A Pilgrim's Journal

Does the Lord speak to us through His Word?

2010-04-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

What we have been doing the last couple months on this blog is looking at the book of Philippians and seeing how it relates to marriage. Though the book of Philippians was not written as a manual on marriage it certainly has much to say that we can relate to the marriage relationship.

What I want to encourage you with today is to really use your Bibles.

We believe that the Bible is God's Word and we know that it is intended to be applied to our lives. What we may not be taking advantage of is the very practical and daily benefits it has for us as we mix it with prayer and a listening ear as we allow the Holy Spirit to lift the words off the page and settle them into our hearts.

I have found the Word to be most useful as the Lord has uses it to speak into my life to answer the most specific questions imaginable.

Let me tell you how it works for me.

I come to the Word with a specific question in mind, perhaps an area of my life that is a current concern, perhaps it is a desire to know the Lords will on a specific decision. I sit down with my Bible in hand and a prayer in my heart asking that the Lord will speak to me regarding whatever issue I have brought to Him.

Let me give you an example. Say I have a ministry opportunity with a person and I am not certain how to handle it; what to say, when to bring it up, do I even bring it up... I come with those questions and begin reading. It doesnt seem to really matter where I read, but if the Lord directs me to a certain passage, of course, I go there. And I read. And I listen. And I read some more. And I pray. It may not come that first time, but invariably it does come over time. The Lord will speak to me through His word.

Very directly, very practically, very powerfully!

Do you have an issue with your children? Have you read ... oh, lets say, Galatians with parenting in mind? How about a question about your business? Proverbs would be a natural place to look but how about reading Hosea and see what it will tell you about that decision in the workplace.

This is what we have been doing with Philippians. We are reading this letter to see what it tells us about marriage. I came to the book with marriages in mind and I am taking what Paul says and applying it to the marriage relationship.

This is not the only way to read or study your Bible, but it is an effective way to put yourself in a position to allow the Lord to speak to you through His Word.

As you can see we are about 10 verses in and there has been something to note in almost every verse.

The Bible is such an untapped, or at the very least, yet to be fully explored, resource for the life of the believer.

We will continue to track through Philippians together here, I am anxious to see just how much I can learn about being a Godly husband through this short letter. And there are 65 other books just waiting to be explored!

Article 8 V 1.10 Approve what is Excellent

2010-03-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

How easy it is to see the flaws.

You have them, I have them, we all do. Spending our lives in close contact with someone as we do in our marriage relationships gives us intimate knowledge of each others failings and shortcomings. And oh boy, can we make a list.

Ok, so there we have it ... no one is perfect! Big revelation there.

Paul is simply encouraging us to focus on the other parts. To look for and identify the things your partner does well, to notice the things that are commendable, the things that are excellent.

Remember what mom used to say, at least my mom did, "If you cant say anything good, don't say anything at all."

Paul is taking it a step further. As true as it is that all of us have faults, we also have good traits, all of us do some things well. We ought to be looking for them and when they are identified, actually speak those words of affirmation and appreciation to our spouse.

"Man, I am going to have to really look hard."

Ha! Well that may be so, but it will be an investigation that will yield great fruit.

Our relationships can at times corkscrew into bickering and fault-finding and criticism. We can change that immediately with a change of mind about the words that we speak. We simply choose to approve what is excellent rather than amplify what is imperfect.

I challenge you to speak a word of affirmation to your spouse today. Tell them something what you see in them that is excellent. It will bring immediate results, of that I am sure.

Article 7 V 1.8

2010-03-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

For God is my witness, how I yearn for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus.

I have had occasion recently to speak into the lives of a couple and remind them how much they love each other. Both readily admitted it, yet somehow, their love for each other had been buried. The thing is, their love was real and real apparent. It had just grown cold or gotten lost in the stuff of daily life.

I encouraged them to do what Jesus told the church at Ephesus to do after proclaiming that they had "abandoned the love they had at the first." The Lord tells them to "remember," repent (a change of mind that brings about a change of action) and repeat, "do" the first works again.

What were you doing at first when your love was inflamed and passionate. Do that!

But that would be just going through the motions one might say. The motion will bring the emotion. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6.21 "Where your treasure is, there your WILL BE also."

Jesus is saying invest, make regular deposits, place great value in your relationship and in the intimacy of marriage and your heart will follow.

Has the fire dimmed? It need not be so. Go back, remember how you won your husband, what you did to "catch" your wife... have some fun with it as you rediscover your passionate love for each other.

Article 6 V 1.7 Partakers of Grace

2010-03-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

... for you are all partakers of grace with me.

This reminds me of what Peter says in I Peter 3.7:

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way,
showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel,
since they are heirs with you of the grace of life,
so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Men, listen, that woman sitting next to you, that treasure the Lord has blessed you with and entrusted to you, is a fellow heir with God's Son.

She is royalty!
A joint heir with Christ!

As such she is to be honored and esteemed and treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Peter says we need to understand this and live with her as though we understand this. She is a child of the King.

And if, for whatever reason, we begin to loose sight of this, keep in mind that Peter attaches to his exhortation a self-serving motivation. Do you want your prayers answered? Then don't allow the way you treat your wife to hinder the Lord from giving you those answers.

You have been blessed brother. You have been given the privilege of spending your life with royalty!

Article 5 V 1.7 Giving Up the Right to be Right

2010-03-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

It is right for me to feel this way about you

Or, as we might say it, "I have the right to feel this way about you."

We find ourselves on the receiving end of our spouses fleshiness or rebellion or hard day at work, and we get hurt, something is said or done and we are wronged, truly wronged. Sometimes it a more prolonged "wronged," an issue that has been an ongoing grief in the marriage.

How will we respond?

I know one thing that we can often do; we can begin to feel as though I have a right to feel like I do in light of how he/she is treating me. "I mean anyone in their right mind would feel the same way." I can hold on to that emptional turf. Hold on to my defensive position. Hold on to my being "right."

Problem is, our "right mind" is not what we are called to rely upon. You have the mind of Christ (I Cor 2.16) and it is with this Christ-like mind that we are to respond to one another. Later in this letter to Philippi Paul will say, "Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus."

That means that at times I need to just let go of, give up the right to be right and begin to think in a way that represents Jesus. Forgiveness. Compassion. Patience. Love. Grace.

"But I"
"How about"
"Why doesn't"
"Why am I the one who has to be right when I was the one wronged?"

In order for reconciliation to happen, someone has to die.

"Well then he should"
"Then it is on her, she after all, is wrong"

No, its on me.
It is what I am called to do.
It is in obedience to the Lord that I lay down my rights and "be reconciled one to another."

Lord, give us the strength to lay our right down and do the right thing.

Article 4 V 1.6 Not Done Yet

2010-03-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful promise, God always finishes what He starts.

How does this apply to a marriage? We are not done yet! Paul says that our "completion" will be realized on, "The day of Jesus Christ." This means that I am not a finished product, nor is my wife. We are a work in progress.

We need to realize that the Lord is not done with us yet. All of us have room to grow, we are becoming more and more like Jesus as we continue to walk with Him. But in no way are we a finished product.

In marriage, we go a long way if we can simply give each other a break once in a while. Show some grace and forgiveness and patience towards each other. Allow the Lord to continue to do His thing in our spouse. Avoid making judgments; avoid being judgmental toward each other realizing that I am not a finished work either.

Article 3 V 1.5 A Life Partner

2010-03-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Because of your partnership in the gospel.

A "helpmate". That is how God described the woman that He would create for Adam. A helper, a traveling companion, a co-laborer.

To be honest, this is one of the areas I am not too good at yet, but my wife is helping me to see and understand how much of a help she is and how much she desires to be a part of what I am doing. I do believe as we see marriage work as it is designed, there is a partnership.

It only makes sense really. I have so many flaws and weaknesses - too many to count. now, my wife is pretty spectacular in every sense but, never the less, she does have a few (very few, honey) of her own.

Even between the two of us we lack much but what is certainly true is that our best shot at making good decisions, doing our best work at parenting, giving our best effort in service will be accomplished as we partner in the work.

I can not tell you how many times her strengths have bailed me out when I was blind to circumstances, when I needed her gifts in a particular situation, when a decision had to be made and her wisdom has affected how we proceeded.

It is just essential really. But, as I mentioned, I am not accomplished at this at all.

I hope to continue to improve.

As it turns out we are three verses into Philippians and we have already had three things to talk about. At this rate we could end up with a hundred of these little marriage tidbits before we are done. I suppose it is likely that there will be more than a couple that I still need work on, maybe you too.

That does not change the truth. Two heads really are better than one as it turns out.

Article 2 v 1.4 Praying for One Another

2010-03-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

Always in every prayer of mine for you... making my prayer with joy.

Seems simple enough doesn't it... pray for your spouse.

I know that it can be overlooked. I know it can be ignored. I know that often we find ourselves praying for anything and anyone else and neglect the one we are closest to and are spending our lives with.

This is actually a little self-serving if you think about it. As a matter of fact, everything related to the marriage relationship is self serving because the two are "one." This means that if my partner is growing, I am the beneficiary and vice-versa. As the Lord works in your life or in your spouses life both of you are the recipients of the God-likeness that takes place.

So pray.

When is the last time you simply prayed that the Lord would just bless your husband/wife in some significant way? Just bless their day, the work of their hands, the things they are concerned about?

Here is another dynamic that takes place to be sure; it is very difficult to pray for your spouse to be blessed while at the same time being mad or frustrated or whatever at them. What we realize is that though it is true that "prayer changess things," it is also true that prayer changes ME. If I will pray for my wife to be blessed, truly blessed; I mean over the top, "windows of heaven" blessed, I am going to find myself letting go of that last argument, that last disagreement, that last thing that did not go as I planned. It just goes away.

Try it! you will find that as you pray for blessing, you will be the one blessed.

Article 1: v 1.3 Being Thankful

2010-02-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you"

Have you thanked your wife today? How about your husband? It is very easy to take each other for granted. We settle into the routine of life and stop noticing the little things, sometimes even the big things that are done for us.

I am talking about the regular stuff of life. Thanking your wife for keeping the house so nice, for caring whether the kids socks match, for putting on makeup - wait, that might not be taken in the right way - well you get the idea. Ladies, have you thanked you hubby for working so hard for the family, for making sure your car runs, for leading your family?

It is amazing how much a simple word of thanks can elevate the spirit and let the other person know that you notice, that the effort is appreciated, that the little things still matter to you.

You know, come to think of it, there is a significant element of romance in the simplicity of a sincere "thank you."

Having a thankful heart is transforming. It is impossible to both curse and give thanks. James said, "Does a spring pour from the same opening both fresh and salt water?" Have I thanked the Lord for my wife, for your husband today.

So, today's assignment? Say, "Thank you."

A Marriage Manual

2010-02-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

Marriage. An institution designed by God in the garden; protected by God in the law; validated by its occasion being the location of Jesus' first miracle and shrouded in mystery and beauty as the relationship of intimacy that we will soon share with our bridegroom.

The subject of marriage has great interest to the vast majority of us because the vast majority of us are... married! Or will be.

With that in mind at first glance it is a bit startling that the Bible spends so little time on the subject. We have a few key passages like Ephesians 5, I Peter 3, and Genesis 3; there are several pictures given throughout scriptures and a number of references in Proverbs and a few other places. However, unlike the plethora of marriage books found on the shelves at your local Christian bookstore, there is no single place where we can turn to scripture and read chapter after chapter on this or that aspect of marriage.

After spending some time wondering about this phenomenon I have concluded that it comes down to our God being not only effective but efficient. The Bible, after all, is the a story of the redemptive work of God ultimately revealed through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Bible is not a self-help manual, nor is it a parenting manual, nor, as it turns out, a marriage manual.

When the Bible instructs us concerning how we should relate to our fellow man (or woman) it speaks in general terms about loving each other, submitting to one another, being patient, kind or being a helper of one another's joy. All of which applies to anyone and everyone in our lives including our children, those we work with, live next to, or are married to.

Without question, if we were to apply all that God said about how we should bear with one another, forgive one another, look to serve one another; the lions share of marital problems would be dealt with. The problem is that, for some warped reason, we can treat those we are supposed to be closest to in the most horrible way. It is as though we think the instructions of God regarding how we ought to act with others applies to everyone except those we live with.

So where is the efficiency seen? With so much of the interpersonal instruction already covered it seems the Spirit simply and solely added those instructions concerning marriage, for instance, that were particular to marriage. In other words, "Do all that I told you about how to treat all other people... and here are some special instructions on aspects of this particular kind of relationship that are unique to marriage" (hierarchy in the home, the marriage bed, divorce, etc.)

I say all that to say this.

Over the years I have instructed many couples to read through the book of Philippians together and then talk about what they saw that could apply to their marriage. I could send them to any number of books really, there is instruction everywhere you look. Philippians though, is written with a tenderness that is apparent. It is also a book of joy and rejoicing so it has a very positive tenor to it. For me, it works particularly well for this purpose.

What I intend to do here on the Pilgrim's Journal is walk though the letter and do just as I described above. I am not looking to break down the Greek and extract the deepest contextual understanding, that will be for another time. This is much more devotional, much more applicable, maybe even a little "word association-al."

If you choose to continue to track with me on this journey through Paul's letter to Philippi, you will soon get the idea of what I am talking about.

In the mean time it is important to remember that God did not give us a manual, He gave us His Son, Emmanuel - God with us. The new covenant is based not upon rules to follow but a Spirit that leads, Who speaks, Who writes His will on our hearts. It is CHRIST IN US... He is THE HOPE OF GLORY. He is the only hope we have to live gloriously, to live in a way that glorifies Him. God with us. Emmanuel.

Stay tuned.

Peace.

Lets try it again.

2010-02-21T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am not sure anyone reads these any more, I have not posted anything for quite some time. The blog format does work well as a repository for my latest “stream of consciousness” so I am venturing back in. If you happen to get anything out of what I write, praise the Lord!

Faith: the spiritual energy drink

2009-06-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

From my good friend Chris Stadler

In the military, men have always understood the value of morale. To boost morale, a general will let his men know that there is a plan and it's a good one. He will instill the confidence that they can prevail. He will get them focused on the prize: victory.

When morale is high, a general almost can't contain his soldiers. They want to go out and do battle now – not tomorrow.

So if you have an enemy, what would he try to do to you to get you to fear the battle? Simple. He will try to get you to take your eyes off of the prize and place them on the cost of failure. And when you mention God's promises, he'll say “Did God really say that?”

Because in a Christian walk, there is a cost of failure. The enemy knows that. He also knows that, if we're not full of the Word of God, he can convince us that we may have misunderstood God.

But what choice do we have? We can live for our big-screen TVs and a relaxed family life – until the economy takes a nose dive. Or we can live to fight the battle. But if we're going to fight the battle, we have to do it with our eyes both on the prize and on God's promises and the might that He has to fulfill them. And God doesn't fail.

Strength, energy and self-control come from confidence in our Commander and His calling on our lives. Find energy in His Word, because that's where our confidence comes from.

--

Pray Like it Matters

2009-03-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working James 5.16b

It is a mystery to me why God invented prayer.

Certainly He knows what we need:

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matt 6.8

Certainly He has the power to meet any need:

With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God Mark 10.27

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 40.12-15

Certainly He knows what He is going to do and when:

But He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What he desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind. Job 23.13-14

Yet the Lord has asked us to pray as though, somehow, prayer makes a difference.

What if failing, frail and feeble people can change the course of things through prayer.

What if Joshua had not prayed for the sun to stand sill
What if Elijah had not prayed for rain, or for fire to fall upon the altar
What if Moses had not prayed for water, or Hannah for a son
What if Jonah had not prayed from the belly of the whale
Or Paul and Silas from the darkness of Jail

Would Gods' hand have moved? Would the stories end as they did? Or, did their prayers actually make a difference?

I see in the Word of God an ongoing encouragement to seek the face of God in prayer knowing that God has designed it so that PRAYER MATTERS!

Was She Right? Part 3

2009-02-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

(Please read the previous two posts for the full conversation)

So was Naomi right to "blame" God for her circumstances?

I dont know if blame is an appropriate term, but to say that it was within God's providence that these things happened is certainly true. Whether one says, "God did it" or, "God allowed it" the truth is that either way the circumstances of our lives are in His control.

The more important issue for each of us when we find ourselves in a season of "Dark Providence" is to realize that God's purposes are ultimately being worked out... even though I may not in the short term, or even in the long run know what those purposes might be.

Here is what is clear from Naomi's Story. Lets first remind ourselves of the difficult season Naomi had experienced.

In chapter one we read that she and her family had left the promised land because of famine, so they were strangers in a strange land, then her husband died, then both of her sons died, leaving her with no heir.

Now look at the end of the story:

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Instead of famine, "a nourisher"

Instead of a strange land she was now among her own people

Instead of mourning "a restorer of life"

She had lost sons now a daughter worth "seven sons"

She had no heir, now a grandson... an heir indeed

And no run of the mill heir at that; rather, none other than David would come from her new family and ultimately the greater than David, the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

Had the Lord brought calamity upon Naomi, well, yes He had. For a season she languished under the "dark Sovereignty of God as God worked behind the scene to get a Moabite woman into a particular field to meet a particular man at a particular time; in order that the ultimate plan of God could move ahead.

Naomi had an important role in the fulfillment of God Eternal plan of redemption for mankind. I do not think that she is in heaven now still upset at God for what He saw fit to put her through.

Lord give us eyes to see and appreciate the bigger picture and your sovereign work in our lives.

Was She Right? Part 2

2009-02-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

(read part one for the full conversation)

Lets take our discussion one step further.

One of the responses I received went in part as follows, "Calamity in the old testament was brought on by God for the sins of His people..."

So what was Naomi's sin? If in fact the tragedy that she experienced was judgement for her sin, what was it God was judging her for?

It is a fact that at times the Lord did judge His people; sometimes He did it directly, often times He used the nations surrounding Israel as the rod of correction. The question is... is every dark circumstance the result of sin?

If we are not careful, we can find ourselves in the same place as Job's accusers when they said to him on numerous occasions,

"If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great." Job.8.5-7

The problem was Job had not sinned.

Jesus had something to say on this subject and the light He shine on the subject gives us insight in how to look at Naomi's situation.

Listen to Jesus from John 9.1-3

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."

So there may be more to consider here than simply the judgement of God on poor Naomi.

We'll talk more.

Was She Right?

2009-02-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

Here is something to think about...

Listen to Naomi's complaint and lament in Ruth 1.20-21:

She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

To say that she had hit a rough patch would be an understatement. Earlier in chapter 1 we read that she and her family had left the promised land because of famine, so they were strangers in a strange land, then her husband died, then both of her sons died, leaving her with no heir.

Now, I don't know what trials you are facing right now, I am guessing you are facing some... most of us are. The proximity and the severity of this season for Naomi is pretty spectacular by any estimation. She says dont call me Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara (bitter).

The magnitude of it all had swamped Naomi's boat, she had exhausted all her hope and strength and was at her wits end.

Here is the question I have for you; was Naomi right? Was she right to say, " the Almighty has brought calamity upon me."

Does the Lord Almighty bring calamity, would our God do such a thing? What counsel would you give Naomi? Would you say, "Buck up sister", or, "Don't speak of God like that", or, "Your faith needs to be shored up"? What comfort, what word of encouragement would you offer Naomi in her time of need, what counsel?

I am going to let you think about that one for a few days and we'll talk more.

Feel free to leave comments if you like.

Who Am I?

2008-12-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

When David said these words in I Chronicles 17.16, he was not seeking the meaning of his existence, he was overwhelmed by God graciousness and mercy. The verse reads:

Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?

Here is a little back story -

David finished building a palace for himself then realized that the Ark (God) still dwelt in a tent so David had it in his heart to build the Lord a "House". It was a good thing but it was not a God thing. God had another plan.

What David wanted to do was good, what God was going to do was better.

God says to David through the prophet Nathan you shall not build a house for Me but,

Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you.

David can hardly wrap his mind around what the Lord is saying to him and exclaims,

Who am I , O Lord God and what is my house that You have brought me thus far?

Isn't that how we should respond each and every day in light of what the Lord has done "thus far", and what He has promised to do for us in the future? David will say later on,

What more can David say to you for honoring you servant? For you know you servant.

David is amazed at the grace of God, amazed at His mercy, amazed at His goodness. Even more so in light of the person David know himself to be.

Then David says one more thing that I have always found very interesting. Listen to Vs. 23

And now, O Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever and do as you have spoken.

Knock yourself out Lord, You want to bless me, bless away, don't hold anything back. And, Lord, the thing you promised to do, do that for me. David was claiming the promise and holding God to His word.

Have you ever dared to pray like that? It is pretty radical, but David, a "man after God's own heart" prayed that way. "Lord you promised to do this thing for me, I am asking You to fulfill Your promise." That kind of prayer does not offend the Lord, is not disrespectful to the Lord, it is called appropriation, claiming what God said is ours.

That is all David was doing.

Who am I? I am a sinner saved by grace, a recipient of mercy, a child of the King! I am also on the receiving end of the multitude of promises God has made to his people, they are there for me to claim daily as I walk in awe of God unimaginable goodness towards me "thus far".

"Charge it to my Account"

2008-11-24T20:09:00.001-08:00

We have been talking about reconciliation a bit over the last month or so. It is so important to keep the peace between brothers and sisters in Christ, between family members, between friends and neighbors.

What I have become much more aware of over recent weeks is the immense value you are to me. How long it takes to develop relationships and yet how fragile they can be at times. The value and the fragility makes them all the more important to preserve. It is just not OK to loose friends or be at odds with each other, it is just too costly.

The Lord has asked us to be reconciled and has given us both the "word" and the "ministry" of reconciliation.

The problem is that we don't relish the idea of humbling ourselves in order to begin the sometimes difficult process. There is a real sense of being wronged as well as a very real feeling that the other person does not deserve the effort it will take, we often feel, perhaps especially, that we are "owed". Fairness and equity scream for satisfaction and all of this has a bearing on the emotion we feel when facing the task.

The little postcard of a letter called Philemon gives us the wonderful principal that lies at the heart of reconciliation.

Philemon was a dear and close friend of Paul. Philemon had a slave by the name of Onesimus who had stolen from his master and run away. As ONI made a run for it he ended up, of all places, in prison with none other than the great apostle Paul himself.

You'll have to read the whole letter to get the full impact of the friend-to-friend tone of the letter, Paul pours it on pretty thick, it is pretty funny! Paul writes the letter to urge his friend to take his slave (and now brother in Christ) back with open arms. Then Paul says to Philemon, "If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge it to my account".

Philemon owed Paul much! Paul said whatever debt ONI owes you... charge it to me.

Doctrinally this is called imputation. it is a banking term that means charged to the account of. As it relates to our faith it means that Jesus, through the work of the cross, cancelled our debt and charged to our account His righteousness - it's huge.

Practically, as it relates to reconciliation it means this... and this is key. It means that when I reconcile (also a banking term by the way) I don't have to worry about the "owing" or "fairness". Jesus is the one asking for the reconciliation and he says, let me worry about the debt owed, I'll take care of that.

We do not reconcile for our sake primarily, nor for the sake of the relationship, nor for the sake of the other party. We reconcile for Jesus' sake and any outstanding debts that might remain, He has got that covered.

This means that I can be reconciled in a hurry as there is no settling up that need to take place. It was all handled at the cross.

Glad to be Back

2008-09-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

Forty days... interesting.

For those of you who have been checking in here for a while it was a little more than a year ago that I planned a 40 day sabbatical. The leadership were in agreement and things were covered as I set out on what I hoped would be a refreshing and revitalizing time of reflection and rest.

In fact I began this blog as a way of keeping folks updated on the things I was experiencing during that time. You can read those early submissions in the archives if interested.

This one wasn't planned, least-wise not by me, but as it turned out I spent another 40 days "resting" this year. By the way, though I might suggest picking a different location for the purpose, taking time away to rest and be refreshed in the Lord is always an excellent idea.

As I reflect on the two "sabbaticals" I must confess that I have benefitted more from this one than from the one I planned. The Fellowship has benefitted more already from this years version than it did from the previous one as well.

I dont think I have ever had a greater love for the Lord - He is everything to me. It has been said that, "you wont fully know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have". I would not say that I ever felt like Jesus was all I had, not with my wife and family at my side and not with the multitude of wonderful folks praying and visiting, etc; but still, day to day, there was an intense need to really cling to the Lord and a profound sense of His presence.

The Lord is so good (All the time).

These 40 days have produced in me a renewed passion for ministry, a refreshed vision of our mission as a Fellowship; a rekindled love for the Lord as I mentioned; a desire to preach the Word unlike anything I have experienced before, and, a greater love for the body of Christ, wherever it might be found, but particularly that part that congregates at 252 Lawrence Street.

I want to thank all of you for the tremendous welcome home. It was a day that was more than a little overwhelming to be sure. A day that I will not soon forget.

My thanks again for your prayers and love and help. Heaven alone will be able to repay you for the grace and kindness extended to me.

Happy to be back.

Renewal

2008-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” I Samuel 11.14

I wanted to return to the journey through the books of First and Second Samuel today but really had it on my heart to share with you the story of Joshua chapter 5.

And there it was! The same idea right there in I Sammy 11.

If there was any place that befit the renewal of the kingdom it was Gilgal.

Gilgal was a place that was given its name after a very important event in the history of Israel took place there. You see the name "Gilgal" means "a rolling", "today I have rolled the reproach of Egypt from you"

What was it that happened at Gilgal?

The Israelites were finally over the Jordan river. 600 years or so after the Lord had "promised (the) land" to Abraham and 40 years after they had failed to enter the first time; Israel was finally in.

They had been promised that the land would be given to them step-by-step as they moved in. The enemy would have to be defeated, it wouldn't be easy, but the Lord had promised victory as long as they continued to follow His Word.

The assignment had been given, the moment had come for them to march in and take the "promise land.

And yet... and yet; before they were allowed to take another step forward the Lord said to them that they must first circumcise the men. Circumcision had been neglected while they had been wandering in the wilderness.

Circumcision, of course was the mark, the outward sign of the covenant between God and his people. It marked them as belonging to God, it was a tangible reminder of their relationship with God... and it had been neglected. So God told them that they need to take care of it now.

They were not to go one step further until they relationship was restored, the covenant back in place.

Now, logically this makes little sense, at least in timing. I mean, they were in the enemies front yard and the work of conquering was before them. In human terms it would seem like the worst possible thing to do ; to put your entire army out of commission.

You may have noticed however, that God does not work according to "human terms" and the fact of the matter is; God is always much more concerned with who we are than what we do. God said, in effect, you are not going to take one more step forward without getting your heart right with Me, and, by inference, we can see that without a right relationship with God nothing we do will be pleasing to Him.

Now we look at the simple statement of Samuel and we see its value, we see the reason he said it need to take place at Gilgal. If I want to see the kingdom renewed in my heart... It must begin at Gilgal.

Isaiah 54

2008-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Bible study last week the Lord led me to a passage in Isaiah. I truly felt it was a word for someone, perhaps more than one, in the service that night. I want to re-print it here in light of the untimely loss of family members that a couple families in our body are experiencing.

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,

Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.

“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,

And your gates of crystal,

And your entire wall of precious stones.

“All your sons will be taught of the LORD;

And the well-being of your sons will be great.

“In righteousness you will be established;

You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;

And from terror, for it will not come near you.

“If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.

Whoever assails you will fall because of you.

“Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;

And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

Last night we were reminded that "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes" and we are reminded that Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (Jn 14.16)

This is one of the many blessings and advantages we have as Christians, as children of God.

Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus is, "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" He knows we hurt, He knows what it means to hurt and He has made Himself available to us when we hurt.

This knowledge does take away the pain completely, sin stinks and so to its' "wages". I think this was part of what was taking place when we are told "Jesus wept" at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus knew what was about to happen, He knew that Lazarus would soon walk out of that tomb, but I believe it was the affect of sins' wages on his dear friend that caused the tears to flow. He wept for sins' curse.

Lazarus, however, knew the giver of life, the One who said, "I am the resurrection and the life" and because of that relationship with Jesus the grave could not hold him, would not hold him.

And it will not hold us either. The ultimate comfort is knowing that we will walk out of the tomb as well.

One Thing

2008-06-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

As (Jesus) was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ...Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing". Mark 10.17, 21

Let us first set aside the idea of "doing" to obtain eternal life. Jesus "finished" all that needed to be done when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. In another place Jesus responded to the question, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" by saying, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent". John 6.28-29

It is an important question; is there anything in my life that if the Lord asked for it I would say "no". Take anything but that Lord, ask me to do anything else Lord... but not that.

Would I take my children out of school, away from their friends and move?
Would I quit my job, give up my "security" and go to the mission field?
Would I simplify sacrificially?
Would I, could I?

Jesus is no kiljoy, He is not out to make our lives miserable, in fact quite the opposite is true. He came to "give us life and that more abundantly"; He deisres to see us experience a life that is "exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think".

But what the Lord does want is for us have absolutely nothing standing between us and Him. What is important to Him is that we have "no other gods before Him".

So it is a profitable exercise to take inventory, to ask myself, "Is there anything that if the Lord asked me to give it to Him or do it for Him, I would say "no".

I want to stay in a place where my life belongs to Him completely. And not just hypothetically or theoretically but actually and literally.

Now you might be saying, "Come on Scott, is the Lord that serious about all that? I mean do you really think it is that important to be willing to give the Lord anything and everthing? The Lord wouldn't test us like that just to see if we would and then not have us actually follow through!

Really? Ask Abraham!

“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him;
for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

With God it is always about our heart. He wants us to know what is in our own heart.

If I find that there is "one thing"... I will be faced with a choice: go away sad as the rich young ruler did; or take that "one thing" to the altar as Abraham did. We can choose to remain bound and covetous and trying to save our lives or we can be free and find the blessing of what it means to truly lay our lives down for the One who laid down His life for me.

Righteous Indignation

2008-03-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. I Samuel 11.6

If you were ask me if I was righteous in my "indignation", I would probably say "yes". In the moment, we can all feel as though our anger is justified but that is not really the idea behind "righteous indignation".

As it turns out, this is one of Saul's brighter moments because he is exhibiting anger in a way consistent with the nature and example of Jesus himself.

Jesus got angry?

Yes He did! On three different occasions we are told that Jesus exhibited anger but it was always in a specific context. It is by this context, as illustrated by Saul, that we must measure our own anger.

First lets see the three instances:

And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. John 2.13-17

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. Mark 3.1-5

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. Mark 10.13-16

What these stories show us about Jesus' anger

In each case Jesus got angry when there was someone standing in the way of folks (or children) getting to God. He was angry at the sellers in the temple as their selling table became a barrier to people having free access to the temple; He was angry at the religious leaders as they sought to prevent Jesus from healing on the Sabbath; and He became angry at His own disciples for trying to prevent the children from approaching Him.

Jesus' anger was always on behalf of others.

It is this "anger on behalf of another" that Saul is exhibiting in our text.

With Jesus there are several other instances where, though not told explicitly we see implicitly that Jesus was angry, He certainly had curt words for the Pharisees and priests and religious leaders who were laying burdens on the people and generally made being one of God's chosen people pretty miserable.

Importantly, we are not told of any occasion where Jesus became angry about anything said or done to Him. In fact Jesus never even defended Himself, He just spoke truth, acted in a way pleasing to the Father and left the reaction to those around Him... amazing. Isn't our Lord wonderful!

Now my anger is usually a response to something someone did to me. And... I can feel pretty righteous about feeling as I do. Fact is people really do sometimes do terrible things to us or say terrible things about us... I mean they really are out of line! And it is those times that I can really pull out the righteous indignation card and wave it around, "hey, I am justified in feeling this way."

Yet Jesus shows us a better way.

This is one of those reminders that, upon hearing it I instantly become exceedingly aware of the fact that I am not going to be able to pull that off on my own. This is not a natural character trait for any of us but it is a character trait available to all of us:

But the fruit of the Spirit is, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Gal 5.22

And, in order to live like Jesus did, walking in the Spirit, constantly in fellowship with the Father, we need the whole fruit basket. No grabbing an apple or banana before we rush out the door in the morning.

If you have "let the sun go down on your anger" would you do yourself a favor this morning and just let it go. Just give it to the Lord, forgive, and move on.

That offense was nailed to the cross, its penalty was paid by Jesus who would again today say:

"if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account" Philemon 18

Be free today to live without the burden of anger.

Second Best

2008-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!” Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. I Samuel 10.24-25

Israel had demanded a king and when they did so the Lord told Samuel, "they have not rejected you they have rejected me from being King over them" (8.7). Here is an interesting bit of background...

350 years earlier God had told the people of Israel:

“When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Deuteronomy 17.14-15ff

Did you see that, "and you say, "I will set a king over me like all the other nations..." which, by the way, is exactly what they did say (8.5)

It was not His best for His chosen people yet God knew they would reject Him and seek after a distant second best, a man. Israel would act in rebellion against God and yet God had already made provision for when that time came. He gave them very specific instructions so that they could be as blessed as possible in their new situation.

These most interesting attributes of God, his omnipresence and omniscience; allow God to look down the tunnel of time and know ahead of time what we will do. This is a dynamic of God's sovereignty that relates to our own salvation.

God knows what is best for man and has made an offer to Him; that if any man or woman will simply accept the free gift of salvation, allow him to be the God of our lives, our sovereign, our King; our sins will be forgiven; we will be spared the righteous judgment of Almighty God and we will find ourselves in the most blessed life possible.

But God also knows what each man will choose to do, he can look down the tunnel of time and see with absolute clarity the destination of every persons' soul. But, as with the Israelites, the choice is up to the each individual, each of us has a the opportunity to decide how we want to live and where we want to spend eternity.

Trying to reconcile the two kind of tweaks the circuits a bit to be sure. God knows, we chose. But it is also true that God chose us before the foundations of the world... and as you go a couple more times around that conversation... little puffs of smoke start to drift out of our ears. It is difficult to understand, but for me, not difficult to accept.

All that to say that this story illustrates this mystical and marvelous aspect of our great God. It has been said that a God small enough to fully understand isn't big enough to fully worship. I can't agree more.

Now I want to take your thinking in a whole different direction if you have the time to read on...

The BEST for Israel was to continue to be a theocracy, to continue to allow God himself to be their king, but they chose another option. In that decision, a decision that was not God's best for them, there would be a price to pay (see chapter 8 blog for more info) and direct access to God and His blessings and His best were all now going to have to pass through the hands of their king. They were going to have to hope that their king would continue to follow God, most of them would not, and that their king would look out for their best, again, most of them would not.

Allow me to bring this home now...

I was talking to a brother the other day who had been speaking to a young gal who had gotten pregnant and the father was off the scene, had been involved in drugs and such and was now homeless and in a pretty desperate situation. Your heart just goes out to those in such dire circumstances. This brother continued by saying, "she just doesn't have many options".

Now, at the risk of sounding callous, and certainly this kind of "truth" would have to be shared with great love and discernment; but I said, "well yes she did". This brother knew exactly what I meant and finished my thought for me. "she had options, many opportunities to make the right decision, now she isn't left with many."

In fact she had, and now her options were severely limited by the choices she made earlier. There are just some things that are no longer available to her; others that will take a long, determined, grace filled journey to reach.

So it is with Gods will...

If I truly believe that God desires the very best for me, had the best plan for my life, that He can see ahead and direct me to the best life possible; then it would also follow that to stray from God's will will only lead to something less than best and perhaps much, much worse.

The truth is that as one act of rebellion added to another stiff necked refusal which is compounded by a dose of self-will, I can find my self where my choices become very limited.

But it is not that God abandons us at that point though. As with Israel, even in their rejection and rebellion he still said, "let me tell you how to get the most out of life from that point on." (Deut. 17.14ff)

And I will continue to experience God's best for me under the new circumstances as long as I continue to walk with him, abide in Him, trust in Him. But there will be other aspects a God-defined, blessed life that will no longer be available to me, I opted out of those.

You see there just aren't any promises of blessing for those who walk in rebellion or disobedience, you won't find it in scripture.

All to say, the best life, the best-blessed life is found in the center of God's will.

Hiding in the Baggage?

2008-02-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Therefore they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” So the LORD said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.”So they ran and took him from there... I Samuel 10.23-24

Saul had been anointed king in chapter 10 and now it was time for the coronation. Problem was, when they went to look for the guy who was to wear the crown, he was nowhere to be found; he was hiding in the baggage.

Hmmm interesting word, but more on that in a minute.

My friends and I have had several intriguing debates over this passage; was Saul simply exhibiting humility? He had, after all, said at the time he was anointed,

“Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

Perhaps his reluctance to step forward indicated a genuine feeling of unworthiness for the task.

Could be. And if that is the conclusion that we are to draw, well, well enough. Certainly it is true that none of us are “worthy” for the slightest responsibility that the Lord entrusts us with, of that we can be assured.

On the other hand…

There were two significant chinks in the armor of Saul’s life, his soul, his heart. One was a disconnection from the God who called him and the second is fear.

I believe that this is the first indication we have of a personal attribute that will haunt Saul for the rest of his life; fear in general, fear of man specifically.

The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. Prov 29.25

God had chosen Saul, anointed Saul, empowered Saul, etc. God had given Saul a specific job to do, “he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines” (9.16). It seems to me to hardly be the time to be hiding.

I so appreciate Paul. He was a man who understood where he came from; where the Lord found him; what he was doing when God called him. In fact it is Paul who wrote:

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service” I Tim 1.12

And yet it is Paul who also wrote:

Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me... Gal 1.1 (also Rom 1.1, I Cor 1.1, II Cor 1.1, Eph 1.1, Col 1.1, I Tim 1.1, II Tim 1.1)

Paul says over and over; I am an apostle, I was given that job and that title by God himself. So, in the authority that God has given me and in obedience to the responsibility I have been entrusted with, I am writing to you. I have a job to do and I am doing it in the strength God himself supplies, in the authority that comes directly from the Lord, for the glory of the One who has entrusted me with this ministry.

No apology, no extraordinary explanation, no excuses, no fear!

What have you been assigned? How about me? Shame on us if we are hiding in the baggage when we ought to be getting on with it.

And let’s not let our baggage keep us from being obedient to what the Lord has called us, anointed us and empowered us to do… whatever that might be. Do I have some hang up, some “history”, anything hanging around in piles; the KJV calls it “stuff”? Is there stuff you are hiding behind, hiding in, being buried by?

Times-a-wastin’! Take your baggage to the airport and leave it there, it will be the last time you see it :), and get to work!

The Lord knew what he was doing when He assigned us the task, He knows how weak we are, how insufficient our abilities, but if He called us, we best be about the Fathers business!

The Matter of the Kingdom

2008-02-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” So Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned. I Samuel 10.15-16

The story of Saul is one of unrealized potential. He was a man who had everything imaginable given to him and yet, when the story reaches its tragic end and we are able to survey the breadth of his life one can only conclude… what a waste.

A waste of opportunity, a waste of gifts, a waste of privilege; Saul’s’ saga is a sad one indeed.

If you recall, Saul had gone on a journey to find his fathers’ lost donkeys. The journey, by God’s providence, brought him to the prophet Samuel who was told by God ahead of time that upon Saul’s arrival he was to anoint him as the first king of Israel.

Saul's potential? Let me remind you of the list:
Vs 9.1 A choice and handsome man, head and shoulders above the rest…literally!
Vs 9.16 He was chosen by God
Vs 9.16 He was given a divine mission
Vs 10.1 He was anointed
Vs 10.6, 9 He was changed into another man
Vs 10.10 The Holy Spirit came upon him
Vs 10.11 He prophesied

That is quite a resume’, I mean the Lord had really set this man up for success! So why did Saul fail so miserably? Why was his reign constantly marred by fear? What did it seem that Saul never possesses a personal relationship to God (which becomes all the more striking in contrast to David once he comes on the scene)?

This fear and that lack of relationship is evident at the very beginning and is revealed in our text.

A harbinger of things to come

Did you see Saul’s response to his father upon return? He told him about the donkeys, but “about the matter of the kingdom” he didn’t say a word. I think it is safe to say that some pretty radical things had happened to Saul on his journey to find the donkeys, but when asked to tell his story… he left out those things that had to do with the kingdom.

He could talk about the weather, about the cities he visited about the scenery he passed through about finally locating the donkey, but about what God had done in his life… not a word. About being anointed king… silence. About prophesying, or a new heart…zilch!

There Saul was in the starting chute, ready to race into the life God had set him up to succeed in and when the gun sounded and the gates flung open, he backed up. The man would not share his testimony.

Doesn’t it really begin there for you and me too? How can I expect to realize my potential in the kingdom if I am unwilling to share what the Lord has done in my life personally? The most radical thing the Lord will ever do in a person’s life is save them. That is the greatest miracle of all; that He “saved a wretch like me”.

We must like Paul be anxious to say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. This is what God did in my life, this is what will do in your life too… let me tell you my story.

Romans Eight

2008-01-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies £through His Spirit who dwells in you.

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long: We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The King of Hearts

2008-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

Then it happened when (Saul) turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. I Samuel 10.9

“If I change my mind, God will change my heart; if I don’t change my mind God won’t change my heart. Now, I can’t change my heart and God won’t change my mind, but if I will change my mind, God will change my heart.”

I can remember the service quite distinctly as my pastor repeated this sentence or something very near to it many times over the course of the teaching.

The principal is depicted in the story in I Samuel and is walked out in each of our lives daily.

It goes like this:
The Lord will not force His righteousness upon us, nor His blessings, nor His promises and He will not force His will upon us either. That change that needs to be made in my life, God does not intervene without an invitation.

Remember when the disciples were in the middle of the sea of Galilee in the storm and the Lord walked out on the water to them,
“about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them”. Ever wonder why it says he would have walked by? He waits for an invitation.

If I will change my mind, repent, choose to go in a different direction, I will find the immediate rush of the presence of God and the change of heart that needs to be made.

I can not make any real fundamental changes in my life, not really. Oh, if I were to muster up all my courage and intestinal fortitude and whatever determination I might possess, I might alter a few things in my life perhaps. But the really deep changes, the real life-changing changes that need to be made in my life will only come through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

The medical establishment would not agree; the psychiatric profession stands in direct opposition to this notion, but it is true. The one who made the soul of man is the only one equipped to make alterations in that soul, in the heart of man.

But this transformation of the souls of man will not be forced on man. The Lord is a perfect gentleman and he is not in the “force” business. Jesus offers, he pleads, he presents, He acts and then the response to His unending invitation is left in my court.

All it takes for me to enjoy what Jesus has made available is to turn to him, change my mind about what I am doing, how I am living… turn to Him and in that turning there is released the power of true change.

If I change my mind, God will change my heart.

A little insider information:
This has been my prayer over the last couple weeks –
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and

Renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.

It is paraphrased this way in TMSG-
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!

Create, Renew, Restore – that is an invitation to the Lord to come and make some changes. And I trust that the work of changing my heart has already begun.

May the Lord bless your day as you seek Him in every way.

The Calling of a King I Samuel 9.20-10.1

2008-01-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

Vs 20 And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?”

Saul is chosen by God –
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. Eph 1.4

Vs 21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamites, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

Saul realized this was an honor that he did not deserve -
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) Eph 2.4-5

Vs 22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men.

Samuel reserved the best seat at the table for Saul -
And (God) raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2.6-7

Vs 23-24 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’” Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

Samuel also reserved the best part of the lamb for Saul -

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Eph 1.11-12
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Song of Solomon 2.4
The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. Psalm 16.5

Vs 25-10.1 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. And they arose early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the servant that he might go ahead of us and pass on, but you remain standing now, that I may proclaim the word of God to you.” Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?

Samuel commissions Saul, but he is not sent off to complete the task without the anointing -
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1.8b

We are the ones who were chosen from out of nowhere, we were nobody’s and had no business being given such an honor as being called upon to serve our God. But God, who is rich and mercy, chose us… amazingly, and he snatched us out of the dungeon that sin had left us in and He honors us with position and the choicest portion. He has work for us to do, wonderful work, divine work, eternal work… God’s work; but not without also being equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit.

What we will see in the next few chapters is how Saul deals with all this blessing, how does he do with the assignment he was given… I mean, what a start! Seems like God has really set him up for success.

Indeed he did. And He has set us up for success as well. The question before me today and before you today is what am I going to do with it?

A Divine Appointment

2008-01-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.”

We have been watching Samuel grow up and begin his ministry as a prophet. Now God has been given him an assignment… anoint a king.

God has already identified the man who would become the first king of Israel; a man by the name of Saul. There was just one small problem; Saul didn’t know he was God’s choice and neither did Samuel. In addition, Saul was at home and Samuel was in Ramah.

In Chapter 9 we see the two men in different parts of the country, you know, doing their thing; all the while God is orchestrating events to get them in the same place at the same time so Samuel can fulfill his assignment.

Saul’s’ journey begins when he goes to look for a couple lost donkeys and that search leads him eventually through the areas of Ephriam, Shalisha, Shaalim, and the land of the Benjamites (vs 4) but still could not find them.

At the same time he has arranged for Samuel to be in the right place at the right time and tells Samuel finally,

“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines” (vs 16)

They make contact in vs.18 and Samuel anoints Saul in 10.1.

This story reminds me that the events that are taking place in my life, though sometimes difficult to understand and that at first glance they may even seem random, are often simply God’s way of getting me in the right place at the right time that His plan for my life can be realized.

It also reminds me that the Lord is always working both sides of the same story. You can certainly see this as we have in this story a bird’s eye view of the plan of God being worked out both for Saul and for Samuel.

Consider this:

Though things may seem to be in suspended animation on my end from time to time, it may simply be that the other side of the issue is still being moved into position.

That my day will likely involve what is often called a divine appointment, maybe even more than one. I mean, think about what it takes to bring about a chance encounter, God has to do a lot of work to get you and that other person in the same place at the same time. Lets not miss the appointments God has so carefully prepared.

Lord help us to keep our eye open, our Spirit engaged, our ears tuned so that when you bring that person my way I will be sensitive to the unction of the Spirit to engage that person.

Likewise, Lord, bring that person into my life today that has a word for me because I need to hear a “word fitly spoken” too!

And Lord, I want to hear from you today through whatever means necessary.

None Compare

2007-12-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you. I Samuel 8.11

No Comparison -
Israel has demanded a king so they would be “like all the other nations”. They had decided that rather than be subject to the loving God; Creator of all of heaven and earth, they would take their chances with a mere mortal. Not a wise choice.

Samuel then warns them, telling them that this decision will come at a cost… the king will take; then he will take some more.

It is a sobering warning that fell on deaf ears but maybe we can glean something for our own lives.

Paul tells us in Romans 6.16-18

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Now that is pretty heady stuff! What he is saying in a nutshell was summed up pretty well by Bob Dylan when he sang, “you’re gonna serve someone… it might be the devil, or it might be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve someone.”

But we do have a choice who we serve. Paul is saying don’t go back to the taskmaster of sin; you have been freed, be instead a “slave” to righteousness.

Now, back to Samuel. He gives them a list of things that this king of theirs will take:

Vs 11-13 He is going to take your children and make them slaves
It’s going to impact your family
Vs 14 He is going to take the best of your fields –this years harvest
It will affect your work
Vs 15 He is going to take your seed – next years harvest
Your financial security will be affected
Vs 16 He is going to take your servants and beasts of burden
Your ability to serve will be impacted
Vs 17 He will take your flocks and you will be his servants
You will be brought into bondage as a result

No comparison -
Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said,

“No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Vs 19-20

They were willing to trade the miraculous, victory winning, miracle working "Lord of Hosts" for a flawed human general. Not a wise choice.

Well there is plenty to apply to our lives in considering this but let me just drop one devotional reality in your lap.

No comparison -
The “kings” of this world take and take and take; it is the way of the world, the way of the flesh, the way of our enemy. But our King of Kings came to give and give and give.

He gave us His life, it always begins there; but hardly ends there.
He has also given us “Everything that pertains to life and godliness…”
He has also given us “Every good and perfect Gift…”
He has also given us “All the promises of God are in Him”
He has also given us "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ"

No wonder we serve Him, have made Him our King – now that is a wise choice!

Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Our Provider

2007-12-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord Will Provide", as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the Lord it will be provided"

After covering this passage at our study on Friday, and in light of the message a week ago in Habakkuk, I wanted to bring it back to the front of my mind and heart again; what is referred to as "meditating on the Word", so important.

Habakkuk had a need, a request he had brought before the Lord. In his case it was a question about what God was doing, I don't know what your request before the Lord might be...

He begins by being frustrated, he ends rejoicing. Even though his situation had not changed He says,

"Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food; though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet will I exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."

The "God of my salvation", "The Lord My Provider"; how does He provide?

Sometimes He provides by making the waste places fruitful
(As He promised in Joel)
Sometimes He provides in ways you could never have dreamed of
(As He did with the manna)
Sometimes He provides by multiplying our meager supply
(As He did with the loaves and fishes)
Sometimes He Provides by causing us to survive on nearly nothing
(As He did with Moses and Elijah)
Sometimes it doesn't come at all in the way we normally think of as "provision"
( As with the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11.35-38)

Habakkuk got it, so did Abraham... so did Job!

It was Job who said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

Do I realize, as Abraham did, that it is in the Mount of the Lord... that is to say, Calvary; it is on that Mount that I will find my ultimate provision? Do I see that the Lord already has provided. It has all already been given, He gave it all on that cross... for me.

In the mount of the Lord His provision is seen. That is the provision that I must keep in focus, all the rest is secondary to the work of the cross on my behalf.

Is the Lord enough? Am I satisfied with Him and Him alone. Can I be content and say with the Psalmist, "The Lord is my Portion"?

Where will my heart travel if the thing I have asked for never comes as in Habakkuk's story?Will I be able to rejoice still; or is my joy, my contentment, even, dare I say, my relationship, based on what the Lord gives me or doesn't give me day to day. In other words, is it conditional?
How great and marvelous are Your works oh Lord. They are beyond finding out. How abundant your grace, how magnificent is your mercy, how pleasant are Your thoughts toward me, how beyond measure Your love.

Who Will Be king?

2007-12-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations. I Samuel 8.5

As great a man, as wonderful a judge and prophet Samuel was personally, his sons were quite a different story. The Israelites were not about to have them serve in the office of Judge over them. One could hardly blame them, I suppose. Verse three says,

“His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.”

These are not admirable qualities for a judge to say the least.

But the “judge” was more than what we might think of in the judicial sense; they were God’s instrument of leadership for the nation. They were men, and one woman, raised up by the Lord when Israel had “done what was right in their own sight” to deliver Israel from their oppressors and lead the people back to the Lord.

Samuel, as it turns out, is the last judge in Israel, his sons would not operate in that office… the people rejected them.

What Israel demanded was “a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” They wanted to have a king like all their neighbors, a flesh and blood monarch to govern them.

Again though their request/demand might seem to be reasonable, the commentary concerning it is given to us in verse seven where God says to Samuel,

“Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”

This is the real issue at the heart of their demand; they wanted a monarchy rather than to continue as a theocracy. They wanted a man to stand in rather than God as their king. They didn’t want to continue in that very unique and special relationship with the Living God that Israel alone could claim; that is, that God himself was leading them. The God of all of heaven and earth was taking a personal and very direct role in governing Israel.

They were rejecting that, they wanted to go it on their own; they wanted to be like the world, have a man at the helm and trust him to lead them and protect them and to govern well the affairs of the nation.

In the generations that would follow Israel had some wonderful kings, godly men who were used by God, but they had even more that were godless, selfish reprobates that led the nation into ruin and defeat.

If we could pause for a minute and just reason this out I think that we would conclude that even the very best of human kings, at their very best, at the pinnacle of their achievements would pale terribly to the perfection, omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God Almighty.

It was a very bad trade; they chose the short straw, gambled on independence and lost.

So do we precious saint, anytime… every time we choose any king or any thing that is not God to have a place of authority in our lives. Even if, maybe especially if, it is ourselves that we are entrusting the authority to.

It is a bad deal, a bad trade. In the kingdom, gambling on independence from God is a losing proposition.

We have also been given the opportunity to enjoy that special relationship with the God of heaven and earth. God so desires to govern us, to lead us an guide us, provide and protect us, lets allow Him to do just that… even today.

Someone Took Our Sign!

2007-12-04T09:50:00.001-08:00

Its true! Someone apparently really needed a vinyl sign that said "Lawrence Street Chapel" so they got a ladder and unhooked our sign from the front of the building and have it hanging in their bedroom now I suppose.

Hey, we are reaching the world one sign at a time...ha!

It reminds me of a classic conversation I overheard with one of my very good friends from Applegate. His name is Garry and regularly blew me away with down-home, good 'ol boy wisdom and this was one of those times.

A congregant came up to us one afternoon: he was concerned that, "you could hardly see the sign out on Hwy 238" which runs in front of the church.

And he was saying, "How are folks supposed to find the church?" (Now, that was kind of funny on several levels since there were 6-7,000 people attending the Fellowship then, maybe more. Apparently somehow they had managed.)

But Garry took the conversation in a different direction. He said to this good brother,
"How is it that you started attending Applegate?"
He said, "A friend invited me".
"Well" Garry said, "He's one of our signs."
"What do you mean?" Our good brother asked.
"We have 6-700o signs running around the Rogue Valley all week long, I don't think the one in front of the church is the one that bring people here" Garry said.

He said to this brother, "You are the sign for the Fellowship man!"

I love that guy. There is some real wisdom there.

How are people going to find out about Lawrence Street Chapel? They will hear about it from you. It is your excitement, your encouragement, it is your invitation that will get that neighbor of yours to come and check it out.

How about the Lord Jesus Christ; how will people come to Him? It will not be by putting up a billboard or by slick marketing; they will come to know Jesus when we share Him with them. When we invite them to "come and see" the One that we are so passionately in love with.

We are the sign; the light, the salt, the fragrance of Christ in the world. It is our assignment to show folks the way to Jesus.

As for the sign, I guess when we can we will need to replace it at some point. My prayer and determination however is to place no trust in such things... it's just a sign.

Signing OFF for now.

Ebenezer

2007-11-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
I Samuel 7.12

Classic! One of my favorite verses in this early portion of I Samuel.

The Israelites had just witnessed the Lord win a miraculous victory over the Philistines; their formidable and constant enemy.

And so they set up a stone, a memorial to the Lord which served as reminder of the victory and a declaration of thanksgiving but it went a bit further yet.

The name given to the stone was Ebenezer which means, “stone of help” and in His declaration Samuel said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us”. “Today we mark this place, we set up a standard and we erect this memorial to the Lord making this declaration… 'thus far the Lord has helped us'”.

This is a very practical, simple and extremely powerful model to follow in our walk.

Pause, regardless of where you are in your life right now… put it in neutral. Take a look back over your life and survey your past for just a moment. Can you see the hand of the Lord working covering, providing, protecting? Is there any place where He let you down, dropped the ball or abandoned you? Any time when He didn’t come through? Any time things weren’t working together for good in your life?

You might be saying “yes, there is”. For you, let me lovingly recommend you take that to the Lord and ask Him to reveal His greater purpose, His sovereignty, His grace to you. I know He will open your eyes and heart. But that is another subject all together.

For the rest of us, though we might not have seen it or understood it at the time, we can now see that without fail, the Lord has brought victory into my life. THUS FAR HE HAS HELPED ME. No exceptions, no debate about it; it is absolutely true… God has never failed me.

If that is true for you, today might be a good day to set a marker, to place a standard and make that declaration as Samuel did.

Here is the deal.
I am reconfirming God’s faithfulness to me. Not how the Lord was faithful to someone else, not the teaching of the Word on faith, not exhortation from the pulpit on being a man or woman of faith; this is my testimony! It is not doctrinal, not hypothetical and not anecdotal, it is experiential… and it is my experience.

No one has to convince me or convict me and no one has to understand it really, its mine. It is my memorial of God’s faithfulness in my life. Thus far he has helped me.

Now this could certainly be expanded; a couple could do the same thing and say thus far he has helped us, a family could do likewise; a church leadership could do the same (and I am here to tell you we have done just this very thing) and declare, “Thus far the Lord has helped us."

So what does that looking backward do for me? It gives me confidence as I look ahead. It is very simple and very powerful. I thus far God has helped me, and I am the one who concluded that!

If can say that in my own heart… God has helped me every day up to this point. This gives me confidence to move forward with the expectation that His faithfulness will not fail me now.

Ebenezer, a very good idea; a memorial to God’s faithfulness.

A Twelve Step Program?

2007-11-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. I Samuel 7.2

The nation of Israel had lost its way, had fallen away and had turned away from the Lord their God. The ark was back in the country but it might as well have been on the other side of the world as far as the Jews were concerned. The Lord, however, was not about to give up on them.

God had called a young boy by the name of Samuel to be a judge and a prophet to His people Israel. It is at this point in the story that Samuel steps to the forefront.

In verse 3 Samuel calls the people to return to the Lord and in his instruction to them, in his encouragement of them, we see a “12 Step program” for seeing victory. Victory over the enemy, over that thing which constantly attacks you, a perpetual temptation or trial… victory!

If you have been around me very long you know that I have little regard for 12 step programs; the Lord doesn’t tell us there is some progression that we have to follow to make our way back to Him or to see victory in our life… it is ONE STEP.

But let me show you why I think Samuels 12 step program might be helpful; he begins in Vs 3 by saying:

“If you return to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the shtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

In verse 3 we have the first four steps, but did you see the first one; “If you return to the Lord…”. That is the one step! Samuels first step is the one step that must be made; in that step the victory is seen.

So why do we have 11 more?

What I see in this passage are very practical things we can do in our lives WHILE we are turning to the Lord, practical actions and activities that will begin to shape a new attitude; that will give us a new perspective helping us stay on the positive track.

So…

Step #1 Turn to the Lord
This is repentance, changing direction

Step #2 Remove the foreign gods
Do I have things in my house, at the office, wherever, that trip me up?

Step #3 Direct your heart
It means apply, stand up, ground yourself in the Lord

Step #4 Serve him alone
You want to see sudden impact on your life… serve!

There are another six steps in verse six which reads:

They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

Step #5 They gathered
Do not forsake the assembly of the saints

Step #6 and #7 They poured it out before the Lord
This is an act of worship and offering or giving, both are key

Step #8 They fasted
There is a mystical dynamic released in fasting that I can not explain

Step #9 We have sinned
Confession; agreeing with God concerning sin

Step #10 Samuel Judged
Start making good decisions

We find the final two steps in verses 8-9:

Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried to the LORD for Israel and the LORD answered him.

Step #11 Do not cease to pray
Pray - and then pray some more

Step #12 Offered a whole burnt offering
This is the very idea behind Romans 12.1-2:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Sorry this is such a long entry but bear with me as we end here…

The result? (vs 10)

Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.

One step to Jesus… and then some practical things that can be done to encourage us to keep making that one step toward Him moment by moment.

Joshua's Stone

2007-11-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

The large stone on which they set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
I Samuel 6.14, 18b

The Ark of the Covenant which was lost in battle to the Philistines had been returned being carried on an unmanned cart pulled by a couple cows.

What a sight it was when it just showed up on day in the field of Joshua.

They took the wood from the cart and offered the cows as an offering right there on the spot… on that spot, on the large stone in the field of Joshua.

This was an agrarian society, they earned their living from and were sustained by the land through the providence of God. But here in the middle of Joshua’s field was a big rock.

Each fall and then again before planting they would have to plow around this “large stone” it was an obstacle, it was a hindrance to the work they were trying to accomplish. When the seed was sown, any that fell on the rock would be wasted and during harvest the large stone just reminded them that there would be no profit coming from there, it was useless; just a big waste of space in the middle of the field.

But then The Ark showed up and that waste place became a place of rejoicing, a place of worship; in fact, it became a memorial. From that day forward that stone, that spot that was previously “useless” became a reminder of the day the Lord showed up.

I bet you might have a “Joshua Stone” or two in your life as well; a waste place that has become a place of rejoicing. Maybe for you it is some old habit, some behavior where the Lord has brought victory. For others it might be a once fruitless relationship that the Lord entered and now there is a harvest of fellowship.

Perhaps we should look at this as a promise. I know the Lord wants to show up in the middle of your “dead zone” and bring life; He wants to make Himself available to us. He longs to take what was before an obstacle and transform it into an opportunity for worship.

Do you have a “Joshua stone” that you can identify? Invite the lord to visit you there; I know He will show up.

And when He does He will leave you with a memorial that will last a lifetime as a continual reminder or His redemptive grace and power.

Another Re-print from Chris Stadler

2007-11-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Amen, Scott. Here's a little personal testimony. I'd put in in my own blog, but I want it to get read, so here it is:

I've felt lead, lately, to start glorifying God in specific parts of my life. He's asked me to do some crazy stuff - and I'm blessed with a wife who's almost as crazy as I am (maybe the word is "naive;" still not sure).

In any case, I read in Jeremiah today that God wants our roots to grow deep. And that's cool, because I think God is doing something pretty darn amazing in us. We'll let you know when we figure out exactly what that is. Actually, you'll know it when you see it, because we'll be telling everyone who will listen about the excellent things He's doing in us.

But right now, it feels like He's planting roots - not a ton of external fruit yet. But if He's getting a big ol' root system laid down, it kind of makes you wonder why. Why do I need such a deep root system? Maybe it's because trees with strong roots can reach way higher.

Furthermore, He's doing it in such a way that I can't take credit. Oh yeah, and nobody else can, either. That's because we're not putting people in a position where they can take credit.

Lest you think we're anything special, here's the thing: we have doubts. Yesterday was a particularly discouraging day. It's been a tough weekend, and yesterday, I was doubting. That happens often. But God assures me that He's faithful, even in those times. And the next day is always better, as evidenced by my joy this morning.

Also, don't be stopped by thinking that you don't have the endurance. It's tempting to be a "realist," and say, "Sure, I'm excited today, but I know me, and I'll just fail in a month or so." But consider this: God wants to change you. And if you're holding back hope because of fear, then seek Him out on that subject. Tell Him straight up, "God, I doubt my faith. Help me." And don't be afraid to ask about the details. Don't be limited by Christianese; pray your heart.

Finally, if you're willing to take a risk, whether it's financial, career or whatever, but you're wondering if you're hearing from the Lord, consider this: we've all heard stories about people who trusted the Lord and didn't get what they expected. We've also heard about people who hear from the Lord only good things, like they have selective hearing. Personally, I just didn't want to be called "naive." But here's the thing: God's not going to let you fall into ruin when you're listening to Him. And by investing in learning to hear from Him, you're getting ready to do those mighty things Scott talked about in his blog post.I

I don't think you can do mighty things without listening to God, doing the scarry things He asks us to, and giving Him that room to work mightily on His behalf.

Just remember David. He put his life on the line right there and then in front of Goliath. But his trust was in God to deliver Goliath into his hand. A few minutes later, there was a big thud, as Goliath hit the ground. Not only that, but the story encourages millions of Christians, and gives us evidence that God wants to use us.I

If you're afraid to trust God, for whatever reason, don't worry. Simply start the dialogue with Him. You will be absolutely surprised at how easy He makes it for a willing heart.

- Chris Stadler

God Can Handle It

2007-11-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh. I Samuel 6.12

The Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. While in the hands of the Philistines no Israelite attempted to rescue it, recover it, or even discover which city it was taken to.

Initially the ark was taken to Ashdod but the citizens there soon realized that they had stirred up a hornets nest and that this was no ordinary prize they had won in battle. In fact the people began to be plagued by tumors and death so the ark was sent to another major city, Gath. That might ring a bell, it is where Goliath was from. The plague followed so they sent it away again until they finally figured out that they were simply spreading the plague through their own country… something had to be done to rid the land of this ark once and for all.

The Philistines decided to send it back where it came from, which they accomplish by putting it on a cart and aiming it in the general direction of Beth-shemesh.

Sure enough, the ark had been returned safe and sound. The Lord had taken care of it Himself without the help of Israel. He didn't need their help.

The Lord doesn’t need our help either. He is well able to accomplish His objectives without any assistance at all. It’s a good thing to remember from time to time… God does not need me.

Having said that, had there been an Israelite who stepped forward even in the face of overwhelming odds, even at the risk of life and limb; and had gone after the ark… Oh my, what a story we would have had.

And we would have had that story! I am certain the Lord would have made it a part of His living record as He did so on many, many other occasiosn when there was seemingly even less at stake.

The Lord is looking for men and women who will take a stand, who will report for duty, who will step forward and be counted when there is work to do. How do I know?

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. II Chronicles 16.9

The Lord doesn’t need our help, but here is the amazing thing; He wants our help, He lets us help. He is looking for people with a heart to help, who want to be part of HIS-story, who are willing to risk a bit at times for the glory of God.

Oh, the work will get done, no question about that. The only question is do I want to be part of what the Lord is doing.

Bring in the Ark!

2007-11-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
I Samuel 5.1

The Israelites had taken the ark into battle as a good luck charm, and they lost not only the battle, but the ark as well.

This emblem of God’s power, where God dwelt between the Cherubim; the ark that had led them across the Jordan, that they had followed as they proceeded on their victory march through the promise land; it was now in the hands of the enemy.

Where are the men who would stand up on His behalf and fight for His honor? Where are the mighty men who would risk it all for God? There were none to be found in Israel. We will see later in the story that the Lord is well able to take care of Himself. But it still a question that confronts the saints today, “who will stand for the cause of Christ and His cross?”

They bring the ark into their temple where their gods are all assembled and leave it there.

When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. (vs 3)

This might be a hint… if your god needs a hand, maybe one ought to look for another god… ha! And, if your god is on his face before another God, maybe you ought to pick the one standing… ya think!

Then vs four:

But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

And the Ashdodites said, (yeah, you are ahead of me) “Dagon-it”. Talk about needing a hand… a he needed two, and a head. Their god had become a stump.

Please read the following with care. It is so critical to the issues of life that we deal with.

They had an idol in their temple, a god that was ½ fish and ½ man, it was unnatural, an aberration, an amalgamation of a warped mind.

And there it stood until the God of Gods was brought into its presence. When the Glory of God entered that temple Dagon bit the dust.

Now apply this to our own lives.
We are the temple of the living God. And on occasion we deal with idols of one kind or another, we have issues that need to be dealt with. Sometimes lots of them. The Psychologist and the analyst will tell you that you need get a handle on your issues and to face your feelings. Begin to work on ways to remove those things from your life.

This story gives us a much more direct approach. You want to see the Dagon’s in your life deal with; bring in the presence fo the Lord. What you will see, what I will find is that the Dagon’s will fall in light of His presence, his glory, His power.

I can exhaust myself trying to “deal” with my issues or I can simply bring in the ark.

Dagon-it that’s simple! And it’s true!

Good Luck Charm

2007-11-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.” I Samuel 4.3

A treacherous time for the nation of Israel is seen in this story. Allow me to give you the punch line to these events then we will take a quick look at some of the fallout.

The Israelites, including their priests Hophni and Phinehas who are right in the middle of this (vs 4), are so totally disconnected from the God who loves them and have fallen so far from the Lord; that after losing the first skirmish with the Philistines, use the Ark of the Covenant as a good luck charm. “That it might come among us and deliver us”. In fact, it seems even the writer of this bit of history is a little incredulous as he amplifies by saying, “the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts who sits above the cherubim” (you know… that one, I’m not kidding!)

When it comes into camp the people of Israel “shouted with a great shout”. At first glance it sounds pretty spiritual, but what they should have done is fallen on their faces in fear.

The Philistines on the other hand; upon hearing the great shouting of the Israelites say, “Woe to us”. “Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?” It should have been the Israelites who had that reaction.

What happens next? Let’s make a list:
· The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and
· Every man fled to his tent; and
· The slaughter was very great, And
· The ark of God was taken; and
· The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. (vs 10-11)

The news reaches Eli...
· Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and
· The ark of God has been taken.
· When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died (vs. 17-18)

The Ark was lost; it was an unmitigated disaster of the nation of Israel.

God’s power is not at our beckon call. He is not available for us to use at our whim. The Holy Spirit is not someone, or something that we wield; far from it. We are the ones who are to be available to be wielded by the Holy Spirit, the ones totally yielded to the Holy Spirit.

It is healthy I think, to remind ourselves of just how awesome God is. To realize again that He is not to be called upon at our convenience. That he doesn’t “snap to” when we decide we finally want Him involved in our lives.

The question is not will God be a part of what I am doing but rather am I a part of what He is doing.

And may we guard against treating God like a good luck charm, like a genie; like a fire exit… “Use only in case of emergency.”

Israel had no regard for God, there was no relationship there, there was no devotion, no reverence and no worship. Then they thought, “Oh yeah. The ark is spiritual; let’s get God involved, that’ll do the trick.” It didn’t.

It is the Lord

2007-11-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him."
I Samuel 3.18

Samuel had his first assignment from the Lord and it was a doozey! Samuel was to deliver a message to Eli, his mentor and father figure. The word from the Lord for Eli was,” Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” (vs 14 )

You can read the rest… it was a tough message, a message of coming discipline from the Lord for Eli’s refusal to take keep his boys in line.

What a tough job Samuel was given. I mean he just learned to hear the voice of the Lord and once his ears were tuned, this was the first word God passed to him.

What catches my attention is the response of Eli to this very heavy message. After getting the full download from Samuel Eli says, “it is the Lord.”

I don’t know if you have ever had to deliver a hard word to someone, occasionally the Lord gives me that assignment. It is not one I relish to say the least. So it is with great interest that I have considered Samuel’s manner to glean some help so that even if I have a word of correction or exhortation to deliver it is received as, “it is the Lord.”

Let’s look together at some of the key lessons to learn from Samuel:

Eli was asked – It never pays to get ahead of God. And in these situations all the more so. Wait for the Lord to make the opening, to bring the conversation around or at the very least, give you the green light to proceed. That waiting time is essential as the Lord prepares the heart on the receiving side to accept the message. Let the Lord go first.

This wasn’t the first time Eli had heard about this. (Read chapter 2). I can be confident that the Lord has sent the message ahead of time. If my message is truly “from the Lord”, the news I am sharing is not new information, it will only confirm what the Holy Spirit has already been whispering.

Which brings me to another point… Samuel’s message actually WAS from the Lord. I had better make sure mine is as well. No personal agenda or axe to grind; no personal investment in the outcome, no manipulation. Any of that becomes obvious and is of the flesh. So if I want a word received as from the Lord, it must actually be “from the Lord”.

You see humility in Samuel in vs 15-16 of the story. Hey, he had a word from God for the boss… time to take him down a notch, time to see him squirm – there was none of that at all. When Eli calls him in vs. 16 he says, “Here am I” just as he had said before. There was no air about him, not haughtiness, just the same servant heart he had always possessed. Humility is key. To remind ourselves that, "there but for the grace of God, go I" is always helpful.

The message was not editorialized it was, “just the facts” as officer Friday would say. No editorializing, no extra input, no personal anecdotes, Just the Word of God. Oh man, how important is that. They don’t need our wisdom; they need to hear from God.

Colossians 4.6 says

“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

Paul encourages us in the "how" of what we say; the "what" we we are to say is to be the Word of God.

There are times when we have been asked to speak truth into someone’s life. It isn’t easy; it isn’t always comfortable. But my prayer for you,,, and would you pray for me, that in those times the message would be received as FROM THE LORD.

Can You Hear Me Now? Pt II

2007-11-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

...the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” Then he ran to Eli... I Samuel 3.4-5a

Well I have certainly done that; not recognizing the voice of the Lord.

Young Samuel had no experience with hearing the voice of God, in fact not many did in that day as verse one tells us, “And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.” Verse seven tells us, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.”

There are many things to encourage us and challenge us in this story of God’s first words to a young boy who would become one of Israel’s greatest prophets. You see, God had plans for Samuel, big plans, and He would make sure his ears were tuned properly so he could pick up the messages God would be sending him.

The Lord is sending us messages as well! Have our ears been tuned to His frequency?

The Lord called Samuels’ name and he popped up from where he was lying in the temple near the ark of the Lord. Samuel runs to Eli thinking the old priest had called him. “No, wasn’t me, go lie down”.

Again the Lord calls and he runs to Eli, “wasn’t me”

A third time the Lord calls and he runs to Eli; this time Eli figures out what is going on and tells Samuel the next time you hear the voice say, “speak for your servant is listening”

Well, that might be a clue to ear tuning… hearing and listening are two different things aren’t they. Oh, we might hear the Lord, but are we listening. The Word rendered ‘listening” means to "hear with attention". “The Lord doesn’t speak to me!” Really, or is it that I am not hearing with attention?

A double dipper
When the Lord does speak to Samuel again He says, “Samuel! Samuel!” It’s a double dipper! The other times He called his name only once but here He says it twice.

Here are a couple things to note –
Firstly, the Lord is patient to keep coming, to keep calling, to keep speaking as our ears are in the tuning process. He knows we are weak, sometimes a little dull of hearing, sometimes we are a little slow on the uptake (can you relate) and He is patient with us.

Secondly, if the Lord has something for us to hear, he will make sure we hear it. We don’t need to worry that the Lord will put a call into us and if we don’t pick up He moves on. He will keep coming until He delivers His message.

With one exception
And we already saw it. That is, if I am choosing not to listen, to live my life with my fingers in my ears going la-la-la we could find ourselves in the same place Israel was at at the beginning of this chapter… “And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent”. The Lord was not speaking to his people because they had walked so far away in their rebellion and idol worship. (Remember this is really the continuing story from the end of the book of Judges).

Frequently on the frequency
Samuel was learning to listen; his ears were being tuned to the frequency of God. May we continue to learn to listen as well. Become familiar with the voice of God; come to understand how He speaks to you, how He speaks to me. May we keep a tender heart, a hearing heart, a heart that is “hearing with attention”.

The Lord will keep trying… “can you hear me now?.” He will be faithful, “OK, let me try this way… can you hear me now?”

The LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard
Isaiah 30.30

To and Before

2007-11-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.
I Samuel 3.1

This verse jumped out at me this morning because it reminds me of something I was told just last Thursday.

A brother who has been faithfully serving at the church, was finishing up his work that morning when I caught him and thanked him for his faithful work, told him how much “I appreciated it”.

His response was, “as much as I love you , I don’t do it for you… I do it for the Lord”. I was tickled to hear that. This is absolutely the right heart to have in serving, without a doubt.

Look again at the verse above Samuel was ministering TO the Lord BEFORE Eli. Eli might have been the one around at the time but the ministering was to the Lord.

I can not tell you how important that perspective is when giving of our time, energy or resources. It is so easy to find ourselves in a place where we think people should thank us more than they so, to think we deserve more credit than we receive, to think that I have earned or am owed something as a result of my serving, or I can just simply grow weary in well doing; all of which leads to getting “burned out” with ministry.

Nadab and Abihu we a couple guys who experienced burn out in ministry. Their story is found in Leviticus 10. The setting is the dedication of the tabernacle; a time of great celebration and praise and thanksgiving. As the convocation began these two priests grabbed their firepans and placed fire in them and began to burn incense on them to the Lord. But their offering was “strange fire” and fire came out from the presence of God and consumed them.

Talk about burned out in ministry…

The deal was that fire was to come from one place and one place alone… the altar. So the only place fire was to be taken from was the place of offering, of sacrifice. The altar in OT typology is a picture of the cross.

How does that relate to us today?

Our “fire” for ministry must come from the altar as well, from the cross, from Calvary. Our passion for service must come from a response to the great gift given to us there, from the great love demonstrated there, from the great sacrifice offered there.

The fire comes from the cross.

The cross is to be the single, ever available, source of strength, encouragement for ministry. Any other motive, no matter how noble sounding, is “strange fire” and will lead ultimately to one being “burned out”.

So when this brother said that he did not serve at the church because of me I thought, “here is a guy who gets it”… awesome!

So may we minister to the Lord before people for His glory with a passion and energy that come directly from the altar... the cross of Calvary.

Can You Hear Me Now Pt.1

2007-10-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

That phrase rings a special tone in my heart, please allow me to tell you the story…

I was wrapping up another wonderful trip to the orphanage in Carmen Serdan, BC Mexico. A place that we lived and served at for a couple years about 20 years ago. A place that I have visited often since. It holds a special place in my heart, and always will.

The last morning of this particular trip I took the short walk up the little hill behind the bodega. It is a place that virtually everyone who visits the mission finds themselves at some point.

And I stood there, on this little hill looking over the valley – beautiful, green and the mountains surrounding it. Air was fresh: a little mist still falling.

Roosters crowing and cow mooing; the Ejido was waking up; chicken farm was visible in the distance very bucolic!

(I was treated to a scene you don’t see often… here or anywhere for that matter… a man taking his pig for a morning walk, interesting…)

Many of the landmarks around the mission have been given names over the years by workers from the mission who have explored the area. The locals have their names as well, of course, but that never stopped us from coming up with our own.

One of the named landmarks is Sinai, the highest of the peaks on the other side of the valley.

It had rained the night before and the clouds were still hanging low so that the top of Sinai was covered in clouds.

I could not help but consider the passage I had read just minutes before in the book of Deuteronomy:

The LORD spoke these words with a loud voice to all of you from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me. But when you heard the voice from the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all your tribal leaders came to me. They said, ‘the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen God speaking to humans, and yet we live! But now, why should we die? If the LORD our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire. Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire and yet survive? You go and listen to what the LORD our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.

“The LORD heard your request and said to me, ‘I have heard what the people have said to you, and they are right. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.
Deut. 5.22-29

And I stood there rehearsing the passage over and over in my mind and looking at Sinai covered in “thick darkness” and marveled that the Israelites literally heard the voice of God (don’t know if you realize that – the ten commandment were given first audibly by God). Thunder and lightening accompanying the giving of the law…. Awesome!

Yet, the people of Israel would soon turn their back on the living God and on the law He had given them.

An indisputable demonstration of God’s power and yet the people disregarded it and turned their back.

I stood there a long time and looked at that mountain and pondered these things…

Then I turned around.

And immediately my eyes filled with tears and began to run down my face as I looked at what stands upon the little mountain behind the bodega… It is a 12 foot tall cross.

And I wept as I looked at that cross.

Oh Lord, I prayed, may we never turn our back to the message declared on that mountain. On Mount Calvary! When again in the midst of thunder and lightning and earthquakes you spoke once again.

But this time it was:
· Not of thou shalt not but Father forgive them
· Not of do this, but of IT IS FINISHED
· Not of death, but of life
· Not a message of Law but of GRACE

And the Lord spoke to my heart in the moment… Can you hear me now?

A Trap Set

2007-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

“Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? “No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the LORD’S people circulating. “If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?”
I Samuel 2.23-25

Eli, who was the priest, had two horrible sons, who were also priests, and they were stealing from the people and from the Lord; they were committing fornication in the temple; they were sinning greatly against the Lord.

Eli “confronts” them with the warning above. Now it may seem like he really gets in their face, really lays down the law to them and what he said was certainly true; but as the story continues we get a better idea about the “tone” the real severity of what Eli said… he whimped out!

The Lord, who wont even speak to Eli directly any more, tells him through a “man of God” asks Eli:

Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?

In addition:

This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.

Interesting that though we are not told that Eli participated in the travesty concerning the offerings it says, “…making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel.” Either Eli was also participating in this wickedness, or, and I think this is more likely; he is guilty because of his tolerance and enabling of his two “worthless sons.”

One can go a number of different directions with applications here… I will choose just one.

It is one thing to know the truth, or, to be able to identify unrighteousness; in other words, to know what the Lord says about this or that. It is quite another thing to actually apply that truth to our daily lives.

A Trap Set

One of the traps we can fall into is to think that just because I know the Word or even agree with the Word, that that means I am doing the Word.

Just because our heads are nodding up and down in agreement with what is taught in church on Sunday doesn’t mean I am walking in that truth on Monday.

Eli knew what was right and what was wrong, he knew his boys were out of order, but it ended there, no action (his sons should have been put to death) was taken, so God stepped in.

The Incarnational Word

My prayer for you and me is that the Word would become flesh to us, that it would be lived out in our live; making that transfer from the head to the heart; from the pages of the bible to the actions of my life.

This is when the Word becomes incarnational; it is being allowed to transform my behavior, my thoughts, my desires, my motives.

Will you join with me in saying/in praying when we hear the Word taught… “Lord, I understand the principal, now help me to live it out practically.

Following is a response to one of the Blog entries that was submitted by Chris Stadler. It is along these line coming from a little different perspective but it blessed my heart...and it is true!

From Chris Stadler

2007-10-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

Just something to follow this up: something that's changed the way I handle hearing from the Lord.

It used to be, when I heard a Bible study and was taking notes, I'd write something like "I should see what's possible in faith."Lately, though, I've kinda gotten sick of writing "I should..." Now, I write "I will," or "I can." Then I start thinking about how I will do it.If it's something you know you should do, you may blow it off and say, "Yeah, I really should do that." But if you say, "I will," that's a commitment, and you take it seriously.At least, that's the statement I'm making.

God makes all things possible. We should start believing that. No: We *will* believe that. : )Blessings,Chris

You Can’t Out-Give God

2007-10-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy wearing a linen ephod. And is mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when he would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” And they went to their own home. The LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.

I Samuel 2.18-21

A simple reminder that the Lord will be a debtor to no man. You simply can not out give God.

Could we dare to follow Hannah's example. To give God the firstfruits, her first son; without guarantee of ever having another. There is a depth of faith being demonstrated here most of us know little about personally.

Bob Swan told me a story recently about a young native boy who had just heard a lesson on giving to God from a missionary that had visited his village. A short time later the boy ran up to the missionary with a large fish in his hands that he had obviously just caught. The boy said, "here is my offering, my firstfruits... just like you told us". "But where are the rest of your fish?" the missionary asked. "Oh, I haven't caught them yet...but I will" said the little boy as he ran off back to the fishing hole.

What a heart of faith that is. I will make my offering to God in absolute confidence that he will take care of what comes next according to His promises.

And what promise did He make relative to Hannah's story (or relative to relatives).

How about this one:

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
Mark 10.29-31

Now, you may have some relative you would like to give away... I don't really think that is the idea here :). But we absolutely can trust Him to do far more for us than we can imagine.

How do I know? Because He already has. You see it is not only that God will give back many times over to us for our faithful gifts to him, but he has already given us his very best when He sent His Son Jesus... the greatest Gift, that we might be saved by Him. OUR giving then, becomes a response to what he has already given and He gave it all!

Hannah was given five more children in place of the one she had given to God. Five is the number of grace and grace is what God's gifts are always about.

Meat Hooks

2007-10-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” If the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD.

This is a very disturbing passage to me and, as it turns out, for the Lord as well. These “worthless” sons of the High Priest were ripping off the people; taking the portion of the offering that belonged to them.

And, in a far worse demonstration of greed and selfishness, were taking the portion that belonged to the Lord. The fat, you see was to be burned off, it was the part given to God. Even the people knew that; and protested but it was ignored.

It resulted in people who were confused, frustrated and no longer trusting of the ones who were supposed to be leading them in spiritual things.

As we have been talking about giving last Sunday and this coming Sunday, I am reminded of so many who have mislead and ripped off and cheated the church… pastors and leaders and men of position who have stolen from the people by using the offering for their own agenda, and have, more importantly, stolen from God. As you read further in the chapter you will see what God thinks about this. It is not a pretty picture.

It is hard to blame folks for being skeptical about giving; for being leery of those in authority who are encouraging them to give… I get it.

But is it possible for us to do the same thing? To get our meat hooks into the offering of the Lord, to take what is meant for him and use it ourselves?

In Malachi the Lord says:

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. (3.8)

The greed and selfishness demonstrated by the Sons of Eli can be found in our own hearts as well. Many of us have discovered that as we give away our dough we are also giving away stinginess and self-centered-ness. As we give him the Firstfruits, the fat if you will; we are also placing Him first in our lives in a more global sense.

It pleases the Lord when we give. And as we will see Sunday, He sees HOW we give; and an offering given with the right heart gets the attention of Jesus.

Tend the Nots

2007-10-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. Heb 2.1a

"Apostasy" or "backsliding"; in our text here the writer of Hebrews uses the word “drift”. I like the nautical image he draws upon as he describes the danger of moving away from Christ, from truth, as a boat floating away from the dock.

It happens that way often, just drifting. It is not that we want to backslide to be sure but the affect of the wind and the waves and, as the writer puts it, “neglect” in making sure we are firmly tied off, we seemingly, all of a sudden find ourselves out of reach.

I say "seemingly" because it really isn’t all of a sudden, it takes place over a period of time. But often the realization can come all at once, which I suppose, “better late than never”.

There is a common condition that allows for that “drifting” experience. It comes from having loose “nots”

For instance:

NOT forsaking the assembling of ourselves together
NOT ceasing to give the Lord thanks
NOT “kicking at the Goads” – resisting what the Lord is asking us to do
NOT neglecting to set aside time for daily nourishment of the Word of God

We need to make sure our “nots” are tight. Tend our walk, pay attention to the daily nature of our relationship with Jesus.

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come s one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Proverbs 24.33-34

Why not give the rope a yank just to make sure?

Keep your walk fresh and vibrant, be vigilant, and guard it with all diligence; “unsecured dingy” just isn’t the way I want my life with Jesus described.

Tend the NOTS!

Request with Release Brings Joy

2007-10-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Then Hannah prayed: my heart rejoices in the LORD! Oh, how the LORD has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, as I delight in your deliverance. No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. I Samuel 2.1-2

Hannah had asked God for a son, God gave her a prophet, a man of prayer, an anointer of kings. But Hannah had told the Lord that if God would give her a son, she would give her back… now she has done just that.

May I draw your attention to the fact that though she was undoubtedly happy to receive her promised gift, she is even more full of joy when she released the gift back to God. She is certainly a living example of what Paul says in Acts 20.35; quoting Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Read again her song of thanksgiving, she is enraptured by the goodness of God, by his faith fullness, by his justice, by His salvation, by his ultimate return. In fact, there is only a brief allusion to babies at all in vs. 5, “The barren woman now has seven children”, and she is not even speaking about herself (though she will end up having five more children).

In other words, if you read carefully, the song isn’t about her gift, it is not about her answered prayer, it is a song of thanksgiving concerning the giver.

Her joy came in the release, in the giving away. Boy is that a lesson for us today.

And her joy, her thanksgiving was based on the giver of all good gifts, not on the gift itself.

I think there are some real life lessons there, a real important perspective for us to adopt and grab hold of for our own situation.

Think about your own time in prayer? Can you see the liberty, the joy and the thanksgiving that will come as we make our request and then release the answer into the hands of the Lord? I mean, whatever answer He gives, whenever that answer comes; it does not change who He is, nor how much He care for us, nor His faithfulness.

I wonder, if we could have asked Hannah right at this point in her life, “Hannah, do you now feel more complete, are you more fulfilled as a person now that you have a son. Have the days of “distress” now left you alone?”

I really think she would say, “You know, I found out my “completeness” and “fulfillment” didn’t really have anything to do with having a son or not… he wasn’t the answer; my fulfillment comes from the Lord”, and, “as far as the distress, still have plenty of that, life is full of that, but I know a faithful God and He sees me though”.

David put it this way,

"The Lord is my portion" Psalm 119.57

It is you Lord that I crave, that I need, that I desire:

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count. Psalm 40.5

The Strong Way or the Long Way

2007-10-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

I just want to invite you to read Hannah's song of thanksgiving and praise:

The bows of the mighty are shattered,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
but she who has many children languishes.
The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,
And He set the world on them.

God is so "other" than the world, so unlike what man has designed and devised. Hannah just itemizes them for us; if you are seeking strength, fullness, fruitfulness, life, riches or honor, you will find them in the Lord and in Him only.

Hannah continues:

He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.
I Samuel 2.4-10

I mean, these things are true or they are not; God is indeed The Almighty, or He is not.

"He keeps the feet of His godly ones"
- how comforting and encouraging is that!
"For not by might shall a man prevail"
- I get it, I agree, I have proved that myself!
"Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered"
- so I yield!
"The LORD will judge the ends of the earth"
- I really believe that!

Listen saint...
So I can keep trying it on my own until I finally let go and let God - that is the long way!
Or, I can go in the strength of the Lord, lean on him, depend on him, rely upon Him; that is the strong way...

Hannah’s Song

2007-10-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD, my mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. There is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God. I Samuel 2.1-2

Sound familiar?
Listen to the opening verse of Mary’s song, “The Magnificat”

My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. for He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. Luke 1.46-56

Two women on whose behalf the Lord acted miraculously. In fact, they both experienced miracle babies!

Just a quick thought for this morning:
I believe the Lord wants to birth something new in you too, me as well; a fresh revelation, a new glimpse of Himself. Being betrothed to Jesus is a never ending voyage of discovery.

I have been married to Beckie for over 28 years now, and I tell you, I am more in love with her now than ever. Now, if you know my wife, that would come as no big surprise, but here is the thing; I am still finding out things about her that just makes me love her more and more.

Now if that can be said about relationships with those we love here on earth just think of the possibilities when it comes to the infinite One, the lover of our souls, Jesus Christ.

The Lord desires to reveal himself to us, he is just waiting for us to ask. Jeremiah 33.3 is referred to as Gods telephone number. It says:

Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own. Jeremiah 33.3 (get it? Call me)

The Lord makes the offer over and over to us…

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Luke 11.9-10

I am convinced that the Lord wants us to enjoy the overwhelming joy and wonder that Hannah and Mary experienced, the kind of revelation that makes your heart sing, the awe and amazement that comes from a new vision of Him.

Shake your Tambourine

2007-10-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD I Samuel 1.19

What a wonderful example we have here.

Hannah had been praying for a son for who knows how long and now, there in the temple Eli the priest tells her, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.”

The next morning she and her husband leave for home rejoicing.

Why is that significant? Because she had a little boy now cradled in her arm, no; because she had conceived and was now pregnant finally, no. She was rejoicing because she had hope in a promise of a child that would soon come. She rejoiced simply because of the promise.

That is really a key to life. To be able to rejoice not in what we have already received, but in the hope of what he has promised to deliver. And let us not limit that to our heavenly home coming, this is a daily appropriation. The lord has given me promise after promise concerning daily life… the Word is full of them. Am I rejoicing because I believe He will do that which He has promised? This is a transforming adjustment in life.

Now, listen to this…

It doesn’t matter if I believe he will do it or not. He is faithful even when I am faithless (II Timothy 2.13), why, because, “He cannot deny Himself”. That means, He promised it so He will keep His promise, His reputation rests on His faithfulness, not on mine. That is good news!

So what does that mean? It means He is going to do what He said He is going to do even if I don’t believe it. So a day will come, when I will see Him come through, when He will do the things He said He would do and I will rejoice!

But…

If that is the first time I rejoice I will have robed myself of days, weeks, months, even years of worship and praise and anticipation as I waited for the, guaranteed to come, fulfillment of the promise.

God told Moses to take the people across the Red Sea, the people were freaking out, rebelling against Moses, full of fear and sure they would die. But sure enough, wouldn’t you know it, the sea parted miraculously and the people went across on dry land just as God said they would.

When they reached the other shore they got out the musical instruments and began to sing and dance,

“Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them, “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”

But you see, here’s the deal, they could have shaken their tambourine on this side of the sea, when the promise and provision was given. They could have spared themselves all the fear and trembling and murmuring if they had only rejoiced in the promise of God. Oh they were going through one way or the other but the rejoicing in the promise would have led to a transformation in their hearts.

Hannah was one who experienced that kind of transformation, you could be one too!

For Peace, Pray

2007-10-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

“I have poured out my soul before the lord”…“Go in peace”…
“She went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad”… I Samuel 1.15-18

Lets just walk through this moment with Hannah, it may sound familiar to your own experience at some time.

First we see her deep in prayer her spirit oppressed which means hard pressed, severe; it is a picture of a woman who is at her end.

She then says to Eli the priest, “I have poured my soul” She has held nothing back, she has laid it all out on the table before the Lord. She goes on to tell Eli she is just very sad, very heartbroken over her situation.

David says this in Psalm 62.7-8
On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

In those times when our hearts are heavy, hard-pressed go ahead and let God know, He can handle it. If you can’t tell him where else can we go to, He is our refuge!

Eli tells her, “Go in peace”. This connection between prayer and peace is clearly seen in Philippians 4.6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Then Hannah does something that is important, she “went her way”. It is one thing to pour out our heart before the Lord, its another to get a mop out afterwards and pick it all back up and carry it home in a bucket.

Peter encourages us to “(Cast) all your care upon him; for He cares for you.” But our cares are not to be attached to a bungee cord. Cast them… and let them go. If they come back, and they may, cast them again (the word “cast” means "keep on casting").

Should we ever doubt about the ability or the desire of the Lord to tend our deepest needs we need look no further than the nail-scarred hands in which we place our cares.

Should we ever be concerned about his heart toward us when we pour out our heart to Him remember what Isaiah said:

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53.12

And the peace comes form entrusting our lives to the Prince of Peace, the one who loved you so much, He willingly laid His life down so you could live. I think it is save to assume that He continues to care about that life of your that He has saved.

Go in Peace!

Snap judgments, bad idea

2007-10-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

So Eli thought she was drunk. I Samuel 1.13b

The story goes like this:

Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. “Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”

That is quite a conclusion to jump to! How a praying woman could look like a drunken woman, I don’t know? Perhaps, considering the state of the nation, it was as normal to see someone drunk in the temple as it was abnormal to see someone praying there.

Whichever the case it was a quickly compiled conclusion and a harshly delivered judgment that Eli pronounced on Hannah. But he had assumed the worst about Hannah and he was wrong.

I can be to! The Bible teaches, and Jesus certainly models that we are to think the best of each other. And even if there are flaws and shortcomings, and who doesn’t have those; we are to focus on the good… assume the best.

Philippians gives us such instruction in 1.10

“approve the things that are excellent” and in 4.8 “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Dwell on “these things”. It is not that the flaws don’t exist, we are just focus on other parts.

I am challenged by this story to be careful about coming to conclusions about people by the way they look or act or “seem”. There is always much more going on in them and in their lives than what is apparent on the surface.

What I do know is that the One who did know exactly where people were and who could have judged people perfectly, did not. I think of Jesus with the woman at the well, or the woman caught in adultery. Jesus was “a friend of publicans and sinners.”

Lord help us to give people the benefit of the doubt, help us to "believe all things" about one another, that is what love does.

A Mothers’ Gift, a Mothers’ Love

2007-10-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

…then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” I Samuel 1.11b

It is phenomenal really, if a person takes a minute to really allow what Hannah did to sink in; that a mother could give away her child, her first child at that, a miracle baby to boot. Abraham is honored for his great act of obedience and faith in offering Isaac, as well he should; is this any less an act of faith, of devotion, a sacrifice on par with what took place on Mount Moriah?

Samuel was a gift from God to Hannah, given back to God by Hannah.

There will not be many of us, if any who will be asked to make such a sacrifice, but I believe each parent is asked to make the offering; to truly give our children to God, dedicating them individually to the Lord for His purposes. We entrust them into the hands of their heavenly Father, acknowledging that we are mere stewards of these precious treasures.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127.3-5

Samuel had a specific purpose

God had a design for Samuels life; we can read it in I Samuel. Hannah had a part to play too in preparing him for what lay ahead. We are told that Hannah made a vow to hold Samuel to the standards of the Nazarite vow. The vow had three elements generally: No touching anything dead, no eating or drinking anything from the vine, no cutting of the hair.

Samuel was obviously too young at the beginning to know what that meant or to be disciplined to keep the vow, it would be up to her parents to assure this. This is a real key element of parenting; God has a plan for your child, you have dedicated him to the Lord, but your little guy or darling can’t process that, this is where you come in mom and dad.

It is our privilege as parents to teach and instruct our children and keep them from evil. It is our job to encourage them in the direction of God, to model godliness before them, to be sure that at the earliest age they are learning the stories, hearing of God’s love, beginning to assimilate the truth’s of the Word of God.

Hannah couldn’t take Samuel the whole way

In her case, once he was weaned Samuel was turned over to Eli at Shiloh. We will have to turn our kids over too; we can’t take them all the way, they have to come to faith on their own. But Hannah had a lot to say about whether on the day of the transfer Samuel had been brought as far as he could be. So do we.

We can’t do it all as parents, sometimes it seems like we can barely accomplish the minimum. But may I encourage you to keep up the fight, don’t give up! The Lord is there every step of the way. And, by the way, he cares for and loves your children even more than you do.

May that reality give us all confidence to place our children in His tender care.

A Double Portion

2007-10-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah
I Samuel 1.4-5a

Isaiah 61

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, and foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; and I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the LORD has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

We too have been robed as a bride; we have been seated at His banquet table to feast with him with great joy.

Ephesians 1.3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

John 10.10 says, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (TMSG)

That sounds like a double portion to me. A blessed, purpose filled, abundant life now and eternal life with our Lord then.

This is what our bridegroom has placed before us.

When I pray, why the delay? Pt. II

2007-10-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the LORD.” I Samuel 1.20

Why the delay indeed!

Lets look at the story working backwards.

The story of I Samuel follows right on the heels of one of the darkest periods in Israel’s history. The time of the Judges was at an end; the people, we are told, “did what was right in their own sight”.

God was about to change things. The nation was soon going to be asking for a king. God would begin to speak through the prophets giving direction and counsel and, at times, outright commands to these kings.

Israel’s first king would be a man by the name of Saul and the prophet that the Lord would use to speak into his life was about to become the answer to a humble woman’s prayer.

What I want you to consider is that there was a huge plan in motion, plans that would affect a nation. It was a significant turning point in the history of God’s chosen people.

Samuel was at the center of it all.

Samuel would anoint Israel’s first king. Not long after he would remove the scepter from his hand and place it in the hands of a shepherd boy with a sling.

Samuel whom the Psalmist and the great prophet Jeremiah would both esteem alongside of Moses.
Samuel, a man of prayer and passion and vision who stood in stark contrast to a compromising generation.
That… is the boy the Lord was planning on sending. The one whose name means “asked of God”

So now back to Hannah.

For so long she longed for a child, year after year she yearned but no answer came. “Did I do something wrong Lord?”, “am I out of favor?”, “have I missed the blessing?”, “Is it that God doesn’t answer the prayers of a person like me?”, “how long Lord will You be silent, don’t You care?”

But, you see, it had nothing to do with any of that! God’s plan was in motion and the time would soon be right. What must have seemed like forever to Hannah was right on time to God.

AND…

Though Hannah in her simplicity and humility was simply asking for a son, the Lord had far more in mind for her. A son Hannah? I am going to give you Samuel… Samuel Hannah! A mighty man, an anointer of kings, a spokesman for the Almighty. Oh Hannah, not just any little boy but a special one.

Why does God delay at times?

Did you notince in our verse above that is says, "in due time"? Could it be that His plan and our part in it that plan have not yet intersected? When it is time for God’s plan to unfold nothing… nothing can stop it from taking place.

Could it be that the Lord wants to do far more than we are asking for? He loves us too much to allow us to settle for less than His best. And sometimes the best means we will have to wait a little longer.

When I pray, why the delay? Pt. I

2007-10-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” I Samuel 1.11

Hannah was a woman in need, a woman who had a barren womb, how she longed for a child.

Not only was there a cultural stigma attached to a childless woman but she was hearing it in her own home. Peninnah, the other wife of Hannah’s husband Elkanah, was making life miserable for Hannah as she “provoked her bitterly to irritate her”.

I think it is safe to assume that Hannah had prayed many times over many years that the Lord would grant her the desire of her heart and give her a child.

Her prayer was about to be answered, but why now, why after so long is this the day the Lord answers?

Vs 11 is the prayer that got answered. Was there something different in it than in previous prayers? Well, we can’t say for certain if it was different but we can see some distinctions:

Once she had received the gift, she would give it back
She made a commitment to dedicate her new son, from birth, to the service of the Lord (Nazarite vow)

Whatever you ask in My name

Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do”; the “in My name” means “according to my will”. You see prayer isn’t only about God filing out my grocery list; it is about moving my heart into alignment with His purposes.

Have you ever noticed that as you tarry in prayer over days or weeks… even months or longer, that your prayer has a way of changing over time. This is the work of the Holy Spirit directing our prayers (Romans 8.26-27) until they are in alignment with His perfect plan.

Is it possible that what made this prayer of Hannah’s different than the ones before? Was this the time she was finally at the place the Lord wanted her to be in order to receive the answer she so desperately sought.

Do you have a long longed for request that remains unanswered?

May I suggest you ask the Lord to reveal His heart to you, His desire, ask Him to search out your motives; see if it might be possible that you are not yet truly centered in His will.

And watch and see what will happen when we truly pray, "in His name."

Good Brothers, Good Time!

2007-10-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren (or sisteren - my addition) to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133.1

We just had our Friday morning S.T.A.N.D. study and man was it a great time.

Just a few guys getting together to share what the Lord has shown them in the word. "Tag-teaming" off of one anothers' observations, making applications from our own lives; it was rich.

There really is no substitute for fellowship. It is imperative that we get together, on Sundays and Wednesday night for sure... but anytime, as often as possible to just speak with one another about the Lord.

There is a really cool verse in Malchi that says:

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. Mal 3.16 (ever notice how many great verses are "3.16's"... but that is for another time)

He gave attention, or paid attention... "quiet, my kids are talking", he heard it, and he wrote it down. In my minds eye I can see the Lord with a writing tablet... "oh. that was a good one, man that's great, way to go Bob, good application Rob", just thrilled with what He is seeing and hearing.

Do you have a friend or two that you get with during the week, do you take time with your spouse in the Word, do you make an effort to spend time in the week with a brother or sister and just talk about the Lord.

I can't encourage you enough to find a partner or two, or join one of the small groups that are meeting almost every day somewhere, it will bless your heart.

And, oh by the way, He is listening, it blesses the Lord's heart too.

God Has Set Things Right

2007-10-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and (the Gentiles) in this.

Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.

And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.

Romans 3.21-30

Website is on the way

2007-09-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Our new website is actually in the works. You can check it out at lawrencestreet.org.

It isn't all working yet but parts of it are... take a look.

Preparing for the Day of Distress

2007-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited.
If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. Proverbs 24.10 (NASB/TMSG)

Oh, I am not trying to be a pessimist, but life does happen; "in this world you will have tribulation", right?

And it can come at us fast too. A phone call, a doctor visit, a meeting with the boss and what was a moment ago relative calm immediately becomes a very distressful situation.

Is there a way to prepare for the unexpected? I believe there is and we are given a couple examples in Scripture.

The first is of Abraham in Genesis 14

There was a war taking place in the area near where Abe lived. Five kings of the Canaanites went to war against another group of four kings that were nearby. Well the four kings won and one of the cities they earned as a prize was Sodom.

Well it happened that Lot, Abe's nephew was living in Sodom at the time so... Abraham "led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit..." Gen 14.14

Its that word trained that catches the attention. These were his everyday household helpers, his shepherds, his cooks, etc: but when the call came to armor up and go to battle the men were prepared both in arms and in deployment.

Abraham made sure that he was prepared lest a day came that would require him to go to war.

The second lesson is Jesus in Luke 17

Jesus was coming down from the mount of transfiguration when he encountered quite a comotion. A father had brought his demonized son to Jesus to be healed but with Jesus gone, the disciples tried, to no avail, to deliver the young boy from his condition.

Jesus, always prepared, dismisses the evil spirit with word. What He says to the disciples is the noteworhy part as fas as it relates to our discussion.

In Verse 21 it says, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting". Now that instruction on the part of Jesus only makes sense if He is talking about a discipline of prayer and fasting. In other words the work done here and now was made possible by care taken earlier.

Hit the weights

You could use the illustration of an athletic event requiring practice ahead of time, time in the weight room, etc. Or, as Lynn and Ruben did earlier this summer; spent months running steps at Hayward field so they would be ready when the day came to climb Sisters.

Am I preparing, bulking up, building up, training myself, for the day of distress? Am I being nourished on the Word? Getting the needed rest in the Lord? Being made aware of the "wiles" of the opponent? Being encouraged by God's promises? Exercising my faith so it is strengthened?

Today is the day to prepared for that day!

For Annie, Justin and Jeffery

2007-08-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Remember my affliction and my wandering
The wormwood and bitterness.

Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3.19-26

His Workmanship (Eph 2.10)

2007-08-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

The potters: with hands and wheel
The painter: his brush, his canvas, his palette
The architect: with pencil, and steel
The sculptor his stone, his chisel, his mallet

The poet with meter and rhyme
The composer: his verse, his staff, his chord
The weaver: with loom and time
The craftsman: his plane, his saw, his board

Before the work begins;
Seeing the end from the start
Each stroke, each note building on another
Each an expression of his heart

With precision and tireless care
He makes something out of nil
A marvel is in the making
A work that represents the Masters’ will

We are that work in progress
A masterpiece not quite finished
But the One who envisioned the whole
Will not allow the work to diminish

A day will come
When hammer will no longer be heard
When the loom will stand quiet;
When He’s written the last word
A day when the portrait is complete;
No more need for the pen
A time when the wheel will stop turning,
But until then…

Day by day, from glory to greater glory
His masterpiece in mind
Conformed into His image
Until the day we are two-of-a-kind

Hebrews 10.35-39 (TMSG)

2007-08-21T10:17:00.001-07:00

Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.

It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.

But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

But Who Do You Say That I Am

2007-08-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was approached after service on Sunday buy a gal who had some questions regarding the conversations she often found herself in with her parents. She was sharing that many of her visits end up in debates about politics, the President, the war and God’s role in all of it. She was expressing her general frustration and her concern that her responses to her parents were Biblical.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate her concern; may we all be committed to speak in a way that represents the true heart of our Lord.

The bottom line was that she was convinced that the conversations were really fruitless and that the debates were really, mostly, for the sake of the debate. That is so often the case particularly when we join conversations that pick at the periphery of the issue of Jesus Christ.

My suggestion to her was to bring the conversation directly to the issue of who Jesus was and is.

This brings me to our text:

In looking ahead to what the Lord may have me speak about on Sunday I came to this classic passage in Mark 8.27-29:

Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

That is the real question isn’t it? It must come down to the person of Jesus Christ; who He is, what He did, what He said, what He meant, what He promised. And until the question of who Jesus is is answered, all the other questions are really irrelevant aren’t they.

In fact, all the other question just get in the way. All the other questions can be a barrier to getting to the real heart of the issue.

Paul says in II Timothy: 2.14-16

...charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers... avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness...

Keep the main thing the main thing. Keep the conversations on Jesus.

Musings from Church and University

2007-08-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

You will see a link to the left called "Musings from Church and University" which is written by a brother at LSC.

He is a gifted writer and thinker and I believe you will be blessed to check out his entries when you get a chance.

May the Lord bless your day.

I See Men as Trees

2007-08-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. Mark 8.22-25

This is a unique event in the ministry of Christ, for a couple reasons:

Dont try this at home

First, He spit in his eye; man, that always cracks me up! The Lord used so many different methods for healing and that is a good thing. With the tendency we have to try to make a system, to find the magic formula, we would have ended up with “Spit in Your Eye Ministries International Incorporated”.

Seeing Men as Trees

Secondly, that the person touched with the healing power of the Great Physician was not immediately and completely healed. Now I do not know why it happened this way, but I am glad it did because it reminds of a few things:

That I can see people as trees as well. I can “chop” others down with my “cutting” words; I can “needle” others; if they offend me I often ignore them, you know, “leaf” them alone: I can find myself “barking at them”, well you get the idea.

This man saw people through still hazy sight, they were out of focus, what he needed was to be able to see men like Jesus saw them… clearly.

How will we begin to see others as Jesus does, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Christ with love, to look on the lost with a burden for their souls, to look on the needy with hearts of compassion, to look on your spouse as a “fellow heir of the grace of life”, to look on your children as gifts from God?

A second touch

Often it takes a fresh touch, a second touch from Jesus, just to refresh how we look at others.

It is terribly easy to get cynical and bored and impatient and frustrated with those we are around the most.

Perhaps today would be a good day to get a second touch from the Lord that we might see others as he does.

Up to Our Necks

2007-08-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. Ezekiel 47.1

In Ezekiel’s vision there is a torrent of water that flows from the temple, past the altar and it becomes a river. In fact it is a river that gets deeper and deeper and the prophet goes. It first reaches just to his ankles, then to the knees, then to the loins, then it was up to his neck, deep enough to swim in.

I long for a deeper walk with Jesus; I hope that you do as well. I long for a deeper work of the Holy Spirit in my life, that ultimately I would be covered, overwhelmed, filled with His fruit, His gifts, and His presence.

But notice the path of the river; it flows from it source, pass the altar. The altar in scripture speaks of the cross. If I am going to experience the deepest work of God in my life, I must first go there. You can not get to Pentecost before first coming to Calvary. Death comes first, an emptying of my vessel before it can be filled. First the Cross, then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord will not anoint the flesh with power.

Jesus alludes to this same picture when speaking of the Holy Spirit:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7.37-38

I am beginning to get my mind around the direction of the flow here. The river will flow out of us, the torrent gushes away from us. What does this tell me? It tells me that the work of the Holy Spirit in my life is to be used for the benefit, the refreshing, the quenching and ministry to others. The work of the Spirit in my life is designed really to flow from my life.

Oh Lord fill us afresh with the work of your Spirit. If there is in us any area that has not yet been laid upon the altar, not yet crucified, reveal if to us Lord that we might go deeper.

Isaiah 25.1

2007-08-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You,
I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

Isaiah 12

2007-08-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O LORD;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the LORD GOD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”

Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.

And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.

Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

I Double-Dog Dare You

2007-08-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

You know how it goes, the first person says, “I dare you to eat it all”
Second person, “I don’t know…”
“I double dare you”, says the first, ratcheting up the intensity.
“Man, that’s a lot, I don’t know if I can”
Then the gauntlet is laid down with a final taunt, “I double-dog dare ya”

It reminds me of my childhood and the playful challenges of one friend to another.

You might not realize that there are dares in the Bible, several of them as a matter of fact.

From I Samuel 17 it was King Saul who “will enrich the man who kills (Goliath) with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” (His daughter, as it turns out was not much of a prize, but that is for another day). It was a young shepherd boy by the name of David who answered the challenge to face the giant.

In I Chron 11 King David is heard making his own dare when he says “whoever strikes the Jebusites first will be my commander”, and it was Joab who took up the challenge

Again, in Joshua 15 it is Caleb, the man of faith, who said, ““The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” And it was Othniel who answered the dare.

One more to consider is in Malachi 3.10 where it is the Lord himself who says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this”, I dare you to give as I have instructed you to.

The application I want to suggest is this.

There are many in the body of Christ who, though wanting to be used will wait for an invitation.

But there are others who, when seeing an opportunity, will just go for it. Like Joab, they will find a way in, like David they seize the opportunity, like Othniel they will go for the prize; and, even as Malachi 3.10 challenges the reader, they just act in obedience according to God’s Word.

May I encourage you… don’t wait for an invitation.

Listen if the Lord has put something on your heart, if the Lord has asked you to get involved, if the Lord has given you gifts - the time to use them is now. We can’t allow something like “no one asked me” to get in the way of fulfilling God’s calling on our life.

We have to go for it.

When is the last time you took up a dare, accepted a challenge; when was the last time you said to the Lord like Isaiah did, “Here am I Lord, send me”.

Even within the ministry right here at LSC there are so many ways to get involved, take a chance, go for it, don’t wait around to be asked, use your gifts, find a way in… I double-dog dare you!

YOU STINK!

2007-07-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life... II Cor 2.14-16

… But you stink good, “a sweet aroma”! (had you going there for a minute, didn’t I)

We are the fragrance of Christ: it is another way to describe our influence or touch or presence in the world.

I always think of elk hunters when I read this passage. If you have ever gone hunting for elk or know someone who has, you know that elk are pretty wily prey. In order to have success in bagging that trophy bull a hunter has to make some preparations.

See, the problem is, he smells to, how can I say this… human. And to the sensitive nose of an elk, he smells like death. In addition, he looks out of place in the great outdoors.

The serious elk hunter will go to extreme measures in order to counter this aroma of death.

For starters they will not bathe with soap, shampoo or any other scented cleaning products; this will make them smell, well …“gamey”.

He will wear camouflaged clothing; will sometimes paint his face to camouflage it as well and will stick branches in his hat or leaves or whatever, anything that will help.

To top it off, some of them even apply scent that makes them smell like, well, lets just say, disgusting. Ha!

All this is done to make them blend in with hopes of bagging the big one.

The aroma of Christ

Unfortunately at times we do the same thing. Not wanting to stick out, to be offensive, we will try our best to blend in, sometimes going to great lengths to do so, even if it means we get a little “gamey”.

The Bible teaches that WE ARE light, WE ARE salt, WE ARE the aroma of Christ; what that means is that unless I intentionally try to conceal my new life in Christ I will by default illuminate, I will flavor, I will have the fragrance of Christ.

But in Matthew Jesus tells us:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5.16

Did you notice He didn’t say make your light shine, just let it shine. Don’t hide it.

Perhaps for some of us it is time to wipe of the face paint and put of the clothing (Col 3.9-10), Take a cleansing shower in the water of the Word and go stand “on a hill”.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine –

Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine

Trusting God

2007-07-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

A little follow up to the message on Sunday.

This idea of trusting God, not for a specific outcome, but just trusting Him… with my life, has a profound affect on my outlook on life.

It removes time expectations –
The concern of being “early” or “late” is taken out of the way because it is His schedule we are working off of and I really don’t know when He will act, if ever.

It removes expectations for specific results –
I may have some idea of what I would like to see happen, but “Father (really does) know best”. I am so glad He has not answered all my prayers in the affirmative. What if the Lord actually allowed me to marry that gal I prayed about in eighth grade… YIKES!

It removes disappointment –
Because I am not certain what He is going to do or when He is going to act, or, even if He is going to act, there is no disappointment. Disappointment comes from expectations that are not met and since the only expectation I have is that He will do what’s best, there will never be any disappointment.

This expectation that He will always do what’s best is called TRUST.

This opens the door for some other graces we are told about. For instance:

Peace that passes understanding –
Think of Steven’s countenance as he was stoned, that was a man who had left the results up to God. Or, better yet, Jesus; from the garden arrest to the trials and abuse and crucifixion He is the picture of perfect peace. Why? Because he had surrendered himself to the Father as He sweat great drops of blood.

Paul said, “I have learned to be content (Phil 4.11)
I believe it came from lessons he learned previously and passed along to the church in Galatia a decade earlier:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Gal 2.20)

That is a life of trust… “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God”

It is a sublte difference to make the leap from “I am am trusting God to ______(fill in the blank)”, to simply, “I trust God”

May the Lord help us to keep it just that simple and let Him take care of the big stuff.

Perseverance

2007-07-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Revelation over the past few days and something struck me as I read again the messages to the churches.

These were literal bodies of believers john is writing to and as he writes to them about where they are, it resonates through the centuries to our church today. And because I am “the church” as well, there is an application in each message for me on a personal level.

The word that popped up was “perseverance” or “patience" in the KJV; it is found in 2.2, 2.3. The word means cheerful or hopeful endurance, patience or waiting… hopeful hanging in there.

Here is the text: (Jesus speaking)

"I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary."

Now perseverance is a commendable characteristic, good ‘ol stick-to-it-iveness. And some of us are real pit bulls when it comes to seeing something through to the finish line.

Jesus is commending the church of Ephesus for their ability to hopefully endure. That is not, "I hope we endure" but rather to endure with hope. Yet there is still more tothe message.

It was vs. 4 that grabbed me: (Jesus still speaking)

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

It was the "but" that got me thinking. Perseverance IS commendable, but not at the expense of our love for Jesus.

Is it possible that while my head is down persevering, hanging in there, sticking it out; that I can loose sight of the One for whom I am persevering; that I can lose perspective while persevering?

It seems the Church of Ephesus did just that.

May nothing separate us from loving Christ; no activity, no ministry. Trials and difficulties can do that, so can abundance or smooth sailing.

May we guard our hearts and minds from being cluttered or overrun with stuff to the point that we loose sight of Jesus.

Seems like the church at Ephesus had its head down and their focus might have become only the grinding wheel they were pushing. Seems to me taht is if can at those times of just digging in, also look up; it will make the process endurable, enjoyable even an act of worship.

May we ever look up even when we are hopefully enduring and patiently waiting.

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Our Provider

2007-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

Good evening saint, yes you. Isn’t that amazing… Saint Rob, Saint Julie, Saint Scott. Sounds funny but it is true!

I need to share something important with you.

Something we all need to be aware of so we can all pray.

Each year about this time we experience a real drop in tithes. Attribute it to summer, or vacations or whatever; it is something that happens every year.

This year the drop has come earlier and is more severe than in years past and is something that we need to take to the Lord to seek wisdom about how to proceed.

The shortage is not as a result of bad stewardship or overspending or mismanagement of the resources we have been entrusted with, (I guess you have to take our word on that), it is due to the more than 40% drop in giving from April to May which has stayed at that level now into June.

What do we do Lord when the ends don’t meet? Maybe you have had that come up in your home at some point. Well in our case it is pretty difficult to “float” the bills much and we would never “put it on the card” so we are left with seeking the Lord (what a novel idea, eh?)

Your leadership and I, and what a truly great bunch of men you have serving you by the way; are praying about what these things mean, and more importantly, what the Lord would have us do.

It may be that the Lord says,

STOP - “(1) Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”, or, “(2) Be still, and know that I am God”, for us to act when the Lord is directing “wait” would be to get ahead of God. And we do know, “(3) those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

Waiting can get very uncomfortable at times! The Lord's timing is perfect and is perfectly planned to bring about His desired result. In human terms, my "logic" will begin to scream for a solution when it seems nonsensical to do nothing. But waiting is far from "nothing" it is a work! If the Lord directs wait, we had better wait.

GO – If the Lord is saying go and we are still standing still, that is not a good thing either, “(4) Son, go work to day in my vineyard.” We are not simply willing to do as the Lord leads, nor even desirous to do as the Lord tells us; we are desperate to be squarely in the center of His will. When we say this is His church, we mean that with all our heart.

God said to Moses, “(5) My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said in reply, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here..." If we are going we can only doso with the Lord.

So may the Lord give us “(6) ears to hear what the Spirit would say to the church."

CHANGE DIRECTIONS – God may be bringing about a change of some sort. If so we need to be responsive to his still-small-voice.

He said in Isaiah, “(9) thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” I pray like Samuel He would tune our hearing(7), that like Solomon He would give us a hearing heart(8)

He always leads us to victory

What I do know is that, “(10) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ” The Lord is always bringing about the very best for His children. He is not leading us to defeat, He is leading us to triumph, to victory!

One more passage I want to draw your attention to is in II Chronicle's 20

Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court, and he said, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power
and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. “Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? “They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, ‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’ “Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

All Judah was standing before the LORD, with their infants, their wives and their children.

Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel… and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Did you catch that at the end of the second paragraph… “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

This is where we are at folks. We cant make it happen, we cant maneuver things to cover the shortfall, we are not seeking a man-made solution to the situation… we can’t, we have no strength, no power; we lack the ability.

So we look to God

So we seek the Lord and wait for His answer. Please keep our finances in your prayers. Perhaps the Lord would direct you to fast over it, which would be great.

But there is no question, this is not optional, we must see the hand of the Lord move in this area of our ministry.

1. Exodus 14.13
2. Psalm 46.10
3. Isaiah 40.31
4. Matthew 21.28
5. Exodus 33.14-15
6. Rev 3.13
7. I Samuel 3.1-10
8. I Kings 3.10
9. Isaiah 30.21
10. II Corinthians 2.14

LOVED OF THE LORD PT.3

2007-06-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

A final installment on the subject of love.

Take a look at this text; a prayer from Paul the Apostle. It is most intriguing and thought provoking.

…I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3.14-19

Let me walk through it with you…

He prays that we would be
· Strengthened
· With power
· From the Holy Spirit
· In the inner man

Why?
· So that Christ would dwell in our hearts, and
· That we being rooted (strengthened or stabilized by roots)
· and grounded (a solid foundation, to establish)
· On what?
· On AGAPE, on God’s love

And from that place of being stabilized and established on Gods AGAPE love
· That we would be able to comprehend the AGAPE of God
· Its breadth
· It’s length
· It’s height and
· It’s depth
· To know the AGAPE of Christ

Which, according to Vs 19, surpasses knowledge, it is unknowable

So what is Paul saying?
He is saying that through the power of the Holy Spirit
And while being rooted deeply and standing firm on the foundation of God’s love, I must take time, take advantage of the invitation to explore the vastness of God’s love, in every dimension, in every direction.

But as our present day astronomers are finding out, the more they discover, the more they discover there is to discover. The universe, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going and going... God’s love is unknowable ultimately, it’s just to big.

But by the Holy Spirit we have been given the opportunity to grow in our understanding of it. And as I do, as you do, as we do we are being filled with (lit. being constantly crammed with) the fullness of God.

God is love.

So as we discover this unbridled, unfathomable, unconditional love of God, we are in fact coming to know the nature of God and our own souls are being filled with His fullness, with His nature. For God is love.

Paul ends I Corinthians 13 by saying,

“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three;

but the greatest of these is love.”

These three great graces abide into eternity, but the greatest of them all is love. In the end, whether in ministry, in family, in friendships, in trials, in victory; it is love that endures.

Oh precious saint-
May the Lord fill us with the knowledge of His great love.
May we encounter that love, experience that love, express that love.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.

LOVED OF THE LORD Pt.2

2007-06-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

(I Love hearing from you, thanks for your comments)

JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW

That I love the Lord is no surprise, nothing amazing, no great feat… how can I but love him in light of who He is and what He has done.

The amazing, mind blowing, difficult to fully grasp part is that He loves me. In spite of my sin and my fickleness and my faithlessness and failing He truly loves me. Now that is a great mystery.

Pause for a minute and think about that today. What is there about me that a perfect God would find lovable. I bring nothing into the relationship with God… least-wise not anything good. It’s all Him.

IT IS GOD'S LOVE

His love is unique, it is divine, it is the unconditional AGAPE love of God. It is unlike anything we can imagine or originate in our human-ness. It is neither the love you have for your spouse, nor the love you have for your children (or grandchildren) as intense as that love may be. God’s love is wholly, and holy, different.

It is God’s love.

IT IS THE SPIRITS' FRUIT

Yet by His Spirit we have been given the capacity to love like God does:

...but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh and patience; patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5.3-5

The Love of God is the fruit of the Spirit according to Galatians 5.22.

Here again is something to ponder; fruit is naturally produced by a healthy plant. It is not something to strive for or worked for it comes naturally in a well rooted, well watered, well weeded, regularly pruned plant. The idea of a strawberry plant straining to make a strawberry… working really hard at it, makes for a ridiculous mental picture. So does our trying to manufacture AGAPE love.

The love we are talking about is not the emotional, Hallmark card, smaltzy affection we so often think of. This love is sacrificial, active, and involved; and it is described in I Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

But even this passage has been “Hallmark-ed” and when we do so we rob the passage of it’s power.

IT IS POWER

"The Power of Love" is not just an old Huey Lewis song... it's true!

Just prior to the definition given in Vss 4-8 Paul tells us something that is radical check it out:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Without love, the most eloquent words are transformed into annoying clatter. Love is the power of speech, of teaching.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

One might have the greatest gifts in the world but they evaporate, become nothing without love.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

All service, all ministry, all giving; if done without love profits me nothing, it is with the wrong motive. I might as well stay home.

I will leave you with these things to ponder along with me.

Such power! Love is a force.

Oh Lord, fill us with THAT today!

LOVED OF THE LORD Pt. 1

2007-06-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,

Sorry I haven’t made a post for a while. There aren’t as many Internet café’s as you might expect in the middle of nowhere.

After leaving the conference in So Cal. I headed east through Arizona and New Mexico as I made my way to Cheyenne to see Chloe Elizabeth, our new grand-daughter. She is beautiful, such a huge blessing, Beckie is in 7th heaven.

But the Lord used that solitary time on the road to reveal some thing’s to me regarding my own heart. The open road and the wide open spaces, for me, serve to kind of blow out the cobwebs. That may sound a little hokie, but if you are at all a “road warrior” you may be able to relate.

LOVED OF THE LORD

One thing I did want to share with you was a passage from
II Samuel 12.24-25:
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the LORD’S sake

His parents named him Solomon which means peace. This proved prophetic as Solomon’s reign was one of peace from end to end. In fact, it is a picture of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ himself; when the lion will lay down with the lamb.

But as wonderful as that name was, God instructed Nathan the prophet to give him another name, a God-given name… Jedidiah, which means LOVED OF THE LORD. And Vs 24 says, “Now the Lord loved him…”

It was that phrase that really struck me. I was kind of jealous of the special place Solomon had in the Lord’s heart. In the context of the stories of I-II Samuel, I-II Kings, etc., that statement really IS unique. It is not even said of King David himself!

How blessed would be the life of one loved by God, what advantage he/she would have over others who did not have that special grace bestowed upon them; what a wonder that the Lord would possess that kind of heart toward any sinful man let alone express it.

And here is the part that is hard really to grasp completely… He loves you and me as well. We are Jedidiah’s as well! We are in that special place of unique blessing because we are the children of the “greater than David”.

Let me end this post by directing you to the first fourteen verses of Ephesians 1. There you will find that God chose you and adopted you and greatly favored you and “lavished” on you his great grace! You have to check it out once again…

We are loved by God! What advantage that gives me in life.

Well more to come on this topic of love in the next couple days.

I miss you all, look forward to seeing you more than you can imagine; but my journey is only about 1/3 done and I am very excited to see what else the Lord has in store.

Pray for me as I am certainly praying for you.

CC Pastors Conference

2007-06-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

The annual meeting, the national "convention", the one time a year for the pastor's and leaders of Calvary Chapel to get together... pretty important!

At such a gathering one might expect to have committee meetings and annual reports; state of the movement speeches, financial reports, elections, passing of by-laws or maybe policy statements...

One might expect that, but not at Calvary Chapel.

The first session started with a little information about the hours of the coffee shop and the discount at the bookstore...

Then we worshipped the Lord and got into the Word. The next session was the same but without the coffeshop announcement, the third was the same. 700-800 pastors getting together from all over the country/world and what do we do? The same thing we always do...

Worship the Lord
Pray
Study the Bible
Fellowship with one another

It's Acts 2:42

Not in principal only but in practice. Not only at the local level... but IT IS what we do.

I am very proud of the simplicity and the Jesus focus and the determination to remain, in every context, true to the Biblical model of ministry, true to the commitment to keep Jesus first and central and exalted; true to the calling to love one another; true to the understanding that we are completely dependant upon the Holy Spirit.

It is little wonder that the Lord has blessed the ministry of Calvary Chapel over the years.

May we as God's children and as His church remain in the center of His perfect will and resist at all costs the temptation to be drawn away into anything that distracts us from Him.

My Sincere Thanks

2007-05-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed by the outpouring of support that I was shown during and after Sunday mornings' message. I should not have expected anything less from such a wonderful body of saints.

I thank you for your understanding and encouragement as I set this time aside.

I was also met by many who longed to go along with me. I understand that most can not take this amount of time away from work or from being mom or dad. I am humbled by the privilege I have been given to do so.

But I want to encourage you to do a mini-version. Take a day and go up the McKenzie with a sack lunch and sit by the river with your Bible and journal. Take a hike up Pisgah and spend a quiet morning in sloitude and worship; get up an hour early and sit in the backyard while the sun rises and meet God.

Take... no... make the time! Somewhere, somehow, someway to spend time with the Lord of the Sabbath.

My Aim

I am aiming pretty high in my expectations. in fact, I plan to be fundamentally changed as a result of this sabbatical. I also am very eager to see what the Lord does at LSC in my absense. Anxious to allow these men to teach and tend the Lord's precious flock. I am expecting the Lord to do some surprising things while I am gone.

All that to say, dont miss it. Keep coming, keep serving, keep worshipping, keep praying, keep giving :), and watch and wait to see what the Lord will do.

I dont think there are any of us who would be satisfied to just "do church", to just go through the motions. I desire to see a radical work of God in Eugene. A move of God in this stronghold of the enemy. And the gates of hell can not overpower it (Mt 16.18).

Would you please pray!

Please keep me in prayer.
Pray for the leadership of the church who will be left to lovingly tend you.
Pray for the ministry of LSC, for the ministry of the kingdom of God in Eugene in all the churches.
Pray for a revival, not at LSC, not in the church in Eugene, not in the Chrush globally, pray for a personal revival of your own passsion, submission, love, devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Chrsit. The rest will follow.
Pray for an insatialble hunger for His Word.
Pray for a true prioritizing of the Kingdom of Heaven
Pray that you would, once and for all, realize victory over the strongholds that remain in your life.
Pray for a heart to worship God as you will on that day around the glassy sea.
Pray for a heart to give sacrificially.
Pray for a heart to serve with diligence and with joy
Pray that you would love unconditionally

Pray!

And we will all be able to give thanks to God for the good things HE has done!

Why Forty Days?

2007-05-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Why 40 Days?

Kind of rings a bell doesn’t it? This period of time comes up frequently in the Word. Consider with me the men and the stories surrounding the occurrences of “forty days” in scripture and I believe you will see, as I did, some pretty cool “reasons” for taking that amount of time.

Genesis 8.6 Noah A Fresh Start
In this story 40 days was the length of time it rained. And as it ended a whole new world awaited Noah and his family. It has been a great seven years so far at LSC, I look for a “new beginning” upon my return. “8” by the way, is the number of new beginnings.

Numbers 13.25 Spies To See Where We are Headed
Without vision the people perish (Prov 29.18). The spies looked over the land for 40 days. Seeing where they would be heading, the land flowing with milk and honey. May we be ready and willing to move in to the life of faith ahead.

Deuteronomy 9.9 Moses To Hear the Word of God
Moses was on the mountain waiting to hear from God. He waited forty days before God spoke. I am hoping for a shorter wait but will anticipate hearing whenever He speaks.

I Samuel 17.16 David To See the Obstacle Removed
The Philistines and the Israelites were at a stalemate in the valley of Elah. The giant roamed the valley daring anyone to come and face him. Then David showed up and the rest, as they say, is history. The obstacle, the enemy was removed, the victory won. I would covet your prayers for the same for our congregation. Whatever the obstacles might be.

I Kings 19.8 Elijah For Divine Provision
What a meal. It sustained him for forty days. I will be seeking the Lord for that life-sustaining milk, meat and manna of the Word.

Jonah 3.4 Nineveh For a Change of Heart
Nineveh was given 40 days to repent. Confession, repentance, placing my life once again on the altar in a fresh way. I seek the Lords’ work in purifying this vessel.

Matthew 4.2 Jesus For Testing/Perfecting
Jesus was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted for forty days. It was not intended to do Him in but to show Him off. I don’t know all that lies ahead, but I will trust the one who does.

Acts 1.3 Disciples Encountering the Resurrected Lord
Jesus walked with them and continued to talk with them until He ascended into heaven. A personal encounter with the risen Lord… sounds pretty good. A literal vision of the reality of heaven as they watched His feet disappear into the clouds. Open my eyes Lord, I want to see JESUS.

So, forty days was used purposefully in the lives of God’s children throughout history. I believe He will use it in my life as well. It is pretty ambitious! I don’t know how much of this the Lord and I will get to, but I am hoping for… a lot!

Would you do me a huge favor and pray for me concerning these things. Maybe you would even want to join me in praying these things through for your own life.

Sabbatical

2007-05-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard, I am planning on taking a Sabbatical...

I wanted to explain a little bit about what it is and why I am going to take it. It could be a little upsetting to hear that the "Pastor is leaving", I want to assure you right from the start that this is not the case. I am setting apart some time to seek the Lord with every intention and great anticipation of returning to Lawrence Street Chapel.

Below is an article that I think gets us off to a good start in communicating what the Sabbitical is intended to accomplish. I will post additional thoughts and perspectives over the next few weeks so keep coming back to check -

God bless you dear saint.

A Season of Rest

In the last hundred years, sabbaticals have become primarily identified as the time off used by professors in universities who want to study a subject for a concentrated period of time, usually in a location away from home. Prior to that, however, sabbaticals were used as a means for clergy to recuperate and restore their physical and spiritual vigor.

The word sabbatical does not appear in the Bible in reference to people in any profession. Instead, it comes from a section in Leviticus that mandates a season of rest for the land: every seventh year the fields were to lie fallow to allow for the replenishment of the soil (25:1-7). That makes good ecological sense, but it is not the primary purpose of the sabbatical law.
· For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat (Ex. 23:10-11).
· At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lords’ release has been proclaimed (Deut. 15 1-2).

The sabbatical law had more to do with the people of God, Israel, and their dependence on the land for their sustenance. God's intent was to ensure the Israelites dependence on Yahweh—and not the land—for their needs. If God's people became too attached to the land as their source of food, they would begin to treat it like an idol.

In fact, Baal, Yahweh's principle "competition" in the hearts of His people, was the god of land and fertility. As history proves, the Israelites found it easy to forget Yahweh's care for them in favor of Baal (1 Kings 16:32, 2 Kings 21:3), who they believed gave the land its fruitfulness.

The sabbatical's purpose for the Israelites was that once in every seven years they would stop producing food from the land. This meant not only that they would be dependent on God for one year, but for three: They would need to depend on Him for the year before the sabbatical, because He promised they would see dramatic increases in production. They would need to depend on him for the Sabbath year, while the ground was fallow. And they would need to depend on him for the year after the sabbatical, since no food was gathered and stored ahead for that year.

A Bell Tower

I have often likened pastors to bell towers: unless they are careful, they will ring one bell in their tower repeatedly. What do I mean? Even the best of preachers can begin to repeat the same theme and tone over and over in their preaching. A staleness or tired familiarity—one bell—begins to ring week in and week out. Why?

This exists, in part, due to fatigue. The role of pastor-preacher, if done faithfully, is one of the most taxing jobs in the world. It demands so many skills. It’s emotionally taxing. And it’s both so regular (that sermon is coming!) and so variable (who can predict funerals, illnesses, or member crises?). Congregations need to be aware of this and make provision before the "one bell syndrome" sets in.

One way to care for the pastor is by offering a planned and regular sabbatical. What do I mean by sabbatical? I don’t mean the biblical "sabbatical year" spoken of in the Old Testament, I do mean the kind of sabbatical that our culture typically understands today.

The Sabbatical

One way to care for the pastor is by offering a planned and regular sabbatical. What do I mean by sabbatical? I don’t mean the biblical "sabbatical year" spoken of in the Old Testament, I do mean the kind of sabbatical that our culture typically understands today.

Sabbaticals are not vacations. We would encourage the pastor to see vacations as time completely away from his regular work (and geography, if financially affordable) and with the focus aimed squarely on his family. Sabbaticals on the other hand are not work-less and not aimed at the benefit of his family. They are specifically aimed at reinvigorating and renewing the mind and heart of the pastor through research, purposeful travel, writing, etc. In other words, the goal is to begin using some forgotten bells and to hang some new ones in that bell tower for a fuller, clearer, and louder sound.