Bible – Live the Crazy Life

Keys to the Kingdom

March 27, 2024 No Comments

This is not your typical Easter message but one I think needs to be heard (or at least read). When I sat down to write this blog I wasn’t planning on it being about Easter. I was just thinking about this month’s post about the Kingdom of Heaven. But the more I studied this month’s verse the more God began to show me that it is about Easter; and God’s resurrection power and his triumph over death. The verse for this month is Matthew 16:19 which reads “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth will be loosed in Heaven” (CSB). It is probably a familiar verse to lots of us. It is also probably a confusing verse for lots of us, too (I include myself in that group).

To fully understand this verse you need to understand the context it was spoken in. Jesus is hanging out with his disciples and asks them, “Who do people say I am?” They give him a few different answers, like John the Baptist, or Elijah, even Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Jesus then asks them who they say he is. Peter speaks up proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah – the Son of God. Just two verses down we come to our verse for this month. Peter could only have the keys to the kingdom once he understood who Jesus really is. The saying “I will give you the keys” was a Jewish expression that signified the rising of someone to great authority and power. There is a prophecy in Isaiah that talks about Jesus being given the keys of David, and whatever He opens can not be shut (see Isaiah 22;22). We know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic Kingdom that has no end. We also know that Jesus in his death and resurrection now holds the keys to death and hell (see Revelation 1:18). So the keys that Jesus is giving Peter here in this verse and then to all the disciples in Matthew 18:18 are the keys to eternial life. Peter and the disciples and even you and me (if you consider youself a disciple or student of Jesus) have been given the ability to help unlock eternal life for people by sharing the Good News and leading people to confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Are you starting to see how this lines up with Easter now?

Let’s unpack a few more words in our key verse to help us understand this better. We know the keys are figurative for power and authority, but what about this binding and loosing business? These two words were commonly used words in church lingo that referred to things that were lawful or unlawful for those in the church to do or partake in. They were medical terminology that meant what was lawful for a human body to do in a physical sense like food is lawful and even needed to sustain life, but certain foods were unlawful or poisonous leading to death. A person living around the time of Jesus would have understood this in the natural sense and been able to apply it to the spiritual sense. Think about all the laws that the Jewish person had to know and live by. The Pharisees and leaders of the Synagog were constantly declaring something lawful or unlawful. These words binding and loosing became Rabbinical idioms. Here is what they mean in the original greek. To bind means to declare, to be prohibited or unlawful, to put into chains. To loose means to unleash, let go, release what was once held back.

What I think this verse is saying first to Peter and then to all disciples in Matthew 18:18 is that we have been given the power to bind the enemy who blinded people from hearing and seeing the Good News. “For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.” (Amplified Version). When we are sharing the Gospel we have the authority to pray and bind this spirit that keeps people from knowing God. We can also loose the mind of Christ over them.

We have the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. It’s our ability to share the love of God with those who don’t know Him yet, in a way that compels them into God’s Kingdom through salvation in Jesus, and confessing Him as Lord. So as Easter approaches we who are holding keys to the Kingdom of Heaven should bind the god of this world, loosing souls to confess Jesus as Lord. That could be as simple as inviting them to church with you, or taking someone out to dinner with the intent to share the full Gospel story. However you do it, let’s walk in the authority we have, and bind doubt and unbelief and loose salvation for thousands this Easter.

Bible, Jesus, overwhelmed, Prayer, Uncategorized

How you hear and how you read

August 30, 2023 1 Comment

I have been reading in the book of Luke this past week. As I was reading I found myself wondering about so many different verses and their meanings that I started making a list of things to go back and research so I could understand better. One of those things was in verse 18 of chapter 8. But before I go there I have to tell you what happened Sunday on my way to before-service prayer.

I was leading prayer this past Sunday. So as I was getting ready I was asking God what He wanted us to cover in our prayer time. The scripture came to mind about the seed falling on soil and the thorns, or cares of this world, growing up and choking out the word. I felt like God said so many people want a thriving relationship with Me, but the cares of this world keep choking it out. I shared that with the prayer team. They agreed with the feeling of needing to pray over that and we prayed.

Monday morning I was reading in Luke, and low and behold I read chapter 8 which has the parable of the seed tucked into it in verses 5-15. Since the Lord had just been speaking to me about that, I read it slowly a couple of times. The seed in this parable falls onto 3 types of soil and some seed that never even makes it to the soil. The Bible calls that the seed that fell on the road and was trampled on. The soil types are rocky soil where the seed sprouts but can’t grow well because it cannot take root due to the rock. Then there’s the seed that falls on soil with thorns. It grows but becomes choked out by cares and riches and pleasures of life. It does not bear mature fruit, but it does seem to grow some kinds of fruit. Then the last is seed that falls on good soil where it takes root, doesn’t have to compete for nutrients, and it grows and produces fruit.

This is a familiar parable to most of us. The disciples ask Jesus to explain this to them a little more clearly and in verses 11-15 you get the explanation of the soil and the growth of the seed or lack there of. MacLarens Expositions of the Holy Scriptures explains this parable in a wonderful way that makes it clear and easy to understand. The seed sown among the thorns, as Jesus puts it in verse 7, isn’t seed that the sower sowed into a weed-filled field. Rather it looked like good ground, but the ground keeper seemed to have taken short cuts. He cut down the weeds or thorns but didn’t do the hard work of pulling them up before planting. And when the good seed and the weeds both began to grow the farmer let them grow together, skipping the hard work of weed pulling.

I get this. I love to grow a garden, but I HATE to pull weeds. It’s a lot of work, hurts your back, and sometimes you end up pulling up a plant you wanted to grow just to get the stinking weed. It’s often a daily chore and I don’t want to water and weed daily, but I do want the benefit of the vegetable or flowers or fruit in the end. I have found myself taking short cuts in this process. I have even found myself just letting the weeds grow among my plants, to be dealt with at a later day. A good farmer I am not. A patience person I am not either. A daily routine task person – nope not me either. So I really get this. And in the world of my back yard garden, it’s ok. I am not trying to grow enough food to fully feed my family for the year. It’s just something fun, and if it works, bonus! And if it doesn’t, no harm no foul.

But reading verse 14 of Luke 8 tells a different story. Spiritually speaking this is important because if we don’t deal with the weeds (or cares, riches and pleasure of life as Jesus words it) we won’t become mature Christians. We won’t produce mature fruit. We are under ripe and good for nothing. Harsh I know but true. The word “cares” in this verse can be translated “worries” or “anxieties”. You know those feelings of overwhelmingness and the long list of what if’s that we are supposed to cast upon the Lord. Well, left to themselves they will choke out our relationship with God. And the riches and pleasures of this life lead us to depend on ourselves and not God, making idols out of our abilities and making us like the Israelites of the Old Testament.

As true and hard as these verses are, the one that really got me was in verse 18. It reads “So pay attention to how you listen. For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have even what he supposes he has will be taken away.” How you listen. Is there more than one way to listen. The word how in this sentence is an adverb; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way?; also as exclamation, how much!

In the Jewish culture to hear is to obey. They go hand in hand. If you don’t obey what was spoken then you didn’t hear to start with. Which is what I think is really happening in parable of the sower, and what the second half of verse 18 is saying. If you don’t listen well or with the intent to obey then you are the one who does not have, but what he thinks he has is taken from him.

MacLaren explains what we are to do with the word and the thorns: “for in every one of us there are the necessary anxieties of life, and every one of us knows that there is real and substantial good to a part of our being, in the possession of a share of this world’s wealth, without which no man can live, and all of us carry natures to which the delights of sense do legitimately and necessarily appeal.

So the soil for the growth of the thorns is always in us all. But what then? Are these things so powerful in our hearts as that they become hindrances to our Christian life? That is the question. The cares and the occupation of mind with, and desire for, the wealth and the pleasures are of God’s appointment. He did not make them thorns, but you and I make them thorns; and the question for us is, has our Christianity driven out the undue regard to this life, regarded in these three aspects – undue in measure or in any other respect, by which they are converted into hindrances that mar our Christian life? Dear brethren, it is not enough to say, ‘I have received the word into my heart.’ There is another question besides that – Has the word received into your heart cast out the thorns? Or are they and the seed growing there side by side? “

What a thought to ponder. What a place to stop and hear what God is saying. It is not wrong to have wealth, or to love your husband and kids, and be concerned for their well-being. But are we letting the word of God affect us in our habits of life. Do I pray when my kids are facing hard situations or simple worry and fret for them? Am I truly trusting God to keep them safe and lead them into the fullness of their personal relationship with Him? Or am I trying to make their walk with the Lord happen in the way I think best and in my own time table. Do I really believe that God will provide for me and my needs, or do I hold too tightly to my paycheck, planning for the worst?

This concept with hearing and obeying carries into how we read the scriptures too. Just a few chapters over from chapter 8, we find an expert in the law asking Jesus about eternal life in Luke 10:25-28. The man asks, “What should I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus answers him with this question, “What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it?” There it is again. The word how. Such a weird word to use in both of these situations. Or is it? Jesus isn’t asking the man do you know what the law says, but do you know how to apply it? It’s the same thing as in pay attention to how you hear. Pay attention to how you read. Are reading looking for loop holes, or ways to justify your actions or cause? Or are you allowing the Living Word of God to penetrate your heart and change you for the better. Are you listening to God and reading His word with the intention of allowing God to change your motives, your desires, your attitude? Or to check off doing devotions on some list in your head making you a good person?

So as you read your Bible and listen to your pastors, parents and other people of authority in your life, and of course Jesus speaking truth over you, pay attention to how you listen to them. Don’t justify or harden yourselves. Listen with the intention to obey, and read with the intention to see the invitation to walk with Jesus – not just follow the rules.

Quote taken from Expositions Of Holy Scripture, Alexander MacLaren, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/luke/8.htm, accessed on 8/29/23

Bible, community, Jesus, Uncategorized

Everyone one is someone to God — Serve them like they are

July 23, 2023 No Comments

It’s been a crazy few weeks. Busy with life, adult children doing their adult things, friends in crisis, summer rain and hail and more rain and hail. And just as discombobulated as the weather has been and parenting adult children can be, my spirit feels that way, too. I am all over the map for some reason. Trying to study Isaiah, while prepping/writing a study on grace with two amazing gals from my church, while prepping the fall studies and women’s events, to doing a study on prayer and one on the names of God. Yep a bit all over the place. So it shouldn’t surprise me that what I feel God speaking to me is all over the place. Live in my grace. Don’t strive, but learn to abide in me. Practice that abiding; oh, and serve others, too. And spend time with me….. Back and forth in this serve and do, but be still and just abide. It’s a like spiritual yo-yo in my life that swings from this to that while I’m trying to make sense of the path the string is following.

Yesterday and then this morning in Bible study, I feel like all the wild thoughts finally are beginning to connect and make sense. At least in my head. Yesterday, me and a few ladies from my church spent the day serving and learning about the homeless and the vulnerable in our city. My heart broke (as a wanna-be missionary). I wanted to quit my job, sell my house, and find ways to help these people who just need someone to give them a hand up. My heart is screaming, “I can do that! I can help refugees in our city. I can be their friend, their support, their contact to our world.” Then 20 minutes later, “I can help these women who are experiencing homelessness. I can be their house mentor,” Then an hour later, “Oh, I should text this friend, or pray for the new gal in Bible study…” (My mind still all over the place, trying to figure out how to serve, how to make an impact in this world, in my church, in my city to do something for God.)

Clarity came at the strangest place — a dumpster. Yep actually two of them. A pair of smelly, gross, graffitied green dumpsters. And then more clarity from John 13 in my Bible study this morning.

Part of our day serving the homeless was a prayer walk. It was the best part of the day for me. As we walked with the guide, we came to these two dumpsters, and he said this is one of his favorite spots in the city. On one side of an ally there was a fence with this strange tree, and on the other side there were the two dumpsters. He was a character and I just thought sure this is your favorite place. He went on to ask us about the graffiti, what we saw and thought. He then pointed out that those are all people – either names, nicknames or titles of people who just want to be noticed. They want people to see their name, their sign or symbol. Then he says that they take pride in “tagging” something and bragging to their friends about it. Here comes the profound part. Jesus knows their names – their real name and their street name. He knows the number of hairs on their heads and all about them. He then goes on to say Jesus is a type of “tagger” but in a different way. Like in the game of tag, when you get tagged you are it then you have to go tag someone else. If you are a Christ follower Jesus tags you with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says you are marked (Eph, 1:13) by God with His Spirit or like the NIRV says, “The Spirit marks us as God’s own.” And because we are marked by God, we are then called by God to go and share the good news of the Gospel with others so the Holy Spirit can mark them, too. Then the man leading the prayer walk asks us to pray for those represented on the dumpster and for those of us who have been “tagged” by God. We prayed. He then turns and looks at this tree which was behind us. He says, “Do you think those pink things are flowers? I used to think they were flowers, but then I learned they are seeds. Seeds help spread the plant, making more plants like this one.” He turns to walk to our next stop and says, “How many seeds does one tree need anyway…” Do you get it? We who are believers are loaded with the seeds of God’s love, we will always have seeds of grace, love, and mercy to spread if we abide in Him.

Now fast forward from a long day of outreach to this morning, in my house, a cup of coffee and my bible. John 13-17 is the scripture for this week. I get all the way to John 13:4 (supposed to read all 4 chapters, and I get stuck 4 verses in.) “So He gets up from the meal and lays aside His outer garment; taking a towel, He wrapped it around His waist.” I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to look into what it means that Jesus takes off His outer garment? According to Biblestudytools.com (https://www.biblestudytools.com/john/13-4.html) it means He was laying aside His glory and dignity as Son of God, so He could appear in the form of a servant. Another site referenced the greek meaning in the words to take off. It isn’t just removing, but has a deeper meaning implying of Jesus laying down His life. And that in verse 12 when He puts His robe back on, it is referencing Him taking His life back up. (https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/a-servant-s-garment#:~:text=Jesus%20was%20about%20to%20express,laying%20down%20of%20his%20life.) Jesus then goes on to say at the end of John chapter 13, “I have given you an example – you should do for each other what I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

In between John 13:4 and John 13:15, in case you don’t know, is the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. As He goes to wash Peter’s feet (ah Peter I feel you, always trying to be spiritual and sometimes missing the mark so badly) Peter stops Him and says, ‘no you can’t wash my feet that’s beneath you Jesus.’ Jesus kindly says, ‘You don’t know what I am doing, but you will understand after these things.’ Peter replies, “Wait, then wash all of me.” I can just see Jesus being so kind, so patient with Peter waiting for him to get it, and loving him while He waits. Then Jesus goes on to finishing washing their feet. The Bible doesn’t specifically say that He washes Judas’s feet, but it’s implied. In this touching story, Jesus takes off His outer garment, makes himself look like a servant, then serves both the (EGR – extra grace required) Peter and the betrayer Judas. He serves them all the same. According to John 13:1 He loved them all till the end. He served and loved the self-righteous and the sinner alike, then calls us to do the same.

It’s not about quitting a job, selling everything I have and giving it to the poor. It’s about serving others – whoever the others are. Those I like, those who wear me out, those who I don’t think are worth the time, those who sin against me – everyone in the middle of my life. It’s about serving because Jesus loved me and took off His outer garment to take up the cross for me. And in return I can take time to serve those around me right where I am. In my church, at my job, in my neighborhood and in my home. I don’t have to quit my job or sell my house. Instead, I have to learn to love well and serve right where I am.

Bible, Easter, Holiday, Jesus, love, Minor Prophets, Studying the Bible, Uncategorized

The weight of sin & the Love of God

April 5, 2023 2 Comments

It’s Easter week. I am a staff pastor at a local church, and I’m sick. Yep that’s what my week is like as I write this. Good news is I don’t really have a “Key” role in Easter Services. I am not the lead speaker, nor part of the worship team which takes some pressure off, but still not the best week to be sick. Although there never really is a good time to be sick, is there? We all have responsibilities and things we do that are important and being sick, like it or not, trumps all of that.

Sickness aside it’s been a rough couple of weeks. I have had a funeral to help plan for a friend’s dad, another friend’s son was taken to rehab for the 2nd time, one friend had vocal surgery and another major surgery in a week, car accidents, kids who broke their arms. and a school lockdown that ended in peace. That’s a glimpse of my world. It’s also what I love about being a pastor. I hate that things go wrong; people get sick, but I love that God allows me to bring help to those in need.

I am in the midst of a study on Amos with women at the church. This small book has so much to teach us – it is blowing my mind. This week we are studying chapter 2. Amos is giving his prophetic word to nations that are going to be judged for their sins. It’s actually more bleak than the last couple of weeks around my world. It seems so hopeless….BUT God. There is this one strange verse that author Jennifer Rothschild points out and expands on. Amos 2:13 reads, “Look I am about to crush you, in your places as a wagon crushes when full of grain.”(Holman Standard Bible). Sounds like God is mad, and He is; but there is more to these words than you read on the page. The wagon is symbolic of God, who is weighed down with the sins of His people. A heavy wagon crushes the ground it rolls over due to the weight it carries. Jennifer Rothschild draws the understanding that God allows Himself to get weighed down from our sins. He feels the weight of sin.

Since this is Easter week my mind immediately goes to the scripture from Isaiah, “He was crushed for our iniquities” (Is. 53:5) God allowed Himself to be crushed by the weight of my sin, and yours. I read the rest of the chapter and finished the rest of this week’s study, and then just sat with the Lord. Here in the book of Amos, God is mad at the sins of the Israelites. In fact He is so mad He’s going to crush them according to this chapter. But we know the rest of the story. While Israel is “crushed” for a season – they are taken into captivity, killed, and scattered – God didn’t fully crush them. He didn’t do what their sins deserved. And He doesn’t give us what our sins deserve either. Israel is gathered back together. They become a people group again.

God hates sin. God loves sinners. God does not ignore injustice, but God does not act in wrath. It’s a mystery and a marvel all at the same time. I mentioned my week at the start of this blog. I pointed out the lows, but here are the highs. I was part of a prayer team who saw tumors dissolve, blind eyes see, a life saved from death, tears of joy, peace and love. In the midst of all that is bad God is moving and blessing, and healing, and saving. God always feels the weight of sin. It grieves His heart so much so that He finally had enough. He broke heaven open by sending Jesus to live and then die for the sin of the world. I believe Jesus felt double the weight of sin. The actual sin itself, and then the effects of that sin on others. We live in a fallen world but there is hope. The weight of the wagon won’t crush us because God won’t let it. No matter what sickness you face, or addiction your family member is tied up in; no matter how dark the darkness gets, Jesus is and always will be the light of the world. Light ALWAYS displaces the darkness. No matter how heavy the weight of the wagon God is always there to take that burden. It’s the crazy beauty of Easter. Jesus died. All seemed lost, until it wasn’t. Jesus rose. Nothing can stop God. Nothing can alter the love that is too great to understand. No circumstance is too far gone for God to redeem.

As Good Friday and Easter Sunday come, take a moment and think about what God did for you. What He saved you from. Then praise Him. If He cares enough about you to send His son to die in your place, then He cares deeply about your situation. Whether it’s due to your sin or someone else’s, God sees it; and He will not let it crush you. He is God and He will make right every wrong, He has made a way for us to come to Him. No sin is too big to be forgiven and no hurt is too deep to not be healed. Because of Jesus we will rise.

Bible, Lord of Hosts, Minor Prophets, Names of God, Studying the Bible, Uncategorized

A fig farmer & Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot (Lord of Hosts)

March 1, 2023 No Comments

silhouette of tree near body of water during golden hour

I am getting ready to lead a study on Amos. Not a popular book of the bible so you might be asking why I chose that study. That’s a fair question with many answers. One of my favorite Bible study teachers, Jennifer Rothschild, recently released her study on Amos which is what we are going to use.

I will be honest. I didn’t know much about the book of Amos prior to prepping for my upcoming group. I knew Amos is considered a minor Prophet and that it is a book that isn’t often taught from.

However, I have learned thus far that this small, seemingly insignificant book has much to teach us. I am going to highlight two things in this blog. First about Amos and what we can glean from him as a real person who lived and breathed and tried to figure life out with the Lord in the midst of a messy world, and two the name God chose to reveal Himself by over and over in the book of Amos.

Let’s get started with Amos. After reading through the 9 chapter book and doing a little research on the book and Amos the person, I discovered that Amos wasn’t your typical prophet. In chapter 7 verse 14 we read a very interesting statement given by Amos himself while he is speaking to Amaziah the priest of Bethel. Amos says, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and I took care of sycamore figs.” Amos to my knowledge is the only “non-prophet” prophet in the Bible. Let me explain what I mean by that. A prophet was someone who was a disciple of other prophets, attended the school of prophets (see 1 Samuel 19:18-24 & 2 Kings 4:38-44) or was part of the prophetic guild. It wasn’t a job just any person could apply for. You were born into it so to speak. What I love about this verse and the few verses before it is that God can use anyone for any purpose He wants. Amos lived during the time when Israel was divided into two parts. The Southern Kingdom known as Judah and the Northern Kingdom where Jerusalem was the capital. Amos mostly speaks prophetically about the Northern Kingdom during the reign of Jeraboam roughly 760 BC. Amos was a farmer, and a fig farmer at that. He was a faithful follower of the Lord. You could say he wasn’t a man looking for ministry. The Lord called Amos to prophecy during a time when things were relatively good because the priest Amaziah and the rest of the religious leaders of that day become too complacent in “the good life.” In fact verse 10 of chapter 7 says, “Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent work to king Jeroboam of Israel saying ‘Amos has conspired against you right here in the hose of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words. For Amos has said this: Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly be going into exile from its homeland.” (Amos 7:10-11). The Tree of Life Bible says it this way in their introduction to the book of Amos, “Amos gives a stark and sober reminder to those who live in relative ease. God is far less interested in our activities or accomplishments as He is in knowing the character of our being.” Amos was an ordinary man living his ordinary life when God told him to go speak to different nations and tell them what God was doing and what God thought of what nations were doing. And the most amazing part is Amos obeyed. He had no formal training. He wasn’t from a prominent family. He was just simply a man who heard God’s voice and obeyed. I love that because it tells me that God can use me, and God can use you. God just is looking for a faithful obedient person. So let the small book of Amos remind you that you can make a HUGE impact in this world for the Lord by simply hearing His voice and obeying.

The second thing I would like to highlight is over and over in the book of Amos God is called – Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot (Lord of Hosts). In chapter 5 verse 27 we read, “The Lord, the God of Armies, is His name. He has spoken.” This name for God – The Lord of Hosts – is used 235 times in the Bible. It reveres Him as being over hosts of angelic armies who gather in His name and serve at His command. All creation is subject to the LORD of Armies. The best imagery used for this name is found in 2 Kings chapter 6. Elisha warns the king of Israel where the king of Aram was since the two countries were at war. The king of Aram gets so mad at Elisha for telling the king of Israel what he is doing that he sends a massive army to Dothan where Elisha is. In the morning Elisha’s servant gets up and sees this massive army that has surrounded them. In verse 16 of 2 Kings chapter 6 we read, “Elisha said, Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” Elisha prays that God would open the eyes of his servant to see “that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)

The Lord of Hosts is a powerful name of God. It reminds us that He is Lord over everything and has armies of angels at his disposal to fight and war for us. Amos 4:13 says, “He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the Dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth, The Lord, The God of Armies is His name.” This majestic all powerful God tells Amos to tell the people turn from evil and live. This same God who controls the wind and waves calls to us, “Seek the Lord and live.” Amos 5:4.

The Lord of Hosts is for you, He loves you. He longs for you to live for Him, surrendered to Him. And just as He used Amos to tell others of His mighty deeds and His great love, He will use you, too.

Hopefully those two thoughts from the book of Amos have piqued your interested and you two will now go study this small but powerful minor prophet. If you do, please share what the Lord shows you in this book with me here in the comments.

Bible, forgiveness, complaining, slow to anger, surrendering, surrendering

When God’s Way Seems too Hard – Remember Who You Serve

October 3, 2022 No Comments

I am smack in the middle of teaching on the book of Ezekiel. This week we are going over one of the hardest chapters of the book– and that’s saying something. Chapter 24. If you are unfamiliar with the book here’s a quick recap. Ezekiel is a priest and a prophet. He just turned 30 in the beginning of the book; he could now preform priestly duties on his own. Except he was captured by Babylon and taken into captivity. But captivity is where God uses him to speak, to lead, and to prophesy. This is the first of many things Ezekiel did that was not the way he thought life would go. That right there is a big lesson to learn in and of its self. God’s ways are not our ways. (Is. 55:8-9).

Ezekiel has spent 5 years trying to help the Israelite captives understand the consequences of their sins, as individuals and as a nation. They haven’t listened. Now, in chapter 24 the last time Ezekiel prophesies to the Israelites before turning his attention to the surrounding nations, we find this HARD thing God asks him to do.

God tells him “Your wife will die, and you are not to mourn her death.” This seems like a punch to the stomach from a God who is loving and forgiving, and kind and slow to anger. Questions like “How? Why? And really?” almost jump out our mouths as we read this. It doesn’t seem right, and for sure doesn’t sound like God. And yet it is God, and it is what He says.

How do we reconcile this with the God we believe in? To start we must look at what God is doing and not just what He is saying. I don’t for a moment trivialize what Ezekiel had to have thought and wrestled with. God has asked Ezekiel to do some very strange and not so easy things to get the attention of the Israelites. But this seems too much. Enter Ezekiel 24:18 – “So I spoke to the people in the morning, and that evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.”

I think Ezekiel is my favorite Old Testament person. He lived a life that shows what it truly means to put God first. Something we say but do we really do? He did. He is an example that it is possible to live with God being truly #1 in our lives; above job, above our comfort, above our family (kids, husbands, mothers and fathers.) Above it all.

So we know Ezekiel chose God first but why would God ask this of him. While God’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23) and He is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8 and Ex.34:6), He is also just (Deut. 32:4) and a God who is jealous over us (Ex 34:14.).

For me, understanding and accepting this hard side of God came when I read verse 13 of chapter 24. “In your filthiness is lewdness because I have cleansed, and you were not cleansed.” Stick with me for a moment. Ezekiel is a prophet who is called to physically act out what God is saying. He is the visual aid so to speak. Ezekiel isn’t who God is speaking to in verse 13. Verse 13 is to those who have taken God’s forgiveness lightly.

No one wants to admit it but we all have done that at times. Hanging on to that sin we have repented of, asked to be freed from, but won’t let go of. That one thing we cling to a little tighter in our left hand while holding our right hand out to God. In the word of this Old Testament Book the Idol we have in our heart that we hope no one (not even God) sees. God is asking Ezekiel to give up his wife for the sake of His Glory. And he does.

The other day I was visited by a religious group going door to door to share their “faith”. I watched out my window as adults (not teens, not even young adults, but men and women older than me) got of their cars, gathered, prayed and went out. One man stood at the end of my driveway for several minutes – head bowed, what I assumed to be praying. Then his partner joined him and together they walked up to my front door. I walked outside, explained to them that I am a pastor and secure in my faith, had no desire to debate my believes, and blessed them. Upon returning to my front door, I felt the Holy Spirit asking me what I am doing to make my God known to the lost world? Would I be willing to go to strangers, risk being yelled at, having doors slammed in my face all for the chance to share the gospel? Would I humble myself for the sake of someone else’s salvation. Would I put God above my own comfort? Would I be willing to walk through pain if it meant someone else would truly repent and turn from their wicked ways and be saved? What would I give up to spread the fame of who My God is to the world?

This hard chapter of Ezekiel reminds us that God is God and we shall have no other Gods before Him. Not my comfort, not my wants, not my spouse nor my children can have the space that God has in my heart. God may never ask me to give up my family for Him, but He does daily ask me to give up my ways and wants so that my heart is fully yielded to Him. So that my heart is humble and willing to pray for those who don’t yet know Him, to serve those who I feel don’t deserve it. To honor those who I want to discredit. To live a life that shows the world around me that God is first, and I have no other God besides Him.

Friendship, Jesus, overwhelmed, Prayer, Trust, Trustworthy

Overwhelmed – When the enemy tried to knock me out and God spoke

May 27, 2022 1 Comment

man near carton boxes with many different words about stress

I am sure if you have been a believer for longer than a day you have experienced a season where the enemy seems to hit you out of the blue with spiritual warfare, and then the hits just keep coming from every direction. I don’t like battles. I am not confrontational by nature. I am a people pleaser who easily can put making others happy above my own happiness. I am not a cryer, but lately you’d think I was pregnant the way I cry at EVERYTHING. You get it if you have walked through a season like this in your own life.

It started a little more than 2 weeks ago. An event that shouldn’t have had that much effect on me did. It caught me off guard and sent me into a tale spin. While I was still trying to figure out why I was angry and hurt but this situation, the attacks piled up and took me by complete surprise. After 2 weeks of stress, funerals (yes that is plural), hurt feelings, mental self esteem negative thoughts, PT for a torn ligament in my arm, and fighting with those close to me, I found myself feeling like I was drowning by it all. I began to feel spiritually bi-polar – excitedly “preaching” to my husband one moment, then tearfully exclaiming to him I give up, I throw in the towel, I am done the next. The highs and emotional lows were crazy The tears come easier than I thought was possible.

I read a devotional book personally just for me every morning and every evening. Starting my day with God and ending with God has become a new habit in life this year. On one of the hard days, I was feeling so overwhelmed by, well, everything. Then God stepped in. I cried more but this time not tears of overwhelming hurt and frustration but overwhelming tears of how God was there speaking and loving me. That night I opened my night time devotional book and the title for that day was PERSEVERE. The verse 2 Timothy 4:5 – “Be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

The first sentence from that day’s devotional reads, “Today, persevere. Do not give up, no matter what happens.” I laughed out loud. At my church we are in a series on 2 Timothy. I had been crying out for God to show up, and He did. Just not how I thought He would. I should know by now He never moves how I think He should or will. He didn’t show up and fix the problems although I am believing He will. He came and spoke to my broken heart. He came being more worried about me and the condition of my heart than the chaos around me.

I looked up a few key words from 2 Timothy 4:5. Sober means free from illusions, being tempered and self-controlled, the opposite of irrational. I had been staring at the illusions of the enemy. I had been irrational and definitely wasn’t exercising self-control.

Hardship means enduring painful hardships that SEEM to be a set back but are not. Lastly fulfill your ministry means the use of God’s power bringing the believer to maximum potential, matching their true knowledge of Him.

I finished reading the one page devotional and my spirit shifted. I cried again, but not out of fear; out of knowing God knew how I felt and had been there with me over the last few weeks. I fell asleep in a better frame of mind than I had started the day.

God didn’t stop there. My morning devotional — The same power that resurrected Christ from the dead lives in me. The verse. Romans 8:11. In the devotional she referenced Mark 12:18. The Sadducees were a group of religious leaders during the life of Jesus who were convinced that Jesus’s life ended in a dark tomb and that there was no resurrection. The author says “As I thought how sad it is to see life this way, I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper ‘You have areas in your life where you don’t believe in the resurrection either.” BAM God was opening my eyes and heart to see where my faith was lacking. Again tears of God’s overwhelming love for me.

As if the two devotions were not enough God moved further. Two bloggers I follow posted last night and early this morning, one on don’t give up. The verse “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9, ESV). God was moving telling me He is here. He knows. He cares. He’s not done, so I shouldn’t be either.

Then God got real personal. I have a friend who has hurt my feelings deeply and the worst part is that she is unaware, and I believe at this point she is incapable of seeing or acknowledging this. The other blogger I mentioned posted “How to love well when a friend hurts you”. More tears. God knows. God is here, God cares, God feels my pain, and will move and do what only He can to heal my hurts.

I am so overwhelmed by the God I serve. The only person ever to cause me tears of joy – God.

It’s a tough world right now. Hurt and pain seem to be the normal. Anxiety and stress, being overwhelmed, is just the way life is. That my friend is the lie I had allowed the enemy to convince me was true. It is an illusion. God’s word – “be sober”. God wants me and you to live free from the illusion the enemy creates. God wants me and you to live in full resurrection power. God wants you and me to not give up. God wants you and me to live in unity with other believers. Stop living the illusion and start living the TRUTH. This is a challenge for you and for me. Are you up for it? I am!!

Bible, forgiveness, complaining, slow to anger, The power of the Blood, Uncategorized

A Journey Through the Book of Numbers – Part 5: The long awaited conclusion

March 12, 2022 No Comments

statue of st mary standing on top of rock

Thank you for taking the time to read this series post. Today I am wrapping up the book of Numbers. There are two different things I’d like to talk about in this last post. Starting in Chapter 29 I will share about the Day of Atonement and then wrap of with Moses’ angry outburst at the rock which will take us back to chapter 20.

I see so much of myself in the Israelites. They whine, they complain, God moves on their behalf, they rejoice, and then they repeat that cycle over again. Maybe the time gaps between the rejoicing and the complaining grow a little longer each cycle but yet they go right back to being complaining whiny babies. It is so easy to see sin in someone else than to acknowledge in your own heart.

While I was reading through Numbers I came across a verse in Chapter 29 that seemed to scream stop studying this and learn from this. It reads like this “You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; do not do any work.” Numbers 29:7. Practice self-denial. I don’t know about you but I am horrible at this. I mean H-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. We live in the land of ‘I want what I want when I want it’. And I have adopted that life style more than I would like to admit. And the not work part – what?? I am always working, either for the church, or doing house work, or doing something for the family, or working in the garden because it helps me destress from all the work. That’s just life in America right? That is the norm, right? I mean I know we take a Sabbath but if I am honest that just means grocery shopping and finishing whatever household things didn’t get done that week, and maybe reading the Bible and watching a show.

So I sat with that. Prayed about it, thought about it and then studied it. What I learned is how the Jewish culture, at least in Biblical times, prepares for the Day of Atonement. For those that aren’t familiar with it, the Day of Atonement is the one day the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifices to atone for the sin of themselves and their nation. They did this every year along with all the other required sacrifices throughout the year.

The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the climax of a 10 day period where the Jewish people reflect and repent for their lives and actions over the last year. They spend from the 1st day of the month of Tishri which is Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur repenting and looking internally at the condition of their heart. These 10 days are called the ‘Days of Awe’.

The Torah states that on Yom Kippur the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies and call upon the name of Yaweh to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. A life for life sacrifice. Once again we see how the book of Numbers points us to our need for Jesus who was the High Priest who could legally go into the Holy of Holies and He Himself offered His life in place of mine and yours and every person who will accept Him.

However, in my studying I found that 40 days before Yom Kippur is the ‘Season of Teshuvah’. This 40 days is the period of time marked on the Jewish calendar that Moses was called to go back up Mount Sinai and he then received the second set of tablets of the 10 commandments. Moses went up to Mount Sinai no less then 3 times, each for 40 days at a time. The last time Moses went up was on the 1st of Elul and he descended 40 days later on the 10th of Tishri which is now Yom Kippur. This 40 days between the 1st of Elul and the 10th of Tishri represents the time of national sin and forgiveness obtained by Teshuvah before the Lord. Teshuvah means “turn towards God.” It is a time of soul searching and offering prayers for forgiveness.

I had decided that I would observe Lent this year. Just me and God. I wasn’t doing this for a study but because I personally need to reflect on where my heart was, spend some time with Jesus, and get prepared to celebrate Easter. (As I have said in other posts I struggle with the Holy Holidays turned secular like Easter and Christmas.) I wanted this year to be different and was believing this 40 days of Lent would help with that. I tell you that because they day I researched and learned of the Season of Teshuvah was on March 2nd, 2022 – the first day of Lent. We see that in the old testament God was setting up practices and applications for his people to see how wicked they had become, turn and repent, and accept that one sacrifice was sufficient to cleanse them of unrighteousness so they could continue in their relationship with the Lord. Jesus is our atonement for sin once and for all. He is that sacrifice that allows me, a sinner, to stand in the righteousness of Christ before the Lord. I was blown away at God’s goodness and provisions for maintaining relationship with His people.

What great lengths he went to, to show us His love that was always there for mankind. The day of self denial is the day you realize it isn’t you that makes you clean. You can’t be holy enough for God’s standards without the blood of a sacrifice. A life for a life. It is a day and a season to reflect on how much I need Jesus. I must deny myself, take up my cross, dieing to my wants and my ways, and follow Jesus and His ways. Because His way leads to life and mine leads to more work, more effort only to end up so off from the mark I was aiming at.

And Now on to Moses and why he didn’t get to enter the promised land. Chapter 20 recants the story of the Israelites once more complaining. This time it was a about lack of water. Which, by the way, God had already shown them many times how He controlled the water. He turned it into blood in Egypt. He parted the Red Sea so they could cross over to safety from the Eygptians. And He provided water in the desert when Moses hit the rock and water poured out. So why can’t they just believe God will provide? Hmmm. I see myself there. God has healed people I have prayed for. He has provided for me time and time again. And yet when it comes down to it, I freak out, complain, ask God why He is doing this to me, only to have Him show me His love and answers to my situation once again. Turns out seeing isn’t believing after all.

This time God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will come forth. But Moses is human just like us. He gets mad just like us. He does things out of pride just like us. Instead of speaking to the rock He hits it twice and water comes forth. Moses disobeyed God and yet God provided for the people and for Moses. Don’t miss that. Moses sinned and God still moved despite that sin. But then we read that because Moses didn’t obey God he won’t enter the promised land.

I have always struggled with this. It seems so harsh of God. In fact, too harsh for the God who loves unconditionally. But the story doesn’t end there. The book of Numbers is not the last time we read about Moses. We read once more about Moses in Matthew 17:1-9 Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain and He is transfigured in front of them. He shows them his glory, and who he really is – part of the Trinity of God. He Himself reveals His Holy-self to them. Verse 3 of chapter 17 reads ‘Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” Moses shows up on the mount of Transfiguration and is talking with Jesus. Moses is standing on a mountain in the Promised Land with Elijah and Jesus.

In the book of Numbers we read that God allows him to see the Promised Land. But years and years later Jesus stands with Moses in the Promised Land. God redeemed what sin caused Moses to lose. His ways really are better.

The book of Numbers reminds us of our propensity to sin. It also reminds us that God made a way to redeem us from our sins through the blood of Jesus. God’s heart is for us, it always has been and it always will be. And even when we think we have blown it so bad that God redeem our situation, He stands and talks with us as we experience His promises. God is faithful and more loving than we will ever know. And the book of Numbers reminds us of that, through all the ups and downs, sinning and repenting; God never gave up on them, and He will never give up on you.

Bible, community, Jesus, love, wisdom

A Journey through the book of Numbers – Part 3 Camping with a Cloud and the 2nd passover celebration

February 28, 2022 No Comments

unrecognizable traveler standing on mountain top and admiring landscape

For this blog on the book of Numbers we will be focusing on chapters 8-10. If you haven’t read the previous 2 blogs on the book of Numbers, you can do so by clicking here for part 1, and clicking here for part 2.

In chapter 8 we see that God has given helpers to Aaron and his sons – the entire tribe of the Levites. The Levites have to be dedicated to be able to serve God and Aaron. Again in this chapter we see that God has claimed the first born of every male both human and animals alike. In place of the first born male of the Israelites God has taken the Levites.

Not everyone is called to be pastor or priest as Aaron was. But that doesn’t mean that pastors/priests don’t need people to help them. Serving at a church is a blessing to pastors. Whether you serve on staff or as a volunteer, it takes a “tribe” to do it. Every job of serving is a help and a blessing. From serving coffee, to greeters and toddler teachers, they are all helpful and needed. Just a little plug for volunteers.

Chapter 9 is the 2nd Passover. Or really the first time that they are to celebrate it as a remembrance of what God had done for the Israelites. This is an interesting chapter to me. God has specific rules for celebrating passover which left some of the Israelites unable to celebrate the passover. There are a few lessons to learn from this chapter. First, God is a god of grace. He is righteous and Holy, and because of that He make rules and regulations, but He is not ridged. He make allowances for those who don’t meet His holy standards. Isn’t this just another reflection of what God did by sending Jesus to take our place, and die in our place? We didn’t meet God’s holy standards, so He made a way for us just like He made a way for those Israelites who were ceremonially unclean and couldn’t celebrate passover.

The next things we learn is from Moses. The Israelites bring their concern about some not being able to celebrate passover to Moses and He answers them in verse 8 saying ‘Wait, and I will inquire what the Lord commands concerning you.’ Moses didn’t give a quick reply, He didn’t respond with his opinion either. He knew this was something only God could answer. It would benefit us all if we took a moment to seek the Lord’s answer to questions.

In chapter 10 we see the Israelites are on the move once more. God has the Israelites make trumpets out of hammered silver. This gives Moses a way to call either all the Israelites or just the tribe leaders. Remember there are over a million of them with women and children. When they break camp and travel, the Ark of the covenant is to go ahead of them symbolizing God leading them. In verse 35 of chapter 10 we read what Moses would say when the Ark would set out. “Arise Lord! May your enemies be scattered! May those who hate You flee from before You! Return, Lord to the myriad thousands of Israel!” This sounds like a good thing to declare and pray before moving the people of God. This is one of those times when looking into the original Hebrew words and finding their meanings helps give a brighter picture of what is actually happening. Arise is the word Kam and it’s a verb that means move into position to attack. Moses is calling God not only to lead them but to be in position ready to attack and defend the Israelites behind the Lord. The whole phrase is a little word picture showing that the Lord would rise up away from the Ark and go out ahead of the people and do battle on their behalf, and then return to rest on the Ark and stay with the Israelites. What a picture. God is with you, then He goes before you clearing your path fighting your battle and then returns to go with you. God is a God of relationship. He protects you and fights for you and when that is done He wants to be there right in your midst until He has to go and fight for you again.

The book of Numbers may sound boring by its name, but it shows us over and over God’s love and plan for redeeming His people and bringing them to the promised land live with them and among them. It points us towards heaven, our promised land, and reminds us while we are here traveling through this foreign land, among hostile people, God is with us. God is fighting for us, and leading us home.

To continue to the next blog about the book of Numbers click here.

Bible, Jesus

A Journey Through the Book of Numbers – Part 2 – God’s remedy for Jealousy

February 25, 2022 No Comments

yellow ceramic mug with water droplets in time lapse photography

In part 1 of this series I shared how God had revealed his plans for salvation in the first and third chapters of the book of Numbers. You can read that blog by clicking here . Now I want to look at chapter 5. The chapter I have titled “God’s remedy for jealousy”.

In the beginning of this chapter we have God telling the people how they make compensation for their sins. In verse 6 we see how they handle sins committed against another person. It goes on to say that person acts unfaithfully towards the Lord and is guilty. God is saying if you sin against someone it is as if you are being unfaithful to me your God, because I have chosen you to represent me to the earth and to be my people and I will be your God. God values people. He feels our pain and hurts as if they are his own. So when you sin against another person, it is as if you have done that act directly towards God himself. That thought right there should make us stop and think before we act. This is Becca’s theology so take it as you want. I believe God uses the word unfaithful in verse 6 of this chapter to link to verse 11-31 which is about potential unfaithfulness in marriage. God is a covenant God. A concept I feel is lost in our western modern culture. A covent is a binding promise. One you can’t just walk away from if you don’t like how things are going. It is for life, for good and for bad, it’s not an option to not fulfill one’s covenant vow. God made a covenant with you when you confessed that Jesus is your savior. He says He will be your God from that moment on. Whether you are good or bad, you now belong to Him. He may punish our sins, but He won’t stop being our God. Because of Jesus our sin cannot separate us from God, but it can invoke His jealousy.

Which leads us right up to verse 11-31. God understands jealousy. He calls Himself a jealous God – see Ex.34:14, Deut. 6:15, and Ex. 20:5 for a few examples. He wants our undivided love, our full devotion, love and affection for Him and no other god. So understand this emotion. God sets up a way for us to handle this emotion. If a man has suspicion that his wife has been unfaithful, he is to bring her to the priest who is to give the woman a test to see if she has been unfaithful or not.

Ok let me stop right here and address a few things – first, this is weird I get it. It is an odd way to work this out in a marriage. And it does seem very unfair to the wife, because there is not a test for the man. First we have to realize this is written in a time when men had many wives, thus making it hard for men to be considered “unfaithful” (Don’t blast me with anger on this topic, I don’t know why God allowed this in the Old Testament.) The culture when this was written is a male dominant culture we can all agree, but that doesn’t make the principal behind this strange ritual invalid. Just keep reading and keep your heart open to what the Lord is saying here, and remember I am a woman writing this so to all you feminists who want to shout unfair I feel you, but hang in here with me for a little while longer.

Here is how the ritual went. The man would bring the potential unfaithful woman to the priest who would have her stand before the Lord, take dirt from the tabernacle floor mix it with water, remove her head covering, and place in her hands the grain offering for jealousy. The woman is to take an oath saying if she has not been unfaithful this water will not bring a curse on her stomach; however, if she has it will bring a curse causing her belly to swell. The priest is to write the curses on a scroll and wash the words he wrote off in the water and have the woman drink it. The priest then takes the grain offering the woman is holding and burns it, then she is to drink the water. If she is guilty her stomach will swell, she will get sick and be unable to have children. If she is not guilty then she will be fine and the water won’t effect her. If she is found guilty she is to bear her own iniquity.

Alright here is what this says – God does not want a husband to linger in his thoughts of jealousy. He wants to quickly restore trust in a marriage. Application for today – take that feeling to God, men. Ask God who is truth and light to reveal truth and bring anything that is hidden into the light. I believe women who feel jealous about their husbands should do the same thing. Go stand before God and ask Him to bring light to the situation. And let me just point out right here that God does not say if the woman is guilty the man can divorce her. He simply says she is to bear her iniquity. If this is where you find yourself, that one or the other in a marriage has been unfaithful, seek out a Godly counselor, spend time in deep prayer, seek God like you never have before, and trust Him for healing.

For the woman, God is her defender. If her husband has wrongly accused her, God will let it be known. The word says righteousness protects the innocent. If she has done nothing wrong then God as her defender will prove that. And then she is to trust God to heal the jealous heart of her husband.

In this ritual known as ‘Sotah’ the name of God was dissolved into the water. In the Hebrew culture it was forbidden to erase the name of God. This is one reason that they don’t fully write out the name of God. But here we see God allows His name to be dissolved and ingested by the woman. God wants to rebuild trust in a marriage so much so that He allows His Holy name to be used in a way that is not allowed in other circumstances. In this ritual description in Numbers chapter 5, we see the phrase ‘before the Lord’ 4 times. The dirt from the tabernacle floor and the dissolved name of the Lord points to the presence of God. God wants us to take our feeling of jealousy to Him, if and when needed we will involve church leaders to help heal the marriage. God is personally invested in marriage as it represents His covenant with us.

Remember God calls Himself a jealous God. He understands feelings of jealousy and the hurt that follows. He also calls Himself merciful in Ex. 34:6. He is the defender of the innocent as seen in Psalm 18:1-2. God wants to be in the middle of our marriage, in the middle of the mess, in the middle of our jealous hearts. He wants to heal. He went to great lengths to prove this in creating a ritual just for this purpose.

Today we don’t have to take our spouse to the church and have the pastor or priest give them some weird concoction to drink, but we should take them before the Lord in prayer, and trust God to show us truth and heal us.

The remedy for jealousy is prayer, going before God, and asking him to show us the truth. Then trust Him to heal what is broken whether in our own heart due to our own issues, or in the relationship due to poor choices. God is merciful. He is a restorer. He is our healer. Trust Him with the process and know He understand.

To read the next post in this series click here.

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