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What if the Bible had an alternate ending? November 8, 2016
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Let's just think about something...
As Christians we know what the Bible says about Jusus' return. He doesn't know when, we don't know when, scientist don't know when... but when God looks over and says "Go get my church" then Jesus is on His way. When that moment happens, it's too late to make things right. At that point it's Heaven or Hell based on THE decision you made prior to that time.
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But what if the back of the Bible was written differently? (I am not changing the ending nor do I want it to change, I just what to get your wheels spinning...
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What if Revelation had a chapter and verse that says, "God will send Jesus to walk the Earth for 40 days to see His creation and to see what mankind has made of it. Then after those 40 days Jesus takes His church and ascends to Heaven with the believers, while the non believers stay behind gazing at what they have given up on."
Ok, like I said, obviously that's not what's going to happen because God let us know the ending years ago when He had John to write the final book of the Bible with His instructions. But WHAT IF???
Jesus isn't coming and announcing He's here to walk the Earth for 40 days, He's just coming to check it out. What if you had a visitor at your church that looked a little different than He should to fit in at your church? What if a man walked by you and looked over to say "God bless you" but then just kept walking? What if a random guy ran up to a door and held the door open for you, only to close the door after you entered and walked away?
What would you think? What would you think in any of those situations, and theres a whole lot of other ones too!
Chances are you would think that guy is odd, weird, crazy, sketchy, scary, etc, etc, etc.....
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I would almost guarantee that no one, CHRISTIANS INCLUDED, would think "Hmm, that's Jesus and we're less than 40 days from going to meet our God!" Why would I almost guarantee that?
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The Old Testament prophesied MULTIPLE times that a Savior was coming, a Messiah would be born of a virgin woman, from the line of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, etc. People in Old Testament times told other and spread the word that Jesus was coming to save the World! However, even what Jesus was born, only a small amount of people went to greet Him. Only a small amount of people in the long run believed Him and trusted Him. Even His own disciples lost faith and turned on Him!
So why would we belive it? Because the Bible tells us in this "What If" story? I don't think so... And the proof is in the Old Testament!
Where is our trust? Where is our dedication? Where is our love for God? Where is our love for one another?
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Where will you be?
When Jesus comes back and takes His church? Look at todays world...
Here are some United States statistics from 2011 (And I would assume it's somehow gotten worse since then)
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By the looks of these statistics, there are some people that are going to be doing some of these things the second that Jesus comes back. Talk about being caught red handed! And I can think of some others that are even more common than the 3.5 second crime rate than I don't want Jesus appearing when I do it... cussing, adultry, stealing from a store, looking at things I shouldn't, hurting my body with alcohol/drugs/etc.
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Just think about it.....
The Parable of the Good Samaritan October 3, 2016
Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
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25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
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What the lesson is saying
A lawyer had a question for Jesus. Maybe the question was sincere and the lawyer wanted to know so he could better himself as a person, mayber the lawyer was just curious, mayber the lawyer wanted to challenge Jesus. Nonetheless, Jesus gave hime the answer and more. Jeus broke it down to another parable. 2016... A man walking down the road gets beat up and robbed. The robbers take everything the man has and roughed him up bad! A pastor drives down the same road and sees the man laying there, but decides to look at other surroundings around him so e didn't have to look at the man. Another man passes by and even stops and ask if the guy is ok... well he's just been robbed and obviously beaten, so no he's not ok... but the man thinks he can't really do anything to help so he tells he guy good luck but there's nothing he can do. Well the 3rd guy passes by, and sees the man laying there beated to near death and robbed of everything he had with him. This man could have kept going, this man could have said "I'll pray for you" and walked on by, this man could have turned and acted as if he didn't see anything... but he didn't!
This man showed compassion, understanding, love for others, respect, and sincerity! And not only did he do that, he went above and beyond. He did everything he could do to help this man and more! He cleaned him up, took him into town, payed for him a hotel room for the night, and paid extra before he left to make sure the man was taken care of before he was comfortable enough to leave.
Which of these three are you???
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My Take and digging a little deeper...
I like how Jesus uses a Priest as the first passerby. It shows that we are ALL humans. We expect the Pastor, Deacons, Teachers, etc. to do all the work that needs to be done. But if we see an issue that we can help why don't we just go ahead and do it real quick.
Oh yeah, I forgot... We are too busy!! STOP AND BREATHE, WE ARE LIVING LIFE TOO FAST TO ENJOY IT!!
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**The first man in the story basically didn't even acknowledge the beaten man, he passed on the other side of the road, had things to do...
**The second man went closer to see what was going on, may have even talked to the guy on the ground, but kept going...
**The third man was one of those good human beings, he did everything in his power to help this man, and he did more than expected...
Who do you want to be? All we have to do is slow down a little and enjoy life a little bit more. I'm not saying that the first two men should have done what the third man did, but could they have done more? Think about it... Could they have cleaned up the man? Could they have prayed for him? Could they have called for help? Those don't require a lot of time or effort, but they didn't have time and just like the robbers, left him for dead! Maybe you can't pay for your neighbor a room, maybe you can't physically get him to where he needs to go, maybe others could do more than you could for them... but could you do something? Pray, smile, call for help, give a word of encouragement, I'm sure there's something! Think about it next time!
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When I say that we need to learn how to be a good human being before learning how to be a good Christian, this is what I mean...
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Helping somone reach something on a high shelf...
Holding the door open for someone (man, woman, adult, kid, wheelchair, crutches, no wheelchair or crutches, etc. It shouldn't matter)...
Smiling at someone even if you may be having a bad day yourself...
Buying food for someone behind you in line (pay it forward)...
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The things I mentioned above and many others are what we do just to be a nice person. When someone does those things for me I don't immedietly think "that person must be a Christian." I think "this person was raised right and is a nice person"
To add the good Christian to who we are we should want to do the types of things listed above, (be saved), plus tell others about God, Jesus, Heaven, our testimony, etc. anytime we get a chance!
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Is it hard to be a good person? NO, sure someone might not tell you thank you for holding the door, but you never know who else might be watching you do that good deed and influence them to do something themselves for someone else. But no, it's really not hard to slow down your life for 10 seconds and hold the door for someone and smile as they're walking in or out.
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Is it hard to be a good Christian? Society wants to make it that way, government wants to make it that way, but if you have a desire to be one...it's really not that hard. Read AND STUDY your Bible, pray, tell others what you've learned, tell others what God has done in your life, invite people to church... It involves talking and interacting with others, but it's not hard.
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The Parable of the Sower September 20, 2016
Matthew 13: 1-23 (NIV)
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1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
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What the lesson is saying
By this time (Matthew 13), large crowds began to form more and more as Jesus spoke. He told this parable to get people to look at themselves really without calling them out.
Here he helps the listener to figure out, as the seed, what kind of ground they are landing on. What? I'm supposed to be some type of seed? Well look at it this way..... If you or someone you know doesn't want anything to do with church, God, etc. and they hear someone talk about a passage of scripture or a testimony of what they've been through. If their mind is made up that they want nothing to do with "Jesus talk" then that person is like the seed that falls on the path. That seed is useless to what is was made to do and eventually becomes bird food. Funny thing is how that bird that Jesus talks about is A LOT like Satan. Satan will come to those just sitting there and devour them. I know that sounds bad and sounds like I may be calling those poeple worthless. That is NOT the case (1. those are the people that us Christians as supposed to pray for, invite to church events, talk to... and 2. Those people just haven't felt the love of Jesus in their hearts, and that can change). But Satan is looking for anyone, Christians included, that he can mess with and use if he gets a chance.
Now there are some other that are like that seed landing on the rocky places. Think about a rock bed that you may have in your front yard. Seeds may make it between the rocks and to the topsoil with the help of some wind or rain. And te seed may even sprout and begin to grow. But eventually that sprout will wither away due to the lack of space to root and the rocks taking up growing space. That is like the ones that hear the word and likes what they hear! They leave the church or the altar that day with joy and a desire to be the best Christian they can be, but then things come up and church isn't as big a priority as they thought on that day. As a youth leader I see this a lot when kids get saved at Bible School or at a church event. They love the message, the teacher, the church, but most importantly they love Jesus! But as a youth (age wise) they have other priorities, and no one can blame them for being a kid. As a high schooler myself 11-15 years ago I had baseball, friends, girlfriends, Friday night football games, Georgia football to watch on Saturdays, etc, etc, etc.... I don't blame them for having a life and being a kid. But we do the same things as adults and Sunday NFL football, or maybe NASCAR, or gardening, or lounging around the house take up our weekends because our jobs and kids take up the entire week. We can make excuses ALL day, but that is the rocky places people!
Seeds that fall around the thorns may be able to root a little bit and begin to grow, but in time the thorns grow up around them and choke them out causing them to die. People that grow that same way hear the word and understand what it's saying, however they let the things of this world (greed, money, lust, gossip, etc) control them and eventually hurt the chances of growth as a Christian.
The last one should be obvious, as should all of them with the simplicity that Jesus gave them. But the seeds that fall on the good soil have room to root and sprout and live a healthy plant life. The same with us (if we choose that life), we can root ourselfs in the Bible, allow church/fellowship/etc. be the water, and have Jesus to be our light so that we may grow!
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My Take and digging a little deeper...
Here is another parable that Jesus tells. This is to me the coolest thing about parables. He give general topics and allows the listeners to think about their own life or situation with the advice that follows the parable. Jesus did and does an amazing job of explaining things to where ANYONE could understand. He explains things the way that we should. When we talk to others about Jesus, the Bible, our faith, etc. we should explain it to where kids can understand, young adults can understand, educated and uneducated can understand. We should want to be able to get everyone the word no matter who they are or where they come from.
The text in this passage relates seeds to us, the ground the our situation, and even a bird to Satan. Jesus used things to make you think. Think about your life, think about your situation, think about where you want to be, and think about where you believe God want's you to be.....
Now think about how they all work together and put you right where you are. Your situation and who you are are solely based on the decisions you made yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. Just like what you are doing today determines who you are and where you'll be tomorrow.
"Do something today that your future self will thank you for"
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The Parable of the Lost Son September 5, 2016
Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)
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11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
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What the lesson is saying
This is one of my favorite parables...How much does our FATHER love us? In this parable this man had two sons. This man obviously had some type of wealth. We learn in the story that he has servants, so he's on the higher class profile. Nonetheless, the younger of the two sons decided, like most of us havea time or two, that he was ready to be an adult and be independent. He asked his father for his portion of the family inheritance. After the man split the estate, he gave the younger son his part and the son left. Like most of us, the young man began spending his wealth on random things and didn't make the best decisions. After a while everything he had was gone. He began to be looked down on by the people of his new town. He made it to a place in his life where he was so hungary he would eat with the pigs. Society looked at him differently. Who does that remind you of in todays time? Our society looks at homeless people as worthless, they look at the inmates in our prisons as scum, and they make judgements against other groups (teens, single mothers, jobless, etc.) to put them in a box that they are making bad decisions, bad choices, and making the world worse. But get this...
Those same people that our society looks down on in 2016, are just like this younger son. This young man woke up and realized that he had another option. He thought about his home, he thought about how the hired help of his father's had not only somewhere to sleep, but so much food that there was some to spare. This young son practiced what he was going to tell his father. He wanted to almost beg to just be like the hired help. He was ashamed! But I also believe that the father had practiced what he would say when his son finally came back home! If you go back to the story, when he father noticed it was his son coming back he ran to him and hugged and kissed him. He didn't even let his son finish his scripted apology! He also didn't get mad when his son had told him that he lost his inheritance. Instead he ordered servants to go a get his son a robe, ring, shoes, and the biggest calf so they could celebrate the return of the son.
But how does this apply to us today? Look back to those groups I mentioned earlier that our society looks down on. Do you think that someone who goes to jail for whatever reason is banned from going to Heaven? NO! The Bible says that ANYONE can be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven! Same with homeless, teenagers, single moms, etc. And that included you too! We've all made mistakes, some are seen as being worse than others, but to God a sin is a sin! GOOD NEWS ALERT: God forgives!!! So just like the father of this younger son, our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to turn from our wicked ways and go back to Him. He's ready to welcome us with open arms and remind us that we are His and He has a place for us always!
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My Take and digging a little deeper...
I love the parables that Jesus told. They give you something to really think about. But with my weird way of thinking, I try to take the parables and put them into todays times. How can this "story" that Jesus tells relate to my life or things going on in my society? The way that our society works today, until WE change it, labels us as soon as we make a mistake. No warnings, no second chances, nothing! As a youth leader this is a tough thing to see.
When a teenager shows no motivation or desire to try in school or better themselves to get into a good college or career mindset, what do we tell them? Do we just say oh well, there goes another one that's going to do nothing with their life...there's one that will never make a difference...there's one that doesn't matter...Why not, that's what society tells them. Society wants us to fail because society has failed itself! We don't lift each other up anymore, what we do is get upset and try to tear them down.
Think about this...
What do you do when a co-worker gets a raise/promotion/bonus?
What do you do when a friend or even family member gets a new car/house/job?
Kids, what do you do when a friend gets an award at school, makes a sports team and you don't, gets a boyfriend/girlfriend?
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We get mad. We get upset. We get jealous. We start rumors! Now if you're reading this and saying, "this guy is crazy, I am happy for people when good things happen to them." Thank you! Thank you for still finding the good in people and wanting to see people succeed. But unfortunatley, you are in a VERY small percent of the population when it comes to that. And that's what I want to help fix. You can ask any of my teens at church, I have a couple quotes that I use very often...
1) You do your best and God will do the rest (Start my day on Twitter with this one at least 5 days a week)
2) If we want to learn how to be a good Christian, we need to start by being a good human being!
With #2, I think about how easy it is (or should be) to be human being. And if you think about it, that's the first steps to being a good Christian! Holding the door for someone, smiling at someone, praying for someone. Those things are not hard to do, BUT WE DON'T DO IT! If we can do something small like that, people see good in us right? Then maybe they "pay it forward" to someone else, and that starts a chain of events of Random Acts of Kindness, and that starts to change a community/school/neighborhood/city/state/Country!!! Is that possible?
3 answers that I can think of to that last question...
*If you just laughed, then welcome to the problem...
**If you just said "Hmm, a lot of little small acts could grow and help my community," then jump on board and let's do this!
***If you just said "I can do ALL things" or "ALL things are possible" then hopefully you're jumping on board and saying, "tomorrow I
WILL make a difference in my community or school
