Who Has your Back?

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 2:1-27 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

 

In October 2020, my wife had a stroke! 

Following my 911 call, the ambulance arrived very quickly. It was all very surreal and very scary. At one point, there must have been six or seven EMT’s in our home, putting her on a gurney and loading her into the squad to be transported to the hospital. The EMT’s had her back.

 

We all face times in our life when we need help. There was a faction in the first century church known as Gnosticism. It was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. 

 

Gnostics believed that the human spirit was good and that the body was evil. They also believed that salvation came through a special knowledge, not through faith in Christ. And, that Jesus came not in human form, but in spirit.

 

This heresy was causing problems for the believers. Some had left the church. Some were living in a licentious lifestyle. Many were going down a path that would eventually lead to darkness and spiritual death. John wrote about the ramifications of their misdirected beliefs.

 

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.             NIV

^15-16 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.       MSG

²² So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son.    MSG

 

The good news is that those believers who remained faithful, were not alone. God had their back.

 

¹ My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.                       NLT

 

The Greek word for “advocate” is parakletos. This word became a title for the Holy Spirit, whose role included/includes “encouraging, strengthening and supporting God’s people”.

 

²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.                       NLT

 

This is a promise made to you by the Living God, the creator of the universe. As a believer in Christ, you have an advocate, and that advocate is the Holy Spirit. You have received him, and he lives within you to guide you into truth, to encourage and strengthen you. And, like the EMT’s who came to our home, he has your back.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

It’s Unbelievable!

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 1:1-2:2 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman. He had a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

For the past six months, my daughter’s been planning a trip to Disney World for her family, as well as Grandpa and Nonna. But she didn’t tell her kids until about a week before when she surprised them with a scavenger hunt. At the end of the hunt, there was a gift bag for each child. They were going to Disney World!

 

Watching them open their bags and their reaction of pure excitement, was amazing! Each one responded in their own unique way, but the oldest couldn’t believe it. She kept repeating over and over in disbelief, “We’re not going to Disney World”.

 

There’s something else that’s unbelievable. That God sent his only son into our world, not just the world, but our world. John wrote about this in his letter.

 

^1-2 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.       MSG

 

Isn’t that amazing! “The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us”. It’s unbelievable! And even more unbelievable than that is why he did it.

 

^3-4 We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.     MSG

 

To know personally the Father and his Son is… well, it’s unbelievable. But, like the Disney reveal when my grandkids got so excited, the best part is yet to come.

 

⁵ This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.                     NLT

 

Darkness can’t exist if there’s light. If you’ve ever toured Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, there’s a point where the guide turns off all the lights. You can’t see your hand right in front of your face. Then the guide lights a small match. All of a sudden… the darkness is gone.

In a world that has so much darkness in it, we can live in the light of Jesus Christ. This is only possible because he not only forgives us, but also purifies us from all our wrongdoing.

  

² When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.          MSG

 

It is unbelievable!

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Home

A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 15:11-32 

[During the first century, it was common for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]

  

Leaving home is a big deal.

 

It was very painful for my wife and I when we took our daughter, who is our only child, to college her freshman year. My wife cried all the way home. Or was that me? Either way, it was a difficult time.

 

The thing is that’s what we’re supposed to do as parents. To prepare our kids to become independent… to leave home… even though it hurts.

 

One of Jesus’ best-known parables is about a young man who left home, not to go to school or get a job, but to do whatever he wanted. The parable of the Prodigal Son is about a father and his two sons. The younger son decided that he’d had enough, so he asked for his portion of the inheritance.

 

Once on his own, he quickly spent it on wild living. When he was penniless, a famine hit
and it became so bad that he took a job feeding pigs. For a Jew, this would have been the ultimate demeaning job because pigs were considered ceremonially unclean.

 

When the son finally hit bottom, he realized that his father’s servants had more food than he did. That food, shelter and clothes were all readily available for him at home. That life at home didn’t look so bad now.

 

In some ways, this story is a metaphor. Home is where the Father is… our Heavenly Father. But, like the younger son, there are times when we want more. We want to live by our own rules. So, we leave home.

 

It might be for a split second; or a minute; or a year; or a lifetime. But soon we find out that all of the anticipated benefits of leaving home are a lie. And the home that we were created for, that provides unconditional love, is with our Heavenly Father.

 

The Good News is that he’ll take us back… every time. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done. Like the Father in the parable, he’ll rejoice upon our return.

 

“Turning to his servants, the father said, ‘Quick, bring me the best robe, my very own robe, and I will place it on his shoulders. Bring the ring, the seal of sonship, and I will put it on his finger. And bring out the best shoes you can find for my son."       TPT

 

Then your Heavenly Father will turn to you and say, “Welcome home”.

 

***

¹⁵ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

                                                                                                Matthew 11 NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

“I Beg, I Get”

A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 11:1-13 

[During the first century, it was common for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]

  

My daughter is an only child, so naturally we spoiled her. Apparently, she recognized it early-on because on one occasion we overheard her bragging about it to a childhood friend. I believe her exact words were, “I beg, I get”.

 

As she got older, she matured and became more sophisticated. In her teens, she actually wrote a proposal listing all the benefits of buying contact lenses for her. And then she pitched it to me. Not surprisingly, her career is in marketing.

 

Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray – a rote prayer like the ones you learn as a child. So, he gave them the words of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. By doing this, he gave them the technical ability to pray, but because he wanted to teach them more than just words, he also told them a parable.

 

It was about a man whose friend was on a journey, and unexpectedly stopped late at night for a visit. Hospitality was very important in that culture, so it would have been unthinkable to not feed his guest. However, he had no food.

 

Therefore, at midnight, he knocked on the door of a friend to ask for bread. As you might guess the friend was asleep and wasn’t happy to be rudely awakened. He wouldn’t even come to the door. Then Jesus said this to his disciples.

 

⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.   NLT

 

Jesus was telling his disciples, and telling us, to do whatever it takes. Don’t give up. Keep praying.

 

It’s easy to not pray; to find a reason to avoid knocking on the door of your friend at midnight. Our human nature doesn’t like to admit that we need help. The thought is, “I can do this by myself, thank you very much. I don’t need anybody’s help”.

 

“Shameless persistence” – not to do it on our own, but to ask for God’s help… our heavenly Father… Abba. And if we do, there’s a promise.

 

⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.            NLT

 

Ask, seek, knock… “I beg, I get”. Pretty good insight from a child.

 

***

¹⁵ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

                                                                                                Matthew 11 NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

The Hitch Hiker

A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 10:25-37 

[During the first century, it was common for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]

  

My worst hitch hiking experience came at the end of spring break in 1970. Because of a personal crisis at the time, I decided to delay my return to school at Michigan Tech. As a result, I didn’t have a ride back which is significant because it was a 450-mile trip. And, for some unknown reason, I decided to hitch hike!

 

If you’re at all familiar with northern Michigan and the upper peninsula of Michigan, you understand that it is a vast region of either heavily wooded forests or open wilderness with very little traffic. Thankfully, a trucker picked me up and gave me some cardboard to make a sign with “MTU” on it.

 

But, when he dropped me off in the middle of nowhere in the upper peninsula with a foot and a half of snow still on the ground, my prospects were bad. Did I mention that the UP was not heavily traveled? And I was still 250 miles from Tech.

 

Jesus told a parable about a Jewish traveler. He was walking by himself on a stretch of road that was surrounded by harsh hills and rugged wilderness. It was dangerous not only because of the terrain, but also because robbers often attacked people along the trail. That’s exactly what happened to him.

 

The traveler was beaten, stripped and left for dead. Two people walked past him without helping - a priest and a Levite. Finally, a Samaritan came along, took compassion on the traveler and stopped to help him. What’s so remarkable about this is that Jews and Samaritans had hated each other for centuries.

 

The setting of this parable was when an expert of the law had asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” When Jesus had finished telling the parable, he asked the expert which of the three had been a neighbor to the beaten man. The expert couldn’t even bring himself to say it was the Samaritan.

 

³⁷ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”         NLT

 

On the surface, it appears that Jesus’ parable didn’t answer the original question about inheriting eternal life. But it does. In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable to explain who would enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’       NLT

 

Who is your neighbor? Is it a hitch hiker on a lonely highway? Or is it someone who is hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison? Do you show them mercy… or walk by on the other side of the road?

 

***

¹⁵ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

                                                                                                Matthew 11 NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams