No Fear

Scripture: Proverbs 3:21-26

Song: There Stands A Rock

No Fear. I see that logo everywhere. Especially on the automobiles and t-shirts and ball caps of young people. I detest it. It seems arrogant to me. It depicts a life of frivolity, an attitude of carelessness, a foolish daredevil posture toward life and toward authority.

The wise man describes the only life that is without fear. It is a life of wisdom and discretion. Wisdom consists of information about what is right and just to do and about what is to be avoided. Discretion equips a man with the ability to discern that what is permissible is not always practical, that what is lawful is not always expedient. This pair of virtues provides a twin-edged sword for cutting to the heart of difficult decisions.

Observe the foes that wisdom and discretion will conquer. Fear of falling—“your foot will not stumble.” Fear of conscience—“your sleep will be sweet.” Fear of financial disaster—“do not be afraid of sudden terror.” Fear of enemies—“do not be afraid of trouble from the wicked.”

Trouble is a guarantee for life under the sun. The wise man admits this in our reading. He says, “Do not be afraid of trouble… when it comes.” Trouble, with a capital T, will come your way. But wisdom and discretion will prevent you from being the source of it, will help you to provide a solution to it, and give you a way to navigate through it with no reason to fear it for “the Lord will be your confidence.”

Jason Moore

God's Plumb Line

Scripture: Amos 7:7-9

Song: Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

A plumb line is a simple but effective contraption. Masons and carpenters use it to make things square. It consists of a string with a weight attached to the end of it. The craftsman drops the weighted end of the string (the plumb) from where he plans the top of his finished wall to be. He now has a guide by which to make sure his wall is vertically straight.

In our text, the Lord is the building inspector. He’s come to Israel with His plumb line to check their spiritual alignment. He’s found the nation to be wanting. They’ve been constructing edifices for their idols and building dens for sinful indulgences. The result of God’s inspection is to condemn their cities and to schedule them for destruction.

God still walks with His plumb line among the nations. He still drops it here and there along the walls of empires and fortresses. He still appoints kingdoms for destruction and erects new ones on their ashes.

Look at today’s headlines. Watch this evening’s news. I have little confidence in how our nation measures up. How soon until God says of us, “I will not pass by them anymore?” No one knows the answer to that question but God. All the more reason to pray today “for all men, for kings, and all who are in authority,” and then to fulfill the second aspect of that charge: “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence,” for some day God may answer, “No more.”

Jason Moore

The Price of Salvation

Scripture: Hebrews 2:9-18

Song: Wonderful Story of Love

You cannot reflect long on God’s redemptive scheme without wondering with David, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” God has made man His occupation. All creation, even the angels, serve some role in God’s plan to save sinners. God has spared no expense.

The sun, the moon, the stars sing to us of His glory. The birds, the beasts, the teeming seas all declare the Maker’s praise. The seed, the plant, the flower, the fruit all tell the tale of His providence. There are still other productions—the craft of spirit-beings who arrange the sets and work behind the scenes—the effects of which we witness but the operations of which are still a mystery.

In a single day you will pass a thousand vistas, and hear a thousand songs, and be told a thousand tales all with the singular purpose of producing in you a single impression: God has been mindful. And all these spectacles of nature are orchestrated to make mindless men mindful of God.

Were God’s investment in our salvation limited to these countless expressions of His care, it would be enough. Enough to attract our attention. Enough to prod our amazement. But not enough to save. It took another investment. It took a Son. It took a cross. It took a tomb. It took Jesus.

It took all creation and God’s only Son to redeem sinners. It took the best. It deserves our best in return.

Jason Moore

Fishing For Men

Scripture: Mark 1:14-20

Song: Into Our Hands

“Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” was Jesus’ invitation to the sons of Jonah. Curious isn’t it that Jesus should call fishermen to preach His gospel? Maybe not. Fishing for men is not so unlike seeking God’s gilled creation.

Fishing takes patience. Sometimes you catch a boat load, like on the day of Pentecost. Other times you only catch one, like the Ethiopian nobleman. Still other times, you don’t even get a bite. One thing is certain. You’ll never make a catch until you throw out your line.

Fishing takes persistence. You may return to the same hole a dozen times before you make a catch. Sometimes a stormy day causes one to bite who only ignored your efforts when the sun was shining. People like fish are diffident, unpredictable. You just have to keep coming back until they’re hungry.

There’s at least one significant difference between catching fish and men. When fishing for men, you never do catch your limit. There’s always more fish in the sea. Too many in fact. Too many to be sitting in the boat playing with our tackle. Let’s go fishing!

Jason Moore

The Transfiguration

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36

Song: Wonderful Jesus

The transformation of Jesus on the mountain was a sight to behold. Here was the Son of God, the veil of flesh removed and His glory manifest to the eyes of His closest disciples. The lawgiver, Moses, and the kingdom prophet, Elijah, were both present to bask in His glory. They represented not only the authority of the Law and Prophets which Jesus came to fulfill but the host of O.T. saints who rejoiced to see His day. The cloud passed, and with it Moses and Elijah. Only Jesus remained. “Hear ye Him!” was the Father’s message to the disciples, both then and now.

Moses, who had not crossed the Jordan, now stood in Canaan. It was not the promised land he saw, but the Promised One, the Messiah. Elijah, like Jesus’ cousin John, preached the return of the people to Jehovah as King, when they forsook Him for the false “lord,” Baal. Now he stood along with Moses conversing with the “I Am” concerning His exodus in Jerusalem and enthronement in glory.

“It’s good for us to be here,” cried Peter. “Let’s stay here rather than go up to Jerusalem,” was the gist of his exclamation. He liked the vision of Jesus in glory but not the path of suffering. Luke tells us, “He didn’t realize what he was saying.” The only way to glory, not for Jesus, but for man, was for Jesus to leave the mountain and march to Calvary. Had he remained heaven would be unpeopled. So Jesus left glory—again—to return only after our exodus from sin was accomplished.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

“20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you” (Proverbs 1:20-23).

If we would profit from the preaching, we must avoid the folly of those whom Wisdom rebukes:

The Simple—they just don’t get it. The lesson is over their head because they don’t reach for it.

The Scorner—they make fun of the messenger on the way home from services. They just see the man in the pulpit. They don’t see the message.

The Fool—the willfully ignorant. There is some sympathy for those who lack opportunity, but not for those who just “ain’t a’carin’.”

Get Wisdom. And you’ll get more from the preaching.

Jason Moore

It's Time to Tell

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

Song: Will You Not Tell It Today

“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asked the disciples. Some, they reported, thought He was John the Baptist resurrected. Others said He was Elijah. Still others thought He might be Jeremiah or some other prophet sent back from the dead. That He was a notable prophet and teacher of authority there seemed to be no doubt among the masses. “For now, don’t tell them differently,” Jesus said. It wasn’t time yet. But it is now. People are still misinformed, still believing the rumors. It’s time to correct their prejudices and misinformation.

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked the disciples. Peter spoke up. He usually did. “You are the Christ, Son of the living God,” he replied.”Don’t tell anyone yet,” Jesus warned. His earthly ministry was not yet completed. It is now. People are still swayed by the opinions and reports of flesh and blood, rather than the revelation of the Father in heaven. It’s time to sway them otherwise. The coming of the Son of God is a secret no longer. It’s time to tell.

Interesting isn’t it that Jesus should warn the disciples not to tell, that He should command them not to confess? He knew that the disciples would naturally wants to tell. It would be unnatural for them to not want to tell. Who wouldn’t want to report such news, such glad tidings? Would you? It’s a secret no longer. It’s time to tell it. Today.

Jason Moore

The Folly of Conservatism

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Song: Open My Eyes, That I May See

The Folly Of Conservatism Self-deception is the bane of conservatism. When a people like the Pharisees are a people of the Book, they can begin to put their confidence in their possession of the truth. They can take on airs of superiority since, after all, they have discovered the truth while others miss it completely or only possess part of it. They can begin to glory in observing their religion according to the rules and so pride themselves on their conservatism that they excuse an unclean heart.

How is it that preachers wind up adulterers? How is it that elders and deacons can quit the faith? How is it possible that Christians of long standing can slip back into the beggarly elements of the world?

It happens when religion is rendered a shell. It happens when men go through the motions of weekly worship, of getting up sermons, of preparing lessons, of shaking hands and occupying pews, of citing book, chapter and verse. What somehow, sometime stops is the introspection and reflection on where they stand. What ceases is secret prayer and private study and personal meditation and time alone with God.

It’s your heart God is after, not just your sacrifices, not just your ritual. Your stand for truth is no good if the truth doesn’t stand in your heart. Cleanse the inside of the cup and God will be pleased.

Jason Moore

Jesus Walks on Water

Scripture: John 6:16-21

Song: I Know That My Redeemer Lives

The various signs and wonders that Jesus performed all testified to His deity. For every sphere in which men acknowledge God’s sovereignty, Jesus showed Himself Master. In the account before us, He manifested His power over all the elements.

He defied gravity as He walked on the sea. He overcame the physical properties of water as He walked—not paddled, not swam—but walked across the waves. He escaped harm from the wind and tempest that assailed the boat and the sea. He caused not just Himself but the boat and its passengers to exceed the limitations of time and space arriving at their destination the moment He boarded the vessel. Truly this Man was the Son of God.

The story of Jesus’ walking on water and His command of the elements is a picture of what God does every day. Man has no control over the weather, but God does. Man has no power over the elements. He is bound by time and space, by gravity and momentum and other properties and principles that pertain to matter and energy. But God is not so bound. How then can this story be read, and men not pray? How can this account be recited and Christians not take courage that God is on His throne above the circle of the earth? “It is I,” He says, “Do not be afraid.”

Jason Moore

Sheep Without A Shepherd

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38

Song: Far And Near

How one can read the accounts of Jesus’ life and accuse God is a marvel to me? To say that God doesn’t care or to charge Him with partiality or neglect demands that we ignore all that the inspired record says to the contrary.

Jesus felt compassion for the multitudes. If I given all my selfish tendencies and imperfections can feel sympathy for the needs of others, how much more compassion must the selfless and sinless Son of God feel for the hurts of humanity. His sympathy is not marred by the fear of risk or selfish worries about what helping will cost Him. He sees only the need and sorrows for those who possess it.

Jesus not only identifies with the sorrows of humanity, He sees clearly the real need. They are distressed and downcast. They are reaping the consequences of pasturing in the wrong fields, watering in the wrong springs, wandering down the wrong paths. They are like sheep without a shepherd. The need of the hour was for laborers to send out and bring them home.

Has the complexion of the multitudes changed? The Pharisees washed their hands of the masses. If we adopt the media’s view of the population, we might give up as well. The masses are still searching, wandering. The need is still for laborers to go and lead them to the Shepherd. Evidently the best way to bring them in is to send out messengers. If there was a better plan, surely the Lord would have thought of it. Look at the multitudes today. What do you see? What will you do?

Jason Moore

Two Miracles by the Sea

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

Song: Closer To Thee

Every episode in the chronicles of Jesus’ life permits a window into the character of Jesus.

Jesus was a people person. The disciples got tired of the multitudes. Jesus groaned sometimes over their unbelief, but mourned over their ignorance and aimlessness. He spent His days with the people and their problems. He still does.

Jesus knew the hearts of men. The woman with the hemorrhage thought only to touch his garment. She didn’t think that Jesus would notice and when He did, the trauma of her disease was replaced by a new anxiety. She confessed all before Him. At least the disciples and the woman stopped to consider what sort of man was Jesus. I wonder if disciples do today? He still sees the hearts of men.

Jesus was the resurrection. The raising of Jairus’ daughter was a sign reserved for the girl’s parents and the inner circle of the disciples. His power to raise the dead was one of the grandest proofs of His deity. One day He shall speak again as He did in Jairus’ home and all that are in the grave shall hear His voice and come forth.

Jesus was mindful of practical matters. He told the family to give the little girl something to eat. Astonished by the miracle, they might overlook this small detail. He thought not just of the parents, the disciples, the multitudes outside, but the little girl.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

Some Things To Be Busy About:

1. Be busy about doing good and thinking pure thoughts so that you have no time for the Devil.

2. Be busy about hearing and speaking only words that edify so that there’s no room for gossip and such.

3. Be busy about bearing other’s burdens so that you’re not consumed with self-pity.

4. Be so busy with praying for your enemies that you have no time for revenge or fretting over their criticism.

5. Be so busy about making provisions for heaven that there’s no time to build your mansion here.

Jason Moore

Jesus' Meeting Opener

Scripture: Luke 8:5-18

Song: Give Me Thy Heart

The parable of the soils was one of Jesus’ meeting sermons. As He traveled from city to city, He used it to prepare the people to receive the message. Luke says that “He would call out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” The parable is still a good sermon. It applies to the audience of every sermon that has ever been preached.

Some will hear, but not heed. Their hearts are closed, their minds made up, their ways are set. They’re not going to change. They decided that before the preacher got up. They decided before they got out of bed. Preaching to them is just a thing with which to put up.

Some will hear, but not hold fast. They receive the word but they don’t bury it very deep. They’re excited by it, but somehow they stop growing and fail to press on to maturity. They say the right things and put on a good show, but temptation comes and they fall away.

Some will hear, but hold on to the world. They’re too impressed with riches, too covetous of pleasure, too concerned with appearances, too anxious over life’s worries. All of these like weeds choke the word and prevent its growth in their heart.

Some will hear, hold fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. These are good, honest hearts, hearts that apply the message to themselves, hearts that plant the word deep, that meditate on it often, that practice it immediately.

Yes sir, that’ll preach. But who will hear? He that has ears, that’s who.

Jason Moore

The Marvel of Unbelief

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-45

Song: We Saw Thee Not

The things in which men choose to believe never cease to amaze me. I spoke with a young man not long ago who said he had trouble believing the Bible. A few sentences later he was telling me he thought there might be life on other planets. Yet he fancied himself objective and scientifically minded.

Men tend to believe in what is easy for them to believe. There’s no risk in believing in aliens—at least no moral risk. Ah, but to believe in God and the Bible as His word admits that you’re accountable, that you must give answer. It’s easier to just say your skeptical and not to investigate. It’s easier to wait for God to prove it, to argue that if He’s really there He’ll give some sign or proof. Men haven’t change. Jesus’ generation asked for a sign.

They pretended to be sincerely interested—they just needed proof. God has always given sufficient proof for the honest heart to come to faith. But God is conservative with His proof—if you call preserving Jonah in the belly of a fish and raising Jesus from the heart of the earth conservative—He doesn’t give more than is necessary. A man must be honest enough to investigate for himself.

But just as in Jesus’ day, there’ll always be enough fodder for the mill of public opinion. And There’ll always be people who not having reached any settled conclusions concerning Jesus allow every kind of demonic spirit and doctrine to occupy and direct their affairs.

Jason Moore

Such Great Faith

Scripture: Luke 7:1-10

Song: My Faith Looks Up To Thee

Quite extraordinary that a man could have such faith as to cause Jesus to marvel. Jesus often marveled at the unbelief of the multitudes and even His own disciples. But in the account before us He marveled at the simple faith of the centurion. The centurion was a man with a compassionate heart. Many pleaded for Jesus to heal their diseases or those of family members. This man interceded for a common slave. Power had not corrupted him.

The centurion, though a Gentile, was highly regarded by the Jewish elders. They plead his case before Jesus. Here was a man who like the good Samaritan demonstrates the power of kindness to break down prejudices and barriers.

The centurion was willing to suffer reproach with those looking for the Messiah. The Roman empire dispensed no rewards to those who were nice to the natives. In fact, the Jews had the reputation of being rather troublesome. This man at his own expense built a synagogue for the Jews. He cast his lot with Abraham’s seed.

But the most impressive quality of this Roman commander is his faith. “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Has Jesus’ power to say the word and answer prayers diminished now that He is enthroned ? God forbid. How can we who live in His kingdom not beseech His blessing and wisdom for our day? Ask Him to say the word for what you need this day, and do so without wavering, that He may marvel at your faith as He did the centurion’s.

Jason Moore

Heavenly Treasure

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Song: A Beautiful Life

What investments will you make today? Today you’ve been given a measure of time and money. You’ll interact with a variety of persons and circumstances. You’ll meet with an assortment of challenges. You’ll face some confrontations, some disappointments, some pleasantries, some serendipity. But what will you make of it all?

All of the components of this day are God’s gifts to you. Forget tomorrow. Forget yesterday. You have today. It’s the only time you have for certain. It’s the only segment of your life with which you can do anything. And the way you spend it depends completely on you. No one will force your hand. You are the steward of what time is yours today.

Time for most people simply slips away. Along with their money, and energy, and resources it slides into oblivion. The only way that time has any lasting value is when you make some heavenly investment with it. When you do that, you freeze a moment of time and it is preserved as an eternal keepsake.

When you decide that this part I’ll give to God in worship, or this portion I’ll spend contemplating His word, or this piece I’ll give to someone who can be encouraged or made more steadfast, you make an entry in history that will outlast all the historical annals and monuments of men. You make a deposit in eternity where rust does not corrupt and where thieves do not break in and steal. So what will you do with today? Will you store up some treasure in heaven?

Jason Moore

Kingdom Righteousness

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-48

Song: Psalm 19

The righteousness of the kingdom is the highest righteousness that the mind of man can entertain. It does the following.

The righteousness of the kingdom teaches that you can’t be right with God and be wrong with your brother. Don’t even begin to offer praise to God with the same tongue by which you cursed your neighbor. Be reconciled to your neighbor first.

The righteousness of the kingdom defeats sin where it starts. The man who does not commit adultery because he lacks opportunity but satisfies his lusts with pornography is still condemned. Heaven’s reign requires man to take charge of his own heart.

Kingdom righteousness makes you your brother’s keeper. A man who puts away a faithful wife bears guilt should she remarry, for he has given her opportunity to sin because of loneliness or incontinence.

The law of the kingdom requires honesty with one’s neighbor. There are no loopholes in making commitments. Your “yes” should mean “yes” and your “no,” “no.”

Heaven’s reign advocates mercy toward enemies and the repayment of evil with good. It demands defeating evil with kindness. It seeks not to repay and avenge but to change, by showing mercy. It is a law reserved for the courageous.

The law of the kingdom goes beyond right actions, to right motives, right reasons, right thoughts, and beyond just being right to being merciful. It’s the key to the blessed life.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

My hope for tomorrow:

Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.

Psalm 55:17; NKJV

Jason Cicero

How to Change the World

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Song: Ye Are The Light Of The World

Salt seasons. Light illumines. Both have properties that bespeak influence. They are tokens of the individual Christian’s influence.

“You are the salt,” Jesus said. “You are the light,” He further explained. The influence of the individual Christian is the mechanism Jesus chose to influence the world. People look to politicians, to Congress, to civic organizations, to activist groups to make moral and ethical changes. Not so Jesus. He might have recommended those mechanisms. But He didn’t.

The gospel of the kingdom working in the hearts and lives of individual believers makes more difference in the scheme of world events than any other single factor. When the Lord wanted to change the world, He didn’t use political machinery and power to do so. In fact to show the vanity of such methods, He loosed Satan for a season to turn all world powers against His people.

What turned the world upside down was a fisherman who “findeth his brother,” and a tax-gatherer who left his post, and a zealot who put down his weapon to follow Jesus. Individuals who seasoned their speech and actions with kingdom righteousness and who shined their light before their neighbors is what made the difference then. It still does.

Jason Moore

Lord of the Sabbath

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-8

Song: Redeemed

When the disciples of Jesus picked grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath. They ignored the spirit of the Law in making their criticisms. The Sabbath law restricted men from working to make a profit, from doing chores, from doing work that showed ingratitude or irreverence for God. The disciples did none of these things. Their work was incidental. In fact they’d been busy doing the bidding of God.

The Sabbath had a three-fold significance: (1) it was a day of rest from man’s toil, and so a reprieve from part of sin’s curse, (2) it identified men with God who also rested on the seventh day from His work of creation, (3) it foreshadowed the rest that men would ultimately enjoy from sin itself, and in perfect fellowship with God.

Jesus proclaimed Himself Lord of the Sabbath. He came not to break the Sabbath nor to abolish it. He came to fulfill it. Just as Jesus fulfilled the animal sacrifices in becoming the perfect sin offering, just as He fulfilled the purpose of the temple when He tabernacled in the flesh, and just as He fulfilled the Levitical priesthood by becoming our perfect High Priest, so He fulfilled the Sabbath by providing the perfect rest from sin and alienation that the Sabbath had only foreshadowed.

There is no Sabbath Day under the New Covenant. The Lord’s Day is certainly God’s day of worship, but it’s not His Sabbath. Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath so that every day is a day of rest for the believer.

Jason Moore

Sent to Publicans and Sinners

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-17

Song: He Lifted Me

The gospel is for all. Then again, the gospel is not for everybody. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But not everyone will repent and receive His salvation.

Jesus came for the sick, not for the healthy. All men need His healing but not all men acknowledge their need, nor Him as the cure. All men are sinners, but not all men acknowledge their sin. Jesus can’t help such folks. He came to call sinners who know they’re sinners and want to be cured.

Jesus came to give the sick a cure, not just His company. The fact that Jesus dined with sinners does not argue my going to the bar or the club or the dance or associating with the worldly minded. Jesus’ presence made sinners better. He certainly didn’t participate in worldliness nor encourage such with His presence. He called them to repentance, not just His friendship.

Jesus came to change man. The man whose heart is hard and crusted will not tolerate the gospel. The fabric of his heart like the worn-out garment or the old wineskin cannot stand the changes required by the gospel. But the heart that is tender, the heart that is malleable, the heart that can be molded in conformity to the Master’s will—that’s a man the Lord can help.

Wisdom is justified by her children. The critics both without and within the company of disciples were answered when Matthew left his tax office and followed Jesus. The critics are answered again when you rise and do likewise. Come follow Him, today.

Jason Moore

Fishing For Men

Scripture: Mark 1:16-20

Song: Far And Near

Dad and I fished on Saturdays. We’d fish for bass with a plastic worm or shiny lure. We’d cast along the bank or troll or stop by a submerged tree and fish for crappie with the minnows I’d trapped. There’s a lot of similarities between our fishing trips and fishing for men.

It’s a lot more fun when you’re catching something. I got burned out on fishing when nothing bit by my second cast. I was ready to go home and do something else. We give up on the gospel just that quick. No one bites at our first feeble attempts and we give up. Like Dad used to say, “You can’t catch anything when you’re line’s not in the water.” Unlike fishing for bass, when you’re fishing for men, there’s never an unprofitable trip nor a wasted cast.

You never know where your next catch will be. For all the state of the art equipment—depth finders, trolling motors, Shimano bait casting reels, Ugly Stick rods—fishing is still rendered a highly unpredictable sport. The only thing that’s for certain is that you can’t catch anything when your line’s not in the water. Fishing for men is that same way. You don’t know who’s going to bite. Just keep casting your line. Let the Lord and the free will of men take care of the rest.

Fishing is mostly a matter of patience. The basic technology of fishing has not changed since the days of Simon, Andrew, James and John. I wish we could learn that as regards fishing for men. We don’t need any new methods or programs. We just need people casting their lines because one thing is certain—you won’t catch anything unless your line’s in the water.

Jason Moore

Jesus at the Well

Scripture: John 4:5-26

Song: O Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

Jesus broke down barriers. Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. But this Jew did and the Samaritan woman was shocked. The Law did not forbid contact—only tradition and prejudice did. Jesus was swayed by neither. His disciples ought not to be.

Jesus encouraged higher thinking. The Samaritan woman spoke of water but Jesus turned the conversation to living water. She was not accustomed to speaking about spiritual things. But Jesus led her there. Jesus’ followers ought to be conversant in such matters.

Jesus was patient with ignorance. The Samaritan woman was slow to catch on, but Jesus led her gently along until finally she caught at least the gist of the conversation. We need such patience with the novice, the immature, those who say like the Samaritan woman, “Give me this water, so I will not be thirsty.” He was giving her drink and she didn’t even know it. Lead someone to the well.

Jesus spoke to the need. The woman needed spiritual drink, but she needed first to know how dry was the well from which she’d sought to slake her thirst. She’d been an adulteress and advocate of her people’s religion, not knowing that “salvation is from the Jews.” Jesus brought her to herself, a journey she was not too eager to make as indicated by her defensive remarks. But he brought her nevertheless. People can be told what they need. And people need to be told—gently, kindly, compassionately—but told nevertheless what they need to be right with God. Tell someone today.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

My "to do" list for tomorrow:

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

Psalm 5:3; NKJV

Jason Cicero

Making Merchandise of Religion

Scripture: John 2:13-22

Song: More Holiness Give Me

The Passover was a busy time in Jerusalem. Pilgrims flocked to the city. The merchants and moneychangers supplied a legitimate need. Non-residents would require sacrificial lambs and domestic currency for the temple tax. But to set up shop in the temple like ticket scalpers to a modern sporting event was the height of irreverence.

It’s appalling the number of businesses that thrive on religion today. Theme parks, the music industry, publishing houses, t-shirt and novelty manufacturers all advertise their wares in the temple. No place receives more junk mail and phone solicitations than the church building. Nearly every business has some product or service to increase attendance or interest among church membership. And religion now, as in Jesus’ day, buys into it. The consequence is that Christianity is rendered a cheap fad with a rah-rah enthusiasm and as many trinkets as there are marketing geniuses setting up new tables in the temple vestibule.

Christians ought to beware not just the abuses of the religious community in general but lesser manifestations of the same spirit. It’s fine to be in business, but the church is in business of building up souls not your business. And watch hypocrisy. It’s a form of merchandising. It advertises religion for the sake of personal recognition and profit, but at the Lord’s expense. Those that make merchandise of the Lord’s temple in any form will be the recipients of His just wrath as Jesus’ cleansing of the temple indicates.

Jason Moore

A Mother's Nudge

Scripture: John 2:1-12

Song: To God Be The Glory

Who has not seen and smiled at the nudging of an overzealous mother? The mother of James and John, wanted seats for her sons in the kingdom. Jesus’ own mother in the account before us heard that the wine gave out, and saw an opportunity. It was a public occasion, prime time for Jesus to unveil His identity. It was time for her son to go on!

Jesus’ reply to His mother was not disrespectful. Perhaps He even responded with an understanding smile. Mary certainly understood His remarks as only a mild but conciliatory rebuke, because she immediately told the servants to follow her son’s instructions. The sense of Jesus’ reply seems to be something like, “Woman, what am I going to do with you!” It was an exclamation of mild exasperation followed by the declaration that He knew what He was doing. “My hour,” He said, “has not yet come.”

So Mary, like all good mothers, nudged her son. None was prouder than she of all that her firstborn had and would accomplish. Luke tells us that she treasured in her heart all the episodes of Jesus’ youth. But little did Mary know what she nudged Jesus toward. The first of His miracles in Cana put Him on the uphill path to Calvary and brought closer the prediction of Simeon, “a sword will pierce even your own soul.” But even though she didn’t understand, God be thanked for that intuitive sense He placed in woman that makes her nudge when the time is right. And God be praised for Jesus who was willing to be nudged toward a destination He knew all too well.

Jason Moore

A Voice in the Wilderness

Scripture: John 1:19-34

Song: Christ For The World We Sing

John the Baptizer is one of the colorful characters of history, biblical or otherwise. His responses to the priests and Levites of Jerusalem sent to figure out his identity say much about the attitude of this zealot for kingdom righteousness.

John was a voice in the wilderness. He preached in the wilderness. But the wilderness of which the prophet spoke was not the landscape of Judea but the hearts of its citizenry. John was sent to blaze a trail in the hearts of a wild, untamed, desolate people. He was a courageous man. We need voices like his today.

John was a voice of humility. The fact that he only identifies himself in terms of his relation to the Lord is an indication of his lowliness of mind. He saw himself as having no importance aside from his connection to the Lord. We need voices like his today.

John’s was a consistent voice. Those that came from Jerusalem to challenge him were his own peers. They were priests and Levites. His father, Zachariah, had been a priest. But there was no bending on John’s part, no exceptions, no effort to impress. His message was the same no matter the audience: “Make straight the way of the Lord.” We need voices like his today.

John was a voice of urgency. He denied himself all comforts and luxuries to take the message to the people. He dressed in garb which fit his message. He wore the traditional raiment of repentance and fasting. He taught the people to mourn their sin and to hunger for righteousness. He had compassion for souls. We need voices like his today.

Jason Moore