Suddenly

. . . and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.

 - From Malachi 3

Jesus, the boy, showed up at the Temple and amazed the scholars with his awareness, knowledge, and wisdom. 

His father was a carpenter. They were a working-class family. But I want to stress the word "working." Joseph and Mary worked very hard to make a great life for their family. God, the Father, placed His Son into a family of modest means. There is no doubt about that. 

But this modest family of Joseph and Mary was not some needy, dependent ward of the State waiting for a handout. They had a home. They provided for their sizable number of kids. They contributed to the community of faith. No doubt, they were charitable and moderate. They were respected and admired. But they did not draw attention to themselves like 21st Century Virtue Signalers. 

They were not wanderers. They were not homeless. They were not poor. They were not destitute. They were a rock-solid family with a father and mother taking care of the kids placed into their home by the God of Nature and Biology.

Because . . . God started with families. He stressed the family unit. He established nations around the extended lines of families that grew rapidly into uncountable populations. 

Christ had to be one of us. He had to relate to us. His background and upbringing would have to be typical. He would be a typical man that could relate to everybody. 

He would have a lot to lose. And He would lose everything. Just like so many of us. Just like any one of us that emerges into the lowest level of humanity. 

This boy, Jesus, walked into the Temple from His average, blue-collar neighborhood, and made the glitterati of society marvel. The elite of His time - the celebrities, the stars, the professional athletes, the highly-liked Social Media activists. Somewhere along the way, these people all heard about this kid from Nazareth. But like all passing fads, he faded from their conscious thoughts until a couple decades later, when He emerged, again, but more publicly. 

The boy, Jesus, just walked up to the Temple. It was in the middle of the daily routines of the leaders, movers, and shakers. They had work to do, people to see, and places to go. But this Boy came up, suddenly, and changed their plans for the day. And all He did was engage in conversation with them.

He comes suddenly, seemingly, any time He shows up. 

In this present age, He has taken, so far, over two millennia to show up. And I find it a brilliant move on the part of the Father. 

Make them . . . make us . . . wait. Let us get immersed in the designs of humanity, and the vain machinations of our "influencers."

God has made it so that suddenly really will be sudden, the next time Jesus shows up. 

Belief is Everything: 1 & 2 John (TEN YEARS!)

First published Sunday, January 24, 2010

Everywhere in Scripture, the main thing always comes down to belief; simple, childlike belief, that what has been written in the Word is true.

Our belief is a testimony that God has gotten through to us. Absent the Spirit of God, we would not believe. Others have seen greater miracles than we. Pharaoh, and the Scribes and Pharisees, saw everything. They saw the Nile River turned to blood. They saw Lazarus walking again. And if seeing is believing, they must have believed something.

But they did not believe that Jesus was God's son. We are asked to believe it, without ever seeing it with our fleshly eyes. It would seem like a herculean task for us. Yet it is what me must do. And we would not believe, if there were no Spirit of God; if there were no truth in which to trust.

And if we did not believe; if we chose to turn from the belief . . . where would we go? People will still die - that we know quite empirically. The biblical record is adamant and inescapable on this point: we die. I will die and you will die. God's Word is validated.

So I ask you, where will you turn? Can you find something, or someone, that can reverse that which you have seen with your own eyes . . . the death of a loved one? Or will you really stretch your imagination and put your trust in some belief system that says that what you see with your own eyes, death, is not the truth.

Trust your senses! Death is real! And only one person in history has ever done anything to reverse it's horror! Only Jesus of Nazareth has ever claimed to have conquered death! If you can see death with your own eyes; test for no pulse, detect an absence of breathing . . . if you can testify that the dead rot after so many days - then why, dear friend, do you find it such a stretch to believe that the same process can be reversed?

Only one man in history has ever done anything to defeat, or to cheat, death! Why do you not make that your starting point in your journey to eternal truth?

Who is the conqueror of the world if not for the person who believes that Jesus is the son of God?

Of course there is a Creator, someone greater than us! Of course there is One Who knows it all (since we clearly do not!)

And if there is a Creator that has let us endure this long . . . does it not make sense that He would want to build us into people with whom He could fellowship? Is it really such a stretch to say that He would want us to live forever? And would there not be some plan that would make such human eternals worthy to live forever?

If you seek a solution to death, look to the one with the solution. If you have conquered death, you have conquered the world.

Believe.

Show Don't Tell - 1 John 3 (TEN YEARS!)

First published January 8, 2010

Just last night, commentators on cable news were saying that President Obama can't just talk about fighting terrorism. He has to actually do something. It is a mark of immaturity to make grand statements that are not backed up with action. The pre-teen that says "I will clean up my room later today," truly means to do so. There is even a psychological concept I read about once, that explains the tendency of politicians to speak blatant, impudent lies. The theory, they say, is based upon a self-view we all have, that we cannot do wrong.

"I am honest," says the politician (or salesman, or attorney, or teacher, or minister), "therefore, if I say one thing but do another; or if I break a promise or agreement; then it is acceptable. I have found an exception that covers my own behavior, since I am basically an honest person. I have done no wrong."

Richard Nixon honestly believed there was nothing wrong with Watergate. Ted Kennedy certainly excepted himself in the Chappaquiddick affair. Bill Clinton has probably a volume of fine print that covers all of his behavior and actions, so that he remains basically a good man.

People do not do wrong because they consider themselves evil. Hitler did not go around (like evil people in novels) devising "wicked schemes" to visit upon mankind! Even he thought his actions prudent, wise, and even "good," as ghastly as that may sound!

So it is that President Obama can campaign for full transparency, and to have C-Span cover every negotiation and debate on health care reform; only to do everything in secrecy after becoming President. He has found an exception to the rule of basic integrity. Even his supporters will back him up. Believing themselves right to vote for him, they will allow an exception that covers their hero.

It all seems quite complicated when you get right down to it.

Dear children, we mustn't love with words or with our tongue, but in truth and action.

Our generation is not unique in its desire for authenticity, honesty, integrity, and loyalty! Humanity has yearned for such qualities since the very beginning.

The follower of Christ can shine his or her light quite effectively, by just being a little honest!

One of the objectives in teaching upper elementary-aged students to become better writers, is to have them "show, don't tell." If a person is a sloppy dresser, don't just write: "He was a sloppy dresser." This would be telling.

Show the sloppy dresser to the reader:

He entered the room with halting steps. When I looked up, the first thing I noticed was the shirt untucked and hanging out on his left side. One pant leg was pulled up a little higher than the other, which displayed a discolored and frayed fabric. His ball cap was stained along the brim that goes closest to his forehead. With his rolled-up sleeves, I couldn't help but observe his chewed and be-jammed nails. I could tell that he had not shaved yet, today, and wondered whether he could not afford some new clothes, or didn't care.

So it is with our Christian walk. We need to just do, and not go around telling people about it.

The "Doing" Part: I John 2-3

Originally posted Thursday, January 7, 2010

So here we are - the final year of my decade-long personal Bible journal. The first several years are saved in a hard drive somewhere. In fact, I believe the hard drive that stores them, has been removed and is put away somewhere.

In September of 2001, I ended up missing several weeks of journaling. The 911 attack changed a lot of routines.

When I went through divorce, and entered grad school, I got behind, many times. But in the summer of 2006 I used my spare time to get caught up.

In today's passage, we read a lot about behaving as Christ followers. John says that if we claim to be Christians, we must act like it. If you have faith, it will show! And yet we are not saved by works! No, this is not talking about that!

A works-based religion deals in ritual, brick-and-mortar buildings, observing seasons, festivals, and holy days.

But if you love others as Christ does, you are not building your salvation on works! If you are in the light, you will show forth the light. You will love others! You will have the right attitude, and it will be evident to others!

Everyone born of God keeps from doing wrong.

Notice that John does not mention our thoughts! I believe that the Christian always struggles with temptation, evil thoughts, hateful musings . . .

But we master our minds by doing what's right, anyway! We train our thoughts, and hearts, by insisting that we love others, by practicing love and showing it forth; by being loving and being a light to the world, no matter how we feel about it!

So, the "doing" that John mentions; the avoiding wrong that is mandatory for Christians, has nothing to do with "works."

If you are in Christ, you will love others. And if you love others, it will totally be manifest in behaviors that are not wrong, at all!

Another Eye-Witness: 2 Peter and 1 John (TEN YEARS)

First posted on Monday, December 28, 2009

The minor epistles are precious to us. These are letters written by men who had first-hand knowledge of Jesus Christ. They saw the miracles, heard the teaching, and finally, saw the risen Lord.

John is a special case in point. He is the only epistle-writer that also wrote a Gospel. He and Matthew were the only Gospel-writers that were Apostles.

He also died of natural causes. What is it about this man, that compelled the Romans to keep him alive? He had the most dangerous information of all! He was at the Transfiguration! With Paul and James, he was one of the "Inner Circle" of disciples, with whom Jesus shared the deepest secrets!

Is this why John had his particular view of Christ. Is this why his understanding of Jesus went beyond great teacher and redeemer, to Son of God, Word-made-flesh, Living Word? John understood the deepest and most powerful aspects of God's plan. Why did the Romans keep him alive so that he could write it down, for the ages?

What was there from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and felt with our hands concerning the word of Life . . .

If John were crazy, why did they not put him away for good? If he was not reputable at all, then why was he spared? The man was a close friend of Christ! He may have been the one at the cross, who Jesus charged with caring for his mother! He was like family to Jesus! He had seen more than perhaps anybody!

And then, on Patmos, he received visions never matched before or since! The entire plan of the ages unfolded before his eyes, and he wrote it down in the Book of Revelation!

Why did he live? He was an eye-witness to it all!

Why was John spared?

Praise God, that he was!