Lost Sheep & The Search Party of One

Jesus told a parable. For those disciples who had been following Him, they had grown accustomed to his teaching style. Yet they were always challenged with the content of what He had to say, often times asking Him to clarify or for the meaning. It would be fair to say that His parables brought consternation to some while confusion to others. His teachings were also difficult to accept at times, because it meant turning from some traditional customs that the Jewish culture had adopted along the way.

On this particular day, Jesus began to tell another series of parables. His audience, the disciples of course, but there were also tax collectors and others that some identified as ‘sinners’. Jesus began his parable with a relatable statement; “suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them…” Immediately Jesus begins by drawing these tax collectors and ‘sinners’ into His tale. Immediately He is helping them identify with the content of His story. Immediately the implications are that this parable is for them. Not a ‘for them’ which implies a tale of condemnation, but rather a ‘for them’ which implies compassion and love and a deep longing to restore a right relationship with them to the Father.

In a moment, as Jesus begins to speak, they are held spell-bound, eyes locked on the Teacher…ready to hear His tale. “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” Imagine if you will, Jesus speaks this phrase and He gazes intently into each face of those who had gathered around Him. They were the lost sheep that Jesus was talking about. They were pariahs of society, and by choice and some by vocation had lost their way.

Jesus wanted them to know the extent in which the Father would go to find His lost ones in this world! Every soul, every lost child was that important to God the Father. Jesus was sent on this mission. He even said it in His own words; “For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The lost were right in front of the One doing the saving…they didn’t realize how lost they were but Jesus did. This wasn’t some guilt trip or a brow beating by Jesus, but a message of love and compassion and care. Jesus looked into the very eyes of the lost sheep and hoped that they would let Him rescue them.

He finishes His parable with these words; “And when he finds it (the lost sheep) he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do no need to repent.” (Luke 15:1-7)

Think of it, He places the lost sheep on His shoulders and carries them home. Isn’t that what He has done for us too? Those who had gathered there to listen were lost. They needed someone to pick them up and carry them home. Who would go to them, the outcasts…the sinners? Jesus sought them out when all other religious leaders of the day sought out nothing but selfishness, power and condemnation. Jesus brought salvation to them, and all they had to do was repent.

Are you lost? Can you recall when Jesus came to you? All of heaven rejoices in the salvation of the lost. And when they are found again, there is peace and there is hope in the arms of the One who seek us. Our response to being found is repentance and allowing the Good Shepherd to carry us home.

April 29, 2013 3

On God’s Grandeur (Poem)

In the silent whispers of the morning kiss

Beneath still breezes laying heavy on the barren field

The cattle are all huddled together lowing softly

taking comfort in the cold autumn morning

beyond the field and dancing waves of grain

empting themselves again and again

in harvest moons, now since past

The farm house sits, buffeted by

thick firs a family, a copse of trees.

On the cusp of this morning

The sun is lazily taking its time to rise

While the duties of the farmer is long over due.

Now rife with cup, steaming in pre-dawn briskness

Hand grasping the responsibilities passed down

From father to son to son again

He walks into the day

His office with a view

John Deere for a desk

Overhauls for his three piece suit

With more at stake than corporate interests

And stock portfolios.

In the silent whispers of the morning kiss

His feet, crunching sun burnt grains

Will begin again, taking each stride

One moment at a time

Ready to stretch God’s grandeur

Further and grander than his yesterdays.

April 28, 2013 0

Jesus, Zombies & Humanity – Sermon

Sermon Link is below:

Jesus, Zombies & Humanity – Sermon.

John 6:44-69 (NIV)
⁴⁴“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” ⁵²Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
⁵³Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
⁵⁶Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. ⁶⁰On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ⁶¹Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ⁶⁴Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” ⁶⁶From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ⁶⁷“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus spoke in the temple…about Zombies…”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day..”(54)

I. Jesus taught a difficult message (v60)

He declared himself the only way to the father and also that He was the bread of life that had come down from Heaven. He was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum…many came to listen and he had his disciples there which number way more than 12 at this time.

II. The of God will sometimes offend (v61)

III. Do we have faith or doubt? (v64)

IV. Declare who Christ is correctly! (67-69)

April 28, 2013 0

Embracing a welcomed guest

The snow is finally melting today
It feels like spring has its hand firmly
Grasping the door to invite our friend
Summer in again.
My son whispered to me
He would find mysteries
Within the melting mush
Of the left over winter…
I’m not sure what he meant
But he produced a long lost
Sock, a wet and feeble glove
And some coins, dingy and rusted
(Did you know coins could rust?)

The city seems to be buzzing
With the luring promises
And seductive kisses of
The summer breeze
That is currently teasing us
Right now…
It’s warmth is certainly
Inviting, in fact
I’m working on my first
Sun burn of the yet to
Arrive season of warmth.

Welcome once again
I’m so glad you’ve returned.

April 26, 2013 0

Jesus, Zombies & Humanity (A lesson in rejection)

The Zombies are everywhere, waiting to consume the flesh of the living. Waiting to chew on the brains of the fallen. Sound gross? Of course it is, yet the horror of these fictitious tales of mayhem and gore are irresistible to many. If you need evidence of this just look up “walking dead” on google and you quickly realize how big a show that has become. Dare I say that I too enjoy a good zombie story from time to time. The idea of a post-apocalyptic world is both dreadful and curious to me. Such a scenario pits humanity’s survival on the cusp of total and complete decimation. It’s thrilling and captivates a wide audience because simply to survive, within these tales is a minute by minute adventure.

Jesus talked about zombies…ok maybe not in the context that we think. But the Jews gathered in the synagogue in Capernaum certainly thought that was what He was saying. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) With bitter taste of distain and disgust on their tongues these Jews began to argue upon hearing Jesus’ words; “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They had come to temple to hear the readings from the Torah and instead they hear of flesh eating deliverance from heaven. For a moment can’t you imagine hearing Jesus’ words and thinking the same thing? “How can this be?”

Certainly they would understand in context that blood offerings were given to atone for sin, as animals were routinely sacrificed for transgressions…it had become quite a booming business as well. But to hear one speak of consuming human flesh and drinking of human blood for eternal life set their teeth on edge.

“For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” Jesus said. (John 7:55) Those who heard were more than perplexed. They didn’t get it. Jesus wasn’t literally speaking of a zombie smorgasbord when He spoke of His life’s purpose. Just like the teachings of His parables, those who heard often times didn’t understand, and those who actually had ears to hear, heard and pondered. Jesus was speaking and alluding to His willing sacrifice and eventual death on the cross for all of humanity…but most who gathered in the synagogue that day didn’t understand this spiritual zombie apocalypse.

But even many of Jesus’ own disciples who heard this teaching disserted Him following this metaphorical bloodletting event. Jesus even asked them before they departed from Him, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:61) The response wasn’t so much in what they said, but rather what they did: they left. Of course it offended them. In fact what Jesus said to His own culture offended many. Isn’t it interesting that when He spoke the truth, the truth was rejected and scorned by most. The very human side of Jesus must have obviously felt rejected and hurt. The very human side of Jesus must have experienced the pangs of loss when many of those who called themselves “disciples” turned their backs on Him. We might often overlook this very painful event of Jesus because of the content of His message. If we had to stand in Jesus’ shoes and speak this very hard message, knowing that it would probably offend and drive people away from us…would we have had the guts to speak it?

Yet Jesus knew and was filled with the Spirit who equipped Him for this painful event. He even identifies some of His own when He says, “Yet there are some of you who do no believe.” He didn’t sugar coat it, He didn’t seek to curry favor, He simply told them that they didn’t believe. The response resulted in painful rejection. “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” (John 6:66)

How often does God ask those He calls to declare His truth and speak hard teachings? If we are to be Christ-followers, these moments will also come to us. We can’t be afraid of facing rejection. Some Churches today have allowed sin of all kinds to continue because they are afraid to address them because it would result in people leaving their doors. Some Churches have curry favored and sugar coated God’s Word to make it more appealing to those living double lives. There’s a time to let things go, but there’s also a time to confront and face possible rejection. Jesus’ walking dead moment took some aback. His declaration offended many, yet He didn’t back down or back pedal from what He had said. As the crowd of resigned disciples walked away from Jesus, He even looked at the initial ‘twelve’ and said, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

Jesus faced rejection and He knew He would offend many with the truth. Are we? I’m not implying that we are to deliberately find ways to offend people. But when the Lord prompts us to address issues or speak hard truths we ought to listen and obey. Jesus came to save humanity and to give the gift of eternal life. As Christ-followers, you and I are called to carry that message to the whosoever despite the throngs of rejections we might receive along the way. Our walking dead moments will come also…how will we respond?

April 26, 2013 0

Wisdom or foolishness? (Poem)

Brandishing the hand of wrath

the vanishing grace evaporates

like the morning’s dew in the sun shine.

Finding our hearts again

like a widow in search of a coin

that would buy her bread

for a day…are we prepared?

Clothed with wisdom

or naked in our foolishness?

There are times where

we wish for fig leaves

in our foolish follies

laying flat on our faces

purple with bruises of pride

wishing we could rewind the

moments of our lives.

There are two journeys

of which we must choose

a path that leads to our downfall

plagued with illusions of grandeur

jagged and cliffed with failure…

the other path, a journey both difficult

and rewarding, yet here we stand

with a choice to make

wisdom and a ship of fools?

April 25, 2013 0

Yesterday, today and our tomorrows

When the falling tear
Is caught within the hand
And you fight it back
Tooth and nail
Trying to prevail
And avoid succumbing
To its charms
It’s lure
Though inside you’re
Dying
Longing
And dreaming to fly
So much further
Than where you are now
it hurts
The screaming brain
Wants nothing to refrain
This
Nothing to dull this
Inside you’re yearning
To face this
To come to terms
With this
But like judas’ kiss
Your stubbornness
Betrays you
No one can see
Through you hardened
Exterior…
Yet you aren’t fooling
Anyone
The wool can’t be
Placed over the eyes
Of the Son,
This has only begun
Now you breathe
Once more
Allow the tears
To freely fall
hey it’s your life
Let it begin Anew
Wipe away yesterday
Sigh, then smile
And give tomorrow
A warmer embrace
Than is needed.

April 24, 2013 0

Benedictions of Blessing?

This is an old Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Not sure about you, but this benediction speaks to me. We often sugar coat our faith, puff it up to look good, wax eloquence and polish the rusting faith. Here in these phrases, speaks something genuine and real. It speaks to the heart of life, and how we truly live it. Today, God has impressed upon me the need to be real with Him. Not phony or half-truthful, but genuine. Do you know what the tough thing about being genuine is? It’s being vulnerable. For most, including me at times, it’s the scariest proposition. Because allowing God to view us in this light is difficult and frightening.

May this prayer of blessing and benediction be yours today as well!

April 23, 2013 0

Church, Parable of the Talent, and on faith (Poem)

Sometimes this life is

cracked and broken

battered on the sharp

rocks of bitter tides.

When feebled burdens

shatter beneath

malnourished bones of faith

We will find our ways again.

One day, the dying soul

fighting for breath

pain riddled

rattled like a doll

from bygone days

shaken, torn and tattered

waged, we this ignorant

war within ourselves.

And now on death beds of

brick and mortar

we wonder why

they do not come,

when etched deep

beneath our fingernails

the splintered boards

of risk and faith,

the only evidence of

this remains.

And here, the series

of the ‘If only’s’

occurs.

Regrets tied to

our poor choices

anchored beneath the ice

of human tradition’s grave…

if only we had allowed

His Spirit,

we gasp with whispered

breath,

but doubt crept in

and stole our stilted courage

and so we hid our talents deep

when invested we should have done.

So we exchanged our fortunes

for this solitary one.

April 23, 2013 0

Got Faith?

The other day I was driving down the road when I realized that I had neglected to fill my van with gas. I was on ‘E’ and the warning light was on giving me an indication that I had less than ten miles to an empty tank. It is never fun to be stuck in traffic only to realize that you have to get off somewhere and refuel. For a time, panic set in and I was hoping I wouldn’t run out in the middle of moving traffic…I kept thinking of embarrassing It would be.

Are you running empty today in the faith department? Is the warning light on in your life?

Faith.

What is it? Why is it so hard to grasp at times, and other times the only thing that makes sense?

You’ve heard it said that faith is like the wind, you can’t see the wind but you can feel the effects of the wind. So too it is with this thing we call ‘Faith’. It is vital that we possess it, yet many people lack enough of it to sustain their walk with God.

Does God supply us with faith? Yes, Romans 12:3 says, ” God gives varying measures of faith to his people” So how do we get more of faith when we lack it? Because if you and I were honest with ourselves and with God we would find that there are times when we are lacking in the faith department. James 1:5 says “If any of you are lacking wisdom let him ask God and He will give it liberally.” The same goes for faith. Do you lack faith in your life right now? Is your faith tank on ‘E’? Ask God to fill you again.

The key is that we must ask! It’s not that God doesn’t already know, it’s that He wants us to verbalize it in our lives to Him. He wants us to make it personal, to realize that we need Him. We are lost without His sustaining power and grace. When we ask, the scriptures say that He will supply.

Today, perhaps instead of asking for anything else we should ask God to fill our tank of faith. We all could use an added dose of it, am I right? The issues we face, the struggles, the stress, the doubt are nothing in comparison to the might and strength of our Father in Heaven. If we allow Him access to our lives by asking Him to enter we will be amazed at what takes place.

Do you lack faith today? Let this journey of yours begin by asking Him to fill you up with His grace and to grant you more faith. He will glad supply it to those who ask without agenda or selfish intentions.

Seek Him, and ask Him today.

April 23, 2013 1