love – Live the Crazy Life

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, 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, community, love, Steadfast love, surrendering, surrendering

What kind of sign are you?

October 5, 2021 No Comments

Everyone is fighting for something these days. Whether it’s public safety issues like vaccines and mask mandates, to school curriculum content, to saving the earth. I think it is great that people are finally taking an interest in the laws and rules that affect their daily lives. My issue is not what you are fighting for but how you are fighting. Before you get all offended keep reading, and hear me out.

Two phrases keep rolling around in my head; one from the Bible and one from well known Bible study teacher Beth Moore. Beth asked the question in her Daniel Bible study “do you regularly wound the enemy?” That is a very thought provoking question. If I am honest my answer is no, not even close. I am a conflict avoider in the natural and most definitely don’t go looking for spiritual warfare. However it seems that spiritual warfare has found me. So the question stands ‘do I regularly wound the enemy’?

The second phrase is from Psalm 86:17 it says “Make me a sign for good, so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed. For you, ADONAI, have helped me and comforted me.” (TLV version of the Bible.)The word sign according the Lexicon means “a token for good.” In other words David is saying “Let me reflect goodness so that those that are not good will be ashamed.” Why would David pray that? I believe the answer is two fold. One so that his enemies would realize that they took the wrong side. And two that they might realize ADONAI is the one true God. The whole Psalm is about God who is slow to anger and full of steadfast love.

My question to you today is not where you stand on issues but rather how are you taking that stand? Are you allowing God who is slow to anger to show His steadfast love through you? Are you being a sign of the goodness of God as you fight for whatever it is? At the risk of offending you, have you asked God where He is at on the issue? Have you sought Him to see if this is the battle he wants you in? If you have, then I say go for it. If you haven’t asked Him, please do. So much more is at stake here, truthfully more than personal freedoms. How we represent God when we stand for a public issue has monumental effects. Are you allowing God to use you as a ‘token of good’? Or is it more about what you want? Are you allowing the steadfast love of God to influence your voice on the issue? Are you showing lovingkindness to those you are opposing?

Back to the Beth Moore quote. As you take your stand on your issue, what impact are you making in the spiritual realm? Are you regularly ‘wounding the enemy’? Or is he using you to wound others? My point in this blog isn’t that you stop fighting for what you feel is right. It’s that you do it as a believer who cares about the souls of those around you who don’t know Jesus, and that you are aware of the enemy’s schemes. You should be taking a stand for personal freedoms and injustice and school curriculum and all the other hot topics that are out there right now; but how you take that stand might be more important in the long run than what you are standing for. Matthew 16:26 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole word, but forfeits his soul?” (TLV version).

There is a way to fight that honors God. You can take a stand and still be used as a ‘token for good.’ You can regularly wound the enemy (not your opposition but your true enemy the devil) and voice your opinion. If you yield your heart to the Lord on the matter and ask Him to use you, YOU will be a light in the darkness, and make an impact. As you fight for your issues ask yourself, “Am I being a sign for good? Who or what am I really wounding here?” Then in the words of 2 Timothy 4:7, go ‘fight the good fight, finish the race, keep your faith.” Be a lasting sign for good.

Bible, Jesus, love, Memorizing scripture, Prayer, Steadfast love, Uncategorized

Determined

February 22, 2021 No Comments

Only once before have I come across a word in the Bible that sends me on a wild chase through scripture to understand the word at its core. The first time was steadfast love – hessed. The Lord has given me a new word to study, meditate, search the truest meaning, and then apply to my every day life. Just as understanding hessed at depths I can’t explain I now carry that word along side a new word, sterizo.

I first encountered the word in a Bible study I am doing called Determined – Living like Jesus in Every Moment by Heather M Dixon. It is an in-depth study of the book of Luke, and an amazing one at that. One of the days in the study she leads you to study Luke 9:51 “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” (NKJV)

Tucked in this verse we find the word that now has grabbed ahold of my heart and has become a tether from my heart to God. It really is the whole phrase “set His face” that means sterizo. It simply means to firmly fix; direct myself towards; give support to secure; to set ones face as flint; a Hebrew expression.

So me being me, I began to study this little Hebrew expression to fully understand. Along the way I unearthed some amazing facts about this expression and learned new things about flint rock. To put all that information in a nutshell, it means to have unwavering determination to accomplish a purpose or a task.

Using Jesus as our Biblical example it meant everything He did from the fall in the garden of Eden to His resurrection from the grave was about getting to the Cross of Calvary. It was always about becoming the sacrificial Lamb of God for you and for me. When He was here on earth He lived with that purpose in mind.

MacLaren’s Exposition’s found on Biblehub.com (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/9-51.htm) explains it this way:

“As we look up at that Cross we know not whether is more wonderfully set forth the pitying love of Christ’s most tender heart, or the majestic energy of Christ’s resolved will. The blended rays pour out, dear brethren, and reach to each of us. Do not look to that great sacrifice with idle wonder. Bend upon it no eye of mere curiosity. Beware of theorising merely about what it reveals and what it does. Turn not away from it carelessly as a twice-told tale. But look, believing that all that divine and human love pours out its treasure upon you, that all that firmness of resolved consecration and willing surrender to the death of the Cross was for you. Look, believing that you had then, and have now, a place in His heart, and in His sacrifice. Look, remembering that it was because He would save you, that Himself He could not save.
And as, from afar, we look on that great sight, let His love melt our hearts to an answering fervour, and His fixed will give us, too, strength to delight in obedience, to set our faces like a flint.”

Charles Spurgeon even wrote a message about this topic that he preached on Nov. 28th, 1880 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington. His whole message points to lingering with the idea that the Lord loves us so much that He spent decades of time determined to save us from our sins. It’s a long message but well worth the time to read it and ponder his questions in your own heart before the Lord.(https://answersingenesis.org/education/spurgeon-sermons/2738-the-redeemers-face-set-like-a-flint/)

For me, I want to learn to live with my face set as flint towards God every day. Determined to accomplish His purpose each day. Determined to spend time with Him daily. To linger in His presence. To have a heaven-minded agenda for my life lived out each day.

This word sterizo means seeking God daily. Being on purpose in my quiet time to learn His heart, His plan, His love for me all over again. It’s having a resolve to say no to things that are lesser than God’s best for me. It’s having courage to not participate in things that pull me off course from pursuing His heart.

I know it won’t be easy, but I know that with the aid of Holy Spirit and studying Jesus’s determination, I can do it. I can look to others in scripture like David, Daniel, and the apostle Paul who lived this life of a face set like flint on following the Lord.

It will at points be tirelessly hard, but oh so worth it. I wonder who else has a resolve in their heart, and has set their face like flint to follow after the Lord?

For additional scriptures on sterizo read:

Daniel 1:8

Gen 31:21

Deut. 11:18

Daniel 6:14

2 Kings 12:17

Isaiah 50:7

Luke 16:26

Luke 22:32

Romans 1:11

Romans 16:25

1Thessalonians 3:2

1Thessalonians 3:13

2Thessalonians 2:17

2Thessalonians 3:3

James 5:8

1Peter 5:10

2Peter 1:12

Revelation 3:2

Bible, Jesus, love, Parenting, Prayer, Raising Teens, Uncategorized, wisdom

Real change is possible

June 10, 2020 1 Comment

Have you ever had God drop something in your heart that you weren’t sure what to do with? Then you start getting bombarded with others saying the same thing, only in their voice or through their walk with God. Well that’s where I am right now. So I say it is with much thought, prayer and confirmation that I write this blog.

We have been having great, sometimes intense, conversations in our house relating to recent events. We have discussed topics from social justice, to the danger of generalizations and totalitarian statements, to voicing your opinion on how to bring about social change. Parenting teenagers is harder than I ever imagined. It’s hard to parent through these issues because all my children have their own view point and a unique calling from God that brings with it a unique filter in which they view life events. Not to mention I want them to think for themselves, develop their own conviction with the Holy Spirit, and be who God created them to be – no mini-me’s!

All of those discussions, conversations, have me thinking and praying for wisdom, guidance, and how to respond (not to my kids, specifically, but to life events). Then, unbeknownst to them, people around me have been adding to these thoughts and prayers with God. And here is where I land.

Every person is God’s creation. Ephesians 2:10 applies to everyone. And because the creator is so great, everything He creates bears His greatness. Think, the Mona Lisa is famous and has great value because of the one who painted her. That is my base line of truth. If you are a believer I am sure you can agree with me here. Building from that, how can we make that truth not only known but lived out in our homes, communities, cities and nation? This is where I got stuck until I heard from God.

In my Bible study we were asked to read Exodus 2:24-25. “God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

I am not saying I have a solution but I do have an action to take. God began to stir prayer in me. Specifically this prayer: “God hear the cry of those oppressed and suffering unfairly. God remember you sent your son into the world to reconcile the world back to you, to set the captive free. So God would you please look at my family, my community, my city, my nation, God; and would you become concerned with them?”

I know that prayer alone may seem like a weak stance; however, one of the pastors I work with had an amazing revelation from God on this. She said God told her “There is a Spirit of activation in the air right now. Activation in prayer. Wickedness twists the discernment of activation to activism. We want to see change, want to help, to do something. Activism looks like a lot but accomplishes little; while activation in prayer looks like little but accomplishes much! Do not forsake prayer!” Thank you Amy Martinez for sharing that powerful word.

Slow down read that again. As Christian we are called to act, but wisdom in how we act will be the difference between real change and surface level accommodations.

Prayer is powerful. Pray. Ask God the Almighty to move on behalf of someone or something. Only God can change hearts. So while it is a quiet action, it has a powerful punch. Let’s face it. People are not our enemy here. It is the one who comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10)

I read another blog this morning on this topic and he said:

“I believe God is asking us to look to Him right now, more than anything. It doesn’t mean we ignore issues. No. But unless we drink right now, we will only regurgitate the fear and hysteria of the media that sounds wise but is the twisting tongue of Leviathan which places a veil over those who aren’t discerning it. It’s a call to intimacy and seeking the heart of God when most are wanting to raise their hands to fight.

Nate Johnston Everyday Revivalists
Email: everydayrevivalists@gmail.com
Website: nateandchristy.co
Taken from the Elijah List email distribution.

I want to see things change. I want to live in a place where people are treated with kindness and care. I want to end senseless deaths in America. But I understand I can’t do that in my own strength and power. God is calling us to fight along side Him to bring about a change of hearts and mindsets and bring real justice. Will you join us?

love, Memorizing scripture, Uncategorized

Weighed Down in Love

July 5, 2018 1 Comment

I have been wrestling with what to write for this month. I felt like I should be patriotic and write about praying for your nation. Then I had a different issue on my heart but finally felt the Lord lead to this while I was reading my devotional book this morning. The devotion is by Beni Johnson from Spiritual Java. The title was “Calling Forth His Desires”. In it, she writes, “Often people ask me to pray for them, they come with an agenda or an idea of what they want to ask God to do.” She goes on to say, “We need to learn to listen to the heartbeat of God and not always present our ideas to Him as if they are demands. It’s not about whether agendas are right or wrong, but it’s about spending time with God and resting in His presence. The amazing thing to me is that God is waiting for us to enter into Him.”

Bam, it hit me. I have been meditating on a verse that I would like to make this month’s memory verse. Isaiah 30:18. “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is the God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

This verse speaks of an intimate encounter with Jesus. It portrays God standing, waiting with open arms to pour out His love and mercy. It’s as if He is standing there with so much love, mercy, and compassion that He is bending under the weight of it and simply cannot wait to lavish it upon us. He only needs us to turn our attention towards Him and ask, “What do you have for me in this situation?”

I’m not sure about you, but that isn’t the picture I have in my mind when I pray. I often feel like I have to say the right thing, ask in the right way, and then wait for what seems like forever before I get an answer. And I know God has timing, and it often involves us waiting, but I never think of God waiting on me. Waiting to pour out His love on me. Waiting to show His justice in my situation.

That is an amazing thought to me; that God is waiting to pour out mercy and love, compassion and justice. What an amazing God. So the next time you pray, before you say a word, close your eyes and see if you can picture God standing there waiting with His arms so full of love that it literally is weighing him down. He is there waiting to pour that love over you, to send justice in your situations, to hold you in compassion when you are hurting. He is waiting for you.

Click Here for July’s Memory Verse

Bible, love, Memorizing scripture, Steadfast love

A Precious Love

March 6, 2018 No Comments

The steadfast love of God, how great it is. To live in the knowledge of a Savior who loves us unconditionally, with an unmoving, never-ending love is overwhelming and amazing.

You have heard of people having a word to define their season, or maybe they have a word for the year. I am not sure which mine is or both, but the word to define my life is STEADFAST LOVE. I guess it really is two words, but who’s counting. Steadfast love is a word I hear in my heart and mind daily. It seems to jump off the pages of the Bible when I see it. It recalibrates me when I get lost in the pain of life or the routine of the mundane.

So for the memory verse for the month of March, here is another one on steadfast love. Maybe it will be a year of steadfast love. Time will tell, but for now, it remains my anchor of hope in a stormy sea.

Psalm 36:7-8 says “How precious is your steadfast love O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” Just take that first line, how precious is your steadfast love O God! The Bible ends that sentence with an exclamation mark, but it could just as easily end with a question mark. I ask God to show me how precious His steadfast love is. He reminds me of Easter. Of a steadfast love that gave His life for mine. Of how steadfast love clung to the cross, to the hope, to the redemption of my soul.

God’s love is not like man’s love. It loves when it is inconvenient – when the one being loved does not deserve it. It is always there through sleepless nights and sorrow-filled days. God’s love surrounds us if we take the time to see it.

God’s steadfast love is an abundance feast in His house. What a thought. God’s love creates a place for us where we are the honored guest. It quenches our dry throats with water from the river of His delight. It refreshes and restores our broken hearts. It reminds us that we are not alone. There are others God graciously gathers with us to join the feast, to help us celebrate who He is in our midst.

What a love. It knows no bounds, no limits, no hesitations. It gives freely to all who will partake of it. So I ask you, have you thought how precious God’s love is lately? Have you silenced your mind and your heart long enough to really appreciate the steadfast love God offers? If you haven’t you should. Take a moment and think about what God’s love is to you. Maybe you have never thought about the fact that God, the creator of the universe, is passionately in love with you. He is. He loves you with a steadfast love that will never fade. He loves you where you are right now in the midst of whatever your life is. He loves you because He created you. No one knows you better, and still He will always choose to love you. That, my friends, is a love worth daydreaming about. It is worthy of gratitude and thankfulness.

Take time to tell God how precious His love is to you and how thankful you are for it. It will change your day. It will make a bad attitude better. It will remind you there is good out there and in you. It will pull you out of a funk and hold your hand if you need to cry. It is precious and profound, and it is yours.

How precious is your steadfast love O God!(?)

Click here for the March 2018 memory verse