It's Dark but has it been Darker?

Luke 20:9-18

Are we the Church in more trouble than we can envision, and I’m not talking about from ISIS?  The Church would be wise to examine, take inventory; look deep into the mirror, are we following Christ or the foolishness of men?  Many a person, who goes by the title of Christian, has said it’s darker and more evil than at anytime, but that is not true.  If you believe the Bible is inerrant as I do then look at Genesis 6:5-6, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”  Now the bad news is God planned to blot out man on the earth, but for one man, verses 8-10 states; “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.  These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”  One man found favor, and you and I have the choice to be that man in our time.

I would agree with all who say it is very dark, and we are in a time Scripture talks about Isaiah 5:20, where good is called evil and evil is called good.  It is clear in Scripture that God condemns a man having sex with a man, and a woman having sex with another women.  Yet many are turning a blind eye to what God has said, and folks that is dangerous!  It has never been popular to stand with God against the forces of evil in this world, and it will cost you.  Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” (John 15:18-20 ESV)

Do you recall God saying He regretted that He had made Saul king, why did God regret, because Saul did not listen or obey the commandments of God.  It is my understanding that when we came into Christ we were called to minister to a lost and dying world, we were not called to save the whales but to share the love of Christ and redemption with our neighbors, family, and friends.  We each have a place in the army of Christ, a place no one else can fill.  How sad it would be if God regretted He had put you in charge of the ministry of your family, neighborhood and friends.

Now it has taken a while to drill down to Luke 20:9-18, the story of Christ being rejected by His own people, the story of the grace that God extended to you and me, and as the Church, for it never was a building or a denomination, no it has always been those who came to Jesus through His grace and the faith He has extended to us, that is the Church.  Sinning does not remove one from the Church, but when we sin and you have no guilt, no desire to obey the commandments of Christ, it is time to revisit your faith.  Jesus has made it very clear that being in Christ and He being in you will bring about change, so are you experiencing outward change because of Christ in you?  It’s more than a prayer, it’s more than being baptized in water, it’s a new heart, new desires, a repetitive spirit, a new creation with new desires to be a follower of Christ.  Will you be perfect, no, will you make mistakes, yes, but the great news is Christ is your life.  A word to the wise is sufficient.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

   

Have you ever had your authority challenged?

Luke 20:1-8

Have you ever had your authority challenged?  If you had one of these roles, policeman, teacher, parent, or boss, I can almost with 100% accuracy proclaim you have, and I am sure you were quick to let the challenger understand why and where you got your authority.  In my forty-year career I only had one job where I was over an industrial sales force in title but not in authority, I was asked to grow the industrial business in Texas and Louisiana, and only had the ability to request or suggest the member of the team to follow my lead.  Did I tell you it was the job from hell, for without authority you are on a river without a paddle, and if you try it you are not going to go far without a wreck.

I’ve always wondered why more authors of management books have not looked at Jesus and the way he handled many situations.  Look at how he handled the chief priest, the scribes and the elders in their challenge of His authority.  “One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”  (Luke 20:1-2 ESV)

Jesus’ reply was amazing, and very different from most of us, for this was the challenge; “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”  Before we go forward, ask how have I answered when my authority was challenged?  Now lets look at Jesus’ reply; “He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”  (Luke 20:3-8 ESV)

I have learned that it requires both parties to be truthful in negotiation and when that is not happening you are not negotiating.  That is where Jesus found himself with these religious leaders, they were not looking for information, they had one goal and that was to put to death the Giver of Life.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What If?

What If?

Have you ever ask the question “What If”?  What if I had been born in China? What if my parents had been rich?  What if I had gone to better schools?  What if I had been a twin?  The “What If’s” could go on and on and I am sure they do for many people.

This past week a friend told me about a Psalm he had read that had calmed his spirit.  He was worrying about our Country and other stuff like illegal Immigration.

My friend was reading in Psalm 91.  It is titled in my English Standard Version of The Holy Bible as, (My Refuge and My Fortress).  Now that title should get your attention.  If you are like me you need a personal refuge, a place you can run to and be safe.

So I began to read Psalm 91, and was overcome with the thought, “What If,” what if I believed what I was reading?  How would my life be different?  What if, I believed the opening verse, it says; “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Before you judge me too harshly let me state that at the age of 27 years of age I bowed my knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask him to forgive me and to come into my life.  Before that I was a Baptist, after that I became something very different; I had a new identity, being a Baptist was no longer important, I was loved and accepted and acceptable to God. 

Now back to “What if”, shortly after I entered into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, I met Ken Ryan.  Ken was a local oilman and that may have drawn me to him at first.  But you were not around Ken long before you knew you had met a man who walked in integrity.  Proverbs has a lot to say about a man like Ken, Proverbs 10:9 “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.”

Ken loved to invest in men like me.  He would spend time with me, studying the Scriptures, and often he would ask the question, do you believe what you just read?  My answer was a quick “Yes” and Ken would say something like I wish that was true.  I was greatly offended by Ken’s remarks, surely he knew that I loved Jesus and believed that the Bible was true.  Ken would always make this statement; “If you believed the Scriptures you would obey them, you would act by faith on what the Scriptures have revealed to you.”  I must tell the truth, I did not like Ken very much at those moments, but I loved Ken Ryan.  He has blessed my life, and has become one of my heroes.

I hope it is becoming very clear that God has been talking to me about my unbelief for many years, and has sent many men into my life to arouse my thinking to “What if.”  Do you recall earlier, where I talked about getting a new identity?  Something happened that changed me at the age of 27 in Victoria, Texas, in a hotel room where I was staying.  That night without my knowledge, Galatians 2:20 happened in my life.  It was many years later that I began to understand the truth that is found in verse twenty.  It states, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

That night, I became a vessel that God moved into and my identity changed forever.  Let me be quick to say that the power is not the vessel, but what is stored in it.  An example is pie, I like pies, but I’m not that hung up on the vessel the pie comes in.  It was years before I had any understanding of this truth.  And now I still ask; “what if,” what if I acted on my true identity in Christ?

This is a small sample of what the Scriptures say about our identity in Christ:

Romans 3:24   You are now justified and redeemed

Romans 6:7    Free from sin’s power

Romans 15:7   Accepted in Him

1 Cor. 1:30      Have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption

1 Cor. 2:16      Mind of Christ is in you

1 Cor. 6:17      One with the Holy Spirit

2 Cor. 5:21      We have the righteousness of God (cannot get more righteous)

Gal. 4:7           A son/daughter and heir of God

Eph. 1:3          Blessed with every spiritual blessing

Eph. 1:4          Chosen, holy, blameless before God, Redeemed, forgiven

Eph. 1:13        Sealed in the Spirit   

“What If” you and I acted like Jesus tells the truth, and began to act like who God says we are?  How would your life change?  Would you live in fear?  Would you worry about today or the future?  Would you tell others about Jesus?  The answer should be yes, because your actions would match up with your beliefs.  You can be in a room with many TV’s, but unless you turn them on, you will not see or hear anything.  God is living in your vessel, if you are in Christ!  He is waiting for you and me to believe, we can talk about knowing the truth of being crucified with Christ, we can believe it in our brain, but brain understanding is not spiritual understanding.  He is waiting for you by faith to act on the truths you have in your brain.  It comes down to telling God, I’m tired of knowing it in my head and not in my heart, I want the Holy Spirit to reveal to my heart, the truth of being crucified with Christ.

Dan Stone and David Gregory in “The Rest of the Gospel” make this statement: “Without revelation, and knowledge from the Holy Spirit, we’re not going to have an experiential understanding of the unseen and eternal realities that are ours.”  In the next paragraph they state; “Our battles in the visible realm force us to finally ask the right question.  Until we recognize that the right question doesn’t focus on the externals of life, we’re never going to experience the unseen and eternal.  When we finally realize that the right question has to do with the life within us, then the Holy Spirit will come along with an answer.”

My dear friend, that is the answer we have been searching for, the Holy Spirit’s job is to be a revealer of what He has seen from God the Father and God the Son.  Look at 1 Corinthians 2:9-12, Jesus told us very clearly that [The Holy Spirit] will not speak on His own initiative, look at John 16:13-15.  So “What If” we quit trying to do it in our minds and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it by faith, in the Son of God, who lives in our earth suit.  This I know, it will not happen until we give up on the external, your flesh and mind trying to understand the unseen and the eternal realities that are already ours.  So, “What If”!

From the Back Porch, (6-13-2007)

Bob Rice

Is my temple a house of prayer?

Luke 19:45-48

“And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.”

Who was out to destroy Jesus, was it not the top temple boys, the keepers of the rules, and we must add the guys who added many rules to what God had given to Moses.  They had titles; chief priests, scribes and the principal men of the people.  And inside of the temple was the Holy Place where the priests performed their regular duties and the Holy of Holies and two massive hanging tapestries, one cubit apart separated them.  The Holy of Holies was entered only once a year, the Day of Atonement when the (high priest) offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  One thing is clear sinful man is separated from a Holy God, and only the high priest has access, and a Gentile has no access, sending a clear message the Jewish people were the chosen of God.

First, we can only speculate on the thickness of the tapestries, but we do have Josephus the Jewish historian that reported they were 4” thick, and when Jesus yielded up his spirit, Matthew records the following happened; “And behold the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:51)  On that day God set in place a new covenant, both sin and death had been conquered by our Lord Jesus Christ, and we, that is you and I no longer needed any man no matter what title he has been given to enter the Holy of Holies for us, we have been given full access to our Father in heaven.  The apostle Paul makes this clear to the Hebrews in chapter 10:19-23, “Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh), and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

How does all of this change the landscape?  I believe the answer is found in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”  So each of us must ask this question: Is my temple a house of prayer, or have I made it a den of robbers?  The question is not are we thief’s but is your temple a place where the Holy Spirit who lives in you finds you full of the desires of the flesh, and not filled with the Spirit?  Is your temple in need of Jesus throwing out all that is keeping you from living a victorious life, now?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Being ready for His visitation

Luke 19:41-44

“And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,” the good doctor is letting us see the heart of Jesus in that the priest and the people had been looking for generations for Messiah, and yet they did not know the time of His visitation.  This is what Jesus said, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”  (Luke 19:42-44 ESV)

In the gospel according to John we have this insight, looking in the first chapter, verses 9-13, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  How in the world can we be so blind to have our Creator come to our world and take on flesh and do all kinds of stuff that had never been done before, such as casting out demons, raising the dead, giving the blind sight, and we just blow it off.  But the world Jesus came to even His chosen people, were to share the good news that Messiah had taken on flesh and was the Christ.  But they were not looking for a servant; no they were looking for a mighty king who would set it all right and rejected the Author of Life.

Making bad choices always cost more than we are willing to pay, and every word Jesus said in these verses came about, “because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

It makes me wonder how often has Jesus come to my city and yours and we were not looking for Him?  How many times has He wept over our hardness of heart, and we like the people doctor Luke is telling us about were clueless or just not ready for His visitation.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Quote of the day: “Measure of a man's worth is the measure in which he no longer lives "to and for himself," but "to and for Jesus Christ." No more and no less!” (Major Ian Thomas”

Do not be replaced with stones!

Luke 19:28-40

“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” ― (Francis of Assisi) St. Francis also said, “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some person will hear today.” Many in the church like to apply the first quote to the way they live, but often if they had used words it would have only pointed out their inconsistency, their lack of faith, and a life style that is not in keeping with the words flowing from their mouths.  What happens to those who come in contact with Christians who intentionally engage their community with the love of Christ?  And what happens to followers of Christ when they are willing to proclaim the gospel of the risen Lord with words and actions?

The story of Jesus coming into Jerusalem is often titled, “The Triumphal Entry” and so it was for at Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” (Luke 19:30-31 ESV)   A prophet of God named Zechariah lived 520 years before Christ and his mission was to encourage the Israelites returning from captivity to rebuild the temple and rededicate their lives to the Lord.  Why are we addressing him because God had spoken to him about this very day that Jesus would enter Jerusalem, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

When they found the colt it was where the Lord had told them it would be, and when ask why are you untying the colt, they said what Jesus had told them to say, “The Lord has need of it.”  The Scriptures do not report any push back from the owner, it was as if he had been given insight into the use of his colt.  Now for a brief time I had horses and raised a mare with a colt, it is not natural to put a blanket on a colt that has not been broken without them going nuts.  But they put their cloaks on the colt, and Jesus sat on it and rode into Jerusalem. 

Earlier I asked these questions: “What happens to those who come in contact with Christians who intentionally engage their community with the love of Christ?  And what happens to followers of Christ when they are willing to proclaim the gospel of the risen Lord by words and actions?”  People get excited, they begin to forget it’s not politically correct to declare what God has done for them, and they do it in the market place, in their neighborhoods, and in the public square.  As you see them doing in Luke 19:37-38, “As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Yes believers, followers of Christ come out of the woodwork with joy proclaiming what they have been reluctant to do for fear of man, and yet you are always going to have the Pharisees, the protectors of traditions and rules, they try to control what they consider is their church, and to ask them to be quiet.

Church, pay attention to the words of Jesus; “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”  As one who is a follower of Christ, it is a choice each day to keep quiet and miss out on letting the joy pent up in me about what Jesus has done for me, or to intentionally engage the community with the love of Christ.  Do not be replaced with stones!

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice  

Your Box will never contain God

Luke 19:11-27

I believe the following to be a true statement: most who go by the title of Christian have God in a box!  They have determined in their own thinker how God will act, what God will do and some even have many years of studying the Scriptures, some have titles, like pastor, priest, and professor, but most who have God in a box only know what someone else has said about God.

As Jesus came near to Jerusalem, they, more than likely it was the 12 disciples, but it may have been many others who followed Him, and they were supposing that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.  Now stop and think about what is happening, Jesus is healing the blind, raising the dead, feeding thousands with only a few fish and a few loafs of bread, and He is heading to Jerusalem, the place of the temple, the place of power, and you left everything to follow Him, what box do you have Jesus in?  It seems they had Him as the one who would restore and conquer the enemies of the Jews and at that moment it was Rome.

Could that be one of the reasons the crowd was so intolerant when Jesus stopped to help a blind man gain his sight, or a sinner like Zacchaeus be restored to the title of a son of Abraham, and a follower of Christ, Jesus was not in the box they had put Him in.  Jesus tells the story of the ten minas, and I would challenge you to take your focus off the ten servants he gave the ten minas, and on to the master who went to the far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and then return.  Now this is where the story of the master or nobleman may not fit in your box, for in this far country something strange took place.  From the lips of Jesus; “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

(Luke 19:14-15 ESV)

Is this story about a nobleman, yes the most nobleman who ever put foot on planet earth, the apostle tells us all about in it in John 1:9-13, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Now I would encourage you to read Luke 19:11-27, for the complete story, but the bottom line is most of the servants handled what was given them in a proper way, but one who lived in fear of his master hid the money in a safe place and gave it back with not any profit to his master for what had been entrusted to him.  And Jesus called him a wicked servant, Jesus did not argue with the box the man had put him in; it was not a box of fellowship but fear.  Jesus’ words; “He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” (Luke 19:22-27 ESV)

I’m willing to bet most of you have Jesus and the Father in a box called (a good God who is like my Granddad) does this sound like your granddad, “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”  Make no mistake, God is good, and God is just, He is merciful, and loves beyond any of us created critters ability to grasp, could it be you need to quit the box making and begin searching for truth.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jesus knows your name

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus knows your name, now I hope that captivates you.  For we live in a time where young people in college are shown pictures of past and current leaders and they have no clue about who they are, but shown a hip-hop star, a singer, or a movie star they seem to know all kinds of information about their lives.  These same young people often do not know the persons name sitting in the next row to them in class and may not care to know, but it is clear something special happens when a person knows our name.  It is our brand; it is a representation of our identity.

So as Jesus entered Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus, you may have sang the song about him as a child, he was small in stature and yet he wanted to see this new rabbi whom everyone was speaking about, so not being able to see Jesus in the crowd he ran ahead on the route and climbed up into a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus.

And as Jesus came to the place He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  Something happened at that very moment in Zacchaeus’ life and in the life of the crowd, and yet there is information I did not share that is very important to the story.  Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and was extremely rich, and as a tax collector his employer was the hated Roman government, and in Israel, the tax collectors were viewed as traitors and thieves.  “Publicans were Jews who bought tax collection franchises from the Roman government. Any amount that they collected over and above what Rome required, they could keep for themselves.” (By Dr. Paul M. Elliott)  So rightly these tax collectors were seen as traitors and thieves, in that their pay came not from Rome, but from what they could steal from their fellow countrymen.

When Jesus acknowledged Zacchaeus the politically correct thing the crowd wanted was for Jesus to treat him with the contempt they had for any and all tax collectors.  But that is not what happen; Jesus knew all about him, and Jesus knew this man was searching for the peace and joy of knowing God the Father.  When calling Zacchaeus’ name he understood Jesus this holy man knew him, and wanted to have a relationship with him, and this is what took place: “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

(Luke 19:8-10 ESV)

How did the crowd react, “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  (Luke 19:7 ESV)  If you are part of the crowd it is time to leave, the crowd has a historical record of being wrong.  If you are searching for truth, Jesus is very near, look up and remove from your life greed and hate and seek Him while He is near.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice      

Physical Blindness Vs. Spiritual Blindness

Luke 18:35-43

If you are reading this, you do not have understanding of not having sight, nor does this writer.  So when reading about Jesus coming near to Jericho and a blind man sitting by the roadside begging, can you imagine what his life is like?  His life depends on compassionate people dropping a few coins in his hand   then someone taking him to the roadside and coming back to guide him to his parent’s home or some place of shelter.  He is open to being abused and neglected by most of the people he encounters and few stop and talk with him or show any sign of dignity, he is a blind beggar living in an area where the religious people believe God has cursed him.  And that does not work to his advantage.

I met and heard the testimony of a man who was a counselor at a high school and for some reason lost his sight.  This is what I recall he said, when I had sight I was not a very good counselor, I made judgments on how a person dressed, and looked, but now that I am blind I have the ability to listen and see what my eyes would never allow.  I am now a good high school counselor, and I have thanked God for allowing me to see what I was blind to before.

Picking up the story of the blind beggar on the road to Jericho; “As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”        And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  (Luke 18:35-43 ESV)

Do you grasp the time we are living in, it’s a time of blindness, it is spiritual darkness, and the evil One has blinded the eye of the soul to life now and for eternity.  The blind beggar had a physical blindness, but his soul was not blind to the teachings of Scripture, He believed Jesus had authority over his physical blindness and he acted on that belief.  But we have a world of neighbors, family, friends and people we come in contact with each day, who have no knowledge of the Scripture, and many fill our churches, but they do not grasp the need to have Jesus as a friend, as redeemer, as one who can guide them out of darkness into light. 

Jesus had this to say to us with sight, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29)  Jesus understood the eyes are the lamps to the soul, and it was not the eyes or the hand that was the problem, it was the heart.  Jesus talked some about heaven, but to those of you, who want to dismiss hell, Jesus talked a lot more about hell, it’s a real place, and it was never made for man, but for the devil and his demons.  But many a person is choosing to ignore Jesus and is going to end-up in hell.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Could it be we are just bad listeners?

Luke 18:31-34

I was blessed to be a very insignificant employee of a great Company, and one of the reasons I was treated as significant, is that I was part of a team and our goal was to be the leader in the technology we specialized in.  With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 88,000 people worldwide and produces more than 55,000 products, so when I say I was insignificant I was not being humble, I was stating facts.  I only worked for one Division Vice President that would call me into his office to ask for my thoughts on a new approach or just to visit about how I was doing.  When that happened I was no longer insignificant, I was a player and was allowed to see a part of the bigger picture, and that is what Jesus is doing with the twelve disciples in these verses.

Often when talking to our Lab personal they would go deep into the process of how we were developing a new product and as they began to explain palmers and co-palmers, cross-linking in the process of development, all I wanted to know was when would the product be available to sell.  I’m sure these guys who had given-up business, friends, and family to follow Jesus were not into much more than when are you going to become king.  Now less you forget the disciples and Jesus were going to Capernaum. “And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.” (Mark 9:33b-34)

These twelve, I’m sure were the envy of many who were followers of Jesus, this was the inner group, and yet many of them were like so many of us, they heard Jesus speaking but did not listen or understand what was being said.  These were the words Jesus spoke to the twelve: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” “But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” (Luke 18:31-34 ESV)

Now give these guys a break, it’s not the message they had in their hearts, that message was which one of us is going to set on your right side, who of us twelve is going to be number one?  Do you realize this is the third time Jesus has spoken to the twelve about what was going to happen in Jerusalem, but has Jesus spoken to you about what His plan is for you and it did not happen for it was not your plans. 

Could it be we are just bad listeners, if so take heart, so were these special men chosen before the foundation of the world to carry the message of the cross and a risen Savior, who died for the sin of mankind, and that includes all, and it is by His grace and the faith He has given you to bow your knee to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

A quote from the book of John 14:21, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Making Plans for the Future

Luke 18:18-30

“And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

(Luke 18:18 ESV)  That is a great question and it is a question one would only ask of someone who might have the answer.  Now one who asked such a question has to believe in life after death, a life that has no end, and one that the worms eating away at the flesh have no control over.  A person who would ask such a question is one who has looked in the mirror and understood that what is seen is not what is, but it houses the real you, the soul, and it can not be seen with human eyes, it’s your will, your emotions, and your mind, not your brain, the brain is a organ like the liver, it can be seen and worked on by a surgeon.  So your earthsuit is heading for the dirt, but the spirit, your soul has eternity, and the question asked by the ruler is; Jesus, how can I make sure it is in heaven with God and not in eternal darkness, where Jesus says in Mark 9:48, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

Now I’m very much aware that many who are controlled by the enemy of our soul has put a spin on hell and many of you have preferred it to what Jesus states in Scripture, but folks we are talking about something more than where your going on vacation, we are discussing heaven or hell, it’s worth you pondering on.

 In my life I’ve been in a few bars and it was not a question that ever came up in conversation, but this ruler asks the question in a very public setting.  And this was Jesus’ reply: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For 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.” (Luke 18:19-25 ESV)

If only this rich ruler had been a student of the Psalms, he would have understood these words of King David in Psalm 39:5-7, “You, indeed, have made my days short in length, and my life span as nothing in Your sight.  Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor.  “Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.  Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.  Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”

If you are one who has not made plans for eternity today is a great day to do that. Do you recall Jesus’ words to His disciples about how one must come to Him, like a child, with the faith of a child, you can ask God the Father today to give you this kind of faith and He will.  These are the words of Jesus, who tells the truth 100% of the time: “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:17)  As you read through these verses you will see Peter saying; “See, we have left our homes and followed you” and look at Jesus’ reply, but remember it was not the leaving or the following for before any of this, it was a childlike faith that drew them to Jesus.

I must remind you that the Creators’ ways are beyond our understanding, if you have any doubt, look at 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 or Isaiah 55:6-9.  I believe this word from the author of “Man in the Mirror” Pat Morley is a good way to end this writing: “When possessions and money become a surrogate for our real identity, who we are is tied to things that rust and rot away.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Coming as Child

Luke 18:15-17

I’m a granddad and it is such a joy to observe children, last night we had dinner with my brother and the family next door has a brand new baby boy who is coming home in the near future to three bothers, the youngest is 2 and the oldest is 6.  The granddad was out watching the boys and my brother walked over to talk with him and to pick on the boys, or to have them pick on him.  The youngest is the bully of the family and his brother watched him very closely when he picked up a plastic sword and began to approach them with it.  It was enjoyable to see how well the boys played together and the different personalities of the three.

But we live in a time where many seem to not find any joy in being around children, and as I read this not that much has changed since Jesus walked on planet earth in the flesh.  Picking up the story in the 15^th verse of chapter 18, “Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.”  I’m sure they were concerned that these kids would be a bother to Jesus, and for often what is a source of vexations to us we believe it is to all others.  Now Jesus used this as a teaching moment, listen to what He said to them: “But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Each year the Pew Research group gives a report on how the Christian Church is doing and in 2015 it was reported that its number or percentage dropped from 78% down to 71%, and I ask the question where did the 7% go?  Could it be that many have thought they would come to God and to Jesus on their conditions, and not as a child, and though they used the title of Christian, have they tried entering into Christ other than as a child? 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice