Top Ramen and Denarii

Please read Matthew 18:21-35

There were twelve of us packed around a medium sized table. Four women and eight children. Intermittent screams from one high chaired toddler were answered with some Top Ramen noodles flung by the tiny occupant in the chair beside him. There were whiney protests about what had been cooked for lunch followed by, “EAT YOUR LUNCH’, hissed through clenched teeth by an exasperated mother. It was the most chaotic meal I had ever had the displeasure of being a part of. I had to retreat to the kitchen. One woman followed me in and began humming as she altered a plate of food one of her children was refusing to eat. ‘You are really patient’, I commended her. ‘Oh, it’s so easy to be patient here’, she said in a soft voice, “it’s so peaceful.’ See, I work at an emergency domestic abuse shelter. In her world, the absence of violence, not fearing for the safety of her children and not constantly being berated made for a very peaceful lunch. The second I looked at that messy dining room scene from her perspective my irritation melted.

I would like to think of myself as an empathetic person. But it is difficult for me to ask myself, “What is it really like to be you?‘ What I’m actually thinking most of the time is, ‘How is this affecting me?‘ It’s hard to see another’s perspective with that question. The servant in our passage had been forgiven a huge debt responds to his fellow servant, who owes him a small amount, by throwing him into prison. Yes, this parable is about forgiveness, but for me sometimes forgiveness is directly tied to my empathy; to my ability to ask, ‘What is it like to be you?’. If the unmerciful servant had thought about that question it shouldn’t have been too difficult to imagine it, since he had just been in that position of needing his debt forgiven! ‘Unmerciful Guy’ was asking my question, ‘How is this going to affect me?’ The bottom line is that he would be out that one hundred denarii. His perspective completely crippled his ability to be merciful to his fellow servant.

Easter. The cross. It’s all about forgiveness and mercy. The ultimate picture of empathy is Jesus. He didn’t just ask, ‘What is it like to be you?’ He became one of us.

Shannon Wittenberg

Whose Harvest is This?

Please read Luke 10: 1-2 & 9.

In today’s verse Jesus is sending off a larger group of messengers to spread the Word in places he would later visit. When he told the “New 72” to ask the Lord to send out workers, he implied that the ones asking were also to be workers.
I have seen this verse expounded on harshly as a mission’s recruitment tool. It has been used to shame believers for their careless handling of the harvest as though they were apple growers letting their crop rot on the ground under the trees. Clearly not every reader of the gospel is being called by God to become a career missionary. But as with a “deep end” this pool has a shallow end too. It looks more like a wide, easy path that leads in any direction but toward a harvest field. Let’s all pray that we find the narrower way here, even if it is a little bumpy and some thorns lean in from the edges.

Jesus clearly asked the “New 72” to pray about it. To follow Christ’s teaching by principal, we at New Day should be praying about the harvest too. Obviously the harvest is ripe and all around us. Seven out of every ten people you meet in our culture don’t know who Jesus is, or have never had an opportunity or an environment in which to turn their hearts in his direction. As a church, lets consider by faith that a “great door of effective work has been opened” (I Corinthians 16:9). As individuals lets be able to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ.

There is one last little thing that gives me a strange sense of comfort in all this: Look at the last part of verse 2. Our Lord takes possession of the harvest TWICE in one sentence. Something belongs to God besides his loved children who are already in his family. It is his harvest. He died for his harvest. Let’s pray about being available and active in God’s business.


Wayne Lindell

Ambitions

Please read Mark 9:33-37

They’re GREAT! Or are they?

I wish I could have listened in on the argument the disciples were having on the road to Capernaum. There they were, posturing, splitting hairs and citing examples with each other about who is the greatest. They were jockeying for position in the kingdom. Who gets to sit on his right and his left? The disciples were woefully unaware of how they were missing the mark and still not understanding the big picture or how they fit into it.

What happens next is an amusing scene. Jesus, as if he didn’t know, asks them, “oh, by the way, what was it you were arguing about on the road back there?” Busted! Everyone clams up and shoots a sideways glance at the guy next to him. Their silence said it all. They knew instantly that their argument had backfired. Jesus, in true Jesus fashion, calls them out. He lets them sweat for a mercifully short moment before his gentle answer to them…

I love how specific his answer was. It wasn’t…if anyone wants to be first, he should sort of be in the middle somewhere or maybe toward the back. It is “if anyone wants to be first he MUST be the VERY last. “ The VERY last. This is not a new position for God to choose. It really should have been no surprise to anyone. God chose David, the youngest son that Jesse didn’t even bother to call in from the pasture. God chose Gideon, the biggest chicken from a pip-squeak tribe. God chose Jonah, a surly, lackluster runaway. God chooses us.

“….and the servant of all.” He puts a qualifier at the end of his answer. We are not just to be the very last, but a servant to all. Yes, a servant in the traditional, floor scrubbing, water fetching sense of the word. Servant-hood implies humility and deliberate effort. Jesus later demonstrated this beautifully as he washed his disciples’ feet, an act that he again calls his disciples to follow his example. This foot washing humility and servant-hood was soon to be exemplified on the cross in the ultimate act of servant-hood.

Jesus is a servant leader. He demonstrates his expectations. He leads by example. He calls us to follow suit. Be the servant of all.

1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Jennie Kind

Life Interrupted, Questions Unasked

Please read Mark 9:30-32

In what other book can five sentences—80 words—say so much about Jesus, and so much about human nature?

“Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples.”

When was the last time you went off-radar, on-purpose? With today’s increasingly “smart” technology, few of us are literally unreachable for any real stretch of time. For many of us, anything we do anywhere is subject to interruption. As I’m writing this, I’m oh-so-aware that my napping child may wake any minute, I can hear text messages stacking up on my cell phone, my mom just emailed, my husband called [I answered that one], and with part of my brain I’m trying to remember the three things I need to remember to do once I finish this post. My days are far more responsive, reactive and fragmented, than intentional, directive and focused. And it shows.

When was the last time I truly let Jesus hide me away—for more than 15 interruptible minutes—so he could teach me? And what would he teach me if I let him?

“They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”

Can anybody relate? I’m right there with them [and you]. Sometimes I’m willing to raise my hand and put my ignorance on the line—and sometimes I keep my mouth shut and listen harder, hoping I can somehow pick up what I’m missing without having to ask.

Jesus had just said he would be betrayed, killed, and then “rise” three days later. By now the disciples had heard Jesus say a lot of things that didn’t make sense to them. Sometimes they asked questions; sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes Jesus’ answer was literal; sometimes figurative; sometimes illuminating; sometimes downright cryptic.

If there’s one thing we can learn from the disciples about questions, I think it’s that no question is off limits, and Jesus always has a ready answer. Though this time they chose not to ask, there were plenty of times they did. [Given some of the answers they received, you’ve got to give them credit for continuing to speak up!]

What would Jesus have said if they had asked this time? I love the way this verse makes me wonder—and makes me wonder, too, about what I’m not asking...that Jesus is ready and willing to answer.

Krysti Hall

Help!

Read Mark 9:24

This is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible. I know in my very core that God is good. Then a crisis hits my life or the life of someone I know. . .and all of a sudden my "very core" isn't as sure any more. But I still know it! But I don't. But I do . . I do believe, Jesus. Help my unbelief.

What is it about God that your life circumstaces are causing you to doubt? Which of God's characteristics are hard to buy into because of your history? His goodness? Love? Faithfulness? Forgiveness?

Will you take a moment and pray this very prayer out of Mark 9? I know it's easy to blaze through this post and move on to the next thing. But what we believe about God - about Who he is - it changes everything. Let's pause for just a minute, and ask God to help us believe truth.

God, I do believe. Help my unbelief.

Meg Henderson

Glorious Encounter. . .Blessed Assurance

Please Read Luke 9:28-36

As we follow the drama of the life of Jesus as it is recorded in the Gospels, we come to an event that is wrapped in mystery…and yet the meaning and significance for Jesus is clear.

Luke gives us the clue as to why Jesus made the climb up the lonely mountain slope. He tells us that Jesus was praying (v.29). At this time He was on the way to the cross. Of that He was quite sure and yet He, as always, wanted to be absolutely sure that it was His Father’s will. It was there and then that He experienced a glorious encounter.

Appearing also in “glory” were Moses and Elijah. Having come from the presence of God, they bore the reflection of His splendor. Moses represented the Law; and Elijah the prophets---writings that Jesus had come to fulfill (Luke 24:44). And now in this historic moment, the Old Testament was meeting its Messiah. Moses and Elijah understood this plan perfectly and they had come to encourage Jesus to keep going until He had fulfilled all that had been predicted.

When times are hard, doubts hail and storm your soul, making your faith grow cold and weary. How warming it would be if the Lord would reveal Himself to you. It doesn’t need to be spectacular. Just a small revelation. Something. Anything.

As much as we long for them, however, supernatural manifestations are not a cure-all. Remember what happened to Peter during Jesus’ trials? He had witnessed Christ perform hundreds of miracles, including His incredible transfiguration. Yet, when he denied the Lord three times, his faith folded like a house of cards.

What gives our faith staying power? God’s Word. Jesus drew encouragement from Moses and Elijah, representatives of the Law and the Prophets. Where do you go in the Scriptures to strengthen your faith?

Ken Churchill

Shout

Please read Luke 9:18-20



It is so fascinating to me that Jesus is unwilling to settle with the
disciples consensus on what the public was saying about who He is.
The answer to that question really is more of a lead into a bigger
question. Our Jesus is more intimately concerned with what is going
on with me...with us....than that. He wants to know what our personal
confession will be. Those four words are so pointed. So personal. I
can almost feel His eye contact. "BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?" Who do you,
Kari, say that I am?...
Who do you ______, say that I am? A prophet raised from the dead or
the God who created EVERYTHING, including you and willingly died for
your sins, because of my great Love for you?

The other part of the passage that I can't stop thinking about is that
little word 'say'. "Who do you say that I am?". I know that I often
say that Jesus is my Father, my Friend, the Lover of My Soul, the One
who holds all things together. That's the declaration that my mouth
makes, but is it what my life says? Am I allowing Him to change the
way I live or think or act? Is my life characterized by the things
that characterized Christ's life? Am I a woman who: Cares about the
needs of the poor. Is patient with others. Do I show compassion? Am
I spending myself storing up treasures in heaven, rather than on
earth? Am I letting the peace of Christ rule in my heart? Really, am
I living like I've been MARKED BY MAJESTY?

I don't want my life to 'say' that Jesus is God's Messiah......I want
it to "SHOUT" it!!!!

Kari Levang

Denied!

Please Read Matthew 16:24-26

Self has been the problem from the very start. Poor Eve, she was the first to be duped by the devil to put her “self” above all else. This delicious and seductive temptation was too much to resist. She fell for the insidious question, “did God really say…?” The answer of course was, “God DID say…”. Too late. She traded in God’s goodness for self and things were never the same again. Eve did not deny her self.

Fast forward to the other famous temptation, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. That devil was up to his tricks again. Each one of the three temptations was an attempt to make Jesus put himself first, above his heavenly Father. The devil’s diabolical plan and purpose was to make Jesus believe that he had the power and the right to act independently from the Father. It was to separate Jesus from the God-head.

Jesus was dared to prove his credentials and turn stone to bread. Seems innocuous enough, he was, after all, very hungry; but to do so would have been to do something apart from the Father’s word and under his own independent power. His only response to the devil is the Word, “man does not live by bread alone.” Jesus denies himself.

The devil tried again. Look at all these kingdoms, Jesus. Authority and splendor are yours for the asking. Just one little thing, worship ME. Was this enough to make Jesus act on his own behalf, apart from the Father’s will? The whole world! How about a quick and easy road to messianic glory; skipping the cross. What a compelling offer. Would Jesus go for power and authority and relevance? Nope, He doesn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole; he doesn’t even address the offer. He responds with the Word, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him ONLY”. Jesus defers to the Father and denies himself.

Third times the charm, right? This time the devil gives Jesus the chance to do something spectacular, thrilling, death defying. Of the three temptations this is the most spiritual one. It is not about bread or kingdoms, but God. It is not about filling legitimate needs to satiate our stomachs or need for power, but prove that God is on our side. This is the one that shoots straight to the heart of Jesus’ relationship with the Father. Jesus could very well secure his significance when those angels swoop down and rescue him from his free fall. Jesus’ final and remarkably calm response was again the Word, “do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus again refuses to prove God’s faithfulness. He refuses to make something of himself in a showy display of confidence. Jesus denies himself.

Jesus is facing the cross. He is facing painful death. He is facing taking on the sin of the world. Jesus continues to deny himself as he asks us to deny ourselves. He is not asking anything more from us than he himself endured already. God provides us his Spirit to lead us through with power and strength just as he provided his Spirit to Jesus as he went through the temptation and the cross.

Paul asserts that he was given the thorn in his flesh too keep him from becoming conceited and here is God’s Word of comfort to him. . .

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9.

God is faithful to us with his wonderful grace as we deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow him.

Jennie Kind

Plans and Perspective

Read Matthew 16:22-23

Wow.
No matter how many times I read that, it's still somehow not quite what I expect.
"Peter, I know this is hard to understand, but here's why it has to be this way. . ." That sounds a little - I don't know, a little more appropriate to the situation, doesn't it? But "get behind me Satan?" Wow. Perfect fuel for "being confused all over again" by this God we serve, huh?

For the most part, I walk away from this passage a bit perplexed. But there are two things that jump out at me.

Number One
It is a big deal that I learn to set aside my plans in favor of God's plans. Even when my plans seems so good. Healing from disease. Reconciled marriages. Jobs for the unemployed. I have some good plans! So did Peter. Saving Jesus from suffering the crucifixion? It doesn't get much better than that. Unless, of course, there's a bigger picture. One that Peter doesn't understand - which, of course, there is. Salvation. . .which requires the cross. That's one thing I walk away with as I read this passage. That so often when God "rejects" my good plans, it's because he's pursuing a better plan.

Number Two
I don't understand God. No matter how long I know him or how much I study him there will always be more to discover. He will continue to surprise me. I am small and He is infinite. And I think that's an important lesson all by itself.

Meg Henderson

From That Time On. . .

Please read Matthew 16:21

"From that time on Jesus began to explain. . ."
Not just once. Jesus didn't just mention in passing "by the way. . .this is how the salvation of the world is going to play out." He didn't sit down for an in-depth heart-to-heart about what was coming and then move on. Jesus took time to tell the disciples, over and over, in many different ways, just what was coming? Why?

Like the disciples said in John 6. . ."this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" God being born as a baby - that's hard enough. But then, instead of coming to be crowned king as he deserves, he's coming to be killed and then raised again? That's going to take the disciples some getting used to.

And it takes us. . .takes me. . .some getting used to, too. Let's use this journey through Lent to pause. To wonder. To maybe even forget that we already know the end of the story, and be confused and amazed all over again by the kind of God who would come to die on a cross so that we could have life.

~Meg Henderson

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