January 27, 2014 – Matthew 19 – Childlike Faith

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• We find three separate stories in our reading today that on the surface almost feel like they have nothing in common, but on closer examination there is brilliance in their grouping. The authors of the four gospels often do not tell Jesus story in chronological order. In many regards they group stories and teachings together that follow a similar theme. That is what we have here in chapter nineteen.

• Jesus is now back in Judea, closer to the home base of many Pharisees, and closer to Jerusalem. He is still drawing larger crowds and some in the crowds are the Pharisees themselves. They are still trying to trap Jesus. They know that God values marriage, but that God allowed divorce through Moses for various reasons. They want to see what Jesus will say. Jesus takes the permissions of the Law of Moses and comes down a little stricter. Maybe Jesus was thinking it is time to get back to their original intention when God ordained the institution of marriage. Here as with many things, the people of Israel are concerned about the letter of the Law and not the heart of the Law.

• Immediately after this discussion of divorce we read about little children coming to Jesus. His disciples shoo them away. Jesus is not too busy for these children. Jesus doesn’t have any harsh teaching for these children. Jesus doesn’t rebuke these children. Jesus simply blesses these children and proclaims that the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

• We finish our reading with a story about a rich young man. This man has lived a righteous life. He comes to Jesus wanting to know what he can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus suggests some things and the man confirms he has kept them all. Then Jesus advises that he sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and follow Him. The rich man is not willing. Jesus points out that keeping the letter of the Law is not enough … that salvation is a heart issue … and then alludes to the grace issue that will be realized in the cross.

 What is this passage teaching?

• So what three things does each of these stories have in common? The heart of the Law. In the first and last episodes we see grown men concerned with the letter of the law. In the middle story we find children, who are in many regards naive to sin finding praise from Jesus. This is the type of faith Jesus wants us to have; not a faith that is reduced to keeping a bunch of rules and regulation, but a faith that believes and heart that loves. 

 How can I apply this passage to my life?

• Think about your own life. Do you put your stock of salvation in the things you do? Or is your faith more childlike? What things could you do to make the proper shift from a salvation based off of keeping a bunch of rules to a salvation trusting the grace of God? Begin examining your life and investigating where you have work to do. 

January 7, 2014 – Matthew 5 – Giving your heart to Jesus.

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

Jesus is very early in His ministry; but exactly how early we do not know. The book of Matthew is not a chronological telling of the life of Jesus. We can assume that the full cast of twelve disciples has been collected by this point.

This is known as Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Mark Moore, former college professor and author writes, “This is the greatest sermon ever given. It is also the most quoted. In it we find the epitome of Jesus’ teaching – radical, sensible, spiritual, and almost vicious in its demolition of hypocrisy. It flies in the face of every culture it enters. It pierces every heart that hears it. We attempt to dissect it with an exegetical scalpel only to find that we, not the text, are under examination.”[i]

Jesus begins His sermon by sharing things that God provides blessings for. These blessings are God comforting and protecting those willing to follow Him and seek Him out.

Jesus then reminds His audience, Jews, that they have a purpose in carrying out … to be the salt and light of the world. They have responsibility as the nation of God’s choosing to be the ones to tell about God, who He is, and what He has done.

When Jesus speaks the Jews are still living under the Law of Moses. This Law has shaped their society … in good and bad ways. They have often taken the Law apart and followed it in ways God did not intend. Jesus reminds that righteousness, not simply observance of the Law, is what God is really after.

From here Jesus begins teaching bout relationships from anger, adultery, divorce, vows, revenge, and loving our enemies. Jesus teaching was radical in many ways. He took what the Law said and even ramped it up a notch. Jesus was more focused on your heart then on strict observance to the Law.

What is this passage teaching?

The blessings that start this sermon off with are often known as The Beatitudes. They are matters of the heart. They demonstrate how your heart should react to those around you and how it should respond to God. For a proper heart, God will bless. What is great is Jesus keeps this heart discussion going. When he talks about being salt and light it is all about changing the heart of those who are far from God. When Jesus talks about the Law, He is reminding them that they have lost the heart of the Law. Jesus is more concerned with our hearts than He is with anything else.

How can I apply this passage to my life?

So where is your heart at? Are you madly in love with Jesus? Or are you following Him because that is what you are supposed to do? Jesus is more concerned with your heart than anything else. He wants you to desire Him. He wants you to follow, not because you fear the alternative, but because you love Him with all your being. Where is your heart at?

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[i] Moore, Mark. The Chronological Life of Christ. 1. Joplin: College Press, 1996. 171. Print.

November 20 – Acts 11 & 12

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts 11 & 12. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Kieran Connellan

I am in love with an Indie Rock Band Walk Off The Earth from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. They are incredibly talented group of musicians and vocalist. They are well known for their YouTube videos covering some of the most popular music of today’s current artists. Their video covers often take a song to an amazing new level. I am blown away by the talent God has blessed them with. Their most recent release was one of the members of the group along with two friends covering Miley Cyrus’ newest song Wrecking Ball. I am not a Miley fan, did not even care for the song until I listened to this cover. The pain and emotion displayed in this song is just amazing from these three ladies.

Through their emotion I am reminded that there are so many people in our world whose lives have been confronted by the proverbial wrecking ball. Maybe it was their marriage. Maybe it was their finances. Maybe it is currently a relationship with family members. Maybe it is a job situation. Maybe it is legal trouble. Maybe it is some kind of consequence to sinful choices. As Christians how should we respond when people come to us in the midst of the wrecking ball experience of life?  

In our reading today we encountered a man named Barnabas. Barnabas was not his real name, only his nickname. Barnabas means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). The early church has nicknamed this man by his dominate characteristic. So as the church grew, and people outside the Jewish community started becoming Christians, it is obvious to send the encourager to these new Christians.

We can be confident that these people who were coming to Christ were certainly people who knew the wrecking ball of life. They were people who more than likely worshiped the god’s of the day, not the one true God. But soon they began worshiping the one true God and accepting Jesus as Lord. Barnabas goes and is excited to see God working. It is here that he begins encouraging … “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” (Acts 11:23 NIV) From Barnabas we can learn a valuable lesson.

When people in our church, in our lives, in our communities encounter the wrecking ball, often what they need most is a little bit of Barnabas. They need encouragement. They need to be uplifted. Let me encourage you to face the wrecking ball with encouragement to remain faithful! 

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September 25 – Ezra 7-10

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Ezra 7-10. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

In our reading today we come to a very tough passage. Ezra is now on scene in Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes’ has sent Ezra back to be a leader of the people. In doing so he gave magnificently to Israel and to God. I love that along the way Ezra acknowledges God presence with them … “Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem this way.” (Ezra 7:27 NIV) This is a lesson we would be wise to practice as we go through life.

When Ezra returns the Temple is built and worship and sacrifices are complete; it is brought to his attention that many men who returned from exile have married women who were not Israelites. This was a grievous problem. The Law of Moses, which Ezra is an expert in, strictly forbids this practice. The reason for this is the invitation of foreign pagan worship amongst the people as well as the mothers worship influence upon their children. In complete and total mourning, Ezra is given a solution from within … lead the men to divorce their wives.

An assembly of the people took place three days later and it was decided that over the next several months

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

an investigation would ensue. At the end of this investigation one hundred and thirteen men were found guilty and a divorce was issued. The wife and any children were sent packing. Now this seems incredibly harsh, especially in light of our Christian understanding of divorce. But we must remember what God is doing here in Israel … preparing the way of the Messiah!

Dr. James Smith offers some help in understanding the difficulties of this account …

“First, the major problem being addressed was the religious influence of the mothers on their children. Second, sending away the children with their mothers was less cruel than forcibly separating them from their children. Third, keeping the religion of the Lord pure was the one and only aim of Ezra. Fourth, only by insulating themselves from the sea of pagan influence around them could the religious identity of God’s people be maintained.” [i]

Regardless of the reasons this is still a difficult thing for us to understand. We must remember that spiritual purity is an incredibly important aspect of Jewish life at this point. We can also find some conciliation that there is widespread belief in the academic community that each situation was investigated. That is the reason for the marriage tribunal that was created. Many believe they reviewed each case and if the wife had truly turned to God and rejected her pagan practices she remained as a wife. It was only those who held on to their pagan god’s that were removed from Israel.

The scariest part of all this is that the leaders had the worst percentage of offences. Twenty-seven priest and Levites were found to have pagan wives who did not convert to God. That is twenty five percent of the people. This is a huge grievance. If the leaders could not follow God, how could the people they were leading? It is important that leaders set the stage for everyone else. This not only held true in Ezra’s day, but in our day as well.

This passage is hard to read. It is hard to fathom that many heartbreaks taking place. But it was necessary. God needed purity. God needed these people to bring the Messiah into the world. A severe action had to take place. We would be wise to think things through before embarking on a destructive path that will only bring heartbreak.

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[i] Smith, James E. The Book of History. Joplin: College Press, 1995. 716. Print.