Tag Archives: Jesus

I’m An Idiot

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It’s true.
Are you one, too?
Before you answer that, read on.

“Now when they (the Pharisees) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

The Greek word for “untrained” is “idiotes” (id-ee-o’-tace) meaning someone who is an “unlearned, unskilled, common ignoramus.”

When Jesus was building His team of disciples, He didn’t go to the local synagogue to interview the students with the highest grade point averages. Jesus went to the lakeshore and called uneducated, untrained fishermen.

Jesus was looking for “idiotes”—just like me.

I’ve never been to seminary.
I don’t know Greek and Hebrew.
I can’t explain the Trinity or the impassability of God
or why He sometimes uses anthropomorphism to describe Himself.

God is not looking for any old idiot, however. God is looking for regular folks who have been with Jesus. He’s looking for people who will make others around them take note—the kind of followers who may not be the most intellectual, but have Holy-Spirit-wisdom gained from time with Jesus.

Like Peter and John.

Their boldness unnerved the Pharisees and sent them into a panic.
Then those “idiotes” went out and turned the world upside down.


Distracted

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The other evening I was playing Wordle on my phone,
while working on a blog post on my laptop,
while watching the Brewer game on TV.

Was I being “distracted from distraction by distraction”?
(T. S. Eliot, “The Four Quartets”)
Sure I was.

The only time the word “distracted” shows up in the Bible is in Luke 10:40. “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” In Greek, the word means “to be driven about or dragged all around.”

I wanted to know more.

So I put down my Wordle game and looked away from the ballgame so I could open up another tab on my laptop and look up the history of the word “distraction.”

One of the meanings of the word comes from a French term related to a cruel form of torture in the Middle Ages, reserved for the very worst of criminals. The offender’s four limbs were tied to four horses……and……well……they got dis-tracted.

The world tries to pull us in different directions
until we feel stretched and about to snap.

Jesus offers something different.
“In him all things hold together…
So that in everything He might have supremacy.”
Colossians 1:17-18

Lord, I invite You to rule and reign over my time today. Teach me to set aside worthless idols and be drawn to Your beauty, truth and goodness. Distract me away from distractions with Your loving-kindness. Help me keep my eyes on You.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Ten Thousand Thunders

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One of the goals I set for myself this summer is to read “Paradise Lost” by John Milton. It’s an epic poem, first published in 1667 and considered to be Milton’s masterpiece. Written in blank verse, which means it doesn’t rhyme, every line has exactly ten syllables. And there are over 10,000 lines in this poem. I thought it would take me all summer to slog through this renowned classic.

But I can’t put it down.

The poem tells the story of the war in heaven, the expulsion of Lucifer with one-third of the rebellious angels, and the temptation and fall of humans in Eden.

The other day, I had to put it down because I was weeping.
I had no idea this archaic poem would move me so much.

Here’s the scene:

As the war in heaven between the holy angels and the fallen angels raged on, God called on the great Son to enter the fray. Jesus roared into the battle on a “fierce chariot” with “burning wheels” that shook all of heaven. In His right hand He grasped “ten thousand thunders.” With one look at the Son, the demons “withered all their strength.” They were driven like a herd of goats to the “crystal wall of heaven” where opening wide before them was the “wasteful deep, a monstrous sight that shook them with horror.” But with the Almighty Son closing in on them, they chose to jump—”headlong themselves they threw down to the bottomless pit. Nine days they fell.”

Here’s my thought:

Milton’s depiction of the Son of God in all His power and glory was breathtaking. His account of the decisive and complete victory over evil gave me goosebumps. But what brought me to tears was the realization that Jesus could have shaken earth with ten thousand thunders, but instead chose to withhold His power and submit to death, even death on a cross. For love of you and me.

I know what happens next, but I can’t wait to see how Milton describes it.

Up, Up and Away

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I missed it.
I always miss it.
I didn’t even know I was missing it.
Did you miss it, too?
Probably.

Last Thursday was Ascension Day.
Until recently, I wasn’t aware there was such a thing.
It’s a big thing.

Ascension Day is celebrated 40 days after Easter Sunday and commemorates the moment Jesus ascended into heaven and took His rightful place on the throne as ruler of the universe.

That’s a really big thing.

Eugene Peterson said, “Ascension Day may be one of the the most under-celebrated events in the church’s life. Part of the reason is that Ascension Day always falls on Thursday, never on a Sunday, and so no sermon is required.”*

There are no presents to buy, no cards to send, no baskets to hide.
Mail gets delivered, banks are open and nobody gets the day off.

“When Luke set out in Acts to tell us the story of the church, he began with Jesus’ Ascension. It’s the opening scene that establishes the context for everything that follows: Jesus installed in a position of absolute rule—Christ our King.”*

So, why should we celebrate Ascension Day?

  • It’s the day Jesus entrusted us to take His message to the world
  • It ushered in the coming of the Holy Spirit ten days later
  • It gives believers hope for a future resurrection
  • Jesus, the divine, went up without abandoning His humanity
  • The ascension gives us a picture of what His return will be like
  • It shows Jesus’ triumphant victory over death
  • This day crowns Him King over the universe in glory
  • It begins Jesus’ role as intercessor for us in heaven

Celebration is in order, my friends.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 14, 2026!

He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
Acts 1: 9, 11

God has gone up with a shout!
Sing praises to our King.
He is king over all the earth;
He sits on his holy throne.
Psalm 47:5-7


*Eugene Peterson, Practice Resurrection, p. 43

Gall

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“They came to a place called Golgotha.
There they offered Jesus vinegar to drink,
mixed with gall;
but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.”
Matthew 27:34

See that knobby thing growing on that tree branch? It’s a gall. Galls are any kind of abnormal growth on a plant. They can be caused by insect infestation, bacteria or viruses, injuries or irritations.

I never paid much attention to those weird lumps before.
Now I see them everywhere.

Vinegar or wine infused with wood from a gall produces bitter tasting painkiller. It was offered to Jesus on the cross but he refused to take it. Christ was determined to take on the full force of our sin and drink the cup of suffering to the dregs without anesthesia. It had to be vinegar and gall because 1,000 years before the crucifixion, King David wrote,

“They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”
Psalm 69:21

Why all this talk about galls?
PB has been chosen to be an extra on “The Chosen.”
He goes to Utah soon for three days of filming crowd scenes for season six.

I’m not sure he’ll pass as a Jewish rabbi, but perhaps he could be a bedouin sheep-herder from the far northern reaches. Or an Anglo-Saxon merchant with Viking blood carrying lutefisk and lefse from the North Sea.

I bet he’ll be the only one on the film set with a gall on his walking stick.