Teleos Blog that we may present everyone complete in Christ

Cry OutPosted by Phil on September 29th, 2008

“i tell you, if they [my disciples] keep quiet, these rocks will cry out.”

i love this verse and even more the context it’s in. this is part of the triumphal entry and Jesus and his disciples are making their way into Jerusalem for passover. and they are shouting, “blessed is the king…” now, this isn’t the 12 disciples, this is the disciples as in any follower of Jesus. anywhere from 500 to a few thousand people probably.

the passage says they were shouting in a loud voice. it’s always easier to shout when you’re in a group, isn’t it? the situation also makes a huge difference. cause you’ll yell louder at a basketball game than at church even though there may be more people at church.

but you’ve got this setting, where everyone is yelling at the top of their lungs how good God is. and the pharisees kind of slide over to Jesus and whisper to him, “hey, shut them up! they’re gonna get us in trouble.”

i can picture leaning and whispering back, “i can’t…and i won’t.” obviously that’s the phil woodman translation of this passage, but isn’t that what took place. “teacher rebuke them.” and Jesus responds, “if they don’t creation will.” as if to say, my name will be praised, whether it’s by these disciples or something else, it’s gonna happen.

when i look at this story, i see myself as a pharisee and not a disciple. i’m the one saying settle down, this isn’t the time or place to be that excited. look normal, try to blend in. don’t act weird.

in church we constantly tell people to share their faith and tell other people about God. like we expect them to be able to walk up to anyone and present the Gospel. but sharing our faith or telling our story is something we should be doing every day. whether someone is a believer or not. i should be constantly telling my story b/c it’s just part of my life.

what is God teaching me? where have i seen God working? what are questions i’m struggling with?

answer one of those questions with someone today. try doing it every day. then when it comes to wondering how to steer a conversation towards spiritual matters it shouldn’t be that difficult b/c every day you talk about your story with God. i guess i don’t want to leave it up to the rocks.

The RemedyPosted by Phil on September 23rd, 2008

i love this song by David Crowder. if you don’t know the song, i’d definitely recommend you go check out his website so you can hear it. it should be the default song that starts playing. but i like this song in how it portrays Christ’s work on earth and what he did. he came for the broken, abused, hungry, and mistreated people, because that’s who we are. we were in desperate need and he provided the cure for the world.

he is the one who has saved us
he is the one who embraced us
he is the one who has come and is coming again
he’s the remedy

but the end of the song shifts from he is the remedy to point out that we are the remedy.

if you study the story of the feeding of the 5000 in matthew 14, be aware of a few things.

1. this is just after the death of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. it says he was trying to get away from some time on his own, most likely to mourn. this just has to be a bad day to start with.
2. when he gets off the boat the KJV says he was “moved with compassion.” the greek word there can be translated “to have the bowels yearn.” Jesus was actually sick to his stomach with pity and concern for these people. this passage said he healed their sick, while other accounts say he taught them and just talked to them. so he wasn’t just sick b/c of how many sick people were there.
3. then we get this transition, “as evening approached.” he spent all day healing and talking to people, when he really just wanted some time alone. but he cared for them so much.

Jesus spent 3 years training his disciples. allowing them to see and be a part of everything he did. they saw his best and worst moments (if you can say Jesus had bad moments). then at the end he turns to them and says…”ok, now it’s your turn. it’s up to you.”

Jesus saw a world that was hurting, broken, abused, hungry, naked, and sick….and he had to do something about it. even if it was just sitting down to talk, or providing a bite to eat. and now he says to us, “i want you to be the remedy.” so where can you bring healing? maybe a person comes to mind or a situation you come across regularly. i’d recommend taking a band aid and placing it somewhere you’ll see regularly to remind yourself that you are God’s remedy for this world.