Cosmic Vending Machine

He also said to them, “Imagine that one of you has a friend and you go to that friend in the middle of the night. Imagine saying, ‘Friend, loan me three loaves of bread because a friend of mine on a journey has arrived and I have nothing to set before him.’ Imagine further that he answers from within the house, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I assure you, even if he wouldn’t get up and help because of his friendship, he will get up and give his friend whatever he needs because of his friend’s brashness. And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. To everyone who knocks, the door is opened. “Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish? If a child asked for an egg, what father would give the child a scorpion? If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:5-13, CEB)

I really don’t like certain versions of this story. This one in Luke and the one in Mark I believe, where it basically says ask and get, knock and it will be opened, and search and you will find. It makes God into a cosmic vending machine. Anything I want all I need to do is be brash enough about and God will give it to me. And I know this is not how God works.

Some version of this parable/story says if it is the will of God you will get is, it will be opened, or you will find it. Somethings aren’t going to happen because they aren’t going to happen.

Just because I ask to win the Lottery doesn’t mean I will. Just because I look for the winning ticket doesn’t mean I’ll find it. God doesn’t feed our wants, God feeds our needs. And even feeding our needs isn’t always they was we want them fed.

Do not think you will always get what you ask, try to open, or search for. But know you will always have what you need.

Loving People. Loving God.

Indulge…

As you do all this, you know what time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first had faith. The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires. (Romans 13:11-14, CEB)

This is an interesting passage. Paul is telling the Romans who he has not yet actually met, they are like social media friends who haven’t met in real life, to not indulge their selfish desires and not live in the darkness.

Don’t party. Don’t get drunk. Don’t sleep around. Don’t act obscene.

Be pure and clothed in Christ.

We say this means that anyone who does the above things are not true followers of Christ. I can honestly say I know people who do the above and their hearts are pure gold and they love God and love people, and they follow God to the best of their abilities.

We should not judge anyone for how they live. We all need to do our best to love like Jesus and live and let live.

Don’t indulge your selfish desires that would bring pain or hurt someone else’s life. Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Live Love

We don’t need to write to you about the timing and dates, brothers and sisters. You know very well that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. When they are saying, “There is peace and security,” at that time sudden destruction will attack them, like labor pains start with a pregnant woman, and they definitely won’t escape. But you aren’t in darkness, brothers and sisters, so the day won’t catch you by surprise like a thief. All of you are children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to night or darkness. So then, let’s not sleep like the others, but let’s stay awake and stay sober. People who sleep sleep at night, and people who get drunk get drunk at night. Since we belong to the day, let’s stay sober, wearing faithfulness and love as a piece of armor that protects our body and the hope of salvation as a helmet. God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, CEB)

We know as followers of Jesus that at some point he is coming back. And if we knew when we could easily live however we wanted and then clean up the act when we knew he was coming. But that isn’t how it works and that isn’t how we should look at life.

We should not do things because people will see us to make good impressions and get the right likes and glances.

We should live love out loud all the time. No pretenses, no differences depending on who is watching or who isn’t.

Live love out loud all the time. Be Authentic. Be a person of integrity.

Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

yeast

Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.” The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.” Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?” They answered, “Twelve.” “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?” They answered, “Seven.” Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?” (Mark 8:14-21, CEB)

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Jesus speaks of yeast, but he is talking about the false teachings of those who would lead us astray from where God is calling and guiding us.

Be on guard, and keep your heart focused on Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

God watches out…

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem. (Acts 7:9-16, CEB)

Sometimes I wonder with all the troubles I go through if God is really for me.

I wonder if I have done too much and gone too far away for God to still care and watch over me.

But even in the darkness, God is with us.

Even when we doubt God is there, God is with us.

God doesn’t keep bad things from happening but walks with you in the darkness and guides you.

God doesn’t reach in and change the circumstances but God never leaves us.

Know that God is always with you. Especially when you don’t think God is.

Loving People. Loving God.

Serve

About that time, while the number of disciples continued to increase, a complaint arose. Greek-speaking disciples accused the Aramaic-speaking disciples because their widows were being overlooked in the daily food service. The Twelve called a meeting of all the disciples and said, “It isn’t right for us to set aside proclamation of God’s word in order to serve tables. Brothers and sisters, carefully choose seven well-respected men from among you. They must be well-respected and endowed by the Spirit with exceptional wisdom. We will put them in charge of this concern. As for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and the service of proclaiming the word.” This proposal pleased the entire community. They selected Stephen, a man endowed by the Holy Spirit with exceptional faith, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. The community presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. God’s word continued to grow. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased significantly. Even a large group of priests embraced the faith. (Acts 6:1-7, CEB)

We all have a gift to share.

We all have a place in the body.

Some Proclaim. Some study. Some Provide for basic needs.

It is all service.

We all do our part and the body grows.

Loving People. Loving God.

Live forever

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Then the Jews debated among themselves, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Human One and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51-58, CEB)

Jesus is the living bread and we say that this is communion. Jesus in the night before he was crucified had dinner with his friends and said this is my body broken and given for you when holding bread and this is my blood shed and given for you while holding a cup of wine. This didn’t happen in the gospel of John, but in the other three and is noted in Paul’s letters, specifically Corinthians.

But here we get Jesus saying he is the living bread. And while this can be seen as talking about communion, it is also talking about believing in Jesus and having a relationship with God.

When we commune with Jesus and live in that relationship we are being fed and nourished to be who God created us to be. Unless we maintain our relationship with Jesus, we are not living the life God called us to live.

We will live forever when we abide with Christ. When we have faith and know that we are loved as is and called to love the world in the same fashion, to show them grace and mercy and see that God’s love is shared.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

the Messiah is coming

A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food. The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.) Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!” Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.” The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.” “You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered. “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.” The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.” The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.” Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.” (John 4:7-26, CEB)

The Messiah is coming…

The woman at the well said that to Jesus, and Jesus said, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.” Jesus said, “ἐγώ εἰμι, ὁ λαλῶν σοι.” Which translates, “I Am, the one speaking to you.” And ἐγώ εἰμι is the name of God from Moses and the burning bush.

The woman at the well would have known this to be the name of God.

Jesus just told this woman that he is God and he is the Messiah.

What would you have done at that moment? After all he had said to you after just meeting him?

What do we do when we encounter Christ today?

Know the messiah is coming. Know that you are loved.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

watch out…

Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for people who create divisions and problems against the teaching that you learned. Keep away from them. People like that aren’t serving the Lord. They are serving their own feelings. They deceive the hearts of innocent people with smooth talk and flattery. The news of your obedience has reached everybody, so I’m happy for you. But I want you to be wise about what’s good, and innocent about what’s evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (Romans 16:17-20, CEB)

This line is a double-edged sword…

“I urge you to watch out for people who create divisions and problems against the teaching that you learned.”

But what if what you have learned is only because those in power wish to stay in power so they have taught you something that is not what God intended, but is what they need to stay in power?

We should not always follow along because this is the way we have always done this. We should not blindly follow because that is the way it has always been.

When I arrived at my first Hebrew Scriptures class, The Pentateuch and the Historical Books of the Bible, the professor said first thing on the first day of class, “What you learned in Sunday School is a lie, and I am going to teach you the truth.”

We need to question things and grow as we learn more about our faith and not just accept things as they are. Know good, and seek to not be or do evil.

Loving People. Loving God.

Make a name…

Stephen, who stood out among the believers for the way God’s grace was at work in his life and for his exceptional endowment with divine power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose from some who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Former Slaves. Members from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia entered into debate with Stephen. However, they couldn’t resist the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly enticed some people to claim, “We heard him insult Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the legal experts. They caught Stephen, dragged him away, and brought him before the Jerusalem Council. Before the council, they presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law. In fact, we heard him say that this man Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and alter the customary practices Moses gave us.” Everyone seated in the council stared at Stephen, and they saw that his face was radiant, just like an angel’s. (Acts 6:8-15, CEB)

Westboro Baptist Church.

Do you know that church? It is the one known for picketing LGBTQIA2S+ rallies and gatherings or anyone who goes against what the Bible says, or what we traditionally thought the Bible said.

That is what I thought of when I read this. Stephen if he was around today would be one who had Westboro Baptist coming up to him and calling him out. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where I serve as pastor, it would be named on Exposing the ELCA website.

Make a name for yourself as being one who goes against the mainstream when it is needed to go against. We are called to be in and not of this world, loving it to help show God’s grace, love, and mercy in everything we do.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.