Author: chuck

Psalm 118:22 –

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

Jewish scholars believe this is talking about a king, maybe even king David who was rejected and hunted by Saul but still became a great king that Israel was built upon. Granted because of his failures the nation eventually split, his offspring became the “cornerstone” of the Christian Church. Before we get into the details of the Judah and Israel split being two generations after David one could argue this came from David’s adultery with Bathsheba. This relationship eventually brought Solomon who may have carried the baggage of this sin and effected his dominion. This then caused his son to be more selfish and cause the nation to split … but the “root” goes back to David.

Now this dovetails into the Christian interpretation of this verse. It is used in the New Testament as describing Jesus. Jesus was rejected, hung on a cross and later became the cornerstone of the new church. Both Jesus and David work in this analogy, so it begs the question … was this a history lesson or a vision of things to come?

Interestingly both David’s and Jesus’ building they are cornerstones of are solid but are definitely being chipped at. The Jewish faith has the Christians trying to chip away at it showing that Jesus is the Messiah. The Jews are chipping on the Christians by saying Jesus is not the true Messiah. Both are trying to be destroyed by Islam. And all are being hammered by the “world” and Satan. So which ever cornerstone you choose it had better be strong! Christianity has defied thousands of years of assault, so consider the foundation before accepting the suggested “facts” about the religion.

Psalm 116:6 & 12 –

<6> The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.
<12> What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?

These two verses caught my eye for the same basic reason. They hold up the glory of God and show us that He is there for us. Honestly you start looking at God with the eyes of an adult and the questions start to pile up. Not saying that children never have questions, they are just more open with theirs. For some reason we have gotten into a mindset where it’s not appropriate to question God or the Bible. As we get older it becomes harder to accept these stories on faith.

Especially now when you have people “hell bent” on proving the Bible wrong. Take the great flood, why did Noah and his family get chosen to survive? If God is love, why not wait to save the world? As you can see once you start questioning the flood gates on doubt can open up. We need to approach God more like a child and accept a lot of this on faith.

Now the second question is actually an answer to the first statement. Look back on your life and think about what God has done for you. All the coincidences and improbable events that get strung together which bless you are mainly from God! Think back on how many times you responded to God’s “prompt” and were blessed quickly after. These are all things which show us God is with us. Now think about God and what we can give Him! Is it food, or shelter or money? God is beyond all that and with us because he loves us. Crazy when you think about it and hence why we need faith like a child!

Psalm 115:13 –

He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and lowly

First, I know I skipped 114 but it was short and honestly nothing sparked my fancy. See if you can find something that does yours and tell me!

Every time I read the word “fear” I wonder what the original text says or was intended to mean. I really don’t ever “fear” the Lord during my walk. In my definition “fear” has more of an afraid or terrorized meaning, which I honestly don’t have with God. I trust that what happens is in His will and is in the basic plan. At the same time I don’t think unfortunate accidents and illnesses are all caused by God’s hand.

Let me expand on this briefly because there is a major argument that God’s finger is on everything and it’s all done by His will. Then the skeptic says well explain why a loving God allows earthquakes, natural disasters and disease? I don’t think God is planning the next hurricane to strike New Orleans … no that just happens. Creation has a dynamic to it that was designed in and unfortunately sometimes the “dynamic” does major property damage and kills people. If you look at all the natural disasters they are kind of needed for this earth to cleanse itself.

Now back to our “fear” of the Lord, what does this really “imply”? Now there are a few translations which say “respect” or “honor”, but the majority says “fear.” I believe it’s more like a father-child relationship where fear should not be a factor but more a healthy respect. Fear come when you fail or do something wrong, then “fear” is a factor. It’s not an abusive relationship, it’s a loving one. So fear the retribution for inappropriate actions, but live daily with honor and a healthy respect.

Now the cool part of this verse is that ALL will be blessed, God is not going to ignore the ones who are faithful and are rich or the ones who are poor. No ALL are included in His blessing. Make sure you understand the blessings are not equal. If you understand the parable of the ten minas (or about 3 months wages) then you will understand how God blesses people. He will bless them when what He can entrust in them.

Psalm 113:7 –

He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.

I am not sure how I feel about this Psalm. It’s so filled with hope and promise one cannot help but feel good. Then I start dwelling on this verse and wonder when. My mind immediately thinks of Chinendega, Nicaragua and the people living in the dump there. For 12 years families were displaced from mudslides and still live in makeshift huts in the dump.

It’s a very sad story and I have talk with people that are helping there. But even with their help the move from the dump is not like moving to an air conditioned 3 bedroom 2 ½ bath home in the ‘burbs. Basically they are lifted from the dump but not the dust. In no way are these people set with princes like promised in verse 8. So what to think?

Is this a promise for here and now or is it a promise for tomorrow? Is it a promise for the “afterlife”? Or is this a promise for those who seize it? I think that’s the key because you can sit in the dump your entire life and focus on despair or you can accept the help that comes your way and go with it. To some extent it’s a choice to remain in the dump because as much as you’d think it stinks there is a “safety” associated with the known.

So I go back to my initial though of this chapter and immediately think of a joke. Flood waters rising and a man decide he was going to wait for God’s help. An officer knocked at his door to save him, a boat and a helicopter also came his way, but the man insisted he was waiting for God to help. At the Gates of Heaven God asked why he did not go with the officer, the boat or the helicopter He sent. God is not going to reach down from the heavens and prop you up, but He will prompt others to give guidance.

Psalm 112:5 & 9 –

<5>Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.
<9> They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.

This was a tough chapter to pick a verse since I highlighted almost every one! There is so much hope and truth you should go back a read it completely and see if you have the same reaction. One could pick apart this as a skeptic also and point to countless “believers” who have suffered over their lives. Or you could look at it as a promise of how they are. It’s the old “half full or half empty” idea, do you look at what life has or what it is lacking? Hence the source of “joy” in one’s life comes from God.

These two verses deal with business, finance and charity. All are actually counter intuitive when you think about it. Look at the banks right now, they loaned money “generously” and are being stiffed. I can say how many dollars we have loaned and never seen back. So how can one loan “generously” and expect to have anything? Conducting business “fairly” is difficult since most everyone you are doing business with does not believe this and therefore “works” you on your fair price. I recently had a “Christian” friend say you cannot run a business fairly these days and make it!

The idea of sharing and giving freely is great in concept but in action you find yourself being sucked dry. You often wonder if your “help” is just “enabling” and not really helping. So you see here I just cut apart these two verses as a “skeptic” would, but in reality life is great even with setbacks! God has done all he promised, just not in the magnitude I would have hoped. We are doing just fine while conducting business fairly and giving what we think is generously. I have great excitement to see the promises of God unfold in all our lives as they are in this Psalm!

Psalm 111:10 –

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!

Fear the Lord sound so ominous when talking about a Lord of love. Why should you fear one who loves you? I think it may mean more of a “healthy respect” for God in this case. My scanning of the different translations tends to support this meaning although most still use the word “fear”. Again I don’t think God is ready to pounce on us at every mistake we make or straying off the law.

We all tend to take the bad things in life and immediately assign them to God’s anger at us. My example is my debt issues, sometimes I feel I am being punished by God for getting into deep debt. In reality God has nothing to do with it! No it was a nation of fools like myself who figured the money will not stop flowing and we can cover our debt. Problem is you cannot base an entire economy on debt, therefore it had a major “correction” and our “house of cards” collapsed.

Now where we have “saved” ourselves is in the honoring God in following His “commandments” regarding money. Basic premise is “spend less than you make, and keep doing it”, but God took it a step further with the tithe. People always argue why “tithe” if a God can create the universe why does He need our cash? Two main reasons, the money helps support the church that furthers His kingdom and second it loosens the grip money has on you personally. The auxiliary reason is selfish, a generous heart tends to have blessing flow their direction. I have notices the less giving I get avenues for making cash tend to dry up.

Now the key again to this verse is a healthy respect for God and his teachings. Wisdom and knowledge can be obtained if one just takes the time to follow God. Believe it or not, when you learn to follow His commandments your eyes open to much more in this world and you gain greater knowledge about God. Or in other words … this verse!

Psalm 110:1 –

The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

I read this a few time because it was not clear who was talking to whom. The who are each of the Lords in this passage, since they are both capitalized? Most agree that the first Lord is God and the second is the Messiah. This is one of those chapters that appear to solidify the idea that the Messiah was going to be some great military leader. Passages like this solidify the belief that the Messiah was to be a great leader and not a humble servant like Jesus was. Hence you can understand the resistance Jesus got when He claimed to be the Messiah.

When Jesus was being “grilled” by the Pharisees in Matthew 22, His final response was quoting this verse. Interestingly that ended the discussion with these “leaders.” I would have asked why then did the Psalm continue to say “he will shatter heads all over the earth” and you are so gentile? But I assume they did not want to hear why or when that would or would not happen. Also, notice the slight difference between the last line in Psalms and Matthew, assume that’s due to translation from Hebrew and Greek.

We all tend to want to believe the good parts of the scriptures and not the bad. Or we take the good and say how can God be loving like this and do the bad stuff here? It’s complicated and difficult to understand in snap-shot scripture reading. You do this and the conclusions could end up like George Carlin’s “Religion is Bul$^%&” routine.

It’s amazing how it’s taken me a majority of my 50 years to have a limited understanding of God, yet people take a 10 minute comedy routine and base their theology or lack of it on it. It’s the lazy who don’t wish to seek answers to Mr. Carlin’s questions and just accept them as “gospel”! Interesting how many who try to disprove God end up becoming believers, because when you seek the truth you find it! It takes just as much faith to dismiss the beliefs of billions with thousands of years of documentation supporting their view as it does to believe a strung out comedian trying to make a buck.

Psalm 109:21 –

But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.

For some reason Fontella Bass’ “Rescue Me” is running through my brain after reading this verse. Other than the title it really doesn’t have any significance, just like the song.

Anyway, this chapter is divided into the woes David is going through with what his accusers are saying and the hope he has in God to rescue him. You read the first part of this chapter and it’s hard to imagine King David in such a mess, but remember he had to run from his enemies and hide in caves. Kind of like Saddam Hussein went from living in palaces to being captured in a small hole in the ground.

There is nothing that says you can’t have it all and lose it in a second. No many times God pulls the rug out not to anger us, but to humble us. Many times we just step in “it” ourselves and mess things up without God’s help. Interestingly both appear to happen to David.

I read this verse like the concept, but am not sure how I like the way David words it. To a point the last part of the first sentence is almost arrogant that God needs David to save His reputation. At the same time when God obviously walked with David and used him to show His power, then yes I can understand this prayer. I think for me praying this I would humbly ask God to use me to help restore His reputation.

The thing I like here is David is persistent even in a very desperate situation. He never gives up on the promises of God and continues to boldly ask for His help. Got to remember through David is where Jesus comes from, so he has favor with God. David rests on the fact that even though he is in misery at that time, God is faithful and will rescue him. We must draw on David’s faith when times seem bad and make the best of them!! Love God and all will be well … may not be perfect, but we cannot have that in this world anyway!

Psalm 108:1-2 –

<1>My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
<2> Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.

In all honesty how many of us can really say this? How confident is your heart with Jesus? Would you sing praise anytime and anywhere? Is your faith enough to “wake the dawn” with racket? How about just talking to someone on the bench next to you? See it’s difficult to nail down for many reasons.

First, honestly you can’t freak people out with you over exuberance for God. I think of a story from Vern when her love for Jesus was rekindled. He was sitting down with an older Jewish man who suggested she seek “professional” help. This was a man who presumably knows the story of David and his boldly singing praises.

Second, those of us who don’t want to offend others. Boy this has become the battle cry of recent days, we don’t want to offend this “group” or that one. A great example is after 9/11 where we don’t want to offend the majority of Middle Eastern people by profiling so we take it to the absurd opposite end and profile grannies!! We end up doing this with our faith also, we keep it under a bushel! We don’t want to make someone feel uncomfortable being who they are.

Finally, we have a difficulty supporting our positions. Think about who knows the Bible better than most? Satan! People can take things out of context and twist it in knots to show the “inconsistencies” of the Bible. Even after reading it over again, I still question some things. You have to be able to step back and realize the time span this book was written. Also, you may have to read other books to get a “context” for a certain passage. I am not saying you need a degree from seminary school to witness, but don’t worry about defending your faith with little knowledge. Just learn how to find the answers … and with a smart phone and biblegateway.com … that’s easy to do.

Psalm 107:41-42 –

<41> But he rescues the poor from trouble and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
<42> The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent.

I read these two chapters and immediately think of our country today. It seems like the families that are “growing” are the poor while the more well off are limiting their children to a few. Ironic part is in many cases each child will have their own room and bathroom, where the poor will share and share big time. It makes you wonder if they are actually being blessed by God more than the rich in this aspect.

Now I had to go back to the first “line” of this for more clarity. “He rescues the poor” is the key here. First God rescues the poor and then increase their families. In the case of today, the poor realize that in many cases each child represents more money from the government. So our current condition is not actually “Biblical”. But you see how misunderstanding or ignoring a few words changes the meaning.

The second part of this caught my attention since the second part ties into our current condition. The rich get upset at the “welfare moms” just pumping out more kids that their tax dollars must support. Honestly many of the Godly say the same, but you must realize this is different since the “poor” were not blessed first. It’s one of those passages that can be twisted to justify poor being blessed with children and having the government bless them with help. Sorry this chapter has so much more about the greatness of God and I just focus on our countries current condition … real world application!

We are diving back into Psalms to finish out the last book.

Luke 24:11 –

But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

Here it is Jesus has risen, walked with the disciples and the verse I pick is filled with doubt. As Christians we talk about this man that lived 2000 years ago that did great things, was crucified, came back to life 3 days later and lives today! In faith we just accept this as fact, but someone who has never heard the story, it sounds like “nonsense” to them. This was the disciple’s response to the women coming back from the grave. These men had seen the miracles Jesus performed first hand including raising many dead people, so if they thought it was nonsense imagine what it sounds like to others.

More than once I have thought back and figured this was nonsense considering I have never personally seen anything that remotely comes close. I have a very easy time believing in God who is further out there that the life of a documented man, Jesus. No one denies Jesus existed, just that this last chapter actually happened. What brings me back to this being real is God, who is more than just a man up in the heavens looking down on us all. God has the power to do anything including bringing a lifeless body back to life.

How do you reconcile with others the idea that something supernatural happened and they need to accept it now? Actually we cannot do it at all. This is where the Holy Spirit comes into play. Once people learn about Jesus, they need to process the information as very few just blindly accept it the first time they hear the story. This is where our story of salvation comes into play, to help guide people through real life experience and not a story in a book written thousands of years ago.

Luke 23:26 –

As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

This caught my eye because I had always though Jesus carried the cross and not someone else. Interestingly all the Gospels talk about this event, with Mathew, Mark and Luke all talking about Simon carrying the cross. Only in John is the cross carried by Jesus. So interesting that John is the only one that really gets preached, even though it’s the minority.

What does this mean? Have I found a fatal flaw in doctrine and an inconsistency in the Bible thus disproving it? No, not at all since these documents were written years after the events and by different people. I don’t know the custom, but I assume the accused had to carry their cross and maybe since Jesus had been beaten so severely he could not do it after a while. Not really sure and it doesn’t really matter in the long run.

The symbolism of Jesus “bearing the cross” is much more powerful than someone carrying it for him. That gives us a standard. So I can understand why this is rarely taught. How about the symbolism of someone else carrying the cross? This is actually more in line with what is going on in life, Simon carried the cross for Jesus as Jesus is now carrying the cross for us! We all have the opportunity for Jesus to bear our sins if we accept it … so we do not need to be burdened by them to our death! How cool is that?

Luke 22:42 –

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

This is one of those chapters full of a events that all are significant. They include Judas betrayal, the Last Supper, Peter’s denial, Jesus before council and this prayer in the garden. As we look closely at this prayer there are two things to really take from it. First is that although Jesus was God in human flesh, he still felt the pain and suffering you and I do. He knew what was going to happen and really wanted to get out of having to suffer.

Think about it, would you want to be whipped, have spikes nailed into your feet and hands so you can be hung on a cross to die? I don’t care if I was 100% clear on my final destination, I would not want this agony either. The key is why did he “have to die” as a sacrifice for our sins? Well to explain that would take hours and is the whole reason why reading the Bible on your own is so important since it gives a reason for the significance of this event. Honestly we would never understand this in the context we know today!

The other major aspect of this short prayer is Jesus submitting to God’s will. That is the most difficult thing for us to do and imagine if you knew God’s will was death like Jesus endured! “My will be done” is contained in the majority of my prayers. Unfortunately, submission is a difficult thing to do over the years. Most of us tend to be forced or nudged into submission because it really doesn’t matter what we want, God’s will be done! Now remember God is not a tyrant ready to hang you on a cross, no He is more like a father who wants submission from His children. Once you fall in line things tend to get easier!! And your desires often are fulfilled, which is a bright spot in life. So pray for desires, but also pray for God’s will in your life.

Luke 21:9 –

“And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

This chapter starts with the parable of the widow’s offering then quickly moves to end time prophecies. We are going to need to look at a few other verses to help understand if this can be mapped into today’s world. This verse is a key point that we will never know the end, we can say look at all this but may die of old age before actually seeing the coming of Christ. We look at history and see wars appear to be a common thread; man seems to deal with issues this way. So we look at this and wonder when the wars Jesus is talking about are going to happen?

We go to verse 12 and see we are not going to have an easy time as Christians. Doesn’t sound like the “rapture” will protect us from suffering! So don’t be surprised if this happens and you are in jail for beliefs. Verse 20 talks about Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, which it has been since Jesus died, so that may not be a great “sign”. Although since WWII and the nation of Israel being restored, this is truer than ever before. You cannot point to a “safe” part of their border. You could also say these events are what are foretold in verse 24!

Verse 25 is also happening, with some major catastrophes happen on a frequent basis. But again a study of history shows we are really not that special. One could argue that because this is so vague that maybe “the end times” are really our “end” and not the worlds. Is Jesus just making sure we are prepared for our own deaths since we really could never predict them unless we took our own lives? Verse 32 talks about this happening in “this generation” before all takes place. So is “this generation” the one Jesus is addressing at that moment or the ones reading it? So far 100% of the people living on earth will experience their own “end times”, be it horrific or peaceful, we all die! But we can have peace in life after death with Jesus!

Luke 20:47 –

“Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”

I had just about picked verse 14 which ends with the parable of the evil farmers who kills the son of the property owner. As I finished this chapter this stabbed me in the heart and led to my using it for my discussion. I have been doing this for many years and when I started the “blog” I figured it would help others. This verse has me stand back and do some soul searching! I really hate public speaking, my public prayers are usually short and to the point, and I try to keep to myself on things.

Well then I started emailing my kids and friends on these “thoughts” each day. When I posted the blog I figured it would help forward the kingdom and deep down I was hoping it would spark a book deal. So now I look at my desires deep down and wonder if my intentions were to be “pious” all along and pump my own knowledge “out there” for all to praise my “works!” That is twisted logic, but when debt is overwhelming and no real sign of relief is in the future one starts grabbing at straws.

I find it interesting peoples view on public prayer; it’s important since it tends to get people on one track and focused. But how many times is it done to make us sound good? This is a difficult question to answer since sometimes you have to dig deep into ones heart before it really gets shown. My hope for you and I is our hearts are in the right place! I pray we are doing this for the true glory of God and not for ours since we will be “severely punished” otherwise!! My intention is to get you excited about reading the Bible thoroughly and to see where the underlying “basis” for many of church “doctrines” comes from. Also, it’s your job to ensure you’re not listening to a false prophet!!

Luke 19:26 –

“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.’”

Luke’s version of this story initially has ten servants given money, but only talks to three. The story is familiar where one servant invests and doubles his money, the other invests and makes 50% more, while the last one hide it and makes nothing. The key here was the king’s response to the three “investors.” He was upset at the one who did nothing, the one who was safe!

Have you heard the saying “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”? There is actually some Biblical truth to that saying. If we work hard and invest wisely, we will be entrusted in more wealth and the ones who just try to get by will lose it. I would be interested what happened to the other 7 “investors” here! What if someone invested it in a failed business and lost half? What if they made a foolish investment? I often wonder if you get “points” for “trying”?

This parable twists the compassion thing in knots also. We are to help the poor, but this goes further into enabling them. The servant who hid the money and did not mess up lost it all. Now is this parable does not touch on helping the poor, but is does give an example of enabling. Our country is in a time of “wealth envy” and “enabling” that has gotten out of hand! The wealthy are making more and the ones who get stuff handed to them are expecting the rich to hand it over so they can “live large” also. Look at many lottery winners, they get the 10 pieces of silver and end up back to where they started or many time worse. Why? Because they just went on a spending spree and did not invest.

With that said, what would happen if we gave all the rich’s “excess” to the poor? The money would most likely end up back in the hands of the rich, because they invested what they had wisely. So the key is be wise with the money given to you and try to make more. Help the poor, but don’t enable. There is a fine line between compassion and hurting, as Christians we must learn that and ensure we can still teach the Gospel being “firm.”

Luke 18:27 & 30 –

<27> He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” <30>” will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

Go back and read verse 14 also since that was my focus until I thought about this parable. It’s about being humble and the results.

This is the parable of the rich man who was asked to give everything to the poor. It is used many times as an excuse for being poor or wealth envy. Why would Jesus compare a rich man getting into the “Kingdom” to a camel going through an eye of the needle? Is it because God does not want wealth for us? Is it because money is evil? No, it usually gets mentioned that money is the root of all evil when discussing this parable.

Now right after saying that it’s almost impossible for a rich man to enter heaven verse 27 hits. So immediately Jesus is saying it’s difficult but not impossible for a rich man to enter heaven because of God’s grace. This often gets brushed over when talking about this parable, since the focus always tends to be about the evil rich. In this case he was not evil, money just had a hold on him! The key is all things are possible with God!

Now the other aspect of this verse is many claim that Jesus never said he would not regain is financial status. But verse 30 is crystal clear that if we give it all away for the “Kingdom,” it will be repaid many times over. And this is where the “rub” is for man … say you are rich and give it all away knowing God will restore it and then some. Then the question is did you do it believing you would be “safe” or because you had really released the grip of wealth? Unfortunately we cannot hide our hearts like the husband and wife who tried to “skim some from the top” before giving it “all” away … they died instantly once they refused to admit.

The key is your heart in both cases and boy this could get real twisted and tangled. Mix it in with not being a good steward because giving to the poor more often just “enables” them and you really have a mess. So manage your resources well, but don’t let them be your master. Live like it doesn’t matter if you were rich or poor, but manage like you’re rich no matter what.

Luke 17:3 & 10 –

<3>So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.”
<10>”In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

These are two very important concepts here to dwell on. The first is forgiveness and what is expected of us. Think about it, this is a major aspect in our “walk” that few want to address. The Lords Pray from Matthew 6 verse 12 says it all … “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Think about what these two prayers are saying. We are asking God to forgive our sins and wash away all unrighteousness, but we rarely do the same for others.

With our children this is easy, but how about with the neighbor who slanders you behind your back then apologizes? How about with the thief who robs you and then apologizes? How about the murderer who has remorse? Can you forgive? Now one thing I question we are asked my many to forgive no matter what, but this verse says rebuke until they repent. So technically you are not required to forgiveness until that person repents. Now does that mean hold on to bitterness? No, I try to forgive and let go, but I remember so not to be “tricked” again.

Now the second concept from this chapter is verse 10, which I snuck in here for a reason. This is the lack of “entitlement” from doing our “duty”. If you read this in context you see we are to work for God like slaves, without expectation of “blessing” or table scraps. No we just work and do what is necessary to honor our God. The key here is “expectation” for rewards because of our hard work. Fortunately our relationship is more of a father/child and less a master/slave type.

Think about it the two actually tie together a bit. You have a contrast between our expectations and God’s expectations. We expect to be forgiven, where God expects us to forgive. We expect rewards, where God expects humble service. The key is taking the thinking away from self and shift it more to God’s way. This actually works in with the other verse I wanted to use, verse 33 which says “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” If you cling to resentment and entitlement and you will lose, where if you cling to forgiveness and humble service you win!

Luke 16:17 –

“But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.”

Ha! Fooled you! Bet you were thinking my focus would be on the money since this chapter is full of great insights to handling money. The most often quoted verse where man cannot serve two masters is here also. So why did I focus on the law and not the dollars? As Christians we often try to dismiss the Law and drift from its intent. We tend to make assumptions about the purpose of the law and assume it does not apply today.

Now one would argue that was said to the Pharisees who are Jewish and the law only applied to them. Since the Old Testament was a covenant with the Jewish people it does not apply to Gentiles. I believe that once we accept Christ in the New Covenant the Old Covenant is included in this merger. So we cannot dismiss the law no more than the Jewish people could. In all honesty if you look closely at the Hebraic Laws and our current laws, you will see many similarities.

Now am I saying we need to become a legalistic society like the Israelites did in Jesus’ time? Since Jesus died for our sins can we ignore the sacrificial laws? Jesus came to fulfill the law, so sacrificial laws may be set aside since Jesus completed them at the cross. As for the other nuts and bolts of the law, yes some we need to become legalistic about and some we need to look at as guidelines for an ideal life. Murder, business and the like we need to honor the law legalistically, where the “food laws” are more “guidelines” to healthy living.

I ate shrimps last night … was that a sin? Nope, but it something I don’t make a habit of since the “food laws” actually have scientific basis to being the ideal human diet. Money management is the same way, is it a sin not to tithe? I don’t believe so, but at the same time if you don’t give out of love then God’s full blessings may be missed in your life. If you cannot learn to live on 80 to 90% how will you ever survive on 100%? Today we live of 110% and are not collapsing from the burden of debt. So think about the law and dwell on it more than just a passing fancy.

Luke 15:7 –

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Jesus fires out three parables when the Pharisees started to question the company he was with that included sinners and tax collectors. First it’s interesting how “tax collectors” are considered bad people … but I digress. The first one is about the lost sheep, the next was the lost coin and the final the lost son (or more well known as the “prodigal son”). The theme is common in all three, something is lost and gets found with much rejoicing.

Think about when you have lost something important to you and after a long search it’s finally found. Remember the feeling of relief? Shoot I rejoice finding my keys, since they seem to walk away often! Now imagine God having formed a person and watch them drift away, once they come back there is even greater rejoicing since it’s more than just a coin or key that’s found. The only example I can think of was when Devon wandered down the street to the petting farm when he was very young. We had the neighbors searching the woods trying to find him and when he drove up smiling in the front seat of the truck we rejoiced!!

Many times people use these as parables justifying running from God for a period. They look at the 99 sheep and say no one notices them, but at the same time they are in God’s will and are not in imminent danger. The lost son parable is a good one because it shows the feelings of the obedient son and his response. The response comes from jealousy that a party is being thrown for the disobedient son and one was never thrown for him. Our response to salvation and gifts should be the same, who cares that we have been faithful for a long time! We should rejoice that others will fall into the same favor as we have almost taken for granted. So if you are drifting, it’s time to come back and if you are solid rejoice in any lost soul that returns!

Luke 14:11 & 24 –

<11> “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
<24> “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’”

Jesus is talking about banquets and what happens. In verse 11, the question is about seating at the banquet. Formal seating arrangements are actually based on status in the community. If one was to take a place higher than deserved, then they would be humiliated being moved. This all points to pride, something which God does not like since in its worst instance will have one attempting to place themselves before God! The problem with pride is we become the center piece and not God.

We can keep going back to James 4 & 5 for more insight on the problems of a prideful heart. I personally have found once I get too full of myself, I get slammed back to reality real quick. Keep a humble heart and let others “pump you up!” You just keep working and doing what is right and things will work themselves out.

Now verse 24 is talking about being invited to the banquet and how the first “chosen” refused the invite! Does this sound familiar in any way? You read this passage and immediately can see Jesus is talking about the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. Our family doesn’t tend to focus on the importance of banquets and seating, but this analogy is wonderful to those that do. What Jesus is saying here is God has welcomed everyone since His people have rejected Jesus.

Read these two passages in full context and see what God writes on your hearts. The pride thing is very important to me! Also, knowing we are all invited to the banquet is wonderful!!

Luke 13:25 –

When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

I hear this and first hope I have kept my end of the deal up! Man this salvation thing can get spooky some time when you really start to think about it! What if you can lose your salvation? What if you did not do it “right”? You read passages like this and wonder sometimes if that “narrow door” (from the previous verse) Jesus is talking about is something you will fit through. Did I really give my heart to Jesus or am I being like the Pharisees and just going through the motions? I fell like Charlie Brown and want to yell “Arrrggggghhhh”!!

Now I also read hope in this and you just need to go to Jonah to get it. Jonah was told to go tell Nineveh that their time was up and it’s “curtains for them” (keeping with cartoon quotes this morning). Well he ran for this and God kept pushing him back, so finally he give the message. What happens next?? The people weep and repent, because of this God is moved and spares the city of the destruction he told Jonah to prophesize. Unfortunately, Jonah got mad at God and went in a corner to pout! I can’t imagine Jesus doing this if God opened the narrow door wider.

Ultimately what does this mean for you and me? Do we need to go through the motions and hope it sticks? You need to look into your heart and see what is actually going on before this question can really be answered. And honestly for me I feel bi-polar in my relationship with God. Sometimes it’s obvious and other times I’m questioning. Honestly that’s normal, life is often “not fair” and we need to step back to see the big picture. In the heat of life’s this and that, our questions often turn to “why God?” Much of the time this devotional is just “going through the motions” when quickly I get smacked with some truth I just read. Justin gave a great teaching at Waters Edge on cycles of planting good seeds vs. bad. I don’t think he emphasized enough that sometimes planting good seeds have up and down cycles, just not as radical as mixing bad seeds. But we need to be steadfast in our studies and our prayers to keep that relationship fresh!

Luke 12:21 & 48 –

<21>“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
<48>”But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

As with most of the Gospel’s, each chapter has so much great information one could spend weeks reading them. Get a Bible with Jesus’ words in red, that way you can really dwell on what He is saying. Jesus throughout his ministry talks about money and how it changes people. The first verse is about a rich fool, who thinks building a bigger barn is all he needs and then he can quit and not work. During our lives we look at “work” as one of the “four-letter words!” For some reason we think that we must rest our laurels one past successes, hit it big and retire young. Here God says otherwise, He also draws the analogy of “stuff” being worthless in the long run.

Now the next teaching implies you don’t need to do anything in life, God will provide. This parable justifies many to do nothing and just expect things to happen. They ignore the hard work done and expected from the previous parable. But then this ties directly into the next verse where God does not dislike rich people, He just expects them to manage their money well. If someone is blessed, God does not expect you to do nothing with that money. It’s clear that the love of money is bad, but money itself is not and here is scripture supporting this. We are blessed not to get fat and happy, but to serve others.

Now I think you can see the parallels here, one a man receives a “windfall” and basically puts it in the bank and retires. This man was entrusted with much and basically used it to help himself only. Now if the man had put those earning to use to help others and make more I believe God would have been pleased. Interestingly the parable between these two has God giving it all away. Now I ask that we see the correct response is not to save and hoard your wealth. The Jesus says give it all away, and then He says those entrusted with much will be expected much.

Now does that say the one entrusted with much should give it all away? Or should the one who hoards should give it all away? These three parables tie together well, first hoarding is showing a love of money and really the only freedom is through releasing it all. With that said, if you are entrusted with much, God expects you to use your wealth for good. Helping the poor and growing the kingdom. In this case you give it all away, you have lost working capital to help you survive and to help continue your mission. So in the case of someone who is doing what God is expecting, enjoying and using your wealth is ok.

Luke 11:42 –

“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”

Two things I catch here, one is this is one of the few places Jesus directly addresses the tithe, or 10% of your income. It’s clear what His answer is, so there are no question about the “new testament” church and our responsibility to tithe. We like to use the widow giving here last “mite” as an example, where Jesus wants it all. But here it is clear God still wants us to surrender the first 10% of our earnings. Again “proper” Biblical finances are 10% to church, 10% to savings and live off 80%.

Now the more “important” point of this scripture has nothing to do on money and all to do on our relationship with God. We get so wrapped up in being “churchy” and never really pay attention to the world around us. We get so into the latest worship music, but miss being fair in a business dealing. The Pharisees did just this where the motions become more important than living and showing God. Don’t get so caught up in the nuts and bolts of church you miss opportunities to show God’s love.

The biggest thing we tend to miss is God’s love. Again we get so wrapped up in our lives and the day to day grind, that this beautiful sunset God painted gets missed. Our focus is on the details and the “goal” that we get into a very high pace that we actually begin to ignore God’s love and not just miss it. I think the reason we start to ignore it is because God tends to sometimes require action and that cuts into our schedule. Sometimes seeing God’s love requires us to stop and spend some time with say a homeless person. And part of experiencing God’s love is sharing it with others. This requires a time and emotional commitment we don’t tend to have.

Luke 11:8 –

“But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”

This comes right after the Lord’s Prayer and becomes one of the corner stones of prosperity preaching. Basically, a man needs bread at midnight and starts asking his friend. Now this verse is interesting in a way, since the friend does not take no for an answer. I would have a tough time knocking at a friend’s door for anything at midnight. At the same time we have 24 hour gas stations and groceries so really we would never need to do this.

Jesus follows this with an explanation that you should never give up on God. Keep asking and eventually God likes persistence and He will follow through. Now this is where the prosperity preaching starts to get exciting. Since the scripture says keep asking and you will eventually receive. Now what does that mean? You keep asking for the Lottery and eventually you’ll win? Honestly how many people in the world are asking for a windfall like this? There are not enough lotteries in the world to cover these numbers!

Now take this a few verses later and Jesus compares God giving gifts like a father, where he would not give a snake if his son asked for a fish. One could argue we are asking for a snake when asking for the lottery winnings. I mean think about it … the love of money is the “root” of all evil, so why should God give us poison? Also, how many of us have friends or family who are sick or lost that we have prayed over for years and nothing happens? They end up dying from their illness and our persistent prayers of healing appeared ignored.

Now that I have crushed hope in prayers being answered, does that mean stop? No way! This verse is true on many levels. Even the prosperity preachers can fall on this passage with a great level of confidence, since there are many stories that prove this as fact. I think the end of Bruce Almighty actually clarifies our discussion with God, his prayer goes from save the world to a heartfelt unselfish prayer. Maybe that is what God means be persistent, so we can search out what God is wanting? If we go back to the basis of this “theology” it actually stems from a man wanting to help his guest and not himself! And if we tie it back to the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus asks “your will be done” and not “our will be done!” So pray persistent, but learn each and every day why you need persistence, so you can get that pray spot on.

Luke 10:11 –

‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’

This chapter starts with Jesus recruiting 72 more disciples and then giving them marching orders. If you remember he gave almost the exact same order to the 12 the chapter before. I would like to focus on this one since there is some debate of when to “cut and run” and when to “persevere.” Jesus is very clear in both instances, if someone is not receptive move on. There are two aspects to consider here and neither choice is pleasant.

First is do as Jesus said and move on. If you spend too much time focusing on one “stiff necked” person you will miss out on sharing with others. He was comparing this to a harvest where you pick the ripe and ready for market fruit. You leave the ones not ready and discard the rotten ones. Also as I have found if you drain resources on ones not interested you burn yourself out easily. So to continue to make progress and walk away from those not welcoming you since it’s better to save many than waste time on one lost soul and miss saving others.

Second view actually rejects this instruction from Jesus. If we just give up and move on then there is another soul lost for eternity, so persist on helping save this one. How many times have you heard “if they hadn’t kept working on me I would have never seen the light”? It’s hard to turn your back on someone who you know is destine for an eternity in a fiery pit. So is it a waste of time or is it necessary?

You can debate this from now until you die and not really come up with a right answer. I think God will never give up on the person and keep putting people in their path to nudge them into His family. Therefore our task is to do what we can, share what works and move on if we hit a major obstacle. Reason for this is it tries our faith if we work on hard hearted people too much. You can easily start questioning your faith and resolve if you are not grounded in scripture. So caution on working too hard on lost souls. Do what you can and move on, Jesus said so!

Luke 9:23 & 24 –

(23) Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. (24) If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

This is one of those verses people who are “gung ho” for Jesus use to make many of us feel inadequate. If you really think about what Jesus is asking it’s intense. You have “prosperity preachers” who say “ask and you shall receive” but dismiss the cross bearing. Today we look at the cross as freedom, so bearing it is easy. Then the cross was an instrument of torture and death and therefore a different kind of burden to carry.

As we saw in the parable of the seeds, the one thrown in the thorns got choked out by “other things.“ Today we tend to drift towards “stuff” and lose the connection God desires with us. Technology is great for getting information but it also stresses our time with God. Stuff tends to take our focus off Him and onto the “better things” in life. For the techno-Apple geeks, how many are wanting the white iPhone G4? Knowing that a G5 (or other name) is on the horizon? We have gone in less than 200 years from simple “needs” to complex “needs”.

Sure technology is great, but it really muddies up the “give up your life and take up the cross” thing. Sure we need to follow God, but I can reach more people with this iMac and tumblr blog site while using my iPhone to keep it “fresh” during the day. Now only does this muddy up our “work” here on earth, but it definitely hurts our relationship with God. One could argue that technology is a product of the minds God gave us, while on the other hand it’s a product of the devil to separate us from God. You must decide where it is for you!

Luke 8:13 –

The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

This is another chapter full of great parables and miracles it’s hard to pick one. An interesting factoid from this chapter, Mary Magdalene had 7 daemons cast from her. That was something I haven’t picked up in my readings before. Anyway, back to the parable of the seeds. You have the ones thrown on the footpath, the rocky soil, the thorns and the fertile ground. Jesus then breaks down how the seed is the Word of God and the soil represents people’s hearts.

I focus on this because I believe that is where many of the new followers of Christ fall. First, they receive the message with great joy and then don’t get plugged into a community of believers. This has more value than anyone understands because it helps you learn more and grow. Jesus did not choose one disciple, he chose 12 because numbers help hold you accountable. The “community” helps hold you accountable so falling into temptation is more difficult.

Second, is getting into the “Word”! This more than anything else helps build your foundation in Christ. I mean you hear the message, something stirs in your heart and you believe, but then it’s becomes difficult to understand why a man died on a cross for your sins and the “rush” gets lost in logic. The best way anyone can protect their faith is read often and as much as they can. It’s helps to read other peoples writings since they help clarify the message, but keep everything rooted in the Bible. Fortunately, the more knowledge you have the less likely you will be swayed off the path.

The key when you help a new believer is not to just say “whoop, whoop” and move on. No Jesus did not say save the world and move on, but rather “make disciples.” He knew the importance of teaching along with salvation in order to guard the saved heart. We like numbers, like the 1100+ that came to Christ this past weekend at our Church. But now as a Church it’s our responsibility to ensure they grow in fertile ground and not wither up on rocky ground!

Luke 7:41-42 –

(41)Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. (42) But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

This was spoken when an “immoral woman” wept at Jesus’ feet and washed his feet with her tears and hair. I know many of us who have lived a relatively “moral” life having been raised in the church look at how amazing salvation is for those who have reached the edge. One friend literally cried for a week because of his salvation in Christ. I don’t remember it being such a big deal, just realized the answer and accepted Jesus.

Now am I saying I was more “holy” than my friend? No way!! I was angry liar and a cheat, where he was a thief but in the eyes of the lord we were equally “dirty”. I was the one who did not realize it!! Some even think they need a better “story” and wish they could talk about drugs, or felonious activities, because “I stole pencils from my classmates” doesn’t sit the same with others. Being a former drug dealer or gang banger catches people’s attention.

Let me be clear, all sins are equal in the eyes of God. Man seems to apply this rating scale of this little white lie is nowhere near as bad as that strung out junkie in the corner. Sure many come to God with a greater burden of sin, but we all must be grateful for the forgiveness and salvation we receive. Doesn’t matter if God is forgiving 50 or 500 pieces, it’s still a free gift we should not take for granted. God has given this to everyone because we are all on equal ground as sinners, we should embrace salvation the same!

Luke 7:9 –

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”

The Roman officer sent for Jesus to heal his slave, before Jesus got there the officer did not believe he was worthy and asked Jesus to heal him from afar. Jesus healed the slave and commented to the crowd about this man’s faith. How could a Roman who was not one of God’s chosen have faith more than the Israelis? Faith may be what God is looking for more than following! Here was a man who was not connected to God and he believed without question.

Jesus speaking these words cuts very deep for many of us. I can only say how many times I have prayed my way out of “needs” or “desires”. Instead of having faith God will answer my prayers, many times I pray more on why God will not answer my prayers. My faith seems to run as deep as my most recent encounter much of the time. Funny thing is my faith in God remains solid, but my faith that my prayers will be answered is not. That all stems from selfishness more than anything else because in the middle I will see how one way my prayers are and assume God rejects them.

No faith in God means faith in the Bible and that includes faith in God answering prayers. We cannot have faith in parts of the Bible. Now what the interpretations mean verses reality may be skewed. I believe God is represented as a person, where I believe He is everywhere and therefore more like energy. He took human form in Jesus, but otherwise we try to personalize God too much. Guess if you tried to explain God to someone who has never been exposed keeping it in terms they could understand is important. But at the same time the Roman officer did not question Jesus being able to heal his slave from a great distance … so think about it, how is your faith?

Luke 6:26 –

What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

We are staying in chapter 6 because there are some things I didn’t want to miss dwelling on. Interestingly this chapter touches on the “Beatitudes” but not in the detail from Matthew 5. Anyway this was more a passing comment since these get talked about frequently. The “Sorrows” Jesus talks about caught my eye with this verse being the last one. Sorrow awaits the rich, the fat and prosperous and interestingly the laughing also in this chapter. The laughing one kind of caught me by surprise since joy often involves laughter … I think The Message translates the true intention of these verses where it’s not laughing but thinking life is all fun and games.

This verse though made me reflect today on the mega-churches that have arisen. I listen to many of the pastors and they are preaching what people want to hear and not touching on the difficult passages. The thing that I see growing is a feel good version of God, one that does not condemn souls who reject Him. There is even a popular book, from a mega-church pastor, saying there is no hell. The Bible tends to get “white-washed” and people tune into what message they like.

I see the pastors becoming celebrities because they leave out important revelations and fluff up the “fun” scriptures. I know we are members of an up and coming “mega-church” but do not see the same teachings. More than once I have walked out of the sermon thinking “why does anyone “on the fence” ever come back after that!!” I have seen this from the entire staff at the church; they appear devoted to the truth. My only concern is our pastor is being thrust into the spotlight which is difficult to stop as a church grows. I pray this does not ever go to his head and he continues the Bible based teaching we came to love.

Now this is the reason reading the Bible daily is so important! It’s not just to learn and dive in more to God’s actual being, but to also be able to fact check your teachers. We are warned about false prophets over and over again, yet how can well tell unless we have a good detailed knowledge of the Bible. If not than we could justify how God is only using the image of hell to scare us to do right. A loving God would never throw His children into a lake of fire … right!?!?! A loving father would never let his children wander down the wrong path, unless they kept ignoring him and rejecting him. We must all learn there are consequences in life and don’t believe a preacher just because he is popular. That’s what this verse is warning you about!

Luke 6:9 –

Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

First HAPPY EASTER!! Second I am parking it here in chapter 6 for a few days since there is a bunch of cool stuff to cover.

The “Sabbath” and when to honor God and rest is a difficult subject in today’s church. You have arguments over when is the Sabbath should be celebrated. Some say it’s Saturday, some say Sunday and others like me have no idea. The Sabbath comes from Genesis 2 where God rested after his creation. In Exodus 20 it becomes part of the “Law” in the Ten Commandments. So God wants to make sure we honor him and rest at least once a week.

Now Hebraic Law had become very “legalistic” and that is what Jesus is trying to break here. The adherence to the “Law” was more important than following God. The people got to the point of focusing more on the nut and bolts of the “Law” and many missed God standing right before them! One could get into knots on the “legalities” of God’s intentions and we are still trying to figure the “Law” out and how it relates to our lives.

Bet you didn’t know that much of our legal system today is outlined in the Torah. So as a Christian nation we still model our system of justice off the Jewish “Law”. Today we are focusing on the Sabbath Laws and what they mean today. Think about it, the Sabbath is a “day of rest”, so why is the Church working on this day? What is work anyway? Most “Christians” take Sunday as a day to worship God and get caught up on yard work, house work … or go have fun and get very little rest. Is that what God intended?

We can run down a “rabbit hole” here with the “day of rest.” Should the government determine the Sabbath and force all to shut down? I don’t think so, you can’t force people into your beliefs just because you know them to be right. I think we really need to get to the intent of the “Law” on resting and not burning out. We need to take one day off each week to recharge and having worked two jobs and 7 days a week for a long time I know this is true. Now what day of the week is that, if you map our calendar back to the beginning of creation we have no idea what day of the week God “rested”, just that it was on the 7th. Now … the argument here is did Jesus not rest on the legal Sabbath or did He rest another day of the week?

Luke 5:11 –

And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

This is repeated in verse 28 with Levi the tax collector where he just drops everything to follow Jesus. When we talk about following Jesus how many of us would drop everything. Students tend to do this the most since they haven’t started careers and tend to have “youthful exuberance.” These men were already into their business, but it’s not too clear their ages. One thing is clear they up and leave everything to follow Jesus.

Now here are a couple of ideas why this happened at all. The first, more superficial one, is the wise men gave Jesus gifts of great value, he was sitting on funds they could survive on and therefore it was safe. This does not explain leaving the family business though. The “sum” would have to be significant before someone would up and leave a safe family business. During those times there was more emphasis on keeping the family business alive. Today it’s not even a consideration in most cases.

The other aspect people don’t really touch on is the honor it is to serve under a true teacher. There were very few truly knowledgeable men teaching about God, so when one came and selected disciples, they usually jumped at the opportunity. Today if you asked a group to leave everything and follow you to learn about God, the response would be lack luster at best. The “what is in it for me” response would be more common than “yes”! How would you respond? Today it would be easier than say in 2008 when the business was doing well and we had tons of equity in our land.

I know it’s easy to hypothetically say yes, but really could you say yes if someone was standing before you that you did not really know? I think Vern would say yes and move forward, where I would most likely say no and miss out. How about you? Now are we being asked to walk away from it all and follow Jesus today? Actually we are if you follow scripture, but I think it’s more metaphorical than actual. The key point is not letting the “stuff” bind your thinking but letting God. If we focus on God and not let the stuff cloud our minds we will be in great shape.

Luke 4:12 –

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God’.”

After Jesus is baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, he goes into the wilderness for 40 days and is tempted directly by the devil. The final temptation is to jump off a cliff and have God save him. At this time Jesus is facing off with probably one of the most knowledgeable about scripture. The devil knows it inside and out and can twist them into knots. So this is what he is attempting to do with Jesus.

Jesus is referencing Deuteronomy 6:16 here and has taken it a step further. In context Deuteronomy 6:16 was talking about worshiping other gods and testing God in that aspect. Jesus is taking it to all aspects of life. God set up this world with “natural laws” like gravity. God is not here to prove his existence to everyone who asks, hence why we require faith. God is way more than an micro-manager or a genie in a bottle, and Jesus is teaching us that here.

The question is could God or would God save Jesus if he did jump? That is a difficult question to answer. I believe yes he “could”, but would not since it would be a “test” of God’s sovereignty. That is something many followers of God, be it Christian, Jewish or Muslim, would like more than anything is absolute proof God exists. Thomas put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds, but Jesus said the ones who believe based on faith are blessed. So we must fight doubt constantly in our walk, we will always have someone saying if there was a God then why “…”!

How do you keep your resolve without “testing”? At the same time we are warned against testing, one can point to Malachi 3:10 where God is saying “test me”! One could argue that Jesus would have been saved if he would have jumped. But there distinct difference between the two scriptures, one is testing God on obeying his commands when the other is testing a natural law to see God do the unnatural. God allows “nature” to work with Him to bless you, where if you are expecting Him to violate laws of “nature” then you are “outta luck!” Not saying He can’t violate laws of “nature” … just don’t “test” Him on that!

Luke 3:8 –

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.

This chapter focuses on John the Baptist and his life. Luke recalls Isaiah 40:3-5, which talks about John announcing Jesus’ coming. That in itself is real interesting to follow since Isaiah references John some 700 years earlier. Now as John is “shouting in the wilderness” he calls out the Jewish people who are resting on their lineage and not on their relationship with God. I am sure there are many faithful Jewish during that time who lived by the law and trusted in God, but John was focusing on the ones just going through the motions.

We look at that in today’s church and see the same thing, people who are more fans than followers of Jesus. When pressed by someone doubting their resolve crumbles, partially because of lack of a Biblical base, but also from doubt. I mean think about all the stories in the Bible and how many seem far-fetched. John was asking that question to the Jewish people and he could ask it today of many Christians. Problem with faith is it’s difficult to maintain a foundation unless you have some facts.

Let’s jump forward to Jesus’ resurrection. Here Jesus comes back to life three days after his crucifixion. We must believe that in faith, but look back at the facts. First no one denies Jesus lived, both Jews and Muslims talk about Him. Second, if Jesus did not rise from the dead wouldn’t the Romans who had guards on the tomb come up with the body? And finally everyone who was preaching the story of the resurrection was eventually put to death. How many of you would DIE for a lie? Sure we live in faith, but can rest that the understanding of many facts helps keep it strong! Don’t have John call you out for being lazy in your faith.

Luke 2:25 –

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him.

Traditionally people look at Chapter 2 and pull Jesus’ birth or him teaching in the temple at 12 years old. I could talk about Angels talking to the shepherds and them acting. I could have pointed how Mary and Joseph were frantic for three days looking for their 12 year old or how he was listening and asking questions in the temple. But this really caught my eye because of the Holy Spirit talking to Simeon.

For some reason we tend to believe that the Holy Spirit did not make His way until after the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the followers of Christ. Interestingly Pentecost is also a Jewish celebration also called Shavu’ot. Anyway, I have always wondered what the significance of the Pentecost was since there are many Old Testament references to people being led by the Holy Spirit. Was it that the Holy Spirit was now available to Gentiles as well as Jews?

It’s easy to have difficulty with God and Jesus being one, but the Holy Spirit is an easy one. In reality this has always been with us and is easy to see as God. Have you ever wondered why they mention the Holy Spirit and not God? That has never been real clear with me since although they are referenced differently they are the same. I think it’s more because we try to put God in a box and try to apply human attributes to Him. The only time He was in a “box” was when He came to earth as Jesus! Don’t limit God by your perceptions of Him having human qualities!

Luke 1:20 –

But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Zechariah, husband of Elizabeth, just had an Abraham moment. In their old age God came to them and said you will have a son. He questioned God and did not believe. Well, sometimes when an angel comes to visit you it’s time to listen and believe. He is announcing the coming of their son John who will precede Jesus telling of his coming. I am always surprised that John is only 6 month older than Jesus, I always think John is much more mature.

The story of John is rarely touched on other than when he is an adult. We all know of John the Baptist who baptizes Jesus and the sky parts and a dove flies down. But his birth is almost as amazing as Jesus’. Elizabeth is old and barren like Sarah but is having a son. Unfortunately, her child will not be the cornerstone of a great nation. He gets to usher in the Messiah. This is something that is an incredible honor, but at the same time comes with a great price.

Now I like this verse since Zechariah becomes mute because he does not believe the angel. I wonder how we would respond. Zechariah was a high priest, he was inside the temple burning incense when the angel came to him. This means he knew scriptures inside and out. He did not get this opportunity because he was lucky, he earned his way to get a chance to serve in the most holy place. So he had more knowledge than most and still when an angel appears and talks to him, he questions what the angel said.

How does that make you feel? How do you respond when God prompts you? Would you respond to an angel or think you were going nuts? I know I pray for an encounter like Zechariah, but also realize the cost of such encounter. Did Zechariah out live his son? Did John have children not recorded? Put it in that way and the visit was great for the world but the end result for the family wasn’t. Ideal in human terms would be John would have done great thing, baptized Jesus, lived to an old age and had a large family! But reality was not so, although it ended the way it had to end. Sometimes the cost of service to God is more than we want to pay.

We are jumping to Luke and then coming back to Psalms for the final “book”.

Psalm 106:43 –

Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.

Again and again, over and over He rescues us. We can drop off the face of the earth or directly go against His wishes and He still loves us. Sure the rescue may not be exactly what we want, but it’s what is best for us. We saw this in 105 also, where the cycle continues the same for man. Life is always a struggle between the “world” and God. It ends up becomes a battle with wanting better things and keeping in touch with God.

Some say we cannot do both, other say God wants us to enjoy life to the full and that means having more “stuff”. I think there is a fine line which gets crossed constantly between our relationship with God and with “stuff.” Jesus said it right, you cannot serve two masters, you cannot serve God and “stuff.” Once the “stuff” takes over your life and pushes God away then it’s a problem. Unfortunately that seems to be the ultimate conclusion to wanting more “stuff.” It becomes a driving force in life and pushes not only God away but other relationships.

We were talking about this last night how you can go into Central America into some remote towns and see people living on dirt floors or even in dumps. Even compared to the USA before the technology revolution they have little. But the thing you notice is the joy they possess. They are not concerned with the next iPad, iPhone or iLife, no they just have joy for life and God. It’s refreshing to see and when you spend time there you realize what damage the stuff has done to our relationship with God.

No matter what, through it all, God continues to “bless” us along the way until those “blessings” become a “curse.” We just have to learn to face life’s peaks and valleys the same way, through prayer, fellowship and worship. Remember to give thanks to God, who is the source of all things. If you can do this then you will have joy not matter what the circumstances. Now if I could learn to practice this, since I am having a hard time finding peace!!

Psalm 105:45 –

All this happened so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the Lord!

Well this Psalm is a history lesson for everyone. It runs through Abraham to the Promised Land in one Psalm giving thanks! Now this is a great overview of the first two books of the Bible, which lay the foundation for the rest of the Bible. Now I am not saying read this and skip diving into Genesis and Exodus, but this gives you a quick taste. Consider this a preview for those books.

Now it ends with this verse and we know how it ends with Jesus dying on the cross. I find it interesting that everything leading into the Promised Land was so they could follow his decrees and laws. God tries so hard to help us find him and follow him yet even after so many miracles everyone seems to drift away. Look at the books covering the kings of Israel and Judah. First, God was reluctant doing this and kept having problems through most of the rulers. My question is WHY?

Why when God saves us from so much do we constantly drift away? Why would the Israelites just having seen God part the Red Sea worship a golden calf? I think more than anything else it is human nature. Sure we try to blame “the devil” but much is just being lazy. We don’t push through hard times in faith. We rest on our own laurels and not God’s. We get confused with chance and God actually talking to us. No we drift most of the times on our own, outside forces may be there but it’s our actions that allow them to influence our direction.

So the question is how to stop this? It’s simple, study, pray and worship as much as possible. Go to church as much as possible so you can hear the message. Plug into a “small group” of friends who you can discuss what’s happening in each other’s lives and put a Biblical perspective on it. Then finally spend time alone, praying and reading as much as you can about God. Sure it is a time commitment, but that’s where the separation starts to begin. Spend time with God first and all you other time will be easier to manage?

Psalm 104:14-15 –

(14) You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth—(15) wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength

This Psalm starts the right way by saying “let all that I am praise the Lord!” Can any of us really say this? Think about “back then” when there were very few explanations for why or how for most everything. The people just laid their faith in God for the root. Sure it’s hard to explain why a tsunami wipes out a city or a tornado destroys a town when you think of God being loving. But today we can predict both events with science. We can explain how they happen and quickly remove God from the equation.

This verse is one of those “science vs. God” reflections. Sure all this can be explained to the “how” but rarely does the science go past that. Think about grass, it draws minerals and nutrients from the soil. Then the grass is eaten by livestock which digests those minerals and absorbs them into their meat, which we eat and gain valuable proteins and nutrients. We can get into the micro-biology of this process and explain exactly how it happens. Yet we don’t have a way to prove how the grass or the cow, with their complex stomach to digest the grass, actually came to being.

Sure we have “theories” that can neither be proven nor disproven, yet since they come from science they are laid out as fact. When people ask “how” and God gives them an explanation they can understand, where today science poo-poo’s it as fantasy. Ironically, science is starting to prove God’s existence in a way although the science community will not admit it. Think about the Hebraic dietary laws and how science is able to prove that the foods laid out in the “law” are the best for one’s peak health and performance. Or look at the “Cambrian Explosion” in the fossil record which could prove creationism.

How I got here I do not know, since when I first decided to use this verse I was going to talk about how drinking wine was ok according to the Bible. Somehow I wandered into a science discussion. Oh well, I believe God directs this writing more than I do … cheers!!

Psalm 103:8 –

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

David does a great job in this Psalm giving thanks and describing God. This verse gives many of God’s attributes in a few words. Think about God in your life and see if these are true. First has God been compassionate to you? The answer is yes for me, and more than once has shown compassion. When I really down God comes and “rocks my word” with something that relieves me. Just this week the stress of life was piling up and it just happened that yesterday’s chapter was almost identical to my prayer. It helped lift my spirits and I must believe God knew the timing.

God has shown mercy on all of us more than any wants to admit. Think of a time you really “stepped in it” and God did not give you what you deserved. I can think of one time I was drinking and at the U-turn to my apartment I did a brake turn … the only car on the road was a police officer. I got a reckless driving ticket, but did not go to jail. God punished me, but placed mercy on the heart of the officer to let me slide. I learned a lesson and started to behave a little.

In the same instance God was very slow to get angry towards me, since I still disobeyed Him. That was a time in my life I think God could have really “taught me a lesson” but was slow to get upset. Don’t you kids wish I was that way? This is an attribute many of us, especially me, should learn from God. Anger is something that sends us in the wrong direction. We get upset and flip out sometimes over little things. How many times have you seen a poor clerk get yelled at over a wrong order or a broken item? Good thing God is slow to anger or we would all be in trouble!

Finally God is LOVE and his love is unfailing. Out of all the “attributes” of God this is one that Jesus talks about as the greatest commandment. Think about it if we all had God’s love think of how smooth things would be in life! Interestingly in researching this many interpretations use “mercy” and not love. So to the Hebrew to find the word is “checed” which means kindness … which is love and mercy. I like this interpretation to English since it shows more of God’s character.

Psalm 102:2 –

Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.

Overwhelmed with troubles? In these times who isn’t! This Psalm is one to read if you want a good prayer. Granted as you read and pray this Psalm you quickly realize of insignificant your problems are in the grand scheme of things. By verse 12 the prayer turns from self-pity to realizing the grandeur of the Lord! While the Psalm asks God for help, it also puts our troubles in perspective.

I know when I pray sometimes I start feeling like this verse. I want to make sure God is listening and He will respond quickly. Funny how we tend to allow ourselves to get to that point before we finally say HELP! Ironically I prayed almost this exact prayer this morning. A mountain of bills, two active lawsuits, closing a 12 year business and a desk that is a mess has “locked” me up mentally. I just stare at the jobs and can’t start any of them! I was up at 4am this morning stressing about this stuff!

I beg for help, but know what’s right. I need to wallow in this mess to make sure I learn two things. First is just not locking up mentally. Clichés come freely for this one … like “when the going gets tough …”! The other is making sure I don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and stray from Biblical money management principles. I get caught up in “me” and forget the multitudes who have lost it all and need my prayers more!

That’s where the final half of this Psalm sinks into your mindset. It forces you to realize the God we serve and the key is serving! We need to remove the focus off our problems and turn them to God. Then do what we can to help others and their issues. Shine God’s light in everything you do and you WILL be blessed. Breathe deep and tackle your problems one at a time. God will help guide you if you listen. God never promised us a problem free life, He did promise us an abundant life!!

Psalm 101:6 –

I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.

This chapter is full of suggestions that help one keep a good relationship with God. King David is praying for what he needs to do to help keep his land pure. Most of the chapter has “negatives” or people he would not surround himself with, but the key is knowing who to work with closely. Ever had that friend who was foolish and somehow got you to do stupid things? I know I did for much of my life.

Granted it gets simpler as you get older since we tend to learn this on our own along the way. But it’s amazing how many times I would follow some idiot and do the same thing! Now the key with this Psalm is David realizes that life is easier when you are with like-minded people. One of the hardest things to do is to not get sucked into some foolish act by someone close! So the key is to keep them far away.

When my friends were more into the party and less into God and work, I tended to drift that direction also, almost never the other way. Keeping on the straight and narrow path Jesus describes is very difficult without having close influences trying to pull you away. No this chapter is one that all young people and new Christians should dwell on for quite some time. We tend to bring “fools” into our circle thinking we can change them and end up getting changed. I am not saying do not be a shining light to those friends, just keep them at a distance. In writing this I think of one friend of D’s that sums the negatives up from this chapter … and D gets a daily reminder of his influence.

I pray for you kids each and every day that GOOD Godly people come into your life to help you remain on that narrow path Jesus describes!

Psalm 100:4 –

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

Verse 5 is actually a more “theologically deep” verse with comments about God’s goodness, love and faithfulness. It hits all the main attributes of God in one verse. One could write a book on just that verse and still have more to say, but I like verse 4. In order to have God’s love in our lives, the biggest key is being thankful for what you have.

Thankfulness is a state of mind that is actually difficult to get into when times are rough. We get caught up in our own little problems and forget to step back and look at the “big picture”. We see the bills and the problems in our society, but fail to notice the sunset. Our lives overwhelm our prayers and our relationship with God. Suddenly we wonder why God is not blessing us like before!

Sure times may be tough, your McMansion may be foreclosed on, you have not found a job in months and the creditors are taking your car. How can anyone be thankful during times like this? I know it’s difficult to have peace when your only though is making your house payment! Getting lost in self-pity is so easy and our time with God is wallowing in it! We need to just step back, relax and be thankful for life and creation. Sure life’s problems are not all going to fix themselves tomorrow, but your relationship with God could be! Start your prayers out every morning with thanks and I know you may have to search but be thankful … but do it faithfully for a month and see the difference in your relationship with God.

Psalm 99:8 –

O Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but you punished them when they went wrong.

The Psalmist is talking about the nation of Israel and how God gave them many prophets and leads he spoke through. This is one of those simple math problems God gives us; if you follow Me your prayers will be answered … otherwise if you stray I will punish you. This is so easy to say but so hard to follow. Even when following scripture we can take things out of context and form them to our own personal agenda.

I hear this on the radio from time to time and mostly with the “prosperity preachers”. Many use Matthew 21:22; “you can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Interestingly Jesus was going to get food and came across a barren fig tree. Where he commanded and it withered up. This was his response to the disciples who asked him “how.” Jesus did not get what he hungered for but he destroyed a tree. So you may not always get exactly what you think you want!

Anyway I a straying off a bit this morning my point was how difficult it is to follow unless you strive to know God. The best way is to dive in a study the Bible! If you know the Word of God it’s easier to stay on track and not go wrong. My reading comes with a ton of questions and I believe God desires our hearts to keep asking questions so we can learn more. Israel strayed within generations of seeing great miracles, so don’t think your faith is so strong that you don’t need to dive into the Word and study it over and over again. I believe God wants us to earnestly follow and learn other than blindly follow. The more we study, the more our eyes clearly see God and the more prayer will be answered and forgiveness happens.

Psalm 98:1 –

Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!

I first read this and thought I was repeating a Psalm, but Psalms 33, 96, 144 and 149 also reference singing a new song. So I reflected on what that means and immediately looked at our relationship with God. How many times do we talk with God and find our prayer repeating? How many times do we sing the same songs over and over? I know I land in these ruts more than once or twice a week! It’s easy to do with a God that cannot be seen or heard.

I know many churches I have attended over the years have a ritual of worship, which hasn’t changed for decades. I know God does not ignore those prayers, but I wonder if he likes fresh from time to time. At the same time I question if God hasn’t already heard or seen it all. I don’t think mixing it up is so much for God, but for us! When we think of new songs, pray new prayers, worship in a different way or just enjoy a sunset we sharpen our focus on God.

Look at the rest of this verse and you will see all the wonderful things God offers us. That alone should get us out of our ruts and embracing all that God has to offer us. We should earnestly search for something new each day to praise God about, not to make God feel good but to remind us what God is all about. It’s easy to do, just hard to start and keep doing!! Just have to work on it each day,

Now if someone needs a bunch of prayer, this does not mean move on to a new need. No we need to remain in that rut for as long as necessary. But instead of asking God to fix this persons problem, ask Him to show you a way so you can help! Don’t lose focus on others and keep the prayers fresh. I believe that is what God is asking of us in these verses.

Psalm 97:4 –

His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles.

Lightning is something we tend to take for granted. It’s just something that happens and we rarely think about it. But since this verse talks about it, I am going to look at its wonder. First, what is lightning technically? A bolt of lightning is just a static electric discharge. But think about it, how many times have we rubbed our feet on the carpet and shocked our friends? Ever see that little blue arc? Well you just made “lightning” is a mini way.

Another way to look at the energy required is to look at a spark plug in a car. The “gap” is set and a “spark” jumps that gap and ignites a fuel/air mix. If the gaps too great the spark does not jump, no we are only talking much less than a 1/16 of an inch. This is not a big deal unless you have grabbed a plug lead while it was sparking and experienced a violent jerk and dead arm! Now imagine how much energy is required to jump a few hundred feet from the sky to the ground?

That’s hard to imagine even for a geek like me! Now why would God create an energy that could kill a person in an instant? Is it just to show his supreme power? Is there any reason for lightning? Well first we know the story of Ben Franklin and flying the kite! If it wasn’t for that awesome power, we may never have found electricity! Imagine life without a computer, a cell phone, a radio, a microwave or other electronic gizmo you may enjoy?

Now bet you didn’t know the benefits to lightning! I know I was wondering the same thing, but did you know it helps fertilize the land? A strike ionize the air and produces nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen is an essential fertilizer for plants and recent studies show more than 50% of the useable nitrogen in the air and soil comes from this reaction. How cool is that? If the Psalmist only knew what was going on other that a loud flash and a shaking from the thunder. Hopefully science has shown you God’s “design” in this “natural” phenomenon.