Dysfunction Gone Wild

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%206%3A1-11&version=NIV;NLT

 

Television can make dysfunction funny. Take the successful TV series The Office which aired from 2005-2013. The setting was a paper distribution company called Dunder Mifflin. With a variety of quirky characters that you might find in any office anywhere, dysfunction seemed to be the guiding principle of the show.

 

Most likely the reason that a dysfunctional office is funny is because we can relate to it and identify with the quirky characters. In reality though, dysfunction is the result of our sinful nature and not to be taken lightly.

 

Consider King David. Although a man after God’s own heart, he had no clue when it came to the dysfunction of his family. Amnon, one of David’s sons, raped his step-sister, Tamar. When David didn’t do anything about it, her biological brother, Absalom, killed Amnon. In this case, it sounds like dysfunction gone wild.

 

The church at Corinth seems to have been the definition of a dysfunctional church.

They struggled with everything from divisions over leadership to immorality and incest to favoritism based on status. It’s hard to imagine that they had any redeeming qualities. Yet, Paul had enough hope in them that he didn’t give up.

 

In the verses today, Paul wrote about lawsuits amongst believers in the church. Here is yet another example of the Corinthian believers not being able to work and play well together; an example of their dysfunction. Paul makes these observations.

 

⁵ I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? ⁶ But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers! ⁷ Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.              NLT

 

You may not have ever taken another believer to court, but conflict starts small and builds to a crescendo. It begins with a something little between an employer and employee, or two business owners, or neighbors or between husband and wife.

 

Conflict is a part of the human predicament. It happens every day of our lives. The question is how will you deal with it? Paul suggests working things out, finding a mediator or just accepting the injustice.

 

 

 

Whatever you do, don’t let it become, dysfunction go wild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Expectations and Living Life

Luke 24:1-49

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A1-49&version=NIV;NLT

 

Expectations influence every area of our lives. Sometimes this results in humorous situations while other times it can lead to painful circumstances. Here is a tongue-in-cheek list that I found called, “What husbands expect from their wives”:

• She could marry a movie star, but wants only you.
• Her favorite hobbies will be mowing the lawn and shoveling snow.
• Her favorite expression will be, "What can I do for you today, Dear?"

This was followed by the second part called, “What husbands get”:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• She speaks 140 words a minute, with gusts up to 180.
• Where there's smoke, there she is-- cooking.
• She lets you know you only have two faults: everything you do, and everything you say.

 

Expectations do influence every area of our life. The women who went to the tomb expected to find a dead body. Instead they found an empty tomb and two angels who told them the amazing story that Jesus was alive.

 

Two men walking to the village of Emmaus were discussing the events of the previous

days including the unbelievable story from the women. Originally, these men had great expectations that Jesus would be the glorious Messiah who had come to rescue Israel, but his death left them disheartened and downcast.

 

Later, as the same two men were telling the other disciples that they had just spent time with the risen Christ, Jesus actually stood among them and greeted them. Despite all of this, the disciples’ expectations clouded them with doubt. Jesus showed them his hands and feet; he even ate food to overcome their expectations.

 

³⁰ When Jesus was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”                       NIV

 

What are your expectations of Jesus?

 

When you go to a funeral or a wedding; when you travel from town to town or to work or to visit family or friends; when you eat a meal or go out shopping; when you attend church, spend time in God’s word or pray at the dinner table?

 

 

 

What do you expect from Jesus? Will you miss him or see him?

 

 

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With Him I am Well Pleased

(7^th in a series on Lent)

Mark 15:33-41 & Hebrews 12:1-3

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2015%3A33-41&version=NIV;GNT

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012%3A1-3&version=NIV;GNT

  

When I was a little boy, there was nobody more important to me than my Dad. Above everybody else, I needed his love and affirmation.

 

 

 

If I felt his rejection, I could easily be moved to tears. All he had to do was raise his voice and I would be hurt. If he spanked me I would cry, not because of the physical pain, but because I felt unloved.

 

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)… ³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.      NIV

 

Jesus suffered unimaginable torture and pain before he even got to the cross. Crucifying someone was not only a shameful death, but it was an excruciatingly painful death. He had hung on the cross for three hours before he spoke these words. Was he referring to his physical pain? I don’t think so.

 

I believe at the moment Jesus spoke these words, he was experiencing the total rejection of, and separation from his Heavenly Father; the same one whom he had been completely obedient to despite being fully human; the same one who Jesus spoke of as “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father”.

 

Complete and total rejection from the one who he desired to please the most. His Father turned his back on him at the time that He was needed the most. Jesus suffered, with his eyes focused on the other side of his crucifixion when he would once again experience the love and union with the One who he loved the most.

 

² Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne. GNT

 

Jesus smiles now because he hears these words: “This is my son whom I love. With him I am well pleased.” Nothing can be sweeter than to hear our Heavenly Father speak these same words to us.

 

  

 

 

 

 

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Are You a Fan or a Follower?

(6^th in a series on Lent)

Luke 9:18-27

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%209%3A18-27&version=NIV;MSG

 

 

I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio for over thirty years, and it still amazes me how fanatic Buckeye fans are. If you’re a good Buckeye fan, then you will have at least one championship shirt and/or hat from 2015. You can tell what someone believes by their actions, their words and in what they invest their time, talent and treasure.

 

¹⁸ One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, “What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?” ¹⁹ They said, “John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.” ^20-21 He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?” Peter answered,

“The Messiah of God.”             MSG

 

Peter responded with the correct answer, but the real question is, “So what difference does that make in your life”? Remember, the disciples were still under the misdirected belief that the Messiah would bring political power to the Jews. Even though Jesus point blank told them he must die, they didn’t get it.

 

Jesus follows his question above with some instruction on what exactly it will mean for the disciples to believe that he is “the Messiah of God”. He told them, and us, that there is a price to follow Jesus; to believe in him; to call him Lord and Savior.

 

^23-25 Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it… Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?    MSG

 

I used to have a neighbor that had season football tickets for the Buckeyes. Every Sunday morning, following a game, he would be in his driveway talking on the phone, dissecting every play and referee call.

 

As mentioned in the first paragraph, if you’re a good Buckeye fan, people can tell. They can tell by the clothes you wear; by what you talk about; by how you spend your time and money; by what you do for entertainment. People can tell.

 

During this Lenten season, as we draw closer to the celebration of Easter, how do you answer the question of who Jesus is? Are you just a fan or a devoted follower? People can tell.

 

 

 

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Boy You’ve Got Big Hands

(5^th in a series on Lent)

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%204%3A14-5%3A10&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Kissing babies and shaking hands goes with political campaigning. In 1991, when Greg

Lashutka was running for mayor of Columbus, I happened to be in the same church hallway as he was. Besides being a public figure, he is a big man, having played tight end for Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes.

 

When he walked towards me to shake my hand, I was so nervous that all I could think to say was, “Boy you’ve got big hands”. He thought it was funny and laughed. I was embarrassed. Sometimes, people who seem larger than life can seem unapproachable, even when shaking hands.

 

Apparently, angels seem unapproachable. In fact, almost every time a person in the Bible interacts with an angel, the first words out of the angel’s mouth is, “Fear not”.

 

On the other hand, Jesus was very approachable. People from all walks of life felt comfortable with him. From the worst sinner to the most righteous; from the rich to the poor; for social and religious outcasts; for brash and arrogant fishermen; for tax collectors without integrity or compassion - all of them approached Jesus without fear.

That’s why God sent a man, not an angel.

 

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.          Hebrews 4 NIV

 

You could just as well say to Jesus, “Boy you’ve got big hands”, and it would be true. Jesus has big welcoming hands to hold us in our time of need; to embrace us when we have fallen; to lift us up when we struggle; to encourage and affirm us; to show us the way, the truth and the life. Thank Jesus for his big hands.

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/