After the religious people grilled Jesus with tough questions it was Jesus’ turn to ask His: “How can people say that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is David’s Son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet. So David calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?”  (Luke 20:41-44 Amplified)

What Jesus was saying is that the Messiah is much much more than a mere descendant of David. He is actually David’s LORD. Someone who is far above David. But to Jesus’ question/statement no one gave an answer, I suppose because this was simply too much for them to take in. They already knew that many believed Jesus was the Messiah and were trying hard to redefine Him. Others had openly tried to discredit Him. But this didn’t keep Jesus from making His numerous references to how He and the Father were one, indicating His deity. And now Jesus challenged them with this scripture, a scripture they were surely familiar with, and still they wouldn’t acknowledge the obvious. They still wanted to make Jesus less than what He was.

Nothing changes. The secular world and even some “religious” people still want to make Jesus less. Oh, they might grudgingly acknowledge He was a good man and a good teacher but little more. Like those in Jesus’ day, even when confronted by the scriptures they refuse to accept them, refuse to answer the tough questions, even refuse an honest evaluation of them.

And here’s the strangest part: I’ve yet to meet someone who claims he doesn’t believe in the Bible who has actually read it! They may have heard snippets of it preached in church or heard someone else give their views on it, but they have never read it for themselves. 

On the other hand, I’ve head many many stories about people who started out not believing in Jesus, and ended up totally committed to Him after reading the Bible through with an open mind. God’s word is powerful. It will clearly acquaint one with the person of Jesus Christ, then change them, heal them and give them a hope and a future. I think that’s why Satan tries so hard to discredit it and to discourage people from reading it. But it’s in scripture that the toughest question—who is Jesus—will be answered, and it’s scripture that will help answer the other tough questions in life, as well.

My prayer is that God births in each of us a new desire to read His word and then to live it.

Until next time,

Sylvia

The religious leaders are at it again in Luke 20:27-47. They just don’t seem able to help themselves. Oh, how badly they must have wanted to trap Jesus! This time it’s the Sadducees up at bat and they seem pretty sure they’ll hit a home run. They go into this long drawn out story about a woman whose husband dies before giving her children but the husband had six other brothers and each tries to fulfill the law by taking the woman as wife but each dies childless. And finally the woman also dies. At the conclusion of the story, the Sadducees asked Jesus, “Now in the resurrection whose wife will the woman be? For the seven married her.”

What a strange question considering the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. But Jesus didn’t bat an eyelash. Instead, He calmly tells them that those who are “worthy” to go to heaven will “neither marry nor are given in marriage,” that they will be equal to angels and that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all men are alive whether in the body or out of it and they are alive not dead unto Him in definite relationship to Him.” (Luke 20:38 Amplified)

Luke goes on to tell us that some of the scribes speak up and tell Jesus “you have spoken well and expertly so that there is no room for blame,” thus defeating the whole purpose of this question and answer session, and leaving them all afraid to question Him further.

Then it’s Jesus’ turn to ask the questions. “How is it that people can say that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one) is David’s Son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. So David calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?” What was Jesus telling them? Well . . . to study the scriptures and think! Then they’d understand that He was the Messiah!

What began as an effort to trap Jesus ended with an indictment against the-would-be-trappers with Jesus having the last word in this scenario. “Beware of the scribes,” He says, before going on to list their many failings. And that’s a lesson for us all. When we try to trap Jesus with things like, “You really couldn’t mean I’m supposed to forgive everyone,” or “surely I’m not to love this enemy.” When we try to bend or twist God’s word to suit ourselves or because we don’t like what it says or because it’s inconvenient, we need to go back and “study the scriptures and think!” and ask God to help us see things His way. Because like it or not, God will always have the last Word. 

Until next time,

Sylvia

Jesus was not one to be intimidated. Even when the religious sect took exception to His healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda and they began plotting to kill Him, Jesus knowingly added fuel to the fire by boldly asserting things like: He only did what He saw the Father do (John 5:19 Amplified), and that “the Father dearly loves the Son” and just as the Father gives life, the “Son also gives life to whomever He wills” . . . and that “all judgment has been given into the hands of the Son.” Jesus went on to speak of the resurrection and judgment of sinners, and ended John 5 by telling these religious people that they didn’t know God at all; that they were blind to both God’s voice and the vision of God. And then the kicker. He told them that God’s love was not in their hearts and that they were only interested in receiving praise and accolades from each other rather than God.

The thing we have to understand is that Jesus left no wiggle room. There could be no fence-sitters in His camp. He made very definite claims about Himself and we have to come to a place where either we believe them or not. And we can’t pick and choose, either. We can’t say, “yes I believe Jesus gives life” but I don’t believe He’s ever going to judge sinners. And here’s the tougher reality, if only one of the things Jesus said about Himself is not true then all the rest, like a house of cards, must, of necessity, come tumbling down, for then He would be a liar, and can a liar be trusted or believed?

I believe Jesus is exactly who He said He is. I climbed off that fence long ago to align myself with His camp. So when I hear Christians, and especially ministers, picking and choosing what they want to believe, I find it disturbing. As Christians we are to proclaim God’s Word, His entire Word. And yes, some of that Word can make us uncomfortable. It can be inconvenient and even downright painful. But to do less would make us like the “religious” crowd in John 5, blind to God’s voice and vision, lacking God’s love in our hearts, and only interested in receiving the praise of man rather than God’s.

Oh God, may we not be fence-sitters.  “Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit in us.”

Until next time,

Sylvia

When Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth and begins teaching and expounding on the Scriptures His neighbors become offended. Mark 6:1-4 lays out the story and tells us why. Seems these people who had lived right alongside Jesus for years just couldn’t get over the fact that He was a carpenter, a respectable trade but hardly one that would qualify Him to speak on such lofty matters as holy writ. And didn’t His brothers and sisters live in town too? And weren’t they just ordinary folks like the rest of them?  This mindset hindered them from receiving anything from Jesus to which Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”

The same thing can be said of us. Though we may not be prophets it is often hard for our unsaved family and friends to accept our words when we try to witness to them. They know us and have put us in a box: sister, brother, mother, father, cousin, sidekick, etc. and it’s hard for them to see us any other way, and certainly not as a minister of the gospel. When that happens, the best witness will be how we live our lives rather than what we say.

If we live what we believe, in time those closest to us will see the change and will want to know what happened. How is it that we can be so calm during a problem when once we were the first to panic? Or how is it that we can answer a curt word with a sweet reply? Or not lose our temper or be so patient? In a world where hype in advertisement is everywhere, where exaggerated claims are made every day, it will be noteworthy to those around us to see something genuine as we, empowered by the Holy Spirit, quietly walk out our faith in meekness, love and patience, all the while praying for, rather than preaching to, our family and friends.

Sometimes we need to share God’s Word with others and sometimes we just need to live it.

Until next time,

Sylvia

Ever wonder why some people who profess to be Christians live like anything but? And some even wilder than the world? I have because I know some and was recently reminded by a friend about the parable of the sower. I’m glad she did because immediately a light went on, making perfect sense of the matter.

In Mark 4 Jesus teaches a crowd about a sower and how some of his seed “fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” Then some of the other seed “fell on ground full of rocks” and since there was little soil and the seed had no roots it withered as soon as the sun came up. Still more of the seed “fell among thorns and thistles” which completely choked it out. But thank goodness, some seed actually landed on good ground.

Jesus goes on to explain what all this means. The seed is the Word of God. Sometimes it’s forcibly removed by Satan just like the birds that came and ate it. The Word that falls on stony ground has no roots and as soon as the person, who initially received it with joy, encounters trouble or persecution they immediately fall away. The seed choked out by “thorns and thistle” represents those who allow life’s cares and pressures to squeeze everything else out. The “good ground” is obviously those who care enough about the Word to cultivate it, allow it to take root, and give it a priority in their life.

But how can one cultivate good ground? Well . . . by having a teachable spirit. By understanding that Christianity is a walk of a lifetime, that there are no easy fixes, and that we will surely encounter trials and troubles.  And that it is during these trials and troubles that we most need God and need to move closer to Him and not further away. It’s a life of constant dying to self in order to make room for the growing Word. It’s understanding that we’ll never be perfect but that God loves us anyway and that only by His Sprit can we live this life. It’s also remembering those whose seed has been stolen by Satan, or who have turned away because of trouble and persecution, as well as those who are so burdened by the cares of life they have no room or time for anything else. And when we remember them we need to pray that God takes their puny soil and enriches it and cultivates it and makes it fertile much like He did for us for I truly believe all good ground is good only because it was first fertilized by the prayer of others.

Until next time.

Sylvia

Every child loves a treasure hunt.  And my grandchildren are no exception.  So last week when they had a “sleep over” at my house, I planned one for them, complete with pirate map and clues. We had great fun, and as usual, the time flew by, and before we knew it, we had to say “goodbye”.

I see many similarities between this and how we should approach the Bible.  First, we should be “child like”, leaving our preconceived ideas behind.  Then, we should expect to find treasure hidden in God’s Word and follow the clues, from one point to another. If we do, our time in the Word will not drag or be a stiff exercise, but will fly to the point we lament that we can’t stay longer.

God’s Word is a treasure trove, full of gems to be discovered on many levels.  Take for instance Daniel 3: 1-27.  It tells the story of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had a huge statue of gold made, then issued orders that all in his kingdom must bow before it. When three young Hebrew men refused, he had them thrown into a furnace, a furnace which he commanded to be made seven times hotter than normal.  But instead of dying, the young men walked around the blazing fire unharmed, with another man, who had suddenly appeared, and whose form Nebuchadnezzar said was “like the Son of God.” And when they came out of the furnace neither their clothes nor hair were singed, nor did they smell of smoke.

Just taking a quick look at it we can see, on the first level, God working a miracle and preserving his faithful servants in the midst of trials.  On another level, we can apply this to ourselves and say since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, he will be in the midst of our trials, too, and that no furnace, no matter how hot, is too much for the Son of God to overcome on our behalf.  And on another level, we can see that Nebuchadnezzar is a type of the Anti-Christ, for the Bible tells us that Anti-Christ will also make a statue and demand that everyone bow before it. And because Nebuchadnezzar commanded that the furnace be made seven times hotter, we can see how this tells us the seven years of Tribulation, which the Bible talks about, will be exceedingly difficult, much more so than any time before it. But again, the Son of God will be there walking in the midst of his people.

Of course this passage in Daniel would take pages and pages to really expound, but one can get the sense, in just the short paragraph above, how chock-full of wonderful truths the Bible holds for us. And if we are like children, open and receptive, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us follow the clues, God will reveal treasures we can’t even imagine.

Until next week,

Sylvia

Political correctness has made monkeys of us all; a sort of reverse Darwinism (which I refute) where increasingly we are losing our ability to think for ourselves.  It permeates everything: our schools, our news, our politics and sadly, even our churches. I must confess, in some ways, it has even seeped into my thinking. And that’s the area I’d like to address, because I know other Christians have been affect, too, and that includes many pastors. In some ways, the Church has come to believe that the “unpardonable sin” mentioned in the Bible is “offending someone.” And because of this we hesitate to speak out.  We don’t talk about sin or God’s viewpoint of the world—that it’s fallen and needs a savior.  In fact, sin is often dismissed as a lack of self-esteem rather than a violation of God’s law. In this politically correct world, where we are so concerned about offending someone, it seems the only one we don’t mind offending is God Himself.

It’s hard to image anyone more politically incorrect than Jesus who called the religious leaders of His day “vipers” (Matthew 12:334) and “whitewashed sepulchers full of dead men’s bones.” (Matthew 23:27) And Christians are to emulate Christ.  But are we not to walk in love, one might ask?  Yes, we are commanded to do so.  Indeed, God is love.  It is the one characteristic that perhaps describes Him best.  But He is also Truth.  Thus, love and truth must, of necessity, go hand and hand. Love without truth becomes sloppy sentimentality. And truth without love is rigid legalism.

We all have an idea of what love is.  But what is truth, exactly?  Simple. It is what God says it is. It is what He has laid out in His Word.  In essence, it is Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh. And Jesus confirms it in His statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) On the other hand, truth is not what prevailing “political correctness” dictates. For today, those things the thought police deem correct, may very well be incorrect tomorrow. Jesus, on the other hand, never changes. He “is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Based on this it is easy to see that most times political correctness is neither love nor truth. Because it often borders the extreme and ridiculous, and flies in the face of common sense, it is incapable of offering us a true compass to which we can set our lives. Nor can it give us peace of mind or heart.

The Bible offers a stern caution.  It says, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20).  It also says that “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8)  We are called to have the mind of Christ. Not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12: 2)  I know I could use a little renewing right about now.

When the apostle Peter was told by the religious leaders not to speak in the name of Jesus, (Acts 4: 1-24) he asked them what is better, to obey man or God? And what were they ordering Peter to do, exactly?  Well, they were saying stop telling everyone who Jesus is, and what He did.  In short, stop proclaiming the message of salvation.

As more churches concentrate on entertainment and mocha lattes and watered down feel-good messages, we Christians must answer this same question for ourselves: Is it better to obey man or God?

Until next week,

Sylvia