How Did We Get So Confused? Phil Robertson and Faith

Log on to FB and you probably won't be able to scroll more than two or three stories without seeing some opinion, share, hashtag or video about Phil Robertson, A&E or someone's agenda concerning the two.  Whether you are boycotting Duck Dynasty because of the elder Robertson's comments or boycotting A&E because of their reaction to it I wonder what impact any of this really has on changing opinions or tolerance.

But so I won't be left out of the conversation I thought I'd weigh in.

I choose to live my life by a set of rules (two really) that are contrary to the way in which I often want to live.  I believe Phil Robertson shares this choice.  If you choose not to live by these same rules that is completely up to you.  You have every right to call me names because of my choice as I have right because of your choice (choosing not to chose is a choice) although I would be in violation of both of the commands I seek to live my life by if I did that so I'll try and refrain.

My faith in Jesus is expressed best when I live those two rules He gave me.  Not as I talk about them, but as I live them in my real life and as I encounter real people.

So here's a real life response to Phil and what is going on in the christian community.
1.  As I follow Jesus my response to the issue of homosexuality is one of love and a call to repentance.  It is the same approach I am obligated to take with adultery, slander, gossip, dishonesty, stealing, coveting, sexual immorality or any kind of course or crude language.
2.  If every homosexual who claims to be a Christian is going to hell  then so is every other christian who sins.  Any christian who is gossiping, lying (even "white" lies), viewing pornography, who is dishonest in their life or language, covets or is engaged in any sexual immortality.  Let's just sum it up by saying anyone who is consistently (even if there is a lot of time between occurrences) not being completely loving toward God or others.
3.  I have an obligation to my God to act in love toward the homosexual by trying to help them see their sin for sin just like I do for the one who is caught in pornography or is lying or using or being selfish.  It is NOT loving to know the truth and hide it because the person who you might share it with will be offended.  They do not have to accept it and I am not obligated by God to beat them over the head with my truth.  My job is to simply tell them.  Their job is to choose.  My eternity is not dependent on their choice.  However, my silence is not loving toward the individual nor to my God so that creates a problem for me!
4.  The christian can no more accept or tolerate homosexuality than we can adultery, law breakers, haters, gossips, etc., but we also can not be loving toward God and others and completely disregard the homosexual or others we disagree with or pretend they don't exist.
5.  My faith in Jesus is based on God's Word - not my own desires or feelings.  In that, my rules for living are objective because they are outside of me.  No matter what I feel internally for homosexuality or any other sin, I am bound by God's Word and not my own feelings.  Which means my opinions or feelings don't matter, what matters is what God's Word says.  That also means that my feelings/opinions don't change based on the temperature of the situation or what a friend or family member chooses to engage in.  If it's sin, it's sin no matter what I feel or think.
6.  If you disagree with my faith that is your choice.  I am bound by my choice to love God and love others regardless of what they do or say to or about me.  So if you violate my choice to believe I'll still love you.  I won't throw you in jail or kill you or slander you.  In fact, I'll do my best to live peaceably with you.  However I won't allow you to force me to change my convictions because of your desires, convictions or feelings.  If you are free then I am free (even though I choose to be bound by God's way of life).

As long as I live I will do my best to love God and love others even if they disagree with me or I with them.  I will not be quiet about my faith but I will not be militant either.  I have chosen to be bound in order that I might be free, maybe you don't desire that.  As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord by loving Him and others and pointing the world to repentance even if they don't accept it.

Keep It Plain and Simple

I have a son with severe Autism who is nearly non-verbal.  He makes a lot of noise, but doesn't say much.  He's never really talked and we've never been able to have a conversation with him.  We don't know what his school days are like, he doesn't complain, he doesn't share his joy... or his sorrow.  He can follow clear and short one or two step directions but is completely lost when we ask him how he feels.  He doesn't understand complex concepts like LOVE or HATE.  So we have to speak to him very plainly and very simply.  

Anyone who is trying to communicate the eternal Words of God would do well to spend some time with my son.  To learn how to communicate when the person you're trying to communicate with... doesn't.  

For followers of Jesus this is a struggle.  Often, trying to communicate with the world around us is like trying to talk to someone who can't understand you.  Let me give you some examples.  I used to play on a weekend adult soccer league with my brother-in-law.  I would get up on Sunday morning, preach, go to sunday school and then preach again.  While getting my cleats and shin guards on I'd talk with the other members of my team.  But I didn't understand where they were coming from.  They were all talking about the parties they had gone to Friday night after work, how they got up late saturday and spent the day drinking and how hard it was to get up at 11am that morning to get to the field for the game.  I did not understand.  I do a lot of counseling and I often hear stories of parole violations and illegal drugs and the conversation is littered with curse words.  I don't understand.

It can be a struggle to communicate effectively with a culture that you don't understand.  But that's exactly what we're called to do.  That was confirmed to me this morning when I read, "When someone hears the Word of God but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart."  The Word of God is shared but it is not understood by the hearer.  It is sown but would be like trying to plant a vegetable garden in your living room carpet.  Because the hearer has no way to process the Word; no way to grab ahold and let it sink in, it is easy for Satan to come and snatch it away.  

So who's fault is it?  Well, if I'm the one communicating God's Word, it's mine.  

That's exactly why I preach the way I do.  

I'm not a flowery communicator.  I don't feel the need to use every expensive word I learned in Bible college.  I use filler words, though I try to limit them, and my sentence structure isn't always the best.  I preach the way I talk.  And If you've read much of this blog you've discovered that I often write the way I talk as well.  I do these things because I'm comfortable with it.  It's the same reason I don't wear suits, I'm comfortable in jeans and t-shirts (and in the summer nothing but shorts as often as possible!).  

If you are trying to communicate God's Word it is YOUR responsibility (and mine) to communicate God's timeless Truth in a way that could be classified as plain and simple.  If you're one of those $100 dollar word talkers that's fine, a few people in your church - the spiritual elite - may understand it and pat you on the back.  But most will walk out only thinking you must be smart, not thinking, God must be great.  

If Satan snatches the Word away it is most likely because you (and I) haven't communicated God's Truth in a way that they can understand.  That's on us (me).  

"Follow Me" Wasn't Just For The Perfect

I had the opportunity to have lunch with a large number of inmates from the minimum security facility in Winfield the other day.  It was the first time for me and I really enjoyed it.  The two men sitting at the table with me, Danny and Jim, as I recall had a lot of questions about church and especially Real Life.  I suppose it was the beanie I was wearing and the beard and long hair but they seemed to be pretty comfortable with me.  One of them, after the meal was over and we were all getting ready to leave told me that he got out in five months and that I shouldn't be surprised if I saw him in church.  "I'd like to come and see" he told me.

I was reminded of that lunch as I read Matthew 9:9 this morning.  It's the story of how Matthew came to be a disciple of Jesus and follow Him.  What I noticed was something that I don't recall seeing with any of the other disciples.

The verse just reads, As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and He said to him, "Follow me."  And he rose and followed him.

Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John out of their boats, while they were working.  He called Nathaniel from under the tree where he was resting.  He called others from various places but He called Matthew while he was "sitting" in his sin.

Matthew was a tax collector.  Sold out to the occupying colonist Romans he was hated by the rest of the Jewish population as a traitor.  And was most likely extorting money from his fellow Jews.  He was greedy and was taking from his fellow man, something the Jewish Law forbid.

But Jesus calls him.  right there where he sat.  Actively engaged in his sin.  Jesus calls him, "Follow me."

This is one reason I love Jesus.  He didn't look for the brightest, or best, he called people from where they were, whether working the nets after a night of fishing or taking money from for the Romans.  Jesus is more interested in your future than in your past or even your present.  What this tells me is that my past AND my present position do not indicate my future usefulness to God's Kingdom.  God can call people in the midst of their sin into a life of faith, adventure and trust.

And one of the great things about God's call on the lives of those in the midst of their sin comes in verse 10.  Jesus went to Matthew's house and ate with him and others.  He didn't wait until Matthew had gotten his life completely together, that day, that hour he went to his home and ate a meal.  And lots of other tax collectors and "sinners" were there too!

Why does God call people in the midst of their sin?  Because they are the greatest witness and testimony to their friends and colleagues who are also involved in that sin.  Jesus came to many tax collects and sinners that day because He came to one, still in his sin, who said, "Okay" when Jesus called out to him from the midst of his sin, "Follow me."

No matter what you're into right now Jesus is placing the same call on your life, "Follow me."  How will you respond?

Enjoying the View

Psalm 89 is written by a guy named Ethan, he is an Ezrahite.

I have a new appreciation for the Psalms after discovering that they are the only real account of man's opinion, or response to God.  The Psalms are prayers, mostly, that were offered to God.  In the Psalms we get a close up look at how the Jewish people viewed God and how they believed He worked in their lives and their opinion of how He worked in their nation.  No longer do I feel bad for getting angry at time when I don't think God is moving fast enough, or when I'm saddened by events in my life or other's lives.  I can find a Psalm where someone else was struggling with a similar issue and see that my feelings are natural and I take comfort in the fact that God has heard it before - I'm not the only one.

But I noticed something in this Psalm the other day that has continued to come back to me on a regular schedule.

In this prayer Ethan recounts challenges and turmoil that face the Nation of Israel.  It's almost like he's saying something that I've said before, maybe you have too, "God, You said you were going to take care of us and watch over us, You made promises to us - but I'm not seeing Your hand at work anymore."  It appeared to Ethan, and the Nation of Israel, that God had abandoned His promises and walked away from His responsibility to the people.

Ethan even quotes God's very words to His people, it's like he thinks maybe God forgot or was trying to get away with something.  All God is waiting for is Ethan to catch Him in the act and point out His waywardness and God will turn around.

In the beginning of this Psalm Ethan is praying to God and recounting God's steadfast love and faithfulness, "in the heavens."  Next He begins to speak about God - kind of like God's response to Him.   And God is speaking about His covenant with His chosen people, specifically David.

Here's what struck me.  While Ethan thinks God has concerned Himself more with what is going on, "in the heavens" where He is still full of love and faithfulness.  God's reply is about His people and His covenant.

Like me you may have had times where you think God has decided to focus on heaven, you know, a little dusting or rearranging of the heavenly furniture and He's forgotten about you.  You may be looking up and saying, "God, I know you're faithful and steadfast because that's who you are but I don't see it down here in my day to day life."  But God is always aware of His people, in fact, consider this.  Jesus' example prayer goes, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."  God's will is carried out in heaven without a thought or a glance.  He isn't chasing the angels around making sure everything gets done and Gabriel does the dishes on his night.  God's will is just done.  God's focus is on you and me.  While we shout at the heavens and shake our fist at God, He's constantly watching and arranging the details of our lives to bring us continually closer to Himself.

I saw a tweet the other day that said, God is always doing 10,000 things in your life.  You may be aware of 3 of them.  God's will is deeper, better, stronger relationship with you and He'll work to bring that about through pain or plenty - whichever is most effective.

While I'm sure I disappoint God constantly I think He's enjoying the view and I know He watches over me.

What's The Humidity Today?

I live in KS where the air is extremely humid in the summer, walk outside and you start sweating.  So it's not unusual to find thermometers at WalMart with humidity indicators on them.  My wife had stopped to look at them as a possible Father's Day gift for her Dad.  So we stood there discussing the merits of a large thermometer with humidity indicator.  I was not sold on the idea and then I saw it.  There must have been as many as 15 thermometers on the end-cap and nearly every one displayed a different humidity level.  I said, "why would we buy one of these when their quality is lacking - brand new and they all show something different!"
Now, maybe knowing the exact percentage of humidity is not a very big deal and probably would not have impacted my Father-in-laws life either positively or negatively.  But there's something that just doesn't sit well with me about getting different answers to the same question.  Needless to say we passed up the thermo-humidity indicators.
But as I drove home in the high-humidity afternoon today I was thinking about those indicators and I couldn't help but think how those thermometers represent so much of what we get from the world.  Every time you turn around the world is telling you something different.  Ask a question about whether something is right or wrong and you'll get an answer like, "well, it depends on the situation."  Or, "what might be right for me might not be for you."  How are we supposed to make our way through this life if we never know what the right thing to do is?  We never know if what we're doing is going to get us in trouble or praised, sent to jail or hailed as a hero.
I was recently talking with a young man who appears to be trying to embrace this relativistic lifestyle.  Everything is does is not judged against a standard but is measured with the floating scale of what others do or are doing.  As I talked to him about my position it was apparent he was having a hard time processing what I was saying.  I ended with this thought.
Your idea of what is right or wrong may change from day to day but one thing you can bet with me is that if it's wrong it's wrong.  And not just because I make an arbitrary decision in the moment, but because I will go to the Bible as my source of authority.  You may not agree with my decision but at least it's based on something outside myself and not just on how I 'feel' at the moment.  My understanding of right and wrong doesn't waiver because it's not based on ME.  If it were, I could manipulate what I saw as right and wrong based on how I was living at the moment.  If I had stolen something I might excuse it because I was hungry instead of being convicted by the truth that it was wrong no matter what my reason.
When we go to the world, our friends for advice it's like looking at all those thermometers with the differing humidity levels.  We may have the right sense about the temperature but what we're to do it is difficult to determine because we're getting conflicting information.
The cure for this problem is simple.  Go to something outside yourself, your friends and your feelings for advice and input.  To something like the Bible.  It doesn't change (and hasn't for 2000 years).  What was wrong while Jesus walked the earth is wrong today.  Are there some cultural things we need to be aware of, sure, but when it comes to important moral and character issues the Bible is clear and the same for everyone.  No matter where you come from, what you've done, how much money you have or your position the Bible applies equally to your life as it does to mine.  There is no favoritism or subjectivism.  Where God is concerned we're all the same.   No need to wonder or guess, it's right there.  Truth.  Objective.  Applicable.  And it's always the same.

The Man The President Asked to Stay

I just read an article written for The Washington Times by a man named Joseph Curl (now the editor of the Drudge Report but covered The White House and politics for 10 years for the Times).  It was a political piece, as virtually everything is.  And, just to get it out of the way, it was pro Bush and I suppose by that one fact, anti-everybody else.

I read it because it was a piece about the opening of the George W. Bush presidential library and I wanted to know how that went - specifically it was about how each of the presidents in attendance handled the day and themselves.  You can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles himself around other men, so I was interested.  What I wasn't prepared for was the last, seemingly unimportant paragraph.

Let me just copy and paste this part of Mr Curl's article so you can read it for yourself.
"The program nearly over, Sgt. 1st Class Alvy R. Powell Jr. came to the side of the stage to perform the “Star Spangled Banner.” A big, powerful black man, Mr. Powell belted out the anthem. With the crowd applauding, the sergeant moved along the line of people, shaking hands with all. After greeting W, he turned to go. But the 43rd president put his hand on the sergeant’s arm and said, “Stay,” just as a chaplain stepped forward to give a benediction.

So the final tableau of the day: Five presidents, five first ladies, heads bowed in prayer. And Sgt. 1st Class Alvy R. Powell Jr. No one, really, just the man a president asked to “stay.”"

I think that is amazing.  What does the guy who got selected to sing the Star Spangled Banner have in common with five of the last six presidents of these United States?  Not much.  In fact, he know doubt had been told to shake hands and get out of there so they could wrap up the ceremony.  He may have even been nervous.  No matter what your politics or lack of respect for any man, when you stand on a stage with every living president that's a big deal.  So to have one simply say, "stay."  means something.

I am right now preparing a message for this Sunday at Real Life.  I am going to teach on Peter's denial of Jesus and then Jesus' reinstatement of Peter.  And it's such perfect timing that this story comes across my screen.  What Jesus was saying to Peter on the beach (where Peter had met him for the very first time by the way) was, "stay."  Stay with me Peter.  Hang in there.  Don't walk away because I want you to be here with me.

It's the same thing Jesus is saying to you today.  You may not feel like you belong with Jesus, standing there with him you may feel very nervous, but Jesus is just putting his hand on your arm and asking you to stay.  Whatever song you're singing for the world to hear, whatever part you're playing in life, Jesus is calling you to stay with Him.  Not because you deserve to be with Him, but simply because He chooses you.  Because He put His hand on your arm and said, "stay."  Unassuming.  Reassuring.  He wants you to share the stage with Him.

You're the one Jesus asked to stay.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/25/w-outclasses-barack-and-bill-without-even-trying/?page=2#ixzz2Rb8H00al

Did You Do Something Stupid In Your Past?

Think about your High School career.  Did you have one of those guys who did something really stupid that has followed him ever since?  Usually these things are not very good and I'm sure after sobering up the individuals are pretty sorry they did it.  Some things just stick with you, whether you want them to or not.

I was reading in Mark 4 the other day and told the story of Jesus going to Simon the Leper's house.

At this point, Simon was no longer a leper, if he was no one would have gone to his house.  Jesus had healed him so it should have been, Simon the post-leper or Simon the used-to-be-leper.

I wonder how Simon felt when people referred to him by the most horrific time-period in his life?  Leprosy, back then, was a terrible thing.  No known cure (except a miraculous encounter with Jesus).  No one would touch you or barely speak to you.  You had to move out of your home and the city and live in Leper colonies.  No one would visit.  This was a horrible disease that affected the nerves and it stunk and people thought they could catch it so it was lonely and you just kind of waited to die.

Imagine for a minute if everyone called you by something that represented a period of discomfort or embarrassment in your life.  Let me give you a few examples;

Corey the hemorrhoid sufferer.

John the incontinent.

Sarah the diarrhea girl.

(yea, I know, just trying to make a point)
Strange how we remember people for the worst things.  Even though Simon was healed, cleansed, restored, he was still remembered for something he desperately wanted to just forget.

That's one of the amazing traits about Jesus.  He doesn't remember.  When He talks about you He speaks of you in terms of what you can be, now what you were.  Who you are in relation to Him, not what you did apart from Him.

Hebrews 10:17 - Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.
Psalm 103:12 -as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

You may have done some pretty stupid stuff in your past.   It's doesn't matter.  Jesus doesn't remember who you were He knows who you were destined to become.

Throw off those old titles in Christ and embrace a new life.  A clean life.

How to Deal with the Boston Bombings

How do you deal with tragedy?

In the wake of the Boston Bombings many people are struggling to make sense of what happened.  As of the last news conference I heard, there are three dead and more than 100 wounded from the two bombs that exploded on the sidewalks of Boston near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  And just about everyone involved from the Mayor to the President is saying the same thing, we will discover who did this and why.

We want to know.  We need to know.  Who could have committed this crime against innocent civilians?  The aged and the very young, men and women, runners and by-standers injured and killed and maimed with no regard for who or what.  We want a face.  We need an identity.  We seek a villan.  But we also want to know why they did what they did.  How could they have planned and carried out this act, knowing all along, that it would inflict incredible damage and loss of life?  What brings a person to a place where they could kill those they don't know for reasons that they are uninvolved in?

Let me suggest to you that knowing who and why will not stop events like this from happening in the future, nor will it bring us any real closure or peace.  We will simply know.  But we will not have peace.

We need to know who was behind this because that is the only way we can, "bring them to justice."  Which is really just another way of saying that they will get what's coming to them.  And that really is about vengeance   Retaliation.  Retribution for their crimes.  And we want to know why because that is how we process things like this.  If the person or people involved are crazy we can dissmis them and this act as desperate and we can relax knowing that there are only a few crazy people in the world - the sane would never do anything like this.  If the perpetrators were seeking to terrorize then we will blame religion or fanaticism and lump whole nations of people together as those who should be feared.

But reality is, whether crazy or terrorists or opportunists or carrying out some agenda the root of this act is firmly embedded in evil.  Evil.  Not religion.  Not marginalized individuals.  Not the desperate act of the insane.  Evil.  No matter what the "reason" the reason is, evil.  And where evil exists, as it does in this world, there will always be people who carry it out.

So what is our response then?  If the who, only allows us vengeance and the why is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things how do we respond to what we've seen?

First, do not fear.
Fear seeks to control by force.  When we react in fear we succumb to the terror of the event even if we were not directly involved in it.  Those who would attack anyone, from a bully to a nation rely on fear. Where there is fear there is control.  Most acts of terror whether on the playground or the world-stage are committed first to instill fear and second to inflict damage.

Psalm 37:1
Do not fret because of those who are evil...


1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear...


Second, trust.
When actions like this happen it rallys people, but often around the wrong things.  We become united in our stand against terror.  We come together to seek justice.  We are bound together by our disgust.  But as we saw after 9/11, rallying to these banners quickly dissipates.  Once a villain is found, once the why is discovered the ties that bound us begin to lose their grip.  So we must rally together for something that will last beyond the event - trust.  We can trust that God is involved and watching over the events and that His heart is grieved by evil as is ours.  And we can trust that He will exact vengeance where it is needed and that His punishment is forever harsher than anything we could come up with.
Psalm 34:16

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.


Third, refrain from retaliation.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't pursue justice.  We have laws and will enforce them and have many people in the FBI, ATF, Homeland security and other organizations who will work diligently to discover who did this and bring them to justice.  But you and I should refrain from retaliation.  Much like the days and weeks following 9/11 there will be increased violence against anyone of Middle Eastern decent.  I heard that a plane was rerouted and landed today because two men, not sitting together were speaking in Arabic   Now, it could have something to with the evens of yesterday, but they could have also simply been talking with someone else who happened to speak their language.  I guarantee that if you were on a plane full of people in a country foreign to you, you would talk to the other person who appeared to speak your language.  Too often anger and retaliation only inflame the situation and do not bring peace.

Psalm 37:8
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.


Finally realize that evil exists in this world.  Evil is the reason terror exists.  Evil is the incubator for crimes against the innocent.  Evil always seeks to steal, kill and destroy.  It was evil that brought about the events of 9/11.  Evil was behind the massacre at SandyHook.  Evil was the seed that led to yesterday's attack and evil will be at the heart of every act of terror that has yet to be perpetrated wether on U.S. soil or elsewhere.  The other option?
Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.


Jesus came because evil existed.  He died at the hands of the evil, for the purpose of evil and the perpetuation of evil.  But He rose again to defeat evil and offer hope.  Evil could not keep Him in the ground.  That is why good will always overcome evil.  Peace will always overcome hate.  Love will always be a more powerful emotion than fear.  Trust that God sees it all and will keep an account of all those who pursue and perpetuate evil.  Trust that, in Jesus, death no longer brings fear but hope.  That Jesus, if He is lifted up as the reason we pursue peace instead of hate, good instead of evil, love instead of fear, will draw all men to Himself.  And remember that Jesus went to the cross at the hands of evil men to pay the price for your sin so that there is no longer any retaliation for the evil that you and I have committed.  Let the law of the land bring justice to those involved, but seek repentance and ultimate salvation for those who both killed and were killed.

Luke 6:27, 28
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Holy Vessels

Have you ever considered the question, "Am I Holy?"

The reality for me is that I very seldom think about this.  There are times when I do.  In fact, on a regular basis I consider this thought.  Saturday nights.  I have a routine that involves abstaining from intimacy with my wife, I shower and prepare for Sunday morning and I ask God to clean me on the inside and prepare me to speak to His people.  To wash my heart and cleanse me from all unrighteousness so that nothing gets in the way of His message to His people.  But I'm a preacher.  And that's once a week.

I guess I never really thought about seeking holiness when I prepare for something else, something difficult or even mundane.  It's like I only think about this when it's some big spiritual event I'm preparing for.

In 1 Samuel 21 young David, before he succeeds King Saul and takes over the rule of Israel, is actually fleeing Saul for his life.  He comes to the Tabernacle of God at Nob and to the priest, Ahimelek.  David and the men with him are hungry and looking for something to sustain them as they continue to run from King Saul who is pursuing David to take his life.  The only thing Ahimelek has to eat is The Bread of the Presence.  It was bread that was baked every Sabbath (Saturday) and placed before the Lord as an offering.  It pointed back in time to the manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness. It also pointed forward to Christ being the bread of life.  It was to be eaten only by the Priests who come from the line of Aaron (Moses' brother and the only line who could be High Priest) and who had set themselves apart as Holy by following the prescribed regulations and was only to be eaten in a Holy place.

However, this bread was given to David and his men.  Now, it's not my purpose to get into all of this today but let me just say, Jesus referred to this event when He said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  In other words, God gave man the Sabbath (day of rest) as a gift.  Anyway, I found it interesting that Ahimelek said to David, "there is some consecrated bread here - provided them men have kept themselves from women."  Just like the Jerusalem church determined that the Gentile church should not have to follow every Jewish law but only a few specific ones that would be most detestable to the Jews, Ahimelek breaks down the regulations for being Holy to just one thing - abstinence.

But what is even more interesting is David's reply in verse five, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!”

That is incredible to me!  David says that even when the missions he goes out on are not holy, or God ordained/directed, his men still prepare themselves and keep their bodies holy.  Which means that they are ready for whatever God is going to do among them because they are ALREADY holy, ALREADY prepared.

Guess what, YOU ARE HOLY!  You are already set apart for God's good works which He prepared in advance for you to do!  Look at 1 Peter 2:9, "...you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

On the cross Jesus paid your price.  His sacrifice makes you holy.  You are now part of the royal priesthood - the priesthood of Aaron, not by your blood line, but by the blood of Christ Jesus.  That makes you God's special possession!

Now your part is to proclaim the praises of Jesus who called you out of the darkness of sin and pain and hopelessness and into HIS wonderful light!

Every day you are holy and ready to do whatever God places in your path.  Every day you can eat the bread of heaven because you are holy.  Every day you can do whatever God asks because you are prepared supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish everything He sets before you.

You are a Holy vessel.

Detained

How often are you detained?  And how do you feel about it?
Lately I've had several incidences of people not using their blinker when it directly affects me.  I'm waiting to turn, they are coming toward me and so I wait and then they turn and I'm like, "I could have gone already but was waiting for you!  Thanks a LOT!"  So I'm telling my wife about how inconsiderate some people are and I go, "I could shaved like 1.3 seconds off my travel time had they used their blinker!"

I have a friend who is always waiting on his family.  He's one of those guys who thinks 15 minutes early is on time (I don't get that!).  I think the rest of his family live by the 30 min late rule.

We get detained by a lot of things.  Family.  Cars on the road.  Accidents.  Work.  Overtime of the game.  "One more level and then..."

But it occurred to me this morning as I read 1 Samuel 21 that it has been way too long since I was detained by God.  Here's what got me thinking about it, Verse 7 talks about a man named Doeg the Edomite.  He was king Saul's chief shepherd and was at the Tabernacle.  The text just says that he was, "detained before the Lord."  We don't know why he was there but only that he stayed longer than planned.

Have you ever been detained by the Lord?  Showed up to church and then just didn't want to leave?  Been in a time of prayer that just went on longer than you expected it to?

It doesn't happen very often to me, but there have been a few times when I just didn't want to leave.  I didn't want the music to end.  I needed more.  More of Him.  Nothing strange or mystical happens, you just get to enjoy the presence of God a little longer.

I asked God to give me a heart that was moved by His Spirit.  To detain me.  I need Him to interrupt my life and get me on His schedule.  To re-align my priorities and my focus.  To help me get tuned in and synched up with His will, His way, His plan.

Father, detain me and let me bask in your presence.  Refresh my spirit with your presence.  Renew me and give me a new heart.  Let me spend a little extra time with You.  Amen.

Father, God.

I remember when my kids just began to walk.  As a parent this is a pivotal moment.  There is a whole ton of meaning and emotion wrapped up in what turns out to be a moment only a few seconds long.

Until now Dad and Mom have taken this child every place they wanted him or her to go.  I have a brother in law whose wife just recently gave birth to their first child.  She makes no decisions.  She gets no say so.  She can cry, to be fed, to turned, to be burped, but mom and dad can chose to not do any of those things.  She has no control beyond making noise.  She is moved and positioned and carried around and is at the mercy of her parents.

But one day she is going to take a step.  And they are going to be where I, and perhaps you, have been.  Squatted on the floor with arms outstretched and hands begging her to take just one step.  From that point forward dad and mom's influence and control begins to slip.  When she can walk she suddenly can determine where she wants to go and when.  Parents then move from taking their children everywhere they want them to go, to keeping them from going where they aren't supposed to.  And that's a whole new game.

It's kind of the picture of God in the message I'm working on, except opposite.  God created Adam and Eve and moved very quickly to trying to keep them from going where they weren't supposed to.  He didn't set up baby gates, He gave principles and precepts (rules) to try and help humankind stay away from those places where the potential for harm was highest.  Of course, just like babies, we crash through those barriers how ever we can.  So God moved away from the rules and instead starting acting like a Father.

He crouched down in front of us.  Close enough that we wouldn't have to go far, but far enough that we had to make the choice whether to head toward Him or turn to the side.  And if we turn He moves.  He is consistently right in front of us, between us and whatever we're headed toward, in an attempt to get us to take just one more step and land safely in his arms.

And for our entire lives, both non-christians and christians have a God just one step away, arms outstretched and hands begging, "Come on.  You can do it!  Just one more step!  Come to Daddy."  He's right there.

Here's how the prophet Isaiah, speaking of God, expresses this thought.
"I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;  I was found by those who did not seek me.  To a nation that did not call on my name,     I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.'"

So whether you're the one on the edge cause you climbed over one of His rules so you could do your own thing, or you know someone who is teetering at the top of the steps about to fall, this post is for you.  God is right there.  Waiting to catch you, or someone you love.  Pray they take that step and find comfort and peace and protection, just as I have prayed for you while writing this post.  That you might, as I have, experience the comfort and security that comes when you finally and completely step into the arms of God.

...Where Satan Lives.

Have you ever considered the implications of this thought?  

Unlike God, Satan is not omni-present, which means everywhere at the same time - I know that seems impossible but if we could understand God and how He works then He wouldn't be a very powerful God now would He?!  Back to Satan's crib.  Satan is locked in time and space.  He was once an Angel who chose to deal in pride and deception and was able to convince a whole lot of other angels to follow him (dumb move on their part).  As a former angel Satan goes from one place to another.  He is locked in time and space just like you and me.  He doesn't know everything nor is he all powerful.  Okay, enough about that.

As a member of humanity I sometimes find myself (even this morning) considering the tactics of Satan to distract me, derail me and cause me to sin.  I say things like, "Satan is really after me today..."  Or, "Satan sure knows which buttons to push."  But I wonder if those are actually a "true" statements.  Is Satan at the root of all my failures and falls?  Does he have nothing better to do than to follow me around, a humble preacher of a relatively small church, and try and get me to fall, or to stop trying, or to give up, or to get so frustrated with my current situation that I just get mad and go do something else?  What really IS Satan's role in my life - and does he even have a role?

Well, certainly Satan exists.  The Bible says he prowls around like a lion seeking whom he may devour.  But if Satan is locked in time and space then he personally can't temp me and someone on the other side of the world at the same time.  Truth.  Ah, but you say that is why he has demons.  Spiritual henchmen who carry out his dastardly deeds.  That is also true.  But how often have you said, "A demon is really after me today..."  Probably never.  But I'm gonna take this a step further.  

Read the next statement.  Do you agree or not?  

Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Agree or not?  

Let me put it again...

each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Do you understand this fully?  Each person is tempted... BY YOUR OWN EVIL DESIRE!  Look here, I'm gonna make you mad!  You (and I) are tempted BY OUR OWN DESIRE not necessarily by Satan.  Yes, it's easier and not as condemning to say that Satan tempted me or is after me but the truth is, as a New Creation in Christ Jesus, it is NOT Satan who is tempting me but my own evil desire.  

Here's the implication and then I have to go get my son from school... If it is Satan tempting me then I have an excuse.  He's a bad dude always trying to trip me up.  If it's my own evil desire then I have to take ownership and realize that MOST of my sin comes from me, not him.  So when I am tempted I must check myself.  Am I walking by the Spirit in this instance or the flesh?  Am I giving in to my own sexual, selfish, prideful or angry desire or am I submitting to the Spirit?  

The next time I feel "attacked by Satan" I want to check myself against the Truth of God's Word and see if there is an area of my life that is not submitted to Him (God).  And then I need to take that thought or deed captive to the Spirit.  

Don't get me wrong, Satan is active in our lives but perhaps not to the extent that we blame him for.  Perhaps some of the struggles you've claimed to have with Satan are just your own tendency for evil.  Rebuke Satan's work in your life and then see if he was even actually involved in that one... adjust back to the Spirit and keep moving.

Quote from James 1:14,15 NIV

Keeping vs Giving (More Than week 4 - Thought 1)

I'm reading through the New Testament again this year but the reading plan I selected adds chapters from the Old Testament that correspond to the NT reading at times.  Today, was one of those times.  In fact (love the way God works) the OT reading for today was Genesis 4, it's the story of Cain and Abel.  You remember.  The first murder in the history of the world.  Cain, killed his brother Abel because God approved of Abel's offering but was not so happy with Cain's.

Let me start out with what we don't know.

• We don't know who told them to make offerings to God.
• We don't know what the rules for those offerings were.
• We don't know if they made their offerings at the same time or in the same place or at different times/places.
• We don't know how Cain knew that God did not find favor with his offering.
• We don't know how God "took" their offering.  But, typically (like, every time  God consumed the offering like the bull on Mt. Carmel after Elijah had prepared it and the offering that Gideon prepared.  by Fire.  But we don't know how it happened in this case.  

Genesis 4 simply jumps right into the narrative of Cain and Abel with very little background and very little to go on.  

Cain was a farmer.  He grew things.  How he knew how to do all this could be added to the list of things we don't know.  He took some of what he grew and he offered it to God.

Abel was a rancher.  He tended animals. He took some of what he had raised (Gen calls it the "fat portions from some of the first born of his flock) and offered it to God.

God is the creator.  He made everything.  He apparently told the boys, directly or through their parents, what He would accept as an offering and what He wouldn't.  But how this happened or what the rules were we don't know.  We could speculate based on the law given by God to Moses in the desert.  We could speculate that since God never changes the rules would be similar to but we just don't know for sure.  But the narrative says that Cain brought "some" of the "fruits of the soil" as an offering but that Abel brought "fat portions of some of the first born of his flock."  Here are my GUESSES:

• Cain brought left overs to God - some of the fruit but maybe not the best or from the first harvest.  
• Abel brought the first and best he had as an offering to God - he held nothing back for himself.
• When God gave the law He required the best animal from the firstborn of the flocks and herds and an offering from the first of the harvest.  So it stands to reason that God was not happy with Cain because he either brought the wrong sacrifice or an inferior quality.  And since God is a loving and just God He would not have had the boys guess at their sacrifice, He would have told them plainly what was expected.  Given that, Abel obeyed the rules and Cain didn't.

I'm assuming that God told Adam and Eve about the offerings He desired, though there is no indication in Scripture that Adam and Eve ever made an offering to God.  But if you had lived in paradise and perfection for who-knows-how-long and then broke the rules and got kicked out wouldn't you want to try and make it up to God?  Anyway, Cain and Abel surely knew what was expected of them.

But here's what caught my attention this morning.  Cain held something back.  He kept something for himself.  Perhaps he thought that God did't need the best he had harvested or that it was just as good to give God an offering from the last of the harvest instead of the first.  Which means, He kept something back.  He didn't give God the whole offering or the best offering.  He withheld something from God.  There are some pretty extreme cases of people withholding things from God - none of them turned out well, just ask Ananias and Saphira (they were killed immediately for withholding information and sacrifice from God).  

But Abel gave the best and the first and his offering was accepted.  

Is there something you are keeping back from God?  Something He's asked you to give but you're holding on to?  He's asked you to give Him your past - are you holding on to it?  Keeping it for future reference?  He wants to redeem your past and restore the future He has for you but if you hold on to it, keep it so you don't forget who you "are" then you're withholding what belongs to God.  Maybe you're holding on to your family and haven't been able to give them to God, you know, cause you know better than God how they should be raised or disciplined or what they should do with their lives.  Are you keeping back financially and not giving to God like Abel did, from the first and best of what you have been given?  Are you keeping your time so you can decide what to do with it?  Or are you serving and using your time for an eternal purpose.  

We'll look at how Cain and Abel resolved their difference another time, but for today, what are you keeping from God?  He won't use what you don't give Him - don't be a Cain, give from the first and the best that you have and see how God wants to favor you.

More Than - week 2 - devotional thought 1

We talked about patterns our lives follow this last Sunday at Real Life.  Today I was thinking about the different types of patterns there are.

The obvious ones are patterns for building something - perhaps a poll barn or putting together a book shelf or maybe a pattern to make a piece of clothing.  But there are also patterns in the buildings we see.  Shapes and curves and angles form patterns that are often mirrored from one side to the other.  I was looking at the floor of the old Food 4 Less building today and there was a pattern in the tile on the floor - where the freezers and bins used to be created a pattern.  There are shape patterns and number patterns and even musical patterns.  My oldest son Trevor comes home and shares the patters he's learned while studying for his Percussion Performance degree.  My son Trent loves to draw and uses patterns in his art.  There are patterns  to the movement of my daughter on the basketball court and my youngest son, who believes he can fix anything, sees patters in pretty much any mechanical thing.  Patters are all around us.

Maybe you've struggled with a different kind of pattern.  A pattern of abuse.  A pattern of addiction.  You've recognized it.  You do pretty well and everything is going okay and then you fall off the wagon again.  It's a pattern you can't seem to shake.

Yesterday we looked at a couple patterns that the people of Jesus day followed.  Matthew 5 - 7 addresses many of these patterns as Jesus uses them to contrast what He desires for our lives.  But I want to look at something he says before He begins to list the different patters of behavior He discusses.

In Matthew 5 Jesus is teaching the people who have come to listen and He's really rocking their world.  He starts out with a list of people, down and out folks, people who don't usually mean much to others.  He talks about the meek, the mourning, the merciful and the peacemakers, to name a few.  He tells His listeners that these people who have been of little account up until now are actually highly valued by His Father.  And then He starts talking about the kind of pattern that people should be but He uses the commodities of salt and light.

He says, "You are the salt of the earth" and the "Light of the world."

Salt and light each have a dramatic effect on the situations they are introduced into.  My family has always been huge popcorn eaters.  Nearly every night we have popcorn.  Once or twice my wife has forgotten the salt.  Have you ever had popcorn without the salt?  Terrible!  You can tell right away that something is NOT right.  But you add the salt and immediately everything is okay.  I remember playing hide and seek as a kid in the dark of night when someone shined a flashlight on you it was almost paralyzing it was so bright.

Think of salt and light like patterns.  They have a direct and dramatic effect when they are introduced.  There is no comparison between the dark and the light.  Darkness is scary and difficult to maneuver but the light is cheerful and makes everything clear.  Unseasoned food is bland and boring.  But add some salt and your taste buds sing!  That should be the pattern we follow in our lives.  If there were a "cut-out" to trace around for light and salt that is what we should be.  Our lives should have a direct and dramatic effect on the lives of those around us.  Our light should make their path more clear.  Our lives should season their life and add value to it.

Many Christians though need a paradigm shift (pattern shift) in their lives.  Too many of us reproduce a pattern of dullness and darkness so that others are not drawn to our Savior, Jesus Christ, but pushed away from Him by our actions and attitudes.

This week consider your pattern.  Do you add beauty to your surroundings?  Does your life oil the flow of interaction and inter-personal relationships?  Do you bring clarity and focus?  What pattern do you follow?  How can you be salt and light in your situation?

Your Struggles Might Be An Indication of God's Leading

We've been talking all week about persevering in obedience.  If you want to see God move in your life it's going to take some effort on your part.  Every great individual in the Bible who did something BIG with God started by obeying.  Go ahead, look!  You'll find that everyone had something do to BEFORE God moved in their lives.  Even if that something was believing.  Joseph (the step-father of Jesus) was told, "don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife."  And Mary was told, "do not be afraid...for no word from God will ever fail."  And there are countless others who had to go, stay, pray, fight, have faith...

So what is it God has asked you to do?

It might be helpful if you asked yourself this question, What am I having a real struggle with right now?  What Am I having a difficult time doing?  The answer to those questions may just give you insight into what it is God is asking you to do.

Are you having a hard time being still and knowing deep inside that God is God?  Maybe you need to reaffirm your belief that God is in control and that you have absolute faith in Him.  Have you had thoughts of serving in a certain area at church?  Or maybe agreeing to be a part of a study or group?  Have you felt compelled to give financially but are holding back because you don't see how you can survive without that money?  Is there an organization that you've considered volunteering with but something always comes up?  There's a good chance that whatever you're struggling with right now is an indication that there is a spiritual battle going on inside you.

Let me give you a peek at a couple of my struggles and maybe you'll see how it works.

You may have heard us talk about the Pregnancy Resource Center (that has been in Augusta) opening up a new branch in El Dorado soon.  They are working hard to open as soon as possible but need help getting the building prepped and ready to go.  I have been trying to help them for some time but something always comes up.  And then I have this internal battle about doing something good for someone else that is outside my Real Life circle and spending that time doing something else.

My other struggle is one that you'll completely understand if you're in the ministry.  Real Life is growing - fast.  And when a church begins to grow and you start thinking about the future it is really easy to starting thinking that you have something to do with the growth.  Like, if I could just make the next right decision the thing will just explode and be wonderful!  But also, if you make a wrong decision everything will fall apart.  There is a GREAT desire to take the responsibility for growth carefully from Jesus and place it in my own lap.

So these are two of my struggles right now.  Once I recognize them as spiritual battles I can try and handle them in spiritual ways.  The PRC is a great organization doing a great work to help stem the tide of abortions in Butler County.  They are worthy of any and all help and it will stretch me to get involved in this small way and help them out for a day.  So I'll be laying linoleum tomorrow at their new office.  And as I was praying the other day I simply asked Jesus to help me do my best at following Him - being the "first follower" at Real Life and letting the whole church leader thing take care of itself.

What are you struggling with?  The outcome of that struggle could lead you into God's More Than for your life or it could keep you derailed in your spiritual growth.

Remember, God is more concerned with perseverance than perfection.  Don't give up.  Make a decision to step into that thing you've been struggling with and see what God does!  All you have to lose is a little time... but you could gain more than you have imagined!

More Than - week 1 - devotional thought 2

We talked about obedience last Sunday and that obedience always comes before God doing something amazing and More Than you expected.  But we also discussed how it's not about being perfect in obedience (since no one is) but more about perseverance in trying to obey.

But some people may be mistaken that it's perseverance in intention and not action that brings God's More Than.  I've been to plenty of church services in my life and had maybe thousands of good intentions about obeying God... and only a few of them became actions. Maybe you've had that experience where you leave church saying, "things are going to change!"  And you really mean it, but for whatever reason you just don't follow through.  God doesn't expect us to be perfect.  But He does expect us to actually try.

Here's how Romans 2:13 expresses this thought, "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous."

For your meditation today in line with our desire to see God do More Than we ask or imagine this year take a look at the number of times you've intended to obey God and the times you actually have.

More Than Week 1 - devotional thought 1

On Sunday we discussed two important truths about our journey in Christ.

1. Obedience is a prerequisite for God's "More Than" in your life
2. Perseverance is more important to God than perfection.

Every time God called someone in the Bible to something incredible it always followed a first step of obedience.  We looked at Abraham, Moses and the Apostle, Paul, on Sunday.  But there are many others.  Gideon was told to tear down the alter on his father's property before God used him to deliver the Israelites from their enemies.  Joshua and the Israelites, BEFORE the walls fell down, were told to march around the city of Jericho.

Fortunately for us, while stepping out in obedience comes before seeing God do the incredible, being perfect in obedience is not a requirement.  God knows that we will fail and struggle and have times of fear and loss and even a lack of faith.  So what He asks of us is that we keep trying.

Listen to how James, the brother of Jesus and a failure in many respects himself, puts it.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James doesn't tell us the testing of our faith produces perfection, but that it produces perseverance.  And perseverance is needed because through our continued struggle to be like Christ we become mature in our faith, complete in Christ and not lacking anything for this life and these trials.

Persevering in our struggle to be more and more like Christ produces fruit in our lives.  God uses those who persevere for the incredible, not those who give up.  Failure, at times, is inevitable.  Persevering is optional.

So if you've failed before do not give up.  God doesn't discard you, He defines you through your struggles.

Is there something that God has been placing before you?  Perhaps that you have been unwilling to step into?    If you are looking for God to do More Than you imagine in your life this year it will begin with an act of obedience.  Perhaps He's been prompting you to share your faith.  To serve in an area you haven't before.  To give more of your time, talent or treasure to His work.  Whatever He's placing before you He'll ask that you step into it before He gives you your More Than.  That is called faith.

Misplaced Hope

My family is once again watching The Biggest Loser on NBC this season.  One idea that the trainers try to instill in the contestants is, you've got to want this for you.  It's not about your wife or kids or job it's about getting fit for your own health and well being.  Those other motivations may get you started but they will not carry you through to your goal.

Some of the contestants try to push their success off on their team or on the trainers and blame them if they don't succeed.  It's natural for us to blame our situations, our parents, our upbringing, our families our disabilities or schedules when things don't work out.  It takes the pressure off us.  It makes us feel a little better about ourselves.

Jesus came into Jerusalem and went down to the pool called Bethesda to see what was happening.  While He was walking through the crowds He came to a man who had been at the pool for 38 years.  Jesus stopped and asked him, "do you want to be healed?"  Interesting question since it was believed that at times an angel came and stirred the water and the first person in the water was healed.  So, of course the man wanted to be healed!  He stayed at the pool for 38 years trying to be the first person in the pool.  Talk about determination.  Trying and failing for that long might have gotten a lesser man to give up.

So it seems a little cold-hearted that Jesus would ask this man if he wanted to be healed.  At least, that is what it seems like.

Imagine if you wanted to loose weight and went to the gym every day.  But when you got there you just sat in the lobby and ate a box of Krispy Kreme donuts.  Then one day a trainer came in and saw you sitting there with the empty box and asked, "do you want to get fit?"  It's kind of the same situation.

Here's the reality.  Jumping in to a pool of water isn't going to heal you any more than sitting in the lobby of the YMCA is going to make you fit.  They don't equal.  It's misplaced hope.  So Jesus question is entirely acceptable based on the reality of the situation.

But the man was so sure that his only hope was the pool that he immediately began to make excuses.

• I have no one to help me get in the water.
• And people don't respect the line and they cut in front of me and get in first!

Can you hear him?  It's not my fault!  There's nothing I can do about it!  No one will help me!  

Jesus asked him a simple question.  Do you want to be healed?  It required a simple answer.  Yes or no.  

Have you ever put your hope in something that couldn't provide what you were hoping for?  Like a high school student asking for life advice from another student.  Looking for marriage advice from your single friends. Misplaced hope.

Little did the man know that the true healer, the great physician was standing right in front of him.  What the man had waited 38 years for was seconds away.  Jesus didn't have to wait for water to be stirred, he just said, "get up, take your bed and go."  

So many people are looking for healing, hope, restoration, freedom or peace, but they are looking in the wrong places.  The Bible says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks.  He offers all of these to those who would simply come to him for help.  Stop looking everywhere except the one place that truly offers hope for what you need.  Stop waiting for the water to stir.  Stop sitting in the lobby.  Stop making excuses.  Simply respond to Jesus with a, "YES!  I WANT TO BE HEALED!"

Was Jesus' First Miracle a Mistake?

John 2:1 "On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee..."

Have you ever wondered this?  I mean, God sends His One and Only Son to earth as a baby with the purpose of saving every person ever born, or to be born, from their sins.  Hebrews says He is the creator and sustainer of all things.  Jesus, who healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, cured leprosy and sent demons packing comes to the critical moment of his first miracle and... let down.

Surely He knew that for the rest of time this particular miracle would bring stark disagreement and even violent debate.  This one story, recorded only in John's Gospel has sparked much debate over the centuries. What does the word translated "wine" mean?  It can mean fermented or unfermented, so no conclusive evidence there.  Teetotalers believe it MUST mean grape juice and others assume it means an alcoholic beverage.  Was the "grape juice" saved for the last of the party or the "alcohol"?  I just heard an argument that it MUST have been grape juice they were drinking because how could a drunk person tell if the "wine" was good or not?  Of course, the counterpoint is that if the master of the ceremony was hammered he wouldn't have been very good at his job.

As for me, I try to keep things simple.  I don't believe the Bible indicates that it is a sin to have an alcoholic beverage.  I do believe the Bible clearly say that it is a sin to be out of control of your body - to have a self-induced lapse of judgement.  That being said, if John says the water turned into wine I'm going to assume it had some alcoholic content.  Let's face it, alcohol has been around, well, since the beginning probably.  So if it were grape juice why didn't John just say grape juice - they had that back then too.

But really the issue is this; why would God save up 33 years of Jesus life to begin His public ministry with a controversial "miracle" (seems funny calling wine a miracle since I grew up in a teetotaler household) like water to wine.  I mean, why not the healing of an entire leper colony for the first one?!  Why didn't Jesus reattach a leg or bring someone back from the dead or free a family from an illness or demon possession?  We could all get behind that, right?  We could all clap for Jesus and talk about how wonderful He is and there would be no debate, no argument, no disagreement   Everyone could rally around an actual miracle for Jesus first - this seems like it must have been a mistake.  Like Mary was showing off (though how did she know he could perform miracles at this point?)  Was she punishing Him for coming late?  Jesus even says, "My time has not yet come..." so why does He do this?   

Matthew has Jesus healing the sick first.  Mark shows Jesus casting out an evil spirit.  Luke's Jesus story begins with Him amazing the religious leaders in the Temple at the age of 12!  All of these seem Godly and appropriate.  So what is John's problem?  Did he not know any better?

Actually, I think John got it right.  I just noticed this today as I read this story again in my Youversion Bible reading plan for 2013.  John says this in verse 11, "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him."  I think a better and more fitting ending to this verse would be, and I believed in Him.

Here's why I think John writes about this unbecoming, improper miracle of Jesus.  It's the exact moment when John realizes this guy is who He says He is.  Jesus called John and his brother James from their fishing boat to follow Him.  They did.  They had heard Him say He was the Christ.  But this is the moment it stopped being a fantasy, a head thing, something he had to constantly remind himself of, and started being a matter of fact.  A matter of the heart.  Confirmed by the Spirit and accepted as absolute Truth for John.

This story is important because its your story and mine.  We each (whether you've forgotten it or not) had a moment when what we had been told or read or seen became reality to us.  Became the Truth.  Became the motivator for a changed life.  For John it was in the last days of a common wedding ceremony when he watched a jar of water become in the mouth of the of the host the "best" wine.  For you it may have been in a hotel with the Gideon Bible in your lap.  Or in the back of the church last year or last week.  Or in the car with your folks or when you came up out of the water when you were baptized.

Whenever it was and whatever the spark - it's your story.  It's personal.  It's your first real experience with the Savior and it's as important to you and it was to John.  What may seem like a mistake, or at least a misplaced, misdirected miracle was the most important moment in John's life.

When did you first believe?

Mistaken Identity

James 1:13  "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone."


Beginning a New Year and restarting a Bible reading plan found me in John 1 this morning as I sat in my living room with a blanket over my legs and prayed.  John 1 starts out with some great theological fodder with verses like, the Word was with God.  The Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  But this morning my attention was focused on something else.

In verses 19, 20 the Jews send priest and Levites to see if John was the promised Messiah.  He quickly told them no, but that the Messiah was among them and indicated that He would be revealed shortly.  But when Jesus is revealed by John, the guy they thought was the Messiah, no one believes him.

John didn't perform miracles.  Didn't socialize with anyone - priest or sinner.  Didn't heal the lame or free the demon possessed.  He just preached, Prepare the way of the Lord!  For this he is asked if he is the Messiah.  But when Messiah is revealed with signs and wonders, healing and casting out demons.  The Priests and Levites seem to be oblivious to this.  It seems to me to be a willful case of mistaken identity.

And then my mind started going - which often happens - and I jump to something seemingly unrelated.

I have also mistaken God for someone else.

The truth is that I have at times mistaken God for the one causing my problems.  I have blamed Him for everything, from a lack of finances, to broken down cars to struggles in my marriage or with my kids.  It occurred to me that I was pointing at God when I should have been running from Satan.  Mistaken identity.

God does not harm us or bring harm to us.  He teaches.  He instructs.  He disciplines.  But those are completely different from tempting or harming.  Satan uses these tactics to get us to blame God for our problems - but it's misplaced.  Mistaken identity.

In this New Year I will be more aware of Satan's schemes to get me to blame God for a particular situation or challenge.  I will look to God for help, recognizing that Satan wants to harm.

Monte Drenner in his book, Spiritual Breakthroughs says this, "Satan's lies are much easier to believe and to live than the promises of God."

His lie is that God is out to punish you. To harm you.  To pay you back for your sins.  But it is Satan who is tempting you.  Satan who is disrupting your life and causing you pain.  He is a liar and so you can trust that everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie.  He hates you and wants you to die so that you suffer with him.  God loves you and sent His own Son to die in your place so that you wouldn't have to suffer.

Father, help me to see You for who You really are.  Forgive me for the times that I have blamed you for the things that Satan has brought into my life.  Help me to recognize his games and turn to you for help and hope when He is on the attack.