Satan tempts Jesus
Jesus calls his disciples
Great crowds follow him
Matt 4
John <><
Monday, February 04, 2019
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Saturday, February 02, 2019
Friday, February 01, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Cold in the Midwest & a February Daily Devotion
The cold temperatures of the polar vortex have made their way to Southwest Missouri in the way of dipping into the single digits; 7f (-14c) in Ozark this morning. We had a little bit of snow last night, as well.
I was up early today for a breakfast meet, but the weather caused some local school/daycare closings so my breakfast partners were unable to make it.
No worries. I've had a productive morning.
Coffee, quiet, computer.
Life is good.
I've been thinking about a little something different in the way of posting for Haiku February. At first I was thinking of doing a devotional haiku each day. I kind of enjoyed the daily devotional through The Gospel According to John over the past few weeks. I imagine that trying to summarize a chapter of Matthew's gospel into a three line haiku will be a little challenging, but I think I'll give it a shot. I may have to use more than a single haiku on occasion. I don't know.
In any case, while the daily devotional was good for me and served a purpose other than just writing, it didn't do much for blog traffic. Posting daily vs. my usual sporadic posts always helps with readership, but this time -- not so much.
And that's okay. I try to keep in mind that I started writing just to get in the habit of writing and the blog has always been more of a place to spill thoughts out of my head (or Out of My Hat) than any thing else. I don't get paid for anything based on readership or ad clicks, so other than the ego boost, it doesn't really matter.
I'll post a link to the bible chapter each day so you can read it. Then you can see if the haiku gives a decent representation of the chapter. If you'd like, you can leave your own haiku in the comments.
I have to admit that I've found daily haiku writing to be a challenge the past couple of Februaries, so I'm not sure if this is going to work out well. We shall see.
John <><
I was up early today for a breakfast meet, but the weather caused some local school/daycare closings so my breakfast partners were unable to make it.
No worries. I've had a productive morning.
Coffee, quiet, computer.
Life is good.
I've been thinking about a little something different in the way of posting for Haiku February. At first I was thinking of doing a devotional haiku each day. I kind of enjoyed the daily devotional through The Gospel According to John over the past few weeks. I imagine that trying to summarize a chapter of Matthew's gospel into a three line haiku will be a little challenging, but I think I'll give it a shot. I may have to use more than a single haiku on occasion. I don't know.
In any case, while the daily devotional was good for me and served a purpose other than just writing, it didn't do much for blog traffic. Posting daily vs. my usual sporadic posts always helps with readership, but this time -- not so much.
And that's okay. I try to keep in mind that I started writing just to get in the habit of writing and the blog has always been more of a place to spill thoughts out of my head (or Out of My Hat) than any thing else. I don't get paid for anything based on readership or ad clicks, so other than the ego boost, it doesn't really matter.
I'll post a link to the bible chapter each day so you can read it. Then you can see if the haiku gives a decent representation of the chapter. If you'd like, you can leave your own haiku in the comments.
I have to admit that I've found daily haiku writing to be a challenge the past couple of Februaries, so I'm not sure if this is going to work out well. We shall see.
John <><
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
It's Almost February
And that means Haiku month!
National Haiku Writing Month -- NaHaiWriMo
As has been my February habit, I'll be posting Haiku poems for the month. I hope that you will consider doing the same. You may use other media to post yours (like Facebook or Twitter) or you can post one daily in the comments of this blog.
February also brings baseball!
Pitchers and catchers will be in spring training camp in just a couple of weeks and then the other players will join them. I can't wait to watch some baseball (and enjoy a ballpark dog or two)!
The cold of a polar vortex will not diminish the excitement of the coming baseball season.
It's almost time!
John <><
National Haiku Writing Month -- NaHaiWriMo
As has been my February habit, I'll be posting Haiku poems for the month. I hope that you will consider doing the same. You may use other media to post yours (like Facebook or Twitter) or you can post one daily in the comments of this blog.
February also brings baseball!
Pitchers and catchers will be in spring training camp in just a couple of weeks and then the other players will join them. I can't wait to watch some baseball (and enjoy a ballpark dog or two)!
The cold of a polar vortex will not diminish the excitement of the coming baseball season.
It's almost time!
John <><
Monday, January 28, 2019
Backtracking to John 3 and The Bronze Serpent
I'm writing this on Monday morning and I'm relaxing after a pretty good weekend.
Yesterday morning I made it to early service at The Venues and dropped off some hand warmers and foot warmers for our homeless friends as well as a bag of groceries for the food drive. Participating in the community service projects at The Venues is one of the things I like best about the place.
After dropping my stuff off at the proper places, I enjoyed the morning worship and Rev Dev's take on the classic children's story of Noah and the Ark.
Since we're in a series that takes the stories we heard as children and puts a more adult spin on them, be prepared to have your understanding of the biblical story challenged if you choose to listen to it here.
After 1st service I joined the welcome crew and volunteered to greet people as they came in for the 2nd service and then joined the high school kids for their class. Part of the class recapped the Gospel of John daily devotion and part of it addressed some of their questions about God, about suffering in the world, about choices and consequences, etc. Hopefully some of the other stories of the bible helped them to better understand God.
Speaking of other stories of the bible...
I want to backtrack to John 3. In verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
To understand what he was talking about we have to go back to a story told in the Old Testament Book of Numbers. You can read it for yourself here or I can give you my take on it.
It seems that the Israelites were getting pretty tired of the whole wilderness wandering thing and began to gripe about it to Moses. "Why'd you have to bring us out here to die? We could have stayed in Egypt. It's the frickin' desert, for cryin' out loud! There's no water, no food, and we are tired of this worthless manna stuff!"
So God gets a little ticked at the ungrateful brats and sends poisonous snakes into the camp. People get bitten by the snakes and they die. Now the people are crying out to Moses, "We're sorry! We're sorry! Tell God we're sorry so he'll take the snakes away!"
Moses intercedes and God tells him to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and set it in the middle of the camp. If anyone gets bitten by a snake, all they have to do is look at the bronze snake and they'll live.
That's it. That's the story.
I wonder how that worked out for them. I know I'm a little weird, but I wonder about a couple of things...
First, I notice that God didn't do what the people asked by taking away the snakes. It seems they still had to deal with the pain and fear of getting attacked and bitten by the snakes. God did provide a way for them to escape the consequences of the bite. They didn't have to die.
Second, that's a pretty bizarre way to deliver them from the death sentence of a snake bite. I wonder if there were Israelites that died because they just didn't believe that looking at a snake statue could save them? Or maybe there were people that never heard about the snake in center of the camp and so they died. I mean this is a big camp -- a few million people! And it's not like they had group text available to them or could Google "How not to die from a snake bite."
In my weird head, I see a couple of scenarios playing out in the camp city of the Israelites.
Scene 1
Two men walking through the camp.
Yosef: Hey, I heard that Saul got bitten by a snake last night.
Samuel: Oh crap! Has anyone told him about the snake statue by the Tabernacle?
Yosef: Surely, he knows, right?
Samuel: I don't know. It's pretty new news. Why don't you swing by his tent and check. I would but it's a little too far out of my way.
Yosef: Man, I've got to get this manna home so my wife can fix breakfast for the kids. I'm sure one of of his neighbors or other friends have told him.
Samuel: Yeah, you're probably right.
Saul dies in his tent, never having heard about the saving power of the bronze snake.
Scene 2
A man lies on his bed, dying from a snake bite. He is in agony and afraid of dying.
A couple of friends burst into his tent with a stretcher made of skins and poles and begin to move him from his bed to the stretcher.
Dying man: What are you doing? Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm dying?
Friend 1: Yes, but there is a cure at the center of camp. Moses spoke to God and God told him to put up a snake statue. All you have to do is look at it and you won't die.
Dying man: That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Leave me alone.
Friend 2: No, really! It's working! Lots of people have been bitten, but they live because they looked at the snake. We're here to carry you to the center of camp, where the snake statue is located.
Dying man: Why didn't God just take away the snakes? Or take away their poison? Or just heal everyone? He could have done that instead of making sick and dying people go all the way to the center of the camp.
Friend 1: Who am I to question God? All I know is he has delivered us from certain death. Let's go!
Dying man (refusing to be moved to the stretcher): You two are crazy! Leave me alone to die in peace.
Friends leave in great frustration. Man dies alone in his tent.
Something to think about --
Jesus has been lifted up.
Do these two scenes still take place today?
John <><
Yesterday morning I made it to early service at The Venues and dropped off some hand warmers and foot warmers for our homeless friends as well as a bag of groceries for the food drive. Participating in the community service projects at The Venues is one of the things I like best about the place.
After dropping my stuff off at the proper places, I enjoyed the morning worship and Rev Dev's take on the classic children's story of Noah and the Ark.
Since we're in a series that takes the stories we heard as children and puts a more adult spin on them, be prepared to have your understanding of the biblical story challenged if you choose to listen to it here.
After 1st service I joined the welcome crew and volunteered to greet people as they came in for the 2nd service and then joined the high school kids for their class. Part of the class recapped the Gospel of John daily devotion and part of it addressed some of their questions about God, about suffering in the world, about choices and consequences, etc. Hopefully some of the other stories of the bible helped them to better understand God.
Speaking of other stories of the bible...
I want to backtrack to John 3. In verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
To understand what he was talking about we have to go back to a story told in the Old Testament Book of Numbers. You can read it for yourself here or I can give you my take on it.
It seems that the Israelites were getting pretty tired of the whole wilderness wandering thing and began to gripe about it to Moses. "Why'd you have to bring us out here to die? We could have stayed in Egypt. It's the frickin' desert, for cryin' out loud! There's no water, no food, and we are tired of this worthless manna stuff!"
So God gets a little ticked at the ungrateful brats and sends poisonous snakes into the camp. People get bitten by the snakes and they die. Now the people are crying out to Moses, "We're sorry! We're sorry! Tell God we're sorry so he'll take the snakes away!"
Moses intercedes and God tells him to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and set it in the middle of the camp. If anyone gets bitten by a snake, all they have to do is look at the bronze snake and they'll live.
That's it. That's the story.
I wonder how that worked out for them. I know I'm a little weird, but I wonder about a couple of things...
First, I notice that God didn't do what the people asked by taking away the snakes. It seems they still had to deal with the pain and fear of getting attacked and bitten by the snakes. God did provide a way for them to escape the consequences of the bite. They didn't have to die.
Second, that's a pretty bizarre way to deliver them from the death sentence of a snake bite. I wonder if there were Israelites that died because they just didn't believe that looking at a snake statue could save them? Or maybe there were people that never heard about the snake in center of the camp and so they died. I mean this is a big camp -- a few million people! And it's not like they had group text available to them or could Google "How not to die from a snake bite."
In my weird head, I see a couple of scenarios playing out in the camp city of the Israelites.
Scene 1
Two men walking through the camp.
Yosef: Hey, I heard that Saul got bitten by a snake last night.
Samuel: Oh crap! Has anyone told him about the snake statue by the Tabernacle?
Yosef: Surely, he knows, right?
Samuel: I don't know. It's pretty new news. Why don't you swing by his tent and check. I would but it's a little too far out of my way.
Yosef: Man, I've got to get this manna home so my wife can fix breakfast for the kids. I'm sure one of of his neighbors or other friends have told him.
Samuel: Yeah, you're probably right.
Saul dies in his tent, never having heard about the saving power of the bronze snake.
Scene 2
A man lies on his bed, dying from a snake bite. He is in agony and afraid of dying.
A couple of friends burst into his tent with a stretcher made of skins and poles and begin to move him from his bed to the stretcher.
Dying man: What are you doing? Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm dying?
Friend 1: Yes, but there is a cure at the center of camp. Moses spoke to God and God told him to put up a snake statue. All you have to do is look at it and you won't die.
Dying man: That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Leave me alone.
Friend 2: No, really! It's working! Lots of people have been bitten, but they live because they looked at the snake. We're here to carry you to the center of camp, where the snake statue is located.
Dying man: Why didn't God just take away the snakes? Or take away their poison? Or just heal everyone? He could have done that instead of making sick and dying people go all the way to the center of the camp.
Friend 1: Who am I to question God? All I know is he has delivered us from certain death. Let's go!
Dying man (refusing to be moved to the stretcher): You two are crazy! Leave me alone to die in peace.
Friends leave in great frustration. Man dies alone in his tent.
Something to think about --
Jesus has been lifted up.
Do these two scenes still take place today?
John <><
Saturday, January 26, 2019
John, Chapter 21 -- Story Time with Pastor John
John 21
This might be my favorite story in the Bible!
It is a story that captures so much of what we often miss as we struggle to follow Jesus. I'm going to dispense with the format I've been using for the first 20 chapters and revert to a more comfortable and laid back format of Story Time with Pastor John.
Here's the background -- Jesus is dead and missing. Although he has appeared to the disciples a few times, they feel lost and alone and are still worried about the Jewish leadership and what might become of them.
Peter says, "I'm going fishing! Who's with me?" and six others join him.
It is important that we see what is really happening here. Peter is not talking about going fishing to relax and figure things out. He is returning to his old way of life. He goes back to his commercial fishing boats and out to fish to make a living -- the same thing he was doing when Jesus first found him. His partner (his brother Andrew) and fellow disciples and former fishermen James and John are with him. A few others come along to help. They have their big boats and their big nets...but they catch nothing.
At daybreak a man calls to them from the shore and asks if they have any fish. When they tell him no, he says to cast their nets to the other side. They do this and the nets are loaded to the breaking point. John recognizes the man is Jesus. Peter dives in and heads for shore as the rest of them struggle to bring in their catch. You can tell that John is a fisherman because he records the size of the catch -- 153 large fish!
They eat breakfast and share another meal with Jesus. Then Peter and Jesus take a little walk.
I'm going to skip the "Do you love me?" sermon. We can cover that another time. Jesus finishes that exchange with the same call he gave to Peter when he first met him more than three years prior. He says, "Follow me."
Peter was distracted by John, who was close by, and asked Jesus, "What about him?"
Jesus basically looks at Peter and says, "Hey! Look at me! What is between him and me is none of your business. You, follow me!"
What I get from this final lesson in John's gospel is that once you have a meaningful encounter with God and start following Jesus, you can never really go back to being the person you were before. C.S. Lewis says that God is unscrupulous in his pursuit of us. I say, "He is going to hunt you down!"
And like Peter, we often concern ourselves with how other people are living their Christian lives. I think Jesus would say to us, "Hey! Look at me! What is between them and me is none of your business. You, follow me!"
I would never suggest that you become one of my followers nor would I expect you live according to my teachings. But I will challenge you to study the life of Jesus and live according to what he taught.
I encourage you to live a life of love and to value each life you encounter as you see that we are all created in the image of God. The call of Jesus is simple and it doesn't change.
He says, "Follow me."
John <><
This might be my favorite story in the Bible!
It is a story that captures so much of what we often miss as we struggle to follow Jesus. I'm going to dispense with the format I've been using for the first 20 chapters and revert to a more comfortable and laid back format of Story Time with Pastor John.
Here's the background -- Jesus is dead and missing. Although he has appeared to the disciples a few times, they feel lost and alone and are still worried about the Jewish leadership and what might become of them.
Peter says, "I'm going fishing! Who's with me?" and six others join him.
It is important that we see what is really happening here. Peter is not talking about going fishing to relax and figure things out. He is returning to his old way of life. He goes back to his commercial fishing boats and out to fish to make a living -- the same thing he was doing when Jesus first found him. His partner (his brother Andrew) and fellow disciples and former fishermen James and John are with him. A few others come along to help. They have their big boats and their big nets...but they catch nothing.
At daybreak a man calls to them from the shore and asks if they have any fish. When they tell him no, he says to cast their nets to the other side. They do this and the nets are loaded to the breaking point. John recognizes the man is Jesus. Peter dives in and heads for shore as the rest of them struggle to bring in their catch. You can tell that John is a fisherman because he records the size of the catch -- 153 large fish!
They eat breakfast and share another meal with Jesus. Then Peter and Jesus take a little walk.
I'm going to skip the "Do you love me?" sermon. We can cover that another time. Jesus finishes that exchange with the same call he gave to Peter when he first met him more than three years prior. He says, "Follow me."
Peter was distracted by John, who was close by, and asked Jesus, "What about him?"
Jesus basically looks at Peter and says, "Hey! Look at me! What is between him and me is none of your business. You, follow me!"
What I get from this final lesson in John's gospel is that once you have a meaningful encounter with God and start following Jesus, you can never really go back to being the person you were before. C.S. Lewis says that God is unscrupulous in his pursuit of us. I say, "He is going to hunt you down!"
And like Peter, we often concern ourselves with how other people are living their Christian lives. I think Jesus would say to us, "Hey! Look at me! What is between them and me is none of your business. You, follow me!"
I would never suggest that you become one of my followers nor would I expect you live according to my teachings. But I will challenge you to study the life of Jesus and live according to what he taught.
I encourage you to live a life of love and to value each life you encounter as you see that we are all created in the image of God. The call of Jesus is simple and it doesn't change.
He says, "Follow me."
John <><
Friday, January 25, 2019
John, Chapter 20
John 20
In summary --
This is the simple story of the resurrection. Mary finds the tomb has been opened and tells the disciples. Peter and John check it out -- yep, it's empty, and they leave to tell the others. Mary looks in the tomb and sees two men (angels) where Jesus' body had been; then she turns and sees Jesus.
Later, Jesus appears to the disciples (in a locked room) to show them that he has risen and is alive. He gives them his peace and the Holy Spirit and sends them out to continue the work.
My favorite verse --
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John wants us to know that Jesus is God. He has written this account so that we might believe.
We need to remember that as we read John's gospel -- it is more about teaching that Jesus is God than it is about history. Although the events happened and the teaching of Jesus is true, they are not recorded from the standpoint of an historical perspective, but to teach us that God loves us so much that he became one of us so that we could understand that.
Something to think about --
The resurrection (re-birth) of Jesus was much like his birth. It happened quietly and few people knew about it. Angels announced his birth to shepherds who had such a poor reputation for telling the truth that they weren't even allowed to testify in court. At the tomb, the angels appeared to Mary and then Jesus appeared to her -- a woman! A woman's word was worth less than the word of a lying shepherd!
It is difficult for me to grasp that I have been chosen to tell people that God loves them and Jesus died for them. But then again, it seems that God has a habit of choosing unlikely messengers. If you follow Jesus' teachings and believe he is the Son of God, he has chosen you, as well!
He has chosen you for heaven, and he has chosen you to share this simple message -- God loves you and Jesus died for you!
John <><
In summary --
This is the simple story of the resurrection. Mary finds the tomb has been opened and tells the disciples. Peter and John check it out -- yep, it's empty, and they leave to tell the others. Mary looks in the tomb and sees two men (angels) where Jesus' body had been; then she turns and sees Jesus.
Later, Jesus appears to the disciples (in a locked room) to show them that he has risen and is alive. He gives them his peace and the Holy Spirit and sends them out to continue the work.
My favorite verse --
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John wants us to know that Jesus is God. He has written this account so that we might believe.
We need to remember that as we read John's gospel -- it is more about teaching that Jesus is God than it is about history. Although the events happened and the teaching of Jesus is true, they are not recorded from the standpoint of an historical perspective, but to teach us that God loves us so much that he became one of us so that we could understand that.
Something to think about --
The resurrection (re-birth) of Jesus was much like his birth. It happened quietly and few people knew about it. Angels announced his birth to shepherds who had such a poor reputation for telling the truth that they weren't even allowed to testify in court. At the tomb, the angels appeared to Mary and then Jesus appeared to her -- a woman! A woman's word was worth less than the word of a lying shepherd!
It is difficult for me to grasp that I have been chosen to tell people that God loves them and Jesus died for them. But then again, it seems that God has a habit of choosing unlikely messengers. If you follow Jesus' teachings and believe he is the Son of God, he has chosen you, as well!
He has chosen you for heaven, and he has chosen you to share this simple message -- God loves you and Jesus died for you!
John <><
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