John 1:35-39 opens a door of understanding for us. These two men thought they knew who Jesus was. Maybe they did know some things but they were about to hear a question and a statement that are critical aspects of following Jesus.
Jesus saw them following him and asked them "What do you want?" Seems easy enough but this question is one that has deeper roots than we first think about. Jesus always asks these kinds of things because he wants us to learn what our real motivation is in following him and we need to think through what we believe following Jesus is about. Some of what we want may not be what Jesus is all about. If we want predicitable, comfortable, happiness, cool stuff and insights we better get off the road now.
So these guys ask Jesus a question but Jesus' answers are designed to get us to not only think but also to change. Their question-"Which motel are you in tonight?" Jesus' answer-"Come and you will see." Did he answer their question? Much better than they could have imagined but now, they have to decide-do we check it out or is it a a little scary.
We will often ask Jesus questions and we will get the exact answer Jesus gave here. Why? It puts us in a place where we are going to trust Jesus that he knows more than we do. To really follow Jesus means getting into these situations where the answer draws out our heart and always means something is going to change for us. Ready for the trip?
Do you want certainty in answers to your questions or do you want to learn? Sometimes you get both but it seems we learn more when Jesus says "Come and you will see."
Monday, December 7, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
If I could only see God, it would be easier
Ever had an imaginary friend? I had 3 of them-Dieter, Gogus and Gugli. I never asked them how to spell their names. I used to talk with them and play for hours. One day they were gone and that was it. These guys were not real.
Jesus is real but sometimes I know we would just like to see him in person. Sometimes, we just wonder if God is anywhere. Check our Luke 24:13-17-these two men were taking a 7 mile walk (they walked everywhere) and they were talking about recent events and Jesus shows up. But they didn't recognize him. Jesus even talked with them and they just didn't get it. They were focused on the events they had just witnessed.
There are times when we just don't think God is anywhere near us. He is always present even though we don't recognize him or his activity. He might be in a smile from someone, or a neat sunrise, or as we read something and our heart is pierced. How many ways does God appear to you? Do you recognize it when he does or when he speaks in the small voice? If you are focused on non-essential things in life, you are going to miss meeting Jesus just like these guys did at first.
It would not be easier if we could physically see Jesus because he can't get any closer than he is now. He did say "I am with you always." What makes it easier is not for Jesus to come up and high five you, but to become sensitive to his presence and his speaking to you through small things.
Hey, we can bring Jesus closer to people who don't know him at all because he is in our life. So, get out there and mix it up with people this week.
Jesus is real but sometimes I know we would just like to see him in person. Sometimes, we just wonder if God is anywhere. Check our Luke 24:13-17-these two men were taking a 7 mile walk (they walked everywhere) and they were talking about recent events and Jesus shows up. But they didn't recognize him. Jesus even talked with them and they just didn't get it. They were focused on the events they had just witnessed.
There are times when we just don't think God is anywhere near us. He is always present even though we don't recognize him or his activity. He might be in a smile from someone, or a neat sunrise, or as we read something and our heart is pierced. How many ways does God appear to you? Do you recognize it when he does or when he speaks in the small voice? If you are focused on non-essential things in life, you are going to miss meeting Jesus just like these guys did at first.
It would not be easier if we could physically see Jesus because he can't get any closer than he is now. He did say "I am with you always." What makes it easier is not for Jesus to come up and high five you, but to become sensitive to his presence and his speaking to you through small things.
Hey, we can bring Jesus closer to people who don't know him at all because he is in our life. So, get out there and mix it up with people this week.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Is This Mardi Gras?
Having grown up in New Orleans and going to 11 Mardi Gras celebrations, I saw many people who I did not recognize. People dress up as anything their imagination can conceive of and they usually wear some kind of mask to hide their identity.
In Luke 24:13-17 there is the story of 2 guys walking on a road from Jerusalem to Emmaus who are discouraged about life now that Jesus is out of the picture or so they think. Jesus shows up on the road and walks with them but they don't recognize him for whatever reason. He even talks with them and they still are so focused on their discouragement they do not know who is talking with them. Maybe Jesus is wearing a mask.
If we were on this road and Jesus came up and started talking with us, we would certainly recognize him wouldn't we? There are times in our life or our day when we get into a funk like these guys and we conclude the whole thing sucks. And to make it worse, Jesus shows up in some way but we do not see him at all. It may be in a kid who is laughing and having a great day or a sunrise that is so filled with orange and red colors that it is hard to describe. Maybe it was a song that attempted to stir your spirit. Maybe a homeless guy held out his hand as we walked along.
It is easy to miss Jesus. Sometimes we won't open the Bible and Jesus is there ready to speak to us but we have to get on with life and we will spend some time looking at it later. But later never opens the door.
Look around and listen. Jesus is here...now.
In Luke 24:13-17 there is the story of 2 guys walking on a road from Jerusalem to Emmaus who are discouraged about life now that Jesus is out of the picture or so they think. Jesus shows up on the road and walks with them but they don't recognize him for whatever reason. He even talks with them and they still are so focused on their discouragement they do not know who is talking with them. Maybe Jesus is wearing a mask.
If we were on this road and Jesus came up and started talking with us, we would certainly recognize him wouldn't we? There are times in our life or our day when we get into a funk like these guys and we conclude the whole thing sucks. And to make it worse, Jesus shows up in some way but we do not see him at all. It may be in a kid who is laughing and having a great day or a sunrise that is so filled with orange and red colors that it is hard to describe. Maybe it was a song that attempted to stir your spirit. Maybe a homeless guy held out his hand as we walked along.
It is easy to miss Jesus. Sometimes we won't open the Bible and Jesus is there ready to speak to us but we have to get on with life and we will spend some time looking at it later. But later never opens the door.
Look around and listen. Jesus is here...now.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oops, sorry I forgot
Now, if you and I hung out with Jesus I am sure we would be hanging on every word he said. We would probably write them down in our journal. I mean really, these conversations would not be like listening to politicians endlessly discuss health care. No, these would all be powerful words you would not forget.
Right. Except that is exactly what these women did. I mean if someone said they would be killed but you would see him later and have dinner, you think you would remember that one. These women were no different than you and I. It is easy to read the words of Jesus and just pass them by not really believing what he said. Take John 4:14 where Jesus says if we live by his life and words we will never be thirsty for anything else that really doesn't matter. How many times have we read this? Yet we long for things that do not matter at all. We have forgotten his word.
Jesus told these people in Luke 9:22 exactly what was going to happen to him. They forgot but when these two angels reminded them, they remembered.
What does it take for you to remember Jesus' words? The discipline of scripture memory which is usually the one that we stop doing, or the process of consistent Bible study which no one really has time for, or daily time with Jesus in a quiet time that is squeezed out by busy routines all contribute to our forgetting what Jesus told us about how to live life.
To forget what Jesus said is really to forget Jesus.
Right. Except that is exactly what these women did. I mean if someone said they would be killed but you would see him later and have dinner, you think you would remember that one. These women were no different than you and I. It is easy to read the words of Jesus and just pass them by not really believing what he said. Take John 4:14 where Jesus says if we live by his life and words we will never be thirsty for anything else that really doesn't matter. How many times have we read this? Yet we long for things that do not matter at all. We have forgotten his word.
Jesus told these people in Luke 9:22 exactly what was going to happen to him. They forgot but when these two angels reminded them, they remembered.
What does it take for you to remember Jesus' words? The discipline of scripture memory which is usually the one that we stop doing, or the process of consistent Bible study which no one really has time for, or daily time with Jesus in a quiet time that is squeezed out by busy routines all contribute to our forgetting what Jesus told us about how to live life.
To forget what Jesus said is really to forget Jesus.
Monday, October 19, 2009
What's going on here?
Luke 23:34 Familiar? Yes, but are we thinking far enough? This statement was definitely focused on the event of the cross and how those not following Jesus were viewing the event. They did not know what they were doing in killing Jesus. Instead of anger on Jesus' part, he asked the Father to forgive them. He asked the Father to not hold it against them.
But I believe there are more things God wants us to understand as we and others try to "figure out life and faith." Those who do not know Jesus and many who do are doing their best to understand what Monday, Tuesday and the other 5 days are about. What the spank are they supposed to be doing to make sense out of the life they are living? They may or may not know there is more than the 20-30 minute commute to work, work, watch a little TV, tell the kids goodnight and crash into bed.
Those perhaps without a spouse or kids desperately search for some fulfillment on Facebook, Twitter or any other .com sight that might offer some relief from the almost pointless track that they run on daily.
In our attemps to find meaning, we consistently miss why Jesus lived, died and left to be with the Father. And he says again "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing."
How can you minimize these words of Jesus in your life? I mean how can you live so you don't have to hear it so often? He is always there to forgive but let's give him something else to say when he thinks about us.
But I believe there are more things God wants us to understand as we and others try to "figure out life and faith." Those who do not know Jesus and many who do are doing their best to understand what Monday, Tuesday and the other 5 days are about. What the spank are they supposed to be doing to make sense out of the life they are living? They may or may not know there is more than the 20-30 minute commute to work, work, watch a little TV, tell the kids goodnight and crash into bed.
Those perhaps without a spouse or kids desperately search for some fulfillment on Facebook, Twitter or any other .com sight that might offer some relief from the almost pointless track that they run on daily.
In our attemps to find meaning, we consistently miss why Jesus lived, died and left to be with the Father. And he says again "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing."
How can you minimize these words of Jesus in your life? I mean how can you live so you don't have to hear it so often? He is always there to forgive but let's give him something else to say when he thinks about us.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Is anyone angry, frustrated or upset?
We can learn something from each day in Jesus' life. Here is one. Jesus was being accused by people who had no intention of listening to, thinking about or doing what he was saying. As far as they were concerned if it did not have the right label on it, it not only could not be right but it should be outright rejected... and that included Jesus. Take a look at Luke 23:5,13 and 14. His teaching offended them and was contrary to their tradition and they were determined to put an end to it.
Thinking and teaching something new or different is not important unless God has spoken and then it is critical that it be shared. It does not matter if people do not agree with it. They still have to deal with it. Jesus made these people come to a decision about what he had spoken to them about. He was willing to stir the pot even if it meant he might lose his reputation or life.
Have you heard from God lately? Has he spoken to you about something new, against a traditional religious belief or something that will cause people to want to avoid you? More than likely they are not going to want to kill you as these people did but they definitely will want you out of the room.
Jesus was thought of as a man who was inciting people to rebellion. The harder people fight against something can often indicate the truthfulness of what they are fighting against. If what Jesus was saying was true, they were in big trouble and they knew it.
Don't be afraid of causing people to think. If you have heard from God, people need to know what he said to you. It will help those who really want to follow Jesus have a clearer picture of what that looks like.
Thinking and teaching something new or different is not important unless God has spoken and then it is critical that it be shared. It does not matter if people do not agree with it. They still have to deal with it. Jesus made these people come to a decision about what he had spoken to them about. He was willing to stir the pot even if it meant he might lose his reputation or life.
Have you heard from God lately? Has he spoken to you about something new, against a traditional religious belief or something that will cause people to want to avoid you? More than likely they are not going to want to kill you as these people did but they definitely will want you out of the room.
Jesus was thought of as a man who was inciting people to rebellion. The harder people fight against something can often indicate the truthfulness of what they are fighting against. If what Jesus was saying was true, they were in big trouble and they knew it.
Don't be afraid of causing people to think. If you have heard from God, people need to know what he said to you. It will help those who really want to follow Jesus have a clearer picture of what that looks like.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Did you hear that?
There were a bunch of religious guys trying to trap Jesus and they talked with him about who he was. They were not really interested in anything he said except that they wanted to nail him with violating some religious rule they had developed. He was more than ready to deal with them and give them an answer that they would later use to accuse him of a violation. Their conclusion in Luke 22:71 says it all. "We have heard it from his own lips."
These guys were not even followers of Jesus but it was unmistakable what he just said. For my purposes, it does not matter what Jesus said. It rather is that he said it and they heard it. You could easily say that of course they heard it. He was standing there talking.
But then every time we open the bible, Jesus is there talking...and specifically he wants to say something to us. We read it but do we hear him speak to us? When was the last time Jesus said something to you that you had no doubt it was him talking to you? We have to act on what he speaks to us about or we will not hear him again unless he speaks the same thing to us again. We can open our Bible all we want but if we treat what he says as an option, we're done and might as well play golf or whatever.
Do you have people in your life who are listening and hearing God speak to them? Are you one of those people? Is it a common thing for you to visit with someone at the church you show up at and have a conversation about what God has been talking with each of you about or is the conversation about weather, politics or some other fascinating subject?
These guys were not even followers of Jesus but it was unmistakable what he just said. For my purposes, it does not matter what Jesus said. It rather is that he said it and they heard it. You could easily say that of course they heard it. He was standing there talking.
But then every time we open the bible, Jesus is there talking...and specifically he wants to say something to us. We read it but do we hear him speak to us? When was the last time Jesus said something to you that you had no doubt it was him talking to you? We have to act on what he speaks to us about or we will not hear him again unless he speaks the same thing to us again. We can open our Bible all we want but if we treat what he says as an option, we're done and might as well play golf or whatever.
Do you have people in your life who are listening and hearing God speak to them? Are you one of those people? Is it a common thing for you to visit with someone at the church you show up at and have a conversation about what God has been talking with each of you about or is the conversation about weather, politics or some other fascinating subject?
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