Fw: power inversion

Mark 11:18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 

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How is it that the very leaders who are supposed to represent God to people have come to seek a way to destroy Him?  In the time of Jesus, the chief priests and scribes had assumed great power over the people of Israel.  They had used the name of God to claim this authority.  And that power had turned their heads and hearts away from truly following the Lord.  So they found themselves in an unusual position...when God showed up in their midst He, Himself, was a threat to their power.  When the people heard the truth directly from Jesus' lips they were profoundly affected and began to transfer their allegiance to Him.

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When we have found ourselves in the position of opposing God something has become seriously out of kilter.  The only proper attitude to hold is to humbly bow and allow His authority to rule and His truth to lead.  When we take the mantle of power on ourselves we not only make poor leaders...we may find ourselves to be in direct opposition to God, who alone rules over all.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

 

Fw: forgiveness and faith

Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

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The Greek word for forgive is aphiemi.  Aphiemi comes from two words: Apo, which means to separate from and hiemi, which means to put into motion.  The idea of the word when you put it together is to actively separate yourself from something.  A Greek word study I found online put it this way: "Literally aphiemi means to send from one's self, to forsake, to hurl away, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off."

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Jesus has just taught them about praying in faith: Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

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It's as though in our relationship with God there is an aspect of clinging tightly and there is an aspect of complete separation.  The complete separation needs to come in the form of forgiving others...'hurling away' grudges we hold.  The tight clinging comes in the form of total trust in God, to the point that we would believe we have received what is asked for even before it has taken place.

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We must let go of those things that hold us down, so that we can rise...almost like cutting the tether on a hot air balloon!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: humble entrance

Zechariah 9:

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

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Mark 11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"

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When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the holy city where the temple was located and the great feasts were celebrated, he came riding on the humblest of creatures, a young donkey.  His entrance was foretold in the book of Zechariah (written several hundred years earlier).  It's interesting that the people recognized him as Messiah, the one who would bring in the eternal kingdom.

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The Hebrew word "hoshi'a na," is translated as 'hosanna' in Greek and kept there for the English as well.  This word means "Save us...please!".  And "Hosanna in the highest" means 'Save us for the Kingdom of Heaven'.

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It is interesting that every time the crowds have gathered around Jesus before this they have clamored for healing and for food.  But now He is truly recognized as the One who can deliver...who can save.  And He comes humbly into their city to do just that.

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Have you experienced the Jesus who feeds you and, perhaps, heals you?  Have you come to recognize Him as the one who rides humbly into your life to save you?  Will you cry out, "Lord, save me...please" as He comes to you?  His very presence prompts the question.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: amazed and afraid

Mark 10:32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise."

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Why would you willingly follow someone you were afraid of?  Maybe you would follow because you had been amazed by that person and were convinced that they held awesome truth you could find nowhere else.  Jesus was that kind of leader.  Miracles, healings, words of truth that cut like a surgeon's scalpel to repair wounded hearts...Jesus did and said these things.

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And....who else knew the future and could predict it perfectly.  More than once Jesus foretold the details of his death and resurrection.  Looking back, after it all unfolded, they were amazed again.  We all travel through time day by day but Jesus could look ahead and know what time held before it took place.  He had counted the cost of his death for us and continued to walk to Jerusalem to experience that suffering...knowing and picturing all of the pain before feeling it. 

And He did that for you and me.  The greatest miracle, the most amazing healing, the profoundest truth all were completed for each of us when the events unfolded just as Jesus saw them...walking the road to Jerusalem.

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: doing and finding

We are so achievement oriented.  From the earliest days we learn to compete, to earn, to produce, to stand out.  We're taught personal responsibility and our dreams are fashioned along the lines of "becoming all you can be", and often that means striving for success in our competitive world...career, recognition, money, position.  These aren't "bad" things and there certainly isn't anything wrong with hard work and achievement!  You might call that the "front door" to a successful life.  Many call that the "American Dream".  But Jesus had some interesting things to say about another door to success in the book of Mark:

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Mark 10:

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

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The man in the episode with Jesus had walked through the front door to success that so many of us seek to enter.  And he had realized significant success.  And when it came to spiritual things he also saw them in terms of "doing the 10 Commandments".  But he sensed that there was something lacking in all he'd accomplished when he came to Jesus.  He was "doing" oriented and he asked what he had to "do" to enter Heaven.  So Jesus addressed the need he had to "undo" the closest thing to his heart...the fruit of all his "self achievement".  Jesus told him to take the proceeds from his personal ambition, give them to the poor and then do the one thing that would lead to eternal life: "... come follow me".

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The disciples were thrown for a loop by this as Jesus explained that when people build their own empires they can't find God's Kingdom.  So God has set about to find us.  That really is the only way we enter eternal life...when He finds us and we realize the door we've been walking through doesn't lead to Him. It's a good question to ask ourselves:  "How high will my personal empire reach?"

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: like a child

Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

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Parents were bringing their children to Jesus so that He would touch them...bless them...and the disciples pushed the parents away.  Jesus responded in anger toward the disciples.  He taught them that we all must come as children to enter the Kingdom of God.  He went on to not only touch the children, but to hold them completely wrapped in His arms.  What is it about a child that pictures a proper attitude for entering the Kingdom?  Compared with adults there is less wisdom, less life experience, fewer crises to be delivered from, less sin or evil or debilitating habits.  What is there 'more of' in a child?  I think children come to the Kingdom out of a practice of living by faith.  They are completely dependent on parents and have known nothing but trust.  Coming to Jesus they transfer that trust to their Heavenly Father out of familiarity with living by faith.  As adults we have learned to live on our own strength and, often, that has been our greatest weakness.

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May we come to Him as the children we truly are!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The miracle of marriage

If you are married, you are living inside of a miracle every day.  Consider this passage from Mark:

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 7 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

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Remember, when God formed woman in Creation, He took a rib from Adam's side and fashioned Eve.  When Eve was brought to Adam he said: "This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man."

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So, in marriage, when woman joins man, truly two are becoming one...one completed person in a sense.  That is why in a healthy marriage there is contentment.  There is a completeness that doesn't seek more.  That completeness is a fact that is established by God in His design.  The fact that there are two heads and two perspectives and two sets of desires does not have to frustrate when they are designed to complement in completion.

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We must not separate what God has joined.  When we are challenged inside of our marriages let's go to Him, together, for the answers.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Two minds

Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 

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The account is of a father with a son who has been possessed by an evil spirit since childhood.  The boy is horribly treated by this spirit, which convulses him and has thrown him into fire and into water to attempt to kill the boy.  The disciples were unable to drive the evil spirit out.  Jesus approaches and reassures the father that all things are possible for those who believe.  The father cries out "I believe; help my unbelief!"

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Isn't that the case for us all?  Aren't we of two minds?  Part of our mind absolutely believes in Jesus and His power to deliver.  But the shadowy part of our mind doubts.  We may not be possessed by an evil spirit, but the evil influence may be there to rob us of total trust.  To the extent that Satan causes doubt to drive our mindset he has succeeded in driving a wedge between us and the Lord.

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Oh for faith that casts out doubt as Jesus cast out the evil spirit from the boy!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Proof of life

Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

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Jesus told the disciples that some of them would see the kingdom of God...and in the very next verses in the book of Mark we learn that Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  There the appearance of Jesus was dramatically changed and He almost glowed...his clothing was an intense white.  We then read 14 amazing words in verse 4:  And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

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Moses had died before Israel entered the promised land about 1400 years earlier and Elijah had been "caught up" into heaven several hundred years after that.  And they showed that there truly is life after this life when they appeared to Jesus, Peter, James and John.  Moreover, it appears that Elijah and Moses had important messages, and possibly responsibilities, in Heaven.

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We, too, will live in Heaven if we have trusted in the work of Christ on the Cross.  And it appears that we will keep our identities and very possibly have important things to do!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: the ultimate purchase

Mark 8: 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

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Jesus has been challenging his disciples and other followers to leave everything and follow him.  Consider these words: Mark 8:35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

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Think about all the things a person can buy...think of all the biggest, most expensive things the wealthiest person in the world can purchase...no matter how much money anyone has, they can't buy their own soul.  The domain of the soul is entirely separate from the markets and money of men.

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We have to leave the primary pursuit of man's wealth behind and pursue the one who is named "Savior" to see our temporary dwelling here redeemed for an eternity of life.  And notice that we can check our attitude about Jesus by examining our willingness to identify with both Him and His words as we live out our lives in the midst of others.

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The exchange for our souls has been made by the One who challenges us to follow Him through the door of life.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."