Let’s read today’s verses Luke 16:1-8.
Jesus told His disciples, "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give me an account of your management because you cannot be manager any longer.’ "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig and I’m ashamed to beg - I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ "So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ "`Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. "The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly and make it four hundred.’ "Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?’ "`A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. "He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light." (NIV)
The manager in this parable got caught for mismanaging the rich man’s possessions. He was being accused of squandering the things that were entrusted to him for his own selfish benefit. The manager was threatened with dismissal. Realizing that his future appeared bleak and uncertain, he devised a plan to insure his well-being. He summoned the people who were in debt to his master and he used his authority to condone part of their loans. To the one who owed eight hundred gallons of oil he said, "Take your bill and write a different promisory note for only four hundred gallons." And then to another who owed one thousand bushels of wheat, he said, "Write a note for only eight hundred." In doing this, the manager was making sure that those debtors would be grateful enough to welcome him into their homes when the time came for him to be evicted from his master’s estate. It may be argued that this manager was cheating his master by condoning the debts. But this condonation also had the effect of ensuring that the debtors would pay those debts because of the nice discount for them. The master was so glad over this that he commended the manager for his brilliant deed. He was aware that in Israel all unpaid debts must be totally forgiven every 7 years.
Let’s read the next verses, Luke 16:9-13.
Jesus was still speaking: "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
In these verses, Jesus was stating some principles about worldly possessions, which is also translated as "unrighteous Mammon". Jesus says that we must utilize these worldly possessions to benefit others specially the poor and less fortunate. Jesus says that in so doing, we will gain friends as well as an eternal home. This was what the manager was doing. Instead of using unrighteous Mammon for his own selfish benefit, he started to use it for the benefit of others. Part of being good stewards of worldly possessions is about SHARING. God wants us to use our possessions in a way that benefits others also. Selfishness is not good stewardship in the eyes of God. Jesus knew that if a person who owned very few possessions readily shared these with the less fortunate, such a person can also be counted on to share, even when God blessed him with much more. And only those who generously share their worldly possessions can be counted on to generously share God’s other riches. Man’s willingness to share is dictated by either love for GOD or love for MONEY. Jesus said that we will love one and not love the other; we will be ruled by one or the other. We have to decide which of the two is our beloved MASTER. Yes we need money. Yes we need worldly possessions. Yes we need food, clothes, and shelter. But we should not love worldly possessions or riches in a manner that is greater than our devotion to God. We must not pursue material things more than we pursue a relationship with God. When we utilize the worldly things that have been given to us - our money, our clothes, our houses, our cars - we should utilize them in a way which makes us more obedient and more faithful unto God.
Let us read the rest of today’s verses Luke 16:19-26. Jesus told a story as an example of how this works.
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen." At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "Now the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried in hell where this rich man was in torment. He looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. And so he called to him (the rich man called to Abraham), "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. "But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things? But now, he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm or separation has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
Jesus spoke about a rich man who was living in luxury. At his gate, a beggar named Lazarus frequently came. This beggar was hoping to beg for food from the rich man, but the rich man gave him nothing. This rich man never even shared the crumbs that fell from his table, useless and wasted crumbs which a beggar like Lazarus was longing to eat. That rich man loved his worldly possessions so much; he wanted his worldly possessions to benefit only himself. He was selfish. He was not willing to share anything with Lazarus, not even a crumb. Was that rich man faithful in handling his worldly possessions? Would God be pleased to bless him with God’s other riches? Time passed, and both Lazarus and the rich man died. Lazarus the beggar went to where holy men like Abraham was. The rich man went to hell where he was tormented in flames. He suffered tremendously. He longed for even one drop of water to soothe his burning tongue. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip a finger in water and bring it to him so he could lick even a drop — just like Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. But that was not possible. If the rich man could only turn back the hands of time and return to his rich life, he would surely be willing to give Lazarus a big portion of his wealth. Regretably, it was too late. He had failed his chance to be faithful in handling material possessions.
Today, some of us are rich, some of us are poor. But whatever our economic condition is at present, God still wants us to share with others our worldly possessions. Let us keep in mind what Jesus said: "He who is faithful with very little can be trusted to be faithful with much". If God sees that we cannot be trusted to be faithful in handling and sharing worldly wealth, He will not trust us with His other riches.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Lessons from: The Parable of the Good Samaritan & Martha and Mary
One of the most well-known parables is the parable of the Good Samaritan. The fame of this story has led the whole world to use the term "good Samaritan" to describe anyone who is helpful unto others. Today let us take another look at this remarkable story.
Let’s read today’s verses Luke 10:25-29
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you read it?
"He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’."
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he (the man) wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus,"And who is my neighbor?"
It was a time when Jesus was teaching; and an expert of the Law of Moses suddenly stood up to ask a question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?".
The real purpose of the question was to test Jesus. This law expert was intending to draw Jesus into a debate. For when Jesus queried him about what the Law said concerning the matter, he had a ready answer, typical among scholars of Scipture. He gave an exact quotation from the Law : "Love God with all ......." and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (taken from Deut.6:5 and Lev.19:18).
Jesus acknowledged that his answer was indeed correct. Actually Jesus Himself used this same quotation to answer the Pharisees in another incident when they had asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the Law (Matt.22:35-40).
In agreeing with the Law expert, Jesus exhorted him : " Do this and you will live ". By this our Lord meant that if any person would succeed in following these two commandments he would inherit eternal life.
The Law expert did not seem satisfied that our Lord agreed with his answer. He pressed on with his desire to force a debate with Jesus by asking another question. Verse 29 says that "he wanted to justify himself" indicating that he already had a set mind concerning the matter. So he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor ?"
With that question, the law expert thought that he had forced Jesus into a position where a debate seemed inevitable. The word "neighbor" can be a subjective term, and its interpretation may vary in relation to place of residence, family ties, Jewish tribes, political affiliation, financial status, and a host of other variables. All of those relations often caused quarrels and animosities, thus making it extremely difficult to apply the commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
So let’s see how Jesus handled this sticky question. Let’s read the next verses Luke 10:30-35
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Jesus started telling a story about a man, presumably a Jew, who was laying half dead on a road. The man had been robbed and mugged. Jesus then mentioned that a priest happened to pass by. Upon seeing the unfortunate victim, the priest avoided having anything to do with the bloodied man by detouring via the other side of the road. Jesus added that another passerby came along; this time a Levite. He too avoided the beaten man by likewise passing on the other side of the road.
Note here that the two men who avoided the victim were both Levites, the clan from which the priests are picked. Levites were trained to prepare them for priestly duties in the temple. Therefore they were well versed with ministering in the presence of God. And among all the Jewish clans, the Levites were claimed by God as the clan that was His (Num.3:11-13). They were set apart to belong to God. Because of their knowledge, Levites should have known God’s ways better than anybody else. And thus they should have been the most "enlightened" and the most willing among the Jews concerning the matter of loving others.
Jesus continued his story with the next man who passed by the dying victim. This passerby happened to be a Samaritan; and Samaritans were hated in Israel. Although they descended from the same race as the Israelites, they were ostracized and not treated as Jews. Samaritans were mocked and hated by the Jews.
Yet it was the Samaritan who took it upon himself to have pity on the beaten man. He did everything he could in order to relieve the distressed victim. He gave his resources and his money to insure that the victim would recover from his injuries.
Let’s read the succeeding verses Luke 10:36-37
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, " The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
In asking the law expert that question, Jesus forced him to acknowledge in his heart God’s own concept about who his neighbor was. And when he answered, we notice that he still found it difficult to consider the hated Samaritans as among the neighbors that he must love. Instead of simply answering, "The Samaritan", he tried to go around it by saying, "The ONE who had mercy on him".
Then Jesus reinforced the lesson to the law expert by telling him to do likewise — Love even those you hate; love even those that hate you. That is what it takes to inherit eternal life.
What about us? Do we love our neighbor —— the ones we hate, and the ones who hate us and make life miserable for us?
We have to admit that this is almost impossible. Given our human nature, this would be extremely difficult. Yet, God commanded it of us because He knows it can be done, as proven by the Good Samaritan. But we wonder just how we can manage to do it given our human nature.
The next verses will help us see this in a better light. Let’s read Luke 10:38-42
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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Among Christians of today, Martha is known as having a penchant for facing the necessary tasks that had to be done. Mary on the other hand is known for spending all her time with Jesus.
The Lord said in verse 42 that Mary had chosen the more beneficial thing that was truly needed. This is not to say that we should all forget about attending to the worldly needs of daily life. Nor is it right to say that a passive way of life is what God prefers for us.
What the lesson of Mary and Martha points to is that whatever we have to do, we can do it in the presence of Jesus. There seems to be no way that we can escape the many chores that accompany our earthly existence. Escapism is not prescribed by God’s word. But as Christians who have submitted everything to God’s reign, we can certainly spend all our hearts and minds on our Lord as we perform our chores in His loving presence. We can be both Martha and Mary at the same time. In fact, that is the way a Christian should be.
As we spend more of our hearts and our minds on our Lord Jesus, we become conformed to his likeness. Remember how Moses’ face shown brightly after he spent much of his time in the presence of God ? We too will reflect the light of Jesus as we stay united to Him in all that we do.
Philipians 2:1-4 talks of this. It speaks of the union with Jesus which would make us more compassionate and loving as we continually commune with Jesus. We become more like Him, until the point where we are enabled to live our lives following the life that our Shepherd lived on earth.
Only then can we love the way Jesus loved. Only then can we love the people who hate us and harm us. Only then can we truly love our neighbor the way God wants us to.
Eternal life is what Jesus promises for our reward.
Psalm 17:15 says :
" As for me, I will behold
Your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied when
I awake in Your likeness."
Let’s read today’s verses Luke 10:25-29
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you read it?
"He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’."
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he (the man) wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus,"And who is my neighbor?"
It was a time when Jesus was teaching; and an expert of the Law of Moses suddenly stood up to ask a question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?".
The real purpose of the question was to test Jesus. This law expert was intending to draw Jesus into a debate. For when Jesus queried him about what the Law said concerning the matter, he had a ready answer, typical among scholars of Scipture. He gave an exact quotation from the Law : "Love God with all ......." and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (taken from Deut.6:5 and Lev.19:18).
Jesus acknowledged that his answer was indeed correct. Actually Jesus Himself used this same quotation to answer the Pharisees in another incident when they had asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the Law (Matt.22:35-40).
In agreeing with the Law expert, Jesus exhorted him : " Do this and you will live ". By this our Lord meant that if any person would succeed in following these two commandments he would inherit eternal life.
The Law expert did not seem satisfied that our Lord agreed with his answer. He pressed on with his desire to force a debate with Jesus by asking another question. Verse 29 says that "he wanted to justify himself" indicating that he already had a set mind concerning the matter. So he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor ?"
With that question, the law expert thought that he had forced Jesus into a position where a debate seemed inevitable. The word "neighbor" can be a subjective term, and its interpretation may vary in relation to place of residence, family ties, Jewish tribes, political affiliation, financial status, and a host of other variables. All of those relations often caused quarrels and animosities, thus making it extremely difficult to apply the commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
So let’s see how Jesus handled this sticky question. Let’s read the next verses Luke 10:30-35
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Jesus started telling a story about a man, presumably a Jew, who was laying half dead on a road. The man had been robbed and mugged. Jesus then mentioned that a priest happened to pass by. Upon seeing the unfortunate victim, the priest avoided having anything to do with the bloodied man by detouring via the other side of the road. Jesus added that another passerby came along; this time a Levite. He too avoided the beaten man by likewise passing on the other side of the road.
Note here that the two men who avoided the victim were both Levites, the clan from which the priests are picked. Levites were trained to prepare them for priestly duties in the temple. Therefore they were well versed with ministering in the presence of God. And among all the Jewish clans, the Levites were claimed by God as the clan that was His (Num.3:11-13). They were set apart to belong to God. Because of their knowledge, Levites should have known God’s ways better than anybody else. And thus they should have been the most "enlightened" and the most willing among the Jews concerning the matter of loving others.
Jesus continued his story with the next man who passed by the dying victim. This passerby happened to be a Samaritan; and Samaritans were hated in Israel. Although they descended from the same race as the Israelites, they were ostracized and not treated as Jews. Samaritans were mocked and hated by the Jews.
Yet it was the Samaritan who took it upon himself to have pity on the beaten man. He did everything he could in order to relieve the distressed victim. He gave his resources and his money to insure that the victim would recover from his injuries.
Let’s read the succeeding verses Luke 10:36-37
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, " The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
In asking the law expert that question, Jesus forced him to acknowledge in his heart God’s own concept about who his neighbor was. And when he answered, we notice that he still found it difficult to consider the hated Samaritans as among the neighbors that he must love. Instead of simply answering, "The Samaritan", he tried to go around it by saying, "The ONE who had mercy on him".
Then Jesus reinforced the lesson to the law expert by telling him to do likewise — Love even those you hate; love even those that hate you. That is what it takes to inherit eternal life.
What about us? Do we love our neighbor —— the ones we hate, and the ones who hate us and make life miserable for us?
We have to admit that this is almost impossible. Given our human nature, this would be extremely difficult. Yet, God commanded it of us because He knows it can be done, as proven by the Good Samaritan. But we wonder just how we can manage to do it given our human nature.
The next verses will help us see this in a better light. Let’s read Luke 10:38-42
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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Among Christians of today, Martha is known as having a penchant for facing the necessary tasks that had to be done. Mary on the other hand is known for spending all her time with Jesus.
The Lord said in verse 42 that Mary had chosen the more beneficial thing that was truly needed. This is not to say that we should all forget about attending to the worldly needs of daily life. Nor is it right to say that a passive way of life is what God prefers for us.
What the lesson of Mary and Martha points to is that whatever we have to do, we can do it in the presence of Jesus. There seems to be no way that we can escape the many chores that accompany our earthly existence. Escapism is not prescribed by God’s word. But as Christians who have submitted everything to God’s reign, we can certainly spend all our hearts and minds on our Lord as we perform our chores in His loving presence. We can be both Martha and Mary at the same time. In fact, that is the way a Christian should be.
As we spend more of our hearts and our minds on our Lord Jesus, we become conformed to his likeness. Remember how Moses’ face shown brightly after he spent much of his time in the presence of God ? We too will reflect the light of Jesus as we stay united to Him in all that we do.
Philipians 2:1-4 talks of this. It speaks of the union with Jesus which would make us more compassionate and loving as we continually commune with Jesus. We become more like Him, until the point where we are enabled to live our lives following the life that our Shepherd lived on earth.
Only then can we love the way Jesus loved. Only then can we love the people who hate us and harm us. Only then can we truly love our neighbor the way God wants us to.
Eternal life is what Jesus promises for our reward.
Psalm 17:15 says :
" As for me, I will behold
Your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied when
I awake in Your likeness."
Friday, October 24, 2008
FACING FEAR
(John 7:1-13)
Christians rarely consider that Jesus Christ, when He walked this earth, was ever afraid of anything. It is quite difficult to think that our Lord had experienced FEAR. It is more reassuring to think of the divine qualities of Jesus rather than accept that our Lord possessed human frailties as a man. In fact many sects consider it a sacrilege to delve into the human characteristics of Jesus. Such sects would ostracize anyone who would even suggest that Jesus had experienced any form of human weakness such as being afraid. Jesus had a human body that had all the usual human qualities. These included all the ordinary weaknesses that everyone had. The Book of Hebrews says the same thing (2:14-18 and 4:14-15). It is written that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, took on a human body to sacrifice His human life in order to save humans. It was a mortal body, subject to the same weaknesses and temptations that all of mankind regularly experience. The only difference was that Jesus our Lord did not commit any sin.
Let’s READ John 7:1. After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take His life.(NIV)
Jesus stayed in the area of Galilee for a while. He avoided going to Judea where the religious leaders of the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Jesus was experiencing fear in the same manner as anyone whose life was being threatened. The fear of dying is undoubtedly a part of being human. It was natural for the mortal Jesus to have this fear of death. In fact, on the eve of His arrest, Jesus underwent such a great agony over His impending death that He went into a bloody sweat (Luke 22:43-44).
Let us continue with today’s verses John 7:2-13. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for Me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for Me the right time has not yet come." Having said this, He stayed in Galilee. However, after His brothers had left for the Feast, He went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for Him and asking, "Where is that man?" Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about Him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, He deceives the people." But no one would say anything publicly about Him for fear of the Jews. (NIV)
The time for the Feast of Tabernacles had come. It was a grand festival that lasted for eight days. During the joyous festivities, the Jews would offer many sacrifices —— much more than at any other occasion. Thus, this was celebrated in the areas near the temple which was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea.
The brothers of Jesus were cajoling Jesus to go to Judea for the festivities. They were making fun of Him in much the same way that brothers ridicule each other. They could not see any divine purpose in the works of Jesus; nor did they believe in the things that He taught. No prophet is accepted in his own hometown, much less in his own family. It is then easy to understand that Jesus was not believed by His own brothers while He was still alive. It was only after the resurrection of Jesus that His brothers started believing. They became true followers as a result of seeing the risen Lord. Nevertheless that happened later; meanwhile they joked about Him.
As His brothers were making fun of Him, Jesus told them to go on ahead to Judea for the feast. He told them that He was not ready yet. But after they had gone without Jesus, He secretly went to the feast by Himself. Obviously, Jesus did not want to travel with His brothers on that long journey to Jerusalem because of the threat on His life. Travelling with His brothers would make Him more conspicuous and easily identifiable. It could endanger His brothers also. Thus Jesus traveled alone and incognito. Yet, eventhough He felt threatened, He did not allow fear to deter Him from divine destiny. It was with a heavy heart that Jesus secretly journeyed for more than a hundred kilometers to Judea.
The people who were already at the feast noticed the absence of the popular Jesus. Our Lord had often observed the feasts of the Jewish calendar by going to the temple to teach. People had become accustomed to seeing Him in the temple during any celebration. So because Jesus was not around on the first few days of the feast, people began wondering about Him. Apparently those who believed in Jesus had good things to say about Him; those who did not believe in Him spoke of Him as a deceiver, a liar. But no matter how opinionated they were about Jesus, the verses say that no one spoke openly about Jesus. Everyone was so afraid of the religious leaders who hated Jesus bitterly, even to the point of plotting to kill Him. Rumors of that plot had started to circulate. Understandably, the people avoided any risk of incurring the ire of those leaders if they got caught speaking about Jesus. Any talk about Him was done in secret. Because of FEAR.
How about us? What are the things that we FEAR? How do our fears affect our actions? It is normal to fear. It is natural for our survival instincts to trigger our fears. When we sense danger, fear sets in to warn us to seek safety. Actually fear can do us good if we react correctly; but fear can be bad for us if we react wrongly.
Spiritually, fear can lead us to do good things for God as well as for others. For example, fear can lead us to work for the salvation and well-being of our fellowmen. In the Book of Esther, the Jewish queen was overwhelmed by fear for her life and for the lives of the other Jews. As a result, she called for fasting and prayer. Then she risked her own life to plead to the Persian king in order to save the lives of her fellow Jews.
On the other hand, fear can also be spiritually bad if we resort to doing ungodly things. In that case, fear can consume us and tear up our faith in God. This happened to King Saul who became afraid of David (1 Sam.18:6-25). The loyal and God-fearing David had never gone against King Saul. But because of the king’s ungodly ways, Saul developed a growing suspicion towards the young David. This brought a great fear in the heart of King Saul which resulted in his numerous attempts to murder David, the innocent worshipper of God. Fear can likewise prevent an unfaithful person from doing what is good and just in the eyes of God. In the Parable of the Talents (Mattehew 25:24-30), the servant who received one talent was unfaithful and had no trust for his benevolent master. He had the wrong notion that his master was unjust and cruel; thus he was afraid of his master. His fear led him to hide the one talent which was entrusted to him instead of using it productively. For that, he was punished. People like him fail to benefit from God’s good gifts.
Yes, Jesus also experienced what it was to be afraid as we see in today’s verses. However, Jesus never allowed fear to be victorious. He did not allow fear to prevent Him from doing what was good and just in the eyes of God. First, He used His fear to make sure that the lives of His brothers were not jeopardized. He sent them to go without Him to Judea for the feast. And then, He did not allow His fear to prevent Him from doing what He was sent to do —— to teach about the will of God. He dealt with His fear by going to the feast in Judea at a time when the religious leaders were determined to kill Him. Such was the way of our Lord Jesus in the face of FEAR. A shining example for all who follow Him. May He give us the grace to walk in His footsteps.
Christians rarely consider that Jesus Christ, when He walked this earth, was ever afraid of anything. It is quite difficult to think that our Lord had experienced FEAR. It is more reassuring to think of the divine qualities of Jesus rather than accept that our Lord possessed human frailties as a man. In fact many sects consider it a sacrilege to delve into the human characteristics of Jesus. Such sects would ostracize anyone who would even suggest that Jesus had experienced any form of human weakness such as being afraid. Jesus had a human body that had all the usual human qualities. These included all the ordinary weaknesses that everyone had. The Book of Hebrews says the same thing (2:14-18 and 4:14-15). It is written that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, took on a human body to sacrifice His human life in order to save humans. It was a mortal body, subject to the same weaknesses and temptations that all of mankind regularly experience. The only difference was that Jesus our Lord did not commit any sin.
Let’s READ John 7:1. After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take His life.(NIV)
Jesus stayed in the area of Galilee for a while. He avoided going to Judea where the religious leaders of the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Jesus was experiencing fear in the same manner as anyone whose life was being threatened. The fear of dying is undoubtedly a part of being human. It was natural for the mortal Jesus to have this fear of death. In fact, on the eve of His arrest, Jesus underwent such a great agony over His impending death that He went into a bloody sweat (Luke 22:43-44).
Let us continue with today’s verses John 7:2-13. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for Me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for Me the right time has not yet come." Having said this, He stayed in Galilee. However, after His brothers had left for the Feast, He went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for Him and asking, "Where is that man?" Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about Him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, He deceives the people." But no one would say anything publicly about Him for fear of the Jews. (NIV)
The time for the Feast of Tabernacles had come. It was a grand festival that lasted for eight days. During the joyous festivities, the Jews would offer many sacrifices —— much more than at any other occasion. Thus, this was celebrated in the areas near the temple which was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea.
The brothers of Jesus were cajoling Jesus to go to Judea for the festivities. They were making fun of Him in much the same way that brothers ridicule each other. They could not see any divine purpose in the works of Jesus; nor did they believe in the things that He taught. No prophet is accepted in his own hometown, much less in his own family. It is then easy to understand that Jesus was not believed by His own brothers while He was still alive. It was only after the resurrection of Jesus that His brothers started believing. They became true followers as a result of seeing the risen Lord. Nevertheless that happened later; meanwhile they joked about Him.
As His brothers were making fun of Him, Jesus told them to go on ahead to Judea for the feast. He told them that He was not ready yet. But after they had gone without Jesus, He secretly went to the feast by Himself. Obviously, Jesus did not want to travel with His brothers on that long journey to Jerusalem because of the threat on His life. Travelling with His brothers would make Him more conspicuous and easily identifiable. It could endanger His brothers also. Thus Jesus traveled alone and incognito. Yet, eventhough He felt threatened, He did not allow fear to deter Him from divine destiny. It was with a heavy heart that Jesus secretly journeyed for more than a hundred kilometers to Judea.
The people who were already at the feast noticed the absence of the popular Jesus. Our Lord had often observed the feasts of the Jewish calendar by going to the temple to teach. People had become accustomed to seeing Him in the temple during any celebration. So because Jesus was not around on the first few days of the feast, people began wondering about Him. Apparently those who believed in Jesus had good things to say about Him; those who did not believe in Him spoke of Him as a deceiver, a liar. But no matter how opinionated they were about Jesus, the verses say that no one spoke openly about Jesus. Everyone was so afraid of the religious leaders who hated Jesus bitterly, even to the point of plotting to kill Him. Rumors of that plot had started to circulate. Understandably, the people avoided any risk of incurring the ire of those leaders if they got caught speaking about Jesus. Any talk about Him was done in secret. Because of FEAR.
How about us? What are the things that we FEAR? How do our fears affect our actions? It is normal to fear. It is natural for our survival instincts to trigger our fears. When we sense danger, fear sets in to warn us to seek safety. Actually fear can do us good if we react correctly; but fear can be bad for us if we react wrongly.
Spiritually, fear can lead us to do good things for God as well as for others. For example, fear can lead us to work for the salvation and well-being of our fellowmen. In the Book of Esther, the Jewish queen was overwhelmed by fear for her life and for the lives of the other Jews. As a result, she called for fasting and prayer. Then she risked her own life to plead to the Persian king in order to save the lives of her fellow Jews.
On the other hand, fear can also be spiritually bad if we resort to doing ungodly things. In that case, fear can consume us and tear up our faith in God. This happened to King Saul who became afraid of David (1 Sam.18:6-25). The loyal and God-fearing David had never gone against King Saul. But because of the king’s ungodly ways, Saul developed a growing suspicion towards the young David. This brought a great fear in the heart of King Saul which resulted in his numerous attempts to murder David, the innocent worshipper of God. Fear can likewise prevent an unfaithful person from doing what is good and just in the eyes of God. In the Parable of the Talents (Mattehew 25:24-30), the servant who received one talent was unfaithful and had no trust for his benevolent master. He had the wrong notion that his master was unjust and cruel; thus he was afraid of his master. His fear led him to hide the one talent which was entrusted to him instead of using it productively. For that, he was punished. People like him fail to benefit from God’s good gifts.
Yes, Jesus also experienced what it was to be afraid as we see in today’s verses. However, Jesus never allowed fear to be victorious. He did not allow fear to prevent Him from doing what was good and just in the eyes of God. First, He used His fear to make sure that the lives of His brothers were not jeopardized. He sent them to go without Him to Judea for the feast. And then, He did not allow His fear to prevent Him from doing what He was sent to do —— to teach about the will of God. He dealt with His fear by going to the feast in Judea at a time when the religious leaders were determined to kill Him. Such was the way of our Lord Jesus in the face of FEAR. A shining example for all who follow Him. May He give us the grace to walk in His footsteps.
Friday, October 17, 2008
HE WHO HAS WILL BE GIVEN MORE. WHY?
Let's read today's verses Matthew 25:14-30.
"Again it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came, `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; See, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man who had received the one talent came. `Master,' he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.'
"`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (NIV)
This is the widely known Parable of the Talents. A talent was one of the coins used as money among the Israelites. This valuable coin was distributed among the servants in the parable; and Jesus used this story to teach that God expects a result from us for what He had given us.
In the English language, the word talent means the abilities and skills of a person. God has gifted each of us with unique talents. We use our talents wisely for our well being and also to benefit others. And at any point in time, we can be made to account for the fruits of these God-given talents.
But the scope of this parable is not limited to the monetary "talents" we invest or the creative "talents" we cultivate. What Jesus illustrated in this parable was of a spiritual nature. He wanted us to focus on our spiritual life, our spiritual gifts, our spiritual abilities, our spiritual works.
God wants us to cultivate our spiritual talents and put them to good use. If we do, God's pleasure will bring an increase to our spiritual gifts. It is foolish to hide our spiritual talents for whatever reason. This would displease God as He sees no productive results in our spiritual life.
Faith (also known as trusting and obeying God) is a spiritual gift. The more we use it, the more it increases. The more we trust and obey God, the greater our capacity to trust and obey God. This also holds true for all the other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, praying, worshipping, doing good works, etc. Jesus also taught that we accumulate "treasures in Heaven" as we use our gifts to the pleasure of God.
But there is a statement in this parable that must be tackled more clearly. It is, "To him who has, more will be given; to him who has not, the little that he has will be taken away." Many humanists would find this quite unjust. Many would argue that those who have none should be given more, and not those who already have. Many might even conclude that Jesus is espousing an injustice.
However, what Jesus was saying is not an injustice when it pertains to spiritual realities. Our Lord wanted to stress that any person who cultivates his spiritual life and uses his spiritual gifts would receive a commensurate reward. His spiritual gifts will be increased to allow him greater participation in spiritual life.
Another way of saying it is: the more we listen to God, the more we are allowed to hear Him; the more we seek His presence, the more we are allowed to experience Him in life's unfolding events.
Once there was a very old prophetess named Anna. She had been a widow for many decades. She spent all her time on the temple grounds where she worshipped, fasted, and prayed. Anna's life was filled with spiritual activity.
God blessed her unceasing spirituality by allowing her to see the Baby Jesus when He was presented in the temple. Anna was allowed to recognize God's Son when He came; and she was even empowered by God to prophecy about the salvation that Jesus would bring.
On the other hand, the reverse is also true. A person who neglects his spiritual gifts will not see any spiritual profit. His spiritual activities will continually decrease and his spiritual awareness will dwindle. He will become more insensitive to God’s voice and more doubtful of His presence in daily events. He may lose whatever little is left of his spiritual life.
But his losses do not end there. Today's parable says that Jesus will finally command, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is an unmistakable statement that a spiritually neglectful person will end up in hell.
God bless us all.
"Again it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came, `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; See, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man who had received the one talent came. `Master,' he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.'
"`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (NIV)
This is the widely known Parable of the Talents. A talent was one of the coins used as money among the Israelites. This valuable coin was distributed among the servants in the parable; and Jesus used this story to teach that God expects a result from us for what He had given us.
In the English language, the word talent means the abilities and skills of a person. God has gifted each of us with unique talents. We use our talents wisely for our well being and also to benefit others. And at any point in time, we can be made to account for the fruits of these God-given talents.
But the scope of this parable is not limited to the monetary "talents" we invest or the creative "talents" we cultivate. What Jesus illustrated in this parable was of a spiritual nature. He wanted us to focus on our spiritual life, our spiritual gifts, our spiritual abilities, our spiritual works.
God wants us to cultivate our spiritual talents and put them to good use. If we do, God's pleasure will bring an increase to our spiritual gifts. It is foolish to hide our spiritual talents for whatever reason. This would displease God as He sees no productive results in our spiritual life.
Faith (also known as trusting and obeying God) is a spiritual gift. The more we use it, the more it increases. The more we trust and obey God, the greater our capacity to trust and obey God. This also holds true for all the other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, praying, worshipping, doing good works, etc. Jesus also taught that we accumulate "treasures in Heaven" as we use our gifts to the pleasure of God.
But there is a statement in this parable that must be tackled more clearly. It is, "To him who has, more will be given; to him who has not, the little that he has will be taken away." Many humanists would find this quite unjust. Many would argue that those who have none should be given more, and not those who already have. Many might even conclude that Jesus is espousing an injustice.
However, what Jesus was saying is not an injustice when it pertains to spiritual realities. Our Lord wanted to stress that any person who cultivates his spiritual life and uses his spiritual gifts would receive a commensurate reward. His spiritual gifts will be increased to allow him greater participation in spiritual life.
Another way of saying it is: the more we listen to God, the more we are allowed to hear Him; the more we seek His presence, the more we are allowed to experience Him in life's unfolding events.
Once there was a very old prophetess named Anna. She had been a widow for many decades. She spent all her time on the temple grounds where she worshipped, fasted, and prayed. Anna's life was filled with spiritual activity.
God blessed her unceasing spirituality by allowing her to see the Baby Jesus when He was presented in the temple. Anna was allowed to recognize God's Son when He came; and she was even empowered by God to prophecy about the salvation that Jesus would bring.
On the other hand, the reverse is also true. A person who neglects his spiritual gifts will not see any spiritual profit. His spiritual activities will continually decrease and his spiritual awareness will dwindle. He will become more insensitive to God’s voice and more doubtful of His presence in daily events. He may lose whatever little is left of his spiritual life.
But his losses do not end there. Today's parable says that Jesus will finally command, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is an unmistakable statement that a spiritually neglectful person will end up in hell.
God bless us all.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
JESUS, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD *
Among the many ways that Jesus used to describe Himself, one of the most poignant is that of a shepherd. Not only was it a description of His role, it also illustrated the attitude He had in caring for us and bringing us into eternal life. Let us recall His exact words about this by reading John 10:1-6:
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. ( NIV )
Jesus told this very short story to the Jews. The people and things in the story were quite familiar to the Jews of that day.
He starts out the story by emphasizing it as truth. Then He starts to describe the ways of a THIEF who enters the sheep pen. The usual and accepted way of entering a sheep pen was by the gate of the pen. And anyone who entered it by devious ways would have the bad intentions of a thief and a robber.
Then Jesus describes the way the REAL SHEPHERD of the sheep enters the sheep pen. He says that the shepherd enters via the gate and that the watchman would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for him. As he enters the pen, the shepherd would call the sheep by the individual names that he had given them. He would then proceed to lead them out of the pen. The shepherd had an interesting, unique way of directing the movement of the sheep. It was very different from the way cattle or mules were moved. Cows, oxen, mules, and horses were driven or pushed to move, often with the use of whips and ropes. But the sheep were not driven or pushed; they were LED by the shepherd. The shepherd would go ahead of the sheep and as he walked, he would speak to the sheep. The sheep would then hear the voice of their beloved shepherd and they would move towards the direction of his voice.
Jesus pointed out that the sheep will run away from a stranger that would try to lead them because they would not recognize the unfamiliar voice of the stranger. The sheep would feel uneasy and they would be "spooked" into running away from the direction of the stranger’s voice.
Now the Jews who listened to Jesus tell this short story were all too familiar with these things. Thus they could not figure out why Jesus would narrate to them something that was common knowledge to them. So Jesus explained it to them in the succeeding verses of John 10:7-10.
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ( NIV )
Again Jesus prefaced his statement by saying that what He was about to say could be relied upon as the truth. Jesus identified Himself as the gate where the sheep would go through to enter eternal life. Verse 9 says that whoever enters through Jesus will be saved. Wherever life brings them, the sheep who pass through Jesus will be sustained by Him. Verse 10 specifically says that Jesus came that the sheep may have a full spiritual life through Him.
Also within verses 7-10, Jesus mentioned that all the sorcerers of the false gods and all who had previously enticed the Jews with false promises of eternal happiness were plain thieves and robbers. Their only intentions were to "steal and kill and destroy".
Let’s read the next verses of John 10:11-13,
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." ( NIV )
This time Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd; actually refering to the best type of shepherd —— one who gives His life for the sake of the sheep. It reminds us of King David who as a shepherd boy, risked his life for the sake of his flock of sheep by fighting a lion and a bear that had grabbed sheep from David’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).
Jesus contrasted His being a good shepherd with the hired hand or hireling who had no affection for the sheep. A hireling will not place the safety of the sheep above his own. At the sign of impending trouble or an attack from predators, the hireling would abandon the flock. The sheep would then freak out and be scattered, therefore becoming easy prey for the predators.
Let’s read more of the verses in John 10:14-21,
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" ( NIV )
Jesus once again emphasized that He was the good shepherd and that He was ready to give up His life for the sake of the sheep. This is an essential point in understanding His love for us —— a love that Jesus valued more than His earthly life. Indeed, our Lord eventually died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus !
Jesus went on to say that it is for this reason that the Father loves Him: because He lays down His life for the sheep. No man had the power to take the earthly life of Jesus; but Jesus voluntarily laid down His life. Our Lord had the sole authority to give His life and also the authority to take up His life again. His authority came in the form of a command from the Father. As the obedient Son, Jesus obeyed the command of the Father: He gave up His life by dying on the cross and He took up His life again by rising from the dead.
Jesus also mentioned that He had other sheep that were not part of "this sheep pen"; meaning to say that our Lord had other sheep who were not Jews. He also would bring these other sheep with Him. These other sheep will also recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and they will follow Him. It will be just like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus; that when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized the voice as the one that gave him his eyesight. And then he believed in all that Jesus said ( John 9:35 ).
All the sheep will heed His voice and be one flock: one body of believers joyfully following the voice of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.
What about us ?
Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus ? Can we recognize it among the many "voices" we hear ? Verse 4 says that "his sheep follow Him because they know His voice". If we do not know His voice, we cannot move towards the direction of His voice; and thus it would not be possible to follow Him. God’s voice does not necessarily have to be an audible sound; or a sound that the human ear might perceive. It is more of a sound perceived by our spirits. God communicates with us through our spirits, and it is also in the inner recesses of our spirits that we can truly communicate with God. Thus we have to listen with our spirits to hear His voice.
Psalms 46:10 says : "Be still, and know that I am God".This is a clue for us on how we can hear and know the voice of Jesus our Shepherd. We have to learn to withdraw our spirits from all the earthly noises and worldly agitation. We even have to command the voices of our own thoughts to be quiet in order for our spirits to listen well. As we completely surrender to Jesus the THRONE of our innermost hearts, we shall learn to know His reassuring voice."He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets"(Isaiah 42:2).
Now, how determined are we in following Jesus, our Good Shepherd ? Jesus lived His life on earth as a pattern for us to follow. Since we are his followers, He would reasonably expect us to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Jesus faced the situations that we would similarly face.
Jesus leads us by example so that we can follow His footsteps. Having studied His life on earth, we know that the things He underwent were not always easy or pleasant. In view of the difficulties, Jesus instructed His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me ".
Indeed, some of us will be absolutely determined to follow Jesus no matter where it will lead. Jesus was obedient even unto the point of death. Likewise, those who are truly faithful and obedient to God’s leading will readily lay down their own lives just like their Master. In the same way that Jesus loved the sheep more than His earthly life, these believers also love Jesus more than their own earthly lives.
However they will draw comfort in what Psalms 23 says :
" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ....
............ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ".
Also, they will take courage from the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd who continually speaks to them, calling each one of them by name. May God bless us with such faith and obedience !
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. ( NIV )
Jesus told this very short story to the Jews. The people and things in the story were quite familiar to the Jews of that day.
He starts out the story by emphasizing it as truth. Then He starts to describe the ways of a THIEF who enters the sheep pen. The usual and accepted way of entering a sheep pen was by the gate of the pen. And anyone who entered it by devious ways would have the bad intentions of a thief and a robber.
Then Jesus describes the way the REAL SHEPHERD of the sheep enters the sheep pen. He says that the shepherd enters via the gate and that the watchman would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for him. As he enters the pen, the shepherd would call the sheep by the individual names that he had given them. He would then proceed to lead them out of the pen. The shepherd had an interesting, unique way of directing the movement of the sheep. It was very different from the way cattle or mules were moved. Cows, oxen, mules, and horses were driven or pushed to move, often with the use of whips and ropes. But the sheep were not driven or pushed; they were LED by the shepherd. The shepherd would go ahead of the sheep and as he walked, he would speak to the sheep. The sheep would then hear the voice of their beloved shepherd and they would move towards the direction of his voice.
Jesus pointed out that the sheep will run away from a stranger that would try to lead them because they would not recognize the unfamiliar voice of the stranger. The sheep would feel uneasy and they would be "spooked" into running away from the direction of the stranger’s voice.
Now the Jews who listened to Jesus tell this short story were all too familiar with these things. Thus they could not figure out why Jesus would narrate to them something that was common knowledge to them. So Jesus explained it to them in the succeeding verses of John 10:7-10.
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ( NIV )
Again Jesus prefaced his statement by saying that what He was about to say could be relied upon as the truth. Jesus identified Himself as the gate where the sheep would go through to enter eternal life. Verse 9 says that whoever enters through Jesus will be saved. Wherever life brings them, the sheep who pass through Jesus will be sustained by Him. Verse 10 specifically says that Jesus came that the sheep may have a full spiritual life through Him.
Also within verses 7-10, Jesus mentioned that all the sorcerers of the false gods and all who had previously enticed the Jews with false promises of eternal happiness were plain thieves and robbers. Their only intentions were to "steal and kill and destroy".
Let’s read the next verses of John 10:11-13,
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." ( NIV )
This time Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd; actually refering to the best type of shepherd —— one who gives His life for the sake of the sheep. It reminds us of King David who as a shepherd boy, risked his life for the sake of his flock of sheep by fighting a lion and a bear that had grabbed sheep from David’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).
Jesus contrasted His being a good shepherd with the hired hand or hireling who had no affection for the sheep. A hireling will not place the safety of the sheep above his own. At the sign of impending trouble or an attack from predators, the hireling would abandon the flock. The sheep would then freak out and be scattered, therefore becoming easy prey for the predators.
Let’s read more of the verses in John 10:14-21,
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" ( NIV )
Jesus once again emphasized that He was the good shepherd and that He was ready to give up His life for the sake of the sheep. This is an essential point in understanding His love for us —— a love that Jesus valued more than His earthly life. Indeed, our Lord eventually died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus !
Jesus went on to say that it is for this reason that the Father loves Him: because He lays down His life for the sheep. No man had the power to take the earthly life of Jesus; but Jesus voluntarily laid down His life. Our Lord had the sole authority to give His life and also the authority to take up His life again. His authority came in the form of a command from the Father. As the obedient Son, Jesus obeyed the command of the Father: He gave up His life by dying on the cross and He took up His life again by rising from the dead.
Jesus also mentioned that He had other sheep that were not part of "this sheep pen"; meaning to say that our Lord had other sheep who were not Jews. He also would bring these other sheep with Him. These other sheep will also recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and they will follow Him. It will be just like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus; that when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized the voice as the one that gave him his eyesight. And then he believed in all that Jesus said ( John 9:35 ).
All the sheep will heed His voice and be one flock: one body of believers joyfully following the voice of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.
What about us ?
Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus ? Can we recognize it among the many "voices" we hear ? Verse 4 says that "his sheep follow Him because they know His voice". If we do not know His voice, we cannot move towards the direction of His voice; and thus it would not be possible to follow Him. God’s voice does not necessarily have to be an audible sound; or a sound that the human ear might perceive. It is more of a sound perceived by our spirits. God communicates with us through our spirits, and it is also in the inner recesses of our spirits that we can truly communicate with God. Thus we have to listen with our spirits to hear His voice.
Psalms 46:10 says : "Be still, and know that I am God".This is a clue for us on how we can hear and know the voice of Jesus our Shepherd. We have to learn to withdraw our spirits from all the earthly noises and worldly agitation. We even have to command the voices of our own thoughts to be quiet in order for our spirits to listen well. As we completely surrender to Jesus the THRONE of our innermost hearts, we shall learn to know His reassuring voice."He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets"(Isaiah 42:2).
Now, how determined are we in following Jesus, our Good Shepherd ? Jesus lived His life on earth as a pattern for us to follow. Since we are his followers, He would reasonably expect us to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Jesus faced the situations that we would similarly face.
Jesus leads us by example so that we can follow His footsteps. Having studied His life on earth, we know that the things He underwent were not always easy or pleasant. In view of the difficulties, Jesus instructed His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me ".
Indeed, some of us will be absolutely determined to follow Jesus no matter where it will lead. Jesus was obedient even unto the point of death. Likewise, those who are truly faithful and obedient to God’s leading will readily lay down their own lives just like their Master. In the same way that Jesus loved the sheep more than His earthly life, these believers also love Jesus more than their own earthly lives.
However they will draw comfort in what Psalms 23 says :
" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ....
............ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ".
Also, they will take courage from the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd who continually speaks to them, calling each one of them by name. May God bless us with such faith and obedience !
Friday, September 26, 2008
DESPERATELY HUNGRY AND THIRSTY
Today's verse is Matthew 5:6."Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (NIV)
It is not a natural thing to be hungry for anything that is not physical food or to thirst for anything that is not physical water. It is therefore interesting for the Lord Jesus to speak highly about a different kind of hunger and thirst in today's verse.
Psalm 42:1 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." The deer in that song had not drank water for a long time and if it could not drink water it would die. When it saw a stream of water, the deer began panting like a dog. It desired the water desperately - a matter of life and death.
There are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness in such a manner. Their lives reflect a hungry pursuit and a thirsty desire for a right relationship with God. In everything they do, they serve God, worship Him, and pray to Him as if their hearts are always bowed down in His presence. This is the desperate hunger and thirst for righteousness that Jesus talked about in today's verse.
Righteousness is the spiritual condition wherein a person is spiritually healthy. A person who is right with God is in a state of spiritual health. God nourishes such a person with an invigorating, life-sustaining relationship with Him; he is filled with God's righteousness.
This was the original spiritual state of Adam when God created him. But this original condition of righteousness changed because of Adam's sin. Consequently Adam and Eve realized that their confidence and ease in God's presence suddenly turned into fear. From their original consciousness of God, they became self-conscious. They became enslaved to being self-conscious about their own appearance and their feelings of fear and doubt. Suddenly they were ashamed of their nakedness; previously their nakedness didn't bother them at all.
This self-consciousness (the fear, the doubts, and the shame) has been passed down from generation to generation. Since the time Adam disobeyed, he and his descendants, who include us, have not been right with God. Thus, Man is now unrighteous by nature. Disobeying God is now the natural tendency of man. Given a choice, man would choose to please himself rather than obey God.
Adam’s disobedience caused him to be unrighteous, and the unrighteousness we inherited from him caused us to be disobedient. Thus there is now the vicious cycle of our unrighteousness causing us to disobey God and our disobedience causing us to be not right with Him.
Some were able to break this vicious cycle in their lives. They did it by consistently trusting and obeying God. One such person was Abraham. The Bible describes him as trusting God enough to obey Him. And God counted Abraham's trust and obedience as righteousness on Abraham's part. Those who were able to see this vicious cycle of unrighteousness and disobedience broken in their lives are like Abraham. They trusted God enough to obey him.
The Bible says that those who say they are believers of Jesus Christ should be doers of the word and not just hearers. When they merely hear God's word and do not obey, they are deceiving themselves.
The nation Israel, the people God called His own, has always had this problem of hearing and not obeying. They knew the word of God but they habitually disobeyed. Even for Christians today, this is a prevailing condition.
Man’s prevailing condition of hearing and not obeying can be likened to the condition of Satan. The devil knows God and understands the reality of God more than any of us. He is even allowed to communicate with God and to hear God. But does he obey God? No, and we must not be like him.
We must be like Christ.
Jesus was obedient even when it was difficult to do so. His obedience was such that He humbled Himself and became obedient to the Father even to the point of death. Even to the death on the cross. Jesus willfully went through it all even though He knew it would be very painful. He heard the Father and He obeyed.
We, who carry His name as Christians, must pattern our lives, our desires, our ambitions, and even our problems to the ways of Jesus.
When the times come that our desires and pursuits bring us against the words of Jesus, and a conflict arises between our desire and the desire of God, what are we going to do? We hear God and we understand what He wants us to do.
If we obey God, we are being like Christ. But if we do not obey, doesn't that make us like the devil who hears God but does not obey? Following Jesus, by serving Him, worshipping Him, and bowing down everything in our lives unto Him is the true pursuit of righteousness. If we don't follow Him, there would be no real hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Just a word of caution. Whenever we try to obey God, Satan could try to confuse our thoughts with other God-like commands. Satan may try to derail our obedience in many ways.
Sometimes Satan may bring our thoughts to some contrary verses in Scripture. For example, when Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days, Satan used biblical verses in order to tempt Him. Strange as it may seem, biblical verses can be used to veer us away from pursuing righteousness.
Other times, Satan might try to hinder our obedience with a false sense of values. For example, God might tell us to refuse a particular transaction because it is crooked, dishonest, or displeasing to Him. Satan might then try to bring us to a false sense of guilt: "He who does not provide for his family is worse than the unbelievers". So which should we obey? God's command to refuse a crooked deal or the sense of guilt which says we should do everything to provide for the family?
The correct way is to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Trusting and obeying God above all else. If that desperate hunger and thirst are not satisfied, our spirits die. The vicious cycle of unrighteousness and disobedience will then remain unbroken.
But those who desperately pursue righteousness will be filled.
God bless us all.
It is not a natural thing to be hungry for anything that is not physical food or to thirst for anything that is not physical water. It is therefore interesting for the Lord Jesus to speak highly about a different kind of hunger and thirst in today's verse.
Psalm 42:1 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." The deer in that song had not drank water for a long time and if it could not drink water it would die. When it saw a stream of water, the deer began panting like a dog. It desired the water desperately - a matter of life and death.
There are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness in such a manner. Their lives reflect a hungry pursuit and a thirsty desire for a right relationship with God. In everything they do, they serve God, worship Him, and pray to Him as if their hearts are always bowed down in His presence. This is the desperate hunger and thirst for righteousness that Jesus talked about in today's verse.
Righteousness is the spiritual condition wherein a person is spiritually healthy. A person who is right with God is in a state of spiritual health. God nourishes such a person with an invigorating, life-sustaining relationship with Him; he is filled with God's righteousness.
This was the original spiritual state of Adam when God created him. But this original condition of righteousness changed because of Adam's sin. Consequently Adam and Eve realized that their confidence and ease in God's presence suddenly turned into fear. From their original consciousness of God, they became self-conscious. They became enslaved to being self-conscious about their own appearance and their feelings of fear and doubt. Suddenly they were ashamed of their nakedness; previously their nakedness didn't bother them at all.
This self-consciousness (the fear, the doubts, and the shame) has been passed down from generation to generation. Since the time Adam disobeyed, he and his descendants, who include us, have not been right with God. Thus, Man is now unrighteous by nature. Disobeying God is now the natural tendency of man. Given a choice, man would choose to please himself rather than obey God.
Adam’s disobedience caused him to be unrighteous, and the unrighteousness we inherited from him caused us to be disobedient. Thus there is now the vicious cycle of our unrighteousness causing us to disobey God and our disobedience causing us to be not right with Him.
Some were able to break this vicious cycle in their lives. They did it by consistently trusting and obeying God. One such person was Abraham. The Bible describes him as trusting God enough to obey Him. And God counted Abraham's trust and obedience as righteousness on Abraham's part. Those who were able to see this vicious cycle of unrighteousness and disobedience broken in their lives are like Abraham. They trusted God enough to obey him.
The Bible says that those who say they are believers of Jesus Christ should be doers of the word and not just hearers. When they merely hear God's word and do not obey, they are deceiving themselves.
The nation Israel, the people God called His own, has always had this problem of hearing and not obeying. They knew the word of God but they habitually disobeyed. Even for Christians today, this is a prevailing condition.
Man’s prevailing condition of hearing and not obeying can be likened to the condition of Satan. The devil knows God and understands the reality of God more than any of us. He is even allowed to communicate with God and to hear God. But does he obey God? No, and we must not be like him.
We must be like Christ.
Jesus was obedient even when it was difficult to do so. His obedience was such that He humbled Himself and became obedient to the Father even to the point of death. Even to the death on the cross. Jesus willfully went through it all even though He knew it would be very painful. He heard the Father and He obeyed.
We, who carry His name as Christians, must pattern our lives, our desires, our ambitions, and even our problems to the ways of Jesus.
When the times come that our desires and pursuits bring us against the words of Jesus, and a conflict arises between our desire and the desire of God, what are we going to do? We hear God and we understand what He wants us to do.
If we obey God, we are being like Christ. But if we do not obey, doesn't that make us like the devil who hears God but does not obey? Following Jesus, by serving Him, worshipping Him, and bowing down everything in our lives unto Him is the true pursuit of righteousness. If we don't follow Him, there would be no real hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Just a word of caution. Whenever we try to obey God, Satan could try to confuse our thoughts with other God-like commands. Satan may try to derail our obedience in many ways.
Sometimes Satan may bring our thoughts to some contrary verses in Scripture. For example, when Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days, Satan used biblical verses in order to tempt Him. Strange as it may seem, biblical verses can be used to veer us away from pursuing righteousness.
Other times, Satan might try to hinder our obedience with a false sense of values. For example, God might tell us to refuse a particular transaction because it is crooked, dishonest, or displeasing to Him. Satan might then try to bring us to a false sense of guilt: "He who does not provide for his family is worse than the unbelievers". So which should we obey? God's command to refuse a crooked deal or the sense of guilt which says we should do everything to provide for the family?
The correct way is to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Trusting and obeying God above all else. If that desperate hunger and thirst are not satisfied, our spirits die. The vicious cycle of unrighteousness and disobedience will then remain unbroken.
But those who desperately pursue righteousness will be filled.
God bless us all.
Monday, September 22, 2008
LOVE? WHAT'S THE POINT? *
(Mark 12:28-34)
A Jewish teacher of the law once questioned Jesus, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" We get this to mean as -- "Which is the most important commandment among all the laws that God had given man?”
A Jew would most probably presume that Jesus would pick one of the 10 commandments which God had written with His own hands on the stone tablets He gave to Moses. Surely those 10 commandments were the best known.
But let us read Jesus' answer in Mk 12:29-31.
"The most important one", Jesus answered,"is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)
Jesus' answer was none of the 10 commandments. Jesus' answer was first, "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength", which is taken from the book of Deuteronomy. This was understood to be part of the implementing guidelines for the 10 commandments. The second part of the answer was, "Love your neighbor as yourself", taken from the book of Leviticus and which was also an implementing guideline for the 10 commandments.
In a parallel account in Matthew, Jesus added, "On these two commands hang the whole law and all the prophets". Actually, these two commands would summarize all of the ten commandments. The first four commandments could be summarized as, "Love God with all your heart .…….." The rest of the commandments could be summarized as, "Love your neighbor as you would yourself".
Now how do we apply these two commands into our lives? Let us take another look at this so that we might have a better understanding.
Very plainly, to love is to delight in the object of one’s love; to take great joy and great pleasure at the one that we love.
Let's take for example a nursing mother. No matter how tired the mother would be, no matter how hard up her life might be, she would submit her breast to this baby so it may suck milk. She would endure all her pains and hardships with no complaints and still gaze at that breastfeeding baby with so much affection, with so much inner joy, and with so much love.
This is the same way God delights in the objects of His love, most specifically those whom He calls His children, those who give their lives to God, those who trust and obey Him. Still, there is a peculiar side about God's love that is often overlooked.
Let's read about it in Zephaniah 3:17. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (NIV)
God Almighty, in all His omnipotence, unlimited power and strength, is in our midst and is taking great joy in us, just like the breastfeeding mother delights in the small baby on her bosom. He quiets down our fears and soothes our doubts with His love.
Most of all, God rejoices over us with singing. This great King (God Himself) is among us and is singing love unto us. That's how God rejoices over the object of His love.
It is therefore a big contradiction for Christians to be sad and forlorn when God is actually in their midst, delighting in them, singing with great joy and love for them. Those of us who trust in Him should rejoice, shouting for joy. If He is for us, who can be against us? Let us delight in Him the way He delights in us. Let us take pleasure in Him more than in anything or anyone else: with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls, and all our strength.
What about loving our neighbor as ourself? Let us read 1 John 4:11-12. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.
Stephen, the first martyr, was empowered to love his neighbor by the knowledge of God's love for him. Jesus pointed out this love to his disciples, among whom was Stephen. Jesus often exemplified God's love by loving others so that his disciples may see and follow.
When Stephen was being stoned to death, he uttered out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on them." Stephen was following the example of Jesus who similarly prayed when He was dying on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Jesus loved His neighbor this way. So did Stephen.
Love must not intend harm. Love wills good towards the object of love. But we must guard ourselves against fear. Love is often denied because of fear. People tend to withhold their love when their hearts and minds are gripped by fear: of loss, of pain, of rejection, of shame, of death..…..
Fear can even overwhelm a weak faith. It can influence man's mind to abandon his trust in God. Remember the apostles on a boat one stormy night? Fearing for their lives, they lost their trust in Jesus who was sleeping on that boat. When Jesus awakened and calmed the storm, He remarked about their lack of faith.
Likewise, fear can cause us to lose sight of the reality that God is in our midst, delighting in those who trust Him, even singing over those who love Him. Don't let our fears fool us into forgetting this.
Today's verses hold one more important reminder for us. The teacher of the law had a remarkable reaction towards Jesus' answer. Let's read about it in Mark 12:32-34. "Well said, teacher", the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than any burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions.
May our reaction be the same. May we delight in trusting and submitting obediently to the words of Jesus just like that teacher did. God bless us all.
A Jewish teacher of the law once questioned Jesus, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" We get this to mean as -- "Which is the most important commandment among all the laws that God had given man?”
A Jew would most probably presume that Jesus would pick one of the 10 commandments which God had written with His own hands on the stone tablets He gave to Moses. Surely those 10 commandments were the best known.
But let us read Jesus' answer in Mk 12:29-31.
"The most important one", Jesus answered,"is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)
Jesus' answer was none of the 10 commandments. Jesus' answer was first, "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength", which is taken from the book of Deuteronomy. This was understood to be part of the implementing guidelines for the 10 commandments. The second part of the answer was, "Love your neighbor as yourself", taken from the book of Leviticus and which was also an implementing guideline for the 10 commandments.
In a parallel account in Matthew, Jesus added, "On these two commands hang the whole law and all the prophets". Actually, these two commands would summarize all of the ten commandments. The first four commandments could be summarized as, "Love God with all your heart .…….." The rest of the commandments could be summarized as, "Love your neighbor as you would yourself".
Now how do we apply these two commands into our lives? Let us take another look at this so that we might have a better understanding.
Very plainly, to love is to delight in the object of one’s love; to take great joy and great pleasure at the one that we love.
Let's take for example a nursing mother. No matter how tired the mother would be, no matter how hard up her life might be, she would submit her breast to this baby so it may suck milk. She would endure all her pains and hardships with no complaints and still gaze at that breastfeeding baby with so much affection, with so much inner joy, and with so much love.
This is the same way God delights in the objects of His love, most specifically those whom He calls His children, those who give their lives to God, those who trust and obey Him. Still, there is a peculiar side about God's love that is often overlooked.
Let's read about it in Zephaniah 3:17. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (NIV)
God Almighty, in all His omnipotence, unlimited power and strength, is in our midst and is taking great joy in us, just like the breastfeeding mother delights in the small baby on her bosom. He quiets down our fears and soothes our doubts with His love.
Most of all, God rejoices over us with singing. This great King (God Himself) is among us and is singing love unto us. That's how God rejoices over the object of His love.
It is therefore a big contradiction for Christians to be sad and forlorn when God is actually in their midst, delighting in them, singing with great joy and love for them. Those of us who trust in Him should rejoice, shouting for joy. If He is for us, who can be against us? Let us delight in Him the way He delights in us. Let us take pleasure in Him more than in anything or anyone else: with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls, and all our strength.
What about loving our neighbor as ourself? Let us read 1 John 4:11-12. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.
Stephen, the first martyr, was empowered to love his neighbor by the knowledge of God's love for him. Jesus pointed out this love to his disciples, among whom was Stephen. Jesus often exemplified God's love by loving others so that his disciples may see and follow.
When Stephen was being stoned to death, he uttered out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on them." Stephen was following the example of Jesus who similarly prayed when He was dying on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Jesus loved His neighbor this way. So did Stephen.
Love must not intend harm. Love wills good towards the object of love. But we must guard ourselves against fear. Love is often denied because of fear. People tend to withhold their love when their hearts and minds are gripped by fear: of loss, of pain, of rejection, of shame, of death..…..
Fear can even overwhelm a weak faith. It can influence man's mind to abandon his trust in God. Remember the apostles on a boat one stormy night? Fearing for their lives, they lost their trust in Jesus who was sleeping on that boat. When Jesus awakened and calmed the storm, He remarked about their lack of faith.
Likewise, fear can cause us to lose sight of the reality that God is in our midst, delighting in those who trust Him, even singing over those who love Him. Don't let our fears fool us into forgetting this.
Today's verses hold one more important reminder for us. The teacher of the law had a remarkable reaction towards Jesus' answer. Let's read about it in Mark 12:32-34. "Well said, teacher", the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than any burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions.
May our reaction be the same. May we delight in trusting and submitting obediently to the words of Jesus just like that teacher did. God bless us all.
Friday, September 19, 2008
FIVE SHORT PARABLES CONCERNING FAITH IN MATTHEW CHAPTER 13*
Jesus once told a parable of the mustard seed. Let us read about it in Matt.13:31-32. He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." (NIV)
In this parable, our Lord Jesus tells of a man who took a mustard seed and planted it in his field. Jesus points out that the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds; but when it grows, it becomes a huge tree. It is such a wonder that a seed so small and insignificant can attain the size of a big tree. With its hugeness and strength, it can sustain and assist the lives of other creatures. Jesus mentioned the example of the birds which come to its branches and perch there, even building nests on it. This is like the seed of FAITH. In Matt.17:20 Jesus also compared FAITH with the small mustard seed by saying that if we had faith, even as small as a mustard seed, we could command a mountain to move from its place and it will indeed move. In the verses that we read, Jesus says that if we plant this small seed of faith in our lives, it would grow big enough to benefit others, just like the birds which benefitted from the branches of the grown mustard tree. Such was the small faith of Moses whom God used in order to benefit the Israelites ( Exodus chapters 3-4 ). Such too was the small faith of Peter whom God used to benefit the new believers in Acts chapter 2.
The next parable that Jesus used is similar to this. It is called the parable of the leaven. Let us read Matt.13:33.
He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." (NIV)
The baking of bread was a common task in the time of Jesus. Thus, leaven was something familiar to His audience. Everyone who was listening understood the powers of leaven and how it functioned in the baking of bread. They knew that the leaven ( or YEAST as more popularly known today ) when added to kneaded flour would change the nature of the flour. It would TRANSFORM the flour and make it " rise ". Unleavened bread which was made without the benefit of leaven did not " rise ". Leaven is similar to our faith. If we put even a small amount of faith ( COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD ) and applied it to our lives, our lives would be transformed. With faith in Jesus Christ our minds are changed and our hearts are brought into subjection to the will of our Heavenly Father. " A little yeast leavens the whole lump ", as Paul said in Gal.5:9. Just like the little mustard seed that was planted in the ground, a little faith could have remarkable effects in our life.
In the next two parables, Jesus likens faith to earthly riches. Let us take a look by reading Matt.13:44-46.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (NIV)
Jesus tells us of a man who discovered a hidden treasure in a field. In the immense joy at his discovery, the man sells all his possessions; and with the money he received, he buys the field that had this hidden treasure. It is like a man who discovers the great hidden treasure of trusting God, otherwise known as FAITH. Such a man would forsake all of the many other things in life in order to pursue a life of trusting God : to walk hand in Hand with our Creator. Jesus knew that, as He taught, there would be those who would seriously conduct a search for spiritual treasures. They would not merely be casual searchers but serious searchers who would give up much in order to benefit from spiritual treasures. This illustration and the next parable were meant for them. The next parable is very similar. It spoke of a pearl merchant who came across a " pearl of great value ". It was such a good investment that he went and sold all that he had in order to buy that one pearl. He sold off all his other investments for the sake of ONE GREAT INVESTMENT. Faith is our greatest investment. No other investment has as great value as faith. Throughout history we have seen men of wealth and power forsake everything just to lead a life of trusting and obeying the will of God. Abraham, Moses, Paul, Mark who wrote this gospel, and Matthew the apostle — they all gave up their wealth and power in order to pursue a life of obedience to God. Such is the value of faith. All other investments for the sake of ONE GREAT INVESTMENT.
Now we come to the last parable of the chapter, the parable of the dragnet. Let us read this in Matt.13:47-50.
"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (NIV)
Jesus at this moment was teaching by the sea where there were fishing vessels. These boats utilized dragnets in order to catch and haul in the fishes. Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that is cast into the sea. Various types of fishes are caught in the dragnet. And when the dragnet is full, it is pulled towards the shore where the fishes are then sorted out. The good ones are kept but the bad ones are thrown away. Our Lord’s teaching in this parable is very plain and clear. He even gives its explanation. When the gospel is cast into the sea of humanity, many people will be " caught " in the dragnet and brought into God’s shores. Some have been truly converted and their lives transformed. Others will be merely professing Christians without true faith, and their lives not transformed. The true ones will be separated from the untrue; the transformed from those not transformed; the good from the bad. And the untrue ones will be thrown into a " furnace of fire; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth ". EXTREME SUFFERING. TORTURE WITH NO END.
God bless us all.
In this parable, our Lord Jesus tells of a man who took a mustard seed and planted it in his field. Jesus points out that the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds; but when it grows, it becomes a huge tree. It is such a wonder that a seed so small and insignificant can attain the size of a big tree. With its hugeness and strength, it can sustain and assist the lives of other creatures. Jesus mentioned the example of the birds which come to its branches and perch there, even building nests on it. This is like the seed of FAITH. In Matt.17:20 Jesus also compared FAITH with the small mustard seed by saying that if we had faith, even as small as a mustard seed, we could command a mountain to move from its place and it will indeed move. In the verses that we read, Jesus says that if we plant this small seed of faith in our lives, it would grow big enough to benefit others, just like the birds which benefitted from the branches of the grown mustard tree. Such was the small faith of Moses whom God used in order to benefit the Israelites ( Exodus chapters 3-4 ). Such too was the small faith of Peter whom God used to benefit the new believers in Acts chapter 2.
The next parable that Jesus used is similar to this. It is called the parable of the leaven. Let us read Matt.13:33.
He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." (NIV)
The baking of bread was a common task in the time of Jesus. Thus, leaven was something familiar to His audience. Everyone who was listening understood the powers of leaven and how it functioned in the baking of bread. They knew that the leaven ( or YEAST as more popularly known today ) when added to kneaded flour would change the nature of the flour. It would TRANSFORM the flour and make it " rise ". Unleavened bread which was made without the benefit of leaven did not " rise ". Leaven is similar to our faith. If we put even a small amount of faith ( COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD ) and applied it to our lives, our lives would be transformed. With faith in Jesus Christ our minds are changed and our hearts are brought into subjection to the will of our Heavenly Father. " A little yeast leavens the whole lump ", as Paul said in Gal.5:9. Just like the little mustard seed that was planted in the ground, a little faith could have remarkable effects in our life.
In the next two parables, Jesus likens faith to earthly riches. Let us take a look by reading Matt.13:44-46.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (NIV)
Jesus tells us of a man who discovered a hidden treasure in a field. In the immense joy at his discovery, the man sells all his possessions; and with the money he received, he buys the field that had this hidden treasure. It is like a man who discovers the great hidden treasure of trusting God, otherwise known as FAITH. Such a man would forsake all of the many other things in life in order to pursue a life of trusting God : to walk hand in Hand with our Creator. Jesus knew that, as He taught, there would be those who would seriously conduct a search for spiritual treasures. They would not merely be casual searchers but serious searchers who would give up much in order to benefit from spiritual treasures. This illustration and the next parable were meant for them. The next parable is very similar. It spoke of a pearl merchant who came across a " pearl of great value ". It was such a good investment that he went and sold all that he had in order to buy that one pearl. He sold off all his other investments for the sake of ONE GREAT INVESTMENT. Faith is our greatest investment. No other investment has as great value as faith. Throughout history we have seen men of wealth and power forsake everything just to lead a life of trusting and obeying the will of God. Abraham, Moses, Paul, Mark who wrote this gospel, and Matthew the apostle — they all gave up their wealth and power in order to pursue a life of obedience to God. Such is the value of faith. All other investments for the sake of ONE GREAT INVESTMENT.
Now we come to the last parable of the chapter, the parable of the dragnet. Let us read this in Matt.13:47-50.
"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (NIV)
Jesus at this moment was teaching by the sea where there were fishing vessels. These boats utilized dragnets in order to catch and haul in the fishes. Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that is cast into the sea. Various types of fishes are caught in the dragnet. And when the dragnet is full, it is pulled towards the shore where the fishes are then sorted out. The good ones are kept but the bad ones are thrown away. Our Lord’s teaching in this parable is very plain and clear. He even gives its explanation. When the gospel is cast into the sea of humanity, many people will be " caught " in the dragnet and brought into God’s shores. Some have been truly converted and their lives transformed. Others will be merely professing Christians without true faith, and their lives not transformed. The true ones will be separated from the untrue; the transformed from those not transformed; the good from the bad. And the untrue ones will be thrown into a " furnace of fire; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth ". EXTREME SUFFERING. TORTURE WITH NO END.
God bless us all.
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