Author: Jon Harris

Today’s reading link: Genesis 46; Mark 16; Job 12; Romans 16

I’ve recently taken the opportunity to consider what others would say if asked, “What is most important to Jon?” Even if you barely know me, you are probably aware of how easily and freely I verbally proclaim my love for triathlons, India Pale Ales (IPAs), coffee, travel, and fine food. And if you know me fairly well you hopefully have heard me passionately talk about how much I cherish and adore my wife, and the great joy that our children bring. What tugs at me is the fear that too many people would be surprised to know that I love Jesus. My treasure may appear to be more Earthly focused rather than Heavenly focused.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

The “good news” that I usually share is missing the Good News that we are commanded to share. In today’s reading, the resurrected Jesus commands us to share the Good News so that others may be saved.

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)

Go

We are told to take action. Throughout his preaching and teaching period, Jesus was constantly on the move. He was not an earthly king on an earthly throne being served. Jesus went, but without concern for his own comfort. And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)  

into all the world

Jesus traveled to numerous cities throughout Galilee. “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” (Matthew 4:23) The apostle Paul traveled extensively as well. The Lord’s words in Acts 9:15 are referring to Paul, and his travels are well documented throughout the book of Acts. But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

and proclaim

The NLT Bible uses “preach” and the ESV version uses “proclaim”. The word preach (preacher) brings back memories of the guy in a suit, giving a sermon on a Sunday morning (something most of us haven’t done). The word proclaim hits closer to home. We can proclaim things through speech (verbal or written) and through our actions. These words from Peter provide more context to the act of speaking and serving to glorify God:

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:11, NIV)

the gospel

The Gospel (or the Good News) is repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ. Before we can proclaim the Good News, we need to believe in our own hearts and live as though it is actually good news. The Good News offers eternal life with our loving creator so we should share it with great joy! Consider the apostles after they had been jailed, humiliated, interrogated, and beaten for sharing the Good News. Their response? Rejoicing. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. (Acts 5:41)

to the whole creation.

The message is for everyone. We are God’s creation. In the context of the writing of the Bible there was a great division between Jews and Gentiles or the Greeks, so it needed to be said that even the Gentiles get to share in this eternal salvation. For further reference, please refer to Romans 10:5-21 as it beautifully and miraculously teaches the message of salvation for all.

Whoever believes and is baptized

This refers to believing the gospel, that Jesus rose from the dead, that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God. As we believe in our hearts, we will have outward actions that reflect our belief. Baptism is one outward step to reflect our inward belief.

will be saved,

Saved from sin and given eternal life. Sin separates us from God; he cannot tolerate sin therefore he sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, as a replacement for our sin. It is binary, we can be with him or without him and it is our choice to believe or not believe. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

I slowly typed this last part and it gave me a chill. The thought of condemnation for anyone, especially those I love, cuts me to the heart. If you are reading this and you do not yet believe, please consider that it is not the me the author of this post, your friend, your co-worker, or “the christian” who condemns; this is Biblical text coming from a God who is a God a love, but also a God of wrath. He either saves or condemns, based on our choice. Our culture spins lies in telling us that a loving God wouldn’t condemn good people. He loves us, but if we do not love him back, we are inherently rejecting him. We are for him or against him. We will be with or without him for eternity and this is serious business. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

Father God, would you put it in our hearts to recognize the great significance as to the choices we make and the direction our lives are pointing people to? Would you open doors to conversation that would glorify you? Would you soften the hearts of those who do not yet believe? Would you equip us through your Holy Spirit to have the words that clearly and truthfully reflect your will? Thank you God for loving us so much, for giving us free will, and saving us through your son Jesus. Amen.

Today’s reading link: Genesis 40; Mark 10; Job 6; Romans 10

How should we receive the kingdom of God? Like a child.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” – Mark 10:15

This verse actually scared me because it was very specific saying that if we don’t receive the kingdom like a child we shall not enter it. Hopefully you’re with me and are planning on entering it, so I thought it worthwhile to spend some time considering what it means to receive the kingdom of God like a child.

The word receive is a verb so this provides reasoning that receiving the kingdom requires active participation. God is always near us and is seeking a relationship with us, but we need to receive him, we need to let him in. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

These thoughts come to mind when I think about the minds and actions of children and some correlating verses that speak to these attributes:

1. Receive fearlessly; if you give them something, they just take it without hesitation. We too should be fearless. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
2. Children seem to always be hungry and thirsty. Like a child hungering and thirsting for food, we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) 
3. Receive joyfully. Luke 19:1-10 tells the story of Zacchaeus, the cheating tax collector who turned to follow Jesus. Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully; like us, he had much to be thankful for when he recognized salvation in repentance and trust in Jesus.
4. Children are meek. Merriam-Webster defines meek as “having or showing a quiet or gentle nature” (keyword here is “nature”… it is fully understood that children can be extremely loud, but their nature is generally quiet and gentle). “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)
5. A synonym for meek is the word humble and we need to humble ourselves like children. Matthew’s account of Jesus teaching about receiving like children includes the verb “humbles”. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3-4)
6. Children do not have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They don’t have worries piled up. They’re not worrying about their future (marriage, retirement, their own children) or their past (mistakes, sins, or when they were harmed by others). They’re focused on “right now”. Jesus has it covered and said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)
7. Children fully depend on their caregivers for sustenance. Jesus reminds us of our value to God and is telling us to trust God for sustenance as he said “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
8. Children want to be taught and led. While children may often resist teaching and leadership, I believe humans have an “inner program” designed by our creator where we crave learning and we long for someone to lead us. How wonderful it would be to have leaders of nations who are solely for us. “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” (Isaiah 48:17)
9. Children want a father. While we all have differing experiences and relationships with our earthly fathers, we have one consistent, loving, Heavenly Father who made us, shaped us, and will never leave us. “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
10. Children want to be loved, held, and given attention. What greater proof that we are loved than the fact that our creator, God in Heaven, sent his own son to die for us? “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)

These desirable childlike attributes remind me that I’m often quite the opposite, I’m like a problem child, but in my repentance through Jesus Christ I am forgiven.

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. (Nehemiah 9:16-17)

Heavenly Father, I’m stubborn and I often disobey your commandments. I often selfishly choose to forget what you’ve done for me, even though you remind me every day how you rescued me and how you love me. Thank you for dealing with me with grace and mercy. Thank you for being slow to anger even though I am not. Thank you for loving me even when I don’t show love. Thank you for not forsaking me even when I have forsaken you. Amen.

Today’s reading link: Genesis 33; Mark 4; Esther 9–10; Romans 4

Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” – Genesis 31:-3

We read in Genesis 27:41-42 that Esau planned to kill his brother Jacob, so it is no surprise that Jacob is fearful when God instructs him to return to his homeland (where Esau resides). Jacob could have chosen allow the fear to manifest into distrusting God and therefore avoid Esau, but he obeyed God’s command, trusted His promise, then took action. He shared his fear with God and sent a multitude of gifts to Esau, but today’s focal point is that in his repentance he got his heart right and humbled himself before Esau.

Jacob refers to himself as Esau’s servant, bows before his brother, refers to Esau as “my lord”, and shows great gladness in Genesis 33:10 saying “For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.” Jacob didn’t try to justify his actions or make excuses. He knew his gifts weren’t enough of an apology, he needed to convey true sorrow and repentance. As for us and God, he doesn’t want excuses, he doesn’t need our gifts or works, he requires our hearts to be right with him.

In Esther 8:10-11, we’re told that the Jews to had been given the right by the king to defend themselves and take the plunder (riches and possessions) of their attackers. In Esther 9:16, after the Jews had triumphed over their attackers they would have been justified in taking the plunder, however they chose not to. Wealth was at their fingertips, theirs for the taking and they didn’t take it! Instead they turned in worship, praise, and thankfulness. As a result of these events, they left a beautiful legacy that would be commemorated “throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city.” Their hearts were right before God.

Mark 4:10-25 also has a heart right theme. These verses basically talk about two ways we can receive God’s word; hearts in the wrong place or the right place. We can read and hear the truth but if our hearts are not right – we miss the message; we’re like the beaten path, the rocky ground, the thorns, or the basket hiding the lamp. When our hearts are right, we allow his word to grow in us and change us to be more like Jesus.

Romans 4 talks about Abraham’s faith through adversity. God promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations however at age 100 things weren’t looking too good. He could have been resentful and lost faith, but on the contrary, his heart was right and his faith grew stronger, and this brought glory to God. We benefit from this faith as well:

And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. – Romans 4:22-25 (NLT)

Father in Heaven, I ask you today to show me where my heart needs to change and be made right so that you may be honored and so that I may know you better. I cannot save myself. My attempt to do good works is not enough, so I thank you for the abundance of mercy and grace you have given through your son Jesus. Thank you God. Amen!

Today’s reading link: Genesis 27; Matthew 26; Esther 3; Acts 26

One of our readers (Jane Harris who happens to be my loving mom) rightfully commented on Growing Leaders that Paul was the “before and after”. Thanks mom for your engagement on Bible Journal, we appreciate you!!!

In Acts 26 Paul describes his before and after. Paul’s before included imprisoning Christ followers as well as voting to put them to death. He punished them, tried to get them to curse (blaspheme) Jesus, was full of rage, and forced them to flee to foreign cities. In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul even refers to himself as the chief or foremost sinner. These attributes come to mind in describing Paul’s prior life: full of anger, hatred, rage, abusive, murderous thoughts, and pride. Then he met Jesus, literally – he met him, and chose to trust and follow him with all his heart, and everything changed. The before attributes transformed into a beautiful after: fully recognizable “fruit of the Spirit”.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

There’s another before example in today’s reading in Matthew 26. Jesus’ disciples hung out with him, listened to his teaching, witnessed his miracles, and even declared that he was the Son of God. They were scared when Jesus was arrested, and instead of staying beside their teacher and proving their love, they left him. Peter (the same guy whose faith enabled him to walk on water) denies Jesus verbally, three times.

This behavior is evidence of a before situation; lives not yet filled with the Holy Spirit, and very similar to my life for many years. I had attended church as a kid, heard the teachings of Jesus, professed to follow him, professed verbally that he was the Son of God, and had been voluntarily baptized. The problem was that when it came down to it, I basically either ignored Jesus or left him out of fear, and denied him far more than three times (not verbally, but with my heart and life choices). I was dead in my sin, but God is rich in mercy…

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” – Ephesians 2:1-5

One key difference between my before and after is my relationship with God. I had always had some belief that there was a God, but I couldn’t say I loved God or Jesus because we didn’t have a relationship. Can we love someone we don’t know? I don’t think so. The more I get to know God through a real relationship (for example: prayer, studying scripture, writing these journal entries) the more I realize how deeply he loves all of us, and I grow in my love for Him.

Considering these before and after situations, the word “unlikely” keeps coming to mind. God, through his love, mercy, and grace makes the seemingly impossible possible. It seemed unlikely that Saul (Paul) would become a Christ follower, but God had a different plan. It seemed unlikely the disciples would turn back to Jesus, but they did.

If you knew me in high school or college it would have seemed unlikely that I would get married and be a faithful husband, but I did get married and have remained faithful to the most amazing woman I have ever met. Thank you God. It seemed unlikely that I’d join a small group, fall in love with God’s word, or share my faith publicly on the internet, but I did. I say these things not to convince anyone that I’m a good person; I am a sinner and actually have wondered if I might be in competition with Paul for “chief sinner”. The thing is that I now see my sin as sin, and the more I realize how big and wrong sin is, the greater I see the magnitude of what Jesus did on the cross so that I can be forgiven.

This is my before and after. What’s yours?