Monthly Archives: November 2019

Who Gets the Praise this Year? November 25, 2019

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The focus of the lectionary readings for this week didn’t seem to fit the Thanksgiving season very well as we think of it in the United States. We gear up for the big meal with family followed by the football game complete with all the Black Friday advertisements. Then the enormous Christmas season.

Commercialization has taken over what use to be a time of joy and merriment. Now we rush around trying to find the same marvelous gift that is a must-have for every child if a parent wants to be a model parent. Of course, the stores sold out of that must-have present six months ago, but that’s not the point. We have to get that perfect present to make Johnny happy. We rush around doing too much. Decorating too much. Expecting too much of our families when they come home. We expect Christmas to meet our perfect 1950’s Donna Reed Show expectations. Then we show our disappointment when they don’t.

When you stop to think about it, though. Christmas isn’t about all that stuff. In fact, Christmas isn’t even about Jesus’ birth. If that were all that happened, we wouldn’t be celebrating. We would recognize a nice man who did some good things, taught a little and died.

But something happened that blew the socks off the disciples and caused them to give their lives for this man. They understood him to be God incarnate. It wasn’t because of some magic tricks. There were plenty of sorcerers and magicians in their day that fooled the people with magic tricks.

They didn’t willingly give up their lives because Jesus had nice words to say. He didn’t. He proclaimed things that got all of them in trouble with the establishment, both religious and government. He said things like, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” That won’t win you any friends at the dinner table.

Those men and women followed Jesus because they believed he rose from the dead. Not just a ghost or a vision they thought they saw. They knew he rose bodily from the tomb. They talked to him. They ate with him. They touched his flesh. They couldn’t explain how he appeared behind locked doors, but it was Jesus, their leader, their Rabbi, their Messiah. The one just a few days earlier they had seen beaten to the point of death, forced to carry his cross to Golgotha, hung there to die, stabbed with a spear, laid in a tomb bloodied, beaten and bruised, dead. But now, alive.

So Paul could write to the congregation that met at Colossae and encourage them with these words.

“May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his [Jesus] glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Where does this encouragement come from? The first Easter. The first resurrection. Jesus burst from the tomb, conquering death. He proved his ability to win over the grave and so his ability to forgive sin. He bought our redemption. The old sacrificial system disappeared with his perfect sacrifice. He paid for our sins, so we no longer need to wallow in guilt that comes from disobedience to the God who created us.

Paul goes on to say, ” He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

The resurrection empowered Jesus’ followers to do extraordinary things because they knew he was only the first of many to come. The promise of the New Covenant said those who believed in him would not die but have everlasting life. A resurrection day gives us assurance of a new life. Jesus rose, and all who believe will be raised with him. Courage comes from that belief.

What can you risk when you know you cannot die? What can you give up when you know life does not end here? What can you do for God when you know nothing can really harm you? With God on board, you truly are invincible.

Death in this life is a transition for those who believe in him. The criminal on the cross beside him found forgiveness and found himself in paradise. The resurrection is real. Thousands upon thousands gave their lives because they knew the truth of the resurrection.

So, what should Thanksgiving and Christmas and our holidays focus on each time we celebrate? Not gifts or food or trying to impress family and friends. But remember the fact of the resurrection. Remembering Jesus changed the world as the first to show the grave can not hold those who live in him. Remembering there is more to this world than what the world wants you to believe. Jesus told those who would listen, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

What did he mean? Open your eyes. Look around. See God in the world around you. Help others see God by loving them into his kingdom. John said, “God is love.” Jesus said, “They will know you are mine if you love each other.” He also said, “You cannot love God whom you cannot see if you cannot love your neighbor who you can see.”

Those are sobering thoughts as we already begin the bombardment by the politicians for next year’s election here in the United States. The other party is not the enemy. The other country is not the enemy. The other race is not the enemy. God made us all.

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor.”

What does that look like? 2000 years ago, a man with the Hebrew name Joshua, translated Jesus in Greek, was nailed to a rough wooden cross and lifted up to have it slammed into the ground. He hung there most of the day. At last, he said, “It is finished.” And he died, much faster than anyone expected. When he did, the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple split in two. The earth shook. Darkness fell over the land for three hours, far too long for an eclipse. Love looks like a cross.

Remember that cross as you begin preparations for the holidays this year. Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, New Year, all the holidays that jam our calendars over the next few weeks are meaningless without Jesus. Let’s stop and give Him thanks for what he has done. He does deserve it, after all.

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 Bible-based teaching. 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.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Get to Work, November 18, 2019

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

In college, I worked for a moving company to make a few extra dollars in the summer. This particular company also stored tires for one of the tire companies in Nashville, and every few weeks, they were delivered to the warehouse in railroad boxcars. Because the task only happened occasionally, the company hired day laborers to help unload the cars rather than lose furniture moving business by using their permanent employees. Of course, someone had to oversee the operation, and I often became the stuckee as the sort of permanent employee, since I worked as often as I could, but not really permanent.

The boxcars would have about 500 tires each, and usually, we would unload two and sometimes three with each delivery. The mix of tires included car, truck, and tractor tires of all sizes weighing from tiny 10-pound boat trailer tires to giant 300-pound tires six feet tall. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked inside a railroad boxcar in the middle of summer, but imagine standing in an oven covered in rubber dust and someone gradually turning the temperature up while you worked. It reminded me of living in Hanzel and Gretel, living in the witch’s cottage. Good stuff was in the oven, but boy was it hot in there.

We would unload the first 75 or 80 tires laughing and joking. I’d get to know the day-laborers and learn a little about their families. But after a 150 or so, most quit talking. By the mid-morning break, I only heard grumbling and complaining about the work they agreed to do. In all the years I worked at that company unloading those boxcars with day-laborers, I only had one that didn’t disappear at lunch. Every other worker headed to the office at lunch to draw a half day’s wages with some excuse about needing to leave.

The rest of the day’s task of unloading the boxcars fell to me. The joy of all joys! Whenever I entertained any thought that college was hard, I remembered those boxcars and drove on. Even now, if I think something is hard, I remember those days and know there are tougher things out there, and I can make it through whatever I’m trying to do. That was brutal work.

Why do I bring up that story today? It has to do with the lectionary scripture from this week. Paul wrote in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica some words that strike a cord to a large section of society today. As we try to find early retirement, four-day workweeks, more pay for less work, we should listen to Paul. Here is what he says:

Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Am I saying we should have no leisure time? That’s not what I’m saying. We need leisure time, too. But we have become a society that seeks time, money, things, pleasures, everything for “me” without thought for anything or anyone else. We want pay without effort. We want reward with earning it. We expect things given to us without giving in return.

A 2017 Department of Labor study showed that US employees spend an average of eight hours a week checking personal email, social media, online shopping, or other non-productive time on the internet. That eight hours a week amounts to $15 billion of productivity a week stolen from their employees for which they are being paid to work.^[1] We can laugh it off and say, “They can afford it. I work hard enough for them. I bring in profits for them.”

That’s not the point. If we call ourselves Christian, I think it means we should work as if we work for Jesus. Would we steal time from him? I guess too many do today when we look at the number who come together to worship when we are admonished to worship together. Would we steal wages from him? I guess we would since we fail to “give to God what is God’s” as he directs.

The point is: we become so self-centered we forget it isn’t about us but God. We get the false idea that the things around us, the things found in our house or apartment belong to us. We think we own them. We really don’t.

First, if you pay a mortgage, you don’t own the property at all. The bank does. If you pay rent, the landlord owns the place in which you live. So, frankly, the vast majority of the people who hear these words do not own the home where you lay your head; someone else owns it. You just use it at their pleasure.

Yes, you have a piece of paper that gives you some legal rights, but how good is that piece of paper? It depends on how good the judicial system stands. I just read the history of the Mongols conquest of the Middle East in the Middle Ages. When they swept through a city, they killed every man, woman, and child in the city. It’s why Christianity disappeared in Asia Minor.

Remember all those missionary journeys Paul took, Antioch, Ephesus, Lystra, and all those other cities in Asia Minor? What happened to all those churches? Where did all those people go? The earliest leaders didn’t go to Rome; they went to the cities in Asia Minor. But then the Ghingus Kahn hordes came through.

How good were the contracts, treaties, legal papers established between the Christians, about 40 million in Asia Minor at the time, and the khans? Not worth much when a sword swept through your neck. The Christians lost everything, including their lives. The contracts they had with the communities they lived in didn’t mean much. Their property disappeared anyway. They died anyway.

Second, the old saying, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” is more accurate than many give it credit. Work keeps the mind focused on things that add value to the community. Idleness provides the mind with the opportunity to wander into those areas Jesus warned about in his sermon on the mount, hatred, lust, envy, those base emotions that get us in so much trouble and lead us to actions that we almost always regret later.

Third, work brings fatigue at the end of the day, so we rest better. Rest is important. It’s when our body recovers and repairs itself. But when we do nothing, when we are idle most of the time, we become restless. Our mind wanders through the night, and it becomes difficult to sleep. When we use our bodies and minds in physical and mental labor throughout the day, we can rest better and so rejuvenate our bodies for the next day.

Can we overdo work and sleep? Yes. Anything and everything can be overdone, but I see fewer in our country overworked as we search for more and more leisure in our culture. Do I long for the old days of unloading boxcars of tires? No, I don’t think I could even physically do that today. But I do think we need to remember our work is unto the Lord and give a good days work for the pay we receive and never be one of those bending the statistics that take $15 billion of revenue from the pockets of our employers using our cellphones at work eight hours a week. It’s not the boss watching what we do; it’s God.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

^[1] Gregory Bresiger, “This is how much time employees spend slacking off, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/07/29/this-is-how-much-time-employees-spend-slacking-off/ (accessed Nov 8, 20

An Argument Worth Winning, November 11, 2019

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Have you ever gotten yourself into one of those debates you never wish you’d entered? One you know there was nothing you could do but dig a deeper hole for yourself? You know the kind. Sometimes they involve politics or science or family or religion or a host of other topics, but there is just no way out and absolutely no winning.

In those debates, facts are fuzzy at best. No one has the real scoop because no one was around when events took place or like traffic accidents, everyone there saw the event from a different angle and so saw the crash just a little differently. It’s like standing on the other side of the word mom. From one side it says MOM, from the other it says WOW. Who is right? Both maybe. But not really, because the person who wrote the word in the first place is the right one.

After the fact, when the author is gone, and we happen on the word years later with no context, we wouldn’t know who is right. Either of us could walk up to the word and debate all day long about whether it says MOM or WOW and never know until some other intervention brings light to the events that happened that day that caused the writing and how the author penned it into the medium onto which we stare.

That’s how a lot of debates happen with scripture. We weren’t there when authors put words down. Jesus said things we don’t understand. He debated concepts from the old covenant with the scholars of his day that they didn’t understand and wouldn’t accept what he said. But Jesus spoke with authority because he knew facts they didn’t. He saw things from a different perspective. But Jesus’ view was infallible because he was there from the beginning. He was part of the inspiration process for the words in the first place.

Luke records one such debate in chapter 20 of his first book to Theophilus we call the gospel of Luke. Here is what he wrote.

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” (NIV)

The debate between the Sadducees and the Pharisees stayed heated over the topic of the resurrection. The Pharisees believed in a final resurrection of the dead; the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees based their beliefs only on the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, the Books of the Law. The Torah doesn’t mention the resurrection, so obviously, it must not exist according to the Sadducees.

The Pharisees accept the entirety of the Law and Prophets as inspired scripture in which the resurrection can be found and so believe in it. The debates became heated to the point fistfights broke out in the council at times. Amazingly enough, the two groups joined together to try to trap Jesus in his words to condemn him in his teaching. And on this day, the Sadducees took their turn at trying to trap Jesus with their questions.

Let’s use Moses’ rules about marriage to trap Jesus in his teaching about the resurrection. If people rise from the dead, what brother of seven, married to the same woman, will be her husband?

In our Christian faith today, we think this a stupid question. But think about the impact of the answer when first presented. First, the debate over a final resurrection raged within the temple, and the people just listened with no real answer. There might exist some hope of such, but the prevailing thought at the time said that when you died, you went to Sheol, the place of the dead. You existed, but it wasn’t a happy place. Sheol represented all that is anti-life; a place of silence where there is no praise of God; a place where God’s presence is not felt. ^[1]

The Sadducees thought that was the end. You headed to Sheol and stayed. There might be a difference between the righteous and wicked in their experiences in Sheol, but that was the final resting place for everyone. The Pharisees, however, thought Yahweh, Jehovah, would rescue the righteous from Sheol at the judgment. The righteous dead would experience a bodily resurrection from the dead at the end of time.

Jesus ended all debate about the resurrection for all time. First, he answered the Sadducees by pointing out their ignorance about the topic. He pointed out the fact of the resurrection but significantly changed from the current thought of what it meant. The resurrected no longer tied themselves to the Mosaic law but operated under the laws God set, more like the angels in heaven.

Second, he often talked about his own death and resurrection. His disciples and others who heard him didn’t understand at the time but remembered after they found his tomb empty on that first Easter morning. Jesus consistently announced the fact of his resurrection as the first event of many to come. A bodily rising from the dead in a form recognizable to all who saw him.

Third, it happened. Jesus, Paul says, became the first fruits of the resurrection. God ordained a day on which Jesus will return to take with him all those who believe in him for salvation. Paul tells us all the dead will rise first, then we who are left will be taken up with them in the air. I’m not sure I understand what that will look like except that the disciples saw a bodily resurrected Jesus appear with them behind a locked door. He walked with two men on their way to Emmaus and ate with them. More than five hundred people saw him after his resurrection in a physical form that defies what we know about physics.

Jesus demonstrated what those resurrected bodies could do. We don’t understand it. Many couldn’t believe it then and don’t believe it now. But his resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. If Jesus did not come out of that tomb on that Sunday morning, the disciples would have abandoned the message. The Jewish Council and the Romans would have branded Jesus one more renegade, trying to overthrow the status quo. We would still stand condemned in our sins.

But the resurrection is real. Jesus did it. We believe. He forgives. We have hope in him. Those who believe will live with him forever in resurrected bodies like his resurrected body.

Read about him. Hope in him. Believe in him. And live.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

[1] Sheol: The Abode of the Dead: A Study of the Imagery of Sheol (שְׁאוֹל ) in the Book of Psalms, BIBSPACES: ‘Moving in Christ,’ https://bibspaces.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/sheol-the-abode-of-the-dead-a-study-of-the-imagery-of-sheol-שְ%D7%81או%D6%B9ל-in-the-book-of-psalms/

Love the Underdog, November 4, 2019

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I like stories where the underdog wins. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been much of an athlete. In Junior High, I tried out for the football team and discovered with my size at the time, pain and I didn’t work well together. I was a cornerback, and everyone who came at me weighed at least 30 pounds more than me. I saw a lot of blue skies that year while lying on my back. Did I tell you I’m not fond of pain? This business of no pain, no gain, just doesn’t work for me. It seems pain is there to tell us something is wrong. We might be doing something stupid and need to stop.

I like it when the underdog wins. Whether in sports, business, or life. It’s good to see the guy you least expect to come out on top do just that occasionally. It helps us to know there is hope that any of us can make it. Underdog stories give us the energy and enthusiasm to keep on going when things look kind of bleak. They give us courage when we want to back away from some seemingly insurmountable obstacle in our path.

We find an underdog story told by Luke from some eyewitnesses that saw Jesus come to Jericho. In chapter 19 of the writings in his name, he shares the account in this way.

He [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”

So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”

Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus would be called an underdog. No doubt about it. First, he was short. So short, he couldn’t see over the heads of the crowds gathered along the road, waiting to see Jesus. That meant he must find a way to maneuver through the mass or find a higher vantage point. Otherwise, the preacher everyone talked about would pass by without Zacchaeus seeing him.

Second, Zacchaeus held one of the most hated occupations in Israel. He collected taxes for Rome from his own people. And how did he earn his wages? From the taxes he collected. Zacchaeus added a little more to each Form 1040 to make sure he could pay his mortgage each month. Everyone knew the game. Tax collectors lived on the excess the received above that which Rome required. And that leads to the third problem for Zacchaeus.

The man was rich. In ancient times, Israel did reasonably well economically. Like any city, Jericho had its slums, its middle-class, and its wealthy. I picture Luke, a physician, one of the higher class in both our day and his, knew what rich looked like. Zacchaeus may have been Jericho’s poster child for the wealthy.

That meant no one was going to let him through. He would not push his way past that mob to see the man called Jesus. He’d have to find another way. So he did. Luke tells us he ran down the road and found a tree to climb. Picture in your mind this middle-aged man in flowing robes running down the street, kicking off his sandals, and climbing a tree. Zacchaeus probably put on a few extra pounds since buying food wouldn’t be a problem for him. So watch him in your mind’s eye pulling his rotund body up those limbs to find the right spot where the branches wouldn’t sag too far, but he’d get a good view of this miracle man.

Then imagine the surprise when Jesus stops under the tree. I expect most thought Jesus would ridicule this thief among them. He stole their money and gave it to their oppressors. They knew Jesus was about to let Zacchaeus have it. He preached righteousness and holiness, after all.

But that’s not what Jesus did. Luke says, “When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.'”

Stay at the house of the tax collector? Spend time with this thief? Make friends with someone who has tried his best to steal us blind through the years? Surely, not! But Jesus did. The crowd didn’t applaud Jesus’ action. They grumbled and complained. Why would the Prophet, the Teacher, the Rabbi, the Son of God, go to the house of a sinner? Why would he dirty himself by even being in this tax collector’s presence? They were not happy. Zacchaeus was. Jesus was. The underdog won.

But the day turned in a rather strange way. After spending time with Jesus, the tax collector changed. He saw people the way Jesus saw people. Zacchaeus’ focus shifted. Remember what happened? Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

Zacchaeus didn’t think about what it might cost. He didn’t pull out his calculator to see if he would still be rich or if his plan would put him in the poorhouse. He just did it. We’re not told, but I expect Zacchaeus carried through with his promise. Meeting Jesus will do that to you.

Then Jesus says an interesting thing that you might not have caught before. Listen again. Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Did you get it? Salvation came through living out the commands Jesus gave us. There are only two. Love God and love your neighbor. Then Jesus told his disciples to make more like themselves. Teach them to love God and love their neighbors. Let them see faith demonstrated through love as James and Paul and Peter tell us. Zacchaeus did it and found salvation.

We can find salvation, too.

We forget about that horizontal beam of the cross, but Jesus says it’s as important as the vertical one. He says you can’t love God whom you can’t see if you don’t love those around you that you can see. Paul’s letters and the other epistles tell us the same thing. Love other people and give us some examples of how to do that. Then, like Zacchaeus, we can find salvation. It’s not about a works-based faith, but as James says and as Paul says, faith without works is no faith. Expressing your faith through your behavior driven by the love of Christ in you demonstrates your faith.

We need more of that demonstrated faith in our world today. We see plenty of hate and vengeance and revenge. What we need to see is love demonstrated – a cup of water for a thirsty child, a blanket for a cold and homeless woman, a small meal for a hungry man on the street. We need to show we love God by loving those around us who appear so unlovable.

That’s what Jesus did, and that’s what he calls us to do. Just love – with our actions. Be Jesus to the world around us. Now go and do what he said.