Jesus and the disciples

Competition

Posted on by Betsy

Competitiveness is experienced in every profession, classroom, sports field, corporate board room, and even among churches. It is easy to see someone doing the thing you do well and instantly feel threatened. Even if you are very confident in your abilities, it is hard not to look at someone entering your arena of expertise and not feel annoyed and maybe even a bit envious. You rally your gang around you and a dynamic of “us versus them” takes over. Competition can be good when it leads to improvement and innovation, but it can take a toll on the participants.

I think John was struggling with feelings of insecurity and competitiveness in today’s passage. The twelve disciples had been given the authority to cast out demons and heal people. Jesus gave this to them in the beginning of Luke, Chapter 9, and by the end of the chapter they were feeling threatened when suddenly someone else had co-opted their gig and was able to do what they assumed only they had been authorized to do.

Luke 9 (Common English Bible)

49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he isn’t in our group of followers.”

50 But Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.”

Jesus assessed the evidence by the results. The offender was effectively casting out demons in Jesus’ name. People were being healed and Jesus’ name was being taught and learned. Jesus seemed to be inviting John and the rest of the disciples to have a more generous spirit. Soon the church would be born and the power of the Holy Spirit would be cast wide. They were already experiencing the effects of their evangelism: The Good News of the arrival of the Messiah had been heard and received and was now taking on an energy of its own. It is significant to note that this event occurred after the feeding of the 5,000..Jesus’ miracles, teachings, healings, and authority were being broadcast across the land by eye-witnesses, and no one could stop its power. Indeed, Jesus didn’t want to: This was the whole point of his coming. Paul dealt with the same issue years later, as recorded in Philippians 1:18: “What do I think about this? Just this: since Christ is proclaimed in every possible way, whether from dishonest or true motives, I’m glad and I’ll continue to be glad.”

This is a lesson for us today as we struggle with denominationalism. We may bristle at the actions of people outside our particular realm of thinking but if the name of Jesus is being lifted up, if lives are saved and changed for the better, and if Jesus himself would put them in the category of “not against you” then we must embrace these brothers and sisters as people who are for us. As Paul said, in every case we should rejoice that Christ is being preached.

Rejoice! By Michelle Robertson

How Do You Eat an Elephant?

Posted on by Betsy

I have a saying that I use quite often in counseling, especially in those cases where “whatifitis” has completely taken over. You know what whatifitis sounds like, right? “But what if the surgery doesn’t work and the hospital won’t treat him and kicks him out and we get a bill we can’t pay?” “But what if my daughter isn’t paying attention and spins out of control in the car and lands in a ditch upside down and the ditch has an alligator, and her window is down?” Whatifitis has robbed many a person of peace with its cacophony of scenarios. Whatifitis can keep us cautious, but it can also paralyze us.

My mother was a very successful school business administrator in a large school district. She oversaw a multi-million budget. I remember a time when she came home from a school board meeting completely frustrated. She had finally lost her cool with the nay-sayers who were trying to shut down a much needed but expensive project. She told the board that their whatifitis was going to kill the school and she said they could what-if themselves to death, but that wouldn’t move the school forward in the direction it needed to go or fix the immediate problem. The project passed.

So the thing I say to people who are struggling under the weight of “what ifs?” is “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” It is a reminder to us to not take on the enormity of a big problem, but instead to choose one small part of it to tackle and move methodically through it, one bite at a time. By focusing on a small, achievable part, we can avoid being overwhelmed by things.

In our Scripture today, Jesus is addressing the newly recruited disciples and laying out his plan for the harvest work of making disciples that they will undertake. It is a huge mission, and these former fishermen and a tax collector are becoming overwhelmed with the size and scope of their new calling. So Jesus advises them to start small:

Matthew 10 (The Message)

40-42 “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”

What good advice, regardless of the project! In the aftermath of a tragedy, start small. In the new beginning of a venture, start small. If you want to make a change in your lifestyle, start small. Nobody ever ran a marathon on the first day.

If you are trapped in a sticky web of what ifs, try to break the project down into manageable bites. Jesus reminds us that the smallest act of giving or receiving makes you his apprentice. He is intimately linked with us in our work, and we are never alone. Thanks be to God!

Start Small by Michelle Robertson

Shake the Dust Off

Posted on by Betsy

A young writer struggles to complete his first novel. Living in a trailer, driving a broken-down Buick, and working as a gas station attendant, he really needs a win. So he sends his manuscript out to 30 publishers and is rejected by every single one.

The writer? Stephen King. The novel? Carrie.

This is a story about how to take rejection and move on. It is also a story about believing in your mission. King believed that he could write and sell books, and he ended up being right. He is the author of over 50 novels and ranks in the top 20 of the most published people in the world.

Obviously he did not let those first 30 rejections slow him down. He “shook the dust off his feet” and moved on to a place where his gift would be accepted and celebrated. And monetized!

In the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus and the disciples were having a rough go of it. Jesus had just been completely rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, where the people knew him as “Joe’s son” and “Mary’s boy.” They scoffed at the notion that homeboy was the messiah. No worries, said Jesus. We’ll just keep moving on.

So he gathered his men and sent them out in pairs with very specific instructions:

Mark 6 (Common English Bible)

7 He called for the Twelve and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick—no bread, no bags, and no money in their belts. 9 He told them to wear sandals but not to put on two shirts. 10 He said, “Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. 11 If a place doesn’t welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.” 

There are times in our lives when people will turn their backs on us and refuse to listen. There are cliques and groups who refuse admission to newbies based on some mysterious standard for who should sit at the “cool kids’ table.” Even family can be cold when it comes to acceptance and hospitality. What should you do? Shake the dust off your feet and walk away.

12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts and lives. 13 They cast out many demons, and they anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them.

The disciples did what Jesus instructed, and because they were able to walk away from the drama of exclusivity, many people were included in God’s plan for changed hearts, changed lives, and total wellness. The disciples didn’t pout…they just got on with it. They believed in who they were, and they believed in their mission.

How about you? Do you believe in yourself enough to walk away from toxic relationships? Can you shake off the dust of rejection and put one foot in front of the other as you pursue what you are meant to be? Do you believe in your mission?

One place we are always received with open arms is at the heavenly banquet. God himself sets the table and invites all who repent to come in and “set a spell.” Everyone there is a “cool kid,” from the top of their heads all the way to their dusty toes. So just shake the other stuff off and walk on over. You’ll fit right in.

Come Set a Spell by Kathy Schumacher