Tag Archives: Jesus

Equality

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There was a phrase from seminary that’s always stuck with me.

It was something that Dr. Barry Bryant, my professor of United Methodist Studies shared with us in one my classes.  I don’t remember the class, and I don’t remember what brought the statement about.

He was talking about John Wesley. And he said Wesley believed that everyone was equal.  But, their equality was not based on their “worth” but on their sin.

The logic flowed like this.  Everyone is equally sinful. Everyone is equally in need of a savior. Christ died for everyone’s sin.  So, we are called to love everyone the same.

Because God did.

We are all the same, because we all need a savior. We are all the same because we are all equally in need. Each of us. There are no “better thans” in God’s family. We are all equal, for we are all equal in sin and in our need for salvation.

We need to remember that, so that we never become like the Pharisees:

30The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ 31Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’

They thought they were better than the tax collectors. They thought they were better than those sinners. They though they were not as needy as they were.

They didn’t see their sin. So, they needed see their need. They didn’t see they were just as needy for a savior as those they regarded as sinners.

Today, let’s not forgot our need for Christ. Let’s forgot our need for a savior. Let’s not forget that we are each in need of forgiveness and salvation.

You are.  I am.  We each are.

Even those folks that we think that we are better than. We are not better than. There are no better thans in God’s kingdom. We are all equal in sin.  We are all equal in our need for salvation.

And God loves each of us.  May we love each other just the same.

Something Worth Living For

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In life, there’s got to be something that gets us up in the morning.

Other than coffee, that is.

It could be the duty of work or family.

It could be the need to do something.

It could be the requirements of life.

And those will get us up, those will motivate us, those will get us going, but only for a little bit.

In life, we need something to be passionate about. Something to really transform us, push us, pull us, something to live for.

And something to die for.

We see something happen to Paul today in Acts:

12When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ 14Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’

Paul knew, the people knew that if he went to Jerusalem it was not going to end well.  He knew he would be bound, he knew things could get ugly.

But, he was motivated to do it.  He didn’t have to.  He wanted to.

He had something worth living for.

What?  Jesus.  Telling folks about Jesus.  Living for Jesus.  Loving for Jesus.

Showing all that he could meet the power of the transforming love of Jesus.

Paul was motivated by that through his life. It was what he lived for.

Today, what are you living for? What is the purpose of your life?  What motivates you?

Is it Jesus?  Or is it something else?  Everything else but Jesus will fade away.

Issues will fade.  Money will fade.  Duty will fade.

All this will fade away.

Jesus will not.

We all need something worth living for in our lives.

May it be nothing but Jesus.

Not What We Would Have Done

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One of the things about Jesus is that He doesn’t always do what we expect.

He doesn’t always play by our rules.

He doesn’t always ask us to things that make sense to us.

Sometimes He wants us to do things that just not what we would have done.

We see that happen in Luke’s Gospel today:

3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

These guys were fishermen. They did this for a living.  They knew what they were doing. They had problem had many nights like this before when they didn’t have a catch. They knew what they should do.

And Jesus comes with a different solution.  He tells them to do something that was not what they would have done.  And they did it.

And they caught more fish than they could have ever imagined.

Sometimes, Jesus calls us to do something that do not want to do.

Take a step out on faith.

Forgive someone.

Say a kind word.

Share our faith.

Something that was not what we would have done, if we were doing what we would have done.

But, when He asks to do these things, remember.  They are for His glory.  And for our good.

He knows what He is doing.  He knows what He is doing.

Let me say that again, He knows what He is doing.

Trust. Even when what He asks doesn’t make sense. Trust.

It’s for our good. And His glory. Trust.

Even when it was not what we would have done.

What Do We Need to Hear?

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What is a true friend?

We talked earlier this week about the friends and companions that made the great things that happened in Acts possible.  Paul needed Barnabas, Barnabas needed 12, etc.  Sometimes the role of a friend is to be there, to support, to care, and to help give strength.

That’s also what Jesus does for us in our daily lives.  He is the one friend that we can always count on, that is always there.

Sometimes, the role of a friend is very different.

Listen what happens today in the Gospel of Luke:

28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Ok, go back and reread that. They wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff. By the way, the image to you left, that may be the actual cliff they tried to throw Him off.

He wasn’t universally beloved as He walked upon the earth. Some folks didn’t like what He said and did. Some folks, like we see in the text, even wanted to throw Him off a cliff.

He was nailed to a cross and died.

He said things that people didn’t want to hear.  He challenged them to grow. To reexamine. To look at things differently.

That’s what a friend does, too.

So, today, what do you NEED to hear that you don’t WANT to hear? What is the truth that you need to hear from a friend that you might now want to hear?

A true friend will tell us the truth.  Even if that truth is something we don’t want to hear.

We need that. As a pastor, I’m thankful for those friends that have been willing to tell me the truth, and that has helped me to grow as a pastor, husband, and father.

I’m thankful for a wife that is willing to tell me the truth.  I’m thankful for those that love me enough to tell me what I need to hear.

Today, be listening for the truth. Be it from a friend. From the Lord. From wherever. Be listening for that Word we may need to hear.

Sometimes, it’s hard to be a friend. Today, may we be thankful for those that are.

Something Worth Living For

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What gives your life value?

What do you live for?

Is it your status?

Power?

Money?

Hobbies?

Family?

What is it that you live for? We’ve all got something that matters to us.  Something that rolls up our socks in the morning.  Something that is dear to our lives.

Today, is that thing for you, is it the right thing?

Listen to what Jesus says in John 12:

24Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

I love life.  I love my stuff.  I love my family, I love my calling, I love my Ole Miss Rebel football team.  I do wish we’d learn to play in the second half, but that’s neither here nor there.

In the end, there is something, or someone, that has to, that must trump all of this.

Jesus.

He must come first. Everything else will fail. Everything else will fade. Everything else will disappoint.

Jesus will not.  He will never fail or disappoint us.  He will always be life for us.

People, places, and stuff, they are not perfect and we can’t base our lives on them.

Jesus is the rock.  He must be in the center.

And, if He is in the center, then everything else works. Everything is as it ought to be, if He is in the center of our lives.

What is that thing today that we are living for?   May, in each our lives, it be Jesus.

Salvation Issues

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What’s most important to the faith?

What matters the most?   What is the essentials of faith?

There a lot of things that faith encompasses.  There a lot of different things that we as Christians believe.

But, what’s most important?

What are these things I call salvation issues? These essentials that we are called to gold together over?

We can “discuss” (i.e. argue) baptism or beliefs or worship, but what matters? What is most important?

What are salvation issues?

We see this crop up today in the book of Acts. They were discussing what matters the most, today, what is essential. This is what the text says:

11On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.’

Jesus.

That’s what it all comes down to. We can argue about a lot things. There are a lot of things we can disagree over.  We can have a lot of different interpretations of scripture.

And that’s ok.

But, what it all comes down to is Jesus.  These things we often disagree over, in the end, they aren’t that important.

What matters is Jesus.

If we believe in Him, have faith in Him, have Him as our Lord, then that’s what matters the most.  Everything else fades into the back.

Today, don’t worry as much about these things. Don’t focus on these things that distract.

It’s all about Jesus. That’s what matters most.

May we focus on what’s most important.  May we focus on what matters.

And may we find the life that comes only through Jesus.

I Used to be a Sore Loser

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I’ve always liked sports.

Growing up in Bogue Chitto, MS, there’s not much to do, other than play sports.  So, as a kid, I played a lot of football. A lot of baseball. A LOT of basketball.

Some of the moments I remember the most as a kids were going up to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and playing basketball. See, this church had an outdoor full court WITH lights. Which meant we could play at night. And boy did we ever. particularly during the summer. We’d be there all night.

And I loved to play.

And I wanted to win.  I’ve always felt if you are keeping score, you are playing to win. That’s just the way that it is.  If there is a score board, I want my team to have more points than your team.

Nothing personal, that’s just the way that I’m wired.

And I just to get mean and hateful when I lost.  I would act in ways that I shouldn’t have acted.  I was a bad loser.

Then, on of my friends pulled me aside and read to me this passage from Colossians:

17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

And that stuck with me. Even through it was just kids playing basketball, how did I represent Christ?

Even though it was just a game, how was I representing my Savior? Was I bringing Him honor, or shame?

How were my words, my actions, and even my thoughts, how were they honoring Him?

And it changed the way I handled myself.  Now, I didn’t like to lose (still don’t) but I know that there is something bigger than a game.

Or work

Or hobbies

Or anything.

It’s Jesus. And each day we represent Him.

How will you represent Him today?

A Cool Drink

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It may have just been the case here in Petal, MS, but it’s been hot this summer.

I mean, really, really hot. The kind of hot that fogs up your glasses between the car and the front door.

The kind of hot that makes you sweat just walking outside to check your mail.

The kind of hot that we are used to most summers in Mississippi.

And on these hot days, there is nothing that is better than a cool drink. Be it water, Gatorade, a coke, whatever. We all want that cool drink when we’ve been out the heat.

It refreshes.  It brings us back to like.

Today in John’s Gospel Jesus talks to all that are thirsty, be it summer or not:

37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,38and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’

I love the image painted in Scripture of Jesus being the one that gives true life.

Life that will not fail.

He is the bread of life.  He is the vine, we are branches.

He is the living water. That will satisfy.

The water that this world offers will not satisfy.  The water of success.  Of power.  Of fame.  Of money.  Of. . . . whatever.  It will not satisfy.

We will remain thirsty.

But, the water of life. The water of life that is Jesus Christ. When we drink from it, we will never thirst again.

To all that are thirsty, He offers life.  Don’t settle for that which does not truly refresh.

He is the living water. May we refresh ourselves in Him today.

Hard

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Sometimes it’s hard to follow Jesus.

The Christian life is a not a bed or roses. Sometimes life gets really hard. Sometimes the things He asks of us are hard.  Sometimes the trials we go through are hard.

Sometimes there are no easy answers and there seems like there is no easy way.

Sometimes we may be tempted to say, it’s not worth the work, worth the trouble, worth the effort.

Sometimes we can feel like walking away.

And we read what happens today in John 9:

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.

Lord, to whom would we go?  That’s the question that Peter asked. Where else is life.

Yes, it’s hard sometimes.Yes, there are trials sometimes.  Yes, there are times when we aren’t sure that want to keep going.

But, where else could we go.

Life is found in Jesus.  He is life.  He is what matters the most.  He is where life and love and peace and joy are found.

We will not find it anywhere else.

If we are looking for life, it is found only in Jesus.

Not in our work, or family, or finances, or successes.  Only in Jesus.

The trials, the troubles, the tests, they are worth it.  For in Jesus, we find life.

Today, even when it is hard, may we remember where life is found.

Priorities

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I wrote a little yesterday about how I tend to not be able to leave well enough alone and tend to not be satisfied.  Always pushing, pulling, trying, always up to something.

Today’s reflection spoke to me again about something I tend to do.

I’m a “get the job done” type of person. I tend to have my list, my schedule, my tasks for the day, week, month, and year, and I tend to attack it. I tend to want to get it done and move on.

I have my priorities that move through.

Today’ we read this passage in John’s Gospel:

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Jesus again talks about being satisfied with Him, and Him alone, but also makes a point. He said they were looking for Him not because of the things that He was doing, but they were looking for Him because of what they could get out of Him.

They were looking for Him to get what they want. They were looking for Him for their stuff.

That brings the question, why do we follow?  Why are faithful?

In short, is Jesus enough for us?  For the folks that were following Jesus today, they wanted more out of it than a relationship with Him. They wanted “stuff,” food, whatever.

Their priorities were out-of-place.

How about mine?  Yours?  Where are our priorities? Why do we do what we do?

Life is found only in that relationship with Him. And, in the end, that’s all He has promised us.  Life.  Life eternal.  Life now.  Life forever.

They had their priories in the wrong place.

May we not make that same mistake.