Daily Java: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53-54)
This is one of the weirdest thing Jesus said in all his teaching.
Unless you eat him and drink his blood you cannot live. That is something that is downright hard to accept.
Jesus had just gotten through feeding 5000 people with five small barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:9) taken from a little boy’s stash.
Then he displayed his power to his apostles by walking on the water in a storm.
They knew his power and all those around him did too. The crowds hung around Jesus just waiting for the next miracle, thinking about the next meal Jesus would provide, the next wonder he would show them. They thought he was great.
But they thought he was great because he was powerful, not because he was the Son of God. They were ready to accept him, not because they were looking for the power of God, but because they were looking for the power of miracles.
Jesus finally turned to them and said that they had to eat and drink him in order to be pleasing to God. The crowd looked at him and said, Yuck! That is gross. We don’t want to listen to this.
And a lot of them left him.
He asks his apostles what they thought. Were they going to leave him too? His own apostles were baffled, but their response was, Where in the world would we go? You’re the one we follow.
It is easy to follow Jesus when everything is going great, when miracles abound, and blessings flow. It is hard to follow him when things get hard.
Jesus said that in order to be a real follower of his, we have to take him into us like food or drink, make him part of us in such a way that we follow him anyway.
Miracles or no, he is my Savior. And I will follow him.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
being careful
Leszek Kolakowski, a great intellectual crusader against Communism, wrote: “A modern philosopher who has never once suspected himself of being a charlatan must be such a shallow mind that his work is probably not worth reading.”
The Bible said the same thing when it said, So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV).
Anyone who thinks he is great is fooling himself. You may be great, you may be wonderful, the most wonderful thing to ever grace the earth, but when you begin to think so, you have lost it.
That isn’t to say that you cannot have pride in your abilities to do a certain job, or know your talents in a certain area. Otherwise, no one would ever lead worship, or play piano, or teach, or preach.
But no one is more irritating than the person who thinks they are God’s gift to the church. The teacher that considers everything that drops from their lips to be divine honey. The singer who thinks that everyone in church is dying to hear her sing. The preacher who believes God only speaks through him.
We have to remember that all we do is to God’s glory. Every word we say, every song we sing, every committee we chair, everything, is to the glory of God.
The Bible says that we are brought into the kingdom to do whatever we do for his good pleasure (Ephesians 1). We are his oracles, his works, his glory. Not our own.
Again, that doesn’t mean that we cannot tell someone they did a good job doing what God gave them to do. That is a normal human response to someone who did good, and a normal human response to like being told you did good.
On the other hand, as a pastor friend likes to hear me say, it is not why we do it.
We do it for God. As long as we remember that, we are standing firm.
The Bible said the same thing when it said, So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV).
Anyone who thinks he is great is fooling himself. You may be great, you may be wonderful, the most wonderful thing to ever grace the earth, but when you begin to think so, you have lost it.
That isn’t to say that you cannot have pride in your abilities to do a certain job, or know your talents in a certain area. Otherwise, no one would ever lead worship, or play piano, or teach, or preach.
But no one is more irritating than the person who thinks they are God’s gift to the church. The teacher that considers everything that drops from their lips to be divine honey. The singer who thinks that everyone in church is dying to hear her sing. The preacher who believes God only speaks through him.
We have to remember that all we do is to God’s glory. Every word we say, every song we sing, every committee we chair, everything, is to the glory of God.
The Bible says that we are brought into the kingdom to do whatever we do for his good pleasure (Ephesians 1). We are his oracles, his works, his glory. Not our own.
Again, that doesn’t mean that we cannot tell someone they did a good job doing what God gave them to do. That is a normal human response to someone who did good, and a normal human response to like being told you did good.
On the other hand, as a pastor friend likes to hear me say, it is not why we do it.
We do it for God. As long as we remember that, we are standing firm.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
easter is coming
Easter is coming. I am really looking forward to it.
We never celebrated Easter as anything but a pagan holiday when I was growing up. It is not that we were pagans, but that the church we belonged to considered Christian holidays to be wrong.
So we celebrated the pagan side of it all. They would not have acknowledged that to be true, but it was.
If you strip Easter of the resurrection and leave in the eggs, the rabbits and all of the ancient fertility symbols, you celebrate the pagan side. The same goes for Christmas. Take away Jesus and the Christian symbolism of Santa and you have nothing but paganism.
We, of course, didn’t go around dressed as druids and offer cats as sacrifices or anything like that. It was just that we denied the holy part and kept the unholy part.
So because of that, I really look forward to Easter and all of the stuff that goes with it. And we have just about gotten rid of all of the other stuff.
The same, again, with Christmas. We are trying very hard to recognize the holy part of Christmas and not dwell on presents and stuff like that. It is much harder for us to move over on Christmas than it is for Easter. There is a mindset that comes with the commercial side of Christmas that is very hard to overcome.
Easter not so much. After all, Easter is the crux of Christianity. It is the very center, the focal point of all we do.
Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. That is Easter.
And I love it.
We never celebrated Easter as anything but a pagan holiday when I was growing up. It is not that we were pagans, but that the church we belonged to considered Christian holidays to be wrong.
So we celebrated the pagan side of it all. They would not have acknowledged that to be true, but it was.
If you strip Easter of the resurrection and leave in the eggs, the rabbits and all of the ancient fertility symbols, you celebrate the pagan side. The same goes for Christmas. Take away Jesus and the Christian symbolism of Santa and you have nothing but paganism.
We, of course, didn’t go around dressed as druids and offer cats as sacrifices or anything like that. It was just that we denied the holy part and kept the unholy part.
So because of that, I really look forward to Easter and all of the stuff that goes with it. And we have just about gotten rid of all of the other stuff.
The same, again, with Christmas. We are trying very hard to recognize the holy part of Christmas and not dwell on presents and stuff like that. It is much harder for us to move over on Christmas than it is for Easter. There is a mindset that comes with the commercial side of Christmas that is very hard to overcome.
Easter not so much. After all, Easter is the crux of Christianity. It is the very center, the focal point of all we do.
Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. That is Easter.
And I love it.
Monday, March 29, 2010
praise God anyway
I bought new blinds for the house. It is amazing at how something so simple can just brighten up a room. They cost probably three and a half each but look so good.
I am a fan of mini-blinds and cannot for the life of me figure out why the designers on HGTV hate them so much. They brighten a room, add privacy and, I believe, just look good. Especially when coupled with some nice looking curtains.
Some of our art is on the wall now and the place is starting to look like our home. The cat has even found a couple of places to sit and look out the window. A few more days and he can go outside. Even though he is neutered and declawed and all, he still loves to go outside.
Mordecai is his name and he is about 12 or more now. I keep forgetting. But of course his mama remembers exactly how old he is. After all, he is Ella’s kitty. He is a handsome cat, tuxedo kind of cat, black with white markings like a shirt under a tuxedo.
I suppose tuxedos are rapidly going out. The ones I see in the stores are full of color and now have long ties, which look dumb with a tuxedo. But then again, I am not a young man. I prefer the old kind with white shirts and black ties, or maybe colored ties with a colored cummerbund to match.
Goes to show you. Just because you like something doesn’t mean others will or that it is necessarily good.
Same goes with church. I like obnoxious rock and roll, others like country, others traditional. Some just like to gripe, of course. No matter what you did, they wouldn’t like it.
But the Lord is good and I am glad I am a preacher. My prayer is that the church will recognize my heart and know that when I disagree with them, it is not because I am mean or nasty. It is normal because we are all flawed humans. If you knew my flaws you would be amazed at how someone so stupid could be in the ministry.
But then again, that was the way in the Bible with all of God’s great people. Abraham was a liar, Elijah was suffering from depression and lack of trust, King David couldn’t keep his hands off other women, same with his kid, Solomon, Peter, James and John had bad tempers, Paul was overly judgmental – every person in the Bible had a flaw that would have ruined them if God had not been in control.
That is the key: God is in control. When he called me, he knew how I was. It was no surprise. And yet he called me to do what I do anyway. I trust him to work through me and maybe by the time I die, some of these problems will be under control.
Until then, I trust him and hope that those around me will see my heart when they see me.
They won’t, of course. Some will only see what they want to see, and judge accordingly. And will even make up stuff if they have to. It is the way things go.
Praise God anyway.
I am a fan of mini-blinds and cannot for the life of me figure out why the designers on HGTV hate them so much. They brighten a room, add privacy and, I believe, just look good. Especially when coupled with some nice looking curtains.
Some of our art is on the wall now and the place is starting to look like our home. The cat has even found a couple of places to sit and look out the window. A few more days and he can go outside. Even though he is neutered and declawed and all, he still loves to go outside.
Mordecai is his name and he is about 12 or more now. I keep forgetting. But of course his mama remembers exactly how old he is. After all, he is Ella’s kitty. He is a handsome cat, tuxedo kind of cat, black with white markings like a shirt under a tuxedo.
I suppose tuxedos are rapidly going out. The ones I see in the stores are full of color and now have long ties, which look dumb with a tuxedo. But then again, I am not a young man. I prefer the old kind with white shirts and black ties, or maybe colored ties with a colored cummerbund to match.
Goes to show you. Just because you like something doesn’t mean others will or that it is necessarily good.
Same goes with church. I like obnoxious rock and roll, others like country, others traditional. Some just like to gripe, of course. No matter what you did, they wouldn’t like it.
But the Lord is good and I am glad I am a preacher. My prayer is that the church will recognize my heart and know that when I disagree with them, it is not because I am mean or nasty. It is normal because we are all flawed humans. If you knew my flaws you would be amazed at how someone so stupid could be in the ministry.
But then again, that was the way in the Bible with all of God’s great people. Abraham was a liar, Elijah was suffering from depression and lack of trust, King David couldn’t keep his hands off other women, same with his kid, Solomon, Peter, James and John had bad tempers, Paul was overly judgmental – every person in the Bible had a flaw that would have ruined them if God had not been in control.
That is the key: God is in control. When he called me, he knew how I was. It was no surprise. And yet he called me to do what I do anyway. I trust him to work through me and maybe by the time I die, some of these problems will be under control.
Until then, I trust him and hope that those around me will see my heart when they see me.
They won’t, of course. Some will only see what they want to see, and judge accordingly. And will even make up stuff if they have to. It is the way things go.
Praise God anyway.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
started moving today
Started moving today. We will be gone by Saturday, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.
Of course with that foolishness they call a detour coming out of New Franklin (a barely 2 lane dirt road with solid mud shoulders, dust flying and major traffic shunted that direction since they tore down the viaduct coming into town), the creek could rise.
But I think the Lord is willing.
One thing for sure, the devil is surely active in our lives right now. Several things lead me to think this:
1. The van is giving us trouble. Any time we start to do something good, our car gives us trouble. I wish the Lord would take care of it, because it happens each time we start to do something good. The gearshift lever doesn’t want to go into gear, so each time I have to do a manual override to get it to do so. At least it still works, though.
2. Ella is having a lot of physical troubles and is in pain despite her neurostimulator and all of her pain pills. Any time we begin to do something good, the devil touches her strongly and makes her hurt. I hate it.
God could change any of these things and I do not know why he doesn’t. He knows we are faithful. We have been faithful in spite of a lot. The church has ripped my family to shreds in the past, yet I still love it and will continue to do so. And he knows that.
I guess I stand with the apostle Paul who had a severe physical difficulty (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God left him alone with this also and told him to deal with it, in so many words.
We have gone through so much in the past five years, to the point of losing any good credit rating we had. We have gone through a lot of pain and heartache. Because of what the church has done to us, my son has left the Lord. My daughter continues, but I figured she would. She loves God and the church too much to quit. There are people who will have to give accounting of what they did to my children through me. I forgive them, but they left some major scars.
Well, of course, they killed Jesus, and he didn’t anything wrong. He brought in change, of course, and they didn’t like that.
Not that I can hold a candle to him. But I stand in good company.
Of course with that foolishness they call a detour coming out of New Franklin (a barely 2 lane dirt road with solid mud shoulders, dust flying and major traffic shunted that direction since they tore down the viaduct coming into town), the creek could rise.
But I think the Lord is willing.
One thing for sure, the devil is surely active in our lives right now. Several things lead me to think this:
1. The van is giving us trouble. Any time we start to do something good, our car gives us trouble. I wish the Lord would take care of it, because it happens each time we start to do something good. The gearshift lever doesn’t want to go into gear, so each time I have to do a manual override to get it to do so. At least it still works, though.
2. Ella is having a lot of physical troubles and is in pain despite her neurostimulator and all of her pain pills. Any time we begin to do something good, the devil touches her strongly and makes her hurt. I hate it.
God could change any of these things and I do not know why he doesn’t. He knows we are faithful. We have been faithful in spite of a lot. The church has ripped my family to shreds in the past, yet I still love it and will continue to do so. And he knows that.
I guess I stand with the apostle Paul who had a severe physical difficulty (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God left him alone with this also and told him to deal with it, in so many words.
We have gone through so much in the past five years, to the point of losing any good credit rating we had. We have gone through a lot of pain and heartache. Because of what the church has done to us, my son has left the Lord. My daughter continues, but I figured she would. She loves God and the church too much to quit. There are people who will have to give accounting of what they did to my children through me. I forgive them, but they left some major scars.
Well, of course, they killed Jesus, and he didn’t anything wrong. He brought in change, of course, and they didn’t like that.
Not that I can hold a candle to him. But I stand in good company.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
trying to kill jesus
Jesus was his own man. As he said, he came to do the will of the Father who sent him (John 5:30). He didn’t care if you liked it or not, he did what he came to do.
Of course, in the pursuit of this he made a lot of people mad. In fact, they got mad enough that they killed him. This was not a procedural argument or a little disagreement. He made the ruling religious leaders so mad they had him put to death.
Is it the same today? Yes.
The church doesn’t like what Jesus stands for: love and freedom. He came to seek and save the lost, to set us free. Again and again he said that, or variations of it.
And the religious leaders today seek to put him to death.
Oh, they don’t think they are doing so, but they are. They try to put to death the things he stands for that they do not like, or they try to append things to his mission that they want.
Sometimes he becomes like a senate or house bill that is so weighed down by amendments that it has become worthless, bogged down.
Jesus did not come to campaign for the Republicans or Democrats, to advance the agenda of veganism or environmentalism. He didn’t come to speak out on social justice, although he talked about it. He didn’t come to heal or do miracles, although he did these things. He didn’t even come to preach and show a better way.
He came to seek and save the lost. He came to bring us back to God.
And it made them mad that he didn’t agree with them and come onto their side and into their camp. So they killed him.
They try to kill him today by watering him down. But Jesus was truly a radical and revolutionary man. He came to bring new life and that abundantly.
There is no abundant life where there are nothing but restrictions. That way is death and was what he came to change.
In him is freedom.
Of course, in the pursuit of this he made a lot of people mad. In fact, they got mad enough that they killed him. This was not a procedural argument or a little disagreement. He made the ruling religious leaders so mad they had him put to death.
Is it the same today? Yes.
The church doesn’t like what Jesus stands for: love and freedom. He came to seek and save the lost, to set us free. Again and again he said that, or variations of it.
And the religious leaders today seek to put him to death.
Oh, they don’t think they are doing so, but they are. They try to put to death the things he stands for that they do not like, or they try to append things to his mission that they want.
Sometimes he becomes like a senate or house bill that is so weighed down by amendments that it has become worthless, bogged down.
Jesus did not come to campaign for the Republicans or Democrats, to advance the agenda of veganism or environmentalism. He didn’t come to speak out on social justice, although he talked about it. He didn’t come to heal or do miracles, although he did these things. He didn’t even come to preach and show a better way.
He came to seek and save the lost. He came to bring us back to God.
And it made them mad that he didn’t agree with them and come onto their side and into their camp. So they killed him.
They try to kill him today by watering him down. But Jesus was truly a radical and revolutionary man. He came to bring new life and that abundantly.
There is no abundant life where there are nothing but restrictions. That way is death and was what he came to change.
In him is freedom.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
good and bad things
In our lives, any time anything good happens, it seems that there is a bad thing ready to happen to balance it.
I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be true.
Today my gear shift lever doesn’t want to engage. It isn’t the transmission, I think. It is the lever itself. And it will not start at all in neutral like the older cars would because you have to make sure it is in Park to start.
It causes sadness where there should be joy. Oh, I know that God brings joy anyway. And I know that it is an old van with almost 200K on it. And I know that I only paid $100 for it.
But the Lord has not shown me a way to buy a newer one. And I absolutely do not have the money to pay to have it fixed. I owe money now to someone who didn’t fix something right before.
Probably it is a minor thing – just the lever’s engagement thing. I imagine it is small. But in my life it is huge.
I could take the church van. It would be within my rights to do so, but then the fellow using it wouldn’t have transportation, since he is using it ight now.
I do not know why the Lord allows this to happen. It just adds to the burden I carry and that Ella carries. I can figure out why he would allow it to happen to me, but why to her?
It would not be that hard for the God of the Universe to stop it or make it so I could get it fixed.
I recognize that I am not much to him in comparison to the rest of the world. The Bible clearly says that he is not a respecter of persons.
But it also says, ask and you will receive. It also says that he, as a Father, treats us better than we treat our children. That is in Luke 7:9-13. I don’t treat my children that way.
But I know that God is good. And I bless him because he is my God. And, again, I will ever serve him.
I just wish my transmission worked.
I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be true.
Today my gear shift lever doesn’t want to engage. It isn’t the transmission, I think. It is the lever itself. And it will not start at all in neutral like the older cars would because you have to make sure it is in Park to start.
It causes sadness where there should be joy. Oh, I know that God brings joy anyway. And I know that it is an old van with almost 200K on it. And I know that I only paid $100 for it.
But the Lord has not shown me a way to buy a newer one. And I absolutely do not have the money to pay to have it fixed. I owe money now to someone who didn’t fix something right before.
Probably it is a minor thing – just the lever’s engagement thing. I imagine it is small. But in my life it is huge.
I could take the church van. It would be within my rights to do so, but then the fellow using it wouldn’t have transportation, since he is using it ight now.
I do not know why the Lord allows this to happen. It just adds to the burden I carry and that Ella carries. I can figure out why he would allow it to happen to me, but why to her?
It would not be that hard for the God of the Universe to stop it or make it so I could get it fixed.
I recognize that I am not much to him in comparison to the rest of the world. The Bible clearly says that he is not a respecter of persons.
But it also says, ask and you will receive. It also says that he, as a Father, treats us better than we treat our children. That is in Luke 7:9-13. I don’t treat my children that way.
But I know that God is good. And I bless him because he is my God. And, again, I will ever serve him.
I just wish my transmission worked.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
nothing can define me except me
Nothing can define me except me. Neither science or philosophy or religion or politics can tell me who I am. The Bible says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Existentialism, as I understand it, is the process of finding out who I am apart from all of the institutions and expectations of the world; of working out, along with the guidance of God, my own salvation. Or is it the fact of finding? I am not alone in this world, but I am responsible for myself alone. I cannot be who others would have me be. While their expectations are valid to a point, I am still me. I cannot be just another brick in the wall.
Is that heresy? Or is it a valid point?
Of course, under the above premise, your opinion would be merely an interesting comment rather than an authentication or anything else, I suppose.
However, what is your opinion of the above premise? Am I a wacko?
My problem is that I have never fit in a box. I suppose that I would do well to become a hermit emerging from my cave only on leap year days to rail at the world. I did see a couple of good caves in Wyoming.
Existentialism, as I understand it, is the process of finding out who I am apart from all of the institutions and expectations of the world; of working out, along with the guidance of God, my own salvation. Or is it the fact of finding? I am not alone in this world, but I am responsible for myself alone. I cannot be who others would have me be. While their expectations are valid to a point, I am still me. I cannot be just another brick in the wall.
Is that heresy? Or is it a valid point?
Of course, under the above premise, your opinion would be merely an interesting comment rather than an authentication or anything else, I suppose.
However, what is your opinion of the above premise? Am I a wacko?
My problem is that I have never fit in a box. I suppose that I would do well to become a hermit emerging from my cave only on leap year days to rail at the world. I did see a couple of good caves in Wyoming.
daily java
Daily Java: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13.
Bob Dylan wrote a song that said, You’ve got to serve somebody. It may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve somebody.
It always struck me as really strange that Bob Dylan would write something that was so incisive. After all, he is not the go-to guy for theology.
But it is true. You are going to serve somebody in your life. The point is to make it God.
In the same way, you are going to be filled with something. It may be despair, it may be lust, it may be greed, it may be joy. There is something that will be important to you in your life. And it will fill you because it is important.
If God is important, he will fill you. And his filling will be with joy and peace.
Are your filled with fear? It isn’t from God if you are. Because 2 Timothy 1:7 says that isn’t from God. Power, love, self-discipline – those are from God. Lust? It is hard to even walk around the mall today without running against things that 50 years ago would have been pornography. The Spirit of God gives you the ability to replace that with peace.
Being filled with the Spirit isn’t magic, it is surrender.
You give yourself over to him and he fills you with what he wants you to be filled with. Leave him, and something will fill you. After all, nature abhors a vacuum and something is going to come in.
You are going to be filled with something. Your choice is what it will be.
You can be filled with God or you can be filled with evil.
Your choice.
Bob Dylan wrote a song that said, You’ve got to serve somebody. It may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve somebody.
It always struck me as really strange that Bob Dylan would write something that was so incisive. After all, he is not the go-to guy for theology.
But it is true. You are going to serve somebody in your life. The point is to make it God.
In the same way, you are going to be filled with something. It may be despair, it may be lust, it may be greed, it may be joy. There is something that will be important to you in your life. And it will fill you because it is important.
If God is important, he will fill you. And his filling will be with joy and peace.
Are your filled with fear? It isn’t from God if you are. Because 2 Timothy 1:7 says that isn’t from God. Power, love, self-discipline – those are from God. Lust? It is hard to even walk around the mall today without running against things that 50 years ago would have been pornography. The Spirit of God gives you the ability to replace that with peace.
Being filled with the Spirit isn’t magic, it is surrender.
You give yourself over to him and he fills you with what he wants you to be filled with. Leave him, and something will fill you. After all, nature abhors a vacuum and something is going to come in.
You are going to be filled with something. Your choice is what it will be.
You can be filled with God or you can be filled with evil.
Your choice.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
to sleep, perchance to dream
To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub.
I would like to go to sleep and just dream, good things, things that are restorative.
Since I got that sleep machine from the VA, I sleep great, but I don't seem to have good dreams as such. Not sure why. They also aren't as vivid as they were before I got the machine.
Not sure why. Oh, well.
I would like to go to sleep and just dream, good things, things that are restorative.
Since I got that sleep machine from the VA, I sleep great, but I don't seem to have good dreams as such. Not sure why. They also aren't as vivid as they were before I got the machine.
Not sure why. Oh, well.
talking to someone about jesus
I just talked to someone who was interested in being a part of our church. He is currently living with his girlfriend, but they plan to be married in a month.
As I talked to him, I was reminded of the fact that Jesus accepted people as they were – sinful, needy, greedy, ungrateful – but that when they left him, they were altered.
Sometimes the alteration was immediate, as in the case of dead people being raised or blind people who saw.
Sometimes it was more gradual, like the woman caught in adultery. I imagine that the more she thought about the incident, the more she wanted to be a follower of his.
Drunk people are usually changed gradually. When they receive something worth doing and worth being a part of, the need for the drunkenness disappears. When they realize the acceptance in the church and the love that can come from it, the need for “looking for love in all the wrong places” becomes less. When they find God, they find themselves and who they can really be.
I want to be like Jesus. He was accepting of anyone, but he was also one who changed them. They came to him one way and he took them where they were and guided them to a better way. He was a healer, not a hospice keeper.
Of course, not everyone reacted well to his healing. Judas was with him for three years and ended up a suicidal thief. Just because people came to Jesus didn’t mean they stayed.
If I can bring someone to him, if I can show him to someone – even if they do not rush out and change immediately – I will do so.
And I will love them and accept them anyway.
After all, if I am an imitator of God and Jesus was the fulfillment of God, deity in bodily form, I will love and accept people, too.
But one thing for sure, I will do my best to change them and show them my love for God by my love for them.
By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have lover for one another (John 13:25).
As I talked to him, I was reminded of the fact that Jesus accepted people as they were – sinful, needy, greedy, ungrateful – but that when they left him, they were altered.
Sometimes the alteration was immediate, as in the case of dead people being raised or blind people who saw.
Sometimes it was more gradual, like the woman caught in adultery. I imagine that the more she thought about the incident, the more she wanted to be a follower of his.
Drunk people are usually changed gradually. When they receive something worth doing and worth being a part of, the need for the drunkenness disappears. When they realize the acceptance in the church and the love that can come from it, the need for “looking for love in all the wrong places” becomes less. When they find God, they find themselves and who they can really be.
I want to be like Jesus. He was accepting of anyone, but he was also one who changed them. They came to him one way and he took them where they were and guided them to a better way. He was a healer, not a hospice keeper.
Of course, not everyone reacted well to his healing. Judas was with him for three years and ended up a suicidal thief. Just because people came to Jesus didn’t mean they stayed.
If I can bring someone to him, if I can show him to someone – even if they do not rush out and change immediately – I will do so.
And I will love them and accept them anyway.
After all, if I am an imitator of God and Jesus was the fulfillment of God, deity in bodily form, I will love and accept people, too.
But one thing for sure, I will do my best to change them and show them my love for God by my love for them.
By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have lover for one another (John 13:25).
daily java
Daily Java: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.- Psalm 23:1-3.
This passage is so familiar that it can lose its power. We have said it and quoted it and thought about it so much that after a while it becomes part of the theological background. Like other verse we are fond of – John 3:16, for instance – it becomes something that is more comforting and nostalgic than anything else.
In the hospital, it is one of the most read verses and many times, the Bible in the little chapel is turned to it. It has been looked at so many times in the hospital chapels that the page is stained and worn. The rest of the Bible will be in pristine condition, but Psalm 23 will be almost worn out.
The reason is because we are looking for meaning in our lives. We do not want to be alone.
No matter what atheists say, no one wants to be alone in life. Someone once said, there are no atheists in foxholes. That is because when the need comes, and it will in everybody’s life, we are desperate to know that someone cares for us.
The chapter is one of the most comforting in the Bible. It was never intended to be a theological treatise on the nature of God. Instead, it was written to tell us God loves us,and even in the worst of difficulties, he will lead us if we will let him.
He will not drag us by force, though. We have to let him. And that is hard, to give yourself over to him. That is why it is called faith. As Hebrews 11 says, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We cannot see God except obliquely. We see him in nature, in others’ love, in a lot of things, but only as a reflective quality.
Jesus said that no one could see God, but that those who saw him would see the Father. And if we are imitators of God, as the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:1, we reflect him and his glory. If we reflect him, we also reflect the knowledge that he is with us and will guide us if we allow.
That is part of what people should see in us – the comfort in the knowledge that someone greater than we are is in control.
Under his guidance, we are at peace. The world rages, but the storm in us is quieted. Worry is checked and anxiety is rendered unnecessary. God is in control.
This passage is so familiar that it can lose its power. We have said it and quoted it and thought about it so much that after a while it becomes part of the theological background. Like other verse we are fond of – John 3:16, for instance – it becomes something that is more comforting and nostalgic than anything else.
In the hospital, it is one of the most read verses and many times, the Bible in the little chapel is turned to it. It has been looked at so many times in the hospital chapels that the page is stained and worn. The rest of the Bible will be in pristine condition, but Psalm 23 will be almost worn out.
The reason is because we are looking for meaning in our lives. We do not want to be alone.
No matter what atheists say, no one wants to be alone in life. Someone once said, there are no atheists in foxholes. That is because when the need comes, and it will in everybody’s life, we are desperate to know that someone cares for us.
The chapter is one of the most comforting in the Bible. It was never intended to be a theological treatise on the nature of God. Instead, it was written to tell us God loves us,and even in the worst of difficulties, he will lead us if we will let him.
He will not drag us by force, though. We have to let him. And that is hard, to give yourself over to him. That is why it is called faith. As Hebrews 11 says, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We cannot see God except obliquely. We see him in nature, in others’ love, in a lot of things, but only as a reflective quality.
Jesus said that no one could see God, but that those who saw him would see the Father. And if we are imitators of God, as the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:1, we reflect him and his glory. If we reflect him, we also reflect the knowledge that he is with us and will guide us if we allow.
That is part of what people should see in us – the comfort in the knowledge that someone greater than we are is in control.
Under his guidance, we are at peace. The world rages, but the storm in us is quieted. Worry is checked and anxiety is rendered unnecessary. God is in control.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
military strength
I didn't think so at first, but this is the best news I have had from the army since WW 2 1/2.http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EFS3B00&show_article=1
daily java
Daily Java: Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. – Colossians 3:12.
The hallmark of a Christ follower should not be his or her drive, or strictness, or even holiness.
The hallmark should be that he or she loves people. Humility, compassion, gentleness, patience – all come out of a heart that is filled with love for others.
A church that is known for its doctrinal purity is a church that is without the basic idea of Jesus. Whenever Jesus had a choice of doctrinal purity over compassion, he always chose compassion. He did this even when the person he was dealing with was clearly in the wrong.
He did it also when it was clear that it would make other people mad.
This is not to say that Jesus “watered down the gospel,” but more that he put it into perspective.
In Mark 2, it reads: One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
There was that argument that the law said something, and Jesus went against the interpretation of the law. He ate what he wasn’t supposed to eat. The audacity of the Son of God coming down to this earth and then breaking a rule.
His comment: rules were made for people, people were not made for rules.
In other words, in my pursuit of what God wants, I do not care about what your rules are.
Any church that puts rules above people is not serving the risen Savior; they are serving themselves.
In any bureaucracy, whether government, clubs, organizations or churches, there comes a time when the group gets together and starts deciding what is right and wrong according to their own ideas. In the church, of course, there is the Bible to blame. But it is the Bible which clearly says, rules are made to serve people; people are not made to serve rules.
Something may feel right to us, and there may be things we do not like to do. But they should not be what defines us. Our compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience should be that defining factor. When people see us, they should see someone who reflects the love of God.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). Not by rules, or standards, or holiness or anything else, but by love are we known.
The hallmark of a Christ follower should not be his or her drive, or strictness, or even holiness.
The hallmark should be that he or she loves people. Humility, compassion, gentleness, patience – all come out of a heart that is filled with love for others.
A church that is known for its doctrinal purity is a church that is without the basic idea of Jesus. Whenever Jesus had a choice of doctrinal purity over compassion, he always chose compassion. He did this even when the person he was dealing with was clearly in the wrong.
He did it also when it was clear that it would make other people mad.
This is not to say that Jesus “watered down the gospel,” but more that he put it into perspective.
In Mark 2, it reads: One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
There was that argument that the law said something, and Jesus went against the interpretation of the law. He ate what he wasn’t supposed to eat. The audacity of the Son of God coming down to this earth and then breaking a rule.
His comment: rules were made for people, people were not made for rules.
In other words, in my pursuit of what God wants, I do not care about what your rules are.
Any church that puts rules above people is not serving the risen Savior; they are serving themselves.
In any bureaucracy, whether government, clubs, organizations or churches, there comes a time when the group gets together and starts deciding what is right and wrong according to their own ideas. In the church, of course, there is the Bible to blame. But it is the Bible which clearly says, rules are made to serve people; people are not made to serve rules.
Something may feel right to us, and there may be things we do not like to do. But they should not be what defines us. Our compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience should be that defining factor. When people see us, they should see someone who reflects the love of God.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). Not by rules, or standards, or holiness or anything else, but by love are we known.
Monday, March 15, 2010
turning 60
It is strange turning 60. Of course, it has been five months since I did, but still. Someone once said that it was far easier turning 60 than staying 60. I was all ready to turn 60, but I never thought about the fact that I would have to stay 60 for a whole year. Then, again of course, I would turn 61 and would be officially a senior citizen.
It has been 34 years since I completed preachers’ school, 31 years since I moved to Spokane, 24 years since I graduated college, 14 years since I planted that church in Odessa, MO, six years since I decided to go into the Assembly of God, a year and a half since I left the AG. Ella and I have been married over 39 years. Our children are in their early 30’s and late 20’s.
I have waked (waken, woken?) up old, and I do not remember turning old.
There were things I wanted to do that I will never do. I suppose that is the complaint of every older man, but I am not every older man. I am me, and I feel what I feel more strongly than I feel what others feel.
I find myself older than every teacher I ever had with the possible exception of one in college. Every other one, elementary, Jr High, High School, college, Preachers’ School, all of the teachers I have ever had, I am older than they were.
Yet when I look at my wife, who is almost as old as I am, I do not see an older woman. I see Ella.
When I was a young man, I visited with an old man whose wife had alzheimer’s. she sat there beside him, a doddering old woman with no mind and wrinkled to pieces. He said that when he looks at her, she didn’t look any older than she did when they got married. I thought that his mind was gone. That woman was old.
We are not nearly that old, as old as they were, – I think – but it is the same with us. I do not see her as older, but I see her as her. She, to me, is timeless and ageless. Yes, her hair is graying – although it looks more sreaked than gray – and she has wrinkles in places she didn’t used to have wrinkles in, but she is still my love. And I guess I look at her through the lenses of love.
That sounded weird, but it is true.
And I look in the mirror and am truly surprised at myself. I look my age.
Turning 60 was a lot easier than staying 60. How in the world did such a cool young rebel like me ever turn into an old guy?
It has been 34 years since I completed preachers’ school, 31 years since I moved to Spokane, 24 years since I graduated college, 14 years since I planted that church in Odessa, MO, six years since I decided to go into the Assembly of God, a year and a half since I left the AG. Ella and I have been married over 39 years. Our children are in their early 30’s and late 20’s.
I have waked (waken, woken?) up old, and I do not remember turning old.
There were things I wanted to do that I will never do. I suppose that is the complaint of every older man, but I am not every older man. I am me, and I feel what I feel more strongly than I feel what others feel.
I find myself older than every teacher I ever had with the possible exception of one in college. Every other one, elementary, Jr High, High School, college, Preachers’ School, all of the teachers I have ever had, I am older than they were.
Yet when I look at my wife, who is almost as old as I am, I do not see an older woman. I see Ella.
When I was a young man, I visited with an old man whose wife had alzheimer’s. she sat there beside him, a doddering old woman with no mind and wrinkled to pieces. He said that when he looks at her, she didn’t look any older than she did when they got married. I thought that his mind was gone. That woman was old.
We are not nearly that old, as old as they were, – I think – but it is the same with us. I do not see her as older, but I see her as her. She, to me, is timeless and ageless. Yes, her hair is graying – although it looks more sreaked than gray – and she has wrinkles in places she didn’t used to have wrinkles in, but she is still my love. And I guess I look at her through the lenses of love.
That sounded weird, but it is true.
And I look in the mirror and am truly surprised at myself. I look my age.
Turning 60 was a lot easier than staying 60. How in the world did such a cool young rebel like me ever turn into an old guy?
daily java
Daily Java: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:10,12.
I read an article today on the web about a woman who wanted to become 1000 pounds. She was “working” toward this goal and was currently 600 pounds. To do this, she had to not move around much and to eat 12,000 calories a day, with a weekly food budget of over $800. she already had the record of the fattest woman to have a a child, and her partner was encouraging her to realize her “dream”.
People have such odd goals, and they work so hard to get them. But chances are, when they arrive at their goals, it is not as big a deal as they thought.
A guy works for years to retire, then finds himself bored. He buys an expensive car, then finds it is not what it was cracked up to be. People work for stuff so hard then find it is not fulfilling like they thought. A lot of money is spent on a vacation, then it is over.
It is no wonder that people have so much trouble finding happiness in life. They try to find fulfillment in stuff that will ultimately go away.
The thing is, a happy life is only found in Jesus. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. Nothing else is real.
It is kind of like being thirsty and drinking all kinds of stuff when what you want is water. Jesus said that he was the Living Water, and that whoever drank of him would never thirst.
You can drink of life as deeply and fully as you want, but in the end, only the part that had Jesus in it will matter.
Only Jesus saves us.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
first married in germany
The following post is kind of long, but is from my heart.
When we went to Germany in 1971 as a young married couple, it was an adventure.
Not only were we newlyweds, living by ourselves for six months in a foreign country, there was also the independence of it all.
I have often told people that there is nothing that breeds unity in a couple like being 5500 miles from her parents. Just to call home cost around $40 for a decent conversation at the time.
She, of course, could write home, but it took a long time before there was an answer. By the time a letter came, the situation was usually taken care of.
Our first apartment was a tiny little area, two rooms both maybe 10X12. One was the living room, kitchen, dining room, main salon. There was a banquette table/bench with a couple of straight chairs, a couple of shelf units for storage and a tiny kitchen (pictured above) inside a cabinet: two hot plate burners, a sink, some shelves and a dorm size refrigerator.
The bedroom was long enough for a double bed and a footlocker with a free-standing closet on the other side.
We had our own bathroom with a rather large tub.
It was great. Just Ella and me. There were two windows overlooking the park across the street. Down the street was the Russian Orthodox Cathedral where Nicholas, the last czar of Russia, worshipped when he came to see Alexandria’s folks. There was also a university next to it with a tower shaped like five fingers next to it.
In the park, as well as the plazas around it, were seasonal flowers put there by some municipal department in charge of such things. When one group died, they dug them up and replaced them with something else. Tulips were the star flowers for a while, tulips of all colors, seas of tulips. It was beautiful.
When I came home from work, my little 19 year old wife would be sitting in the window watching people walk by, just like all of the older hausfraus.
We were independent, care-free, newlyweds in love with each other and we had a great time. Of course, I was in the army and had to go on base to work, but on our days off, we explored.
We had an old VW Beetle, a 1962 model with a 1956 engine in it. It had a rag-top sunroof that we would open and take pictures of castles from. Otherwise, we walked everywhere, all over the city of Darmstadt, all over the Heidelberg castle and a lot of the city and anywhere else we could go.
The city of Darmstadt was our exploration point. We got to know it quite well.
And we got to know each other quite well. In the years past, I would think about the people on the Oregon Trail who left their homes and went a thousand miles away by themselves to carve out their own life in a strange place. How well they would get to know each other when all they had to be with was each other.
In Germany, I had begun going back to church on base and had gotten to know the preacher and his wife, Ed and Margaret Chemnitz. Ed and Margaret were good people who welcomed GI’s into their home and tried to be hospitable. When I came over with Ella, they were waiting for her. They welcomed her with open arms and became our social group. But for the most part, we were by ourselves.
It made for a situation that has always been in our lives. We are our best friends and we are together. We always have been. We have a marital and spiritual unity that many people just dream about. It is more than love; it is truly that one-mindedness that God wanted of married couples in Genesis when he made them. The one flesh is more than sex, it is a like-mindedness that cannot be had by any other means than marriage.
I love my wife in ways that are hard to say. She has always been with me and has always followed my direction even when it was stupid, or at least seemed so. Both her family and mine were based on that paradigm and we followed it.
When our kids left home, it was back like that again. We were our friends, our confidants, our lovers.
I have never regretted loving and marrying Ella Leigh Mochman.
When we went to Germany in 1971 as a young married couple, it was an adventure.
Not only were we newlyweds, living by ourselves for six months in a foreign country, there was also the independence of it all.
I have often told people that there is nothing that breeds unity in a couple like being 5500 miles from her parents. Just to call home cost around $40 for a decent conversation at the time.
She, of course, could write home, but it took a long time before there was an answer. By the time a letter came, the situation was usually taken care of.
Our first apartment was a tiny little area, two rooms both maybe 10X12. One was the living room, kitchen, dining room, main salon. There was a banquette table/bench with a couple of straight chairs, a couple of shelf units for storage and a tiny kitchen (pictured above) inside a cabinet: two hot plate burners, a sink, some shelves and a dorm size refrigerator.
The bedroom was long enough for a double bed and a footlocker with a free-standing closet on the other side.
We had our own bathroom with a rather large tub.
It was great. Just Ella and me. There were two windows overlooking the park across the street. Down the street was the Russian Orthodox Cathedral where Nicholas, the last czar of Russia, worshipped when he came to see Alexandria’s folks. There was also a university next to it with a tower shaped like five fingers next to it.
In the park, as well as the plazas around it, were seasonal flowers put there by some municipal department in charge of such things. When one group died, they dug them up and replaced them with something else. Tulips were the star flowers for a while, tulips of all colors, seas of tulips. It was beautiful.
When I came home from work, my little 19 year old wife would be sitting in the window watching people walk by, just like all of the older hausfraus.
We were independent, care-free, newlyweds in love with each other and we had a great time. Of course, I was in the army and had to go on base to work, but on our days off, we explored.
We had an old VW Beetle, a 1962 model with a 1956 engine in it. It had a rag-top sunroof that we would open and take pictures of castles from. Otherwise, we walked everywhere, all over the city of Darmstadt, all over the Heidelberg castle and a lot of the city and anywhere else we could go.
The city of Darmstadt was our exploration point. We got to know it quite well.
And we got to know each other quite well. In the years past, I would think about the people on the Oregon Trail who left their homes and went a thousand miles away by themselves to carve out their own life in a strange place. How well they would get to know each other when all they had to be with was each other.
In Germany, I had begun going back to church on base and had gotten to know the preacher and his wife, Ed and Margaret Chemnitz. Ed and Margaret were good people who welcomed GI’s into their home and tried to be hospitable. When I came over with Ella, they were waiting for her. They welcomed her with open arms and became our social group. But for the most part, we were by ourselves.
It made for a situation that has always been in our lives. We are our best friends and we are together. We always have been. We have a marital and spiritual unity that many people just dream about. It is more than love; it is truly that one-mindedness that God wanted of married couples in Genesis when he made them. The one flesh is more than sex, it is a like-mindedness that cannot be had by any other means than marriage.
I love my wife in ways that are hard to say. She has always been with me and has always followed my direction even when it was stupid, or at least seemed so. Both her family and mine were based on that paradigm and we followed it.
When our kids left home, it was back like that again. We were our friends, our confidants, our lovers.
I have never regretted loving and marrying Ella Leigh Mochman.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Our lives were never intended to be lived just barely. It’s easy to just kind of get along, especially when you are having troubles. You just get along, pay what bills you can, go to church, stuff.
But the apostle Paul said that God works for good to those who love him and are called.
Bad things happen to everybody, no matter who they are.
And it is easy to let the bad things get us down. Somebody up there doesn’t like us. A feeling of inevitablity sets in. You are going to have problems forever. Life is bad and then you die.
If the Bible is true, and I believe it is, and if the Bible tells us things that are true, and I believe it does, God does not send bad things on us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
If the Bible is true, God doesn’t send bad things. Everything, in other words, is not for a reason. Sometimes things just happen.
The book of Job was written to tell us that sometimes we are the victims of an unfair war between good and evil. We are standing there minding our own business, and – WHAP! – we get hit upside the head with something bad.
God did not send the bad, but he can use the bad for something else that is better. Job lost a lot of stuff (read the book sometime. It is both enlightening and depressing), but God gave him back more in the end.
And (this is big) we see his faith. Yes, he griped his head off, but he remained faithful to God the entire time.
God never complained because of the griping. He just told Job, Deal with it.
Good things came out of it for Job and us. Good things come out of bad thing for us. In sickenss there is strength. In poverty, there is reliance. In sadness comes joy. All because God works all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his promise.
Our lives were never intended to be lived just barely. It’s easy to just kind of get along, especially when you are having troubles. You just get along, pay what bills you can, go to church, stuff.
But the apostle Paul said that God works for good to those who love him and are called.
Bad things happen to everybody, no matter who they are.
And it is easy to let the bad things get us down. Somebody up there doesn’t like us. A feeling of inevitablity sets in. You are going to have problems forever. Life is bad and then you die.
If the Bible is true, and I believe it is, and if the Bible tells us things that are true, and I believe it does, God does not send bad things on us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
If the Bible is true, God doesn’t send bad things. Everything, in other words, is not for a reason. Sometimes things just happen.
The book of Job was written to tell us that sometimes we are the victims of an unfair war between good and evil. We are standing there minding our own business, and – WHAP! – we get hit upside the head with something bad.
God did not send the bad, but he can use the bad for something else that is better. Job lost a lot of stuff (read the book sometime. It is both enlightening and depressing), but God gave him back more in the end.
And (this is big) we see his faith. Yes, he griped his head off, but he remained faithful to God the entire time.
God never complained because of the griping. He just told Job, Deal with it.
Good things came out of it for Job and us. Good things come out of bad thing for us. In sickenss there is strength. In poverty, there is reliance. In sadness comes joy. All because God works all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his promise.
Friday, March 12, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. - 2 Peter 1:4.
When you talk to people in church, it is easy to see th gospel as a negative power: a list of things we cannot do. Holiness is defined by the lack of stuff, rather than the presence of God.
But real grace is not that. The grace of God is an empowering ability. It gives us the ability to overcome things that would otherwise overwhelm us.
In other words, his power becomes our power.
We cannot overcome. It is impossible. As Paul said, All sin and fall short of the glory (Romans 3:23). That, of course, is spoken to everybody in the world. To Christians, John says, If we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).
Anybody who tells you that the gospel of Christ tells you that you cannot do stuff is full of beans. That grace is given us to empower us, to give us the divine nature.
It is only through having the divine nature, that we are able to ecape the corruption.
Nothing we can do or say, or for that matter, not do or say, will give us an power. Like Paul said in Romans 7, the more we try under our own power, the more we fail. Romans 8 follows that very depresing chapter by saying that the Law of the Spirit of lfe in Christ Jesus has set us free.
The promises make us strong.
When you talk to people in church, it is easy to see th gospel as a negative power: a list of things we cannot do. Holiness is defined by the lack of stuff, rather than the presence of God.
But real grace is not that. The grace of God is an empowering ability. It gives us the ability to overcome things that would otherwise overwhelm us.
In other words, his power becomes our power.
We cannot overcome. It is impossible. As Paul said, All sin and fall short of the glory (Romans 3:23). That, of course, is spoken to everybody in the world. To Christians, John says, If we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).
Anybody who tells you that the gospel of Christ tells you that you cannot do stuff is full of beans. That grace is given us to empower us, to give us the divine nature.
It is only through having the divine nature, that we are able to ecape the corruption.
Nothing we can do or say, or for that matter, not do or say, will give us an power. Like Paul said in Romans 7, the more we try under our own power, the more we fail. Romans 8 follows that very depresing chapter by saying that the Law of the Spirit of lfe in Christ Jesus has set us free.
The promises make us strong.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
hospitality
We just had some new friends over for supper. Ralph and Cat Weber. It is a joy for me especially to have people over to eat. For one thing, I like to cook. For another, it makes me feel alive, like a real person.
I know that sounds strange, but having people over is a really quite simple way to show hospitality. There are several passages that talk about it.
Romans 12:13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 16:23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
1 Timothy 5:9-10 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
3 John 1:5-8 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hospitality is reaching out to others in a simple way. In the book of Acts, there was a woman whose main good thing in life was reaching out to others. Her death was such a blow that the apostle Peter was called to bring her back to life. All Dorcas did was make clothing for people, a simple act of hospitality.
Peter’s mother-in-law, in Matthew 8:14-17, was very sick and Jesus healed her. Her first act upon getting out of her sickbed was to begin to wait on him. Her first impulse was hospitality.
It is one good way to show our love for others. In fact, it is a concrete way to show the love for God in our own lives, by sharing.
It will be our main thrust here in Lincoln.
I know that sounds strange, but having people over is a really quite simple way to show hospitality. There are several passages that talk about it.
Romans 12:13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 16:23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
1 Timothy 5:9-10 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
3 John 1:5-8 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hospitality is reaching out to others in a simple way. In the book of Acts, there was a woman whose main good thing in life was reaching out to others. Her death was such a blow that the apostle Peter was called to bring her back to life. All Dorcas did was make clothing for people, a simple act of hospitality.
Peter’s mother-in-law, in Matthew 8:14-17, was very sick and Jesus healed her. Her first act upon getting out of her sickbed was to begin to wait on him. Her first impulse was hospitality.
It is one good way to show our love for others. In fact, it is a concrete way to show the love for God in our own lives, by sharing.
It will be our main thrust here in Lincoln.
daily java
Daily Java: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”- Deuteronomy 7:9. S
God never intended his love to be a temporary situation. He never said, “I’ll love you for a little while, then go on to something else.” No. He will love you forever. Nothing can separate us from his love. It has always been that way.
You figure, if he could love the Israelites, a group of whiny, ungrateful, spiteful twerps, he could love anyone. He can sure love me. At least I like to praise him.
Of course, they were probably good at doing the worship stuff, too. In fact, they got so carried away at times that they forgot who they were worshipping (2 Kings 18:3-5). They just began to worship stuff just because they thought it was holy.
No matter what else happens in life, I know that God will love me. I may have all kinds of bad things go on, but God will love me.
And I will love him.
God never intended his love to be a temporary situation. He never said, “I’ll love you for a little while, then go on to something else.” No. He will love you forever. Nothing can separate us from his love. It has always been that way.
You figure, if he could love the Israelites, a group of whiny, ungrateful, spiteful twerps, he could love anyone. He can sure love me. At least I like to praise him.
Of course, they were probably good at doing the worship stuff, too. In fact, they got so carried away at times that they forgot who they were worshipping (2 Kings 18:3-5). They just began to worship stuff just because they thought it was holy.
No matter what else happens in life, I know that God will love me. I may have all kinds of bad things go on, but God will love me.
And I will love him.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect- 1 Peter 3:15.
I read somewhere someone saying that their relationship with God was extremely private and no one had the right to ask him about it.
He, of course, was full of beans. Our relationship with God is extremely personal, but it is not nor is it ever private. Part of it is sharing our faith with others in a way that draws, not repels. It does no good if we keep it to ourselves.
People need to see Jesus in us. If they do not see Jesus in us, they may not see him at all. Jesus told his disciples that if you had seen him, you had seen the Father. He didn’t mean they looked alike. He meant that just like he was the Father to them, they would be the Father to others.
In other words, God does not reveal himself to humanity directly, but through us, through what we do and how we act. To others, our actions will reflect the Father. If we are mean, to them, God will be mean. If we are kind, in the same way, God will be kind.
I read somewhere someone saying that their relationship with God was extremely private and no one had the right to ask him about it.
He, of course, was full of beans. Our relationship with God is extremely personal, but it is not nor is it ever private. Part of it is sharing our faith with others in a way that draws, not repels. It does no good if we keep it to ourselves.
People need to see Jesus in us. If they do not see Jesus in us, they may not see him at all. Jesus told his disciples that if you had seen him, you had seen the Father. He didn’t mean they looked alike. He meant that just like he was the Father to them, they would be the Father to others.
In other words, God does not reveal himself to humanity directly, but through us, through what we do and how we act. To others, our actions will reflect the Father. If we are mean, to them, God will be mean. If we are kind, in the same way, God will be kind.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
purified gold
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.”- Job 23:10-11.
My wife, Ella, loves jewelry. And I love to get it for her. She would never buy it herself, but likes to get it.
In fact, she won’t buy anything for herself when it comes down to it. she would wear the same old clothes forever if it were left up to her. Anything new she has I get for her.
Which is okay with me. I like to buy her clothing and stuff, and I think I probably have better taste than she does. I will also push her into interesting new areas of clothes that she swould not go into if it were not for me. By that I mean color combinations and such. She is not really that adventerous in spite of being married to a whacko who would move her in a minute to a whole new area of the country. She welcomes adventure if I bring it, but otherwise would wear the same clothes and do the same things every day if she had it to do.
But back to the jewelry. She loves gold. But she doesn’t want a lump of raw rock. She wants refined gold, gold that has been put through the refining process, melted, burned and purified. Otherwise, it is not worth that much.
Gold in its pure from is only valuable in theory. It is a potentially valuable thing. It is only worth anything if it is burned to death. Then it is worth a lot.
The same goes for people. We are worth a lot to God, to others, to life in general if we have gone through the fire. Then we are purified and strong, in both faith and character.
God does not send problems. Nothing bad comes from above. But he uses what comes and makes us stronger, just like a miner makes raw ore into fine gold jewelry.
Just as the fire makes the gold pure, so the fire of life, the problems we come into contact with make us strong. Unless we go through problems and come out the other side, we are just raw material. The fire makes us finished and useful.
And then God can use us to his glory, just as the artist can make the pure gold into something beautiful.
He loves you. Let him work in your life.
My wife, Ella, loves jewelry. And I love to get it for her. She would never buy it herself, but likes to get it.
In fact, she won’t buy anything for herself when it comes down to it. she would wear the same old clothes forever if it were left up to her. Anything new she has I get for her.
Which is okay with me. I like to buy her clothing and stuff, and I think I probably have better taste than she does. I will also push her into interesting new areas of clothes that she swould not go into if it were not for me. By that I mean color combinations and such. She is not really that adventerous in spite of being married to a whacko who would move her in a minute to a whole new area of the country. She welcomes adventure if I bring it, but otherwise would wear the same clothes and do the same things every day if she had it to do.
But back to the jewelry. She loves gold. But she doesn’t want a lump of raw rock. She wants refined gold, gold that has been put through the refining process, melted, burned and purified. Otherwise, it is not worth that much.
Gold in its pure from is only valuable in theory. It is a potentially valuable thing. It is only worth anything if it is burned to death. Then it is worth a lot.
The same goes for people. We are worth a lot to God, to others, to life in general if we have gone through the fire. Then we are purified and strong, in both faith and character.
God does not send problems. Nothing bad comes from above. But he uses what comes and makes us stronger, just like a miner makes raw ore into fine gold jewelry.
Just as the fire makes the gold pure, so the fire of life, the problems we come into contact with make us strong. Unless we go through problems and come out the other side, we are just raw material. The fire makes us finished and useful.
And then God can use us to his glory, just as the artist can make the pure gold into something beautiful.
He loves you. Let him work in your life.
daily java
Daily Java: “Who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,”- 2 Timothy 1:9
When I set the table, I always put out napkins. It is a fact that people will be messy when they eat. You know they will and so do they. The napkins are not encouragement to be messy, nor are they necessarily an act of prescience on my part. It is just that I know that messiness is built into the process of eating. So I put out napkins.
When God made people, he knew that if he made them the way he did, they would screw up. It is in our natures to be messy with our lives. Any tme you have free choice, you are going to have messes.
That is because rarely do people use free choice worth a flip.
It is kind of like my directional sense. It is sorry. I can’t tell which way is north or south. My father could always tell, my sister and brother can, my wife can. If he could talk, I imagine Mordecai, my wife’s antique cat, could tell. But not me.
And because of that, when given the choice, I almost always turn the wrong direction.
From the beginning of time, God knew we would turn the wrong direction when given the choice.
Ephesians 1 says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Before the creation of the world God knew we would mess up. So, in advance, before people or trees or anything else was made, he set up grace.
When he set the great cosmic table, before the meal was even cooked, much less served and eaten, he put out napkins. So when we got stuff on us from eating the great meal of life, we could clean it off.
The napkins are, of course, grace. And the meal is life. Some of us would need a case of napkins per meal, but his grace is all-encompassing, or as 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, sufficient to show his power.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace in my life.
When I set the table, I always put out napkins. It is a fact that people will be messy when they eat. You know they will and so do they. The napkins are not encouragement to be messy, nor are they necessarily an act of prescience on my part. It is just that I know that messiness is built into the process of eating. So I put out napkins.
When God made people, he knew that if he made them the way he did, they would screw up. It is in our natures to be messy with our lives. Any tme you have free choice, you are going to have messes.
That is because rarely do people use free choice worth a flip.
It is kind of like my directional sense. It is sorry. I can’t tell which way is north or south. My father could always tell, my sister and brother can, my wife can. If he could talk, I imagine Mordecai, my wife’s antique cat, could tell. But not me.
And because of that, when given the choice, I almost always turn the wrong direction.
From the beginning of time, God knew we would turn the wrong direction when given the choice.
Ephesians 1 says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Before the creation of the world God knew we would mess up. So, in advance, before people or trees or anything else was made, he set up grace.
When he set the great cosmic table, before the meal was even cooked, much less served and eaten, he put out napkins. So when we got stuff on us from eating the great meal of life, we could clean it off.
The napkins are, of course, grace. And the meal is life. Some of us would need a case of napkins per meal, but his grace is all-encompassing, or as 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, sufficient to show his power.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace in my life.
Monday, March 8, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
There is a lot to being comforted by someone. You feel bad, you hurt in some way, and you want to offer comfort. God offers us comfort in that way. We know that he cares for us and, if nothing else, ultimately will take care of us.
Sometimes there is nothing you can do here in this world, and there may be no release from what is wrong. Your comfort comes from the fact that you know God loves you and wants the best for you.
You also know that sometimes bad stuff happens anyway, and it doesn’t matter a fig whether you want it or not.
My wife is ill with multiple sclerosis and there is nothing we can do about it. We have prayed for healing and it has not come. Yet we know God cares for us and will use us anyway.
That was the point in 2 Corinthians 12 when the apostle Paul talked about pain and suffering in a Christian’s life. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
He knew that God loved him anyway, even when he would not give him what he wanted.
As my wife progresses in her pain and suffering, she become sweeter and more gracious. I do not know why, but she does. When she prays for healing, she hears God say the same thing he said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you.
She doesn’t like it, nor do I, but it is a fact that she is going to continue to suffer. Unless God smiles on her and decides to release her from her suffering, she will continue and get worse.
I hate it. But I love God. The pain and suffering did not come from God, but from evil in the world. And the only way God could get rid of it would be to get rid of evil, and then we would be like robots. Then we would not praise, but merely fulfill programming.
I like the choice myself. But with the choice comes the downside: the results of the choice, not only in your own life, but in the world in general.
I suppose that is why it is so hard to help a friend who is suffering who is not a Christian, who doesn’t have that internal peace in times of trouble. There is no focal point for them. All they see is the pain.
Thank you, Lord, for the grace in our lives that gives us the ability to see you through all the problems.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
getting ready to move
We are getting ready to move and I am taking boxes out to the van. I am of two lines: excited and depressed. Depressed because I have moved entirely too much these past few years, but excited because I am going into the Foursquare Church as a pastor.
We are going to an apartment suite until we find a house. As soon as Colorado Springs (headquarters for the Foursquare Church in this region) gets my credential fee, we will be appointed. Installation service will be Palm Sunday, March 28th. I am surely loking forward to it.
Lord, give me the strength to do what I need to do in your service, and give me the patience to do it in your time. and help me to know the difference between the two.
We are going to an apartment suite until we find a house. As soon as Colorado Springs (headquarters for the Foursquare Church in this region) gets my credential fee, we will be appointed. Installation service will be Palm Sunday, March 28th. I am surely loking forward to it.
Lord, give me the strength to do what I need to do in your service, and give me the patience to do it in your time. and help me to know the difference between the two.
last tuesday was texas independence day
Last Tuesday was Texas Independence Day.
It came to my attention that no one but me around here was celebrating it.
Unfortunately, no one in Missouri seems to care about the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 and all of the stuff that went with it.
But consider for a moment. A group of people wanted to be free from foreign oppression so badly that they were willing to die for that freedom.
The Alamo and the Massacre at Goliad were examples but on opposite sides of the coin.
At the Alamo, about 185 defenders fought for 13 days against an overwhelming Mexican army led by Santa Anna, the Napoleon of the West. Ultimately, it was a loss and they were all killed except for two women and their children and possibly a slave named Joe.
At Goliad, almost 400 men were rounded up, imprisoned in a chapel, led out on the prairie and executed while they were trying to run away.
Completely different military exercises, yet done completely differently. One group fought to the death, the other ran and were killed.
These people wanted freedom. Freedom has always been a watchword. Many of us want it enough to die for it. But it has to be earned.
The Goliad people tried to run and were killed. You cannot run from problems. The Alamo people faced it head on and were still killed. But they are remembered for their courage. It takes courage to fight.
How badly do you want to be free from sin? That freedom is not something that you can earn necessarily, but it is something that you have to die for. Galatians 2:20 says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ who lives in me. In order to be truly free, you have to die.
The Texans wanted it badly enough to die for it, as did the American colonists, and multitudes from other cultures throughout history.
God gives you freedom but in order to be free, you have to die. And when you die, you are raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6). You cannot run from sin, because sin will find you and ultimately kill you.
Live free in him who gives you freedom.
It came to my attention that no one but me around here was celebrating it.
Unfortunately, no one in Missouri seems to care about the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 and all of the stuff that went with it.
But consider for a moment. A group of people wanted to be free from foreign oppression so badly that they were willing to die for that freedom.
The Alamo and the Massacre at Goliad were examples but on opposite sides of the coin.
At the Alamo, about 185 defenders fought for 13 days against an overwhelming Mexican army led by Santa Anna, the Napoleon of the West. Ultimately, it was a loss and they were all killed except for two women and their children and possibly a slave named Joe.
At Goliad, almost 400 men were rounded up, imprisoned in a chapel, led out on the prairie and executed while they were trying to run away.
Completely different military exercises, yet done completely differently. One group fought to the death, the other ran and were killed.
These people wanted freedom. Freedom has always been a watchword. Many of us want it enough to die for it. But it has to be earned.
The Goliad people tried to run and were killed. You cannot run from problems. The Alamo people faced it head on and were still killed. But they are remembered for their courage. It takes courage to fight.
How badly do you want to be free from sin? That freedom is not something that you can earn necessarily, but it is something that you have to die for. Galatians 2:20 says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ who lives in me. In order to be truly free, you have to die.
The Texans wanted it badly enough to die for it, as did the American colonists, and multitudes from other cultures throughout history.
God gives you freedom but in order to be free, you have to die. And when you die, you are raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6). You cannot run from sin, because sin will find you and ultimately kill you.
Live free in him who gives you freedom.
daily java
Daily Java: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”- Joshua 1:9.
Our mandate from God is to do something that really cannot be done on our own power. Be perfect as he is perfect, go into all the world and preach the gospel. All those things. On our own power, it cannot be done.
I mean, we might do a lot of good things, but without him and his power, there is nothing that is lasting. That is why some people can make a great church, but have it fall apart when they have problems. It is built on their own strength and not on the power of God.
Our strength is not from ourselves and our own ability. If we could do it ourselves, it would not be from God. He can take what we have and make it powerful and his.
And he will. If we just trust him and let him work in us.
The spirit within us is one of courage. As the apostle Paul said, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). If we are afraid we cannot do it, that is true. If we let that spirit govern us, that is not God. After all, we know we can’t do it from the beginning, yet God wants us to.
And his power and will be shown in us. As Paul also said, his strength will be shown in our weakness.
Our mandate from God is to do something that really cannot be done on our own power. Be perfect as he is perfect, go into all the world and preach the gospel. All those things. On our own power, it cannot be done.
I mean, we might do a lot of good things, but without him and his power, there is nothing that is lasting. That is why some people can make a great church, but have it fall apart when they have problems. It is built on their own strength and not on the power of God.
Our strength is not from ourselves and our own ability. If we could do it ourselves, it would not be from God. He can take what we have and make it powerful and his.
And he will. If we just trust him and let him work in us.
The spirit within us is one of courage. As the apostle Paul said, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). If we are afraid we cannot do it, that is true. If we let that spirit govern us, that is not God. After all, we know we can’t do it from the beginning, yet God wants us to.
And his power and will be shown in us. As Paul also said, his strength will be shown in our weakness.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
nothing to say
I really have had nothing to say for the past couple of days. Tomorrow I will probably blather all day. I promise.
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