Author: admin

September 5, 2021

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)

I cannot remember how long ago it was, but before the start of the last presidential election campaigning cycle began, the Lord impressed upon me “to not get distracted”.  Any thought or word from God our Father is good even if we do not fully understand what he means.  Such was the case with “do not get distracted”.  I was very familiar with the consequences from being distracted even from an early age in addition to all of the safety procedures that I learned in my 41-year career in the electric utility industry, but I realized that I still needed to be on guard about being distracted.

One of those distraction lessons was from my early teenage years when I was driving a tractor on the farm to run a cultivator plow across a cotton field.  I became distracted by looking behind me too long and soon discovered that the tractor was no longer following in the furrows. The sad result was my plowing up a short section of six rows of otherwise healthy cotton. 

An even worse event happened before I was old enough to have a driver’s license.  Growing up in a small farming community it was very common for people to be driving a vehicle well before they were old enough to have a license.  I was driving my brother’s old Willys jeep when I spotted some young people in their front yard.  Among them was a young lady whom I wanted to impress, but yet show disdain for the young men with her.  I was staring at them as I drove by, i.e. my eyes were not on the road.  When I finally looked up it was too late!  The vehicle had drifted towards a parked pickup truck.  I quickly pulled the steering wheel towards the curb to miss hitting the pickup.  However, I was already too close to the pickup and the driver’s side door of the jeep hit the left rear corner of the pickup as the jeep bounced over the curb into the yard.  I steered the vehicle back into the street and in a panic drove quickly home as I concocted a story to tell my parents as to how the jeep came to be damaged.  As I got out of the jeep, I then realized that my knee was bleeding from a wound that occurred during the wreck.  My parents took me to the local hospital in a nearby town to seek medical help with my injured knee. While I was in the emergency room two Department of Public Safety officers walked in looking for me!  It was time to “come clean Maybelline and tell the truth Baby Ruth”, to quote someone in my hometown when he described his own scrape with the law. 

So, back to the Lord impressing upon me to not get distracted.  This leads to the logical question of “distracted from what”, what is it I was to keep my attention focused upon?  Since that time there has certainly been many events that could become distractions in our country and our world as a whole.  The “Sunday School” answer, as a friend often says, is always Jesus.  But what does that mean?  What does it look like in everyday life to keep my attention focused on Jesus?  There is much I could say about this and how I have failed many times since then to do so. However, I will limit this to a more recent impression the Lord gave me recently as to what this means practically.

I was praying after reading some scriptures and listening for anything Jesus wanted to show me.  I saw a brief image that I then pondered to see what he was showing me.  In this case I saw a woman asleep in a bed.  I had the impression that she was in a very satisfying sleep that was directly related to a true intimate experience with her husband.  An intimacy of deeply knowing her husband’s heart and being known by him in the same way. As I pondered this further, I thought about two stories from the Gospels.  One is the story of Jesus in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Luke 10: 38-42.  The other story is from Matthew 11:25-30 where Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

In the first story, “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made”, to show hospitality to Jesus and his disciples who had come to her home for a visit.  Note that the scriptures state the preparations “had to be made”.  Jesus perfectly shared in our humanity which included the need to eat, drink and rest.  These preparations likely required quite a lot of work to obtain the proper supplies and then to prepare a meal to set before her guests. This may have taken several hours.  In the meantime, her sister Mary, “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” rather than helping her sister with all the preparations that had to be made. At some point Martha came to Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  Jesus responded by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  This seems like a rebuke of Martha and this scripture has been used too many times to accuse women who have the gift of hospitality of being busy rather than sitting at Jesus’ feet.  However, I disagree with this simple assessment of what Jesus was saying to Martha, everyone else in the house and to us. 

Remember, the preparations had to be made just like when Jesus sent two of his disciples to prepare the traditional Passover meal for he and the rest of his closest disciples to eat.  Somebody had to make the preparations!  I think the problem was that Martha “was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made”.  Distracted from what?  I think the answer is found in the other story mentioned above where Jesus invites us to come to him in the weariness of daily necessary activities and to “take his yoke upon us and learn from him”.  In Matthew 11:27, which is the verse just before his invitation to come to him, Jesus said, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  I believe that Jesus is inviting us to come to him and learn from him how to have fellowship and intimacy with him and his Father in the activities of everyday life. This will result in us having the very satisfying rest that I saw in the image of the sleeping woman that I mentioned above. Jesus said he only did and said what he saw his Father doing and saying.  I firmly believe that Jesus was inviting Martha to invite him into teaching her about the Father even as she worked on “all the preparations that had to be made”.  Building a deep relationship and sharing intimacy was more important that accomplishing the work, but it occurs as the work is done in dependance upon Jesus.  His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

There is so much more I could say about this subject, but this article is already rather long.  I will sum it up with John 14:20 where Jesus said, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”  This is my refuge in this stage of my life and during these troubling times because Jesus is not limited in any way, therefore I am not lacking in anything that is needed because he desires to share his life with me in everything that I encounter.  Therefore, come what may, all is well with my soul when I believe him and rest in fellowship with him.

Will you join me in praying, “Abba Father, please show me the many things that I am worried and troubled about that I may repent and come to you, Jesus, and take up your yoke and learn from you how to walk in fellowship with you in the very troubling times that we live in.”

Blessings,

Kevin

July 1, 2021

I have come to dearly love the parables Jesus told in Luke 15 about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son because it reveals the heart of God our Father with respect to all of humanity and the entire cosmos.  In the words of Athanasius (296-373 A.D.), the bishop of Alexandria, “God being good what was he to do when his entire creation (cosmos) was on the road to ruin?”  Athanasius answered his own question when he wrote a booklet titled “On the Incarnation” about the Eternal Son of God, becoming flesh. 

In the words of John the Apostle, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5) He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:10-18)

I was pondering all of this today and it occurred to me that there is something missing in the parable of the lost son mentioned above.  I do not mean to imply that Jesus left something out but rather he left it up to us to recognize the missing part that his very life demonstrated and for us to fill in the missing part.  Jesus told the parables in response to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttering, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2 NIV) They were completely blind to seeing that Jesus was one with God his Father and did and spoke only what he saw his Father doing and saying!  Therefore, they were criticizing the very God they claimed to know and worship!

So, what is the part of the parables that I think is missing?  Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (Luke 19:10 NIV) This eternal truth is told in the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, but why is it missing in the parable of the lost son, seeing as Jesus told all three in response to those who were criticizing him for welcoming sinners.  The missing part is that the elder brother of the lost son did not go looking for his younger brother!  The elder brother represents the very people who were criticizing Jesus for going after his Father’s lost children. 

Jesus is the one and only true elder brother of all of God our Father’s children, the only one who truly knows him, and always does what his Father desires (see John 1:18).   One of the most damaging lies of false Christianity is that God the Father cannot look upon or embrace someone who is in sin.  How can we believe such a lie when Jesus only did what he saw his Father doing?  Jesus associated with, ate with, healed, and set free those who lives were broken due to sin.  That is why the religious leaders hated him. In the parable of the lost son, the Father, who represents God our Father, openly welcomed his lost son when he returned.  I will go far as to say that the son still had pig feces on him from his time of living in the far country.  This image would be very repulsive to the religious leaders.  The part that is missing in the story, is that Jesus, the eternal elder brother, will go to and enter whatever situation, his Father’s children have turned to, that is not consistent with the character and nature of our Father.  He will go into the pig pen with us to show us the true nature of our Father.

Yes, the lost son remembered he had a father and decided to return to him because he had lost everything and longed to fill his belly with the food of the pigs he was feeding.  But, in the real case, we only know the true nature of God our Father because Jesus clearly demonstrates the true nature of our Father.  We cannot come to the one we do not know!  He takes us to our Father!

I have experienced this in my own life.  You may not accept what I am about to tell you, but I know in my heart it is true.  Several years ago, I was having a real struggle with anxiety and probably mild depression.  I finally sought out the help of a Christian counselor who helped me see and hear what God my Father wanted me to see.  In each counseling session, memory after memory of past days came to my mind creating a trail to whatever God my Father wanted to speak to me about.  In this instance, the memory was of me as a young man engaging in a act of sexual immorality.  The counselor asked me to ask Jesus where he was during that event.  Even though I could not clearly see him, I could tell he was present.  He came to seek and save his lost younger brother!  “Come my little brother, let us arise and go to our Father who will embrace us with mercy and grace in your time of need”. This event taught me that Jesus had been pursuing me all the days of my life but sadly it was a long time before I went with him to be embraced in the love of my Father and turn from my sinful ways and be healed.  I am forever thankful he did not give up on me.

God our Father is good, and his love endures forever.  Never will he leave us or forsake us.  Those who look to him are radiant and their faces are never covered with shame. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)

Blessings,

Kevin

April 6, 2021

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NIV)

What is an opportune time?  This phrase got my attention as I was reading Mark 6:14-29 this morning.  This section of scripture gives the account of how and why Herod the Tetrarch had John the Baptist executed.  John had confronted Herod about the fact that he had enticed his brother’s wife, Herodias, to leave him and to marry Herod.  Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but Herod knew John was a righteous man and protected him.  But finally, the opportune time came.

Again, I ask what is an opportune time?  The Greek word that is translated as “opportune time” is eukairos.  The word means well timed, or an opportunity that is presented at just the right time.  Whether the opportunity is presented for good or evil depends upon the source of the opportunity.  1 Peter 5:8 states, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  Satan – the devil, hates God and people, because they are made in the image of God.  He is constantly looking for the opportune time to do his work which always is to kill, steal and destroy.  Sadly, he will often use other people as the instruments to carry out his work.

This is what happened with Herod.  During a great party to celebrate his birthday, Herodias’ daughter danced for Herod and his guests.  The scripture does not tell us the nature of the dance, but the response of Herod and his guests leads me to think it was meant to be sexually enticing.  Herod was so pleased with her dancing, that he offered to give her almost anything she would ask for.  The opportune time, present by Satan himself, came when the daughter went to ask her mother’s advice, on what to ask Herod for, as her reward for pleasing him and his guests.  Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist.  This request greatly distressed Herod, but to save face in front of his guests, he gave orders for John to be executed.  This story ends with the gruesome scene of Herodias’ daughter proudly presenting John’s head to her mother.

This Greek word, eukarios, translated as opportune time, is used only two times in the New Testament.  The first instance is the story of the death of John the Baptist and the second instance is about Jesus.  Hebrews 4:14-16 states, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”   The phrase “time of need” is the second instance of the use of eukarios.  In other words, Jesus creates an opportune time for us to receive mercy and grace, whenever we are faced with a temptation from Satan.

Sadly, I can remember many times in my life when I was presented with an opportune time of temptation but did not understand or care that Jesus was offering me his own opportune time of mercy and grace as a way of escape.  I know that I am forgiven, but I still grieve over what I did and the damage it did to my own soul and to others.  Remember, the opportune times presented by Satan are always to accomplish his work to kill, steal and destroy.  The opportune time offered by Jesus is so that we can receive his life in our time of need.

Please join with me in confidently approaching God’s throne of grace at the opportune time, that he is always offering, so that we may receive mercy and grace whenever and wherever we are presented with Satan’s opportune time of temptation.

Blessings,

Kevin

March 27, 2021

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (Mark 4:21-25 NIV)

Have you ever been reading scriptures where Jesus is speaking, and it seems that he changes the subject with no apparent connection to what he had just said before?  This happened to me this morning as I was reading the scriptures from Mark 4 quoted at the beginning of this article.  I have learned that when I encounter this, that I need to really pay attention because Jesus is the very embodiment of truth, he is the way, the truth and life (John 14:6).  If I believe and obey what he teaches me, then I will know the truth and the truth will set me free (John 8:31-32).

The referenced scriptures occur immediately after Jesus had explained the parable of the sower of seed.  What is the connection between this parable and Jesus talking about not hiding a lamp, concealed things being revealed, etc?  As I pondered this, I began to see that the connection is his statement of, “Consider carefully what you hear, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more” and “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that the various soil types (pathway, shallow, thorny or good) represent the condition of my heart and what I do with whatever Jesus speaks to me (Mark 4:1-20).  I have no interest in being anything other than a person who Jesus described as good soil.  The good soil is the only soil that held onto his words and by perseverance produced the fruit of his word.  Jesus said those people have a good and noble heart (Luke 8:15).  A good heart is one that is intrinsically good because it is its nature.  A noble heart is one that is attractively good, people are drawn to it.

In the same scriptures referenced above, Jesus also said that a lamp should not be hidden, but set on its stand, so that what is unseen may be seen.  He speaks similarly in Luke 11:33-36, but he adds that the purpose of the light from the lamp is so that others may also see what is not readily visible.  He goes on to say that my eye is the lamp of my body and that when my eye is good then my whole being is filled with light.  When I put all of this together, it seems to me, that Jesus is telling me, that I am not to keep to myself whatever he teaches me, but that I am to share it with others so that they too may be good soil.  This sharing is be done in both my words and my behavior.

Elsewhere, Jesus again spoke about not hiding a lamp when he said, “When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” (Luke 11-33-36)

The contrast between healthy and unhealthy eyes or good and evil eyes, is a Jewish idiom where good means generous and evil means stingy.  (See my previous blog post “Do I Have an Evil Eye?)  This helps me understand the connection Jesus is making when he said, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Will I be generous, or will I be stingy?  What does this apply to? 

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24).  This statement does not leave anything out of what I am to be generous with.  One of my biggest struggles is the fear of not being approved by other people.  This is a way of trying to save my life, rather than being generous with whatever I have to offer.  It is an expression of being stingy with sharing the real me and not being vulnerable with people.  Vulnerability and mercy are foundational to building relationships with people.  Without vulnerability and mercy, I will not be able to effectively share with other people the things that Jesus has given me and done in me.  Because of his great love for me, God who is rich in mercy, made me alive in Christ when I was still dead in my sin.  For it is by grace that I have been saved (Ephesians 2-10)

God is light and in him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5).  If I walk in the light as Jesus is in the light (1 John 1:7), then my very presence will bring his light into that which is darkness.  If I bring a lamp into a pitch-dark room that has cock roaches and moths in it, then the roaches will flee from the light and the moths will be drawn to it.  The same is true with people, some will be drawn to the light of Jesus and others will flee because they fear the light. 

One expression of fleeing from the light is when I reject what God says is good and embrace as good that which God says is evil.   If I claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, I lie and do not live out the truth. But if I walk in the light, as he is in the light, I have fellowship with others, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If I claim to be without sin, I deceive myself and the truth is not in me. (1 John 1:6-8)

We live in an age when it is offensive to say that anything is evil.  However, my role is to be a vessel of the light (a lamp) and trust that Jesus is working to draw all people unto himself and that he desires none to perish.    Jesus came from the Father full of grace and truth (John 1-14) and from that fullness we have received grace upon grace (John 1:16).  Titus 2:11-12 says “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” 

It is often said that mercy is not getting what we deserve, and that grace is receiving what we do not deserve.  I think this is partially true, but it has it roots in a legal understanding of the nature of God our Father.  God relates to us as our Father, not as a judge who judges us based upon the law.  The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is in the bosom of the Father in the most intimate relationship that is possible. (John 1:17-18)  Whatever mercy and grace mean they have their very origin in God our Father and are perfectly demonstrated in the life of Jesus.  I would define mercy as, God our Father, being willing to do whatever is necessary to make right, whatever is wrong, in his children.  Grace means to be inclined towards a person to embrace them to show them kindness and to give them what they need.

In love, God our Father, who is rich in mercy, has made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:3-5).  This truly is good news!  Therefore, let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  As we receive that mercy and grace, will you join with me in seeking to give it away to others?  “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (Mark 4: 24-25)

Blessings,

Kevin          

March 21, 2021

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:43-45 NIV)

I have heard it said before that we are what we eat.  This is to say, that literally my body is affected by the quality, quantity, and nature of the food that I eat.  The same thing is true about the health of our souls.  Several years ago, the Lord woke me up early one morning and told me, “meet with me daily, give ear and listen to me and eat of the richest of fare that your soul might live” which is from Isaiah 55:1-3. 

In a very real way, I will eventually speak to (feed) other people what I have been listening to (eating) and treasuring up in my heart. This is because my mouth speaks what my heart is full of (Luke 6:45). Jesus said that the words that he speaks are spirit and life (John 6:63).  All spoken words are spirit but not all words produce life.  The power of death and life is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). 

Everything God does is by his speaking forth what he desires to be.  He calls into existence that which has no existence (Romans 4:17).  This was demonstrated when the creation of the entire cosmos began when he said, “Let there be light and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).  Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1-3) and everything that was created was created by and through him, and even now is sustained by the speaking of his powerful word (Hebrews 1:1-3). 

Jesus told several parables concerning the nature of things in the created world, to help us understand the nature of things in his eternal kingdom of heaven.  This includes the story of a farmer who scattered seeds in the soil.  Even though he does not understand how it happens, the farmer watches in faith as the seeds sprout, grow, and produce grain (Mark 4:26-29).  Jesus told another story about a farmer who sowed seed that landed on a variety of soils (Luke 8:4-14).  In this parable, Jesus said that only the seed that landed on good soil sprouted, grew to maturity, and produced a crop.  He went on to say that the good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear his words, retain them, and by persevering produce a crop.

Everything in creation that has the ability reproduce itself, does so in a manner that it produces that which is like itself, kind after kind.  If you plant apple seeds, they will produce apple trees when they sprout and not some other kind of tree.  Proverbs 22:8 states, “Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity” and Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked, a man reaps what he sows”.

Jesus told another parable in Matthew 13:24-30 about a man who sowed good seed in his field.  After the man went to bed his enemy came and sowed weed seeds in the same field.  When the seeds sprouted and began to grow, both the good seed and the weed seeds began to produce plants and eventually more seed of the same kind.  Jesus made it clear that his words and our words have the capability to reproduce kind after kind.  Every day we will hear or read thousands of words from various sources.  The speaker or writer of these words all hope that their words will take root in someone’s heart and produce what they desire. 

I said earlier, we are what we eat.  I have a choice as to what words I will receive of the many that I will hear or read each day.  Receiving them and allowing to take root will result in them reproducing kind after kind.  Whatever takes root will eventually come out of my mouth.  It is my ongoing prayer that I will have a noble and good heart that receives and treasures what God my Father is speaking each day.  I also pray that I will guard my heart above all else because out of it flows everything that I do (Proverbs 4:23).  May I not be among those “who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20).

Blessings,

Kevin

March 12, 2021

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30 NIV)

Several years ago, the Lord impressed upon me a definition of humility which was, “to be teachable by him in every circumstance and through every person”.  This occurred at a time when was I being resistant to believing that I could learn something from someone with whom I disagreed with.  This came back to my mind in the last few weeks as I was pondering the state of our world and all the division in our country.  This has become acute within those who call themselves Christians.  We have taken sides and we do not think that those we disagree with might be able help us to better understand, if we would only humble ourselves and genuinely listen to them.

This division is quite contrary to Ephesians 4:1-7 which states, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Note that Jesus said of himself that “I am gentle and humble in heart” when he invited all who are weary and burdened to come to him for rest for their souls. (Matthew 11:25-30).  Jesus is the exact representation of God our Father’s being (Hebrews 1:3) and if we know him, we know our Father as well (John 14:7-11).  This is quite astounding to me, to realize that Jesus is humble and gentle in heart because God our Father is humble and gentle in heart.  They are one in all things!  As I pondered what does this mean, that God our Father is gentle and humble in heart, I thought about Hebrews 4:16 which states, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”   I would paraphrase this to mean that God our Father is approachable at all times and in all circumstances.  Those who look to him are radiant and their faces are never covered with shame (Psalm 37:4).  The Father in the parable of the lost son was eagerly looking to see his son’s face again and welcomed him back with a loving embrace and a celebration (Luke 15:11-32).

Jesus came from his Father full of grace and truth (John 1:14) and from that fullness we have been given grace upon grace (John 1:16).  The word grace means to be favorably inclined towards and to lean towards someone to share benefit for them.  Jesus is inviting us to come to him in with our weariness and to take his yoke upon us and learn from him.  This requires humility on our part to admit that we need grace for whatever we face in daily life.  The yoke that Jesus is offering us, is the yoke of his being one with his Father, who at the very core of his being is love (1 John 4:8). When we submit to this, we find rest for our souls, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  This is the reality of the Christian life, Christ alive in me sharing his life with me in every circumstance that I may encounter.  His is in me and I am in him (John 14:20), therefore come what may, all will be well with my soul when I remember that this is the truth.

However, this leads me to ask myself, do people see me as approachable, especially those whom I disagree with?  Would they think that I would listen to them?  When they interact with me will they experience mercy and grace?  Will their burdens be made lighter?  This is something that I must take seriously because if people do not see me as approachable then there is a disconnect between my heart and Jesus.  Therefore, my constant prayer is that the humble and gentle heart of Jesus, will be manifest in me, that I may walk worthy of the calling I have received by being completely humble and gentle in heart.  Will you also with join me in this prayer?

Blessings,

Kevin

“Please Lord, help me get just one more.” Quote from, World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss in the movie Hacksaw Ridge.

I recently heard the phrase “occupy till I come” on a podcast where the speakers had been discussing the power of technology that can be used for good or evil.  I was not familiar with the phrase, but I suspected it was a quote from the Bible and I was not sure what the person meant.  My first thought was that they might have meant to “hunker down and hold onto what you have till Jesus returns”.

I looked the phrase up and found it be a quote from the King James Version (KJV) of Luke 19:13. The context of this verse is Jesus telling the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11-27 in response to questions about when the Kingdom of Heaven would appear.  In the parable, a man of noble birth was going to travel to a far country to have himself appointed king and then to return to his own country.  Before he left, he called ten of his servants to him and entrusted each of them an amount of money and told them, “Occupy till I come”.

The phrase “occupy till I come” seemed odd to me since other translations used something like, “put this money to work until I come back”.  The Greek word translated as the English word occupy in the KJV, is pragmateuomai, which means to do business, to enter into commerce with the intent to make a legitimate gain.  The word also implies taking a risk rather than playing it safe.

In the parable, once the man returned as king, he called his ten servants to give account for how they had used his money.  The ones who took risk to earn a legitimate gain were praised, but the one who played it safe and took no risk, was rebuked for not doing anything with the money to earn more. 

As I pondered this, trying to understand why the KJV version used the word occupy, I began to think about the possible relationship between the word occupy and occupation.  There are multiple meanings of the words, but I was drawn to one definition for occupation which is, “the act of moving into a country, town, etc. and taking control of it using military force; the period of time during which a country, town, etc. is controlled in this way”.

This set me to thinking about some of the things the Bible has to say about ruling, reigning and the Kingdom of Heaven.  When God created Adam and Eve in his image, he told them “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).  The Hebrew word translated as subdue is kâbash, which is where the phrase “to put the kabash” on something comes from.  It means to conquer and subjugate something.  The command to fill the earth and to kabash it seems to mean to occupy it, in the sense of the occupation of a country by a conquering people from another country.  At the time that God spoke this, Adam and Eve were the sum total of all mankind on the earth.  Who was there then for them to put the kabash on?  It could apply to the creation itself since they were told by God to work and take care of the Garden of Eden where he had placed them (Genesis 2:15).    But I think it was in reference to Satan himself who had been cast out of heaven for leading a rebellion of other angels against God himself (Isaiah 14:12-14).

You probably know the sad outcome of Satan’s encounter with Adam and Eve, when he deceived them into joining his rebellion by essentially telling them that God was not worthy of their obeying him, that he did not really have their best interest in his heart.  However, as Athanasius of old wrote, “With God being good, what was he to do when his entire creation was on the road to ruin?”  God’s answer was that one of Adam’s and Eve’s descendants would put the kabash on Satan and his allies (Genesis 3:15).  However, it was many years before this promise was fulfilled when the Eternal Son of God, through whom the creation was spoken into being, became flesh in the womb of virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He was given the name Jesus which means God is Savior.  Jesus himself, as God, put the kabash on Satan and his allies when he triumphed over them by his death on the cross when he defeated them and made a public spectacle of them (Colossians 2:15).

So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus’ parable where the man of noble birth told his servants to “occupy till I come”?  Remember, the parable was told in the context of asking when the Kingdom of Heaven would appear.  God reconciled the entire cosmos unto himself by being one with Jesus when he was crucified on the cross and his is no longer counting our sins against us (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).  Jesus is now seated at the right hand of our Father (Ephesians 1:19-21) where he has been made both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36) and all authority and heaven and earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:18).  Those who have believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that he is Lord (Romans 10:8-9) have also been seated with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6) and he has made us ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19-20).  Before Jesus ascended to his Father he said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

We get to work with Jesus to put the kabash on Satan and his allies by telling the good news of the Gospel of Jesus. The Apostle Paul said, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).  In other words, we are to “occupy till he comes”, remembering that the government of his kingdom rests upon the shoulders of Jesus and that of the increase of his government and peace there shall never be an end.  This is good news!

Ok, if you have read this far, you may be wondering what the reference means at the top of this article about Desmond T. Doss.  His life story is told in the movie Hacksaw Ridge which is a bloody account of the invasion of Okinawa, Japan near the end of the World War II.  His life story is a good example of one who lived their life to put the kabash on the works of the devil in the middle of a battlefield.  If you have never seen it you can get an idea by following this link to watch the trailer for the movie Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Official Trailer – “Believe” – Andrew Garfield – Bing video .  Jesus came to seek and save the lost and he desires that none be left wounded on the battlefield.  May we give ourselves to the prayer of “Please Lord, help me get one more.”

Blessings,

Kevin

February 3, 2021

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:21-24 KJV)

Jesus used parables about routine daily activities to help teach people about the Kingdom of Heaven and about the nature and character of God our Father.  One of those parables, is recorded in Matthew 20:1-16, which is often referred to as the Parable of the Vineyard Workers.  In this story, a landowner went into the marketplace several times one day, and each time, hired workers to come work in his vineyard.  At the end of the day, he told his foreman to pay them all the same daily wage even though some of them worked all day, some part of the day, and others for only one hour.  The workers who worked all day were indignant that they were all paid the same wage.  The landowner’s response was, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15 NIV).

I read this parable this morning and while pondering it, I asked my Father to give me something to receive and to obey.  During this process I read the parable in several translations.  I found significant differences in the wording in those translations.  The King James Version of Matthew 20:15 says, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” I do not know about you, but I do not consider “envious” and “evil eye” being synonymous or interchangeable in a sentence.

As I pondered the words “evil eye” I remembered this phrase being used in the KJV account of Matthew 6:21-24 where Jesus warned his followers that they could not serve two masters.  This led me to reading these scriptures in the Complete Jewish Study Bible which is a paraphrase translation that focuses on the fact that Jesus was an observant Jew, and his disciples were Jews, and therefore understood what he said through the uniqueness of Jewish culture.  A commentary in this translation indicated that the phrases “good eye” and “evil eye” are Jewish idioms.  Having a “good eye” meant being generous and having an “evil eye” meant being stingy. 

This opened a whole new understanding for me of why Jesus talked about having a good eye or an evil eye in the middle of him teaching about not storing up wealth in this world.  The English word good is translated from the Greek word “agathos” in the Bible and means that which is intrinsically good.  Jesus said that no one, but his Father was good (Matthew 19:17).  The very core characteristic of the nature of God our Father is love, being and seeking the welfare of another.  Jesus said that no greater love has a man than to lay down his life for another (John 15:13).  What could be more generous than the love of the Father being lavished on us his children. (1 John 3:1)? 

If this be so, then what could be less loving than to be stingy, to withhold what is in my hands rather than using it to bless someone in need (Proverbs 3:28).  Jesus said’ “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9 NIV).  He spoke this in the same context of Matthew 6:19-24 where he spoke about having a good eye or evil eye!  As I ponder the life and teaching of Jesus, I do not think that having a good eye (being generous) or evil eye (being stingy) is limited only to how I use worldly wealth. It must also include all that I am, including how I use my talents, giftings, my time … to bless and to encourage people…. including those who are different from me and that I may disagree with. 

Jesus came from the Father full of grace and truth and from that fullness he has given us grace upon grace (John 1:14-16).  I am to abide in that grace and then pour it out on others with the assurance that I will never exhaust his grace being poured out upon me.  I do not want it to be said of me that I have an evil eye. For I am made in his image, I am his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do the good works (loving my neighbor as myself) that he created in advance for me to do (Ephesians 2:10)                     

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NIV)

Blessings,

Kevin

January 24, 2021

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! (Matthew 18:1-7 NIV)

This morning I was reading Matthew 16:13-20 which is the account of Jesus asking his disciples who they and others said he was.  When Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” Jesus told him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

As I was pondering the statement of “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” an image came to my mind of bricks being laid out on the ground to provide a pathway.  The image included a heavy tamping tool being used to make the pathway of bricks level so that no one would stumble over an unlevel brick.  This was followed by me hearing in my mind the phrase, “make level paths for your feet”.  I later discovered this phrase was from Hebrews 12:13-15 which states, ““Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Jesus came from his Father full of grace and truth with a mission to reveal to us the true nature of our Father in heaven (John 1;14-18).  Yet his life and teaching offended many people, especially those who taught other people what they thought was an accurate understanding of the nature of God.  They refused to believe that their understanding about the nature of God was not accurate. 

Jesus has told us that unless we become like little children we shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).  Children have a special place in Jesus’ heart because they were willing to believe what he tells them because he demonstrates the goodness of God.  Our Father is good and his loves endures forever and Jesus only does what he sees his Father doing and only says what he hears him speak (John 8:28). 

Children by nature are willing to trust people and to believe them.  They are especially capable of believing in the goodness of God their Father, even if they do not yet know him.  They also willingly respond to the goodness of God when it comes through people.  A crying infant will be instantly comforted if its mother holds it and allows it to nurse from her breast.   Unbelief is unnatural to them….they learn unbelief from the adults in their lives whose hearts have become hardened.

Jesus spoke about the binding and loosing of things here on the earth having the same effect in heaven.  To bind something is to restrict it and to loose something is to not restrict it.  If I bind someone’s hands with a rope, then the use of their hands is restricted. If I unbind their hands, then they have unrestricted use of their hands.  Jesus stated that he came to set the captives free.  Free from what?  From the lies of Satan, which have restricted people from knowing the goodness of God and binding them from living in the fullness of the children of God.  For all who believe in Jesus are given the right to be called the children of God (John 1:12-13)!

 Jesus has been seated at the right hand of our Father in heaven where all authority and heaven and earth has been given to him (John 1:20-22).  He has defeated and disarmed the evil spiritual forces that stood against us and oppressed us (Colossians 2:15).  Yet Ephesians chapter 6 tell us that we wrestle against the same spiritual forces that Jesus defeated and disarmed.  How can this be if he disarmed them?  Because we can rearm them by believing their lies.  We give authority to whatever we give agreement to.  When we agree with their lies, we grant them authority and power to oppress us!  Jesus is the truth and when we believe what he speaks he sets us free!

When we believe and speak the lies, we loose the spiritual forces behind those lies to do their evil work against us and others.  When we believe and speak what Jesus says then we bind those same spiritual forces and restrict their freedom to do their evil work. 

All of my pondering this morning led me to a very sobering understanding of the times that we live in.  Please scroll back to the top of this post and read Jesus’ words about the consequences for those who cause children and others to stumble.  The Greek word for stumble, skandalon,  means to ensnare someone by setting a trap with bait that will draw them into triggering the trap.  There are many types of bait which include teaching a wrong understanding of God that is not expressed by Jesus.  Other bait comes through wounds that people receive from others which causes them to question if God exists and if he does, then why do bad things happen.  One of the most effective baits is to call good what God calls not good (evil). 

As a country, we are on a path of embracing more and more what is evil by calling it good.  There is nothing good about racism, white supremacy, killing of unborn children, oppression of the poor or sexual immorality in all its various forms.  Every person has some level of authority whether it is due to relationships or positional authority in government, work, schools or the military.  Jesus indicated that it is an awfully bad thing, with serious consequences, for someone to use their authority to cause any person to stumble into a trap of Satan.  It is also true that the greater the level of authority, the greater the level of accountability and consequences for those causing people to stumble. 

It would be easy for me to apply these words only to others, who in varying degrees, are advocating for the acceptance of racism, white supremacy, killing of unborn children, oppression of the poor or sexual immorality, etc.  However, I must first ask Jesus to search me and try me and show me whatever wicked or hurtful ways are in my own heart (Psalm 139).  I must then ask him to remove the log in my own eye before I do anything to remove the speck of sawdust, from the same log, that I see in someone else’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).  Then I can pray with a pure heart and with power for those who are in positions of authority who are advocating for what is evil. 

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21 NIV)

Blessings,

Kevin

The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.  (Luke 12:42-48 NIV)

Very much has been said and written in the last couple of years about what has come to be known as white privilege.  As a white male growing up and living in a mostly white community and culture, I took offense at this term when I first heard it.  However, over time as I read books and listened to messages about this subject, I came to a better understanding of what is meant by white privilege such that it no longer offends me.  It would be dishonest of me to not realize that by virtue of my birth, into a white middle-class family, that I received many privileges that have contributed to the quality of my life.  These include receiving a good education paid for by my family, good health care, good jobs that paid well and not being suspected as to my motives or abilities due to the color of my skin and many other such privileges.

By quality of life, I mean having never had to miss a meal because I did not have enough to pay for it, living in a comfortable crime free neighborhood, access to good health care, no fear for my safety when I see a policeman, etc.  Sadly, even if I had not made good use of these privileges, I may still have had more quality of life than many, who by virtue of their skin color alone, did not have those same privileges.

Socialism seems to be a way to equalize the distribution of privileges.  But sadly, history indicates this is not true.  Countries that have embraced socialism still have great inequity in who receives certain privileges without the hope of hard work gaining them a better quality of life.

So, what does all of this have to do with the scripture quoted above.  Jesus came from the Father full of grace and truth and from that fullness he has given us grace upon grace.  A good definition of grace is to lean towards a person with the desire to share benefits with them, to give myself to them for their benefit.  As one who has been born again, Jesus lives in me and I in him, therefore the fullness of his grace is in me.  That grace is not meant to be only for my benefit but for others as well. In other words, I am to be a good steward of the grace given to me and to use whatever privileges I have been given to help other people.  “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  Being a recipient of white privilege means I have a great duty to seek the good for my neighbor who does not have those same privileges. 

As I honestly reflect on this, I must admit that I have not been a good steward of the privileges that I received.  I am looking for ways to help beyond giving money to various ministries that are involved directly with people.  Giving money is a good thing but it does not involve me building relationships with people.  I hope to do better in 2021.

Blessings,

Kevin