Entertain…

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. (Genesis 18:1-10, NRSV)

I never knew that Abraham was from Wisconsin, but here it is in black and white, he prepared curds and milk and calf and gave them to the visitors to eat! Abraham served curds! Obviously a good Wisconsonite!

But seriously…

Abraham ran…

Men of Abraham’s stature in this time did not run. It was unbecoming. Men of his staure had slaves to do the running. So these visitors were obviously important to him.

But even if they weren’t, Abraham gives us an example of how we should entertain the stranger in our midst. We should open our homes and allow them to relax. We should give to them as God has given to us. We need to be as Christ is to us to the stranger.

Because we never really know who we are entertaining when we entertain the stranger!

As Is

How many of you have ever bought a used car?
Now they actually say you get more value for your dollar if you buy a used car, as a new car loses a big percentage of its value as you drive it off the lot…
As is is a term you might know if you ever bought a used car. It is a legal tern that is “used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. Certain types of implied warranties must be specifically disclaimed, such as the implied warranty of title. “As is” denotes that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying an item in whatever condition it presently exists, and that the buyer is accepting the item “with all faults”, whether or not immediately apparent. This is the classic “buyer beware” situation, where the careful buyer should take the time to examine the item before accepting it, or obtain expert advice.”
And by now you are probably wondering why is pastor writing about used cars… Well I’m not really. I have been listening to Peder Eide’s song As Is lately and I have that term in my head.
As Is is a term as I said above used in a legal sense… But the way it is in my mind is a refreshing easing sense.
You see Peder’s song tells us the problems with our heros in the Bible. And the chorus tells us that God still used them, just as He will use us! God takes us As is, and He chooses us as His. With never ending love transcending all our weaknesses, He uses us as is!
You see He really does know what He is getting, unlike us sometimes when we buy something used, and He still wants you just as you are. God is clear on the warranty He gets with you, and He still takes you.
He chooses you as is, uses you as is and claims you as His.
So go into the world, know that He has got your back!

others…

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSV)

The seperation of the goats and the sheep…

Did you notice as you read this passage that both groups were surprised by the outcome? They did not understand what the Lord was saying to them…

You see for the ones on his right side, they did what they knew was the right thing to do and treated others with dignity and respect, and loved them like they had been loved by Jesus…

And those on his left side only did what they had to in order to get the right things done. They would have visited Jesus in prison, but that person behind those bars wasn’t Jesus…

You see the just of this lesson is we never know who we are entertaining, or whose presence we are in. All people are loved by God just like you, and none of us deserve it… So we need to treat everyone with respect and dignity and show them the love that Jesus would.

So go and treat the last, lost, least and little, just like Jesus would and love them like they are your creation!

a child…

An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” (Luke 9:46-48, NRSV)

To welcome a child in Jesus’ day was completely unheard of! It would be like talking to a woman…

These are things that do not translate into our s 21st century society, where woman and children are seen for the people they are. For us to understand this we have to understand the people women and shildren were in Jesus’ day…

And the short answer there is they were not people, they were property to be seen and not heard. To do what they are suppose to with out getting in the way. And Jesus took a child and brought the child into the midst of the gathering and told them that they have to see this young human just as that, a person, and welcome them and treat them like they would treat Jesus.

We need to welcome every person as if we are welcoming Jesus. That is what we are called to do!

Little ones…

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42, NRSV)

In this passage we see the end of the missionary discourse where Jesus is sending the disciples out.

So Jesus is telling them, and us, whoever welcomes you welcomes me and when they welcome me they welcome the father…

And whoever gives a little one a cup of cold water will not lose their reward.

But who is the little ones?

James chapter 2 tells us to not show partiality. To not show favoritism. We should not treat a well dressed man any differently than a poorly dressed man in our midst. We can not judge by appearances, or give people special treatment. We need to treat all people the same.

The little ones are the people who can not stand up for themselves…

The widow. The Orphan. The outcast. The poor. The last, lost, least, and little. Those who do not have a leg up or an advocate to speak for them.

So do not be like this picture and only show your kindness to some, but look out for who is the little one in your place and time and be an advocate for them. Not because of the reward, but because you might just be welcoming Jesus and by welcoming Jesus, the Father.

I will praise!

But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge. I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued. All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced. (Psalm 71:14-24, NRSV)

All the things the Lord has done for me are in the past, they are a memory, yet they make me want to sing His praises!

I want to sing of the praises of His righteousness!

Of how I was taught by Him in my youth to follow and adore!

How in my gray hairs I am still able to proclaim His wonders and love in the world I am in.

I remember how in my troubles and calamities He walked by my side and let me fall, but never out of His reach! He was always there to catch me and keep me going.

He brought me out of the depths and gave me life and love when I did not deserve them.

Oh How the love of the Lord for me makes me want to shout it from the roof tops and sing it to all the world!

put to shame

But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” (Romans 10:8-11, NRSV)

We believe all kinds of things in our hearts that we will never speak in the daylight…

Why is that?

Some of the things we believe would be seen as crazy by some of our friends. How do you think the early adapters to The Way felt… They were following this new thing and everyone around them would think they are crazy…

When you really believe something in your heart though you have to talk about it. Confess it!

We have to give a word and life to the things we hold inside.

That is why we believe with our hearts and we are justified. We have the knowledge in us that brings us to that relationship, and then we speak it into existence…

We say the words that Jesus Christ is Lord! And so we are brought fully into that relationship. Not because of anything we have done, but because of everything God has done for us. And because of what He has done we will not be put to shame!

holy calling

Called equippedfor God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, (2 Timothy 1:7-11, NRSV)

God gave us a spirit of power and love to go out into the world and show the world His grace and mercy.

We are to give to the world as we have freely received.

And you see, God is not like the kids on the playground, who watch for the skills needed for the game. And then they pick all of the kids with skills first, leaving those of us who really want to play just standing there waiting…

God does not make sure the people he calls have wicked skills, and mad talent. That they will be able to go out into the world all on their own and do what needs to be done…

No He calls who will follow His own purpose and grace. He doesn’t pick you because you can do it on your own. He picks you to follow Him and allow Him to work through you.

God does not call the equipped… He equips the called! He loves you enough that He wants you to go out into the world and share His Love!

So Go, knowing He’s got your back!

pruned

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (John 15:1-8, NRSV)

Jesus is the vine and the Father is the vine grower…

That is all well and good, but all of us will face the sheers…

You see in order to grow grapes, or any fruit for that matter, you have to tend the vine or tree. And when you tend the tree, there is pruning. Even on branches that are producing. Even on fruitful branches there is cutting. This is to help them to keep growing fruit and producing a good crop.

So when you abide in Jesus and His word you will produce fruit, but He is going to cut off the parts that are getting in the way of you being as fruity as He can make you!

So allow Him the space in your life to prune away the stuff that is in the way and allow Him to make you a spiritual fruit that will go into the world and show them the love He has for all of us!

cost of discipleship

Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” (Luke 14:25-35, NRSV)

If you do not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be His disciple. Some have said to me how can I hate my family?

Well I can tell you there was a time I hated one of my family members, from my paternal family…

They had done all kind of evil things to us, and took things that were not theirs… I really hated them. But I love them as a family member, but I hated the actions they took against the family and myself.

I think that is what Jesus means. Or as I stated this past Sunday, we have to give up what we fear to lose. We have to love Jesus more than these, and have Him first. So that if these things around us go a different direction we will not follow because we love them more than God, but we will stay with God.

Do you dare to let go of everything and cling only to Him?