The Art of Holy Redirection

Matthew 5:14-16
Today's discussion question: What kinds of deeds show off God’s goodness?


An early lesson in performance magic is the art of redirection.  The magician distracts the audience's eyes away from a "secret" action.  He redirects their attention to something interesting but not revealing of the secret. 


In our text, Jesus calls for a kind of holy redirection.  He asks us to not just do good deeds in this life, but to do them in such a way that they draw attention to God.  In fact, not just attention, but glory.


Recently, a woman in our area was kidnapped and badly abused. Her kidnapper even set her house on fire to destroy evidence. Law enforcement found her, arrested the perpetrator, and rescued her from captivity.  But to what freedom?  South Main Church of Christ set up a fund at a local bank calling it the Jane Doe fund.  Last I heard they have raised several thousand dollars to aid her in acquiring a new home and rebuilding her life.  Glory to God.


What do you think?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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Center of Attention

Acts 8:4-24

Today's discussion question: What sin was Simon the sorcerer captive to?


Why didn't Peter (formerly named Simon) sit down knee to knee with Simon and explain. "Simon, you've been baptized.  You've died to this world and made Jesus your Lord.  We have a different economy.  When God calls us to bless people, he enables us according to our calling.  We do not acquire abilities or rank or position in the Kingdom by work or wealth like Roman politicians.  The greatest among us will be servant of all." Why not teach this new disciple?


Peter aimed for his heart rather than his mind.  Peter sees that Simon's ties to his self-centered past threatened to pull him back.  Peter attacks those ties: buying power or influence is corruption, bitterness opens the door to slavery.


Look at our own celebrities.  How many have grown to despise the "fans" they've worked desperately to impress.  Peter points the way to the only remedy.  Repent. Humble yourself and give up your need for public affirmation.  Seek acceptance from the Lord.


Simon is so humbled, he asks Peter to pray for him.  


What do you think of that?

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Not-so-righteous Indignation

Mark 10:35-45
Today's discussion question: Why do you think the other ten got upset about this?

Unmitigated temerity. The sons of Zebedee seem to come to Jesus completely unaware that what they ask of him smacks of arrogance and self-promotion.  Their quick affirmation that they could drink Jesus' cup and undergo Jesus' baptism demonstrates just how full of themselves they are.



Still, I doubt that the other ten fumed over the lack of spiritual development in James and John.  One preacher said, "They're probably mad they didn't think to ask first."  Looking at the story, I get the impression they thought James and John jumped the gun on working out the pecking order.  A little more fighting was needed on the playground.  Jesus clearly addresses them all regarding the economy of power and influence in the Kingdom.


In the fallen world system the golden rule states that: "He who has the gold makes the rules." or "Might makes right."  In the Kingdom of Heaven: "The first will be last." and "The greatest will be the least." and "Do to others as you would have them do to you."  Never passive, the people of influence in the Kingdom serve others intentionally.  Consider this. 


The next time you get poor service from a wait person in a restaurant, ask to speak to the manager.  Then, tell the manager you believe that person is trying hard. Compliment something friendly and winsome about them (find a specific truth to tell).  And end with an assurance that you believe they will become one of the restaurant's best employees.  Kingdom citizens look for ways to serve others for the other's benefit.  And, it's much more effective than shorting them on the tip.


Will you share a specific example when someone you knew served this way?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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An audience of one

Matthew 6:1-6
Today's discussion question: What other good deeds could do in secret?

Resist the temptation to respond to this title as cliche'. It may be overused, but it is certainly under lived.  It may seem unoriginal, but its simplicity packs a punch.


Why do we practice our religion?  Why do we worship through prayer and singing?  Why do we give to "charity" or offer our time in service?  


If you sit in a basket of dirty laundry in your private closet for quiet time, then God bless you.    But we cannot get hung up on a legalistic reading of Jesus' teaching here.  Doesn't he call for us to direct our worship and service to the One who can "reward" us?


And, we must be careful not to disdain Jesus' teaching as a simplistic Pavlovian behavior modification.  Humans need affirmation and "pay-off" for their labors.  It matters a great deal from whom we receive the pay off.  The teen who fills the need to belong in a gang destroys their own life.  The adult buried under debt so their standard of living appears to match their neighbors serves the wrong master.


From the positive side: God wants to celebrate your growth in his character!  No one judges the child who looks in the stands to see if mom and dad noticed their athletic success.  Why shouldn't we enjoy God's delight in our imitation of him?


What do you think?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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how you should pray...

Matthew 6:9-13
Today's discussion question: What part of life does each verse of this prayer address?


If I may be so bold, I'd like to offer my reflections on each verse of this prayer.  I sincerely hope this will prompt you to share at least one of your thoughts in the comments section.


“This, then, is how you should pray:
Jesus never told the disciples "how" to sing, serve communion, or collect monetary offerings.  But he did teach us how to pray. It seems this should catch our attention.
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 
God listens to every prayer no matter its composition or the character of the supplicant.  But, the one who recognizes their position in the conversation is most likely to align themselves with the Father's will.
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
Asking God's will to be done may seem like asking the tides to rise and fall.  But the fisherman who seeks the rhythms of the tide soon finds himself living peacefully within them.
Give us today our daily bread. 
God created us to be dependent on Him, but not beggars.  He would have us recognize both our need AND his desire to provide. Daily bread is but one example.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
And, we have invisible needs.  Many of these are met by seeing to it that others have theirs met through us.
And lead us not into temptation,
God cannot be tempted by evil and he, himself does not tempt anyone.  BUT, he did lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.  Jesus tells us to ask him NOT to do that with us.
but deliver us from the evil one.
Have you every had one of those days (or weeks, or months, or seasons) where everything seemed to be working against you?  Ever felt like you had an invisible adversary?  You do.  Ask for deliverance.


I know some of you have valuable insights to add:

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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No Worries

Matthew 6:25-34
Today's discussion question: What things do you worry about and hope to avoid?

In this context of this article worry means fearful thinking about the possibility of loss or deprivation.  Worry drains us of useful energy without producing any helpful results. Worry may prompt us to action (often times destructive) or it may settle into our chest like an upper respiratory infection (constricting full breathing). 


It seems culturally we've learned to avoid the appearance of being worriers. We're careful to use words like concerned, or prayerful when discussing things that worry us.  We were likely better off confessing our worries and having others remind us to stop. Look at what Jesus asks us to trust God for without worrying.


Life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.  Worry for these things can range from adolescent groans about not having anything to wear to crying in front of a house burned down with just the clothes on your back.  We can drive home fuming about what to fix for dinner.  And some folks around our county panic during snow days because "reduced lunch" kids are home without food.  


That last thought puts an interesting spin on the rest.  God supplies needs through workers in the Kingdom.  Perhaps the best way to reduce worry is to work for the supply of other's needs.


What do you think?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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Another great insight from Randy Harris

Matthew 7:7-11
Today's Discussion Question:  What should we be asking of God that we usually don't?


I though today's discussion question was quite clever when I put our readings together.  I sort of still do.  But today, at the 3pm session in the Pavilion in the Tulsa Workshop, Randy Harris radically altered my reading of this text. God's timing is truly awesome.


Because of my limited comprehension, I left off verse 6.  Verse 6 is that random saying about not giving sacred things to dogs and pearls to pigs.  Randy says we normally read verse six as the end of the paragraph that begins in verse one.  He challenged us to open our minds to a reading of verse six as the first verse of a paragraph that ends with verse 12. 


Before you do that, consider this.  Dogs and pigs in 1st Century rabbinic teaching are Gentiles.  Particularly they were the Roman oppressors.  So consider reading this as though you, your faith, your trust, your need for life are what the word sacred represents. The world culture you live in is represented by the words dogs and pigs.  And then read the rest of the way to verse 12.  OK, now read this passage: Matthew 7:6-12.


How does that change the way you think about this passage?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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I am driving to Tulsa this morning. Today's blog entry will be posted after noon.

Matthew 7:12

Today's discussion question: What makes this rule golden, the world over?


The Wikipedia article on the Golden Rule lists sixteen different philosophies or religions that have an equivalent principle to what Jesus says in our daily reading.  Philosophers label these widely varying statements an "ethic of reciprocity."  Their negative perspective caught my attention first.


We follow a rabbi who calls his disciples to be leaven in the bread of the world.  Elder Hillel (an important rabbi contemporary with Jesus) certainly offers wisdom when he says, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."  But I admit I'm attracted to Jesus' positive attitude.


Philosophers may argue about our ability to successfully apply this rule to our lives.  Few would argue that a universal attempt to follow this rule would bring trouble on the world. Don't we wish that Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Humanists, and even Christians would try to follow their versions of this rule?  Wouldn't life on this planet benefit from corporate 
executives, national presidents, laborers, teachers, and citizens living out this rule?


What do you think?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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Trust and Obey?

Matthew 7:24-29

Today's discussion question: How did it look/sound for Jesus to teach with authority?


How long has it been since you sang Trust and Obey in a worship service?  My guess would be that for many folks under 50 the music puts us off.  We cannot realistically expect all hymns to remain in the Church's ongoing playlist. However, as many old hymns fade out of memory, a valid question is whether their themes and teaching are continued in new songs.


Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.


Do we even think of Jesus as an authority to be obeyed?  By the time I began doing weddings in the mid 1980s the word obey had been dropped from the wife's vows.  Certainly the New Testament teaches mutual submission in marriage.  But did we change our wedding vows to reflect Scripture or because our culture taught us to disdain authority?


Jesus clearly exemplifies a life of potent compassion. But do we see Jesus as Lord or therapist?  A therapist clarifies my thinking, encourages me, points me away from self-doubt and gives me tools for overcoming self-destructive behaviors.  I'm very pro-therapy.  But a therapist rarely commands obedience.  Does Jesus?


The activity for today asks us to write down a Jesus command and carry it with us until we do it.  I pray folks of all ages will give this a try. You can keep your Bible open to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) and find plenty of Jesus' commands to choose from.  Or, if you would like a more concise listing I recommend this guy's blog: HillsChurch: Commands of Jesus. (To get the complete list you will have to click additional entries from the archive on the far left and down.)


Try it and tell us about it here.

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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Better Than Bread

John 6:63

Today's discussion question: Specify. How have Jesus' words brought this world life?


This week our Daily Readings follow the theme: Better than Bread.  While fasting in the wilderness, Jesus knew that God's Words offered more life than the bread he could make from stones.  This week we will think through that idea and examine some of the words that give us life.


John's gospel (6:25-71) tells a moving story in which Jesus compares himself to the manna the Israelites received in the desert.  Literally, these flakey sweet nutrition packs kept the Israelites alive in the wilderness.  Jesus insisted that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."  This offended the 
followers who focused on what sounded like cannibalism to them. Many left him; those who remained sensed Jesus spoke of something deeper.


In fact, he explains to them (in the verse we read today), that he wants us to eat his words and assures us that they bring life.  Let me give you a personal example.


At the end of my eighth-grade school year, my parents divorced.  More intensely than the average teenager, I believed my parents had lost their minds.  I felt confused and angry, and out of control.  I read Jesus' promise in Mark 10:29-30 that anyone who left home or family or possessions for him and the gospel would receive 100 times as much in this life and eternal life in the next age. Greatly comforted, I chose to believe that I might never understand what my parents were going through, but that I could move forward into life with Jesus and I would never suffer more neglect or deprivation than I could handle.  


Jesus promise of 100X blessing was a rough estimate at best.  Over the years, Jesus sent countless men and women into my life to guide me, comfort me, mother and father me, even provide for, teach and discipline me. Better still, in truly short order he led my parents through the stress and insanity that comes with divorce.  They never stopped attending to my needs or assuring me of their love for me.  (Even when my attitudes made that difficult.)  I stood full-weight on Jesus' promise and the promise held firm.  It gave me life.


How have Jesus' words brought life to you or someone you know?

Tell us about your hopes & goals for 40 Days 'Till Easter.

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