Following The Son

Everyone knew what he said. He had said it in private. He had said it publicly. It had become common knowledge. Jesus never attempted to hide what he came to do. Remember how he would heal people and then say, “Don’t tell anyone?” Resurrection was nothing like this. He openly spoke about it. “ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40 Jesus openly proclaimed that he would die, and then three days later he would rise. Even those who didn’t believe in him knew he had said this. After his crucifixion we find this encounter. “ The next day, ...the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the...

There’s a comical video that floats around social media with boxer Mike Tyson saying his back is broken. Generally we don’t think of someone with a broken back being able to compete athletically, and definitely not in a boxing ring. I don’t know what the condition of his back actually was, but the clip has floated around for a few years as folks have generally rolled their eyes at the validity of his broken back claim. Ever know someone who makes claims you just don’t believe? Many of us have had someone like this in our lives. A coworker who has missed work when his grandmother died...for the third time, or some other tall tale teller we know. I was once standing in front of my brother-in-law’s home when a total stranger told me he had seen turtles in the Saw Mill River the size of Volkswagens. If you’re not from NY this river is only about 20 feet wide and you can walk across it. Some stories simply aren’t believable because of who’s telling them. Others aren’t believable bec...

I found someone’s driver’s license today. It was just laying in the grass on the edge of a parking lot. No wallet, no purse, just a license all by itself. I walked over picked it up, and thought about what to do. I remembered the time I lost my wallet. The man who found it looked me up through information. 411? Is that even a thing anymore? I don’t know. I just know how grateful I was when he called me. I took him a fruit basket. I didn’t actually buy him a fruit basket. It was Christmastime and someone had just given it to me. But how was I supposed to buy him something? He had my wallet. Anyway, back to the license. The woman was only 22 so I knew there was no way she had a home phone. Unless the cable company had tricked her into a package deal with free movie channels for three months, internet, tv, and a home phone. (If this happened she took the deal, but never answers the house phone, and she forgot to cancel the free channels so now she’s paying for them every month...

Let Malchus have his ear. That may sound like strange advice at first, but it’s good advice. Malchus is unknown in history outside of one night of his life. He was the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas. On the night Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane he was there. Not there with the disciples napping when they should have been praying. He’s with the group that comes to arrest Jesus. We aren’t given names for those who came for Jesus. We know Judas was with them. The Temple guards of the Sanhedrin were there. Then we get one man’s name under the craziest set of circumstances. “ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)” John 18:10 What a way to get your name into the Bible. I’ve often wondered if Peter swung sideways and Malchus didn’t duck down quite low enough? Or did he swing down and somehow stop short of the shoulder? However it happened,...

I’m not David. Too often we’ve been taught the familiar story all wrong. The children of Israel and the Philistines have drawn their battle lines. Saul and his army are now cowering in fear as the Philistines have sent out their champion. Goliath has marched out with his enormous shield and spear. He towers above everyone and has declared that there’s no reason for a war. Simply send out your best warrior and we will battle. Mano a mano. One on one. Winner takes all. But there were no takers. In walks our hero. David has been sent by his father Jesse to check on his brothers and to bring them some bread and cheese. (I Samuel 17:17-18) When I read that text I can’t help but think that he was bringing them those biscuits from Red Lobster. You know the ones I’m talking about. They’re the only reason you go to Red Lobster. When David arrives with those delicious cheddar biscuits he hears Goliath’s challenge. He answers the call and goes to fetch his stones. An encounter takes p...

This past week my son, his wife, and my grandson were all diagnosed with strep throat. Outside of feeling lousy and your throat burning there are always other effects as well. One is that you are generally quarantined for 24 hours after beginning your antibiotics. I had strep throat last year, and at home my family insisted that I not get too close to anyone. I was also to wipe everything I touched with a disinfectant wipe. On the plus side they wouldn't let me clean anything in the kitchen. It made me think about what it must have been like to have been "unclean" during the Old Testament. To have been separated from everyone as a result of a disease or condition must have been so difficult. If you were diseased under the Old Covenant you would actually have to shout the word, “unclean!,” if anyone tried to approach you.  There was one occasion when Jesus was traveling when 10 men with leprosy shouted out to him from a distance for healing.  Imagine the joy b...

Jacob was quite a character. There’s really no way for me to adequately tell his story in this short blog, but you can read all about him in Genesis. His name meant, supplanter. He earned it by grasping at his  brother Esau’s heal during childbirth. Jacob was a twin, and although born second already appeared to be fighting for his position in life. A supplanter is usually a political term referring to one who trips up, or topples another government. During Jacob’s life he kept grasping at heels. From covering his arms with goat hair to trick his blind father into believing he was his brother, to haggling with his older brother to exchange some soup for his birthright, Jacob became known as a deceiver. He was that person you know who’s always wheeling and dealing. You’re never quite sure if you can trust them. He ended up having to flee for his life, gets a father-in-law who is as conniving as he is, but God never gives up on him. Our Father is like that. Always leaving the ...

It was the trip of a lifetime, but completely unplanned. Four years ago this week my wife and I boarded a plane for Italy. We have never been to Italy before, but we love Italian food...especially Pizza Hut. I didn’t know if they would have great Italian food like that in Milan, but we went hoping we would find an Olive Garden. Our trip to Italy sort of happened by mistake. I was scheduled to speak at the Commencement of Bethel Bible College in Kerala, India. We were pretty excited about the trip, had things planned out, purchased our airline tickets, but then our visas didn’t come through. The U.S. and India were in a little bit of a spat at the time over some immigration matters, and we were pawns on the chess board. Since we had already purchased our tickets we didn’t want to lose them. I called Emirate Air and was told our only option without paying more money was Milan, Italy. We went from disappointed to excited in a short amount of time. We cases in our reward points fo...

Abortion stops a beating heart. This morning I’m headed out with some believers from Life and Liberty Ministries to a Planned Parenthood office in Richmond, VA. We will be there to provide sidewalk counseling to women seeking abortions. Many of them are unaware of the options available to them, and feel trapped into abortion being their only option. It saddens and angers me when laws are passed that restrict providing information to people under the cover of being pro-choice, and I’ve seen this in some communities. To restrict information isn’t pro-choice, it’s pro-abortion. The pro-life community is often accused of only caring about life before a child is born. While that may be true for some politicians it sure shouldn’t be true of the church. Yet I hear believers sometimes cry for cuts to all social programs. It’s missed that programs like WIC, which provide formula and food to mothers and their babies are vital. When my sons were babies our finances were extremely limi...

I’m sitting in the office of a machine shop with my wife right now in Delaware. That’s sure not how I thought my day would go when it began. We were in Yonkers, NY this morning playing with our grandchildren when we heard the snow totals forecasted increase, and decided to hit the road a day earlier than planned.  Passing through a toll plaza the noise started, steam began, the power steering went, lights came on, and we rolled off the highway. I don’t get too stressed over a breakdown. Cars are temporary, and repairs go with car ownership. But breaking down while it’s sleeting on a highway in Delaware sort of changes the dynamics. Unsure what was wrong, we rolled into a speed shop off the highway. I’m never too sure with mechanics I don’t know, but as we conversed with the shop owner we discovered he was a fellow believer. We shared some great stories, and a man who stopped in assured us these were among the best mechanics in the state. Our car is almost finished as I...

This week I read a post I always hate reading. A friend’s dog had died and I could hear the sadness in his post. If you’ve ever been a pet owner you know how difficult it is to lose a pet. Reading his farewell made me remember my dog, Mullet. Mullet was our Scottish Terrier, and we sadly said goodbye to him four years ago. He was a crazy little dog who fought rottweilers, battled skunks, and valiantly protected us from postal workers, senior citizens, and teenage girls. I used to say to Mullet, "I know that profiling is wrong, but you have no ability whatsoever to determine who is an actual threat to us." Remembering Mullet this week made me remember some things. He was one of God's creatures, and Father did use him to teach me a few things. 1. Forgive and Move Forward. Even if I scolded Mullet he would immediately come back over wagging his tail. He forgot those things that were behind and pressed on. “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and...

Today is St Patrick’s Day. You probably knew that, but if not I have reminded you. The actual St Patrick planted over 300 churches and baptized 120,000 people in his lifetime. That’s absolutely incredible. For almost  20 years of my life I looked forward to something on St Patrick’s Day that was completely unrelated. You see, I knew where to find a leprechaun. In Yonkers, NY on the corner of Roberts and Nepperhan Ave is where he would be. Jess Buzzutto was what his parents had named him, but that’s not how we knew him. For thousands of Yonkers residents he was known as the “Yonkers Leprechaun.” On a dreary corner in a commercial area of the city he maintained his thousands of flowers in the Spring, and his thousands of lights at Christmas. But this was his day. He dressed like a leprechaun year round, and always greeted those who passed by. Whether you were driving, biking, walking, or hopping on a pogo stick, he would offer you a smile and a wave. On St Patrick’s Day i...

I visited the Alamo today for the first time in San Antonio, Texas. The former Spanish mission is most known for the battle that was fought there during the Texas War for Independence . In 1936, in a battle during this war, all of the Texas soldiers based there were killed in a standoff with the Mexican army. It became a rallying cry in the war. “Remember the Alamo!” Remembering is pretty important. Fortunately God has a great memory. Perhaps somewhere along the way you felt like he had forgotten you. It can seem that way when an answer to prayer is slow coming, or when life is difficult. I wonder if Noah ever felt like God forgot him? He was on the ark a long time. It would have been easy to grow weary, and start to feel like you were forgotten. “ But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.” Genesis 8:1 God hadn’t forgotten Noah, and God won’t forg...