Jesus Christ

Jesus is NOT a know-it-all!

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Lifting up His eyes then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” John 6:5 ESV

Last Friday, God changed my notes, and substituted a short message about how Jesus sometimes spent more time asking questions than He did providing answers. In short, Jesus, unlike myself, was NOT a know-it-all. He rarely gave long lectures, and instead, Jesus often asked questions, and then took a breath to listen to the answers. In today’s verse, when the disciples were feeling stressed about how to feed the people, Jesus did not say, “Hey chill out guys. I have a miracle up my sleeve that will knock your socks off!”  

Instead, Jesus turned to the closest disciple and more or less asked, “Hey what do you think we should do?” Jesus was not in a hurry to show off His knowledge, and He asked questions, even when He knew the answers. Why would He do that? The next verse tells us that He asked in order to test Philip. Now, there were at least five thousand hungry men, including the disciples, and though Jesus was concerned for their welfare, He was more interested in their hearts than their hunger. Then Jesus asked a second question,

“And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Mark 6:38

Strangely, when Jesus asks us questions, His next step is often to invite us to surrender whatever we have towards the answer. In this story, the disciples had only five loaves and two fish. Yet, despite of the absurdity of that tiny meal, they brought it to Jesus. Then Jesus gave thanks. He was grateful for the loaves and fish that looked insignificant to everyone else. Then, last, and most amazing of all is what happened next. Jesus gave them back everything they had surrendered, but with a blessing! And today, just like then, Jesus asks us questions, He patiently listens to our answers, welcomes what we give Him, and then, with a blessing He gives us back everything we surrender to Him!

This is My Commandment That You Love One Another

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 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. .John 15:12 NKJV

Now, when Jesus told His disciples, “This is my commandment”, He certainly didn’t mean, that there were no other principles, commands or expectations within His teachings about the Kingdom of God. But what it does mean, is that if we aren’t loving one another, then none of the other stuff matters. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, “Even if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” With a single sentence, Jesus levels the playing field among Christians. Rich or poor, male or female, young or old, brilliant or just folks with plain intelligence, we are all equally His children. Even if we are alone, we still are each given an opportunity to love someone today, if only through our prayers. Even though this chorus was not in their songbook, it so resonated with the residents at Life Care Center, that many were tapping their feet, singing along and smiling broadly. Are you struggling to love someone right now? Don’t worry. God isn’t expecting us to do all the heavy lifting. All He asks of us is to open our hearts and allow His love to pour through us to others. The world may never run out of people who are tough to love, but God will also never run out of love, because the Bible tells us, “God is love” (John 4:8).

Have a blessed weekend everyone, Happy Father's Day and remember that even the Beatles said, 
"We all need somebody to love!"

Way More Than They Bargained For

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments 
And going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 ESV

I sometimes try to imagine what the wise men were thinking when they began their journey. These men were a mystery. Some commentators have called them astrologers, some magicians, and still others, some sort of court advisors. The only definite thing we know is that they came from the East of Israel, and their importance was not about their origin, but in their destination. Like everyone since, who has come seeking for Jesus, they had much to learn about the one whom they were seeking along their journey. So, let’s rewind the clock to the beginning of their odyssey. That first day, as they packed not only provisions for themselves, but also their treasures, I wonder if they thought: “Wow these cost me so much, I hope that king we are bringing them to is grateful!”

Then, as they traveled the long the miles, they may have worried about highway robbers, caravan raiders and or even the local thieves at their stops along the way. When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, they were hungry, exhausted, and ready to get their trek over with. But on consulting with the counselors of Herod’s court they discovered that they need to pack their things back up for one more night and head off to a village a few miles from there. I wonder again what was going through their minds as their camels feet clopped up the narrow lanes of Bethlehem. No fine buildings lined the way, and the sights and smells of this rural village certainly didn’t correspond to the value of the treasures in their saddlebags. Nonetheless, the miraculous star continued to guide them, until as the Bible says it, “Came to rest over the place where the child was.” God does not give us all the details of that day, but He tells us that, “When they saw the child…they fell down and worshiped Him.” In that holy moment, their treasures were all forgotten. This child was like no other they had ever met before. His feet were not clad with jewel encrusted sandals. He was not dressed in a fine purple robe, and the wooden stool he sat on was no royal throne. But there was something about Him greater than the miracle of the star and the mystery of the prophecy that predicted His birthplace. The glory of God in some wonderful way surrounded Jesus, and they fell down to worship Him! Then they remembered the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and the value of what they had brought must have seemed far too small for Him. Their gifts, which they had thought so precious and had guarded with such care, suddenly seemed so small, as they poured them out at His feet. Jesus was way more than they had bargained for and more amazing than they had imagined, but just like the shepherds, they were welcomed and accepted into the house where Jesus was, because they had come to worship Him!