Category: Jesus

Jesus’ Kind of Intense Warning to Christian Leaders that Really Applies to all Christians-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 With minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance – 1st Peter 1:13-14 NIV

Last year I did a deep dive into the book of Matthew. I had read Matthew before, many times, but I had never really studied the book. Luke and Mark were more my jam. 

I learned a lot. 

 I also developed a deep respect for the author. As I dug deeper, I was repeatedly struck by the fact that Matthew’s brain worked very differently from mine. Matthew’s brain was a well-ordered machine. My brain is more like a series of random, jumbled-up tunnels. His ability to organize information was genius, mine is middling at best. 

Sigh.

 Perhaps, the most surprising aspect of the book of Matthew was the clear warnings the book gives concerning Christian leadership in the years prior to Jesus’ return. 

It won’t be pretty. 

According to Jesus (Matthew 24:45-51) there will be good servants (leaders) who care and feed Jesus’ other servants (church people). The good overseers (Christian leaders) will be richly rewarded for their faithfulness (45-47). 

However.

There will also be a lot of really bad leaders who develop serious doubts (either consciously or subconsciously) concerning when or if Jesus will return in bodily form (verse 48). This crisis of belief will affect their leadership in detrimental ways. Specifically, these leaders will become egocentric. Their leadership platform will become a means of gaining money and attention. These leaders will mistreat those they are tasked with feeding and caring for spiritually. 

Truth-be-told, the world is already seeing some of Jesus predictions being played out. Narcissism in church leadership is running wild. A large number of regular, everyday Christians have left their churches because they have experienced church hurt at the hands of self-absorbed leadership. Many have yet to return to any church. Abusive, sinful and hypocritical Christian leaders are so common very few people even bother getting worked up over their antics anymore. 

Sigh. 

I believe this passage is specifically talking about pastoral leadership in the endish times. 

Subsequently.

It is imperative Christians stop enabling self-absorption and personal kingdom building in church leadership. Everything everyone does in church should be about building God’s Kingdom here on earth not monuments to human awesomeness (Matthew 6:9-10). 

Christians do the kingdom of God serious injury when they stay in churches where the leadership is obviously abusive, hopelessly self-focused or indifferent to people. The quality of the preaching should not be the number one consideration when choosing a church, the character of the people in the pulpit should be.  Public speaking (which is what preaching is) is simply a skill anyone with operational vocal cords can develop.  A person can be an excellent speaker and a terrible person/leader. This true even if they hold the title of “pastor”. 

Additionally, most Christians lead someone, so this passage applies to most Christians at least to some degree. How Christians lead matters. A lot. Human beings who don’t know God or who don’t know Him very well judge God by the behavior and overall character of His people. This means a church, a home, or Christian organization will turn people off to God if the character of the leadership (parents, pastor’s, leaders) is bad.  

Leaders can help halt the losses Christianity has experienced the last couple of decades by electing to view leadership the way Jesus viewed leadership.  Jesus literally had all the authority in the universe (Matthew 26:53, Matthew 28:18, Luke 4:36) and yet He didn’t get hung up on it. When He did play the “authority card” it was always about someone else’s needs, not His own privileges, popularity or authority.  We see this see this demonstrated beautifully in His dealings with the money changers (Matthew 21:12-13). Jesus was outraged. However, He wasn’t about mad because He was being slighted or disrespected, even though He was, it was literally HIS temple they were defiling. Jesus’ concern was for the people who were being marginalized by the moneychangers (mostly gentiles and women). Concern for who we’re leading, rather than our own popularity or authority should always be our north star. 

This means self-promotion, getting hung up on honor or becoming overly attached to the perks of leadership is a serious no-no for any Christian leader. Please understand, it is GOOD for Christians to give respect and honor to those who lead them and to one another. We should go out of our way to out-honor each other in Christian communities (Romans 12:10, Romans 13:7, 1st Timothy 5:17, 1st Peter 2:17). Just as teachers and leaders will be judged for how they lead, followers will also be judged by God for the level of cooperation and respect they give to those tasked with leading them (Hebrews 13:7, Hebrews 13:17). Nonetheless, it is highly inappropriate for Christians (leaders or not) to demand honor. Practically speaking this means we see those we lead as equals and treat them with even greater dignity than we expect for ourselves.  

Attitude is everything. 

The best Christian leaders have the mindset of managers. They believe deep in their hearts they answer to Jesus (the owner) for everything they do and say (James 3:1). Embracing this reality is the only to keep a human being’s worst inclinations at bay. 

One last thing. 

Matthew 25:45-51 isn’t JUST about leadership. It also tells us (in a roundabout way) that there are serious real-time consequences of not believing in and/or anticipating the return of Jesus. Christians who expect the return of Jesus are protected from falling into patterns of greed, selfishness and self-glorification. 

Belief in the return of Jesus is the best protective medicine.

What the Book of Romans Teaches us About the “Why” of Jesus-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

 He (the Father) raised Him (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come- Ephesians 1:20-21 NASB

I am currently going through the book of Romans with a friend who I have a discipling relationship with.  Romans was her pick. When she picked it, I sighed inwardly but I did not have the heart to tell her it’s basically my least favorite book in the New Testament.  She was just way too excited for me to lay a heavy load of negativity on her.

So, I kept my thoughts to myself.

 It’s not the content or theology of Romans I take issue with. To the contrary, the content and the theology of Romans is some of the most profound in all the Bible. It’s Paul’s writing style that annoys me. Romans is what I call a “winding story”.  The apostle takes the long and meandering road to make the vast majority of his points. Furthermore, Paul routinely uses a hundred words when (in my opinion) fifty would more than do.  I simply prefer a more concise and tidy writing style. 

It’s just how I roll. 

However. I’m coming around to the book of Romans, mostly because it hit me kind of outa the blue that the whole book is basically just the “why” of Jesus. I do love to know the why of everything and the “why” of Jesus is, without question the most important “why” ever. There are ultimately five really good reasons why ALL people everywhere need Jesus. 

It all begins with the reality that:

All people are terrible- 

We just are. Humanity’s collective terribleness is the overarching theme of Romans 1:18-3:31. Humans love to sin because rebellion is a part of our human DNA. Jews and gentiles are both awful. The gentiles were/are terrible apart from the law (Romans 1:18-32) and the Jews were/are equally as terrible (in different ways) with the law as their guide and teacher (Romans 2:17-29). Paul sums it up neatly in Romans 3:11-18 where he quotes a bunch of Old Testament passages that tells us that no one is righteous and all people are at the core of who they are—really awful.  Humanity’s universal wickedness means that even our best efforts to do good are often self-serving and inevitably fall miserably short (Isaiah 65:6).  It’s a lot of bad news and it’s all still true in 2024.  

No one can stop being terrible without Jesus-

We just can’t.  But God knows we are prideful and self-willed so we would try. He gave the Hebrew people the Old Testament law with its system of sacrifices and rules to show us that none of us can be truly “good” in our own power.  The law was insufficient because it could not make anyone truly good or righteous (Romans 2:23, Hebrews 7:18-19). The problem wasn’t with the law. The problem was with people. A person could obey all the law and still have an evil unbelieving heart bent toward sin and evil (Matthew 5:17-48, Jeremiah 1:9, Proverbs 26:11). A better plan was needed. Jesus was that better plan. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross to become a once-for-all sacrifice, not just for the Jewish people but for all people (Hebrews 10:10, Romans 1:16-17). Jesus took on the sin of humanity so the problem of the sin could be dealt with once for all (Romans 8:3, Hebrews 9:26). He took the punishment we deserve. In doing so, the relationship between God and humanity could be restored to what it was before sin entered the world (Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 2). 

Jesus brings hope-

He just does.  Jesus was both God and man. He was born of a virgin woman because the seed of sin came through Adam (Romans 5:12). Because Jesus is God, He was able to live a sinless life. A perfect sinless sacrifice was what was needed to satisfy God’s warranted anger at mankind’s sin and rebellion (Romans 1:18). We also needed a way to actually be better. Jesus is the way. When we place our faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection God no longer sees our sin and terribleness (Colossians 1:21-22). Instead, God sees the goodness and righteousness of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten by God (Psalm 32:1, Acts 10:43, Romans 4:7-8, Colossians 1:13-14). 

Jesus not only makes us righteous in God’s eyes He also makes us far less terrible from a practical perspective- 

Jesus not only died for our sins, He also lived a perfect, sinless life to teach us how to live a life that pleases God. When we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are no longer slaves to our sinful tendencies and desires (Romans 6:6, 2nd Corinthians 5:17, 2nd Corinthians 3:18, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11). We are set free to do what is right (Romans 6:16-17). Romans 12:1-21 gives us the road map for loosening the bonds of our sinful nature and being transformed into the image of Jesus. When we do what Romans twelve tells us to do we become what the apostle Peter called “partakers of the divine nature” (2nd Peter 1:4-10). When we choose to live a life of repentance and obedience we literally become like the God we serve.

And finally: 

Jesus gives people the ultimate purpose and hope for a better future. The book of Romans promises all of God’s people the joy of present usefulness, no matter their present situation (Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 15:14, Romans 15:17, Romans 12:6, 1st Corinthians 12:27-13:13). When we give our lives to Jesus He empowers with gifts that enable us to do His will in this world. As a result, we become change agents who bring light, life and truth to a lost and dying world. On top of all of that we get to spend all of eternity with the God of the universe (John 3:16, Romans 6:23).

And, that’s the why of Jesus.

Where do you Fall in Matthew Chapter Eight?

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple- Luke 14:33 NKJV

There are two kinds of Christians. 

There are Christians who mark up their Bibles and Christians who don’t. I am unashamedly the first kind of Christian. I can tell at a glance how impactful a chapter of the Bible has been to me by the sheer number of highlights, underlines and notes written in the margins.

I am currently working my way through the book of Matthew. The Bible I’m using is new enough that it’s more-or-less a blank slate at this point.  As I finished up chapter eight, I noticed an astonishing scarceness of notes, underlining and highlighting compared to the previous seven chapters. 

It was a little drab and dull in comparison.  

 I decided to go back and take a second look. Matthew eight tells the seemingly random stories of people or groups of people who all had encounters with Jesus. The first encounter is with a leper who is healed by Jesus. That encounter is followed by a story about a Roman centurion whose servant is healed by Jesus long distance (verses 9-13). Next up is the healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law (verses 14-15). 

 There is a departure from the healings theme towards the end of the chapter. Verses eighteen through twenty-two detail interactions Jesus has with a nameless teacher of the law and an anonymous disciple. The teacher promises he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. Instead he makes a bunch of lame excuses and goes his own way.  The unknown disciple also reneges on his initial pledge to follow Jesus (Matthew 13:18-22).

Immediately following those encounters the disciples find themselves in a nasty storm. The fierceness of the storm shakes their faith in a big way.  Jesus finds the disciples and their lack of faith in Him super annoying (verses 23-27). 

The chapter ends with Jesus healing two demon possessed gentiles. The demons come out of the men and after a brief conversation with Jesus, the demons agree to go into a herd of pigs. The demon possessed pigs immediately jump off of a cliff and die. The loss of the pigs ends up costing the locals a LOT of money. They frantically beg Jesus to leave their region because He wasn’t good for their bottom line. 

The end. 

Even after the second reading it still felt like a bunch of random stories. I wasn’t really feeling it.

 Then it hit me pretty much out of nowhere that all the stories had a common theme:

Response. 

The chapter records how different people respond to Jesus. The leper went to Jesus in faith and responded in obedience. The centurion responded to Jesus with such faith and humility, Jesus praised him for it in a way that almost certainly enraged the Jews present (verses 10-12). Peter’s Mother-in-law responded to Jesus’ healing touch with a life of service. The teacher of the law and the nameless disciple are both interesting. Both apparently understood who Jesus was but once they realized following Jesus might mean discomfort and/or a loss of status they responded by going their own way (verses18-22). The disciples are just sad at this point in the narrative. Even after watching Jesus heal scores of people (including some of their own relatives) they still struggled to respond with trust in Jesus when it came to the tough stuff of life (verse 23-27). 

Sigh. 

Then there’s the townspeople. These folks are the genuine sad-sacks of the chapter. They saw Jesus’ power and were so afraid of what following Jesus might ultimately cost them, they responded by begging Jesus to leave them alone. 

It occurred to me we all fall somewhere on the chapter eight spectrum. We might even find ourselves in different places in chapter eight at different points in our life. 

Perhaps you’re one of those individuals who started your journey with Jesus full of child-like faith. You responded to Jesus with a heart of obedience and you’re still keeping on. My prayer is that you have a heart like Peter’s Mother-in-law and you’ve invested your days in serving Jesus with everything you have (Matthew 25:21). 

I hope this is you.

But maybe:

After a long season of hard knocks, you may be questioning whether or not Jesus is worth the trouble.  Perhaps, the storms of life feel unrelenting. Your faith in Jesus and His ability to care for you is being challenged at every turn.  Maybe life feels uncertain and you’re just kind of terrified. 

Or maybe, you’re like those gentile townspeople. You know Jesus is real, but you’re afraid of what following Jesus is going to cost you. You’re just not sure a life of faith is worth giving up that habit, relationship or sin. Maybe you’re so determined to do your own thing you’re willing to risk hell simply to have your own way. 

Wherever you are on the Matthew eight spectrum:

 I know Jesus is worth it (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84:11). I know He’s faithful, even in the midst of the toughest most brutal stuff of life (Psalm 27:13).  I have also learned that even in the worst moments He is busy working out all things for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28-29). 

Trust Him today (2nd Corinthians 13:14, 1st John 3:16). He’s got you.  

Fake Jesus?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Galatians 1:8-9 NASB 

I wasn’t raised in church but I was raised in America, so, growing-up I saw a lot of paintings of Jesus. In all of them Jesus was pretty white-bread and Anglo. He always had long blonde hair, high cheekbones, clear blue eyes and ivory skin. Because I wasn’t a Christian, I didn’t think much about whether or not those renderings were an accurate representation of Jesus. 

As a young adult Christian, I saw my first painting of a black Jesus. To be honest, I found the whole notion of a black Jesus a little disconcerting because it just wasn’t how I “saw” Jesus in my white-girl head. Later, in a class I took on missions, I learned that in every culture where the gospel has taken root, Christians have painted Jesus to look exactly like them. This is why there are black Jesus’, white Jesus’, brown Jesus’ and Asian Jesus’ even though Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man. 

This is not a bad thing. 

It means humans grasp intuitively the spiritual reality Jesus was sacrificed, not just for one group of really special people but for all people (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:5-9, Hebrews 10:10). Our tendency to make Jesus “look like us” means all Christians (regardless of nationality or skin color) identify with Jesus in a personal way.  We understand on a gut-level Jesus was the great high priest who made the ultimate sacrifice for every tribe, language, people and nation on earth (Revelation 5:9). 

The flipside of this phenomenon is it exposes the human propensity we all have to make Jesus into whoever or whatever we want Him to be. Humans have always been inclined to make God in their own image. This is most clearly seen with the Greco/Roman pantheon of gods. The Greco/Roman “gods” reflected human passions, strengths and weaknesses. They were gods made in the image of man. 

Now we do it with Jesus. 

It is not at all unusual for people (even Christian people) to say “my Jesus” or “the God I worship”. Nine times out of ten “my Jesus” or “the God I worship” is followed by a statement of what “their” God would or would not do. It is exceptionally rare for these proclamations to line up one-hundred-percent with what the Bible actually says about the subject. 

It does happen, just not very often. 

This is not a new thing. In 2nd Corinthians Paul confronted his readers with their tendency to turn to a “new Jesus” anytime a preacher with a new teaching came along. These “other Jesus’” did not line up with the Jesus Paul had preached to them (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The Corinthian Christians loved God and apparently had a sincere longing to serve God. However, they were in danger of being deceived by these “other Jesus’” just as Eve was deceived by Satan’s clever arguments in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4). 

The tendency to make Jesus into what we want Him to be is getting demonstrably worse. It’s not at all unusual for professing Christians to say “Jesus was right beside me” as they were busy doing something the authentic biblical Jesus would never be a part of. Something like getting an abortion, taking drugs or marrying someone of the same gender. Nor is it unusual for a professing Christian to insist Jesus or God “showed them” something was okay that directly contradicts biblical teaching. Oftentimes these are serious sins like leaving a marriage without biblical grounds, having an affair or lying about something (Matthew 19:1-9, Exodus 20:16).

Professing Christians who make these kinds of statements are not doctrinally confused. Nor are they going through a quirky spiritual stage. It’s much more serious than that. These folks are worshiping a fake Jesus.  A really nice Jesus, but a Jesus who is nothing more than a figment of their fevered imaginations. When someone describes “their God” or “their Jesus” in a way that does not reflect the Jesus of the Bible, they have the wrong Jesus and they are headed down the wrong spiritual path (Matthew 7:13-14). 

 It’s also one of the clues that we are nearing the end. 

In 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 gives a detailed description of what many professing Christians will “look like” just prior to the return of Jesus. In verse five Paul says these folks will “have a form of godliness but deny its power”. The Greek indicates, these people will look like Christians and even act like Christians—at least to some degree. Nonetheless, when it comes down to the place where the rubber meets the road (metaphorically speaking) they will have no real understanding of what kind of God they are dealing with. 

Because they have the wrong Jesus. 

The “right” Jesus is actually really easy to identify. God ensured it’s not a big mystery. The real Jesus is for the same things He was for and against the same things He was against when the New Testament was written. The real Jesus doesn’t change with the culture. 

The real Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  

This whole issue of who Jesus is (and isn’t) is a serious problem that demands discernment on the part of Christians (Psalm 119:125, Proverbs 18:15, Philippians 1:9-11). It is not our job to judge others. Nonetheless, it is our job to make wise judgments about doctrinal issues and what we believe about Jesus. We will be held accountable for believing in and promoting any kind of a fake Jesus (1st Timothy 4:16, Titus 2:1, Hebrews 13:9) 

Yikes. 

The Mind-blowing Implications of “God with us”-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

“Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”- Matthew 1:23 NASB 

God with us.

In my humble opinion those three little words are the three most mind-blowing in all of Scripture (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23). 

The very notion the God of the universe, the holy, righteous maker of all things, the God who dwells apart from sin in unapproachable light would leave His home in heaven and visit earth is in and of itself, well, kind of mind-blowing (1st Timothy 6:15-16). It would stand to reason considering the state of this sorry planet that if God were to show up He would shame His creation or punish His creation or at the very least give His creation a sternly worded lecture.  Instead God came to earth to model the right way to live, commune with and eventually die for the sins of a bunch of created beings who were all living in rebellion to Him (John 13:12-17, Romans 5:6).  

What kind of God does that? 

Seriously. 

All that being said, it has not escaped my notice that humans often miss the forest for the trees when it comes the whole idea of God being with us, especially this time of year. The cultural trappings of Christmas are delightful and joyous and I am convinced God loves joy and is delighted to see His children celebrate. Nonetheless, decorating our homes, putting up lights, attending parties, making tasty treats and buying gifts do little to help us remember the God of the universe showed up in our world just to let us know He loves us in spite of our many defects and issues (John 3:16). Truth-be-told, as fun as they are, all the cultural trappings of Christmas are a huge distraction from the mind-blowing truth of “God with us”. Even many of our Christian celebrations fail to capture the magnitude and meaning of those three little words. It’s easy to get so caught up in the songs and stories of Christmas we forget the sweet little baby in the manger grew up to do some big things for us we were totally incapable of doing for ourselves. (Romans 5:8). The first coming of Jesus had a huge impact on human life. Some of the mind-blowing implications of God choosing to be with us are as follows: 

We can be at peace with God- 

The primary reason Jesus came to earth was to broker peace between God and the human race. Our sin separated us from God, making authentic relationship with God impossible (Genesis 3:8). Jesus death and resurrection paid the price for sin (Luke 22-24). However, this does not mean every person on earth automatically has peace with God just because Jesus showed up and died for our sins. Peace with God is a choice each person has to make. We choose peace with God when we place our faith in Jesus and the work He did on the cross. We know our faith in Jesus is the real deal when it is accompanied by a desire to repent of our sin and live for the one who saved us.

We can live at peace with ourselves- 

Without question the toughest thing about being human is having to live with our own shortcomings and the fallout of our own sinful, selfish choices. Becoming a Christian does not automatically remove the consequences of our past choices but it does remove the guilt. Knowing the God of the universe has forgiven us makes it much easier to forgive ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-6, 1st John 1:9, 1st John 2:1) It also makes it possible for us to move on to bigger and better things that bring God glory and personal peace to our hearts (Romans 5:1-2, Galatians 6:8-10).

We can be transformed– 

Perhaps the greatest practical implication of God being with us is that His presence in our lives empowers personal transformation (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15).  Meaning we can actually change. This is the biggest of deals, because prior to the coming of Jesus people could change their actions but not their hearts. Evil and unbelieving people were stuck in their sin forever with NO hope of real transformation. Jesus’ coming changed all that forever. Now, because, Jesus’ presence indwells the people who believe in Him, His presence gives everyone who wants it the power needed to change not just our actions but also our hearts. Because of Jesus every day is a new beginning and we can be better people tomorrow than we are today. 

And finally:

God’s people are honored with the best job ever. In a very real sense Jesus left a great deal of work undone before He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). This was not an oversight or an error. Jesus left the honor of finishing up all that needed to be done up to ordinary Christians (2nd Corinthians 4:7-11). The apostle Paul went so far as to say Christians are “ambassadors” of Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:20) and that God literally makes His appeals for salvation to the unsaved through us. God trusts normal, everyday people to do an eternity-impacting job simply because He loves us enough to save us and work through us. 

Now, that’s something to celebrate. 

What You Can Do to Make the Church Great Again

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love~ Galatians 5:13 NIV

 The whole concept of the church is a strange one if you think about very deeply at all.

 Most organizations and institutions are founded by, led by and maintained by people who, for the most part, hail from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, have same types of upbringings and live in the same kinds of communities.

 Not so in the church.

 From its inception the church was filled with men and women from every tribe, tongue, education level and social class imaginable (Acts 2:5-12, 1stTimothy 6:2, Galatians 3:28, James 2:1-4, 1stCorinthians 12:13, Revelation 7:9).  The Church was intended from the very beginning to be a place where societal norms are challenged at every turn.

 God designed the church to be a place where serving is favored over being served (Matthew 23:1), where the weak are every bit as cherished as the strong and where each member is working for the good of every other member. Church is where every follower of Jesus regardless of age, race, gender or social position is equal and equally loved by God (Galatians 3:28). 

 All that being said, the distinctive design of the church has created some distinctive problems. For one thing, many people struggle to define exactly what the church is and how it should operate. Our culture (and most Christians) tend to believe that church is a location. A specific place that we go to hear spiritual messages and do spiritual things.

 The Bible depicts the church as a body, a living entity, made up of a whole lot of distinct parts that form a whole (1stCorinthians 12:12-27).  The church is not a building it is people who have been transformed by the power of the gospel and set free from the bondage of sin and death to preach the gospel and do good in this world.  

 Because we ARE the church, churches function best when each person in the church sees themselves as the church. Conversely, churches tend to be the least functional when the people in the church view church as simply a place we go once or twice a week to hear spiritual messages.

 There are at least five things each of us can do to be the church in our day-to-day lives including:

 Deal with bitterness-

 The Bible makes it clear that bitterness is something Christians must avoid at all costs. (Ephesians 4:31). This is because bitterness has a corrupting effect on people making them unfit for Christian service (Acts 8:22-24). Moreover, bitterness has an infectious quality, it spreads like a germ from the bitter person to the people around them (Hebrews 12:15). We deal with bitterness by forgiving the people who have hurt us and letting go of our anger towards them (Colossians 3:13). This not easy, nor is it typically something that happens all at once. Rather, it is usually a process that takes time and prayer to achieve.

 Encourage the right way-

 Over and over again New Testament believers are commanded to encourage one another (2ndCorinthians 13:11, 1stThessalonians 4:18, Hebrews 3:13) Contrary to popular belief an encourager is more than simply a cheerleader who goes around telling people how awesome they are all time.  Encouragers do make an effort to notice and comment on the good they see in other people. However, biblical encouragers understand that encouragement is the act of inspiring others to be the best version of themselves that they can be (1stThessalonians 5:11, Colossians 3:16). Sometimes this means giving generous and heartfelt praise for a job well done. Other times it means gently correcting and admonishing those who are not living up to the potential they have in Jesus (1stThessalonians 5:14).  

 Be more than a doer-

 These days there is a huge emphasis placed on being a doer of the word of God. We are told that authentic love for Jesus is reflected in what we do for other people in Jesus name. For the record, I do not disagree with that view in the slightest. However, the only way we can know for certain if we are really doing what God wants us to do for others is if we know what He says in His word (Psalm 119:05). The only way to know what the word says is to study it.

 Love one another-

  I will not lie. I debated about whether or not to include this one. Not because I don’t think love is important or critical to the health of the church (it is).  Rather, I struggled because I think the definition of love we have adopted in the church is rather milk-toasty and uninspiring. Authentic biblical love does more than help people feel good about where they are at right now. Authentic biblical love loves people where they are (Matthew 5:46) and tells the truth about the consequences of sin (Ephesians 4:17, Acts 17:30).   

  Find a local body and contribute what you can-

You are the church but you also need the church. Find one where the pastor values the word and where the people love each other and get involved. God will be pleased (3rdJohn 1:4), you will grow and the church will become stronger (Romans 12).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Things We Can All Do to Make Church Great in 2018

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here~ 2nd Corinthians 5:17 NIV

 Its official (actually it was official in 2005) January is (at least for most people) the most depressing month of the year.

 I get it.

 January has its fair share of shortcomings. Once Christmas is over the snow promptly loses its charm and there is zero hope the weather will improve for at least another couple of months. The merriment of the holidays has ended and the irksome credit card bills have come due for the generosity we felt over Christmas. That leaves most of us feeling a bit Grinch-y in hindsight. Compounding the negativity, most of us are feeling a bit pudgy and gross after the all-you-can-eat feeding frenzy that is the month of December.

 Without question, all of the above is clearly true.

 However, you will never catch me hating on the month of January. I love January for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because it offers a respite from the frantic madness of November and December. The slower more relaxed pace of January provides a much-needed opportunity for rest, reflection and goal setting.

 In that spirit, I have spent the better part of the last week pondering some of the goals I have set for the coming year. And as I was thinking through all that it occurred to me that there are some small changes we could all make this coming year that just might make a huge difference in how the world perceives the Church, and by extension how they perceive Jesus and Christian people. Changing how Christians are perceived in the culture might just help us to reach more people this year with the love of Jesus.

 So, in the interest of making this next year a great one for the cause of Christ I want to suggest three small, relatively painless changes we could all make that would make Christianity more appealing to the world around us without compromising truth.

 Starting with:

 A commitment to change the things that need to change-

 It’s true that some people are turned off by the message of Christianity (believe in Jesus and repent of your sin [Mark 1:15]). That said, more often than not, people are turned off by the behavior of Christians long before they get to hear the message of Christianity. Being purposeful about our own spiritual growth (Philippians 2:12, Hebrews 12:14, 2nd Peter 1:3-10) prevents this tragedy. Intentionality in the arena of spiritual growth has to begin with a commitment to examine ourselves daily so that we will be painfully aware of our own sinful inclinations. It ends with an unwavering commitment to honoring God in every area of our lives. The payoff for a commitment to spiritual growth is two-fold. We grow into the people God has called us to be (Ephesians 1:4, 1st Peter 2:9) and the holiness we acquire through this process gives us the spiritual power we need to lead others into relationship with Jesus.

 Expanding your circle of friendship-

 It is true that we grow in our faith and knowledge of God and life anytime we spend quality time with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25, Proverbs 27:17). It is also true that non-believers have their view of the world challenged when they spend time with and engage in meaningful conversations with Christians (John 4, Acts 17:16-34). If we would all commit to building some meaningful relationships with a few people (Christians and non-Christians) outside our circle I believe we could have a significant impact on our own little corner of the world. That in turn would make our world a better place and in the process we will learn more about life and God and make some new friends all at the same time. That’s a win all the way around.

 Forgiving someone-

 Over and over again in Scripture Christians are commanded to forgive others (Matthew 11:25, Luke 17:4, Colossians 3:13), Jesus even tied God’s forgiveness towards us to our willingness to forgive others (Matthew 6:15, Luke 6:37). I believe that God wants us to forgive others because unforgiveness leads to bitterness (among other things). Bitterness turns us into ugly, unpleasant people who are unlikely to attract others to Christianity or anything else. This is why the writer of Hebrews tells us that bitterness causes trouble and defiles many (Hebrews 12:15). The New Year is a perfect time to begin the process of forgiving those people who have hurt us. When we forgive others we become people that God can use for the good of others and for His glory.

 Wishing you all a joyful and spiritually productive 2018!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Real Hero of Christmas-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife~ Matthew 1:24 NIV

 I will not lie.

 I really love some of the less-than-spiritual aspects of Christmas. I love Jesus (because I am not a heathen). I also love the parties, the food, the trees, the decorations, the music, and the traditions of Christmas. I even like some of the stuff I should probably dislike. Things like Frosty, Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, and gift giving and getting. I actually enjoy  the commercial stuff that sidetracks us from what should be a simple celebration of the birth of the Savior.

 Because I am drawn to the secular side of Christmas every year I attempt to discipline myself and spend a little extra time each year focusing on the birth of Christ. This year I started in Matthew and rediscovered an often forgotten hero of the Christmas story: Joseph.

 Most of us overlook Joseph because Mary is clearly the star of the show. It’s easy to get caught up in the drama of her story. Mary’s obedient response to Gabriel’s announcement is how we should all respond to God’s call on our life. She voluntarily endured personal loss, hardship and probably even ridicule to bring the Messiah into the world.

 Everyone loves Mary.

 However, this year it was Joseph that captured my attention. I’m convinced that if we were all a little more like Joseph the world would be a better place.

 The text tells us that God saw Joseph as a righteous man. That alone was a fairly rare thing for God to say about anyone in those days. Then we are told that because of his righteousness he did not want to divorce Mary publicly. At this point in the story Mary and Joseph were legally wed, the marriage was a done deal in the eyes of the law, their religious community and their family and friends. The only thing left to do was to consummate the marriage.

 According to both Roman and Jewish law Joseph had every right to publicly divorce (and humiliate) Mary. They were married and he had what appeared to be incontrovertible proof of infidelity. Her story about the angel was, by every measurable standard, more than a little nutso. Even most “good” people would have felt justified in publicly shaming a woman who slept with another man and then told a ridiculously outlandish story to cover-up her misdeeds.

 Seriously.           

 God’s evaluation of Joseph as a “righteous man” tells me that God has a special place in His heart for those who look out for the reputations of others. God blesses those who are willing to go out of their way not to behave in a vengeful way even when they have been legitimately wronged.

 I love that Joseph was willing to ignore the opinions of people in order to gain the approval of God. Following the dream where Joseph was commanded to keep Mary as his wife, Joseph had to go back to his family and friends and tell them that he planned to go ahead with marriage to a girl most people were probably convinced was less than honorable woman.

 Joseph’s family and friends were likely convinced that Joseph was either a fool or a liar. It almost goes without saying that Joseph suffered heartache, humiliation and social disgrace for his choice to stick by Mary.

Joseph’s selflessness is a reminder that the kind of righteousness that pleases God typically involves a high level of inconvenience and self-denial.

 There is nothing wrong with the silly side of Christmas celebrations. The God we serve created fun and joy. My prayer is that in the midst of all the fun and merrymaking Joseph’s story will serve as a reminder that our response to God’s goodness and generosity should be a life of authentic righteousness and self-denial.

How the Birth of Jesus Changed the World-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

We love because he first loved us~ 1st John 4:19 NIV

 Three years ago I vowed in a dramatic fit of self-pity to never write another Christmas blog as long as I lived. I did this because my Christmas blogs have a history of less-than-spectacular readership and I like to write things I think people are actually going to read. However, I recently rethought my vow and concluded it’s high time I got over myself and give it another try.

 My moment of clarity arrived as I was watching a community Christmas celebration. It hit me pretty much out of nowhere that Jesus’ first coming changed literally everything about life in the ancient world. Those changes in turn, paved the way for the freedoms and prosperity much of the western world enjoys today. I was also struck by how oddly trivial our Christmas celebrations tend to be in light of the impact the first coming of Jesus had on our world.

 It’s not that I have anything against the way Americans celebrate Christmas. I love Christmas and everything Americans do to celebrate Christmas. That said, snowmen, sparkly lights, cookies cut into adorable shapes, and even traditional nativity scenes don’t exactly capture the magnitude of the impact that Jesus has had on our world. So, in honor of Jesus and all He accomplished, following are four seldom recognized ways Jesus’ first coming made our world a better place:

 Jesus made it cool to care about the poor, sick and marginalized-

 Until the coming of Jesus no one cared all that much about the sick and poor. Most believed the poor and sick were poor and sick because they were horrible people who had been deservedly cursed by their gods. As a result the poor and sick were viewed as profoundly unlikable. Little was done, outside the Jewish community to alleviate the suffering of the sick or to help the poor. Because Jesus cared deeply about the needs of the poor, sick and marginalized (Luke 12:33, Luke 14:13, Luke 10:30-3), so did His followers. From the earliest days of Christianity, charity (caring for the less fortunate) was a fundamental feature of Christian worship and outreach (Acts 6:1-7, Acts 9:36, Romans 15:25-27, James 2:5-6). As Christianity took root in the Western world caring for the less fortunate became a natural part of life and something even non-religious people do. This was certainly not the case before Jesus came into the world.  

 Jesus gave children value-

 Before Jesus came children were considered disposable in most societies (Jews were a notable exception). Abortion was a common practice, and live newborns were routinely placed in the foundations of buildings for luck. In Greece and Rome unwanted infants were simply left on rocky cliffs to die of exposure or thrown on garbage heaps. Attitudinal change towards children began with the coming of Jesus. Jesus loved children (Luke 18:15-17) and He was concerned with their physical and spiritual welfare (Matthew 18:6). Early Christians followed in the footsteps of Jesus and forbade the practices of abortion and infanticide among their members. Early Christians also made a practice of adopting the newborns (mostly little girls) that had been left to die of exposure. Over time, societies touched by Christianity enacted laws to protect children, but it was Jesus who forever changed the way we view the value of children.

 Jesus gave women dignity-

 Prior to the first coming of Jesus, women were, in virtually every society thought to be profoundly inferior to men in every possible way. Respectable women lived cloistered lives and simply did not interact with men they were not closely related to. Unlike other religious leaders of His day, Jesus frequently had meaningful conversations with all sorts of women (John 4, Luke 8:1-3, John 11). Jesus allowed women to receive the same training as men (Luke 10:38-41, Luke 8:1-3) and Jesus even entrusted a woman with passing on the message of His resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Luke 24:1-12). This was a HUGE deal and a risky move in a world where women were not considered legitimate witnesses in a court of law. After Jesus’ resurrection women were used in significant ways to build the early church. The Apostle Paul founded the Philippian church along with a handful of women (Acts 16). Pricilla along with her husband Aquila helped to plant churches and train believers in Corinth, Ephesus (Acts 18) and Rome (Romans 16:3). Women acted as deacons in the early church and were entrusted with significant tasks (Romans 16:1-2, 1st Timothy 3:11) and a woman (Junia) is even referred to as “outstanding among the Apostles” in Romans 16:7. Admittedly, throughout history some church leaders have not always valued women or the contributions of women. However, that does not change the fact that Jesus did. Jesus’ high view of women paved the way for many of the freedoms women enjoy today. If you doubt my word, take a look at the way women are treated in societies where Christianity has not made significant inroads. It’s a sharp and ugly contrast.    

 Jesus made it possible for people to actually change-

 Before Jesus people could change their actions but not their hearts. An evil or an unbelieving person was just kind of stuck that way forever. Jesus’ coming changed that reality forever. Because, Jesus’ presence indwells the people who place their faith in Him and the work He did on the cross, His presence gives us the power we need to change not just our actions but also our hearts. Thanks to Jesus we can be better people tomorrow than we are today.

 That is something worth celebrating. 

Is the Bible Unloving? It’s a Question that Needs an Answer-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth~ John 1:14 NKJV

 It’s been a long, miserable week in the the Pacific Northwest. Most of our region is literally on fire right now and the city I live in is so smoky and gross the whole house smells like we’ve been barbecuing in the basement. The local health department has officially classified the air quality as “hazardous”.

 The heat, smoke and air quality left me feeling more than a little unmotivated. As a result I found myself struggling to come up with a topic for this weeks blog-post. Inspiration came early Tuesday morning when I opened Facebook and ran across what I felt at the time was a rather innocuous quote from Bible teacher, Beth Moore…    

 You will watch a generation of Christians—OF CHRISTIANS—set the Bible aside in an attempt to be more like Jesus. And stunningly it will sound completely plausible. This will be, perhaps, the cleverest of all the devil’s schemes in your generation. Sacrifice truth for love’s sake, you will rise or fall whether you will sacrifice one for the other.

  Beth Moore literally could not to be any more on point with her observations. The spiritual tension that exists between biblical truth and the culture’s definition of love is the greatest theological conundrum of our generation. I have believed for a long time that if the church doesn’t get its proverbial act together and figure out a way to communicate the truth concerning this critical issue, biblical Christianity will dwindle down to a tiny remnant within a generation.

Here’s the thing:

If we set aside truth in favor of “love” we’re done. The entire world will enter a spiritual and moral dark ages, the likes of which the world has not seen since the dawn of the Christian age.

 It was not Beth Moore’s words that got me spoiling for a smackdown. It was the absurd responses to her quote I found frustrating.  To my astonishment, most of those who commented disagreed with Beth Moore. Some vehemently. All the dissenters called her unloving and accused her of lacking compassion. A few even called her out for making an idol out of the Bible.

 Seriously? Is that even a thing?

 Sadly, too many Christians have twisted love into something not found anywhere in Scripture.

 There are two truths we need to acknowledge concerning Jesus, love, and the Bible. First, we simply cannot separate the words of Jesus from the rest of the Bible. In the book of John, Jesus is referred to as The Word. By using that particular designation to describe Jesus, John is making a powerful statement about who Jesus is and what exactly Scripture is meant to reveal.

In John 1:1 the Apostle declares that Jesus is the personification and expression of all of the words of God. This means Jesus is the substance and incarnation of all that had been written in the Old Testament law and all that was to be written in the New Testament letters.

In a very real sense: Jesus IS the Bible. 

 This means that the statements Jesus made in the gospels (the red letters that contemporary Christians get all excited about) are no more or less significant than the Old Testament Law and the New Testament letters. Jesus is the perfecter of our faith and the author of ALL of Scripture. Not just the Scripture we feel comfortable with or those that reflect our current cultural values and sensibilities (Hebrews 12:2, 2nd Timothy 3:16, Luke 24:27).

 Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial requirements of the law and we no longer live in a theocracy, so as 21st century Christians we no longer sacrifice animals to have our sins forgiven (Jesus took care of that for us). Nor do we follow the civil laws that were given specifically to the nation of Israel. However, that doesn’t mean that the entire Old Testament should be tossed out because much of the Old Testament FEELS unloving to contemporary readers who have a nasty habit of leaning on their own understanding of reality rather than the revealed truth of God (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 The second truth we must understand and come to terms with is that the good news of the gospel is wrapped up in a whole lot of really bad news. The good news is: God loves people so much that He sacrificed His only son so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with God (John 3:16).

 The bad news: is that God is a holy and perfect and He really hates sin. God decided before the foundation of the earth was laid what actions are and are not sinful. He has not modified or relaxed His standards on those issues. The penalty for for sin is awful: eternity in hell forever separated from God and all that is comforting and good. All people are sinners who cannot under any circumstances get right with God and be forgiven unless they are willing to leave their life of sin and follow Jesus wherever he leads (John 8:11, Mark 8:34).

 Those are two truths we must be honest about as we share the love of God with people. When we don’t tell the whole truth about life and sin and eternity we are really telling a lie that will eventually lead to the spiritual death of those we claim to love.

 There’s nothing loving about that.