A Prayer Multitude

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

​​“Hosanna!
​‘​Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
​​The King of Israel!”
  -- John 12:12-13

On this day the multitude was indeed great, but soon, within the week even, the multitude would not act so great. A multitude of people can be a dangerous thing rampaging through a city. Or, a multitude could be a thing glorious to God, such as the multitude which no one could number in Revelation 7. This morning I think we need a multitude of us to call upon Jesus for His help in Minneapolis. Yes, a prayer multitude. And we must pray that His will is done.

Let us pray to the One who saves,

Bucky

The Start Of The Ministry

John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”  John 1:26-27

The two first met as unborn babies, and then again in the river. There may have been other times as they were relatives. When the time came, John started his ministry calling for repentance and baptizing. He made a big splash. The answer John gives in our verses today was for the Pharisees, who didn't like to get wet. As those Pharisees stood looking to John for a satisfactory answer to their questions, John told them they were in the presence of one greater than he. Jesus was there! We know from the scripture picture, but surely the Pharisees must have looked around with even more questions on their suspicious minds. After an important baptism, they would get their chance as Jesus began His ministry with some mighty signs. 

Praise God the Father for the ministry of John and Jesus,

Bucky

The Child Time

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40

The small family had escaped to Egypt, and then after another dream visitation had come back to Nazareth. There, Jesus got to do what was likely an enjoyable time in his life; he got to be a child. While part of his childhood was spent in Egypt, Jesus did much of his growing up in Nazareth. During that time there is but one story of a Passover trip to Jerusalem. All the other time was spent likely in the usual way of kids and teens growing up and learning. No crowds, no Pharisees, and no readers from the future poking around in the life of the young Jesus. The birth of our Lord's brothers and sisters, the passing of Joseph, all done in privacy. In a time when each of us can easily know more about the life of the latest celebrity than we probably should, we can be grateful that Jesus had this time of just growing up with his earthly family.

May your day be joyous by faith in Jesus Christ!

Bucky

On This Journey

All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
  -- Ecclesiastes 1:8

By this time in life most of us have seen a great many things. It would be bad news for the tourism, movie, and social media industries if our eyes were satisfied with seeing. Those touring artists putting on the big concerts would have to take up something else for a living if our ears were filled with hearing just one concert. And yet there is a compulsion we may not like in the struggle to see or hear that next thing. How many hours will a person have to work to earn enough to purchase the next ticket to the show? That sounds like a thing full of labor.

We read what Solomon wrote just a bit less than 3,000 years ago and have to wonder just how far the human race has progressed. We labor to feed ourselves and to go to the show on Saturday night, much like they did in Solomon's time. We just celebrated a season of something entirely new though. This new man didn't look like much according to the prophet Isaiah, but he certainly went on about hearing and he who has ears to hear. And seeing? He put on quite a show of miracles, didn't he? Imagine being there to see Lazarus stumble from the tomb all tied up in his grave clothes.

On this journey, there is much to see with the eyes that believe in Jesus, and plenty to hear from His word!

Bucky

Another Silence, Then The Show Begins

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  John 1:29

The subject for this morning message has been easy to decide for about the last month since Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus our Lord. But we have ended one year and started a new one, so what is the subject now? Of course you will easily see that the subject does not need to change. The great birth events had passed and some years went by when all seemed quiet again in Judea and Galilee. But that was about to change as Jesus came of age and His ministry was set to begin. Joseph was gone, leaving only John and Mary the mother of Jesus to await all those things that would start with a baptism. Twelve unsuspecting men would soon take up the life of disciples of a new rabbi. A wedding would be blessed with the best wine a professional host had ever tasted. Blind eyes would see, dead people would be raised, and many other miracles would turn lives over in a short time. But, it wasn't for nothing that Isaiah had foretold of a great light shining in a land of darkness. Soon the word of God would be preached like it had not been heard before. And John's notice in our verse today would be fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. 

So get ready for a new year of blessings from our Lord and Savior!

Bucky

New Year Time!

Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end!
  -- Deuteronomy 32:29

If you are reading this and I am writing this, then once again, perhaps in spite of all expectations, we have made it to the end of another calendar year. Once more we have learned from the past while not dwelling in it. Joyfully anticipated the future meeting with our Lord and Savior while walking with Him in the Spirit each day. And by example or word we have spread the good news of Jesus even during the struggles we have faced with Him.

Wow, your halo really gleams today! Instead I feel like I have become crankier, fatter, slower, a bit stupider, and no better looking at all. Plus I'm pretty sure I have become what is called 'old' by most everyone. The year went from calamity to boredom to crisis and back to boredom. And at my age I kind of liked the boring parts.

So which is it with you? A funny thing is that by faith in Christ Jesus we walk a year both joyfully trusting in our Lord and at our wits end over the decline of what once were considered strengths. As the days pass, we come to know our need for Jesus all the more by way of weakness. We use the days that some would call boring to study His word and pray with Him in earnest. The passing years may slow us down to get with our Lord constantly as we prepare for that latter end.

Have a joyous New Year in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Growing Up King

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40

If a person were to visit the royal household a few years after the wise men from the east had departed, would that person's expectations be met. If a shepherd were to look up that same family he visited in Bethlehem some years later in their home in Nazareth, would his idea of how the Messiah should be raised be realized? Probably not in either case. However, if a person were to pray to God that His Son be aware of how most people have it growing up, then, yes, the young king knew struggles and poverty, and even growing up in a land occupied by a foreign power. Did Jesus the king suffer childhood illnesses? Scripture does not tell us, but Jesus probably had the usual childhood experiences of the time and place where he grew up. Jesus the young king of kings was probably shoved out of the way by a Roman soldier at some point. The Son of God may have even fallen down and cried.

Jesus knows us,

Bucky