Month: February 2012

RE Verse reading–Matthew 23 (day seven)  “You have only one Master and you are all brothers.” (vs 8)  Pecking order.  Nothing is more predictable in human society (or chicken society–thus the name)  We tend to have important people and not-so-important people.  Leaders and followers.  Popular people and nerds.  Not in the Kingdom!  One of the great corrections of  Life in the Spirit is to make brothers of every believer.  “For the body is not one member, but many. . .so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”  (1 Corinthians 12:14, 25)  Only one person in our family is famous–the Lord Himself.  The Pharisees had forgotten how addictive the search for status and superiority can be.  Rather than giving glory to God and equality to their brothers, they wasted life in a silly search for recognition.  Great people learn humility early.  We are all brothers.  I am praying for you today,  Don

RE Verse reading–Matthew 23 (day six)  “Everything they do is done for men to see”  (vs 5)  The Lord knows our hearts.  He knows how corrupting the desire for human recognition can be. It was evident in the lives of the Pharisees.   Good deeds, poor motives.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that it was better to “serve in secret” than to risk letting this need for human approval rob us of spiritual gain.  Even though secrecy is to be balanced with sharing (cf Matthew 6:13)  the words of Christ are a warning to all of us.  What we often find discouraging–the fact that no one notices or appreciates our efforts (our children, our spouses, leaders in the church)– may actually be a good thing.  It is what Jesus refers to in vs 12 “whoever humble himself”.  Finally, we all have to reach this commitment, “I will serve with all my heart, even if no one notices.”  No one but God.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 23 (day five)  “Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (vs 3)  It will change the tone and the content of our message.  It will humble us and make us more compassionate, more desperate for the Holy Spirit’s power.  Almost nothing will be more beneficial to the kingdom.  We should do what we say others ought to.  Before we lead we should follow.  Whether the subject is forgiveness, or prayer for our enemies, or observing the Sabbath, before we speak (and after) we should ask ourselves, “Am I doing this?”  I think it was Clyde Narramore who paraphrased Proverbs 22:6 with these words, “raise up a child in the way he should go, and every once in a while go there yourself!”  The words of Christ remind us of the critical value of integrity and humility.  Our lives are not equal to the message, but before we preach we should practice.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 23 (day four)  “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven.”  (vs 9)  We call it a “personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ”.  I am not sure the words are completely adequate.  I am certain that the concept is both correct and necessary.  In Matthew 23, the Lord is teaching against our tendency to submit too much to human authority, to imagine that they do more for us than they actually do.  The essential fact of fatherhood is the power to impart life.  When medieval people called a king “sire” they were crediting him with this power.  No man can give life–not through sacrament, inspiration or physical reproduction.  Only God gives life.  While we submit, for the sake of conscience, to all human authority it is always in a measured/boundaried way.  Our real dependence, and therefore our ultimate submission belongs exclusively to God.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 23 (day three)  “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe.”  (vs 2-3)  This will require some careful thought.  Jesus regularly broke the traditions of the elders.  He ignored their legalism and treated the rules that they had superadded to the Mosaic law with disdain.  Given this example,  what did the Lord mean when He told the disciples (and us by extension) to obey them?  The key is the word therefore.  Because they had taken the chair of Moses (a place with teaching authority),  to the extent that they communicated what Moses taught, the disciples were to obey.  God establishes all authority. (Romans 13)  It is His normal will for us to live in submission.  Even illegitimate and hypocritical authority has binding power in our lives, unless and until it runs contrary to the word and will of God. Then, we answer a higher call.

RE Verse reading– Matthew 23 (don’t stop with verses 1-12, read the whole chapter!)  “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves.” (Ezekiel 34:2)  The Bible is very serious about leadership.  Not always, but often, the problems of a church or synagogue can be traced to the moral and spiritual failure of its leaders.  It was true in ancient Israel.  The Pharisees were both lazy and proud.  Strange combination!  They loved the recognition of their office(vs 6), but were unwilling to work at righteousness (vs 3).  “PURSUE holiness”, says Hebrews 12:14.  Jesus saw them as a sad fulfillment of the words of Ezekiel. ( Another moment in Jewish history that turned out badly.)  When shepherds (leaders) cannot see past their own needs, when they cannot lead with unselfish courage, the future will be tragic.  At this critical moment, we must ask the Lord to send us leaders who care for the flock by caring for the kingdom.  We are in a serious situation.

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 23:1-12 (day one)  “Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (vs 3)  I had lunch recently with a friend whose main problem with Christ is “christians”.  Maybe more than she even realizes, her objections are not with Jesus but with bad examples she has seen from those who claim His name.  It is a real problem–one that even Jesus had to address.  How do we press forward with real religion without being distracted and discouraged by false?  The first step of freedom is to admit the truth.  Fact  # 1–there are people who misuse the name of God.  They existed in Jesus’ day.  They are still with us.  Sometimes they are conscious of doing so.  Sometimes not.  Fact #2–bad examples do not disprove the possibility or reality of a right relationship with God.  We are neither cynical nor naive.  We must navigate around bad examples as we press forward toward the truth.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 16:13-26 (day seven)  “Shall we accept good from God and not adversity?”  (Job 2:10)  It is a big moment in the life of the believer.  It is a good and glorious breakthrough.  As we grow in Christ, we come to the point where faith is not conditional.  We trust Him in tragedy as much as we do in victory (more?).  This transition was hard for Peter.  “No, Lord!” (vs 22)  We struggle at the same place.  When we first follow Christ, most of us expect life to get “better”.  Often it does.  Eventually we  must arrive at the conclusion that He is no less worthy of our trust when life is not “getting better”.   “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2)  “You meant evil against me, God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20)  May the Lord bring us to and through this moment.  We love and trust Him, “for better, for worse”.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 16:13-26 (day six) “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (vs 14)  Not sure what this says, but when the crowds searched for an analogy, they decided Jesus was like one of the prophets.  (all the men above)  No one compared Christ to a priest.  Priest were well-known.  The High Priests, Annas and Caiaphas figured in the gospel story.  They were, however,  comfortable men, content to operate religious institutions without passion or transformation.  Jesus was not like them.  More like a prophet.  A spokesman for God.  Courageous.  Counter-cultural.  Regarded by the establishment as dangerous.  Question.  If Jesus reminded the crowds of the prophets, do we?  Shameless commercial.  I hope you will come Sunday night February 19.  “Partners with the Prophets” will be our first Time for Teaching lecture of 2012.  I think you will be blessed by this “refresher course” on these remarkable men. They will remind us of Jesus!

RE Verse reading–Matthew 16:13-26 (day five) “Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of  Jonah’ ” (vs 17)  “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things” (vs 21)  They go together in the Lord’s mind.  They usually don’t go together in mine.  The blessings of God are a door forward, but not necessarily to comfort and ease!  “To whom much is given, much is REQUIRED”  (Luke 12:48)  Peter had been blessed!  No argument.  He had been given spiritual insight into the eternal identity of Jesus.  But one level of spiritual growth introduces the next–the necessity of the cross.  It is a hard vision.  There would be a cross for Christ.  There would be a cross for the disciples. Comfort is not His priority.  Salvation is! When God blesses us, He presses us forward.  His gifts obligate us to become like Him in love.  “I’m pressing on the upward way. . .”