Dig a Little Deeper:
How would the Rebel Jesus respond
to our world culture and situations?
(Please respond to these questions with your reactions in the comments area of these posts. Everyone wants to know your thoughts about these challenges.
The world can be changed only if we follow our spiritual leaders, talk about it, and act upon it.
— Bob R.)
“Want to keep Christ in Christmas?
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted,
care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
― Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
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Dig a Little Deeper
How do you keep Christ in Christmas?
You strive to live Christ-life for the rest of the year as well.
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b]”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c]”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d]”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e]”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. –
We all find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness at times when we are forced to answer the hard questions. Do we trust God to provide for us? Do we worship the gods of this world, money and power or do we worship God? Do we sometimes test God because we do not trust his provision?
I must confess that I do not always pass these tests when presented to me in my life. I worry about lack, not having enough to survive. I sometimes find myself starting to get sucked into the worldly quest for money and power.
That is why it is so important for us to read the Gospels. To once again hear the words of Jesus because we all know that as in this story, and in our lives today, temptation doesn’t go away because we resist it once. It will wait “until an opportune time” and try again.
So as we look at the life and words of Jesus who came to be the great example not the great exception we are each called to turn within and ask ourselves those hard questions. Who or what do I trust? Who or what do I serve? God? Or the wealth, power or political, social and religious leaders of this world?
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Question to Ponder
In what ways are you tempted by wealth and power?
“Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.”―
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Dig a Little Deeper:
As followers of Jesus, how can we love like Jesus loved?
Here we are again at the beginning of the month of December when we celebrate “Christmas.” Are you one of the people who dread this time of year and just wish it would be over? Do you feel like you are going through the motions of the season because you don’t want to let your family down or that you wouldn’t be a “good Christian” if you didn’t? Are you tired of the great festival of greed and excess the holidays have become? Have you noticed that instead of bringing us together, the divisions that separate us seem to grow even deeper during this season? So what do we do?
Well I have a suggestion. Let’s realize that the busyness and excess surrounding the holiday called “Christmas” are not part of the Christmas story or the message of Jesus. Let’s take the myths and fables out of our celebrations. And finally, let’s stop worshiping the baby in the manger and start following the life and teachings of Jesus, the way shower and master teacher.
This month we are going to be looking at the life and teachings of Jesus and how they apply to the lives of his followers in the world today. My personal preference of translation of the Bible for my personal study is the King James version because I love the language, but I have chosen to use the New International Version (NIV) for this series because it is easier to read.
Each day’s post will end with an opportunity to dig a little deeper into the lesson, by considering a question or questions. I encourage you to think about these, live with them for a while. Journal about them or post your thoughts to the comments. Please get active in this discussion, we really want everyone to gain a real understanding of what it is we are celebrating during this holiday season.
Yes, this may be challenging, but it will be life-changing if you allow it. Please join us in this great adventure into the life of Jesus.
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Dig a Little Deeper:
During the month of December Christians celebrate light and Jesus.
Why?
How do our celebrations reflect the light and life of Jesus?
As November comes to a close please remember to choose joy. This is an important way we will overcome the darkness in our world.
Now for this little reminder from Terry Wilder.
Please respect everyone’s right to feel as they do about any holiday. Most likely there is a valid reason they feel that way, or that they celebrate the holidays they choose.
It is our tradition here at Espirational to post a fun video on Thanksgiving Eve. So please take a minute to stop your busy preparations, take a break and enjoy it. (Hey, everyone, this is really cool. Take about three minutes to view this.—Bob.)
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” —Henri J.M. Nouwen