Shame

Revelation: 20:11-15

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2020%3A11-15&version=NIV;NLT

  



Think of the most shameful thing you have ever done. Now imagine that you are in a courtroom filled with your family, friends from church and neighbors. Across from you is the District Attorney who is ready to explain to everyone why you deserve the maximum sentence.

 

Before the sentencing, the judge reads the charges against you for everyone to hear; your shameful act that cannot be reversed. He asks if you have anything to say for yourself.  Through tears of shame and regret, you make your remorseful plea. The DA sneers and responds with a venomous, angry attack, casting doubt on your integrity and your value as a person.

 

The judge pronounces your sentence and then you, along with all the other convicted reprobates, proceed out the door of the courtroom in a chain gang, each shackled to one another. Your head hangs low. You’re unable to look at anyone in the courtroom. You know that you deserve this punishment.

 

¹¹ And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. ¹² I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.  NLT

 

In the New Living Translation, the title of this passage is “The Final Judgement”. If you or I are judged solely on our actions as described here, our fate is sealed. The “great white throne” would not be an image of hope, but of shame, judgement and condemnation.

 

Thankfully, Paul tells us in Romans, that is not the case; that we have hope through Jesus Christ.

 

²⁴ O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord… [NKJV] ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus... [NIV]

 

Jesus suffered the shameful death on the cross of a common criminal so that we wouldn’t have to; so that we wouldn’t be required to face a courtroom of shame and judgement. Thanks be to God.

 

 

Marching Orders

1 Peter 4:7-11

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%204%3A7-11&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Back in the day, about 1971, I lived in a house of Christian guys across from the campus of Michigan State University. There were five of us, and each person had their own unique individuality.

 

One of my roommates was kind of an anti-establishment type guy; a bit of a rebel. He had long hair and a bushy beard, but beyond that, he seemed to think of himself as a philosophical and theological thinker.  Someone who thought outside of the box; who marched to the beat of his own drum.

 

He also had a heart for the down and out. As a result, there were a few times when he brought a stranger back to our house to eat a meal, and even to stay overnight. Most of these people were not from the mainstream - if you get my drift.

 

But for him, this was how he reached out to others and shared the Good News of Christ with them. He stretched the faith of all of us in the house, and set an example for us to follow. Maybe not by doing exactly what he did, but to follow the principle of what he did. It’s the same principle that Peter wrote about.

 

⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. ¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. NLT

 

In reality, my roommate wasn’t marching to the beat of his own drum. He was marching to the beat of his Lord and Savior. That’s the same beat that you and I as followers of Christ need to follow. And when we do, then we will be in line with these words of Peter.

 

… ^11bDo it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.            NLT

 

Do you hear the beat of the drum? Of His drum? Then I guess that means you have your marching orders.

 

 

 

 

God’s Grace Changes Lives

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Thessalonians%202%3A13-17&version=NIV;GNT

 

Jesus told a great story about the unforgiving servant. In it, a servant who owed his master 10,000 talents (over $12 billion in today’s money) begged for grace and mercy. The king forgave the whole debt.

 

The same servant then turned around and demanded that a fellow servant pay back what he was owed – almost $12,000 in today’s money. Instead of showing his fellow servant mercy and grace, he had him thrown in prison.

 

The Thessalonian church was being severely persecuted, so they were dealing with serious struggles. Paul encouraged the Thessalonian believers to first stand firm in the face of their circumstances. Then he reminded them to show God’s grace to others in word and deed.

 

¹⁵ So then, our friends, stand firm and hold on to those truths which we taught you, both in our preaching and in our letter. ¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, ¹⁷ encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.             GNT

 

These words apply to us just the same as they did to the Thessalonian believers. Standing firm in the midst of struggles, temptations, and sinful desires is no less difficult today that it was then.

 

Showing God’s grace in our daily life is also hard. Just try to show God’s grace to the guy who cuts you off in traffic; to the neighbor who yells at you because of your dog; to your spouse or children who don’t meet your expectations; to a co-worker who is annoying. But God’s grace changes lives.

 

John Newton was a slave trader who lived most of his early life at sea. Newton had a reputation for profanity, coarseness, and debauchery. During a fierce storm he had a conversion experience that changed his life. He became a minister and years later wrote the song “Amazing Grace”. He was also very influential in the abolition movement in England.

 

Which character do you identify with in Jesus’ story of the unforgiving servant? Do you find yourself more often judging others like the servant, or showing grace like the master? We are called to become more like the master.

 

God’s grace changes lives. Has it changed yours?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Picture

Ephesians 3

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+3&version=NIV;ESV

 

You may be familiar with the “parable of the talents” in Matthew 25. A land owner gives one of his servants five talents; to another 2; and to another 1 talent. Each servant was a steward over the talent(s) they were given.



However, you may not be as familiar with the concept of being a steward of God’s grace. Paul was. He wrote about it in Ephesians 3.

² …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³ how the mystery was made known to me… ⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ESV

 

Paul is taking a Big Picture look at his life and his ministry. He didn’t focus on his past, feeling guilty about how he aggressively persecuted the church to the extreme of imprisonment and even death. And he didn’t focus on his current circumstances while writing this letter in prison potentially feeling powerless or sorry for himself.

 

Instead, Paul focused on the calling he had from God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul was a steward of all that God had given him which included his calling.

 

In the same way, God has given each of us, you and I, a calling on our life. It is up to us

to look at the Big Picture, not the past or the present, and to be good stewards of His Grace.

 

In looking at the Big Picture of your life, ask yourself, what are the “talents” that God has given you to be a steward over? How can you use those “talents” to spread the Gospel of Christ? To build the Kingdom of God? What desires has He given you to touch the lives of others?

 

Paul concludes his look at the Big Picture in Ephesians with a powerful prayer for the Gentile believers. His prayer is just as powerful for you and me today.

 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power,

together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and  deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.   NIV

 

 

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How Do You Respond: Grace or Judgement?

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%201%3A4-9&version=NIV;ESV

 

How do you respond when… someone cuts you off in traffic and then puts on their breaks? When you feel like someone has slighted you? When your boss makes a derogatory remark about you? When your spouse doesn’t meet your expectations? Do you respond with grace… or with judgement?

 

During the first century, the Jews were steeped in the law. Grace was a foreign concept to them. As a result, Jesus had numerous confrontations with the religious leaders; Paul was beaten and persecuted multiple times; and the early church struggled with the issue of requiring circumcision.

 

There is something deep within the human heart that doesn’t want to forgive; doesn’t want to show grace; but instead wants to judge and condemn.

 

It’s somewhat surprising that Paul writes in his letter to the believers at Corinth that he gives thanks for the grace shown to them; because they show so little grace to others. The Corinthian church struggled with divisions, immorality, discrimination against the poor and many other serious issues.

 

There’s a need for introspection. The Corinthian church needed it, and we need it.

 

How did you answer the questions in the first paragraph? If you are honest, you could probably add some of your own more pointedly personal questions. But, no matter how deeply imbedded our struggles, God’s grace and His faithfulness will win the day.

 

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge… ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.      ESV

 

So the choice is yours. How will you respond to God’s grace and faithfulness? Will you

show grace, or will you show judgement to others? God gave His grace to us so that we might share it, not keep it for ourselves.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

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The Grass is Always Greener

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

 

 

You know the saying, “The grass is greener on the other side”. It’s human nature to always want what we don’t have. It’s also human nature to complain about what we do have. It’s easy to complain about your boss, your spouse, the weather, the traffic; take your pick. Yes indeed, we find something to complain about every day!

 

When I first started working for my employer, he hired me to do marketing. It was fun, challenging and rewarding. But about the second year the personnel needs changed, so he moved me out of a private office to the main entry office. Overnight, I became the receptionist, the operator, the mail boy and the filing clerk; all jobs that I felt were beneath me; beneath my experience and my age.

 

Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth about keeping their attitude in check about marriage, religious traditions, work, social and economic standing.

 

²² If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you

free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. ²³ You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears.            TLB    

 

“You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him.”  It took quite a while for God to straighten my attitude about being “demoted”. I suppose I could have looked for another job, but then I wouldn’t have learned a valuable lesson.

 

Above all else, no matter what your circumstance, you are a child of God. For Paul it didn’t matter whether a person was married or single; circumcised or gentile; slave or free – they were a child of God, “bought and paid for by Christ”.

 

The same message is true for you today. God has called you to serve Him in one capacity or another; through your marriage, your job, your church, your community. Find your calling and serve him with all your heart, mind and soul.

 

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.            NIV

 

 

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The Twitter of Life

Revelation 20:11-15

  

Our culture is changing in quantum leaps! Wasn’t it just yesterday that every kindergarten student read “Dick and Jane”? While last year my granddaughter, in her kindergarten class, used Chromebooks – whatever that is.

 

¹² I saw the dead, great and small, standing before God; and The Books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in The Books, each according to the deeds he had done. ¹³ The oceans surrendered the bodies buried in them; and the earth and the underworld gave up the dead in them. Each was judged according to his deeds.                  TLB

 

Is it possible that the Living Bible, or some other hip modern day translation, might

eventually refer to the “Book of Life” as the “Twitter of Life” or “Facebook of Life” or some other social media?

 

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious with this suggestion, just think about it? What is it that people post on social media other than what they’ve been doing? But do they tell everything that is happening; their every action, every thought, every desire, every emotion? No. Because if they did they wouldn’t have any friends left!

 

On the other hand, the Book of Life will. In social media we tell what we want people to know about us. The Book of Life will tell, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story”. Or David may have said it better with this abbreviated quote.

 

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me… You know

when I sit or stand; my every thought; where I am; what I am going to say before I even say it.                                           Psalm 139:1-4 TLB

 

The Twitter of Life may sound catchy, but final judgement is definitely not. It is a reality that all of us face, and it is only by God’s grace that we are free from “the lake of fire”

as our destiny. Instead, our destiny lies in a “new heaven and a new earth” living in the eternal presence of our loving Holy Father.

 

 

 

 

When I Grow Up I Want To Be

Mark 14:27-42

  

In 2006 Monster.com ran a commercial called, “When I grow up”. It featured a series of children who gave antithetical answers to the same question. See if you can relate to some of their answers.

 

“When I grow up I want to: file all day; climb my way up to middle management; be replaced on a whim; be underappreciated; be forced into early retirement”.

 

I don’t imagine that the disciples dreamed of denying Jesus during his most trying time; or to fall asleep when he needed them most; or that Peter hoped one day to deny Jesus not once, but three times just before he was crucified.

 

Before all of this happened, Jesus quoted a verse from Zechariah which was a prophecy

of how the disciples, his closest friends and followers, were going to respond to the series of events that would occur over the following 24 hours.

 

^“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.”    Zechariah 13:7 NIV

 

Zechariah was a prophet during the time when the Israelites were rebuilding the Temple. The verse Jesus quoted was followed by these verses.

 

^“Two-thirds of all the nation of Israel will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in the land.  I will bring the third that remain through the fire and make

them pure, as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call upon my name and I will hear them; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9 TLB

 

Isn’t this what happened to the disciples. Jesus used these difficult circumstances to refine them; to make them as pure as silver or gold. And doesn’t he do the same thing in our lives? Doesn’t he use those painful experiences, hurtful relationships or catastrophic losses to mold and shape us into the man or woman that He created us to be?

 

The children in the commercial had only unfulfilled dreams. They didn’t represent faith in the Living God who had a plan for their life. The commercial was selling Monster.com as a means for being a dream maker-come-true; but we know better.

 

 

There’s only One capable of this, and that is The Shepherd who is always with us.

 

 

Now Hear This!

Isaiah 46:3-13

  

According to Wikipedia, the phrase "Now hear this" is used in the United States Navy to instruct personnel to give their “full attention to an order or command that is about to follow”. When Navy personnel hear this phrase, they are to immediately stop what they are doing, listen closely and follow the instructions without question.

 

In today’s passage, Isaiah wrote his own version of “Now hear this”. Actually, it was God’s version.

 

³ “Listen to me, all Israel who are left; I have created you and cared for you since

you were born. ⁴ I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior.       

 

⁸ “Don’t forget this, O guilty ones. ⁹ And don’t forget the many times I clearly told you what was going to happen in the future. For I am God—I only—and there is no other like me ¹⁰ who can tell you what is going to happen.

 

¹² Listen to me, you stubborn, evil men! ¹³ For I am offering you my deliverance; not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save you, and I will restore Jerusalem and Israel, who is my glory.”    TLB

 

 

God spoke these words through Isaiah to the people of Israel in a specific historical context. He was speaking to the remnant of Israel that had been taken as captives into a totally different culture including pagan idols and gods.

 

Now God was about to bring the remnant back to the Promised Land and He was reminding them of who He was, and who they were. But you get the definite feeling that the people of Israel have a history of being hard headed, stiff necked and stubborn.

 

Does that sound familiar? It does to me. How many times has God had to tell me something before I got it?

 

Now hear this Joe!

 

I have created you and cared for you since you were born. ⁴ I will be your God

through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age… For I am God—I only—and there is no other like me… ¹³ For I am offering you my deliverance; not in the distant future, but right now!

 

Look at your own life. God is sovereign. He is always at work in your life. There is no other like Him. There are many pretenders, but none can match Him. He is always with you, ready to deliver you; to bring victory to you.

 

Now hear this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End

Matthew 27:45-61

 

Linda Ellis wrote a poem called, The Dash. The main point of this poem is that it is the “dash” of our lives that is most important. Let me explain. My tombstone will someday read as follows:

Joseph B Williams: 1950 – 20_ _

 

 

What will the dash represent for me? Whose lives will I have impacted? What difference will I have made in this world once I have left it?

 

What happens during the dash is important for all of us, but for Jesus the end is what made the difference. The passage today tells us about the end and why it had to happen.

 

^46 “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

 

Imagine Abraham taking his son Isaac to be sacrificed. “But where is the sheep father? God will provide my son. And then raising the knife to sacrifice his one and only son, God suddenly provided the sacrificial lamb.”

 

What was the depth of Jesus’ pain and agony as he cried out?

 

His Abba Father who had always been there for him; had sent angels in the wilderness to minister to him; had been there in the early morning to commune with him; had sent the Holy Spirit down in the form of a dove to empower him; had declared for all to hear, “this is my son whom I love, with him I am well pleased”.

 

This same Abba Father had now turned his back on Jesus; had deserted him in his hour of greatest need. Or in the visual of Abraham and Isaac - had driven the knife into his heart. Oh what dreadful pain for both of them.

 

But it had to been done. Someone had to bear the judgement. The perfect sacrificial lamb, had to take the sins of the world; your sins and my sins. The Scapegoat had to go into the wilderness alone to die taking with him the sins of Israel. The living Passover lamb made it possible for all to go to the Promised Land.

 

Jesus’ dash didn’t matter anymore. Only the end.

 

 

(If you would like to read Linda Ellis’ poem The Dash, click on the link below.)

 

http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-.html