First Sunday of Advent - A Shoot from a Stump—A Sign of Hope - Isaiah 11:1–9, Psalm 72:1–7, 12–19, Luke 1:26–38

The church often turns to the prophet Isaiah in Advent. Isaiah comes just before the conquest of Judah by Babylon, a time of unrest, injustice where the rich are getting richer and more powerful, the poor, widows, and oppressed are ignored, and compassion is hard to find. Isaiah warns of God’s judgment against his own rebellious people, but also against the nations that defy God.

Psalm 72 is a prayer that reflects the desire of the people for a king whose reign will be shaped by justice and righteousness; the virtues of a faithful king, faithful to God and to his people. The Hebrew word ṣeḏeq, which is translated righteousness, probably comes from Arabic meaning ‘straightness.’ The basis of righteousness in the Old Testament is relationship, both between God and man, and between man and man. Righteous is about promoting the well-being and peace of the community. For the prophets, righteousness includes the idea of helping the poor and needy. In terms of the relationship between God and men, righteousness points toward a correct relationship to the will of God shaped by Israel’s covenant with God.

 Righteous action flows out of God’s election of Israel and according to his covenants. God is a righteous judge who acts for his people and whose righteousness his people depend on for deliverance and protection. Psalm 72 is praying for a righteous king, praying that God will send the promised Messiah king to bring freedom. In the time of Isaiah and the psalmist, God sees and hears the people that the rich and powerful fail to see, except as a means to grow their own power and wealth. For those looking for a righteous king, for a Messiah, there seems to be little hope to hang onto. But the prophets keep pointing the people back to God, reminding them that the weak and needy are precious to him; he hears their prayers for a king that will have God’s heart for them. The hope for God’s people is that a king will come from the line of David, son of Jesse. Isaiah’s looking ahead to a time when it will look like David’s family tree has been cut down with only a stump left.

Today it’s easy to be pessimistic about life and wonder, as Israel often did in the time of Isaiah, is there any reason to hold onto hope. Jesus still hasn’t returned and it’s hard for so many today. The gap between the wealthy and poor continues to grow larger, so many corporations have lost any sense of social responsibility and are focused on making the greatest profit they can for their share-holders, even if it’s on the back of the less fortunate. This week a new report came in that 25% of Canadians are suffering from food insecurity, meaning there’s a growing number of people going hungry, needing to access food banks to feed their families. More families are literally living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque, frightened of even one unexpected bill or sickness, while the very wealthy don’t seem to see or care. There are wars, rumours of war, the number of refugees in the world grows daily, and more and more countries want no part of welcoming them in. Persecution and oppression occur around the world and our brothers and sisters in the faith often suffer greatly for following Jesus. As the French writer Jean-Baptiste Karr said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

With defeat at the hands of the Babylonian empire coming close, Isaiah offers a burst of hope, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.” This shoot will do the two things everyone wants from their leaders: with righteousness he will lead with compassion and care for the least among us, and punish the wicked.

Isaiah’s a prophet of hope, pointing the people to the promises of God that he’ll send a Messiah; the Lord’s servant who will rescue them from both political and spiritual oppression. Isaiah points ahead to a shoot coming up from a stump; revealing that the seemingly dead stump’s roots are still filled with life, and a Branch will grow up and bear fruit again. This Messiah’s often referred to as the Lord’s servant, but unexpectedly, a suffering servant who will bring justice and rule in righteousness while experiencing injustice himself.

Isaiah points to a renewed creation where all of creation is at peace within itself. There’ll be no more survival of the fittest, but instead peace and flourishing for all creatures. Predators and prey will sleep side by side in safety, a beautiful picture of what justice and righteousness looks like in the kingdom of God; relationships of shalom with all the meaning of this Hebrew word where there will be peace within creation, flourishing among all people and with all creatures, where there’ll be building up rather than destruction, and the earth will know the Lord within a covenantal relationship of faithfulness. This image occurs repeatedly in Scripture: Ezekiel 34:25–27 ^“‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.  I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.”

The Bible closes with a picture of the renewed creation and the second advent when Jesus returns, Revelation 22:1–5 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

Yet God’s people experience 400 years of silence after the return from exile. But hope wasn’t dead, just as it’s not dead today. An angel comes to a young virgin in Nazareth, a small town in a small country under foreign rule and tells the young girl Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Judah’s under Roman rule, things are hard, oppressors have come and gone. They were free for a time under the Maccabees, but that’s long gone. Messiahs have come and gone, usually making things even harder for the people. Herod’s built a beautiful temple, but he’s cruel and unjust, only in it for himself. Now an angel comes with amazing news for Mary, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most-High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Her son will be born through the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus, the holy one, will be called the “Son of God.”

With the coming of the shoot from the stump of Jesse, this Branch has begun to gather people around him from all nations. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:10, God’s plan is “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” In our world filled with failed flawed leaders, Jesus is returning to bring in a renewed kingdom of justice and righteousness under God, the king-child born of Mary, raised, and crucified in a small oppressed country, raised from the dead for our sin, and returning to deliver the needy, defend the oppressed, and hold the wicked to account for their actions for failing to care for the people. Jesus comes to transform hearts, to create a new people shaped in his image, and to call us to follow him as our Lord.

We’re the body of Christ, part of the already/not-yet kingdom of heaven, a sign of hope to the world. Until Jesus returns, we’re called to be shaped by his values of justice and righteousness, to answer as Mary does, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Righteousness and justice are personal, lived out in relationship with our neighbours. Where can we, as a church, as individuals, or families can be involved in acting justly, seeing and walking alongside the poor, the orphans, the widows, and foreigners among us, offering the hope of Christ, sharing the new life found in Jesus? Go, sharing the hope of Jesus with words and actions this week.

Keep in God’s Love - Jude

                     

The world has changed a lot in the past 30 years. It used to be when we talked about a virus, it was about our physical health, now when we talk about a virus, it’s because our computers, phones, cars, or anything electronic has become infected with a virus that can shut things down and make our devices useless. In a similar way, false teaching can infect our spiritual lives, leading us into unhealthy ways of living, of relating with each other, and with God. Jude’s warning the people that false teachers have crept into the church and are giving the people wrong and unhealthy ways of understanding who God is and what Jesus has done for us. It’s not just Jude who writes the churches about this, Peter warns against false teachers in his second letter, and Paul warns about the same thing in a number of his letters. Jesus also warned about false teachers and shepherds showing up for their own benefit.

Jude calls us to fight for what we believe, for what we’ve been taught in Scripture and Jesus; listening to God’s voice over the clamour of voices in our world trying to lead our hearts away from God. He knows that when we contend for the faith, it becomes more real to us. Jude warns them, “They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” God’s grace is seen as permission to do whatever they want, depending on God’s grace to forgive them. The word Jude uses, “pervert,” means “to change or transfer.” In Jude’s situation, the immorality he’s warning against is sexual immorality and perversion. These false teachers are changing what God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice are really about. They’re teaching that you can embrace the sexual morals and practices of the people around you and God’s grace will give forgiveness and there’ll be no judgment for their sin.

Paul gets angry in Romans 6 over the same attitude, verses1–2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Paul, and Jude, are countering the false teaching that God owes us forgiveness and that obedience to God’s laws and Jesus’ teachings and way are not important. False teachers ignore that God is a just God and punishes deliberate disobedience. They fail to acknowledge that deliberate disobedience means that you’ve failed to truly accept Jesus as your Lord, that you still see yourself as your lord rather than confessing that you belong, body and soul, in life and in death to Jesus and follow his ways out of gratitude and thankfulness for all he’s done for your salvation.

Jude uses the Greek word “ekporneuw” for sexual immorality, where our word pornography comes from. Pornography is rooted in lust and self-centered desire. It’s often about exerting power over others, treating them as objects to be controlled or manipulated sexually, believing that you’re in control when actually, your desires are what’s in control. In the 60s, the idea that free love would bring joy and freedom hasn’t worked out that way. Instead, it’s brought more brokenness, more shallowness, more regrets and hurt, than joy or freedom into relationships. Today, young adults and teens are looking for a stronger deeper foundation to relationships than the free love mantra of the boomer generation because they’ve seen the brokenness in their grandparents’ and parents’ relationships because of the lack of relational commitment, leading to the increase in pornography and casual sex. The thing with immorality is that it begins small, like looking at images, which makes it easier for Satan to take you deeper into sin.

Immorality and sexual sin have many roots: many think that lust is the root cause of immorality, but often lust is rooted in anger; anger at others for perceived or actual actions, or self-anger from a lack of self-respect and self-condemnation for not being enough, for not measuring up to your own or other’s expectations, or from rejection. The hook-up culture and affairs are often rooted in the belief that sex will build connections and relationships which will provide fulfillment in who you are, it’s often rooted in wanting to be accepted or to belong. The reality is that these relationships create emptiness instead of fulfillment, broken relationships rather than stronger relationships, regret instead of joy, and rejection instead of acceptance.

Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” We are the body of Christ in the world and sexual immortality impacts others, not just yourself. It impacts the person you sin with because if you’re honest with yourself, you’re focused on your own pleasure over the other person’s. It creates brokenness within the church body as we’re the body together and unfaithfulness hurts us all. It hurts God and creates brokenness with God because it’s about you rather than about God, creating spiritual sickness. God is pure, so as his children, as the body of Christ, we’re called to imitate Jesus and seek purity.

Our culture confuses lust and sex with love. Love is rooted in how we treat each other, showing respect for the other person, putting their needs above your own, about patience, protecting, trusting, about depth, kindness, truth, perseverance, and hope. Marriage and commitment look different in our culture, marriage has many different forms in our culture, often shaped more as a contract rather than a permanent covenant filled with deep commitment. If it takes too much work, leave and pay the penalty, and then make a new contract with someone else who will fill your empty spot, who will make you whole. The problem is we place so much responsibility on someone else to make us whole, something that only God can do. John Calvin talks about a God-sized hole in each of us, but false teachers tell us that the right person can fill this hole instead of God.

What’s the cure to this spiritual virus? We acknowledge that marriage is a gift from God, and mirrors God’s relationship within himself where the Father pours into the Son and Spirit, the Son pours into the Father and Spirit, and the Spirit pours into the Father and Son; that sexual purity reflects our relationship with God. Jude shows us the cure in the beginning and end of his letter, “To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ,”  ending with “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore.” Being kept for Jesus, the one who’s able to protect us from virus thinking, who’s able to keep us safe because we’re in him, kept safe by the love of God through faith in Jesus.

Old Testament laws around sex focused on purity, on being an example to the nations around Israel of what healthy relationships look like and that our relationships with each other are a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. Lev 18:1-5 is a chapter that lays out unhealthy ways of relating to each other sexually. These laws are given to build healthy relationships that are healthy and help each other grow more into the image of God. Purity shows health, brings health into our relationships.

God pours his love and gifts into us; marriage imitates God by pouring into the other, building the other up, helping the other to grow into the person God’s created them to be. Marriage and sex are about giving to the other rather than taking for yourself. In Genesis 2:23-25, God creates Adam and Eve and Adam marvels at Eve, “The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Sex is a beautiful gift, it joins us together in marriage, becoming one flesh; a life-long relationship that is other-focused, building each other up to become who God has called them to be. It’s intimate, God-given, and exclusive. Paul uses marriage as an example of Jesus’ relationship with us, a life-long commitment to build each other up to be who God’s created us to be. Sex and sexuality are a gift of beauty and wonder, given to create intimate safe relationships; it’s about purity and holiness reflecting God to the world.

We’re created by God for intimate relationships within committed marriage relationships; sex is a gift to help us grow in intimacy. He gives us marriage as a life-long commitment between a man and a woman; our very bodies are designed for this intimacy. Jesus’ teaching always points us to trust in God’s ways. It takes trust and faith that God knows what’s best for us. We may not always understand the why of God’s ways and rules, yet we walk in faith, trusting that his way shapes us more into the image of Jesus, keeping in his love virus-free.

Speaking the Word Boldly - Acts 4:1-31

                        

Peter and John have just healed a lame beggar and are sharing the good news of Jesus with the people who recognize the healed beggar! Peter’s preaching in Solomon’s Colonnade when the priests, Sadducees, and temple guard come up to Peter and John and are disturbed by what they’re saying about Jesus. Peter’s telling the people that the beggar was healed by the name of Jesus and the faith that comes through Jesus. Peter also tells them that they’re responsible for killing Jesus and calls on them to repent and turn to God for forgiveness. Peter and John are thrown into prison for the night, but many who heard them believe in Jesus. The good news continues to spread and the number of those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour keeps growing!

What are some of the things you’re excited to talk about with friends, co-workers, fellow students, and neighbours about? Many of us have favourite sports teams, politics, and important current issues that capture our attention or hearts are some of the things that people get excited about. We talk about the things that are important to us, things that show others who we are, and what we care about, yet often, these are not important things, they’re distractions Satan uses to keep us from talking about life changing eternal things, like our salvation and Jesus. So many people are distracting themselves to death, look at how many people doom scroll, never going deeper in any relationships with others or God; there’s an emptiness in our distractions.

The greatest thing that’s ever happened in the history of the world is the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the foundation of the gospel message. When it comes to sharing our faith and talking about who Jesus is, and how important he is to us, many believers find themselves tongue-tied. Some of this comes from accepting culture’s insistence that public life and faith should be separate, others believe talking about faith or politics is impolite. It’s easy to find excuses to be quiet about our faith. Speaking the Word boldly begins with understanding and experiencing the power and presence of Jesus in our own hearts and lives, how Jesus is the reason for the transformation happening in our lives, our relationships, our priorities, and how we understand the world and our place in it. It begins with spending time together in reading the Scriptures to come to know Jesus more personally; so, we can teach the Scriptures to others so they can know Jesus.

The next morning, the religious leadership have Peter and John brought to them, asking them by what power or name did they heal the man. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit boldly tells them that it’s by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and that there’s no salvation found in anyone else. This is a powerful testimony before these powerful leaders. Peter boldly declares to them that they’ve missed the boat; that with all their knowledge, they’ve missed that Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Jesus is the promised Messiah, the one from God who has come to save the people, but they can’t see it, but need to be shown this.

The leaders are afraid because they see how faith in Jesus is spreading, but can't stop it. They see the lame man walking and can’t deny the power Peter and John have; power that comes from believing in Jesus, so they command them to not to speak of Jesus any more. Before they’re let go, Peter and John tell them, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Peter and John have to decide whether to listen to them or to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Peter and John know Jesus, they’ve sat at his feet for three years learning about the kingdom of heaven. They didn’t always understand, even ended up denying Jesus, yet they also learned the power of grace and forgiveness, the beauty of Jesus’ way, how he’s the truth, and how we find our life in him. It’s a no-brainer for them to choose Jesus over the religious leaders. Our culture tells us to not share our faith, that it's private, but we’re called to listen to Jesus first to make disciples and teach them to obey out of a spirit of gratitude for our salvation; we have to choose who we will listen to.

Peter and John share what happened with their own people who follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and they praise God, acknowledging his sovereignty, asking for the Spirit to give them the ability to speak God's Word with great boldness. Sharing our faith with boldness begins with having a passion for Jesus, for recognizing and experiencing the power of Jesus and his forgiveness and grace in your life, knowing in your hearts and lives that he died for you personally, and for every other person; all we need to do to receive this forgiveness and grace is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Sharing our faith needs to be rooted in prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit's power and guidance, trusting that the Spirit will give us the words and the boldness to tell others who Jesus is, and what he’s done for us in his life and on the cross. We share what we believe is important and precious to us, what we’re passionate about, and there’s nothing more important than our salvation. Our salvation is an eternal thing; it impacts who we are and our future all the way into eternity. Our tendency is to think about the right now, where can I experience joy and fulfillment, where can I experience pleasure or fulfillment right now. Satan loves to distract us with our wants, keeping us away from thinking about our need for salvation, for an eternal relationship with Jesus.

Sharing the good news doesn't take an education or degree. The good news is for everyone and is best received from ordinary people living ordinary lives with the presence of God shaping them. This is why the apostles’ words resonate so deeply with the people, it comes through ordinary people who know Jesus. Asking the Holy Spirit for opportunities to share Jesus with those on our Praying for Five cards is a good place to begin. When an opportunity to talk with one of your five comes up, one of the best ways to figure out how to share the gospel with them is to ask them to tell you their own story. When they share their life stories, we have the opportunity to listen to their heart issues; this means we need to spend more time listening than telling in order to be able “to share the gospel of Jesus in a way that meaningfully speaks to the heart of others,” as Francis Shaeffer teaches. Listen to their stories with the gospel story of Jesus in your mind. As you listen to their stories, ask yourself, what are they looking for, what answers does the gospel provide, how does the gospel meet them where they’re at in life, who is the hero of their story, and how is Jesus a better answer than what they’re going after, or trusting in right now. This means we need to know our culture in order to speak Jesus into the lives of people.

As you learn the other person’s story, you’ll hear opportunities to share how Jesus is the reason for the on-going transformation in your life, your relationships, your priorities, and how you understand the world and your place in it and how he can bring hope and meaning to them. When we talk about Jesus, we share what we've seen and heard; how have you seen God working in your life, how have you heard God speak to you? Use resources like 10 Ways to Talk with Someone About Their Faith; we have various resources to help you talk about Jesus.

As you build these relationships, Francis Shaeffer teaches that the skill we need for evangelism and discipleship is to “have enough compassion to learn the questions of our generation.” Three of the big questions are “Who am I, Where do I belong, and What difference can I make?” Before we can answer the questions of our generation, we need to listen well to Scripture and the Holy Spirit in order to identify the gospel answers to the questions people are really asking, how their answers can be found in Jesus. Peter and John, Paul and the other apostles and early preachers and evangelists in the early church knew Scripture and Jesus, and were able to share God’s history with his people and how all his promises are fulfilled in Jesus; how Jesus speaks into our lives.

To speak the Word boldly: know Jesus as your saviour personally and deeply, be deep in Scripture with others, talk regularly with God in prayer for others, for your 5 to come to accept Jesus, listen to the stories of others so you can speak Jesus into their lives, and keep asking the Holy Spirit to help you to speak the Word with boldness. May the Lord guide you as you go to make disciples for Jesus.

 

 

The Gospel - Acts 8:26-40

                         

The gospel news of Jesus is beginning to move out from Jerusalem into the surrounding areas due to persecution against the church in Jerusalem. This began after the stoning to death of Stephen after his witness to the people that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Philip ends up in Samaria where the people respond to his message of Jesus with great joy! While in Samaria, Simon the sorcerer believes Philip’s message and is baptized. Peter and John are sent to see what’s happening and Simon’s true heart is revealed. What Simon really desires is power and influence, Peter calls Simon out, telling him to repent and pray for forgiveness and transformation. This is a reminder for us to reflect on our own relationship with Jesus. Do we follow him simply for advantages and blessing, believing if we give enough to God, he’ll pour out his blessings on us? Simon’s story ends with his plea after Peter chastises him, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Now Philip’s sent by an angel to the area of Gaza, a major trade route, and area very much in our news today. Here he meets an official from the queen’s court in Ethiopia, a gentile believer in Israel’s God; the gospel message of Jesus continues to spread. The eunuch had come to worship at the temple, likely for the Passover, meaning he was in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, resurrection, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Now he’s on his way home and reading from Isaiah. The Spirit tells Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” We see here how God arranges our encounters with others to give us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus and make disciples. When opportunities to talk about faith come up, it’s not an accident, the Holy Spirit places you in that place, at that moment, to help the other person to hear the gospel news of Jesus.

Philip obeys the Spirit and hears the eunuch reading from Isaiah. It’s normal for people to read out loud in this culture as it helps people to remember and reinforce what they’re studying, to think about it more deeply as they see, speak, and hear what they’re reading. Philip doesn’t stand there passively listening, he asks a great question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch replies, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He shows a desire to learn, a humbleness in admitting that he has much to learn in order to understand. This desire to earn and study Scripture, asking others to help us learn doesn’t seem to be as present today. The average follower of Jesus today is less biblically literate than even 50 years ago. Part of it may be laziness as we can easily ask Google, some of it may be a lack of appreciation for how the regular study of Scripture keeps us connected with God and Jesus, and how the Holy Spirit uses it to transform us.

This is the heart of the Reformation, a return to the study of the Bible, to trusting in Christ alone, saved by faith alone, grace alone, all to the glory of God, being rooted deeply in Scripture, out of a deep desire to know God and his grace and glory through Jesus. The early church regularly spent time together studying the Scriptures, learning how they all pointed to, and revealed who Jesus is. Luke describes the early church community in Acts 2, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Our faith is a faith built in community, the body of Christ, the family of God, as we study and learn together.  

We live in a culture and time that often believes we’re wiser than the historical faith community, believing we don’t need the historical church’s wisdom to understand and interpret Scripture. The basic message of the Bible is clear, we’re sinners and we need a saviour who is Jesus Christ, yet there’s so much more depth, wisdom, and life guidance in Scripture. This story of the eunuch calls us to appreciate what more we need to learn, and to discipline ourselves to meet together regularly for the regular study of who God reveals himself to be in his Word, how Jesus is pointed to on every page of Scripture, and how we’re to live as Jesus’ followers, shaping our lives on loving God and neighbour, and making disciples. Scripture reminds us that we live in both a physical and spiritual world, and need to care for our soul life as well as our physical life. Just like we go to the doctor for our physical health, we need to be with the Spirit and in Scripture regularly for our spiritual health.

The eunuch was reading, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” Philip begins with this passage and shares with the eunuch the good news of Jesus. Philip may have begun with sharing how John the Baptist and Jesus himself often referred to him as the Lamb of God, how the sacrificial system of Leviticus points to the destructiveness and evil of our sin and the need for God’s forgiveness found in the acceptance of the sacrifices offered for the sins of the people, with the death of the lambs and goats representing our own deaths for punishment for our sin.

The gospel begins with the story of creation, how everything was created very good, but sin enters into the world through temptation, an alien in the very good creation, even after being told the punishment for sin is death. In order to truly understand the need for a saviour, we need to know the seriousness of our sin, that disobedience is rebellion against God and a disease infecting our souls. Being a royal official, the eunuch would have understood the seriousness of rebellion. However, God never gives up on us, promising a saviour who will crush the head of the serpent whose insidious words tempted Adam and Eve into rebellion, choosing to work his plan of redemption through Abraham and Israel in order to lead the nations back to God. Then, like Jesus shows the disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, the Spirit shows how all the Scriptures point to Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Dallas Willard wrote about working for money, “But the focus Jesus wanted us to have is the investment we make in people and their character: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10. This applies also to the study of Scripture, we learn so we can help others meet Jesus through the gospel news. In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter writes, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” We seek to grow in order to make disciples. It begins with filling our lives with Jesus. Our world looks to distract us from what’s important to the things that don’t really matter. Plan your faith life, put it on your calendar whether it’s on your phone, wall, or desktop.

The eunuch believes and accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour and Philip baptizes him. The Spirit then takes Philip away while the eunuch heads home to Ethiopia, where tradition says he preached the gospel to the people there. Philip knew the Scriptures and knew Jesus and helps the eunuch to know Jesus too. If we’re going to be disciple makers, a knowledge and passion for Jesus in your life is important so you can teach and lead others to become disciples of Jesus.

The Gospel news can be summarized as: God created everything and it was good, and very good! However, we are all sinners and we don’t measure up to God’s standards. God is just, he can’t simply tolerate our sin, which twists the good gifts good gives us, and pretend it’s not there; as a just God he must punish sin, which is death.

There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves, no matter how good we might be, we still sin. But the good news comes because God’s also love and provides a substitute to take our punishment for us. There’s no creature able to do it, so God sends his own son, Jesus, as the perfect substitute to take our place; completely God and completely sinless human.

Our sin is placed on Jesus who takes it to the cross and to the grave and after 3 days rises from the dead, having completely overcome sin and death. Jesus offers forgiveness and eternal life, a gracious gift, to all those who will believe in him. Jesus then gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us share the gospel news of Jesus. We’re saved to do good works, showing our thankfulness to Jesus, assuring us of our faith so others can be won over to Jesus.

May the Spirit speak deeply into your heart, may your passion for Jesus and the study of Scripture continue to grow so that your witness to others may lead them to come to know and accept Jesus as their Lord.

Qualities of the Kingdom - Humility - Luke 18:9-17

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem; we’re getting closer to the cross and Jesus’ teaching takes on a new urgency, with a focus on the coming of kingdom of heaven. On the way to Jerusalem, the brothers James and John approach Jesus, asking to be given places of honour beside him. Jesus calls them together and says, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus is about serving the other: God, your neighbour, even your enemy, because this is what shapes and changes your heart attitude into the same attitude Jesus has.

Jesus emphasizes the importance of humility, servanthood, and responsibility over power, authority, and entitlement that the world so often prioritizes. This is the reality of sin’s influence in the world; sin separates and divides while Jesus seeks to bring unity and a culture of humility and building into each other, just as the Father builds into the Son and Spirit, the Son builds into the Father and Spirit, and the Spirit builds into the Father and Son to create the perfect example of unity and outward focus.

Jesus tells a parable, using a familiar setting, yet adds a shocking twist. Jesus tells of a Pharisee praying, he’s just told parable about constantly praying and trusting in God to act. Now he tells of a praying Pharisee, a common sight. The Pharisees were the holy ones who practiced the law and acts of piety on behalf of the people. There he stands tall and confident as he prays, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” The Pharisee reminds God of how special and pious he is compared to everyone else. It’s rather surprising to those listening to Jesus tell this parable that the Pharisee would even notice the tax collector. Tax collectors were considered unclean, so he likely wouldn’t even be in the same area of the temple as the Pharisee, probably worshipping in the Court of the Gentiles, even though he’s a Jew. Jesus’ listeners see the Pharisee as the good guy here.

Jesus turns the tables on his listeners, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The tax collector’s too shamed to even lift his head to pray, knowing he’s a sinner and doesn’t deserve grace or forgiveness, and now Jesus says that attitude and spirit is what God sees and desires, a humble heart that seeks God’s favour, unlike the Pharisee who simply tells God he’s special and deserves God’s blessing, deceiving himself, blind to his need for God’s grace and forgiveness.

Jesus comes from heaven to earth, God's sign of love and grace. God comes to us even though our tendency is to move away from him. Jesus is with us, living in the world where real life happens rather than being coddled behind palace walls. God comes as a child, born in the middle of his people, instead of among the privileged few. After visiting America, Herman Bavinck reflected on American Christianity and remarked that it was a very self-centered faith, focusing on the importance of self, some things never change.

Jesus comes in humble circumstances so that we can feel free to come to him, knowing that he understands our lives, with all the messiness, the noise, the dirt, stress, chaos, joy and excitement life brings; with all of its day-to-day needs and challenges. Jesus comes to save us from the brokenness of our sin, offering new life of hope and inner peace even if our outward circumstances don't change. Jesus' salvation changes us, makes us right with God, filling us with his Spirit, knowing that he’ll give us the strength and wisdom needed to make it through good and hard times.

Jesus acknowledges the faith of the tax collector who knows himself better than the Pharisee, whose personal insight is blinded by self-importance and pride. In our social media age, we’re tempted to create lives online that are unrealistic and focus on how special our lives are, rather than admitting the reality that our daily lives are filled with normal regular work, study, failures and successes, with joy and tears, with times of excitement and deep boredom, all the normal things of life. We’re tempted to be like Pharisees, while Jesus shows us the way of humility and being real with each other and ourselves. If we try to live up to our social media images, we risk depression and anxiety, never able to measure up every day to the special staged moments that we actually share.

Jesus grows up in a small village with all the other children and families, learning at the synagogue, worshipping with his parents at the temple at feast times, learning about God his heavenly father, learning a trade to take care of himself and his family. Jesus doesn't claim the privileges of being the son of God, he does life with us.

The apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi, ^"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The result of Jesus' humility in doing life as we do, living it like regular people, is that God exalts him and accepts Jesus' death for our sins. Death now brings us into the presence of God rather than into punishment. Jesus’ humility leads to his trust in his Father’s plan of the cross, leading to our justification with the Father and adoption into the family of God! Humility is a key quality of the kingdom as it leads us to practice trust and reliance on Jesus and the Holy Spirit instead of ourselves, helping us to see our need for Jesus, our need for his guidance and the importance of submitting our lives to obedience to Jesus’ way over our own way. It brings us to the place where we can be honest with the reality of the depth of our sin and where we confess our sins with a broken heart, which leads to repentance and life change instead of just words.

Humility sees ourselves through the lens of reality instead of desire. Humility acknowledges the gifts and blessings God’s given us, the abilities and talents we have. Humility’s about valuing ourselves correctly. One of my professors at Redeemer University was Al Wolters, a world renown scholar who was willing to ask us, his students, for copies of our papers, and permission to use our insights when he learned something from us. He knew he was gifted in his field, but was humble enough to learn from his students. This is healthy biblical humility.

Humility rooted in love is at the heart of following Jesus; it reflects who Jesus is, how he lived and how he calls us to live. I’ve always loved the GEMS’ verse in Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Jesus sees parents bringing babies to him to be blessed and uses these children as an example of the humility we’re called to live out. He tells his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

We know that children can be as proud and arrogant as adults. We’ve seen children taunting each other, “My dad’s stronger than your dad,” or “My parents make more money than yours,” or multiple other ways of showing they think they’re better than others. Yet children at their heart, depend completely on their parents for the clothes they wear, the food they eat, the bed they sleep in, and they completely trust mom and dad to provide for them, so much so, it’s perfectly natural for them. Jesus challenges us to trust completely in him, to look to him rather than ourselves for our value, worth, or identity. It takes humility, a confession that we need to lean on him rather than ourselves, that we cannot save or even provide for ourselves without Jesus. When we finally reach that place in our faith, the stress of life disappears, and we can live in the joy of Jesus without worry, fear, or guilt, and heed his call to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

The Holy Spirit – Gift Giver - 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

 

Paul has just shared with the church in Corinth the significance of the Lord’s Supper, angry that they have taken this gift from Jesus to remember him, and turned it into something that divided the people from each other rather than joining them closer together as the body of Jesus. Paul reminds them that the Lord’s Supper is about the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, that the meal joins us together as Jesus’ body when we eat and drink the bread the cup together.

Now Paul moves on to talking about the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. Paul introduces the gifts, “Now about the spiritual things,” which we translate as “the gifts of the Spirit,” because Paul goes on, “there are different kinds of gifts, but the Spirit here,” pointing back to the references of the Holy Spirit in the first couple of verses where he calls the Spirit the “Spirit of God,” and the “Holy Spirit.” Paul’s emphasizing that these gifts are all from the Holy Spirit. The gifts come to each one of us because the Holy Spirit was poured on the believers on Pentecost, a gift from the Father, God’s presence that now lives within us, filling us with spiritual life, guiding us towards Jesus and away from ourselves, reminding us of who Jesus is, and how he’s called us to walk his way, and away from mute idols.

Now just as we’re all different and the body of Jesus is found all over the world in different cultures and languages, so the gifts of the Spirit are varied because the needs of the church vary from one place to another. While the gifts may be different, they all come from the Holy Spirit. Just like we all serve Jesus in different ways and in different places and settings, we all still serve the same Jesus. Paul’s really hammering on the theme of unity and togetherness here because of how the church in Corinth has allowed the gift of the Lord’s Supper to become a time of disunity among the people.

Paul emphasizes that the ministration of the Spirit, the gifts the Spirit gives, are for the common good, to benefit and build up the body of Jesus, for the family of God. The gifts are given to bless and equip the community of believers, not for our own benefit, but to help us reflect the nature of God, to share the gospel news of Jesus, to show how God pours himself out into his people to partner with him in the work he is doing here in renewing and restoring a people for himself.

Paul goes through a number of the gifts given for the common good: a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The Spirit gives these gifts, plus more, as the Spirit determines what’s needed for the health and growth of the body of Christ. We often think that gifts are given and that’s it, but there are circumstances where the church may need specific gifts and they are not be there, but if we turn to God and ask for the needed gifts, the Spirit will give them to us. Likewise, if we don’t bother using the gifts given to us, the gifts can slip away.

A little further on, in chapter 14, Paul expands on the gifts of prophecy and tongues, giving us some insight into the reasons for some of the gifts, helping us to reflect on the other gifts and their role in the common good. It strikes me how Paul says that tongues are a sign for unbelievers, quoting Isaiah 28:11-12, “Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”—but they would not listen.” In the context of Isaiah, God’s talking about the Assyrians speaking in their own language which God’s people didn’t understand, and because they’re unable to understand it’s a sign of judgment for unbelievers. This seems to echo back to the tower of Babel where God changed their languages as punishment for their pride and failure to listen to him. Since unbelievers are unable to understand tongues, it’s a sign that they’re under judgement, emphasizing the importance of the gift of interpretation. Paul states that prophecy is the gift to ask for because it speaks God’s word to the people in words that can be understood and so blesses the church. Tongues bless the individual in speaking to God in worship, but does little for anyone else or for the common good.

Chapter 13, a chapter focused on love as God defines it, is placed between these two chapters on Holy Spirit gifts, and close to the warning on proper relationships within the body of Jesus when celebrating the gift of the Lord’s Supper. It’s a call for love to shape how we come to the Lord’s table together, and also how to use the gifts given to us, with a spirit of love for each other and the community, especially the community of believers.

In Romans 15:18-19, Paul ties the gifts of the Spirit, often referred to as signs and wonders, to leading the Gentiles into obeying God and in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” The gifts and power of the Holy Spirit testify to the salvation we find in and through Jesus according to the writer to the Hebrews, 2:1–4, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” Embracing the call here to pay careful attention to what we’ve heard is at the heart of embracing the gift of wisdom Joanne reminded us of.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us to help us be a witness to who God is and the salvation that comes from and through God and Jesus. A family I came to know when a youth pastor came by the church one day. They had started attending the church through our youth ministry and the parents wanted to know what was happening. One of their children struggled hard and often acted out at home and school. Over the winter, his mom noticed that he was becoming calmer, that youth group was the high point of his week, and she asked why. One of our leaders had taken a special interest in him and acted something like a mentor to him, in our study evenings we were studying the fruit of the Spirit and how the Holy Spirit works in us to help us to grow more like Jesus. He was fascinated by the idea that the Spirit could change him. I shared this with her and her husband and they were stunned that something so seemingly simple, a mentor and the Bible, could make such a difference in their son. It felt like a miracle to them.

I then realized that the power of the Spirit of God, the signs and wonders mentioned in Hebrews are all part of, and the gifts of the Spirit, all lead us into a closer relationship with God, but also with each other. When we use the gifts given to us, whether it’s the gifts mentioned here in 1 Corinthians 12, or any of the other gifts like compassion and understanding, worship, prayer, hospitality and the ability to build trusting relationships with those who are hurting or struggling; these gifts are given to us to be used to build up the community of believers and be a witness to those who are seeking hope, healing, forgiveness, acceptance, or even seeking God.

The greatest gift we receive isn’t an ability though; it’s the grace filled gift of salvation that we receive through Jesus. This is the greatest gift, and we’re called to tell others of the availability of this gift, a gift they can receive when they accept Jesus as their Lord, when they confess they’re sinners and need a Saviour, when they repent and seek to walk in Jesus’ way, opening their heart to the Holy Spirit.

Most of the gifts of the Spirit involve presence, being with and among people. This is where deep spiritual growth happens, both for the ones we’re with, and for ourselves. This is why we began meeting for a short devotion and prayer time each week as staff last year; simply being together to reflect on a Bible passage and pray together. The reflection and sharing time are especially important for me, it blesses me, and I pray, blesses the other staff too.

We’ve each been given different gifts, but coming together each week as a church family on Sunday mornings, reminds us who we do this for, for Jesus and his kingdom. The gifts given by the Spirit are gifts given for the common good, to be used to build the church and bless the community as a sign of the presence and glory of God. May you bless others as you use your gifts serving God and others.

 

The Holy Spirit: Guide and Sustainer - Matthew 3:13-4:11

This morning we’re looking at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and how the Holy Spirit guides him in his preparation for the years of ministry that lay ahead of him. We don’t often connect Jesus’ baptism with his time in the wilderness. Jesus seeks out his cousin John to be baptized by him. John is humble and wise enough to realize that he’s the one needing to be baptized by Jesus rather than the other way around. But Jesus insists, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” This phrase of Jesus has created a lot of discussion among scholars through the years. Righteousness is about a correct relationship to the will of God as reflected in his covenantal relationship with Israel. Righteous actions are those actions that flow out of God’s choosing Israel to be his people, and the laws and ways God gave them to live by. This is connected to our salvation because God is righteous and the saviour of his people. Isaiah 61:10 reflects this, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Dallas Willard writes about salvation and I saw how Jesus and the Holy Spirit work out our salvation, “Salvation includes three things that are available to us: Forgiveness of sins. Through the work of Christ and his substitutionary stand before God on our behalf, our sins are forgiven through the mercy of God. Transformation of character into the image of Jesus Christ. We are meant to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). This is a work of grace just as much as the forgiveness of sins. And there is nowhere any indication that this is something that is supposed to happen after we die. A significant degree of power over evil, both in our own lives and in the life of the church of which we are essentially a part.” The Spirit works out the work of Christ within us. It made me think about what Jesus is saying about fulfilling all righteousness, with the images of Isaiah 61 and salvation, transforming our character in the image of Jesus, and giving us power over evil’s influence and temptations. It starts here with Jesus’ baptism and consecration to God’s will and plan.

Right after the Holy Spirit comes on Jesus and God announces his pleasure in Jesus, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This is all about being prepared for this new stage in Jesus’ coming to earth as our messiah. A number of cultures have young men going out by themselves to prepare for manhood. Here in Canada, First Nations young men would go out on vision quests to seek a spirit guide; something similar happens among many African tribes. They seek out guidance from the spirit world, seeking for an identity. They missed out on the Spirit of God who hovered over creation at the beginning, bringing life because they didn’t know Jesus yet. Jesus went into the wilderness, not seeking a spiritual guide, but guided by the Holy Spirit. A generation ago, it was common for people to take time to travel and find themselves, a similar thing, not realizing that the way to finding their identity lay in Jesus rather than in themselves.

The wilderness was the place Israel went to encounter God in order to be shaped by God, seeking his guidance. The Spirit leads Jesus to learn what being the Son of God actually means and looks like, what the nature of being God’s son is. In the coming temptations, the test will be to do his ministry in his own power, or to trust in his Father and the anointing power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Throughout Scripture, we see the Spirit guide the people, or cries for the Spirit’s guidance. Ps 78:52 “But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness,” Isa 49:10 “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.” Isaiah 11:1–3 points ahead to the Spirit guiding the coming Messiah, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.”

This echoes forward to the Spirit being given to us, to be a guide to us, a guide into places and times to shape and form us, given to point us to Jesus and remind us of who Jesus is. The Spirit will lead many of us into the wilderness at times. Sometimes it can be especially dark or hard; it can be lonely or overwhelming. It’s in these times we’re encouraged to call to the Holy Spirit and cry out, “Sustain me, help me through this dark valley, over this impossible mountain.” The Spirit is there!

In Ezekiel 36:26–28 we’re given a glimpse of how the Spirit will guide us, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Here we see the Spirit is not only given to guide us, but to sustain us, “You will live in the land I gave your ancestors,” and we see this when Israel wanders through the wilderness, the Spirit led them to places where there was water, into places of safety and provided food through the forty years.

Jesus fasts for 40 days and nights, open to the leading and instruction from his Father through the Spirit. The Spirit doesn’t leave Jesus as he enters the wilderness, just as the Spirit doesn’t leave Israel when they’re taken into exile, as Ezekiel shows us when the Spirit leaves the temple and goes east with the people when they are taken to Babylon, just as the Spirit doesn’t leave us when he guides us into new directions, places, and times. This is why Mikenna is able to go to a different part of the world with YWAM in strength and confidence, knowing the Spirit is with her.

After 40 days and nights of fasting, the devil appears and 3 times he tries to tempt Jesus to walk a different path in being the Son of God then God gives, and 3 times Jesus responds with the words God had given Israel earlier, to feast on God’s word, to trust God in all things, and to worship God alone. This echoes ahead to John 14:26 when Jesus promises his disciples the Holy Spirit, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you,” just as the Spirit reminds Jesus of God’s word in response to the devil.

The Holy Spirit protects and sustains God’s people. In Job we hear the Lord say in Job 1:12, “The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Then in Job 2:6, “The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” Here the Lord restricts Satan’s power and influence, sustaining Job during this time of trial and temptation. Louis Berkhof writes about common grace and how “divine punishments and rewards serve to encourage moral goodness in the world. The Spirit restrains sin in the lives of people and nations and sin is not permitted to complete its destructive work: punishments often check the sinful deeds of men, and the rewards spur them on to do what is good and right.” With all the evil and violence happening in our world today, we know the Holy Spirit’s working, making sure that evil’s restrained from taking over. We know that no matter what happens, the Holy Spirit’s with us, he will carry us, and will guide us to remain true to Jesus, to be salt and light in even the darkest time.

Because the Spirit is with us, Jesus is able to tell us in Matthew 5:44–45, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” I love following Jesus; he gives us his Spirit to guide us, to be with us, and to give us what we need as we travel through life, knowing who I am, who I belong to, and giving me what I need to be a blessing. I encourage you; embrace Jesus and his Spirit, allow the Spirit to guide and sustain you.