31 Days of Questions: Day 19

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mark 8

What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? (The Message)

Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! (Good News)

What good can it do a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul? What can a man offer to buy back his soul once he has lost it? (J. B. Phillips)

And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process? (Living Bible)

It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. (ERV)

31 Questions

Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.   (Francis Chan)

31 Days of Questions: Day 18

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18

“Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?”       Matthew 7:16

One summer a farmer friend brought over a load of manure to put on our new garden.  We worked that “organic material” into the soil and then planted the seeds.  By mid-July, the garden looked incredible — especially the tomato plants.  Those Beefsteaks and Big Boys grew as tall as me with huge stems and lush green leaves.  By mid-August, our well fertilized plot looked like the Amazon jungle.

There was only one problem: not one tomato.  All that tending, staking, and weeding with nothing to show.  No BLTs, no salsa, no spaghetti sauce.  How disappointing.

Jesus said to watch out for people who resemble my tomato plants — pretty impressive at first glance, but on closer inspection, no fruit on the vine.  We are to recognize the true character of people by looking at what kinds of qualities they produce.

Which is why you can’t pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, no matter how much manure you spread around.

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 17

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17

“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” Luke 17:17

Ten men

stood at a distance

and called out in a loud voice.

They went and were cleansed.

One man

fell at Jesus’ feet

and praised God in a loud voice.

He came back and was healed.

All ten had faith, only one had gratitude.

May my call for help from a distance

draw me to Your feet with praise.

May the intensity of my thanks

match the fervency of my requests.

“Thank You” by Hillsong Live

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 16

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16

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”  John 13:12

There they sat — the Twelve — with their sparkly clean feet.

Jesus had just gone around the table with a basin and a towel, washing off the muck and the crud with His own hands.

Even the feet of Judas, the betrayer — perhaps the first to be dipped in the water, making it dark and cloudy.

Even the feet of Peter, the resistant — perhaps the last to slough off his grime in the muddy basin.

Even the other ten — perhaps exchanging uneasy glances, but offering no words of opposition or appreciation.

They didn’t understand.

But by the time John wrote about that night in his gospel account, he fully grasped its significance.

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” (v. 1)

Lord, help me to comprehend how far Your love extends — how long, how wide, how deep, how high.  And to experience this love for myself, though it is so great that I will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.  

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 15

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15

“Are you not in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?”  Mark 12:24

Here is The Message version.

“Jesus said, ‘You’re way off base, and here’s why:

One, you don’t know your Bibles;

two, you don’t know how God works.'”

 Note to self:

Know my Bible.

Know how God works.

That should keep me from getting off base.

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 14

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14

“Do you want to get well?”  John 5:6

This question was directed to a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. That would be like talking to someone today who has been in a wheelchair since 1976.

Remember 1976?  That was back when Paul McCartney had Wings and was singing “Silly Love Songs”.  Jimmy Carter was elected President and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” won the Academy Award for best picture. That was a long time ago.

In 1976, I was going to my Junior Prom and singing “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” in the high school musical.  Thirty-eight years have seen PB and I get married, have four babies which led to four more weddings, and five more (grand)babies — a whole new generation.  Thirty eight years is a long time.

Maybe the crippled man didn’t hear the question.  It was a “Yes/No” question but he didn’t say “yes” or “no” — he just wanted to talk about the past 38 years.  Jesus didn’t want to hear it.  He told the man to get up, clean up, and go home.  Sometimes you just have to heal people, whether they want it or not.

Heal me, Lord.

For a few more thoughts on this, read Get Up!

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31 Days of Questions: Day 13

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13

“You are the salt of the earth.  But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”  Matthew 5:13

I’m glad Jesus picked the word “salt” to describe His followers.  There are so many good things about salt.

1) Salt enhances flavor — Lord, help me to bring out the best in the people around me.

2) Salt preserves — God, help me to use Your Word to prevent decay and destruction.

3) Salt purifies — Father, let me find ways to sprinkle love, joy and peace into conversations.

4) Salt heals — Holy Spirit, use me to bring hope and wholeness to hurting people.

5) Salt creates thirst — Savior, create an atmosphere around me that makes others want to savor You.

I’m glad Jesus didn’t say, “You are the sugar of the earth.”  It’s hard to stay sweet.

I’m so glad He didn’t say, “You are the vinegar of the earth.”  I hate to be sour.

I’m really glad He didn’t say, “You are the pepper of the earth.”  I run out of pep pretty easy.

Thank You for shaking Your people out of the salt shaker and into the world.  May we stay salty as we season this earth with Your unmistakeable flavor.

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 12

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12

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”  Luke 14:3

 But they remained silent.

 “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

And they had nothing to say.

Really?  Why no answer?  Was it a hard question?

If this Pharisee, who did not respond, was my father, I’d be careful to stay away from wells on the Sabbath.  Because, evidently, because of the law, there would be some hesitation about saving me if I happened to fall in.

Gee, thanks, dad.

Why were Jesus’ questions met with silence?

Was it because the Pharisee didn’t know the answer?

Or was it because he did, but it exposed his flawed thinking?

Or maybe he was hurrying out the door to pull his ox out of the well…

31 Questions

31 Days of Questions: Day 10

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10

“What about you?  Who do you say I am?”  Luke 9:20

 It always comes down to this.

Because it doesn’t matter what the latest opinion poll says,

or what the Gallup Daily approval rating is,

or what the New York Times editorial page prints.

Crowds are uncommitted entities.

They show up for parades and free meals,

but disappear when the words “sacrifice” and “deny self” are used.

Crowds can praise you on Sunday and crucify you by Friday.

So it always comes down to a personal, one-on-one encounter.

Jesus wanted to know if the twelve men who had been with him for two and a half years were going along with the crowd’s appraisal based on rumors or forming their own opinion based on truth.

The question had to be asked….

the question had to be answered.

Still does.

31 Questions