He Came Anyway

Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Mark 12:2-5

By the time we get to the verse with the many others, we have seen the pattern and might find it easy to fault this absent vineyard owner for not taking action other than doing the same thing repeatedly. Of course with a bit of consideration, we can see that those servants killed would not be able to send word back and so the owner might think they had run off or gotten lost. The empty-handed one may have been too embarrassed to return to his master, and the one wounded in the head unable to make sense even if he was able to return. But all of that useless fault-finding would be to our shame since the actual fault lies with those vinedressers no matter how many servants the landlord sends. If we as the readers of this story try to find fault with anyone other than the tenants committing those heinous acts, then we are like the boss who wrote up his murdered employee for dereliction of duty! 

Praise God that His Son, knowing well what had happened to the prophets He had sent, volunteered to come and save us anyway. 

Bucky

Happy...National Day Of Prayer!

Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.  Nehemiah 4:9

As my birthday comes in the early days of May, and the National Day of Prayer comes on the first Thursday of that month, every few years I enjoy the privilege of those coming together for a special day of prayer. On those days, I like to ask for a birthday present of prayer. Pray for someone who has hurt you. Pray for our nation and its many disagreements. Pray for one another and pray for your beloved ones. Get with God and pray. 

This verse fits us well today, or maybe it doesn't? For example, one of the times each day I make my prayers to God comes in the late evening and then I fall asleep. In the trying time Nehemiah faced rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, they made their prayer and then set a watch, day and night. Circumstances may not allow for praying and then relaxing in sleep, but call for praying and then taking action. 

Praise God for all the times that bring us to prayer!

Bucky

Holding An Expectation?

Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who wanted the Philistines to provide an opportunity for a confrontation. At that time, the Philistines were ruling Israel.  Judges 14:4

A lot to unpack in this verse today. We can easily see the parallel with a Philistine occupied Israel then and a Roman controlled Judea later. We read of a couple of people who did not know the Lord had something going on behind the scenes. And then we find out this is from the story of Samson, a man who had strength that even professional athletes do not have in this age. And when it came to combat, Samson was a killer without peer. And that is where our parallel goes off the rails, you might say. For to Judea came the Lord's Savior, but He acted quite differently than Samson, a savior of Israel in that earlier time. And, steeped in the stories of Samson, Gideon, David, and other warrior-type saviors of the past, Judea (Israel) failed to recognize Jesus as their Savior. Jesus didn't do what they expected of Him. 

So...what are you and I looking for this day from Jesus? Are we holding an expectation when He has a better way? It may be, let Him do His thing!

Bucky

Trust And Rely On The Lord

Who among you fears the LORD?
Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
Who walks in darkness
And has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the LORD
And rely upon his God.  Isaiah 50:10

More often we read or hear 'trust and obey', but this morning we end our verse for today with trust and rely. Obedience has its place earlier in the verse, but for those who feel out in the dark this morning we have the letting of trust in the name of the Lord for their comfort. And then we get to rely upon God. To rely is to depend on with full trust and confidence. We also call it faith. Belief, trust, faith, confidence, and now reliance are all interrelated in Christ our Lord as each of those actions are centered in Jesus. And yes, these are not passive, but active between us and our Lord Jesus. 

Trust and rely,

Bucky

Walls Of Water

So the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.  Exodus 14:22

Dry land ahead of them, the army of Pharaoh behind them, and those walls of water to the right and to the left, talk about having only one way to go! Imagine the terror of the briny deep staring back at them from either side, and probably a few curious fishes too. We often pray to the Lord in a difficult situation, "Lord, show me the way!" Well, there it was for the Israelites, are sure you want the Lord to show you the way? His one way out might be frightening to the max! What a metaphor for the way through life we have in this story. Death by diseases and health failures on the one hand, death by terrorists, thugs, and accidents on the other, and an army of regrets and mistakes chasing us from behind. Yet, we have that one Way through to a blessed and promised land straight ahead, but just far enough away that we cannot quite see it. 

Walk on little frightened sheep to the home the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare for you!

Bucky

Lazarus, The Public Spectacle

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. John 12:9

Four days in the tomb and a short mummy walk later, Lazarus the friend of Jesus has now become a public attraction. The man likely had dreamed of a bit of fame now and again as most of us have done. However, the way to fame in his dreams probably didn't include the way he got it. We do not then have to wonder why it seems that Lazarus had nothing to say after rising from the grave at His Lord's command. We can imagine the questions spoken or shouted at the man for the remainder of his life. Wait, what remainder, he was dead, he already had his remainder? Did Lazarus the new celebrity now have to face death again? Well so much for celebrity immortality.

Rejoice in Jesus, and trust Him for life!

Bucky

We Do Not Forgive?

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  Matthew 6:15

It might sound a bit tough for a character in a movie to state that he or she does not forgive, but gets even, or some line like that. The character does not have to go through this life bearing such a terrible burden. Jesus treated forgiveness seriously in His great sermon both in the positive and, as we read in the verse above, in the negative as well. Forgiveness is for your benefit and mine, but it works best in the reverse direction. That is to say, that when a person sins against you, your forgiveness may help the repentant one a lot, but letting go of that sin by forgiveness helps you so much more than we can know. Not the least of which is what our verse for today refers to, God's forgiveness of you and me as we forgive those who have trespassed against each of us. 

Not one of us, I think, wants to live without our dear Father's forgiveness! 

Bucky

A Story To Tell

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. John 12:17

Sitting quietly in chapter 12 of John's gospel is our verse for today. One of those sort of read-over verses that may not get noticed as often as others. And yet there was a mortal danger in bearing witness of this type as the religious authorities in Judea under Rome wanted to put to death both Jesus and Lazarus. Could this story be kept quiet by those who had been there outside that tomb? A man they knew had raised his friend from a fourth day of decomposing in a dark tomb. Bearing witness of great and amazing works may not be so easily withheld. Each of us has been in a place where we had something ready to burst out of the gates of our lips but for those darn blabbers who wouldn't shut up for just a bloomin' second or two. I don't know about you, but I have never had any news quite so jaw-dropping as those folks there who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the grave. However, I do understand how much they would want to tell that story.

Bearing witness: a desire to tell of our great Lord Jesus.

Bucky

That's A Big If

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  Romans 4:2

Indeed if we take that big 'if' and run with it, it changes everything in this life and reduces our hope of eternal life. For the first, our life becomes one of chasing good works for the purpose of justifying ourselves alone and refusing to accept the salvation of Christ. Sounds a lot like what they had under the old covenant. Second, without that salvation, we only have a hope based on each one's strength to do those good works. As most of us know by now, strength fades with age, patience can be harder to come by, and love a little colder as the difficulties of life accumulate. It would be a great shame to come to the end of this life with no strength left for the good works that we had hoped to use as justification. However, we know that Paul goes on from this verse to show that salvation and justification are in Christ alone, by faith and not by works. Our hope of eternal life remains safely in the Lord's Christ.

No big if, just faith in Jesus!

Bucky

Doing It Perfectly

And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2:10

This miracle brings out many a sermon for the seeming carnal nature of it. For us these many years later it becomes easy to judge this turning of water into wine as unnecessary, almost sinful even, if you come from one of those no-drinky Pentecostal churches of the 70's. I'm not going to argue the alcohol thing today, instead let us see the perfection in quality and quantity that came from that miracle of our Lord Jesus.

In our verse for today, the master of the feast had to comment on the unexpected quality of this wine. And being for a wedding feast, this does not mean that the former wine was bad or of terrible quality itself, only that the wine Jesus made was so far superior. Then there were six waterpots of up to 30 gallons in volume. Did they really need 180 gallons of wine after having already drunk all that they had? Perhaps that does not matter so much as that the Son of God provided more than enough and of far greater quality than was normal for such an event.

In His great love, perhaps our Lord cannot just provide a little thing of normal quality, but must instead do it perfectly, greatly, and magnificently. What is your need today? Praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

P.S. Internet service here was restored yesterday afternoon (4/17) after going down last Friday morning. It was a strange time.

A Very Great Forgiveness

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14

Last night in my reading, I came to the story of an incident of very great forgiveness. This forgiveness did not come easily to the woman, as she bore the weight of years of extreme hardship caused by an entire nation. It also did not come easily as there were others of her kind who endured that same period of distress and deprivation. As this woman forgave one of the chief perpetrators of the indignity, those other sufferers turned on her.

A very great forgiveness can come after a very great trespass by the hand of the Spirit of God within us. However, this forgiveness may alienate us from those who suffered with us and who want to maintain their lust for vengeance. In the act of a very great forgiveness, one may be left standing alone with the Savior, who also did a very great forgiveness.

Let us forgive one another,

Bucky

An Admission Of The Fisherman

...as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 2 Peter 3:16

Have you ever come to a place in the Bible where, oh... to put it bluntly, ya just felt kinda stupid? If not, then you should read a bit more of God's word! Even that fisherman selected among the first of our Lord's disciples had to admit that Paul's epistles had some tough parts. There seem to be a myriad of prophecies that we don't get even in this age of knowledge. Solomon collected and wrote proverbs that may seem backwards and upside down to us. While the good news of our Lord's salvation was meant for the simple, the entire Bible presents a bounty of intellectual challenges for the sharpest minds. Why is there so much difficulty? I think for the simple reason of asking, as in come to the Lord in prayer and ask for understanding!

It is our great privilege to come to the Lord in prayer.

Bucky

Stumbling With Determination?

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

At my age and condition 'run with endurance' seems rather a strong term for my performance in this race. I wonder if the marshal of the race will take someone stumbling with determination? If the race they mention in Hebrews has only one winner, then I lost a long ways back. If there is a rule in this race that all must finish head up, legs pumping, and a smile on the face, then I'm not going to pass the finish line in quite the way they hope. Of course, all of that comes when I look at my strength and endurance. If it were only up to any and each of us, we would all have lost before this particular race began. When it comes to salvation, none of us have what it takes to be allowed to start this race. However, saved by the blood of the Lamb, we started the race and then found that we were not alone. In the strength of Christ Jesus and in the love and support of one another, we will run with endurance the race set before us.

Heads up, take another step together and with our Lord! The smile comes at the end.

Bucky

Without Hope?

The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
  -- Jeremiah 17:9

To read our verse for today, and many others in the Bible, might be the cause of us giving up all hope to ever be found righteous. And without righteousness there is no hope in us for a place in God's Heaven. With the heart deceiving us from within, and the enemy of our Lord deceiving us from without, what hope indeed would any of us have? God came down. Those living in darkness have seen a great light. God Himself sent His only begotten Son to give hope to the hopeless. The answer to the hopelessness of our deceitful heart and the world's deceitful prince is in the Son of God; Who is the way, the truth, and the life. Our way back to the Father comes through the Son.

And ceaselessly we say: My hope is in Him!

Bucky

Some Friday Comfort

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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 14:1-2

Some days a little comfort written to you or me helps us through a tough patch. The world news presents difficulties and challenges to us. Our ministers may seem to pick up the scripture as a lash and beat on us with it. Friends appear to have failed to invite us to the meeting where it was decided that hard criticism of you or me in particular was the way to go. And if all of that fails, maybe a legal authority or the boss feels better after a little game of kicking the donkey, and we just happen to feel a good 'hee-haw' coming on. Life can be tough at times, could be it even seems like all the time to us. 

Ever since Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven, there have been no shortage of ministers telling us we aren't good enough or doing enough for the kingdom of God. Take a break on this fine Friday and read some words of comfort in the word of God. Find those words of assurance that tell of a better place being prepared for us by none other than Jesus Himself. 

Lift your head, downtrodden one, God loves us and we love one another!

Bucky

Peter Was A Crackpot

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 1 Peter 2:18

The old flesh of the worldly birth does not want to submit to anyone, but maybe it can make an exception for a master perceived as good and gentle. However, Peter, disciple and apostle of the Lord Jesus, goes a step further and calls for submission to harsh masters. Obviously the man was a total crackpot, his ministry went completely off the rails somewhere along the line. Ah yes, the whining and selfish opinion of the old flesh. Go back with me for just a bit to the empire of Rome, where much of the population lived in slavery, owned not in the social media sense but literally. This epistle would have been read to them and their reaction may well have cast Peter in a less than flattering light. Good news? Where is the good news in submitting to a harsh master? No doubt followed by those opinions of Peter's mental health and well being, probably stated in terms that make 'crackpot' look complementary and tame by comparison. None of that makes Peter's statement wrong in the Lord's sight.

I think that every person who has ever believed in Jesus, the Son of God, would need a great outpouring of the Spirit to be submissive to a harsh master.

Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Bucky

Well Guided

I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not forsake them.”
  -- Isaiah 42:16

Those living in darkness saw a great light, and the light did not leave them to stand there blinking in surprised awe. As words and actions are parts of our faith, we need guidance before we stumble headlong in this unaccustomed brightness of the new life in Christ. A torrent of words may break the wall of discretion without the guidance of the Lord's Spirit. Perhaps not every secret sin of the former life needs to be confessed to the congregation. The newly won sword of the Word of God can cut in any direction; some training in its use by discipleship will prevent collateral damage. In all ways the Lord's Spirit guides us well in this new life in Christ. 

Christian by rebirth: I'm not pretty or perfect, but the Lord Jesus said I'll do!

Bucky

It Is Finished

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

And there comes a perfect opportunity to believe in Him or to refuse to believe. For those of us who believe, we have that moment when the world changed. Sacrifices of animals were no longer required for atonement; all of our sins have been paid for by the blood of the Lamb. For those who not only refused to believe Him, but wanted Him gone, this is that moment when His ministry was done, the followers would fade away back into the crowds, and all could return to the system they liked, er, except for that little Roman problem.

Their hope that the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth was finished became crumbly almost immediately. The Sabbath was due to begin at sundown, and somehow the veil curtain had been torn completely apart! And the people would want an explanation for that darkness, where had that come from? And on the first day of the week, things really began to fall apart as the tomb guards breathlessly made their report of an extraordinary event.

Praise God for the annual celebration of our Lord's resurrection, He lives!

Bucky

We Believe!

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. John 19:17-18

He didn't overthrow an empire from that cross, and yet, we believe He did. He acknowledged His title before the governor, but few among His nation believed it. The governor wrote it on a sign over His dying head. He died that day on that cross. Had His testimony stopped right there, we probably wouldn't be celebrating this holiday or talking about Jesus of Nazareth at all. He had already told of His coming death, but He also said something extraordinary to His disciples. "You will see Me again." On the day of His passing, they may have struggled to believe such a strange thing. He had done all the raising of the dead before this time, who was going to raise Him up? And then He did rise up on that morning. And we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Have a glorious Easter weekend in Jesus!

Bucky

A Tale Of Two Persons

...as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet behold, we live; as punished and yet not put to death, as sorrowful but always rejoicing, as poor but making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:9-10

These two verses for today are but part of one of those Paul-ins, those sentences that span many verses with phrases and clauses, until you the reader pause to wonder where it all began. Way back in the latter part of verse 2 is the answer for this one. What we appear to have here today is the tale of two persons. One dying and yet living. Punished, or disciplined, yet not put to death. Sorrowful but rejoicing always. That last one describes the separations we endure at funerals quite well. We love that person, we know from his or her testimony of Jesus, that if anyone has gone to Heaven it will be that beloved one, and yet we also sorrow over that separation. Then that one gets me - dying and yet behold, we live. Truly the old son of Adam or daughter of Eve is dying, day by day, (there's nothing quite like a spring cold to make one think of death and dying!), marching to the grave. And yet, in Christ we live, forever, with Him!

The Easter Celebration of our Lord's death and resurrection is upon us! Praise God all weekend long!

Bucky

If Anyone Was

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:15

It's the great white throne judgment and the final verse of that judgment slams the book, so to speak, on anyone not found written there. I see one of those little notes that states that the literal translation is just 'anyone was'. So, not just the name, but all about the person?  It may be from other scriptures that the translators of the LSB added 'name' and the possessive of anyone, or perhaps it is from their accustomed use of books here on Earth, but the original seems more appropriate to me. If all of the one in question is written in the book of life, then life eternal follows in Christ our Lord. Sure, a name is important, but to me that is only the label on the file. 

Is this a meaningless quibble on my part? Could be, could be, I have been known to chase a meaningless quibble now and again like a kitten chasing a leaf blowing by on a gusty wind. However, I would rather chase a quibble or two in the Bible than do a great many of the distractions this world offers to us.

Have a great day in the Word of the Lord!

Bucky

While You Have The Light

"While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. John 12:36

Before Jesus came there was the prophecy that those living in darkness would see a great light. While He walked with the people after the triumphal entry, He said what we read in our verse for today. Then He hid Himself from them. Boop! Lights out. Wait, does that mean we live in darkness again? After His resurrection, there was another promise, one that spoke of being with us until the end of the age. Anyone may read it in Matthew 28:20. We still have the Light while we believe in the Light. But the verse does speak of a time, an opportunity, or chance to believe. While you have the Light does warn all that a time comes when there won't be that Light.

Take the time, believe in the Light!

Bucky

Lowly

And this took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
LOWLY, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
AND ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A PACK ANIMAL.’”
  -- Matthew 21:4-5

The prophets were at times commanded to shout the word of the Lord at the gates of the city, and it seems the new Legacy Standard Bible has taken that as a literal command as well. So, Zechariah shouts to us this morning from the gospel of Matthew.

So, their king comes to them just as foretold. He did not lead a procession of conquered prisoners of war, nor did he bring mounds of gold and heaps of silver. Behind him did not march tens of thousands of soldiers in gleaming armor. Instead a few disciples came after, and they probably looked a little rough around the edges from a portion 3 years on the road following their rabbi. In place of a few thousand camp followers bringing up the rear, there were just a few women He had saved from various troubles. In fact it was known about town that these were the ones supporting this little ministry. Lowly, this king fulfilled everything about the prophecy.

Indeed He did!

Bucky

Passing, Passing, Passed

Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead... Philippians 3:13

The past, sometimes a tempting array of achievements leading us to think we are somehow deserving of salvation, or, a dark brown cloud of doom following us with thoughts of how terrible we are and not deserving of salvation. Wow, no wonder Paul worked hard at forgetting what lay behind him! Now the past is passing for us, and working hard to leave it behind we face where? Paul had this to say: I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (v14). Pressing on tells us there is something to press against, and it is that former nature we yet bear that made the past such a temptation or condemnation to us. Passing, it still clings to us like some sort of evil squid monster. One day though, we will see the fulfillment of the call upward to God in Christ Jesus. And like a poor lost monster, our past will have been passed forever, as we leave it staring at our dead body, its former crushing grip useless on those who have moved on to be with the Lord.

Praise to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

By God's Grace

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. Ephesians 3:7

We use the title phrase somewhat sparingly, not to deny God His credit, but so that it does not become a vain repetition inserted into everything we write or say. God's grace is precious to us, and we want it to remain so. Certainly to those who believe in Jesus, God's grace is the very lifeblood flowing through our spirit. We could easily say that we got up this morning by God's grace, fixed a breakfast by God's grace, and went to work by God's grace. Too much of that repetition though to our earthly flesh, and the phrase can become meaningless when we want it to have great meaning.

And have meaning it does! For by [God's] grace are we saved through faith, and not of ourselves it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) Even in the scriptures it is understood that when we say 'by grace', it is to say 'by God's grace' as it always comes from and belongs to Him. And about grace, His grace, any of us might go on and on. Which we do since by His grace we have life in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Have a faithful day in God's grace!

Bucky

Securely Prepared

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:2-3

Our place of dwelling is not secure here. A host of reasons for this from the physical to the financial and political may present themselves to your imagination for inspection. In other words, anxious worries will easily occur to us. When we came to believe in Jesus, we knew then that our earthly homes were only for temporary use. In place of that we have this heavenly treasure promised by our Lord Jesus, a dwelling place with Him. So, as opposed to those anxious worries about our home here, we can dwell on the promise of the securely prepared dwelling place we will have with our Lord Jesus. How do we know it is securely prepared? Easy, there is no greater security than the promise of our Lord Jesus.

Rest in His promise!

Bucky

A Call To Strengthen

Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. Revelation 3:2

Ah, Friday, a day to ease on into the weekend... or is it? There are those times just before the end of something that we may feel the urge to relax and cruise on to the finish line. A quick search on social media will bring up videos of athletes who did just that, only to lose the race! In our verse for today, a call to strengthen the things that remain goes out to the church at Sardis. They have not finished and yet have gone sleepy and the flames of their faith are but a few glowing embers about to go out. The Lord by way of John sends a message that their deeds are not complete in the sight of God. Yesterday we had the temptation to show up with a resume. Today we see a resume that is incomplete, a bunch of deeds that were not finished. Imagine trying to apply for a job with a listing of partial projects that you did not see through to the end! So, while we are not saved by works, there is a place for our deeds and doings in the sight of God. And finishing does seem important too. Gulp, what deeds need completion for me?

Obey the call, and seek help in prayer to finish the race well!

Bucky

No You Can't

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

It is a temptation to think that we will arrive in God's courtroom with a lengthy resume of good work achievements to present to the court. We know by the word of God that there is no deserving on our part of entry into God's Heaven by our works. We will never have enough good works to set against even one sin. When it comes to perfection before the law, we just weren't born with it. So, regarding justification for each of us by effort, the word is "No, you can't." Not only are we unable, but it has already been purchased and paid for long before our birth in this world. 

How deliciously frustrating! Jesus finished what I long to accomplish before I even knew the need for it. Praise to God for His wonderful Son!

Bucky

Careful To Keep That Love

For if you are careful to keep this entire commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to Him, then Yahweh will dispossess all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. Deuteronomy 11:22-23

Canaan, the land of conflict, the land promised by God to Abraham. In between Abraham and this moment in our verses today came centuries of adventures for Israel including famines, slavery in Egypt, and some wilderness. Now the time had come for them to enter the promised land, but some nations had settled there in that land of Canaan. The Lord stood ready to give them good help, but there was just one thing He wanted from them: to keep His entire commandment. Woof! Sounds like a big task right there in and of itself! The Lord in His mercy gave to them that starting point though, love the Lord your God. It seems to us many years later that the walking in His ways will follow quite well if Israel, and we also, can get that first one down. Jesus named it the greatest commandment with another like it, and both were to be careful to keep that love.

Does the path of the Way seem daunting? Remember to carefully keep the love of God first!

Bucky

The Resurrection Season

Has a nation changed gods
Though they were not gods?
But My people have changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
  -- Jeremiah 2:11

Although the start of spring reminds us of it, that is not the primary reason for what is called Easter. We mourn the cross and the death of our Lord Jesus, but mourning is not to be our perpetual state. Years ago, we were given a great gift in a living Savior. Because He lives we have the greatest of hope and a new life awaiting. However, there are indications that some do not want to hold onto this hope we have in Jesus. 

In our verse for today, God brought a complaint against Israel, His chosen nation. It seems that they had changed gods for 'that which does not profit'. All the world faces that same trial today. Peter warned us of this time in his letters to the exiles. To some it seems like Jesus will not return, and there is backlash against any faith in the Rapture. But for us, it is what Jesus said to His church in Smyrna: 

Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Revelation 2:10 

Faithful in Christ!

Bucky

Starting Up The Praise

Praise the LORD!
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
  -- Psalm 106:1

We enjoyed such a wonderful snowfall of wet snow yesterday that a "Praise the Lord!" seems quite the thing to say this morning. So, my inquiring mind wanted to know when this little phrase began in the Bible. In the NKJV, it seems to have begun with Leah, the first wife of Jacob. Leah had a little problem of going unloved in her marriage. As it is in these days, love and marriage were not always a matched set. However, sexual activities were a part of this marriage, and the scripture reports that God opened Leah's womb and the sons came. At the first son, Leah says that her husband will now love her. That does not seem to have happened, as with the arrival of the second son, Leah reports that the Lord saw that she was still unloved. By the third son she is just going for 'attached to me', love it seems has no hope. And by the fourth son, Judah, Leah has changed to something quite different: she will praise the Lord!

Love, as we see by Leah's testimony, cannot be forced, not even with sex and babies. However, we must give the woman credit for deciding to praise the Lord God, even as an unloved wife.

For all those feeling a bit unloved today, Praise the Lord! If you feel loved, then say it twice.

Bucky

The Balaam Negotiation Method 101

And Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, to trespass the command of Yahweh my God.   Numbers 22:18

It seems noble on the surface. However, we recognize from other deals made in the scriptures that Balaam has begun a negotiation to determine at what price the prophet will indeed sell out to trespass the command of God! The king was supposed to reply by his servants something like: I know that Balaam would never accept such a great amount of loot from me, but perhaps he would trespass the command of Yahweh for this chest of gold. We don't do it that way now, but if we are not careful one might find us gazing at a new car across the street and thinking of a statement not too far from Balaam's, all the while singing a song about grace. I use this example because... well, yeah, that happened to me this morning. The Spirit showed to me the incongruity of thinking greed while singing grace. And there, my beloved, is the environment of the waiting season we have until our Lord returns. The flesh greedily wants while the spirit sings of grace! Now faith tells us that God's grace will see us through this fight, and one day there will be no more of that greed!

Whew! Praise God for that!

Bucky

Justify Myself

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.  Job 9:20

Today, this very morning, I am going to justify myself to you. Oh, oh, oh, what a forlorn hope that would be! Job in our verse for today compares justifying oneself to others to stating that one such as even righteous Job is perfect. Perfection in regard to myself bears a humor that even one as slow as I am cannot fail to see. Simply mentioning perfection and me in the same sentence causes my written voice to become a bit on the odd side. What do Job and I mean to say? Yeah, justification and perfection by our own efforts just ain't gonna happen. This does not mean that we cannot strive to obey the law, or to improve in morality, or to become more like Jesus. What it means is that we come to know that the larger part by far of the work of reconstruction in the heart of each of us belongs to the Lord Himself. I can put on a t-shirt that states: Christian - Under Construction. But, the Lord God began His work in me before I repented and came to Him for salvation, since, well, that was His work too! 

Rejoice in the Lord today!

Bucky

Gentleness On A Monday?

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good conduct his works in the gentleness of wisdom.  James 3:13

Monday morning and the start of the work week for most of us, and here in the verse our brother James tells us to show our good conduct. Now, on Monday morning, before that first cup of coffee, we may not be the 'most-bestest' at conducting ourselves in the gentleness of wisdom. In fact, before getting woken up and settled into the weekly routine, we might not even know anyone who deserves gentleness! Of course as with the commandments of our Lord to love one another and do unto others as we would have done for us, we are to be the initiator and it has nothing to do with any deserving by the way of our grumpy Monday-morning judgment. 

Uh, yeah, can I get some help with this? Absolutely! We will have good help from our Lord Jesus whenever we try to do the right thing by Him. 

God's blessings and love to you on this fine Monday!

Bucky

The Missing Books Conspiracy

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 CSB

The New Testament of the Bible contains several letters from Paul, Peter, and others. But they were writing to someone; where are the return letters from Timothy, the churches, or other believers? Did some organization hold them back in a deep vault somewhere? What about accounts of Jesus; did Nathanael, Philip, or Andrew have an account of their time with the Lord? Did a conspiracy prevent their publication? Peter does not refute or deny any possibility of deceptions or denial that may happen down through the centuries. In a method our Lord often used, Peter answers the questions by not answering the questions. Peter simply assures his readers that we are given everything we need for life and godliness. If one does not believe in the Lord Jesus and His word now, then more books will not make up the difference.

We have what we need through the knowledge of Him who called us.

Bucky

Of The Past

Do not remember the former things,
Nor carefully consider things of the past.
-- Isaiah 43:18

Taken out of context, this verse might be telling us to forget the entire Bible! That would of course mean forgetting the verse itself which comes to us from Isaiah, one of God's prophets in the Bible. People will at times fantasize about time travel, and Isaiah gives us an opportunity to work on that with prophecies of his 'now', of his near future but still way back in time for us, and of the distant future we have not seen yet more than 2,700 years down the line. The new thing God promised began with the birth of Christ about 700 years from Isaiah's time, but Jesus preached the old scriptures frequently - obviously not forgetting the things of the past. Therefore, we study the Old Testament as well, and look ahead to that time when we are to not remember the things of the past. Does that mean the Bible too? It may well be, but only because then the Word of God, Jesus the Christ, will be right there with us.

To God be the glory, forever and ever, amen!

Bucky

In Quietness And Trust

For thus Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your might.”
But you were not willing,
   -- Isaiah 30:15

Good heavens! Why would they not be willing? We ask from our safe perch a few centuries down the road. And yet, if we look around a bit, there seems to be a lot going on. There is an achievement orientation to the life around us. People are named great by their awards, completed deals, businesses built, net worth (real or estimated), times seen on the monitor screen, and so on. How many people are called out in the media for their quietness and trust? Speak of rest and see how fast you are called lazy. Would any high achievers set their resume aside to live a life of repentance, rest, quietness, and trust in God? How about after the world has named them 'great' in some way? The busyness of the world can be addictive, and it can be risky in the light of eternity too!

Beware the noisy busyness of the world that loves its business!

Bucky

P.S. And a Happy Birthday wish to my mom today!

Where Was Jesus Today?

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.  John 15:12-14

Resurrection Day is celebrated four weeks from next Sunday, so our Lord Jesus probably wasn't in Jerusalem yet in that year of His death and resurrection. As about half of John's gospel concerns those events just before, during, and just after the Passover, this verse for today does not answer the question.  However, the passage does give to us what Jesus our Lord would have us to do while we await His return: love one another. Oh, and lay down our lives one for another. Jesus is of course our best example of laying down His life for His beloved ones, but we probably won't be called to do that this day. So, how can one go about laying down a life for the love of others? Social media provides one arena for this. In place of what we may want to do in this life, that is bullying, criticizing, judging, condemning, mocking, and even demonizing one another, we might strive to understand and love one another. Yes, whoever your 'they' is, they likely have some views that are strange to you, but Jesus made it your job and mine to love them too. 

Have that loving day online and in Christ today!

Bucky

Faithfulness To The Skies

Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, is in the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  Psalm 36:5

Reach out to the heavens and grasp the sky. Try to extend a hand to the stars and touch one of those shining lights in the night expanse. We cannot do such a thing of course, but we love the Lord God and along with King David we seek to get our minds around the extent of the Lord's lovingkindness and grasp a little of His enduring faithfulness. Our reach proves far too short, our minds limited, and neither can we understand the great quantity of our Lord's lovingkindness and faithfulness. With David we may raise comparisons, only to fail in measuring the Lord's abundance. And how do we begin to thank Him when all that lovingkindness and faithfulness was born in His Son in order to save each of us? 

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Psalm 36:7

Bucky

Without Fear

Now if Timothy comes, take care that he is with you without fear, for he is doing the Lord's work, as I also am.  1 Corinthians 16:10

We don't know from this verse what Timothy had to fear - change, crowds, travel, or just everything - but Paul made sure to tell others to be careful for him.  In the next verse they are told to let no one despise Timothy. Perhaps the man didn't hold up well against the mocking that can happen when a group comes together. It may be that like Timothy, you and I do not know what it is to serve the Lord without fear. Maybe we don't know what it might be like to walk in this life fearlessly at all! 

Be of good faith! The Lord knew Timothy and his fears, and accepted the man into His kingdom of workers just as He did Paul. Timothy was apparently of that first generation of believers who did not get to meet Jesus our Lord in person in this small portion of life. Faith and fear constantly battle for our attention, but as always - we will have good help in this fight, plus armor and a sword! 

Trust in Jesus!

Bucky

Together In Christ

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household. Ephesians 2:19

Paul wrote many things that we may not feel just yet. While he writes that we are no longer strangers, it surely feels like it in this world. And though we may not be sojourners, we may have another place that we would rather be, that place being close to Jesus and where He is right now. The apostle does not write of how we feel of course, but the assurance we have in Christ Jesus of where we belong. Our sight of what is may be rather earth-bound right this moment, but we have that assurance of how things really are in the grace of our Lord.

So, look with Paul through the eyes of faith!

Bucky

The Sword Of Reproof

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 LSB

From Oxford Languages we have: reproof, an expression of blame or disapproval. Mirriam-Webster tells us reproof is: criticism for a fault, rebuke. We tend to like this passage for that very reason, the sword of reproof makes us feel knowledgeable and powerful in the Word.

As with any sword placed in our hands, we must learn to use it well. Otherwise, we may find it cutting us and those we love. Ah, yes, love, is that not the first and second most important commands of our Savior, known in the first part of John as the Word? If one has not learned to love well, first and second, then perhaps the sword of reproof can wait for another time.

There! Consider yourselves reproofed. Wait, what? Oh no, where's the love first? Or second?

May the love of God and for each other come first in us always,

Bucky

The Springtime Of Our Lord Jesus

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.  Philippians 3:1

When I set out on a morning to write to you of rejoicing, it comes to mind that at this time of the year it is a struggle to rejoice always in the Lord. It isn't the Lord's fault of course and I hesitate to blame myself for it, but it is there in February. Winter has been going on for a while now, and it has not been particularly bad this year except for a brief ten days or so back in January. However, we have experienced a lot of cloudy weather this year and that begins to wear on a person at this time of the season. So, maybe you and I can rejoice in a bit of co-suffering, and together we can wait on the springtime of joy to come in the person of our Lord Jesus. 

The most difficult waiting comes just before the thing happens!

Bucky

The Law And The Prophets

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 ESV

We can easily get lost and overwhelmed in the Old Testament law, and then come the prophets with lengthy Isaiah, almost as long Jeremiah, and plenty of Ezekiel, not to mention all the little guys. But what if we had a one-sentence summary of how to obey all that law and those prophets too? Jesus as the originator of all that law and prophetic word gives just that to us in His great sermon. We call it the Golden Rule sometimes, but it gives us guidance on dealing with other people. And a quick perusal of the news media today shows that some of us really need that guidance!

For those of us who believe in Jesus and long to follow Him better, this is the kind of rule to apply constantly. Plus - Bonus! - it fulfills the law and the prophets too.

Have a loving day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

To My Beloved

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11

Slow as I am, even I have noticed the resurgence of the word beloved on social media. And it's about time too! Jesus only commanded us to love one another about 2,000 years ago. Love is a great subject for that day of love, Valentine's Day, or Saint Valentine's Day if you are among those who honor persons with that title. And love had better be the subject as there is some doubt over which Valentine was the man who lived just some of the many stories associated with that name. Therefore, love it is, and our first love in this new life would be the love for our Lord Jesus that He begins to grow in us from that first moment we believed in Him. Then, we begin our journey into that second love - one another.

And so, to my beloved, Have a great and happy Valentine's Day!

Bucky

The Spirit Comes

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit."  John 20:22

A significant event occurs in our verse for today, and yet in the recording by John there seems to be little change in the disciples, a certain doubter isn't even present. What was it about those actions of Jesus that seems so significant to us? He breathed on them, an action that might normally be rude, here it is dryly reported to us in later generations, but...did anything happen? And that wasn't all our Lord did, for He also spoke His word, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Yet, at this point in the scriptures, nothing seems to have happened. We are left to wonder what process began in the hearts of those present that would burst forth to such glorious effect at Pentecost some days later?  

So many questions for us, and so much room for faith!

Bucky

Supper With The King

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. John 12:1-2

You and I may have a little difficulty in leaving the subject of Lazarus' miracle alone for a time (and John the writer does too), but here let us see the supper table. Mary as we know has a certain mission at this time, and has her perfume ready. Martha lives to serve the Lord and does her service here in the verses. Lazarus may have been an accountant, or a tent maker, or whatever before, but now he is known by that miracle, and he sits at the table with the King. But, Jesus does not act like we think kings would act in such a time and place. He doesn't even act as we think the God of Abraham and Moses would act. Immanuel, God with us, sits down to a meal with those who believe in Him.

For all the great works we think we must accomplish for Him, maybe He would have us to just be with Him in the simple everyday tasks at hand.

Bucky

With Great Joy

And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.  1 Kings 1:40

So, as you can read in our verse for today, we did not invent loud music with the coming of rock n' roll. And, what is this? Flutes?! Brass instruments or big drums one might understand, but seeming to split the earth with flutes? Did someone sneak in a bass guitar and a couple of big  amps? Of course the volume is not so much in the instruments but the rejoicing with great joy. Their voices of rejoicing seemed to split the earth. With great joy they marched together and made this great noise of rejoicing. 

Today we seem to be in an age where the big marches are about protest, not rejoicing.  When was the last time someone organized a march on Washington DC to rejoice over something? After the big game on Sunday? I'm not sure it's all rejoicing if a city needs police in riot gear ready to go. May we all look to our Savior and learn what rejoicing is all about. As Paul tells us:

Rejoice in the Lord always!

Bucky

Many Wonderful Works

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
  -- Psalm 40:5

There are those times when we simply need a reminder such as this one from the psalms. If you read this verse today and think, "Gotta be David." Correct, and it shows to us the mind of the man after God's own heart. When we think of all our problems in this life, David had more of them. And yet, he brought to us this comfort when he stopped to think of God and His wonderful works. Do we have worries? Sure, but David had his own plus an entire kingdom's worth. And still, we all stop to think, "Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works." As we also go down our list of thanksgivings to offer up to the Lord, we too can see there are more than can be numbered. A difficult day might take a bit more effort or time, but gratitude is there in the Spirit of God!

Have a grateful day in God's loving Spirit!

Bucky

We Still Want To Know

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”  Matthew 24:3

The disciples wanted to know about the end times, and so do we a long time down the road. And we still have the same answer to read that the disciples received on the Mount of Olives. To this day, no one can put an hour, day, month and year on the Lord's return, just as He said back then in His answer. So, take a little comfort that as Peter did in his day, and Paul, Simon, Timothy, Augustine, and many other believers through the years, we wait in a state of expectancy for the return of Jesus the Christ. We may sleep as they did in the 18th Century, or we may get to see the glorious return. He is risen and He returns any day now.

Have a great week in faith!

Bucky

Not Too Fast, Please

“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. John 21:12

Happy Groundhog Day to you. An advertisement e-mail also wishes me a Happy Working Naked Day. I think a majority of us are not quite ready for that sort of change, at least not that quickly, and it would pose a great risk to some precious body parts to do that in some jobs. Speaking of working naked, or in undergarments, one particular fisherman of our acquaintance was doing just that on a lovely day in Galilee when a change walked up along the seashore. Now this man had changed very quickly from stone-cold dead to alive and walking about. His disciples were having trouble processing that quick change, and there was something about His appearance that left even close associates struggling to recognize Him, er, the risen Him. It is not stated in the Gospel just what about the risen Savior was so different, but it shows in every meeting with Him from Mary Magdalene just outside the tomb, to the believers on the way to Emmaus, to the fishing disciples on the Sea of Galilee. The fishermen knew it was Him from the actions, but His appearance left them not daring to ask. What was it about Him? I guess we'll just have to dare to ask when we see Him!

Love and patience in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Life In His Name

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31

John witnessed a great many miraculous works of our Lord, and he didn't write them all down for us. What, a withholding? Who gave him the right to hold these back from us? Of course we understand that for John to write all of the miracles of Jesus would be for him to still be writing to this day. Even simply those works done in our Lord's brief ministry, as John writes in verse 25 of the next chapter, would overwhelm the book capacity of this world. By the ones written down in John's gospel though we have this great opportunity: take this the testimony of John as eye witness and believe in the Lord Jesus, and then we have life in His name.

A simple formula for us simple people,

Bucky

Praise, Honor, and Glory!

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. 1 Peter 1:6, 7, 8a

If I were to unpack everything from this long sentence, we could be here for a day or two. What I was led to this morning was the part about praise, honor, and glory. What does Peter mean by 'may be found to'? Well there is this prophecy from our Lord Jesus found in Matthew 24:30 where all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. Now, we do not want to be mourning our Lord's return, so Peter tells of our current trials and how they prove the genuineness of our faith, and we gain the result you can read in the words of our verses today. Therefore!

Praise, honor, and glory to our Lord Jesus who returns to us on the clouds of heaven!

Amen,

Bucky

Hard Working Hypocrite

And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.  Matthew 12:10

Their legal eyes watchful as they gathered in the synagogue, the group of legalists known as Pharisees saw him there. Yes, it was this new rabbi and his disciples. The watchmen of God's law stared intently, plans forming in their minds to test yet another man of whom the people asked, "Could this be the One?" Their record of success in this regard was perfect, as sooner or later the victim would be tripped up by a point of the law, a transgression. Their duty to the law would be served, another victory to celebrate. And here was the Sabbath where even the hint of working could be the violation to be exposed! 

In his place by the back wall, one young Pharisee started at a niggling little thought in his mind. Duty, keeping watch, forming plans, testing... sounds like a lot of work. Guys, we're working on the Sabbath! He almost blurted it out, but was stopped for fear of the tongue lashing the senior Pharisees would use in their anger. Being a Pharisee was a good job too, one his mother wanted to see him succeed at for her sake. Job? There it was again! 

Told that way, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees seems a charming amusement. We mourn for those long ago hypocrites though, and we strive to deny hypocrisy a place in our lives by the strength of our Lord's Holy Spirit. 

May the love of the Lord Jesus bear you up this week,

Bucky

Who Is In Control Here?

Pul, king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control. 2 Kings 15:19

According to the notes, that's Tiglath-Pileser III to you, mister! Meanwhile in Israel, it was just Pul, as in, go pull another thousand out of the rich people by taxation. So, while one might think the king in control by virtue of his position, one would be surprised to see the king making a payoff to increase his control. That is moot though since this was the king of Israel and he needed God, not payola.

Who is in control here? If you or I decide we want control today at work, but the boss decides he or she wants control too, there is going to be a clash. We have all seen married couples who both want control of all things and the rather spectacular clashes that situation can produce. It is interesting that the One who by sovereign rank, creation, and ultimate authority could maintain strict control over us, does not fight us for that control. Insert whatever metaphor you like, but God will let us drive our ship onto the rocks, fall flat on our faces, or control our lives right into the trash heap, if we desire control so much. However, a little humility before the throne of God, a bit of asking in place of telling, and a giving up of pride, and we will receive good help, guidance, and the loving blessing of our Lord God.

Trust in the One who loves you!

Bucky

Impressed By Quantity?

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Are you impressed by quantity? I'm impressed by the quantity of cash it takes to purchase a new diesel pickup these days. If I am so easily impressed, imagine this prophecy of a quantity that cannot be numbered. Does that mean too many to count? It may well be, and with a number such as 200 millions foretold in the Apocalypse, that could mean quite a crowd. Yet the thing even more impressive than the quantity here is the quality. That is the multitude comes out of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue! Think of some peoples, nations, and tribes in the past or of today, see any way someone could be saved out of that? And yet, Jesus promises every and all of those groups will have sheep there telling of His salvation. Let us join in!

Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb!

Bucky

Watching To The Miss

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.  Mark 13:33

Jesus told us to watch and pray. It is a divine command from our Lord Jesus. There was a thing going on in town this past year which I watched with some steadfast effort. There was a delay, and then on the day I was watching for, I took a different route to work, then came home late and finally the weekend arrived. On Monday, back on the usual route, I saw that I had missed the event entirely. So much for my skills and effort as a watchman. 

When we do not know the hour and day, as no one knows that for our Lord's return, it is  therefore nearly impossible for us to make the appointment. Yet, we have been commanded to watch. Well, maybe the next part will help, pray. As we cannot know the time and date, and will likely be surprised, we might as well do what we can do in Christ our Lord until that great day, and pray! However, if this missing of the day and hour is a foregone conclusion, what good will the second part do? Ah, but we know that part works so well! Not by our effort or talent does prayer work, but by the faithfulness and love of our Lord Jesus. We may falter much in prayer and watchfulness, but He will be there for the great return and will gather us to Himself. 

As with every day, In Christ Alone!

Bucky

Made Manifest By Faith

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” John 14:22

Manifest: evident, apparent or clear to the senses. Judas had a good question there since the man had traveled with Jesus for some time and clearly lots of people could see and hear our Lord. So, Judas had to ask, what is this manifesting you speak of? We know it as the time of faith between our Lord's death on the cross and His return, often known as the Second Coming. What is interesting in this is that little word 'in'. The manifesting will not be of the five senses, but a knowledge borne of faith that Jesus is in us by His Holy Spirit. Judas had trouble understanding because it was a new way of manifesting; one done by faith and not by seeing. The world by unbelief will not know Him.

By faith in Him!

Bucky

The Fruitlessness Of Our Expectation

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23

It's a lovely day on the New Earth as your party reaches the great city of the Lord, Jerusalem. Coming in through the gate made of a single pearl, all of you pass a gathering in a small coffee shop of what look like cleaning persons with brooms and dustbins. Can there be dust in the city with the streets of gold? You begin the climb to the top to present yourselves to the King of kings in the great palace far above. After weeks of climbing, you arrive exhausted before the throne to find King David there. One of you dares to ask the great king where in the world Jesus might be after that lengthy climb. David tells that he would gladly give up the throne to Jesus, but that our Lord doesn't go in much for the celebrity king sort of thing, and that you are more likely to find Him in a coffee shop on the first level gathering with the working folks He loves. The fruitlessness of your expectation comes home to you at that moment.

After that great victory of His at the end with His white horse and all, we might kind of expect Jesus to be forever the superest of superhumans on a high and mighty throne. Will that be the case though? Is there a fruitless expectation rolling about the deck of our little ship like a loose cannonball? Will He be known as Immanuel - God with us - or by some name that means God way over the top of us?

When we believed we gained a very personal Savior... who also happens to be the King of kings,

Bucky

Sometimes A Little Direction

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:5-6

Like Thomas, we sometimes need a little direction. Whether it be for life in general, a job, or just a little offering of praise to our Lord, we may need direction. Jesus covered everything for Thomas by stating that He is the way, the truth, and the life. To turn the other direction from Jesus then is to be lost, deceived, and dead - not really where any of us want to be! Before Jesus, we didn't know the way, to go or to the Father or to eternal life. In Christ all of those are the same direction and we are glad to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Simple directions for the simple, let's follow the Way!

Bucky

Learning The Servanthood

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Mark 10:42

Once in a while it comes upon me to do an update on my learning the servanthood portion of this journey with Jesus. And it seems there are still some problems along the way. For example: a person comes to me and says, "I need you to do something for me." We're not talking about the boss here, since by way of employment that is what is supposed to be a thing. No, this is that acquaintance or even total stranger who loves that verse we read today and figure they are referenced in the lord or great one part of it. And this is where I fail the test of servanthood since immediately I'm thinking things like: Why do you want to take advantage of my feeble attempt at servanthood? And other things that you can imagine since it has likely happened to you as well. Yes, it is the ready and willing to obey part that still sticks in 1st gear for me. Jesus of course did not say that learning the servanthood would be easy for any of us. We have that old nature that just doesn't want to serve. 

So, in prayer we go to Christ Jesus once again to learn how to serve,

Bucky

All Those Sacrifices

The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.  Isaiah 1:11

We could talk about the cold...  Ah well, winter is here and it's a thing to endure for a while. We could talk about our failure in the area of sacrifice too. However, it can become a temptation if we shovel too much guilt about sacrifice so that someone falls into thinking that we can impress the Lord by the amount of our sacrifices. The Israelites at the time of Isaiah had the quantity part down all too well. What they lacked the Lord spells out in the verses following our one for study this morning. 

From here we might think that the ancient Israelite worship system was all about the blood and guts of animal sacrifices. And like Israel had done in Isaiah's day, that would be to forget the worship bit of the whole thing. One can just see their priests preaching about more sacrifice to please the Lord... And then the Lord sent His prophet to say that He has more than enough of that stuff. Worship of the Lord would include listening to His prophet and doing what the Lord desired. Things such as learning to do right, defending the oppressed or correcting the oppressor, pleading the case of the widow, and others. The Lord even wanted to reason with them about it in that great eighteenth verse. 

How great is it that the Lord Himself would reason with us? 

Bucky

We Look Up With Hope In Him!

Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm.  1 Kings 1:1

There he is, the great king of Israel, old and advanced in years, freezing with many blankets piled on him. The verse reminds us that the Bible is not a superhero comic book, nor is it a fantasy novel. Even the king gets old and cold at a time when Israel could provide much to warm him.  Soon King David will relinquish the throne and sleep the sleep that we call death. So, why did you or I want to be king, president, or ruler again? 

We are encouraged by the world to strive for the top spot in whatever organization we find ourselves in this day. Yet, like David, we are going to grow old and get cold. One day another blanket will not be enough to cut the chill. Wow, as far as comfort goes, I'm a wet blanket on a frozen lake this morning. The cold start has left my thermometer too low. How great it is that with David and Job we know our Redeemer lives! It isn't another blanket that warms our hearts but the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We may sleep in this world, but we look to awaken with our Lord Jesus. Our faith is in the Lord, we look up with hope in Him!

Yes, it's cold today, but we don't have to be,

Bucky

Revelations Of The Day

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  John 14:26

This morning I saw for the first time a pickup priced over $100,000. Yes, a 1-ton pickup that requires a ton of cash. Actually a little over 220 pounds of $1 bills according to that infernal information resource we can hardly live without these days. But my revelations prior to 0600 were not done yet! An article on the Blue Letter Bible home page told of a translation that:

"required a strict adherence to the Textus Receptus of Hahn's Greek Testament."

Without further research, what does that even mean? Is it good or bad, happy or sad? Yes, it was revealed that I do not know my Textus Receptus from my Titus Andronicus. What a dreadful ignorance! I could go down, down, the Internet information rabbit hole to find out, but I think not. 

With all that being said, how did the disciples write all they did about Jesus years after He had ascended from the mountain? Without the Internet or even a decent library, how did so much survive in their memory? John wrote to tell us how in our verse for today, one often overshadowed by the next verse in that chapter. This verse also gives us a vital bit of knowledge on how to sort out the eternally relevant from the enormous amount of information available to us in this age: go to the One who can bring all Jesus said to our remembrance too, God's Holy Spirit! 

Go in prayer, my friends!

Bucky

Blasting Away With A Dull Axe

If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom brings success.
  -- Ecclesiastes 10:10

Get ready for a brute-strength message, for I feel kind of dull this morning. Welp, took a shower and still the only words I got are some silly song lyrics. It is days such as this one that I am reminded that God does not need me specifically to spread His good news. Today it may come to a lost sheep by way of a preacher on the radio or a personal friend who has been found by the Good Shepherd. This day might be one where a proclaiming angel crosses the sky with the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn't have to be me today, but it always must be Him!

Jesus is the Way back to the Father our God!

Love to you from Bucky, your dull axe writer for this morning.

The Name Is ~.#

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.  Revelation 15:2

Decent Earth revolution to you! The name is ~.#, pronounced squiggle dot flash, and I write to you from not so far away as you might think...

We have seen a great many changes in our time from the days when a series of punctuation marks as a name might have seemed as far out there as that number of the Beast in the book of Revelation. Prophecies such as that one seem distant and remote until the day comes when they are not far at all, even on the doorstep. Today it does not seem futuristic to us that a person might protect their identity by having it placed securely in or on the body by a device or marking. Even the prophetic right hand or forehead (Rev 13:16) seemed oddly specific, until we saw the photos of Covid-masked people by the thousand going across the news media just a couple of years ago. Body art has become commonplace where it once was the sign of having lived a rough or even outlaw life. The world may well be ready to receive that dreadful mark.  

We, on the other hand (Ow!),  have a promise of victory in our verse for today. No doubt it is Jesus our Lord who has won that victory for us.

Bucky

Through The Ice Ridges

By the breath of God ice is given,
And the broad waters are frozen.
  Elihu in Job 37:10

Early this morning I looked out and saw a SUV carefully driving through the ice ridges of our town streets. We had them last year as well, and driving into one of these things without the proper caution will wake a person right up. How to make the ridges worse, one might ask? Oh, just have a little snow fall down on top during the night so that the icy devils cannot be seen, and you have a recipe for a driving adventure. After striking one of these things going just a bit too fast, you might speak a kindly prayer for young Elihu. Kindly, that is, after you edit out the, uh, salty words you used at first to describe him. It seems that God might have a question about the actual source of ice for the Mr. Elihu too:

From whose womb comes the ice
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
  -- Job 38:29

God had lots of questions for those of us who, like Elihu, get caught out relying on what we think we know in place of trusting in the Lord. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Starting in chapter 38 of the Book of Job, we can all learn a bit of the ol' humility by answering just a few of those questions from the Lord. Or even just one of the questions...maybe?

Have a delightful day in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

No Night's Rest For Him?

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. John 18:1

The first question to arise from this verse is: what words? We didn't get the words! That is of course the beauty of studying the Bible on your own. You get to go back and read those words in chapter 17. However, here in our verse for today we get one of those moments that drive the constant-toil bosses a little crazy. A break? They took a break? What happened to all that harvest is ripe stuff? Jesus we know from the scriptures worked more at prayer than anyone else. The weary disciples will fall asleep as Jesus prays, but our Lord kept at it until the soldiers came to take Him. The brook and the garden sound like the start of a peaceful rest, but it was not to be for Jesus that night. We advise one another to get a good night's rest before a difficult task, probably because our Lord didn't get one there in that garden by the brook.

Cherish your night of rest, each is given by God as a gift to you,

Bucky

Now What?

Moreover the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.  Isaiah 8:1

At Christmas the time seems right to write about the birth of Christ and at Thanksgiving it seems good to give some gratitude to God, but after the New Year thing, what do we write about now? Let me think on this out loud for a bit. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible according to several sources, so at about 225 used per year as our verse of the day, I should be good to go for 130 years or so. And, let's see, take off the 17 years I have written this devotional message, add the remainder to my present age, and if I start repeating verses at the ripe old age of 173, no one is likely to notice! Least of all myself, who probably won't have to endure quite that long before the Master calls us home. 

No worries, beloved! As long as the Lord provides the words about His word, we will continue this for a while to come. 

Love in Christ Jesus to you and yours, 

Bucky

Choose Life!

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

To the beast in the field it may not seem like anything special today, just another winter day. To other peoples and nations our tradition of calling a day 1o days or so past the winter solstice the start of a new year may appear random and odd. To a hurting person this new day may not appear at all different from yesterday. However, as the Lord points out a thing we have in our verse for today, this new year beginning today gives us one more opportunity to choose. We can one and all choose to look upon the new year with hope in our hearts, no matter what circumstance has come down upon us in and from the preceding year. We also have a great hope that Israel did not know much about back in Deuteronomy, we can literally choose the way, the truth and the life by faith in Christ Jesus, God's beloved Son.

It's a great new year because you and I choose to believe in our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The (Sometimes) Uncomfortable Work Of Faith

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13

They had a house to stay in, perhaps rented, and the gifts from the east had been given. Joseph may have settled into his new business with jobs lined up or a timeclock to punch at his employer's place. They were settling into Bethlehem, and what better place for the Son of God, child of David, and future King of Israel? Well there could be the force of prophecy at work in the land and their new baby had a LOT of prophecies working on His young life. Well this latest visit from the angel of dreams brought what a young family dreads - an uncomfortable flight in the dead of night, leaving without saying 'goodbye', the terror of getting caught and killed by the armies of the evil king, and oh, moving to a new place in a foreign nation. If all that doesn't test the faith of a young man and his bride, I'm not sure that anything will.

The testing of faith may be uncomfortable for us, maybe even terrifying, but fear not, the Lord is always with us!

Bucky

Great Joy

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  Matthew 2:10

The wise men from the east had made it to Jerusalem, and were from there directed to Bethlehem by Herod. This may explain one reason they were called wise, them being one of the very few groups of travelling men to stop and ask for directions. The star they had seen in their homeland had apparently given only a sort of over-this-way sort of direction to get them on the road. One might ask why the star didn't direct them around Jerusalem and so avoid stirring up Herod, but that would be to forget about prophecy. The stop in Jerusalem set fulfillment of prophecies in motion, and then as they were leaving the star appeared to the wise men once more and they rejoiced. The purpose in Jerusalem accomplished, the star then leads them directly to the house where Jesus and His mother are staying. 

When they saw the star again, the wise men rejoiced with great joy, but when they saw the newborn King, they fell down and worshiped. Oh yes! God's Son has come down!

Bucky 

Waiting For Him

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:25-26

We are waiting for Him, and so too was Simeon, but the scripture does not say how long this man waited for the Lord's Christ. Many generations have waited for the return of our Lord Jesus, and yet He has not returned. We think it would be an easier wait if, like Simeon, we knew it would be within a man's lifespan. What a fine joke it would be if the Lord kept that one waiting person alive for oh, fifteen hundred years or so. At present, there is no temple in Jerusalem for the person to wait in, but those final years could begin at any moment. Without a scripture telling us, we have no idea how long Simeon waited. And, without a day, hour, month and year, we have no idea how long until Jesus returns. All we have is that Simeon waited, and that is our task as well, just to wait on Him.

I hope you had a grand Christmas this year. And now, we can wait for the next one!

Bucky

The First Message: Do Not Be Afraid

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

A strange thing had come to the shepherds that night near Bethlehem and they needed some calming words to still the fear that had come over them. Look, the angel said to them, it is good tidings of great joy. For the shepherds it was a simple fear - angels did not normally appear to them suddenly in the darkness. It was a mercy that just one appeared at first, because the heavenly host came just as suddenly and they had a message too. Without that first one to ease their fear, those shepherds might have taken flight before the message could be delivered. Strange, unusual, uncanny even? Absolutely, but this was and is the most unusual birth in all of history. And yet, the baby to be named Jesus also came into the world in the usual way. When the shepherds arrived to see the child, they may have wondered who could be afraid of the little baby. And yet, the powers of darkness called for child sacrifice before that birth and they have desired it since that time, so they must be afraid of something to come from the birth of a child. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has been born in Bethlehem! Such tidings of gladness and joy for us and those shepherds.

Have a Merry Christmas Day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

It's Close!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Glory to God in the highest,
​​And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! -- Luke 2:13-14

The holy day is close, but should we celebrate it? Before we all jump to "Of course we should!", let's check the scriptures. In our verses for today, it seems the angels thought so as a multitude of the heavenly host gathers to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In a few moments the shepherds who stood sorely afraid will think so too as they visit the divine birthplace. That's one powerful heavenly recommendation, and one rather mundane earthly one. Whether you feel powerful and heavenly this morning, or more along the lines of those shepherds, the answer would seem to be a hearty, "Yes! Let's celebrate the birth of the Christ child!"

So, may you all have a very, merry Christmas!

Bucky

Save The Innkeeper!

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Luke 2:6-7

The season of the celebration of our Lord's birth has come this year, and as usual I get to save the innkeeper. Often I and many other writers and preachers do this by pointing out that the scriptures do not say that there was one. However, for those who like to add a greedy innkeeper to the story, there certainly could have been one. The opportunities available to the residents of Bethlehem when that decree went out from Rome may well have allowed a man of a certain, shall we say, business sense, to seek a position as keeper of the guesthouse or inn in order to fleece the tourists coming back to register. This same man may have gone on to a lucrative career as a tax collector in the following years.  It is possible that no room at the inn may have been due to Joseph and Mary not being able to pay quite as much as other guests in town. Of course debating whether there could have been an innkeeper takes away from the important part of the scripture: God came down and was born in Bethlehem. 

And there in the verses is that cute little baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. 

Have a sweet and happy Christmas in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

The Son Is Conceived

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  Luke 1:34-35

This did not happen in the usual way, as Mary indicates by her question. Which could tend to make one a bit curious as to the means and methods employed in the accomplishment of the task at hand. However, this idle curiosity may never be satisfied. Ya know, a little privacy for the Holy Spirit and the young lady, please! 

When it comes to matters of faith, we don't always get to know how the thing is or was done. A man was born with eyes that did not provide sight. Jesus gave the man sight without transplants or surgeries or anything that we can see in the Bible. In another case there was spit and mud involved in the sight restoration. Imagine the shock and outrage if an eye doctor tried that method later today! And yet in both cases we do not know the mechanism or means by which our Lord's healing worked. The holy mud? That I believe was not needed by Jesus, but as a little boost to the blind man's faith. Sort of like the little assurance Mary needed as Gabriel told her, the Lord will take care of it. 

Faith, it's what makes a believer out of us!

Bucky

The Place, But What Day?

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 from Micah 5:2

Hundreds of years before Christ was born, the place was named by the prophet. Our Lord Jesus has a great many prophecies about Him, His birth, and even His return. That alone serves to remind me that there is something special about this man who was born in Bethlehem.

So, we have the place, but about that 'when'? Yes, there does seem to be something rather more special about that time and date. There is doubt that He was born on December the 25th, and it may be that He was not even born in 1 A.D. It seems that the when is something held extra special to the Lord God. We see that in the day and hour of our Lord's return, since no one knows that but the Father in Heaven, not even the Son.

In some things, we just keep our faith in Jesus!

Bucky

Everyone To Your City

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  Luke 2:1-3

Everyone to your own city, get back there, let's go! For a Friday, imagine a world ruler sending out the decree today, that everyone must go back to their own city to be registered. Try to imagine billions of people griping about doing it online instead. The next verse would throw even more confusion into the works, as Joseph went up to the city of his lineage. City of my lineage? According to the powers that be, a whole lot of us over here, come from this place over there, and we're pretty sure they don't want us back there, so...help! Even comparing it to our time, we can see that this decree would cause a huge inconvenience to everyone. As our Lord's time to be born arrived, even the Son of God had to be born in a stable because of that decree from far away in Rome. 

A world ruler, Ha! Try to imagine that happening anytime soon. Like a great many Bible prophecies though, it will take dern near forever to arrive and yet arrive faster than anyone thinks possible. How does He do it?

Merry Christmas!

Bucky

O Bethlehem!

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8

Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem because they were of the lineage of David. The shepherds were in the field keeping watch over their flock. About a thousand years ago in time from that night in Bethlehem, David was in the field keeping watch over the flock when Samuel arrived to anoint the new king of Israel. Jesus, the child born that night in Bethlehem is the Good Shepherd. If I sat down to write a book and made up stuff like this, it would be dismissed as too far-fetched for even a suspension of disbelief. And yet the question marches before you, will you believe in the Son of God?

Rejoice, for unto us a Child is born!

Bucky

It's 3:00 AM, Wife!

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. Matthew 1:24-25

Up to this point, Joseph had been thinking a quiet divorce would fit the bill for Mary's sake. However, he has the first of his angel dreams and it comes with a command. We might assume that ol' Joe waited for the dawn, but the scripture says that he was aroused from sleep - could just as well have been earlier. Of course it may have been tough to find her room as Joseph didn't even know her at the time. Yeah, we're not that slow. Imagine Mary being awakened by her betrothed in the dark of the night by a shout at the window, "It's 3:00 am, wife!" However it happened, the Lord worked it out between the mother of His Son and her husband.

I wonder if those angel dreams of Joseph's were precipitated by Mary's dad dismissing his future son in law as a 'dreamer'...

Love to you this Christmas season!

Bucky

Too Unbelievable?

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:23

This one prophecy trips up many a person, including Mary when her time arrived. Centuries before the blessed event, the prophet Isaiah passes along this word from the Lord. And it begins with the part that tripped up Mary, virgin + conception = eh? She had likely been taught about the birds and the bees, as we used to say, and one of them was missing. The angel Gabriel then assures Mary that it is possible for the Lord. Next, those hundreds of years before even Mary and Joseph were born, God called it a male child. While this one might seem easier with a 50/50 chance, how many of us can even tell if our family will be around in a few centuries? And then comes that name we do not use often enough, Immanuel. The name that Gabriel appeared to refute when he told Mary to name the kid, Jesus. We know now that the 'they' was not the parents, but those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, or God in the form of a man, truly God With Us - Immanuel. 

So unbelievable, or at least unbelievable without help, and we too would be among those unbelievers without the help of our Lord's dear Spirit. Blessed be the name of Jesus who is Immanuel. 

Bucky

Pondering Things

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20

The leap to the angel part of this verse is quite understandable. But for a few moments this morning, let's think about Joseph's thinking. One thing we can notice right away is that Joseph didn't take the Hollywood route of immediate, blowing up, self-righteous anger. Joseph also thought his decision was already made in the previous verse, and that he would quietly put her away. "What?!" the movie exec shouts, "there's no movie in quietly! We need emotional outrage and fireworks!" Well, not everyone is like those shouting, overemoting actors we are presented with these days. Joseph was doing as all might want to do a bit more of these days, he was pondering things. An emotional explosion over things isn't the only way to live life, in spite of how popular that seems to be in the social media of our age.

So, Joseph finished pondering things and got on with his plan... heh, heh, until the plan was changed for him!

Do not be afraid, you and I may have our plans changed by the Lord today too!

Bucky

An Unbelievable Birth

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27

We could list the many things odd, different, and unusual about our Lord's birth and family, but you have seen those already. It may be that the Lord made sure His birth was unusual enough to comfort all those in the coming ages whose birth or raising did not fit the usual or ideal pattern of their culture. But nothing is quite so unbelievable as an angel walking in to say, 'Hey virgin, you will be pregnant in the morning by the power of God's Spirit! Congrats.' Uh, huh, the first thing to do is go and tell Dad, because surely that prophecy from Isaiah will be the first thing he thinks of when he hears the news, right? We know that Joseph, the betrothed, did not believe Mary right away, as he prepared to quietly end the engagement. Was all of Nazareth then waiting to see who the kid would look like and wagging their tongues with guesses? Actually, that would be kind of normal.

The method of our Lord's birth is so unbelievable that only faith can bring us to believe it. And faith is the domain of the Lord's Spirit. Hmm, it seems that Mary and all who believe know the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us!

Love to you by the unusual faith we hold in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Christmas Breadcrumbs

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:17

Interesting, but just how important is this symmetry of generations really? Well, it delighted Matthew after he wrote down this long list of generations going back to Abraham, and that gives us a breadcrumb along Matthew's trail to follow to the man. As we read the Christmas story and pass along the bits that delight us, we too leave a trail of Christmas breadcrumbs telling something of ourselves. You may have noticed that I like to pass along the awesome surprise of those shepherds watching their flock by night. "See, it's good news, Avi, quit shaking and let's go to Bethlehem!" Yes, I like that something capable of inducing such fear brings only good news, happy news, and long awaited tidings to those serving in a most humble occupation. The pretty celebrities and swell royals of the time probably had little or nothing to do with those shepherds. God sent His messengers out to the field though and not to the palaces of the land to announce the birth of His Son. And at this time from a distant land, some observant wise guys are on the way to see the newborn King too!

Have a happy Christmas!

Bucky

A Christmas Job

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Luke 2:8

We work jobs to pay for the cost of living. Sometimes the cost of living runs a little wild and gets out of the control of those we elect hoping they will make it a little better for us. We gripe and moan a bit, and those shepherds out in the field likely had similar conversations in their day. We are about 3 weeks from Christmas Day, and by now you probably know whether you have one of those Christmas jobs; the ones where a person must work through the holiday. The shepherds had just such a job, but they didn't know it in this verse. This is one of those setting verses that get us going as we know that the knowledge of their Christmas job is about to be announced to them in a spectacular way. So spectacular is the announcement that these shepherds will find themselves sorely afraid. But the news is nothing but the good news of our Lord's arrival! 

The good news of Jesus Christ may come as a shock to someone, but announce it anyway!

Bucky

Just Standing There

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  Luke 1:11

Each Christmas season I come upon this passage of scripture and try to imagine the expression on Zacharias' face in that critical moment. It surely must have been priceless. In the usual Biblical understatement, the next verse says that he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. If angels told tales as we do, the statement might be more like, "Dude, you should have seen your face!" But perhaps angels do not understand that sort of humor we have. Instead, the angel had an equally startling message for that old and shaken priest, it was baby time! Zacharias reaches down and picks up his priest hat for the second time in as many minutes. 

Angels and old folks having a special child, the Christmas story is filled with startling moments to gain our attention. Some use that as an excuse to call it a myth, others... we just believe and rejoice! 

Have a faithful Christmas season!

Bucky