Are Christians Suspicious?

Do I really look that suspicious? Really? Somebody thinks I do. It all started the other day when I had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a few basic things. I wasn't inside too long before I was checking out and then heading out the automatic doors into the parking lot; however, as I exited the store, an armored truck guard must have also exited at the same time as me through the doors right next to me. We were now walking kind of parallel to each other. I finally noticed him because he was eyeing me. At first I did not realize who he was, but as soon as I saw him carrying a bag (probably full of money) and sporting a gun, I assumed he was not your friendly Wal-Mart greeter. I think what threw him off was the fact that I reached into my back pocket to retrieve my phone, but he must have assumed from my lighting fast moves that I was packing heat! His step quickened and the heavy truck door was thrown open and he disappeared into the great unknown...keeping his eye on me until the very last moment. The only thing that could have possibly made me look suspicious is the fact that I have a beard and was wearing a TOMS Shoes hat because all thieves have beards and wear hats!

I really hate it when people look at me suspiciously, especially when I know I haven't done anything wrong. If I have done something wrong, that's a different story. In my opinion, Christians are often on the suspicious list.

In your opinion, what makes Christians look suspect?

Luke 20:27-47

Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem had attracted much attention from both those who were curious about His ministry and from the religious leaders who were interested in silencing His teachings (Luke 19:47-48). The Sadducees were one of the many religious groups unified in putting a stop to Jesus' teachings and Luke describes them in this passage as those who "deny that there is a resurrection" (20:27); in fact, history tells us that the Sadducees rejected all things supernatural, which included the resurrection of the dead. Similar to the other religious groups of Jesus' day, they approached Jesus with a question or a scenario designed to make Him look foolish. The Sadducees presented a hypothetical circumstance to Jesus concerning the Old Testament law of levirate marriage. Deuteronomy 25:5 provides some insight into this law which teaches that an unmarried brother of a childless dead man should marry his widow in order to provide an heir; of course, this law was only valid if the living brother was unmarried (Luke 20:28). Here is the circumstance the Sadducees propose to Jesus, "Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife" (20:29-33). In essence, the Sadducees were denying that the resurrection could be true based on this hypothetical scenario; however, Jesus answered wisely saying, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (20:34-36). The Sadducees' question was invalid because people will not be married in the resurrection. Jesus also reminded them of an Old Testament conversation between Moses and God where He called Himself "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (20:37). These three men had died before Moses, but God declared Himself to be the God of the living, not the dead (20:38). In His answer to the Sadducees Jesus teaches several truths: there will be no marriage in the resurrection (20:34-36), there will be a resurrection (20:37-38), and all people will live forever in the presence of God or in Hell (20:38).

Some of the scribes (interpreters of the Old Testament law) spoke up and commended Jesus for His answer to the Sadducees because they agreed with Jesus in this matter; however, the religious groups "dared not question Him anymore" (20:39-40). The more Jesus spoke, the more it became apparent that He taught with authority and understanding. Jesus also took this opportunity to question the religious leaders saying, "How can they say that the Christ [Messiah] is the Son of David? Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.' Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?" (20:41-44). His inquiry surrounded the true nature and character of the promised Messiah, whom the prophets declared would come through the line of David. Quoting from Psalm 110:1, Jesus referred to the place where King David called the Messiah "my Lord" and also exalted Him as being at God's right hand, which was a place of honor. David obviously recognized that the Son, Jesus Christ, would be divine in nature, not just human in nature as the religious leaders taught, and that is why David referenced Him as Lord. Instead of the Messiah just being the Son of David, He was also to be recognized as the Son of God. Turning His attention to the disciples, Jesus warns them concerning the hypocritical actions of the scribes who "desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts" (20:46); furthermore, Jesus condemns the scribes as ones who "devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers" (20:48). The scribes had access to the truth, but chose to ignore Jesus as the true Messiah. Rather than believing the truth, they spent their time pursuing pompous displays of spirituality which were designed to gain them popularity and recognition. Jesus promised that they would receive "greater condemnation" (20:47). Truth is accessible, but many are not willing to receive it because they are only interested in using religion to pursue selfish desires.

Dear God, may what I believe be demonstrated in the way I live.

Luke 20:1-26

It is obvious that Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem was not welcomed by the religious leaders of the day; in fact, Luke tells his readers that following Jesus' cleansing of the temple, the Jewish leaders tried to find a way to put Him to death (19:45-48), but they could not at that time because He was still popular with the crowds. As Jesus was teaching in the temple and preaching the gospel, the religious leaders confronted Him asking, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?" (20:1-2). Rather than answering their questions, Jesus asked them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?" (20:3). Since they felt as if they had the authority to question Him, Jesus responded back with His own question. The gospel of Matthew provides the discussion amongst the religious leaders as to how they should answer Jesus' question: "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'If we say, From heaven, He will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet'" (Matthew 21:25-26). Realizing that there was no easy way to answer, the religious leaders chose not to give an answer, so Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things" (20:8).

In order to describe the authority by which He had been sent, Jesus told a parable to the people about a man (God) who planted a vineyard and went away for a long time, but when it was vintage-time he sent his servant to collect from the vinedressers (Jewish religious leaders), but they beat him and sent him away (20:9-10). The man sent two more servants to try to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard, but the vinedressers also beat them and sent them away (20:11-12). The man then decided to send his son (Jesus) because he thought they would respect him (20:13). Instead of respecting his son, the vinedressers said, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours" (20:14). Jesus then poses the question, "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?" (20:15). Answering His own question Jesus says, "He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others" (20:16). When they understood what Jesus was implying, the Jewish leaders answered Him, "Certainly not!" (20:16b). The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus' parable was spoken about them and they would not accept Jesus' message that they were being set aside by God because they had rejected Him as the Messiah. Jesus then looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone'? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder" (20:17-18). Although Jesus was now being rejected by the religious leaders, He would one day reign supreme and become their judge.

When they heard Jesus' words, they wanted to kill him but they still feared the reaction of the crowds, "so they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor" (20:19-20). These spies tried to catch Jesus saying something against Caesar so they asked Him, "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" (20:21-22). Jesus perceived their deceitful tactics and answered that they should "render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (20:23-25). Jesus was declaring that all citizens have an obligation to obey the laws of the land as well as the laws of God. Because of His wise answers, there was no way the religious leaders could bring a charge against Him, so they continued to wait and scheme. Isn't it amazing how people think they can bring defeat against an all-powerful God?

Dear God, may Your enemies fail at every scheme aimed at bringing destruction upon Your purposes and plans.

The Downside of Success

We all want it, well, I think most of us do. Success, although I'm not talking about the selfish, self-serving type of success. Regardless of how you define success in your particular vocation, success seems to be a term thrown around in our world today - successful businessman, successful parent, successful pastor, successful marriage, successful church, and whatever else you can add. With all this talk about being successful, is there a downside? I believe there can be. There is a great story in the Bible concerning the downside of success found in 1 Kings 18-19. Elijah, the prophet of God during the reign of Ahab (874-853 BC), spoke out against Israel's worship of false gods, including Baal. Ahab is called the most evil king than all who were before him (1 Kings 16:30) and also the one who angered God more than any other king prior to his rule (16:33). This was spoken of Ahab because he was the one responsible for dragging Israel into the worship of false gods. As a judgment, God caused a three and a half year drought to come upon Israel. Toward the end of the drought, Elijah called for the 450 prophets of Baal to meet him on Mount Carmel where there was a showdown to determine which god was true - Baal or the God of Israel (1 Kings 18:20-40). In a miraculous display of power, Elijah called down fire from heaven and God demonstrated that He was the one and only true God. Elijah then had all 450 prophets of Baal executed for their part in leading Israel into the worship of false gods (1 Kings 18:40). After this monumental event in Elijah's ministry, God caused it to rain again in response to the prayers of Elijah (1 Kings 18:41-46). Most people would read this and think, success.

However, when you turn the page, Elijah is being threatened by Ahab's evil wife, who basically promises that she will have Elijah killed as he had killed the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 19:1-2). Forgetting about the supernatural displays of power he had just witnessed, Elijah becomes fearful of Jezebel, runs for his life (19:3), and begs God to kill him (19:4). What happened? I believe two things are clear in this story: 1) success is often followed by an immediate challenge, and, 2) past success does not guarantee future success. Elijah forgot that the God who sent fire from heaven was the same God who could deliver him from his current situation.

I wonder if I've forgotten...

Luke 19:28-48

Jesus, on His final approach to Jerusalem, was about to pass through Bethphage and Bethany when He told two of His disciples to go into the village where they would find a colt "on which no one has ever sat" (19:28-31). The disciples did as Jesus had commanded them and they found a colt and brought it back to Jesus. They threw their clothes on the donkey colt and Jesus sat upon it. While riding the donkey into Jerusalem, "many spread their clothes on the road" and the other gospel writers reveal that they also spread palm branches before Him on the ground (Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8; John 12:13). Jesus' actions fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, who predicted that the Messiah would ride on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus often resisted others' recognition of Him as the Messiah because it was not yet God's time, but these events reveal that Jesus was entering Jerusalem to present Himself to the religious leaders as the promised Messiah. Making His descent from the Mount of Olives, the multitudes began praising Him for all the great works he had done. The gospel of John says that many had come to see Him because they had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17-18). Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem was probably the height of His popularity as people cried out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (19:38). Some of the Pharisees objected to the crowd's shouts of praise (19:39), but Jesus said, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (19:40). As Jesus came near to Jerusalem, Luke is the only gospel writer to record the fact that Jesus grieved over the city (19:41-42), mostly because Jesus knew that many of the people praising Him now would be the same ones who would also demand His crucifixion just a few days later. A part of Jesus' grief was also His knowledge of Jerusalem's future destruction by Titus in A.D. 70 (19:43-44) when the Romans would overthrow the entire city including the temple, homes, and the people. Ultimately, the destruction of Jerusalem was God's judgment upon the city for failing to receive Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple where He drove out "those who bought and sold in it saying, 'It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves'" (19:45-46). This was Jesus' way of cleansing the temple from those who were simply attempting to make a profit using "religion" as their means; in other words, these people had no love for God but a love for taking advantage of those who did. Jesus began teaching in the temple daily, but the religious leaders "sought to destroy Him" (19:47); however, they could not because Jesus was still popular with the crowds (19:48). From this time forward, the religious leaders allowed their unbelief and bitterness toward Jesus drive them to do whatever was necessary to restore their "normal" religious practices to the temple. Eventually, these leaders would sway the opinion of the multitudes, which would result in Jesus facing the hardest days of His very short life.

Dear God, may my praise not be conditional, based on the opinions of the people, but help me to remain committed to my faith in You.

Guest Blogger: My Son, Ty

Since today is Veteran’s Day, I wanted to share about my Grandpa, James Anthony Hogsed, when he was a soldier in Vietnam. At age 19, he was drafted into the Army. His friends didn’t get drafted, so he was all alone. Grandpa had his training at Fort Dix in New Jersey. At age 20, he spent one year in Vietnam from January to December of 1970. He was a combat engineer in the Army. He was in the mountains near Cambodia. My Grandpa got a bronze star which is the 3rd highest medal you can get. He flew in planes and helicopters in Vietnam. He lived in a tent and a “hooch” which is a building that sleeps 6 people. Grandpa says that being a soldier was hard in Vietnam. After Vietnam, my Grandpa came back to Fort Watuka, Arizona. He was in the Army for 2 years and in the National Guard for 1 year. I am proud of my Grandpa for serving his country.

Ty will be giving this presentation at school today. He called his Grandpa to "interview him" for this story.

I'm sure Ty would love to read your comments if you want to leave one!

Luke 19:1-27

When Jesus passes through Jericho, there is a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus who "sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature" (19:1-3). Realizing that it would be impossible to see Jesus from his current location, Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a tree in order to get a better view when Jesus would pass by (19:4). Upon arriving to the place where Zacchaeus had climbed into the tree, Jesus stops and says, " "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (19:5). Zacchaeus immediately came down from the tree and received Jesus into his house (19:6); however, many religious leaders complained against Jesus because He shared a meal with such a terrible sinner (19:7). During the meal Zacchaeus evidenced a change of heart when he exclaimed, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold" (19:8). This was not some pious statement by Zacchaeus, but an admission of his sin and guilt before God. When Jesus heard Zacchaeus' confession He said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (19:9-10). Jesus did not grant forgiveness based on his nationality (a Jew), but upon Zacchaeus' willingness to humble himself before a holy God in repentance and faith. Within the context of this event and conversation, Jesus provides Luke's readers with His one mission on earth - "to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus did not come to waste His time debating theology with the "religious people" of His day, but to bring salvation to those who truly recognized their sinfulness and inability to obtain forgiveness on their own.

As the people heard these things, Jesus decided to speak a parable "because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately" (19:11). Again, the disciples still did not understand the timing of the kingdom of God, so Jesus provided some teaching about the importance of faithfulness of His followers, even after He left. Jesus tells His disciples about a nobleman who went into a far away country in order to receive a kingdom and return (19:12), but prior to his departure he called ten servants and gave them "ten minas" (about three months' wages) and said, "Do business till I come" (19:13). When the nobleman finally returned, he called three of his servants and asked them to give an account of what they had done with the money he had given them (19:14-15). The first servant had earned "ten minas" (19:16) so the noble man said, "Well done, good servant; because you have been faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities" (19:17). The second servant came and he had earned "five minas" while the nobleman was gone, so he was given authority over five cities (19:18-19). The third servant came to the nobleman saying, " Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow" (19:20-21). The nobleman responded to the third servant's laziness saying, "Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?" (19:22-23). In reality, the third servant did not expect the nobleman to return so he was not concerned about carrying on his business while he was gone. As a punishment, the one mina was given to the servant who had accomplished the most with the nobleman's money (19:24). Jesus' teaching here is clear. The two servants were rewarded because they believed in the return of the king and worked as if he would return by being faithful with what had been entrusted to them; however, the unfaithful servant revealed his true beliefs by wasting his time and refusing to use what had been entrusted to him. Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not quit working for Him while He is gone, but will continue to work until He finally returns and rewards those who have been faithful.

Dear God, may I be a faithful servant who is tirelessly working to do that which is good.