Josh1Eight

As Jesus taught in the Synagogue, He likely had another full house due to His miraculous healing ministry. Many who were sick would gladly listen to whatever He had to say if there was a good chance Jesus could heal them. But not everyone had come to listen. The Pharisees had simply come in disbelief looking for a reason to discredit Jesus' ministry. They were still a little ticked from earlier in the week by the fact that Jesus "broke the Sabbath" by eating grain and exempted Himself from their rules by proclaiming Himself "Lord over the Sabbath". Since the Pharisees were the experts on what God could and could not do they reasoned: 1) We know God doesn't work on Saturdays 2) If Jesus performs healing today [on Saturday] it must not be the work of God 3) Therefore cannot be Jesus of God In classic form Jesus decides to not only heal a man's crippled hand right there during service, but He then makes it the object lesson to His sermon! His poin...

"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity." (1 Timothy 2:1, 2 NLT). Like it or not the election of 2012 is over. According to Scripture the "winner" has been put in authority by God (Romans 13:2-3). Democracy or not, only God's vote truly counts. Accordingly we as believers have also been given a responsibility to pray for said President. Regardless of our dissenting views or who fills the office, our job is to pray for him so that our nation can live in peace and godliness. If that doesn't excite us more than the fact that our guy did or didn't win, I think we have a deficient understanding of God's sovereignty and the crucial role we play in leading the nation. The fact is Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king’s heart is like a stream ...

"I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built." (Luke 6:47, 48 NLT) This is probably one of the most key paragraphs in all of Scripture pertaining to living out the Christian life. This entire "sermon" by Jesus is the last in a string of revolutionary statements about true spirituality from the most spiritual Man who ever lived. Keep in mind also that Jesus wasn't addressing the spiritual elite of His day. These were an assortment of regular, everyday men and women, many of whom did not even have a grasp on who God really was (vs. 17). In the most basic terms Jesus spelled out in several ways the simple truth that God desires people to love Him and love others as we would want to be shown love (27-42). But He doesn...

"One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles..." (Luke 6:12, 13 NLT) Jesus prayed. Often. Occasionally He got up before sun up to commune with God the Father. I always wish I could have been a fly on the wall to just listen in on to those prayer meetings to see what "perfect prayer" actually looked like. But then I wonder, "Why did Jesus even need to pray?" Didn't He have the authority to do the works of God kinda on demand? Of course. And yet He prayed more than any man in history. Was He just being a good example? Hardly. Apparently Jesus understood something about prayer that you and I don't. Maybe His "praying" was less about requesting something and more about communing with the very presence of the One who is the source of all things. On this specific occasion Jesus already had a follo...

"Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry." (Luke 4:1, 2 NLT) After Jesus left His encounter with the Holy Spirit by the river, immediately the climate of His life took a turn for the worse. He quickly found Himself smack dab in the middle of an uncomfortable season of life. What happened? God happened. The same Spirit that had only yesterday blessed Him and affirmed His close relationship with God had suddenly made an unexpected "wrong" turn into a radically different season of continual unpleasantness out in the Judean wilderness. God took Jesus into a place where He knew He would be tempted, tested, and tried under crushing circumstances. It puts quite a spin on the whole notion of "lead us not into temptation". Jesus was completely alone. He was in serious need. There we...

"[God] is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. (Luke 3:17, 18 NLT) So this unusual character rolls into town one day. A street-preacher with a "turn or burn" message. What's even more bizarre is that God had actually sent him to deliver this hard core public service announcement. Then along comes Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God. Surely he will set the record straight and tell us all about God's message of love and grace. No wait. Are you serious, Jesus? You actually agree with his message and now You're preaching it Yourself! What's going on here? How can God love us and threaten us all in the same breathe? That doesn't sound like love, it kinda sounds like oratory manipulation and scare tactics. Nobody...

"The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her. At that time Mary got ready and HURRIED to a town in the hill country of Judea..." (Luke 1:35-39 NIV) You have to admit, the writers of Scripture have an annoying tendency to relay supernatural events like they're no big deal. For instance, THE Angel Gabriel appears out of thin air to an innocent teenage girl drops the following bomb shell: 1. You're get pregnant outside of marriage. 2. God Himself is going to cause this to happen. 3. Your Baby is going to be God's but He doesn't f...

"Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” (Luke 1:18-20 NLT) So this guy Zechariah (not to be confused with the Old Testament prophet) was merely doing his priestly duties at the Temple one day when out of nowhere an angel of God appears and begins telling him that God is finally about to answer his prayers for a son. However, Zechariah and his wife are "very old" and he's having trouble wrapping his brain around everything as he attempts to process all that's happening. In his head it probably sounded something like... "Ahhh! What the? Oh my gosh! An angel? Answer my pray...

"He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then Jesus left them AGAIN and prayed the SAME prayer as before. (Mark 14:34-36, 39 NLT) As Jesus arrives in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He is about to be betrayed, falsely accused, rejected, and executed, He stops to pray. In desperation He falls on His face and prays asking for God's help, pleading for help. What's strange is that Jesus prays, "If it is possible....let this cup pass from me." But hold on now, didn't Jesus know everything? Wasn't He perfectly in tune with God? Didn't He already know that such a request wasn't "possible...

"It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him." (Mark 14:1 NLT) At this particular moment in Jesus' life and ministry He was preparing to give His life for the sins of humanity. Ironically enough, verse 1 says that a group of His peers were at that very moment plotting His death. Hang on now. That sounds a lot like first degree murder. What kind of mental disorder would allow someone to justify such a heinous crime? Religion. The very ones that were called and entrusted to lead God's people had bought into the lie that their behavior was somehow justified as the lesser of two evils. Their logic was, "well if it's between allowing Jesus to corrupt Israel with His teaching and killing Him, what choice do we have? From the outside looking in that sounds ludicrous. But when dealing with a Religio...

"When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road." Mark 10:47-52 We all face difficulties in life, some of which are merely cosmetic or superficial. However, sometimes there are serious issues we live with that over time make us feel as of God isn't really paying attention or isn't all that concerned about where we live. Enter Bartimaeus. Born blond...

I love the story of Daniel and the lion's den. Well most of it anyway. Daniel chooses to remain faithful to God despite the efforts of some to outlaw prayer and gets arrested and thrown into a pit full of hungry, angry lions. But miraculously, the next morning, the king races down to the pit only to discover Daniel not only alive but completely unharmed without a scratch! So what does the pagan king do? He praises God! He is so amazed at Daniel's account about the angel appearing and shutting the lion's mouths that He rescues him out of the pit and makes a national declaration that everyone in the kingdom, regardless of his religious or cultural affiliation, should honor and tremble with fear before Daniel's God. The king understood that day that God alone is the true King and rules supreme over all the earth because, "He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of...

Once upon a time there was a man named Nebuchadnezzar. He was the most powerful king who had ever lived and he knew it. He did as he pleased without thinking twice about it. He was a god in his own mind and in the minds of just about everyone else for that matter (on earth anyway). One night he had a nightmare and shot out of bed in search of the meaning. Only one man had answers. His name was Daniel. He revealed the secrets of the king's dream and gave him a warning from Almighty God to turn from his evil ways and repent of his sins. But Nebuchadnezzar went about his business as usual. A full year later as he strolled through the top of his penthouse, he began congratulating himself on his successes and reflecting on how he was a "self-made" man. Little did he know what was about to happen next. God had plans for Nebuchadnezzar. In His sovereign power He transformed the King's mind into that of a wild animal, drove him from society like a madman, and forced him...

From the very onset of His ministry, Jesus was a tad unorthodox. He wasn't very old (only about 30) and He had no formal religious training. Although Jesus was in many ways very ordinary, He had a very extraordinary walk with God. In one of His very first sermons at the local Synagogue Jesus gets interrupted by a guy in the back row who is ranting and screaming like a madman. Come to find out the guy was demon-possessed. Awesome. But instead of allowing this distraction to totally derail the service, Jesus does something incredible. He commands the demon to get the "hell" out of there (literally). But hang on now. What was the devil doing at church in the first place? Doesn't he hate being in the presence of God? Who invited this demon into God's house? Not only that, this was a spiritual gathering of God's holy people who had come to worship. What's crazy is that this is one of the very first things Jesus does in this gospel to start His ministry....

(Disclaimer: this is a bizarre illustration that I don't take credit for and not necessarily one I would have picked, but then again I wasn't asked to be part of the Bible Writing Team and therefore all ideas expressed in this note are all originally God's, which are hilarious). God basically tells the prophet Jeremiah, "Hey, go buy some new underwear [boxers or briefs are not specified]" and then put them on, but don't wash them." (Jeremiah 13:1-2). God then directs Jeremiah to take off the dirty drawers and take them down to the river, dig a hole, and bury them. Pausing to comment, that's pretty weird. Imagine hearing God's instructions for you to take off your dirty underwear and go bury it in a very public place. Just a little embarrassing? Probably very. Jeremiah walks away from that experience shaking his head and thanking God for humbling him AGAIN and making him the laughing stock of the town. Oh but it gets better, God comes to Jeremiah...

"Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 NLT) If you've ever had a great movie ruined by a terrible ending, this post is dedicated to you. From beginning to end, the life Jesus recorded in the gospels is the most fascinating story ever written. That is until the very end. If I'm being honest, and I usually am, I hate the ending of the gospels because it never really wraps things up. For instance, let's suppose that you went to see a movie with a friend not knowing any...

"They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ (Matthew 27:63 NLT) It never really occurred to me in the account of Jesus burial some of the details surrounding the Pharisees' request for guards to be posted by the tomb. In their own words they said, "we remember that He said 'After three days I will rise from the dead.'" (vs. 63). How is it that the Pharisees remembered Jesus' own teaching better than His disciples? The disciples themselves almost seemed to have forgotten that He had ever even mentioned coming back from the dead (which you gotta admit is a pretty huge detail to overlook). While all the disciples are hiding out depressed and hopeless, not even Joseph of Arimathea seemed to have any recollection of Jesus' resurrection prediction. Instead, he went through a lot of time and money to see that He had a proper burial. But again, why go through all ...

"When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:20-21 NLT) This has to be one of the most tense moments in all of Scripture. Jesus is eating the Passover, the most sacred of meals, with His disciples, His closest companions. There is friendship, worship, and intimacy the likes of which most humanity will never know this side of eternity. Then almost out of nowhere, in the middle of dinner, Jesus pauses. A distressed look crosses His face as He turns to His disciples and drops the bomb, "one of you is about to betray me". Suddenly the room grows silent. Every face turns pale. Nobody even flinches. Enter the question, "so who is it?" This burning question instantly runs through the mind of everyone in the room; everyone except Judas that is. You can cut the tension in the room with a knife as the disciples' eyes carefully lock ...

(Disclaimer: This post is in no way intended to be sacrilegious or offensive, only biblical.) So a few moments ago this little booklet appears on my front door, full of Bible verses about God promises of salvation through Jesus. Now on one hand, I gotta give some level of respect to the guy who took the time out of his day to distribute religious literature written in 400-year-old English to a complete stranger, in the summer, in Texas. On the other hand, one particular page in the booklet has a brief "sinner's prayer" (I think Paul or Peter coined the term) that got under my skin. In the prayer a seemingly magical formula includes the phrase "I now receive Jesus into my heart" assuring the prayee eternal salvation. Now first off the above phrase "receive Jesus into your heart" (an excerpt from one of Jesus' famous sermons I think), although a very popular theory, is a misguided theological error. When I think of asking Jesus into my heart I ...

"And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27, 28 NLT). Throughout this letter the author of Hebrews repeatedly makes the case that Jesus is the supreme fulfillment of all that the Old Testament spoke of and the sole provider of eternal salvation. First of all that's not surprising given that it is the Bible and all. But here in verse 27 he highlights a very simple truth about life that we can't afford to miss: You Only Live Once. Of course, lots of people love nothing more than to use this overly done phrase as an excuse to do whatever the heck they want in the face of all logic and common sense without so much as a second thought about the eternal consequences of their choices. However, in light of the fact that we are o...

This parable about 10 bridesmaids was used by Jesus as an illustration about being ready for His return with the said moral of the story ending with vs. 13 "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return." Basically there are 10 girls waiting up for the groom to arrive at the wedding feast. The groom takes longer than expected and doesn't arrive til late at night. Upon his arrival they all eagerly jump out of their sleeping bags ready to receive him, however only 5 of the girls thought ahead and brought extra oil for their lamp (or extra batteries for their flashlights). While the other 5 scramble in the dark, the prepared girls quickly follow the groom into the house for the feast while the rest ran off to radio shack thereby missing their opportunity. So what? Well, Jesus is making a comparison between those who are truly ready for His return and those who only think they're ready; point being: which one are you? In Jesus...

“I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear. I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them. “And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. In this way, they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my peopl...

“Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live. For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will ...

"For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time."(Matthew 24:24, 25 NLT) This is the second time in the same chapter Jesus has warned His followers about the very real danger that will stem from those giving false representations of true faith during the last days. One such warning ought to concern us; two warnings ought to alarm us. Before the end comes, believers will face the threat of false prophets and false messiahs. At first glance it's easy to dismiss these verses as if they only apply to "those people". You know, those poor misguided victims of cults who are hopelessly deluded by an obviously devious leader with a criminal record. But if there was no real danger, Jesus wouldn't have warned us repeatedly to keep our guard up. But I don't think Jesus had only "those people" in mind. Remembe...

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you...And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other...But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:4, 10, 13 NLT) In one of His most perplexing and final teachings, Jesus makes a few astounding predictions about the end of the world. But the very first thing He does is give a warning for those who claim to follow Him to be cautious. But seriously, I mean how dangerous can following Jesus really be? Apparently, if we're not careful, it can be quite deadly and hazardous to our own faith and to the faith of others. How so? No one truly follows Christ in complete isolation from His living, human Body. Therefore, there is always real danger in following Christ due to the fact Christianity is inherently a community-driven movement. Consequently, following Jesus requires following others and being led by other fallen human beings, who have the same capacity for failure as we do. The very fact that there a...

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. (Matthew 23:37 NLT) The title of this passage in my Bible reads "Jesus criticizes the religious leaders". I think that may well be greatest understatement in the entire Bible. Jesus isn't giving a mild commentary of his dislike of the Pharisees. And what you say has set Him off? Jesus is outraged at the effects the hypocrisy and religious oppression of the Pharisees has had on the people, His people. Verse 37 puts it all in perspective. Jesus compared the anger He felt towards those who were harming His children to a mother hen longing to gather in her chicks to protect them from danger. While first off that may sound like a weak illustration, listen again to what He's saying here. If you're a glutton for punishment, you should attempt to sepa...

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God...haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? (Matthew 22:29, 31) If the Gospels had been written like a sitcom, this chapter would be a classic episode. Now that Jesus had gained quite a following and was now a threat to those with the most power to lose, three of the most influential political and religious groups in Jerusalem suddenly descend on Jesus hoping to ambush Him like a bunch of shady reporters in hopes of getting a sound bite they can use against Him. But like a skilled debater, Jesus single-handedly dismantles their arguments in a matter of seconds and then shifts to the offensive with a few questions of His own by turning the tables back on his opponents (kinda like that angry Temple clearing in John 2 but with more sarcasm and less rage). But I think the best part of the story is when He shuts down the Saduccees' no-resurrection theory with responses...

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1) ..."If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently." (Romans 8:24-25 NLT) The Bible is clear: faith is made up of the things we hope for but do not yet possess. For instance, when we have hope in God's promises yet to be fulfilled, we confidently believe they will happen and that God will take care of things. But until we see it actually happen, those promises remain shrouded in our hope in who God is and His ability to make good on what He has said. But it's easy sometimes to get impatient waiting on a hope we cannot see. We secretly wish God would just show up help us out already. But say God answers you today and your hope finally became reality. Then what? What follows is typically not good. As soon ...

"...He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV) Never say never when it comes to this promise from God. While we don't always perceive it, it is nevertheless true. Scripture tells us that He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and that His perspective on our lives is infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:6-8), so when God says to you "I will never leave you or forsake you", He means it, because only He can see everything completely as things really are. The reason He promises to never leave us is because our perception of reality is less than perfect; in fact, it's far from it. Who hasn't ever wondered if God was still there during a difficult season of life? We often question this promise when circumstances of life are shouting that God is nowhere to be found. The thing about feelings though is this- ...

"As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” (Matthew 20:17-19 NLT). Jesus often spoke in mysterious parables leaving a lot of people scratching their heads. But every once in a while He took His disciples aside and spoke as clear as day. Just a few weeks before His death, Jesus pulled His disciples aside and explained to them in explicit detail what was about to happen to Him and how His imminent murder was all part of God's will. I imagine the disciples with a glazed look over their faces nodding silently in agreement with absolutely no clue as to the significance abou...

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one." (Ezekiel 22:30) It's no wonder why God would not sit by while His people sinned. It's not like they occasionally misbehaved; they were completely corrupt. In chapter 22 He gives a short list of how bad things really were: murder, disrespecting parents, oppressing poor orphans and widows, idol worship, violating the Sabbath, lying in court, rampant adultery and sexual immorality, extortion, and many other sins. Since God is no hypocrite, He couldn't just overlook Israel's blatant rebellion. But before He decreed their destruction, He first scoured the city for someone to intervene. Just like Moses averted God's judgment by His prayers (Psalm 106:23), all God needed now was someone to pray. If He could just secure one individual to pray for this "lost c...