Monthly Archives: February 2018

Long Lost Family, February 26, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 23; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 155 through 161

I read an article a few days ago that TLC plans to air a new TV show called Long Lost Family soon. It is similar to others that have aired in the past on other channels. It aims to connect adult adopted children with their biological parents. It is a quest that often ends with pretty emotional meetings when parents, particularly mothers, finally see their grown children after many years of separation.

I have talked with many who have been adopted through the years and the vast majority always refer to their adoptive parents as their mom and dad. They see them as the ones who chose them, provided for them, raised them, gave them their moral values. They recognize their adoptive parents as parents as much as those of us who have not been adopted recognize our parents as mom and dad.

But I’ve also seen in many of those adopted adults a small nagging in their minds wondering just who they are. What is their biological lineage? What were the circumstances that caused a mother to give them up? Most often it was because their biological mother just could not provide a safe, warm, loving home for them at the time. The mother realized that life for their child would end as a struggle for survival in the circumstances into which he or she were born. So they made one of the toughest decisions of their life and gave up their son or daughter doing what they felt in the child’s best interest, not their own.

Adopted children always have unanswered questions. Some of those questions will follow them and never be answered. Programs like Long Lost Family fascinate us as we see the investigative tools and the raw emotion that springs from those meetings. We wonder what it must be like to finally know who we are.

We ask ourselves that question sometimes. Not about our birth heritage, but in a greater sense as part of humanity. Who are we? What is our place in this vast universe? Why are we here? What is our purpose in life and particularly at this time and place?

Jesus never had those questions about himself. He knew. And the day John baptized him, God himself announced to the rest of the world just who Jesus was. From out of the heavens came a voice that boomed like thunder, “This is my son, in him I am well pleased.”

With those words, Jesus’ ministry began. He soon went to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan who tried to play on his humanity and question God’s announcement that Jesus was his son.

“You haven’t eaten in 40 days, you must be hungry. If you’re the Son of God, turn these stones to bread and eat.”

“Scripture says if you’re the Son of God, angels will come to your aid. Jump off this pinnacle and let’s see if they will catch you.”

“Your title is King of kings, so kneel to me and I’ll give you all the kingdoms of the earth if you really are the Son of God.”

But with each twisted half truth Satan sent his way, Jesus answered with scripture. You need God’s word to get you through life, not just bread. Go away. God said don’t test him. He’s not a puppet to play with. Go away. Worship only God. Besides, my kingdom is not of this world. Go away. The temptations were real. Shortcuts to the end of the mission God had in store for his Son. The humanity in Jesus didn’t want the suffering any more than you or I would want the suffering. But he also knew the cross was the only way through to our salvation.

He knew who he was. Through the rest of Jesus’ life, that was the question all who came in contact with him had to answer, though. Who do you think I am? It springs from the most memorized verse in the Bible. John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

It’s the question Nicodemus asked that prompted those words from Jesus. Who are you? Are you the Messiah, God’s Son? The disciples had to answer that question and at one time Jesus asked them pretty bluntly, “Who do you think I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Peter also said others thought he was Elijah come back to life, Others thought him a prophet. Others thought him a demon.

The question must be answered by each individual because the answer to that question is one of life or death. Who do you say he is? Do you believe Jesus is who he said he was or do you think he was just a historical figure that did good things? Was he just a man or the Son of God? Can he forgive sins as he says or a charlatan as many of the Pharisees claimed?

Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, who died for your sins, who rose again, who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us? That most memorized verse followed by the next two tells us how important what we believe is to each of us. Do you remember the rest of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus?

Here’s how the rest of those verses in John 3 go: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

That last verse tells me Jesus is not one of many ways to heaven as some might want to believe, but Jesus is the only way. He didn’t come to condemn us. We do that to ourselves. He came to save us. But we have one responsibility in that process. We must believe he is who he says he is. Believing, though, means doing what he says. Living like you mean it. Following him. It’s not just words, it’s action. Remember, he will tell those around him later that even the devil believes in him, but the devil won’t find his way to heaven because he won’t yield his life to God.

The Long Lost Family. Not in God’s kingdom. All it takes is believing Jesus is who he says he is. Following him. You won’t be lost any more. There will be one glorious reunion like you’ve never seen before.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

 

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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Come on in, I’ve been expecting you, February 19, 2018

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Today’s Podcast


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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 22; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 148 through 154

The story of Jesus’ birth. Everyone knows it. Even those who have never darkened the door of a church. Even those who try their best to get rid of the nativities in public places and change Merry Christmas to Happy Holidays. Mention “no room at the inn” and people’s first thought is that night in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

I think we often get the wrong picture of that night, though. I love the story Randy Frazee tells of an elementary school preparing a Christmas pageant for parents. It makes me think about how God would really like us to respond and how we too often respond instead. Here’s the story Randy tells in his book, “The Heart of the Story.”

“…All the important parts were given to the important parts were given to the brightest students. The smartest girl was chosen to be Mary; the smartest boy played Joseph. The next smartest group played the three kings, the angels, and the shepherds.

“There was only one part no one wanted: the innkeeper. Who wanted to be the bad guy who turned Mary and Joseph away? They gave the part to a boy who was a little slower than the others but had a big heart.

“As the day for the big pageant approached, the boy playing the innkeeper began to worry. He couldn’t imagine telling Mary and Joseph there was no room in the inn. What was he going to do?

“Finally, it was curtain time. Parents, relatives, and friends packed the auditorium. They proudly watched the story unfold as their children skillfully carried out their important roles. Meanwhile, the innkeeper grew more and more anxious. The pressure mounted as Mary and Joseph approached. He didn’t know what to do, but somehow he caught a brief glimpse of the Upper Story.

“When Mary and Joseph knocked, the scruffy little innkeeper threw open the door and shouted with a big smile, “Come on in. I’ve been expecting you.” With that the crowd cheered and clapped and the play came to an end.”

Don’t you think that’s really what God has in mind when He shows up? The wait is over. The prophecies are fulfilled. God bursts on the scene in a way no one expected. He used the lower story in some amazing ways to fulfill His upper story. Caesar demanding the census be conducted in each person’s town of their lineage. Bethlehem was just a little village. David left there to build Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom, remember? And born in poverty in what a family that would be shunned because of the circumstances of His birth. Who would believe Mary had been faithful to her husband Joseph when Jesus came early? She could have been stoned. All the bad things that a family could endure, that family endured. The fateful trip to Bethlehem. The escape to Egypt. Life in the gang filled town of Nazareth. The early death of Joseph, the family breadwinner.

God, by coming to earth in the form of a baby, experienced every single part of life we experience from birth to death. Most of His experiences came from the worst society had to offer. I think He did that on purpose. He didn’t want anyone to say He doesn’t know what we’re going through. He has experienced it all. But stayed true to His Father and His mission to redeem us.

The Jews were looking for a king, not a baby. God came to dwell with us. To live among us. To experience every part of life we experience. He felt all those joys and sorrows that come with living on the wrong side of the street. He knew the heartache that comes from the gossip and slander that launched toward Mary and her firstborn. He knew the grief that comes from the death of those closest to you. He knew the pain of misunderstanding from those around Him, even His own brothers and sisters.

Jesus lived among us, experiencing the life we live everyday. Until Jesus was thirty, he went to work in the carpenter shop every day. He paid excessive taxes to the Romans on the wages He earned. He probably carried some of the soldiers’ packs when He was pressed into service as He walked down the road.

His life was never an easy one. I expect the flowing white robes we see Him wearing in all those pictures and paintings on the walls were not part of His ensemble. I expect He really just had a couple of worn out rags from the local thrift store to wear. I expect the softest bed He ever slept in was that bed of straw in the manger in the cave where He was born. After that, maybe a blanket on the dirt floor or a straw mat on that dirt floor when he was older. Jesus’ life was a hard one that none of us would want to swap.

Yet, like the innkeeper in the elementary school pageant, God wants us to invite Him in when He knocks on the door. He has great things planned for us in His upper story if we will just trust Him and let Him lead the way. We don’t need to worry because He has already experienced this life from beginning to end and knows all about it. He can take us through it and give us peace and joy despite the circumstances we face each day.

How about changing your view of the innkeeper and emulate the new role model when God knocks. Swing the door wide, smile big, and answer, “Come on in. I’ve been expecting you.”

 

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

 

Music exit

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Silence can be deafening, February 12, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 21; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 141 through 147

I was thinking after I read this week’s scriptures about the span of time the Israelites went from the words we hear this week until the next chapter in our quest and the next movement in God’s great plan. Malachi stood as the last writer of the Old Testament and it would be 400 years before the next prophet announced the arrival of the Messiah.

400 years. Our nation is just over half that old. We can barely think back to the founders of our country. Most of our kids would have a hard time naming five of the fifty-six signers of the document that announced our beginning, the Declaration of Independence. That piece of paper told Great Britain we had a voice.

Malachi told God’s people that God still had a voice, but for the next 400 years, He didn’t use it. He was silent. He didn’t speak through any prophets or priests. God spoke through the prophets and given His people a plan for returning to Him. They didn’t follow and were cast into exile. God allowed them to return and rebuild the temple.

Ezra read God’s message to the people gathered around the rebuilt temple. The Levites explained His word to those who did not understand the ancient language so everyone knew what the law said and what it meant. And they wept. They saw the error of their ways. They repented of the sins they committed against God and against each other. They determined to live according to the law Ezra read to them.

Nehemiah told them to go home and eat, celebrate, give praise because they finally understood what God wanted from them and could carry out His plans for their lives. They didn’t ask for a new king. They didn’t ask to be like the countries around them. They didn’t ask for wealth or greatness as a nation. They just asked for forgiveness and pledged to follow God’s guidance.

But still, God remained silent for 400 years. The priests conducted their ceremonies and worship services. The singers sang. The teachers taught. The readers read God’s word to the assemblies. The people listened and carried out the laws as best they could. Still God was silent.

Can you imagine not hearing from the leader of the nation for 400 years? In essence that’s what happened to the Israelites. God didn’t speak. They didn’t ask for a new king or a different kind of government. The people had learned their lessons. Yes, the nation lived under the watchful eye of other nations, but in that time, they patiently waited for their coming Messiah. 400 years.

I keep bringing up that number because it’s a little hard to wrap our heads around. No clear guidance for almost twice the age of our country. Nothing from God for four centuries. Silence for almost half a millennium. At sixty-three, I have a hard time remembering what I had for supper last night. 400 years is just impossible to grasp. But for 400 years, the Israelites continued to seek their Messiah. They continued to pray he would come soon. Every young girl prayed she would be the mother of their savior and king.

God’s people never gave up their search for the Messiah. They knew God would keep His promise of deliverance from their oppressors. They knew He would put someone from David’s lineage on the throne and rescue them. They knew God made a promise He would not break. They knew God could not fail and could not break His covenant. They knew God would do what He said He would even though they didn’t keep their side of the bargain. They knew God.

Yet He remained silent. They waited.

It makes me think back to Abraham who waited 25 years for the son God promised him. Joseph waited 22 years in prison for the position that would save his family from starvation. David waits 15 years from the time Samuel anoints him as the next king before he takes his position on the throne for two of the twelve tribes, and another 7 before he is accepted as king of all twelve tribes.

Today we have a problem waiting on God. We think having to wait more than three seconds for a web page to load is unacceptable and complain to our Internet carrier. We think waiting in line for more than five minutes to get our fast food is too long and demand more lines be opened. We complain to the grocer when our favorite vegetable is out of season and demand he figure out how to get it from a greenhouse that produces year round. We complain stop lights are too long. Commercials are too long. Traffic is too slow. Promotions and raises are too slow.

Think about Abraham and Joseph and David and those who heard Malachi’s message. They all waited almost a lifetime to see their promises unfold and even then, none of them saw the complete fulfillment of what God told them would happen to their descendants and their nation.

So what does it mean for us? You know that son or daughter you’ve been praying for their salvation? Keep at it. God thinks in terms of eternity. That neighbor you’d like to see come to know Jesus? Keep praying and sharing God’s word. It may take a while, but God still works in His upper story to work His will in this world.

Worried about something going on in your life? God knows about it. Just keep following His laws and doing His will as best you know how. He is faithful. His timing doesn’t necessarily coincide with our timing, but His timing is perfect. Trust Him. Remember we cannot see around the bend in our lower story, but God sees perfectly in His upper story. Look up and know God is always at work for good for those who love Him and love people.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

 

Music exit

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

A time just like this, February 5, 2018

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Today’s Podcast


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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 20; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 128 through 134

This week our readings will take us to the story of Hadassah, an orphaned girl who was exiled with many of the other Jews under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. You may not remember that name, but you probably remember her by her other name, Esther. She became queen after what might be the strangest beauty pageant ever recorded.

King Xerxes didn’t like his first wife’s refusal to obey and has her ousted from the throne. His advisors gather all the beautiful young virgins from around the country to find the king a new queen. Each goes through twelve months of beauty treatments before they see the king and then he sleeps with each one to decide which one he likes best. We frown on that kind of activity in this country, but that’s how the king decided to choose a wife and fill his harem with concubines.

Only if the king like you, did the concubine ever see the king again. Well, as you can imagine the rest of the story, the king not only liked Esther, but made her his queen. But like Paul Harvey, there is the rest of the story. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, discovers a plot to kill the king and lets Esther in on the secret so the plot can be thwarted. The assassins are discovered and the king writes the event in his memoirs.

The king’s chief advisor, prime minister, chief of staff, or whatever title you want to give him, Haman has this thing about Jews and absolutely despises them. So he gets the king to write a decree to let anyone who wants kill all the Jews in their city on a particular day. But now the rest of the story.

The king can’t sleep one night and reads his memoirs and hears the story of the assassination attempt. He asked Haman, his advisor what kind of honor should be given to someone who does something extraordinary for the king. Haman, of course, thinks the king must be talking about him so he lays it on thick. But the king is talking about Mordecai and tells Haman to personally carry out all the things Haman expected the king to do for him. How embarrassing!

Esther, the queen, is also a Jew. Mordecai convinces her to go to the king and ask for mercy for the Jews because of the slaughter that is about take place because of Haman’s trickery. Esther invites the king and Haman to dinner to explain the plight and Haman begs for mercy from the queen. Well, the king sees Haman falling all over his queen and gets the wrong idea. He doesn’t know he’s begging for mercy, he thinks he’s begging for something else and immediately has him taken to the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai. And Esther convinces the king to not only let the Jews defend themselves, but to destroy their enemies in those same cities where the decree went out.

What a story. But it’s interesting that God’s name is not mentioned a single time in the whole book of Esther. We see His upper story at work all throughout the interweaving of the plot, but His name is nowhere to be found. I’ll come back to that in a minute. First, I want to share what I think is one of the most important verses in the book of Esther. It’s found in chapter 4 verse 14. “…Who knows? It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.”

Have you ever wondered why you are in the position you are in today? Maybe you think it’s a good position or maybe you think it’s not so good. But who knows? Maybe you are there for just a time like this. David was the youngest of seven. He should not have been the one chosen as king according to all the traditions of the time. He was doing the worst of the jobs in the family, tending the sheep on the hillsides. But he was faithful and became the king by which all the other kings of Israel were judged. Who knows?

Abraham was just another member of the tribe in Ur trying to survive in a harsh world that took ounce of energy and knowhow just to get by. But God told him to uproot his family to go somewhere he’d never been so He could make a great nation out of him. Who knows?

Personally, I was a medical plans officer trying to figure out how to get medical support to an army spread across hundreds of miles in battle formations we had never done before. God gave me a dream and Army medical doctrine changed because it. Since then, thousands of lives have been saved on the battlefield because of that dream. Who knows? It’s possible that you are in the position you are in for a time just like this.

Maybe you’re in a tough situation at work that just seems impossible. Who knows? It’s possible that you are in that position for God to use you in some remarkable way to make a difference for your boss or your co-workers to get through that impossible situation. Maybe He wants others to see His grace through your reactions to the situations at hand.

Maybe you’re facing some illness or the loss of a loved one. God doesn’t do bad things to us, but He does allow life to happen and who knows? It is possible that He allowed those things to come your way for a time just like this. We live in a sinful, evil time. We don’t hear much about God and how He works outside of the walls of our churches and synagogues. But the world is hungry to know there is something out there besides the evil and death and destruction that plays across the news channels every day.

The world needs to know there is hope in the chaotic environs of the everyday life we find ourselves facing each time we wake up. The world needs to see joy instead of sorrow in the faces of believers because we have something to offer the world cannot. Jesus brings peace in the middle of the storms of life. He brings joy when it seems impossible to find any joy or happiness in life. Jesus brings order to the chaos around us. He brings life in the throes of death because we know there is a resurrection and there is hope in Him.

So back to the point about God not being mentioned in Esther. Why isn’t His name in the book? I think the writer of the book of Esther faced days like we face sometimes. As Purim approached, the day the Jews now celebrate as the day they defended themselves against their enemies, it was hard to see God in their lower story lives. The decree for their destruction had gone out. Their neighbors were allowed to kill them without recourse. They had no defense. Their prayers seemed to bounce off a brass ceiling. God didn’t seem to be anywhere around. They couldn’t see past the bend in the road. They couldn’t see the upper story God had planned for them.

We can get that way, too. We can get so caught up in our lower story that we forget that God can see panoramically and knows what we cannot know. He can see beyond the bend in the road and knows the bright future He has prepared for us. We just need to look up and obey His commands. Follow Him and know He is at work in His upper story to deliver us just as He did Esther and Mordecai and the rest of His people from the hands of their enemies. We can trust Him with all we have and all we are because He is God and we are not. He is always working for good for those that love Him and work according to His purposes.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.