Joel Stiff's Adventure

 

He deals with “those” kinds of people.

John 4:9: Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Culturally, there were three reasons Jesus should not have been talking to this person:

– She was a woman. Men of this day did not waste their time speaking with women about anything important. Sexism at its best.

– She was a Samaritan. Jews had no dealings whatsoever with Samaritans. It was a racial prejudice against them that ran very deep. Racism at its best

– He was speaking to her about spiritual things. No teacher bothered to speak with women about spiritual matters. 

It is amazing to consider that there is still racial prejudice and misogyny amongst God’s people.

So, if you prefer a church that is white or black or asian or hispanic or where women are marginalized and condescended to, you will find that Jesus will not be the head of such a church.

 

Yesterday we talked about thinking Jesus was too mean.

Some wouldn’t like Him for that reason.

Today, we swing the other direction.

John 8:7: So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

For others, He isn’t mean enough.

After all, the law of Moses states that adultery was punishable by stoning. Here is a lady caught in the very act. Here are a bunch of rocks. Let’s do this.

Jesus gives some speech about those without sin casting the first stone.

But my sin isn’t as bad as this woman. She should die.

Some people are looking for judgment to be dished out in heaping servings, but unfortunately for them, Jesus is a merciful savior.

 

Jesus was mean.

John 2:15: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

So, Jesus is sitting and making a whip. Probably made the disciples a bit curious. The only reason you make a whip is to whip something. In this case it was people. 

People who were getting rich taking advantage of other people.

Moneychangers sold animals for sacrifice to extremely poor people at high prices. They also served as a currency exchange that charged high fees for their service. In short, they were using God’s work to profit off of poor families.

Jesus wouldn’t stand for it.

The only way to deal with wolves is harshly. So, he took their tables, flipped them over and chased them out with a whip while calling them thieves.

Jesus took a stand to deal with wicked men violently. That scares some Christians.

Some of them are good people, but naive.

Others are wolves themselves.

 

He’s lazy.

At least you’d say He is.

Do you remember the story of the storm arising while Jesus and the disciples were in a ship crossing the sea?

Where were the disciples when the storm arose? On deck.

Where was Jesus? In the bottom of the boat asleep. The Bible even says He was asleep on a pillow.

Mark 4:38: And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Jesus is sleeping while His disciples are on deck sailing to the other side, in a storm no less.

Many Christians have this idea that everyone else must be serving at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place and for the same duration as them. If not, they must be lazy.

The reality is that the work of God in the local church is quite diverse. People have different schedules, different spiritual gifts and abilities.

If the whole church were a hand, then where were the seeing?

There will come a time when you will be busy serving God while others are sleeping.

There will also be times when they are serving and you are sleeping.

A good rule of thumb is to find out what God has for you to do, do it and ignore what everyone else is or isn’t doing.

Let God keep score. He’s a lot better at it than we are.

 

Charles Blondin was a famous French acrobat who was most widely known for walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls. He would do this multiple times a day for crowds of people who came just to see the feat.

He would add to the walk by cooking breakfast on a stove in the middle of the wire or pushing a wheelbarrow across it.

He would ask the crowd if they believed he could push someone across the wire in the wheelbarrow. Many shouted yes and one gentleman in the front gleefully expressed his confidence in Blondin’s ability.

Blondin asked if the man truly believed he could successfully push someone across in the wheelbarrow. The man replied in the affirmative. Blondin said, “Then you get in the wheelbarrow.”

The man suddenly lost his enthusiasm.

Many people like the idea of something, but they aren’t ready to be a part of what makes it happen.

Faith is like this. Faith believes that the trip across the wire will be successful, enough to get in the wheelbarrow.

It’s great to see someone do something incredible.

It’s even better to see it from the wheelbarrow.

 

 

I’m no good at writing.

And so, I’m writing.

Just because I’m no good at it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.

How else am I going to get better?

What are you horrible at that you should be doing?

 

My brother and I have a bad habit of over tightening.

We were replacing the seat on his old motorcycle. The rear portion had a loop that dropped over a bolt that was welded to the fender. A cap nut then screwed onto this fixed bolt to secure the seat. 

We finger tightened the nut and then used a ratchet to snug the nut on. The problem is that a ratchet applies a bit more force than you realize. 

We tightened it a little, then a little more, then just one more for good measure.

The it happened…..snap. We broke the bolt right off the fender.

Sometimes we treat people the same way.

We push on them a little, then a little bit more, then just a little more.

If we aren’t careful, we will push until they snap.

Pressuring people and leading with harsh words results in broken relationships.

The more you push, the more likely you are to break it.

There is room for a little pressure, but you’ve got to know when to stop.

 

There is something about this picture I like.

I’m not sure what exactly it is. Maybe it’s the elderly couple in the contemporary setting.

Our family has a few songs we listen to as we drive out in the country. They make us feel a little nostalgic.

One of them has a line that makes Nicole laugh every time. “It turns me on to think of growing old.”

She giggles innocently. We don’t talk like that today, but she finds it funny that anyone would look forward to growing old.

I’m enjoy getting a little older.

Without getting older, I wouldn’t have the wisdom I have now.

Without getting older, I wouldn’t be preparing to celebrate twenty years of marriage to an amazing woman who brings joy to my life every day.

Without getting older, I wouldn’t have enjoyed watching two little babies grow up into wonderful teenagers.

Without getting older, I wouldn’t have the memories of watching God work like He has through Lighthouse.

I’m enjoying every day.

I just haven’t yet figured out how I can be married twenty years when I still only feel seventeen.

 

We are told often to “never forget”. 

Whether it is the tragedy of 9/11 or wear pink for breast cancer, we are told to never forget.

God gave us a “never forget” in the Bible. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, Moses told the people to never forget God.

They were moving into the promised land and taking over existing cities. These cities contained homes, vineyards and wells that these people didn’t have to labor for.

Anytime we don’t have to work for something, we take it for granted. When we take it for granted, it isn’t long until we lose the right to possess it.

We use the phrase, “He pulled himself up by his own bootstraps”. This is an impossibility. No one is ever the sole reason for their own success. We all owe a debt to everyone who has ever invested in us. Every author whose book we have ever read. Everyone who has laid the groundwork in our field before our arrival.

Most of all, we must never forget the Lord. It is by Him that all good things come to our lives. He is the source of all blessings that we enjoy.

Deuteronomy 6:12: Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

 

After visitation tonight, we grabbed some chicken from Popeye’s.

They didn’t have any spicy ready. The lady asked if we wanted to wait or if mild would be ok. We said we would wait. She reminded us that it would be twelve minutes and asked again if we wanted to wait.

Yes.

I’ve had Popeye’s mild and I’ve had their spicy. It’s not worth eating if it isn’t spicy. And if it is spicy, it’s the best chicken ever made.

Many things if life are that way. If you have to have it now, you aren’t going to like it much, but if you are willing to wait, it will be better than you ever imagined.

The problem is that no one wants to put in the time.