September 30 - Luke 5:1-11, Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16, Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26, Mark 2:13-17, Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32, Mark 2:18-22, Matthew 9:14-17, Luke 5:33-39

Good morning everyone,

Have I mentioned that I love the Gospels? I really do! They are so full of life and visuals I find to be so very cool. Today we got to check out in our mind’s eye, Jesus rockin’ the boat, so to speak, Peter’s boat that is. After a night of no luck out on the lake, Jesus asked Peter to throw his net in the water just one more time. I Imagine Peter may have looked at Jesus with a “gee, I just got back and they’re not really biting right now” look on his face but boy was he ever surprised when his obedience got him the catch of a life time. He had so many fish swim into his net he had to call for assistance from another boat that was close by. Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. We also read of man who asked Jesus to heal him of his leprosy and with just two words from Jesus, “Be healed,” the man was instantly cured. Amazing.

The story I liked best today, though, was Jesus healing the paralyzed man. Right? You with me on that? I love the mind’s eye view, can you see it? Jesus is in a home in Capernaum and people are crowding in to see him teach, so much so that there was no more room, we’re told, even outside. SRO! There were some guys though, who wanted to get their friend, who is paralyzed, to Jesus in hopes that He would heal his body, but like I mentioned before, the room was totally packed out, no chance of walking him in. Accessing the situation these guys decide their best option would be to cut a hole in the roof above Jesus’ head and lower him down in. 

I wonder if when Jesus was standing there, in the middle of the room teaching, if he ever heard the the palm fronds rustling above him, or did any of the dry cracked mud fall on his head. Certainly he had to have known something was going on, it was a hole big enough for a man on a bed to be lowered through. Right? Did Jesus smile when he saw this man being lowered thinking, “now that is determination, good for him.” I don’t know, it doesn’t say. What it does say though is that upon seeing their faith Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Probably not what the man expected, he came to Jesus because he wanted to walk but Jesus knew what the man needed most because he knew what was in his heart. Jesus knew that being paralyzed would be difficult but it was even worse not to be forgiven. A little bit later, after Jesus had to deal with some of the teachers of religious law, Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 

Wow! What do you think this guy did? Imagine the look on his face when he actually realized what Jesus said to him. Picture the joy he felt finally being able to stand for the first time in maybe forever. We’re told the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. I think perhaps he danced his way down the street shouting, “woo hoo, thank you Jesus!” I would have.

In a way we too can be like the man who was paralyzed. Sin can have a paralyzing effect on us, crippling our walk with the Lord. God warns us about the effects of sin and points out that we all have sinned. By understanding how serious God is about sin we will also see how serious he is about salvation. Jesus sees your heart the same as he saw the heart of the paralyzed man but, good news! The Bible tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Then you too can stand up, pick up your mat, and head on down the straight and narrow road. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all … 

September 29 - Mark 1:14-15 | Matthew 4:12-17 | Luke 3:23 | John 4:46-54 | Luke 4:16-30 | Mark 1:16-20 | Matthew 4:18-22 | Mark 1:21-28 | Luke 4:31-37 | Mark 1:29-34 | Matthew 8:14-17 | Luke 4:38-41 | Mark 1:35-39 | Luke 4:42-44 | Matthew 4:23-25

Good morning everyone,

Good grief, when you look at all that scripture changes at the top of the page it seems a bit daunting, but it really isn’t. While it is a lot of back and forth, it is also super easy to follow. We begin with Jesus going to Galilee, after John was put into prison, to proclaim the good news of God. His message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

It was Galilee where Jesus recruited his first disciples. While walking  beside the sea Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net and He encouraged them to follow him that they could fish for men. A bit farther down the beach He saw James and John in a boat preparing, mending their nets and we’re told with out delay Jesus called to them and they left their dad there with the hired help and followed Jesus. Seven of the twelve men Jesus called to be disciples were fishermen, men who knew a little something about patience and perseverance. I look at those two “P” words and chuckle thinking I am still a work in progress :-)

What we see in the disciples is a picture of what turning from an old life and living a new life looks like, that it isn’t always an easy transition, it can involve turning from the security of family, comforts and basically what has served to define us. The fact that Zebedee, the father to James and John, had servants tells us that these boys, though mending nets, were from a family with money. Choosing to follow Jesus meant leaving the old life behind, in 2 Corinthians we read, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Choosing Jesus means getting out of our comfort zone. We're not to be just sitting in church on Sundays but helping in our churches. We are to be out in the community reaching to the lost and the needy. We're to be telling others about the Savior! It's a life of evangelism and sacrifice of self. Believe me, I am looking in the mirror when I say that, I can so easily justify not doing more in my church with, “I did nursery for ten years, I write for the Lord each morning, I this, I that, maybe next year I will ____,” Perhaps you do the same thing too, I don’t know, but I do know it is a common problem with a lot of churches. 

The Bible tells us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” it also tells us that “we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” I would encourage us all go sign up to help some where in the body of our church and also to get out into the neighborhood with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” because I know we all long to hear one day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 28 - John 3:1-4:45 | Luke 3:19-20

Good morning everyone,

Today we read about the Pharisee Nicodemus. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, a group of religious leaders who were appointed in every city of Israel to help govern the land. Historians report him to be a smart man, a curious and fair person. He no doubt had heard, if not seen first hand, what Jesus had done with the money changers in the Temple and of the miracles he had been performing since then. And so it was that Nicodemus set out to have a face to face with Jesus, to see for himself, separate fact from fiction. We’re told that he went to Jesus at night, some would suggest for a secret meeting and while it is true, Nicodemus meeting with Jesus would not have been looked upon favorably by the other Sanhedrins, it is possible that they were both just quite busy in the daylight hours. Jesus had crowds following him in hopes of a miraculous healing and Nicodemus had his day job doing what import and officials do. Also the days were quite hot so perhaps a roof top chat in the cool of the evening was much more appealing. 

Right away Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is a teacher from God and Jesus wastes no time telling him that, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

I can see Nicodemus scratching his head and going, “What?? Born again?” Nicodemus knew the Old Testament throughly but he did not know what it said about the Messiah. Jesus very patiently and in love explains to Nicodemus what being born again looks like and its importance, clearly stating you must be born of the Spirit for eternal life, that you can never achieve salvation on your own. Then Jesus tells Nicodemus the good news, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The greatest declaration of love ever!

Sadly, while John 3:16 is an amazing passage of scripture, I think most people who know it or are familiar with it use it lightly, even take the passage somewhat for granted. Stop for a moment, if you will and really think about what those first six words say, “For God so loved the world.” He is not talking about all the traffic or crime or even terminal illness. Nothing along those lines. He is talking about what we’re told He spent 6 days back in the book of Genesis creating, the world and all the trees and animals. Designing where all the different spices of trees would be planted, where the animals would live and what they would eat, Adam and Eve. He is talking about you and me who are able to breathe and work and reason. We are His creation, I am sure He put a lot of thought into it and He is passionate about it all, but especially about us. It totally breaks his heart that there is sin that separates us from His love and so He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to take on our sins, to wear them all for all of eternity so that we would be able to have a relationship with Him here on earth until we are called home to live in heaven worshiping in His presence forever. 

I believe Nicodemus “got it”, that he heard and understood the Words of Christ, for it will be Nicodemus who assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for burial. I honestly believe we sill see him in heaven, but it begs the question, do you get it? Can you really understand what an amazing sacrifice it was for God to send His Son to suffer and die for you and for me. And would you think about, who do you love? a spouse, a child or even a pet? Do you love anyone  else so much that you would be willing to see them suffer and die on their behalf? In the Psalms we read, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” and “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.” 

God loves us so much more than we could ever begging to wrap our minds around so don’t let it be a cliche’. Let the weight of the words fill the depths of your soul till it over flows and the tears run down your cheeks. Let it’s truth resonate in your heart and your mind, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all ….

September 27 - Mark 1:12-13, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-15, John 1:19-2:25

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin with the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness where he would spend forty days be tempted by the devil with the same temptations we face today, namely physical needs, possessions, power and the killer of them all, pride. It is import to see here that, first off Jesus did not give into the temptations, but equally important is that it was not when Jesus was in the temple or surrounded by his friends that the enemy attacked him, oh no, it was when he was in the wilderness, alone and tired. The enemy looks for opportunity to knock us off, one at a time. He is relentless, he prowls around searching for the ones most vulnerable. That is why it is so important to be a part of a church body, there is safety in numbers. Also it is vitally important to be in God’s Word, Jesus was able to resist all of the enemy’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture He obeyed it. You have got to be able to know God’s promises to be able to instantly claim them in time of need. Right?

In John chapter 2 we read that Jesus attended a wedding ceremony with his mom, I like that. It is here Jesus performed the first miracle recorded, water into wine. Weddings in antiquity were week-long festivals. Food was prepared for often the whole town who would then take time out from “life” to celebrate the the couple’s vows. What’s nice to see here is that even Jesus stopped to “smell the roses” as my grandmother would have said. He was on a mission to literally save all of mankind and still He took a time out to enjoy life. Sometimes in our busy schedules we feel like we don’t have the time or the money to take a day or two to just relax and have fun, but balance is important. I would encourage you, and remind myself, to bring balance into our lives by inviting Jesus into our time at work as well as play. Make sense?

In verse 13 we read where Jesus got angry and made a whip from cords then drove the money changers from the temple courts. Here we need to know and understand that the anger that festered in Jesus was not an out of control rage but a righteous anger. The Jews were required to sacrifice an unblemished animal and there were some crooks in the temple who, no matter how awesome the animal was that the Jew brought in, they would reject it and make them buy one of theirs at an incredibly ridiculous inflated price. Jesus did not like the greedy, dishonest practice and He did not like them on the Temple grounds. They'd forgotten or no longer cared the Temple was a house of worship. 

That can happen in our churches today where they get used as merely a business contact for some who attend. People selling Avon, new cars, real estate (I am not singling any one out, I have no one in mind, those are just the first three that popped into my head) or maybe using the church as a social base to help a fund raiser from the kid’s school. I am not suggesting you should not sell to your friends only that there is a time and place. So while it is very import that as a church body we connect with one another by perhaps having potlucks and church functions it is much more important to remember the church building is a house of God and it is God’s business that should be conducted there, keeping the Main Thing the main thing. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 26 - Matthew 2:1-23 | Luke 2:41-52 | Mark 1:2-8 | Matthew 3:1-12 | Luke 3:1-18 | Mark 1:9-11 | Matthew 3:13-17 | Luke 3:21-22

Good morning everyone,

I have just got to say, I totally love reading the Gospels. I love Jesus and to read about Him makes my heart so full of joy. Thank you Jesus for loving us first and all the sacrifices you made on our behalf. 

Today we begin with the Magi visiting the house of Jesus. It is a little different scene then what the traditional Christmas manger depicts. Jesus is actually a bit older than an infant, they are in their own house and nowhere does it say that there were 3 Magi only that they brought the 3 gifts. The history of the Magi is an amazing study, the threads God wove to get them there is a brilliant illustration of how big our God is. He sees the whole story, all of forever past and future while our little minds only see the moment, one little blip out of context and think, “why?”. God has it so under control and says, “why not.” Our God is an awesome God.

To continue, I am going to move on down to one of my favorite guys, probably the original hippie, John the Baptist. Though he was not a Baptist or a Methodist or a Lutheran or an anything, there was only one church in antiquity and they were Christians. His name came from what he did, he baptized people. He wore camel hair clothes with a leather belt and ate locusts. Yummm … John was a cousin to Jesus and growing up not all that far away from Him, probably spent a lot of time hanging out with Jesus at holidays and festivals. They were about the same age, I rather imagine they knew each other well, that they were good friends. John was sent to prepare the way for the Lord. He knew the Lord’s position, saying, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Sadly, John would live a short life.

It happened one afternoon while John was standing on the banks of the Jordan immersing those who chose to live a Christian life that up walked Jesus and wanting to be baptized. John, probably a little taken aback tells Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you.” But Jesus, (oh how I love Him!!) calms John and says, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” I imagine they may have had conversations in the past that when Jesus said, “Let it be so now” that it triggered something in John and he thought, “Yea, now’s good.” and John did baptize Jesus but not in repentance as the others, because Jesus is without sin, but in righteousness to fulfill prophecy.

When Jesus came up out of the water the sky split open, the Holy Spirit descended down on Him and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” I love how all three were together in one place for that special moment. I think if I could have one visit in time gone by, I would have loved to have been one of the crown on the shore who witnessed that. Too amazing! 

So begins Jesus’ ministry. It promises to be ….. miraculous. Amen?

Have a great day to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 25 - Luke 1:39-80 | Matthew 1:18-25 | Luke 2:1-40

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday we learned that Gabriel went to visit Mary, a young girl from a poor family, to deliver a message from God that would forever change her world. See in your mind’s eye for just a moment this sweet and innocent, adolescent, happily working away, humming maybe, while making the evening meal for her family, day dreaming about her guy, Joey, she is engaged to be married to when in pops in Gabriel and tells her she has found favor with God and will conceive a son and she will name him Jesus. Now you have to admit that is some overwhelming news, but she responds with, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Then hurried to the hill country of Judea to visit her barren relative Elizabeth whom Gabriel happened to mention would also be having a child. After all if anyone would understand about unfeasible pregnancies it would be Elizabeth. Right?

We are told when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in a loud voice exclaimed “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” I love that, even though the situation seemed impossible she recognized Mary as the mother of the Lord. Their faith and trust in Yahewh and His Word was exemplary.

Mary then sings a song to glorify the Lord for what He was going to do for the world through her, recognizing God as the champion of the poor and the persecuted. I love her faith in God and the trust she has in knowing He will do what He says He is going to do. 2 Chronicles 20:21 says, “The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: 'Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!'" If you thank God after the fact, that’s great but that’s gratitude. If you thank God before it happens, that’s faith.

When we allow God to walk before us, to dictate the course of our lives it becomes a testimony to unbelievers. It is kind of scary to do at first, a little like (though I have never done this) stepping out on a high wire with no net. You take your first real step out while continuing to hold quite firmly to the stand. All goes well so you move farther out, now only holding on with the tips of your fingers, then you decide it is easier than it looks and off across the wire you move. Life is so much easier when you let go and let God handle it all. You just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other obeying God’s will, all the laws of balance, all the while proceeding in faith. The world takes notice when the Christian lives by faith. And, God loves to demonstrate his power in those who expect him to work in their lives. So let’s let God demonstrate His power through us. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 24 - Mark 1:1 | Luke 1:1-4 | John 1:1-18 | Matthew 1:1-17 | Luke 3:23-38 | Luke 1:5-38

Good morning everyone,

Oh! My! Word! Today we begin the New Testament and that is so exciting to me. Today we begin to build on the foundation, the principals and the truths that we spent months reading about in the Old Testament. We, of course, begin with the four Gospels which recount the story of Jesus the Christ, each book giving us a unique perspective on his life. They were written between A.D. 55-65, with the exception of John's Gospel, which was written around A.D. 85-90.

I love how the different personalities, writing styles and what each writer felt important are so apparent as we move from book to book. Matthew, a former tax collector before becoming one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, presents undeniable evidence that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah the eternal King. 

Mark, John Mark, was not a disciple. He was younger than the rest, only in his teens when Jesus was teaching. He accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey and spent a lot of time in the company of Peter. In a short, fast paced book, Mark shows us Jesus the Servant. 

Luke, was a Greek Christian (Gentile) and doctor. He is actually the only known non-Jewish author in the New Testament. He was a close friend to Paul and is also credited for penning the Book of Acts. Luke was written to give a reliable and precise record of Jesus Christ's life, to present Him as the perfect human Savior. 

John, an apostle and one of the “Sons of Thunder” writes to new Christians and non-Christians, giving an up-close and personal look at Christ's identity as the Son of God.

Our reading began with Mark writing, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” the NLT version says “This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” That just thrills me to chills. When you are excited about something you want to shout it from the roof tops, you want to share it with all you know and even those you don’t know and Mark was excited. 

As we go through the gospels I would encourage you to use your mind’s eye all of the time.  See yourself in the crowd as Jesus heals the sick, as He teaches and feeds the hungry. See His righteous anger in the market place, at the well with the woman, see Him walking on water and see the tears roll down His face while weeping over the city of Jerusalem. Then ….. then see Him hanging on a cross with a crown of thorns savagely slammed down on his head, his side pierced and him crying out in agony, not from pain but from having to be separated from God the Father as He took on the sin for all mankind. See also Him showing his hands to Thomas and ascending into heaven. There is so much you will get to use your mind’s eye to see. I can hardly wait.

Though we can not see Jesus walking the face of the earth, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. He is just as alive for us today as he was for those nearly two thousand years ago. So hear his words, feel his love, believe that He is, Jesus absolutely is the truth the light and the way. I love Jesus, I love Him in a way that is far beyond words. Like Mark, I want to shout about it. It is my prayer you will want to too. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all…..

September 23 - Malachi 2:10-4:6, Joel 1:1-3:21

Good morning everyone,

Today ….. today is our last day in the Old Testament. Whoop! Whoop! Congratulations to all of you who hung in there with me :-) I find it to be so bitter sweet as I have loved, totally loved, my walk through the pages of antiquity. I hope you have too. I am already looking forward to next year and what God will show me when I revisit.  Now though we still have this last day to look at. Right? Let’s get to it.

As we read over our Scripture in Malachi, there is no need to ask God, “How do you really feel about divorce?”  Verse 16 says, “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” I will not belabor this, I will simply say that if you are married it is your responsibility as a Christian to stay married. You do not get to say, “But I don’t love them any more.” Sorry! It is not about feelings, it is about a vow, an oath, a pledge you made. You need to do, we all need to do what ever it takes to honor our commitment, our word to the person we promised to spend the rest of our life with. If you are experiencing rough times in your marriage, I suggest you get back to the basics. Let God’s Word be your guide, your instructions as to what your role as husband or wife looks like and then apply it. Don’t worry about if your spouse is, just worry about your role and I promise you if you will do this, give it an honest effort, in time your marriage will be infinitely better. God is so good!

The book of Joel ….. Not a whole lot is known about Joel. It is believed he prophesied around 830 BC. The land of Judah had been wiped out by locusts and in the first part of the book we read how God sent Joel to explain to them what was going on. The second part of the book relates more to when the Lord returns. It is easy, when we read these words and also the Book of Revelation, to think they are so bizarre, remote from our “way of life” so to speak that we don’t give them the respect they deserve. But for a moment ask yourself, “What would Moses, or Elijah or King David think about our society, our modern technology?” 

Too many of us get complacent, stagnant even, in our walk with God. The vivid pictures of destruction should serve to awaken us from our spiritual stupor. Friends, the words of the Word are not just fairytales, these were actual people used by a very real God to help us find our way down a path that leads to our eternity in heaven. Allow your mind’s eye to see the apocalyptic imagery like we find in Joel. Allow it to open your eyes, and heart to the necessity of faithfully following after God every moment of our lives. I so wish I could say that in words that would make you sit up straight and know how vitally important it is for us all to have a close relationship with Jesus. To be off the fence, in God’s ballpark and be ready. In Luke we are instructed to be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning. The church will be raptured, that’s for sure and Jesus is coming back, it is not an “if”  it is a “when” and the when could be today. Are you ready? 

There will be four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments and a lot of changes take place. To sum it up quickly, the Jewish homeland was taken over from the Persians by the Greek Empire in 332 BC followed by the Egyptian occupation in 312 BC. The Greek language came into common usage during this time, inspiring the translation of the Old Testament into Greek. The Jews continued to practice the Law of Moses and the temple rituals until Syria overtook Jerusalem in 204 BC. Then in 171 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes (who is he? you ask. me too. i will have to look that guy up) desecrated the Holy of Holies. After which the Jews, led by the Maccabee brothers, revolted and retook control of Jerusalem in 165 BC. The Roman Empire conquered Israel by 63 BC, and continued to reign throughout the events of the New Testament.

While the 400 years of silence revealed no new biblical revelation, they clearly included many significant historical events and fulfillment of prophecy such as the rule of the land of Israel as well as the necessary preparations for the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Yay!  Galatians 4:4-5 tells us, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Are you ready to start studying that? I am! I’ll see you tomorrow in the New Testament. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 22 - Nehemiah 12:27-13:6, Nehemiah 5:14-19, Nehemiah 13:7-31, Malachi 1:1-2:9

Good morning everyone,

We start today with the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem and, oh my word, this is an amazing mind’s eye opportunity! All the Jews from miles around are gathering in the city to celebrate joyfully with songs of thanksgiving, playing cymbals, harps and lyres. 

There were two large choirs, both of which were standing on top of the wall on opposite sides. You will remember from chapter four that Tobiah had taunted them by saying, “Even if you finish your wall, if a fox walks on top of it, it will collapse.” Yet, here are two choirs standing on top singing glory to God.

We are told that then the choirs took their places in the house of God along with the officials and the priests. That they, along with the women and children, offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. And did you get that the sound of the rejoicing could be heard from far away? Man ….. from my daughters house you can hear the roar of the fans from the local high school’s football team when they score. The cannons boom, the crowd cheers, the band plays and I’ll sit in her home and think, “How great it would be to be there.” It gives pause for consideration, how many Jews in the countryside could not attend the dedication of the wall for one reason or another and from their homes heard the reverberation of the crowd’s jubilation and thought, “How great it would have been to be able to attend.” Hmmm …

While it would have been nice to end the book of Nehemiah with everyone in tune with the Lord, the reality is, life goes on and with it brings temptations and the lack of discipline and clearly a memory lapse too for we see in chapter thirteen that while Nehemiah was gone, having gone back to the palace of the king to address some business, the people of Jerusalem had dismissed the laws of the Lord and were falling into the same bad habits of not keeping the Sabbath holy and marrying outside the faith. Ughhh!! Why?? Well in a word, “satan.” The enemy delights in relentlessly provoking us with shiny baubles and un-resistible, well disguised poison apples. Friends, we need to always beware, be on guard because the father of lies knows that at the end of the story he is going down and believe me when I say, he wants nothing more than to take you down with him. 

The Book of Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. He came on the scene about a hundred years after the temple had been rebuilt and the people were loosing their joy in the Lord. Their patience had run out for waiting on the messiah that Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah had all prophesied about. The priests had become corrupt, they were stumbling blocks instead of leaders. Men were giving up, divorcing their “good Jewish girl” wives and once again marrying pagan women. They no longer sought to have a relationship with God and so Malachi rebukes them in their sin, he reminds them that hypocrisy and careless living have devastating consequence of choice. The people were doubting God’s love and so Malachi encourages them that God does love them and that God must be the main focus in their lives. 

Our lives can be like that too, we find ourselves in situations where we are wondering if God is paying attention. We may feel so alone and even sad because no one else is seeming to understand what’s going on. We need God’s guidance and help but we can't feel His presence. It is in those times when we need to totally tap into our faith. We are told in Joshua 1:9 that, “Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Friends, dear friends, understand this is not a suggestion. This is not a “why don’t you try to hang in there?” No! No! No! This is a command to be strong and courageous, to not be terrified or discouraged. This is something we have the power to do and we know this because God would not ask us to do something He has not equipped us for. Right? 

So when trouble comes knocking at your door, drop to your knees, pray, pray, pray, then “let go and let God.” It sounds ridiculously easy, so much so that most will not try but there is nothing that God doesn't know and can't do for us. He walks with us every moment of every day. Be in God’s Word. Commit it to heart, speak it out loud. The devil can't stand it when we, in confidence, speak God's Word. 

In Isaiah we are told, But now...the Lord who created you says: "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions. ~ And all God’s people said … Amen!

Have a great day and to God, our loving Abba be all the glory.

God bless you all.

September 21 - Nehemiah 11:1-12:26 | 1 Chronicles 9:1-34

Good morning everyone,

This morning as we begin reading, the wall around Jerusalem had been completed but no one really wanted to move to the city. Now, I can relate to that, I prefer the country to the city myself but it begs the question, why wouldn’t they want to live behind the secure and safe walls of the Jerusalem? One reason could be they were established on their farms and to pack up everything they owned to make this move would mean no more gardens, fresh milk from their cows. Instead they would have to find a new home, and establish new businesses. Their whole way of life, as they knew it, would change. Another reason could be, living in Jerusalem they would be in closer proximity to the Temple which would require a stricter obedience to God’s Word. You know what I mean? But whatever the reason, because only a few volunteered to move there, they cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in the city of Jerusalem. One day your a farmer, the next day a suit. Yikes, however the Lord moves us around to where we we can be most useful to Him in establishing the kingdom.

God continues to do that today in our lives too. The Bible tells us that for everything there is a season, right ad to know God is to know it is not random The Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, in Jeremiah it says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. It is our job to be in the Word, and in prayer establishing a relationship with Abba so that we are able to be sensitive to His guidance. To hear the plan he Has drawn up for us. Make sense? In Psalms we read, “You make known to me the path of life.” 

So while it is most important for us to be obedient to God’s call, before you pack it all up and move to the dark jungles of Africa on a missions trip, be sure you have heard God correctly. Ask yourself first; Is this something I want God to want me to do and so am praying “God you want me  to go there, right?” Been there, done that. Believe me it is a recipe for disappointment and failure. After you establish it is really God’s desire, then ask: Is this consistent with God’s Word? Is it a wise decision? Do I have peace about it? Has God validated it? If you are still hearing God say, “Go,” then don’t be afraid and move forward in His will. Let all of the details, where you’ll live, the finances, schools for the kids, where you will go to the doctor, where you’ll shop, all of it, up to the Lord. Where God guides, God provides and the best thing you can do is say, “Yes Lord, yes!” You can not out give or out do God, He will be in no ones debt. Believe that when you are obedient to God’s call for service of any kind, you will be blessed abundantly. Our God loves, loves, loves you and is an awesome God! Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …….

September 20 - Nehemiah 8:13-10:39

Good morning everyone,

We begin this morning with the second day following the preaching service. Ezra has gathered the priests and the Levites to bring to their attention a bit of information he came across while while pouring over the scriptures. He discovered that they should be living in temporary shelters while celebrating the festival, the Feast of Tabernacles, to help them better appreciate what their forefathers experienced. So it was, they all went out and gathered stick to build huts, and camped out. Kind of fun. My brother, every time he and his wife come to visit, likes to pitch a tent out back by our creek and sleep there. Same idea :-)

In chapter nine we see read that on the twenty-fourth day the Israelites gathered, separated themselves from all foreigners, stood in their places and confessed their sins. This was an open confession to one another and I say, what a great idea that is! Oh my word, we live in a society where everyone is so guarded and rightfully so because everyone judges everyone else. Sometimes good judgement is made, but all too often sometimes it is made unfairly and hurts someone else.  In both Matthew and Luke we can read, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” If we would all just look at our own selves first, openly confess our sins then there would be nothing anyone could hold over us. Agreed? 

Sadly, in the majority of all relationships whether church groups, friendships, and even marriages, you will find tightly locked away in a closets of the mind and heart, skeletons of mistakes, poor choices, humiliations of years gone by, sealed with years and years  or maybe even just hours of walls, trying to keep anyone and everyone from ever learning the deep dark secret, for fear of being judged. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. A sin is any thought or action that falls short of God’s will. Did you get that? Even a thought that does not fall in line with God’s will is a sin. God is perfect, and anything we do that falls short of His perfection is sin. Right?

I am not so naive as to believe that all sins carry the same weight and should be regarded with equal restitution, it is a difficult and dangerous road to travel, listing one’s sins according to their degree of seriousness. However, having said that, when a person commits a sin, is caught and pays the consequence of choice, they should have the freedom to be able to confess/talk about their experience without being judged. 

Romans 12:10 says, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” What does that love look like? Well, 1 Corinthians tells us, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Right on? Friends, if  we would all live according to this Scripture, no one would have to hide skeletons away or build huge walls in our hearts and minds to keep others out. We would be able to boldly, openly confess before our Christian family knowing it would be kept within the family where we would be embraced and encouraged. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all ….

September 19 - Nehemiah 7:4-8:12

Good morning everyone,

We began our reading this morning with Nehemiah registering the people. Oh my word! I know I am not the only one who has trouble pronouncing all those names :-) The genealogy register Nehemiah reads from is the very same one as we saw in the Book of Ezra. You’ll remember that the genealogies were highly valued as they were the only proof of family line. A lost genealogy put one’s status as a Jew at risk consequently any inheritance that came with that as well.

In chapter eight the walls are all completed, life is trying to get back to “normal” but something is missing, the people are feeling a bit empty. So they gather and ask Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses and read it to them and so he did. Now, I am one who can sit and listen for a good long while to someone teach verse by verse through the Bible. I love it, I can not get enough. There are some in church though, when after the pastor has been teaching for forty-five minutes they become very antsy, start checking their watches, knees are bouncing, they’re looking all around wondering when that guy up there is going to be done talking. You know the type. Here we see the people, men, women and all who could understand standing from daybreak to noon listening, basking in the Word and they were shedding tears of joy. I love that!

Friends, we all should have that deep longing desire to hear God’s Word, to thirst, to crave even, to know the warmth and strength of His love. To be assured of the hope in His promises. In Psalm 42, (one of my favorites, btw) we read, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”.  This speaks to the type of desire every one of us should have. It's not something unusual that is reserved for only a few passionate individuals, it is what all Christians do. We  thirst and hunger for God. It is the Holy Spirit working within us, urging us to draw closer to our Abba. Isn’t that beautiful! Psalm 23:5 tells us that God has prepared a table for us in the presence of my enemies, but you have to be hungry if you are going to eat. Right? I would encourage you to get hungry. Get real hungry, intact stuff yourself with food for your soul. God’s Holy Word. 

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …. 

September 18 - Nehemiah 3:1-5:13 | Nehemiah 6:1-7:3

Good morning everyone, 

In chapters one and two we read that Nehemiah had gotten word of the terrible disrepair the wall around Jerusalem was in, there had actually been no effort to put it back up and it hurt his heart, so much so, that he quit his job to go and do something about it. Upon arriving in Jerusalem he spent three days assessing the situation and rallying the troops to get to work rebuilding it.

In chapter three the work begins on the wall to go around Jerusalem. Eight different teams will take a section of the wall covering a distance of about two and a half miles in length. Each team will be responsible for building their section of the wall out of stones, roughly forty feet high and eight feet thick. Good grief, that makes my back hurt just thinking about it and yet they are an enthusiastic, dedicated group of workers. The enemy is not liking what he is seeing, however, so once more he sends Sanballat in to give them grief. He  first starts with belittling the workers then moves on to ridiculing their work, trying to break their spirit, but Nehemiah just prayed for his people while they continued to work knowing God would see them through.

In chapter four we read that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry and that they all plotted together to fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. Nehemiah again prayed then told the workers, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” And so they did with weapons to protect themselves strapped to their sides. In a record breaking 52 days only, Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem would complete the reconstruction of the wall around the city. Only by the grace of God!

What really stood out to me was that Nehemiah encouraged them to remember the Lord and fight for their families. The very same thing is true today in our walk with the Lord, we must be in the Word and walk with our Abba Father because it directly effects our families and their values. I read a quote yesterday that said “If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.” Do we want the “world” to be in charge of what our children believe to be true? We have got to be passing on our ethics, our moral code to our children and not just letting them go on auto in hopes of them picking up what we believe in by osmosis. 

On a more personal level, if I don’t begin my day talking with the Lord, reading His Word and doing His work in this devotion, my day is a harder, there is like a weight pushing me down all day long. I am not as forgiving or loving and I think more selfishly consequently my family suffers. 

When we hand our day over to the Lord each and every morning saying “Abba, let your will be done,” there is no doubt about it,my days are, our days are so much lighter. Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” When we have trust and faith in what God has in store for us, we are a calmer, much happier person and that joy will flow over onto our families. Seriously? Who doesn’t want that? Amen

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 17 - Ezra 9:1-10:44 | Nehemiah 1:1-2:20

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin with Ezra who has arrived in Jerusalem and is told by the leaders there that some had taken wives and husbands from the neighboring people, those with different religious beliefs. Ezra was so sorrowful to hear this, he tore his tunic and cloak. Oh my word, he had to be thinking, “Did they learn nothing in captivity?” God’s law forbid them to marry pagans. Why? Because a person who married a pagan was inclined to adopt the worship of their spouse’s false gods and idols; make them their own. Right? That simply can not happen in God’s economy. So, with his heart breaking for the people, Ezra fell to his knees weeping and praying before the house of God. We’re told a large group of men, women and children gathered around him and they too wept bitterly. 

Ezra didn’t need to point a finger at the people for them to recognize the severity of their sin. As a matter of fact, he incorporated himself into those who had been unfaithful. When he was done praying he called a mandatory meeting of all the men of Judah and Benjamin where they would name and claim their sin then take the steps necessary to get right with God. Some hard decisions, life changing choices had to be made, but such is the case with all sin that we allow into our lives. Right? However, it feels so good to get clean, to get back in God’s grace. It feels like home.

Nehemiah … the name means “Comforter from God.” This is another one of my favorite books. We will see that this guy Nehemiah, though hundreds of miles away has a real heart for his fellow Jews and will leave the security of a great job to go help these people who are having a tough go of it. 

We know that Nehemiah was cup bearer to king Artaxerxes, making him the step-son of Queen Esther which was probably how he got the job. When I first heard the job title “cup bearer” I thought, “Really? He brings the king beverages?” When actually a cup bearer is the highest position you can hold in the king’s court. Next to the queen, a cup bearer is the king’s closest friend and confidant, responsible for taste testing anything that the king would eat or drink before it is presented to him, for poison. The job also required a conversational knowledge of politics, to always be happy in the kings presence and oddly enough, to be handsome. 

One afternoon Nehemiah is downtown, he sees some brothers from Judah and curious asks, “So, how’s it going over there in Jerusalem?” They answered, “Yeah … not so good” then went on to explain. When Nehemiah heard of the troubles they were having, like Ezra, he wept for the people. He prayed and he fasted then went before the king with his dilemma. The king basically said (and I am so understating this entire scene), “No problem, go.”  Nehemiah does go, probably searches out Ezra when he gets there to discuss the situation. After three days he goes out on his own to survey the actual damage and size of the project, upon returning Nehemiah says, “Let’s get this wall rebuilt.” Immediately satan encourages Sanballet, a Samaritan leader, to try to thwart God’s plans for Nehemiah by challenging him in saying, “Are you rebelling against the king?” Nehemiah didn’t justify Sanballet’s comment with a, “Well, I already have the king’s permission.” Instead he just told him that, “The God of heaven will give us success.” 

When we do God’s work some people will oppose us, some will even hope we fail. 1 John 3:13 says, “Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.” But when we know we are in God’s will, when we pray and ask for God’s guidance we can move forward believing He will be successful through us. Make sense? Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you He will not fail you or forsake you.” So get on out there today and  be an Ezra or a Nehemiah and boldly go forward in God’s work. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all…..

September 16 - Ezra 4:7-23 | Ezra 7:1-8:36

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin with a letter being written to King Artaxerxes informing him of the work that the Jews were doing to rebuild the “rebellious and wicked city” Jerusalem. He implored the king to look back at the archives and see for himself how troublesome the city had been and then instructions as to how the situation should be handled. The king replied with a “shut down all construction” order. 

Think, if you will, on how the enemy does the same thing to us. Ughh, I so do not like it when he goes traipsing through the recesses of my mind looking for some ugly way I behaved in the past and then he pulls it forward to condemn me of it; he loves reminding me of my failures and flaws. You too right? It is at those times when we need to remember we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. When we accepted Jesus into our hearts our sins were all forgiven. The enemy has no power over us. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I would encourage us all to listen instead to the Holy Spirit who, yes will convict, but will always motivate us to move forward. 

Chapters 7 and 8 are several years later, Ezra is preparing to make the eight to nine hundred mile trek to Jerusalem. He was to get those who knew the Law set up in Bible studies and to teach the Word to those who didn’t know it. He was allowed to take anyone he wanted to take with him and he was entrusted with an incredible fortune to to use as he saw fit in accomplishing his task. It was going to be a long and dangerous trip, for sure and he knew it. 

What I totally loved was, Ezra was prepared to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Verse twenty-one says he was ashamed to ask the king for a guard his perilous journey as it would be contrary to what he had been teaching the whole time he was in captivity and that is “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” So what did he do instead? He fasted and prayed. 

Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” In the Bible over and over again, verse after verse, God beckons us to call on Him. Right? But you may be thinking, “I do, I call on Him all the time. I pray all the right things and I am not hearing from God.” But I would suggest that yes you are hearing from Him, because God doesn’t always say, “Yes! Okay, right away.” No, no, no friends … sometimes He says “No child, I think not” and sometimes He says, “Let’s wait on that awhile.” But none of that means that we should quit praying. In Luke Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. So like Ezra, just keep praying, remembering God is not surprised by anything, there is a reason for everything. Have faith and trust in His will and remember His timing is perfect. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 15 - Esther 5:1-10:3

Good morning everyone, 

Today we continue the story of Esther. You will remember Haman, a high ranking advisor to the king, in an effort to “get back” at Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, for not bowing down to him devised a plan to have all of the Jews in the land killed. Mordecai then told Esther she needs to go before King Xerxes and plead for the lives of her people, the Jews. Esther asked him to gather his friends and have them pray and fast for her for three days.

On the third day, and please use your mind’s eye, Esther puts on her finest clothes, and after accessing herself she walks the corridors of the palace to stand at the inner court, where the king has full view of her, awaiting her destiny. He sees her and was pleased. She’s thinking, “Whew, so far so good” and she asks the king to attend a banquet she has prepared and to bring Haman where it is her plan to expose him. However at the banquet she could not muster the courage to go through with it and instead asks the king and Haman to come back to another banquet the following day.

In the meantime the Lord is going to do some maneuvering of his own. The king will have a sleepless night and the king will call for the annals and while reading them discover they did not properly reward Mordecai for saving the king’s life. Then he’ll ask of Haman how he feels they should reward someone who has acted so heroically. While Haman’s chest is getting puffy thinking the king is talking about him, on the other side of the palace he is building a scaffold to have the very same Mordecai impaled.

At the second banquet Queen Esther does find the courage to expose Haman for the anti-semitest he is, which will ultimately see him impaled on the very gallows he had built. She will ask for and receive permission to send out a second order which will save the lives of the Jewish population and eliminate all of Haman’s sons who, no doubt, had that hatred fed into them. 

Racism is so wrong on so many levels and yet we still today see it everywhere we go. Some of it stems from soldiers who have come back from war holding an intense animosity in their heart for the particular ethnic group they were sent to capture or kill in an effort to maintain freedom. For some it is inbred in them from birth, we see a lot of this in the southern states where daddies and mommas teach their children the “colored” are different. While the truth is that the Jews are not a race, anyone in the world of any color, creed or race can become a Jew, fact is no discrimination can quite compare to the prejudice the Jews have faced from the beginning of time. Why? Maybe because satan searches out those who are easily influenced, promising them power if they would but attack and try to eliminate them. Maybe because they are God’s chosen, and a lot of people just plain don’t like God, as a Christian you and I can relate to that.

Jesus tells us though, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Corrie Ten Boom tells a story of how after a lecture she had given on forgiving those who have wronged you, she came face to face with a former guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where she and her sister had been sent. He had since the end of the war become a Christian and  knew he was forgiven by God but wanted to hear she had forgiven him. She wrestled with that for a moment, she knew that forgiveness is not an emotion but an act of the will, that we are commanded by God to forgive and yet ….. In Corrie’s words, “And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’ “For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then” Was that amazing or what? I get shivers each time I read it.

Friends, we need to put aside any and all animosities we have for people we feel have wronged us. We must pray in ernest for them, forgive them remembering it is an act not an emotion and move forward. Yeah? Why not! In Mark we read, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

September 14 - Ezra 6:14-22 | Ezra 4:6 | Esther 1:1-4:17

Good morning everyone :-)

Today we tied up a few loose ends in the book of Ezra and then began the book of Esther which is a unique book, in as much as, though obviously very inspired by God, His name is not mentioned even one time in the book. There is no mention of heaven, or hell, prayer or faith either. If you think about it, Esther might not even be a book if King Saul had done his job. When ordered to destroy ALL of the Amalekites, Saul left Agag alive, fast forward two hundred years and we find Haman, a decedent of Agag, determined to destroy the Jews. It goes to show you what will happen if we do not kill the sin in our lives, it will com back to try to destroy us. Eso no es bueno!

When you read the book of Esther you immediately think “Well done Esther.” After all she was brave and in that bravado she saved the Jews. However, as I mentioned before, this entire story has most definitely got to be God driven, God cleaning up the mess Saul left, because there is so much politically incorrect, for the times, going on; not the least of all, Jews just did not marry Gentiles. Right? Mordecai knew that, and yet he sends his young, beautiful niece into the pack of wolves and she becomes queen. Now that she is strategically located, a situation arises where she will need to muster up every bit of courage she has, every ounce of faith in God she possesses and boldly go with her request before a king whose moods were quite unpredictable, knowing that if she went on a bad day for him, he would simply have her head lopped off right there. Nice … not!! 

Let it not escape us how beautifully obedient and respectful this girl is to her uncle who raised her as his own from a small child when her parents died. What must have been going through her head when he asked her to enter a beauty contest, first prize “queen” those who did not get first prize become members of the king’s harem, basically, call girls and yet she respectfully obeyed. 

Let me first say that we as children or as wives who are to submit to our husbands, are under no obligation to do what we are asked to do if it is a sin against God’s law. Okay? Obeying God comes first, always!! Having said that, naughty, disrespectful kids are like a boil on the butt of humanity. (did I say that out loud?) Respect is the core of all successful relationships, so it’s a crucial skill for us to teach our children. If you teach your kids to be respectful instead of rude, you’ll bring out the best in them and bless them with the ability to build strong relationships with God and other people their whole lives long. Make sense?

If we follow the basic instructions of the Bible for any relationship we will be successful. Our marriages will be strong and our children will be obedient and respectful with a love for Yahweh and that is how it should be. Genesis 18:19 says,"For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” God has made many promises to us, all we have to do is keep the way of the Lord and know that all things are in His timing. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..