The Jesus I met in Mexico—various NT passages

No, not Jesús, José's brother, but Jesus Himself! On one of our early trips to Heaven (Mexico), God revealed a lot about what the kingdom life should look like. He did this through Miquel, the towel attendant at the resort pool. I watched Miguel over several days, and his positive and joyous attitude was amazing and contagious, and I began to wonder how he could live like that, considering that he was NOT on vacation, didn't get to jump into the pool, enjoy a cold drink, or eat the all inclusive food, and likely returned to poverty each evening without enough money to care for his family well. Then I began a list of what I learned about Jesus from Miguel, and discovered the verses that filled in the blanks. I realized that he was far more like Jesus than I was! Here's the list, 10 things, in no particular order but as they occurred to me: (No commentary necessary!)

1.    Be content. Phillipians 4:11 "...I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." and Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" and 1 Timothy 6:6-8 "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and  we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."
2.    Be humble. Phil 2:3-4 "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
3.    Live right now. Mañana is mañana. Matt 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
4.    No problema. Phil 2:14 "Do all things without grumbling or questioning." and Eph 6:6-7 "do the will of God from the heart,  rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,  knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord."
5.    Enjoy relationships and family while you can. Luke 22:14-16 "And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.  And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”"
6.    Be thankful. Colossians 3:15-16 "And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
7.    Work hard, and appreciate it. Ephesians 6:5-8 "obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord."
8.    Be a servant with a good attitude. 2 Timothy 2:24-25 "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness."
9.    Be respectful. 1 Tim 5:1-2 "Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity."
10.    Simplify. Matt 6:31-34 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

This is why we must return to Mexico frequently, in order to be reminded of these things! ☺

Why This Blog?

There are probably a few million blogs out there, so what on earth can possibly warrant another? It's this: We're missing Life. We've ignored most of what Jesus was about when He came the first time, tearing down religious practices and drawing us into a Romance, a LIFE that would be abundant and free. Very few Christians can honestly describe their lives as abundant or free. Most of us are weighed down by burdens that we cannot carry, and have grown weary and hopeless wondering if we're even saved at all. We've been taught to manage our sin, do our duty, try harder, so that one day we'll leave all this behind and get to Heaven. And God remains distant, a taskmaster whom we can never please. We doubt our hearts, and His. And we wonder...Is this it? Do we just suffer along until we're dead?

And it breaks Jesus' heart. We've missed His message. We've done exactly what the religious leaders of His day were doing—trying to appease an apparently angry God.

The truth is, God is insanely in love with us. Insane in that it makes no sense. I know me. You know you. There's nothing much in us worthy of that kind of love and devotion. The kind that wipes away wrongs, that continues to take abuse, or being ignored, that watches as the beloved chases after so many other lovers that never satisfy. And waits patiently, mercifully, all the while whispering softly, "Pick me, pick me." He even sacrificed His own so that we could be free. Yet we think He hates us, or at best, tolerates us.

And if we didn't have enough trouble messing this up on our own, we have an enemy who constantly whispers to us: "Don't trust Him! He's up to something and doesn't really care about you. It is really all about Him, you know? Find life on your own." We've been listening to that voice all our lives, and we've agreed with it. God doesn't have our best interest at heart, so we create our own lives. And we run from the very One who gives meaning, purpose and love. Then we wonder why our lives are still so empty.

There is hope. Jesus came "to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18 ESV) Note that these are Jesus' own words, His own description of His mission. Indeed, it's His inaugural address. He could have chosen any passage out of the Bible, or made up anything else He wanted. But He chose this passage from Isaiah so that it would be clear what His heart is toward us. Most of us have read that passage and thought, "Oh, how nice, that Jesus has come to free the captives and give sight to the blind, and care for the poor." And we never realized that He meant us. We are the captives He came to free, we are the blind who cannot see, we are the poor and oppressed without hope apart from Him. He came for us.

That's His message. That's the message that this blog is all about.