Tag Archives: command

Don’t forget the command that goes with the love (John 21:15-19)

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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.
What was Jesus trying to tell Peter when He ask three times if he loved Him? Did you remember His command each time as well?
Scripture
1. John 21:15-19
2. Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these other things?

Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.

Jesus: Take care of My lambs.

Jesus asked him a second time . . .

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me?

Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You must surely know that I love You.

Jesus: Shepherd My sheep.

(for the third time) Simon, son of John, do you love Me?

Peter was hurt because He asked him the same question a third time, “Do you love Me?”

Simon Peter: Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.

Jesus: Look after My sheep. I tell you the truth: when you were younger, you would dress yourself and go wherever you pleased; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and take you to a place you do not want to go.

Jesus said all this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. After this conversation, Jesus said,

Jesus: Follow Me!

Devotional
1. A lot has been said about why Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved Him
  1. Three different words to describe love
    1. Like something like you like ice cream or a good movie
    2. Love like brotherly love
    3. Unconditional agape, god-like love
  2. Peter denied Jesus three times so Jesus asked Peter three times for each denial
  3. Peter needed to reach deep into His core to get past the flippant answer we all give to questions most of the time
    1. How are you? Fine
    2. How was your vacation? Great
    3. What can I do for you? Just looking
    4. Do you love me? Of course I do
2. What we often forget is the command Jesus gave Peter that goes along with his declaration
  1. Take care of my sheep
  2. Shepherd my sheep
  3. Look after my sheep
  4. Do the hard work of keeping these fledgling followers encouraged during hard times
  5. Teach them My ways when the world is trying to drive them another way
  6. Give them help when they’re caught in the storms of life
  7. Be their shepherd
3. Jesus is telling Peter the same way James tells us in his letter
  1. Faith without works is dead
  2. Works do not save you
  3. But faith without works is not the faith Jesus wants of His followers, either
  4. Just ask Peter
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

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.

Are you ready for Him to see your results? (Matthew 28:18-20) July 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Philippians 3-4

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus: I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission: Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Gathered on the hilltop surrounding Jesus on this last day He would appear to them, His disciples watched and listened to Him for some departing words of comfort and direction. For forty days after His death, Jesus popped in and out of their lives at unexpected times and places to give them instructions and reassurance that He really was alive and would always be alive. Death could not hold Him even though it tried its best.

But now it was time for Him to leave. Unusually clouds were building in the sky. Maybe they were like those the Israelites saw surrounding Mt Sinai when God gave the tables to Moses. Maybe they were like the clouds from which the voice spoke at Jesus’ baptism. Whatever they were like, those gathered there knew something was about to happen.

They looked to their Master and listened to Him give one more command, a commission for those on the hillside and for all who would call themselves His follower: “Go out and make disciples… .” It’s a simple command. Easy to decipher. It’s not difficult to understand. There’s no hidden message in there. It’s very straight forward so there will be no misunderstanding between Jesus and all those who will come after those gathered that day. Go out and make disciples. So let’s look at those simple words and see what we should do.

Go. That means don’t stay put. You can’t do what Jesus told us to do by standing still. You have to get up off your good intentions and move. Go has both transitive and intransitive verb meanings. The two most apropos for this command are: to move on a course; and, to proceed without delay. He gave those assembled a course to follow and He intended they carry out His directions beginning immediately. He commands us to do the same.

Out. I’m glad He added that word. I think Jesus knew if He didn’t stick that word in there, we might get stuck inside the four walls of our nice edifices for worship and forget the majority of the people that need the message are outside those walls. We must get out into the world and share the message of the good news if we fulfill His command. So first we move on a course and that course takes us outside the walls of the buildings where we worship.

And. So know we’re out in the world. We didn’t stay stuck inside our churches and temples and synagogues, but we’re not through. Too often, we who call ourselves Christian stop right there. We go out, but that’s as much of Jesus’ commission as we’re willing to do. We don’t want to offend anyone. We don’t want anyone to think we’re intolerant of others religion. We don’t want anyone to think we’re prudish or holier than thou. So we go out but we forget the “and” and everything that comes after it.

Make. Again, two of the many definitions in the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary fit best: to cause to exist, occur, or appear; and, to develop into. Both require change. The first implies creating something new and for Christians we understand this well in the experience of being born again by the power of God’s Spirit in us. The second implies growth as we become more like Him through transforming our thoughts and actions to mirror His.

Disciples. A disciple is one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. In Jesus’ day, all the good rabbis had disciples. John had disciples. Gamaliel had disciples. Good rabbis had disciples. And disciples worked hard to become just like their teacher. They studied everything they did. How they ate, dressed, studied, worked, interpreted scriptures and other literature. Disciples worked hard to be like their teacher. To be like their rabbi was the greatest mark of excellence and form of flattery for these renowned educators of the faith. So to be a disciple of Jesus means to be like Him in thought, word, and deed.

There it is. Our simple, clear directive from the King of kings on the day His feet last touched the earth. We don’t know when He will come back, but when He does, He will undoubtedly ask us an important question as His followers. “How did you do? You say you are My followers, My disciples. So how did you do? I told you to go out and make disciples, so show Me what you’ve done.”

Are you ready for Him to see your results?

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.

What would you do? (Matthew 28:9-10) July 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 17-18

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 28:9-10
Jesus (greeting the women): Rejoice.
The women fell down before Him, kissing His feet and worshiping Him.
Jesus: Don’t be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. Tell them I will meet them there.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

You’ve probably seen the popular TV show, actors portray different scenes in public and hidden cameras watch unsuspecting bystanders to see what happens as the action plays out before them. You know the punch line – “What would you do?” Sometimes the actions are pretty bizarre and we would like to think we know how we would react when put in those situations. But do we?

Put yourself in the cemetery on that first Easter morning. You go to the tomb to finish preparing the body of the man you thought would lead your country to freedom. You listened to His words and just knew He was must be the Messiah, but then He was arrested and killed like a common criminal. All your dreams are dashed. But you still want to carry out this last act of respect.

The guards are laying around the tomb either unconscious or so terrified they just can’t move. The stone is rolled away from the entrance. You see an angel sitting on top of the stone. The tomb is empty. Then the angel talks to you and tells you not to be afraid. What would you do? I’d probably be scared out of my gord no matter what the angel said. He just took on a whole Roman squad by himself and rolled away a stone too massive to for any man to move alone. And did it all without getting a speck of dirt on him.

I bet I’d fall on my face in fear. But then Jesus appears, but His skin is no longer ripped to sheds by the thirty-nine lashes He took. His brow shows no sign of the crown of thorns that pierced it. The bruises are gone. The blood that covered His body when you laid Him in the tomb is gone. The almost unrecognizable figure of a man that went into the tomb three days ago is not the same figure that stands before you now.

No, this is the same Jesus you walked with and talked with every day. This is the One who sat with you and explained the scriptures so perfectly. This is the man who loved everyone and taught you to love even your enemies. This is the man you thought you’d never see again until the final resurrection. What would you do?

I would probably faint dead away. I’d probably just fall on my face and pass out cold from the instant fear that ran through my whole body. That’s what I’d probably do. I’ve seen some really strange things in my life and been in some pretty scary situations, but to see Jesus resurrected on that first Easter mornining? Not sure I’d be standing up.

But Jesus says, “Rejoice!” “Tell my brothers to go and meet me in Galilee.”

Wow! I don’t think John Quiñones could put anything like that together. But if he did, I wonder what kind of response He would get? I’m afraid today he wouldn’t get much of one. People would assume it’s some sort of Hollywood special affects or slight of hand. Folks would look for those hidden cameras thinking that since this couldn’t be real, there must be some wizard behind the curtain and start looking for him. I’m not sure with all the SciFi and fantasy worlds we create for ourselves as entertainment, many would even see this scene as the incredible, historic, supernatural, spiritually awakening invitation for all mankind it really was.

But it happened. Jesus spent enough time in the grave to assure everyone in Jerusalem He was really dead. The Roman soldiers who crucified Him testified to it and they knew their job. They had no doubt about His condition when they took His lifeless corpse from that cross. When Joseph of Arimethea put Jesus in his tomb, no one doubted He was dead. No pulse. No heartbeat. No breath. Bled out. Dead. And even if He was alive, He certainly couldn’t have move that stone and walked around three days later after the physical ordeal He went through. Even with our modern medicine, He would spend months, maybe a year or more in the hospital recovering from His wounds. Walking around talking in three days? Healed? No way. Alive? Impossible.

Jesus told the women who came to finish their burial ritual to rejoice. And they did. They fell at His feet and kissed His feet and worshiped Him. Any question they had about His being the Son of God disappeared in that encounter. He was God incarnate.

Then Jesus gave them a job to do. Go tell My brothers I’m alive and I want to meet them. You know He gives us the same message to tell others when we recognize the incarnate, resurrected God of the universe in Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One. When we finally figure out who He is and let Him be Lord of our life, He tells us to rejoice. Then He tells us to go and tell His brothers He wants to meet them.

Have you told anyone lately that Jesus wants to meet them? He has risen. He is alive. The message is clear. So what will you do?

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.

We’d better get to it! (Matthew 24:4-8) May 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 33-36

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:4-8
Jesus: Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These verses from Matthew that give us the description of the events that happen before the end comes can be a little disconcerting. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, kingdoms fighting against neighboring kingdoms. These are standard headlines today. Famines and earthquakes. They are everywhere.

I did a quick Internet search just to see what is going on around the world in relation to Jesus’ predictions. Today there are 54 conflicts going around the world. Fourteen of them kill 1,000 or more people a year in the fighting. In the last seven days, the seismologists have recorded 90 earthquakes of 4.0 or greater on the Richter scale. You might be interested to know that four or five years ago, the agency posted earthquakes with an intensity of three or more, but there are now so many, they only post those with an intensity of four or greater.

Talking about famine is a little harder to wrap your head around. We know famine means there is not enough food for everyone so let’s look at hunger statistics. These, too, are hard to wrap your head around. Hunger can mean the pains in your stomach that some of us feel when we miss a meal. That’s not what Jesus was talking about, I don’t think. Most of us could stand to miss a meal or two without consequence. In fact, it would probably help most of us. But when we think about the undernourished or those that die of starvation, that number is staggering. Currently 795 million people on the planet do not have enough food to maintain their health. That’s one out of nine people on the planet. And among children under the age of five, it’s the hunger, undernourishment is the number one cause of death. Over 3 million children died of hunger in 2012 and 161 million were undernourished.

We hear about the melting of the polar caps and the rise of the oceans. The changes in weather that create weather patterns that reduce the growing season for crops or increase the temperatures to make it unfavorable for crops to withstand the scorching sun. We hear about El Nina` and other weather patterns that disrupt the normal flow of air and bring disasters to regions of the country and the world. Storms abound creating havoc for hundreds of thousands in this country and around in every country.

But Jesus tells us all these things are just birth pangs. These are not the end, but signs of its coming. These are the events that will tell us He is returning soon. So what should we do?

We could crawl into a hole and try to protect ourselves from the onslaught that is coming. We could arm ourselves and defend our tiny piece of ground from invaders and hold on to the possessions we hold in our hand. We could sit by and do nothing assuming God will come and wisk us away so we never face the troubles that will continue to grow until the tribulation begins and Christ returns.

I’m not sure any of those are what Jesus had in mind when He told His disciples the signs to look for that would herald His return. I think He gave us those signs to tell us time is short to finish the tasks He gave us to do. He gave us a command to go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Remember? We are to share His message with others and bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ.

God does His best to let us know His grace is about to run out. Jesus told those around Him the signs like birth pangs that would precede the final judgments God would send upon the earth for their failure to follow Him and live in our selfish unrepentant state. I’m not sure how the signs could get much clearer. And if the birth pangs we see in the 54 conflicts, 90 earthquakes a week, 795 million people dying of malnutrition around the world, and all the other warning signs can be compared to the birth pangs preceding labor, just think what the end will be like. Women tell me the pain of the birth pangs and false labor are nothing compared to the labor itself. Can you imagine what the world will be like when these birth pangs of the end are over?

We have a lot of people to warn and help them understand there is but one way to escape the coming wrath God will pour out on this earth and those who fail to recognize Him as God. We don’t have much time left to do our job. We’d better get to it!

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.

Top billing? Be careful what you ask for (Matthew 20:21-23) May 9, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 21-24

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 20:21-23
Jesus: What do you want?
Zebedee’s Wife: When the kingdom of God is made manifest, I want one of my boys, James and John, to sit at Your right hand, and one to sit at Your left hand.
Jesus (to all three): You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? Can you be ritually washed in baptism just as I have been baptized?
Zebedee Brothers: Of course!
Jesus: Yes, you will drink from My cup, and yes, you will be baptized as I have been. But the thrones to My right and My left are not Mine to grant. My Father has already given those seats to those for whom they were created.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do you ever crave that center of attention spot? When I got to my first assignment as a brand new Second Lieutenant, I thought, “It must be great to be a company commander and set your own schedule.” See, I had 27 additional duties in my first assignment along with the responsibilities of my real assignment of medical platoon leader in an infantry battalion. So my calendar seemed full. It seemed like I was going to someone else’s meeting two or three times a day. I never seemed to have enough time to do the training I wanted to do with my medical platoon.

Then I became a company commander. And I thought, “Boy, it must be great to be a battalion command and set your own schedule.” See, as a company commander, it seemed I was going to someone else’s meeting four or five times a day. I never had the time I wanted to spend with my company training them to do their mission on the battlefield.

Then I became a battalion commander. And I thought, "Boy, it must be great to be a Second Lieutenant blind to the fact that you have so much time of your own to spend with your soldiers teaching them to work as a team and do their job. I finally figured out (I’m a slow learner sometimes) the higher you go, the less time is your own. The more demands others make of you. The spot light is a pretty lonely place to be and you don’t have much control when you’re in that spot.

As a colonel, I’d come into a room full of my subordinates chatting away with each other about all sorts of things business and personal and as soon as I walked through the door, you could hear a pin drop. It’s not that I wasn’t approachable. Those that got to know me, knew I was pretty personable. But getting time on my calendar to get to know me was pretty hard sometimes. And people were afraid they might say the wrong thing and destroy their career because for many of them in the room, I was their senior rater. That meant changing a few descriptive words on an evaluation or a point or two difference in a rating could make the difference between getting promoted to the next grade. It’s an imperfect military and government system, but the one millions of employees, military and civilian are stuck with. So they were afraid to approach me and just chat.

I’ll have to admit, in my younger days, I wanted those power positions. Commander sounded so nice. But when in the position and you have the life of soldiers in your hand because of the decisions you make, it’s not so much fun. Some of those soldiers you send into battle never come home and those letters are really hard to write. They are tear-stained before they get into the envelop because those soldiers become your family.

I’m not sure James’ and John’s mother understood that about being in the limelight #1. And #2, the positions were not Jesus’ to give. As the Son of Man, He had no authority to name the people who sat on the seats around the Father’s throne. As the glorified Son of God He might, but He wasn’t in that position yet. Besides, He explained those positions were already promised. But then He talks about the difficulty of those top positions.

I’ve been in some of those top positions in the Army. Never as a general and I so very glad I stopped before I got there. I worked with lots of generals throughout my career and watched their lives, or lack thereof. I thought my calendars were full sometimes. They had no life. Sometimes people envied them all the travel, the special treatment they receive in meetings, the perks of being a general. I learned about those perks in some of my jobs. We put the right pen and the right paper and the right drink at the right place at the table. The temperature was just right and the right chair was at his or her spot. The lighting was just right and the screens had no glare from the general’s seat. But these were not perks. We did that because as soon as the general sat down, his total focus was on the work ahead for the next thirty or sixty or ninety minutes. We didn’t want anything to distract his thoughts because another meeting that needed his total focus was happening immediately after that one and that room had exactly the right pen and paper and drink and chair and light and… so as soon as he sat down his total focus was on the work at hand.

Perks? When you wake up in another motel room at 5:30 in the morning and don’t remember what city you’re in today because all the motel rooms start to look alike, travel is not fun. You know someone will be at your door thirty minutes later and whisk you off to breakfast, which will be a business breakfast and the day will run non-stop meeting after meeting until they plant you on another plane or in your motel room after your dinner business meeting at 8:30 that night. Then you get to answer the 300 emails in your inbox before you go to sleep. Perks at the top? Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.

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.