Monthly Archives: December 2019

Pray for Our Leaders, December 30, 2019

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

Well, 2020 is here. The lectionary reading in Matthew this week reminds me of just how politically selfish and self-centered most of our elected federal representation in Washington seems to be. Regardless of your views on the actions, investigations, character, or status of our president, all indications seem to point to the fact that the Senate will soon start a trial that will end along party lines as did the impeachment proceedings in the House. One side will proclaim guilty, the other not guilty and the not guilty side is currently in the majority. Again, whatever your views, it means we will have wasted millions of dollars and thousands of manhours that could have been spent on something much more worthwhile. Both parties knew the outcome before the circus started, and here we are grandstanding before another election, spending millions more and thousands more manhours with known results.

So, what in the lectionary makes today’s news headlines so familiar? The passage comes from Matthew, chapter 2.

After they [visitors from the East] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:

“A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

she refuses to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel.

But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:13-23 GNT)

Herod wanted no competition. He was one of those political animals who wanted his way no matter what. He would do anything to stay in power, even kill his wives and sons. Talk about ruthless.

The wise men, magi, visitors from the East, whatever title you might give them, heard from God after visiting the king, little “k.” They knew the subterfuge Herod played when he wanted the location of the newborn King, capital “K,” and went home another way.

What Herod did cannot be excused. We sometimes believe the slaughter numbered in the hundreds and thousands of toddlers in our mind’s eye. In reality, the small villages in and around the region probably held few toddlers, and most scholars estimate the number killed at around 20. But imagine soldiers bursting into your home, grabbing your young son, dragging him into the street, and killing him in front of your eyes. This happened in all the villages in and around Bethlehem. The census had passed. Most who came for Caesar’s counting left months ago. Mary and Joseph only stayed because Jesus was still too young to travel. That is until the angel told Joseph to go anyway to Egypt.

Herod’s action only added fuel to the fire of hatred the Jews had for this tyrannical King. They were only too happy for his reign to end. So was Rome, apparently, since the empire divided Herod’s territory into four sections ruled by his four sons instead of remaining under one ruler. The kinds of things Herod did to please himself to hold his seat of power doesn’t seem much more self-centered than much of the drama and power struggle we see all around us today.

I’m glad God doesn’t take political sides. He didn’t take the side of Pharisees or the Sadducees. Nor did Jesus say either was wrong because of their belief, only because they didn’t live what they believed and wouldn’t believe what they saw right in front of them. He befriended “sinners,” Gentiles, and outcasts. But he also befriended some in the temple and synagogues. Jesus just lived the two commands he gave us: love God and love others.

In fact, if the Bethlehem story were replayed today, with our country as its background, he would be born in a broken-down shack in Iowa or more likely in Mississippi, in some backwater town no one could find on a map. The politics in Washington would be of no concern to him. However, everyone would ask him which side he preferred, he would never give an answer to such a stupid question. Particularly since all parties have become so corrupt in recent years, no exception.

Every religion would tell us how corrupt he is because he refuses to play by the rules. He wouldn’t raise money for their cause. He wouldn’t join the bandwagon of most of the charities across the country because they put more in the administrations’ pockets than they do their client benefits.

Jesus would be unimpressed by our wealth, our things, our burgeoning economy, our technology, our entertainment, our leisure, most everything we think is great. I think he would look at it and tell us, like the rich young ruler, to get rid of the surplus and give to the poor to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Things aren’t bad. Wealth isn’t bad. Money isn’t bad. Jesus never said any of those things are bad. It’s the priority we put on them. Unless he is above all else, he takes no place in our life. Jesus refuses second place.

Over the next several weeks and months across the country, a lot of people will try to get you stirred up about the circus happening in Congress. Frankly, whatever happens, doesn’t matter. God is still in charge. He doesn’t play politics. Never has. He allowed Donald Trump to be elected. Not the Russians, not the Democratic or Republican Parties, not some computer hacker somewhere. This is God’s world, and he allows people in power to govern.

We might not like it. The Israelites didn’t like it when the Babylonians took them into exile or when the Greeks and Romans ruled over them. But they also understood that God calls the shots, not them. If we understand God, we realize that he still cares for us, and the things of the world never shake him off his throne. We don’t need to get excited about what will happen, or not, throughout the Washington circus. We can be frustrated at the waste of our tax dollars. Still, if our Congressmen and women weren’t spending the millions on this fiasco, they’d probably be spending it on something just as ridiculous and wasteful. So enjoy the new year, trusting God to take care of you when you love him and others. Remember, too, we are directed to pray for our leaders – both parties. Their good means good for our nation. So pray for their good.

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.

Keep Christ in Christmas, December 23, 2019

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Today’s Podcast

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

Here we are at the last week of Advent. Children wait expectantly to open the packages under the tree. Moms and Dads scurry around for those last-minute gifts and the trimmings for the Christmas feast at the family table. Everyone vies for their favorite Christmas movies on one of the six-thousand cable channels. At least it seems there are that many sometimes. The countdown to Christmas has almost finished.

But what do we expect when the countdown reaches zero?

Too often, the climax we expect feels like a letdown. When the paper and empty boxes pile up in the corner, the plates find themselves in the sink, and the leftovers fill the refrigerator, we sigh and ask, “Is that it? All that work and fuss for this?”

In just a few short hours, it’s all a memory and usually a relatively short one at that. We build our hopes around what happens around a Christmas tree or a Christmas dinner and find that what happens there just doesn’t last. The ribbons and bows and shiny paper don’t bring the joy we thought it would in the end. The perfect present we spent days and weeks searching out doesn’t carry the reaction we thought it would. The feast doesn’t create the festival we expected.

There is a reason why, but most won’t agree. You see, we miss the point. We celebrate Christmas, but forget to invite the person we celebrate. We forget to leave a seat for the namesake of the holiday. We welcome all our friends but put an “X” in place of the most important guest of the season. Even those who call themselves Christian miss this essential ingredient in celebrating this holy day. We forget to leave a place for him as we prepare the schedule crammed with fun things to bring special memories for the future.

Matthew records his birth this way:

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.

Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: “The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife. He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 GW)

His short journey with us isn’t one most would want. He began his life marked as an illegitimate son of Mary, born in a cave with a stone bed filled with straw as the only place to lay his tiny head. He knew poverty. Most scholars think his earthly dad died shortly after his temple experience at the age of twelve. He became the breadwinner for his family in a village whose residents often operated on the wrong side of the law. And most of those villagers thought he was an illegitimate child, not the son of holy God they worshipped.

People expected the Messiah. The prayed for him to come to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome. They longed for relief from their long trial of oppression at the hand of godless nations after returning to Jerusalem from their defeat and exile.

But surely God would not send his Messiah through a poor peasant from Nazareth. Surely God would choose the wife of the chief priest or some other notable character in the temple to raise his Messiah. He wouldn’t possibly have some peasant girl from the lowest of towns on the dark side of the nation give birth to the savior of Israel.

For everyone who knew him growing up, Jesus didn’t seem to be anyone special. But he knew, Mary knew, Joseph knew that he would redeem Israel one day. He would bring freedom to the captives. They didn’t understand how. They didn’t realize it would mean his death on the cross, and he brought freedom from the penalty of sin, not freedom from political oppression.

But we know. We look back on two thousand years of history and see what God did through his Son, Jesus. We know the changes he made to the world. We recognize the incredible transformation his presence in one’s life brings. Still, we leave him out of our celebrations at this special time of year.

We stay absorbed in the world’s pleasures and what the world offers instead of the real treasure Jesus offers. We remove his name from Christmas, replace it with an X, or just call it the holiday season, so no one gets offended. Then wonder why there is no satisfaction when we get up from the feast or unwrap the last present.

I invite you in the last days before Christmas to stop and meditate on him. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, our Savior is the namesake of these holy days. He is the reason we celebrate. Be careful preparing the festivities for family and friends that you leave a place for him in your celebrations. Make him the centerpiece in all you do.

If you will, you will find this holiday most enjoyable. If Jesus is in the center of your celebration, this will be one of the best Christmases you’ve ever had regardless of your outward circumstances. Because he never fails, and he never leaves us alone.

Merry Christmas, and thanks for letting me share with you this past year.

Be Patient, December 16, 2019

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Today’s Podcast

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

As I read the scriptures associated with the lectionary readings for this third week of Advent, three words stuck in my mind for some reason – arrogance, humility, and patience. Why those three words struck such a chord for me that I can’t get away from them, why is beyond me, but since they keep popping into my head, I might as well explore them with you in light of the events of today and Jesus’ coming.

It’s not hard to think about how they fit together, but let’s talk about arrogance first. Just pick up a smartphone and tap into any social media and find the anti-social comments in the first two scrolls of the screen. We talk about or behave with a high degree of arrogance in our day.

In our nation, everyone takes one side or the other over the articles of impeachment leveled against an arrogant leader. He flaunts his power, the news says. He abuses his privileges, the reports say. Others say he acts like every other president doing what he said he would do. Others say he’s just doing his job and the other party is just mad because they didn’t win the seat.

With some assurance, I can tell you the truth is somewhere in between those extremes. We manage to view most events through a jaundiced lens and see things the way we want to see them despite the reality of the situation. Most of the time, our opinions are just that – opinions.

Arrogance is defined as having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. Our opinions sometimes fit into that inflated sense of importance, our ability to think we know something a lot deeper or clearer than we do.

We can become arrogant in our thinking, our approach to others, our position in life, our jobs, in all kinds of ways. We can even become arrogant in our goodness. Jesus pointed out the Pharisee and the sinner praying in the temple and the arrogance of the Pharisee’s “righteousness.” God didn’t see him as righteous at all because of his pride and arrogance. He prayed to himself, not to God, as Jesus pointed out.

It’s a state of mind that creeps up and engulfs us so quickly. We can be proud of our humility if we’re not careful. Arrogance is one of those slippery characteristics that Satan wedges into our lives in the most benign ways that make us feel like we are anything but arrogant, yet those on the outside see it glaring its ugly head through us.

I’m reminded of that display of arrogance as Herod made his rash oath to his daughter at a feast. “I’ll give you anything you ask, up to half my kingdom.” What an arrogant boast in front of his royal, drunken friends. His wife set the trap, and his daughter asked for John’s head on a platter.

Arrogance cost Herod to act foolishly and then act even more foolishly by having that execution carried out. John had done nothing but spoken the truth to Herod and his ill-gotten wife, Herodias. His acts later cost him his life. He died of worms at the hand of an angel.

Then there is the subject of his execution, John the Baptist. Jesus describes him a little differently. John was in prison for his condemnation of Herod’s marriage. He had baptized his cousin, Jesus, but didn’t understand the delay in his redeeming Israel as he sat in prison. Here is the story from Matthew.

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:2-11 NIV)

It sounds like the description of a pretty humble guy. What does it mean to possess the character of humility? Well, it’s the opposite of arrogance. It’s having a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance. John knew he heralded the coming of the Messiah. He knew that was an important task. But John didn’t think himself a critical cog in the mechanism. He just did what he was supposed to do. God called John to preach repentance to those who would listen and to announce the coming of the Messiah. That’s what he did.

The people announced John’s greatness as a prophet. Those who flocked to him for repentance and baptism proclaimed his authority from God. The multitudes that came out of Jerusalem into the wilderness to meet him and listen to his preaching decided he had something important to say. John never put up billboards or handed out flyers or blasted the population with twitter feeds. He just humbly proclaimed the way of the Lord.

John’s message got him in trouble more than once. The Pharisees didn’t like him. They didn’t like the way he pointed his finger at them and accused them of hypocrisy. Herod didn’t want to hear John pointing out he and his wife’s adulterous marriage. Those that didn’t want to change their ways and turn to God didn’t enjoy John’s messages of repentance so much. But John stayed faithful to his mission, and humbly did what God asked him to do regardless of the price.

We’ve discussed arrogance, and its opposite humility, but why the word patience? Why would that word stick in my head this week? Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. I need that in San Antonio rush hour traffic. We all need that in our current political disaster. But why did the word stick with me concerning Advent?

I think the answer lies in the meaning of Advent. We wait for the Redeemer to return. All around us, we find arrogant men and women. We can sometimes find ourselves slipping into that mode if we are not careful. Jesus calls us to live a humble but courageous life among all these arrogant people. And like many in John’s day, we ask, “How long must we wait for your coming?”

He answers, “Be patient. Be ready, but be patient.”

You see, I think God wants us to work to share the good news diligently to as many as we can before he comes. He desires that all would be saved. Some will decide not to follow him, but all should have the opportunity to choose, and we are his ambassadors to share the message. So he says, “Be patient, be ready, and work until I come again. It won’t be long. It’s another day closer. Be patient.”

Enjoy this third week of Advent looking for his return.

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

Remember What Christmas is About, December 9, 2019

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Today’s Podcast

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

Another mass shooting happened again this week. We can’t seem to get along very well. It appears the gunman didn’t know any of the victims. He just fired into the crowd indiscriminately. I don’t understand that mentality. I have a hard time wrapping my head around shooting someone for no reason.

I’m not against guns. That’s not the problem. We’ve been killing each other for a long time. It started with Cain. It wasn’t long until Lamech bragged about killing a man for wounding him. Violence seems inherent in us. We don’t like something, and rage begins to build in us if we don’t learn to control our emotions. It’s just that guns do more damage faster than other weapons. But clubs and knives and fists can and have been just as deadly. It’s about what’s inside the perpetrator that makes the difference.

Why do I bring this up in this second week of Advent? Because it reminds us Jesus came to do something remarkable for and in us. He brought hope to a hopeless generation. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:

Everything that is in the holy writings was written to teach us. They give hope and strength when we have troubles. The holy writings comfort our hearts. God gives people power to take their troubles and he comforts their hearts. I ask him to help you to think the same way as Christ did. Then, together you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, accept one another, as Christ has accepted you. Then people will know that God is great…God gives hope. May he make you very happy. May he give you peace because you believe. Then the power of the Holy Spirit will give you much hope. (Romans 15:4-7, 13 (WE))

Instead of living with fear and hate and all the negative emotions that drive the actions we saw in that gunman, Jesus gives hope, peace, joy. He replaces what the world cannot provide with an abiding security that only comes from the presence of his spirit in us.

Advent usually brings just a touch of that spirit into the lives of more people as we walk the streets and see the bright lights, the glittering decorations, the smiles on faces expecting something special in the holidays. But why can’t we keep that spirit all year long? Why do we only find it when we approach Christmas? What causes us to lose that spirit once we tear the paper from the packages and finish the dinner on the table?

I think more and more; we lose sight of what the season really means. With the marketing starting so early, the Hallmark Christmas specials starting in July and continuing nonstop through Christmas, the bombardment of commercialism that strips away the story of that teenage mother-to-be making that journey to Bethlehem with her husband. We lose the story of the shepherds, the angels, the magi, the miracles that point to the incredible events that create this holiday season for us in the first place.

We have lost the wonder of Christmas because of our focus on money and material things. We have so much, yet every year we ask for more. We have to add one more thing to our collection of unused and discarded stuff that piles up in the closets and the garage. I write those words pointing at myself as I look at three keyboards on my desk, three monitors, two computers, and all the gadgets that make it all work.

Do I use all of it? At least some length of time during the week. Do I need all of it? Heavens no. When I travel, I get by just fine with my laptop and in fact, am using it to compile the podcast now. It holds the software to edit my audio. It links to all my files in the cloud. Do I need everything else? Nope, it’s all redundant — just more stuff.

I’m trying hard to get back to what is important, what is necessary. It’s not much, and the Christmas story helps us understand how little that might be. Mary and Joseph were outcasts. They offered the sacrifice of the poor for their firstborn son. They fled with what they could carry to escape Herod’s wrath. They returned to a bump in the road village called Nazareth, one of those towns you just didn’t want to live in if you could live anywhere else. It had one of those reputations.

It’s the story, though, of the King of kings. His story tells me he accepts the lowliest of men and women. We don’t have to wait until we have a certain level of respectability to come to him. He accepts us as we are. Jesus doesn’t care about riches or skills or talents. He cares about your heart. He wants your love and worship. Jesus wants you to embrace his teachings with all your whole being.

He summed up his teachings in two simple but not so easy commands. Love God and love others. That’s it. When we do, we won’t get trapped in the cycle the gunman did. We won’t harbor the rage that sends over the edge to do the unimaginable. Instead, we will extend God’s love to the unloveable. We will give generously to those in need. We will embrace a lost world in arms of forgiveness to show them there is hope and joy and peace waiting for them if they will give themselves to Christ.

In this second week of Advent, remember the hope that comes to us because of Jesus first coming. He brought peace and joy to the world. We continue our confidence in him because of his promise to return. Advent looks backward to what he did, and it looks forward to what is yet to come.

Enjoy this second week of Advent remembering him. Don’t lose the reason we celebrate. He is what Christmas is all about.

Scriptures marked WE are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English (WE). Scriptures are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English, Copyright © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications, Derby, DE65 6BN, UK. Used by permission.

Look for Him, December 2, 2019

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

Can you believe Advent has begun? Well, actually, it’s not hard to believe it’s here given the number of months the Christmas trees and Black Friday sales have been beating us over the head. It seems the commercialization of the season gets earlier every year. I think I saw the first Christmas tree sale in June this year and the first mention of early Black Friday sales before Halloween.

So for some, Advent means all those commercials finally come to a screeching halt. Not really, because after Christmas, all the retailers try to get rid of their inventory before taxes come due. New Year’s sales bombard us just as vigorously as Black Friday sales, just not as long. But Advent for those retail clerks means the mad rush is slowing down a little.

For some, Advent means pockets fill because of those weeks of sales. Marketing reaches the highs of the year to get all the merchandise sold. It means long hours but with a substantial financial reward if all goes well. Owners like Advent for the boost in profits and the hope of a better bottom line when markets start a little sluggish or stagnate in the middle of the year.

But for Christians, Advent means something very different. It’s a time to remember a past event when God descended to earth to dwell among us in human flesh. Jesus lived with us, suffered all the things we suffer, worked, played, laughed, cried. He was human in every respect. Jesus was also God in every respect. God incarnate. Advent looks to the past at the incredible love God demonstrated by becoming like us.

Advent also looks to the future. It reminds us Jesus said he would return to take those who believe in him to live with him forever in a new creation, a new heaven and earth born from the destruction of this one. He told his followers to watch for his return. But Jesus did something some think peculiar. He didn’t tell them when he would return, just to be ready.

Jesus taught in parables most often because we remember stories so much better than we remember lectures. So his lessons come through the stories he told. Many of his parables deal with the warning to be ready for his coming. But He sometimes gave straightforward warnings about preparations for his return. One such warning appears in the lectionary for the First Sunday of Advent that starts the new Christian calendar year. It comes from Matthew chapter twenty-four:

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

It would be nice if God told us when he would come, but you know what would happen. In my travels around the world, I’ve found that people can and will do incredibly horrible things to each other. We see it here in the drug and sex trafficking. We see it through the news media every day as political parties attack each other just because they can. We seldom hear the whole truth anymore about any story. The story twists to what someone wants to persuade us to lean to their side. It’s easy to understand why Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?”

If God told us when he would return, we would be horribly evil and do terrible things against each other until a few hours before his return. Then the churches would be full. Altars would be lined with seekers asking forgiveness. Most of us would wait until the very last minute to try to squeak into heaven on God’s good graces.

God doesn’t want us to squeak by. He wants us to worship him because he is God. He wants us to love him because he is love. God wants us to serve him because of the sacrifice he made for us out of his love for us. God wants us to understand who he is and so give ourselves as a living sacrifice to him so that others will know him.

God wants us to demonstrate every day the love he has for the world by loving others the way he demonstrates his love for us. Jesus told us all the Father’s authority rests in him. Then he told us all the commandments can be summarized in just two. The first, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But before anyone could question him about that one, he said the second commandment is like the first. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Those are the two commandments Jesus told us to follow. Love God and love others. And he told us you can’t love an invisible God if you can’t love the visible people around you. Then he showed us what love looks like by allowing himself to be arrested unjustly tried and executed in a manner reserved for the worst offenders of the law. Laws he never broke.

Even the laws the Pharisees said he broke concerning the Sabbath, when you read them carefully, Jesus only spoke most of the time. He told the man to stretch out his hand. He told the man to stand and walk. He told the woman she was healed. Most of his Sabbath healings, he just spoke. Even those in which he did something physical were not so dramatic physically that they violated the law. He spit on the ground and made mud. He touched a man’s ears. He touched a man’s eyes. Nothing worthy of the charges brought against him.

Even the charge of blasphemy for which the council finally found a reason to crucify him in their mock trial. Jesus never said the words for which he was convicted. As you read the transcript, you’ll find the chief priest asked the question, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am.” Is that Jesus confirming the truth or the high priest confirming the truth of his claims? Who is guilty here? So Jesus never broke any of the laws of Moses. Still, he was crucified based on those laws.

The real reason for his death? The council proclaimed it. If Jesus kept doing the things he did, people would believe him and follow him. The Romans would come and take away their place of power and their nation. They envied his position as Messiah, the Savior of God’s people.

Jesus is coming back. We will stand on the side of those who believe in him for eternal life, followers of his way of life. Or we will stand with Pharisees and Sadducees, envious of his power and position as God. It’s been that way since Satan tempted Adam and Eve with what they thought was the opportunity to be like God. They were not; we are not.

There is only one God. He came to live with us. He died for us. He promised to live in us. We celebrate Advent because of that promise and his promise to return to take us with him forever. Look for him in all you do in celebrating this year.