One touch that spoke louder than any words

I was thinking about this today when preparing to write this piece…..how often have we read the Bible and come across a passage where a miracle was performed and just glossed right over it without thinking about it?

It probably happens more than we realize. At least it does for me.

One such example was recently brought to life for me in a new way. I was watching “The Chosen”, which was a wonderful show that I really enjoyed that focuses in on the life of the apostles as they discover who Jesus is and begin their walk with him. One of the scenes in the show is where Jesus heals a leper.

I’ve either read or heard about this story dozens and dozens of times but in truth I’ve always just read it and thought to myself “Wow, that’s really cool. Jesus just heals him right there like it’s nothing and he goes on his way.” But there’s a lot more to it than that.

The encounter is described in Matthew 8:1-4 after Jesus had delivered the Sermon on the Mount:

“When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Where Matthew picks things up here in chapter 8, Jesus has lots of people following him, many of whom have just heard him teach the greatest sermon of all time, the Sermon on the Mount.

I think to really understand the impact of what happens next, you have to understand exactly what it meant to have leprosy during those days. Leprosy was a debilitating disease that had no hope of improvement during that time. It slowly ate away at people’s bodies, leaving ugly scars and rashes and blisters. It could last many years and eventually lead to death.

Lepers were treated extremely poorly during those times. People shunned them. You were to stay six feet away from them at least (sound familiar?) and they were basically seen as subhuman. Leprosy was viewed as a punishment and a representation of sin.

This man had no hope in his life. He knew that nobody wanted to associate themselves with him. He knew that there wasn’t anything that doctors could do about his condition. And yet despite being surrounded by people who viewed him as the scum of the earth, he recognized Jesus for who he was.

His faithfulness and hope that he placed in Jesus is amazing to me. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” This man knew full well that Jesus had the ability to heal him. But he didn’t demand that Jesus do this for him. He humbly submitted to the will of his Savior.

The next few words of what Jesus did next seem so mundane, but I think they are some of the most powerful words in the New Testament and sum up exactly who Jesus is. Matthew says, “Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him.”

Think about the WEIGHT of that. Nobody wanted to even come close to this man, much less touch him. Jesus didn’t care about any of that. He willing reached out his hand to touch the man and cleanse him of his disease.

It’s no accident that Matthew used that phrase to describe the action that Jesus was taking. By touching the man, Jesus was showing him that he had power over his disease. He was different than those in society who looked down on the man and scorned him. Jesus did not have to touch the man to heal him. He’s God. He can heal him in whatever way he wants. But he purposefully chose to reach out and touch the man and show him that he was truly cleansed.

That’s an illustration of the compassion that our Savior has for all of us. Even someone who was a total outcast to the world around him was shown love and favor by Jesus Christ.

One of the main things I take away from this story is the submission to Jesus’ will by this man. He had the head knowledge that Jesus had the ability to cleanse him. But what really separated this man was his heart. He fully submitted himself and his future to the will of Jesus.

How many of us have the head knowledge of what Jesus can do and who Jesus is but don’t follow that up with a heart for submitting to the will of the Lord? How much more fruitful could our lives be if we submitted to the will of the Lord on a daily basis?

There will be times in this world, especially in today’s age, where people look down upon you because of your faith. They will scorn you. They will mock you. They will attack you for your beliefs. But the chief concern for those of us who follow Jesus should be to submit to the will of our Lord. Every time. And trust that his will is always greater than anything we could hope for on our own.

May I have your attention, please?

God is trying to get the attention of our nation. The question we all must answer on an individual basis is: Has he gotten your attention yet through this pandemic?

As I sit here and gather my thoughts on what we’ve witnessed in the United States since the outbreak of COVID-19, my brain drifts back to the sovereignty of God. It drifts to the illusion that all of us fall victim to in our own lives….the illusion of having control.

Think about what’s been happening. Many of the things that have consumed our daily lives in America for years have been uprooted during the past few months.

That job that occupies so much time, energy and devotion in our lives? Many have lost that job. Trust me, I know.

Those sporting events, teams and athletes that we idolize? Totally put on hold.

Even something as seemingly simple as gathering together to worship the Lord in a singular location with other believers, something that we in the United States take for granted in a big way, was stripped away for many of us.

Some of us haven’t even been able to spend time with loved ones in months because we don’t want to potentially endanger those who may be vulnerable.

All of these things that were once a routine part of our lives that we didn’t even think about have been drastically changed almost instantaneously. Aren’t you grateful that we serve a God who never changes? Could it be that God is trying to teach us something through this pandemic?

This isn’t the first time a pandemic has swept the globe and it probably won’t be the last time. The loss of life that has been inflicted by COVID-19 has been tragic. But even if you haven’t known anyone who has contracted the disease or you haven’t experienced it yourself, this should be a time for deep introspection into your own life.

Have your priorities shifted at all through this? What has the Lord shown you during this time? I think about those two questions in my own life, and I come back to the word “control.”

As Christians, we always say that we believe God is in control. If you’re like me, you believe those words but are still guilty on almost a daily basis of trying to control as much as you can in your own life. I want the best for myself in my career. I want the best marriage that I can possibly have. I want to be able to make decisions that control which direction my life is headed.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I’m learning — and I mean truly learning — is that when it really boils down to it, I don’t have control of much of anything. I’ve often been guilty of moving too fast in life, not taking the time to slow down and appreciate the many blessings that the Lord has given me in my life.

I hope that as we continue to move forward through this pandemic that I’ll grow in my appreciation of what the Lord has given me in my life and also realize that his grace is what sustains me. And he is the one who is truly in the driver’s seat in my life. All that we need to do is follow his lead.

What is the Lord showing you during this pandemic? If you don’t have an answer for that, maybe it’s time to slow down and shift your perspective. Ask God to make clear to you the message that he has for you.

Don’t let it be said of us that we got to the other side of this pandemic and remained unchanged.

Hamhuis not defined by his career but by his identity in Christ

For Nashville Predators defenseman and 16-year NHL veteran Dan Hamhuis, discovering what it meant to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ has laid the foundation for every aspect of his life.

Hamhuis grew up in a Christian home and regularly attended church throughout his childhood. Even when he left home to continue his hockey career at the junior level in Prince George, church was still a normal part of his life.

After being drafted by the Predators and beginning his first year of professional hockey with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2002-03 season, Hamhuis found himself at a point of deep spiritual introspection. He had more freedom than he’d ever had before, being on his own in a new city that was far away from where he grew up. That presented challenges that allowed him to grow in his faith.

“The biggest transition for me was when I went to play pro hockey my first year in Milwaukee,” Hamhuis said. “That’s when it really struck me. Now I was living on my own far away. No one was going to know if I went to church or not. Up to that point, I would say I was religious in the fact that I thought going to church was what was important. I think it was in that year in Milwaukee I started to question like ‘Hey, no one will know if I don’t go.’ And I started to asking myself questions, important questions like ‘Why do I go? Why is this important to me? Is it important to me?’ And it was a perfect combination of a lot of self reflection and asking big questions. What’s my life purpose? Why would I want to believe in these things?

“Having our chaplain, his name was Iggy Cofaro, in Milwaukee kind of led me through those questions. He was patient but also direct with me in that, knowing how I grew up and that I needed to decide and understand this for myself. It was a year that really was transitional in my faith where I took it upon myself. That’s where my faith became my own, not something that I did because we just go to church every Sunday and that’s what my parents brought me to. I think it was in that year that I developed that personal relationship with God and understood more of what that looks like. I’m still trying to understand that more today, but that was really making it less religious and more of a relationship where things really changed for me.”

When you peel back the layers of what it means to be a professional hockey player, particularly at the highest level, it’s easy to see the outer layers of the fame and money that comes with the territory. However, there is more to it than that.

There’s lots of pressure in a win-at-all-costs type of business where the stakes and money are so high. And the swing in emotions throughout an NHL season can range from utter euphoria to complete devastation and everywhere in between.

Hamhuis believes his faith has helped him stay grounded through it all and has constantly reminded him of his identity in Christ.

“It’s been huge for me, and I think it’s helped me to actually play better too,” Hamhuis said. “Knowing that hockey is what I do and doesn’t define who I am. My Christian faith, my relationship with God, who I am in that defines who I am. That just takes a lot of the pressure off. Living and dying, the ups and downs of the hockey world, especially at the NHL level, the ups and downs are very high and very low. To be able to understand that I’m not defined by those things, I’m defined by a bigger thing out there, I think it allowed me to not get too high in the success and not get too low when things weren’t going well. It allowed me to play better. It took a burden off my shoulders. And it’s easy to say that. I still get caught up in focusing too much on results and what people are thinking, opinions of others. And when I do that, I just feel a burden growing on my shoulders. To play when I could find that balance of knowing that that’s not all it was about, I played free. I played light. I played my best hockey.”

We all struggle with different things in our lives, sometimes without even fully recognizing the depth of our struggles. One of the most challenging parts of staying spiritually engaged while being an NHL player is simply time…..or more specifically, the lack of it.

“There’s so many distractions, and not just the ones that you typically think of like road trips and bars, girls and that stuff,” Hamhuis said. “I feel like the distractions are more subtle and trickier to stay in the right mindset spiritually. Being busy. Being busy staring at your phone all day, not allowing time for that stillness is such an easy trap to fall into. I like to be productive. I find myself that that’s sometimes where I get wrapped up. It’s not a terrible thing, but it takes my mind. I find I lose my time for stillness and that reflection period for perspective.

“We’re fortunate to have really good chapel programs throughout the NHL. Hockey Ministries does a fantastic job, Professional Athletes Outreach, Athletes in Action…..there’s so many great resources for athletes that allow us to find a spiritual connection out there because they adapt to our schedule. Sundays don’t mean a lot in the NHL. We play games at any time of the day and any day of the week and any holiday so we have to find other times. Nashville has such a fantastic chapel program here with Pike Williams leading it since its inception in 1998. It’s great as an individual to connect and learn and be reminded of what the Bible teaches and what God is teaching us, but also it’s really encouraging to do that with other guys and understand that other guys are also Christians and have struggles and share in high moments, too. And then understand that there’s other guys on other teams that are also Christians. I find that that whole program is really encouraging.”

Our world today is a challenging one for many of us, particularly with the Covid-19 pandemic that has basically shut down the world as we’ve known it. However, Hamhuis is reminded that as followers of Jesus Christ, we can rest in the knowledge that God has a plan for it all and, most importantly, is still in control of it all. Just as he always has been.

“There is a lot of tough situations out there,” Hamhuis said. “We’re not doing what we’re usually doing and our routines, and I’ve really enjoyed the time to have time to be still and reflect. I think being a Christian throughout this has given me a sense of peace, a sense of comfort. When things aren’t going well, those type of words are kind of what you’re wanting and looking for. The Christian story and the relationship with Jesus, that’s what it is. I think it’s given me the ability to have a bigger-picture perspective of where we are going, not just the steps ahead of us. I like the idea of these times in this [pandemic] of maybe God is preparing and challenging and getting us ready for something that could be ahead.

“Just to have that confidence that He’s in control and He has a plan and whether it’s going to be through some difficulties, as Christians God has promises in the Bible that He’s always working on our behalf for good. Our definition of good is sometimes interesting. It’s not always material things. Sometimes it’s maybe restoring a relationship or building patience in us or building some sort of quality or fruit of a spirit that wouldn’t happen otherwise in our busyness. It’s certainly not always material blessings. Sometimes it’s the blessing of peace or a relationship or something that maybe is a little more unexpected or growth, mental toughness, resiliency. I think to have that perspective as a Christian, you start to look for those growth opportunities in the struggles because you have that trust that God has a bigger, better picture for us.”

Hamhuis trusts in that bigger and better picture. While realizing that being a Christian doesn’t make you immune to bad things happening in life, there’s a comfort level and a reassurance that this life is not the end of the story. There’s hope for tomorrow because we know who is in control of tomorrow.

So when things get tough, trust the Lord. When things are going well, trust the Lord. In all things, trust the Lord. And you’ll be amazed at where he will take you.

Any questions?

I feel like the passage in Luke 2 where we read of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12 often gets overlooked.

After all, Jesus hasn’t walked on water up until this point. There’s been no restoration of sight to the blind. He hasn’t even turned the water into wine at this point. However, I believe this passage sets the scene for how Jesus would come to teach others throughout his ministry.

Mary and Joseph were devout in their Jewish customs. During that time, Jews were required to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least three times a year for Passover, Pentecost and the Tabernacles.

In Luke 2:41-52, Jesus is traveling with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. After those days were over, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They were traveling back, presumably to their home in Nazareth, after the festival was over and did not discover that Jesus wasn’t with them until they had traveled a day’s journey.

Now, if you’re like me you’ve always questioned how in the world could it be possible to not notice your child isn’t traveling with you until you’ve traveled an entire day into the journey? Surely they would’ve noticed that sooner, right?

Well, you have to remember that back in those days you didn’t travel alone. Especially when the Passover Festival was taking place, it wasn’t uncommon for entire towns to travel together on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. So you’re talking about hundreds of people traveling together at that point.

Another important insight I’ve recently learned is that you were considered a man in the Jewish culture at a much earlier age. Jesus would have been right around the age where he wouldn’t have had to travel exclusively with the women and could’ve traveled with and been recognized as a man. That sounds crazy to think about for someone who was 12 years old at the time, but that’s just the way of the culture.

In Luke 2:46-50, the action picks up after Mary and Joseph have returned to Jerusalem and are searching for Jesus.

After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.

Isn’t it interesting that the first recorded words of Jesus in the New Testament were of him asking a question in response to a question? How many times do we see that sort of an answer from Jesus as we read through the New Testament? A lot.

Growing up, I always thought that was strange. Our western, American minds are trained to search for a bullet-point styled answer. We want to know exactly what the answer to each question we have for God is and how we can immediately apply it to our lives. That’s not how the culture operated back in the days of Jesus.

When Jesus responds to questions with questions, he’s not being difficult. He’s teaching. He’s often getting to a much deeper point than the person asking the questions even realizes is there.

I challenge you to read through the New Testament and identify when Jesus responds with questions. What messages is he trying to get across? How much do his questions challenge you personally to consider what God is saying in your life?

In Luke 2, Jesus lays the foundation for how he’s going to teach throughout his ministry. It’s still incredibly effective more than 2,000 years later.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m always fascinated when I come across things in the Bible that are connected. I’ve come to find out, with the more that I read, learn and study, that pretty much the entire Bible is connected.

We’re going through a “Bible study” at Long Hollow Baptist Church with pastor Robby Gallaty that is essentially focusing in on how to read and interpret the Bible from an Eastern perspective. As Western, American citizens, we learn, read and interpret things much differently than people did in Jesus’ time.

There are all sorts of connections made, particularly by Jesus, to the Old Testament in much of his words in the gospels. We often fail to realize this because we don’t know the Old Testament like we should, and we also don’t really understand the culture or customs of the Jewish world that Jesus lived in. Those connections are called a “remez” and there are many of them that can be found in the Bible.

Matthew 27 is a very familiar passage for many of us. Jesus has been beaten, has made the journey to Calvary and is on the cross. Matthew 27:45 reads:

“From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land. At about three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

If you’re like me, for years you’ve just thought that Jesus was crying out to the Father on the cross because he who knew no sin had become sin for all of us. While that is certainly true and accurate, there was a deeper meaning to that phrase that his followers and other Jewish people around the cross at that time should have picked up on.

To understand that connection, you must first understand how the Jewish culture learned Scripture. Remember, there were no numbered verses of the Bible or even books back in those days. They learned Scripture in school and were so well-versed in it that they knew much of it from memory.

They would memorize Scripture by the teacher reciting a line of Scripture and then they would recite the remainder of that set of Scripture from memory based off of that. When Jesus said on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, He was also making a connection back to Scripture.

If you go to Psalm 22, you’ll find that the first line of the chapter written by David reads: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”

Pretty interesting, huh?

Remember, Jewish leaders would teach by reciting a line from Scripture and the students would recite the rest from memory based off of that first line. If you read the rest of Psalm 22, I think you’ll be blown away.

It essentially describes the Messiah and what he’s to deal with in suffering on the cross. In Psalm 22:6-8, it reads:

“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by people. Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads: ‘He relies on the Lord; let Him rescue him; let the Lord deliver him, since He takes pleasure in him.”

Isn’t it interesting how that’s describing being “scorned by men and despised by people.” It describes the Messiah being mocked, just as Jesus was on the cross when he was told: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

In Matthew 27:42, the chief priests are mocking Jesus by saying “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.”

There are descriptions and connections to Jesus’ crucifixion all throughout Psalm 22, including in verses 14-16 that read:

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”

I would encourage all of you to read the entirety of Psalm 22 yourselves and make the connections with what is happening to Jesus in Matthew 27. It’s truly one of those things that will absolutely blow your mind. The Bible is the living Word of God. Jesus knew it so well because he was the Word.

There are so many of these connections throughout the New Testament. I look forward to sharing more with you!

Life’s Too Short

I always find it difficult to come to grips with the sad reality that sometimes it takes tragedy in life to offer the appropriate perspective of how short life is, how precious it is.

I’m as guilty as anyone else at taking the very concept of life itself for granted. We all make plans and walk through life with the assumption that we’re going to be here on Earth for a long time. The simple reality is that none of us know when our final hour will come.

Yesterday I learned of two deaths that took place in my community. I didn’t have a personal relationship with either of the two people, but it affected me as though I had.

It was a sobering reminder of the fragility of life. It can all be taken away in an instant, in a way that we don’t see coming.

How different would our lives be if we knew that we had one more week to live? How differently would we treat our relationships with other people? How differently would our attitudes toward the small, petty things become?

I think when we all truly think about those questions, we realize that many things would be different. The disagreements or strained relationships we have with others would seem so…….unimportant. Would we not do our best to mend those relationships before our time was up?

It’s a challenging thought to live your life as though each day is your last day. It’s one of the most cliche sayings that gets tossed around. “Live every day as if it’s your last.” We all hear that and get the meaning behind it, but rarely do we ever put that saying into practice.

The simple truth of the matter is none of us know when our final day on Earth will come. God has laid out a plan for each of our lives, and no two lives are ever exactly the same. And many times, it’s so difficult to ever be ready for our time to come to an end.

In the past 24 hours I’ve reflected about what ultimately I believe all of us as followers of Christ are here for, and that’s to bring the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to the world. What are we waiting for? Why do we not make that the top priority each day when we get out of bed? And again, how different would our lives be if we did?

It would be drastically different. It would change everything about us. And ultimately, that’s what Jesus does. He changes everything about us and makes us more like Him.

Look, there are going to be people who are never going to accept Christ as their savior and frankly have no interest in even entertaining the thought of doing so. That’s just the way it is.

But I also believe there are people who have been convicted by the spirit. They’ve been interested in learning more about God and have felt the pull to pursue Him. But they’ve pulled away because now just “isn’t the right time. I’ll do that later in life”, they say.

The problem with that line of thinking is that you don’t know that “later in life” is going to come around.

So if you’re someone today that’s been waiting to make a decision to follow Jesus, I encourage you to do so today. If you’re someone who is dealing with a strained relationship, mend it. Forgive. Love. Life is too short to spend it squabbling over things that ultimately don’t matter.

James 4:13-15 sums it up like this:

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

What’s holding you back?

What’s stopping you from sharing the good news of the gospel?

Is it fear? Feeling like you’re not knowledgeable enough to share it with any confidence? Do you just not know how to begin that conversation with someone?

All of us Christians have probably been there at some point in our walk with the Lord when we feel like we don’t know what to say or do when presented with the opportunity to share the story of Jesus.

However, I believe the formula for overcoming that and sharing the good news is available to us. We have to get into the word of God, trust in Him, communicate with Him and listen to how He responds.

When we read the Bible and dive into the word of the Lord with an intentional, genuine desire to draw closer to Him, we will not be disappointed. And because of that, we will become more knowledgeable and more confident in sharing our faith with others.

The Holy Spirit has a way at tugging at our heartstrings and giving us the right words to say when we trust in the Lord.

Jesus gave us a command prior to his ascension into heaven that is referred to as The Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20, where that takes place, reads:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

Jesus wants us to not only share our faith and lead others to Him, but He also wants us to make disciples. There’s a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Coming to a saving faith in Jesus isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting line.

What steps are you taking to ensure that you are going and making disciples of all nations? When was the last time you shared your testimony of what Jesus has done in your life?

Take this as a challenge this week to dig into the word of God and draw nearer to him. And to any obstacle that’s preventing you from sharing your faith in Jesus, pray that He would remove that obstacle from your life and allow you to speak about him boldly and bravely.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He lived a perfect life that we couldn’t live and died a death we should have died. And on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered hell and the grave. If you’ll invite Jesus into your heart, confess that you’re a sinner and believe that Jesus is Lord and died for your sins and rose from the dead, you will be saved and will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

If you’ve never prayed that prayer or made that decision in your life, I pray that you’d be bold enough to do that today. Feel free to reach out to me to chat at robstanley10@gmail.com.

For those of you who are believers, allow God to remove those barriers from your life this week and learn to trust in Him and be confident to share your faith.

Adopting a servant’s heart

Perhaps now more than ever in the 21st century world that we live in, our society focuses on a transactional way of doing things. I give you this, you give me that. I pay you this, I receive that.

If we’re not careful, that can affect the way we live our lives as Christians as well. I think a big problem in today’s church is we view God, and the church, very much from the same transactional standpoint.

How many of us show up to church thinking “What can I get out of this?” Or maybe even more prominently, how many of us approach our prayer life with God as “What can God do for me?” Our prayers often turn into laundry lists of our wishes and desires, treating God like he’s the magic genie from Aladdin without really pausing to recognize who we’re talking to and the respect that should come with that.

There’s nothing wrong with bringing your requests to God or trying to see what you can get out of a church service that could be applied to your life. However, there is a problem when we approach our Christian lives looking to be served rather than looking to serve. Too often we approach our church lives and prayer lives as “consumers” rather than “active participants.”

A good example of what I’m talking about can be found in the gospel of Mark. Jesus had performed many miracles, had taken James, John and Peter to the mountain to witness the transfiguration and had spoken of his coming death and resurrection.

With all of the signs that had been performed, James and John recognized that Jesus was obviously special and that he was going to be glorified in some way, possibly even as a political ruler, and they wanted to take advantage of that. They approached Jesus in Mark 10:35 and went on to ask Jesus to let one of them sit on his right and the other at his left in his glory, in whatever form that would be.

Essentially, James and John wanted to elevate their status and take hold of a special place with Jesus. After dealing with those requests from James and John, Jesus calls the disciples to gather around in Mark 10:42-45:

Jesus called them together and said “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 refers to the traditional human viewpoint of rule and points out how he expects the complete opposite from them. He points out that even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

If we’re not careful, many of us can often be like James and John, who were looking for Jesus to elevate them and were concerned about their own clout rather than doing what the Lord has called them to do.

A practical application of this text from my viewpoint is to remember that Jesus teaches us to have a servant’s heart and to make sure that you put others before yourself. Try to adopt this lifestyle in your own life and see what a difference it can make in your walk with the Lord.

Who is Jesus?

Have you ever heard people talking about Jesus and wondered to yourself “Who is he? What’s the big deal?”

That’s ok. You’re not alone in that by any stretch of the imagination. When you hear people talking about the “gospel”, here’s the basic gist of what that means:

In the beginning, God created everything in the universe, including the earth and all that inhabits the earth. Adam and Eve were the first humans created by God and ultimately disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is significant because it introduced sin into the world.

Because of that, everyone after that had to deal with sin. In order to live a perfect life and avoid the punishment of sin, which is death and exile from God, one would have to live a flawless life in accordance with God’s Law. However, no human ever could or will be able to do that.

That’s a pretty big problem, huh?

That’s where Jesus enters into the equation. He came to earth and was born in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary. The Holy Spirit moved in her and Jesus was born. That’s what is celebrated at Christmas time.

Jesus came and lived a perfect life. He performed many miracles, including raising people from the dead, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind and walking on water. He was the epitome of righteousness. He is the Son of God and he ultimately was betrayed by one of his disciples named Judas Iscariot to the Sanhedrin and was given to the Romans to be crucified on a cross.

He had done nothing wrong but willingly sacrificed himself after living a perfect life. Because of that, he took the place on the cross for you and I and died for our sins. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. He lived a life you and I could never live and because of his sacrifice, he provided a way for us to have a real relationship with God through him.

And because he is Lord, he rose from the dead three days later and came back to life. Shortly after that, Jesus ascended into heaven and he will come back to earth one day!

If you put your faith in Jesus and admit to and repent from your sins and confess them and your need for Christ, believe that he died for your sins and was raised from the dead and is Lord of all, you will be saved.

That means you will be a child of God and will be able to serve his will while you’re on earth and take the gospel to all nations. You will not be separated from God when your life is over in a place called Hell. You will spend eternity with him in heaven! It doesn’t get any better than that.

So hopefully this has helped some of you discover who Jesus is and why Christians believe what they believe. The most popular verse in the Bible, John 3:16, reads:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Love is always the way

Bullying is something that has gone on for ages, but it just seems like it’s more prevalent nowadays.

That may or may not be true, but I do know that social media has certainly made it more visible to the general public. Social media itself can sometimes be a cesspool where bullying is at the most extreme.

It breaks my heart to see some of these videos that are floating around out there of kids, or even adults, being bullied and harassed.

My first thought is always “How could somebody do this to someone?” And not only how can they do it, but how can they do it AND record it while it’s happening?

Here recently, though, I’ve been having a follow-up thought as well:

“Surely I didn’t participate in this kind of behavior when I was growing up……right?”

The fact is that I don’t specifically remember a time where I bullied someone mercilessly and intentionally, but I’m also sure there were times where I was bullying someone, maybe without even knowing what I was doing. Maybe sometimes when I even did know what I was doing.

Lately, when I hear of these instances or see these videos, I just can’t help but try to think about what that must feel like….To wake up and just dread going somewhere or being around a specific group of people because you’re either afraid of what they might do or say to you or that you’re unable to do anything about it. To feel like you’re all alone.

Like I said before, it’s just heartbreaking.

Admittedly, bullying has never really been something I’ve had to deal with or work through. It happened from time to time growing up through school, but for me they were isolated incidents and I usually dealt with them there in the moment. As old as this may make me seem, it was a different time.

I’m not naive enough to think that’s how it is for everyone. Bullying exists and it’s a problem. And it’s not just a problem that kids deal with either. There are adults around us all, maybe even some of you who are reading this, that have to deal with a form of bullying every day.

It’s one thing to recognize what bullying is and that it’s an issue. But what can we do about it?

I’d like to address three groups of people in order to try and answer that question.

If you are the one being a bully or are a part of a group being a bully……why? That’s probably the first thing you need to ask yourself. Why am I doing this? What purpose does it serve? Is it really worth making another human being feel this way?

Particularly if you claim to be a follower of Jesus and you are bullying someone, which does happen……why? In 1 John 2:9 it says: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.”

Jesus was all about love and kindness. If you profess to be a follower of him, it would stand to reason that you should strive to be the same way.

Secondly, if you witness somebody being bullied, lend a helping hand. That doesn’t necessarily mean go flying in there and physically fight off the bully, but it does mean that you can do what you can to stop them.

More importantly, it means making sure that the victim knows that they aren’t alone. That there are people out there who do care about them and who do value them. Sometimes standing up to a bully on behalf of someone else or befriending someone who is “uncool” isn’t the popular thing to do, but it’s always the right thing to do.

Jesus wasn’t about popularity. He did what was right. He healed the sick, ministered to the lost and hung around tax collectors, included women (which was abnormal at the time), gave his time to the poor and unclean. The least we can do is to be a friend, which is easy. And it could end up being one of the most rewarding things you ever do.

Finally, I want to speak to those who are being bullied. The simplest comfort I can give is that no matter how much it may seem like it, you are not alone.

There are people who care. There are people who you can reach out to. But most importantly, there is a Heavenly Father who knows you, loves you and created you.

There’s a passage in the New Testament that we call “The Great Commission” where Jesus said his final words before ascending into heaven after his resurrection.

It can be found in Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

Those final words are just so encouraging to me. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus is always with you and will not leave you.

Bottom line…..respect those around you and treat them according to that respect. It’s easy to be a follower and give in to peer pressure and be a bully. Sometimes it’s hard to be a leader and stand up for and stand with somebody else.

Do the hard thing.