Peter’s Posts

Hebrews 10c

Persevere.

One more look at chapter 10. It is a long chapter with so much to say to us.

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

Perseverance is maintained by remembering. Remembering the joy of forgiveness. Being released from shame and regret. Remembering who carries our sin and why. Why does Jesus carry our sin? He loves us. He loves me. Remembering that we are part of a community of faith, a body, and each part supports the other parts. Every part is essential to the survival of the other parts.

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,

“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”[f]
38 And,

“But my righteous[g] one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”[h]
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

In a just a little while the writer said 2000 years ago. He is closer today than ever before. Let’s get ourselves ready. Good servants have their chores done and watch and wait for their master. When he steps back into our world I want to hear him say to us “well done good and faithful servants”.

Hebrews 10b

Be encouraged.

“19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Go to church. We need each other. We are a body. The kidneys need the lungs and vise-versa. We all need the function of the others. The heart can’t function without the lungs, the lungs need the heart, the brain needs the lungs and heart and so on. We need each other.

Be careful.

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God….For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[e] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I don’t know how to talk about this passage. While writing this my Facebook started freaking out and kept closing, my nose started bleeding so I put my phone down and started to nap. (I frequently default to a nap).

While I was waiting for sleep and/or coagulation for my nose I got this picture in my mind.

If sinning means missing the mark, Like at an archery contest. The archer tries his best to hit the bullseye. Then Any shot that is not a bullseye is a “sin”. What if that same archer turns 180 degrees and lobs a few shots into the crowd? Is that kind of miss the same? He misses the target. A sin. But a deliberate miss. Does this kind of miss get the same kind of forgiveness?

I’m going back to verses 12-14.

“12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

We must hang onto Jesus and hang onto, stay connected, with each other. By Gods undeserved forgiveness we are saved. There is no other way.

Hebrews 10

This book is written to a group of people who wanted to go back. Go back to the old familiar.

I am reading my bible In the early morning darkness through the wizardry and technology of the electric light bulb. The old technology- candle or lamp, basically portable and containable fire, was good but this is better. I don’t want to go back.

New is usually better. That’s why it’s here. If there wasn’t room for improvement we would have never sought a replacement.

“Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The new is better. Jesus is better.

“11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

Jesus came and replaced the old system. One sacrifice for all people, for all of our sin for all time.

Thank you Jesus! You are the light of the world. Shine on us.

What does that mean for our lives?

Hebrews 9

Connect the dots.

As a kid I was more of a free hander drawing what else? Race cars. Occasionally I would allow someone else to dictate what the drawing would be and follow the numbered dots with my crayon. Most of the time I wouldn’t follow the order and just guess by the suggested shape of the dots. If I drew straight lines between all the dots the shape would look funny. In nature, Very rarely are there straight lines.

Judaism and its practices were a connect the dots so to speak. The temple sacrifices and ceremonies were, once completed, a set of things to show us who Jesus is and what he came to do.

“When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[a] 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

In my bible I have verses 22&28 underlined.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It can’t be my blood. I am sinful. Jesus sacrificed his perfect blood for our sins.

“and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

I’m waiting for him. Will you watch and wait with me? There is much to do while we wait. Many who don’t know that their sins are all forgiven. We must let them know. Jesus left us with an open invitation and it read, Bring a guest. Bring lots of guests.

Hebrews 8

The new and improved promise.

The letter of Hebrews was written to first century Jewish Christians. They were familiar with the ceremony and practices in the temple. The writer was reminding them that Jesus is the new way of life. What he brings to them and us is a vast improvement over the past.

“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said[b]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.”

The new covenant will include God writing his laws on our minds and hearts. And….

“No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”[c]
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

The new and improved way to God is through Jesus. We no longer need the flesh and blood of animals to pay for our sins. We have the sacrifice of Jesus. We no longer rely on a line of men just as fallen as we are to go to God for us. We can go to Jesus who is our priest and our mediator and our sacrifice. He lived the human experience and did not miss the mark, he did not sin.

Jesus, he knows us, knows what it’s like to be us, loved us enough to die for us and stands before God the father on our behalf.

Repeat after me: Jesus loves me. That is what this book is all about.

Christmas thoughts
There are new words that get brought into our vocabulary during the Christmas season. We hear them when we listen to Christmas music. One word is Emmanuel. It is a name of God, it means God with us.

The word shows up in the Bible as a prophecy about the coming messiah in Isaiah 7:14.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isa.7.14 NIV

God had been around and among and above and over us but a time would come that God himself would be with us.

We hear the story in the lyrics of the old Christmas Carol “O’ come O’ come Emanuel”

“O come, O come, Emmanuel,�And ransom captive Israel,�That mourns in lonely exile here,�Until the Son of God appear.�Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel�Shall come to thee, O Israel.”

Jesus had a good thing going.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John.1.1-5 NIV

Yet he laid all of that down. Jesus willingly had human limitations put on himself.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
Heb. 2.14-18NIV

Some changes Jesus went through to consider this Christmas season.

The God who was omnipresent was for nine months, inside a womb.

The God who is eternal had a due date.

The God who would pour out his blood for us was connected to his mother and fed by her blood

The God who is omniscient, knowing everything, learned to walk and talk and was potty trained.

The God who never sleeps had nap time.

The all powerful God was carried inside a woman’s body and cared for.
The God who created the heavens and the earth would be formed from cells inside a woman’s body. The immutable unchanging God would grow and add to his stature.

The God who breathed breath into man would have to be burped.

The God who was omnipresent walked from town to town, rode in a boat, rode on a donkey. He was confined to a place and a time.

The word of God was taught how to speak.

The bread of life got hungry.

The way the truth and the life, was inside a body that was mortal. He could be killed. But he couldn’t,being God, stay dead.

Another word we hear at Christmas time is the word Noel. It is a French word meaning to be born. Another meaning is good news.

We are familiar with the word, among other reasons, because of the song, “the first Noel”

🎶“The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay…”🎶

In Luke chapter 2 we hear this very good news from a group of angels.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Luke 2:8-19 NIV

Because he had been born a human, Jesus didn’t stay a baby. He grew into a man. He lived and worked and ate and slept. He worked in the carpentry shop with Joseph. All the while him being God with us.

Jesus came to be with us. He came to rescue us.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John.3:16-21ESV

Christmas in our modern day has become all about presents. Jesus still fits in this.

Jesus is the present for the present in the present. God did not send his son to condemn the world but to save the world through his death and resurrection.

Noel, born to us is Emanuel, God with us. He came to be with us and he came to save us. He wants to be with us forever so he made a way. In fact He himself is the way.

❤️

I am continuing my reading journey through the book of Psalms. This morning I read Psalm 72.

Here are some verses that caught my eye and warmed my heart.

“May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust.

For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.

He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.

He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live!

May gold from Sheba be given him.

May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.

May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.”
Ps.72.8-9,12-15,17,18,19NIV

This psalm is a prayer for the king, but it looks ahead through time to another king who will be King of Kings.

Our church was recently renamed to Desert Church, one of the verses proclaims the the tribes of the desert will bow before him. May the people of Desert Church always bow before our King and worship him. ❤️

Our God is a God who comes to the needy and afflicted and oppressed people. He hears their cries and rescues them. I am such a one as this. God has rescued me.

Gold from Sheba. The wise men brought gold to the baby Jesus because he is the king who was to come and he is coming back again. What should a believer and a follower of this glorious king withhold from him? Let us bring him all of what we value and lay it at his feet.

Praise this God and king who alone does marvelous things. May his praise go out to all the earth. All of the earth has been blessed by his coming. All of the earth is welcome to receive Him as king of their lives, and savior of their souls.

Thank you God that you sent your son, our King to be God with us. He is truly Emanuel, God with us.

Going through it and into it.

“As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.”
Psalms 71:14-18 NIV

My life, the trials and tribulations that I have been through, some which show up on my face as burn scars, show God’s faithfulness to bring us through things. We see this throughout the Bible. He took Israel through the Red Sea. He took them through the flood swollen Jordan river. Not over, not under, not around, but through. Daniel was in the lion’s den and came out, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, went through the fiery furnace. God took them through it.

There’s something else we need to go through, and that is the door also referred to as the narrow road, or the gate, or the person of Jesus. Jesus said that he is the gate, that he is the door, that he is the way, the truth and the life, that no one comes to the Father except through him.

In order to be with God our Father, We need to walk through a transition, a new birth. We need to be born anew Or born again. To break this process down to its bare elements it is to believe that Jesus died and rose again, that his death is payment for all of our sins, then to receive that payment for our, (mine and for you, your) sins. Believe and receive. By doing that we walk through the door (Jesus) into the world of God’s kingdom and become his child.

The door is open to all of us, we just need to walk through it. ❤️ will you become part of God’s saving acts today?

Hebrews 4C & 5

A priest is someone who goes to God on my behalf. The high priest was the guy who went before God to make the annual sin offering. Jesus my high priest.

He has “been there” but he hasn’t “done that”.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

We can be “honest to God” with Jesus. We can tell him what we are going through, say exactly what our temptation or trial is. He is familiar with our situation. He knows how it feels.

“7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

Jesus is our priest. Jesus is also our sacrifice. Jesus is our intercessor, our lawyer before God.

My goal is to grow up. To be maturing. To be able to learn and share my learning.

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

I am a follower of Jesus. He is so many things to me. He is my high priest, and at the same time he himself is the sacrifice, he died the cruel gruesome death that I deserved, but death could not hold him and since death could hold him, he now stands before my Father in heaven declaring my innocence because I have received his (Jesus’) righteousness. I long to “grow up” in my faith. Just as in my earthly life I am no longer diapered and spoon fed, and carried from place to place, I now want my faith to grow up too. What does that look like? Can I feed myself? Can I hear and follow God’s instructions? Can I listen and obey? Am I building my knowledge and understanding of God’s word day by day, like I did with school work, even (ugh) math? Even (ugh) the Old Testament?

So I leave you with this from 2 Peter chapter 3.

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

Hebrews 4b

The song lyrics terrified me when I was a kid.

“He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. “

Why did we behave better at Christmas time? As kids? Santa was watching us.

Guess what? God watches us too. All year long. He doesn’t just watch our behavior but he sees inside our hearts and knows our motives.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Back in James we were told that the word is a mirror reflecting us so we can see ourselves and I suggested it was so that we could wipe our nose. Here the writer says the word of God is an x-ray. Seeing inside our hearts and exposing our motives. God doesn’t expose us to humiliate us. He shows us our hearts so that we can know ourselves and know where we need healing.

After a meeting at work yesterday a friend asked me how I was. I said that I was fine. He probed just a little deeper and exposed a festering boil that caused a 3 minute rant from me. I hate that. But a faithful friend will help us heal.

Jesus is a faithful friend.

We don’t have to be afraid of exposing our inner self to him. He already knows it, he sees our hearts, but waits for us to stop denying, confess and get on with the healing.

Lance my boils Jesus. I’m tired of living with this spiritual infection. Heal my heart. Make me clean.

Hebrews 2

The writer compels us to remember Jesus message and ministry. A ministry that was affirmed by miracles. Blind men seeing, lame men walking, the dead being brought back to life.

Jesus is Lord of all creation, and Lord over all creation. The title Lord means he is the boss. He is the boss of me.

“In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Jesus, the only Son of God took on human form so that he might experience life like we live it. He suffered, he was tempted and yet he didn’t sin.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[k] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

We have a savior who can sympathize with us. He is God and yet he became a man. He suffered through temptation, he suffered death all to give us a way out of our slavery to sin and death.

Jesus loves us. He loves me. He loves you. He loves us. How will we respond to this great love?

My Story on the anniversary of a life changing event

Addendum:

(Just an aside to my post. I was in second grade at Riverside elementary the year that I got burned and my second grade teacher was Mrs.Ironhawk. She was awesome and so were all of the kids in that class. A belated thank you for your friendship and support. To Mrs. Ironhawk who must be with Jesus by now, thank you. And to all of the other teachers who will read this post, You just never know how much a kind word or gesture might do so thank you for all you do to encourage, teach and love on the kids that come into your classroom. Especially for the ones who feel damaged and feel like misfits. (Mrs, Dunlevy of first grade, you were awesome too).)

Roslyn Pedro, Kurt Cheney, Linda King, Arnold Van Pelt, Lisa Hinkley Knox, Steve Lenhart, Steve Lyle, Emily Sparhawk thank you for your friendship and acceptance. ❤️ Lisa Morris, Jill Wilson-voyles, so many other sweet friends from grade school and 7th grade Mindy Lybecker Mitchell

(December 1st is the anniversary of the day in 1968 that I was burned. I shared my story at church last year. I would like to share it here. It is long but I hope that you will read it to the end).
While we were in Italy we sang worship in Italian. We sang the song Cuore Puro, written by our friends. Part of the refrain is Purificami, which in English means purify me. It got me thinking about a purifying process that I went through as a child.�Some of you may know this already, I have burn scars on my face. I will to tell you the story of how it happened. I hope to use my accident and the experience to show you something that God showed me about how he longs to purify us.�The day I was burned, it was a cold and snowy Sunday, December 1st 1968. I was 8 years old at the time and my older brother Mick was 12. My dad decided to go down to his work place, Lindell’s Auto Salvage and work on his car. He was restoring a 59 El Camino. I wouldn’t normally have gone with Mick and dad to work on his car. In my later years I’ve tried to figure out what my motivation would’ve been to go. I didn’t like grease, or getting dirty, I didn’t like loud noises, I didn’t like extended periods of cold, I didn’t like being separated from our T.V. My best guess is that it was the Sunday after thanksgiving and by then all of the goodies from the feast had been eaten up. I knew there was a vending machine in the lobby of dad’s work that sold hot chocolate with marshmallows. It cost a dime. As luck would have it, I had a dime. So that’s how I ended up at Lindell’s that night. Brought there by my sweet tooth. Sadly, I never did get the hot chocolate.
The events that led up to the accident were, not having a better way to describe it, the perfect storm. Everything had to be exactly the way it was or it wouldn’t have happened. Change any one element and the evening would’ve ended with the family watching “wonderful world of Disney” and eating a big bowl of popcorn.
That is not what happened.
It was cold that day. Cold enough to need a space heater in the garage where my dad kept his car. The space heater was empty enough to require a refill of white gas. The white gas was in a drum outside that was upright and had a hand pump on it. And it was cold enough to keep any white gas (kerosene) that might get splashed onto someone during a bucket filling from evaporating. I was the perfect size to hold the bucket under the spout during the splashiest part of the fill. And then too small to hold it for the entire time or to carry the bucket back into the garage so my dad wouldn’t think twice about whether or not my coat was flammable. My dad was at the perfect spot in his renovation of his El Camino that he could be distracted long enough for my brother to swipe 2 Dixie cups of paint thinner, one enamel and one lacquer. My brother was at the perfect age to be curious and informed of at least the flammable qualities of those two liquids but also the perfect age to not know or to not care about the dangers of using them out of context to their purpose. I was at the perfect age to think my brother knew everything. And be inquisitive enough to follow him outside so he could show me how the two different liquids, which looked the same in the cups, because of their chemical properties produced very different colored flames once they were ignited. Even at this point, the stage being set for tragedy if I hadn’t been afraid of my dad catching us, if I hadn’t told Mick to stomp out the cups of flaming liquid because I thought I heard dad coming, if we would’ve just watch them burn out, what if. But it was the perfect storm. I was afraid of my dad catching us, I did tell him to stomp them out. The first one died out instantly. And then? I was at the perfect distance and in the perfect location so that when he squished the second cup, instead of it extinguishing, it squirted a perfect flame directly toward me. The flame found the awaiting vapors of white gas that were on my coat and suddenly, I think it sounded like “FOOM”, I was engulfed in flame.
Through some quick thinking Mick saved my life. I don’t know how I would’ve handled it if the tables had been turned. He was standing within inches of his little brother being burned alive. He told me to lay down and roll around. I did lay down but I guess I didn’t understand the roll around part. I was on the ground but still in flames. Mick went to plan B and took off his coat and smothered the flames.
My dad must’ve heard some commotion because he came outside and saw me and asked Mick what happened. All he could say was “oh my God, oh my God” over and over. My dad ended up slapping him and it kind of snapped him out of it and he was able explain most of what happened.
It was the perfect storm. Everything had to be exactly the way it was or it wouldn’t have happened. Change any one element and the evening would’ve ended with the family watching “wonderful world of Disney” and eating a big bowl of popcorn. But that’s not what happened and my family and I would be changed forever.
The trip to the hospital seemed to take forever. There were a lot of unexplainable delays. We were at the wrecking yard where my dad worked, Lindell’s. He tried to get his car to start. It wouldn’t. He tried several others cars. None of them would start. After a few minutes of frustration he called my mom. Meanwhile I remember just standing in the gravel parking lot. Mom drove down the hill from our house which was about a mile away and picked me up. There were 2 hospitals in Pendleton at the time, St Anthony’s which was about 3 minutes away or there was the community hospital, 10-15 minutes away. My dad chose to send us to the community hospital. Mom put me in the car and started driving. She kept asking me questions. I guess trying to keep me conscious. We had driven about 2 miles when her car started to stall. We were almost to the intersection where the two hi-ways out of town meet when her car stopped completely. It was out of gas. Traffic started to back up behind us and a state trooper stopped to see if he could help. I don’t remember if he looked in and figured it out or if mom had to explain it but we were taken to his squad car and he drove us to the hospital. On the way we passed St Anthony’s. The officer asked if she was sure about going to the community hospital and she said yes and we sped past St. Anthony’s. There are parts of the drive I don’t remember but I was alert and awake when we arrived. I didn’t feel a lot of pain. Mostly it was a ring of intense stinging, like a string of bee stings around the perimeter of my face, and a lot of pressure. I guess my head started to swell up. It took a long time for the doctor to arrive. I think that I stayed conscious. I remember asking for an analgesic. (I think that I had watched too many doctor’s shows). I remember that I got a laugh but I was serious. They wouldn’t give me anything until the doctor was there to prescribe it.�When he did finally get there he looked over my condition. I don’t recall what he said but I did get something for pain. The next thing he did was to start pulling off the dead skin. I had second and third degree burns on my face and hand. I watched them slide the skin off my hand like it was a loose rubber glove. They just threw it away. In My eight year old kid brain I was thinking “aren’t I going to need that later?”
That’s about all I can remember of the emergency room. I woke up the next day and I couldn’t see, my eyes were swollen shut. It would take a week for the swelling to go down far enough for me to open my eyes. The room smelled like chemicals and burnt hair. The hair on the back of my head was melted and brittle and kept breaking off. My pillow was crunchy with it. I was in the hospital for twenty-one days. I received daily treatments which will I talk more about later and I received skin grafts from my thigh and my neck.�I was released and got home right before Christmas.�We have a picture of me soon after my homecoming. It might even be Christmas morning. It’s a black and white Polaroid. I look pretty rough. Not all of the burns had healed over yet but the scars hadn’t formed either. I had been in bed for so long that my leg muscles has atrophied. I wasn’t able to walk right away. My siblings carried me for a while but my parents thought I was milking it so they stopped all that. Left on my own I quickly got my legs back under me and was walking before school started back up after Christmas break.�Post hospital stay the tip of my right ear got infected. They tried to fight the infection and eventually beat it but not before it destroyed the cartilage that kept my ear upright so my right ear folded over on itself.�My hand had been bandaged with my fingers curled. While the burns healed webs of scars formed on the palm side of each digit. The doctors worried that I wouldn’t regain full use of my hand but by that summer, just regular boyhood play was therapy enough to overcome the scars and I have full use of my hand and fingers.�Ok, that is the background story of how I got burned but this message is more about the recovery process than the trauma of the accident. The thing that started this trip down memory lane was that word Purificami (purify me). We sang the song a lot. That word, Purificami stuck out and started this chain of thoughts and memories.�Purificami, being cleansed, cleansed of our filth. Not just dirt but filth, filth that if we leave it on we die, the damaged part of us that sticks to us, like the skin of my hand that they slid off like a glove.�So far I haven’t told you about the worst part of being burned, the worst part of being burned is recovery, and then the worst part of recovery is being cleaned. The cleaning process went something like this: every morning 4 of the staff would come in and hold me down, one on my right arm, one on my left arm, one each on my legs while 2 others would remove the bandages and “clean” the wound. They had to keep the dead skin from rotting on my face and causing infection so it had to be scrubbed off. There are Elements of this experience that we can apply to all of our Christian lives. It was the most pain that I have ever endured. I would beg and plead to skip a day but they were doing their job, helping me recover, saving my life by purifying me. If we skipped a day, it could have killed me.�In spiritual recovery from the damage brought on by a broken world, like in my incident, first there is the emergency room experience where we are brought from death to life, salvation. After we are saved there is still much to do, there is the ongoing work, the daily cleansing that helps us recover from our wounds, purification or Sanctification.
When we come to Jesus We’ve all been hurt or damaged in some way. We’ve been burned by the world. In order to heal us Jesus, the great physician will need to gently, yet persistently cleanse us, washing away our putrid flesh, the sin and its effects on us and then slowly he will heal us.
The bible shows us how this works. We are washed by the word.
Couched in a word to husbands of how we should treat our wives, in Ephesians 5:25-27 Paul talks about how Jesus treats his bride the church “husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make holy, cleansing by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless.”
We are washed by exposure to the Holy Spirit by reading and applying the word of God. David says in Psalm 51:2 “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin” and later in the same Psalm he says “purge me with hyssop and I will be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow”. In Hebrew vernacular he was saying, scrub me God, Brillo pad me God.
Purification. It hurts. Without it I would have slowly died. With it I stand before you today. Gods cleansing of our spiritual wounds can hurt too. Spiritually With it we are transformed from death to life. Molded and shaped to be more like Jesus.
Let’s take this a little further.
I want to say that there is a difference between reading the bible and eating the bible. Ezekiel 3:1-3 God told the prophet to “eat the scroll”. I’ve had so many mornings of bible reading, just me scanning over the words on the page but they just stay there. They register in my brain as being English and they all make sense but honestly and sadly, they don’t make a difference.
In my hospital story only the scrubbing that touched me was effective. The closer it got to me the more it changed me. God’s word will change my life only in the relationship with how close I let it come to me.�My Recovery process was actually two-fold. There was the therapy every morning of being cleansed from the outside. Then there was the ongoing work of antibiotics cleaning me from the inside. There is the time that we expose ourselves to the word through study and fellowship, but that’s like a doctor’s office visit. Do we want Gods cleansing to happen once a year, once a month, once a week, once a day or do we want the ongoing work, like an IV drip or a time release antibiotic? If so we need to keep it with us and let it touch us. One more time back to my hospital analogy, yes I was scrubbed but I was also hooked up to IV that fed me and pumped medicine into me. God’s word can be that same thing in us spiritually. Be a steady drip into my heart.�I want to add one more verse with II Thessalonians 2:13-15 “But we ought always to thank God for you brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this though our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then brothers stand firm and hold to the teachings passed on to you whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
God wants to finish the work that be began in us. He wants to purify us. It might hurt but one way we can participate in this is to lean into his gentle cleaning of our wounds, to keep those tools he needs available in our hearts, to have them working constantly in our lives like a spiritual I.V..
PURIFICAMI, Purify me Lord Jesus.

The burns left scars.

On this night 55 years ago I stepped out of the side door of a body shop in Pendleton Oregon and ended up with life altering burns on my face and hand. If nothing else, I am proof God can use horrible events and situations and turn them into blessings. My burn scars are what brought Mary Loeffelbein and I together and SHE has been the biggest (except for my salvation) blessing of my life. So today I celebrate the anniversary of the night my life changed course for the better. I can’t say that I rejoice in the scars but I do rejoice in how God has used them to make me who I am and to take me to this place in my life.

Good morning my Christian brothers. Are you feeling like you have lost the plot of what it means to be a man who loves and serves Jesus? What should we be doing? How can we use our lives to build the kingdom of this great God we serve? I read in 1st Peter today and I I found a good place to start, or start over.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

We each have giftings from God. Why not call or text your pastor and ask him how you can be used to build God’s kingdom. It may be as simple and humble as cleaning toilets, but you will be cleaning the King’s toilets.

“Now Boarding…”

The door was closed.
She couldn’t get on her flight.
She missed and no one could or would help her.

I was at Seatac. I was at my gate early. Not bragging, just saying I was there early. Next to my gate was another gate flying somewhere far away, Texas maybe? I had seen this lady on the other side,the main terminal. She was being seated in a wheelchair by an airport worker. When she showed up at her gate she was walking. Earlier I had seen the airlines hostesses walking the length of the terminal calling out names of missing passengers and heard multiple announcements asking for passengers to go to the desk, announcing boarding and then final boarding. Then they closed up the desk, walked through the doors and boarded the plane. After all of that happened the lady showed up. She was at the right gate but she was late. She couldn’t find anyone to help her. She walked through the seats asking for help, loudly asking for someone, anyone from her airline to help but they were all in the plane already.
She tried crashing the door. She could see her plane still parked at the gate but she couldn’t get on.

When she crashed the door an alarm sounded and security personnel arrived rather quickly. But they couldn’t get her on the plane either. It didn’t seem to make any difference why she was late or how loud she got with her protests. She could not ride that plane. Even with a boarding pass she could not get aboard the plane.

It was a scene that played out in my life that I️ watched like it was a performance for me. It made me wonder and now over 2 weeks later I am still pondering it. As the character Scrooge says in the Christmas Carol, “why was I privy to this conversation?”.

At the same time I have Been reading 2 Peter. In chapter 2, Peter mentions some times when God’s timing and the peoples time ran out.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;”
2 Peter 2:4-10

So did God show me this so that I would present it as a cautionary tale? As a culture we are constantly exposed to and driven by schedules and time tables. Is it a surprise that God also has a schedule and a time table for his plan for us? None of us knows his time table and schedule. Not even Jesus knew when the end would be. Can we say that God is a meany head for having a schedule? Or can we say thank you to him for his patience with us thus far?

Further into his letter Peter had this to say,
“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:3-9

Mary calls me Debbie Downer because I see the dark side of things, I really don’t want this to be that.

God loves us. He sent Jesus to us not Just to say I love you, but to do I love you. Jesus came to die for sins we cannot pay for or erase. Then he rose from the dead to lead us into God’s heaven. He made a way for us.

We get today. We have today to choose.

I don’t know the outcome for the poor lady who missed her plane. I do know the outcome of everyone who missed Noah’s boat. I do know the outcome for everyone who misses God’s grace in Jesus but I would rather talk about the splendor waiting for those who receive God’s great gift of forgiveness in Jesus.

Today, God is saying ”Now Boarding..” or as they used to say “all aboard!”

Don’t be late. Choose to have your sins forgiven and to put God in control of your life today.

Would you like to listen to some fresh Christmas music this year? We love all the oldies, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Tony Bennet, Maria Carey, wait, maybe not Maria, Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Berl Ives, and so on, but sometimes we crave a fresh new recording of the classics, or maybe a completely new song with the same familiar theme, worshipping the baby king.

If you are looking for something fresh and warm and delightful try this link. My wife recorded this with family and friends and it is amazing. Just give it a listen.

https://maryloeffelbein.com/albums/the-whole-year-long/

I don’t think you will be disappointed. ❤️🎄🎁👶

It’s cyber Monday. A busy day for shopping. Mary has been asking me what I want for Christmas and I I’ve been humbly replying “I am content with life, I want for nothing” but then I went to Home Depot with my son in law Michael. SO much stuff, so many tools and gadgets that I don’t have yet.

But I caution myself with what the apostle Peter says in his second letter.
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
2 Peter 3:8-13

Everything we see and know will eventually be destroyed by God as he prepares a new heaven and a new earth. Only two things will remain, the word of God and the souls of men. We are created to live forever. And we will, but where will we spend eternity?

God loves us and longs to spend eternity with us but our sins separate us from him. He knew that and prepared a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed from our sin through his only son Jesus. By accepting Jesus death as payment and believing in his resurrection we can spend eternity with our Heavenly father.

I’m going to try to not let this holiday season be about the stuff of life in stores but about hastening the return of Jesus by expanding his kingdom through sharing the story of a God who loves me enough to die in my place. A baby who came to save me, save us.

Who can I tell this to today?

James 2

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

Maybe it’s contagious. This wealth thing. We tend to want to hang out with wealthy people. Remember the show “lifestyles of the poor and destitute”? No wait, that wasn’t it, it was the “rich and famous”. Our human nature wants to associate with wealth and success. Could it be that we think it might rub off? At the very least, rich people have cool stuff. Cool stuff is fun and expensive and so it is rare. Hanging with rich people we might get to play with their stuff. But human nature is almost always counter to Christian belief and practice.

The kingdom of God is upside down to the world. Our king laid down his life and died for us. Our king washed his friends feet. Our king never had a palace or a throne or a scepter. Our king was born in a barn and slept in a feeding trough. Our king carried his own cross.

Christianity is counter cultural and sometimes counter intuitive. It doesn’t always make sense.

“5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?”

Favoritism = adultery = murder. That is not good math. Not in my mind. It’s like saying a penny equals a million dollars because favoritism is a penny sin, murder? That’s a million dollar sin. Am I right? No. I am completely wrong. Sin = all other sin. Sin is sin.

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”

There is hope. Our God is merciful. He expects us, once we have experienced his mercy, to extend his mercy to the world around us.

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Mercy. Not getting what we do deserve. Grace. Getting what we do not deserve. They are what distinguishes Christianity. That and the fact our savior rose from the dead. Yes, I said fact. Feels harsh to leave I there but I’m going to.

No I can’t. Jesus loves us. He died to wash away our sin. He lives to intercede on our behalf. Won’t you accept that gift today?

James 1 part 2

We left off at verse 13.

“13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

The wages of sin is death. That is not good news. It’s not even news. It’s on the news.

But the gift of God is eternal life, throughJesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

That there? That is good news.

Every good thing comes from God who does not change. He doesn’t adjust himself to fit in.

“19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

The righteous life is not brought about by anger. The word brings life.

We can’t just listen to the words of God, we must act on them.

“22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

Have I ever looked in a mirror, saw a booger hanging out of my nose and just walked away without getting rid of the booger? What if Gods word shows us we have spiritual boogers? Do we leave them and go on with life or do we act to change the boogers?

(Be honest, did you just touch your nose? I did. I hate boogers. Spiritual or otherwise.)

“26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Are we about the real business of Christianity? Are we Helping those who cannot help themselves? And are we keeping ourselves from being polluted?

There is raw spiritual sewage that people are drowning in. Our job as Christians is to rescue them from the sewage without getting ourselves sick. I have had to check monitoring devices in our sewage lift station at work. One rule is to Keep our mouth closed, another is to keep our hands clean. Wash up after. Is there a spiritual application there?

Jesus help us. Keep us healthy as we go about the rescue.

I was prompted to read psalm 139 this morning. It is filled with incredible things about God. He knows us, it was he who formed us, no matter where we run to hide from him, he is already there. In our grown up hide-and-seek we isolate ourselves and he says “peek-a- boo, I see you!”

There are all of these wonderful things about God and our relationship to him and with him and then David goes on a rant about wicked people.

“If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.”

And then David stops and asks God to take inventory of his heart.

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

It seems to me that David realizes his own weaknesses. He realizes maybe that ere’ the grace of God go I. And now he wants an outsider to check him, a peer review or an editor to come and read him and show him his errors, look for his spiritual bad grammar and spelling mistakes.

God said to me this morning that I can be like that guy Jesus talked about, the one who looked over at a tax collector and said, God, aren’t you glad that I am not him? (Luke 18) If I have a few minutes strung together where not I am not a total basket case I can tend to be proud, and instead of asking God to show me where I still have errors and sin, I say in a smug prayer, all good here Lord, aren’t you glad that I am on your team?

This morning God, search me God and know my heart, test me, check me to see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in your way, the way everlasting.