The Lost Sheep

The Lost Sheep (Lk 15:3-7 / Mt 18:11-14)

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  (Is 53:6)

Oh, we are sheep!  We wander ALL the time!  We follow others into dead ends, wasted time, endless pursuits of distraction and pleasure.  We get lost, we search to find our way until we are exhausted, then we plop down and bleat piteously.  Even our purposeful, intentional goals are often nothing more than wandering when considered in light of eternity!

What to do?  Through the years, men have developed standards and regulations in an attempt to gauge worth, to convince ourselves that we are indeed investing in things that matter.  All religion falls into that category.  Jesus challenged and shattered all the standards that we use - He routinely went against the religious thinking of His day when it came to choosing who He spent His time with. 

The story of the lost sheep was told in response to the charge that He spent all His time with sinners - with failures, people who weren't meeting the standards set by others.  Of course, those "others" were blind to the fact that Jesus Himself sets the only standard that matters, and they were failures too.  He was telling them that all men are like lost sheep - He has come to find each one of us, to bring us home and welcome us into His flock.  

So the first thing to consider is whether or not you have allowed Him to find you . . . have you responded to Him and allowed Him to embrace you, to forgive you, to cover your sin and give you new life with Him?  Have you surrendered to His care, accepting His leadership over you as your Shepherd?  If so, then rest in Him; rejoice in His goodness; enjoy His provisions for you.

Perhaps there is a day you can remember when you went from being a lost sheep to one of His sheep, but you have since wandered.  Have you chased after things outside the green pastures and still waters that He led you to?  Have you been deceived and followed the crowds into confusion, unable to find your way back?  He is your shepherd - His desire is to gather you back, bring you to safety, where He can once again provide for you and guide you.  Nothing you have chosen or have done is beyond the coverage He purchased at the cross, when all the iniquities of all of us were laid on him.  Don't let fear or guilt or shame cause you to delay even another second.  Call out to Him and you will find that He is right there with you!

Perhaps you have never come to the Shepherd at all - perhaps you have spent your entire life on your own, doing your best, or doing what you could, or simply wandering along.  You have a Shepherd who loves you.  You were never meant to be alone - He is not willing that ANY should live apart from Him in this lifetime or in eternity.  But you must be willing to come to Him - He does not force Himself on anyone.  Today - as you are reading this - you can call out to Him and He will be there.  You will be the lost sheep that He finds and rejoices over!  This Christmas, He will be your present and you will be His.  Staying lost is a choice, my friend.  Don't choose it.

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-20.html)

"I Am the Light of the World"

^{I Am the Light of the World}
  

^{We begin our lives in the dark, enclosed in our mother's womb.  When we make our entrance into the world, light crashes into our senses, and we squeeze our eyes tight against it - the darkness is familiar, the light foreign.  In the beginning, the world was shrouded in darkness, and God spoke "Let there be light."  Jesus came into the world, He is the light of life . . . and the darkness didn't comprehend or understand Him.  Our world is dark, filled with people and ideas that attempt to thrive separate of God, which is darkness.  Even as we follow Him, we can delude ourselves, be deceived or rebel and choose darkness rather than looking to Him to guide us with His light.}  

 

^{"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.'" (John 8:12)}

^{Jesus speaks truth plainly;  the image is simple - He is the light, and if we follow Him we will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.  Clear, not complicated . . . yet difficult to live out, due to our tendency to choose the darkness.}  

^{Whenever we want to choose our own way, knowing that God wants something different for us, we choose darkness.  Whenever we choose not to ask, we choose darkness.  Darkness lets us hide; it suggests that we can do something and not be discovered . . . and we welcome darkness when we want to do things we'd rather no one else know about . . . especially God.  CRAZY how we delude ourselves, isn't it?  Even a child knows that if he's under a table God can still see him, yet we try to hide anyway.}  

^{Sometimes it's a dark area of activity;  sometimes it's a dark corner of our personality or our character, our emotions or our thought life.  Initially it seems that we can control this secret pocket; even maintain our relationship with God along with our secret.  Eventually, the darkness becomes too much - we hit that point where sin shows itself for what is really is; corrupt, empty, threatening to engulf our entire self in a void.  That's when we call out to God.}

^{Or perhaps you truly are walking genuinely and openly before God, when suddenly life around you seems to grow dark.  Your circumstances take a dive, and you can't see your way through.  People and things that you counted on turn out to be unreliable, even dangerous to your well-being.  That's when you call out to God.}

^{And the amazing thing is, the instant we call to Him, there He is!  His light permeates our darkness, and hope returns.  Maybe not all the details of how we will move from where we are to where He will lead us, but the certainty that He is there, that He has been all along, and that He knows how to guide us out of the darkness is undeniable.  Usually we can't help wondering why we waited so long to turn our face toward Him!}  

^{A speaker once asked us how much light it takes to dispel darkness - the truth is, not much.  Think of the comfort of lighting a single candle or turning on a flashlight during a blackout.  Think of the definition you gain from a soft nightlight when sleeping in a strange place.  Think of the difference between paralyzing fear when you're surrounded by darkness, and the immediate sense of readiness to move toward a light revealed in that moment.}  

^{Whether we bring on the darkness or life brings us to it, our answer is the same.  Jesus is the light of the world.  He is ever-present, ever aware of us, ever ready to illuminate our mind, heart and path.  All we need do is seek Him and follow Him as He leads us.  Thank You Jesus, for lighting our way.}

^{(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-19.html)}

The Unforgiving Servant

The Unforgiving Servant  (Matt 18:21-35)

Peter had a question for Jesus - "How many times should I forgive my brother?  Up to seven times?"  This sounded good to Peter, as that was more than the law commanded.  But Jesus answered "Seventy times seven!"  Then He proceeds to tell them the parable of the unforgiving servant.  Basically , this servant owes the king more than he could ever hope to repay in his lifetime, and after begging the king for mercy, the king forgives the entire debt.  Then this servant goes out and finds a fellow who owes him a pittance, and though this fellow begs for mercy, the servant has him thrown into jail.  When the king hears about it, he delivers the ungrateful, unforgiving servant "to the torturers" until he can repay what he originally owed.  

Jesus ends the parable with these words, "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

I'm not going to writing anything new here, just reiterate what we already know, but often try not to think about.  If we have accepted God's forgiveness of our sins, we are OBLIGATED to forgive others.  We don't need to weigh the situation out, decide if they're 'sorry' or rationalize in any other way.  Being the recipient of God's extravagant grace means that I am now a dispenser of grace to others.  

God Himself will settle accounts with those that we forgive.  That's not our concern.  Our concern is to develop a lifestyle of forgiveness - seventy times seven!  That's 490 times!  If I forgave someone that many times, I think it would become second nature to me.  

My sins separated me from God - in this lifetime, and for eternity.  Jesus forgave ALL that debt with His blood that He shed for me.  How can I dare to imagine that any human being's offenses against me could outweigh my offenses against God Himself?  That's ludicrous.  

Forgiveness is not about feelings, it's not about settling a score, or deciding not to settle one.  It is stating that as a recipient of God's grace, I am granting grace to you.  Anything else that needs settling is between you and God.  Forgiveness stems from the overwhelming love I have for God in response to His grace and goodness to me.  In Luke 7:47, Jesus states that "she who has been forgiven much loves much."  This is the outward expression of my inward reality. 

I'm not advocating becoming a doormat to someone who continues to commit offenses against you, especially if the situation involves abuse.  Forgiveness does not mean that we stay present for repetitive, problematic behavior.  We can forgive and yet remove ourselves from an unsafe or unhealthy situation.  If you are facing issues like this, seeking counsel on how to protect yourself, and any children right away is what God would have you do.  Whenever we discuss forgiveness, it is necessary to note that forgiveness is NOT the same as reconciliation.  They are two separate acts, and while we are always to forgive, we may not be called to remain in relationship with harmful individuals.  

Not an easy truth, but one that Jesus leaves us no wiggle room on.  It's the season of gift giving - who do you need to give forgiveness to today?  Will you follow God's command in this matter?  You will not only be giving a gift to the offender, but to yourself and to your God, as well.  

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-18.html)

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19)

A little history on Judaism in Jesus' day will expand our experience of this story.  Due to the highly contagious nature of leprosy, the affected persons lived apart from the rest of the community.  In religious terms, having leprosy made a person 'unclean'.  They were not able to participate in religious services or any form of social life.  When these men found that they were healed on their way to the temple, nine of them found their desire to get to the temple to be ceremonially cleansed and get back to their lives to be absolutely irresistible!  They never looked back - they were healed, and now they wanted to get on with living!

One man, a Samaritan btw, when he realizes that he is healed, turns and runs back to Jesus, falls at His feet, glorifies God and says, "Thank You" over and over and over!  For him, life can wait - He has just met the Messiah!  Yes, he has been extraordinarily blessed by being healed, but right now, all he can think about is the Healer!  And what is Jesus' response?  He tells him "your faith has made you well."  

He was already healed, as were the other nine.  What is Jesus talking about?  I believe it is the distinction between taking whatever good God can give you and running with it, and recognizing the goodness of God, leading you to worship Him. All ten were healed of leprosy, but all ten would one day die.  I believe that only one was healed for eternity.  He recognized Jesus and worshiped Him; his faith in Jesus made his soul whole.  

When the townspeople saw these 10 men, they all looked the same:  healed, healthy, whole again.  When God saw them, He saw nine and one.  I Samuel 16:7b says:  "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-17.html)

"I Am the Door"

I Am the Door  (John 10:9, Rev 3:20)

I love that Jesus lays enormous truth on a low shelf, packaged in a simple illustration, so that we can reach it easily.  What could be simpler to understand than the image of a door?  On one side is one room, or place; on the other side is another room or place.  Open the door, cross the threshold and you have entered.  Jesus says, "I am the door.  If any man enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."   

Jesus is the door.  On one side of the door is being away from God.  On the other side is being with God.  Go through Jesus - the door - and be saved from being away from God, both now and throughout eternity.  Real life begins after that initial entrance through Jesus;  He says that now we will go in and out and find pasture, hearkening to our life as a lamb of whom He is our Good Shepherd.  

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus refers to us as having a door:  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and him with Me."  Both pictures describe the same truth:  Jesus is the entrance to life with God.  We enter God's presence, and God's presence takes up residence within us.  Just pause here, exhale, and ask Him to wash over you with the enormity of that truth. 

No longer are we isolated from Him, no longer are we facing life alone.  We are forgiven, reconciled, accepted and embraced by God Himself, because Jesus paid the way for us when He sacrificed His life to cover our sins.  Now the Holy Spirit of God Himself resides within us, opening our minds to understand His Word, empowering us to resist temptation and to obey Him, shaping us moment by moment, choice by choice, into His image, as He created us to be in the beginning.  Miraculous.  Undeserved Grace.  Unmerited Favor.  

Thank You, Jesus, for being willing to take on the form of man, to live among us, showing us what God is like, and then sacrificing Your life to pay for our sins.  Thank You that You are not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to You through faith.  Thank You for being the door that takes us into God's Holy presence.  Help us to honor, worship and praise You as is fitting as we approach the day we celebrate Your birth.

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-16.html)

The Feeding of the 5000

The Feeding of the 5000 (and the 4000!)  (Mark 6:30-44, Mark 8:1-9)

Crowds of people gathered to hear Jesus teach.  Many times they stayed all day long listening - no one had ever spoken about God, about themselves and about living life with such clarity, simplicity and authority before.  They simply didn't want to leave while He was speaking.  The gospel of Mark records two occasions where thousands had remained all day, evening was coming, and people were hungry for food.

The disciples, thinking like good event organizers, said to Him, "Send the people away so that each can buy food for themselves to eat."  Jesus, the ultimate event organizer, says "You feed them."  Don't you wish you could have seen the looks on their faces?  They follow Him, they are in awe of His teaching, they respect Him and believe that He is the Messiah . . . but now He says this?  Did they struggle not to betray on their faces what must have been going through their minds, or did they just let it show?  "No disrespect, Jesus, but what?" 

Jesus tells them to bring Him what they have, which turns out to be five loaves of bread and two fish.  "It's not enough.  Anyone can tell you that it's not enough."  "What is even the point?"  "We look like fools up here."  And then Jesus does what He always does . . . shows them that no matter how much they think they know about Him, or believe about Him, they've barely scratched the surface of Who He Is and what He is capable of.   Not only is everyone fed until they are full, but 12 baskets of leftovers are gathered up.

Oh fellow Christian, when will we understand Who we are following, and open our minds to what He is capable of?  We spend so much time thinking that life is too hard, ministry demands are too great, we are too insufficient for the task!  Yes, yes and yes!  But NOTHING is too hard for Him!  And we're not supposed to be trying to do anything on our own, apart from Him.  So our little plus Him means that if He's asked us to do something, there will ALWAYS be enough to get the job done, WITH LEFTOVERS!!!  Enough energy, enough provision, enough truth, ENOUGH!!!  

Embrace I Corinthians 2:9 today:  "But as it is written:  Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  Open your mind, your eyes, your heart to expect to see God move in ways that only He can move.  Bring Him whatever you have, He will bless it, break it, and make it enough, and then some!

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-15.html)

Do Not Worry About Your Life

Do Not Worry About Your Life!

Matt 6:25-27  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

Matt 6:32b-34  "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I wish my brain could function more like that of a bird.  I simply cannot imagine a bird wondering if the color and pattern of that other girl-bird's feathers are prettier than hers.  Nor if that other bird-couple's nest is bigger or fancier than hers.  Nor if those other birds got more to eat, or a tastier kind of seed than she got.  Do you hear the ludicrousness of that?  But that's how our minds are operating far too often!  

I also cannot imagine a bird worrying about where it will find some berries or some seeds to eat;  it simply flies until it finds them, and then eats.  It gathers whatever it needs to build a nest.  When its feathers fall out, new ones come in, without any effort or thought on the bird's part at all.  The bird occupies itself with what is before it in the moment.

We, blessed with a brain that has a much bigger capacity for thought, drive ourselves CRAZY with over-thinking, planning, comparing and then worrying that we forgot to account for something!  While I was writing today's companion post for kids, I found it a bit tricky, because kids don't naturally worry!  They learn to worry from the adults around them.  Kids trust that what they need will be there. . . or more accurately, they simply live in the moment.  They see what is in front of them, and they occupy themselves with that.  

Remember how earlier we talked about Jesus telling us to have faith as a little child does?  We can learn a lot from their simple, trusting approach to life.  We also will serve them and ourselves well by taking care NOT to teach them to worry!   This is trickier, because we don't come out and say that they should worry . . . they see us worrying, and they conclude that if we're worried, they should be too.  Jesus says simply "Don't worry about tomorrow."  As we read yesterday, He wants us to hear Him and then do what He says.

Now let's not go to extremes:  we must compare scripture with scripture.  We are told in Hebrews that "if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat."  Jesus is not telling us to sit back and wait for God to hand-feed us, or for Him to print money in a backroom to slip to us.  Many principles are recorded in scripture that tell us God expects us to work, to plan, to save and to provide for our needs and that of our families.  If we are obeying Him, we are to be confident that He will meet our needs through those efforts, as well as by any other means He chooses.  It is an issue of having trust in Him as we live obedient to His instructions.

"Your heavenly Father knows what you need" also brings up the difference between needs and wants.  He also knows what we want - He promises to provide what we need.  Paul tells us we are to be content with God's provision.  Plenty to reflect on there as we're in the season where businesses spend the largest amount of their advertising budget to convince us we need more . . . 

I want to close with Matt 10:28-31  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?  And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  

Are you impressed with the way Jesus moves from the fact that God is "able to destroy both soul and body in hell" to "the very hairs of your head are all numbered" ?  We tend to gravitate toward certain verses, to enjoy the pleasant, loving, reassuring things that Jesus says; but He always reveals God fully.  God is indeed the Righteous Judge as well as the Benevolent Caregiver.  The same God who will one day send those who have chosen not to come to Him out of His presence for eternity also numbers the very hairs on your head.  He is intimately involved with each of us, and not willing that any should perish.  But we must choose to come to Him and to follow Him.  We are to have a healthy fear of God - a reverent awe for Who He Is.  That reverence leads us to repentance; from there He leads us to life.  And life is found in following and obeying Him.

So today, obey this:  Do Not Worry!  If you catch a worrisome thought going through your mind, ask Him to take it captive, and replace it with confidence in His ability, willingness and promise to provide for you. 

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-14.html)