Trash the people

 When confronted with the question of divorce, Jesus surprised the religious leaders by undermining their interpretation of the Law and their understanding of who God is (Mark 10). Jesus asserted that God did not allow the arbitrary removal of support for a wife through divorce. We might consider how our interpretations of God and His word affect how we care for vulnerable people.

What I miss about the good 'ol days

Like the Israelites who romanticized their time as slaves (Num 11), many Christians reminisce over a past when Christ was more influential. But were those times truly more influenced by the teachings of Christ? Was the Church really living out the gospel more fully during times of slavery, segregation, or lynching? How can we help the Church live out the teachings of Christ better today and influence society to follow?

That's Just Your Interpretation...

 Many commentators note the hard rebuke Jesus gives to Peter when Peter insists that Jesus, as the Christ, must not die (Mark 8). Peter believed that the Messiah would be a military leader who kills His enemies, but Jesus seemed to prefer sacrifice to violence. Do your interpretations of Messiah look like Jesus or like the military leader? Do you think Jesus would rebuke you for your interpretation? 

Awesome not hearing you

 In Mark 7 Jesus heals a man's deafness and asks that no one advertise the miracle. Those who witnessed the act could not seem to help themselves and soon the miracle no longer belonged to the man, but it had been appropriated for the crowd's purpose of promoting Jesus as the Messiah. We might notice how quickly the man disappears from the story to be replaced by the crowd's agenda.

Who are you?

 In Deuteronomy 4 God's people are encouraged to remember all that God had done for them, and all that God promised for them. The message reminded Israel to remember where they came from and what values defined them. What values to do we demonstrate to show that we are followers of Christ? Do we value our rules and laws more than we value the neighbor that Jesus told to us to love as ourselves?

The Big Shopper

 Joshua 24:15 is often quoted as a declaration of our commitment to worshipping God and God alone. While printing the shortened version of this verse on various pieces of merchandise may serve as a passive declaration to put God first, it could also be a substitute for actively acting like Jesus. Are we more interested in looking like a Christian than in we are in loving like Christ loved?

Nothing to see here

 When the prophet Elijah asked to die (1 Kings 19), God intervened by sending His angel to nurture and sustain Elijah. The Church tends to ignore or hide those who may be suffering from depression or anxiety, or worse, guilty of blaming the victims for feeling the effects of depression. May we learn to just sit with and be with those in emotional need. Have you ever needed a friend to just sit with you?

Doggone it

 When Jesus spoke the words the Church now uses to celebrate the "Lord's Supper," He gave no moral requirements, He simply provided spiritual nourishment to those who would come. Do we help others come to the table of Jesus? Do we demand more than Jesus Himself or maybe we mistakenly offer physical nourishment and wealth in place of spiritual. Let us embrace the true gospel of Christ.

Pastor Awesome knows how to solve disagreements

Christians can mistake 'quite' for 'peace.' We often ask those with questions or unpopular opinions to 'hold their tongue' for the sake of unity. The prophet Amos was also asked to promote unity and peace by not preaching the unpopular message about the coming judgements (Amos 7). Amos pointed out that this was God's message, not his. How do you respond to questions or opinions you don't like? Do you listen? 

A Terrible Call to Ministry

Like most prophets, Ezekiel was called to live a difficult life with seemingly little reward (Ezekiel 2). Perhaps driven by a wonderful vision of God, Ezekiel did endure ridicule and saw little to no change in those he ministered to. They wanted to be encouraged to continue in their sin. What prophetic voices do you ignore today? Are you unconcerned with those who suffer injustice like the poor and the refugee?

Prioritizing God's work

When asked to heal a very important man's daughter (Mark 5), Jesus allowed Himself to be diverted by a powerless woman who also needed healing. Although Jesus was on-task to help someone who was in a more dire situation with a more impressive family, Jesus noticed the woman and took time to confront her and provide the words she needed to hear. How do you prioritize your helpfulness? 
 

Jesus and the family

 Jesus provides a startling revelation during a seemingly unimportant exchange. In Mark 3, Jesus is told that His family is looking for him, but rather than reuniting with his household, he tells those nearby that they are His family. When we think of the God's family, are we also limiting our scope to only those who seem most like us? Will we be surprised to find family members in unlikely places?

Memorial Day 2024

 As Christians we should hate war and the death it brings. We should also rejoice in the coming day when no such sacrifices will be made and the arbitrary divisions of national borders will be erased. Until that day, we honor those willing to give themselves to keep us safe (John 15:13) from those who would expand their power and influence by hurting others. May we repent of the times we have done so.

The valley of the reassembled

 

One of the strangest images in the Bible is decaying bones reassembling into living soldiers in Ezekiel 37. The image might remind us of the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), when God united believers from various backgrounds by His Spirit. Like the bones reassembling, the Church assembled from what once was a single group (Gen 11). Also like the bones, we find that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

What is Jesus doing HERE?

 When Jesus entered an 'unclean' place, he encountered a man besieged by a legion of demons (Luke 8). These spirits controlled him and they could not be constrained, but Christ was able to name the man's afflictions and channel them out of his life. Can you think of a surprising place you have met Jesus? Can you name the underlying afflictions you carry and can you give yourself permission to let them go?

Laying down your life...one cookie at a time

 1 John 3:16 defines love in the strongest terms possible. The verse tells us that God loved us enough to die for us, and we should do the same for each other. We might do well to consider how we do this in our everyday lives. As we give our time and treasure to others, are we slowly, bit by bit laying down our lives for others or are we hording our rights and privileges for our own?  

Be Afraid, be very afraid

 Many Christians deem certain actions or beliefs as necessary and then use fear to scare others into obeying those actions. When Christ appears to His disciples, He tells them NOT to be afraid (John 20:19-31). He even reassures the group by offering to let them touch His wounds. How do you dispel fear from those you encounter? Do you show them a God who reassures them?

Where did you say Jesus was?

 Mark 16:1-8 relates the story of three women who tried to attend to the body of Jesus, but were surprised to find He was not in the tomb where they last saw him. Jesus had risen from the dead and had left the tomb. Like the people of His day, we often assume that we know where Jesus is, but He never seems to be where we expect Him to be. Where do you think Jesus is right now? Could you be wrong?

Jesus is Coming! What Does that mean to you?

 

Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem was met with great joy and with great fear. The religious leaders of the day understood that Jesus was dangerous to their power structures and might bring unwanted attention from the Roman government (John 12:12-16). How do you comfort others, when your great joy and triumph comes at their expense? 

Do we know what is right?

Jeremiah 31 speaks of a time when everyone will know who God is and What God wants us to do. Similarly, in Romans 2 Paul describes a kind of natural law which calls our conscience. The shared shame of humanity is that all of us have 'sinned' by not doing what we believe is the right, regardless of how we define 'right.' The good news of the gospel is that we don't have live with that shame.