Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 18 January 2024. Today’s topic: Because of Him

Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”  Matthew 11:6

I love this statement from Jesus.  It shows both His nature as God and His humility as man.  https://ebible.com/questions/19031-what-does-jesus-mean-by-blessed-are-those-who-don-t-stumble-on-account-of-me gives a great interpretation of this quirky verse.   That site says, “"Whoever doesn't lose faith in Me is indeed blessed!" He meant this as an encouragement to John (despite his seemingly bleak circumstances and his possible uncertainty regarding Jesus' ministry and mission) to continue to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and not to lose or falter ("stumble") in his faith.“
Jesus understood what was happening to His cousin, acolyte, and friend, John the Baptist.   John understood who Jesus was and had sent his own disciples to Jesus so they might understand, too.  When they arrived, Jesus gently told them that proof of who He was could be found in what He said and did.   He then said this to remind them – and, indirectly, John – that putting faith in Him would be a blessing to them.
He could have ridiculed them.  He could have rebuked them.   He could have ignored them.   Instead, Jesus gave them a blessing and a lesson wrapped up in one sentence.  
You know where this is going.
Let’s list a few blessings in life.   Love, family, food, air, water, shelter; vocation, prosperity, friendships, hobbies, celebrations.   Also, don’t forget challenges, failures, consequences of sin, death, long-lasting family fights, and being a Dallas Cowboys fan.  There’s no doubt that Jesus blesses us with all the good things; it’s easy to see how those are blessings and to be thankful for them.   If we can remember to have faith in Christ when things are good, then we realize He has indeed blessed us.   Yet we often fail to recognize that even the worst times in our lives are blessings from Him, namely that that He allows us to choose our responses, and that He often uses those occasions to strengthen our faith (as well as move us from one state to another).  In our worst times, Jesus is blessing us in ways that matter most.  Yes, that even includes when the Cowboys lose…like they did to Green Bay the other day.   But I digress.
Best of all, Jesus blesses us when we don’t deserve it, when we ought to least expect it.   Not only does He still provides for our basic physical needs (just as He does to all people) but He always gives us one more last chance, even up to our last breath.   Our part is to recognize that, and repent/change/adjust as we need to (ought to), not taking it for granted that there may be another ‘one more last chance’ ahead.   Believe now.  When we cling to believing in Christ, we don’t stumble and lose hope.   If anything, we get to learn that we can succeed only because of Him.

For more reading:   Matthew 11:7

Lord, I’m continually blessed because of You, because of who You are and what You did.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 17 January 2024. Today’s topic: All the Proof We Need

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.  Matthew 11:4-5

Proof.  Believe what you see.  Jesus responded to John the Baptist’s disciples that they were seeing proof of who He was, that they should believe accordingly.

What Jesus was saying and doing was Scriptural, in accordance with the seven-century-old (at that time) prophecy from Isaiah that God’s Spirit would rest on Him because He was the Messiah, who would do things that Jesus was doing.   There had been great rabbis, great preachers, great prophets before.   There had been faith healers, people who seemed to heal, and people who healed using unknown medicine before.  And there had been people who had spoken God’s words, people who what said things that were Godly, or of God, or Godly prophecy.

There had never been anyone like Jesus, someone who did all those things at once, and someone who did it without seeking the spotlight for Himself but, instead, giving glory to the Father.  The people of Jesus’ time didn’t know it, but Jesus fulfilled, in Himself, every ancient Biblical prophecy about the Christ, about Messiah.  To understand that, people would have to believe.

When John’s students confronted Him, asking if He was who people thought He was, Jesus told them to take what they had seen and believed, and draw their own conclusions.   Most important of all, He told them to know that “the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”   God is merciful; God has come to save; God has come to help those who need it most.

Because we’re all poor…including John’s students.   They were to take what they had heard and seen and contemplate it, then believe as they would.

It’s what Jesus still says to us.   Corporate worship is important; it’s important to gather together for community and education and simply the joy of being with others of a like-minded heart.   But, in the end, faith is a personal thing.   What do you believe; what do I believe?   Jesus educates us now differently than He did those people in the first century.   They got to see Him, hear Him, in person.  He teaches us through the Bible.   There, we encounter Him and absorb the thousands of lessons taught therein.   There, we learn we can trust and believe in Him, who, alone, died for us and forgives all our sins.  When that’s done, it’s up to us to let Him lead or choose to believe otherwise.  What is our answer to His question? What do we believe about Him?  He gave us all the proof we need.

For more reading:   Isaiah 35:4-6, Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 11:6

Lord Jesus, I believe You are God’s Christ.   You have proved to me through Your word, and through the mercy, love, and peace You give.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 16 January 2024. Today’s topic: What’s Your Answer?

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”, Matthew 11:3

Before moving on, a few more words about what John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus.   Recall that they went to Jesus, wondering if He was Messiah.   These men had been following the Baptist, and they had heard all about John’s famous cousin, who was growing more famous by the day. It’s been two thousand years, nearly to the year, and our world is still asking the same question they did.

“Jesus, are you really Messiah?”

Don’t be surprised at that.   After all, the people of Jesus’ day asked it; John the Baptist’s disciples did.  Jews spent centuries looking for someone to satisfy all the prophecies; on several occasions they thought they might have found one, but it always turned out to be wrong.  And, on the night before Jesus died, the two-faced Sanhedrin peppered Him with questions about this very matter, and He said nothing in response.   His silence said, “you have sufficient information.   Draw your own conclusions.”

Jews have spent the entire two-thousand years still asking the same question:  who is the Messiah?   Other faiths reject this Jesus; other faiths substitute someone or something for Him.  And yet none of them harken back to this simple story in Matthew 11 when a believer sent other believers to meet the one, true God in person and pose this simple question to Him. 

Are you Him, or is it someone else? 

It really is a simple question, but it shoots right to the heart of just what we honestly believe.  Do we believe Jesus is who He says He is?  We didn’t know Jesus in person; those people did.   We didn’t see the miracles Jesus performed, but those people did.   We weren’t there to hear Him speak the words that the Gospel authors recorded, but those people did.   We didn’t witness Lazarus walking out of a tomb, or demons being cast into pigs, or Jesus walking on water, or see Jesus appear quite alive after suffering the agonizing death of crucifixion.   But those people did.   The people of Jesus’ time saw these things; the people closest to Him, and then others around Him did.   We simply get to read about it.

And even though they knew Jesus in person, though they trusted Him, they still asked Him if He was real, if He really was the long-awaited Messiah.   His answer to them should challenge us today.   What do we really believe about Jesus Christ, the carpenter’s son from Nazareth?   Was he just a good man who said good things?   Or was He the one true God, Immanuel, God with us, come to free us in ways even the disciples didn’t fully comprehend?

What’s your answer to the question?   It means more than you may even know.

For more reading:   Matthew 11:4

Lord Jesus, I believe You are God’s Christ, the Son of the Living Father, and God come to live with us.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 15 January 2024. Today’s topic: Be Like the Baptist

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”  Matthew 11:2-3

In the middle of the book of Matthew, this seemingly strange interlude occurs.  John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and the embodiment of Elijah, seems to be questioning Jesus’ authenticity.   Now’s a good time to remember that sometimes things aren’t what they seem.

John was in prison.  He would die there, soon to be murdered by Herod in a revenge-play.  John understood the consequences of his imprisonment; like his cousin, he may have been aware of what likely lay ahead.  He had spent his life heralding the coming of Messiah and had built a large following, including disciples of his own:  students who committed their lives to following and learning from him.  John also spent that time confronting sinful authorities, upbraiding them for their lack of real faith.  And John was fully aware that Jesus was Messiah.   He had seen the miracles himself, maybe even more than we know about. 

But John’s disciples may not have been as aware as their rabbi.  So the Baptist sent his own people to Jesus, in Galilee, where Jesus was teaching and preaching (and performing more miracles).  I believe it was for THEIR edification, for their benefit, that John sent his followers to meet the Messiah.  As I mentioned, John may very well have thought “I’m not getting out of here alive” so he sent his followers to meet the man he, John, had talked about for so long.  In a way, he prepared them for what was to come.  It was as if John was saying, “I know this guy.   Go see for yourselves!”  I say that based on reading ahead, reading the verses that we’ll soon cover.

Here’s another thing I believe:  you and me, we should act more like John the Baptist.  If you don’t agree with my interpretation of the verse, go read it for yourself.   I could be wrong (or I could be right), but what matters more is you reading Jesus’ words on your own.  Let Him talk to you, speak to your heart.  He may impart to you something He hasn’t to others (even to Matthew).   If people want to know about Jesus, we should direct them to the Scriptures, to the Bible, to the Gospels.  It isn’t even our place to add, “I believe (this or that).”   Just send people to the Word, then let the Word speak for itself.

That’s what John the Baptist did.   He understood what could, maybe would, happen to him for following Jesus, and he was unafraid of it because He believed in Christ.   Even if things aren’t what they seem, that is our model today.   Be like the Baptist.

For more reading:   Psalm 118:26, John 11:27, Hebrews 10:37, Matthew 11:4

Lord, strengthen my faith to be more like Your herald and servant, John the Baptist.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 11 January 2024. Today’s topic: The Start of Something Big

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.  Matthew 11:1

Here’s the scene.   Jesus has instructed His disciples on “how to do mission.”   He sends them out to do it, then He walks on into Galilee and did the same.  Dear 8 billion people now living on Earth, He’s done the same with each of us.   Now, with all our different backgrounds, it’s gonna be big.

Your walk looks nothing like mine; mine looks nothing like yours, or your neighbor’s, or the guy standing under the bridge, or the boss on your first job, on my Aunt Sally’s.  Each of us lives an individual life, and that means our walks of faith all differ.   Hopefully, we’re walking with God and towards our destiny of heaven to be with Him.   The choice of how to get there, however, is up to each of us.   It isn’t even one choice:  it’s a lifetime of days, each full of hundreds of choices every day.

The disciples faced these same choices because they were individuals too.   That’s why Jesus spent so much focus on them, recorded in the previous chapter, coaching them on how to ‘do mission.’  Up to that point, they had been around Jesus for several years.   They watched Him; they echoed Him; they mimicked Him.   But they’d always done these things while in His physical proximity.  This time, they were to do them apart from Him.

They didn’t know it but it was a dress rehearsal for the rest of their lives.   He would still be with them, but not geo-located.   It would be up to them to take the lesson forward into new places on the map.   Meanwhile, Jesus also moved forward.   In this verse, He continued ahead into Galilee; in today’s world, that’s west of the Jordan River, south of Lebanon, but north of Jerusalem and Nazareth.   Jesus would have been somewhat familiar with this area already; he grew up nearby.   But even He was entering a new phase of His life.

That’s where we are.   When you woke up today, did you realize that today begins a new phase of your life?   You may be doing mundane tasks, but you have Jesus inside you, influencing your words and actions.   You aren’t alone even though He isn’t physically beside you.    Or you may be doing life-changing things that you realize, in the moment, are life-changing.   The same dynamic is at work:   He has taught you and prepared you for it.   Whether it’s going to work, taking care of the kids, sweeping the floor, burying relatives, moving to a new state, signing a mortgage, or whatever, He has prepared your heart, and thus your entire being, for the work He has you in today.   That’s the start of something big.

For more reading: Matthew 11:2

Lord Jesus, You are within me and around me.   Lead me in Your world, in Your ways, wherever I go today.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 10 January 2024. Today’s topic: Try a Little Kindness

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:42

Over the last weeks, we’ve read through Matthew 10.   I’m wondering if you think, as I do, that this chapter is one of the most impactful chapters in the entire Bible.  There is more practical advice, from Jesus Himself, on how to live our lives, than, perhaps, anywhere else in Scripture.   Today, it finishes up with a practical reminder and motivation on just why we should want to follow Jesus and let Him refashion our lives.

Be kind to people.   Not only does it help them, but God notices.   And God is not disinterested in us, in our kindnesses.

I regret unkind things I’ve done and said.   Whenever people have brought me up short, called me on my conduct, they’ve done me a kindness because, in too many ways and too many times, I’ve said or done things that weren’t kind, weren’t gracious, to other people.   The unkind words (or gestures) on the road; the judgmental tone in my words, especially online; the ‘me-first’ attitude with which I carried myself; the “I deserve this” attitude regarding praise, recognition, and promotion.   I’ve spent too many heartbeats being unkind to others, and God remembers those things, too.

Thanks be to Him, then, that His mercy is greater.   That Jesus’ mission here was to impart grace to us and save us from ourselves.  Because He lives, I can put aside the regrets and pick up the forgiveness, then work more and more to share that instead.   To choose to hold the door for someone; to tell strangers, “have a blessed night,” when they get out of my Lyft car; to listen instead of talk; to tell people, “I follow Jesus,” when they ask what I believe.   God remembers those things as well, and when I, when you and I, share things like that instead of unkindness, God sees and records those in our ledger.

These days, I’m thankful that Jesus knows I’m imperfect, and that He constantly implores me to model my life on His, not just to “try.”   Yet He understands that we do by trying, and that trying again is how we conform to the merciful second chances He offers again and again.  It motivates me to want to do more.   I want to do better things, think better thoughts, treat others better than I have, even better than others sometimes treat me.  How about you?

In today’s verse, Jesus reminds us of this, of the fact that He knows when we do kindnesses to each other.   For His sake, let’s do what Glen Campbell sang and “try a little kindness” today.

For more reading:  Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 19:17, Mark 9:41, Acts 10:4, Hebrews 6:10, Mathew 11:1

Lord Jesus, go with me today to do kindness to my brothers and sisters.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 9 January 2024. Today’s topic: When We Welcome Him

Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.  Matthew 10:41

Last time, you got to read a little about a 102-year-young lady who spent her life talking about Jesus.   Her reward?   Heaven.   And before she went to heaven?   A large family, most of whom know the Lord in large part because of her words and actions.

That isn’t surprising, and you don’t have to be a person born early in the last century for that to happen in your life.  Think about what it says in Galatians 6: (to paraphrase) we reap what we sow.   If we plant good seed and take care of it, a good crop will likely result.   If we invest well, most likely our investments will grow.  If we spend our lives sharing Jesus, then most likely our circle of family and friends will know we know Him…and some will know Him, too, because of our example.

I post a lot online, sometimes too much.   I share things to let others know how I feel, and to encourage others of similar humor, political views, and outlook.   This blog gets shared to over 8200 addresses every time “send” is hit.   I’m sinful, imperfect, and fallen, just like the rest of us.   And I struggle with faith, with being Jesus’ representative here.   Usually, at that, I stink on ice.   If you’re inviting me into your reading space, thank you for that, but you get what you get.  I hope some minds are changed, but that’s not up to me.   In reality, most times, probably, few minds are changed. 

That’s true in most activities.  If you see a movie and expect your life to be changed, don’t be disappointed (or surprised) if it doesn’t happen.   If you set high expectations that hundreds of people will attend your next party, don’t be disappointed if fewer show up.  If you plan to be a millionaire by age 25, you might want to adjust your plans.  

But if you read your Bible and welcome Jesus, expecting Him to show up, get ready, because He will.   He will show up and touch your heart and mind in ways for which you weren’t prepared.   It’s happened to me many times, and I’m thankful that He’s more merciful and patient than me.   I’m betting you struggle with that, too.   You aren’t perfect, but you generally you want to do the right thing.  You make mistakes, but you get up and keep trying again. 

Just know that, when you’re doing those things, Jesus isn’t disinterested.   He’s beside us, within us, urging us again and again to welcome Him in so that He can be the righteousness people see.   When we welcome Him, His rewards are far greater than we could ever deserve or expect.

For more reading:  Galatians 6:8, Mathew 10:42

Lord Jesus, I’m letting You in again.   Thank You for Your patience, for Your mercy.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 8 January 2024. Today’s topic: Willa Mae

Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Matthew 10:40

When we share Jesus through our words, our kindnesses, our actions, we’re sharing the Father and the Spirit as well.   One God, in three persons, and when we share one person of Him, we’re sharing all.  That means that, when we’re living our lives for Christ, we’re living and sharing all of the Lord to all persons in our orbit.

Just like Willa Mae did.  I went to Willa Mae’s funeral this weekend.  She was my neighbor, and she died last week at the tender age of 102.   At her funeral, my wife and I chatted about what an extraordinary life she led, how much happened in the world in the century-plus of her lifespan.   Even the pictures from her childhood, shown at the funeral, of this woman we had last seen only a few short weeks ago, even some of those pictures were a hundred years old!   Just imagine that!  And we knew her, we shared the same air and space for a few recent days.

Here’s what struck me most.   Like Jesus, Willa Mae lived most of her life not far from where she started.   She lived here in Gainesville, and in a small town a few miles from here, and even lived for a few years  up in the Panhandle.   She was never famous, and never led a glamourous life in front of the paparazzi.   I’m sure she traveled; at the funeral, there were pictures of her in different places.   By the world’s standards, she wasn’t rich and she lived a life of relative obscurity.

But she died an extremely wealthy woman.   Her wealth was in the Lord, and she lived prosperously by “spending” that wealth as a Christian daughter, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend.   There were more family members at her funeral than overall attendees at most other funerals I’ve been to.  All of them spoke how they knew Jesus because of the way Willa Mae lived her life for Him.  In the ways that matter most, Willa Mae didn’t live in obscurity; in those ways that matter more than anything, Jesus made her famous indeed.

Now my friend is in heaven.   She’s there with Jesus, and her parents and other family who passed before her.   She’s more alive now, more vital now than she ever was here, and it’s all because she welcomed Jesus into her life, then shared Him with everyone she knew. Please say a prayer for her family because grief is always tough, even when you know you’ll see the person again.   And say a prayer of blessing for an old woman who’s young again in the presence of the Lord who welcomed her home.

For more reading:  Exodus 16:8, Luke 9:48, Luke 10:16, John 12:44, John 13:20, Galatians 4:14, Mathew 10:41

Lord, thank You for letting me know this woman.   Bless her and her family with Your love and peace.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 4 January 2024. Today’s topic: My Mission Now

Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  Matthew 10:39

Why would Jesus tell us that we need to live only for Him, inferring that He is more important than family, possessions, or even our lives?   Read verse 39:   that’s why.

My main mission in life now is to mentor my family and friends in their faith in Jesus.   Nothing else comes close.   My mission isn’t to convert people politically on Facebook (which doesn’t happen).   My mission isn’t this blog.   My mission isn’t making great money on the job, or selling cookies, or finally finishing my next novel.   My mission isn’t even having the best marriage on earth.  It took me over 50 years and some pretty harsh life lessons to learn that my main mission in life is now mentoring others in their faith.   Most of those life lessons were my own fault, and some have enduring consequences.  But none of them ever disqualify me from believing in Christ.   Or from knowing that, because of Him, my only, my final destination at the end of this life is with Him in heaven. 

That realization comes from knowing that my life here – everything and everyone I know of here in this life God gave to me – is His.   It’s His to do with as He will; it’s His to end or extend for as long as He sees fit.   I’m ok with that.

In fact, I’m more than ok with it.  I’m excited about it.   It’s electrifying that Jesus shares His news of salvation with me and asks me to share it again.  It’s reassuring to know that He has my back, that He empowers me to do better.   Yes, I’m still highly imperfect (see those rants on Facebook) and I still make mistakes.   But I’m learning to not do the things I once did.   I’m remembering I’m forgiven and made new.  I want to do better because I want to do things that please God, honor Him.

That means each day becomes an adventure.   Each day presents something new, something that can be enjoyed, shared, celebrated.  Some days are Disneyworld; some are battles.   And some days are a walk with my cross on my back, knowing that sure death awaits ahead.   Eventually, death will come.   When it does, it’ll be nothing more than a blink, a short walk through an open door into something more wonderful than I’ve ever imagined.  Jesus promised it; His resurrection guaranteed it.

Why would Jesus want us to know that losing our lives here means more than just death?   Because faith in Him here means death is just a transition to the start of eternal life:  the real adventure.  He wants everyone to know that, which is why it’s my mission now to share that knowledge with my family, my friends, and you. 

For more reading:  John 12:25, Mathew 10:40

Sharing my faith is my only mission, Lord.   Help me to do it today.

Practical Proverbial, from Matthew, 3 January 2024. Today’s topic: Ten Bears’ Iron Words

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Matthew 10:38

One of my favorite lines comes from a Clint Eastwood movie, “The Outlaw Josey Wales.”   It’s from a wisdom-infused exchange between Wales and a Comanche chief, Ten Bears.

Let’s keep it real:  most every religion tells its followers to die for it.  Islam makes an industry of it, commanding true believers to commit unspeakable acts for Allah.   Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism tell you how to order your life and death or they’ll be a waste.  And the religion of socialism/communism/government?  Be willing to kill, die, and like it.  It goes on and on. 

Jesus implores us to be willing to die for Him, not to put ourselves in the situations to make that happen.  He asks for our heart and then asks that we be willing to give our heartbeats.  Why?   Let’s paraphrase C.S. Lewis:  either Jesus is Lord, God Almighty, or He’s a liar.  Either Jesus is who He says He is, meaning He’s worthy of our utmost devotion, or He isn’t. 

I am an American fighting veteran.   I’m proud to be a vet; I’m proud to have served and proud of the work I did.   It took me many years to say that (just as it has taken me many years to really annunciate my belief in Christ).   As a vet, I was willing to die if that’s what was ordered.   It would have been highly unlikely in my career field, but it was always possible.   In that field, I did things to help the mission of defeating enemies.   That means some of those enemies died.   Back then, I didn’t regret it; these days, I’m sometimes on the fence, unsure.

What I’m sure of is that I would have died for “the cause” of American liberty if that had been the order given.   I believed in it even more surely than I did my then-obscure faith in Christ.   In the 25 years since I ‘divorced the military,’ that faith has grown into understanding what Jesus said.   He demands our faith in Him be stronger than any devotion we have to any ideal, any oath, anything else.  Hard ideas based on iron-hard words of commitment. 

That reminds me of Ten Bears’ quote, when he says, “it’s good that we meet in the struggle of death, or life.   It shall be life.”   Iron words (another quote); iron words of life:  a life that matters only if we give it to Jesus.  For Jesus and His iron words of life, be willing to do whatever it takes.  If that means picking up a cross and carrying it to your own Calvary, pick it up and get moving.  Pick it up and be willing to die because Jesus is exactly who He says He is and His death means life forever.  

For more reading:  Luke 14:27, Mathew 10:39

Lord, I believe You are who You are.   Help me carry my cross today.