Life. God. Perspective.: Recent Episodes
Jared Ethan Black
How should you respond to God? Seriously, what is the best, most appropriate response to the God of the Universe? Thankfully, many have come before us who responded well. And thankfully, some names you might recognize have been recorded in the book as they gave the King of Kings and Lord of Lords their very own "here I am"!
Have you ever contemplated the will of God? What IS God's will for you? Can it be known? The answer to the question is shockingly simple. It is so simple, it is profound. So profound, it is simple. Lean in, listen, and learn the answer to life's biggest mystery. And don't forget to give thanks...
Its such a small part of the body, right? What possible good (or harm) can that wagging appendage of muscle in the mouth really do. Scripture, and by extension Jesus Himself, takes aim at this seemingly innocent part of the body. Not so! The power of life and death are found in the power of the tongue!
What is it about the name of the Lord? The proverbs declare that it, the very name, is a strong tower! What might it mean to proclaim the name? To walk in the name? To pray in the name? Would it really matter? According to centuries of scripture, it is the very name of the Lord which the righteous run toward and are safe. Run, then. Run into it!
How are your eyes? Jesus wants to know. It seems the answer to the question determines how much light is in the body. Make sense? no? Well, take a listen and hear the master Rabbi waxing poetic and teaching one of his greatest lessons.
Ah, the gotcha questions we ask! It seems one of our deepest desires is to self-justify. Listen in as a young lawyer believes he has led Jesus, the master Rabbi, into openly agreeing with him. And then watch as his smug smile turns to humiliated disbelief with just one now-familiar parable. So really, who isn't your neighbor?
"Very" is a very big word. Not in letter. But in meaning yet expressed. The Great Shema which is foundational to all that Jesus was, is, lives, and dies, has a "very" interesting twist...have you yet learned to love the LORD your God with all your...very?
Jesus, the object of our faith, had faith. But what was Jesus' faith made of? Take a listen and HEAR! The faith of Jesus was handed down by his father and his father's father...and so one and so forth...all the way back to that generation of Moses which first sat to hear the words of God. And so, their sound carries to you today.
We are told to have faith IN Jesus. A good instructive, to be sure. But where was Jesus' faith placed? What if we, all these years later, are to acquire first the faith OF Jesus, which results in a growing faith in Jesus? Upon generations of teaching, prophesies, histories, and heritage did Jesus build his own internal frame. Lean in and listen. Look and see. The faith of Jesus is on ready display!
Smoke and Fire! A voice from atop a mountain that makes the people beg for a mediary. The pinnacle of Exodus is the giving (and receiving) of the LAW - The Big Ten commands which sets the world stage for a savior one day to follow.
How can you be expected to have faith when your back's against the wall? It is here, shown in great detail in the pivotal image in the grand story of God's salvation, that a ready supply of faith may be found. Go ahead. Walk forward. Don't be surprised if your steps provide the beat for the Song of Moses (and the Lamb!)
Who would think that bones could be a symbol of hope? Dry. Dusty. Lifeless bones. Our Biblical story contains many plot lines. Join me as we follow the bones of promise into the land of hope realized.
God has the answer. The great dilemma of the cosmic/Divine drama is now solved. The final chapter of Genesis presents the totally unexpected. Evil does not get the final word. Nor death. Have we yet seen what God can do with death? He creates life!
Can you pass the test? Have we yet learned to discern the power of our expressed "amen"? Abraham is said to have stumbled into it, only to find his footing and walk out a life before God. Watch and see. Listen and hear. You might just hear your own name called by the God of gods. Do you know how to answer?
But what of one man's life? Can God split the chaotic waters within just as the Scriptures claim He accomplished at the beginning? Stride alongside Abram and see. Dare to believe God. You too just might be made whole.
Let's make a name for OURSELVES, they said. God says it's gonna be hard to make a name if nobody understands a word you are saying. And so God stoops down to see their little tall tower and determines afresh to affix His name upon their lives...in time.
The epoch of the Fall is unleashed in the choice of Adam and Eve. But it doesn't end there. Like noxious ink spreading through water, the stain of sin and death seems to color all of creation. And so, God laments. God relents. And God, the Spirit, makes a way by splitting the waters...
Two trees. One fruit. A mighty Fall. BUT! The fragrance of God enters the scene. Hope is not lost. The very essence of death has been overcome. Genesis 3 strikes the match which ignites the doom of creation. But God. God has found a way. All that was meant for evil, God has made for good.
Let there be fire! Oh, what an image that pops off the thin, silky pages of the Bible. The creation account in Genesis is quite thorough. We've already been introduced to earth, wind, and water...watch and see, listen and hear as the crown of God's creation makes FIRE!
What is the point of this little life of ours? It may seem as if something has been lost in the sands of time. Something vitally important. A Lost image. A lost purpose. Peer into the waters of Genesis 1. Reclaim the image! Remember who you are.
So how does a god become THE God? The ancients had thoughts about this. They had stories about this, stories that predate the writing of the Bible. Look and see as the first four verses of Genesis make their claim!
The book of Genesis is truly a beginning. It begins the story of God, God for us, God with us. It begins the story of a people, the story of us. Because? "In the beginning..."
The face of God? Some say that level of intimacy with God is impossible, deadly even. Yet scripture from beginning to end threads a much different account. Getting in the face of God is the only way to a whole, fulfilled life. So, what are you waiting for? Get in His face!
The most wonderful time of the year? Well...for many folks...not exactly. Although the holidays can stir up many emotions, memories, or anxieties, there seems to be a subtle but powerful prescription peppered throughout the 66 books that comprise the Bible. Go ahead, give it a listen, give this thread of thanksgiving a tug and take [...]
There's often a story behind a story. Scripture is filled with plenty of examples. A woman is remembered for touching Jesus' cloak and gaining miraculous healing. Was it just dumb luck? Or was it something that the woman did because she dared to believe the story behind the story? Peer in as we let the [...]
What is the "Word of God?" Is it a book? Or, is it as the good Book says...the Word of God is a person. The Age of Reason gave us many things. Many good things. But it also leaves a film of unintended consequences whereby many now assume "truth" through their own experience...putting us all [...]
Dive down with me into the layers of scripture where deeper understanding is sure to be found! In Luke 19, look on as Jesus encounters Zacchaeus, that wee little man many of us sang about in our Sunday School children's song. Yet, Jesus' words stop the music with one culturally-charged turn of phrase. It is [...]
How well do you really see the things of God? How well do we really hear God in the work-a-day lives we lead? Let the scriptures encourage us with a word - Repent! Be zealous and repent, we are told. Well, let's just see about that as we open a letter written to a thriving [...]
It is interesting that Jesus doesn't appear to concern himself with right vs. wrong. Instead, his focus is intently on life vs. death. The Bible describes two trees from a garden of old - the Tree of Life and the Tree of Death. How is it that we keep eating from the wrong tree? What [...]
So, you want to engage the God of the Universe but you've heard there are things about you that keep you from Him? Let the extraordinary story of Acts 8 open your eyes, open your ears, and open your heart to the reality that you, yes YOU, can be fully immersed in the life of [...]
Fresh thoughts concerning the second coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the body, and our hope.
It has begun! What, you ask? The Kingdom of God has drawn near...right in the middle of death and injustice, you and me. Matthew 11 shows Jesus using a veiled reference to Micah 2 to explain what this Gospel of the Kingdom is really all about. It's about living life, real life, smack in the [...]
Is the aim of an enlightened Christian to finally understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God? Or - is the aim simply to understand that it is a mystery? Jesus and John the Baptist have this very discussion in Matthew 11. Look and see...listen and hear.
What attracts God? A life of perfection? Doing only the right things? I have been surprised to discover that a dysfunctional life does not a disqualify a person with God. Biblically...theologically...it is dysfunction that is the invitation for God to come hover over your life.
What does it really mean to be "saved"? Take a look at Matthew 1 and Matthew 28 as bookends signifying the simplicity of the Gospel - the hope and promise that God saves. Why? Because God is with us.
It's a parable that has been preached and re-preached...because of this, The Prodigal Son from Luke 15 has lost its edge of effectiveness in many settings. Let's take the stone of history to see if we can't bring back the razor sharp edge that has allowed this parable of Jesus to cut through the hardened [...]
David wrote a song. It was recorded and released as Psalm 23. Like all good songs, it has a hook - It is God, God Himself, who shepherds me! Take a fresh listen and may its images greatly enrich the album of your life.