Make A Little Security?

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:23

Earthly riches: easy to preach against from the words of our Lord Jesus, popular to preach against because no one considers themselves rich. Seems like a win-win for the preacher. However, that same preacher needs a house, often provided by the church that takes in offerings to pay for the house. Those offerings consist of bits of other peoples riches. Some struggle with that monthly dilemma between wanting to give an offering and being short on the bills of the household. Others may have enough to ponder on where the dividing line might be between rich and not rich, so that they are not left out of the kingdom of God that Jesus will mention in the following verse (v24). For all the struggle and effort we put in to make a little security and not worry about riches, we sure seem to have much to worry over when it comes to riches! And then Jesus went and said to not worry over riches back in the big sermon. Aigh!

You and I are not alone in this. The disciples also were astonished at our Lord's statement. They probably looked to the rich young man with some envy as an example of success in this world. "Obeyed the commandments, got rich, if he can't get into the kingdom of God, who will?!!" they may have muttered among themselves. Actually, that's simply a dramatic version of the disciples' question, "Who then can be saved?" in verse 26. We do not have to worry over rich or not-rich though, but to come to the One who has possible firmly in hand. We will meet Him next time as we continue this story of the rich young ruler.

Love to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

What Would Be Your One Thing?

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”  Mark 10:21

Our first response to our Lord's statement this morning might be, "That's one thing?" However the one thing our Lord had for that particular young man might not be the same for you or me. I might ask, "Is there one thing for me or a whole bunch of things I lack?" Of course, the one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus. We see in the story that he was good on the commandments, but could not give up his life as it was that day. And that one thing may cause many of us to stumble. 

We can build up quite a castle here on earth, whether we live in a grass hut or a 20-room house on a large acreage. Hut or  house, we will fill our castle with things we need and like, and then protect the walls as best we are able. As much as Heaven is described in the Word of God, it still seems to us kind of out there and ungraspable. It is hard for us to work for something so promised, when things here are touchable and visible. The rich young man could stand on his property, but treasure in heaven was kind of... not there yet? Let us pray for one another that there is no one thing holding us back from all that Jesus would give to us as treasure in heaven. 

May the blessed love of Jesus be with you today,

Bucky

You Know Those

You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother. Mark 10:19

You know those commandments, or do you? Adultery, murder, steal, false witness, defraud...wait, do not defraud? Where is that in the big ten? Yes, the reasoning of the flesh would have us argue with the Master. I'm sure that in those call centers, you know the ones, there are those who would say that what they are doing is not stealing since the 'customer' gave the money to them. Jesus shows us by this that combinations of the commandments can trip us up as well. Bearing false witness - your PC is infected with the doomsday virus! - and then accepting money for fixing their machine so that it can be, oh, unfixed again to get more money, will not slip through a net of the ten commandments when the judgment comes. But, so easily do we see the carnal excuses in others while what, forgetting that beam in our own eye?

Rejoice in the Lord, and let Him split those beams for us,

Bucky

The Only One

So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God."   Mark 10:18

Hmm, certainly lots of Pharisees had a difference of opinion on that. Only One is good, that is, God. It is one of the more astonishing recordings of our Lord's words. Did He just say that He wasn't God? Yet He will later tell His disciples that He and the Father are one. (John 10:30) Or perhaps He says that we, born fallen sinners, are unable to tell who is good, and thus we should begin with God alone? 

The story begins with a man running up to Jesus and kneeling at His feet and asking, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Always with the unbeliever it is the action one may take without God in order to gain everlasting life. "What must I do?" becomes a way to reject what Jesus came to do for all who will believe in Him. When asking after eternal life in worldly unbelief, does the man understand that it isn't a continuation of his life of many possessions? Apparently not, as in the last verse of this story, the man goes away sorrowful. He wanted to know what he could do to gain what he wanted, yet he didn't want to do once he found out what he needed to do. 

Since Jesus did for us what we needed for eternal life, let us just accept His already done. 

And God is good!

Bucky

Infant First, Then Child

But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14

Good morning! It is just about to turn Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand as I write this. But I'm firmly at the start of Friday here in our little town in northeast Colorado. In the scriptural today, we come to a moment where His disciples did a thing that greatly displeased their rabbi, our Lord Jesus. And then Jesus says of little children, "for of such is the kingdom of God." Uh, oh, I'm way past the little child stage of life, does that mean that I am disqualified? I like my little tractor toys, does second childhood count? Oh, and the next verse makes it even worse, as only those who receive the kingdom of God as a little child will enter it. Oh, dear! So, if I wasn't saved way back then, I'm doomed?

In John 3, Jesus offers us a clue through His talk with Nicodemus. That famous teacher-baffling line comes, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” So, just to see the kingdom of God, one must be born again, and then to enter it one becomes a little child. That makes more sense as a little child comes right after a newborn infant. Therefore, Jesus has not introduced something new, but a continuation of His lesson to Nicodemus. We must be born again of the Spirit of Truth (see John 16), and then grow in the love and grace of Jesus Christ to enter into the kingdom of God.

Love and joy to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Let Not Man Separate

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Mark 10:9

Mark 10 begins with a question and lesson on divorce, and how it was okay with Moses. Jesus had a disagreement with Moses on this and told them the reason why Moses allowed it. You may note along with me how we seem to have gone back to Moses in a manner of speaking on divorce. Merely mention the subject and a long parade of people you and I know come to mind who have suffered a divorce, or more than one. We may even try to make excuses for them by saying that maybe God hadn't put those two together and so divorce was inevitable, or something like that. The difficulty of the subject tells of how much pain there is involved with it. Whether you have experienced being one of the two central characters, or simply have endured extremely awkward communications with two friends going through the thing, you know the feelings swirling around this particular whirlpool. According to Jesus, there shouldn't be any divorce.

And that shows, dear boys and girls, how far we are from the Lord our God in this world.

Bucky

Salty Words

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another. Mark 9:50

This verse... Well, this verse has been used in a great many ways in sermons I have heard and seen over the years. We have lost some of the value though in our latter days as salt is commonly available, even cheap to purchase. In our Lord's time, salt was critical to life and not easily come by. If we needed further evidence that Jesus was a man, we find it here in our verse today, "Salt is good." Men like the taste of salt. Salt has been used to preserve meat, but we have refrigeration. But the point does not seem to be how to use salt, but that if salt becomes not salt, how can a person make it salt again? In other words, if something in us is lost, we may not be able to find it again. If a person believes in Jesus today, but loses his faith tomorrow, his state may be one of such woe that even the best efforts of the Spirit may not revive him. This salt of sacrifice also seems to allow for peace in our relationships.

Some salty words for you today,

Bucky