UMYF Hueytown

July 14 -- More live it like ya mean it

2009-08-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Getting some chariots: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17

It’s not who hear, it’s who obey: Romans 2:1-24

The Lord is King forever: Psalm 10:16-18

He who gets wisdom loves his own soul: Proverbs 19:8-9

Boy, did I let the Bible blog get behind or what? And it was with the book of Romans, my favorite book. :)

Paul makes it clear in this letter to the church in Rome that it’s not just hearing the word that matters, it’s doing the word. It’s not just being a church member that matters, it’s actually doing God’s will that matters.

This isn’t saying that we’re not saved by grace. We still can’t get big headed & think we earn eternity. Yet, Christianity has to real enough to live it, or it means nothing.

July 13, 2009 (Monday)

2009-07-14T08:53:00.001-07:00

July 13
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1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36
Romans 1:18-32
Psalm 10:1-15
Proverbs 19:6-7

After a considerable amount of greetings and warm affections for the Romans, Paul gets into some of the hard truths of the world. Paul talks about the basic inability for anyone to see God, though his works are all around us! The world is content to deny and forget the power and Lordship of God although there is everything written in nature and creation to show that he exists, made all and that all are accountable to him. In forgetting God, the human race must turn to all sorts of things to fill in that need to love and worship him, instead they love and bow down to their own desires and own paths. The end of this section is a pretty brutal list of ways of describing a world that has forgotten God. It would be pretty discouraging to stop here, but take heart, the gospel is GOOD NEWS!

July 12, 2009

2009-07-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

July 12

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1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17

Romans 1:1-17

Psalm 9:13-20

Proverbs 19:4-5

Having read through Acts, seeing the great boldness, action, and conviction of Paul we have to be on the edge of our seats to get into the deep matters of the gospel that he illustrates in the wonderful book of Romans. Many see Romans as the best summarization of the Christian life, justification, peace with God, new life in Christ, the coming return of Jesus, the judgment of the world, the righteousness revealed in Jesus. Paul starts things off by stating his authority as an apostle, called by God to bring good news to the church of Rome. As this is a letter to real people in a real place, Paul begins by speaking warmly to his friends, praising them for the reputation of their great faith. We should long to have the same reputation. He desires to see his friends so that they might encourage and build one another up in the faith. This shows us what the Christian life should be about, encouraging one another and building one another up. Is this an accurate picture of how we usually treat one another?

Before getting into the meat of the letter, Paul makes a wonderful claim about the gospel:

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."

He will spend the rest of the letter explaining what this gospel is all about.

July 11

2009-07-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

July 11

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1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18

Acts 28:1-31

Psalm 9:1-12

Proverbs 19:1-3

Reading the last chapter of Acts is a really good experience as we move into the great book of Romans. The second half of Acts focuses heavily upon Paul and his work of bringing the good news of Jesus to all the world. He just keeps going on and on and on, knowing that the job of bringing the gospel to all peoples will be much bigger than something he can do alone, yet he is zealous to do all he can to establish churches in parts all across the area so that those churches can do the work in their own area. This is in so many ways just like our ministry here. Someone initially set up our church and centuries later we are still here to bring the gospel to this corner of the world. As we read Romans we get a closer look at Paul's theology as he writes letters to the church of Rome. We get to see even more clearly why he is so on fire to bring this good news to the world.

July 10

2009-07-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

July 10

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1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14

Acts 27:21-44

Psalm 8:1-9

Proverbs 18:23-24

This chapter is a great indication of what it means to show Godly leadership. Though Paul was a fellow prisoner on the boat, in tumultuous times we see that he is still God's appointed leader of those here. Paul uses the encouraging word that God gives him to tell the others on the boat that he will spare their lives. It is important in the church when someone has a strong conviction or a spiritual insight into where the church should be going that we listen to them. We should always test what people say to scripture, but if someone is excited about doing great things for God it's our job to support and get behind them.

July 9 (Thursday) -- Paul Does a Gilligan's Island

2009-07-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

More begats: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40

Stormy sailing: Acts 27:1-20

God is a righteous judge: Psalm 7:1-17

Finding a honey is finding God’s favor: Proverbs 18:22

Have you noticed the person of Acts in these chapters? It was written by Dr. Luke, but these chapters are in 1st person. He uses words like “we” when talking about who sailed to Italy, boarded the ship, and lost hope of being saved by the storm.

The point is that Paul was not going through this alone. The Holy Spirit was guiding Paul to allow him to ultimately witness to the emperor of Rome, but it was not an easy road. And Paul had Christian friends along with him to support him, even when Paul was in chains like a criminal.

We need to further God’s kingdom with a no-matter-the-cost kind of philosophy, and encourage each other Christians who do the same.

July 8 (Wednesday) -- Griping at Agrippa

2009-07-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

The battle was God’s: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81

In such a short time can you persuade me to become a Christian? Acts 26:1-32

Be merciful to me, O Lord: Psalm 6:1-10

The tongue has the power of life and death: Proverbs 18:20-21

Check out today’s passage from Acts. I love this stuff, because it’s not fiction. This really happened!

Paul was talking to King Agrippa, who had the authority to let the Jews execute Paul. Yet, when Paul told the king about Jesus appearing to him, he also talked about Jesus wanting Paul to tell everyone to repent & believe in God – including the Gentiles. By the way, the Gentles are all non-Jews, including the Romans. Instead of cowering in a little corner hoping King Agrippa would be nice to him, Paul took the gospel to the king knowing that it might offend the king. The king already had a religion.

Yet, it’s not over. In the last verse of today’s passage, King Agrippa said that Paul would have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar. The Holy Spirit gave Paul not only the words to say, but also the guts to say them with a no-matter-what, no-matter-who kind of attitude. This allowed Paul to eventually take the gospel to the highest authority in the Roman empire.

What goals does the Holy Spirit have for you?

July 7 (Tuesday) -- Their Throat Is an Open Grave

2009-07-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

A bunch of begats: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17

More on Paul’s trail: Acts 25:1-27

Throat like a grave: Psalm 5:1-12

Offended like a barred gate: Proverbs 18:19

You know, David had to go through a lot of mess. A lot of folks wanted to kill him, at different times in his life.

And in today’s Psalm he pleaded with God to help him from his enemies’ attacks. Yet he wasn’t talking about the sword. He was talking about their words.

Verse 6 has “those who tell lies”. Verse 9 has “not a word from their mouth can be trusted”. That same verse has, “their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.”

We, as Christians, need to watch what we say about others. It’s not our place to stir up a bunch of mess toward people, even if they’ve done us wrong.

July 6, 2009

2009-07-07T07:59:00.001-07:00

July 6

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1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4

Acts 24:1-27

Psalm 4:1-8

Proverbs 18:16-18

Luke (the author of Acts) seems very interested in giving us a lot of details about Paul's trial here. I believe that one thing that is going on is his desire to show that, just like Jesus, Paul is very much falsely accused of breaking the Jewish law in following the way of Jesus. Following after Jesus in no way breaks with the Old Testament, breaks in no way with what it means to be an Israelite, to be of the people of God. As Paul talks with Felix during the trial, he speaks of the coming judgment, the judgment that will be righteous and completely true. This makes Felix nervous and he really mostly wants to have nothing to do with Paul, kind of like Pilate in Jesus' trial. He keeps Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews. He is working out of pleasing man and not pleasing God. As the Psalmist spoke of in a passage from last week, God is more to be trusted than earthly princes, earthly judges, who make bad choices and who will one day die and be no more. God's law remains forever and his people will be righteous before his throne.

July 5, 2009

2009-07-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

July 5

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1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17

Acts 23:11-35

Psalm 3:1-8

Proverbs 18:14-15

Jesus let his disciples know before he went to be with the Father, that they would themselves experience persecution as he himself had. A servant is not greater than a master. Paul is displaying this very persecution here. The Jewish leaders were adamant about holding back Paul, who was powerfully preaching the gospel all over the Mediterranean world. 40 of the Jewish leaders pledged to not eat or drink until they had killed Paul. As they were preparing an ambush, Paul learns of the plot and has the Roman guards who were holding him captive to take him somewhere safe. Though Paul is in danger, God is always with him, he is always in control of the situation.

July 4, 2009

2009-07-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

July 4

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When reading Acts it is important to always keep in mind the great commission. The Great Commission is the speech Jesus gives to the disciples at the end of the gospel of Matthew to spread the good news of salvation to all the earth. He also says here that "I will be with you always". God is always with us and we need him especially when we are bringing his good news to the world. Sometimes this is challenging, as Paul here sees, there are many people who don't trust Paul because of his past or who outright don't like what he has to say, but in this section of Acts we see God constantly comforting, encouraging, reassuring Paul. With God's presence Paul is able to stand up to his accusers, pointing out their hypocrisy and blindness.

July 3, 2009

2009-07-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

July 3

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After reading the final Psalm, a call for all to praise God in any way that we can we

rewind back to the first Psalm. Where that chapter summed up the entirety of Christian

living, this opening Psalm is like a jumping off point. That's a good way of thinking of

the Psalms, a guidebook for the Christian life as it is expressed in song. There may be

certain songs that mean a lot to you in your life, songs that say something special about

how you look at yourself, God, your family, your friends. This opening Psalm points us

to the pathway of Christ. This Psalms shows us that it is not blessed to sit in a council

of men who don't fear God, but it is blessed instead to meditate on God's word, to live

in the light of his salvation and revelation. This is like a tree planted next to a river,

a tree with a good source of life.

July 2 -- Cymbals are cool!

2009-07-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

Reversing the shadow: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2

Away with him! Acts 21:18-36

Praise him with cymbals: Psalm 150:1-6

Slackers are working for destroyers: Proverbs 18:9-10

Today I want to blog about the passage from 2nd Kings. If you recall, Hezekiah was a king of Judah who flat out loved the Lord. Hezekiah had no sons. For anybody living in that part of the world at that time, dying with no kids was the worst shame you could have. The idea was that you must be a really horrible person to be cursed with being childless. Add to that the fact that Hezekiah as a king and had no son to pass the throne too. This was no doubt part of Hezekiah’s desperation in his praying to God.

Then something kinda cool happened – God heard Hezekiah’s prayer & healed him! I say “kinda” because it may not have been the best thing. You see, because God healed Hezekiah, Hezekiah went on to have a son, who grew up to betray the Lord & even encourage others in his kingdom to do the same. Amon even sacrificed his own son, Hezekiah’s grandson, to the fire god. I bet if Hezekiah had forseen what God did, he would have prayed a prayer that was more of “Your will be done”, than “please, oh please save me.”

Martin Luther once said, “"Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy. Men may deal with him as they will...; he is without care; he knows that 'all things work together for good' for him"”

July 1 -- hook in the nose

2009-07-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hooked by the nose: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37

Ready to be bound or die for the Lord: Acts 21:1-17

Let the saints rejoice in his honor: Psalm 149:1-9

Gossip is like food: Proverbs 18:8

When I read stuff like in Acts 21, I can’t help but think about how cushy our lives are in America. We have no persecution for being a Christian, especially in Alabama. But Paul was willing to do whatever the Holy Spirit guided him to do for the Lord, even though it meant his life would be in danger.

I believe our country is slowly heading towards a day when Christians will be persecuted. If it happens in our lifetimes, I’d like to think we’d have enough spiritual mettle to stand up for the Lord with a no-matter-what, no-matter-who kind of ‘tude.

But the million dollar question is: why don’t we go ahead and stand up for the Lord now, when it doesn’t hurt us?

June 30 -- The Tent Maker's Dissertation

2009-06-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

Hezekiah broke Moses’ bronze snake: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12

The tent maker’s dissertation: Acts 20:1-38

CeCe Winans favorite psalm: Psalm 148:1-14

Mouth begging for a beating: Proverbs 18:6-7

Paul’s closing statement to the Ephesians talked about how important it was for them to live by his teachings. Of course, we know some of his teachings to them – they’re in the Book of Ephesians. But here in Acts, as Dr. Luke recorded it, what was the main thing Paul said that he taught them? And not just to them, but to the Jews too? (Hint, that means everybody.) That we “turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (verse 21).

Repentance goes hand-in-hand with faith in Jesus. We can’t live a life full of sin, with no intention of ever changing, all the while claiming that Jesus is our Lord. When Paul called Jesus our “Lord”, it means that He’s our master --> we do what He says.

June 29 -- Watery Words of Wisdom

2009-06-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

King after king after king: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20

Suffering a smack-down from a demon possessed man: Acts 19:13-41

Praise the Lord: Psalm 147:1-20

Watery words: Proverbs 18:4-5

Put on some steel toe shoes before reading Proverb 18:4 – The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

If you talk like most of our fellow man, then your words are as useful as salt water, which can’t be drank. This is what’s referred to as “deep waters” in the proverb.

But speak like the Lord would have you speak and you speak words that bring life, like a bubbling brook.

Wisdom is a treasure that everybody can attain. Seek your wisdom from the Lord & I promise you’ll find it.

June 28

2009-06-30T08:56:00.001-07:00

June 28

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Today's passage from Psalms is quite rewarding. It is great that the entire year is filled with a daily reading from the Psalms since they act like a daily spiritual renewal and reflection upon the greatness of our God. Today's Psalm speaks to where we should place our trust. Psalm 146 opens with a exclamation of praise, declaring where our trust dwells. In verse 3 we see that even the most influential and "important" of people are not a place to put our ultimate confidence in, they are mortal just as we are! Next the Psalmist contrasts earthly rulers with our heavenly Lord. The Lord God is the one who made everything and "keeps faith forever". Not only is he eternal in his being, he is also infinite in justice, "who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry". It is good to know that no matter how bad things get here, our Lord will one day set them right... We then see that he grants salvation and favor by opening the eyes of the blind, lifting up those who are brought low, watching over the 'sojourners' (which kind of means homeless, but really can mean anyone who wanders this world like it is not their home). the Psalmist ends by stating a wonderful truth "the Lord will reign forever". Our great king will reign forever. We have a reason to hope and rejoice in the kingdom of God!

June 27

2009-06-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

June 27

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As Paul goes out to bring the gospel to the nations, it is important for us to realize that he was discouraged as well. We read in today's passage that after speaking to the Jewish people over and over, they still rejected him and his teachings, he basically tells them that he's done with them and that they are responsible for the truth he has been teaching them. He is obviously frustrated at speaking to people who reject him over and over, yet Jesus then shows up in a vision and encourages Paul, "do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you". What an encouraging thing to remember. Those who were here Sunday to hear Pastor Jack heard a lot about this encouragement. It is important to remember that Jesus promises to always be with us.

June 26

2009-06-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

June 26

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In the book of Kings we are reading much about the adventures of the wars of Israel and the tumultuous history of the good and bad kings of Israel. In Acts there is a very contrasting story going on. Here we are reading about the very exciting account of Paul's ministry to the nations. Today's readings involve Paul in Thessalonica, which provides for a great tie in to the missionary letters he sends to the churches, read the books of Thessalonica to get a fuller picture of Paul's relationship to the churches that he founds. Next is a very interesting story about Paul speaking before the Areopagus, where a group of philosophers liked to sit around and, well, philosophize. Paul is ready to speak the gospel in a way they can understand, while in a way that is very challenging. There is an altar to "an unknown god" and Paul basically shows them that he understands the spiritual world in a way revealed by God. He reveals this unknown God as the one who has made all things and all people "in him we live and move and have our being" he says, quoting one of their philsophers. This speech results in many people becoming Christians, "but some men joined him and believed", we read.

June 25 -- Jailhouse Rock

2009-06-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

If the madman calls you “king”, we also call you “king”: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13

Jailhouse rock – Christian style: Acts 16:16-40

Teach me to do your will: Psalm 143:1-12

It is not good to flog officials: Proverbs 17:26

I’ve loved the story about the Lord freeing Paul & Silas from prison ever since I first read it at 14 years old!

Again, the Lord caused His followers to do supernatural things so that others would believe in Jesus. The jailer point blank asked Paul & Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The Holy Spirit is wanting to use us too if we just simply let Him. Ask Him to use you in any way He sees fit.

By the way, if anyone’s interested in a old school rendition of this story, check out one of my favorite classic Christian rock songs at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGMieqbOSSg

June 24 -- Retrieving lost tools, God style

2009-06-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Everything from a floating axehead, to chariots of fire, to blinded enemies, to a guard getting trampled to death: 2 Kings 6:1-7:20

Hi, Timothy. I want you to go around preaching with me. But there’s something I need you to do first: Acts 15:36-16:15

Set me free from my prison: Psalm 142:1-7

A discerning man keeps wisdom in view: Proverbs 17:24-25

Lot’s of hard core prophet action going on in today’s reading from 2nd Kings. :)

Because the Arameans had laid a siege (a blockade) against Samaria, the Israelites in Samaria couldn’t get out to grow crops or raise meat. They were hurting for food, with no late night Taco Bell in sight.

Read 2nd Kings 6:26-31 again. Can you imagine things getting so bad that you’d agree to share either others’ kids as meals? I can just hear my mother being part of that negotiation: “I’ll give you my son, Charles, for two of your kids. Charles is big & fat. You’ll get a lot of meals out of him.” :)

When it got this bad, the king of Israel was mad. Who was he mad at? Was he mad at the Israelites for disobeying God and cutting of His providence? Was he mad at himself for not sticking to God like glue or praying day & night for the wisdom to lead the nation in this time of crisis? Nope. He was mad at God & he took it out on God’s servant, Elisha.

But the Lord rescued Elisha by telling Elisha what to tell the king.

God is the one we should fear. Our fellow man has only the power that God lets him have. And God showed Himself off by delivering the Israelites out of their siege.

If you want to be the one who’s ahead of the game, trust God & seek His glory. Elisha was on the winning side all along.

June 23 -- You must stink pretty bad if you have to take 7 baths in one day

2009-06-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Take seven dips in the Jordan and call me in the morning: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27

The 1st Church Doctrine: Acts 15:1-35

Set a guard over my lips, O Lord: Psalm 141:1-10

Bribery perverts justice: Proverbs 17:23

What a remarkable story from 2 Kings! Naaman’s leprosy was healed by God! Even better than that: Naaman realized that our God is the only real God (2nd Kings 5:15).

This backs up what I said in the previous post about God giving us special abilities to bring glory to God, not ourselves.

June 22 -

2009-06-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Getting out of debt slavery – God style: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17

It’s tough to tell the difference between a Christian and Zeus: Acts 14:8-28

Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men: Psalm 140:1-13

How to get dry bones: Proverbs 17:22

Reading Acts, it must have been mighty tempting to Barnabas & Paul to let the Greeks continue worshipping them as Zeus and Hermes. But the Holy Spirit didn’t give Paul the ability to heal the man so that Paul & Barnabas could get the glory. The glory goes to God.

Paul later wrote a lot about spiritual gifts in 1st Corinthians 12-14. In those 3 chapters he wrote various ways that it’s tempting to think that the presence of a spiritual gift in your life makes you superior to other Christians. But the gifts are meant to edify the church and edify the individual, not make the individual the center of worship.

June 21 -- A Week Late

2009-06-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a posting I typed up while Gorgeous and I were celebrating our anniversary far away from any Wi-Fi, up in Lake Cumberland State Park.

Don’t reject bald headed prophets: 2 Kings 1:1-2:25

Getting stoned for the Lord: Acts 13:42-14:7

We are fearfully and wonderfully made: Psalm 139:1-24

He whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble: Proverbs 17:19-21

In Acts it’s recorded that the church was doing what’s it’s supposed to do best: telling others about Jesus. Note in verse 50 who was incited against the Christians: God-fearing people.

Many of the times I’ve seen Christians bustin’ and movin’ for the Lord wound up coming under harsh criticisms from their fellow Christians. It wasn’t the world that didn’t like Christian rock in its early days – it was Christians. Not once has someone who professes to not believe in Christ get onto me when they overheard me telling someone about Jesus. But I have been fussed at from people who claim to be Christians. Most people who complain about churches are people in other churches.

Now it’s rubber-meets-the-road time. Are we at FUMCH making more waves by trying to further the Kingdom of God, or are is most of energy directed at stifling other Christians?

June 20

2009-06-24T07:16:00.001-07:00

June 20

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A little background on Saul/Paul. Saul was a really really hardcore Israelite. He was a zealot and a Pharisee, an expert in Jewish law, both Old Testament and other Jewish laws that were drafted by Jewish lawyers. As an expert in this area he knew all about the story of the Old Testament. When he came to Christ something incredible happened in his thinking. He understood the entire Scriptures as pointing to Christ. That is why reading this passage is so fascinating. We get a picture of how Paul is bringing all of his knowledge of the Old Testament and describing why this means that everyone should bow down to Christ, as one who was anticipated from the beginning of time. What a better reason for us to search the Scriptures for what God has shown us there about Jesus!

June 19

2009-06-24T07:12:00.001-07:00

June 19

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In this passage we see the church lay hands on Saul and Barnabas so that they may go out into the world to do that which they have been called by God to do. As they go out to proclaim the salvation of Christ they come across an evil sorcerer named Bar-Jesus (no relation). Paul (which his name has now been changed to) calls out the evil sorcerer, tells him he is of the devil and, by the power of God blinds the man. The proconsul sees this and is understandably convinced.

June 18

2009-06-23T07:59:00.001-07:00

June 18

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I have been focusing a lot on Acts lately, but I do want to say some things about the passage from 1 Kings today. This is a fascinating story about the call of Elijah. Though we think of Elijah as one of the "greats" of the Old Testament, right up there with David and Abraham, we are given a picture of Elijah's discouragement. Remember, of all the "greats" of the Bible, only Jesus is perfect. But God appears to Elijah, not in the great, majestic wonders, but in a quiet whisper. God is comforting Elijah and encouraging him in the fact that his ministry is not in vain. All of Israel seemed to have rejected God and his prophets, going so far as to kill them. But he is reminding Elijah that he is preserving a part of Israel and that all will not forsake him. It is sometimes hardest to stay faithful to God when it seems everything is falling around us. But God is never far from us, seek him and he will strengthen you in the midst of your struggles.

June 17

2009-06-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

June 17

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When the Bible takes a lot of time to tell one story it means that we should perk up and take note of what is going on. For the third straight day we are reading about Peter's vision of the unclean animals being made clean. This is emphasized for quite a long while in Acts. It is difficult to grasp the importance of this sense we are used to Christianity being a faith practiced all over the world. We have to remember that we are the "gentiles" that the Bible talks about over and over. The whole point of this story is to show us how truly amazing the gospel is. God is gracious and desires that men and women all over this world would come to know him. Right after this story there are several accounts of evangelism and about many coming to faith and repentance. We then learn a bit of church history because we hear about the first time the church is referred to as "Christians". What does "Christian" mean? Little Christ. We are like ambassadors sent out into this word to spread his good news of salvation.

June 16

2009-06-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

June 16

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As we learned this past week in Indianapolis, after God reveals himself to us (as he did to Peter) we don't simply keep it to ourselves. God had revealed an incredible thing to Peter, the fact that anyone who believes in Jesus can be saved, no matter what nationality. The Lord also revealed himself to Cornelius, compelling him to call Peter into his house to preach to his friends and relatives. Peter preached the message of salvation through Christ, emphasizing the fact that all nations are called into this salvation. The Holy Spirit fell upon those Gentiles there who accepted the message and many "circumcised" or Jewish Christians were blown away by this fact. Acts is all about the gospel going out to peoples of all nations and the power of the Holy Spirit.

June 15

2009-06-22T14:18:00.001-07:00

June 15

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Many of those who hunt out there, today's passage from Acts may contain one of your favorite verses in the Bible:

³Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."

This passage tells the story of Peter falling into a trance before going off to a meal. Have you ever been so hungry that you just dream about food? Well there is definitely more to this story than that. Basically God is telling Peter that what he thought of a ceremonially "unclean" (the animals he was ordered to kill and eat) were no longer unclean. This indicates that Jesus cleanses people from all over the place of their sins, making them acceptable in his sight. This is difficult for Peter to understand, but God is teaching him that he is no longer merely the God of Israel, but of all nations. He is "Lord of all creation, of water earth and sky"

June 14 -- Joppa's Jumping for Jesus

2009-06-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, all. We had a good time on the mission trip and it’s time to start catching up the Bible blog.

The nameless man of God: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34

Tabitha, get up: Acts 9:26-43

Arise, O Lord, and come to your resting place: Psalm 132:1-18

Parents are the pride of their children: Proverbs 17:6

As Matt noted in the last blog, the Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity & should be revered. In this portion of Acts the Holy Spirit continued to empower the early church to rock and roll in Jesus’ name. Look at the lives that are impacted here:

1) The church as a whole in Judea, Galilee, & Samaria enjoyed peace because it was encouraged the Holy Spirit.
2) Aeneas, the paralytic, was healed & the people of Lydda & Sharon turned to Jesus.
3) Tabitha was healed and people in Joppa turned to Jesus.

Imagine how Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Sylvan Springs, & Oak Grove would be impacted if all of us in our church opened up completely to the Holy Spirit & asked Him to use us however He saw fit?

June 13 (Saturday)

2009-06-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

June 13

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We read today of the powerful conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Saul's name would be changed to Paul to indicate the great change that would happen to this man. From here on, so much of the New Testament is characterized by the story and testimony of Paul, much of the book of Acts and then so many of Paul's letters. Why is this? I believe that the story of the gospel is made so evident in Paul. Here is the greatest of sinners, a man sitting on, holding the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death. A man 'zealous' of putting down the Jesus movement. Yet, in God's rich mercy Saul becomes one of the greatest missionaries and authors in Christian history. Paul stands as a kind of ultimate example of what it means for Jesus to take our lives and make them into something that works powerfully for the kingdom of God.

Friday (June 12, 2009)

2009-06-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

June 12

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Today's passage in Acts continues to show the power of the Holy Spirit. From reading the book of Acts it is impossible to underappreciate the role of the Spirit as divine and as the third person of the trinity. As the apostles spread the good news of the kingdom and of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit is the power from God for Christ's disciples to carry out his work. The first passage is a bit interesting because Simon thinks that he can practically "buy" the power of the Spirit. Meaning he believes that money is more powerful in being able to command the Spirit. The point is that God is more powerful than money. Of all the Lord's in this world, Jesus is above all of them and all are under his feet, including money. The story of an Ethiopian man on the road suddenly and exuberantly desiring to become a follower of Christ is told. Once again, the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism.

June 11 (Thursday) -- Can't Stop the Church

2009-06-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Temple dedication: 1 Kings 8:1-66

The early church’s Git R Done attitude even under persecution: Acts 7:51-8:13

He has cut me free from the chords of the wicked: Psalm 129:1-8

Better be poor & happy than rich & full of strife: Proverbs 17:1

Some people reading the stuff in Acts might think, “Yeah, right, whatever. God doesn’t really give the people in His church the ability to heal, cast out demons, see visions, & forgive the people who persecute them. That’s just fantasy stuff.”

That’s what I love about the Bible – it’s THE TRUTH! :)

Keep in mind that the Book of Acts was written by a doctor named Luke. In many ways, the Book of Acts is a sequel to the Book of Luke (compare Acts 1:1 with Luke 1:1-4). His stated purpose for writing about Jesus & the church was to write an orderly account of everything that happened after he had carefully investigated it.

As Matt blogged in a previous post, Stephen is the first known martyr of the church. And the Holy Spirit used many people in the church to bring others to the church. In some ways, persecution leads to church growth. People get serious about the Lord when they’re forced to bluntly state whether they’re Christian or not.

And check out who was doing a lot of the persecution – Saul. We all know that Saul later is renamed “Paul” when He sees Jesus on the road to Damascus and starts rockin’ and rollin’ for the Lord. But I’m always impressed by God’s ability to use anybody, even someone as loathsome to the early church as Saul.

The Holy Spirit is just waiting to use you for His church. Ask Him to shape you, change you, lead you, empower you, use you, and whatever else He sees fit. And ask Him knowing that He’ll deliver.

June 10 (Wednesday) -- Fear the Lord

2009-06-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Building a house to live in, Solomon’s style: 1 Kings 7:1-51

Telling it like it is, Stephen’s style: Acts 7:30-50

Blessed is he who fears the Lord: Psalm 128:1-6

My hair is becoming more splendorous every day: Proverbs 16:31-33

Today’s Psalm seems kind of weird. “Blessed are all who fear the Lord”. Does God really want people to fear Him? Is that how He gets his kicks?

But the word “fear” really means to respect. And this is followed up with “who walk in His ways”. We need to respect God enough so that He is our Lord. “Lord” means boss, not just friend. That’s the part that might be kind of hard to swallow.

Now for the best part: The word “blessed” means “blessed, happy, fortunate, to be envied”. In other words, it means really, really blessed – so much you’re fortunate and other folks some of what you’ve got.

Respect God enough so that He’s your boss --> and get sure enough blessed!

June 9 (Tuesday) -- Our House...In the Middle of Our Street

2009-06-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Retro Alert: You might have to have been around in the 80's to recognize the image I put on today's post. :)

Building a temple in seven years, Old Testament style: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38

History of Israel, Stephen style: Acts 7:1-29

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of kids: Psalm 127:1-5

Plotting evil with winks: Proverbs 16:28-30

How fitting that today’s Psalm was written by Solomon, who we read about from today’s Old Testament reading in 1st Kings. :)

Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”

The house is the ultimate place of refuge and security. It’s where you go to rest, be safe, and re-energize. The house is a vital component to one’s life. It’s where a family spends time together, where meals are consumed, and memories are made.

Yet, the house has no stability unless the Lord is the center of the house.

Monday, June 8, 2009

2009-06-08T08:04:00.001-07:00

June 8

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Martyrdom was a major part of the life of the early church. It is also a major part of the church throughout history, including today. Here begins the story of the first martyr Stephen. I think that these Martyrs that we read of in the scriptures and in history and of today are indications of what it really means to follow Christ. To be a servant means to be willing to lay down our life for him. We should pray not that this should happen to us, but that we would be so committed to Lord Christ that we would be willing to die, knowing that death is no longer the victor. Here's a link to somewhere you can learn more about the martyrs.

http://www.jesusfreaks.net/

Sunday, June 7, 2009

2009-06-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

June 7

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Today's passage in Acts is fascinating and an incredible testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church. First there is a very amazing story about Ananias and Sapphira. In this time the Apostles were holding every thing in common, sharing all of their possessions. This was based upon mutual trust and honesty. Ananias broke this bond of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, holding back his own portion. Now the main point here I think is that it is very serious to put yourself against the work of the Holy Spirit, lying to yourself, others, and to the Holy Spirit himself. I think the point of this story is that we have a portrait of the kingdom of God, those who work against the kingdom will perish. But then we have an amazing story of the apostles in persecution, arrested for breaking the rule given them to not preach in the name of Jesus. They could not resist but telling others. Yet, one of the Pharisees, in a moment of wisdom, said that they shouldn't kill the men since they might be from God. If they are from God then no one will be able to stop them. How true... finally they go away rejoicing because they were persecuted for the faith. Incredible. May God give us such boldness and conviction.

Saturday (June 6, 2009)

2009-06-06T11:09:00.001-07:00

June 6

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Jesus' reign is spreading throughout the earth! Proclaim the day of the Lord is here! This is the great triumph and march of God's kingdom as it goes out throughout the book of Acts. Jesus is risen and he is Lord over all the earth. His kingdom shall not end and death and evil have been defeated. As this messages is carried into the world, as the disciples are carried along by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming Christ, healing, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are seeing resistance. Jesus warned them of this so that they would not be surprised, a servant is not greater than his master he said. By the Holy Spirit they proclaim the truth "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone". Jesus has begun the mission to spread his kingdom and it is by His authority that they are bringing healing and life and testimony to the world. They prayed and the Holy Spirit gave them strength in the most difficult of circumstances "and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly". The same spirit lives in us when we ask for him to send it to us.

June 5 (Friday) -- "What I have I give unto you" -- better than silver or gold

2009-06-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

One…two…the plague comes for the counted: 2 Samuel 23:24-24:25

Good thing Peter didn’t have any silver or gold to give to the beggar: Acts 3:1-26

Look to the Lord with eyes like that of a slave to his master: Psalm 123:1-4

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth: Proverbs 16:21-23

Yesterday’s reading had the Holy Spirit using the disciples to witness to non-believers through the miracle of speaking in languages they were not trained to speak. Then the same Holy Spirit gave Peter the words to boldly explain to the witnesses how it related to Jesus dying on the cross for the sins, causing thousands to be saved!

Today’s reading in Acts might seem anticlimactic compared to yesterday’s. What is the healing of one lame beggar compared to the saving of thousands from Hell? I’ll tell you what it is. It’s everything. Every individual that’s ever existed means a lot to the Lord.

If you make a habit of praying for the Holy Spirit to use you in whatever way He sees fit, don’t be surprised if He uses you in a miraculous way, but on one individual at a time.

June 4 (Thursday) -- Holy Fire

2009-06-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

This water is so good I want to pour it out: 2 Samuel 22:1-23:23

It’s too early in the morning to be drunk: Acts 2:1-47

Psalm 122: Psalm 122:1-9

Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord: Proverbs 16:19-20

Two items of note from two different passages.

2nd Samuel 23:13-17: What in the world was David thinking? If you were one of David’s men and had fought hard just to get him the drink of water he asked for, how would you feel when he poured it on the ground? :)

Acts 2: Hey, guess what? We don’t have to carry out the great commission on our own. What great commission am I talking about? The one where Jesus said to go out & tell people about Him.

Take Peter in today’s reading from Acts. Do you know who Peter was? Peter was just a plain ol’ fisherman with little to no education who was more impulsive than impressive. The next thing you know, the Holy Spirit is using him to bring thousands into the kingdom of God!

And who will do these wondrous things? Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32, which says, “your sons and daughters will prophesy”. It also says, “Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy”.

So the Holy Spirit using folks in miraculous ways is not a man-only thing.

How would you like to have a part of the Trinity poured out onto you? Luke 11:1-13 has Jesus explaining what we call the Lord’s Prayer with asking God for the Holy Spirit, knowing for sure that He’ll give Him to you.

June 3 (Wednesday) -- Pride leads to the dark side

2009-06-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

You never know what might get thrown over a wall: 2 Samuel 20:14-21:22

Jesus’ followers after Jesus went back to Heaven: Acts 1:1-26

The Lord watches over you: Psalm 121:1-8

Pride --> destruction: Proverbs 16:18

In the Star Wars movies Yoda said, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” When us Star Wars fans first heard that we thought, “that old green sage is giving words of wisdom”.

Well, a long time ago, in a galaxy very, very near, King Solomon compiled a book of wise sayings that we call the "Book of Proverbs". Today’s proverb may be the most important proverb to remember.

Pride goes before destruction
a haughty spirit before a fall.

If you think you’re “all that and then some”, get a hold of yourself. You’re setting yourself up for a down fall.

If you’re the first person in your family to get a college degree and instead of being grateful you find yourself thinking you’re better than your siblings, get a hold of yourself. You’re setting yourself up for a down fall. (Trust me. I’ve done it.)

I used to have epilepsy. There was a time I had one to three seizures per day. It was a very humiliating experience, and was slowly getting worse. Plus, the docs said there was no cure & that each seizure ate up brain cells that would never be replaced.

I was also praying for the Holy Spirit to shape me and use me however He saw fit. I prayed this a couple of times a day for weeks. This was in my late twenties.

One day I had a seizure & I realized that almost all of my seizures occurred right after I had feelings of pride. My pride was based on temporary things, like my intellect or my strength and endurance. (Believe it or not, I used to be in good shape when I worked at the Bruno’s warehouse. :) ) Plus, I was getting near finishing college, earning a degree in a field that a lot of folks thought was pretty tough stuff. I had reason to be prideful, or so I thought.

And the Holy Spirit did something.
He made me thankful for the epilepsy. I’m not saying that God is the author of diseases and such. But at the very least, He held back His healing hand to teach me an eternal lesson about pride and humility. I realized that clarity over spiritual matters such as pride was much more valuable than health or longevity on Earth. Without a doubt it was the Holy Spirit who caused me to be grateful over a situation that I could have easily been angry or disappointed about.

I asked God to shape me to be humble enough not to need my pride kept in check. I came to the realization that I’m not “all that and then some”. The next day, my neurologist signed me up for yet another MRI scan. Ho hum. What a waste of time those things were. I had so many MRI scans before and none of them ever found the cause of the seizures.

But this time the MRI scan found a microscopic piece of scar tissue on my brain. It’s what was causing the seizures! I had hope for a cure after over a decade of hearing that I had to put up with epilepsy all my life and that the seizures would continue to slowly eat up my brain. A round of tests & a surgery later & I was cured!

Ask the Holy Spirit to shape you & use you in any way He sees fit (like Brother Al preached last Sunday). Do it with the attitude that there might be things that need to be changed. Pride is destructive. Don’t let pride keep the Holy Spirit from doing things in you.

June 2 (Tuesday) -- The Shepherd's Workers

2009-06-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

David is restored as king of all Israel --- with resistance: 2 Samuel 19:11-20:13

If you recognize your master by his ability to fish, you might be a redneck: John 21:1-25

I call on the Lord in distress, and He answers me: Psalm 120:1-7

Wisdom is better than gold: Proverbs 16:16-17

“Do you love me?”

Jesus asked Peter that three times. All three times, Peter responded with a sound affirmative. All three times Jesus’ reply back to Peter was for Peter to take care of His sheep.

We are the sheep. Peter and the other disciples went on to evangelize much of the world.

We are also now the Shepherd’s hired servants, like Peter. It’s our job to feed Jesus sheep.

What if Peter & the other disciples hadn’t done as Jesus said?

What if we don’t do as Jesus said and feed His sheep?

June 1, 2009 (Mmmm-onday)

2009-06-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

June 1

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Four gospels and four resurrection stories. We have read through the four accounts of Jesus' life and they have all ended the same. No matter how many times you read it, there it is, Jesus overcomes sin and overcomes death and the message is still true for today. He is still with us and we have the presence of his Holy Spirit to go out and build his kingdom. There are a couple of items here to note. One, it shows that Mary thought Jesus was the gardener, also there are mentionings that it is the "first day of the week". Some people think what this means is that John is showing us that this is about "re-creation", meaning that the "garden" and "first day of the week" reminds us of Genesis 1, except here is the first day of the new creation, when Jesus has defeated the last enemy and is to take the right hand of God as the victorious Lord... Though this ends (tomorrow actually) the gospel readings, as we continue this resurrection of Jesus will be what it's all about in the story of the early church, Paul's letters, John's letters, etc. It's all about Jesus.

Thursday - Sunday

2009-06-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Having had moving going on and family matters for Charles, just to catch up I'm gonna post the links for the last few days and pick up for Monday blogging. here's the links for the past few days.

May 28

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May 29

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May 30

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May 31

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May 27 (Wednesday) -- Access to the Father

2009-05-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

One…two…your sin will haunt you:2 Samuel 12:1-31

Jesus tells of His death & resurrection: John 16:1-33

You hands made me and formed me: Psalm 119:65-80

The Lord works out everything for his own ends: Proverbs 16:4-5

2nd Samuel 12: 11 was fulfilled just like the Lord told David. David’s sons Absalom and Adonijah tried to usurp the throne from David. Absalom did it for a while. Adonijah did it mainly when David was up in age. Even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he let sin mess up part of his life.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that when we pray God the Father hears us directly. In John 16:26-27, Jesus said that when we pray He doesn’t have to ask God on our behalf because God loves us! Check that out – we have access to the One who created everything & is the source of all blessings! We don’t have to pay a preacher to pray for us. We don’t have to hire an attorney to be our advocate. We simply pray in the name of Jesus & God will hear us because He loves us.

Life of sin  bad news

Life of prayer  access to the Father

May 26 (Tuesday) -- Greater Love Has No Man Than This - That a Man Lay His Life Down for His Friends

2009-05-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Getta your eyesah offa the wife of Uriah: 2 Samuel 9:1-11:27

Jesus is friend and lord: John 15:1-27

The earth is filled with your love, oh Lord: Psalm 119:49-64

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed: Proverbs 16:1-3

Loving Jesus and obeying Jesus go hand in hand. John recorded Jesus as saying that He’s both our friend and our Lord.

No one loves us as much as Jesus. Jesus died for us, His friends. That’s the greatest example of love (verse 13).

Now it’s our turn. In John 15:10 Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.”

Who’s up to obeying Jesus? I want to remain in His love, do you?

Monday, May 25

2009-05-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

May 25

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John's gospel is a very Trinitarian gospel. You hear a lot about Jesus' divinity, his claiming the "I Am" statements for himself. He also writes a lot about the times Jesus spoke of his Father, his being sent by the Father, his going to be with the Father, his being the same as the Father. And now, here we read about the promised Holy Spirit. Jesus is soon to die for the sins of his people, then he will rise again and go to be with his Father. We celebrate Pentecost this coming Sunday and it is very important (we will celebrate by welcoming several students into the membership of the church) as the day God sent his Spirit to rest on his people. This passage gives us a great deal of information about the role of this Holy Spirit. Though we wait for the day of Jesus' return, we now have the presence of His spirit to comfort, strengthen and lead us to great acts for the kingdom.

May 24, 2009 (Sunday)

2009-05-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

May 24

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In today's passage from 2 Samuel we read two very interesting stories, back to back about the ark of the covenant. They are both very famous stories and very interesting in contrast. The first is the story of a man who tried to stop the ark from falling off of planks when it had been set up wrong. Upon touching the ark he immediately died. This is a very dramatic story that displays the holiness and majesty of God. His worship is to be done in such a way as to appreciate his awesomeness and greatness... but then, right after is the famous story of David undignifiying himself by taking off his kingly garments (though he did have normal clothes on) before the slave women (which basically meant humbling himself as a man) and dancing before the ark. This shows us that we should worship God with reverence for him, yet humility for ourselves. We are nothing and God is everything. And we shouldnt be afraid to worship him in awe and great excitement.

May 23, 2009 (Saturday)

2009-05-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

May 23 -------------------- 2 Samuel 2:12-3:39 John 13:1-30 Psalm 119:1-16 Proverbs 15:29-30

Today's passage begins the longest chapter in the whole Bible. The longest chapter comes to chapters after the shortest. The longest chapter in the whole Bible is a long meditation upon God's law or word, it is a in depth look at how good God's plan for us is. This chapter is also an "acrostic" in Hebrew, each set of verses or "stanza" begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (which doesn't come through in the English). This means that the author is showing how complete and finished is God's word, God's plan for us. His word is perfect...

May 22, 2009 (Friday)

2009-05-23T09:31:00.001-07:00

May 22

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Today's passage from John is a great reflection from Jesus upon the meaning and purpose of his death. Jesus knew his mission was to come into the world to die to save his people from their sins. Yet at the same time Jesus prays to his Father to "glorify his name". In overcoming death and sin, in rising again on the third day, the name of the Father, the name of God is glorified and shown to be the name that is above all names. Our God is a great God.

In John we read about Jesus walking his disciples feet. Here we see more clearly what God's plan for us is. Jesus says this is showing his love for them. In washing their feet he is becoming humble and symbolizing his act of sacrifice that will cleanse his followers from their sins. Yet right after this we learn of the great betrayal of Judas, who will hand him over to be crucified.

March 21 (Thursday) -- We want him to die...again

2009-05-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

David rescues his wife (err…I meant “wives”): 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13

Wanted dead or alive – the man who raises the dead: John 11:55-12:19

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: Psalm 118:1-18

The path of life leads upwards for the wise: Proverbs 15:24-26

Imagine someone who had been dead for 3 days telling you about Jesus resurrecting him from the grave. Then imagine other folks not liking it & wanting to kill both Jesus & the resurrected man.

Poor Lazarus. He’d already died once and the chief priests were wanting him to die again. :)

It’s funny, but of the times I’ve done things for the Lord, usually the most active naysayers are the ones who claim to be religious. It’s been a while since that happened to me. I guess I’ve become slack in serving the Lord.

May 20 (Wednesday) -- Raising the dead beats talking to the dead

2009-05-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Talking to the dead, old testament style: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25

Resurrecting the stinky dead, new testament style: John 11:1-54

Praise the Lord, all you nations: Psalm 117:1-2

Plans fail for lack of counsel: Proverbs 15:22-23

Can you imagine how embarrassed Abner was in today’s reading from 1st Samuel? :)

Saul certainly seemed lost. As king, he had a real problem with the Philistines attacking and no word from the Lord on getting out of it. It seems weird to think that Saul was able to communicate with the dead Samuel, but that’s what the Bible says happened and that’s what I believe happened.

Then in today’s reading from John, Jesus takes it up a notch. Instead of talking to the dead, Jesus resurrected the dead!

Some people think that Lazarus wasn’t really dead. They say he was in a coma or something like that. And Jesus’ seemingly lackadaisical attitude in John 11:6 to stay 2 days when He got word that Lazarus was sick, seems to support this theory. But He waited so that we’d believe in Him more (verse 15). He wanted Lazarus to be dead (verse 14). Even though Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He was so into Lazarus’ death and Lazarus’s loved ones mourning that Jesus Himself cried about it (verse 35). Isn’t it nice that Jesus gets into our deep hurts? We’re not alone when everything seems to go wrong.

May 19 (Tuesday) -- This Cave Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us

2009-05-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

If looking at a cave makes you think about relieving yourself, you might be a Jewish redneck: 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44

Stoning the Son of God: John 10:22-42

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice: Psalm 116:1-19

A foolish man despises his mother: Proverbs 15:20-21

Yeah, don’t be surprised if I write my comments from the Old Testament as long as we’re in 1st Samuel. I love the stuff about David, including today’s reading!

David could have easily taken advantage of the situation, but he let Saul get out of the cave alive. David saw Saul as the Lord’s anointed king. In David’s eyes, to harm the king is to blaspheme God’s anointing. Even though Saul was continuously trying to kill David, honoring the Lord’s work was more important than getting rid of a mortal danger.

No wonder that David went on to be perhaps the most beloved of all of the Jewish kings. He was truly after God’s own heart.

May 18, 2009 (Monday)

2009-05-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

May 18

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In today's passage we read about how Jesus is the true Shepherd. He talks about false shepherds who have come before. Having this right after the story of the Pharisees makes us think about how the Pharisees were really the type of spiritual leaders who were false and leading astray. These are even working for the side of evil, on the side of Satan. Jesus is saying that he himself is the true shepherd. The shepherd even lays down his life for the sheep (remember yesterdays sermon?) Then Jesus speaks of "other sheep". Israel is no longer the only people to be God's own, Jesus is going to spread his kingdom his love and lordship across the whole world, calling people of all nations.

May 17, 2009 (Monday)

2009-05-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

May 17

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In today's passage from John we can see that things are beginning to get tense. It's actually still kind of surprising when you start reading this story to see where it goes. Everything starts out so wonderfully. Jesus encounters a man born blind. Jesus tells his disciples that this man was born for the purpose of displaying God's power. God has the power to destroy the impact of sin and when Jesus was in the world he was showing us exactly what the kingdom of God is. One thing we learn here is that the kingdom of God is about healing. In the new creation there is no more evil, illness, pain and death. Jesus is defeating all of these... but then! After this wonderful story we read of the Pharisees once again coming in to rain on the parade and to find a way to condemn Jesus. This is the exact opposite of what should be going on. God wishes to bless the world through Israel and the religious leaders are trying to scoff and tear down the work of Jesus. It's a battle they cannot and will not win.

May 16, 2009 (Saturday)

2009-05-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

May 16

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The passage from John really speaks to how Jesus is the whole point of the Bible. Jesus gets into a pretty fierce debate about whether or not this group of Israelites understand the Old Testament. They are very proud of their status as the "children of Abraham" and not a slave to anything. Jesus is telling them that to be a child of Abraham is to have faith and obedience in the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He also rewrites Israelite history, or rather describes what it's all about. To be a slave to sin ultimately means a slave to our own sinful desires. to be freed from slavery means to be freed from the corruption of sin, the pain and death it causes us. To follow and believe in Christ means to be transformed down to the core. To reject the Christ is to be a "child of Satan". Pretty harsh! But the truth is, you're either one or the other. You either follow Christ or follow evil. Then Jesus says what they think he's saying in very clear terms "Before Abraham was, I am", (Remember in John, this phrase "I am" comes up over and over) For Jesus to say "I Am" is to repeat what the Lord claimed for himself on Mount Sinai. Jesus is saying he is the God of Israel. They start to stone him because it would be blasphemy to claim that you are God... that is, unless it were the truth.

May 15 (Friday)

2009-05-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

May 15

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Our story from 1 Samuel is one of the most famous of the stories of David, one of the most famous stories of the Old Testament! It's popular for a good reason. We all know the inspiring chain of events. A Philistine, the arch enemies of Israel, are blaspheming God and taunting the nation of God. They have this gigantic guy named Goliath who is challenging anyone to fight him. All are afraid, yet David, with his great faith in the power of the Lord takes him on with just a sling and stones. He knocks Goliath out, steals his sword, kills him and cuts off his head... wow! But, what does this amazing story mean? Well, there's a lot of different things said about this story, but what makes the most sense to me is that this is an encouragement to the people of God that his covenant will stand. We have had Saul's failure as a King that God has appointed and we even read, "and the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel!". I mean that's enough of a strong statement as to send theologians scrambling to make sure we know that God didn't make a bad decision, or was ignorant about what would happen (which he wasn't, to be sure). But the point is, it looks as if once again the annointing of the chosen one failed! But no! All along, Saul's failure is meant to show the Israelites humility and to make them reliant upon God alone. The Lord sends the humble, small and young David to be his chosen king and to defeat God's enemies. Thus begins one of the great foreshadowings of the King of all creation, Jesus! Jesus came as a humble servant and triumphed over sin, death and Satan through humility and death. Jesus came as a humble servant, but triumphed and will triumph mightily over his enemies! And in John we read more about how Jesus was "sent" by his Father. A very profound passage about how Jesus is sent by God and still is himself God.

May 14 (Thursday) -- The Origin of David

2009-05-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

X-Men Origins – The Anointing of David: 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23

No condemnation, but repentance: John 8:1-20

Sit at my right hand: Psalm 110:1-7

The Lord detests the way of the wicked: Proverbs 15:8-10

In 1st Samuel we’re starting to get into a really cool part of the Bible – the history of David. David was a young lad at this point. Some say he was about 14. The anointing from a prophet represented the Holy Spirit. When a prophet would anoint someone with oil he’d pour it on that person’s head & rub it in really good like a parent washing a kid’s hair. This symbolizes a covering of the Holy Spirit that’s so complete He’s getting into all our nooks and crannies. This anointing that Samuel did to David was like reading issue # 1 of a super hero comic book, where it describes the origin of the super hero’s powers. You don’t believe that David went on to do wondrous things? Stay tuned.

And in John we read about another wondrous thing: Jesus forgiving while others condemning. It’s not all one sided, though. This story ends with Jesus telling her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Yes, Jesus forgives us. But that same Jesus also expects us to shoot for LILYMI from here on.

May 13 (Wednesday) -- Streams of Living Water

2009-05-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Only heroes can eat the honey: 1 Samuel 14:1-52

From believers flow streams of living water: John 7:31-53

Help me, O Lord my God: Psalm 109:1-31

The lips of the wise spread knowledge: Proverbs 15:5-7

Drink from Jesus to help quench the thirst of others. Jesus said in verses 37-38, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”. In the next verse John told us that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit.

Who of us is satisfied with the status quo of going through the motions on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, & Wednesday evening? I hope the answer is that not many of us are satisfied.

We need a thirst for real life. Jesus is the One who can quench that thirst. Jesus didn’t say that if you believe in Him you’ll become an expert in religious dogma. Jesus was surrounded by people like that. Instead Jesus said that if you believe in Him streams of living water (the Holy Spirit) will flow from you.

If we’re not into leading others to Jesus then we probably need to drink more from Him.

May 12 (Tuesday) -- God's Timing

2009-05-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Don’t offer the burnt offering: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23

His time had not yet come: John 7:1-30

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations: Psalm 108:1-13

A deceitful tongue crushes the spirit: Proverbs 15:4

In today’s reading from 1st Samuel and today’s reading from John we see the contrast of how both Saul & Jesus respected God’s timing. In 1st Samuel 13:6-14 we read about Saul being in a desperate situation & becoming impatient waiting for Samuel (who as a prophet, represented God). Thus Saul sinned by offering a burnt offering to the Lord, something only the priests were allowed to do.

Yet, in John 7, verses: 6, 8, & 30 we read all about God’s timing for Jesus to be known as the Messiah. Jesus stated in verses 6 & 8 that He wasn’t about to put Himself on stage because His time (as God the Father appointed it) had not yet come.

We all need to have the gumption to serve God’s kingdom to our best. Yet, we can’t let our zeal to serve God cause us to sin by doing things out of line when the timing seems right to us. God’s word & the Holy Spirit always tell us the truth. Even when the timing seems to be a now or never kind of situation, if choosing now requires God’s rules to be broken….choose later.

May 11 (Monday) -- Eat the flesh of Christ

2009-05-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

You are now king – by the way, the Ammonites are attacking us: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15

Eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ: John 6:43-71

His love endures forever: Psalm 107:1-43

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge: Proverbs 15:1-3

When you first read today’s passage from John, Jesus’ words sound gruesome. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood” from verses 54 & 56 sound like they were part of a heavy metal song. Wait…now that I think about it, those are words in a heavy metal song -- Bloodgood’s Eat the Flesh :)

Jesus was saying that we can depend on Him for real living just like the Jews in Moses’ day depended on manna from God. Those of you who’ve been reading through the Bible with us remember that God fed the Jews manna from heaven to sustain them while they wandered in the desert. God sent us Jesus to sustain us. We have to absorb Him into our lives and our way of thinking to be sustained by God.

May 11, 2009 (Sunday)

2009-05-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

May 10

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After the story of Jesus walking on the water, as well as the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, this story is now a depiction of how Jesus is the one behind these stories that is the true substance and importance. In the first story we read of how many people were searching for Jesus. Then in the following story, we are reminded of the multiplying of the bread in the previous story and are shown that the point of all this is that Jesus himself is the one who sustains us. He is more important than bread is for the physical body. Jesus does not say that it is unimportant to care for the needs of the body, he is simply saying that this type of need is only temporary, but our need for eternal life in Christ will never fade. This is another example of two themes of John, "I Am" statements and "eternal life". These two phrases show up again and again. The point being, Jesus is the great "I am" revealed on Sinai, he is truly God. Secondly, he came to bring eternal life to his people. And concerning this he says something very encouraging. No one who comes to him for this life will be turned away. NO ONE. Never allow anyone to dictate who is able to come before the throne of God. He will accept all who call upon his name.

May 10, 2009 (Saturday)

2009-05-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

May 9

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In today's passage we have the famous story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. There are several things to note about this story. (1) The disciples, like us oftentimes, doubted the power and ability of Jesus to do great things. It's not always easy to trust God when there is great need in front of us, I know that I seldom do. But always remember this story when you wonder if God can make something out of a difficult situation. It's not that he always will make everything easy for us, but this story shows that he's always in control. (2) Jesus is both powerful and compassionate. This is a story that shows that Jesus doesn't use his miraculous powers merely to show off, but to help people who are in need. We serve a God who does care about every detail of our life. The hairs on our head are numbered by our heavenly Father. We have to understand that even when things are tough, even when it's impossible to think that God is there, he is always close to us in our need.

If you were in any doubt about this, by the way, the next thing he does is walk on water.

May 8, 2009 (Friday)

2009-05-08T08:17:00.001-07:00

May 8

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Today's story in the very interesting book of Samuel tells of the famous story of the calling of Samuel. Samuel heard a voice calling three times and each time thought it was his elder Eli, yet Eli finally realized that it was God calling to him, Samuel responded in faith and readiness. Now i'd venture to say not that many of us have heard the voice of God calling audibly to us (though, i'm not saying it couldn't happen!) , yet this story still has significance. It not only is a great testimony to God's faithfulness in calling out men and women of faith at the right time in his redemptive history. It is also a reminder for us. Even though we may not hear God's audible voice in this life, we do have his communication to us. Al talked about this the other week. We have the Bible, if you have read it (just click on one of those links above) this week you have heard God speaking. So let us respond in faith to his call we have in the Bible, to tell others about him, to give him our worship, our prayers, our devotion to proclaiming and spreading the kingdom of God!

In John we read something similar, Jesus tells about how we can hear God's voice in this way and respond. He says, 'the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live'. God's word is powerful and it has the power to raise us from the dead, both literally and spiritually. Then Jesus ties it all together. He says that those who don't read the scriptures and then regard Christ as the Messiah, the chosen one of Israel, these are blind and rebellious to what that word says. The Bible is about Jesus.

May 7 (Thursday) -- It's a Good Day to Be Healed

2009-05-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Adopted by a temple: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21

Pick up your mat without checking the calendar: John 5:1-23

For He remembered His promise: Psalm 105:37-45

A patient man has great understanding: Proverbs 14:28-29

My oh my! The Pharisees were looking too hard to find something wrong with Jesus and His followers. Can you imagine being unable to walk, all of a sudden being healed, then someone else sees you & all they can think to say is that you’re carrying your mat on the wrong day?

It’s funny how mankind tries to complicate someone else’s relationship with Jesus. I hope no one can later say of me that I made it difficult for someone else to see Jesus.

May 6 (Tuesday) -- Healed by the Word of the Word of God

2009-05-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ruth 2:1-4:22

John 4:43-54

The birth of David’s grandfather: Ruth 2:1-4:22

Your son will live: John 4:43-54

Singing of Israel’s history: Psalm 105:16-36

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life: Proverbs 14:26-27

Ruth was David’s great-grandmother. In about a week we’ll start reading about David. I promise you, once we start doing that you won’t be able to put the Bible down.

Yet, how can the neat adventure stories of David compare to having a loved one healed by Jesus.

This story kind of goes hand in hand with the woman at the well story from yesterday. Do you remember me saying that it shows that faith is not a matter of what class of people you are? This royal official is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the woman at the well. He knew to go to Jesus to get his son healed. He wanted Jesus to come home with him, to heal his son. But when Jesus told him to go without Jesus & that his son will live, the man “took Jesus at his word and departed”.

The man knew that the word of Jesus was enough for his son to be healed.

Psalm 105:16-36

Proverbs 14:26-27

May 5 (Tuesday) -- Living Water

2009-05-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

How to find a wife, Old Testament style: Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22

The water Jesus gives is living water: John 4:4-42

Remember the wonders the Lord has done: Psalm 105:1-15

A truthful witness saves lives: Proverbs 14:25

Whew! We end the book of Judges with the abduction of wives for the Benjaminites and begin the book of Ruth with her humble time of being a widow Moabitess. Remember the talking donkey in Numbers 22? Moab was the nation King Balak ruled over. Balak is the king who tried to get the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites. Ruth, one of the Moabites, winds up being an ancestor to King David & Jesus.

Then in the book of John we have another woman who was not quite a Jew. She was a Samaritan. She was a descendant of Jacob (an Israelite). But she lived in Samaria, an area that was considered non-Jewish because so many Gentiles lived there & so few people worshipped God there. Even the people there who were truly Jewish were considered non-Jews. When Jesus spoke to her, she was so surprised that a Jew would speak to her that her first sentence was: “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.” Jesus’ reply to her didn’t address that difference. I think in Jesus’ eyes that isn’t a difference at all. Jesus’ response to her was a teaching about living water, using natural water as an object lesson.

About the living water:
1) Jesus wants us to want it. He told the woman that if she knew who He was, she’d ask Him for living water.
2) God desires worshippers who worship Him in spirit and in truth (verse 24). This is in contrast to worship based on a particular place (i.e. Jerusalem in verse 21) or by a particular group of people (i.e. the Jews in verse 22).
3) The living water is the Holy Spirit flowing from the believers. We don’t see that in this chapter. It’s described later in chapter 7:
John 7:37-39 (NIV) -- 37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Jesus asks so little from us in contrast to what He gives us. He asked this woman for some natural water to drink. In the end, she got living water from Him. It was living water in that it flowed from her onto others that she told about Jesus. Jesus used a woman whom most of the religious people of the day considered an outcast not good enough to even speak to.

May 4 (Monday)

2009-05-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

May 4

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Once again here is a passage where John loads a story with so much meaning. This story of John the Baptist lifting up Christ is important for several reasons. One is the obvious way in which John talks about his lower place from Jesus. He is expressing in so many ways how he is inferior to Jesus. Jesus is from above, eternal, supreme in every fashion. It seems that John the Baptist is always acting through this humility. He is always the "forerunner". He always knows that he is one who only prepares a way. The other important fact of this story from the gospel of John is the way in which John the Baptist (and it's important to know they're different people) speaks of Jesus as the bridegroom. This takes all of the importance that the Old Testament scriptures places upon marriage and puts it in the context of Jesus' role in salvation of his people. We as the church are being prepared to marry Jesus. Now this isn't necessarily a literal sense, but it is very important. I was listening to a sermon the other day that points out that this means that we should have both the passion of love for Jesus, but in this marriage we should also realize there is hard work. We have to work on our relationship with Jesus. It takes discipline and hard work. We have to pray to him as we would talk with our best friend or wife. This doesn't mean we earn his love in any way, it just means that the Christian life requires discipline and faithfulness to our bridegroom Christ.

May 3 (Sunday)

2009-05-05T08:01:00.001-07:00

May 3

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Today's passage contains perhaps the most famous verse in the entire Bible. I do believe that it's wonderful that if you asked anyone if they knew a verse, even if they didn't know a lot, that most people could recite John 3:16. It can become something that becomes overly familiar, but it's the type of verse where every single word is filled with wonderful truths. God's love for the world, the basis for all of our hope. His love has actions, he "gives" when there is a high cost. We learn that Jesus is the "only begotten" son, which both declares Jesus as divine and eternal, while implying that there will be other "non-begotten" sons and daughters, that's us! "whoever believes in Him", anyone who bows before the throne of God will be accepted, none will be turned away who call upon the name of Jesus. "will not perish" Death means nothing! "but have eternal life", both eternal in never ending and eternal in being a new and rich kind of life. Wow. What a verse. But make sure to read carefully all else that precedes and follows. The conversation is with an expert in Jewish law and the conversation is all about being "born again". It is about new life, the fact that through the Holy Spirit we are totally new people.

May 2 (Saturday) -- Jesus Made Wine

2009-05-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Having an eye for a gal can cost you your eyes: Judges 15:1-16:31

Needs some wine? Ask Jesus: John 2:1-25

From everlasting to everlasting: Psalm 103:1-22

Evil men will bow down in the presence of good: Proverbs 14:17-19

Turning water into wine? Jesus?

That does sound odd. But some notes on the wine:

1) I think it’s wrong to say that it was non-alcoholic / grape juice. The word translated to “wine” in this story is the Greek word “oinos”, which means wine in a way that implies fermentation. Plus, in that day there were no refrigerators to preserve grape juice like we have today. If they drank grape juice that was more than a couple of days old, it had started fermenting and they called it “oinos”  wine.
2) But at the same time we can’t run on a tangent and say that all wine mentioned in the Bible is of the high alcohol sort bought in a liquor store today. They had some wine that they stored for years and it fermented enough to have a high alcohol content. But for the most part, the wine they drink had fermented just a little since the last batch of grapes were pressed. They drank wine like this fairly regularly.

Now, onto what I think are the more spiritual matters. A lot of people get hung up on the wine part and miss a lot of neat stuff.

A) This is the first miracle of Jesus that’s recorded. I wish it was in the other Gospels, but John is the only one who recorded it.
B) It happened in Cana, an obscure part f the country far away from Jerusalem where most of the action usually was.
C) Jesus came to the wedding, contrary to John the Baptist who “came neither eating or drinking” (Matthew 11:18). Weddings were feasts.
D) Jesus had already called His disciples at this point, but He was a man of the people. He attended gatherings of His loved ones.
E) Even Mary lifted Jesus up. Mary, the mother of Jesus, told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. She’s also the one who came up with the idea of bringing the problem to Jesus. Even Mary treated Jesus as greater and having more authority than herself.

So if you can get past the whole was-it-alcoholic-wine-that-Jesus-made argument, you’ll see that we ought to serve & lift up Jesus, who loves us enough to hang out with people even while trying to get His ministry started.

May 1, 2009 (Friday)

2009-05-01T08:33:00.001-07:00

May 1

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Today we reach a very interesting figure in Judges, even by the standards of that book. Samson is a very interesting Judge and is characterized both by his being both a good and a notorious judge. In this story we read about him killing a lion, tearing it apart, coming back and finding a bunch of bees and then getting honey from the bees and giving it to his father in law (and not letting him know exactly where he got it). Samson also did all of this because the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. And don't worry, there's more on Samson tomorrow...

But we are also getting into the wonderful book of John. Charles presented a really good introduction to some really important info on the book. I'm not sure if you're supposed to have a favorite book of the Bible, but if you are, for me it's definitely John. It's really interesting and contains one of the best summaries of the gospel I can think of. If you read the thing from front to back you get a clear picture of who Jesus is and why he came to die and what it means that he rose from the dead. In today's passage we get Jesus stepping on the scene. John the Baptist prepares the way, calling for repentance from sins, and Jesus is now revealed as the prophesied Lamb of God. Jesus is proclaimed as the one who will 'baptize with the Holy Spirit', foreshadowing his important work of rescue and renewal of his people. Next we begin reading about how Jesus' disciples were compelled to leave all (and for Simon, even his former name) to follow Jesus. These men were compelled by Jesus, wishing to follow him anywhere. For us this may or may not mean changing our actual geographical location, but following Jesus as Lord will certainly require us to forsake all that we think makes life important apart from him.

April 30 (Thursday) -- Jesus is Older Than Dirt

2009-04-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you can’t correctly pronounce, “Shibboleth”, you’re dead: Judges 11:1-12:15

Jesus is literally older than dirt: John 1:1-28

Psalm 101:1-8

Proverbs 14:13-14

Book of John:
• Probably written at Ephesus at about 78 A.D. (some say 90-100 A.D.).
• Written after the other gospels.
• Written mainly for Christians.
• Almost two-thirds of the Book of John is devoted to the last 6 months of Jesus’ life.
• Almost one third devoted to the last week of His life.
• Some say that John wrote this book at the request of the ministers of several churches in Asia to counter the teachings of Corinthus and the Ebionites.
o Corinthus: a man who claimed to had revelations written by an apostle and revelations from an angel. He preached that Christianity was supposed to be a thousand years of a big marriage festival, with everyone eating, drinking, & marrying.
o Ebionites: a sect who believed that Christ was an ordinary man, born like an ordinary man, but who has superior values. Because the Christians considered them poor in spiritual knowledge, they were given the name “Ebionites”. “Ebionite” means “poor man”.

Who is John?
• Was a fisherman before becoming Jesus’ servant.
• The disciple “whom Jesus loved”.
• One of the 3 disciples who were part of Jesus’ inner circle, often witnessing really neat stuff the other disciples did not.
• According to tradition, during the persecution under Domitian, John was thrown into boiling oil but wasn’t hurt.
• He was sent to labor in the mines at the isle of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation.
• John was freed from Patmos when Nerva came to power.
• John is the only disciple who wasn’t killed for his faith (although there was an attempt on his life). He died a natural death.

• V. 1:
o Jesus = the Word
 The Word = God
 Jesus = God
 “Word” comes from the Greek word “logos”, which means logic, or reasoning.
 John the Baptist was the “voice”. Jesus is the “Word”. John the Baptist told about the Word, Jesus.
o Jesus is eternal.
 Jesus is literally older than dirt. 
• V.3:
o Jesus = the Creator
o Nothing exists that didn’t come from Jesus.
o The author and founder of the Christian religion (Jesus) is also the author and founder of the world.
• V. 4:
o The life is in Jesus.
o This life is the light of men.
o We can’t see where we’re going without Jesus’ life.
• V.5:
o “Has not understood” in NIV is “never overpowered it” in AMP.
o “Understood” in NIV comes from the Greek word “katalambano”, which means “to take eagerly”, or “seize”.
o The light of Jesus is stronger than the darkness of the world.
o The world can’t conquer Jesus’ light.
o When you’re with Jesus’ team, you’re with the team that wins in the end.
• The other gospels try to prove that Jesus is the Messiah by either stating some of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, or by describing His immaculate conception.
• The book of John doesn’t try to prove that Jesus is special. John just simply states that Jesus is God.

• V.6-9:
o John the Baptist understood that the world has a natural blinding keeping them from seeing Jesus.
o Why was John the Baptist testifying about the coming of Jesus?
 “That through Him all men might believe.”
 This is the ultimate goal – the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.
 This is for “all men” -- not just Jews, not just the rich, not just the poor, not just people of a certain color.
• V.10-13:
o John (the gospel writer) wants us to get the point that Jesus is the Creator. He repeats it in verse 10.
o I believe we need to absorb the teachings in the Bible that are repeated.
o Jesus came to dwell among His creation.
o Imagine a car designer willing to live for 30 years in a garage full of cars he created. 
o We are really beneath Jesus. We are the results of His creation.
o Yet, Jesus came to dwell among us.
o What kind of reception did He get?
 The world “did not recognize Him”.
 We, as human beings, think we’re the smartest species on the planet.
 Yet, even a pet recognizes his owner.
 Without the Holy Spirit, we don’t see the true order of things.
o “His own” in verse 11 sounds like it’s referring to everyone – all of Jesus’ creation. But most people believe it’s referring to the Jews.
o The Jews (for the most part) rejected Jesus. But many Gentiles accepted Jesus.
o Believing in Jesus:
 “Believed” in verse 12 literally means “cling to, trust in, rely on” (AMP).
 Context is important. Believing in Jesus, as John wrote about Him, means to believe that Jesus is as described at the beginning of the chapter: that Jesus is the Word, Jesus is God, Jesus is the Creator, Jesus is the Life, and Jesus is the Light.
 So we’ve got to have deep down-sure enough-belief that Jesus is the highest & the utmost. But if we do, we become the sons of God.
o Believers in Jesus basically fill in the gap of the Jews (“His own” in verse 11) and become part of the House of God.
o John lets us know that Christianity is not a club exclusive to Jews.
o Being a believer in Jesus has a tighter linkage to God than being a descendant of Abraham, who was a man.
o This is what God wants. What God wants has greater authority & relevance than what a man (i.e. husband in a family) wants.
o God wants, has planned out, and desires us to be part of His kingdom, His family, His protection, His representation, & His service. (All what it meant to be part of someone’s house/family.)

• Jesus not only came to dwell among us. He also became flesh (v. 14).
o Back to the car designer analogy – it’s like the designer not only living in the garage full of cars for 30 years, but choosing to be a car like his creations for 30 years.
o Jesus’ willingness to live like a much lower being for 30 years is too much of a sacrifice for us to comprehend.
o It’s beyond any possible move on Earth that we can have as man – more than a member of a wealthy royal family living in the lowliest of slums.
o The flesh is the lowliest part of us (in contrast to spirit and soul).
o It was by being flesh that Jesus allowed Himself to have our physical weaknesses.
o Jesus did all of this knowing that it would ultimately lead to mankind being able to crucify Him.
o This is how important it is to God/Jesus for us to get the point of eternal life through Him.
• V.15: John (the gospel writer) backs up Matthew’s writing (Matthew 3:11) of John the Baptist’s testimony contradicting himself to Christ. John the Baptist made sure everybody knew that he was not worth talking about. Jesus is the real deal.
• V. 16: This was done though there was no way we could deserve Jesus’ dwelling among us or His sacrifice.
o This was all done through grace.
• Until Jesus came, only God Himself has seen God.
• Now that God, as Jesus, had walked on the Earth, John and others had seen God, by seeing Jesus.

• By this time, there had been a handful of others who claimed to be the messiah.
o There were so many that there was even a standard procedure to go through.
o Anyone claiming to be the messiah would go to either the priests or the Pharisees and try to convince one of them that he was the messiah.
o If a “messiah” got backing from one of the priests or Pharisees, he would walk around in public and claim to be the messiah, with an esteemed spiritual leader vouching for him.
o So the Pharisees were used to being included in the recognition of the coming messiah.
o Yet, John the Baptist was running around teaching about the coming Messiah without trying to get glory for himself or bring glory to a sidekick Pharisee. 
o To be fair to those around Jesus, they had seen false messiahs so many times it was probably easy to dismiss Jesus with a “yeah, right, we’ve heard it before” attitude.
• V.26 – Again, even John the Baptist, as much as we respect him, was saying to instead respect Jesus.

Summary:
1. Jesus is God.
2. Jesus is the Light.
3. If we believe in Jesus, regardless of whether we’re Jew or Gentile, we become part of God’s family.
4. This was set up through the grace of God, to the point of Jesus coming to dwell in flesh among us.
5. We can’t earn it – it’s through grace.
6. Yet our faith has to be real enough to where we “cling to, trust in, rely on” Jesus.

April 29 (Wednesday) -- There's a Way That Seems Right to a Man

2009-04-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Please save us, Lord. We’ll be good. This time we mean it: Judges 9:22-10:18

Before there was Kitty Pryde, there was Jesus:Luke 24:13-53

Shout with joy to God: Psalm 100:1-5

There’s a way that seems right to a man: Proverbs 14:11-12

There are times I read this part of the Bible in Judges and think, “Were they really that dumb? How many times do they fall away from the Lord only to realize it’s a mistake and come back, before repeating the mistake later?”

And it’s true. It’s really dumb to fall away from God. Worshipping idols is an awful way to do it. Often throughout the Bible, He refers to it as cheating on him.

If I started cheating on my wife you’d all think I’d lost my mind. Yet, isn’t God worth so much more? Let’s not cheat on him by worshipping other things.

That means not worshipping money, not worshipping sex, not worshipping a celebrity, etc. In short, it means not putting anything else before God.

One of my all time favorite songs is at www.petrarocksmyworld.com/notofthisworld.html (scroll to the last song at the bottom). It’s a good thing that Proverbs 14 was the last thing in today’s Bible reading. Now that I’ve read one of the lines from that song (Proverbs 14:12), the song is in my head & I can’t read any further. :)

April 28, 2009 (Tuesday)

2009-04-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

April 28

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In these outstanding passages we read about the moments and days after Jesus' death. We read that a centurion said, "Surely this was a righteous man." This is utterly ironic, knowing that Jesus' own people, the Israelites were condemning him as deserving punishment, although he was the perfect, spotless lamb of God. Then we read about the resurrection... Yes I know that there are many of you who think, again?!?! we just talked about the resurrection a few weeks ago! Why are we reading about it again now. Yet, the Christian message is ALL about Jesus' resurrection. That Jesus overcame sin and death for us is an amazing truth. We can stake our lives on this fact. We should come back to this again and again and again. This proves the message of the Psalmist in our passage from there:

"Great is the Lord in Zion;

he is exalted over all the nations."

Monday (April 27, 2009)

2009-04-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

April 27

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Today's passage deals with the crucifixion of the perfect lamb, Jesus Christ.

As we read, Pilate cannot find anything that Jesus has done wrong (because

it's impossible to), yet he gives into the shouts and cries of the crowd. Oftentimes

the group can be very wrong, as they are here. This mass of people have fallen

into the great mistake of believing Jesus to be worthy of death. Such are those

who Jesus died. Jesus says the amazing statement "Father, forgive them, for they

do not know what they are doing". Jesus cries out in forgiveness of those very

people who are putting him to death... Simply amazing.

Then there is the criminal who cries out to Jesus for salvation, 'remember when you

come into your kingdom", Jesus answers with the most beautiful words one could

possibly hear, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise". Jesus shows

his right and desire to give salvation to all who would call on his name.

Saturday/Sunday (April 25-26)

2009-04-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

April 25

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April 26

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In these passages we continue to read of very exciting and dynamic stories of the warrior judges of Israel. There is even a song in there about a pretty tough lady named Deborah who helped "subdue" the Caananite king. There's so many interesting stories in Judges.

In Luke we read about the prayer on the Mount of Olives. Here Jesus prays to the Father that if there is any way to avoid the cross, let it happen. Yet, Jesus is more than ready to go to the cross to redeem us from our sins. He knows the pain and difficulty the cross will hold, yet he is obedience to his Father no matter what. This shows the great love Jesus had to die for the sins that we deserved the punishment for. Then we read the beginning of Jesus' passion, his arrest and the betrayal of Peter. We then read about Jesus' trial, the only time a completely innocent man would go before a judge. Ironic huh? It is Jesus who should and will one day be the true and perfect judge of all people.

"I have a message from God for you" [April 24 (Friday)]

2009-04-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

April 24

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In today's passage we have one of the most exciting and funny stories in the Bible. The Israelites had been under King Eglon of the Moabites because of their rebellion for 18 years. But the Israelites cried out to God and he sent them Ehud. Ehud goes to pay tribute to the king, but has a knife strapped to his thigh. Ehud then tells Eglon "I have a message from God for you" and proceeds to take out his knife and stab him in the gut, yet Eglon is 'a very fat man', we read and the knife basically is swalloed up with fat, then Ehud gets away while Eglon's attendants think he is using the bathroom. Then there's 80 years of peace and a single verse about a man named Shamgar who killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. An oxgoad?

The passage from the gospels is also very fascinating. Two things happen here. Jesus begins the practice of the Lord's Supper, transforming the passover meal into a meal that celebrates his own sacrifice. Yet, at the same time we get the indication that two of his disciples, Judas and Peter, will betray him. Even though the disciples were the closest to Jesus, even these would not be perfectly loyal. This both makes me think about the gravity of my own lack of obedience, but also comforts me in knowing that even these great men messed up at times. But we must desire to be like Peter and not like Judas and come back to God pleading for forgiveness and not let our sin lead us to despair.

April 23 (Thursday) -- No! Not my big toe!

2009-04-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Thumb-less & Big Toe-less: Judges 1:1-2:9

Heaven & Earth Will Pass Away, But Jesus’ Words Will Never Pass Away: Luke 21:29-22:13

He Who Dwells in the Shelter of the Most High: Psalm 90:1-91:16

He Who Spares the Rod Hates His Son: Proverbs 13:24-25

The first part of this passage of Luke is really a continuation of yesterday’s passage. Jesus’ end time teachings go from Luke 21:8-36. That’s 29 verses. This must be worth talking about.

The end times & Jesus’ return are not things that’ll be regional events. They will come upon all of the earth (verse 35). We are to always be ready for Jesus’ return (verse 36).

We should live every day as though we expect Jesus to return on that day. If you knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was returning today, how would you live?

April 22 (Wednesday) -- The Ultimate Prophet

2009-04-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

Choose this day whom you will serve: Joshua 24:1-33

Signs of the end times: Luke 21:1-28

Even when things are bad, praise be to the Lord forever: Psalm 89:38-52

Misfortune pursues the sinner: Proverbs 13:20-23

Is Jesus the ultimate prophet or what? Let’s look at what He said concerning future events.

About 40 years after Jesus said the temple would be destroyed, guess what? It was destroyed. The Jews rebelled against the Romans, and the Romans crushed the rebellion, during which the temple was destroyed. It was destroyed so completely that today we’re not sure what exact spot it was at.

“Many will come in my name” (verse 8): About 100 years after Jesus there came a dude by the name of Bar Kokhba, who claimed to be the Messiah. He had some success in leading the Jews in a rebellion against the Romans, but he was soon crushed.

They happen in our lifetime too. Have you ever heard of David Koresh? If not, ask you parents what happened in Waco, Texas back in 1993. The bottom line: when someone claims to be the Messiah don’t believe it. When Jesus comes back it’ll happen so quickly there won’t be a chance to respond.

“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you” (verse 12). Right after Jesus’ death the Christians were heavily persecuted. And in large part, entire regions & nations were transformed because of the persecuted Christians, like Jesus said would happen in verse 13. And it still happens today. The Christian church is growing by leaps and bounds in places where there’s heavy persecution of Christians – places like China & Iran. These Christians have a no-matter-what, no-matter-who kind of faith that’s transforming their nations.

April 21, 2009 (not 2929 :) ) -- Tuesday -- The Debate Is On

2009-04-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Be Picky with Who You Marry: Joshua 22:21-23:16

The God of Abraham is the God of the Living: Luke 20:27-47

Blessed Are Those Who Have Learned to Acclaim the Lord: Psalm 89:14-37

Ignoring Discipline Leads to Poverty and Shame: Proverbs 13:17-19

I’ve got to confess that I learned something from the Bible today. Most of the times the daily reading reminds me of what I already know. But I don’t remember noticing this until today, so I’m counting it as learning something new.

Did you catch Jesus’ debate with the Sadducees in today’s reading from Luke? I love to debate. I often easily get snared into one.

The Sadducees tried to debate Jesus over something that’s really a non-issue. Does it really matter if their hypothetical woman, who was widowed seven times, will be a wife to one of her earthly husbands when she goes to Heaven? You can debate that one all day long with no clear resolution. The world likes to try to trip us in little games like this, in an attempt to undermine our thinking in our core beliefs.

But how did Jesus handle it? Did he take the bait & debate with them over their pointless topic? No. He undermined their core belief (their belief that there is no resurrection) by proving that there is a resurrection.

The world will sometimes try to debate minutia of Christian beliefs in an attempt to undermine core Christian beliefs – like that God exists and that faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation. They’ll do things like:
1) Try to get you to defend the belief that the Earth was created in a week (which I don’t believe anyway).
2) Try to get you to defend the belief that Jesus never married. (Who cares?)
3) Try to get you to defend the belief that all species of animals in existence today had to have at least two fit onto Noah’s ark. (Who’s to say that some macroevolution hasn’t occurred since then, giving us more species today?)

I believe Jesus would redirect their meaningless points back to main points, like He did with the Sadducees. Often, when atheists try to undermine your faith in Christ it’s because they feel that their faith in random chance / natural selection is in a flawed philosophy. So try to steer the debate into things like:

1) That we were created by a Creator, not by natural selection. (Don’t believe me? Check out http://certainlyscience.blogspot.com or www.reasons.org .)

2) That the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. The atheists may wish the Origin of Species had no flaws, but, in truth, Darwin wrote how his theory could be tested. We’ve tested it & know it to now be highly flawed. Yet the Bible has gone though much more scrutiny and has come through with flying colors.

3) That Jesus is the foretold Messiah. Nobody else satisfies the Christ prophesies like Jesus.

And remember, we Christians need to stand up for our faith. I promise you – the world will continue to deluge you with their beliefs every change they get.

April 20, 2929 (Monday)

2009-04-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

April 20

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We have some great readings from today's passages. In Joshua we see a glorious and blessed time in the life of Israel. There are moments throughout the Old Testament of blessing, obedience, but also of disobedience and cursing. Today's passage is one that displays the Lord blessing his people with the land promised to them. "So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there".

In Luke there are some wonderful parables and stories that ultimately illustrate the great authority and power of Jesus. The authority and majesty he displays show himself to be divine. The things he does and says would not be possible unless he was God incarnate. Jesus is asked about his authority and he answers back with a question. He trips them up in a question they cannot answer. But I think what's behind this conversation is Jesus showing that it is not for the pharisees to question him, but for him to question them. In the parable of the tenants there is a story of tenants who killed the king's servants and then the king's son, in hopes of taking the vineyard. This is an obvious reference to what the pharisees and people of Israel had done before. The people had killed God's prophets and now they will kill Jesus. This is a not so subtle attack on the pharisees actions. Then he says that the stone the builders reject will become the chief capstone. This means that though the people will reject Christ, Christ will overcome his enemies and form the basis of the new covenant community. A very fascinating story. Finally, Jesus is able to say that it is fine to 'give to Caesar what is Caesar' in paying taxes (those of you who now have jobs know something about this). But once again this is showing that Jesus has the authority to make this statement. Caesar only has authority because he gave it to him.

April 19, 2009 (Sunday)

2009-04-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

April 19

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Today's passage relays the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem... we celebrated this day several weeks ago with palm sunday. The important thing to remember concerning the triumphal entry is that it is Jesus declaring himself to be the promised Messiah, but not in the way people were expecting. Jesus is indeed the promised King, riding in triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem, on the way to his final victory over death. Yet, he is riding in on a donkey instead of a majestic horse. Jesus is showing that he will overcome evil and the powers of this world by becoming a servant. Jesus will be exalted because he has humbled himself. And of course there is the spontaneous outburst of praise from the disciples. They are rebuked, and Jesus remarks that if they are silent even the rocks will cry out. Indeed, this is because the very creation is ready to praise the King and Lord over all that God has created. Our God is indeed majestic and great.

Then there is the story of Jesus clearing the temple. This story is wonderful since it shows the Lord's passion for the worship of the true God. Nothing may distract the purposes of the worship of God. Jesus has the right and passion for the temple since he is divine. He has the right to clear the temple because he is himself God.

April 18. Saturday

2009-04-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

April 18 -------------------- Joshua 16:1-18:28 Luke 19:1-27 Psalm 87:1-7 Proverbs 13:11

In luke, there are some interesting stories. In one of these stories, we are told of Zacceueus, a man who was fully aware of how much he needed Jesus. The pharisees counted him out as being too sinful to be eligible for God's love. They underestimated the power of grace. Zaccheus shows the greatness of the love Jesus showed for him in how much he changed his life towards others.

Next we read of the parable of the talents. Here are 3 men with differing views of who God is. The one who had a heart to serve the Lord was bold with his gifts and served the Lord with all he had... the third was negligent and used his fear as an excuse for his in-action... We must realize that all we have is from God, so we must use it for his kingdom.

April 17, 2009 (Friday)

2009-04-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

April 17

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Today's passage from Luke shows how rich Jesus' teachings are. It would be worthwhile to just think upon some of these stories. Keep them in your mind as you go throughout the day. Think about them as you drift off to sleep. Take a look at this story about the rich young ruler. There is so much to learn here. First there is of course the lesson that the rich man foolishly thought himself to have followed the law perfectly. Jesus picks out one issue and shows that the man is unable to fulfill the commandment. His riches (could be anything in our lives) weigh him down from doing great things. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, which basically means impossible... but the story doesnt end here! The disciples are struck by Jesus' words. They reflect that this makes it impossible for man to be saved. Jesus then comforts them with the fact that there is nothing impossible for God. God is able to heal us when we call out to him, because he is more powerful than our sin. He has defeated it. Finally Jesus gives a word of encouragement for those who forsake the things of this world, they will receive these things back more fully in this life and in the life to come. We grasp at the people and things in our lives, but it is God who provides for every need. What a rich passage!

The parable is followed by two more stories, one where Jesus predicts his death and the disciples don't understand. Also there is a wonderful telling of how blind beggar pleaded and received his sight through faith.

Thursday: April 16

2009-04-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

April 16

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I enjoyed so much today reading the section from Luke's gospel. Here is the story of the "parable of the persistent widow". This is a very clever story that Jesus uses to show the height and depth of how much we can trust God. God basically sets himself in contrast to judge who 'neither feared God nor cared about men'. This judge denies justice to a widow until he basically gets tired of her complaining and gives in. You know the trick, not that i'm condoning it!, but you want to 'go to the bathroom' when you're at school or in a lesson at youth. I'm gonna go to the bathroom, you say over and over, no, not until we're done! Until after the tenth time, okay! you can go! That's basically what this story is about (excpet the widow is asking for something quite just)... But what God is saying is that he is so much more caring than the unjust judge. The judge would give in finally if pleaded to enough. God says he is EAGER to give us justice against our adversaries. He is not begrudging but gracious. Then there are two stories, one where the pharisees look down on those whom they think inferior, and a story about children and how 'the kingdom of God belongs to such as these'... these stories are all outlining how the kingdom of God works over against the kingdom of the world.

April 15 (Wednesday) -- Quicker Than Lightning

2009-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

One…Two…Israel Conquered You: Joshua 11:1-12:24

Jesus Will Come Back Like a Flash of Lightning: Luke 17:11-37

The Lord God Is a Sun and Shield: Psalm 84:1-12

The righteous hate what is false: Proverbs 13:5-6

Yeah. I’m a slacker. I got a day behind on the Bible blog. :)

And Jesus’ teaching for Wednesday is pretty intense. The first part of today’s passage from Luke sounds really nice. You don’t have to be a Jew to love the Lord. Jesus, the Son of God, took note that it was the Samaritan who came back to thank Him for healing Him.

But the last part of this passage from Luke tells us it’s not all sweetness and light. There will come a day when Jesus returns. When He does, it’ll be too late to get ready. Usually, you read about it being a nice thing, where you read what happens to the believers – they get taken to Heaven. But this time Jesus tells about the not-so-nice part. This time, in the last verse, Jesus describes the dead body & the gathering of vultures. In short, it won’t be nice for the non-believers when Jesus returns.

April 14 (Tuesday) -- Fooled by moldy bread, plus tree slinging faith

2009-04-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Fooled by moldy bread: Joshua 9:3-10:43

Tree slinging faith: Luke 16:19-17:10

O God, do not keep silent: Psalm 83:1-18

Sluggards get nothing: Proverbs 13:4

Joshua 9:18 talks about what it really means to take God’s name in vain. It’s not about cussing with “God” in the cuss words, although we shouldn’t do that. It’s about swearing on an oath on the name of the Lord, then breaking the oath.

In Luke 17, Jesus taught about both humility and power. His followers wanted Him to increase their faith (verse 5). Jesus told them that even the tiniest bit of faith would do wonders. The He immediately talked about serving God with the attitude of a servant.

I believe the two topics are related. I think believing in Jesus more then you believe even physical laws will result in you serving Jesus faithfully. It’s got to be more than just coming to church because your parents bring you. It’s got to be LILYMI faith. (Live It Like Ya Mean It)

April 13, 2009 (monday)

2009-04-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

April 13

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I'm really pumped about how well the sunrise service went this Easter. Thanks for all the youth who were involved in the planning/setting up/singing/anything. It was really great...

Today's reading in Joshua describes the covenant renewal at Mount Ebal. This is one of those moments where the Israelites have a moment of realization concerning what it means to be God's people. It is a passage that is helpful in making us consider the gravity of spending a life and an eternity in relationship with the living Lord...

The passage in Luke is very interesting. We have the parable of the shrewd manager. This is a story about a rich man kicking out his manager for stealing from the rich man. The manager basically goes to all of those who owe the rich man money and tell them they can get off of the debt for just paying a small amount (sounds like some sort of ancient story that may involve Bernie Madoff, 'get out of debt quick' schemes and Dave Ramsey all at once, though i'm not exactly sure how exactly) to him directly. The manager takes the money for himself before leaving his job as manager. Then the master actually commends the manager for his shrewdness. he's quite impressed! an interesting story. But Jesus uses it to say that those in the world celebrate dishonesty, but in his eyes it's all evil. I think this applies to anything that you 'can get away with'. sometimes we think we're okay, so long as we don't get caught. Or maybe we think it's okay if we get away with saying some clever insult to someone else at school or church. The point is that there is a higher council than what the world provides. It doesn't matter what the worldly authorities or influential people think, it matters what God thinks.

April 12 (Easter Sunday) -- Can you say, "Ouch!"

2009-04-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

I thought I’d post tomorrow’s Bible reading early so I can spend time with the family on Easter.

<---- a flint knife

A cutting experience: Joshua 5:1-7:15

God rejoices when someone joins His kingdom: Luke 15:1-32

If my people would but listen to me: Psalm 81:1-16

A wise son heeds his father’s instruction: Proverbs 13:1

It’s hard to read Joshua 5:1-8 without wincing. :) Isn’t it so good that we’re not bound by the Old Testament?

Jesus is so much better than a flint knife! In this passage of Luke, Jesus basically told the same thing over & over in different ways. Apparently, it’s a very important subject. God is always anxious for people to join His kingdom, including people who used to be part of it & wandered away (the parable of the lost son).

If you’re one of the lost, wouldn’t it be cool to have God bubbling with joy over your coming back to Him?

If you’re already part of the kingdom of God, think about the parable of the lost son for a minute. How would the father have felt about the older son if the older son had gone out and found his younger brother? Instead of feeling jealous over the lost when they come to Jesus, we should be helping them find Jesus & rejoicing with the Lord when they do.

April 11 (Saturday) -- We're the salt for the poop

2009-04-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

Crossing a river without a bridge: Joshua 3:1-4:24

Salty poop: Luke 14:7-35

Return to us, O God Almighty: Psalm 80:1-19

In the way of righteousness there is life: Proverbs 12:27-28

The teaching from today that most catches my attention is the one in Luke that Jesus ended with, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:35). That’s Jesus’ way of saying, “What I just said is really important stuff, you need to pay attention.”

At first it sounds evil. Some of you read verse 26 and thought to yourself, “Cool! I get to hate my brother or my sister!” :) But the word “hate” in these verses comes from the Greek word “miseo”, which has two meanings: 1) to detest, and 2) to love less. So what Jesus is saying is that you can’t be His disciple if you love someone else more than Him. And, by the way, this includes us loving Jesus more then ourselves (verse 26).

The rest of this teaching is quite profound. It’s about sticking to Jesus through the end. Before becoming His disciple you need to make sure you’re prepared to put Him first for the rest of your life. He then used a few analogies of natural life where wise decisions require us being sure we’re ready to take big steps before we actually take them. The bottom line is that if we don’t stay with Jesus the rest of our lives then it was a waste to get started. His last analogy of salt made this clear – salt that’s no longer good for the soil or the manure is thrown out. Jesus doesn’t want disciples that join Him for a while and then later put other things first.

If you’re His disciple for the rest of your life then you’re putting Him up as your master teacher for the rest of your life. Getting to Heaven is not based on if you were baptized as a baby. Getting to Heaven is not based on if you’re on fire for Jesus today. Getting to Heaven is based on believing in Jesus the rest of your life, believing so much that His teachings take root in your life for the rest of your life.

April 10 (Good Friday) -- Visiting a Hooker's House

2009-04-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

Saved by a hooker: Deuteronomy 34:1 - Joshua 2:24

Away, you evil doers: Luke 13:22-14:6

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us: Psalm 79:1-13

A righteous man is a guide to his neighbor: Proverbs 12:26

Our reading from Joshua & and our reading from Luke together throw out common misconceptions of who’s in God’s kingdom & who’s not. How many people look at a prostitute and say, “there’s somebody who’s going to enter the kingdom of God”? Rahab knew which god was for real – the God of the Jews. She changed her life and eventually (warning – the following line is Bible geek information) became an ancestor of Jesus.

Then in Luke Jesus told us that some of the people we think are good servants of the Lord won’t get into the kingdom of God. What mankind often sees as good enough for God isn’t what God sees. He wants your heart. If you believe in Jesus in your heart, not only will you wind up Living It Like You Mean It, but you’ll be part of God’s kingdom.

One final note: Can you imagine the spies going home & telling their wives that they were saved by a hooker? :)

April 9 (Thursday) -- Repent or Be Thrown Out

2009-04-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Moses’ last blessings of Israel: Deuteronomy 33:1-29

Repent or perish: Luke 13:1-21

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep: Psalm 78:65-72

An anxious word: Proverbs 12:25

If any of you want to know how powerful blessings can be, read today’s passage from Deuteronomy in the Amplified version of the Bible at Deuteronomy 33:1-29 (AMP), and be sure to read the footnotes for each blessing.

In today’s passage of Luke Jesus is at it again, calling for repentance. This time the conversation got started because some people assumed that bad things happen only to people who live sinful lives. Jesus responded to them with two important principles:
1) We can’t assume that bad things happen to only bad people, or that bad events happen to only people of some lower religious stature.
2) The people talking like that need to repent. In fact, they need to repent or they’re thrown out. This is so important that Jesus said it three times in this one passage (verse 3, verse 5, and in the parable of the fig tree in verses 6-9).

To sum it up – Jesus calls us to live holy lives and not try to rank ourselves amongst our peers. Are we saved by grace? Of course! But we can’t throw out this often repeated teaching from Jesus about living right. Living It Like Ya Mean It is an integral part of believing in Jesus.

April 8 (Wednesday) -- Time to Be Ready

2009-04-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

The song of a 120 year-old prophet before his death: Deuteronomy 32:28-52

Time to be ready: Luke 12:35-59

They put God to the test: Psalm 78:56-64

Laziness ends in slave labor: Proverbs 12:24

In today’s passage from Luke, Jesus tells us to be ready for His return. It can happen at any time & we don’t want to be caught misbehaving because we think we won’t get caught.

You think this applies only to the church leaders & not to everybody? Peter asked who this teaching applies to (Luke 12:41). Jesus replied with an analogy of a master returning home, finding his servants misbehaving, and beating all of them, including the ones not in charge.

We don’t know when Jesus will return. We don’t know if it’ll be daylight or dark. We don’t know if it’ll be today or 1,000 years from now. But we do know that He’ll come back expecting us to be full of LYLYMI – Living It Like Ya Mean It.

April 7 (Tuesday) -- Lips Are For Acknowledging

2009-04-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Just one little task, Joshua – be Moses’ successor: Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27

Acknowledge the Son of Man before men: Luke 12:8-34

They kept on sinning: Psalm 78:32-55

Lying lips: Proverbs 12:21-23

The first two verses from today’s portion of Luke are from Jesus and are plain and simple. If we brag on Jesus to the people we know, Jesus will brag on us to the angels of God. However, if we’re so afraid that Christianity isn’t the cool thing to do when we’re around our pals that we downplay Jesus, then Jesus will downplay us. That’s both way cool and horrible. Jesus didn’t say that He’ll kinda sorta vouch for us if we kinda sorta vouch for Him. I promise you, there’s nothing mediocre about my Jesus!

I met a family yesterday that’s home for a few months from missionary work. They’ve been setting up underground churches and making converts in a country that heavily persecutes Christians. Their lives would be in danger if they disclosed even the country that they work in. Not even their fellow church members know which country they work in. The government follows much of Muhammed’s laws, including the part about killing Christians. Yet, they’ve served in this country for years, always risking that the next person they try to convert to Christianity will report them to the authorities.

Just something to think about the next time the Holy Spirit moves you to tell a pal of yours about Jesus, but Satan tells you not to do that because it’s not cool and you might be made fun of.

April 5 (Sunday) -- Choose Either Door # 1 or Door # 2

2009-04-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Intense Blessings or Intense Curses: Deuteronomy 28:1-68

Butt Whippin’ a Demon: Luke 11:14-36

I Will Remember the Deeds of the Lord: Psalm 77:1-20

Reckless Words Pierce Like a Sword: Proverbs 12:18

Deuteronomy 28 seems pretty intense. There’s no middle ground. Either the Israelites will follow God’s laws and be really, really blessed, or they’ll disobey Him and be cursed so bad they’ll eat each other for food.

When I read it I always go, “Duh. Not a complicated choice here. Choose the Lord’s way and be blessed.” It does seem pretty simple.

Yet, the distinction between Heaven & Hell is much greater than even the distinction between the blessings and the curses of Old Testament times. Jesus is the obvious choice. Choosing Jesus is choosing Heaven instead of Hell.

Now the question is, who will choose wisely? I hope everybody in our youth group makes a wiser choice than the Israelites did.

April 4 -- Saturday -- Bug God

2009-04-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Curse & Amen: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26

Fish Is Better than Snake: Luke 10:38-11:13

God Alone Is to Be Feared: Psalm 76:1-12

A Fool Shows His Annoyance: Proverbs 12:15-17

I feel really bad about letting the Bible blog get behind, especially with the April 4th teaching. It’s a favorite of mine.

Does Luke 11 sound familiar to anybody? The prayer is Jesus’ response to the disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

Observe:

1) Forgive us our sins, as we forgive everyone who sins against us. This is huge. Forgiveness from God goes hand-in-hand with forgiving others.
2) Ask, Seek Knock: The Greek words literally translate to “keep on asking”, “keep on seeking”, and “keep on knocking”. Plus, Jesus’ parable backs that up. Jesus basically told us to pray without care about how much we think it might bug God. :)
3) The Holy Spirit is ours for the asking. We don’t have to memorize some ancient chant or ritual. We don’t have to be born in a special family. We don’t have to find some sacred charm. We simply have to ask and we get the Holy Spirit. And it’s more certain than any of you youth getting fed when you ask your parents to feed you. That’s way cool! The Holy Spirit is key to both our faith in Jesus & in empowering us to bring others to Christ. If we want to get our church on fire for the Lord we need to be experts in forgiveness & prayer, especially in praying for the Holy Spirit.

April 6, 2009

2009-04-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

April 6

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Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20

Luke 11:37-12:7

Psalm 78:1-31

Proverbs 12:19-20

In the passage from Matthew's gospel, Jesus is speaking primarily to what it's really all about. He knew that the Pharisees were filled with loving the wrong kind of religion. They loved the type of religion that made them look good, that gave them power over others. Jesus is urging them to consider their own motives. Jesus knows that to truly obey God, one must be cleansed from the inside out and put the ways and teachings of God above all others. In his teaching to the disciples he drives home the point. Jesus is telling the disciples that God is completely in control of our lives. Jesus is telling the disciples that it would be foolish to fear the opinion of other people when God is the one who has the power to give us life or give us eternal punishment. Therefore, he tells them, fear God and serve him only. 'The hairs of your head are numbered" We cannot underestimate the care, concern and power God has in our lives. Therefore humble yourselves before him. Jesus is pointing to what truly matters in life. May the Holy Spirit apply these truths to our hearts... As the Psalmist says...

⁴ We will not hide them from their children;
       we will tell the next generation
       the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
       his power, and the wonders he has done.

April 3, 2009

2009-04-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

April 3

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Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19

Luke 10:13-37

Psalm 75:1-10

Proverbs 12:12-14

May our prayer collectively call out to our Lord the words of the Psalmist:

"We give thanks to you, O God,

we give thanks, for your Name is near;

men tell of your wonderful deeds"

And then in Luke, we can rejoice, knowing that because of Christ's victory, we can hear the words of Jesus with great joy:

"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

And I simply must continue... this is wonderful...

"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes Father, for this was your good pleasure"

What an amazing God and amazing savior. Then we read of the responsibility we have. Jesus tells the story of the hated Samaritan man who helped the Jewish man who had been robbed. he tells us to do this. Go and help the people who treat you poorly. Now that's definitely a challenge...

P.S.

And in Deuteronomy there is some laws for what to do if your husband is in a fight with another husband... I guess it would also apply for any of you with boyfriends...

"If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by the private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."

So remember that! (question: which of the two 'him's is she 'seizing'?)

April 2 (Thusday) -- Shaved Headed Women -- Plus, Healing the Sick

2009-04-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Marrying a Shaved Headed Captive: Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30

Heal the Sick: Luke 9:51-10:12

It is You Who set all the boundaries of the Earth: Psalm 74:1-23

He who chases fantasies lacks judgment: Proverbs 12:11

In Luke, Jesus sent out 72 of His disciples to minister to the lost. They’re to preach the gospel (good news) and heal the sick.

Imagine if everyone in our church did that. We’d shake up Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Oak Grove, & Sylvan Springs! We’d have cities full of Jesus freaks. If someone rejects us, we can just move on.

I’m so glad my friend years ago wasn’t too chicken to share the good news of Jesus with me!