Naturally Following or Rule Breaking (thoughts on some of Romans)-Steve Connelly

As we have been going through Romans I have been reminded of how the law of God brings me to my need for my savior. It’s interesting  how much rebellion fires up within me when I try to keep the rules. Even when my motivations are noble. I don’t do what I want to do then I do what I don’t want to do. UGH!  I have noticed in my life when I am drawn in by the fact of God’s love for me and allow that to be the source of my life I don’t even think about rules I just live loved and love others. This in turn doesn’t result in the rebellion that saying “I can’t, I shouldn’t”  produces in me.

I want to live like this all the time but by tendency is to be a noble rule follower most of the time followed by self-condemnation and self loathing when I don’t live up to the standard I set before myself. I know God’s grace covers me but when I am focused on rules then that becomes a principle I live by and that doesn’t produce much victory or confidence in the work God is doing in me.

My struggle is to remember I can’t do anything (even with noble reasons) consistently. When I am “doing” it for a reason. I want to remember who I am; I am God’s kid who was made in a unique way truly loved and accepted right were I am at the moment and to let this truth transform me rather than becoming a principle I live by.

Advice from King David for Kaw Prairie–Diane Chrislip

This past Sunday made me especially anxious to see the KP upstairs finished.  You see, during first service I was in a small classroom with about sixteen wiggly preschoolers crowded around two tables.  I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be when there would be more space for all the JAM kids, and especially for those preschoolers so that they could be more, well,  preschool-ish.  Kids that age need a lot of wiggle room.

During second service I was upstairs helping with Network consultations.  We sat in a circle in straight-back chairs on unfinished floors surrounded by bare walls.  It was fun to close my eyes and imagine the day when we’d sit in that same area but in a cozy, homelike atmosphere with attractive walls and flooring and comfy furniture.  So many wonderful things will happen up there in the near future–by fall 2011.  I can’t wait!

In the meantime we hope and we dream…and we pray that all the funds will come in so that a beautiful second floor with a youth room, more classrooms, office space and a gathering area can become a reality.  I was still thinking about it this morning when I opened up my God Sightings Bible to read today’s passages.  It was very timely.

In today’s reading in 1 Chronicles 28 & 29, King David was pretty pumped about the construction of the long-awaited temple.  Even though he must have been disappointed that God has not allowed him to build it himself, David was pretty thrilled to build it vicariously through his own son Solomon who would succeed him as king.  In fact, he was so excited that he personally donated 112 tons of gold and 262 tons of silver toward the project, and asked that others would follow his example and give offerings as well.

In the midst of all the excitement, David said a couple of things in today’s reading that I think are noteworthy.  The first is some advice he gave to Solomon:   After instructing Solomon to follow the Lord’s commandments, his father David added, “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately.  Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind (1 Chron. 28:9).

Those were wise words for someone ready to embark on such a huge and important project.  How easy it is to get caught up in the project, in the excitement, in the stress of building something, even something for God.  How quickly those things that start out for God can become idols that feed the egos of the builders rather than bring glory to God.  So David’s advice to Solomon was to get intimate with God, and to focus on worshipping God instead of something made of stone.

It’s also good advice for us at Kaw Prairie as we prepare to embark on stage two of our incredible facility.  Let’s make sure our relationship with Christ is so intimate and our worship of Him so pure that nothing can become more important to us than God Himself.

The second thing that David spoke in these passages that I found interesting is found in his prayer to God after the Israelites gave generously of their own precious metals and stones toward the construction of the temple: “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!  Who am I and who are my people that we should give anything to you?  Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave to us.”

Rather than pat himself on the back or applaud the people for giving up their goods, he reminds himself and the others through a prayer that everything we have has come from God and that it’s really just a small gesture to give some back.  Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me.

How important for us at this point in KP’s life to remember those very things.  Everything we own and everything we have in our bank accounts is a gift from God.  Shouldn’t we be able to joyfully give some back to him so that the ministries at Kaw Prairie can go forward, so that more people can come to know Christ, and so that more lives–from the itty bitty babies to the oldest adults–can be taught and encouraged and used for His glory right in that cool new building (that is a gift from God itself)?

My prayer for all of us is that we would seek to know Him ever more intimately, and that we would not hold anything back from the One who has given us so much…so that we will have a big impact for generations to come.

Jesus Understands You, Dilbert – Amber McCullough

Have you ever found yourself in that frustrating position, where you are the one that knows the real story, but the one in charge doesn’t seem to get it? And you have no recourse but to accept your clueless manager’s decision to deny funding for the project that is going to make or save your company big money?

Jesus has been there, done that, got the tunic.

So this one time,  in Jerusalem, Jesus got lost, and Mary and Joseph found him three days later, kickin’ it with some rabbis.

“Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” “But why did you need to search?” he asked. Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what they meant. Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. –Luke 2:48-51

Jesus had the full understanding of the situation.  Mary and Joseph were in a position of authority, but of limited perspective. And at this point (since Jesus was still a boy) the authority trumped the perspective and Jesus submitted to His earthly parents’ decision.

But oh, how He must have chafed under that authority.  I certainly have, under various Pointy-Haired Bosses, and I am not even omniscient.  How much more frustrating would it be to actually know and see it all, including the unnecessary limitations that have been placed on you? Commiserate with Him, cubicle-dweller.

It’s Just.Not.Done – Amber McCullough

So the book of Judges has a rather predictable circular pattern to its content.

1. Israel blows off God
2. God gets someone to conquer Israel and make them miserable
3. Israelites get good and miserable and ready to get tight with God again
4. God raises up a judge to beat up on the oppressor.

Lather, rinse, repeat.  Because of this, it’s easy to sort of tune out and glaze the eyes as you read (or let the audiobook reading wash the spoken words over you).

Let’s look at one particular wash cycle depicted in Judges 3.

Israel blows off God – Once again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, –Judges 3:13a

God gets someone to conquer Israel and make them miserable – and the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because of their evil. –Judges 3:13b

Israelites get good and miserable and ready to get tight with God again - But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, –Judges 3:15a

God raises up a judge to beat up on the oppressor. - the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. –Judges 3:15

In the Middle East, it has been established that left hands are to be used for pretty much one thing: wiping your butt.  So doing anything else with the left hand, like eating, is Just. Not. Done.  Euro-centric culture hasn’t been much kinder to southpaws: The Latin term for left-handed is sinistra, which developed into the word sinister. And until the 1960s or so, school teachers forced left-handed children to use their right hands to write.

Compound the general societal scorn Ehud would have received for something he just couldn’t help, with the fact that his family name, Benjamin, meant “son of the Right Hand” or “son of the Right Side”. Even in his own family, he’s a misfit.

But left hand + dagger on right thigh = Advantage:Ehud. Remember: using  the left hand for *anything* is Just.Not.Done.  King Eglon expected that left hand to stay hidden in the folds of Ehud’s robe, which is why King Eglon was completely unprepared for Ehud’s attack on him.

What about you?  Is there something about yourself that makes you feel like you don’t belong? Do you feel like you need to stay hidden under wraps?  Or is God sending you out, to do what is Just.Not.Done?

Can Jesus Trust Me? – Mark Chrislip

In todays reading I was struck by John’s statement about Jesus.  In John 2:23-25 he says; “Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.  But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew the human heart.  No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.”

It appears that belief and trust are two very different things.  They believed in Jesus but Jesus didn’t trust them.  Why?  Because Jesus understood the human heart.  As Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked.  Who really knows how bad it is?” Jesus knew the human heart and therefore he didn’t trust these people.

Can Jesus trust us?  Can we earn his trust?  I want Jesus to trust me but I can certainly understand why he might be hesitant to do so.  After all I can think of countless times that I’ve failed him.  So the question that comes to my mind is what can I do to earn his trust.

While giving that thought I remembered the disciple Peter.  Peter believed in Jesus.  Peter gave up all to follow Jesus.  He was very committed and passionate about following Jesus.  Peter even said these words, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even die with you.” At that time in his relationship with Jesus did Jesus trust Peter?  I don’t think so because Jesus knew before that very day was over Peter would deny him three times.  Peter was not in a place that Jesus could trust him to carry out the very important plans he had for his life.

So what changed in Peter’s life that Jesus was able to actually trust him to carry the gospel message to the Jews and Gentiles?  Peter received the promise of the Holy Spirit.  Without the power of the Holy Spirit in his life, he could not be trusted to carry out the mission God had for him.   On his own Peter could not be trusted with God’s plan but God in his mercy sent his Holy Spirit so that Peter would have the power to accomplish God’s plan.

As I reflect on Peter’s life I’m moved by the mercy and grace of our Lord.  Jesus recognizes the shortcomings of our human condition and graciously sends his Holy Spirit to come along side of us to be our helper.  Once Peter allowed the Holy Spirit to control his life God was able to trust Peter to do mighty things for him.  That same promise of the Holy Spirit is available to each of us.  We to can gain Jesus trust if we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our lives.  What an amazing God!  Even though our hearts are desperately wicked he gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to purify our hearts and equip us to carry out his amazing plans for our lives.

The Pharisee and the Tax Collecter-Steve Connelly

This has got to be one of my favorite parables. I think in part because it has been such a challenge to me over the years.

Luke 18:9-17 (New Living Translation)

Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

⁹ Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Perhaps this parable could make a very cool modern play or skit with the Pharisee part unfortunately played by a know-it-all stereotypical judgmental christian and then who could be the tax collector hm mm… take your pick of anyone marginalized by the church such as: an unbeliever, a homosexual, a muslim, a scientist, a person on welfare or maybe just a person with the “wrong”  look.  How do you think it would go over? Do you think it would make folks uncomfortable? I must confess that at times in my journey it definitely would have made me very uncomfortable.

I think Jesus wants us (me) to see this parable through today’s lens so we can still learn from it.  The pharisee was a good guy who followed the rules. He did have the problem of trusting in himself  a bit too much though. You don’t think that ever happens in the church today do you?  We don’t normally have the same problem of direct comparison of actions that the pharisee did.  We actually are a bit more subtle , ours can be the direct comparison of what we believe and our head knowledge of God. We can let ourselves off the hook for works because what  we believe is what is right, right? So the tough thing these days is looking down on people for not believing what I do.  Is it possible to be arrogant about this free gift of grace that I didn’t earn? You bet! Earlier in my journey I had a real struggle with  looking down on those who didn’t “get it”.  I am not saying belief and faith are the problem. It is arrogance before God in any form that is the problem. Particularly an arrogance that causes us to look down on anyone else.

May God continue make our community a  safe place for His Kingdom to come for all people. Even the slow learning recovering pharisees like me.

Just twelve words–Diane Chrislip

Just twelve words, but what a punch they pack.  They’re Proverbs 12:25:  Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Who hasn’t experienced the weight of worry?  It’s like a dark cloud that first envelops you and then presses down until you’re sure that you have the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. It feels like you’re being smothered; it chokes the joy right out of you.   And there are so many things to worry about: finances, kids, health, job, relationships, the economy, war, etc., etc., etc.  The list could go on and on.

The Bible, of course, provides the antidote to worry:  Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything (Philippians 4:7) and Give all your cares and worries to God, for he cares about what happens to you (1 Peter 5:7).  God is incredibly gracious to lift our burdens and fill us with peace.

But, you know, if we’re completely honest, sometimes we just need somebody with skin on to give us a little encouragement.  Even though we know that God is with us and is caring for us, it can sure make a huge difference in how we feel if some brother or sister in Christ comes alongside us with some kind and supportive words.  What a spirit lifter that is.  (And if you need more convincing that it’s important, the Apostle Paul himself says in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 that we should encourage each other and build each other up.)

One definition of encouragement is “to strengthen or stimulate; to instill with courage.”  I love the idea that my words—or yours—can instill someone with fresh courage even if we can’t change their circumstances.  Maybe today we should all take a few moments and think about who we know that might need a little encouragement.  Perhaps it’s someone who is grieving or who is enduring a particularly difficult time in their life.  Or someone who is under a lot of stress or is just plain weary.  Or someone who is simply working hard and might need to be instilled with some fresh courage.  Our words to them might lift that heavy burden and give them the strength to face tomorrow.

An encouraging word cheers a person up.  Pretty simple.  Pretty true.

For Generations to Come–Diane Chrislip

It’s been a little hard to get through the Old Testament readings the last few days as Moses gives the longest (and most depressing) speech of all times to the people of Israel before his death.  It makes me grateful for the rich stories and insightful parables that Luke so carefully recorded in his Gospel that are also part of our daily reading this week.

Today’s reading in Luke chapter 12 seems perfect for the kickoff of our capital campaign called For Generations to Come. The reading starts out with Jesus teaching important stuff like the danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit and how to handle persecution to a crowd of thousands.  But someone in the audience interrupts Jesus by shouting out, Jesus, please tell my brother to divide out father’s estate with me (Luke 12:13).

Rather than dealing with what the guy thought was his problem, Jesus gets right to the heart of the guy’s real problem.  He tells him, Beware!  Guard your heart against every kind of greed.  Life is not measured by how much you own (Luke 12: 15).  The real issue was greed and wrong priorities.

 Jesus then takes the opportunity to teach all the people some important things about possessions.  First he tells the parable of a farmer who becomes so rich he must build bigger barns to hold all his crops.  The farmer thinks he’s reached the pinnacle of success until God tells him he’s going to die rather than stick around to enjoy his wealth.  Jesus finishes this story with some powerful words: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21).

He proceeds to remind his listeners how God takes care of even the birds and the flowers so the people  will understand that they don’t need to spend their days worrying whether they’re going to have enough to eat or the right things to wear (verses 21-28).  He encourages them to seek the Kingdom of God above else, promising that God will give them everything they need (verse 31).

Our reading today closes with these powerful words about possessions verses true treasure:  Sell your possessions and give to those in need.  This will store up treasures for you in heaven!  And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes.  Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.  Wherever your heart is, there the desires of your heart will also be (verses 33-34).

This capital campaign to raise funds to finish the upstairs of our building has come sooner than anyone anticipated because God has entrusted us with more people than anyone anticipated!  Today’s reading in Luke reminds me of several things: 1) To trust him with my needs because He is totally trustworthy!  2) To seek His kingdom above all else because that’s the thing that matters most.  And 3) To willingly and joyfully give to what matters most rather than filling my own barns with stuff I can’t take with me.

For Generations to Come.  Powerful words.  What we do today and what we give today will affect the next generation.  Let’s not hold back.

Jesus – Shaking up the Old World Order – Bryan Kidney

Several days ago as I was reading my daily Bible passage, a really strong realization hit me.  Jesus really shook things up. Now I know that is not anything new to any of you, we have known that as long as we first learned about Jesus and how he ministered that he argued about the religious leaders following the law too closely. But as I was first reading a chapter out of the old Testament and then reading a chapter from the new Testament, it really struck home. Jesus really was going against what the religious leaders have not only followed their own life…but what had been followed for centuries. 

I always listened or read the new Testament with the lens of someone hearing the stories two thousand years later. Of course it makes sense to love one another and also not to follow things to the point of what we think of a little crazy. But, then I read in the Old Testament that God commanded His people of Israel to follow his laws FOREVER…Not until the world changes, or that technology makes the rules seem a little out dated. Then one minute later I’m reading Jesus say not to follow those laws. When I try to imagine what the religious leaders must have thought at that time it put a whole new perspective on the huge task that Jesus was attempting.  Of course the religious leaders were upset. When reading the Old Testament, it wasn’t just the blasphemer nor the sinner who was punished…it was the entire community. The Old Testament tells stories over and over again about the Nation of Israel breaking a covenant or upsetting God and the entire community suffered. A whole generation was kept wandering in the desert. Scores of people were put to death. As religious leaders,  they felt it was their duty to stop Jesus.  They felt they were doing the right thing. Of course they were protecting their way of life…but you have to think they also felt they were also protecting the Nation.  

Now I ask you. How would we have reacted? Many of us were raised following a certain religious order. You prayed before meals, have had communion, tried to live what you have felt is a Christian life.  Followed the rules. Rules handed down to you by your parents and religious leaders.

I like to think I would have immediatly followed Jesus. But, after reading the Old then New Testament back to back….For me, that answer has gotten a little more complicated than when I first read the Gospels.

Quiet Brings Victory & Hope – Mark Chrislip

How many found yesterdays reading rather boring?  First we get to continue on with more of God’s laws.  Now I know that hidden deep in all those festivals are some really interesting insights into how God works in our lives.  But for me, I was looking for something easier, something fresh from God.  Perhaps in the New Testament.  Well, not so much unless you’re fascinated by genealogies and tracking down all that family tree stuff.

On to the Psalms.  There it is hidden in the Psalms!   God is always faithful to speak through his word.

Psalm 62: 1 says; “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.”

Then David carries this thought further in Psalm 62:5; “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.”

Multi-tasking has become the norm these days.  It is not uncommon for me to be talking on the phone, reading emails, responding to instant messages, and looking at text messages all at the same time.  Now I may think I’m accomplishing much, but the truth is I’m not.  You can’t really give your full attention to anything with all these distractions.  Technology is great but, honestly, if we are not careful our quest to accomplish much will destroy  the art of focusing on one thing or one person.`

This lost art has the most significant impact on our relationship with Christ.  In the craziness of our world it takes tremendous effort to find a place of solitude.  For me it takes intense focus to quiet my mind and my heart before the Lord.  I’m always amazed at how many distractions or how many voices flood my mind when I sit down with God.

Today when I read these verses it gave me a little insight into the heart of David.  Notice he says; “Let all that I am wait quietly before God”. You can almost hear him willing himself to be silent.  Often that is exactly what it takes, intentionally wrestling our mind and our heart to be still.

Why was David so intent on making himself quiet before God?  Because he knew that it is only when we are quiet that we have victory, and it is only when we are quiet we experience true hope in our hearts.  You see, it is when we are still that we can truly hear God’s voice.

Several days ago we read in Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”.

Ok God I think I get it.  Help me to turn off all the distractions so I can really know that you are God in my life.

But I will call on the Lord… Diane Chrislip

Hear the anguish in the psalmist David’s voice in Psalm 55:4-7:  My heart pounds in my chest.  The terror of death assaults me.  Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.  Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!  I would fly away to the quiet of the wilderness.

Have you ever felt like that?  So overwhelmed that you didn’t think you could go on?  So filled with fear that you were shaking?  Faced such a tough situation that all you wanted was to fly far away and leave the troubles behind?  I suspect that all of us have encountered something like that at some point in our lives…or we will sometime in the future. Maybe you’re in one of those times right now.   Life has its ups and downs, and the downs can be excruciating.

The thing I love about David is that he’s so honest with God.  He pours out his heart with no facade of having it all together.  He tells his God exactly what he’s feeling.  David seems to understand that God is big enough, compassionate enough and powerful enough to deal with his deepest hurts.  And though he may start out a psalm describing to God all his woes with tears and anguish, he finishes them with a message of hope.

By verse 16 of this particular psalm, David’s focus  turns from the problems at hand to the God who can solve them:  But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me.  Morning noon and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.  Can’t you just hear his faith rising and his fears dissipating?

In verse 22, he gives some advice from his own experience to his readers: Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

How do you handle desperate times?  By “man-ing up” and trying to solve things yourself?   By getting angry?  By having a pity party?  I’ve tried all those things and don’t personally recommend them.  So perhaps you should follow the example set by David:  Pour out your heart to God.  Tell him all about your deepest fears, your disappointments and the pain that seems unbearable.  Then place them all in his capable hands, trusting that he will rescue you.

In the New  Testament, Peter (who is no stranger to suffering) gives some similar advice: So humble yourself under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.  Give all your cares and worries to God, for he cares what happens to you (1 Peter 5:6,7).

This Man Truly Was The Son of God – Mark Chrislip

Mk. 15:39 reads, When the Roman officer, who stood facing Him saw how He had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God.”

This Roman officer had just witnessed one of the most significant deaths in all of history.  He just saw Jesus Christ, the Son of God, die a brutal death on the cross.  At the time there were lots of conversations and speculation about who this man Jesus really was.  At the moment he died, the Roman officer had a personal revelation that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

When I read this the other day I wondered what happened to the Roman officer after he made that proclamation.  Did the revelation have any significant impact on his life?  Three scriptures came to my mind:

• James 2:19-20 says: Do you think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God?  Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!  Fool!  When will you ever learn faith that does not result in good deeds is useless? James is suggesting in this verse that some will acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God but their understanding has no impact on their lives. There lives show no evidence of a heart relationship with Jesus.

• Matt. 15:21 Jesus says, Not all who sound religious are really godly.  They may refer to me as “Lord,” but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He goes on to say that on judgment day many will say that they did all these things.  Many will claim they said religious things in his name.  And then Jesus makes one of the scariest statements: Depart from me for I never knew you. He was saying it’s not what we believe in our heads; it’s not even necessarily what we do in the name of religion.  No, it’s about having a heart belief;  it’s about having a personal relationship with Him.

• Romans 10:9 proclaims, For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Paul says that it is more than confession with our mouths–there must also be a belief deep down in our hearts.

We have no way to know what was going on in the heart and mind of this Roman officer as he witnessed Jesus final moments.  Was he simply confessing with his mouth that Jesus was truly the Son of God, or was there something much deeper going on?  I can only hope that he made eye contact with Jesus while he was hanging on that cross and saw Jesus reaching out to him with love and compassion.   And perhaps that exchange might have been enough for this man to believe deep down in his heart.

As I’m writing this blog I am wondering what those of us who have read the story or those who are reading this blog right now would say who this man Jesus really is?  It is absolutely the most important question we could ever ponder.  Why?  Because our answer will have eternal consequences.

As we read in Matt. 15, there will be a final judgment day when we stand before Jesus, and how we answer that question will determine our passage into the Kingdom of Heaven.  You see, Jesus Christ willingly became human so that he might die a horrible death on the cross, the death that the Roman officer witnessed and that you and I have read about.  He did this so that you and I would be able to enter into a personal relationship with God and live with him for all eternity.

As I’m writing this blog today I’m listening to a song from Casting Crowns and the lyrics say, “To know you Jesus is to never worry for my life, because there is no life without you.”

Do you really know deep down in your heart that this man Jesus truly is the Son of God?

“As you are prone to do…”–Jane Gordon

Such a short and easily skippable phrase in Numbers 15.  Verse 39 says,  “When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do” (emphasis mine).    Hmmm.  What an indictment!  And, oh, so true!  Not just the Israelites, not just the foreigners living with them, but me and you.  We are prone (the New King James Version uses the word “inclined.”)  to follow our own desires and defile ourselves.    It is our nature to want to please ourselves, not God.  It is our nature to sin…because we are sinful!

Good news, though!  Once again, God gives the Israelites (and us) help with our inevitable failings.  He gives them a command to attach tassels to the hems of their robes.  This wasn’t because the tassels were pretty and would make the robes more attractive (although it probably did), but because tassels are noticeable.  Every time the people saw the tassels they were to be reminded not to sin!  What a great idea!

So, that got me thinking:  What can we do to remind us not to sin?  Well, as David says in today’s Psalm (54:4a), “God is my helper…”  He has given us the best reminder.  We  have His Word.   Reading and knowing God’s Word is a great place to start.  After all, that’s where his commandments are.  We need know what God wants us to do (or not to do) in order to be able to follow Him.  Then, as we go through our days, we can make choices about our conversations, our music, our movies and TV shows, and everything else, based on what we know God wants.  Sounds simple; of course, it’s not.  But God will certainly help us, just as he helped the Israelites and David.  All we need to do is ask.  Now, if I could only remember to do that more often!

Hopeless people (just like us)–Diane Chrislip

The recent readings in the One Year Bible have reminded me that people are so human…so fickle…so whiney…and so quick to forget God’s blessings when the going gets tough.  Man, sometimes I wonder how God puts up with any of us.  We’re hopeless!

I’ve tried not to be too hard on the Israelites.  They endured a lot of suffering in Egypt and now they’re wandering around in the wilderness headed for a land they’ve never seen.  They’re probably getting weary and a little fearful about what lies ahead.  But all their complaining is making me crazy.  No doubt the steady diet of manna gets a little tiresome, but each morning they experience a miracle in its provision.  Now they want meat, and they’re going to whine and pester Moses until they get it.

The killer for me is when they say, “Oh, for some meat!  We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt.  And we had all the cucumbers, leaks, onions and garlic we wanted” (Numbers 10:5).  The fish they ate for free?  Have they lost their minds?  There was nothing free in Egypt.  Geez!  They were slaves to the Egyptians and they had to work so darn hard they were probably too tired to even taste the fish or the garlic.

Then there is Moses.  He’s got a tough job leading this enormous group of testy people through the wilderness, trying to keep everyone happy and faithful.  The “give us some meat” incident about pushes him over the edge so he runs to God, complaining about all those complaining people that He has burdened him with.  He basically asks God just to shoot him and put him out of his misery.

God responds to Moses by promising to send meat, so much meat that the people are going to gag and get sick on it.  But Moses is in such a tizzy that he has the audicity to tell God that it’s impossible, that He can’t possibly feed that all of them even if all their herds and flocks were butchered and every fish in the sea were caught. And this is the same Moses who witnessed the parting of the Red Sea?  The one who had a face to face encounter with God Himself?

The disciples in the New Testament aren’t much better.  In yesterday’s reading Jesus gives the disciples a heads-up about his pending death: “God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Mark 14:27).  The disciples all promise that they’ll never, ever desert Him, and Peter goes so far as to say he’s willing to die with Jesus.  This is the same bunch who can’t stay awake later that evening to support Jesus while he travails in prayer in the garden, and it is Peter who so quickly denies he even knows Jesus when the heat is turned up.  So much for dying with Him.

Complaining Israelites.  Doubting Moses.  Weak-willed disciples.  They’re just like us.  We’re all pretty hopeless.  And then there is God–patient, powerful, kind, and loving.  When I read these stories of people who are so much like you and me, I feel thankful all over again that God loves broken, unfaithful, hopeless humans so  much that he sent Christ for us.  Amazing.

Giants and Grasshoppers – Mark Chrislip

Numbers 13:33 says, “All the people that we saw were huge.  We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak.  Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Moses commissioned Caleb and 12 other men to go and scout out the land that God had promised to give them.  When they returned there were two very different perspectives of what they saw.

The majority of the scouts saw a land filled with fortified cities, powerful men, and even giants.  Their response “no way can we live there, we are like grasshoppers compared to them!  And to top it off that is exactly how they view us!”

Caleb on the other hand saw things quite differently.  He saw the fortified cities, he saw the powerful men, but he also saw that they were no match for his God.  His response was just the opposite, “Let’s go take the land, we certainly can conquer it.”

What was the difference?  How could all of the scouts see the same thing yet with such different perspectives? Caleb wasn’t blind to the challenges; he simply saw what the others didn’t and refused to see what they saw.  Caleb was God focused and the others were giant focused!

We live in very interesting times right now.  Many of us are faced with some very challenging circumstances.  These circumstances are significant and there is no better time than now to ask ourselves where our focus is.  Are we God focused or are we giant focused?  How we answer that question has a tremendous impact on how we navigate through these times.

Max Lucado in his book “Facing Your Giants” says this;

“Focus on giants – you stumble.

Focus on God – your giants stumble.”

When Caleb saw the giants he lined them up against his God and all of a sudden the giants looked liked grasshoppers.  The other scouts lined up the giants against their own abilities, their own wisdom, their own strength and the saw themselves as grasshoppers.

I have a feeling that if we chose to line up all our difficulties along side of God as Caleb did they might start to take on some long antenna and funny looking long legs.

Second Verse: Same as the First? – Amber McCullough

There is a good reason that the Bible retells the events of Jesus’ life  three times in a row. (OK really four, but John goes off on enough tangents that it doesn’t seem like a rerun).

So I read the Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Fig Tree and I’m left thinking this. Now Mark tells the story again.

On Monday of what the Church would later term Holy Week.  Jesus tells the Twelve, yet again, of his now imminent death.

“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.” –Mark 10:33-34

Yes, Jesus mentions rising again, but it’s almost an afterthought to the violence that awaited him. Let’s pick it up four verses later.

Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with? –Mark 10:38

Suffering, check. Bitterness, check. Yeah, Jesus is pretty preoccupied with that whole imminent violent death thing. And let’s face it, James and John were poor sources of strength and consolation to their Rabbi and friend. It is in this context that Jesus curses an empty fig tree. “May no one ever eat your fruit again!”

After this second reading of the parable, it sounds like a classic example of bearing up under the large trials, but the trivialities getting you down. Seriously, I can curse a bluer cloud than that when I can’t find my car keys that I misplaced, and I’m not even being executed at the end of the week. If Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine, He would have had colossal knots in His stomach with apprehension and fear. Any attempt to share his burden with his friends is met with denial, or flat out selfishness. Yet despite his own anguish, the world still turned. Blind people needed to see, poor people needed to be relieved from oppression, religious hypocrites needed to be taken down a peg…

And on top of all that, he is STARVING.

My Saviour is fully human.

Fully, as in completely all the way human, not sorta kinda human.

Human, as in not android, not robot.

And for that, I am grateful. And humbled by my previous assessment.

Knowing human nature-Steve Connelly

¹ The Lord gave these instructions to Moses: ² “Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease^[c] or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person. ³ This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them.” ⁴ So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.

Numbers 5:1-4

This scripture was hard to stomach at first but I am wanting to be open to what God could have been doing and what he is saying to me now. First of all the whole idea of isolating sick people was most likely not exclusive to ancient Israel. This also would’ve been a way to protect people from getting sick because we all know there were no real doctors at that time.

My heart is saying  to me that when this law was coming down God knew of the day it would be made right.  God had to know that this was a shame filled way to deal with people. The ‘unclean’ identity had to make a person feel literally defective and surely not loved by God or others. This had to be cross-cultural in ancient times and unfortunately it has followed us today.

Have you ever seen the sick, the disabled, the homeless, the poor, the uneducated or the unbeliever and just quickly looked the other way to avoid them? In other words announcing  to them through your actions that they are ‘unclean’ to you and should be outside the camp. I wish I could say I have not done this but that would be untrue.

²⁸ One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[d] 31} The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[e] No other commandment is greater than these.”

³² The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. ³³ And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

³⁴ Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12 :28-34

Listen to what Jesus says is not far from the Kingdom of God. Loving God and your neighbor.  I believe God knows how natural it is for us to marginalize people so he allowed it in law since it would’ve occurred naturally anyway.  Then Jesus being so in touch with the heart of our father showed the true value of  ‘unclean’ every chance he could.  He did heal them but also he touched them, he ate with them, he loved them.  God always loved them. I may not fully understand what was going on in the law (or grace for that matter) but this is what I believe father is wanting to teach me now.  Jesus shows us the true heart of our father for all people.  He extends his love and grace to us all and says you are clean because of what I have done now you extend this love to others.

It is good to be on this journey with God through the scripture as he shows me more of his heart each day.

Hairnets for Haiti

My daughter and I had the privledge of helping the Salvation Army feed the hungry in Haiti. We filled bags with dried milk, spices, soy and a cup of rice. Each small bag will feed six people. When I got home and fixed lunch, I looked in my overflowing pantry and felt guilty. I am a fairly frugal person, but I have enough food in my home to feed my family for some time. Not to mention a closet full of clothes and shoes.  I got a deal, but did I need them all–probably not.

I am reminded that God wants us to give our extras and then some, to those in need. In Leviticus 19:9-10 God says, “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop.  It is the same with your grape crop-do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foregners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”  How fitting that is today, so many people need our extras.  I will continue to evaluate the “extras” that I have in my life and what I need to leave for those in need.

Scalp diseases, beheadings and letting go of the love of money–Diane Chrislip

It was tough getting through today’s Bible readings.  Leviticus was all about skin and scalp diseases in way more detail than most of us felt like we needed.  (I’ll bet Pastor Dan is grateful that even though being an overworked senior pastor of a growing church has its challenges, he doesn’t have to check people’s scalps for disease like those Old Testament priests had to do.)  Then we moved on to the Gospel of Mark where we had to read about the beheading of John the Baptist. That story has always given me the creeps.  I don’t understand why the man who paved the way for the Messiah had to end up executed that way with his head delivered on a platter to Herod Antipas’ birthday party.  Yuck.  It was a relief to get to the passage in Psalms.

It was interesting how the reading in Psalms tied in with yesterday’s sermon.  Dan gave us lots of food for thought as he taught on the negatives of living for money and the stuff we can’t take with us, and the positives of living for Christ while using our money in a God-honoring way.

The Psalmist put it like this:  Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is…We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.  We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.  And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?  My only hope is in you?  (Psalm 39:4, 6, 7).

Yesterday’s sermon and today’s reading helped me to step back and refocus.  I don’t want the accumulation of stuff that has no eternal value to be the driving force in my brief life.  It’s tough because there is so much good stuff to be had.  But what I really want is for Christ to be the center—and the driving force—of what the Psalmist describes as a fleeting life.

After I finished the daily reading, I pulled my well-worn copy of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Drive Life off the shelf and read through those 5 purposes that Rick believes our lives should reflect:

1)      You were planned for  God’s pleasure

2)      You were formed for God’s family

3)      You were created to become like Christ

4)      You were shaped for serving God

5)      You were made for a mission

I don’t see anywhere on that list that my purpose is to die with the most toys, so I think I’ll try to focus on the others and use my resources to live for him.

Even The Winds and The Waves Obey Him – Mark Chrislip

In our reading today in Mark chapter 4  Jesus invites the disciples to get into the boat with him and he said, “let’s cross over to the other side of the lake”  If Jesus said, “let’s cross to the other side” is there any reason to doubt that they will get to the other side?  After all they took Jesus with them in the boat.  The one the disciples had seen demonstrate his power and authority so many times.  With Jesus in the boat it will be smooth sailing, no worries, right?  Not so much.  Suddenly a fierce storm comes up and the waves are so strong that the boat begins to take on water.

The lesson in this story for me is two-fold.  First, even with Jesus in the boat fierce winds and crashing waves will come against us.  Second, because Jesus is in the boat, the winds and waves have no power over us.

What I find so interesting about this story is how differently the disciples and Jesus responded to the storm.  The disciples were absolutely terrified.  They were beside themselves with fear as they felt the fierce winds and crashing waves on their tiny boat.  Jesus on the other hand was soundly sleeping.

I love the visual of Jesus sleeping peacefully with his head resting on a cushion during this incredibly violent storm.  We don’t see him in panic mode.  We don’t see him frantically trying to figure out how they are going to survive.  He didn’t seem at all concerned that they were taking on water in the middle of the lake.  Instead he was so totally at peace he was sleeping.

Long ago a good friend of mine gave me this advice during a particularly difficult time in my life.  He said, “I bet Jesus isn’t wringing his hands trying to figure out how this situation is going to get solved.”  And you know he was right!  The same was true with the disciples.  Jesus was so calm during this storm because he knew even the winds and the waves obey Him.

Today my God sighting is a visual of Jesus in the boat with me.  And though the storms may  be brewing over head I see Jesus calmly at my side with his head on a cushion.

In yesterdays reading Psalm 37:23-24 says, The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

Take courage!  The one who even the winds and the waves obey, delights in every detail of our lives and holds us by the hand and walks with us through every storm that comes our way.