Walking with Jesus

What does it mean that Jesus has risen from the grave? How is it that the guards, who knew the truth, could take a bribe to deny it? Ever is Jesus dividing light from darkness. Ever does He distinguish Day from Night. From the beginning the difference between man and man is God. Always is Holy Spirit mindful of Father's purpose in creating a people for Himself. Even here, on Resurrection Day, are the children of men left to decide whether or not they will become the Children of God. Will they worship or will they doubt? Jesus, even risen from the grave, does not subvert the responsibility to choose. Resurrection affords us that opportunity, but it is merely that... an opportunity. Whose children shall we be?

Judas: It is not enough to feel sorry for you sins. "Remorse" is not enough. If it were, we would not need Jesus to die. he could have called down His angels in the middle of verse 4, broken out of His bonds like Samson, and declared Judas forgiven. Rather, it takes death... innocent death... Jesus' death. we cannot fix it ourselves. we must be saved by Him. The Jews: Yes, the Romans crucified Jesus, but the Jews are also guilty. Theirs is the mob crying for His death. Theirs are the leaders mocking Him. Theirs the guards watching over the tomb. Theirs also the saints whose bodies [apparently] lay exposed for 3 days until Jesus was raised and they with Him to testify against their brethren (v.52-53). The Romans: Mocking, abusing, beating... keeping watch over an innocent man who refused to save Himself so that He might save others (v.42). They pretend innocence, but the blood of God does not wash away with water. Though they are puppets to their vassals [the Jews],

v.2: The timing of these events is difficult. Tradition calls for a Friday Crucifixion, but (I think) Scripture actually presses us more toward Thursday. [This link illustrates the complexity of the dating issue. It provides the traditional viewpoint and the alternative. Based on Leviticus 23:5-8 and Matthew 26:17, I  am not sure I agree with their assignment of dates in the second chart.] Matthew 12:40: " For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 28:1: "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb." John 20:2: "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark , and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb." Only Thursday allow 3 days and 3 nights. Jesus here (Matthew 26:2) says the P

I remember standing in the hospital when the doctor told us that because Micah was so early he was required by law to ask us whether we wanted to save her or not. I couldn't believe it. What sort of question is that? "Did we want them to try to save our daughter?" But, that is where we are as a nation. These are evil days. Today, as I look at Micah (this little image of God; this little combination of Olivia and Bryan), I can hardly believe that moment happened. "Did we want them to try to save our daughter?!" Of course, the answer was never in doubt for us. God is her maker, who are we to decide not to give our child the chance to live? YES, we wanted them to save her! We loved Micah already. We were already her parents. Olivia was willing to die for her to have the best chance for life! I would have as well. And, like I said, God is her maker, not me. So, YES! Without hesitation, YES! YES! YES! We chose life for Micah, and she is a living miracle because o

Having just completed a marathon NICU experience, I am reminded of some of the other amazing things Olivia has done. One of these was running a 5K a little over a year ago, just before God created Ahava. 5K may not sound like much to some of you (to others it may sound difficult). For my sweet bride, who still deals with Lupus ( SLE ) every day, it was suppossedly impossible. But don't tell her that, because she did it. We drove to Albuquerque, NM and stayed with some of our best friends. We drove, and on that drive we have a tradition we began the year we visited the Grand Canyon : listening to the song NY2LA. I am attaching the video. It's a silly song, but it has a few powerful images, particularly the part of the video with the bridge (about 2 1/2 minutes in). Enjoy.

It is possible to be in God's service and be rejected at the end. I will not pretend to know whether these unprofitables are truly "saved" or not, but they seem to believe they are. Yet, they are of no good to God and are cast out. Note that the 1st parable is about "Then...", about Christ's return. [I think it still applies to all believers, but the actual coming of the bridegroom will only happen once in history (not twice, as with some eschatologies. cf. Matthew 24 )] The virgins (who are bridesmaids, not brides; cf. Mark 2:19 ) are all waiting, but the foolish ones have done nothing to prepare. In the 2nd parable, the last servant lives in fear, and refuses to be a steward of the talent entrusted to him. [However, he IS a servant, and the Master DOES hold him accountable.] The 3rd story is not a parable, but a description of what will happen when the Son of Man comes in His glory. [It uses simile more specifically than the preceding parables.] Tho

I have long wondered why so many American Christian have an unrealistic view of the End Times. I believe it is because they start in the wrong place. [And because we do not understand the suffering Jesus promised for His followers (John 16:33) and we like the popular view better because it avoids tribulation.] They begin with Paul, who never describes the End Times with any sort of [overall] chronology, because that is what they are taught. I prefer to start with Jesus, and the result is very different. [All I do is take Jesus at His word, building an outline of the events as He describes them.] Not the End : (Answering the "what?" question of v.3) Deception, false Christs, wars and rumors of wars (v.5-6), but He says, "the end is not yet." (v.6) Nation vs. nation, famines, diseases, and earthquakes (v.7) are only "the beginning of sorrows." (v.8) Tribulation, hatred, offense, and betrayal (v.9-10) followed by false prophets, lawlessness, and love

[Read Matthew 23 ] Not everything the scribes and Pharisees did was bad. In fact, specific things are mentioned here that they did correctly: sitting in Moses' seat (teaching the law), winning converts near and far (evangelism), showing concern for cleanliness (witness), tithing, and remembering God's work in history. Yet, they take none of these things to heart, nor do they understand them as they should. It is this imbalance that makes them hypocrites: not that they are religious, but that they are merely religious (v.23 [These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.]) They were full of pride and "attaboys" rather than humility and gratitude. (In our culture, they probably would have had lots of Bible studies, ministry teams, and fellowships.) This hypocrisy offends God. It moves us beyond the general condemnation of humanity to "greater condemnation" (v.14). I don't know how that works and I don't want to.

I still have questions. I still need some clarification what Jesus' teaching. I suppose most believers do. But, to frame my questions as challenges will not work. Jesus is no rhetorician to be debated and conquered. His answers are  irrefutable and His questions lead only to truth. If it isn't truth you desire, then don't ask Jesus. I must ask humbly. You may not like what He says, but you cannot trap Jesus in a net of words. You may not understand everything He teaches, but you cannot prove He is wrong. You either attend to Him humbly, or you are cast out of His presence by your own ignorance, by your own fault. Is this fair? Doesn't God control the grace we need to understand/ But. why should we talk of "fair." Hell is "fair." What we need is not fairness, but humility. We need to understand that we were invited because of His desires. All of our questions pale in light of the truth of Jesus.

The ministry of Jesus is one of the most anticipated events of the Bible. It is the long awaited answer to the Fall (Gen, 3:15). It is the heart of God's promise to Abram (Gen. 12:3) to bless the world. His [Jesus'] entrance into Jerusalem is no exception. It is described in Zechariah 9:9-10 and Daniel 9:24-27. Actually, the Daniel passage provides us with the exact day Jesus would claim his kingship! This was THE EVENT of prophetic history and the people were looking for it. The leadership, however, had given up on God's King and merely wanted to get along with Rome without causing problems and risking their secure status. "If only you had known this day" (Luke 19:42). The lesson of the fig tree comes into play here. Jesus himself (sorry Calvinist friends) seems to look for faithful fruit, but when none is foudn a curse comes instead of blessing. [He even weeps for the missed opportunity, despite what he has already said will happen.] His coming was no surp

[I've been hearing something and trying to do an experiment as a result. Chapters and verses were added centuries after the books of the Bible were written. Other divisions, like storyline breaks, were added even later. None of these divisions are particularly inspired by God. Some may even be misplaced ( i.e. Joshua 6 should start at 5:13)They are human tools for dividing the material for easier acquisition. Originally, these books (sometimes multiples books, like Samuel-Kings) were written as unified stories, with threads of narrative tied together by a common goal and common themes. So, my experiment has been to look for connections within each chapter, and sometimes across chapters. Chapter 20 of Matthew is a great example. It contains four segments that we normally read as if they were just shoved together for no reason. But, what if they are inter-related? What if there are links between them, reasons they were included in Matthew close to each other? There are few strong na

Micah is officially off of Oxygen support! See Olivia's blog for the update and a picture. (Mine won't let me upload right now?) We are so proud of her and so excited about the future. God has great plans for this little girl!

Jesus preached the Good News that the Kingdom of Heaven was near (4:17). It is the framework for all He has said and done. Now, He shows us how to make the Kingdom of Heaven our priority. Everything for God's people is a Kingdom issue. (NOTE: He says nothing here about power or authority, two key attractions in today's popular preaching on the Kingdom.) The Kingdom of Heaven is about God's rule and design for our lives. We stay married or single for the sake of the Kingdom. We value and minister to children for the sake of the Kingdom. We give all we have for the perfection (v.21) of the Kingdom (v.23). And, all we do for the Kingdom of Heaven in under God (v.26) who rewards (v.21,30).