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Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21-22 (Matthew 8:18-34, 9:19-34, 13:53-58, Mark 4:35-41, 5:1-43, 6:1-6 and Luke 9:57-62, 8:22-56)

A vital combination in Jesus’ ministry was the teaching of Truth and demonstrating His authority to claim this Truth.  Jesus’ marvels confirm this message of a Kingdom of God and His connection to it. His miracles revealed power over nature, the spirit world, death and disease. A storm tossed sea immediately stilled at Jesus’ command, He raised Jarius’ daughter from the dead, healed a woman who touched His hem, returned sight to the blind and gave words to the speechless.

When Jesus and His friends came upon a demon possessed man, so violent he had been changed and left among the tombs, far away from civilized society, the evil spirits dwelling within him recognized Jesus and begged Him not to cast them out of the area. A herd of pigs seemed an appropriate destination for such vile beings, but when they entered the swine a stampede ensued and the entire herd ran off a cliff and died, bringing the outrage of the town’s population. These people chose personal economics over quality of life for others.

The story of man who heard a call to go and share the good news, but asked to first bury his father is not a narrative about a good son nursing an invalid parent. His father was not in failing health, the man was saying, “The time’s not right. When all the circumstances are convenient, I’ll follow.” God’s works and character clearly show, Christians are obligated to take care of their earthly families and obligations, but God’s work is important and He will make a way! There will never be a perfect moment except to hear and obey. Say, “Yes!” Prayer will be answered and blessings will rain down.

Love,

Gretchen

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44 (Matthew 13:1-52, Mark 4:1-34, Luke 8:4-18, 13:18-19)

Jesus used many methods to effectively teach the multitudes and especially His disciples the Truth and nature of God’s Kingdom. Hyperbole, warnings, laments and denunciations as well as proverbs and the beatitudes are examples. The most interesting though, are His parables. They teach moral truth and principle using simple comparisons well suited to common man. After Jesus taught in public, He would explain in detail what He meant to His intimate circle.

Parables sorted out those who came to see miracles and be entertained, from those who seriously followed Jesus and wanted to fully understand who He was and why He had come. This is explained in the story of the sower and the cycle of seeds that wither beside those that produce fruit.

The parable of the weeds explained that evil will exist along side good till the end of this age when there will be a time of harvest and separation.  The tiny mustard seed, a very small beginning, will grow beyond comprehension, providing shelter for the carefree birds of the air, just as the Kingdom of Heaven began as a small helpless, yet Holy child. And finally,  in the parables of hidden treasure and pearl of great price, Jesus emphasized His purpose, an eternal life worth giving up everything, even this life, to make sure you obtain it.

Jesus was present at the beginning of time. Actually, He existed long before the void was brought into order. He knows all and wants us to understand. The more we seek, the more He will reveal. It’s up to you. What an honor to be given an invitation from the one who Created it all for one purpose, Love.

Love,

Gretchen

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Matthew 11:2 (Matthew 8:1-13, 11:2-19, 12:22-50, Mark 3:20-30, Luke 7:1-50, 11:14-36)

John the Baptist has been arrested and senses his death is near. He, like others, believed God would send a political advocate and conquerer. This man who was born to prepare hearts for Jesus, asks, “Are you the One?”

After decades of empty ritualism, the multitudes were ready to receive the perceptive and authoritative teaching of Jesus. Imagine, when Jesus was standing in the synagogue reading from the Scrolls, the prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Nehemiah….. He was The One who gave those visions. He knew exactly what they meant and all the implications of their message. Sensing Jesus’ extraordinary power, the Pharisees ordered Jesus to perform miracles of their choosing to validate His divine nature. When He refused they accused Him of sorcery rather than Heaven’s Son, sent to love. Jesus gave them a scathing rebuke for their unbelief and hypocrisy.

A Roman soldier sent an envoy to ask Jesus to heal a servant that was highly regarded. Jesus commended him for his faith and the man’s health was restored.  He brought a widow’s only son back from the grave. When a woman of great sin followed Jesus into a banquet, fell to her knees, bathed His feet with her tears and anointed Him, the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ authenticity because He did not send the untouchable away. Jesus offered an illustration of debts owed to teach how grace and gratitude work. And….during this time, Jesus had some minor conflicts with His own earthly family. Rather than scorn, He pointed all to the Kingdom of Heaven and the bond of the Family of God.

When John, in his sorrow and great stress, questioned his own life’s allegiances, Jesus did not condemn, but answered in great victory, by miracles in great numbers, far greater than He had to this point. When Jesus asked you to give Him every part of yourself, that means EVERY PART, including the mind that simply can’t wrap itself around the complex issues of pain, hatred, injustice and despair. Don’t be shamed or defeated. Keep your face turned toward the Son, look Him straight in the eye, pour out your honest heart, then trust and obey His answer, because you are in the good company of those such as John the Baptist.

Love,

Gretchen

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 (Matthew 5-7)

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is His most instructive sermon presented. He speaks of the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, faith, repentance, worship, prayer and humility and considered anything that increases your longing for Heaven a blessing. He takes time to emphasize the importance of appropriate familial relationships, the effect of possessions on peace of mind and He deals harshly with those who are spiritually rebellious.  It is an important part of scripture and should be read often, each believer for himself.

Followers of Jesus are to be completely transformed. A goodness with no bounds turned common ideas about happiness upside down. It is not the rich who find joy and prevail, but the righteous, the forgiver, the peacemaker. This is a completely new standard, a different outlook to the standards behind the Law. Motives and intentions are the important life changing issues in the heart of man, not the grandiose actions performed for all to see. Make and keep your heart pure.

Make sure you are on the right road to eternal life. Beware of misleading representations of Jesus’ mission and guard your heart.  His perfect model for prayer is within this passage. “On earth as it is in Heaven” is not an unattainable ideology, but a state of mind and soul. Live and love as thought you already reside there.

Love,

Gretchen

This is a repost of a story I wrote last year.  I want to report, the bridge that was once, constantly soiled with spray paint and profanity has been kept clean.  I’m not sure who is making sure that little eyes don’t have to witness man’s depravity in our beautiful countryside, but thank you!

A Little White Paint

Sometimes I feel incredibly alone in the world. Solitude is not a physical reality. It’s mental. I look around and think, “Am I the ONLY person that hears the world crying? Am I the ONLY one trying to make the world a better place?  Do the cynics have it right? Is all in vain?  My thought pattern of detachment is ridiculously centrifugal. Yet, the struggle is real and some days are very dark and discouraging.

It is my opinion that loneliness is the deadliest disease on the planet. How many bad choices are made, with the best intentions, to remedy this state? We settle for a temporary ‘less than the best’ quick fix and lose hope of ever finding a place of deep contentment and belonging.  When hope is depleted, life’s energy soon follows and the ultimate decision puts finality to the internal, secret pain.

A river runs through the country side of North Faulkner County, Arkansas.  The Cadron Creek holds my heart.  My husband grew up along its banks exploring, fishing, swimming, becoming a man.  One late summer day in 1981, standing on the bluffs above, with only the whispering breeze and gurgling brook’s music, Keith first spoke words of love to me.  Our own children splashed in the shallow pools and years later our oldest spoke her marriage vows at the water’s edge.

A dusty, country road and old wooden trestle once connected farms and people separated by the Cadron’s expanse.  It has been replaced with a modern concrete structure well above the threat of flooding, and the dirt lane is now a paved thoroughfare. Yet still, it is a road less traveled making our bridge easy prey for those who feel compelled to leave marks of hatred, racism and immorality displayed. Many times a week I must cross through this profane pollution on a school bus filled with eyes that should not see such ugliness. It hurts.

God does not leave His children comfortless.  On a recent afternoon I came down the steep hill approaching the creek crossing and saw someone standing on the bridge.  It was a dad, with a bucket of white paint.  I slowed the bus and he paused in his labor to turn, smile and wave at the students as we passed.  Conversation quickly turned to the man making their world a better place. A short time later two young sons got off the bus and asked their mother to take them to join their father in giving the gift of goodness and community.     

This bucket of white paint did so much more than cover graffiti. It healed a heart and gave hope.

There are two antidotes to the toxic venom of obsessive despondency. Do good, alone if you must, and deliberately acknowledge the endeavors of others to overcome sin’s path of destruction. YOUR HAPPINESS MUST NOT DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WILLING TO HELP OR APPLAUD YOU. You will end up back where you began, discouraged and overwhelmed.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His Holy dwelling, God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in the sun-scorched land. Psalms 68:6.

At the age of twelve I decided to follow Jesus.  At age eighteen I learned that even if no one joins me, still I must follow.  (I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, abbreviated.)  Be like Jesus. Someone is watching and you are making a far reaching difference.

With All My Love,

Gretchen

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13

My earthly father is a pastor as am I. Although our roles look much different in living color, we enjoy to talking shop, his sermons, my blog, and the sheep we shepherd. He often responds to my thoughts, expanding my understanding and giving me new and deeper insights. Today he made an inspiring point regarding my comments on the twelve disciples, specifically, Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector. I am going to share a portion of the text I received, edited for flow.

Imagining the diversity of the twelve is a great lesson for the church. Our LORD was risking everything by allowing Matthew (willing to work with Rome) and Simon (despised Rome’s presence in Palestine) in the same room.  Outside of grace, had Matthew met Simon in a dark alley on a dark night, one or the other might have felt a dagger slide between his ribs. Jesus understood the broad spectrum of sin’s predicament and fashioned the church to address the mess. He still does.                                                                                                                                                Rev. J. Bryan Jones.

Love one another no matter what. Laying down a life is not just a physical act, it is every bit emotional, spiritual, and idealogical. We must take on the countenance of Jesus, the sacrifice. Opinions don’t have a place when you’re called to love. When love unifies, it changes the world!

LOVE,

Gretchen

He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.  Mark 3:14-15 ( Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:7-19, Luke 6:12-16)

The word apostle means messenger. After a long night in prayer, Jesus chose twelve men from His many followers, to be His inner circle. They were the founding members of the New Kingdom, and their training was a vital part of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Spreading the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah and your sins can be forgiven was their task. Representative of the twelve tribes of Israel, no single one was from a religious establishment. They were everyday men, with everyday jobs and individual personalities, but they came together with one heart, one mind, one mission, God’s plan. Jesus warned them to expect hardship and frosty receptions, but to fear none for God will take care!

Peter and Andrew were brothers and owned a fishing partnership with James and John. This quartet was specially close to Jesus. Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist, but very quickly Peter, so named by Jesus, became the group’s leader. James and John were known as the Sons of Thunders. They had stormy personalities and were passionate about the mission and Love of Jesus. James was the first of the twelve to be martyred. Matthew was a tax collector, a Jew who worked for Rome and was hated by his fellow countrymen. Following his call, Jesus sat down to a meal with him and his many outcast friends.

Simon, a zealot, felt strongly that Palestine should free itself from Rome and had a nationalist, guerrilla warfare mentality. His ideology changed. The first to do the math when Jesus told His disciples to get enough food to feed 5,000 people was Philip. Ever practical, He had to learn finance was not a problem with God. Nathaniel and Thomas were both known for their skepticism. Grace was certainly a game changer as they found and followed a man they did not understand but trusted anyway.  Finally, Judas, Jesus’ treasurer stole regularly from the poor, but Jesus knew His role in prophecy and sacrifice and stayed the course.

These were not the honor graduates of Jerusalem Seminary. Jesus gave them credentials because of an eagerness to become what God demanded they be, and a willingness to take up His cross, go forward into the unknown and see it through with nothing but an invincible hope and steadfast faith. Spoiler alert! It was enough!

Love,

Gretchen

Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working.” John 5:17 (Matthew 9:9-17, 12:1-21, Mark 2:13-3:19, Luke 5:27-6:19, John 5:1-47)

By declaring Himself the divine authority to forgive sin, Jesus aroused immediate opposition among the Jewish leaders. The Scribes and Pharisees correctly believed only God can do this, but they rejected Jesus as His Son and charged Him with blasphemy. They also questioned the absence of Jesus’ fasting during religious observances.  John the Baptist fasted, as did Moses, Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets in times of stress and strain. It had is function in worship, strength, guidance and clarity. Fasting for the Jewish authority was an advertisement of self-righteousness. Jesus had no need or patience for this empty act.

The Law was the authority and Jesus respected it as such, but tradition and interpretation evolved through the development of the synagogue and rabbis resulting in strict and highly ritualistic observances and ceremonial cleansing. Jesus violated these practices, not out of malicious negligence but through teaching that legalism is no substitute for the righteousness God demanded.

Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda. It was thought to have healing powers for those who were able to reach its waters when they miraculously stirred. A crippled man was lying at its edge when Jesus told him to take up his mat and walk.  Wonderful! Except it was the Sabbath.  After the Law had been sifted through the minds of the theologically shallow, healing and carrying one’s mat on the day of rest were both considered work. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for this kindness. Jesus responded by commenting the words above. His Father is always about His work, 24-7-365!  The Sabbath was a gift to man with the purpose of rest and restoration in the presence of God, not a prison of 24 hours. It is always the right time to do good.

The only objective of Heaven is to heal and make YOU whole.  There is no Law or Practice that can bring you and God together aside from prayer, worship and praise! Call His name and He will answer……EVERYTIME!!! Even on the Sabbath.

Love,

Gretchen

A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said, “Be clean!” Matthew 8:2-3 (Matthew 4:12-25, 8:1-17, 9:1-8, Mark 1:14-45, 2:1-12 Luke 4:14-49, 5:1-26)

Jesus did not stay in Judea, the capitol area of Palestine. Instead He went into Capernaum, along the Sea of Galilee, taking His ministry to the city streets and country roads. His favored place was the local synagogue where common men gathered to read, ponder and discuss scripture. Here He began teaching with authority and fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. His teaching focuses on repentance. One morning as He was walking along the shore, crowds began following Him, listening as He taught. He got in a fishing boat and pushed away so He could be seen and heard. After His lesson, He rowed back and directed Simeon to let down his nets in a specific place. Simeon did so and had to have assistance to bring in the massive catch. Four fishermen, Simeon, Andrew, James and John were called to set aside their profession and become fisher’s of men.

It was in the synagogue that Jesus rid a man of an evil spirit and people began following Him everywhere He went. He healed many of their diseases. Jesus arose early one morning to pray. When His disciples found Him they moved on to another area. He knew people would look to Him as a magician and call on Him to make the moment easier, rather than seek a redeemer to heal their sin and cure them for a lifetime and into an eternity. But, when a man with leprosy came forward, Jesus was moved with compassion. Leprosy was a horrible ailment that isolated its victim from friends and family. In love Jesus touched the untouchable first, then He healed Him.

Friends brought a crippled friend before the LORD. Jesus was moved again by the faith of the companions and told the disabled man His sins were forgiven, upsetting the scribes who cried accusations of blasphemy. When Jesus made the man’s body whole, his soul was already thriving. Jesus, the all powerful, modeled the priority of spiritual soul over the physical body. What good is a healthy body if the heart does not know eternal life? 

Yes, Jesus healed thousands, but His greater mission was salvation. Our earthly life is temporal, but the soul is forever. Keep things in perspective. Resist seeking the circus act, or the magician but diligently pursue Jesus, Lamb of God, The Christ, the Great I AM!

Love,

Gretchen

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (John 1:35-4:54)

John is the only Gospel writer who tells the story of Jesus’ early ministry and just like the prophets of old, He wasted no time confronting those who profaned the sanctity of the Temple. He extended His message beyond the Jewish nation appealing to the common man by touching everyday lives.

The first disciples came through John as he pointed them to the real Lamb of God, made a confession of joy in Jesus’ deity and declared he would become less as Jesus became more. John, Andrew, Simon, Philip and Nathan were named Jesus’ first partners in ministry.

By turning water into wine at His mother’s beckoning, Jesus begins His ministry of miracles. Although He was reluctant, He took part in a domestic, yet religious event that was the center of community life. This sets a precedent of a joy that accompanies Jesus’ presence in all we do. However, Jewish tradesmen using the sacred Temple grounds for profiteering was incredibly offensive. The money changers were cheating those who were most vulnerable. After watching Jesus’ actions toward man, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus in the dark of night. He became a believer but kept His faith a secret until all others had run away in fear and then he came forward, boldly defending Jesus.

Samaria was the archenemy of the Jewish people. These people were used to repopulate Israel when Assyria carried the Jews into bondage after the fall of Israel.  Jews had good reason to hate Samaritans, but Jesus took the road less traveled, meets a woman at Jacob’s well and offers her a life giving water that will quench her thirst for all time. Following her testimony, many Samaritans were saved.

In the earliest moments of Jesus’ ministry we see a love that matriculates all parts of earthly life; domestic relationships, shame of past sins, secret questions and fear of being socially ostracized. Jesus met all of these people in their moments with eternal solutions.  Grasp and cling to His hope as if it is your only…..because it is.

Love,

Gretchen