The Narrow Gate: Luke 13v22-30

Luke reminds us again that Jesus is headed to Jerusalem and his followers are expecting a major conflict where only a remnant will be left, or saved through it. Israel knows this story. This is not primarily about eternal salvation, though we can certainly glean some insights. It is always dangerous to take things out of context of what Jesus was actually saying to fit our theology.

So far Jesus is holding the gate open for them, calling them all into God's Kingdom way. Jesus turns them from a question about quantity and directs them to a state of urgency, to follow Jesus in this way, at this point in the story, takes urgency and commitment. This is God giving Israel one last chance and it has come not from a prophet, but through God's own son. (Jesus will bring us back to this idea in Luke 20v9-18). After what Jesus would accomplish up at Jerusalem, a time would come when the Kingdom would be given to all the people around them and they would come in and feast at God's table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, yes the Gentiles from east, west, north and south, the very ones they hated so much...and Israel herself would be thrown out...what lament then! In that day there would be much weeping and gnashing of teeth because they rejected the cornerstone and gave up their birthright. There is a hint of a message of hope at the end though,those who where first may still get in, last...but Jesus is content to leave them with that hint of hope amid the message of urgency,commitment and striving to enter before its too late, and so to am I.

The Living Word: Luke 13v10-21

Continuing the journey, Luke now turns us to a story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. It is a great illustration of what is going on as a whole. God's people have a spirit of weakness, they are bent double and unable to straighten up, they have been bound up by the satan for many years. With a word and a touch Jesus is able to return her to her royal and priestly position, praising and giving glory to God. What Jesus has done for this woman, he longs to do for all God's people.

So what is the problem? Well, the synagogue leader made it out to be a violation of the law (healing on the sabbath)and what had become a central feature of their national identity. The underlying story is that this traveling rabbi walked into his congregation and did a miracle and interrupted protocol and probably the sermon he'd been working on all week. So Jesus calls him out on it. You are here, preaching the word of God and then God moves in your midst to set a woman free and you accuse me of violating the day of rest? You are just play acting (a hypocrite). Jesus goes on to school his opponents on their interpretation of the scriptures and they are embarrassed because he is right and they are supposed to be leading the people of God , but they do not repent...they hate him for it all the more.

Jesus then tells these two small parables about a mustard seed and a bit of leaven. This relatively small act of healing on behalf of this poor woman and her heartfelt gratitude and repentance toward glorifying God is what the Kingdom of God is like. This bitter,against the grain humiliation before God of the leadership to bring them back into the true service of God is what the Kingdom is like and it will grow and it will accomplish the purposes of God.

Figs and Axes: Luke 13v1-9

Jesus has been trying to convince people to turn from their ways of thinking acting and feeling and to follow Him. He has been doing this for years now with very little impact. He has gone up and cleansed the temple repeatedly and still he's got just a few followers who have really produced the fruit he and His Father are looking for...repentance...a true turning towards God and seeking His Kingdom.

Here come some folks with news that Pilate, a real sob if there ever was one, who just slaughtered some Galilean pilgrims in the temple while offering their sacrifices. Think about that...the governor of your state walks into church on Christmas day an and just opens fire and kills everyone. Why did this happen? And why would Jesus' followers think it was because the Galileans were really bad sinners? The Galilee was known for its zealots and one could conclude that Jesus and his crew grew up round many of them and saw more than a few of these violently zealous counterparts hanging from a tree. The disciple's want to know, are these those rebellious Jews that you were just talking about the ones who are going to start the end? Jesus says if you don't repent, that is change your thinking and turn towards God, you will be destroyed in the same way. Then he asks them about a local building accident where some guys died recently...and tells them they will be destroyed in the same way.

Slaughter at the hand of Rome...violent rebellion...crumbling buildings...in the same way...this is the key to what Jesus' has been prophesying to His people. If you don't repent this is going to be your end and it will be terrible.

Then Jesus tells them the parable of the fig tree. The fig tree is Jerusalem. YHWY, the Father, is the man and He has been coming to Israel again and again seeking fruit, but rather they have just been running His name through the mud, Jesus (as the gardener in this parable) pleads for them like Abraham pleads for Sodom. Let me just put a little more life into them and lets see if they produce fruit and if not then you can take the axe to it all. Take an axe to Jerusalem? If you remember John the Baptist thought that was what Jesus had come to do, what he desired...and Jesus rebuked Him. So we see Jesus own vocation clearly and the fate of Israel if they do not repent and turn to the Kingdom of God through His gospel. Truly Nineveh rises up in judgment over them, because we know they did not repent at the Word of the Son of God and Nineveh repented at the word of a fool.

What implications does this have for us? When you see bad things happen to rebellious people do you think they are worse sinners than you? Do you think that when bad things happen they are always the result of someones sinfulness? Perhaps it's all to bring you to repentance, to produce the fruit God is looking for, Jesus fought for you and He continues to do so...but the Father is making all things new and if there is no fruit being produced, then the soil in His vineyard is being wasted.

Repent for the Kingdom of God has come near to you.

Prince of Division?: Luke 12v49-59

Do you ever sense that there is just this perfect storm brewing? Like there's this tension in the air that you can almost smell? It's lurking just below the surface, if you really stopped to look you could see what was coming. If we did this more often we would find ourselves in a much better position to stand through it.

That is what is going on in the time of Jesus. You have the oppressive Roman occupiers, Herod's corrupt pseudo-government, the thieving Sadducee temple aristocracy with the priesthood in their pockets, you've got the Pharisee's with their hidden agenda's and religious pressure tactics and then you've got the Essenes who've just retreated into caves. This is not to mention all the spiritual powers at work behind the scenes within all that and the fallout it has on the general population.

Where is God in all this one might ask. He is carrying the weight of it in Himself, that's where. 'I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!' says our Lord. Here we see the 'Prince of Peace' declare war on the all the powers of darkness. He is marching straight into the eye of the storm to take the full weight of all of it upon Himself, to judge and to save. 'I came to throw fire on the earth and I wish it were already alight!' The 'Prince of Peace' knows His message is going to bring division because nothing stirs up anger and hatred and division amongst those opposed to God, sinners, like a message of true peace and reconciliation. Just try talking about heaven and earth coming together as God's ultimate goal for His good creation in Christ (Ephesians 1v10).

So what word does Jesus have for those who would be saved through this? Make amends with whoever is accusing you before you get caught up into it and have to pay every last penny. This would be the case for little Jerusalem...the rebellion continued on and sure enough in came the magistrates, the judges, the officers, the imprisonment which only stirred more violent rebellion until Jerusalem paid every last penny in 70ad and the whole city became just an extension of its own flaming garbage heap, Gehenna. Oh, Jerusalem, if only you had known the things that made for peace, you of all!

In the midst of all this though, there is still an opportunity to turn from destruction and follow God's way of salvation through it. There is still hope and a way forward. Notice that this does not mean it's not going to happen, evil must be confronted and as Christian's we will find ourselves marching straight to the center of the evils on earth with the message of heaven and allowing them to run their course upon us for the sake of others...evil will exhaust itself, death after all is all it's got...and on the other side of that, there is resurrection and new life.

'These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.' says our Lord.

'I've seen too much hate to want to hate, myself, and every time I see it, I say to myself, hate is too great a burden to bear. Somehow we must be able to stand up against our most bitter opponents and say: We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will and we will still love you.... But be assured that we'll wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and one day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom for ourselves; we will appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.' -Martin Luther King Jr. ... A Christ-mas message...

May we, in our time, have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the courage to confront and the wisdom to reconcile. In Jesus name, Amen.

Like A Thief In The Night: Luke 12v35-48

This is a scripture that has come to mean a lot to me. I don’t want to get into conversation here (though I would certainly enjoy it) over whether Jesus is talking about his second coming as the end of time or the long awaited return of YHWY to His people that Jesus was about to embody in Jerusalem at the Passover and the judgment that would come within this generation, 40 years later. I personally believe him to be speaking of the latter, but that is (again) for another time. That does not mean this scripture does not have implications for us today as I will explain…

Last summer, I was awoken from my sleep and experienced God like never before, with that came a strong call to repentance and a greater level of discipleship and service. Then...well nothing very specific was revealed and when it didn’t pan out in the time frame I desired or in the ways I speculated that it ought to...I was disappointed and I slipped back into some sinful ways…worse than ever before actually, I came under attack and didn’t even put up a fight, got sloppy and lazy with both my service and my devotions and worse, my prayer life.

A few months into this and one night I started having dreams that opened my eyes to what I was doing, makes me nauseous just thinking about it,some things I didn’t even realize, other things that I was justifying and allowing myself to be deceived into, not to mention I had recently prayed, with the elders, that God would, according to the scriptures, faithfully judge me as I judge others. That’s a dangerous prayer, and he was faithful. He returned a lot of thoughts on me that I had thought towards others in my heart and He really let me have it. But suddenly, my eyes where open and God was everywhere, with most everyone speaking words right to my heart with my mind either accusing or affirming me, my conscience bearing witness of my intentions as well, all showing that His law is written on my heart and His judgments are right and true. But oh, believe you me, the enemy was right there to rip into me through all this too, accusing and trying to convince me of all sorts of lies and whispering that I was done for day and night, worthless refuse. Praise be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord who defended me and my brothers and sisters whom He worked through to minister to me as I entered deep confession, deliverance prayer and council.

I can say with confidence,our God is an all consuming fire. When He returns to His temple, learn from my error…be dressed and ready to go! One of my dreams had me running out of the Holy place at night having received a reward…look at me…look at me…only to be met by an official barreling at me out of the dark of night and beating me down. The beating was light, but poignant. Be humble with the gifts He awards you, they’re not primarily for you and you didn’t earn them anyway…they’re gifts.

There is discipline.

There is also redemption by grace…

Then I looked and I saw there were many servants there praying with their backs to me. ‘Who will do it?’ I heard. But no one answered…then suddenly …‘I will do it’ came a voice and I found myself being lifted up and immersed in fire and drawn back up again while the others prayed. The fire did not hurt and it changed me so that I was not on fire, but was one with the fire as it filled me…and then I woke up deeply convicted, trembling and wanting to clean house right NOW! I have known others who have been baptized into Christ, served him faithfully for years…and then one day, while in bed at night or perhaps just sitting under a tree somewhere, without warning… a vision from the Lord that showed them great things that would forever shape their lives and ministry. God is good and He is faithful, His Word does not go forth void, but accomplishes that for which it has been sent.

Make no mistake, our God redeems us that we should know Him and Jesus Christ whom He sent. This so that we should become holy that when He comes to us, He should fill His temple with His presence that we might be a Light to the world and shew forth that the knowledge of YHWY will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

I can only say that in all this…much grace has been given me and so much is required…that’s my personal conviction I hope you have one too. Christ has come and He will come again…are you dressed and ready? Are your lamps lit?

May we honor the One who was and is and is to come, the Beginning and the End, the only immortal, invisible and eternal God. May we work out our salvation with fear and trembling that we may be found worthy, being ever watchful for the day of our visitation that we should receive Him graciously when He knocks and may the fire of His glorious presence fill us that we might be holy as He is holy. And may we give glory to God our Father for His great love and patience towards us, His beloved children whom he disciplines in Christ Jesus. Amen

“The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Rich Towards God: Luke 12v13-34

God's Kingdom is coming and He is bringing His loving will to bear on the whole world and therefore these squabbles of the old world, the world where the land of Israel is the sign of God's faithfulness and covenant renewal. That is what is expected and that is the kind of justice they are looking for (we see that here in the text) as Jesus heads toward Jerusalem. That is not what God is doing, he's got much grander things going on. In His coming Kingdom which He desires to give us there is no room for people's greed for personal abundance at the cost of others. This is something that is to fade away as God's Kingdom comes just as the Torah is fulfilled in Messiah,and just as the law in ordinances becomes irrelevant...fading away for those who live by the Spirit.

Now Jesus' comment here about not worrying are quite shocking today, we thrive on anxiety as a matter of fact the very act of stopping and being silent for more than just a few minutes drives most people mad. I am one of those people. The Lord is teaching me the importance of slowing down, of sabbath rest. The world will go on without me and the Lord will provide for my needs as I walk with Him. Perhaps it was more shocking to those who heard it then however, people whose lives resemble more like those in Ghana than in Boynton Beach, FL...a place were one sickness in the family could mean homelessness and starvation rather than ...well whatever we happen to be worried about today...birthday parties, a new car or (ironically)an extravagant Christmas.

That can be a difficult thing to see, so one must have the scales removed from our eyes in because we are trained in this country more than any other to achieve ever more, those are weighted and dishonest scales through which we see and muddle through life. It has been taught that if I have abundance while my neighbor is in need of food, I have stolen from him in God's economy where love is the dynamic currency in which we transact. So store up treasures for yourself in heaven that you might be rich before God. That doesn't sit well with capitalism at all. The American dream has run rabid, it should in no way surprise us that God has caused us to revisit our spending habits and the wisdom of our business dealings in this country, not to mention our position of charity towards others. I pray we learn our lesson, myself included. We are a nation under God whether we want to say so or not, all authority has been given the Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven.

May we stop worrying about getting what's ours, all things have been given to us and so it is time for the Saints of God to truly possess them and as we have freely received, so should we freely give, knowing that this is God's will for His people in Messiah Jesus, His royal priesthood, that we should love and care for all creation giving glory to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord remove from we, your people, this spirit of anxiety and worry, this lack of trust and any spirits of greed that You might be all the more glorified. Amen

The Heat Is On: Luke 12v1-12

Things are really starting to heat up as we progress through Luke's gospel. People are crowding around and the mood is becoming like that of a politcal rally married to a military coup d'etat. Jesus offers his disciples some additional warnings as they continue their journey to Jerusalem. These are warnings that we ought to bear in mind as we answer the altar call of Jesus as join him in his march towards his vision of a world set right.

First he says listen, people are crowding round. Do not be like one of those play actors! I need you to be completely loyal to me and the Kingdom. Watch out for gossip from your mouths and further more be wise about what you say, be careful of your speculations. Do not be like those who listen to me and invite me for dinner only to deny me before others.

If your loyalty to me fails and you get caught up in all this business there is Herod or Rome who may kill you, but there is one who starts by killing and then has the right to throw people into Gehenna. That's the one to fear.

God however you can trust! Do not be afraid! You are worth so much to Him! So do not deny me and I will not deny you before God's angels! Now you might speak something against me and that can be forgiven, but do not deny what the Holy Spirit has been up to....that will not be forgiven! So when they bring you to accusation it is the Holy Spirit that will give you utterance even at that very moment. So do not fear, but trust.

May we go forth with Jesus in faithfulness and in truth. May we be wise and committed even when pressure builds upon us and fear seeks to over take us. May we give no right to the world or to the evil one to kill us or torment us, but may we trust God, our loving Father in all things and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent us, following Him in the works He has prepared before hand that we should walk in them. Amen