Killed

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Luke 13:31-35, CEB)

Jesus wanted to protect the people like a mother hen protects her young, and they wanted him dead.

They said Herod was wanting to kill him, but they were really not going to stop him, because Jesus was getting in the way of their power.

Jesus just wants us to love like God and show the world mercy and grace.

Power is not ours to have.

We need to show love to the sojourner, mercy to the widow, and work for justice for all.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Stoned

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your people together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is left to you deserted. I tell you, you won’t see me until you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Matthew 23:37-39, CEB)

Those who were sent by God to give a message were.killed and stoned by those in power. They didn’t like the messages because it meant they would lose some power.

Know when you speak for God, people will not like it. You will be speaking against their privilege and power and they don’t want to lose that.

When you are threatened or stoned you are in good company.

Don’t let the threats or animosity stop you from loving and speaking truth.

Loving People. Loving God.

Imitators

Brothers and sisters, become imitators of me and watch those who live this way—you can use us as models. As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things. Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:17-20, CEB)

Be imitators of Paul. Give up your life for pursuit of the Gospel.

Do not go after the power or the things that satisfy you here and now, but store treasures in heaven, and give glory to God. Showing love to all.

When you focus on you and making sure your needs are met, that is power or privilege. Look to lift up others and show love in everything you do.

Loving People. Loving God.

Hold

Watch out for the “dogs.” Watch out for people who do evil things. Watch out for those who insist on circumcision, which is really mutilation. We are the circumcision. We are the ones who serve by God’s Spirit and who boast in Christ Jesus. We don’t put our confidence in rituals performed on the body, though I have good reason to have this kind of confidence. If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more: I was circumcised on the eighth day. I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews. With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee. With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church. With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless. These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. (Philippians 3:2-12, CEB)

I hold to the goal of resurrection because I am being daily conformed to His life. Nothing in my life is worth the glory I get from being known by Jesus and following in His way.

Everything Paul could count as a reason to boast is sewer trash, dung, the word Paul used in the Greek here is the slang word for shit in his day. Not found in any other literature of the time, Paul uses a shock value word to get attention. Everything you think is boast worthy is nothing compared to what we have in the conforming of our lives to Jesus.

Hold on to that.

Loving People. Loving God.

Delighted

“Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.” Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but he spent each night on the Mount of Olives. All the people rose early in the morning to hear him in the temple area. The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the legal experts were looking for a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. He went out and discussed with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he could hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted and arranged payment for him. He agreed and began looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them—a time when the crowds would be absent. (Luke 21:34—22:6, CEB)

The powers that be in the church during Jesus’ day were delighted that someone was willing to do their dirty work. They had a scapegoat.

They arranged payment and set plans in motion to keep their power nice and tidy where it was.

They let the anxieties of life and their position take over. They did not follow God.

Do we let life get in the way of our following God?

Loving People. Loving God.

Cravings

God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment. And he didn’t spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others. God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people. And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.) These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day. This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord’s authority. These reckless, brash people aren’t afraid to insult the glorious ones, yet angels, who are stronger and more powerful, don’t use insults when pronouncing the Lord’s judgment on them. These false teachers are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They slander what they don’t understand and, like animals, they will be destroyed. In this way, they will receive payment for their wrongdoing. They even enjoy unruly parties in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, taking delight in their seductive pleasures while feasting with you. They are always looking for someone with whom to commit adultery. They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sin. They ensnare people whose faith is weak. They have hearts trained in greed. They are under God’s curse. Leaving the straight path, they have gone off course, following the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the payment of doing wrong. But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. A donkey, which has no voice, spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet’s madness. These false teachers are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. The underworld has been reserved for them. With empty, self-important speech, they use sinful cravings and unrestrained immorality to ensnare people who have only just escaped life with those who have wandered from the truth. These false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of immorality; whatever overpowers you, enslaves you. If people escape the moral filth of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, then get tangled up in it again and are overcome by it, they are worse off than they were before. It would be better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having come to know it, to turn back from the holy commandment entrusted to them. (2 Peter 2:4-21, CEB)

Are all cravings to be satisfied?

And many of the examples above that are used here by the author for sexual desires are about welcome and power. And who has the power?

When we give into our cravings, it is the craving that has the power. When those who exploited people in Sodom and Gomorrah because of power. It was not about the sexual act but about who had and was going to keep the power.

We can not let the cravings have the power.

God will give us the strength to overcome come cravings, and our willingness to follow God will sho love to the world.

Love.

Do not give into power.

Loving People. Loving God.

Dealing

My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. The one who claims, “I know him,” while not keeping his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know we are in him. The one who claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way as he lived. (1 John 2:1-6, CEB)

God has a way of dealing with our sin.

But those who say they know Him but do not keep his commandments is a liar. And what are his commandments? Easy, there are two. Love God, Love neighbor. And who is our neighbor? Anyone who is not me or God.

So anyone who claims to love God and removes assistance for food, is not loving and does not love God. Anyone who does not allow refugees to be a part of the community is not loving the sojourner and not loving God.

When we do not love others, we are not loving and following God and we are sinning.

Let God deal with sin. And love everyone. You don’t have to understand everything or everyone. You need to love.

Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God

Opportunity

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.” Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.” Jesus answered, “It’s been said, Don’t test the Lord your God.” After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity. (Luke 4:1-13, CEB)

The Devil never questioned Jesus’ identity. The Devil knew he was the Son of God and knew what He was able to do. The question was, would Jesus fall onto his own power and do what was “best” for him at that moment or follow through on what had been set in place to be done?

Jesus could have made stones bread, but it is not about physical food. The kingdoms of the world really in the end aren’t the devils to give, and Jesus will get them any way, and yes the angels will protect Him but does that need to be tested?

And even after all of these things, the Devil did not concede, but left to return. You see we are never done fighting evil until the Kingdom of God is fulfilled and so there is always an opportunity for evil to rear its head. BE ready for evil’s next opportunity but following and living in the light of God.

Trust the promises are true and that God is always with you.

Loving People. Loving God.

Light

“Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard and said, “It’s thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to him.” Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (He said this to show how he was going to die.) The crowd responded, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Human One must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?” Jesus replied, “The light is with you for only a little while. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. As long as you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light.” After Jesus said these things, he went away and hid from them. (John 12:27-36, CEB)

Do we see the light?

The interesting thing to me about this passage is that Jesus talks about the light is with them only a little while longer and if they are in the light they can see, but those who walk in darkness do not have the light, nd then Jesus goes and hides from them. He takes the light away…

When Jesus leaves is the light gone?

Are we the light? We are not Jesus, but do we not believe that the Holy Spirit lives in us and the Holy Spirit is God and Jesus is God so the light lives in us, so is the light ever gone?

You are the light of the world. Shine in the darkness and help everyone know they are loved.

Loving People. Loving God.

Celebrate

“This is the same Moses whom they rejected when they asked, ‘Who appointed you as our leader and judge?’ This is the Moses whom God sent as leader and deliverer. God did this with the help of the angel who appeared before him in the bush. This man led them out after he performed wonders and signs in Egypt at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with our ancestors and with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He is the one who received life-giving words to give to us. He’s also the one whom our ancestors refused to obey. Instead, they pushed him aside and, in their thoughts and desires, returned to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will lead us. As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him!’ That’s when they made an idol in the shape of a calf, offered a sacrifice to it, and began to celebrate what they had made with their own hands. So God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the stars in the sky, just as it is written in the scroll of the Prophets: Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me for forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel? (Acts 7:35-42, CEB)

When we celebrate is it our own works?

To be honest, I have always found the ability of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness to make a golden calf as something to marvel at or celebrate. I mean they had left Egypt with everything they need to to melt gold down and create a mold to make a calf and worship it when Moses was gone to long. Like they knew this was going to happen and had prepared or they just figured out a way on the spot to do this. Either way it is a marvel.

But nothing like the marvels that God does when we allow God to be God and wrk through our lives and not make our own reasons to celebrate.

We need to follow and be where God needs us to be.

Celebrate God in your life and the lives of those around you

Loving People. Loving God.