Journey to The Journey

As we learned this week, Jesus' gave these instructions to his followers shortly before his ascension into Heaven and they include four imperatives: go, make, baptize, and teach. So, what practical implications do these imperatives have for us as we seek to live in obedience to Christ? Let's look at them each, one at a time.

Muslims view him as a powerful prophet and man of God. Hindus and Buddhists respect him as a wise teacher. Historians and scholars view him as everything from an insurrectionist to a folk hero. Of course, we, as Christians, affirm what Jesus said about himself and who scripture proclaims him to be...God incarnate, our Savior, and our King. With all of these differing opinions, who is right and who is wrong? How do we even know?

Raise your hand if you like it when bad things happen to you! I can't see you as you read this, but I'll bet you aren't fighting the urge to throw your hand up in the air right now. Of course we don't like facing trials and difficulties. We'd have to be crazy to feel otherwise!

On September 24, 2000, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, two powerhouse teams at the time, played a game at Texas Stadium (the former home of the Cowboys). During the game, the 49ers' boisterous wide receiver, Terrell Owens, who was known for his "over the top" celebrations, on two separate occasions after scoring touchdowns, sprinted to the center of the field and stood arms stretched wide in a "look at me" pose right on the Cowboys' famous star logo.

When reflecting on this passage of scripture, I can't help but be drawn to that line, "His blood be on us and on our children!" I don't believe any truer words have ever been spoken. At the time, the Jews and their religious leaders were blinded by their own sinful intentions. Surely, they didn't...they couldn't...realize who Jesus really was and what they were actually saying...could they??? At least, that's what we want to believe. The truth is though, Jesus' blood was on their hands, and on their children's hands...and it's on our hands as well.

You and I have no more power or ability to resist our will to sin than a wild beast can resist its animal instincts. A dog can't just decide to be a cat, because it is a dog...and it will act like a dog. It will do what dogs do. The great reformer, Martin Luther, says it this way, "For if man has lost his freedom, and is forced to serve sin, and cannot will good, what conclusion can more justly be drawn concerning him, than that he sins and wills evil necessarily?" Indifference to sin is the sign to all men that they are enslaved to it...that they serve it...and it is their master. This is the testimony of a heart that is spiritually dead.

The thought of injustice irks us. We hate corruption and when something is perceived to be unfair we get vocal about it. This week at The Journey we studied the moment when Jesus stood before the High Priest Caiaphas and his council on trial. Jesus was wrongfully arrested and taken before this council where they actively sought out false testimony to charge Jesus with a crime that would be punishable by death.

Don't you just hate it when things don't go the way you planned? You take the time to meticulously map out all of the details for something, and you build up in your mind how you think it's going to go. Then, it never seems to fail, things start to go sideways. Maybe your outdoor wedding gets rained out, or your Thanksgiving dinner gets burned in the oven. Whatever it is...we've all been there.

I really enjoy working with my hands. Typically, when something breaks or needs repaired around the house, I will take a stab at it. My poor wife, God bless her, has learned that we WILL NOT be calling a professional until I have reached my whit's end and finally admitted defeat...which doesn't happen often.

If you have spent any significant amount of time in church, particularly within a variety of Christian denominations, then you surely know that there are many, many points of doctrine where Christians disagree. Heck, this isn't even the first time that Cody has devoted a portion of his sermon to discussing different doctrinal viewpoints or disagreements over Biblical interpretation. True indeed, there is much that Christians do (and must in order to actually be Christian) agree upon. However, there are an equal, if not larger, number of items upon which views differ. It is a common criticism of Christians and Christianity. "Don't you guys agree on anything?!?!"