Witness

A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light. This is John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John confessed (he didn’t deny but confessed), “I’m not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” John said, “I’m not.” “Are you the prophet?” John answered, “No.” They asked, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied, “I am a voice crying out in the wilderness, Make the Lord’s path straight, just as the prophet Isaiah said.” Those sent by the Pharisees asked, “Why do you baptize if you aren’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered, “I baptize with water. Someone greater stands among you, whom you don’t recognize. He comes after me, but I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” This encounter took place across the Jordan in Bethany where John was baptizing. (John 1:6-8, 19-28, CEB)

What are you a witness for?

John said, “I am a voice crying out in the wilderness, Make the Lord’s path straight“

What do you say?

Do your actions point to Jesus?

Or do they point to you?

God should be the first and foremost thing in our lives.

What is your life a witness to?

Loving People. Loving God.

Neither

“What do you think? A man had two sons. Now he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
“‘No, I don’t want to,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.
“The father said the same thing to the other son, who replied, ‘Yes, sir.’ But he didn’t go.
“Which one of these two did his father’s will?”
They said, “The first one.”
Jesus said to them, “I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s kingdom ahead of you. For John came to you on the righteous road, and you didn’t believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Yet even after you saw this, you didn’t change your hearts and lives and you didn’t believe him. (Matthew 21:28-32, CEB)

“Which one of these two did his father’s will?” Neither. Even though the first son did go and do what he was asked he out right said no and didn’t go for a while, and then after he felt bad about not doing it he went to do it.

The second one just lied.

God knows our hearts and what we will do. We can not hide from God.

Do not try to fool God.

Love as God does, with reckless abandon.

Loving People. Loving God.

Keep trying

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. Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. So all of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal it to him or her. Only let’s live in a way that is consistent with whatever level we have reached. (Philippians 3:12-16, CEB)

Life is hard and we are human.

Paul tells the Philippians that he is trying to be who God made him to be. He has not reached the goal, but he does not stop pursuing it.

Life is a dance and we take two steps forward and one step back and apologize for the wrongs we do and strive to be a loving person in the world.

Try to love as God loves you.

Never stop trying.

Loving People. Loving God.

what?!?

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. (Philippians 3:7-11, CEB)

Sewer trash, dung, garbage. The word is translated as a lot of things in different translations. It is a word that is not found in the New Testament any where else or in extra biblical writings of the time. Scholars think it is a street slang word. The word is σκύβαλα. I was taught it was a slang word used on the street and would be equivalent to shit.

Now why would a scholar and a teacher of faith us such a foul word? Well words as all objects are neither good nor bad, and only become that from the connotations and ways we use them. Maybe Paul was trying to make sure that the Philippians were listening. Maybe he was trying to make a point. Language is a tool and is neither good nor bad. And by us sanitizing what Paul said we are missing the point.

No matter what we thought was important, it is nothing next to what we have in God.

Love as God does and know all people are God’s beloved children.

Loving People. Loving God.

Fear

During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, blameless in their observance of all the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to become pregnant and they both were very old. One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God because his priestly division was on duty. Following the customs of priestly service, he was chosen by lottery to go into the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense. All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering. An angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and overcome with fear. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many people will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the Lord’s eyes. He must not drink wine and liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. He will bring many Israelites back to the Lord their God. He will go forth before the Lord, equipped with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and he will turn the disobedient to righteous patterns of thinking. He will make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:5-17, CEB)

When he saw the angel he was startled and over come with fear…

What makes us fear?

Not having a kid when we had hoped we would?

Having a kid when we maybe didn’t want that to happen?

Not being who God created us to be?

Not fitting into the box society wants us to fit so we can not get called out?

Being the perfect person and getting everything right?

God created each of us different so if you are trying to be exactly like someone else or follow the rules for someone else it won’t work. God wants us to love as God does that is why none of us are the same.

Love people as they are, see the beauty of God’s creation, and have no fear being yourself. You are truly the best at it!

Loving People. Loving God.

Who?

The apostles and the brothers and sisters throughout Judea heard that even the Gentiles had welcomed God’s word. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him. They accused him, “You went into the home of the uncircumcised and ate with them!” Step-by-step, Peter explained what had happened. “I was in the city of Joppa praying when I had a visionary experience. In my vision, I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came all the way down to me. As I stared at it, wondering what it was, I saw four-legged animals—including wild beasts—as well as reptiles and wild birds. I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ I responded, ‘Absolutely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ The voice from heaven spoke a second time, ‘Never consider unclean what God has made pure.’ This happened three times, then everything was pulled back into heaven. At that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. The Spirit told me to go with them even though they were Gentiles. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered that man’s house. He reported to us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. He will tell you how you and your entire household can be saved.’ When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as the Spirit fell on us in the beginning. I remembered the Lord’s words: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then who am I? Could I stand in God’s way?” Once the apostles and other believers heard this, they calmed down. They praised God and concluded, “So then God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life.” (Acts 11:1-18, CEB)

Who is welcome?

Who sets the rules for who is welcome?

Well, that really depends on the group. There are some groups that have guidelines for who can be a member, there are fraternities, which are usually groups of males, and sororities, which are usually females. There are some fraternities that include both male and female, so sometimes the rules change.

But this is about who is welcome in God’s kingdom and who sets the rules. And in some churches, gatherings of God’s people, they say everyone is welcome but not every action. Which usually means if you are a part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community you really aren’t welcome.

In the above vision we see Peter get the lesson of anything God has made we can not say is unclean. We do not get to decide who is in and who is out, it is not up to our guidelines or rules. It is about God.

And when it comes to who is welcome I like to default to this statement by Drew Tucker. “I use “everyone is welcome but not everything” and then delineate clearly that racism, homophobia, xenophobia and the like aren’t welcome. If you’re not willing to try and give those up, come back when you are.”

Hate isn’t welcome. God created and it is not our place to judge another because they don’t fit our box.

Loving People. Loving God.

devoted…

When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites.” With many other words he testified to them and encouraged them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized. God brought about three thousand people into the community on that day. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. (Acts 2:37-42, CEB)

What are you devoted to?

What is it that makes you get out of bed every day?

Here people heard the good news of Jesus and asked what they had to do, and it says those you believed devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to eating together, and to praying.

You need to be devoted to learning more about your faith, being a part of a community of believers, eating and sharing table fellowship with them, and praying.

Easy!

So be devoted to those things and watch what God does.

Loving People. Loving God.

Beginning

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah:

Look, I am sending my messenger before you.
He will prepare your way,
a voice shouting in the wilderness:
        “Prepare the way for the Lord;
        make his paths straight.”

John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins. John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:1-8, CEB)

Mark is an interesting gospel. Everything is and immediately, and it ends with the women leaving the tomb and saying nothing to nobody. Yes there are verses after that but most scholars agree they were added later because people didn’t like the story ending with the women leaving the tomb and saying nothing to nobody.

But it’s not an ending.

Mark and the passage above begins, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ” and the end of the book is the end of the beginning.

We are still writing the good news of Jesus Christ in the world.

So share love and continue the good news!

Loving People. Loving God.

Integrity

Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking around the temple, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders came to him. They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I have a question for you. Give me an answer, then I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things. Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” They argued among themselves, “If we say, ‘It’s of heavenly origin,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But we can’t say, ‘It’s of earthly origin.’” They said this because they were afraid of the crowd, because they all thought John was a prophet. They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.” (Mark 11:27-33, CEB)

What is lacking here is integrity.

The leaders would not need to worry about what others would say if they lived a life of integrity. One who lives with integrity knows the answers and doesn’t care what others will think when the answer is given. If you are constantly worried about how others will react to your answer and change your answer based on how those receiving the answer will react then you are living for the approval of others. The only one we need the approval of is God, and there is nothing you can do to gain or loss that approval.

So live with integrity.

Loving People. Loving God.

labeled

Now those who were scattered as a result of the trouble that occurred because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They proclaimed the word only to Jews. Among them were some people from Cyprus and Cyrene. They entered Antioch and began to proclaim the good news about the Lord Jesus also to Gentiles. The Lord’s power was with them, and a large number came to believe and turned to the Lord. When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw evidence of God’s grace, he was overjoyed and encouraged everyone to remain fully committed to the Lord. Barnabas responded in this way because he was a good man, whom the Holy Spirit had endowed with exceptional faith. A considerable number of people were added to the Lord. Barnabas went to Tarsus in search of Saul. When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They were there for a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching large numbers of people. It was in Antioch where the disciples were first labeled “Christians.” (Acts 11:19-26, CEB)

Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to label people?

If we all just loved and cared for everyone regardless of anything other than the fact it is a fellow human being?

If we all encouraged others to continue doing good and spreading love in the world?

One day. This will happen.

Until then friends be the love the world needs.

Loving People. Loving God.