Hard Choice: Stew or God. Hmmm…

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 25:27-28:5

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” – Genesis 25:32, NLT

• Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. – Genesis 25:34, NLT

• “May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” – Isaac to Jacob. – Genesis 28:4, NLT

Thoughts:
Faith is a matter of life and death.

Esau’s dying. Or at least he feels like he’s dying. Of starvation. And Jacob has stew simmering over the fire, ready to eat. Esau asks for stew. Jacob says, “I’ll trade you—my stew for your birthright.” And Esau agrees, saying, “What good is my birthright to me NOW?”

What exactly was this birthright?

In that culture, the firstborn son was the primary heir of his father’s estate. The bulk of his father’s assets became his when his father died. If your father was poor, inheriting his possessions wasn’t too helpful.

But Esau and Jacob’s father Isaac was wealthy. And even if he’d been poor, he possessed a treasure no money could buy: God’s promises. God had promised Abraham to make him into a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, to make him a blessing, to bless those who blessed him, to curse those who cursed him, and to bless all peoples on earth through him (Genesis 12:2-3). And God had promised to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17). In fact, God had promised Abraham Himself, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

All of these blessings from God were part of the birthright. They were meant to be passed on to Abraham’s heirs (Genesis 17:7-8).

But Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, did not inherit these blessings. The birthright went instead to the promised son, Isaac (Genesis 17:18-22). And it was only passed on to Isaac after Abraham was asked to choose between God and His promises, on the one hand, and Isaac, on the other. Abraham’s choice was clear: Isaac faced death because Abraham valued God and His promises above even his own son (Genesis 22:1-18)! That’s how priceless a treasure God and His promises are.

Esau, Isaac’s son, threw this birthright away over a bowlful of stew! In exchange for stew, Jacob received the family’s primary relationship with God and His blessings!

Faith is a matter of life and death. Esau almost certainly would not have died without that stew. But even if he had literally been on the brink of death, he would have been better off to clutch his birthright promises jealously to his chest and die, trusting that God would bring him back to life and fulfill His promises (as Abraham trusted God would do with Isaac – Hebrews 11:17-19).

So perhaps this isn’t why I believe. It’s more why I cling to my faith so tightly. Given the fact that I believe in God and look forward to the day He fulfills His promises, there’s nothing that could replace Him. Nothing.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Too Little, Too Soon

ALL – Psalm 112:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 27:17
OT – Ezekiel 29:1-30:26
NT – Hebrews 11:32-12:13

Interesting passage for the day: And these men of faith, though they trusted God and won his approval, none of them received all that God had promised them; for God wanted them to wait and share the even better rewards that were prepared for us. – Hebrews 11:39-40, The Living Bible

Thought: If you could have everything you ever wanted in this lifetime, would that satisfy you? Would it be worth it?

If you say yes, then you aren’t dreaming big enough. If you say yes, then you’re forgetting the limitations of this lifetime. If you say, “Yes, give me my best life now,” then you’re trading down, not up.

Because those who know God know that He has better things in store for us than we can find in this lifetime. Things worth dying for. Eternity. Life. Incorruptibility. Love. Most of all, Himself.

Past men of faith are still waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled completely. And one day—no, wait…one eternal day—they’ll be glad they were faithful.

Question: What shallow (comparatively speaking) things that can never satisfy you still tempt you to set Jesus Himself aside?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Fulfilled Bones

ALL – Psalm 111:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 27:15-16
OT – Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
NT – Hebrews 11:17-31

Interesting passage for the day: And it was by faith that Joseph, as he neared the end of his life, confidently spoke of God bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt; and he was so sure of it that he made them promise to carry his bones with them when they left! – Hebrews 11:22, The Living Bible

Thought: “If you’re not going to fulfill your promise while I’m alive, what’s the use?”

Most of us have a hard time waiting for people to fulfill their promises. We have a hard time waiting a week or a month, let alone any longer time frames. If we’re hoping to get a new iPod for Christmas, but Christmas is still three months away, sometimes we’re so impatient that we’ll go ahead and buy what we’re hoping for even if someone promises to get it for us and takes away our fear that we won’t get it.

Joseph trusted in God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land He had promised to them. For that promise to be fulfilled, the Hebrews had to leave Egypt—so in Joseph’s mind, the day was coming. They would leave Egypt. And even though he would be dead, Joseph still wanted to be part of it. He wanted to “see” God’s promise fulfilled. God’s promise was for him, too. So he made the other Hebrews promise to carry his bones out of Egypt and to bury them in the promised land. And four hundred years later, when they finally left, they carried his bones around the desert with them for 40 years until they were finally able to lay them at rest. Though dead, Joseph came home to the place God had promised.

It’s been a long time since Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, promising to come back and take us home. Many believers have died through the years—through the centuries. But that doesn’t make His promise worthless. It’s going to happen. And when He comes, it won’t be just our bones that benefit. He’s going to raise us to life again. It might be a long time coming, but let’s live for that promise.

Question: What pleasures in this life make you forget the promises of God and live as though it’s not worth waiting for them? What trials make your life feel so overwhelming that you would rather sin and dishonor your Savior than wait for Him to return and make things right?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Trust or Bust

ALL – Psalm 110:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 27:14
OT – Ezekiel 24:1-26:21
NT – Hebrews 11:1-16

Interesting passage for the day: Noah was another who trusted God. When he heard God’s warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah’s belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world—which refused to obey—and because of his faith he became one of those whom God has accepted. – Hebrews 11:7, The Living Bible

Thought: Usually it’s the people who are preparing for some unconfirmed future disaster who are considered to be crazy. They build bunkers, store up years’ worth of food and, with eyes that dart suspiciously to and fro, they hiss dogmatic warnings of doom for all mankind. But Noah, the man who built the most epic floating bunker ever, storing up enough food for eight humans and for multiple specimens of the entire planet’s wildlife to survive for about a year, was not crazy. He had heard from and believed the one true and living God. And because Noah believed what God said about a coming flood, he took appropriate action (also with guidance from above).

And we thought we had nothing in common with Noah.

Noah heard God promise to destroy the earth with a flood. We’ve heard from God that, when Jesus comes back, the earth will be destroyed by fire.

Noah received instructions from God about escaping death. We’ve received instructions from God about escaping death (for example, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and your household.” – Acts 16:31, NIV).

Noah responded wholeheartedly to God’s instructions. … How about us?

Question: What does it look like to respond wholeheartedly to God’s command to “believe in the Lord Jesus”? Is it enough to say, “I believe,” or should our lives be different somehow, too? Would you say that your life is being spent wholeheartedly responding to God’s warnings, promises and instructions? Why or why not?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Living in a Blueprint

ALL – Psalm 106:13-31
ALL – Proverbs 27:7-9
OT – Ezekiel 16:43-17:24
NT – Hebrews 8:1-13

Interesting passage for the day: Their work is connected with a mere earthly model of the real tabernacle in heaven; for when Moses was getting ready to build the tabernacle, God warned him to follow exactly the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle as shown to him on Mount Sinai. – Hebrews 8:5, The Living Bible

Thought: How effective is life in a blueprint? The way that God commanded the Israelites to worship Him through Moses was just a blueprint of the way that we would all be called to live through Jesus.

Blueprints are guides. They aren’t comfortable. They aren’t harsh. They aren’t solid. They aren’t very satisfying. They aren’t reality. That is, they’re real visions and plans, but they still need to be realized before they can be very beneficial. Even if you go from blueprint to small-scale model, they’re only so satisfying. Which is more amazing, more useful, more fulfilling, more real: a full-sized train that drags tons of supplies across a nation or a model train that carts a few ounces of model cars and cabooses around our living rooms?

The old covenant was a blueprint and its tabernacles and temples were mere models. They were like samples given out at a grocery store—mere tastes of the full product. They were designed to prepare people for the glory of Jesus Christ and His heavenly tabernacle. Trying to live in them is like trying to live in a blueprint. But Jesus Christ has already done His work in the heavenly tabernacle on our behalf, and we can already begin to live in the realization that our sins are done for, even though we still live on earth. And one glorious day, we will experience the full life of heaven.

Question: How are you trying to build your relationship with God? What are you depending on? Where did you get your pattern? How’s it working for you? How much of a role does Jesus Christ play in your answer? He is the life our earthly blueprints have pointed to all along.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Living Here, Aiming There

ALL – Psalm 78:26-58
ALL – Proverbs 24:27
OT – Jeremiah 8:8-9:26
NT – Colossians 3:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. – Colossians 3:1-2, The Living Bible

Thought: If heaven is supposed to fill our thoughts, are we supposed to despise life down here? Are we supposed to ignore the people we love, the places we cherish, the joys we experience? Are we supposed to pretend that nothing in the world is ugly, broken or painful? Is this world pointless?

No. It’s not. We live here. For now, we live here.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not arguing with Paul (or with the Holy Spirit, for that matter). I’m saying that I don’t think that “setting your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven” and not “spend[ing] your time worrying about things down here” means ignoring the world we live in.

I think it means experiencing this life more fully. Not “worrying about things down here” means allowing yourself to see this world’s brokenness more clearly than you ever have before. Life down here can be totally futile! No matter how often I make my bed, it gets messy again. No matter how hard I exercise, I sooner or later lose my strength. No matter how much I teach my children, they end up making their own mistakes. No matter how hard I work, my work’s never done. And sometimes life is just plain painful. Unfair. Bitterly disappointing. Other people are jerks. I am a jerk. We’re supposed to experience all this more fully because we know Jesus. We’re supposed to stop pretending that we don’t see how overwhelming life is, how much of a struggle relationships are, how awful it is even to exist in a place of sickness and selfishness. And when we stop living in denial, it is then that we need to stop worrying—not because the world gives us less to worry about (we’re seeing reasons to worry more clearly now, remember?). No, we stop worrying because we are calling out to Jesus, and we know that He’s going to take care of us.

Which brings us back to the good side of this life. I love sports, the outdoors, friends, smart phones, and good stories. And food. I love food. Am I supposed to pretend that I don’t? Absolutely not! Instead, because I now know that every good gift is from above (acc. to James), I am supposed to enjoy them MORE. I am supposed to overflow with wonder at how good some things in this life are. And as I’m awed by the speeds, tastes, sights, sounds, displays of intellect, joys and satisfactions of life on earth, I should be grateful to the God who gave them to me. And at the same time, the wonders of His good gifts down here should remind me that the God who can make this world seem like a great place to live must have something tremendous in store for me above, where there is no sorrow or pain. And so I “set [my] sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven”—not just for myself, but for others, too. I set my sights on the wonders of heaven, even as I’m surrounded by the joys and pleasures God has given me down here, and urge myself not to be so stupid and selfish as to insist on enjoying life down here so much that I neglect to give my family and my friends and my neighbors the opportunity to know the joys I’m looking forward to with Jesus in heaven. I enjoy life down here more fully, but I crave it less. I’m looking forward to something better—way better, and I want others to get something better, too.

Question: How do you keep your mind on heaven when life down here feels like hell? Even harder, how do you set your gaze toward heaven when life down here feels like heaven already?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Make Your Loyalties Clear

The message, preached on October 3rd, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Sometimes practicing our Christian freedom can lead us unintentionally to support demonic lies, leading other people into idolatry (spiritual adultery). We need to realize that our behaviors are actually a sign of our associations, and to carefully live loyally. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Sorrow-Motivated Life

ALL – Psalm 48:1-14
ALL – Proverbs 22:17-19
OT – Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18
NT – 2 Corinthians 7:8-16

Interesting passage for the day: For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10, The Living Bible

Thought: We just looked at our motivation for doing right, and found that the promises of God give us a desire and a drive to obey Him. But what about our motivation for turning away from what’s wrong? I mean, let’s be honest. Sin is often pleasurable. Temporarily pleasurable, but still. We often have plenty of desire to do what is wrong. Finding the motivation to turn away from it—a motivation above and beyond the bare truth, “I know I shouldn’t be doing this”—can be pretty difficult.

And so we find that while God’s promises are one form of godly motivation, sorrow is another. Yes, that’s right. Sorrow can motivate us to turn away from wrong. Sorrow can motivate repentance. Sorrow sparks in us a deep desire to set things straight, to reconcile broken relationships, to mend what we’ve destroyed. In sorrow we can finally set aside our pride enough to admit what we most hate to admit: “I was wrong.”

When you sin, do you care that you’ve sinned? When you hurt someone, do you squelch that feeling of regret that begins to rise up in your gut? Do you perhaps even add literal insults to injury, talking yourself and everyone else into the twisted belief that your hateful words and behaviors are justified?

May God give us hearts that can still feel deep, genuine, true sorrow. Not the kind of sorrow that people sometimes wallow in—more a mire of despair, really. But the kind of sorrow that motivates us to make a move, to change course, to commit our lives into Jesus Christ’s hands, to seek forgiveness, to deal with our sins. May our sorrows move us to gladly walk by the Spirit, praising God for freeing us from the lives that apart from sorrow we would still live.

Question: Which sins and pains especially lead your heart into change-motivating sorrow? And once you’ve answered that question, consider this one: Which of your own personal sins leads you into repentance-motivating sorrow? Some of us may not sorrow over that kind of sin in our lives as we should. Help us to understand how destructive your particular sin can be. Please. Lead us into godly sorrow.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Faithfully Unimpressive

ALL – Psalm 45:1-17
ALL – Proverbs 22:14
OT – Job 40:1-42:17
NT – 2 Corinthians 5:12-21

Interesting passage for the day: He died for all so that all who live—having received eternal life from him—might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them. So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. – 2 Corinthians 5:15-16, The Living Bible

Thought: Christians aren’t designed to be impressive. They’re designed to be faithful. They’re designed to live real life—even when it looks boring. They’re designed to thank God—even for simple, “unexciting” blessings like bread and water. They’re designed to persevere—even when the rest of the world would decide “it’s not worth it.” They’re designed to please God, even when they seem to get no benefit.

Don’t misunderstand me. Some Christians are impressive and will do impressive things. Some are talented musicians, playwrights, actors, technicians. Some are gifted intellectuals, architects, athletes, speakers. For them, being faithful means using their impressive array of gifts to the glory of God. But they’re still designed first and foremost to be faithful, to please Christ rather than themselves.

And so the Christian life is not designed to be impressive. Which is a good thing, or most of us would be considered failures, not only by the world, but by Jesus Christ. As believers, we’re designed simply to be faithful to give ourselves wholly—heart, soul, mind, and strength—to loving and pleasing Jesus. And He’s given us life precisely so that we can all do exactly that.

Question: What does faithfully living to love and please Jesus Christ with your entire being look like for you right now? Where could you see yourself growing as you walk with Jesus through the years ahead?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

God’s Spirit, God’s Glory

ALL – Psalm 43:1-5
ALL – Proverbs 22:8-9
OT – Job 31:1-33:33
NT – 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Interesting passage for the day: Shall we not expect far greater glory in these days when the Holy Spirit is giving life? – 2 Corinthians 3:8, The Living Bible

Thought: In this verse, Paul is drawing a contrast between the glory that came with the Law that God gave to the Israelites and the glory that lives in all believers because of God’s Holy Spirit. The Law could not give life; it could only condemn people to death. But we no longer live under the Law, so we no longer live under a fear of condemnation. We have received God’s Holy Spirit—God’s life-giving Spirit! If we have the Spirit of our Creator living within us, how can God’s glory help but be displayed in our lives?

Question: What keeps you from expecting to see God’s glory in your life?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

The Family that ... Together

ALL – Psalm 36:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 21:21-22
OT – Esther 4:1-7:10
NT – 1 Corinthians 12:1-26

Interesting passage for the day: If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. – 1 Corinthians 12:26, The Living Bible

Thought: Have you ever tried to send just a part of your body to play a game or do a job?

“Hey, feet, go play soccer for me.”

“I don’t want to stay up late tonight. Hands, do you mind just typing out this paper for me?”

We don’t say, “My feet played soccer today,” or, “My hands were on the computer all day.” We say, “I played soccer,” and, “I was on the computer.” Why? Because if one part of our body is involved, we ourselves are involved. Our entire body shares life’s experiences, even if different limbs get used more than others. When I’m typing at the computer, it means my fingers are working wildly. But it also means that my feet are resting, my back and stomach are working to keep me sitting upright, my heart and lungs are working to keep me alive, my eyes are watching the computer screen, and my brain is directing my thoughts through the whole process.

Christ’s church is Christ’s body. We are one. We share life. One life. Jesus Christ’s life. If one of us gets a promotion at work, we are all happy. If one of us falls into sin, it shames and hurts all of us. If one of us introduces a friend to Jesus, all of us share in the celebration and all of us feel like we’ve succeeded in making progress towards fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission. You can pretend to be a loner Christian, but the truth is that you’re a part of a community—like it or not. And even your attempts to disassociate yourself from the church affect the rest of God’s people. You’re simply that connected because of Jesus Christ.

Question: Since Jesus has joined all us believers together, what could you do to make our experience as a family, community and body the best possible experience on earth?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Temporary Story-Telling

ALL – Psalm 35:17-28
ALL – Proverbs 21:19-20
OT – Esther 1:1-3:15
NT – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Interesting passage for the day: For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are re-telling the message of the Lord’s death, that he has died for you. Do this until he comes again. – 1 Corinthians 11:26, The Living Bible

Thought: We have a story to tell. Not just to outsiders, but to one another. We can tell it in words. We can tell it with a simple drama, using just bread and wine to announce its truths. The story is simple: Jesus, the ruler of all Creation, died for you all.

That seems like a lousy story to tell. I mean, it sounds a little good. Jesus didn’t just die. He died for the world. There is a benefit for us. Our sins have been forgiven. But we still have to face the consequence of death, don’t we? At least, if the story is just a story about Jesus’ death? How long do we have to tell that story?

Not long.

The story of Jesus’ death has an expiration date. We tell this story repeatedly. But only until Jesus returns. In fact, the expiration date for the story is part of the good news. The fact that Jesus is coming back makes His death for us worthwhile—REALLY good news. Jesus didn’t just die for us. He didn’t just pay the penalty for our sins and stay in the grave. He’s alive! Death couldn’t hold Jesus—which means not only that our sins are forgiven, but that we are completely free from sin’s penalty! Not only is God willing to associate with us again, but even the consequences for our sins are gone! We will proclaim Jesus’ praises forever because He died and rose and came back for us.

We proclaim the Lord’s death, because a reconciled relationship with God is what sinful people need now. But we only proclaim it until Jesus comes again, because this twisted world won’t last beyond His arrival. What a day that will be!

Question: How has the good news of Jesus’ death impacted you?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Baptized for Life

ALL – Psalm 122:1-9
ALL – Proverbs 16:19-20
OT – 2 Samuel 22:21-23:23
NT – Acts 2:1-47

Interesting passage for the day: And those who believed Peter were baptized—about 3,000 in all! – Acts 2:41, The Living Bible

Thought: Baptism is a public statement that we belong to a certain way of living, thinking, etc. When these people were baptized after believing Peter’s message, their baptism publicly declared that they belonged to Jesus—the no-longer-dead Messiah, God’s anointed King.

Question: What did your baptism mean to you? Are you living the way you said you would live?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Knowing is Living

ALL – Psalm 119:81-95
ALL – Proverbs 16:6-7
OT – 2 Samuel 13:1-39
NT – John 17:1-26

Interesting passage for the day: And this is the way to have eternal life—by knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth! – John 17:3, The Living Bible

Thought: Sometimes it seems weird to think that life comes by knowing the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. I’m not sure why it seems weird; perhaps it’s because we get so used to thinking that we can live without God. We think our life is real living, and we feel as though we’re getting along pretty well without God. But we forget the truth. Life has always come from God, and only from God.

How did life start? God created us. When did death enter the world? After humanity rejected a pure relationship with God and sinned against Him. In His grace, God has continued to create men and women, giving us all the common grace of life on this earth, and has created a new possibility of eternal life for us all through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We can be created anew to live forever by knowing Him! When you stop to think about it, it really makes sense. God gives life, and life can only be found with Him.

Question: How much do you care about your life? Is that reflected in an overwhelming love for God and a desire to know Him better each day?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Truth in Real Life

The message, preached on May 9th, 2010, covered 3 John, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Truth is more than just knowing about Jesus Christ; it’s knowing Him. We need to do life with Jesus, not think of ourselves as more real than God, and imitate lived truth. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Live Victoriously by Faith

The message, preached on April 11th, 2010, covered 1 John 5:1-12, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Faith in God through Jesus Christ is the heart of true religion. We must depend on God’s testimony by faith, obey our King by faith, and ultimately receive victorious life—both now and forever—by faith, and only by faith. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Gimme!

ALL – Psalm 78:32-55
ALL – Proverbs 12:21-23
OT – Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
NT – Luke 12:8-34

If we’re honest when it comes to getting new tools, new clothes, new movies, new music, new gadgets, etc., most of us sound like Ariel from the Little Mermaid: “Looking around here you think, “Sure, she’s got everything.”… But who cares? No big deal. I want more.”

Craving. Wanting. Coveting. Greed. It’s an epidemic that hits pretty much every home, and usually every member of every home. We’re sick people – sick with greed, sick with envy, sick with desire. And we think that the medicine for our condition is more stuff. “I don’t need much! Just this one thing, and I’ll be happy…”

If we’re honest, we’ll admit that our continuous acquisitions have not cured us. What we thought was medicine is actually poison; rather than curing us, each new gadget and each new toy we buy feeds our disease. And it’s killing us. We’re so sick for new clothes, new cars, new posters and new experiences that we gladly spend all our money on them, even when we end up running out of money for our heat, our water, or our food. And even those of us who are wealthy enough to spend as we desire without running out of money for our necessities are deadly sick; we would rather spend ridiculous sums on ourselves than on our needy neighbors or on the kingdom of God! What’s wrong with us?

That’s why Jesus said:

Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are. – Luke 12:15, The Living Bible

He had a remedy for this sickness, too:

Sell what you have and give to those in need. – Luke 12:33, The Living Bible

The remedy for greed is generosity, not “buying just one more thing.” The remedy for sending life down the drain is giving life to those who are barely scraping by. The remedy for our selfishness is love—a love that gives.

Can you and I relax our grasping hands and give? What’s the struggle?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Love One Another

The message, preached on March 21st, 2010, covered 1 John 3:11-24, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. We’re commanded to love God and love our neighbors. But love only comes from God; we need the Holy Spirit to live in us and work love in and through us. Love essentially means to help people live. And despite the apparent burden of God’s command to love (because of our natural, sinful inability), love actually gives Christians great confidence before God. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Jesus: Son of God

ALL – Psalm 62:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 11:18-19
OT – Numbers 28:16-29:40
NT – Luke 3:23-38

Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph’s father was…Adam; Adam’s father was God. – Luke 3:23, 38.

Why? Why does this genealogy include God? What does it mean? Is this intended to point out Jesus’ divinity? The fact that there are 76 MEN’s names between God and Jesus creates some difficulty for making that point, unless you want to say that each man in the genealogy had a “spark” of the divine in him, or something like that. Besides, Jesus wasn’t actually Joseph’s son. Jesus was legally Joseph’s son, but Joseph wasn’t his physical father. So divinity wouldn’t have been passed through this lineage, anyway.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe Jesus is God, the Son of God. He’s divine. What Luke said in Luke 1:35 is just a part of the Bible’s evidence of Jesus’ divinity, and there’s plenty more. Even this genealogy seems to be a reminder that Jesus is divine.

I’m just saying that, because it’s a genealogy and includes many people who were definitely not divine, tracing Jesus’ lineage back to God is probably trying to communicate something else, besides His divinity. What could it be?

I really don’t know for sure, but here are a couple of ideas I’ve come up with:

1) Jesus is King. What was Adam created to do? Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ ” Adam was made a ruler, King and Lord of the earth. As we follow the lineage from God through Adam toward Jesus, we find that one of Jesus’ ancestors is King David, and God promised, “David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel” (Jeremiah 35:19, NIV). Jesus is that King, that ultimate man who stands as the son of God, the ruler of the world.

2) Jesus is the Righteous Man. In a sense, this is a variation of the “Jesus is King” idea. When God created Adam, Adam was righteous. He had never sinned. He was capable of representing God on earth. But with Adam’s fall into sin, his ability to represent God perfectly was damaged. God is the God of life, and Adam’s sin brought death to the world God had created. The first man, the son of God by creation, could no longer work the life that a son of God ought to work. But Jesus, the descendant of this first man, is also a man, a son of God by creation. And through His righteousness, Jesus has given mankind the opportunity to return to their righteous, life-giving rule. Jesus is the Righteous Man, the ultimate son of God. Through His righteous life, all may gain life. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22, NIV).

Is Jesus the divine Son of God? Yes! But Jesus is also the human son of God. He is all that man was intended and created to be. He is righteous, and He is the life-giving ruler over all God’s creation. Praise God that through Jesus Christ, we who hope in Him are being restored as sons of God, too, so that “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21, NIV).

Are you receiving and giving the freedom of the children of God, the freedom that comes to mankind and all creation through THE son of God, Jesus Christ?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Experience Life to the Full

The message, preached on January 10th, 2010, covered 1 John 1:1-4, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. As John begins to write, he wants his readers to know what’s coming. He’s experienced life, and John invites his readers into his experience of life, urging them to be part of God’s family. John wants more and more readers to share in the joyous life he has in community with God the Father and the Son. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.