Prayer, Quietly

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  Matthew 6:6

From the great sermon of our Lord on the mountain, we have this instruction on prayer. And in these latter years we might parse and parcel this one verse to start in on others with more instructions. "You shouldn't pray in church!" the zealous one says to the pastor. "Sorry, but I need this room for a prayer room," the well-meaning father says as he takes over a child's bedroom. And who among us hasn't held our hands out for those open rewards? In the great sermon there are other instructions on prayer, including that manner of prayer we are to use. Also, the instruction in our verse today came from avoiding those public prayers that only call attention to the prayer shouter and caused the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. Not every public prayer is or was done for that reason.

If we want to pray in the secret place, what better door to shut than the mouth, and what better secret room than that of the mind where only God will hear? Have a prayer with the Father, quietly. 

Bucky

He Makes Us

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”  Romans 1:17 NLT

Sometimes we may fall into thinking that we have something useful to offer the Lord our God. As if the Almighty could somehow have need for an all-weaky to do something for Him. But that sort of depressed thinking doesn't take into account the love of the Lord! So, as we have nothing to offer up to Him but our old sinful selves, God gave us the Good News and set about making us into something His Son can bring home to Him. As Paul tells us, by faith we become a great accomplishment of the Lord. In other words, He makes us something. Something righteous, something grand, something wonderful in Christ the Lord who is called Wonderful. 

So heads up, Christians, and let us resume our march to the Holy City! 

Bucky

Endure Hardship Gratefully

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3

While we would mostly like to avoid hardship, it is hardship that makes us most proud of our service. If a veteran can recall no hardship from their service, they probably think they somehow did it wrong or were cheated. In this world hardship seems to go with service of any type. This is not to say that service cannot be rewarding and even enjoyable at times. One way to gain reward from service is with a grateful heart. That isn't an easy thing to do. But who can help us with that? The One who saved us of course, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!

And we also have the great privilege of praying one for another, what a loving service that is!

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you for allowing us to serve you.

Bucky

Targeted Generosity?

Let my plea come before you;
deliver me according to your word.
-- Psalm 119:170

I read about a plea going out last night by way of thanks to the responders this morning. No, the actual plea was not seen or made public it seems, nor the reason for the plea except for the mention of 'fire'. You have likely seen these before on social media, and it can be frustrating to our curiosity. "What happened?" one commenter noted on the post; no doubt speaking for a great many other readers. But I get it too. People can be quite generous, even overly so, when a disaster happens. Stories of mountains of donated clothing abound in the aftermath of disasters. A family who has just lost their house doesn't need to be burdened with several hundred pounds of used clothing. So targeted generosity may be wise at such a time. If a few can take care of the need, then there is no need to ask from hundreds. Which brings us to pleading with our Lord in prayer.

We know by faith that we will receive from our Lord just what we need. And, even if we do not know the names or the story, we can plead for the needs of those the Lord knows well.

Just pray!

Bucky

P.S. My 'plea' search led me to a scripture with the highest number of digits I've ever used, I think!

Appreciating The Good Shepherd

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  Luke 15:4

In our verse for today we can easily see a great difference in appreciation for the shepherd between the 99 sheep that were left and the 1 sheep that was lost. The larger group might even go so far as to call the shepherd a traitor for leaving them behind. While the one will of course feel a great love and appreciation for the shepherd. Even more appreciation might be felt from a sheep that was lost in a tough place versus one only lost a little bit. We follow our Lord Jesus in applying this metaphor to ourselves. When Jesus found you, just how lost were you? Those lost greatly will tend to feel the greater appreciation. However, do not give up on the 99, while the Spirit helps them to deal with temptation, they too will feel a great appreciation when the Good Shepherd returns bearing that one lost sheep. And all 100 will rejoice with the Savior when we are led into His home and pasture. 

Let us rejoice in the Good Shepherd!

Bucky

Melting Heaviness

My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
-- Psalm 119:28

These past few months have seemed rather long due to a thing going on that I won't name this morning. Whether you are pleased or disappointed at the projected result, turn to the word of the Lord and be strengthened. Rejoice or seek relief in the word of God as you read and study. Outside my window Nature either celebrates or covers its grief in a blanket of new snow. Up in Heaven, God's throne was neither built up nor tilted down by the result of that thing I won't mention for your sake. And God's planned day for the return of His glorious Son? That day is still coming at the appointed time no matter what our feelings are this grey morning. So, to those who are happy and those who are sad:

Great is the Word of our Lord God!

Bucky

Your Own Didn't Know You

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. John 1:10-11

Tomorrow we face another presidential election. For a moment, imagine that neither of the big party candidates win and you do. While your first thoughts are still running along the lines of "Eeek! No! No!" the electoral college meets and confirms that you are indeed the president-elect of the United States. In January there is a big ceremony and, finally calmed down a bit, you take the oath of office and move into the White House. One of the first things you must do is to bring the big armored car and a few of those folks in dark suits back to your hometown for a visit.

However, things are strange at home. No one seems to care, the police leave a parking ticket on the limo, and your principal and teachers cast doubt on your claim to be president. At church, the preacher says your election never happened, and names you a fraud in the strongest terms. Finally, before you can leave town the Secret Service is forced to arrest the police chief and all the town officers when they try to arrest you for impersonating the office you know that you now hold! What sort of delusion has a hold of your hometown?

We know of course that Jesus faced a similar dilemma. The One who came to save the world couldn't get a single 'Hallelujah!' in His hometown of Nazareth. The religious authorities refused to believe His divinity all over Judea, Galilee, and other Jewish places. And, even those precious twelve followers would fail to believe until after He died, rose again, and ascended in their sight back to His Father in Heaven. Even to this day it is easier for us Gentiles to believe in Him than His own people in Israel.

Praise God that we are allowed to believe in His Son!

Bucky

You Must Seek

But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. Deuteronomy 12:5

Seeking a place was put into the Law of Moses way back in the days when Israel had not possessed the promised land yet. A search, but why didn't the Lord just tell them where to go? You do know what happens when even a righteous authority tells us what to do, don't you? A journey of seeking though, that would give the Israelites a bit of that control the rebellious heart longs to hold. Jesus told Israel much the same thing years later when on the mount He said, "Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find..." As born sinners we do not like to be told what to do, but we do like searching for treasure or a nice place to live. We love to seek for treasures in the Lord's word, but tell us that we must read 5 chapters per day and the mind finds all sorts of excuses to avoid a good habit.

It's like the Lord God knows us.

Bucky

Doing The Impossible

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 CSB

In Matthew 19 we are presented with the Master leading us through a series of impossible situations. Marriage and divorce, the relationship in a marriage, eunuchs - born, made, and for the kingdom of heaven, little children coming to Jesus, commandments, wealth and giving it all up to follow Jesus, and the business of those possessions. Near the end, we come to our verse for today, and it shows how among all those things of life we will run into something that prevents us from entering heaven on our own. Whether it is a commandment already violated, fear of being poor, or any of those others, we need the Savior to overcome our impossible.

God our Savior is overcoming the impossible in us!

Bucky

End The Annoyance With Finality?

The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him. John 14:21 CSB

So if good works and rules will not save anyone... hmm, works and rules, sounds like the basis for a religion there, what do you think? After writing that the rules will not save, inevitably I must take up the other side of the question. "So, no rules, then that means I get to do anything I want," says the old man of the flesh with some glee. There would come that temptation to become a law unto ourselves. It would likely go so far that the person who merely disagrees with us in an irritating fashion would face the wrath of our lawlessness. We might end the annoyance with finality.

Hold on a bit, end the annoyance with finality?!! That sounds like murder, surely that isn't what salvation brings? Jesus didn't save us to be a bunch of thugs, did He? Of course not, and as our friend Paul said, "May it never be so!" While rules, commandments, civil regulations, or even the Law of Moses won't save us, Jesus did give us those greatest commandments from the Old Testament. Both of these commandments tell us to love, and they just happen to fulfill the Law and the prophets too! That brings us to our verse for today.

Keep His commands and love!

Bucky

Making Us

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  Philippians 3:9 NLT

We have nothing to offer God, so He makes us something. It comes to us often that those who do not believe in Jesus often think they have much to offer God by way of righteousness. They are in their own estimation good people, righteous people, often and sometimes even Christian people. Here Paul the former Pharisee tells us that he does not count on his training in the law or deeds of self-righteousness but faith alone in Christ alone. I fear that for many of us too much rule preaching may cause us to go from faith in Christ back to counting on self righteousness. Let us not, I plead, trace Paul's journey in the wrong direction. 

Faith in Christ for our salvation!

Bucky

Seeking Signs

But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” Mark 8:12

Lately I have been reading quite a few end times sort of novels, you might call them Christian adventure stories. One thing they have in common are big signs and miracles, just like the Pharisees wanted back in their day. By our Lord's deep sigh in His spirit this morning, I see that He would rather see faith from us. Faith does not require those big signs and miracles, but only the relatives of faith. Who could those relatives be? They are trust, confidence, belief, and assurance. You may even name a few more, it's a rich family. We began our faith by believing in Jesus, and continue by trusting in Him. We can even have a childlike faith with bold confidence! Jesus, after rising from the tomb, told Thomas that those who have not seen and yet have believed in Him enjoy are blessed.

Great is His faithfulness, and great too is our faith in Him!

Bucky

An Answer To Fit Any Time

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 brought the question to the Lord and for once they may have been overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of His answer. And yet, what in the answer matched their question? All of it and none of it. The disciples, like us, probably looked for something like, 'on the third day of the month of Tebeth, after the day of the new king of Israel comes to pass, then the beginning of the end will come.' Today those who face strong difficulties in life may look for a date that comes within the next few months or years. Those looking forward to a life in marriage, career, or other events may want it a bit further out, say a hundred years after their grandchildren's time. However, Jesus gave to the disciples and to us an answer to fit any time. In Matthew 24:4-13 there comes a detailed answer that any generation of the followers of Christ will recognize as having been fulfilled. And yet, there is no way for us to tell any difference between that passage and the first five seals of the Revelation in chapter 6 as they follow the same pattern. So, what do we see now to help us? Well, it may have begun already over in another place and we have too many distractions to see it, or the end may not begin for another couple hundred years or so. It is for us a great reason to trust in Jesus every day and to endure to the end, our own or the world's.

Have a great day in Christ Jesus! (Yes, even after all that I just laid on you!)

Bucky

Heaven and a Renewal

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1

We yearn to be with our Lord God and so we yearn for Heaven, but that does not appear to be our forever home. In our verse for today we are given John's witness of a renewal of both Heaven and Earth. In the next verse John gets to see the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down onto the new Earth. It is rather amazing how little we know of our future home with our Lord. But at the same time it is also amazing what we can know from the word of God. This city was measured with a height of 1,500 miles. We are impressed by Mount Everest which at 29,032 feet is a small fraction of that or just shy of 5.5 miles in height. And so, what we can know of this amazing new Heaven and its city is also almost inconceivable to us. 1,500 miles to the top, how many steps are in that main stairway?

Heaven, a place we can know, but we don't know. Our experience is just too puny!

Bucky

The Story, Starring - A Donkey?

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written. John 12:14

Horses do not get all the big roles in the Bible, just most of them it seems. Donkeys figure prominently in a couple of big stories including the triumphal entry into Jerusalem by the future King in our verse today. The breakout role for a donkey may have been under Balaam when his donkey got to have a speaking role in Numbers 22. It is perhaps to make up for getting struck three times and threatened with death for innocently refusing to assault one of God's angels that a donkey would be chosen to bear the King of kings into Jerusalem in the gospels. However, in both cases the star was a man while the donkey had what was a supporting role. What an honor though to bear the servant of all as He went to Jerusalem to lay down His life to save many.

That young donkey deserves a medal, but it didn't save us. Jesus did!

Bucky

Opinions Are Common

Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,
I also will declare my opinion.'
  -- Job 32:10

Listening to a rock star of decades back making known his opinion, I thought my opinion of his opinion and realized that mine was equally worthless at the least. As the old saying goes: opinions are like elbows, and everybody has a couple. If in your opinion the old saying doesn't go quite that way, then go ahead and have your opinion too. Perhaps then we should seek God's opinion. But wait! Is it even possible for God to have an opinion? As every word spoken by our Lord God is by definition the word of God, can we even call it an opinion? According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, opinion is: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Obviously the not necessarily bit is for us, while it is clear that every opinion of God would be fact or knowledge.

So, if God were to tell a joke... Augh! My mind...popping... exploding! A subject too big for this short writing this morning. Have a great day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Two Lots Of Fish

Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. John 21:11

Two stories of the Lord Jesus providing a miraculous catch of fish, one in Luke and one in John. In one case, two boats are not sunk but the number of fish is not told. In the case of our verse for today, the number was counted by someone and so is the size of the fish noted, and in this case the net remains unbroken. The first case came early in our Lord's ministry at the calling of the disciples, while the second from John came after the resurrection. In both cases though, professional fishermen had caught nothing in a night of labor just before the big catch. We see the miracle of bounty and want that, but how often do we consider that the Lord also provided for nothing for a long period of time first? To spread a net and catch nothing at all could happen, once, twice, but all night? Nothing at all, not even a junk fish or two? The hand of the Lord may provide to us in our endeavors a long night of nothing to prepare us for the big catch.

Watch for Him!

Bucky

Standing On The Precipice Of History

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.
  -- Malachi 4:5-6

These are the closing words of the Old Testament in the Bible. Another prophet, Amos, had foretold of a famine of hearing the words of God, and Malachi closed out the writing of the word. Centuries would pass before John the Baptizer came in the spirit and power of Elijah, but he was not Elijah. The famine had ended though, and John is the herald of the New Testament. I wonder at times though if Malachi knew that he stood on the precipice of history as the final prophet of the age? I wonder if Malachi and John met in Heaven with a 'Hey, Brother!' as the famine of the word ended with the coming of Jesus? Maybe we will get to ask them soon.

The famine has ended, as Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Bucky

You Follow Me

Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”  John 21:22

Is the election over yet? Three more weeks from tomorrow? Ahhh, no, say it isn't so! The disciples took from our verse for today something that humans have looked for since their earliest times - immortality. John wrote to set them straight on that since what Jesus said was about comparisons. "You follow Me," Jesus said to Peter to remind us not to worry over God's will for others as we walk with Him. We can easily be led astray worrying over another believer's circumstance. While there are followers of Jesus who are wealthy in faith, there are also those who are just plain old wealthy. What is that to us? We follow the Lord Jesus! For most of us comparisons with other believers will not work out anyway. Living that way we will end up too much this or not enough that until we are depressed and anxious all the day long. Follow Jesus. 

To each of us He has said, "You follow Me."

Bucky

Takes Away The Sin

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

Has a nation ever chosen a lamb as its national animal? Perhaps a small nation who didn't want to attract the unwelcome attention of powerful neighbors with their lions, bears, or eagles, might do so. We generally do not look to a lamb to stimulate respect for our strength in others. And yet, here comes the Son of the Almighty, and John said to look at the Lamb. The Jews at that time were fully expecting the Lion to come and chase out the Romans. They got the Lamb. To those who are given the ability to believe in Jesus though, Lamb sounds exactly right. 

Gentle, humble, and Savior, the Lamb of God! 

Bucky

You Need Some Euangelion

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew 24:14

As always it seems, there are plenty of bad tidings to tell of this morning, and our news media has become proficient at telling of it. So, you need some euangelion this morning. That odd-looking term I used is the Greek for gospel, which means glad tidings. You and I need some glad tidings this morning, and our Lord promises that His glad tidings will be preached in all the world. Just a quick glance at all the different religions active in the world today makes that promise quite a bit of good news all around. But His glad tidings are not just a geographic quota to be filled. There are the promises of eternal life, love, joy, peace, and righteousness. An end to sorrows, grief, despair, and sadness comes as a further promise of joy unending in our Lord Jesus. For the lonely there is the hope of close companionship, and for those in pain or fear there is an end to the old things. Why there is even talk in Isaiah of predator and prey animals lying down together with a little child leading them. 

It's about time for some good news, and Jesus is just the man for the job!

Bucky

His Way

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. Mark 9:43 NLT

In our studies of historical peoples we have read of those who prepared the corpse for a successful afterlife with horse, weapon, money, and even wives and servants. Imagine having all of this prepared for you, but no hands! Of course Jesus knew when He said this that hands don't just take off on their own to do sin. When it comes to dismemberment for preventing sin, the head would seem to be the place to start. But that causes other problems such as being rather permanent. He who has ears to hear... cannot hear when his head has departed his body. The message here seems to be about priority. Is your priority entering God's kingdom in Heaven, or is it to be with the sinners in Gehenna, that Greek name for Hell? Eternity sounds like such a dreadful long time to be in a place of fire and brimstone.

Of course we know from the Word that salvation comes by faith in Christ Jesus, and not (sigh of relief!) by dismembering our sinful bodies. Praise God for His way!

Bucky

The Start Of Something

So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.  Exodus 12:14 

Moses did not know at this time that the Lord not only began the feast of the Passover, but in time would also start the celebration of communion. It was at the Passover that Jesus told His disciples to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of Him. I wonder if there will be another celebration added to this when Jesus returns? Perhaps the celebration of the wedding of the Lamb and His Bride will take place at the Passover too. We may be looking ahead to something new that began way back in the days of Moses, or Adam! 

An everlasting ordinance for a celebration of God's work, that's wonderful!

Bucky

He Saw And Believed

Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. John 20:8

Thomas has been called by a derogatory term among believers. But it would appear from our verse for today that young John might also deserve that name. He too had to see and then believe. Due to his statement, we add the name 'Doubting' to Thomas, but all the disciples had to see before they would believe it. So, why do we in our age have to go by their testimony for our belief? That is what Jesus wanted from His disciples as well, to believe in Him because of His testimony. None of the disciples were present outside of Bethlehem when the Heavenly Host praised God. Only the Baptizer saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove on Jesus. But the disciples all needed testimony, teaching, miracles, death, and finally resurrection before they would believe. Before He ascended to the Father, Jesus imparted one blessing that none of the twelve disciples can enjoy:

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Rejoice that we have not seen and yet have believed!

Bucky

You Will Decide

You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28

Often we are told that answers to prayer may be in the form of yes, or no, or even wait. But another answer to prayer may be that you or I will need to make a decision. If we take our verse for today, all sounds good and righteous in our decision. However, after yesterday you will note that this comes from Job, and from the same chapter, which means that it is ol' Eliphaz still speaking. Oh no! Yes, Eliphaz has told Job that after he returns to God and when he agrees with God, then all will be right and happy. But that big assumption of Eliphaz still hangs out there over Job, that he was not with God already and that all these terrible crimes against the poor man are punishments.

Therefore, how does that bear on our current circumstances? An answer to prayer may be that a decision is required and God will be with us either way we go. Or, it may be that we have a sin that has put us in a place where the Lord would not have us go in either direction from where we are and we do need to return to Him. If you are standing in righteousness as Job was, make the decision and have no fear. If on the other hand, the assumption of Eliphaz is correct in my case or yours, then stop, leave the decision and come to God in prayer and repentance.

Oh, that darn context!

Bucky

Is God Invested In Us?

Can a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
-- Job 22:2

References to Job, such as our verse for today, must be used carefully. For many verses in Job come from those friends of his who wanted to show that he had sinned and his punishment was deserved. God, as we recall, had boasted that Job was blameless and upright. Now there is a character reference! When we read what appears to be an erudite question from Job's companions, we may want to read on before answering. For example, the very next question from this Eliphaz goes: Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? And we say, "Yes! Absolutely!" For we know that God is indeed invested in us and delights when any of us choose righteousness over sin. Just how much God invested in us can be seen at the cross where His Son gave His life to save us.

May His investment have a great return on it!

Bucky

Neither Let It?

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

There are those times when we treat the words of Jesus like some kind of magical incantation, and then we wonder why it didn't work on us. This verse in particular holds a couple of those faith action commands with 'let not' and 'neither let it'. This leads us to understand that the words of our Lord Jesus are participatory for us. He gives to us His peace, but we have work to do in not letting the heart where the trouble likes to set be troubled. You are right; He did not say it would be easy. We also have our work cut out for us in not letting it be afraid. And with what the news media likes to shovel our way in this age, that is not an easy faith action either. 

However, with prayer and the Word of God, we have good help in this!

Bucky

The Old Believer's Boast

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Let's take inventory: Am I weaker today because it takes longer to do what I used to do, or it hurts way more to do what I once did, or I just flat out can't do what I was able to do not so long ago? Getting older is not without its frustration. As older believers in our Lord Jesus, we have something those young 'uns don't have yet, lots of reasons to boast of our weaknesses. Where once we might boast of how much we could lift or press, now we have no cause to boast of that sort of thing. Praise God for the opportunity to show off the sufficiency of His grace! Where once we might have impressed someone with dexterity of hand or smoothness of motion, now we can tell of the perfecting of God's strength in our infirmities.

Evidently, like John testified, I must become less as He becomes greater in me!

Bucky

Still Feeling A Bit Dumb?

Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. John 10:6

This verse for today follows a particular teaching of our Lord Jesus, but it could be tagged on to a great many of them. If you feel a bit dumb this morning over a passage of scripture or a teaching of Jesus from the gospels, join the club! We all have much to learn in Christ our Lord, and we have the company of those twelve disciples as they are the 'they' in this verse. With about three years of direct teaching from the Man Himself, still those disciples struggled to understand the teachings of Jesus. Many times they probably felt like we do, just a bit on the dumb side. Therefore be patient in the Lord. Does your rushing mighty wind (Acts 2) feel more like a slight breeze? Patience, the disciples had to wait for a time too. And, our Lord may not do things the same way for everyone who comes to believe in Him.

Trust in His way and timing!

Bucky

One Who Testified

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  John 4:39-41

Early in His travels, Jesus our Lord went to Samaria to meet with one particular woman at a well. If you have seen the newer TV series, The Chosen, you watched a delightful portrayal of this woman's transformation in Christ. While the disciples follow their rabbi, this woman goes out and testifies of the Christ. Where many of His fellow Jews refuse to believe, this woman helps to bring a Samaritan town to believe in the Lord. Between the testimony of one and His own word, Jesus found faith in a place that would shock the Jewish religious leaders when word got to them, as it surely did. And so we testify, because like this little Samaritan town, we never can tell where the Word of God may take root and grow. 

Rejoice in the Lord always,

Bucky

His Prayers

As You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. John 17:2

In John 17, Jesus prays, and unlike many previous times when He went out away from the disciples to pray, we get to hear what our Lord Jesus said in prayer to our Lord God. Authority over all flesh, we want it, we seem to remember it through our family line going back to Adam, but that dominion was lost to sin. You may have felt the desire to be at peace with all the wild beasts as in Isaiah 11, but that is for a future time. But while we worry over peace with the wild things, Jesus takes His authority and gives eternal life. Wow, His prayers are so different from mine.

Have a prayerful day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

A Silent Testimony

And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Matthew 8:4

"See that you tell no one," would appear to contradict later commands to spread the good news. However, we can read that this command was given to just one person and not even the disciples, and at a time prior to the commission at the end of Matthew's gospel. While the testimony was to be silent this time, there were actions commanded by Jesus to testify of His healing. We too may be led by the Lord's Spirit to speak out at one time, while to show our faith by actions at another time. This may appear to contradict the teachings of your favorite evangelical preacher from these latter days.

As a writer from the word, I can tell you that it is easier for me to grab a verse or two from the Bible and fire off a singular solution for your testimony. As Jesus our Lord made the commands according to His time and timing to the healed leper here and the disciples there, we too should go to Him in prayer inquiring each time. The Spirit of our Lord will guide us to a showing or a telling, or even a combination at any given time as we follow our Lord bearing the good news.

Showing or telling, it's still a testimony!

Bucky

To The End

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:1

Not quite in the spiritual state of the eternal yet, John has an interesting mix of tenses going on here in our verse for today. The end of our Lord's life on the cross was as we all know now not the end at all. And John would be the one who visited Heaven to receive the Revelation and learn of a different end. However, whichever end John spoke of, Jesus still loved and loves us all to the end.

We also want to know as Jesus knew that we will depart from this world to the Father, and we can in Christ our Lord since He made that trip first.

Endless is the love of our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Who Are You?

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  John 1:19

Who am I? Last night I dreamed of heavily-armed squirrels, and their little backpacks were so cute too! So the answer to that question could be some sort of crackpot or screwball in my case. As I watched season 4, episode 2 of The Chosen last night before bed, I have no rational explanation for that dream. John the Baptizer had a better testimony when the priests and Levites came to ask our question this morning, "Who are you?" For us, well some of us are still trying to come up with an answer to that question. Or are we? John gave us an example to follow, and we can use it well. We are not the Christ, but we represent Him, and, like John, we are not worthy to untie His sandal straps. And our testimony is not made up of a job, or a career we chose, or how many times we had peculiar dreams of armed rodents, but of what our Lord Jesus has done for us.

May God guide and bless us in our testimony of Christ!

Bucky

To His Glory

When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4

Monday again? Already? Yes, I am in that stage of life when the weeks and months seem to go by rather quickly at times.

In this verse for today there is a great deal to unpack. Jesus said that Lazarus' sickness was not unto death, and yet we know from the story that He waited so that Lazarus would die before He arrived. This would not be the only time that disciples of Jesus both then and in our day have not understood what Jesus said. We also know from the story that Lazarus spent one more day in the tomb than Jesus did. Is there something we can learn from that? One thing we can take from this verse is that those who believe in Jesus are not exempt from fatal illness. And? Yes, don't forget the other part, that Jesus to His glory and God's is also able to restore and revive us from that place we see as death.

Therefore, does Jesus not see that period of time each of us may spend in the grave as death? Perhaps not. But we learn in this verse that the resurrection of a man who died in the way that we see as dead is for the glory of God and to glorify the Son. And? Yes, and it also shows to us that through Jesus that death thing is not permanent! So, if your illness or mine does take us to the place where we rest in death, no worries! Jesus will come in His perfect time to fetch us back to His place of life.

Rejoice in His good news!

Bucky

One Among You

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

From the testimony of John, it would seem that Jesus may have come one day before His baptism to hear John preach. Or, it may be that John referred to Israel as a whole as the 'among you'. In either case, the Pharisees did not immediately begin looking around for the long-awaited Messiah. Which would have been the natural thing to do in a group when the preacher points out that the one you've been looking for is right there among you. Unless, of course, the Pharisees didn't really want to find the Messiah. From about three years of interactions between the Pharisees and Jesus, we can confidently say that is true, they did not want to see or find the Messiah. Even when John pointed out the man in verse 29 on the next day, no one among the Pharisees ran to spread the good news. One of John's disciples did run to tell his brother though, and the choosing of the 12 disciples of Jesus began. 

What a person does when the Messiah is pointed out to them testifies of their faith. May we all be filled with faith in Jesus!

Bucky

A Man Changed

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Our verse for today comes from a man who, along with his fellow disciples, had quite failed to understand or believe what Jesus had said about His coming death and resurrection. Years later, John would write these magnificent words about our Lord Jesus. What marvelous change Jesus had made upon this man who had been called from the fishing trade in Galilee. And yet we know from the gospels that the change took more than three years under the personal discipleship of our Lord Himself, a visit with the Lord in His glory along with Elijah, Moses, and the voice of God; some time with the risen Savior, and then an outpouring of the Spirit of God in a most startling manner. So, given that we must learn by faith from John's testimony of all that. If your anticipated change after being saved by the Lord has not seemed to go as far or as fast as you might like... be patient and wait on the Lord!

We are His work in progress!

Bucky

Reminders Needed

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. Titus 3:1-2

Today we observe a moment of silence for those whose lives were taken on 9/11. You do not need a reminder of this date, and you can probably tell me where you were when the news first broke of the terrorist attacks. For other things in our walk with Jesus, we need a reminder now and then. One of those reminders that Paul wrote to Titus in a letter, will be tested on us no matter which of the candidates debating last night becomes the next President of the United States. Of course there could yet be a candidate who was not invited to the show that takes the election from 'out of nowhere'. When the election is decided, we will need to be ready to speak evil of no one, as Paul wrote, and to be peaceable. This scripture for today lays out several things that are not so easy for us to do in politics or in anything else. There is only one answer for that: take it to the Lord in prayer!

Peaceable love to you in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Seeing Something Wrong

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children. Matthew 11:19

That time of the year has come when mornings say 'autumn!' but the afternoons still vote firmly for summer. The two main political parties have put forth their candidates for the next president of the United States, and they are busy shelling each other with words and ads. Each party wants us to see something very wrong with the other's candidate.

As Jesus took the good news of His ministry to the people of Israel, some of them could not abide the change. These religious leaders thought they saw something wrong in this new rabbi and took to pointing it out with some derogatory labels. While a couple of those old-time labels might seem tame to us, each of them, true or not, attempt to take away from the perfection expected of the Messiah. The religious leaders wanted the people to see something wrong with Jesus. To put a play on words: sadly, it was those religious leaders seeing something wrong who failed to recognize the Messiah.

If we believe in Jesus today, somebody will see something wrong in us too. Be ready to be called some names.

Love to you in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Thorns Of Fame

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  John 12:42-43

We should not underestimate the allure of fame on those struggling to believe in Jesus our Lord. Having never had even the tiniest sliver of fame, I cannot estimate what it meant to those long ago rulers or those who live with it today. In fact, I'm so infamous that even people I know from phone calls do not recognize me on the street. Wait, is 'infamous' the right word?  However, for those who have experienced fame, I have observed that they do not often want to give it up. Here in our two verses for today, we see the thorns of this world reaching out to grab and strangle the faith of these rulers. A warning for us to beware of those thorns of fame. 

Keep the faith in Jesus!

Bucky

You Know It

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Matthew 20:25

Jesus, by way of introducing something new, began with what the disciples and we already know. At work, in school, by the government, and even in the church, you and I have felt the ruling ways of the Gentiles. Here in the United States we were born into a nation that is rather full of them; Gentiles that is. In Judea and Galilee at this time the disciples had the example of that Roman Empire and its ruling over them. You know it, they knew it, and Jesus began from a comfortable place for all of us in that common knowledge. And then came the new stuff!

Want to be great? Be the servant. We could see from here all twelve disciples being brought up short in their headlong charge to be great in the kingdom of heaven. Be the servant, how much does that slow our rush to greatness?

Love to you in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

The Kingdom Has Come

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Mark 1:15

In Mark, this is how Jesus begins His ministry. By the Spirit of faith, I see that there is no more waiting, the time is fulfilled. And, since the kingdom of God is at hand, then Jesus as God has come in the form of a man who can be seen, heard and touched. Repent speaks to all that I was and believed in before Him. Repenting of all of that, I turn to the Lord Jesus and set aside all unbelief for faith in Him alone. And this belief in the gospel is to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. And finally this statement forces that choice we heard from C.S. Lewis: This man making this enormous statement is a crackpot who actually believes it though it cannot be true, or he knows that it is false and he is the worst of liars, or, all of it is perfectly true and He is the Son of God. He is who He is, but we each must make that choice to believe or to deny.

So, from faith to faith we follow our Lord Jesus,

Bucky

Remember This

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

By my estimate this morning, it will take less than a minute on any news site to get a person feeling down in some way. Frustration, disappointment, anger, sorrow, or some other negative emotion quickly follows the first or second news article we see. And since this is a presidential election year in our nation, there is fuel for your fire no matter which side of the political spectrum you live on.

And so I ask that we all remember this event in the history of our faith today. As the angelic host spoke to the shepherds that night, the nation of Israel lived under the Roman occupation, and they didn't much like it. Along with the Roman presence, they also had religious oppression from their leaders, financially crippling taxation administered by their own particular traitors - the tax collectors, and the worries and difficulties of everyday life. They had at least as much to complain about as we do in our day. Therefore, when things look rough for us today, do as Jesus said here,

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28

Glory to God in the highest!

Bucky

The Gauntlet Of Criticism

But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. John 12:7

Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead and was dining in his home when Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed our Lord's feet with costly oil of spikenard. John records one criticism, but knowing people as we do there was likely much more from those gathered there. While running the gauntlet of criticism from at least one of His disciples, Jesus also saved Mary from further grief, and then dropped another of His bombshells that seemed to go off leaving the disciples unfazed. Burial? Yo, disciples! Did you all miss that bit about His burial?

Before we become overly critical of those disciples, we also have that instinct to correct with reactionary criticism. What might we miss in a sermon or study by way of a quick remark that we think shows off our sharp wit or great intellect?

Praise God for the word of God, the promise that He will expose and fix our every fault.

Bucky

A Fantasy Verse?

In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.  Isaiah 27:1 ESV

In that day, the Lord says by His prophet the actions that He will take. We cannot point to a date on the calendar, but by faith we can know that it will come to pass. By our knowledge that we think we know in this world, this verse for today comes way out of a fantasy novel. Serpent, dragon, sword, and slayage - just what we look for in the fantasy genre. However, as we read through the Bible, the Lord does not seem to be given to writing fantasy. Many of His prophecies have come to pass, while others we await with eager anticipation or a bit of anxious concern. The prophecy where His Father's house has many mansions - eager anticipation, the one about 100-lb hailstones - anxious concern. Leviathan - definitely one to let the Lord God handle with His sword. 

Trusting in Him!

Bucky

Waiting Faithfully

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. John 12:16

The way of faith does not come easily to us. Writing about the time near the end of our Lord's ministry to Judea, John confesses that the disciples were dull of hearing even after three years of following the Lord Jesus. At this moment in the scriptures, John and the others watch as it appears that with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus will be made king and bring in the new reign of Messiah. But our Lord had already told them what would happen in Jerusalem at this time. The disciples expected what Judea expected - king in, Romans out, peace and prosperity all around. But Jesus had clearly said, handed over to the Gentiles, humiliated, scourged, lifted up and killed, only to rise again. John confesses the disconnect between their expectation and what Jesus had been saying all along finally came to a close when it happened, just as Jesus said it would happen.

Sometimes faith shows or tells us ahead of time, and we fail to get it like the disciples. Other times faith may not show the specifics or give a date, and we must wait faithfully. But know that God is good and loving, and be patient in Christ! All that He has said will come to pass.

Bucky

Don't Wanna Face Judgment

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:14-17

Yesterday our scripture passage told of one method that a person might be separated into a group and be welcomed to the kingdom. As Jesus in the great sermon on the mount was at that time going to the people of the old covenant, He spoke of works and being judged by them. For us as Gentiles, this method and judgment may not even be available to us. Plus, it is fraught with peril in that failure to abide by all the law, of which us Gentiles may not even have a full copy, could cost us everything in the judgment.

If one thinks that our Bible contains the entire law of Moses, well maybe it does and maybe it doesn't. The Israelites in Judah during the reign of Josiah found the book of the law given through Moses. The story is told in 2 Chronicles 34. We might wonder how God's people could even lose such a thing, but they did! For us today, it means that we dare not even count on having the old covenant of works in its entirety as a long, long time has passed between the days of Moses and our days here in the 21st century after Jesus. So, what is this other way, a new covenant perhaps, that we can seek in order to be saved?

In our scripture passage today, Jesus met with the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, and gave to him the new covenant. The covenant which Jesus would deliver again at the Last Supper, signed and sealed in His body and blood the next day. We can read up from the bottom in the passage of how the world might be saved through Jesus, not condemned by Him (which the Law does so well), by God's love, through His death on the cross (lifted up), and have that eternal life we all desire. Finally, verse 18:

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.

Therefore, as Paul will tell us later in his letters:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

No condemnation means to us: be saved in Christ and don't worry about that judgment. Seems like His way is the better way to me!

Bucky

P.S. Heavenly persimmons! Dis a big 'un!

No Wolves Allowed

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:32

The Son of Man tells of His glory at the end, and of a separation of goats from sheep. No wolves are mentioned in the prophetic story. Yes, there are tales (pun intended), novels, and movies of how it is better to be the wolf than the sheep. But at this judgment it seems that the sign 'no wolves allowed' has been clearly posted. A person may choose to be a goat or a sheep, but it is the sheep who are welcomed into the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus then goes on to outline some choices of charity and love. So, are we back to good works for entry into the kingdom of Heaven? Isn't there a way to be saved and then do these good works? Yes, Jesus said He is the way, we had better learn about that tomorrow.

In Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Shining His Light

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

There are some impressive resumes in Hollywood. So luminous are they to the world that they are known as stars. So, is it then the light of accomplishment we are to shine to the world? Could it be the light of a pretty face? What if I don't have either of those? Jesus had said to them in v14, "You are the light of the world." Given that multitudes were mentioned earlier in the chapter, they were likely not all either pretty or accomplished. Perhaps the whole Hollywood thing is on the wrong track.

In John 8:12, Jesus gives to us this explanation:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Ah, Jesus is the light we need to shine and we gain that light of life by following Him. That squares with Isaiah who told us, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Born in darkness, we cannot produce a light of ourselves. By following our Lord Jesus, we shine with His light.

Have a bright shining day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Giving What We Get

Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
-- Matthew 5:7

Upon conviction of our sin by the Holy Spirit, we earnestly desire a couple of things from God. One we find in our verse today, part of the great sermon Jesus gave to us on a mountain. Another is forgiveness and it too has a condition of giving. Later in the same sermon, Jesus tells us:

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15

Our greatest needs require us to do the same for others. Mercy and forgiveness come from believing in Jesus. For without faith in Him we have no hope of obtaining the mercy and forgiveness we most desperately need. And to receive His great gifts, we are to do the same for others. It's a sharing it all around sort of experience He gives to us!

Sharing the love in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Unlikely Statements

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” Matthew 12:24

Pharisees, that group of dunderheads who never seemed to get it right. The problem is that they were not, dunderheads that is. The Pharisees spent a lifetime learning and debating the Law and the prophets. As a group they were among the more educated of the nation of Israel. So, why then would they put forth such unlikely opinions as the one in our verse for today? One possibility is that when your group decides to oppose everything a person says or does without any reflection or consideration, you may end up saying some fairly unlikely things. It is not a stretch to look at our political climate these days and see similar things going on. However, the Pharisees had decided to oppose the Son of God, not just some politician of a different stripe. These Pharisees were not going to come out of this looking sharp and erudite.

Praise God for His patience with us,

Bucky

It Is Sufficient?

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”  John 14:8

One wants to ask dear Philip if it would really be sufficient for him. We may fall into that trap as well. If one more miracle would be sufficient for faith, would it be faith? If one more gospel  was discovered buried in a cave near the Dead Sea, would that be enough for you to believe? If Jesus were to meet me like He did Paul outside Damascus, would that do it for my faith to be strong and mighty? When we see that Philip had been with John the Baptist and then following Jesus for years by this time, we see the trap of that 'just one more sign' sufficiency. Jesus even notes the length of Philip's training in faith next in the scriptures when He says, "Have I been with you so long..." For us these many years later, we have the assurance of one final blessing:

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.  John 20:29

Be blessed in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Not That One

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

Judas, surnamed Thaddeus, gets a mention in our verse for today by his other name. One can see why Thaddeus might have preferred to not be known as the other Judas given the connotation of betrayal associated with that name. John even adds (not Iscariot) to his name to make sure we know it wasn't that other one. But too much on this name thing and we might miss his great question: Why not?

Look at how many people in the gospels saw the manifested Christ and refused to believe in Him. The disciples received more of our Lord's word than anyone, more by far than we read in the four gospels, and they were barely believing by this point. A manifestation after His resurrection it seems would be wasted on those who refused to believe. However, it would be just the thing for the small group who believed in Him somewhat but not quite enough for the death and resurrection Jesus had spoken several times to break through their doors of unbelief. And so the risen Christ manifested Himself to them. God be praised!

Bucky

How Does One?

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 14:3

How does one get a person to the house of the Father of Jesus? We don't need to worry over that, Jesus said that He will do it. Jesus was not once in the years of His ministry recalled to Heavenly Headquarters for a planning meeting. How does one keep things on track without it? Why think so small: how does one, oh, create a world? According to the Bible, God spoke and it was. An insight was given to me the other night that God never had to consider more or less difficult, harder or easier, less expensive or more, or any other of our many worrisome things when He created everything. When Jesus goes home to prepare that place, He does not consider whether He can or not, nor does He leave trail markers to Earth to make sure He can get back. What our Lord does is just so different from the preparation, planning, and praying we must do for the big projects in life. He speaks, and it is done.

So, the time comes soon when we will go with Him to that place He prepares. We know because He said so.

Bucky

Be Clean!

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. John 14:30

These days it seems like everything Jesus said comes under attack, and this verse for today does not escape the war. Some would have us believe there is no ruler of this world that Jesus mentions. However, Jesus said it, and so we must be aware of this world's ruler. But what did He mean by "he has nothing in Me?" What could this be? One thing that Jesus did not have, and that we have too often, would be sin. Could it be that every sin is leaving something in us that this world ruler could manipulate, utilize, aim at, or something? Hmm, all the more reason to let the Spirit of our Lord cleanse us completely!

Grace and love to you,

Bucky

You May Believe

And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  John 14:29

We can read throughout the gospels of the disciples and their inability to get past what they had been taught about how the Messiah would come and what he would do when he got there. Jesus tells them in our verse for today of how they would need to see this thing before they would believe it. We might even laugh now and again over those poor stubborn disciples and their not getting it. But this verse stopped being about them almost two thousand years ago. I have to wonder, as I'm sure you have, what about the end times prophecies have we got wrong by way of what we think we know? What will you and I have to see before we believe that was told in the prophecies quite plainly? The next time we study those end times prophecies, let us ask the Lord for a learner's perspective and hear what the Teacher will tell us. 

Like those disciples, are we watching it and refusing to know it? 

Bucky

The Spirit Of Kings

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  John 14:16-17

The prophets of Israel received the word of God, and kings were anointed to receive the Spirit of God... though not all of them opened the door of their heart. Now Jesus took these few fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and other disciples and promised them the anointing of kings - the Spirit of truth. And who did He just say was the way, the truth, and the life? Yes, Himself, and so it is His own Spirit who will come to them at the prayer of the Son. And the promise of this new Helper is forever. Were they, are we, humble enough to accept this anointing from the King of kings? 

And then to train to be kings in His service.

Bucky

Our Astounding Lord

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”  John 14:7

I find it interesting that the disciple responding to this amazing statement is the more experienced of the group. Philip first followed John the Baptist as a disciple, and then left John to follow Jesus. That alone fills out quite the resume of discipleship! And yet, all of that experience does not make Philip able to grasp this thing Jesus said to them. 

"If you had known," Jesus said. And indeed, if we know a person's parents, and knew him as a child and later as an adult, we might think we know him quite well. The beginning of this statement points to something more about Jesus. As His father is God, then this shows something before His birth in Bethlehem. And this prior life with the Father speaks not to a reincarnation thing but an incarnation thing. Then our Lord declares, "and from now on..." but Philip and the other disciples are left with only the dust of understanding as our Lord astounds them yet again. 

And so, by Philip's experience, we know the Father God is seen in Jesus the Christ!

Lord help us to understand.

Bucky

Getting The House Ready

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

Another famous verse from John 14 today, and it is the one involving mansions. Now the original word was the more simple, dwellings, but we do not need to over analyze this. We could easily translate it as: the place where My Father lives has plenty of space for everyone, I'll go and get it ready for you. Now, Jesus, often called a carpenter, had a job description that covered a lot more ground. His job was to build and repair things, and more. So, imagine for a moment you had the skills of plumbing, masonry, architecture, painting, electrical, HVAC, and whatever else is needed to build a dwelling place, plus carpentry of course, and you had an unlimited budget to prepare a new dwelling for your beloved to make a new home. Working as a real estate assistant for the past decade, I can imagine quite a bit, but it is not nearly enough! All we need to recall to put a joyous tint on the light of today is that almost 2,000 years ago Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives and has been getting dwelling places ready for us all that time. Oh my!

Have a delightful day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Kept In Love

If you love Me, keep My commandments.  John 14:15

The old wine was the law, held in the old wineskin of the Covenant with Israel. That covenant offered great benefits for obeying the commandments of the law, but also great punishments for disobedience. And Israel tried both at great length throughout the Old Testament. Jesus brought new wine in the form of His greatest love which paid the penalty that God's justice required for sin. Now the way to obedience can come by love and not fear of breaking the law. In the first three chapters of the Revelation, Jesus sends word that for those churches wanting to go the old law way, the punishments are still available. However, the preferred way in our verse today looks to be love of the Christ and His love for us. So, obedience of the law, still a thing - but let us try the love route with Jesus. 

Grace and peace to you in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Low Hanging Fruit?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

After the events of the early part of this week, I had to think of what day it was for a moment. This week seems full already, but it is only Wednesday. So, I'll just grab a low-hanging fruit from the tree of the Word this morning...or did I? This famous verse requires a response since it begins with who said it. However, it is the quoted words our Lord Jesus spoke that make all the difference. If one believes in Jesus, then that one must believe His word. And this word in this verse allows no options. "I am," claims three singular things that are joined together; there is no 'or' allowing for any to pick and choose from among them. Also, those three things are all the thing, not a thing, allowing for no mistake between things that might appear to be the same type of the things. Whew, don't try to quote that one too fast! Then, that last sentence tells all seekers that there is a guard at the gate leading to God the Father. And this guard tells of inclusion only for those going through Him, 'no one' means no exceptions and no other ways.

Clear and simple, just as we like it!

Bucky

Greater Than I

You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. John 14:28

While it might be fashionable in politics to call oneself humble, I don't think anyone has been taken in by that sort of claim. In contrast, Jesus, who had said earlier in this chapter of John that His Father does the works, tells His disciples that the Father is greater than Him. So, besides the works, how was Jesus less than God the Father? Was Jesus a man who had to walk from place to place, while God was everywhere at all times? The works show that Jesus was not the Almighty, as God is. Whereas God remains undying, does lesser mean that Jesus will suffer death? Perhaps even on a cross at the hands of the Romans? Well, yes, but no one forced it on Him. It was done in the greatest of love!

So, He has gone to the Father, and that's where we want to go, and He is the way. That's great!

Bucky

Asking The Question

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”  John 14:5

Thomas earned a familiar name having to do with his stance on needing physical contact before believing a thing had happened, but here he stands in for us and asks the question. It is a question that might be stated another way to all those who say they will go to Heaven when they die. Where is this Heaven? One might ask them. Do you fly there? You have never flown (without the use of mechanical devices) in your life, how are you going to suddenly begin flying after death? Thomas did not understand that Jesus meant His death, resurrection, and ascension, nor did the other disciples at that time. So, Thomas asked for all of us that question: Where is my Savior going, and how do I get there? Of course we know that great answer our Lord gave in the next verse:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Bucky

Keeping House With Them

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23

Yikes! Jesus and His Father are coming to live with me today. How clean is my house? What food should I fetch from the grocery store? As with many verses of promise, we may find it easy to skip over a couple of conditions that must happen first. Love appears to be the first conditional thing in this verse today. Have we like Peter loved Him more than these? While it is tempting to answer that one quickly, perhaps a bit of reflection on every person and thing in our lives might be better for us. Next comes keeping of His word. Jesus helps us with that by stating that if we have the first one down, the second will follow, and then all of the remaining action in this verse comes from our Lord and His Father.

Therefore, the first question we must ask of our Lord: What is this 'love' you speak of?

Bucky

There Is One

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. John 14:30

The King James version uses 'prince', but the scary thing isn't the exact title, but that there is one. And either word, prince or ruler, speaks to a position of power. From all the way back in Genesis 3, any reader of the Bible has known that there is an enemy, a tempter, or the Hebrew term satan, meaning adversary. There is even a proper name, Satan, for the Adversary, which first appears in 1 Chronicles 21:1 and is blamed for tempting King David into an unauthorized census which would cost 70,000 men their lives. So... how do we little humans resist such a one as that? Well, don't dwell on the enemy. Go to the Almighty in prayer. Seek the Savior. Run to the Good Shepherd, little sheep!

There is one, but we have our Good Shepherd,

Bucky

Can A Man Do Those Works?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. John 14:10

John 14 tells the story of one of those moments in time where Jesus granted us a revelation. How did our Lord heal with His word, a touch, a bit of mud, or on His authority while at a distance as with the Roman officer? Here in our verse for today we have the answer from the Lord, His Father who dwells in Him does the works. Which also answers our questions concerning the works we can't seem to do. We do not have that ability, the Creator does. There is no shame now since Jesus told us that He didn't do them either, it was His Father. So, now how important are those prayers of supplication to the Father?

Prayer to the Lord, answering our needs from the dawn of time!

Bucky

Getting Anywhere With This?

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  John 14:12

Reading the works of Jesus in the gospels, and then looking at this verse today, I don't see this happening right now. But, in which direction am I looking when I say that? Do I see my abilities reduced by age and injury as the driving force? If so, then I will never be the fulfillment of these greater works. However, the verse begins with our Lord's assurance and ends with His action. My ability has nothing to do with it. Even the next verses only bring action to my part in the asking, which is something any of us can do and do quite often. So, if I am trying to do greater works in my strength, then the explanation for the apparent lack of progress would seem rather obvious. And it does not matter whether that strength is physical, mental, or spiritual. The greater works are not coming by my strength. That's a relief! The fuel tank of my strength seems to have a slow leak in it. 

Praise the Lord for His strength!

Bucky

The 'Or Else' Belief

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. John 14:11

Jesus here in this verse today commands belief from His disciple. First comes what appears to be a more desired 'believe Me', and then He offers an 'or else' belief. His miracles, as we call them, amaze and delight us, but the impression here is that Jesus desires our belief in Him without those works first, and only if necessary should Philip and us readers use those works to believe in Him. All of the disciples were witness to many miracles of healing and authority by Jesus, and it probably never got old for them. However, believing in Him is all the miracle we and those disciples need to be saved.

And quite the miracle it is too!

Bucky

Bursting The Old Wineskin

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?" John 14:9

The disciples stand in for us in various ways throughout the scriptures, and this time it is Philip. And he seems to be struggling with something that Jesus thinks he should know by that time. Jesus told them the parable of the new wine and old wineskins, and yet the disciples struggled with bursting the bonds of the old. And one old lesson they had been raised on was this:

But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” Exodus 33:20

Philip was still alive, Jesus said he had now seen the Father, and now the new wine struggled to burst through the old stiffened wineskin of what Philip knew from his early training.

Praise God for the wine of the new covenant in our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Faithful Confidence

But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” Matthew 20:22

Simple words, easily spoken, "We are able." In many cases, we have no idea whether we are able or not, but James and John in that moment were confident. They didn't know what they were asking, so it may be that their confidence also came from ignorance. Seldom are we more confident in our own abilities than when we know nothing about the challenges ahead of us. Yet, if we did know all that may come tomorrow, we might never go out either. So maybe we need a better confidence than that which comes from ourselves. As James, John, and many of the saints to come learned before us, we can come to Jesus in faith and say, "You, Lord, are able!"

In the confidence of faith in Christ Jesus,

Bucky

They Were There!

"While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. John 12:36

They were there, gathered with Jesus in Jerusalem. The Lord had already made His entry into the city with the people shouting 'Hosanna'. The people of Judea wanted a sign from Jesus. And, they got one, but when the voice came from Heaven, most could not hear the words and called it thunder. Others said that an angel had spoken to Jesus, but they couldn't hear the words either. The Pharisees were there too and had wanted a sign, but by this time they just wanted to kill Him. They couldn't see or hear the sign in that state of mind. Jesus gives one final message to those Jews gathered there and then departs, hidden from them. Prophecy fulfilled in that they could not hear nor see even as the Christ told them to believe.

So, I like to wonder at this point how many of those listening to the Lord and not hearing Him, having just rejoiced in His arrival on the donkey's colt, were later at the place of judgment yelling, "Crucify Him!"? They were there, yet they could not see.

Have a great Friday in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

A Criticizing Pot

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20

So, after four consecutive months with internet service outages, this last one going six days and counting as of yesterday, I have returned with a new ISP. You will have noticed by now that I tend to resist change, especially if it involves making a phone call, but even I can be changed by an unpleasant circumstance repeated too often. It would be easy for me to criticize me, or the One who formed me. Everyone who has ever believed in God has probably pointed to some shortcoming or disability they consider 'wrong' with themselves and asked for an explanation from Him. Has God ever answered these complaints? Well, yes, but not always. The writer of our verse for today did receive an answer, and it has become famous among believers in God's Son.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

So, I have some shortcomings, Praise God!

Bucky

...and I'm glad to be back writing to you!

Suffering Physicians

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. Mark 5:25-26

The fireworks came out last night, and I suffered through them a bit more easily this year. On the other hand, the annual physician thing has not gone quite so well, and I can empathize with this poor woman in our scripture for today. Does it seem to you that we are all caught up in a life-long medical experiment? Perhaps not, I think that most people go to the clinic expecting a doctor to make a swift diagnosis and cure our ills with pills. And it does happen quite often. At the beginning of her ordeal, this poor woman likely had those same thoughts. And then year after year, appointments followed by treatment brought only more of the same and more of the pain. Twelve years passed by in suffering and then came news of One who actually healed what was not possible for the physicians. And before that woman ever met Him, she had placed her faith in His authority to heal her.

Placed her faith in Jesus. And He saved her in more than this.

Bucky

Overwhelming Anxious Imagining

If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Luke 12:26

It is interesting to note that the least thing Jesus spoke of here in our verse for today involved adding a cubit to their height. A cubit runs about 18 inches. And yet we all did it too! Even the most vertically challenged among us added more than a cubit to our infant height. But He spoke to adult humans, and indeed those 18 inches in height do not seem least at all to us. And yet again, if anxious worry produced vertical growth in humans, some of us, including me, would probably be 20 or 30 feet tall by now. But that doesn't happen. Instead, we may be taller or shorter according to the measure of normal, but invisible with us strides that giant of our anxious imagination, overwhelming in its depressive effects on us. Well, Jesus had a simple solution to that giant, take up faith in Him and do not fear.

Fear not, little ones, your Savior has all under His control.

Bucky

Has Life Fertilized You?

But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ Luke 13:8-9

Any day we face may be one where a person might feel well-fertilized by it. And I do mean fertilizer in the dung sense of the word. Things broke down, plans just didn't go well, or bad news arrived in the mail, you know the sort of day I mean. Life just seemed to really dump that fertilizer on us that day. Perhaps this parable of our Lord offers a different source for that fertilizer though. Any of us might be that little fig tree failing to produce fruit. And the owner wants to take us out, transplant us beyond the wall, and throw us onto the pile for burning. But there was this gardener in the parable too, and he wanted to give that fig tree one more chance. A year of special care and, yes, a load of fertilizer. In this parable, I see Jesus in Gethsemane praying that we not be taken out of this world but given that one more year of special care from the Gardener, one more chance to produce fruit. Of course by this parable we also see Jesus as that final chance to produce and be of value to the owner, or else!

A well-fertilized day may not seem so bad now,

Bucky

There Is Our Testimony

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. Matthew 28:8

Spreading the good news of Jesus was shown to us in this verse for today. Fear came with good news for the angel's face shone like lightning in a place only just beginning to see the new day. The angel told the women the good news of our Lord's absence from the place of death. But He had died as they were told to look where His body had been laid before the great news, He is risen. Such great joy! For it was just as He had foretold, death and then resurrection. And look, the guards had become like dead men, but there was no dead body to see! Then run and tell those who love Him, and run they did to spread the good tidings of great joy.

Tell it! Good news is fun to share.

Bucky

More Good News

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Matthew 24:36

"There's that word again, soon," they make light of that poor word in that series we like, The Chosen. Yet, when it comes to the good news of our Lord's return, we can only offer that same word. In an age where we like to place a date and time on our calendars to make sure that we are on time, there is no time or day to be known. The revealing of it is promised, but not until the time of the appearance. God knows it, but this is one thing that He keeps to Himself. It is a frustrating mystery to us that has tripped up a few cult types down through the years. Naming a date and time all but guarantees it won't be that day and hour, unless of course the namer did not really believe it, and then you fall into a whirlpool that never ends. And so, it will happen...soon!

Jesus will return for us, He promised!

Bucky

Slow Down And Do It Faster!

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Acts 15:8-9

After much dispute, the moment came for us Gentiles in the council of the early church elders and disciples. And it was Peter who stood forth to speak up for us, speaking of the heart that God knows. Ah, the more difficult conflict may well be those hearts that God knows. While the Jews of our Lord's time may be known for their hardness of heart, the Gentiles of our time might be as well known for their waywardness of heart. Truly the seed of the gospel finds a lot of rocky and thorny ground in our hearts even now. Life for many of us remains quite complicated and brings to us many distractions for our attention. Each of us may at the same time be judged as too busy and too slow to get started. Meaning, I suppose, that we need to slow down and do less, but do more and do it faster. We can take some relief that our Lord commanded us to love one another, and not to satisfy what each may think we ought to be or do. One thing we can do with our Lord, take more time for prayer and the Word!

Praise God for time with Him!

Bucky

A Great Turning

Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul. Acts 24:1

And with a subtle tip of the planet, the days will now grow shorter until the cold days of December. Of course to get there we have all the cool and pleasant days of July and August to get through.

Paul, the apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, had some tough days to get through as well, not only imprisonment but a group of 40 men dedicated and oath-bound to see him dead. That is just the sort of popularity most of us would rather do without, I think. However, there was reason for Paul to rejoice, since by their hateful actions Paul was confirmed in his testimony of Jesus Christ! Paul had come hard about and all the way home from the days when those same 40 men would have held him up as their champion and hero in their war against those they knew as the Nazarenes or the Way.

Great turnings worked by the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Waiting Here

until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, Acts 1:2

The apostles were gathered again with Jesus, risen from the grave, and He gave them commandments. But wait, o people of action, one of the first commands from the risen Lord was to stay in Jerusalem and wait for something to happen to them. One of their first questions: Now, are You going to restore the kingdom to Israel? So often we want to go. Go forth, go do, gotta go something, but He tells us to wait on Him, stay until we are prepared here in this place. If we have to wait, then we want Him to go forth and do big things that we want to see happen, much like those disciples. And for what we call a long time now, nothing big has come but what He said would be seen - wars and rumors of war, earthquakes in various places, and so on. For those He said to see that we are not troubled. Dang, if we must wait for Him, at the least we want to worry and fret while we wait!

Waiting here, learning patience, kindness, love, and other fruits of the Spirit.

Bucky

Failed The Blood Test

And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth. Revelation 18:24

It's that time of the year for me, and the annual check up with blood testing. Well, I didn't pass out yesterday, but neither did they find any blood in me to test. Yes, I failed my blood test. We can assume that there is blood in me to find as I have not felt the urge to run around at night biting anyone on the neck like that Dracula dude back in the day. And while it might seem that I would be safe from this woman of Babylon in this condition, we run into one of the tragedies of the Bible, slaying.

In Genesis 4:10, the blood of Abel calls out to the Lord from the ground. The first slaying victim comes so early in the story that we can hardly believe it. How will the race of humans make it with only four, now three, people on the Earth? Well, the whole be fruitful and multiply thing took off like a rocket and it was not long before even Cain found a wife in the land of Nod and did some multiplying himself. All of this fruitfulness does not bring peace though, and just two little chapters later in Genesis (v11), God sees the entire earth filled with violence and corruption.

Interestingly, Jesus lays the blame for all of this at two doorsteps. In John 8:44, He tells of a devil who was a murderer from the beginning, and then in our verse today, comes that same woman of Babylon. It will not be difficult for us to figure out that this queen of Babylon must come with a king and that he must be that same murderer. But don't take my word for it, read the tale.

It is a lengthy tale, starting as it does just after the beginning and carrying its violence, corruption, and slaying to just before the end. However, in the middle comes a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!

Bucky

Let Him Be Him

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” John 11:41-42

What problem do you face this week that has you tied up in anxious knots? Lazarus had been sick, and then died, and now rotted in the grave for four days. Our problems are more like those around the tomb where they laid him. We may be like the disciples who thought sleep in this case meant the normal nightly rest. We may be like the sisters, Mary and Martha, who thought 'if only Jesus had been here' then the situation would not have got out of control. We may even be like Martha again, who had said she believed in Jesus, but then just knew there would be a terrible stench (and probably didn't want her dearly departed brother to be forever known as the source of that stink.) What we think we know by our anxiety over a thing may run up against what Jesus knows He can do at all times. And we may find new life in Him, if we will but let Him get on with being Him.

Believe in Him and live,

Bucky

Population Temptation

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 1 Timothy 6:9

One can imagine some temptations that each of us will likely never face. The minister who gets up on a Sunday morning and preaches to tens of thousands of eager listeners to every word spoken, and thinks "I'm really saving many for the kingdom this day!" As a brother in Christ pointed out in his posting this morning, that minister ain't saving no one, Jesus does the saving. There can be a temptation by population when a ministry becomes big in numbers.

Pursuit of wealth, as our verse for today points out, may work out a bit too well for some few persons in our world. "Where did all these billions come from?" the billionaire asked the butler one morning. And suddenly it seems the temptations of all that loot come home to roost. Have you money to spend and to lend? There will be those glad to help you spend it and others showing up to borrow that wealth. And no one faces more difficulty in getting paid back than those who others think can afford to lose some weight off their wealth. This may lead to bitterness, and stinginess, and that whole host of other lusts and such, like the verse tells us.

So, to the prayer place to thank God for the temptations I don't face today!

Bucky

Getting Used To Abba

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

An affectionate term for our Father in Heaven seems to those of us raised in certain types of churches to be too much, or perhaps too little, or just too darn familiar! And yet, when Jesus submitted His will to the Father's in the garden that night, He began with that most familiar term, Abba. (Mark 14:36). It tells of our fallen beginning in this life that the One who knows our innermost thoughts we try to keep at a distance with stiff and formal terms or names for Him. We think with false humility that never should we use 'Daddy' or 'Abba' for God when we pray to Him. And yet, do we really want to spend eternity with a distant deity when we could have intimate and familiar contact with a Father we know and love as He knows and loves us?

Get familiar with the Father, our dear Abba!

Bucky

Did They Change Scripture?

And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  John 9:7

Oh, they did it! Perhaps it was inevitable, but the popular show about Jesus and His twelve disciples, The Chosen, made a change in portraying the event referenced by our verse for today. No Siloam? Yes, the pool of Siloam seems to have lost its moment of screen time, replaced by a humble bucket. With the bucket beside him in the show, the blind man of no name doesn't get to do his 'went' and 'came back' actions either. It tends to compress the event, and maybe the running time of the episode is why they chose to do it that way. But, but, change scripture?! Well may we shudder at the thought! The question that comes from this portrayal might be, "How is your faith now, believer?" 

As for me, my faith remains strong in Jesus. The healing of the man's sight remains the important part of this incident in our Lord's ministry. How he then 'saw' better than those blind guides, the Pharisees, also remains important. Is this then our moment to choose the Pharisee way or to follow the Lord? Do we shake fists and shout in protest over the change, or do we remember the Son of God, Jesus, and His healing of that blind man He loved? 

Can your faith remain in Him after a little scriptural slap?

Bucky

Not Always Pleasant

Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah. 2 Kings 10:10

Our verse for today sits in the middle of a lot of killing violence. We cannot get away with portraying the word of the Lord as always nice or pleasant or easy. The word of the Lord often tells the story of great evil and terrible violence. Many times the violence was done by humans to one another, but there are times of punishing violence from the Lord too. The Deluge in Genesis was not a gentle shower for a few dirty people. It was a deluge from above that lasted until every person but Noah's family was killed. Some will gleefully shout, "Unfair!" and cast doubt on God's love for His creation. However, this tests whether we can still believe in God's love and goodness, and when we can, then we have faith in Him.

Faith believes when the word of God is not always pleasant to read.

Bucky

Like Children, Trust in Him!

Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 18:3

One of the many statements Jesus made that leave us wondering and pondering. How does one come to be a little child again? Much of our lives we have been reminded to grow up, here He says to grow back? Of course the simile is in the word 'as', and not in becoming a child again. So what might be the qualities of a child we should seek out? Complete trust in her parents? Yes, that sounds like what Jesus wants from us. An innocent love for all those around him? Sure, sounds like one of those greatest of commandments our Lord mentioned. An earnest desire to learn from God's Son? Yes, the children did seem to flock to Him, and He would not suffer them to be denied. Those answers may not satisfy, or you may think of others. We always have what children have in Him though, the ability to ask of Him. And, when He asks of anyone, including us, as He often did in the scriptures, we can always trust in His knowledge because He knows. 

Like children, trust in Him!

Bucky

Long Serving And Long Waiting

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  2 Timothy 2:3

The news report this morning stated that nearly 200 veterans would gather to remember the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France. Average age of 100 among these long-serving veterans of what to us may seem a long ago event. 100 years old on average, that's some age going on there! 

When we say that no one among us knows what tomorrow may bring, often it is a bit ominous, like that proverbial bullet or cement truck is just waiting for the next day to strike us from this earth. Yet, you or I may need to prepare to be here a while too. 200 veterans in Normandy have shown us this morning that it can and does happen. Any one of us may be like those two older folks awaiting the birth of Christ at the temple in Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke. The stories of Anna and Simeon both tell of great age, and we can see long serving and waiting too. While we might live like there is no tomorrow, we might also want to live with prudence as there might be a whole lot of those tomorrows too. 

Have a wonderful day in Christ today... He may come tomorrow, or we may see some long waiting. 

Bucky

If I Had

Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. Exodus 9:15

When I sit down and reminisce a bit, I find that many of them contain an 'If I had' somewhere along the way. These are of course ridiculous speculations on my part as I have no idea how a change way back then might have affected me or anything else. Compare that to God's version in our verse for today and we can begin to see the great gap between God's knowledge of things and my own. When God uses the 'If I had' that is what would have happened. No doubt about it. When God says, His word is spoken, as sure and as certain as the Lord Himself.

By faith we receive it!

Bucky

Can We Elect George Washington?

The law of truth was in his mouth,
​​And injustice was not found on his lips.
​​He walked with Me in peace and equity,
​​And turned many away from iniquity.
  -- Malachi 2:6

In pondering the two leading candidates for the next presidential election, I wondered this morning if we might not elect George Washington again for a new start. Lots of things in this world seem to start out well, and then they decline to the present time. In Malachi 2, God lets His priests know that is what has happened to them. The Lord tells of His priest, Levi, and then compares this to how His priests are acting in the scriptural present time. And it ain't looking good for them. Of course it isn't difficult for us today to look at what comes out of our mouth and lips and do a little comparison too. And it ain't looking good for us all the time and with every word neither. Perhaps we too need a new start. A few years down the road from Malachi, Jesus told Nicodemus that very thing: you must be born again.

Praise God for a new start in Jesus!

Bucky