Who do you say Jesus is?

July 31, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ; Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30

Matthew 16:13-15 MKJV
(13) And coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples, saying, Who do men say Me to be, the Son of Man?
(14) And they said, Some say, John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
(15) He said to them, But who do you say I am?


There is a big difference between head and heart knowledge. From Jesus first question we know that the people thought that Jesus was a good man, maybe even one of the former prophets reincarnated. After all, they expected Elijah to return to bring them into a deliverance.

In the middle of their discourse on who people though Jesus was, He stops them and asks them 'who do you think I am?' If you were to ask the average person on the street who Jesus was you would get a lot of different answers. In truth many of the people responding, including Christians, ones who claim to follow Christ, would give you the answer as the world sees it.

It is only when you get up close and personal with Jesus that you can answer that question. So I ask it, who do you think Jesus of Nazareth is?


Read for next time: Jesus rebukes Peter; Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 8:31-9:1; Luke 9:18-27

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A little at a time

July 30, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Blind man cured in Bethsaida; Mark 8:22-26

Mark 8:22-26 (NIV)
22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

24He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

26Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don't go into the village.


I often wonder why, when I read this passage, that Jesus did not just heal the man. Then as I re-read it one day I realized, each time I read the Bible, a little bit more of it comes clear to me. This set of verses makes it clear to me that anything that we get from God does not always come all at once.

When I pray for God to help me with a situation, I have found that He will help me out a little bit at a time. It is up to me to take what He gives me and make it more complete. How about you?

Read for next time:
Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ; Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30

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What leven is in your life?

July 29, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Leaven of the Pharisees; Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:13-21

The disciples take Jesus on the boat again and when they get across they realize they did not bring any food. Jesus then says something strange to them.

Matthew 16:6 ISV
6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”


The disciples look at each other and start saying to each other how they messed it up. They must have figured that Jesus was upset with him and when they went to get some that the Pharisees sold some bad stuff. What was He really saying to them though?

The Pharisees and Jesus had just had many confrontations. They kept trying to tell Jesus what He could and could not do and why he should not be doing it. They were in effect trying to get Him to doubt in himself. Doubt is a bad thing. When you start to doubt yourself in one area of your life, it will spread to most every other area of your life.

Leaven, or yeast is like that as well. It does not take much in a ball of dough to get the whole ball full of yeast. In fact, just take a pinch of that dough and save it for the next batch and you can leaven it as well.

People in life, when you try to do things for God, will try to make you doubt you can do it. They may try to give you wisdom that does not match what God told you. They may tell you that based on your past life and the sins in it, you may not qualify. They may just tell you that you are not good enough. I am not talking about a ministry saying that you are not qualified to do a job, they have that right to protect their ministry. If God has told you that you have a job to do, then find a way to do it. Do not let yourself get leavened.

Read for next time: Blind man cured in Bethsaida; Mark 8:22-26

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Do you make others jump through hoops?

July 28, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Pharisees seek a sign; Matthew 16:1-4; Mark 8:11-13

Matthew 16:1-4 (MSG)
1 Some Pharisees and Sadducees were on him again, pressing him to prove himself to them.

2 He told them, “You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor's delight;

3 red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather-why can't you read the signs of the times?

4 An evil and wanton generation is always wanting signs and wonders. The only sign you'll get is the Jonah sign.” Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

People always seem to want a sign of what is happening in their lives. Before the religious people of Jesus day could believe on Him, they wanted a sign that Jesus would not give them. It is easy for us to reach across the centuries and say that they were foolish. They should have seen the living God in their own midst. Guess what. We are no better.

We want to see a sign that people love us. We want to see in them what we expect them to be to prove that they love us. None of us are immune from doing it. A husband or wife looks at their mate and says, you are not doing this for me, you must not love me, show me a sign that you do.

There is a problem with that. Now in order to show love, each time we must, like the trained lion at the circus, jump through each hoop that is set before us, or force our loved ones to do the same for us. Jesus very wisely chose not to jump through their hoop. He knew it would only lead to more.

We as believers need to stop making others jump through our hoops. In the end it proves nothing.

Read for next time: Leaven of the Pharisees; Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:13-21

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Compassion

July 15, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus feeds 4,000; Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10


Mark 8:2 MKJV
(2) I have compassion on the crowd because they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.

Compassion, interesting word.

Dictionary.com defines it as: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Jesus lived His life that way. How do we live it? Do we walk in compassion?

Read for next time: Pharisees seek a sign; Matthew 16:1-4; Mark 8:11-13

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Divine Healing - Why?

July 14, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Many healed on a mountain; Matthew 15:29-31

Matthew 15:31 BBE
(31) So that the people were full of wonder when they saw that those who had no voice were talking, the feeble were made strong, those whose bodies were broken had the power of walking, and the blind were able to see: and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

In the past I have been asked why I believe in divine healing. Why would God want to heal people today? It is simple. It gives Him glory. Let me put it another way.

Money is tight. I told my kids that if they wanted to go to church camp this summer that they would have to raise money through fund raisers at the church. My daughter is in band. She is already spending some time at band camp but her little brother was not going to be able to go anyplace. She decided to raise money, not for herself, but so that he would get to go to camp. I thought it was neat but I know her real well and knew her heart. In telling that story to someone, they looked me in the eye and said, 'you have a special kid, you have raised her right and you must be real proud of her.' I was given the glory in something that she was doing.

God is our father, and like any father, He is happy when He sees his kids doing good.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus feeds 4,000; Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10

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The touch of Jesus

July 11, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus heals a deaf man; Mark 7:31-37

Mark 7:32 BBE
32 And they came to him with one who had no power of hearing and had trouble in talking; and they made a request to him to put his hands on him.


So often we beg and plead to God to deliver us from this or that. We want some special person to pray for us, or want a sign from God to show he is there. I know that I have been like that in my life.

The people in today's story knew better. Jesus did not have to pray, they did not have to plead with him for deliverance. All that it took was a touch from Jesus. That is all they asked for.

Seek Jesus, and his touch in you life.

Read for tomorrow: Many healed on a mountain; Matthew 15:29-31

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Ever been called a dog?

July 10, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Gentile woman's faith; Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30

Mark 7:27-28 CEV
(27) But Jesus said, "The children must first be fed! It isn't right to take away their food and feed it to dogs."
(28) The woman replied, "Lord, even dogs eat the crumbs that children drop from the table."


A woman asks for help and Jesus insults her by comparing her to a dog. Yet she gets what she wants. Why? Faith!

She wants her daughter healed. She will make sure that it gets done. She persists, and in the face of the insults she receives, she knows what she wants.

Sometimes I falter, I get weak. I whine to God how what I have believing for has not come to pass. One time, years ago, I got tired of it all and ran away from God. Is my faith anywhere near this woman's faith? This winds up being a good lesson to learn when I want to complain to God. Have faith and stick to it no matter what happens.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus heals a deaf man; Mark 7:31-37

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The cause of marrige problems

July 9, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Parable explained in private; Matthew 15:12-20; Mark 7:17-23

Matthew 15:19-20 CEV
(19) Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others.
(20) These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.


My church has been doing a series on the family while our pastor was out with surgery. Many of the other people in the church, who with the knowledge they have could easily have been pastors at other churches, have stepped in and focused on things from their specialties. You would think with about 10 different people hitting the topic of families and marriages that they would have exhausted all the scriptures on them. Maybe because I was so aware of the topic because of this, but in reading today's verses I saw something I never saw before. One of those 'when did God put that in the Bible' moments. Did you see the family related part of the verse?

Unfaithfulness in marriage, it comes from the heart. The King James calls it fornication and adultery, let's call it what it is. It would never have been done if there was faithfulness in the marriage. That unfaithfulness comes from you and me, not the other people in our relationship. When the husband wishes that his wife would respect him more, or strays to look at other woman, that gives him no reason to cross the line. Likewise, the woman who thinks that life should be one big romantic story like she sees in the movies and TV, and wonders why her husband can not be like that and starts to look elsewhere, she has in her heart crossed the line.

We are not to seek our completion in our mate, we are to seek it in Jesus. It does not matter what the mate says or does, it is most important for us to keep our hearts pure and not cross that line. God puts that up there with murder, and we know how bad that is. Next time you think about getting out of a relationship, look at your heart to see where it is coming from.


Read for tomorrow: Gentile woman's faith; Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30

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Its only words...

July 8, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Traditions of men rebuked; Matthew 15:1-11; Mark 7:1-16

Words are powerful, words can hurt. We should always be careful of what we say and what we do. I know of a denomination that puts priority on what you eat to be what shows you are a Christian. They site Old Testament law to back them up. But Jesus made it quite clear what kept you apart from God.

Mark 7:15 CEV
(15) The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean."

The next time that you say something to someone, maybe it should be a time to reflect what you say. Does this build the person up. If not, make a conscious effort to say the right thing.

Read for tomorrow: Parable explained in private; Matthew 15:12-20; Mark 7:17-23

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Freedom Decision

July 4, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Bread of Life discourse; John 6:22-7:1

Here in the United States of America we celebrate today at Independence Day. In 1776 the people of this country decided to go to war to secure their freedom. In Jesus day, the disciples were faced with a choice for their freedom as well.

Jesus talked about how He was the bread of life and how the people that were to come to Him must eat His flesh and drink His blood. They did not fully understand the symbolism He was trying to convey and they got angry at Him. Just like people today, when they do not understand something, especially when they get angry they all walked away. And all that was left was the disciples.

John 6:66-69 ESV
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Just like the disciples, we can come to choose what we want to follow. We can get angry at God and walk away from Him, or we can embrace the confusion, knowing that He will make it all clear in the end. The disciples had it right. Which way will you go?

Read for tomorrow: Traditions of men rebuked; Matthew 15:1-11; Mark 7:1-16

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Seeing Jesus

July 3, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Healings in Gennesaret; Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56

Mark 6:54-55 ESV
(54) And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him
(55) and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.

Do people look at you and see Jesus in you? Do you know how to know if they do? Do they tell others about you and how you have helped them. Do people come to rely on you for things.

Not everyone will be looking for Jesus in you. In fact those closest to you may think you have other motives. Others may think you are weird and try to take advantage of you. But the ones who are seeking God will see Him in you and be drawn to him.

Read for tomorrow: Bread of Life discourse; John 6:22-7:1

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Peter and Faith

July 2, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Peter walks on water, then sinks; Matthew 14:28-33

Matthew 14:30 KJV
(30) But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Our story today deals with good old Peter. While many talk about his lack of faith, as he started to walk on the water and then failed, I do not see it as a lack of faith. But I get ahead of myself.

Recently when I was listening to my MP3 player on the way home from work I heard an oldie on it. Twilah Parish singing Warrior is a Child. Let me quote you a few words from it:

Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
I'm strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

Chorus:
They don't know that I come running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
(Look up for His smile)
'Coz deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child
(Aahhh)

Unafraid because His arrow is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
I never face retreat, oh no
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

Chorus:
They don't know that I come running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
(Look up for His smile)
'Coz deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child
(Aahhh)

Words by Gary Valenciano

I think that is where Peter was, I know that is where I am a lot of times. I think I have the battles all won. Then something else hits. It is then that I go running back to the only one that can pick me back up. When Peter got on the water he was doing what no one else in the boat would do. And he started to sink. Did he give up and just sink? No, there was a battle to be won here and he turned to Jesus. He knew who was the one that could save him. I do not see Peter as having a lack of faith, I see it as being faith in the one person that could pull him out of the problem he was in. That is the faith we need if we are to do anything at all.

It is OK to drop your sword in the battle against Satan once in a while. Just make sure that you are in the loving arms of He who loves you so that you can get strength back.

Read for tomorrow: Healings in Gennesaret; Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56

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