Walking with the Way

I find that one of the biggest challenges, only posting once a week, is deciding what juicy morsel to talk about!!  This week was no exception.  I am looking back at my notes for the week thinking, there was a lot of good stuff! (I hope you take notes too!  Then you can share with me your tasty morsels!)

I am going to comment on the first chapter of this week...

Have you ever heard someone say, "My Christianity is private.  I'm not one who likes to talk about it with others."?  I have heard those exact words!  As a matter of fact, the friend I had in high school that held that view, has since, walked away from his faith!  😱 Who does that?!

I am going to show my black and white self here by going as far to say, no one with true faith in Christ keeps their faith hidden. It's impossible!  Even people in "hiding" in foreign countries show their faith, just not open to government officials, unless it's necessary...

Anyway, I think Jesus illustrated the poi…

I enjoyed the reading this week and found myself looking at old posts to see what stood out to me in past readings.  I was going to comment on something new, but I feel one post was such a good reminder for me, especially since I still have a little guy to raise to be a godly man.
So, I thought I would share the thoughts again.

When Gabriel is telling Zach that he will have a son and what that son would do, he says, "And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people." (1:17)

I had to re-read that verse to try to understand "turn the hearts of fathers to their children."  My footnote helped me,  "John's message would include the straightforward admonition to families to restore godly leadership in the home.  He would call fathers to turn to their children with love and compassion, persuading their off…

I have always read the parable about the tenants killing the son of the owner as an allegory to the Jewish people killing Jesus, the son of God. (Mark 12). This time through, however, I was struck by the odd logic of those tenants Jesus was describing in his parable.  This was an angle to the parable that I never really thought much about before.  Why on earth would the tenants think that if they killed the son, they would get the inheritance?(12:7).
If I was listening to Jesus, first hand, I might have wanted to interrupt him to ask.  If you know me, you are probably nodding in agreement saying, "You might ask?  No, you would ask!"
Well, clearly, Jesus understands human behavior and our messed up logic we are capable of coming up with.  Could he also have been throwing that tid bit of info into the story to add another layer to the teaching moment?

As I pondered the odd logic of the tenants....I thought....aren't they just like all of us?  When we want to do something…

So, there is a verse that I think I have used in the past to justify or excuse myself from having to share the Good News with close family members.
Jesus himself said, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” (6:4)  There you go! Why bother with them? Let someone else do the work there. I’ll go to complete strangers!!
🤔
Well....in actuality, Jesus isn’t saying we aren’t to share the Good News with family members, he’s just saying, it’s not going to be easy.
This became clear to me, reading this time through, when I noticed that just one chapter prior to Jesus saying you won’t get “honor”, he tells the man he delivered from demons, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (5:19)

What a good lesson, for me, on how to share my “testimony”. Sharing a testimony shouldn’t be scary, after all, it’s my story that no one can debate.
People can debate science, philosophy, or…