Matthew 1: Bad History

“and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” – v6

Bad history always seems to have this amazing tendency to stick around. In ten years, the name Zidane will only be remembered as a head-butt. Janet Jackson’s musical career will have been forgotten, but her nip-slip never will.

The human heart, for reasons unknown to us, contains some mysteriously compulsive desire to hold on to bad history. Deep within the human heart there lies an unexplained need to hold tight on to the head-butts and nip-slips of our own lives. I remember almost every promise I've broken, every failure to meet the expectations of my parents; I remember every selfish decision I've acted upon, and every stupid joke I've cracked. Sometimes when I'm by myself I think about these things and I always end up wanting somebody to hit me on the back of the head with a crowbar so I could forget.

I think if we constantly revisit the vivid recollections of our failures and incompetence in the secret of our own minds, unhealthy paradigms of the self begin to take shape in our subconscious'.

I always think about all the times I’ve failed as an attempted leader, and all the times I’ve failed to let God use me because of my fears. As a result, every time God places me before a new mountain to conquer, I can’t help but remember all the times in the past when I’ve failed to reach the summit.

But if God can bring about global salvation through a whole bloodline of bad history; if God chooses to remember, bless, and use David to bring salvation into the world one millennia later solely because of his God-seeking heart while disregarding his lies, his murder, his lusts, and his failures, then this must be true: God does not determine the destiny of his children by their bad histories, but by whether one holds a heart after His own, or a heart that is too occupied with its own failures.

Mark 5: Paradigm Shift (God doesn't like it when you're afraid.)

“Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘don’t be afraid; just believe.’” V36

I get discouraged really easily. I can set out on a quest with confidence, just as long as nobody tells me I can’t do it. It’s a horrible characteristic, I know. As soon as some killjoy realist tells me something is impossible, it’s like an overdrive switch is turned on inside my brain and no matter how much I don’t want to, I believe him.

I think Satan is a dreamer. He’s the kind of guy who has vision, who knows what he wants. The Bible suggests that he wants to be equal to God. The enemy is a visionary, and by the sovereignty of God he has been partly successful in fulfilling that vision. I think he has been partly successful, because right now he has a kingdom on earth.

If Satan understands the power of hope, and the power of vision, it makes sense then that he would try to conceal it from God’s people. It would make sense that he would whisper into our ears, ‘that’s impossible!’ or ‘you’re too small to do something like that.’ I can see Satan using the skeptical worldview of Western culture to distort the church’s paradigms.

I think God wants his people to be bold, to dream big. But Satan is very good at using the people around us, and even our own minds, to prevent that. God wants us to see the world according to his paradigm; he wants us to see that change is possible through those who have faith. He wants us to see that whole nations can be redeemed by his power, if only somebody would be willing to man up to the task.

In chapter 4 of Mark Jesus calms the storm. And then he asks his disciples why they are afraid. I think it’s one of those questions that are supposed lead people to the realization that there is no answer. There is no reason to be afraid anymore. The disciples’ worldviews were defined by the human perception of what is possible and what isn’t. That is why they were afraid. Jesus’ worldview is that of God’s; and that’s why he’s fearless.

In chapter 5, the people have lost hope that a dying girl might recover because she had already died. The people’s worldviews were defined by the human perception of what is possible and what isn’t. But Jesus doesn’t listen to them. He ignores them; because he sees the world the way God does. That’s why he never gives up hope.

My brother told me once that God doesn’t sympathize with our fear. It makes him sad because it shows how little we actually believe in him. I think my brother is right.

And I think Satan tells God’s people not to dream, because he knows what might happen if they do. His kingdom suffered a significant loss when Martin Luther King dreamed of a world without racism. His kingdom suffered yet another hit when Billy Graham dreamed, and yet another when Mother Teresa dreamed, yet another when Terry Fox dreamed.

I hope one day, my name and your name will be additions to that list of people who changed the world, because they chose to see the world through the eyes of an omnipotent God; and dared to dream big.

James 2: Saw

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor.” –V5-6a
“Have you not discriminated amongst yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” –V4 (Italics mine)

Has God not chosen the outcast? Has God not chosen that annoying brother in Christ who does not understand how to shut his mouth? Has God not chosen the one who does not seem to be gifted by worldly standards?

But we have insulted the outcast. We act condescendingly towards those who do not fit in our social circles.

And by doing so, we have crippled the body of Christ. We’ve cut the finger from the hand, the foot from the leg.

God wants to use the loser. God wants to use that insecure sister in Christ who dresses scandalously to attract attention. God wants to use that brother who is struggling to stop sleeping with his girlfriend. God wants to use the ones that we intentionally overlook. God does not wait for them to become perfect before he uses them. He wants to use them just as they are, with all their imperfections. God has made them essential to the life of the Church. But by cutting them off from the family, we cripple the body of Christ, and put to a halt what God wants to do in and through the Church.

Therefore, let one pour mercy upon the other’s imperfections. Let us not make judgments about one another, nor unnecessarily say hurtful things to or about one another, lest we disjoin and cripple the body of Christ. For how can God’s beauty possibly be revealed by a church body that severs its own parts?

John 8: The Jesus Profile

Before reading text below, please read John 8

Who is Jesus?
“You are from below, I am from above.” – v23

It’s a heavy chapter. Again, a heads up that John is primarily trying to address the question of Jesus’ identity, rather than trying to give us a historical picture of Jesus’ ministry and character. So with that in mind, let’s take a quick look at what this chapter has to say about Jesus’ identity:

1) Jesus is the Light of the World (v12): This is one of the universal metaphors used in John. Jesus is the light of the world. Light makes everything visible. Without light it is impossible to see, without light it is impossible to understand. Jesus claims that he is the light because he puts everything into perspective. All 500 pages of the Old Testament make sense in light of Jesus. Every prophetic vision that foretold of a saviour, all the mysterious covenantal rituals that foreshadowed a sacrifice for the sins of men; these were all just pieces of a puzzle of which Jesus was the central piece. Jesus is the light of the world,

“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” – Jesus (in Matthew 13:16-17, referring to himself)

Jesus is our Moving Streetlight: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” –v12b.Whoever follows Jesus will have a light to guide them in life. Jesus does not only shed light on God’s purpose. It also sheds light on our own. Those who follow Jesus are given enough light to see which direction they need to go. Those who walk apart from him stumble through life in the dark.

2) Jesus is the Son of God (v18): Though it’s old news for us folk in the present, it was a breakthrough fact for Jesus’ contemporary audience. Because claiming to be the “Son of God” was just as good as claiming to be God (John 5:18). And only God had the power to forgive sins, only God had the power to redeem his people.

“If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” –v19

3) Jesus is the Redeemer (v24): Jesus makes it very clear that he is above human beings (v23). Even though it is true, there is a sense of arrogance in that claim. But I believe he explicitly makes states this because he wants to justify his next claim: “…if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be you will indeed die in your sins.” –v24. Jesus claims to be the one to be able to save humankind from their sins. Jesus made it clear that he was above humankind then, to put himself in a position to be able to save it. A man in the quicksand cannot be saved by another man in the quicksand. Only a man who is above the quicksand on solid ground can pull him out.