I Need To Share!

 

“I just had to do it…”  Have you ever said those words?  Maybe, you saw a great looking dessert and you just had to taste it.  Forget the diet you were trying to keep it just looked too good and you had to try it.  Perhaps it was something at the store that caught your eye that you said you just had to buy it.  This item would make your life so much easier, or you think it would be great for someone you love, and you just had to buy it for them.  Or, on a particularly difficult day you see an opportunity to cheat, steal, or get away with something, and you just had to do it.  You just had to.  There are times when we feel so compelled to act, we claim we had no choice.  It was almost necessary for life.  At least it felt that way at the time.  There is a verse in the book of 1 Corinthians where the Apostle Paul declares his need to do something.  He has to do it!  He must!  It is necessary for life!  Let’s read this short passage and see what that thing is that Paul has to do.

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

             ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Things to think about:

·         The greater context of this passage is about getting paid to preach the gospel.  He is making the case that preachers, evangelists, missionaries, should be paid for the work they are doing.  But, he does NOT receive any money for sharing the gospel because he doesn’t want to send the message that he is in it for the money.  He doesn’t want to give an opportunity for people to accuse him of selfish motives in preaching the gospel.

·         Within that context Paul reveals his heart and his motivation.  He must share the gospel!  That is his heart’s desire.  What he longs to do more than anything else.  Almost as if he says, “I have to do it!”  Why do you think Paul found it “necessary” to share the gospel?

·         Do you feel the same necessity to share the gospel?  Would you ever cry out, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel?”  Is that a cry of every Christian, or just the professional preachers?

·         Paul did whatever it took to reach people with the good news of Jesus.  Why?  What are you willing to do to bring the good news of salvation to those who need to hear it most? 

·         Paul revealed some of his motivation in sharing the gospel.  How does he “share in the blessing” with those who hear the gospel?  Have you ever presented the gospel and shared in the blessing with the person who heard it? 

·         May we be people compelled to preach the gospel and feel like we have to do it!  May we share in the blessing of all those who believe! 

Buried and Raised With Him

 

This week I have the great privilege of baptizing a student in our youth ministry.  It is always a joy to participate in a baptism, and this one is especially memorable because I have known this student since she was born.  To watch someone grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord is like watching a slow-motion miracle.  A great privilege indeed!  I had this student read through Romans 6 as they prepare for baptism.  So, I thought it might be a good idea to remind us all what is being celebrated during a baptism ceremony.  There are plenty of verses to look at and this is certainly not an exhaustive discussion on baptism, but here is one passage and a few thoughts regarding the topic.

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Things to think about:

·         This passage starts and ends with the discussion of sin.  Should we continue to sin once we belong to Christ?  Notice it doesn’t say “will we sin” because the answer to that question is of course we will – see chapter 7 of Romans.  The question is “should we continue to sin?”  Should we think sinning is okay?  Should we not care about sin?  Should we be proud of our sin?  Great questions and ones the Apostle Paul wants to answer by using baptism as the answer.

·         He proclaims, “no we should not sin anymore because we are dead to sin.”  How are we dead to sin?  Well, he says, you were united to Christ when he died to sin so you are dead to sin.  When you place your faith in Jesus Paul wants you to imagine yourself glued to Jesus, united to him in some way.  So, when Jesus died on the cross, you died.  When he was buried, you were buried.  When he rose from the dead, you rose from the dead!  This is amazing! 

·         Read those few verses again.  What questions do you have about being united to Christ by faith?

·         How can we walk in newness of life like we are commanded to do in verse 4?

·         How does our physical baptism represent this unity with Jesus?  Being dunked under water (dying and being buried), then coming up out of the water (raising from the dead). 

·         Because sin died with Jesus, I am no longer a slave to it.  Instead, I am a slave to righteousness and joy in the Lord in his grace.  How can you walk in this freedom today?

·         Rejoice with others that have proclaimed this truth through baptism.  If you have any questions about baptism or how to be united to Christ by faith feel free to reach out. 

When Evil Seems To Win

 

Why does evil seem to win?  At times do you feel like the wicked get away with everything?  The world appears to be sprinting toward destruction and you feel left behind looking in at a helpless situation.  You start to ask questions like, “where is God? Why is the Lord allowing such evil?  How can this be?”  Whether you look world politics like the situation in Ukraine, or watch one night of your local news, it seems like evil and sin are standing triumphant over peace, love, and righteousness.  Where should we turn when the world seems so broken?  Glad you asked.  This feeling is not new to our time.  Throughout human history people have been asking, “where is God?”   Since the garden of Eden it has appeared that sin would win, that Satan would have his trophy of a world in disobedience to the Lord.  But, it only appears that way!  God is still in control.  Jesus still reigns as King!  There is still a plan.  The game is not over yet, the final chapter has not been written, and the end has not come.  Let’s look at a Psalm that was written when King David was asking some of the same questions.  He was running for his life, he was betrayed, and it felt as if unrighteousness would win the day.  Let’s see how he responded to his own questions.

Psalm 52

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
² Your tongue plots destruction,
    like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
³ You love evil more than good,
    and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
⁴ You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

⁵ But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
⁶ The righteous shall see and fear,
    and shall laugh at him, saying,
⁷ “See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

⁸ But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
⁹ I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
    in the presence of the godly.

Things to think about:

·       Have you ever noticed how much evil tends to boast?  When the bad guy gets away with something they have to brag about it don’t they?  I wonder if that is because even the evil know their victory will be short lived so they have to make the most of it when it happens?  They know they will not stand victorious forever and one day they will face eternal judgment, so better make this moment count.  Just a thought…

·       Even when evil seems to win, what does David say?  What does he hold onto?  “The steadfast love of God endures all the day.”  May that be your rallying cry when evil seems to win in your life.  Lean into the steadfast love of God.  Trust in it when you don’t see it.  Hold onto the love of God when all else seems to fail.  God’s love is steadfast and sure.  It will not disappoint you!

·       I don’t know if we need to laugh at the destruction of people like David says in verse 6…but what we will be laughing at is the destruction of evil itself.  One day, all that is wrong with this world will be destroyed.  One day all that is destructive, harmful, shameful, corrupt, and broken will be done away with.  We will be laughing, not at the plight of the wicked, but at the joy that will come from all things wicked being removed.  Oh what joy shall we have when there is no sin to weigh us down, when relationships are restored, forgiveness is embraced, and love is bursting forth from every person for all of eternity!  That will cause us to laugh. 

·       I love how this Psalm ends.  “I will wait for your name…”  Whatever you are doing today you can wait for the Lord.  Waiting for the Lord can be difficult at times.  But, it is always worth it!  As we watch the world spiral out of control, wait for the Lord.  When your mind is full of questions, wait for the Lord.  When you don’t know what else to do, wait for the Lord.  God is good.  God is faithful.  His steadfast love will carry your through and lead you home.  In the midst of our trials his love wins the day.  May we never forget!

Roller Coaster of Life

 

      Do you like roller coasters?  I know they are not for everyone, but I enjoy a good roller coaster.  One of my favorites is called the Monster at Adventureland in Iowa.  It is also Judah’s favorite and I think we like it for the same reasons.  It is a smooth ride, but filled with incredible heights, multiple upside down loops, and all sorts of fun twists and turns.  The beginning of the ride is the most frightening as you climb at a 90 degree angle straight up to the sky then lean over and come straight down in a freefall.  Anyway, you should check it out some time.  Roller coasters are fun.  Do you ever feel like your life is on a roller coaster?  Are you ready to get off?  Ready for the ride to slow down, smooth out, get less frightening?  Do you ever just want a break?  Maybe your relationships are on a roller coaster of emotion with friends coming and going, trust being built then broken, up and down in this life.  The roller coaster of life isn’t always fun.  

    Today, I want to look at a Psalm written for those times when you feel like getting off the roller coaster.  In this Psalm you see the author experience the reality of life, give himself comfort and reminders of the goodness of God, but also question his own heart and soul.  The Bible is not afraid of your roller coaster; God knows what you are going through and how life is often out of control.  Let’s read this Psalm and find some balance to the chaos we are experiencing today.

Psalm 43

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
² For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

³ Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

Things to think about:

•          The author cries our for God to vindicate him against his enemies who falsely accuse him and scheme against him.  This is important for us to remember; sometimes in life the only one who really knows the truth is God…and that is okay.  Don’t let the lies of the evil one or anyone else pull you down.  God knows.  He knows your heart, your actions, your intentions.  He knows.  Lots of the dips in the roller coaster of life might be smoothed out by us remembering that simple truth.

·         I love verse 2 because it is so real.  Here is what it says, “For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?”  God is the one we go to when we are hurting.  He is there to be our strength.  He is our shield and protector…yet the reality of this psalm is that at times we feel like God has rejected us.  Wow!  But, remember this is just a feeling.  The reality is that God has not abandoned us, he has not rejected us.  Read Romans 8 as a quick reminder that God is for you! 

·         When the light seems to be turned off and all hope is lost pray for God to send his light into your life and his truth to come overwhelm your soul.  Ask God to get you out of the current valley you are in, to walk with you and keep the roller coaster going.  Pray for God to bring you up out of that valley to join him in his very presence.  Then God will be your exceeding joy as you praise him.

·         Verse 4 is the top of the roller coaster when you are loving the Lord and praising his name, then you crash into verse 5…  “Why are you cast down, O my soul…” If God is so good why do I feel like at times he isn’t there for me?  Why do I still get sad?  Why am I still struggling?  Why is life still so difficult?  This roller coaster of life is not over and we continually have to trust in God.  This is how the Psalmist ends this psalm.  Hope in God! 

·         Wherever you find yourself of today’s roller coaster – Hope in God!  Are things really good right now?  Hope in God!  Are you at the bottom and life seems out of control?  Hope in God!  If God feels close, hope in God.  Does God feel distant?  Hope in God.  I think you get the point of the Psalm…hope in God!  May that be true of all of us today.  God bless.

Turn Your Mourning Into Joy

 

Is there anything to rejoice in today?  If you watch the news, you might not think there is much.  If you have been walking through a season of suffering then rejoicing in anything seems impossible.  But, I believe the Lord can turn our weeping into joy.  Just like he can calm a storm, heal the sick, create the world and all that is in it, Jesus can turn your mourning into joy.  (Jeremiah 31:13)  There is a fun story of weeping and rejoicing from the book of Nehemiah that helps prove my point.

History:

·         Nehemiah was leading the people of God (Israelites) after their captivity in Babylon.  Jerusalem had been destroyed, the temple burned, most of the people killed, yet a small remnant of Jews had survived in Babylon as slaves (think Esther, Daniel and his friends, etc.). 

·         Nehemiah worked for the King in Persia and asked to go back to his homeland to see how the city was fairing.  Not good was the answer.  Nehemiah lead the effort to build the wall around Jerusalem and return the people to the Lord. 

·         They had lived many years with no priests, no Word of God, no prophets, and no direction holding on by prayer and faith.  Nehemiah gathers the people in Jerusalem and they read the book of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy). 

·         When the law is read and the people start to have understanding a wave of sadness rushes over everyone because they saw how far they fell short.  They saw how disobedient they had been.  They were afraid of the wrath of God and the consequences to their sins.  They felt guilty, felt shame, and were certainly afraid of what would happen next.  But, the Lord had other plans.  Let’s take a look.

Nehemiah 8:8-18

⁸ They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

⁹ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

¹³ On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. ¹⁴ And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. ¹⁸ And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Things to think about:

·         Have you ever told someone to stop crying?  How did that work out for you?  But, here Nehemiah and the leadership tell the crowd to stop crying, stop mourning, instead find joy for this day is holy.  How did they find joy in the midst of all that “bad news?”

·         They not only told them to stop crying, but they instructed them how to rejoice.  Go, have a feast!  Eat!  Sing! Drink wine!  Let the joy of the Lord be your strength.  I think sometimes when we are in the midst of depression or sadness it would be wise for us to take a break from the pain and rejoice in the Lord.  Sing a happy song in God.  Enjoy a nice meal with people you love.  Thank God for all the good things in life.  Our rejoicing doesn’t negate the sadness or dishonor the pain we are enduring, but it does put it in perspective.  These people had lived through a lot!  Yet, they still found joy in the Lord.  Regardless of your circumstances today I encourage you to find joy in the Lord, for he is still good!

·         I like their camping trip celebration.  The feast of booths was set up for the people as a reminder of how God rescued them out of Egypt and they had to live in tents traveling the wilderness on the way to the promised land.  They were to remember that adventure every year by spending a few nights in tents outside, a physical reminder of the experience of their ancestors and God’s faithfulness.  Here they were hundreds of years later and the text says they had never obeyed that rule up until that point.  Yikes!  That is a lot of disobedience from God’s people.  But, here is God full of forgiveness and grace.  He reminds them of his provision and forgiveness in the past to reassure them that he is a God who does not change and will be full of grace and forgiveness for the future.  That causes much rejoicing!  For a whole week they celebrated the Lord.  May we live this week in an attitude of celebration finding joy in the God who loves you, the God who delights in you, the God who forgives you in Jesus Christ.  May we rejoice in Him today.

Goodbye Friend - Hello Hope

   

  A friend of mine died recently.  I have known him for years and I am close to the family.  It was sad to see him go.  He will be missed.  I had the privilege to officiate the funeral this past weekend and one passage that I didn't include in the service but was a passage rattling around in my mind comes from John chapter 11.  In this chapter a friend of Jesus name Lazarus gets sick and dies.  Let's take a look at this passage of scripture and see if we can find some encouragement, even in the face of death.

John 11:1-44

 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” 

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” 

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” 

Things to think about:

• Notice how Lazarus is described to Jesus in verse 3, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." Do you think someone would describe you that way to the Lord. "Look, Lord, the one whom you love is having a hard day...Lord the one whom you love just got fired...Lord the one whom you love is crying out to you again. I think this is how Jesus sees you today, the one whom he loves.
• Jesus could have made it back in time to heal Lazarus, but he chose to stay away. He allowed him to die in order to perform the greater miracle and teach the greater lesson of bringing him back from the dead. I wonder how often the Lord delays answering our prayers or chooses not to act in order to perform the greater miracle we aren't even asking for?
• Martha had faith in the Lord, but could not see how that faith worked itself out in her situation. I have faith like Martha sometimes too. I believe God is good, I believe he can perform miracles, I believe he is at work...I just don't see how it will work out this time. May we all be in awe of Jesus who knows what he is doing and who truly is the resurrection and the life.
• The shortest verse in all the Bible is here in this passage when he sees the pain, hears the cries, and feels the hurt of loss. Two little words - "Jesus wept." When we are in our troubles and pain, when we have to say goodbye to those we love. When we are surrounded by others in grief, it is okay to weep. It is okay to cry and to be sad over the pain of death. Jesus wept and he still weeps with us in our pain.
• From two simple words of Jesus' pain to three incredible words of his authority. Verse 43, "...Lazarus, come out!" Now, we can have hope. Jesus is able to cut through the pain and provide life to the dead, hope to the hurting, joy to the depressed. He brings hope in a new life in him when we stand by the grave of a friend. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. May we turn to him today and trust in his authority to look into our grave and say, "Come out!" Oh, what a day that will be!

Fat, Feces and Funny

 Yesterday I had the opportunity to be the bus driver for some of our school age children at the childcare.  After picking 4 kids up from school they were surprised to see me driving the van rather than their normal bus driver and in their excitement they shouted, "yeah, Pastor Josh, tell us some Bible stories!"  Well, if that doesn't make your day I don't know what does.  After a few different stories in the van one child asked, what is your favorite Bible story?  Well, besides the awesome story of Jesus and his death and resurrection, which I had already discussed, I said, "Oh, well that is easy, I am a youth pastor after all so my favorite story has to be about the really fat king who was killed by the lefthanded man and when the king died he pooped all over himself."  Yeah, I went there.  Instead of hearing how I would tell it, read it for yourself: 

Judges 3:12-30

² And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹³ He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. ¹⁴ And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵ Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. ¹⁷ And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. ¹⁹ But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. ²⁰ And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. ²¹ And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. ²² And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. ²³ Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

²⁴ When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” ²⁵ And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

²⁶ Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. ²⁸ And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. ²⁹ And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. ³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

Things to think about:

• Ok, I hope you enjoyed that story as much as I did.  I hope it leaves you with many questions, one of which must be, "what in the world is God doing here and why did he include this story with these details in the Bible to be preserved for all of eternity?"  Good question.  
• The book of Judges has a recycling theme of disobedience, destruction/occupation/suffering, cry for deliverance, rescue, peace, then back to disobedience, etc.  This is one of the first stories of that cycle showing the mercy of God contrasted with the hard hearted nature of the Israelites.  
• Notice how the story starts - "the people did what was evil in the sight of God..." so then God strengthens Israel's enemies.  God gave power to the enemy, gave them strength, caused them to grow in their power over the Israelites.  In that moment God was on the side of the Moabites...at least on a surface level on their side.  When we are actively sinning against God do you think he strengthens our enemies?  Does God fight against us?  He does not want us to stay in our sin, so if it takes suffering and pain to break us out and bring us to a place of desperation then that is loving and kind for him to do.  "It is for discipline that you have to endure.  God is treating you as sons.  For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"  Hebrews 12:7
• Do you think God put this story in here to be an encouragement for all the left-handed people of the world? God is saying, "you left-handed children of mine are valuable too.  You may not be able to write with a pencil and not smudge everywhere, but you do have a purpose."  I don't know, maybe.  :)  
• I am not sure what great theological significance it was that Eglon the king was so fat the sword was swallowed by his stomach or that when he died the poop came out...and then the great awkward is awesome moments of the guards waiting to go inside because they thought the kings was on the toilet giving time for Ehud to escape and rally an army to go fight and kill 10,000 Moabites.  God deals in the real world with real people.  These stories are not glamorized or made into fictional retellings or myths.  Eglon was just a really fat guy.  Ehud was left-handed.  And God used normal, although awkward, life circumstances to accomplish his purposes.  So, maybe here is a question for you to consider.  Your life is not a movie, not a book, not a fictional glamorized version of reality.  You get sick, you fall short, you mess up, you say dumb things, and yet - God can still work through the reality of your life to accomplish his purposes.  You are not called to destroy 10,000 Moabites, but you are called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind AND called to love your neighbor as yourself.  You are called to make disciples of all the nations.  You are called to serve, to sacrifice, to forgive, and to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.  Yes, you in your normal life filled with real things like fat and feces.  God doesn't mind getting messy so let him get messy with you.  

Have a great week

Shockwave of Life

 Have you ever felt a shockwave?  Maybe you got a little too close to a firework on July 4^th and you not only heard the explosion; you felt it!  Perhaps you have been near a plane that broke the sound barrier and you felt that wave of energy flow right through your body.  Or maybe you were swimming in a pool, and someone launched themselves off the diving board doing a cannon ball right next to your head.  Shockwaves are the side effects or after effects of a major event.  We should expect a shockwave after the most amazing event in all of human history, the death of Jesus Christ.  We read of just such a shockwave in the book of Matthew from the New Testament.  

Background:

We are picking up the story as Jesus is already hanging on the cross paying the price for the sins of all those who would trust in Him.  He was beaten, abused, mocked, and maligned.  Now, we see the final moments of his life and Matthew records the shockwave of that life shattering event.  Here is what he says...

Matthew 27:45-54

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Things to think about:

• The Jewish people started counting the hours of the day from daybreak or about 6:00am so the sixth hour of the day was around noon.  For three hours in the middle of the day the sky goes dark.  This was no eclipse that lasted two minutes.  It wasn't cloud cover.  The sun wasn't setting behind some tall mountain.  With very little explanation the Bible just tells us the sky went dark.  How dark?  Was it dark around the entire world or just in Israel?  Was it only a perceived darkness for the people present at the crucifixion or was it a physical miracle that God did for the planet.  Either way it was a working of the Lord to illustrate the darkness of sin that has been hanging over mankind since the Garden of Eden.  Sin leads to death and death is separation from the Lord.  This darkness is a shockwave of the darkness of sin destroying the Son of God who is light itself.  For the moment it seems as if darkness has won, as if sin has had the final victory, and death stands triumphant for all of eternity.  If death could kill Jesus who is "the life" then who could possibly stop it?
• As Jesus makes his final cry and gives up his spirit it would seem like the story was over.  Humanity was a tragedy from the beginning and this is how it ends with the death of hope, the death of our savior, the death of our champion.  The shockwave of this event explodes out into human history and continues to effect all of creation.  As the shockwave started its journey 2,000 years ago Matthew gives us a few illustrations of what this death actually accomplishes.  All is not lost!  There is hope yet to come!  Read verses 51-54 again.
• The curtain of the temple was town in two.  The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the people of God.  God was too holy to be near the people and out of his love he created a barrier so that the priests would not be consumed by his presence.  Now that curtain was torn in two opening the way to an intimacy with the Lord that was impossible before.  Jesus paid the price.  He died in our place.  He has the power to make us holy and bring us to the Lord without fear of being consumed.  Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us to approach the throne of God with confidence and walk right through that torn curtain into the very presence of God and all of his glory.  Because of Jesus we can enter in and stand righteous before the Lord.  That is a shockwave that travels through space and time to secure our place for all of eternity.  
• The tombs were opened and dead people came to life!  Matthew is the only gospel that records this unique and crazy part of the story.  They all record Jesus coming back to life on the third day, but here Matthew includes this little extra bit of information as another illustration of the shockwave of life that exploded from that event.  Jesus literally broke death.  For a moment death lost its grip on some people and boom, there they were waking up in graves after being dead for who knows how long.  Could you imagine eating breakfast one day and here comes grandma walking down the street after you buried her 8 months ago?  She just walks in, sits down, and says, "oh I have a story for you..."  Jesus, the life, explodes out of the grave and the shockwave of life brought people out of the tombs.  May that be an example for you to follow as the life of Jesus can explode in you and give you hope that one day you too will pop up out of your grave and be with Jesus forever.  
• The centurion assigned to make sure Jesus was dead and oversee this brutal act was so overwhelmed at the scene even he was filled with awe and proclaimed a truth that changes the world.  "Truly this was the Son of God!"  May the shockwave of that truth ring in your ears today as you ponder the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember Death

     You would think that something so common, so built into the fabric of life, so "in our face" could ever be forgotten.  How could you forget death?  We see death every day.  Whether it is the death of a squirrel in the road, a bug smashed under your shoe, a flower wilting in the sun, or a loved one in a hospital bed, an unexpected phone call bearing terrible news, or the slow fade of your life as you look into the mirror and see age slowly steal your youth and energy.  We see death all the time, yet we often forget about it.  We push it aside in our mind and are genuinely surprised every time it rears its ugly head.  How could this happen?  Not me?  Not him?  Why now?  Why in that way?  As if we thought we would be the ones who could escape it, hide from it, or ignore it long enough and it would go away.  But, there it stands; death.  I apologize about being so morbid, but unless we face death we can never look beyond it to the hope that lives on the other side.  So, let's read through Psalm 90 together as Moses contemplates death and see if we can see the hope that he was so desperate to find.  

Psalm 90

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4  For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6  in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Things to think about:

• The Psalm starts with a view from God's perspective. God does not die. He does not face an end nor did he have a beginning. He is. How might that truth of God's eternal existence give us comfort in our reality of facing death?
• Moses hints at it, but doesn't go into all the detail of why we have death. In verse 7 he says we are brought to an end because of the Lord's anger and we face his wrath. As we look at death let us never forget why there is death in this world. Our sin. The punishment for sin is death, always has been, always will be. Sin leads to death. So, before we shake our fist at God and cry out for justice let us remember death is the justice of God for our rebellion against him.
• When we learn to number our days and "remember death" like instructed in verse 12 we can grow in wisdom. The fool skips along toward their doom while the wise understands the reality of their enemy, death, and searches for something or someone that can defeat it.
• Moses was looking for hope and knew to look to the Lord. We have the blessing of seeing more of the story so when we remember death and look to the Lord we can see the answer. One has come who defeated death, defeated sin, and now gives eternal life. His name is Jesus Christ! Through his death on the cross and his resurrection to new life he gives us hope to see past our own death to the life we can live with him. My prayer is that as you look at death today, wherever you may see it, your eyes would lift and you would see the one who conquered death and who stands in victory. Therefore, hope in him and find life.