At the Core of the Crowd

“Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear him.” Luke 15:1

If Jesus were to walk into your town today, I wonder what kind of people He would attract. If you were like the rest of us, you’d probably expect all the well-put-together churchgoers to show up and occupy the front row seats. But you just might be surprised.

In Luke 15:1-32, it wasn’t the good folk who crowded around Jesus; it was the tax collectors and “sinners.” These were the ones who lived in blatant disregard for the law—the problem people in town! Which makes me wonder, what is it about Jesus that attracted them? And why were the “good folk” standing at the fringe of the crowd? Because they were ticked at sinners to begin with and mad at Jesus for hanging out with such unworthy people!

Thankfully, Jesus puts things into perspective for them—and for us—with a few lessons about why He hangs out with sinners, by telling the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin.

The point Jesus makes is that sinners have great value to God. Why else would the shepherd go after one lost sheep, or the woman conduct a diligent search for her coin? They had suffered significant loss—a loss like God suffered when sin took people, His prized possession, away from Him.

And, to make matters worse, sinners are hopelessly lost. Sheep can’t help themselves when lost, and obviously when a coin is lost, it remains lost until someone finds it. Which means there must be intentional intervention to rescue the lost. That’s why Jesus said that He came “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Obviously the grumblers on the fringe didn’t get it, but it was Jesus’ love and pursuit of sinners that drew their hearts to Him.

Got any “sinners” near you? Are you feeling a little standoffish and grumpy about them, or are you compelled to love them by launching a rescue operation of your own? After all, I bet you’re glad He went after you—as hopelessly lost and hell-bound as you were. So take a moment to remember what it was like to be lost, and do what you can to attract others to the joy of being found. You can’t go wrong when you’re at the core of the crowd. See you there!

Lord Jesus, I want to be at the core of the crowd.  Forgive me for attitudes that counteract Your abundant mercy for the lost, and enable me to be Your hands and feet to reach out to those who desperately need to be found. Amen

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Are you at the fringe of the crowd with the religious folk, grumbling about “sinners”? If so, read Romans 2:3-4, and ask the Lord to replace your judgmental spirit with His heart of compassion.
• Are you at the core of the crowd, as one of the “sinners” who has found Jesus? If so, how does this help stir a heart of compassion for other “sinners” around you?
• What attitudes and actions in your life might be detracting others from the love of Jesus? Are there some things in your life that attract people to Him?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/at-the-core-of-the-crowd/

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

This is a great principle, which is repeatedly enforced throughout the Bible. Men have always been apt to divorce religion and morality, and to suppose that a certain tribute of sacrifice to God will be sufficient compensation for notorious evil doing. But in every age God’s servants have protested against the notion, and have insisted, as Samuel did with Saul, that it were better to obey, although there should be no spoil from which to select victims for sacrifice. This was Christ‘s perpetual protest against the Pharisees.

Let the Ritualist beware. There is a grave fear lest extreme attention to the outward rite may be accompanied by carelessness to the inward temper. Where the outward observance is the expression of the attitude of the soul, it is to be respected even by those of us who feel that excessive symbolism is hostile to the devout life; but where the rite takes the place of the soul’s devotion, or condones a lax morality, it cannot be too sternly deprecated. Though all the Levitical rites should be observed without flaw, they could not compensate for the persistent neglect of the least item of the decalogue. “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

Let us all beware. We are apt to make sacrifices of time and money and energy for God, and to comfort ourselves with the reflection that such as we are may be excused if in small lapses of temper, or disposition, we come short of the Divine standard. No; it cannot pass muster. One sin mastered, one temptation resisted, one duty performed, is dearer to God than the most costly sacrifices that were ever piled upon the altar.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/f-b-meyer-devotional.shtml

 

Get a Haircut

“These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Matthew 15:8

There we were, sitting in the middle of a statewide meeting for ministry leaders when the pastor of a large church leaned over and said to me, “You know, Joe, your hair is too long for you to be able to sing in my choir!” Actually there were probably better reasons that I couldn’t sing in his church choir, but I just smiled and said, “Oh really?”

The guy, who in so many words had told me to “get a haircut,” was a household name in our denomination, was nationally sought after as a preacher, and was what every aspiring minister hoped he could become. So, given how strict he was, you can imagine how shocked I was to later hear that he abandoned his church and family to move in with a woman he had been counseling.

I want to be careful not to sound holier-than-thou, but there is an important lesson here. If we are not careful, we can conform to a bunch of rules that keep us looking good on the outside while ignoring the condition of our hearts. It’s like buying good-looking peaches only to find out that when you cut them open they are bad on the inside.

Jesus confronted this “we’re-OK-because-we-keep-our-rules” attitude when the Pharisees pointed out that the disciples were not washing their hands before they ate. It’s not like the Pharisees were worried about any kind of sanitary issue. No, they had their tunics in a twist because the disciples were breaking a tradition, that is, not following their rules. I’m sure you could have heard a pin drop when Jesus stopped them cold by saying to these keepers of man-made rules, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:7-8). What a gut-wrenching indictment!

So in light of Jesus’ strong words on this point, how do we know when our hearts are far from God? One of the ways we know is when we see our Christianity in terms of the externals. Authentic Christianity is not about the right haircut, being at church every time the doors are opened, serving as an elder or using all of the “Christianese” lingo known to man. You can be all cleaned up on the outside while pride, jealousy, greed, and a dozen other internal demons happily feast on your heart. Let’s remember that “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Jesus longs to have a real heart-to-heart connection with us that expresses our love to Him in heartfelt acts of devotion instead of just living a life of dutifully keeping all the rules. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

My pastor friend found that he ended up with nothing when his heart was far from God—no ministry, no family, no devoted relationship with God. Fortunately, he repented and ended up reconciling with his wife. He would be the first to tell you that a true love for Christ cannot be replaced by a squeaky clean record of conduct according to “the rules.” When we let the rules rule, our faith is reduced to something like grocery shopping—it’s just another thing on our list of things to do.

So the choice is yours. Your life can be all about the burdensome duties of your Christianity or about the blessings of a heart that is devoted to Jesus. And, by the way, if your heart belongs to Jesus, the rules will take care of themselves!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Pray and ask God to give you His perspective on the man-made rules in your life. Does He want you to follow them as a sign of respect to people in authority, for the safety of others, for your own safety?
• Divide a sheet of paper into two columns. List five or six of God’s rules in one column and five or six man-made rules in the other column. How are God’s rules different from man-made rules?
• When you interact with people, are you more concerned with what’s on the outside or what’s inside? How does this compare with God’s perspective?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/get-a-haircut/

If You Gave Him a Foot, He Wanted Two by Scot McKnight

Matthew 5:17-20

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:20

Introduction by Mark Roberts: I am pleased to welcome Dr. Scot McKnight as our reflections writer for this week. In his day job, Scot is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is a prolific writer whose books span the spectrum from the academic to the devotional. Scot’s highly acclaimed blog, Jesus Creed, appears at Patheos.com, the website that hosts my blog as well. I have had the chance to spend time with Scot in a variety of settings including Laity Lodge when he has spoken there. He is a delightful, faithful, prayerful, brilliant man, one I am pleased to call a friend. The reflections you’ll read this week grow out of work Scot is doing on a commentary on The Sermon on the Mount. It will appear in the same series as my commentary on Ephesians (which Scot asked me to write, by the way). I’m thankful for Scot’s willingness to contribute the Daily Reflections. I know you will share my gratitude as you allow Scot’s prayerful writing to guide you into deeper relationship with the Lord. —Mark

Way back when we wore short shorts and Converse All-Stars, I played basketball. On my bedroom wall were some posters of my favorite basketball player, Oscar Robertson, The Big O. It was said of Oscar, that if you gave him a foot, he wanted two. In basketball that means he always pushed to get one foot closer to the basket, and he was strong enough to get what he wanted. Like a person with an insatiable appetite, he always wanted more.

Jesus has an insatiable appetite like that. God is so big and great, so good and loving, so majestic and holy, that his disciples could never give God enough. God gave all of who he was to make us all of what we are designed to be. His grace empowers us to become grace-filled people. So there is always more to give in following Jesus. Jesus was not creating a new legalism designed to drive us batty, but instead he made the ultimate claim on our lives: He wants more because, as Lord, he wants our heart.

I want to reflect with you on a word that is present in Matthew 5:20 but often absent in the translation. The word “surpasses” could be translated “even more surpassing,” and that is enough for us to see that Jesus wants more from us, he wants our righteousness to be more than what he sees in the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Later in this chapter, at 5:47, Jesus asks his disciples, who are also prone to love only their own kind, “What are you doing more than others?” This word “more” matters to Jesus. “More” marks the disciple.

Jesus looks at you and me today and he calls to us: “I want you. I want all of you. I want more than you’ve given before because I am worthy.” He wants more of us at home—in relationships with those we love, in gardening, in what we buy for the home; he wants more of us at work—in relationships with those above and below and at our level, in what we do and in how we do it; he wants more of us at church—in fellowship, in worship, in service, and in the exercise of gifts.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you find these words of Jesus “hard” or do you see them calling to your deepest core for more? Where do you think there is more of Jesus’ claim on your life? Where do you see evidence that Jesus has a claim on your life? Where do you think your church needs to hear the “more” of Jesus?

PRAYER: Our Father, you sent your Son to this world because you love me. You emptied yourself for all of us. Through the summons of Jesus may I hear this call to “more,” and may your Spirit empower me to empty myself for you and for others as my expression of gratitude.

Even more Father, give me eyes to see how Jesus gave himself—all of himself to the point of death—for others; give me ears to hear his words; and give me the heart and hands and feet to respond to his call on me today.

And will you Father reveal to us in your grace where you want this more in my life today? Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/if-you-gave-him-foot-he-wanted-two

Inside Out

“Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, . . . blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” Mark 7:21-22

Shopping for a melon is a tough assignment. No matter how good it looks, it’s hard to tell! So I tap it, thump it, and, if no one is looking, squeeze it—and then take it home, only to discover that it’s bad on the inside.

When the Pharisees were irritated that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before eating—a violation of one of their traditions—Jesus immediately challenged them. “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9). He even called them “hypocrites” and explained that what comes from the inside of a person is what “defiles” him, not the other way around.

If we’re not careful, we can become absorbed with looking good on the outside and forget what really counts. In fact, when we get to the place where we are keeping all the “right” rules, we may become proud of ourselves and judgmental toward others. But harboring bitterness, clinging to critical attitudes, and thinking too highly of ourselves are the kind of defiling stuff that make us guilty of Jesus’ charge of “hypocrite.”

So don’t miss the point. Remember, it’s the things on the inside—your heart, your thoughts, your attitudes—that really matter.

What matters to Jesus is what’s on the inside.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/inside-out/

The Lost and Found Column (3)

“My son…was lost, and is found.”                                                 Lk 15:24

After telling the story of the lost sheep and the lost silver, Jesus ends up by telling us the story of the lost son. The interesting thing about him is that he knew he was lost, and knew his way home. The shepherd sought the lost sheep, the lady with the lamp sought the lost silver, but nobody went looking for the lost son. Only when he had squandered his inheritance and ended up in a pigpen do we read: “When he came to his senses, he said…‘I will…go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned’…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him…the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was…lost and is found’” (vv.17-24 NIV). Backslider, though you have walked away from God, He is waiting to welcome you home. Your place at the table is reserved. He has a ring of sonship that identifies you as His own, and a robe of righteousness to cover your shame. The Prodigal Son’s joy didn’t return until he came back to his father’s house. So, you have a decision to make. Though you’re disappointed in yourself and ashamed before the God you’ve failed, you can come back home. And you can come today.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/the-lost-and-found-column-3/

Paul’s Narrow Escape From Death

The seven days during which the men had promised to make special offerings were almost over when some Jews from Asia, who saw Paul in the Temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men, everywhere, to despise the Jewish people, the Jewish law, and this sacred place.” So the whole city was aroused. The people rushed together, seized Paul, and dragged him outside the Temple; and at once the doors were closed.

The people were trying to kill Paul when it was reported to the commander of the soldiers that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once took some soldiers and officers and rushed down among them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired, “Who is he and what has he done?” Some of the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as the commander could not learn the real truth on account of the uproar, he ordered Paul to be taken to the castle. When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd, for all the people followed, shouting, “Kill him!”

Just as Paul was being taken into the castle, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” The commander said: “Do you speak Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion and led four thousand outlaws into the desert?” Paul answered, “I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of a great city. I beg of you, let me speak to the people.”

So when the commander had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people, and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in Hebrew: “Brothers, and fathers, listen to the defense I now make before you.” When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew they were all the more quiet; so he went on to say, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel in all the strictness of our law. I was as eager to serve God as you all are to-day. I persecuted and even killed the followers of Jesus. I bound and put in prison both men and women, as the high priest himself and all the elders can testify.

“It was also from them that I had letters to our fellow Jews in Damascus, and I was on my way to bring the Christians who were there back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment. While I was on my way not far from Damascus, suddenly, about noon, a bright light from heaven shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who art thou, Lord?’ I asked. He answered, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one whom you are persecuting.’ And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told you what you are to do.’ And when I could not see because of the bright light, I went to Damascus, led by the hand of those who were with me. And one Ananias, a religious man, well thought of by the Jews, came and, standing beside me, said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight,’ and that very minute I received my sight and saw him. And he said to me, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One. For you shall be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to those who are not Jews.’”

Up to this time the people had listened to him, but when they heard these words they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live,” and they threw off their clothes and flung dust into the air until the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the castle and examined, by flogging, to find out why the people had shouted so against him. When they had tied him up with straps, Paul said to the officer who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without trial?” When the officer heard this he reported it to the commander and said: “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman citizen.” Then the commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “I paid a large sum for this citizenship”; and Paul said, “But I was born a Roman citizen.” The men who were to have examined him, at once left him. And the commander, when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen, was also afraid because he had bound him.

The next day the commander, so as to find out just what charge the Jews had made against Paul, unbound him and ordered the high priests and all the members of the council to come together. Then they brought Paul down and placed him before them. Paul, looking straight at the members of the council, said: “Brothers, I have done my duty, with a clear conscience before God, up to the present moment.”

When Paul saw that some of the council were Sadducees and some Pharisees, he cried out, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is because of my hope that the dead will live again that I am on trial!” When he said this a quarrel arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and there was a great difference of opinion among them. For the Sadducees say that there is no life after death, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees believe in all these; so there was a great uproar. Some of the scribes who belonged to the party of the Pharisees sprang to their feet and protested, “We find this man guilty of no crime. What if some spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” When the uproar became so great that the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him from among them by force and bring him into the castle.

The next night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Be of good cheer, for as you have spoken for me at Jerusalem, so you must speak also at Rome.”

Early the next morning the Jews plotted together and solemnly promised not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul, and there were more than forty who made this promise. They went to the high priests and elders and said, “We have made a solemn promise to taste no food until we have killed Paul. Now you and the council must tell the commander that you wish him to bring Paul down to you, as though you wanted to examine more carefully the charges brought against him. We shall be ready to kill him before he comes here.”

But Paul’s sister’s son heard of their plot and went to the castle and told Paul. And Paul called one of the officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” So the officer took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner asked me to bring this young man to you, for he has something to tell you.” The commander then took him by the hand, and after he had led him aside, asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” He said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to-morrow to the council pretending that they wish to examine his case more carefully. Now do not grant their request, for more than forty are lying in wait for him and have solemnly promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Even now they are ready, only waiting for your consent.”

The commander let the young man go, bidding him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of this.” Then he called two officers and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen by nine o’clock to-night to go as far as Cesarea.” He also told them to provide horses for Paul to ride on so as to bring him safely to Felix the governor. So the soldiers, as they had been commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. The next day the soldiers returned to the castle, leaving the horsemen to go on with him. When they reached Cesarea they brought Paul to the governor.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Pauls-Narrow-Escape-From-Death.shtml

God Will Do Whatever It Takes

“Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”      Ro 5:20 NKJV

Paul writes, “I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it” (Gal 1:13 NIV). Clearly, Paul had no thoughts of becoming a Christian. As a Jew, he was obsessed with the law. As an intellectual, he could debate the finest minds. Articulate and educated, he was committed to the tenets of his faith. Yet he hated Christians! He watched as Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death. And while he didn’t personally participate, he held the coats of those who did (See Ac 7:57-59). Paul never dreamed that one day he’d switch sides. But when God has a plan for your life He will do whatever it takes to fulfill it. By the time He places the hook in your jaw, He’s already begun to work out His purpose for you. Even while Paul held the coats of Stephen’s executioners, God had plans to use him. Just as He’d plans for you when you were out partying, doing your own thing, going from relationship to relationship, or thinking only of making money. None of that stopped God because “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” Had Paul known God planned to meet him that day on the Damascus Road, he might have taken a different route. But “He was…dazed by a blinding flash…As he fell to the ground” (Ac 9:3-4 TM). This proud Pharisee had an appointment with God that wasn’t in his Day-Timer, one that knocked him off his high horse. And to bring you into submission with His will, God will do whatever it takes. So be warned! God won’t permit your stubbornness to subvert His plans for your life!

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/god-will-do-whatever-it-takes/

Living Your Theology

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . —John 12:35

Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.

The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.

Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, “. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

http://utmost.org/living-your-theology/

Tozer Devotional-Testing the Spirits

Testing the Spirits

Many tender-minded Christians fear to sin against love by daring to inquire into anything that comes wearing the cloak of Christianity and breathing the name of Jesus. They dare not examine the credentials of the latest prophet to hit their town lest they be guilty of rejecting something which may be of God. They timidly remember how the Pharisees refused to accept Christ when He came, and they do not want to be caught in the same snare, so they either reserve judgment or shut their eyes and accept everything without question. This is supposed to indicate a high degree of spirituality. But in sober fact it indicates no such thing. It may indeed be evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit. Gullibility is not synonymous with spirituality. Faith is not a mental habit leading its possessor to open his mouth and swallow everything that has about it the color of the supernatural. Faith keeps its heart open to whatever is of God, and rejects everything that is not of God, however wonderful it may be. Try the spirits is a command of the Holy Spirit to the Church. We may sin as certainly by approving the spurious as by rejecting the genuine. And the current habit of refusing to take sides is not the way to avoid the question. To appraise things with a heart of love and then to act on the results is an obligation resting upon every Christian in the world. And the more as we see the day approaching.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=649