Blog

In Jesus’ first sermon, there are three verses that, for me, are the scariest things Jesus ever said. Apparently, it is possible to work for Him my whole life, have an incredibly effective and powerful ministry, change people’s lives, be used by the power of the Holy Spirit, and still not spend eternity with Him.

I don’t know of one great man of God in Scripture that would get hired by most churches today. He wouldn’t fulfill the profile nor meet the expectations that people have of the professionally religious. Abraham helped himself to the house help when he didn’t see how God was going to fulfill His promise. King David, a "man after God’s own heart,” wouldn’t make the short list because of his murderous and adulterous past. Moses had a temper issue that caused him to kill an Egyptian as well as an apparent speech impediment that would have made him a terrible preacher. John the Baptist was simply too weird. Peter was a loud mouth who wasn’t dependable and Paul, prior to his being transformed by Jesus, was guilty of killing believers and having little patience with people like Mark.

I heard a great message yesterday morning. I will summarize my take away.

Like many who grow up in a religious context, guilt and shame are part of the package. They are used to motivate, control, prescribe and separate. Even though they come from the desire for right living, they are the wrong motive. We often feel that making someone feel less about themselves will somehow give them a desire to act better.

I read John 8 today. Wow.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.