Serving? Don't Be Shy!

God's people are encouraged to serve boldly.

Luke 1:74-75  We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear,  75  in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.

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The story of the birth of John the Baptist is very familiar to most people that have heard the Christmas story but we are probably not so familiar with Zachariah's prophecies that immediately follow, one prophecy about his son John and the other prophecy about the coming Messiah. (Luke 1:67-80)

Zachariah's prophecy predicted that the Messiah is coming to rescue us from our enemies. We may have a lot of enemies but without the work of the Messiah my number one enemy is death, it is Satan's favorite tool, but we know that Jesus came to destroy the power of death in the lives of his children. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Zachariah's prophecy goes on to say the reason that we were saved from our enemies is so that we can serve God without fear. Unlike the priest that served with fear in the most holy part of the temple while the people were outside anxiously waiting to see if he would come out alive. We can serve God without fear because Satan's power has been defeated and because our relationship with God has been restored so that we are holy and righteous.

We have power from the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:29-31 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

The early church was being threatened by various groups, the government wasn't friendly to them and the people that were still holding onto Judaism felt that the Christ followers were blasphemers and they felt that they deserved to be stoned.

With all of this against them trying to stop them you would think that the early church would be praying for safety but instead they are asking God to make them even bolder than they already were. Their boldness was the source of their trouble but instead of hunkering down they kept praying for more boldness.

Use your gifts boldly.

2 Timothy 1:6-8  This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  8  So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.

Our spiritual gifts need to be developed so that you will get better at using it. Paul tells us to take that little spark and "fan into flames" and make it grow into a powerful force so that we can go out boldly and serve God without fear or embarrassment even if it means suffering. Instead of the spirit of fear we have been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.

God may want to use my spiritual gifts but he may want to use my weaknesses, the very thing that I feel like I cannot do may be the thing that he wants me to do, I need to be willing to be used by God and boldly allow him to use me in any way that he wants.

We can only serve one master, the choice is ours to make, will you serve yourself and miss the blessings of serving God? (John 12:25-26, 13:13-17)

God doesn't use dirty instruments, are you a clean instrument that he can use? (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

Will you love God and serve him with all your heart and soul or will you hold back? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

What Have You Decided About Jesus?

We all have a decision to make.

Luke 23:39-43 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Three crosses, three men crucified, one of them is the cross of our Savior the other two crosses hold men that are criminals.

On one cross the God-man, he didn't get a fair trial, he didn't do anything wrong and he didn't get treated the way that he should have. On the other two crosses the victims probably had a fair trial and they were found to be deserving of execution.

The crowds made their decision about Jesus, the two men on the crosses next to Jesus made up their mind about him and just like them, we are criminals that deserve to die and just like those two men we also have to make a decision about Jesus.

The choice that we must make is pictured at Calvary, we can be like the criminal that saw his sin, he changed his mind about his crimes and he saw Jesus for who he really is or we can be like the criminal that joins in with the crowds and rejects Jesus.

Three crosses, each one a symbol, one cross was a symbol of redemption being provided, the other a symbol of redemption being received and the third cross a symbol of redemption being rejected.

What have you decided about Jesus?

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The Widow's Offering - A Picture Of Jesus Sacrifice

The widow gave her all, Jesus gave his all, how is your giving? 

Luke 21:1-4 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

Proverbs 11:24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

Philippians 2:3-5 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

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There was a lot of giving going on that day in the temple. It was difficult to miss who gave and who didn't give and it was easy to be recognized for how much you gave. The leaders in the temple probably looked on as the donations were made so that they could intimidate the people into giving, they may have known who gave but they didn't know what Jesus knew, he was the only one that knew the attitude of the giver.

Jesus saw the rich and famous and how large their gifts were and then he saw the poorest of the poor and Jesus told his disciples that in God's economy the widow was the best giver in the temple that day. The widow had it right, she didn't dwell on how little that she had, she didn't think about how big her needs were, her happiness, comfort and security were not as important as her humble obedience.

Do you think she knew that the leaders in the temple were going to spend some of the money on themselves? These are the same leaders that were scamming the people with the money changers and the animals in the temple. The fact that they were going to misuse the money didn't stop her from doing what she was supposed to do. She still gave and did so without animosity.

It isn't in scripture but the Religious leaders were probably furious, as closely as they were watching Jesus and analyzing everything he said and did, I bet that they heard what he said about the givers that day.

Research has shown that when your income increases the percentage that is used for charitable contributions tends to drop. Just like the scene in the story of the widow, those that had the most gave the least, we tend to give less the more we are blessed.

The widow's enormous sacrifice reminds me of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. He sacrificed the riches of heaven, he subjected himself to the woes of the human experience, hunger, sadness, temptation and in a few days he would make the ultimate sacrifice.

Give Like Jesus

Jesus gave until it hurt. He was willing to help the worst of sinners. If anybody had a good reason to not be an excellent giver it would be Jesus, he gave to those that don't deserve it, his generosity and attitude in giving set the standard high for us to follow. We have benefited from his generosity despite the ugliness of our sin.

In order to be like Jesus I must be selfless and humble, willing to be humiliated and suffer for those that don't deserve it, I can not judge them. I must be willing to look out for the needs that are around me and be willing to meet them with the right attitude. I can not help them only when it is convenient or when it doesn't cost too much.

Just before Jesus gives us his all he makes sure that we see what he expects us to give. I will never go broke being generous if I am generous with the right motives. Jesus wants my sacrifice but he only wants it with the right attitude.

I want to be a generous giver Lord, thank you for your generous gift of salvation!

A Question You Need To Answer: Who Is Jesus?

It's Jesus' turn to ask the Pharisees some questions.

Luke 20:39-44  "Well said, Teacher!" remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there.  40  And then no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

41  Then Jesus presented them with a question. "Why is it," He asked, "that the Messiah is said to be the son of David?  42  For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms:

'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at My right hand  43  until I humble Your enemies, making them a footstool under Your feet.'   

44  Since David called the Messiah 'Lord,' how can the Messiah be his son?"

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The leaders in the temple were trying to find a way to get rid of Jesus, they thought that they needed to do something to get him to slip up and do something wrong, they were "Putting Out Some Traps" to try and catch Jesus but he gave the perfect answer to every question that they threw at him.

After Jesus answers their questions he turns the tables on them, according to the account of these events in Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus asked them two questions:

Question number one: “What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is he?”

Every Israelite knew the answer to that question. For hundreds of years they have been waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, they thought that they knew everything about the Messiah and that they would certainly know when he comes but somehow most of them didn't.

There are hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah that were made hundreds of years before he was born. They knew that prophecy predicted that:

• The Messiah would be a descendant of David
• He would be born of a virgin
• He would be called out from Egypt after hiding from Herod
• The children would be killed by Herod
• A messenger would precede the Messiah's arrival

Jesus clearly claimed to be the Messiah and Son of God:

• Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (John 4:25-26)
• Jesus made himself equal with God (John 5:17-18)
• Jesus said that he had seen God, which no one else could do (John 6:46)
• Jesus forgave sins, which only God had the authority to do (Mark 2:5-11)
• Jesus affirmed Peter's statement that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Matthew 16:15-17)
• Jesus told the high priest that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mark 14:61-62)

The Pharisees couldn't deny the answer to the question, everybody knew that he would be a descendant of King David, but they didn't put it all together. Jesus, David's son fulfilled so many prophesies but they were so spiritually blind that they could not see the person that they had been watching for.

Question number two: "Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 and asks them the question that they can't answer, it would be ridiculous for King David to call any of his sons "Lord," a new king would never be given that esteem by the old king. The people knew that this Psalm referred to the Messiah. David was referring to somebody greater than himself, somebody with a greater mission to accomplish.

The king described in Psalm 110:1-7 that David calls Lord, is a king that sits at the right hand of God, he is a king that rules over all other rulers, an everlasting priest and the judge of the nations.

The final proof
Romans 1:2-4 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus birth already gave us so much overwhelming evidence to prove that he is their Messiah, but if that isn't enough for you then there is always an empty tomb, Jesus death and resurrection also prove he is the Messiah.

The Jewish leaders couldn't deny that Jesus was back, the disciples were empowered because he was back, Saul of Tarsus changed from a devout Jew to being a Christ follower because he was back. In fact thousands of people converted immediately while Jesus was back on earth for forty days as he spent time proving that he was not a ghost but that he was the same person that they had crucified.

Nobody could decide to be a phoney and try and imitate the Messiah and the prophecies that his life, death and resurrection fulfilled. I just pray that each reader of this column has the ability to see the plain truth better than the citizens of Jerusalem did. Who Is Jesus? You must decide.

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Putting Out Some Traps

The man who couldn't be trapped came to help us because we were trapped.

Luke 20:20-22 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Now tell us, is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Luke 20:27-29 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees, religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. 29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers.

Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

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Jesus has been making a lot of waves in Jerusalem and the religious leaders are out to get him, between the Triumphant Entry, Clearing the Temple and calling them out in the parable about the Wicked Farmers, they are hot. The situation gets worse as Jesus shows up each day at the temple and teaches large crowds of people, who does this untrained teacher think he is, he just keeps showing up at the temple uninvited and without any credentials as a rabbi.

The religious leaders decide that they need to set out some traps so they try and stump Jesus with some difficult questions about political and social problems, that hasn't worked in the past and it doesn't work this time either, Jesus proves that he has the answers. Political and social issues are not his main concern but he does have an answer for the tough questions that we face in every area of our lives.

Jesus vs Traps, Traps Lose

John 10:17-18 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

The religious leaders don't realize that they don't need to use any traps, it is very clear who is in charge of the events that lead up to the crucifixion, Jesus is going to give them what they want... for a while anyway. They didn't realize that Jesus didn't come to Jerusalem to rise to a position of power... yet.

Jesus couldn't be trapped by Satan, Jesus came to Jerusalem to be the Passover Lamb, he was voluntarily giving up his life. The devil trapped us but he could not trap Jesus. We fell to the trap of sin by our own lust and desires but Jesus came to destroy the devil and make the trap of sin and death powerless in our lives. (Romans 6:5-11, 7:24-25)

Are you still trapped in your sins? Accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and enjoy the freedom of life in Christ and eternity with Him. (Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13)

I thank you Lord that you are in control, Satan has been defeated and I can have victory over the devil's schemes, the devil's traps are powerless against you.

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Rejecting God's Son Has Severe Consequences

The wicked farmers rebel against God and try to steal His vineyard.

Luke 20:9-13 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story:

“A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed."

11 "So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away."

13 “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’"

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God has been cultivating relationships ever since the Garden of Eden, he has gone out of his way to improve the soil, he has pruned the vine and blessed it with perfect opportunities to grow. The nation of Israel should be a very prosperous vine but the people that God left to tend to the vine for him have not been good farmers.

The way that the wicked farmers treat the servants is a vivid picture of Israel's persistent rejection of the prophets and John the Baptist. Time after time God sent men to call them to repentance and over and over again the religious and political leaders rejected them and persecuted and/or killed them and even now they have rejected the Son that the Land Owner sent.

Ever since the Triumphant Entry Jesus has been accepted by the people and the crowd in the Temple is increasing in size everyday. The crowds are accepting Jesus even though it is for the wrong reason, they think that he is going to rise up in power and change their situation physically but Jesus is on the way towards changing their spiritual condition.

The farmers that were left to care for the vine will get their way soon. They have rejected the Son of the Land Owner and they will get rid of him for their own gain. They are going to kill the Son but that isn't the end of the story.

Don't reject Jesus

Acts 4:10-12 "Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Imagine thinking that you have solved your problem and three days later you find that you are wrong, they didn't count on the fact that the Son that they killed would come back to life, they didn't imagine that he would be proved correct in all of his teaching and they would be condemned.

What a powerful message from Peter, right after he healed the crippled beggar, he made it crystal clear why he was able to perform this miracle. Peter quoted the same scripture from Psalm 118:22-23 that Jesus quoted, I wonder if the religious leaders cringed as those words rang in their ears.

We have all tried to solve our own problems instead of accepting Jesus, we have made our own gods, we have tried to find meaning and significance apart from Jesus. If you reject Jesus you soon find out that you don't have any good options. We are just like the people that saw Jesus after his resurrection, we have the opportunity to see that we are wrong, we have been given plenty of chances to change our mind about Jesus.

We need to take heed of the warning that Peter gave us, there is salvation in no one else, the consequences for rejecting the Son are beyond measure.

I have accepted your Son into my life for salvation, help me to accept him into my life each day, help me to draw closer to him by accepting his authority and living for him everyday. Amen.

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