Sons of Thunder

James and John were two of Jesus' disciples and were also considered two of his closest friends.  Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder" for their often fiery and zealous personalities.  On one occasion, Jesus was traveling with his disciples through Samaria and looking for a place to stay.  The Samaritans refused due to their prejudice against Jews when they learned the group was headed for Jerusalem.   James and John asked Jesus, "Do you want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them?", but Jesus rebuked them and traveled on to another city.

Fast forward to the time when Jesus was warning the disciples of his approaching arrest and crucifixion.  James and John's mother made a request of Jesus.  When Jesus returned to the throne, she wanted one of her sons to be seated on the left and the other to be seated on the right of Jesus.  When the other disciples heard about this, Jesus overheard them grumbling amongst themselves.  He explained to them, "whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."  

James was the first disciple to be killed, and John was the last to die from old age.  After John had walked with Jesus as one of the Sons of Thunder, he wrote the Gospel of John and John 1-3.  While he still speaks strongly about deceivers, his words are tempered with the love that he no doubt learned from his walk with Jesus.   John's new nickname became the Apostle of Love.

God, please help me to live more like Jesus.

Keeping Watch

I got a good night's sleep last night.  It wasn't until this morning that I realized how fortunate I was that I would have another day on this earth.  On June 17th, Joshua Mhlakela announced that the end of the world was coming on September 23rd and/or September 24th.  He stated on TikTok that he had met with Jesus, and Jesus told him this.  I had never heard of Joshua, and I don't use TikTok, so while this was news to me, apparently there were millions of people who took notice.  Many took the warning seriously, and many more responded with sarcasm.  

In Paul's first letter to the Thesalonians, he states "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."  I believe Paul.  But in Matthew 24, Jesus himself states about his return, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."  Keep watch.  What do those two words mean to you?  For me, I think of important people that have security teams talking into their wrists, keeping watch over the person they were hired to protect.  I also think of the security cameras that our kids have installed in their nurseries to keep watch over their newborn kids.  But what does Jesus mean?  I think He means to be ready and to be vigilant.  We are to expect his return and prepare ourselves by doing everything we can to do the things He wants us to do and not do the things He doesn't want us to do.  I want to do this today, but I won't spend a minute worrying about what day He is going to return.

Private Enemy #1

Jesus instructs us to love our enemies.  That can be a little overwhelming to me.  First, I need to know who my enemies are, and then I need to know what it means to love them.  I don't feel like I have a lot of the traditional enemies - people who seek to harm me or my family.  But Jesus is talking about something more than that.  How about people who think differently from me?  There are plenty of those, and in general, I just try to avoid them to lessen the pain.  Sometimes avoidance might be the best I can do at any given time, but following Jesus requires more of me.  1 Corinthians 13 tells us, "Love is patient.  Love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable and does not keep a record of wrongs."  Jesus gives us nine ways to love in just those two short verses, and I could fill a full day just trying to address one of them.  I challenge you to take 5 minutes today to think about who your enemies are and find at least one new way to love at least one of them today.

The Other Red Team

Most of you know that all our immediate family members are UGA alums.  Our blood runs red and black - not scarlet and grey like all of those that support Ohio State University.  I have to say that my disdain for OSU on the football field is tempered by a healthy respect for their football accomplishments.  They are currently 2-0 and ranked number one in the country.  And my opinion of their team just jumped several notches after seeing this news story about a revival that the team is leading on their campus.  Over a thousand students gathered to worship Jesus and some were baptized on the spot.  The gathering was supported by several current OSU football players, including linebacker, Sonny Styles.  I will be cheering for them on the field (when they aren't playing UGA) and praying for their continued influence on their campus.  Praise God.

Pouring Over The Stories

 Most of us have our go-to news outlets for local, regional, and world news.  The habit of going to one source for news may be because of the producers, the personalities, or it may be because that particular outlet says things the way we want to hear them.  Regrettably, most reporting by these supposedly objective outlets are known to be either conservative or liberal, and they don't really try to hide that.  If you are happy with your news outlet, no need to read further.   But if you are somewhat frustrated with the spin, I found another alternative.  The Pour Over is a subscriber-based news email which reports the same events you see in the other outlets as unbiased as possible.  Better than that, they follow each story with an "eternal perspective" and a bible verse to help give the story a deeper meaning.  Signing up is free at this link if you are interested in giving it a try.  The posts are also available online if you prefer not to receive additional emails.  Click here for recent posts.

Is it in you?

Think of a time when you were extremely thirsty.  It may have been after a hard day of yard work when you were too busy to stop.  Perhaps it was an athletic event like a soccer game, a 10k run or a triathlon.  Or maybe it was just walking to your car in July in Atlanta.  Can you also remember that extreme yearning for something to drink?

The well and the water within are used throughout the Bible to symbolize the quenching nature of God the Father and God the Son.  The yearning that we have for something to drink should be the same yearning that we have for being close to God.  As the water is drawn from the well, it represents the saving grace that God has provided through his son, Jesus.  When we drink the water, it symbolizes the refreshment that comes with knowing Him more.  And as it flows into our body, it fills our soul and cleanses us of our sin.

The next time you are thirsty for a drink, think of the satisfying nature of God that can only be realized through his Son, Jesus.  Is it in you?

Those Were The Days

Parts of the Middle East have been decimated by the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict, and tens of thousands are reported dead.  But 1500 miles to the east, on a small island near Abu Dhabi, a sign of more peaceful times was found.  A tablet with a cross was discovered by archaeologists, indicating there was a thriving community of Christians that made their way to the island 1400 years ago.  This is further east than many had estimated in recent years.  Other findings indicate there was probably thriving trade between Christians and Muslims.  It is unknown what eventually happened to the Christian settlement, but experts agree that the buildings uncovered do not appear to have suffered any sudden demise.  I pray that this kind of peace can return to the region soon so that healing can begin.

Click here for the full story with video.