Working Through Luke and Acts – Luke 2:1-5

Posted on April 29, 2013 by ronelfran

Luke 2:1-5    And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2  This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3  So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

Caesar Augustus wanted to know how many people were in the Roman Empire, and especially if that number was growing. He was particularly interested in making sure every citizen was listed on the tax rolls. It was probably to make sure that nobody got missed that all were required to go back to their hometowns.

This was a totally unreasonable decree by any modern standard – that people would have to go back to their city of birth, traveling long distances, just to be registered for taxation. Some have questioned whether it really makes sense that Augustus would impose such an onerous requirement on the people. I don’t think that was an issue then in the way it would be today. Seated in his comfortable palace at Rome, with no public opinion polls to trouble his sleep, Augustus didn’t know and didn’t care how much turmoil his decree would cause in people’s lives. We have a Roman census document dated 104 AD in Egypt in which it was specifically ordered that people return to their original homes for the census.

For Joseph and Mary this was not a trivial matter. First of all, Mary was very pregnant — in her final month of pregnancy. The distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem is 80 miles. So, this was to be an 80-mile journey each way, on foot (for Mary, probably on donkey). That meant about four days on the road to get to Bethlehem, and another four coming back. It was not an easy trip.

In addition, Joseph was apparently the sole proprietor of his carpentry business. For him, no work meant no pay. So, the trip was very costly, not only in terms of expenses for more than a week on the road, but also in time missed from earning a living.

And all of this was totally unfair! Augustus Caesar, probably without thinking twice about it, put all this trouble and time and expense on Joseph and Mary just for the sake of making sure they were counted and taxed. It wasn’t fair!

So, how did Joseph and Mary handle this unjust and unfair burden that was laid on them through no fault of their own? Did they get upset? Did they scream and cry and rebel?

Luke 2:3-5    So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

Joseph and Mary were obedient to the government’s decree, unreasonable and onerous as it was. Apparently without complaint, they complied, even though it was a great hardship because of Mary’s condition, not to mention the expense. If we today were subjected to such a requirement, the outcry would be enormous.

Yet, this was all part of God’s plan for the coming of Jesus. The Messiah was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth, and Caesar’s decree served to get Joseph and Mary to the right place at exactly the right time. They couldn’t know that the great trouble and expense to which they were being put was not just an imposition from an uncaring and oppressive government, but part of God’s plan.

Romans 13:1-2    Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

God has governments and rulers in His hand! By being obedient to the governing authorities, as God commands, Joseph and Mary were fulfilling the place ordained for them in God’s plan to bring forth His Son. If Joseph and Mary had been rebellious toward the totally uncaring decree of Augustus, as many Christians would feel perfectly justified in being today, they would have been unknowingly rebelling against God’s plan for them.

Romans 8:28    And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God made even a decree of registration for taxation bring good according to His purpose. When He requires us to be obedient to governing authorities, God knows exactly what He is doing!

We must simply trust God that when we are obedient to His requirements, even when we can see no reason for the burden laid upon us, God has promised to work it out for His purposes and our good.

Ron Franklin

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Don’t Disregard Offenses – Deal With Them!

Posted on April 25, 2013 by ronelfran

What is the godly response when someone really hurts you, offends you, or just gets on your nerves? Well, it depends.

Bible

Matthew 18:15    Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault.”  This is not an option but an obligation.

I think the key word is “sin,” as distinct from simply personal offense.

Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)   A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

When a brother (or sister) has offended me, it is to my glory to overlook that offense. That’s my first and best option. My wisdom, shaped by God’s Word, allows me to put the offense in godly perspective; to refuse to receive it to myself, even if it is offered with a deliberate intent to offend. But in fact, a wisdom perspective shows me that usually the offense isn’t even intended as such; it is often an inadvertent consequence of the person failing to be as considerate as I would like them to be as they pursue other aims.

My best, most godly response to that type of offense is simply patience. I don’t have to protest every perceived slight. I don’t have to think that every action that gets on my nerves was the result of a deliberate intent to disregard, ignore or trample over me. Secure in who I am in Christ, I don’t have to try to defend myself every time someone seems to not give me my due. I can give the brother or sister some grace, and just overlook the offense.

There are, however, two instances in which I don’t think I should overlook offenses. First, if the offense is a continuing activity that is hurtful or harmful, or even just continually annoying, I should move to correct it. There is no sense and no need in repeatedly suffering pain or injury from someone’s insensitive actions, especially since they may not even be aware of how they are affecting me. I need to alert the person to the negative impact their behavior is having on me, and work with them to correct the situation.

The second circumstance in which I should not overlook an offense is when a brother has actually “sinned” against me. The sin may be an offense to me, but more importantly, all sin is primarily an offense against God. So, I cannot deal with actual sin just in terms of its impact on me. I have an obligation to my brother to help him deal with the offense toward God.

Galatians 6:1    Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

I am to go to him and tell him his fault, so that he can be restored from his sin. As a brother in Christ, I cannot pass over such sins without giving the person the opportunity for correction, forgiveness and restoration.

The emphasis of Proverbs 19:11 is on not letting the offense stir up my anger. When the issue is simply personal offense to me, it is my discretion and my glory if, instead of being moved by anger, I decide to overlook the offense.

But when there is actual sin involved, or when continuing or repeated damage is being done, the offense needs to be corrected. I need to go to my brother and privately explain the effect of his actions on me (speaking the truth in love), in the hope that he will repent and correct his behavior.

What I cannot do is nothing. Either I must make the deliberate decision to overlook the offense, which implies that I truly forgive and forget, or I must go to my brother to work it out. Either way, I have to deal with it. Otherwise, offenses go underground in my heart, and eventually a root of bitterness begins to grow.

And that’s one thing I must not allow to happen.

Ron Franklin

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Be Ruthless!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by ronelfran

God is a God of grace. But, He’s also pretty tough on sin! In fact, He has no tolerance for it at all.

Bible

Matthew 18:8-9    If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off. What a drastic prescription! Obviously the Lord is not intending for us to take that admonition literally – if we did, the wheelchair and crutches industries would be the biggest in the land! What He is speaking of is the utter ruthlessness with which we must deal with sin in our lives.

I must be ruthless in dealing with any identified area of sin in my life! There is no “peaceful coexistence” with sin in the life of a disciple of Christ. There can be no tolerance of certain sins because they don’t seem so bad, or “I’ve always been that way,” or “I’ve tried to change, but it just doesn’t seem to work for me.”

My standard must be His standard: zero tolerance for sin in my life.

Matthew 5:48    Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Obviously I cannot achieve that perfection (“perfection” means full maturity) on my own.

Galatians 2:20    I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

It is only as I allow Christ to live His life through me that I can meet the “perfect as my Father is perfect” standard. But that has to be my goal. I cannot be satisfied with anything less.

That’s not to say that I must live in perpetual dissatisfaction with my life because I inevitably fall short of that standard. The point here is not that I must achieve perfection, but that I not tolerate sin without dealing with it. That doesn’t mean I will never fall short. I will. But it does mean that I don’t accept falling short as normal. Instead, when I do sin, I deal with it:

1 John 1:9    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I must confess and repent of my sin rather than just accepting it.

The point the Lord is making is that anything that leads to sin in my life must be eliminated. If watching a certain TV show leads to sinful thoughts or actions, I can’t keep watching that show. I’ve got to “cast is from me.”

If being in the company of a certain person tempts me to sinful thoughts or actions, I can’t afford to be around that person, no matter how good a friend they may be.

“Cut it off and cast it from you,” “pluck it out and cast it from you.” Not only am I to get the area of sin out of my life, but then cast it far away from me. That means no dabbling or even touching, no nibbling around the edges. Cast it away!

Ron Franklin

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How To Be Great

Posted on April 19, 2013 by ronelfran

The disciples asked Jesus who would be the greatest in the kingdom. That’s not even a kingdom kind of question!

Bible

Matthew 18:1-4   At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3  and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  4  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The matching passage in Mark explains what was really going on in the disciples’ minds:

Mark 9:33-34   Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

It’s hard to imagine disciples of Jesus jockeying for position to be at the top of the heap. Hard to imagine – until you think about how often the very same thing happens in churches today. Power struggles and turf battles are not unknown among Christians!

How many times have we seen people (often leaders) offended, sometimes to the point of leaving the church, because they feel their position or prerogatives are not being sufficiently acknowledged? How many singers get upset when someone else is called on to sing “their” solo?

How many pastors have had to endure opposition from elders or deacons who, instead of being like Aaron and Hur and holding up the leader’s arms to support him in the work, are actually more akin to Aaron and Miriam:

Numbers 12:2   So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.

Jesus makes it very clear that the whole idea of wanting to have more power and authority than someone else is foreign to the kingdom of God. It’s the world’s way of thinking, and has no place among believers. We follow the One who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).

So, the Lord says, instead of seeking to secure a prominent place in the power structure, we must instead humble ourselves as little children.

How is a child humble? He has no pretensions, is not impressed with himself or his status. He is utterly trusting. I think the key is that a child has no sense of self-importance.

Once we stop thinking about our own greatness, and instead focus on humbly serving wherever He places us, the Lord says we will be rewarded with greatness.

Now, that’s a great deal!

Ron Franklin

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Working Through Luke and Acts – Luke 1, verses 57-58

Posted on April 18, 2013 by ronelfran

Luke 1:57-58   Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58  When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

Elizabeth’s son was not just Elizabeth’s son – he would be John the Baptist, an integral part of God’s plan to establish the ministry of His Son, Jesus.

The Lord showed Elizabeth great mercy, and He did it in a way that furthered His plan. On the one hand, she experienced many years of not having the child she wanted. But God had a purpose in that. His withholding that blessing until His proper time was not lack of mercy, but was necessary to the working out of His plan.

Because of the wait, when God did give Elizabeth her son, the impact was much greater both on her and on others who witnessed the miracle. Her neighbors and relatives not only shared in her joy at having a child, but also saw and rejoiced in God’s mercy toward her.

Elizabeth was extraordinarily blessed of God. And because God moved in her behalf in His timing rather than hers, she was blessed far above what she would have been if she had had children earlier in her life.

Ron Franklin

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We Are God’s Seeds!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by ronelfran

The Parable Of The Mustard Seed

In this parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. The key characteristic of these seeds that the Lord is concerned with is their small size relative to the mature plant. Just looking at a mustard seed in no way previews what it can become when it sprouts and grows.

Bible

Matthew 13:31-32    Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32  which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

God seems to love small beginnings! The whole human race started with one man paired with one woman. The chosen people of God, the nation Israel, started with just one man, Abraham; but God’s plan was that in that one man “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3). God purposed to save the world through one Man, born in an obscure provincial village no one in the wider Roman world had ever heard of. He brought this Savior into the world through a single young woman of zero prominence, whose only distinguishing characteristic was her faithfulness to Him.

It seems to me that almost never in Scripture does God start a movement as some vast, formidable and powerful enterprise. He always seems to start small, with a person who at the beginning shows no particular marks of greatness to come, except in their unyielding commitment to Him.

But that commitment is enough, isn’t it?

God doesn’t need big people to accomplish big things. His kingdom enterprises have always started from small and obscure beginnings, so that when they do reach a size and influence that makes the world take notice, only He gets the glory.

Mustard Seed

Mustard Seed

I look at this parable as picturing God sowing the smallest of seeds into this world in order to grow a great kingdom – and we are the seeds! We are sown very deliberately, by a knowledgeable and diligent farmer who has a plan for every seed. He then waters and nourishes and cultivates His seeds so that each has the opportunity to grow to full maturity in the field in which it is planted.

It’s not by any particular effort of the seeds that they grow into trees – they only cooperate with the farmer as He tends them. It is His responsibility that each seed be planted in exactly the place needed to fit His plan. It’s up to Him how big and wide each plant that sprouts will become, and which birds will come to nest in it.

The great thing is that every seed has its place, and every seed is important.

I don’t think mustard seeds ever look at all the grown-up plants around them and get discouraged by their own smallness. I don’t think they ever wonder what they can do to make themselves grow into a massive shrub in which many birds will come and nest. And I don’t think they ever complain to the farmer that He’s not causing them to grow as quickly or as large as they think they ought to.

I think we mustard seeds can be content with simply being faithful to grow where we are planted. We need not be concerned with how many branches we might eventually have, or how many birds will call our branches home. In fact, many times we ourselves won’t be able to see how large the network of branches growing through us may become. We may have no clue as to the number of birds that find a home in God’s kingdom because of the influence that sprouts from our faithfulness. That’s the Farmer’s business, not ours.

After all, we’re only seeds.

Ron Franklin

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We are Good Seed!

Posted on April 10, 2013 by ronelfran

The Parable Of The Weeds (Tares)

Jesus had told a parable of a farmer who sowed good seed in his field, but an enemy came and sowed weeds (tares) among the wheat. The farmer’s servants ask about rooting out the weeds, but the farmer says to let them alone for now…

Bible

Matthew 13:29-30   But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  30  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ‘

Later, the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable. The Lord began His explanation this way:

Matthew 13:37-38   He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.”

There’s lots to ponder in this answer!

First, Jesus says He is sowing the “sons of the kingdom” into the world. That is who Christians are. We are not just people, like everyone else in the world except that we happen to follow a particular religion. No, our first and primary identification is with the kingdom of God. That’s why we should not be too at home in the world we now live in.

According to Hebrews 11:13, we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” That means we should not always feel at home in our environment. In fact, as our society moves in an ever more godless direction, Christians should expect to be out of step with our culture. If we find ourselves fitting seamlessly into this world, that probably means we have not given sufficient focus to who we really are: sons of the kingdom of God.

Second, we are Christ’s seed sown into the world; and the purpose of seed is to produce a crop! In order for a seed of wheat to fulfill the purpose for which it was sown, there are two things it must do:

(1)  It must grow strong and sturdy itself.

There is an inescapable law of planted seed – grow or die. Whenever a seed is planted into an appropriate environment (fertile ground, sun, water, etc.) but doesn’t grow, it indicates that seed is dead. It’s the same way with a person who claims to be in Christ, but they never exhibit any spiritual growth. There should at least be some serious questioning of whether that particular seed really is spiritually alive.

(2)  It must reproduce.

It’s not enough for a wheat seed to simply grow into a great stalk of wheat – while necessary, that alone doesn’t fulfill its purpose. It achieves the goal for which it was planted only when it is fruitful, producing more seeds like itself that will result in more wheat. In other words, we are supposed to multiply!

John 15:8   By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Christians cannot just focus on living godly lives for themselves. Each of us needs to be deliberately and actively involved in the expansion of God’s kingdom. That certainly doesn’t mean every one must be an evangelist or a preacher or a teacher – each of us should serve according to the particular spiritual gifts God has given us. But each of us has a part to perform in growing the kingdom:

Ephesians 4:16   from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Third, Jesus said the seed He is sowing is “good seed.” First of all, “good” in this context means “effective for the purpose.” In other words, if we’ll just be who Christ calls us to be, we have everything we need in Him to get the job done.

But there is a second aspect of us being “good seed” that I believe is of crucial importance to believers today.

This is something that Christians will increasingly need to hear as our culture moves further and further away from a godly outlook. We are good seed! Christians are already finding that if they stand up for godly values in the public square, they will be labeled as haters and bigots and worse.

The Christian Post has an article on a U.S. Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training module that employed the following chart:

alliance-defending-freedom: slide used-by-the-u-s-army-reserve-in-training-soldiers-on-religious-extremism

Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom via The Christian Post

According to this training module, which has now been withdrawn, evangelical Christians are at the top of the chart as a breeding ground for religious extremism.

So, it’s good to know that in the sight of the only One who really matters, Christians are good seed – and His purpose is that we will continue to reproduce after our kind!

Ron Franklin

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Get Wisdom!

Posted on April 9, 2013 by ronelfran

What is wisdom? I define godly wisdom as…

The combination of knowledge, understanding, and skill required to get God’s desired results in my life.

In other words, it is skill for living. It’s the ability to make the right choices and do the right thing at the right time and in the right way to achieve God-ordained goals in my life. When it comes to living a spiritually and practically productive life, the importance of having and applying godly wisdom can’t be overstated.

Bible

Proverbs 4:7-8   Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8  Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.

To be wise is not just to learn precepts – it is to apply them appropriately and consistently in your life. That is what is entailed in “Exalt her and she will promote you.” And of course it is the gap between knowledge and application that most often trips us up!

I learn the precepts of wisdom as I study the Word of God.

Proverbs 2:6   For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;  7  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.

Proverbs 4:20-21   My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21  Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart.

Over and over Scripture urges me to give heed, pay attention, keep the wisdom I am learning ever before my eyes and in my thoughts. One way to do that is to focus on one particular precept of wisdom every day and keep it repeatedly before my eyes throughout the day.

But it’s not enough to learn what the Scripture teaches about wisdom. I must follow through by taking definite steps to be sure I am actually applying God’s wisdom, and not just my own thoughts and feelings, as I face the issues of my daily life.

Proverbs 4:26    Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

That’s it! Ponder my path. Everything I do – all my plans for the day – prayerfully think them through in light of the wisdom principles I learn as I study God’s Word. That’s exalting wisdom in my life. It’s when I consistently put into practice what the Word of God teaches me that His wisdom can promote me and bring me honor.

Ron Franklin

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Working Through Luke and Acts – Luke 1, verse 53

Posted on April 5, 2013 by ronelfran

Luke 1:53    He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

Mary, the peasant girl living in what we would regard as poverty, can testify that God fills the hungry with good things. She knew the goodness of God! Those who have no earthly power or riches can be filled, while those who trust that they have all kinds of earthly advantages go away empty. There is no lack among those who put their trust only in God.

Psalm 84:11    For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

Being filled with good things does not mean becoming one of the rich, for the good things go beyond mere money. Most importantly, He fills the spiritually hungry with His Spirit, while those who think themselves spiritually self-sufficient go away empty.

Ron Franklin

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Working Through Luke and Acts – Luke 1, verse 45

Posted on April 4, 2013 by ronelfran

Luke 1:45    Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

“Blessed is she who believed.” Mary is commended for her faith, as Zacharias was not. Even here, with the coming of Jesus into the world, it all depended on faith. Nothing happens in the Christian life without faith! And the result of faith is always blessing in one form or another.

Faith is simply believing God. It is trusting Him to fulfill what He has promised. Mary believed God would do what the angel told her He would. She believed the word of God.

In a sense, it need not have mattered whether Mary believed the angel or not. God could simply have allowed His plan to unfold; Mary would be pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and eventually Jesus would be born. Along the way, especially when she found herself pregnant without ever having known a man, Mary would have come to believe the angel’s word to her. But then, that wouldn’t be faith. She would have believed based on what she saw and experienced, rather than by trusting God’s word.

Heb 11:1 (NIV)    Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

God commended her faith because she believed what she could not yet see, and believed it solely because God said it.

John 20:29 (NIV)    Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That’s the kind of faith God wants in His people. And the wonderful thing is that when we believe God’s promises to us, they are always fulfilled.

Num 23:19 (NIV)    God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Mary’s faith – her trust in God to fulfill His word, even though what He promised seemed wildly improbable, is a great example for God’s people today. It’s great to know that we can believe God for impossibilities! Whatever He has promised He can fulfill. The only thing that can stand in the way of His promises to us being fulfilled is our own lack of faith. All things are possible to Him who believes!

And like Mary, if we will just believe God, and trust Him to fulfill His word, we will be blessed.

Ron Franklin

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