More than a children's story

Today’s reading: Luke 2 NASB

SCRIPTURE 

“ Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.  While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” -Luke 2:1-20 NASB

OBSERVATION

I’ve heard this story countless times.  And if I’m to be 100% honesty - to some unknown degree to me our western culture has transformed this precious story about God into a common folklore.  Taking a most precious story about God’s love, hope, & grace -- and giving it a common place as if it was a mere children’s story.  This story is so much more than a mere children’s story.  It the Bible was read verse bye verse and not skimmed through it’s modern day rating would be “PG-13” if not “R”. What? Why? Battle’s, bloodshed, anger, hate, deception, love, reconciliation, unity, etc.... Honestly, if it was told / read within that light - IT’S CAPTIVATING!  However, at most churches it’s dumbed down, censored.... Why? I’m not sure...  

Okay, now what? - What comes next?  In the midst of my pondering, I hear the words of a trusted friend Richard Berry, “what’s the better question....” If I’m are attempting to take something that is common and make it precious again what questions do I need to ask and have answered?

How did this happened?  

That good - but I think there is a better question.

How can we not allow precious things to become common?  

That’s also great question.

What was God’s purpose in sending His son?

Now that’s a question worth exploring! What was God’s purpose in sending His son?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” - John 3:16-17

“Not to perish” it not merely physical death as we think of it.  The greek text communicates a much bigger picture.  One the takes in a physical aspect of death but focuses on the aspect of eternal separation.  So that “to perish” or “to die” would accurately be interpreted as to be separated forever / eternally separated and “eternal life” would then also convoy a principle of eternally being with the one that supplies life. 

What answers to my question can I establish from this text?

God’s purpose in sending His son was for me:

• to not be eternally separate from Him (“not perish / die”)
• to be eternally with the giver or source of life.

Another text I need to look at in attempting to answer my question is: 

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law & the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” -Matthew 5:17

What is the Law or the Prophets?

The Law, is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation - 28+ laws are given through out the 1st five books of the bible (called the Torah) including the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:3-17 (look them up).

What answers to my question can I establish from this text?

-God’s purpose in sending His son was for us to fulfill the Law & the Prophets; so that, we would not have to be conscious of our failure to keep God’s commands.  

So, why is it important to us that Christ fulfilled the Law?

-Because the Law demands for me to make a payment for each law or command I’ve broken and face the terrible consequences wrath of God -- possibly eternal separation from Him. 

-In modern terminology for not honoring God, would be translated - “breaking the law” or “sin”

James 4:17 defines “sin” as “to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Romans 3:23 states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” 

As an individual I live by the gracious judgment of God declared from heaven, so the sentence of the Law is overruled and reversed. “He that believe on the Son has eternal life” -John 3:36.

Once the Gospel has been received by an individual and they discover an eternal peace from death and the terrors of hell, the Spirit’s influence is felt.  By no means am I saying that I will stop wrestling with the issues life tosses at us.  It’s through the issues that God preciously invites me into a genuine growing relationship - one that involves all the ups, downs, and aspects of a relationship.  Its through my relationship with Him that His Law begins to live in mankind’s heart; I begin to loves it, delight in it.  It’s through the point relationship that Eternal life begins here, and continues as I journey through out this life.

APPLICATION

When I open God’s word I often need to take the “Perspective” of a student sitting at the feet & learning from master teachers - struggling to not allow their voices to fall on deaf ears - fighting to not allow God’s word become “common story” when it holds a key with eternal significance. What can I walk away with?

A question. A daily challenge.  How am I going to make my relationship with God “Precious” / “Valued” verses just another common thing I do? 

PRAYER 

I’m amazing at the simplicity and priceless work You accomplished on the Cross.  Thank you, for speaking directly to me as I choose to sit at Your feet - thank you for empowering me (us) with the incredible gift of “freewill.” Help me daily aline my heart, my mind, and my life to You - Jesus.  Help me make time for that which is most important - TIME W/ YOU.  Continue to refine and guidance my heart & mind - thank you for being a God that daily gives me great life lessons. Honestly, YOUR word is one of the most difficult books to read and at the same time the MOST REWARDING - Thanks. - Trevor

Authentic vs Pretentious Living Requires Listening & Responding

Today’s reading: Psalm 81 NASB
SCRIPTURE  Authentic vs Pretentious
“....He will established it for a testimony in Joseph when he went throughout the land of Egypt.  I heard a language that i did not know; “I relieved his shoulder of the burden, his hands were freed from the basket.  You called in trouble and I rescued you....I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” -Psalm 81:5-6,10 NASB

“.... but my people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. Oh that My people would listen to Me.  That they would walk in My ways!.... Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him and their time of punishment would be forever.  But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.....” -Psalm 81:11-13 // 15-16 NASB

OBSERVATION
Psalm 81 is consider to be one of the twelve Psalms of Asaph.The Psalms of Asaph (לְאָסָף) were composed in the northern territories of Israel during Biblical times. They underwent some redaction after 722 BC, but appear to have been intact by the post-exilic period. The origin and identity of the person of Asaph is ambiguous, and it is difficult to know whether or not there was an identifiable progenitor for this family name. The Asaphite priests had a pre-exilic role to provide musically-based or induced prophecy, and a post-exilic role singing praise to God.
As I read this Psalm 81 verses 5-6,10-13, & 15-16 stood out in the midst of a key principle of Listening: Comprehension vs. Hearing appeared.
Let’s go, Psalm 81:5-6,
Here, I found the Psalmist referencing how God established Joseph’s testimony (life’s story).  Joseph went from a brother to an out cast - from a slave to ruler.  As I attempt to engage the text, I find myself attempting picture Joseph’s circumstances.  Emotionally broken (sold into slavery by his own brothers), physically weary (traveled hundreds of miles by foot with little nourishment or care), and mentally challenged (struggled to learn the Egyptian language).  How many times did Joseph call out to God?  How long did Joseph pray before God answered? ....before Joseph’s burdens were lifted? ...before his hands were freed? 
To often I picture God’s relief coming immediately.  To often I visual God swooping down like SUPERMAN “to save the day” within the moment.  The truth - God provides relief within His timeframe and not mine.  Why? I don’t know.  No matter the timeline - the end result speaks loudly as God did bring Joseph up from the land of Egypt - and God will save me.
Let’s go, Psalm 81:11-13 // 15-16,
Between verses 10 and 11, I came across an interesting grammatical transition.  What?  From a focus on Joseph moving to a focus on the nation of Israel as a whole.  This is noted in the following grammatical phrases, “My people,” “My voice,” “Israel,” and “Me.”  Wow!  The Psalmist is paralleling Joseph’s life and the National of Israel within a ‘real-time’ comparison.
Within Psalm 81:11-13 and 15-16 a few key phrase stand out,
“My people (Israel) did not listen to My voice....” -vs 11
“Israel (my people) did not obey Me.” - vs 11
Then what happened?

“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.” - 12

Wow, this sounds a bit like a few sections of my life’s story!  Respectable guidance from my dad, a close mentor, an old friend, and what do I do... not listen!  What are the results of not listening?  Discovering things through consequences / the hard way.

Let’s continue in Psalm 81,
“Oh that My people would listen to Me.  That they would walk in My ways!” -vs 13.  As I read these words my heart broke and my mind honed in as I related to God’s heart ache as a father.... as I once again got a glimpse of what I took my father through....

The Psalmist concludes by saying, “Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him and their time of punishment would be forever.  But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.....” -vs 15-16.  “....pretend obedience....” According to Wikipedia “A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. The original meaning of the English word pretend, from the French word prétendre (from the Latin prae-tendo lit. "to stretch out before" means "to put forward, to profess or claim"; this predates today's more common English meaning of "pretend", which is to claim falsely.”

....I’ve “pretended obedience” to God. Why?  I choice self gratification over God’s guidance.
When did I realize I was “pretending obedience” to God?  I knew it from the moment I mentally made the decision. When I choose to sin - I choose to enter a state of “pretending obedience.”

During that season, God allowed me to see things (in my life) which made me sick to my stomach!

APPLICATION
The importance of daily interactions with God via reading the Bible.
Reading (check). 
Listening & responding (Importance of slowing down and writing out my thoughts / interaction with the text via observations / applications).
As I allow God’s word (the Bible) to read me it keeps me Authentic vs Pretentious.

PRAYER
Jesus, once again, I’m amazing at the simplicity and priceless work You accomplished on the Cross.  Thank you, for speaking directly to the culture / time when you walked the earth - thank you for empowering me (us) with the incredible gift of “freewill.” Help me daily aline my heart, my mind, and my life to You - Jesus.  Help me make time for that which is most important - TIME W/ YOU.  Continue to refine and guidance my heart & mind - thank you for being a God that daily gives me great life lessons. ThankYOU. - Trevor

Helpful links in overcoming “pretentious living”: www.xxxchurch.com, www.x3pure.com, www.x3watch.com, www.relevantmagazine.com, http://developer.enewhope.org/api/bible.php

Anger & Stones Require A Response

Today’s reading: John 10 NIV
SCRIPTURE
“.... picked up stones to stone him.” -John 10:31 NIV

OBSERVATION
As I visualize this setting - I see a group of local church members emotionally moved to the point of physical aggression over a statement. 

Why were these individuals angered to the point of possible murder? 

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus replied to them, “Why do you accuse me of blasphemy? Because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

Why, are religious individuals so quick to take up arms?  Why, is it that religious individuals are often the quickest to unleash judgement?  Why, are these individuals so closed off to Jesus’ words? 

What is Jesus physical response in the midst of a heated situation?

”39 he escaped their grasp. 40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.” - John 10:39-42
APPLICATION
God what do You want me walk away with?

Discussions with closed minded religious individuals are not beneficial (which I can not exclude myself f/ being).
Be mindful of people’s statements & body language within communication.
Wisely choose your battles.
Know when to withdraw.

Sometimes I’m so right I’m wrong.
Always be willing to learn.
Ask good questions (internally & externally).
Internally:
Why is it so important to prove my point?
Why am I so angered by these responses / questions / statements?
Externally (listening, processing, & responding):
Listening - The most important apart of being able to ask a good question.
Processing - Seeing things from their perspective & then forming a question.
Responding - Not out of an emotional state, but in response to the question at hand.
God is still God no matter how the discussion ends.

PRAYER
Jesus, I find myself grateful that you meet me where I’m at.  That you speak directly to my heart & situation.  It seems that as I slow down to read Your read - it reads me.  Help me daily make time for that which is most important - TIME W/ YOU.  So that, You can refine and guidance my heart & mind. Thank you for surrounding me with a few key individuals over the past several years (Aaron O., Brett H., Kiha P., Ben H., Pastor Wayne C) to assist me in processing Your truth in the midst of it being hard to hear. Thanks G. - Trevor

Anyone listening - Unanswered Prayers - Pt2

Psalm 4:1-2 NIV

SCRIPTURE

 ¹ Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

OBSERVATION

Have you ever felt as if God is not listening?  As if you’ve been rejected by Him for some unknown reason? Reflecting on a personal journal entry from 2002; in which, my wife and I journeyed down the road of pain and disappear - as our second child’s heart ceased - I wrote the following, “I had never wrestled with the will of God to the point of anger, rage, pain, and disappear. Now it’s not only my life that is affected by what Your allowing but my wife’s!  I had always thought that You could and would do anything if enough people prayed—but in the midst of our prayers You seemed to choose to remain silent and distant. Are you there? What good are You God - if you will not show up and save the innocent? ..... ...... ...... Where are You to be found in the midst of pain and suffering?” - Trevor L Drinen

During the follow days I attempted to take a global viewpoint on my questions.  This experience led my wife and I through a journey of pain almost to the point of turning away from our faith and to stop believing in the existence of a God that pursues us. 

Many people throughout the world struggle with their faith because of God’s silence and apparent impotence when they cry out to Him in their time of greatest need. What makes these unanswered prayers even more disturbing is the fact that some Christians claim God regularly answers their prayers for things that seem of no consequence. I think of the individuals who prayed to find a parking space as they entered the mall parking lot and,“Thanks be to God!” a space opened up on the front row. Or the professional athlete who points to the heavens after catching a touchdown pass. Or a surfer who patiently waits for the perfect wave.  Does God answer prayers for parking spaces, touchdown passes, and ridable waves, but not for those who have cancer or whose unborn children will die without a miracle?

It was at the low I turned and began to look at Jesus’ outlook on prayer.  It was in the midst of my journey that I discovered that my personal disappointment was the result of unmet expectations. I expected God to save!  I expected God to heal!  I expected God to move on my behalf! .... .... and so have countless others through out time (Example: Jews).

APPLICATION

In the case of prayer, our expectations are shaped in part by Jesus’ words in a handful of passages like Matthew 21:21-22: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt ... even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

At first glance Jesus seems to be promising here to do whatever we ask, provided we have faith. We read this and other promises like this on the lips of Jesus, and we cannot help but be confused when our prayers go unanswered. When we pray for a friend who is dying or for the safety of our children or for a job to open up for us, we are left confused when our friend dies, we go for months without employment or something happens to our children. Some Christians explain the reason these prayers go “unanswered” or “fail” has to do with the individual praying.  Yes, they placing the blame on you.  Others have gone to the extent of listing several common reasons why prayers may go unanswered.

- You have unconfessed sin in your life - You pray with improper motives - You lack faith

I find this list obscene and offensive! To say that God would have answered our prayers for our unborn child if only I had more fully sought to please God, or if I had confessed my sins, is not only unbiblical, misguided, and cruel. It does not line up with God’s character!  Did blind Bartimaeus, whom Jesus healed outside of Jericho, seek to please the Lord in everything? Did he stop to confess his sins before asking for his eyesight? Yet Jesus healed him (see Mark 10:46-51). Jesus heals because He is holy, not because those He heals are holy. To explain that God does not answer our prayers because we are not holy enough is unbiblical and does not aline with faith built upon grace!  At the foundation of a Christians faith is a Savior gave His life for us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8), and which teaches that we are saved by God’s grace.

What about faith? What about the power of prayer?  Prayer is an action faith. Faith is the act of trusting that God hears, that God cares and that God is able to act as we cultivate a genuine relationship with Him through prayer. Jesus asks that we pray with faith, that we trust as we pray.

If then unfulfilled prayer is not the result of my failure to live for Christ, unconfessed sin in my life, or inadequate faith.  Then what are we to make of the fact that our prayers are sometimes unanswered? 

Perhaps the answer is not found in what we do wrong when we pray, but in our failure to understand what Jesus meant when He said that we could move mountains and have whatever we ask for if we pray with faith. When Jesus spoke, He almost always did so using a figure of speech called hyperbole. Hyperbole is an overstatement or exaggeration to make a point. This was the language of prophets and first-century teachers. Our problem maybe within reading His words “hyper-literally” when we need to read them hyperbolically. To read them hyperbolically means we take Jesus seriously, but not always literally.  “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22). Were these words a promise to be taken literally and mechanistically, or are they a hyperbolic statement inviting Jesus’ followers to pray boldly and with faith? This is the same passage in which Jesus tells His followers that by faith they can move mountains; that might help us to see that it is the latter way in which we are meant to read this passage.  Jesus’ hearers understood that Jesus was speaking hyperbolically when He said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” I think they understood that Jesus was saying, “Go to God with your burdens! Be bold when you pray! Trust that God hears your prayers! And, in ways you don’t fully understand, God will see you through this situation you face.”

Where does that leave me as I barry my unborn child, deal with the internal pain, and attempt to comfort my wife?  How does God answer prayer? What is the purpose of prayer? What should we pray for? How does God answer prayer?  Why does God answer some prayers and not others? Does God answer prayer? Some, but not all? Sometimes, but not all the time? Or does God always answer prayer and it's just that sometimes God says no. Is prayer more than God listening and answering?  Is God is going to do what God is going to do - if so why pray?  If God can do anything why doesn’t He?  

When God wants something done, God typically sends people. God’s customary way of working in our lives is through what appear to be ordinary ways. Rather than suspending the laws of nature that God created and bypassing the human beings that God created to do God’s work, God typically works through natural laws and through people. In the Bible, this is how God most often worked, and it is how God typically works today. I believe that miracles can happen and do happen. On some occasions, God miraculously and directly intervenes in the world, but most often God works through us, calling and nudging us into action, working in our hearts to be the instruments God uses to answer the prayers of others.  I have come to appreciate the idea that God intends us to be the answer to one another’s prayers to come alongside those who are in need of comfort. How and why?  If God desires a cultivate a genuine growing healthy relationship with His creation, then would He not have His creation do that for each other?  

None of this implies that God never works miracles. God can do the miraculous. But miracles are miracles because they are rare. God’s primary way of working in our world is to influence us and others—giving us peace and strength, wisdom and patience—while using the natural means God created to accomplish God’s purposes. God can work miracles! Is it not a miracles that works through the hands of doctors, the words of counselors, the presence of friends: in other words, miracles happen everyday and for me to place my personal expectations on God is unfair - no matter the pain I may encounter.

God is unfair - no matter the pain I may encounter.

So, if God is sovereign why do prayers go unanswered??  I don’t know.... .... .... does unanswered prayers, unmeet expectations, or the lack of personal understanding bring one to the conclusion that God must not exists?  

Romans 11:11-12 states, “¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”

At my point of anger, rage, pain, and disappear I come to trust God holds and sees the bigger picture. 

PRAYER

Thanks for reminding me of: A) who You are B) Your purpose (salvation to all) C) my involvement (faith & action / works). God, thank You so much for Your timeliness guarantees & evidence via Your invisible attributes, eternal power, divine nature since the creation of the world so that all may know you. Trevor

Intriguing Communication Style

Matthew 13:10 NIV

SCRIPTURE

““Why do you speak to them [the crowds who came to see Jesus] in parables?”” -Matthew 13:10 NIV

OBSERVATION

In his three-year ministry, Jesus spoke to small groups of followers and massive crowds. So captivating was His teaching that crowds stayed and listened all day, forgetting to even go home and get something to eat (see Luke 9:10-17). Everyone—from the meekest peasant farmer to the mightiest political ruler—wanted to hear Jesus. And those who heard Him were astonished, “for he was teaching them as one who had authority” (Matt. 7:29).

As we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus commonly used parables, stories that illustrated spiritual and moral lessons. And as we read them, we often find ourselves scratching our heads and asking one question: 

Why did Jesus choose to speak in parables when speaking plainly would be so much more effective?

In Matthew 13:10, we’re told that the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them [the crowds who came to see Jesus] in parables?”  AKA. What did He expect to accomplish by not speaking plainly to the crowds?

His answer is fascinating:

“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matt. 13:11-17)

This answer is absolutely shocking. It’s shocking because, in effect, Jesus is telling them, “I speak in parables because the truth of the kingdom of heaven is not theirs to know. They think they see the truth of my kingdom, but they don’t. They think they understand, but they can’t. If they did, they might turn and repent.”

That boggles my mind. It’s hard to grasp the idea that Jesus would not want people to know what He was saying. Yet, He didn’t. Jesus’ explanation of His use of parables reveals that they had a two-fold purpose: to harden the hearts of some who heard, and to cause others to seek out Jesus and ask Him what He meant.  Every time He spoke, He was simultaneously excluding some and including others. Some, after hearing His particularly difficult teachings, turned away and “no longer walked with Him” (John 6:66). But others were drawn to Him. They did not simply except the unknown, but were fueled by what they did not know to learn more. And the fascinating thing is that when people drew near, when they asked Him to explain, as the disciples did, He was happy to oblige.

APPLICATION

Today, it’s considered fashionable by some to speak and write about the Christian faith in ambiguous terms. To “embrace the mystery” of Christianity, as some might say. To leave things mysterious, all in the name of humility. It's true, there is much we do not understand nor can expect to understand about the "mysterious ways" in which God works. But in effect, by allowing vague, ambiguous teachings on Christianity, they’re choosing not to communicate anything at all. In doing so, men and women of faith, and often very popular ones, are actually breaking the prime rule of communication: Communicators communicate.

While there are many things that God chooses to keep secret from us, He does want us to know who He is, what He expects of us and how we can be rightly related to Him. And these things He has made clear within the pages of Scripture. He has made His will known to His creatures. And He expects those who would teach his people to make it known. So, to speak as though we can’t know with any certainty what God has made knowable—especially under the guise of following the example of Jesus—is not humility. It is the height of arrogance.

Jesus was never mysterious for the sake of being mysterious. He didn’t speak in riddles and vagaries to create a mystique. God is not a beat poet. Jesus’ parables were not meant to be a stumbling block for His disciples. Rather, all things were revealed to them by Him, for those who longed to hear.

Similarly, the role of the Christian is to patiently explain all that has been revealed with gentleness and humility, not cloak His message in ambiguity. Acknowledge what you do not know, seek to know more—and share what you can until the day when all things are made clear.

PRAYER

God, Thank you for pursuing individuals as your created them. Communication - Help me. Help me continue to pull things back to what I know as true, refine and sharpen all that I allow to come out of my mouth. Jesus you had a very intriguing communication style - please teach me more... 

- Trevor

Lessons Learned F/ Encouragement & Deceitfulness

Hebrews 2:14-18 NIV

SCRIPTURE

“encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” -Hebrews 3:13 NIV

OBSERVATION

en·cour·age/enˈkərij/Verb

1. Give support, confidence, or hope to (someone): "encouraging results"; "I feel encouraged".

Words can heal or words can kill. Words can deliver life or death. It is our choice – we pour our own spirit into our words. God gave us the gift of words, hoping that we would steward them well. Words can focus on us or on others. There are words that build up and words that tear down. Negative words can be dangerous: if we hear them enough, we start believing they are true. The worst part is, after the negative words have been spoken, we tend to repeat those same words to ourselves. Words can also deliver healing or deliver wounds. We have to choose which it will be. Death and life are all in the power of the tongue. 

APPLICATION

1. Express Appreciation

Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The only way to neutralize evil is to replace it by actively doing something good. We have to replace the mistakes by actually complimenting and building others up. We have to practice expressing appreciation.

2. Dedicate Our Thoughts to God Today

Our actions and words need to be pleasing to the Lord. Yet, if our thoughts please Him, everything else will follow suit. What is on our minds and hearts is more important to God. God looks at our hearts; we have to make sure that our hearts are right. God tells us to be careful how we process things on the inside because, sooner or later, they are going to come out of our mouths.

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45).

3. Commit to Making Wrong Things Right

We might think that, if we make mistakes with our tongue, the best thing to do is just “zip our lip.” We decide not to say anything anymore and just be quiet. That will not work – if that is our goal to not make any mistakes then we will not make any contributions either.  We will make mistakes but we are not to leave them as mistakes. We are to correct them! Otherwise, our words will go out with barbs wounding people and we will not even know it. If we make a mistake, God says, “Make it right.”

“If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, or have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself … go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor … Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand and like a bird from the hand of the fowler” (Prov. 6:2-5).

God wants us to understand the power of words and to steward them well. They can deliver life or death. God wants to bring His Words of life to us. If we have prepared our hearts and our ears by stewarding words well, not only can we hear Him but we can also deliver that life to others.

PRAYER

Lord, help me put this into action today, so that, I will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness - aka: God I need Your help to put this into action within my life.  I need You to transform another aspect. Why? So that, I my heart doesn’t become hard and I don’t start to buy into the false notation that all this bible stuff is just trickery. - Trevor

What Do I Get Out Of This? (Initial Questions)

Today’s reading: Isaiah 8,9,19 & Hebrews 8 NASB

SCRIPTURE

“For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.” -Hebrews 8:3 NASB

OBSERVATION

1) Who is the high priest? 2) What does this priest have to offer me?

Let’s dig and go back a few days. Hebrew 5:1-10  “Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.  And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”

1. Jesus Christ became the high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Who is Melchizedek and how can Jesus legitimately become our high priest through this order? Old Testament priests descend from only one linage - the tribe of Levi. Jesus’ ancestral tree places Him in the tribe of Judah; which, disqualifies him for priesthood.  Why would God role things out this way?  

I could only locate (1) one passage that refers to Melchizedek in the Old Testament: Genesis 14:18 references to him as “King of Salem”.  Okay, let go New Testament: Hebrews 7:3 describes him “without genealogy.”  It leaves me to conclude: A) This guy came out of nowhere, or B) he was conceived by the will of the Force like Anakin Skywalker, or (C) His genealogy records were misplaced and he had no memory of his parents.   Apparently, God doesn’t like to be boxed in and is not always looking for smooth waters to navigate as the book of Hebrews makes tremendous waves in logical processing.  I mean, how can the New Testament and Hebrews reasonably claim Jesus as our priest if the Old Testament allow doesn’t allow it? 

Let’s go Hebrew 7:12, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 13 For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe....”  Okay, I guess God has the right to modify or change things up; however, this Melchizedek tosses a huge question into my skeptics mindset. It would’ve been a lot to both logically connect and sell if Jesus had been from the tribe of Levi as this is a pivotal point. I mean, this is why the Jews did not and do not recognize Jesus Levitical or “priestly” authority.  

Bottom line: According to the law, Jesus is from the wrong tribe to be a priest.  He has the wrong lineage.  On top of that, his priest hood is in the order of Melchizedek, a fantom or mystery man who lives before the law.  

Conclusion: The Law and the Old Testament do not jive / mix with Jesus and the New Testament.  Since I can’t make Jesus fit with the old way of the law - what do I get out of this now?

APPLICATION

What’s my take (aka. what I get out of this). 1) My performance is no longer a primary point. 2) My name is not on the contract.  According to Hebrews 8:8 under the old way, “God found fault with the people” and under the new way, God makes a promise to Himself (see Hebrews 6:1-19).  Bottom line application: My salvation and my faithfulness are all about Him and is not something I can loose because Jesus has paid (past, present, & future) the price - unreal concept.

PRAYER 

God for years I’ve been told that I am at the central point of this equation: “Must live a certain way,” “Must do...” And I find myself never done striving, always attempting to level up, and continually falling short - ending with complete frustration.  This morning I am reminded that Your ways are higher than mine.  Via Jesus, this is all about You!  And Your way allow me to embark on a lifelong journey of developing a genuine relationship with Jesus without religions “to do...,” “must hold to...,” etc... list.  Help me.  Help individuals.  Help the church at large.  This is huge! And even some what hard for me to completely fathom all I now get out of this Jesus thing!!!! What freedom!!!!  - Trevor

What Do I Get Out Of This?

Today’s reading: Isaiah 11,12,13,14; Hebrews 9 NASB

SCRIPTURE

“when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” -Hebrews 9:11-12 NASB

OBSERVATION

As I read Hebrews 9 three words stood out above the rest, “...when Christ came...” What pivotal words!  It’s here I began to ponder, “How often is this critical transition in my mind and heart not made?”

What transition? A transition from the Old to the New.  A transition from the way things were pre Cross to the way things are post Cross! A transition that effects my entire being and that starts within my mind (logic) and heart (emotion).

Let’s go Hebrews 9:16-17, “For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.” 

The terms covenant, will, and testament are translations of the same Greek word. The writer is drawing an analogy between a WILL or covenant taking effect - this a basic play on words serves to make an critical point! A will isn’t in effect without a death - a covenant doesn’t go into effect without a death. What does this mean?

Meaning the New Covenant did not begin at Jesus’ birth but as he died / at his death. This point carries some radical implications - as it messes with our thinking. First the New Testament does not actually begin in Matthew 1. It begins at the point in history when Jesus’ died on the cross & when he came back to life. It’s was not Jesus birth that changed everything. It was his death that inspired the apostles to declare the message of “out with the old, and in with the new.” - Hebrews 8 & 9

Let’s go Hebrews 10:9-10

“He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified (made in right 

standing) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” - Hebrews 10:9-10

The first or OLD covenant was set aside because it made no one right before God. It was a performance based system that everyone failed or fell short of the standard. I mean if you ever tried to please everyone? How incredible overwhelming.  For that reason, Jesus took away the old and made it obsolete. Why? Because of the burden, weight, or headache it causes. The Old has been set aside.

APPLICATION

So where do I go from here?  What do I get out of this process?  What can I walk away with?

Yesterday’s reading in Hebrews 8:13 stated:

“When He said, “A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

And then I read two days ago - Hebrews 7:18-19

“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former covenant because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

What does the writer of Hebrews say? The Old is “weak and useless” in it’s attempt to make us right before God.

Wow!  Then when I’m feeling distant from God, it’s because I’ve measured myself and have come up short.  Aka: God no longer measures me or my performance, but He simply desires to do life with me!!! He desires to cultivate a genuine, growing, organic, relationship with me. No expectations / strings attached! Pure... Unreal!!!

PRAYER 

God, as a new triathlete and thirty-five year old male I see the importance of transitions. Yet, I still hear echos that “I must live a certain way,” “I must do certain things.” Today find myself dumbfounded or amazed that You desire a relationship with me above everything! Something continues internally screams their has to be more! What and why?  I’m not sure. Is the bottom line: A genuine relationship with Jesus plus nothing? This is huge! Help me make this transition mentally because I’m hung up within various aspect of the old testament - of the previous things I have been taught - and now I find myself in need of unlearning things learned.  Wow! What freedom!!!! Thank God!!!!  - Trevor

Only One

Today’s reading: 2 Chron 29; 2 Chron 30; 2 Chron 31; James 4 NIV

SCRIPTURE

“ 11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” -James 4:12 NIV

OBSERVATION

Slander or defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement (for transitory statements), and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—refers to a malicious, false, not specific enough to verify a spoken statement or report.

As I process slanders definition this morning four additional questions come to mind:

Question #1: Why do family members and close friends “slander” one another?

There are various reasons and answers to this question - personal insecurity, pride, selfishness, a desire to harm, a twisted self response, etc... Let’s continue digging....

Question #2: How can I personally stop “slandering”?

In a previous devotional reading James stated, “19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” - James 1:19-20

Defiantly, there is a few points of truth here that would assist me:

1. “Quick to listen”, 2) “Slow to speak”, 3) “Slow to become angry”, and (I would add another biblical concept) 4) “Quick to take things back to heart.”

I remember shortly after talking about / “slandering” someone I paused.... pondered things for a bit.... and asked God, “Where is my heart in this?” Here’s what the Lord said, “Start pruning back. Prune back until you see the heart again. Prune back your initial / quick response - prune back on taking personal offense - and listen well.... ‘take things back to heart’ - take things back to want you know is true (of the situation, individuals, etc) - take things back to a learners perspective - ‘take things back to heart.”

Question #3: When the author of the James 4:11 references “the law” - I find it critical to note that he is probably referring to the “new testament law.”  And if this “law” referred to here is the “new testament law” that was established through Jesus’ work on the Cross and not the “old testament law” - how should that modify my take on the text?

Question #4: Who am I to judge my neighbor?

APPLICATION

What’s my take (aka. what I get out of this). Especially questions #3 and #4?  1) My performance is no longer a primary point. 2) Today, I live under a Post Cross covenant or “new testament law” according to the New Testament. 3) I am not God or an individuals ultimate judge; in other words, who I’m I to withhold that which God has extended to me?

Bottom line application: First, my salvation and my faithfulness are all about Him and is not something I can loose because Jesus has paid (past, present, & future) the price - unreal concept.  Secondly, as I slow down and listen well to God’s word - not becoming offended but processing things through what I know as true of God / taking things back to heart - I will be able to shift from the “old law” to the “new law.”  Seeing a personal life transformation along the way.  Third.... I am not to play God.... It’s His role and mine to journey through this life alongside Him.

PRAYER 

Help me slow down in life and make time for that which is most important both now and eternally. God, Thank you for fulfilling your promises....  From the side of logic to emotions and back again - passing over that sweet center balance point slow enough to know that’s where I would to live my life.  This morning, I just ask that You would guide me to that point.  Help me navigate today and guide my footsteps for tomorrow.  Please let me always feel the weight of my need for You. I pray that it would stir up my affections for You, leading to deep worship and a surrender of every area of my life. I need a revelation from You as I remember there is only one God.... - Trevor

“live under the freedom of God’s grace.”-Romans 6:1- Trevor

Eye of the Storm

OBSERVATION

As I visualize this setting - I see Peter and his friends getting into a boat one evening to cross the Sea of Galilee.  Peter was a veteran boater-he’d been on boats his whole life fishing with has family daily.  However, as the sun set a storm began to arise.  Not a light or with a gentle breeze either.  the gospel record within Matthew says the boat was “tormented” by the waves.  “Tormented!”  It was so violent that the only the men could do was to attempt to keep the boat upright - aka: bail water & hope... - no navigating - no fishing - sleepless, endless fighting to keep the boat from not capsizing.  (Ever seen the perfect storm?) Imagine what state of mind these sailors were in six hours later - adrienne all but gone - operating out of a pure state of exhaustion - picture the faces of those men who have next to no sea experience / hear their screams.... - 

Then someone noticed a shadow moving toward them on the water.  As it go closer, it became apparent that it was the figure of a human being - walking on the water - a ghost or spirit! (Take a moment to process that - I for one might have to check my paints....).  The crew was convinced a ghost was approaching, and so they became terrified and started to cried out in fear and desperation.  

Often in the middle of storms tormented by waves of disappointment, doubt, and helplessness, I am no better a recognizing the presence of who approaches than the crew.  As I reread the story I get a small since that the writer is wanted me (the reader) to know that Jesus often come when least expected -hours into a storm.

Another aspect not discussed a lot - twelve men sat in the boat, and we don’t know how eleven of them responded.  Perhaps with confusion, wonder, disbelief, fear, or a mixture of each - but one of them - Peter recognized this wasn’t a ghost or mere illusion.  Peter calls out to this figure - this water walker, “If it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.”  For some time I have been intrigued why the writer includes this detail?  Why doesn’t Peter just jump out onto the water?  Hmmm.... Is this story about faith, risk taking or obedience - or a mixture of the three?  Courage alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by wisdom and discernment.  Here the writer is not glorifying risk taking for its own sake as much as I would like - this means before Peter gets out of the boast he had better make sure Jesus things it’s a good idea. (faith/reality - aka: a God idea verses just a good idea).  So, we hear Peter asking for clarity, “If it is you, command me....”  And in the midst of tossing waves, I think Jesus smiled.

As I put myself in Peter’s place for a moment - seeing a figure on the water - thinking I heard Jesus and find myself asking Him to confirm things.  Inwardly questioning, “Is He really inviting me out? “ “Is He really asking me to come and follow Him?” Honestly, I would I’m scared to death - would I have the courage to test the waters or would I cowrie back and watch another step out?  If I don’t move there’s a guaranteed certainty that I will never walk on the water.  I might continually look back and wonder: “what if....?” 

I think there’s something here.       

1. Something internally goes off - acknowledging there is more to life than cowering in a boat.
2. I was made for more than merely avoiding risk or failure.

What am I putting my trust in, especially when life gets stormy?  What is providing me with a sense of comfort to the degree that I don’t want to give it up even if it’s keeping me from flourishing and joining Jesus out on the water?  What is pulling me away from risk taking, high adventure?  Is it the lack of courage?  The grip of some underlying fear....? (Hmmm.... what is it that most produces fear in me - especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith? Leaving this place of fear may be the hardest things I’ve ever done - as it may require me returning to a place where I experienced a great deal of pain). On one hand I question: In what area of my life am I shrinking back from fully and courageously trusting God? Because of the wind, some never decide to step out; while, other step up to the plate and swing (even the best baseball players go down swinging two out of three times). And in the other hand I picture Peter going to the side of the boat - putting one foot over the side, gripping the edge of the boat - then the other foot - sitting on the edge - watching the waves leap forward and slap his against his face - his holding on.... then he let’s go and abandons himself... and reality sets in - setbacks, opposition, unexpected obstacles - a violent gust of wind (all should be expected, but so often we follow Jesus from a perceived illusion of tranquility). It’s here in the midst of processing this and writing it out another question arises as Peter sinks into the water - did Peter fail?  (Personal observation about failure: Failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about the outcome of a particular scenario - it’s the way I process outcomes / aka a measuring stick - and something I believe Jesus desires to set me free from).  Even through people conclude that Peter failed.  I think there were eleven bigger failure sitting in a “tormented” boat - the worst failure is not sinking in the tossing waves - the failure is to cowrie back and get out of the boat due to fear / comfort. 

   

APPLICATION

So where do I go from here?  What do I get out of this process?  What can I walk away with?

1. Responding to Jesus called cause us to step out.
1. To know His voice.
2. Respond / Step out verses shrink back.

1. Failure is an opportunity to grow.
1. As soon as Peter asks for help, Jesus is there.  He meets Peter right where he is at and helps Peter physically by grabbing ahold of him pulling him from the water.  It’s here when Jesus is alone with Peter on the water as the wind blows and the waves crash that Jesus says, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  It maybe that Jesus id not want to embarrass Peter in front of the other disciples - so privately they have a mentoring moment in the midst of the waves.
2. What do I (we) fall?  So, I (we) can learn to get back up.
3. More than hating to fail, I hate for others people to see me fail.

The finial thing I am walking away with today - is the hardest for me to swallow:

1. This story about courage, listening / responding, is also one about waiting.
1. The disciples had to wait the storm the fourth watch of the night before Jesus came to them.  Why?  And what if He passed them by un-noticed - would He come again?
2. Recently, Leah and I felt as if Jesus was calling us out in the midst of a storm - only to step out and have Him stay, “wait...  and trust...” 
1. I believe that God’s general method for growing a genuine, deep relationship with me is by asking me to got out of the boat and follow Him.  So why would He this time ask me to, “wait?” What is it that most produces fear in me - especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith?  It’s twofold for me: 1) The fear that God has forgotten me or my voice has fallen silence to His ears. 2) The fear of returning to a place where I experienced a tremendous uncontrollable pain (nothing I could physically do) and see life take seed / flourish.
2. It was God that “passed by” and “called me to step out” - shaking everything up - bringing incredible clarity and focus in the midst of inner turmoil / confusion.  It’s here I’ve discover another trust - for the first time my life I’m facing the fear of failure via waiting....
3. Clarity / Direction: 1) A response to move forward (sell purchased land - hold-fast to action item #1). 2) Actively wait and trust (here’s where fear really creeps in...)

PRAYER 

Jesus you are the only one who can meet me where I’m at - in the eye of the storm.  Thank you for meeting me today and surrounding me with a few individuals to assist me in processing through all the confusion / inner turmoil.  I feel fortunately to have clear direction in the midst of a storm and you calling - yet help me within this internal fear I face as I actively wait. - Trevor

I Have Questions

Today’s reading: Isaiah 65; Isaiah 66; Psalm 62; John 3 NASB

SCRIPTURE

“4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.” -John 3:4-9 NASB

OBSERVATION

As I visualize this setting - Nicodemus comes to Christ and basically says, “I know who you are but I have questions.”  I see Nicodemus intellectually puzzled and honestly stumped.

Notice what is happening in these verses. Nicodemus comes to Christ and basically says “I know who you are but have questions.” Jesus responds by saying that one must be born again to truly know Him and thus enter into the kingdom of His Father. 

Like Nicodemus I also hesitate over the imagery and the concept that Jesus is presenting.  I mean, come on!  Outside Christianity the phrase “to be born” (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus. It’s here I’ve come to appreciate Jesus’ willingness to along walk side people who tend to question and push back.  

I think that the doctrine of regeneration or the new birth is therefore critical in distinguishing why it is that one person finds Christ lovely and good and another judges Him repulsive. A natural heart (that is one which has not been granted the new and clean heart promised in Jeremiah and Ezekiel) looks upon Christ and sees condemnation and shame. The spiritual heart (that which has been quickened by the Holy Spirit) looks upon Christ and sees loveliness and compassion and grace. What I am suggesting theologically is that there is a logical (if not chronological) order to the doctrines of regeneration and belief. Regeneration preceding belief seems to be the logical order of salvation. An unregenerate heart will not trust Christ, because it does not deem Him trustworthy.

   

APPLICATION

Those who now believe (present tense) do so because they have already been born of God (past tense). In Greek the verb translated “has been born” is in what is called a perfect tense which suggests a completed action of the past with continuing effects in the present. In other words, what I think John is saying is that current belief is an effect of having been born again. Therefore, rather than saying “if you believe, you will be born again,” it is more theologically correct to understand that “if you have been born again, you will believe.” When God reveals Himself to a hardened heart it only further hardens in self-preserving rebellion. When God reveals Himself to a heart which He Himself has softened it responds by basking in His marvelous light. As the old saying goes, the same sun which hardens the clay melts the ice.

How do I understand why it is that some believe and others do not? I think I need to let Jesus answer that question for myself and others: “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” -John 3:16-21

PRAYER 

Jesus, thank you for making room for my questions and not taking offense as many do.  Lord, keep my heart and mind soft (always at Your feet - learning) and my firm in stance. -Trevor