My Daily Pause

Calling of the Apostles – 1481 – Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494)

As incredible as Jesus’ miracles were, it is even more incredible that he had followers.

The Jewish establishment of the time had so many highly ranked detractors of Jesus, it was easy to convince people that what they saw was not important. It was easy to discourage them by insulting Jesus over and over again. In a previous post, we listed ten of those insults recorded in the gospels.

Not only was he insulted, they planted little seeds of doubt.

They made racial slurs.

They lied.

They even used their power and money to elevate themselves above him in the eyes of the people. Through that power and influence they were able to stem the flow of believers to Christ during his lifetime. In addition to the ten insults we looked at previously…

• They said that no prophet could come out of Galilee (John 7:52)
• They accused him of leading the multitude astray (John 7:12)
• They said that since Elijah had not risen from the dead, it was impossible for Jesus to be the Christ (Mark 9:11)
• They said he had an unclean spirit (Mark 3:30)
• They said, “He is beside himself” (Mark 3:21)
• They said he transgressed the tradition of the elders (Matthew 15:2)
• They said, “This man is not from God” (John 9:16)
• They said he forbade to give tribute to Caesar (Luke 23:2)
• They said that he made himself a king (Luke 23:2)
• They said he was an evildoer (John 18:30)
• They said that Jesus claimed he would destroy the temple of God and build it in three days (Matthew 26:61)

Disciples of Christ

We often refer to the events recorded in Luke 9:18-22 as “Peter’s Confession.”

During that meeting, Jesus tells them that he has to suffer and be rejected by those in power. All of the negative chatter must have come up along with the other speculations of who the people thought Jesus was.

Not much has changed now:

We still hear similar lies about the Lord…

His teachings are challenged at every turn in the news media…

They even make movies that change “what the Bible says” in people’s mind.

There are many that believe in Christ right now that do not defend him when they have an opportunity. It doesn’t really matter the reason, not defending that belief in Christ is as good as not having it.

As much as ever, he needs good solid disciples that are willing to talk about him despite his current low popularity.

Jesus’ meeting with the twelve ends with a discussion on how important that it is to make the sacrifice and keep following him. (Luke 9:23)

Question: Will you be one of those Jesus is ashamed of? (Luke 9:26)

When our light shines in a dark world we become very conspicuous!

I love the Bible’s light metaphor!

• Jesus said he is the light (John 8:12, 9:39)
• Jesus called his disciples (us) the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
• Paul called us children of light (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
• John said “God is Light” (1 John 1:5)
• And the light is the only place to have fellowship with God (1 John 1:6-7)

When we consider that living like a Christian makes us conspicuous, we begin to understand the point Jesus was making about the lamp in Luke 8:16-17.

Jesus didn’t come to bring his gospel (literally, his good news) to us to have it hidden away. He has told us that would be as useful has lighting the underneath of our bed with the expectation of being able to see in the rest of the house. (Luke 8:16)

What does that mean for us?

We are expected to do all we can to make sure our light is shining.

• We do this with our lifestyle choices
• We do it with good deeds
• We make sure others are aware of why we do it

And we do this …

… so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

What will happen when I do?

One of two things might happen in the course of “shining our light”:

1. We will make others interested in why we are content
2. We will make others find excuses to not be like us

But don’t worry about #2. Jesus expects that and said as much in Luke 8:18.

We don’t even have to force it

It is very difficult to hide light. By simply living in a way that demonstrates that we have Jesus in us, we will find those who also want to be “in the light.” When that happens, we get to tell them more about Jesus. Once we have done our part, God takes care of the rest! (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:6)

Christ at Simon the Pharisee – 1620 – Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

“That person has done so much for me. I just love him!”

We remember those who have given us the most of themselves. Teachers, Coaches, Bosses – people who are in the position to give us something and stand out when they go above and beyond what was required.

When Jesus went to Simon the Pharisee’s house, the events played out to illustrate that part of our nature. (Luke 7:36-50) Esteeming people important to our success is fine, but here we have a warning of how we handle it as we mature past those needy times.

The more our situation improves, the harder it is to stay humble and remember those we esteemed so highly.

Simon thought he was bringing Jesus in to be examined and found the situation turned around on him. Simon, like most of the Pharisees, thought he was in a saved state just because he was a Jew. This goes a long way toward explaining why they had such a hard time accepting the Messiah.

It reminds me a little of the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. (Luke 18:9-14) When we can admit our shortcomings, it is easier to humble ourselves and look for a way to correct them. Jesus said there that the “humble will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

In the same way Jesus lifted the sinful woman…

just like his praise for the honest publican…

our forgiveness will be most abundant when we are humble in attitude.

Here’s the warning:

We are more likely to forget to pray when things are going good for us –

• When we have plenty of money
• When we feel like we are living “right”
• When our relationships are going smoothly

These are the times we might look at others in a judgmental way.

These are the times when we forget how much we need a savior.

Here’s the prevention:

We need to picture ourselves in the same place as the sinful woman or the publican.

When we do, we will be more likely to remember to keep Jesus in his esteemed place as our savior. Therefore:

• We will remember to love him actively.
• We will remember to talk to God often.
• We will remember to be genuinely thankful.

Most importantly…

We will remember to say, “The Lord has done so much for me. I just love him!”

John Identifies the Christ – ~17th Century – Ottavio Vannini

Then:

“John is crazy!”

“Jesus is a drunk!”

The Pharisees rejected God’s righteousness no matter what form it came in. (Luke 7:31-35) John the Baptist was like a hermit and Jesus was very social.

Now:

“Those Christians are too exclusive! (or mean!)”

“Those Christians are hypocrites!”

If the Bible proves anything, it proves people need more than 2000 years to change. At least … they haven’t changed yet.

The Challenge:

It has become very difficult to speak negatively about a number of social issues. When one tries to show what the Bible says about a matter, he is called names. Even if we try to silently live a godly lifestyle and lead by example, there is disdain.

“You don’t drink any alcohol?”

“You don’t wear a bikini in public?”

Those trying to live like a Christian should expect to become conspicuous. They should also plan to be insulted when the time comes to take a stand. Even Jesus had to endure it!

Once again, the Master Teacher shows us how to live through his own life. No less than ten times we can read about how he dealt with insults and indignities:

• He was called a glutton (Luke 7:33-35)
• He was called a winebibber
• They said he cast out demons by the prince of demons (Matthew 9:34)
• They called him Beelzebul (Matthew 10:25)
• They called him a sinner (John 9:24)
• They said he had a demon (John 7:20)
• They said he was a Samaritan (John 8:48).
• They charged him with violating the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2)
• They referred to him as a “deceiver” (Matthew 27:63)
• They accused him of friendship with publicans and sinners (Luke 15:2)

In Luke 7:32, Jesus compared these kind of people to spoiled brats:

“This game is too happy! It’s not realistic.”

“This game is too sad! It’s no fun.”

Children only want what feels good, it takes an adult to want what is right.

What to do?

The bottom line is that people will not change until they want to. The best thing we can do (in fact all we are asked to do) is to show them God’s way and live it for ourselves.

Question: What is the worse confrontation you have had to face trying to live in a godly way? Was there any long term effect on how you live?

To bear good fruit, the whole tree has to be sound and well fed.

What do you think about?

If you turned off all of your video screens, sat in a chair and looked out a window, what would be the first thing to pop in your mind?

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he – Proverbs 23:7a KJV

If I thought I could get away with it, I would write every day about the content of our thoughts. I would use Philippians 4:8 as the main verse and we would all have it memorized because we would have studied it so much.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. – Philippians 4:8 KJV

Paul knew the importance of the content of our thoughts, and he knew we had to practice good thoughts in order to produce good deeds.

Think on These Things

Jesus spent a lot of time with this idea as well. From his teachings we know that we sin as soon as we consider an unlawful act – actually carrying out the action is not required!

Jesus further taught us to be careful about what is in our heart. He wants us to train our hearts to contain only the good things. He gave us his reasoning in Luke 6:43-45. Go ahead and read that for yourself, but in bullet pointed form he is saying:

• Good tree = Good fruit
• Bad Tree = Bad fruit
• A tree of one kind cannot produce another kind’s fruit

Therefore: A person’s actions, his speech, his attitude – everything he is – results from what is inside. Everything that is inside was developed from what he put in there.

Carefully Choose the Inputs

We have no lack of information. We can feed our minds from so many sources now. This isn’t a bad thing, we are becoming more productive and efficient from all of the great new technology.

By the same token, just like a cultivated field can be overrun with weeds and trees in a very short time from neglect, so will our thoughts and attention be refocused by poorly chosen entertainment and information.

Question: What are some ways we can immediately improve the content of our heart?