Mark 2:13-17 Follow Me

“13He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14£And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16And the scribes of£ the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat£ with tax collectors and sinners?” 17And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”–Mark 2:13-17

Verse 14 used to really bother me. A lot. “Follow me.” Jesus says to Levi…and he does. Right then. He gets up, leaves his tax box, and follows Jesus. There’s no, “Well I’ll pray about it” or “Let me think about this” or “I don’t know if I’m going to have time.” Levi just follows. Why is it we cannot do that too in our own lives from day to day?

I think the reason is that we think God’s Word is like a blog he stops by periodically and updates. It’s as if we believe he drops additional comments into our laps from on high, little tidbits and personal directions falling from the sky on little parachutes. 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17—look it up. My oldest memorized it in about five minutes and has been reciting it all week. I think you can probably do better. It’s the Word of God that makes the man of God complete, not further revelation.

Now I know, we’re talking about Jesus here. When he calls, we go. But isn’t that what’s supposed to happen today? Isn’t the Great Commission a mandate to ‘go and make disciples’? Whatever that entails I think we should be about it.

We should also leave those folks alone who are actually doing it. Not only should we not mess with them, we should lift them up in prayer and with our support as well.

Snatched from the Fire

“17But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22And have mercy on those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”–Jude 1:17-23

The Anti-Founders University

Or thats what it sounds like to me.

Extreme Sci-Fi Geek

I found this courtesy of Dan Phillips Biblical Christianity Blog. It was a fun SF quiz based on sounds from movies. I blew two 1950ish classics and scored:

Your Score : 85 credits
You’re an extreme sci-fi geek! You’re probably wearing your very own homemade TRON costume right now!




	I received 85 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quiz

I’ve never made a TRON costume but when I found the 20th anniversary re-release I bought it AND watched it.

Quote of the Day

“I don’t want to bring the American church here,” a pastor from the United States said, expressing concern about bringing the Western version of Christianity to China. “The Jesus I experience here, I want to bring to America.”

Hear that American church? Wake up. Here’s the thing that gets me about this. These people don’t have to worry about being ‘missional’. They don’t have to worry about getting tossed out of their church because of their theology or because the deacons are ticked off. They live, they worship, people come to know Christ.

Does anyone really care?

This one left me speechless.