On This Day: Jesus’ Example for Our Growing Up

   And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
   And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:49-52)

   Jesus is more than an example. Anyone who treats Jesus as only a good example is still in charge and has never submitted to him as Lord.

   However, when we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, declaring our faith in him through baptism, we receive new life in him that is characterized by following his example. 

   What hit me today is that, from the age we associate with adolescence through what the Western mind thinks of as the teen years, Jesus modeled maturing as a human being. And today, two things stood out. 

   First, I was drawn to consider what it may have been like for Jesus to mature without a sin nature. Even Adam did not experience this since he invited sin into the world early in his development. It is simply mind-boggling to consider Jesus maturing, particularly as I watch society around me settle into ever-lower expressions of immaturity! 

   Second, I couldn’t help noticing the contrast between the way the teachers “were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47) as he was “listening to them and asking them questions” (vs 46) and the way the religious elite felt about him when he was well into his ministry two decades later. As Mark described, “And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching” (Mark 11:18). The jealousy and hatred they felt towards Jesus was because of the same development in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man! 

   Jesus’ example calls us who trust in him to grow up. The pattern of church folk reaching their senior years and acting like entitled children who need to be taken care of cannot be found in God’s word. Luke just showed us Simeon and Anna devotedly serving the Lord until the day they died. Before that, we saw Zechariah and Elizabeth experiencing the work of God in old age. Running the race of faith with perseverance has no age limit, and the strongest witnesses to the life of faith ought to be the ones living it the longest! 

   Okay, I’m in my senior years, so I trust that allows me a senior-sounding rant. However, my years (decades) in both church ministry and daycare assisting have made maturity issues a big deal for me. 

   Today, I hope that Jesus’ example of maturing in body, soul, and spirit gives anyone’s dead-battery experience the jump-start you need to “not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (I Corinthians 14:20). 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: Everyone is Affected by Jesus

   “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”
   And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:29-35)

   When I read or hear professional skeptics telling me why I shouldn’t believe in Jesus, I often have a Bible passage pop into my head that tells me what God says about their blindness and hardness of heart.

   This morning, which happens to be Christmas day, I read the above passage and considered what Joseph and Mary first heard from Simeon about who and what Jesus was to both Jews and Gentiles, and then what Simeon said about how Jesus would affect people. 

   When we read that, it is easy to see how Jesus brought salvation, that the Old Testament part of the Bible describes how God prepared this salvation “in the presence of all peoples”, how Jesus’ life and ministry have become “a light for revelation” to us “Gentiles”, and how Jesus as the Christ/Messiah is the most glorious thing to come out of Israel. 

   How does that help me regarding the professional skeptics? How does that comfort me in relation to trauma I have experienced by angry Jesus-haters? How does that bring peace to my heart when the world continues to hate Jesus and his followers just as Jesus prophesied?

   Simeon’s description of how Jesus would be treated blesses me with comfort and peace because it tells me that witnessing people “fall” in relation to Jesus is just as much a fulfillment of Scripture as watching people “rise” from the deadness of their sin. Witnessing the “thoughts from many hearts” being “revealed” through people’s responses to Jesus assures me that seeing hateful, angry and deceptive hearts is just as much a fulfillment of God’s word as when I see hearts open to God’s word in “the obedience of faith”. 

   No one can escape that Jesus was “appointed” to bring God’s salvation into the world so we could clearly see who believed and who did not, who received God’s gift of eternal life and those who remained condemned in their sin. 

   I know I will never be as popular or profiteering as the professional skeptics. But “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). 

   And because I can now see, I can also see how blind and hard-hearted the professional skeptics are in their deceiving of the nations. But this is also something God’s word prophecies would be a significant work of Satan to keep people from knowing God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

   So, while I hate that it is so (that “evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” ~ II Timothy 3:13), I raise my voice to tell people the “good news of great joy” that God has given us “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). 

   If anyone hears God calling you to “rise” into the good news of salvation, please ask me or another follower of Jesus to help you come to Christ. What a Christmas Day that would be! 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When God Reveals His Heart to Children

   Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. (Luke 2:25-26)

   This Fall, my wife and I passed through the twenty-first anniversary of our family daycare. I have so many treasured memories of hearing what our Littles were thinking while they were with us, including my recent delight when a little boy asked me if I had heard of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia! 

   As I have listened to countless stories from our little ones, some of what I heard was unique to each child, and some was universal to their age and development. 

   When I come to God’s word each morning, I often feel like a little child meeting with my Father in heaven. I have a sense that when I tell him how I am doing it is somewhat unique in the details, but also consistent with what we are all like at our various stages of maturing. 

   I also know that when I listen to Father speak to me through his word, I must differentiate between something that was unique to the person(s) involved in a scenario and the lessons that are universal for all God’s children. 

   As I pondered this in relation to Simeon, there was no doubt what was unique about his encounter with Jesus. No one else had the exact same opportunity to welcome the Christ and declare such personal praise to God. 

   However, I could also see what was applicable to me, partly in what Simeon expressed about Jesus that applies to all who believe in him, and partly in realizing that the unique way the Spirit revealed God’s will to Simeon illustrates the universal way God reveals his will to all his children. 

   I am exceptionally cautious when people tell me God spoke to them outside of Scripture. So many of these “God spoke to me” testimonies contradict what God has already told us in his word! 

   But the multitude of counterfeits do nothing to erase the fact that God still reveals the truth about Jesus to little children like me. From my first awareness of God at seven years old, to understanding the gospel at 12 and receiving Christ, to spending over 30 years living the “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” lifestyle,  I have no claim to knowing God except that it has delighted the Father to make Jesus known to me. 

   What God ministered to my heart for others is to be relentless about laying my prayers on the throne of grace that God will speak into their lives so they can hear him. What I see God has done for people like Simeon, and what I have seen him do for a child like me, makes me long for people like you to know what God is teaching you from his word each day. 

   And, when you know you are getting to know God through his word, would you join me in praying for others to experience how “faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ”, the scriptures we now have in the Bible? The next best thing to knowing Jesus Christ for ourselves is when we witness him bringing someone else to know him as well. 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: In the Peace of God's Pleasure

   And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
   “Glory to God in the highest,
       and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14)

   Two things I have mostly seen in distorted forms are peace and pleasure. Peace is usually superficial peace-keeping, while pleasure is often sinful self-centered (sexual) indulgence.

   Because peace is so central to Jesus coming into the world, it is no wonder that Satan wants to give the wrong impression. God will never give his peace to a world that loves darkness because its deeds are evil.

   Instead, Jesus came to bring “good news of great joy” to the earth because “a Savior” had been born, “who is Christ the Lord”. And it is in this good news of salvation that people come to have peace with God even while we are still here on earth.

   Decades after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, Paul wrote, 

   Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).   

   This is what distinguishes the ones in whom God delights from those who “loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Our “peace with God’ is not only “through our Lord Jesus Christ”, but it is through being “justified by faith”. The temple curtain was torn in two at Jesus’ death to show that we now have “access by faith” into the most holy place of God’s presence, but only by the grace of God.

   Note also that the “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” is our response to the angels’ “Glory to God in the highest”. God’s glory is the reason we have so great a salvation. God’s work is to the measure of what gives him glory. It is to the glory of God in the highest that his Son would come into the world for the purpose of laying down his life as the sacrifice for sin so we would be justified by grace through faith and rejoice in hope (the confident expection of future glory) of the glory of God. We see God’s glory in giving us so great a salvation, and we look forward to the glory we will experience with him when Jesus returns and we see him as he is (see I John 3:1-3). 

   As we live in such a peace-destroying time, it is fitting that we who are God’s beloved children ought to bless one another as exemplified by the apostles, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13). 

   Joy and hope are central to what we call the Christmas Story. Jesus’ birth was announced as “good news of great joy”. Jesus came into the world as the “Prince of Peace”, not because he would bring peace to the world, but that he would bring sinners into the kingdom of God where they would experience peace with his Father.

   The thing for each of us is that, when Jesus shines light on our sinful condition, does it drive us to run for darkness because we prefer our sinful indulgences, or does it call us to run into the light to be washed clean of sin so we can live in the righteousness of faith and experience peace with God our Creator? 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: Turning the Spotlight from Us to Him

   When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
   And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:15-21)

   Sometimes, it is good to slow down in our journey through Scripture and imagine the various components of what was taking place. In this journey through Luke’s gospel, it stands out to me that Luke had talked to a lot of people to collect the details of what he wrote into his account. 

   Since we do not hear of Joseph during the time of Jesus’ public ministry, it is likely that he had already passed away by that time. We do know that Mary was still alive and well when the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and growing phenomenally through the proclamation of the gospel. 

   This means that what I am reading in the early chapters of Luke’s gospel account would likely have involved some direct interaction between Luke and Mary, or at least between Luke and people who had heard from Mary about the events. 

   But what really stood out is that Mary is one more example of how God turns the spotlight away from the role someone played in his work so that we will not fall into the trap of idolizing a person. We do not have enough info about Mary to build a monument at a specific location or claim to have some object involved in her role that would tempt people to see how much money they can make from selling it, or paying admission to see it! 

   It is rather glaring that God mostly leads his servants off into glory with no parade that would give us the wrong impression. The spotlight keeps turning from the ones who joined God in his work to the work God is doing to seek and save the lost. Even Mary, the woman through whom God gave his Son to the world, was to be known as a disciple of Jesus Christ just like anyone else who received him. 

   The encouragement to me today is to point people to Christ and carry on. Tell someone about Jesus, and then carry on. Give a cup of cold water to someone in Jesus’ name, and then carry on. Rejoice in every opportunity God gives us to join him in his work, and then carry on with whatever he gives us to do next. 

   The fact is that God’s work of seeking and saving the lost continues. No one’s place in this work is inferior or superior to others, and the more we live out our unique place in God’s work, the more people will hear about Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior of the world. So we carry on turning the spotlight on Jesus, and rejoicing that he is still saving people like ourselves. 

   Oh, and one day, I will get to ask Luke and Mary all the questions that are unanswered in this earthly journey. That is, if I will even care once I am with them in the presence of God’s fullness of joy!

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: God’s Blessings for Us in His Blessing of Others

   And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:35-38)

   First, the word “story” means an accounting of events. It used to mostly refer to non-fictional experiences. People would tell their stories, recounting things that happened to them. It seems that things have changed so that now people think a story is fictional unless otherwise clarified. With that in mind, I clarify that the Christmas “story” means the recounting of the events that brought the Christ into the world. True story.

   Second, by the very nature of our creation in the image and likeness of God, we are all involved in God’s world uniquely. There is no other us. Our birth parents are only one father and one mother. Even if our parents had other children, none of them are us, and none of us is them. 

   I emphasize this because of the way we need to receive from others. It’s designed into us. It begins before we are born. Our development to maturity is largely conditioned by what people invest in our lives. Parents who nurture loving attachment to their children affect their children with positive development. Parents who traumatize their children through either neglect or abuse affect their children negatively. In this there are kazillions of stories that are unique unto themselves, but also universal in the fact that we are all affected by others. 

   Third, the most universal experience of being affected positively by others is the salvation story of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. One scene after another shows how God has blessed us today through the way he blessed others in the past. Elizabeth and Mary are the two people front and center in Luke chapter 1. Next, we will see shepherds invited to witness the birth of the Christ as a newborn baby. Matthew will add how the Magi are included as the first Gentiles to meet the Christ as a little boy. All these people who were blessed with joining God’s work back then are blessing us today with our attachment to the same Savior they welcomed into the world.

   We could go back even further than this to the blessing given to the prophets to be told of the things that would come. We can look forward from the ones who welcomed Jesus as the Christ child to those who welcomed him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). We can even go through the history that followed the completed scriptures to men and women whose blessed participation in the work of God has blessed so many others to run the race of faith with perseverance.

   Today, what matters the most, is how you and I personally connect to the way God has blessed others to participate in his work so that we are invited into his work in some unique way that only we can join. Even two people joining God’s work at the exact same time will be blessed by the testimony of others in unique ways and will be gifted to serve others uniquely as well. 

   The bottom line is that all of us are either blessed or cursed based on how we respond to the Christ. So, if you are reading this far, please consider how many people God has blessed with some participation in his work so that you could be invited to join God in his work today in the most unique expression of God’s blessing towards you.

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When Bart Ehrman Meets Dr. Luke

   Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4)

   I share today with a heart full of joy that God has made his word so clear that Jesus’ sheep are still hearing his voice and following him where he leads. 

   One of the things I love to share about continuing to have a daily time with God in his word and prayer is that each time we read through the Scriptures we are in a different place from the last time. Even one day to the next can change our circumstances so that something stands out that applies precisely to what we are facing.

   This was the case as I began meditating my way through the gospel of Luke yesterday morning. To then find that Bart Ehrman’s take on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is making him money that Dr. Luke would never have asked for telling the truth is, well… glaring!!!

   One of the devil’s greatest ploys is that of distraction. If he can tantalize people with his words to Eve, “Did God actually say…?”, and then tell them a different story without any evidence, the darkness wraps its cold arms around those troubled souls and presents assurances that only sound true because the truth is now out of the picture. 

   On the other hand, when I read that opening sentence of Luke’s gospel account, I picture how much the “good news of great joy” about “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” was being proclaimed throughout the world, just as described in Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts.  

   So, when I picture Dr. Ehrman meeting Dr. Luke, I see Ehrman’s “no evidence” standing alongside Luke who had no problems writing “an orderly account” at the same time as eyewitnesses were proclaiming what they had seen and heard! That is an astounding contrast. 

   When I realized what Jesus meant when he said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27), I accepted that I have one overriding purpose in the world, to share the word of God with people so that Jesus’ sheep can hear his voice. 

   And, because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), we must “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16), so we are living “by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). 

   The fact is that no multitude of people who did not see something can nullify the testimony of the few who did. I once witnessed something and gave such a clear description of what I saw that the perpetrator fessed up and took a lesser sentence because my testimony was so detailed and accurate. It didn’t matter how many people didn’t see what I saw, I knew what I saw, and it was accepted as such. 

   We know that Dr. Ehrman does not see anything of “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Corinthians 4:6). But we know the apostles could testify, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Luke had heard these things from many such eyewitnesses, and he was simply going to compile an account that was so detailed that even today we can be certain of what we believe because our faith hears Jesus’ voice.

   And when we hear the voice of our Creator, Savior, and Lord, what else would we want to do in such a dark world than to follow him where he leads?! 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When Love Requires a Rebuke

   Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
   After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
   Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:9-16)

   Central to my faith is this fact of God’s word, the Bible: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). 

   I believe in a personal God who personally speaks to his children through his “living and active” word by the personal presence of his Holy Spirit personally teaching us all things and personally reminding us of things we have already been taught from the scriptures.  

   Therefore, no matter whether the Holy Spirit is speaking God’s word to me by teaching me what I need to know, or rebuking/reproving me for what I am doing wrong, or correcting something I am doing into the right way, or coaching me through the training in righteousness that has its good days and bad, it is all “God is love” loving this beloved child. Always.  

   So, when I read about Jesus rebuking the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart, I first cringed-in-faith that I best get my comeuppance and find out how this applied to me. And then I found a strange turn of the spotlight as it drew attention to people whose unbelief and hardness of heart have done me wrong. Comforted after my comeuppance. I like that. 

   I feel like God has served me notice in a way, like he has said, “Monte, listen up and watch for this.” So I am going into this day, not so much like this is a settled issue, but that I must watch for things I may be struggling with out of an unbelieving hardness of heart, and I must watch for things others may be struggling with because they refuse to believe due to a hardening of their hearts.

   Either way, “God is love” will be doing for me and them what is best, and the rebuke to the eleven has served me notice that God wants me watchful that my faith is strengthened by his word, that I walk in “the obedience of faith” in everything, and I encourage others to join me in living “by every word that comes from the mouth of God”, even when the way it shows up in my life seems almost… well… UNBELIEVABLE!!! 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: The Evidence is in the Details

   There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

   And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Mark 15:40-43 + context!)

   I learned from a young age to listen for details. Why did one parent believe in Jesus and the other angrily oppose any such belief? And in the listening, I realized that the details were constantly in favor of the good news of the kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord.

   There are two ways I “read” God’s word and try to answer my three questions (What is God saying? What is God doing? How do I join him in his work?). The primary way is to meet with God first thing in the morning to hear what’s on his heart for me as I meditate on shorter sections of his word. The second way is to listen to the Bible as I’m doing my morning exercises (sporadic as they have been as of late). 

   Together, the “magnifying glass” of the first and the “step out onto the viewpoint” of the second mesmerize me with details. No matter how much I zoom in to a text to find out what words mean, or no matter how much I step back to take in the biggest view possible, everything is detailed.

   In fact, the details tell me that the author of the whole Bible had to be God and that he has delighted to make his word so intricately detailed that even the first and last books of the Bible, separated by fifteen centuries in their writing, contain facts that harmonize in the most beautiful symphony of truth.

   I’m not sharing this to change the minds of those who hide their sin behind a feigned skepticism. Rather, for those who will humble themselves enough to check out if what I am saying is true, even the chapters of Mark 14-15 give ample evidence of what I am sharing.

   Go ahead and test this out. As you read those chapters, write down every detail that is given that could be tested by anyone who read Mark’s gospel account. Now let yourself receive the testimony of those verifiable people and places and ask if you would have included so many details if you were trying to pull of a con. 

   The verifiable nature of the four gospel accounts is why John could end his record with, 

   Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31). 

   Jesus did what he came to do. The testimonies of his life, death, and resurrection are written in four gospel accounts. The details are there so we can know how to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in genuine repentance and faith. And I am one more voice that has tested everything and found myself on an inescapable journey to believing in Jesus Christ as Lord so that I now have life in his name. 

   It’s just that I can’t keep the good news to myself, so I hope you will look at this with an open heart and join me and others as the his-story continues to lead us home.

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: Influencers and Their Influencees

   And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. (Mark 15:1-5)

   We all could tell stories of how people have influenced us for good or ill. We also have testimonies of how we have helped or hindered others. And there is even more influencing going on than we could ever identify! 

   Today’s point is Jesus’ example of steadfast devotion to the divine will. Part of us growing to be like our Savior is learning to be more attached to him than anyone or anything else. 

   One thing that has helped me over the years has been learning to be honest about self-protection. Whatever we learned to do in our younger years to protect ourselves from being hurt (as much as we were capable of doing so) was customized by whoever was influencing us. The influences were real, and the Influencers were far too effective. 

   However, where each of us is today is now ours to influence. All of us are invited to bring our sins, our wounds, our brokenness to God who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up our wounds”. It doesn’t matter how much hurt anyone has caused us, or how much regret we feel about how we have handled life as a result, today we can come to God in full submission. We don’t even need to know all the details of what is messed up inside us to come to Jesus and rely on him as our ultimate Influencer. 

   I have noticed over the years that the world loves its heroes who know what they are doing and don’t care what anyone else thinks. These characters all seem to have glaring character flaws, but they are adored for always knowing what they are doing and doing what they know with unshakable confidence.

   That kind of confidence has eluded me most of my life because my self-protection revolved around people-pleasing. Play it safe. Figure out what people want and set the stage for success. And that kind of constantly reading the crowd, so to speak, means that the strongest Influencers are the ones who can hurt us the most.

   And then I see Jesus in the midst of crowds that are intent on doing him harm and he can’t be influenced. He can be hurt, but not dissuaded in any way from doing his Father’s will. He can be betrayed, disowned, and denied without ever questioning what he was doing and why people were treating him so unlovingly. 

   Today I am welcoming the influence of Jesus’ example. But more than that, I am welcoming the influence of his presence. He is with me in his Holy Spirit. He has a will about everything in my life. His will is going to clash with the will of the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

   But here’s the thing: because Jesus did the will of the Father even when no one was with him in that will, and so many were directly opposing him, we now have the salvation that brings me more under Jesus’ influence than anything ever could. And I know that he will be influencing me in every encounter, every opportunity, every thought and feeling, so that I can walk in “the obedience of faith” no matter what anyone else chooses to do. 

   And I am assured that this will have a good influence on everyone I meet whether anyone sees it or not.

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: The Arrest that Leads to the Rest

   And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled. (Mark 14:43-50)

   Because I love to encourage a love of the Bible as God’s word, seeing how often Jesus himself refers to the Scriptures as the word of God is always of special interest. Added to this is the time I spent this year testing a book that claimed the scriptures weren’t Christlike enough. To see Jesus constantly and only affirm scripture without once correcting anything that was written puts those false teachers to shame for placing their words above his. 

   When we keep these two things together, that Jesus IS the Word, and he always treated Scripture as the word of God, we can look at the way he said things, view them through the words breathed out by God into Scripture’s record about him, and let ourselves feel the childlike wonder of the Master’s revelation of truth in love. 

   In this case, Jesus spoke what he wanted in everyone’s minds. Their evil deed would fulfill the Scriptures and lead to our salvation, but identifying their cowardice in coming for him at night, and away from the people, must be in their minds for down the road.

   One Scripture I see fulfilled so many times in God’s word is this: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). This is often fulfilled in seeing the way God expresses his kindness to lead people to repentance. However, it is also seen in the way people presume on this work of God thinking that his kindness means he is okay with their sin! 

   Now, how does the very next line express both sides of this? Consider, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). 

   This expresses God’s kindness aiming to bring people to repentance by telling them the truth in love about what is happening when we presume on God’s kindness and keep sinning. It isn’t a message that God’s kindness means he is okay with our sin. It’s a message that when we respond to God’s kindness with self-justification instead of repentance we are storing up judgment against ourselves. God’s kindness is telling us this because he wants us to repent so he can forgive us. 

   This also shows the truth about what is going on when people presume on God’s kindness. It describes God’s view of the people who came to arrest Jesus, but with Jesus detailing their sin so that after his death and resurrection some of these men would realize what they had done and benefit from what Jesus did for them through his death on the cross.

   My main point is to put the spotlight on the way Jesus put the spotlight on Scripture. If anyone will receive his will that we live “by every word that comes from the mouth of God”, we will “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly” so we know how to live out our place in the body of Christ for God’s glory and the good of everyone in our lives. 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: The Rest of Doing What We Can

   And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:3-9)

   I often find myself feeling the need to clarify. A big reason for this is that misunderstandings are the biggest problem in communication! 

   An example of good clarifying is when Paul was teaching that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. He immediately interjected a potential misuse of this teaching, the claim that we should sin more to get more grace. His response was, “By no means!” (Romans 6:2), and then he explained the extreme to avoid to stay true to the plumbline.

   As I was processing my own thoughts for today’s post, I kept hearing ways that people could misuse this beautiful picture of the woman’s worship of Jesus. Someone could say that, if Jesus approves of us doing what we can, I will decide what I can do and nothing more. 

   Someone else might interject that this woman’s expression of worship was so unique that no one else even recognized it, so we are free to express our worship no matter how uniquely we desire, and no one needs to agree with what we’re doing.

   The fact is that these two extremes are a huge hindrance to what Jesus called worshiping God “in spirit and in truth”. People who contain their worship in a box of preferences that even God can’t question are just self-centered. People who promote the anything-goes expressions of worship are… well… just self-centered! 

   We don’t know how this woman was moved to pour her perfume on Jesus. We only know that it was hers to use for God’s glory, she felt led to pour it on Jesus in worship, her focus was him and not anyone else, she was not doing anything out of character with Jesus or his word, and she knew him well enough to feel confident to worship him in that way. 

   It is interesting to me that it was the Samaritan woman of John 4 who gave us the encounter with Jesus where he taught about worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and it was this woman in Mark 14 who showed us what that looked like for her on the night before Jesus’ death. 

   And the fact that his disciples on both occasions had no clue what was going on is a good reprimand to humble ourselves and make sure we have the mind of Christ when we look at what others feel led to do in worship, and in serving the body of Christ in love. 

   No, I don’t expect to set everyone straight on what pure worship looks like. After all, it is in spirit, so I can’t assess whether someone is or is not attaching to God spiritually when they worship. And it is in truth, but part of that truth is that each of us is gifted differently, so how can I know that someone isn’t truly worshiping just because it’s different from me? Plus, Jesus promised there would be all kinds of false teachers, false signs and wonders, false disciples, false everything, so how could we possibly think we will stop deception from happening?!

   Instead, I share what is mine to share in the hope that someone will hear what they need to hear so that the “few” will be encouraged to bless others with whatever is ours to do. 

   Ultimately, we will give account to Jesus, so it’s up to us to be sure we are living “in the obedience of faith”, especially in what we claim to be doing to Jesus and his body, the church.

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: A Bad Day to Stay Awake

   “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (Mark 13:32-37)

   If we get nothing else from Jesus’ words, it should be that we strive to stay awake even if we aren’t positive what he meant. We must stay awake to him and his words to learn to stay awake in these evil days.

   A parallel picture to staying awake is to stay attached. Falling asleep is to be distracted, even deceived. Staying awake is to “remain” or “abide” in Jesus as branches of the vine. 

   In other words, staying awake is relational. Instead of following people who would lead us astray, we keep our eyes on Jesus and follow him where he leads.

   One aspect of this is to focus on him and what he is teaching us each day. It stands out to me that Jesus would often respond to disciples and critics alike by taking challenges and questions in directions the presenter could not have expected. When we demand that the Holy Spirit answer our questions the way we ask them, we are detaching from the true relational dynamic of the kingdom, that it is Jesus who is head of his church, and when he heads off into some teaching we hadn’t even thought of (from his word, that is), he is doing exactly what needs to be done.

   For a few decades, I have summarized spending time with God using three questions:

1. What is God saying to me in his word this morning?
2. What work is God doing in me or around me?
3. What must I do to join God in his work by putting his word into practice?

While some of this unfolds as the day or days progress, it is a way to maintain attachment to God with living faith in God’s “living and active” word. 

   Since finding ourselves in home church ministry more than two decades ago, I have had opportunity over the years to recognize a pattern. When people have their daily time with God in his word and prayer, identifying what God is saying to them with the intention of putting it into practice, they have a way of life I would call “staying awake”. When the same people hit something in their inner selves they do not want to bring to God, they stop listening to his word and get lulled back into the fast-asleep experience of me-centered churchianity. 

   We can only stay awake by listening to what the Spirit is saying to the churches every day and putting it into practice in “the obedience of faith”. Jesus makes clear what kinds of things we should not focus on because they don’t fit his work. He also shows the kinds of things we ought to be doing to serve him until his return. We may have good days and bad days of putting his word, will, and work into practice, but we must “stay awake” in the Spirit no matter what. 

   Oh, and that does include getting a good night’s sleep (if possible) and taking naps as required (even Jesus did that!). 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When Jesus Leaves the Temple

   And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)

   It is one of the worst things ever when God leaves people who don’t want him. They become quite boisterous in their celebration that they have conquered him when the fact is that he just left. He’s not even in the room. 

   Today was another “big picture” day as I saw the scene that was Jesus’ last expression of public ministry. The concluding display of his teaching work was to shame all the religious elite who tried to expose him as a false Messiah. Instead, he exposed them as false teachers and hypocritical leaders. 

   The whole experience concludes with, “And as he came out of the temple…” (Mark 13:1) leading to Jesus pronouncing judgment on Jerusalem and its temple worship. 

   One thing that stood out as I travelled through this account was Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman sometime earlier, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). Jesus exposing the religious elite and then commending the poor widow certainly showed his knowledge of who was worshiping from hypocrisy, and who was worshiping from the heart.

   In what appears to be a Western mindset about sharing the gospel, the focus tends to be isolated to the individual. What is usually shared goes no further than enticing a lost person to see the personal relationship they could have with God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

   However, what is so often missing is telling people that when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we become one of his people. God has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). This is possible because Jesus experienced the cross shortly after his last visit to the temple.

   But what so many church folk don’t seem to realize is that the church is now God’s temple. Some are familiar with “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20), but don’t realize that there is another temple reality that applies to us corporately, or together with the rest of Jesus’ brothers. Paul explains it like this, 

   So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

   Jesus walked out of the temple in Jerusalem one day and has never been back. Instead, he has made us who have received him “INTO a holy temple” in himself. And from there, he still knows who are the true worshipers who are worshiping God in spirit and in truth.

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

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