Source: https://journalplace.wordpress.com/tag/jesus/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 22:19:27+00:00

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Opposition – v. 18 – In verses 6 and 16 Jesus has offended the powers of his day. Jesus already has opponents during his first year of ministry. Soon they will begin to plot against him.
Incident – v. 18 – The opponents look for an offence and find one. They protest that Jesus does not follow their rules for fasting.
New standard – v. 19 – Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom. A new standard has come. It is not fitting to act as if he and his disciples were in mourning.
Oinos – v. 20 – Jesus chooses a fitting example to describe his ministry. It is like new wine.
Skins – v 22 – What is needed for new wine is new wine skins. They are flexible. What a powerful message for his followers. He is the new wine, and we are prepared to be his vessels only if we are flexible and can yield to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Too many religious folk find themselves in the same predicament as the scribes – they are too rigid in their religiosity. When the Spirit prompts us to move, we must be ready.
Exemplary story: Yes, this will take us back. Do you remember a product called “fizzies”? These were tablets that you would drop in a glass of water to make a soft drink. They would bubble and fizz. They were great fun if you followed the instructions. The effervescence of the Spirit needs room to work, and we need to give it that room.
Haven of Home – vs. 1-3 – God ordained home and government.
Order – vs. 5, 7, 9 – In home and government there is a God ordained order. When we respect the order we work within God’s plan.
Nurture – v. 4 – Fathers are to bring up children in the Lord. If we were to follow this order the home would be blessed. We would see children as a heavenly trust given us by God.
Obligee – v. 9 – Those under authority have their obligations, and those in authority have their obligations. All are obliged to act right in their proper roles. This applies to workers and their supervisors today.
Repose – v. 6 – We are to obey, that is, to respect authority, as if we were showing respect to Christ. Here is a practical question: Would you treat Christ that way? If not, why treat your brother or sister that way?
Exemplary Story: It is a wonderful thing to watch a bird such as a dove or a robin build a nest and hatch its young. The nest is carefully shaped, the eggs are lain, the parent set on the eggs until they hatch. The hatchlings cry out for food and they are fed by the parents. Then the young birds flex their wings and take flight. They have followed a divine pattern by instinct. We must follow a divine pattern set for home and work to see the greatest blessings that may follow.
Banquets, anniversaries, and friends. How do you manage them all? On Friday morning received an invitation to attend a student’s anniversary celebration. On Friday afternoon the pastor’s wife called me to request that I speak at her church’s Thanksgiving banquet. Only by the grace of God was I able to give my well wishes to the student-pastor at noon and then be in place to share a devotional at the Thanksgiving banquet.
Proverbs says much about friendship. The writer of Proverbs uses his antithetical parallelism to speak of the highs and the lows of friendship. At every level there is dependability. You can depend on friends for better or worse. Let’s begin at the bottom and see where it leads.
Harassing Friends – These are friends who you can depend upon to lead you astray. They are your “dare-and-double-dare-you” friends. When the writer of Proverbs in chapter 1 speaks of the companions of the youth inviting him to crime, these are harassing friends. See Proverbs 1:10-19.
Happenstance Friends – These are the friends upon whom you can depend in a pinch. Your paths cross by happenstance, but these friends are there for good and God. Proverbs 27:10 says, “better a neighbor nearby that a brother far away.” On an Easter weekend I found I had a problem. I had been visiting family, and when I stopped about noon I made a bad discovery. Stuck in the tread of a tire I spotted a screw. What was I to do. I reported the problem to a member of the family. She called the tire store that had serviced her car when she had a flat. They said they closed at 1 PM, but they would wait until I got to the shop. I drove to the shop on State Line Road, met the men who were working on their car for a weekend race. They put my car on the rack, removed the screw, and plugged the tire. All this took about fifteen minutes. I asked the service technician the question, “How much do I owe you?” He said, “Five dollars.” The men working at Haywood Tires were being happenstance friends. Thank God for every one you and I meet. Pray that you and I can be that too.
Honorable Friends – These are the friends upon whom you can depend time and again. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Glenda is on my honorable friends list. When my late wife was ill, Glenda supported the family and assisted in ways only females understand. When some years had passed and my father-in-law fell ill Glenda was there again. She would bring a pan of hot homemade rolls to the house just because Jim loved them. She was there. Now if I am visiting I always get a welcome telling me I am loved and missed. Yes, Glenda is an honorable friend.
Give thanks for the good friends you have. Give thanks for the holy friend who is available to us all, Jesus.
Mania – v. 4-5 – The demoniac displays classic signs of mental distress – he suffers self-inflicted wounds when he cuts himself, and he is unable to live with others.
Isolation – v. 3 –The demoniac suffers from social dysfunction. His withdraws from a society where he cannot and will not fit in. These are warning signs that the individual is suffering mental distress and social dysfunction.
Neighborhood vs. 13-17 — So often it is not just the mentally distressed who are dysfunctional. The maniac lives in a dysfunctional society with its values turned upside down. It loves the business of unclean things, and this is exemplified in its production of swine. The maniac is its designated sick, but the society itself is sick.
Divine – vs. 8, 15 – It is Jesus who has the power to put the man in his right mind. Jesus gives the man self-love and mission when he restores the man. At the same time his restoration is the beginning of the destruction of the community cycle. The community no longer has its designated sick person. What is scary is that the neighborhood asks Jesus to leave. Can you imagine asking Jesus to leave? That’s really scary.
Exemplary story: When Bram Stoker tells about the legends of vampires and werewolves, he gives readers a rule of thumb. Vampires cannot cross the threshold and come into a home uninvited, but once they are invited they come and go at will. How many of us have invited into our lives dark forces that come and go at will? Perhaps we need to allow Jesus to cast them out.

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