Month: December 2022

Lineages!?!?

Jerry Wirtley

A record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Aram.
Aram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asaph.
Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram.
Joram was the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amos.
Amos was the father of Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.
This was at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Achim.
Achim was the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary—of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.

So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the exile to Babylon to the Christ. (Matthew 1:1-17, CEB)

If you are like me you might have not read this. I usually skip over lineages, because they are boring. But this one is important. Kind of like when you go to the doctor and they ask you about your family history. You need to know if there is diabetes, or heart disease in your history, your lineage, because that can change your care.

This lineage of Jesus is our lineage too.

And if you skipped over it you missed the fact that 3 women are listed by name and another is mentioned as the wife of someone else. These women are all important to the history of Jesus and us.

One of them was known as a prostitute. God works in mysterious ways.

If you don’t know the story of Rahab, you should read it. You can find it here.

If you don’t know the story of Ruth, you should read it. You can find it here. (make sure you read all 4 chapters.

If you don’t know the story of Uriah’s wife, you should read it. You can find it here. If you have about 20 minutes you can watch the Veggie Tales version of this story here.

It is important for us to know why Jesus was a big deal in his birth, and after. We need to know the story not only because it is about Jesus, but it is also about us.

Loving People. Loving God.

freedom

Jerry Wirtley

Tell me—those of you who want to be under the Law—don’t you listen to the Law? It’s written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son by the slave woman was conceived the normal way, but the son by the free woman was conceived through a promise. These things are an allegory: the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to slave children; this is Hagar. Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because the city is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. It’s written: Rejoice, barren woman, you who have not given birth. Break out with a shout, you who have not suffered labor pains; because the woman who has been deserted will have many more children than the woman who has a husband. Brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac. But just as it was then, so it is now also: the one who was conceived the normal way harassed the one who was conceived by the Spirit. But what does the scripture say? Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the slave woman’s son won’t share the inheritance with the free woman’s son. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we aren’t the slave woman’s children, but we are the free woman’s children. Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again. (Galatians 4:21—5:1, CEB)

Christ set us free why would we choose to live in bondage?

Yet many of us do live in bondage every day.

We live in our old ways of sin that separate us from God.

We live in our old ways of sin that oppress others.

We live in the ways that keep us from God.

Why?

Christ set us free to live lives of abundant love.

Love Out Loud!

Share grace, mercy, and love everywhere you go.

Loving People. Loving God.

loss about you

Jerry Wirtley

At the time, when you didn’t know God, you were enslaved by things that aren’t gods by nature. But now, after knowing God (or rather, being known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless world system? Do you want to be slaves to it again? You observe religious days and months and seasons and years. I’m afraid for you! Perhaps my hard work for you has been for nothing. I beg you to be like me, brothers and sisters, because I have become like you! You haven’t wronged me. You know that I first preached the gospel to you because of an illness. Though my poor health burdened you, you didn’t look down on me or reject me, but you welcomed me as if I were an angel from God, or as if I were Christ Jesus! Where then is the great attitude that you had? I swear that, if possible, you would have dug out your eyes and given them to me. So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? They are so concerned about you, though not with good intentions. Rather, they want to shut you out so that you would run after them. However, it’s always good to have people concerned about you with good intentions, and not just when I’m there with you. My little children, I’m going through labor pains again until Christ is formed in you. But I wish I could be with you now and change how I sound, because I’m at a loss about you. (Galatians 4:8-20, CEB)

Here Paul is telling the Galatians that they seem to have forgotten what he taught them. When Paul was in Galatia, he was sick. He actually didn’t intend to be there but was not physically able to leave and they took care of him and he taught them about the gospel.

And now they are going back to things that aren’t God.

And as I read this passage I was struck with the line, “You observe religious days and months and seasons and years. I’m afraid for you!” I don’t really remember reading this before. Is Paul telling them not to celebrate religious days, months, and seasons? Yes, that is what he is saying and we usually read this as pagan religious days/months/seasons. But is that it?

When I read that sentence and the following this time, I thought about how sometimes in the church we are hung up on our days/months/seasons. Take now for instance. It is Advent. And the world around us has been celebrating Christmas for 25 or more days. (25 because that is how many days it has been since Thanksgiving.) And we say it’s not Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas start December 25 and go until January 5. Is that important, yes. Is it a reason to get huffy and tell people they can’t listen to Christmas music until December 25? Also yes, I mean no. Our seasons are important, but God and Paul would say we need to connect to the world and show them the gospel. We need to connect where we can and not force our religion, but share grace, mercy, and love and invite people to see they are loved by God.

So let us not focus on the seasons we celebrate, but on inviting people into an understanding of the baby we wait to come and the savior we wait to return and the love that is shown in both of those by a God who created and loves them.

Love Out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

humiliate

Jerry Wirtley

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, And they will call him, Emmanuel. (Emmanuel means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25, CEB)

I think we overlook the part in this verse where it says, “Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly.” Joseph should have brought her before the high council and had Mary stoned to death. But because he was a righteous man and he didn’t want her humiliated, or killed, he was going to figure a way out of the engagement and let her live. Now we can’t really say what kind of life it would have been, but he didn’t want her death on his hands or conscious. And then he has a dream or a vision. And he finds out the child is from God. So Joseph marries Mary and calls the son, Jesus.

How many times do we push people to their doom because we know some secret that isn’t ours to share?

We are sharing things freely we have no place to share.

We should love and be of a righteous heart like Joseph.

Love Out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

confirms

Jerry Wirtley

The one who comes from above is above all things. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all things. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever accepts his testimony confirms that God is true. The one whom God sent speaks God’s words because God gives the Spirit generously. The Father loves the Son and gives everything into his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever doesn’t believe in the Son won’t see life, but the angry judgment of God remains on them.” (John 3:31-36, CEB)

When we believe the promises from the Hebrew Scripture and the promises Jesus gives us, we confirm that God is true.

When we hold fast to the truth that God gives us, we speak the truth in love to the world.

The Father gave everything to the Son and when we believe in Jesus, who is the Son of God, we have eternal life. That is not something we are waiting on, but it is ours now.

So love Out Loud and share the love you have been given and help others believe in the truth.

Loving People. Loving God.

no longer a slave

Jerry Wirtley

I’m saying that as long as the heirs are minors, they are no different from slaves, though they really are the owners of everything. However, they are placed under trustees and guardians until the date set by the parents. In the same way, when we were minors, we were also enslaved by this world’s system. But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman, and born under the Law. This was so he could redeem those under the Law so that we could be adopted. Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and if you are his child, then you are also an heir through God. (Galatians 4:1-7, CEB)

We were once not a part of the kindom of God.

But Christ came. born through a woman, born under the law, so he could redeem us under the law and allow us to be adopted.

We no longer cry master, but abba, father!

We are not a slave but a member of the household, and an heir to the kindom.

Love the world around you and help them know they have a place in the kindom too.

All are welcome.

Loving People. Loving God.

all one

Jerry Wirtley

Before faith came, we were guarded under the Law, locked up until faith that was coming would be revealed, so that the Law became our custodian until Christ so that we might be made righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian. You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:23-29, CEB)

We are all one in Christ Jesus.

Nothing separates us. Not our ethnicity, our status, or our gender. No one is more important in the kindom of God.

We are all Abraham’s descendants and heirs to the promise.

We need to treat each other like we are all a part of the same body.

Love each other as God loves you.

Loving People. Loving God.

healed

Jerry Wirtley

Jesus went home with Peter and saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served them. That evening people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. He threw the spirits out with just a word. He healed everyone who was sick. This happened so that what Isaiah the prophet said would be fulfilled: He is the one who took our illnesses and carried away our diseases. When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed came from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that nobody could travel on that road. They cried out, “What are you going to do with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time of judgment?” Far off in the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” Then he said to the demons, “Go away,” and they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. Those who tended the pigs ran into the city and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole city came out and met Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. (Matthew 8:14-17, 28-34, CEB)

Why did the people plead with Jesus to leave?

I mean other than the fact he just killed a herd of pigs. Shouldn’t the men’s freedom from the demons be enough to cover the pigs? Or are the pigs worth more to this community than these two men?

It is different and not what we expect. Jesus comes across the man at the Sheeps Gate (John 5:1-13) and he asks him if he wants to be healed. The man replies he has no one to help him get to the pool. It is almost as if he wants to stay the way he has been for 8 years. Jesus didn’t ask him why he didn’t get in the pool he asked if he wanted to be made well. And that is scary. Things will change.

If those men are no longer possessed then all of the community’s life changes. Sometimes it is easier to stay unwell than to be made well.

Are we ready to be made well?

Are we helping to heal the world by sharing the grace, mercy, and love we have been given?

Love Out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

build each other up

Jerry Wirtley

But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly. But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt. Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges. To the one who is able to protect you from falling, and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen. (Jude 17-25, CEB)

We need to build each other up on the basis of our most holy faith.

We need to pray for each other in the Spirit.

We need to keep each other in the love of God.

We need to wait for mercy from Jesus.

We need to uphold those who question or doubt.

We need to help all understand the love God has for them.

Love Out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

regularly

Jerry Wirtley

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. They would come together regularly at Solomon’s Porch. No one from outside the church dared to join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. Indeed, more and more believers in the Lord, large numbers of both men and women, were added to the church. As a result, they would even bring the sick out into the main streets and lay them on cots and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow could fall on some of them as he passed by. Even large numbers of persons from towns around Jerusalem would gather, bringing the sick and those harassed by unclean spirits. Everyone was healed. (Acts 5:12-16, CEB)

The apostles would gather regularly. And as believers grew in number more and more would bring those needing healing to the place where the apostles were and everyone was healed.

Do you gather regularly with other believers?

Do you make the space and time to be in the presence of those who follow Jesus?

We need this. Not just for ourselves, but for the community.

Our gathering as believers is Loving Out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.