Peter’s Posts

John was in prison. He had been arrested for confronting King Herod about his relationship with his brother’s wife.

There is a prophecy about the messiah in the book of Isaiah. It is found in chapter 42: ““ Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.” Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

Isaiah 42:1-7 –

Another prophecy about the messiah is found in Isaiah chapter 61. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1-3 –

Could John have been counting on these passages content when he sent his followers to Jesus? Was he hinting about his release, could he have been asking when will you fulfill the “release the prisoners” part Jesus?

“Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Matthew 11:2-6 –

Both of these Isaiah references references mention freedom for prisoners and yet John was still in jail. Could it be that John was waiting to be freed and even expecting Jesus to fulfill his role as messiah and set at least one particular captive free?

John did not get released from prison. Herod’s wife used her daughter to get him disposed of.

“For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “ It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.”

Mark 6:17-29 –

Although Jesus did not set John free Jesus still has fulfilled this part of the prophecy about himself because he has set billions of people free, not from a physical dungeon, but from a spiritual one. I am one of those that he has set free. I was enslaved by sin, my own sin, and generational sin, but I met Jesus and he forgave all of it and set me free. That same forgiveness and freedom is available to anyone who will confess, admit their need for a savior and declare that Jesus is their Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Can it really be that simple?

These are the verses that I base this on. “But what does it say? “ The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart ”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “ Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Romans 10:8-11 –

If you my reader are already a Christian I am so excited about that. we are family. I must ask you, have told anyone else about Jesus? Please do, most people haven’t heard about him yet. If you my reader have not received Jesus as your savior yet, will you consider doing it today? Tomorrow is a hope but not a promise.

Luke chapter 6 starts out with Jesus breaking a rule. He did not break a commandment. The commandment is to rest on the 7th day. To do no work. Then someone asked, “what Is work?” and the answer to that question became the rule that Jesus broke.

“On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.”

Luke 6:6-11 –

Rules became more important than people. Do I do that? I’ll have to think about it. I don’t want to do that.

Jesus has given us a new way to live and it’s not to amass wealth or possession or power. It is to serve.

“27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

The Christian lifestyle is simple but it is not easy.

How am I doing? If this is a test God I fail. Forgive me when I fail. Thank you for your great mercy.

The Christian life is counter cultural. Come join the, I want to say revolution but it’s not a fight, not with flesh and blood anyway. There is a battle but it is not against people. People are what we are fighting for. Join me as I follow Jesus. Help me up when I stumble and I will help you.

(Updated. Originally posted 9-9-15)

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us parables to help us grasp important concepts about the end of time, aka his return.

The first story is about 10 virgins. When my son Aaron was about 5 he asked me what a virgin was. From the look on his face and the discussion I had with Mary afterwards, I have determined that My answer was too accurate for a 5 year old brain. I recommend from experience that we define a virgin as an unmarried woman.

Let’s read the story.

Matthew 25:1-13 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

When I was in 3rd or 4th grade my mom bought me a basketball. Well I thought it was a basketball. It was a ball, it had lines on it like a basketball. It bounced and rolled like a basketball. I had a new friend Matt Millier that came over to play, I suggested that we play basketball he agreed, he was good at any and every sport he played. I brought out my new ball and he said “that isn’t a basketball”. I was deflated. I argued but it became evident that I had been wrong. My basketball was a reasonable facsimile. It was not the real thing. It was a cheap plastic play ball that was painted or printed to look like a basketball.

When I first read this story in Matthew and saw that the ladies fell asleep I thought that the sleep thing would be the point Jesus would make. It wasn’t.

Of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom it seems that 5 were genuinely part of the party. The other 5 were reasonable facsimiles. We can tell that they weren’t the genuine article because the bridegroom says “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.”

We see in the virgins not preparing for the long wait that they were not genuine in their relationship with the awaited bridegroom.

We need to be careful to look at our own hearts and our faith to make sure we have the faith to wait, and the love and longing for our bridegrooms return. We need to be genuine Followers of Jesus, not reasonable facsimiles.

Matthew Millier, if I didn’t say it then I will say it now, you were right, that wasn’t a basketball.

(Originally posted 9-8-17)

Luke chapter 5 has a lot going on. Jesus calling of the disciples, but first providing a miraculous catch of fish, healing a leper, healing the paralytic with four faith filled friends, (it doesn’t say 4, I’m just thinking one on each corner), calling Levi the IRS guy and then answering the question about ministry style with a parable.

2 things stand out to me. What the leper said, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

More importantly Jesus answer, “I am willing, be clean”

And the second is Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees about who he hung out with, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”.

I need Jesus to touch me and make me clean today. I need a savior who is seeking me out not because I’m so good but because I need spiritual healing.

Thank you Jesus for seeking me out and touching my unclean life and bringing me back into a relationship with you.

(Originally posted 9-8-15)

In 2016 on September 6th, I took Mary to the hospital. She ended up needing surgery. These words are my thoughts on that day.

I’m sitting in a quiet hospital room. Watching my wife sleep. There are a lot tubes and gizmos.

We had just returned from a nice trip to see family and the ocean. She started to have stomach pain and it kept getting worse. Finally she let me take her to the ER.

Now we wait in this quiet room for things to improve either by Gods miraculous power or by surgery. It’s not a “death is imminent” situation but it is “death is possible”.

We have been here before. Twice in our marriage she was a surgery away from checking out.

Mary is ready either way. She has trusted her heart and life to Jesus.

I guess I just want anyone who’s not following Jesus because they think they have time to consider how unpredictable life is. And I hope that those people will hear the love of a Father who longs to gather his children in like a hen gathers her chicks, scooping them gently into her fluffy feathered bosom.

God loves you. He sent Jesus, his only son Jesus to die in your place, to die for your sins. He died for all of our sins. We are all lumped together in the group called sinners. We just need to admit it. Confess we need someone to help us because we cannot, not sin.

Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians.

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

We just don’t know the number of our days. Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

I ask of you 2 things: 1. Pray for Mary and her recovery, 2. consider your own soul. Have you found a way to wash your sins clean? Jesus is THE way.

Jesus said we could.

He said we could ask.

He said we could ask the Father for anything in his name and we will receive and have abundant joy.

Because of this I’m asking for big things.

“23 In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. 25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. 28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”’

John 16:23-28 –

When I was a kid the Christmas catalogs would come out and get sent to homes. The toy section would get almost worn out from me and my 4 siblings pouring over it. There were all kinds of toys and all kinds of price ranges. When I was really young I would ask for whatever excited me, usually car related like a ride on car or maybe a fancy gun that would shoot plastic bullets and launch plastic grenades, not even looking at the price. As I got older, I realized there were limits to my parents’ resources, I quit wasting my time and theirs asking for things that they couldn’t afford.

Life has moved past that phase. I don’t have parents to ask things of any longer. I have learned some things. I now have a Heavenly Father. God isn’t the kind of Father like my dad with limits. He has no limits on budget. My wish list has changed too. My wish list isn’t based on toys that I will play with. (Mary calls my tools toys and is surprised every time I find another kind of saw that I want and will say something like, “don’t you already have a saw?” To which my response is, “not like this one…”).

My wish list now is for impossible things. Things like like healing a friend who has stage 4 cancer, healing a marriage that has shattered beyond repair, giving a couple who cannot conceive, a child, repairing broken relationships, returning straying children to the fold, bringing every household in my neighborhood into a saving knowledge of Jesus. These things, these requests are humanly difficult if not impossible but I believe in and serve a God who creates from nothing – everything, who among many other miraculous things empowers boys to slay giants, who leads his people through a sea without them getting their feet wet, who gives sight to men born blind, who dies for me, and is raised to life for me.

My wish list is now my prayer list. God can still say no, or wait, but he can also say yes. The only request He won’t answer is a request that isn’t made. I will continue to ask for difficult, even impossible things.

Tell me, how can I pray for you? I will pray for you and with you. But you can pray yourself, for the difficult, even impossible things.

Mary and I watched a documentary program about how people from India select spouses. Many have their spouse selected for them by their families. During this show they interviewed a mixed couple. She was a Hindu and he was a Catholic. As they talked they explained how they were raising their kids. The children had been baptized as catholic but were also being taught about Hinduism. The woman mentioned Jesus in the conversation and asked, “Jesus isn’t God is he? Isn’t he just a guru?”

 

This morning I read John chapter 8. Jesus makes some outlandish claims. Well They would be outlandish if he were just a guru but if he is God they are not outlandish at all.

 

Jesus said he is the light of the world.

Jesus claimed the God of the Jews as his father.

Jesus claimed to precede Abraham and that Abraham saw his day and rejoiced.

Jesus guaranteed eternal life to those that believe in him.

 

Christianity claims one of the most bizarre things ever heard and that is not that a man became God, but that God became a man. We believe that Jesus is God and that belief is partially based on a statement he made recorded in John chapter 8.

 

“Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”

John 8:54-59 – NASB

 

When Jesus used the the words “I am” he was using the same name that God used to define himself to Moses back in Exodus 3.

“Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘ The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

Exodus 3:13-15 –

These words, this title, this name was sacred to the Jews, it was blasphemous to misuse it yet Jesus claimed the name for himself.

 

Jesus is God. And God in human form after living a sinless life, willingly gave up his life, he died a sacrificial death to pay for sins that we as a race of people, could not, cannot, will not, ever be good enough to pay for ourselves. God became man to die in our place to pay for all of our sins.

 

Jesus is God in flesh and blood. Our God is one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

We may put Jesus claim to divinity into the “Yeah right…” sarcasm category but In John chapter 9 Jesus does something divine, he heals a man born blind.

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “ Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” They said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.”

John 9:1-12 –

A man can’t fix eyes born blind, a surgeon might be able to with scalpel and a team of experts but a God who became a man, can fix eyes born blind by smearing mud made from spit and dirt and having him wash in in a pool called Siloam.

Jesus claimed divinity and then he graciously showed divinity through healing blindness.

Gods plan for salvation has always been Jesus. When I follow his lineage back there were some nail biters in the generations. Cain killed Abel but God provided Seth. The entire world was flooded and God had Noah build an ark. He provided Shem. Abraham was old. Very old. Sarah was old, very old the time for children was gone. Long past. And then Joyous Laughter was born aka Isaac. And so it went, life almost snuffed out our hope but God made a way. Ruth’s husband died leaving her childless and hopeless then God provided Boaz, our kinsman redeemer. Over and over just before all hope is lost God provided a way all culminating in Jesus.

My take away is that Gods purpose and his plan are unstoppable. He did all of that so I could have a way of cleaning off my filthy sin and be welcomed with open arms back into His family.

“4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.”

That’s good news.

(Originally posted 9-4-15)

Next up? The good news according to Dr Luke.

For 400 years there is silence from heaven. No prophets, no revelation. The people of God carry on. They continue to pray and worship. It becomes routine

Worship can become routine. We do it because we do it because that’s what we do. Then something happens. Last week our power went out right before service started. It broke up the routine and we had to decide to worship not because it’s what we do but because we want to connect with the God of the universe, with the great God of mercy, with the God who loves us enough to die for us.

Zechariah was doing his job, his routine and a messenger of the great God he was serving showed up and had an answer to his prayer. It’s what we should expect. We should expect God to answer. He is listening. He is aware. He is watching and waiting for His perfect timing. Sometimes the routine becomes the thing. We forget that there is a God and a relationship with this God behind all the trappings.

I guess what I’m getting out of this is don’t give up praying. Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. We have a God who hears our prayers and will answer them. Sometimes the answer is NO, and sometimes it is WAIT. What’s the difference? Time.

There are people that I have prayed for to get saved for over a decade with no change. There are others who did decide to follow Jesus. So I keep on praying and believing that God is hearing me and that someday he will take away the barrenness in this relationship and bring new life.

I was listening to a radio pastor yesterday and heard something new or at least fresh. A fresh thought.

As I get closer to Jesus , the light he brings into my life continues to expose more and more of the mess in my life.

Like if I were with Jesus in a dark room. He asks me if the room is clean. Hmm, the room is dark, nothing under my feet, I say yes. He then lights a match and we see just a little way around us. There are dirty dishes, litter, a pair of underwear that didn’t make it to the hamper. Then he turns on a flashlight and we see deeper into the room, more mess, then he flips on a light and we see clearly, smudged walls, mildew and mold.

The longer I hang out with Jesus the more stuff he exposes. Sometimes the pain and shame of a life exposed is too much and I want to push Jesus back out of my life and shut the door and please oh please, kill the light. The mess doesn’t go away when Jesus leaves and the light goes out, but if we don’t have to see the mess of our lives, we can pretend it isn’t there, and the pain and shame fall and fade.

Meeting Jesus and inviting him into my life will not make my life a blissful rose garden. Well not just the flowery part. Jesus will begin to clean up and the fascinating thing he will do is to use the poop of my life to grow beauty. The bible says the he will give us beauty for ashes. Ashes are the waste product of the end of something, something gone and useless. God has the ability to turn that part of life, and poop is a useless waste end of life product too, the poop and ashes and reuse them to bring us beauty, like roses.

This will only happen if we allow him into our lives and trust him enough to expose the mess behind the door. Denying a mess doesn’t make it go away. Admitting to a mess doesn’t make It go away either but it can start the process of cleansing.

Isaiah 61:1-6 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.”

Today will you let Jesus into your life to help you declutter your your heart and soul? He will turn it around for you. Beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for despair. He loves us and just wants to help.

(Originally posted 9-1-17)

Ephesians 6 I want to start at the end.

Paul says that he has entrusted the letter to Tychicus not just as a postman but as one who will encourage the believers there. Basically Paul said Tychicus will carry the letter in his hand but he will stay and help because he has Jesus in his heart. Tychicus will be a living letter to the Christians in Ephesus. Tychicus is mentioned 5 times in the bible and every time it says this guy can be trusted, “faithful servant”, one who encourages. I want to be like him.

To the family of God:

Kids, obey your parents,

Fathers, raise them right. Do not exasperate

Slaves (people who have bosses, and even bosses have bosses) work like your boss is Jesus himself, obey respect, work hard

Masters (bosses) remember we all have one master Jesus and there will be a day of personal accountability.

We are in a battle but it’s not with who you think, because if you can mentally picture your enemy with skin on then you got it wrong. Our battle is not with flesh and blood and so neither are our defenses or weapons. Our battle is spiritual: truth, righteousness, good news of Jesus, faith in him, and being saved by him are our battle gear, the word of God is our only weapon.

Weird war. Let’s get to it then.

(Originally posted 9-1-15)

“Jesus! Son of David, have mercy on me!”

It’s what blind Bartemeus was shouting from the side of the road as Jesus walked by. This great teacher/healer who was everyone’s lips was within arms reach. He had already healed so many. Could he/would he heal Bart too?

In church today we had an opportunity to stand and be prayed for and this situation always reminds me of Bartemeus and I shout inside my heart “Jesus son of David,have mercy on me!” And just like with Bart, I feel him ask me, “what do you want me to do for you?” And just like Bart I walk away changed, Bart could see and me? My heart is changed, cleansed and I am reminded that there is a God and that this God loves me enough to stop and meet with me when I have the courage to cry out him.

(Originally posted 8-31-14)

Every once in a while our Pastor will say that what he is speaking about is “family business” meaning it pertains to those of of us who are part of that specific body of believers. It is a specific message to a specific group of people.

I feel like Ephesians 4 is a “family business” chapter but not just for the people in Ephesus but all believers everywhere for all time.

I think I just said that it is specifically written to a general group. At least that’s what I intended.

John 3:16 is written to everyone, everywhere. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Once we decide to follow Jesus we join a new group, the body of Christ. The group of people known as the body of Christ live by a different set of guidelines.

I will use myself as an example. Basically there has been a shift, a change of command has happened. I used to be in charge. I did what I wanted. Now I have given over the control of my life to Jesus.

I’ll let Paul say it, “Living as Children of Light

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Paul goes on to say how our honesty in word and deed, and our reaction to anger needs to be different now that we are filled with Gods spirit. Our life experiences haven’t changed. We will still face the same temptations and trials that the general population does but now we are empowered to respond differently.

I’d like to quote one more verse that reminds me that when I need to forgive someone, that I too am in constant need of forgiveness.

“32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

(Originally posted 8-30-15)

My bible reading plan has taken me through the minor prophets. Today I was in Zephaniah 3.

It reminded me that my hope is in God and his plan of salvation for the world. It is frustrating and useless to hope in anything else.

“The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “ Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord.”

Zephaniah 3:15-20 –

In Jesus, God has removed all the judgments against me, my two worst enemies, sin and death, are defeated and powerless against the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, and the power that raised him from the dead.

There is hope. His name is Jesus.

It was a cold and cloudy January morning. I had just left college to become the manager of my families business, the Burger Bar Cafe. It was Sunday so we were closed. I was in the back room getting breakfast for my pregnant wife. We were newly weds and pregnant with our honeymoon baby. So much change in one year. Getting married, getting pregnant, moving three times, starting college to become a pastor, leaving college to become a dad.

It was that morning in that restaurant back room right next to the dishwasher that I finally understood that God loved me, not based on anything I did or didn’t do, not on my “works” but just because he is a loving and gracious God, a God who “stoops low” to aid those he loves. That’s the day that Ephesians 2:8-10 came to life to me. That’s the day I was saved.

Part of my desire to go to college and become a Pastor was the need to please God. To earn his favor. I had just given that up and I was floundering. But this verse popped into my head and I understood that I couldn’t earn Gods favor, because he had already graciously given it to me through Jesus.

” For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Thank you Jesus for the path you put me on and for loving me and our family. For dying for our sins and also providing for all of our needs. Thank you for being gracious to me, for saving me. I love you Jesus.

(Originally posted 8-27-15)

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Isaiah 26:3 NIV

This is going to sound stupid but this is one of those verses that bugs me. It bugs me because its sounds like it can’t be true. Like it’s the picture of the imaginary Christian life, the pretend Pollyanna Christian life.

The reason is that I have been utterly terrified before. Waking up after having your head bashed against a dashboard, the vehicle upside down and family members moaning and crying can bring on overwhelming fear. I have been in stark terror.

That car accident has been my scariest moment, but my most blissful peaceful moment came only minutes later. Somehow the people who came to the wreck got me out of the wreckage and put me in an ambulance. As I laid there fear was almost to crazy level which is 5 clicks past 11 on the fear dial, then I heard words,in my head or my heart or my ears I don’t know, the words were “Jesus will take care of you”.

Peace flooded over me and I relaxed. That could be when I died I don’t know. When we arrived at the hospital I was clinically dead, no pulse and not breathing.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Isaiah 26:3 NIV

Maybe in the days since then when I’ve encountered fear, it wasn’t God’s fault, it was mine for losing sight of him. How can we fear if we know the God who said to nothingness “let there be light” and there was light, who created mankind and watched as we as a race defied him, then he provided a way back to him through giving up his only son to be punished in our place. If we know that God, and can keep him in our sights and believe and trust in his existence and receive his persistent love, maybe our souls can experience peace.

Perfect peace, really.

Romans 16 is kind of like the credits at the end of the movie. I’m tempted to walk out of the theater at the end of chapter 15 but I hang in there just in case there’s a blooper reel or a teaser for the next installment. Maybe there will be a secret little gem that only those who stay to the end will see.

I had to ask google about the lists of people and here’s what I found out: Pheobe was the mail woman, the next group were the Romans that Paul knew personally and was saying “hey” to. The second group was Paul’s personal team. Now we know about these folks 2 millennia after they left the earth.

I have my own list. A list of people I pray for every time I sit down and read my bible.

It started with one guy I used to work with. I found out he was struggling with some stuff and I was asked to pray for him. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget. I kept adding people. People I thought need a touch from God, people I want to see in heaven with me, my family. my wife Mary made the list, she’s on the bottom of column two. One morning it dawned on me that she needs to be covered in prayer as much or more than the other people in my world. She has to live with me.

There are some Hollywood folks, people from my past, people in the news. All my grand babies are there. There are many friends from work and I pray about the things that they have shared with me. I pray for my neighbors. I don’t know all of their names but God does. I meet and greet when I get a chance.

I had to scribble off one name. He died earlier this year. That was hard.

I have limited myself to one page but I have room on the page for more.

(Originally posted 8-25-2015)

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.”

God is merciful.

For some of us that is the problem. His mercy attracts us but also repels us. If he can forgive me, and welcome me, then what’s to keep him from forgiving and welcoming my enemy? How can he forgive the person who hurt me so deeply? It isn’t fair.

Some of us are stuck in the attraction/repulsion zone. We know what Jesus said about forgiveness, that to receive it we must give it.

“Matthew 6:12-15 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. ”

We get stuck right here.

There are 3 things to consider if we find ourselves stuck, needing forgiveness, but unable to forgive.

1. God knows. He knows our hearts. He also knows what happened. He will take us where we are, how we are. We may not be able to forgive today, but once we are God’s he begins to make us new.

2. God will change us from the inside out. The person that enters a relationship with God through Jesus death for them and his resurrection, will be transformed, from the inside out. Hurts will be healed, slowly, sometimes instantly but always persistently he moves to completeness and wholeness and health. We won’t finish our lives, as we Have started them, once we have given control over to God. Like a master carpenter/engineer/builder remodeling a shambled wreck, he restores, renews, rebuilds us.

3. God is infinitely merciful and he is infinitely Just. We find this in Acts; “Acts 17:26-31 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” ‘

There is still a day of accounting to come. This will be the day when all things wrong get righted. I don’t know how it will work. I know Jesus has paid for my sins so I will not be punished, but somehow he will make up for wrong that I did. His way of Justice will be as perfect as his way of Mercy. He is infinitely powerful and infinitely creative and solutions are unlimited to him.

Today, please consider surrendering to the great God of mercy and let him begin the process of renewal in you.

(Originally posted 8-24-2017)

(Originally posted 8/22/2017)

It is a strange coincidence that I should read Matthew 24 the day after a solar eclipse. These words are recoded there; Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “

I don’t think yesterday’s eclipse was what Jesus was talking about here however If we are clinging to the status quo This chapter has some frightening things .

In the muppets Christmas Carol there is a point right before the ghost of Christmas present appears where Gonzo and Rizzo leave the audience out of fear. I would like to do that here but it was for our comfort that Jesus gives us the warnings of this chapter.

The future has some dark days ahead but it’s okay, God is in it and it’s all part of His plan.

“Matthew 24:1-14 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

When our daughter Hannah was little, when she was watching a movie with a scary part and she sensed it coming up she would start yelling “mote mommy mote” which translated to “please fast forward past the scary part!”

The only fast forward button that I see is that the church get busy and stay busy telling the world about our amazing savior Jesus.

Who can we tell today?

I have a hydroponic test garden out in a field. I collected rain water to supply it. I am growing several different kinds of plants seeing what will grow in this harsh environment. I have a leaf lettuce, some kale, a red pepper, a petunia and two tomato plants. I was looking at one of my tomato plants yesterday. It almost died. Every branch had turned black. The trunk was still yellow/green and there was one line baby tomato barely hanging on.

Then something changed. It started sprouting new branches from the almost dead trunk.

Seeing this happen reminded me of some verses in Ephesians.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 2:1-5 –

By God’s Grace, this plant came back to life. A similar thing happened to me. I was dead in my sin, dead to God, alienated, estranged, but then I received Jesus gift of grace, he died to pay for all of my sin, and I was brought back to life, brought into God’s loving embrace, brought into God’s family and given life. This offer is open to all people. Will you receive God’s gift of life today? If you already have it, will you tell someone else about God’s gracious gift?