One of the key elements of any good story is a conflict. Without a conflict it usually lacks intrigue, which would probably mean that you’re not interested in whatever drama you’re reading, watching, or participating in. People are drawn to conflict.
A good writer has to define the conflict well enough where the reader can either sympathize, empathize, or at least recognize that there is a conflict. Conflict is simply a disagreement Or a clash of two forces or ideas.
Although we probably hope our life isn’t filled with conflict, we do tend to remember the times of conflict better than the times of nothingness. There are many people, and you may be one of them, that talk about the hard days of yesteryear when you were poor, or when you were in a war, or stuck in a bad lifestyle. Most of us have some odd attraction to our conflicts in our past. Some don’t look at them favorably and are unable to talk about them much because of the pain that the conflict caused. However, even by avoiding talking about the conflicts would seem to be an indicator of their impacts on life.
There is one conflict that all of us have to come to realize, the conflict of sin. Paul said in Romans 7:18- 20, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not
want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” That’s the conflict: my lusts or God’s will.
It’s within that conflict of our two natures where we begin to understand the power in the cross. Jesus willing sacrifice opened up the solution to our conflict of sin. Jesus said to the apostles, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Or as Paul says in Romans 8:5-8, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
There is a scene mentioned in Revelations 5:2-10 of a serious conflict in the heavenly courts where an important book couldn’t be opened. “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” the elders around the throne asked. Now, I’m not sure how much of this scene John really understood, but when he realized that no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth could open this locked up, spirit-filled book, he began to weep greatly. But one of the elders sitting around the throne understood where the solution was found. He said, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
The problem was that whatever was in that book would be sealed up forever unless it was opened. Jesus took the book out of their hand and had the power to open its seals. Why was that so important? Jesus eludes to why that was important in John 12:45-48, “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day…”
Every word Jesus spoke testified about God, His plan, His love, or the Judgment to come. The more we understand His words, the better we’ll see how the conflict of sin is solved. For this reason we should recognize how important God’s word is to salvation. 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Sometimes I read a book that I don’t like how it ends. To some, Jesus didn’t seem to be the solution to their conflicts, and they said in John 6:60, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” Many abandoned Him that day. But Jesus then went on to reveal the power in God’s words (John 6:63), “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
Thankfully, the story of life that the Bread of Life revealed to us made the solution to the conflict clear to those who wanted to hear it. Just as the apostles responded to Jesus when asked if they were going to abandon Him too, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
Do you see God’s words as the solution to your conflicts? Please consider the words of God as more than a book. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The Bible is no small book that you hold in your hands. The heavens declare the power in the word of God; they recognize the value of those spiritual words that shape our lives and give us insight for the decisions ahead. Ephesians 5:15-18, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Shining the light in Haiti
Cap-Haitien is a city of nearly 200,000 people, a city that used to be referred to as the "Paris of the Antilles" for its architectural beauty and sophistication, but for those that have visited there, there is little wealth there today. Cap-Haitien served as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Northern Haiti under King Henri Christophe until 1820.
What once was considered a bustling city reflecting the energy of Paris now barely stands on its own. The country of Haiti has endured many rebellions, earthquakes, and other disasters that have left it struggling. Although the economy may be less than desirable, the fields are white for harvest. Many people look to the work that the Cap-Haitien Children’s Home provides as a tremendous blessing for the city and the surrounding area.
People can look to the home as a beacon of light for those children who have been abandoned, orphaned, or anything else. For a Christian Home to function the way it needs to requires good leaders, teachers, and supporters. Thankfully, the Cap-Haitien Christian Home has received all of those. It’s also a blessing for the people that are able to volunteer; they get to participate in spreading the light of Christ in a land where it’s needed desperately.
The work the church is involved in isn’t limited to nurturing children in Cap-Haitien, but also equipping young, and old men alike, in spreading the gospel to their nation. The Haitian Christian Foundation (HCF) supports and prepares Haitians to be spreaders-of-the-word. HCF's primary ministry is the Center for Biblical Studies (CBT), where men learn to study the Bible, and they build relationships with wonderful mentors and in turn become mentors. Each of these efforts can make such a difference to a nation that needs so much.
When we look to how many benefits come from uniting for a purpose of raising Godly children and training men to preach the word, I hope we begin to imagine the blessing that would come from putting some of that same effort into the lives of the children we’re blessed to be around and into the lives of capable men by equipping them to know and spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This Sunday as the members of our church share the work they were able to do in Haiti, be praying for how you can get involved in the future. If you already support the work, thank you. If you don’t, please consider how your participation may change many lives.
Thanks to those men who helped out in Haiti recently. May God bless you!
What once was considered a bustling city reflecting the energy of Paris now barely stands on its own. The country of Haiti has endured many rebellions, earthquakes, and other disasters that have left it struggling. Although the economy may be less than desirable, the fields are white for harvest. Many people look to the work that the Cap-Haitien Children’s Home provides as a tremendous blessing for the city and the surrounding area.
People can look to the home as a beacon of light for those children who have been abandoned, orphaned, or anything else. For a Christian Home to function the way it needs to requires good leaders, teachers, and supporters. Thankfully, the Cap-Haitien Christian Home has received all of those. It’s also a blessing for the people that are able to volunteer; they get to participate in spreading the light of Christ in a land where it’s needed desperately.
The work the church is involved in isn’t limited to nurturing children in Cap-Haitien, but also equipping young, and old men alike, in spreading the gospel to their nation. The Haitian Christian Foundation (HCF) supports and prepares Haitians to be spreaders-of-the-word. HCF's primary ministry is the Center for Biblical Studies (CBT), where men learn to study the Bible, and they build relationships with wonderful mentors and in turn become mentors. Each of these efforts can make such a difference to a nation that needs so much.
When we look to how many benefits come from uniting for a purpose of raising Godly children and training men to preach the word, I hope we begin to imagine the blessing that would come from putting some of that same effort into the lives of the children we’re blessed to be around and into the lives of capable men by equipping them to know and spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This Sunday as the members of our church share the work they were able to do in Haiti, be praying for how you can get involved in the future. If you already support the work, thank you. If you don’t, please consider how your participation may change many lives.
Thanks to those men who helped out in Haiti recently. May God bless you!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
The Reaction
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” This was the frequently asked question of the evil queen in Snow White. One day when the mirror responded with “there is someone more fair than the queen," the queen was angry enough to kill.
We all have different ways of responding to the discovery that someone is more kind, more generous, more forgiving, or just better than us. Some people become angry like the queen, others may experience a kind of depression or envy, and others find themselves idolizing that person.
Near the end of Jesus ministry on earth He demonstrated qualities that pricked people to the heart. From Peter to Malchus from the Jews to the Roman guards, Jesus’ reactions to how people were treating Him made an impression.
When the rooster crowed the last time, Peter remembered the words of Jesus, words that Peter had denounced. Matthew 26:34, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” On the night of Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter went away and wept bitterly.
Malchus, the high priest’s slave, experienced something as equally humbling as he accompanied the mob who came to arrest Jesus for being a fake and a troublemaker. But what Malchus learned was different. John 18:10, “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus.” But Jesus immediately helped the man. Luke 22:51-52, “[Jesus] touched [Malchus’] ear and healed him.”
There was the Roman centurion whose job it was to assist in punishing criminals. But on this night, the criminal he was watching over actually convicted him. Luke 23:46-47, “Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’"
Then there were the large number of Jews who had been convinced by the high priests that Jesus needed to die because of who He was. Yet they too observed what had happened, and began to return, beating their breasts.
As the seed that was scattered in the parable of the soils fell on soils that responded differently to it; Jesus’ life prompted reflection on those who came in contact with Him. Some remained bitter and angry; others wept and mourned. Still, there were others that were emboldened by the courageous display of God’s glory through Jesus’ sacrifice. People like Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple, found the courage to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he, along with Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with spices in the burial custom of the Jews (John 19:38-40).
It hadn’t been too long before this that some of those same people who had come in contact with Jesus reacted differently. Peter claimed he wouldn’t deny Jesus ever but would even die with him. The priestly group had “plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him” (Matthew 26:4-5). The Romans had been beating and mocking him saying, “Hail, king of the Jews.” Meanwhile the Jews would be chanting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Jesus paid for their sins and the sins of all of us that day. Later they would be saying something different, “Men and brethren, what do we do?” and “What must I do to be saved?” Where do we fit in? How do we respond to the message of Jesus? There had been many reactions, but in the end all will be humbled. Revelations 1:7, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.” One day all will see that Jesus truly is “the fairest of them all." He is the one that truly deserves to be glorified. Why not let that begin with you… today?
We all have different ways of responding to the discovery that someone is more kind, more generous, more forgiving, or just better than us. Some people become angry like the queen, others may experience a kind of depression or envy, and others find themselves idolizing that person.
Near the end of Jesus ministry on earth He demonstrated qualities that pricked people to the heart. From Peter to Malchus from the Jews to the Roman guards, Jesus’ reactions to how people were treating Him made an impression.
When the rooster crowed the last time, Peter remembered the words of Jesus, words that Peter had denounced. Matthew 26:34, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” On the night of Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter went away and wept bitterly.
Malchus, the high priest’s slave, experienced something as equally humbling as he accompanied the mob who came to arrest Jesus for being a fake and a troublemaker. But what Malchus learned was different. John 18:10, “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus.” But Jesus immediately helped the man. Luke 22:51-52, “[Jesus] touched [Malchus’] ear and healed him.”
There was the Roman centurion whose job it was to assist in punishing criminals. But on this night, the criminal he was watching over actually convicted him. Luke 23:46-47, “Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’"
Then there were the large number of Jews who had been convinced by the high priests that Jesus needed to die because of who He was. Yet they too observed what had happened, and began to return, beating their breasts.
As the seed that was scattered in the parable of the soils fell on soils that responded differently to it; Jesus’ life prompted reflection on those who came in contact with Him. Some remained bitter and angry; others wept and mourned. Still, there were others that were emboldened by the courageous display of God’s glory through Jesus’ sacrifice. People like Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple, found the courage to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he, along with Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with spices in the burial custom of the Jews (John 19:38-40).
It hadn’t been too long before this that some of those same people who had come in contact with Jesus reacted differently. Peter claimed he wouldn’t deny Jesus ever but would even die with him. The priestly group had “plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him” (Matthew 26:4-5). The Romans had been beating and mocking him saying, “Hail, king of the Jews.” Meanwhile the Jews would be chanting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Jesus paid for their sins and the sins of all of us that day. Later they would be saying something different, “Men and brethren, what do we do?” and “What must I do to be saved?” Where do we fit in? How do we respond to the message of Jesus? There had been many reactions, but in the end all will be humbled. Revelations 1:7, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.” One day all will see that Jesus truly is “the fairest of them all." He is the one that truly deserves to be glorified. Why not let that begin with you… today?
Sunday, August 2, 2015
The Answer Is (C) Faith
I remember a few times during college when I stayed up late into the night actually studying for a
test. It was great that I was studying, it was pathetic that I had hardly cracked the book open until
the night before the test. It seemed like every minute counted. Two more minutes reading
something I was fairly certain I would forget before class started, or an extra minute looking at a
chart that I was sure we’d looked at during class at some point. However, if I had been honest with
myself, I knew that the likelihood that whatever I happened to stumble upon during my study blitz
would actually come to my mind correctly at the time I needed it was pretty slim. That was the fruit
of laziness, the byproduct of procrastination, and ultimately I deserved whatever low grade was
most likely coming to me.
Thankfully I graduated college without any really bad grades. Looking back I realize how inefficient I really was; I can see where more consistency would have made studying for a test more effective. Perhaps that’s the value of hindsight and experience. In a nutshell I can see how unprepared I was for the test, thus how nervous I was to face that hour.
Similarly, we all have a test waiting for us. A day when we give an account for the things we’ve done. So how do you study for that test? If knowledge is the key to passing a science, math, or history tests; then faith might be the equivalent in a spiritual test.
How many books of the Bible I know probably won’t help, any more than how many times I made it to church. Each of those things may aid in building my faith, but knowledge alone isn’t going to help me pass the ultimate test at the end.
It’s easy for us to equate Bible knowledge with living for God, yet the Pharisees were living proof that wasn’t correct. In fact, Jesus informed a crowd in John 12:48, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” Those words were the instructions of life. Living to glorify God, serving, forgiving, and plenty of instructions about what godliness actually looks like.
Jesus told some powerful parables in Matthew 25 that revealed how faith impacts our eternal reward. First, He explains how something changed in 5 of the 10 young women who had all started out with their fire burning brightly. Half of them kept their faith burning in their lamps, the others didn’t. Their negligence was equivalent to “rejecting Jesus’ words and instructions.” We know that’s the case because in that same chapter He tells another parable about the sheep and the goats where He describes the actions, and more importantly the motives, behind the faithful; those who receive the instructions of the Lord.
Matthew 25:32-36, “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me…”
As James said in James 2:26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” When Christians do not serve others, help others, comfort others, etc. for the purpose of sharing our faith, we miss powerful opportunities to make an impact. But the side effect of making a difference in the lives of the people around us is that our own faith will be strengthened.
As we ponder how to study for the test at the end of life, we have to realize that no amount of good I do is going to earn my way to heaven, however, part of God’s design is that with every good work I do for the purpose of glorifying God my faith grows proportionately. Can a man out give God?
Zaccheus offered four times the amount that he’d taken from anyone in order to show his repentance. Who was he repenting to? Ultimately God, but mankind was the recipient of his repentant heart. Remember God designed the link between serving others and our faith, so now we have the responsibility to “receive the sayings Jesus spoke to us,” and it’s in that trusting faith that we find God is pleased. Serve on for His glory!
Thankfully I graduated college without any really bad grades. Looking back I realize how inefficient I really was; I can see where more consistency would have made studying for a test more effective. Perhaps that’s the value of hindsight and experience. In a nutshell I can see how unprepared I was for the test, thus how nervous I was to face that hour.
Similarly, we all have a test waiting for us. A day when we give an account for the things we’ve done. So how do you study for that test? If knowledge is the key to passing a science, math, or history tests; then faith might be the equivalent in a spiritual test.
How many books of the Bible I know probably won’t help, any more than how many times I made it to church. Each of those things may aid in building my faith, but knowledge alone isn’t going to help me pass the ultimate test at the end.
It’s easy for us to equate Bible knowledge with living for God, yet the Pharisees were living proof that wasn’t correct. In fact, Jesus informed a crowd in John 12:48, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” Those words were the instructions of life. Living to glorify God, serving, forgiving, and plenty of instructions about what godliness actually looks like.
Jesus told some powerful parables in Matthew 25 that revealed how faith impacts our eternal reward. First, He explains how something changed in 5 of the 10 young women who had all started out with their fire burning brightly. Half of them kept their faith burning in their lamps, the others didn’t. Their negligence was equivalent to “rejecting Jesus’ words and instructions.” We know that’s the case because in that same chapter He tells another parable about the sheep and the goats where He describes the actions, and more importantly the motives, behind the faithful; those who receive the instructions of the Lord.
Matthew 25:32-36, “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me…”
As James said in James 2:26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” When Christians do not serve others, help others, comfort others, etc. for the purpose of sharing our faith, we miss powerful opportunities to make an impact. But the side effect of making a difference in the lives of the people around us is that our own faith will be strengthened.
As we ponder how to study for the test at the end of life, we have to realize that no amount of good I do is going to earn my way to heaven, however, part of God’s design is that with every good work I do for the purpose of glorifying God my faith grows proportionately. Can a man out give God?
Zaccheus offered four times the amount that he’d taken from anyone in order to show his repentance. Who was he repenting to? Ultimately God, but mankind was the recipient of his repentant heart. Remember God designed the link between serving others and our faith, so now we have the responsibility to “receive the sayings Jesus spoke to us,” and it’s in that trusting faith that we find God is pleased. Serve on for His glory!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Anyone Listening?
Years ago when I was in college, I took a Business Law class where my soft spoken professor
uncovered a host of lawsuits that had resulted from a lack of warning. In one case a ladder company was
sued for having too many warning labels. Another one was from some guys who sued a lawnmower
company for not warning against using a push mower as a hedge trimmer; needless to say the two men
who used it to shape the bushes can now only count to 4 on their hands between the two of them.
Even if we go beyond product lawsuits in the material world, we still would love to have warnings on life. What if we had been able to warn a loved one before they took that trip, went with those people, experimented with that drug, bungee jumped off that bridge, or any number of things. Warnings are lifesaving if we listen. If we fail to listen then they are a guilty reminder that we could have done something. God gives us tons of warnings about making choices. One in particular is the warning God gave Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, “Why are you so angry? Why do you look so dejected?” God said as Cain sulked over his rejected sacrifice to God. “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Cain failed to listen and it cost Abel his life, and it cost Cain his security and freedom.
Generation after generation God continued to give warnings to kings, to leaders, to the citizens of cities and countries. He even gave warnings to his own children. Sometimes they listened, many times they didn’t.
Looking at our own slice of existence causes me to think about how responsive are we to the warnings of God? Violent crimes are typically in direct correlation to state of the economy; hard times equal higher crimes. Regardless of the countless mall, movie theater, and school shootings there seems to be little consideration as to what’s at the root. Although guns are often targeted as the problem for violent crimes, there’s something deeper that is too often overlooked or deliberately ignored. Just like Cain, many people across our globe have rejected the humble, selfless, and holy way of living prescribed by God; and thus we are all paying the penalty of social chaos and constant reminders that the American dream can become a nightmare when we too fail to listen to God’s warnings or instructions for life.
He still warns us of a day coming, and it’s not too late to listen. It’s a day “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Paul also described what the world will look like once more and more people reject God’s plan for mankind. He said in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
How will those people in the “last days” get to that point in life? Overnight? No, instead little by little they’ll reject one of God’s warnings until one day they realize they don’t even know who God is.
We can read literally hundreds of verses that warn us against letting lust, hate, envy, apathy, and bitterness from becoming part of our lifestyle. Christians are equally guilty of failing to “submit to God” or “resisting the devil [so that] he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:7-10).
However, many people have listened to God’s warnings and saved themselves “from many griefs.” Even the warning that Jesus gave his followers in Matthew 24 about the upcoming destruction of their holy city, Jerusalem. He told them how they should respond when they see the “signs of the times.” They didn’t try to hang on to everything they had but realized the need to go. Delay was not an option.
Interestingly, some historians claim that a rather small number of Christians were actually killed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Why? Because they listened to the warnings Jesus gave them. What about us? Will we be spared from a life of guilt and shame by listening to God? Or will we do as too many have done before us, and refuse to listen to him? Remember it’s in the daily decisions we make that demonstrate our listening hearts.
Even if we go beyond product lawsuits in the material world, we still would love to have warnings on life. What if we had been able to warn a loved one before they took that trip, went with those people, experimented with that drug, bungee jumped off that bridge, or any number of things. Warnings are lifesaving if we listen. If we fail to listen then they are a guilty reminder that we could have done something. God gives us tons of warnings about making choices. One in particular is the warning God gave Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, “Why are you so angry? Why do you look so dejected?” God said as Cain sulked over his rejected sacrifice to God. “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Cain failed to listen and it cost Abel his life, and it cost Cain his security and freedom.
Generation after generation God continued to give warnings to kings, to leaders, to the citizens of cities and countries. He even gave warnings to his own children. Sometimes they listened, many times they didn’t.
Looking at our own slice of existence causes me to think about how responsive are we to the warnings of God? Violent crimes are typically in direct correlation to state of the economy; hard times equal higher crimes. Regardless of the countless mall, movie theater, and school shootings there seems to be little consideration as to what’s at the root. Although guns are often targeted as the problem for violent crimes, there’s something deeper that is too often overlooked or deliberately ignored. Just like Cain, many people across our globe have rejected the humble, selfless, and holy way of living prescribed by God; and thus we are all paying the penalty of social chaos and constant reminders that the American dream can become a nightmare when we too fail to listen to God’s warnings or instructions for life.
He still warns us of a day coming, and it’s not too late to listen. It’s a day “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Paul also described what the world will look like once more and more people reject God’s plan for mankind. He said in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
How will those people in the “last days” get to that point in life? Overnight? No, instead little by little they’ll reject one of God’s warnings until one day they realize they don’t even know who God is.
We can read literally hundreds of verses that warn us against letting lust, hate, envy, apathy, and bitterness from becoming part of our lifestyle. Christians are equally guilty of failing to “submit to God” or “resisting the devil [so that] he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:7-10).
However, many people have listened to God’s warnings and saved themselves “from many griefs.” Even the warning that Jesus gave his followers in Matthew 24 about the upcoming destruction of their holy city, Jerusalem. He told them how they should respond when they see the “signs of the times.” They didn’t try to hang on to everything they had but realized the need to go. Delay was not an option.
Interestingly, some historians claim that a rather small number of Christians were actually killed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Why? Because they listened to the warnings Jesus gave them. What about us? Will we be spared from a life of guilt and shame by listening to God? Or will we do as too many have done before us, and refuse to listen to him? Remember it’s in the daily decisions we make that demonstrate our listening hearts.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Freedom in Christ
The New Testament is typically broken down into 5 categories: Gospels, History, Paul’s letters, General letters (or epistles), and Prophecy. The more you know about the Bible, the more you can understand why it were written and how it can help us today. The biggest part of the New Testament was written to churches dealing with struggles, some inside the church, some outside. That so many inspired writers address the various issues they did tells us that under the New Covenant, God still cares about the motives behind our actions, and that there is a pattern of life we are supposed to be living by.
There were issues of whether the Jews had any leverage over the Gentiles. There was the issue of circumcision, special feasts, leaders, teachers, and pretty much anyone or anything that could influence how those believers of the first century accepted God’s message. Those letters basically helped define what “freedom in Christ” means.
Today we struggle with similar battles, and churches need just as much guidance and encouragement, challenges, or reprimands as the first century church did. Paul said in Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Freedom is always enticing, however some people handle freedom different than others. It’s for this reason that we see why it was so important that Jesus spend his life down here modeling how we are to respond to freedom without making ourselves vulnerable to attacks of Satan. Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
In John 17:1-24 we read of one of Jesus’ last recorded prayers to God before His arrest and crucifixion. In this passage He explains what He’s made possible to us, as well as His hope for all believers. Here’s a few lines from this wonderful prayer.
(1-3) “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you. For you have given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given Him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
(7-8) “Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.”
(11) “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.
(13-19) “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
(21-24) “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!”
If we could adopt even a portion of His same passion about the freedom He’s made possible to us and how that changes the way we live, then the world would truly see Christ as not only a good option but essential to peace–inside the church and outside of it. Praise God we’ve been given not only a Redeemer, but an example of true freedom.
There were issues of whether the Jews had any leverage over the Gentiles. There was the issue of circumcision, special feasts, leaders, teachers, and pretty much anyone or anything that could influence how those believers of the first century accepted God’s message. Those letters basically helped define what “freedom in Christ” means.
Today we struggle with similar battles, and churches need just as much guidance and encouragement, challenges, or reprimands as the first century church did. Paul said in Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Freedom is always enticing, however some people handle freedom different than others. It’s for this reason that we see why it was so important that Jesus spend his life down here modeling how we are to respond to freedom without making ourselves vulnerable to attacks of Satan. Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
In John 17:1-24 we read of one of Jesus’ last recorded prayers to God before His arrest and crucifixion. In this passage He explains what He’s made possible to us, as well as His hope for all believers. Here’s a few lines from this wonderful prayer.
(1-3) “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you. For you have given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given Him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
(7-8) “Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.”
(11) “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.
(13-19) “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
(21-24) “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!”
If we could adopt even a portion of His same passion about the freedom He’s made possible to us and how that changes the way we live, then the world would truly see Christ as not only a good option but essential to peace–inside the church and outside of it. Praise God we’ve been given not only a Redeemer, but an example of true freedom.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
The Impact Of Dad
Many social service studies recognize the importance fathers play in a home. With more dads either leaving the picture or being forced out of it, the impact is devastating. The US Department of Health revealed that 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes, 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes, 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes, 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes, 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. And 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes.
Although we know that fathers are more than a bread-winner, many underestimate the impact they have on shaping the attitudes in the home. In that same study, the US Department of Health revealed that children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school, and have a much higher probability of getting A’s in school. They have fewer social disorders and seem to have a better plan for their own future.
So it makes a lot of sense that Satan would work double time to get fathers out of the picture. From the very beginning, Satan pulled his best tricks out and convinced Adam and Eve that they didn’t need a father. Less than 10 generations later the world was so evil that God was sorry He’d even created them! Yet He longed to be the father of His creation, so He would adopt a group that He could demonstrate His power through and His plan for their life; a life free from the power of Satan’s temptations.
Abraham was blessed to be the one God chose to demonstrate His love and power through. Many years after that relationship started, God heard their cries for relief from the slave quarries of Egypt from the mouths of Abraham’s distant descendants. Now the time was right for God to powerfully demonstrate not only His ability, but His love for his children.
As God’s children finally crossed over into a land that would be theirs, a land where they could prosper and grow, He had them do something to help remind future generations to see just how much a dad gives his children hope for the future and confidence to face it.
In Joshua 4, Joshua relayed a command from God saying, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder — twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's Covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
God wanted the people never to forget what their heavenly father was willing and able, to do for His children. He wanted those men to carry those stones so that their children would ask them what those stones meant. I like to think that those men came back to that pile of rocks periodically just to be reminded themselves. See, each generation can be inspired by the ones before them. Those stories, those memories, and lessons of life come when there’s a dad willing to involve himself in the struggles of his children and lead them out of danger.
Paul gives some similar instructions to fathers in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” As the statistics seem to indicate when the father fails to be that anchor, the man that teaches his children how to succeed, how to endure, how to hope for the future, the children by default feel abandoned on something so essential in life – a defined purpose. And when they feel angry they act out in many different ways; many ways that ultimately destroy their own lives.
It takes an entire family having a healthy fear of God’s power to fully appreciate the promises he offers us. During Father’s Day, be sure to encourage a dad, either yours or anyone. Fathers need to be
Although we know that fathers are more than a bread-winner, many underestimate the impact they have on shaping the attitudes in the home. In that same study, the US Department of Health revealed that children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school, and have a much higher probability of getting A’s in school. They have fewer social disorders and seem to have a better plan for their own future.
So it makes a lot of sense that Satan would work double time to get fathers out of the picture. From the very beginning, Satan pulled his best tricks out and convinced Adam and Eve that they didn’t need a father. Less than 10 generations later the world was so evil that God was sorry He’d even created them! Yet He longed to be the father of His creation, so He would adopt a group that He could demonstrate His power through and His plan for their life; a life free from the power of Satan’s temptations.
Abraham was blessed to be the one God chose to demonstrate His love and power through. Many years after that relationship started, God heard their cries for relief from the slave quarries of Egypt from the mouths of Abraham’s distant descendants. Now the time was right for God to powerfully demonstrate not only His ability, but His love for his children.
As God’s children finally crossed over into a land that would be theirs, a land where they could prosper and grow, He had them do something to help remind future generations to see just how much a dad gives his children hope for the future and confidence to face it.
In Joshua 4, Joshua relayed a command from God saying, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder — twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's Covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
God wanted the people never to forget what their heavenly father was willing and able, to do for His children. He wanted those men to carry those stones so that their children would ask them what those stones meant. I like to think that those men came back to that pile of rocks periodically just to be reminded themselves. See, each generation can be inspired by the ones before them. Those stories, those memories, and lessons of life come when there’s a dad willing to involve himself in the struggles of his children and lead them out of danger.
Paul gives some similar instructions to fathers in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” As the statistics seem to indicate when the father fails to be that anchor, the man that teaches his children how to succeed, how to endure, how to hope for the future, the children by default feel abandoned on something so essential in life – a defined purpose. And when they feel angry they act out in many different ways; many ways that ultimately destroy their own lives.
It takes an entire family having a healthy fear of God’s power to fully appreciate the promises he offers us. During Father’s Day, be sure to encourage a dad, either yours or anyone. Fathers need to be
Sunday, June 14, 2015
The Last Shall Be First
In 2000, Bruce Wilkins wrote The Prayer of Jabez, which is based on a passage nestled in the middle of the genealogical records of the tribe of Asher. It’s found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested.”
The book by Wilkins received quite a bit of scrutiny from many conservative Christians because of the apparent similarity to “prosperity gospel,” which almost suggest God OWES you blessings if you are faithful to Him.
While Ezra, who many believe to be the author of the Chronicles, points out that Jabez’s request was granted by God, it is clear throughout other places in the Bible that God didn’t owe Jabez prosperity, but that He was gracious to him. God’s graciousness is the theme for Jesus’s parable in Matthew 20 where Jesus shares a story of a landowner and the workers he hired for his vineyard. The story focuses on some of the laborers reaction to the grace and mercy of God. Similar to the older son in the story of the Prodigal Son, these workers are shocked to find out that those workers that were hired almost at quitting time received the same pay that they did.
The amount of pay wasn’t the issue, but the fact that those that didn’t work as hard received the same pay as those who did most of the work. Ultimately, this is a story dealing with desire to be recognized for our achievements or even perhaps being regarded as better than others. It’s for this reason that this story is so relevant to our own culture. We live in a time and place where fame and fortune are so valued that it seems there’s a no-holds-barred mentality when it comes to doing whatever it takes in order to be considered the best.
While bettering ourselves is commendable, constantly focusing on being better than someone else reveals a bigger problem within our hearts. Because at the core of the need to be better than others lies a potential problem of selfishness.
The context of the story Jesus tells in Matthew 20 comes on the heels of overhearing His disciples arguing over who will be better in the kingdom. Each wanted to be recognized as someone ultra-special in some way. In His attempt to help them understand that it’s not about what you have the makes you great in God’s kingdom or about what you achieve that makes you loved, He reminds them of His level of commitment to the kingdom. His sacrifice is what made the kingdom possible. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins on the cross. Although as we read Philippians 2, it seems clear that He wasn’t doing what He did to esteem Himself, but instead to esteem God.
Philippians 2:3-7, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant…”
Many of the jealousies and quarrels we face stem from a desire to be better than someone else; instead if we could master what the master modeled by reflecting on how I can best serve my brothers and sisters we might find a deeper sense of peace. Paul encourages Christians in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”
The book by Wilkins received quite a bit of scrutiny from many conservative Christians because of the apparent similarity to “prosperity gospel,” which almost suggest God OWES you blessings if you are faithful to Him.
While Ezra, who many believe to be the author of the Chronicles, points out that Jabez’s request was granted by God, it is clear throughout other places in the Bible that God didn’t owe Jabez prosperity, but that He was gracious to him. God’s graciousness is the theme for Jesus’s parable in Matthew 20 where Jesus shares a story of a landowner and the workers he hired for his vineyard. The story focuses on some of the laborers reaction to the grace and mercy of God. Similar to the older son in the story of the Prodigal Son, these workers are shocked to find out that those workers that were hired almost at quitting time received the same pay that they did.
The amount of pay wasn’t the issue, but the fact that those that didn’t work as hard received the same pay as those who did most of the work. Ultimately, this is a story dealing with desire to be recognized for our achievements or even perhaps being regarded as better than others. It’s for this reason that this story is so relevant to our own culture. We live in a time and place where fame and fortune are so valued that it seems there’s a no-holds-barred mentality when it comes to doing whatever it takes in order to be considered the best.
While bettering ourselves is commendable, constantly focusing on being better than someone else reveals a bigger problem within our hearts. Because at the core of the need to be better than others lies a potential problem of selfishness.
The context of the story Jesus tells in Matthew 20 comes on the heels of overhearing His disciples arguing over who will be better in the kingdom. Each wanted to be recognized as someone ultra-special in some way. In His attempt to help them understand that it’s not about what you have the makes you great in God’s kingdom or about what you achieve that makes you loved, He reminds them of His level of commitment to the kingdom. His sacrifice is what made the kingdom possible. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins on the cross. Although as we read Philippians 2, it seems clear that He wasn’t doing what He did to esteem Himself, but instead to esteem God.
Philippians 2:3-7, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant…”
Many of the jealousies and quarrels we face stem from a desire to be better than someone else; instead if we could master what the master modeled by reflecting on how I can best serve my brothers and sisters we might find a deeper sense of peace. Paul encourages Christians in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Have no fear
According to a consulting firm’s study conducted of managers and CEO’s, one of the biggest fears they have is addressing conflict. Although it seems like dealing with conflict would be one of the chief job descriptions of people in those kinds of leadership positions, they still dread it.
Their study summarized the top three reasons people avoid conflict.
1) False assumptions about limited information,
2) Mistaking determination for rigidity,
3) Lack of confidence.
Most of these have to do with one party not understanding the other party. For many of the problems that we have with other people, the solution to resolving them may not be as hard as we think.
Avoiding conflict doesn't reduce tension; if anything, it escalates it. Issues become bigger, resentment grows, people become disengaged and feel powerless to solve their problems.
For business leaders, the profitability of their company may depend on them confronting problems within the company, but for most relationships, getting your way doesn’t determine the success of your relationship.
Most of the New Testament is written to churches or people dealing with conflict within a congregation. One group doesn’t want to accept the other for whatever reason. Ultimately, half of most conflicts are rooted in pride. For Christians, humility is what we should be striving for, not pride. By pursuing humility, we can actually thwart many “problems” we face.
The other half of how we perceive conflicts is because of fear. This too is a characteristics that we should constantly be asking God for strength in. Once we can focus on the big picture of whatever it is we’re facing, we may begin to realize that the risk involved in confronting someone may actually serve everyone better in the end. Yet few seem to stand firm in the face of fear.
Paul reminded Timothy that “God didn’t give us a Spirit of fear, but of power, love, and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). God reminded Joshua in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Our job is trusting God to give us the wisdom and the strength if we’ll simply do the right thing with the right motives.
James says in James 4:1-3, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Jesus gave us a great conflict resolution model in Matthew 18:15-20 where He walks us through the process of doing what so many are afraid to do. However, as we read in James, our motive for addressing a conflict is crucial. Remember that Jesus told us in Matthew 5 to just turn the other cheek, to let them win essentially. Paul echoed that same message when talking about “stumbling blocks” to the brethren.
When we “think of others as more important than ourselves,” we not only fulfill a Godly instruction, we can dissolve a ton of conflicts before they turn into something bigger. The motive then can be defined by what is best for the soul of all the people involved. Sometimes that means we may need to surrender our will to someone else’s, and sometimes that may mean we need to rise up and intercede for someone else who needs help.
It's ironic, when you accept conflict as an inevitable part of business and relationships; you wind up with less of it. The more confidence you have in God to handle disagreements by either instruction or the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the quicker you resolve them. Handling a conflict isn't the worst thing in the world. But letting one go unresolved can cause you big problems.
Is there a conflict you need to face? Follow the example of David against Goliath and face them with the confidence that comes from Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24:
23) Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24) leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
Their study summarized the top three reasons people avoid conflict.
1) False assumptions about limited information,
2) Mistaking determination for rigidity,
3) Lack of confidence.
Most of these have to do with one party not understanding the other party. For many of the problems that we have with other people, the solution to resolving them may not be as hard as we think.
Avoiding conflict doesn't reduce tension; if anything, it escalates it. Issues become bigger, resentment grows, people become disengaged and feel powerless to solve their problems.
For business leaders, the profitability of their company may depend on them confronting problems within the company, but for most relationships, getting your way doesn’t determine the success of your relationship.
Most of the New Testament is written to churches or people dealing with conflict within a congregation. One group doesn’t want to accept the other for whatever reason. Ultimately, half of most conflicts are rooted in pride. For Christians, humility is what we should be striving for, not pride. By pursuing humility, we can actually thwart many “problems” we face.
The other half of how we perceive conflicts is because of fear. This too is a characteristics that we should constantly be asking God for strength in. Once we can focus on the big picture of whatever it is we’re facing, we may begin to realize that the risk involved in confronting someone may actually serve everyone better in the end. Yet few seem to stand firm in the face of fear.
Paul reminded Timothy that “God didn’t give us a Spirit of fear, but of power, love, and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). God reminded Joshua in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Our job is trusting God to give us the wisdom and the strength if we’ll simply do the right thing with the right motives.
James says in James 4:1-3, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Jesus gave us a great conflict resolution model in Matthew 18:15-20 where He walks us through the process of doing what so many are afraid to do. However, as we read in James, our motive for addressing a conflict is crucial. Remember that Jesus told us in Matthew 5 to just turn the other cheek, to let them win essentially. Paul echoed that same message when talking about “stumbling blocks” to the brethren.
When we “think of others as more important than ourselves,” we not only fulfill a Godly instruction, we can dissolve a ton of conflicts before they turn into something bigger. The motive then can be defined by what is best for the soul of all the people involved. Sometimes that means we may need to surrender our will to someone else’s, and sometimes that may mean we need to rise up and intercede for someone else who needs help.
It's ironic, when you accept conflict as an inevitable part of business and relationships; you wind up with less of it. The more confidence you have in God to handle disagreements by either instruction or the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the quicker you resolve them. Handling a conflict isn't the worst thing in the world. But letting one go unresolved can cause you big problems.
Is there a conflict you need to face? Follow the example of David against Goliath and face them with the confidence that comes from Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24:
23) Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24) leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Show me
Recently I had the opportunity to hire a few people to clean up and paint inside a couple rent houses. One of the people we hired was very experienced but the other wasn’t. Although we hired them to do a job so that we wouldn’t have to, my wife Jade and I enjoy seeking out these kinds of opportunities to encourage people. This time I knew it may take me showing them how to do the job right before I was going to leave them on their own.
People have different ways about how to manage an employee. Some take the approach that if they’re going to pay someone then they better know how to do whatever it is they’re being paid for, which that might mean they may not offer advice or direction, instead they just let them do whatever they do on their own. Other managers micromanage every step of their employee. They’ll come in behind them and change everything they’ve done, or tell them how to do their job. Then I suppose there are the kinds of managers who just accept whatever work is done and don’t say anything about errors, even though it’s eating them up inside. But there are also the kinds of managers that will show a worker how to do the work.
Oddly enough, I was reminded of the need to take the time out to show people how they should do the work they’re asked to do by watching my daughter's soccer game. There are times when a kid needs the coach to tell them or show them what to do, but there are also times that their spirit needs coaching. What happens when the drive to succeed isn’t in a player? It may be tempting to view them as non-coachable, but perhaps they just need to see “a drive” or passion modeled for them.
The interesting thing about desires is that they can be shaped by outside influence. Satan has been working diligently to shape our minds on what we should desire, but what is God doing through us?
For my daughter, I knew she enjoyed winning a game and receiving a trophy because the first time she got a trophy she spent what seemed like hours sitting at the dining room table polishing it. She enjoyed the prize, but her problem was finding the passion and desire to improve. She plays hard, but like many kids her age, she needs direction and guidance on how to be better at what she’s doing.
There are many people who genuinely want the prize of heaven but they don’t know how to find the desire to live for it. What do they need? They need someone to show them how to be excited about living for God’s purposes in our lives. They need to hear people talk about their faith in ways that don’t just seem like pledging allegiance to a group of people. They need someone to show them how to live for the promise.
Thankfully, Jesus was the answer for the people of His day, and He’s the answer today. We need someone who can model a passion for God and a fixation on the promises of God.
Paul encourages the Thessalonians to “keep the fire alive” by not “sleeping” spiritually as so many people do. Instead he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another.”
Paul goes on to describe how that might take place. He says in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work…(16-17) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
First of all, the leaders were doing the “work.” They had modeled what Paul encourages the brothers and sisters in Christ to do by “warning those who are lazy. Encouraging those who are timid. Taking tender care of those who are weak. Being patient with everyone.”
As Christians, we need to constantly evaluate our motives and ask ourselves, “How is my desire to do God’s work impacting those watching me?” There are people who are watching us, but we need to be willing to take them aside and help them discover what it is about living for God that develops passion for his promises.
Let’s be proactive in showing our desire for God to the world. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
People have different ways about how to manage an employee. Some take the approach that if they’re going to pay someone then they better know how to do whatever it is they’re being paid for, which that might mean they may not offer advice or direction, instead they just let them do whatever they do on their own. Other managers micromanage every step of their employee. They’ll come in behind them and change everything they’ve done, or tell them how to do their job. Then I suppose there are the kinds of managers who just accept whatever work is done and don’t say anything about errors, even though it’s eating them up inside. But there are also the kinds of managers that will show a worker how to do the work.
Oddly enough, I was reminded of the need to take the time out to show people how they should do the work they’re asked to do by watching my daughter's soccer game. There are times when a kid needs the coach to tell them or show them what to do, but there are also times that their spirit needs coaching. What happens when the drive to succeed isn’t in a player? It may be tempting to view them as non-coachable, but perhaps they just need to see “a drive” or passion modeled for them.
The interesting thing about desires is that they can be shaped by outside influence. Satan has been working diligently to shape our minds on what we should desire, but what is God doing through us?
For my daughter, I knew she enjoyed winning a game and receiving a trophy because the first time she got a trophy she spent what seemed like hours sitting at the dining room table polishing it. She enjoyed the prize, but her problem was finding the passion and desire to improve. She plays hard, but like many kids her age, she needs direction and guidance on how to be better at what she’s doing.
There are many people who genuinely want the prize of heaven but they don’t know how to find the desire to live for it. What do they need? They need someone to show them how to be excited about living for God’s purposes in our lives. They need to hear people talk about their faith in ways that don’t just seem like pledging allegiance to a group of people. They need someone to show them how to live for the promise.
Thankfully, Jesus was the answer for the people of His day, and He’s the answer today. We need someone who can model a passion for God and a fixation on the promises of God.
Paul encourages the Thessalonians to “keep the fire alive” by not “sleeping” spiritually as so many people do. Instead he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another.”
Paul goes on to describe how that might take place. He says in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work…(16-17) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
First of all, the leaders were doing the “work.” They had modeled what Paul encourages the brothers and sisters in Christ to do by “warning those who are lazy. Encouraging those who are timid. Taking tender care of those who are weak. Being patient with everyone.”
As Christians, we need to constantly evaluate our motives and ask ourselves, “How is my desire to do God’s work impacting those watching me?” There are people who are watching us, but we need to be willing to take them aside and help them discover what it is about living for God that develops passion for his promises.
Let’s be proactive in showing our desire for God to the world. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Showing Honor To Mom
What does love look like? It’s a question that has been debated for centuries and many good answers shared. Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” He described in many different ways the need to consider others better than yourself, and by doing so, we love our neighbor and honor them.
A love like that doesn’t come often. It isn’t as frequent as television and songs make it out to be. We don’t find that deep kind of love easily. For a parent, there is a natural deep connection we want to have with those little people we get to bring into existence. Even before we get to know their personality and their behaviors and attitude, we love them.
One of the hardest thing I can imagine is giving up your child. I’ve heard many stories of times during World War II, in the Holocaust, where parents gave their children up to virtually anyone who would be willing to hide them away from the danger of the Nazis. Thousands of children hidden away without the people that love them the most. Why? What would compel a parent to give their precious child up with the possibility of never seeing them again? Love.
In Exodus 2, we read of Jochebed and her love she had for her son, Moses. The Egyptians were on a rampage to destroy all the Jews from their land. Hebrew babies were the target. Jochebed sent her son away not knowing how her decision would end, but trusting God for a positive ending. In the end she was given the privilege of raising her son in safety in the very palace where the command to kill the Jews originated.
Moses in turn spent his years honoring God and pleasing his parents for his service to free the Hebrews from slavery. Ten plagues and 80 years later, he would lead the Jews out of danger towards the Promised Land. The story of the Exodus is used constantly throughout the Bible as symbolism of the Messiah redeeming the slaves of sin from Satan’s snare and delivering them to the Promised Land.
That story is revealed in Jesus. From the day that Mary heard that she would be the one to carry the Messiah she praised God for the honor. But her time with Jesus had an expiration date. A day would come when she would realize her son would have to give His life to free us from what separates us from our Father.
At His death, Jesus looked down from the cross and took the time to show honor to the woman that had been there through so much of his ministry. She helped to prompt Him in His first miraculous sign to the world, and she would be there at the end when He would show the world His final miraculous sign in the flesh. Jesus said to John in John 19:26-27, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” Then we read that ‘from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.’
How do we honor those that have loved us so deeply to sacrifice so much for us? Those who have stood beside us when no one else would? Moses brought freedom to his mother’s kinsmen, Jesus brought spiritual freedom to everyone who trusts in Him. What can we do for our mother? Our father? Anyone who has loved us with that rare love that so few are privileged to see?
Solomon says in Proverbs 23:25, “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you.” What could you do with your life that would cause your parents to rejoice in your birth? Perhaps the same answer could be given for what pleases our Heavenly Father. Do you know what pleases your Heavenly Father? Those that will share in the ‘joys of the Father’ will be those who use their life to honor God, who love Him with all they have. People who trust Him and seek His will in their life. Through that service to Him, we help perpetuate the message of freedom made possible through Jesus Christ and His willing sacrifice on the cross.
It pleases God for us to trust Him and His words of truth and guidance. Consider how your obedience to God brings honor to your mother, then tell her, if you can, how much she has helped to define your purpose in life.
A love like that doesn’t come often. It isn’t as frequent as television and songs make it out to be. We don’t find that deep kind of love easily. For a parent, there is a natural deep connection we want to have with those little people we get to bring into existence. Even before we get to know their personality and their behaviors and attitude, we love them.
One of the hardest thing I can imagine is giving up your child. I’ve heard many stories of times during World War II, in the Holocaust, where parents gave their children up to virtually anyone who would be willing to hide them away from the danger of the Nazis. Thousands of children hidden away without the people that love them the most. Why? What would compel a parent to give their precious child up with the possibility of never seeing them again? Love.
In Exodus 2, we read of Jochebed and her love she had for her son, Moses. The Egyptians were on a rampage to destroy all the Jews from their land. Hebrew babies were the target. Jochebed sent her son away not knowing how her decision would end, but trusting God for a positive ending. In the end she was given the privilege of raising her son in safety in the very palace where the command to kill the Jews originated.
Moses in turn spent his years honoring God and pleasing his parents for his service to free the Hebrews from slavery. Ten plagues and 80 years later, he would lead the Jews out of danger towards the Promised Land. The story of the Exodus is used constantly throughout the Bible as symbolism of the Messiah redeeming the slaves of sin from Satan’s snare and delivering them to the Promised Land.
That story is revealed in Jesus. From the day that Mary heard that she would be the one to carry the Messiah she praised God for the honor. But her time with Jesus had an expiration date. A day would come when she would realize her son would have to give His life to free us from what separates us from our Father.
At His death, Jesus looked down from the cross and took the time to show honor to the woman that had been there through so much of his ministry. She helped to prompt Him in His first miraculous sign to the world, and she would be there at the end when He would show the world His final miraculous sign in the flesh. Jesus said to John in John 19:26-27, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” Then we read that ‘from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.’
How do we honor those that have loved us so deeply to sacrifice so much for us? Those who have stood beside us when no one else would? Moses brought freedom to his mother’s kinsmen, Jesus brought spiritual freedom to everyone who trusts in Him. What can we do for our mother? Our father? Anyone who has loved us with that rare love that so few are privileged to see?
Solomon says in Proverbs 23:25, “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you.” What could you do with your life that would cause your parents to rejoice in your birth? Perhaps the same answer could be given for what pleases our Heavenly Father. Do you know what pleases your Heavenly Father? Those that will share in the ‘joys of the Father’ will be those who use their life to honor God, who love Him with all they have. People who trust Him and seek His will in their life. Through that service to Him, we help perpetuate the message of freedom made possible through Jesus Christ and His willing sacrifice on the cross.
It pleases God for us to trust Him and His words of truth and guidance. Consider how your obedience to God brings honor to your mother, then tell her, if you can, how much she has helped to define your purpose in life.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Where We're Led
In Acts 6, the apostles had a dilemma where they were pulled between evangelizing and doing benevolence for those in need. They quickly realized that they really weren’t able to effectively do both. So we read in Acts 6:3 the solution to their problem, “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” The question for you is this, “Would you have been selected?” Do we resemble people who are led by the Spirit?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:17, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” The fruit may not come naturally, in fact I’d suggest to you that it is impossible for Godly fruit to come naturally. You will never accidentally become righteous. It takes a conscience decision to submit to the guidance of the Spirit, and it is in the daily small decisions that really define how much the Spirit is actually leading you.
What was it about those seven men the apostles chose to take care of their problems that helped them know to pick them? Was it their reputation for knowing scripture? Was it their reputation of how faithfully they showed up for worship? Was it by their reputation of prayer?
We already know the answer to that, because I’m sure we’ve met people that simply demonstrate a reliance upon God, it’s revealed in their nature. People whose actions verify that they have an understanding of scripture; people who show that worship is essential to them; and people who’ve proven that they depend upon prayer as a vital part of making decisions. These are some examples of what Jesus was describing in Matthew 7:16-18, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” In context he’s describing how we recognize a false teacher, however the criteria is nearly identical.
Peter reveals the progress and the blessing that comes with living by the Spirit in 2 Peter 1:5-8, “[add to] your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
That’s a wonderful promise to us, that we can know how to be productive for God’s kingdom. Paul also reveals something about what it means to live according to the Spirit in Romans 8:5-9, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, [have their minds on] the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
It doesn’t take much effort to determine if we could have been in the list of qualified people to help with the widow issue in Acts 6. But regardless if you feel qualified or not, we know it’s possible to think in a way that reveals who is leading us. Just remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-8, “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”
The Spirit may compel us to reach out boldly to those who oppose the truth, or that same Spirit may compel us to give all we have to help someone in need. Those who “live by the Spirit, will also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). That journey may lead us in places we never would have imagined serving God in ways we never dreamed. One of the exciting things we get to participate in is mission work around the world. People dedicated to teaching and serving people in places where the gospel is new or an obvious minority. However, all of us have a role in that work. Mission work is all around us, and the more we submit to the leading of the Spirit God gave us at the moment we were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38) the more we will find out how God is willing to use us to accomplish the wonderful work of reaching and strengthening souls.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:17, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” The fruit may not come naturally, in fact I’d suggest to you that it is impossible for Godly fruit to come naturally. You will never accidentally become righteous. It takes a conscience decision to submit to the guidance of the Spirit, and it is in the daily small decisions that really define how much the Spirit is actually leading you.
What was it about those seven men the apostles chose to take care of their problems that helped them know to pick them? Was it their reputation for knowing scripture? Was it their reputation of how faithfully they showed up for worship? Was it by their reputation of prayer?
We already know the answer to that, because I’m sure we’ve met people that simply demonstrate a reliance upon God, it’s revealed in their nature. People whose actions verify that they have an understanding of scripture; people who show that worship is essential to them; and people who’ve proven that they depend upon prayer as a vital part of making decisions. These are some examples of what Jesus was describing in Matthew 7:16-18, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” In context he’s describing how we recognize a false teacher, however the criteria is nearly identical.
Peter reveals the progress and the blessing that comes with living by the Spirit in 2 Peter 1:5-8, “[add to] your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
That’s a wonderful promise to us, that we can know how to be productive for God’s kingdom. Paul also reveals something about what it means to live according to the Spirit in Romans 8:5-9, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, [have their minds on] the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
It doesn’t take much effort to determine if we could have been in the list of qualified people to help with the widow issue in Acts 6. But regardless if you feel qualified or not, we know it’s possible to think in a way that reveals who is leading us. Just remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-8, “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”
The Spirit may compel us to reach out boldly to those who oppose the truth, or that same Spirit may compel us to give all we have to help someone in need. Those who “live by the Spirit, will also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). That journey may lead us in places we never would have imagined serving God in ways we never dreamed. One of the exciting things we get to participate in is mission work around the world. People dedicated to teaching and serving people in places where the gospel is new or an obvious minority. However, all of us have a role in that work. Mission work is all around us, and the more we submit to the leading of the Spirit God gave us at the moment we were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38) the more we will find out how God is willing to use us to accomplish the wonderful work of reaching and strengthening souls.
Monday, April 27, 2015
You Are The Christ
We may not always take the time to reflect on the magnitude of this confession found in Matthew 16, nor the conviction required by Peter and the apostles. For Christians we read this passage with pride to see Peter able to exclaim the truth about Jesus’ deity. But consider all the many people that witnessed all that He did and still didn’t believe. Jesus did amazing miracles and taught unlike any other; however, in the end, there were more skeptics than believers. Why?
Different reasons perhaps. People may have refused to believe in Jesus as the Christ because they didn’t want Him to be the Messiah. The Messiah many people hoped for would be one who destroys their enemies; he would bring instant prosperity to the masses, which would mean that Israel as a nation would once again be a super-power in the world, a nation to be proud of because people respected her. Jesus, in spite of His one-of-a-kind miracles, wasn’t what they were looking for; He didn’t fit the image of a super power king.
For others, it must have been fear that kept them from believing that He was truly the Son of God. In John 9 we read where the man born blind was healed and then after being healed was questioned by the Sanhedrin, simply because of who healed him and when he did it. The council asked the ex-blind man’s parents, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” And they said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” We then see why they had such caution in their answer. John 9:22 says, “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.” Earlier in John 7:13 we see the Jewish leaders fear tactics weren’t restricted to the synagogue, they were widespread; “no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.”
While these two reasons help us see why Peter’s confession was such a bold and profound declaration considering the possible consequences for making his declaration, we can see another reason that obviously pleased Jesus to hear him confess. The scriptures revealed it to Peter! Peter was able to see how God had been working through Jesus even if He didn’t fit the image the populace had about the Messiah, and he could even see how people would hate the Messiah because of who He was. This meant Peter paid attention not only to Jesus’ teachings but also the teachings from the Law and the Prophets he received while he was growing up.
When we are convicted to trust in God’s son because we see the evidence in the scriptures, we not only see the description of the Christ prophesied about, but we can read the promises to us. Seeing God’s plan revealed in the Bible helps us to rely on the senses that only those who have the Spirit of God can see and understand. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The proof of His deity still penetrates many people but to believe He is the chosen one mandates that His words and instruction have authority. His words can give us confidence to trust in His existence as the Son of God, the Savior of the world, but that also means we can trust in His words for guidance throughout life.
We don’t have to be afraid of what people say about a choice to declare God’s sovereignty or His power as the Messiah. Trust in His words. It was Jesus who said in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also… (6) I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
His words are faithful, so He asks us to make the same confession concerning Christ’s identity. Are you able to make the same statement with confidence in spite of the increasing pressure to ignore or deny Jesus as anyone significant?
Different reasons perhaps. People may have refused to believe in Jesus as the Christ because they didn’t want Him to be the Messiah. The Messiah many people hoped for would be one who destroys their enemies; he would bring instant prosperity to the masses, which would mean that Israel as a nation would once again be a super-power in the world, a nation to be proud of because people respected her. Jesus, in spite of His one-of-a-kind miracles, wasn’t what they were looking for; He didn’t fit the image of a super power king.
For others, it must have been fear that kept them from believing that He was truly the Son of God. In John 9 we read where the man born blind was healed and then after being healed was questioned by the Sanhedrin, simply because of who healed him and when he did it. The council asked the ex-blind man’s parents, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” And they said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” We then see why they had such caution in their answer. John 9:22 says, “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.” Earlier in John 7:13 we see the Jewish leaders fear tactics weren’t restricted to the synagogue, they were widespread; “no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.”
While these two reasons help us see why Peter’s confession was such a bold and profound declaration considering the possible consequences for making his declaration, we can see another reason that obviously pleased Jesus to hear him confess. The scriptures revealed it to Peter! Peter was able to see how God had been working through Jesus even if He didn’t fit the image the populace had about the Messiah, and he could even see how people would hate the Messiah because of who He was. This meant Peter paid attention not only to Jesus’ teachings but also the teachings from the Law and the Prophets he received while he was growing up.
When we are convicted to trust in God’s son because we see the evidence in the scriptures, we not only see the description of the Christ prophesied about, but we can read the promises to us. Seeing God’s plan revealed in the Bible helps us to rely on the senses that only those who have the Spirit of God can see and understand. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The proof of His deity still penetrates many people but to believe He is the chosen one mandates that His words and instruction have authority. His words can give us confidence to trust in His existence as the Son of God, the Savior of the world, but that also means we can trust in His words for guidance throughout life.
We don’t have to be afraid of what people say about a choice to declare God’s sovereignty or His power as the Messiah. Trust in His words. It was Jesus who said in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also… (6) I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
His words are faithful, so He asks us to make the same confession concerning Christ’s identity. Are you able to make the same statement with confidence in spite of the increasing pressure to ignore or deny Jesus as anyone significant?
Monday, April 13, 2015
Seeking Acceptance
Kids today face unbelievable pressure to “fit in.” That pressure can cause them to do whatever it takes, even if they are afraid of it. For this reason, it’s important to be surrounded by “good” people for a purpose, just as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.”
But regardless if you or your child has a fantastic spiritual infrastructure established or not, the pressure to not be weird is there. For some that pressure may lead them to talk differently, for others it may lead them to act differently. Sometimes it’s not just odd, it’s out right rebellious and wrong.
When I was in 7th grade, I fell in with some kids that proved to be bad for me. None of us appeared to be thugs or troublemakers, but there was a problem. One kid in our group liked to shoplift from a 7-11 down the street from our neighborhood. It wasn’t because he was poor the best I could tell, but looking back it was a way to prove he wasn’t afraid of the law. If he liked something he’d take it. Although I have always felt that I wasn’t very responsive to peer pressure, I can’t say that about this vice.
If he could steal stuff and get away with it, I could too. I never felt good about it but once I did it, I had been “initiated” into a “man club,” although there was no official club, but that’s how I remember feeling. I was afraid to stop because of how I felt my “friends” might perceive my motives for quitting–fear.
Like many sins, once I began to feel more comfortable doing little things I had a hunger for more things to steal. It got so bad that I would seek out places that would be very difficult not to get caught just to see if I could get away with it. It worked fine until one day a manager caught me as I was trying to teach a younger protégé how to be as good as a thief as I was. Fortunately, he called my dad instead of the law. It saved jail time, but cost me some beatings.
That event helped me see later on how powerful fear can be. I wasn’t afraid of getting caught; I was afraid of looking like I was afraid. The truth is that it’s not just kids that find themselves in a battle of fear, adults face it just as much. The fear of being looked down upon and considered a failure still ranks as one of the biggest fears people face. Bigger than snakes and heights.
We want so desperately to be accepted that we would jeopardize anything to get it. Some take it farther than others. Just consider Cain and his hunger for God’s acceptance. The fear of rejection caused him to go somewhere that he’d regret for the rest of his life. Sadly, God had told him what he needed to do to find acceptance. It was an issue of his heart. He didn’t need to kill the competition just change his attitude about what he was bringing to God.
Cain wasn’t the last person to seek acceptance from God and others. All throughout scriptures the story repeats itself with almost an identical outcome. Ultimately God wants us to humble ourselves and trust him. God sent his son to earth to show us what a person accepted by God should do, and it wasn’t what the Pharisees were selling. Jesus condemned them for their hypocrisy, which we discover the more we read about them that they were so worried about their reputation that they rejected God’s guidance.
Jesus said in Mark 7:6-8, “this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Perhaps we could argue how much of what they practiced was done out of fear verses pride, but there is a connection.
Our own lives can be filled with things we say, or do, or think because we want so badly to fit in. You may be reading this and have felt Satan’s grasp in your life to look a certain way, to think a certain way, or any number of actions that if you’re honest they’ve been done out of fear of looking socially awkward. Remember that God loves you and he has laid out a path before you that leads to eternal acceptance and his blessings, but that path is revealed through Jesus Christ. You are accepted by God; will you answer his plea to simply follow him and forget about what the world thinks about your choice?
But regardless if you or your child has a fantastic spiritual infrastructure established or not, the pressure to not be weird is there. For some that pressure may lead them to talk differently, for others it may lead them to act differently. Sometimes it’s not just odd, it’s out right rebellious and wrong.
When I was in 7th grade, I fell in with some kids that proved to be bad for me. None of us appeared to be thugs or troublemakers, but there was a problem. One kid in our group liked to shoplift from a 7-11 down the street from our neighborhood. It wasn’t because he was poor the best I could tell, but looking back it was a way to prove he wasn’t afraid of the law. If he liked something he’d take it. Although I have always felt that I wasn’t very responsive to peer pressure, I can’t say that about this vice.
If he could steal stuff and get away with it, I could too. I never felt good about it but once I did it, I had been “initiated” into a “man club,” although there was no official club, but that’s how I remember feeling. I was afraid to stop because of how I felt my “friends” might perceive my motives for quitting–fear.
Like many sins, once I began to feel more comfortable doing little things I had a hunger for more things to steal. It got so bad that I would seek out places that would be very difficult not to get caught just to see if I could get away with it. It worked fine until one day a manager caught me as I was trying to teach a younger protégé how to be as good as a thief as I was. Fortunately, he called my dad instead of the law. It saved jail time, but cost me some beatings.
That event helped me see later on how powerful fear can be. I wasn’t afraid of getting caught; I was afraid of looking like I was afraid. The truth is that it’s not just kids that find themselves in a battle of fear, adults face it just as much. The fear of being looked down upon and considered a failure still ranks as one of the biggest fears people face. Bigger than snakes and heights.
We want so desperately to be accepted that we would jeopardize anything to get it. Some take it farther than others. Just consider Cain and his hunger for God’s acceptance. The fear of rejection caused him to go somewhere that he’d regret for the rest of his life. Sadly, God had told him what he needed to do to find acceptance. It was an issue of his heart. He didn’t need to kill the competition just change his attitude about what he was bringing to God.
Cain wasn’t the last person to seek acceptance from God and others. All throughout scriptures the story repeats itself with almost an identical outcome. Ultimately God wants us to humble ourselves and trust him. God sent his son to earth to show us what a person accepted by God should do, and it wasn’t what the Pharisees were selling. Jesus condemned them for their hypocrisy, which we discover the more we read about them that they were so worried about their reputation that they rejected God’s guidance.
Jesus said in Mark 7:6-8, “this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Perhaps we could argue how much of what they practiced was done out of fear verses pride, but there is a connection.
Our own lives can be filled with things we say, or do, or think because we want so badly to fit in. You may be reading this and have felt Satan’s grasp in your life to look a certain way, to think a certain way, or any number of actions that if you’re honest they’ve been done out of fear of looking socially awkward. Remember that God loves you and he has laid out a path before you that leads to eternal acceptance and his blessings, but that path is revealed through Jesus Christ. You are accepted by God; will you answer his plea to simply follow him and forget about what the world thinks about your choice?
Friday, April 3, 2015
The Word is Hope
For some, it isn’t too hard to imagine that scene at the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany after the funeral of their brother. Lazarus’ death came as a big surprise to everyone, especially Martha and Mary. An interesting thing about life is that we don’t know how long we have to live. We make plans assuming that we’ll have plenty of time ahead of us, but then the unexpected happens, and all our dreams come to a screeching halt. There were dreams that Martha and Mary knew Lazarus could never achieve now.
Jesus missed the funeral. He hadn’t been there when those closest to Lazarus felt they needed him. By Martha’s comment in John 11:21, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” it seems obvious she was frustrated, maybe disappointed. She also knew that she and Lazarus had become faithful followers of Jesus, and that she needed to trust Him now.
However, for Jesus, this was an opportunity to show them an example of what it would be like when He comes back to earth to bring home those who are faithful to him. Before Jesus and His disciples made it to Bethany, He had said in John 11:4, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” For Jesus, the trip was an exciting demonstration of God’s power. It was obvious they couldn’t see what He saw in their situation. They saw death and mourning; He saw life and promise.
His prayer to God (John 11:41-42) revealed His heart. “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Sure enough, the day that began in sorrow ended with joy unlike they’d ever experienced. What Jesus did for Lazarus was done to help Martha and Mary and their friends. They needed to have the hope that only God can provide: the hope of resurrection from the dead.
When Jesus arose from the dead three days after His crucifixion, hope was once again restored. We have the privilege of reflecting on that sacrifice daily, but formally we do that when we take the Lord’s Supper, of which Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
This Easter, take time to think about all the hope-filled promises God makes to us. It takes a different perspective to look at all of our circumstances as an opportunity for God’s glory to be seen in what we do. This is what Romans 8:28 says that helps us gain His perspective, “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
As we follow God, we should hold His words precious, knowing that His words lead us closer to Him. Jesus was the Word in the flesh, according to John 1:1, 14, which means who Jesus was and what He did explain God’s word from cover to cover. Praise God that He sent His son to show us how to trust Him even in the unexpected circumstances.
Jesus missed the funeral. He hadn’t been there when those closest to Lazarus felt they needed him. By Martha’s comment in John 11:21, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” it seems obvious she was frustrated, maybe disappointed. She also knew that she and Lazarus had become faithful followers of Jesus, and that she needed to trust Him now.
However, for Jesus, this was an opportunity to show them an example of what it would be like when He comes back to earth to bring home those who are faithful to him. Before Jesus and His disciples made it to Bethany, He had said in John 11:4, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” For Jesus, the trip was an exciting demonstration of God’s power. It was obvious they couldn’t see what He saw in their situation. They saw death and mourning; He saw life and promise.
His prayer to God (John 11:41-42) revealed His heart. “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Sure enough, the day that began in sorrow ended with joy unlike they’d ever experienced. What Jesus did for Lazarus was done to help Martha and Mary and their friends. They needed to have the hope that only God can provide: the hope of resurrection from the dead.
When Jesus arose from the dead three days after His crucifixion, hope was once again restored. We have the privilege of reflecting on that sacrifice daily, but formally we do that when we take the Lord’s Supper, of which Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
This Easter, take time to think about all the hope-filled promises God makes to us. It takes a different perspective to look at all of our circumstances as an opportunity for God’s glory to be seen in what we do. This is what Romans 8:28 says that helps us gain His perspective, “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
As we follow God, we should hold His words precious, knowing that His words lead us closer to Him. Jesus was the Word in the flesh, according to John 1:1, 14, which means who Jesus was and what He did explain God’s word from cover to cover. Praise God that He sent His son to show us how to trust Him even in the unexpected circumstances.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
The Fruit of Repentance
Life is filled with memorable experiences that seem unbelievable to those that weren't part of them. From bold acts of bravery, to daring stunts, to many other things that just seem to sound
more Hollywood than normal life. However, in each story. there is a lesson to be learned. Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
That doesn't mean everything is always good, but that everything has some part of it that can lead us closer to the one that is good--God. That might be from the wisdom others share with us, or by a rebuke. Or we may be drawn closer to God because our situation broke us to the point of total humility. Perhaps our situation may have caused so much pain to many other people that we learn from our failures. We can “consider it all joy when we face the trials” of life when we are searching for the spiritual lesson we can learn from, because those tests of “faith produce endurance” or staying “faithful until death.”
I’m reminded of two lessons that David learned from his mistakes: his adultery with Bathsheba and the census he took of Israel because of his pride. David may not have been expecting to hear a rebuke from the Lord because of his actions towards Uriah and Bathsheba, but Nathan approached him and told a parable about a rich man with many sheep taking the only sheep of his poor neighbor and used it to serve his guests. David was furious until he was told in that famous line in 2 Samuel 12:7, “You are the man!”
David was reminded of the need to humbly listen to God and learn. Later on, David decided against his counselors and took a census to see how big his kingdom was. His disobedience cost him the lives of 70,000 Israelites. He had remembered from previous errors and humbled himself and was willing to make a change.
David understood that to be repentant would cost him something. He responds to Ornan’s generous offer to supply the animal for the sacrifice to God by saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24, “No, I will surely buy [the animals for the sacrifice] for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” God wants us to want to please Him, or as Jesus stated, the greatest commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” There’s something about the effort we put into our relationship with God that begins to reveal more of who God is to us.
One of the keys to really understanding something is the seeking-to-understand process. When we realize the value in something, we’ll invest more of our time and energy in promoting it, obtaining it, and living it.
However, for many of us the hunger to understand more completely doesn't begin until we’re broke down enough to see the need for it. There is a reason that the redemption process revolves around repentance. A heart that is hard won’t understand the gospel and the heart that still seeks worldly fruit more passionately than spiritual fruit hasn't understood where their passion is leading them.
1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
When we are repentant, our heart wants to understand the good news and we demonstrate our hunger to understand by how we respond to it. Sacrifice leaves a bad taste in our mouths, but that’s only because Satan has twisted our understanding of how beautiful it is to give up all for God willingly. Jesus modeled that concept for us perfectly when he willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
Consider how many lessons you've learned in life that could have had a different outcome (or avoided all together) by simply trusting in God’s word and following the example of Jesus. Let’s be active in weeding out the distractions that crop up in our life and instead remain focused on the wonderful message of redemption through Jesus Christ.
That doesn't mean everything is always good, but that everything has some part of it that can lead us closer to the one that is good--God. That might be from the wisdom others share with us, or by a rebuke. Or we may be drawn closer to God because our situation broke us to the point of total humility. Perhaps our situation may have caused so much pain to many other people that we learn from our failures. We can “consider it all joy when we face the trials” of life when we are searching for the spiritual lesson we can learn from, because those tests of “faith produce endurance” or staying “faithful until death.”
I’m reminded of two lessons that David learned from his mistakes: his adultery with Bathsheba and the census he took of Israel because of his pride. David may not have been expecting to hear a rebuke from the Lord because of his actions towards Uriah and Bathsheba, but Nathan approached him and told a parable about a rich man with many sheep taking the only sheep of his poor neighbor and used it to serve his guests. David was furious until he was told in that famous line in 2 Samuel 12:7, “You are the man!”
David was reminded of the need to humbly listen to God and learn. Later on, David decided against his counselors and took a census to see how big his kingdom was. His disobedience cost him the lives of 70,000 Israelites. He had remembered from previous errors and humbled himself and was willing to make a change.
David understood that to be repentant would cost him something. He responds to Ornan’s generous offer to supply the animal for the sacrifice to God by saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24, “No, I will surely buy [the animals for the sacrifice] for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” God wants us to want to please Him, or as Jesus stated, the greatest commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” There’s something about the effort we put into our relationship with God that begins to reveal more of who God is to us.
One of the keys to really understanding something is the seeking-to-understand process. When we realize the value in something, we’ll invest more of our time and energy in promoting it, obtaining it, and living it.
However, for many of us the hunger to understand more completely doesn't begin until we’re broke down enough to see the need for it. There is a reason that the redemption process revolves around repentance. A heart that is hard won’t understand the gospel and the heart that still seeks worldly fruit more passionately than spiritual fruit hasn't understood where their passion is leading them.
1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
When we are repentant, our heart wants to understand the good news and we demonstrate our hunger to understand by how we respond to it. Sacrifice leaves a bad taste in our mouths, but that’s only because Satan has twisted our understanding of how beautiful it is to give up all for God willingly. Jesus modeled that concept for us perfectly when he willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
Consider how many lessons you've learned in life that could have had a different outcome (or avoided all together) by simply trusting in God’s word and following the example of Jesus. Let’s be active in weeding out the distractions that crop up in our life and instead remain focused on the wonderful message of redemption through Jesus Christ.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Blasphemy of the Spirit
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:14-19, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you… (18) And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”
Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, but when he heard that he’d have to give up his riches he decided an eternal inheritance wasn’t worth the sacrifice. However, Jesus told those listening to their conversation in Luke 18:25-27, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When they heard it they said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
While both of these passages describe the difficulties that may come in following Christ, they also elude to an important ingredient that makes it possible – the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted his followers, which includes us, to know that God will not abandon us to face difficulties alone. He impresses upon his followers that when Jesus ascends into heaven, the Spirit would come in his place. He says in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:26-27, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”
John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
This begs the question, how important is the role of the Spirit in me going to heaven? Or how important is the role of the Spirit in me being faithful to God? Paul says in Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” In context Paul is describing the life that should no longer define us, and reminding us how our lives have changed because of the power Jesus gave us when we placed our faith in him.
Peter offered some good news to the terror struck crowd on the Day of Pentecost when he told them how rectify their rejection of Jesus as the Christ. He said in Acts 2:38-39 that they needed to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” What is the gift? Miraculous? Something more? Jesus had said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. How? Paying the penalty of sin for us, but also by sending the Spirit to be our guide and our conscience. He wants us to allow him free control of our minds, which will never go against God. Paul says several important things in Romans about our relationship with God by the Spirit. Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (11) …He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (14) For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (16) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God…”
Therefore walking with God is about trusting the guidance of the Spirit. The more we do that the more we realize the tremendous gift God has given us in the Spirit. But to rebel against His guidance will by default lead us away from God’s words of life. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. However Jesus said in Matthew 12:32, “but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” I can’t show contempt for a Spirit that I can’t even understand without God revealing to me (which is the case with the Spirit), and to show contempt for the very gift that seals me for the day of redemption reveals an attitude in my heart that Satan knows how to wield to his purposes.
Many people are worried they’ll slip up and blasphemy the Spirit by accident and thus go straight to hell, but consider that this kind of blasphemy is more of a rejection of the Spirit’s guidance who is your access into the heaven that Jesus made possible. Most of the New Testament is directed to Christians and how to keep their hearts focused on God and to stay clear of Satan’s schemes that can lure us away from Godly devotion.
Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, but when he heard that he’d have to give up his riches he decided an eternal inheritance wasn’t worth the sacrifice. However, Jesus told those listening to their conversation in Luke 18:25-27, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When they heard it they said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
While both of these passages describe the difficulties that may come in following Christ, they also elude to an important ingredient that makes it possible – the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted his followers, which includes us, to know that God will not abandon us to face difficulties alone. He impresses upon his followers that when Jesus ascends into heaven, the Spirit would come in his place. He says in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:26-27, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”
John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
This begs the question, how important is the role of the Spirit in me going to heaven? Or how important is the role of the Spirit in me being faithful to God? Paul says in Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” In context Paul is describing the life that should no longer define us, and reminding us how our lives have changed because of the power Jesus gave us when we placed our faith in him.
Peter offered some good news to the terror struck crowd on the Day of Pentecost when he told them how rectify their rejection of Jesus as the Christ. He said in Acts 2:38-39 that they needed to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” What is the gift? Miraculous? Something more? Jesus had said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. How? Paying the penalty of sin for us, but also by sending the Spirit to be our guide and our conscience. He wants us to allow him free control of our minds, which will never go against God. Paul says several important things in Romans about our relationship with God by the Spirit. Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (11) …He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (14) For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (16) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God…”
Therefore walking with God is about trusting the guidance of the Spirit. The more we do that the more we realize the tremendous gift God has given us in the Spirit. But to rebel against His guidance will by default lead us away from God’s words of life. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. However Jesus said in Matthew 12:32, “but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” I can’t show contempt for a Spirit that I can’t even understand without God revealing to me (which is the case with the Spirit), and to show contempt for the very gift that seals me for the day of redemption reveals an attitude in my heart that Satan knows how to wield to his purposes.
Many people are worried they’ll slip up and blasphemy the Spirit by accident and thus go straight to hell, but consider that this kind of blasphemy is more of a rejection of the Spirit’s guidance who is your access into the heaven that Jesus made possible. Most of the New Testament is directed to Christians and how to keep their hearts focused on God and to stay clear of Satan’s schemes that can lure us away from Godly devotion.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Leaving a Legacy
People came from all over the known world to have the opportunity to speak with Solomon. His advice was nearly priceless. The queen of Sheba honored him in these words found in 1 Kings 10:6-9, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.”
This was all a result of a blessing bestowed upon him by God when Solomon became king. He asked God for wisdom to rule his people and bless them. While he was wiser than anyone else on the planet, he didn’t have it all together. In spite of his great wisdom and all the teaching and advice he gave, it seems he failed to give something to his own children that could have changed their lives tremendously.
What does wisdom look like? Its not limited to intelligence. Intelligence is knowledge, and while that’s a worthy quality to obtain, wisdom speaks more to the understanding of decisions. Solomon says this to his son in Proverbs 2:1-2, “My son, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding… (5-6) Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! (9-11) Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.”
Much like many parents today, Solomon told his sons many proverbs and wise sayings. He wanted his sons to learn from his mistakes, he wanted them to think before they made foolish decisions. However, those wise sayings he told his son didn’t automatically guarantee that they would listen. In fact, when his son Rehoboam became king he had to make a decision about how to rule his father’s kingdom.
In 2 Chronicles 10:4-14 we read of this instance; an event that changed the kingdom he inherited forever. The people came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father was a hard master, but if you’ll lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us, then we will be your loyal subjects.” He told them to come back in three days and he’d give them his answer. In the meantime he went to two groups of people: His father’s counselors and his own. Solomon’s counselors said, “If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.” However Rehoboam’s own counselors said, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist! Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”
By the third day Rehoboam had made up his mind and followed the advice of the younger, less experienced counselors of his own kingdom. The result was a split kingdom. Often we reject great advice from older more experienced people perhaps because we fail to recognize how their experience can help us.
How about our own life? Do we learn from those that have gone on before us? The legacy those people from older generations leave us is more than money; they leave us experiences that can save us a lot of heartache. How could the story have ended for Rehoboam? We’ll never really know, but consider a decision you’ve had to make recently, could the advice from older generations benefit you?
It’s important to have mentors and counselors to look up to. In the church, God designed it to consist of parents but also elders, people of a spiritual mind that when they share experiences and advice are more valuable than gold. Be sure to thank those people that have helped to shape who you are and for the legacy they’ve left you.
This was all a result of a blessing bestowed upon him by God when Solomon became king. He asked God for wisdom to rule his people and bless them. While he was wiser than anyone else on the planet, he didn’t have it all together. In spite of his great wisdom and all the teaching and advice he gave, it seems he failed to give something to his own children that could have changed their lives tremendously.
What does wisdom look like? Its not limited to intelligence. Intelligence is knowledge, and while that’s a worthy quality to obtain, wisdom speaks more to the understanding of decisions. Solomon says this to his son in Proverbs 2:1-2, “My son, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding… (5-6) Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! (9-11) Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.”
Much like many parents today, Solomon told his sons many proverbs and wise sayings. He wanted his sons to learn from his mistakes, he wanted them to think before they made foolish decisions. However, those wise sayings he told his son didn’t automatically guarantee that they would listen. In fact, when his son Rehoboam became king he had to make a decision about how to rule his father’s kingdom.
In 2 Chronicles 10:4-14 we read of this instance; an event that changed the kingdom he inherited forever. The people came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father was a hard master, but if you’ll lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us, then we will be your loyal subjects.” He told them to come back in three days and he’d give them his answer. In the meantime he went to two groups of people: His father’s counselors and his own. Solomon’s counselors said, “If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.” However Rehoboam’s own counselors said, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist! Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”
By the third day Rehoboam had made up his mind and followed the advice of the younger, less experienced counselors of his own kingdom. The result was a split kingdom. Often we reject great advice from older more experienced people perhaps because we fail to recognize how their experience can help us.
How about our own life? Do we learn from those that have gone on before us? The legacy those people from older generations leave us is more than money; they leave us experiences that can save us a lot of heartache. How could the story have ended for Rehoboam? We’ll never really know, but consider a decision you’ve had to make recently, could the advice from older generations benefit you?
It’s important to have mentors and counselors to look up to. In the church, God designed it to consist of parents but also elders, people of a spiritual mind that when they share experiences and advice are more valuable than gold. Be sure to thank those people that have helped to shape who you are and for the legacy they’ve left you.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Are people animals?
My kids
love pets; cute little animals that they feed and love. Unfortunately, their
pets are usually killed, maimed, or missing in a matter of time. In spite of
the fact that their furry little friends’ demise seems inevitable, they still
continue to want one—or two. My kids aren't too dissimilar to most kids (and
some adults); pets can be fun to have around. However, what makes you different
from your pet? Your job? If that’s the case, some of our children need to be
reclassified. Is it the fact that we wear clothes and use technology? Truth is
those aren't the things that make us human and our pets animals.
I read an
article not too long ago that listed seven signs humans are domesticated
animals. The author went on to describe them:
1. We survive due to agriculture
2. Population crashes become common
3. Our jaws are small and rounded
4. Diseases cause more injury than war
5. Humans socialize like dogs
6. Humans look and act like children
7. Many adults can digest milk
These
were the topic subtitles in the article that published last summer that assumed
these were incontestable proofs that we are simply domesticated animals.
Articles like this one are not uncommon. There are dozens, hundreds, probably
thousands of articles that want us to stand in awe of the evidence that humans
are simply advanced animals. The entire premise is based on the theory of
evolution.
Assuming you've evolved from a
squid, or a lima bean, or a chimp, can cause a person to question how important
life really is. In fact, one evolutionist explained our propensity to overrun
and/or pollute an environment by saying, “Humans share that honor with other
invasive species, including extinct animals like trilobites, as well as living
ones like rats, crows, cockroaches and more. Invasive species have roamed
across the Earth since life began. Humans are about as special as dirty little
rodents, scampering between walls in search of some garbage to eat.”
Darwin wrote about this in one of
his lesser-known works, The Expression of
the Emotions in Man and Animals. Today, hundreds of scientific studies
claimed to have solid evidence that animals from chimps to rats share the same
kinds of emotions and motivations that we do.
These could very well be the same
folks who want to make sure that you have a positive self-image before you
graduate high school. It seems destructive to a society to consistently
brainwash those listening to think of themselves and other people as dirty
cockroaches.
So what does God say about the
pinnacle of his creation? Genesis 1:24-26, “Then God said, ‘Let the earth
produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.’ And
that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small
animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it
was good. Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like
ourselves. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the
livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry
along the ground.’”
To God there is a clear distinction
between all animals and humans. And for that reason, “God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only son so that whoever would believe on his name
would not perish…” (John 3:16). So how will the animals believe? It seems clear
that we’re not spreading the Gospel to our pets, but to our friends and family.
We share hope with strangers and even enemies within the human race. People who
will be destroyed on the earth at the Day of Judgment if they do not believe in
and trust God.
The urgency is that we need to make
sure we think of people as created in the image of God, and encourage others to
think of themselves that way as well. And since they are at the pinnacle of
God’s creation, they need to hear the saving message that only comes by God —their creator. They are the ones we have to think enough about to give them the
hope of Jesus Christ. The more mankind regards their peers as nothing more than
domesticated animals, the less they’ll be thinking about being the bearer of
The Good News that saves souls.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Blessings In Disguise
Was Job a blessed man? Perhaps that’s a difficult question to answer. It might depend upon when you look at his life. Prior to him losing his children and his wealth, we would confidently say “yes.” During his trial brought upon him by Satan, we would probably say “no.” And if you look at his life after we read in Job 42:10, “the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” Therefore, perspective matters.
How about your own life? Are you blessed? Blessings come in different forms. Hebrews 12:11 says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
In our country, blessings come with the territory. We expect to have nice things; we expect to have some level of safety. All of those are truly blessings, but those expectations have perhaps warped our idea of what a blessed life looks like.
Similar to the difficulty of Job’s life are words from James in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” Nothing about trails seems joyful, but God must see it differently.
The Lord declares in Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” So what are His ways? What are His thoughts? Because if we had the ability to see life the way God did, then perhaps we would be more grateful, less stressed, and more like Jesus in what we say and do.
Jesus rebuked the apostles in Matthew 8:24-27, “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’ He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”
What did He know that the apostles didn’t? Shouldn’t Jesus have been afraid, too? Was He completely unconcerned with how His life would turn out? We know there was some fear or reluctance about death, based on His words from the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:39, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Would He consider Himself “blessed” at that moment? His words from the cross just a short time later would indicate probably not: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46-47)
However, He trusted God with a bigger picture of His time on earth. Jesus knew that the blessing would come later. It was because of His love and obedience to His father that He went to the cross, and it’s because He went to the cross that we now have the Spirit to intercede for us, to guide us, and to strengthen us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God… Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words….”
To surrender our thinking when tragedy strikes and to remember that God does have a bigger plan, is part of the key to having a blessed life. Our job is faithfulness, trusting Him to deliver us. It’s through that understanding and application that we can more fully grasp how trials can be viewed as joyful, James 1:3-4, “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Remember that we’ve been given a mind like Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5), so trust Him when you have an experience that tempts you to question God. Remember He may be blessing you in an unconventional way.
How about your own life? Are you blessed? Blessings come in different forms. Hebrews 12:11 says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
In our country, blessings come with the territory. We expect to have nice things; we expect to have some level of safety. All of those are truly blessings, but those expectations have perhaps warped our idea of what a blessed life looks like.
Similar to the difficulty of Job’s life are words from James in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” Nothing about trails seems joyful, but God must see it differently.
The Lord declares in Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” So what are His ways? What are His thoughts? Because if we had the ability to see life the way God did, then perhaps we would be more grateful, less stressed, and more like Jesus in what we say and do.
Jesus rebuked the apostles in Matthew 8:24-27, “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’ He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”
What did He know that the apostles didn’t? Shouldn’t Jesus have been afraid, too? Was He completely unconcerned with how His life would turn out? We know there was some fear or reluctance about death, based on His words from the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:39, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Would He consider Himself “blessed” at that moment? His words from the cross just a short time later would indicate probably not: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46-47)
However, He trusted God with a bigger picture of His time on earth. Jesus knew that the blessing would come later. It was because of His love and obedience to His father that He went to the cross, and it’s because He went to the cross that we now have the Spirit to intercede for us, to guide us, and to strengthen us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God… Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words….”
To surrender our thinking when tragedy strikes and to remember that God does have a bigger plan, is part of the key to having a blessed life. Our job is faithfulness, trusting Him to deliver us. It’s through that understanding and application that we can more fully grasp how trials can be viewed as joyful, James 1:3-4, “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Remember that we’ve been given a mind like Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5), so trust Him when you have an experience that tempts you to question God. Remember He may be blessing you in an unconventional way.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Follow ... consistently!
Who do you turn to when important decisions have to be made? That may sound like some kind of advertisement for bank, or our government, but there really is a place that you most likely turn to for guidance. How does the Bible help you? How does prayer help you? How does a mature Christian help you? While those may be appropriate sources for support and assistance, do we use them?
Jesus came to demonstrate that God is a reliable resource when big decisions have to be made. Whether it was choosing apostles to carry on his work, or healing people, or feeding gobs of hungry followers, Jesus modeled turning to God for help. In Hebrews 4:16, after helping us see that Jesus went through the same kind of temptations that we have had to go through, the author says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
James continues this thought in James 4:7-8, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” These are comforting statements for us to benefit from.
Solomon wrote to his sons telling them that his proverbs would help them to “know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior… (Proverbs 1:2-3) So if these wise sayings serve as a guide for us when we’re not quite sure which path to take, not certain about going on or turning around, or just shed some light to our lives, then it makes sense that by turning to God and His word that we should see positive results to our daily dilemmas. Not to say we won’t chose something that we wish we hadn't, but there should be such a dependence upon God that all our thoughts run through a kind of spiritual filter.
In Jesus’ day, the people heard Him speak and were in awe by His wisdom; they recognized that He spoke with authority that naturally drew people closer to Him to seek help on all their problems of life. Matthew 8 describes a man with leprosy who finally realized who could help him with his skin disease; a Roman Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority over the problem of his paralyzed servant. Soon enough people from all around Judea would know to take their problems to Jesus. He became famous for solving all kinds of issues dealing with diseases, demons, physical infirmities, even dead loved ones.
But when His words got tough to follow, the people didn't recognize Him as a viable source for their problems anymore. For instance in John 6 where Jesus tells His followers that unless they “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves (John 6:53). In a sense He was challenging them to do more than just turn to Him when they had a need but to become as reliant upon His words in good times as in troubled times. He wanted them to become dependent upon Him for all decisions in life; dependent upon Him as people are for food. Instead, they had just come for the “free lunch.” John 6:26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”
The question to us is, do we turn to God’s word for all decisions? When we’re going to buy a car, sign a contract, get married, seek a new job, chose a major in college, discipline our children, etc.?
It’s easy to only turn to God when it’s a spiritual issue, but in reality all things can become a spiritual issue. One decision may open the door for a more righteous opportunity or a more perverted one. We must practice relying on Jesus as so many people did when He walked the earth. Perhaps we could learn from some of the followers’ errors and not just seek Him not for spiritual blessings but for all issues of life. Put that into practice!
Jesus came to demonstrate that God is a reliable resource when big decisions have to be made. Whether it was choosing apostles to carry on his work, or healing people, or feeding gobs of hungry followers, Jesus modeled turning to God for help. In Hebrews 4:16, after helping us see that Jesus went through the same kind of temptations that we have had to go through, the author says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
James continues this thought in James 4:7-8, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” These are comforting statements for us to benefit from.
Solomon wrote to his sons telling them that his proverbs would help them to “know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior… (Proverbs 1:2-3) So if these wise sayings serve as a guide for us when we’re not quite sure which path to take, not certain about going on or turning around, or just shed some light to our lives, then it makes sense that by turning to God and His word that we should see positive results to our daily dilemmas. Not to say we won’t chose something that we wish we hadn't, but there should be such a dependence upon God that all our thoughts run through a kind of spiritual filter.
In Jesus’ day, the people heard Him speak and were in awe by His wisdom; they recognized that He spoke with authority that naturally drew people closer to Him to seek help on all their problems of life. Matthew 8 describes a man with leprosy who finally realized who could help him with his skin disease; a Roman Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority over the problem of his paralyzed servant. Soon enough people from all around Judea would know to take their problems to Jesus. He became famous for solving all kinds of issues dealing with diseases, demons, physical infirmities, even dead loved ones.
But when His words got tough to follow, the people didn't recognize Him as a viable source for their problems anymore. For instance in John 6 where Jesus tells His followers that unless they “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves (John 6:53). In a sense He was challenging them to do more than just turn to Him when they had a need but to become as reliant upon His words in good times as in troubled times. He wanted them to become dependent upon Him for all decisions in life; dependent upon Him as people are for food. Instead, they had just come for the “free lunch.” John 6:26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”
The question to us is, do we turn to God’s word for all decisions? When we’re going to buy a car, sign a contract, get married, seek a new job, chose a major in college, discipline our children, etc.?
It’s easy to only turn to God when it’s a spiritual issue, but in reality all things can become a spiritual issue. One decision may open the door for a more righteous opportunity or a more perverted one. We must practice relying on Jesus as so many people did when He walked the earth. Perhaps we could learn from some of the followers’ errors and not just seek Him not for spiritual blessings but for all issues of life. Put that into practice!
Saturday, November 1, 2014
My friend Stephen's book is available now!
Enjoy stories and poems from authors
Stephen B. Bagley, Kent Bass, Wendy Blanton,
Gail Henderson, Jean Schara, and Tamara Siler Jones
in this dark, thrilling anthology!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Library hosts book signing
ADA, OKLAHOMA—Ada Public Library will host a book signing for the new anthology “Blackbirds First Flight” 4:30-6:30 p.m., Thursday, October 30. The anthology features stories from Ada author Stephen B. Bagley, Kent Bass, Wendy Blanton, Gail Henderson, Jean Schara, and Tamara Siler Jones.
Bagley, Blanton, Henderson, and Schara will sign copies of the book at the signing. The book will also be on sale at that time for the special price of $10.
“‘Blackbirds First Flight’ is an anthology of stories and poetry with a dark, sensual twist,” said Pru Simmons, Many River Harbor associate editor. “The stories run the gambit from thrilling Gothic adventure to modern urban fantasy to fantastic encounters with the macabre. The poetry is uniformly excellent and tells dark stories of its own, many related to mythology.”
Simmons said the book might become an annual anthology. “We have had many inquiries about the book and its theme,” she said. “We definitely think there is an interest in dark, twisty fantasy that tells a satisfying story and follows traditional narrative arcs. We hope there will be another flight next year.”
“Gail (Henderson) and I are excited to actually meet some of the other authors,” Bagley said. “Wendy (Blanton) is flying in from Chicago, and Jean (Schara) is driving up from Texas. This is the first time we’ll all be in the same town.”
Stephen B. Bagley wrote “Tales from Bethlehem,” “Murder by Dewey Decimal,” “Murder by the Acre,” “Floozy & Other Stories,” and “EndlesS.” His works have appeared in “Creations 2014,” “Creations 2013,” “Creations 2012,” “ByLine Magazine,” “Free Star,” “Nautilus Magazine,” “OKMagazine,” and other publications. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. He is a member of Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. and Ada Writers.
Kent Bass enjoys writing Gothic action/adventure stories. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business and from the University of Oklahoma, with a Master of Science in Accountancy. He and his family live in Dallas, Texas, where he works for the nation’s leading tax software company. “Blackbirds First Flight” is his first publication.
Wendy Blanton published three fantasy novels, “The Dragon’s Lady,” “Rogue Pawn,” and “Sword and Scabbard” under the pen name Elizabeth Joy with co-author Scott Carman. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management from the University of Mount Olive and served in active duty for the United States Air Force for eight years. She is an apprentice bard and tells Celtic folk tales at Scottish Highland Games and other venues.
Gail Henderson collaborated with noted Oklahoma photographer Michael Duncan to produce “Bare,” a book of poetry and photography. “Red Bird Woman,” a collection of her poetry, was published in 2013. Her work has appeared in “Creations 2014,” “Creations 2013,” “Creations 2012,” and “ByLine Magazine.” She holds a Masters of Education in English and Social Studies from East Central University. She is a member of Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. and Ada Writers.
Tamara Siler Jones is a wife, mom, writer, quilter, and cat-wrangler from rural Iowa. She has three novels in print/eBook (“Ghosts in the Snow,” winner of the Compton Crook Award for best first novel of the year in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror genre; “Threads of Malice”; and “Valley of the Soul”; all published by Bantam Books), one book (“SPORE”) under contract with Samhain Publishing for release next summer; one book (“Morgan’s Run”) being marketed in New York, three novels in progress, and a screenplay in first draft.
Jean Schara retired from a 28-year career in the United States Air Force in 2008 and took up residence in Texas. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland University College with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and of the Troy State University with a Master of Science in Adult Education. She has had several book reviews published in the “Air Power Journal” and several articles published in “Vision: A Resource for Writers.”
“Blackbirds First Flight” is available from Amazon.com, Lulu.com, and other online retailers and in downtown Ada at Karen’s Art & Framing, Inc., 108 East Main.
For more information, visit Blackbirds Flights.