Community Bible Experience: Day 20

We are halfway to completing our reading through the New Testament! Where is the Sousa marching band music? No matter, we have come a long way to accomplishing our goal and that is awesome! Not only is it awesome to see milestones achieved, like the pages turned in our bibles to the halfway spot, but it is even more awesome, yea verily, to take in the message that God's word has for us. I know I am learning and I hope you are also.

Today we finished with what bible scholars have come to call the pastoral epistles, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. We read 1 Timothy yesterday and completed the trifecta today with Titus and 2 Timothy. Obviously, these are great books for the prospective and current leaders of the church to read, but they are also wonderful texts for the challenge that we all have to live lives that are consistently in harmony with the word of God and one another.

Here's my thought on what I read today.

Paul writes to Titus, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures." In this sentence and the following one, Paul outlines our state without the Lord in our lives. He clearly identifies that we all were really good at doing our own thing, according to our own likes, and doing so with "the pedal to the metal." In other words, we were lost in sin and enjoying the ride. But it wasn't just those dirty rotten sinners who were doing those things. Paul says that both he and Titus use to be those kind of people. And if Paul and Titus were those kind of people at one time, what does that mean for us?

I am so thankful for passages like this in the word of God, because they remind me that we all were those dirty rotten sinners at one point. We all were foolish and disobedient, totally given away to almost immeasurable negative desires and their fulfillment in our lives. We might not have expressed these things in our genteel society, but they were in our nature and in our hearts. Paul's statement is at least one line on our resume, pre-Jesus.

This is important theologically and practically for those of us that call Jesus our Savior. It is important for the latter, because, in living out our faith, we aught to be consistent in expressing from where we have come in honesty. Too often we believers act and talk like we never were not saved. Too often we act and talk like sin never had a hold on us and we don't have any challenges even now. Too often we go about our business as if we are the judges of righteousness upon the earth, because we are so pure, inherently. What a trap! That is why Paul reminds Titus out of what tree they had fallen.

(Most people who have not come to a saving knowledge of Christ hate the uppity attitudes of some believers who have either forgotten this truth or don't want to acknowledge it. This is one impediment to sharing the truth about Jesus with those who have not come to this grace in which we stand. It is called grace for a reason.)

It is also important for the theological position we hold. Paul reminds Titus that God's mercy to us has made the difference. It was His kindness, His grace, His love, His washing us clean, His Holy Spirit that renews us and His Son that sealed the deal! God did these things for us who could do nothing but be enslaved to our own pleasure. As hackneyed as it may sound, we cannot get good to get God, rather it has always been the other way around!

So Paul ends this section encouraging Titus and those to whom Titus would minister (and to us as an extension to that ministry) to be devoted to doing good, remembering who we used to be. Living lives that reflect the goodness of God in the land of the living, not based on our lofty self perspective, but the mercy of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.

I pray that we Christians can get over ourselves, tossing the old man into the back seat (he is still there because we are still in this old flesh), as we live the new man, the spiritual one, who should be devoted to good, with grace and mercy to everyone, the man who should be at the wheel, for that would be "excellent and profitable for everyone," just like Paul says.

Until Monday. May God's grace envelop you. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 19

We are approaching the halfway point in our challenge to begin this year reading through the entire New Testament. I don't know about you, but for me this has been a great reminder of the wonder of God's word and the impact that it can have in our lives. I hope you join me in this appraisal of the project called, the Community Bible Experience.

I have received several encouraging messages relative to the blog's blessing parallel to the readings. I want to thank those who have encouraged me that way. I am having a good time reflecting on the reading and I hope my little snippets of thought have been encouraging in turn.

Today's reading covered the books of Philippians and 1 Timothy. I enjoyed reading them, especially, since Paul seems so much softer in these books than some of the others we have read up to this point.

Here is what I got from today's reading.

Paul makes one little statement in the book of Philippians that really got me today. He says regarding Timothy, whom he was about to send to the Philippian church, "I have no one else like him." I find that a truly tender, honest and powerful declaration of Timothy's worth to Paul and his ministry.

What Paul was saying, as he clarifies right after the statement, is that no one was going to have the same fervor, concern or genuine heart for the Philippians like Paul, except Timothy. The young man was going to care with the care of a heartfelt minister, who had no ax to grind, but the love of Jesus poured out on the Philippian church as they grew in the grace of God. Paul's confidence in Timothy is clear as he delineates the ministry for Timothy at Ephesus, in the very next text of our reading (1 Timothy). I can imagine how comforting Timothy's sincere cooperation in the ministry was to Paul. 

How often have we desired to do something for the Lord, gotten involved, put our all into it, then looked around to see who was with us in the effort to realize we were alone? Sometimes it is because we have our heads down, looking at the task before us and not taking in the bigger picture of those who are beside us until they are gone. We sense their presence with us, but we are not connected, because we are a little self-absorbed in the doing of the task.

Yet, how wonderful is it to know that we are about something good for God and His people and, as we look around, we see the effort in their hearts and hands for Him and His people? It is so encouraging to see the people of God joining together in serving the world around us and serving one another. In fact, I would suggest that this is the miracle of God's movement in His people to find them giving their all, together, to make a difference in the world for Jesus. The word for the early assembly of the Jews (and Christians at the beginning) was and continues to be called the synagogue; a word that meant "gathering together." Christian service, sincere, spirit led service, is more powerful and God honoring when it is done together.

To be able to say, concerning a fellow worker, who has the same zeal, heart and willingness to inject themselves into the fray of ministry, "I have no one else like him," is to say that person is like having two of me. How easy is it to sit back and watch others serving, caring, loving and transforming the church or the situation in which the church finds itself. We might even feel the tug of God to put ourselves out there. But I can assure you, it is a wonder and very much a blessing to know there are those that are unlike any others, who will invest with all their hearts for the cause of Christ.

Oh that the church might see its power in the hearts of growing numbers of followers investing their lives for His kingdom: The wonder of those who are like no others.

Until tomorrow.  Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 18

Today we continued our journey through the New Testament as we read two of my favorite books: Ephesians and Philemon. They are dear to me for very different reasons. Ephesians is dear to me, because within its context is one of the greatest passages dealing with how salvation is received. Philemon is so, because in its 25 verses we see the great motivator, love, that transforms us from what we were without Jesus, to profound lovers for all things godly.

Here are my thoughts on what I read today.

Paul prays for the Ephesian believers in a very interesting way. First, he asks God to open the eyes of their hearts, that they may know who they really were in power, hope and God's fullness. Second, he prays that they might understand the incredible thing that all believers have been given. He calls it the ability to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep” is the love of Christ. This second element, based on the reality of the first element, leads to a fundamental and extraordinary understanding of God in their lives. It revolves around the concept of being filled.

Have you ever been full? I love coming home after work and opening the door to the house and smelling that it is “soft taco night.” I can smell the cumin and cilantro mixed with the browned meat (the only bummer is that my wife wants me to eat healthy, so the meat is turkey, oh well, I'm not complaining, honey), the refried beans and salsa. Yum! Oh the comfort food of my youth! I think I can even smell the soft flour tortillas.

Beans and lettuce and cheese and tortillas and salsa, all put together with the taco meat...third heaven stuff for sure!

Then we sit down and I eat with abandon. Every bite is a trail down through my memory. Every scoop of refried beans a jog toward my youth. I am in heaven and I eat until I am full and blissfully so.

I don't want to seem crude at any level, but when Paul prays for them to be full to the “measure of all the fullness of God,” he means full like “soft taco night.” No room at the inn. No space in the parking lot. Not one more inch of opening for any more storage. That is to know the great power of God's love and grab a hold of the width, length, height and depth (what is inside) of what God has for us.

That is why we can trust Him totally. Amen?

Until tomorrow! I hope it is taco night...

Community Bible Experience: Days 16 & 17

Ok, I'm sorry. Life happened yesterday. I did my reading and then jumped into a day of ministry that, honestly, left me without any time to write my little notes for our reading. I promise, this will probably happen again.

Which brings me to a significant thought for all of us who are trying to get the reading of the whole New Testament done in these eight weeks. Life does happen. We can find ourselves behind in our reading and start to think, "I just can't do it now that I am behind." To quote the 1981 theological treatise by the rock band, Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'." Hang in there! Keep reading and try to catch up when you can. It is worth the effort.

Our reading yesterday had us finishing the book of Romans and today's reading was the book of Colossians. Both of these books are very deep theological works and at the same time very practical. The section we read in Romans was more of the practical part, while Colossians was a mix.

Here is what I got from the reading both yesterday and today.

Romans: "You mean I have to be sensitive to my fellow believers' sensibilities and live in such a way that they are not tripped up? Why do I have to worry about them?"

These are great questions that I often hear from Christian people that Paul answers in the middle of our reading section. It is true that each of us will stand before the Lord and have to make an accounting of our OWN lives before Him. My aunt Suzy is not going to have to answer for me and I won't be responsible for her as we stand before the Judge. However, in the practical sense, I do have a responsibility.

The passage says, if anyone thinks that something is unclean (Paul is talking about eating stuff, but it applies to other things as well), then for that person it is unclean. And, if it is unclean for them in their approach to it, then I better be circumspect in my approach to those things, so they won't stumble. In other words, We need to be sensitive to one another and our weaknesses, so that we might be encouraging and bless each other.

Here's an example. If I have a problem in my walk with the Lord relative to the eating of Twinkies, say, I was addicted to them in my past life and when I see them or anyone eating them, I struggle to control myself. And you, fellow believer in Christ, have no problem with Twinkies, in fact you buy them (since you can again, PTL) by the box full; you invite me to your house. When I come in, there are Twinkies on the coffee table, Twinkies on the kitchen counter AND you are eating one when you answer the door. You say to me, "Hey John, want a Twinkie?" I reply, "No thank you, I don't know if you remember or not, but before I was a Christian, I was mainlining Twinkies for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I really have a problem with even seeing them, now." Then you say to me, "What, you know there is no problem with eating Twinkies as a believer? Jesus set you free, brother. Come on, lighten up!" In that moment, my sensibilities toward Twinkies should over ride your freedom to eat them and, as a friend and a fellow follower of Christ, you should abstain from that freedom to eat, display or "Twinkie talk" in my presence. That is what Paul is trying to say. We need to be sensitive to each others' weaknesses.

Colossians: Christians aught to be sweet people. We need to exude the grace and beauty of the Lord in all we do and say. Not only within the confines of the church, but also outwardly to the world, which is perishing without Christ.

Paul says to this church, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." He says this because God in Christ has set us up to be holy, loved, compassionate, kind, humble (oh boy), gentle, patient, forgiving and lovers. All these things are the inheritance of God to faithful followers. I guess you could summarize it as saying God made us to be sweet through Jesus.

My problem is, why don't we see this more often? Really! What happen to the power of God in His people that we, more often than is comfortable, choose to not express these wonderful traits? I am not indicting the whole church, but some of it that I see displayed through the media, social or otherwise. It seems to me that many Christians that express the truths of God (and they are the truths of God), choose to do it in a spirit that seems at odds with the tenor of God's investment of peace in His congregation of followers. It's like, from the world's perspective, that these folk are like skunks, they look pretty from a distance, but when you get up close, the pretty is transformed into something onerous. It is like the Proverb that says, "Like a gold ring in a swine's snout, so is a beautiful woman without discretion." It looks weird to see Christians act this way, out of character and stinky.

I hope we might see the great opportunity, that God has given us, to demonstrate to the world and to one another, that He was not goofing around when He sent His Son to pay the penalty for each and every one of us. He wanted us changed into the image of the great prototype, Jesus. I hope we can see that is what He did, so we need to act like WHO WE ARE.

Blessings, everyone. Until tomorrow (unless life happens)!

Community Bible Experience: Day 15

I woke up this morning thinking that I was going to have to reading the whole book of Romans. I thought, man how am I going to do that in one sitting and either have trouble staying awake or have trouble keeping my mind on the flow of the book? So there I was reading and I turn the page and realize they only had us read half. It was like finding two hours of free time after a tough day at work that I could take a nap. Awesome!

Anyway, we read today half way through the most theological book of the New Testament and, for me, it was an incredible joy. I hope it was for you also.

Here is what I got in my reading today.

I am stuck in a battle between my body and my new life in Jesus. That is why I find myself, just like Paul, sometimes doing the very thing I don't want to do. I hate it. I hate it, because, when I do it, I end up hating me.

In the book that I wrote, Righter's Block, in the chapter where I talk about hating and loving one's self, I talk about this whole challenge that we have in the flesh. Here we are, saved, changed, different in the sight of God Almighty, and what do we do with It? We waste our newness in Christ to go back and do all the stupid stuff our bodies crave. Do I have to make a list of all those things? I didn't think so.

Paul wrestles with this challenge for every believer who finds themselves still living on the earth. He says with his mind he follows God, but in his flesh or his body, he wants to sin. Why is that so compelling? Why is sin always seem so enticing? Why do we have to deal with this ongoing struggle? Why didn't God just say, "enough," and that difficulty be done, over, kaput in our earthly experience?

I don't know and I don't believe anyone else knows either. That's just the way it is and I am not going to lie about it. But I sure identify with Paul when he asks, "Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

I suppose that would have been kind of sad, if that was the end of the story, but Paul concludes that section with a statement that trumps all the challenge in this earthly body.  "Thanks be to God." Thanks to God for sending His Son, for the Son living a perfect life, for the Son going to the cross in my stead, for the Son dying there in the place that was mine, for the Son being buried in a grave, for the Son rising up alive again and for the promise in the Son, that by my faith in Him that I too will be like Him, alive forever. Wow!

Who will get me out of this jam that I experience too often to be honest with you about it? Jesus. That's right, the Sunday School answer...Jesus.

I gues that is something to be thankful about.

Until Monday. Blessings.

Community Bible Experience: Day 14

Today the reading has us continuing in the letters of Paul, specifically Galatians. After 14 days of reading it almost seems justified that we would be reading a letter that has the subject of legalism in the context of faith. I am sure in one sense the reading, as a habit, is becoming a bit challenging. On the other hand, the joy of accomplishment and learning is also a blessing as we persevere. I pray that you are keeping up and not getting discouraged. Like someone has said somewhere, "The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places." Let's hang in there and not park the bus! Okay?

As mentioned, today's reading covered the letter of Paul to the churches in Galatia. This was an ancient region in what is today, modern Turkey. Paul had been there before and was trying to respond to the influence of some who had gone to that region and were teaching that the believers there had to do the requirements of the Law to be in good standing with God.

This is what I got from my reading today.

Freedom! In Christ, we have been set free. In fact, according to Paul, this is the reason that Christ has done what He has done. He set us free to live free from the burden of sin, from the burden of law, from the burden of tradition and from the burden of man made religion. Freedom!

But this freedom is not license. It is not a blank check to act out in any way one may feel. In fact, it is in our text today that Paul balances our freedom to serve one another humbly in love against our freedom to indulge the flesh (our own carnal desires). He delivers the admonishment that if they do the latter, they will "devour" one another and be destroyed by that spirit delivered by their own hands.

The church in any era has always fought the tendency to legalism. After once coming to a saving knowledge of God through faith, we tend to ask the basic question, "Now what do I do?" We see the wonder of God's love stretched out on the cross for each of us and respond. Indeed, that is how we first come to a faith stance, at the cross, acknowledging our lack, seeking His solution over and against anything we might present to get us out of that predicament. Then we look around and wonder where we go from there.

It is then, that well meaning and, unfortunately, misinformed "encouragers" can come to us to help us answer that question. We may hear things like we have to have the right kind of Bible, or the right kind of clothing, or the right kind of speech (especially King James Version while praying out loud), or the right kind of giving (tithing), or the right kind of music (hymns versus anything else), or the right kind of preaching (exegetical versus topical), or the right kind of preacher (evangelist versus teacher versus pastor) or the right kind of anything that does not conform to what the encourager deems is right. Paul confronts this with truth that if we are living our lives by the Spirit of God, that we will not find ourselves falling into that trap. He says, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

So what does that mean?

As far as I can tell by Paul's delineation of the fruit of the Spirit, it is living our lives with the qualities of a forgiving and selfless heart, focused on expressing the attributes that God has given to His children, His new creation, as we love, with joy, and peace, with forbearance toward each other and kindness, goodness, faithfully acting out gently and under control. In other words, it is being good to ourselves and to others. No law contravenes this form of living. None!

It is not the doing of stuff (legalism); rather is it the living out a quality of life that only God can give through His empowering Spirit. It is a form of conduct that no legalistic action could ever make better. It is the sweet aroma of blessing toward God, by which He will respond, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

My prayer is that the church will see this blessing over any form of overt or subtle legalism. To the glory of God!

Until tomorrow.  Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 13

We are statistically right at a third of the way through our reading today. Yeah! This is significant and I am so glad to have arrived at this place. But there is still two thirds more to go. I think we can make; let's not give up.

Today's reading has us taking on the whole book of 2 Corinthians. I took a class in graduate school (Seminary) on 1 and 2 Corinthians. To be honest, 2 Corinthians had less impact on me than 1 Corinthians back then. Since that time, a lot of water has gone under the proverbial bridge and 2 Corinthians has gained a much more important place in my life and ministry understanding. For those reasons, I looked forward to my reading it again in this unique format. I hope you did also.

Here is my impression on what I read today.

Paul says, "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others." This statement comes on the heels of Paul's declaration that every one of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ and experience what is due us. As my friend Phil Markley says, "Yikes!"

The first thing I know about the "fear of God" is that people don't like the concept. No fear, baby! That's what we want in our experience here on the earth. Yet if we are honest, we are full of general fear and specific fears. Will my retirement be sufficient (that's what I am starting to think now)? Will my kids be safe? Will terrorism effect me? Will my house sell? Will I be able to work in a good environment? Will my spouse continue to love me? Is Jesus real? And on and on. We are full of fear.

According to Paul, this fear leads to an extraordinary response. He says that because of it, he tried to persuade others about Jesus. Why? Was he so in the grip of fear, paralyzed beyond any self-driven response, to do anything but share Jesus? Or was his response in sharing Jesus based on what He knew about God in His ultimate role as judge?

In fact what he goes on to say in that exact passage is that "if he is out of [his] mind" it is because of God and His great love for the population of the earth. It is God's great love for mankind that compels Paul to this end. It compels him to persuade others to know Christ, because of what he knows about God. What he fearfully and lovingly knows about God.

For God so loved the world...that He provided Jesus to deal with our sin and in dealing with our sin He shows His love; even though as ultimate Judge, He will pronounce His legal decision over all the earth. That decision aught to be seen as awful from our perspective, but a righteous thing from God's perspective. This terrible thing is in fact the very reason for God making a way for all humanity, because without His injection into the mix through His Son Jesus, the Messiah, we have no recourse but to find ourselves condemned. And this condemnation is for all eternity.

Paul knew this terrible consequence without the loving act of Christ and it is what compelled him to proclaim, unreservedly, the good news of Jesus, the Savior. He knew this fear (and God's provision of love through Christ) and for the neediness of others, he proclaimed this truth.

This is where my experience comes in. As a pastor, sometimes my folks don't see the great love that I have for them and the desire that I have for them to be right with God (I have the same desire for myself). Sometimes they see other agendas at work in my comportment. And to be honest, I am still very human. But my relationship with my church's membership is really based on the same effect that Paul knew. I am compelled by God's great love to share with those who find themselves under my influence. It is, like Paul, not about my attaining a higher pay grade, position or greater influence for me; rather, it is knowing who I am (nothing) and how I have been called (by God) in effecting the work God has called me to do the best way I know how in honesty with the truth. 

Some days, I feel out of my mind. I would rather go fishing, play soccer, watch a movie, hangout with my wife or enjoy any other thing, than to deal with Christians or other people...but Christ's love compels me. Crazy, hunh?

Until tomorrow. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 12

Here we are, almost a third of the way through our reading of the New Testament.  Day 12 or as I like to say, "12 days of reading the word of God, one for every tribe of Israel minus the half tribes..." It has been good, though, and I am sure that if you have taken up the challenge, that you are being blessed just like I am.

Today we finished the book of 1 Corinthians. The reading jumped off the page for me and I hope it did the same for you.

Here is what I got from the reading today.

What was it like to be a kid? When I think back to that time in my life, I am struck by a couple of things. The first is an overshadowing sense of time dragging on and on. There seemed to be no arrival of things for which I was waiting. A day felt like a week, a week like a month, a month like a year. A year? Eternity! Time did not move at all. I remember thinking in the mid-sixties, as a kid of 11 or 12, that in 2000 I was going to be 46 years old. I thought, "Man, will I be a old guy like grandpa then!" Here I am some years after the fact and I still recognize my age, but it doesn't feel so old from here!

Another thought is that back then my parents and teachers were like God. What I mean by this is that when they spoke, it better have been done or else. Or else the belt (at home)! Or else the paddle (at school)! We don't do this any more. Corporal punishment at school and at home is frowned upon. It isn't PC. It's not loving. It's not nurturing...I am going to get in trouble for this, but here is a theological word that I have for this...BULL! Without the teaching of proper boundaries at home and at school, I never would have understood the boundaries that life would foist upon me and everyone else when we arrived at adulthood. We just cannot do whatever we want, no matter what anyone may tell you. The teaching of my parents and my teachers gave me a picture of the world to come and how to negotiate it for the corporate good and my personal good.

This teaching allows me to keep a wife in good standing. It allows me to maintain a job, invest in volunteer endeavors and keep positive relationships with others. The little snot nosed Johnny Prim did not grow up to be a thug either at home, in my relationships or in my job, because someone let me know what were the real boundaries of decorum. If we are honest, we know that the world will let us know what is too far! There are limits to everything.

The third thought I had is simply this, "I was very selfish as a kid." When I think back to that time, all I can remember is me. I don't see very many others in the camera viewfinder. I went here and I went there and I did this and I did that. There is a whole lot of "I" in all my remembrances of that time. Isn't that what kids are like? Much of their concerns and cares are about them. Part of that growing experience is about moving from the "me" to the "other." We know this because selflessness is such a huge commodity in our world. Yesterday we celebrated the selflessness of not only Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but also all those who were willing to be selfless in desiring to change our culture within the boundaries of reason.

That's why, when Paul says in our reading today, "Stop thinking like children," we are confronted with the truth that to think like children is to act impatient, seeking to blur clear boundaries given by God and "find ourselves," and only ourselves, to the glory of ourselves.

We impatiently say, "When is Jesus going to come for me?" We distrust at every level and hurl the boundary breaking theme for our lives at every whiff of dominion over us when we say, "Question authority." We push all our experience through the filter of feeling and if it doesn't feel good, we wont do it. As Paul says, we need to "stop thinking like children" and start thinking like people who have been changed by Jesus.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me."

I hope the Lord finds us actively yet patiently waiting for Him, focused on exercising His wonderful grace in the context of serving others!

I pray you are finding great worth in reading with me and my church. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 11

Day 11 of our Bible reading campaign is upon us.  I got to thinking today that for some it may seem to be too late to start, but it is never too late to start reading God's word.  So, if you are interested in joining with me and my church in reading the whole New Testament go to CBEresources.com/nt and download the reading guide, eBook and MP3.  You wont regret the investment of time; and money is no object, because it's free!  Let me know how you are doing on your reading.  I would love to hear from you and be encouraged through what God is saying to you.

Today's reading took in the first part of the book of 1 Corinthians. I believe this is an incredibly apropos book for those of us who live in 2015, because the truths, challenges and admonitions in it are very similar to what we as a people are facing in our world today.

Here is what I got from today's reading. 

From where have we come?  That is one of the many themes about which Paul writes in this section of 1 Corinthians.  He reminds the Corinthian followers that in the calling that Jesus had made to them that "not many...were wise by human standards" nor "influential" or even "noble" by birth.  They were just common folk.  And the power in this was God working in them to bring them to a place where they could have a standing in which they could have never imagined.  A standing where they had eternal life, a future with the Lord, a life here and now in which they could exercise a love that was, by all intents and purposes, other worldly in nature.

They were, like the rags to riches metaphor, taken from the farm, barefoot, shoddily dressed, ill spoken and rough, then given the keys to the King's palace, free reign within that context and given a new life with a higher level of EVERYTHING.

But like many of us (myself included), we get the entrance into the "glory" and all of a sudden, we forget from whence we came.

Paul tries to remind the Corinthians about this in their very own experience.  He says to them, "God chose the foolish things of the world...the weak things...the lowly things...the despised...and the things that are not."  Well, that about sums up His choosing me and I would suspect that is mostly everyone's experience.  He took us from where we were and gave us His Kingdom through His Son, Jesus.

I am glad he gave me this wonderful privilege.  I now have access to God directly.  I now have a future with Him for eternity.  I now have the capacity to confront any challenge the world can throw at me in His power.  This is the common blessing for anyone who has come to a saving knowledge in Jesus.  But why do we get uppity like we have no past?

I have been the chaplain for a major league soccer team now for 10 years going on 11.  In that time, I have seen this whole scenario played out in the entrance of the gifted new soccer player into the team.  Almost without failure, the newbie is tentative, respectful, open, hungry, and absolutely clear as to his previous state in either amateur soccer or some lower level pro soccer.  He knows from where he has come and is acutely aware of where he has arrived.  I love these guys at this place.  They still remember from where they have come and honestly appreciate the glory at the place where they have arrived.

Later on, however, some forget the bumpy, potholed fields on which they learned to play the beautiful game.  They forget the orange slices at halftime and mom and dad cheering from their lawn chairs every Saturday morning.  They forget the passion that they once had of just wanting to kick the ball around with friends in their new found placement on the national scene and they become glory unto themselves.

I have discovered that the players that survive and thrive, in that context, are the ones that never forget from where they have come.

That is what Paul is trying to say to the followers of Christ in that ancient Greek city.  Yes, we have been given the whole universe by the King of the Universe.  Yes, we have been blessed with a new power and hope that will endure forever.  Yes, we have a family, the church, that actually can be a blessing rather than a curse.  Yes, we have community, now, with all those who call the name of Jesus.  But we should never forget from what place we have come without Him.

I hope we remember this.

I hope you can continue with me every day of our Bible reading.  Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 10

Two weeks down!  Yeah!  Ten days of reading God's word and counting.  I hope you are hanging in there with me and my church, as we persevere in reading through the whole New Testament in the first two months of 2015.  It has been a  great exercise of discipline and blessing.  One of the things I have taken away from this endeavor is that we are too busy if we cannot set aside 20 minutes to read generally or read God's word specifically.  What a blast of fresh air it has been.

Today's reading had us enter into the letters of Paul, specifically his two letters to the church of Thessalonica (which was in Macedonia, just north of Greece).  I loved seeing the concern that Paul had for this burgeoning church.  It reminded me of my role as a pastor in the context of my church.

Here is what I took away from my reading today.

Three weeks!  Only three weeks.  That is how long Paul was in Thessalonica preaching what he had come to know about Jesus and the plan of God for the whole world.  And yet, in those three weeks Paul establishes such a relationship with those who came to know Jesus that one can clearly see the wonder, power and graciousness of the gospel.

I was struck by Paul's endearing words to the believers in this church.  There was such a tender and at the same time direct approach to them.  Paul addresses them as beloved and fellows in the faith, as sisters and brothers, and also as his children (as if he was a parent to them).  He tells them to keep on being what they were called to be as those who heard the word, tried to live their faith and even had suffered for it; he also tells them that they are his crown of glory and his joy.

He defends them before the King of glory in light of their persecution.  He reminds them that this negative experience will come, but that our Lord knows.  Jesus, His prophets and His followers, in acting faithfully, did and will experience persecution.  But he also reminds them that God knows and His just and righteous arm will have a day of accounting toward those who have mistreated His chosen ones.

I wonder how many pastors in the world look upon their people with such tenderness, hope and personal glory and joy?  For me, the concept of the church has always been about people rather than the organization.  When I look at my people, I get a strange feeling (and I think this feeling is a deep expression of my call from God).  It is a feeling of love that I cannot explain any other way, but the Spirit of the Lord.  I am fallible (inherently, historically and consistently), but the love and joy that I feel when my church (the people) acts out as God calls all of us who know Him to act out is so overwhelming I feel like Paul.  I am "encouraged" by them because of their "faith."

I hear some pastors share about their people as if they were adversaries and malcontents, those who they have to put up with because "they don't get it."  I am so glad that in the context of my church experience, the other pastors and I don't feel that at all.  That doesn't mean that we cannot feel frustrated at times as if our work within the body called my church doesn't feel like it is in vain.  Even Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians expresses that sentiment.  But we do have a sense of family type concern for everyone that enters the portals of the church building and joins with us in the name of Jesus.  In fact, I know that is one of the signs of God's calling in ministry for a pastor versus a hireling.

This principle is difficult to understand for one who is not called in this way.  I see it in those who have the gift of service, who wonderfully engage their gift in helping others so seamlessly that they don't even know they are doing it.  Yet when they  observe others, who may have other gifts, like teaching or administration, not doing things that they would do naturally with their gift of service, they complain about the others.  "How come they aren't doing what I see should be done?"  It is the wonder of the body fitly joined together, with each part having its part, exercising their spiritual giftedness, but marvelously unified in their distinctiveness as individuals.

I hope my church knows that about its pastors and its individual part in the puzzle called the church.  They are our joy.  We love them profoundly and I hope they can receive that.  I know that some really don't understand that in us, at times.  I think it is easy to boil down the church experience to a structure, a budget, a  building or even personal perspective, but the power of a gifted heart employed in ministry without agenda one, cannot ultimately be denied.  May God's grace be upon my church and all congregations with that spirit that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

Week two is done.  Have a nice break this weekend and may God bless you as you continue in the word.

Until Monday!  Blessings.

Community Bible Experience: Day 9

Sorry, I got a little behind with the posting of today's blog.  I am still on track with my reading and I hope you are right along with me and my church as we discover God's wondrous plan in His word.

Today we read the continuation of the missionary journeys of Paul and the conclusion of the book of Acts.  I found it very convicting and encouraging at the same time.

Here is my take on today's reading.

Chaos, confusion, anger and faithfulness surround this section of our reading.  Paul continues his outreach to the world in the name of the Savior.  What he finds as he reaches out is acceptance of his preaching, rejection of his preaching, ambivalence toward his preaching and riots.

Riots when the nationalized perspective (aligned with peoples' livelihood) is confronted with the truth about Jesus Christ.  Riots when something doesn't sound profitable to the profit makers.  Riots when the rhetoric is not consistent with the regional cultural taglines.  Ephesus is the pivot pole for this scenario.

A certain silversmith finds that people are turning to Jesus and hurting business.  He foments a riot that gathers a huge crowd chanting the "We're number one" phrase of that area ("Great is Artemis of the Ephesians").  Unruliness reigns in the massive unfocused crowd as it shouts one thing, then another.  Crazed by their pride for their "team," hysterically shouting the theme of their famous city in unreceptive fervor to the truth.  Like most wild crowds, moving, undulating like some unleashed amoeba in rhythm to their ire and unfocused mass.

Leadership tried to control them and share the good news (Paul wanted to, Alexander, the Jew is pushed on stage without result) and like almost every brutish crowd, "most...did not even know why they were there."  

Do we know why we are there?  Do we know why we are joined with Jesus and His church?  Do we really know?  Or are we like the uncontrolled Ephesian crowd, unable to see, hear, taste or touch the truth because of the din all around us?  Is the shouting of our own "We're number one" so loud that we miss the still small voice of the Master trying to speak a word to each and every one of us?  We act sometimes like the American church is the only form of church that works.  "We're number one!"  We act sometimes, in our cushy comfort, like God has blessed us, because we are so good.  Yet we struggle to hear His voice today, as if we might not even know Him.

I am not indicting our country.  I am questioning myself and our form of "living for Jesus."  We make it out to be a certain music form, a certain preaching style, a certain building architecture, a certain kind of church structure or a load of other requirements to become "number one."  And if we cannot discover that "right" mixture in one church, we scurry to the next.  We look, at times, just like the amoebic rabble in Ephesus chanting to the current theme, but not having a clue why we are there!

I hope we get it soon.  Maranatha!  And that's the truth!

Continue with me and my church as we seek the leading of the Lord through His word.  What a journey so far!

Until tomorrow!  Blessings.

Community Bible Experience: Day 8

Day 8 and we are still going strong.  I hope you are going strong also as we read together through the New Testament.  I must admit that up to this point I haven't had day one of difficulty in getting up and doing my daily reading.  In fact, it has been more than a pleasure as God has spoken to me through this reading challenge.  My prayer for you is that you are experiencing the same blessing as we journey together.

Speaking of journey, in today's reading we see the first movements of outreach beyond the Jerusalem church.  Peter validates the truth with Barnabas and Paul before the Jerusalem church and mission goes into high gear.

Here is what I got from the reading today.

The first controversy of the church comes about because some the Jewish Christians were having a hard time with what to do with the Gentile converts, especially concerning the Jewish religious law.  Some of these people held that without circumcision one could not be saved!  Not only that, they also went to Antioch and preached that without that and the keeping of the law of Moses, these new converts weren't really converts.  This caused quite the stir in the church at Antioch, so they sent Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem to get it sorted out.

The pair from Antioch presented what God was doing and how He was doing it which gave an opening to those who were more legalistic.  Peter shares again his experience with the centurion and his household and how they were saved, baptized by the Holy Spirit and baptized with water in the name of Jesus.  All of this in contra position to the "yoke" of legalism that, as Peter states, "Neither we nor or ancestors have been able to bear."  Salvation is by grace with nothing else added.

I wish we would get that.  Some days we really know that that we can do nothing to improve our standing before God than to submit to His rule and reign by faith in His grace toward us.  Other days, we are dumber than dirt, trying to spruce up our position by doing stuff that has ZERO bearing on our eternal salvation relationship with the Creator.  Why do we do this so easily?

I think it is because it is not our experience in the world.  If you want something, you have to work for it.  If you want to look better, you have to beautify!  If you want to speak better, you clean up your language.  If you want the better job, you have to fulfill the requirements and maybe even step on a few folks on the way (oh well).  The system down here is not the system up there!

We tend to legalism because we cannot handle trusting in what God says.  I'll give you an example.  I read today an article entitled "10 Signs Your church Has Been Secularized."  Now I believe it is important to keep our eyes fixed upon the Lord when we do church (and I believe this will guard us from messing up and doing church in a way that blesses God and His people), but people love to read this kind of thing because there is an inherent legalist in every one of us!  I actually didn't have many issues with the article at all, in fact.  But why don't we go to the word for our standard for the church, rather than what someone thinks the standard should look like.

I remember a friend who was going to the mission field whose church here in the USA would not allow drums of any kind.  "It's from the devil," the church believed.  Then my friend went to his assigned mission field in South Africa and the first worship service they were in has ONLY DRUMS as accompaniment to the singing!  As Yoda would say, "Dumber than dirt are we."

Oh and lest you think I have slipped in my own little legalism with the baptism with water thing (not to mention immersion, no less), it is commanded for obedience, but not salvation.

Just my thoughts today.

I hope you will continue with me and my church as we read through the New Testament.  I know it will be a blessing.

Until tomorrow!

Community Bible Experience: Day 7

Here we are on the second day of the second week!  We're making progress and that is awesome.  I hope that you are enjoying the reading of God's word along with me and my church.  It truly has been a blessing.

Today's reading takes us out of the birth of the early church into some of the birth pangs of the early growth of the church.  I found, again, that the reading just sped along and I was caught off guard when I got to the end of the reading section for today.  I hope the experience is the same for you also.

Here are my thoughts on the reading for today.

Two things stuck out for me in today's reading.  The first was the almost other worldly empowerment of unlearned men, who after their empowerment shared boldly the truth about Jesus the Messiah and what He had done for them.  The second is the great love of God for the whole world, not just the Jewish nation, but everyone else; and the implications for us today.

Stephen encapsulates the first element of my understanding of this section.  His name means "victor's crown" and as a victor he boldly tells the lawyers, religious leaders and religious elite, God's story to mankind.  Here was an untrained man, as far as we know, telling the trained leaders the Bible story.  He does it with passion, energy,  insight and finally great denunciation for his audience.  They killed the King of glory, they rejected His witness of Himself and rejected the testimony of the scriptures about Him.  Wow!

They didn't like that at all and it cost Stephen his life...although it was the absolute truth.

The second element of my understanding of this section was the bridging of the chasm between the Jews and the rest of the world in Jesus.  The truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God and the Savior of the whole world is clear as clear can be.  The Jewish believers at first can't handle the truth that Jesus is for everyone (and isn't that how it is when someone else gets invited to our party?), but reason prevails after evidence of the Holy Spirit's movement in the Gentile believers.

What about all the schisms that we find now on the earth?  It seems to me that we American believers sometimes tend to make the grace of God only available to those who are in our country legally, were not born under the influence of Islam or find themselves seemingly tied inextricably to their illicit habit of choice.  We could find ourselves in the same "glorious" place as the the Jewish believers of that time.

I ask myself, "Do we really have the love of God for the whole world like God does?"

I hope you a have gotten in the habit now of reading everyday with me and my church.  May God bless you today.  Until tomorrow.

Community Bible Experience: Day 6

Part of the Community Bible Experience experience is joining with others in a small group setting to chat about what we have been reading and what the reading has been saying to us.  Our first small group time was yesterday and, for me, it was a good start.  At my church we have decided to have these groups within the context of our normal Sunday morning Bible study structure (Sunday School).  As I led the group in which I was entrusted, I actually imagined the first century believers gathering around and talking over the message that they were hearing about Jesus.  I saw for a moment the look of those upon whom the Lord had come and was revealing Himself to them.  For that moment, it was an inspiring thing.  If you were in my class, you probably thought I was "spacing out."

Today we have the first reading from the book of Acts.  We begin the journey from Jerusalem to the rest of the world and we see the message of the risen Savior coalesce in the hearts of the Apostles and the rest of the growing Jerusalem community of believers.

Here is what I got from the reading today.

Power.  The power of the risen Christ placed on the initially small group of followers changed everything!  The boldness of the Apostles is quite evident in their preaching, teaching and confrontations with the religious leadership of Jerusalem.  Having been empowered by the Holy Spirit living inside of them, they are cut loose.

Not much more than a month before this, they were all cowering in fear, as their leader, their Lord, their rabbi is arrested, beaten to a pulp, mocked mercilessly, crucified and buried.  It had to have been over.  But it wasn't.

Power.  The promised power from above, came from above and empowered the lot of them.  Signs, wonders, foreign tongues (actually languages, not some unintelligible gibberish), boldness to speak the truth about the risen Messiah, who will come again, rained down on the unlearned gang of innocents.  Those innocents who didn't know they were going to be the start of a revolution that would fulfill the desires of the great "I Am" upon the earth.

They were so innocent and so empowered that they would stand before the very leaders and populace that had cried for Jesus' crucifixion and declare that "there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."  Innocence empowered, that's what they were.  With boldness in the truth about Jesus, with boldness in the truth about their God given call, with boldness in the truth about the very King who now actually was living in them, they preached.  They healed.  They had all things in common (even their $).  They began a journey to change the world.

The power has not changed in us.  But, honestly, it sure feels like it some days.

I hope you will continue to read with me and my church.  It is still not too late.  Go to CBEresources.com/nt and download what you may need to join us, either the text of the Books of the Bible in eBook form, or any of the other resources there.  You wont regret it.

Until tomorrow.  Blessings.

Community Bible Experience: Day 5

We have reached the end of the first week of reading.  Whew!  Really, that wasn't that difficult and it has been a very cool experience in reading the New Testament in this format.

If you haven't joined me and my church in this effort to start the New Year off pouring ourselves into the New Testament, it is not too late!  If you would like some helps in being successful and a very interesting format to read, check out this link and download the resources that you might want to help you catch up with us.  Here is the link:  CBEresources.com/nt They have an MP3 version there, so you can listen, if you don't have time to read.  They also have an eBook, reading guide and other materials to help you out.

Today's reading was the culmination of the book of Luke as Jesus heads to Jerusalem and the events that would take place there.  I couldn't believe how fast this section went when I read it.  It was exciting, terrible (at seeing man's ability to be terrible) and encouraging in its message.

Here are my thoughts on today's reading.

Jesus has to go to Jerusalem.  It is there that everything that He has come to do will be done.  It is there that He continues to teach His disciples the costs and the blessings of faithful following.  It is there that He confronts in mostly silence the epithets and cheers of many.  Epithets of the religious leaders, the politicos and even the commoner all mixed with the cheers of the needy, the seeker, the hopeful and the curious.

Their is a strange dance that has begun; one in which the triumphal entry moves to the terrible events of the passion and concludes with the resurrection.  At once there is joy, celebration and triumph at the entrance of the Messiah, Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.  Then there is horror, betrayal, violence and death at the crucifixion and its events.  The troika ends in amazement and disbelief.  The Messiah, the Lord, Jesus is NOT DEAD!  He has risen...the tomb is empty, the angelic beings speak and He Himself appears!

Amazement runs through the followers of Christ, because this has never happened before.  They saw Him beaten.  They saw Him maligned.  They saw Him nailed to the cross and die.  Yet He is not dead.  Amazing.

Disbelief also runs through the followers of Jesus.  Is this really Jesus?  Has He truly been raised?  Is that Him walking with us and talking with us?  Is He the reasons our hearts burn and our eyes are opened?  Is He a ghost?  How can this be?

The events recorded accost any careful and hopeful seeker.  The mix of amazement and disbelief are not only the sentiments of the disciples, but also mine.  How wonderful and marvelous scrawled on my logical mind next to how can this be?

If we are honest, this is what goes on in us when we are taken by these events.  It is an incredible mixture of awe and doubt.  This story demands belief or rejection.  It demands a response.  Curiosity surrounding these tidings must be fulfilled.  I think that is why Luke wrote what he wrote.  To help the hopeful see the truth, get the picture, stand in awe and doubt; yet still believe.

I know I do...

Okay, there is no reading until next Monday, so enjoy your rest and pondering of the things we have read.  We'll start up again next week on our Day 6 reading in Acts.

Community Bible Experience: Day 4

Here we are are at day 4!  I know I am happy about this, because I am enjoying the time of reading and it has not been a burden so far, at all.  How cool is that?  Since reading seems to be a thing of the past (can't we get all this on video?), I think it is an accomplishment to let our eyes follow a line of text that is longer than 140 characters!

Today we read the continuation of Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem.  I hope you are still hanging in there with me and my church as we start this New Year falling into the word of God and letting Him help us into all He has for us.  I am more and more convicted and blessed because of this.  I hope you are also!

My thoughts on today's reading.

Who gets saved?  Who is able? It looks like a difficult thing.  Why does it have to be the narrow way?  Why does salvation have to be so, so, HARD LINED?  That's what I am asking myself today and what I am sure anyone would ask.  Why can't it just be an open door for everyone?  Something easy.  Something like breathing...no problem, just inhale and exhale.  Got it!

But there is invitation involved and invitation implies response.  Honestly, we don't like to respond.  Just look at how many emails I have piling up in my in-box.  I'll get to them.  Really, I will.  We don't like the idea of someone, anyone, even God, putting a trip on us.  What do you mean I have to choose?  Can't I just show up?

For me, this is the crux of the message in this section of reading.  Jesus over and over gives clues that the key to salvation is response.  It is a response to the "open door," a response in humility at the "wedding feast," a response to the invitation to the "banquet," a response to the singular focus of discipleship in Jesus,  a response of "counting the costs," a response to the value we can see in this salvation like the woman who sweeps her house clean to find a single coin!  It is the joy of finding a lost coin, a lost sheep, a lost son!

Salvation is God's plan, His way and we need to get over our alternate routes!  Jesus Himself tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in this section.  It is very clear that if we don't get how God desires to effect salvation, WE WONT EVEN GET IT IF SOMEONE COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD!

We cannot juxtapose anything with God and get salvation. We cannot serve both God and money, God and self, God and family or God and anything else (not even soccer, for those who know me).  How narrow is that?

Yet, what is impossible for man, is possible with God.  So in the unworthiness of our frame, in the tiny "mustard seed" faith we might have, in the seemingly hopeless estate in which we find ourselves, He is able where we are not.

That's what I got today in my reading.

I hope you can continue on with me and my church in this awesome endeavor through the word of God.  Until tomorrow, blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 3

Day 3 reading is all done.  It is hard to believe that 30+ pages have already been read.  I am amazed (again) at how powerful the story of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, Jesus is.  I am having zero problem completing my reading and am finding myself moved by it all over again.  I hope you are also.

In fact, I hope you have taken the challenge to read along with me and my church.  It really isn't too late if you have not started yet.  We are only reading Monday through Friday during the week, so on the weekend you can catch up!  If you haven't decided yet to join us, I hope that you will.  Go to this site to download the eBook and any other materials you might want to use.  cberesources.com/nt  They are free!  I think it will be a real blessing to you, as it is for me.

Here are my thoughts concerning today's reading.

The reading today basically started with this line, "Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem."  The story goes on to show Him moving strategically toward His crucifixion, His burial and His resurrection.  Traveling with His disciples He confronts the needs all around Him.  He teaches.  He leads.  He rebukes, warns, heals, preaches and prophesizes.  But He always is moving toward the great confrontation between sin and the grace of God.

Jesus confronts the casual followers with the call to total discipleship.  You wont have a place to "lay your head."  You must focus on preaching the "kingdom of God."  Your family probably wont put up with your crazy new life.  Following Jesus is going to cost somewhere and somehow.  Yet, Jesus is worth it.

He confronts the wise guys of the time who knew the word and were the spiritual leaders of the people.  Rebuking them before their very own faces (and not behind their backs, like so often happens in church settings today), to see the hypocrisy of their lives in the light of their teaching.  Ouch!

I saw an increasing sense of urgency and expression, in Jesus, of the need of the world for a savior.  Religion didn't do it for the folks.  Great bands of followers looking for "signs" weren't going to get it.  Just the truth..."this is a wicked generation."  They built memorials to the messengers of God, killed by their ancestors, and according to Jesus, made themselves co-murderers in spirit of those same messengers.  The need for a savior is clear.  We have not changed as people, as they had not changed.

The fruitless fig tree, left for another year, assaulted me.  Are we, as a church and followers of Christ, fruitless.  Is He waiting one more year for us?  Is He calling us to the same resolute stance that He has taken, moving toward Jerusalem?

I hope you will continue to read along with me.  May His blessing be upon our reading and living the kingdom.

Community Bible Experience: Day 2

I was reminded today how hard it is to start and continue a good habit.  I feel for those who try to make changes in their lives, because, darn it, it is hard to get the ball rolling and to keep it rolling.  I felt like that today when I got up to do my reading for the Community Bible Experience; reading the whole New Testament in the first two weeks of the New Year.

My body said to me, "Can't I just sleep in a little bit longer?"  To which I replied, "No, we got stuff to do today and the first is to read God's word!"  How noble of me!  Truth be told, it was still very hard.  I hope you found the energy and expectation of seeing something exciting leap from God's word as motivation enough for you to join with me and my church in this wonderful challenge for the New Year.  If not, it is still not too late.

Here are my thoughts regarding the reading for today.

As Jesus begins His ministry in Nazareth, Galilee and the region of Judea, He presents Himself as one with authority and power.  Speaking with power in the face of those who knew Him was shocking, but clearly Jesus was someone different.  He knows the word of God.  He speaks it with clarity, yet in parables.  He speaks to the hearts of people, not to tickle their ears, but to move them at their very core.

Jesus heals with power.  His power is beyond the people's imaginations.  No one does this kind of stuff in the world.  The "authorities" can't handle it.  Although He speaks and performs wonders in their sight, they cannot receive the good that He is doing.  He is upsetting the way things are, yet the delight of the people is clear.  Surely He cannot be the one they are all waiting for?  Even John the Baptist asks that question.  And Jesus' reply is for John to see what what He is doing.  His authoritative words, actions and results are speaking loud and clear.

Jesus has the power and authority to change the world!  This is His message to the region, to the authorities and to God's forerunner, John the Baptist.  May we not be like the disciples and, specifically like Peter at the transfiguration, missing the big point.  Jesus has all the power and all the authority to go eventually to the cross and pay our penalty, that we might be saved from our sin and be with Him forever. 

I hope you will continue on with me and my church in seeing what God has for each and every one of us in His Son, Jesus, through this Bible reading experience.  Blessings.

Community Bible Experience Starts Today

Today my church starts the Community Bible Experience.  This eight week Bible reading challenge has the goal of journeying through the whole New Testament in that time frame; endeavoring to grasp the "big picture" of the New Testament through a distinctive approach to reading the Bible.

One of the differences in this reading challenge is the New Testament that is being utilized for the experience.  It has no verse markings, no chapter breaks, no margin references.  It is laid out like any other book in paragraphs that have continuity and natural breaks dictated by the context.  It reads like a novel.

Another distinctive is the book order for this approach to reading the New Testament.  It doesn't start with Matthew!  It starts with Luke, then Acts, then the letters of Paul in a somewhat chronological order of his writings.  I know that some "purists" will say that we are not reading the "real Bible" because of these differences, but in reality it reflects more closely a first century approach to the early writings of the church (as God led those writers) than anything else we have today (outside of reading the texts in their original languages).

Today's reading was from the book of Luke concerning the incarnation, the injection of God Himself in bodily form into His needy world.  Here is what I took away from my reading today...

God's Holy Spirit was moving in the days surrounding the birth of Jesus.  He spoke directly to John's father in the temple, He filled John in the womb, He overshadowed Mary, He moved in Simeon's experience and Anna's.  God was at work in the world when many, I am sure, were thinking that He had forgotten, not only His chosen people, but the rest of the salvation starved world.  God was still at work!

And He continues today.  I was encouraged that what He was doing then, He continues today.  He has not forgotten us.  He has not removed His Spirit, His power, His hope, His trustworthy nature nor His great love.  He is still at work!

If you would like to join my church in this journey at the beginning of this New Year, go to http://cberesources.com/nt, download the eBook and begin reading with us.  There is a reading plan there you can download, along with other materials.  Come see how God continues to move in the world that He so loves.  Join us and follow me if you would like to see what He is saying to me during my 8 weeks of reading through the New Testament.  Blessings.