Scripture: Mark 6:14-29
There is a term that is used in our language. This term has a very morbid heritage that stretches back into the dark days of European history. The term is to stick your neck out. The term is used in cases of risk. To stick your neck out you would go out on your own, beyond what is commonly held as practical or wise, to push for change. In the darker areas of history people that stuck their neck out usually ended up a head shorter than the rest.
I say that this term comes from the dark days of European history that may not be the entire truth because people that oppose those in power usually came to the same or a similar end. It is common knowledge that you do not oppose those in power. Our nation is one that defies most of the commonly held beliefs, we believe that we have a right to speak freely, to worship freely and openly however we want, a right to oppose those in power without facing a penalty of death. This does not however mean we will not face consequences.
Such a morbid passage to reflect on today but one that is very important. There are always consequences to the words we use and say. Once they leave our lips or are published in any way, they cannot be retracted but they are forever lodged in the hearts and minds of those that listen to or read them. The first lesson to learn is thinking of what you are saying and how you say them.
There are many things that can be said about the Herod family. Moral is probably not one that would be used often. The day that Herod the Great died he arranged for the mass murder of many of the key leaders of the Jewish people, he arranged the death of his wife, and even some of his children. Those that remained threatened to cause a civil war within the region so Rome chose to remove most of the power from the family. The region of Palestine was spit among all of the remaining children but the rule over the capital Jerusalem was given to a Roman Governor. This insured that the leadership and control of the Hebrew people was ultimately in the hands of Rome. This, however, does not mean that the Herodian dynasty is without control. They had authority and were the voice of the Emperor. So back on point, this Herod came from a pretty bad family, he may have even had some issues with his dad, but we’ll leave those questions to someone else. This passage also clearly states that he stole his own brother’s wife.
Historical record states that this little affair sparked a war. Herod’s previous wife was the princess of Arabia. The Arab king just a bit upset at this and to show his objection he nearly conquered the entire Herodian army. With that being said, Herod’s brother was not too happy either. The issue was not only one of bad taste but legality, the Herod family were converts to the Hebrew religion, we do not think of converts to Judaism but there are times throughout history where there were great evangelical activities among those that were not hereditary Jews. That was the main point of the Pharisees; they sought to clean the land by converting the Gentiles to the true faith. Herod the Great was a convert to the religion; his children were born into the faith. So there are several laws broken in this relationship. Things like do not covet your neighbor’s wife and do not commit adultery pop into the mind. There are also a few other laws that were slightly overlooked about the relationship; both Herod and Philip married their niece, which is slightly creepy even in ancient times.
John the Baptizer was not afraid to call Herod out on the unrighteous affairs in his life. Herodias the wife is a bit upset and builds a grudge against the baptizer. This grudge grew from a simple dislike to murderous intent, even to the point of putting her own child at risk to obtain what she desired.
The interesting thing is that this man crying from the wilderness intrigued Herod. This brings us to the next point; the world wants to hear the message. Herod protected John, because there was something about the message. He knew that John did not particularly care for his choices in life, but John never changed the message he delivered. He imprisoned the man yet John still continued to preach the message of repentance. This unnerved Herod, he knew that John was a holy man and at the same time he drove him nuts.
Well eventually Herodias’ grudge won. She set her own daughter up to perform a sensual show for her stepfather and his friends. He was so impress that he offered her anything that she wanted. Asking for John’s head was the prize,
So we learn that the world wants and needs to hear the message yet to preach it is like sticking your neck out. I mentioned this has been a problem throughout history. Challenging the commonly held beliefs can be dangerous to your health. So we must proceed with caution. John is still an intriguing figure. He is often compared to one of the most popular people in Hebrew history, Elijah. The comparison is shocking to be honest. Elijah was a prophet in ancient Israel during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. Many would compare the three figures in this passage to these three figures of history. The biggest difference is that John was not carried off into the Heavens in a fiery chariot. Elijah preached powerful messages and performed amazing feats through the power of God; he had a relationship with God beyond any other man yet he lived in constant fear for his life. John made a habit of saying highly controversial things among groups that participated in the devious acts. To the soldiers he told them to be content with their wages, meaning stop pillaging. To the tax collectors he demanded them to collect only what was necessary, this continues on and on and to end this message he said Repent. Turn around and be baptized as a sign of the repentance.
There are two options for people that hear this message. They are either enraged or they are inspired. They become enraged because you are revealing the areas that they miss the mark of righteousness. They say, “Who are you to judge me.” Let me remind you that it is the Spirit that is convicting not us. Although there are ways to present the gospel that does lighten the blow, John held nothing back; Jesus held nothing back they both called things as they saw them they called people snakes if they were. Others used different methods. Many of the prophet used symbolism and parables, Jesus also engaged in this method. The parable is delivering the same message but the hearer must engage the presenter with their own minds. They consider the words, slowly the message seeps into their consciousness, like a time-release capsule. At first it is an inspiring story, but it lingers in the mind, they begin to look through the layers and the Spirit begins to convict them that their life should change.
Parable or blatant message, vinegar or honey they both attract attention and both have their place. The message John gave struck fear into the hearts of the hearers. Where the parable brought people by grace. Think about your words how we speak and act. Our words can enrage or they can inspire. Our words can be filled with the grace and love of God or they can be filled with wrath. We live in a time where the Gospel is needed more than ever but the ears of many are tuning out because they have heard the message expressed using a mechanism that is not well received. The preachers of old have gone from the fire and brimstone messages of “sinners in the hands of an angry God” to the “love wins” yet even still people continue to walk away from God into the abyss. How do we speak to those around us? How do we present the message? We speak through our actions and experience.
I was engaged in a conversation with a friend about the idea of cohabitation before marriage. In this particular conversation I spoke boldly saying that it is harmful to most people because it does not require a leave of commitment needed for that sort of relationship, harming more often than not women. Later that same day the same person asked another question about the existence of Hell. Grace was needed in this case because I knew they were probably wounded from the boldness of the previous conversation. My answer was to speak about a relationship, someone that you desired to grow closer to yet they just did not want to engage no matter how hard you tried. I asked the question if the relationship would be healthy if they were forced to engage? Oddly enough that person still talks to me when I basically told them that their lifestyle was rejecting God’s ways and was leading them to hell.
Ministry is dangerous; we often stick our necks out just waiting for a sword to slice. We can speak in boldness or in grace but either way we are mere instruments of the Spirit who are working in the lives of those around us. If we act and respond to
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
Do you understand everything that is going on around you? Do you understand how you got to work this morning, not the route but how you got there the inner workings of the vehicle transporting you and the civil engineering feats that created the roadways, rails, and pathways that the transportation device traversed? I am guessing that there is something mysterious going on beyond your understanding. There are basically two aspects to humanity the curious side and the side that just goes.
Children are driven by the curious mode. If you have ever hung out with a child you probably answered the question “why” around 100 times a day. A child uses aspect of themind that many of us have let go dormant. The child is on a quest of knowledge, and where they do not know they imagine. They observe and reflect, they act out and they write different stories to put themselves in. A child engages the mystories of life, no wonder Jesus says that to enter the Kingdom you must approach it lik a child.
The other side of humanity is more common in adults. The aspect of life that just goes, blindly along the way. Some might say it is living by faith, but let’s be honest it is a life of disengagement. It is a life where we stop pursuing the unknown and get comfortable in the areas we know. Now there are many adults that still live in the aspect of life as a child, they usually annoy those that have “grown up”. These adults are researchers, authors, artists, and even some businessmen and women.
God wants us to live engaged with life. Engage in the mystery of life, the mystery of God. It bring pleasure to seek out the mystery. I married an artist, with that being said things can get pretty intresting. I remember one of my son’s birthdays where she devised a treasure hunt for his gifts. My son ran all around the house seeking the mystery, each time he found a clue it sparked his desire to find even more. With each find was another clue. He went all over only to find his gift right where he started. The funny thing is that this was several years ago and he still keeps his most prized posessions in the shoe box covered in paper and decorated to resemble a wooden chest.
The mystery inspired my son to find his gifts, the mystery and the joy of the find drove my wife to create the story, and in that mystery we have one of the greatest family memories. Yet most of the time we do not engage the mystories, rarely do we engage in a quest to find the mysteries of God. Yet that is what he created us to do. He preordained this in our lives. Which is one of the mysteries, what does being chosen before the foundations of the world mean? I look at it like the quest my wife and I took my son on. We had the gifts and we already chosen to give him the gift, but the joy of receiving the gift came not in the gift but in the find.
Do we engage in the mystery of God or are we just “blindly” living a disengaged life? How many of us read scripture with anticipation of finding something amazing? Do we pray hoping to have some new aspect of God shown to us? Salvation is predestioned in Christ, meaning before the foundation of the world Jesus was preordained to provide redemption. That’s great and all but there the joy is not in the knowledge but the relationship and in the quest to know Christ. To find out who He is and who you are in Him.
Today I encourage you to stop just living, and start a quest to find God. Along the way you may find may other things, mainly yourself. Have fun!
Scripture: Amos 7:7-15
There are many important people in my life. People that have inspired me and taken me by surprise. One example is my step-dad, I have always considered him to be one of my heros. When ever I was in a bind he always seemed to know what to do. I went off the road once when it was icy out, (this was actually a common occurance) and I called home on my cell phone only to hear my mom tell me he was aready on his way. The amazing thing ishe knew where I was and had the tools to fix the fence I went through already. I lived in a small town so I am sure someone called before I got to a place with cellular signal. Another time I was helping him move heavy sides to a grain trailer. He was running the tractor and I was hooking up he chains. Well the chain broke and this huge piece of metal came crashing down on my back, before I even knew what hit me, my dad had thrown the thing off of me. Luckily I was not injured, that part is a miracle but my dad was a hero in my book.
My dad taught me a great deal. He taught me what it ment to be a follower of Jesus. He lived the life as a Christian witness, every time we went to the local gas station he encouraged the people that were working. He never once argured or judged them but was friendly and encouraged them to come with him to church. After several years some of these guys are going to tha little church in the middle of nowhere that I call home. He would also preach occasionaly when our pastor was on vacation.
My other dad, that is right I am lucky enough to have a biological father and a step father that were very involved in my life two, would do similar things. He would play his guitar for camps, and churches when ever he was asked, sometimes I would get to go along. He would go out to run the sound system for community events, and would also fill the pulpit if asked.
Both would not say they were anything more than simple men. Although they are both great men. When I read about Amos I am often reminded of my dads. They would speak whe needed, act when they should, but they never really thought they were fully called into a ministry of preaching the gospel. Amos did not get to speak a very encouraging message unfortunatly, it was well received by those that heard it.
The Lord gave him a vision of a wall with a plumb line in the hand of God. The line was a standard, used to ensure the wall was straight. It is clear that God was going to judge the nation of Israel. The king and priests were upset and told Amos to go somewhere else to speak, but that would not matter Amos was not the judge God was. Amos said I’m not a prophet or even a son of a prophet. What is he saying? Well simply speaking he is saying I have nothing to judge you on I saw a vision and that’s it. He goes on to say I’m just a herdsman and a dresser of trees. Meaning that he is a simple man living a simple life, not wishing to be or be seen as anything more than a simple man.
My dads are simple men but they are also powerful preacher in word and deed. They step up when they need to. That is a hero, that is what caused me to consider my own life with God more seriously. What would cause ordinary men to step up to do somethin they normally would not do? Well long story short we do not know who is watching. We do not even know why they are watching. These people are the people we are working with at our jobs, the ones that are scanning our items at the store, and the people caught with us in traffic. How are we as commom people responding? It is the ordinary people that affect us the most. Not the preacher or the prophet, but the people that live the life with God wherever they are. The ones that preach the gospel with how they react.
Today as you pray and walk a life with and toward Christ, let us remember who is holding the plumb line. We should also check yourself to that line. People are watching us and our actons are preaching louder than any preacher’s words. That’s kindof scary I know. We cannot live up to that standard, but Christ can. So letus live a life reflecting Christ.