The Towns of Jesus

There are some facts that are common knowledge about the towns of Jesus and some that are not so well known.  Most people would be aware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; He fulfilled this prophecy, just as He did all of the others that had been made down through time in the OT.  And, of course, He had no control over where He would be born, the same as you and me.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth.  He fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be a Nazarene.  Matthew 2:23 says, "..and he (Joseph) went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."  It can be noted that Nazareth was not a respected town by the Jews.  There are numerous negative references to Nazareth in the New Testament.  If you want to research that, you could look at Nathaniel's comment in John 1:46, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" It is in Galilee, which is referred to as "Galilee of the Gentiles" in Matthew 4:15.  There likely was a negative feeling toward Galilee by many of the Jews because of the fact that it was in the North where there had been a lot of faltering by the Jewish nation throughout history, and a tendency toward idol worship as well as occupation by pagan nations.

And even the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus.  It is recorded in Mark 6:1-6 that "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  This is said also in Matthew and Luke.  The people of Nazareth had seen Him grow up; He was simply the carpenter there.  They could not accept His divinity.

So He moves his home base, his hometown to Capernaum, as recorded in Matthew 4: 13: "Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.' "  Matthew 9 also makes reference to this new hometown.

Thus we see that Jesus was born in a barn in Bethlehem, grew up in the disrespected region of Galilee, in the lowly town of Nazareth, and ended up in the great city of Jerusalem....but was crucified on a cross there.  He did His work throughout a region that was barely a hundred miles long.  And yet He changed the world.....and He changed me.  What a wonderful story; and a wonderful salvation that He offers.

Have a great week!  Feel the love.

"Oh LORD, get me through this one......"

This will be a different kind of story this week, but the story must be told.  I was following a semi truck, driving my little Mazda Miata, heading North on I-75 at about 65 mph on Thursday night.  The truck braked suddenly, so I moved to the left lane to avoid his problem.  He lurched to the left, started to jack-knife and almost toppled right into me.  With nowhere to go, I lost control, shot under him, under the semi trailer, coming out the other side, slid to the right, across the other lanes, down an embankment and came to a stop in a ditch.  As I was approaching the semi, about to crash into him, I must have bent down...and I called out to the Lord for help.  The impact smashed the windshield throwing glass everywhere; I later found glass in my shoes.  As the car came to a stop, it was eerily quiet...and dark.  I was alone, the truck didn't stop and no one else could be seen.  Then I looked ahead about 150 yards where a lone car had pulled over.  I got out of my car, could walk, in fact, I didn't have a scratch on me.  I had just had a major wreck, drove under a semi, and didn't even have a scratch.  Now you are seeing why this story must be told.  I called out to the Lord for HELP!.....and got it in a dramatic way.

I walked up to the stopped car where a black woman and her 9 year old daughter were standing, looking at me as though a ghost.  She was on the phone with 911; I told her not to send an ambulance.  When off the phone, she told me that she saw the whole thing, that the semi almost rolled, apparently trying to avoid something ahead.  I told her that I must have ducked, and began praying as I crashed into the truck.  She said, "God is so good!"  What kind of lesson that must have been for that 9 year old daughter.  And what a lesson to me.....

Deputies came, followed by a trooper and a fire truck.  Everyone was amazed that I was alive.  I was more amazed because I had just seen and felt the impact with the underside of the semi; a major crash.  The car was towed; might be totalled.  The trooper took me home and I was alive and well.

Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for good for those that love God..."

Psalm 119:65 "You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.  Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe your commandments.  Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.  You are good, and do good...."

"God is SO GOOD!

Redeeming the Time

It is interesting that the subject of redeeming the time shows up in more than one place in the New Testament.  It is emphasized in the Bible and we need to emphasize it in our lives.  Note a couple of places where we see the phrase:

Ephesians 5:15  "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

A similar passage is recorded in Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward those who are  outside, redeeming the time.  Let you speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

"Redeeming the time" is a phrase that simply means to use our time well.  In the first passage it is telling us that the days are evil.  As Christians, we must be careful how we walk in this world that has given itself over to the evil one, Satan.  And Satan is real.  Note 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

While the passage in Ephesians takes a defensive position, the Colossians passage takes the offensive, positive stance, telling us to positively affect the world around us. 

And in talking about time, we must conclude with the verses in James 4, where it says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;' whereas  you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' "

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!  Let's use our time well. 

Walmart

I am standing in Walmart, holding a couple of items, waiting on my woman to show up with the cart. A man in his upper 30's approaches me and says, “ Excuse me, sir, but I would like to ask you about Jesus for a few moments.” I said sure, ok." He said, “Do you know beyond any doubt that you would go to heaven if you died tonight?” Now I see where this is going so I said, “Well, frankly, I am a Christian, and I would guess that I know as much or more of the Bible as you do. Yes, I have a strong faith.” “Let me ask it this way; on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is absolutely on fire for Jesus, where are you?” I said the only thing appropriate at this point: “Well, you came up to me in Walmart; I didn't come up to you. So I would give you a 5 and me a 4.” He says, “Can we pray together?” I said the only thing that could be said at that point, “Sure.” We bow, still standing in the middle of the largest aisle in Walmart, near the check out. He says, “Oh Lord...” Long pause; he says again, “Oh Lord...” I look up and say, “Oh, you want me to repeat.” He says, “Oh Lord.” “Oh Lord.” “Come into our hearts.” “Come into our hearts.” “Help us to be on fire for you.” “Help us to be on fire for you.” “Forgive us, Lord.” “Forgive us, Lord.” “We repent of all our sins.” “We repent of all our sins.” “Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name.” “Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name.” “Amen.” “Amen.” He took our a rough piece of folded paper, made a mark near about 20 others, said goodbye, and left the store. Now, I know the reader is wondering why I told this story, what is the moral here? I suppose that a lot of morals could be found.  But I will mention two:

I thought of a passage in 1 John 4 that says, "These things I write to you who believe in the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."  There is great confidence in these words....for Christians.

The second thought of all of this is that the man who came up to me was truly a 5 in being fired up.  But he failed in following the Biblical pattern of how to help people become Christians.  Never in the Bible do we see someone becoming a Christian through a simple prayer.  In Acts 2, when the people realized that they had sinned and asked what to do, they were told to "repent and be baptized."  In Acts 8, the Ethiopian was told about Jesus, and as they came upon water, he said, "What hinders me from being baptized?"  In Acts 22, we see Ananias saying to Saul, or Paul, "Why do you delay; arise and be baptized and wash away your sins."  We see a different process in the book of Acts than what this man was practicing.  But I'll give him a 5 for effort.  

Enough for now.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great week! 

Church Membership

There is not a great deal said in the Bible about church membership.  What is said is mostly by example; examples given that we can follow.  But we can note a few passages that give us some direction for our participation in the church today.

We can notice some things from the very first church, the Jerusalem church, as recorded at the end of Acts 2.  We see in the last few verses that the new Christians were hanging together, spending time together, eating together and sharing.  The final verse says, "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  This "adding" was being done by the Lord.  The people were becoming Christians, doing what verse 41 says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."  The people were responding to the Gospel message, but they weren't adding themselves; they weren't joining the church; they were being added.  The Lord was adding them.  This usage relates to the overall church, what is sometimes called the church universal.  But they were a part of the Jerusalem church, the local church, as well. 

As we go on through the New Testament, we see a great deal of emphasis being placed on the churches.  Virtually every book is either written to the churches or references the church in a specific area.  We realize that the churches are just people, Christians, who are meeting together, worshipping together and carrying on God's work on earth.

Another passage that is noteworthy is in Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 24, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..."  By being a part of the group, we can offer the support to other Christians that is often so badly needed.

I will confess that sometimes I don't do my part in the "spurring one another toward love and good deeds."  and there is a tendency to put too much emphasis on attendance at worship services.  I do believe that the Lord expects that of us; but we all know that is only a small part of serving God, of living the Christian life.

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!

Maturity

The Bible calls for the followers of Christ to be mature.  Every person who becomes a Christian begins as a newborn, a babe in Christ.  This babe has limited knowledge of the Bible and even limited understanding.  Just as a newborn baby is born without maturity, so is the new Christian.  This comparison between babe and mature is made in several places, one being Hebrews 5, beginning with verse 12: "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!"  It is important that we concentrate on maturing in our knowledge and faith. 

As we read on in Hebrews chapter 6, we see more specifics on what this maturing process is.  "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands,the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."  Some of these subjects seem rather deep to me; but we are told to mature beyond these things.  As it says at the end of chapter 5, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."  It would seem from this statement that it is important to train ourselves more and more to "distinguish good from evil."  Another verse in this passage says that the "infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness."  It seems clear that the mature person is one who is focused on teaching about "righteousness." 

So it is interesting to see how the NT shows that our emphasis changes with the maturing process.  It isn't that we aren't concerned with the elementary principles stated above; it is just that we have dealt with these things and then moved on to more important subjects, focusing on righteousness and discerning good from evil.

This is not a directed message to any one person.....at all.  This is a lesson for us all to keep our focus, keep on maturing, learning, growing, and especially seeking; seeking God, seeking righteousness, seeking salvation where we can live forever with Him!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!

The Bible is Fair

The Bible can be described in many ways.  It could be described as historically correct, the most read book of all time, an interesting account, salvation providing, the Word of God.  But for this article, let us establish that it is fair.  No other book is more fair in its presentation of the main characters, the heroes.  Other books that men write tend to give some leeway to the heroes of the book, giving emphasis to their strengths and overlooking their faults.  The Bible is different is this.

We see in the Bible many heroes of faith, people dedicated to God.  But in the stories that are recorded of them are the weaknesses as well as the strengths.  No other book is this fair.  Let's look at a few examples.

Adam--Adam is quite  important, being the first man.  Yet we see him in the light of failure.  He fails to remain strong in his trust of the Lord, is banned from the garden and spends his life in toil.

Abraham--Abraham is the father is of the Jews.  He is given much approval by God for his great faith.  Many times he stood up for what was right.  But he lied under pressure when he called his wife his sister.  There was some truth in the lie, but he still lied.

David--King David, the greatest of all kings in the Old Testament, was called a "man after God's own heart."  But he committed adultery and murder....and the whole account is recorded in all of its sordid detail in the Bible. 

Peter--In the New Testament we find that Peter denied even knowing Jesus when Jesus was being tried and was about to go to His death.  Peter was a great servant of the Lord....but his weakness is clearly shown.

There are many more examples that could be given to show that the Bible is more than fair in its presentation of its main characters.  One might ask why this is done so openly.  I would say that it shows us that these were mere men, people like us who had weaknesses and struggles in their lives.  They were not perfect....and we are not perfect. 

In the cases of so many of the great people of the Bible, people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, the many prophets, Peter, Paul, Barnabus, and on and on, the Lord recognized their weaknesses, but also their faith and obedience.  And He gave them salvation. 

We need to be sure that our faith and obedience override our failures, our sins, and serve our God now while we have the chance.  There is a heaven, a life after death, where we can spend forever with the one who has all power, all knowledge, and all glory.  Let's be there!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!