Was Jesus Just a Novelty?

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 16:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ 

~~~ John 15:18-21 ~~~

...because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.

Each time members of the early church encountered obstacles
they were given direction from God.

Jesus came to earth but he never belonged to our world.
He never relinquished his heavenly world.
Jesus brought with himself while here
 in our world a portion of his heavenly world.

A world in which much of our world was not ready to accept.
They found Jesus to be a novelty...a curiosity to some...
a threat to others. 

The world hated Jesus because he was not of this world.

The truth is we are not of this world either,
because we have been chosen and called by God.
We belong in his world, with him.

For now we look like we belong in this world.
Our soul is disguised in our physical body,
but it belongs in heaven...it longs to be there.

We act like we belong in this world,
because we inherited original sin.
Instead of having a natural inclination to always being good
we face temptations that tell us otherwise.

...you do not belong to the world...

Many days the world is all that we relate to.
This world seems so real when compared to the heavenly world.
Jesus gave us a peek into the heavenly world,
but it seems so distant and foreign.
It seems so strange to contemplate not having our physical world.

Our entire spiritual journey, which we experience here in this world,
is about getting to the heavenly world.
To reach the heavenly world we must be
willing to give up this world. 

We have been chosen by Jesus
to be in his heavenly world,
but first we must make it through this world.

Jesus has indeed prepared a place for you;
he chose you to be with him from the very beginning.

Keep walking through this world...
Be confident that you can make it to the heavenly world.
The heavenly world is where we belong...
where we have always belonged.

Thank you, Jesus, for claiming
 my soul to be with you.

So Blessed to belong in God's world.
~~~Peace~~~

Best Friends...

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 15:22-31 ~~~ Psalm 57 ~~~

~~~ John 15:12-17 ~~~

I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything
 I have heard from my Father.

Throughout our life we have many acquaintances,
but out of those only a few are friends.

However you define friends it comes back
 to what you share together.

Friends share their everyday lives.
Friends share the secrets of the heart.
Friends share their hopes and dreams.
Friends share their fears and frustrations.
Friends share what matters most to them.
Friends share a mutual care and concern for each other.
Friends share their love for one another.

Jesus calls us his friends today.
He calls us friends because he has shared all of himself with us.
Jesus calls us friends because he has revealed
 the very essence of who he is to us.

Assuming you do have friends,
do you consider Jesus to be among them?

Do you share more with your girl friends, co-worker,
or neighbors than you do with Jesus.

How many times do you just take the time
to sit down and visit with a friend?

How many times do you take
the time to just spend time with Jesus?
Do you consider Jesus to be among those you call friend?

Friendship is a give and take encounter between human beings.
Jesus wants to have that kind of relationship with you.
Jesus goes out on a limb and calls you friend
even before he knows how you will respond.

Jesus calls you friend;
he never considers the possibility that you might reject him.

We are cautious about who we call our friend.
Jesus shared with us the inner most part of his life.
Jesus shared with us what the Father had shared with him.

Jesus is waiting ready to listen to your inner most being.
Friends do not reject or judge...
Friends support, encourage, and forgive.

Jesus taught us the true meaning of being a friend...
that is to love above all things.
Nothing else matters
 if you have the love of Jesus.

We can join in the chorus...
thank you for being a friend.

Next time you are sharing with a friend remember
this is exactly the kind of relationship
Jesus wants with you.

Cherish your friends;
 they represent the relationship Jesus
wants to have with you.

Treat Jesus as you would treat your best friend.
Blessed with best friends.
~~~Peace~~~

Like Foam...

~~~ Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Matthew 10:1-7 ~~~

The king of Samaria shall disappear,
like foam upon the waters.

All that we know of in this world,
 where we exist shall disappear like foam upon the waters.
If you have ever walked along the beach
then you have most likely had the experience of seeing such a wave.
The power of the water carries the crest of the wave to the shore.
It looks impressive the larger the wave,
but as soon as it crashes against the shore it crumbles.
It quickly smooths out and merges into the remaining water.
Hosea is reminding the people that no matter how much power
 the king acquires it will not be long lasting.

 ...it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.

Any time is a good time to seek the Lord, but especially
when things are out of control.
Our Lord has power over the oceans and evil spirits.
He is the one who has the last word.
He is truth and justice.

Jesus sent out the twelve he chose
 to go about doing the hard work of conversion.
He intended for this task to be challenging...
they were not to go to 'safe' areas where they would be easily accepted.
Instead he wanted the apostles to seek those who were lost...
those who were in need of a physician.

Go rather to the lost sheep...

Seek always the face of the Lord.

If we make it a priority to first seek the face of God
 then everything will more likely be able to fall in place.

To seek the face of God implies that you acknowledge his existence.

It is not just the twelve closest to Jesus who have been called.
We too have been called; each of us for his purpose.

Just when we are tempted to think we understand the Lord
 he throws you a curved ball.

This could be illness, death, or divorce to name a few.
These too will disappear like
 the foam upon the waters.

You have been chosen by God...
Seek his face and you will be blessed with his strength.
~~~ Peace ~~~

In Good Company

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 13:13-25 ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~~ John 13:16-20 ~~~

For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

God says,  

I have found David, son of Jesse, 

a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.

Jesus says,

I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen.

Throughout all times, every generation 

God has seen fit to provide for his chosen ones.

He led his people with many prophets; those he himself chose as leaders.

Today we are being reminded that what God

 has done in the past is not just the past.

There is no past tense for God.

History gives us the opportunity to look back

 for evidence of God's presence.

But this history does not end when the ink has dried...

does not end when we have read the last word.

What we read as past history is happening today right in our midst;

that is, God remains steadfast in caring for his chosen ones.

We seem to be the problem,

 because we continue to let our doubts cloud our mind.

When enough doubts cloud the mind then it begins to seep into the soul.

This is where the real devastating problems begin to rule our life.

Once our soul becomes shrouded in doubt darkness triumphs.

God wants you to believe without a doubt that he chooses you...

not just once, but every moment of every day of every year of your life.

It is not a one time choice...or something of the past...

it is current, constant, ongoing.

The psalmist says it beautifully today...

For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. 

God wants us first to believe that he chooses us

 and then to believe that he also provides for our needs.

There is nothing he cannot or will not do for us.

As God chooses us he also uses us to work in his kingdom...

for his greater glory.

So I ask...How can we doubt, deny, or refuse our Lord?

God never fails us...

all he asks in return is for us to love him.

How difficult can it be to love the Lord?

We are Blessed in more ways than we could ever imagine.

Oh how sweet it is to be one of his chosen ones along with you.

Together we are in good company...

the company of the Lord.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Consider Yourself Blessed

~~~ Joel 4:12-21 ~~~ Psalm 97 ~~~ Luke 11:27-28 ~~~

 

Jesus defines true Blessedness.

Blessedness......Happiness.

 

At an initial reading it seems Jesus is being irreverent

 to his own mother, Mary.

But in further research we see this is definitely not the case.

Mary is referred to as blessed in several other verses.

Mary is the woman who carried the Word in her womb.

She brought Jesus into the world.

She was chosen by God as a pure holy vessel for his Son.

Mary knew she was blessed from the time the angel spoke to her.

Jesus does not need to defend the blessedness of his mother. 

 

While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

This woman was calling out a complement to Jesus and to his mother.
Jesus' response was extending the blessing beyond his mother.

Jesus is saying that those who hear the word of God

and obey it; they too are blessed.

Being blessed is something available to each of us.

Yes, we are included in those who hear and act.

 

It is one thing to be blessed because you are the mother of Mary;

 it is another to be granted the equivalent

for living what you heard.

 

 

Jesus extends his blessing to us.

Have you stopped to count your blessings lately?

Are your blessings a source of joy?

 

Mary was blessed with Jesus, but we can be just as blessed.

God knows what we need to be blessed in our life.

Trust that he is providing those blessings to you daily.
Can you identify them?

 

Jesus answers the woman in the crowd without

embarrassing her by his response.

He is telling her she too can share in the same flow of blessings

as the one who birthed and nursed him.

We are called into the family of God.
He blesses us let us be glad and rejoice.
It is only in God that we can find our joy and our rest.
It is precisely because God chooses to bless us that
we have any joy in our lives.

Partially Cooked Bacon

 

~~~ Exodus 12:37-42 ~~~ Psalm 136 ~~~ Matthew 12:14-21 ~~~

 

If you have ever had to evacuate in an emergency

you can identify at some level with the great exodus.

I remember as a young child we had to evacuate our home

because of a dangerous chemical spill. I remember thinking how odd

it was that my parents left the partially cooked bacon

 in the skillet on the stove.

We literally all piled into the car and fled the area.

 

As a child this was huge, but we just went

to my grandmother's across town.

Although I don't recall it probably turned out to be a fun day.

The people who fled with Moses across the desert

 took only what they were able to carry with them.

They did not have a car, they were on foot.

They did not have a fun day.

They were on the move crossing the desert for the rest of their life.

 

How much do you think you could carry in your arms

if you had to flee your home right now?

Could you leave the partially cooked bacon on the stove?

 

They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity
even to prepare food for the journey.

They were headed to the land of milk and honey,

but in the mean time they had very little.

As we know God provided for them along the way.

Today when I see pictures of the thousands of refugees in Syria

it paints this scene for me of the Egyptians.

 

 

Jesus spent much of his energy contradicting the Pharisees.

They remind me of those birds of prey we see

circling high above in the sky.

They watch and wait for just the opportunity to swoop

down for the catch.

 

But Jesus was never caught off guard

 he always has an answer for them.

He always forces them to confront themselves in a different light.

On this occasion he withdraws, but he continues

 to cure people along the way.

 

It must have been easy to track Jesus...

just follow the foot prints of those who had been cured.

He had his own global positioning system or 'gps'

it was his healings.

 

Jesus fulfilled, in every way, all that the Father sent to accomplish.

Isaiah speaks these beautiful words many years

before the coming of the Messiah.

 

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

God has chosen you for himself.

You are his beloved.

He does take delight in you.

Every day he Blesses you with his Spirit.

He proclaims justice for all.