alive or dead

“Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis: These are the words of the one who holds God’s seven spirits and the seven stars: I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, and you are in fact dead. Wake up and strengthen whatever you have left, teetering on the brink of death, for I’ve found that your works are far from complete in the eyes of my God. So remember what you received and heard. Hold on to it and change your hearts and lives. If you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know what time I will come upon you. But you do have a few people in Sardis who haven’t stained their clothing. They will walk with me clothed in white because they are worthy. Those who emerge victorious will wear white clothing like this. I won’t scratch out their names from the scroll of life, but will declare their names in the presence of my Father and his angels. If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:1-6, CEB)

You have the reputation for being alive but are in fact dead.

Your works are far from complete in the eyes of God, not that works save you, but without works faith is dead.

If you truly believe and are alive in Christ you will be moved to works of justice and lifting the lowly.

You can not say you love God and then hate anyone or work to make anyone’s life harder. This is really appearing to be alive but being dead.

Do not appear alive. Be alive and share the love God has given all of us.

Loving People. Loving God.

proper view…

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and legal experts, and that he had to be killed and raised on the third day. Then Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him: “God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you.” But he turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? For the Human One is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done. I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:21-28, CEB)

This is one of the passages I wait for.

And you are probably wondering about that. Jesus calls Peter Satan, or tempter. But before that he tells Peter the proper place.

We see the translation as, “Get behind me, Satan.” When is that really what Jesus says?

A few chapters ago Jesus called the disciples and he said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” Follow me. ὀπίσω μου, in the Greek, is what Jesus said to the disciples in Matthew 4:19. And that is actually what Jesus says here to Peter. ὀπίσω μου, Get behind, follow me, know you place.

And here though Jesus says, Hold up Peter, This is what has to happen, and maybe what you are saying can happen, but you need to know your place and follow where I am leading. I always like to say that if you can’t see the back of Jesus’ head, then you are in the wrong place. We are not the leader. We are the follower or the mimicker of Jesus. And if we are trying to tell Jesus what to do that would make Jesus the mimicker of us.

So always make sure you have the proper view and follow to share love.

Loving People. Loving God.

healed

Jesus went home with Peter and saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served them. That evening people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. He threw the spirits out with just a word. He healed everyone who was sick. This happened so that what Isaiah the prophet said would be fulfilled: He is the one who took our illnesses and carried away our diseases. (Matthew 8:14-17, CEB)

I have a lot of issues and heard a lot of things about this passage. Why does it matter that Peter’s mother-in-law got up and served them after Jesus healed her? Isn’t this saying that Jesus made her better so she could make him a sandwich? Or soup? Or whatever food you want to insert here?

No, it is not about her serving, but it is about restoration. And before I go here, I am not saying that a woman’s place is in the place of serving. When Jesus lived, women served, and she was restored to her place in society. When one was sick in Jesus day you were removed from society because you could not fulfill your role. Jesus healing people not only made them physically better but allowed them to be a part of society again. it is a total healing.

That is what Jesus does for us, and calls us to do in the community. to restore people to community. For all of us to be included and a part of the kindom.

Loving People. Loving God.

Happy with injustice…

The hidden plan to live without any law is at work now, but it will be secret only until the one who is holding it back is out of the way. Then the person who is lawless will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath from his mouth. When the Lord comes, his appearance will put an end to him. When the person who is lawless comes, it will happen through Satan’s effort, with all kinds of fake power, signs, and wonders. It will happen with every sort of wicked deception of those who are heading toward destruction because they have refused to love the truth that would allow them to be saved. This is why God will send them an influence that will mislead them so that they will believe the lie. The result will be that everyone will be judged who is not convinced by the truth but is happy with injustice. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, CEB)

Now I am usually not one to get political, and I also am not one to say “Look at these signs, and do they not line up with what the Bible tells us” but…

“The result will be that everyone will be judged who is not convinced by the truth but is happy with injustice.” Everyone will be judged who is happy with injustice. 1000 yards of buoys in the Rio Grande that are killing women and children and keeping refugees from seeking the place of respite they are coming for. And people are rejoicing over this. Or laws being put in place which will make children who have started hormone therapy to block puberty to be their authentic self are made to stop this and cause them to be something the know they are not. Laws against women doing what they need to to their own bodies by men who do not know better but only want control. They are happy with injustice and do not see the truth.

We need to give up on what the world thinks is best and look out for all humanity. That is seeking justice. That is living like Christ.

Do not be fooled by those who say this is what religion is or this is what the Bible says. Follow Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

imitate

Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God. Sexual immorality, and any kind of impurity or greed, shouldn’t even be mentioned among you, which is right for holy persons. Obscene language, silly talk, or vulgar jokes aren’t acceptable for believers. Instead, there should be thanksgiving. Because you know for sure that persons who are sexually immoral, impure, or greedy—which happens when things become gods—those persons won’t inherit the kingdom of Christ and God. Nobody should deceive you with stupid ideas. God’s anger comes down on those who are disobedient because of this kind of thing. (Ephesians 5:1-6, CEB)

Live your life with love following the example of Christ.

Love like God does.

Look to the needs of others before yourself.

Love out Loud!

Loving People. Loving God.

a good thing

When Jesus was at Bethany visiting the house of Simon, who had a skin disease, a woman came to him with a vase made of alabaster containing very expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus’ head while he was sitting at dinner. Now when the disciples saw it they were angry and said, “Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.” But Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She’s done a good thing for me. You always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me. By pouring this perfume over my body she’s prepared me to be buried. I tell you the truth that wherever in the whole world this good news is announced, what she’s done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:6-13, CEB)

Sometimes we see things as wasteful, unnecessary.

This woman, who is not named, poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. Now do not confuse this story with the one from John, or from Luke. they are separate incidents. Here she pours the perfume on Jesus’ head and that is all we hear, other than Jesus saying she will be remembered because she anointed him and prepared his body for burial.

Sometimes we don’t understand because God is so much bigger than us.

Sometimes we won’t understand. And that is faith.

Just love.

Loving People. Loving God.

Deep

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep! They are as mysterious as his judgments, and they are as hard to track as his paths! Who has known the Lord’s mind? Or who has been his mentor? Or who has given him a gift and has been paid back by him? All things are from him and through him and for him. May the glory be to him forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36, CEB)

God’s anything is deeper than we can fathom.

We can not comprehend God or the things God does.

Know that God’s glory and being are far wider and deeper than we could ever imagine and God includes us in the kindom.

That is a gift we can never repay. The good news is, we do not have to worry about repaying it!

Loving People. Loving God.

repay…

So every single one of you who judge others is without any excuse. You condemn yourself when you judge another person because the one who is judging is doing the same things. We know that God’s judgment agrees with the truth, and his judgment is against those who do these kinds of things. If you judge those who do these kinds of things while you do the same things yourself, think about this: Do you believe that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity, tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life? You are storing up wrath for yourself because of your stubbornness and your heart that refuses to change. God’s just judgment will be revealed on the day of wrath. God will repay everyone based on their works. On the one hand, he will give eternal life to those who look for glory, honor, and immortality based on their patient good work. But on the other hand, there will be wrath and anger for those who obey wickedness instead of the truth because they are acting out of selfishness and disobedience. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. God does not have favorites. (Romans 2:1-11, CEB)

God will repay everyone based on their works.

Wow. I will receive from God what I gave/did for others.

I’m not sure I buy that from reading all of the Bible but according to Paul here in the second chapter of Romans that is what is going to happen. We should err on the side of love is what he is getting at.

If we judge someone for doing something more than likely we are doing the very thing we judge someone else for and by judging someone else we are judging ourselves and God will see that and repay us for this injustice.

Bottom line, don’t judge. Just love. If you are loving people you don’t have time to judge them.

Loving People. Loving God.

Conformed

So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature. Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful. (Romans 12:1-8, CEB)

Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world.

Do not align yourself with the systems that keep people in bondage.

Do not allow the former ways to control how things continue, but transform your mind by following God’s will.

Transform yourself and this world by living love out loud!

We all have gifts and all of us are needed. No one is any better than anyone else and all of us have a part to play.

Don’t continue what always was, but help us all transform to the world God intended.

Loving People. Loving God.

Watch out…

When the disciples arrived on the other side of the lake, they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “We didn’t bring any bread.” Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “You people of weak faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves that fed the five thousand and how many baskets of leftovers you gathered? And the seven loaves that fed the four thousand and how many large baskets of leftovers you gathered? Don’t you know that I wasn’t talking about bread? But be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he wasn’t telling them to be on their guard for yeast used in making bread. No, he was telling them to watch out for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:5-12, CEB)

Some people will say they follow Jesus but all they really want is power and control.

It isn’t about yeast but learning. People will teach you what they want the Bible to say and what will allow then to stay in power over others.

God is about liberation and love, not control and domination.

God loves us and anything that comes from God will proclaim that love and free us from bondage.

Loving People. Loving God.