November 19th, 2024
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Religion
Three children left home and worked so hard that they didn’t spend much time with their parents. The father died so they all went home. They were all very prosperous and had accumulated vast amounts of money. They discussed what gifts they were going to give their elderly mother. The first built a big house for his mother." The daughter sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third was extremely happy with what he bought for his mother. She had always enjoyed reading the Bible? In her advanced years her fleeting vision had left her nearly blind. He sent her a remarkable parrot that could recite the entire Bible. It had taken a trained professional 12 years to teach him. He was one of a kind. His Mama just had to name the book, chapter and verse, and the parrot would be able to recite it." Each child received a letter from their mom thanking them for their gifts. "Milton," she wrote one child, "The house you built is huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the entire house." "Margret," she wrote to the daughter, "I am too old to travel. I stay at home most of the time, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third child, "You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."
Like the mother, people are often confused about the difference between the life of a Christ Follower and one dedicated to dead religion. Jesus spent his entire ministry being dogged by people who were more interested in religious activities than about lives being touched by God. If he healed someone on the Sabbath they were more concerned that he might have “done work” on the day of rest than that a life had been touched by God. If he forgave sins, they refused to see him as the Messiah and saw him as blasphemous law breaker. They hounded the disciples for not washing their hands and for picking up grains of corn to snack on when it was the Sabbath. They felt Jesus should not speak to or eat with tax collectors and known sinners so they judged him for that.
Even though Jesus reminded them that it was the sick that need a doctor, not the well and that the Son of Man had come to seek the lost, they would not see him with the eyes of faith. They wanted him to cross every “T” and dot every “I” of their religious traditions. The genuine heart of Jesus threatened their phony traditional system so they kept after him with everything they had.
I
n Matthew 15 and Mark 7 we learn that Jesus met a Syrophoenician (Canaanite) woman who had learned about his power of demons. She asked release her daughter from the power of a demon. Jesus tested her faith by resisting her on the basis that she was not an Israelite. But when she persisted, Jesus determined that delivering someone from demonic power was more important than religious boundaries so he cast the demon from the child. For us, we need to make sure that we aren’t blinded by religious confusion, but rather cling to faith and trust Jesus to make us useful in reaching out to people who aren’t religious with the message of Christ.
I am excited about our guest musician/evangelist, Andy Avery coming to lead in a special Revival Meeting which begins tonight and runs through Sunday. Andy has a unique and very special gift as a singer/musician and a wonderful calling to reach out to people for Jesus. His music touches hearts and his preaching challenges lives to turn to Jesus. Please come to each service and bring others with you to experience the great movement of God among us at First Christian Church. Pray for Andy and pray for revival.
Unreligious,
Jon
Religion
Three children left home and worked so hard that they didn’t spend much time with their parents. The father died so they all went home. They were all very prosperous and had accumulated vast amounts of money. They discussed what gifts they were going to give their elderly mother. The first built a big house for his mother." The daughter sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third was extremely happy with what he bought for his mother. She had always enjoyed reading the Bible? In her advanced years her fleeting vision had left her nearly blind. He sent her a remarkable parrot that could recite the entire Bible. It had taken a trained professional 12 years to teach him. He was one of a kind. His Mama just had to name the book, chapter and verse, and the parrot would be able to recite it." Each child received a letter from their mom thanking them for their gifts. "Milton," she wrote one child, "The house you built is huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the entire house." "Margret," she wrote to the daughter, "I am too old to travel. I stay at home most of the time, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third child, "You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."
Like the mother, people are often confused about the difference between the life of a Christ Follower and one dedicated to dead religion. Jesus spent his entire ministry being dogged by people who were more interested in religious activities than about lives being touched by God. If he healed someone on the Sabbath they were more concerned that he might have “done work” on the day of rest than that a life had been touched by God. If he forgave sins, they refused to see him as the Messiah and saw him as blasphemous law breaker. They hounded the disciples for not washing their hands and for picking up grains of corn to snack on when it was the Sabbath. They felt Jesus should not speak to or eat with tax collectors and known sinners so they judged him for that.
Even though Jesus reminded them that it was the sick that need a doctor, not the well and that the Son of Man had come to seek the lost, they would not see him with the eyes of faith. They wanted him to cross every “T” and dot every “I” of their religious traditions. The genuine heart of Jesus threatened their phony traditional system so they kept after him with everything they had.
I
n Matthew 15 and Mark 7 we learn that Jesus met a Syrophoenician (Canaanite) woman who had learned about his power of demons. She asked release her daughter from the power of a demon. Jesus tested her faith by resisting her on the basis that she was not an Israelite. But when she persisted, Jesus determined that delivering someone from demonic power was more important than religious boundaries so he cast the demon from the child. For us, we need to make sure that we aren’t blinded by religious confusion, but rather cling to faith and trust Jesus to make us useful in reaching out to people who aren’t religious with the message of Christ.
I am excited about our guest musician/evangelist, Andy Avery coming to lead in a special Revival Meeting which begins tonight and runs through Sunday. Andy has a unique and very special gift as a singer/musician and a wonderful calling to reach out to people for Jesus. His music touches hearts and his preaching challenges lives to turn to Jesus. Please come to each service and bring others with you to experience the great movement of God among us at First Christian Church. Pray for Andy and pray for revival.
Unreligious,
Jon
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