Bring it!

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him…

Luke 8:1

The way the ministry of Jesus was done as described here by Luke intrigues me as I read it. Here is Jesus at the height of His Galilean ministry. He is itinerate, traveling with His band of disciples and a ragtag collection of followers from place to place. And He is both preaching the kingdom of God and bringing it. That is interesting. It isn’t just that the gospel is preached. It is more than words. It is more than a message. The gospel brings change to lives in visible ways. It orients those who believe Jesus to a new life… a new purpose… a new direction… a new meaning. The gospel brings healing, help, comfort, and peace.

That is what Jesus did with the good news. And those twelve who traveled with Him? They were commissioned by Him with that same gospel… a gospel we still preach and bring into our societies when we teach and model Jesus’ transforming truth to our own towns and villages around the world.

The gospel isn’t just taught… it is brought. It isn’t just preached but it is also lived. It is more than speaking… IT IS DOING! Jesus brings change as we faithfully proclaim the gospel AND live as Jesus shows us. That is the call of discipleship… to tell all about Jesus and live as He shows us. May we both preach and bring it!

Don’t stumble over Jesus.

And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Luke 7:22-23

Jesus is controversial. He always has been. Early in His public ministry even John the Baptist had questions about the nature of Jesus’ ministry. John had prepared the way for a Messiah and a deliverer of Israel. Yet Jesus was doing things at a very different pace and in very different ways than John did. And so Jesus gave John and his disciples this answer.

Jesus lets His work speak for itself. There was no miracle of healing that Jesus would not do for someone in need. There was no disease too dirty for Jesus not to cleanse. And there was a beautiful gospel… a kingdom message of good news in a world of bad news… and it was taking root among the neediest people. Jesus was doing the true work of deliverance: He delivered from darkness, paralysis, silence, uncleanness, and even death itself. 

The final word Jesus gave was to remind John not to see what Jesus did as something to stumble over. The meaning of “offense” is to trip or stumble over a stone in the path. Jesus was NOT in the way, but rather He IS the way. “Offense” is related to our work “scandal”. We can be scandalized by Jesus, especially in the later work of His death and resurrection, or we can be saved by Him. But we cannot ignore Him. We have to deal with the divine disruption He has made in our world! Even today, as Jesus still saves and heals lives, He disrupts and transforms. We have to deal with the disruption and answer for ourselves: “Who is Jesus?”

sustained through the night

I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

Psalm 3:5

I often take for granted the common sustaining mercies of God. Every night that I shut my eyes for sleep I am entrusting myself to God’s care for another day. I’ve slept all over the world in all sorts of places and ways and God brought me a new morning every time! That daily kind of faith should not be overlooked. 

I have crawled into a sleeping bag under mosquito nets in an African village. I’ve slept in a high rise hotel room in some of the most expensive real estate in the world in bustling Hong Kong. I’ve laid down under the stars on a mat in the New Mexico desert sand. Each time I awoke again the next day sustained by God for another day of living kept by His care for His glory. This is a mercy meant to be remembered as David wrote in this psalm.

Lord,

I’ve never slept under threat of my life like David did. Yet He could sleep entrusting himself to You. I begin this new day thankful for Your care and Your mercies. Even sleep is evidence of Your providence. I woke up to a new day from You… for You… dedicated to You. May I never take that for granted.

Amen