Weekly Scripture References:

• Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33, New Living Translation)
•  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, New International Version)
• Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.       (Psalm 1: 1-2, New International Version)

Biblical Reflection:

To develop spiritual insight from a Christian perspective search the Scriptures, read additional historical text, and study ancient cultures.  Christian Scripture delineates the teachings and works of Jesus and the historical context in which they occurred. Studying other historical texts and ancient cultures provide the background for a balanced and deep understanding of the practical application of Christian principles. This Lenten lesson focuses solely on viewing the world through the eyes of Jesus as depicted in Christian Scripture.Therefore, readers are encouraged to also read church history, study world history, and examine the doctrines of their particular denominations.

What specific things did the disciples do to nurture their spiritual growth? Lets begin with the following statements. Jesus and his original disciples were Jewish. According to Scripture, they observed Jewish customs and traditions. They also drew connections between Jesus’ teachings and Hebrew Scripture (the Christian Old Testament). Like any serious student involved in mastering a discipline, the disciples spent considerable time studying under Jesus’ tutelage.They listened to him, engaged him in meaningful conversation – including raising questions, and they observed his behavior. In other words, the disciples became active learners.

For Christians, developing spiritual insight (growing in grace) begins with spending time studying the words and behavior of Jesus as depicted in Scripture. Read the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) daily;  mediate on the words of Jesus, internalize his teachings, and pray for understanding.  In addition, observe Christian traditions: regularly attend worship service; observe Christian Holy Days- Christmas, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost; give to the work of the church for the sake of spreading the Good News of the Gospel, and help others.

Food for Thought

• For the next 30 days, spend  two hours and forty minutes each day reading and studying the Gospels-focus on the teachings of Jesus. Begin and end each day with Scripture reading and prayer.
• Think of Scripture as the nutrient necessary for personal spiritual growth; not a weapon to use against other people.
• Pray constantly for yourself and others. Pray while driving or riding in your car, on the bus, exercising, and relaxing. Pray everywhere all the time. Remember to pray for homeless and hungry people, for those living in war-torn countries, those adversely affected by natural disaster, and for the sick and those bereaved. Pray for mercy and justice for all.
• Avoid  “I statements” except when praying. Make Jesus the center of each personal testimony.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

(This post is a revision of the Lenten thought I posted yesterday.)

Jesus makes three things abundantly clear to those who choose to follow him. They must develop spiritual insight; submit their will to the will of God, and understand from the beginning of their commitment to him that the life of a disciple is difficult.

Today’s lesson focuses on developing spiritual vision.  Jesus’ disciples are to view the world through spiritual lenses.  Hence, Jesus renders the following rebuke to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Verse 23, NIV) The admonition was issued in response to Peter discounting Jesus’ prophecy about the circumstances of Jesus’ death.

Each time I read the exchange between Peter and Jesus,I am reminded of the countless times I have heard Christians scorn one another for speaking the truth, when that truth is uncomfortable, scary, or contradicts the hearer’s understanding of a biblical concept.  It happens most often among people who believe affirmation of the negative (acknowledgement of an illness or other problem) constitutes lack of faith. Those speaking the truth are often criticized and characterized as lacking faith or being negative, neither of which is necessarily true. Sometimes the person is simply stating a hard to swallow fact, such was the case in the referenced passage of Scripture that prompted Jesus to admonish Peter.

Conversely to Peter’s response to Jesus’ prophecy, there is not a single place in Scripture where Jesus admonished a person for confessing a need. To the contrary, people made their needs known to Jesus and he met those needs

So, a question for consideration is: “How does one develop spiritual insight?”  The answer that immediately comes to mind is to search the Scriptures; study history, and culture, and pray for God’s guidance.

Food for Thought

1. How is the exchange between Jesus and Peter related to faith?
2. Make a list of incidents recorded in the bible where either Jesus or his disciples rebuked a person for stating a personal need.

Scripture Reading:

• “…If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”  (Matthew 16:24, New Living Translation).
• “A righteous person will have many troubles, but the LORD will deliver him [her] from them all.”   (Psalm 34:19, International Standard Version)

The background for this reflection is found in Matthew, Chapter 16. In the text, Jesus raises a familiar New Testament theme-the tension that exists between the sacred and the secular. He also highlights two attributes of his disciples and characterizes their lives as burdened.

In the following  excerpt Jesus explicitly admonishes Peter for focusing on the secular instead of the spiritual. ‘Jesus turned to Peter and said, “…You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s'” (Matthew 16:23).  Jesus’ reprimand identifies spiritually-centered as a key quality of his disciples.  

In verse 24, Jesus describes selflessness as another characteristic of discipleship.   Jesus  makes it clear that those who follow him must give up selfish ambition.  They must also understand  that following him is more than:  lip service, attending religious services, praying, fasting, engaging in good works, and memorizing and quoting Scripture.  His disciples are expected to do all the things previously mentioned and more. Each is required to subordinate his or her will to the will of God. God’s will is for them to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel-God loves, saves, delivers, and heals and salvation is free and available to everyone (John 3:16).

Furthermore, Jesus asserts that God’s perfect will:  –  “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”^[ (Luke:10:27) becomes the desire and personal mantra of every disciple of Christ.

To prepare them for the cost of discipleship Jesus  warns against thinking following him  protects them from sufferings common to the human experience. Instead, Jesus infers (verse 24) discipleship adds an additional burden to their lives. Because of their message- God is love and Jesus is the only way to God- his followers will lose most of their earthly possessions, including social status and treasured relationships. They will be misquoted, misunderstood,  ridiculed, rejected, and ostracized.

In other parts of Scripture Jesus encourages and reassures his disciples that  the reward for discipleship far outweighs the high cost of following him ( Matthew 5:11). According to Jesus the sufferings his disciples experience in this life will be rewarded with eternal life- perpetual fellowship with God-Creator.

Food for Thought 

1. Using your own words, list three examples of biblical love depicted in Scripture.

Close with Prayer

The lives of the people depicted in Scripture reflect the following universal truths:  none of us are perfect and none of us are defined solely by our misdeeds. Like us, most biblical characters are complex. They exhibit weaknesses and strengths and they experience the range of emotions common to all humans. At times they demonstrate great faith and courage. Other times they lack faith and act out of fear. Their character flaws and weaknesses are revealed and immortalized in Scripture.

I identify most closely with the characters during their most vulnerable moments when their weaknesses are exposed. For example,  I empathize and sympathize with Sarah when out of fear she lied to the Angel of the Lord by denying she laughed at His prophecy: she would bear a child in her old age (Genesis 18:9-15). I imagine the shock and fear Sarah must have felt after the Angel of the Lord acknowledged her unbelief by revealing her thoughts. It must have been terrifying for her. I don’t know how I would have responded. But, I am convinced that like Sarah my response would have been fear driven.

–

Similarly, I grieve for Peter every time I read about him weeping bitterly after denying Christ three times (Matthew 26:75).  I visualize the great shame, dejection, and self-loathing Peter must have experienced. Like Sarah, when Peter lied he showed a lack of faith.  Subsequently, Peter has become a pillar of the Christian faith.

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As much as I agonize over the sufferings and defeats of the people whose narratives are etched in Scripture,  I am also encouraged by and rejoice over their personal, political, and spiritual triumphs. Their life stories remind me life is a journey full of ups and downs, to err is human, and no matter how bad a thing seems where hope abides possibilities for good and growth exist. No one goes through life unscathed; but, those who produce the most positivity are deeply spiritual and have an authentic relationship with the Creator.

Lord, we acknowledge you as our shepherd and trust you to meet our needs. In fact, we testify that you give us more than we need.

When we grieve and are distressed you soothe and comfort us. When chaos swirls around us you keep us calm and give us peace. During every spiritual battle you uphold us. After each battle you restore our spiritual strength so we are able to withstand the next round of fiery darts thrown at us. You make it possible for us to overcome every challenge, including fear.

You alone lead us into righteous thinking and behaving. Apart from you we are nothing and incapable of doing any good thing.

Even in our darkest hours we will not fear, for you-Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life- are with us. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect and guide us.

You are so good to us that you heap an abundance of spiritual gifts upon us in the presence of our enemies.Your anointing awes them, as it does us for we know we are unworthy.

Because of your word, we are confident that your goodness and mercy shall be with us always and we rejoice in knowing we shall dwell in your presence forever.

“Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns[a] of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story. Mark 5: 19 & 20

Powerful and inspirational personal testimonies always highlight the imperfections of the ones testifying and the grace, love, and power of God. They are inspired by a deep gratitude to God and a desire to introduce others to God.  Such was the case of the testimony of the man described in the preceding passage of Scripture. After the man’s deliverance he was so overcome with gratitude to Jesus for healing him that he went back to where he was from and began “ …to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him…” The Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well responded similarly (see John 4:28-30). After her encounter with Jesus she returned to where she was from and testified about Jesus. ‘Then the woman left her water pot beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, “Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?”  So the people came streaming from the village to see him.’ John 4:28-30 (TLB)

Notice, the characters in the Bible went back to where they were from to witness to people they knew and who knew them.  The power of their testimonies was derived from the fact that each of them had an authentic encounter with Jesus. They were no longer just people who had heard about Jesus, they had met God.  To meet the Lord is a life altering experience that results in a transformed life dedicated to glorifying God in word, thought, and deed.

Everyone has a story. Some stories are more interesting and inspiring than others. But the stories that have the greatest impact are God-centered and illustrate God’s great love for humanity.  Like those narratives revealed in the previously cited Scriptures, such testimonies are also revealed in and through the experiences of Harriet Tubman, Anne Frank, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy; David Wilkerson, Cookie Rodriguez, and others. The testimonies are uplifting because they show God is no respecter of persons- what God does for one God will do for others because God loves each of us equally and unconditionally. The testimonies are particularly poignant because each inspires hope for they are proof that God still performs miracles and those miracles are evidence that God loves, saves, delivers, and heals.

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth let there be peace among God’s people!” Luke 2:14

My prayers go out to all of those adversely affected by the perverted actions of Ismaaiyl Brinsley – the disturbed man who assassinated NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on December 20, 2014.

Brinsley, a deranged human being and a “lone wolf” is solely responsible for the pain and suffering caused by the horrific violence he perpetrated that fateful day against his girlfriend and Officers Ramos and Liu.

According to various press reports, Brinsley’s violent rampage began on the morning of December 20th  in Baltimore, Maryland where he shot his 29-year-old girlfriend in the stomach, stole, her cellular phone, and boarded a bus to New York City. Later that day Brinsley arrived in NYC. A few hours after his arrival, he snuck up on the unsuspecting officers and killed them in cold blood. At the time of their murders the officers were sitting in a police vehicle with their weapons holstered. Sadly, there was no opportunity for the officers to defend themselves.

Following the assassinations, Brinsley ran into a subway station and committed suicide.  Mercifully, albeit probably unintentionally, Brinsley’s suicide spares the officers’ families and the rest of the country the pain of going through a public trial that would no doubt exacerbate the recently exposed political and social tensions that exists in many communities.

Unfortunately Brinsley’s depraved actions have left a trail of sadness and destruction. An innocent young woman suffered a serious gunshot wound to the abdomen and two brave police officers- Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu are dead. The families of all three victims are left to cope with their enormous pain and suffering. Like other victims of violent crimes, the police officers’ families and friends will have to learn to live with the deep grief that stems from the brutal, senseless, sudden and permanent loss of their loved ones.

God, please comfort and help them all!

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Most, if no all, of  us have either read or heard the slogan :”Jesus is the reason for the season.” The slogan is intended to remind Christians that the celebration of Christmas is a deeply spiritual feast that acknowledges God’s great love for his creation as expressed through and in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity.  To those outside of Christendom the slogan is a statement of faith, a testimony made by Christians that summarizes the essences of Christmas: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever will shall be saved.” (John 3:16)

During the Christmas season, more so than during other times of the year, our purposeful acts of kindness and our gifts to others are symbolic of God’s great gift to the world: The Lord Jesus Christ. That is why gift giving matters. However, neither the cost  nor the brand of the gift matters to those recipients who are focused on the true meaning of Christmas. What matters  to them  is the spirit (the intent of the heart)  in which the act of kindness is bestowed. Given in the spirit of love things as simple as a sincere  greeting; a piece or bag of fruit; new or gently used clothing and toys, and an invitation to sup are just as valuable to and treasured by recipients as expensive jewels and other high priced things.

Christmas gifts should symbolize concern, unity, peace, reconciliation, and love. That is why they matter. A Christmas gift is a way of saying you matter to me and this gift symbolizes my love for you and is intended to remind you and I of God’s great sacrificial love for the world that was manifested in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Today is Tuesday, November 25, 2014. Last night as I traveled home from work I learned from one of my brothers the sad news that the grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri did not indict Darren Wilson for the assassination of Michael Brown. Like many others, I was heartbroken but not surprised. I had hoped the jurors would demonstrate courage and justice by simply confirming the absolute wrongfulness of Darren Wilson’s actions on that fateful day when he took the life of an unarmed person, whom many witnesses say was trying to surrender but was instead assassinated. Unfortunately, my hope was not realized.

This morning as I scanned the cable news networks for reactions to the grand jury’s decision, I was instead bombarded with news anchors and reporters editorializing about the destruction of small businesses and property in the Ferguson community. While I agree the looting and fire setting should not have happened. It seems to me that most of the media focus was on the wrong thing. The coverage should have centered on the fact that a young man was assassinated and his murderer was exonerated.

Burning and looting is wrong. The people involved in destroying structures in Ferguson, Missouri committed crimes. Unlike Darren Wilson, most of those involved will be arrested, charged, tried, and convicted for their part in destroying property. On the other hand, Darren Wilson is free even though his actions destroyed a life, a family, and tore a community apart. After all, it was his killing of Michael Brown and the subsequent decision by the grand jury not to indict Wilson that sparked the peaceful protests that were regrettably hijacked by petty criminals and resulted in the widespread destruction of property.

The irony of the situation is, a good deal of the morning after news coverage focused on the loss of property and not on the loss of Michael Brown’s life, nor the missed opportunity by the grand jury to hold Darren Wilson accountable for the taking of Brown’s life. .

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Honor to God for all things great and small. Praise God for food and shelter and for decent clothing. Praise God for an earned income.  Praise God for work and leisure. Praise God for relative health. Praise God for peace of mind. Praise God for living in a country where I am free to worship the God of my parents and grandparents, the Creator of all things great and small.

Thank you God for my late mother, Ozzie Hoots, and for the invaluable life lessons I learned from her.  It was she who introduced me to and taught me about Jesus.  It was she who taught me to read and to reason. It was she who introduced me to the arts and made me aware of the value of different cultures. It was she who inspired me to volunteer and to want to help make the world better. It was through her that I developed an understanding of humans as 3-diminsional beings: body, soul, and spirit. Thank you for using my mother’s life to help me understand that each of us is deeper than what the world sees. Thank you for using my mother to help teach me about your amazing grace and love for all humankind! Thank you God for my mother-Ozzie Hoots!

Lyrics for Today

My soul loves Jesus, my soul loves Jesus. My soul loves Jesus, bless His name. My soul loves Jesus. My soul loves Jesus. My soul loves Jesus. Bless his name.

He is a wonder in my soul. He is a wonder in my soul. He is a wonder in my soul. Bless His name. He is a wonder in my soul. He is a wonder in my soul. He is  a wonder in my soul. Bless His name!

Jesus I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.

Jesus I’ll never forget how you set me free. Jesus I’ll ever forget how you brought me out.

Jesus I’ll never forget, no never.

I’m running for my life. I’m running for my life. I’m running for my life, I’m running for my life.

If anyone should ask you what’s the matter with me, just tell them she saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost

filled, and fire baptized. She’s got Jesus on her side and she is running for her life.

When I think about the goodness of Jesus and all that He has done for me my soul cries out HALLELUJAH.  I thank God for saving me.