Luther had issues with the book of James because it plainly says faith without works is dead. However, Luther told us that we are not saved by works, we are saved by faith. Works do not get us into God’s good graces, but works are needed to prove our faith is not dead.

If we say we follow Christ but tell a homeless person to stay warm and sleep well, do we really follow Christ?

Words mean nothing without action.

Faith without works is dead. And while grace saves us, God saves us for good works to show the world God’s love.

Loving People. Loving God.

rejects

“How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin. How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida. If the miracles done among you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed their hearts and lives long ago. They would have sat around in funeral clothes and ashes. But Tyre and Sidon will be better off at the judgment than you. And you, Capernaum, will you be honored by being raised up to heaven? No, you will be cast down to the place of the dead. Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:13-16, CEB)

Who are we rejecting by not listening?

Who says something we disagree with, and we just ignore them, rather than listen and possibly learn? We might be listening to God.

Watch who you reject, they may just be an angel.

Loving People. Loving God.

mob mentallity

Once they heard this, they were beside themselves with anger and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city was thrown into turmoil. They rushed as one into the theater. They seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from the province of Macedonia. Paul wanted to appear before the assembly, but the disciples wouldn’t allow him. Even some officials of the province of Asia, who were Paul’s friends, sent word to him, urging him not to risk going into the theater. Meanwhile, the assembly was in a state of confusion. Some shouted one thing, others shouted something else, and most of the crowd didn’t know why they had gathered. The Jews sent Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd directed their words toward him. He gestured that he wanted to offer a defense before the assembly, but when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This continued for about two hours. The city manager brought order to the crowd and said, “People of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you must calm down. Don’t be reckless. The men you brought here have neither robbed the temple nor slandered our goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and the craftspeople with him have a charge against anyone, the courts are in session and governors are available. They can press charges against each other there. Additional disputes can be resolved in a legal assembly. As for us, we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since we can’t justify this unruly gathering.” After he said this, he dismissed the assembly. (Acts 19:28-41, CEB)

People will follow on a whim. If you convince them that something is awry, and it does not have to be convincing by truth.

We see this in the triumphal entry, the handing over of Jesus for crucifixion, and here.

Here, though, a voice of reason disperses the crowd.

Who is the voice of reason today?

Who stands in the gap to help us see the truth?

Can you stand in the gap and proclaim the truth of God?

Loving People. Loving God.

What is a god?

Once these things had come to an end, Paul, guided by the Spirit, decided to return to Jerusalem, taking a route that would carry him through the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. He said, “After I have been there, I must visit Rome as well.” He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he remained awhile in the province of Asia. At that time a great disturbance erupted about the Way. There was a silversmith named Demetrius. He made silver models of Artemis’ temple, and his business generated a lot of profit for the craftspeople. He called a meeting with these craftspeople and others working in related trades and said, “Friends, you know that we make an easy living from this business. And you can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods. This poses a danger not only by discrediting our trade but also by completely dishonoring the great goddess Artemis. The whole province of Asia—indeed, the entire civilized world—worships her, but her splendor will soon be extinguished.” (Acts 19:21-27, CEB)

This passage hits on a point that I think we do not really think about. What is a god?

Notice I said god, and not God. There is a difference. God is the creator of everything that has been made, and god is anything in our lives that gets in the way of God.

Silver statues, boats, homes, comfort for us and not others, power. All of these are gods and people make money off of them and use them to keep others in place.

I have preached for stewardship campaigns before: “Show me your checkbook and I’ll show you your god.”

We all have god(s) that keep us from following God. We need to identify them and ask for help to lay them aside.

Lay aside your gods and follow God, loving all of God’s creation.

Loving People. Loving God.

listens

After these things, the Lord commissioned seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every city and place he was about to go. He said to them, “The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest. Go! Be warned, though, that I’m sending you out as lambs among wolves. Carry no wallet, no bag, and no sandals. Don’t even greet anyone along the way. Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house.’ If anyone there shares God’s peace, then your peace will rest on that person. If not, your blessing will return to you. Remain in this house, eating and drinking whatever they set before you, for workers deserve their pay. Don’t move from house to house. Whenever you enter a city and its people welcome you, eat what they set before you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘God’s kingdom has come upon you.’ Whenever you enter a city and the people don’t welcome you, go out into the streets and say, ‘As a complaint against you, we brush off the dust of your city that has collected on our feet. But know this: God’s kingdom has come to you.’ Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy-two returned joyously, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit themselves to us in your name.” Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Look, I have given you authority to crush snakes and scorpions underfoot. I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, don’t rejoice because the spirits submit to you. Rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, CEB)

Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

Take nothing on your journey and depend upon the gratitude of others. If they do not welcome or listen, shake the dust off your feet and leave.

We need to entertain all sojourners, for they may be angels, and come to give us a message from God.

Welcome all and know you may be entertaining God.

Loving People. Loving God.

Take nothing

Jesus called the Twelve together and he gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal sicknesses. He sent them out to proclaim God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. He told them, “Take nothing for the journey—no walking stick, no bag, no bread, no money, not even an extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. Wherever they don’t welcome you, as you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.” They departed and went through the villages proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. (Luke 9:1-6, CEB)

Go into the world and teach them about God’s love and grace.

Take nothing for the journey:
No walking stick
No bag
No bread
No money
Not even any clothing.

Stay in the same place until you move on, and if they do not welcome you, do not even take the dirt from their lands.

Heal and love, and depend on others.

We need to welcome the sojourner, for they may be an angel sent from God.

Loving People. Loving God.

work of grace

Brothers and sisters, we want to let you know about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia. While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity. I assure you that they gave what they could afford and even more than they could afford, and they did it voluntarily. They urgently begged us for the privilege of sharing in this service for the saints. They even exceeded our expectations, because they gave themselves to the Lord first and to us, consistent with God’s will. As a result, we challenged Titus to finish this work of grace with you the way he had started it. Be the best in this work of grace in the same way that you are the best in everything, such as faith, speech, knowledge, total commitment, and the love we inspired in you. (2 Corinthians 8:1-7, CEB)

Be the best in this work of grace in the same you you are the best in everything else.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we were all the best in the work of grace? If we all moved to give grace away and did everything for the best of the other, rather than looking out for ourselves?

How great would the world be?

Loving People. Loving God.