Today I want to talk about what it means to be a REAL Christian, to truly live your life for Christ. We hear a lot these days about people being fake, and how so many Christians are hypocrites. Basically, if you look at the origin of the word hypocrites, hypocrites, it is ancient roman for “play actor”. In other words, it’s somebody acting like something that they are not, putting on a show. The best way for you to cure this perception of yourself, and yes you have to do this one for yourself because people are GOING to make that assumption about you, is to be Authentic. Let’s check out 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 3 to see what Paul has to say about it.
1If I speak in the tonguesa of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,b but have not love, I gain nothing.
One of my favorite hymns is one that we sing in The Church Of The Brethren a lot is called “And They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”. What better way to put forth the WHOLE philosophy? That’s the ONLY way to really show that Christ is in your heart. Be authentic with it. Love people for who they are. It doesn’t matter what gifts God has given to you, if you don’t show love, people won’t care what you have to say. To quote a cliché, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
It all ties back to that whole LEAP thing, ya know, that capital L. Cultivate Love right. That and that whole “Greatest Commandment” thing that Jesus guy said. You know, the one about “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. OH yeah, and there is also that whole Love your enemiesi and pray for those who persecute you thing too. It’s pretty much ALL about love. To keep it authentic, when you mess up, own it, chase those Oh Wow! Moments, because everybody is going to grow from it, you’ll know what to fix next time, and everybody else will see that you are human, and it’s OK to mess up, because Jesus loves you just like He loves them, and that’s all that matters.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
All ya need is Love...Everybody
The Beatles had a pretty good idea about life when they wrote the song "All you need is love" back in July of 1967. They were asked to write an inspirational song for what would be the first ever global telecast, called "Our World". Given the global audience they were asked to write a song with a simple message that the world could understand. What they came up with was as profound, cliche, sappy, and true, as any message ever conveyed could be. However, one of the biggest rock stars ever, gave the same message in front of a sold out crowd about 2000 years ago.
The story is in Matthew Chapter 22 and, in typical fashion, after giving an extremely profound parable (The Wedding Banquet), and duping the Sadducees, and the Pharisees twice in their attempts to fool him into saying something that would cause him to be arrested, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got together and used real scripture from Moses to trick him, and they asked him which is the greatest commandment of the law.37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Quite simply, all you need is Love, Love for God, Love for your neighbor, Love for your enemy, Love for ALL. That is our job here on this earth. We are to spread the Love that Jesus Christ gave us and told us about. We are supposed to spread his message - through Love! That is all we need to spread his message! All you need is Love.
The story is in Matthew Chapter 22 and, in typical fashion, after giving an extremely profound parable (The Wedding Banquet), and duping the Sadducees, and the Pharisees twice in their attempts to fool him into saying something that would cause him to be arrested, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got together and used real scripture from Moses to trick him, and they asked him which is the greatest commandment of the law.37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Quite simply, all you need is Love, Love for God, Love for your neighbor, Love for your enemy, Love for ALL. That is our job here on this earth. We are to spread the Love that Jesus Christ gave us and told us about. We are supposed to spread his message - through Love! That is all we need to spread his message! All you need is Love.
Tempting
This go round I want to tackle something we are surrounded by every minute of every day, Temptation. It's very easy to list temptations and tell you how you should beat it or stand tall, but this time I just want to give some scripture, some prayer, and ask some questions. First up, the questions. For those facebook readers, please comment with answers!
What is temptation and what does it mean in today's world?
Are there times you find yourself defeating in with God?
How often do you find yourself defending it to God?
Do you ever blame YOUR faults on God?
Next up - scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
and of course with a little background, when Satan had tempted Jesus through his 40 days in the desert, Jesus said this:Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'
Matthew 4:4, 7, 10.
And finally, a prayer:
Lord,
Temptations come my way and my first response is to yield. Help me to know that the power of Your Word sets me free and gives me victory.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
What is temptation and what does it mean in today's world?
Are there times you find yourself defeating in with God?
How often do you find yourself defending it to God?
Do you ever blame YOUR faults on God?
Next up - scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
and of course with a little background, when Satan had tempted Jesus through his 40 days in the desert, Jesus said this:Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'
Matthew 4:4, 7, 10.
And finally, a prayer:
Lord,
Temptations come my way and my first response is to yield. Help me to know that the power of Your Word sets me free and gives me victory.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
The Unopened Gift
Our Christmas play this year was titled "The Unopened Gift". It held elements of a typical Christmas play with your standard nativity story of course, but it also held so much more. Due to some scheduling conflicts I was asked to play the role of Andrew, the teenage son of the family at the center of the story arc. Now, the funny part I will get to later, but first let me explain the play.
The play starts like a lot do in today's world. A family enters their living room after the Christmas meal and begin talking about said meal. After some chat about that, one of the little girls asks if it is time t read the Nativity story. She gives her Dad the Bible and he turns to Luke 2 and begins reading. Throughout the entire story, each scene of the nativity is pantomimed on the other side of stage as the father is reading, and after the first bit, carolers appear outside the window of the family's home as they are reading the story of the nativity.
As all of this is happening there are things spoken by Timmy, Suzy, Amy, Mom, and Dad of course, but nothing from Andrew. After reading through to the exit of the sheperds the Father stops and gets ready to have the family sing, but one of the little girl's of course asks about the "Wisemen", so the father turns to Matthew and recounts that piece of the story as well.
Finally, after singing "Joy To The World", its time for the ceremonial Gift Exchange. The kids are giving each other presents and giving presents to their parents, but when it's my character, Andrew's turn to give a gift, he gives one to his Mom, and it is a Very special gift, but she just shrugs it off and tells him she will open it later. The gift exchange continues and Andrew again asks if his mother will open the gift. After a similar reply Andrew is visibly disappointed.
The play culminates in Andrew asking why his mother won't open the gift. She replies with a question of her own, "Why do you want me to open it?" Of course Andrew explains that he loves his mother and made the gift very special. Her retort is, "Well then I guess you know how we feel about you then?" Andrew is taken aback and puzzled by this. Andrews parents then explain that since he has put off accepting the gift of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ, he has essentially done the same thing, and his parents are saddened by this.
Of course, from seeing this comparison drawn Andrew comes to pray and accept Christ as his savior. Now, the funny part comes in. This is the second year in a row I have been placed in the "come to Jesus" part of our Christmas program. I keep wondering, are these people telling me something? Haha, but really, each time it has been a blessing. Putting myself in the frme of mind of someone that has not accepted Christ, I always try to look at the "reasons" why someone decides that salvation isn't "their bag", if you will. Everytime, I find myself strengthening my faith in God.
Why? Well, because each time, as I begin examining what may be someones "reason" or "excuse" I always end up finding one of my own "reasons" or "excuses" and always end up opening my own "Unopened Gift". So the question here is, of course, what unopened gifts are sitting around in your faith life? Find them, and open them. You never know how great something is until you apply it. Paul said it well in Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast
The play starts like a lot do in today's world. A family enters their living room after the Christmas meal and begin talking about said meal. After some chat about that, one of the little girls asks if it is time t read the Nativity story. She gives her Dad the Bible and he turns to Luke 2 and begins reading. Throughout the entire story, each scene of the nativity is pantomimed on the other side of stage as the father is reading, and after the first bit, carolers appear outside the window of the family's home as they are reading the story of the nativity.
As all of this is happening there are things spoken by Timmy, Suzy, Amy, Mom, and Dad of course, but nothing from Andrew. After reading through to the exit of the sheperds the Father stops and gets ready to have the family sing, but one of the little girl's of course asks about the "Wisemen", so the father turns to Matthew and recounts that piece of the story as well.
Finally, after singing "Joy To The World", its time for the ceremonial Gift Exchange. The kids are giving each other presents and giving presents to their parents, but when it's my character, Andrew's turn to give a gift, he gives one to his Mom, and it is a Very special gift, but she just shrugs it off and tells him she will open it later. The gift exchange continues and Andrew again asks if his mother will open the gift. After a similar reply Andrew is visibly disappointed.
The play culminates in Andrew asking why his mother won't open the gift. She replies with a question of her own, "Why do you want me to open it?" Of course Andrew explains that he loves his mother and made the gift very special. Her retort is, "Well then I guess you know how we feel about you then?" Andrew is taken aback and puzzled by this. Andrews parents then explain that since he has put off accepting the gift of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ, he has essentially done the same thing, and his parents are saddened by this.
Of course, from seeing this comparison drawn Andrew comes to pray and accept Christ as his savior. Now, the funny part comes in. This is the second year in a row I have been placed in the "come to Jesus" part of our Christmas program. I keep wondering, are these people telling me something? Haha, but really, each time it has been a blessing. Putting myself in the frme of mind of someone that has not accepted Christ, I always try to look at the "reasons" why someone decides that salvation isn't "their bag", if you will. Everytime, I find myself strengthening my faith in God.
Why? Well, because each time, as I begin examining what may be someones "reason" or "excuse" I always end up finding one of my own "reasons" or "excuses" and always end up opening my own "Unopened Gift". So the question here is, of course, what unopened gifts are sitting around in your faith life? Find them, and open them. You never know how great something is until you apply it. Paul said it well in Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast
Hardship
This week I want to talk about hardships. I want to talk about the things that keep you from being the Christian you want to be. There are plenty of things that people struggle with, whether it be drugs, alcohol, or pleasures of the flesh, maybe gambling, or something as simple as lying or having a sharp tongue, any of these things can be our stumbling block to keep us from Christ. Everyone has something that they struggle with, and it has always been that way. From the internal struggles that Judas Iscariot dealt with to the social pressures that Aaron dealt with when he created the golden calf to whatever it is that haunts you today. The good news, is that God is always there to help you through it. Our favorite Rabbi from Tarsus put it rather well in our scripture so lets get into that. The scripture come from the Book of Romans Chapter 8, Verses 35 & 37 – 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So that’s it – NOTHING can separate us from God. Nobody, Nowhere, No-how. All we have to do is put God first. Just say to yourself, I am Second. Another program I will be bringing into the church will explore this concept a little more, so tell your friends, and come join us!
So that’s it – NOTHING can separate us from God. Nobody, Nowhere, No-how. All we have to do is put God first. Just say to yourself, I am Second. Another program I will be bringing into the church will explore this concept a little more, so tell your friends, and come join us!
The Word
So as we start moving forward this month, we are going to start our adventure into storying. What I am looking to accomplish is not only to get you guys to remember God’s story, but I want you to find yourself IN God’s story as your story, and inspire you to dive into it on your own as well. This is a short lesson, but it is to prove a simple point, a simple truth. We have a long journey ahead of us, and it is going to require effort on your part as well. Let’s read the scripture, which is from Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 12.
12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.
Now it’s obvious what this scripture is saying. I don’t think I have to give you any interpretations or alternative hidden meanings. Let’s just let the scripture speak for itself, and let it speak to you.
12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.
Now it’s obvious what this scripture is saying. I don’t think I have to give you any interpretations or alternative hidden meanings. Let’s just let the scripture speak for itself, and let it speak to you.
More Than Meets The Eye
OK, this week, I figured it only be fitting, that our lesson be on The scripture theme from NYC, we all will be leaving on Friday 7/16, which is 12 days from now. I want this to be fresh in our minds as we move into our Journey. The scripture is one that has been used as a theme by plenty of bands, movies, and other events. It is, of course, written by everybody’s favorite Rabbi from Tarsus, Paul. Let’s jump to 2 Corinthians 6-10 and 16- 18
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What is this message saying? What does it say to you? Lets start at the beginning and I will try to break it all down into simple paraphrasing that will give us all some basic insight.
The same God that created everything in the beginning, gave us not only the gift of initial life but the gift of everlasting life through our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus, we will be able to hold onto these gifts forever. We WILL be made fun of, attacked, and isolated, but we will never be alone, God will NEVER leave us, we will never be truly destroyed as long as we have Christ in our hearts. Because Jesus died on the cross, we have the opportunity to live forever, if we let Jesus live through us.
Don’t ever worry or feel let down. For through our whole lives on earth, we are dying in our bodies, but through Christ our souls are being strengthened and Renewed. We will have good times and bad times here on earth, but with Jesus in our hearts the good that we will achieve at our eternity will far outweigh the bad. This is all because of what is here on earth is only temporary, but what we attain in Heaven will last forever.
That is what I hear when I read this, maybe you hear something different, maybe you hear something similar, but not exact. Take the next 12 days and think about it. We will have plenty of time on the car ride, the bus ride, and the plane ride, and the other bus ride, plus dinner, to discuss this. So, that’s what I want to do. Think about it, and tell me what you hear exactly. Post it on our Facebook, Post it on your Facebook in a note, send it to me in a text or message, or email, just read it, and interpret it to your words. I wanna know exactly what this means to you, and where we can take it from here. My goal is to come up with a scripture that we can begin using as our theme for PMCOB Youth, maybe we can even rename ourselves, lets start our process of branching out. I think NYC will bring us a LOT of energy and blessing. Let’s use it, capitalize on it, and GROW!
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What is this message saying? What does it say to you? Lets start at the beginning and I will try to break it all down into simple paraphrasing that will give us all some basic insight.
The same God that created everything in the beginning, gave us not only the gift of initial life but the gift of everlasting life through our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus, we will be able to hold onto these gifts forever. We WILL be made fun of, attacked, and isolated, but we will never be alone, God will NEVER leave us, we will never be truly destroyed as long as we have Christ in our hearts. Because Jesus died on the cross, we have the opportunity to live forever, if we let Jesus live through us.
Don’t ever worry or feel let down. For through our whole lives on earth, we are dying in our bodies, but through Christ our souls are being strengthened and Renewed. We will have good times and bad times here on earth, but with Jesus in our hearts the good that we will achieve at our eternity will far outweigh the bad. This is all because of what is here on earth is only temporary, but what we attain in Heaven will last forever.
That is what I hear when I read this, maybe you hear something different, maybe you hear something similar, but not exact. Take the next 12 days and think about it. We will have plenty of time on the car ride, the bus ride, and the plane ride, and the other bus ride, plus dinner, to discuss this. So, that’s what I want to do. Think about it, and tell me what you hear exactly. Post it on our Facebook, Post it on your Facebook in a note, send it to me in a text or message, or email, just read it, and interpret it to your words. I wanna know exactly what this means to you, and where we can take it from here. My goal is to come up with a scripture that we can begin using as our theme for PMCOB Youth, maybe we can even rename ourselves, lets start our process of branching out. I think NYC will bring us a LOT of energy and blessing. Let’s use it, capitalize on it, and GROW!
Lies
This week we are going to hit on something that I’m sure you’ve heard your whole lives, and something that I’m sure you’ve heard from everyone from your parents, to random celebrities and actors on after-school specials. The foundation of it all, though, lies in the Bible.
The lesson is about lying. Everyone does it to some extent, and very little mind is paid to it along the way. There are plenty of ways of lying. The biggest obviously is through speech, which is the biggest piece of what the scripture addresses, but there are lies that we tell ourselves and the world everyday. When we walk out of church on Sunday and immediately head on to our regular life without a respect to what we just went through at church that morning, were telling a lie. We are telling a lie to ourselves, by convincing ourselves that we are doing some good for ourselves by going to church. We are telling a lie to those around us by making them think that church is a part of our lives.
The biggest lie, however, is the lie that we are telling to God. In my lessons I have given you tools to live by, philosophies, acronyms, strategies, and quotes of scripture. If you apply these to your lives, you WILL succeed in making yourself a better person, and even go as far as saving the world. No, I’m not being dramatic, or illustrating a point through embellishment. I’m serious, you can absolutely save the world. Think about it. If you apply my lessons from LEAP and Eat That Frog, you can go out, show your friends what it really means to be a Christian, and inspire people to do the same thing. My personal life mantra is based on those two principles. I use it in my career, I use it as I sit down to write these lessons, and I use it with my family and in my every day interactions with people.
People want to know that you care, they want to know that you are genuine. The quote remains “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” What’s true in the business world to influence consumer decisions on the company they frequent, is also true in the type of people they want to surround themselves with as friends and confidantes. From here lets read the scripture and head to wrap this up. The scripture is from Proverbs 26: 24 – 28.
24A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.
25Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.
26His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
28A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Bottom line here? What comes out of your mouth is what WILL be what you are judged on by others. If you choose to lie, you WILL get caught and WHEN you do, that’s a bridge you’ve burned that takes a lot more work to repair than it ever did to build, and in a lot of cases with a lot of people, they don’t want to invest that much in the repair. They will just go out and get a new bridge.
The lesson is about lying. Everyone does it to some extent, and very little mind is paid to it along the way. There are plenty of ways of lying. The biggest obviously is through speech, which is the biggest piece of what the scripture addresses, but there are lies that we tell ourselves and the world everyday. When we walk out of church on Sunday and immediately head on to our regular life without a respect to what we just went through at church that morning, were telling a lie. We are telling a lie to ourselves, by convincing ourselves that we are doing some good for ourselves by going to church. We are telling a lie to those around us by making them think that church is a part of our lives.
The biggest lie, however, is the lie that we are telling to God. In my lessons I have given you tools to live by, philosophies, acronyms, strategies, and quotes of scripture. If you apply these to your lives, you WILL succeed in making yourself a better person, and even go as far as saving the world. No, I’m not being dramatic, or illustrating a point through embellishment. I’m serious, you can absolutely save the world. Think about it. If you apply my lessons from LEAP and Eat That Frog, you can go out, show your friends what it really means to be a Christian, and inspire people to do the same thing. My personal life mantra is based on those two principles. I use it in my career, I use it as I sit down to write these lessons, and I use it with my family and in my every day interactions with people.
People want to know that you care, they want to know that you are genuine. The quote remains “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” What’s true in the business world to influence consumer decisions on the company they frequent, is also true in the type of people they want to surround themselves with as friends and confidantes. From here lets read the scripture and head to wrap this up. The scripture is from Proverbs 26: 24 – 28.
24A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.
25Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.
26His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
28A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Bottom line here? What comes out of your mouth is what WILL be what you are judged on by others. If you choose to lie, you WILL get caught and WHEN you do, that’s a bridge you’ve burned that takes a lot more work to repair than it ever did to build, and in a lot of cases with a lot of people, they don’t want to invest that much in the repair. They will just go out and get a new bridge.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Arguments
So often these days we see people “of the church” arguing. They don’t agree with the others’ ideology or view on Faith. Now, keep in mind when I say “of the church” I mean members of the community of Faith, not any one church. I have to say that I have on more then one occasion preached the value of Audacity. As a matter of fact it is one of the key elements of the philosophies I have built my faith, my daily life, my professional life, and my ministry on – LEAP. However, Everytime I use it, I clarify it. Audacity is the blatant disregard of circumstance. You can take that one of two ways – you can take it as an ego thing, an arrogance thing, something that is ALL ABOUT YOU, or you can take it as an invitation to spread the word of love, The Word of YOUR SAVIOR(!) No matter what you are facing.
So, of course, disagreements WILL happen. We are human, and Faith is a very personal thing, but under no circumstance is remotely OK, to use the Gospel as an excuse to spread hate or your own personal/political agenda. 2 Timothy 2:22 – 26 says “22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” What are some key words in this? Faith? Love? Peace? Those are big ones don’t you think? How about the phrase “foolish and stupid arguments”? I would say that’s another tell-tale there.
Summary – The Gospel that I read, The Gospel of The Holy Bible, is a Gospel of Love that has no room for Hate-speak. Religion is a man made political agenda, that I don’t care for. What I want is a Relationship with my Savior. Faith is all about following the Lord. The Lord wants us to Love, not hate, so that’s what we are instructed to always do. Just follow the greatest commandment - 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”~ Matthew 22: 34 – 40.
37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So, of course, disagreements WILL happen. We are human, and Faith is a very personal thing, but under no circumstance is remotely OK, to use the Gospel as an excuse to spread hate or your own personal/political agenda. 2 Timothy 2:22 – 26 says “22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” What are some key words in this? Faith? Love? Peace? Those are big ones don’t you think? How about the phrase “foolish and stupid arguments”? I would say that’s another tell-tale there.
Summary – The Gospel that I read, The Gospel of The Holy Bible, is a Gospel of Love that has no room for Hate-speak. Religion is a man made political agenda, that I don’t care for. What I want is a Relationship with my Savior. Faith is all about following the Lord. The Lord wants us to Love, not hate, so that’s what we are instructed to always do. Just follow the greatest commandment - 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”~ Matthew 22: 34 – 40.
37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
You Say It Best...
This week its all about that classic your mom always should have said to you and Im sure you have heard before."If you don't have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all." As Christians, we have a calling to set the examplefor others when it comes to modeling how to live. One of the biggest places we have to do this is how we speak to others.
When we are put in a situation with other people we should feel obligated to build them up and make them feelgood about having just spent time with us. When someone feels good about spending time with you they are going to feelgood about what you have to say about faith. When you look at someone and the first thing you have to say is critical,or rude, you have just single-handedly lost the battle, and made it harder for someone else to recover that loss.
It all gets summed up in one of my favorite scriptures, from one of the most prolific writers of books of the Bible,our friend from Tarsus, Paul. The book is Epehesians, Chapter 4, Verse 29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."What have you said to someone lately? Was it something you want them to associate you as a Christian to? Did you buildthem up, or did you bring them down? This is something we must ALL ask ourselves, everyday, because the second you losesight of that, is the second you lose sight of your mission as a person of Faith.
When we are put in a situation with other people we should feel obligated to build them up and make them feelgood about having just spent time with us. When someone feels good about spending time with you they are going to feelgood about what you have to say about faith. When you look at someone and the first thing you have to say is critical,or rude, you have just single-handedly lost the battle, and made it harder for someone else to recover that loss.
It all gets summed up in one of my favorite scriptures, from one of the most prolific writers of books of the Bible,our friend from Tarsus, Paul. The book is Epehesians, Chapter 4, Verse 29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."What have you said to someone lately? Was it something you want them to associate you as a Christian to? Did you buildthem up, or did you bring them down? This is something we must ALL ask ourselves, everyday, because the second you losesight of that, is the second you lose sight of your mission as a person of Faith.
Stories
Todays lesson is another short one, but again, I think a lot of this will all come together when we begin out Storying adventure. The scripture is probably the shortest yet that I have used. ""He began to teach them many things in parables." ~ Mark 4:2.
Tradition in almost every culture shows that its many hisotries, mythologies, and legends come from an oral story telling type culture. Think about when you were a kid and when your parents or another member of your family would tell you a story about something like Pirates or Princesses or Ghosts. You were captivated. It was something you took with you and remembered. In addition to that, if the person telling the story was a good story teller, you found yourself IN that story. You could see the landscapes, the colors. maybe you could feel the textures, smell the aromas, or even taste the food that was involved.
Now, think about how we get all of our stories today - Movies or TV mostly. How much of it do you remember long term? Not much for myself. In some cases, especially with my wife, there are movies she has seen and claims to have never even heard of. Ask her about when me and her watched Cabin Fever or Dawn Of The Dead when we were dating. She'll tell you it never happened, but our friends that were also there will remember it well. When you watch a move or TV, you see the sights and hear the sounds of course, but how often do you REALLY find yourself in the story? Now Im not knocking TV and movies, technology is GREAT, and I use it every day, and plan on integrating it all into other parts of my ministry, but Storying is different.
Here's what I want from you guys in the next few days. Think about your favorite story. Something you've always remembered, and think about what it was in that story that made you remember it? What kind of memory is it a part of? When we start storying we will bring those elements into our discussion.
Tradition in almost every culture shows that its many hisotries, mythologies, and legends come from an oral story telling type culture. Think about when you were a kid and when your parents or another member of your family would tell you a story about something like Pirates or Princesses or Ghosts. You were captivated. It was something you took with you and remembered. In addition to that, if the person telling the story was a good story teller, you found yourself IN that story. You could see the landscapes, the colors. maybe you could feel the textures, smell the aromas, or even taste the food that was involved.
Now, think about how we get all of our stories today - Movies or TV mostly. How much of it do you remember long term? Not much for myself. In some cases, especially with my wife, there are movies she has seen and claims to have never even heard of. Ask her about when me and her watched Cabin Fever or Dawn Of The Dead when we were dating. She'll tell you it never happened, but our friends that were also there will remember it well. When you watch a move or TV, you see the sights and hear the sounds of course, but how often do you REALLY find yourself in the story? Now Im not knocking TV and movies, technology is GREAT, and I use it every day, and plan on integrating it all into other parts of my ministry, but Storying is different.
Here's what I want from you guys in the next few days. Think about your favorite story. Something you've always remembered, and think about what it was in that story that made you remember it? What kind of memory is it a part of? When we start storying we will bring those elements into our discussion.
Beatitudes
So Today starts my quest in getting us to dive into the word of God a little deeper, not necessarily for meaning, because that should come to you based on what you see and hear, but on knowledge of God's word itself. Being the Church Of The Brethren, Im going to start with what is one of the most fundamental pieces that the Brethren go to for insight and to base our beliefs on. The Sermon on the Mount, specifically, the Beatitudes. The scripture is from Matthew Chapter 5 Verses 1 – 12.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
From here, I just want to talk. What do you get out of reading this? What words stick out in your minds? Is there something that piques your interest? Something you think is weird or doesn't sound right? If you're reading this before class, think about some questions or some points about it. If you read it after class, go out to a website like Bible.cc and read a different Translation, this one is the NIV. What sounds different? What sounds the same?
Mothers Day
Obviously, today is Mothers day, with that in mind, all I have is one line of scripture, a funny anecdote, and some advice.
The scripture is from Exodus 20:12, and is one of the commandments, Im sure you all know it, but it bears repeating. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
My Mother Taught Me About...
1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...
"Just wait until your father gets home."
2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING....
"You are going to get it when we get home!"
3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE...
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don't talk back to me!"
4. My Mother taught me LOGIC...
"If you fall out off that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
5. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE...
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
6. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD...
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."
7. My Mother taught me HUMOR...
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
8. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
9. My Mother taught me about GENETICS...
"You're just like your father."
10. My Mother taught me about my ROOTS...
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"
11. My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE...
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."
And last but not least...
12. My Mother taught me about JUSTICE...
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....Then you'll see what it's like!"
Finally, the advice, While today may be “Mother’s Day” in my opinion, the holiday itself is an excuse for retailers to sell you something (believe me, I was a manager in a big box retail store for 4 years, it’s a BIG deal). The truth is that your mother is and always will be the ultimate rock for your personal, physical, and spiritual growth, in one way or the other. Never forget that, and never forget to appreciate her for that the other 364 days of the year.
The scripture is from Exodus 20:12, and is one of the commandments, Im sure you all know it, but it bears repeating. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
My Mother Taught Me About...
1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...
"Just wait until your father gets home."
2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING....
"You are going to get it when we get home!"
3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE...
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don't talk back to me!"
4. My Mother taught me LOGIC...
"If you fall out off that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
5. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE...
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
6. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD...
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."
7. My Mother taught me HUMOR...
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
8. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
9. My Mother taught me about GENETICS...
"You're just like your father."
10. My Mother taught me about my ROOTS...
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"
11. My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE...
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."
And last but not least...
12. My Mother taught me about JUSTICE...
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....Then you'll see what it's like!"
Finally, the advice, While today may be “Mother’s Day” in my opinion, the holiday itself is an excuse for retailers to sell you something (believe me, I was a manager in a big box retail store for 4 years, it’s a BIG deal). The truth is that your mother is and always will be the ultimate rock for your personal, physical, and spiritual growth, in one way or the other. Never forget that, and never forget to appreciate her for that the other 364 days of the year.
Raising More Than Funds
As I go through the week I try to find things speak to me as lessons that may speak to others, especially my youth. I can honestly say that my heart was filled with inspiration at our Yardsale this weekend. The purpose of our yardsale was of course to raise money for our trip to Colorado in July, but as the day went on, and came close to the end, I found out that we were there for a much greater purpose.
Of course, we did raise a substantial amount of money for our trip, but we also had plenty of fun and came a lot closer to each other working for a common purpose. Now first I will go ahead and give the scripture, and then I will give the story that inspired me. The scripture is from Matthew 25: 34 – 40.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
As the end of the sale came we were selling bags for a dollar. We handed people a Kroger bag, they filled it up, we charged them a dollar. A couple came in and we told them the deal. The husband immediately ran to a set of dishes we had with huge excitement in his eyes. He began filling the bag and asked if they could have a couple more bags to fill. As we obliged he began to tell us that their house had just burned down. They had a place to stay and people had given them things, which he was appreciative of, but they didn’t have anything that matched. He just kept saying how “pretty” the plates were. He filled up a few boxes with carpets, rugs, clothes, and dishes. They were very thankful and paid us a few dollars. We told them they gave us more than enough and we helped them load their car.
Now, they took quite a bit of stuff, and didn’t pay much for it, but in my opinion they gave us more than they needed to.
Of course, we did raise a substantial amount of money for our trip, but we also had plenty of fun and came a lot closer to each other working for a common purpose. Now first I will go ahead and give the scripture, and then I will give the story that inspired me. The scripture is from Matthew 25: 34 – 40.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
As the end of the sale came we were selling bags for a dollar. We handed people a Kroger bag, they filled it up, we charged them a dollar. A couple came in and we told them the deal. The husband immediately ran to a set of dishes we had with huge excitement in his eyes. He began filling the bag and asked if they could have a couple more bags to fill. As we obliged he began to tell us that their house had just burned down. They had a place to stay and people had given them things, which he was appreciative of, but they didn’t have anything that matched. He just kept saying how “pretty” the plates were. He filled up a few boxes with carpets, rugs, clothes, and dishes. They were very thankful and paid us a few dollars. We told them they gave us more than enough and we helped them load their car.
Now, they took quite a bit of stuff, and didn’t pay much for it, but in my opinion they gave us more than they needed to.
A quick thought on spite...
In today’s lesson I am going to use a group of verses from Matthew Chapter 5. Verses 43 – 48 are verses that as of the past few weeks I have been surrounded by a lot of anger an d spitefulness and these verses have taught me more about it and really helped me deal with it all much better. First up lets go ahead and read the verses.
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborh and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemiesi and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Now in reading this the big ones that stand out are verses 46 and 47, they are the meat of this that really drives the point home. We will all run into people that are spiteful and people that cause jus and those we care for harm, whether it be physically, emotionally, etc. The hard part is not turning into a person just as bad as they are. You have to be the person to turn around and love the person that hates you. This is in my opinion, the hardest part of the Christian faith. It’s something that I struggle with myself, especially in all of the spite that I have seen over the last few weeks. What is it that we can really do to accomplish this not only with ourselves but what can we do to inspire this in others?
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborh and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemiesi and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Now in reading this the big ones that stand out are verses 46 and 47, they are the meat of this that really drives the point home. We will all run into people that are spiteful and people that cause jus and those we care for harm, whether it be physically, emotionally, etc. The hard part is not turning into a person just as bad as they are. You have to be the person to turn around and love the person that hates you. This is in my opinion, the hardest part of the Christian faith. It’s something that I struggle with myself, especially in all of the spite that I have seen over the last few weeks. What is it that we can really do to accomplish this not only with ourselves but what can we do to inspire this in others?
Another Look at the Radical LEAP
Are you ready to LEAP? This is a lesson I have posted before, but it bears repeating and is something we are about to begin embracing more. I have a few things planned upcoming that this and the next couple lessons are going to establish the ground for it all. This one is lengthy a bit, but I promise its worth the read. The scripture is interspersed, so lets jump right in!
Leadership & Faith, to me, go hand in hand. I’ve have been involved with both for a very long time and have always noticed very large trends in both to be almost identical. Re-reading what is probably my favorite leadership book especially sparks this in me. The book is called the Radical LEAP, by Steve Farber, and if you hate leadership books, this one if a must read, because it totally draws you in to a real story that you begin to care about. In a long story short LEAP is an acronym that stands for LOVE, ENERGY, AUDACITY, PROOF. These things, are all central to the Christian experience, and especially based on how the aforementioned book presents them.
First, LOVE, we got into that last week, but here's how it goes down in the book to make you move a little further on the subject. The thought is to Cultivate Love. Now to break that down into little words – sew the seeds that will allow Love to grow all around you. Those seeds are your personal love, whether it be for your job, your family, your friends, or Christ, if you “sew” those seeds by showing real love, then others around you will see that and begin to grow their own plant and sew their own seeds.
Now lets talk about energy, and don’t think I'm contradicting my previous lesson when I say that the Energy attached to the love is just as important as love itself. This is because, similar to putting on that show without the love behind it, having that love without doing something about it is almost as wrong. For a quick example, the last time you fell in love with something, be it a hobby or a person, it was pretty obvious that you spent a lot of energy on that thing. You practiced, you listened, you read about it, you even strategized your future with it and dreamed about the possibilities. Energy like that is contagious. If you apply that energy to your faith, people will see that, and they will latch on. So, in context of the book, you have to Generate energy. Once that energy is generated, it has to go somewhere, and hopefully, it’ll drift into those you come in contact with.
The third piece of this is my favorite, but it’s also the hardest. You have to Inspire Audacity. To jump right to the book, the definition of audacity is “a bold and blatant disregard for normal constraints” but when looking in a thesaurus you will see a couple of different connotations, and depending on which connotation you take as your audacity mantra, you either going to be doing it totally right, or completely wrong. The first one relates to courage, the second to impudence. The first one is about love, the second is about ego. Guess which one I'm leaning on here? Now, audacity in our context means that you aren’t afraid to show that love and that energy, regardless of your current scenario. You can’t shy away from proclaiming your Love and showing your Energy behind your faith. Again, these things are contagious and when others see that you’re not afraid, they're a lot less likely to hold back as well. The guy that wrote the words of the lesson from last week, a little known (insert sarcasm here) rabbi from Tarsis named Paul, also wrote in the book of Romans in Chapter 1 verses 16 & 17 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” Now, this also means that you are going to have morals or beliefs that don’t agree with everyone, brace yourself its going to happen, because lets face it, morals are VERY subjective and there are a LOT of people out there in that world to process their own personal take on faith and morals. Here’s where being audacious comes into play with that, DON’T APOLOGIZE! Yes, you don’t agree with them or vice-versa but as long as you love them for who they are, just as Christ has asked of you, then you’re on the right track. You should never be sorry for your beliefs. So, in short, just DO IT!
Finally, we come to Proof. You have to Provide proof. That doesn’t mean you have to show someone proof that God, or Jesus ever existed. You have to show them proof that they exist through you. Have you connected the dots yet? You and only you, can show that you believe. The ONLY way you can really show you believe is to do, all the time. Now I know that it comes down to the fact that we are human and make mistakes, but that is the beauty of it all. When you make the mistake, don’t hide it. Get out in front of everyone and let them know what you did, why it was wrong, and the fact that all of that is OK, because forgiveness is the built in save-all catch-all clause of our salvation. Yeah, putting yourself out in front of everyone is tough, but the more you do it, the more you grow, and growing is the name of the game, whether its in your faith, or career, or just as an individual in learning.
All of these things start with Love. Love that is defined for those of faith very well in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. Love, that is personal, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Love that will cause you to LEAP into being a leader and showing your faith in Christ. With Church of the Brethren we believe in the call to ministry for everyone. How you accept that call is up to you, because its personal, but accepting that call is a part of this LEAP, and a part of your journey in faith. Next up, were eating a frog!
Leadership & Faith, to me, go hand in hand. I’ve have been involved with both for a very long time and have always noticed very large trends in both to be almost identical. Re-reading what is probably my favorite leadership book especially sparks this in me. The book is called the Radical LEAP, by Steve Farber, and if you hate leadership books, this one if a must read, because it totally draws you in to a real story that you begin to care about. In a long story short LEAP is an acronym that stands for LOVE, ENERGY, AUDACITY, PROOF. These things, are all central to the Christian experience, and especially based on how the aforementioned book presents them.
First, LOVE, we got into that last week, but here's how it goes down in the book to make you move a little further on the subject. The thought is to Cultivate Love. Now to break that down into little words – sew the seeds that will allow Love to grow all around you. Those seeds are your personal love, whether it be for your job, your family, your friends, or Christ, if you “sew” those seeds by showing real love, then others around you will see that and begin to grow their own plant and sew their own seeds.
Now lets talk about energy, and don’t think I'm contradicting my previous lesson when I say that the Energy attached to the love is just as important as love itself. This is because, similar to putting on that show without the love behind it, having that love without doing something about it is almost as wrong. For a quick example, the last time you fell in love with something, be it a hobby or a person, it was pretty obvious that you spent a lot of energy on that thing. You practiced, you listened, you read about it, you even strategized your future with it and dreamed about the possibilities. Energy like that is contagious. If you apply that energy to your faith, people will see that, and they will latch on. So, in context of the book, you have to Generate energy. Once that energy is generated, it has to go somewhere, and hopefully, it’ll drift into those you come in contact with.
The third piece of this is my favorite, but it’s also the hardest. You have to Inspire Audacity. To jump right to the book, the definition of audacity is “a bold and blatant disregard for normal constraints” but when looking in a thesaurus you will see a couple of different connotations, and depending on which connotation you take as your audacity mantra, you either going to be doing it totally right, or completely wrong. The first one relates to courage, the second to impudence. The first one is about love, the second is about ego. Guess which one I'm leaning on here? Now, audacity in our context means that you aren’t afraid to show that love and that energy, regardless of your current scenario. You can’t shy away from proclaiming your Love and showing your Energy behind your faith. Again, these things are contagious and when others see that you’re not afraid, they're a lot less likely to hold back as well. The guy that wrote the words of the lesson from last week, a little known (insert sarcasm here) rabbi from Tarsis named Paul, also wrote in the book of Romans in Chapter 1 verses 16 & 17 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” Now, this also means that you are going to have morals or beliefs that don’t agree with everyone, brace yourself its going to happen, because lets face it, morals are VERY subjective and there are a LOT of people out there in that world to process their own personal take on faith and morals. Here’s where being audacious comes into play with that, DON’T APOLOGIZE! Yes, you don’t agree with them or vice-versa but as long as you love them for who they are, just as Christ has asked of you, then you’re on the right track. You should never be sorry for your beliefs. So, in short, just DO IT!
Finally, we come to Proof. You have to Provide proof. That doesn’t mean you have to show someone proof that God, or Jesus ever existed. You have to show them proof that they exist through you. Have you connected the dots yet? You and only you, can show that you believe. The ONLY way you can really show you believe is to do, all the time. Now I know that it comes down to the fact that we are human and make mistakes, but that is the beauty of it all. When you make the mistake, don’t hide it. Get out in front of everyone and let them know what you did, why it was wrong, and the fact that all of that is OK, because forgiveness is the built in save-all catch-all clause of our salvation. Yeah, putting yourself out in front of everyone is tough, but the more you do it, the more you grow, and growing is the name of the game, whether its in your faith, or career, or just as an individual in learning.
All of these things start with Love. Love that is defined for those of faith very well in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. Love, that is personal, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Love that will cause you to LEAP into being a leader and showing your faith in Christ. With Church of the Brethren we believe in the call to ministry for everyone. How you accept that call is up to you, because its personal, but accepting that call is a part of this LEAP, and a part of your journey in faith. Next up, were eating a frog!
I am not ashamed!
In todays text we learn about the night Nicodemus came to Jesus and they spoke about the concept of being born again. Now The born again thing is something that everyone talks about on a fairly consistent basis, I want to talk about some of the hidden lessons in this text. First lets start with the text, which comes from John 3: 1-21.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.a”
4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritb gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘Youc must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.d 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.e
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,f that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.g 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”h
Now in the story it very plainly states that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night and tells Him that he knows He is from God, simply based on the lessons Nicodemus has heard Jesus give and the things he has seen Jesus do. He begins to discuss the philosophy behind what Jesus is teaching as he travels from town to town and asks questions about the conceept of being born again. He is very intrigued by all of this and wants to learn all that he can, but he doesnt want anyone to see that he is with Jesus.
The reason he doesnt want anyone to see him with Jesus is because he is a very important person in the society of the Jews and considered to essentially be a high level ruler in the area. If someone were to see him spending time with Jesus, he could lose his status, or even be prosecuted for a crime. In this time it was very dangerous to go against the grain of the society and not follow the religious teachings that they were given, so anything and everything that Jesus taught or said was essentially illegal and nobody liked what he was doing. Nicodemus liked what Jesus was teaching, but he was afraid to show it to the people around him.
This is what I see as the problem a LOT of young people face today. It may be OK to go out and go to church with your family or attend church functions, but if you begin to start talking about what youre learning in church or what you believe as a part of your faith to your friends or society, then it stops being OK and begins to be "taboo". When I was growing up and coming into my faith that was very much one of the same problems I faced. Today, I know that without my faith I wouldnt have anything that I have today or be a fraction of the person I am. I know that I have to share my faith with others for it to mean anything. Faith is a VERY personal thing, and is a little different for each and every person, but it shouldnt be so personal that no one knows you have faith. It is my personal challenge to any and all that read this or hear this message from me to begin to take the LEAP that I have talked about and Eat that frog. We have to get out there and share what Christ means to us with the people around us. We have to be the ones to make it cool to have faith, or no one will do it for us.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.a”
4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritb gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘Youc must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.d 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.e
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,f that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.g 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”h
Now in the story it very plainly states that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night and tells Him that he knows He is from God, simply based on the lessons Nicodemus has heard Jesus give and the things he has seen Jesus do. He begins to discuss the philosophy behind what Jesus is teaching as he travels from town to town and asks questions about the conceept of being born again. He is very intrigued by all of this and wants to learn all that he can, but he doesnt want anyone to see that he is with Jesus.
The reason he doesnt want anyone to see him with Jesus is because he is a very important person in the society of the Jews and considered to essentially be a high level ruler in the area. If someone were to see him spending time with Jesus, he could lose his status, or even be prosecuted for a crime. In this time it was very dangerous to go against the grain of the society and not follow the religious teachings that they were given, so anything and everything that Jesus taught or said was essentially illegal and nobody liked what he was doing. Nicodemus liked what Jesus was teaching, but he was afraid to show it to the people around him.
This is what I see as the problem a LOT of young people face today. It may be OK to go out and go to church with your family or attend church functions, but if you begin to start talking about what youre learning in church or what you believe as a part of your faith to your friends or society, then it stops being OK and begins to be "taboo". When I was growing up and coming into my faith that was very much one of the same problems I faced. Today, I know that without my faith I wouldnt have anything that I have today or be a fraction of the person I am. I know that I have to share my faith with others for it to mean anything. Faith is a VERY personal thing, and is a little different for each and every person, but it shouldnt be so personal that no one knows you have faith. It is my personal challenge to any and all that read this or hear this message from me to begin to take the LEAP that I have talked about and Eat that frog. We have to get out there and share what Christ means to us with the people around us. We have to be the ones to make it cool to have faith, or no one will do it for us.
Messengers
Our lesson this week is a bit of a long scripture, and its beens used quite a bit by a lot of people, but, hopefully, Im going to take a slightly different approach to it then youre used to. The scripture comes from John 1:19-51.
Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.g”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”h
24Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26“I baptize withi water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Jesus the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
Jesus’ First Disciples
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peterj).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
50Jesus said, “You believek because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51He then added, “I tell youl the truth, youm shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
In this story John the Baptist has to tell the people that he is NOT the Christ, even though so many of his followers believe that he is. Jesus then comes over and John shows everyone that Jesus, is in fact, the Christ. The arc here is that in todays media-centric world we run into a lot of people that claim to be messengers of God or Christ, or perhaps even the Anti-Christ. The real problem with all of this is that all of them are probably lying. While they all may divert you from Christ and accomplish the will of the Anti-Christ, all they are really serving is their own selfish wants and needs, and very few of them, if they were proclaimed to be Christ, would be truthful enough to deny it and proclaim the on true God.
The way we can all avoid this is simple. KNOW God, and KNOW Christ. We can accomplish this by asking Him into our lives and reading His word. There are some true messengers from God out there, but its just as easy to be one of those people as it is to follow one of those people. All you have to do is live the word. If you need help on living the word, go back to my note on the Christian LEAP.
Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.g”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”h
24Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26“I baptize withi water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Jesus the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
Jesus’ First Disciples
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peterj).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
50Jesus said, “You believek because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51He then added, “I tell youl the truth, youm shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
In this story John the Baptist has to tell the people that he is NOT the Christ, even though so many of his followers believe that he is. Jesus then comes over and John shows everyone that Jesus, is in fact, the Christ. The arc here is that in todays media-centric world we run into a lot of people that claim to be messengers of God or Christ, or perhaps even the Anti-Christ. The real problem with all of this is that all of them are probably lying. While they all may divert you from Christ and accomplish the will of the Anti-Christ, all they are really serving is their own selfish wants and needs, and very few of them, if they were proclaimed to be Christ, would be truthful enough to deny it and proclaim the on true God.
The way we can all avoid this is simple. KNOW God, and KNOW Christ. We can accomplish this by asking Him into our lives and reading His word. There are some true messengers from God out there, but its just as easy to be one of those people as it is to follow one of those people. All you have to do is live the word. If you need help on living the word, go back to my note on the Christian LEAP.
Happy Holy-Days
This week I want to touch on something very simple, and its something that a lot of people forget. Chirstmas = Christ. The scripture I'm using is from Luke 2: 8 – 14 and it pretty much sums it all up for me.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christa the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Now there is really no concrete proof that the exact date of Christ’s birth is even in December at all, also, what we know as the full nativity story including the wise men and running from Herod and so forth actually has a lot more evidence behind it that it took place over about two years or so. It doesn’t specifically portray a period of time as it is written in the Bible, but what is absolutely unmistakable is that Christ is our Lord and Savior, born to die on the cross so we will have everlasting life through the salvation He offers simply by accepting him and knowing he took on our burden from our sins, so we don’t have to.
Now with there being no proof that what we celebrate as Christmas is indeed when Christ was born, a lot of people disregard the season as a secular excuse to boost shopping. This is so far from the intention that it breaks my heart. What Christmas being December 24th/25th really is about, is that it’s a holiday set aside to ensure that we properly celebrate and praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Just look at the word holiday, its root is so obvious it would bite you if it was a snake, and because of that so may people have lost what it truly means and distorted it to mean vacation or time away or whatever. The word Holiday comes from 2 words, Holy Day. So as your sitting down to your giant Christmas dinner or gathering around the tree with your friends and family to unwrap presents, keep in mind that this is meant to be a Holy Day, not a vacation.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christa the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Now there is really no concrete proof that the exact date of Christ’s birth is even in December at all, also, what we know as the full nativity story including the wise men and running from Herod and so forth actually has a lot more evidence behind it that it took place over about two years or so. It doesn’t specifically portray a period of time as it is written in the Bible, but what is absolutely unmistakable is that Christ is our Lord and Savior, born to die on the cross so we will have everlasting life through the salvation He offers simply by accepting him and knowing he took on our burden from our sins, so we don’t have to.
Now with there being no proof that what we celebrate as Christmas is indeed when Christ was born, a lot of people disregard the season as a secular excuse to boost shopping. This is so far from the intention that it breaks my heart. What Christmas being December 24th/25th really is about, is that it’s a holiday set aside to ensure that we properly celebrate and praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Just look at the word holiday, its root is so obvious it would bite you if it was a snake, and because of that so may people have lost what it truly means and distorted it to mean vacation or time away or whatever. The word Holiday comes from 2 words, Holy Day. So as your sitting down to your giant Christmas dinner or gathering around the tree with your friends and family to unwrap presents, keep in mind that this is meant to be a Holy Day, not a vacation.
My name is Job, Your name is Job
Our text this week comes from the book of Job in Chapters 1 and 2. What we can see from all of this is how he reacts to each of the trials he is put through and how he reacts to each one. Lets take a read and see the details.
1In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6One day the angelsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satanb also came with them. 7The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.c
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
1On another day the angelsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Jobwith painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10He replied, “You are talking like a foolishb woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
11When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
As you can see, pretty much any and every bad thing possible happened to Job. He lost everything he had virtually, including his health, and he still knew that God will give and take away as he sees fit, and he knew that God would take care of him. The lesson here is pretty simple, Satan is all around us all the time, tempting us to do this or that, or follow a certain path to curse or disgrace God. No mater what we do or what happens to us, we need to remember that it is with God only that the good will return to our lives, and we are not always going to have a perfect life, but we need to always find time to thank our Lord for all he has given us, despite what it may seem has been taken from us.
1In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6One day the angelsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satanb also came with them. 7The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.c
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
1On another day the angelsa came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Jobwith painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10He replied, “You are talking like a foolishb woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
11When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
As you can see, pretty much any and every bad thing possible happened to Job. He lost everything he had virtually, including his health, and he still knew that God will give and take away as he sees fit, and he knew that God would take care of him. The lesson here is pretty simple, Satan is all around us all the time, tempting us to do this or that, or follow a certain path to curse or disgrace God. No mater what we do or what happens to us, we need to remember that it is with God only that the good will return to our lives, and we are not always going to have a perfect life, but we need to always find time to thank our Lord for all he has given us, despite what it may seem has been taken from us.
Comfort In Loss
Our scripture is beyond fitting this week. We lost a dear friend this week, with Shelton Beckner. We have all been faced by loss quite a bit this year. Its been prevalent in the world of entertainment just as it has been in our own personal lives. Our scripture comes from Isaiah chapter 40 and it shows us God’s promise of comfort. Lets read the scripture and then move toward some wrap up comments.
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
3A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the LORDa;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.b
4Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
9You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,c
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13Who has understood the mindd of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counselor?
14Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
19As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20A man too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
This chapter is particularly one that has meant a lot to me in my life. So much so that when I was still in my former band, BluDFeD, I included it in a song I wrote called “318” The words from verses 6-8:
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
I wrote 318 because a dear friend of ours passed away from a battle with cancer at the age of 16. To me, the verse spoke very strongly about what faith can accomplish for us when we have lost someone that means a lot to us. So while we may have a very somber feeling from the loss we have faced, we can rest assured that all of those we have lost, are in the arms of the Lord, and that for each of us, that promise will remain true forever, and we can find comfort in him. No matter what the circumstance, …the word of our God stands forever.”
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
3A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the LORDa;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.b
4Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
9You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,c
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13Who has understood the mindd of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counselor?
14Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
19As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20A man too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
This chapter is particularly one that has meant a lot to me in my life. So much so that when I was still in my former band, BluDFeD, I included it in a song I wrote called “318” The words from verses 6-8:
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
I wrote 318 because a dear friend of ours passed away from a battle with cancer at the age of 16. To me, the verse spoke very strongly about what faith can accomplish for us when we have lost someone that means a lot to us. So while we may have a very somber feeling from the loss we have faced, we can rest assured that all of those we have lost, are in the arms of the Lord, and that for each of us, that promise will remain true forever, and we can find comfort in him. No matter what the circumstance, …the word of our God stands forever.”
There's still hope
This weeks scripture comes from the book of Jeremiah. Its Chapter 31 verses 31-40. The book of Jeremiah is my personal favorite book of the Old Testament. In the scripture we read today, there is very vivid imagery about how Israel lays in ruins because of the exile. All of the things that Israel has done in sin has set them apart from the Lord, and despite the few men that still teach the word, Israel as a whole does not “hear” The Word Of God. Lets read the scripture and see exactly what God is telling the people through Jeremiah.
The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband tod them,e”
declares the LORD.
33“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
35This is what the LORD says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name:
36“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the LORD,
“will the descendants of Israel ever cease
to be a nation before me.”
37This is what the LORD says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the LORD.
38“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
So from reading that we know that Israel is in a bad place at the time of this being written, but we also see that in this God is beginning to foreshadow the coming of Christ and forgiveness of all of the sins of Israel. In the past we have seen the covenant of the rainbow made with Noah, and the covenant made with the slaves being rescued from the pharaoh in Egypt. Both of those covenants were essentially broken by man. God is now telling the people of Israel that he will be giving us a permanent out, a way to always be able to come back to God and be forgiven.
God is telling us what our savior, Jesus Christ, will do for the people of Israel. Many of the people alive during this time fell VERY hopeless and abandoned. The sanctuary that God is providing through this savior is everlasting and can not be taken away, and will not be taken away.
We all sin, it’s what humans do, our current life was founded on the birth of sin through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The good news is that as long as we recognize our sins, and make an effort to purge them and become closer to God through Christ, we will always have a place to do that.
The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband tod them,e”
declares the LORD.
33“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
35This is what the LORD says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name:
36“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the LORD,
“will the descendants of Israel ever cease
to be a nation before me.”
37This is what the LORD says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the LORD.
38“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
So from reading that we know that Israel is in a bad place at the time of this being written, but we also see that in this God is beginning to foreshadow the coming of Christ and forgiveness of all of the sins of Israel. In the past we have seen the covenant of the rainbow made with Noah, and the covenant made with the slaves being rescued from the pharaoh in Egypt. Both of those covenants were essentially broken by man. God is now telling the people of Israel that he will be giving us a permanent out, a way to always be able to come back to God and be forgiven.
God is telling us what our savior, Jesus Christ, will do for the people of Israel. Many of the people alive during this time fell VERY hopeless and abandoned. The sanctuary that God is providing through this savior is everlasting and can not be taken away, and will not be taken away.
We all sin, it’s what humans do, our current life was founded on the birth of sin through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The good news is that as long as we recognize our sins, and make an effort to purge them and become closer to God through Christ, we will always have a place to do that.
Property & Casualty/Life & Death
This week its all about Protection, and the promise of that protection from God. The scripture is Psalm 91, and in the text, the Psalmist, presumably Moses, is telling us that if you put your trust in God, he will NOT fail you. Lets read the scripture and see where it takes us.
who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.a
2I will sayb of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge—
10then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
So in this scripture we can see a lot of military like imagery, and themes that convey the fact that you WILL see things happen to people, and you WILL see tragedy in your life, but, if you are with the Lord, no true harm will ever come to you.
I posted a video about an elderly lady who was almost mugged in a shopping center parking lot. As she got in her car to leave, a man got in the car with her and demanded her money. She looked at him and told him she wasn’t going to give him any money and said that if we were to kill her it would be stupid because she knew that she would go to Heaven to be with her Lord, and he would be condemned to hell. She knew that death would be a mere stepping stone to her ultimate reward for her, but her death would be a giant stumbling block for him, leading him to an eternal damnation. As she sat there and spoke to him he began to cry. He apologized to her and began to get out of the car. As he did that he reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, she then voluntarily gave him all the money she had, ten dollars.
The question we are left with here is how protected are you? I work in the insurance industry, and all we talk about is protecting assets, or protecting the lifestyle of your family should you pass away, protecting material things through insurance policies. How do you protect those non-material things, like your soul? One word: Faith. Faith is the ultimate insurance policy for your soul. It costs nothing, doesn’t expire (if you don’t let it) and builds better value than cash.
who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.a
2I will sayb of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge—
10then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
So in this scripture we can see a lot of military like imagery, and themes that convey the fact that you WILL see things happen to people, and you WILL see tragedy in your life, but, if you are with the Lord, no true harm will ever come to you.
I posted a video about an elderly lady who was almost mugged in a shopping center parking lot. As she got in her car to leave, a man got in the car with her and demanded her money. She looked at him and told him she wasn’t going to give him any money and said that if we were to kill her it would be stupid because she knew that she would go to Heaven to be with her Lord, and he would be condemned to hell. She knew that death would be a mere stepping stone to her ultimate reward for her, but her death would be a giant stumbling block for him, leading him to an eternal damnation. As she sat there and spoke to him he began to cry. He apologized to her and began to get out of the car. As he did that he reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, she then voluntarily gave him all the money she had, ten dollars.
The question we are left with here is how protected are you? I work in the insurance industry, and all we talk about is protecting assets, or protecting the lifestyle of your family should you pass away, protecting material things through insurance policies. How do you protect those non-material things, like your soul? One word: Faith. Faith is the ultimate insurance policy for your soul. It costs nothing, doesn’t expire (if you don’t let it) and builds better value than cash.
No matter how bad it is...
This week we start a new series of lessons. Were going back to the OLD days of the Old Testament. We are going to talk about things that are bad and bad things that happened to God’s chosen people. The scripture this week is Jeremiah Chapter 52. Lets read through and see the action take place…
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3It was because of the LORD’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.
Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 5The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 7Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babyloniansa were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,b 8but the Babylonianc army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 9and he was captured.
He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 10There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.
12On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmend and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 16But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
17The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings—all that were made of pure gold or silver.
20The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed. 21Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumferencee; each was four fingers thick, and hollow. 22The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubitsf high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred.
24The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. 25Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. 26Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. 28This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:
in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
29in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,
832 people from Jerusalem;
30in his twenty-third year,
745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard.
There were 4,600 people in all.
31In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodachg became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. 32He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. 34Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
As you can see some horrible things befell Judah and Israel due to them following the actions of a not-quite-so-righteous king. He brought plenty of idolatry and greed to the land and everyone bought into it. These were the startings of all of the things Jesus came in a ridiculed in the church of his time. Once the king got into it, the people decided it must not be a bad idea to follow suit.
Once everyone was participating in these things and God’s ire was stirred, the calamities began. The land was overtaken by the Babylonians and they not only came in and took over, they stole everything they could, took away the people they could use as slaves, including the king, killed the rest, and then trashed the place. God’s chosen people were taken from their home and had to watch it be destroyed before their very eyes.
After that they didn’t know where to turn and for the longest time couldn’t see through to their own sin as to what they had done to anger God, but once they figured it out and began repenting and asking for forgiveness, He started to show them the flashes of mercy our God is known so well for.
We will learn more about all of these things in the upcoming lessons, but now, let’s talk about what we can get from this lesson itself. God has given us very few rules to live by if you really look at it. If you follow all the way up to the teachings of Jesus himself, he’s really own given us one – LOVE. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and Love God with all he is due. If you can stick to that you will never lack and never have to worry about where you will end up. Now, this doesn’t mean you wont see struggle, because struggle is an inevitable part of this life and our world, but the good news is that no matter how hard the struggle, if you turn to God and follow his commandments, then its only temporary.
Where do we go from here? We will find out together, but these upcoming lessons may make you feel a little helpless or perhaps even a little scared about the anger of our God, but the point of these stories is to show that despite all the wrong and all of the sin, God NEVER left his chosen people entirely, and when they were true to themselves and His Word, all they had to do was ask and God never left them in that hole forever.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3It was because of the LORD’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.
Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 5The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 7Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babyloniansa were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,b 8but the Babylonianc army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 9and he was captured.
He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 10There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.
12On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmend and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 16But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
17The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings—all that were made of pure gold or silver.
20The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed. 21Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumferencee; each was four fingers thick, and hollow. 22The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubitsf high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred.
24The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. 25Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. 26Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. 28This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:
in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
29in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,
832 people from Jerusalem;
30in his twenty-third year,
745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard.
There were 4,600 people in all.
31In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodachg became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. 32He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. 34Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
As you can see some horrible things befell Judah and Israel due to them following the actions of a not-quite-so-righteous king. He brought plenty of idolatry and greed to the land and everyone bought into it. These were the startings of all of the things Jesus came in a ridiculed in the church of his time. Once the king got into it, the people decided it must not be a bad idea to follow suit.
Once everyone was participating in these things and God’s ire was stirred, the calamities began. The land was overtaken by the Babylonians and they not only came in and took over, they stole everything they could, took away the people they could use as slaves, including the king, killed the rest, and then trashed the place. God’s chosen people were taken from their home and had to watch it be destroyed before their very eyes.
After that they didn’t know where to turn and for the longest time couldn’t see through to their own sin as to what they had done to anger God, but once they figured it out and began repenting and asking for forgiveness, He started to show them the flashes of mercy our God is known so well for.
We will learn more about all of these things in the upcoming lessons, but now, let’s talk about what we can get from this lesson itself. God has given us very few rules to live by if you really look at it. If you follow all the way up to the teachings of Jesus himself, he’s really own given us one – LOVE. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and Love God with all he is due. If you can stick to that you will never lack and never have to worry about where you will end up. Now, this doesn’t mean you wont see struggle, because struggle is an inevitable part of this life and our world, but the good news is that no matter how hard the struggle, if you turn to God and follow his commandments, then its only temporary.
Where do we go from here? We will find out together, but these upcoming lessons may make you feel a little helpless or perhaps even a little scared about the anger of our God, but the point of these stories is to show that despite all the wrong and all of the sin, God NEVER left his chosen people entirely, and when they were true to themselves and His Word, all they had to do was ask and God never left them in that hole forever.
There WILL be a test.
What are we doing in This week’s Lesson? Reminders! So read on to the scripture and we will wrap up from there. It Comes from the Book of James, Chapter 2, Verses 8 – 26. Written by none other than Jesus’s earthly brother James.
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”a you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,”b also said, “Do not murder.”c If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is uselessd? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”e and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Well what is the scriputre saying this week? Anybody? Take A Chance? Well, the answer is…HE'S SAYING THE SAME STUFF HE'S BEEN SAYING SINCE WE STARTED THIS GROUP OF LESSONS! Why do these things bear repeating so much (because believe me, its repeated over, and over, and over, and over)? Simple – because these are the things you HAVE to do to better yourself and TRULY be a Christian. There’s no extra credit, there's no essay question, and there is only ever 1 Planned EXAM, (YOU just don’t know when it’s planned) everything else is ALWAYS a Pop Quiz, and it’s ALWAYS Multiple Choice. The Good News – its also ALWAYS Open Book.
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”a you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,”b also said, “Do not murder.”c If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is uselessd? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”e and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Well what is the scriputre saying this week? Anybody? Take A Chance? Well, the answer is…HE'S SAYING THE SAME STUFF HE'S BEEN SAYING SINCE WE STARTED THIS GROUP OF LESSONS! Why do these things bear repeating so much (because believe me, its repeated over, and over, and over, and over)? Simple – because these are the things you HAVE to do to better yourself and TRULY be a Christian. There’s no extra credit, there's no essay question, and there is only ever 1 Planned EXAM, (YOU just don’t know when it’s planned) everything else is ALWAYS a Pop Quiz, and it’s ALWAYS Multiple Choice. The Good News – its also ALWAYS Open Book.
The world needs heroes
Today’s scripture is all about heroes, let’s read it and see what we come up with.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because hea considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspringb will be reckoned.”c 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sead as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.e
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stonedf; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
This week’s scripture talks about a LOT of different heroes through the biblical course of time. So, what can we learn from hearing about all the awesome things they did? Simple – Be a hero yourself! “Well I can’t be miraculous like Moses or Joshua or Joeseph!” you might say. Well, maybe not, but you can be faithful, and you can be the person to deliver another person to salvation through Christ. You can be the person that exemplifies Christianity to a degree of perfection that is unparalleled, but unless you’re bringing that out in public and showing everyone else how you do it, you are a virtual nobody, but you can be an absolute novice full of imperfection that happens to strive to be better and tell everyone you encounter about it and help them get on the same path and at that moment, you, not the perfect guy, are the hero. This is because you SAVED someone from a horrible situation.
Nobody wants to encounter the fate that awaits us without Christ in our lives when they come to an end, but not everybody knows what awaits them if they do accept Christ. So its our job to let them know the wonders that can be theirs if they accept Christ. Its our job to be the hero that saves that person from a fate worse than death itself. If you can be that person for just one person, you are still that person’s hero. You don’t have to get walls to crumble with a shout, or the red sea to part, all you have to do is be that ONE person, that taught them that they can have all they will ever need through Christ.
Conclusion – it doesn’t take much to be a hero, all it takes are a few words, and some basic actions. Wanna know what those actions are? Well take a few minutes and read back in to the previous lessons and you will know what you’ve got to build so far.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because hea considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspringb will be reckoned.”c 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sead as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.e
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stonedf; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
This week’s scripture talks about a LOT of different heroes through the biblical course of time. So, what can we learn from hearing about all the awesome things they did? Simple – Be a hero yourself! “Well I can’t be miraculous like Moses or Joshua or Joeseph!” you might say. Well, maybe not, but you can be faithful, and you can be the person to deliver another person to salvation through Christ. You can be the person that exemplifies Christianity to a degree of perfection that is unparalleled, but unless you’re bringing that out in public and showing everyone else how you do it, you are a virtual nobody, but you can be an absolute novice full of imperfection that happens to strive to be better and tell everyone you encounter about it and help them get on the same path and at that moment, you, not the perfect guy, are the hero. This is because you SAVED someone from a horrible situation.
Nobody wants to encounter the fate that awaits us without Christ in our lives when they come to an end, but not everybody knows what awaits them if they do accept Christ. So its our job to let them know the wonders that can be theirs if they accept Christ. Its our job to be the hero that saves that person from a fate worse than death itself. If you can be that person for just one person, you are still that person’s hero. You don’t have to get walls to crumble with a shout, or the red sea to part, all you have to do is be that ONE person, that taught them that they can have all they will ever need through Christ.
Conclusion – it doesn’t take much to be a hero, all it takes are a few words, and some basic actions. Wanna know what those actions are? Well take a few minutes and read back in to the previous lessons and you will know what you’ve got to build so far.
Climbing The Corporate Ladder
In this weeks lesson were going to talk about feeding each other. No, not putting food into each other’s mouths and stomachs but putting spiritual sustenance into each others souls. Especially the passing on of this from someone who is more seasoned in their faith to someone who is newer and greener in their faith, so as to develop and grow that faith. This is another piece that I will interject with pieces of my leadership experience, including an activity in class on Sunday, so be prepared. Now, onto the scripture! (2 Timothy 1:1-14)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
So, once again, our good ole buddy Paul, the Rabbi from Tarsis, is writing a letter. This time, however, he is not writing to a church, he is writing to someone he has mentored along his journey. He encourages him to talk about Jesus, and lets him know that he prays for him regularly, and asks for prayer in return, in case you haven't noticed, these are all things we've touched on in our last few lessons. We've gotten ourselves under control, we've started talking to others that don’t know about Jesus, and we’re making sure that those that are already a part of the “flock” aren’t wandering off. Now its time to doe some more building. So lets hit the leadership piece.
For anyone that has ever had a job or career that they wanted to advance in, a common activity is personal development, so you can develop the skills to move forward in the company. Well, let’s pretend that the Christian faith is the company we all work for here in this instance so we can relate all this together. A lot of people say that practice makes perfect, this isn’t entirely true. Perfect practice makes perfect. Now the question you're probably asking at this point is “Well how do I know what’s perfect?” – That’s the question I wanted to hear.
You're only going to know what’s perfect by reading the manual on the behavior (in our case, The Holy Bible). From there you start practicing these attributes, but here’s the kicker, you’re not entirely competent to judging yourself at what makes that perfect practice perfect. Here is where a mentor comes in. Someone that you see does that particular thing better than you, is always going to have insight on how you can do it better yourself, and that mentorship goes all the way up the chain to Jesus Christ himself. He mentored the disciples, who then mentored the public, and as it all goes along you have the people that excelled and continued to bring people up to the level or better than they were.
You want to know the real reason why they mentored these people? It is a very simple, fundamental, and MAJORLY overlooked principle of leadership – Legacy building. Legacy building is ensuring that you have the structure in place underneath you to move forward and be confident that the foundation won’t crumble beneath you. If you don’t have someone that can do your job when you move on, one of two things will happen 1 – you’ll get stuck doing your old job AND your new job or 2 – the person that replaces you will mess it up so bad that you’ll all end up right back at square one. So in our company, we want to make sure we have a solid future to move forward to (our eternity). We want to make sure that our families have that same ability, but if we don’t grow the faith, it will die out on this earth, and the rapture will come and no one will know., because nobody told them. They won’t know that their practice wasn’t perfect.
Now I know that it makes sense that I mentor you, and I'm mentored by people with more experience than me, and so forth and so on, but who are you mentoring? Don’t think you’re skilled enough in your faith to mentor someone? Oh contraire, there are PLENTY of people that know less than you do, because there are still millions, if not billions of people that have yet to hear the Gospel at all. There are people that are just starting their faith journey TODAY, and there are plenty more than that that have heard the Gospel, but haven't started their faith journey yet. So take a look around, it’s actually going to be very easy for you to find someone that could benefit from your spiritual mentorship, even if it’s a younger sibling, family member, or neighbor. Anything, and anyone, is the perfect place to start.
Don’t know what you're mentorship should look like? Just look back at the lessons you’ve had so far, just be you, just be the best, Christian you that you can be. Talk and listen. That’s all it takes friends! Before you know it you will be chilling with the CEO of this corporation yourself, and you will be loving every minute of it.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
So, once again, our good ole buddy Paul, the Rabbi from Tarsis, is writing a letter. This time, however, he is not writing to a church, he is writing to someone he has mentored along his journey. He encourages him to talk about Jesus, and lets him know that he prays for him regularly, and asks for prayer in return, in case you haven't noticed, these are all things we've touched on in our last few lessons. We've gotten ourselves under control, we've started talking to others that don’t know about Jesus, and we’re making sure that those that are already a part of the “flock” aren’t wandering off. Now its time to doe some more building. So lets hit the leadership piece.
For anyone that has ever had a job or career that they wanted to advance in, a common activity is personal development, so you can develop the skills to move forward in the company. Well, let’s pretend that the Christian faith is the company we all work for here in this instance so we can relate all this together. A lot of people say that practice makes perfect, this isn’t entirely true. Perfect practice makes perfect. Now the question you're probably asking at this point is “Well how do I know what’s perfect?” – That’s the question I wanted to hear.
You're only going to know what’s perfect by reading the manual on the behavior (in our case, The Holy Bible). From there you start practicing these attributes, but here’s the kicker, you’re not entirely competent to judging yourself at what makes that perfect practice perfect. Here is where a mentor comes in. Someone that you see does that particular thing better than you, is always going to have insight on how you can do it better yourself, and that mentorship goes all the way up the chain to Jesus Christ himself. He mentored the disciples, who then mentored the public, and as it all goes along you have the people that excelled and continued to bring people up to the level or better than they were.
You want to know the real reason why they mentored these people? It is a very simple, fundamental, and MAJORLY overlooked principle of leadership – Legacy building. Legacy building is ensuring that you have the structure in place underneath you to move forward and be confident that the foundation won’t crumble beneath you. If you don’t have someone that can do your job when you move on, one of two things will happen 1 – you’ll get stuck doing your old job AND your new job or 2 – the person that replaces you will mess it up so bad that you’ll all end up right back at square one. So in our company, we want to make sure we have a solid future to move forward to (our eternity). We want to make sure that our families have that same ability, but if we don’t grow the faith, it will die out on this earth, and the rapture will come and no one will know., because nobody told them. They won’t know that their practice wasn’t perfect.
Now I know that it makes sense that I mentor you, and I'm mentored by people with more experience than me, and so forth and so on, but who are you mentoring? Don’t think you’re skilled enough in your faith to mentor someone? Oh contraire, there are PLENTY of people that know less than you do, because there are still millions, if not billions of people that have yet to hear the Gospel at all. There are people that are just starting their faith journey TODAY, and there are plenty more than that that have heard the Gospel, but haven't started their faith journey yet. So take a look around, it’s actually going to be very easy for you to find someone that could benefit from your spiritual mentorship, even if it’s a younger sibling, family member, or neighbor. Anything, and anyone, is the perfect place to start.
Don’t know what you're mentorship should look like? Just look back at the lessons you’ve had so far, just be you, just be the best, Christian you that you can be. Talk and listen. That’s all it takes friends! Before you know it you will be chilling with the CEO of this corporation yourself, and you will be loving every minute of it.
You can't always get what-cha want
OK here's the deal with this week’s lesson, were moving towards tying all of these past lessons into one tight little ball of living through Christ, and throwing the bow on top. The scripture is really self explanatory, so I will hop to that and close it out with a few thoughts.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Well, what else do you need to know about your basic living? Its all pretty simple, as its illustrated here. Once you start being authentic, and living what you're talking, and after you're talking what you're living, then its time to start thanking God for the Grace he supplied to you, through Jesus Christ, to be able to do these things, as well as for all of the little successes that you have in your life.
To the same point, it’s very easy to start complaining about what is currently going wrong with your life, or even when we just want more than we have. That complaint is as old as time. Most famously being during the Exodus when they were in the desert heading for the promised land. They wanted something to eat other than Manna. They remembered all the food they had to eat when they were in Egypt, and wanted some sort of variety in their diet other than what God had provided them. There's a saying that “Complaining about what is wrong, often starts with forgetting about what is right.”. What the Israelites had forgotten was that back in Egypt, they were slaves, here in this time in the desert, they were free, and were on their way to a place much better than they could imagine, but they still wanted more. That’s why we have to always be thankful for what God has given us, because he will ALWAYS give us what we need, even though it may not always be what we want.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Well, what else do you need to know about your basic living? Its all pretty simple, as its illustrated here. Once you start being authentic, and living what you're talking, and after you're talking what you're living, then its time to start thanking God for the Grace he supplied to you, through Jesus Christ, to be able to do these things, as well as for all of the little successes that you have in your life.
To the same point, it’s very easy to start complaining about what is currently going wrong with your life, or even when we just want more than we have. That complaint is as old as time. Most famously being during the Exodus when they were in the desert heading for the promised land. They wanted something to eat other than Manna. They remembered all the food they had to eat when they were in Egypt, and wanted some sort of variety in their diet other than what God had provided them. There's a saying that “Complaining about what is wrong, often starts with forgetting about what is right.”. What the Israelites had forgotten was that back in Egypt, they were slaves, here in this time in the desert, they were free, and were on their way to a place much better than they could imagine, but they still wanted more. That’s why we have to always be thankful for what God has given us, because he will ALWAYS give us what we need, even though it may not always be what we want.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)