Posts of Shorts with Art
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Short Messages/Tracts
KITCHEN CRUSADES
Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” (Luke 10)
True, Martha was distracted.
If she only knew how lucky she was!
All she had to do was come up with lunch.
Today we’re the ones in the kitchen, while Jesus is in the living room with Mary.
But we’re not just making lunch.
We’re trying to figure out who likes or dislikes our causes, who is being misled, who supports or opposes our favored candidate, what to do about deviants, protesters, twisted beliefs, and misled Christians.
And we’re being persecuted. They call us racists and bigots and all kinds of unsavory names.
There’s so much more to worry about now than in Martha’s day!
The only place we feel safe is in this kitchen with other believers who know the scriptures.
But when we complain to Jesus he tells us the same thing he told Martha!
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Mary has chosen the good portion?
What is the “good portion”?
What is the “one thing needful”?
The one thing needful is the thing Jesus always focuses on:
The kingdom of God.
Jesus is undistracted by Martha or Herod or Pilate of Caesar or the Pharisees or Democrats or Republicans.
Jesus seeks to please only his Father.
He keeps it simple.
He never wastes a word.
The kingdom is his only focus.
That’s where Mary was.
Mary had found the treasure, the one thing needful.
She was destined to bear fruit that all the righteous fuming of the distracted will never produce.
Five minutes actually paying attention to the Master…
… accomplishes more than a thousand kitchen-generated Christian Crusades.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he/she who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7)
Prayer: Lord, help us to choose the good portion, keeping our hearts, minds, and eyes focused on you and your Kingdom. Help us to leave our kitchen crusades with our self-righteous fuming. Help us to stop being anxious and troubled about all these things we disagree with or are alarmed by. Help us to see the attitudes and mindsets that keep us fuming in the kitchen, distracted from sitting at your feet and doing the Father’s will. Oh, bring us again to the one needful thing. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber September 2021 aka Marta Was Lucky Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Diego Velázquez 1559-1660 Website: N/A
#ChristianCrusades #Martha #TheGoodPortion #DiegoVelázquez
WHO ARE YOU REALLY FOLLOWING?
You say you’re a follower of Jesus.
You’re working for the Lord.
You’re fighting his battles.
With guns?
With threats?
With anger and malice?
Wait a minute!
When’s the last time you actually checked in with Jesus?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5)
Jesus does not need us to fight his battles.
He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
The Lord is at your right hand;
He will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth… (Psalm 110)
Jesus is simply waiting for us to follow him.
All the way to a cross!
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9)
Prayer: Lord, help us to stop fighting battles you never called us to fight. May we be appalled and alarmed by the call to join battles that are spurred by the Deceiver, the Serpent… whose true objective is to strike at your feet because their words, their calls are underpinned with anger, malice, intimidation, vengeance, threats, retaliation. Open our eyes to see the serpent behind their leading. Oh Lord, help us to refuse to follow any leader, any movement, any call to hurt others and take up the sword…turning our backs on all that you have taught us. Lord help us continue moving in, breathing in, and pouring out your mercy for the lost… even if it means we are shunned and scorned by the so-called Christian majority who aren’t really willing to follow you wherever you go, who’ve let go of the plow to pick up the sword. Keep our hand from slipping from the plow and help us to lovingly, willingly embrace your upside down kingdom of peacemaking, of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of mercy, of love for our enemies…Keep us embracing your beautiful, beloved cross. Keep us fit for true service to your kingdom. Keep us following you. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber October 2020 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Art: Ramone Romero Website: Weeping Jeremiah’s
#DontTreadOnMeIsAntiChrist #BlessedAreThePeacemakers #PutDownYourGuns #Don’tExchangeThePlowForASword #RamoneRomero
IS IT SAFE IN OUR HANDS?
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20)
The authority to free a living soul from the power of sin.
“In the name of Jesus, your sins are forgiven.”
The authority to tell a living soul that their sins are still there.
“Your sins are holding you under the judgment of God.”
This authority was given to ordinary men.
They were not Levites.
They were not priests.
They were fishermen and tax collectors and ex-revolutionaries.
By the power of the Spirit these men were sent to free captives and to warn the arrogant that they were under the judgment of God.
They spread the fire of God across the earth.
They shook the foundations of the human race.
The fruit of their work continues as we read these words.
“Receive the Holy Spirit.”
The Spirit of God in these men kept them humble like their Master.
The Spirit of God in these men gave them power—God’s power, to speak with the authority of heaven.
By the gracious humility and the mysterious power of the Spirit, these men forgave sin.
“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.”
They also spoke warnings of judgment to those who turned their backs on God’s grace.
“If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
The same risen Lord who breathed on those men, empowered them, and sent them out,
…is now speaking to us.
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.
Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven;
If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But here’s the question we need to ask ourselves before the Lord:
Is such power safe in our hands?
If we forgive sins in Jesus’ name, are we ourselves walking in forgiveness?
If we warn the obstinate that their sins are retained, are we doing it in fear and trembling before God?
We did not choose to be heralds of forgiveness or prophets of judgment.
We did not even choose Jesus.
He chose us.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.” (John 15)
One thing we know:
Only the authority of heaven is able to break through the hard crust of cynicism and despair that grips human hearts in these waning days.
Authority to free souls that are captive to sin.
Authority to arrest the attention of the arrogant.
Is the authority of heaven safe in our hands?
If it is, we will set the captives free from the power of sin.
And when we shake the dust from our feet, the act will be more than a ritual.
God will confirm the words we speak with unmistakable power.
And people will know that the kingdom of God has come near.
Prayer: Lord, how unworthy we are to receive the authority you offer us, how incapable we feel to handle it. How can we do such things? But you Lord, have chosen us. You are sending us. You speak your peace into our lives and breathe the Holy Spirit into us. You have given us this holy authority. What a gift, may we not waste it. Lord, help us, make your authority safe in our hands. And yes, by your mercy and power may the authority of heaven free captive souls, releasing many from despair and the grip of sin. And Lord may those we speak to, those we touch, know they have been touched with a power that is beyond us and know You and your Kingdom are real. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber August 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Mino Cerezo Barredo Website: servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/
#Authority #IfYouForgive #IfYouRetain #PeaceBeWithYouReceivetheHolySpirit#HeChoseUs #MinoCerezoBarredoArt
BORING?
No wonder the churches are empty!
Even the mega churches are losing their grip.
The world rushes by and doesn’t take a second look.
It’s all so boring!!
Church is boring.
Christian radio is boring.
Evangelists are boring.
Christians are boring.
So how do we fix it?
How do we jazz things up?
Do we put out a survey and find out what the folks out there are looking for?
Boredom in Jesus’ day.
Those scribes and Pharisees would bore you to death.
And the pompous priests would put you right to sleep.
So everybody went out to the Jordan wilderness to hear that crazy John the Baptist.
At least he wasn’t boring.
He would shake you up.
Next thing you knew you were out there in the river getting baptized!
When you came home, you knew something had actually happened to you out there.
When Jesus came to town, people dropped everything and went out to hear him.
Nobody fell asleep when Jesus spoke!
There were no gimmicks.
No fancy music.
No entertainment.
Every word he spoke burned with fire.
If you were proud he brought you down.
If you were humble, he lifted you up.
If you were arrogant, he scared it out of you.
If you were afraid, he gave you peace.
But where is Jesus now?
Jesus hasn’t disappeared.
He has relocated.
When the saints no longer pay attention, he always relocates.
“Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2)
Jesus is strangely missing from the clatter of Christendom.
You will find Jesus where people focus on what he has to say.
Jesus isn’t interested in our doctrinal squabbles.
He is turned off by our politics.
He has no time for our conspiracy theories.
You will find Jesus wherever people listen to him and repent.
Jesus is never boring.
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12)
“I came to cast fire upon the earth.”
That fire is spreading over the globe at this hour.
Look for that fire, and it will find you.
And you will never be bored again!
Prayer: Holy magnificent Lord, oh how we want to be part of the fire you are casting upon this earth…to be kindled, ignited, enlivened by you. We need to hear you, we need to know you, we need your words to burn within us. Help us to truly find this fire, to live this fire, to speak this fire. Help us to stop being satisfied with the boring counterfeit of you offered by so many. May what they offer bore us, disgust us , disappoint us until we are drawn to others who are listening, who are ready to be baptized with the fire you have for us…to accomplish your perfect holy purpose in our lives and on this earth. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber September 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Art: Courtesy of Rik Berry…photo via unsplash Website: rikBerry.com
#ChurcheIsBoring #JesusIsNotBoring #Boredom #JesusHasRelocated #ICameToCastFire #RikBerryArt
HOW CAN I RELIEVE YOU OF THAT BURDEN IF YOU WON’T LET GO OF IT?
It hangs like a cloud over everything,
saps away our joy,
poison’s our peace,
distorts our perceptions
cuts us off from people around us.
It’s a burden we carry seemingly against our will.
A resentment.
A regret.
A guilt that won’t depart.
A fear.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, words are spoken directly into our hearts:
“Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
i.e. “I will lift that burden from you.”
Of course the Master can only lift that burden, if you let him have it.
Name it.
Lay it at his feet.
Let go of it.
Even if you have to do this a hundred times.
Keep doing it until it’s gone.
And then, in it’s place, pick up the burden which will never weigh you down. Commit yourself to the Master afresh, and start walking at his side.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)
Prayer: Lord, we need relief from these burdens that load us down, that torment us. Help us to let them go. Help us to release our tight grip on them. Help us to release the fears, the attitudes, the resentments, the regrets, the criticisms that poison us and rob us of life and hinder our love for others. We lay them before you now, take them, take them. Exchange them for the light, wonderful burden you have for us. The burden of trusting you, of resting in your care, of loving you and of loving others like you do. What an easy, beautiful burden you give. Give us the faith and the desire to embrace your burden instead. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber Unknown Date Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artists: Eugene Burnand and Matt Philleo Website: MattPhilleo.com
#Burdened #LetGoOfYourBurdens #LayItAtHisFeet #MattPhilleo #EugeneBurnand
CRISIS RELIGION
Nothing like a crisis to inspire folks to turn to religion.
When we feel powerless and bewildered….
“Maybe there is a God.”
“Perhaps if I get religion I won’t feel so lost.”
Of course when the crisis is over, we shift quickly back to “normal.”
After all, life goes on.
There are things to do, opportunities to seize.
Two facts:
1. The real Crisis never ends.
We live on the edge of the abyss every day of our lives.
Apart from the mercy of God we are all lost.
2. Religion is never the answer.
We can be religious in the extreme and never know God.
Jesus is not calling us to be religious.
He’s calling us to follow him.
“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 )
Following Jesus is not a religion.
It is a life lived in fellowship with him.
He speaks, we listen.
He commands, we obey.
He promises, we believe.
He calls, we answer.
He sends, we go.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
Prayer: Lord, as we face crisis, disappointment, and despair and we need real lasting help…we look to you. We want to hear your voice and to be held safely in your hand. We want you…not a religion…not a church. They cannot fill the void and bring us the healing we need. Only you can help us, only you can heal us, only you can lead us away from the pit and into the light. Help us to always look for you, listen to you, and obey your holy, beautiful call … and we know that we will never have to face any crisis, any loss, any despair alone again. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2015 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Art: Elani Lubbe Website: Fine Art America
#CrisisReligion #ReligionIsNotTheAnswerJesusIs #FollowingJesusIsNotAReligion #ElaniLubbe
GIVE ME YOUR GOLD
Moses has been up on that mountain far too long!
Never mind that we have just heard the voice of God and are scared to death.
Never mind that Mount Sinai still trembles and smokes.
The God of Moses makes us uncomfortable.
The God of Moses scares us.
And to make things worse, the God of Moses is invisible!
Aaron, you’re the Priest. Make us a god we can live with.
A comfortable god.
“Give me your gold!”
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32)
How could the people forget the voice of the living God which was still ringing in their ears?
How could Aaron switch so quickly from being a priest of the living God to a priest of a Golden Calf?
It happens all the time.
It’s happening now before our eyes.
Is it happening to us?
The sudden switch from faith in God to faith in a Golden Calf….
…..to faith in an idol.
….to faith in a “designer god”.
….a comfortable god.
Could it be happening to us?
“Give me your gold”
The idols we devise are numberless. But most of them involve gold—money.
“I will give you a Prosperity God,” says the famous preacher. “All you have to do is send in your prayer requests with a bit of cash.”
“I’ll give you a “Serenity God,” says the guru. “But you’ll have to give me a little support, if you know what I mean.”
“I’ll give you a God of Political Power,” says the evangelist. Then he turns to his staff and whispers, “But it won’t come cheap.”
The first thing Moses did when he came down from the mountain, was to take that golden calf and grind it to powder.
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink it. (Exodus 32)
Had Moses not done this, the Israelites would never have made it to the Promised Land.
Today that Golden Calf is everywhere.
It’s in our churches.
It’s in the halls of power.
It’s in the hearts of professing Christians.
Is it in us?
Like Moses before him, Jesus grinds the Golden Calf into powder wherever he finds it.
“You cannot serve God and Mammon.”
Jesus promises that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, heaven will take care of all the rest.
That’s how he lived.
He never begged for money.
He never sent his disciples out with collection cups.
Yet Jesus and his disciples were always able to buy food and lodging and help some poor folks along the way.
For Jesus, money is the means by which God tests our faithfulness.
“He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16)
In Israel, whenever a God-fearing King came to power he would purge the land of idols.
Whenever we submit to Jesus as Lord, he clears away our idols.
Without this cleansing we’ll never make it to the Promised Land.
Lord, have mercy!
Prayer: Yes, Lord, have mercy on us. Help us to submit to you, purge the many idols out of our hearts…as individuals and as a Body. Help us to stop worshiping Mammon, help us to release our grip on it, to release our grip on the security we think it brings us. Help us not look to golden calves to help us. Stop our faith leaders from forming idols for us. Grind these idols to powder. Help us to trust you instead…even when we are uncomfortable with your will, even when we fear your voice and your power…even when we can’t see you…even when the future looks so shaky. Help us to be faithful and honest in all that we have, faithful with all that you have given us; offering our gold to none but you…choosing you and only you as our master…to be devoted to you and to love you above all …despising any thing, any person, any attitude, any belief that could be placed as idols in our hearts and interfere with the pursuit of your perfect Kingdom and your righteousness. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber September 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Marc Chagall Website: N/A
#GoldenCalf #Greed #FalseSecurity #MarcChagall #Idols #MammonLove
POWER OBSESSION
When Moses married a black woman it was too much for his siblings, Miriam and Aaron.
Who does Moses think he is?
Is he the only one with power in Israel?
Maybe it’s time we assert our power and put Moses in his place!
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman; and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.
While Moses was the undisputed leader of the vast Israelite camp in the wilderness, his leadership style was unique.
Moses ruled Israel, not from a position of power….
….but from a position of meekness.
Through those 40 years as a shepherd, stripped of all his authority as an Egyptian Prince….
….Moses had learned humility.
Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream.
Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in dark speech; and he beholds the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
Numbers 12
From the day Moses met the Lord at the Burning Bush until the day of his death Moses was never power-obsessed.
The power of God moved through Moses’ meekness.
Moses led Israel, not as a prince, but as a servant.
Miriam and Aaron simply didn’t “get it”.
“Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?”
Aaron was the one who made the golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Law.
And Miriam considered herself royalty. Did she not watch over Moses when he was a baby in a basket?
It was time for Aaron and Miriam to learn a lesson.
And when the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.
Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, “Heal her, O God, I beseech thee.” But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut up outside the camp seven days; and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. Numbers 12:10-15
Aaron and Miriam have lots of company in Christendom these days.
There are those who still object to Moses marrying that black woman.
And there are multitudes who object to a Moses’ leadership style.
Moses was too meek.
Where was his charisma?
Christendom perceives power the way Aaron and Miriam did.
Christendom is power-obsessed.
Christendom is money-obsessed.
But the kingdom of God operates the way Moses did.
The way Jesus does.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11)
Until we repent of our power-obsession and get under the yoke with the Master, we will continue stumbling in the wilderness with Aaron and Miriam.
“But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us for our obsession with power and control. Help us to desire and appreciate the meekness, the humility that you so love. Help us to choose servanthood, not for accolades or brownie points, but because you are meek and lowly in heart…and we want to be with you, carrying your yoke. You have lessons for us that we cannot learn, we cannot live, we cannot understand… if we are power obsessed. Lord, we no longer want our pride, our arrogance, and our superiority to force us to continue to stumble in the wilderness, covered in shame outside your camp. Lord, we want to be with you, where you dwell. Help us, help us to lovingly embrace the gift of humility you offer us and let go of our power obsessions. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber August 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Art: James Tissot…public domain Website: N/A
#PowerObsession #Meekness #MeekMoses #MiriamPunished #Numbers12 #CushiteWoman #Prejudice
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July
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June
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May
April
March
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