Friends: No joke: Jesus is enough, but there is so much more … some good, some not so much. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #959

April 1, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Sufficient and Supreme

By Bob Walters

“My grace is sufficient for you…” – Jesus, to Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:9

“… and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” – Paul, Colossians 2:10

I’ll say right here that Jesus isn’t the only thing we need in this life.

Jesus IS all we need to be saved from our sin, restored to our relationship with God, to discover objective truth and purpose in this life, and to rest easy in the faith, hope, and love eternity promises. That’s life in Jesus, but not everyone buys in.

I guess it depends what we want.  We can desire, attain, and have all kinds of stuff in this life: work hard, be smart, pursue and nurture love, have a family, enjoy a hobby, follow a mission, chase a prize of wealth, fame, fortune, power, or happiness.  All these are available with or without our active engagement, on our part, with Jesus.

How can that be said?  Simply think of all the people who are doing perfectly well in the here and now without a life in Christ. We all know – and have known – many.

Not everybody understands, or believes, in the eternal consequence of unbelief.

Life seems to go on regardless of what we think of Jesus, good and bad. On the flip side of worldly comfort, think of the marvelous warriors for Christ suffering greatly with grief, illness, or human failure who run and cling to Jesus, understanding His grace.

Does a believer need more than Jesus? The church answer, and ultimate truth, is certainly, “No. Jesus is sufficient.” Let’s talk, though, about the richness this life offers when we do stand with Jesus, trust him as Lord and Savior, and live to glorify Him.

What else do we need? We need faith.  Given by the Holy Spirit.  We need a trustworthy Bible translation that sticks to scripture.  Also given by the Holy Spirit.  We need Christian fellowship, a reliable church and preacher for instruction, direction, and inspiration, and we need the love and hope of God that we share with all the world.

We can be creative, fruitful, joyful, and holy. All of it, driven by the Holy Spirit.

Modern Bible Christianity gives short shrift, sadly, to the Holy Spirit.  We have Jesus and God, and then any number of corollary doctrines, add-ons, rites, duties, fashions-of-the-moment, and culture-driven adjustments of “what Jesus can do for me.”

But the necessary parts reside in the Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit – whose divine relationship is the authority for our two Great Commandments from Jesus: Love God, and love others. Jesus is our true north, and the Spirit is our compass.

We can do a lot in this life without Jesus.  But without Him, the Bible and my heart tell me that the love stops here and stays here. I’d rather not go to Hell, and I love living this life knowing God, Jesus, the Spirit, truth, love, good, and evil all objectively exist and form the divine reality we can trust as we live our days. Life has permanence.

Trying to add our human “truth” – i.e., worldly opinions, caprices, and fears – to scripture is a fool’s errand. Solomon had it right when he said in Ecclesiastes, multiple times, “Everything under the sun is meaningless.”  Meaning resides with Christ alone.

We can “fake it ‘til we make it,” pursuing the passions of this life or even suffering this life’s awful turns. But why ditch the Spirit and rely solely on our own understanding?

Jesus is sufficient and supreme for eternal life. Extra baggage is unnecessary.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) cites John 14:6: There is one door to heaven, Jesus.

Friends: We are called to be servants yet we are also heirs.  How does that work? Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #958

March 25, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Heir Apparent    

By Bob Walters

“Therefore, angels are only servants…” – Hebrews 1:14 (NLT)

“The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” – Jesus, Matthew 20:28

“I no longer call you servants … I call you friends.” Jesus to the Disciples. – John 15:15

“You are no longer a slave but a son…God has also made you an heir.” – Galatians 4:7

One thing my long-time Bible and faith mentor George Bebawi impressed on all his students was that when Christian believers die, we do not become angels; we become fully human and heirs to the Kingdom of God.

That’s because humans were created in the image of God, and God created angels differently: “Angels are only servants – spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Does that mean Christians are not servants? Or that Jesus was/is merely an angel?  We are the sinners, yet Jesus is a servant?

We know that in this life we are to be servants of God exemplified by our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord and Savior; He is God the Son and the Creator of all things (John 1:2). Jesus is Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). Our salvation is worked out in our obedience to God the Father (Philippians 2:12), who calls us to faith in His Son (John 6:44), and Jesus is the only door to the Kingdom (John 14:6).

Humans with faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior – in other words, those who overcome the world’s temptations and vices – Jesus says, have the right in eternal heaven “to sit with me on my throne” (Revelation 3:21). That is our full humanity.

That all sounds nice, but why did the King of Heaven join human life as a servant and we as servants in this life will one day sit on a throne in heaven? It occurs to me that the answer to that question is the answer of what salvation actually is: restored relationship with God the Father that was interrupted by human sin.

That Jesus is a king and servant isn’t so much a paradox as it is an explanation: He entered this life for the sake of God’s glory to bring us back to port.  Jesus is rudder, sail, hull, tiller, anchor, and captain of this great big ship of human life, and he gathers us as passengers to sail with him in this storm of sinful fallenness. The journey isn’t safe and only Jesus knows the way home. We are either on His ship, or we are drowning.

As Jesus is the way, truth, and life, it’s odd that he is the one people reject. Yet for some reason – maybe because they ask nothing of us – almost everyone believes in angels, or so it seems.  I certainly do.  I have no doubt demons exist as well and that both angels and demons traverse this earth and life as helps and hinderances to the work of Jesus. Angels are on the side of God’s glory; demons work to wreck our ship, not on the rocks of salvation, but far from God’s glory.

Jesus actually is God’s glory.  He is a servant to God and humanity, showing us the way home including his perfect defeat of death on the cross. Jesus calls us friends; he is our master yet makes the Father’s plans known to us.  We escape the slavery of the Old Covenant Law and become Kingdom heirs with faith, hope, and love.

Under the full sail of Jesus, our eternal destiny couldn’t be more apparent.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) links an old column “Whatever gods might be” about “Invictus,” the poem that says “I am the captain of my soul.” Uh, no, we aren’t.

Friends: I’m thanking the Lord for the Christian encouragers in my life, and for a good story. See the column below ... Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #957

March 18, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

The Tie That Binds

By Bob Walters

“I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare.” Paul, writing about Timothy’s ministry, Philippians 2:20.

Who are – or who was or is – your closest Christian mentor(s) and friend(s)?

No, I’m serious.  Stop reading and think about and pray with great thanks for the one or for those who have formed, influenced, encouraged, and sustained your Christian faith and life. List them, thank God for them, and pray for those you lead, too.

I’m doing that right now … thinking and praying about the human ties that bind me with other Christians, and with the Lord whose Spirit binds our faith and fellowship.

“Thank you, God, for the those who have led me and shared in the faith.”

Now, the story, seen in a recent video from John Samples about Russ Blowers.

The video link is below, and I obtained John’s approval before posting this.  For many of you, John and Russ are familiar figures.  They are both on my short list of the most influential encouragers of my life in Christ. Others at the top are Dave Faust, George Bebawi, my wife Pam, and my son Eric who first asked, at 13, to go to church.

Russ died in November 2007 after 56 years of ministry in Indianapolis.  I have written often about Russ, and like many at our East 91^st Street Christian Church, I still miss him every day. It was during Russ’s 50^th Anniversary sermon at E91, September 2, 2001 – my first Sunday in any church in decades – that I got it. It was my “Awake Date,” and I grew to know Russ – and Jesus – well. Russ baptized my sons, John and Eric.

John Samples, still a mainstay though retired pastoral presence at E91 “showing a genuine concern for our welfare,” officiated Russ’s funeral, November 15, 2007.

Russ’s funeral is where I met my wife Pam.  We both had arrived early at the service; she was to play tympani (drums) in the brass ensemble, and I was a pall bearer.  Pam and I spoke briefly about a tribute website I had set up for Russ, asking her to share the site info with the E91 orchestra and choir, which Russ very much loved.

A year and a half later, John officiated our wedding at E91, June 22, 2009.

John had arrived on staff at E91 in 1999 at the insistence of his colleague Dave Faust, who had just come aboard as Senior Minister. Dave, by the way, baptized me in November 2001. In September 2004, with Russ’s imprimatur, we convinced E91 to host a Wednesday evening Bible study with retired Cambridge divinity lecturer Dr. George Bebawi. I was secretary/coordinator of that weekly class during its entire 14 year run.

In May of 2007, Russ was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Christian Theological Seminary, near Butler University in Indianapolis. I remember attending the event with Russ, and recall the aforementioned tale John recently told about Russ and a necktie at an E91 “Storytellers” event February 28. Here is the LINK.

John titled his four-minute presentation, “The Tie That Binds,” after several Bible references to the way the faithful are bound together and supportive of each other in Christ. I was blessed to witness and, in many ways, share first-hand in the pastoral love clearly evident between Russ and John. We are all richer in faith for models like them.

The love of Jesus is the tie that binds us, today and forever, in the truth of God.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) has written often about everyone here mentioned, easily searched on the blog (white box in upper left corner). We thank E91 master-storyteller Gerri Baker for arranging the event.

P.S. – In case you were looking for a St. Patrick’s Day article, here is an oldie but a goodie: (Link) Bars Closed on St. Patrick’s Day #174, 3-16-20-10. Erin go Bragh!

Friends: Fear shouldn’t be the coin of the realm, but it often is.  Love is so much better. See the column ...  God bless! Bob

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Spirituality Column #956

March 11, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Fear and Loving   

By Bob Walters

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” – 1 John 4:18

Perhaps you’ve noticed the cultural forces of fear embedded in and surrounding our politics, journalism, government, education, entertainment, and religion. Common sense and faith are healthier than fear, but fear is the greater driver of control.

You want people’s unquestioning action or compliance? Scare ‘em. Threaten them. Punish them.  Mixed in with adequate doses of hatred, distrust, stupidity, and prevarication – i.e., lying to folks – one can perpetrate the most awful, damaging, and vicious violations of the human spirit.  We willfully harm our fellow humans; we all suffer.

You want divine relationship, hope, and peace? All you need is love.

Considering the New Testament was written nearly 2,000 years ago, and the Old Testament was coming together for a couple thousand years before that, fear’s impact on the human psyche and actions is nothing new. Fear of the unknown and the punitive wrath of a righteous God were logical upshots of human sin and the Fall.

As Adam and Eve stood naked and ashamed in the Garden, they hid from God, fearing what He would think of their disobedience. But we can only “hide” from God for so long, and the important third lesson here – after lesson 1) shame and lesson 2) fear – was even though knowing what Adam and Eve had done, God went looking for them.  

Lesson 3: God cares.

There is a reason Jesus, in the New Testament bringing a new covenant of faith, repeatedly says to believers, “Do not fear.” After thousands of years of human disobedience, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the perfect beacon and representation of God’s love, grace, mercy, and truth, came looking for us, “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). And we are still sinners today, but now we know Jesus.  Game changer.

The OT massively speaks of fearing God, while God’s love is rarely mentioned. God’s character – His creativity, righteousness, truth, and glory – is on full display.  The New Testament’s full display of Jesus’s character is faith, trust, obedience, and love of God.  What we must learn is that what is good for God is good for us.  Our “obedience,” etc., doesn’t improve God’s life; it improves ours. God’s glory can’t be harmed; but our unbelief – our fear – harms everyone.  That is what living in fear does to humanity.

The OT reveals not just the character of God but the character of humanity. What Jesus – God the Son – does is reveal the way cursed man is restored, by faith, to relationship with God the Father. That is why in information presented to me, whether in a sermon, a newscast, on the Internet, in commentaries, books, or whatever – what I am listening and looking for is the glory of God found in restoring my divine relationship.

I see far too much divisive human communication aimed at fomenting submission to ungodly ideas fueled by fear.  Truth is better because Jesus is truth and God is love.

I’ve learned that joy comes in the love part of it, not the fear part of it.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that today’s column title, “Fear and Loving,” is a rip-off of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 book, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” about the fall of America’s counterculture.  Love is better than fear; that’s all Walters is saying.

Friends: What did the cursed fig tree ever do to Jesus? Let’s discuss. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #955

March 4, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Withering Curse

By Bob Walters

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.” – Mark 11:20, said Tuesday morning, of the fig tree Jesus cursed Monday evening

Jesus is much more known for healing things than cursing and destroying things, but here we have Jesus Tuesday morning of the first “Holy Week” with a dead fig tree.

What did the tree do to Him to become “withered from the roots,” i.e., dead?

This is a story / parable that initially mystified me in my early days of Bible study 20 years ago.  But with the pre-Easter season of Lent upon us – Ash Wednesday is this week – let’s go over the ostensibly simple explanation: the fig tree is a metaphor of and for failed Israel. God’s own nation has shunned Jesus, rewritten the holy laws, and in three more days will have Jesus killed by crucifixion.

The fig tree is what Jesus sees as the present – and future – of Israel.

To back up the story by two days, on Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the rousing Hosanna’s of the people already gathered for that week’s Passover Feast. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9). Especially excited were the Galileans from the north, where Jesus had occupied most of his three-year ministry.

But Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem as a conquering king on a horse; He rode in humbly sitting on a year-old donkey. And before He mounted the donkey, within sight of Jerusalem, Jesus wept loudly for what Israel had become and what He knew would eventually happen to the Holy City.  Israel had not kept the Law and did not even recognize God’s Son. Did Jesus weep for his own pending doom? Perhaps, but Isaiah 53:7 says that later, facing crucifixion, Jesus was “silent, like a lamb led to slaughter.”

God had made Israel His own centuries before.  Now the Son of God Jesus, recognized by some, entered Jerusalem not to save the Jews from the Romans but to save the Jews – and all humanity – from its sin. Jews simply wanted the Romans dead. For all the scripture and prophecy available and studied, Israel failed to see its need for salvation and didn’t even understand its real problem: its sin and distance from God.

That’s what Jesus came to fix and restore as a perfect sacrifice for the Jews and all mankind. Compared with the world’s fallenness, the Romans were merely a “light and momentary trouble” (2 Corinthians 4:17). God’s will was to restore humanity back into eternal relationship with Him in heaven; all Israel could think about was killing Romans.

The Jews would then plot to have Jesus killed: some because He wasn’t the warrior they had hoped for, many because He revealed the corruption of the Pharisees.

The fig tree, then, is a Godly symbol for the unfruitfulness of Israel. A fig tree has leaves and small, inedible figs in the early growing season, as in springtime’s Passover. That indicates edible fruit will come later. Jesus found none of the small figs on the leafy tree, which signaled there would never be edible fruit from that particular tree.

So, the curse levied on the fig tree was a picture of Jesus’s levy of justice on Israel, over which He had wept bitterly on His approach two days prior. We all know that just as God’s mercy is great, God’s righteousness is absolute. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, would fulfil the Law of Israel and save for eternity all who believe in Him.

Jesus didn’t give a fig about the Romans; He came to save us from ourselves.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that Easter is very late this year, April 20.