nothing with out _______

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, NRSV)

Do you see you can do many things…

Speak in tongues of mortals and angels.

Have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge.

Have all faith to move mountains.

I can give away everything and hand over my body, but if I do it to boast then I’ve missed the mark.

You see anything is possible, but if not done for the right reason, it is just noise, or nothing, and a waste of time.

But if we love. and Love leads us to do these things, then we have all things through Him who gave us His love so that we can love.

You see we are nothing without love.

hard to see

My child, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them upon your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
(Proverbs 6:20-23, NRSV)

As I typed the title for this blog I heard Yoda speaking it.

Hard to see the future is.

Hind sight is 20/20. Which means if I knew then what I know now I would not have done that.

Children do not always see what their parents are doing. I know there were times in m youth when I wondered if my parents really knew what they were doing. I know my kids think that. And the answer is, no they really didn’t know, but they were doing the best they could. Just like me. I did not get an owners manual, (not like I would have read it any way) and there were no new parent classes. God blessed us, and here we are.

So we try to raise our children with the right skills and in the right way so they will grow to be wonderful functioning adults. And sometimes our children just don’t understand.

But always in motion is the future, and if we knew what was going to happen to you we would tell you how to handle it, which still wouldn’t be the right thing, because it is going to happen to you, the kid, and not us, so how we as your parent would react is not how you should react. But listen to your parents teaching and learn from them, because they have been there. And yes they messed it up, even if they won’t tell you, and sometimes they did ok, even when they say it was great.

For their teaching and wisdom is a lamp and a light to help you follow God, and really that is all we really want, for our children to have faith in God and to follow Him.

convicted…

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise: “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4, NRSV)

Ok when I read this one it hurt a little bit.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a father of 3 beautiful, smart girls.

They are the apples of my eye and I love each of them as much as they need to be loved for their own abilities and talents. No matter what happens or how old they get, all of them will be daddy’s little girl!

But I have a tendency to provoke them. And yes they get angry. And as each of them shows their beauty and wisdom in their own unique way, they always do that with their anger.

And had this pericope stopped at verse 3 I would have been fine, but verse 4 came along for the ride and now fathers are not supposed to provoke their children to anger.

Well all I can say is, I try. I am sorry. I am human and not a perfect father.

My only hope is that I have raised my daughters to know the Lord and to follow Him. I hope that they know that even when I make them mad, or they make me mad, I still love them and no matter what just like God loves me, I love them.

So children obey your parents and fathers do not provoke, but be a guide to your children, the world is hard enough without us causing our children more problems.

And girls (my girls) if you are reading this, daddy loves you and is so proud of the woman you are and are becoming. And always remember that no matter what happens you will always be, my little girl!

love

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:25-33, NRSV)

Husbands are to love their wives as Jesus loves the church!

If we love our wives we love ourselves, and by doing this we love her and the world as Jesus first loved us!

Love your wife as you do your own body.

Without blemish your love should be for her. Pray for the strength to be for your wife, what God is for you.

And allow the one flesh to be like the Trinity, 3 in one, you, your wife and Christ! a cord of 3 is never broken!

doing

and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:20-35, NRSV)

Who are Jesus’ mother and brothers and sisters?

There has been debate about this for a long time. Does Jesus have brothers and sisters from Mary?

Well that is not really a question for this reading. And Jesus Himself gives an answer to the question that does not answer the question.

Any one who does the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother.

So if you are doing God’s will you are a brother or sister or mother of Christ!

And partly this is probably because after He had called the disciples to follow Him, His own family said He as crazy! Not only the religious authorities are against Him now, but also His family.

So do not be put off when doing the will of God is hard and people turn against you, because Jesus had to go against the authorities of the religious order of the day and His family!

Be doing the will of God, so you will counted as a part of the family of God, not the family that says He is crazy, but the family of co-inheritors!

 

for the sport of it

O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
(Psalm 104:24-30, NRSV)

I love this psalm because it paints a jovial picture of God.

He created the Leviathan for the sport of it. Because He could and for a laugh.

Everything that is on the earth and the earth itself was formed by God.

And God will renew all of it in His timing.

Let us be good stewards of His creation while we wait for Him.

discipleship

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” (John 7:37-52, NRSV)

“Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” Asked Nicodemus.

Interesting question. Which they really didn’t answer. The pharisees answered with another question and comment.

They did not have an interest in discovering the truth about Jesus, they wanted Him gone.

He was leading people to a different understanding of what it means to follow God, and that was upsetting the apple cart if you will.

Nicodemus is the model disciple in John. While those called to follow Jesus fall away at His crucifixion, Nicodemus is there.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus under darkness at first. Seeking to know who Jesus is.

Then he speaks out a little more publicly, here in chapter 7, and the next time we see Nic in the gospel of John, he is helping take Jesus’ body off the cross.

From seeker, to speaking out in Jesus’ defense, to giving Him a proper burial. Nic goes from learner to learner, and continues to grow as one following Jesus.

If only we could be as bold as Nic was.

new

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21, NRSV)

Have you ever been in a new car? And there is that new car smell…

They have even tried to recreate that smell in air fresheners, so you can live that moment of the new car smell…

There is something about things being new.

New shoes just seem to walk better…

New pens write smoother…

New houses are cleaner (well that’s because they haven’t been lived in yet!)

New cars feel better…

And a new life would be great! Well we all have a new life, every day! If we are in Christ and He is in us, then every day is a new creation! The old has gone and the new life in Christ has come!

Every day is a new day smell!

So live in the new and help everyone to see the new life they can have in Christ!

formed

Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
(Isaiah 44:21-23, NRSV)

We have a hard time today believing in miracles.

But the problem is we forget that miracles happen every day around us!

We also seem to forget that every morning we can open our eyes and get out of bed is a miracle, and that we ourselves are a miracle!

God formed us and knew us before we were born! He knew us in our mother’s womb, and set us apart to be a part of His master plan.

So sing for joy in the miracle you are!

And shout His praise for all he has done for you!

Who has life?

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:6-12, NRSV)

Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever doesn’t have the Son does not have life.

Seems pretty simple. Except, who gets to decide who has the Son and who doesn’t?

According to this if you believe in Jesus and you have Him in your heart then you have the Son. However in today’s society there are many differences of opinion on what it means to follow Christ. We do not agree that everyone who claims to be a part of the body of Christ is a part of the body of Christ.

So who gets to decide?

Here is the thing, the Bible does not tell us not to judge, it says “judge not unless you want to be judged.” If you are willing to judge others, then you have to be willing to be judged by others. And that is fine for some, but for me, I am glad it is not my call on who has the Son and who doesn’t. In fact I can only truly be sure for me. I can help you see God and know He wants to be in a relationship with you. I can share with you about my faith and the grace He has given me. I can love yo as He has loved me. But then God has to give you the Son. I can not give Him, because God is the only one who can judge whether or not someone has the Son.

God decides. Not us. So do not get upset with someone else because they sin differently than you. Love them. and let God decide.