Matthew Chapter 10

HARVEST HANDS

Jesus has called us into action. He says to start out local and talk to our neighbors. He says to do remarkable works and miracles among the people closest to is. When we do travel to proclaim His message, we are to trust that our needs will be taken care of by those we are going to minister to. We are to be polite and unassuming, gracious to everybody. Speak the Message to those who will listen and quietly walk away from those who will not. There will be a consequence for those who refuse to accept you and what you have to say, but that is not our concern as we are not the Judge. Jesus says that representing Him is dangerous work and that we need to stay alert, be cunning, and remain innocent. Many of the people that we go to and share the Gospel with will second guess our motives and try to drag us through the mud and ruin our reputation. At first I am tempted to ask why?, but then I realize that when we both speak AND LIVE the Word of God, people feel convicted, and they must either change their lifestyle or fight for their comfort zone. In the Message (bible version), it says that there is a great irony, proclaiming so much Love and receiving so much Hate. I hear over and over again people ask about Good People and why should they be concerned about Jesus and what could they possibly need to change in their lives? How is everybody defining Good? Following the local laws, providing for themselves and their families? Showing an interest in charitable causes? These are all good things, but do they make a person good? The bible says that we are born sinners (not a good thing), but no one looks at a baby or young child as something repulsive. It occurs to me that sin and maturity have an interesting connection. Infants are hard wired to seek out their own personal selfish needs; food, diaper change, cuddling etc...They have to for survival. Their whole existence is all about them and what we can do for them. It doesn't take too long though before they grow up enough to express appreciation and love towards their caregivers. It takes many years before a child gets to a place of empathy and concern for others, and usually many years later still before the child or maybe young adult decides to act on behalf of other people. The same is true of our spiritual lives. Everything is about us and our comfort level and what others can do for us. Sometimes we define ourselves as good if we do not require much from others or use much in the way of resources; Ex, "I am not on welfare", or "I have not been put in jail", or even, "I have a job and take care of myself just fine". It comes as a real slap in the face to some people to find out that more is required of us. Why do we need to concern ourselves with others? Just leave me alone and let me stay out of your way. Other peoples lives are messy and I don't want to be involved. The great news is that just as children we can start out small, give a cup of water someone who is thirsty. Make people comfortable. Care about peoples lives. Once we start to concern ourselves with others, God takes care of us and our souls, and no one person can destroy our core being.

Matthew Chapters 8&9

Sorry it has been a month since my last post...

Wow, there is a lot going on in these two chapters! Most of the sections tell of people who are sick or demon possessed that are brought to Jesus' attention and he heals them. Sounds simple enough. Several points stood out for me. One, Jesus was getting to work. Like the farmers creed, he did what was in front of him to do. If someone needed attention from Jesus, they didn't make an appointment or wait for the next convention, they went to Him or had a friend or family member go to Him (one person was dead) and there was immediate relief. The next point is that those coming to Jesus sought Him out. As Jesus did His work and word got out that He was a healer people believed and came to Him. Now I don't believe that we are talking about unsophisticated uneducated gullible people who would run to any Shaman they heard about to find relief from their suffering. There was faith that this was God/Son of Man, even if they did not have words for it. One example told is a Roman Captain who came to Jesus and asked for healing for one of his servants. His faith in Jesus was so strong that he knew that only a Word would be enough for the healing, Jesus didn't even have to go there. Jesus was amazed and pointed out that many people not of Jewish faith will come to be Saved, and those raised in the church will not have developed any faith at all and be left out. How many different ways does Jesus make Himself known to us? How often have we heard something that just seemed "right" even if it was outside of our scope of experiences or knowledge? We need to remain open to what God has in store for us. We alone do not have a handle on what is possible or plausible in this life or how Jesus will choose to resolve a situation. We simple must believe that it can be done.
The one other point that really caught my attention was the telling of Jesus meeting up with Matthew the tax collector and having dinner with him and other undesirable sinners that evening. The religious leaders were upset that Jesus would set such a bad example. I personally have tried to live this expression of Love and acceptance in my own life. I have good friends/close friends who consider themselves to be pagans, homosexual, atheists, doubters and others. I do not keep my beliefs and faith to myself, I freely share it with them. I do not hide the fact that some of their life choices or actions don't fit with what God has intended for us. I also believe that all of us are fallen and broken and fall short of what is intended for us. I was extremely touched yesterday by one of these "sinners". A co-worker of mine that I have befriended said that she was praying a meditating and I crossed her mind and she came up with several ideas for things that could help me with day to day tasks in the upcoming weeks. (I will have my right arm amputated in about a month). She went to her spouse and said " I was praying and came up with some things that may really bless Natasha". Now for the sinner part: my co-worker is openly gay and frequently mentions her wife of many years. Do I discredit the fact that lesbians pray? To my God? Should I be insulted that God has chosen to bless me through this deviant? (Words that I often hear to describe homosexuals). I have accepted this person as a child of God and have not retained a polite distance from her. I have not merely been civil towards her when appropriate. She is truly a good friend. I am not insulted that God (my God) has chosen her to help me. What sort of blessings or growth opportunities do we miss out on when we close ourselves off from other people? How many other people will miss out on what we have to offer if we don't go to them? My faith tells me that Christ works through me and all people who acknowledge Him, and as far as the sins are concerned, He will work it out personally with the sinner in His own timing. Amazing Love: blatant sin does not keep us from coming to Christ! We hear it said many times that we do not have to be perfect, that we are all sinners and Christ accepts us, but how many believers write people off who haven't repented of some sin/behavior in the time frame that we think they should? How many believers discredit another person's faith because they continue to engage in sinful behavior? Is it our place to question? Now don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that I am accepting or condoning sinful behavior. I will speak out against it to the offender. What I will not do is assume that Jesus cannot be at work in their lives if they profess to have a relationship with Him. I don't know at what point a person will feel convicted enough to give up a particular sin. Fortunately I am not a Savior, my responsibility is only to point the way to Him.

Matthew Chapters 6&7

Matthew 6 is a great chapter of instruction. So many of us go to church and study and debate with each other on how to be the best "Christian". We look skeptically at others and try to assess if they are making the mark or not. On the flip side of this skepticism and assessment/judgement is an attempt on our part to make sure that appearences are kept up and to make sure that no one will second guess us. Really! Is all this necassary? We spend time concerned about how the World perceives us and in judgement of how we see others. Instead of trying to figure out what everybody should and shold not be doing and what it looks like to everybody else, we need to ask "What does God WANT?" He wants us to sit quietly and get to know Him without the distractions of the World. He wants to impress upon us His way of BEING. Simple private prayers acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done for us. We need to take time to continually ask God for His protection and guidance. Some of us are truly trying to live a righteous Christ-centered life, but we are using the World measuring stick and not Gods.
God does not want us to be stressed. We need to relax in the knowledge that He takes care of us. Life comes at us and God helps navigate us through each situation. God does provide the necessities in life. Food, clothes, shelter, etc...may not be in the quantities or the quality that we desire, but we will always have enough to sustain us. Why make this life so complicated? Life in Christ is simple ( mind you I am not saying it is easy ). Sometimes the results of such a single minded focus in something produces beautiful results. I got to thinking about the Arts and Crafts movement and some of the furniture that came out of it. Simple, straightforward, functional, beautiful. Christ wants us to rest easy in His direction/instructions. Stop trying to figure things out on your own. Most of the time we can't imagine how God will get us through a situation, but here's the kicker; it's not for us to imagine, that is what our FATHER is for.
Chapter 7: Jesus points out that we innately know how to be good to each other and the people we love even though we are corrupt, fallen, sinful people. Our standing with God and with other people is not about doing. Our good works, charity, prayers, etc...mean nothing by themselves. Jesus is literally trying to get to the HEART of the matter; who we ARE. Character, integrity, love; the motivation behind our actions is what matters. Living a life of integrity and Love for Everybody (remember the enemy thing), is difficult since it goes against what most of the World is doing. The World rarely praises or rewards a person with these motivations sometimes because it is not appreciated or quite often because such actions go unnoticed. They are subtle, discreet. Jesus is working on building a quiet strength within us. A Rock Solid strength. Jesus is teaching us that He is the foundation for our lives. We can't go wrong listening to Him and following His example as recorded in the Bible.

Matthew Chapters 4&5

Matthew is plowing right along into the life work of Jesus. Chapter 4 1-11 tells us about the Temptation of Jesus in the desert. The first verse says that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. Then Jesus began to fast for 40 days and nights. How many times in life have we felt led into undesirable places? I have always thought of fasting as a time of extra prayer, b/c what else should you do with your scheduled mealtime if you are not eating food? Jesus confirms this in the first part of the Temptation when the Devil suggests that he turn the stones into bread; Man cannot live by bread alone, but by the Words from God (keep the conversation open). There are two more Temptations where Jesus responds by quoting more scriptures from Deuteronomy. It is interesting that Jesus quotes from this book of scriptures, which summed up the Law and way of living for the Jews, when in the next chapter Jesus is talking about the Law and our perception of it. The second Temptation was to jump off a cliff so that the angels would lift Jesus up. I thought about this in 2 different ways; 1, would you jump off a bridge just because Sally asked you to? Are you really that caught up in peer pressure or so curious about cause and affect that you would do anything in the moment? 2, I thought of times in my life when it felt like taking a leap would at least get me out of the situation I was in, and almost any consequence I could imagine would be better. If we don't do the first part and keep the conversation open with God, then we will leap blindly into situations that we are not prepared to handle. God prepares us for every next step if we talk to him. The third Temptation was the Devil offering Jesus all the earthly kingdoms spread out in front of them from the mountain top if Jesus were to bow down before him. First, I wouldn't think that they were the Devil's to give away, but Jesus doesn't say anything about that. He tells the Devil to go away and that God is the only one deserving of worship. This must have a lot to do with the worlds perspective as much as our own. While much of the rest of the world is not right with God, it is easy to see how the Devil would have more leverage over people and would seem to have a more immediate sense of power. God is more powerful, but it is subtle, more consistent over the long run.
The rest of chapter 4 follows Jesus out of Nazareth and into Capernaum, fulfilling more prophesy from Isaiah. Jesus heard that John had been arrested and was picking up where John left off with the preaching. Here is where he gathers some of his disciples as well. Chapter 4 says that Jesus called two sets of brothers away from their fishing duties, and they dropped what they were doing and immediately followed Him. Wow, I have met many the sales person who wished that they had that sort of power of persuasion. As breif as the conversations seem to be, it makes you wonder what Jesus said, or more importantly how he said it to get such a quick response.
Chapter 5 starts with what is commonly known as the Beattitudes. As I get older I can see the truth of this set of scriptures work out in my life. When we are down and out, when we've lost all that we have, we come to a place where God is all there is and (Praise Him), all we need. We are meek when we realize that God must work through us. Hunger and thirst for Righteousness=We can never have enough of what God wants for us. Pure of heart tells me not to get distracted by worldly things that would take my focus off God. Peacemakers: what a chore when it seems the whole world is at war sometimes. Obviously Jesus knows that none of these things come easily and the world will not understand. Plan on being ridiculed, persecuted and ostricized for two reasons; one, when you live your life in God's fashion, people will feel convicted and will lash out; two, people almost always make fun of what they don't understand. This is a simple but tough lifestyle.
The rest of chapter 5 goes into the character of God's people and some legalistic issues. Jesus says that we are salt and light. Salt is amazing in that it draws out the qualities of what it is added to. Salt makes sugar seem sweeter, and cocao more choclaty, and your favorite foods just all around better. Jesus says that with God living and working through us we will be as salt, and what good is salt if it is no longer salty? Again there is this concept of subtle power; salt does wonderous things, but doesn't get a lot of credit until it is missing. Less sublte is the Light. With God in your life you will stand out and be like a beacon showing the way to God's Kingdom.
Jesus is preaching to the Jewish people here in these verses, and the Jewish people have a lot of laws tied up in their religion (we can read how most of this was laid out in the first few books of the Old Testament). Jesus says that he did not come to replace the law, but fulfill it, and you must be familiar with and observant of the law to know the kingdom of God. Then Jesus continues on by referencing legal situations addressed in the Old Testament; murder,adultery,swearing... What I get from these verses (Matt 5:21-48), is that Jesus is distingueshing between being outwardly observant of the law (I didn't kill anyone, I didn't sleep with your spouse) and the spirit of the law. How could the Law be fulfilled if the true intent is not understood? This gets me thinking that we are to live a life where we do not have to justify our actions or our thoughts. It is easy to look righteous to the rest of the world when we have not overtly committed a crime, but we are still very much separated or distracted from God if we seeth with hate, or covet what we don't have. I had been taught that sin is what separates us from God, but I think that sin is what does not draw us nearer to God; a small but important difference. By nature of the Fall way back with Adam and Eve, we have been separted from God physically and spiritually. As babies we are self centered and hard wired to look out for ourselves, but as we grow up and mature we begin to look outside of ourselves. Our spiritual growth begins when we purposfully look towards God for guidance in our personal and public life. Accepting Jesus and living for Him requires a change in attitude. The Spirit cannot work within us if we actively harbor sinful thoughts and feelings, even the ones we don't act on. Jesus tells us to make the first move in making things right with someone who has a grudge against us. Don't let it go to court as things may not go our way. We are also told to be real clear in what we say and how it corresponds to what we do. Don't say something to make you look good, but then not follow through with your actions. (This is how grudges are started). To finish up Jesus takes it a step further and says that we are to love our enemies. I was just thinking a few days ago about who our enemies really are, even before I read this passage. I do not live my life in such a way that I can name enemies. If detectives came by and questioned my family and wanted to know who might have a grudge against me, I imagine they would be hard pressed to give an answer. So who is my enemy, do I only have rare occasions to express this love that Jesus asks about? I think that my enemies are those people who don't know and or understand me. Those who may be tempted to ridicule, persecute and ostricize (seems familiar). In short my enemy can be anyone not in my inner circle, and my inner circle should be with Jesus and His followers. My enemy can be myself when I get distracted and look away from Christ. Put broadly, I need to stay focused and let Christ Love everybody through me. I alone do not have the ability to decide who is or is not worthy of Love, so by default I should endeaver to Love eveybody. Living a life without a hint of judgement is extremely difficult, and I have been tempted to keep myself separated from some people that push my bounderies in what I consider right or acceptable. I can think of two separate occasions where I decided to overcome my own objections and let Jesus "do His thing". What a remarkable outcome! I have been blessed by getting to know new types of people and expanding my understanding of where people are coming from, and they are blessed by having Jesus touch their lives, even when they don't realize it.

Matthew Chapters 2 & 3

Chapter 2 begins by introducing the Three Wise Men/Scholars from the East/Magi. Obviously these people were not Jewish; it is interesting to note that they are not looked down on or disregarded. In fact, it seems that they are regarded in high esteem. First lesson, education puts you in a different class that people respect. The Wise Men did not know Jewish tradition, so they did not know to go straight to Bethlehem (Herod didn't even know this, he had to ask local priest/historians). There appears to be some debate as to the nationality of the Wise Men, but I don't think it matters. God is apparent in the world and all of us have the ability to pick up on His actions in the world if we pay attention. The Wise Men were in tune with nature and astronomy. The Old Testament says the trees of the field will clap their hands and the rocks will cry out. Apparently stars will shine forth as well. Second lesson, God is continually talking to us! Later God warned them in a dream to leave Jesus's house by a different route as Herod wanted to harm the child.
God likes to communicate in dreams. He speaks to Joseph in dreams (Marry Mary, leave Bethlehem for Egypt, come home Herod's dead, Go to Galilee, not Judea). He also talked to the Wise Men in dreams. More evidence of God communicating with us even before we seek him out. How many of us have had dreams that we disregarded? What does God want for us? He will obviously (literally) change the direction of our lives if we pay attention. God has His ways of making sure that we are in the right place at the right time if we listen to Him. I personally have had visions that could have only come from God/Jesus, some of which have not been too subtle. Sometimes I hear God through other people when they say something that seems out of character, or maybe a little too insightful based on their experiences. God loves to communicate. We need to be open to Him and not so quick to dismiss. What if Herod dismissed the Wise Men and considered them to be crazy superstitious foreigners? What if Joseph blamed his dreams on that bad falafel he ate at the market? Many times we don't want to consider that it is God talking if it means change for us (which most times it does).
I don't quite understand the purpose of killing all the two year olds when Herod found out that he had been duped. Matthew says to fufill prophesy...Was this to set up some documented proof and to connect the dots of prophesy? Jesus says I was born in Bethlehem in this year, and somebody else says, "wasn't that the time when Herod killed all the boys?", and Jesus says "Yes, God told my Dad to leave for Eygypt during the night before the soldiers came". Why does the coming of the Savior initially result in the death of innocent children? What did "Rachel" gain from this? There is something to be learned here about our leaders. Not only was Herod afraid of the news about the new King of Isreal, but all of Jerusalhem with him. There wasn't even television or radio to spread the bad news. Countries will suffer consequences with the bad or misquided decisions of their leader. Be prayerful when you vote!
Chapter 3 brings us out in the desert where John is preaching and baptising people. People are coming out in large crowds to hear John and to be baptised into a new life. People are drawn to the truth, even if it's being told by a hippie in the desert. The religious leaders came as well, but not because they thought John was preaching truth from God, but because everybody else was coming out. Much like politicians making a good show where the crowds are. John makes a point of singling the religious leaders out and saying that what he is preaching is a lifestyle change where God lives through you and your life shows evidence of growth and change. A dead stagnant life will result in a firey death.
Next, Jesus appears and asks to be baptised by John. Jesus assures him that this is what God wants, and it will make things right. So John does it, and God shows his pleasure by sending down a dove to land on Jesus, and audibly says "This is my Son, choosen by Me and marked by my love". What I get from this is that we have to be "covered" in God's direction and love. I have always thought that baptism was more for the benefit of those witnessing than for the individual. Certainly true in the case of Jesus, from what I can see.

Matthew Chapter 1

Matthew Chapter 1 begins with a genealogy that leads up to the birth of Jesus. It starts with Abraham, the man that God first made a promise/covenant with stating that Abraham's descendants would be numerous like grains of sand. I am sure that there is an interesting study here, if I decided to look at each name individually and see what there contribution was during the course of their life (which I do not plan on doing at this time). A couple things that did stand out for me was the mention of only three mothers in the genealogy (Tamar a rape victim,Rahab a prostitute with faith in God, and Ruth a foreigner). Obviously our station or circumstance or gender in life does not prevent us from being part of the family of God. This is something to sing praise about because it indicates that we do not need to dispair in life, God has a purpose for us. I occurs to me that we have to be open to God, or at least the idea of God for him to do His work.
King David is mentioned in the geneaology of course, but Bathsheba is not mentioned as Solomon's mother. The bible states that Solomon's mother had been Uriah's wife. This is interesting for several reasons: The union of David and Bathsheba was born out of sin (adultery), God allowed the family to continue after Uriah's murder, and they were blessed with Solomon the wisest of all men. Does this mean that God forgives, but does not necassarily forget? 28 generations after David and Bathsheba God still sticks it in the geneaology evidence of the affair. This also tells me that I cannot judge other peoples relationships even when they start out in a less than Christian like manner. God can and does work through all of us, before and after our sinful acts, and some of this is private, not put on display for the whole world. Is Solomon the result of "fruit" (reconciling back with God)? Hmmm.... Verse 18 begins how the birth of Jesus came about. Joseph must have had a big heart in that He did not want to disgrace Mary publicly when He discovered that she was pregnant (presumably with another man's baby). There is no mention of Joseph's disgrace of having been cheated on. Verse 20 and 21 tell of the dream that Joseph has clearing up the misunderstanding (No Mary did not cheat, the baby is concieved of the Holy Spirit, name the baby Jesus; this is prophecy fulfilled). In this first chapter it looks like Matthew is trying to show us the big picture, that the arrival of Jesus is not an isolated event. Jesus continues the conenant that God had with Abraham and fulfills prophsey through the generations and holds new promises for the future.

Before I get started...

Before I get started, I thought that I would try to answer a couple questions before you actually think to ask them. I am doing this with the express purpose of recording my thoughts and impressions of the scriptures as I read them. I am not trying to do a theological study, or advance a particular vein of thought or ideology. I hope to open a door of communication and learning with all who choose to read my entries. As far as what version of the bible I am reading, I feel it is irrelevant, but I know that people have strong views on the matter. I have an NIV Thompson Chain study bible that I use a lot, and I like The Message for its readability, though I realize it is considered a paraphrase. I plan on getting a NAS and NKJ version soon. I have bible software with access to over 21 versions, and I also have a Strong's Concordance that I use for study. As a child growing up my family attended church regularly, and I have continued as an adult. It would be inacurate for me to say that I don't have my feet planted on one side of the theological fence (Calvinism vs. Armeanism), much like declaring yourself a Republican or Demorcat. For this exercise, I will try to remain Independant, and let my thoughts align themselves where ever they fall. I pray that through this blog there will not be debate, but clarification and a deeper understanding of what God/Christ/Spirit has to say to me/us. With that, here it goes...