15 March, 2010
Mick
Christianity
Bible, Christianity, Homeless, Jesus, Luke, Pharisee, Religion
Jesus is often looked at as a softy; someone who was easy-going and loved people. Looking at Luke 11:37-54, however, you’ll see a character of Jesus that was often overlooked in Sunday school class.
To set up what’s going on, Jesus is teaching to a giant crowd. Amongst the crowd was a Pharisee who invited him over for dinner. Sounds like a good gesture on the outside. The text does not go into the details as to why the Pharisee made the invitation. Maybe he was hoping to get to know Jesus, or maybe he wanted to challenge him like so many other religious leaders did. Either way, Jesus went to the dude’s house.
Now you have to remember that Jesus was probably not the cleanest person. He was always walking from town to town, he didn’t have soap, he didn’t have hand sanitizer, he probably was sweaty from the sun and being with so many people. Keep that in mind when you read that he didn’t wash before eating. I laughed out loud when I read this. I could almost hear the conversation:
Pharisee: You can clean up right over there.
Jesus: That’s okay, I’m good.
Pharisee: You sure? We’re getting ready to eat.
Jesus: Nah. I’m clean enough.
He goes further by insulting the people he was eating with. Can you believe that? If you asked me to come over for dinner and while I was eating I start telling you what’s wrong with your life. That’s what is going on here. What a bold move! Then Jesus gets up after getting some food and goes back to teaching.
I love this passage.
12 March, 2010
Mick
Book Review
Book Review, Holiness, Identity Crisis, Mark Sayers, narcissism, Spiritual Growth, Uber, Vertical Self
Mark Sayers, founder of uber, takes a look at the identity crisis found in Western society with his new book The Vertical Self. The challenge that Sayers lays out is that in a narcissistic society, no one will really know what their true identity is until they encounter their identity with God (i.e. the vertical self).
Who is Mark Sayers? Good question. Before reading this book I had no idea, but the idea intrigued me enough to give The Vertical Self a read. And since Leonard Sweet took time write the forward and put his name on the book, I figured it would be worth my time; and I was correct.
We live in a world where people are trying to figure out their identity. What’s awesome and dangerous all the same is that we have a freedom to be whoever we want. In fact, you can practically change who are over night and fit right in with a new crowd of people. You may think there is nothing wrong with that, but is there any fulfillment?
People are trying to be cool, but instead we need to be holy. We are God’s work of art, created in His image. Think of it this way, after reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, if we are not doing what we are created to do, then we are not properly functioning as a body. We are created uniquely be an all-powerful Creator who loves us. Embrace that. See yourself as God sees you.
Links to Check Out:
Visit Mark Sayers’ blog: Click Here
Buy the Book on Amazon: Click Here
12 March, 2010
Mick
Christianity
Christianity, Jesus, Passion, Personal Devotions, prayer, Religion
What was Jesus most passionate about? It wasn’t training his disciples. It wasn’t even about saving people. It was about his relationship with the Father. Numerous times the Gospels talk about how Jesus withdrew from the crowd to be with the Father (see Luke 5:15-16). Jesus made it a point to spend personal time with God. How often do you take time from your busy schedule to spend with your heavenly Father? Once this becomes a habit, you’ll be amazed at how much value you find in such simple act.
5 March, 2010
Mick
Christianity
Blind, Christianity, Humiliation, Jesus, John 9, Pharisee, Religion
What are you willing to be humiliated for? What is something that you believe in or love so much that you don’t care what people think? Most people would say their family, but what about your faith?
John 9 tells of Jesus healing a blind man. This wasn’t just any blind man, but one who had been blind his entire life. When Jesus enters the scene he spits on some dirt, rubs the mud on the dudes eyes, and then they guy can see. ”Sweet deal!” some might say, but hold on. The Pharisees weren’t so excited about what just happened.
They brought the blind/seeing man in for questioning about all that had happened. His parents were even called in to see if the guy was really blind in the first place. In the end, the Pharisees end up kicking him out of the synagogue for sticking to the truth (although they didn’t see it that way).
This may not seem like such a big deal. If someone were to get kicked out of a church today, they would either just stop going all together or find another place to go. Life would go on fairly normal. In this culture, however, the synagogue was the center of life. The rest of their society hinged on their faith. He would have been ridiculed by his peers because of his new found faith in Jesus.
Does this sound familiar?
When you are asked about your faith, do you risk humiliation? If it came down to it would you be willing to risk some of your current friendships in order to be faithful to Jesus? I know it’s not always easy, but you’ll be better off because of it.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
