Luke 21

“He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.  “I tell you the truth,” He said.  “This poor widow has put in more than all of them.  For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she has to live on.”  Luke 21:1-4

My first visit in Israel, I bought my wife a silver ring. At the center of the ring is a small copper coin called a “widow’s mite”. The coin is about the size of a child’s pinky fingernail. It is ludicrous to believe it carried any value. It’s made of the least valuable metal, and it is so tiny. Still, Jesus considered this widow’s offering of greatest value.

Times have not changed much since Jesus’ day. We still live in a culture that values quantity. The more expensive stuff we have, the wealthier we are considered to be.

God values quality. In other words, the one who gives the most is the one who sacrifices the most. If you have a million dollars to spare, yet you only give 1000…then the person who only had ten dollars to spare, yet they gave it all, gave the most.

Sometimes, it is easier to write a check than to roll-up your sleeves and join in the work…especially if everyone is applauding your donation and envying your lifestyle.

It is not for us to judge another person’s level of sacrifice. That is the Lord’s role. He weighs the heart. Our judging the intent of a rich person’s offering is as bad as our judging the value of a poor person’s gift. Giving is a matter of the heart more than a matter of the wallet. Only the Lord can judge the innermost parts of the heart.

We give to the extent that we trust Him.

What if God required everything from us? That’s exactly what we owe Jesus: Everything. That’s exactly what the widow faithfully gave.

As the old hymn goes, “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe.”

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Genesis 23

“Abraham bowed down to the people of the land and said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, ‘Please listen to me.  Let me pay the price of the field.  Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.’  Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, ‘My lord, listen to me.  Land worth 400 shekels of silver – what is that between you and me?  Bury your dead.’  Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver at the current commercial rate. Genesis 23:12-16

I heard a rabbi once note that this was the first recorded real estate deal in Jewish history! Though the land of Canaan was Abraham’s by promise, the time of possessing it had not yet come. Nevertheless, Abraham had the occasion to buy a piece of it. This was not land for living on, which could be sold or taken away. It was land for burial…a FINAL resting place. Now, that is faith! Abraham was saying he believed God’s promises to the extent that he was willing to buy real estate and be buried in a land which would eventually become filled with a nation full of his offspring. Abraham wasn’t the only one to believe God’s promise on that same level.

“So Jacob’s sons did for him what he had commanded them.  They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Macpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.” Genesis 50:12-13

“And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our forefathers died.  From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” Acts 7:15-17

“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.  Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, ‘God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.’”  Genesis50:24-25

“Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.”  Joshua 24:32

The writer of Hebrews melds the Patriarchal hope of Canaan with the Christian hope for eternity with the Lord, in Heaven:

“All these died in faith.  They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:12-16

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Matthew 9

“While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does you teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.  Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.  For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”   Matthew 9:10-13

A few days before I moved to California, I saw my new boss on Larry King Live. Just before a commercial break, Larry figured he’d catch Pastor Greg Laurie on a trick question. Larry asked, “Greg, isn’t religion just a crutch?”

Pastor Greg quickly retorted “Larry, for me it’s not just a crutch. It’s a whole hospital!”

What’s up with church that it lost its perception of being a hospital? Is it wrong to enter a hospital and admit you need care? So, why are people afraid to approach church in a similar way? We praise the hospital triage staff for quickly diagnosing our condition and immediately rushing us into treatment. So, why does the “church” have this stigma about diagnosing a sin issue, and promptly suggesting a proper course of discipleship?

The Pharisees were in denial. They ministered in the synagogue more than anyone, yet they denied their own need for inner healing. “How could the ‘doctors’ need medical attention?” was their attitude.

Doctors? They couldn’t heal others or themselves. Yet, they criticized Jesus for healing, and associating with patients they dismissed as untreatable!

Before the Great Physician can heal us, we must trust Him and submit to His diagnosis and treatment. I once had a doctor prescribe me medicine and say, “Take every pill.” The moment I felt better, I quit the prescription…only to get sick again.

In today’s passage, Jesus made a house call. Matthew risked his personal reputation to 1) show his friends how he was (spiritually) healed, and 2) introduce his spiritually ill friends to Messiah. Jesus honored that risk.

The church is supposed to be a hospital. Most of us are like paramedics. We’re called to seek and to serve the lost and needy. We exist to find the sick & dying, love them, and bring them back to the Hospital.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

1 John 3

“Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s Children.  And we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him.”  1 John 3:1

I recently saw a documentary on “children of the rich & famous”. To me, the kid who stood out most was Paris Hilton. It’s not because she’s a pop singer, a fashion model, or a reality TV diva. It’s because I used to live in hotel rooms, touring around the world in a rock band.

When a band is just starting out, nobody pays them any money! They usually drive a rusty van, and sleep on strangers’ floors & run-down hotels. Glamorous, huh?

I remember one concert promoter, early in my career. He actually put us up in a Hilton hotel. It was incredible! The carpet didn’t smell like stale beer, and the sheets didn’t have stains. There wasn’t the “38-caliber” 2am wake-up call we had become accustomed to. For me, Hilton meant Heaven!

Enter Paris. What upset me so much was that she has diminished the Hilton name to Motel 6 status.

How well do God’s children represent the name they have inherited? I think about that question often, usually whenever I have to make a decision that involves me choosing to be a servant, or be served! What about yourself? Have you entered a saving relationship with Jesus? How have you represented and honored the name the Lord has given you?

The third commandment says: “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” Many Christians believe this commandment tells us not to say God’s name as a curse word. While it is never a good idea to flippantly say the Lord’s name, the 3^rd commandment is actually telling us a whole other thing.

The 3^rd commandment carries the idea that we should not “receive” the Lord’s name in vain. That is, don’t accept His Name and then act like a child of the World.

I am glad that I experienced “Hilton” the hotel, before I learned of “Hilton” the heiress. Let’s pray she comes to know Jesus. The apostle John says the reason the World does not know us is that it didn’t know God. Let’s do our best to make sure the World chooses to know God because they DO know us.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Titus 3

“I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God might be careful to devote themselves to good works.  These are good and profitable for everyone.  But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.  Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self condemned.”  Titus 3:8b-11

Much of my early church experience revolved around “avoidance”. By avoidance, I mean all my energy was focused on not sinning. I didn’t fully understand God’s grace, so I thought He was always keeping score with me. All I could think about was how my sin was displeasing God and storing-up some kind of punishment. I became disenchanted as a young believer, and I wondered where the abundant “life” of a Christian was.

You may ask, “What’s wrong with NOT sinning?” Nothing at all. My problem was that I considered “not sinning” as the ultimate goal of a Christian. It took awhile before I learned that morality was not the goal of my faith…it is simply byproduct of it. I shouldn’t have to focus the majority of my attention on avoidance, if Jesus has truly given me the power to live abundantly.

After a Christian friend shared this idea with me, my efforts began to shift from “not offending God” by avoiding sin, to “pleasing God” by doing good works. By focusing my energy on pleasing God, I worried less about offending Him. From this vantage point, we naturally avoid sin, plus we also avoid the guilt. Perhaps, this all sounds like semantics, but these are totally different mindsets.

In today’s passage, Paul instructs Titus that those who have believed in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works. More than simply avoiding sin, we must discipline ourselves to replace sinful behavior with that which honors God and reflects our inner transformation. Our behavior is always the outworking of an inner heart condition. It’s the same with properly-motivated good works. If we have truly been transformed by Jesus, our desire to please Him should override the fear of offending Him.

In sports, there is a saying: The best defense is a good offense. People with an “avoidance” or “spiritually defensive” mindset are generally legalistic and judgmental towards anyone who doesn’t adhere to their legalism. They love to draw others into lengthy debates concerning the rules of avoidance.

Paul instructs that we should avoid such debates. The best way to refute false religion is to know the Bible and live within the parameters God set up. Don’t add or take away from His requirements and freedom. Put simply: A God honoring life is the best apologetic.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Matthew 7

“Enter through the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.  How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

A friend of mine is very wealthy. When I asked if he grew up rich, he said, “No.” When I asked how he succeeded, he said, “While everyone else was partying, I was studying. Now, I can party.”

Last week, I committed to read the New Testament, a chapter each day. I also challenged you to do the same, so we can grow in community. So…how’s your 1st week? Diligent, or belligerent? Has it been easy, or has it been a battle?

It seems like there’s never enough time to do everything we want. There is a high-stakes battle for our attention. Advertisers pay millions for 30 seconds of your Super Bowl time. If we never had to sleep, there still would not be enough time. Sometimes I feel like our website (www.livingroomstudy.org) is nothing more than an insignificant “rest stop” on the Information Super Highway.

Why do we often find ourselves, at the end of the day, too tired for God or His Word? Ask yourself, have you included God in your list of options, or have you committed to make every option subject to God?

“In high school, I could throw a football a quarter mile! If coach had only put me in, we woulda’ took state. I woulda’ gone pro…right now I’d be livin’ it up in a hot tub with my soul mate.” Uncle Rico.

Do you find yourself sprinting down the “broad road”, trying to redeem a wasted past.

Matthew warns us that the “broad road” bottlenecks in a multi car pileup. But, it’s not too late to turn around. The Psalms encourage that God establishes the steps, and lights the way of His children. The “narrow road” will literally broaden and be made level beneath your feet as you follow the Lord by faith.

Let’s seek the “narrow way” together, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, faithfully pressing on toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God! Philippians 3:13-14

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Romans 15

“Now I say that Messiah has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy.  As it is written: ‘Therefore, I will praise You among the Gentiles and I will sing psalms to Your name.’  Again it says, ‘Rejoice you Gentiles with His people!’  And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles.  All the peoples should praise Him!’ And again, Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will appear, the One who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Him, the Gentiles will hope.’”  Romans 15:8-12

God’s heart has always been for Jews & Gentiles to know & worship Him in unity. Ever since the covenant with Abraham, the Lord’s articulated desire has been for the whole world to enter into a saving relationship with Him.

“I will bless those who bless you.  I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:3

Again, through the Prophet Isaiah, God communicated His heart for the nations.

“No foreigner who has converted to the Lord shall say, ‘The Lord has excluded me from His people.”  Isaiah 56:3a

Today, I left Israel, traveling to the predominantly Moslem country of Jordan. I always leave Israel with sadness for the millions of Jews who are yet to acknowledge Y’shua (Jesus) as Messiah. This time was no different. None of our tour guides were believers, and although I share a Jewish heritage, there was a massive spiritual disconnect.

I have never been to a Moslem country, so I was expecting even more of a spiritual disconnect from my Jordanian guides. Ironic, they are all Arab Christians!! From the moment our guide began leading us, I felt at home. Was it his attitude, comments, or demeanor? Frankly, it was the presence of the Holy Spirit. We connected as Christians, even though we are Jew and Arab, in a way that I could not connect with the of non-Messianic Jews.

As the song goes, my guide and I were truly: “Jew and Gentile, one in the Spirit, one in Y’shua’s love”. (Joel Chernoff)

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Titus 2

“For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and Godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Jesus.”  Titus 2:11-13

There is an idea about God’s Grace, that it covers all sin and requires no accountability. I have friends who firmly believe this, to the point where they distort Grace by removing themselves from Godly accountability with other believers. They live however they want, and when confronted about their lifestyles, they answer, “God’s Grace covers all sin, and it cannot be revoked.”

While that is a true statement about God’s Grace, my friends’ attitude does not reflect the heart of Jesus.

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21

Paul instructs us to, “…deny godlessness, and worldly lust and to live in a sensible, righteous, and Godly way”. Nowhere in that verse is a license to live apart from God’s standard.

The observable power of salvation in the Christian’s life is not fully displayed by the fact that we have been saved from God’s wrath. It is mostly revealed in that we are changed. We are called “converts” because we are changed; and that means our desires to sin are also being replaced with the desire to please God. Salvation is not the ability to sin without consequence; it is more of a fresh start, where we are freed to serve the Lord rightly.

To me, the sweetness of Grace is displayed in today’s passage. God’s Grace brings salvation for “all people”. That’s not to say that all people will be saved. Rather, salvation is offered and available to all people, by Grace. It’s still the individual’s choice to respond to it.

Those who recognize their need for God’s Grace and receive it, enter into a joy that is unexplainable. We, who are receivers of His Grace, should desire to be givers of it, as well. In this way, we become living testimonies by virtue of our transformed lives, along with the words of the gospel we share.

Lastly, we have hope in the Grace of Messiah because we acknowledge the deity of Messiah. Grace without deity is just a kind gesture. Deity without Grace is unforgiving judgment. We have hope because Jesus is both “God and Savior”.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Matthew 6

“So don’t worry, saying “What will we eat”, or “What will we drink?, or “What will we wear?”  For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.  Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:31-34

My family is from Arkansas. We’re SO Southern, my mom’s name is Dixie! Once, we were asked to leave a Chinese establishment, after my mom wandered into their family shrine and asked my dad to take a photo of her tickling Buddha’s belly, “Koochy-koochy-coo!”

After that, whenever I heard a preacher talking about idolatry, the only image I had was of Dixie rubbing Siddhartha’s tummy! I wondered, “How could those people be so crazy as to believe an idol carved from wood or stone has the power to bless or curse them?” I was so glad Americans aren’t idol worshippers…try telling that to Simon Cowell.

An idol is anything that you assign power to bless or curse you. An idol is anything (intended or not) that you trust more than God or the Bible.

How does this look in our culture? Let’s see…are you satisfied with your wardrobe? Do you feel more powerful or attractive when you wear certain outfits? Did the clothes you just sent to Goodwill used to make you feel powerful…but somehow lost their power last season?

What about cars electronics or comfort foods? Americans are no less idolaters than any other pagan culture. We’re all guilty, myself included. There is nothing wrong with nice things, or trendy accompaniment. The sin is in the power & worship we give to things…power and worship belonging to God, and Him alone.

The great theologian, Mick Jaggar of the Rolling Stones once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.” Of course, Mick Jaggar was no theologian, but the Bible says God knows what we need, so don’t worry about fashion or food. We should worship the Provider instead of the provision.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins

Romans 14

“So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.  Do not tear down God’s work because of food.  Everything is clean, but it is wrong for man to cause stumbling by what he eats.  It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.  Do you have faith?  Keep it to yourself before God.  Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.  But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.”  Romans 14:19-23

Today is Shabbat in Israel. From Sundown on Friday, until Sundown Saturday, the whole nation pretty much shuts down. Almost nobody is driving vehicles and most of the shops are closed…especially here in the world’s religious capital, Jerusalem.

There is a sense that strict observance of Shabbat in Israel is not voluntary; it seems to be forced upon the population, by the Orthodox Jews who are zealous for God, on Israel’s behalf. If you don’t agree, just try and drive through the Orthodox neighborhoods on Shabbat! You will receive a hailstorm of rocks & bricks, intended to force you to comply with their interpretations of God’s Shabbat commands.

That said, sitting at my hotel, enjoying a kosher instant coffee, I told my wife that I wish the United States would shut down for a day every week….a legislated day of rest. When I was growing up in the Southern US, it was against the law to operate a business on Sunday. The political leaders felt it was good for the community if everyone went to church.

Pretty soon, people’s demand to buy& sell overrode the well-intended lawmakers. Folks argued that their personal liberty (the right to do business whenever they liked) was violated by a minority of elected “Jesus freaks”.

Romans 14 is broken down into 2 sections: The “Law of Liberty”, and the “Law of Love”.

The “Law of Liberty” basically states that when it comes to days of worship, and regulations of what we eat & drink, we are free to choose for ourselves.

The “Law of Love” has a different take. It says that even though we are free in Messiah, there are times when it is absolutely necessary to forsake our personal liberties, in order to encourage and build-up the less mature believers in Jesus. That is, we are called to love people more than our personal liberties.

Sounds kinda’ like Jesus.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins