The Light of the World...Is Jesus!

I knew this would be true...and this year I wasn't disappointed. What you ask? Well, for a long time the holiday season had lost its sense of wonder and excitement. I know I am not old. But still, when you've gone through 30 of these things they tend to begin to run together. We get a tree - just like last year. We hang the decorations - just like last year. We listen to Christmas music - new CD, but pretty much sounds just like last year's. We put lights up on the house - just like last year. I set up my Lego train - yes I said a Lego train. Come on, you know you are jealous. Still I've done it the exact same way for YEARS!

Then, something changed! Little Callie Sue was born into our family. Now I knew that she would bring the excitement back...but my expectations were too high last year. She was 9 months old. She could sit up, make funny noises and that is about it. She liked the tree. She like the lights so much they got her to crawl for the first time! But, she really had no clue what was going on. She thought torn up wrapping paper was amazing while the awesome Mr. Potato Head puppy and kitty we got her were boring. Not a great year.

Fast forward to this year. She is now 2o months (going on 21). She is running EVERYWHERE!!! She is talking up a storm and we can understand a ton of her words! I know she is aware of what is going on because if we pull in to our driveway without stopping to show her the lighted star in our upstairs window she cries! She can say "Chriti-ights" with the best of them! Every morning we get up and she says good morning to our tree and counts to 3 to have the lights turn on. She has to turn on Daddy's Lego train all by herself (yes it is still Daddy's...don't judge). Since she always cranks the throttle as far as it goes, the train flies off the track every morning! We read the story for the advent calendar and she points to where the cool handcrafted ornament goes on the flannel tree (made just for us by my awesome mother-in-law).

This year we purchased the Matthew West Christmas album. On it there is a song with the lyric "the Light of the World is still here." Amy was singing the song one day and got to "Jesus." Callie then chimes in with "'ight of the wold!" Oh yeah! that is my daughter. Now anytime we say Jesus she answers with, "'ight of the wold!"

Let us not forget the amazing truth that is found in something that my daughter reminded me of.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This Christmas, are you walking in darkness or are you allowing the Light of the World to shine though your life to those around you? Are you in awe of the Light of the World or are you allowing something to outshine the only One who truly shines in this dark world?

This year, forget all the lights that shine around us and focus on the Light that shines in and through us!

Community: Important to God and Important to Us

The English word community comes from the Latin root from which we get another English word, common. Community is based around that which is held in common. We have communities based around common locations, video games, music, TV shows, dress, lifestyles, sports, economic status, bloodlines and much much more.

Why do we naturally search out others to be in community with? Because we were designed and created for the purpose of community. When we look at the life of Jesus we see evidence of this. What was he doing while on earth? He was establishing community. He had community with twelve mismatched guys. Beyond the twelve He had community with 120 disciples of men and women. When Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit into the 120, thus remaining in community with them. He sent this community on a mission to grow and prosper the community. The disciples (followers) were called to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:18-20). Disciples (followers) making disciples (followers). That is, the community of disciples (followers) were to further the community by reproducing disciples (followers). They were called to do more than share the gospel, they were called to integrate those who responded to the gospel into the greater community of disciples (followers).

Friends, we were never called to make believers. We cannot control whether or not someone believes the gospel and responds to it. However, we were called to tell them the gospel, and then to turn believers into disciples (followers). How do we do that? How can we become the community Jesus called us to be? It is all in the verses I already mentioned. It is in the call that Jesus gave to His followers just prior to ascending into heaven. Listen to the words of Jesus:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

What is the significance of baptism? It not only is a public testimony of the difference that Jesus made in a person’s life, it is a public testimony of being connected with a new community, the community of Christ-followers. After baptizing believers we are to what? Being in the community of Christ-followers means that you…follow Christ! How do we follow Christ? That is where the “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded” comes in!

As believers, we should not only value people coming together and having something in common, we should value people holding a lifestyle of following Jesus in common. We are all at different places in our spiritual journey. However, we need to do our best to allow people to learn how to better follow Jesus and deepen their community with Him and with each other. I therefore pray that our lives and our churches resemble what we see in Acts 2:41-47. The early church was made up of all kids of different people who did not have anything in common. Yet, they were able to form a world changing community by holding in common lives that were lived like Jesus! May we do the same!

Only God is God...and you are not Him!

Only God is God...and you are not Him!
Do you ever wonder something to the effect of "What is God thinking?"

In speaking to many different people I have to say that almost everyone, if not everyone, has thought that at some point in their lives. It may not be profound to you to realize that guess what...you are not God!

You don't think like God. You don't have all the information God has. You don't love like God. You don't have the power God has. Maybe, just maybe God has something on you...you catch my sarcasm right?

One of the most amazing passages I have read is found in Isaiah 55. In that passage God say,

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
¹² You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”

Are you comfortable serving a God who is bigger than you. For some reason many are not. For me, if God were not bigger, smarter, stronger, more powerful, than I am, why would I be worshiping Him? The trick is taking what we know about God to not doubt Him but trust Him more!

Blogging Through the Bible - Final Entry Part #2

The Epistle to the Philippians:

What an amazing book. I have to say that for me, while I love the entire book, Phil. 2:5-11 is one of the most amazing passages in the NT. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

There are few passages that sum up the life of Christ so perfectly and succinctly. It is a literary masterpiece!

The First Epistle to To Timothy:

1 Tim. 3:1-13 lays out an detailed list for those who provide leadership within the church. There are two classifications: elders and deacons. Elders are the highest human authority in the church. Of course, we know that ultimately, Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 5). However, leadership in the church is to be provided by men who fit the qualifications laid out here an in Titus chapter 1. Deacons are to be servants. There is some disagreement as to whether or not women can serve in the office of deacons. I personally believe the answer is yes. In Romans 16:1 we are introduced to a female deacon. Likewise, the word translated "wives" in verse 11 by the NIV can also be translated "women." Thus, a possible translation of that passage is: "In the same way, the women are to be women worthy of respect..." One reason for this interpretation is that it makes no sense for Paul to have qualifications for deacon's wives (a lesser office) and not for elder's wives (the highest office in the church). If Paul is talking to just women, what women is he talking about? Why would he take a verse in the middle of qualifications of deacons to talk to the women of the church? The way the passage can be read then is that verses 1-7 are qualifications for elders. Verses 8-10 are qualifications for male and female deacons. Verse 11 gives specific instructions to female deacons while verses 12-13 gives specific instructions to male deacons. This reading of the passage accounts for the most evidence with the least amount of problems.

While all that is interesting, the important part is to see how set apart and special the offices of church leadership are to Christ. Many churches today struggle because they do not have biblical leadership. There is a reason that these passages are given.

The Epistle of James:

What a fantastic book. If you want to know practically how to live the Christian life, read James. It is not deep theological stuff. However, try to live your life in line with James. It may be simple in theory but complex in actuality.

The First Epistle of John:

1 John 4:1-3 says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

What a fantastic warning. I believe this is a great place to end our journey through the Bible. We need to make sure that we test everything against Scripture. There is absolute truth and authority. It is given to us by God through His words. As 2 Tim. 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Blogging Through the Bible - Final Entry Part #1

The B-90 is finally done. I made it. I was successful in reading the entire Bible in just 90 days. I needed every last day to do it. But, I did it! What I was less successful in doing was to be consistent in blogging about my journey through the Word. I mean, I suppose I could have just spewed out a few thoughts here and there. But, I usually have to give it a little more thought than that. So, since I missed almost the entire New Testament, here are some of my highlights from these amazing books:

The Book of Acts:
It really is amazing to see the difference that the Holy Spirit makes in the lives of the apostles. They were running from opposition at the end of the Gospels and now are risking life and limb to spread the message. Jesus isn't present. And yet, they are filled with an incredible boldness. Where did this boldness come from? Where did the influence they wielded come from? Acts 2 gives us the answer. The Holy Spirit came on these men and changed them from the inside out. The amazing thing is this: WE HAVE THE SAME SPIRIT INSIDE OF US!!! The challenge to each of us is to live like it!

The Epistle to the Romans:
Rom. 8:31-39, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Wow - need I say more?

The First Epistle to the Corinthians:
1 Cor. 1:10-15, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name."

I hear so often of who people like or don't like in the realm of Christian books and videos. "I like John MacArthur," or "I like John Piper" or "I like Timothy Keller," or "I like Francis Chan," or "I like Andy Stanley," or "I like Mark Driscoll," etc. What is funny is there are an equal amount of people who say the exact opposite. I don't like...you get the picture. Are we in our own way falling into the trap of the Corinthian church? Are we just listening to the person we agree with or like? Look, we all need to be looking out for heresy. But, just because you don't like a guy, or just because he doesn't hold to as many points of Calvinism as you do, doesn't mean he is a heretic. Neither does it mean that you can't learn from him. I have even heard preferences within our own church about our own pastors. Can we have preferences? Absolutely! However, let us not divide ourselves over it or cut ourselves off from sound Bible teaching just because they are not our preference. Maybe, God wants to use something or someone who is out of our comfort zone or preferences to speak into our lives. As long as they are sound Biblically on the main things, we should be positive about their ministry and see what we can learn from them. I guarantee, whether you like them or not, they probably know a heck of a lot more about the Bible than we give them credit for when we are critical.

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Blogging through the Bible...from Old to New

An Apology:
Well, here we are, day 74 of the Bible in 90 Days. We are almost done folks! I know I haven't done the best job keeping up with my posts. I am sorry about that. But today, my goal is to catch up! Since the last time I posted, we have read all the Prophets and most of the Synoptic Gospels. What amazing stories and theology are found in these book. Let's be honest here. how much time do we really spend reading in the minor prophets? Not very much. At least I didn't before now. If you have, more power to you! In this blog, my goal is to give you my highlights from this section of Scripture.

Isaiah 6:
Holy, holy, holy. Clearly a passage that proclaims how holy our God is. Holy: "set apart one." Set apart from what though? The most common answer is set apart from sin. While it is true that God cannot sin, does God have to be completely set apart from sin? Isaiah 6 is an amazing story of the holy God coming to a sinful man, cleansing his sin and calling him to be on mission for Him! Has God come to you, cleansed you of sin and called you to be on mission for Him? What was your response? Were you excited about being with God and experiencing forgiveness? Most are stoked about these aspects of salvation. However, were you exctied to be on mission for Him? Many are initially excited, but does it last? For most Christians the answer is a resounding no! We must make a point of restoring the excitement of our mission. We weren't just saved from sin we were saved for a mission!

Ezekiel 4:
What would you do if you were told you must lay on your side for over a year, lay on your other side for over a month, and cook your food with dung. The point of this ridiculous exercise? To show the people how they will suffer at the hands of their enemies. The kicker? The people will not listen to you! All of this, and the people will not listen. I think it is hard to serve God when you can see a tangible result. Ezekiel not only did not have a promise of success but it was a promise of failure! Serving God can be an amazing calling, it can also hurt like heck and leave you burned out and broken. And yet, God will ultimately be glorified! We do win in the end...we just may not see it in our lifetime!

Amos 5:
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!

I wonder sometimes what God would think of our worship services today. We in the Americanized Evangelical church have convinced ourselves that we are doing it right. "We are Biblical" we say. "We are relevant" we say. "We are making a difference" we say. But, I have to admit. The more I read Scripture the more I am uneasy with where we are at. Is there a chance that God looks at our church and says what He said above to the nation of Israel. Are we "Biblical" and "relevant" and "making a difference" and still missing the boat? Is that possible?

Matthew-Luke:
Let's take my last section and move it into a New Testament context? After reading so much about Jesus, what do you think Jesus think about Evangelicalism today? Would Jesus have hung out in our church services? Would Jesus have liked what He would see going on in our buildings? Would Jesus have had time to "go to church"? Would Jesus approve of our worship? Would He appreciate our sermons? What would He think of what we place in the offering plate (or have taken out of our checking account with our online giving option)? Would He like what we do with kids? What we do with teens? What would He think? Often, we don't think about what Jesus would think. I have a feeling that we would be shocked by what Jesus would say.

In Conclusion:
I want to close this post by a quote from the last book of the Old Testament. This comes from Micah 6:6-8.

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Blogging through the Bible...Proverbs

We are in day 46 of the B-90 challenge. I don't know about you, but Psalms and Proverbs are killing me. I love these books. There are some great psalms and some great proverbs. But, when I am reading 24 Psalms at a time, things start to run together. When I am reading 14 chapters chocked full of different proverbs, my brain swiftly becomes mush.

However, while reading through today's section in Proverbs, I came across two proverbs that stood out to me. The first is Proverbs 14:30, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." I tend to think a lot about what I want to buy next. My favorite website is Amazon.com. I keep my Amazon Wish List going year round so I can keep putting things on it that I would like to have at some point. I would say I am mostly content. And yet, I am always looking for something to make me discontent. It almost feels good when I am discontent. That isn't my goal. It is just the reality. This verse is a great reminder that I should be constantly seeking to be at peace in my heart. I need to be perfectly content with what I have - even if at some point I don't have as much. Understanding what I've been saved from, how could I ever be truly discontent again?

The second is Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." I believe that we are given the free will to choose many things in our lives. However, I also believe that God is completely in control and is sovereign over everything. Many people say that I need to believe either one or the other. Either I must believe that man has free will or that God is sovereign. However, I believe both. I think that we do determine much of our lives. We have free will. We choose. However, God's plan will happen exactly how God determines it to. This verse balances the two sides perfectly. We plan our course, but God determines our steps. We make plans, make choices, and God's will is carried out. How does God allow us choices and yet still is able to achieve His will in the end? It's an easy answer...He's God!

Blogging through the Bible...Prayer of David

May we have the same attitude as that of David.

1 Chronicles 17:16-27, Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

“Who am I, LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.

“What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

“There is no one like you, LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

“And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. You, LORD, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”

Blogging Through the Bible...OT Grace

For some reason, we in the church have created a false perception. It goes like this: "The NT God is a God of love and grace while the OT God is a God of wrath and judgment." Have you ever heard that, thought that, believed that, felt that? I don't know how you could not thanks to an overwhelming preference for the NT in today's churches. The OT seems unexplainable. It seems harsh. It seems messy & bloody. It goes against our sophisticated, western, idealism.

And yet, when I sit down and read the OT, not just picking and choosing stories but really reading it through, I can't help but walk away amazed at the grace of God. Is there wrath? Yes! Is it at times unexplainable, harsh, messy & bloody? Absolutely! However, look at what God had to work with!

Look at the major failures by even the good guys: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Gideon, Saul (good guy?), David, Solomon...and that is just to name a few! I don't have time to list all the "should be good guys gone bad," or the "always were very bad guys."

And yet, God continues to fulfill His promises. He continues to keep a remnant of the faithful even in the midst of the darkest of times. He sticks with families of rulers because of the covenants He made even when the families completely reject Him.

God is ALWAYS a God of love, grace, mercy, compassion. And yet, He is a God who takes care of sin (Ex. 34:6-7). As we continue through the depressing stories of failure and sin, watch for God's grace. It is there! Don't miss it!

Blogging through the Bible...Obedience vs. Sacrifice

Day 21. Has it really been three weeks already! I have to say, B90 has been awesome. We are right in the middle of some great stories! For today's post, I just want to bring up a simple verse that is not so simple to apply. 1 Samuel15:22 - But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

Let's set the context of the story. King Saul disobeys God. God had said for Saul to wipe everything out in a neighboring nation. However, Saul keeps the king alive and some choice selections from the livestock. When asked by Samuel why he didn't obey Saul answered that he had in fact obeyed. Not only did he just obey, he did better than obey. He kept all these great animals to sacrifice to the Lord.

The verse I quoted is God's reply through the prophet Samuel. How often do we disobey when we think we are obeying? How often do we dishonor the name of the Lord and we excuse it because we had "good intentions." People hate the church because the church is full of people who "have good intentions" and yet are so Christ-less in their lives at the same time. People hate the church and yet love Jesus. How can that be? It can be because we are falling into the trap of Saul. The Christian life is not difficult to understand. Jesus summed up all of the OT Law in two commands: Love God and love others. How often do we fail in one of these two areas all the while "having good intentions?"

Obedience is better than sacrifice! Just obey! Be like Jesus! Imagine how different the world would be today if the church were filled with Jesus followers instead of Christians!

Blogging through the Bible...God's Promises!

Am I the only one who hit a road block in our B90 Challenge? I'm not going to lie, Leviticus through Deuteronomy was pretty killer for me. I got in one of those mental states where I was kind of numb to what I was reading. My eyes were seeing the words but my brain was not engaged. Have you been there yet?

This fog continued into some of the book of Joshua. Especially when they started carving up the land...BORING!!! But, then something awesome happened. I caught myself and woke up. Not literally, but figuratively. A verse then popped off the page at me that made all of this worth it. Joshua 21:45 says, "Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."

Did you catch that. Not one promise of God failed! How often do we blame God, feel abandoned by God, ignored by God, insignificant to God. Yet, God fulfills His promises. God never changes. God doesn't fail. We may not always know what God is doing. But, God always is working out the details.

This makes promises like Romans 8:28 so special. All things work out! All things are for an ultimate good to be achieved. We may not always know why or understand, but that doesn't mean God isn't at work.

So take heart. And in this B90 journey, don't allow the fog to creep back in. You might miss pure gold like Joshua 21:45!

Leaping through Leviticus

We have just finished the book of Leviticus in the Bible in 90 Day Challenge. Going in, I knew that the Leviticus/Numbers sections are tedious at best and downright boring at worst. However, reading them through at a fast rate has been a great experience! In the teaching section of our B90 Sunday School class, professor John Walton, OT professor at Wheaton, challenged us to look at Leviticus through the concept of God establishing a foothold in a fallen world.

When reading Leviticus in this way, I came away realizing just how holy the God we serve is. Mankind had to approach Him with fear and trembling because we are sinful and broken. The way to God was detailed and complicated. We are to honor and fear God, balanced of course with love. An amazing picture of this balance is found in the pages of C.S. Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan, the great lion representing God in the story, is an animal that the children love. He wrestles with them, they hug and pet him, he protects them. However, he is also fearsome, powerful and violent. That is the God we serve.

The most amazing part of the story is that now we have open and unlimited access to this God through the person of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, we can approach our God, yes the God of Leviticus, with confidence. Let us not think that we need to fear God and love Jesus. While they are three persons they are also very much one being. We have a God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), who loves you and loves me! This God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) should also be feared and respected. The God of Leviticus is still very much the God we serve and love. Let us never loose our fear of God. Yet, let us also never lose our love for God. He is a God who is worth loving with everything we have and are!

Blogging Through the Bible...A Shining Star in a Dark Sky

I love the story of Joseph. If you aren’t reading with us, or if by some chance you got behind and haven’t read about Joseph yet, stop and read Genesis 37-50.

What amazes me about this story is the faithfulness of Joseph. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that remarkable. I mean, isn’t this how a believer is supposed to act? Isn’t this the type of life demanded by God, talked about by Jesus and most recently brought to our attention in popular books such as Crazy Love?

However, what is truly remarkable is that of anyone up to this point, Joseph had the greatest reasons to disobey God and lose his faith. Every excuse we come up with was at Joseph’s disposal. He was betrayed by his older brothers. He felt abandoned by God. He was alone in a culture that wouldn’t have cared if he slept with his master’s wife and would encourage worshiping other gods. His father wasn’t exactly a pillar of moral living. His brothers had done much much worse. In fact, up to this point, had any of the “heroes of the faith,” many of whom had much more comfortable lives than Joseph, not fallen to some sort of sin? Why then shouldn’t Joseph be given a pass?

And yet, Joseph didn’t budge. He remained strong. He kept the faith. He didn’t give up! What excuses do you have for your sin? What reasons do you have for not being able to help but fall for a temptation? Joseph proves that there never is an excuse. This is validated in 1 Cor. 10:13-14 which says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Let each of us commit to be a Joseph!

Blogging through the Bible...Sex & Marriage???

Day 3: Through Genesis 40:11

So for my first official post during this amazing Bible in 90 Days Challenge, I have to ask: What is with the Old Testament men's sex drives? I mean seriously. I feel at times like I am reading about an HBO special...no not the Sopranos - the Hebrews!

Did anyone just have one wife? Even with multiple wives these men still seem to shack up with quite a few ladies of ill repute (many of whom are close relatives???). And what did God say about it? Actually, not very much.

I could say that this is one of those weird, unexplainable phenomenons found in the Old Testament. I could use a popular explanation and say that we just can't explain the God of the Old Testament and thank goodness for the New Testament that makes everything ok.

Well, I'm not going to do that. Mainly because I don't think that the New Testament can fix the problems of the Old Testament. Otherwise, you have to say that there are problems with the Old Testament or with the Old Testament God. God is God. He always has been God and always will be God. God didn't change.

While there aren't specific words from God against the sexual failures of some of these men (the Law had yet to be given), there are obvious and drastic consequences. God warns mankind about sin. When sin happens, consequences happen. Sometimes there are natural consequences; such as the strife caused by having jealous wives (Gen. 29). Sometimes there are divine judgments; such as Sodom and Gomorrah being incinerated with burning sulfur from heaven (Gen. 19). Finally, just because there isn't a recorded condemnation from God doesn't mean there wasn't one. We don't know how much of the Law was given to individuals before Moses brought the official Law to the nation of Israel. We assume we have written down everything God ever said. Everything in the Bible is from God. I highly doubt everything from God is in the Bible. In fact, the life of Jesus (only 33 years worth) was recorded as a highlight reel (John 21:25).

As we take this journey though the Bible in 90 Days, remember that God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8)!

Blogging Through the Bible in 90 Days

It has started! I am reading through the Bible in 90 Days along with my GCC community. For the next 3 months, I am going to be totally focused on the Lord through His Word! If you have never read the Bible all the way through before, it will be an amazing time to read parts of the Bible you never have before, to read other parts like it was for the first time, and to finally say that you read God's letter to you in its entirety.

Do you want to join us? Check out our webpage at: http://graceindallas.org/content.cfm?id=332

Here on the Pastor Pasta Blog, I will be posting my thoughts as I read over the next 90 days! Stay tuned and read with me! You can find the reading plan at: http://www.havenministries.com/schedule.pdf

Godly Men - Where Art Thou?

Have you ever been really challenged? Like knock you out of your chair challenged? This video did that for me. We need men to step up in our churches. I hope the ministries of GCC (or wherever you attend church) are preparing men to lead their families, their churches, and in their communities!

The Focus of 2011

Wow - we have made it to 2011. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed! Where are the hover boards from Back to the Future? Where are the space ships from 2010: The Year We made Contact? For that matter, where is the space ship from 2001: A Space Odyssey? We are WAY behind that film. Where are the computer systems from numerous other Sci-fi movies that came out a few decades ago?

However, as we move into 2011, I have come up with a resolution that challenges me to the core. It is actually pretty simple. Focus on people not on technology. I am a tech addict. I love techy things. The newer and cooler the better! I was blessed beyond belief this Christmas with techy things. I got a mini remote controlled helicopter. I got a bunch of DVD's and Blu-rays to add to my collection. I have recently been able to purchase a Droid Incredible phone (for work of course). Yet, I wanted more. I found myself on Amazon.com right after Christmas looking at other stuff I could buy (with gift cards...but still!).

Then I started reading two books that are rocking my world. They are both by Francis Chan. Crazy Love we are doing in all our Life Groups, as a Sunday School class as well as a Sermon Series. The Forgotten God we are reading through as a church staff. In both those books there is an emphasis on being different. If we are truly temples of the Holy Spirit, how can we look the same as everybody else? If the Spirit of Christ actually lives inside of us how can people not immediately know who we are and who we follow?

All around us there are people who are needy and hurting. What are we doing to meet those needs? If you are like me, you are sitting on Amazon.com looking at the next cool techy "need" that I have...completely oblivious to the needs around me. Or maybe, like me, you try to comfort yourself with the idea that you are oblivious to them, all the while you know exactly what needs are out there AND DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THEM!

Walk with me in 2011 as I think and pray about how to be more like Christ, more filled with the Spirit, more aware to needs and most importantly, willing to do something to meet those needs!