“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” Luke 7:24b ESV

Have you ever noticed a reed, a tall slender blade of grass, blowing in the wind? It blows whichever way the wind is blowing. It is weak in that it is easily swayed.

Jesus asks those in the crowd, who have been following Him, and who had followed John the Baptist, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” John the Baptist, obviously was not a man easily swayed by public opinion. He did not sugar coat his message to the people. He was a true prophet of God. (Luke 7:26-28)

Are you a reed shaken by the wind? I need to ask myself the same question, am I a reed shaken by the wind of this world that prevents me from speaking the truth? The truth about the sinful condition of mankind, the wrath of God, and the judgment to come. One cannot read the entire Holy Scriptures, The Bible, and not see it. The truth is those without Christ will die in their sins into eternal damnation. But the truth is also that Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin and those who put their faith and trust in Him will escape the eternal punishment and received eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Are you proclaiming the whole truth of God’s Word, the Bible, or is your reed (your message) being shaken by the wind?

“Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ‘But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.’ At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.” Matthew 26:31, 56 NLT 

The best of intentions falls short at some point. Some are due to circumstances beyond our control and others caused by our human frailty. We may mean well and be totally committed to a cause, but when the pressure becomes too intense, we back away. To escalate the problem, we are now forced to eat the boastful words of our commitment, assuring that we will always be there until the end.

Jesus’ disciples ate their words after stating they would never deny or abandon Him. On the way to the Mount of Olives with His disciples after sharing the Passover meal Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Mt.26:31 nlt) Peter declared if he were the only one left, he would not abandon Jesus. Jesus then told Peter he would not only desert Him but would deny even knowing Him. They all assured Jesus; they would not abandon Him with Peter giving a resounding response he would die first before denying Jesus.

Scripture accurately predicted the events of that night. Peter denied the Lord and he and all the disciples fled when Jesus was arrested. It is easy for us to look back two thousand years and criticize how they could do such a thing. They followed Jesus for three years, seen His miracles, knew who He was and still abandoned Him. The disciples like us had good intentions but they often fell short. Let us be careful in our walk with the Lord, avoid boastful words and criticizing others, may we prayerfully consider our commitments to follow through, and allow the Lord to work in our lives to provide good intentions that will never fall short.

“Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.’” Matthew 9: 2 NLT

Due to security concerns in the aftermath of the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, the United States congress enacted the “The REAL ID Act of 2005.” “The law sets forth requirements for state drivers’ licenses and ID cards to be accepted by the federal government for ‘official purposes,’ as defined by the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland Security has defined ‘official purposes’ as boarding commercially operated airline flights, and entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants, although the law gives the Secretary unlimited authority to require a ‘federal identification’ for any other purposes.” (1) Documentation required for a Real ID are the following: photo ID with full legal name and birthdate, proof of birthdate, legal status, social security number, and a form showing your name and principal residence. The information is vital to ensure you are the real you, a Real ID.

In Jesus’s day the process was similar minus the photos and a social security number. Records were kept of birthplace and one’s heritage as in Joseph’s case, Jesus’ earthly father. There were means for one to identify himself as far as what records were available at the time. The citizens of Capernaum knew who Jesus was. He was a carpenter, the son Mary and Joseph, and himself a carpenter. They knew His brothers and sisters, and the neighborhood He grew up in. They knew of Jesus, the man, but they were not familiar with His true identity, His Real ID.

The people of the city brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. They had reason to believe that Jesus could heal him. They had witnessed Jesus heal others and identified Him as one who could heal. Jesus recognized their faith in Him but added further documentation to confirm His real identity. Mathew 9:2 tells us, “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.’” (nlt)  The religious leaders were the first to respond, but to themselves. “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?” (Mt.9:3 nlt) They knew Jesus was claiming to be God. Proving that He is indeed God, for Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, “Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home!” (Mt.9:5-7 nlt)

The twenty-seven books of the New Testament in the Bible are documents proving Jesus’ identity. In fact, the entire Bible speaks of Jesus and the plan of salvation. He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of God, God the Son. His Real ID.

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_ID_Act

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 NLT

With the summer winding down, so are the many festivals, fairs, and church picnics that are a part of the summer season as mosquitos and iced tea. There are still plenty of festivals and fairs in southeastern Pennsylvania to attend, but the traditional church picnic has been dwindling for a number of years. A significant reason would be the shrinking of the church roles in many churches. Church attendance has been steadily dropping over the years and those remaining are getting older. There are simply not enough able bodies or those who care enough to be part bringing the church together in the love of Christ.

Church picnics come in all shapes and sizes. Not all churches have a church picnic, nor is it required that a church have a picnic, at least I do not see it in Scripture. But what I do see are references to love one another, as Jesus told His disciples before He was about to go to the cross. Jesus’s main concern was for those who followed Him to genuinely love each other as He has loved them and their love would show others they were true followers of Him.

A big part of loving one another is having fun together, formally we call it fellowshipping with one another. We show our love for each other by being together, eating together, playing together, and just having a fun time and enjoying each other’s company. As you have your church picnic do all of the above proving that you are Christ’s disciples and fellowship together, and don’t forget the mosquitos and iced tea.