Thursday Thought – December 10, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” (Luke 18:31-34)

One phrase in this passage stands out for me: “The disciples did not understand any of this.”

That is a comforting phrase for me because there are many things in my life and in the world I do not understand. I don’t understand what God is trying to accomplish. I don’t understand how they show God’s love and compassion. I don’t understand how God is using them to build His children into the image of Jesus. I just plain don’t understand a lot of things.

I have a friend who had lympoma. I don’t understand the why of that.

I have another friend who has breast cancer. I don’t understand the why of that.

I have a friend who has ongoing health problems that defy explanation and treatment. I don’t understand the why of that.

I have friends who have lost spouses and children and parents to death. I don’t understand the whys of those things.

A tornado hit the city where I went to college – Joplin. It killed hundreds and did unimaginable damage. I don’t understand the why of that.

I could go on and on with my list. There are many things that I don’t understand. God hasn’t prevented any of them, perhaps in some way they are a part of His plan.

The earliest and closest followers of Jesus didn’t understand, either. Here’s something else that becomes evident as their lives unfolded – despite their not understanding, they trusted Jesus and kept following Him.

That’s my decision, too. There are many things I do not understand, but I choose to trust Jesus and keep following Him.

His, by Grace, Steve

Wednesday Thought – December 9, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.”’ ‘All these I have kept since I was a boy,’ he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 18:18-24)

This young man had several problems –

He thought he could earn eternal life. That was his question for Jesus. Jesus’ answer was that he couldn’t do anything to earn eternal life. If he would just have acknowledged that he was lost and unable to do anything about it, Jesus would have freely offered His grace.

He thought he was righteous. The young man declared that he had kept all the commandments since he was a boy. That’s self-delusion. No one has kept all those commandments – except Jesus. The young man didn’t realize he was guilty. Jesus was looking for an honest admission of guilt – but it never came. An honest admission of guilt is the first step toward salvation. The realization of our need comes before the acceptance of God’s solution.

He loved his money more than he loved God. It’s not that money is bad – it is often a gift from God. But nothing can be more important to us than God. God won’t take second place to anything.

Jesus was willing to save this young man! It’s just that He wasn’t willing to save the young man on his own terms. He could only come to God on God’s terms.

That’s true for us, too.

His, by Grace, Steve 

Tuesday Thought – December 8, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth; anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’" (Luke 18:15-17)

We sang a song at church when I was young: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” It’s true. Jesus does love children – all children.

He loves them because they are so honest. When a child doesn’t like something it is fed there is no pretending that they like it. When a child is unhappy there is no faking happiness in order to keep the mood light. A child will honestly express what it is feeling.

Jesus loves honesty. You can see that in the Psalms. David expressed anger, frustration, disappointment, joy, passion, and every other imaginable emotion. He didn’t hold back. He honestly expressed what he was feeling. And God called David a man after His own heart.

He loves children because they trust. A child will allow his father to toss him into the air and he will laugh with delight. He isn’t afraid because he knows his father won’t hurt him. He trusts his father.

Jesus loves trust – He calls it faith. He says that without faith a person can’t please God. With faith a man is acceptable to God in spite of his sins.

God loves children – and He longs for children to be brought to Him. So, we should love children too – protect them, teach them, be role models for them, love them – and bring as many of them to Jesus as we can.

And God loves it when we develop the positive characteristics of a child in our own lives – honesty and trust are two of those characteristics.

His, By Grace, Steve

Monday Thought – December 7, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -- robbers, evildoers, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'  But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'" (Luke 18:9-14)

The principle is: those who are proud of their own righteousness are far from God and those who acknowledge their own sinfulness are closer to Him.

There isn't a man or woman who has ever lived (except Jesus) who could come to God on the basis of his or her own righteousness. Those who have tried are always turned away. It isn't until a person understands the depth of his own sin that he is ready to come to God. The truth is that the way to God is not to seek a reward for your righteousness, but to seek grace and mercy from Him.

The Pharisees thought they were okay with God, they considered themselves to be doing all they needed to do to please God. How wrong they were! No one can make that kind of claim.  All of us fall far short of the standards required to reach God on the basis of what we do.

The tax collector knew very well that he wasn't living up to God's standards. He knew his own sinfulness. The only hope he had was in God's forgiveness. That's the only hope any of us has!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought – December 4, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

What does God want from you more than anything else? According to Jesus’ statement above, He wants faith. Faith is what He will look for when Jesus comes again. Faith is what He will examine in your life when you stand before Him in judgment. Faith matters to God.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) You can have a life filled with religious ritual and that won’t be enough to please God. You can have perfect purity and that won’t be enough. You can work hard in your church, attend every service, give generously, and none of those things will be enough. Without faith, nothing is enough to please God.

“That which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” (Philippians 3:9) A right standing before God comes by faith.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8) Salvation comes by faith.

Faith seems pretty important – vitally important – so it would be good to know what faith is.

Faith is not just knowledge of a set of facts. Faith is not just believing the right things, the true things about Jesus. Faith is more than those things.

To have faith is to trust in God. Trust has to be based on knowledge – so there are things that we are required to know in order to have faith – like that God exists, that God wants to have a relationship with us, that God did what was required for us to have a relationship with Him. Trust is also based on believing certain things – that Jesus really lived, that He gave His life for our sins, that He came back to live again in the resurrection by which God established that He has accepted His sacrifice.

But to trust also means that on basis of that knowledge we believe what God has said and follow Him. We surrender to Him because He has proven Himself trustworthy. We respond to Him.

When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth? When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith in you?

His, by Grace, Steve

Thursday Thought – December 3, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

Have you ever wondered what the Second Coming of Jesus will be like? You aren’t the first one who has wondered. Jesus dealt with that question and He provided some hints about what it will be like and some advice about how to approach it.

“The Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. … Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.’” (Luke 17:24-34)

You won’t have wonder whether or not it has happened. It won’t be a secret coming. “Like the lightning, which flashes from one end to the other.”

People will be taken by surprise when He comes. “As in the days of Noah.”

Some will be ready and some will be left behind. “One will be taken and the other left.”

Therefore …

Give your life away to Him – don’t try to hold on to it. “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” If you try to keep your life for yourself – doing what you want to do, living for yourself, following your will – when Jesus comes again you won’t be ready. If you give your life to Him, serve Him and His will – when He comes you will be ready.

The point is you don’t have to know when He is coming. You don’t have to make any special preparations as the day gets nearer. It’s all about having a right relationship with Him every day. Do that, and you are ready – whatever day He comes.

His, by Grace, Steve

Wednesday Thought – December 2, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

"Ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!' When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' As they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him -- and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?'" (Luke 17:12-18)

Sometimes saying "thank you" is hard to remember. I'm sure all ten lepers were thankful. But they needed to get to the priest and be declared clean by him. That was required before they could reenter public life. They probably had wives and children, mothers and fathers, they wanted to see them. The things that occupied the attention of the nine lepers were not trivial things, they were really important things. It's not that they weren't thankful, they were just preoccupied with important things.

The one who came back to say thank had important things to do, too. He needed to get to the priest, too. He probably had a wife and children, a mother and father that he wanted to see. It wasn't that he didn't have anything better to do than go back to Jesus and say thank you -- it was that he considered saying thank you important enough to interrupt the other important things.

Most all of us know how important saying thank you is. Our mothers and fathers taught us that -- and most of us did it easily as children. But we're not children anymore. We don't have mothers and fathers to remind us. We don't have to follow their rules any longer. Saying thank you is easy to forget and easy to put off till a more convenient time. One considered it important enough to do right away -- and Jesus was pleased!

I think I'll try to remember to say thank you to the Lord more often!

His, by Grace, Steve