Discipline

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.” Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears. (Hebrews 12:3-17, NRSV)

How many of you as parents have disciplined a child? Have you made them endure a time of cleaning or waiting?

How many of us our enduring a time in our lives where it feels like nothing s going our way and we could not feel closer to the Lord? Maybe we are being prepared for our good…

Remember that God can make all things work together for His good, and He is your parent who wants the best for you.

Endure those times of discipline knowing it is for your good. Or better than endure, enjoy those times and relish how this is making you more like Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith!

House of prayer?

20130821-144223.jpgThen he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard. (Luke 19:45-48, NRSV)

For the Chief Priest, scribes and the leaders of he people did not listen to to the scripture Jesus quoted did they?

He said that His Father’s House was to be a house of prayer, and they had made it a den of robbers. Was this because they were selling the necessary wares for those who needed to worship? No it is because he exchange rate for the temple money was not good for the people and he prices they were paying were not good for the people. And who set up the systems of exchange and pricing?

What do we do in our buildings where we worship? Is it all prayer and worship? Or do we discuss how to make money and about the things that are wrong with society and the people we welcome and don’t welcome? If we do anything beyond praying we are not doing what Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures told us to do.

So would Jesus drive you out of the temple?

what do we worship…

‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” ‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’ (Acts 7.44-53, NRSV)

What can be made for God that God did not make? He has made the heavens and the earth and all that is around us He has made. So why do we toil over building the right buildings?

What are we really worshiping?

The above window is beautiful and a wonderful rendition of an understanding of the good shepherd, but if this window and the building around it become the center of our attention we are no better than the stiff necked uncircumcised people of heart and ear who had the law handed to them by the angels, but fail to keep it. The law is not about being in the right, it is about right relationships and being there with and for each other. The law is not meant to keep people away, but to show us how we are to live together for the furthering of God’s kingdom.

So do you worship the building you worship in, or do you love and worship God? Because there is nothing you can make that will impress the creator of the universe!

Blessed

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:1-11 ESV)

Are your transgressions forgiven? Is your sin covered?

We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. There is a cute story I have heard many times about sin…

A man prayed to the Lord, “Lord it has been a good day so far. I have not called anyone a name, or thought bad thoughts about any one or anything. I have been completely focused on you. But Lord I’m about to get out of bed now so if you could give me the strength to continue this way.”

We all fall short, but the blessed person is the one who confesses their transgressions to the Lord, and confess their sins. Then the Lord forgives them, and brings them into the place where he blesses can be.

So do not beat yourself up because of your sin, confess it, and be one of the blessed.

Set this place on fire!

“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:49-56, NRSV)

This is the gospel of our Lord! It was hard for me as a pastor to say that after reading this text this morning, because upon first hearing and thought process there is not much good new to be heard here. Jesus tells us that He has come to bring fire to the earth and He wishes it was already here. And then He goes on to tell us that He didn’t come to bring peace but division!

So the second destruction of the earth is coming by fire and Jesus is going to set this place ablaze. And not only that, but He is going to cause families to be at odds with each other. So just where is the good news. You read a text like this and you want to run to the other texts for the day and see what they have…

But hold on. Is the problem we have with what Jesus says here the texts fault, or something within us?

The text has done nothing wrong, and Jesus is getting His feelings out. He has done this before when tables are over turned in the temple. He has done some harsh things…

So what is this fire? We saw this earlier in Luke when the disciples asked Jesus if they should call for fire to rain down from heaven on the Samaritan village… It could be the second destruction of the world. God gave us the rainbow to tell us He would never again destroy the world with water, but that left every other element up for grabs.

The thing we need to look at here is what the context of this text is. This text is part of the journey to Jerusalem. Jesus has set His face towards Jerusalem and the cross. And this text is part of that. So in the whole grand scheme of things, this is before the cross…

So what if this fire, is not destruction? What if this fire is the inhabiting of all of the earth by the fire baptism of the Holy Spirit that comes on Pentecost? You see Jesus has not died, or risen yet in Luke, so Pentecost has not happened. What if this fire that Jesus is bringing is the coming Holy Spirit, and how He wishes it was already blazing on the earth and in the hearts of all men? He wishes this was so, because he is going to the baptism of His death.

And because of this He is stressed. Did you hear that? Jesus is stressed because He s going to be killed. To me, that right there is the good news! Jesus understand the stress of having to do something or face something. He came to earth and became human and understands what it is to feel stressed. He gets what we go through. And He understands what it can do to your life.

So do not think of the fire as destruction, but as the coming Spirit, and know that no matter what you are facing, Jesus has seen what it is like to be stressed, and it will all be something you can make it through with Him at your side!

False…

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:15-28 ESV)

Look out for false christs and prophets. The world around us allows people to see things and do things that seem miraculous. We must not be led astray…

But Jesus also warns us to watch out for the false prophets and those who would claim to be messiah in the church. You see in Jesus’ day many were claiming to be the messiah and many were prophets. They were everywhere…

The interesting line in here for me is the last. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. We gather around the things that keep us in touch with the past. We hold onto the traditions and things of the past and can’t seem to look to the future or today. We are caught up In the ways that were… Jesus told us to look to the future and to be aware of what is happening here and now.

Be aware of where we are and what is happening and do not add to the false prophets and bring people away from the true Christ. Even in the church we are really good at looking backwards rather than forward. We need to focus on Christ, and where He is leading rather than the rules and regulations of our local congregations.

Follow Christ and do not add to the confusion of the false ways that lead others astray…

Sure thing

Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way. (Hebrews 10:32-39 MSG)

Have you even been kicked around or looked down upon for your beliefs?

Have you ever lost something, or freely given it away, because you know you have something that can never be taken for you.

We are together for each other but what we have in Christ can never be taken from us.

But what the author of Hebrews tells us is that we need to have that fire we had when we first believed in the promise of Christ all of our lives. Things will always be hard as a believer and follower of the way and we need to hold tight to the promise. It is a sure thing that will hold us all of our lives.

humbled

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. So man is humbled, and each one is brought low— do not forgive them! Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty. The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:5-11 ESV)

Let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Take a look around your home. What is central to your life according to the contents of your house?

How many things have you purchased that we’re suppose to make your life easy, or wonderful, or perfect? We see ad and want the things we see our friends, co workers, and people walking on the street have. We think these things will make our lives great, so we spend our money on them, but what do they actually do?

The take up space in our lives and the place of something more important?

What did you see around your house? What is central? The TV? The Internet? The kids? The dog? The cat? From where I am sitting typing this I can see 2 pictures of Jesus and a picture of my wife and youngest daughter from Ash Wednesday worship 2012 (they have ash crosses on their heads).

I’m not any better than anyone else though please don’t think I mean that. Because I can also see for. Where I am sitting our computer, tv, wii, stereo, BluRay player, DVD player, 2 printers… You see we have idols from the east and things that can take the place of God.

So walk in the light of the Lord and allow Him to have control, so the idols can’t take control.

Slaves

20130814-145402.jpgPeter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (Luke 12:41-48, NRSV)

What will Jesus find you doing when He returns?

Are you building His kingdom and doing His work? Or are you making rules and forcing people to live in the fashion you think they should so that your rules are followed?

Jesus was not one to keep the rules when the ultimate issue of one of God’s children was in need.

So what will Jesus find you doing? Will you be building up His people and using the gifts He gave you in mercy, grace, and love towards others? Or will He find you judging those around you by how they act or act wrongly around the rules you have setup. The only rule God uses for you is grace and love. And He has the right and authority to judge, we can only judge if we allow ourselves to be judged by the same judgement.

So what slave are you?