Fire of Jesus

Sometimes, Jesus says something so outlandish we don’t know how to take it. Is He using hyperbole? Is He speaking plainly? Are we to take Him literally? Or is He speaking in a parable? It is a challenge. The good news is, there are scholars who know the original language to help us out.

In today’s passage, Jesus is speaking both literally and parabolically. Let’s take the parabolical statement first. When He says He has a baptism to undertake, we all can likely understand that He was talking about His crucifixion. He had a horrible path ahead of Him while walking in the flesh.

The second part of the baptism sentence states Jesus is constrained until it is completed. It could be translated to say He is pressed until it is completed. The meaning is He is singularly focused on it. We might say today, He is laser focused. The point being, Jesus knew what His mission was and there was nothing that would stop Him from accomplishing it.

Now, let’s go back and visit that first sentence. Jesus says He came to cast fire upon the earth. In one respect, He did while He walked the earth. He started the fire of Christianity that would spread around the world. He also sent the Holy Spirit in the form of a fire. John Wesley’s heart was strangely warmed by the Holy Spirit and our can be, too.

Yet, there is a fire to come that will destroy this earth. 1 Peter 3:10 tells us the earth will be destroyed by fire and the heavens will pass away. Three verses later, Peter says we wait for the new heavens and new earth. Revelation 21:1 tells us there is a new heaven and a new earth because the first ones had passed away. Jesus is the one who will bring all this to pass when the Father says it is time.

I pray we all know this earth and everything in it will pass away. I pray we know that Jesus has already started the fire. I pray each one of us looks forward to the new heavens and new earth. This earth will pass away. Jesus started the fire. Jesus will return. Look forward to the new heavens and new earth.

Luke 12:49-50 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”

Being Watched

Have you performed before an audience? Did you play sports in school, playing your games in front a crowd? Did you play in the school band, performing in parades? Were you in school plays, performing on a stage? Have you considered you are being watched by many right now?

When we play sports, we don’t focus on the crowd. We are far more focused on what is happening in the game. Yet, we may notice the crowd during a break in the game. When in a marching band, we may notice the crowd a little more. While performing on stage, we may not be able to see the crowd.

We cannot see the cloud of witnesses who watch us now. In fact, we may not think about them at all, or we may not believe they are watching. Yet, the writer of Hebrews tells us we are surrounded by them. His reference to the witnesses follows his description of several faithful people in chapter 11, making them the witnesses he is speaking about.

However, if we think about it, we are also surrounded by witnesses walking this earth today. Every day we interact with others. Whether we realize it or not, they are watching us. They accumulate evidence from our actions and speech. They compile this information, assess it, and form their perception of the kind of person we are.

Though we are being watched, it does not mean we are to put on an act. If we do, we are a hypocrite. We are to be who we are yet cast away the sin that entangles us to be better. We are to focus on Jesus and what He has done for us. By focusing on Jesus and asking Him to remove our sin from our lives, we can become the person God intends for us to be.

I pray we all realize we are being watched. I pray we focus our attention on Jesus. I pray each one of us seeks to be the person God intends us to be and asks him to remove our sin from our lives. Know you are being watched. Focus on Jesus. Be who God intends you to be. Ask God to remove your sin.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Build Your Faith

How easily do you trust? Is your starting point to trust people until they prove they are untrustworthy? Or is your starting point to be skeptical until someone proves they are trustworthy? Have you done something that sounded crazy because your trusted the person who told you to do it?

Trust can be tricky. We even have a saying, “Trust must be earned.” Yet, most of us grow up trusting our parents. As small children, we have an inherit trust of our parents. As we grow and experience being around others, we discover there are some we can trust and others we cannot.

Where does this leave us when it comes to trusting God? It can be challenging to trust someone you cannot see and interact with in the flesh. Yet, we can experience God and learn to trust him just as we learn to trust people. We are not to test God. However, we are to make requests of him. And just like our parents, sometimes God’s answer is no or not now. But as we experience him granting our requests, our trust in him grows.

The Israelites had to put their trust in God to rescue them. He honored their trust by leading them out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea so they could cross before the Egyptian soldiers caught up to them. They trusted the walls of Jericho would fall as they marched around them for seven days. Though there may have been some who weren’t convinced God would come through, the majority followed God’s direction, perhaps dragging the others along with them.

Trusting God is one of two pieces to our faith. We must first believe in God. Once we believe he exists and he is who he says he is, we add our trust in him to make up our faith. As our trust in him grows, our faith grows. We build our trust by experiencing his love, grace, mercy, and blessings. God has taken the first step. We must take the next step.

I pray we all believe in God. I pray we learn to trust God through our experiences with him. I pray each one of us build our faith in God by making requests and seeing him answer them. Believe in God. Trust God. Build your faith. Experience God’s love, grace, mercy, and blessings.

Hebrews 11:29-30 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.

Restoration

Have you seen someone’s face shine? Have you seen the glow a pregnant woman has? Have you seen the eyes of someone light up when they see you? Have you noticed the look of a proud parent? Have you had one of looks from someone restore you?

Seeing someone’s face light up is a joy. It is especially joyful when we know their face lit up because they saw us. When our parent’s face shines with pride in us, it makes us feel good. That good feeling can be restorative and rise our spirits for quite a while.

The Psalmist is pleading with God to restore the Israelites. We, too, can ask God to restore us. He has promised to restore us. All we must do is turn away from our disobedience and ask. It sounds simple, but it is a real challenge. Too often, we like the things we do in disobedience.

When God’s face shines on us, it is more than that of a proud parent. His face shines with love and pride when we turn back to him. Not only that, but he saves us from the punishment we deserve for our disobedience. God does so out of his amazing grace and desire to reconcile us to him.

Think about it for just a moment. The God of all creation, the God who created the entire universe, the God who created us loves us so much that he is willing to forgive our shortcomings so we can be reconciled to him. He wants us to be with him forever. Are we willing to ask him to shine his face on us and restore us?

I pray we all know that God loves us. I pray we turn from our disobedience, turning back to God. I pray each one of us will ask God to shine his face on us and restore us to himself. God loves you. Turn from your disobedience. Turn to God. Ask God to shine on you. Ask him to restore you.

Psalm 80:19

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; 

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Release Your Burden

Have you prayed for others? Have you prayed for a group or people? Have you prayed for the church you attend? Have you prayed for your city? Have you prayed for your state? Have you prayed for your nation? Have you prayed for people in our nations?

Praying is important for all of us. Many of us pray for our immediate family, friends, and ourselves. We make requests for health, safety, financial well-being, and relationships. All of those are good reasons to pray that God be in the midst of them and bring about a good result.

But how often do we pray for people we don’t know? We see situations all around us that appear to be out of control or going badly. Do we pray for them? We should pray regularly for our schools, even if we have no children going to them. We should pray for our city and county governments, requesting God to guide them to do what is best for the people and in accordance with his plan.

We hear many people complaining about how our state or federal government is doing some things. We may be doing the same. Rather than complaining, we should pray for those situations. Asking God to guide our government leaders regularly is a good way to have positive changes come about.

The Psalmist cried out to God to save his people. We could make the same appeal to God today. Whether we realize it or not, we are under attack every day. Asking God to protect us, restore us, and for his will to be done is powerful. Not only are we asking God to act, but we are relinquishing control to him, relieving ourselves of the burden or worry we carry.

I pray we all continue to pray. I pray we ask God to guide our government leaders in their decisions. I pray each one of us make our requests to God and relieve ourselves of our burdens. Pray continually. Make your requests to God. Give your concerns to him. Relieve yourself of your burdens.

Psalm 80:1-2

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, 

you who lead Joseph like a flock! 

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 

before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. 

Stir up your might, 

and come to save us!

God’s Vineyard

Have you ever put in a garden? Did you harvest the vegetables from your garden? Have you planted a large flower bed? Did you enjoy seeing the flowers you planted bloom? How would you feel if you had gotten no vegetables from your garden, or the flowers never bloomed?

Planting a garden is hard work. There is the preparing the ground by tilling, hoeing, and fertilizing. Once the ground is prepared, you plant the seeds, water them, and hoe out the weeds. You work for weeks or months to harvest the vegetables. Flower beds are similar.

Now apply planting a garden or flower bed as analog for God working in this world. He planted Israel to be his vineyard. Throughout the centuries they obeyed, turned away, returned to God, disobeyed again, and the cycle went on. During times of obedience, they reaped the blessings of God. During their times of disobedience, they were punished by defeat and exile.

After Jesus came, God planted his church. Much like Israel, the church has gone through cycles of obedience with reward and disobedience with punishment. If the church, the global church, desires to reap the blessings of God, it must turn back to God. This includes preaching God’s Word clear and making God’s point, rather than twisting the message to what we want to hear. It includes being willing to give up our desires, listen for God to speak, and follow his guidance.

Perhaps we should ponder whether God is happy with what he is reaping from today’s church. Maybe we should discern whether he is reaping rotten grapes or good grapes. Are we following Jesus’ example and His guidance? If we are, we should expect God’s blessings to shower down. If they don’t, we should reevaluate ourselves and how well we are following Him.

I pray we all know that God has planted good seed. I pray we seek to produce a good crop. I pray each one of us will evaluate ourselves and the church to discern how well we are fulfilling God’s expectations. God has planted good seed. God expects a good crop. Evaluate yourself. Evaluate the church.

Isaiah 5:1

I will sing for my beloved 

my love song concerning his vineyard: 

My beloved had a vineyard 

on a very fertile hill.

A Voice Cries Out

Have you ever been in a wilderness? Have you walked through a forest? Have you walked in a jungle? Have you been in a desert? Have you been in a densely populated city? Do you view your entire world as a wilderness? Do you think you should? Why or why not?

When we a wilderness, the word can mean different types of environments to different people. In general, when the Bible speaks of a wilderness, it means a harsh environment in which there is very little growth. The wilderness in Israel was mostly a rocky desert.

For Isaiah, there was a desert between Babylon and Jerusalem. The Jews were exiled in Babylon and would cross the desert to return to Jerusalem. Isaiah was prophesying to the Jews that God was going to break them free of their exile. His means of doing so would be different than when they were set free from Egypt, but no less miraculous.

But this passage is referred to in the gospels when speaking of John the Baptist. In his case, he was crying out near the Jordan river, speaking of the coming Messiah. He was telling everyone who would listen that they were going to be set free from their sin. He was telling them to prepare their hearts for something new that God was doing.

So, where is our wilderness? It may be in our workplaces, our families, the city we live in, or anywhere we are. We need to think about the definition as the Bible uses the word and see if there is growth around us. In today’s world, there is very little growth when it comes to following Jesus. Therefore, we need to be a good representative of His and tell others about Him. We need to encourage others to grow in their faith, which does not mean thinking like we think. For we also need to grow in our faith.

I pray we all think about the wilderness we live in. I pray we encourage others to come to Jesus. I pray each one of us encourage others to grow in their faith while growing in our own. See the wilderness. Be the voice crying out. Encourage others. Speak of Jesus. Grow in your faith.

Isaiah 40:3

A voice cries out: 

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; 

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Warning From Jesus

What does being ready mean to you? Are you ready for an emergency? Are you ready for the storms of life? Are you ready for a job promotion? Have you ever been surprised by something unexpected? How did you react? Are you ready for Jesus to return?

I learned the Boys Scouts motto, be prepared, when I was a boy. Our Scoutmaster taught us that it meant planning ahead, getting things ready, having the right provisions and tools on hand. He taught us that unexpected things can happen at any moment of any day.

It is unfortunate that many who call themselves Christians are not ready. They go about their lives like everyone else in the world. They make the same mistake the person who only cursorily believes there is God, thinking they have time to make a full commitment. They think they can stand with mostly on the side of the world and make that quick jump over to Jesus’ side at the last moment.

Jesus warns us to be ready. He says that He will return when we do not expect it. That means He could return at any moment on any day. For us to be ready, we must be doing what is pleasing to Him at all times. But how many times do we go about doing what we want rather than what He wants? I suspect we do it far more often than we will admit to ourselves.

I often think about Jesus’ warning. Most often after I’ve done something I know I shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter how big or small that something is. I am quickly thankful Jesus did not return in that moment and I quickly ask Him to forgive me. The better way is to resist the temptation and do the right thing. That is hard sometimes. Yet, Jesus tells us to be ready.

I pray we all know Jesus can return at any time. I pray we seek to do what is pleasing to God. I pray each one of us remember Jesus’ warning and take it to heart. Jesus will return. He can return at any time. Do what is pleasing to God. Remember Jesus’ warning. Do what is right.

Luke 12:39-40 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Treasure In Heaven

What fears do you struggle with? Do you fear not having enough money? Do you fear losing your possessions? Do you desire to have a bigger house, better furniture, and decorations for all seasons? Is that your treasure? Do you not know you have a far better treasure?

Our culture tells us to get the best money can buy. Therefore, we struggle to make more money to buy more stuff. We fear being out of style. We fear not feeling like we are part of the in crowd. We fear being left out. We fear being embarrassed about what we don’t have.

Jesus tells us not to fear. He says that the Father has given us the kingdom. Can you imagine that?! The kingdom of God is ours! We have been given something far better than anything in this world and anything we can imagine. Hollywood cannot begin to project what it will be like. Yet, we don’t focus on that. We focus on this earth.

If we were to sell everything we have and give it away so as to acquire the kingdom of God, it would be like selling the smallest doll house and purchasing the largest mansion. Perhaps that is not even a good comparison. But Jesus isn’t really asking us to sell everything. He is using hyperbole to drive home the point that we are focus on the treasure of heaven rather than on our possessions here on earth.

I pray we all stop focusing on our earthly possessions. I pray we know we have been given the kingdom of God. I pray each one of us focus our attention on the treasure we have in heaven. Do not focus on earthly possessions. You have the kingdom of God. Focus on your treasure in heaven.

Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Nomads

What are you looking forward to? What are you striving for that may take many years to accomplish? Are you living in temporary mode or permanent mode? Do you know you have an inheritance waiting for you? Are you looking forward to it?

We look forward to many things. We may look forward to a wedding, birth of a child, purchasing a new house, starting a new job, or retirement. We work hard to achieve those things and maintaining them. Not that those things aren’t important, but they are temporary.

We see in today’s passage that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all looked forward to the city of God. They lived in tents, seeking the permanent city God has created for us. Notice that they lived in tents. Our misconception may be that living in tents was how everyone lived. That was not the case. There were cities with homes, palaces, buildings housing businesses, and walls around those cities. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived as nomads who were waiting for God to fulfill his promises.

Today, we live in homes. We spend a ton of money on them. We plant flower beds, remodel them, and decorate them. Why? It is our instinct that is searching for the perfect home that only God can provide. We don’t need to live in tents as Abraham did. We do need to change our mindset of thinking our homes are permanent. Our attitude should be that everything in this world is temporary. There is only one permanent city, and that is the city of God.

I pray we realize everything on this earth is temporary. I pray we seek the city of God. I pray each one of us will put our faith into action and change our attitude to constantly be looking forward to God fulfilling his promise. Know we are living in the temporary. Seek the city of God. Put your faith into action. Change your attitude. Look forward to God fulfilling his promise.

Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.