Having a Talk with Jesus

Thought: Having a talk with Jesus

Text: Rev 1:17, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.  He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid.  I am the first and the last, and the Living one.  I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Intro: When was the last time you met a person who was dead but is alive again?  Let me put it a little softer.  Think of a time when you were reunited to an old friend whom you hadn’t seen for years but they came back to you in person.  How did you act?   Ho hum, Happy or crazy elated?

    Crazy right?  You may have acted like you had to catch up on all the things they had done and let them know about the good, bad and ugly of your own life as well.   In other words, your life was enriched and renewed by the reconnection of your friend. 

    The time period before the Pentecost is to be a time when Jesus continued to reveal to those who followed him that he was back from the dead.  We are 16 days out from the Day of Resurrection and we remember that Jesus was still in the task of loving His disciples.  Remember the first day of the resurrection, Mary and the other ladies went to the tomb.  They expected to see the body of the Lord there but they got an amazing surprise.  They met Jesus and immediately went to tell the disciples.   But I would like to mention another account

Luke 24:13   “Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia (about 7 miles) from Jerusalem.  They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened.  While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them.  But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”

     

Discussion:   As you may know the story, you know that they were sad because of the crucifixion of Jesus.  They thought that God had disappointed them and failed their expectations.  They were sad because they thought that Jesus was going to put Israel back into the place of glory and excellence as it was in the days of David and Solomon.  When they had pride and strength to comfort their hearts even when it faced a troubled day. 

That day was not the day that God failed their expectations but the day that God blew their expectations off the map of speculation and exceeded anything they could grasp or even imagine.  God brought back Jesus from the dead!  Just think.  This man whom they saw on the cross and crucified now was again alive.  This is not like when we hear stories about Elvis, that he perished in his hotel room or through some rumor that he succumbed to an overdose of drugs and a hard life.  But more like the shooting of President Kennedy who was killed in national view with many thousands to witness.  But now is back.  Alive Again?

     It is very common to get bogged down into the problems, sinfulness and treachery of the state of mankind today but if you believe that Jesus is alive.  Just have a little talk with him and he will exceed what ever expectations you may have had.  Many believers think about the problems of the world and become stuck..  it traumatizes them into a state of confusion to where they do nothing but just what is needed at the moment.  But remember Jesus is Alive!   The very one whom was seen to have failed their expectations still exceeds our expectations, or does he?  Have you spoken to Jesus lately to hash out the experiences of life yet?  Have you turned to the one who said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  Have you turned to the one who asked these believers, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”

      I like to point out the phrase ‘as you walk’ or ‘as you go’.  It is used many times in scripture to connotate ‘as you are living’.  Like Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in the first sentence, “ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called.”  Paul clearly was talking about the life of the believer and their calling or ‘actions’ as believers.  The question to the disciples was, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?” I’m sure the words, “I thought He would…” or “we expected that He would be the answer to…” Came up in this talk.

 But God had Bigger Plans!

     As you read along in the story of these two disappointed disciples, you will find that their little talk with Jesus broke through many of their expectations and ultimately made them go back to Jerusalem to find out the rest of the story. 

      Conclusion:  How about you today?  Are you stuck in the mud of your own expectations about what you wanted Jesus to do?   Are you stifled in what you expected God to perform?    Just a little talk with Jesus will reaffirm His devotion, ability and sovereignty in your life.  Many people miss the power and majesty of Jesus because they are looking beyond the resurrection as if it happens every day.  But this is a silly and stupid approach. 

God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son, Yes the same Jesus who was crucified, dead and buried is back now Alive and Revealed to you to live a life of being continuously surprised by what God can do.  

 Blessing:  May God bless you to know His presence, peace and safety as you seek to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to our world.  May there be a fusillade of grace, by way of direction, connecting, and compassion that grant you success in your efforts to offer support and hope to patients and their families in the future. Amen    

Guilty By Association

 

Thought: Guilty by Association

Text: John 12:39-46

       Vss 42-44 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.  Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.  And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.  And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” 

         There are many people in prison and jail today because they were so close to the crime committed that the investigators could not determine whether they helped commit the crime or they were there just looking on and got caught up on the mix.  They were accused of guilty by association.    

       Discussion:  This information from John helps us to know the attitude of many who heard Jesus and were torn because of their associations.  They believed in Jesus but could not bring themselves to admit it before people because they would lose their statues among the authorities. They were afraid to lose what they enjoyed most of all.  Jesus affirmed this information

8 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21But all these things they will do to you on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me.  John 15:18-21

 

     They would not admit how clear Jesus’ teachings sounded but held on to their comfortable places in life so as not to ‘rock the boat’. 

     Now that we have celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, it is time to ask.  What is my part from here on?  Many people love Easter and the celebration of life from the dead of Jesus which proves that He is the Son of God.  But are we now willing to prove by our actions and words that we believe that He really rose up from the grave and has our allegiance.  The story of Jesus crucifixion is the greatest story ever told by the Bible; the innocent son of man and man of God who did and said so much good, crucified by evil and wicked forces now comes back from the dead.  Now that’s a great end to a catastrophe.  But why do you like it? 

      Jesus confirmed the fears of the rulers who believed in him by telling them that they would lose their status even after he was gone, if they associated themselves with Him.  Are you willing to take that risk? 

      God gave us the most powerful story we have ever heard, one that we probably would not think to make up so that we would have the confirmation of His hand upon Jesus and that we would live after the lessons and life of Jesus. 

    

Empowerment:   There are many great things that we can go after in our life pursuits but there is one pursuit that must take priority over all and that is association with Jesus Christ as He is presented in scripture.   The testimony of Jesus is the true account that we must test for ourselves and believe in our hearts so that we can reveal the Kingdom of God in the Earth. 

   Acts 17:30 “ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

        God gives us a convincing story of grace, a powerful message of ‘new life’ and not commands that we associate with Our Lord no matter what it takes.  Let’s allow ourselves to be guilty by our association with Jesus and make sure that the world knows that we are His first and foremost. 

 Blessing:  May God bless you to know His presence, peace and safety as you seek to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to our world.  May there be a fusillade of grace, by way of direction, connecting, and compassion that grant you success in your efforts to offer support and hope to patients and their families in the future. Amen    

How long does Eternal Life last?

 From the Chaplain's desk

       We had a brief discussion in our meeting concerning the topic of suicide.  The question was does a person who takes his/her own life lose their salvation?  

      This question has been presented to me in grief group on many times.  It seems to me that some have taken a human approach to the discussion rather than a Biblical one.  I have had members of the grief group sharing a tragic story of someone that they know or a close friend knows that took their life and conclude with the words, "It is a shame they will not go to heaven since they committed suicide.  

      This is a topic that can be answered by way of a closer look at the truth claims of Scripture.  I will use only a few verses of scripture to explain my point.  Can a person who takes their own life go to heaven? 

      The answer is yes.  This is not the nice comfortable answer I would like to give due to the breath of depression that looms in the world today.  Sometimes those who struggle with this terrible mental issue will turn and consider taking their life while in the depressed state.  They come to a permanent answer to a temporary problem.  This is a tragic solution to someone who is coping with the pains of life.  Life can really throw a darkness at you that seems impossible to bare.  But I would say if you know someone who is struggling with depression, help them to know that they have a true friend in you and attempt to move them into a loving community.  That is where they will find the type of support they need to the problem they have. They need not only the grace of an accepting community but also Truth from that accepting community.  The truth of God not the ideas of people or culture.    I would like to say that I still believe that suicide is a sin but I do not believe that we go to hell because of the last sin that we committed. 

John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."

    Notice that Jesus does not say the person that comes to me will have eternal life.  He says, "He has eternal life."  It is very important for a believer in Christ to know that Christ is the one who gives eternal life at the moment of belief.  The big problem for us is how do we judge this?  As people, relatives, Christians, how do we tell if another person is saved even through suicide?  What is the answer?   This is not our prerogative.  It is God's business and that person's alone.  

    Years ago I wanted to know this because I wanted to be able to tell if a person was a believer or not but the Holy Spirit revealed to me that this was not why I was a minister.  My duty was to offer the Gospel message and affirm the answer and then seek to help the person to get to know God better.  Only the person making the profession can tell if it is real and true. Even if it is sincere, this still could not be true.  It is possible to be sincerely wrong and still in your sinful state.   So, Jesus declares that the one who comes to him has eternal life.  How long is Eternal Life.  I would think Forever.  

     So, this should answer a bunch of other questions I had about salvation.  

    Let's look at another verse from Scripture. 

      John 6:37-39  "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

      Jesus clearly informs his listeners that anyone who comes to him has been brought to him by God the Father.  When God brings you to know Jesus personally, Jesus will not cast you out.  This is a huge statement against losing your salvation.  But I have heard the argument, "What about Judas?"  Was he saved because he knew Jesus?  The person and account of Judas gives us more reason to look closer at our own reason for coming to Christ and ask about why I claim to be a Christian.  Judas is in the pages of Scripture proven to not be a believer in Jesus but a person who wanted to manipulate Jesus' ability for his own purpose.  Is that you?  

        Do you want Jesus to save you for your own life to be better and pleasant?  Are you in this faith because you think you will get your prayers answered?  This is a dangerous place to be because you are fooling yourself not God.  God knows who is devoted to His plan not to His plan.  He can tell if your heart is in it or not.  This is what makes this topic very personal because we cannot judge another person's devotion/ relationship to God.  We can only look at the fruit of that relationship to determine what that relationship is like but only God judges if they are saved or not.  

       So, you still may not be convinced.  Let's look at one more verse. 

   Romans 4:4-8

         Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.  However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.  David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from work:   7  "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord never count against him."  

        The Apostle Paul is quoting from the Old Testament to prove that a person who comes to Christ in faith is the person who is saved.  Many people believed, like many do today, that you have to live a perfect life in order to be saved but Paul is dispelling this belief.  Paul is making the argument that Christ is the atoning offering to God for the sins of the one who puts their trust in Him.  Christ lived the perfect life so that the believer would be accepted into the family of God through faith alone.  Not on the basis of works but on the basis of faith.  Some do not like this because they say a person can claim anything but not believe it.  This is very true.  But when you believe something, you act like it.  

      A person who believes that water is too dangerous to swim in will show by their actions that they will not go into the water past their knees.  If someone believes that fire is hot they will take over precautions against the heat.  These are only two simple examples of living by faith/ belief.  And faith is not said but lived.  So, why would a person think to take their own life?  Because they believe that it is the answer to their pain.  The state of death is better than the pain of this life.  This is only a temporary pain something like the pain of grief.  But hold on!  God has overcome the pain of this life to give us a testimony that will glorify His name and give fulfillment to the one who looks to Him to answer their big issues.