Tough One To Obey

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:44-45a

Reading our scripture passage this morning, you likely do not need me to tell you how tough this one will be for us to obey. It goes against our nature to do any of those things for those particular people. If someone curses me, my first reaction is not a blessing. As for praying for the spiteful persecutors, I'll send up a prayer about them; Jesus might need to add me to the list of those sons of thunder! It was no different for those gathered there on the mount as our Lord spoke those words for the first time to them. I'll bet there was an odd sound of many jaws dropping as the people heard what they weren't sure they heard right. Jesus was not speaking these words simply to stun the crowd or gain their undivided attention. They were then and we are now called by our Lord Jesus to something completely different from the world. Yes, this one will be tough for us to obey. But, we have good help by faith in Jesus our Lord to do what is right by Him.

He has called, and it seems we will need to call on Him for constant help in that calling,

Bucky

Hard To Imagine

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  Luke 4:1,2

Some find it easier to believe in Jesus as God than to believe in Him as a man. They may read the story of the temptation of the Christ and sort pass over it as God not being really inconvenienced by the struggle. However the testimony Luke gathered has what I consider one of the great biblical understatements ever written down, 'He was hungry.' After forty days of eating nothing that just seems a bit bland for us in our day. 'Starved almost to death' might seem closer to the state of Jesus after that long fast. When we see that, then we see the man who lived and died for us on the cross. 

And yet, we also see the authority of God in the man who walked across the waves and then told the storm to knock it off. So, yes, He is God and human. 

Love in Christ Jesus,

Bucky

P.S. For more on the divine Word of God, see my sister's message today at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CdLLc87fT/

A New Month

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12 NLT

We made it! It's October at last. Hmm, trying to inject cheerfulness with just another day on the calendar that arrives each year as the only reason doesn't seem to do it for me. Each day that comes is one day closer to the great promises of the Bible. Okay, now we're talking! Some days it seems such a long slog to the end, which we cannot see on our personal calendar anyway. Yet, each day does not come back again, and the world is one day closer to the end. So, what does this promise of fruit trees in our verse for today do for us? I want to see you there. Yes, you, me, and Jesus with a picnic spread under the trees of that life-giving river.

Bucky

A Greater Need

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. Mark 2:4

Those persons in law enforcement might call this a crime. Others might call it rude. The homeowner might interject a word or two. But those carrying the paralytic had a greater need and knew by faith that Jesus held the solution to their friend's problem. The scripture story does not tell us whether the four remained behind to repair the roof or not. The paralytic walked away with his bed as Jesus told him to do. The scribes and Pharisees present? Well, they griped and complained about Jesus, and of course refused to believe even as they marveled at what they had seen with their own eyes. Some people will not be saved no matter what they observe. We can only pray that their greater need will one day become known to them. For the greatest need we all share is to be redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.

Bucky

A Prayer For Action

Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O LORD, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.
  -- Jeremiah 14:7

Oh, here we go again, another wanna-be preacher calling us to the door knocking thing. Nope, this call to action by way of prayer came from the prophet Jeremiah to the Lord God. And with three lines of sin confession to one request for action, Jeremiah admits that it isn't for anything righteous he or his people have done. Our calls to the Lord for His action must be of similar format since we are by no means any more deserving than Judah was back in Jeremiah's day. While we are quite proficient in prayers for the Lord's action, perhaps we have come up a wee bit short on the confession parts? Let us confess our sin to the Lord, and then we can enjoy the mercy of Christ Jesus and live!

Bucky

A Reminder

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  John 14:2

Jesus is on a mission, and it is to our benefit! We have passed this way before. Our verse for today is both famous and sometimes debated. But this morning I asked of the Lord and He sent this reminder to us. His Son is on an important mission to prepare something great for you and me. Yes, this very morning someone will likely remind you of some rule of the law or prophets that you have failed. I didn't include myself because I have already failed even before getting to the morning writing. It's that easy to fail and sin before the law. That is why we are saved by the One who has gone to prepare a place for us, and not by our efforts at law keeping. So, believe in Jesus and prepare to see a grand new place in God's house one day!

Bucky

Do You Believe This?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”   John 11:25-26

Lazarus lay dead in the tomb, and Jesus asked Martha this question. But first she had to show off her knowledge of the last day. Jesus took her a step further, do you believe this now? In other words, do you believe Me? Do you believe that Jesus, the man standing before you, has authority over life, death, and everything? The question is not just for Martha, but has come down to each of us through the Word of God. Do you believe this? Would it help your belief if someone dead four days was raised up from his tomb? Martha was asked to believe before Jesus raised Lazarus. And credit to her for answering with a positive 'Yes!' We also face that same test. Before you, me, or any of our beloved are raised from the dead, we must believe this. 

We must believe Him!

Bucky