Hometown Surprise

S - "Jesus left and returned to his hometown with his followers. …The people were upset because of what he was doing. But Jesus said, “Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their relatives and their own family.” Jesus could not work any miracles there, except to heal a few sick people by placing his hands on them. He was surprised that the people did not have any faith." According to Mark 6:1, 3-6

O - This hometown heartbreak highlights a tragic misdirection religion perpetuates.  There is a critical difference between one's theology and one's actual faith.  The people of Jesus' hometown had a truckload of theology and no faith.  How is this so?  Religion's emphasis is on what is perceives to be informational accuracy and God's kingdom emphasis is on relational authenticity with the one sent by heaven. As it turns out, faith is not primarily a theological term but a relational one.  The original term means to have confidence in and to rely on. Specifically, to have confidence in and rely on Jesus of Nazareth; something Jesus' hometown would not do.  Surprise: accurate theology does not equate to faith. 

 

A - All the religions promote the idea that God's greatest gift to humans and the world is actually a book. Torah for Judaism, Quran for Islam, Bible for Christianity, the Vedas for Hinduism and the Tipitaka (also called the Pali Canon) for Buddhism, etc. However, heaven’s greatest gift is a person; Jesus of Nazareth. He is heaven's message to the world.  He clarifies the person and purposes of God. God has never made a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim … humans have made all these.  He's making a family, dearly loved children, brothers and sisters together from every culture, nation and ethnicity. I am very grateful to have confidence in Jesus and to be relying on him; not a concept, principle or plan … Jesus himself; and to be doing so with brothers and sisters from all over the world.

 

P - Our Father,

Thank you for sending Jesus and for your dream for all the world - a family, not a religion, institution or organization. Am so grateful that you can be known not just known about.  You have loved us (the world) first, and most and refuse to change your mind.  Am so glad to be experiencing you and your love in confidence and reliance on Jesus.  

Amazed,

Steve

Clear Vision or Self-deception?

S - "Jesus told him, “For judgment I came into this world, so that the blind would see and those who see would become blind.” When the Religious Experts heard Jesus say this, they asked, “Are we blind?” Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But now that you claim to see, you will keep on being guilty.”" According to John 9:39-41 TJB

O - What was the basis used by the Religious Experts to conclude they possessed their sight? How did they affirm and validate their "seeing"; a seeing which leaves them guilty in the most tragic way? While the story does not go on to answer these questions directly, we can identify some of the claims, validations and causes for their self-deception and blindness.  They were experts in scripture, knowledgeable and well-trained.  They were the inheritors of an unbroken tradition from Moses and leaders in the dynamics which shaped the culture/religion of the day. How could they not be sighted? So profuse is their self-deceived and self-imposed blindness (which they considered to be clear sighted reality) they will go on to refuse and reject the Messiah, condemn and demand his death.  In truth, they rejected the one who fulfilled all of the markers and prophecies given by the scriptures they used to validate themselves. How blind and sad is that?  And yet, are these not the same claims and validations used by the spiritual and religious leaders of our day?  They all, regardless of religion, use these to claim sight, validation, vindication; the very thing which is blindness and unrelenting guilt, according to Jesus. He says: “Your eyes are the lamp for your body. When your eyes are good, you have all the light you need. But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. So be sure your light isn’t darkness. If you have light, and nothing is dark, then light will be everywhere, as when a lamp shines brightly on you." [Luke 11:34-36 TJB]  

 

A - Whoa!  I am a leader, one fairly well skilled and trained in scripture.  How am I assessing my "seeing" and what is the metric of such for validation in my life? How do I avoid the self-deception which inspired the tragic thinking and actions of the Religious Experts; and which ends in a self-imposed blind-guilt?  Just like the man born blind, safety and seeing will not come through my interface with the scriptures, religion or culture.  It is obtained exclusively by interface with the person of Jesus.  Ongoing interface with his person, presence and spirit gives sight; not the culture, religion or even the verses of one's best known passages of scripture. Light, not information, is required for us to be able to see.  "Once again Jesus spoke to the people saying, “I am the light of the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.”" [John 8:12 TJB] Sight, light, freedom, life is in a person not a principle, religious practice or a scripture.  Seeing is from him and in him … and he is validation enough for all who follow.  

 

P - Lord,

I admit that without you darkness, self-deception and blindness will be my status; even if I hold scriptural insights or principles. You are life and light and I rely on you to enable my seeing, following, living and loving. 

You really are validation enough,

Steve

No Scripture Required

S - "And when he was raised from death, his followers remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus." According to John 2:22 TJB

 

O - Those following Jesus and who were closest to him did not believe because of anything recorded in the Scriptures.  They'd even forgotten much of what he told them. They did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus because the Scriptures foretold it. The catalyst for their belief did not come from theological information or religious practice. It came, and it comes, from only one source: personal encounters with the resurrected Jesus. Religion wants people to believe in the Scripture so they will believe in Jesus. Heaven wants people to meet Jesus and then the Scriptures will have their intended place.      

 

A - The life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth highlight and emphasize the reality that God's Kingdom and all religions are diametrically opposed to each other.  The polarized differences are the differences between mere human culture and God's Kingdom. Religion uses Scriptures to come to conclusions it thinks are accurate.  It builds, creates a Savior, a Jesus in its own understanding.  These two are so intensely opposed to each other that the best religion of Jesus' day will insist on and insure his unjust trial and underserved execution. Ultimately, religion will use the words of Scripture and then refuse or change the meaning.  Jesus clearly and repeatedly warns his followers of this sad reality. He invites me and the world (7.7 billion) to follow himself not a principle, plan or concept. Faith in Jesus does not come from accurate theological conclusions but from the reliance and confidence one has in his person in ongoing relationship. Jesus is to be known not just known about. Once we meet him … resurrection is a foregone conclusion.  No Scriptures required.  

 

P - God of all and God of me,

Am so very grateful that your great love for us is fully expressed and confirmed in the person of Jesus and his invitation to know you not just know about you. Am glad to be following him and loving you back.

Steve  

Relational Ease

S - "Jesus was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum when he said these things. Many of Jesus’ followers heard him and said, “This is too hard for anyone to understand.” … Then Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless it is given to them by the Father. That is why I have told these things to all of you.” As a result, many of his followers turned back and stopped following him." According to John 6:59-60, 65-66

 

O - Religion promotes the misconception that accurate information is the critical piece God requires.  The result is that one's understanding becomes the primary dynamic and determining factor in all things related to God.  Jesus consistently refutes this idea.  God's desire and God's kingdom is a relational reality not a theological one. Information isn't unimportant it is just not most important.  Relational authenticity always trumps informational accuracy (e.g. Jesus' consistent silencing of demons saying true things about him).  The beauty in this is that being near relationally is more important than understanding a truth, plan or concept.  Presence of and interface with a person triumphs over intellectual understanding (e.g. the sisters of Lazarus). This is true for all children and Jesus promises the world (7.7billion): "People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God. I promise you that you cannot get into God’s kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does."    

 

A - As a child I was encouraged to memorize Proverbs 3:5-6.  It says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Then, over the years, I was encouraged in and believed the lie of religion: to rely on my understanding of Scripture; the very thing the Scripture tells us to not do.  Heaven invites me and all to trust a person, to rely on and have confidence in him rather than in our understanding. Children rely on being near/with their parents not their understanding, resources, information or skill sets. They rely on another for direction, protection and provision. Jesus' solitary invitation remains and I am very keen on accepting and living it out loud -- "Follow me."  

 

P - Lord,

I will trust in you with all my heart, not in my current read of the Scriptures or in my understanding of concepts or principles. Am so very grateful to know you and your presence not just know about you.  You lead and I'll follow.

I do love you back,

Steve 

More than a Change of Opinion

S - "After Paul had gathered some wood and had put it on the fire, the heat caused a snake to crawl out, and it bit him on the hand. When the local people saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He didn’t drown in the sea, but Justice will kill him anyway.” Paul shook the snake off into the fire and wasn’t harmed. The people kept thinking that Paul would either swell up or suddenly drop dead. They watched him for a long time, and when nothing happened to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." Acts of Ambassadors 28:3-6

O - As it turns out, the local people were right about Paul's violent past and wrong about Justice.  On a couple of different occasions, he will write about his life before encountering Jesus of Nazareth on the road to Damascus. He describes himself as violently persecuting the community of followers and trying to destroy it; a pursuit which involved imprisonment and death for those he was after. When Paul didn't die by the snake bite, the local people would change their minds about him and be wrong again. The straight-line (cause and effect) thinking of people often appears logical and accurate and is just as often wrong. What is required is a change of thinking, not just a change of conclusions or opinions based on certain subsets of input. Straight-line thinking isn't always wrong but at its best it is always incomplete. This is, in part, why Jesus starts his conversation with world by saying: "Change your thinking. The kingdom of heaven has come near." 

 

A - Nature defies (resists, refuses) a straight line. Trees are vertical not straight. The Himalayas are beautiful but not one of them is straight. Rivers don't flow in a straight line and the horizon is curved. So, who made nature? Who are we following? It’s true that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line— but it seems he rarely takes it. Straight-line thinking is why the 12 want to send the 5,000 families away hungry. Jesus had something else in mind.  It is why the Scripture experts of his day misunderstood and misapplied Sabbath. Straight-line thinking is why the religious and political leaders killed Jesus. He says "Change your thinking. The kingdom of heaven is near." He also says "Unless you change your thinking you too will end in ruin." I will welcome and accept more than a change of opinion; more than conclusions based exclusively on sequential assessments. I'll pursue and embrace a transformed thinking made possible by God's Spirit and the Kingdom that is near. 

 

P - God of Jesus and God of me,

I admit that I need an ongoing change of thinking unto the life that is really life.  I will welcome this change day by day, relying on you for its clarity and effect.  Thanks for the beauty of creation and the beauty beyond straight-line thinking.

Steve  

Faith - it may not be what you think it is

 

S - "Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 

 

O - These are the words of Jesus spoken to the sister of his friend who had died four days earlier. He was talking about a resurrection on that very day and she was stuck in her theological framework. You can read the entire exchange in John's account at chapter eleven. So, what does Jesus mean by "if you had faith"? Is he provoking her to rehearse, enhance or alter some theological conclusions about his identity? Is having faith laying a claim to some promise or principle in scripture? The record is clear and the answer is no. In fact, the resurrection of her brother is not the result of her request, spiritual intensity or scriptural understanding. Yet, she sees her brother raised to life and the glory of God in it all.  Faith (the original language word) is not a theological term but a relational one.  It means to rely on or have confidence in.  It is not the result of theological definition but of personal exchange.  Even in her misunderstanding and failure to ask, she is relying on and having confidence in Jesus.  The rest is history and a glorious one it is. 

 

A - The opportunity of choice, the work heaven wants all people to do, is to believe (to have confidence in and rely on) the one sent by God.  Religion has made faith a theological term and heaven insists on keeping it relational.  The great thing for me in this story is that being near Jesus in relational confidence is more important than knowing what to ask for.  The sister won't miss because of who she is with; not because of her theological prowess or spiritual fervor. The same dynamic is offered to me and to all.  The invitation remains: "follow me and you'll be amazed at what you see."  All these years later I can say -- I remain amazed at Jesus and at God's glory.     

 

P - Lord,

Am so very grateful for your open-ended and unrelenting invitation to come near and to believe.  Thank you for insisting on a relationship rather than a religious practice; for the joy of knowing you and not just knowing about you.  Thank you for putting the face on God; for clarifying his person and his purposes.  

Confident in and relying on you,

Steve  

Known not just Known About

S - "GOD called again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Again Eli said, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” (This all happened before Samuel knew GOD for himself. It was before the revelation of GOD had been given to him personally.)" 1 Samuel 3:6-7 MSG

 

O - This ancient event and text identify one of heaven's essential desires for all people.  The desire? That each of us would know GOD for ourselves, a relational exchange given to us individually, personally.  Religion is satisfied for people to believe its presentation of the facts about God.  It creates adherents, devotees and enthusiasts.  It develops gatherings, rituals, programs and organizational structure based on the information it presents. It calls people to believe in God the way 330 million Americans believe in Abraham Lincoln. Heaven has no such desire.  

 

A - Knowing someone and knowing about someone (regardless of how many facts about them are possessed) is not the same thing. Jesus of Nazareth clarifies eternal life with this same dynamic. "This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent." The beauty for me is not only can God and Jesus actually be known/experienced but we are also known by them. We are not just known about by heaven (the way the IRS knows about us).  We are known, loved and wanted even at our worst.  WOW! 

 

P - God who invites us to know,

Am so very grateful for you and your kingdom which is relationships. For the great dignity of choice given to us all so that we would have and grow in an actual relationship with you. I admit that I can't make you do your part and you won't make me do mine.  We choose together.  

Am grateful to live and pray in Jesus,

Steve