Day 82: Every Person is a Person

^{Luke 11:37-41
37} When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

 ³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

Well, well, well. First off, I love that Jesus went in and reclined at the Pharisee's table. As far as I can find, He never rejected an offer to dine with someone - anyone - or denied anyone who requested the chance to spend time with him. We could learn from this. I think that sometimes when we have issues with people who don't hold the same values as we do, we lose our minds a little bit. We forget that every single person on the face of this earth is made in the image of God, and that makes them worthy of our respect, compassion, and kindness. Does that necessarily make them right? Nope. Does it make it okay to treat them poorly? Nope.

Now. When Jesus tells them to get rid of their greed and wickedness, he tells them how: be generous to the poor. What? Those two things don't quite jive at first. But when you think about it, true generosity can only come from the heart. From the inside. The goal here is to get to the point where we see every single person on the face of this earth as a person, as a soul. To realize that each of them has a story and, quite possibly, a reason why they have the problems and issues that they do. And when we do that, we won't be able to help being generous and kind to them. How wise.

Day 81: You Put the Light In Me

Luke 11:33-36

The Lamp of the Body

    ³³ “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,^[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,^[h] your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”


"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." We sing it from the time we're preschoolers, but what does it mean? For the longest time, I would have said that it means we're supposed to show our Christianity to others, or not be afraid to speak out, or something-or-other like that. And that's true, I suppose, but in reading these passages I realized that is something much, much bigger. 


"Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as..." Whoa. We've gotta put the light in so the light will come out. And we've got to get rid of the darkness so that the light can come in. "See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness." The negativity? Out. The gossip? Out. The sarcasm and the smart remarks? Out. None of those things show the light within me. In fact, that's the light within me that's really darkness. 


I think about the few people I've known in my life who are truly "a light on a hill", and this is true of them. They have gotten rid of the bad so that all that's left is positive. And they shine. 


I want to shine. 


For extra fun, here's an awesome song by Brandon Heath... Light In Me. 

Day 80: Who Will Rise In Judgment Against You?

Luke 11:29-32

New International Version (NIV)

The Sign of Jonah

 ²⁹ As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

The book of Jonah, for me, is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture. Here's a city, supremely wicked, and so much so that Jonah runs in the opposite direction. He'd heard the rumors. He probably feared for his life. But when the people heard the message, they repented... an awesome display of the power of God.

Here, Jesus points out that we have something greater than the preaching of Jonah. And yet the people refused to listen and repent. This is one of those brilliant points where Scripture weaves perfectly together. The mental image of the men of Ninevah rising against Jesus' generation on judgment day makes the hair stand up on my arms. In the same way, the Queen of the South, a minor and often overlooked figure in the Old Testament, will rise in judgment because she sought wisdom (the implication being that Jesus' generation was not seeking wisdom). 

So the question is, who will rise in judgment against us? Is it fair to say that the men of Ninevah or the Queen of the South will rise in judgment  against us? What about Naaman (II Kings 5), who dipped in the Jordan seven times even though to be healed even though that seemed like a silly thing to do... simply because the Lord had commanded it? Would he condemn our constant questioning of God's laws? 

What about Esther, who risked her life on behalf of God's people? Would she condemn our apathy?

What about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to yield to societal norms (But everyone else is bowing!), even on penalty of being thrown into a fiery furnace? Would they condemn our conformity to the world?

I'll be thinking of all these things as I go to bed tonight, and thinking of ways to thin the list of those who will rise in judgment against me when the time comes.

Day 79: How To Be Blessed

Luke 11:27-28

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
 ²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”


It always amazes how focused Jesus is throughout his life. His comments sometimes seem a little... harsh. The natural thing to do when someone compliments your momma is to agree. But instead, he uses the comment to make a point, and that point is focus.


I don't believe he meant any disrespect here. Jesus loved his momma, and that is evident throughout scripture. But he never, ever forgets his purpose, and his purpose was to call people to seek the truth and obey it. So his words are to the purpose: you don't have to be chosen to raise the Son of God in order to be blessed. All you need is to hear the word of God and obey it. And that is truly a blessing!

Day 78: Clean House

Luke 11:24-26

New International Version (NIV)

   ²⁴ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”


I know, I know. It's been a while. No excuses, but a few explanations: first, I've had a hard time over the past couple of weeks, and I guess I just needed some time to figure things out. No major life issues or anything like that, but I started looking back at my life, at all the things I *thought* I would have accomplished by now, and all the things I haven't done, and it hit me pretty hard. It's not easy to realize that so many of your life goals haven't come to fruition. (Second: I wrote this blog last night, but the cosmos ate it. Trying again and crossing my fingers)


But I prayed a lot about it, and as usual, God answered in a bigger and different way than I ever expected. We are so blessed to serve an Almighty God who cares about us, even in the small things!


Soooo... I'm back. I've been revitalized, refocused, and I'm recommitted. Now, for this passage. I have to admit that this has been a super hard one for me. I studied for a week, and read it over and over again, and never felt that I was "getting" it. I read commentaries about it, but I wasn't satisfied with the answer. Many of them said that this passage refers to filling our lives with good; that the evil spirit came back to the house because it wasn't filled with good things. I feel that concept is refuted by the statement that the house is "swept clean and put in order". The owner of the house isn't negligent, and he hasn't left it in disarray. He's made positive changes to it.


I asked one of the wisest people I know, and he pointed something out to me that I should have paid attention to before. In Matthew 12, the parallel passage adds a clear explanation: "That is how it will be with this wicked generation." As always, the answer is there. And that answer is that Jesus is saying that, even though he's been falsely accused and wearied and harassed by the Pharisees, things will get worse. 


They do get worse... to the point that they murder the very Son of God. And it reminds me of the generation that we live in today. I see things now that I never would have dreamed of when I was in high school (which wasn't that long ago, thank you very much). The times, they are a'changin', and our society will accept almost anything. The mind reels to think that it could get worse. But it will.

Even so, there were some who believed through it all. There were some who loved Him, followed Him, even died for Him. We are looking for the some.

Day 76: We Can't Handle The Truth

Luke 11:21-23

New International Version (NIV)

 ²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

   ²³ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Was Jack Nicholson right? It is true that "we can't handle the truth"? I have to admit that for the past few weeks, I've been thinking about something that is really bothering me. The more I talk/listen to other Christians, the more I realize that we as a people are fearful. We're fearful of offending. Fearful of standing up for the truth. Fearful that someone will think that we think they're wrong and accuse us of "judging" them. To a certain extent, I think we've given in to postmodern society that we live in... the one that tells us that there is no truth and that you can believe whatever you want as long as it's true for you.

Satan loves relative truth. But God has always taught that 1) truth exists, and 2) that there is only one. Jesus was merciful and compassionate, but He was also upfront. He didn't compromise. And here He tells us that if you are for Him, you are against Him. Period. Bottom line.

There was an alumnus visiting HCU today who has spent nearly thirty years establishing a church in his home country of Switzerland. He said that he thought it would take 4 or 5 years; it's taken 27. But he also said that the congregation is small but very faithful. They encourage everyone to "count the cost" before they make a decision to become a Christian; if they aren't willing to change their lives and live as a Christian, they don't encourage them to go ahead with it. (This is a biblical principle, by the way; see Luke 14:25-33). I'm not sure that we'd be bold enough to do this here in the States. 

There is only one truth. And Jesus taught that truth. In fact, Jesus IS that truth. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it's also the only way to salvation. But if we're not willing to stand up for it, to teach it, to live it, we are against Him.