Luke 17-18 2,000 years has a way of taming the story

October 31st, Luke 17-18

       In a classic game of, did Jesus really say that, today's passage ranks pretty high…"Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." Not one of the most often quoted portions of red letters in the gospels. Jesus throws in another Samaritan as a hero in another story of lepers. I'm pretty sure none of us understand the level of impact that Jesus is going for in doing that. It's offensive for the people we hate and look down on to always be your heroes Jesus. I bet he knows that. What's up with Sabbath healings, Samaritan heroes and vultures/corpses?
       We find the Pharisee praying…I'm thankful that I am more special than any other person. No one is more worthy than I. Certainly not the unjust or people who extort money or adulterers and certainly not like that there Tax Collector(or Samaritan).
       We find the Tax Collector…standing at a distance, not even feeling worthy to put his head up, begging for the mercy of God on me a sinner.
       One we've looked up to and wanted to be like, one we wrote off as one that should be cast away.
       Jesus likes to stir the pot, I know I certainly do, and maybe you do as well. Maybe reading about Jesus interactions with people is a source of great irritation to you, can't He just say what I feel comfortable with Him saying? Well… no…but there is more intent than simple irritation.
       The difference between Jesus' expressions that make people feel uncomfortable and our expressions sometimes, is that Jesus is always stirring the pot with the truth(that's different than a simple goal of being a horses rear end!!) The level of irritation people have with what Jesus is saying reflects the level of disconnect we have with doing things God's way.
       I encourage you to rethink the sweet, extra credit, stories of a gentle Jesus and invite you into the radical, life-changing, invitation of the Kingdom of God.

Luke 14-16 Hide and Seek

October 30th, Luke 14-16

       Chapter 15 has a theme of lost items. A lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.  I think of the lost and found. Years of coaching reminds me of the stuff students throw away at the end of a season, thrown into the lost and found. Not really lost, but certainly found. I think of hide and go seek. Intentionally playing hard to get, seeking to avoid, finding new places to hide. Lost to the one seeking, while knowing where you are(glad my keys can't evade me with intentionality, although sometimes I wonder).
       There is a realization inside of me that sometimes I like to be "not found." Wondering around on my own, doing my own thing. It means I don't have to pay attention to someone who gives instruction.  That battle is always complicated when you see how much better it is to be found than to be lost. Unlike the coin that fell or was misplaced or the sheep that mindlessly wonders too far, I can be the prodigal, breaking hearts while I do it my way. It's all about me.
       I see in the hearts of people an enjoyment for the game of hide and seek. Liking the game more than enjoying being found. Like being found is being caught and being less free. Or messing with the mind of the seeker. We played hide and seek where you had to get back to a predetermined location without getting caught. One upping the seeker. I see that mentality with people playing this game with God.
       Thank God that he is a seeker. He could have washed his hands of this whole mess after the fall. God is not obligated to save us, find us, heal us, forgive us.  We must learn how to play this game of hide and seek less and learn the truth that is more grand. God wants you to be found. Remember he is omniscient and being "found" offers a wholeness that "lost" never will.

Luke 12-13 Truth, Grace and Time

October 28th, Luke 12-13

       Truth-Grace-Time

        This is the theme for my Bonsai page. it reflects the passage in Luke 13:6-9. In it the owner of a vineyard notices a fig tree that doesn't produce anything, he demands the keeper of the vineyard should have it be chopped down. Land in a vineyard is meant to be productive(TRUTH). Why should this tree waste the soil here? Valid question!

       GRACE: The keeper knows there are some things he could do to try and make something different happen. Let me dig around it and backfill it with some fertilizer. There is a problem with the roots if there are no fruits, so let me tend to that. Grace is in order, it will take less time to get this tree healthy than to get another one mature and ready to bear fruit. A little investment in the root of the matter, a little grace will go along way.

       Time: It's not going to be fixed tomorrow. Fertilizer needs time to cause something new. This year I moved my blueberry bushes to my front yard where they get sun all day, you wouldn't believe the difference. I can't wait to see what two years of sun will bring. Fig trees usually bear two crops a year. The invitation to a year was to go through two fruiting cycles. 

       Time…growth takes time. Growth takes truth, what we find in God's word, what we discover should be true about us in this journey of faith. We need exposure to the truth. Growth takes grace. Grace to get us from point A to point B. Growth has a time period between what we know ought to be true about us and what is true about us(hint: others need that too). Growth takes time. Every year a tree can only put on so much growth. Sapling to mature tree is a process.

       Truth, Grace, Time it's true for you , it's true for me, it's true for my bonsai. When I teach my bonsai class the typical comment is…"I notice you use the word "Years" a lot." Yes, yes I do. Good health this year means something different next year. Take a longer view of things and see what happens, TRUTH, GRACE, TIME

Luke 10-11 Greater Gifts, Better Requests

October 28th, Luke 10-11

       What do you ask for? What do you get the person who has everything? The thought reminds me of an Amy Grant Christmas song about a grown-up Christmas list. From memory, I might mess this up…

• no more lives torn apart
• wars would never start
• time would heal all hearts
• everyone have a friend
• right would always win
• love would never end

       My grown-up Christmas list, vastly different from the circled entries in the JC Penney's toy catalog of my childhood. Expectations have moved for the benefit of another.

       My requests are also rooted in the giver. My expectations are kept at an appropriate level. For some a card is the most they can do, for others the gift is a little more. God reminds us in the passage this morning that if we who are sinful "know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" If the giver of every good thing was my source, what would be different?

       If you knew the greatest gift giver of all, the one who could offer the greatest gifts imaginable…what would you ask for? Wool socks or lives changed by Christ! My hope this morning is that our prayer lives would reflect the greatest gift giver of all time. Our requests would be inline with the heart of our Father. That we would ask for impossible things, so that credit could go singularly to our Father in heaven. That we would witness and give testimony to the giver of all good gifts and rejoice with Him. 

       How has your grown-up Christmas list changed? How has your image of a good gift changed?

Luke 8-9 Want something of value? It'll cost you.

October 27th, Luke 8-9

       Cost, how much will it cost? Get three estimates, we don't want to overpay. There is nothing unreasonable about financial responsibility.  Costs can be off by the calculations of another or through our own failure. Sometimes our failure lies in the  problem of considering our system and what reals costs are. Here's a misunderstanding calculation...
       Someone offers up their life or their freedom or do anything they can to kill the rat in their jail cell for a meal, because they decided to go "all in" and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We concern ourselves with the condescending look of a neighbor, name calling, or cry of intolerant.
       We are in that moment when people will consider their abuse of Christian values to be the voice of reason. You and I are blessed when people curse us for the truth. There is a new cost to this thing of Christianity.
       It'll cost you to say abortion is wrong! It'll cost you to say that in Gods view, there is no such thing as gay marriage. It'll cost you to challenge the notion that all roads lead to heaven! You'll be hated or treated as an awful hateful person to proclaim truth. The cost in our new world is high, it's still pretty lame compared to our martyr brothers and sisters, but it is real. Are you willing to be hated when you speak the truth. Costing something to be a Christian is becoming a very real part of our society. It's becoming hazardous to speak, but more hazardous to not speak.

Luke 6-7 Old Dog, New Tricks…Good Day

October 26th, Luke 6-7

       Let me introduce you…Rubber, meet road,,,Road, meet rubber. Luke 6:27ff

• Love your enemies
• Do good to those who hate you
• Bless those who curse you
• Pray for those who abuse you
• To the one who hits you on the cheek, offer the other as well
• If one takes your coat, give him your tunic
• Give to everyone who begs from you
• If someone takes your goods don't demand them back
• Do to others as you want them to do to you

Luke 6:35ff

• Love your enemies
• Do good to them
• "Lend, expect nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

       Growth point for the year is found in the bold words. I have been tolerant and irritated by the ungrateful and thus not acting like my Father in Heaven. Forgive me Lord for the countless ways I find myself living counter to you. Thanks for your grace that covers over sins I am unaware of and lead me on paths of righteousness for the sake of your name

Luke 4-5 You Missed!

Guest Blogger - Cheri Hudspith - sister to Terry

Luke 4 contains one of my favorite passages in scripture. I love the description of Jesus. I love that it is spoken by Isaiah first. I love that Jesus picks up the Isaiah scroll and reads it aloud to the people gathered in the synagogue.

What happens after Jesus reads from Isaiah is something I forget. It's disappointing. Unfortunately, it's not surprising.

The long awaited Messiah whose agenda is to bring Good News, free captives, give sight to the blind, and free people from oppression is passionately rejected. Jesus didn't meet their expectations so they rejected Him. They didn't know how to believe in Him so they rejected Him.

It makes me sit back in my chair and say, "Wow!".  It's so sad. They were in the presence of Christ and they couldn't receive what He was offering them.

I feel the sadness because we do the same thing today. Has Jesus offered Himself to you in a way that you haven't been able to trust? Do you live in denial about something because you haven't been willing to ask God to give you sight on a matter? Do you struggle to believe what Jesus has said about Himself?

Remember that when we are tempted to live in denial, we are  not condemned for that. Jesus is not surprised it's hard for us to trust Him. In the midst of our fears, He keeps inviting each of us to open our eyes and humbly seek the truth. I am thanking God we have the opportunity for a much different response than the people of Nazareth had on that day.