Chris Ryan Reads the Gospels

(Day 30) John 19-21

2010-02-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

This is the end.....Or is it the beginning?

The last three books of John describe the condemnation and death of Jesus Christ. In John 19 Pilate takes Jesus to a private area and virtually gives him every opportunity to denounce who he is. Pilate knows that Jesus has committed no crime, but the popular oppinion is that he is guilty. Pilate is more concerned with keeping the peace and not upsetting Caesar. Sound familiar? Pilate basically tries to relieve himself of responsibility by saying "you do what you wish with him but I don't think he has done anything wrong". The scripture foretold of everything that would happen to Jesus, and it all happened as described. How much strength and faith did it take for Jesus to continue to proclaim his love for God all the way up to his death upon the cross? He could have simply said, "your right, I'm not the son of God. I was just kidding." He probably would have lived if he did. But, the question is, how would he have lived? How many times have we denied God in order to make things easier on ourselves? How do WE go on living afterwards? I believe it is because of the forgiveness that is extended to each of us because Jesus did allow himself to die on that cross.

Finally, just as was foretold, Jesus rises from the tomb on the third day. He appears several times to his disciples before ascending to heaven. When the disciple Thomas heres that Jesus appeared to the other disciples, he says he will not believe it unless he is able to place his finger on the holes in Jesus' hand. It's funny how even the disciples lacked faith after all that had been shown to them. I guess most of us are not that much different than the disciples were!

So, although this was the end of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, it is really the beginning for all of humanity. Through the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus all of us have the opportunity for eternal life. Regardless of what we have done! The only question is, will we be like Thomas and demand to touch the holes in his hands and side before we believe? Or will we have the faith that Jesus said we should have? The decision doesn't seem to me to be a difficult one.

(Day 27) John 1-12

2010-02-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Jesus says , "unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God". A majority of the scripture in the Gospel of John speaks of accepting Jesus and receiving everlasting life. In John 6 v11 Jesus feeds 5000 people from just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. When every one has eaten their fill, Jesus commands his disciples to "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." Is he simply speaking about the fragments of bread? I believe this is again a reference by Jesus to how we should act toward our fellow man. In other words, if after hearing the gospel there are still people left over, we should work to gather up the "fragments" so that no one should be lost. I may be completely off on this one, but it seems to make sense and mesh with the teaching of Jesus from all of the other gospels.

In John 6 v 35 Jesus says, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." This statement from Jesus seems to be the most direct response he made. It was almost like he finally said "alright, here's the deal". There is no parable, no possible alternate meaning. Simply, I am the real deal, the son of God, believe in me and you will have eternal life. Really, by Jesus being so direct, it seems simple. Why do I struggle every day to follow what Jesus taught?

Another very direct and simple concept that Jesus puts forth in John is not judging other people. In John 7 v24 Jesus states, "do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." Why is it so hard for all of us, yes all of us, to not accept people without judging them? We are taught through out the scripture that it is not our job to judge our fellow man. That duty lays with God alone. In John 8 v7 Jesus says of a woman accused of adultery, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Guess what? Every single one of them walks away without throwing one stone at her. Jesus simply says she is forgiven and tells her not to sin anymore. That offer is available to every single one of us. Even though it's not that difficult of a concept, I have to remind myself constantly not to judge other people. I'm willing to bet that most of us struggle with this. Would I be able to cast that first stone? No, I would have been the first to walk away.

(Day 23) Luke 1 - 24

2010-02-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm back. No, I haven't really been gone. But the business of life has consumed me for the past week or so. It's funny,really, how not reading the scriptures has weighed so heavily on me. Almost like a bill that needs to be paid, or a stop that needs to be made. Any way, I am re-focused and back on track.

In Luke 1 v38 Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." I wonder what this news of becoming pregnant must have meant to Mary? These days it might not have been that big of a deal. But, during that time, an unmarried woman becoming pregnant? Not a good thing. But, Mary accepted it with complete faith and obedience to God. How much am I able to accept with complete faith and obedience?

In Luke 3 v9 John tells those that came to be baptized, "every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire". Again, the importance of "bearing fruit" is mentioned. I think this speaks to the saying that faith without works is dead. To me, it stresses the importance of trying to live everyday life in the way that Jesus would. When John is asked what shall we do? He tells them "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise". This sounds very familiar. This past Sunday, during the childrens sermon, Scott taught that Jesus said "whatever is done to the least of these, is also done to me." Yes Scott, I was paying attention! Again, if we are living our lives as Jesus did, we would be working daily to care for those who are in need. Whether it be a spiritual or physical need, we need to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to help each other.

In Luke 4 v13 after Jesus had resisted every temptation from the devil it is written "and when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." This tells me that the devil will always be waiting for a time when he can intervene and get me to give in to his temptation. Just because I am able to resist his temptations today, he will always be waiting for a more opportune time. This one, for me, is hard to swallow. So, your telling me that I will always have to be on guard? I'm strong today, but what about tomorrow, or next week, or even next year. I think that is why it is important for me to continue reading and studying the scriptures. This way I will always be mindful and aware that just as the devil is watching and waiting, so is God. As long as I keep that in mind I will be able to resist any temptation that is thrown my way.

(Day 13) Matthew 13-24

2010-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Jesus states from the prophet Isaiah "For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes have closed". Makes me think again about what I put my faith in. Is it that great job, money, things, etc? I believe my heart had grown dull not too long ago. I heard but didn't really hear. I simply went through the motions. Does that make sense? Reading these scriptures has really made me more aware of how much I do have to be thankful for. A home, a wife that loves me, kids that love me, enough to eat, a strong church family, and a God who loves me unconditionally. Could I be happier if I were extremely wealthy? No, not really. But, I could own more stuff! But I wouldn't really be any happier. I guess reading the Bible has helped put things in perspective. Things that once were unimaginable to me, are now not that big of a deal. You see, I had a job that a lot of people would kill for. Great hours, great money, not too much responsibility. But, I was miserable. Could I be worse off than I am now? Absolutely! Do I have it a lot better than lets say 75% of the people in the world? Absolutely! But the bottom line is, would I be happier with more money or material things? Absolutely not...

The Bible states in Matthew 13 v58, And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. This is what I'm talking about. If you have so little faith in your life, how can you expect great things to happen? I truely believe this is why I am happier now than I have been in a very long time. FAITH. If I let all of my worries go and just put my Faith in God, what will happen? It can't be bad! Someone once told me that if you live according to the word and the word turns out to be untrue, what have you lost? Nothing, you've lived a great life. But, if the word turns out to be true, which I believe it is, and you don't live according to it; what are you losing? Everything! Jesus tells us if we simply have faith in God, and live according to the Gospel we are guaranteed ever lasting life. He also tells us hell is real. I can't risk it. The gamble is too great. This brings to mind another quote I heard from a fourth generation Methodist Preacher in Alabama. He told me, "if you live your life like hell, what do you expect when you die?" Like I said, the stakes are just too high.

Another quote from Jesus in Matthew that hit home to me was "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me". This goes back to me going through the motions. As if just going to church every Sunday was enough. It all goes much deeper than that. We can all say that, "yep, I'm a Christian because I attend church every Sunday", but I believe this is what Jesus is talking about. What about our acts? Remember the whole " bearing fruit" thing? I am really going to try and focus on "living" what the gospel tells me, not simply reading it. For the first time in a long time, my eyes are open.

(Day 9) Matthew 7-12

2010-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

In Matthew 7-9 the three overwhelming elements are: Faith, Obedience, and Bearing Fruits. Again, just as in all the other Gospels I have read up to this point, faith in God is essential. Jesus states over and over again that if you ask, you will receive. If you need, it will be provided. If you have faith! He states that the gate to destruction is wide, and many will pass through it. As I stop and think about our society, the overwhelming influence of the media, and the popular beliefs of many I would have to conclude that this is true. As I stated before, too often our faith lies in material or worldly things, not in God. When Jesus says that the gate of life is narrow and few will pass, I can only hope that my Faith, my obedience to God, and my works toward my fellow man will continue to strengthen through out my life.
After reading Matthew 10 the only question I have is, "am I worthy"? I struggle daily with putting God first. I get caught up in that "race". You know the race; to get ahead, to make "enough" money, and to please everybody in my life. What about God? Is there room for Him amongst all of the other "stuff"? Jesus says that every one who acknowledges him before men, He shall also acknowledge before God. But, He makes clear that to all who deny him before men, He will surely deny before God. If I were to die today, would I be acknowledged or denied? I'm afraid of the answer. I really need to make a strong effort to keep the "stuff" in prospective. I will remind my self daily, no, hourly, no wait, how about every minute, to put God first.
Part of putting God first is that bearing fruit thing. Jesus makes clear that he and his disciples spent time with tax collectors, prostitues, leperds, and sinners. These are the people who need help. As He says, the healthy don't need a doctor. How much of our time is spent around the people in our society who are sick? I don't mean sick as in sick, I mean spiritually sick. Surely, we need to take care of and tend to those who are sick and dying. From what I've seen over the past several years, our community does a pretty darn good job of that. But, what about all of the people around us who are lost, lonely, scared, hopeless, or even addicted. By the way, I can apply many of the afore mentioned to myself. These are the people that Jesus and his disciples would surround themselves with. How often do all of us surround ourselves with these people, and believe me, there are many. All I can say is, I have a lot of self improvement to do as a Christian...

(Day 7) Mark 10-16 & Matthew 1-6

2010-01-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

In the Gospel of Mark much of Jesus' time is spent teaching about how to live life and how to treat others. It blows my mind that during all of this time He knows what his fate will be. He knew it was foretold that the Son of Man would be arrested, persecuted, and ultimately killed. I think that the only source of comfort he had was that this was the reason he lived, and that he would rise on the third day and go back to his father in heaven.
When Jesus was arrested, Pontius Pilot did not want to sentence him to death. But everyone else did. Pilot went along with what everyone else wanted in order to not cause an uprising. It makes me think about how many times I have not stood by what I knew was right in order to please others or not be ridiculed. How many of us do this every day? In Mark Jesus states that whoever is persecuted and dies for him will be rewarded by his Father in Heaven. Would I die for him? Would we all die for him?
The main points in Matthew 1-6 is again not what you accomplish or accumulate in life. In fact, Jesus states that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter heaven. He brings up the fact that serving two masters is impossible because you will love one and end up hating the other. How many of us, including myself, focus all of our time and effort accumulating "things" in life. Oh, how we want everyone to know and see that we are successful. But, by working for "things", are we giving up something so much more valuable? I know from my past experiences that when a person is dying, there is no difference in the death process between a wealthy person and an indigent one. How sad and terrifying it would be to face death and know that you had all of the worldly things possible, but have no chance of experiencing the glory of heaven.
In Matthew 6 Jesus reminds us that we should not worry and stress out about things in our life. If we simply seek the kingdom of God, God will provide all that we need. I, more than most, will need to constantly remind myself of this.

(Day 3) Mark 7-9

2010-01-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

One profound statement made by Jesus really stood out to me. In Mark 9 v17-29 a situation arises where a man brings his son to Jesus because he was posessed by an unclean spirit. The father also states that he had already asked the disciples to cast it out but they were un-able to. The statement that Jesus makes in response to this is right on the money. He says "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me". I imagine the statement was probably followed by an exclamation point! Then the father begs Jesus to do something, if he can!! Say what? I imagine in disbelief Jesus answers "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes. After Jesus heals the boy, his disciples asked him why they were not able to heal him. The response by Jesus, once again classic, was "this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer".
How much of my life, in fact all of our lives, could be a little smoother or calmer or even more peaceful if we would only put as much faith in God as we place in worldly things such as money, government programs, or even the companies we work for. My take is this: If we put total and complete faith in the power of God, and give sincere prayer to God for health, healing, peace in our lives, and the salvation we have already been promised, absolutely anything is possible.

(Day 1) Mark 1-3

2010-01-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

Simon and Andrew were mending their nets, probably something they did on a daily basis. Jesus told them to "follow me, I will make you fishers of men". They immediately dropped what they were doing and followed him. Makes me wonder, in our daily lives, would we be willing to drop what we were doing to follow him and serve our fellow man by bringing the word of God to them?
Jesus cast out many demons and the demons were not allowed to speak, because they knew him. How many of us already know him? Jesus healed the paralytic and was ridiculed by the scribes. This would be so common in our society today. His love and healing will extend to each and every one of us, to forgive us of our sins. But yet, he would be ridiculed for the simple act of saying "my son, your sins are forgiven".
We are reminded that we are to relate to each other in the same way that Jesus related to people. In Mark 3 Jesus states that whoever does the will of God is his mother and brother. Kind of makes you think. As a church, we are the body of Christ. Our mission is clear, we are to interact with people in the same way that Jesus would. If someone is in need, whether it be physical or spiritual, we as a church are to respond. No one is un-worthy, all are welcome to receive the good news. Christ died for all of our sins.