aSacredRebel

out of poverty

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:38-44, NRSV)

I love this reading. It is the scripture lesson I preached the first sermon I ever preached to a call committee.

Beware of men in long flowing white robes! I read and talked about as I wore a long flowing white robe!

We read this passage, I said then and still believe, as a stewardship passage. We are supposed to give every last cent to God. And I do not say no to this notion, however, I think Jesus was more than holding this woman up as a model to live by. I think Jesus was and is tearing down religious systems that put people in a place where they feel they have to give everything they have in order to be in the right.

Jesus would never ask us to give something to get something, and sometimes it seems that the system is doing just that.

We do not have to give anything to earn God’s love, or to be in the right with God. His love should so overflow in our lives that we just naturally give everything.

But this passage makes me think this widow didn’t feel like she had a choice. She had to give it all to be there, where others could give a little, she had to give it all. And we are here to help the poor, not to hold them down more.

So love like Jesus and allow His love to move you, but do not feel compelled to give to get somethings, because the greatest gift of all can not be bought.

Bless the Lord!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:1-13, NRSV)

Everytime I read this psalm I see the guys from Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville, TX singing the song. I am filled with so much joy on thinking about this.

And that is the joy that over flows our lives when we know that God has rescued us from the pit, and brought us up. He has given us life in Him.

And for that we should bless the Lord!

Victory

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57, NRSV)

As perishable and mortal beings we can not inherit anything from God, since God is imperishable and immortal.

But Jesus Christ came and become like us so that in His perishable imperishableness we are also made imperishable and immortal.

So thanks be to God for the plan to allow us to be with Him forever!

made alive in Christ

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:12-22, NRSV)

so all will be made alive in Christ!

There is resurrection from the dead, because if there isn’t then Christ was not raised. How can we say there is no resurrection of the dead if that is the case then Christ was not raised and the promise is null and void and we do not have any hope.

But the promise is real and we will be raised as He was raised. We will be made alive in Christ!

Advent Picture a day 2015

Last year I produced a Picture a Day Advent Devotional and I have done the same again this year.

The words for each day are based on the readings from Milestones Ministry Taking Faith Home. This is a wonderful resource based on the RCL.

All of my devotions I write here in this blog are also based on those readings.

I am also a huge Star Wars Fan and so in anticipation of the Force Awakening I have based the words on Star Wars as well.

So here are two images for the devotional. The top one is formatted for Instagram. And if you follow me on Instagram I have already posted this picture there.

Also, if you participate please use the hashtag #awakeningadvent so I can see your pictures.

I will post the pictures on Instagram and probably also here.

Happy posting, and may we Awaken Advent and be stirred to follow after the coming Messiah!

passed

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:24-29, NRSV)

He who believes has passed from death to life.

Has passed.

Not will pass, or might pass, or at some time in the future will pass. Has passed.

It has already happened.

Eternal life is not something we wait for. It is something we live in right now. Here and now.

If you hear the promises of Jesus and believe in God then you have eternal life now and death is no more.

You are living forever with Jesus

Are we like Martha?

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” (John 11:17-27, NRSV)

Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?”

What would you say to Jesus if he asked you if you believe in Him????

Jesus told Martha, “whoever believes in me will never die!” But she just saw her brother die, and she believed that he believed in Jesus, so when she says she believes it, does she?

Do we believe what we want to about God, and just push the hard things aside?

Or do we really believe?

White robes…

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)

Who are these in the white robes around the throne of the Lamb?

They are the ones who have come through the great ordeal, and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and they are brilliantly white and spotless, because of the blood…

I get that on one level, and yet on another it is completely asinine. How can robes be washed in blood be white and spotless? I mean have you ever tried to wash out blood? and if not have you ever watched CSI or a similar show? Blood doesn’t come out easy…

But the blood of the lamb can wash away our stains and our blemishes and make us look perfect in the eyes of God.

So come through the ordeal and wash your robe in the blood of the lamb, and stand before the throne praising Him forever!

Weakly or Weekly?

man-plugged-into-bible We are beginning into the hectic season of the year.

Fall parties, ok Halloween parties, just ended, or are in the works, and we are all preparing for the 2 months of the year we binge eat and go to so many parties we cannot get time to sleep.

And in all of the hecticness of parties and seasonal celebrations what happens to our faith life?

We seem to want to make it all work on the one hour we get in on Sunday mornings, and if we make 4 Sundays of worship, then that 4 hours out of the month will carry us through!

If we only got 4 hours of sleep a month would that be enough?

We need more than 4 hours of sleep to survive, now one could get 4 hours of sleep a day and function, but only 4 hours of sleep in 31, 30 or even 28 days? That is 744, 720 or 672 hours in a month depending on the number of days. And 4 hours is only 0.537%, 0.556%, or 0.595% of the month!

Is our faith going to grow or survive on a half of a percent of our time?

A devotional life, according to Frogs Without Legs Can’t Hear, is “essentially a way of living in the world connected to the saving work and message of Jesus Christ; the intersection between the eternal with the mundane in a way that personalizes God’s saving work and word.”

We need to be connected to God more than 1 hour a week, more than 0.595% of the time!

St. Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing!” All of life is to be connected to God and that is what our devotional life must be.

If we are going to survive as disciples of Jesus, and grow in that discipleship we need to spend more than 1 hour a week with God. If you spent 1 hour a week with others would there be a vital relationship?

So as we dig into the busy party season, let us also dig into devotional time with Jesus.

Be on the look out for our Advent Devotional at St. John’s, and the picture a day Advent devotional I put together. And if you need other resources, ask! I would be over joyed to help.

And God wants more than 0.595% of your time… And your life and the lives of your family will be better off with more time with God also.

So Happy Party Season! And don’t forget about God, because He will never forget about you!

Did I not tell you…

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:32-44, NRSV)

Did I not tell you if you believed you would see the glory of God?

So do you not believe?

This passage pushes the limits, but only if you understand society and customs and norms of Jesus’ day.

You see Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to die, but did not go and waited to go, so that Lazarus would be in the tomb for four days. You read that right, go back and read it again.

Did you see Martha said, “he has been dead four days and he stinks!” Now I can imagine a sister saying her brother stinks, but the point is the four days.

And what does it matter if it has been four days?

Well in Jesus day the belief was a person could seem dead, and within three days they could wake up. But on the fourth day they were really dead. So Lazarus was dead and not coming back. That is why Jesus was not there until the fourth day.

And Jesus told the people to unbind him, to let him go. Jesus gave him life and it is the communities job to unbind him and set him free. Jesus gives life and the community sets free.

So do you believe?