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A Pandemic of Love and Grace, April 20, 2020

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

We have a phenomenon going on across the country and around the world that baffles me in some ways. I’m sure it depends partly on how much you trust the news, social media, and other sources of information. It also depends on where you live and how this pandemic touches people you might know. But there is a significant segment of the population that thinks the novel coronavirus is no big deal. They wonder why we are disrupting our lives so much and taking such extraordinary measures for something that so far in this country seems like a nasty flu epidemic.

Of course, when you try to explain the properties of a pandemic and how they spread to those unbelievers, they wish it away and tell you you’re crazy. They don’t want to believe the catastrophe that is happening in New York City or Baton Rouge or Italy or Spain or many other places around the world. More than two million people have died, as of this podcast, that have been identified as coronavirus victims. Scientists tell us more died of the disease, but the dead are not tested.

The social separation states imposed works. In this country, when people work hard to enforce the rules for separation to curb the spread, it seems to be working. Cases are down. Hospital beds are available. Death rates are lower than in other places around the country and the world. Breaking the chain works. But there will continue to be those who doubt what the leaders enforced.

Our economy is in shambles right now after just a month of isolation. That shows you just how fragile this global system has become. When we close our doors for just thirty days, we fall apart as a nation. How much longer can we sustain the separation and closures to allow the virus to burn itself out in this first wave to enable us to find cures for it? I’m not sure.

We already have an increasing number of suicides, domestic violence, hungry children, and the list goes on in the most vulnerable parts of our population. Those on the fringe of society are clearly at the highest risk during pandemics, and this one appears no different.

Still, some doubt the reality of what is happening around us. The coronavirus is a hoax, they say. It’s a ploy to gain power by one political party or the other, they say. It’s a means of getting rid of a race of people I heard one doubter of the pandemic say. Some of the comments I hear and read flabbergast me. I don’t know where they get their ideas.

The doubt in the beginning, though, I understand. I think many of us thought the coronavirus was only a news item when we first heard about the epidemic in Wahun, China. Only when it reached the nursing home in Washington state did many begin to realize the jeopardy of the situation. And only when New York City’s hospitals and morgues begin to overflow did we come to understand the danger the country faced and begin to take active measures to slow the spread of the disease.

Doubt. The same doubt Thomas had when the other disciples told him Jesus appeared to them behind locked doors the night of the resurrection. We don’t understand how he suddenly appeared or what kind of physics allowed it to happen. But we know they could touch him. He could eat and drink. They could hear him speak, and he could hear them talk. But Thomas wasn’t there. He didn’t see it and wouldn’t believe it. John tells us the story.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:19, 24-29 NIV)

Thomas wouldn’t believe unless he saw Jesus himself. Some don’t want to believe what is happening with the pandemic unless it happens to them or someone they know personally. We have this big issue with trust sometimes that keeps us from realizing our full potential with God and others. Faith is a crucial part of life. Without faith, we cannot survive. It allows us to walk out the door and get in our car believing we will not be hit by another motorist when we drive down the street. It allows us to go to work, believing we will be paid for our labor. It keeps us motivated to raise our children, believing they will grow to become productive adults.

Faith is critical in our everyday lives. It is also vital in our spiritual lives. Faith for Thomas, and us, means believing in the truth that Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a physical, touchable, breathing person. We don’t understand the physics that let him appear and disappear as the narratives tell us. We don’t understand the physics that let him feed more than 5,000 with a boy’s lunch. We don’t understand a lot of things. But we can exercise faith and believe.

Just as we can believe the devastation that the pandemic creates around the world without being in the middle of it, if you live in a part of the country or part of the world that has so far been only mildly touched by it, we can believe Jesus rose from the dead.

It was the disciples’ witness that gave them the courage to share the message of the resurrection. But it was the faith of the hearers of the message that continues to spread the message. Like the pandemic we see in our world today, there are a couple of truths we can learn. We don’t have to catch it to know it’s real. We can see it’s evidence around us.

The same is true of God’s grace. It doesn’t take a believer to see God’s grace, but experiencing God’s grace makes so much difference and solidifies the knowledge of his grace in our lives so we can never forget it.

Second, like the social distancing in our current pandemic, if we fail to share his love with those around us, how will his love spread? But live a virus, when we touch others with his love, he has a way of sparking love in them, and then one becomes two and two becomes four, and suddenly, we can see a pandemic of his love and grace when we exercise faith and spread his grace to those around us.

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

Time to Teach, October 21, 20190

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

I learned early in my military career that one of my responsibilities was to train my replacement. Eventually, I would leave my position through transfer, promotion, or at some point, everyone departs the service. If I failed to train someone to take my place, the service would suffer, and soldiers would suffer. Not that I was indispensable or anyone else was, but we had a responsibility to make sure none of us were by ensuring we had someone ready in the wings to take our place.

Paul knew the importance of doing the same as he embarked on his missionary journeys. So he groomed Timothy and Titus to take his place in the early churches he formed in his mission work. He knew he would need a replacement at some point, and the way things had been going for him, that time would probably come sooner rather than later. He’d been shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, run out of town, and imprisoned. He knew his days were numbered. So, while in prison, Paul penned instructions to his two proteges.

My instructions to the officers that came behind me centered on how to treat soldiers, how to make decisions, how to carry out the tasks given by higher commands, how to determine priorities of work with limited resources. Some of the training I provided to those who would come after me in the service I hoped would save lives on future battlefields, and as I’ve heard from some of them and read accounts of current conflicts, I think some of those lessons paid off.

Most of the training I passed on didn’t make it into documents that I expect to survive for centuries, though. In fact, if they last another decade, I will be astonished. Those bits of knowledge will last a season and be gone. Some will trickle down another generation, maybe two, but then warfare will change, tactics and doctrine will evolve, and the lessons passed on thirty years ago will seem pretty meaningless to anyone who might care to hear about them in another generation.

But Paul’s words to Timothy are a completely different story. We read them, memorize them, absorb them into our being. We do so because we understand the depth and truth of his words. He writes these words to Timothy in the second letter addressed to him in the New Testament:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)(NIV)

We know from these few sentences, Timothy was a student of God’s Word. He learned from his mother, Lois. He studied from Paul. He poured through the scriptures personally to discover all he could about the God he served and loved. What we often forget as we read these words from Paul, is that the “scriptures able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” did not include any from our New Testament. That should cause us to give pause to any who might discount the Old Testament as unimportant to the Christian life or its statutes as ancient and no longer applicable to modern society.

What can scriptures do for us? Timothy knew, and Paul reminds him. They teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness. And why are those attributes important to followers of Jesus? Because he gave us a mission. He told us to go and make disciples. Teaching them all the things others taught us in his name. How can followers of Jesus share knowledge if no one shared with them in the first place? It goes back to what I learned as a new Army officer. I need to start preparing my replacement. If I don’t, there may not be a replacement when one is required.

Have you thought about that in your Christian walk? What if you were the only link to carrying the message of Christ to the next generation? How well has your replacement learned to place his or her trust in God based on what you taught? Is the next generation of disciples ready to pass on what you know because you taught them well?

The next words from Paul often used to provide the charge to ministers really apply to all of us who follow Christ. Jesus didn’t differentiate between any of those gathered on the mountain when he gave the command to go and make disciples. He told all of them the same thing. What Paul told Timothy, reminds me of the importance of my role in sharing what I learned from others. Paul continues his letter with these words:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)(NIV)

It tells me that whenever I have the opportunity, I must be prepared to correct, rebuke, encourage, teach with great patience and careful instruction. The time when people will not want to hear sound doctrine came a long time ago. They didn’t want to hear it from Timothy or Paul or even Jesus. With all we see around us, those statements could not be any more accurate today. People run to what they want to hear instead of the hard truth of God’s Word.

Ignoring the truth in his word does not fix our sin problem, though, any more than ignoring cancer will repair those runaway cells in our body. We must do something about the disease. When we find out about cancer, we go to the oncologist and seek a cure. When we find out about sin, if we are to find release and relief, we must go to God and seek a cure. Listen to Paul. Do the work God calls each of us to do in reproducing disciples through sharing what others entrusted to us. It’s how God’s kingdom grows. It’s plan A and surprisingly, he never developed plan B. It’s up to you and me to make it happen.

Does God Answer Prayer? May 13, 2019

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

Saul became Paul after a miraculous conversion. Last week we talked about how that conversion came about. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I read about how it happened instead of participating in that particular mode of inspiration first hand. I’m glad Jesus gives us enough examples and heroes of faith in our lives to let us believe in him without having to go through what those early believers went through. But some of their experiences do raise some questions for us today.

We know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His word tells us that and we know he is truth. He does not lie, so we know he doesn’t change. Jesus also told those that followed him that they would do more than they saw him do when he walked this earth. He healed the sick. He made the lame to walk and the blind to see. He healed lepers and all kinds of illnesses. He even raised the dead to life. Then we see some glimpses of what he told his disciples.

Peter and John headed toward the temple and saw a beggar who had been lame since birth. The man asked for alms, but instead they gave him new legs. He stood on his two feet and followed them into the temple praising God for his healing. And today’s lesson from the scripture gets even better. Luke in his letter to Theopolis writes these words found in Acts chapter 9.

9:36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”

So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Jesus told his disciples they would do more than he would. Now here is Peter raising Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead, just as Jesus raised the Centurion’s daughter from the dead or Peter’s mother-in-law, or the widow’s son in Cana, or Lazarus. Can you imagine what that must have been like to be in that house when Peter ushered everyone out of the room, prayed for her life to be restored and then walked out of the room with her?

Can you imagine the uproar in the city when the news spread that one of those followers of that rebel, Jesus was doing the same things he did? Can you imagine what the religious leaders were thinking in those back rooms of the temple when they heard the news? They thought it was over. They figured with Jesus dead and gone, the miracles would stop. They figured that even if the claims they heard about the man were true, at least it was over now. He was gone and only his followers were left. The miracles were over and only words were left behind. These guys knew how to debate. They could win the arguments.

But then… The lame started walking. The blind started seeing. The deaf started hearing. The lepers came to these followers. Now Tabitha who every claimed was dead, was walking around saying Peter claimed the Holy Spirit raised her in the name of Jesus, the man they crucified. What were they to do now? It wasn’t over after all. It looked like this might just be the beginning.

We know the rest of the story. The church grew from the eleven gathered in the upper room the night of the resurrection to the 120 gathered in a room together on Pentecost to 3,000 the next morning after the Holy Spirit settled on the people in that room and set their hearts on fire. Then within less than a decade, the church had grown to more than 100,000 across an empire that was out to destroy them because they were “atheists” believing in only one God, not the pantheon of Roman or Greek gods the major religions of the world believed.

The small band of disciples were God’s plan to spread the message. It’s unbelievable that God would use such a crazy plan to get his message across to the rest of the world. But 2000 years later, it appears he had no backup plan. This was it. Come to earth in human flesh. Gather a dozen uneducated men from various backgrounds around him. Teach them for about three years. Leave it in their hands after giving them a spirit of power if they accepted him as their only means of salvation.

What a weird, ridiculous, sure to fail from a human perspective plan. But it worked. The men and women God touches change the world. They are never the same. The men and women God uses to carry his message are transformed and empowered by the same resurrection power that brought life back to the dead cells in that broken body that lay in the tomb Joseph lent to Jesus for three days. That power that enables men and women to do the impossible not because of their ability, but because of God using them as an instrument of his will.

When we allow God to do whatever he wants to do through us, God-things happen. The unexplainable takes place. Things that impossible when viewed from the perspective of human knowledge and human ingenuity happen when God powers the task instead of us. Jesus’ declaration that we will do more than he did comes true when an army of believers allow themselves to be catapulted into the community empowered by his spirit breathing his love into the world.

So where do we see these miracles taking place, you ask. My answer is everywhere. We too often go the doctors and give all the credit to science when someone is healed. But take a look at some of the statistics for the healing processes. Why are some healed and some not? Why do medications work for some and not for others? Why do some come back from the brink of death and some slip away without recovery? Are miracles happening? Yes.

But does that mean God is answering prayers for some and not for others? Not necessarily. First, remember that God answers the prayers of believers. Always. He answers the request for forgiveness of the truly repentant. Always. But does that mean he answers our requests the way we want? Not always. Sometimes. I expect Peter had prayers answered in ways he didn’t really want at times. I expect he didn’t want to go to Cornelius’ house and eat pork. But he did. I expect he didn’t really want to associate with many of the people he learned to love later as he prayed alongside Jesus.

Many of his prayers were not answered the way he wanted as he saw his fellow disciples tortured and crucified. Peter was changed at Pentecost and in his writings we know he learned to accept and understand suffering and the way of the cross in this world, but that doesn’t mean he enjoyed it. It doesn’t mean he, like us, didn’t pray for release from some of the pain the way of the cross brought he and his fellow believers. Even Jesus asked for another way. But the Father didn’t answer Jesus’ request the way he wanted either.

We don’t understand why God answers prayer the way he does. Does that mean prayer isn’t effective? No. It means we don’t see the way God sees. It means we don’t have infinite wisdom. It means we can’t see beyond the bend in the road. Last week, another school shooting in Colorado took the life of one and injured eight more. Did God do that? No. Did God not answer prayers to keep our children safe? He answered them, but perhaps not in the way we expect. I think we sometimes use prayer as a wish list and think we can demand God to do what we want because we are his children.

I seldom did what my kids “demanded.” I hope you didn’t either. We need to learn at an early age we don’t control most of what happens in this world. Demanding what we want usually only causes trouble. Good parents know that and don’t give in to their kids demands. I sometimes did what my kids asked of me, but as a parent, I most often did what I thought was best for them. If what they asked didn’t fit that category, I often said no. They didn’t understand then, but as parents themselves, I see them doing the same with their children. Why? Because we want what is best for our children.

So why does God think some good thing like keeping shooters out of school is bad? I’m sure he does. I’m sure he would love to have Adam and Eve back in the garden having never touched the tree in the middle he told them not to touch. But Adam and Eve were given the ability to choose for themselves the path they would take. And they chose to disobey. They could not choose the consequences, though. Their act disrupted the cosmos. Not just their lives, but the entire universe. God’s highest creation disobeyed and that act rippled through the heavens.

Now we live in a world in which God does not isolate us from evil. He doesn’t put us in a bubble and protect us from everything bad that could happen to us. Instead, when we choose to follow him, he puts his spirit in us and asks us to let his power in us help us live like he did when he was living in the flesh. Still bruised, broken, misunderstood, hated, even crucified. But empowered to love the unlovable. Empowered to share hope to the hopeless. Empowered to forgive when the world thinks there should be no forgiveness.

Does God answer prayer? Yes. Does it change circumstances? Sometimes. But more often it changes me and you. Keep praying that God will use you and make you more like him. That’s the right prayer and he always answers.

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.

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.

The impossible story, March 26, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 27; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 183 through 189

This week we read about the unbelievable for too many people. It’s the thing that makes them pause and say, “It just can’t be true. It’s not possible. The story is just a story.”

What are we talking about? This week we read about the resurrection. We read the reaction of those closest to him who also recoiled at the thought that it was possible even after watching him do the impossible and them telling them it would happen. We watch Joseph and Nicodemus gently remove Jesus’ broken body from the cross and take it to Joseph’s newly finished tomb. We watch from afar as they race the clock before the sun sets to do some minimal burial preparation of Jesus’ body because nothing can be done on the Sabbath.

We hear of the disciples cowering in locked rooms discussing what they will do now that their king has died. The one they put their trust and hope in lies in a tomb. How could it happen? How could he be the One to rescue them if he is buried in a grave? What happened? Just a few days before, the crowds waved palm branches and cried out their Hosannas. Now he’s dead.

Then we see the Sanhedrin worry about these rebel disciples and the revolt that might arise if they steal Jesus’ body from the tomb and declare that he really did rise from the dead. We watch them plead with Caesar to put his seal and a guard on the tomb so no one would tamper with the body and continue the “farce” this teacher kept up.

We listen to the story of that first Easter morning when the angels meet the two Marys at the tomb and announce that their Messiah rose just as he said he would. We try to empathize with Mary Magdalene as she grieves and begs the “gardner” to tell her where he has taken her master’s body.

But the realization of what has happened begins to dawn on Jesus’ followers. Jesus calls Mary by name and she recognizes her risen Lord. She races back to tell the disciples the good news. Peter and John race to the empty tomb and find the linens collapsed on the bier. Those linens contain no body. The guards recovered from their faint race to tell the priests what happened. The Sanhedrin make up a story to protect the guard.

Two disciples walk toward Emmaus, puzzled by the events of the day, don’t recognized their master walking with them until they sit down to eat and he reveals himself to them. Have you ever wondered about that? I have. I think they were looking for a bloodied, crucified, disfigured man. The one they last saw hanging on the cross. Broken. Bruised. Bleeding. Flesh hanging in strips from the flogging he suffered. Instead they saw the risen Lord. Refreshed. Restored. Resurrected. Perfect. Except for the scars in his hands and side so he could later show Thomas.

Would I have reacted any different? Would I have thought Jesus anything other than a ghost when he suddenly appeared behind closed doors if I were one of the disciples that night? Would I have recognized a restored Jesus if he walked with me on the road to Emmaus? Would I have thought Jesus rose from the dead instead of being stolen by the gardner?

I sometimes we look at “doubting Thomas” and give him a hard time. I think I’d be a lot like him. It takes faith to believe in the impossible. Jesus told them some incredible things over the three years he was with them. He also told them some hard things. “You must eat my flesh and drink my blood to have any part in me.” How do you accept that in the culture you’ve lived in all your life?

If you live you lose your life, you must lose your life to gain it? How does that make sense when you hear it for the first time?

But there it is staring at you. The empty tomb. The reports of the disciples. The more than 500 people who saw him over the next 40 days. The fact that no matter how hard the religious leaders tried to squash the story, people kept it alive. Not just that, thousands upon thousands have been willing to die for this One person. No other figure in all history has changed the world the way this one man did.

All the things people through the centuries have tried to do to stop the message or discredit the story have only served to strengthen it. The risen Lord. The impossible story. It isn’t just a story. It truly is God’s story. His plan to bring us back into a face to face relationship with him. He is a holy God. So much higher in his thoughts and ways that the only way we could come near to him was for him to come to us and become the perfect sacrifice for us.

Hard to believe? So is the perfect balance of nature around us. So is the uniqueness of a snowflake. So is the diversity of humanity around our world. So is the warmth and light of the sun. So is the miracle of birth. All those things are impossible. So is it so impossible that God so loved us that he came to live among us in human flesh so that whoever believes in him will not perish but will live eternally with him?

Impossible? He tells us and shows us in his actions it is not. All things are possible with him. The empty tomb on the first Easter morning is just one more demonstration of the impossible to show us his love for us and his desperate desire to restore an intimate, personal, face to face relationship with each of us. All we have to do is believe.

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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Freedom (John 8:31-32), July 4, 2017

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2017-07-04-devotional-Freedom (John 8:31-32)

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Today marks the end of my daily format. With retirement and some changes in life events and personal and family priorities, I will change to a weekly format beginning this month. You can expect “A Little Walk with God” to continue, but it will be released each week on Mondays instead of the daily format you have had in the past. Thanks for your continued support and if you like what you hear, share it with your friends and send me a post to let me know what you think about the new format.
Scripture
1. John 8:31-32
2. Jesus (to the new Jewish believers): If you hear My voice and abide in My word, you are truly My disciples; you will know the truth, and that truth will give you freedom.
Devotional
1. Independence Day. The day a group of courageous men signed a document that started an experiment in democracy that has endured longer than anyone dreamed. 241 years ago, we declared our independence from the tyrannical rule of the king of England and formed the spark of democratic rule among the 13 colonies which would soon form the United States of America.
2. Those early colonists wanted freedom from British rule. Freedom from laws and taxation and governance in which they had no say or influence. They wanted freedom to rule themselves and set their own direction for the formation of this new land in which they lived and died. They wanted freedom.
3. Little did they know what would happen over the next centuries. Little did they understand that the United States would become the most powerful nation in the world both militarily and economically. Little did they understand the influence the constitution they drafted would impact the world of which they were only beginning to explore at the time. They sought freedom for themselves, their children and their children’s children.
4. But what about today? What do we want? We hear a lot about people wanting freedom, but do we really understand what that means or what we really want?
5. Freedom then and now does not mean the absence of authority or rule over us. Without rule and order and authority we would have utter chaos. Just look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the lack of rule and order in New Orleans. Without order and authority, freedom means people often fall into animalistic behavior. We are better than that.
6. Freedom does not mean absence of authority and order. We need order and authority to maintain peace and safety in our communities. We need government to ensure those basic necessities of life are taken care of in an orderly fashion for the common good of all of us. We need authority in our lives. Freedom includes authority over us. Always.
7. Jesus says following His teachings lets us know the truth and the truth sets us free. So what does that mean?
8. First, we need to understand that following His teachings means being like Him, being a disciple. That’s what disciples were in His day. Students who set aside their past beliefs and understandings and learned from their teacher. They adopted the teachings of their mentor and became like him in every way. They ate and dressed like him. They began to mimic his language and his thought process. They developed his mannerisms and in as many ways as possible began to be their teacher. They grew up in the image of their teacher, indistinguishable from their master.
9. So Jesus is telling those around Him, be His disciple. Be like Him. Do what He does. Learn His teachings. Follow in His footsteps. When you do these things, you will know the truth.
10. When you know the truth, you will be free. What will you be free from? Questions, the unknown, guilt, the burden of sin, fear, lack of purpose. You see, when you know the truth, suddenly you see the world the way Jesus sees it. You understand the reason we are put here on this earth. You know the peace that comes from knowing God’s forgiveness of your sins and the release of the guilt that plagues us because of our disobedience. You fear God as in recognizing the awesomeness of His mighty power, but you no longer fear God as in being troubled about His wrath for your past. You find freedom, real freedom.
11. But with that freedom, you know who you serve. You are clearly and forever under His authority. You know you must and will follow His teachings. He is your Ruler, your King, your Director, your Guide, your Authority in all things. Yet you are truly free. Why? Because when you follow Him, you know the truth. You know Him and He is truth and you are free in Him.
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.”
Bible Reading Plan – 2 Kings 1-5

Why is it so hard to accept the word of others? (John 20:27-29), April 30, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Topic Introduction with headline.
Scripture
1. John 20:27-29
2. Jesus: Reach out and touch Me. See the punctures in My hands; reach out your hand, and put it to My side; leave behind your faithlessness, and believe.

Thomas (filled with emotion): You are the one True God and Lord of my life.

Jesus: Thomas, you have faith because you have seen Me. Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.

Devotional
1. My wife gets on to me all the time thinking that I don’t believe her when she tells me something.
  1. Mr Right Brain
  2. Have to work through the logic of her answer
  3. Does it fit the science or math or philosophy or some other discipline I’ve studied?
  4. Does it fit into my personal frame of reference?
  5. Usually agree with her after I’ve logically gone through it, but while I’m on that mental journey, she thinks I don’t believe her
2. A little frustrating for both of us
  1. Can damage a relationship if you don’t understand how the other person processes information
  2. Still strains a relationship at times when she just wants me to stop the logic part of my brain and nod my head
  3. That’s what the other disciples wanted Thomas to do
3. I think I relate to Thomas
  1. The science, math, philosophy, logic of the situation didn’t fit with his experience
  2. Needed to work through his logic to make sense of what they were saying
  3. He wasn’t there to see what they saw and might have eventually put it together
  4. Reviewing Jesus’ miracles
  5. Recalling Jesus’ words
  6. Listening to the stories from those who saw Him
  7. Would have put the logic together and believed but would take time
4. Jesus appeared to cut through the logic and made Himself known immediately
  1. Don’t worry about the science or philosophy or experience
  2. Just believe
  3. Sometimes hard for the right brain people
  4. We need to work on that part of our personalities
  5. Blessed (happy) are those that believe without seeing, without going through all the logic
    1. They won’t be as frustrated
    2. It won’t take them as long to get there
    3. They won’t have to work through the unexplained to believe
    4. They can just take by faith the news they hear from other believers
5. If you’re on the right brain side of the crowd
  1. Let loose a little
  2. Just believe
  3. You’ll be blessed by it

What does peace mean to you? (John 20:20-21), April 28, 2017

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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.
I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and you saw peace signs everywhere. Technology brought the Viet Nam War into our living rooms for the first time in history and we heard the daily body count from across the sea. Everyone longed for peace.
Scripture
1. John 20:20-21
2. Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.

As He was speaking, He revealed the wounds in His hands and side. The disciples began to celebrate as it sank in that they were really seeing the Lord.

Jesus: I give you the gift of peace. In the same way the Father sent Me, I am now sending you.

Devotional
1. What does peace mean to you?
  1. There will never be peace between nations.
  2. We can’t even have peace within nations as evidenced by our most recent elections here.
  3. We often can’t achieve peace in our own households as evidenced by divorce rates climbing toward 60%
  4. So what is peace?
2. Definition of peace: 1. freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility. 2.freedom from or the cessation of war or violence.
  1. Is this what Jesus promised His disciples and us?
  2. Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility?
  3. Slander; persecution; martyrdom
  4. Where is the peace He promised?
3. If looking for peace in regard to our relation to the world, it will never happen
  1. The world hated Him and will hate us
  2. Promised trouble in this world and all who follow Him have found trouble if they share His message or live the life He demands of us
  3. The world opposes us and tries to turn us to their ways
  4. When we don’t they do everything they can to destroy us
4. So what kind of peace did Jesus leave?
  1. Inner peace
  2. Peace with ourselves and with God
  3. Freedom from the guilt that plagues us because of estrangement from God in our wickedness
  4. Doesn’t mean we’re murderers or robbers
    1. Although, Jesus says hate means murder
    2. Coveting, means robbery
    3. Robbing God with our tithes and offerings
  5. All have sinned against God
  6. Failed to honor Him and live the life He wants us to live
  7. We know we need His forgiveness
  8. He gives assurance of forgiveness and peace
5. What can you give in exchange for that peace?
  1. Nothing
  2. Nothing in all the world is worth the peace you can have in knowing your sins are forgiven
  3. Every follower of Jesus who is really all in for Him knows that
  4. His legacy is peace
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.”

One more is worth the cost (John 15:18-22)

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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.
Stereotypes are awful, but they are everywhere and just part of our nature. The question is whether we let them rule us or do we rule them. We can get over them with some effort. Is it worth the cost? Think about those who pushed through their stereotypes to reach you.
Scripture
1. John 15:18-25
2. Jesus: If you find that the world despises you, remember that before it despised you, it first despised Me. If you were a product of the world order, then it would love you. But you are not a product of the world because I have taken you out of it, and it despises you for that very reason. Don’t forget what I have spoken to you: “a servant is not greater than the master.” If I was mistreated, you should expect nothing less. If they accepted what I have spoken, they will also hear you. Everything they do to you they will do on My account because they do not know the One who has sent Me. If I had not spoken within their hearing, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for ignoring My voice.

If someone despises Me, he also despises My Father. ²⁴If I had not demonstrated things for them that have never been done, they would not be guilty of sin. But the reality is they have stared Me in the face, and they have despised Me and the Father nonetheless. ²⁵Yet their law, which says, “They despised Me without any cause,”^[a] has again been proven true.

Devotional
1. The words cliché and stereotype have a good deal in common. Both come from French, both were originally printers’ terms, and both have come to take on somewhat negative meanings in modern use.
2. Their original meanings are essentially synonymous, referring to printing blocks from which numerous prints could be made. In fact, cliché means stereotype in French. Their modern meanings, however, are quite distinct. Cliché is today overwhelmingly encountered in reference to something hackneyed, such as an overly familiar or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression. Stereotype is most frequently now employed to refer to an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.
  1. a plate cast from a printing surface
  2. something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
  3. We’re bad about stereotyping people
    1. Ethnic groups
    2. Political parties
    3. Socioeconomic sectors
    4. Religious affiliation
3. World views Christians as the cause of the problems in the world order
  1. Demand human rights, sometimes go about it the wrong way
  2. Tie political agendas to Christian views detracting from gospel message smearing Christian values and worldview of who we should be
  3. Fail to meet standards we say we hold then blame others or sin which we cannot help but commit
4. Jesus warns of the stereotype His followers would receive
  1. From the political realm – fail to kneel to Caesar means rebelling against the state
  2. From the Jewish community – usurp the thought of one God with Jesus coming to live among us as the God/Man; God incarnate – confusion of the triune godhead
  3. From the Gentile community – setting standards of living condemning satisfaction of base desires in any way we please; sexual immorality, lying, stealing, injury to others through gossip/slander, idol worship
  4. All evils of the world would be blamed on the Christian community – if they would just leave everyone else alone, tolerate everyone else and stop this “Jesus is the only way” teaching
  5. Guilt would stop; fighting would stop; pain would stop
5. The stereotyping will not end until time stops
  1. Jesus promises the world will continue to despise us and abuse us
  2. He promises they will not listen to us if they will not listen to Him
  3. He promises they will close their eyes and fail to see
  4. He also promises some will come to know Him and be saved from their sins
  5. That one who listens and clings to Him is worth the pain and suffering
6. Don’t give up; one more is worth the cost
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.”

How can we fail? (Luke 9:3-5) October 19, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 120-121

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 9:3-5
These were Jesus’ instructions:
Travel light on your journey: don’t take a staff, backpack, bread, money, or even an extra change of clothes.
When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that city.
If a town rejects you, shake the dust from your feet as you leave as a witness against them.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I wonder if Jesus’ disciples thought He had lost His mind when He gave them these instructions as He sent them out into the surrounding towns and villages to share God’s message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Are you kidding me? Take off without food or money or even anything to change into so I can wash my clothes from one day to the next? Where am I supposed to sleep? How am I supposed to eat? How will I make my way from place to place? Will God really take care of me as I take this message from one village to the next?

If you read a little further in Luke, you’ll find the reports about the disciples’ success. They were amazed at the provisions of a mighty God. They found listening ears. They found unbridled hospitality. They found villages and towns anxious to hear the good news they had to share as they traveled from place to place. Their challenge was trusting God enough to believe He would take care of their needs from day to day. But when they trusted Him, He took care of them.

It’s not unlike so many of the missionaries’ stories you hear from those our churches send into other places to share God’s word and message of salvation. God provides. Sometimes it’s money at just the right time. Sometimes it’s the right person to give guidance or assistance through a particular problem. Sometimes it’s the right place or property or building that seems impossible to secure for God’s use, but suddenly miracles take place and the spot is in your hands. God works through incredible means to secure the things we need to carry out the tasks He has given us to accomplish. When we follow His will for our lives, we cannot fail because it’s really not our mission, it’s His mission. And He can never fail.

What about this find a house and stay there? No invitation? No prior arrangements? Just go knock on the door and tell them we’re staying for a while? Tell them to vacate a bed and make room at the table?

“Well, how long are you staying?” they ask.

“Oh, until we leave.”

“How long will that be?”

“God will let us know. But thanks for the room until then.”

Now that sounds like a plan, doesn’t it? I’m ready to barge into a stranger’s house and tell them I’m taking up residence until God tells me to leave, aren’t you? But see, that’s the interesting thing about how God works. Sometimes God uses what looks like foolishness to the world to accomplish what He wants just to show us that He is in charge. He is God and we are not. He can make things happen behind the scenes that we have no idea is happening.

Jesus told His disciples to kick the dust off their feet in the towns that wouldn’t accept their message as a curse against them. But as you read their reports, I expect they didn’t use those curses much. That was one of the rules Jesus gave them, but God moves ahead of us when He gives us a job to do. I’m not sure they ever exercised that last rule. At least they never reported using it when they returned.

So the message for us today is to recognize that God gives us jobs to do. He doesn’t expect us to sit idle in our pews and just listen to sermons every week and feel good about what the preacher tells us. He doesn’t expect us to just enjoy the music we hear on Sunday or when we happen to turn on a religious radio station. God has jobs He wants us to do. If you listen for Him, you’ll hear Him and He will give you a mission to further His plans to expand His kingdom. He will put you in the path of individuals that need to hear your story and know that God is good and can free them from the bondage of sin just as He freed you from the bondage of sin.

The world will think you foolish in the undertaking of God’s plan. But the world is blinded by Satan’s lies. Remember God created this place and makes everything work. While the world listens to Satan’s lies about what won’t work, God makes it happen. Just listen to Him. Follow His directions. Do what He says. You’ll find that His instructions turn out well every time. After all, He wrote the book. He does the impossible. He is God. How can we fail if we follow in His path?

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 are all betrayers (Mark 14:13-21) September 10, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – John 16-18

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

Today’s Devotional

Mark 14:18-21
Jesus: I tell you in absolute sincerity, one of you eating with Me tonight is going to betray Me.
The twelve were upset. They looked around at each other.
Disciples (one by one): Lord, it’s not I, is it?
Jesus: It is one of you, the twelve—one of you who is dipping your bread in the same dish that I am.
The Son of Man goes to His fate. That has already been predicted in the Scriptures. But still, it will be terrible for the one who betrays Him. It would have been better for him if he had never been born.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

How would you like to be sitting at the table when Jesus said those words? “One of you will betray Me.” Wow! Here they were just finishing the Seder and Jesus makes this announcement. He knew it a long time before this, but kept it to Himself. Of course, if the disciples understood scripture the way He did, they would know He would be betrayed, but they didn’t. No one put it together until after the fact. But here was the bombshell.

These guys had traveled with Him for over three years. They heard every message. They sat with Him for every lesson. They ate with Him. Slept where He slept. Went where He went. They were His constant companions throughout His ministry. How could one of them possibly fall away and betray Him after sitting under His teaching for three years?

But listen to the question from each of the disciples. Every one of them asked Him, “Is it me? Am I the one who will betray you? I’m not the one, am I?” Did you get that? Every one of the disciples had enough doubt in their mind about their individual loyalty that they asked Jesus if they were the one that would turn Him in to the authorities. Each of them had these hidden thoughts and secret spots in their heart they thought were deep enough that no one could see. But when Jesus made His announcement about His betrayal, every one of them felt those dark spots rise to the surface and questioned their own loyalty to Christ.

Of course, Judas already knew he was the one and asked the question in a way only the guilty can, but every single disciple felt in his heart that he might have the capacity to turn against his master. That’s an important point for all of us to see in the events that unfolded around the table that night. It’s an important point for all of us to realize as we listen to the words Jesus spoke and we should take them to heart.

Every one of us have the capacity to betray Him. No matter how solid we think we are in our faith, we have the capacity to turn against Him and betray Him. No matter how good we think we are or how long we have been following Him, we have the ability to go to His enemies and plot against Him for a few pieces of silver.

You might think you’d never do that to Jesus. He’s done so much for you. He may have healed you in the past. He might have healed your children or saved you lost loved ones. He might have salvaged your marriage or rescued you from financial ruin. Jesus may have intervened in broken relationships with family or friends. He may have worked incredible miracles on your behalf and you think you could never betray Him. But listen again to the question from the lips of every one of His closest disciples, even John, His most beloved. “Lord, is it me? Am I the one who will betray you?”

All of them, without exception, after walking with Jesus for three years and listening to His voice, knew that deep within every person, we have the capacity to choose to betray Him. Adam and Eve were sinless when they chose to turn against God, remember? But we are born with the seed of sin embedded in us. God’s word says it is passed down to us through Adam’s race. We cannot escape it. We have all sinned. And so we all carry within us the capacity to betray Him.

Judas is the one who sold the plan to identify Jesus to the guards in the garden. Peter took one swipe and a guard and then fled. The rest of the disciples just fled in terror. No one stood by His side when those horrible events of that night began to unfold. All of His disciples had the capacity to betray Him and they did. They left Him to endure His fate alone. We think of Judas as the betrayer, the one who sold Jesus to His enemies, but didn’t they all betray His friendship that night? Didn’t they all desert Him and leave Him to face His pain alone in the garden? Didn’t every one of them forget their promise to stand by Him to the end?

The difference between the rest of the disciples and Judas? Eleven repented. Judas hung himself. When you think about it, we have each betrayed Jesus, too? Which path will you take? I hope it’s the path to repentance.

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.