What is your price on Grace?

Luke 7:36-50

As I read these verses I could not help wondering, how did the sinful woman get into the Pharisee’s house, was she part of the servants?  That seems doubtful in that being a Pharisee required separation from sin and sinners.  It is not told but one can guess this woman was a prostitute, and it also could be assumed she has encountered Jesus at some point.

One thing is certain, she heard Jesus was at the Pharisee’s house and she entered with “an alabaster jar of oil and stood behind Jesus feet weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears.  She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:37b-38)  The Pharisee who had invited Jesus home for dinner is not saying a word but his thinker is going wide open: “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him – she’s a sinner!” (Luke 7:39b)

This is a warning to all who claim to be followers of Jesus, and there is no evidence the Pharisee was, he may have been a seeker like Nicodemus, or was trying to trap Him, it is not clear.  But to all who have invited Jesus into their life, He knows our every thought, and often He will confront each of us as He did the Pharisee. 

Picking up the story in verse 40, “And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”  And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  (Luke 7:41-50 ESV)

I’m fearful that we often forget what Jesus has done for each of us; yes, it is beyond our full understanding, but that is the Victory, our Faith and God’s Grace.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What is your brand?

Luke 7:33-35

What is your brand?  I worked for 3M Company and we have a good brand, but it did not happen by accident, it required the top levels of the organization to measure all action on the effect of our brand.  And what was our brand; a company that put its money in research and development of materials to produce a product that would out perform and far exceed the expectations of the consumer.

Not only does a corporation have a brand, so does a church, a charitable organization, a family, and you; each of these make an indelible impression on others, and that mark is your brand or the way others perceive you.  So as a follower of Christ does that guarantee us a good brand, maybe a look into how John the Baptist and Jesus were perceived will be of some help? “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”  (Luke 7:33-35 ESV)

That’s not real encouraging for a follower of Christ who is concerned about the brand others are going to give them. This may help, it is a statement Jesus made to his disciples: “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:15-17)  And the example was serving others; Jesus had just washed the feet of His disciples.  Now for all who are concerned about your brand as a follower of Christ, this may push you over the edge, it is found in the gospel of John 15:18-21, “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. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”

All of the above is 100% correct, but this is not to discourage you the follower of Christ or you as a potential follower.  Why do you and I follow Christ, if not for the reason listed by the apostle Peter to Jesus’ question, “So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6:67-68)

Now before leaving look with me to Luke 7:35, “Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”   On page 1750 under notes in my HCSB it has this insight: “this means that the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus will be shown correct by all those who live (and live well) by following their teaching.”  With that said, if your brand is all about how others perceive you, you do not want to be branded as being a Christian.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

"Faith is the Victory"

Luke 7:18-19

“The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

A question that keeps being asked, every time the gospel is proclaimed, many in our churches leave, not sure if the one they have been told about is the one to attach their hope and dreams to.  Most will acknowledge a need for something bigger than themselves, and many leave wondering is the preacher giving a factual report, or is it just doing what preachers are supposed to do? 

If so, you and John the Baptist have the question in common, for like John you are in a prison, now John has bars and a lock where yours is the deceptive prison controlled by the one John the apostle calls the thief, who has come to steal, kill, and destroy.  John cannot go where Jesus is so he seeks reports from the men who have followed and worked with him in his ministry. 

Do you recall John’s first encounter with Jesus? “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”  (John 1:29-34 ESV)  So if you have bought into the worlds system plan for life, it is not based on faith, it is centered on man’s reasoning, on what can be seen and touched, and it laughs at people of faith. 

You as a follower of Christ have the written Word of God; John had the words God had spoken to him in the wilderness.  John acted on Faith, it was the victory, faith that knows God does not lie, it cost him dearly in this world, but as one who is a follower of Christ, what would you have given to have heard Jesus proclaim: “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John.”

Few books written by men of faith have had the impact on my life as has “Faith is the Victory” by Buell H. Kazee.  In a very low moment in his life, after preaching, teaching and believing about faith, Buell had a very large crisis of God not answering his prayers.  He does not share what it was but does share it brought shame on his life and ministry.  The following is a small part of what God said to him: “Faith is not trusting God to get something; faith is trusting God when there seems to be nothing left.  When everything is gone, with no hope of restoration; when there is nothing on which to base one’s faith; then can you still trust God?”  Buell goes on to state: “Unconsciously, I had preached that if we trust God our faith will bring the victory.  But now I saw that it rather says, “Faith IS the victory!”  And that is what the old song says, too, but I hadn’t seen it before.  So, it is not when you get what faith is asking for, that you have the victory; it is when you have faith, though everything be denied, that you have victory.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Our Job is to listen and Act

Luke 7:11-17

What happened to the Church, have you ever heard someone ask that question?  If you know them well you may be brave and ask for more information; and many a follower of Christ will say it seems sterile; we hear great messages but it seems as if there is no power and worse than that, it seems the body of believers is not troubled by that.  Most of us do not have the courage to ask the hard question, what needs to change? 

I read an article by Os Hillman where he was sharing a conversation from a friend who said Os, “The church seems to put all its devotion on the Father, The Son, and the Holy Scriptures.”  He went on to state that we have left out the Holy Spirit, the One Jesus told us would be our Teacher, our Helper.  And without the Holy Spirit leading us we have no authority, no power, and we end-up with sterile Churches, it looks germ free, it acts germ free but it has little life.

With that said, Dr. Luke gives us this great account of Jesus raising a widow’s son from the dead in a town close to Capernaum called Nain.  Now let us get honest, we expect Jesus to do such things as heal the blind, the deaf, and even raise one as this young man from the dead, why?  Because Jesus is God in the flesh and Jesus is very clear that not once did He use His authority as God to do anything He did.  In fact, Jesus always went to the Father for everything.  So could it be that you and I are so into the Scripture that we have allowed it to replace the Holy Spirit?  Do we ask the Holy Spirit to speak, do we say as we are instructed in Scripture to say speak Lord, and then are we quiet and listen with the intent of doing as He says?

Jesus said, I only do what I see the Father doing, and that day when Jesus had compassion on the Widow for her only son had died, Jesus saw the Father having compassion on the Widow.  You may say but Jesus and the Father are one, He knew the heart of His Father, it was easy for Jesus.  But remember Jesus became flesh like all of us He has created, and He will not use the power of being God, as a man.  So as Jesus looked to the Father, He knew it was the will of the Father to put life back into this young man, the son of the Widow.  And these were Jesus’ words: “Do not weep.”  “Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still.   And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 

Do you believe Jesus tells the truth?  Do not be so quick to answer, for your life message to others may be that you have doubt in putting into practice these words of Jesus, found in John 17:20-23,  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”  You and I are one with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, so go out and do as Jesus did, spend time with the Father, and ask Him to speak, our job is to listen and act on what we are told.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Authority and Faith

Luke 7:1-10

Doctor Luke tells us that Jesus is entering into Capernaum and a centurion had a servant who was sick to the point of death.  A centurion was a Roman army officer who was in charge of 80 to 200 men, and he was under the senior tribune.   Much like today where a captain in the army is under a Colonel.  

This centurion servant was of great value to him and the centurion had heard about Jesus, we do not know what he heard; maybe the healing of a man with a demon, or the cleansing of a leper, the healing of a paralytic, it may have been all of the above.  This we know the officer had been told about Jesus and he sent to Jesus the elder of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 

There is a big problem, Rome is over Israel, and the Jews look at Gentiles much like Muslims look at anyone who is not a Muslim, as unclean, as of no worth, lower than dogs.  But let me be very clear, the Jews did not want to kill Gentiles, as the Muslims want to do to anyone who will not subsume to their system.

The Romans were hated and despised by the Jews, and yet they were coming to Jesus asking him to help, why would they do so?  Doctor Luke gives this information: “And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue."  (Luke 7:4-5)  The centurion is still part of the oppressive Roman government, but the testimony from the elders shows that he is worthy, and the answer is he loves our nation and he is the one who built our synagogue.  The synagogue was the center of Jewish life, much different than the church is today even for followers of Christ.

So we have Jesus agreeing to go and he is coming down the street to the centurion’s house when a friend of the centurion comes to Jesus with this message: "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.  Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.  For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  (Luke 7:6b-8) 

Could it be that many of us read this and come away with little understanding of what has taken place.  First, the centurion with the authority from Rome to do as he saw fit in the best interest of Rome to any Jew, as long as they did not have Roman citizenship, he loved this Jewish nation.  He also understood authority being a military man, and yet considered himself not worthy to be in the presence of Jesus.  But this Gentile had faith, Jesus said, “I tell you not even in Israel have I found such faith.”  Dr. Luke tells us Jesus marveled at the faith of this Roman centurion, and what kind of faith did he have?  Faith has no distance and the centurion knew that, he knew Jesus could heal his servant.  More of us need military authority, for it was under that training the centurion understood the spiritual authority Jesus had.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Will Jesus grade on the curve?

Luke 6:46-49

Have you ever heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse?  “One simple concept that law students learn in their very first weeks of criminal law class: Ignorance of the law is no excuse. This principle means that when an individual violates the law, it doesn’t matter whether or not they knew what the law said. If it’s a crime, and they are found to have committed the elements of that crime, they are guilty.”  (Nicole Flatow)  Many of us have tried this defense when driving, some at school, and many in business relations.  It is our fallen nature or flesh, (they are the same) to look for an escape when we are caught.

What about as a follower of Christ?  Will Jesus grade on the curve will He allow ignorance of His direction and commands to be over looked?  If you are misguided about this area of life, you are going to have full understanding when you read Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?”  Many a follower of Christ has a lot of knowledge about what Jesus has told us to do, many of us sign-up for every Bible study and each course, but as I was told as a new believer by a guy named Chis who was teaching a Bible study at our home, “if you are not going to do what Scripture is telling you to do, a wise person would not open this book again, for God is going to hold you accountable.”  Folks, Chris was not telling us to quit reading the Scripture, but warning us that God expected, required, that it is mandatory to act on what the Holy Spirit shows us in Scripture.

I have no doubt some of you are saying thanks Bob, it’s a rare moment when you open the Bible and read anything, so do you believe you are getting a pass?  First, let me say this in a kind way, you are not on stable ground if your not building your life on Scripture.  What are you building your life on?  Could it be you have been taken captive by the world and it’s desires?  If so, you are in danger, for the Scripture tells us in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

So the wise person studies the Scripture and comes to the conclusion that the Christian life is impossible to live in our own strength, for only Christ has lived it to the full.  A wise person runs to Jesus asking the Helper whom He has sent to guide us in our walk, because the days are evil.

Jesus tells you and me what transpires when we come to Him, hear from Him, and act on what He has told us; “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”  As you and I examine our foundation, is it built on what God has spoken, or is it built on the thoughts of man and a world system that is collapsing?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A lesson on a tree and it’s fruit

Luke 6:43-45

What can a follower of Christ learn from a lesson on a tree and it’s fruit?  Our Creator and Lord Jesus Christ, the One John the apostle tells us was the Word and He became flesh, which was from the beginning and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  That Jesus put into the heart and mind of Dr. Luke to share this message about a tree and it’s fruit, and it becomes very clear, Jesus is using the tree and it’s fruit as an analogy of good and evil in people.  In the Gospel according to Matthew, in the seventh chapter, we find Jesus again talking about trees and fruit, and this is what Jesus said: “So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”   

These are the words of Jesus from the gospel of Luke: “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”  (Luke 6:43-45 ESV)

In the Texas hill country we have a thing called oak wilt disease, and the fungus is spread from diseased to healthy trees by insect vectors or via connections between tree roots.  Once it begins you must remove the diseased trees and dig a trench around the area of its roots to keep the disease from killing all the trees in an area.  What happens when a follower of Christ becomes diseased by pride, and arrogance or a sinful life style?  If you turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, you are going to read the church is one body with many members, our roots connect.  So can the diseased Christian have the same effect on a local body of believers as oak wilt has on all other oaks its roots connect with?

In Matthew’s account in chapter 7:15-16, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You   

will recognize them by their fruits.”  The Proverbs tell us what mother often repeated about bad company corrupts good morals, one example is found in Proverbs 13:20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” 

So what does the instruction book on Life tell us we should do when we find disease within the body of Christ, the church?  In Luke 17:3, Jesus had this to say to you and me; “Pay attention to yourselves!  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”  Our first goal is to look into the mirror, before looking to correct or help a brother, 2 Corinthians 13:5,
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”  After that the apostle Paul gave us this council:

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice