beware the leaven…

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:14-21 ESV)

Again the disciples it seems don’t get Jesus’ discussion of leaven and bread. They think they need to have bread because Jesus tells them to beware the leaven.

Have they not heard anything He has said to this point? Have we heard anything He has said up to this point? We have heard it over and over again, and it seems sometimes we are a little slow to get what He is saying. We are a little slow to really hear what Jesus has said…

You see it is not about bread or real food, it is about teaching and leading. We have to beware of those who will lead us or teach us in a way that is not where Jesus would lead us or teach us.

So don’t worry about yeast in your bread, but discern with your heart and those who are a part of your tribe the teaching and the leading you are receiving and  weigh these against what you have known Jesus to do…

the right track…

Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
(Psalm 36:1-4 ESV)

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart… This text is disputed, and the ESV has a footnote for this verse which reads, “Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Jerome (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts in my heart” So some of the manuscripts say in his heart, but most of them say in My Heart!

It is in my heart that transgressions speaks… And I am wicked! I am evil and I have a hard time turning away from the sin I feel led to do. I think we are all there and are only lying to ourselves if we say otherwise. Paul even said that the things he wants to do he does not do and the things he does not want to do he does. We all fight with sin, because it speaks to us in the inner most portions of our being. We are seduced by it and think it is ok, because it comes from deep within us. We are led astray by our own desires wants, and needs.  My heart is wicked and filled with transgressions that speak to me and move me to do things I know I shouldn’t do…

Yet I have fear of God. I fear what God will do to me, so am I too far gone?

By recognizing the sin that fills us and knowing that we do what we shouldn’t we still have good before our eyes, and see God for who He is, and fear Him. Never lose the fear of God, or know that you are going down the wrong path. Many of our early church fathers questioned their salvation, and wondered at the mysteries of God. Martin Luther the champion of our understanding that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works questioned if he had done enough to get into heaven. We all question and doubt and sin, just do not ever lose the fear of God, it is what keeps you on the right track…

How precious…

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
(Psalm 36:7-9 ESV)

Have you ever needed refuge? It seems like I am looking for this all the time now. Refuge from the world that seems to beat us down and make us submit. To do what the world wants us to do.

This psalm opens with “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.” The wicked are steeped in sin, and it fills their lives and they do not fear God. They have no worries about coming before God. Yet those of us who know God and fear Him can rest in the shadow of His wings and feast on the abundance that is His house and drink from the loving waters of the flowing river of His delights!

Sin will get us no where except separated from the one who created us to be in relationship with Him.

Live in the refuge He provides you and feast in the riches that are yours in His care.

You are what you eat…

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51-58 ESV)

Why are we afraid of this passage? I heard my pastor speak to us today the word of God about this passage… About our cringing when we hear Jesus say we have to eat flesh and  drink blood… We are not cannibals, and most of us do not like the thought of eating somebody else or drinking their blood. This is truly disgusting and makes most of our stomachs turn…

But why are we really put off by this text? As my pastor said, what better way for us to be as close to Jesus as possible, have him in us, than for us to ingest him? If we eat him, then he is as close to us as he can possibly get. He is right here with us every where we go…

He is inside of us, and think about it from the other adage: you are what you eat. Actually I think this should be what scares us more than anything…

If we are what we eat and we eat Jesus, what does that make us? It makes us Jesus…

Someone who goes where sinners are…

Someone who eats with sinners…

Someone who loves the lowly….

Someone who loves when love is undeserved…

Someone who helps others see God…

That scares me, because I’m not Jesus and I’m not ready to go where He wants me to go and do what He did. I’m not ready for that and if I eat Him, then I am Him and I no longer have an excuse to not go…

I no longer have an excuse to not look out for the last, the lost, the little, the least…

I no longer have an excuse for keeping someone out of the gathering…

I no longer have an excuse for not loving…

I no longer have an excuse for holding someone down…

Jesus is in me and I am what I eat…

So are you ready to go and be Jesus to the world? He is ready to help you…

Remember you are what you eat… So chew away!

Living Water…

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:7-26 ESV)

Who actually asked for the drink here? Isn’t it interesting we spend all of our time talking about John 4 with the Samaritan woman about Jesus giving us living water, yet we forget that the whole conversation started by Jesus asking her for a drink!

Was he thirsty? Maybe, maybe not. Really doesn’t matter. The whole reason he asks for a drink is because he is sitting by a well and she is there. Perfect conversation starter. Doesn’t matter if he is actually thirsty, because the text is not about water any how…

It is not about water, or physical thirst, just like John chapter 6 is not about bread or physical hunger. We all know that no matter what we eat or drink, we will always be hungry or thirsty again. There is no magic water or food that will cause us to never be hungry again. If there was can you imagine the implications! There would never be undernourished people again, or would there (this is the topic for another blog… as it says you will never be thirsty or hungry, not that you won’t need food or water, we assume…) But John 4 and 6 are not about water and food…

They are about the living word, water and bread, that sustenance for our lives, not for physical needs but for all of our needs. Jesus wants us to be living in and with Him, to allow him to be the most important part of our life. And by doing this He will supply our needs, we will still be hungry and thirsty, we will still feel pain, and have troubles, but He will be with us and provide for us.

He will as he did for the woman at the well tell us our live’s story and give us details no one can possibly know, because he loves us that he came here to live among us and show us how to be in relationship with him and the father.

So allow him to give you the living water and live in those open and honest relationships with everyone! Because in doing that you will draw others to Jesus, and allow them to have the relationship that you have and feed them with living bread and water! The relationship of a lifetime!

Keep an eye…

Romans 16:17-20 (NRSV)

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Keep an eye out for those who cause dissension and lead astray from the teaching you have learned. Avoid those who cause dissension… for soon the God of peace will crush Satan under foot.

Avoid those who cause dissension means though that those whom we disagree with can never hear our side of the story…

I agree we have to be aware of those who lead us and others astray, but avoiding those we disagree with.

But that is not what Paul is saying. Paul says to the Romans to avoid those who are deliberately stirring up trouble. Those who go out of their way to cause problems in your life. Keep an eye out for these people and avoid them. They will be crushed under foot when the God of peace comes.

In this way we will be wise in what is good. Be wise in Jesus and do not let anyone lead you away from where He has taught you and led you to go.

stand with God…

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:8-15 ESV)

Have you ever had someone or a group of someones come after you? Maybe because you were saying things or said you believed things that were different than them? In the above reading from Acts, Stephen is speaking of God, of Jesus and those who are members of the synagogue don’t like it because they do not believe him. The do not believe Jesus is the messiah and they think that Stephen should be silenced.

So when they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking they plotted against him and said he was speaking against God and Moses… Not a very nice thing to do. I’m sure someone has said that I was doing that to them at some point. We can not point fingers at our neighbors because it is not our place to judge another. Our’s is to stand in the gap with God and speak what he has asked us to do.

Most of us will never have to face what Stephen had to face (although some of us will think we have come really close!). Stephen was stoned to death for his belief in Jesus, and he stood in the gap. God asks you to stand in the gap and speak the truth even in the face of danger and possible stoning. God will be with you, so are you ready to stand with God?

Give by God…

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40 ESV)

All that the Father gives Jesus will come to Him, and He will never cast any of what God gives Him out. And He has to do the will of the Father and that is to not lose anything that was given to Him.

But what has God given Him? And what is Jesus not losing?

Are we given by God to Jesus? I believe that I can not by my own will come to God. Yet do I have the power to say that I will not come to God, or I will not be given to Jesus?

Power is a big thing and we all think we have more than we do… We say we have control over our lives and that may be true, but do we have the power to not be given by God to Jesus? How big is grace and is it possible to not allow God to carry us to Jesus?

Yesterday I posted a blog called Carried… In it I discuss a little later in the 6th chapter of John where we are drawn by God to Jesus, and Martin Luther’s saying we can not come to God unless the Holy Spirit brings us. I believe God picks us up and carries us to the table, to the font, to everywhere we go that He or Jesus is involved. We can not by our own power come to God except that God help us come to Him. We as sinners can only come to the Holy if the Holy makes us clean. In the Roman Catholic understanding of this then, we can not come to the sacrament of confession unless God Himself carries us there! We can only come to the sacraments if carried by God. So there is never a time when we are not covered by God’s grace. We might be in need of forgiveness to understand fully the grace that covers us, but we are never not covered by God’s grace.

So are you given by God to Jesus… I can say for certain there is nothing in creation that is not covered by the grace of God. We may not understand the implications of this, but we have not far to go to find the arms of our God ready to carry us to places we do not deserve to go…

Allow God to give you to Jesus, and rest in His arms as He carries you to wonderful places!

Carried…

I had a conversation today with a dear friend and he asked during the conversation, “Is it possible for a sinner to go to a sacrament?” Now take for a moment that my friend use to be Catholic… It is a very profound question. My immediate answer was no. The bible tells us that the holy and the unholy can not mix. So the sinner who is unholy can not mix with the holy or the sacrament…

So then how does the sinner become holy? If not through the sacraments then how does one become able to stand in the presence of God.

I believe the answer comes through this past Sunday’s gospel text and Martin Luther’s explanation of the third article of the Apostle’s Creed and the below song by Leeland…

This past Sunday Jesus said to the crowd, that had become Jews in our reading that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44 ESV) Here in this verse Jesus says that we are drawn to Jesus by God. I read before last weeks sermon that the connotation of this word was more of a dragging then a drawn. But my quick look into it is more of “to bid a thing to be carried to one”. Martin Luther tells us in his explanation of the third article of the creed, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith…” And Leeland tells us, that we are carried to the sacrament!

You see it is not by our works, or the fact we are even worthy, because we are not we are worthless sinners, but God still loves us and calls out to us! God loves us even in our filth and wants to use us to spread the love He has for us and the world.

So while as a sinner you can not come, God himself carries you to Jesus! He picks you up and brings you to the arms of the one who gave everything so you might be with Him!

God’s eyes

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
(2 Peter 3:14-18 ESV)

Let the patience of the Lord be your salvation! Jesus is patient that all should come to know who He is, that we all find our way back home. But how?

We are to be found without spot or blemish and at peace… Seems a pretty tall order. Considering it seems like everyday we are doing something to make us be spotty, or get another blemish and are we at peace? And that begs the question, by who’s understanding our we spotless, or blemish free, and who are we at peace with?

Is this Peter’s understanding? Because there was a time when Peter said that is a Greek was not circumcised that was a spot or a blemish. And there was little peace for a while among the disciples on this subject. Look at Acts to see the fighting that went on about those who are not Jews, and how they can become Christians.

I think one of the most powerful people in your life would have something to say about this. That person is you. Others will say how good you are and the wonderful things you have done, but you know all of your past. You know all of your wrongs.

Are you at peace with yourself? We often fight with ourselves and can’t see beyond our own faults and failings to do anything different then we always have. God came and paid the price though, and loves us as we are and frees us to do wonderful things.

I was watching the Prince of Egypt last night and there is a seen where Jethro says that Moses is there honored guest. Moses says he has done nothing worthy of honor, yet he has freed Jethro’s daughter from Egypt and has saved his other daughters from bandits. It is all in how we see it, and according to Jethro we have to look at our lives through heavens eyes. We have to see us through God’s eyes…

So look at your life through the eyes of God and allow Him to work in and through you to do wonderful things. Knowing that He has paid for the cleaning to make you spotless and without blemish and He has a peace for you, so that you may learn more about Him, and receive an abundance of grace that you can go and share with others.

So look at your life through God’s eyes!