Act Like A Man

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her---Eph.5:25 So how does a man love his wife like Christ loved the church today? He loves her by committing to her whole-heartedly. Aside from his personal relationship with God, the man's relationship with his wife becomes top priority as he is willing to lay down his life for her. But a whole host of men do not comprehend this, and we can be sure from basic statistical analysis. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? Certainly God is not counting on the fact that every man will have to physically die for his wife. --- Well first let's establish that a man becomes a man when he becomes serious about life and responsible for himself and those with him. When a man commits to a woman in holy matrimony, he and she are coming out of the public "dating pool" and commit to the journey of life together. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? It does not mean that a man has to necessarily stop hunting, fishing and overall "hobby-ing." It simply means that those things are no longer the high priority they may have been as a single man. The love of your life now is your wife, not Bass Pro Shop. --- Take the example of Christ a step further. Serve her! Christ who is God, came not to be served, but to serve (Mk.10:45) It also means that any carousing, flirting and women-chasing is over. You have made a commitment as Christ made a commitment to the church. He died to sin when he came to the world. The Bible says that he was tempted like every other man, yet he never sinned. He died for the sins of the world on the cross. So God isn't calling for your blood to be shed, but He is calling for you to die to self. You're not a boy any more. Boys play with toys. So, act like a man! While you are living for the One who died for you and rose again, don't mess up God's picture of Christ and the church, for that is what the marital relationship is a picture of in the first place.--- This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. ---Eph.5:32

Pull Over

As our mission team showed up to build a home for Jose and family, the locals would stop by in curiosity, as they saw these strangers show up at the property. It was obvious that we weren’t from around there by our skin color and language. Those who passed by, whether walking, riding a bike, or even a motor-bike would at least take a double-take. However most would stop to see what was going on. Some would even stop to lend a hand. with the work that was going on. There were those that would watch from across the street and gradually inch closer to the job site. It was amazing to see our work force of fifteen nearly double at times as the community (made up of friends, family and just people in the neighborhood) would jump in and help build the house. People from different nations, speaking different languages were working together for one cause. It was truly a cool thing that everyone should experience at least once. We (Americans) all recognized the fact that most of us would have just kept on going if we saw something like this in our neighborhood. We would be too “busy” to stop, because we are always too busy. Sadly our being too busy or unwillingness to stop and care causes us to miss out on amazing stories around us. Those who stopped by heard Jose’s story of faith. Jose had torn down his tin-roofed house of 29 years just a day or two before the Americanos on mission with local Christians (Casas por Christo and local church) came to build the foundation of a new home; and resurrect this new place in just over three days. —- As I paused or pulled over to reflect on all this, I wondered how this trip effected me. In that quiet time God pointed out to me three recent missed opportunities to pull over: two were in my own community before I left the country. As I was hastily getting things ready to depart, that was my excuse for not stopping by to see a person that I felt God nudging me to go see. I didn’t have time for that. Also in my hurriedness, God had bumped me to just send a note of care to another person; and I was distracted just enough to not do that. The third opportunity was in the airport. I observed from a distance what looked like an elderly woman missing her flight emotionally distraught as she sat down to cry it out. —- I don’t know her. She doesn’t probably even speak English were my thoughts. I’m sixty feet away from her in an airport full of people. Why is this bothering me? It’s not my problem. I’m off duty. I’m headed on mission. All three of these opportunities would have offered a unique blessing from God for those involved. Who knows what good it would have done had I “pulled over?”—- When we go on a mission of any sorts, we usually think about what we are doing for someone else. However, God is using that tender moment as we are submitted in humility to mold and shape us. But we have to stop and pull over and see what’s going on! Have you pulled over lately to see what is going on in the lives of people around you? If I learned nothing else, it was maybe just a simple reminder: people matter. Jesus stopped and pulled over all the time… for people, and amazing things followed.

"Now the Tax Collector..."---Lk.15:1

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.”—-Lk.15:1 It is easy to ascertain the folks back then considered the word tax-collector and sinner as synonymous. It was such as these that were drawing near to hear the sweet words of Jesus. Meanwhile, the Pharisees and scribes couldn’t believe that Jesus would speak to them, much less get that close to “sinners.” Knowing their hearts, Jesus shares a couple of parables teaching them that just as, they look for lost things—-so does God. People lost in sin have lost their way, and Jesus has come to bring them back. “Just so, I tell you, there is a joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (v.10) When one person comes to faith in Christ, there is a party in heaven!—-Jesus said. —- As we grow in our personal faith, we too can become accidental Pharisees (thinking too highly of ourselves, forgetting that we too came out of sin). Maybe there are people around you that are in deeper to sin than you ever were. Remember that Jesus came for them also.

“Now you shall see….”—Ex.6:1

So the people went from hopeless to “hopeless-er.” They were excited that God had heard their cry and sent a Deliverer (Ex.4:31). But they were upset when Pharaoh got mad and made life even more miserable on the Hebrew slaves. —-It was at this lowest point that God tells Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”-Ex.6:1 God follows that up with seven “I will” statements. This should have been most encouraging to these people as they had reached the lowest low, because when God wills something, it is going to happen. (But maybe they didn’t quite know God like that, yet!) Also God told Moses that he appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but they didn’t know Him like all of the people were about to know Him. God had made a promise to their ancestors (an “I will”), and He was working towards getting them to the land of promise. However, their descendants were about to know God in a way that the world had never known Him. God is constantly revealing more and more of Himself to mankind. On earth this ultimately happened with the incarnation of Christ Jesus. The grand finale will be when we see Him face to face. But in the here and now, we can know that when we are at our lowest point, and we cry out to God; He will intervene. Sometimes it seems like He lets it get to the lowest point so that we are absolutely positive that it was Him. —-May we trust the promises of God today as we live joyously for Him even through tough times.

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.