Author: chuck

You have to read 1 Corinthians 5!!! It’s awesome in discussing sin in the church and dealing with it. I will get back online and caught up soon!!!

Doing this with an iPhone is close to impossible;)

My big question is on redemption in these cases … When do you allow the fallen son to return?

1 Corinthians 4:10 –

Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed.

This is a great chapter in relationships with our leaders and others. I like this verse because it tends to focus on our faith and how it’s not “normal” to most in this world. Paul went through so much more persecution in his day for following Christ than we may imagine today. He was jailed and beaten for preaching the Gospel, where today in the USA we just are considered delusional by most. Our faith is not under persecution, but just dismissed by many because of science.

Consider the persecution of the day was coming from the Jewish faith whose foundation was destroyed by the Gospel. But as I say this brothers and sisters in Christ are in jails and are facing persecution in Muslim countries. Ironically again the persecution is from followers of God who reject their own teachings and the teachings of Jesus. I often wonder if many of us think these missionaries who get persecuted today are considered “fools”?

This chapter has many great insights as to how we view our leaders and maintain our focus on God and not the leaders. I really like verse 20 that states, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” I have, throughout my walk, questioned God and just figured this was all great teachings, but more of a guide to life and not learning about a living God. It is normal to question ones “sanity” that there is this unseen, omnipresent, omniscient God who is active in our day to day lives. God does say test Him, but we also need to not go overboard every time we are questioning. Remember, many times God gets “quiet” to cause us to dig deeper to understand Him better, so don’t expect to be able to test all the time.

The first few times I read Paul’s writings I did not “get into” them. Recently, every chapter I read is almost all highlighted and marked up. As you read the Bible, don’t be surprised you experience the same thing. You’ll read something that doesn’t seem to apply one year and as you grow and “dig” the next time you look at it the light bulb comes on. Don’t be surprised when something you enlightening you read last year reads different this year. All that means is you are growing! So keep growing!!

1 Corinthians 3:2 –

I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,

Paul is talking to the people about the message he is bringing. He wants the people to understand their maturity in Christ is still young and needs to grow, like a child not ready for solid food. We have all been there and many are still there. I know as a Christian it took me 20 or more years before I was ready to leave milk and dig into the word more. Although my first pastor from West Side Bible in Arizona use to get theologically deep each week, so I guess that stuck. He had an overhead projector and was like watching John Madden describe a football play when he preached.

Anyway, the key that Paul is talking is many of us are not ready for deeper discussions on God; we are still nursing on the initial concepts. We must all be able to present the Gospel in such a way that everyone can understand who God is and how it’s important in our lives. Once the seed is planted, we must cultivate this and grow. We cannot survive on milk alone as we grow, so be aware of that as you learn and teach others.

We need to help as far as we can and then ensure they move to get better teaching. I know many times that means changing churches to go deeper spiritually. Other times that means it’s time to explore deeper study or even step up to lead a small group or Bible study. Either way, we need to continue to grow and help others grow.

Paul later in this chapter, warned us about worshiping the person bringing the message and forgetting about God. People we either saying they were followers of Paul or Apollos, and not God. Paul needed to correct that quickly. We see this today with detonations and mega churches, where people define themselves by their pastor and not God. Again that is something we need to constantly be aware of and not focus on the messenger, but the message. Keep yourself in “check” on this to ensure it doesn’t happen to you or your inner circle.

“Obedience helps faith, and faith in turn, helps obedience. To do God’s will is essential to true faith, and faith is necessary to inplicit obedience.

Yet faith is called upon, and that right often to wait in patience before God, and is prepared for God’s seeming delays in answering prayer. Faith does not grow dishearted because prayer is not immediately honored; it takes God at His Word, and lets Him take what time He chooses in fulfillinf His purposes, and in carrying on his work.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 –

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

I personally love this chapter because it goes into detail on how one should speak to others about God. Have you ever been around others, me included, when they get into a theological discussion that quickly sounds like mumbo-jumbo? It becomes difficult to follow and becomes very complex into describing the nature of God. Many times we do this to bring glory on our knowledge and ourselves and not to God. That needs to be checked often to ensure your not being driven by pride.

Now the preacher has a huge problem leading their “flock”. The pews are filled with a range of knowledge and they must model their sermon to keep the attention of the long-term believer while ensuring the unsaved understand the path to salvation. So their job is very difficult because a church full of people with the knowledge of a new believer and never growing is not what a pastor wants, but at the same time they do not want to miss speaking over the head of a unbeliever.

Last week our church did a “healing” service. I was concerned that it was going to end up being a circus, like many TV evangelists have. I am not saying true healings don’t happen there, but there have been many undercover stories proving fraud at many of these events. So I went in with concern that a new believer was going to walk away thinking our church was psycho. It was done tastefully and with reverence, no public spectacle but a private time praying for our problems. It was an awesome end to a series where the supernatural invades the natural.

In the engineering world we learn a philosophy called K.I.S.S or Keep It Simple Stupid. That is the key for someone who is just being introduced to the Gospel. Salvation is simple, it becomes complex as we dig deep to learn God and understand Him. Although that can become a bunch of techno speak, it too is very simple once you understand. They key is do you approach the Holy Spirit with “child like faith” or with a “questioning spirit”? If you haven’t noticed I come at God with questions out the wazoo, but have yet to come away with anything but a simple answer. It just may take some complex reasoning to get there! They key is to know your audience and speak to their needs, not to your knowledge.

1 Corinthians 1:23 –

So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Paul starts this chapter talking to a church some 2000 years ago and it’s written as if he were talking to us today. The Jews of today are looking to great signs from heaven, as are many Christians and Muslims. The rest of the world is seeking answers elsewhere in themselves or other metaphysical means. Science has corrupted our belief in God to the point where we use it to dismiss God instead of proving His existence. Paul is dealing with similar issues with the early church.

Honestly, someone looking in from the “outside” would have a difficult time with the concept of God. Those who have accepted God would have a difficult time accepting something outside the status quo in Jesus. So it’s really not much different that as it is today. Our faith has to transcend logic to the point of getting people to accept what we know as truth. Paul is pointing out that this becomes more of a heart issue and less of a logic one.

We tend to look at our faith through the lens of someone who has already accepted Jesus for whom He said He is. Where there are so many other views, which oppose ours that we must be able to discuss in persuasive terms. Also we must learn to be strong in our faith so not to be sucked away from our belief from an opposing view. This because a complex set of conditions that Paul tries to “unwind” in this chapter. This is one that needs to be reviewed from time to time so we can cope with issues as they present themselves during our journey.

Nehemiah 13:2 –

For they had not provided the Israelites with food and water in the wilderness. Instead, they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing.

This chapter wraps up Nehemiah’s governance of Jerusalem. He left back to his “normal” job and returned after some time and found many Laws being ignored. First, a man was allowed to live in the temple, Nehemiah evicted him promptly. He found the Levites and singers were working in the fields and not doing their duties, he restored them back and ensured they were provided for. He found men working on the Sabbath and quickly halted their ability to do so. Finally he confronted men who married outside the faith and quickly ended this practice.

My reading this chapter first got me concerned about the Sabbath and our total lack of respect for it. Also, no one can come to terms with what that day actually is in the week, Saturday, Sunday, Friday or some other day. I have heard it’s a “personal” day of rest and defined by you. Once you come to terms with the Sabbath then what do you do? Do you require others to work the “Sabbath” and serve you? Shopping and eating out is doing just that. Also, “rest” for one may be riding 100miles on their bicycle. Have we muddied up the Sabbath? Has Jesus freed us from the legalism of it?

This section was read during one of the readings of the Book of Moses and made the people realize foreigners should be expelled from their ranks. Once this was read the people “immediately excluded from the assembly.” I have always found it interesting how Judaism appears to be very exclusive where Jesus made Christianity all-inclusive. I wonder if the Israelites remain the “chosen people” or have they lost favor? Based on what is happening in the Middle East, I see them maintaining favor with God. I have heard of people converting to Judaism, but am curious if their “blood line” needs to be proven to become “authentic.” One could argue we all come from Adam, but I often wonder us gentiles existed before and Adam is the “head” of the nation of Israel?

So from this chapter we get a bunch of questions about our relationship with God. The key is keep exploring and learning so you can answer them for yourself. And believe me they will change as your knowledge becomes deeper, unless you got lucky the first time through. You can have fun with this, proving oneself right or wrong. For example, it took me 4 or more years for clarity on the Trinity, which could change again in 5 more years.

the next week is going to be hit and miss for my thoughts .. still have them, just may not be able to write them or post them;-)

Nehemiah 12:44 –

On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work.

We see the importance of the tithe, it’s not just to honor God but to support the ministry. The Levites owned no land and did not have a way to support themselves otherwise, hence the main purpose of the tithe. If you think about it God does not need substance or money to survive, but the humans working for him do. I know being part of a growing church people get into the money aspect of needs. And this explodes into some interesting discussions concerning the need to tithe.

I don’t question the numbers or the needs, it’s just a simple equation of 10/10/80. Give 10% to your church to support their ministries. Save 10% for lean times and live off 80%. Unfortunately after 50 years I didn’t learn to apply this simple math until recently. Right not it’s more like 10/70/20 …. Where the 70 is paying off debt!! If you can learn this early on in your life, it will be much smoother to manage in the future. All I can say is trust me and God on this.

Now there was one thing that bothered me about this verse, the use of the word “collect”. It almost sounds like these men go out on a “shake down” to force the tithe. I immediately went to my “translation fallback” of the ESV and saw the wording is “gather” which is much more like a willful act. The tithe should never seem forced, but a joyous act of giving. I can personally say it’s not joyous the first few years, but over time that has changed.

A quick personal story that just recently happened that surprised me. I use “online bill pay” to handle my bills. Because of my budgeting many of the bills get entered before the paycheck is deposited (they get paid after the check is deposited … the fun of bill pay). Last month I had paid more bills than there was month and spun into a panic. I did not tithe because there was no money; the “first fruits” had been picked before I could touch them. Well when balancing my account I discovered a deposit that was entered as a check. If you have done this before you know that shows a double negative, the missing deposit and the negative for the same amount. When I discovered this, the first thing that went through my mind was joy for being able to get “caught up”! So trust me on this, you will eventually become a joyous giver!!

Nehemiah 11:2 –

And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem.

This is something that those who volunteer seem to miss more than get. How many times have you been helping someone out not to get a thanks? As you do this more and more you are surprised at how many people don’t acknowledge the help. Now your response is just as much a ministry as your work. In disaster relief you see this often, but cannot worry because of the loss they have suffered. Many are in shock or lamenting their loss. Other times they are in shock not from loss but surprise anyone would help.

No matter what the response is, we should never let it bother us. I find it interesting that Nehemiah talks about this and I wonder if it’s because appreciation was rare even then. So maybe thanks will be appreciated by not expected. Honestly a negative reaction from a volunteer can destroy any trust or help given. People will remember the hypocrisy before they remember the tree you removed from their yard. So keep yourself “in check” when doing volunteer work.

Now having been the recipient of hundreds of hours of volunteer time working on Annie’s Place, I am sure I have not thanked everyone enough. Annie’s became a project we started a few years ago to help support the homeless as a transition home. It was a disaster and needed a ton of work to be up to code and livable. We had people over the years give us materials and time like one could not believe. It is finally finished and did help people during the construction, but in retrospect I can honestly say I personally did not thank everyone enough for those hard hours they put in. In reading this if you say “hey that’s me” my heartfelt thanks is sincere for all the effort, it couldn’t have been finished without you!

Nehemiah 10:37 –

We will store the produce in the storerooms of the Temple of our God. We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings, the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns.

I always have to “check” myself on this each Christmas season, when giving becomes so emphasized. We do food drives, clothing drives, feed the homeless campaigns and the like. I often find myself figuring out how I can help with what is left. I justify giving the torn jacket or the worn out shirt as it being “better that what they have”. When I shop for food drive, I figure more is better and buy only bulk generic items.

Honestly, should we be shopping the “bottom shelf” for donations and the “top shelf” for ourselves? This verse is clear to give our best and nothing less. It doesn’t say give till it hurts, but of the 10% we are giving make sure it’s quality. We are instructed to give the best, not the least, to honor God. Our giving mentality needs to be more than just volume or discard, but give what we would want.

Now there are two arguments against what I said, first lies in Mathew 7:6 warning us about casting “your pearls before swine”. It’s very clear not to waste time or energy on people who are not receptive. Interesting that verse is sandwiched between verses about judging and receiving. Not sure how to take it other than we need to let God judge where the “swine’s” are and we need to focus on doing what is prompted of us. Second argument against giving the best is this offering is talking about giving to the church and not the poor. So we should be giving our best to the churches and not necessarily to the homeless, who would not appreciate organic cereal.

This is one of those heart issues and I land on the side of give what I would want and nothing less. Granted many times that means 1 bag of groceries and not 3, but I hope the receiver sees love in getting quality and not quantity. I may be wrong and what is desired is a volume, therefore maybe the answer is giving what they desire. If you can ask them what they need and then purchase the best you can. I can honestly say this is a difficult verse to understand and follow mixing it with Mathew 7:6. Many times you cannot follow your heart and you need to focus on the scriptures. Just give your best and pray it’s not going to “swine”!

Nehemiah 9:1 –

On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads.

First thing I find interesting is the date, was this Jewish celebration one of the reasons for Halloween to be chosen for that day? Not going to explore that because in the big picture it’s inconsequential. This chapter has great value in explaining the history of Israel in a nutshell before about 450BC. You can see God’s grace and mercy throughout in how he deals with a rebellious people.

I often wonder where Israel would be today if they had fallen in behind God and not strayed. Would they be a mighty force in the Middle East? Would they have conquered more lands? Would Jesus have come or been necessary? Or was this all part of God’s plan? He knew people would eventually follow their earthly desires and not Gods setting the stage for Jesus saving everyone.

The other thing you need to notice in this verse is how they set up for another reading of the Book of the Law and prepare for confession. Notice they fast and humble themselves by dressing down and dirtying themselves? This is something that we tend to miss today, where church almost becomes more of a fashion show and less a worship experience. I think we spend too much time worrying about what others will think. How many miss God’s Word because they are uncomfortable going into what is perceived as a “pony show”? We have to honor God and respect Him, but that the same time make the environment comfortable for all.

Now the other thing that I noticed is the hours they spend standing, 3 hours for hearing the word and 3 for confessing. That’s 6 hours on their feet! Granted they worked more manual jobs and were in better condition for that length on time standing. I know personally my back would be “jacked” and I would need to take a bunch of time off my feet. Could we as a society do this today? If we couldn’t get in in a byte sized blog, would it hold our attention? Also, it amazes me they could read it in three hours, I don’t read that fast and wonder how I would absorb it that quickly … or maybe that’s why they did it in short succession? Anyway, I am amazed at people’s desire to follow God and learn His way!!

Just read James and reflect on Pride … that’s one thing I have to check on a daily basis.

Nehemiah 8:8 –

They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

In this chapter everyone who could understand what was being read gathered to inside the West Gate to hear Ezra read the Book of the Law. I am not sure I know the literacy rate of this time, but assume it’s relatively low. Also, since reproduction of any book was very arduous, I assume there were few copies to read from anyway. How cool would it have been to hear a reading and then have time to understand what was being read and instructed?

Today we can download apps to our phone and have the Bible read to us at any time we desire. With the advent of the printing press, more copies and translations of the Bible exist today than any other book in history. With the printing press more people became literate and could read the Word on their own. On a positive note this opened God’s message to anyone who wants to read or hear it.

Imagine being in a mass of people many hearing this for the first time. Imaging the emotions that must flow! Have you ever been to a sermon where half the crowd is joyous and the other half is in tears? It’s like when we first received the “Word” in our hearts. Many are free and happy, where many cry like little babies. Imagine this happening with the nation of Israel. Even the ones who knew the word must have been swept in emotion. A good example is a baptism, many of the faithful cheer while many cry in joy. It must have been confusing for the children who saw emotions of all types, including crying with a smile!

Think about it, in life sometimes you have gotten God’s message clear while other times it’s not so clear. A spring gushes water that you sometimes just stumble across, like God working in your life. Other times in a “parched and weary land there is no water” (Psalm 63) you have to dig deep to find the water. This is especially difficult when you have recently been drinking from a spring.

Sometimes God’s silence is because He wants you to dig deep and search Him out.

Nehemiah 7:5 –

So my God gave me the idea to call together all the nobles and leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. I had found the genealogical record of those who had first returned to Judah. This is what was written there:

We hear this throughout the Bible, where God moves someone in such a way that they follow Him. We live our lives following an unseen God who rarely actually talked with anyone audibly. So how did Nehemiah know this was a God idea? Was it because he has learned to sift through the noise in his brain to filter out God’s prompts? How about you and your filter?

Sometimes God is crystal clear in our lives while other times we consider him silent. I think when we are in those silent times we think God has “abandoned” us. I believe the reality is God continues to act in our lives daily, but He flies under our “radar” do we have to dig more to find him. When we are in a “spiritual desert” it’s our responsibility to dig deeper to find the “spring”. God isn’t going to always pop that Oasis over the next dune.

We are all going to have that lost time when we are not hearing from God. Winter is normal in the seasons as it is in our walk with God. It’s not how we respond to the good times, it how we respond to the quiet times. When we are dry and thirsty in a parched land, do we dig or quit? Psalm 63 is a great image of the times God wants us to dig deep. The key here is when you are “not hearing from God” it’s not that He is not there is you have not drawn in close enough to hear His whisper. So read, pray and mediate on God’s word daily, no matter what is going on outside.

Nehemiah 6:9 –

They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.

In this chapter “Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies” were trying to meet with Nehemiah to stop his work on the wall. Guess they realized a strong Jerusalem was a danger to them, so they tried to deceive Nehemiah into meeting with them. Although the chapter does not specifically mention what they were planning on doing, Nehemiah saw through their ploy and continued working.

This happens today only slightly different, instead of sending messengers they send lawyers. How many times have you heard construction was halted because of protected wildlife or some other reason? Sure many times they may have a honest point to protect the environment, but most of the time test complaints appear to be halting progress for other agendas. A leader must be able to understand when that pack of lawyers has an honest concern and just wants to see harm to the progress.

The fact Nehemiah was able to do this shows he was wise and knowledgeable of deception shows his qualities of being a great leader. Much of the time it’s not because God audibly speaks to them, but more they can distinguish God’s will with them. Oh how I wish I had a better gage on “God’s will” in my life. Unfortunately as you have seen, my hindsight is 20/20 where I see what happened or what I should have done. But the fact there are so many “should have’s” in my life I know I am not hearing Him clearly.

The one thing I can say that has helped is reading the Bible and praying daily. In doing this, I have learned what God’s desires in others’ lives was and see the thread between them. I can then filter the noise and “other” prompts to determine what is God and what is not. Even as I write this my brain in thinking back to many stories in the Bible of casting lots and figure now is the time to cast lots or little white balls to gain fortune. And no I am not going to by a lottery ticket because I think God is saying so … but you can see the types of struggles we can have daily between distinguishing God’s desires and our own.

Nehemiah 5:4 –

And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes.

Ironically this verse hit home since I had to pay property taxes on credit cards, second time since 2008 when our focused debt reduction started I have gone negative for the month!! This is a great chapter as so much as it mirrors today’s society here in America (to a point). Everyone is complaining about their debt, their ability to feed their families and their taxes. Nehemiah does something that would never fly in today’s world, he asks the rich to stop charging interest and to pay back the interest already paid. Could you imaging the “stimulus” that would happen if this occurred today? Also, could you imagine the cry from the banks!!

Interestingly he did not ask them to forgive the debts, just the interest. I know in my case if that happened it would be tens of thousands of dollars and would “stimulate” our personal economy. But I could never see this happening today because as a nation we do not have reverence to God’s prompts as the Israelites did then. The nobles of the day did not question it and obeyed Nehemiah, partially out of fear and I believe mostly to honor God.

Another interesting thing I took from this chapter that you will never see today is Nehemiah did not profit during his 12 years as governor of Judah. Today ask congress to do this and you would be run up on a stake and left at the entrance of the capital building. Ever ask yourself how it is these leaders leave congress as millionaires when they make $140,000 a year and have to maintain two residences? That’s something to ponder, but the thing that you need to see with Nehemiah is he was a true servant for the people and did so at HIS expense and not theirs. After reading this chapter what do you think? Are there parallels or am I stretching to find history repeating itself?

Nehemiah 4:14 –

Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

In this chapter the enemies of Israel heard they were rebuilding the wall and mocked their efforts. They made plans to attack and destroy the hope of the Jews. When the people learned of this, they became very concerned. Nehemiah wanted to address it immediately and to ensure that they continued work, but were also prepared to fight. Nehemiah reminds the people that the Lord will fight for them and will protect them.

Then he makes plans to alter the work environment, taking half the works as armed guards and ensuring the workers all have weapons. Now if God will protect them why did they have to take arms? There is a HUGE lesson to learn from this chapter. Notice Nehemiah did not assume God’s protection meant that fire would rain down on the enemy and destroy them. He knew God would help, but they needed to take action.

God does great things and could protect the people in a glorious way, but most of the time He does not want us to be passive fans of God. Think about the last time you got a raise for doing nothing! Most of the time God’s blessing requires our action, and no buying a lottery ticket is not the action! I have been on a long journey asking for financial favor.

When I look back I can think of prompts I ignored, sell prompts where 90% of the value was lost, job opportunities in strip malls that turn into giants, land deals that fell through because I wanted more and the list goes on. The one thing that was consistent through those twenty plus years was I got a bunch of losing lottery tickets! What we need to learn from Nehemiah is God will give us favor and will fight for us, but we need to take action in order for His glory to be shown. Don’t end up in your 50’s looking back at prompts you ignored and actions you did not take with regret. Tennyson said it best “’Tis better to have loved and lost. Than never to have loved at all.” Have faith that the “prompt” is positive and if it’s wrong, learn and move on. Don’t be a passive fan of God, but an active lover of God!!

Nehemiah 3:16 –

Next to him was Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the leader of half the district of Beth-zur. He rebuilt the wall from a place across from the tombs of David’s family as far as the water reservoir and the House of the Warriors.

Before I get started on this “thread” I want to be clear, this Nehemiah is actually another person with the same name. Go back to 1:1 and you will see our writer is the son of Hacaliah. Either way this Nehemiah still held a high position. As you read this chapter it’s very dry describing everyone’s role in rebuilding the wall. Focus on the roles people take in the project.

There are two interesting concepts to notice, the first being how a project of this magnitude was “sectioned” out. Nehemiah had his hands full making sure that people were not repeating each other’s work. How many times have you been working on a project only to find you are repeating something that had already been done? Without someone managing the project this is easy. We learn from this chapter the importance of someone knowing the whole picture.

The other thing that really got me interested in this verse was Nehemiah was in the trenches with his workers. Even though this is not the same Nehemiah, notice he is a leader of half the district. Here a leader is leading by example. One event that made an impression on me was the Fall Festival at Shadowbrook. Pastor Bobby was the cook for this large event. It wasn’t that they could not find a cook; his purpose was to lead by serving.

What other “leader” did this? Jesus more than once served others as an example to humble yourself. He did this right to the end washing their feet before the last supper. I mean think about it, He was God in the “flesh” not just a king, but the King, and he washed his disciple’s feet. Interestingly, if you noticed in verse 5 it talked about the “leaders” of Tekoa refusing to work with the construction supervisors. I find it interesting that these were the only leaders who refused to help. In reading this one thing to remember, you are never too high and mighty to not clean the toilets from time to time. Humble leaders need to be strong also, or they will have an “audience” watching them work.

Nehemiah 2:4 –

The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven,

Most of the time we tend to think of prayer as being one of those quite moments alone between God and ourselves. Here Nehemiah is doing it “one the fly” in his dealings with the king. If you think about it he did not have time for one of those “Oh Father thou art …” type prayers. It most likely was a “God give me the words” and go type. As we saw a few verses earlier he was “terrified” at even bringing this up with the king.

Many times we get caught up in the formality of prayer. Think it has to have a formula to work. Many times we get lost in the x, y and z’s of prayer that we forget to just lift them up in the moment. Sure our “quite” prayer time needs some structure, but that doesn’t mean our lines of communications are closed unless we are in the quiet moments. No we need to become more aware of Him in our daily walk.

I think it’s because we look at God as the king Nehemiah is conversing with. Notice in this story the king was concerned about his mood. When Nehemiah talked with him about it, the king did not fight with him and granted his request. God is the same way with us; we do not need to fear Him when we approach Him humbly.

There is a big difference between the king and God in that God is with us all the time. We tend to limit our understanding of God when we place Him on a “throne” overseeing the universe. God is involved in each and every one of our lives. There is no hiding from Him, so might as well embrace the relationship and talk with Him whenever. Don’t get “flippant” in your walk, but at the same time don’t avoid this relationship. God wants it and He will pursue you to get it, so embrace it!

This one had a significant impact on both mama and D! Our series at church is on the supernatural invading the natural. Katy needed to be woken up a bit, I guess. She prayed for God to give her a sign and got real specific about wanting Devon to be touched in a way that there was no doubt it was God … and to contact her.

Well Devon only calls when he needs something, so this was a stretch. He texted her at noon with the following:

“I had an awful dream. I love you so much”

When she talked with him he started having a long awful dream around 6:30 and finally sent the text … at 9am. Interestingly this prayer was around 9:30 am EST. Note – Devon is in California … so you “explain” this one outside of God!

Nehemiah 1:4 –

When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah had just heard the walls of the city of Jerusalem had just fallen. His position was Artaxerxes’, king Persia’s, “cup bearer,” which is actually a high position since he must be trusted to protect the king from being poisoned. So he was actually in a position of great influence during his time. That is the set up to this verse in which he acts on the information he had just heard

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Notice what he does mourn, fast and pray. Does this mean we must fast in order for our prayers to be heard? I don’t believe so and often wonder the importance of fasting. On a physical level it’s ultra-important in the means of flushing toxins out of one’s body, but I am still not sure how it invades the spiritual world. I have fasted often and try to do so at least once a month for a day or two. Must be honest, during this time I have never received any great revelations other than clarity in my mind. Maybe that is what God desires for us to obey and get focused on his message.

What follows is one of the model prayers of the Bible that actually gets little notice. I suggest reading it in full and noticing the format. I follow the way most prayers should be modeled, praise the Lord, confess your sins, remember the promise and then ask. It’s so simple and yet we miss it often. Jesus prayed the “Lord’s Prayer” from Matthew 6 is the same basic format only in a slightly different order, praise, ask, confess and protect.

Personally I like to follow the format of praise, to ensure that I gain focus on who I am talking to and the magnitude of this conversation I am starting. On a very small scale this is like being able to talk, one on one, with the President of the United States whenever you wanted! Second, I confess and get very specific. See God does not need to discover your sins, he already knows, He desired YOU to discover your sins. Become intimate with them and conquer them. My first pastor at West Side Bible in Phoenix made me aware of the importance of this, since each one is scar tissue blocking your relationship with God.

Unfortunately, many times I get into the rut of “Lord I have sinned, please forgive me” figuring He knows them already. Pastor Kevin made a great suggestion of actually listing each one on paper, and then mark them all as “forgiven” to remind us of the salvation we gain through Jesus. Then I start my “asks”, for myself and other. Although this is my time with God many times I stop personal asks so I don’t forget praying for others. Often times I slam through the praise and confession and start going deep into my “asks.” My way to reset that is stop for a week. So pray often, fast occasionally and keep the “formula” every day.

4 more books to GO! … I may back fill some books early on that I never really wrote about … including Revelations … then will consider a different format on the same basic theme. ENJOY!!

Romans 16:17 –

And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.

This is one of those verses that one must ask “how will we know” and if the teaching is false what happens to the salvation of those who follow? I cannot answer part two easily, but I do know the answer for the knowing part. It is easily done by actually reading the Bible and learning it. Recently I have heard of a group saying if you cannot speak in tongues than you are not saved. The basic message of the church on salvation is right, they just missed the mark when reading the word “some”.

The key that Paul is making is to not just blindly listen to someone tell you their story of salvation. We have the Bible, if you really want protection from false teaching, read it daily and fact check. Don’t just take what is being taught as doctrinal truth. You will gain a better understanding of what is being preached and be able to more clearly see God.

Believe me that diving into a study on a daily basis is so valuable in your day to day life. Some doctrines I would “never” accept have become clear. When you have a solid understanding of the Bible under your belt, other things start to provide clarity to God. I love to use the book/movie “The Secret” as an example of how I gained clarity. In a nutshell the secret is to ask the universe for stuff and you will get it. In a way it was very outside God, but at the same time provided me complete clarity on whom or what God is. Of course this may change after more study, as my understanding of the “trinity,” which shows once you start it’s never over. Believe me the more you learn the more you desire to learn!

Romans 15:13 & 30 –

<13>pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
<30>Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.

Oh how this just works on me today. I so dearly want people to pray for me, but on the other hand I wonder if I really pray enough for others. Notice the order Paul places these words! Verse 13 has Paul praying for others and wishing God’s work in their lives. That much later in verse 30, knowing he cannot survive on his prayers alone asks for others to pray for him. I pray that I keep the order correct in my mind, since many times I become self-absorbed in my day to day problems, and ask for prayers more than I give them

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This chapter is a wonderful demonstration of Paul trying to teach others how to deal with each other. How they must submit to one and other for harmony and the first place to do this is in prayer. By reading this you should understand that is not where this stops, you don’t just pray for a person and move on. If you can help, do so with love and understanding. Paul always traveled and in this demonstrates his willingness to serve others. He is traveling to Jerusalem with an offering from the people of Macedonia and Achaia. Then he is going to Spain with a jaunt to Rome, all to spread the love of Jesus. These are huge trips he is taking, think about walking to NYC, then walking to Indianapolis on your way to Miami!

One little note that we must all be aware of is don’t use prayer for gossip. If you need prayers ask for them, if you wish the people to “share” you request that’s fine. But don’t use something in confidence to tell others about their issues. How many times have we heard the “pray for brothers so and so, he just …” and then it becomes a discussion on what he did and no prayer is given. Again be ever diligent on praying for others and how you pray for them. Also, don’t keep your requests bottled up as “petty” or “not worth God’s time”!

Think of God as light and our prayers as water drops. One drop in the air not much happens. But the more and more that get there than God’s “light” bends or “refracts” and creates a thing of beauty out of all “rain!” What may see awful and has you hating life suddenly has a rainbow appear from the storm. I may have to develop this analogy since it implies the prayers are the “storm”, but I think you get the idea. It’s not always one prayer that makes the rainbow, but many!

Romans 14:17 & 23 –

<17>For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
<23>But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

This chapter turns the Law up on its head, especially when addressing the food laws. One of the problems with the Jewish faith at this time is it became very legalistic and people became pious over their adherence to the Law. This chapter is devoted to turning that “feeling” on its head, which is what Jesus seems to do. So my belief over eating and yours may be completely different, and I should not assume my salvation is better because I don’t eat this or that.

I could have gotten all self-righteous about how God’s food laws are actually the best for your body. At the same time I don’t think it’s a requirement for salvation, it’s just a guideline for healthy living. The key to all this is verse 23 and following your own convictions. I think as Christians we tend to stray more by “ignoring” our convictions than “following” them and then claiming this exception. We must really be in tune with the Holy Spirit to dial in our convictions, and that requires prayer, worship, study and discussing it among ourselves.

Now “following your convictions” leads to this dilemma, if someone is psycho and believes murder is ok, and this person is saved, would he be sinning? Some would argue he is not saved then, while if they have mental issues they may be saved. In that instance I would have to side on punishing the person for the act, but not judging his salvation, that is between him and God.

One thing this highlights is the problems between denominations in the church today. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the word “cult” applied to the Catholics, Mormons or the Jehovah Witnesses. This belief can be toxic for a person’s walk with God. After hearing this I talked with people in each “cult” and the underlying belief is Jesus’ story was real and He died for our sins. We must carefully apply this chapter before “judging” any other person’s beliefs. There may be some things that we cannot accept, but as long as the core belief of John 3:16 holds we only will cause conflicts and doubt in the eyes of the unsaved.

Romans 13:3 –

For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.

This chapter is an interesting one since it touches on many subjects that are tough these days. Verse 6 says “pay your taxes”, something we all should do and most hate to do. How many of us “respect and honor” the IRS or the current congress? Verse 8 says “owe nothing to anyone”, does that include our homes, cars, tv’s or cell phones? Then verse 13 says “don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness”! Paul is asking a lot in this chapter paying taxes, not going into debt, not partying and to top it off loving everyone!

We go back to the authorities and this verse. How many times have you been driving along and a police officer pulls in behind you. Are you calm and relaxed or does panic set in? Did you do something to break the law and you are sure he is going to pull you over? Do you have something in the car that you shouldn’t? Were you coming back from a night of “wild parties?” If you “do what is right” there is nothing to worry about and you can be at peace.

Think about verse 6 and how it works with this one, if you pay your taxes than the “tax collectors” will have no reason to harass you. I must say today we all live in fear of the “IRS audit” not because we are doing wrong, but because the tax code is so complex that no one can reasonably comply with it 100%. Now look at 8 again and if you kept out of debt and paid your current bills, there would be no fear of the sheriff seizing your home or car. We are slaves to the lender (Proverbs 22:7) and therefore authorities have power enforcing this lien. Verse 13 goes to several areas of respect for authority like noise late into the night, public drunkenness, drunk driving and just plain stupidity! All are showing no respect to authority.

Should we question authority? When they are wrong by all means yes! But how do you define wrong and how far do you question authority? A perfect example is the Occupy Wall Street movement, one which right now is considered the lunatic fringe, with increasing violence, crime, littering and health concerns. Also, it doesn’t help that all groups that are upset about anything, or just looking to party or fight are glomming on to this movement.

What was the initial protest? The protest message is against the rampant greed and fraud on Wall Street, which can be highlighted in the current banking problems. Here is a place where the “authorities” have been asleep at the wheel and the people felt the need to rise up. Is it right how they are doing it? No, but what the core protest is about in necessary to bring to light. So this becomes a difficult as a Christian, do we support the protests because of the rampant corruption and fraud from greed or reject them because of the mixed messages and total lack of respect for the law? Do these protest conflict with this verse?

Just to mess with people … be kind out of spite if that’s what works for you;-)

²¹ If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
      If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
 ²² You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
      and the Lord will reward you.

Romans 12:1 –

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Bookmark this chapter and go back to it often. For such a short chapter it’s captivating and powerful. You have so many subjects covered in short order. I like how Paul encourages us to use our “spiritual gifts” and in doing so implies that we don’t necessarily need to have them all. He goes very deep into what love means and how to actually show it. Defiantly a chapter to read over a few times and based on the number of highlights in my Bible I had already followed someone else’s suggestion.

The chapter starts with us learning to be living sacrifices, but what does that really mean? We hear this in church often and never really dwell on it too much. First, in the time Paul was writing this the custom with the Israelites was to sacrifice a living animal to transfer their sins to the animal before it dies, since the penalty of sin is death.

So is God asking us to actually do this personally? No, but instead to sacrifice our lives to Christ. This is something that’s easily said, but in practice is very difficult. We have so many outside influences and past sins that letting go is difficult. A drink here, a glance there, a yearning for a new toy around another corner all tends to distract our daily walk. The key is do we let them take hold and move forward or do we make a personal sacrifice and not pursue them? The key is knowing your weakness and learning to manage it.

Mine has been lust, I used to be hooked on Playboy and justified it for the “articles”. It’s amazing how quickly you learn to manage that when you get married and are “called out” trying to justify it. When this happened in our marriage you HAD to go someplace and to buy porn, I can’t imagine how difficult stopping is today being a click away. The key is I had to sacrifice my lust daily without compromise. Yesterday, an attractive young lady “friended” me on Facebook, since we didn’t know her and could not find a connection, I hit “Delete Request”. The key is to never put yourself close to something that can grab your attention away from God’s ultimate plan.

Romans 11:11 –

Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.

When you read this and look at the state of our nation and the world today we have hope. Fortunately God is compassionate or we would all be hosed! I find it interesting the reason God has shown favor onto the Gentiles, to spawn jealousy. At the same time the last Commandment is not to covet and is God creating a paradox with trying to get His people jealous?

There are many so called paradoxes in the Bible like “receiving from giving” or “strength through weakness” but this one seems strange. The others actually follow the Law and do not contradict it. Now in this instance is jealously the same as coveting? That is a tough one but let’s look at definitions first. Both are very close even when you go back to the original context. Thesaurus’ even use both words are synonyms so it becomes difficult to break down unless we go back to Exodus 20:17 and notice the coveting is other people’s possessions.

Although our salvation is a possession it’s not something that anyone else can’t have also, so they are jealous of a relationship which they can have also. In this use of the word God is not asking us to violate a commandment. No here He wants everyone to join in on the “party” and instead of looking over the fence and being jealous. God offered this as a gift to everyone, not just “His people” since He knew the barriers that would need to be overcome before an entrenched people could change. The easiest way was through jealousy since they would have to yearn for that personal relationship to break the chains of the Law.

I want to also touch on verses13-24 since this an important analogy to understand. What God is describing is how the Gentiles are being grafted into God’s family and how the branches which are dying need to be pruned away. Now one very important thing to notice is the grace described in this section as which you may be grafted back into the tree if you are ready to return. So if you feel, like I did, that your drifting away means no more relationship with God these verses are for you. Like the prodigal son, God will welcome anyone back with open arms!

Romans 10:9 –

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is the Gospel boiled down into one verse. Salvation is not real complex and all the books of the Bible point to this one concept. It’s simple when you really think about it. Salvation can be boiled down into a simple ABC’s: Accept Christ as Lord, Believe He died for our salvation and Confess our sins before Him. After that it’s just a pursuit in knowing God.

Where the Bible becomes complex is really understanding God. It’s difficult to understand in one sitting who an all knowing (omniscient), all present (omnipresent) and eternal God is, hence why we personify Him. Initially it’s easier to wrap our arms around a father figure who has a body than some big energy field. The cool thing is God has given us the Bible to learn and pursue the study of God.

Once your salvation is secure you are ready for heaven, but how about the rest of your time here? Think about this “relationship” like an earthly relationship. You start dating someone, it’s not just a “hey let’s get married”, but more of a day to day time exploring that person to get to really know them. Our time with God should be the same, each day trying to learn more and more about Him. Heck, I have spent roughly 40 years loosely trying to do this and still am learning something new each day.

So make time to read and pray after you have taken the “easy” steps to salvation. It will not secure you a better place in heaven but it WILL help you in your travels here on earth. Also, it will help you bring others to the joy and salvation you know. Believe me, it also makes your day to day life easier to understand and cope with as your knowledge of God grows.

Think of God as the OS, not the Hardware! We are in HIS image as a soul not as a body! – I know I’m a GEEK!

Romans 9:21 –

When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?

This is one of those verses that is beautiful but painful at the same time. As we read this we all want to make ourselves the jar for decoration, but you know what some of us need to be trash cans. It’s so hard for many of us to accept our place in life; we all have this prince charming syndrome where we expect to be part of the royal order. As hard as this may sound, everyone can’t be the king or queen.

Some of us have a much harder time accepting this than others and believe me I will put my name at the top of this list. I have always felt that I had a much higher calling than what I am doing. At 16 I was a land surveyor and started to compare my “destiny” with another famous land surveyor, George Washington. How arrogant was that to assume that because myself and the father of our country were both land surveyors in their youth, that qualified me to be the leader of our nation?

I consider myself delusional much of the time. Do you ever feel like God is shaping you to become a wonderfully useful trash receptacle and you keep messing with the clay to form what you want? Ever watch a potter with a lump of clay? It’s cool that as it’s spinning they mold it into whatever they want, and if they mess up, the work may be picked up and slammed back onto the wheel as a lump again. I feel like that happens to me almost on a weekly basis!

How about you? Are you willing to accept your “lot” in life or do you feel there is more for you and no matter what the circumstances you will strive for more? Are you a lifeless lump of clay or are you actively trying to shape your life into what you want? Or are you actively helping God, the potter, shape you into what He wants? This is where the analogy doesn’t hold water too well, pun intended. I don’t believe God wants us to be a lump of clay, but at the same time he does not want us to be the potter.

I believe he wants us to be active in helping HIM mold us, accepting our destiny and working to glorify Him through it. No matter if you are a president or a garbage collector, God wants you to shine his light at all times. And no I have no desire to lead our great nation, would not want the years from high school to present under the “microscope” of the press. The key point is don’t fight the molding, but work with it because it hurts to be slammed into the wheel and have the remolding process begin again … especially as we get older!

Romans 8:15 –

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Wow another great chapter, bet you though I would pick 8:28! Or verse 31, or a plethora of other verses that speak so many truths. I hope your eyes have been open like mine while reading this chapter; it is full of so many insights to God and our relationship with him. I would suggest taking more time in the day to “digest” what Paul is saying in this chapter, from our sinful nature to God “having our backs”!

I love this comparison of God to a loving father. I look at my own father can see God’s relationship with us more clearly. Also, my relationship with you two have opened my eyes to God’s heart and how He relates to us. It’s hard to explain where you want to give all the love you possibly can, but at the same time not wanting to smother or spoil you. God has been doing this for millenniums, where the 20 years or so I have been doing this has been flawed. I think as we watch God’s relationship with the Israelites, it’s almost like a father growing along with the people.

That is a no-no in the “theological” world to imply that God changed over time. He still is what He is, but I think either the people have changed in relating to Him, or He has become more tolerant. This is a personal idea which I will be exploring and studying for some time. Fathers grow with the children, so why could God not have “grown” or at least changed his approach to us.

The key to this verse is how God is our father and not our genie. We can’t expect God to give us a lottery win while we are buying some “forties” to get wasted on. If God wants us to be rich, he will make sure we are ready and not just give us what we want when we want it. We can see how disrespectful spoiled brats can be, imagine if God spoiled us? Would we be responsible or would we whine for more? Just remember to look at God’s love through the prism of a father.

Romans 7:7 –

Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

This again clouds things up, is Paul saying we are free to ignore the law or does the law still apply? Can you “sin” if you do not know it’s a sin? That is implied also with the Gentiles since they did not have the law. No wonder the church is so confused about the significance of the law in our Christian walk. You have in one chapter verses that could justify almost any position.

One can get consumed in the law and become legalistic about it thinking, like the Jews, that salvation comes from adherence to the law. Before you say no, think about how many times you have heard about people who get trapped in a huge sin trap. The “church” dismissed them as not really being saved, since if they “really” had Jesus they would not have done that. Really? Then you are giving sins value, because how many times have we wanted what Joe has? Many of us covet daily, yet we are still considered saved, but commit adultery or divorce and your banished.

A sin is a sin and we need to understand sin is covered by the death of Jesus on the cross. We are not going to magically end its hold on us by submitting. But with the help of knowing the law and having the Holy Spirit with us be able to sequester desires quickly. We all stumble, it is just life. We need to understand that assuming someone really didn’t have Christ to begin with is judging that person, possibly wrongly.

The key from this chapter is the importance of the law to teach us about sin. It no longer is the way to salvation, since no man can every hope to live up to the law (less Jesus). Therefore, the law is significant as a tool for instructing us, but again our faith that Jesus is who He said He is grants us salvation. Our lives are lost without God’s law, we need to understand it and try to live it. When we see we blow it, confess and stop the acts, then move on. Ideally we will learn to hear the Holy Spirit and discern it from our own selfish desires to guide us. But it helps knowing the laws on a conscious level also since relying on the Holy Spirit can get us in trouble.

I have always had a vision that my “destiny” was to bring wealth back into our family, since our grandparents were part of the “1%” at one time. Looking back I can’t say how many lottery tickets the “Holy Spirit” had me buy and how many real missed opportunities I had let pass because I ignored the “real” Holy Spirit. After 30 some years I wonder if I squandered this opportunity looking for the quick buck? Also, I really have to wonder if my original “vision” was just selfish wants and desires. The key is use the law to teach yourself what is right, so that inner voice of the Holy Spirit can be discerned!

Romans 6:15 & 23 –

<15> Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!
<23> For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is a great chapter and goes deep into sin and the ultimate result. It explains the importance and symbolism of baptism. I ended up highlighting almost the entire chapter and putting stars next to quite a few verses, which made it difficult to narrow down my selection to talk about. I suggest reading and contemplating the entire chapter today!

I have always contended that we are free from the law in the manner of which the legalistic hold it had on the people’s relationship with God, but we are not free to ignore it. In no way do our transgressions glorify God, sure God may use them to glorify Himself, but it’s never the other way around. God desires us to be free of the burden of the law, but in doing so we freely decide not to sin. The law provides a frame work about what sin is and is not. Many of the “sins” of the day were not sins but guides to live the life God wanted for us. It wasn’t a sin to eat pork; it just wasn’t the best food for your overall health.

Think about the witness it gives others, why should they desire change in their life if they don’t see a reason to change? If the “wages of sin” is death why would we even consider continuing in that way? Jesus gave us a free gift on the cross and all we have to do is accept it. Sure salvation comes but with it responsibilities to hold true to attempting to live like Jesus. I know we slip, but the key is to identify them, confess and correct immediately. Don’t click to the naked girl’s site, or drink past your “limit”, or let the anger fester inside, just live like you are honoring God ever second of every day. Do this for love of God, and if you have not developed the love for God yet, do it to honor your family and friends.

Romans 5:3 & 4 –

<3> We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. <4> And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Paul is such an optimist on being at peace in trials. He had joy and peace in prison! How many of us could do that? We are not being jailed for our faith like Paul was; our prison time is usually because of well-deserved transgressions. Paul on the other hand was being persecuted because of his faith in Jesus. So where he is happy carrying a cross of unjust punishment like Christ’s, we cannot relate since jail is usually just for us!

Everyone likes to point to Paul and say look at his joy in tough situations and compare that to our problems. That is really hard to do for a few reasons, first of which is our issues are usually because of sin where Paul’s were because of his faith. We have dug our own hole and finding peace is difficult, we must first reconcile with God and then with others. Witnessing to other inmates about God’s grace is difficult when you are dirty also, Paul’s only crime was faith.

Also, let’s be honest, our faith would be so much easier to have if we had a “Damascus moment” and saw Christ. We have to slug through our lives having to link our past to our prayers and notice where God was active in the events. Unfortunately, the scientist and statisticians will lay this all on chance and coincidence. Of course if we did have a “Damascus moment” the psychologists and psychiatrist would have something to say. Heck we read these stories and many call them “fables” to dismiss their authenticity.

Finally, Paul had clarity in his purpose. Heck I try to figure out what my purpose is each day where once he had his “Damascus moment” his purpose was clear. I flounder around this world wondering if what I am doing is right and look back at my past to see all the mess-ups. It’s not good exercise kicking oneself in the backside, but I like doing it.

I love making analogies most will not understand, but sometimes I feel like Pippin. In the play Pippin, the main character was the son of King Charlemagne and kept looking for more. In the end, when faced with one final act of bravado, he realized a simple life was the answer. We hear great stories of faith and answered prayers, desiring that in our own lives. We try everything to have the joy and faith Paul had to no avail. When really what we need to do is find a clearing and watch God’s glory in the sunset!

Romans 4:20 –

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

This chapter is awesome when it comes to understanding that no matter what we do or do not do, our salvation rests in faith and not works. Sure faith without works is dead and we can find instances in the Bible that would imply works are a necessary component in the Christian’s walk. Although necessary, they are not required for one’s salvation.

One often rests on their faith and salvation, goes to church and praises God with all their heart. But they remain stuck in the world when they walk out of the church. They will enjoy eternal salvation with God, but they will have missed out in their lives here on earth. I believe the message we need to take from here is that works are not the “Way”, but a necessary component along the “Way” for a joyous life here on earth. Now with that said one can point to Paul, and his life of misery for his “works”, but through it all he had peace! Not to mention his words have lived thousands of years.

Now I selected this verse not because of the emphasis of faith, but to actually point out a problem. Think about it, if Abraham’s faith never wavered, why did he have a child with Hagar? He had faith God was going to do what He promised, but Abraham took matters into his own hands when thinks God is not as responsive as he should be. It’s normal to want to push God’s promise along, but we must do so in a wise manner or your blessings will be delayed.

God is not a genie that we command, think about it Ishmael arrived some 11 years after the initial promise and Isaac was 25 years later. God took 25 years for that promise! As we saw with the Israelites and Joshua, it took hundreds of years for the promised lands, and even after the initial freedom they still had to wait! So to say Abraham’s faith of being the seed to a great nation never waived is true, but his lack of patience showed some wavering on God’s execution. We need to understand that God’s promise may not come tomorrow or next week, it may take 40+ years! And then we will need to work hard at it, think to Joshua!!

Romans 3:5 & 28 –

<5>”But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.)
<28>So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

I know these verses are not really tied together, and I do not have some unique way to intertwine them. I just felt both needed addressing. Verses 5 through 8 are kind of interesting since they are people trying to justify sinning. This logic is dangerous and must be squashed immediately in your life. Our job is to shine for God not sin for God! How can sinning help show the righteous of God anyway? Part of believing in God is to follow his laws and guidelines, none of which say do what you want!

I have actually heard this logic presented a different way, not necessarily that sinning will glorify God but that God “made them this way!” All of these are lazy excuses for not following God’s instructions. This is like expecting a present from the person who you ignore and treat like crap! If you love God and want to please him, sinning is the last thing one should be striving to perform. On the contrary we should be focused on showing God’s love and grace to all, to mirror his glory.

Now verse 28 make it’s clear that we are not saved by works, actions or adherence to the Law. We are saved on faith alone. Initially faith in God is difficult to comprehend. We look at the law not as the way to God, but as a way to show you God’s standard. Before someone can really “repent” they need to understand what kind of standard God has. Once we know the standard, we can follow the ABC’s of getting saved:

• Accept Christ and God as our king, and that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross cleansed us of sins.
• Believe in God and that Christ really walked on this earth.
• Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness.

People get lost in the law and start to focus on trying to live by it for salvation. We cannot reach the standard of the law, but that does not give us free reign to ignore it or to think our sinning shows God righteousness! (I did tie them together!!)

Romans 2:14 & 15 –

<14>Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. <15> They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

In this chapter Paul is making it clear to everyone, both Jew and Gentile, the penalty of sin. Interestingly, it mentions God will judge the Gentile just as strict as the Jew even though they do not know the law. Granted the Jew will be held to a slightly higher standard because they have the law and many choose to ignore it. We as Christians quickly pull ourselves into the having to live by the standards of the Jews, since we know the law more than just instinctively

.

This now brings us to these two verses and how God has written his law on our hearts. Think of the 10 Commandments, which is the only part of the Bible that was written by God’s hand, and how you already knew them. When you really think about it, God not only wrote these on stone tablets, but also inscribed them in our hearts. Here Paul outright says it.

If you look at different cultures throughout the world, you will notice a common thread of these laws. They did not have Moses bring them down from the mountain, no they were already written on their hearts. Sure you can find a culture that ignores these truths, but I bet if you study them for a few years the underlying law will be exposed in their actions or responses. I think we can go on for years analyzing what is truly inscribed on our hearts, but I think it’s safe to say God wrote the 10 Commandments on them. We just need to follow our hearts more often and ensure that we have not trained it away from the written law.

Romans 1:21 & 25 –

<21>Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

This chapter is awesome and convicting at the same time, it’s one that you should read a few times to digest. Paul is addressing the church in Rome where we know from history the moral decay that society went through. This goes to the heart of creation by stating we know God by the universe and world around us. Then they acknowledged other gods where today we look to science for concrete answers. When we do not get them we apply “theories” and present them as “fact” where people take them on “faith.”

Are we in the same state as Rome was 2000 years ago, by knowing God but dismissing Him? Look at verse 25 and we can apply this to today’s society as much as we could the society in Rome then.

<25> They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

We do this too often and trade other ideas for God. We start to compartmentalize God and worship parts of His nature. Take Love, many say God is love and worship love. They want to ignore that death and vengeance parts of the Bible saying a loving God would not do this. So Love becomes their God.

Of take nature, people make nature their God and dismiss the true creator. The most “famous” current idol for this is “mother nature” who has even made it into commercials as a controlling everything. God is nature but nature is not god! We could go on and on making analogies like this where an attribute of God becomes people’s god. Let’s face it, just because we don’t like something God does or one of His attributes doesn’t mean we dismiss it. No more than ever we should dive in to understand it.

I did this with the “trinity”, I could not understand how God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus were all the same. I could see God and the Holy Spirit, but Jesus is time and time again God’s son. How can Jesus be His son and Him at the same time? The common explanation is there are some things we just can’t comprehend and must take on faith. I could not accept that and needed to know the truth and get clarity. I undertook a 5 year quest to really understand the “Holy Trinity” and finally did. Ironically clarity came from a self-indulgent video call “The Secret”. The key Paul is trying to make here is make God your God and not some attribute that feels right.

Get ready to be slammed!! Paul examines some difficult issues with our world. So sit down, strap in and enjoy!!

Joshua 24:15 –

But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua spends the first part of this chapter reviewing what God did for them in the past, so to remind them of where their allegiance needs to lay. This verse really says it all as far as our need to commit. They had a choice to either worship the god’s around them or worship the one true God the delivered them from Egypt. Joshua is saying go one direction or another, but not both.

Ironically we tend to dismiss this today and follow other gods while trying to live a life holy to God. The problem is we don’t have other gods, but we have other idols. If you don’t believe so, ask yourself what consumes more time, your hobby, car, bank account or God? Today we tend to believe in God and dismiss the other gods that existed in previous days, since most have been dismissed by science. We know that water particles rising in a cloud cause static friction and eventually discharge is a spectacular bolt of lightning.

The other gods have been dismissed by science and science is trying to dismiss the one true God. Today our focus is more on stuff and that consumes our thoughts. How many times do we pray for our own betterment? Pray for that nice car, a better job or a new house … on and on you can list selfish prayers. Believe me I am guilty of all these this week alone. They key is don’t let the world consume us, but let God consume us.

To paraphrase Jesus and Paul, we are in this world but do not be of this world. That is really what Joshua is saying here since the world around them wants different things. Like today the outside influences can distract our walk with God. Our idols have changed for the unknown to the physical. The idols now have names like Mercedes, Versace, Prada or Porsche and consume us like idols before. It’s a fine line between having nice stuff that you can afford and worshiping them. My question is can you love God with all your heart and drive a Porsche? The key is who you think of more!

Joshua 23:6 –

So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.

Joshua is giving his words to Israel and wants to make sure they understand the ramifications of their obedience. Here he is focusing on the Law or Book of Instruction that was given to them by Moses. It’s interesting when you read further on, especially when studying the kings of Israel you see how they often put aside these Laws and end up misplacing them. When they do this it always ends up in a huge mess. I find it interesting how they call this the “Book of Instruction” here, when does it become the “Law”?

Maybe that is where the Israelites goofed in following Moses’ writings? They were to be a guide to proper living for good spiritual, fiscal, and healthy lives. But they soon became “law” where it became a “sin” to eat certain foods or not to tithe. The culture moved from trying to have the best relationship with God to trying to follow these “instructions” a legalistic manner. Hence where Jesus needed to come in and turn the thinking upside-down.

We wrestle with the Old Testament and the Law as we grow as Christians. The “base” is the 10 Commandments which are simple and easy to understand. When it gets into tithing, food laws, sacrifices and the like it becomes difficult for people to understand when applied to Christianity. Jesus when asked about the Law always made it more difficult. When asked about the tithe, he said give it all. He never relaxed the “Instructions” but made them more difficult. I think to illustrate the folly of trying to please God by deeds alone and the need to submit in our relationship.

God want a relationship, not some rule based works program. Now the next verse talks about the people who are not Israelites among them. I find it interesting how the Jewish community follows this guide and is very close knit. We as Christians we open our arms to everyone trying to convert them to followers of Christ. In doing this we often pollute our base of influence with people who have distorted views of following God or make aspects of God the god, like love. God is love but don’t make love your “god”. This is the most common misconception people have since if God is love why do so many die? Why is Christ the “only” way to salvation? These questions are difficult to answer when love is your “god”! Hence why you must surround yourself with Bible based Christians, for the same reasons Joshua gives in his warnings.

Joshua 22:34 –

The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “Witness,” for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is our God, too.

Some transcripts omit the name of the altar, I assume because it’s used as a verb right after. I went to the ESV which I have been told is the closest word for word translation and it’s there. So just thought I would make a quick note of this before exploring this passage.

To set the stage, before crossing the Jordan the tribes of Gad, Ruben and the half tribe of Manasseh all decided they wanted land west of the Jordan. Moses said ok, but they had to help take the Promised Land before they could settle in their portion. They had completed their obligations to the other tribes and were now settling into their new homes west of the Jordan. They built an altar and once the other tribes heard of this they were ready to attack, since the tabernacle was the only altar that could be used for sacrificial ceremonies.

The tribes of Ruben and Gad explained why and this satisfied the others so not to attack them. First thing that I take from this is the people’s passion to satisfy the Lord. Think about it a war almost started within the Israelites because one tribe wanted a reminder and the others through it was not in obedience of the Law. Sometimes I wonder why we don’t have this same passion today. I was at a meeting last night talking about the opportunities to expand the kingdom with a new church plant, which received a warm reception. The next comment was about the Falcons beating the Lions this weekend and everyone went nuts. I wish our passion for the Lord was equaled by our passion for sports teams.

The other thing I took from this is naming the altar “Witness”. This is odd to apply a name to an inanimate object, since rocks really can’t witness. But when you think about it, when we wear a cross or have a “fish” bumper sticker those are witnesses to our faith. But even more than having symbols to witness our faith we need to act in passion and not by flipping someone off in traffic with your fish bumper sticker. We need to reach out to the people seeking God more than just showing them our altar, because Jesus’ death on the cross means nothing to someone who does not know the reason for his death. We can take the easy way and invite to church, but we really should be a living witness to the glory of God and be ready to explain what that really means.

Joshua 21:45 –

Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

This always is interesting how God works and His timing. Think about the promise God made with the people of Israel and when it was made. Abram and all the original people the promise was made to in the first place are long gone. Yet the promise was kept to the people of Israel, every one of them. I wonder if someone came to you and promised something major, but then said it would go to your great great grandchildren you would just let it go? Or would you keep that fire and desire for the promise alive in the family?

Think about it, Abraham’s son, Isaac who grandson Joseph was exiled to Egypt to start the hundreds of years in bondage. Then after this Moses led them from Egypt, where they blew the first chance to enter and they wandered for 40 years. After this they still had to work to get the land, it wasn’t just given to them. So at least 6 generations passed between the promises and the Lord fulfilling each one.

I read this and think how we tend to get upset when a pray goes unanswered in a week or two. Really could we hold on to a promise for that long? I honest believe I am destined to return our families wealth lost in the great depression. Was this a promise from God or just a crack pot idea brewed up in my head? Hind sight is always 20/20 and I saw the Lottery as being the saving “grace” for restoring the family’s fortune, since I was too short sighted to see the blessings in front of me.

I can go on and on, from not savings as a young man and build the empire one brick at a time. To passing up talking with a “start-up” that was within walking distance from my home, because it seemed like too much risk. Their name is Cisco! Or selling the shop during the good times, because I thought it would only get better. Or selling some options I had from a previous start up and holding them as they slid to nothing again. God may bless us with a “windfall” but I think my lesion is clear and I must work at it slowly. This is why I have ended 20+ years of playing the lottery and focusing of getting out of debt and building on that.

They key is if the promise was from God it will be honored, just may take a few generations!

Joshua 20:6 –

But the slayer must stay in that city and be tried by the local assembly, which will render a judgment. And he must continue to live in that city until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident. After that, he is free to return to his own home in the town from which he fled.

This is one part of the cities of refuge I don’t understand, why must a person stay until the priest dies? If they are tried and it is found to be an accident then why not just let the transgression go at that? Why must they remain prisoners of this city? How does that protect them from any retribution after? What if they are tried and found innocent, then almost immediately the high priest dies? How is that any different from the high priest living a long time for the victim’s family?

Do they assume that time will repair the resentment for the loss? Why do they just not apply a period of time before the person may go back after the accident? I always look at modern law and Hebraic law to draw similarities. I cannot really find anything that really draws a close analogy to modern law. When a person is punished for “manslaughter” there is a specific time to serve, not associated with the life of another. When did this practice change or is it still done in Israel?

Now in thinking about the death of the high priest, one could draw the analogy to Jesus being the true High Priest. His death freed us all from the prison of sin. Come to think of it Jesus is THE city of refuge in modern times; we come to him for refuge in our times of need. This is cool when you can draw connections between the Hebraic Law and Jesus. We see time and time again these connections and learn more the significance of how Jesus is “the way”.

Joshua 19:50 –

For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.

Notice Joshua did not take the easy city or beach front property. No he took a town in the hills that needed to be rebuilt. Think about this he is 85, not 45 and he decided to live in a place that needed a ton of work. Joshua is a living example of diligence for the Israelites. They knew he could have taken the easy way and taken any town he desired, and he went the way of work.

Now I am not familiar with the lands or the towns and wonder if Timnath-serah had a great view or had some awesome farm land associated with it. From what it sounds, there really is not a bad part of the Promised Land, but was it choice lands that needed work or did Joshua leave the best for others? Either way they all could see he was ready to work and do what was necessary to get what he wanted.

This is a great example of life and what’s involved. Oh how we so often pray for a lottery win or some easy windfall to save the day. I wonder how many times we have gotten an answer to our prayers and we ignored it because it was going to require a ton of work? I think of many lost opportunities because I was looking for an easy win or having it all at once. My first BIG mistake was not savings early on for retirement. I always figured it would happen big and I did not need to sacrifice in my youth for treasures in retirement. Now I am struggling to keep my “empire” afloat because the is no capital to fall back on.

If I had followed the 10/10/80 formula from day one as I get older my “windfall” would be not from a lottery win or a huge bonus, but from hard work and savings. The 10/10/80 formula is simple, give 10% away in a tithe or donations to a worthy cause. Always give to have compassion for others. Save 10% for a “rainy day” and then live off 80%. It’s a very simple formula for life. Right now I am inverted at 10/80/10, where the 80% is not saving but just trying to get out of debt where I was living on more like 120%. Hence the rule “spend less than you make and keep doing it.” Learn from Joshua and work hard for the long haul and don’t expect money to just flow down from heaven. Just because they were given the Promised Land didn’t mean they didn’t have to work for it!

Joshua 18:3 –

Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?

How long are YOU going to wait? That is an excellent question to the people. They were given this land that required some effort to take. Once met with adversity they found excuses not to battle. Before the tribes banded as one army and took their lands, now each tribe was responsible for the final cleanup of their allotted lands. None really seemed excited to do this and dragged their backsides.

Joshua finally pushed them to do what they needed to do to get an allotment. The fact they were not anxious to take the Promised Land is odd, but the Canaanites seemed to be a serious threat. Now were they not taking the lands because of a lack of faith or just plain out being lazy? Once they received “marching orders” from Joshua, they set out and did what was asked.

Although the people did not argue their lack of action could be viewed as sin. Think about how the behavior of a lazy person or “sluggard” is addressed in the Bible and ask if it’s not a sin. A “sluggard” procrastinates doing what is required and will rationalized not doing the work, like these final 7 tribes. They do things as “slack” as they can to finish a job and often take risks that are unnecessary and foolish so not to have to work hard. They also require constant supervision, like Joshua is required to do here. Proverbs 6:6-8 teaches the “sluggard” to learn from the ant, who works tirelessly to finish their work.

Joshua is in a difficult place and many “managers” find themselves in all the time. There are books out that glorify being able to draw a paycheck and not do anything for it. Jeff Foxworthy has a comedic slant to his actual performance on a job in How to Really Stink at Work. I see kids today protesting Wall Street “fat cats” and expecting a job without there being a “need” or a specific valuable skill available. There is nothing new between today and then, people still want something for nothing and will do the least amount of work necessary to get it. It’s almost like this is the first recorded instance of an “entitlement” mentality. The key to take from here is to work hard at whatever you do and don’t just expect rewards.