Creeking And Deuteronomy

So to break up my regular time of devotion during the week, I am meeting with a group of guys and we're just reading through the Bible together. It's kind of like "creeking," which is something I tried this past weekend for the first time. Creeking involves outfitting oneself with waders and just walking up a creek and taking on the stumps, fallen trees, debris, etc. occasionally getting out of the water when the path is almost completely blocked. It is a worshipful experience just enjoying God's Creation with challenges of the wild in front of you. ---So we're reading through the book of Deuteronomy (their choice, not mine. lol), and I am doing it without notes or commentaries, just reading as we read it together tackling whatever comes into our path. Occasionally, we do go around something knowing that we'll figure it out eventually. ---Today was interesting as we barely made it through chapter 12 in one hour. As I retreated to my study haven I dialed back into one verse: You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.---Deut.12:4 God was adamant that Israel remove all the idols and even the remembrances of the idols that the pagans, who had previously inhabited the land, worshiped. ---God did not want them to worship Him the way the rest of the world worshiped their false gods. Even today, we want to have it our way in worship. It does not matter how technology advances or how our culture changes, God never changes. God wants worship the way He wants worship. It was not a suggestion, it was a command. God was trying to keep His people focused so that when He sent the Truth (Jesus Christ) that the people would be in tune to the Truth. Jesus came in the exact image of God. Jesus is the God-way to worship. He came and fulfilled the Law. All the little lessons God was teaching in the Old Testament were pointing to Jesus. The world will water down the Gospel and will dilute Jesus from being less than deity, and consequently cause people to not worship the LORD your God another way, their way. ---Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me." One-way Jesus! Do not fall for the counterfeits. It literally is God's way or the highway. Get right or get left.

Caulk Makes It What It Ain't

One size does not fit all. People fall through the cracks. Whether it is life in general, or life in community of a church these are quaint sayings that deal with the frustration in relationships. First of all, we are not all alike. It would be good for all of us to accept that and appreciate the differences; but it doesn’t usually work that way. Positive relationships is what strengthens people. People that rise out of poverty or escape the bondage of addictions have good support systems. Yet not all people have such networks of friends to support them. The church tries very hard to do this through small groups. Most churches will have a motto for their small groups to encourage doing life together, because we know it can be difficult. The problem is that not all people are alike, and inevitably someone gets left out. This is not to discount people that do not fit neatly into the 18-22 or the 30-35 married or 30-35 single groups for example. What about the 54 and handicapped? What about the 19 not married and pregnant? What about the 49 and just got out of jail? On and on it goes. —- So how do we help those that do not fit the pre-made models or just have a little tougher time coping with group dynamics? It takes caring individuals to notice, that to no fault of the group or the individual necessarily, that someone is straggling behind. When someone is spotted falling through the cracks, it calls for a solution not a complaint. There is no quick-fix. It will take time, and it will call for going outside the box. —- The very best builder has to use caulk. When it is time to finish all the wood working, the base-board, cabinets, etc. in a house there will be these little gaps between walls and boards, no matter how skilled the workers are. The skilled cabinet maker and the carpenter have done their best, but everything didn’t fit perfectly. It rarely does. The same goes for our connecting together in relationships. Every single person does not fit neatly into their age group for whatever reason. —-When it comes time to finish the building of the house, a construction worker walks every room with the caulk gun to fill in the gaps, because “Caulk makes it what it ain’t.” Whether in church or life in general, we have family and friends fall through the cracks, because there are gaps. Since everyone does not fit neatly into a group, blaming the group is a waste of time. It is usually the natural reaction, but instead it is time to step up and fill in the gap, and make it what it ain’t. —- The next time you see someone being left out, go get them. Bring them in. Don’t judge the group that they didn’t fit in. God pointed them out to you to fill in the gap. The truth is that somewhere or sometime we have been in that awkward spot of not fitting in. Praise the Lord for that person that reached out to us. Isn’t it about time that you reach out? If you don’t have a group to bring them into, have you considering mentoring someone? Oftentimes, it takes just a little coaching or encouragement to help a brother or sister connect. Make a difference in someone else’s life, because doing life alone stinks. We were built for community.

“…Now will I praise…”—-Gen.29:35

“And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, ‘Now will I praise the LORD:’ therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”—- We need to place this in context to understand. Leah was the wife of Jacob whose name would be changed to Israel for he would be the father of the twelve tribes. Jacob had been deceived by his father-in-law, and tricked into marrying the “ugly” sister Leah before he could marry the one he loved and betrothed to, Rachel. — God saw that Jacob was showing love to Rachel and not Leah. When God saw this He opened the womb of Leah, and He closed the womb of Rachel (temporarily). So, yeah, add that to the list of things God can do. She has three boys, one right after another, and each name had significant meaning. All dealt with her pain of feeling unloved by her husband. In her heart she thought the ability to bare children would draw Jacob to love her, as Rebekah continued to be shut out. —- In the end, she realized that it was God who loved her, as she had the fourth son and named him “praise” (Judah). We can look for the love and praise of men, but God is the source of love. Look to Him first, He is always the right place to find love.— Footnote: of the eventual twelve sons that Jacob’s wives would have, Leah only had four, but two were the most prominent (Levi and Judah). The Messiah came from the lineage of the ugly sister. —- God knows your heart. Take your gripes to Him today.

“Now after the Sabbath…”—-Mt.28:1

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.—-Mt.28:1 Reading this for the upteenth time, I remembered it was one of those things that I have read way too fast. The ladies go to the tomb, obviously expecting to see a dead body. Instead they find the evidence of heaven intersecting with earth, as an angel caused an earthquake as he rolled back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. And then he just sat on it. It describes the angel as having an appearance like lightning with clothing white as snow. Those seasoned-veteran guards, no doubt , were getting a little overtime pay by making sure a dead-man escape the tomb. What a cush job! However, they were stunned, frozen at the appearance of the angel. —- Do you know who was not scared? These two women. The angel quickly explains the situation putting them at ease. Probably just hearing the name Jesus did it for them. He was the one they knew who calmed the seas, shut down the winds, and satisfied appetites. The angel doesn’t chastise them for coming expectantly to see a dead man. No. The angel reminds them, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.”(v.6) Earthquake, angel, frozen soldiers are part of the story, but two obedient women steal the show as they go and tell of the reason Savior. —- This story did not die with them, and it will not die with us. Go and tell. Jesus came back just as he said he would. *For this reason, 2000 years later, believers still celebrate the first day of the week! The resurrection of Jesus is the epic story. —- There was an earthquake. They saw an angel. Jesus was resurrected. Do not let the world water down the epic story of hope.— How can this story put a skip back in your step today? Never forget.

Getting Through One Hour

Failing marriages, people giving up on life, yielding to unhealthy habits, flailing in hopelessness—-these are just some of the circumstances that folks in the church are troubled with. How can this be? People go to church for years, and then all of a sudden they do something that is totally against what they had been taught, and totally against what they would say they stand for. Could it be that for a lot of folks it is “just going to church?” People are not going to church for life transformation. Instead they are going because they always did or don’t want to feel guilty or some other reason. —- Once the Word of God is presented to you, the onus is on you to apply the Word to your life. If the change that you commit to God in that moment does not leave the parking lot, then you can go to church fifteen years unchanged! That is a travesty, and I believe we see the evidence all around us. You see, we can get through one hour, and leave unchanged if we’re not involved. This is a problem. Many folks take up space in churches, and do so without getting involved. Committed would be a better word. The truth is that people do not get committed, because they like to be unaccountable. It is this unaccountability that allows our friends to fall into the crapper. —- This leaves a heap of scraps that we end up measuring by statistics. Please do not just go to church. Get committed. We do not want to see you among the fallen, lifeless, unhealthy, or hopeless. —- Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you are truly worshiping, going to church isn’t like going to the dentist…you know, something you’re just trying to get through. True worshipers cannot wait for church to start. In fact, they start worshiping ahead of time.

The Secret to Never Failing in Relationships

Do we really know what love is? Do we really know how to love? Too many of us, perhaps, have had bad examples of what love is or what love is not. --- Let me knock out one myth about love right now...it is not a wimpy, frilly kind of thing. Love is the bomb! Love never fails. You cannot say that about anything else. Love never stinking fails. That is gospel truth. You see, written in black and white in the Bible it says, "Love never fails." --- Since we do not want to be losers, maybe we should have a better grasp of what love is so we can alway win. --- In all likelihood if you are a believer (a Christian), you have read or heard 1 Cor.13:4-8 many times (if not hundreds). The problem is that we can hear something many times, but never get it. Why is that? Mostly, because we don't want to. You see, the secret to love starts out like this: "Love is patient." We all want love for us. We all will say we want to love others. However, if it starts out with being patient with others, "Ahem, no thank you." So, if you really don't want to be a loser, and you want to always win, then you have to do love the right way. And it begins with patience. The next part of love is being kind. The issue here is that we want to be kind to certain people, and we are tempted to be conditional with our kindness. Frankly, some people have a problem being kind. Again, if you are going to love people (and win) then this is part of the deal. ---Let's pause here. Most people have given up on love with the first two. Am I right?--- Caution: if you falter here you will not make it to the end. "It does not envy" is the third part. Are you envious of others? This is a problem. We have to die to self. Love is hard. Hang tough though, it is worth it! "Love does not boast." This idea of being puffed-up can be a problem to love. It can be a spoiler. It leads to the next, "love is not proud." We all know pride comes before a fall, or something like that. We definitely know that pride hinders our walk. It is for sure a detriment to love. "It is not rude." It seems like this could go unsaid, yet many of us are more rude to the people we say we love than to a stranger on the street. That is a problem. That is a hindrance. "It is not self-seeking " or "easily angered" are two more on the list. Stay with me. Love is not easy, but it is worth it. If you are looking out for others first, and they are looking out for you, then that is a sweet world. We all like it when someone has our back. That is why we are better together. The ability to not be easily angered leads to good sound judgment. A calm demeanor helps you win. This even works with raising children. I always like to say, "if you are yelling, then you are losing." The writer goes on to say that "love keeps no record of wrongs." Ah. Can you do that? Can you let stuff go? You better. If you are going to win in love, you have to let stuff go. Love is hard, but it is worth it. Hang tough. "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth." Do not be happy when bad happens to others. Maybe you thought they had it coming, but love does not delight in evil. There is a saying, "the truth hurts." I have my own spin on that, "the truth only hurts when you are on the wrong side of it." We are to rejoice with the truth, because the truth gets us to the right place and keeps us on the right path. Ignore the truth, and you are going to have problems. --- Now, here's the goody. Here's why we want to love like the Bible says to love even though it is hard to do. It involves a little word that can rarely be used, but helps in our times of greatest need: "always." Always is solid ground. Listen, "love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and and perseveres." We want all of those things. And love "always" does these. Finally, "love never fails." ---Certainly, it is hard to do all these things. Know this, there is a promise in here. If you love like this, your love will never fail. So, take your relationship(s) to a new level. Be patient, be kind, etc. Do what loves does, and never fail. --- If you have success in relationships, then you will succeed in life. We're better together.

Somebody's Sister

Stop with the naked pictures. She is somebody’s sister. She is someone’s daughter. The young girl or woman in the picture is possibly a person in unwilling bondage, a victim of human trafficking, a sex slave. —- A little murmur is boiling in America. It is a cry out against violence against women. It is a fake cry by most, while a serious cry for those who have begun movements. If we are serious, then the mainstream media needs to stop promoting nudity, sexual provocation and scantily dressed women. Talk is cheap. Print is cheap. The same media outlets, which is pretty much all of them, might have an article or two about violence against women, yet will have some pictures somewhere on their site that are sure to draw the eyes of men. Every marketer knows that sex sells. The color red, the color yellow and near-naked women turn heads on a dime. Hardees, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN (a restaurant chain and two sport “magazines”) are entities dealing with food and athletics, yet the mere mention of their names connect to commercials and certain non-real-sport editions of women being used to appeal to the carnal nature of man. —- The problem is that folks do not like violence against women, and they should not. Yet, the world is missing the connection of marketing (I’m not even talking about the billion dollar porn industry or steamy television). The flashy pictures in mainstream media are there to get men’s attention by using women as a “product” or a “tool” to get them to look at the page, stay longer, and maybe click on another page and so on. The brain is a terrible thing. As we send the brain down the natural lustful trail, it wants more. Where there is a will, there is a way. There comes a time when pictures will not meet the sexual desire. What the brain started, the flesh wants to finish. These luring ads and special editions treat women as objects. Women then become objects that are sold and used. The attitudes of men are warped toward women. I am not under false impression that we will ever change the tactics of Madison Avenue to get your dollars. However, we can appeal to the brain by reminding us all that the woman in the picture is somebody’s sister or someone’s daughter. They are possibly getting paid, but they are most assuredly being used. May we renew our minds by reminding ourselves that these are sisters, daughters, friends of our kids, or women that have been drugged or brain-washed into these schemes. I know, I know some of these women see this as a way to make big money, but “sex sells” is the driving force behind the violence against women. We must get better in our relationships. —- Think about this: who gets mad when a woman is mistreated? Someone who loves them as a person, not someone treating them as a product. So to America’s marketing departments and to the people who pay them: if you are serious about violence against women, then stop the naked and provocative pictures to sell your goods and services. Otherwise, shut up, because we can’t hear you over the noise of treating women as products. For our part, we can quit clicking on the pages or buying their magazines. Years ago, a well-meaning relative bought one of my teenage boys a year’s subscription to Sports Illustrated. One day the annual Swimsuit edition arrived at the house. It had a very attractive cover on it that was very appealing. As soon as it came in, I’m glad I trashed it (without opening it). He never knew. The best thing we can do is trash these immediately, turn the page or turn off the set. Are you serious about violence against women? Then stop it before it starts. Treat women as human beings and not products.