Category: Life Of Jesus

O Little Town of Bethlehem

12/11/2019

The Small Town

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2

God’s choosing of Bethlehem Ephrathah to become a place of esteem and renown was uniquely tied to the blessing bestowed on Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 4:11). It was foreshadowed in David and fulfilled in Jesus, God’s Anointed King, when he was born in Bethlehem.

I’ve often wondered, however, if God doesn’t delight in choosing “small places” from which to bring people who will trust him in simple faith, who will worship him with simple song, as David did, while going about the normal routine of life. And then He calls them and equips them for His chosen task. And when they finally look back on where they have come from and what God has done, with David they stand amazed and say, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
(II Chron. 17:16)

Unlikely Place. Unlikely Servants.

I don’t have conclusive evidence that “the small town” produces more servants of God than those called from the city. However, it is interesting that Jesus grew up in Nazareth of Galilee and that his accent would have stereotyped him to the elite of Jerusalem as coming from the “less educated” part of the country. Jesus Himself saw the irony that those who were educated in the Scriptures and worked daily in the Temple were totally ignorant of His identity and purpose in coming. He said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. Matthew 11:25, 26 Sophistication and deep intellectual parsing of words and phrases from the Old Testament not only were not prerequisites to God-pleasing faith, it appears that they were often stumbling blocks to it.

When Paul shared the historical message of Jesus, he found the same response. He wrote: “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” (I Corinthians 1:26-27) Given that Paul himself received a top education in Jerusalem from the top rabbi of his day, he must have been surprised that “just explaining the facts” to his educated friends didn’t lift the veil of blindness from their eyes, while common folks who responded in simple trust were given spiritual sight.

Kind of amazing that out of that hole-in-the-wall place, Bethlehem, God brought His Savior-King to have the name that is above every name.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

Three Times!

11/4/2019

"This happened THREE TIMES, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky." Acts 10:16

God was doing something BIG.
A major shift was about to happen--His Spirit was about to be poured out on a believing Gentile named Cornelius, and Peter was the means through which it would happen. The problem was that for a Law-abiding Jewish believer like Peter, it was forbidden to go eat with a Gentile. (Acts 10:28)

To get the point across to Peter that believing Gentiles were not to be considered "unclean" if God had cleansed them through faith in Jesus, THREE TIMES God sends a vision of unclean animals that descend in a sheet, and Peter is commanded: "Arise, kill and eat!" Interestingly, in the vision, Peter knows who the command is coming from. He replies, "By no means, Lord..." Just then the Gentile men knock on his door and ask him to come to their Gentile master's house. Peter finally understands the meaning of the message....and realizes that he must obey God even when it goes against his natural inclination and upbringing.

This wasn't the first time Peter had rebuked the Lord. Just after proclaiming in confidence that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Jesus tells His disciples that He will be beaten and crucified and rise again. Peter proclaims loudly: "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you!"
(Matthew 16:22)

Peter had an idea what the Messiah plan should look like--and it didn't include crucifixion. He had no idea that God's plan was for salvation for Jews and Gentiles, and that it could only happen through Jesus' death on the cross.

Again we find Peter countering Jesus when it is announced that all the disciples will fall away and leave Jesus alone to be crucified. Peter proclaims loudly: "Even though all fall away from You, I will never fall away!" (Matthew 26:33) Jesus tells him, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny me THREE TIMES."
There it is again...it wasn't until the third time that Peter realized how fully he had failed his Lord.

After the resurrection when Jesus met with Peter in Galilee, He asked him THREE TIMES: "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" And THREE TIMES He told him what his new job was going to be..."Tend my lambs. Shepherd my sheep. Tend my sheep."

So...what is the significance of the THREE TIMES?
Peter didn't have any idea of his own weakness nor of the bigger plan of God. Again and again he was rebuking THE LORD JESUS and telling Him how things should go. And over and over it took Peter three times before the Message sunk in to him.

How many times does God send a Scripture, a truth, or an exhortation from a believer to speak something that we are just not comprehending because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts?
Patiently He repeats what we are to do until we realize that God is working out His bigger picture according to His wisdom in ways we cannot comprehend.

Praise the Lord!

10/1/2019

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
...Let everything that has breath PRAISE THE LORD!
Psalm 150:1-2

The End...

The Psalms are the hymnbook for any situation--fear, failing, faithfulness, family, following God...but the very last Psalm summarizes the End of it all: Praise to God!
Here, in the structure of the book of Psalms, we have the foreshadowing of the book of Revelation:
trials, tribulation, troubles--but at the end: a great multitude that no one could number, and angels, and elders, and four living creatures worshiping God and saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Rev. 7:9-12)

...is Jesus.

Here, in the structure of the book of Psalms, we have the foreshadowing that at the NAME OF JESUS, every knee will bow of those who are IN HEAVEN, and ON EARTH, and UNDER THE EARTH, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)
In Jesus, the Psalmist's admonition is finally fulfilled: everything that has breath WILL be praising the Lord!

Praise is not dependent on the situation happening at hand in our lives, but the situation going on in heaven for the rest of eternity, which is based on the unchanging character of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Praise to the Lord!

"Don't Believe It!"

9/18/2019

“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
“Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Luke 8:11-12

The Seed Doesn't Change.

In the familiar parable of the four soils, the sower goes out to sow the seed.
Jesus explains that the "seed" in the story is The Word of God. The seed never changes. It is good and effective in its ability to produce fruit. It is the soil of the heart that makes a difference in the results.
How often does a teacher or proclaimer of God's Word "see no results" or have someone seem to respond and then watch their excitement "fizzle" and think that there is something wrong with the message? The temptation is to think that something other than God's Word would be "more effective" in producing transformation--or that the power of fruitfulness is in a method rather than the message.

Satan is Actively Involved.

All three accounts of this parable mention "Satan" or "the devil" or "the evil one" but only Luke's account tells us what his aim is..."so that they will not believe and be saved."

Whenever and wherever the Word of God is proclaimed, no matter how small or how young the group is, Satan is ACTIVELY involved in blocking understanding.
His purpose is always to destroy a genuine response to what God has said.

Choosing a Traitor

9/12/2019

Luke 6:12-16
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus relied on His Father.

The Scriptures often record Jesus' times of slipping away alone to pray to His Father. On this occasion, the critical selection of twelve men to establish God's kingdom on earth was at hand. The selection wasn't based on their personality or request, but by the choosing and purposes of the Father.

The Traitor was not a Mistake.

The amazing thing is that Judas Iscariot was chosen after a night of prayer.
He was not a mistake that somehow got into the group unnoticed. From the outside, he looked just like the rest of the disciples. His covetous, unbelieving heart was unknown to the other apostles, but it was not unknown to God. From the beginning, Jesus knew that "not all of them were clean" (John 13:11) and that one of them would betray him. He knew that one of them was a "plant from Satan." (Matt. 13:38) From the very beginning, the choosing of a traitor was to fulfill the words given to the prophets made about Messiah. (Luke 22:22) The choosing of the Traitor was eventually going to lead Jesus to the Cross: the purpose for which He had come. (John 12:27)

When I am praying for wisdom about a situation, I often have in mind that there is going to be a "good outcome"...that all will "turn out well."

I don't often consider that a Judas Iscariot might be as much a part of the answer as a Peter and James and John--or that the long-range answer to my prayer is the way of the Cross.

Jesus did good to His enemies.

Immediately after choosing the Twelve Apostles, including the Traitor, Judas--
Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount. His words take on a new understanding when seen in light of Judas: "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." This wasn't pious advice delivered at a Temple teaching. It was the daily example of how Jesus treated a close friend who was going to sell Him to His enemies to be crucified for 30 pieces of silver.

Level Ground

9/11/2019

In Luke 5 Jesus tells Peter to let down his nets for a great catch of fish. Peter grudgingly does what Jesus has asked, and then realizes: "I am a sinful man!" He wants Jesus to depart from him, but instead, Jesus tells him not to be afraid and that he would be a "fisher of men."
What was Peter's response then?
In verse 11 they LEFT EVERYTHING AND FOLLOWED JESUS.

Immediately following that account, we discover that Jesus cleans an unclean leper, and forgives the sins of a paralyzed man. Then, seemingly random, He notices a tax collector (dubbed a "sinner" by the Pharisees) and says, "Follow Me." What was Levi's response? He LEFT EVERYTHING AND FOLLOWED JESUS.

Jesus then answers the grumbling of those who objected to the type of people who were coming to follow Him: "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

Whether it was an overconfident fisherman, an unclean leper, a helpless paralytic, or a despised tax collector--the ground was level for all of them: a sinner in need of a Savior.

The Pharisees were welcomed to come to Jesus as well, but the stumbling block for them was the first step: admitting that they were "common sinners" in need of a Savior just like everybody else.

Not only was the ground level when coming to Jesus, the cost of following Jesus was the same as well.

Whether leaving a fishing business or a lucrative taxing business: both Peter and Levi "left everything" in order to follow Jesus.

This is Where We Should Be

7/18/2019

The Intentional 6-Hour Storm.

Looking at the event of Jesus walking on water from the disciples' perspective made me appreciate how intricately the TIMING of each part was woven together in order to benefit the disciples.

At the height of the drama, just before Jesus gets there, they are in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, being "buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it." So, why had I never noticed that they had been battling that wind for at least six hours and had only traveled a distance of about 3-1/2 miles?

The wind was the divine "pause button" to keep the disciples safely out of harm's way--but it looked like the obstacle that was preventing their progress.

The Protection.

Rewind the story, and we find that Jesus had just shown His disciples the hands-on lesson of giving the Bread of Life (Himself) to the crowds of 5,000+ women and children. Jesus recognized the groundswell movement to "come and make him king by force" before it happened, and "immediately made the disciples go on ahead of him to the other side." The danger for the disciples was that they would be swept up in the moment of excitement of a false view of Messiah; that they would be dazzled by His provision and not anchored in His person. What needed to happen?
1. Disciples needed to be removed from temptation to join the movement to "make Jesus king by force."
2. The crowds needed to be dismissed.
3. Jesus needed to spend time alone with the Father in prayer.
4. Jesus needed to re-join His disciples before the crowds got to them the next morning.

Voila--enter a wind that keeps the disciples safely in the middle of the Sea of Galilee for six hours.
Can you imagine the disciples' frustration going against that wind?! They were trying to follow Jesus' instructions--and it was hour after hour with very little to show for their work. Were they wondering why the God of Creation wasn't lifting or shifting the wind? Were they thinking that if Jesus were there, it would be different? Were they frustrated that Jesus had sent them "on ahead" into that storm? The truth of the situation was that they were exactly where they were supposed to be...and Jesus was there with them.

The Perfect Timing.

The timing of Jesus walking to them on the water focused their attention back to His person--the lesson they had missed in the excitement of feeding the 5,000--so that they confessed, "Truly you are the Son of God."

The timing of a frustrating wind protected them from staying on an 'emotional high' so that when the same crowds found them the next morning, they would be ready for Jesus' difficult words--words that caused many of His disciples to turn back and no longer follow.

The timing made them ready to answer Jesus' question the next morning, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" so that Peter, who had been rescued from the waves by Jesus just a few hours previously was ready to say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

The timing of the storm was Intentional and Necessary.
"This is where we should be, and Jesus is here with us."

What's in a Name?

7/11/2019

I must confess that when I come to I Chronicles in my Bible reading I find myself debating whether or not to listen to someone read chapters of foreign-sounding names from an audio-Bible, or whether I should tackle the list myself. This time four little verses stood out from I Chronicles 1:24-27....

Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram (that is Abraham). I Chron. 1:24-27

Wait a minute! Did I just cover TEN GENERATIONS and hundreds and hundreds of years in those four verses?! I recognized Shem, the son of Noah. I recognized Abraham, from whom the rest of the Old Testament story emerges, but what about the third son of Shem...Arpachshad?! No details. Just a name of a man who had a son, and a grandson, and a great-grandson... They lived. They died. No details.
For the first time it dawned on me:

these lists of names included in Scripture are not to showcase the greatness of the people, but God's greatness and faithfulness in working out His purposes using generation after generation of "just-a-name" people.

These seemingly uninteresting verses connect the very earliest chapters of Genesis 10-11 (before there is an Abraham!) to God's chosen king, David, who is promised an enduring Kingdom.
What's in these names in I Chronicles? The Psalmist penned it:

The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation. Psalm 33:11

But You, O LORD, abide forever,
And Your name to all generations. Psalm 102:12

Forever, O LORD,
Your word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; Psalm 119:89–90

What's in these names in I Chronicles 1:24-27?
Luke 3:34-36 quotes them, and connects the family tree to the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES--
Jesus, the Son of David.

The Back Door

5/29/2019

The Stranger.

The doorbell rings. You weren’t expecting company, so you glance through the window as you move to the front door. You don’t recognize the person standing there with a clipboard in his hand. A neighborhood salesman. Even before you open the door, you are formulating how to politely decline whatever it is he is selling. You are guarded.

The Friend.

The doorbell rings. You weren’t expecting company, so you glance through the window and don’t see anyone there. You realize there is someone at the back door when you hear a light knock. As you move to answer it, you see the familiar face of your dear friend. Immediately your heart warms and your face brightens and you open the door quickly to let them in. They are trusted.

The Enemy.

After the first miraculous signs Jesus performed in Jerusalem, the crowds were in awe. John 2:23 says, “Many believed in his name. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men.” (NASB) Jesus was guarded against the surge of popularity that rested not on genuine repentance of heart, but on fascination with displays of power.

Nearly two years later, Jesus is with his disciples and asks them who everyone is saying He is. He then asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter plainly states, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter is a trusted friend. At that point, Jesus begins to reveal that He will “go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” When Peter tells Jesus that He would never have to suffer and die, Jesus recognizes the words—Satan had also tempted Jesus in the wilderness with receiving a kingdom that did not include suffering, if he would only bow to him. At that moment, Jesus spoke to the enemy and rebuked Peter’s words: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23)

Satan’s most clever disguise was to come through the back door—the door that friends come through--to use a trusted friend to speak the same temptation.

Satan’s attempts failed in the wilderness when he came directly against Jesus because Jesus was guarded with the Word of God. Satan’s attempts failed when he came indirectly through the crowd’s swooning applause, because Jesus was guarded and saw the unrepentant hearts. But Satan’s most clever disguise was to come through the back door—the door that friends come through--to use a trusted friend to speak the same temptation. Satan's attempt failed because Jesus recognized the words and was guarded against the lie being offered to him. His focus was on pleasing His Father, even if his closest friends were clueless to what that meant.

Most of the temptations that Christians face do not come from the world that comes ringing at the front door, because they are guarded against those. Most fall to temptations that come in from close Christian friends that may not be living by God’s truth at that moment—and usually the intentions are quite innocent. Have you ever noticed that gossip sounds so much more gossipy when you overhear strangers talking with each other? But it sounds almost like essential information when coming from a close friend! Or a flirtatious gesture from a stranger feels inappropriate, but the same gesture from a close friend can be dismissed as “nothing”? Or advice from a book by an eastern mystic is immediately seen as opposed to sound doctrine, but the same advice from a pastor sounds so wise? The goal of guarding the back door is not to distrust of our close friends, but to develop a sharp recognition of the temptations that might be coming in the back door with them.

Our enemy is very clever at disguising himself.

"You Give Them Something to Eat"

5/6/2019

Taking (the disciples) with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away... ”
But He said to them,
“You give them something to eat!”
...He blessed (the loaves), and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. (Lk 9:10–16).

Jesus Welcomed.

After the news of John the Baptist's beheading, Jesus withdrew with His disciples in the boat. As soon as they got to shore, there was a great crowd waiting for Him. Jesus' response? He felt compassion for them and actually welcomed them. His compassion extended to both their physical needs for which they came, and also the needs of their souls--He told them about the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus asked His disciples, "Where are we to get bread that these might eat?" it underscored their complete lack of supply for the needs in front of them.

If Jesus had not been there, the disciples' solution to the massive needs facing them would have been the logistically sensible solution: "Send them away!"

Jesus Supplied.

But Jesus WAS there. And His person was the SUPPLY for the needs of each hungry person: man, woman, and child. In other words, what each person really needed was Jesus. The disciples hadn't figured that out yet, but Jesus was teaching them hands on. As Peter gave out the bread to his hungry group of 50-100 people, he was getting the food from Jesus. As Thaddeus gave out the bread to his hungry group, he was getting the food from Jesus. As Judas gave out the bread to his hungry group, he was getting the food from Jesus. There was no "giftedness" that was needed to hand out the bread. There were no personality advantages to feed a hungry crowd. There was no time to be comparing who had the larger group--only time to go back to Jesus again and again to refill the basket and head back to the next waiting group.

Each disciple had nothing to give apart from what Jesus put in their basket, and each disciple had the same full provision from Jesus to take to their group of waiting, hungry people.

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