I wrote about repentance from Luke 10 back on October 1. Here’s another call to repentance from Luke 11. Jesus said:

Yes, the people of Nineveh will also rise up on the day of judgment to accuse and condemn this generation. For they all repented when they heard the preaching of Jonah, but you refuse to repent. Yet there is one greater than Jonah who is preaching to you today. (Luke 11.32, Passion Translation)

I saw several lessons here: 

• What is my response to Jesus’ preaching (or anyone’s preaching)? The only appropriate response is repentance. Our pastor’s recent compelling sermon on the Good Samaritan wasn’t for entertainment, for example.
• Not even Jesus won over everyone. In fact, he didn’t win over a great many people, percentage-wise, with only 120 in the Upper Room in Acts 1.
• I can’t expect huge success with preaching. Most people don’t listen to sermons to see what they should repent of (but we should!)

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7.24, NIV, emphasis mine)

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7.10, NIV)

Permit me one more (I think) post about our choices at election time or our choice of loyalties all the time. There is always a temptation to adapt our Christian belief system so that it REQUIRES allegiance to a particular political party or viewpoint. This has been going on for a long time. It can be argued that the New Testament book of Hebrews was specifically written to counteract “Christianity and…” Eugene Peterson’s introduction to Hebrews in The Message contains this sentence:

In the letter, it is Jesus-and-angels, or Jesus-and-Moses, or Jesus-and-priesthood. In our time it is more likely to be Jesus-and-politics,…

C.S. Lewis said much the same thing, way back in 1942. In Screwtape Letters (highly recommend!), senior demon Screwtape is writing to junior demon Wormwood on how to get a new believer off track. In letter VII, Screwtape asks Wormwood to find out whether the new believer is a “Patriot” (in favor of the war against Germany) or a “Pacifist,” and Screwtape really doesn’t care which. Screwtape writes:

Whichever he adopts, your main task will be the same. Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the ‘Cause,’ in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favour of the British war effort or of pacifism. – C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

The application to our day is clear. I wrote on July 28: Where are our loyalties? that no political party has the five elements the early church had. Yesterday I made the point that we ought to be loving each other regardless of where we are on the political spectrum.

Our focus needs to be Jesus.

Regarding angels he says, The messengers are winds, the servants are tongues of fire. But he says to the Son, You’re God, and on the throne for good; your rule makes everything right. (Hebrews 1.7, 8, MSG)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1.15 – 20, ESV)

I have already voted, and I had no trouble deciding whom to vote for. That said, I have devout, Jesus-following friends who will vote differently, and I read strong exhortations from both sides regularly on how “real Jesus followers” should vote. I wrote about this way back in January.

I also shared Wesley’s rules for voting, which certainly imply that we have a choice.

An excellent article by Libby Sternberg, a novelist in Lancaster, PA, beautifully articulates that choice and what we should do about it. I know nothing about Libby except what I read in this article. She opens this way:

Should the faithful opt for a candidate who wants to “welcome the stranger”? Or one who puts immigrants in cages before deporting them? Should they support the one who’s bringing fractious nations to “live in harmony” with one another in the Middle East? Or should they select the fellow who was vice president in an administration that perfected the art of the drone strike? What about thinking of it as a choice between the man who wants to “heal the sick” with expanded health-care access and the man who wants to yank coverage away from the most vulnerable? Should they vote for the boor—the man whose rhetoric sends etiquette experts to the fainting couch? Or the borker—the man who helped redefine how low political character assassination could go? These simplistic and hyperbolic descriptions aren’t entirely fair to Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Welcome to politics. – Libby Sternberg, Wall Street Journal Friday, October 16, 2020

After talking about how different pastors and religious groups attempt to lead their members to vote in certain ways, she closes with counsel similar to Wesley’s rules for voting:

Yet there’s another approach that’s better than trying to prod congregants toward a particular candidate: the “way of love” … Loving your neighbor means recognizing that neither party in the U.S. has a lock on virtue or vice. To suggest otherwise is not only partisan; it’s deeply deceptive and leads to more political strife. Loving your neighbor means accepting that we sometimes disagree—passionately—but still can embrace each other, smile at each other, and do good deeds for each other. We can solve problems in our families and neighborhoods, and we can heal broken hearts with loving words and actions. – Libby Sternberg

Amen.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12.9, 10, ESV)

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13.8 – 10, NIV)

Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other. (John 13.34, 35, MSG)

My son David put me on to this story which has been told by many over the years. I hadn’t seen it. A chess champion visits an art gallery where there is a picture of the devil playing chess against a man. The devil appears to have the man beaten, and the title of the picture is “Checkmate.”

But after studying the picture, the chess champion declares,

It’s not checkmate! The king has one more move!

And the application, whether the story is true or not, is that our King always has one more move. One blogger wrote:

Throughout the Bible, this game has been played:  The Israelites found momentary freedom only to face the formidable Red Sea with Pharoah and his armies in hot pursuit.  The King had one more move!  Daniel was lowered into a den full of hungry lions for defying a tyrant and standing up for his faith.  The King had one more move!  A 9 ft. tall fighting champion named Goliath called for a winner-take-all, one-on-one fight to settle the war. A little shepherd boy took him on. The King had one more move!  Jesus was tortured, crucified, and buried for 3 days. But the King had one more move! – Dennis Bloodworth, February 2012

So whether your world is collapsing or it appears that the whole world is collapsing, we need to remember, the King has one more move.

No matter who wins the election, whenever a winner is declared, and you feel that the wrong side won, remember, the King has one more move.

The King always has one more move.

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6.13 – 16, NIV)

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 11.15, ESV)

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war…On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19.11, 16, ESV)

I often write about the importance of work, the last time being to give thanks for the installation of our replacement dishwasher. Today I ran across an old quote too good not to share.

(Repeating for those who may not see the picture)

The church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours and to come to church on Sundays. What the church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables. – Dorothy Sayers, Why Work?, 1942, shared in Fruitfulness on the Frontline Discussion Guide by Sarah-Jane Marshall and Joe Warton.

It’s hard to improve on that. The job of churches is to equip their members for life outside the walls.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work… (Ephesians 4.11, 12, NLT, and “his work” includes, well, work!)

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. (Colossians 3.23, 24, NLT)

Some may disagree, but Pennsylvania gives the best autumn colors. – Heather Holleman, October 11, 2020

Yellow? Is that all you got? Yellow? – Air Force Academy Cadet Todd Hellings, Pennsylvania native, Fall 1985, upon experiencing his first fall in Colorado.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. (Genesis 1.11 – 13, ESV)

You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9.6, ESV)

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55.12, ESV)

We’ve been working through Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer in the Passion Translation.

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.1 – 4, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

There’s a direct prayer: rescue us! Rescue us every time we face tribulations. And we will face tribulations. 

The prayer is for rescue. Rescue us every time. Yesterday’s rescue doesn’t count. It’s a continuous prayer for continuous rescue. 

Many are in various tribulations right now:

• COVID and COVID restrictions
• Cities with violent protest
• Serious illness: at least two close Navigator friends have serious cancer, for example

Whatever the tribulation, large or small, let’s make prayer the first line of attack.

Rescue us every time we face tribulations. (Luke 11.4, Passion Translation)

“In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33, NKJV)

We’ve been working through Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer in the Passion Translation.

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.1 – 4, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

I like “as we ourselves release forgiveness…” It reminds me of what I read years ago in The Renewed Mind by Larry Christianson. Larry was making the case that texts like Matthew 18.18 imply that our forgiving people has power.

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18.18, ESV)

Larry points out that Stephen forgives Saul of Tarsus as he was dying:

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of his execution. (Acts 7.59, 60, 8.1, ESV)

Saul is forgiven by Stephen at the end of Acts 7 and the beginning of Acts 8. You don’t have to go to seminary to know that Acts 8 comes before Acts 9. And what happens in Acts 9? Saul comes to faith in Jesus on the road to Damascus!

I get goose bumps every time I tell that story. We need to be people who “release forgiveness.”

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18.21, 22, ESV)

We’ve been working through Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer in the Passion Translation.

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.1 – 4, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

“Give us our needed bread for the coming day.” This is the way our pastor, George Hunsberger, taught it almost 50 years ago. It’s not just bread although that’s certainly included. George explained that in “give us this day our daily bread,” the daily could be translated “bread for tomorrow.” It’s Kingdom bread. The strength we need to live out the Kingdom.

Manifest your Kingdom on earth and give me what I need to help bring it about, to live into it.

Here’s the Passion footnote:

This is more than asking for food, for Jesus has taught us not to worry about the needs of our body. It is the request for tomorrow’s living bread to come and feed us today. (Passion Translation footnote to Luke 11.3)

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1.3, 4, ESV)

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.1 – 4, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

Today’s let’s look at “Manifest your Kingdom on earth,” and let it start with me. Cleansing my sin (from yesterday’s meditation), then helping me live into the kingdom. What might that look like?

One way the Kingdom might come is when the King “drives out into his harvest fields many more workers.” Workers who do all kinds of things. For example:

• Feed the poor. (Am I giving to my brother in need? (1 John 3.17, 18)
• Enable the poor to not be poor through business loans. (Can I make another Kiva loan?)
• Set up companies in closed countries by which relationships can be established and the gospel can be lived out.

With respect to that last point, Eddie Broussard of The Navigators’ International team tells the story of an American lady working in an unnamed Muslim country in Eurasia, asking forgiveness of someone she’d offended unwittingly. It’s worth the read.

Here’s the key point – right out of the middle of the story:

Mary [the American wife of the CEO of a business], who had done nothing wrong, nevertheless saw all that was at stake. She stepped out in obedient faith to contact Ellen [a worker she had unintentionally offended], but her phone calls were ignored. So, Mary went to Ellen’s house. When Ellen opened the door, Mary literally got down on her knees and asked Ellen for forgiveness. On her knees. In Muslim Eurasia, this never happens. A CEO’s wife, a woman helping to lead a business, would never do this with an employee. Humility is not part of the cultural ethos. Positional authority in business trumps authentic, relational trust. Those at the top of the power structures almost never say they are sorry or admit error. Ellen was shocked…

Humility. We want our rights. The gospel is about giving up our rights, and the Kingdom is manifest when we live out the gospel. 

Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron… After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. (John 13.3 – 5, 12 – 15, MSG)

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. (Philippians 2.5 – 8, MSG)

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. (1 Corinthians 2.1 – 3, ESV)