Category Archives: God

Entertaining Angels

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The sheer mind-bending stress of being your foster mom led to iconic images lodged in my head–

You two sitting across the table from me the first day I met you. Sizing me up over peanut butter sandwiches.

You eyeing your brother suspiciously. A lot.

You waking up one night when he woke up screaming (night terrrors) and looking at him with sleepy exasperation and then flopping down in relief when I scooped him up and took him to another room to ride out the storm–your body language was not my problem, back to sleep.

One night when you were ready for bed in your winter jammies. Your hair curly and adorable. I tickled you and you giggled, for a rare moment of laughter and peace.

You can be angry at me all you want. But you can’t stop love.

Your other mom

Door-to-door salesmen

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Mark 2:1-2 (NIV)
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. [2] So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

…and then called the cops because they were trespassing, dog-gone it.

I think you get where I am going with this<3

Celebrity Perils

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Mark 1:38-45 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” [39] So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. [40] A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” [41] Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” [42] Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. [43] Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: [44] “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” [45] Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Jesus came to seek and rescue people. He is a superhero, the only real one…

The guy could have been anything, done anything. He could have ruled the world. Instead he wandered the lonely hills of an agrarian outpost casting out demons?. Curing skin diseases?

Yep. He loves people so he helps us with our sadness, our loneliness, our hunger. But for him that is not enough. He came to take away our curse–death itself. He came to restore the kingdom of life.

So the strong injunctions to varies entities to shut up about his superhero identity make more sense.

He did not want us to be so blinded by his bling, his miraculous events, that we lost sight of his heart.

Jesus is in love with each of us
I am afraid not all of us get close enough to him to love him back.

The comfort zone

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Mark 1:35-39 (NIV)
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. [36] Simon and his companions went to look for him, [37] and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” [38] Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” [39] So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus left his comfort zone.

The poet in me says–don’t write anymore. That sentence covers all the territory–homesickness, poverty and misunderstanding. Betrayal. Torture. Death. Hell.

He did it all for us.

The whole town gathered at his door

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Mark 1:32-34 (NIV)
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. [33] The whole town gathered at the door, [34] and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

His door?
The whole town gathered at his door?

It is a beautiful image–a crowd of people. Some have bunions or arthritis, others have problems with acne or depression. Some might be paralyzed, others deaf or blind. They would have had cancer, depression, disease.

In the course of a 24 hour period a man has a demonic outburst in church and then the whole town sees/hears/responds to Jesus healing power by trucking out their infirmities.

A very good thing.

Imagine if the story went like this–

They saw what Jesus did for the demon possessed man but they did not want their neighbors to know about their weaknesses, illness, and grief, so they stayed home. Pretended they didn’t have any problems. Died prematurely.

Welcome to the American Christianity. Sure, we have hand sanitizer and flu shots now….But the truth is you have to have the courage, honesty, and desperation to admit you have a problem if you want to get healed.

I have a problem. I do not trust easily anymore. I used to be very trusting. Too trusting, you could say. But then that trust was broken, not by one or two people but a lot of people and my children were hurt. I watch my children in pain.

The loneliness and grief can seem overwhelming. So every day I go to Jesus’ door and I wait for him to heal me.

And he does, thank God.

Sabbath healing

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Mark 1:29-34 (NIV)
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. [30] Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. [31] So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. [32] That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. [33] The whole town gathered at the door, [34] and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

I have always loved the story of Peter’s MIL getting healed and popping up to serve people. Just now I was reviewing the chronology of her healing and I thought–aha! even on the sabbath mamas gotta work.

Jesus gets in trouble for healing people on the sabbath. In an effort to keep the letter of the law they had made a day of celebration into a swampy mess.

Of course God can heal on the sabbath. It is the day of each week that should most resemble heaven.

But we know that rules were hindering that because Jesus gets ambushed by miracle seekers after the sabbath–after sundown they flocked to him.

I would too.

A whacky miracle

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Mark 1:23-28 (NIV)
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, [24] “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” [25] “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” [26] The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. [27] The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” [28] News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

I have heard that Beethoven added percussive elements to his fifth symphony because he was tired of people drifting off. Do not know if that is true, but I do know that a rousing case of demon possession will wake you up in church.

The first question: why is this guy in church, possessed? Wouldn’t you think the demon would have steered clear of Jesus?

Ultimately no one steers clear of him. He says we will all face him either in love or judgment.

I once saw something like this happen in a very large church outside DC. A man stood in the morning service (hundreds of affluent parishioners) and began shouting at the pastor.

He was ushered to the foyer and as he talked to the escorting deacons he began to take his clothes off at which point a man of action (former marine) put him in a headlock until EMS arrived.

Memorable. But this story is extraordinary.. Jesus makes the demon leave. He doesn’t need either a marine or EMS.

We watch too many horror movies when in truth real life is full of ordinary horror.

Demons do go to church and sometimes they appear to run the show–not with loud exclamations but with quiet joylessness, fear, envy, lust, and greed.

How does the story change if the man with the demon is just an ordinary guy? How about if he seems quiet and earnest and tends to participate in Sunday school? How about if the demon is just the spirit attached to fear, lust, or pride?

What do you want to be free from? And what do you want to be set free to do?

These questions shape our souls. The answers are of eternal significance.

You want a good teacher

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Mark 1:21-22 (NIV)
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. [22] The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

This was a home church in a hometown. This crowd knew Jesus’ people. They were at church.

Then this guy comes in and starts talking and whatever it is that he says astounds people.

Let’s face it: most of us doze our way through church. How many sermons do you remember?

But Jesus is memorable and his preaching is different.. Like he knows what he is talking about. Because he does.

It is not hard to have authority when you are the author.

Jesus is the author and the finisher
The beginning and the end.

He is the Man.

And if you want an idea of what he said? Check out Matthew 5-7.

Blessed are those who listen to Jesus
For they shall hear the voice of God.

The story to the bone

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Mark 1:16-20 (NIV)
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” [18] At once they left their nets and followed him. [19] When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. [20] Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Let me just put the modernist paraphrase on this–an itinerate carpenter sees some dudes with legit jobs and tells them to quit them for an unvarnished Ponzi scheme.

I once got in trouble for trying to rid a church of a Ponzi scheme…those were good times.

Today this sentence popped into my head–kindness is it’s own reward.. I thought, not really…. Avarice, power-mongering and Viagra are their own rewards.

Kindness is a discipline practiced with one eye trained on eternity.

Same with this story. Take 12 grown men with decent jobs and make them penniless outlaws for a quack story about Resurrection? That is bad economics.

That is Jesus. What He calls us to leave is as important as what He calls us to pursue.

He says–

leave your life to gain it

and

take up your cross and follow me…

If he is wrong we are fools. If he is right….
Run to Him.

Funny repent story

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Mark 1:15 (NIV)
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Repent?

When I was 6 I played t-ball. I am left-handed so when I batted I faced 3rd base. Often in the adrenaline of the moment I would hit the ball a modest distance and run toward…3rd base.

Repent means change directions. Jesus is telling everyone who hears Him–change directions, you are going the wrong way.

All of us are going the opposite direction.

So he tells us to turn around and run the other way. Toward the Good News.

Jesus.
Home.