Evident Church

Jesus went to Zacchaeus’s house and became the guest of a notorious sinner. He went to Matthew’s house and ate dinner with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. In full view of everyone, He hung out with today’s equivalent to pimps, prostitutes, and crackheads. In that culture, to eat with someone was to identify with them. Jesus associated Himself with people who were shunned by every upstanding Jew. They were the butts of jokes and th e targets of smirks. No self-respecting person would risk befriending them for fear of being found guilty by association. By everyone’s standards, Jesus was a good man. So making friends with bad people didn’t make sense. Preaching at them, rebuking them, criticizing them, mocking them — that was expected. Even applauded. But sitting around a table telling jokes and enjoying life together? That was shocking. That was tabloid material. But Jesus didn’t care about the scandal. He cared about the scandalous. He liked spending time w

As a pastor, I'll get upset, frustrated, at myself for not being able to quote "an exact chapter & verse" of a biblical principle I'm trying to share. But, I don't look at scripture verse by verse. I try to include every verse in context, with it as it applies to scripture in its entirety. So, rather than looking at, or quoting one verse, my mind is thinking of thirty verses. Anyway, I began this post with this in mind: I can know every scripture in the Bible. I can randomly  quote chapter and verse on the spot. My scripture memory can rank among the best. I can be that scripture wiz kid! (Motive?) But, you know what? Unless I am growing. Unless I am Changing. Unless I am growing closer to God. Unless I am allowing the Word to build me and cause Christ-like behaviors in me, then the Word is Useless to me. I can know and quote all the scripture I want, and still, go to hell. Even Satan knows the word (Matthew 4) (2 Timothy 2) 2 Timothy 3:5 having a fo