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The most important question, March 12, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 25; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 169 through 175

Have you ever had a question stuck in the back of your mind that you just can’t seem to break loose? I’ve had a few of those through the years. Some seem silly now that I’m in my sixties. Many I still don’t have answers.

Some of those silly questions include things like will I ever be rich and famous? Will anyone ever remember my name when I’m dead and gone? What can I do in life to make sure my family and I are comfortable? How can I get ahead in whatever career I might be in at the time?

Silly questions because none of the answers or outcomes from those questions really matter in the long run. What good is money when you’re dead and gone? Who cares about fame when their bones have crumbled in the grave? What does comfort have to do with anything and it’s all relative anyway. What does it mean to be comfortable? Is that the absence of pain and disease and injury? Will I be able to live in a bubble to avoid all sickness the rest of my life? Silly questions.

But there are some questions that did mean something and are really important. What is God’s plan for my life and am I able to discern it? Do I know my sins have been forgiven and that God’s Spirit lives in me? Have I done my best to live my faith in front of my children so they share my understanding of God, my values, and my faith?

These are important questions in life. I’m learning the first about God’s plan for my life is not as important as God’s purpose and then live my life in his purpose. And what is that? His desire and his purpose is that all would come to know him as Lord and Savior. He wants all to know him and to follow him. God desires more than anything to have an intimate, face-to-face relationship restored with each individual he created throughout time.

So then, my question changes to how can God use me to further his plan on earth? How can I be an instrument for him? The older I get, the more important I find the second question. I also find more people asking that question as they approach death. How do I know my sins are forgiven? How do I know God saves me? There is a great verse in 1 John that helps me and that I share with others to help them. It goes like this: “If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So there is it. Have I confessed my sins to him and asked for his forgiveness? If I have, he is faithful and will forgive. It’s a promise he has made to us through his word and God never goes back on his word. I can know that my sins are forgiven when I confess my sins and do my very best to follow his teachings. That doesn’t mean we have carte blanche to go out and do whatever we want and then come back and throw confession in God’s face. God knows the difference between true repentance and playing the game of religion.Saying the right words and singing the right songs. He tells us not to test him in that way. But when we come to him repentantly, he forgives. It is his promise to us.

That next question, I must look in the mirror and some days I must admit to myself I haven’t done my best. Sometimes I let my family and friends down. Sometimes I’m not the example I should be. Sometimes I let my anger or frustration or disappointment or some other negative emotion get the best of me and I don’t respond to circumstances the way I should. I’m not the Christlike example I should be to those who are watching me.

On those days, I need to not only ask God’s forgiveness, I need to ask the forgiveness of my family and friends. I let them down and I need to recognize my fault and failure with them. I must remember the cross has two beams. The vertical beam that requires confession and a request for forgiveness from the Father because of my sins and failures in living my life for him. But it also has a horizontal beam that reminds me that I have a responsibility to those around me. And I must ask forgiveness from them when I fail them in living a Christlike example in front of them.

But the question that each of us must answer that makes all the others pale in comparison is the one Jesus asked his disciples in Caesarea Philippi. “Who do you say I am?” That is the eternal question for each of us. In your mind is Jesus who he says he is? Is Jesus just the historical teacher many claim him to be? Or is he just a good man who did some amazing things twenty centuries ago? Or is Jesus truly God incarnate? The one and only Son of the living God? The one who came to give himself as the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin for all who will accept his gift of salvation?

Your answer to this one question determines how you will live your life. It will determine how you approach every other decision that comes your way. Your answer will decide your eternal destiny. And no one can answer that question for you. It is a question that everyone faces and everyone must answer within their own heart and mind. And when each of us stand before God on the final day of judgment when each of us will answer for the way we lived our lives. We won’t be asked how much money we made or how many houses we owned. We won’t be asked if our names were in the newspaper or we were listed in “who’s who”.

The one question that will be asked and searched out in the book of life is while we took breaths in this world, who do we say Jesus is? Do we know him to be the Son of the living God and live for him…now. But now is the testing ground. Now is the time we have to decide if we will live for him or not. We either accept his gift of forgiveness and follow him or we don’t. The choice is really that simple.

Living for him is not easy in an evil world, but the choice is simple. We believe in him or not. We follow him or not. We know him as the Son of God or not. We trust him for our salvation or not. Simple choices, but not easy ones in today’s world. They have never been easy. They were not easy when Jesus walked the dusty roads of Jerusalem. If you followed him then, it meant persecution, beatings, stoning, the cross, death. Today if you follow him, it means persecution, perhaps beatings, isolation, suffering, maybe even death. The road is not an easy one. But the choice is still a simple one.

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Everything, all eternity hangs on your answer to that question. So what do you believe? Are you ready to follow? Millions before you have known it is worth it. How about you?

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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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.

Wandering, October 9, 2017

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com ; The Story, Chapter 6, You Version Bible app, days 36 through 42

We continue our journey through God’s Story. We’ve looked at God’s creation of the perfect garden and His desire to walk with us and interact with us in personal, intimate ways. We discovered how our decisions severed that relationship by bringing sin into the world and so God, in His holiness, could not walk in the garden with us anymore because He cannot tolerate sin. We also learned that from the time of that first act of disobedience, God has been working to make a way to restore that perfect relationship with us so that we can once again walk with Him.

We discovered how God uses the most unlikely people to carry out His plan so that no one can claim ownership of that plan. It becomes obvious that only God can be the author of the restoration between God and humanity. He built a special nation through which His plan would come together. He built that nation through Abraham and Sarah and their son, Isaac, born to them at their perfect child bearing ages of 100 and 90 respectively. We saw how God used a slave and prisoner to save His special people and all the other nations of North Africa and the Middle East during a seven year famine that swept that region.

And we learned why God gives us rules so that we can learn to get along with each other. Remember the premise. If we can’t get along with and live with each other, how can we broken, imperfect, selfish, sinful people expect to live with a holy God. Those commands God gave us are not burdensome, gotcha rules and regulations, but rather, the means by which we can live in community with those around us and with God in the center of our community.

So this week, as you read the stories that will come from Numbers and Deuteronomy we will learn something about the Israelites journey in the wilderness. They have escaped from their Egyptian tormentors. Pharaoh’s chariots rest at the bottom of the Sea of Reeds and his army’s bloated bodies float face down in its waters or wash up on the shores. The Israelites have camped out at the foot of Mount Sinai for a year learning about God’s instructions and then God says, “Ok, it’s time to go. Head out to the land I promised you.”

Have you ever headed out on one of those multi-day drive vacation trips? I have to admit, I don’t do those much anymore. When I was younger I took more of them, but I think like me, most people choose to fly rather than spend days in the car to get to their destination these days. Find cheap flights a few months in advance and it’s probably cheaper than the extra days in motel rooms and the gas for the car, right? And certainly better for my back and my psyche.

But when I was a kid, I remember going to Ohio with my parents to visit my grandparents. My dad would sometimes try to make the drive overnight so all of us kids would sleep in the back of the car and not ask THE questions. “Are we there yet?” “How much farther?” “When can we stop to eat?” “What is there to do? I’m bored.” Back then travel was a little different than today. Remember, the first interstate highway wasn’t built until 1954, so by the early sixties many trips still took place on two lane roads. Nashville to Sebring, Ohio was one of those trips.

When it was daylight, the questions started and occasionally my mom or dad’s arm would reach across the front bench seat and swat a leg to let us know it was time to stop whatever it was we were doing. The questions, picking at each other, trying to grab whatever one or the other had. The swat said straighten up, act right, behave yourself. We’ll be at our destination when we get there. Be patient.

Back to God’s story. God told Moses to get going. It was time to leave for their final destination. The promised land awaited. Everyone is thrilled…for a day or two. They complained they needed food. So God sent them manna. Then they complained about the manna. So God gave them quail. But this time God gave them what they wanted. He gave them so much quail that it “came out their nostrils” the Bible says. I’m not sure how much quail that was, but I’m sure I don’t want to find out.

So they complained about the quail. And Aaron and Miriam complain about their brother, Moses! Why is he the leader and not them? He can’t even talk right. Why does he get to go into the tabernacle alone and not them. They want to see God, too. They want to be part of this plan. They have the same blood running through their veins, don’t they? They have the same mother and father as Moses, don’t they? It was Miriam that helped save Moses from being drowned in the Nile after all. This just wasn’t fair! Miriam came away from that argument with leprosy.

Just the year before, these same people were slaves making handmade bricks out of mud and straw for Pharaoh’s buildings. They had a diet of cucumbers and onions. They were beaten by their masters. Pharaoh had all the male babies thrown into the Nile as crocodile snacks. But they thought they were better off there than on their dusty journey through the desert to the promised land described as flowing with milk and honey.

Sounds just like us, doesn’t it? God can do the miraculous for us one moment and then we complain about some minor struggle we have the next moment. He can do the impossible for us and then we question how we will make it through the next day. We lift some prayer request to Him in a study group or prayer circle and then we are amazed when there is an answer to that prayer. We’re just like the Israelites sometimes, aren’t we?

Can I ask you to look back over your life and see how God is working in His upper story to restore His relationship with you? There might be some deserts you’ve gone through. There might be some places where the only thing you had to eat was that plain old manna or you had what you asked for but it was like quail coming out your nose until you just wanted to be rid of it. Maybe you look back and it’s hard to see many places where God worked His miracles because you’re on that dusty road and the winds block your view as if in a sandstorm. Can I challenge you then to remember that we live in the lower story where it is hard to see very far ahead. We only see to the bend in the road and that bend my not be just to the end of our arm. But remember God operates in His upper story and His desire is to bring you into an intimate relationship with Him. He wants more than anything else to walk with you face to face in the perfect garden He has prepared for those who love Him and work according to His purpose.

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.

 

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 do you want from Me? (Mark 10:51-52) August 26, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Hosea 8-14

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

Today’s Devotional

Mark 10:51-52
Jesus: What do you want from Me?
Bartimaeus: Teacher, I want to see.
Jesus: Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Bartimaeus couldn’t see. He wanted more than anything to have his sight so he could see the beauty of the world around him. He wanted to enjoy sight, the sense we so often take for granted but those without it crave so much. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus as He came through the streets of Jericho, Bartimaeus made a spectacle of himself, embarrassing the townspeople by his cries to the Master. They wanted to shut him up, but he cried out all the louder seeking for help from Jesus.

When everyone else tried to push Bartimaeus into the background, Jesus asked an important question. “What do you want from Me?” Have you ever thought about that question when you talk to Jesus? We don’t spend enough time thinking about His question to Bartimaeus and to us. We too often pray and just say words out of habit without thinking about what we are saying or what we want from Jesus.

It’s easy to just say a few words without thinking and go on about our daily business. We learn it as a kid saying grace at the dinner table or as a bedtime ritual. Unfortunately, many of us never grow out of that habit of rote prayer without thinking about what we say or mean when we speak to God. We just recite a few words and think everything is great. That’s a problem. It’s not that those prayers aren’t good. They are great examples of how to address God in praise and thanksgiving. They are marvelous examples of how to bring your thanks to Him and express your appreciation to Him for all He has done. But without stopping to let the words sink in, they are just words without meaning.

The same is true with every prayer. Even the prayer the Lord taught the disciples to prayer. But that model can be used as the basis for us to reach God and express our needs and desires to Him. It can be used to help us understand who He is and what He does for us each day. Jesus’ model prayer is a wonderful prayer, but how often do we stop and really let it sink into our heart before we express the words to God as a true heartfelt expression of our love for Him and a conversation with our creator and God.

So let’s go back to the question Jesus raised with Bartimaeus. “What do you want from Me?”

Bartimaeus gave Jesus what seems like a simple straight forward answer, “I want to see.” But is it so simple? Yes, Bartimaeus wanted his eyes to work and the light to pass through the lens to the retina and rods and cones on the back of his eye. He wanted his optic nerves to pass information to his brain and transform that information to an image he understood as a vision of the same world those with sight understood. He wanted physical sight. But I think Bartimaeus and Jesus understood his simple request as one with a deeper meaning than just seeing the physical world around them.

Bartimaeus earned his living as beggar. He barely squeaked by surviving on the pittance passersby put into his hands as they gave pity on this blind beggar. I think Bartimaeus wanted to see beyond the paltry existence of surviving day by day. Bartimaeus wanted to give up his life of relying on others and become a useful member of society. He wanted to see beyond what he had been and on to what he could become.

Bartimaeus lived on the streets of Jericho, knowing what was within arms length. He lived within his reach and knew nothing else. He could only imagine what lay beyond his limited reach. He heard stories of the great expanse beyond the small area he explored as he felt his way along from one place to another, but his world was limited to the length of his arms and measure of his stride. Bartimaeus wanted to see the possibilities beyond his limited world. He wanted to see the scope of God’s universe. He wanted to know the limitless expanse God created that extended well beyond the limits placed upon him by the absence of his sight.

Finally, I think more than anything else, Bartimaeus wanted to see Jesus Himself. Here stood the Son of the living God. Here was the one who could do what no other person could do. Here was One who some said could make new eyes out of dirt, make the lame walk, raise the dead to life, make the deaf hear and mute talk. Here was God incarnate. Bartimaeus wanted to see God.

So what about you? What do you want when you come to Jesus in prayer? Have you thought about it? Do you really know what you want when He asks, “What do you want of Me?” Has it occurred to you that He wants to grant your request? It is worth some time thinking about that question. What do you really want from God? When we ask in Jesus name, in alignment with His will, He says He will give it to us. But first we have to ask ourselves the question and then answer it, “What do you want from Me?”

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.

Who do you say He is? (Mark 8/27-30) August 8, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Leviticus 25-27

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

Today’s Devotional

Mark 8:27-30
Jesus: Who do the people say that I am?
They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.
Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old.
Jesus (pressing the question): And who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
Jesus: Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We talked about this conversation between Jesus and His disciples as it was recorded in Matthew. Then, I shared some thoughts about the two important questions Jesus asked, “Who do the people say that I am?” And, “Who do you say that I am?” I shared that getting the answer to this question right is the most important thing in your life, because it determines how you spend eternity. Either you believe Jesus is the Son of the living God as He says He is, or you do not. But He alone is the only avenue to heaven. So failure to believe in Him writes your destiny to eternal separation from the Father according to God’s word.

Today, though, I want to talk about that descriptive sentence in the middle of the discourse and the end of the discourse. How do these two things fit together and why?

First, let’s think about Mark’s summation of what was probably a much longer discussion between Jesus and His disciples. “They [Jesus’ disciples] told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.”

Jesus had been around the block a little while at this point. His reputation was well known throughout the country. People flocked to hear Him and see Him. Think about the scenes we’ve discussed the last few days. The feeding of 5,000 men plus all the women and children gathered to hear Him in a remote area of Galilee. Then on the other side of the Sea of Galilee He preaches to and feeds another group of 4,000 that stayed and listened to Him for three days in another area, again so remote no food could be purchased for the crowd.

Wherever Jesus went from this point crowds always pressed against Him. It was difficult for Him to get away for some alone time with His Father except in the dead of night after everyone else went to sleep. Thousands heard His words. Thousands saw His miracles. Thousands witnesses this man who did things no other man could do. Things that look a lot the events of the opening chapter of Genesis. Making something out of nothing. Using dirt to make new eyes. Touching withered arms and recreating them. Who could do such things except God? The Creator Who spoke worlds into existence is the only One capable of such things, and yet this man also did these same things in front of them.

But these crowds lived in a pagan world. The Romans occupied Judea and the Greeks before the Romans. This small strip of land which the Jews called their homeland had not been theirs to rule since the Babylonians whisked them away in the sixth century BC. I mention that because even the most orthodox Jews found themselves influenced by the thoughts and writings and presence of these pagan nations. Their idols could be found in stores in the region. The representation of their gods littered the streets. Their greetings and salutations resounded with praise and exultation to their false deities. The Jews could not get away from their influence.

So some in the crowd, as the Israelites that fell down to Baal and other pagan gods before them, toyed with these pagan symbols and worried that Jehovah might not be by Himself but might be like Zeus with a pantheon of lesser gods to serve Him. So who was Jesus? Was He one of Zeus’ servants? Was He like of the mythical legends they had heard about from the Greeks, like Hercules, an earthly child born of a pagan god? Is that why Jesus could do these things?

Perhaps if you put yourself into the pagan world of Rome or Greece and remember the myths that ran through their religion, you might begin to understand the speculation that occurred. You might begin to see why some people in the crowd questioned who this Jesus really was. If you believed in a pantheon of gods, He could be just one more and so was no big deal except He decided to spend some time on earth instead of Mount Olympus.

But now move forward 2,000 years, Who do you say that Jesus is? Do you believe He is the Son of the Living God? Do you know there is only one God represented in three personalities, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that Jesus is one of those personalities, part of the triune Godhead? Do you know that He is God incarnate, come to live along side us for those 33 years to share our troubles and sorrows and temptations? Do you know He came to give His life as the penalty for your sins and mine so that we would not have to pay with our life? Do you know Jesus, the God/Man, loves us enough to do that for us?

Today, there is still great speculation about Jesus’ identity. Some say He was just a great prophet. Some say He was a great teacher. Some say He was a rebel and a radical leader. Some say He was a marvelous rabbi, but twisted the scriptures in unusual ways. Some say He is the one and only Son of God, our perfect sacrifice, waiting to return to take His followers home to be with Him forever.

Who do you say that Jesus is?

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 rapture, get the question right. (Matthew 24:15-22) June 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Lamentations

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:15-22
Jesus: You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destruction come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter. For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again. Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There’s a lot of debate about the rapture, the point in time when Jesus will resurrect His followers who have died and take up those who are still living to be with Him forever. Some say the rapture will happen before the tribulation, some say it will happen during the tribulation and some say it will happen after the tribulation. Scripture can support any of the theories depending on which scriptures you use and how you interpret them.

I suppose I could give you my opinion and you could send me your concurrence or argument against my opinion if you choose, but really, what does it matter? If God chooses for His children to go through the tribulation to sift out the true believers from those who just use His name as a tag to hide behind, that’s His business. He will be with us to the end and give us strength to endure the tribulation if He wants us to walk through it.

If God chooses to put us through to the midpoint of the tribulation when the three prophets speak in Jerusalem, that’s okay, too. We will witness the beginning of the outpouring of God’s wrath and perhaps be able to win some of those we’ve prayed for so long. Perhaps with God’s help in those days, He will enable us to share in new ways the good news of salvation so that some will come to know Him because of the intense suffering that so many will endure during those first three years of the tribulation. If then God chooses to take us home with Him at the midpoint to spare us from the remaining aftermath of His wrath, He just shows us more of His grace and mercy and love to an undeserving bunch of sinners.

And if God chooses to take us home with Him before the tribulation begins to spare us from even the beginning of the outpouring of His wrath upon the world for humanity’s refusal to acknowledge Him as God, then we are certainly blessed by the outpouring of His mercy. Do we deserve an early rapture? No. Do we deserve redemption? No. Do we deserve anything from God? No.

So how should we approach the debate when Christians begin to argue among themselves so fervently about pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation rapture? We should probably sit back and laugh at the brawl that ensues or perhaps weep for our misguided brothers and sisters who spend so much energy on such an unimportant thing.

What does it really matter after all? The question really is, “Will I be part of the rapture when it happens?” As long as I’m right with God, He will see me through the tribulation. Will I suffer during those times? Probably, as will every other human being on the planet. Will I suffer as much as those not right with God? Probably not. But for sure, if I’m right with God, I will not spend eternity in hell, separated from Him. If I’m right with God, I will be part of the rapture whenever it occurs and that’s the more important question. Not when it will be, but will I be part of it?

I will let others argue about when the rapture will happen. I don’t really care. I just want to be in it. So how do I want to live in relation to the tribulation? I will live so close to God that if the rapture is post-tribulation, I will rest in Him and be prepare to suffer through the awful state of the earth through those seven years of God’s wrath. If Jesus comes at the midpoint of the tribulation to take His bride home and the tribulation happens at the three and a half year point, I will praise Him for relief from the suffering and rejoice with Him forever. And if the rapture comes before the tribulation, well…, can you say joy unspeakable?

When those around you want to argue about the timing of the rapture, just remember the real question. It’s not when it comes, it’s are you part of 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.

Two important questions (Matthew 16:13-16) April 14, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 42-44

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 16:13–16</blockquote

Jesus (to His disciples): Who do people say the Son of Man is?
Disciples: Some say John the Baptist. And some say Elijah. And some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
Jesus: And you? Who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are the Anointed One. You are the Son of the living God.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These are two of the most important questions you’ll ever answer, especially the last one.

It seems the questions caught Jesus’ twelve disciples a little off guard. Who do people say I am? They had been out into the villages and hamlets and cities all around the countryside as Jesus had instructed them. They had shared His message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They had shared that Jesus was the promised One. The One pointed out in the scriptures as the coming Messiah. They let everyone they saw know about this remarkable man.

Now it was time to report. In my thirty years of service, my bosses sent me out on a lot of inspections, investigations, and missions. And I sent a lot of those who were under my authority out to do the same. I can’t count the number of those missions I accomplished in my thirty year career. But every time I went out on one of those missions, I expected to report back to my boss the answers to the questions he had and I expected a report from all those soldiers I sent out on similar missions.

It’s just common sense, isn’t it. If we’re going to expend time and effort and treasure on a task, we ought to get something out of it. We should find out if the mission was successful or not. We should know at the end if the time and effort and treasure expended was worth it, right? How else can we know that unless there are reports rendered by those engaged in the mission?

So Jesus asks His disciples this simple question, “Who do people say I am?” The disciples were ready with their report. Their surveys were done. All the data was entered and analyzed. They had their spreadsheets completed. They pushed the buttons on their laptops and out came their report. (Well, use your imagination a little there.) “Some say John the Baptist. And some say Elijah. And some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

So Jesus had His answer from the disciples’ surveys. He knew how well others believed His disciples when they told their story in the villages and hamlets and cities in the areas in which He traveled. But there was a more important question to ask. Jesus listened to the disciples answer and noted that Messiah wasn’t included in their answer. Son of God didn’t appear there. So there is a fundamental question that needed to be asked to know whether or not their sharing in the communities could be convincing.

Now what do I mean by that? It is said that some people can sell air conditioners to Eskimos because they are just that good at selling. Most salesmen aren’t like that, though. Most salesmen are effective in their business only when they are sold themselves on their products and services. If you don’t believe in your product personally, you won’t be very sincere in the delivery of your sales pitch. And that’s all it will be, a pitch. A bunch of words thrown out for someone to swing and maybe get a hit every once in a while.

No, a real salesman understands and believes in the product he sells. She knows all the pros and cons and knows the pros far outweigh the cons. She either has the product or wants the product personally and the only thing keeping her from having it is the price or the lack of immediate need. But when the need or the money is available the salesman knows his product is the one he will purchase.

And so, Jesus asks His emissaries, “Who do you say I am?” Do you believe I’m the Messiah? Do you believe I’m God incarnate? Do you believe I am who I say I am? Do you believe so you can tell my story with complete and total conviction when you share it with others?

He asks the same of us. If we are half-hearted in our belief, we will be half-hearted in our witness. When we are, the best we can do is get reports like the disciples got in their first mission journeys. Some will think Jesus a good man. Some a great prophet. Some will think He is just a story. Until you meet Him in faith and know Him so you might believe who He says He is, your story will only confuse those around you.

What is your status? How would you report when Jesus asks His questions? Who do those you share your story with say Jesus is? But more important for you and for your witness, Who do you say Jesus is? It’s the most important question you’ll ever answer. 

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.

How’s your heart? (Matthew 15:13-20) April 8, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 12-16

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 15:13-20
Jesus: Every plant planted by someone other than My heavenly Father will be plucked up by the roots. So let them be. They are blind guides. What happens when one blind person leads another? Both of them fall into a ditch.
Peter: Explain that riddle to us.
Jesus: Do you still not see? Don’t you understand that whatever you take in through your mouth makes its way to your stomach and eventually out of the bowels of your body? But the things that come out of your mouth—your curses, your fears, your denunciations—these come from your heart, and it is the stirrings of your heart that can make you unclean. For your heart harbors evil thoughts—fantasies of murder, adultery, and whoring; fantasies of stealing, lying, and slandering. These make you unclean—not eating with a hand you’ve not ritually purified with a splash of water and a prayer.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Don’t you just want to shake the disciples sometimes? They seem so dense when we look back and listen to the questions they have for Jesus. Explain your riddle. Tell us what your parable means. Why do you make your sermons so hard to understand. And Jesus spends time slowly going over what He’s just told the crowd. He puts things in terms kindergarteners can understand. Still they ask their questions and we sit back and shake our heads at them.

But…should we be so quick to chastise them for their ignorance? We live on this side of the cross. We have heard Jesus’ explanation of all those parables. We know the answers to the questions the disciples raised. We have centuries of writings from the apostles, early disciples, and theologians that tell us the meaning of Jesus’ words. These guys heard these words for the first time with no other background except His words.

So we have all this knowledge about this information Jesus shares with the people who listened to Him talk about those rituals and the difference between what went into a person and what came out of a person. Which one makes you clean? The rituals didn’t do it Jesus says. He made it pretty clear to the folks who listened to Him. We know that on this side of the cross. We know that what you eat or drink doesn’t make you righteous. Neither does the physical act of washing a certain way, sitting in certain places, following certain practices. None of these outward acts makes one righteous.

We know these things from the lessons Jesus gives the crowds on the hillsides of Judea and the interpretations He gives to His disciples as they ask for deeper explanations of His stories. So, if we know all these things, why do we continue to do the very things Jesus preaches against? Why do we keep acting like going to church makes us okay? Why do we act like putting a few dollars in an offering plate buys our ticket into heaven? When every other day except Sunday we look like, talk like, and act like every other person around us?

Why can’t we understand on this side of the cross that Jesus expects us to live the way He lived? Why can’t we see that just walking through religious activities isn’t good enough to make you right with God? Why can’t we read His word and see that He wants more from us?

I’ve mentioned before the survey the Barna Group did several years ago that compared those who call themselves Christian with those who are unchurched. The difference between the two groups in his study – those who call themselves Christian didn’t curse as much. Every other marker was statistically the same – lying, cheating, adultery, pornography, petty theft, embezzlement, you name the vice and those who call themselves Christian are involved in it. We just don’t curse as often. Hmmm!!

Is that how God wants us to live? Is that why He died on the cross, for us to live the same way everyone else does? I don’t think so. Jesus calls us to a higher standard. He calls us to a higher plane of life. He calls us to live a righteous, holy life. And He gave us His holy Spirit to live in us with His resurrection power to help us do just that. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, John tells us, so that we can choose not to fall prey to the wiles of Satan, our adversary.

We are not strong enough to stand against him, but Jesus in us is. He has resurrection power and has already defeated sin and death. And His resurrection power in us can keep us if we focus on His Spirit in us, God’s indwelling presence that He sent to live in us. That’s the message He had for the disciples. What lives inside us determines whether we are clean or unclean, good or evil, obedient or disobedient. The one who has control of our mind determines which we focus on. Do we give control to God or do we keep it for ourselves?

Jesus said, it’s what’s inside that counts. How’s your heart?

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.

It’s okay, ask your questions (Matthew 13:37-43) March 28, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 48-50

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 13:37-43
Jesus: The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds—who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In the verse before Jesus’ words, the disciples ask Him to explain the parable of the weeds. So Jesus answers them. This, I think, is an important lesson for us as we contemplate Jesus’ words for us today. Jesus spoke to the crowds around Him in parables fulfilling the prophecies given to Isaiah and Psalms. People would listen but not hear, try to understand, but not comprehend. He gives them His message, but they do not exercise enough faith to let His words break through to their heart and mind so they understand Him.

But the disciples wanted to know more about the messages Jesus gave the crowds. They weren’t content to just hear His stories and go away and live their lives as if nothing happened. They wanted deeper understanding. So they came to Jesus and asked what His parables meant. That’s the real message I’d like begin with from Jesus’ words today. We need to want to know more about Him so we ask Him to clarify His word. He wants us to delve into His word and learn about Him. He wants us to draw close to Him and ask questions. He wants to settle our doubts and calm our fears. But He can’t do that unless we engage with Him in conversation. We have to get away with Him and talk to Him.

And then comes the good part. Jesus didn’t ridicule His disciples because they didn’t understand. He didn’t send them to the library to look up the answers. He didn’t send them off to the seminary or tell them to go study their catechism. No. Jesus answered their questions. He understood their infancy in their faith and took the time to explain His teachings to them. He made sure they understood His message so they could better understand Him and His mission from the Father.

It helps us know that Jesus doesn’t want to be hidden from us. His message was plain: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. God has burst in upon the scene. He wants an intimate relationship with you. I’ll tell you stories to help you understand the relationship God wants to have with you. But He also wants you to exercise your faith a little. He also wants to see that His relationship with you isn’t completely one-sided. He carries the biggest load. He pulls the heaviest weight. He makes the greatest sacrifice. But He also expects us to do at least a little something in the relationship.

He spoke to the crowds in parables. Most of the people in the crowd listened to His stories and walked away happy to have seen His miracles and heard His message. But they didn’t understand and didn’t do anything else about it. It’s not unlike many who sit in the pews in churches all across America. We come and listen to the music, hear a good sermon, then go home and live the rest of the week without any thought about what any of it meant. We don’t think about the words we heard or the work God has for us to do. We don’t understand it, but we don’t ask about it either. We are happy just to keep our superficial appearance of righteousness, but there is no substance to our relationship.

Jesus answered the disciples questions because they asked them. He encouraged them to find out what His messages meant so they could draw closer to Him and His Father. He wanted them to understand His mission because He would soon pass that mission on to them and they would need that relationship with the triune Godhead vibrant and strong to withstand the fury of those Satan would throw in their way. They needed to know that no question was too insignificant for Him to answer for them.

So how about you? Do you just sit in the pew every once in a while or every week and just hear the words without really listening to the message God has for you? Do you leave the church without meditating through the week on the sermon and songs you heard? Do you fail to ask God what He wants you to know in building your relationship with Him and others? Then these words of Jesus were meant for you. You see, Jesus has answers to our questions. And He wants us to ask them. 

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.

Wisdom doesn’t come from books (Matthew 22:34-46), May 5, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Matthew 22:34-46
Set – 2 Samuel 10; Matthew 22
Go! – 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19-20; Psalms 20; Matthew 22

Matthew 22:34-46
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a group of Pharisees met to consider new questions that might trip up Jesus. 35 A legal expert thought of one that would certainly stump Him.

Pharisees: 36 Teacher, of all the laws, which commandment is the greatest?

Jesus (quoting Scripture): 37 “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 40 The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.

41 Since the Pharisees were gathered together there, Jesus took the opportunity to pose a question of His own.

Jesus: 42 What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose Son is He?

Pharisees: But, of course, He is the Son of David.

Jesus: 43 Then how is it that David—whose words were surely shaped by the Spirit—calls Him “Lord”? For in his psalms David writes,

44 The Master said to my master
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”
45 How can David call his own Son “Lord”?

46 No one had an answer to Jesus’ question. And from that day forward, no one asked Him anything.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Why do people always want to question Me? Why can’t they just believe I am who I say I am? There are some in every crowd who think they are smart enough to outsmart me. It doesn’t work. How can mere humans outsmart God? I created you. Why do you feel the need to question Me instead of just exercising a little faith and letting Me work in your life.

The Pharisees and Sadducees kept themselves in trouble with Me and with the common people of Israel because they continued to question Me. I answered all of their questions, but they could never answer Mine. They tried to trip Me up with their intellect, not realizing how foolish they were. That’s the way with those who think they are wise.

Wisdom doesn’t come from books. You can’t get wisdom from memorizing facts and figures. No one can discern the makings of the universe. I created it; it’s beyond human understanding. I know you have scientists that put formulas together to try to explain it. All of them lead back to faith in some unknown, though. You always have to start with something that has no explanation. But I can explain it because I made it.

I know how to make everything from nothing. I know how to create breathe life into lifeless dust. I know how to form the stars and the planets. Your scientists have some ideas, but I know; I did it. Who designed the process to make sure every creature on the planet has the right kind of food to eat? I did.

In fact, if the world were not marred by selfishness and sin, there is more than enough food to feed everyone today. Tons of food goes uneaten every day. Tons of produce and meat spoil in ports around the world because of the corruption, selfishness, and greed of those who would keep it from those who need it most.

Who has wisdom? Not those who think they do and try to flout their intellect as a badge trying to prove I don’t exist. Their circular arguments will always get them in trouble. Oh, they might match wits with other people and cloud their minds with their fancy words and high sounding education, but they will never have real wisdom until they learn to fear Me. Remember, real wisdom begins with the fear of Me. I have the answers you need, not some college professor or some self-proclaimed wiseman.

Be careful who you put your trust in. Too many during the time I walked with you in the flesh put their faith in the intellect of the Sadducees and Pharisees. At each encounter, though, I showed them how foolish they really were. They thought themselves wiser than the God of the universe. But they could not answer the simplest questions about life, love, and faith. Trust Me and you’ll be on the right track. 

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.