In Mark 9 Jesus is approached by a man with a possessed son who tells Jesus that the disciples tried to help him but they were not able to. Jesus replies by saying "you unbelieving generation. How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
I can't believe how it would feel to have your friend and teacher say that about you. I'm sure He made a point with it though! Later on the disciples ask Him why they weren't able to help the boy and Jesus tells them that the kid of spirit that controlled the boy only comes out through prayer and fasting.
It's interesting that Jesus says "that kind" of spirit. It leads me to believe that there are other kinds of possessed spirits that would be removed in other ways.
Regardless, I think this is a prime example of how separated we are from Christ because of our sin. The disciples who were taught directly by Jesus and watched Him remove spirits probably hundreds of times were not able to get the demon out of this boy. We aren't able to do some things on our own, no matter how hard we try or how badly we want to, but Jesus has the power to do it every time.
I need to walk forward in humility. I want to understand better that no matter what I do, only Jesus is going to get me there in the end.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Guarding Our Minds
The Christian faith is mostly based in things that we cannot see. We cannot see the good things, which most of us wish we could see. But, we also aren't able to see the bad things. I think I like that better anyway!
In Mark 8, Jesus is telling the disciples that He's going to have to die and leave them. Peter tries to take Him aside and tell Him otherwise, but Jesus responds by saying "Get behind me Satan!"
We all know that Peter is not Satan. We know that if Satan was somehow living within Peter at that point in time, Jesus' response would have been a lot different.So, what I believe was happening is that Jesus understood that sinful thoughts were the root of Peter's response. All sin comes from Satan, so Jesus, in turn, tells Satan to get behind Him.
I think this is a really clear example of how easily we can become a catalyst for sin in our lives. Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends and a devoted follower. He had heard Jesus tell them multiple times how to live a good and sinless life, but yet in this moment, still allows himself to be a sinful vessel in an attack on Jesus. Without knowing it of course.
There's a chance that we're that vessel at times. Maybe we think we know the way God wants things to be and try to make those things happen without actually talking to God about them. It may be that Satan is leading us down a road that we think is right, in order for him to gain something that is wrong.
The same goes for when we are listening to the advice of someone else. They may think they have God's plans in mind, but God's plans don't always make the most sense. Who would have thought that the greatest prophet to ever live was only sent to die? How would Peter have ever known that allowing his Teacher to die was the right thing to do? God's ways are greater than ours though,
The conclusion is that sin is everywhere. Sometimes we're going to be a vessel for it without even knowing it. Sometimes our friends are going to be a vessel for it without knowing it and may give us leadership or advice out of sinful thoughts that no one can see through.
Jesus is the only way to break free from that sin and to purify our vessels to be filled with love. That's why it's a daily battle. Living for Jesus isn't a one time decision. It's a decision to sign up for a lifetime of service, spending every day in battle against the enemy, fighting for the freedom to share love to the people around us.
In Mark 8, Jesus is telling the disciples that He's going to have to die and leave them. Peter tries to take Him aside and tell Him otherwise, but Jesus responds by saying "Get behind me Satan!"
We all know that Peter is not Satan. We know that if Satan was somehow living within Peter at that point in time, Jesus' response would have been a lot different.So, what I believe was happening is that Jesus understood that sinful thoughts were the root of Peter's response. All sin comes from Satan, so Jesus, in turn, tells Satan to get behind Him.
I think this is a really clear example of how easily we can become a catalyst for sin in our lives. Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends and a devoted follower. He had heard Jesus tell them multiple times how to live a good and sinless life, but yet in this moment, still allows himself to be a sinful vessel in an attack on Jesus. Without knowing it of course.
There's a chance that we're that vessel at times. Maybe we think we know the way God wants things to be and try to make those things happen without actually talking to God about them. It may be that Satan is leading us down a road that we think is right, in order for him to gain something that is wrong.
The same goes for when we are listening to the advice of someone else. They may think they have God's plans in mind, but God's plans don't always make the most sense. Who would have thought that the greatest prophet to ever live was only sent to die? How would Peter have ever known that allowing his Teacher to die was the right thing to do? God's ways are greater than ours though,
The conclusion is that sin is everywhere. Sometimes we're going to be a vessel for it without even knowing it. Sometimes our friends are going to be a vessel for it without knowing it and may give us leadership or advice out of sinful thoughts that no one can see through.
Jesus is the only way to break free from that sin and to purify our vessels to be filled with love. That's why it's a daily battle. Living for Jesus isn't a one time decision. It's a decision to sign up for a lifetime of service, spending every day in battle against the enemy, fighting for the freedom to share love to the people around us.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
For God or Man
During my lifetime the Church has shown a general movement toward more biblically-based teaching and less second-hand doctrine. Although some denominations still focus strongly on doctrine, I believe the movement away from it has spawned from Mark 7. The Pharisees accuse Jesus and the disciples of not living according to the traditions of the elders because they didn't wash their hands before they ate. Jesus calls them out for thinking that an unbiblical tradition should be followed by all men and points them to Isaiah where the prophet says:
"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship in vain; their teachings are merely human rules."
Their have been a lot of Godly men that have been known to lead people astray. We cannot just trust a man of God because he's been put in a position of authority. Every Christian should read and understand the Bible for themselves in order to know what to believe when told by others. Nothing the Pope says can overrule what God has told us through His Word. Nothing our pastor says. Nothing Joseph Smith said. Nothing any man says has more power to it than what we read in the historical text that is sitting in every Christ-believing church today. The truths of the Bible are never ending, so anyone that speaks in disagreement to it will not lead people to a place that glorifies God.
"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship in vain; their teachings are merely human rules."
Their have been a lot of Godly men that have been known to lead people astray. We cannot just trust a man of God because he's been put in a position of authority. Every Christian should read and understand the Bible for themselves in order to know what to believe when told by others. Nothing the Pope says can overrule what God has told us through His Word. Nothing our pastor says. Nothing Joseph Smith said. Nothing any man says has more power to it than what we read in the historical text that is sitting in every Christ-believing church today. The truths of the Bible are never ending, so anyone that speaks in disagreement to it will not lead people to a place that glorifies God.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Skin Disease - The Levites
It's so hard to read Leviticus every time I try. It's so many pages full of rules regarding offerings and the priests and which offerings are required for every specific instance. I just read two chapters of the Bible that pretty much only focus on irritations on the skin and whether or not the person with the irritation is clean or needs to be kept in confinement to determine whether or not they are unclean.
The first thing that comes to mind is "Thank God for Jesus!"
Aaron would have been so frustrated with me when I brought my two doves for my guilt offering and my cake without yeast as my sin offering and my spotless young ewe for my celebration offering. There's no way I could have kept track of all of those things! Plus, with the amount of sin in my life, my flock would have needed to have a very serious reproduction rate!
So, I'm very thankful that Jesus came in and took the place of the need to slaughter animals as offerings to God. It's much easier to just remember to give my first 10% every paycheck in order to give God the firstfruits of my labor. (PS. If it's the firstfruits, then it comes before taxes, otherwise it's the secondfruits)
When I read these areas of the text I have to sit around for a while asking myself and praying about how this could possibly be relevant to me today. Usually, I just tell myself how thankful I am that I don't need to bust out Leviticus every time I sin to figure out my offering, but instead can just repent through Christ. Today was a little different though. The text continued to refer to the depth of the skin irritation on whether or not it was clean or unclean. Then discussed a little bit about whether it had healed or not, and healed "white" (a scab) skin was considered clean.
I think the depth of the irritation is the depth of sin in our lives. Multiple times the text refers to white skin on the surface only as being clean. That white skin to me is the new skin over an area where a boil or a cut occurred. The skin is healing, therefore the person, although they sinned, is clean. The sin was not able to penetrate, but instead was forgiven and the person is clean.
The text also referred to irritations that were deeper than the top layer of skin. Sometimes those people had to go into confinement for 7 days to see whether or not the disease spread or became healed. I believe that this is referring to the times in our lives when we're caught up in sin. We aren't clean yet because we haven't asked for forgiveness and may still be living in the sin, but maybe it still hasn't completely pulled us away from God, so only time will tell whether or not we fall away or seek healing. After those 7 days, the priest needs to inspect the person again. If the disease has spread, the person is unclean, but if it is still there and not spread - back into solitary confinement. If the skin is white, the person is clean.
If the disease ends up growing from the depths of the skin and spreading into the skin of the whole body, that person is considered unclean and must stay outside the walls of the city in order to separate the clean from the unclean. These would be the people who fell into sin and allowed the sin that entered their lives to take over to the point where it leads them to death.
The great news in all of this is that even when we have a little disease or irritation on our skin, we can still be considered clean. Whether or not we had a disease and now have white skin, or we never had any skin issues at all - both are considered clean. There is no differentiation! One is not considered more clean than the other. The person without white skin was not given more freedoms or more love or more opportunities than the other person. That means that God sees us all the same - whether we have been striving for Christ-like perfection our whole lives, or if we came to Him with scars and scabs from our past - we all look the same to Him!
Don't be ashamed of the scabs and the scars. But, make sure that when disease strikes, you don't let it take over your whole body. Allow the scab to bring healing and remain clean inside the walls of the city.
The first thing that comes to mind is "Thank God for Jesus!"
Aaron would have been so frustrated with me when I brought my two doves for my guilt offering and my cake without yeast as my sin offering and my spotless young ewe for my celebration offering. There's no way I could have kept track of all of those things! Plus, with the amount of sin in my life, my flock would have needed to have a very serious reproduction rate!
So, I'm very thankful that Jesus came in and took the place of the need to slaughter animals as offerings to God. It's much easier to just remember to give my first 10% every paycheck in order to give God the firstfruits of my labor. (PS. If it's the firstfruits, then it comes before taxes, otherwise it's the secondfruits)
When I read these areas of the text I have to sit around for a while asking myself and praying about how this could possibly be relevant to me today. Usually, I just tell myself how thankful I am that I don't need to bust out Leviticus every time I sin to figure out my offering, but instead can just repent through Christ. Today was a little different though. The text continued to refer to the depth of the skin irritation on whether or not it was clean or unclean. Then discussed a little bit about whether it had healed or not, and healed "white" (a scab) skin was considered clean.
I think the depth of the irritation is the depth of sin in our lives. Multiple times the text refers to white skin on the surface only as being clean. That white skin to me is the new skin over an area where a boil or a cut occurred. The skin is healing, therefore the person, although they sinned, is clean. The sin was not able to penetrate, but instead was forgiven and the person is clean.
The text also referred to irritations that were deeper than the top layer of skin. Sometimes those people had to go into confinement for 7 days to see whether or not the disease spread or became healed. I believe that this is referring to the times in our lives when we're caught up in sin. We aren't clean yet because we haven't asked for forgiveness and may still be living in the sin, but maybe it still hasn't completely pulled us away from God, so only time will tell whether or not we fall away or seek healing. After those 7 days, the priest needs to inspect the person again. If the disease has spread, the person is unclean, but if it is still there and not spread - back into solitary confinement. If the skin is white, the person is clean.
If the disease ends up growing from the depths of the skin and spreading into the skin of the whole body, that person is considered unclean and must stay outside the walls of the city in order to separate the clean from the unclean. These would be the people who fell into sin and allowed the sin that entered their lives to take over to the point where it leads them to death.
The great news in all of this is that even when we have a little disease or irritation on our skin, we can still be considered clean. Whether or not we had a disease and now have white skin, or we never had any skin issues at all - both are considered clean. There is no differentiation! One is not considered more clean than the other. The person without white skin was not given more freedoms or more love or more opportunities than the other person. That means that God sees us all the same - whether we have been striving for Christ-like perfection our whole lives, or if we came to Him with scars and scabs from our past - we all look the same to Him!
Don't be ashamed of the scabs and the scars. But, make sure that when disease strikes, you don't let it take over your whole body. Allow the scab to bring healing and remain clean inside the walls of the city.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Living with Integrity
When I was younger my goal was always to do whatever I needed to do to stay out of trouble, even though I was causing it. So, whether it was lying, hiding, cheating, etc., I did what I could to keep my trouble hidden so I wouldn't get punished.
This is something that came up the other day at youth group that has been on my mind since. I had a kid bragging about how he was keeping from getting punished by lying about his actions. I was that kid though, so I know that in the end your concern is that someone is going to find you out. You can't ever find peace when you live in a life of sin.
Proverbs 10:9 says "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out."
About the time that I got serious about my walk with the Lord and dedicated my life to Him, I decided I needed to start telling the truth. If I was truly going to believe that my Father in Heaven had the best plans for me, then I needed to trust that He would lead me into them regardless of the sin that He knew was in my life. I didn't need to stretch the truth in interviews, on my taxes, or when talking to potential girlfriends. If God's plan was for me to get the job, then I was going to get it by answering the interview questions as honestly as possible. Any lies may still result in me getting the job, but I'm sure that the job is going to go a lot better if I don't need to spend any time in God's discipline for my crooked steps.
A life of truth and honestly has been great. Like everyone who falls short of the glory of God... I still might exaggerate the size of the fish I catch, the distance I can jump, the ability I have to fight bad guys, and how cool I am, but I can truly see when I tell the truth that God blesses me in ways that I didn't see blessing before. Mostly, the truth is often a step of humility, and humility brings us closer to God as we understand that all things come from Him.
This is something that came up the other day at youth group that has been on my mind since. I had a kid bragging about how he was keeping from getting punished by lying about his actions. I was that kid though, so I know that in the end your concern is that someone is going to find you out. You can't ever find peace when you live in a life of sin.
Proverbs 10:9 says "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out."
About the time that I got serious about my walk with the Lord and dedicated my life to Him, I decided I needed to start telling the truth. If I was truly going to believe that my Father in Heaven had the best plans for me, then I needed to trust that He would lead me into them regardless of the sin that He knew was in my life. I didn't need to stretch the truth in interviews, on my taxes, or when talking to potential girlfriends. If God's plan was for me to get the job, then I was going to get it by answering the interview questions as honestly as possible. Any lies may still result in me getting the job, but I'm sure that the job is going to go a lot better if I don't need to spend any time in God's discipline for my crooked steps.
A life of truth and honestly has been great. Like everyone who falls short of the glory of God... I still might exaggerate the size of the fish I catch, the distance I can jump, the ability I have to fight bad guys, and how cool I am, but I can truly see when I tell the truth that God blesses me in ways that I didn't see blessing before. Mostly, the truth is often a step of humility, and humility brings us closer to God as we understand that all things come from Him.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Seed Scattered
The parable I read today was out of Mark 4. Jesus tells the disciples that the Word is like seeds scattered on the ground. Some on rocky ground, some in the thorns, some fell on the path, and some fell on good soil. The sun burned up the plants on rocky ground, the thorns overtook the plants where they were planted, the birds ate the seeds on the path, and the seeds in good soil flourished.
We are the ground. Usually I strive to be a rock, but this time I'm trying to be soft black soil! See... the rock is all about Jesus until things get tough, then they decide to go back to the way things were before. As I've been reading, I'm noticing that the Israelites are often like rocks as they travel through the desert. Every time Moses does something they don't expect, they start to turn away from God.
The seeds on the path never got a chance. Some people are so closed off to Christ that whatever seeds are planted in them are immediately lost to the things of the world. The ground needs to be tilled before the seeds can take root.
Lastly, no one wants to get thrown into thorns, but they are pretty similar to the rocks. Either way, that seed takes root, but then quickly dies out. If you're going to take root... if Jesus is going to be your life, then make sure you're in the good soil! I've talked about those things that make good soil before, but surround yourself with other people that are planted in good soil. Don't think that your seeds are planted in good soil if all the seeds around you are on rocks, paths and in thorns. You want to be in a field of good soil! Then, once your plant is ready to release it's own seeds, send them over to other areas where new soil has been tilled and made ready.
Read and strive to understand what the Bible says to stay in your good soil. Farmers don't plant crops they don't know how to maintain. Certain pests attack certain crops, certain diseases strike certain crops, and the farmer knows what to do when disease and pests start to show up. We need to know the same about how to keep our soil from becoming weakened. We need to make sure our soil keeps the nutrients to keep us growing.
Finally, talk to the Farmer. If you feel disease coming or there's a pest on you that's trying to eat your leaves or your fruit, you got to let God know! We're plants... we can only do so much, but the Farmer - He's got everything that we need to stay healthy and strong in our soil!
We are the ground. Usually I strive to be a rock, but this time I'm trying to be soft black soil! See... the rock is all about Jesus until things get tough, then they decide to go back to the way things were before. As I've been reading, I'm noticing that the Israelites are often like rocks as they travel through the desert. Every time Moses does something they don't expect, they start to turn away from God.
The seeds on the path never got a chance. Some people are so closed off to Christ that whatever seeds are planted in them are immediately lost to the things of the world. The ground needs to be tilled before the seeds can take root.
Lastly, no one wants to get thrown into thorns, but they are pretty similar to the rocks. Either way, that seed takes root, but then quickly dies out. If you're going to take root... if Jesus is going to be your life, then make sure you're in the good soil! I've talked about those things that make good soil before, but surround yourself with other people that are planted in good soil. Don't think that your seeds are planted in good soil if all the seeds around you are on rocks, paths and in thorns. You want to be in a field of good soil! Then, once your plant is ready to release it's own seeds, send them over to other areas where new soil has been tilled and made ready.
Read and strive to understand what the Bible says to stay in your good soil. Farmers don't plant crops they don't know how to maintain. Certain pests attack certain crops, certain diseases strike certain crops, and the farmer knows what to do when disease and pests start to show up. We need to know the same about how to keep our soil from becoming weakened. We need to make sure our soil keeps the nutrients to keep us growing.
Finally, talk to the Farmer. If you feel disease coming or there's a pest on you that's trying to eat your leaves or your fruit, you got to let God know! We're plants... we can only do so much, but the Farmer - He's got everything that we need to stay healthy and strong in our soil!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Our Place at The Table
One of my favorite reminders to myself and to other Christians is that if we truly believe that we are saved, then the only reason we are not immediately taken to Heaven upon repentance and salvation is so that others can hear about Jesus and forgiveness through us.
Jesus speaks to this in Mark 2, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Although being around people who believe the same thing as us is important to keep us focused on eternal things instead of temporary things, our purpose on earth is not to be so involved with church that we don't have an influence outside of it. Jesus was not here to hang out with His disciples without spending time with the people who really needed to know who He was.
Find a place where people need to know about Jesus and hang out there. It's easy to become so comfortable and involved in church that we take ourselves out of the world around us, but that's not what Jesus has given us wisdom to do. Love the world. Serve the world. Save the world.
Jesus speaks to this in Mark 2, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Although being around people who believe the same thing as us is important to keep us focused on eternal things instead of temporary things, our purpose on earth is not to be so involved with church that we don't have an influence outside of it. Jesus was not here to hang out with His disciples without spending time with the people who really needed to know who He was.
Find a place where people need to know about Jesus and hang out there. It's easy to become so comfortable and involved in church that we take ourselves out of the world around us, but that's not what Jesus has given us wisdom to do. Love the world. Serve the world. Save the world.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Ministering Angels
In Mark 1, Jesus gets baptized and is led into the wilderness by the Spirit for 40 days where He endures temptations from Satan. After the 40 days is up, the Bible says He was ministered to by the angels.
Even Jesus knows when He's weak and needs help... we need to put our pride aside and accept the help Jesus and our Father have to offer us, because we can't do this alone.
Even Jesus knows when He's weak and needs help... we need to put our pride aside and accept the help Jesus and our Father have to offer us, because we can't do this alone.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
The Holiness of God
My wife and I were able to travel to Atlanta this weekend to watch one of our close friends get married. I was able to keep up with my reading because of flight time, but didn't bring a computer so wrote my daily thoughts down on paper instead. I thought about trying to play catch-up, but no one wants to read 3 days worth of writing in one sitting - at least I'm pretty sure that's not what people expect to see when they click on a blog to read it, so I'm just going to pick my favorite one. It's my favorite because I think it's the most important. I think the church is losing sight of who God is because of the mercy and grace of Jesus that we find our hope in.
It's definitely not wrong to celebrate that Jesus came and forgave us for all of the sin that we commit in our lives. It's definitely very clear in the New Testament that things like animal sacrifice and similar ways of showing obedience are no longer necessary due to the new ways we can show love and obedience through Christ. What we forget is that there is still a Father, and He is still the same person He was before Christ came and changed who we are!
He's the God who is so Pure and Holy that when He commanded Lot and his wife to not look back at Sodom and Gomorrah burning up, He killed Lot's wife for her disobedience. He's still the same God who in Exodus 19 told Moses to make sure the Israelites understood that if they or any of their livestock were to touch Mt. Sinai while God was talking to Moses on it, that they would be put to death. He's still as Holy as He was in Exodus 3 when He asked Moses to remove his sandals before approaching the burning bush. He's still as holy as He was in Exodus 33 when Moses asked to see Him and He told Moses to hide in a rock as He passed and then he could turn and look at God's back, because no man can ever look at the face of God.
I believe that when we're talking to our Father now, and approaching His throne, He still deserves the same humility and understanding of Holiness that He did before Christ came. I don't disagree that all are welcome at the throne of God, regardless of where they're coming from - no matter where you are in life, what wrong you've done, or what sin is in your life. I think that anyone who approaches the throne of God with love is going to be received because of Christ, but I think the character of God would receive the most honor from those approaching Him in humility and honor similar to the way He asked those to approach Him before Christ came.
God's holiness is not something that we should rush into. In 2 Samuel 6 the Israelites are carrying the Ark of the Covenant which God had ordered that they must never touch. The oxen carrying the Ark had apparently caused it to shift where it was possibly going to fall and a man named Uzzah stuck his hand out to catch it. God struck him down instantly. The presence of God's holiness is something that is more than we can possibly absorb and take in if we rush into it or try to approach it too closely.
The church has grown into a body that wants to show outsiders that they are accepted no matter who they are, how they look or where they're coming from, and I am 100% behind that goal, but I think there is a time and a place to be cool and look approachable, and there's a time and a place to be that weird Christian that understands that being on your knees and praying without your hat on is where God gets the most glory.
I have a pet peeve about hats in church that I just need to tangent on real quick. Wearing a hat to church is cool - no big deal, just like wearing a hat to a baseball game. But there's a moment during that game where you take your hat off to show HONOR to the American flag. If we can take our hats off to show honor to a flag... how much more does God deserve that honor when we're praying to Him?!
So, just like Jesus ate dinner with the tax collector's and blended in with them as much as He could without falling into sin, we should do the same in our efforts to draw people closer to Christ and the Church. But, just like Jesus got weird sometimes and snuck off into the wilderness to pray, cursed a fig tree for not having figs, or told demons to enter a group of pigs, we might need to let the cool Christian vibe go to the backseat sometimes so we can get down on the floor in the presence of our God and worship Him the way He has asked to be worshiped.
It's definitely not wrong to celebrate that Jesus came and forgave us for all of the sin that we commit in our lives. It's definitely very clear in the New Testament that things like animal sacrifice and similar ways of showing obedience are no longer necessary due to the new ways we can show love and obedience through Christ. What we forget is that there is still a Father, and He is still the same person He was before Christ came and changed who we are!
He's the God who is so Pure and Holy that when He commanded Lot and his wife to not look back at Sodom and Gomorrah burning up, He killed Lot's wife for her disobedience. He's still the same God who in Exodus 19 told Moses to make sure the Israelites understood that if they or any of their livestock were to touch Mt. Sinai while God was talking to Moses on it, that they would be put to death. He's still as Holy as He was in Exodus 3 when He asked Moses to remove his sandals before approaching the burning bush. He's still as holy as He was in Exodus 33 when Moses asked to see Him and He told Moses to hide in a rock as He passed and then he could turn and look at God's back, because no man can ever look at the face of God.
I believe that when we're talking to our Father now, and approaching His throne, He still deserves the same humility and understanding of Holiness that He did before Christ came. I don't disagree that all are welcome at the throne of God, regardless of where they're coming from - no matter where you are in life, what wrong you've done, or what sin is in your life. I think that anyone who approaches the throne of God with love is going to be received because of Christ, but I think the character of God would receive the most honor from those approaching Him in humility and honor similar to the way He asked those to approach Him before Christ came.
God's holiness is not something that we should rush into. In 2 Samuel 6 the Israelites are carrying the Ark of the Covenant which God had ordered that they must never touch. The oxen carrying the Ark had apparently caused it to shift where it was possibly going to fall and a man named Uzzah stuck his hand out to catch it. God struck him down instantly. The presence of God's holiness is something that is more than we can possibly absorb and take in if we rush into it or try to approach it too closely.
The church has grown into a body that wants to show outsiders that they are accepted no matter who they are, how they look or where they're coming from, and I am 100% behind that goal, but I think there is a time and a place to be cool and look approachable, and there's a time and a place to be that weird Christian that understands that being on your knees and praying without your hat on is where God gets the most glory.
I have a pet peeve about hats in church that I just need to tangent on real quick. Wearing a hat to church is cool - no big deal, just like wearing a hat to a baseball game. But there's a moment during that game where you take your hat off to show HONOR to the American flag. If we can take our hats off to show honor to a flag... how much more does God deserve that honor when we're praying to Him?!
So, just like Jesus ate dinner with the tax collector's and blended in with them as much as He could without falling into sin, we should do the same in our efforts to draw people closer to Christ and the Church. But, just like Jesus got weird sometimes and snuck off into the wilderness to pray, cursed a fig tree for not having figs, or told demons to enter a group of pigs, we might need to let the cool Christian vibe go to the backseat sometimes so we can get down on the floor in the presence of our God and worship Him the way He has asked to be worshiped.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
For Something Special
How many have waited in line in hopes that something special was coming along?
Personally, I've waited in line in LA hoping to get into the Price is Right. I thought the first ticket I got was the ticket to get in, but turns out you need to get another one or something like that, so I got to hang out at the beach while all my friends got in.
Maybe, like me, you've waited in line at Best Buy on Black Friday hoping for a really good deal on a new game system or a tv? Maybe you've stood in line hoping to win tickets to your favorite band's show.
In Proverbs 8:34, it says "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whatever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord."
Just like waiting in line for those other things was worth it, waiting at the door for Christ is worth every minute. You don't just win a ticket, or a cheaper tv, but you find life! It's worth the wait.
Personally, I've waited in line in LA hoping to get into the Price is Right. I thought the first ticket I got was the ticket to get in, but turns out you need to get another one or something like that, so I got to hang out at the beach while all my friends got in.
Maybe, like me, you've waited in line at Best Buy on Black Friday hoping for a really good deal on a new game system or a tv? Maybe you've stood in line hoping to win tickets to your favorite band's show.
In Proverbs 8:34, it says "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whatever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord."
Just like waiting in line for those other things was worth it, waiting at the door for Christ is worth every minute. You don't just win a ticket, or a cheaper tv, but you find life! It's worth the wait.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Invisible Protection
It's difficult to have your entire faith based on something that you can't see. Lots of people argue that they can't see God so He must not exist. Most churches end up turning to preaching about love and forgiveness since those are attributes of Christ that can be lived out through us today. I do believe that we can love in a way, that is only like Christ, by the power of His Holy Spirit living inside of us. That same power also gives us the ability to forgive in a way that not many people of other faiths understand. We turn to the things that make more sense to help us understand what we can't see.
We also seem to shy away from those things that we can't make sense of in our modern society. When's the last time you knew an angel or a demonic spirit was at work? How often are they but we attribute it to something else? What if we thought about attacks on our health, finances, relationships, etc. as potentially from a force that Christ has already beaten?
I love reading and thinking about angels. Multiple times Jesus mentions that angels were protecting or helping Him along. Sometimes when I'm worshiping I try to close my eyes and imagine angels in every open space dancing and praising God, holding nothing back. I want to think more about how angels might be present with me in my every day life, and I want to understand the power they have so that I can fully utilize it in ministry, but they're invisible and the outcome of angels or demons being involved in something is often attributed to luck -good or bad, coincidence, fortune, etc. so it is often overlooked.
In Matthew 26:53 Jesus says "Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?"
A Roman legion was composed of 6,000 soldiers, so Jesus is saying that all He has to do is ask and God will provide Him with 72,000 angels! The notes in my Bible point me toward 2 Kings 19:35 where one angel kills 185,000 men in one night. If one angel can accomplish more than any number of men could ever hope to accomplish, think about 72,000....
My point is that I want to know angels are here with me and available to me when I need them. I don't want to talk too much about it now, because I hope to talk more about it when I read this portion of Scripture but Jesus is also visited by angels after He goes through a very difficult time. They minister to Him and help Him recover spiritually. Another time Elijah is surrounded by angels as a sign of protection. So we already know that angels are in the business of protecting and healing. I want to change my prayers to more specifically ask God to provide me with angels to heal my wounds, beat my temptations, etc.
If angels are available to us to help fight what we can't see should we pretend we're not getting spiritually attacked because we can't see it, or should we ask our Father to hook us up with some of His angel army to defeat this stuff?! God has given us the weapons we need to make the disciples He's asked us to make - we just need to trust that the weapons are working. Don't hesitate to pull the trigger because you aren't sure you loaded the gun. Don't not turn the key because you aren't sure if the car has gas. Pull the trigger. Turn the key.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Pushed Away His Pierced Hands
In Matthew 26, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus by taking money from the chief priests to deliver Him into their hands.
I always read this portion of the text and start to get so upset that Judas would do something so wild and unloving. But, then I remember a verse from Lecrae's song "Boasting" that says "We never loved Him; we pushed away His pierced hands."
Every time we sin, we're seeing Jesus on the cross and turning our back on Him. We're seeing the sacrifice He made for us and choosing to ignore it so that we can seek joy out somewhere else. Just like Judas couldn't see the eternal consequences of his actions, we also tend to turn to the most immediate joy, not thinking about whether it will harm us later.
I've experienced it with the things I've let my eyes see, the things I've let my money buy, the people I've spent my time with, and the words or phrases I've let come out of my mouth. It makes me feel a little sick to know that Jesus died on a cross so that I could still go to Heaven after making the decision to do some of those stupid things.
Now I try to think about the scene from "The Passion" when Jesus is getting beaten and hung on the cross whenever any temptation rises up against me. I imagine myself looking Jesus in the eyes and seeing all the pain that He's going through for me - at that very moment. How can you think about someone going through so much physical and spiritual pain for you and still choose to turn away? I think the only way to continually turn toward temptation is if you never allow yourself to look at the crucifixion in the first place. The only way to possibly choose sin over and over again is if you never saw Jesus on that cross for you, but instead turned and walked away in order to live in ignorance of the gift you were offered.
Will I see the pain and forgiveness in His eyes and worship Him, or will I divert my eyes so that I will feel okay living in my sin?
I always read this portion of the text and start to get so upset that Judas would do something so wild and unloving. But, then I remember a verse from Lecrae's song "Boasting" that says "We never loved Him; we pushed away His pierced hands."
Every time we sin, we're seeing Jesus on the cross and turning our back on Him. We're seeing the sacrifice He made for us and choosing to ignore it so that we can seek joy out somewhere else. Just like Judas couldn't see the eternal consequences of his actions, we also tend to turn to the most immediate joy, not thinking about whether it will harm us later.
I've experienced it with the things I've let my eyes see, the things I've let my money buy, the people I've spent my time with, and the words or phrases I've let come out of my mouth. It makes me feel a little sick to know that Jesus died on a cross so that I could still go to Heaven after making the decision to do some of those stupid things.
Now I try to think about the scene from "The Passion" when Jesus is getting beaten and hung on the cross whenever any temptation rises up against me. I imagine myself looking Jesus in the eyes and seeing all the pain that He's going through for me - at that very moment. How can you think about someone going through so much physical and spiritual pain for you and still choose to turn away? I think the only way to continually turn toward temptation is if you never allow yourself to look at the crucifixion in the first place. The only way to possibly choose sin over and over again is if you never saw Jesus on that cross for you, but instead turned and walked away in order to live in ignorance of the gift you were offered.
Will I see the pain and forgiveness in His eyes and worship Him, or will I divert my eyes so that I will feel okay living in my sin?
Monday, February 13, 2017
Well Done!
My wife Laura and I went to a Nuggets game tonight. I haven't lived near professional sports in a long time, so I've definitely changed since I was last at an NBA game! I used to look at the players like they were above me, better than me, and more important than me. I still feel it a little bit, but I think I understand now that they're just trying to do the best job they can at work, just like me... we just have different careers.
I think one of the greatest compliments an athlete can receive when they're younger is for their mentor to tell them "good job". Even greater than that would be your athletic idol. If Michael Jordan would have came to watch my basketball game and told me "great game", I would have been ecstatic!
I start to feel the same butterflies inside when I think about Jesus telling me "well done, my good and faithful servant". That would be the best compliment I could ever get!
In Matthew 25, Jesus is telling us the importance of utilizing the time and talents that He's given us. He says "You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
I just want to make sure that I'm using the talents and time that God has given me to multiply His kingdom. I don't want to waste it on me or ignore it and do something else. Being positively acknowledged for the life I've led would be such a great welcome into the Kingdom!
I think this also means more to me now after taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course. I want to be faithful with my talents, time AND finances. "To those who have been faithful with a few things, I will put in charge of many things". I would love to be in a position financially to be a blessing to people, but first I need to show that I can get out of this debt and start being generous with what I have!
Sunday, February 12, 2017
A Wise Servant
Sometimes it's difficult to get wisdom out of something you've read so many times already, but when I think about that, I'm so thankful that I've had the opportunity and freedom to read the Bible multiple times and study different areas of it repeatedly. There are so many people that haven't had that opportunity and would be reading these daily readings for the first time.
In Matthew 24, Jesus is explaining the importance of being prepared for His return. He pretty much said be the son who cares for the house and all it's belongings when his parents are gone, so that when they return, everything is in order and better than what they left it. Don't be the son who finds out his parents are leaving and throws a rager, then has his parents return before he can hide his foolishness.
Jesus will be returning, but only God knows the day and time. Be the child who is multiplying the gifts the Father has given when Jesus returns. Don't be the one running into hiding for foolish decisions.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Future Blind
As usual, tonight my wife picked the movie I would watch while she would fall asleep. 90% of the movie was about a guy cheating on his wife. The last two minutes were about him asking for forgiveness. Horrible chick flick. Horrible movie. Next time we're watching a war movie to make up for it.
Anyway, I couldn't help but still be thinking about the awkward relational moments of the movie as I was reading, and I just happened to be reading about prostitutes...
Proverbs 7 uses the example of a boy walking down the road when a prostitute comes out of her house and tells him everything he wanted to hear to make the decision to join her in bed. There's brownies and ice cream, the highest quality sheets, the room smells like a mountain stream, and there's enough alcohol to drink away every barrier of temptation. Her husband is out of the house for a while, so the boy has everything available to him that is meant for the husband.
First, I think he's referred to as a boy because that's the age stupid decisions make us look. It may be that the character in the story really was a young man or boy, but I believe a lack of discernment can lead a full grown man to make the same dumb decisions. We've all witnessed it.
Second thing... temporary. Temporary. Temporary. Temporary. What benefit will he receive - a temporary one. What feeling will he go away with - a temporary one. The devil likes to tempt us with temporary satisfaction - it's nothing compared to what we're working toward eternally.
Lastly, the verses after the story say this, "All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life."
Satisfaction appears to be very fulfilling sometimes. The decision to give in is made so quickly based on feeling... you rarely think about the consequences.
This dude in the movie was away from his wife too long so when temptation stepped up in front of him, he was too far removed to consider the consequences and only saw the temporary satisfaction that was right in front of him. He didn't think about the woman that he loved and how it may effect her. He didn't think about the children he had at home and how it would affect them. It was a temporary selfish gain that negatively impacted their entire future.
Don't let future-blindness lead you into the slaughter.
Anyway, I couldn't help but still be thinking about the awkward relational moments of the movie as I was reading, and I just happened to be reading about prostitutes...
Proverbs 7 uses the example of a boy walking down the road when a prostitute comes out of her house and tells him everything he wanted to hear to make the decision to join her in bed. There's brownies and ice cream, the highest quality sheets, the room smells like a mountain stream, and there's enough alcohol to drink away every barrier of temptation. Her husband is out of the house for a while, so the boy has everything available to him that is meant for the husband.
First, I think he's referred to as a boy because that's the age stupid decisions make us look. It may be that the character in the story really was a young man or boy, but I believe a lack of discernment can lead a full grown man to make the same dumb decisions. We've all witnessed it.
Second thing... temporary. Temporary. Temporary. Temporary. What benefit will he receive - a temporary one. What feeling will he go away with - a temporary one. The devil likes to tempt us with temporary satisfaction - it's nothing compared to what we're working toward eternally.
Lastly, the verses after the story say this, "All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life."
Satisfaction appears to be very fulfilling sometimes. The decision to give in is made so quickly based on feeling... you rarely think about the consequences.
This dude in the movie was away from his wife too long so when temptation stepped up in front of him, he was too far removed to consider the consequences and only saw the temporary satisfaction that was right in front of him. He didn't think about the woman that he loved and how it may effect her. He didn't think about the children he had at home and how it would affect them. It was a temporary selfish gain that negatively impacted their entire future.
Don't let future-blindness lead you into the slaughter.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Bound on my Finger
Proverbs 7:2-3 says "Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."
This was a good reminder to why I'm doing this. Why would I spend close to an hour a day for a year reading the Bible, meditating on it and writing about it? I already mentioned that it's the playbook I want to live my life by, but it also brings glory to God for me to follow his teachings and live out his commands.
So, I'm going to read it until it's like the Word of God is bound on my fingers. Until I live every moment according to the teachings and commands of the Bible as if they're written on my heart.
This was a good reminder to why I'm doing this. Why would I spend close to an hour a day for a year reading the Bible, meditating on it and writing about it? I already mentioned that it's the playbook I want to live my life by, but it also brings glory to God for me to follow his teachings and live out his commands.
So, I'm going to read it until it's like the Word of God is bound on my fingers. Until I live every moment according to the teachings and commands of the Bible as if they're written on my heart.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
The Refuge
I knew moving away from Charleston was going to be tough. I knew I was going to miss our community. I knew Denver would be lonely for a little while. I knew that I had my wife and that we could hold strong to each other until we settled in. I knew God was calling us out here and found assurance, hope and comfort in that calling. But, at the end of the day, it's still really really hard.
When I moved to Charleston, I asked my dad how he dealt with friends who had moved away and physically created distance in their relationship. His response - all we had was long-distance calling and it was expensive, so the relationships just kind of ended. Well, I would rarely call technology a blessing, but being able to feel the love of friends and family from around the country is a whole lot better than that!
It hurts to think about the families that we were a part of in Charleston continuing without us. The kids that we were watching grow up, grow older and wiser without us. The relationships that we saw get started, continue to grow and blossom into families from a distance. It's really really hard.
It's very rare that I'm in a position in life where Psalms speaks to me the way that it does for a lot of other people, but right now... I needed it.
Psalm 27:4-5 says "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock."
It's comforting to read that dwelling with the Lord is an option, and that His dwelling is a safe place. I definitely don't feel like we're in an unsafe place, but it does feel very uncomfortable, and to know that God can be here with us, dwelling with us, loving on us, sheltering us; it's a very comforting feeling.
When I moved to Charleston, I asked my dad how he dealt with friends who had moved away and physically created distance in their relationship. His response - all we had was long-distance calling and it was expensive, so the relationships just kind of ended. Well, I would rarely call technology a blessing, but being able to feel the love of friends and family from around the country is a whole lot better than that!
It hurts to think about the families that we were a part of in Charleston continuing without us. The kids that we were watching grow up, grow older and wiser without us. The relationships that we saw get started, continue to grow and blossom into families from a distance. It's really really hard.
It's very rare that I'm in a position in life where Psalms speaks to me the way that it does for a lot of other people, but right now... I needed it.
Psalm 27:4-5 says "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock."
It's comforting to read that dwelling with the Lord is an option, and that His dwelling is a safe place. I definitely don't feel like we're in an unsafe place, but it does feel very uncomfortable, and to know that God can be here with us, dwelling with us, loving on us, sheltering us; it's a very comforting feeling.
So, as I turned into a 30 year old kid today, I celebrated with my wife who tried so hard to make it a fun night even though we're on week 18 of morning sickness (champ), and felt sadness for her and I felt sadness because of the friends and family that are so far away. I'm overly joyful and positive about this transition, but it's very difficult, so now I will dwell in His presence, cause my Daddy is here and this kid needs some loving.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
RUN!
Tonight I got destroyed in knock out by some middle schoolers. I was sitting here thinking about how to tie that into what I want to say about Exodus, but I can't figure it out. I just want you to know... I lost in basketball to middle schoolers and now I'm humbled. Pretty frustrated, but definitely humbled. I'm also turning 30 tomorrow, but I'm still as immature as the high schoolers I was with tonight - again... humbled.
The other night I talked about the obedience of the Israelites when God directed them to kill a lamb and put the blood around their door frames for protection. Obedience is the beginning of blessing as we can see when we read deeper into the story. As the tenth and final plague, God ends up killing all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Pharaoh finally gives in to Moses and Aaron's requests to let the Israelites leave, so all 600,000 men and their families get their belongings together and leave Egypt. That's over 1 million people traveling under the leadership of Moses!
This dude didn't even want to start an Instagram - so much so that he asked God if Aaron could do it instead, and just a short time later... 1 million followers! Men. Women. Children. Babies. Married. Single. Parents. Grandparents. All of them looking toward him. He probably got like 700,000 likes a day!
Anyway, here's the cool part. Pharaoh decides he shouldn't have let the Israelites go and decides to take 600 of his best chariots and riders, and all of his troops to go get them back because they realized they wouldn't know how to live life without slaves. Turns out God wanted to bless the obedience the Israelites showed in killing the unblemished lambs and now following Moses out of slavery, so he creates a large cloud between the two groups of people so that the Egyptians were not able to catch up to the Israelites until they had gotten to the Red Sea. Once at the sea, God instructs Moses to lift his rod over the water and the water splits as the Israelites wait, guarded by the cloud.
This is where the story ties in to the temptation that we have the ability to fight, or the sin that's trying to pull us down that God gives us the means of escaping. The Israelites are getting chased down by evil (that could be sin, Satan, temptation, etc.), but they've been obedient to the instructions God has given so far (like reading, praying, community), so God wants to bless them for their obedience and help them escape from the evil that's trying to chase them down. He still doesn't just hand it to them though. They need to sit there and wait for the waters to split and the ground to dry. Sitting... waiting... knowing that just on the other side of this dark cloud the Egyptians are waiting to come and get them back.
How many know what it's like to get beat up by the same sin over and over again? How many walk back through that cloud because they get to the Red Sea and forget that God can split it? Have faith and walk through it! Don't turn around! Don't go back to the slavery that's on the other side of that cloud! God is working for you, not against you.
God dries up the land and the Israelites cross through this huge body of water, but the Egyptians follow. God causes confusion among the Egyptians while they're in the middle of the parted waters and they struggle to move out from the bottom of the Red Sea. From the other side, Moses raises his staff again, and God closes the waters on the Egyptians - none survive.
Take your struggles and your temptations and RUN from them! Don't turn back. Don't ever think that you're in a place too far from God, or alone without His help. Just lift up your voice and ask in faith for a way out. Then, when that Sea splits in two, let God take that struggle or temptation and drown it! Close the waters and make it impossible to ever go back.
The other night I talked about the obedience of the Israelites when God directed them to kill a lamb and put the blood around their door frames for protection. Obedience is the beginning of blessing as we can see when we read deeper into the story. As the tenth and final plague, God ends up killing all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Pharaoh finally gives in to Moses and Aaron's requests to let the Israelites leave, so all 600,000 men and their families get their belongings together and leave Egypt. That's over 1 million people traveling under the leadership of Moses!
This dude didn't even want to start an Instagram - so much so that he asked God if Aaron could do it instead, and just a short time later... 1 million followers! Men. Women. Children. Babies. Married. Single. Parents. Grandparents. All of them looking toward him. He probably got like 700,000 likes a day!
Anyway, here's the cool part. Pharaoh decides he shouldn't have let the Israelites go and decides to take 600 of his best chariots and riders, and all of his troops to go get them back because they realized they wouldn't know how to live life without slaves. Turns out God wanted to bless the obedience the Israelites showed in killing the unblemished lambs and now following Moses out of slavery, so he creates a large cloud between the two groups of people so that the Egyptians were not able to catch up to the Israelites until they had gotten to the Red Sea. Once at the sea, God instructs Moses to lift his rod over the water and the water splits as the Israelites wait, guarded by the cloud.
This is where the story ties in to the temptation that we have the ability to fight, or the sin that's trying to pull us down that God gives us the means of escaping. The Israelites are getting chased down by evil (that could be sin, Satan, temptation, etc.), but they've been obedient to the instructions God has given so far (like reading, praying, community), so God wants to bless them for their obedience and help them escape from the evil that's trying to chase them down. He still doesn't just hand it to them though. They need to sit there and wait for the waters to split and the ground to dry. Sitting... waiting... knowing that just on the other side of this dark cloud the Egyptians are waiting to come and get them back.
How many know what it's like to get beat up by the same sin over and over again? How many walk back through that cloud because they get to the Red Sea and forget that God can split it? Have faith and walk through it! Don't turn around! Don't go back to the slavery that's on the other side of that cloud! God is working for you, not against you.
God dries up the land and the Israelites cross through this huge body of water, but the Egyptians follow. God causes confusion among the Egyptians while they're in the middle of the parted waters and they struggle to move out from the bottom of the Red Sea. From the other side, Moses raises his staff again, and God closes the waters on the Egyptians - none survive.
Take your struggles and your temptations and RUN from them! Don't turn back. Don't ever think that you're in a place too far from God, or alone without His help. Just lift up your voice and ask in faith for a way out. Then, when that Sea splits in two, let God take that struggle or temptation and drown it! Close the waters and make it impossible to ever go back.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Move Mountains
My wife and I went to a prayer service at church tonight, so unfortunately I'm having one of those nights where obedience to read and write is forcing it to happen quicker than it ought.
In Matthew 21, Jesus tells the disciples "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
I want to believe in that way. I want to understand the power of God and I want to ask Him to do the things He already wants to do. In the song "In Christ Alone" one of the lines refers to "the power of Christ in me." It's true! When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit, His power, comes into our lives. The same power that raised the dead, healed the sick and wounded, walked on water, and moved mountains - it lives in us. I so desperately want that to be real to me. I want my eyes to see and my heart to know that there's power greater than me. That there's a loving Brother who with total love and joy, gave His life so that I would have mine. And that my Brother and my Lord, is capable of carrying the weight of this world on His shoulders so that I would be free to seek Him.
Tonight I want to wrap up by praying for anyone reading this.
Father, thank you for your promises and your Son. Thank you for everything that we can learn from the life He lived on this earth and thank you for the sacrifice that was made that saves us from destruction. Please open our eyes to your power. Help us to understand that you're greater than any problem we face and any trial of this life. God, please bless these people tonight Lord. I ask that you would be present in their lives in very clear and obvious ways this week so that they are reminded that you are still with us today. Please let them see your power and understand your grace and majesty. Holy Spirit, lead us. Direct our paths toward you and for you. Use us as your vessels to show the world the love of the cross.
Amen.
In Matthew 21, Jesus tells the disciples "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
I want to believe in that way. I want to understand the power of God and I want to ask Him to do the things He already wants to do. In the song "In Christ Alone" one of the lines refers to "the power of Christ in me." It's true! When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit, His power, comes into our lives. The same power that raised the dead, healed the sick and wounded, walked on water, and moved mountains - it lives in us. I so desperately want that to be real to me. I want my eyes to see and my heart to know that there's power greater than me. That there's a loving Brother who with total love and joy, gave His life so that I would have mine. And that my Brother and my Lord, is capable of carrying the weight of this world on His shoulders so that I would be free to seek Him.
Tonight I want to wrap up by praying for anyone reading this.
Father, thank you for your promises and your Son. Thank you for everything that we can learn from the life He lived on this earth and thank you for the sacrifice that was made that saves us from destruction. Please open our eyes to your power. Help us to understand that you're greater than any problem we face and any trial of this life. God, please bless these people tonight Lord. I ask that you would be present in their lives in very clear and obvious ways this week so that they are reminded that you are still with us today. Please let them see your power and understand your grace and majesty. Holy Spirit, lead us. Direct our paths toward you and for you. Use us as your vessels to show the world the love of the cross.
Amen.
Monday, February 6, 2017
A Barrier of Protection
When I think about protection, the first analogy that comes to mind is the blind side of the quarterback. Maybe it's because I heard so much about the Superbowl today, or maybe I just like sports illustrations! Lots of people probably have an understanding of the blind side now due to the Sandra Bullock movie, but here's the general basis. The most crucial protection for the quarterback is the guy guarding him from the defensive player trying to attack from the side of his throwing arm. As the quarterback scans the field, it's very difficult to see if someone is coming up from behind him. The protection of the blind side is a crucial role of the offensive line. If the defensive player can get to the quarterback as he's throwing the ball, there's a high percentage that the defensive team will come away with the ball.
Similarly, Satan is continually attacking us and working to tempt us out of God's will and into his ways. Although the Holy Spirit can give us a sense of what is happening in the spiritual realm, we can't see it coming, so finding ways to block it or keep ourselves from being tempted is critical.
In Exodus 12, God commands Moses to have the Israelites kill an unblemished lamb and then to take the blood and smear it on the sides and tops of their door frames. God was going to come through that evening with the final plague before Pharaoh would allow the Israelites to leave from the slavery and captivity that the Egyptians were holding them in. Taking the time and effort to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the door frame was going to save their firstborn children while all of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians would be killed.
The only way that you would not kill a lamb and spread that blood around your door is if you didn't believe that God was real! The preventative measures to save your child from death are handed to you and you have everything you need to put the plan into action. You do it! There's no question!
If we're going to do everything we need to do to save our firstborn from death, then why is it so hard to develop preventative strategies to keep ourselves from sin (death)?
God has given us everything we need to fight temptation and protect our blind side. Let's put it into action!
Similarly, Satan is continually attacking us and working to tempt us out of God's will and into his ways. Although the Holy Spirit can give us a sense of what is happening in the spiritual realm, we can't see it coming, so finding ways to block it or keep ourselves from being tempted is critical.
In Exodus 12, God commands Moses to have the Israelites kill an unblemished lamb and then to take the blood and smear it on the sides and tops of their door frames. God was going to come through that evening with the final plague before Pharaoh would allow the Israelites to leave from the slavery and captivity that the Egyptians were holding them in. Taking the time and effort to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the door frame was going to save their firstborn children while all of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians would be killed.
The only way that you would not kill a lamb and spread that blood around your door is if you didn't believe that God was real! The preventative measures to save your child from death are handed to you and you have everything you need to put the plan into action. You do it! There's no question!
If we're going to do everything we need to do to save our firstborn from death, then why is it so hard to develop preventative strategies to keep ourselves from sin (death)?
God has given us everything we need to fight temptation and protect our blind side. Let's put it into action!
- Read the Bible - If your job is to protect the quarterback's blind side, and you're about to play in the Superbowl, you're going to make sure you memorize every play you might run on offense and every play they might run on defense! You're going to know the playbook inside and out. Study the Bible that same way! Understand the power that's on your side and understand the schemes of the other side. Understand the authority you have in Christ and understand the methods Jesus teaches for rebuking temptation.
- Pray - God has more power and more control over your situation than you have on your own. If your coach on the field can provide you with a better play that will help keep the enemy out, ASK FOR IT! The Coach is listening and waiting for you to ask for His help - stop trying to solve your problems on your own when the Expert is readily available.
- Surround yourself with Community - It takes an entire line to keep the quarterback protected. The line also has to work together and help each other out. If the guy next to you fails at blocking his man, the entire line fails. Surround yourself with people who pick you up when you're down, encourage you while you're up, and come alongside you when you're falling behind. Make sure the people around you know the playbook or you'll start to fail as you continually have to make up for their deficincies. Find the people that will run out into the battle field to pull you back to safety because they know you'd do the same for them.
Finally, if your shoes aren't on tightly, tighten them. If your helmet is too lose, add padding. If your ankle is sore... WRAP IT! Don't give Satan a foothold - remove temptation as quickly as possible before you lose to it.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Publicly Blessed
As an older brother, a child in school, and a cousin, there were times growing up where I would either be the tattletale or bear witness to it. There were also plenty of times I was the one getting in trouble! There's some sort of satisfaction received when you get to witness the guilty party receiving their consequence. There's a pride that you were wise enough to stay out of trouble this time, and there's a gratification of actually seeing that the person that tested the limits didn't get away with it.
I think the same goes for us as adults, although most of us aren't tattling anymore! If someone is taking shortcuts at work, we're waiting for it to catch up with them. We become satisfied when the person that drove by us at 20 mph over the limit is pulled over by the police a few miles down the road. We are thankful when the dangerous men and women who thought they could get away with things end up behind bars and off the street.
It's not the same if you don't see the consequence. If the guy taking shortcuts at work gets talked to privately and the rumors never make it to your desk, there's no emotional reaction. If the guy going 20 mph over the limit gets pulled over on a street where you didn't get to pass him, you don't find any gratification in his punishment.
I think the same feeling affects us when we are the recipient of something good. We find gratification in the rewards we're given in response to the correct actions and reactions. If the Superbowl this evening was played in secret, and the ring ceremony was a private event, then no one talked about the outcome of the game and the general public was never given the opportunity to know about the achievements of the winning team, how would the Pats feel about their Superbowl rings? How would they feel about their private achievement if no one knew it happened?
In Psalm 23:5, David writes "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
God wants our relationship with Him to be blessed. He wants to celebrate our mutual love for each other the same way a husband and wife celebrate their marriage. Notice what happens to the feeling of the verse below if the event is not observed by the public.
In Psalm 23:5, David writes "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
It's still great. God is still loving on you and enjoying being present with you, but there's a sense of satisfaction missing. I think David really wanted to communicate here that this is all worth it. I believe the word enemy here could be used to just refer to anyone that is spiritually against you. In other words, your enemy would be anyone that doesn't accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Those people that get drunk/high with their crew every weekend. That spouse that found someone else to satisfy them on the side. That guy who puts everyone else down so that he feels up. That person cheating their taxes to try to keep a little more money for themselves. The guy lying on his timesheet at work in order to sneak out early. (Editorial comment: Nothing listed here is something that God can't forgive if you are seeking Him, but are only examples of lifestyles/habits that are habitual and sinful).
All of those people that are giving into the temptations that you may at times be tempted towards, they're going to be sitting there, watching God bless you. Watching the most powerful King of Kings, I AM, provide for your needs and anoint your head with oil.
For those of you who can't really imagine that with God - think of it with your favorite president. You and your enemy started off with the same opportunities to celebrate with the president at the end. Their choices lead them to temporary happiness and temporary satisfaction. Your choices may lead you away from some events that sound pretty fun, but you're dedicated to the final reward. When the time comes, the president calls you, invites you over for dinner, fulfills your every desire and anoints your head with oil - on TV, so that all your friends can see!
Don't let foolish temptations lead you away from that. Life is so temporary in the face of eternity. Strive forward seeking that 5-star, 4-course, candle-lit dinner with the Father or Fathers and King of Kings, set-up to celebrate His love for you - His child.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Like a Child
I've been thinking about turning 30 because my birthday is in a few days. Every time I have a birthday I think about how I viewed my new age when I was younger, and I never seem to fit the mold for my new age that I had developed in my mind in middle school.
I'm definitely not as mature as a 30 year old should be. I still choose to jump in puddles, play in the mud, throw rocks or sticks at any target I can find while I walk through the woods, and still have a desire to try walking on my hands every once in a while.
I hate wearing ties and suits, don't find any joy in going to Starbucks, try to avoid spending money, and still am not exactly sure what I want to be when I grow up.
I remember in 2nd or 3rd grade, my friend from school and I had been hanging out and witnessed some adults do something that we both thought was really strange and adultish. We decided adults were really boring, at which point I promised him I was going to have fun and be slightly childish my entire life.
Well, I'm sure that the expectations of life and the requirements of starting a family have forced me to become a little more adultish than I had desired at that point in life, but I still hold on to my desire to not forget to have the innocent fun of a child.
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the disciples "Truly I tell you, unless you change, and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven."
Most children start out humble. They have to rely on someone else to take care of them. They have to rely on someone else to teach them how to do things and how to read and write. It's hard for them to become prideful, because they have and know nothing on their own. Jesus would love for us to remain in this humility in our relationship with Him. If we need something, we need to ask Him. If we want something, we need to tell Him. Adults think they can do things on their own. It's adults that get the pride that think they can figure something out without asking questions or getting help from someone else. We need to be like little children and continue to seek God for the little things and the big things.
Most children don't care what other people think about them. They don't even realize that other people might be judging them! If I want to wear my batman costume to school... I'm going to bring my batmobile and make engine noises with it too! At what point do we decide that we need to keep certain desires inside and certain thoughts quiet in order to give people a good impression of who we are? Live every day knowing that you're God's child, and that He's a greater Father than anyone else has. We don't need to win the approval of man, but we want to continue to seek after the love and relationship of Christ. In the end, our joy is going to come from how well our relationship with God is doing... not how the people at the grocery store think our clothes coordinated this morning.
I'm definitely not as mature as a 30 year old should be. I still choose to jump in puddles, play in the mud, throw rocks or sticks at any target I can find while I walk through the woods, and still have a desire to try walking on my hands every once in a while.
I hate wearing ties and suits, don't find any joy in going to Starbucks, try to avoid spending money, and still am not exactly sure what I want to be when I grow up.
I remember in 2nd or 3rd grade, my friend from school and I had been hanging out and witnessed some adults do something that we both thought was really strange and adultish. We decided adults were really boring, at which point I promised him I was going to have fun and be slightly childish my entire life.
Well, I'm sure that the expectations of life and the requirements of starting a family have forced me to become a little more adultish than I had desired at that point in life, but I still hold on to my desire to not forget to have the innocent fun of a child.
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the disciples "Truly I tell you, unless you change, and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven."
Most children start out humble. They have to rely on someone else to take care of them. They have to rely on someone else to teach them how to do things and how to read and write. It's hard for them to become prideful, because they have and know nothing on their own. Jesus would love for us to remain in this humility in our relationship with Him. If we need something, we need to ask Him. If we want something, we need to tell Him. Adults think they can do things on their own. It's adults that get the pride that think they can figure something out without asking questions or getting help from someone else. We need to be like little children and continue to seek God for the little things and the big things.
Most children don't care what other people think about them. They don't even realize that other people might be judging them! If I want to wear my batman costume to school... I'm going to bring my batmobile and make engine noises with it too! At what point do we decide that we need to keep certain desires inside and certain thoughts quiet in order to give people a good impression of who we are? Live every day knowing that you're God's child, and that He's a greater Father than anyone else has. We don't need to win the approval of man, but we want to continue to seek after the love and relationship of Christ. In the end, our joy is going to come from how well our relationship with God is doing... not how the people at the grocery store think our clothes coordinated this morning.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Bread and Fish
In Matthew 15, a group of followers has surrounded Jesus in order to receive healing and wisdom, and end up hanging out with Him for 3 days. (Some of ya'll are falling asleep in your hour long church service. You better be thankful your pastor isn't the Son of Man!) In the midst of it all, Jesus recognizes that these people haven't taken time to eat because they've been so fixated on Him, so He looks to the disciples for help. The disciples are able to provide 7 loaves of bread and a few fish. If I'm a disciple, I'm about to tell the crowd they better go fishing while I sneak up into the forest and eat some bread! Jesus takes the food though, blesses it, and has the disciples pass it out to the crowds.
Verse 38 says "the number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children." At first, maybe you're thinking they got like a little pinch, but the previous verse says that after all ate and were satisfied, the disciples collected seven basketfuls of leftovers!
This is such a great reminder that when we seek God first - that means first priority - in this case, before eating. In our case, it could mean before going to work, before eating dinner, before going on a road trip, before spending that money, before buying that house, before taking that job, before hiring that employee, before dropping your child off at school. When we put God first, He's going to give us everything that we need. In this case, even an overflow! So much, that everyone was filled and there was more left over.
But what if you wanted a steak dinner? Well... you got fish and bread! Tacos? Nope... fish and bread. A salad? Nah... fish and bread.
God's desire is to be our Father and to provide for our needs because of the love that He has for us. That doesn't mean that He's going to fulfill our every want. If a two year old wants ice cream for every meal, do you give them ice cream for every meal? I hope not! Why not? You have wisdom and understanding about nutrients and food types that your two year old does not understand. You want to give them something to satisfy their hunger, but a lot of the time you're going to be fulfilling needs and not wants. That's the same thing that God will do in your life. The fun part is, as that two year old gets older and wiser, their wants will hopefully line up more with their needs. The same thing happens to us in our relationship with God. The more we seek Him out by reading His Word and speaking with Him, the more wisdom we'll gain into what our needs are versus what our wants are. Some of our wants may even disappear as we realize they would lead us away from our needs.
I may still want ice cream for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow, but I'm trying to be able to keep up with my kids in 20 years, so bring on the veggies, the water, and the nutritional cereal with little added sugar. I'll dream about frosted flakes as it goes down!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Healed by the Scraps
In any modern day society, it's pretty easy to look around and observe some sort of hierarchical system. It can be observed in the way our government is set up, the way our neighborhoods are situated, and even the way most of our places of employment operate. There is almost always someone beneath you in the system, and those people typically don't receive the same recognition from you that the people above you do.
Well, in Matthew 15, Jesus is walking along with His disciples in the region of Tyre when a Canaanite woman approaches Him asking for healing for her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus initially ignores her, but she follows them until the disciples had gotten so annoyed that they asked Jesus to send her away - most likely with the thought that he would heal her so that she would stop following them and begging.
Jesus replied, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel". This is an interesting response from a Man who was clearly sent to be the Savior to both the Jews and the Gentiles, although His time on earth was focused on teaching and preaching to the Jews, not charging them with going to the Gentiles until later.
In response comes the following dialogue.
"The woman came and knelt before him. 'Lord, help me!' she said.
He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.'
'Yes it is, Lord,' she said. 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.'"
The wording here initially seems very harsh, but I believe Jesus was using this as a huge lesson for the Jews accompanying Him on this journey. He referred to Gentiles as dogs in order to meet the Jews where they were in a similar manner to how, at times, we perceive those below us in the social structures I discussed initially. He's not referring to Gentiles as acting like animals, but really trying to put emphasis on the social difference between Jews and Gentiles during that period of time.
Jesus ends up healing her daughter because of the great faith she shows in Him during that interaction. She could have given up, but instead continued to follow and plead with Him to heal her daughter, knowing that He was her only hope, and that He had the power to make it happen.
The biggest thing that stuck out to me in this whole interaction is the woman's final response. In this story, Jesus is clearly the master and the woman is the dog eating the crumbs falling from the table. Those crumbs brought healing to her daughter! It wasn't a four-course meal. It wasn't a home-cooked meal. It wasn't even a happy meal! The amount of love and healing that Jesus poured out on this woman, which amounted to crumbs, was enough to bring spiritual healing to her daughter!
Jesus loves us so much that a crumb of His love can change our lives. I also think that this is important to look at from the eyes of a master. Most of us have people following us, whether it's little children, employees, people at church, etc. Pay attention to those people - sometimes all they need to feel whole is a crumb of your love.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
A Trained Hero through Christ
I grew up watching Chuck Norris roundhouse kick every bad guy that ever came into Texas in Walker, Texas Ranger. He rescued children from parents who had kidnapped them after losing custody. He rescued his beauty, Alex Cahill, from multiple people who had hoped taking her hostage would protect them from the coming wrath of Walker. And, I saw him protect towns of people as cowboy gangs would try to come in and take over. I always wanted to grow up to be someone capable of protecting the people that were around me.
I wanted to do whatever it took to train to be the hero of the story. I never really knew where to start, so although I grew in desire to be the tough guy that could rescue those in distress, I never trained that desire to physically become the hero. I could have maybe tried karate lessons, or something similar, but I think God knew how much I'd be humbled now if I didn't become that guy then.
In Psalm 18:30-36, King David writes "The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way."
I may not have gone into a specific training regimen to become the guardian tough guy, but I did push myself to excel in areas of physical competition. Soccer, basketball, football, speed, strength, agility, etc. I wanted to become unstoppable by any earthly competitor. Well... I'm clearly not. My body feels weak and frail most of the time now, constantly reminding me that I'm on the downhill side of my attempts to be a tough guy. David's realization shared in Psalm 18 keeps my hopes of being the hero still alive, although not anymore through any power that I'm able to obtain.
I may not ever need to be the tough guy. I pray that I'll never have to rescue my beauty, or my children from harm, but I know that if I do, God is my Rock. I know that when I need to be equipped for something God has called me into, He has the power to equip me, whether it's a physical task or something different. David may have been talking about going into battle, but based on what we can read elsewhere in Scripture, God would have prepared him equally if he were going into a math final, a house sale, a professional licensure, or any task that we seek His help on today.
God provided David with everything he needed to take on his enemy. The first was a defense! Defense wins championships. A shield in battle could be used to protect from any attacks, and a great shield could be used to protect from attacks until the opponent became tired and weak. David noted that he was also equipped with strength, quick feet, a good view, agility, and a Teammate for when it was time to be on the offensive side of the field. He wasn't in this battle alone, but knew that going forward, God was going to be with him every step he took.
Don't go through today thinking that you need to master this task, or obtain some skill in order to be used my God. If God wants to use you somewhere, He's going to provide you with everything that you need... He designed it.
I wanted to do whatever it took to train to be the hero of the story. I never really knew where to start, so although I grew in desire to be the tough guy that could rescue those in distress, I never trained that desire to physically become the hero. I could have maybe tried karate lessons, or something similar, but I think God knew how much I'd be humbled now if I didn't become that guy then.
In Psalm 18:30-36, King David writes "The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way."
I may not have gone into a specific training regimen to become the guardian tough guy, but I did push myself to excel in areas of physical competition. Soccer, basketball, football, speed, strength, agility, etc. I wanted to become unstoppable by any earthly competitor. Well... I'm clearly not. My body feels weak and frail most of the time now, constantly reminding me that I'm on the downhill side of my attempts to be a tough guy. David's realization shared in Psalm 18 keeps my hopes of being the hero still alive, although not anymore through any power that I'm able to obtain.
I may not ever need to be the tough guy. I pray that I'll never have to rescue my beauty, or my children from harm, but I know that if I do, God is my Rock. I know that when I need to be equipped for something God has called me into, He has the power to equip me, whether it's a physical task or something different. David may have been talking about going into battle, but based on what we can read elsewhere in Scripture, God would have prepared him equally if he were going into a math final, a house sale, a professional licensure, or any task that we seek His help on today.
God provided David with everything he needed to take on his enemy. The first was a defense! Defense wins championships. A shield in battle could be used to protect from any attacks, and a great shield could be used to protect from attacks until the opponent became tired and weak. David noted that he was also equipped with strength, quick feet, a good view, agility, and a Teammate for when it was time to be on the offensive side of the field. He wasn't in this battle alone, but knew that going forward, God was going to be with him every step he took.
Don't go through today thinking that you need to master this task, or obtain some skill in order to be used my God. If God wants to use you somewhere, He's going to provide you with everything that you need... He designed it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)