RSS

Tag Archives: christianity

Letter to the Church in Pergamum – Revelation 2:12-17

07 Jul

12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

Revelation 2:12-17

Dear God, I might as well go there with this passage. What is sexual sin? Where are the lines?

I think a lot of people in the American church right now would go straight to homosexuality or any LGBTQ issues and start there. But I want to start on the other end of the spectrum. This makes me think of the part of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus says things like, “You have heard it said…, but I say…” That’s where he raised the bar on murder, adultery, and some other things. So I want to go to all of us and say, “You have heard it said do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman for that is detestable, but I say do not look at a woman in lust, subject your mind to sexual situations outside of your marriage, or sexually bond yourself to anyone who isn’t your spouse.” I have a friend who was living with her now husband for years and welcomed in a church that would never have welcomed an LGBTQ couple. Was their standard too high or too low? And how do we treat that couple who is living together outside of marriage? Do we love or reject? This passage can be a hard teaching.

Our society has gotten to the point where even the most conservative people have accepted an entire range of sexual activity. I’m thinking about a pastor friend who told me his local church was wanting to leave its denominational affiliation because of its open stance towards LGBTQ issues. His reply was, okay, we can talk about it, but we will also need to talk about all of the other sexual sins the Bible outlines. Do you really want to have that conversation? And while it was good to point out that hypocrisy on the part of his church, it is telling that the people backed down and decided to not have the conversation at all rather than give up the sin they liked.

Father, I am not holy in this area. My thoughts are not always pure. I don’t always keep myself from seeing content I shouldn’t see. There are television shows I love that display immoral sexual behavior and I partake willingly. So, I’m not picking up any stones to throw. I guess what I’m challenging myself and anyone else to do is just go to the fringe sexual activity and start with my judgments there, but start with the highest bar Jesus would set and start there. I’ll confess to you that I am still perplexed over a same sex monogamous relationship and if it is truly wrong, but I do believe that any monogamous sexual relationship, whether it be heterosexual or homosexual, is difficult to do well. And I do think homosexual relationships are complicated to do in a relationally, spiritually healthy way. I just don’t know that it’s impossible or that it’s something that is denied grace if it is wrong. But again, it’s not about them right now. It’s about me. I’m heterosexual. I am happily married. Help me to keep myself pure and love my wife how you designed me to love her.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 7, 2025 in Revelation

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me

06 Jul

Dear God, I’ve done something wholly unique this week. In planning for the talk tomorrow night, I basically wrote out a speech. I will likely take this and turn it into an outline because I don’t normally read from text, but this felt so important and out of my comfort zone, I wanted to take this approach instead. Here is what I wrote. I offer it to you as my offering:

Given the tragedy of last weekend in Kerrville [about 30 miles from where we live], I want to start with something a little different.

In 1871, there was a man named Horatio Spafford. He was a wealthy attorney and real estate investor who had put a lot of his fortune into real estate along lake Michigan in Chicago. He was also a faithful Christian and active member of the Presbyterian church. He had a wife and four daughters. That year there was the great Chicago fire that burned much of the city including Horatio’s real estate fortune.

Two years later, Horatio decided the family needed a trip abroad so he put his wife and daughters on a boat to England and he stayed behind to finish some business, planning to join them soon. Tragically, the ship his family was on struck another vessel out at sea and sank in 12 minutes. From his family, only his wife survived. He lost all of his children just two years after most of his fortune. It was similar to Job losing his fortune and then losing his children.

His wife cabled him from England with the message, “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

He rushed to be with his wife as soon as he could which meant sailing across the Atlantic himself. During the voyage, the captain of the ship went to Horatio and told him they were at the spot where his family’s boat had sunk. Horatio went up on deck, looked out at the ocean and was inspired to write these words:

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul

We sang this in church Sunday, and it brought tears to my eyes. I cannot imagine the pain felt by those who have lost their children and family. I’ve not experienced that. But I have experienced pain to the point of desperation. I have been devastated.

David had been Devastated too. He wrote songs of lament when Jonathan and Saul were killed. He did the same for Joab. You can be sure he wrote a lot of poetry and songs while he was running for Saul over all of that time. Our lives will not be perfect, but God is our rock. But he ultimately wanted to show us how it was done.

So God did this amazing, miraculous thing for us. He came down and was born to a virgin. He grew up in a poor family. They all spent the first few years of his life running from Herod, moving as far away as Egypt before hearing from an angel it was safe to go home. And this Jesus grew up, taught a bunch of things that were shocking to everyone, including his closest disciples, allowed himself to be killed, rose again from the dead, and then ascended to heaven to rule with God, sending his Holy Spirit to be here with us until our death or his return, whichever comes first.

Now, to quote a pastor in Atlanta I heard once, I can understand why it would be hard for you to believe all of that. I can understand some of you looking at the virgin birth, the miracles, and the resurrection from the dead and saying, “No way am I buying that.” I get that doubt. But what I don’t get is why you wouldn’t WANT the Jesus of the Bible to be true. Not maybe what Christians in your life have told you about Jesus or shown you about Jesus through the way they live, but about the actual Jesus we learn about in the Bible. There is no reason all of us shouldn’t WANT Jesus to be true.

There are a lot of us that left God or never wanted anything to do with God because of the “hypocrites” we saw who said they believed in him but were awful or judgmental. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been a lot of people who did a lot of awful things in Jesus’s name. I don’t need to list the things. Y’all could probably give me a huge list if we had the time, but here’s how I heard someone describe the difference between who Jesus was and what he taught and some of his followers and how they have lived out their faith:

Bach wrote the “Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.” People who understand music theory will tell you it is a genius piece of music. The music dances around the notes and starts to lead you to a note your ear wants to hear but then it leads you away again. It’s beautiful. So I heard this man describe it this way one time. He decided to take cello lessons for three days and then play the “Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.” He then played a recording for the crowd of him playing the piece. It was not good. You could hear a few of the notes, but they were not put together in a way that was even close to what Bach wrote. And if you were to only know Bach’s piece from what this man played you would have no idea the genius that was in the “Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.” There would be no way to.

This is the problem with a lot of Christendom now. The people who claim Jesus as Lord do not understand the piece, have not spent the time with the piece to learn it, and play it so poorly it hurts not only the ears but the soul.

So let me tell you a story that exemplifies the beauty of Jesus. It ties together his commands to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. It explains what it looks like to forgive as you have received forgiveness. It exhibits God’s call to accept his grace and then go and sin no more.

John 8:2-11 (page1042)

2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

This is what Jesus taught us. This is who Jesus is. He didn’t come to give everyone a free pass. He also didn’t come to condemn the world. He came to save the world.

Last week, D.J. did a great job of bringing in John 3:17 with John 3:16 (page 1034). Most of us have heard John 3:16 before: “For God so loved the world the he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” But here’s verse 17 right after it: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

God WANTS you. He WANTS relationship with you. And the message Jesus preached when he walked around saying the people needed to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand was not, “You best be believing in me or you’re going to go to hell.” What he was saying was, “God wants to be in your life. God wants the best for you. God loves you. All he wants you to do is love him back and then love everyone around you as much as you possibly can regardless of what it costs you.”

But it starts with surrender.

Matthew 16:24-25 (page 950)

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 

And how did Jesus teach us to live? Most of it is written in the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus’s stump speech—recorded in Matthew 5-7:

  1. Beattitudes: Be merciful and a peacemaker and prepared to be persecuted for such outlandish thinking.
  2. Represent me proudly, regardless of what it costs you.
  3. I didn’t come here to get rid of the law and give everyone a free pass:
    1. You’ve heard it said don’t murder, but let me raise the bar.
    1. You’ve heard it said don’t commit adultery, but let me raise the bar.
    1. You’ve heard it said love neighbors and hate enemies, but let me raise the bar.
  4. Give to the needy.
  5. Pray (Lord’s Prayer) regularly.
  6. Don’t be selfish
  7. Don’t worry
  8. Don’t judge others
  9. Ask for things, but subject your prayers to God’s will (see “It is Well with my Soul”)
  10. ALL IS WRAPPED UP IN Matthew 7:12 (page 937): “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

So are you ready? In Acts 26:12-14, Paul describes Jesus stopping him while he was going from town to town arresting and persecuting Christians saying, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Are you ready for a different life? Are you ready for a way of living that brings good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control? Or do you want to keep doing it your way? It’s your choice.

Jesus tells you he wants you. He knows your sins. He knows every one of them. He knows every one of my sins too.

There is a T.V. Show called Ted Lasso. And in that show, there is a scene where a person gets mad at a relative and goes through a series of “Thank you” for this and “F*** you” for that. Over and over. Thank you for … and F*** you for … I woke up the next day thinking I was going to write out my own thank you/f*** you list for a couple of people, and I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, “No. First, you don’t need to see your thank you/f*** you list for them written in black and white. That will not be helpful. Second, don’t forget God has a thank you/f*** you list for you too, and you are adding to it every day. Don’t think it’s not there. The good news is, He cannot see it through Jesus’s blood. But if He can have that much grace for you, how much grace can you have for them.

Next week, I’ll be talking about where we go from here and the first steps to living a life that studies how to play the genius way of life Jesus tried to teach us. But tonight, I just want to ask if you’re ready to put your stake in the ground and accept Jesus’s invitation to be in relationship with him. Maybe it’s a first time decision. Maybe it’s a rededication to living the life he’s calling you to live. Buy you are deciding right here, on July 7, 2025, that you are ready to be the man God is calling you to be for your wife (or if you’re single, your future wife), your children and future children, and your community. But mainly, and here’s the big secret, you’re doing it because the God of the universe loves you and you can’t wait to thank him for that love, for that forgiveness, and for that freedom from the sin.

So let’s pray. [After prayer] while our heads are down and eyes are closed, and my head is down and my eyes are closed too—this is just between you and God—it’s important to not just think this in your head but to actually make a physical gesture saying this will be the start of a new day for you. So just raise your palms to heaven, even as they are in your lap or laying on the table in front of you. Raise your palms to heaven and pray with me, “Jesus, thank you. I accept your gift. I accept your death and resurrection for my sin. I am so sorry for my sin. I need you. I need your forgiveness. I need you to be reconciled to the Father. Thank you for this. And now please send me your Holy Spirit to be in me, guide me, teach me, comfort me, and express your love for me. I will learn to live the life you’re calling me to live. I will learn to worship you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I will learn what it truly means to love my neighbor, including my enemies, as myself. It will be a long journey, but I have nowhere else to go. You are my God and my savior. Thank you for loving and forgiving me.”

We pray this to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

Next week, I’ll spend my time talking about where to go from here. How do we learn how to live this amazing life Jesus brought to us from the Father?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 6, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , ,

Letter to the Church in Smyrna – Revelation 2:8-11

05 Jul

8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Revelation 2:8-11

Dear God, I guess this is a good letter? (He says with a questioning, high-pitched voice) You seem to be pleased with them. They seem to be faithful in their theology and living by your teachings even when those who say they represent you persecute them. If I were them, I think I would rather not know the 10 days of suffering are coming. I mean, I suppose once the 10 days arrives it will be good to know there is an end to it one way or another, but in that moment that would be very scary.

There are two things that really sit with me here. First, there were people there who were deluded into thinking they were right but were persecuting the church in Smyrna while you were happy with them. In fact, Jesus called the self-righteous persecutors minions of Satan. Oh my! I’m sure that would devastate them to know that. I’m sure they woke up in the morning thinking they were right and wanting to do the right thing. I’m sure they thought the church in Smyrna was dangerous and their enemy. They had no idea. Oh, how I hope that’s not me in this present age.

Second, there are Christians out there whose agenda I oppose. They think I am wrong and some have gotten angry with me. I think they are wrong and there have been times when I have been angry with them. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit–My Triune God–please tell me how I’m wrong. I won’t say “if” I’m wrong because I am sure I am not correct about everything. But let me know “how” I am wrong. I don’t mind having people I oppose or even standing up to them, but I certainly don’t want to oppose you or stand up to you. You are God. You are right. If we are in conflict then I am the one who is wrong. Show me how I’m wrong.

Father, you keep me on a need-to-know basis and I very rarely need to know. I think I prefer that. There is sorrow in my life. Right now, as I sit here on the morning of July 5, there are parents and family members who are devastated by the loss of life and missing children in the floods in Kerrville, about 25 miles from me. This will be a sorrow that will stay with those who lose someone for the rest of their lives. July 4, 2025, will live in infamy for this area. It’s tragic. But I’m grateful I didn’t know my sorrow was coming in all of those years that lead up to it. I’m grateful these families didn’t know this was coming either. It’s like the Garth Brooks song “The Dance.” To quote the chorus: “And now, I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end. The way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance.” I will stay on this dance floor as long as you let me, Father. Help me to be a source of love and comfort to everyone around me, even those who I oppose or who oppose me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 5, 2025 in Revelation

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Letter to the Church at Ephesus – Revelation 2:1-7

04 Jul

2 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:1-7

Dear God, let me start by saying I’m concerned about friends along the Guadalupe River right now. I have a coworker, and we cannot contact her or her family. We are worried about them. I am thinking of the camps along the river that are full of kids this time of year. I am thinking about the people who just live there. Please take care of them. Please wrap them up and keep them safe. Please, Father, please take care of my friend and her family. She is absolutely one of the best and sweetest people I know. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy.

Regarding this letter to the church at Ephesus, when I read it this morning, it made me wonder what you would have to say to me. What have I done right? What am I doing wrong? For Ephesus, their actions were good:

  • Hard work.
  • Patient endurance.
  • Rejection of evil people.
  • Discerning who is a false apostle and rejecting.
  • Patiently suffered for Jesus.

That’s a good list. If I were them, I would cut the conversation off there, take my report card, and go. But you didn’t stop there: “But I have this complaint against you…”

  • Don’t love God/Jesus/Holy Spirit like they used to.
  • Don’t love each other like they used to.

They used to do all of their good things as a fruit of what came from worshipping you. But they had started doing the work without you. It made me think about just treating my faith more like a philosophy of how to live a human life. Kind of a perspective of, “This is how I’m supposed to live and act, so I’ll live and act this way.” But what I noticed this morning is that they are simply missing the two great commandments. Love you and love each other. Instead, there seems to be a selfishness about their actions. Are they suffering persecution for their own glory in some weird way? Are they getting their ego stroked through it?

It seems like when selfishness creeps in we just don’t have the capacity to love you and love those around us like we should, or even at all. We start getting concerned about our rights. Then we eventually start to fight for ourselves instead of for others. We stop sacrificing for others and start to expect others to sacrifice for us.

Father, I think this will be a convicting series. What will you have to tell me through these letters? I’m going to start a spreadsheet that I’ll put into these journals at the end to list the compliments and the concerns you give to each church. Perhaps there is something I can use in my personal life that will help me to be the salt in the world you are calling me to be. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 4, 2025 in Revelation

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Revelation

03 Jul

Dear God, I have a question: Should I care about Revelation? If so, what should I care about? I was listening to a video by N.T. Wright last night, and…well, let me back up really quickly.

Monday night at the Christian Men’s Life Skills Bible study, the ice-breaker question was, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Several people asked about the end times and Revelation. One of the leaders got up and started talking a lot about the end times possibly being now. I remained silent throughout the discussion, but then when I got up and had my turn to talk to start my Bible study on David’s ascent to the throne over all of Israel I found myself telling the men, “I don’t care about Revelation.” The same leader who talked about end times also made a great statement when he was asked for his question of you. He basically said, “I don’t have any questions of God. My job is just to serve him.” I wholeheartedly agree, so I leaned into that. I told them that, for me, I don’t care about the end times because you have given me work to do today. I also try not to care about what’s in it for me because I “consider my life worth nothing to me.” (Acts 20:24) Then I went into your exchange with Job in Job 38-42. I found my voice getting really passionate about it as I said it all. I could feel it happening in real time. I thought I hadn’t been that animated during most of the Samuel/Saul/Jonathan/David stuff, but I apparently had something to say about this. It was interesting.

Fast forward to last night, and I am listening to the N.T. Wright talk. Someone had put up a video comparing his theology on this issue with John MacArthur’s. MacArthur has a much more rapture/tribulation/second coming view of the end. First, isn’t it fascinating to see how we can read the same things and disagree?

One thing Wright said that I’d never heard before in a second video I listened to was that the imagery John used in Revelation was commonly understood by readers of the day and that the whole part about you winning and Jesus on the throne has already happened. All we are waiting for is your second coming, but even that won’t be something where we are taken away from earth. You will return to earth and rule here. We will meet you in the sky because people go out to greet their king, but then we will return with you to earth.

So back to my initial question. And I really mean this. Am I missing something that you want to use to develop me by ignoring Revelation. The thoughts that are coming to me right now is that I am missing the warnings to the churches. Those are important for anyone to heed. It makes me wonder if John were writing Revelation today, what would your words be to the church in the United States? What would it be to the different denominations? What would it be to me?

Father, I think over the next few days I am going to go to the parts of Revelation that are the letters to the churches. I want to see what you said to them and what I need to understand from them. Oh, how I love you. Oh, how I love to sit and do things like this with you. When I sat down this morning, I had zero idea what I would pray about, and then I let your Holy Spirit guide me into this wonderful thought process and discussion with you. Help me to not become so into it that I lose my salt for the earth. And thank you for teaching me new skills for this Christian Men’s Life Skills class. You are stretching me and growing me through it. Thank you for stretching me and growing me in such a gentle and delightful way. And thank you, Father, for the good news for a couple of relatives yesterday. And for good news for other prayers as well. I don’t thank you enough for the answers to prayers. But I am grateful for your movement in my life and in the lives around me. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 3, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories, Revelation

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quote from Trevor Hudson

02 Jul

“Jesus proclaimed the availability of another kind of life. It is a life marked by growing intimacy with the God whom Jesus called Abba, shared with others in community in which we discern our personal calling, characterized by our gradual inner transformation into God’s compassionate family likeness, empowered by God’s Spirit to overcome evil both within and around us, and most wonderfully of all, an indestructible life in which nothing can separate us from God’s enduring love toward us in Christ Jesus.”

– Trevor Hudson

Dear God, I think this was providential this morning. I sat down at the breakfast table, and I saw a newsletter from our friends who are missionaries with Greater Europe Mission, Lisa and Doug Mitts. It really resonated with me as I get my thoughts together about what I want to say to the men next Monday night at the Christian Men’s Life Skills Bible study. After eight weeks of building relationship with them and hopefully getting them more interested in studying the Bible and actually learning from the men and women in there you gave us as both good and bad examples–let’s face it, none of us are only good or only bad examples–I hope to guide them into a hungering, discipling relationship with you.

That’s what this is all about. These moments with you that I am having right now are what this is all about. Getting the fulfillment that comes from worshipping you and loving others is what this is all about. Knowing you and experiencing your love and grace is what it’s all about. Watching the fruits of your Holy Spirit grow within me are what it’s all about. Being comforted and guided by your Holy Spirit from moment to moment are what it’s all about. I am here because I need your love, I need to love you, and I need to love others. Everything else is nothing compared to having those needs met.

Father, thank you for my faithful sisters and brothers in Christ. Thank you for the people I was with last Sunday afternoon who were so obviously in love with you and discipling with you. Thank you for the inspiration you gave the people who started Christian Men’s Life Skills. Guide them and bless them. Bless them with your presence and the fruit of your Spirit. Make their path straight and smooth. Thank you for leading me to them for my sake. This has been so good for me. Help me now as I go into this day. Help me to love. Help me to represent you well. Help me to worship you with all of my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 2, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:3-5

01 Jul

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Romans 12:3-5

Dear God, here’s the line that really hits me this morning: Be honest in [my] evaluation of [myself], measuring [myself] by the faith [you] have given [me]. I recently took a DISC personality test and it was pretty accurate. I definitely leaned into one style over the other. But I think what pleased me the most about the test is the results of the three graphs it gives. One graph was the me others see. One was my instinctive response to pressure. The third was how I see myself. I was pleased by these three graphs because they were consistent. What others see and what I see were almost identical, and the only difference in the one with stress is that I leaned into my dominant style more. Yes, I have things to work on with my personality and how I handle things. Yes, I am flawed and I need to improve in a lot of areas. Yes, I am a sinner and I need your grace. But at least I am starting from a place where I think I’m actually okay at evaluating myself and seeing myself with fairly accurate eyes.

I think part of this comes from pain and struggle. Last night at the Bible study, the ice breaker question was what question would we ask you if we could. There were a lot of questions about the pain we experience. “Why cancer?” “Why did my dad die when I was 8?” Those questions were hard. And I could ask you why for some of my pain, but of of the men pointed out to the others that the pain is what develops us into the people we are. If my life had been perfectly free from pain and struggle, who would I be right now? No, I credit the struggles for bringing me to you and allowing you to work on my heart.

Father, I need to start putting together next week’s lesson for these men, but I want to do it differently than I did the last eight weeks. I want to be maybe a little more deliberate in my message to them. I want to love them with your love. I want to speak to them with your voice. I want to call them to follow you with your Spirit. And I pray for the men who will choose not to come after this week. Be glorified, oh, Lord. Be glorified in their lives. Be glorified in all of the lives involved with this class, including the leaders and teachers. Guide us all into the men you call us to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 1, 2025 in Romans

 

Tags: , , , ,

“The Unsettling Solution to Just about Everything” by Andy Stanley

28 Jun

Dear God, I first heard this sermon six years ago. I remember being struck by it and thinking it was one of the best evangelical sermons I ever heard. Now, nearly six and a half years later, I am preparing a Bible study for nine days from now that is supposed to be more evangelical and “make-a-decision-to-follow-Jesus” in nature. I have some thoughts I’ve been considering and praying through, but I want to go back to this, take some notes, and see if there is anything here you would have me incorporate into what you’re leading me to. So with that said, I am going to listen to this real time and then take notes on the things that strike me along the way. I’m also going to consider them and think about them through typing my thoughts to you. Please, Holy Spirit, sit with me in this time. Guide me. Teach me. Comfort me. Lead me.

“I don’t know why everybody wouldn’t want Christianity to be true.”

  • Right off the bat, this is his first statement within 20 seconds of the video starting. It’s the one thing I really remember from this sermon. He’ll go on to say he can understand why people have a hard time believing the virgin birth, resurrection, and miracles in between and such are true, and he can see why people don’t want the Christianity lived out by a lot of modern American Christians to be true, but he cannot understand why someone would read the Bible, see the Jesus of the New Testament and everything he taught and offered and not want it to be true. That’s a great thought. So before I listen to what he says, what are the things about Jesus I want to be true:
    • I want to think that you loved me that much that you would sacrifice Jesus, a piece of yourself–your Trinity–to an earthly existence and horrible death–for me to be in relationship with you and made whole.
    • I want to be loved by others the way they love themselves.
  • You know, it’s funny. I think those are the two main things I want to be true about Jesus and what you gave me through him. Heaven? Sure. But that you loved me that much that you came for me. I want that. That I could move in a world or community where the people loved me like themselves? Sign me up. Yes, that’s what I want.
  • Now let’s hear what Andy says that stands out to me:
    • “People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” – Blaise Pascal (17th-century mathematician)
    • “Grace” The word that made Jesus and makes Christianity attractive. “Grace is what we crave most when our guilt is exposed.” Me here: What drew David to God wasn’t his need for power but his appreciation for who God was and his grace. “Grace is what we are hesitant to extend when confronted with the guilt of others. Especially when they’ve hurt me or someone I love. “Grace for me is extraordinarily refreshing. Grace for others is extraordinarily disturbing.” “GRACE IS THE UNSETTLING SOLUTION FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.” Me here: Link to Sermon on the Mount, Lord’s Prayer, forgive me as I forgive others.
    • Definition for “grace” is undeserved, unearned, and unearnable favor. “We can’t recognize or receive Grace for what it is until we’re convinced we do NOT deserve it.” It can only be experienced when there’s an imbalance and you’re on the negative side.
    • Christianity is unique because of Grace.
    • God had to show up in Jesus. We would have never know the grace of God without the presence of God.
    • John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” “Jesus never watered down the truth and he never turned down the grace.” He called sin sin and then he laid down his life for the sinners.
    • Matthew 9:11-13: And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Me here: I think I need to hold on to this for the lesson.
    • Terrified woman caught in adultery. Jesus: Truth and Mercy. “You are guilty (Leave your life of sin), but I don’t condemn you.”
    • If you never get there intellectually, you should want this to be true.
    • If the kingdom of heaven was only reserved for the righteous, we (including David) would have no hope.
    • “Does God hear the prayers of sinners? Yes, those are the only kinds of prayers there are.”
    • Like life, Grace is not fair. It is unsettlingly better than fair.
    • Great sinners who were extended great grace: Peter and Paul.
    • Jesus knew justice and consequences would crush us. That’s why he came.
    • Why wouldn’t anyone want this to be true.
    • Luke 16:16: The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached and everyone is pressing into it. [seems a little out of context]
    • Grace is an invitation. “I know all about you. The good and the bad. And I want you to follow me. But be warned. If you follow me, I will lead you away from your sin. And, no, I have not forgotten about your sin. It’s better than that. I will remember all of it and I love you anyway. Now come. Follow me. Me here: I’ve got to use that as my closer.

Father, thank you for leading me to this sermon in the winter of 2018. Thank you for using all of these little things here and there throughout my life to prepare me for different moments. I offer all of this to you. I offer my life to you. I offer worship to you. I am grateful. I will follow you. I do follow you. Oh, I am so full of love for you right now. In this moment. Tears in my eyes. And I am normally wary of an emotional response to you because I am afraid it might be something artificial and not real, but this is just a moment where my emotions are high and I just want to lean into you. Thank you for being there for my leaning.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 28, 2025 in Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

What Our Lord Saw from the Cross (Ce que voyait Notre-Seigneur sur la Croix) – James Tissot

21 Jun
What Our Lord Saw from the Cross (Ce que voyait Notre-Seigneur sur la Croix)
James Tissot

Dear God, my wife sent me this picture a few days ago, and this is my first opportunity to really spend some time with it. My first inclination is to look and see if I can identify the people who are there and what they are doing, but I think I want to work backwards and look for people I know should be there, either up close or way off in the distance.

You know what? That’s too hard. I can’t figure anything out. There are a lot of people, and I can’t figure out what most of them are doing.

  • Why are two guys on decorated horses?
  • What’s the one guy looking at? Did he notice the sky is going dark?
  • I guess those are Pharisees back on the upper right portion of the image. Some of them seem to be cheering. Even in the death of your enemy, is cheering really the sentiment one should feel?
  • I can’t tell if that’s John to the left of the three women grouped together. It kind of looks like a woman’s hair, but it also might be a light beard of a young man.
  • I wonder how this crucifixion compared with others. Was there a bigger crowd because of Jesus and who he was? Were there normally people gathered in the distance to watch? I wouldn’t think people would normally show up to watch a crucifixion–especially at Passover. And I don’t know that the crowd looked like this in reality, but I’m sure it was larger than most.
  • I’m guessing that is Mary Magdalene close to the cross while is mother is with her sister(s) in the group of three.
  • What’s with the guys with the long sticks? Were those the soldiers that hoisted up some vinegar for them to drink? They look tired.
  • There’s a tomb there. I doubt Jesus could really see the tomb from his vantage that day, but it’s there waiting for him.
  • Just let me stop and sit with the embarrassment of hanging there naked for a moment. With all of these people, including your mother, to see you.
  • Imagine looking down on this crowd and knowing something they don’t know. Knowing this is part of the plan. Knowing that they need this to happen. Knowing that it’s all for them. Loving them. Forgiving them.
  • I guess the one soldier who is dressed better than the others is the centurion who recognized Jesus’s deity.
  • This scene is where the “Jesus was a good teacher but not divine” argument falls apart. If this was the end for a good teacher, why do I care? If he wasn’t God he was delusional. He did it for absolutely nothing. If he is not God and there is not resurrection coming then he lost that day, and it’s a loss there’s no coming back from.
  • There are a lot of horses. Did the Pharisees all have horses? It’s an interesting thing for the artist to include. I count seven horses and one donkey.

Jesus, of course, Mr. Tissot has no idea what you saw from the cross. I don’t either. But I am confident in your knowledge of the plan and why you were doing what you did. You turned history in that moment. You tore the veil. You broke down the separation between us and the Father. You prepared the way for the Holy Spirit. You sacrificed yourself, set up your resurrection, and then taught us a new way. You validated all of the bizarre teaching you did the previous three years. You validated the weirdness and illogic of the Sermon on the Mount. And they were too ignorant (and I mean ignorant in the best definition of the world) to see what you were doing. In fact, if they had seen it they might not have done it. No, they needed to think you were delusional and crazy. They needed to not trust you. They needed to hate you. Some of them needed to think you had lost and mourn you. Even now, I need to really simmer in the idea of what you did so I can be here right now, in this moment, praying to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you!

I pray this in you and with the Holy Spirit you left me and all the earth,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 21, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

John 16:5-15

15 Jun

5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

John 16:5-15

Dear God, it’s Trinity Sunday, and I feel like I need to sit with you and just worship who you are. The psalm of the day is Psalm 8 where it includes the line, “What is man that you should be mindful of him?” Yes, who am I? Who am I that you should be mindful of me? Who are we that you should be mindful of us?

I like this line from Jesus in verse 12 that the disciples, in that moment, wouldn’t have been able to handle what they didn’t know or understand. You keep us on a need-to-know basis and we so seldom need to know. But part of our learning is having your Holy Spirit “guide [us] into all truth.”

Father, I need to be guided, even in this day. I need to be guided as I get ready to go to church. I need to be guided as I go out to work a fundraising event this afternoon. But to be guided, I have to first submit. You can’t lead me if I am out front. So I submit to you. I worship you. You are God and I am not. I don’t understand why you are mindful of me, buy you are. Help me to let go . Help me to know what that looks like. Help me to live and life and do things that bring other into complete relationship with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 15, 2025 in John

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →