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October 10 2023 – Hebrews 2 – Christ Became Like Us, for Us

It is easier for us to identify with people like us. When we are around other people, we gravitate to those like us. We look, consciously or subconsciously, for those who look like us. We try to identify people we have something in common with.

I went to a meeting once with people from across the state. One of the first people I spoke to was a guy with a motorcycle helmet. I like riding motorcycles and was curious about his bike I passed in the parking lot.

The author of Hebrews chapter two points out how Jesus identified with us. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…” Hebrews 2:14 NASB1995

Reading that line made me think of Joan Osborne’s song, (What If God Was) One of Us. The lyric in the song that stands out in my mind is…“What if God was one of us. Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus. Trying to make His way home.”

Jesus became one of us. He looked like us. He ate and drank like we do. He laughed and cried. He taught us how to understand the Father.

Hebrews 2:14 also tells us that he died like we do. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Not only did he identify with us by dying for us, but he also took the power of death away from the devil.

“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews2:17NASB1995 We are attracted to Christ because the Holy Spirit draws us to him. We are also attracted to him because in every way, he became like us.

The chapter concludes, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Hebrews2:18NASB1995 He even allowed himself to be tempted like us.

A few chapters over we read that Jesus sympathizes with our weakness because he himself was tempted in all things. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews4:15NASB1995

Jesus made it easy for us to identify with him. In every way he was one of us. He was also tempted like we are so that he sympathizes with us and helps us when we are tempted!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being so much like me, yet without sin. Lord help me to identify with you so much that I become just like you. Amen

January 24 – Leviticus 25 – Jubilee

If you look on the internet, you will discover that around 22% of the world’s population lives in poverty. You could assume, as some would have us to believe, the world is over populated and we need to reduce the number of people living on the planet. However, if you think about other possibilities, such as war, exploitation, and greed, you realize that some in the world are profiting off of the systems in place while others are suffering. The world can support the population, and then some, if we used it’s resources justly. Before someone reads something into my comments that isn’t there, let me say I am for a free market economy and for having a military to defend our nation.

Although, I am for a free market economy and do support our military, just a little critical thinking reveals a banking system that has been gamed to benefit the lenders. War has also been exploited and gamed to benefit lenders. War is destructive and costly for the nations that engage in it. It is doubly costly if it happens on a nation’s home soil.  Throughout history lenders have financed both sides of the war. No matter who wins the war, or if their cause was just or not, it is a win-win for the lenders.

Interest and interest rates have also been gamed to benefit the lender. The goal for them is not to necessarily have us pay our loans off. It is for us to continue to pay interest on the loan. They would rather refinance a loan when we get in trouble than take the collateral because they make money off of the interest we pay. If you want to see how the banking system has been gamed to be very lucrative for a few while making many more impoverished, read The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin.

Sometimes we wonder what the world will be like when Jesus returns. I don’t believe Jesus will be content with a world where more than 20% of the population languishes in poverty. In Leviticus 25, we hear of a concept that God set up called Jubilee. In the year of Jubilee, certain properties that were sold were returned to their original owners. In the year of Jubilee, debts were canceled. In the year of Jubilee if one had sold themselves into slavery to pay debts, they were set free. There is a clear message that comes from the concept of Jubilee. In the explanation of Jubilee in Leviticus we read, “Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus25:17NIV

Poverty and the systems that keep some people in poverty for generations are not God’s plan for humanity. One day when Jesus returns, systems that have enslaved people will be broken. Until that day, we should help others when we can with the resources God has given us. We should also work to free people from oppressive systems by either fixing the systems or replacing them with something better.

Jubilee was God’s idea! Let’s work toward it for the benefit of all mankind.

Prayer:

Dear God, Thank you for creating a world of abundance! Thank you for your love for me and for my fellow man. Help me not to take advantage of others for personal gain and help me to work to free people from poverty. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 7, 2023 – Matthew 8 – The Storms of Life

Leviticus 8, Matthew 8, 2 Thessalonians 1

We live in a world where we are driven by fear. It must be the best psychological motivator because you can’t turn on the television, listen to the radio, or get online without being inundated by fear driven messaging. There is a high terror alert… there are life-threatening storms… we are in danger of dying from life-threatening diseases… we are on the verge of financial calamity… we are surrounded by violent criminals… and on and on.

Fear wears us down. It makes us apathetic. Living in fear sucks all the joy out of life for us. We lose our ability to make rational decisions. We develop health issues because of fear and the ensuing worry.

Fear is a natural reaction to danger. It is part of how God created us. It helps us stay alive. However, we were not made to live in continual fear. Fear is a tool of the devil. You see it all the way back in the garden of Eden. He used the fear of missing out on something to deceive Eve. He, and his minions use fear to manipulate and keep us down.

Understanding that we are in God, because there is no place in the universe that God is not, and God is in us through his indwelling Holy Spirit, can give us peace in the storms of life when waves of fear are washing over us. In Matthew 8, Jesus was asleep in a boat with the disciples when a “furious storm came up.” The waves were sweeping over the boat, yet Jesus slept on. He must have been exhausted.

When he was awakened his response seems harsh. He said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew8:26NIV  Fear is a natural response to danger and threats. Jesus’ response in this situation is more about their lack of faith than their fear. Having seen all of the miracles Jesus did, the disciples still did not feel safe with him. To their credit, when it got so bad that the waves were sweeping over the boat, they woke Jesus up saying, “Lord, save us!”

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone.”1 There is no place in the universe where God is not. God is in us through the presence of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Fear is a natural reaction to danger, but we were not made to live in it. When you realize you are living in fear, cry out, “Lord, save me! Help me to be at peace in You!”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am grateful that I can trust myself to your care, in this world, and in the world to come! Thank you for always being with me! Help me to catch myself when I am living in fear and call out to you. Lord help me to live in your peace that passes all understanding. Amen.

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[1] A Statement of Faith of the United Church of Canada, A New Creed (1968; rev. 1980, 1995).

December 11, 2022 – 2 Corinthians 12 – Sufficient Grace

Exodus 22, John 4, 2 Corinthians 12

In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul is defending himself and his ministry to the Corinthians. He is pretending to boast about his qualifications, because his detractors were boasting about themselves. He tells the Corinthians about a time when he was caught up to the third heaven.

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.” 2 Corinthians12:2–4NIV

Paul had training and education. He was a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” He had an encounter with Jesus Christ on the Damascus Rd. He had these divine revelations and visions of heaven. He heard things inexpressible, “things that no one is permitted to tell.” It would be easy for Paul to become proud. He says,  “…Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” 2 Corinthians12:7NIV

Scholars debate whether this “thorn in the flesh” was a physical defect or perhaps a struggle with a particular sin. Either way, Paul wanted it to go away. He asked God to take it away three times. “But he said to [Paul], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians12:9NIV

Paul goes on to say, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians12:10NIV

Paul is a perfect example for us when we discover we have a thorn in our flesh. Whatever our thorn is, we should ask God to take it away, and keep asking. However, we may realize, like Paul did, that God has a purpose for us to endure it. In bearing with it, we will realize the truth of what Paul heard from God. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…”

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your grace that covers my sins and weaknesses. Help me to boast only of your power in my life that is made perfect in weakness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

December 6, 2022 – Exodus 17 – Is God Among Us or Not?

Exodus 17, Luke 23, 2 Corinthians 7

In Exodus 17, the Israelites were being led from place to place by the Lord. Verse 1 says, The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Exodus17:1NIV

The result of being led to a place that didn’t have water was trickle down complaining. The Israelites complained to Moses, and he in turn, complained to God. “…The people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Exodus17:3NIV When they began grumbling, Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” Exodus17:2NIV Then Moses goes and complains to God. “…What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Exodus17:4NIV

God comes through for Moses and the people. The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not? Exodus17:5-7NIV

Christian orthodoxy teaches us that God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. God knows everything. God is everywhere, transcending time and space. God is all powerful. Knowing these attributes of God, when we encounter difficulties in life, we have questions. If God knows everything, he knows what I need. Why don’t I have _______? If God is all powerful why didn’t he do_______? If God is with us why did _______ happen? Our questions resonate with the grumblings of the Israelites when they came to the camp without water. “Is the Lord among us or not?

Those would be valid questions if God’s goal was for us to never suffer. However, that is not God’s goal for us. God created us to know him. The Apostle Paul, in a speech to the Athenians, said, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts17:26-28NIV

God doesn’t give us everything we need even though he knows we need it, because God wants us to realize we need him. God doesn’t do everything that we think he should to make life good, because if life were perfect we would scarcely think of him. God allows bad things to happen in life, so that we will come to him to experience peace that passes all understanding. God allows difficulties because his goal is not to make life perfect for us. Rather, his goal is for us to know him. We do just that, we come to know God as we navigate life, good times and bad, with him.

Yes, the Lord is among us!

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your presence that has been confirmed to me through the good times and the bad times of life! Let me never forget that you are with me. Help me to never stop seeking to know and love you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

December 5, 2022 – Luke 22 – Prayer and Conflicting Wills

Exodus 16, Luke 22, 2 Corinthians 6

Many times people end up in difficult situations and they resign themselves to it. “Everything happens for a reason.” Therefore, this must be what God wants for my life.

Jesus knew what God’s plan for him was. Throughout the Gospels he was telling the disciples what was going to happen. He was going to Jerusalem to be abused by the elders and then be handed over to the Romans to be crucified. This was God’s plan for him.

Yet in Luke 22, in the Garden of Gethsemane, we hear Jesus asking God to not make him go through it. I believe it is a genuine request to not go through with the suffering and death on the cross and not merely there to make Jesus look good by being submissive to the Father. Jesus says, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke22:42NIV

This example of asking for the opposite of what Jesus knew was the Father’s will for him is important for us to see. God does have a plan for our lives and he does have a plan for the universe and eternity. God sometimes adjusts his plans in response to the requests of his children, especially when we humble ourselves before him.

Look back in Isaiah 38. Hezekiah was told he was going to die. The prophet Isaiah came and told him that was what the Lord said. It was God’s will… but Hezekiah prayed. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.’” Isaiah38:4–5NIV

If you are going through difficult circumstances, don’t resign yourself to accept it as God’s will for your life. Commit yourself to pray like Jesus did and like Hezekiah did. God may not change his mind. Perhaps what you are going through is too important for you or for God’s overarching plan and your circumstances won’t change. However, you may just be like Hezekiah. God may hear your prayer and change your circumstances.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you for being active and involved in my life. I am grateful that you have a plan for me and I am grateful that you hear me and are willing to adjust that plan in response to my humble prayers. Help me to always pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.