SO...WHO CARES?

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,

the synagogue ruler said to the people,

"There are six days for work. 

So come and be healed on those days,

not on the Sabbath."

Luke 13.13-17

This is a "Can you believe this!"  attitude and reaction!

A crippled woman healed after eighteen years of suffering!!!

Who would care about the day or place!?

The woman was healed and people were delighted and amazed.

Except for the synagogue ruler.

This "ruler" condemned the work and the Worker!

A woman crippled for eighteen years, bent over and not able to straighten up at all.

Could she have been so bad that the ruler was justified in using his rule to exclude her from restoration to life?

Did people avoid her?  Was she a nuisance to them? 

Was she ugly?  Was she poor?  Unintelligent?

Objectionable in any way at all?

What was this ruler thinking?

Had he ever seen anyone healed from anything in all his life?

Had he ever considered what this was like for for her?  

For eighteen years!

Had he any idea what she must have "felt" all these years? 

More:  Did he ever

Care for the heart, soul, mind, and body of this woman?

Care about anything about anyone?

Care enough to talk to people crippled in heart, soul, mind, and body?

Care how others were suffering?

Care about others as himself?

Care about anything that God cared about?

Care about God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength?

But....for me--

Do I

See the crippled people all around me?

Hear the cry of their heart?

Feel the pain of their body?

Care about their body, soul, or spirit?

Do I look when Jesus says, "Look at the fields--they are ripe for harvest." 

Do I see the people who are "Like sheep without a shepherd"?

Do I see any who are troubled, helpless, hopeless, burdened, weary, and......

Did not Jesus heal this woman, rebuke this hypocrit, and have Luke record the occasion for me to read. 

Should I not care about this woman in her grief?

And then rejoice as I see Jesus' healing her body and soul?

Should I not realize that Jesus shows me this story because He wants me

to care about sheep without shepherds around me?

Does He not want me to speak and touch these broken, helpless, and hopeless people?

And touch their body, soul, and spirit?

With the same healing He gave her?

With compassion, mercy, goodness, and grace He gives me for them?

Do I not need to spend more time with Jesus and with others?

Listening to Him and others?

Learning from Him and about others?

Do I not need to ask Jesus to let me love others like He loves them?

If I do not,

                      Am I not in danger of hearing from Him one day,

"You hypocrit!"

THE EPISTLE OF FIRST JOHN

...That you also may have fellowship with us and...

with the Father and with His Son, JEsus Christ.

1 John 1.3

This "epistle" (no, not the wife of an apostle) is a letter of instruction and revelation of the way the Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to our hearts. 

It is only 0.33% of the entire Bible.  Its four pages make up less than 1/2 of 1%.  But its message from the life experience of the Apostle John is a summary of the life our Lord is imparting to us at this very moment.

John says the battle for our souls takes place in five areas:

Purity v. Sin

Light vs. Darkness

Truth vs. Lie

Life vs. Death

Love vs. Hate

First is Purity vs. Sin.  Sin is our "default" state, our natural condition, which limits and distorts every thought, word, experience, idea....everything about us and around us.  Sin is like the distorted mirrors of the circus side show, except the distortion is in us as well as around us.

Purifying our soul corrects the distortions of unbelief, pride, selfishness, anger,fear, and much more that create deadly thoughts and motives within us.  Purifying our soul also and lets us see clearly and truly the evils and lies that make us the "ways of the world" of Satan that was at the heart of the great temptations Jesus faced at the beginning of His ministry.  There being no sin within Him, He more effectively resisted the lies of the Enemy.  In His resurrection power and glory, He now works to cleanse and correct all this within us, in preparation for our place in the coming ages of His kingdom.

Second, John presents Light vs. Darkenss as the battle field of Purity and Sin.  The Holy Spirit brings Light to expose Darkness.  This Light reveals the beauty, love, joy,, and peace that come from Purity.  As the Light drives our Darkness and Purity replaces Sin, the battle within us is resoved and Peace fills our soul instead of warfare.  With Peace there is Joy and Thanksgiving.  Love will soon be released.

Third, Light comes to us in the form of Truth vs. Lie.  Here is the great source of freedom from the blindness of Darkness that is maintained by Lies.  Here is the area of change tthat sets us free from Sin.  

Fourth, by Truth "the Law of the Spirit of Life sets us free from the law of sin and Death.  This law of Life renews our minds and we are brought into the experiences of the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.  The Lies of the Devil, who has been a Liar from the beginning, are destroyed as the Truth makes us free. 

Fifth, by maintaining the disciplines of discipleship, Purity, Light, Truth, and Life replace Sin, Darkness, Lies, and Death.  We are set free from all the forces that create Hate and its evils.  The Holy Spirit fills our heart to overflowing with with the Love of God. 

Then we love one another with the love wherewith God loves us.  We fulfill the command of Christ to love one another. 

We fulfill the Great Commandment as we love God with gratitude, praise, worship, and honor with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  

We fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of every nation, tribe, people and language as we are sent forth with this Love of Christ as the Father sent Him to and for us. 

We passionaltely teach these new disciples to obey these commands of Christ and live in Fellowship with Him, the Fatehr, and one another.

PETER'S LAST WORDS

So then, dear friends,
since you are looking forward to this,

make every effort

to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. 

Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation,

 just our dear brother Paul also wrote you
with the wisdom that God gave him.... 

,,,be on your guard so that you may not be carried away

by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

 

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

To Him be glory both now and forever.  Amen.

2 Peter 3.14-18

Both 1 and 2 Peter have a special urgency about knowing and realizing truth about Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

2 Peter is almost totally devoted to this urgency.

Here is a list of at least some of Peter's phrases--

1.5--make every effort

       add to faith--(a list of additions are given in verses 5-7)

1.8--possess...in increasing measure

1.10--be all the more eager

          do these things

1.15--Remember these

1.19--Pay attentionto "the word of the prophets"

1.2-21--understand inspiration of Scripture

Chapter 2 is entirely devoted to warnings about dangers and consequences of false teachers.

3.1--Reminders to stimulate wholesome thinking

3.2--Recall writings of the Prophets and Apostles

3.3--Understand

3.8--Do not forget

3.11-13--Live looking forward

3.14--Look forward

          Make every effort

3.15--Bear in mind

3.18--Grow!

The best way for me to do this is by "journaling"--writing my thoughts about every word as I read.  I read, think, meditate, and pray my way through my readings and their applications to what is happening in my life day by day.  Writing helps me put into words what I am presently learning and understanding from the Scriptures about my life--motives, thoughts, emotions, words, actions.  The writing focuses my attention, clarifies my understanding, furthers the Spirit's work of holiness and righteousness.  I am able to speak much more clearly about the verse and its meanings for me.

This concentrated thinking and meditation on the words of the Prophets and Apostles and the Lord Jesush helps me see, embrace, and welcome the holiness and righteousness the Holy Spirit directs me to.  The result is immediate love, joy, peace, strength, encouragement, and comfort that it brings to me and enables me to give to others. And many more...

...set your hearts on things above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...with all wisdom...

Those who live in accordance with the Spirit

have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. 

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Go and make disciples..

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 

And surely I am with you always....

Col 3.1,2, 16; Romans 8.5; John 8.31,32; Matthew 28.19-20