Community Bible Experience: Days 34 & 35

Today we finish the 7th week of reading the New Testament, leaving us only one more week to complete our challenge of starting out 2015 with reading the whole New Testament. It has been a great experience so far and I am so very glad that we took up the challenge in my church and those of you who are following along with us.

Yesterday was a bit busy for me, so, unfortunately I did not post, but I did get my reading in and was blessed by the beginning of the Gospel of John. Today we continued with this amazing witness to the life and ministry of Jesus on the earth. I hope you are staying up to date and are reaping all the benefits of your reading.

Here is what I got yesterday and today in my reading.

Spill the beans, Jesus! Tell us straight forward. Are you or are you not the Messiah, the King, the Savior of the world, the Son of God? These are the questions that Jesus got over and over again, as I saw it, in John's telling of Jesus' story. Are you really, Jesus, the one for whom we have been waiting?

This is not a casual set of questions. For the Jews at that time, under the rule of Rome and her Judean supporters (politically) and under the rule of the priestly line in Jerusalem (religiously), they were a people subjugated. With no real advocates in the political realm and little advocacy in the religious realm, these chosen people of promise pined for the Lord Himself to show up in power, majesty and clarity, in order to rid them of the plight of foreign rule and domestic manipulation. They longed for a savior, the anointed one, the Messiah prophesied. And that's what got me.

Here comes Jesus in power, healing the sick, the lame, the blind and raising the DEAD, yet no one in power is getting the message. In fact, the only message the power mongers are getting is, "We better do something with this charlatan, before the rabble go to him completely and we lose our place." Even the religious leaders of Israel, who you would think would be happy to know that God was injecting Himself directly in the affairs of men and resolving the chief problem of mankind (sin), are not buying what Jesus is offering. They keep asking Jesus if He is the Messiah, the Savior, the Chosen One; and when He gives them the "Yup, that's me" answer, they don't want it.

Why are we so jaded? We get the answer we are really looking for and we respond with a "Nope that's not it," when everything in our heart of hearts knows THAT IS IT. I see this in marriage counseling, financial counseling, relationship counseling and every other type of counseling where someone is looking for an an answer to what has stunted them. I hear people say, "I need help," but when you offer help, real help, they don't want it.

Jesus offers the ONLY HELP for what ails us and almost everyone rejects it! In fact, I don't even know how I got where I am in all this. Somehow the truth was so overwhelming in my pre-Christ experience that it blew through the firewall of my heart and knocked me to my knees. Maybe that is the answer to our jaded response to the claims of the Savior. Maybe we need to turn off our firewall and the let the King of Glory in. Maybe we need to see what He is really all about, instead of looking after "our place in the world." Maybe we need to get our stupid selves out of the way and let Jesus have His place in our hearts (you know, we really think we are pretty smart, but I bet if we really ask ourselves that question of who we really are, we'll get a much lower score on the old personal IQ in the world scale).

I don't know, it just seems weird that Jesus does amazing things (even today) and no one got it except the disenfranchised of the earth. Maybe that's how it really aught to be.

Please Lord Jesus, don't give up on this silly earth and her slow people.

Next week is the last week of reading for the completion of the challenge! Until Monday, blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 33

Today we arrive at Thirty Three days of reading the New Testament. Awesome! This is quite an accomplishment and one that leaves us with only 7 more days of reading before we complete the whole New Testament. Yeah!

And, as a incentive to keep on keeping on, we only had to read one chapter today (of course Jude has only one chapter, but who's counting?). So as we approached this lofty book and scaled the heights and depths of its page...

This is what I got from my reading of the book of Jude today.

 "They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted - twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." Oh my goodness! The description that Jude gives for these people who "had slipped in" to the congregation of believers is pretty critical. In fact, I would say that to be one of these folks was not a good thing at all. This made me think about what has been given us as believers and the call to be faithful with it.

The truth about Jesus is not just head knowledge. It is a consistent living out of the things that we know in our minds. It is expressing the good fruit of Galatians 5 in all our relationships, both in the church (fellowship of believers) and outside of the church. It is not being like Jude describes in relation to these people he characterizes as rainless clouds (ungodly, grumblers, rebels, not understanding the things of God, blemishes within the congregation, faultfinders, divisive, without the Holy Spirit in their lives and selfishly agenda ridden in all they do). Whew! I wouldn't want to be one of these folks.

Yet, I had to ask myself the question, if I sometimes don't act like one of these. Am I self driven at any point? Do I find fault first and "barely" express grace later? Do I grumble? (I hate that question) Does my agenda supersede the Lord's will? (Ouch!) And, finally, do I act, some days, as if the Holy Spirit doesn't live in me at all?

I asked myself these questions, because I don't want to be one of those people that Jude describes. They have no future. They have no promise to look forward to, but death and separation from the Lord. They have no hope on the earth, because they have made self god and denied the presence of the only One who can give us life abundant. These folks are a train wreck. I have even seen these folks in church, denying truth that is right in front of them. And I don't want to be one like them.

Oh God, help us all to ask ourselves these questions. Help us to get to the only real answer for our world, the church and our very own lives. Help us to see the big picture and realize, in and of ourselves, we are but microscopic at best. Oh God help us to be given to You in everything, as a blessing to those around us, lifting up Your name alone, who is our Savior. Now to You "be the glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."

Until tomorrow. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 32

Today we read the entire book of 2 Peter. This was one of those readings that flew by (of course the book is only three chapters long). Nevertheless, It was nice to have a shorter length of reading today, after a holiday. I hope you also enjoyed your day off for President's Day and are ready to jump back into the work week and the completion of our second to last week of reading.

2 Peter is one of those books that is full of significant theological content, some of which has been quite controversial. One of those subjects is the difficult teaching of God's patience toward the lost world in contraposition to His judgment over it. God is merciful, but He is also just; therefore, though He will judge the whole of mankind, He remains patient toward us in deference to our potential salvation decision. Of course, this challenges due to the clash of mercy and judgment. One would ask, Why doesn't God just save the rotten lot and have done with it? Yet there lies the difficult nature of the question. By the way, I'm not going to answer it either. However, I am going to deal with the overall challenge of "difficult" passages.

So...here is what I got from this reading.

If you look at the picture that I posted with this blog entry, you may ask, What is John up to? Well, many people have asked me why I am so enamored with Jack in the Box tacos. Many say to me that they just cannot understand what is with that. Not only that, look at the amount of tacos that are on that tray. That's right, Jack in the Box tacos cannot be eaten unless you fill the tray with them. There is bliss in eight Jack in the Box tacos (not to mention the fries). But not only is the number of "waiting to be consumed tacos" significant, but also their cost. You get 2 tacos for 99 cents! 99cents!

Some people don't understand this. What's the big deal?

The big deal is that when I was young, Jack's was the place to go in San Diego (or at least this kid used to think so). We could get a cheese burger for 19 cents and the tacos then are the same tacos now. When I find a Jack's (they are not here in Utah except for St. George, 300+ miles away), I purchase these tacos and instantly go back to my youth. No one understands that, because, honestly, Jack tacos aren't so good as tacos go. But when you combine the price tag and the nostalgia, Jack's tacos cannot be beat.

I get that people don't understand this. Really, I do. This is a difficult thing to grasp, but it is true nonetheless.

Peter makes a similar argument about the things that his fellow apostle, Paul, writes. He says, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand." Peter, the rock, the leader, for all intents and purposes of the church in Rome, said that some of Paul's writings were hard to understand. Whew, am I glad. Because I feel the same way. Paul says some difficult things to understand, but that doesn't make them not true. There are a whole lot of things that we don't understand in this world, but we deal with our shortcomings and carry on. I don't know why many who confront the hard sayings in the Bible write the Bible off, when so many other things in life are just as hard to understand and they continue on without batting an eye.

The other thing that gets me about this statement from Peter is that it follows on the heels of the difficult statement that Peter relays about God's mercy and judgment I talked about in my introduction to this blog. Sometimes things are just hard to understand for us humans, but that doesn't nullify their veracity! Peter was acknowledging our deficiency as human beings. We cannot know everything. We cannot understand all things. We are forever running short on capturing everything that is going on around us. Yet, we still merrily go about our lives, living in the sufficiency of what we do know, what we do understand and what we can apprehend in our personal context.

Peter's complaint, relative to Paul's writings, is not that they are wrong, but that some would take them and twist them. Those who don't have a context to understand completely the depth of the sayings distorted those sayings. That was Peter's complaint.

Man, have I seen that when it comes to theological difficulties and hard sayings! People who think they have a need to clarify, sometimes make more of a problem in their effort to make it clear. Not because they are wrong in trying, rather, somethings are just beyond us. God says through the prophet Isaiah, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." Is. 55:8-9

Sometimes things are just outside of our reach; and what I got from Peter was that is okay. Just like Jack's tasty tacos, you may not understand, but that's okay. We can all live with that; hard sayings and Jack's tacos.

Join me tomorrow as we read the book of Jude. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 31

To me it's as clear as glass

Well here we are on the last two weeks of reading in our Community Bible Experience. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Beside getting to the end of our task, I find it an intoxicating prospect to have opened up this new year with completing the New Testament. I have been extremely blessed so far in my reading and I am hopeful that you have had the same experience as I have. Some of the days have been tough, not only for the length of reading, but also the texts that we have read and their direct challenge to each and every one of us.

Today we read 1 Peter and it is in the context of this reading that I experienced one of those tough (yea verily), challenging passages. I actually saw two. One had to do with remaining faithful as a believer in the face of persecution (which, by the way, we do not really experience here in the good old USA) and the other was a discussion on what is real beauty. I am going to chat on what real beauty is. If you want to know what I think about the other subject, read the book I wrote a couple of years ago, called Righter's Block. You can get it here.

What I got from my reading today.

Peter writes that beauty (and in the context of this passage it is a woman's beauty) should not come from just the outward appearance. Now it is undeniable that the fairer sex has been throughout the ages lifted up as the epitome of what beauty is all about. If you were to do a search online using the word "beauty," and do the search for images (PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SEARCH IS SET TO "SAFESEARCH"), you will find pages and pages of pictures of women. There will be NOT ONE PICTURE OF A MAN. To get that, you would have to look up "beast."

Look, beauty launched a thousand Greek ships to fight the Trojans and the war lasted 10 years. Beauty was used by nations to negotiate peace. Just look at Solomon and all his gals. Beauty has been the impetus for art (Mona Lisa), architecture (Taj Majal) and beauty has caused the poets heart to sing of their loves and their longing for the same (look it's even in the Bible in the Song of Songs). 

But Peter says something that flys in the face of the traditional understanding of beauty. He says, beauty is not just the outside stuff (although he does not deny there is beauty there). He emphasizes that real beauty, lasting beauty and godly beauty is that of "the inner self." It is the gentle and quiet spirit of the heart, which pleases God, and is an intoxicating potion to the godly man. This is true adornment. This is the real "red carpet" beauty.

I know this doesn't sell well in 2015. L'Oreal won't be able to hawk it, neither will Maybelline. Theirs is totally external. Theirs is for a day or a night, but it is not for eternity. The beauty that God affirms is the beauty that has allows been beautiful. It is putting one's hope in God, submitting, in the marriage context, to one another in God's most wonderful love (this is mutual submission, the woman for the man AND vice versa). It is the outward expression of the inward reality of a heart given to the Lord and all He would have for such a one. It is being given to God.

The image is clear of waking to the day and putting on the gifts of God, remembering the blessings of God, focusing on the goodness of God and moving into the day with the very hope of God shrouding the heart. This beauty is not sold and you cannot acquire it in any other place than in the gracious hands of our Lord.

Do you want to be beautiful? It won't be in your "do," your jewelry, your outfits or your makeup. Beauty is really in the heart. Audrey Hepburn said, "True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul." 

I think Peter would have said, "Amen!"

See you tomorrow when we'll tackle 2 Peter. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 30

Sorry for the delay of a day, but sometimes a day off needs to be a day off.

Today's reading (really yesterday's reading) was the second half of the book of Mark. As I said in my last post, Mark is really the track meet version of the Gospel. It motors. In fact it really flew right through the whole passion (look up that word, passion, in the dictionary, it is not what you think). It was amazing.

Well, here's what I got from my reading.

The scene is the court of the Sanhedrin and Jesus has been brought before the religious leaders to be tried. They want Him dead, they want Him nullified, they want the pebble out of their shoe. And Jesus stands there silent without giving them an answer, until the High Priest himself asks Jesus this simple and clarifying question. "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Up till that moment, Jesus is giving no answers, but here He speaks up.

"I am," Jesus says. We don't get the impact of this phrase in English like it is written in the Koine Greek (the original language of the New Testament). What Jesus says here in that language is, with all emphasis on the "I" in this two word phrase, "I AM." There is no other (Implied), I am not denying it (in fact I am confirming it with all the emphasis I can muster), I AM THE MESSIAH! (more capitals and exclamation points so you can get the point). Jesus was telling these religious leaders that He was what they and all their predecessors had been looking for.

It looks pretty clear to me. I mean, I am not the sharpest tool in the tool box, but I think I get it, that Jesus is claiming He is the Messiah, God's Anointed One, God's solution, the answer, the way, the conclusion, the object of our longing. Jesus is, well, God in the flesh.

And like those religious leaders of old, there is a demand on us. Do we accept it or deny it. Do we say, "Yeah, we have found Him!" Or, like the biggest human fail of all time, join with the rabble and cry out, "Crucify him!"

It is a simple demand, a simple question for the heart. Jesus either is the Anointed solution of God the Father or He isn't. It is simple. Do we trust Him or not?

I'm going with Jesus.

Blessings everyone. Have a great Presidents Day weekend!

Community Bible Experience: Day 29

One day short of attaining three quarters of our goal of reading the whole New Testament to start our year off right! Wahoo! It is a good feeling to see success every day and I hope you are enjoying that same success with me and my church as we stay on track with reading God's word.

Today, we read the first half of the book of Mark and I don't know if you picked up on it like I did, but this book has a feel of being at a track meet and we're running the 200 meter sprint. It's not a short sprint, not a long sprint, but it is a sprint nonetheless. Wow, in my reading today, I got the feeling that Mark was writing at 90 words per minute (which would be fast for a typist). Anyway, even with the sense that Jesus couldn't get through His earthly ministry fast enough, it was still a facinating read and one little line stuck out for me.

Here is what jumped out of the pages today for me.

Almost from the get go a text leaped out of the first few paragraphs of the book of Mark and got me to thinking. It said, "And when they found him, they exclaimed: 'Everyone is looking for you!'" Nowhere to be found, with all the crowds, disciples and curiosity seekers searching for Him, the disciples, upon finding Jesus, tell Him, "Where have you been, don't you know everyone is looking for you, c'mon!" Or something like that.

I get it. Everyone is looking for something in this life. I don't care what you call it, whether it is self-awareness, god-consciousness, Atman, Brahman, Nirvana, heaven, self-reliance, health, wealth, family, love and lovers, extreme adrenalin rushes, solitude, connection, power, control or any other thing that captivates our focus and  gives us direction; everyone is looking for something. We want to be satisfied, happy, content with our surroundings and in control of our future. We want it our way and go to great lengths to find a way to our way that is in harmony with our way or we say "No way," to the ways presented to us. Way too much "way," sorry.

And there is Jesus. I see Him sitting on a rock, looking at the rocky slopes of Galilee (I know what they look like, I've been there), listening to the birds, taking in the sun and enjoying, for a moment, a break from the seekers of "way." Their way, the rules and regulations way, the strict food way, the wealth makes me good way, the "feed me today" way, the "heal me today" way (everyone of those healed eventually died), the get me out of this mess way, the leave me alone way, the I can do it by myself way, the every way, any way and no way, way of the human heart. And there is Jesus.

He is the answer. Some could see through their way to see the only way in Jesus. Some caught a glimpse of how it really is, even though they couldn't understand it all. Jesus is it. He is the way. He is the answer to all questions. Really, everyone is looking for Jesus, they just don't know it, won't except it or can't get over how simple that really is.

Everyone is looking for you, Lord...help us who know you to be honest in our answer for what is the only answer to all our seeking...Jesus.

I hope you keep on track in your reading. Don't give up! Until tomorrow. Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 28

Arizona grandkids

Today we read from the most practical book in the New Testament and probably the second most practical book in the Bible. The book of James is a wealth of Christian sayings on how we as believers should practically approach the life we have been given on the earth. It deals with God's wisdom, which is offered freely to those who ask, it outlines the process of falling into sin and sin's resultant conclusion, when we go with our feelings and the spiral downward. This book talks about playing favorites within the church and how that is contrary to God's will, it deals with teachers and teaching, the tongue, individual desire and the lack that we experience because we are not focusing on the things of God. Prayer comes up in this book and James outlines the power we have in trusting God even with that.

So let's get into what I got from my reading today.

As you can see, I have been on a kick in showing some of my grandkids. This is a picture of my Arizona grandkids. This picture gives me great joy and great sorrow at the same time. Great joy, because these two are precious Prim kids who have in them the "thing" that makes all Prim kids Prim kids. That is an energy that cannot be harnessed, a powerful impulse to express and express and express who they are. I feel in harmony with their character (some may find this energetic spirit too much, but that is why we are Prim kids).

On the other hand, this gives me sorrow, because I don't get to see these guys very often. It is about only one time a year that I get down to Arizona and get to see them face to face. This makes me sad and I don't feel like the grandpa that I truly want to be for these two. My desire is to know them better and see them more often. Yet circumstances, at this point in my life, have not allowed that to happen. Which leads me to what I got from my reading today.

James says, "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." There are judgments on the earth, both spiritual and physical. There are things that are clearly "How things are," that we cannot contravene. We cannot change them, but they still affect us.

God has declared the judgment that the whole earth, every person, is a sinner and by His righteous judgment, we stand condemned. This condemnation will, in the eternal realm, separate us from God. It will place us in a location, according to the scriptures, that was originally set aside for Satan and his fallen angels (not us, Matthew 25:41). God stays consistent with His righteous judgment concerning the world's sin.

But in this passage in James, His mercy triumphs over His righteous judgment in that His gracious

Portrait of grandpa from grandson

act of sending His son to pay the penalty for our sin is sufficient in overcoming that judgment. God's grace, lovingly has victory over His judgment, when we respond to it with obedient acceptance.

Back to those grandkids. The judgment, decision, that has placed them outside of my normal day to day experience, forbids me from seeing them regularly. I can do nothing about it. However, the graciousness of our society in this day allows me to drive to Arizona and see them, spending time with them, loving on them, telling them how precious they are to me. Not only this, but things like Skype, texting, emails and phone calls are also means where love triumphs over that reality of distance. It is my act of gracious choice of going to them that overcomes the truth of miles.

Jesus voluntarily overcomes the impediment of sin (He didn't have to). He triumphed over the distance that sin placed between us (remember He was without sin whatsoever) and took that impediment out of the way (through His shed blood we are saved).

I thank God for His mercy, His grace, His love...and for grandkids that still look forward to seeing me, even though we live so far away.

See you tomorrow. Blessings, as we continue our quest through the New Testament.

Community Bible Experience: Day 27

Grandpa and Grandson at the RioT

Day 27 and all is well. We are motoring along through the New Testament and the downward ride is smoothing out. At least I hope it is for all of us. The goal of reading God's word and getting through a significant amount of it as a start to our new year is really a great thing. I am confident that you are seeing wonderful treasures in the word and are, with me, looking forward to every day's reading.

Today we finished our reading in the book of Hebrews. This book, specifically written to Jewish believers, is full of quotes from the Old Testament. In its pages, we see a very clear argument for the better nature of everything that Jesus is and does; and we see the encouragement to keep on growing into a mature stance before the Holy and Living God.

Here is what I got from my reading today.

I love the photo above, because it mixes two loves that I have. The first is to be with one of my grandchildren, like the little guy next to me. The second is to be in and around soccer stuff, like the entrance tunnel for the Rio Tinto Stadium for Real Salt Lake. What a privilege it is to go to a game, watch the play of my favorite team and enjoy lots of victories at the stadium they call "The Fortress." Then to have the added privilege to go to the stadium, when there isn't a game, and have access because of my job as the team's chaplain, is icing on the cake.

Today's reading gives us a similar picture of wonderful access through Jesus Christ, our High Priest. God the Father said of Jesus, "You are a priest forever." In our reading the writer of Hebrews clarifies by saying that Jesus is not like all the other priests that have come before. He is better, since He conquered death, lives forever, and thus, is "always [living] to intercede" for us. He is our access to the Father and through Him we are able to be saved "completely."

Because of Jesus being the everliving High Priest, we can enjoy a stance that no other person can give us. In the Spanish that I learned in Uruguay, there was a saying when somebody had an acquaintance that could get things done for them that could not be done by normal means (unfortunately, many of the normal workings of government and society had this subset of extra hoops one had to jump through to get things done). The saying was, "Tengo una palanca." The phrase means, I have a lever, but its idea is better stated as, I have a way to get it done (a foot in the door). As crude as it may seem, Jesus is our lever, our way to get the ultimate thing done, the ONLY way to get sin taken care of. Jesus is our palanca, our lever, our High Priest, our Savior, our access to righteousness, to heaven and eternal life.

Grandson on the field at the RioT

His work did what our work could never do. Just like in this picture. Jesus took us from outside of the holy ground and gave us entrance into the blessings of His kingdom. He took us from being spectators in the stands to approved (adopted) members on the field! What a different perspective that gives to all of us. We no longer are those who watch it all go by, rather we are those whose needs are met and who have privilege before a Holy God to stand in His presence. All because of what Jesus has done and who He is.

May we all see the incredible benefit that our Holy, Blameless, Pure, Set apart, Exalted above the heavens Savior has given us who believe. Access eternal with confidence before God. There is none like Jesus.

I hope you are reading and finding wonderful truths in God's word. Tomorrow, we venture into the book of practical Christianity, James. Until then, blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 26

Day 26 of our 40 days in the New Testament. I think at this point many are caught in between a sense of "almost there" and "three more weeks?" We have come a long way and I know we are probably getting up and looking at the reading as a chore at some level, but don't let that happen. Let's keep "fixing our eyes on Jesus" as we persevere all the way to the end.

Speaking of getting our focus on Jesus, the book we are reading today has that verse in it. As we enter the book of Hebrews, I hope that we might get the big picture of what the writer is truly saying: There is no one, no thing nor any system that is better than Jesus. So let's keep that focus.

Here is what I got from my reading today.

"Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family."

When I read that, I thought, "How clear can that be?" There is One who is in the business of making people holy. As it says somewhere else in the Bible, we are to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy, so we are the object of God's holy making work, in the likeness of that worker. We are not holy in and of ourselves. God is the "Holymaker" (I just made up that word, but it seems to fit the truth that God alone pronounces that which is holy or not).  God is the one that transforms the person into His image of righteousness.

(Perhaps it would be good to look at the word "holy" to understand what it means. In most dictionaries, "holy" has the idea of something that is sacred, dedicated, wholly good and pure. In regard to God, it has the sense of perfection and complete integrity and virtue. In regard to humans, as seen in the New Testament and the Old Testament, it is the very word used to describe a true follower of God (saints). "Holy" has the sense of being outside of the normal experience of the normal man or woman without God's help.)

Therefore, the Holymaker is He who creates and makes new those who could not do it by themselves. In doing this, He clarifies that in this experience of renewal the renewed is a part of His family. They are one together, "the made holy" renewed out of the same source. And because of that, the Holymaker is not ashamed nor disgraced in calling those made holy His brothers and sisters.

The power in this stance is that we who have submitted to the truth about Jesus and given our lives to Him are in a new place, with a new context and striving for a new goal. The new place is the kingdom of God. The new context is the family of faith, the church (no matter how un-perfect she may seem). The new goal is to please the Holymaker with all that we have, do and are. The power in this is that it springs from the one that has made us so. We just follow the script. Just as Jesus followed the script in becoming flesh and blood, becoming a merciful and faithful high priest who knows our frame. He had to submit to this limited human life to effect the most radical of all changes; giving victory to the tempted, suffering in their stead.

And the Holymaker was willing. Willing to declare our names, willing to keep us close and not losing one of us that God the Father had given to our Lord, Jesus.

I guess that is what family does when family has got it right. They pull together, in harmony, encouraging each other and never letting go. That goes for every member. All need to hold on. When they do, miracles can happen. Holiness will not only be intellectually known, but it will be seen, like in the time of the ancient church when those outside of the church observed her actions, commenting, "Oh how they love one another."

The Holymaker can still make it so, because we are family, don't you know.

Blessings. Until tomorrow, God willing.

Community Bible Experience: Day 24 & 25

I want to apologize to anyone who has been following along with me on a daily basis. Yesterday had, as Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, "Enough trouble of its own," and those challenges sort of derailed me from posting. So I hope you will forgive me for not posting. I did get my reading done according to the schedule and I hope you also are up to date.

Today, we finished off with the culmination of the Gospel of Matthew and all the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps there is no more glorious news, even good news, than to see Jesus alive again after such a brutal series of punishments, insults and murder. It is the joy of the disciples and the victory of the Lord over sin and death that make all the difference. It is truly good news.

We are on the down slope of our reading and I hope that each of you are persevering. We can do it, I know we can, one step at a time.

Here is what I took away from my reading today.

After the crucifixion and the Sabbath, the women go to the tomb. It doesn't say in Matthew why they did this except to say they went to look at the tomb. At any rate, they where there and we read that there was an earthquake, then an angel appears from heaven. Wow! I think all of us would have the same response as the guards at Jesus' tomb (they shook and became like dead men).

Yet the women there hear a message that is beyond belief. The one they are looking for, Jesus, isn't there. He is risen from the dead! The angel says to them that they should not be afraid and should tell the disciples.

The women, understandably, are shook themselves, but hurry away to tell the disciples. Their emotions are such that they are filled with a strange mixture of fear and joy. Fear and joy. Yes, the angel told them to not be afraid, but how could anyone, after those events, not be afraid. Yet their fear is mingled with a smoldering joy that is about to be fanned into a flame that would not stop even to this day.

Jesus appears. "Greetings," He says to them, as if this was the most casual of chance meetings on the road to market or the city well. "Greetings," He says to them and this is enough to send these caring women into a raging fire of joy. They went to Him (I bet they ran) and, the text says, they "clasped His feet and worshiped Him."

You cannot grab someone's feet without being on the ground or kneeling. These women hit the dirt in JOY at the sight of their Lord and Savior. They bowed down and worshiped the only one worthy of worship. And they did this without hesitation, without thinking about the possibility of getting dirty, without any thought of themselves, only, "Here is our Master, ALIVE."

Their fear turned to unleashed joy. Their worry to wonder. Their woe to worship. 

Oh how we need to see the risen Lord today. Oh how we need to hear from His lips, "Do not be afraid." Oh how our faith seems so small in the light of our world's anything. Oh how easy it is to be discouraged.

Yet Jesus ends the book with the most incredible statement. "Surely I am with you ALWAYS, to the VERY END OF THE AGE." We can either trust Him, like those women or not. He meant what He said or not. He is with us now or not.

I think He is still speaking...let's not be afraid, but let us worship Him with joy.

No reading until Monday (unless you need to catch up). I hope you are blessed this weekend as you "worship Him with joy." 

Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 23

As we continue on our trek through the New Testament, I can't help but wonder how everyone is doing. My expectation is that some are doing great, right on schedule and looking forward to tomorrow's reading, everyday. I also assume that some are a bit behind, maybe struggling with keeping right on schedule, but they know they can do it and will keep plugging along. Then, I am sure, that there are others who see the bus pulling away from them with no prospect of catching up within the time frame.

Well if you are the latter, don't give up. Read as much as you can. The goal is to be in the word of God every day, even if you can't get through the day's reading. It is worth it even if you only do a portion. Just look at the picture of this baby. She doesn't know about all the trials that life brings and she still looks delighted (even with a plastic bowl on her head). So keep going. I'll pray for you...I promise.

Speaking of kids, today's reading really spoke to me about the tender nature of kids and their ability to look at the world with trusting eyes. So...

Here is my thought on today's reading.

Jesus says in our section today, "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

I read this and it causes me to really think about what Jesus was getting at. What did He mean when He said, "Unless you change"? Most of us want to change for the better. We obsess on our wardrobe being in style, our body weight being just right, our hair either in its place or, like some, way out of place (on purpose and GQ). All you have to do is look at the products that are being sold to make us progressively better, changing us into the well dressed, groomed, sweet smelling person of success.

But I wonder if what Jesus was really saying was that we need to change to another time and temperament. He may have given us a clue by adding the phrase, "And become like little children." What about little kids? What do they have that we don't have?

Look at the picture of that cute little girl (she is my granddaughter, if you want to know). She has a diaper on. She has no shoes on. She is laying on a rug with only a t-shirt on. For her style statement, she is sporting a binky in her mouth and an elegant hat couture by Cool Whip. This kid is happy, active and, most importantly, trusting. She is trusting her grandpa and grandma. She trusts her mom, her uncles and aunt. She knows no fear of anyone who might be around her. She flat out trusts the world and all that is in it.

Now what Jesus might have been saying is that if we cannot get to a place in this world, where we can trust where God has placed us, what He may have given us as provision and trust Him completely in all other areas (just like a kid), then we are not fit for the kingdom that He has established. I think that Jesus is trying to tell us that a kingdom life is a simple, clear and trusting life. It is a life that reflects the preciousness of a kid with a Cool Whip tub on their head (and not worrying about it). It is a trust so complete, that there is never a question of what is going on, rather, the statement of "It is good for us to be here" like Peter in his simple reaction to the transfiguration of Jesus.

How would it be if we could trust our Lord with that kind of abandon? Maybe we could try and see what happens.

I know I would like a hat like that!

Until tomorrow...Blessings!

Community Bible Experience: Day 22

Before we begin today, I have to give a shout out to Biblica, formerly the International Bible Society, which has been around for more than 200 years, for their very well done Community Bible Experience Bible reading initiative. We are two days past the halfway point for my church's involvement in it and all I can say is that it has been a real blessing.

I can see the blessing in those who have taken up the challenge of reading the New Testament completely to start this new year off. I can see it in the small groups of my church as they fellowship together around the word of God, letting it bathe them in God's wisdom and plan for all of us. I see it in the renewed energy of many of my church, relative to the call of God on their lives. Honestly, I am so glad we did this.

If you have not joined with me and my church to take up this challenge, I would encourage you to still consider getting involved. It is never too late to pick up the word of God and start reading. If you would like to give it a whirl, let me know by a comment and an email address and I will make sure you get the link to our campaign, so you can join us.

Today we continued with Jesus' physical ministry on the earth, as told in the book of Matthew.

Here is what I got from it.

Matthew writes something, in our reading today, that convicted me so much, I considered not writing about it. In fact, it is so close to home for me that I feel embarrassed to share it. But no one has ever accused me of keeping my mouth shut...in Spanish (I know that language because I was a missionary in South America) they say that someone like me "no tiene pelos en la lengua." (which means, literally, he doesn't have hair on his tongue or can't keep his mouth shut). So "here's" (pun intended) to open yappers!

Jesus says, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." In other words, our hearts hold the key to what comes out of our mouths. If it is a blessing, there must be blessing surrounding our hearts. If it is a curse, then, by extension, the curse has taken our hearts captive. What flows out of the spigot, comes from a source.

I once heard Tom Elliff, pastor of many years and the former head of the International Mission Board for Southern Baptists, say that he had learned a lot on the farm growing up. He said that one of those things was what comes up out of the well is what is in it. You are not going to see something else come out of the well, if it is not already in it. If there is no water in the well, you will pull up dirt. If there is a supply of water dirtied by what may have been thrown into it, that is what you will pull out of the well. And if you have a well full of water, protected and clean, that is what kind of water you will pull out of that well.

In the same way, the well of our hearts, full of the goodness of God, His word, His grace, His hope, His faith and His love, will provide the same as it comes out of that receptacle through our mouths and into the world. Likewise, if the well of our hearts is full of something else like fear, anger, hurt, envy, fatigue, greed, malice or any other shortcoming, then that heart will provide the world and those who are around that mouth with the same.

I stand convicted. I talk too much, sometimes without a governor on the old mouth and I apologize. Proverbs 10:19 is smacking me in the head right now. "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise." NASB

Enough said.

Until tomorrow. May you be blessed and may we all check our hearts, before we open our mouths.  

Community Bible Experience: Day 21

Day after the Super Bowl and the world is abuzz with the play calling at the end of the game. Last night two very qualified teams faced one another and battled in what, some say, was one of the more entertaining and well pitted SBs in a long time. I don't really know, because my Chargers weren't in it and I didn't, therefore, watch it. (For my view on the Chargers and football in general see this:  Go Chargers!)

One thing is clear. If you are a Seattle fan, you have an opinion. If you are a New England fan, you have another opinion. And, if you are like me, without a horse in the race, you have another perspective altogether. Perpective, how interesting it is to hear another view of "How things are."

Today we continue our reading through the New Testament by looking at another perspective on the life and ministry of Jesus, the Messiah. We already read Luke's investigation concerning Jesus, but today we enter Matthew's gospel and his view of the Lord's life and ministry. It is obvious from the outset that Matthew is providing a distinctive perspective which is Jewish in nature, because of the genealogy that is presented to validate the historical lineage and time frame of the Messiah's appearance.

Here is my perspective on what I read today.

"The eye is the lamp of the body." So says Jesus as He is presenting the Sermon on the Mount. He goes on to say that the perspective of the eye makes a huge difference in how one approaches the world around them. If the eyes are "healthy," one will have their whole body "full of light." On the other hand, if the eyes are "unhealthy," then the whole body will will have the opposite result, "darkness."

The play between healthy and unhealthy, and light and darkness seems to point to the idea that what we fill our eyes with, becomes the filter for how we view the world. To put it in football terms, if I view everything through the lens of the Patriots, then I will see all things Patriots. If I have the perspective of the Seahawks, then I will view the world as all things Seahawks. Perspective changes the way I view the football world, regardless of who wins the game.

Jesus uses the words healthy (it can also mean "sound") and light to give the impression that godliness is a crystal clear view both in lighting and clarity of focus. This is balanced against the opposite perspective that darkness and unhealthy, unsound eyes cannot perceive the depths of God's righteousness. I am reminded of a verse from the book of Psalms that says that in God's light "we see light." To truly see how things are in God's economy, one must have His light, healthy light, sound light.

The opposite of having this light does not seem to me to be a good deal. In fact, according to Jesus, to have those unhealthy eyes puts us in darkness. And not only darkness, but a darkness that is intense. The word for darkness that is used here in the Spanish Bible is the word "tinieblas." This is no ordinary darkness. This is a darkness so dark that it is like pitch black goo, a super viscous tar that if one were to fall into it, you would never be seen again. Darkness like nothing you have ever known!

Jesus is telling us to get our perspectives right. The only way for that to happen seems to be the overall theme of the Sermon on the Mount. Let us get our focus right by aligning it with the righteousness of God. This is not done by doing stuff, but by falling under His game plan in His Son, with humility, rightly focused on His word and without the worry that so easily wraps us up.

This is a perceptive stance...one that is validated by God...as I see it.

See you tomorrow. Blessings!