Faith like a child.

Today I spent time reading from Luke 18, 1 Timothy 3-4, and 2 Chronicles 8-9.  There were many wonderful things to mine through in today's readings but I was able to choose one verse to meditate on today.  It's from Luke 18:17 - I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 

Natalie at 9 months

I've often wondered what faith like a child meant.  When my twins were born, I never gave much thought to how much they depended on Carrie and I caring for them.  Now with Natalie, my eyes are much more open to the things that God wants me to learn.  With experience comes wisdom, I do believe!  Nevertheless, I'm reminded of the times when I'm holding Natalie and drinking a glass of water.  She loves to drink out of my glass whenever she can.  It's actually cute.  She simply trusts that what's in that glass will not harm her and that I have her best interests at heart.  But the other day I was sitting on the floor in the living room, having a beer, when she crawled up to me and grabbed for the glass!  She wanted a drink.  Now for all of you worry warts - no I didn't give her any!  It just reinforced in my mind that she would have received anything I gave her, at least for an instant, with complete trust that it was best for her. 

In our reading today from Luke 18, Jesus says that we need to be more like these little ones - who simply believe that he's not out to harm them but rather out to build them up and save them.  We need to exercise faith like a child!  When's the last time you asked yourself, What's God up to? or perhaps, Why is he allowing this to happen to me?  We all do this from time to time - expect that God will treat us better or assume that because the world sees it as bad, that it's really bad.  Jesus doesn't give as the world gives.  Jesus doesn't give what the world gives. 

He gives us grace, forgiveness, hope, mercy, love, and new life!  These are his promised blessings to us.  Nothing can make God love you any less than he does today!  He loved you enough to give up his own son to die for you.  What an amazing thing!  Now you don't do anything to earn it.  You'll never deserve it.  It's just yours.  Just receive it, like Natalie received the glass of water.  Receive it knowing that it is yours and that it's there for your good.  When rough times hit, and they will, remember the wonderful gifts of God and receive them all as teaching moments when God is forming you to be the person that he has called you to be. 

God is calling you to live like a child today!  Cut loose and trust in God above all else! He's right here with you every step of the way!  Thanks daddy! We love you!

Father God, we are clay in your hands - mold us and form us into the people that you've called us to be.  Give us hearts that trust what you say and lives that live what you teach.  AMEN. 

Too Big!

Today's readings are from: Luke 17, 1 Timothy 2, and 2 Chronicles 6-7.  And our focus today is from 2 Chronicles 6:18 - The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.  How much less this temple I have built!

What a thing to realize!  Solomon just finished building this huge and very elaborate temple so that the presence of God might dwell there.  But then a strange turn happens.  Here Solomon acknowledges that this temple, no matter how big it might be could never contain all of God's glory.  Not only that - nothing in all of creation could contain him either!  If the heavens (also read as skies) can't contain God then surely nothing made by the hands of men and women will be able to contain him. 

I wish that we could learn and really remember this lesson on a regular basis.  Many of us know that God is big.  Most of us would acknowledge that we can't keep God in a box or anything like that, but we still try!  We do this when we strip parts of his teaching away, remove him from certain parts of our lives, and don't let him into the dark places of our day to day living.  It's way too easy for us to treat God's word like a buffet - only taking from it what we want and leaving the rest.  The things that give us indigestion we leave for someone else, but we need to take all of it in. 

That's how big God is!  You can't separate one part of his character from the rest of him.  It's an all or nothing kind of deal.  True enough, God promises to be wherever two or more are gathered in his name; but he's also wherever you are - at any time!  You can't go far enough or fast enough to get away from God!  He'll always be right where you are headed, waiting for you.  He'll always be right beside you - making the journey less lonely, if only we would open our eyes and see him right there!  He'll always be behind you - ready to catch you when you get caught up in sin.  He'll always be above you - raining down his blessings on you at every turn!  And he'll always be beneath you - supporting you and holding you up as you keep his word your foundation. 

Today we move forward expectant of God's peace.  We go into our day or night ready to be touched by the presence of God! 

Lord - we need to see you today!  We long to know of your presence.  Show us how big you are today!  Show us how truly all encompassing your love and mercy are in our lives today.  We need to see you today!  AMEN. 

A Sinner Forgiven!

There have been some questions about the randomness of the Bible verses used for these updates, so starting today I'll be adding the references to my daily devotional time.  Feel free to check-out the entire reading on your own.  This morning I was able to read Luke 16, 1 Timothy 1, and 2 Chronicles 3-5.  I'm making every effort possible to read through the bible in a year and this is the plan that I've chosen to help me accomplish this task. 

As I was reading from Timothy this morning, I was really drawn to verse 15 and 16 of chapter one: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.  This is where I always used to stop but there's so much richness in the verse that follows: But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 

There are two really key elements in this passage that we all need to live by: confession and forgiveness.  Since we don't walk down the street using these churchy words, I'll unpack them a bit. Confession is the act of admitting that we've gone in the wrong direction.  This is fessing up to the crime/fault that rightfully is ours and then turning to move in the opposite direction. Forgiveness is what you'd expect - a complete wiping away of all record of that incident that was just confessed.  I mean completely gone!  The bible says that our failures are removed from us as far as the East is from the West - and let me tell you that's far!  Jesus death and resurrection guaranteed our victory over the sins we would commit.

So we live in a constant state of paradox: sinner - saint.  For the time being we are both.  While we are here on earth in an unholy world filled with faults and brokenness - we will be sinners, people who miss the mark.  But let us not dwell there alone!  Let us be like Paul who reminds us that even though we fail there is forgiveness.  God loves to forgive!  He promises that when a sinner repents, when a person admits their brokenness, he is all over lifting and restoring and bringing that person right back into the family.  He loves to forgive.  He even says that heaven throws a party every time a person admits their brokenness! 

How cool is that!  Heaven throws a party when we admit who we really are - sinners forgiven!  Today live as a sinner forgiven!  Live as one who doesn't have it all together.  Remember that you've got issues, you've got problems, you've got failures.  But remember that God loves you just the way you are.  While we were still sinners Christ died for us!  While we were still far away from him, he sought us out and freely forgave us all of those things we've done wrong!  You are a sinner forgiven!  I am a sinner forgiven!  Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift of Grace!

Lord - today we want to rest in your forgiveness.  Help us to let go of our sins and cling to your forgiveness!  AMEN.  

Where is your joy?

There's a great story in the New Testament that talks about our joy being in the Lord, and the great part about it is that it never once references those exact words.  If you've got a bible handy go to Luke 15:11-32, or check-out this link to Bible Gateway.  I want to focus primarily on these word in verse 31 - "My son," the father said, "you are always with me and everything I have is yours." 

Many of us know this parable as the Lost Son story, but my question is which son was really lost?  Most of us say that the younger son was lost because he went out and squandered his family inheritance and his family name and you'd be right in saying that.  But that lost son was found.  He was found through the process of repentance, or admitting his faults to one he offended and seeking reconciliation.  But the older son is also lost. As a matter of fact, he is probably more lost than his younger brother! 

The older son was so filled with anger and jealousy that he couldn't be joyful that his brother was back.  He wanted the recognition for himself.  He wanted the party.  He wanted the showy robe and all the cool stuff.  He wanted more.  But the problem is he already had it all!  There was no more that could be given him because, as the father states - you're always with me and everything I have is yours.  The older brother didn't recognize the many blessings he already had right in front of him everyday!

This parable is so amazing because it applies to you and me today in a very powerful way.  I see it all the time - people in the church being blind to the many blessings of God that are already theirs!  We go through life looking for God in the big events.  We look for him when things are going wrong.  We look for him to clean things up after a natural disaster.  We look for him in the words of an eloquent preacher.  But we fail to see him in the still small voices that are constantly surrounding us.  We fail to see the wonderful power of God in the simple elements of bread and wine.  It becomes hard to see God in the bowl of water used for baptism.  It's become nearly impossible for us to recognize God in the words we speak on a Sunday in worship and in the conversations we hold with our friends and neighbors.  Yet God reminds us through this faithful father - you're always with me and everything I have is yours. 

We need not look to the showy things and the powerhouse ministries to find the presence of our mighty God because he's right here!  He's right beside you in your car.  He's with you in the board meeting when everything is going wrong (or right). He's holding you up when you are just too weak to walk, and he walks beside you when you find your strength in him.  He's in the air you breathe, and he's there when it's hard to breathe too.  He's everywhere you go - and you'll never be out of his reach because he's God! 

I pray today that you would find joy in knowing that you serve and are served by an amazing God!  He's amazing because he has blessed you in so many wonderful ways, here are a few to ponder on today's journey:

• God has promised that your sins are already forgiven in Christ's death - REJOICE!
• God has promised that heaven is ours today because of Jesus' resurrection - REJOICE!
• God provides the air you breathe, water you drink, food you eat - REJOICE!
• God provides fellow believers to walk with you on this faith journey - REJOICE! 
• God has allowed someone else to go through exactly what you're going through that you might have someone to lean on - REJOICE!
• God has promised to always be with you no matter what - REJOICE!
• God has never broken a promise yet and my guess - he's not gonna start today! - REJOICE!

Gracious God - thank you for your promises!  Today we ask that we see you in our lives today in a powerful and meaningful way.  We want to see your hand moving mightily in all we do.  In Jesus' name.  AMEN

The Cost of Following

Luke 14:33 - any of you who does not give up everything he has can not be my disciple. 

This sure doesn't sound like the best way to get people motivated to follow!  I mean let's be real for a minute.  If someone came up to you and told you that in order for you to follow him you had to give up everything you had, you had to hate your family, you had to put everything aside and give it all up - do you think you'd start jumping for joy at the prospect of following after this guy?  I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have gotten super excited about the idea of following a man who told me I had to give up everything. 

So why did he say it?  Did he really mean that in order to follow him we have to give up everything?  Do we all need to live in monasteries and have nothing of our own? Did Jesus really want us to have no home, no car, no clothes except those on our backs, no job, no retirement account, no toys?  I don't think that the stuff is the point.  I think it's a heart issue.  Much of what Jesus teaches about possessions and about discipleship has to do with the heart.  He's getting at the hearts of those who follow. 

Is your heart really in this following Jesus thing?  Are you willing to give up everything to follow him?  Perhaps the better way to address this is with regard to the possessions that you have - how can you use the things of your life (home, car, furniture, tv, computer, and all of it) to honor and worship and praise God?  Can these possessions help you worship God?  Can they be used to serve someone in need?  Can they show the least of these how great our God is? 

The cost of following Jesus is a large one!  It's not for the faint or the weak.  We have to be willing to go where we don't want and do what is uncomfortable.  We have to be ready in a moment's notice to walk through the firestorms of life knowing that with Jesus by our side we will make it through.  The cost of following Jesus is that we are willing to walk the path that he walked - a path that led him to the cross and eventually the grave.  If we are truly going to be Jesus' disciples then we must be willing to die to ourselves and our stuff that we might be truly made alive in the things of God.

Paul has a great blessing in 2 Thessalonians May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 

Test Everything!

Today we look to Paul's encouragement in 1 Thessalonians 5.  As I was reading this chapter this morning verse 21 really jumped out and hit me - Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 

Now there's really nothing all that surprising about the last part of this verse.  Of course Paul's going to encourage us to do the good and stay away from the evil.  The part that really is interesting to me is the test everything.  Paul is actually telling us that it's not only OK to test everything but it's encouraged.  Paul takes this section to load the people up on the encouragement and final instructions for what a life in Christ looks like.  Paul is telling the followers of Jesus in this small town to make sure that what they're being told is really of God.  Don't just assume that it's all on the up and up.  Don't just take someone's word for it.  Test it to make sure that it's true. 

This makes me think of buying a car - we don't just walk into a dealership and say, "I want that car." Settle on a deal and walk out.  Generally we'll take that car for a test drive.  We want to make sure that it accelerates the way we need it to.  We need to make sure our family fits comfortably in the seats.  We need to test it to ensure that it meets our needs.  Now if we'll take that kind of time testing a car, why not spend the same kind of care - testing the messages that we hear. 

Paul is encouraging us today in the same way.  We are to test what we are being fed to make sure that it is of God and not of some false prophet trying to get us to buy-in to his personal ambition.  If we were to follow Paul's final words to this church we would test everything that came from the pastor's mouth on Sunday!  We would diligently listen - not for him to slip up, but to ensure that what is being said is actually biblical.  It's easy to assume that just because the pastor is the professional church worker that he's got it all together, but let me give you a little secret - we pastors are sinful people too!  We need the love and forgiveness of Jesus - just like the next person!

As a pastor I love it when a person in the congregation comes to me after a service or later in the week and challenges something I've said on Sunday.  It gives me a chance to make sure that what I've said is accurate and to explain my point of view based on Scripture, and if need be to make public apology for misrepresenting the gospel.  (And yes I've had to do that when I misspoke on a Sunday morning and public apology for it the following Sunday.) 

So - test everything!  Test it not against what the world says but against what the Bible says.  This means that we need to be in the word on a regular basis.  We need to know what the bible says!  We need to be constantly feeding ourselves with a diet of God's Word. 

Lord, feed me today with the things of your spirit.  Enlighten me with your gifts and help me to set aside that time to connect with your word in a way that speaks to me.  Give me the courage to test everything, using your word as the source of norm of my faith.  In Jesus' name.  AMEN

Hearts for Jesus.

So this morning started just like every other morning.  I got up, made the coffee, grabbed a homemade oatmeal muffin and headed for my office.  But as I began to read my section of Scripture this morning I felt eerily as if God was trying to tell me something.  I make it a practice to pick one verse out of my daily reading to focus on and I really felt drawn to this passage - For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.  Luke 12:34 NIV.

This chapter (12) of Luke's gospel account is full of Jesus' teachings on worshiping the Messiah instead of the Material.  I never realized that materialism was such a large problem for the people of Jesus' day, but it must have been!  He spends some considerable time discussing the righting of our priorities.  But what was God trying to teach me?  That was the question that I was trying to get at through my study this morning. 

I honestly believe that God was showing me how much he has actually given me.  We have a house, cars, furnishings for our house and so much more than we actually need. But Jesus says to not let that stuff get in the way of worshiping him, as a matter of fact I felt God challenging me this morning to use the blessings that he has given me to worship him. 

My thoughts to ponder for the day include these: Do I worship God with the stuff he's given me?  How do I do it?  How can I be better at living my life as an offering of worship to God in response for what he's given me?

Now here's the challenge - find a way to increase your weekly worship of God by using the material things in your life as reminders of the goodness and gracefulness of God.  Find a person in your life this week who needs some help and use these gifts from God to help them see and worship Jesus as their Savior.  Then share with us here how you did it so we can worship right alongside you! 

Gracious God, today we want to be more generous with the gifts you've given us.  AMEN

How do you react to change?

Just the thought of it scares some people to death!  But change is a constant. We can't fight it.  We can't stop it and we can't do much but adapt to it.  The challenge is what kind of change do we most embrace? 
I think that most of us are comfortable with the surface-level changes that really don't do much for us at all.  We embrace the small cosmetic changes because they appear to have an immediate impact, but these changes don't really make a difference in the long run.  Jesus is approached by a man, named Nicodemus, in John 3.  He was looking for some answers and some direction.  He wanted to know what needed to happen for him to be saved.  He thought that he could go through some cosmetic change and say some special words and poof he would be alright.  But Jesus tells him something very startling: you need to be transformed!  Literally Jesus says that Nicodemus needs to be "born again." 
Nicodemus was looking for new rules or some new moral code that he could adhere to, but Jesus tells him that he needs a whole new life!  So often we look for real change in a mere facelift but Jesus is telling us here that the change we need, the change that he calls us to, is a complete transformation - a re-birth!  Jesus wants us to have a new life. 
When it comes to spiritual change, we need to focus on something much bigger than simply turning over a new leaf.  We can't just change what we do, rather we must change why we do what we do.  This is what Jesus is getting at when he speaks to Nicodemus.  He doesn't want Nicodemus to be better at obeying the laws; he wants him to desire and live out a new calling.  Rules simply modify our behavior for time, but the message of the gospel is the only thing that can truly impart new life.  And new life is the only thing that will suffice! 
Today, I pray that God will continue to work the work of transformation in our lives as we seek His face and His direction for today.  May God who began this work of transformation in you at the time of faith bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ!  AMEN. 

How's your dirt?

I've often wondered if we really understand Jesus' parable of the sower properly. Jesus talks about different kinds of soil and how they react to the seeds that are attempted to be sown in them. You can find the whole parable in Mark 4:1-20. Check out www.biblegateway.com and choose the version you prefer to read from. 

But what about the soil?  I've been a pastor for over 8 years now and I never cease to be amazed by the complaints I hear from people about "not getting anything out of pastor's sermon today."  It's almost hysterical to listen to the excuses we make for the reasons the message didn't sink in.  But do any of those excuses really hold water?  I'd be inclined to say that very little of them actually do!  More often than not the excuses we give for not receiving the message are pushed on the preacher and we keep very little blame for ourselves.  Now admittedly preachers are not perfect!  But the message isn't strictly dependent on the preacher it's more dependent on the receiver.  Let me explain. 

Jesus says that there are different types of soil and each type of soil receives the seed differently.  He then goes on to explain that the seed is the word of God and that the soil is the heart of the receiver.  If we carry this to the conclusion that means that we have some work to do in our hearts before we can fully receive the things God offers us freely in his word.  We come into worship and bible study full of distractions and worries these are the weeds that choke the message from taking hold.  Sometimes we are so beat down by the world and its problems that the seed doesn't even have a chance to sink into our hearts. 

Now the preacher owns the responsibility for preaching the word in all of its truth and purity.  He has the duty of staying true to the message as it's found in the word of God.  But when we as hearers own the responsibility for the condition of our hearts we'll be better able to hear with our ears and our hearts. 

• What do you do to keep your soil healthy?  
• What are some things that you do to prevent your soil from being packed down? 
• How can we work together to maintain a healthy soil system in our lives so that the seeds of God's word might continue to grow and flourish?  

God you are a God of love and life.  You promise to go wherever your Word is sown.  We ask you to continue to hold true to that promise.  Help us to clear the clutter and remove the distractions that your word might take root deep in our hearts and grow to a passionate and enthusiastic faith.  Set us on your path today Lord!  AMEN.