Gone for a While

I am trying to figure out Facebook so I can get a fanpage going for The Oasis. I may be away for a few weeks, but check us out at "The Oasis Christian Church" on Facebook.

Love, Michael

1 Peter 4 and Romand 5

I read 1 Peter 4 and Romans 5 this morning.

1 Peter 4:2 - ... anxious to do the will of God. - I run into so many people who are anxious about so many things. They are anxious about money or the next promotion or what someone said or whether they are being marginalized or if they are getting their way or if they will win or...... and yet here is Peter saying the only thing it is right to be anxious about is doing the will of God. What does that look like? When I see people around me being anxious I notice that they are consumed with it. They think about it always. It changes everything and affects everything. It affects how they rest and how they eat and how they sleep and how they talk. When you tell them to stop they say they can't. Can you imagine if we were anxious to do the will of God? If we were consumed with it? If everything else in life was affected by it? If it affected our eating and our sleeping and our attitude? Lord, I want to be anxious to do your will.

Romans 5:17 - ... for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. - Can you honestly say that you have victory over sin in your life right now? If yes, than you can know you are walking where God has called you. If not, than you are not walking with Christ the way He has called you. We can call it struggling or whatever else we might come up with, but the truth of being in Christ Jesus is triumph over sin in this life. We have let the world water down the truth of the Bible so much we actually expect sin to be a natural part of the Christian experience when God has said otherwise. God has said that if you are in Christ you will have victory over that which tempts you and has won in the past. That means if you sin with pornography being in Christ means you should be free of that now. If you are not there is a problem with your relationship with God. It isn't just a weakness or a struggle it is a major problem with your faith because Jesus said you would be free indeed. I think so many of us have just settled into the idea that sin should be there. Sin should not. We don't need to become legalistic or remove grace, but we have to realize the proof of Jesus being in our life is less and less sin not. It is more and more freedom and not just little by little. Jesus healed instantly. We have to be careful of the lie that says Jesus heals us slowly over time. It causes us to let our sin endure longer than it should.

I am reading a book and the author makes a statement that really stuck with me. He says, "In the same way, you have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin." Did you catch that? You and I have to QUIT loving and pursuing Jesus to sin. I believe that is true. You can not love God and sin. You can sin and then return to God, but we need to sin for what it is - a denial of God and a love for something more than we love Him. When you sin you are picking that over God. Think about that. When you look at pornography you are picking what you see and feel over God. When you gossip you are picking importance over God. When you lie you are picking safety over God. When you are selfish you are picking yourself over God. You cannot love and pursue god and sin. Man, that changes a lot for me. The next time I want to sin I will he confronted with the gravity of the choice I am really making.

Love, Michael

1 Peter 3 and Romans 4

I read 1 Peter 3 and Romans 4 this morning. Here are a couple of ideas that stood out to me.

In 1 Peter 3:2 it says by observing your pure and reverent lives. when it is talking about how a godly woman can help her unbelieving husband come to know God through Jesus. The question that popped into my head right away was, Do we live such pure and reverent lives that others are caused to believe?
Most of us would quickly admit we are not pure. We live soiled lives. We complain that it is because we live in a dirty world. And yet Jesus our Savior and Lord promised things would be even better for us when the Holy Spirit came. And Jesus, while He was on earth, lived a life in a dirty world without getting soiled. He showed us the way and then He empowered us to do it.
But, I think the bigger question on my heart is are we a reverent people? When someone looks at my life do they see reverence or something else. Going through the church planter thing I can tell you that most of my reverence was drained. Unfortunately a loud segment of the church planting population is so focused on being free from the rules and traditions that we fail to be reverent about God or our faith. We become very worldly leaders in an effort to reach the world for Christ. The problem is people need to see our reverence for God and His word and truth and peace and His Church or they will never care that we entered their world to share Christ with them. As my buddy Justin would say, We sold our birthright for pea soup!!! We have traded reverence for relevance only we are not all that relevant and when did God ever say relevance was more important than fruitful reverence anyway?
I wonder what would happen if all of us decided to beg God for develop in us a reverence for Him and His word that would cause us to react like Isaiah in the throne room of God in Isaiah 6. What would happen in our lives and our faith and what would happen to our witness if we had such a deep respect and awe towards God that it came out? According to 1 Peter, we would become better witnesses and help a great many people come to Jesus.

I love Romans 4:18. It says, Even while there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping - . WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is what the Bible means when it talks about faith. Even when there is no logical reason to believe we believe and if you keep going you see the reason Abraham believed even though there was no reason for it. God spoke. God had made a promise and since Abraham thought more of God's promise than he did the circumstances around him he held out hope. Where in your life have you quit believing or quit hoping because there is no reason to hang on and yet God has made a promise? Let God be proved true and every man a liar. I love what Paul goes on to say: He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. (Romans 4:21) God, may you help us become the kind of people who are fully convinced because we know you!!!

Love, Michael

A Test

I have a great test for anyone reading this to take. Grab your Bible and read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Now, go back and re-read it and everywhere you see the word love insert your own name instead. If you can read it that way with a straight face and an honest heart than good job. But, if you can't read every single phrase of it that way know that God is revealing to you where you need to surrender to Him, because you aren't living a Christian life in that part of your life.

Love, Michael

1 Peter 2 and Romans 3

I am reading 1 Peter 2 and Romans 3 this morning. There are a lot of really deep, good, theological truths in there.

1 Peter 2:2 - Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk SO THAT you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,. This verse makes it very clear. You will not grow in your experience of salvation of you do not develop a craving for God's truth. Your salvation will at the most amount to very little and at the least not amount to anything at all. We need to develop a hunger and a passion and a desire for God through His truth. So many people miss the God part and just go after the truth part. All of faith is about a relationship with the Father and when we don't desire that above all else we miss out. Some will complain that they can't make themselves want something, but the truth is when we choose to pursue something with all of our energies we begin to love that thing. We did not love our spouses before we found them. It was the pursuit of them that helped spur the love we now have for them.

Peter mentions God's will which brings me back to something I read recently. The author was focusing on the idea that so many of us say we want to know God's will when what we really want is God's specific will for our lives from now until death. God very rarely gives us that because He knows we would have the tendency to walk away from Him. He conceals some of His will so we will stay beside Him, which is what is best for us anyway. Also, if you really want to know God's will, just read every passage in the Bible that says God's will or pleases God. You will find several things. The problem for us is we don't want to focus on those specific things. God has told us what His will is, we just didn't like that it didn't focus on us.

1 Peter 2:24 - Why did Jesus bear responsibility for our sin on the Cross? ... so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. He did not die just so we can go to heaven. He died SO THAT we could die to sin and SO THAT we could live for what is right.

Romans 3:22 - We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. - It is by faith that we are made right. Not faith like we think where we say we believe there is a God, but faith that puts an active trust in God and that relies on God. The faith that makes us right is a relational faith and not just a mental one. It is a faith that hungers for God and anything less than that isn't faith.

Romans 3:31 - Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. - Obedience does not necessarily lead to faith. Faith without obedience is a lie and not true faith. True faith always leads to willing obedience.

Love, Michael

I'm reading a great book by Francis Chan called Crazy Love. Good book. I would recommend it for anyone close to accepting Christ or who is looking for a refreshing of their own faith. I read his other book Forgotten God a few weeks back and enjoyed it as well. It deals with welcoming the Holy Spirit back into your life.

I am also reading one by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittleberg called The Unexpected Adventure that has been really good for motivating different approaches to evangelism. Instead of teaching how to evangelize they simply share personal stories about when they shared Christ. It has been great for helping me look and prepare for more opportunities to share the Good News about Jesus. It even led me to pick up a homeless guy and spend some time with him.

God has been doing some really neat things in my heart and soul lately. I have always had a problem with watered-down faith in America and in myself and God has been showing me how to bring my love for Him and His church alongside of that dissatisfaction in a healthy way. I just want so badly for those who say they follow Jesus to experience the true moving of God's Spirit and a faith that is represented by a great love that motivates a powerful life instead of getting it backwards and having people do what they are supposed to do without really understanding that a love of God should be the stimulant. Love of God and not just behaving.

Love, Michael

2 Peter 3

3:1 - to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. - We don't tend to tend towards wholesome thinking and so we need things that will remind us to and stimulate a hunger in us to. The word of God is great for making us hungry for righteousness. Without it in our lives it seems like we will do what we think is best and move away from godly living.

3:3 - mocking the truth and following their own desires. - WOW! We must be in the times Peter prophesied about. So much of our culture, even in the church unfortunately, is made up of people who either try to mock the word of God or who live only for whatever they feel or think best or is most convenient for them. We have to find a way to help people see that this is a sinful way to live.

3:4 - everything has remained the same - Ever heard that in science class? Even good science recognizes that things do not stay the same and so the whole basis for evolutionary thing has a massive flaw from the beginning. To say everything is the same except for when it changes is a cop out and bad logic.

3:8 - A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

3:9 - ... No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. - I love God. I know that seems silly, but I really do. Consider that He endures our sin and our wrecking this world and hurting each other because He wants each one of us to make it back home before the end of all things and the beginning of everything.

3:11-12 - Live holy and godly lives as you look forward.

3:13 - Heaven = a world filled with God's righteousness.

3:14 - ... while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in HIS sight.

3:17 - Be on your guard...

3:18 - ... you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. - The way to be on your guard is to grow. I think it is worth noting that Peter says you MUST grow in grace and knowledge and not that it is a good thing. I don't think it is a command as much as it is a necessity to live a pure and blameless life. You must grow in grace and knowledge or you will not live a life that honors God.

Love, Michael

2 Peter 2

2:1 - ... there will be false teachers among you. - God has spoken through Peter to warn us that there will be people among us who teach falsely and who lead people away from the truth of God. We need to be aware of these people and how they work. It seems to me our Christian culture will accept almost anyone who says they are speaking for God without doing much of the hard work necessary to see if they really are. We are so lazy spiritually that we refuse to discern between those who are teaching the truth and those who are teaching a man made religion. I think that is why it is so hard for those who are truly preaching the Word of God to do their jobs, because those who should be listening are listening to others who do not agree with the Word. Here are some of the characteristics that Peter gives throughout chapter 2:
- cleverly teach (1) - instead of teaching the Bible plainly and openly
- deny Jesus as Lord (1)
- immoral (2)
- greedy (2)
- proud and arrogant (10)
- creatures of instinct (12) - do what they feel instead of research out God's will
- scoff at things they don't understand (12) - leave no room for the mystery associated with God
- love to sin in the open (13)
- delight in deception (13) - do not live completely in the light
- commit adultery with their eyes (14)
- love to earn money doing wrong (15)
- brag (18)
- slaves to sin(19)

2:5 - ... Noah warned the world of God's righteous judgment. SO God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. - I totally see a cause and effect here. Because Noah warned the world (cause) God protected him (effect). If God were to come and apply a cause and effect type of outcome for the way you are living right now would it lead you to rejoicing or fear? God longs for us to live without fear as we do what He wants done so that He can bless us tremendously. We cannot have the blessing of God by living a weak, distracted Christian life.

2:7-8 - Lot was a righteous man because his soul was tormented by the sin around him. I give Lot a bad rap because of how I understand what I read in Genesis, but apparently he was more righteous. He was bothered to the point of feeling tormented because of the sin around him. I think I am annoyed by sin at times, but I am not sure I feel tormented like I should.

2:9 - So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. - There are two really great ideas in here. 1) God knows how to rescue us. We do not have to understand how God rescues us to have confidence that He can. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out the future, but we would be better off trusting the God who is not bound by time. 2) God will deal with the wicked.

2:10 - He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desires, and who despise authority. - This verse scares me to death for our church and our culture. We have so many who are caught up in pornography and adultery and sex outside of marriage and who see nothing wrong with it or who treat it like a little sin. We do not realize the severity of the wound inflicted on our souls or the church when we let those continue in our lives. Our culture has made sexual sin something everyone struggles with and therefore something that is expected and while not okay kind of accepted. We need to personally do whatever it takes to run sexual sin out of our live. No more excuses. We choose to live a holy life or we choose to stay in sexual sin, but it is our choice.
And the thing about despising authority - in a young church made up of younger Christians rebellion is seen all the time. We need to see how serious a rebellious spirit is in God's eyes. We cannot allow rebellion. Now that doesn't mean we go on a witch hunt, but it means we need to passionately teach on the need for submission in the believers life and not let people stay rebellious. We need to find the grace and the wisdom to confront rebellion in a way that will hold people accountable and free them.

2:19 - They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. - Do you ever promise freedom while living in slavery to sin?

2:20-21 - And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. - WOW! This is a powerful warning. People can argue about once saved always saved and all of that, but there is no disputing the fact that Peter says we have to make a great effort to stay free from sin and continue in righteousness. We are COMMANDED to live a holy life. Why did we let go of that teaching? We have been so consumed with grace that we have begun to disgrace grace by sinning. The true power and effect of grace is a life of less sin, not more. We do not understand grace if we can use it to sin. Real grace moves us to holy living.

Love, Michael

2 Peter 1

I didn't blog yesterday as I was writing material for our LIFE Group Leaders for 1 Peter 1-5. There is so much good stuff in there.

1:2 - Mat god give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. - I love that Peter says as you. So many people sit back and wait for God to add to their grace and peace. You and I are called to grow in our knowledge about God and Jesus, because to know them is to know grace and peace. So many people do not know the God they follow or they know a lot about Him, but they do not personally know Him. God did not call you to win spiritual jeopardy, but to come in to a living relationship with Him every day.

1:3 - By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.... - We are not incapable of what the Scriptures call us to be and do. We are unwilling.

1:4 - And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us GREAT and PRECIOUS promises. These are the promises that ENABLE you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. - God's promises enable us to live the right way. We need to examine what they are and then believe them. It is not enough to know God's promises. We have to choose to live inside of them whether we "feel" them or not. To walk in faith of a promise God has made is to honor God greatly.

1:5 - I thought the way the NLT translated this was great. instead of add to your faith like the NIV says it says, supplement your faith. The idea of supplementing just struck me deeper than add.

1:8-9 - The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. - So many people today feel unproductive and useless when it comes to the things of God and yet here Peter tells us exactly how to change that. He also says that for a person to choose not to mature in faith is to prove that they are not seeing things the right way and they are forgetting that they were once a slave to sin who has been freed. In other words, they are forgetting to be so grateful they pursue God.

1:10 - ... work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. - I think that so many of us look at salvation as completely from God (which it is), but then we forget that we still have a part to play. God is in the leading role, but we support what He is doing and has done by how we live. Peter is here calling us to make a great effort to make sure on our part that we are Christian. Christianity is not a passive activity. It takes a daily effort to seek God and pursue the Christ-like way.

1:19 - ... you must pay close attention to what they wrote for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place - How much attention do you pay to the prophets of the Old Testament? How much attention do you pay to the Old Testament at all? I see so many "modern" Christians who make no effort at all to understand what has been written in the past and so they miss out on so much of what god has for us. If you want to mature in your faith (which God expects you to do) then take the time to go back and read and learn from the Old Testament. There are pictures of God there you will never know otherwise.

Love, Michael

Psalm 107

I love this Psalm. I see the psalmist expressing the different life circumstances we find ourselves in and how God rescues us from every one of them.
4-9
10-16
17-22
23-32

107:2 - Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. - Why do we have to be commanded to do what should come naturally to the truly grateful? If YOU have been redeemed then say something. Speak up. Tell someone TODAY that God has bought you back from sin and heart-ache and destruction. I think the reason we don't say anything is that we aren't totally convinced that we have been redeemed from all that much.

107:9 - For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

107:16 - For he broken down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

107:20 - He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

107:29 - He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.

107:35 - But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water. - God can make a spring anywhere, any time no matter the numbers, $$$, resources, etc. It takes only one person who decides to let God pour His Living Water in their soul. Will you allow God to make a spring where you live by allowing Him to fill you not with more teaching or more effort or more church, but with more of the Holy Spirit of God? The Church does not need more of a lot of things, but only one thing. We need more of the Holy Spirit and less of all the things were are pursuing in books and through $$$ and all of that. The truth be told, for years I have tried everything I could to get the Church to grow, but in reality all I needed was to pursue God and ask for His Spirit more and that is something He has promised to ALWAYS give in abundance. The problem with our churches is us.

107:43 - Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Love, Michael

Psalm 101

101:2 - How can you be careful to lead a blameless life? It starts with living a life of integrity in your own home. So many of us want to be a light for Christ in the world and in the Church, but we are nothing until we are full of integrity at home. I think the idea of integrity has been corrupted in some ways because we take it to mean only that we do, what we say and that we follow all of the laws. But what about how we treat other people, how we speak, how we honor God in our passions and anger and the way we spend our times. To live a blameless life through integrity means that we spend our time purposefully and not laying on a couch or always chasing the next animal or the next dollar or the next promotion. Integrity at home means that when our wife and kids see us they believe the truth of the entire Gospel because of the way we are living. It means we feel and believe what we practice. To do what you are supposed to do without feeling it and owning it shows a total lack of integrity.

101:3 - I will REFUSE to look at anything vile and vulgar.... - Isn't it interesting that David doesn't say he will struggle to overcome or try real hard or hide from... David says that he will make a firm decision to not look at ANYTHING vile or vulgar. Why is it that men struggle with pornography so much? It is because we want to! Seriously, although I know that will offend some, we struggle because we are not willing to refuse ourselves that pleasure. If you refused to eat fish I am certain no one could make you. If you refused to vote Republican or Democrat I am certain no one could force you otherwise. If you refused to listen to Acid Rock I am certain you would not allow anyone to make you. BUT, we say we cannot refuse the lure of pornography. Garbage. We don't want to, that is the problem. We are men of enough courage and strength to refuse anything in the world and yet we don't. David says that the way he leads a blameless life is to refuse to look upon anything that would defile him. I wonder when we will wake up to the truth that God has indeed empowered us through His Spirit and His word to be able to refuse to sin.

101:4 - I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.

101:6 - I will search for faithful people to be my companions... - Is part of the struggle in your own life that you have not made it a strategy to only search out godly people for your companions? I understand that we purposefully invite people into our lives who are lost so we can minister to them, but when you think of the people you truly trust and run with and whose opinion you highly value, are they godly people? We hijack our chance for blamelessness when we bring ungodly people into our inner circle of friends. We have got to learn to be the kind of men and women who faithfully search for godly friends so that we can excel at godliness.

Love, Michael

Psalm 84

84:1-2 - How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven's Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. - I endeavor to live a life that honestly hungers and thirsts for the presence of God in my life like this verse talks about. I want to pour every ounce of my being, every breath, every ounce of attention and strength, into knowing Him, being known by Him and walking in His perfect will.

84:5 - What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. - I love the idea of those who set their hearts on pilgrimage. I think because the concept of pilgrimage has been lost because so many false religions do it. When I think of going on a pilgrimage I think of setting out on a journey to honor God.

84:10 - A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. - I would rather be the lowest in God's presence than the highest the world has to offer. I am reading Foxe's Book of Martyrs right now and I am blown away how devout men and women were in the past and how much they longed for heaven. They wanted so badly to be with Christ. I wonder what has happened to our faith that we don't long for heaven, we don't see the beauty of giving our lives for Christ and we find it so hard to stay focused on nothing but Christ alone.

84:11 - ... The Lord with withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. - I love this verse. We have let the world's theology convince us that God somehow does withhold from us and it is the same lie the serpent told Eve. We have to believe the best God because it reflects Him to others. We need to believe that god with withhold nothing from us that is good for us.

Love, Michael

Psalm 62

62:1 - I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. - What does the way you wait look like? In the past I have either not waited and just pushed ahead or I have waited in a pouty/depressed kind of way. The call of Psalm 62 is for you and I to wait in peace. It is to tame our hearts and apply our faith to such a degree that we wait without stress. How we wait says a ton about what we truly believe and the true measure of our submission to God and His teaching. To wait any other way than in peace is to reject God's truth or worse yet to embrace it and yet not obey it.

62:2/6 - Some of the names used for God = my rock, my salvation, my fortress. I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about what each one of those things represent. A rock is a firm place to stand, but it is also a place where David would hide when the enemies came against him. It was a safe place. Take each one of these and just spend some time trying to understand why God is that and you will be truly blessed.

I love that the NASB says He only is all of these things. God is not one of the places I hide. God is not one source of my salvation and saving. God is not one of the places that protects me. God is the ONLY one and ONLY thing who can do any of that. Part of waiting on God is realizing that He is the ONLY source of hope you have. If we would focus our energy in times of trouble on God and not solutions, God would be all the solution we ever needed.

62:5 - Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. The only people I have ever met who can wait in peace are those who truly have their hope in Him and not in something else. Truthfully, many of us hope in God AND ..... We hope in God and the test scores or God and our boss or God and the economy or God and .... If you want peace form God you have to hope only in god.

62:7 - My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. - We need to apply this truth deep in our hearts. Our victory is not the result of our boss or the lottery or any of that nonsense. Our victory and honor come from God alone and if we would look to Him alone we would have more of it.

62:8 - How to wait patiently on God - Trust in Him and Pour out your heart to Him. It is that simple. some of us trust God, but we never open up and talk to Him. Others pour out their heart to God but they don't trust Him enough to follow Him. We have to learn to trust god and pour our heart and souls out to Him as a result of our trust. We need to wait in confidence and not in mystery. God will answer and it will be perfect, that is why there is no mystery in waiting on God.

62:10 - ... And if your wealth increases, don't make it the center of your life. - I think we will all read that verse, agree and then keep going when I believe the Spirit of God would beg us to stop and spend some time trying to see if we have indeed made our wealth the center of our lives. I would love to ask you a bunch of questions here to see if this is true, but I will not have near the impact the Holy Spirit will so I will pray. Dear Lord, please speak to every single person who reads this verse through my writing it to them. Please deeply convince us of the truth of this verse in our own lives. If we have made wealth the center of our life would you show us that so clearly it deeply moves us. Thank you.

62:11-12 - ... Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours...

Love, Michael

Psalm 51

51:1 - God's mercy is because of His unfailing love and His great compassion. I know that most people will hear that and go of course, but I think it deserves consideration. Do you truly believe that God's mercy is completely, 100% because of His great love and compassion? If so, every time you experience it it will draw you closer to Him and make you more and more grateful. You will find that His mercy to you causes you to love Him more. But, if it is just something or if somewhere deep down you think He owes it to you or it is because of your behavior or even your beliefs than you have missed the point and you might just end up taking it for granted. You might end up being a "good Christian" who doesn't properly see the mercy of God.

51:1/9 - Sin always leaves a stain. Sin isn't something that is easy to wipe off. It gets down in the fabric of who we are and it ruins us. The only hope for us when we have sinned is for Jesus to come and bleach out the stain with His blood. I am sure we do not see sin as something that ruins us, but it is.

51:2 - Wash me / Purify me - When was the last time you prayed that prayer?

51:3 - For I recognize my rebellion; - I think this is the key to this whole passage. We cannot be washed, clean, purified and restored if we refuse to recognize our rebellion. We have to see it, understand it as rebellion and then openly confess that to God. And maybe, if you keep going in this chapter, maybe we can't have the Holy Spirit living in us the way God wants if we refuse to recognize and name our rebellion. As Christians, we have the bad quality about us where we confess sin without admitting that it is rebellion against God. We need to call it what it is so we can be healed from it.

51:5 - This is a hyperbolic statement meant to make a point. Unfortunately, some people have taken this verse out of context and then built a whole theology on it that we are born sinful or with sin or with a sinful nature. The truth is the Bible NEVER uses the term sinful nature. The times you see that in some translations it is the word flesh. And to say that flesh is sinful is to say that Jesus was born sinful. And, if you say flesh is sinful, but Jesus wasn't sinful than you are either saying Jesus wasn't here in the flesh (which defies Scripture) or that Jesus wasn't fully man (which defies Scripture). We need to see this verse in the light of the whole passage and the light of the whole Bible. David is making a dramatic statement to express the extent to which he feels the guilt and responsibility for his sin.

51:7 - Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. - I wonder if you truly believe that. Do you truly, honestly, fully believe that if Jesus purifies you and washes you that you will be as pure and clean as a brand new blanket of snow?

51:8 - ... you have broken me... - I know a thing or two about being broken. When I was in Bible college I realized in my head that I was not broken in my heart. I prayed and prayed for God to break me. It was a wise prayed from an unwise person. God, in His love and mercy, did break me and allow me to be broken by various circumstances in life. While I do believe god orchestrated everything that led to me being broken, I do believe He allowed it out of His great love. It took a sledge hammer to break the stone from around my heart, but He did it. I am not where I want to be, but I am headed there. I would challenge you, if you truly have a desire to fully be known and fully know the Father, pray that He breaks you and then receive that as a gift. Your faith will never be the same and that will be a good thing.

51:10-11 - Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. - So many things here. I love the idea of asking God to renew a loyal spirit in me. Can you see not only the depth of David's remorse, but His deep love of fellowship with God? What would honestly be different in your life today if God took His Holy Spirit from you? Seriously. Not theologically, but how would your life be different from the way your are living? See, if our lives wouldn't instantly crumble without the Holy Spirit we are not where we need to be.

51:12 - Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. - Could you pray, "Make me willing to obey." today? I hope you will.

51:17 - The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Love, Michael

Psalm 42-43

42:1-2 (NASB) As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? - I love the imagery of someone so thirsty for God that they long for Him. I have been told that a deer, even while being pursued will stop to drink. Can you imagine a hunger for God so great that you would even stop in the middle of a life threatening attack just because He was there and you needed to be with Him. A thirst for God that stands above all ambition, hope, fear, desire.... That is how we are supposed to pursue God. Not like something good, but like breathing. It needs to be so passionate that we would never imagine going minutes, more or less, days and weeks and months, without a true encounter with Him.

42:3 - Sometimes, from the outside, our lives may look like they are absent God. We may end up in such tough circumstances that others might reason that God is no where near us. It is in times like these that the inner hope and peace we have in Jesus and exhibit to others can be a tremendous testimony to God. If the world asks you where God is and yet they see peace in you they will be more inclined to believe God is bigger than your circumstances. When my folks were killed by a drunk driver the inner peace God granted us and that we agreed to receive, made a huge impact and still does to some people today.

42:5/42:11/43:5 - When you are discouraged, sad, disturbed or in despair it is because your hope is misplaced. You cannot have a healthy hope in God and become those things. It means you have begun to hope in other things - your health, the amount of money you have, your future, the size of your church, etc. A true hope in God is so big is consumes those things and encourages us all the time. This is not a chastisement, just a reminder. The next time depression or despair or discouragement sneaks into your life run back and check where your hope is honestly at.

42:6 - To put your hope in God REMEMBER!!! Remember that no matter where you find yourself or how far away you feel that God is near. Remember who HE is and what He has done and has promised to do. Remembering is one of the best ways to restore hope.

42:8 - Remember that each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me (and you). Remember that. And then let that remembering cause you to sing songs, praying to God who gives me life. If we will remember God's love for us than we can sing no matter how dark it feels and we can pray in the knowledge that God is the giver of life and all good things. And sincerely singing and praying will help to restore that hope. It is a beautiful cycle.

42:11 - (NASB) ... The help of my countenance and my God. - I love the way that sounds. God is the help of my countenance. He is the helper to my disposition or my attitude. God, because of who He is and what He does, changes my face because He changes my heart.

43:1-3 - It seems to me that these verses may be a sort of process prayer that we can pray that will help us remember and therefore restore our hope. Look at specifically what the psalmist asks for and consider why and where that kind of prayer would lead your heart.

43:1 - (NASB) Vindicate me / Plead my case / Deliver me

43:2 - For you are God, my only safe haven... - What a beautiful thing to remember. God is the ONLY safe place. Locking our hope up anywhere else will mean it is at high risk to be stolen or lost.

43:3 - Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. - I am amazed that the way psalmist longs to restore his hope and to see things changed is by asking God to guide and lead him back to where God is at. So many times we feel discouraged and we blame God. We think it is because God is far away or unfaithful or distracted. The psalmist realizes that a loss of hope that leads to discouragement is because we have gotten off course and not because God has. His prayer is that God would lead him back by truth and light. Do you see God so well that you can pray that way?

43:4 - ... the source of all my joy ... - Lord, let us so live in Jesus that you truly are the source of ALL of our joy.

Love, Michael

Psalm 22

22:1 - Most people rightly tie this verse and this Psalm to the crucifixion of Jesus in the Gospel. The problem comes in that they do not understand the meaning or the context behind the Psalm and so many (most) people have assumed that Jesus is saying that God has abandoned Him. You will hear good teachers say that God abandoned Jesus on the cross because of the sin of the world. That is a very wrong teaching. god never turned His back on God, especially not in the middle of the most obedient act in history. When the rabbis used a verse from a Psalm you had to go back and examine the WHOLE Psalm and see what the theme or meaning was. In this case, the point of Psalm 22 is that it may appear or feel like you are abandoned, but indeed you are not (vs 24). I truly believe with everything in me that Jesus wants us to go back to Psalm 22 when He quotes verse 1 so that we will understand while it may look like He is abandoned, indeed He is not!!!

22:2 - Sometimes in life it does feel like we can get no relief. Life just keeps coming like wave after wave and it keeps taking your breath away. It is like being in the ocean and every time you come up to catch your breath and another wave hits you. It does feel that way sometimes and the Bible acknowledges that. But I love verse 3 where it starts of YET.

22:6-8/12-18 - A very clear prophecy about the crucifixion. Incredible when you understand it was written 900 years before Christ!!!

22:3/9 - One of the most powerful words in the entire Bible - YET. It feels this way, it looks this way, you might think and YET it really isn't. God is teaching us through David's Psalm that no matter what it feels like, seems like, looks like, others say, you and I always need to remember the TRUTH from God. The truth of our situation is not the ultimate truth. God's truth always stands above all of it no matter what. I praise God for that. Nothing trumps God's truth.

22:19 - O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!

22:22 - I will proclaim/I will praise -

22:24 - (NASB) For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, he heard. - This is the key to understanding this whole Psalm and what Jesus was communicating from the cross.

Love, Michael

John 20-21

20:8 - he saw and believed - What did they see that caused them to believe? I have always taken it to be the way the strips of cloth and the cloth that had been around Jesus was laying. If Jesus had not really been dead and fought His way out of the clothes they would have been everywhere, but if He was resurrected by God they might have been laying just as the body had been, but without the body.

20:19/21/26 - Peace be with you. - What is it Jesus is trying to help us see that He says this three times and always as His first thing?

20:22 - Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." - The disciples did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling (living inside of them) up until this time. The next time you see the Holy Spirit coming on the disciple sit is at Pentecost and this time it the Spirit coming on them for miraculous gifts.

20:29 - You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.

20:31 - But these are written SO THAT you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. - What is it we are supposed to believe? Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Son of God. These should lead us to a powerful life in His name. If you do not have a powerful lif ein Christ you have a belief problem.

21:15-17 - Jesus obviously asked Peter 3 times as a reference back to the three times Peter denied Him, but I think this was redemptive and not punitive. I think Jesus did it to help Peter see he was completely restored in Jesus' eyes.

21:19 - by what kind of death he would glorify God. - God can be glorified in our living and our dying.

I never caught the Follow me. to Peter before. I am not sure it has more significance than any other place Jesus said it, but it just struck me that it was there. Maybe the significance is that Jesus was letting Peter know he got in trouble the first time by not following Jesus and now he needs to get back to following.

21:25 - Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. - I have always loved this statement. It is just filled with admiration for Jesus and all He did. It reminds me of a little kid talking about how His dad could have run 1,000 miles.

Love, Michael

John 19

19:10-11 - ...Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you? Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above...." - There is a verse in Romans and a concept in Christianity that we are supposed to submit ourselves to the authorities in our lives as they are all there at God's will or design. When I have discussed that with others we all want to know how far you take that obedience and here is Jesus taking it to the point of death. And the reason He does that is because He trusts the Father so much. He recognizes that God is Sovereign and so He entrusts Himself to the ultimate authority. Our generations struggle SO MUCH with authority and that is a HUGE problem for our Christianity. If we cannot obey the earthly authorities God has placed in our lives we will NEVER obey God's authority. It is true. If you can't obey the leadership in your life, whether it is godly or not, you cannot obey God.

19:12 - This verse is an open threat by the Jews that they will turn Pilate in as a traitor to Caesar if he doesn't do what they want.

19:15 - "... We have no king but Caesar," they leading (chief) priests shouted back. - I can't even imagine what hatred for Jesus must have been in these men for them to be willing to call Caesar their king.

19:28 - Jesus knew that his mission was now finished... - Jesus accomplished every single thing He came to accomplish.

19:35 - ... so that you also can (continue to) believe.

Love, Michael

A Question

I am wondering how many people are viewing this blog, because I need to decide whether to keep doing it or do something else. If you could hit the comment button and let me know I will give it about a week and then make a decision about continuing it or doing something else. Thanks.

John 17-18

I am posting for yesterdays reading and today's.

17:3 - And this is the way to have eternal life - to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. - I find it interesting that we talk about eternal life in a multitude of ways, but Jesus says it is to know God and to know Jesus. I was trying to express last night at a worship and prayer thing how I just want to know God better, but not like know the facts know, but know in breath by breath relationship. I want to know eternal life and not just know about eternal life.

17:11 - ... now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. - Unity is a core characteristic of God and apparently we struggle to stay in it, because of all the things Jesus could pray for He spent much of His prayer on unity.

17:15 - I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. - Jesus has no intention to take us out of the world, because we need to be fruitful in the world. What Jesus longs for is for us to take the world out of us. We spend so much time in the world that we become united with the world and anyone who is united with the world cannot be united with Christ. When we are one with the world in our views of work, money, scheduling, sexuality, entertainment......we are not and cannot be one with God.

17:11/21/22 - (NASB) that they may be one - This must be REALLY significant because Jesus prays for it 3 times in His final prayer for us.

18:6 - As Jesus said, "I AM he," they all drew back and fell to the ground. - This verse has always blown me away. Here is Jesus in the garden and as this force of people comes to arrest Him He says His true name (I AM) and they all fall down. I always wondered why now when in the past when Jesus said "I AM" people didn't fall down. Is it because He is so close to the crucifixion and His glory is leaking out more and more? Is it because God is making a statement to them? Is it because He is making a statement to us about who was still in control?

18:10 - Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's slave. - It isn't just about our passion for Jesus. It is about even our passion being submitted to Christ's will. I know there have been times in my life where I thought my passion made my approach okay. It is about His will FIRST and then my passion.

18:28 - ... His accusers didn't go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover. - WOW! Hypocrisy at its worst. They were murdering the innocent, but didn't want to mess up their religious obligations. I wonder where we do this today?

18:38 - What is truth? - People have been asking this question since before Pilate uttered it and they still utter it today. The reality is Truth was standing in front of Pilate and had he truly wanted to know what truth was he could have asked and Jesus would have explained it. Most people who question what truth is are not truly seeking an answer, they are looking for an out. If you truly want to know about truth then go to Jesus ans research it out. At the worst you will have Jesus' opinion (if you don't believe) and at best you will find Truth.

Love, Michael

John 16

16:1 - (NASB) These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling. - I find it amazing that Jesus very clearly tells us where to look to prevent us from stumbling or for having an ineffective faith and yet we still walk around like we have no way of knowing better. Jesus taught through this section specifically to tell us what the core ingredients are for healthy faith. 2 Peter 1:5-9 teaches us similarly when it says, For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

16:7 - But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. - Jesus knew that it would be better for us to live with the Holy Spirit than even to walk with Him. I think there are times I want to believe that my Christian life would be so much stronger or more effective or better if I could walk with the physical Jesus, but Jesus says having the Holy Spirit is better. This means we have to figure out what works to make more room in our lives for the Holy Spirit and then to follow Him.

16:8 - The Holy Spirit - convicts the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

16:13 - He also guides you into all truth and He will tell you about the future.

16:27 - for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.

16:33 - I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Love, Michael

John 15

15:11 - I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. - The key to this whole section is this verse. You need to hear it so you can understand the context of the whole chapter. Jesus wants you to obey, love and produce fruit so your joy can be complete and full. That implies that if you are not obeying or not loving or not producing fruit your joy will not be complete and full. I find it very interesting that so many of us live without joy and we think it is God's fault somehow. If God has promised us joy and we do not have it it is our doing and not His. If we will not fully obey or completely love or do the hard work to produce much fruit than we will not have the full measure of joy He wants for us. That is pretty exciting to me, because it means I can influence the level of joy I experience in life.

15:2 - He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. - There are only two options. Get cut off or get pruned. I think many of us are looking for the place in life where we get to just be a pretty plant that doesn't have to do anything, but I don't see that here. The Christian life is a participant life and there is no arriving or sitting back or just being. You are always called to be working hard to produce the fruit that God wants in the world.

15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. - We have to stay in Jesus. We cannot get away from a deep and daily relationship with Jesus. When we say we didn't have time to read or pray or worship or seek Him we are saying we didn't have time to be with Him and if we aren't with Him we loose our effectiveness. I wonder if the reason so many of us have trouble getting traction in our lives that leads to a powerful moving of God is that we keep leaving Him for the busy-ness (business) of the day. Could it be that we are leaving Him out and therefore not producing fruit and yet we seem unaware of it?

15:5 - much fruit - Jesus isn't looking for little fruit - I was nice to the person that cut me off, I didn't yell at the kids, I read my Bible. He is looking for much fruit. He is looking for major change and major effect in the lives of others.

15:7 - But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! - How is that for a promise from Jesus?

15:8 - When you produce MUCH fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

(NASB) By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

How much glory did you bring to the Father this week? How about today?

15:10 - When you obey my commandments, you remain in me love, ... - You cannot separate love of God from your actions. We want to say we love God but we sin, but to sin is to stop loving God for a time. True love deeply impacts your actions.

15:13 - There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. - I think we rightly see this as talking about the crucifixion, but we miss that Jesus laid down His life for His friends while He was alive as well. Every choice He made to restrain Himself or to do the right thing was Him laying His life down for His friends while He lived. Are we ready to do the same thing? I think we would be more inclined to die for a friend than to live for one.

15:16 - ... go and produce LASTING fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

15:19 - The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. - How much does the world love you? That may tell you a lot about whether you are walking with God in the right way. To be honest, I think I work so the world will love me more than I should. I need to live more radically, not to incite people, but to honor God and if I was it would mean I was offending more people because of truth. If there is no one offended at your living you probably aren't living the life that Jesus called you to. That deeply convicts me personally.

Love, Michael

John 14

14:1 - Don't let your heart be troubled. How do you do this? I mean, it is easy to say not to be troubled, but what practically do you DO to not be troubled? According to Jesus you trust in God and trust in Him. Most, if not all, of the trouble in our life comes about because we do not trust the Father and the Son. If we trusted them what would there be to be troubled by?

14:2 - There is more than enough room in my Father's home. - This is a such a cool idea when you understand it from an Eastern worldview. The homes in the east are not like our single family units. They start with a house and a courtyard and the family members build onto the house and share the courtyard. They all live together. When Jesus says there are many rooms He is saying there is plenty of space for Him to build us a place to live with Him and the Father and the rest of the family. What an incredible idea. So many of us think of Heaven like a mansion on a hill somewhere, but Jesus' promise is for Him to prepare a room for us in His Father's house and not just in His Father's lands. I love the idea of being so close to God that I get to share the courtyard with Him and see Him every day.

I am going to prepare a place for you - This phrase and the statement about preparing a room in His Father's house is tied to the wedding practices of that time. The bridegroom would make the proposal and if the young lady agreed he would go back to His Father's house and start building a room on His Father's place for the two of them. When the Father says the room is ready the Son can go and get His bride and bring her home to live with Him and the Father. It means the bridegroom spends lots of time and energy preparing the perfect place for his bride. In our case it means Jesus is spending His time preparing a terrific place for His bride, the Church.

14:3 - ... so that you will ALWAYS be with me where I am.

14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. - No one!

14:10 - Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, AND EVEN GREATER WORKS, because I am going to be with the Father. - I know this is not the experience for many of us, but that is something we need to work through, because God is always faithful and true. We need to work with the Holy Spirit through the Word of God to figure out how to begin to live in such a way that greater things begin to happen because we are with the Father through the Son with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

14:13-14 - That ask me anything is about the Father's glory. It isn't about us getting everything we want. People who get everything they want are normally called spoiled brats. The promise of Jesus is that we can ask anything we need to accomplish the will of the Father and He will equip us with it.

14:16-17 - Advocate/Comforter/Encourager/Counselor = Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. - We need to reconfigure our life so that the Holy Spirit has room to lead us.

14:23 - All who love me will do what I say, My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.

14:26 - The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. - Are you open to being taught, reminded and led by the Holy Spirit? It seems like this is one of those things where He is willing, but He waits not only for our openness, but also our attention and effort in this area.

14:27 - I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.... - Have you received this gift? If not, it is on us and not on Him. Let God be proven true and every man a liar. God has given you the right to peace of mind and peace of heart. Will you do what it takes to receive that gift at least today?

14:31 - but I will do what the Father requires of me, SO THAT the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going. - I love this verse. Jesus will do whatever the Father requires SO THAT the world will know. Will you do WHATEVER the Father requires so the world will know Him? What a great verse to have as a life's purpose.

Love, Michael

John 13

13:2/27 - Judas was tempted to sin, but Satan did not enter him according to John until he decided to sin. I think that is really interesting. Many people believe Judas didn't have a choice, but I see here that he did, but chose to betray Jesus anyway.

13:11 - In the NASB it says that Judas was betraying Jesus. The tense for the verb there is present participle which means ongoing, continuous or repeated action. This was not a one time thing. Judas had been involved in multiple acts that led him to betray Jesus. The same can be said of us. When we continue to betray Jesus or Jesus' interests for our lives we can eventually harden our hearts to the degree that we walk away from Him. I think for those who believe in once saved always saved you would have to give an honest examination of whether Jesus ever considered Judas a true disciple. And, if He did, then wouldn't that say something about our ability through repeated disobedience to walk away?

13:8 - Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me. - I meet a lot of people who want to come to Jesus with their pride intact. It can't happen. Until you and I realize that we are totally bankrupt apart from Jesus we have no part in Jesus. No one stands before the throne unless the Son has cleaned them and then we only stand by His grace and not what we have done. This should be refreshing to those who feel unworthy and startling to those who think they are okay.

13:15 - I have given you an example to follow. do as I have done to you.

13:19 - I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I AM the Messiah. - The Greek actually says so that you will believe I AM.

13:34-35 - So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. - I think it is a sad state of affairs that Jesus has to command us to love each other, but I see why. My natural inclination is to like people, but not to love them to the degree I put them in front of my needs and wants. Jesus had to command love, because we would have chosen a hundred other things first if it was up to us. And I love that Jesus doesn't leave the definition of love up to us for us to twist or water down. He says to love just as He has loved us. WOW! I need to love people the same way Jesus loved people. And then Jesus explains that part of the reason we love like Jesus is so the world will see that love and recognize us as His followers. I wonder if people recognize Jesus in the way you love them and others. Do they see Jesus in the way you love or just the way you talk about loving?

I was reading a book recently titled Forgotten God where he says that he and his elders decided to go back to Acts to see what they were missing that the early church had. He said they also decided that they were not loving each other the way the early followers loved each other and so they made a commitment to love Acts 2:42-47 style. Why it is that we find Acts 2:42-47 so amazing and so desirable and yet we are so unwilling to live that way?

Love, Michael

John 12

12:1-8 - Usefulness to God does not require that we understand the implications of what we are doing. It merely means we faithfully do what God puts on our hearts to do. Mary had no clue that what she was doing would signify Jesus upcoming death, burial and resurrection, but she felt moved to anoint Jesus and she did. We have to remember to do what we are called to do and not just what we understand.

12:10-11 - I am amazed that people would want to kill Lazarus because of Jesus had done in him. I wonder if Lazarus was living so gratefully that he wouldn't shut up so it would just be easier to kill him. If that was the case, are you living so gratefully that someone should want you dead?

12:12 - A historian I have been listening to says that the triumphant entry of Jesus took place on lamb selection Sunday as part of the Passover festival. Think about that. Jesus waits to make His final entry into Jerusalem on the same day that every good Jew would have been selecting a lamb to sacrifice for their sins so that God's judgment would passover them. Beautiful.

12:13 - Some people have looked at the events of the triumphant entry and seen the people reacting more out of political ambition than religious conviction. Since the palm branch was a sign of national pride and the term Hosanna means Save now! some believe that the people were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and King, but as a military one and not the way He intended to come. This explanation has a lot more weight to it when you consider how quickly the people begin to shout Crucify him! just days later. If they wanted freedom from the Romans and thought Jesus could bring it, but wasn't, they would have been angry.

10:24 - I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives. - This is a powerful teaching that every Christian needs to take some time to let soak in. We do not become fruitful by trying really hard, but by dying to our own lives and letting God create new life through our death. When we can die more and more to our daily desires and selfishness and ways of thinking and let God use that as fertile soil to show others His love and truth, we have become truly useful to God. I fear that so many of us are hanging on to this life to tightly.

10:25 - Those who love their lives in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. - I like how the NLT phrases that second sentence.

10:31 - The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. - I am interested by the timing here. Was Satan cast out in some way at the resurrection or is this still to come?

10:37 - But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. - I typed this verse simply to remind myself that even when the Gospel is preached and we minister exceedingly well, most people will not believe. We are stubborn people.

10:43 - For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. - May this NEVER be true of us. May we never care more about what people think than what God has already said. To be honest, most christian leaders I have met, even the good ones, care way too much about what others things and it is one of the number one sources of ineffectiveness in their Christian walk. If we cared more about God's truth than we did what we looked like to others we would speak differently, act differently, dress differently, etc. for the glory of God. You cannot please God while trying to please people. If you find yourself trying to get people to like you, approve of you, respect you, etc. please talk to God and work it out. All the good learning will be wasted if you can't care more about His praise than theirs.

Love, Michael

John 11

11:4 - ... it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this. - I think it is amazing to consider that God would allow bad to happen to us for His glory and to increase our faith. What I mean is, so many of us want an easy life, but God wants us and those watching us to have a tremendously faith filled life and He is willing to go to extremes to help that kind of faith grow. Jesus loves His purpose for mankind above His love of my understanding. I love it. that may be offensive to some, but I need to know that God's will is bigger than me and my desires. I think it proves the goodness of God that He would let Lazarus (a good friend of His) die so that others could eventually believe.

11:6 - Jesus stayed two more days before going to Lazarus.

11:15 - And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe...

11:17 - Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.

11:21-22 - Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." - I love the expression of faith on Martha's part. She truly believes that Jesus can ask and God will give her her brother back. Notice that Jesus lived in such a way that Martha believes that God will be the One to restore life.

11:25-26 - Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" - That is the question for every single one of us.

11:32 - (Mary) Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. - I have always wondered if the way the story is told, if Mary wasn't upset with Jesus. She stayed when Martha went out to Jesus and when she comes to Jesus, even though she says the same thing her sister did, I always get the impression she is mad. Just my opinion.

11:33 - The NLT says a deep anger welled up within him. I did not find that in the NASB or the NIV. I am not sure of there is something in the original language that would indicate that and if so, I wonder what the anger was. The other translations all say that He was deeply troubled in His spirit.

11:40 - Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"

11:48 - If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation. - The Pharisees had gone so far in loosing their purpose that they couldn't see that the Messiah was at hand. the were more worried about the things that led up to the Messiah instead of the fulfillment of those things. The Temple was always a predecessor of Jesus and Jesus fulfills all the things it pointed to (prayer, intercession, forgiveness, meeting with God). they forgot the main thing. And, they were more concerned with their nation than what that nation was created for in the first place.

11:50 - You don't realize that it is better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. -I am amazed, that even though this man was standing against Jesus, God still chose to use him. God will use anyone and anything to fulfill His plan for salvation and redemption.

11:52 - And not only for that nation, but to bring together and untie all the children of God scattered around the world. - I love that we are included in this.

Love, Michael

John 10

This whole chapter is great. It deals with the Good Shepherd (Jesus), the sheep (followers of Jesus) and the thief (Satan). I think what is really powerful is to go through the chapter and look at the characteristics of each, especially what the true characteristics of the sheep are. If we do not do what Jesus says sheep do than we are not truly sheep. In other words, if we do not listen and follow than we aren't really His sheep.

10:3 - ... the sheep recognize his voice and come to him.

10:4 - ... he walks AHEAD of them... - To be a true sheep you have to be okay with the Shepherd walking in front of you, not with you or behind you. If you aren't okay with Jesus being in front you aren't a sheep. ...they follow him...

10:7 - I am the gate for the sheep.

10:9 - Sheep get to be saved, come and go freely, find good pastures. Saved is obvious in meaning. Come and go freely I think mean live in peace and safety without concern. Find good pastures mean know they will always be lead and provided for.

10:10 - thief = steal, kill, destroy
shepherd = rich and satisfying life

10:11-13 - A good shepherd would sacrifice himself because it isn't about the money. This is true of Jesus and it should be true of those of us that pastor His Church.

10:16 - This verse says that Jesus has other sheep, but the part people forget is it says they are of the SAME shepherd. The reason other religions don't fit this verse is they do not follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

10:18 - No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded. - Love this verse.

10:27 - My sheep listen to my voice; - This is repeated several times. To be a sheep is to listen to Jesus.

10:28-29 - ... No one can snatch them away from me, ... he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. - I love this. It reminds me of a son letting other people know that no one is stronger than His Dad.

Love, Michael

John 9

Pretty straightforward chapter.

9:2/3 - Why was this man born blind?...This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. - I think we wonder a lot about why certain things happen to people. In an effort to "protect" God we think it is always related to sin. Some things apparently occur so God can do a great work and show Himself through it. I'm not saying I get it, but Jesus said sometimes our weaknesses and afflictions are part of God's plan to reveal Himself to us and through us. We should be careful not to run from every thing we perceive as bad in life. It may be that God is preparing to do a great thing in our lives and we need to faithfully trust God.

9:14 - This Sabbath thing really messed the Jews up. The "nice" thing is we are so much better at it. Apparently, our approach has been to go to the other extreme and not honor the Sabbath concept from God at all. I wish we could figure out how to honor God with a Sabbath without obsessing about it.

9:20-22 - His parents sold him out because of fear of the Jews.

9:25 - ... But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see! - I love this. We all need a I was blind, but now I see! testimony ready when people ask. We all need a response about what we know God has already done in our lives through Christ. I would challenge you to take some time to consider what you know because of what He has already done and then be prepared to share that whenever you get the chance.

9:41 - "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." - We have to be careful how we see ourselves. If we are humble and admit we are still learning we can receive grace, but if we think we have it all figured out we will be judged accordingly.

Love, Michael

John 8

8:3 - caught in the act of adultery - The text indicates that she was actually caught doing what makes one guilty of adultery. Some people have wondered if this was a setup, because the Pharisees knew right where to go and the guy is never mentioned.

8:6 - The Pharisees used an opportunity for grace to bait the trap they were setting with Jesus. What bait would they use to bait a trap against you? To be honest, for many of us, they could use money, sex, anger, etc. Jesus lived such a good and godly life that their best bait was godliness. May we live so that the enemies of God would believe the best bait against us would be our godly living.

8:11 - Go and sin no more. - In our modern culture all we hear is the statement about Jesus not condemning. Left off is this important call for the woman to go and stop sinning. Be careful not to think that grace is just about forgiveness. It is about renewal and doing things differently.

8:12 - I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. - Jesus leads you to a life of light. I hate walking in darkness. It is scary at times and just plain frustrating at other times. Jesus says that if you will live by Jesus' teaching you will be able to walk according to His light and the light of His teaching.

8:19 - (NASB) You know neither Me, nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.

8:24 - That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins. - Without Jesus you will die in your sin.

8:31-32 - You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - I have heard this verse taught many times and normally people focus so much on being set free that they forget that Jesus said part of your freedom is in you remaining faithful to Jesus' teaching. We need to teach faithful freedom and not just freedom.

8:34 - ... everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

8:44 - The devil = murderer, hates truth/no truth in him, liar

8:47 - Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God... - I meet many people who say they belong to God, but who have no real desire to be in the Word or to be around it. this might be a great indication for each of us about where we truly are.

8:51 - I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!

8:56 - Abraham saw the day of Christ. I find this fascinating. I wonder if this can teach us anything about life after death. Is Abraham's experience true just for him as a fathef of faith or do all people who die in Christ see all that is coming.

8:58 - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!"

Love, Michael

John 7

7:4 - You can't become famous if you hide like this. - It is funny, because we have such a messed up perspective on things. We think that it is all about becoming famous, but Jesus couldn't care less about fame. He was interested in purpose. Purpose trumps fame. Are you trying to make a name for yourself or for God?

7:5 - For even his brothers didn't believe in him. - That had to be hard. My brothers and sister are very encouraging and supportive of me. I can't imagine how hard that was for Jesus.

7:6 - (NASB) My time is not yet at hand, but your time is always opportune. - I have seen a few translations that basically translate this as though any time were right in the world's eyes, but God has specific times in mind for us. I confess that I am not as wise as I should be about the timing of things. I need to talk to God and let Him set the calendar and agenda.

7:24 - Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.

7:38 - Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, "Rivers of living water will flow from his heart."

7:39 - (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) - It blows me away to realize that we have the Holy Spirit from God inside of us when so many others never did. We say it would have been easier to be a Christian back then, but we are wrong. God has given us the holy Spirit and the revealed Word of god. We should be the most faithful people.

7:52 - ... no prophet ever comes from Galilee! - and yet Isaiah 9:1-2 indicates that the Messiah will.

Love, Michael

John 6

6:1-13 - Feeding of the 5,000 Men
We often only see what we can see instead of simply asking God what He wants us to do and start doing it. I wonder how many miraculous workings of God He has to withhold, because we think we are under-resourced. We are children of the King. We have never been under-resourced, nor will we ever be. We need to remember that.

6:11 - Give thanks for what God HAS provided and it will be enough to satisfy and to have leftovers.

6:13 - 12 baskets would have been a powerful statement to the observant Jews that Jesus was the Bread of Life for the 12 tribes of Israel. This is great, because when Jesus goes into the Decapolis (10 cities) where the Jews said the 7 Gentile/Pagan Nations lived, Jesus fed 4,000 men and then they collected 7 baskets of leftovers, indicating that Jesus is the Bread of Life for the non-Jews as well.

6:20 - Don't be afraid. I am here! - In the Greek this can be translated, Don't be afraid. I AM is here.

6:27 - But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. - I like the way the NLT words this.

6:29 - (NASB) This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent. - So many people want to do so much for God, but the first and primary work He is looking for from us is for us to believe Him. Everything else gets in the way until we work that out on a daily basis.

6:35 - I am the bread of life.

6:40/47 - The word believing in this passage is a present participle. This indicates continuous, ongoing action. So, the verse is best understood to say when we believe and continue or persist in our belief.

6:63 - The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. - If we would learn that real effect and results come form the Spirit and not our effort we would be more effective, more satisfied and a whole lot more rested.

6:66 - (NASB) As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. - What in the teachings of Jesus cause you to withdraw? Does it lead you to not walk with Him anymore? I see many people who once walked with Jesus who seem to have decided that something He taught didn't jive with how they thought or felt so they stopped walking with Him. God, grant us the wisdom to know that when we don't like what you have said it is our problem to work out, but we still need to walk with you and have Peter's heart.

6:68 - Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.

Michael

John 5

5:6 - Would you like to get well? - It is a great question, because a lot of us complain about what ails us, but to be honest we are more comfortable with the pain we know than the process of healing we don't know. So many people today choose their sickness out of fear. I bet God asks us all the time if we truly want to be well. Some of you carry hurt and sin and fear inside of your hearts that cripple you just as much as this man's physical injury and yet when God asks you have no ready response. Trust the God of Heaven and answer yes when He asks if you want to be made well. He would never cause pain in your life that wasn't worth it.

5:9 - The man was healed INSTANTLY. INSTANTLY!!! Can you imagine seeing this?

5:12 - (NASB) Who is the man who said to you, "Take up your pallet, and walk?" - WOW! They didn't even ask about the healing. They were so focused on the Law that they totally missed what God was doing. I wonder when we focus on the mat instead of the healing.

5:14 - Now you are well; so stop sinning or something even worse may happen to you....5:15 - The man goes and tells on Jesus. Incredible.

5:18 - ... thereby making himself equal with God.

5:21 - For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.

5:23 - ... Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. - No matter how you look at it, it takes us following Jesus to honor the Father. In our pluralistic age many people want to make it about being good or reverent or holy, but it starts and ends with being Christ's.

5:24 - ... already passed from death to life. - I like the already part.

5:29 - Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. - Those who have made it a habit of their life to live in evil will rise to judgment.

This was from the headings in the NASB

5:33-35 - Witness of John the Baptist

5:36 - Witness of Miracles and Works

5:37-38 - Witness of Father

5:39-47 - Witness of the Scriptures

5:39-40 - You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. - Remember that it is not about religious knowledge, but about a relationship based on truth that sets you free. Study the Scriptures to know your God better, not just to have a bunch of answers. Be a practitioner of faith and not just a teacher of it.

5:44 - (NASB) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? - Convicting verse.

5:46 - If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.

Love, Michael

John 4

4:2 - I wonder why Jesus didn't baptize anyone. I have always thought it was so no one would think more highly of themselves because Jesus was the one that baptized them.

4:4 - Why did Jesus HAVE to go through Samaria? He didn't physically have to go through Samaria. Was this a HAVE TO because of what Jesus needed to do in the life of the Samaritans?

4:6 - It is important to realize that even Jesus got tired and weary at times and yet He continued to minister.

4:10 - If you only know the gift God has for you... - Powerful statement. I bet Jesus would say the same thing to us too. If we only knew the gift God had for us we would be so much more trusting of Him.

4:14 - But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

4:21 - ... the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. - This time came about in the time of Jesus and exists today. Where we worship is not the issue, but how we worship.

4:24 - For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

4:26 - Jesus states that He is indeed the Messiah.

4:35 - ... But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4:39 - Many Samaritans form the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, "He told me everything I ever did!" - What do people believe about Jesus because of what you said this week?

4:50 - ... And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. - So often God is willing to do incredible things, but we have to act in faith upon what He is already said for it to take effect. The man believed and therefore he started for home. Is there somewhere in your life right now where God has spoken and now it is time for you to set out in total faith that what He said is true? I read a book this week that talked about how people say they believe Jesus brings freedom, they pray for freedom from things like lust and then they stay addicted to pornography. The author's position was if you believe the Holy Spirit frees you than you have to start for home by stopping your viewing of pornography. To say you can't is to say the Bible, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are wrong. It is about His power and your choice, not just His power.

Love, Michael

John 3

3:2 - God sent Jesus to teach us.

3:4 - Born again = Born from above

3:5 - ... born of water and the Spirit - This water is most likely not talking about baptism, but about the natural human birth (water) and the rebirth at conversion (Spirit).

3:6 - Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. - I loved the way the NLT put this. We can only produce what humans can produce. look at our churches. So many of them are only producing a human can produce (a good show, a good service, a good sermon, a good worship set), but God wants us to experience what only the Spirit can bring. We need to rely on the Spirit so we can have what the Spirit is capable of instead of just what we are capable of.

3:12 - (NASB) If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

3:14 - Moses lifting the snake in the wilderness was a foreshadowing of Christ.

Numbers 21:8 - Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard (pole); and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he locks at it, shall live." - I love the imagery God uses of one who is bitten. If you have been bitten by sin than you need to look to the Savior. The promise for the Israelites is the same as the promise for us. If we have been bitten by the snake (the devil) then we must look to the One who was on the pole (the Cross) to be saved.

3:16 - one and only or only begotten is better translated one of a kind or especially unique.

3:19 - ... people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

3:20 - All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

3:30 - (NLT) He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (NASB) He must increase, but I must decrease. - I hope we can learn to live this way. I think the Greek here indicates a cause and effect. For Jesus to become greater John HAS to become less. For Jesus to become greater in and through us we HAVE to become less. We cannot have more of Jesus without less of us. That really stops me in my tracks. I have prayed so often for more of Jesus, but I have never associated more of Him with less of me. If I truly want more of Him when I pray that prayer I need to go back with Him through my life with a chainsaw and begin cutting out me, so He has room. I have responsibility when I want more of Jesus.

3:34 - (NLT) He speaks God's words, for God give him the Spirit without limit. (NASB) For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. - I think this verse is saying that Jesus was given the Spirit without limit. I tried to look in other commentaries to see if that was for Jesus or for us to. But, I wonder because of what Jesus said, if the Spirit is given to use without measure as well.

3:36 - Anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment. - In this verse Jesus married the idea of belief and obedience together. You cannot say you believe and not obey.

Love, Michael