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The Questionable Life Challenge, May 27, 2019

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

Our pastor has challenged us since the first of the year to live a questionable life. Those of you who hear that for the first time might be taken back a bit. What do you mean live a questionable life? Does that mean skate at the edge of evil? Does that mean throw out everything we’ve learned and live like we want? Does that mean to make the Christians or others around us question our faith?

No. To live a questionable life in the context of our pastor’s messages, he challenges us to live like Jesus. Live a life that causes people to stop and question why we do the things we do. Why do we go out of our way to be kind to those who defame our character? Why do we smile and give warm greetings to those who ridiculous us and only want to do us harm? Why do we not live with the same standards of vengeance and revenge and selfish motivation that the rest of the world lives by?

Live a life that causes people to stop and question the goodness of our life. Live in such a way that others see the love of God extended to the unlovable. Live in a way that brings questions about why we live a life of love. Live a questionable life. Sounds like a good challenge, right?

There are a couple of verses in Psalms 67 that remind us why we should live like that. The Psalmist writes: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.”

That “Selah” in the middle is an important interlude in those verses. Scholars have attached various meanings to the word including instructions to musicians accompanying the playing of the psalms, but most, including those scholars, agree that selah asks us to stop and listen. Pause and contemplate what you just heard. Think about what was just said because it impacts the words you are about to hear. That is so poignant in these two lines of verse from the psalms.

Let God be gracious to us and bless us and make our way a good one for a single purpose. So that those around us sharing this planet we call earth will know your saving power. How we live should reflect the gracious blessings God gives us. We who have experienced his saving power should reflect the light of his face in ours. We should live such outpouring lives of love to others that others know that it can only be by the power of God we are able to live that way.

I heard a great order from the Roman emperor Jullian when he was trying to oust the Christians from his kingdom. He said these atheists were winning over too many people by their kindness. Just as a side note, they were known as atheists because they believed in only one God. These followers of one God didn’t believe in a pantheon of gods as his empire did. In fact, many believed the emperor himself a god. So these Christians, followers of the Way, were certainly far afield in their beliefs. To thwart their progress, he ordered his officials to be kind to the populace. Well, that lasted about as long as it took him to say it. Why? Because the followers of the way didn’t need an order to love people. They did it from the inside out, not the outside in. Their hearts were made pure by the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. Jullian’s officials had no chance of winning against such odds.

Questionable lives? Absolutely. In their day, the early church fed and clothed the poor, the sick, the outcasts. They took care of the widows whose only recourse in life was prostitution if they couldn’t find another husband quickly. Women had no place in that society. The Christians took it upon themselves to take care of those who could not take care of themselves. Love won out. People asked why. Believers told them about the freedom they received in Jesus. Forgiveness from sin. Freedom to live truth instead of lies.

The Romans couldn’t provide it. The Greeks couldn’t mimic it. The only ones with a corner on the market giving hope and peace and genuine love were these uneducated men and women following this guy that had been crucified at the hands of his own people and the Roman government. It didn’t make any sense and yet here were the facts in front of them. Love wins. Forgiveness wins. Truth wins. Peace wins. Hope wins.

That was then. But what should we do now? Well, live a questionable life. People still know genuine love when they see it. People still recognize authentic care and concern when it happens. People still know the difference between an act and the real thing. When confronted by real love for each other, Jesus says the world will know we are different, that we follow him, that there is something strange and unusual, and good about us. Questionable lives.

That’s how Jesus lived everyday. Talking with women of questionable character but bringing them peace, not punishment. Questionable actions on his part. Telling men to pick up their beds and walk away on mended legs on the sabbath, doing work, questionable activity. Telling us politics don’t matter. Give to the pagan dictator his due. Governments, even bad ones, are allowed to stand because there are some things that only governments can do to bring order into the lives of large populations. Without them, even bad ones, chaos would reign. Hard to believe Jesus wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent. He was a man living under the rule of a Roman dictator doing his best to share the good news that there is a greater kingdom for us to concern ourselves. God’s kingdom is here.

So how do we relate that kind of living into today’s culture? For one thing, we need to stop bashing each other on the Internet about everything. Talk about unsocial media! I see some of the most unChristlike behavior coming from people who call themselves Christians when they get behind the barrier of their keyboard and screen. Remember Jesus wasn’t into politics. The only thing he ever said about politics was to give the required support to whatever government is providing the current rule over the country where you live. Well, that’s a lot different than the blasts that come from both sides of the political aisle today, isn’t it.

Jesus helped the beggars, the prostitutes, the widows, the outcasts. Jesus went into the places no one else would go. Mother Theresa would be our modern day example. A nun who poured her life into the lives of others with no regard for her own. I encourage you to read the story of her life, particularly the years before she made all the headlines. Read why she became so widely known in the first place. It was her quiet sacrifice to those who could not fend for themselves. And she did it over and over and over, never expecting anything. She did it because she loved God and loved people.

Jesus didn’t care about the color of skin or the nationality of the receiver. We get so hung up on my rights and my poverty and my lack and my… We can all complain if we really look hard enough. But our complaining about our personal plight doesn’t do much for us. While we’ve been harping about how unfair life is, China has quietly taken over the largest number of billionaires in the world by about 50% according to a recent CEOWorld Report. With 819 billionaires in China, the United States came in a distant second with 579. There are 36 million millionaires in the world today. And that group of the 1% of the wealthiest people in the world hold half of the world’s wealth.

Does that make you angry? The deep question I have is why? It really is only money and money cannot make you happy. I expect if you could truly find a scale of life contentment and happiness, the lower 50% of the world’s population would rank higher than the upper 50%. That might sound crazy to most people in this country and in most societies where money is the driving factor in life. But when Jesus came, he turned the world upside down.

Jesus didn’t strive to be poor. He didn’t purposely strike out to abandon all material possessions. I don’t think he did. I think he provided for his mother and made sure she was taken care of after his earthly father died. In his day, age 30 was when a man was thought to have reached the age of maturity and could share wisdom as a teacher and leader. But I think he started on his journey away from Nazareth at the age of 30 partly because he worked to set aside enough to make sure Mary was taken care of after he was gone. He wanted to make sure she was not part of the troop of widows and orphans that turned to thievery or selling their bodies in order to survive.

No, Jesus didn’t think about money the same way we do. He knew we needed funds to do certain things because we live in this corrupt world, but he also knew that relationships are far more valuable than money. He knew that our intimacy with God is much more precious than any treasure here. Think about how ridiculous we are about some of that treasure. Diamonds are just pretty rocks thrown out of volcanoes from the past. Gold is a pretty metal that we wear around our necks or fingers. We’ve learned in the last half century to use them in different ways because of their physical properties, but that’s only been in the last 50 to 100 years we’ve made those discoveries. For millennia before that, it was just pretty stuff. Sometimes, we’re just crazy! But because of our selfishness, we think, “If I give it to you, then I won’t have it.” And therein lies the problem – our selfishness.

We hear about the disparities, the violence, the unfair things that happen in the world around us and it stirs our emotions. We sometimes become victims to those unfair practices and bite our tongues and recite WWJD, WWJD, WWJD. What would Jesus do? A nice mantra a few years ago reminding us that Jesus said, “Do unto others what you would have them do to you.”

But I think we get that wrong. Jesus didn’t think vengeance. He didn’t think about the cruelty of the world against him. Jesus loved. What would Jesus do? He would reach out his hand and help the one who beat him, pick up the club and put it back in the back of the pick up. What would Jesus do? He would encourage the billionaire to continue to be the very best entrepreneur he possibly could because it might mean he would build another building where one of those people begging bread could find a job sweeping the floor or taking out the trash at minimum wage instead of going to bed hungry. And he would talk to the beggar with the same loving spirit as he talked to the billionaire. In fact, if the billionaire met him at Starbucks, he’d probably have a couple of those down-and-outers at the table to introduce them to his friend.

“Do unto others, what you would want them to do to you,” he said. That doesn’t mean refrain from punching them in the nose when someone has hurt you. Although, it does include that. I think Jesus is saying to us, “Would you like someone to sit down and listen to you over a cup of coffee? Then don’t ask, go find someone that looks like they need someone to just listen and take them for a cup of coffee and listen. No advice. No, “I told you so.” No, demeaning or shocking looks. Just listen. It’s surprising how many people actually know the answer to their problems, they just need to tell themselves out loud and then follow their own advice. And once you’ve listened, then let the Holy Spirit guide you. Let him give you the words you need to say or the actions you need to take. Do what you want someone else to do for you. It’s the Nike commercial. They only took the second half, though. Just do it, but for someone else.

You want people to know you follow Jesus? What is a questionable life? Living out loud the love of God into the lives of the people around you. So go and be Jesus to those who need to see him in the world today.

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.

Are you a laborer, apprentice, or journeyman? (John 15:9-11), April 6, 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.
Trades have three kinds of people, laborers, apprentices, and journeymen. Where are you in your walk with Christ? Have you followed Him enough to be an apprentice, or a journeyman?
Scripture
1. John 15:9-11
2. Jesus: I have loved you as the Father has loved Me. Abide in My love. Follow My example in obeying the Father’s commandments and receiving His love. If you obey My commandments, you will stay in My love. I want you to know the delight I experience, to find ultimate satisfaction, which is why I am telling you all of this.
Devotional
1. When I was a teenager, I worked some with a journeyman mason.
  1. Never picked up a brick or stone twice
  2. Knew exactly where and how to place each piece
  3. Wasted no energy
  4. Created beautiful structures
2. His son was his apprentice along with one or two others in his employment
  1. Did some jobs on their own
  2. Were pretty good at standard brick laying
  3. Admitted stonework caused them problems
  4. Couldn’t envision how all the pieces would fit together and took them twice as long to complete the job
  5. Still the journeyman would let them do some of those smaller stonework jobs
  6. always brought at least one of his apprentices with him to learn when he faced a tough job
3. Employed several laborers
  1. I was one of many
  2. Brought bricks and mortar to the their sides
  3. Ran back and forth for tools or more supplies
  4. Got water or rags or whatever they needed to keep them from having to do anything other than execute their skills at placing brick or stone in just the right place
  5. Still got to watch and learn and a few of those apprentices had started out as laborers
  6. Showed aptitude, attitude, and interest in becoming skilled in the trade
4. Spent a lifetime learning and mastering his trade
  1. Journeyman in his late 50’s
  2. Apprentices in their late 30’s and 40’s
  3. Laborers teens and twenties, a few older but not interested in learning the skill
5. Following Christ is like that
  1. Interest
  2. Time
  3. Mimic the Master’s moves, words, deeds
  4. Listen to His instruction
  5. Go on the job with Him and allow Him to make correction, sometimes very minute, but will improved the final product
6. Where are you in your path? Laborer, apprentice, or journeyman?
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.”

Learn to be like Jesus (Matthew 26:64) June 29, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 75-77

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 26:64
Jesus: So you seem to be saying. I will say this: beginning now, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God’s power and glory and coming on heavenly clouds.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Everyone gather’s at Caiaphas’ house to figure out charges to bring against Jesus worthy of the death penalty. They all know He should die. He’s disrupted their playground. People don’t trust their teaching anymore. People turn to this Jesus for instruction on how they should follow God’s commands instead of listening to them. Jesus must die.

A few disreputable men come forward with evidence, paid by of chief priests to give their testimony. The problem is their testimonies don’t exactly agree, so Caiaphas doesn’t have what he needs to legally pass sentence against Jesus. So He questions Jesus himself. Don’t you have anything to say about these charges? Don’t you want to argue your own defense?

Nothing but silence.

Caiaphas tries something else. “Under oath, tell us right now, are you or are you not the Son of God?”

Jesus finally says something. “You seem to say so. But from this point on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God’s power and glory and coming on heavenly clouds.”

That was it. That was enough for Caiaphas. Sounded like blasphemy, even though it was Caiaphas who pronounced that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus just didn’t disagree with him. Funny how that kangaroo court happened, isn’t it. Liars as witnesses. Blasphemy that the high priest attributed to Jesus, but he is the one who said the words. And they would only have been blasphemy if they were untrue. But since Jesus was the Son of God, they were not blasphemy in the first place.

So now Caiaphas had his charge. Jesus found worthy of death in the eyes of the Jewish leaders. Now how will that translate for the Romans so they will find fit to crucify this religious criminal. Rome doesn’t care. The number of gods around doesn’t concern them. It won’t be until Domician declares himself god and demands universal worship of himself that nations will suffer significant religious persecution under the Romans. So what crime against the state can Caiaphas and his fellow priest turn up against Jesus?

So what do we learn from this exchange between the chief priests, the high priest, and Jesus?

First, like Jesus, we must keep our behavior above reproach so no one can bring charges against us unless they hire liars and thugs to drum up false charges. As hard as the religious leaders tried, they could find nothing in either the civil law or their own religious laws with which to charge Jesus. His record remained impecable. They tried everything they could to find something, anything, to bring a guilty sentence, but foud nothing. We should live like that. We should live such outstanding lives that we can live as open books and nothing be found that could bring any discredit to God because of our actions.

Second, we should recognize that if we are followers of Jesus we can expect unbelievers to try to find fault in our living. They will look hard to find the tiniest crack in our armor and exploit it. The world will look for a word or an act or an omission somewhere and splash it in front of everyone they can to show our ungodly character. Whether true or not, expect the world to exploit anything they can to discredit our faith.

Third, when those things happen, sometimes, like Jesus, it’s just best to keep our mouth shut. I’m sometimes amazed at the arguments Christians let themselves get trapped in that really are meaningless arguments. We know the world is baiting us, trying to find that chink in our armor, trying to exploit some phrase, trying to twist some defense. But we need no defense when we walk with Jesus. He is already the victor. Why does the victor need defending? He’s already won! We can just let the world keep talking to themselves and keep on loving them. We can keep showing God’s love and sharing His message.

Finally, what happens if the world trumps up false charges against us and punishes us unjustly for something we didn’t do? What happens if we are imprisoned, persecuted, libeled, discredited, humiliated because of following Jesus?

Well, we join a pretty significant crowd, don’t we. If you read Foxx Book of Martyrs, you’ll find you’re in pretty good company. Thousands have gone before you imprisoned, persecuted, humiliated, libeled, discredited, and killed for doing what God asked them to do. They broke no laws. They threatened no lives. They did good to others. Yet the world hated them just as Jesus promised.

I won’t tell you it’s pleasant to be in that crowd, but it sure is a pleasure to be in that number. Jesus teaches us even in His encounter with Caiaphas. Learn to be like Him.

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.

Set a good example (Titus 2) December 9, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Titus 2

Set – 1 Timothy 5; Titus 2

Go! – 1 Timothy 5-6; Titus 1-3

Titus 2
¹ As to you, Titus: talk to them; give them a good, healthy diet of solid teaching so they will know the right way to live.
² Here’s what I want you to teach the older men: enjoy everything in moderation, respect yourselves and others, be sensible, and dedicate yourselves to living an unbroken faith demonstrated by your love and perseverance.
³ And here’s what I want you to teach the older women: Be respectful. Steer clear of gossip or drinking too much so that you can teach what is good ⁴ to young women. Be a positive example, showing them what it is to love their husbands and children, and teaching them to ⁵ control themselves in every way and to be pure. Train them to manage the household, to be kind, and to be submissive to their husbands, all of which honor the word of God.
⁶ Encourage the young men in the same way: in every situation, they should learn to control themselves.
^7-8 Titus, you have to set a good example for everyone. Go out of your way to do what is right, speak the truth with the weight and authority that come from an honest and pure life. No one can argue with that. Then your enemies will cower in shame because they have nothing bad to say against us.
⁹ Advise all the servants: Work hard for your masters, and be loyal to them. Strive to please. Don’t be rude or sarcastic. ¹⁰ Don’t steal or embezzle your masters’ property. Show them you are trustworthy, and all the credit will go to the teaching of God our Savior.
¹¹ We have cause to celebrate because the grace of God has appeared, offering the gift of salvation to all people. ¹² Grace arrives with its own instruction: run away from anything that leads us away from God; abandon the lusts and passions of this world; live life now in this age with awareness and self-control, doing the right thing and keeping yourselves holy. ¹³ Watch for His return; expect the blessed hope we all will share when our great God and Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appears again. ¹⁴ He gave His body for our sakes and will not only break us free from the chains of wickedness, but He will also prepare a community uncorrupted by the world that He would call His own—people who are passionate about doing the right thing.
¹⁵ So, Titus, tell them all these things. Encourage and teach them with all authority—and rebuke them with the same. You are a man called to serve, so don’t let anyone belittle you.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul’s words to Titus fit anyone who calls themselves a Christian, not just pastors. My name should mean something to you. It should also mean something to those outside the faith that see you when you use My name to identify yourself. As Paul told Titus, it’s your life lived out in front of others that speaks so much louder than your words.

I see a lot of hypocrisy, though, among those who call themselves Christian, today. Not unlike the Pharisees that walked the streets of Jerusalem. They plotted murder to stop My voice. Murder! Talk about getting off track. Yet some bomb clinics, stores, homes, and more in My name. Is that different? Some slander the names of others and do everything they can to discredit those who disagree with their views, all in My name. Is that different than what the Pharisees did?

I encourage you to stop and consider whose name you wear. Then think about what it means to represent Me. How do you know what that looks like? I give you lots of instructions. I left My word with you through the centuries. I encourage you to read it. If you struggle with reading, listen to it. Technology today gives you a multitude of ways to hear My word, but delve into it – often. Don’t take someone else’s word for what it says, explore it yourself. Paul commended the Berreans for their study of My word, not taking anything he or anyone else said at face value, but going back to scripture and proving what was said is true.

Be a student of My word. Then teach it correctly. Don’t let those around you take favorite verses or phrases out of context to prove a point. Remember My word doesn’t contradict itself. It tells you who I am and My will for your life. It tells you how you should live and how to live forever. Paul admonished Titus to remember those teachings and pass them on to others. As a person wearing My name as your identity, I expect you to live a life that honors My name. I expect you to adhere to the advice Paul gives his young ‘son in Christ’, Titus. I want others to see the transformation I can bring to their lives as I brought it to you. Don’t disappoint through actions that discredit or dishonor My name.

If you decide you don’t want to live up to My kind of life, then don’t use My name. Names are important. Too many will soon be called out for taking My name in vain, misusing it as an excuse to do what you want. How is that supposed to win others to My kingdom? It’s time to take Paul’s message to heart. “You have to set a good example for everyone.” My name deserves 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.