Tag: Jesus

James 2:8-13 (Devotoinal Thought)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:8-13 ESV)

I like omelets. There is just something about scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, a few select veggies and bacon that make breakfast worth having. But can you imagine making an omelet with just one rotten ingredient? What if I served you an omelet with rotten eggs? Or perhaps I made one with completely fresh ingredients but threw in rancid bacon? What if it were just one rotten egg or just a few pieces of rancid bacon? Just a little rottenness really ruins the whole omelet experience.

James writes that if you keep the whole law and break it at one point, you are guilty of breaking all of it. Sometimes we are tempted to think of our sins in different categories like big sins and little sins. Conveniently the little sins are sin that we are guilty of like showing partiality. The big sins tend to be ones that we don’t do like murder. The writer of James says that showing partiality is just like murder. An omelet with a little rottenness is a rotten omelet. A person who breaks the law just a little is a law breaker.

We should be merciful to others because God in Christ has been merciful to us. We should not show partiality to people based on whether they are rich or poor. God doesn’t show partiality to us. We need to remember that there is a judge of our actions and it isn’t us. Jesus will judge

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Something you should know about karma

On By pastorjonathanIn Just Thinking1 Comment

So it’s become REALLY popular to talk about karma in our culture. We hear about “bad karma” and “good karma.” I’ve heard people make threats like “karma is going to get you.” I even had one friend tell me that he believed in karma because it offered a sense of justice. I countered that karma seems like its about justice when we see the bad guys suffer, but it looks a lot different when the bad guys see you suffer.

You see, karma is more than classical “cause and effect” or “sowing and reaping.”  It is a fatalistic understanding of the “universe,” in that those who suffer deserve their suffering because of the evil they have done in the past.  Inversely those who prosper have earned their prosperity due to the good they have done in the past.  This is certainly more than “what goes around, comes around,” especially when it is applied children. I mean pause for a moment to think about kids suffering with leukemia.  Do they deserve that? Karma says they do. What about children born into poverty who die of preventable diseases? You see in some places around the world, a belief in karma enables people to pass by those who are suffering and call it “justice” for the sins committed in past lives.

If you haven’t guessed already, I don’t believe in karma.  But I serve a growing population of young people who do “believe” in karma, at least on a surface level.  Most when challenged to lay the blame somewhere for children with leukemia come up woefully short and hopefully abandon the scheme.  The problem is that it is marketed on the show’s they watch.  (Turn on the TV tonight, pick a random sitcom and see how long it takes for the word “Karma” to pop up… It will happen more often than you think.) And while marketed, it is often presented in terms of “what goes around, comes around.”

In a sense, karma IS about justice.  The real problem is when it crosses over to answering why injustice happens in the world.  The night I typed this, there was a man on the news who killed his kids.  Karma says he’ll get what is coming to him.  However, it also says that those kids got what was coming to them as well.  But then you have to ask, “What did they do?” A belief in karma indicates that they must have done something terrible in a previous life. Karma answers injustice by calling it justice for something done previously.  Ultimately in the system of Karma, injustice does not exist.  We all get what we deserve.

Does a man reap what he sows? … sometimes, but that isn’t karma.  That’s more like a law of nature, not of life.   If you mess with a bee you, you might get stung.  If you plant and cultivate and apple orchard, you might get apples.  But if someone attacks me for my apples, nobody is reaping what they sowed… It’s injustice.  Isn’t it about time that we put karma aside and look at true justice which comes from God the giver of life and the avenger of those who have been wronged. (Romans 12:19).

If you have a chance read John 9 where Jesus refutes his disciples understanding of karma.

7 Keys to A Better Sunday Morning Family Worship Experience

On By pastorjonathanIn Family, parenting, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

So, we’ve all been there. That long and awkward drive to church where you have been fighting with the kids all morning, feeling rushed. Because of the rushed feeling tensions are high between you and your spouse. Your kid asks a simple and innocent enough question and you lash out something like, “Just Be Quiet! We are on our way to church!

Perhaps you feel like a hypocrite as soon as you say it, or maybe you just chalk it up to Satan trying to foil your Sunday morning experience. Either way you feel guilty. But as soon as you pull in the parking lot you feel compelled to put on a smile and pretend everything is all right. Now you really do feel like a hypocrite. They are singing “Enter the Gates with Thanksgiving in your Heart” but right now you feel resentment toward your spouse, toward your kids, and perhaps you even project your own insecurities on some of the cheery looking people around you as you call them a hypocrite under your breath.

But let’s rewind the scenario and see what might have caused this terrible start to a Sunday Morning Worship experience. The night before you stayed up later than usual to catch up on SNL. You hit the snooze buttons a few times to catch up on sleep and before you know it you are running late. All of the sudden realize that you washed everything but what you were hoping to wear today (or it’s still at the cleaners), so you scramble to put some other outfit together. The kids are up and asking about something to eat, you are trying to iron a shirt that you think might be a tad too small and your spouse just hopped in the shower which means you will have to wait for them before you can hop in.

But is there a better way? I propose there is. What if we prepared for Sunday on Saturday?  Here are a few tips for preparing Saturday night for a good experience on Sunday.

  • Give the kids a bath the night before.
  • Go to bed early or at least on time.
  • Lay out your clothes for the next day (as well as for the kids).
  • Discuss a shower schedule with your spouse.
  • Have a brief time of prayer with your family asking God to make the next Sunday Special, Pray for your pastor, worship leader, life group leaders, etc.
  • Plan a light breakfast with protein in it.
  • Set your alarm and plan to wake up on time

Soon you will find that not everyone at church with a cheery face is faking it. A good Sunday morning experience begins with a little Saturday night preparation. What other tips can you offer to help make for a good Sunday morning experience?

Acts 4: The Cornerstone

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

The healing of a beggar in chapter three provoked a commotion and all the officials come to see what is going on. They demand to know by what power these things are being accomplished. The Apostles declare plainly through the power of the Holy Spirit that it was in the name of Jesus. (Notice that the Holy Spirit empowers them to testify about the resurrection of Jesus… Make no mistake the book of Acts is about Jesus.)

Peter presses in to the rulers that they are the ones who crucified Jesus. He references a teaching moment of Jesus just prior to his death, burial and resurrection (2 months before this event… You can find it in Matthew 21:33-46). Jesus tells a parable about wicked tenants who reject the owners right over a certain property and ultimately kill the owners son. He then goes on to quote Psalm 118:22-23 and says “the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” implicating the Pharisees rejection of Jesus (and by association murder).

Now Peter throws it out again, this time spelling it out just in case they didn’t get it. “Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the chief corner stone” (Acts 4:11, ESV). Any attempt to build a platform to reach up to Heaven must have the Risen Christ as the corner stone. These men in the temple not only rejected Jesus but among them were men who set in motion the false arrest, trial and murder of Jesus.

These are some wicked dudes and Peter lets them know. But here is where the real power of the gospel lies… The sovereign plan of God takes the most wicked sin imaginable (the murder of GOD – John 1:1-3) and uses that very same act to cause the greatest good man has ever known (redemption and the forgiveness of sins) through the resurrection… They meant it for evil… but God intended it for good.

What a glorious God we serve. Every attempt to trump the gospel is turned on its head and proves the gospel even more true: Injustice is transformed into lavish grace, where men pour out their hatred, the love of God is made manifest, where men fight to exercise control, God proves his sovereign plan.

Acts 2: Babel has Come Undone in Jerusalem

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, discipleshipLeave a comment

Descent of the Holy Spirit DoreSo here we are in Acts 2. The Apostles have stayed in Jerusalem at the Lord’s request (Acts 1:4). Jerusalem is the launching point for the gospel to go to the whole world (Acts 1:8).  They have been with the risen Christ for forty days before he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3) and now they have waited another ten days for the Holy Spirit to come (Pentecost occurs 50 days after the Passover… Jesus was crucified at the time of the Passover). I’ve written before about Pentecost, you can read a brief PDF here.

As we anticipated yesterday something amazing happens because the disciples were obedient to the Lord’s command. The Holy Spirit comes, they preach, and three thousand souls are added to the church that day (2:41)… They are indeed fishing for men (Luke 5:1-11).

What is truly amazing is that through the power of the Holy Spirit each person is hearing the gospel in their own language. It’s the tower of Babel in reverse (Genesis 11:1-9). At the tower of Babel God had confused the language of the people because of their sin and rebellion. But now Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He is calling lost sinners to come home. He speaks to them through their own native language here in Jerusalem and ultimately the gospel will reach to the very ends of the earth (Revelation 5:9). What was done at Babel was coming undone.

What’s compelling here is that these men, the Apostles have come to Jerusalem. It’s not their home. This point is driven almost to the point of absurdity when men of the crowd recognize them as Galileans (2:7). This was a big deal the day because Galilee was a somewhat recently resettled state of Israel. They would have had the reputation of back wood hicks (John 1:46) and probably looked and talked differently than the folks in Jerusalem (Luke 22:59).

At this point you’re probably saying, I get that they were from Galilee… What’s the big deal? Exactly! You’re supposed to ask that! You are supposed to see that the disciples didn’t go to their home first (in all fairness they had already been there through the years of ministry with Jesus)! They went to the city and they went to the city on the day that everyone from all over the world would be there. The gospel went to the nations by way of Jerusalem because the nations were in Jerusalem that day (2:-11)!

I think the bigger point here is to obey God (even in the small things) after all it’s His plan. Yet how often do we put our confidence in the flesh thinking WE have a snazzy plan… of course our snazzy plan usually discounts the Spirit of God and chalks things like a language barrier as impossible to over come or at least a long way off. Can you imagine if the disciples had packed it in and tried to gain a stronger foothold in Galilee?

Why I’m Not Bitter About the Church

On By pastorjonathanIn About Jonathan, Ministry1 Comment

I guess I should hate the church. I’ve seen hypocrites. My dad got fired from a church and I was treated badly by the church members. I was ostracized by part of my youth group growing up and I saw my family suffer financially because my dad was in a ministry job instead of something else. I’ve had unrealistic expectations placed on me my entire life by people from church. In the ministry I’ve had good friends stab me in the back. Hurting people have spread vicious rumors about me. I’ve had people slander me endlessly for making what I know to be the right decisions.  I’m used to getting second guessed at every turn and I realize by now nobody likes to be told they are a sinner. I guess I should hate the church… but I don’t

The determining factor is that through it all I saw something real. Growing up my family was far from perfect but I did see a sincere faith in my parents. I was challenged to memorize scripture. I still remember the day out on the swing when I was about four years old and my dad challenged me to memorize John 3:16. I remember walking by my parent’s bedroom and hearing them pray for my siblings and myself (they didn’t know I was listening). I remember the family prayer time where we discussed the bible. It never seemed like we were just going through the motions. There was always something real there.

Then there were the times that my parent’s faith just seemed to bleed out in everyday living. Like when my dad picked up a rough looking hitch-hiker with me in the car. Later I asked him if he was scared and he said something like you should never let something scary stop you from doing the right thing… God is in control. (Years later I would pick up a rough looking hitchhiker named David who would pray to receive Christ in my truck as a result of seeds planted by my parents).

Then the advice my parents gave always seemed to revolve around the scripture. During my passage into manhood my dad encouraged me to read the bible for myself and believe what it said rather than what he or any other man would say. This gave me freedom to form my own theology dependent from my father and have a ready defense for my faith that wasn’t based on a family tradition. Similarly when I went into the ministry my mother said that there are a lot of distractions out there and to keep it about the book. She freed me to love God by loving his word and the singular focus on his word in the ministry lead to my own conversion.

Through the years I’ve learned and continue to learn to forgive people. That church that fired my dad… I walked in one Sunday night a few years later and shared the hurt I suffered and forgave them. Then I laid hands on their pastor and prayed a prayer of blessing over him and the entire congregation. The financial suffering I learned was all a matter of perspective, we were richer in the things that mattered than I had realized. I pulled aside the folks spreading rumors and told them that I forgave them. And the folks who slandered me, I had a conversation seeking reconciliation. With every major hurt I have sought the uncomfortable conversation of reconciliation and by God’s grace, He has won every time. And I remember the words of my father, “don’t let something scary stop you from doing the right thing.”

Yes the church is full of hypocrites and some of them really do have unrealistic expectations of pastors and their families, but none of that negates the work of Jesus Christ in my life. You see He’s real no matter how church people behave. And if we’re telling the truth the best place for hypocrites and backstabbers and people with unrealistic expectations to be, is church. They need to be reminded of the gospel. I know I do and though I wouldn’t like to admit it, there have been times in my life when I’ve been the hypocrite, back stabber and imposed unrealistic expectations on others.

So I’m not bitter about the church, I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful that all of us will be presented complete in Christ one day. All these little things that have caused so much pain will be purified in the presence of Christ the king. We’ll carry only the scars to remember how the gospel came to us through nail pierced hands and feet. No more pain, only rejoicing.

THE SERVANT KING (from the Jesus StoryBook Bible).

On By pastorjonathanIn discipleship, Family, History, Holiday, parentingLeave a comment

We love reading this Storybook Bible to the kids. Here is another animated story from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Is the New Atheism Empty?

On By pastorjonathanIn books1 Comment

  A while back i posted a comment on another blog about science and religion. I took a few minutes to make three solid and well reasoned points as well as to call into question the legitimacy of some of the points made by others who commented (I made no attempt to identify myself with a religion in general or Christianity in particular, but simply made textbook statements about the nature of science).  Because of the nature of the forum I expected a well reasoned defense as a  response… I was mistaken. The response I received was to be called an idiot in a variety of ways, over and over again by a variety of different people. Up to this point my experience with atheist friends of mine was of cordial disagreement and rational argument.

My experience on the blog and a previous comment on my blog where I got lambasted for being a dad piqued my interested in the New Atheist movement. So I decided to investigate Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins and others to see what was at stake. I was surprised to find that most of their material was really baseless work and that a lot of what they were getting by with in debate was disputable historical data, easily refutable analogies, and character assassination on anyone who didn’t agree with them.

I marveled at how such sloppy argument would be accepted and when I saw Why God Won’t Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty? by Alister McGrath I jumped at the chance to read the perspective of a man who had debated some of these men in the public forum.  I really like the book and especially appreciated Dr. McGrath’s politeness in handling the dogmatic worldview of New Atheism and his candor in pointing out that not all modern day atheists belong to this movement.  Many, indeed wish to distance themselves from this more “fundamentalist” arm of atheism.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Jesus is the True Jacob’s Ladder (John 1:51)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional4 Comments

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:47-51)

Here it is again.  Do you see it?  The story of Babel (Genesis 11) and the story of Bethel, where Jacob saw a ladder coming from Heaven (Genesis 28)  and we are still in the first chapter of John.  Babel reveals our inability to reach God.  Bethel reveals that God is reaching down to us.  Jesus promises here that He is the ladder.  He is the one that bridges the gap between God and Men.  No one sees God apart from the way that God has made.  Do you see it.

Application: You will never reach God. You will never please God. You will never even see God apart from going through Jesus Christ. Jesus has come to rescue us and restore us to a right relationship with God.  The message of Heaven is simply this… Emmanuel God with us!

Father,

Today I am provoked to praise.  Glory to Jesus Christ for what He has done so that I might know you.  He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Guard my heart from being tempted to think that I stand or fall before based on anything to do with me.  It’s all about you.

Morning: Psalm 50

Mid-Day: Psalm 101

Evening : Psalm 2

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“Whose Likeness and Inscription Does it Have?” (Lk. 20:24)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

“Render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Lk. 20:25).  Do you see the real value of these statements?  Jesus is talking about more than taxes.  He is talking about more than government.  Jesus is talking about you!  You see… you were made in the image of God!  Whose likeness and inscription are written on you?… God’s!

Think about it.  You are made in the image of God.  I think God looks at you like I look at my children.  While I love them and value them for who they are, I also see a little bit of me in them.  When God looks at you He sees you as different than the animals.  He sees His image in you!

Yet somehow we have also marred His image in us.  We have rebelled against Him.  We have each turned to our own way.  We have worshiped things that we were not made to worship.  We have made ourselves out to be gods rather than beings created in the image of God.

Yet now here Christ.  The ultimate image of God because He is God now says, “Give back to God the things that are His.”  And we stand stained, corrupted, and defiled.  Would God even want us back?  We have taken his image and spoiled it in our rebellion.  Can we even be restored?… The answer is Yes!  For Jesus Himself was headed to the cross for our sake.  The ultimate image of God, the word of God, taking on our sin, suffering God’s wrath, clothing us in His righteousness, rising from the dead and now standing at the right hand of the father interceding on our behalf.  So then he says, “Give to God the things that are God’s.”

Father,

I am reminded again today that I am twice yours.  Once by creation in Adam and second by redemption in Christ.  I have nothing to offer you, other than what you have created me to do.  Today I give you glory and seek to live my life in such a way as to point all other to you.  Thank you for the glorious good news of the gospel, that you still take rebels and turn them into worshipers.