In the first few verses of his Gospel, Luke wants to make it clear that what he is about to tell us is not myth, fable, or fantasy, but history. The Christian faith is ultimately rooted in history. It’s important that we understand that Christianity isn’t merely a philosophy or a set of moral teachings. At its core, Christianity is about a real God working out a real plan to really save a people to Himself through the real birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who really was fully God and fully man. The reason this story is so good is because it’s also so true.
In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul describes the role of disciples of Jesus as that of an ambassador. For those of us who are disciples of Jesus our role is to represent King Jesus to the world around us through our actions and our words. We are to go to all those who do not yet know Jesus as King, who have not entered his kingdom and plead with them to “be reconciled to God.” On the cross Jesus did everything that was necessary to reconcile people to God, He took our sin on himself and offers to us His righteousness, deciding to receive that offer is the first step every disciple of Jesus must take, but it’s also the message every disciple of Jesus is called to take to the world.
When Jesus departed the earth to return to the Father he gave tasked His disciples with a mission: “make disciples.” Accomplishing this task would require a few things:
1. It would require going, in fact it would require going to the whole world. Disciple making couldn’t be accomplished through passivity it would require initiative and activity. They would need to go out into the world to invite others to follow Jesus.
2. Once people had received the invitation to follow Jesus it would require initiation. A physical washing that would represent the way that through Jesus, His followers have already been washed and made clean.
3. It would require instruction, specifically it would require them teaching to others everything Jesus had taught to them. This teaching was more than just theoretical instruction, it was a call to imitation, a call to step by step learn what it means to walk in the way of Jesus.
4. Finally, it would require the power and presence of Jesus. Jesus knew the task He was leaving them with would only be possible with his help and so He reminded them that His help would be more than enough to accomplish the mission and that His help would always be available to them until the mission was accomplished. The mission He gave His first disciples continues to be our mission today and the promise He made to them continues forward to all those who call themselves His disciples. Application:
Have you made choice to follow Jesus?
If you are a disciple, have you been baptized?
If you’re a baptized disciple, where do you most need to grow this year in walking in the way of Jesus?
Are you a disciple who is making disciples?
Generosity is both a means by which we grow and a marker of our growth. In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This means that when we give it not only demonstrates what we love but also that it grows our love for what we are giving to. Ultimately generosity, whether with our money, our time, or even our forgiveness, is rooted in two things: 1. Our faith in God’s willingness and ability to provide. 2. Our awareness of what we have already received from Him.
The first marker of Christlike maturity that Paul identifies in Ephesians 4 is humility. To grow in Christ is to grow in your understanding of just how far short of the goal of Christlikeness you fall and how incapable you are of achieving that goal on your own you are. As you grow in humility it leads you to be gentler and more forgiving with others. As you grow in your awareness of how patient God is with you, it makes you more patient towards others more able to bear with others, which makes unity with other fallible and faltering followers of Jesus more attainable.
For three years the land of Israel has been without rain as punishment for their idol worship. The results of this type of drought would have been catastrophic to the people. Yet, despite the discipline God had placed his people under, they still wavered over whether God alone was truly God. To ultimately show God’s power and Baal’s impotence it would take the obedience, boldness, faith, and prayers of Elijah in concert with God displaying his mighty power to move the people to acknowledge God as God. Imagine what it must have been like for Elijah to stare down King Ahab, or stand-alone against the prophets of Baal, it must have been nerve wracking. But, because of his obedience and faith God answered the prayers of Elijah, and shows his glory and power as the one and only real God to the people.
The story of Rahab is the story of how God used a lying sex worker to save his people and ultimately, by placing her in the lineage of Jesus, making her a direct ancestor of the one who would make the salvation of all people possible. It’s a beautiful reminder of the way God uses messy people to accomplish his purposes and how he lavishes his grace and mercy on those who have faith in him.
If you’ve ever read a children’s bible you’ve probably come across this story, accompanied by a picture of cuddly, cute lions, with smiles on their faces. What I’m guessing you didn’t see in those children’s bible pictures was the bones and blood splatters of all the previous victims the Lions had killed and eaten but I’m guessing that’s what Daniel would have seen as he was thrown into their den. But Daniel didn’t join the ranks of the previous victims who had been eaten by the lion. Because Daniels faith in God was greater than his fear of men God rescued him. The same remains true today, for all of us that place our faith in God above all else, demonstrating that faith through walking in obedience to him, no matter how difficult the situations we may find ourselves in, our rescue through Christ is assured.
There are few things in life that sting as much as the betrayal of a family member. Families are supposed to be where we find love, support, and connection. Imagine the journey of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death in order to deceive their father. As a slave, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown in prison, and forgotten there for many years. He would end up in a position of authority during one of the most difficult times in the history of Egypt. The fallout of the betrayal of his brothers would shape most of his life. Yet somehow, he not only finds the ability to forgive his brothers but he also finds the ability to bless them. The story of Joseph is the story of when the raw emotions of human betrayal encounter faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Forgiving those who have done serious harm to you is only possible when you can look back and see how God has shown mercy to you.
There are few things in life that sting as much as the betrayal of a family member. Families are supposed to be where we find love, support, and connection. Imagine the journey of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death in order to deceive their father. As a slave, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown in prison, and forgotten there for many years. He would end up in a position of authority during one of the most difficult times in the history of Egypt. The fallout of the betrayal of his brothers would shape most of his life. Yet somehow, he not only finds the ability to forgive his brothers but he also finds the ability to bless them. The story of Joseph is the story of when the raw emotions of human betrayal encounter faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Forgiving those who have done serious harm to you is only possible when you can look back and see how God has shown mercy to you.