I've been reading Jesus' parable of the soils as told in Mark 4.
1. 75% of the soil will disappoint but sowing the seed is worth it.
2. The soil that receives reproduces at tremendous rates.
3. The person sowing the seed goes away from the road. It gets harder as he goes, but the best soil is the soil farthest from the road.
3.07.2016
2.12.2016
Leper Hearts
I used to think love was a feeling of delight, but now I know love is a series of actions one takes to show another that he cares.
Jesus showed the leper that he cared.
In the beginning of Mark 1 the man with leprosy comes to Jesus and begs him "on his knees, 'If you are willing you can make me clean." Jesus' response is translated either as having compassion on the man or being indignant. If the correct translation is "indignant", what is Jesus angry at? Possibly at the injustice of life that this man has been dealt by a world under the authority of Satan and sin. Stuff just happens in this world apart from God and Jesus recognizes these things in our lives. He sees us with compassion too.
Jesus came to cleanse our leper hearts. While the miracle of this story in Mark is that the man went away healed, the ultimate miracle that God wants to do in every life is heal hearts. The man would have been even better off knowing this about Jesus. Maybe that is why Jesus told him to keep the miracle on the DL and go to the priests to offer sacrifices. Maybe Jesus wanted to steadily and consistently reveal God's will to the man. Instead the man goes about telling everyone, as would be expected.
Leprosy is a disease where the body eats away at itself. In the same way, human hearts destroy themselves. Sickened by sin and consumed from within, our hearts are fully dead, but God's grace enables us to become fully alive and restored. Jesus provided us this life when he died for us on the cross.
Jesus showed the leper that he cared.
In the beginning of Mark 1 the man with leprosy comes to Jesus and begs him "on his knees, 'If you are willing you can make me clean." Jesus' response is translated either as having compassion on the man or being indignant. If the correct translation is "indignant", what is Jesus angry at? Possibly at the injustice of life that this man has been dealt by a world under the authority of Satan and sin. Stuff just happens in this world apart from God and Jesus recognizes these things in our lives. He sees us with compassion too.
Jesus came to cleanse our leper hearts. While the miracle of this story in Mark is that the man went away healed, the ultimate miracle that God wants to do in every life is heal hearts. The man would have been even better off knowing this about Jesus. Maybe that is why Jesus told him to keep the miracle on the DL and go to the priests to offer sacrifices. Maybe Jesus wanted to steadily and consistently reveal God's will to the man. Instead the man goes about telling everyone, as would be expected.
Leprosy is a disease where the body eats away at itself. In the same way, human hearts destroy themselves. Sickened by sin and consumed from within, our hearts are fully dead, but God's grace enables us to become fully alive and restored. Jesus provided us this life when he died for us on the cross.
1.29.2016
Prospering
Stop whatever you are doing right now.
Open your Bible to Isaiah 52:13 and just start to read... continue through Isaiah 53.
Over 700 years before Jesus was born, God inspired the prophet Isaiah to write these words about what would come. If these words don't convince us that Jesus is truly the Son of God and our savior then what else would?
We also learn from Isaiah 52:13-14 what it truly means to prosper. "Behold, my servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him ..."
According to the passages of Isaiah 53,
Did Jesus prosper in the material sense?
Did Jesus prosper in the good looks category?
Did Jesus prosper in the abundance of his possessions?
Did Jesus prosper in the popularity and the praise of men?
Jesus prospered in being a vessel of God, one whose life displayed God's glory.
Open your Bible to Isaiah 52:13 and just start to read... continue through Isaiah 53.
Over 700 years before Jesus was born, God inspired the prophet Isaiah to write these words about what would come. If these words don't convince us that Jesus is truly the Son of God and our savior then what else would?
We also learn from Isaiah 52:13-14 what it truly means to prosper. "Behold, my servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him ..."
According to the passages of Isaiah 53,
Did Jesus prosper in the material sense?
Did Jesus prosper in the good looks category?
Did Jesus prosper in the abundance of his possessions?
Did Jesus prosper in the popularity and the praise of men?
Jesus prospered in being a vessel of God, one whose life displayed God's glory.
1.28.2016
Objects of Compassion
"Nevertheless He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry;
And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.
He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors." - Psalm 106:23
The story of Gideon is fascinating. His people were being oppressed and their land plundered by the neighboring Midianites. Gideon was an Israelite. The Israelites' land was being burned by neighboring nations who would war against them together. Israelites were driven into the caves. Gideon was the youngest son of the smallest family in an insignificant tribe - Manasseh was referred to as the "half-tribe" because of their failure to complete God's commands to them previously.
The angel of the LORD appears to Gideon and tells him "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." God then proceeds to tell Gideon to tear down his father's altar, which had been set up to a foreign god who was being worshipped by all the men in his town, and replace it with an altar to Yahweh.
God looks with compassion on His people despite their sin. The story of Psalm 106 refers repeatedly to their rebellion and lack of trust in Him. The story of Gideon is a part of that. While the people were worshipping other gods they were being oppressed by their enemies, on the brink of disappearing amongst the tide of the nations. But God showed up with compassion, and with Him anything is possible.
And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.
He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors." - Psalm 106:23
The story of Gideon is fascinating. His people were being oppressed and their land plundered by the neighboring Midianites. Gideon was an Israelite. The Israelites' land was being burned by neighboring nations who would war against them together. Israelites were driven into the caves. Gideon was the youngest son of the smallest family in an insignificant tribe - Manasseh was referred to as the "half-tribe" because of their failure to complete God's commands to them previously.
The angel of the LORD appears to Gideon and tells him "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." God then proceeds to tell Gideon to tear down his father's altar, which had been set up to a foreign god who was being worshipped by all the men in his town, and replace it with an altar to Yahweh.
God looks with compassion on His people despite their sin. The story of Psalm 106 refers repeatedly to their rebellion and lack of trust in Him. The story of Gideon is a part of that. While the people were worshipping other gods they were being oppressed by their enemies, on the brink of disappearing amongst the tide of the nations. But God showed up with compassion, and with Him anything is possible.
1.22.2016
How We Worship
All of us worship. When I bowed down to my comforts and my wants, I worshipped them. When I fell in love with the crushes I had in high school they became fixations. I acted strangely on their behalf.
What we worship determines how we worship. Who we worship determines who we become.
We are created to worship God and many things have taken His place. When we come to worship God we discover how great He is and we become who we were meant to be.
We cannot expect that worshiping created things will give us satisfaction because created things do not judge fairly or righteously. We will be judged for the things we worship. If I think about it, why would worshipping a created thing be a good thing for me? If it is the judge in the end, then will the potato chip I crave or even the man or woman that I fear be able to determine my life or death in the end? God is a righteous judge and the only one worthy of my worship.
"Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him all the earth.
Say among the nations 'the LORD reigns.'
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the nations with equity."
Psalm 96:7-10
What we worship determines how we worship. Who we worship determines who we become.
We are created to worship God and many things have taken His place. When we come to worship God we discover how great He is and we become who we were meant to be.
We cannot expect that worshiping created things will give us satisfaction because created things do not judge fairly or righteously. We will be judged for the things we worship. If I think about it, why would worshipping a created thing be a good thing for me? If it is the judge in the end, then will the potato chip I crave or even the man or woman that I fear be able to determine my life or death in the end? God is a righteous judge and the only one worthy of my worship.
"Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him all the earth.
Say among the nations 'the LORD reigns.'
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the nations with equity."
Psalm 96:7-10
1.21.2016
God's Consolation
"Unless the LORD had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, 'My foot is slipping,'
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul."
Psalm 94:17-19
Going through troubles? Feeling like you're slipping? Do you feel like you can't even tell where your fears are coming from? God has given us a consolation that will bring joy to our souls.
At the end of the day, Jesus came, he died and he rose again. He is coming and he will make the wrong things right. This is God's ultimate consolation and receiving the comfort of the good news today will bring joy to our souls.
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, 'My foot is slipping,'
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul."
Psalm 94:17-19
Going through troubles? Feeling like you're slipping? Do you feel like you can't even tell where your fears are coming from? God has given us a consolation that will bring joy to our souls.
At the end of the day, Jesus came, he died and he rose again. He is coming and he will make the wrong things right. This is God's ultimate consolation and receiving the comfort of the good news today will bring joy to our souls.
1.18.2016
"I'm not a mistake" - Creed
A few stand-out scenes and parallels to life from the movie, "Creed":
The movie is powerful because (beyond even the cross-racial aspect of the relationship) it is so rare to see a genuine bond form between a young man and an older man in our culture. Young Creed's willingness and eagerness to learn from Rocky is intriguing in this movie because of his willingness to love. He not only wants to learn and receive training and skill from Rocky, but he cares about Rock. He moves into Rock's apartment. He helps Rock at his restaurant. He respects Rocky. He partners with Rocky and when Rock wants to give up he forces Rocky to go through chemotherapy and "fight" to stay alive. The way Rocky is willing to just give up on life when he is diagnosed with cancer is really believable. "Everything for me is in the past, kid", he tells his protege Adonis Creed.
At the end of the final fight Rocky asks Creed why he has to go on into the 12th round, what he has to prove, and the kid says "that I'm not a mistake." This is the way that so many young men feel. We feel we have to prove it to our Dads, present or absent, and to the world that we deserve to be here. We feel we have to prove our worth with our accomplishments and actions.
Thankfully our Father God has already said we are good enough. We are approved, not because of our accomplishments, or our intellect or our good deeds, but because of God's love.
If we believe in Jesus: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17
The movie is powerful because (beyond even the cross-racial aspect of the relationship) it is so rare to see a genuine bond form between a young man and an older man in our culture. Young Creed's willingness and eagerness to learn from Rocky is intriguing in this movie because of his willingness to love. He not only wants to learn and receive training and skill from Rocky, but he cares about Rock. He moves into Rock's apartment. He helps Rock at his restaurant. He respects Rocky. He partners with Rocky and when Rock wants to give up he forces Rocky to go through chemotherapy and "fight" to stay alive. The way Rocky is willing to just give up on life when he is diagnosed with cancer is really believable. "Everything for me is in the past, kid", he tells his protege Adonis Creed.
At the end of the final fight Rocky asks Creed why he has to go on into the 12th round, what he has to prove, and the kid says "that I'm not a mistake." This is the way that so many young men feel. We feel we have to prove it to our Dads, present or absent, and to the world that we deserve to be here. We feel we have to prove our worth with our accomplishments and actions.
Thankfully our Father God has already said we are good enough. We are approved, not because of our accomplishments, or our intellect or our good deeds, but because of God's love.
If we believe in Jesus: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17
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