What would Jesus tweet?
Its funny how when you read the Bible for a lot of years things can get well.....ho hum. I'm just being real. I get a little suspect of people who blast out on their twitter posts every single day about the "life changing" stuff they heard. But today I found something to tweet about and it might not be what you think. In fact twitter is a very odd thing for me to get a handle on. I know its a great way to get information out. Its also a great way to let everyone know what you had for breakfast or when you are out of toilet paper. But in the world of Christendom it seems to me that twitter has become sort of a bragging board or a lodge pole to hang "spiritual" scalps on. People tweet about the latest conference or church service or the vast number of souls that were saved at an event. There seems every day to be a never ending litany of the next biggest thing out there. Please don't get me wrong, I believe that we need to hear about the successes of the different parts of the church. I rejoice when I hear that people have come to faith.
But (I know when you use the word but you just negated everything that was previously said...but I'm using it anyway)
But...as I was reading in the gospel of Luke this morning and came across a passage that I of course had read before. In seminary they make you read all of it! But sometimes even familiar passages reveal new insights. In this passage Jesus had just sent out 70 workers 2 by 2. A little pre-mission training if you will. Those boys came back to Jesus whoopin and hollerin, "Hey Jesus, when we used your name all this crazy stuff happened." If they had Twitter accounts it would have been trending hard. Maybe it would have digitally read: @Peter_TheRock 10 demons cast out in a village today...the name Jesus rocks the underworld! or maybe @Ipaylesstax_Matthew sickness, disease, palsy all vanish at the name of Jesus!
Those guys were so fired up and The Message even states it like this, "Master, even the demons danced to your tune!"
Check out what Jesus said back to them. "All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”
In one translation He says, "rejoice in the fact that your names are written in heaven"
I think we do alot more rejoicing over what we do than over the fact that we are kids of the Father. Its just our natural tendency to compare ourselves with others. The twitter world is no different. In fact I read some twitter posts now and again and get mad or envious. How how awful is that? Again, just being real.
I have to fight the urge to rejoice in my own accomplishmnets in the name of Jesus and embrace the fact that I named with Jesus.
And the really cool part of the passage? Well immediately after Jesus tells them to rejoice more about who they are than what they did the Scripture says, "At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. “I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way."
Notice it says that Jesus rejoiced exuberant, or exceedingly rejoiced! Its the closest I can find anywhere in the Bible where it even comes close to telling us that Jesus laughed. But, in my own experience with God, in my own life I find it hard to imagine a Jesus who doesn't laugh. And what was it that made Jesus laugh?
It was the Truth and the Spirit, Spirit and Truth. The Truth is that its not what we do that makes Jesus roar with joy. The Truth is that we are His and that makes Him a joy filled God. The Spirit as well filled Him with this revelation and brought the joy of knowing the Truth.
Now that is something to tweet!
Don't forget that today, no matter how many people you lead to Jesus today, that is secondary to the fact that you my friend are written in the book of life. If you have trusted Him, you are named with Him and you are righteous.
So put that in your browser and tweet it!
But (I know when you use the word but you just negated everything that was previously said...but I'm using it anyway)
But...as I was reading in the gospel of Luke this morning and came across a passage that I of course had read before. In seminary they make you read all of it! But sometimes even familiar passages reveal new insights. In this passage Jesus had just sent out 70 workers 2 by 2. A little pre-mission training if you will. Those boys came back to Jesus whoopin and hollerin, "Hey Jesus, when we used your name all this crazy stuff happened." If they had Twitter accounts it would have been trending hard. Maybe it would have digitally read: @Peter_TheRock 10 demons cast out in a village today...the name Jesus rocks the underworld! or maybe @Ipaylesstax_Matthew sickness, disease, palsy all vanish at the name of Jesus!
Those guys were so fired up and The Message even states it like this, "Master, even the demons danced to your tune!"
Check out what Jesus said back to them. "All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”
In one translation He says, "rejoice in the fact that your names are written in heaven"
I think we do alot more rejoicing over what we do than over the fact that we are kids of the Father. Its just our natural tendency to compare ourselves with others. The twitter world is no different. In fact I read some twitter posts now and again and get mad or envious. How how awful is that? Again, just being real.
I have to fight the urge to rejoice in my own accomplishmnets in the name of Jesus and embrace the fact that I named with Jesus.
And the really cool part of the passage? Well immediately after Jesus tells them to rejoice more about who they are than what they did the Scripture says, "At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. “I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way."
Notice it says that Jesus rejoiced exuberant, or exceedingly rejoiced! Its the closest I can find anywhere in the Bible where it even comes close to telling us that Jesus laughed. But, in my own experience with God, in my own life I find it hard to imagine a Jesus who doesn't laugh. And what was it that made Jesus laugh?
It was the Truth and the Spirit, Spirit and Truth. The Truth is that its not what we do that makes Jesus roar with joy. The Truth is that we are His and that makes Him a joy filled God. The Spirit as well filled Him with this revelation and brought the joy of knowing the Truth.
Now that is something to tweet!
So put that in your browser and tweet it!
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