Tag: pharisees

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Hope Eternal

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"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests."  Luke 2:14

“Glory to you oh, God, for through you I have hope and peace!  The world cannot give me peace but only unfulfilled desires and longings.  The world relies on the seen and external for their hope but faith is through the unseen and eternal! Today as the world spins out of control I place my peace and hope in you, God. Amen”

I promise myself each day that I won’t check in with the chaos of the world and yet time and again I find my fingers creeping over my keyboard to read the latest news.  As a Christian and a citizen of this world it’s been difficult to find the balance of my responsibility as a “not yet.”  By that I mean I’ve been saved but not yet home with God.  I long for the day to see Jesus’ face and be free of this chaos.  But Jesus clearly wants us doing God’s good works while here on earth.

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

So that means we have a responsibility to be good citizens of our communities.  Spreading God’s Word through deeds and words.  It means we need to know what stresses and pains our world is experiencing so we can be God’s message of hope and therefore glorify Him.  

In the book of Jude he admonishes to take steps to help those who are new believers and not yet believers.  It’s important to note the danger he warns of by getting too close to the fiery chaos of the world.  

“…save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 23

Mixed with fear.  I think sometimes we Christians like to dabble in the world of chaos thinking a little bit is ok.  But each time we turn on the news or start discussing politics we should first give thanks to God for where our eternal hope lies and then proceed with a bit of Jesus’ Teflon surrounding us.  He let the Pharisees ignorance and at times evil ways bounce off Him.  Because He knew who He belonged to.  And He consistently gave glory to God when speaking back into the chaos.

Friends, it’s not wrong to be actively informed or involved with the goings-on of the world.  Jesus and the apostles jumped in with both feet to tell the world about the Father.  They didn’t turn away from the troubles of the world, they came to spread hope and glorify God.  But we must always remember the Kingdom awaiting us. 

 

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Step 3: The Confident Warrior

krisshetter 
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. John 7:32

Christianity is not passive.  We are to pray, say and do.  

Joyce Meyer

The other day my husband and I watched an episode of Phil and Jase Robertson’s Unashamed podcast.  We had selected this particular episode because it featured the guest, Dallas Jenkins.  Mr. Jenkins, as some of you may know, has fast become a “name” in the Christian community as the director, creator and writer of the series, “The Chosen.”  This uniquely told story of Jesus’ three impactful years on Earth is one not to be missed.  Jase Robertson asked him about the daunting task of showing both the human Jesus and Jesus the Deity.  On the human side, one episode shows Jesus tending to a cut on his wrist while also trying to start a fire using the “hand drill” method – painful to be sure.

“The criticism we get comes from Christians.  People come to the show from all types of Christianity including Mormons, Catholics, protestants.  And they watch the show and expect it to fit their view of Jesus.  They are like the modern day Pharisees,” said Dallas Jenkins. He was then asked what negative feedback he gets from non-Christians.  His reply?  “None.”

And this got me thinking.  In all of Jesus’ moments of conflict there rarely was a non-religious person at the forefront.  His battlefield, His warrior-moments, came most frequently against the religious leaders.  Those people who decided they knew what God had in mind for a Messiah.  And Jesus wasn’t “it.”

When placed faced to face with His opponent Jesus came prepared.  He came armed with the belt of truth and sword of the spirit.  He had to be prepared because the ultimate prize was not a piece of land.  The prize was not a place on an earthly throne.  No.  The ultimate prize was the heart, mind and soul of the average person.

“Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” Matthew 22:29

And that statement, my friends, can only be seen as “shots fired.”

The Bible says, “fear not” or “be not afraid” 103 times in the King James Bible.  Jesus, himself, speaks some version of these words about 30 times.  And yet so many of us fear taking the step toward being a warrior like Him and for Him.

We say we aren’t ready.  That might be true.  So, ask God to help you get ready.

We say we won’t know what to say.  That’s probably true.  So, prepare and ask God to give you the words.

We say our church just doesn’t encourage that way of thinking. Maybe so. But Jesus didn’t come to start a denomination.

We say we might lose something in the battle.  You might.  But God always provides.

We say we will be seen as crazy, bigoted, unloving.  The devil does love to deceive.  So, we ask God to give us a loving heart and clear mind and we place our trust squarely on Him.

What does a warrior for God look like these days?  We joke about the person on the corner with the “End is Near” sign.  But while on vacation in Kauai a few weeks ago I saw a man – he looked pretty normal actually, about in his 60s nicely dressed – standing in the same spot on a busy road a few days in a row holding up a sign for all to see: “Jesus is Near.”  Imagine what sort of feedback he must’ve received.  We honked each time and gave him a thumbs up.  He waved with a big smile.  And I thought, “that man was led to stand out on that street day after day waving at people holding that sign.  That’s a warrior for God.”

You know who else are warriors like Jesus?  Moms and dads who go against the “norm” and tell their kids they must follow in Jesus’ steps.  Employees who aren’t afraid to talk about their faith while at work.  Friends who aren’t worried about losing friendships because they won’t “go along to get along.”  People who are aren’t afraid of being “cancelled” because they stood up for Christian morals and values.

Jesus didn’t come to smooth things over with religious leaders.  He didn’t come to make a lot of friends.  He didn’t desire to win a popularity contest.  He came to save souls.  He knows the end of this world’s story.  And so do we. 

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44

Are you keeping watch over your house?  Are you dressed in your God-given battle gear, standing ready to step onto the field?  As Christians we are tasked with increasing God’s glory on this earth.  We are challenged to keep the thief out of our midst.  It is the heart and mind of a warrior, like Jesus, that will accomplish both.

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Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!

krisshetter 
Out of the same mouth come 
praise and cursing. My brothers 
and sisters, this should not be. 
James 3:10

A prayer to avoid using coarse language

Holy Father, it has become so easy for me to use your name in un-holy ways.  There was once a time that when angered or frustrated I would just say some silly old saying.  But as I drew closer to the ways of the world my language followed.  I want to be closer to you instead, LORD.  I want to speak like your son, Jesus.  I know that anger, impatience, laziness, and bitterness are all roots of my use of foul language.  Help me, Holy Spirit, to cut out those roots so that out of my mouth comes praise, prayer, forgiveness and grace.  I will use my mouth, with your guidance, for these rather than obscenity and coarseness.  Amen

We all remember that moment well.  I was driving the middle school carpool that morning.  A car full of young, impressionable minds.  Just before I got to a busy intersection a car swerved over from another lane in front of me, causing me to hit my brakes.  And just as our basic driving skills become automated, my middle finger and mouth began its ugly automatic work.  The car went silent.  I was immediately convicted of my sin by five sets of enlarged eyes on me.

You’d think that instances like that would’ve got me to stop cursing in anger but it hasn’t.  In fact, knowing about three weeks ago that eventually I’d be writing this post I started more aggressively working on this problem.  And yet, just the other day I think I managed to use just about every curse word available when talking to my husband about politics.  

Nor should there be obscenity, 
foolish talk or coarse joking, 
which are out of place, but 
rather thanksgiving.  
Ephesians 5:4

Have you ever watched a movie where it seemed the director purposely had every actor place a curse word in every sentence the actors spoke?  I have.  And I’ve finally had to stop watching.  I understand when our anger rises up that we again allow our mouths to control our world.  But the gratuitous use of cursing is not something I understand.  Everything, to some people, is “f’ing (fill in the blank).”  It’s become just another adjective.  And yet, it isn’t.

According to one researcher, we swear on average from 0.3% to 0.7% of the time — a tiny but significant percentage of our overall speech.  Given the fact that the average woman speaks about 25,000 words a day that adds up to around 1,750 swear words per day.  That’s a lot of sinful speaking.

When I worked in our local high schools, I would see the prevalence of swearing amongst our teenagers.  Each year it seemed to get worse and worse.  When I would admonish a student they would say, “oops, it was just an accident.”  However, we all know that well-practiced behaviors become simply rote acts.  

We are told throughout the Bible and especially the New Testament that we, as believers in God and then Jesus, are to be set apart from this world.  

Let us behave decently, 
as in the daytime, not 
in carousing and drunkenness, 
not in sexual immorality and 
debauchery, not in dissension 
and jealousy. Rather, clothe 
yourselves with the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and do not 
think about how to gratify 
the desires of the flesh. 
Romans 13:13-14

This verse makes it clear, whether in daytime, nighttime, with Christian friends or non, in our work environment, our home, or alone in our car, we are to clothe ourselves with Jesus.  The worst I have ever read come out of Jesus’ mouth was to call the Pharisees “vipers.”  

In the United States, during the 19th century, there was a craze to come up with “mild oaths” or pseudo-swearwords that replaced profane words with inoffensive ones. They tended to be silly and even poetic. “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat,” “Holy, Moly,” and “gee willikers!” were just a few. It was a sign of our Christian influence in society. Sadly, we seem to have lost not only that influence but our desire to be that influence.

My BSGs’ (Bible Study Girls) favorite saying is “imperfect progress.”  And that’s what I’m in the midst of – really, aren’t we all?  And as I listen to our media, tv shows, music, and more accept that cursing God’s name as the “new normal” I pray for the Holy Spirit to help me be set apart.  I want my “new normal” to be for the glory of God, not for the fulfillment of my flesh.

If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!