Episodes
Sunday Dec 28, 2014
Jesus REVOLUTION - Set Free
Sunday Dec 28, 2014
Sunday Dec 28, 2014
This last Sunday at Hillside we wrapped up our “Jesus REVOLUTION” series – it’s was also our last Sunday gathering of 2014. The normally hectic pace of life has significantly increased in this Christmas season, & in some ways, I feel like I’ve had to be more & more intentional about stopping, reflecting, & evaluating life, its happenings, my priorities, & what I give my time to. Specifically, over the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to take time to reflect on the questions:
- What could/would it look like if Jesus did a revolution in my life?
- What am I expecting/hoping for Jesus to do in me?
- What am I wiling to put on the table?
Don’t get me wrong. I love my life. The time spent with my family & friends. Watching my kids turn into great adults who love Jesus & are making strides forward in their own lives. The work I am privileged to do. The life & growth in Christ I’m seeing within our church family. And still…
I wonder what areas Jesus wants to cut away so that I can grow, develop, deepen. What thought patterns & meditations of my heart He wants to transform. What ways I interact with & respond to others. How I can better take care of myself (body, mind, & spirit.)
I guess what I am expecting is that He is doing something NEW in me. That He is in the process of awakening parts of my life, my soul, that have been dormant or stagnant. That He is going to be refining me – So can will continue to be growing more & more like Him.
So the answer to the last question, “What am I willing to put on the table?” is ME. It feels a little scary – which means that my prayer heading into 2015 & beyond is: “Increase my faith, Lord. Because “…we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:39
Blessings, grace, peace, & FAITH to you
Sunday Dec 21, 2014
The Jesus REVOLUTION: ...Are You Him?
Sunday Dec 21, 2014
Sunday Dec 21, 2014
John the Baptist was a prophet. Actually, he was THE prophet, the one promised in Malachi 3:1. The one that would announce the coming of the Anointed One. The Messiah. The Christ.
The first time John saw Jesus, he boldly declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” & he proclaimed, ““The Messiah will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear His threshing floor & to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Luke 3:16,17
John interpreted the coming of Jesus Christ as the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth, where God’s justice would be meted out swiftly, with the faithful disciples (the wheat) being brought into the kingdom, while the unfaithful & unbelieving (the chaff) would be judged & destroyed. The Roman empire would be overthrown & the Christ would sit on the throne of David. Except…Jesus didn’t fulfill John’s expectations. Any of them.
Instead of passing out judgment & justice upon humanity, Jesus declared the message of salvation, the Gospel Good News to all who would hear it. He healed the sick. Raised the dead. Brought freedom to those bound by darkness. John was alone. In prison. & confused. So he sent a few of his followers to ask Jesus, “Um… Are You Him? Or should we be expecting someone else?” John couldn’t reconcile what he believed the Christ would do & be with what he saw Jesus doing & being.
In reply, Jesus took John’s disciples on a field trip - & He healed the sick. Brought freedom to the oppressed. & declared the message of hope, life, & salvation to all that would listed. & He sent John’s followers back to him with a message: “Tell John everything you have SEEN & HEARD. This is what the kingdom of God looks like as it advances.”
What John missed is that though there will be a time for judgment, that time isn’t now. The Jesus Revolution was (& is) about salvation. Restoration. Healing. Reconciling people to God. It’s Good News. And it changes everything.
Blessings, grace, & mercy to you!
Sunday Dec 14, 2014
The Jesus REVOLUTION: Hearing & Doing
Sunday Dec 14, 2014
Sunday Dec 14, 2014
One thing that Jesus did to help His disciples & other seekers to understand God, His nature, His kingdom, & the appropriate response to it was to use allegorical stories known as parables. Each one began something like this: “The Kingdom of God is like…”
In the parable of the Hearer, Jesus told of a farmer who sowed seed – some fell on a hard footpath. This seed never took root, & was eaten up by birds. Other seed fell on rocky soil, where it quickly sprung up, but because of the rocks, never developed roots & quickly died. Still other seed fell among thorns – this seed also grew, but the thorns quickly choked the little plant to death. Finally, some seed fell on good, lush soil where it grew tall & strong & bore lots of fruit.
He wrapped up the parable with the phrase, “He who has an ear, let him hear.” And then He withdrew from the area. And no one understood what the parable meant.
The disciples came to Him & asked for more – because they had already committed to follow Him, He revealed the meaning. The soils represented 4 types of disciples & their ability to HEAR & RESPOND to the seed, the message of the Gospel Good News. Was their heart HARD, like the footpath, with no fruit at all? Or was it ROCKY, where they responded positively to the Good News, but as soon as difficulties came, they faded away? Or was it THORNY, indicating that the desires for money & other things of our world overwhelmed & choked out any hope of fruit? Or was the soil GOOD, allowing deep roots & great fruitfulness?
Each disciple was called to HEAR what Jesus REALLY said, & then take appropriate action so that they would continue growing into fully mature followers of Christ.
And we are challenged to do the same.