Jesus: friend of scumbags

( image from David LaChapelle )

Which is better?  a) go to church or b) go to a bar ?

Jesus spent time in church (the synagogue) but he also so much time with people who partied that his enemies called him a "glutton and a drunk". I'm sure that Jesus didn't overeat or get drunk, but he hung out in places where people usually did.

In Matthew 9 Jesus calls a scumbag named Matthew to follow him.

"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him."

" Follow me and be my disciple"- Be my student, my apprentice, learn from me, learn to do what I do. This was a call to a life of obedience. Matthew immediately got up and followed Jesus. He took his first step of obedience.

When you disciple someone, give them homework. Give them something to do, to obey right away.

Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 

The first thing Matthew did was to obey and follow Jesus. Then later (later that day? later that week?) Matthew invited Jesus to meet his friends, AND he invited his friends to meet Jesus. He did so in the best way he knew. He threw a party. Jesus called him to "be my disciple" and Matthew begins right away by throwing a dinner party for Jesus & his friends. Matthew's friends weren't just sinners they were "tax collectors and other disreputable sinners." They were in the words of the religious people "scum".

But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum? ” 

I have some exciting news: Jesus loves scum. Scum is what is left in the bowl or pan after you've eaten your dinner. Scum is what is left in the bathtub after you've drained out the dirty water. Scum - it's not a nice word. It is a good description of some of us. We're nothing in the eyes of the world: under-educated, single moms, broken marriages, unloved and unwanted - if we died tonight few people would notice. Jesus would notice, Jesus cares. We don't qualify for high society but Jesus calls to be his disciples, to be part of his family. 

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 

If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, then start hanging out with "sick people". Jesus called Matthew to share his heart. Matthew got it. He invited his "sicko friends" to meet Jesus. Who are you inviting to meet Jesus? Do you have any "sick" friends in need of the doctor? If not, get some. If so, throw a party and invite them to meet Jesus and his disciples. Jesus came to help "sick people. When someone is really evil we call them a "sick SOB". If they know it and want to change, then Jesus can heal them. 

Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  

This last sentence takes me back to my opening question: which is better to go to church or go to a bar? Church is where you go to "offer sacrifices", to do religious activity - sing, worship, donate to the offering, read scripture, etc. Where do you go to show mercy? The hospital, the bar, maybe to the party. You go where sick people are. Reaching out to the hurting people is better than religious activity. Jesus calls us to his mission - reaching the lost, showing mercy to the hurting. We will not find those people at church, but rather in a bar or at a party. 

What do you think?

Above passages is from Matthew 9:9-13 NLT

Priorities of the Messiah

I use a compass when I go geocaching (look it up). The compass helps me fulfill my mission of locating the hidden cache. Priorities are like a compass. If we follow them we will reach our intended destination. Jesus had clear priorities, but until recently I didn't think about God's priorities for the Messiah. His priorities are evident in the prophecies about the Messiah. 

I've started a reading plan to take me through the Gospels in 30 days. On day 4 I read the following passages. I've highlighted the sections that jumped out at me. Before, when I read the list of prophecies Jesus fulfilled (in Matthew) I thought "O yeah, Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy" but I never thought about the CONTENT of the prophecy. In Mt. 4 the prophecy quoted says that the Savior would be concerned about the Gentiles and have a priority of shining light on those who have not seen the light. 

Matthew 4:12-16 GNT

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee.  He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was done to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said,    “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee, land of the Gentiles!  The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those who live in the dark land of death the light will shine.”

Jesus confirms his commitment to this priority by telling the people that God has chosen Gentiles in the past, and after he prayed, he set out to preach to those who had not yet heard, because "that is what God sent me to do."

Luke 4:25-27, 42-43 GNT

Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three and a half years and a severe famine spread throughout the whole land.  Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon.  And there were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha; yet not one of them was healed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”  At daybreak Jesus left the town and went off to a lonely place. The people started looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving. But he said to them, “I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is what God sent me to do.”

In the encounter with the Samaritian woman Jesus brings the good news to a half breed woman of low reputation. And he tells his disciples to wake up, because harvest time is now. Many Samaritans believed. From the beginning, God's plan had a strong focus on non Jewish peoples. Jesus taught and lived those priorities.

John 4:34-42 GNT

“My food,” Jesus said to them, “is to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do. You have a saying, ‘Four more months and then the harvest.’ But I tell you, take a good look at the fields; the crops are now ripe and ready to be harvested! The one who reaps the harvest is being paid and gathers the crops for eternal life; so the one who plants and the one who reaps will be glad together. For the saying is true, ‘Someone plants, someone else reaps.’ I have sent you to reap a harvest in a field where you did not work; others worked there, and you profit from their work.”  Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days.  Many more believed because of his message, and they told the woman, “We believe now, not because of what you said, but because we ourselves have heard him, and we know that he really is the Savior of the world.”

I'm all in.

I'm reading a 7 day Bible reading plan from Francis Chan called "Crazy Love". I like it because it only  gives the scriptures without any accompanying devotional material. All I know is the 7 days is about love. As I read, I try to work out what the theme for the day is. Today I read 

• Matthew 13:44
• Revelation 3:14-18
• Luke 21:1-4

I encourage you to read these 3 passages and write a theme for the day. My theme is "all in". Everything I am, everything I have, everything I've done - the good & the bad. I have to be "all in", "all or nothing". 

In Rev 3 Jesus encourages us to go all in, and come to him for true abundance, right standing with God and healing. Jesus admires and notices the one who goes "all in". How about you? In or out? If "in", now is the time to go "all in."

Me a Masterpiece! I don't think so.

 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  Eph. 2:10

I'm following a Bible reading plan from Bible.com and today's reading included Eph 2:10 (above).  This verse jangles my nerves, feels wrong, bothers and challenges me, so I decided to write about it. Here are the problems I struggle with:

#1: I ain't no Mona Lisa. "Masterpiece"? I feel more like a child's first attempt at fingerpainting.  Anyone out there looking at me and saying "Wow, a masterpiece!" I don't think so. Look at my life and most people would say "Oh! What happened?"  So I re-read the verse and guess what - it doesn't say I'm a masterpiece. It says "we" are God's masterpiece, so I quickly read the whole section of scripture (always a good idea) and discovered it is talking about how God brings people from completely different backgrounds and cultures (Gentiles & Jews) into one family where we learn to love each other and glorify God together. Together - we are his masterpiece. Whew! Heat's off. Thanks God.

#2: This is your plan for me?!? "so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago". I'm running a small business, dealing with staff who tell me that I should do things this way or that way, staff who come in late, customers who complain and rarely say "thank you". We serve helpers who scrub toilets, change diapers, toil away in the kitchen, fetch kids, walk dogs.  This was not their childhood dream. They wanted to be nurses, teachers, business owners, movie stars. I wanted to be an astronaut, a football star, a leader of a large company. Instead I'm running a mom and pop business. Is this the plan? Lord, are these the "good things" the good works you planned for us long ago?  

YES!

Yes! The answer is "Yes!" Changing diapers, dealing with a complaining customer, loving the children in our care - whether our own or someone else's, wiping away tears, giving a word of encouragement, handling the paperwork on a contract renewal with care, putting the clothes away in the right drawer - not putting mom's undies in sir's drawer, ALL of this qualifies as the "good works" that God himself planned for us long ago. Greatness doesn't lie in doing BIG things, but in doing SMALL things, ordinary things with care and love. 

There is an alley behind BurgerKing in Mong Kok. In that alley, an older man runs a small business. He repairs shoes. With just a stool and a box of tools and supplies, he fixes shoes for people who walk through the alley. The sole of my shoe came loose one day and since I was nearby, I went to look for him. Because I spoke Cantonese he asked me if I was a pastor or missionary. I confessed that I was. He told me that he was a Christian and would not allow me to pay him for fixing my shoe. He glued and stitched it together with loving care and skill. He was doing the good works God planned for him long ago. 

Most of life is ordinary. What makes something "good" is NOT the position or title we hold, but HOW we do our work.  Being the president of a Fortune 500 company is not a "good" job. It is only good if the person leads well and creates value for the people who work there, and the customers they serve. My work, my ordinary life has the same potential as the president of the USA to bring honor to God. 

Today Lord, may we, your children, who are together your masterpiece bring glory to you and blessing to others through doing the good works you long ago planned for us. Amen 

It rubs off on you

This morning I poured a cup of coffee and sat down on the sofa to read my Bible. Kitty came over and snuggled next to me. When kitty (yeah, that's his name) rubs against my pant's leg or sits on my lap he often leaves behind some cat hair and maybe some cat smell. In the summer I need to be extra careful because I may go to work covered in cat hair (not cool at all).

Whoever you hang out with will "rub off" on you. It could be a cat or a friend or even Jesus.

In Acts 4:13 Peter and John are arrested for healing a man who was crippled since birth. Imagine that! They do something good and pure, a miracle, and they get arrested for it. Life is like that. It was undeniably a miracle, so the Jewish leaders let them go (this time). Notice what v.13 says,

"The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus."

They recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

If I spend time with Jesus, he will rub off on me. People notice when we spend time with Jesus and when we don't.  In the life of Peter and John the Jewish leaders saw boldness, a deep understanding of scripture, power and confidence.  They saw Jesus.

We all know people who started following Jesus and served him and others with a humble and grateful heart. Then they stopped attending small group and church and began to hang out with people who have ugly demanding attitudes, people who think the world OWES them something. The once kind and gentle person turns into a __________ (fill in the blank). Their friends rubbed off on them, and now they stink with bad attitudes and negative thinking. I usually don't hear about it until their "stinkin thinkin" has cost them their job.

Lord, I want to be like you. Help me to hang out with you, to spend time with you so that your character and goodness will become imbedded into my life and character. Thank you for the positive and good people you've put in my life. Protect me from becoming a negative unhappy person. Make me like you Lord, conform me to your image. Amen

Fighting the urge to hide

The gay rights and gay pride movement gave us the phrase "coming out" to indicate that a person is going to live publicly, no longer hiding a secret. People "come out of the closet" with the desire to be known for who they really are and with the hope that they will be accepted for who they are.

We (all of us) have been hiding since the garden of Eden (Gen 3). This urge to hide what we've done and who we are is part of the Fall of man. It's destructive and harmful.

In Psalm 139:1-6 the song writer says this about God: "you know". You know when I get up in the morning, what I'm going to say before I say it, you know everything about me, you know ... you know... Then he says this:

"I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!" Ps 139:7

It sounds like the writer wants to run away, to hide from God, but finds that wherever he goes, God is already there.

I want to be known by God and others, but I also want to hide who I am and what I've done. Isn't that weird? Why am I frightened by God's knowledge of me? Shame. In Eden, Adam told God "we were ashamed" so we hid". I'm ashamed about my sin, my failures, about myself - who I am. How can that be? "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (also in Ps 139). God knows everything! EVERYTHING! And he still loves me. Jesus died for my sin and removed my shame. Why am I still hiding?

It is time to stop hiding. If you have a "deep dark secret" - tell someone. God knows already, you can't hide from him. Some time back, I told a dark secret to my friends. I expected judgement and harsh words. I thought I would hear "Oh Allan, how could you?".  Later some of my friends  shared their anger and hurt about what I had done, but initially all I heard was "thank you for sharing that. How can I help?"

Don't spend another day hiding in shame. If you have a secret that is causing you pain and shame, tell someone. Talk to a trusted friend, a sister in the Lord, your pastor - do not spend another day hiding. Walk in the light.

Mary KNEW: maybe NOT everything, but she knew

Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”  Luke 1:46-55

Praise comes naturally to people who have their eyes on the big picture of what God is doing.  Mary responds to Elizabeth with "Oh how my soul praises... how my spirit rejoices". People rarely start sentences with "Oh" or "how". In my family it would be "Oh what a baby you are..." or "How sick is that?" When "Oh" and "how" are used positively it is really a big deal. "Oh, how" doesn't add to the meaning, it is totally unnecessary AND completely needed. It is pure emotion - a groan, a gasp of joy. And I am surprised.

I thought Mary would be caught up in her single mother angst, but not at all. She is like a person who just won the lottery, beside herself with excitement. Mary is a God centered person, so her response focuses on God:

• God my Savior - the mother of the Savior also needs a Savior
• he took notice - my grandson Ethan thinks the grown-ups in his life don't notice him. We do. When God "takes notice" or "remembers" it always implies "takes action". It is more than focusing attention, it is doing something to change the situation. 
• the Mighty One is holy - Can you imagine if the Mighty One were NOT holy or loving or just? It would be like having the head of ISIS in charge of the universe. 
• He has done great things for me - Mary has an eternal, long term perspective. It has been 1000's of years since the Lord made promises to Abraham, but Mary knows those promises and believes they are being fulfilled. She's not worried about the next 6 months or 5 years, she is part of God' unfolding plan of redemption. 
• He has scattered the proud... brought down princes, exalted the humble, filled the hungry, sent away the rich, helped his servant Israel. Mary sees all the promises of the ages coming together "in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of woman" (Galatians) 
• For He made this promise to our ancestors and to Abraham - The seed of Gen 12:3 has sprouted in Mary's womb. Destiny is unfolding before her eyes and she has a role to play. 

Lord, what is my role in this sacred plan? When did I last get so excited about what you're doing that I cried out "Oh God!"  You took notice of Mary. Do you take notice of me? remember me? It is incredible that the unfolding of your eternal plan of salvation included a lowly girl named Mary. It is even more incredible that it includes a flawed man named Allan. I have a role to play too. "Go and make disciples" Jesus said. Thank you Lord for giving my life meaning and significance. Amen