Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 80: Miracles

"Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open,

and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." John 1:51

I believe in Jesus. I believe he was the Son of God. I believe that he healed people, raised some from the dead, walked on water, calmed storms, feed many with little. I believe in miracles, well, I believe in those miracles. I have much less belief in current miracles.

I do not believe that prayers decide the way life works, only helps us deal with the way it does.

I do not believe in possession, but I do believe in mental illness.

I do not believe in the gift of healing, unless we are talking about doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and drug companies.

There may be miracles in some small corner of the globe, but I do not believe they happen in middle-America. Why? I don't think that God works that way much anymore. I believe in evolution, an evolution of the human mind, an evolution of what we can accomplish. I believe, like Rob Bell in his book What we talk about when we talk about God, that God is ahead of us, pulling us forward. I believe that God is constantly changing the communication with us, ever adapting as we are ever evolving.

At the dawn of time we were children and God needed to speak in terms of black and white, yes and no. As time progresses we see more greys and so God introduces variations in belief. Jesus comes on the scene and speaks of love and we become more accepting. Time continues to move, we continue to change. And God deals with us differently as we change.

That, in my mind, is a miracle.

+ How do you view the miracles found in the Bible?

+ How do you view miracles today?

+ Do you agree with my understanding of the way God communicates with us?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 79: Two Steps Forward, UNDER DURESS

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem

until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49

The author of Luke is also the author of Acts. In fact many scholars think they are one book that has been divided. Here in the last chapter of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples that a new power will be upon them. Until then they should wait in Jerusalem. Then in Acts chapter 2, or should we say just two chapters later in Luke-Acts, the power of the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples, yet they continue to stay in the city. 

It takes chapters for them to finally listen to the command from the lips of the risen savior. It makes me wonder how many times I haven't moved out of the city when I had been give the necessary tools to accomplish my task. How many times haven't you?

This seems to beg the question, "Why?" Why didn't they? Why didn't I? Why didn't you?

Was it doubt? God knows I've had enough of that. Often even when I am equipped to do something I continue to doubt I can.

Was it fear? Fear tends to paralyze. Often when there is a calling of God on a person it is to accomplish something big, big things are usually scary.

Was it comfort? Which kind of includes the previous possibilities, yet I think it is comfort which keeps us in place when we should be moving. There is comfort in knowing your surroundings. There is comfort in knowing the people around you. There is comfort in knowing the outcomes of certain situations. Often it all plays into our stubbornness towards change.

+ How do you deal with change?

+ What holds you back?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 78: 3 Thoughts: 2 become 1

"Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

Behold My hand and My feet, that it is I Myself.

Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." Luke 24:38-39

Thought 1:

Thomas, historically called Doubting Thomas, has gotten a bum rap. People always say that he should've had more faith. He shouldn't have needed to place his hands in Jesus's wounds. People forget though, that the rest of his disciples also needed the same things lest they not believe Jesus had risen. Thomas would have already experienced what he required if he had but been with the disciples when Jesus appeared.

+ How do you view Thomas?

Thought 2:

I find it interesting that Jesus makes such a point about his being a resurrection of a body, especially in light of other resurrection encounters where people don't recognize Jesus in the beginning. If it is a spiritual resurrection then perhaps being unrecognizable at first makes sense, but a bodily one should be instantly recognizable that this is their teacher and friend.

+ Was Jesus resurrected spirit, body, both?

Thought 3: I think these two thoughts point back to my post from yesterday -- seeing Jesus isn't always a given, even if you look him directly in the eye, we have to learn to look better.

+ How do you plan to change in order to see Jesus better?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 77: To see Jesus

"Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43

"When we all get to heaven

what a day of rejoicing that will be

when we all see Jesus

we'll sing and shout the victory."

When We All Get to Heaven - lyrics by Eliza E. Hewitt

Jesus hangs on a cross between two criminals. One scoffs, the other praises. To the reverent one Jesus promises him that this very day he would be with Jesus in paradise. One can argue the literalness of this statement in conjunction with the Apostle's Creed's assertion that upon death Jesus descended into Hell, but that isn't what I would like to talk about.

No, I would like to talk about the 150 year (or so) old hymn lyric found above. It is a song about the other side [written by a woman suffering crippling pain]. It is a song about seeing Jesus face to fave and what that experience may be like. 

I believe that we do not need to be dead in order to see Jesus. While we may not be able to look Jesus in the eye we can indeed see him. The reverent criminal saw Jesus, saw him for who he truly is and the same can be said for us. Or, we can be like the one who scoffed, look Jesus in the eye and still miss the truth staring at us. 

If you've seen Jesus, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't may I suggest you look again.

+ Have you seen Jesus?

+ How has it changed you?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 76: When the end is merely the middle

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 

"Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last.

Luke 23:46

Every story has a beginning and an end. This, at first glance, looks like the end of Jesus's story, he was placed in a manger of wood at his birth and he was placed on a cross of wood at the end. It's neat and tidy, the kind of symmetry that writers love, it works.

Every good story has a beginning a middle and an end. For those of us on this side of Easter Sunday morning we know that instead of an end, this was merely the middle. The same can be said of our stories, from time to time the clouds roll in, hope is extinguished, and we think the end has come, but often, when we follow Jesus our ends become merely middles.

The sex slave set free.

The victim of abuse who shares his/her story.

The divorcee who leads other to a new day.

The addict who becomes a sponsor.

The troubled kid who studies law.

The cynic who begins to believe.

The amputee who learns to walk again.

Each one of us could choose the the end to be the end, or we can find the peace, hope, and strength that Jesus offers and keep going, thus making our end our new middle.

+ What could have been your end?

+ How did God help you through it?

+ In what ways has your possible end become a new middle?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 75: Grace, pure and simple

"Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34

I sat down to write this entry earlier and wrote a handful of sentences and realized that it was not the road I wanted to travel. It was an emotional treatise that became as legalistic as what I was speaking against. I don't want to go there, because Jesus did not go there. Instead as he was hanging from a cross, nails pinning his arms and legs, blood pouring out of him, sweat dripping, thorns gripping his head, life slowly leaving, and he looks out at all the people who put him there either by words or deeds and begs for their forgiveness.

I hope that God said yes. And if God did, if God said yes, if God forgave them for the murder of his son, how much do you think God holds your sin against you? Just think about that for a moment. If God can forgive those who literally pinned Jesus to a cross, if God can forgive those who vocally called for the death of a son, of course he can forgive you. Forgive you for your lies. Forgive you for your betrayals. Forgive you for your gossip. Forgive you for your harsh words. Forgive you for overlooking all people. Forgive you for your lack of faith. Forgive you for each and every sin that you have committed, or currently are committing. 

We don't often preach that in our churches. I think partly because guilt keeps us in business. We dispense grace and hope, but in small doses, Jesus did not. Most Christians, if we were in Jesus's place, would say something like, "Father do you have to forgive them?" Jesus does not, in his pain, in his anguish, he cares more for his enemies than he does for himself. That, my friends, is love, real love, not that a man would lay down his life for his friends, but that he would gladly lay it down for friend or foe.

+ Do you believe God said yes?

+ What does this do for your understanding of salvation?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 74: Wiley Jesus

"Then they all said, 'Are you then the Son of God?'

So He said to them, "You say that I am." Luke 22:70

Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn't just say yes? His evasiveness doesn't set him free, so why not just admit the truth? Maybe its because he wanted them to incriminate themselves with their decision. Maybe it was because they would hand him over to Pilate no matter what. Maybe it was because it was more powerful to hear the truth from another than it is for a person to proclaim it about themselves. Jesus could have said he was the Son of God, others had, including Caesar, but they already considered him a madman, why add wood to the fire? 

It could well be for any of these reasons, or it could be something completely different, the fact of the matter is that we don't know why, but isn't that that the usual case when we are talking about the actions of God? Why does God require blood for atonement? Why then does God give the sacrifice as opposed to us giving it? Why does Jesus walk this Earth for 30 odd years just to die so hard? It seems to me that there had to be an easier route, I don't know.

But here's what I do know.

He is who they thought he was.

+ Why do you thing Jesus doesn't reply in the affirmative?

+ Does it matter?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 73: A Kiss

"Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" Luke 22:48

Is there a more intimate way to be betrayed than by a kiss? I can't think of one if there is, but that is the exact betrayal that Jesus is shown.

There are many different ways to look at the person of Judas, a lot of it depends on your theology. What is without question is that he was a follower of Jesus, that he walked beside him for around three years, that he heard Jesus's words, saw Jesus's miracles, that he was considered a friend, and that he betrayed Jesus for the sum of 30 pieces of silver.

As I said in yesterday's post, Jesus wasn't just betrayed by Judas, but also by the rest of his disciples, the main difference between Judas and, say, Peter is that Peter realized his mistake and went to a resurrected Jesus for forgiveness while Judas killed himself before Jesus was risen. Judas never lived to see the Sunday that was on the way, he never lived long enough to ask for and receive forgiveness.

We all, in our own ways, betray Jesus as well, either in our words, deeds, or lack there of. We, like Judas and the other disciples, are then left with a choice: do we humble ourselves and ask forgiveness from the one we wronged, or do we believe that there is no turning back from what we've done, there by making sure there is no turning back?

+ How have you betrayed Jesus?

+ In those times are you Judas or Peter? 

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 72: Too tired to pray

"Pray that you may not enter into temptation." Luke 22:40

Jesus is in need of some prayer warriors. Those he is relying on appear in need of sleep. He pleads, he repeats, they slumber. I can't imagine the anguish of the moment. I cant imagine the stress needed to turn sweat into blood, I can't imagine the desperation on Jesus's lips as he begs for the cup to pass, for his path to take a detour. And he asks his friends for help.

They don't have to fight an army, later when one tries Jesus stays his hand and heals a wound. They don't have to cross a river or climb a mountain. He's not asking them to lay down their lives, only for a few minutes, a few words, and yet that is too muck to ask of them.

I'm sure you've been let down by friends, I know I have. And when it happened, I'm sure it hurt, mine did. I'm also fairly certain that if you're reading this it was not in a life or death instance, but it was for Jesus. We do a disservice to the truth when we claim Jesus was betrayed by Judas, he wasn't, he was betrayed by all of his disciples, his friends. I think this happened, at least in part, so that we would know that he knows how we feel.

+ How have you been let down?

+ How have you let down others?

+ What have you learned from these situations?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 71: Moving on Up

"Heaven and Earth shall pass away; but My words will by no means pass away." Luke 21:33

I'm glad that John is a gospel of a different sort, because I'm not sure what to say a 3rd time on this statement, let alone what I would do with a 4th. But, let's try something like this...

At the end of the book John looks and sees a new Heaven and a new Earth because the old Heaven and Earth have passed away. [Rev. 21:1] 

While I would argue that Revelation [no s] was written for the people who originally heard it I still believe there is a meaning for us today. This meaning does not come from Revelation being some kind of roadmap to the end of the world, but comes rather from the base truth of the book.

Which is -- the pain and the struggle that you are going through right now IS NOT the end of your story, because a new day is indeed coming. To steal from the Jefferson's, one day we will be moving on up.

We will be renewed and refreshed, we will see what up until that day we have only believed. Our pain and struggle will have passed away and all things will be made new. It's not the entirety of the Gospel, but it is GOOD NEWS.

+ What do you think about the new Heaven and New Earth?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 70: On Servant Leadership

"But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be the younger,

and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?

Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves." Luke 22:26-27

Not sure if you've noticed or not, but Servant Leadership has been something of a buzzword within the church for the last few decades. It may well have started out from a pure place but it seems to have been corrupted as of late. It seems that we are focusing more and more on the Leadership and less and less on Servant.

Jesus never once refers to himself as anyone's leader, yet he called himself a servant multiple times, yet people have followed him to their deaths for roughly 2000 years. Those in leadership positions within the church tend to see themselves as CEOs or Presidents, Jesus told us to pick a cross and carry it. Those in some churches turn on the TV cameras and the podcasts, Jesus says the last shall be first.

I do not want to be a CEO. 

I do not want to be a leader.

I only hope that I can help people believe in the love of God. I don't care about reaching the world for Christ, I care about Christ reaching the world.

If you need something let me know. You'd never consider me your leader, but perhaps I can be your friend and then I can tell you how much Jesus loves you.

+ On the spectrum of Servant ----- Leader where do you hope to end up?

+ Why?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 69: The Wrong Focus

"By your patience possess your souls." Luke 21:19

This verse comes at the end of a section that begins with people asking Jesus about the end of the world. Jesus responds saying there will be wards and fires and earthquakes and false prophets. The he tells those who are listening that before all of that they will face trouble and persecution. Then he ends with, "By your patience possess your souls."

The way that I read all of that is, don't worry about how the world is going to end, be here, now, because the here and the now is what is important.

That's where we always get it wrong, we focus on what may happen, or what may not happen, and we totally lose focus on what is happening. Time and time again Jesus asks us to remember where we are and who we are and who we are with right now.

Will there be a rapture and tribulation and battle of armageddon? Will wormwood fall to Earth? Will a dragon hang out with a whore? I don't know, and I don't care, because all focusing on that does is make me forget about the work God is doing right now.

+ Where is your focus?

+ How can you do better at being in the moment?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 68: The Internal Kingdom

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,

he answered and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

nor will they say, 'See here!' of 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

Luke 17:20-21

I don't think we understand how much so the Israelites were a people of the land. Since the time of the Exodus the people were focused on a place, specifically the promised land. They were a special people who expected things to happen the way that God promised it would. To this end they expected the kingdom of God to be a physical kingdom based among them. But here Jesus comes, a messiah that didn't act like they thought he would and proclaimed a completely different type of kingdom. 

It was a kingdom without physical constructs and without physical constraints. It was a kingdom that transcended place, transcended description and ultimately transcended our notions of it. Jesus speaks of a kingdom that lives within, within the chosen Israelites, but also within those who were not children of the original covenant. The kingdom is available to all and is in all, we just have to open ourselves to its existence and its power.

+ How do you view the Kingdom?

+ Do you believe it is within you?

+ Better question, do you allow the Kingdom to be within you?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 67: Impossible?

"The things which are impossible for men are possible with God." Luke 18:27

Way back on day 25 I had the Matthew equivalent of this verse as my text. In that entry [http://redlettersblackletters.blogspot.com/2014/07/day-25-lucky-for-us.html] I laid out the context of this proclamation, if you want to refer back to that one, be my guest, but today I want to instead take the verse at face value.

There is a whole host of things that are impossible for humans to accomplish and even more things that are impossible for individuals, like you or me, to do. In these moments we turn to verses such as this and call on God's supernatural help. At times what we wanted/needed to be accomplished, somehow, someway was and we lift a praise to God.

At other times what we wanted/needed to be accomplished does not happen and it often leads us to question God. Instead, perhaps, we should be questioning ourselves. Was what we wanted/needed accomplished for ourselves or for others? For ourselves or for kingdom purposes? A call of God or just something from our head/heart/gut?

The problem is that there are times when things that seem godly don't work out and times when the ungodly do.

+ How do you think of this verse/statement/promise?

+ How do you handle it when you don't get what you pray for?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 66: On Masters

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:13

Ugh.

Sometimes the truth hits like a ton of bricks. And sometimes the truth still doesn't change you as much as you'd like.

I know that this is a true declaration, it is from the lips of Jesus, but had it been from the lips of a vagrant (and possibly it is that too) it would have been equally true. You can only serve one master and be at peace, and yet... And yet...I cannot tell you the amount of times I have attempted to serve two, attempted, yes, and failed.

Inevitably I love one and hate the other, the only bright side is that I do think I hate the correct one. Even that only provides a glimmer of goodness. After a time, I rid myself of the second master, the lesser one, the one I shouldn't have served in the first place, but again, inevitably I take up with him again. One more I attempt to live life with two masters and once again I end up hating one and praying to the other and once again I get rid of the second, lesser, master, until once again...

It is a vicious cycle. Have you ever been there?

+ What other masters do you serve?

+ How does it go for you?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 65: Selfish Grace

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; 

and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

There is a grace that we show that is for the good of those shown grace. There is also a grace that we show that is for the good of ourselves. The first is real grace, the latter - selfish grace. It is the latter grace that the steward in this parable shows. He knows he has done wrong to hs master, much like the prodigal son did to his father. Unlike the son though, the steward does not come to his master humbly, asking for grace. He, instead, goes to those who owe the master and reduces their debt.

This grace, which at the same time is a new sin against the master, is done to ingratiate the steward to the debtors. In essence the steward hopes to transfer the debt, the men will now be indebted to the master for the remainder and will also be indebted to the steward for the amount forgiven. This is done in the hope that when the steward is thrown out of his master's house he will be able to rely on the kindness of these men for food and shelter.

If we follow Jesus, as we claim to, we must always be on watch that the grace we show is not for similar selfish ends.

+ Have you ever shown selfish grace?

+ To who? how recently? have you asked for forgiveness?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 64: We're all Prodigals

"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight,

and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants,

'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals

on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'

And they began to be merry." Luke 15:21-24

The parable of the Prodigal Son is my go to parable whenever I get bogged down in guilt. I read it and remember that in the verse just prior to this one that while the son was still a long way off the Father comes running. Too often we think that we need to make amends for our mistakes. We think we have to set things right, which is a ridiculous thought on our part. Not only is it ridiculous but it is irrelevant, because the Father runs down the son, while he is still a long way off,

Before the balancing of the scales, the Father is running.

Before the confession, the Father is running.

Before the apology, the Father is running.

The son is trudging, the Father is running.

The son is bargaining, the Father is running.

The son is hoping, the Father is running.

We are a long way off, the Father is running.

Don't worry about what you've done, where you've gone, how far away you've wandered off, the Father is already running. Hallelujah!

+ How does this make you feel?

+ Have you ever been weighed down by guilt?

BE SET FREE

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 63: A Beautiful Future

"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over

ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." Luke 15:7

Rather than this being a statement against those who faithfully follow, it is an indictment on the way the self righteous view sinners, and it is a statement that give meaning and importance to those who have been shunned by the religious establishment. To those who feel unloved, unaccepted, unwanted Jesus sings a different song, one of love and acceptance. Not only does Jesus say these things about himself he also says that all of heaven rejoices in one who is redeemed.

If you have been shunned by those in the church (local or universal), Jesus says forget them, remember me, If you have been asked to leave, Jesus opens a door. If you have been told to keep silent (especially for your gender), Jesus offers you your voice again. To any who have been cast aside (LGBT), forgotten (the poor), marginalized (minorities), been protested against by those uplifting the cross (all the above and then some), the one who hung on the cross says,

"Look into my eyes and see how I care, feel my arms around you and my comfort. 

Forget the pain of the past and walk with me into your beautiful future."

They may not be officially in red, but it is my sincere belief that given a do over, they would be.

+ Have you ever been shunned, cast out, kept silent?

+ Did you turn away from God? if so what caused your return? if not how did you hang on to your faith?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 62: Humility Quest

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

Luke 14:11

I have been working on this statement/advice/command in my own life for quite a number of years. There was a time when people used to tell me I was cocky, that I came across in a way that said I was better than others/everybody. There was a time when I was referred to by terms too...interesting to use in this setting. It is possible that this still happens from time to time, but as I said, I've been working on it for years.

I have attempted to become humble and until then I have tried to 'fake it till I make it'. I believe it has worked, I believe I have changed. The problem that has risen from time to time though has been an anti-cocky Kenny, one who is no longer full of himself but instead feels empty as himself. In my quest for humility I have found poor self-esteem, doubt, stress, depression. 

Nowadays I attempt to find the content medium, humble but not over humble.

+ What does this proverb make you think?

+ Where do you put yourself on the spectrum of humble and cocky?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 61: Jesus: Small Group Leader Par Excellence

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

"Soon I'll have reached out to and influenced more people than anybody in the history of the planet,

save God himself. And the best he ever managed was the Sermon on the Mount."

Tomorrow Never Dies

It's rather odd, if you think about it, that there are pastors who preach to more people every Sunday morning than Jesus ever did. We sometimes think about the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000 and the mentions of the large crowds, but in reality Jesus mainly spoke to small crowds, and an intimate gathering of 12. In popular church terms, Jesus was a small group leader, who occasionally had a speaking gig at a convention.

I think this is true because it is easier to get to know a small group, easier to establish intimacy and honesty. To that end it is the small group that learned the most at Jesus' feet and it was the small group that would later be sent out to once again be fruitful and multiply. This they were only able to do because of those years at his feet hearing of the kingdom and experiencing it daily.

+ What is the Kingdom of God?

+ Is it a present reality? a future reality? both?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 60: Skin Deep?

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you,

even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Luke 12:27

Have we been here before? Did I jump ahead? 

Anyway... Beauty is not what we think it is, it lies not in perfection, but rather in the imperfections.

Take the flowers for instance, what is a perfect flower? Where do you find one? How often do you see them? Let me answer the questions for you: who knows, in pictures [perhaps], not often. If you go outside and look at the flowers you will not find perfection, but you will find beauty, tons of beauty, beauty everywhere. In wilted leaves and bent stems, in petals attached and those fallen in the ground, in the brightness of colors and in the dullness of the same, in blooming grandeur and beginning buds.

Henry and I watch Dinosaur Train a lot. It has a song that goes, 'Get up, get outside, get into nature, get into nature' and if you do, you will see beauty all around. It will not be touched up or perfect, but it will be real, it will be varied. If you can focus on it you may see the world around you, and the face in the mirror a little differently.

+ How do you define beauty?

+ How do you see yourself?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 59: Red Letter Update

"Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." Luke 12:23

You're worrying doesn't help. 

Why? 

Because you are focusing on the wrong things. You're worrying about yourself, what you'll eat, how you'll look today. How will focusing on those things accomplish anything?

Look around you and see what you've been missing. Look up, to the sky, see the birds as they fly. First one way, then the next, but do they go hungry? Your Father/Mother made the birds and care for them still, do you think you are less loved than the birds? Yet your worries do not cease.

So, look down, to the ground, see the flowers as they bloom. See their beauty. The beauty on the magazine covers and movie screens pale in comparison to the beauty of the wildflower, yet you compare yourself to them. Botox, tummy tucks, cool sculpting, breast enhancement, hair coloring, pretty things to wear. Do you consider yourself lower than a flower? Your Father/Mother made them and loves them and clothes them in beauty, but you so much more so.

Worry about food and find hunger pains. Worry about clothes and feel naked. Focus on others and the kingdom and the Father/Mother and find it all and more.

+ Does it help you understand what Jesus is saying when it is placed in your context?

+ Do you trust God to provide?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 58: We don't need what we want

And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Luke 12:15

Very rarely are we ever content, there is always something else we want. A new house, a new car, a new job, a new spouse, a new child, a new wardrobe, a new title, a new ring, a new _____. (Fill in the blank) We think the grass is greener wherever we aren't. And what's worse, we delude ourselves so greatly into thinking that if we just had ______ we'd finally be content, finally be happy, finally find peace.

It isn't true, and we know it isn't true, but we live in the delusion all the same. So we get the new ______ and soon we just need a newer _______ or something else equally important, equally different, and ultimately equally disposable. 

Jesus is doing us a favor by pointing out the truth, happiness, contentment and peace do not come from without, doesn't come from getting a _______, but rather come from within. We will be much better off if we let go of our desire for _______ and enjoy what we have and who we have, cause we could lose it all in an instant.

+ What is your ________?

+ Have you ever been successful in letting it go?

+ What has, or has not worked, for you?

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 57: Confession and Denial

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess 

before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before

the angels of God." Luke 12:8-9

I confess that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God. He came to this place and dwelt among us. He taught us by his words and deeds and ultimately taught us to do the same as he had done. He was betrayed by a friend, mocked, beaten and killed on a Roman cross. After several days in the tomb, he rose again, following his resurrection he appeared to his friends, both men and women. The he ascended to heaven where he remains to this day and beyond.

So...I'm in.

But...the same things I have confessed I have also denied. The one I love I have on occasion forsaken. 

I read this passage of scripture and I don't concern myself with atheists or those who follow a different religion, I think of myself, because, unfortunately, I have enough sin and mistakes in my own past, even recent past. I confess Jesus only because of his grace; in the end it is my prayer that his grace outpaces his judgment, that his love is more abundant than his anger, that I have confessed more than I have denied, and if not that he still loves me anyway.

+ What is your confession?

It may be a good idea to write it out, just to remind yourself in hard times.

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 56: Depression

"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7

Robin Williams died a few days ago (as of this writing). The beloved actor and comedian took his own life during a bout of intense depression. For those who have never dealt with any sort of depression it is an overwhelming feeling of failure, no matter what is good in your life, no matter what you have accomplished, no matter how people feel about you, you feel unloved, unworthy, unneeded. It is awful when anyone kills themselves, but it is especially hard for us when it is a life that brought so much laughter and joy to so many. 

I have had a couple small bouts with depression, none were anywhere near the severity of contemplating suicide, but even in my times people's words or even the Bible didn't go deeper than the surface and I was quickly back to feeling like I was nothing. What ultimately helped me was remembering what I already knew: remembering how people felt about me, remembering that my time isn't up, remembering that I am worthy and loved by the one who created the mountains and the rivers, the flowers and the sun, and that ultimately the rain falls on all and the sun shines on all, sometimes the rain just seems more powerful and long-lasting.

+ Have you ever dealt with depression?

+ What helped you in those times?

+ Has anyone you've known suffered from depression?

+ How did it make you feel?

+ Were you able to help at all?

p.s. The fact that I overcame my bouts of depression through remembering is neither a suggestion for those suffering, an indictment against those who required medical attention, nor a comment on those who have ended their lives, it is merely my story. 

Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 55: Knowledge is a Blessing

Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;

for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it,

and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it." Luke 10:23-24

When I was a kid I was a cub scout and I remember the experience fondly. I especially remember the times where I learned something new about the natural world around me, like the name of a new tree or which berries I could eat or the importance of the honey bee. Then, sooner or later I would be out in that world and would see the world slightly different than I did the previous time. 

That is the way knowledge coupled with experience works, it allows you to look with new eyes and naturally leads to more experience and more knowledge. It is this concept which I believe Jesus was explaining to his disciples. They were the ones on the inside, the ones who say ever miracle, heard the parable explanations, went into more towns and homes and lives than they would have had they not chosen to get up and go.

The same can still happen to us today, if we make the same choice that they did. Jesus still opens our eyes, still leads to new destinations, still opens our minds to understanding the depth of his teachings. Our eyes, and our lives, can still be blessed if we want them to be.

+ Think of a time in your life, in youth or more recent, where you learned something which caused a change in your perspective?

+ Has your vision and life been enhanced since you started to follow Jesus? In what ways?