New Start - January 7

Strange days in our country and the one thing I know we need to do is to pray.  I know is it hard not to see things through our own particular lens or get completely away from the lens of the media we choose to gain our perspectives.  We won't all agree on the political situation but we can agree to pray for our leaders and our country. The battles described in Joshua may remind us that nations and politics have always been a bit messy. 

Scripture: Joshua 9-11 

Joshua 9:14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.

Observations: 

As I wrestle with the passage of the army of Israel killing everyone in a cities and a nation it can be quite a daunting task.  God seems so cruel and his people so cruel.  I know that God does not need to justify His actions to me.  I realize I was not there and don't know the actions of the people of those nations before God chose to help the Israelites defeat them.  I guess one thing I think about is the reality of the choices we make and the choices that God made.  When he promised Abraham a land and a nation - He knew that there would be people living in that land.  When we make choices and decisions there are always consequences for those choices.  In order to give Israel a Promised Land - someone had to leave or be destroyed. At high school this week I have talked to students about choices - you can chose to do or not to do the work but you do not always get to choose the consequences.

The Israelites got in some trouble by making a treaty with a nation that they thought was far away but was actually close.  Joshua 9:14 says they examined the food that was a gift but failed to consult the Lord.  Many times in my life I have looked at all the outward signs and potential issues about a decision.  I have logically examined the issues.  I may have made a "pros" and "cons" list.  But how easy it is to just fail to consult the Lord. To truly pray about a decision.  To truly ask others for Godly wisdom.  To read the Bible to seek for answers.  

Application: 

I need to keep wrestling with the Bible.  Understanding comes as I continue to ask God the tough questions.  Understanding comes when I seek to see the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New Testament. Believing that God loves and is just.  God is a god who will hold true to His word. 

I need to learn to better hear the voice of God and find ways to listen better.  Both by being a better student of the Bible and a better listener during prayer.  God wants to help me avoid so many bad decisions but at times I miss that because I think I am so smart and I do not need God's help.  

Prayer: 

God I pray that Your Kingdom would come and Your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I praise You, Lord for Your faithfulness to Your people and I pray I would be faithful to You.  Help me to seek for Your wisdom and understanding in all the decisions of my life. 

2021 New Start - January 6

Well it is just like life - I had planned to blog most days of this 21 days to "start 2021 off right"                                                                    and yesterday there we an internet outage in the area.  One thing that is hard to do without internet is to blog.  Sometimes life and the enemy will do just about anything to distract us from our plan.  But God also has a way of making all things new. 

Scripture Reading: Joshua 5-8 

Joshua 5:9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.

Joshua 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

Observations: 

I thought it was interesting the concept that God had of removing the shame from the people of Israel and their slavery in Egypt.  I think also implied there is the shame of 40 years wondering in the wilderness instead of taking hold of the land God had promised.  God's goal was for a fresh new start with the people of Israel and so in order to start something new the shame of the past needed to be let go. Shame is a powerful force in an individual or a nation.  Shame can keep us tied to the past and the failures of the past.  The devil is the master of using shame to keep us from moving forward.  

I also found it interesting how God met with Joshua in a different way as he did with Moses.  Moses was the burning bush experience and Joshua met with the commander of the Lord's army.  Both were reminded they were in the presence of the Lord and so this was holy ground.  I hadn't connected that this encounter with God for Joshua was right before the battle of Jericho. It does not say this in the text but I can imagine the commander of the Lord's army explaining the battle plan to Joshua about marching around the walls.  I mean what a crazy plan.  I can just imagine being Joshua and explaining this plan of action to the people.  Some must have thought he was crazy but it worked.  God's directions may seem crazy in the world's eyes and human logic but when God leads, God provides. 

Application: 

We all have to confront the areas of our past that we experience shame about and let God come and roll away our shame. My tendency is to hide from my past mistakes and failures instead of trying to deal with them.  

God through his Spirit is still providing burning bush or meetings with the commander of God's armies.  We may experience it differently than Moses did or Joshua did, but his communication with us is still clear and powerful. We need to be able to listen and allow God's presence to make our space a holy - shoes off type of place. 

Prayer:

Lord, I confess my feelings of hurt and shame that keep coming up against me and are holding me back from deeper faith in you.  I asked that by Your great power and grace you would roll away the shame from my heart and give me a new beginning in You today.  I ask that you would speak to me today and that I would have ears to hear what your Holy Spirit is communicating to me today. Thank you Father for new beginnings and fresh starts in You. Amen.

2021 New Start

At the beginning of each new year I find it helpful to take some time to devote the year to God and to spend some extra time and energy towards developing my faith.  To me it is recognition that if I have the opportunity to live another year I want to live it for the Kingdom of God and the cause of Christ. So I invite you to join me on the journey for the next 21 days - January 4-24th, 2021.  I like to do some fasting and some designated times of prayer to seek the Lord.  I find that seeking God's blessing and God's favor in these days often leads to selfish pursuits.  I feel like it is best to allow God to determine what I need most in these next 21 days and in the next year.  As I start the journey,  I simply ask God to lead me and then I just need to be obedient to whatever He calls me to do in the next 21 days.  At Faith Community we are on a journey to read through the Bible in 2 years and so for this blog time I will be continuing to follow that scripture reading plan.  I will be reflecting on what God has to say to me through these scriptures. Dialogue and conversation about what God is saying to you would be fun but the most important thing is for you to journey through scripture with the Holy Spirit.  So if this blog helps - great!  If not - no problem and do not feel obligated to read.  I know the process of writing this down will help me if no one else.  I will journal with the SOAP method through these days - Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer.

Scripture Reading - 1 Peter 5

1 Peter 5:6-9 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Observation: Leaders in the church need to watch over people God has entrusted to our care.  Peter speaks here of the term elder and I understand the significance of the role of elder in the church, but I also know that Peter talks about the priesthood of all believers.  So if we have influence over some group of people in the faith,  I believe we can apply these verses to our lives.  As  a leader it is important to lead with a willing spirit.  It is easy to forget leadership is a privilege and not an obligation.  Peter says to lead with an eagerness to serve.  Peter says we must lead by example.  And then Peter reminds us that if we are leading or following in the Kingdom of God we need to do it with humility.  Humility may be my word for the year. Humility is the best way to live in response to God's love and in response to people who are in authority over us in this world.  Humility allows God the opportunity to lift us up at the right time.  The more time I spend exalting myself the less likely God will be able to exalt me at the time He wants to exalt me.  Humility allows me to trust God with my life and my future.  Humility helps us to win the battle with the devil and to stand strong in our faith.  

Application:  I want to stay completely confident in God and humble in spirit.  I need to remember that God's path to significance is not the same as the world's path to significance.  Humility is not an easy concept to practice but it is worthwhile.  I believe human pride is one of the most sneaky and destructive sins in the life of a follower of Jesus.   I know I need to be alert for the battle the enemy is bringing at me.  I know I need to fight the feelings and the voices that say I am alone in my battle.  I have been tempted to say in these days of a pandemic it is hard to start a church in these days.  It is a temptation to point out how much more difficult my journey is than everyone else's journey.  The truth is this pandemic has been hard on a lot of people.  Our job is not to build the church but to humbly be about the work of the Kingdom and God will lift us up at the right time. 

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I would have great confidence in Your power.  I pray for my faith to develop this year as I learn to trust you more completely today.  Lord, I pray that You would continue to teach me to be humble. Lord, help me to be alert and stand against the plans of the devil to destroy and hinder my faith. I pray for those who are part of my family, my church family and for those who need to be connected to you and the family of God.  Amen

Believe!

John 16:9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 

Look at the "sin" of your life through this filter!  What sin or your life do you deal with on an on going basis?  Lying - stealing - lack of forgiveness - prejudice - laziness - addiction - lust - greed - pride - gluttony... the list of potential sins goes on and on!  What do you struggle with the most?  

How could you connect this sin to the core of "refusing to believe"? 

Lying - because we don't really believe truth will set me free

Greed/stealing/gambling - because we don't really believe God will supply

Lack of forgiveness - because we don't really believe God forgives us

Prejudice - because we don't really believe we are created in God's image so we feel better when we treat others as if they are less valuable than we are

Laziness/gluttony  - because we don't really believe there is purpose in life or work 

Addiction - because we don't really believe there is freedom in Christ 

Lust - because we don't really believe God can meet our needs for sex 

Pride - because we don't believe humility will ever pay off 

Maybe if we get to the core of our problem, God might help us actually live in a cycle of victory instead of constant defeat.  If we keep focusing on over coming our particular sin we may never get to the root of the problem!  

2018 Fast - Hard Hearts

Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts.   (Mark 3:4-5a) 

Life is full of situations where we will be criticized.  if you have ever lead any group of people you know the realities of criticism. We also know it because in each of us there is a critic that comes out from time to time to share our insights with others. Jesus also faced critics who didn't believe He was the Son of God or anything good at all.  

Jesus asked his critics if the Sabbath law meant people could not do good on the Sabbath.  Seems like an obvious question.  Jesus was revealing the lack of common sense that the Law of the Jews had come to at this point in history.  A good command of God had become a restriction on even doing good or saving a life.  Good had become evil.  

This broke Jesus' heart because He was able to see the hard heartes of the his critics.  Criticism and hard hearts often go hand in hand.  When we find ourselves being overly critical of others we need to check our hearts and our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit of God.  I break the heart of God when I am hard hearted and critical of others.  When I lack the grace that is needed to deal with other people in a compassionate way I need to pause and check my heart.  

Fasting, Sabbath rest, and all other religious activities can be greatly helpful for our spiritual journey and our connection with God if done with the right heart.  

2018 Fast - New

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”  Mark 2:22 

When Jesus was asked why his disciples didn't fast like the Pharisees and John the Baptist's disciples, Jesus answered there is coming a day when they will fast!  It is a given that we as followers of Jesus will fast!  We will get to a place of desperation for God that we will seek Him through fasting.  For Jesus the question was not will we fast but how will we fast.

One of the ways he taught us about fasting was this simple verse about wine and wineskins.  Jesus was saying that the Good News of the Gospel was so amazingly new that it would no longer fit in the old structure of religion that was in place.  The way of the Pharisees and the way of even John the Baptist would not be enough to contain the new Spirit of God that will be poured out in our lives.   The Spirit will burst the old systems and so we need to start fresh with the new spiritual life from God.  

I have been humored by reading the ways people have tried to define the Daniel Fast for today.  There is a list of things you should eat and shouldn't eat.  If you are really spiritual you will do the Daniel Fast in this way!  I think we need to remember that the Spirit of God is our director of fasting!  Ask the Lord for guidance and He will direct your path into a new way to fast and connect with His Spirit through fasting.  It is okay to get some suggestions and advise from others, but then determine in your heart what you will do and be faithful to do it.  

Fasting is so much more about prayer and connecting with God and His Holy Spirit in our lives than any regulation or rule.  God wants to connect with you and sometimes if you change your rountine to pursue Him you will find some great moments - "God Times!"   

2018 Fast - Isolated Places

Mark 1:35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. 

Isolated places are separated from the normal noise of our lives.  We tend to like keeping busy and keeping our lives full of noise, but there are times when we need to escape from the normal routine and find an isolated place.  Isolated places are quiet.  A place where your phone won't interrupt your time with God in prayer.  A place where you can set aside the schedule and the agenda of the day and focus on God.  

We have to work to find time for isolated places.  Jesus knew he would have to get up early and sneak away to find a quiet place.  I don't think we have to be legalistic about early morning prayer, but we need to realize if we don't give God some time in the morning we may give him the leftovers of our day.  We may find ourselves asking for God's forgiveness for our day instead of asking for God to lead us in our day.  Mornings are a good time for isolated places, but they are not the only time.  Your morning time may just be a moment of surrender and it maybe lunch time, afternoon, or evening before you find a place for isolated prayer.  It won't come naturally at first so you will have to make it happen.  

Isolated places help us to listen to God and learn to hear His voice.  No other skill is more needed in our journey with God than to learn to hear His voice in our prayer time.  It is easy in prayer to get so busy with our agenda we forget to take time to listen to God's agenda. God longs to communicate with everyone if we will only find isolate places to spend time hearing His voice.