How to Grow a Church (Acts 2)

Acts 2 is one of my favorite New Testament passages. I love Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. I think it is foundational to New Testament theology. And I love the story of the church at the end of Acts 2. I guess as a pastor I am particularly interested by the fact that 3,000 people were saved in one day. I would probably be thrilled by 3,000 in a lifetime. They had 3,000 in a day! And it didn't stop there. Daily, people were being added to their number.

How is it that the church was able to grow? I think the answer is found in verse 42. There were four things that allowed the church to grow:

1. They were committed to the Word of God (the apostles' teaching)
2. They were committed to serving and loving one another (fellowship)
3. They were committed to worship (breaking of the bread, ie communion)
4. They were committed to prayer.

And in all these things who were they really committed to? They were committed to Jesus. There is no real secret to church growth. A church has the opportunity to grow as its people are committed to Jesus.

Matthias Madness (Acts 1)

As a pastor, I have found two points of Biblical interpretation that people will get quite worked up over. Now, there is nothing wrong with getting worked up over Biblical interpretation. If you are defending the divinity of Christ, or the reality of hell, or the penal substitutionary view of the atonement, go for it. But these two points of interpretation that I have seen people get so exercised over seem to have little true import. Point one: who is the Melchizedek in Genesis? Is it a real flesh and blood person or an appearance of the pre-Incarnate Christ. Give the wrong answer to that one and you will be branded a heretic. Point two: were the disciples right in appointing Matthias the twelfth apostle in Acts 1?

I am long familiar with the Melchizedek question. I grew up hearing all the arguments for that one. I am less familiar with the Matthias issue. Though, in the last 5 years, I have heard the question discussed so much that it makes up for the 35 years I didn't know it was an issue. Apparently, there are lot of people out there who think that the apostles made a big boo-boo in appointing Matthias. As I understand it, there are several reasons why those who take this stance feel the apostles were wrong:

1. 1:4 seems to suggest that Jesus wanted the Apostles to sit around and do nothing until they received the Holy Spirit.

2. The future appointment of Paul as an apostle seems to suggest that the church nominated the wrong guy. Paul was supposed to be 12 not Matthias.

3. Matthias might as well rhyme with anonymous. We hear nothing of Matthias after Acts 1. If Matthias was a good choice, why does he disappear?

There may be more reasons than that. I am not sure. I don't really understand the whole argument. I think that the choice of Matthias was a good one for the following reasons:

1. There is nothing in the text that suggests that this was a bad choice. I mean if it was a bad choice, why does Luke even mention it? He could have skipped the whole incident and nothing would have been lost.

2. The Apostles quote Scripture to defend their actions (1:20). I think that Luke (inspired by the Holy Spirit) is showing this is a Biblical thing to do.

3. The argument that Matthias is not mentioned again in Acts is irrelevant. Many of the disciples are not really mentioned by name in Acts. Was Jesus wrong in choosing them?

4. (The real clincher). God chose Matthias not the Apostles. The Apostles only made their selection after much prayer. And, they decided by casting lots. Proverbs 16:33 says: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." I think the text tells us that it was ultimately God who chose Matthias.

To me, the last part of Acts 1 is meant to emphasize the historic reality of the Gospel story. The Apostles were not making up tales. They selected a witness who could tell all that Jesus did. This wasn't a bad choice. It was a good one. The Apostles wanted to remind us that the story of Jesus is true and factual. It is too important to have the truth and details lost.

The Best for Last (John 21)

One of my favorite verses in John has always been the last one. John 21:25 says: "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." Books were not small in John's day. They couldn't fit on a CD or be stored on the Internet. But still, books weren't the largest thing around either. A world full of books would contain a lot of books. At the end of John's Gospel, John reminds us that we can always learn more about Jesus. There is more to learn about Jesus' work in history, and there is more to learn about Jesus' work in present. May I never think that I have arrived in my knowledge of Jesus.

Some Random Thoughts (John 17)

In John 17, we have what is truly the Lord's prayer. John 17 represents the longest of Jesus' prayers that we have on record. There are some special things to note here:

1. Eternal life does not begin in heaven. It begins now. Jesus says in verse 3: "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Eternal life is not just about a quantity of life. It is about a quality of life. And while the fullest quality of our life with Jesus is not known until heaven, we do begin to experience that quality now in knowing Jesus and the Father. The Gospel is not just for the future. It is for the present. And those with faith in Jesus have begun to taste heaven through their knowledge of Jesus.

2. It is amazing to think that Jesus prayed for each and every one of us. In verses 20-21, Jesus says: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Jesus prays for those who would believe in the future. And what does He pray for us? He prays that we would be one in the family of God. He also prays that we would live in the Father and Himself. In other words, Jesus asks that we would rely on the Father and Son's power. As we are united and empowered by the Spirit, we give witness to the world that Jesus is from heaven and that His words are true. May today's Church live up to this prayer.

The Spirit Advantage (John 16)

In John 16, Jesus tells His disciples that it is to their advantage that he go away. I'm sure at the time they had a hard time believing that. The years they had spent with Jesus undoubtedly had been the best years of their lives. Yes, they had left home and family. Yes, there had been tension with the religious leaders. But they had seen miracles every day. They had heard Jesus' wonderful teaching. More than that, they had performed miracles and gotten to teach themselves. How could Jesus going away be an advantage?

That is the question that Jesus answers here in John 16. To paraphrase, Jesus says that the advantage of His leaving is that the Holy Spirit (the Comforter) is coming. Believe it or not, we live in a more advantaged age than the disciples. That is hard for us to believe. We think that if Jesus were with us like He was with the disciples we would have a much easier time with our faith and Christian living. But that is not necessarily the case. Jesus says we have several advantages over the disciples in having the Holy Spirit:

1. The Holy Spirit gives power to our message. He convicts people of the truth of the Gospel message
2. The Spirit guides us into truth. He is an inner revelation to our minds and hearts of all that God has to teach us. The disciples had Jesus as an external teacher. We have an internal revelation from God that unfolds the Scriptures to us.
3. The Spirit is omnipresent. Jesus, being fully God and man, was limited by His human body to being in any one location at a time. The Spirit knows no such boundaries so He is able to be with every believer.

The blessings of the Spirit are far more than those outlined in John 16. We should rejoice that we live in a time where we can say that "the Comforter has come."

An Easter Meditation (John 14)

I didn't really come to John 14 expecting to write an Easter meditation. But, that is where verse 19 led me. Jesus says there: "Because I live, you will also live." When we first hear those words (especially out of their context), we assume that Jesus is talking about eternal life. Because Jesus has eternal life, we will have eternal life too. But a closer examination of John 14 tells us that Jesus is speaking about something more. In John 14, Jesus is speaking about our indwelling by the Holy Spirit. He says that we will do great things and have direct access to God because the Spirit is in us. Thus, the life of which Jesus speaks in verse 19 is not the life to come. It is the life that we are living now as the Spirit dwells within us. Jesus tells us that one of the great benefits of His being alive is that we have a full and complete life in the here and now. How thankful we can be that Jesus rose from the dead so that we can have the life that is really worth living!

Glory in the Lowest (John 11)

My first thought was that my comment on John 11 would most likely involve John 11:35 ("Jesus wept). After all, that is every kid's favorite Bible verse- the shortest verse of the Bible. That was the verse you always hoped they would have you memorize in Sunday School. But somehow they never did. Sunday School required a lot more work than that.

The verse "Jesus wept" teaches us a great deal about Jesus' humanity and His empathy with our struggles and sorrows. But as I came to John 11 I was once again struck by John's use of the word "glory." As in John 9, glory is a persistent theme in this chapter. Over and over again, Jesus says that He will be glorified in the death of Lazarus. Glory is a theme of John's Gospel. The word makes an immediate appearance in chapter 1. In 1:14, John writes: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

When I read that verse in John 1, I pictured a heavenly glory. I pictured bright light and trumpets blaring. I pictured radiance and beauty and hope. But as one reads through John, one sees that the glory of God shows up in unexpected places. It is not seen in palaces or temples. It is seen in blindness and death. It is seen in brokenness and pain. The glory of God is not made manifest in our strength. It is revealed in our weakness. The glory of God is not seen in cathedrals. It is seen in hovels. It is not seen in sublime works of art. It is seen in the refuse pile. Weakness and pain are things that we run from, yet it is often there that the glory of God is revealed.

As a pastor, I have seen my share of lilies. Every Easter I take a Claritin in anticipation of the lilies that will be present in church. A church is a glorious frame for a lily. Yet, the most beautiful lily I ever saw was not in a church. The most beautiful lily I ever saw was in Ireland. This lily was in a cemetery, growing right out of a tombstone. A tombstone seems a strange soil and odd backdrop for a lily. Yet, against that backdrop, the lily could be seen in all its glory. In a place of death, the lily was at its most beautiful.

The glory of God often reveals itself in the places of weakness and death. None of us long for those places. But it comforting to know that it is in those places that the power and strength of God is revealed.

Sheep of Another Fold (John 10)

A number of years ago, the Church of Latter Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) ran an ad campaign in which they suggested that Jesus, after His death and resurrection, had undertaken a preaching tour of now extinct civilizations in North America. One source of this claim was the book of Mormon. Another source of this claim was John 10:16. That verse says: "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." According to the Mormons, Jesus is speaking of Native American civilizations. They are the sheep that are not yet of the fold.

There are many reasons why Mormon claims of a Jesus preaching mission to North America are false. The first, and most important, is the truth of Acts 1. In Acts 1, the angels who speak after Jesus' ascension into heaven say that Jesus will return to earth in the same way he left. The suggestion is that Jesus' return will be a public, visible return. If Jesus came again to North America, His visit did not fit the criteria the angel established. Someone was wrong or mistaken.

But there is another reason that we can confidently conclude that Jesus never came to North America. When we interpret John 10:13 properly, we realize that it has a much broader meaning than Mormons suggest. For some reason, a lot of Christians are fascinated by this verse. As a pastor, I have been asked again and again about who the sheep from the other fold are. One person wanted to know if Jesus might be speaking about extraterrestrials! The true answer is much more mundane than Indians and aliens. One has to remember that in the Gospels Jesus is ministering to Israel. He is speaking to a wholly Jewish audience. So, who are the sheep of the other fold? I think the clear answer is the Gentiles. Note what Jesus says will happen when He claims the sheep of the other fold. He says in verse 16 that the two flocks of sheep will be merged together. That is what happened in the early Church. Jew and Gentile were united together in Christ. Part of the purpose of Christ's work and death was to unite people from all nations of the world. Jew and Gentiles alike would be accepted into the Kingdom of God.

As a Gentile, I am thankful for Jesus' words in John 10:16. I am thankful that Jesus called a non-Kosher sheep like me to be a part of His flock.

The Man Formerly Known as Blind (John 9)

To anyone who actually reads this blog, I apologize for a 5 day break. The last few days were crazy for all sorts of reasons, but things have settled down so on to John 9.

I find John 9 to be a very encouraging passage. The story of the blind man healed by Jesus is a story that reminds us of the fundamental purpose for which we were created. It also gives us hope in our weakness and failings. In Jesus' day, handicaps were considered to be a judgment of God. Both the disciples and the Pharisees reflect that attitude in the passage. If someone were blind or lame or deaf, the assumption was that either that person or their parents had sinned. The "handicap" was the way that God settled scores.

Jesus tells a very different story. In verse 3, Jesus explains that a handicap is not judgment but an opportunity. He tells the disciples that it is in weakness that the strength and power of God is revealed. I find this personally encouraging on 2 levels. First, I find this encouraging in regard to my son. Born with cerebral palsy (albeit a minor case), my son has challenges ahead in his life. I am sure that there are times that he will stand out at different. It hurts me to think that there are times that he might be teased or looked down upon. But it gives me hope to know that his life is a unique vessel where the glory of God might be revealed. What man sees as weakness, God sees as strength.

That is encouraging not only in regard to my son. It is encouraging in regard to myself as well. I am full of weaknesses. Mine may not be as pronounced as blindness or CP, but they are there no matter how deeply hidden I may try to keep them. There are many areas where I do not excel. I tend to view these areas as a curse. But God suggests something different. He suggests that if I look to Him in faith, these areas of weakness can become the very areas where His glory shines through. Most people never get to experience the benefit of weakness because they never confess those weaknesses. They never look to God to be their strength in the "handicaps" that they have.

The story of the formerly blind man is a great reminder that God works to His greatest glory in the places where we are not strong.

Good Eats (John 4)

John 4 contains one my favorite Bible verses. I love John 4:34. There, Jesus says: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." Food is the thing that nourishes. It gives us energy and animates. Of course, it also gives us pleasure and satisfies our longings (or at least the longings of our stomachs). To Jesus, God's Work did all of these things. It nourished Him. It gave Him energy and animated Him. It gave Him joy and satisfied His longing for purpose.

I need to view the doing of God's will and work as Jesus did. As Jesus points out in verse 35, there remains much work to do. There is still a harvest of people to be had for the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately,we are often satisfied with junk food. We substitute all sorts of garbage for the food that God gives. Some of that junk food may seem to taste good. It may seem to energize us for a short time. But, in the end, there is really no long term benefit in it. In fact, there is only detriment. Let's get our food at the right place. Let's draw strength and joy and energy from carrying out God's will.

That Other Verse in John 3 (John 3)

John 3 contains the most famous verse in the Bible. Even most Americans who know next to nothing about the Bible can quote John 3:16. I remember as a teenager in the 80's that John 3:16 was an omnipresent sign at sporting events. In particular, I remember this guy who would wear a rainbow wig, like a clown would wear. He also wore a white T-shirt. And on that T-shirt was black lettering that said John 3:16. (Sometimes he would wear other messages, but John 3:16 was the most popular). That guy showed up at golf tournaments and football games. It seemed like he got on camera at every major national sporting event. Through his work, and the work of others, John 3:16 became an iconic part of American culture.

For all its fame, John 3:16 is not my favorite verse in John 3. Certainly, I appreciate John 3:16's clear message of God's love for the world. But as a Christian, I have come to appreciate John the Baptist's word in John 3:30. In John 3, the crowds that follow John are diminishing. John's disciples become concerned. They ask John why everyone is following Jesus instead of following Him. For many religious leaders today, a diminishing crowd would be viewed as a marketing problem. They would be seeking the help of a PR firm to get their followers back. But John has a clear sense of his purpose. He knows that he was to pave the way for Jesus' coming. So in John 3:30, John says: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

In some ways, I think that verse is a simple formula for the Christian life. In everything, Christ must increase while we decrease. In our desires, in our plans, in our quest for glory, we must makes ourselves nothing, while Christ becomes everything.

Yes, John 3:16 is a great verse. It deserves the publicity it has gotten. However, John 3:30 is worth remembering as well.

Water Into What? (John 2)

Growing up, the turning of water into wine was one of my favorite miracle stories in the Bible. I think I liked it so much because of the way my Sunday School teachers would stammer as they tried to explain why Jesus would make wine when we weren't supposed to drink. Some went with the old it must have been grape juice story. But that doesn't hold up when you consider the master of the feast mentions drunkenness in his words to the bridegroom. Last I checked, people didn't get lit on Welch's. True, wine in Jesus' day probably had a far lower alcohol content than wine today. And Jesus' generation probably consumed more wine because they didn't have Poland Spring and Deer Park. Potable water could be a problem. But the fact remains- it was wine.

Instead of trying to explain away the wine, we should understand what the wine symbolizes. In the ancient world, wine was a symbol of joy and gladness. The story of the water into wine tells us that Jesus takes the mundane and makes it joyful. It also tells us that Jesus cares about even our most trivial problems. If I had been in charge, I would not have nominated the turning of water into wine as Jesus' first miracle. I would have said raise the dead. Heal a leper. Do something truly significant. Yes, running out of wine at a wedding was embarrassing (especially in a culture that prized hospitality), but it was hardly earth shattering. Yet, Jesus cared. His first miracle met a simple need and provided unspeakable joy. To me, that says a lot about the type of Savior that we have come to know.

Growing the Movement (John 1)

In John 1, John tells us how it was that some of Jesus' disciples came to follow Him. It is interesting to note the dynamics that are at work. On the one hand, it appears that John the Baptist had much to do with Jesus' disciples coming. Verse 36 makes it pretty clear that at least two of Jesus' new followers had also been followers of John. But it is not just charismatic preaching that leads people to Jesus. There is also a relational dynamic at work. Andrew tells his brother Peter. Philip finds his friend Nathanael. It is not just the formal ministers who win followers. Jesus' movement build as those who are his disciples share with friends and family. It is a great reminder that many conversions don't happen in church. They happen as ordinary Christians share Jesus with those who are close to them.

But there is more we learn about following Jesus. In verse 42, Jesus renames Andrew's brother. He calls him Cephas (or Peter) instead of Simon. This renaming of Peter is a reminder that when we come to follow Christ we have a new identity. As Christians, we do not remain the same person that we were. In Christ old things have passed away. All things have become new.

The Witness of Women (Luke 24)

Is the resurrection of Jesus a historical event? Many these days, including some who call themselves Christians, suggest that it was not. These critics say that the Gospel was not intended to be a true, historic record. They suggest that the reality of Jesus' resurrection is a moot point. They also doubt that the Gospel authors were making true claims.

Yet, the very nature of how the Gospel writers tell the story suggests otherwise. There are details that writers like Luke include that don't make much sense if the story is not real. For example, Luke says that women were first to the tomb. In Israelite society, the testimony of a woman was not admissible in court. If Luke were creating a story, why would he place women at the tomb first? His society wanted the testimony of men. The only explanation for Luke's inclusion of women is that is how it actually happened.

There is another odd detail in the resurrection story as Luke tells it. Luke says that when Jesus arrived at Emmaus, He pretended as though he were traveling further. This detail might create more trouble than insight. Why would Jesus pretend to do something He didn't plan to do? What purpose does this serve in the story? It is a detail that is hard to explain. Yet, Luke includes it. Why? Because that is the way it happened.

One may doubt the accounts that the Gospel writers wrote. But one cannot doubt their attentions. Like the other Gospel writers, Luke wanted to give what he believed was a true, historical account of Jesus' resurrection.

Faith Not Works (Luke 23)

One of my favorite stories in all of the Gospels is the story of the thief on the cross. In Matthew 27 and Mark 15, we are told that both of the criminals mocked Jesus. They both taunted Him by saying if He was the Christ, He should take Himself and them off their crosses. But here, Luke adds to the story. Apparently, one of the criminals had a change of heart as he watched Jesus in the hours on the cross. As death closed in, he began to change his mind about who Jesus was. Something in him recognized Jesus as the Christ. Thus, he turns to his fellow criminal and says: "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong" (verses 40-41, ESV). Then, in a more dramatic moment, he turns to Jesus and says: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" (verse 42, ESV).

That is an incredible statement of faith. While the thief talked about Jesus' kingdom, most of the disciples hid, sure that their dreams of a kingdom were over. This thief sees more than Jesus closest followers. And His faith is rewarded. Jesus says: "Today, you will be with me in Paradise." For his faith, the criminal receives the hope of eternal life.

This incident reminds us of the grace of God. With the notable exception of Jesus, good people didn't hang on crosses. Only the worst of the worst were killed in such a cruel, torturous manner. This criminal had a checkered past to say the least. Yet, great as his sin was, faith led to those sins being forgiven in a second. As the hymn says: "grace that is greater than all our sin." What a great reminder that though we are sinners through and through, faith in Jesus leads to forgiveness by His grace.

Why Did the Disciples Close Their Eyes? (Luke 22)

As I read Luke 22, I know that the focus of the passage is on Jesus and His coming suffering on the cross. But still, as I read the passage, I found myself drawn to the weaknesses of the disciples. In particular, the disciples' inability to stay awake and pray drew my attention. There are times that I feel a lot like the disciples in those crucial moments in the Garden. It seems that I fail to pray at the times when prayer is the most necessary. This is not from a lack of piety or from a tendency for laziness. Instead, it is from the weariness of soul and body that life creates. I had never noticed before the reason for the disciples' prayerlessness- their sorrow had wearied them (verse 45). But weariness from the struggles of life is not a reason to be prayerless. Jesus makes it clear that it is a reason to pray all the more. Luke 22 reminds me that life fatigue shouldn't drive me from prayer. Life fatigue should drive me to pray all the more.

Ready or Not...Here He Comes (Luke 21)

In Luke 21, Jesus goes into a lengthy discourse about the End Times. We have seen that this discourse is paralleled in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Many study these passages trying to figure out an End Times timetable. They want to know the dates and seasons and hours when things will happen. Certainly, part of Jesus' intention is to give a very general outline of when the last things will happen. But it has to be admitted that this outline is nowhere near as precise as some commentators make it out to be. We certainly have no date setting here. And even narrowing the timetable down to a year or a decade is next to impossible.

That is why we have to take to heart the close of the chapter. At the close of the chapter, Jesus gives us a simple instruction. He says: "Watch yourselves." In essence, Jesus is telling us: "Make sure you're ready." If we are prepared for His coming, it makes no difference when Jesus comes. We don't need to know the exact dates if we have made careful preparation.

Jesus gives us a warning about 3 things that will keep us from being ready:

1. The first is dissipation. That is not a word we use every day. Dissipation refers to living for pleasure or living in extravagance. It is exactly the type of life that most in the United States are living today. Dissipation dulls our devotion to the Lord and steals our sense of urgency. We need to be preparing for heaven not indulging in the excesses of this life.

2. The second is drunkenness. The Bible does not condemn drinking as a sin. But, it most certainly does condemn drunkenness. Drunkenness robs us of our moral and rational faculties. It prepares us to make poor moral choices and decisions. Someone living to drink is not going to be preparing for Jesus' return.

3. The third is the worries of life. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:25-33. He said there: "25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (ESV translation). Jesus says that the worries of this life have the potential to distract us from the Kingdom of God.

Reading this passage, I know that I need to be careful not to let things like dissipation and the concerns of life rob my kingdom focus. In verse 36, Jesus tells us to stay awake and pray. Through prayer, we need to ask God to help us that we might stand and that we might be ready for Jesus' return.

Ten Minutes of Fame (Luke 20)

It seems that everyone is looking for their ten minutes of fame. In America, we have an absolute cult of celebrity. Many people would love their moment of media glory, where they can bask in the light of public adoration and adulation. It might seem that this desire for fame and celebrity is a new phenomena, spurred on by our relentless love of television and the Internet. But the desire for fame and public adulation is much older than modern technology. At the end of Luke 20, Jesus makes it very clear that a longing for fame was also a part of first-century life.

The scribes were in essence the lawyers of their society. They were the ones who copiously reproduced the Scriptures and knew the Word of God inside out. Their work of copying and memorization was tedious. It was not the type of job that most of us would enjoy. One would think it would take a great love of God to do the work that these men (and they were all men) were doing. But it wasn't God that the scribes loved. It was themselves. Scribes undertook the burden of their work because they wanted to be revered. They wanted the best seats at church. They wanted the fancy uniform that came with being a scribe. Scribes put up with the tedious nature of their work not for God's glory but their own.

Copying the Scriptures is no longer an act of manual labor. But we still have scribes today. There are still people who take on religious duty- even onerous religious duty- for the sake of their own glory. There are still people who make the church the arena where they can be worshipped rather than God. The example of the Scribes reminds us that we must always examine our motivations even for our most pious acts. Even when it comes to our Christian duties and service, we have to ask whose glory are we seeking? Do we want to make God look good? Or, do we want to make ourselves look good?

A Wee Little Man (Luke 19)

When I was a kid in Sunday School, we used to sing a song about Zacchaeus. It started like this:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.

Being of Scottish descent, I knew what a wee little man was. (Today, as any parent of a toddler will tell you, wee has a whole different meaning.) Zacchaeus may have been short of a stature, but the story told about him makes it clear that he had a big heart. For many years, Zacchaeus was a cheat. As a tax collector, he had swindled his own people for the sake of their oppressor. It was no wonder the Pharisees had a hard time believing he could be repentant. But repentant Zacchaeus was. Zacchaeus gives us a wonderful picture of what it means to place faith and trust in Jesus.

When Zacchaeus confessed his sins and repented of them, he didn't repent just in words. He repented with actions. Zacchaeus didn't just shed crocodile tears, trying to play the part of the penitent. No, he actually put his sorrow over sin into action. In verse 8, Zacchaeus says: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." Zacchaeus would not accept a cheap grace. He knew that repentance was going to have be demonstrated in real life change.

The church needs more people like Zacchaeus today. Too often, the Gospel is being preached as a get out of jail free card. Too frequently, we give the impression that placing faith in Christ allows one to skip responsibility for one's actions. Zacchaeus portrays a different picture. The forgiveness that Jesus gives doesn't mean that we get away Scot free. It means that we are compelled to make right the wrongs that we have committed against others. Asking forgiveness is not enough. We need to try to mend the wrong that we have done.

Zacchaeus may have been a wee little man in stature. But it turns out that he was a giant of the faith.

Persistent Prayer (Luke 18)

I would say that persistence has never been one of my strengths. I have a tendency to give up way too easily. That tendency is not a helpful one to have when it comes to prayer. Luke 18 makes it very clear that persistence is a much needed characteristic for prayer. This is first seen in Jesus' teaching. Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the corrupt judge to remind his disciples that they should pray and not give up. Jesus says that when we pray with persistence God will answer in speedy fashion. The truth of this statement is revealed later in the chapter. A blind man sits on the road as Jesus passes by. Hearing that it is Jesus who is coming, the blind man recognizes his one chance for healing. He shouts to Jesus asking to be delivered from his blindness. This bothers the crowd and they tell the man to be quiet. But he will not be quiet. He persists in his request, getting even louder. And as the man persists, Jesus hears and the man's prayers are answered.

Prayer is not a sprint. It is more of a marathon. And we need to pray for the long haul. I want to gain more endurance in prayer.

Why Spoil It By Talking? (Luke 17)

In the early 1980's, the Jets and Dolphins played a regular season game that came to be dubbed the "Silent Bowl." The game got that name because NBC used no announcers. They decided that the game should speak for itself. I don't know if it worked for football. But I think it works for Luke 17:7-10. I think every Christian needs this passage as a reminder of what our attitude should be as we serve the Lord:

Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ (ESV at www.esv.org)

I hope I can serve with that type of attitude. I hope I can always remember that I am only an unworthy servant who is just doing my duty.