God is the God of creativity, and he uses this to give living examples of who he is and who we are. Throughout Scripture, he provides models and illustrations of our relationship with him.

One of the most striking illustrations God uses is the one of Hosea and Gomer. Hosea is a prophet during the same time as Isaiah that God tells to go and marry an adulterous wife, a prostitute, which he does.

Can you imagine the conversation? Here you are, God’s literal and audible voice to his people and you’re being told to go get married, not just married to any woman but to one already living in adultery and who makes her living that way. Oh, the scandal!

The Lord tells Hosea in 1:2 that the land, his people, are guilty of the vilest adultery, departing from the Lord. It’s the worst type of betrayal according to God. Again, keep in mind that God is using real people to show his perspective on the current situation. Hosea, would represent God, and Gomer would represent the people.

We are Gomer. Sure, we’d like to think we are Hosea in this grand drama, but we’re not. And we know it. We are the ones who are guilty of adultery, even if you have remained faithful to your spouse. We’re cheaters and have, very literally in God’s eyes, jumped into bed with and became intimate with the world.

Perhaps this is a much-needed wakeup call for ourselves as Christians as we recognize we are adulterers, especially when we may find ourselves being judgmental of those who may not be living up to our standards. The next time you find yourself saying to someone else, “Did you hear so-and-so and so-and-so are sleeping together?” we might want to listen to God’s whispering voice in our ear saying, “Pssst, you’ve cheated, too.”

Am I faithful? It’s a great question and there’s a quick way to find the answer; it’s in Psalm 139:23-24. David tells—he doesn’t ask—God to search him and know his heart, to test his thoughts, and to see if there’s any offensive attitude or practice in him.

Yikes! Because David knows, and so do we, that God is going to do it.  If we find ourselves continually asking, “am I faithful to God?” and yet never telling him to do a complete inventory of our whole being, then it probably means we really don’t want him  to do it.

God’s response to our request will be one of faithfulness—remember he is more faithful to us than we are to him—and he will point out those things in our lives that are adulterous. Then he expects us to do something with them. It can’t be a thing of “God, just show me where they are.” That’s just getting information from God. How does it change you? It’s all about transformation and being changed into what you and I always were intended to be.

I recently officiated a wedding ceremony, and as strange as it sounds, Hosea 3:1-2 was the text the couple wanted preached. Crazy, huh? But it’s a beautiful picture of what has happened with us as we have been joined together with God through Christ.

After Hosea and Gomer are married, Gomer goes off and resumes her former occupation and is sleeping around again, and everybody knows it; she has no shame whatsoever. So God tells Hosea to go and show your love for her, which he does. Here’s a key point for all of us. Love is something that is supposed to be shown, visible to everyone around.

The people had to be amazed at Hosea who was showing his love for this corrupt woman. In the same way, people around us should be amazed at how we love one another and those around us. Totally blown away, so much so that those who see this kind of love want to have it and be part of it. Love isn’t supposed to be something we hide as Christians.

The next thing that jumps out from this account is that Hosea’s love is unconditional. He doesn’t stop loving her because she has run off and is sleeping around; it doesn’t change his love. That’s the kind of love God has for people.

Since when did we start believing that God loves you less because you made a mistake? He loves you just as much now as he ever did and ever will because he loves you completely and unconditionally for all eternity. Our love should be the same. Don’t let a wrong done keep you from loving someone or withholding your love.

The last thing we see in this is Hosea is told to go and buy his wife back. That’s right, he has to pay for her. What? But let’s remember we are Gomer, and we have been paid for as well. The price for you and for me was God’s only Son. He gave him up to buy us back from Satan and the world. Paul writes in first Corinthians 6:19-20 that you don’t belong to you. You were bought at a price. You belong to God.

As Christians, seeing and believing aren’t related to our ability to see. They reflect our ability to accept and respond to truth.

This week, we read about a blind man who sight is restored and the Pharisees who refuse to believe. Rather than accepting the healing as a miracle, they want to prove it isn’t valid. Why? Because believing would require them to change.

The relationship between sight and truth

You’ve heard Jesus’ statement in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Have you given thought to the sentence that precedes it?

Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” (John 8:31). Listen to what he says. If you hold tightly to Jesus’ teachings, then you are a disciple. And then the truth will set you free.

It’s a conditional progression with a promise. Certainly, we want to see the truth and receive the freedom that comes with it. But we’ll never experience the promise if we fail to understand the progression.

Holding to Jesus’ teachings means accepting every word he says as truth. This is real faith, a heart change. And when we believe on this level, we can’t help but incorporate Jesus’ teachings into our lives. We change our thinking to align with those truths and then change the way we act so we can obey Jesus.

True belief isn’t mental acknowledgement that a teaching is right. It’s the realization that, if Jesus says it, it’s absolute truth.

The blind man and the Pharisees

Let’s look at how this plays out in this week’s story. Jesus has healed a blind man, but when the man returns home, no one can believe this is the same man who had been blind.

The Pharisees have an even harder time accepting the miracle because it was performed by Jesus on the Sabbath. What follows is an interrogation intended to discredit the blind man as well as Jesus.

Notice the Pharisees’ line of thought: “How is it that now he (the blind man) can see?” (v. 19). “We know this man (Jesus) is a sinner” (v. 24). “How did he open your eyes?” (v. 26). “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow (Jesus), we don’t even know where he comes from” (v. 29).

They can’t explain the miracle, so the problem must be with Jesus.

Jesus sums up the situation when he defends himself to the Pharisees. “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39).

Spiritual blindness and spiritual sight

When it comes to spiritual matters, we don’t believe because we see something with our physical eyes. We believe something because our spiritual eyes have been opened.

Why does Jesus call the Pharisees blind? Because even though they see a blind man whose eyes have been restored, they can’t accept the truth. Rather than accepting the miracle, they try to prove the man wasn’t blind or Jesus is a sinner. They try to shape the facts to fit what they can believe rather than changing their belief system to fit the truth.

When we believe something to be true, we change the way we do things to accommodate that belief. Not aligning our behavior with our beliefs is considered silly, at best, and hypocritical, at worst.

Spiritual sight works the same way. If we see Jesus for who he is, we know he’s the Son of God. This belief is so strong, it changes everything we say and do. It transforms us from the inside out.

So how do we know we have spiritual sight? If we look at the blind man, we can identify four characteristics. When we have spiritual sight, we:

1.    Receive blessings as gifts of God, even if they result from mud being put on our faces.
2.    Obey all of Jesus’ teachings, even the ones that seem unusual or unimportant.
3.    Recognize truth when we hear it.
4.    Are willing to speak up in defense of God and Jesus.

The blind man never questions the validity of his healing. He doesn’t let the Pharisees confuse him or make him believe his blessing isn’t from God. He doesn’t even ask how or why it was performed. He simply glorifies God because of it.

Let’s adopt the same attitude. Let’s share our faith with our words and our actions so everyone will know the truth: I once was blind, but now I see.

Food for thought

Jesus is in the business of making the blind see. “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16).

How does God lead us? What does it mean to have darkness turned to light? Why is transformation important?

In the movie titled The Passion of Christ, the word “passion” refers to Jesus’ brutal suffering and death. However, more often the word is used today to refer positively to a strong emotional commitment.

Young people beginning their careers are told to find their passion and go after it with everything they have. Some older adults decide to retire early from successful careers to pursue what they call their “real passion.” In these and other examples, being passionate is seen as a good and desirable trait.

This is true as well concerning Christians being passionate about loving and serving the Lord. Today, we can point to many examples in which religious adherents have acted passionately but harmfully toward themselves and others. As Christians, we must always match our passion for the Lord with faithfulness to his ways.

From this week’s passages, we have the opportunity to ask four questions to help us evaluate how we fulfill our passion for the Lord and, at the same time, remain faithful to his ways.

In 2 Kings 9 and 10, we are introduced to Jehu, one of the key commanders in the Israeli army. Elisha sent a young prophet to Jehu’s command headquarters to anoint Jehu king of Israel. After he anointed Jehu, the young prophet explained to him God’s assignment for him, “… You are to destroy the house of Ahab … avenge the blood of the prophets and the blood of the rest of the servants shed by Jezebel” (9:7). The young prophet gave Jehu God’s mandate and what the expected results should be: the total destruction of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s family, the priests and worshipers of Baal, and their places of worship.

In his passion to fulfill this calling, the first action of the new king was to confront and kill Joarm, the present Israeli king and Ahab’s son, along with Ahaziah, Judah’s king who also was following the worship of Baal. After killing Joarm and mortally wounding Ahaziah, Jehu confronted Jezebel and commanded her servants to throw her from her window where his horses trampled her to death. The wild dogs ate her flesh until only her skull, feet and hands were left (vv. 14-37).   

It is here we ask ourselves the first question:  “What is the basis of our passion?” In Jehu’s case, he fulfilled the calling God had given him to avenge the evil actions of Ahab and Jezebel.  In our passion to serve the Lord and, at times, confront and defeat evil, it is important to evaluate whether our actions are based on our relationship with the Lord, his purposes for us and our faithful service.

To continue to fulfill the prophet’s mandate to purge Israel of the influence of Ahab, Jezebel and Baal, Jehu then set his sights on the capital city Samaria, where all Ahab’s relatives lived.

It was a city he could not conquer through sheer military power. Instead of attempting such an assault, Jehu used intimidation and deceit to kill all of Ahab’s descendants. He convinced the leaders of Samaria, in order to save their lives and the lives of their citizens, they had to kill all 70 descendents and bring him their heads the next day (10:1-10). Up to this point in Jehu’s crusade, he had fulfilled his commission.  

After receiving the heads of these 70, Jehu traveled to Samaria. During this journey, he encountered some of Ahaziah’s relatives. When he found out who they were, he had them slaughtered. Although Jehu received more popular support for the killing of the friends, he had no justification to do so (vv. 11-14). Now his divine commission had now become a personal crusade motivated by his own personal ambition.

To give his own crusade more credibility, Jehu aligned himself with someone respected in the nation of Israel, Jehonadab (vv. 15-18). Jehonadab placed his name and reputation on the line when he aligned himself with the king. In a short time, Jehu’s passion to serve God had turned into a passion to go farther than his mandate allowed. However, there was no one to whom he was accountable.  

This brings us to the second question: “How do we stay accountable to the Lord in our actions?” If we want to be passionate in the Lord’s service, we must have someone who has a reputation of spiritual faithfulness to hold us accountable and evaluate our actions to make sure we stay true to the Lord’s ways.

In 10:19-28, we see Jehu completing his rise to power by deception. Pretending to be a convert to Baal worship, he summoned all the religious officials of Baal for a sacrifice to that god. However, it was his plan to kill all of the officials, destroy their temple and make that area the city’s latrine. Jehu carried out his plan with great precision and success. It was his passion and mandate from God to rid Israel of Baal and his worshippers. Through his deceptions, he was able to do it in one day.  

The third question we can ask is: “Do right ends justify wrong means?” In the “Baptist battles” of the last 30 years, both sides have used this tactic to the detriment of the gospel and the destruction of personal testimonies. It is important to remember as believers who are passionate about serving the Lord faithfully, we must guard against deciding a God-honoring goal justifies our taking ungodly actions to achieve it.

In 10:29-31, we find Jehu is selective in his passion. He opposed the injustice and Baal worship of Ahab’s family, but he did not oppose the idol worship of the golden calves established by Jeroboam. While he passionately carried out the Lord’s judgment against Ahab, he failed to follow God’s law wholeheartedly or to turn the people of Israel away from their idolatry.  

The last question we need to ask as we serve the Lord passionately: “When does passion fall short?” Passion falls short when we lose sight of God’s righteousness and replace it with our own. We honor the Lord by making sure we are as passionate about keeping ourselves true to his ways as we are passionate of fulfilling his will. As Jehu has shown us, unbridled passion not only is dangerous, it will destroy the testimony of God’s people and God’s purpose and will is negated.

What’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in life?

It has nothing to do with your career choice or the person you’ll marry. The most important decision you’ll ever make is what you believe about Jesus.

Jesus. Source of thanksgiving or cause of division?

In this week’s reading, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles. The most joyful of their holidays, this is the Jewish equivalent of Thanksgiving and a remembrance of the Hebrews’ 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The feast is one of three that requires the Jews to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Jesus hesitates to go because the Jews want to kill him.

In this chapter, we clearly see the Jews’ confusion about who Jesus is. Jesus’ brothers think he’s looking for a public following, perhaps for political reasons. They counsel him to do his miracles at the feast so he’ll become better known. In Jerusalem, the Jews are divided completely about who he is. Some say, “He is a good man” (John 7:12). Others contend, “No, he deceives the people” (John 7:12). Some called him a prophet, others a demon.

The argument was then as it is now: Who is this man called Jesus? Let’s look to his own words to find out.

“My teaching is not my own” (John 7:16)

If Jesus were an ambitious man seeking a public following, he would draw attention to himself. Instead, he tries to direct people’s attention to God. “He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth” (v. 18).

He wants the Jews to understand they’ve missed the point of the law. “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law” (v. 19). Rather than focusing on God’s loving provision, the Jews use the law to justify their own behavior and condemn those they disagree with. They use it as more of a convenience than a guiding light.

Like the Jews, we have a tendency to use the Bible conveniently. Rather than understanding it as God’s revelation of himself, we turn it into a rule book. Then rather than obeying the rules, we pick and choose among them, finding our favorites and discarding the rest. If we believe Jesus, we must “stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (v. 24).

“You know me, and you know where I am from” (John 7:28)

The Jews have difficulty seeing Jesus as the Messiah because they know his parents and have watched him grow up. They know him as a carpenter from Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph. The messiah, they think, will be someone special, not an ordinary man from among themselves.

Yes, He has an uncanny knack for understanding the Scriptures and an irritating way of always being right. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil” (v. 7). And yes, he claims to know God. So why, then, does he challenge every religious tradition? They think the messiah will approve of them, not correct them. This Jesus is more of a crazy man or absent-minded professor than messiah. That’s the judgment of the Jews.

What do we know about Jesus? A man born of a virgin. A miracle worker. A healer. A wise man. He’s all these things. He’s also the Son of God, our Savior, Deliverer and Redeemer.

“Whoever believes in me … streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38)

This is the third time John reports this statement. Jesus said it to the woman at the well, then in Capernaum after feeding the 5,000. Now he says it again. It’s obviously an important lesson, one we need to remember.

This time, John adds an explanation. “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not be given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (v. 39).

Jesus is more than a good man. He’s God’s Son, who became a man to deliver us from sin and lead us into intimate relationship with God. As part of the Trinity, He also gives us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to help us know how to live our everyday lives by faith.

What do you believe?

Most of us understand Jesus is both God and man. We believe he died for our sins, and that we’re saved through faith in him. Is that enough?

The question we need to consider is this: How much are we willing to commit to him?

Food for thought

 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of our minds? Would such a transformation affect the way we fit in at work or home? Should it?

Ask any Christian which is their favorite Psalm and no doubt you will get a variety of answers. Of course, Psalm 23 is going to be at the top of the list, but you will more than likely find some who are captured by Psalm 119, which happens to be crazy long. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful and stirring song of not only being near God but seeking after him.

Some attribute Psalm 119 to King David, who wrote many of the other psalms, because of its special wording and sentence structure. For example, the phrase “your servant” appears throughout this psalm, which in all the other psalms is only used by King David describing himself or others describing him. Also, the first letters of the verses follow an alphabetic acrostic which King David routinely used. Whoever the author is, there is no doubt a deep intimacy felt by him toward God and he seems to hold the keys (principles and actions) to what it is to be near God.

What do you think of when you hear or see the word “meditation”? Is it someone sitting on the ground with their legs crossed, arms gently resting on their knees, eyes closed and taking slow deep breaths? Yeah, that’s culture affecting your mindset of a particular thing or person. And yet look how many times we, as Christians, are encouraged to meditate on God’s word.

The word “meditate” in verse 15 of Psalm 119 means to talk, sing, ponder, study, think about. Well that doesn’t sound too bad, does it? And what Christian wouldn’t want more of that in their life?

There also is a great amount of obedience and discipline we see in verses 11-16. What have you hidden in your heart? You see, you are the one who does the hiding. The psalmist says, “I have hidden your word in my heart … .” If I hide something, I will know where to find it. Unfortunately for many of us, we hide things and then forget where they are. Anyone relate? But the hiding here is much different, it carries with it the idea that we go back again and again to what we’ve hidden.

Verses 13-16 are particularly interesting. Here’s the pattern: I recount, I rejoice, I meditate, I delight. What do you notice? There is a discipline (recount, meditate) coupled with an effect or result (rejoice, delight) from that discipline.

Go ahead and try to rejoice without thinking about something that causes you great joy.  How about this, need to have more joy and rejoicing in your life? Think about God’s unfailing love and blessings he has poured out on upon you. Are you afraid or “weirded out” about meditating? Don’t be, because it will bring you great delight.

And then at the end of this discipline/result coupling, we are hit with a statement of resolve: I will not neglect your word.

Mark 1:35-39 gives us a snapshot of Jesus’ prayer life. He gets up early in the morning, while it’s still dark, leaves the house, and goes off to a place where he can be alone. Why? To pray; to talk with his Father and listen to him as well. Jesus does this before it’s time to get on with the business and purpose at hand which is proclaiming God’s love for his people.

When we don’t make the time to pray, it is an indicator we have forgotten our purpose—loving God and loving others. And we are foolish to try and fulfill our purpose without praying. It will become a struggle and a chore, something it never was intended to be. Why not take some time to just be still before God and let him speak to you?

I love Psalm 19:1-6. Take a moment and read it. What is so important that’s keeping you from time spent with your heavenly Father? The greatest thing my family needs is for me to be near God, listening and talking to him. If Jesus needed this then surely we do too.

You have a choice: You can either listen to and take the advice from the world, or you can listen to and take advice from God. Sure, the choice is obvious and yet so many times we find ourselves in a bind because we’ve taken bad advice. This typically happens when we’ve become distant from God’s word and when it isn’t on our minds.

Psalm 1:1-3 gives us the results of what it is to listen to and take God’s advice. While verse 3 gives us the image of a tree next to a stream, it also brings to my mind an image we are all familiar with. You know the one; it’s a picture of an open field or even the side of a mountain that has a tree smack in the middle of it, growing out of nowhere. But the tree has tapped into something that gives it life regardless of its surroundings, a water source, and it is thriving.

The author of Psalm 1 goes a step further and says the tree is “planted.” God has planted you right where he wants you to be, and, regardless of the conditions, he has given you access to himself, the Living Water, in order for you to grow and thrive.

Reading 2 Kings 6:24-30, one cannot but be appalled and repelled in the description of the deteriorated conditions inside the city of Samaria which was caused by the siege of Aram’s army.  

The siege had caused a terrible famine. So severe was the famine that normally unclean things not only were eaten but sold for very inflated prices. Verses 26-29 describe how severe the conditions were as they tell of mothers cannibalizing their own children.

In hearing of this, the king tore his clothes in despair and mourning. In the city there was neither hope nor any perceived help.  

In 2 Kings 6:31-7:2, we see the king blaming God for the troubles of his people and declared his prophet would be killed. However, when confronted, Elisha prophesizes the siege will be lifted the next day. It was difficult for the Samaritans in their distress to believe there was a God at all, much less believe Elisha’s word that this God was working during their time of suffering.  

In fact, as we read 7:3-7, we are introduced to four unnamed lepers who are not allowed in the gate because of their condition. These desperate men decide to seek food in the invaders’ camp—willing to die at the sword of a soldier rather than starve to death.  

When they arrived in the enemy camp, surprisingly they found the tents full of supplies and empty of soldiers. The whole army heard sounds of chariots, horses and men approaching which caused the king and his men to panic and retreat leaving all their possessions behind.

What is so amazing is how the Lord used these lepers, the outcasts of society, to reveal his power and his working in the middle of his people’s struggles and pain. The lesson to be learned from this is God, no matter how desperate our circumstances appear, we can realize the Lord always is at work to help his people.

The men’s initial reaction in 7:8-10 was to meet their own needs by eating and drinking until they were satisfied. Next, they hid some of the silver, gold and clothes for themselves. However, after realizing their lives had been spared, they overcame the urge to keep the good news only to themselves and made the decision to immediately tell their fellow citizens.

When the Lord provides help for his people, those who find that help should tell others about it. Not only did these men decide to tell the city, they followed up on that decision by sharing the good news.

The good news about Jesus Christ must be shared, too, for no news is more important. We must not forget those who are dying without it. We must not become so preoccupied with our faith that we neglect sharing it with those around us. This wonderful news will not “wait until daylight” (v. 9).  

When the good news reached the king, he doubted the lepers, deeming it a trick to draw out the Samaritans to be ambushed and destroyed by the enemy. Although Elisha had prophesied as much less than a day earlier, the king rejected the report. However, the king did follow a servant’s recommendation to send out soldiers to check the lepers’ report.

In our sharing of the good news of Jesus, we will find many who doubt the Lord can or will help them. It is at that time we need to encourage them to check out what the Lord has done to give them eternal life.

When the soldiers returned with the confirmation of the report of the lepers, the people of Samaria went into the enemy camp and collected all the food and supplies.  It was a day of good news as the people saw, first hand, that God had fulfilled the promise of deliverance he had given through his prophet Elisha.  

In our relationships, we seldom hesitate to share the good news of a promotion, a new child or grandchild, an engagement or any other item of good news. However, we are not as quick to tell others of the good news of what God has done.

The reasons vary why we don’t. It might be we fail to recognize God is involved in the things that happen to us. We might hesitate because we think people around us aren’t interested in hearing what God has done for us. Some of us might feel it is not our responsibility to tell others.

However, because we have such good news to share about God’s provision of salvation, we are called to teach it. When we tell what God has done for us, we are like the lepers of our text; we can see others have the opportunity to share in it too. We have the right not to be silent.

We are a people who love processes and procedures—not just people in the United States but the entire planet. Whether it’s starting a new job with the possibilities of promotion, buying a new car or home, we like to see the whole thing laid out for us.

And go ahead and try to show someone how to do something—anything—without starting off with, “First, do this. Then, … .” It puts us on the same page with one another; we are acknowledging we understand one another.

It works in reverse too, how many of you know what it’s like to do exactly what you were supposed to do and then be told, “No”? You feel cheated and wronged because you’ve done everything expected of you and now the other person, or organization, needs to hold up their end of the agreement.

The Bible is full of processes, too. Take some time to find verses and passages that have “if, then” statements in them. “If you do this, then this will happen.” Of course, God has always held up his end of the deal.

Jesus is having one of these “process conversations” in Luke 9:23-24. He says, “If you want to follow me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Did you see it? First, deny yourself; then, take up your cross daily; then, follow.

In educational worlds, it’s called invariant sequencing, and it means just what the name implies, you can’t vary from the sequence. You have to do the first thing first, then the second thing second, and so on; you can’t skip step one and start with step two.

Let’s put Luke 9 in our context and the process or steps that Jesus lays out. You see, many of us struggle in our spiritual lives and our walks with Christ because we’ve tried to alter the sequence or skip steps altogether. Many of us are trying to take up our crosses and follow Jesus, but we’re having difficulty—and getting frustrated—because we haven’t denied ourselves first. You can’t have your hands full of what you want to do and try and pick up a cross as well. When we say yes to Jesus we should be saying yes to him with empty hands that are ready to be filled with our crosses, which is the cause of Christ.  

Saying “yes” to Jesus means saying “no” to yourself, sacrificing. And when we say “yes” to Jesus in the way that he is calling us, it means we are handing him a blank check of sorts. You sign your name and ask him to fill it in with whatever he wants you to do with your life. He then gets the final say so on your life of which you already have said “yes” to.

Too many times today, and even what we see in verses 57-62 of Luke 9, people are giving Jesus the conditions by which they follow him, and he just won’t accept the terms. Understand this, Jesus never negotiates, if he did, it would certainly be to our undoing.

Remember a time when you had your plans all figured out only to have them changed and worked out for the better? How about those of you who just knew you were going to marry a particular person because you were so in love only to break up and find the love of your life? Perhaps we’d be better off and much happier if we actually said “no” to ourselves.

Of course this flies in the face of culture which is telling you to say “yes” to you and just respect what others have felt culture has told them to say “yes” to. Pretty easy to see how it can really spin out of control, isn’t it? When you and I are left to what we want and not having to sacrifice anything, we quickly find ourselves jammed up and crying out to a God who is faithful and keeps his end of the deal, even when we don’t.

Luke 21:1-4 and we see Jesus observing worship. The Mark 12:41-44 account is much more intentional about saying Jesus pulled up a seat to watch this happening. Catch the weight of that, Jesus observing people worship, watching you and me worship him. Does it make you feel uneasy? If anything it should make us more aware of what we’re doing and saying and feeling.

Jesus’ attention is captured by a poor widow who, in the midst of all the others, comes and puts in an entire treasure in the form of two small coins. It’s a big enough deal that he calls his disciples to himself—because they’re obviously not paying attention, typical —and wants them to see this amazing thing. Jesus is so unimpressed with the large amounts of money some are depositing; you can’t buy Jesus’ attention or affection, particularl;y since all the money in the world is his anyway.

It’s funny when you think about trying to buy Jesus’ love with his own money. If it’s all really his anyway, all your stuff and all your money, then is there anything you can really have? Yes, Jesus. The only thing you can have or possess is Jesus, so why do we spend so much time and energy trying to have something more?

We live in a world where greed is idolized. In the 1980’s movie “Wall Street,” Michael Douglas’ character makes a famous speech where he declares, “Greed is good!” In the years since, it seems most of society has bought into this creed. It is easy for Christians of all ages to have this motive lurking beneath the surface of the decisions they make. This week’s lesson shows us a believer’s motive in ministering to others should be grace and not greed.

In 2 Kings 5:1-14, we are introduced to the story’s main character, Naaman. We are told he is a successful soldier who has risen to the rank of commanding Syria’s army. Evidently throughout much of his life, Naaman had struggled with the disease of leprosy.

Seeing his struggle, one of his slave girls tells her mistress that Naaman would be cured if he would see “the prophet in Samaria” (v. 3).  Naaman, anxious for any possible way of healing, tells his king what the girl said. The king sends Naaman to the king of Israel with a vast fortune of silver, gold and clothes and a letter saying, “I am sending my servant … so you can cure him of leprosy” (v. 6).

Upon receiving the letter, Israel’s king tears his clothes in fear, knowing he cannot cure Naaman of his disease. When hearing of the king tearing his clothes, Elisha has Naaman sent to him so “he will know that there is a prophet in Israel” (v. 8).  

When Naaman arrives at the prophet’s house, Elisha sent a servant to meet him with a message, “Go wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored” (v. 10). Naaman’s first response was anger at what he perceived as disrespect. However, his subordinates persuaded him to follow the directions of the prophet and he experienced cleansing.

D.L. Moody said of Naaman, “He lost his temper; then he lost his pride; then he lost his leprosy; that is generally the order in which proud rebellious sinners are converted.”  

In 5:15, Naaman gave a clear public testimony of the grace of the God of Israel in front of Elisha. He proclaimed this God was the only true and living God and renounced all the idols of his home country. At that time, Naaman offered Elisha the vast fortune he had brought. The prophet refused the offering in spite of the soldier’s continual urging.

Elisha’s message to Naaman was that the soldier had been healed by the grace of God and grace is not for sale. We demonstrate God’s gracious nature when we carefully avoid taking advantage of others, especially those filled with gratitude over what the Lord has done to help them.

In 5:20-22, we find Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, rebelling against Elisha’s refusal. Acting selfishly, the prophet’s servant pursued Naaman and told him a lie that Elisha now requested a gift from him.

When a man’s heart is filled with greed and his lips are filled with lies, he is far from finding the life God has planned for him. Gehazi not only lied to Naaman about Elijah’s intentions, but to be in the spiritual place he was, he already had lied to himself. He was measuring Elijah’s conduct the way the world would measure it, not the way God measured it.

One of the great temptations of those of us who teach and preach the grace of God is that we begin to see the results and rewards of those results as the world sees it.  With he Lord’s help, we can reject the selfish impulses that find expression in self-justifying thoughts and deceitful actions.  

Not only did Gehazi lie to himself and Naaman, he also lied to Elisha. In 5:24-27, we see him bringing back his bounty with the help of Naaman’s servants, but when they got to the hill outside of town, Gehazi dismissed them. Being concerned the servants would be identified; Gehazi took his illgotten reward so he could hide it from Elisha.

When he appeared before Elisha, he lied when the prophet asked, “Where have you been?” The servant answered the prophet, “Your servant didn’t go anywhere” (v. 25). However, Elisha exposed Gehazi’s lies and pronounced the Lord’s judgment upon him by saying, “Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and your descendents forever” (v. 27). From that day on, Gehazi’s white skin promised that at least one of his descendants in each generation would be a leper.

 The greed that ate away at Gehazi’s heart became leprosy eating away at his body.  He had hoped to leave great wealth to his family, but instead, he left great shame and sorrow for years to come.  

In our “what’s-in-it-for-me” society, there always is the temptation of greed beneath the surface when we make decisions and take actions. Christians are not immune from these temptations in our ministries to others.

However, as believers, we have God’s example, teachings and presence that can help us make grace, not greed, the motive for all of our actions toward others. We can be motivated to serve with a gracious spirit by keeping in mind that a greedy attitude soon poisons one’s life and relationships as in the case of Gehazi.

Some teachings are so foundational to our faith, we forget how challenging they are. We confuse familiarity with understanding. But when Jesus’ teachings were new, they were considered radical ideas, contradicting everything the Jews considered acceptable.

This week’s lesson is one of these teachings. In fact, it was such a hard lesson, many of Jesus’ disciples turned away, leaving only the Twelve.

What was this teaching? That Jesus is the bread of life, and his flesh real food. It’s a confusing lesson, one we never may fully understand. But even a basic understanding reveals the truth: that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, so we must commit our lives to him.

Jesus is the bread of life

Earlier in John, Jesus told the woman at the well he could give her living water, which would quench her thirst forever. We understand he’s talking figuratively. The woman, having never heard such a claim before, wanted to know where she could find this water so she could stop coming to the well every day to refill her water jug.

In John 6, Jesus delivers a similar teaching to the Jews. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

We know Jesus is speaking figuratively. But what does he mean?

The most obvious reading of this passage is metaphoric. Just as bread gives physical nourishment and sustains life, so Jesus nourishes our spirits and gives us eternal life. But bread isn’t always spoken of in this context in the Bible.

For example, we read about “the bread of idleness” in Proverbs 31:27 and the “bread of mourners” in Hosea 9:4. These “breads” don’t nourish. In these phrases, bread seems to represent an attitude that results in idleness or mourning. Bread, in this context, suggests the condition of our hearts.

Internal nourishment

Perhaps it’s better to think of bread as something that has transformative power. Our bodies absorb bread into our bloodstream, where it becomes part of our flesh, strengthening and energizing us.

John already has told us Jesus is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). By calling Himself the bread of life, Jesus says we must eat His words, ingesting them, allowing them to flow through our bloodstream, nourishing our hearts and minds, transforming the way we think and act.

The word of God must live within us. But in order for that to happen, we must do more than listen to the words. Even memorizing them falls short. We must allow the chemical reaction of digestion to take place, where the words are transformed into something that gives life to our spirits, renewing and energizing us on a spiritual level.

The well-nourished spirit

In the same way optimum health can only be achieved if we eat a healthy diet and exercise, our spirits—once they’ve been given life through faith in Jesus—need to be fed and exercised.

The word of God is our nourishment. Obedience is our exercise program.

But the works we’re called to do, the exercises we’ve been given, aren’t difficult. Jesus says, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29). Our job is to take Jesus at his word and accept even the hard teachings.

It’s as if Jesus is giving us a picture of himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life. His words are the only way we’ll grasp spiritual truths. Jesus is the only way to heaven. He’s the only source of eternal life. Only through him can we know the Father. This is the truth that gives us life.

But we can only allow this truth to change us if we make it part of our being on a cellular level. That’s what it means to eat this bread. We must allow Jesus’ teachings to transform us. Where cynicism used to reign, we must allow faith to grow. Where there was once bitterness, there must be peace. Where there was anger, forgiveness. Where there was hatred, love.

The point is, it’s a chemical reaction that happens automatically. God designed the digestive system to extract vitamins and minerals and nourish our bodies. He also designed our spirits to extract truth from his words. We don’t control the process. We simply eat healthy foods and expect to be nourished. In the same way, Jesus asks us to take his teachings to heart. He’ll take care of the rest.

Food for thought

In Isaiah 55:2-3, we read, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

What do we typically feed our hearts and minds with? What are the results? Is it possible to commit 100 percent to Jesus when we feed our spirits with teachings from the secular world?

Okay, how embarrassing. You try to have a little one-on-one private conservation with Jesus, and the next thing you know, you and your brother are being made into object lessons; and not necessarily in a good way.

That’s exactly what happened to James and John when they had a conversation with Jesus about having places of honor in the new kingdom. And of course when their friends heard about them going behind their backs, they were mad. Who wouldn’t be? Of course, it would be funny to know if any of them were angry because they hadn’t thought of doing it first.

Jesus had to know this very attitude was in all of them because he addresses them all. “If you want to be great, serve others.” Not exactly what you’d expect as a battle cry, but it’s exactly what Jesus expected—and expects—his followers to do.

Many of us have no problem with serving. However, many times serving is done on our terms. We can become a bit of a control freak in this whole servanthood thing. “Sure, I’ll serve. I’m available for an hour on Saturday and an hour on Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. I’ll do anything as long as I don’t have to talk with people I don’t know or who make me uncomfortable, like the homeless, or people who smell really bad. Other than that, I’m good to go.”

Sound familiar? Sure, maybe the details are a bit off, but the attitude is certainly there in most all of us. And aren’t we blown away by those who can jump in there in the midst of all the world’s junk and just love on people? We are called to and bound by God’s love for us through Jesus to serve people on his terms, not ours.

Let that soak in for a moment. He decides when and how we serve. Want a gauge on this? When an opportunity comes up to serve—and it will—what’s your initial reaction? Is it “I should do that” followed by all the reasons why you “can’t”? What about the response of “Yes, I’ll do that but let me take care of this other thing first,” only to realize that “thing” was taken care of and you still didn’t serve? (Please don’t think that I have mastered all of this; this is very much stinging me.)

Jesus’ response to some who said this very thing was, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). I’m thankful he didn’t say they would never be fit or they were hopeless, aren’t you?

Serving is a learned behavior; we have to change our mindsets from what the world is telling us to what Jesus is calling us to. It’s in verse 43, “Not so with you.” It’s another clear time when Jesus is trying to show his disciples (his followers, Christians) that there is to be a clear distinction between what the world does and what Christ’s followers do. “Not so with you.” It’s a revolutionary statement. One that has the potential to change you and everyone around you.

The life of a Christian is one of worship and service. These are things everyone already is doing. Everyone on the planet is worshiping something or someone and serving something and someone. Being a Christian brings focus into our lives. The call of Christ is a call to expend yourself serving others to God’s glory. Look how many times Paul says very clearly that he is a “slave” or a “servant” and he’s thrilled with it! Remember, it’s about changing your mindset from the world’s view to God’s. Serving, from God’s perspective, is freeing. How backward does that sound? And yet, you and I know it‘s true.

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is quite revealing; the servants are given talents to manage for the master while he is away. A talent would be roughly the equivalent of more than $1000. When he returns he wants to see what’s been done with what he entrusted. The first two servants are found to have multiplied what they were given, but the third servant has quite a different story. In verse 24, the servant says, “I knew you …,” and then in verse 25, he says, “I was afraid.” Do you see it? The servant didn’t know the master at all!

God has given you “stuff” and resources because he has found you worthy and trustworthy to handle his things. Keep in mind, it’s all his and we are simply managers who are taking care of the master’s things until he returns.

Make no mistake about it, he is returning. As Christians we are to live our lives in such a way that we are excited about the Master returning, ready to share with him what we’ve done in his name and for his cause. And at this time we, just like everyone else, will be called to give an account for how we have handled the Master’s resources.

Again, be encouraged, God believes in you. Do you believe in him? Do you trust him enough to follow him outside your comfort zone? To say “no” to some things so that you can say “yes” to what he has for you? That’s how one truly becomes great.

One of the great questions of history is, “Can one person make a difference?”

History tells us it is possible. We can look at the influences of Martin Luther King in the civil rights battles of the past century. Going back one more century, we see how the inventions of Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell, the light bulb and telephone, respectively, changed our ways of living and communicating. For the ultimate difference one person can make, we need to go back twenty-one centuries when heaven invaded earth in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

The next question that should be asked is, “Can I make a difference?” The Bible says “yes!” According to our text, we see one man, Josiah, made ruler of Judah at the age of 8, hears God’s word at the age of 18, becomes convicted of the spiritual rebellion and sin in Judah, and leads his nation in repentance and reform.

In the time in which we live, we see some of the same attitudes and acts of rebellion against God, his word and his people. There are some things that are terribly wrong in the culture in which we live. What do we see? We see poverty, injustice, racism and crime. We also see the growing tolerance of the evils of personal and societal sexual immorality and dishonesty.

Last and most troubling of all is the devaluation of human life in general through senseless taking of life whether on the streets in our cities, in wars around the word or in abortion clinics. How can we make such a difference that our families, cities, states and nation see positive, godly change?  The Scriptures we are given this week point to us four biblical principles Josiah used to change the spiritual direction of his kingdom.

When Josiah became king at age 8, his kingdom had been led for 55 years by his grandfather, Manasseh. His father, Amon, only served two years before his assassination. Both of these men led Judah to follow other gods, desecrate the temple, and teach through actions of murder and human sacrifice that human life was cheap. At age 18, Josiah led the people to repair the temple where the “Book of the Law” was found (2 Kings 22:3-8).  

Here we find the first principle Josiah used to change the spiritual direction of his society. When the Book of the Law was read to him, Josiah “tore his robes” out of conviction and repentance for the sins of Judea.

After hearing a reading of God’s law, he commanded his servants to find out what would be needed to avoid divine judgment. His advisors returned after studying God’s word and gave Josiah an “action plan” or “blueprint” to bring about a change in the culture of his kingdom.

It is in studying the Scriptures and praying for God-given understanding that we can come to know how he can use us to make a positive difference in our world that brings change to society that glorifies him.  

In 23:1-3, Josiah calls people from all walks of life to the temple in Jerusalem to hear the Book of the Law read. He then pledged to lead them according to the Lord’s ways. The second principle Josiah practiced to change the sinful, rebellious culture of Judah was to encourage others to follow him as he set the example of living according the word of God. Josiah asked his people to trust and follow him as he followed the Lord. That is what the Lord calls Christians to do in this day and age. Instead of complaining about the sins around us and condemning those who have fallen, we need to follow Jesus and ask others to do likewise.

As one reads the sins of Josiah’s grandfather and father, none of them, in my view, is more disconcerting than the barbaric practice of child sacrifice outside Jerusalem. In 23:4-23, the writer outlines a number of cultural and spiritual reforms Josiah implemented. In 23:10, we read where Josiah destroyed the altar where people, including his grandfather, committed child sacrifice. They were sacrificing their children to false gods.  

In our society, there are too many abortions that take place because of the selfishness of the two who conceived the child. There also are too many children who are placed in situations and conditions where they are physically, mentally and spiritually abused. These children are sacrificed on the altar of selfishness and abuse. Christians can help build a godly culture by working to protect the lives and well-being of every child—born and unborn.  

The last biblical principle Josiah demonstrated is recorded in 23:24, 25. Josiah continued in his campaign to remove all of the pagan practices his father and grandfather had either initiated or allowed. The principle is that Josiah’s passion was seeking to spiritually bring his people to follow the “Book of the Law.” It is the responsibility of all believers in Jesus Christ to be used by him to make a difference in our culture by following his example of being its light and salt.

By following these four biblical principles, Josiah gained a reputation of having no equal in wholeheartedly turning to the Lord. He made a difference. As believers, we can keep working to build a godly culture of life, realizing that such a goal is worthy of wholehearted, lifelong effort. Let’s make a difference!

Let’s face it, we like our freedom.

We like that in Christ we’re free from the Old Testament law. We like the idea of living by faith, not rules. But freedom still requires submission. Even in our freedom, we either submit through faith to God, or we submit to the enemy.

We must understand, submitting actually is a form of commitment. So if we say we submit to God, we also must commit to become like him.

Who do we commit to?

John 5 begins with the story of a man who has been an invalid 38 years. As is his habit, Jesus addresses the man with an unusual question. “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). It seems like a silly question. Of course he wants to be healed. But Jesus understands the human heart. While the man might want to be able to walk, he may not want the responsibility that comes with being whole.

The question really addresses the man’s values. Or more to the point, who he’s submitted to. Jesus is saying, if he wants to be healed, he must acknowledge Jesus’ authority. And initially, the man chooses Jesus because he wants to be healed.

It’s such a simple healing, it probably wouldn’t be noticed on any other day. But this is the Sabbath. The Jews tell the man, in carrying his mat as Jesus commanded, he’s breaking the Sabbath.

Maybe at this point the man realizes Jesus is on the fringes of acceptability. Maybe he fears the Jews. Whatever his reasoning, he prefers the Jews’ approval to Jesus’, and he tells them Jesus is responsible for his sin.

Jesus isn’t fooled, of course. Listen to his warning: “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14).

The spiritually healed need to stop sinning

When this man tells on Jesus, he’s picking sides. And while we may judge him for choosing unwisely, we need to realize we face the same choice every day.

The first-century Jews had created a social order that excluded God. Yes, it was founded on the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law. But the Jews’ understanding of these laws had strayed so far from the heart of God that Jesus, God’s own Son, was considered an outlaw.

The United States also has strayed from its Christian roots. Religion is strictly excluded from government and schools. White lies and cheating are considered normal business practices. In order to succeed, Christians feel compelled to lay down their Christian values and adopt the world’s way of doing things.

We need to listen to Jesus’ reprimand. See, you have accepted me as your Savior. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.

Jesus must have full authority in our lives

In this week’s story, the Jews are defending one of God’s commandments. Jesus’ response indicates rules aren’t the authority. Even God’s rules. Because we tend to take them out of context and misunderstand their purpose.

It isn’t God’s commandments, but Jesus who is our authority.

How can we know the difference? We must adopt the heart of Jesus to know. It’s a difficult process, often messy, and it takes a lifetime. But we must submit to his authority and allow him to change us so we can know what’s important to him.

It begins with three simple attitude changes:

1.    Rely on the Bible to teach us who Jesus is and what he cares about. We tend to read the Bible for dos and don’ts. Yes, we like our freedom. But we also like rules because they allow us to measure our progress and judge ourselves against others. When we turn God’s word into mere rules for living, we deny its power and refuse to allow it to change us.

In verse 46, Jesus says Moses wrote about him, which means the law should lead us to know him better. Realizing this, when we read the Bible, we must focus on what it says about Jesus and God’s desire for us, his creation. We must judge ourselves—not others—with his words.

2.    Adopt the heart of Jesus. Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). He wants us to have the love of God in our hearts, and that can only happen if we know him intimately.

3.    Don’t accept the testimony of your fellow man. We need to rely on God for our self-esteem. The world’s way of doing things is wrong, so we shouldn’t try to please them. Besides, anyone who commits to live by faith is essentially turning his back on the world. Expect others to notice, but don’t allow them to change your mind, as the man in our story did. Believe Jesus, and commit to follow him.

Food for thought

We must allow God’s word to come to life in our hearts. That means reading it, digesting it, and making it part of our lives. You might say the Bible is our guidebook to God. But it isn’t superior to God. After all, the source is far more important than its reflection. What are you doing to allow God’s word to speak to you?

Jesus says God always is at work. That being the case, we always must listen. Only then can he help us make right choices that honor him. Can you identify an area where God is at work in your life? Are you willing to follow, no matter where he leads?