Tag Archives: Spiritual

Chapter-a-Day

The Need for Struggle

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The Need for Struggle (CaD Rom 5) – Wayfarer

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)

Here in the Midwest, there has been a tremendous amount of rain this summer. Entire towns in northwest Iowa are underwater. We know individuals and businesses who have been significantly impacted.

A week ago Wendy and I were preparing to have our entire family with us for two days to celebrate the 4th of July. The day before everyone was scheduled to arrive we had a rainstorm that poured several inches of rain in a short period. Our sump pump couldn’t keep up. Our basement flooded. Suddenly we found ourselves in crisis mode as we scrambled to move things around and find a way to stem the tide. At one point, Wendy looked at me with tears running down her cheeks.

“This is not how I wanted this day to go,” she said.

Indeed.

At the same time, Wendy and I have been walking with multiple families who are in seasons of acute suffering. Not just the momentary pain of a flooded basement kind of suffering. We’re talking about the severe, agonizing circumstances that can rip lives and families apart type of suffering. The circumstances are uniquely different with each of these friends but the life struggles are equally difficult. It’s hard to witness. And, it puts a wet basement into perspective.

Along my life journey, I have observed that our culture struggles with suffering. It’s almost as if we believe no one should ever experience difficulty. We spend a lot of time, energy, and resources trying to avoid or alleviate suffering. There are plenty of televangelists who will promise you that God will provide a life of wealth and blessing if you simply send them a few bucks, and then a few more, and then a few more. And, to my point, many people do.

Wendy and I recently read an article by an expert who addressed the reality that we have a generation of young adults who have been overprotected by parents and a culture obsessed with safety. Now these kids can’t cope with the struggles of everyday adult life.

In today’s chapter, Paul tells the believers in Rome to “glory” in their suffering. This is not an isolated teaching. James wrote the same thing, as did Peter. The goal of being a disciple of Jesus is to follow His example. Jesus Himself said that following Him requires me to carry a cross. The cross was invented to make a person suffer an excruciating death. The bottom line is that spiritual maturity is forged through painful struggle. If there is no pain, there will be no spiritual progress.

In the quiet this morning I’m continuing to pray for our friends in their season of suffering. I’m going to once again reach out to encourage them. One of the things I’ve learned in my own seasons of suffering is that I don’t have to be alone. I have great friends. When I’m suffering, I need those friends the most. When they are suffering, they need me, even if it’s simply making them aware I am present. There are important aspects of maturity that one learns in this life only through struggle. It’s good to have good companions on the journey.

By the way, our basement is back to normal. Our family’s visit was wonderful. In the grand scheme of things, it was a rather minor event. It did teach us, however, that there are some things we need to do to avoid it happening again.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Book Summary List, Chapter-a-Day

Romans (Jul-Aug 2024)

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Each photo below corresponds to a chapter-a-day post for the book of Romans published by Tom Vander Well in July and August 2024. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.

Romans 1: The One Thing

Romans 2: Kindness, Not Condemnation

Romans 3: Rules and Rifts

Romans 4: The Difference

Romans 5: The Need for Struggle

Romans 6: Water

Romans 7: From Rules to Raspberries

Romans 8: The Gospel According to Harry Potter

Roman 9: A Confession

Romans 10: God’s Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness

Romans 11: Big Brother Mentality

Romans 12: Responding and Reacting

Romans 13: The Law of Love

Romans 14: Honoring Our Differences

Romans 15: Intentions & Realities

Romans 16: Send Phoebe

You’re all caught up! Posts will be added here as they are published. Click on the image below for easy access to other recent posts indexed by book.

Chapter-a-Day

“In the course of time…”

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In the course of time…
1 Chronicles 18:1a (NIV)

"In the course of time…" (CaD 1 Chr 18) – Wayfarer

Yesterday was Father’s Day here in the States. I was honored to be asked to deliver the message among a local gathering of Jesus’ followers near Des Moines, so Wendy and I took off first thing in the morning. We have friends among the gathering there and were joined by other friends who accompanied us for a wonderful lunch. We headed over to spend the rest of the afternoon with our kids and grandkids. Last night, we had other friends who joined us for a semi-regular Sunday evening visit which usually turns into a debrief on our respective lives. It was a really lovely day.

As Wendy and I made the drive home, I sat holding Wendy’s hand and found myself thinking about our lives together. We are so blessed. Life is so good.

Not that our lives have been perfect. In fact, they have been far from it. Wendy and I both have dots on our respective timelines in which we made major mistakes in life. We both have had seasons of life marked by serious moral lapses. The skeletons aren’t in the closet, either. We have been open about these things. Why? They are part of our respective stories.

The Chronicler begins today’s chapter with the words, “In the course of time.” This is his way of telling us as readers that he is being loose with the chronology, and he has been. The Chronicler has chosen to present David’s story in a certain way. He begins by presenting David as the “priest-king” who “was a man after God’s own heart.” He wants us to see that David put God first as David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and restores the tent temple of worship and the sacrificial system as prescribed by the Law of Moses.

Now, the Chronicler shifts to telling us about the victorious warrior-king who defeated the surrounding kingdoms. He’s also sure to point out that it was through these victories that David collected the gold, silver, and bronze that would eventually be used to furnish and decorate Solomon’s Temple.

It’s a perfectly lovely big-picture description of David. He put God first and was blessed and victorious…in the course of time.

The Chronicler leaves out some of the details. David wasn’t perfect. He had dots on his own personal timeline marked by mistakes. He had seasons of serious moral lapses. The Chronicler, however, is looking back through the lens of history and presenting the larger story of David that he sees. He’s presenting the big-picture view of what God was doing in the larger context of the Great Story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation.

In our cynical, tabloid-driven culture of tell-all scandals and true-crime podcasts and documentaries, the Chronicler’s version of events might strike one as dishonest. In the quiet this morning, I find it to be an honest view of God’s grace and mercy.

The most beautiful and gracious thing that Jesus offers is forgiveness. God through the prophet Isaiah said, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

Thank God that I am not defined in His eyes by the mistakes I’ve made, many many failures, or the seasons of my moral lapses. When God “remembers them no more” all that is left of the story is the person God has been growing, cultivating, pruning, and transforming me to be “in the course of time.”

I am so blessed. Life is so good.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

History Lesson (or Not)

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History Lesson (or Not) [CaD 1 Chr 9] – Wayfarer

Now the first to resettle on their own property in their own towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites and temple servants. Those from Judah, from Benjamin, and from Ephraim and Manasseh who lived in Jerusalem were…
1 Chronicles 9:2-3 (NIV)

Our place at the lake is in central Missouri on Lake of the Ozarks. I have a lot of family history connections in the region on my mother’s side. Great-great-grandparents are buried in the little town of Atlanta which Wendy and I pass by every time we drive to the lake. Another Great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War on the Union Side for the Missouri 10th Infantry. Missouri was a border state and was heavily divided during the Civil War. Remnants of that division remain.

As we approach the lake there is a giant Confederate battle flag that flies along the highway. The base of the giant flag is surrounded by a fence with barbed wire. A light is fixed on the base at night to discourage anyone from tampering with the fence or the flag. It wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t cameras, too.

A few years ago I was traveling through southern Missouri on my way to a client meeting in Memphis. GPS took me on a curious route through some remote areas and I happened upon a property surrounded by a giant wrought-iron fence. The entrance had a locked gate and above the gate were the initials C.S.A. (Confederate States of America). The property and the house at the back were covered with Confederate battle flags. I considered stopping and taking a picture of it, but I was afraid I might get shot at.

In today’s chapter, we finish the Chronicler’s long stretch of genealogical information before he begins the narrative part of ancient Israel’s history. He focuses this last section on all of the priests and Levites who returned from exile in Babylon. Because only descendants of Aaron could be priests and only members of the tribe of Levi could attend to the maintenance, upkeep, and security of the Temple, this final list of families was important to the Chronicler. With the newly rebuilt temple inside the rebuilt Jerusalem, he was establishing for his contemporary readers the individuals and families who were responsible for these duties.

Curiously, he begins this list with the term “All Israel” and then goes on to provide lists of Levite families from not only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the two primary tribes of the southern Kingdom of Judah) but also from Ephriam and Manasseh (Ephriam was often used to refer to the entire northern kingdom of Israel). This is fascinating because the nation of Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrian Empire and the people of Israel were still largely scattered among other nations. With his inclusive words “All Israel” and his inclusion of the Levites from among northern tribes, The Chronicler is establishing a new age for the Hebrews returning from exile. The divided kingdoms are no longer kingdoms, so they are no longer divided. He considers that they are a united family of tribes once again under their historic faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.

As I meditated on what would have been a historic shift of thought for the Chronicler’s generation, the Confederate flag on Highway 54 and the Confederate loyalist compound sprang to mind. Along my life journey, I’ve observed the truth of the well-known statement that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I’ve also observed a related truth: Those who get stuck in history will never be able to learn from it.

This is true, not only on a national level but also on a personal level. The spiritual journey is a path laden with trials, temptations, obstacles, and conflicts. God’s desire is that I walk through them so that I might develop the character traits of perseverance, faith, hope, and spiritual maturity. and wholeness. If I, for example, get stuck in hatred, bitterness, and the refusal to forgive a person (or persons) who wronged me, it’s like me continuing to fly a Confederate battle flag 180 years after the conflict ended. I can’t learn and grow spiritually from that conflict until I embrace the forgiveness, grace, and mercy Jesus extended to me and channel it toward the individual(s) who injured me.

In the quiet this morning, I pondered where there might be “sticking points” in my own life, along my own journey. Where am I “stuck” in my own personal history? Holy Spirit brought to mind a prayer that Wendy and I have been including every morning in our prayer time together. It’s a prayer that our entire gathering of Jesus’ followers has been uttering collectively and individually for the past few months. It seems a good prayer on which to end today’s post and to begin today’s journey:

Lord Jesus,
I seek to live as your disciple in all that I do today. My life is your school for teaching me.

I relinquish my agenda for this day and I submit myself to you and your kingdom purposes.

In all situations today, I pray:
“Your will, Your way, Your time.”
Amen

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Black Sheep Family

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Black Sheep Family (CaD 1 Chr 5) – Wayfarer

…and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph.
1 Chronicles 5:2 (NIV)

Along my life journey, I had a friend enter my story unexpectedly. This person may take the prize for being the most tragic individual I’ve personally met on my earthly journey. What are you supposed to do as a teenager when you borrow your dad’s car for a date but have to clean up the blood your father left in the back seat and the trunk before picking up your date? Talk about being haunted by your past. This was a heartbreaking story of a child who dealt with more than any child should have to deal with in life. It was a life that ended just as tragically.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler shares the genealogy of the three tribes who settled east of the Jordan River. These tribes would be part of the northern kingdom of Israel that broke away from Judah and refused to recognize the lineage of King David as monarch. They were all swept away into exile by the Assyrian Empire where they remained at the time of the Chronicler’s writing.

Two prevailing thoughts come to me as I meditate on today’s chapter. First, the Chronicler once again makes it clear that he is primarily interested in the tribe of Judah, from which the Dynastic line of David hails. He makes this evident. Having established this, I find it interesting that he doesn’t shy away from presenting the genealogy of the tribes he would likely consider “black sheep.”

The tribes the Chronicler lists in today’s chapter were the rebels who shunned the tribe of Judah and David’s line. Reuben, in particular, was the dishonored firstborn who lost his paternal blessing. Unlike the Chronicler and his ancestors from Judah, who returned from exile, these tribes remained scattered across the old Assyrian empire.

But they are still family. They are still part of the story.

As I’ve explored my family’s stories on both paternal and maternal sides, I’ve discovered rifts and feuds. Mind you, I discovered nothing outside of the normal conflicts and scandals that are part of the mess that comes with being part of any family. One of the hardest things about family is that it’s not something we get to choose. My mind wanders to my friend cleaning up the blood their father left in the backseat. I can’t imagine.

As a disciple of Jesus, I cannot help but consider Jesus’ thoughts on family which are somewhat conflicting. His own flesh-and-blood mother and siblings once attempted to take control believing Jesus to have lost His mind (Mark 3:21), and Jesus responds by providing an expanded view of family. “Who are my mother and brothers?” Jesus asked before gesturing to all of His followers and declaring them family. Jesus would go on to acknowledge that many who choose to follow Him would be required to leave flesh-and-blood family behind, though he promised they would find far more family ahead than they left behind.

In the quiet this morning, I find my head and my heart holding the tension between honoring, loving, and serving my flesh-and-blood family while acknowledging that I have friends whom I consider family. It’s easy to fall into an either-or, binary mentality on either side of the issue. I find Jesus’ example to be “both-and.” Yes, He seemed to diminish His family when they thought He was out of His mind, but He also used his dying breath to ensure that a spiritual “brother” (John) would care for His physical mother, Mary. This, despite the fact that Jesus had multiple flesh-and-blood younger brothers who were socially responsible for caring for her.

Then, of course, there is the larger reality of genetics which proves that we all came from the same woman. In many ways, Jesus’ teaching is simply pointing to a much larger truth that may only be seen with perfect clarity in eternity. We humans are all one family, whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not. I’m glad that the Chronicler acknowledged his black sheep family members. I find a spiritual lesson in his honesty.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Growing Things Change

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Growing Things Change (CaD Acts 6) – Wayfarer

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen.
Acts 6:1,9 (NIV)

I saw a funny meme the other day of a father holding his three-month-old baby. The baby had doubled in weight in the three months since birth. At this rate of growth, the father calculated, the kid would weigh trillions of pounds by the time it was ten years old.

Healthy things grow…
Growing things change…
Change challenges me…
Challenge leads me to trust God…
Trusting God leads to obedience…
Obedience leads to health…
Healthy things grow…

A friend shared this with me many years ago, and I know that I have referenced it at least once before (After blogging for 17 years, I’m bound to repeat a few things!). I have always loved this little mantra because I have experienced it to be true in my life, and I have observed it to be true in both others and in healthy and growing human systems.

The early Jesus Movement was an organic, growing human system. In the first six chapters of Acts, Luke references the growing number of believers five times. At the beginning of the book, Luke records the number of believers right after Jesus’ ascension as about 120. In chapter 4, Luke numbers the believers at 5,000. He’s mentioned rapid growth twice since mentioning the 5,000.

Growing things change…

Having been a leader in a number of different systems and organizations along my life journey, I can only imagine the changes required by the Apostles to accommodate the rapid pace of growth. It was not only a change in numbers, but in geography too. Many of the first believers on the day of Pentecost in the second chapter were from all over the known world. In today’s chapter, Stephen is sharing Jesus’ teaching with a synagogue outside the Temple. The cozy little group of early believers sharing all things in common wouldn’t have been cozy for long.

Change challenges me…

Luke records the first challenges faced by the growing Movement in today’s chapter. There is a challenge from within in the form of anger between ethnic factions within the Movement. There were also challenges from without in the form of false accusations made against them to the Temple rulers who had already persecuted the Apostles.

Challenge leads me to trust God…

Luke also records in today’s chapter that the Apostles appointed more men to help with the daily duties the Movement had established for caring for the daily needs of its members. The needs of the system are expanding, and with it the system has to distribute responsibilities to more members of the system. This, in itself, requires trust not only in the members taking on the responsibilities but also in God to provide for and enable a rapidly growing organism.

In the quiet this morning, my meditation on the changes in the early Jesus Movement has me thinking about change in general. Life never stops changing. I’m facing some life changes right now, in fact. This means there will always be challenges. How I handle the change is, I believe, a barometer of my spiritual health. I can follow the path of trust and obedience to greater levels of spiritual health and growth, or I can follow the path of anger, resentment, complaint, and depression which becomes an unhealthy cycle for me and everyone around me.

Lord, help me trust and obey that I might spiritually grow with every challenge.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day, Uncategorized

Seeing and Believing

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Seeing and Believing (CaD Jhn 9) – Wayfarer

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
John 9:39 (NIV)

A few weeks ago there was a congressional hearing regarding prejudice, specifically anti-semitism, on college campuses. The Presidents of three elite universities were asked simple, direct questions. Their responses were evasive, murky, and unclear. Two of the three resigned in subsequent weeks.

These events came to mind today as I read today’s chapter. This is the third chapter in a row in which John gives witness to the rising conflict between the religious leaders in Jerusalem and Jesus. The religious leaders were elite, educated, and wealthy. They occupied the highest rung of their society. Jesus was a sharp contrast. Jesus had no formal or elite education in the established educational system. Jesus was not wealthy, and He depended on the generosity of others to fund His traveling ministry. Jesus lived and operated in the rural, backwater regions of the country.

John carefully chose the healing of a blind man as one of the seven miracles, or “signs” as he chooses to call them, as it fits perfectly with the narrative on multiple levels. In the previous chapter, Jesus refers to Himself as “the Light of the World” multiple times. As if to literally prove His point, today’s chapter begins with Jesus healing a man who had been blind since birth. Out of the darkness of his blindness, the man can see for the first time in his life.

This event led to three hearings before the elite, educated, powerful religious leaders. The first was with the former blind man himself who recounted the event of his healing. There is division among the religious leaders. Some are entrenched in their fundamentalist belief that the fact Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath (the religious “day of rest”) negates the “godliness” of the miracle. Others argue that the very act of giving sight to a man born blind can only come from God.

Then, something fascinating happens. These educated elites ask the formerly blind beggar his opinion, but they aren’t happy when the man proclaims Jesus a prophet. Some of the religious leaders are so adamant in their disbelief of Jesus that they choose to believe that the blind man is lying about being blind since birth.

Hearing number two is with the blind man’s parents. John records that they are “afraid” of the religious leaders and the power these elites have to excommunicate them from the synagogue and socially ostracize them. This is another clear indicator of toxic fundamentalism. The elite few at the top of the food chain use power and fear to control the masses. In this instance, the parents testify that their son was born blind, but when it comes to his healing and his testimony about Jesus, the parents know the narrative their overseers want to hear. They deftly plead the fifth and deflect to their adult son.

The blind man is called back before the leaders for the second time. It’s classic. The dumb, poor beggar responds to the repeated questions with wisdom and reason. He makes the leaders look foolish in the mental gymnastics they are exercising to justify their unbelief. The result is what one might expect from humiliated fundamentalist elites. They insulted him, threatened him, and threw him out.

John then records that Jesus introduces himself to the formerly blind man. The man proclaims his personal belief that Jesus was the Son of Man, and he worships Jesus. Jesus then proclaims that He came “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

A couple of thoughts in the quiet this morning. First, I love the progression of the formerly blind man’s faith. He begins not knowing who Jesus was or who healed him. He then calls Jesus a man, then progresses to calling Jesus a prophet. Finally, he meets Jesus personally and places his faith in Jesus as the Messiah and worships Him. Healing the man’s physical blindness led to the healing of his spiritual blindness. Jesus not only opened the man’s physical eyes, but his spiritual eyes as well. Which leads me to my second thought.

Along my spiritual journey, I have encountered religious, label-wearing Christians who I observed to be spiritually blind. I have also encountered individuals who claim no faith label but I observe that they clearly see the heart and Spirit of Jesus’ teaching. This is a constant reminder to me that every person is having their own conversations with Life and that God’s Spirit is perpetually at work to open the eyes of our spirits to see the Light of the World. Today’s chapter is a reminder that staunch, educated religious people can be spiritually blind while humble, uneducated and irreligious individuals can have spiritual sight that is 20/20.

A friend once asked me about my increasingly poor hearing. I told him that if my impaired physical hearing contributes to being able to hear spiritual things with greater clarity, I will always choose the latter.

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message” me, which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Book Summary List

John (Feb-Mar 2024)

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Each photo below corresponds to the chapter-a-day post/podcast for the book of John published by Tom Vander Well in January and February 2024. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.

John 1: The God Who Pitched His Tent

John 2: Signs

John 3: Loyalty to a Trusted Source

John 4: No Sign Necessary

John 5: Who Am I Living to Please?

John 6: Filet-o’-Fish or Flesh-and-Blood?

John 7: Division

John 8: Showdown

John 9: Seeing and Believing

John 10: Shepherd and Sheep

John 11: Watershed Moment

John 12: The Spectrum of Belief

John 13: Waypoints of Confusion

John 14: Peace that’s Not of this World

John 15: The Dude Abides

John 16: Contrasting Statements

John 17: Where His Footsteps Lead

John 18: Empire v. Kingdom

John 19: “The Man Who Saw It”

John 20: “The One Thing”

John 21: Testimony & Verdict

Chapter-a-Day

Always Believe the Women

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Always Believe the Women (CaD Lk 24) – Wayfarer

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Luke 24:11 (NIV)

Looking back on my life journey, I’m grateful that God surrounded me with women. While I have two older brothers, they are identical twins and seven years older. Thus, growing up, it was my older sister Jody who was my constant companion. We even went to the same college. Then, God blessed me with two daughters and for pretty much the next thirty years I was the lone male in the house with three females.

Being surrounded by women has been a life-long course for me in female appreciation. The fact that my earthly journey coincided with the unprecedented rise in the role, status, and rights of women has only accelerated my understanding. Back in high school, our study of world history tracked the role of women in society throughout the ages, which was huge in preparing me for the learning I’ve had to do along the way.

My thoughts on the role and status of women have changed dramatically over the years. This is not just rooted in cultural changes, but in my spiritual maturity and understanding, as well. It’s only in the last ten years that I’ve come to increasingly appreciate one of the foundational pieces of the Great Story from the very beginning. When cursing Adam, Eve, and the evil one for the original sin God tells the serpent that there will be “enmity” between him and the woman.

I believe that the struggle of women throughout history is, among many other things, a spiritual struggle. I believe that there is a special hatred that the evil one has had for women from the beginning, and men have been largely complicit in blindly accepting the schemes. I confess I have, especially in my younger years. I have a whole host of thoughts on this subject that I hope to share in a future post and podcast, so I won’t belabor the point.

One of the things I’ve come to love about Luke’s version of the Jesus Story is the fact that he alone gives credit to the women who followed Jesus and financially made it possible. In today’s final chapter, Luke not only records that it was the women who first discovered that Jesus had risen, but he also names them. Consider that while Matthew, Mark, and John were primary sources and witnesses of events in Jesus’ story, Luke was not. He investigated the Jesus Story by interviewing and collecting evidence from primary sources. I personally believe that Luke names women like Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household because he interviewed her. He knew her, and he recognized the role she played in being among the inner circle of followers and financing Jesus’ ministry.

I also believe, as a man who has lived a life surrounded by women, that Luke records that the Eleven (The Twelve minus Judas) did not believe the women and considered their report of the risen Lord “nonsense” because the women would have clearly remembered this detail and emphatically made a point of it in their retelling. God bless Dr. Luke for honoring them by not leaving that out.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about my mother, who crossed over into eternity this past March. There is so much more that I appreciate about her today than I did even ten years ago. I think about her mother and three sisters who influenced my life as well as their mother who was the spiritual matriarch of our clan. I think about Wendy, her mother, sisters, and grandmother. I think about my daughters and granddaughters. As I consider the base enmity that the evil one harbors for them, it creates a desire within me to honor them more, appreciate them more, and encourage them more in all the days I have left on this earth.

If I could go back in time and have a chat with Peter and the boys, I would tell them, “Dudes, trust me on this. Always believe the women. Always.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Uncategorized

The Deeper Need

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The Deeper Need (CaD Lk 5) – Wayfarer

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 5:20 (NIV)

I have a sticker on my iPad cover of Caravaggio’s The Calling of Matthew. It’s one of my favorite works of art both because no artist has brought the dramatic moment to life than then the troubled Italian. And, it’s one of my favorite stories in all of the Great Story because of what it represents.

In today’s chapter, Jesus continues his Miracle Ministry Tour as the crowds of followers continue to grow. Twice, again, in today’s chapter Luke mentions the swelling and astonished crowds as Jesus prompts a miraculous catch of fish, heals a leper and then a man with paralysis.

But underneath the obvious miracles and the public spectacle, Jesus begins to hint at something deeper.

When the paralytic man is lowered through the roof to reach Jesus, Jesus initiates the encounter, not by healing his physical paralysis, but by forgiving his sins and healing what sin had done to his soul. For the first time, the religious leaders get bent out of shape, because they know only God can forgive sins. Jesus uses the conflict as a teaching moment, healing the man’s physical paralysis as well.

In the very next episode Luke shares, Jesus calls the local tax collector to be one of his disciples. Remember that Jesus’ base of operations in Capernaum is a diverse population of both Jews and non-Jewish (aka Gentile) residents who were Greek an/or Roman pagans. Levi was considered a traitor by his fellow Jews because he worked for Rome and got rich off the taxes he charged and collected. I’ll bet Levi made sure Peter made a hefty tax payment on that miraculous catch from earlier in the chapter. Jesus’ choice of Levi (aka Matthew) could not have been popular with his growing crowd of Jewish followers.

Jesus, however, ignores His Jewish critics and visits Levi’s house for a dinner party. Being a tax collector Levi rubbed shoulders with other tax collectors as well as prominent Romans and Greeks who were pagans who also lived in Capernaum. Jesus’ own people considered these people dirty and socially unacceptable. Simon, James, and John would never have crossed the threshold of Levi’s doors so as to show consideration for the Roman traitor or to be contaminated by the Gentile “dogs” he considered friends.

But Jesus did. I think The Chosen captures the moment well:

Once again, the good Jewish religious leaders are appalled by this Miracle Man. He certainly does miraculous things, but He refuses to stay in the well established and accepted Jewish lane.

Jesus response? “The healthy (God’s people) don’t need a doctor, but the lost sheep (Levi) and sinners (Levi’s Gentile friends) do.” Jesus’ choice to dine with Levi and his Gentile friends would have made Him a pariah to his Jewish followers, but would have won a lot of friends among their Gentile neighbors who were typically treated with contempt by the Jewish residents.

In both the forgiving of the paralytic, the calling of Levi, and his attendance at Levi’s dinner party, Jesus is firing a shot across the bow of the religious establishment. He can heal people all day long, but a paralytic who now walks makes just another walking sinner in need of a remedy for his spiritual affliction. Jesus’ mission is to bring spiritual freedom and healing to every tribe and nation and people and language.

In the quiet this morning, I confess that for many years I ran in certain Christian circles, and the religious establishment among those Christian circles were no different than the Jewish establishment of Jesus’ day. I was told to avoid modern-day Levis and their non-Christian ilk, just like Jesus. The further I got in my journey as a disciple of Jesus, the further away I was led from those religious establishments.

I love that Jesus was so bold in crossing religious and cultural boundaries right out of the gate. I love God’s heart, that all the way back in Genesis looked at everything that He created and loved it. Being a disciple of Jesus has led me to believe that any human religion that does not reflect the love of God for all of His creation does not reflect the heart of God.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.