Would Jesus Dance To ABBA?

And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36

Music and what a person likes or does not like in music can be quite polarizing. Put the question out there using the old WWJD model, and you can start an argument every time. I chose the band name that came to mind yesterday, but any band name will do for this exercise. In fact, one might choose an even more controversial band and really get things heated up. Or, could it be that the name of the band is not the most controversial name in this hypothetical question? 

Indeed, if you want to polarize a crowd, the name of Jesus separates 'em right quick. However, what about that question; do we get to decide for Him? One of the dangers of the what-would-Jesus-do question is in daring to decide for our Lord without asking Him in prayer or checking with His scripture. Can we be humble enough to admit that we do not know and do not particularly need to know His answer to this? You need to know? Then, go and ask Him in prayer! 

It would be interesting to take a church congregation to the disco and point out Jesus dancing to ABBA as they perform Dancing Queen. How many would be insulted as the Pharisees were back in the day? How many would be gobsmacked and unsure of what to say or do? How many would point out that the group or music style or venue was not correct for our Lord to be dancing to? How many would go out there and join Him? Maybe by this we can see how the group who will find the narrow gate might be small, even tiny, as they learn to say with Jesus, "Nevertheless, not my will, dear Father, but Thine be done." 

God be praised for His good and perfect will!

Bucky

Uncategorized

Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

A new singer-songwriter enters the music media, and you struggle with this one. Is she Christian, and thus suitable to share with brothers and sisters in Christ? Is she worldly? Is she wholly pagan and a dangerous influence to you? We like to categorize in an attempt to simplify a complex world. 

However, we often turn the lens of our categorizing on our brothers and sisters in Christ. He is that kind of Christian; she is this other kind of Christian. Did not Paul give us a rather simple metric for this involving belief in the heart and confession of the tongue? (Romans 10:9, if you want to do a scripture check!) Should we be trying to separate ourselves one from another by Christian category? Actually...

Christian as a label has become much diluted since the early times when the followers of Christ were called Christ-ones or Christians, in many cases disparagingly. Today we have sects and denominations and branches and cults, and some of them are dangerous by way of misinterpretation and ripping of scripture out of context. We are neither judging nor condemning when we seek discernment from God to avoid heresy and false prophets. Testing a doctrine against the scripture is a Christian duty. We are not to love anyone less, but there could well be ground for separation lest we be unequally yoked with one who could drag our faith into the mud of the world.

Ground? Mud? I am an unwitting wit today. Always, pray for guidance in the Christ our Lord, and stay grounded in Him, the bedrock of our faith! 

Bucky

The Day After Christmas

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” Luke 2:15

It could have been a great letdown for the shepherds as they watched the angels departing into heaven. And yet, the shepherds decided to go and see this new thing that was announced to them in such a glorious way. As Christmas has passed for another year, we too can make the decision to go and see this thing, this Christ which the Lord has sent to us. We can see Him in the Word of God and in worship services. We can see Him in each day and help others to see Him too. Christmas passes but our Lord remains though His dear lovely Spirit in us. 

That feeling of being let down a bit comes to us each year as a natural consequence of all the effort and resources we pour into the celebration of our Lord's birth. And along with the exhaustion comes the almost inevitable calorie overload that needs a bit of time for the body to process. Many of us also return to work immediately following the holiday as Christmas comes mid-week this year. Look forward to next year when Christmas will fall on a Friday. Of course we look to that one great Christmas to come when Jesus our Lord will bring us home for...ever! 

Have a blessed day after Christmas!

Bucky

Ruler of Israel

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel. Matthew 2:6

At the moment, Israel is having some difficulty in deciding who will be their prime minister. However, this will not always be the case as a ruler is promised from way back, like more than 2,400 years back. And this week we celebrate the birth of this promised ruler, Messiah, who was indeed born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of imperial Rome.  In the celebration of the Christ Child, we may sometimes forget that one great purpose of His is as ruler of a great nation: Israel. Not a tiny nation whom others might kick around, but a great nation with God as its Ruler and Shepherd. No need to be frightened, we believe in Jesus and rejoice at His return. For some though, the thought of Israel with Jesus as its Shepherd is utterly terrifying. 

Why the fear? It is fearful for the prideful to be proven wrong, for one thing. And many do not want the Bible to be true. Many labor for the removal of Israel from the Earth, and this speaks of an enduring reign secured by the power of God Himself. Thus the attempt by a group of nations to destroy Israel utterly in Ezekiel 38. That prophecy is of God's victory though, if they can prove it wrong... 

The Word of God said many things about the coming of Messiah, and all were proven true in Jesus our Lord. Now, which words would you like to believe concerning our Lord's return? The evil ones may appear to run the vineyard in the moment, but the Master returns from a far country very soon now. 

Merry Christmas to you! 
Bucky

Wonderful Certainty

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:3

As we hear the words of the Lord promising His Son to us as a savior, we may wonder about the time. Certainly they did back in the day, but the time did come and angels sang in the heavens. In this age, we wonder when our Lord will return and we have faith in the wonderful certainty of, "And God said." 

In later years some bit of punctuation was placed between God's statement and the consequence, but this is only due to our limitations. We cannot read both at the same time, nor can we speak both at once. With wonderful certainty God spoke the words and the thing He spoke came into being. And so, we read the words of promise in the scriptures telling of a Savior coming to Bethlehem and we can know with that wonderful certainty that Jesus was born. 

It is with that same wonderful certainty that we know of another coming of our Lord and a glorious returning to Him for all who believe in the Son of God. Let us rejoice!

Merry Christmas,
Bucky

Merry Christmas and Division

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  Luke 12:51

Watching the news lately it should come as no surprise that our president was impeached yesterday in what was not quite a party-line vote. (The not quite is perhaps not in the way one might think either.) Of course, this is only a symptom of our deep divisions in the electorate and in Congress. It is interesting to note that our Lord came to make this happen. 

Division, even to members of a family (see vv. 52-53), came from Christ. But did He not give us the new command to love one another? Yes, that too. It boggles the little mind of me! Do we now say, "Merry Christmas, I'm divided against you?" The way I see it: Jesus my Lord brought division, but I am commanded to love. Therefore, I will let Him take care of the dividing, and I will work on the love in Christ. It does seem quite strange and a conundrum to me, but I seem to recall that I was born with a fallen heart and mind. If it seems strange to me, then just maybe with faith in the Lord I will one day understand His great plan. 

So, Merry Christmas and I love you!

Bucky

Anticipation

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Ah, yes! The timeless beauty of this verse from Isaiah. Timeless because it did not come with a date on the calendar marked, "Mary's child due, send present."  One week before the Son of God was born in Bethlehem shepherds moved their herds from field to field as usual. As usual except for the big crowd of royals in town getting registered for the big Roman taxing so that they could not bring the sheeps in for the night. The innkeeper enjoyed a booming season, little knowing the infamous part he would play in years to come. His publicist did manage to keep him out of the Bible account directly though. Only a bare handful of people knew that baby Jesus would soon grace the world with His glorious presence. And only God knew of the celebration shortly to take place in the heavenly places to the astonishment of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. 

One week from today is our celebration of our Lord's birthday. What might God have in store for us on that blessed day that we know not at all from one little week away? It makes one wonder! 

Love and joy to you this Christmas!

Bucky

You Did Not

And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.  Judges 12:2

With just this verse, we might think that Jephthah was accusing God of this betrayal. Jephthah was in the scripture speaking to men of another tribe, but we may do well to examine why it is we should think such a thing before we get the rest of the story. 

We surrender our lives to Jesus, and then comes that prayer that states some version of, "Why didn't You do what I wanted You to do, Lord?" Surrender means that we accept whatever answer the Lord gives to our prayers in any situation, and yet we don't always like the answer and so we roll out the old doubt and lack of faith. We probably do have some unwelcome assistance in that regard from the Enemy, but that does not make it any less our fault. "I wanted this and You did not, God," is not a very surrendered thing to say. 

If you have never done such a thing, good for you! Skip this and go to work. As for me, I must confess to doing the very thing in some form or another, even if only in a feeling of disappointment in the Lord for not giving me that thing I wanted. The new spirit within me wants to replace the accusation of 'You did not' with "I trust in You," but there are times when that old reaction comes first. Praise God that He will complete His good work in me and one day, along with you and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will only know the new spirit within us saying, "glory to God in the highest!" 

The Christmas celebration is close now!

Bucky 

Your Town Square

And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” Genesis 19:2

Two strangers come to town and offer to spend the night in the town square. Something is about to be said about your town; that place where you call home. 

If the strangers have a peaceful night's sleep and awaken refreshed with all of their property intact, that says one thing about your town. If the strangers do not awaken at all, that says another thing about your town. In a former time in this nation, a policeman might stop and inquire of the strangers their business and if they needed travelers aid. Now, the strangers would be arrested for the high crime of...wait for it, spending the night in the town square! This says something about your town as well. The town square in this Bible story has a reputation that has endured for millennia - Sodom. 

The strangers' local contact in this case knew that the town square was the very center of depravity in his town, and soon depravity came knocking at Lot's front door like an ocean wave battering at the rocks of the shore. Towns have since, for the most part at least, worked to avoid such a reputation as Sodom had, for God did not take kindly to His messengers being subjected to such depravity as Sodom sported in that day. 

Praise God that so many town squares speak today of the birth of our Lord Jesus! Merry Christmas to all on this fine Friday!

Bucky

By The Election of Grace

Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Romans 11:5

Some in the body of Christ were wondering if God had cast Israel away for good. What with the crucifixion of our Lord and all, they did have a point. However, Paul wrote to the church in Rome and refuted this by speaking of a remnant. And not a remnant that elected their best and brightest, but an election of grace from God. Paul even put forth himself as witness that the remnant was alive and active for Christ. 

Today, we see an evenly divided Israel, so much that they have trouble gaining enough majority votes for a government under their parliamentary system. Britain is going to the polls today for yet another general election. We are days from another election year, and the political maneuvers have been going on for sometime now in this nation. Our legislative body is also nearly evenly divided and the presidential elections have been close in the popular vote for many years. In each of these great nations though, a remnant lives and ministers. 

I can bear witness that by the world's standards, God did not choose the most athletic, the wealthiest, the most powerful, or most beautifully attractive among all the persons in this nation to write to you this morning. Sorry, you get me by the election of grace. Perhaps in your case, God chose from among the celebrated greats of the world; but more likely, you too belong to the remnant who are dependent upon God's grace alone for salvation. Praise God for us then! And for His wonderful Son who bought grace for us with His life. 

Bucky

She Had An Out

...to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. Luke 2:5

Years had passed and Joseph was likely gone, along with many from the older generation, by the time Luke came along conducting interviews for his book. Could Mary have taken an out and not mentioned the whole betrothal pregnancy scandal? Sure, and gone down in the Bible as one of those to betray the truth with Judas Iscariot, the high priests, and many others in that time. Mary was not like that though. God chose the mother of His Son with His usual care, and years later she would tell it as it was in those days in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary were not married yet when her firstborn son came along. 

Later, Paul would explain in Romans why this was so important. Jesus was the Son of God, born of a human mother in Mary, but not sired by Joseph. We learn this in the gospel of Matthew also, where Joseph was about to end it privately to avoid exposing Mary, his betrothed, to public shame. What seemed right to Joseph at that time though, was not what God wanted. And Joseph adopted a son of the Holy Spirit. 

The world may crow about the scandal of it; I'm just glad the Christ Child chose to adopt me and you! 

Merry Christmas!
Bucky

It's Monday, Can't I Get An Exception?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34

Love that guy who irritates me so? Be kind and courteous to that one who rubs my 'fur' the wrong way? Rejoice with that one who surely does not deserve her recent victory? It's Monday, can't I get an exception? 

There are those days and times when I review the following verse seeking for that list of exceptions to our Lord's new commandment. But, no, it tells of how the world will know that we are the disciples of Jesus when they see our love one for another. Still no exceptions, neither by name nor by trade. 

And there are those times when you would think that person over there would have earned one too! 

But did not even Judas Iscariot earn an exception to this commandment of our Lord Jesus. John records just before this that Judas did earn an exception of a sort, and he left the gathering. Obviously, Judas was not going out to love the other disciples or our Lord Jesus. But, if this is an exception to the commandment, is this the one we want to point out? The betrayer of our Lord Jesus? Not even on a Monday would we want to go there! 

May the love of Christ be in us and shine forth this Christmas season,

Bucky

His Fear Is Not Here

And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. Genesis 20:11

So, Abraham was afraid because he thought they didn't fear God? Hey, we understand something from the Bible! There are places today we can travel to that do not have the fear of God, and we would be afraid for our lives there. We can understand Abraham's fear and why he did what he did there. Maybe the remainder of the Bible is not so deep that we cannot understand too? 

Indeed we often approach the Word of God as though He has made it or Himself completely above our heads. As if, in the person of Jesus, God did not come down as a man and speak with thousands of average, everyday folks like you and me. Did the man Jesus call Himself the Son of Man and go around selecting fishermen, a zealot, a few men perhaps not doing anything at all, and even a despised tax collector as His most intimate of followers? In our age we might expect the Lord to walk over to Pharisee U. and ask to see the best and brightest of the graduating class, but He didn't. 

But what about those parts of the Bible that do seem inscrutable to us? Let us say we do not understand them yet, and go quickly to the Lord in prayer to ask for understanding. I think He likes it when His beloved come to Him and ask for explanation of His word, our life here, eternity, and everything else! 

Have a better day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

The Means

For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 2 Samuel 4:7

The son of Saul was an enemy of the rightful king, David. Two of Ishbosheth's captains decided to do King David a favor and murdered him in his home, and then presented the king with the dead head. So, how did that work for them?

Sometimes, we may fall into the temptation that overcomes many in this world; the temptation of thinking that the end justifies the means. The means are so very important to the Lord. My case for this is personified in Jesus the Christ. As our Lord Jesus is the means to our salvation, those means are important to you and me too! Jesus Himself told John the Baptist that things had to be done right. The means were important to Jesus as well, and He did not take the short cut of baptizing John right there. This life we live in Christ is the means to an end, and though we desire that end, let us rejoice in the means first. 

So, King David was less than pleased with the means of murder used, supposedly, on his behalf. As king he meted out justice to the two captains, perhaps much to their surprise, and they joined their former master in death. 

Perhaps a more cheerful message tomorrow? 

Have a better day in Christ!
Bucky

From The Heart

They do not say from the heart,
‘Let us live in awe of the LORD our God,
for he gives us rain each spring and fall,
assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’ Jeremiah 5:24

You have seen it by now, or if not, I have now spilled the beans as they say, but there is a commentary video on Fox News today about Sidney and Cabela's. It would be easy to join in with a lengthy rant, I have more knowledge and experience in the situation than most folks, but I have learned more about that 70 times 7 forgiveness in the past few years. 

When the world wants to toss me back into bitterness, and even provides a name for me to be bitter at, should I so choose, I like to go for verses such as the one for today. "Let us live in awe of the Lord our God." What a wonderful statement to take the mind off of what the world is up to on this day! The harvest will come when the time is right, a statement so useful in so many ways and circumstances. What wonders and joy are in God's word, if only we can learn to turn our minds from the bitter news of the world and get into the Word. What a delight to give God His due by recalling to mind that He gives us the rains we need, and there is that blessed assurance too!

Therefore, say from the heart today, let us live in awe of the LORD our God!

Amen.  Bucky

You've Done Enough?

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,  whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 1 Titus 3:4-7

Yes, you are correct, ol' Buck is losing his marbles. We do not usually give a book of the Bible a 'I' unless there is a 'II'. This works splendidly until we come to John, which does sometimes cause problems with verse look-ups in the study of the Word. However, it is for another reason that I looked up this passage from Paul to Titus today. 

A brother in Christ reminded me this morning of his suffering. Of course he was not claiming that he had done enough to be saved; we know better than that. I would, on the other hand, dearly like to tell him that according to II Whatsis, verses 7-19, he has done enough to be saved and sanctified and that the remainder of his life will be one of ease and luxury. Nope, can't do it; there is no scriptural basis for it. Whatsis never wrote a 'I' it seems, much less a 'II'.

Praise God! The scripture speaks of salvation through regeneration and renewal by God's precious Holy Spirit. We need such regeneration and renewal as we endure the persecution of this life. Looking for a life of abundance? There it is too - an abundant pouring out of God's Spirit through Jesus the Christ. Note that justification by grace given to us as heirs of our Lord. We will never endure enough, but we do have this great hope of life eternal in Christ our Lord. 

And we have this too: Immanuel.

Bucky