I’ve been studying a bit about what Lord Jesus didn’t do. It’s a fascinating subject! During His time before Herod, Jesus wouldn’t respond to his insincere questioning. (Luke 23:8-11)

Why not? Lord Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6) Discernment is necessary.

Yesterday I was visiting a doctor for a checkup, a Christian man, he told me that he was reading a book about the things Jesus didn’t do. That’s confirmation from God.

Lord Jesus also did not live alone. He lived in a community of believers in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 4:13) Most of His disciples were called to follow Him from that area. He healed people there. In a sense it was His headquarters.

When The Lord traveled, walking, from village to village, His followers went with Him, both men and women. The place, Capernaum, was not the community, but the people, the fledgling beginning of the Church, was the community. (Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 10:1; Matthew 27:55-56)

After Christ ascended, His people, the Church continued living in community in Jerusalem while around them was persecution. (Acts 1:15) As the Church grew and spread, more and more parts of the Church body were established.

Paul planted some of these communities—Rome, Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica….while around them was persecution.

Lord Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9) A sheep pen is an enclosure or a cave with only one entrance. The sheep go in an out of this entrance to feed. But at night, the shepherd himself is the door; he lays down across the entrance so that no sheep wander off and no wolves get in.

Believers are the sheep, kept together in a community. The door to the community is Lord Jesus. Believers go in and out, which means freely about their daily activities. (Jeremiah 37:4; Psalm 121:8) There is protection in a community of believers. It is a way of Jesus.

In 1984, my college class took a weekend trip to Chicago. There we visited Jesus People USA. It is a vibrant community of believers living together in a 10-story building in Uptown Chicago with the purpose of serving the poor. Within their ranks are young people, senior citizens, married couples and children. Begun in 1972, with a group of hippies living together in a basement, today they number about 200 souls. Sounds radical doesn’t it? But it has worked for nearly 50 years.

The heritage of Christians has been community, for support, safety, help in need, care, edification, etc.. It is how the believers of the Holy Land have survived and remained for 2,000 years. It is the legacy of the Mayflower Pilgrims, the Puritans, Mennonites and all other Christian communities that have come to America to worship in freedom leaving behind the persecution of the Old World.

The Amish also came to the United States for freedom of religion; theirs is a history of martyrdom, extreme persecution. Though they primarily live in rural areas, they keep together as a church, where there is safety to practice their own ways, help when life’s storms come, and they take care of their own seniors and people who are disabled. Together they celebrate marriages and births and mourn with those in mourning. No one is left to bear his burden alone.

The first large group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1730. They have been growing strong for 290 years.

The modern church has deviated from this way of Jesus. Community, where people care. Where safety resides. Where there is freedom in everyday life.

Lord Jesus never lived alone. Neither are we to be monks, isolated, living alone, watching tv.

If you are alone, in isolation, reach out to a church community where you live. Go there. Jesus People USA welcomes visitors and those who would live with them. Even the Amish welcome outsiders to come in to their fellowship if they will abide by their ordinances.

As God has led His Church in the past, so He is leading her now. There is no safety without The Lord.

FORGIVENESS, A WAY OF GOD

Forgiveness is a touchy subject. We’re taught in church to forgive others, but it’s difficult to put into practice. I carried around unforgiveness for a family member from childhood into adulthood without even realizing it. That unforgiveness turned into bitterness.

Lord Jesus tells us to forgive others. (Mark 11:25) He adds this: “so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” We are to forgive so that we can be forgive by God. Holding unforgiveness is sin. Sin hurts us and leads to death. (Romans 6:23)

It is especially important to forgive others and repent of unforgiveness while praying. (Mark 11:25)

Mark 11:26 says, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.” So there is a problem between you and God when you do not forgive others.

Who are these others? People from your church, your family, your neighbors. They are policemen, doctors, lawyers, nurses, firemen, businessmen. They are thieves, murderers, and kidnappers.

Some may be more difficult to forgive than others. That is our human nature, but God calls us to be like Him and forgive, just as He forgives us.

On October 2, 2006, Charles Roberts IV killed six Amish girls at the West Nickel Mines School, he injured several others before committing suicide. It shocked the country. More astounding was the way the Old Order Amish responded—with forgiveness, toward the dead gunman, his wife, and his parents, who were well connected with the Amish community. The Amish live out the Words of Jesus, especially in the area of forgiveness. They believe that it’s not just a change of heart, but actions too that matter. We’d call that their “fruit.” This happened within a short time after their children died.

The Amish gave money to a charitable fund for Roberts’ children. They attended his funeral. One Amish man spent the first minutes with the gunman’s father, comforting him. They put actions behind their words.

In Amish Grace, the authors write that the Amish know that forgiveness isn’t easy, and that God’s forgiveness of them is tied to their ability to forgive others. “They devote significant energy to train their children in forgiveness.” (pp. 113-114) They must accept God’s will and give up the right of revenge. It is a way of life. (pp.115-116)

The act of forgiveness is unexpected to the world; groups from around the world came to see the Amish and learn about their ability to forgive. Their fruit is a testimony of Jesus.

Matthew 6:12, a verse of The Lord’s Prayer states, “‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’” Forgive our debtors—those who have trespassed against us, in any way, shape or form.

The Lord continues speaking about forgiveness just after His prayer, verses 14-15: “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Corrie ten Boom’s family died in Nazi concentration camps; she alone survived to tell of what God did inside the barbed wire. Corrie later had to travel into Germany where she met face to face with one of her male camp guards. Corrie had to forgive him. He had become a brother in Christ.

Elizabeth Eliot carried on her husband’s missionary work in Ecuador, forgiving the men who murdered him. Those men later became believers, fruit of her work and forgiveness.

An innocent black man, Botham Jean was shot by off duty white female police officer Amber Guyger. Guyger was found guilty in 2019. Botham’s brother, Brandt Jean, testified of his forgiveness for Guyger during her court hearing, saying “I forgive you,” “The best thing for you to do would be to give your life to Christ,” and “I love you.” This too shocked the nation.

Forgiveness is tied not to emotions, but to an act. Forgiveness, a way of God, mends friendships, builds relationships and stops destruction and division.

Have you forgiven?

LOOK UP!

FORGIVENESS, A WAY OF GOD

ADULTERY, BIGAMY AND GOD