witness

When some in the crowd heard these words, they said, “This man is truly the prophet.” Others said, “He’s the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ can’t come from Galilee, can he? Didn’t the scripture say that the Christ comes from David’s family and from Bethlehem, David’s village?” So the crowd was divided over Jesus. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one grabbed him. The guards returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked, “Why didn’t you bring him?” The guards answered, “No one has ever spoken the way he does.” The Pharisees replied, “Have you too been deceived? Have any of the leaders believed in him? Has any Pharisee? No, only this crowd, which doesn’t know the Law. And they are under God’s curse!” Nicodemus, who was one of them and had come to Jesus earlier, said, “Our Law doesn’t judge someone without first hearing him and learning what he is doing, does it?” They answered him, “You are not from Galilee too, are you? Look it up and you will see that the prophet doesn’t come from Galilee.” (John 7:40-52, CEB)

Nicodemus is the disciple I hope I can be like?

He went to Jesus under the cover of darkness because he didn’t believe and that interaction changed him. Here he is standing up for Jesus in a semi-public place.

And the next time we see him in the bible he is helping take Jesus’ body off the cross. He went form unbelieving to putting himself completely aligned with Jesus. A transformation all of us should make.

He was worried people would see him and then was publicly supporting a criminal.

I hope I am like Nicodemus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Not an angel

After all, when did God ever say to any of the angels:
You are my Son.
        Today I have become your Father?
Or, even,
I will be his Father,
        and he will be my Son?
But then, when he brought his firstborn into the world, he said,
All of God’s angels must worship him.
He talks about the angels:
He’s the one who uses the spirits for his messengers
        and who uses flames of fire as ministers.
But he says to his Son,
God, your throne is forever
        and your kingdom’s scepter is a rod of justice.
You loved righteousness and hated lawless behavior.
        That is why God, your God,
        has anointed you more than your companions with the oil of joy.
And he says,
You, Lord, laid the earth’s foundations in the beginning,
        and the heavens are made by your hands.
They will pass away,
        but you remain.
They will all wear out like old clothes.
        You will fold them up like a coat.
They will be changed like a person changes clothes,
        but you stay the same,
        and the years of your life won’t come to an end.
When has he ever said to any of the angels,
Sit at my right side
        until I put your enemies under your feet like a footstool?
Aren’t all the angels ministering spirits who are sent to serve those who are going to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:5-14, CEB)

Jesus is not an angel.

Jesus is the son.

The one and only son, that makes a way for all of us to be a part of the kingdom.

You are a part of the kingdom and a messenger to hope.

Show hope always.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

His powerful message

In the past, God spoke through the prophets to our ancestors in many times and many ways. In these final days, though, he spoke to us through a Son. God made his Son the heir of everything and created the world through him. The Son is the light of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being. He maintains everything with his powerful message. After he carried out the cleansing of people from their sins, he sat down at the right side of the highest majesty. And the Son became so much greater than the other messengers, such as angels, that he received a more important title than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4, CEB)

He maintains everything with his powerful message.

What was the powerful message?

I believe it is, Love God and Love Neighbor. Love!

Everything is maintained by love.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Who is around us?

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, wondering, “What’s this ‘rising from the dead’?” They asked Jesus, “Why do the legal experts say that Elijah must come first?” He answered, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. Why was it written that the Human One would suffer many things and be rejected? In fact, I tell you that Elijah has come, but they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it was written about him.” (Mark 9:9-13, CEB)

Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they wanted. They did not see him or recognize him.

Who are we in the presence of and we just don’t see it?

Who are we playing host to and we do not know?

We look with our eyes and not the eyes of God. We need to see like God does.

Do not think you know, allow God to work in and through you.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

acted…

“Brothers and sisters, I know you acted in ignorance. So did your rulers. But this is how God fulfilled what he foretold through all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. Change your hearts and lives! Turn back to God so that your sins may be wiped away. Then the Lord will provide a season of relief from the distress of this age and he will send Jesus, whom he handpicked to be your Christ. Jesus must remain in heaven until the restoration of all things, about which God spoke long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up from your own people a prophet like me. Listen to whatever he tells you. Whoever doesn’t listen to that prophet will be totally cut off from the people. All the prophets who spoke—from Samuel forward—announced these days. You are the heirs of the prophets and the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, Through your descendants, all the families on earth will be blessed. After God raised his servant, he sent him to you first—to bless you by enabling each of you to turn from your evil ways.” While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them. They were incensed that the apostles were teaching the people and announcing that the resurrection of the dead was happening because of Jesus. They seized Peter and John and put them in prison until the next day. (It was already evening.) Many who heard the word became believers, and their number grew to about five thousand. (Acts 3:17-4:4, CEB)

I know you acted in ignorance…

ignorance is different than stupidity.

One can be ignorant and very smart.

We did things when we didn’t know better. That is why people who once spoke against something can change their ways and support that same thing they spoke against. It is called growing and changing to become what God intended.

So do not cling to things of your past, but follow where God is leading you now.

Do not let yesterdays not knowing stop you from being who God intended for you to be.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Who are we fighting?

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. (Ephesians 6:10-17, CEB)

We aren’t fighting against human enemies. We should not be fighting against other humans. We should not be fighting against other siblings, those created by God, which is everyone.

Our enemies are “rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.” Not humans but spiritual powers.

We should be lifting other humans up and fighting spiritual powers.

Love people. Fight evil.

Loving People. Loving God.

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.