The Devil attacks Jesus at His Identity. "If you are the Son of God…" There is no "if's" about it. Jesus knows who he is. So do we. Sons and Daughters of the King. The Tempter has nothing on us…

 

God and Man as Kingdom partners. Working together to expand God’s rule.

I'm reading Acts 16 where Paul meets Timothy for the first time. Paul decides Timothy has great leadership potential and so invites him to be his disciple. Timothy agrees. Paul then circumcises Timothy and they leave to bring a message to Christian communities in other cities.

The message is simple.

"If you are not Jewish and you believe in Jesus, you don't have to identify with being Jewish by getting circumcised before you can follow Jesus."

No doubt, this helps your evangelism campaign if you tell a bunch of guys interested in following Jesus,

"We're not going to make you go through with an initiation rite where you have your foreskin cut off with a stone knife if you want to follow Jesus."

It's not like you're going to hear a lot of protest-

"O, come on, can't I get my foreskin cut off, too?"

I don't think so.

So what's with Timothy?

Timothy has a Jewish mother who has become a follower of Jesus and a Gentile father who hasn't. Even though Timothy was earlier raised in Judaism by his mom, and now as a Christian, he doesn't get circumcised and so is not able to practice his Jewish faith fully. Can't go into synagogues and such. My guess is his dad says to his mom, "You can teach him all you want, I just don't want him identifying with being a Jew." And if this means he can't be circumcised, I'm sure a young Timothy didn't give much of an argument.

"What do mean I can't have my foreskin cut off? Come on, mom, please…"

I don't think so.

So, Paul goes to Timothy's hometown and takes Timothy on as a disciple. They will travel to other Christian communities in other cities delivering the message that you don't have to be circumcised first before you can become a Christian. But, before they leave, Paul circumcises Timothy?

Come on, what gives?

What gives is being willing to go all out to follow Jesus.

Paul is not done sharing the gospel message with Jews. His standard practice is still to go into town and teach in the Jewish synagogue first. Paul is delivering the "no circumcision" message to the Christian communities, but they don't meet in the synagogues. If you want to teach in the synagogue you still must be a Jew. So, in order for Timothy to go into the synagogues with Paul, he had to be circumcised, first.

And that's the story.

Except, I still have one question. How do the folks in the synagogue know if you are circumcised or not?

I guess, being scanned at the airport isn't such a bad thing after all…

The key reality of one who follows Jesus:

As we move from the center of our own little universe to the edge, then Jesus can rule on the throne of our hearts. From there, our hearts become a window to heaven for those around us.

What does it mean to, “Walk as children of God?”

Week One in the series, Covenant and Kingdom, based on the book, Covenant and Kingdom, by Mike Breen.

Readings:

Covenant and Kingdom: Creation through Abraham―pages 3–38.
Bible Reading: Genesis 15, 17, 22.

In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Paul gives evidence of God's presence in his serving. Now, you would think the same guy who has such miraculous things happen around him, would have a fairly amazing list of miracles. Like when people take the "sweatbands" he uses at work and use them to touch people who are sick and they get healed (Acts 18:12)!

Nope. Instead Paul lists 28 characteristics of how he responds to challenges in his life. God's power is seen in the transformation he is going through as he responds to God's call. E. Stanley Jones says this:

"He did see miracles happening around him, but he knew that the central miracle was happening within him."

As you surrender your will to God, follow His ways, and begin to see His power at work through you, you will experience the "supernatural." After all, Jesus said it is possible for us to do, "even greater things" (John 14:12) than He did in His time on earth. Yet, it continues to be the changes that happen within you that will most often be used to build your confidence in the growing potency of the Holy Spirit working through you.

It was time to go Hindi again. My son Greg and I went to a Bollywood movie last year and I thought it was time to go again. We have watched a couple more from Netflix, but these movies are made for the big screen. And there is nothing like watching a movie in Hindi on a Monday afternoon to remind you that father/son relationships have of wide variety of bonding possibilities.

We like Indian movies. They are so happy. So many smiles. So much color. You just wait for the next dance sequence waiting around the corner, usually having nothing whatsoever to do with the plot.

The other thing to like about Bollywood is the characters themselves are so self-absorbed, rather than the actor or director as in American film. They get they are making a film and not making a great political statement (always with a couple of gratuitous sex scenes thrown in).

If you want to try it out for yourself, perhaps you can find the movie, Tees Maar Khan, playing at your local art house theater. Relax and enjoy. Might be the dumbest movie you ever saw. Or maybe you leave with a grin that stays around for awhile.

 

December is a month to remember. Remember once again the audacious love of a God who would choose to reveal himself in as intimate a way as to become one of us.

Jesus is God, and yet (who would make this one up?), he becomes plain, ordinary- you. Yes, a human being. Not superman, but a common man.

Think about. You have undoubtedly traveled more than Jesus. The farthest trip he ever took was as a baby in exile to Egypt. A bit over 100 miles.

You are probably richer than he was. He made a good living as a carpenter/ contractor, but he didn't even own a house.

You are probably more educated than he was. He had a very solid grasp on biblical studies and other supplemental Jewish thelogical studies, yet, mathematics and the sciences weren't in his curriculum.

Jesus is a plain, ordinary common man.

So like us.

Well then, why is he called Lord, King, the most brilliant, most amazing person who ever lived who changed the world for good?

Three things-

1. He is full of the Holy Spirit.

2. He learns directly from God the Father.

3. He passes this down to those who follow Him.

As a result:

1. You can be full of the Holy Spirit.

2. You can learn directly from God the Father.

3. You can keep passing it down.

That's it.

Everything He has available is available to you.

Everything.

It is only a matter of receiving.

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When the widow gives all that she has to God, what would we hold back from Him?