"Won't Work For Food"

(Matt 5:42)"Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."

I work mostly in the Twin Cities metro area. Minnesota winter hasn't really come full force yet. Which means that lining the on and off ramps of freeways, are cardboard sign holders asking for work or food (Just a side note I just thought of; I have noticed lately that there are actually people that are getting paid to hold signs [yes I realize that these people on freeway ramps are paid to hold their sign as well]. I drove by an Instant Oil Change place yesterday that had a man holding a sign at a busy intersection that said "No Waiting." Also around tax time there are people that are presumably paid to dress up in a statue of liberty blue suit; they hold a sign and are typically very good dancers). Does Jesus mean in Matthew 5 that I need to roll down my window and give money to the beggar holding the cardboard sign?

There are many times that I have, and many more times that I have not. And Jesus does not mean for us to take one sentence out of the whole Bible without seeing what else the Bible says about the subject.

(Matt 7:6) "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."

A dog was an animal that was a scavenger that lived on the streets. A pig was an unclean and scavenging animal. The pearl is something of great value. The picture is vivid; you wouldn't take a pearl necklace and place it around the neck of a pig. This verse is typically applied to gospel presentations. It is said that the gospel is the pearl of great price. If you are offering it to someone who treats Jesus with the respect that a pig would, I am no longer responsible to offer the precious gospel to the individual any longer. Least he take the gospel and trample it under it's dirty and stinky pig feet. True, true! But this also applies to giving anything of value to a person who will treat the gift with the contempt a dog or pig would. If I give $20 to a sign holder, and he takes the money to the liquor store to trade it for something he can pour down his throat, and later vomit out; this would be an unwise use of the money God has given me to steward.

(2 Thessalonians 3:10b).."If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."

Like I mentioned earlier, some people actually have a paid job to hold a sign. Their employer has told the individual that he will pay them for this work. But have you hired the freeway sign holder to hold the sign? Are you his employer? There is discernment needed here I realize this. And I am not about to make a blanket statement that forbids anyone from giving to the need of an individual holding a cardboard sign. My aim in this post is to seek to understand Jesus' words in Matthew 5:42. "Give to the one who begs from you." The borrower and the beggar in Matthews text are begging from me. The freeway sign holder is just begging, and I just happen to be driving by.

Peter and John were heading into the temple at the hour of prayer (Acts 3). There was a beggar that had been lame from birth and was placed everyday near the gate. This is the perfect opportunity for Peter or John to lean their arm out of their donkey and give to the off ramp sign holder some gold coins. What they do is offer the beggar something far more valuable then a few shillings of gold; they give to the man, Jesus Christ.

Sign and miracles were authenticating the Apostles in those days, so Peter was able by faith in the name of Jesus, to heal the lame beggar. I am not able to do this same amazing feat. But what I am able to do is give a gospel tract and speak to the individual of the great salvation that is their's in Christ Jesus, if they place their faith solely in Him. And maybe I could even do this, over a plate of food.

Do you notice a common theme throughout this text...

Colossians 3:15-17.And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 Fourteen reasons for you and I to be thankful this morning...

1. Be thankful for Jesus
2. Be thankful that Jesus, by his spirit, rules in my heart
3. Be thankful that I am in the body of Christ, called the Church
4. Be thankful that I was called to be in his body
5. Be thankful that I have, sitting at my desk, the words of Christ
6. Be thankful that I am not restrained by others from letting it dwell in me richly
7. Be thankful for the teachings and admonitions of faithful brothers (this would include podcasts and blogposts as well)
8. Be thankful for a voice to sing
9. Be thankful for a vast variety of good Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
10. Be thankful that I am able to be thankful
11. Be thankful for a mouth to speak words
12. Be thankful for a functioning body to do deeds (including typing a blog post)
13. Be thankful to be able to do things in the name of Jesus
14. Be thankful that my thanks, words, deeds, songs, and motives get filtered through my perfect sacrifice Jesus, the God-Man.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The Perfect Binding Agent

I am reading Colossians chapter 3 this morning. There are tons of things to think about in this chapter. The one I have tried to hone in on is the thing that is said to be the perfect binding agent...love.

Colossians 3:12-17..12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 In trying to figure out how love could bind everything together, I hopped over to 1 Corinthians 13 to find help...

1 Corinthians 13:4-7..4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This little nugget of sweetness gives us a helpful list of what love is, and what it is not..
LOVE IS/DOES...
1. Patient
2. Kind
3. Rejoices over truth

LOVE IS NOT/DOES NOT...
1. envious
2. boastful
3. arrogant
4. rude
5. insistent on its own way
6. irritable
7. resentful
8. rejoice over wrong doing

When you or I envy someone, we are hating them and loving self. When we boast in front of someone, we are hating them and loving self. When we are arrogant, we are hating the hearer and loving self. When we are rude, we are hating the one hearing our rudeness and loving self. When we insist on our own way, we are hating another and loving ourselves. When we are irritated, we are hating another and loving self. When we are resentful, we are hating another and loving self. When we rejoice over wrong doing, we are hating the hearer, and the one who did the wrong, and loving self, because we are placing ourselves above the individual who did the wrong.

Can you go through the above list and place either "patience, kindness or rejoicing over truth" into the equation and see how love would bind together and unite instead of divide? How it would bring about perfect harmony?

A Nail Through Our Rap Sheet

Luke 7:36-50

If you remember this account; There is a Pharisee named Simon who invites Jesus to come to his house and eat with him. While they are there, a woman comes into Simon's house weeping. She moves over to Jesus' feet and begins to cry. Her tears are many and are sufficient to wash the feet of the Son of God. To dry them, she lets down her hair and uses it to rub back and forth on the Masters feet. Then she brings out an alabaster flask of oil and anoints the feet of Jesus. It is presumed from the text that she is a very sinful woman, probably a prostitute.

Simon is appalled at this sight. And says to himself that if Jesus was truly a prophet, he would know that this woman was a prostitute and never let her touch him. Jesus responds to Simon's thoughts and calls Simon out on the table.

Jesus tells Simon a story of two debtors who both owed a debt to a moneylender. Neither could pay their debt, though one of the debts was much greater than the other. The moneylender decides to forgive the debt of both. Jesus then asks Simon the question, "which of them will love him more?" (which of the debtors will love the moneylender more). Simon answers correctly by saying that he supposes the person who had the greater debt.

In Jesus' story, the woman is the one who had the greater debt. She expressed her love for Jesus (the moneylender) the moment she walked in the door. Simon on the other hand, didn't greet Jesus, didn't offer him any water to clean his feet with; nothing. No love was shown from Simon. Jesus then says to her that her sins are forgiven. Her debt was great and she was never able to pay it; and yet the moneylender shows such mercy to her, by canceling her record of debt...But where is the record of debt? What happened to it?

Colossians 2:13-14 says..."And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

Her record of debt was brought up the hill of Golgatha, and nailed to the cross of Jesus! And so has yours if you are a Christian. Are you like Simon, or the prostitute? Do you love little, or do you love much? In the story in Luke, which person does Jesus commend? The Pharisee or the Prostitute? Which are you?

Perseverance of the Saints

In John Calvin's five points (T.U.L.I.P), the P stands for Perseverance of the saints. The doctrine teaches is essence that God will persevere those whom He has chosen. In other words, if God has opened your eyes to see the glory of the gospel (you are a Christian), then He will ensure that you persevere in the faith until you reach the finish line.

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can be twisted to a view that John Calvin didn't hold. This twisted view says, "once saved, always saved." In other words, if I have done something at some point to supposedly become a Christian (prayed a prayer, signed a card, been baptized, are a member of a Church), then I am saved no matter what happens throughout the rest of my life. Once I am saved (maybe a date in my Bible indicates this), I will always be saved.

I very much hold to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints taught by John Calvin. Because a true understanding of this doctrine sees my obedience to Christ as a means of grace that keeps me persevering to the finish line. I will not persevere in my faith by being passive.

Colossians 1:21-23a says And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, IF indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard...(emphasis mine)


I can believe that God will keep me persevering to the finish line, and I can believe that my crossing the finish line is conditional (IF), upon my steadfast continuance in the faith.

Afternoon Ramblings About Baptism

I don't have much to talk about today. For my morning study I searched the words "baptize" and "baptized" throughout the Bible. I have been pondering lately the Baptist and Presbyterian views of this New Testament ordinance of baptism. 

I did not come up with any notable things to write about, except that I am still in the Baptist camp. If nothing else, looking up those words in the Bible only confirmed my stance on believers baptism. 

It seems to me, that in order to link Old Testament circumcision with New Testament baptism, you have to have a system of theology already determining your answer. The nearest link I could find was in Colossians 2. And this at best was uncertain. If Colossians 2 is teaching that children of Christian parents are to baptize their children into the covenant community, then what of the other New Testament books? 

Let's say I am a member of the Colossi Church. The letter of Colossians is read one morning from my Pastor. The Pastor then interprets chapter 2 to mean the Presbyterian understanding of baptism. Ok, let's baptize the kids!

What if I am a member of the Corinthian Church? Or the Thessalonican Church? Or the Church at Phillipi? Do you see what I am getting at? If the doctrine of baptizing infants is not talked about anywhere else in the Bible, then to me it begins to be like proofing the millennium from one text from a highly allegorical book like Revelation. 

I am open to learn, and have been praying and reading about it. So far though, I just don't see it. I am open to input from anyone who may have some understanding. 

Words From A Dry Well?

In Luke 21 Jesus is speaking to his disciples. In the context of persecution, he says in verse 14, Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversities will be able to withstand or contradict. 


I was reading Acts 6 and 7 this morning and was reminded of the above verse. In chapter 7 Stephen gives a wonderful speech, and at the end gives a sharp rebuke to the Jewish leaders who killed Jesus the Christ. After the speech, the leaders are so angry that they are gnashing their teeth, and cupping their hands over their ears; all the while running toward Stephen as he speaks. They drag him out of the city and throw stones at him until he takes his final breath on this earth.

In persecution, surely Jesus gives the endurance to make it through. He also says that he will give the words needed as well. But I am thinking that these words to not come from a well that is dried up.

What kind of things are you pouring into your well? Are you filling it up with things that are good, true and wise? Stephen, in his speech, gave a recap of the entire Bible, from Abraham forward to the time of his speaking. Could I do this? Could you start with Adam and work your way forward giving a fly by of the major events in the Scriptures? If not, why not?