Proclaim!

“Watch out for yourselves. People will hand you over to the councils. You will be beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me so that you can testify before them. First, the good news must be proclaimed to all the nations. When they haul you in and hand you over, don’t worry ahead of time about what to answer or say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that moment, for you aren’t doing the speaking but the Holy Spirit is. Brothers and sisters will hand each other over to death. A father will turn in his children. Children will rise up against their parents and have them executed. Everyone will hate you because of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved. “When you see the disgusting and destructive thing standing where it shouldn’t be (the reader should understand this), then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. Those on the roof shouldn’t come down or enter their houses to grab anything. Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter. In those days there will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. If the Lord hadn’t shortened that time, no one would be rescued. But for the sake of the chosen ones, the ones whom God chose, he has cut short the time. “Then if someone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. But you, watch out! I’ve told you everything ahead of time. (Mark 13:9-23, CEB)

We will be persecuted for our proclamation of love but it has to be done.

We must speak of the good news of God, and the love that flows freely from the throne to all people at all times and not worry about what will happen.

Do not worry about what you will say, because it will not be you speaking but the Spirit will speak through you.

Hold fast to God and share love in everything.

Loving People. Loving God.

complacent

But remember the earlier days, after you saw the light. You stood your ground while you were suffering from an enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes you were exposed to insults and abuse in public. Other times you became partners with those who were treated that way. You even showed sympathy toward people in prison and accepted the confiscation of your possessions with joy, since you knew that you had better and lasting possessions. So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. In a little while longer, the one who is coming will come and won’t delay; but my righteous one will live by faith, and my whole being won’t be pleased with anyone who shrinks back. But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved. (Hebrews 10:32-39, CEB)

Complacent. Have you become complacent?

When you were a new believer and the light of understanding came upon you, you fervently defended the faith. Speaking up and out to show love in every place and time.

This is the way we should live our lives every day!

Love out Loud. Do not be complacent. Let love reign supreme!

Loving People. Loving God.

Do we undo what was done?

If we make the decision to sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there isn’t a sacrifice for sins left any longer. There’s only a scary expectation of judgment and of a burning fire that’s going to devour God’s opponents. When someone rejected the Law from Moses, they were put to death without mercy on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think is deserved by the person who walks all over God’s Son, who acts as if the blood of the covenant that made us holy is just ordinary blood, and who insults the Spirit of grace? We know the one who said, Judgment is mine; I will pay people back. And he also said, The Lord will judge his people. It’s scary to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrews 10:26-31, CEB)

The first line of this reading is interesting to me. If we consciously decide to sin after we know Jesus died for us and wants us to live for God, then there is nothing that covers those sins. Now there is only judgment and burning fire.

So then who can be saved? I read this as saying once we know the truth and then willfully sin we have undone what was done and we are no longer in God’s good graces and all we have to look forward to is judgment and hell. One could say I didn’t willfully choose to sin. However, I think we all know that that is a lie. We all put things between us and God all the time. If it is based on my actions I am and will be damned.

I do not think we can undo what God has done, just like we can’t do what God has done to get us where we are.

Trust in God.

Believe you are God’s Child.

Have Faith in the promises.

Loving People. Loving God.

birth pangs

As Jesus left the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!” Jesus responded, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.” Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show that all these things are about to come to an end?” Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the one!’ They will deceive many people. When you hear of wars and reports of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. (Mark 13:1-8, CEB)

When people come and say this is the end, do not believe them.

Many will cry out that the end is near but they really do not know.

Focus on Jesus, and doing what he told us to do.

Love like Jesus and worry not about when the end is near.

Loving People. Loving God.

Do we get it?

Jesus spoke to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But they grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again the landowner sent another servant to them, but they struck him on the head and treated him disgracefully. He sent another one; that one they killed. The landlord sent many other servants, but the tenants beat some and killed others. Now the landowner had one son whom he loved dearly. He sent him last, thinking, They will respect my son. But those tenant farmers said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this scripture, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?” They wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away. (Mark 12:1-12, CEB)

Would you have gotten this story if you were there when Jesus told it?

The man is God, and the vineyard is all creation and it was given over to us to tend. When we needed to give back we didn’t. So the Judges came and they were mistreated. And then the prophets, and then other speaking for God and we didn’t listen to any of them. We beat them and killed them, and when God finally sent the son we did the same to him. Not listening, beating, and killing. When all they wanted to show us was God’s love.

Would we have been any different?

Do we get the story now?

Love. It’s about love.

Loving People. Loving God.

enslaves

So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received him. Be rooted and built up in him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught. See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by human hands. The circumcision of Christ is realized in the stripping away of the whole self dominated by sin. You were buried with him through baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn’t circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross. When he disarmed the rulers and authorities, he exposed them to public disgrace by leading them in a triumphal parade. (Colossians 2:6-15, CEB)

“See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ.” Do not be conformed to how the world thinks, but be truly rooted in Christ.

Power and riches are the way of the world. When we say that certain people don’t deserve health care or to make their own decisions that is the way of the world. When we use systems to keep certain people in power that is the way of the world.

The way of Christ is love. Love for all people.

Do not follow the world and look for power.

Follow Jesus and share love.

Loving People. Loving God.

pursue

But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. I command you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus, who made the good confession when testifying before Pontius Pilate. Obey this order without fault or failure until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. The timing of this appearance is revealed by God alone, who is the blessed and only master, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He alone has immortality and lives in light that no one can come near. No human being has ever seen or is able to see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him. Amen. Tell people who are rich at this time not to become egotistical and not to place their hope on their finances, which are uncertain. Instead, they need to hope in God, who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in the good things they do, to be generous, and to share with others. When they do these things, they will save a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future. That way they can take hold of what is truly life. Timothy, protect what has been given to you in trust. Avoid godless and pointless discussions and the contradictory claims of so-called “knowledge.” When some people adopted this false knowledge, they missed the goal of faith. May grace be with you all. (1 Timothy 6:11-21, CEB)

What do you pursue?

What is the goal of your life?

You should be pursuing righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Hope in your finances is uncertain. Hope in God and righteousness is always certain.

Hope in God and love like Jesus.

Pursue love.

Loving People. Loving God.

Give us

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
    and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.” Everyone was raving about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?” Then Jesus said to them, “Undoubtedly, you will quote this saying to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we’ve heard you did in Capernaum.’” He said, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown. And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s time, when it didn’t rain for three and a half years and there was a great food shortage in the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them but only to a widow in the city of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. There were also many persons with skin diseases in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha, but none of them were cleansed. Instead, Naaman the Syrian was cleansed.” When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with anger. They rose up and ran him out of town. They led him to the crest of the hill on which their town had been built so that they could throw him off the cliff. But he passed through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:16-30, CEB)

They got angry with Jesus because he said a prophet isn’t welcome in their home town and by this he meant he couldn’t do what he had done elsewhere. They were angry because they wanted to be healed, to see the miracles, and to get what others got. They felt betrayed.

God’s healing comes in God’s way and in God’s time.

What do we want from Jesus?

How do we get angry when things don’t go the way we think they should?

Remember God is always with you.

God’s timing is not our timing.

Loving People. Loving God.

Only if

Put a widow on the list who is older than 60 years old and who was faithful to her husband. She should have a reputation for doing good: raising children, providing hospitality to strangers, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in distress, and dedicating herself to every kind of good thing. But don’t accept younger widows for the list. When their physical desires distract them from Christ, they will want to get married. Then they will be judged for setting aside their earlier commitment. Also, they learn to be lazy by going from house to house. They are not only lazy, but they also become gossips and busybodies, talking about things they shouldn’t. So I want younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their homes so that they won’t give the enemy any reason to slander us. (Some have already turned away to follow Satan.) If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should take care of them and not burden the church, so that it can help other widows who are truly needy. (1 Timothy 5:9-16, CEB)

This is some messed up stuff right here.

A widow is only a widow if they were faithful to their husband and are over 60. If they are younger then they really aren’t a widow, even if their husband is dead. This is a passage about control and power.

We are called to care for the orphan, widow, down trodden, foreigner, and sojourner, and never does Jesus put only help them if conditions are met. Love unconditionally.

This letter is attributed to Paul, but most biblical scholars will say it is not Paul.

We need to reclaim the actual Paul and the radical notions of equality and reformation of society he brought.

Loving People. Loving God

R E S P E C T

Don’t correct an older man, but encourage him like he’s your father; treat younger men like your brothers, treat older women like your mother, and treat younger women like your sisters with appropriate respect. Take care of widows who are truly needy. But if a particular widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to respect their own family and repay their parents, because this pleases God. A widow who is truly needy and all alone puts her hope in God and keeps on going with requests and prayers, night and day. But a widow who tries to live a life of luxury is dead even while she is alive. Teach these things so that the families will be without fault. But if someone doesn’t provide for their own family, and especially for a member of their household, they have denied the faith. They are worse than those who have no faith. (1 Timothy 5:1-8, CEB)

Find out what it means to me…

Respect for all people.

Treat older men like your father. Respect for elders.

Treat older women like your mother. Respect for elders.

Treat younger men and women as brothers and sisters.

We are all family. We need to love and care for all people.

Loving People. Loving God.