The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.17

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Blessings to you, loved ones.  I’m looking out my window at a beautiful morning.  Our Father’s creation is so amazing.  That includes you!  No matter what you look like, you are beautiful!  My prayer for you this week is that you have an awareness of the life that is in you and that you share that life with someone who does not have it yet.

I enjoyed our time together last Sunday.  We get to share so little of it that we should always make the best of it.  I felt like Priscilla did that with her Sunday school time.  When we get personal like that, I don’t share the podcast.  I want people to feel comfortable that whatever they need to say isn’t going to be broadcast to the world without their permission.

This Sunday, I’m going to continue in 1 Corinthians 15 with verses 50-58 as our focus.  Paul is wrapping up his defense and explanation of the resurrection.  In verses 51-52 he says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  Some teach that in this statement he has revealed the mystery, the word being defined in this context as a truth hidden until God reveals it.  Maybe so, but there is still a lot of mystery here.  It raises a lot of practical questions that we won’t really be able to answer until the day it happens.  Combined with the teaching in the preceding verses, this passage does give us some information and encouragement that we can apply to our lives today.  Come join us as we explore the mystery of the resurrection.

Love y’all!

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.16

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Hello, friends.  My prayer for you this week is that you find peace in the midst of life’s challenges and uncertainties, knowing that your God and Father loves you.  I pray that you find joy in knowing Him, and comfort in the knowledge that He will one day restore all good things.

We were missing some people who were enjoying time with their families last Sunday, but we also had some visitors.  It was a special day, and I wish everyone could have been there.  Priscilla and Kimi were visiting with Pris’s sister Jo in the hospital.  I do not have an update as of this writing, but keep all of them in your prayers.

This Sunday,we’ll continue looking at 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 with a focus on verses 20-28.  In this chapter, Paul is addressing the subject of resurrection of the dead, and explaining the centrality of the resurrection to our message.  In the versus we will study, he teaches the significance of Jesus’ action and how the final resurrection of the saints will take place.  “Then comes the end.”

It seems we have always been fascinated with the end of the world.  Christians know that it will happen, and the Bible gives us some idea of how, though there is much debate about the specifics.  But even unbelievers seem to be drawn to the idea.  Just look at the volume of entertainment set in apocalyptic futures where the world we know has been devastated in countless ways.  I think it is because we all know that despite our ability to do good and amazing things, humanity also has an unrivaled talent for making a mess of itself.  However comfortable our lives may be, it makes us just a little afraid.

But Christians have no need to fear.  Yes, we may endure hardship.  Jesus leaves us no doubt about that, but we have confidence that we know how this ends.  You can kill us, but we will never die.  Our risen Lord will return someday.  He will destroy His enemies.  Not even death itself stands a chance.

This should make us bold, and also fill us with a sense of urgency.   We look forward to His glorious appearing, but meanwhile we have work to do.  We are commanded to love our enemies, because God desires that they become friends.  It is not his desire that any should be lost.  Let our love be loud!

See you Sunday!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.15 – HE IS RISEN!

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It was gloomy and rainy when I got up this morning, but now the sun is shining brightly and it’s a beautiful day.  It paints a picture for me of what it must have been like for the friends and family of Jesus when they discovered that He was alive.  He is alive, and that is what we will be celebrating this Sunday.

We talk a lot about how Jesus died for our sins.  Well we should, because without that sacrifice we are lost.  But it is equally true that without the resurrection we are still lost.  Without the resurrection, His death was a pointless tragedy, depriving the world of the greatest treasure it has ever known.  Without the resurrection, our faith is just one more myth.  But Jesus did rise, and we have every reason to believe it.  Our text will be from the book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15.  I will read just a few verses, but the rest provides context.

I hope you will join us as we celebrate together.  There will not be a meal this year, but we will have a communion service.  Don’t miss this opportunity to bring along someone who might not come on any other day.  He is risen indeed!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.14

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Blessings all.  It was nice to be nearly back up to full strength last Sunday, and I was thrilled to see how God arranged a consistent message throughout.  He’s always in control, always working things out for the good of those who love Him, but it’s a joy when he gives us a glimpse of His handiwork.

I have shared a prayer request with many of you via text message that I do not think is a good idea to share publicly because of things I cannot discuss. Here I will just say that your prayers are heard and it appears the situation will resolve favorably.  Here we have opportunity to believe that what we read last week is the truth, regardless of the final outcome.

Speaking of truth, do you ever find it hard to discover?  We live in a world largely governed by Satan’s principles, so it should not surprise us that the father of lies holds great sway over it.  It has always been so, but due to a number of factors, all springing from a societal rejection of the true God and his ways, it seems worse than ever now.  Maybe it is.  Technology gives us more effective ways to be what we are, good or bad.

This week will be what we call Palm Sunday.  We have covered the events that led to that designation in detail before,so I want to take us a little further into the week.  I have always been struck by Pilate’s question to Jesus in the book of John, Chapter 18.  Here’s part of the exchange from verses 37-38.

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

Is that not the question we hear all the time now?  I think it is asked for much the same reason that Pilate asked it.  I’m making a presumption here, but I think the text gives it sufficient support.  If truth can’t be defined, then whatever you want to be true can be true.  It would be easier for Pilate if Jesus were actually guilty of something, so he presses him for an admission.  Jesus not only doesn’t give him one, but makes it clear that Pilate also knows He’s innocent.

It seems a strange move for Jesus at this time, since we know that He has orchestrated this situation from the beginning with the express purpose that he will be crucified for the sins of the world.  He knew that Pilate would be swayed by the crowd, but he is not willing to absolve him of the guilt of his action.  Could Pilate have repented?  Maybe so.  God’s will would have been done some other way.  Jesus seems to have offered him the opportunity.

But Pilate missed it.  The man who actually committed the crimes they crucified Jesus for walked free.  What a picture for us!  We are all Barabbas.  We were all guilty, but Jesus died for the crimes we committed.  Come and join us as we look into John 18:33-40.

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.13

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Blessings to you, loved ones.  As I write this, there’s not a cloud in the sky…wait…there’s one little cloud moving into view from my spot under the eves on the patio enjoying the weather. I know there is not one of us who isn’t facing some kind of trial right now.  Delight in the little blessings of each day.  The beauty of God’s creation is actually a pretty big one.  I also find joy in all of you.  You are a blessing to me.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about one of those verses that even though we know to be true, can sometimes feel like an assault when other people use it on us in times of trouble.  This Sunday, I’m going to bring up another one.  We often hear this one incompletely quoted even by people outside of the church.  They’ll say something like, “All things work together for good.”  The problem is, that’s not what the Bible says.  The full verse says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Note the qualifiers that proceed the part we like.  This is a true statement and I personally take great comfort in it, but to understand what is being said, we need some context.  Join us as we study together from Romans 8:28-39.

Remember those who need our prayers.  Pris and Kimi are improving, if more slowly than we hoped.  Cathy will share more about her situation on Sunday.  She asked that we pray for Steven, an acquaintance in the hospital with complications from diabetes.  Pray for my family as well.  Pray for my father’s health.

See you Sunday.

Love y’all!

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.12

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Hello, friends.  I’m always trying to come up with some attention grabbing, or at least original, opener to keep things interesting.  But as I reflect on the past week, I’m just glad to call you friends.  That leads me right into the topic for this Sunday.  I have been reading a book that describes Jesus as our friend.  I’ve asked a couple of people if they find that to be a hard thing to imagine.  From their responses I gather that I must be the only one, but I think not.

Allow me to explain.  I certainly know this to be true.  Jesus said it Himself, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 CSB)  Jesus gave us the ultimate expression of friendship with His own life.  But implied in the word friend is relationship.  A friend is one with whom you share things in common, spend time, laugh and cry together.  He is so great and I am so small.  How can we really be friends?  I’m not sure I would want to be friends with me.  How can it be that the one who is perfect in every way would want to do so?

Oh, but I know that He does!  He paid the ultimate price to make it possible.  He gave me the Holy Spirit so that we could always be together.  He’s always ready to spend time with me, talk with me, and show me that He loves me.  I am the one who resists, argues, and tries to hide in shame.  Even so, he calls me friend.  He is the same way with anyone who follows Him, and reaches out to those who don’t.  He wants to be your friend, too.

We’re designed for community.  We will find its ultimate expression when we are united with Him in eternity, but he has given us our brothers and sisters in the church until then.  I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.  We should have everyone back with us, and that warms my heart.  Remember those who still need our prayers.

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.11

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Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!  Good day, friends.  That is my prayer for you this week, that you have His joy within you, even in the midst of circumstances that are less than joyful.

We knew we would be a little short last week with Pris and Kimi out, but Anita made it, and we were glad to see Shelly and Clarke back again too.  Remember Kimi in your prayers as these next few days are the toughest part of her recovery.

I started out quoting from that well-known verse in Philippians 4:4.  Paul then follows up with some advice that will help us do that.  There’s another quote we know well from the book of James, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ” (1:2-4)

If you’ve gone through any trouble at all as part of a body of believers, you’ve probably had these thrown at you.  You may have resisted the urge to duck!  It’s easy for people who are not in the midst of suffering to say these things, but they ring hollow.  The verses are true.  They are part of God’s word.  The trouble is until we see them lived out, it’s hard to imagine them as other than lofty goals that are out of reach for you and me.

That is why our ministry is so important.  We have the opportunity to show the world  what God can do with broken vessels.  But we need help.  If we don’t stop reading, we’ll find some.  James, too, follows this difficult directive with advice that will show us how we can “consider it all joy.”  Join us on Sunday as we study James 1:2-12.

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.10

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What a wonderful day we had last Sunday!  Just about everyone was back, even Clarke and Shelly.  Let’s keep it up and bring in some more!

Priscilla said Kimi came through her surgery well.  Bobbi went into the hospital on Sunday night unresponsive.  I did not have the means to write everything down as i was told, but I understand she has pneumonia.  Leann said she woke up today and seems to be improving.  Keep her in prayer.

This Sunday, we’ll be in Acts 19:11-20.  This is an account of some of the things that happened while Paul was in the city of Ephesus.  I believe that Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, put these things together the way he did so that we would see the connection between them.  On one hand we have the power of God on display through the miracles being done through Paul.  On the other we have an illustration of what can happen when we try to appropriate that power without the relationship that gives us the right to call upon it.  The end result is that the Ephesian believers turned from their evil practices and burned their spell books in an open bonfire.  There are principles here that we can apply to our own lives today.  Come, let’s explore them together.

Love y’all!

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.9

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It promises to be a beautiful day.  The sun it brightly shining and a cardinal is still singing in my back yard.  I hope you are able to enjoy it.  But regardless of the weather, which around here can change it seems in the blink of an eye, we never have to give up the light shining in our hearts.  May His joy be with you always.

It was good to have almost everyone back with us last Sunday.  It was good to see Sandra.  I was delighted to know that Holy Spirit orchestrate the events of the service, everything coming together for a central theme though none of us planned it.  We trust that God’s word will do its work even when we don’t see some immediate result.

Pris told me that Kimi finally has her procedure scheduled for next week.  Pris is still trying to get the help that she needs.  Keep them both in prayer. We know that our God has the power to heal.  Remember her sister Jo as she goes through more chemo this week.  Remember Anita as she struggles with getting to dialysis while their car is out of service.

Looking for inspiration this week, I continued searching through the New Testament for references to the kingdom of God.  I came across this interesting statement by Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:20, “..the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power.”  We talk a lot about the power of words.  We speak of the word of God.  John refers to Jesus as the Word.  So, what does this phrase mean?

This is how we get in trouble.  By taking this verse from it’s context, we could end up running in circles, but when we consider it as part of the whole letter, it poses no problem at all and teaches us an important truth.  The power of words comes from the speaker.  Paul addresses division within the church and calls out arrogant windbags that are fomenting that division.  To rephrase what he said, if you do not have the power of God within you, your words are empty.

These men were also appropriating authority within the church that did not belong to them.  Paul lets them know that their time is short.  He will come back, Lord willing, and they will be found out.  The way he writes this letter shows us something about spiritual authority within God’s church.  This too, we will explore.  Our focus is on 1 Corinthians 4:18-21, but we will survey the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians for context.

Come join us!

love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.8

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Good day all.  I hope you’re staying warm.  I haven’t been on top of the local news, but based on what I’m seeing in my neighborhood it seems like we may have overreacted a bit to the fearcast.  I am glad it will be on the way back up by Sunday, and I look forward to being together.

It was a small group with Priscilla unable to bring her crew.  She said Kimi is better and they are planning to be there.  Keep them in prayer.

Over the past few months we’ve talked a lot about God’s kingdom.  We’ve seen how it operates on principles completely foreign to the world.  We’ve seen how it’s citizens are to distinguish themselves.  We have gotten a glimpse into the nature of our loving, just, and all-powerful king.

There’s just one thing we haven’t really talked about.  That is what happens when we come into that kingdom.  We all know the story.  If I ask you if you’ve been born again, you probably know what I’m asking.  It’s the basic message of our faith.  But I wonder how many outside of the church, especially among the younger generations, would recognize that phrase.  Sadly, many who do understand and would answer “yes” to that question don’t really know what it means.  Research suggests that as little as 5% of the population in the U.S. actually meets the definition of a genuine Christian.

So, when we share the good news, it never hurts to have it fresh on our minds, told in various ways, giving us a variety of approaches to sharing it with others.  With that in mind, let’s look ad the familiar story from John 3:1-21.  Here Nicodemus, a Pharisee, ruler and teacher in Israel, comes to Jesus at night.  He knows by the miracles that Jesus has performed that He must be sent from God, but apparently Nicodemus wants to know more.  I am certain there was more to the conversation than John wrote down for us, but what we have is a concise and informative presentation of the truth of the gospel by Jesus Himself.  John 3:16 is probably the most well-known bible verse in the world.  And why not?  It is the essence of the message.  Let’s see what new insight we might gain as we drop in on this amazing conversation between Nicodemus and our Lord.

See you Sunday.

Love y’all,

Larry