SHARING BREAD ²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
     for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20 (NIV)Beginning the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus starts out strong by proclaiming to His disciples that those that are “poor” are considered blessed in His sight. In Matthew’s same account, he adds “poor in spirit”.  I am confident that the reaction of Jesus’ disciples had to have been similar to what our reaction is like to that exact same statement today.  Why on earth would Jesus call the “poor” or the “poor in spirit” blessed?  Certainly that goes against our way of thinking as humans. I love that about Jesus, He came to turn around our way of thinking about most things. This would be just the tip of the iceberg.Let’s begin with the word translated “blessed” – it is the Greek word “Makarios” meaning “Blessed, blissful; Biblically, one is pronounces blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lives coram Deo, before the face of God.  Blessedness is sharing in the life of God, being favorably affected and influenced by God, which involves, among other things, participating in the kingdom, recompense, forgiveness, freedom of conscience, the Second Coming, the Holy Spirit, heavenly rest, and moral and spiritual purity.  This is why even in suffering and pain one can be pronounced blessed, for God’s purpose behind it ensures that it is for the good of His creature and the glory of His own name.” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids).As the creatures and NOT the Creator, we oftentimes consider our circumstances as ANYTHING but blessed! I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians:¹² Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Cor 13:12 (NIV)Our partial knowledge will one day be displaced by God’s perfect knowledge. Sometimes what appears to be circumstantially the worst thing possible from our perspective is actually God’s grace allowing His very best. I am continuing in the process of learning to quit kicking and screaming against God’s best for my life.  I have discovered much futility in “kicking against the goads”.  There is always purpose for my best from my loving Father in every circumstance that He allows and for that I give Him praise.    The word translated “poor” is also a very interesting word.  It is from the Greek word “Ptochos” meaning “to crouch, cower like a beggar; poor and helpless; someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution; one who had fallen from a better estate; one so poor that he can only obtain his living by begging.”  Like our original parents, by our choice, we have all fallen from a better estate and are “found wanting”.  There is nothing we can muster up inside of ourselves to make it right again with God.  When we come to the realization of our poverty of spirit, begging for His mercy, we are considered blessed by God.  Remember what Christ said – “apart from me you can do nothing”.  We need Christ for our salvation.  We need Christ for our day by day, moment by moment living.  We need Christ for everything! When we walk in the flesh and not by the Holy Spirit – indulging in all of our fleshly appetites, we are blinded to our poverty, our wretchedness and our nakedness.  It will happen every time because it is simply human nature.  That is why God calls the realization of this poverty of spirit blessed.  Until we come face to face with the reality of our poverty we remain alienated from God, and that my friends is anything but blessed.Fanny Crosby, blind writer of six thousand hymns gave this statement of faith in God’s overruling hand of Providence:  “I have heard that this physician (who unwittingly caused her blindness), never ceased to express his regret at the occurrence and that it was one of the sorrows of his life.  But if I could meet him now, I would say, ‘Thank you, thank you, over and over again, for making me blind.’  Although it may have been a blunder on the physician’s part, it was not a mistake on God’s.  I verily believe it was His intention that I should live my days in physical darkness, so as to be better prepared to sing His praises and incite others to do so.”What I glean from this:·         I am blessed by God when I come to the realization of my poverty.·         God always has my best interest at heart and I can trust Him.·         I need Christ for everything! 

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SHARING BREAD ¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. Luke 6:17-19 (NIV)I love Matthew’s version of this same scene given prior to the Sermon on the Mount:²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Matt 4:23-24 (NIV) Can you even imagine the mayhem?  Have you ever been around someone in severe pain or having seizures?  Certainly, there must have been wailing and a spirit of hopelessness.  What about demon possession – the worst form of human suffering know to man – demonic spirits would often throw their subjects into convulsions or fire or whatever else you can think of!  Jesus comes on the scene – appropriately standing on a level place. The Healer was healing and the crowds were gathering like storm clouds before the rain – everyone wanting at least a touch of the Master’s cloak.  What could have the newly appointed wide-eyed disciples been thinking?  Surely they wondered about their decision to follow!  Like us, they knew they had no ability within themselves to help this vast sea of hurting humanity before them.  But their eyes were fixed on Jesus – their hope for the healing.  I am reminded of David’s words when all turned against him: ⁶ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 1 Sam 30:6 (NIV) And again David proclaims in Psalm 141: ⁸ But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge–do not give me over to death.  Psalms 141:8 (NIV) I have to believe that this was one of the reasons David was such a “man after God’s own heart” – he continually sought refuge in the Lord – keeping his eyes fixed on Him – and the Lord blessed that.   This is exactly what was going on in this section of Scripture.  The disciples had nothing to pull from – no ability within themselves to heal the hurting.  He fleshed out before them exactly what he would later tell them in.  Scripture tells us:   ⁵ ”I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:5 (NIV) We are so used to trying to accomplish things by ourselves – pridefully trying to do everything in our own pathetic strength – missing out on the achieving power that Christ so longingly desires for us to have.  In fact, anything done apart from Him that has no eternal significance.  Yet we continue on working diligently, accomplishing nothing – my, my, how we all are like sheep! God is in the business of putting us smack dab in situations that we have absolutely NO ability to handle – ever been there???  He has allowed this so that His perfect strength may be made manifest through our cracked clay pots.  This is evidence to a hurting world, bearing witness of His achieving power in human flesh.  You see ALL humans are on level ground here.  Not one of us is elevated at the foot of the cross.  We are all flawed flesh.  Yet sweet Jesus tells us: ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  John 1:10-13 (NIV)If we have received Him, we are children of the living God – children of the King – having been given the deposit of the powerful Holy Spirit allowing us to be Jesus to a hurting world.  Scripture records theses wide eyed disciples later having been given Christ’s authority to go out and do just that.  Their response:   ¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  Luke 10:17 (NIV)“All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!”  (One of the most dra­ma­tic in­stanc­es of [this hymn’s] use was found in the ex­per­i­ence of the Rev. E. P. Scott in In­dia. His friends had urged him not to ven­ture near a cer­tain bar­bar­ous in­land tribe, whom he wished to evan­gel­ize. But he went forth with high cour­age, ne­ver wa­ver­ing in his du­ty, and trust­ing in God to pro­tect him. When at last he reached their coun­try among the hills, he came up­on a com­pa­ny of these sav­ag­es. Im­me­di­ate­ly they sur­round­ed him, point­ing their spears at him with threat­en­ing scowls. He had no­thing in his hand but his vi­o­lin; and so, clos­ing his eyes, he be­gan to play and sing, “All Hail the Pow­er of Je­sus’ Name.” When at last he opened his eyes he ex­pect­ed to be killed in­stant­ly. But his life had been spared through the sing­ing of the hymn. Their spears had dropped, and they re­ceived him first with cur­i­o­si­ty and in­ter­est, and then lat­er with ea­gern­ess, as he told them the gos­pel sto­ry and won their hearts to the will of Je­sus Christ.) What I glean from this:

• God often places me in situations where “His power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
• Anything I do apart from Christ has no eternal value.
• There is achieving power in the Name of Christ.

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SHARING BREAD ¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Luke 6:12-13 (NIV)In the above two verses Jesus sets forth a wonderful example for all of us to glean from regarding making important decisions in our lives.  I don’t know about you, but I find this VERY convicting!  How often I have flippantly muttered a quick prayer to bless MY decisions or desires – quite frankly, telling more than humbly entreating. Shame on me! Hell-o, like I would know more than the Creator of all things (that would of course include myself) that I should be telling Him what I am going to do and asking Him to bless it????  Three words quickly come to my mind…..Get over it!!!!  If the One in whom “ALL the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in bodily form” (Colossians 1:19) felt the necessity to pray all night before making an important decision, how much more should I?  It doesn’t take Einstein to figure that one out! Let’s see what we can learn from Scripture.Prayer – the awesome privilege of every believer! Jesus’ disciples were so blown away by His prayer life that they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).  While I am no authority on prayer, the following are some pointers (certainly not exhaustive) I have gleaned from Scripture:

• I seek to empty myself of me – it simply is not about me but all about Him – asking God to fill me to overflowing with His precious Holy Spirit so that I may pray according to is H   H His will and not my own – that He may be glorified.  I strive to make His agenda my agenda. This is not always easy but I hold on to the truth that the center of God’s will is exactly where I want to be – no matter what.  That is where peace and abundant joy abound.  Just as Epaphras prayed for the Church at Colosse, it is a great prayer for us to pray too:

 ¹² Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.   Col 4:11-12 (NIV)

• I ask to be cleansed from all unrighteousness by the precious blood of Christ that I may “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”.  James gives us the following insight into this:

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  James 5:16 (NIV) 

• I pray Scripture over those within my family and my sphere of influence.  God is always faithful to His Word.  There are many wonderful prayers in Scripture – especially in Paul’s letters to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians.  You can place the names of those that you are praying for within the prayer to personalize it.  This simply cannot be overstated.  I believe God delights in our praying back Scripture to Him. When we are faithful to do this, we exhibit faith in believing that the truth of His Word is the best for both ourselves and for those we love. This honors God.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word.  ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalms 119:9-11 (NIV) 

• I seek to be “still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” – this is a very difficult task for me.  I am so agenda oriented that to be still often correlates in my mind to doing nothing profitable.  I could be no further from the truth.  Jesus desires for us to rest in Him.  To listen for His still small voice for our direction and guidance.  How can He “walk with me and talk with me” if I am running my big fat mouth the entire time?  Oh, for my spirit to be quiet and hushed before Him.  Like Job I would respond:

¹ Then Job replied to the LORD:  ² ”I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  ⁴ ”You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’  ⁵ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  ⁶ Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”   Job 42:1-6 (NIV) “O Thou who alone knowest what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to Thee.  Let me be in the world, yet not of it.  Let me use this world without abusing it.  If I buy, let me be as though I possessed not.  If I have nothing, let me be as though possessing all things.  Let me to-day embark on no understanding that is not in line with Thy will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which Thy will may demand.  Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ’s sake.  Amen.”  John BaillieWhat I glean from this:

• I consider prayer both an awesome privilege and a responsibility for my life.
• I strive to make God’s agenda my agenda in my prayer life.
• God delights in my praying back His word to Him.

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SHARING BREAD    ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Luke 6:9 (NIV)Jesus begins by asking the Pharisees and the teachers of the law a set of rhetorical questions to get them to think through their beliefs.  They were accusing Him of breaking the Sabbath by healing on it.  In presenting these questions to them, He actually desired for them to see the folly in their own way of thinking.  Jesus was showing them truth through this process. He often did this in His teachings.  Perhaps there is insight for us to glean by this too.  I am afraid I often act like a fire hydrant in espousing truth to others.  Rather than let them come to the knowledge of truth by leading them to think through it for themselves, I just blast it out!  In my overly zealous way, I am confident that I scare many off!  When I know something so sweet and so good I want others to know it too.  Yet Jesus did not do that. He went about in His gentle, loving way leading others to the knowledge of the fullness of God.  I am reminded of the encounter He had with His disciples when He asks them: ¹⁸ Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” ¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” ²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”  Luke 9:18-20 (NIV) Jesus was always getting those around Him to think through why they believed what they believed and in Whom they believed.   Very effective.  Very Jesus.  What upstanding Pharisee wouldn’t choose to do good rather than evil on a Sabbath day?  Would any teacher of the law not choose to save life rather than destroy it on God’s day of rest?  Certainly the questions must have given them pause.  Luke does not record their response. Verse eleven does tell us that they were furious which actually means completely mindless and without understanding!  The word also describes one that is so filled with emotion that he is blinded to reason and sound judgment.  Unfortunately, the religious leaders of that day had a made up mindset and that mindset was wrong.  Never mind that Jesus performed a miracle that only God could do.  They continued to hold fast to their stubborn unbelief.  No wonder Jesus cried out over Jerusalem:     ³⁷ ”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.  Matt 23:37-38 (NIV)Always the Gentleman, Jesus never forces truth on anyone even though I am confident through Scripture that our unbelief strikes at the very heart of God.  He longs to draw us near, to gather us, if you will, as a “hen gathers her chicks”, yet we remain unwilling – caught up in the blinded reason of our own unbelief – to our own harm.    Remember: ¹⁶ ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”   John 3:16-21 (NIV) Jesus did not force or beg or coerce anyone to believe in Him.  He still doesn’t.  He spoke truth. He lived truth.  He was truth. Jude tells us:   ²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Jude 1:22-23 (NIV) What I glean from this: 

• I should learn to present the Truth in ways that causes people to think through what they believe.

• I should learn to lovingly present Truth and live it!

• God’s desire is for none to perish and for all to come to repentance.

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SHARING BREAD⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Luke 6:7-8 (NIV)Some things just never change.  People are still searching for reasons to speak out openly against Jesus, refusing to believe that He is who He says He is.  The word rendered “accuse” is the Greek word “Kategoreo” meaning to speak openly against, to condemn, to make a legal accusation.  Doesn’t that ring true in our day and age?  Actually the wording here is that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were keenly observing Jesus with an evil intent.  They did not like Him.  He was messing with their apple cart and they weren’t prepared for it to turn over – as if they could stop it. Jesus is all about turning over OUR apple carts or our ways of thinking about things.  Scripture tells us:⁸ ”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
⁹ ”As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) Jesus was ushering in a new way of thinking – a new covenant and they weren’t ready to receive it – to their own harm.  Hebrews tells us: ¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.  Heb 9:15 (NIV)The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking to see if Jesus would render voluntary service to this man with a shriveled hand and heal him miraculously.  Don’t you find that extremely odd?  I believe if you had taken a poll of those present many would have agreed that Jesus could heal the man.  They weren’t having trouble believing that He could perform the miracle.  The miracle was done to confirm His Deity yet they weren’t willing to accept that fact because it went against their rules of the Sabbath.  We must never try to put God into our neat little boxes – He simply will not go there.Knowing their thoughts, the Master makes a statement with His actions.  He tells the man with the shriveled hand to get up and stand in front of everyone.  Jesus did not want any to miss this.  I love that about Jesus – He has nothing to hide. He is open and willing for all to come to Him: ²⁴ The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

     ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  John 10:23-28 (NIV) That’s pretty plain – “I told you and you don’t believe”.  If they would have just stopped and considered the miraculous workings of the Savior, if they would have just thought it through instead of trying to defend their traditions yet they chose to go another way.  We are not above the same flawed way of thinking.  Lord, help us to see you clearly.  Give us your eyes to see and your mind to understand the working of your mighty hand.What I glean from this:·           I can be blinded to truth by my own old way of thinking.·           I can futilely be busy trying to defend something that is wrong.·           I can miss a miracle by being preoccupied with my traditions. 

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SHARING BREAD⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Luke 6:5 (NIV)Once again, Jesus claims His Deity through His authority stating that He is Master of the Sabbath.  The use of the word Lord denotes His absolute control.  I am reminded of His words in Matthew:¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  Matt 28:18 (NIV) All authority is His including the Law and the Sabbath and also our lives. He has been given the official right by the Father.  He has absolute power.  The Oxford Dictionary states these words for authority:  “right, power, authorization, prerogative; jurisdiction, influence, rule, command, charge, sovereignty, supremacy; having power to enforce obedience.”   Authority, the very word sets our teeth on edge.  I do not know about you, but I often dislike people telling me what to do.  I am certainly glad to be asked and enjoy doing for others but often buck at commands.  Perhaps like me you can relate.  Maybe the way we have looked at authority in the past is that those who were above us were flawed flesh.  They let us down, they disappointed, they ridiculed, they made mistakes, and they did whatever to make us have a bad taste for authority in our mouths.  I might add, we have done or have the capability of doing the exact same thing that we so loathe.  We are all flawed flesh.      Christ Jesus, on the other hand, is perfection.  He is not “practically perfect” like Mary Poppins, He is perfect.  He can be trusted.  We can depend on Him.  He leads us beside quiet waters, He restores our souls.  Even when we walk through valleys, He is with us and His rod and staff brings us comfort and protection.  His love is perfect taking away our fear, for His perfect love casts out fear, especially for His authority over our lives.  He desires the very best for us which is to be in the center of His will. He is Sovereign (Supreme Ruler), Omnipotent (Absolute Power), Omnipresent (Present everywhere at the same time), Omniscient (Knowing everything).  He is the Lover of our soul.  We should embrace His right to rule instead of fleeing from it.  In doing this we bring harm to ourselves. I am again reminded of a passage in Scripture found in Jeremiah chapter seven (a great chapter on obedience by the way) stating God’s heart for our following hard after Him:
     ²¹ ”‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! ²² For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, ²³ but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. ²⁴ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.  Jer 7:21-24 (NIV)If you are a believer, you have come out of Egypt (in bondage or slavery to sin) and are now free (yoked to Christ and righteousness).  Scripture tells us:¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. ¹⁹ I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!  Romans 6:18-21 (NIV) Obedience is for us.  It is for our good.  Indeed as Paul asks, what benefit did we reap from things we have done that we are now ashamed of? Christ tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing of eternal value.  It is He who infuses our actions with Life.  We are foolish if we do not heed His way.  Christ tells us:    ⁵ ”I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NIV) 

“Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne.  Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own!  Awake, my soul and sing of Him who died for thee; and hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.”  Matthew Bridges/Godfrey Thring

What I glean from this:

• Jesus has all authority.
• Jesus is perfect and can be trusted with my life.
• Obedience to Him is for my good.

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SHARING BREAD    ¹ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Luke 6:1-2 (NIV)The Pharisees had turned the Sabbath Day into a legalistic phenomenon.  Always “splitting hairs” over matters of the law, they actually failed to grab hold of the heart of it.  Jesus’ desire was to set this straight.  I love how He approaches the Pharisees in Matthew concerning issues of the law:   ²³ ”Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matt 23:23-24 (NIV) In Matthew 12 Jesus discusses the same matter and states to the Pharisees:   ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”   Matt 12:7-8 (NIV)In Deuteronomy, God gives permission to those walking through someone else’s field to pick grapes or kernels of wheat with their hands to satisfy their hunger – since the Lord had been gracious in providing for the farmer, the farmer in turn should be gracious to the traveler:    ²⁴ If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. ²⁵ If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.   Deut 23:24-25 (NIV) The Pharisees were accusing Jesus and His disciples of working on the Sabbath by picking the heads of grain to eat.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary states:“According to the Pharisees, plucking wheat from its stem is reaping, rubbing the wheat heads between one’s palms is threshing, and blowing away the chaff is winnowing!” We too can get caught up by rules made by man.  Paul tells us in Colossians:⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.  Col 2:8 (NIV) We are responsible for searching the entirety of the Scriptures for truth.  Like the Bereans in Paul’s day:¹¹ Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.   Acts 17:11 (NIV) On a side note, I think one of Jesus’ biggest problems with the Pharisees is that their love for God was one of duty rather than one of their hearts.  You know the difference.  Obligation or duty verses walking humbly with Him.  Scripture tells us:⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  ⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:6-8 (NIV) “If we do not show love to one another, the world has a right to question whether Christianity is true.”  Francis SchaefferWhat I glean from this:·         Jesus desires for me to be merciful to others – just as He has shown me mercy.·         Jesus desires for me to love to others – just as He has loved me.·         Jesus desires for me to examine the whole of Scripture for truth. 

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SHARING BREAD ³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’” Luke 5:36-39 (NIV)Continuing to respond to the question of why Jesus’ disciples did not fast and pray and the followers of the Pharisees and John the Baptist did, Jesus begins by giving a set of contrasts or things that simply just do not mix.  A guest of the bridegroom would not fast on that joyful occasion (verse 34); no one would sew new cloth on an old garment because it would not match (verse 36); and no one would pour new wine into old wineskins because the new wine would burst the old skins that had lost their elasticity (verse 37).  Jesus was explaining to them that His way (the new way) and the way of the Pharisees (the old way) were simply unmixable. The Pharisees refused to try the new way (Jesus’ way) because they assumed that their old way was better.   Interestingly, old wineskins had lost their elasticity and were unable to stretch and hold what was new.  How very much we can all relate to that in regard to holding on to tradition rather than stretching and growing in the truth of God’s Word.  Jesus had many things to say about that and they weren’t very complimentary!  The Jews had had a very long period between the time the law had been given to them and when Jesus entered their scene.  That meant that they had had sufficient time to adopt “traditions of men” into their customs to the point that they considered them God given law.  Boy, do we have that same tendency!  Here is what Jesus had to say about that:  ¹ Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² ”Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”  Matt 15:1-3 (NIV) ⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁷ They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’  ⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”  ⁹ And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!  Mark 7:6-9 (NIV) ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”   Mark 7:13 (NIV) These are strong words by our Lord.  We are to be careful if the traditions we are holding on to rob us of our ability to discern Truth from the rules made by men.  Voices heralding from many of our pulpits today bear no resemblance to God’s Word.  We often sit under teaching that is merely opinions of men.  Scripture tells us: ⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.            Col 2:8 (NIV)One last point – when Scripture tells us that new wine must be poured into new wineskins (verse 38) it goes right along with Paul’s teaching in II Corinthians:  ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)Pour the New Wine in Lord!    What I glean from this: 

• Jesus does not desire for me to be like an “old wineskin” – unable to stretch and hold the Truth of God’s Word.
• Jesus desires for me to be a new creation.
• I am responsible for not being taken captive by hollow, empty philosophy that depends on human traditions rather than on Christ and His Word.

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SHARING BREAD  ³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

     ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” Luke 5:33-35 (NIV)Asked why the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees often fasted and habitually prayed and His disciples kept on eating and drinking, Jesus responds in an insightful manner.  First, He points to the lack of necessity for those actions among His followers.  Why should they be fasting if Jesus was with them?  “The fullness of the Godhead bodily,” as Paul states in Colossians chapter one, walked among them.  There was no need to fast and pray for more. Surely, their glass overflowed.  Secondly (and I am not sure if His disciples even caught this point), a time was approaching when His followers would fast and pray –He was to be taken from them.  The old adage “You never miss the water ‘til the well runs dry” was probably oh too true among Jesus’ followers!I am reminded of two of His disciples walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. Jesus approaches them but they did not recognize Him.  He asks them what they were discussing.  Downcast, they respond by informing Him of all that had occurred over the past few days adding: ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Luke 24:20-21 (NIV)Jesus’ response tickles me:  ²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?  Luke 24:25-26 (NIV) In our common vernacular translated:  “Hell-o……..anybody there????  Wake up fellows, this had to happen!”  We so often plan out how things are going to come out that we leave out room for “patches of God light” in our dark woods.  God will simply not be placed into our neat little boxes.  He acts and we can pay attention and get on board with Him or we can be left behind in the dust. You see the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting for the fullness of God.  Jesus was the fullness and He came so that God could fill them.  John Piper quotes it perfectly:“At great cost to Himself God gave us what we needed above all things:  Himself for our enjoyment forever.”   Jesus states it this way:¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.   John 10:10 (NIV)What I glean from this:

• Sometimes I miss the movement of God’s hand by looking down and not up!
• I oftentimes try to place God into a neat little box that He simply will not fit into.
• Jesus came to give me life to the full!

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SHARING BREAD
     ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.   John 14:6 (NIV) I received an e-mail yesterday that contained some interesting questions about the above verse which I felt that many of you may also have or may have been asked.  Because of this, I decided to send this out as a “Sharing Bread” today in hopes that in some small way it may benefit others.The Question: I do have a question for you.  In light of what is going on in the world with religious fervor in the context of “my religion is better than yours”, I have a problem with the exclusivity of John 14:6.  You see I believe that my God, Yahweh, is THE God of the Universe and is all powerful.  He is not just the God for this planet and indeed not just the God for the Christians and the Jews.  I believe he is a loving God as well.  So what happens to the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.?   Does the Tower of Babel have any meaning here……that God intentionally separated us, and our languages, for our own sake and now we have misinterpreted the good intention to the point that it puts us on a course of global conflict?The Response:It was great hearing from you!  I appreciate your kind words and I am also very grateful to be given the opportunity to delve into God’s Word for clarity and insight to your questions.  I love doing this so you may receive more than you bargained for!  It is always a profitable assignment to think through what you believe and why.  Scripture tells us:  ¹⁵ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV) To begin with, it was never my intent to espouse “my religion is better than yours” in writing “Sharing Bread”.  Neither God nor His Holy Word needs my humble defense.  My purpose is to state as clearly as I know how the Truth from the Bible so that others could perhaps glean insight and be more willing to appropriate these truths into their lives.  Our world is woefully short of Christians who know God’s Word and strive to live according to it.  The Bible is my Authority.  It is Truth.  It is also intellectually dishonest to pick and choose what we want to believe from it.  The Bible simply does not give us the option of deciding which parts to believe are inspired and which are not.  All of Scripture is God breathed as stated:¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:15-17 (NIV) Having stated thus, if you do not hold to the inerrancy of Scripture, this will probably be a mute note for you.  My beliefs are based on the Truth of Scripture.  I took the liberty of highlighting parts of your e-mail in an effort to include all the points you bring to light.  Thus done, the words “I believe” red flagged me.  On what or whom are you basing your beliefs?  Jesus indeed claims exclusivity in John 14:6 YET, His call is to ALL!  It is exclusive in that He is the only way to God but open in that all are invited.  This call would of course include Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus or any other living human being.  According to the Bible, Jesus is the only access to God – whoever you are!  Scripture again states: ¹⁶ ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”  John 3:16-21 (NIV) Indeed, God is all powerful and loving (Praise Him!).  In His love, He provided Jesus to save us from our sins.  God is also righteous and long suffering giving us an opportunity to come to salvation through faith in Christ.  Yet, there will come a day when His righteous indignation will come forth.  Isaiah brings this to light as well as many other passages similar to this found throughout the New Testament: ⁶ Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. ⁷ Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man’s heart will melt. ⁸ Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. ⁹ See, the day of the LORD is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. ¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. ¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. ¹² I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. ¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. Isaiah 13:6-13 (NIV) Your citing of the Tower of Babel in Genesis brings up an interesting point. Babel was a deliberate rejection of God’s instructions to “fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1) and stood as a flagrant example of the corporate pride of man.  Their desire was to make a name for themselves and NOT to bring glory to God.  Not too dissimilar to our day and time – there is simply nothing new under the sun.  Interestingly, Scripture states in Genesis 11:2 that the men “had moved eastward” indicating their departure from their intimacy with God.  Whenever we move away from intimacy with God we get into trouble!  There is no end to the depravity of man.  Conversely, there is no end to the love and grace of God.  Corrie ten Boom stated once:  “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still”.There are many things in Scripture that will remain “veiled” until we see His face, as Paul states in I Corinthians 13: ¹² Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  1 Cor 13:11-12 (NIV)I have learned enough about God to know that just because I may not clearly understand His actions; His purposes are always loving and righteous.  Whenever I am confronted in my spirit with the “it’s not fair” mentality, I spend some time reflecting on the last few chapters of Job (38-42), where God asks blameless Job:  ² ”Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?  Job 38:2 (NIV); basically stating, “Who is this with impaired vision that darkens my counsel (purpose) with words without technical know-how???” (Job 38:2).Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to share reflections of God’s Word with you.Blessings!Beth  What I glean from this:

• Christ is my only way to God.
• I must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that I have.  I do this from knowing God’s Word.
• Just because I may not understand His actions, God’s purposes and plans for me always flow from His love for me.

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