God’s love

A Certain Man

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Luke 10:30 NKJV

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a story that even non-believers know and love. There are Samaritan hospitals, charities and even a national Good Samaritan day! (March 13th). Who doesn’t want to rush in to save a helpless child, an abused widow, or an innocent bystander being robbed? But what we miss about the guy being rescued is that he was just an ordinary person, who Jesus calls a “certain man”. Maybe he cheated on his taxes, was unfaithful to his wife or wiped his nose in public. When Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus isn’t saying, “Love your nice neighbor,” or “Love the sweet old lady next door who gives cookies to all the kids on the block.” Jesus is commanding us to love the pain-in-the-neck neighbor who doesn’t always pick up after his dog, doesn’t mow his grass and who plays loud music late at night. Yes, that neighbor!

And did Jesus tell us it would be nice and easy? Absolutely not! Loving your certain man neighbor is going to cost you something. It cost the Good Samaritan, two-day’s pay, a long walk to the inn and a half a bottle of wine and another of olive oil. It might have cost him his reputation among other Samaritans for stopping to help a Jew. Yes, being a good neighbor to that “certain man,” who God puts in our path today might cost us a lot. But when being a good Samaritan or a good neighbor seems unreasonable, expensive or even dangerous, just remember that it cost Jesus everything including His death on the cross for you and for me!

Seeing Clearly

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  John 12:20-21 ESV

Recently I realized that I needed an updated eye exam and glasses. Road signs were appearing slightly blurred and reading had become a real chore. Finally, I made an appointment with a local vision center and a couple of weeks later happily walked out with a brand-new set of glasses. What a delight it was to easily read again, and the road signs now stood out crystal clear. When I read today’s passage, I think that maybe the disciples needed something like my eye exam and new glasses. Greeks had come looking for Jesus and those kinds of people were not at all who they were comfortable with. That morning as they had followed Jesus along the road, they had heard shouts of praise from the crowd and walked over palm branches that had been laid in the path. Then, while their heads were spinning from the pace of events, some Greeks came looking for Jesus. “Greeks!” Philip thought. “Oh no! We had to deal with those Pharisees, then the Samaritans, but now Greeks!” Philip, being unsure of what to do decided what many of us do in pressure situations: He passed the buck!

“Hey Andrew, there are some Greeks here who want to see Jesus. What do you think?” he asked. Andrew being no more certain of what to do than Philip, passed the buck again: this time to Jesus, “Jesus! You won’t believe it. Now there are even Greeks who want to see you. What are we supposed to do with Greeks?”

Jesus’ answer must have puzzled the disciples. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:24-25

Today is no different. All around us are people we are not comfortable with. They come from faraway places, don’t speak our language and don’t even like our food, but they want to see Jesus. Passing the buck is not an option. Instead, Jesus said that we must be like a seed planted in a garden that dies before it grows. His plan is for us to surrender our plans and goals to Him, before He shows Himself to others through us. Then, when we turn in our old set of glasses and put on His Gospel lenses, we will begin to see people as Jesus does, and as a bonus we will see Jesus for ourselves more clearly than ever!

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I’m Rita! Get off My Land!

/ pastorpete51 / 13 Comments 
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Ephesians 3:19 KJV

“Private property”, read the sign by the edge of the pond. “No hunting fishing or trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!” But just feet away from that sign, a stranger sat, fishing pole in hand on the little dock. As the farmer’s wife approached, she smiled and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I always fish here.” The man responded with a shrug. “I have permission from, Rita”

“Really?” she responded with a quiet chuckle. “Well, I’m Rita. I don’t know you – so get off my land!” This true story which happened just up the road from us, reminded me of today’s verse. Just like that guy, most of us often explain our faith by saying something about God’s love. “Jesus loves you.” Or “God is love.” These phrases roll easily off our lips, but in our daily lives sometimes we are a lot like that guy fishing in someone else’s pond. We know about God’s love, have heard there are some amazing benefits in it, but we have never actually met the owner! Paul tells us that the love of Christ is something that is far beyond our understanding, but the good news is that God wants us to experience it. He has seen us fishing in His pond, has come down to talk with us, but unlike our neighbor, He didn’t come to throw us off His land. God came to earth as a man, so that we could meet Him, and so that His love could be lived out in ordinary circumstances of our lives. He is not only here to throw us off the property, but rather to give us a fishing license if we will put our faith in Him. We might be trespassing on His property, but He isn’t looking to prosecute us to the fullest extent of the law. Instead, God is fishing for our hearts, and He invites us to come to know Him today!

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