Isaiah 53:4-6 (NLT)
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Before the birth of Christ the prophet Isaiah spoke of Him. The prophet tells us that it was out weaknesses and sorrows that he carried. He goes on to say Christ took the punishment we should have endured for our sin. While we tend to want to follow our own paths, pursuing our own way; God in His mercy laid on Christ the sins of us all.
A principal at a parochial middle school asks, "How many times have you been to my office?" The boy says, "Not enough, I guess." "You've gotten the belt each time." "Yeah, and I can take whatever you dish out." The principal pauses for a moment to think and then quietly says, "Today you learn about grace."
The boy asks, "You gonna let me walk?" The principal replies, "Yes, I'm going to let you walk." The boy studies the face of the principal. "No punishment at all?" "Oh, there has to be punishment," says the principal. "What you did was wrong, and there are always consequences to our actions." "I knew it," says the boy as he holds out his hands. "Go ahead." The principal takes hold of a belt, folds it in two, and then hands it to the boy's teacher. He tells the boy, "I want you to count the blows." The principal then extends his own hands toward the teacher and says, "Ten strokes." The belt snaps across the outstretched hands of the principal. Shock registers on the boy's face. By the fourth stroke, tears well up in the boy's eyes. "Stop! That's enough!" the boy yells. But the belt continues to crack across the principal's hands. The boy counts out loud, "Five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten." The principal stands with sweat glistening on his forehead, his hands swollen and red. He reaches over, puts his swollen hand on the shoulder of the boy, and says just one word: "Grace."
The greatest consequence for sin was death, eternal separation from God. Yet God sent His son Jesus to take the punishment for our sin extending the greatest love He could offer, His own death to give us Life. Grace! It is a word we should all remember.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Pride
Genesis 40:1-4 (NLT)
1 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. 2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, 3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. 4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.
In these verses we find the Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker have offended the Pharaoh in some manner. We could speculate the offense was anything from trying to take the Pharaoh’s life to just allowing him to be served bad food and drink. Whatever the offense; they were assigned to Joseph for him to look after him. Interestingly it says they were assigned by the captain of the guard. The Bible says the captain of the guard was Potiphar who had Joseph wrongly thrown into prison.
Amazing how pride steps in the way of Potiphar’s life. Joseph was a trusted servant to Potiphar until Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of wrong doing. Yet even in prison Potiphar still trusts Joseph enough to put people under his charge. Because of pride Potiphar could not let himself consider that he may be wrong about his wife’s accusations. Instead Joseph remained imprisoned, but as a trusted servant. We all should be careful not to let pride keep us from doing what is right. Pride destroys relationships and often the person themselves. Pray God would remove pride as an obstacle and allow you to clearly see your life for what it is.
1 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. 2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, 3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. 4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.
In these verses we find the Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker have offended the Pharaoh in some manner. We could speculate the offense was anything from trying to take the Pharaoh’s life to just allowing him to be served bad food and drink. Whatever the offense; they were assigned to Joseph for him to look after him. Interestingly it says they were assigned by the captain of the guard. The Bible says the captain of the guard was Potiphar who had Joseph wrongly thrown into prison.
Amazing how pride steps in the way of Potiphar’s life. Joseph was a trusted servant to Potiphar until Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of wrong doing. Yet even in prison Potiphar still trusts Joseph enough to put people under his charge. Because of pride Potiphar could not let himself consider that he may be wrong about his wife’s accusations. Instead Joseph remained imprisoned, but as a trusted servant. We all should be careful not to let pride keep us from doing what is right. Pride destroys relationships and often the person themselves. Pray God would remove pride as an obstacle and allow you to clearly see your life for what it is.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Go to God not religion
Romans 2:17-24 (The Message)
17 -24 If you're brought up Jewish, don't assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you're an insider to God's revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God's revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I'm quite serious. While preaching "Don't steal!" are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, "It's because of you Jews that the outsiders are down on God," shows it's an old problem that isn't going to go away.
The apostle writes that it is not religion that saves a person. For even though the law was preached to many those responsible for preaching the law did not uphold it themselves. The same people who said, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, part of God’s commandments, did so anyway causing others to stumble on this religious hypocrisy.
John Ortberg , in the sermon The Way of Wisdom recalls, “My friend, Jimmy, and his son, Davey, were playing in the ocean down in Mexico, while his family—his wife, daughters, parents, and a cousin—were on the beach. Suddenly, a rogue riptide swept Davey out to the sea. Immediately Jimmy started to do whatever he could to help Davey get back to the shore, but he, too, was soon swept away in the tide. He knew that in a few minutes, both he and Davey would drown. He tried to scream, but his family couldn't hear him. Jimmy's a strong guy—an Olympic Decathlete—but he was powerless in this situation. As he was carried along by the water, he had a single, chilling thought: My wife and my daughters are going to have to have a double funeral. Meanwhile, his cousin, who understood something about the ocean, saw what was happening. He walked out into the water where he knew there was a sandbar. He had learned that if you try to fight a riptide, you will die. So, he walked to the sandbar, stood as close as he could get to Jimmy and Davey, and then he just lifted his hand up and said, "You come to me. You come to me."
If you try to go the way your gut tells you to go—the shortest distance into shore—you will die. If you think for yourself, you will die. God says, "If you come to me, you will live." That's it—death or life.
17 -24 If you're brought up Jewish, don't assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you're an insider to God's revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God's revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I'm quite serious. While preaching "Don't steal!" are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, "It's because of you Jews that the outsiders are down on God," shows it's an old problem that isn't going to go away.
The apostle writes that it is not religion that saves a person. For even though the law was preached to many those responsible for preaching the law did not uphold it themselves. The same people who said, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, part of God’s commandments, did so anyway causing others to stumble on this religious hypocrisy.
John Ortberg , in the sermon The Way of Wisdom recalls, “My friend, Jimmy, and his son, Davey, were playing in the ocean down in Mexico, while his family—his wife, daughters, parents, and a cousin—were on the beach. Suddenly, a rogue riptide swept Davey out to the sea. Immediately Jimmy started to do whatever he could to help Davey get back to the shore, but he, too, was soon swept away in the tide. He knew that in a few minutes, both he and Davey would drown. He tried to scream, but his family couldn't hear him. Jimmy's a strong guy—an Olympic Decathlete—but he was powerless in this situation. As he was carried along by the water, he had a single, chilling thought: My wife and my daughters are going to have to have a double funeral. Meanwhile, his cousin, who understood something about the ocean, saw what was happening. He walked out into the water where he knew there was a sandbar. He had learned that if you try to fight a riptide, you will die. So, he walked to the sandbar, stood as close as he could get to Jimmy and Davey, and then he just lifted his hand up and said, "You come to me. You come to me."
If you try to go the way your gut tells you to go—the shortest distance into shore—you will die. If you think for yourself, you will die. God says, "If you come to me, you will live." That's it—death or life.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
God said bang
Mark 14:66-71 (NLT)
66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.” 68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. 69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.” 71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.
Jesus has already told Peter he would Deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed twice and Peter did exactly that. When questioned, Peter denied knowing Jesus or anything about him. Then he remembered the words of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
When we are in an uncomfortable setting it becomes so easy to deny the truth when others around us are not sure what the truth is. We become like Peter denying the truth or even lying about it to make things easier. Yet this was truth Peter should have been proud to share, but he was afraid for his own sake. The other night on TV a celebrity news reporter was with her fellow peers. One of them made a comment to her that she didn’t know what the Big Bang theory was. They teased her a bit but she knew enough to respond in a bold way. She said, “God said bang and the universe appeared.” Even though she was being teased and picked on she still held onto her faith and shared it with others. Man can conceive many theories and ideas how something happened, but for those who have faith they know however it happened it was a result of God.
66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.” 68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. 69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.” 71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.
Jesus has already told Peter he would Deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed twice and Peter did exactly that. When questioned, Peter denied knowing Jesus or anything about him. Then he remembered the words of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
When we are in an uncomfortable setting it becomes so easy to deny the truth when others around us are not sure what the truth is. We become like Peter denying the truth or even lying about it to make things easier. Yet this was truth Peter should have been proud to share, but he was afraid for his own sake. The other night on TV a celebrity news reporter was with her fellow peers. One of them made a comment to her that she didn’t know what the Big Bang theory was. They teased her a bit but she knew enough to respond in a bold way. She said, “God said bang and the universe appeared.” Even though she was being teased and picked on she still held onto her faith and shared it with others. Man can conceive many theories and ideas how something happened, but for those who have faith they know however it happened it was a result of God.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Forgive faults and give love
Proverbs 17:9
9 Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
The best way peace can be preserved is to make the best of everything. Let go of faults and not pass on the problem to others when it doesn’t involve their safety or wellbeing. And for the sake of yourself, let go of a fault. Repeating the problem to others over and over does not help, but instead causes people to distance themselves from the issues. So forgive and let love grow.
Amy Sutherland communicates some interesting ideas about husbands and wives in an article she wrote for the New York Times called, "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage." Sutherland begins by explaining that, after 12 years of marriage, she became dismayed that her husband still exhibited several irritating habits. Her reaction to this realization is shared by many women today: These minor annoyances are not the stuff of separation and divorce, but in sum they began to dull my love for Scott. I wanted—needed—to nudge him a little closer to perfect, to make him into a mate who might annoy me a little less, who wouldn't keep me waiting at restaurants, a mate who would be easier to love.
So, like many wives before me, I ignored a library of advice books and set about improving him. By nagging, of course, which only made his behavior worse: he'd drive faster instead of slower; shave less frequently, not more; and leave his reeking bike garb on the bedroom floor longer than ever. A breakthrough came when Amy began traveling to a school for exotic animal trainers in California in order to research a book she wanted to write: I listened, rapt, as professional trainers explained how they taught dolphins to flip and elephants to paint. Eventually it hit me that the same techniques might work on that stubborn but loveable species, the American husband. The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't. After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband. Back in Maine, I began thanking Scott if he threw one dirty shirt into the hamper. If he threw in two, I'd kiss him. Meanwhile, I would step over any soiled clothes on the floor without one sharp word, though I did sometimes kick them under the bed. But as he basked in my appreciation, the piles became smaller.
What are you focusing your attention on: the things that irritate you or the things you enjoy? Learn to forgive the faults, accept them and love the good things a person has to share.
9 Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
The best way peace can be preserved is to make the best of everything. Let go of faults and not pass on the problem to others when it doesn’t involve their safety or wellbeing. And for the sake of yourself, let go of a fault. Repeating the problem to others over and over does not help, but instead causes people to distance themselves from the issues. So forgive and let love grow.
Amy Sutherland communicates some interesting ideas about husbands and wives in an article she wrote for the New York Times called, "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage." Sutherland begins by explaining that, after 12 years of marriage, she became dismayed that her husband still exhibited several irritating habits. Her reaction to this realization is shared by many women today: These minor annoyances are not the stuff of separation and divorce, but in sum they began to dull my love for Scott. I wanted—needed—to nudge him a little closer to perfect, to make him into a mate who might annoy me a little less, who wouldn't keep me waiting at restaurants, a mate who would be easier to love.
So, like many wives before me, I ignored a library of advice books and set about improving him. By nagging, of course, which only made his behavior worse: he'd drive faster instead of slower; shave less frequently, not more; and leave his reeking bike garb on the bedroom floor longer than ever. A breakthrough came when Amy began traveling to a school for exotic animal trainers in California in order to research a book she wanted to write: I listened, rapt, as professional trainers explained how they taught dolphins to flip and elephants to paint. Eventually it hit me that the same techniques might work on that stubborn but loveable species, the American husband. The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't. After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband. Back in Maine, I began thanking Scott if he threw one dirty shirt into the hamper. If he threw in two, I'd kiss him. Meanwhile, I would step over any soiled clothes on the floor without one sharp word, though I did sometimes kick them under the bed. But as he basked in my appreciation, the piles became smaller.
What are you focusing your attention on: the things that irritate you or the things you enjoy? Learn to forgive the faults, accept them and love the good things a person has to share.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Placing God First
Exodus 34:14 (NLT)
You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
God was establishing a covenant with Moses and his people. The covenants or Ten Commandments were chiseled onto stone for the people to read and adhere to. In verse 14 God stated the people must not worship any other form of god for the living God is jealous about his relationship with us.
From Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? (Baker Books, 2011, pg 35) he says, “The Bible frequently describes God as a jealous lover. In his book titled Is God a Moral Monster? Paul Copan asks the question, "When can jealousy be a good thing?" Here's part of his answer: In God's case, it's when we're rummaging around the garbage piles of life and avoiding the source of satisfaction. It reminds me of a comic strip I once saw of a dog who had been drinking out of a toilet bowl. With water dripping from his snout, Fido looks up to tell us, "It doesn't get any better than this!" Instead of enjoying fresh spring water, we look for stagnant, crummy substitutes that inevitably fail us.”
Are you trying to fill a need in your life with something other than God and Christ? If you think the only way to achieve happiness is to have something specific you may just be doing that. For instance if you think you could not exist without your spouse, then you are saying no one else can meet my needs, not even God. Or maybe you think unless you have a wealthy job position you just could not be happy. In that case money has become your idol and God is no longer your reassurance and comfort. Examine your life and ask what is it I must have to be happy? Then really look to see how true that answer really is.
You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
God was establishing a covenant with Moses and his people. The covenants or Ten Commandments were chiseled onto stone for the people to read and adhere to. In verse 14 God stated the people must not worship any other form of god for the living God is jealous about his relationship with us.
From Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? (Baker Books, 2011, pg 35) he says, “The Bible frequently describes God as a jealous lover. In his book titled Is God a Moral Monster? Paul Copan asks the question, "When can jealousy be a good thing?" Here's part of his answer: In God's case, it's when we're rummaging around the garbage piles of life and avoiding the source of satisfaction. It reminds me of a comic strip I once saw of a dog who had been drinking out of a toilet bowl. With water dripping from his snout, Fido looks up to tell us, "It doesn't get any better than this!" Instead of enjoying fresh spring water, we look for stagnant, crummy substitutes that inevitably fail us.”
Are you trying to fill a need in your life with something other than God and Christ? If you think the only way to achieve happiness is to have something specific you may just be doing that. For instance if you think you could not exist without your spouse, then you are saying no one else can meet my needs, not even God. Or maybe you think unless you have a wealthy job position you just could not be happy. In that case money has become your idol and God is no longer your reassurance and comfort. Examine your life and ask what is it I must have to be happy? Then really look to see how true that answer really is.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Letting God put us together to serve
Psalm 18:20-24 (The Message)
20 -24 God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I'm alert to God's ways; I don't take God for granted. Every day I review he ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
In these verses David reflects upon his integrity God has restored in his life. David tells us his life was in pieces. He gave what he had to God so God could restore him and give him a fresh start. With a new beginning David longs to seek God and not miss anything God is trying to do in his life. He feels restored as if all the pieces of his life have been glued back into one piece. Yet David watches his step for he knows sin could cause him to fall and once again shatter his life. David acknowledges it was God who rewrote the text of his life and open his eyes and heart to his purpose.
In November 2010, a wedding party in Glenelg, Australia, was unexpectedly called into action right after the wedding ceremony. While they were posing for pictures on a scenic ledge, a woman unrelated to the wedding fell into the water and started drowning. Dressed in his tuxedo, the best man jumped in and brought the woman back toward shore. Then the bride, a trained nurse, waded into the water and started administering CPR. By the time the Surf Life Saving volunteers had arrived, the woman had regained consciousness. But according to one safety official, "[The victim] was very lucky that the bridal party was there and they acted quickly and got her to the shallows." After the daring rescue operation, the drenched but heroic best man and the bride happily rejoined the wedding reception and continued with the festivities.
In some ways, this unusual event serves as a great image for the calling of every local church: we're dressed up for a party (celebrating worship), but at the same time we're also prepared to dive into mission, even when it's inconvenient and dangerous. Worship and mission, loving God and loving others, praising and serving—these combinations aren't opposites; they form the dual nature of our calling as the church. [Best man jumps off Glenelg Jetty to save woman, News.com.au (11-29-10)]
God has called each of us for a purpose in life. Give the broken pieces of your life over to God and let Him put you back together as one who is ready to serve Him. May God bless and tough the depths of your soul and heal every wound.
20 -24 God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I'm alert to God's ways; I don't take God for granted. Every day I review he ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
In these verses David reflects upon his integrity God has restored in his life. David tells us his life was in pieces. He gave what he had to God so God could restore him and give him a fresh start. With a new beginning David longs to seek God and not miss anything God is trying to do in his life. He feels restored as if all the pieces of his life have been glued back into one piece. Yet David watches his step for he knows sin could cause him to fall and once again shatter his life. David acknowledges it was God who rewrote the text of his life and open his eyes and heart to his purpose.
In November 2010, a wedding party in Glenelg, Australia, was unexpectedly called into action right after the wedding ceremony. While they were posing for pictures on a scenic ledge, a woman unrelated to the wedding fell into the water and started drowning. Dressed in his tuxedo, the best man jumped in and brought the woman back toward shore. Then the bride, a trained nurse, waded into the water and started administering CPR. By the time the Surf Life Saving volunteers had arrived, the woman had regained consciousness. But according to one safety official, "[The victim] was very lucky that the bridal party was there and they acted quickly and got her to the shallows." After the daring rescue operation, the drenched but heroic best man and the bride happily rejoined the wedding reception and continued with the festivities.
In some ways, this unusual event serves as a great image for the calling of every local church: we're dressed up for a party (celebrating worship), but at the same time we're also prepared to dive into mission, even when it's inconvenient and dangerous. Worship and mission, loving God and loving others, praising and serving—these combinations aren't opposites; they form the dual nature of our calling as the church. [Best man jumps off Glenelg Jetty to save woman, News.com.au (11-29-10)]
God has called each of us for a purpose in life. Give the broken pieces of your life over to God and let Him put you back together as one who is ready to serve Him. May God bless and tough the depths of your soul and heal every wound.
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