plainly

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”  (John 10:22-30, NRSV)

Tell us plainly if you are the Messiah!

Why do they want to know so badly? Or why haven’t they figured it out by this point?

Jesus tells them that He did tell them, and they just didn’t believe what they saw, and heard.

Do we believe it? Or are we like the Jews, who have been told plainly and we just don’t want to let it be true, or we can’t let go of what we want God to be in order to see who God really is.

Is our own perception of God getting in the way of God revealing himself to us?

Have we been told plainly?

Have we understood?

shepherd

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17, NRSV)

There was a great multitude too great to count!

These are those who have some through the great ordeal and have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb.

Because they were saved out of the great ordeal by the lamb, they worship the lamb forever. And the lamb will be their shepherd.

He will lead them and guide them. He will give them good running water to drink and anoint their heads to keep away the bugs. He will make their paths straight and keep them safe.

Are you ready to follow the lamb, and have Him be your shepherd?

Have you seen?

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.  For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11, NRSV)

Here Paul reports to the Corinthians how Jesus has appeared to the disciples.

First to Cephas and then the 12, but the 12 would have included Cephas and Judas, so not sure where Paul gets his numbers from.

But then, after this, Jesus appears to 500 brothers and sisters, then to James, then the apostles.

And lastly to one untimely born, Paul.

But has Jesus appeared to you?

Have you seen Jesus?

Look around you, all of creation was made by Jesus, and we are all created in the image of God, so Jesus is with, and in all of us. So in your brothers and sisters is Jesus.

So have you seen Jesus?

Where is the hope?

Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:1-14, NRSV)

I began to weep.

Because when I look at the world, there seems to be no hope.

We have seem to lost our way.

Everyone is looking out for themselves, and forgetting everyone else.

If there is any thought of the trinity, it is the unholy trinity of me, myself and I.

But even when there seems to be no hope, there is always hope!

The lamb was slaughtered and in that we have hope.

Jesus came and died for all of us.

The promises are true, so even when it looks bleak we have hope in Jesus.

mourning into dancing

I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O LORD, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O LORD, I cried, and to the LORD I made supplication: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!” You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever. (Psalm 30, NRSV)

I struggle with this thought today.That our mourning will turn to dancing. Ok maybe not the thought, because at some point all mourning will turn to dancing.

That our mourning will turn to dancing.Ok maybe not the thought, because at some point all mourning will turn to dancing.

Ok maybe not the thought, because at some point all mourning will turn to dancing.

But our timing is off. We have become an instant gratification society, and when I read our mourning will turn to dancing, it should happen as the psalm says, in the morning, with the rising of the sun. All my problems should go away with the rising of the sun. But we all know that doesn’t happen.

I agonize over a family who will never get over the loss of a child. Parents who will never again this side of the return of Jesus see their daughter run or laugh or cry.

I agonize over a family who had a cure for a young daughter, but then discover that it wasn’t a cure and the young woman must again go through a rough medical procedure.

Where is the dancing? How do we live with this?

The answer is with God. You see our mourning will be dancing, that is the promise. It might some with the rising sun, and it might take a lot longer, but it will happen. And we as believers have something to lean on, the mighty arm of our savior. He will always walk with us.

Love

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. (1 John 4:7-21, NRSV)

God is love, and whoever loves knows God, but whoever does not love does not know God.

But here is the thing on this, this is love all, not some or those deserving. Becuase everyone is able to do that. They love those who love them and those whom they want something from, but we are supposed to love everyone. And not harbor hate, or evil. We are called to show that God lives in us through the love we show the world. To those who hate us and revile us. God is shown through love. And we love, because God loved us.

So love. And do not fear.

Fishers of people!

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11, NRSV)

Peter is an interesting person.

He has seen the Lord heal his mother-in-law, yet when Jesus causes the fish to fill his nets, he tells Jesus to go away because he is a sinful man.

But it seems though through these miracles Peter saw the Messiah! His heart was opened to following Jesus, for when they got to shore, Peter, James and John went with Jesus and left everything to follow Him.

Have you left everything to follow Him?

Do you love me?

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 21:1-19, NRSV)

The disciples had seen Jesus. He had shown Himself to them in the locked room in chapter 20. Yet here in our reading, they are returning to what they had done before Jesus called them to follow Him.

They have seen the signs Jesus has down, the way he has changed the world. They saw Him crucified, and rise from the dead, yet here they are going back to life pre-Jesus!

It seems they were not changed by their encounter.

And yet Jesus still forgives them. Here at the end of our reading we have Jesus forgiving Peter for the three times he denied Jesus during His trial.

Do you love me?

What would your answer be to Jesus if He were to ask you, “Do you love me?”

Glad

psalm 122I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
(Psalm 122, NRSV)

Let us go to the house of the Lord!

Nothing actually makes me happier than being in worship with God’s people and growing closer to Him and His body. And this is not necessarily a house built of wood or brick, stone, or any material. It is the place where we meet to gather together in worship and praise of our God.

For the sake of the house, I will seek good. I will seek to be in worship and praise, and be glad when others are there to go into praise of you!

Let us all praise the Lord!