6/29 - Thought for Today

Yesterday's sermon at my church was entitled "It Requires More." Our pastor spoke about how we don't get the results we desire from God, but continue to offer Him the same routine of prayer and sacrifice. The same once/day morning prayer, the same praise, the same offering, the same standard of living. There's been a lot on my heart lately - family issues, the baby, work, friends who are lost, and I've been asking a lot more from God. But I haven't really offered Him more. Now I don't believe in simple retribution (the belief that it's a one-to-one trade-off between you and God) because that would undermine His grace and bring us back under the law. But I believe that fostering a good relationship requires effort by both parties involved. Above all, this is a relationship with our Creator and giving more of ourselves goes beyond a requirement - we should do it because He's worthy.

In Matthew 17: 14-21, Jesus heals an epileptic after the disciples were unable to. When they asked why they couldn't, He tells them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." To these men, who had been with Jesus everyday over an extended period of time, who had given up everything to follow Him, He basically told them, "it requires more." We could never do enough to repay God for what He's done but we can at least give Him our best.

God forgive me for offering You anything less than the best I have. Grant me the desire to offer more of myself to you - in study, in prayer & in deed. God you're worthy of my best and I sincerely want to give it to you. Remove any complacent and idle spirit within me that would choose TV over You. Thank you for another day and let me live this day totally dedicated and focused on You.

6/27 - Ephesians 1

(I may have posted this vid before, but it's worth watching again if I have :-)...)

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves" (v. 4-6)

Before God created all this, this expansive universe which, even after seeing this video, is difficult to comprehend, the verse says that God chose us. Isn't that crazy to think about? Watching that video I couldn't help but to consider my relative size and significance in that whole system of planets & galaxies. But it was His pleasure to hand pick me before this magnificent creation as evidence for His love for me. Even as I write this I still find it hard to internalize.

Paul lays out for us in this chapter an outline for our salvation: first that we were predestined for salvation (v. 5), redeemed through Christ's shed blood (v.7), sealed with the Holy Spirit upon belief (v. 13) and would be called to heaven at an appointed time (v 10-11, 14). Now I don't find it necessary or even desireable this morning to break down the doctrine of predestination. It's a complex conversation that's surely worth studying and learning about because clearly it's in the Bible and we have to do something with it. However, both sides of that argument can agree to the fact that, if God in fact has already chosen those who will be saved, none of us can really know who that group is and, as such, it would be a grevious fault to base our response to the gospel on a guess as to whether or not our name is on that list.

The final part of this chapter I got a little more from The Message translation. It's just really cool how God's plan came together, how He blessed His Son after allowing Him to endure the cross and entwined His love for us and His Son into one master plan for salvation:

"All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence." (v. 20-23)

6/26 - Galatians 6

Well, looking back at yesterday's post, I didn't talk much about Galatians 5. Just kinda took that 1st verse and ran with it. I think chapter 6 adds a bit to what I learned yesterday when I talked about how we can have these moments of spirituality and the tendency to let that fire dwindle away. Verse 9 shows that this perhaps isn't a new phenomenon: "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." I think this might be a verse I'll need to focus & meditate on for a while since I'm so prone to fading away. I look forward to transforming my hot & cold ways into a lifestyle of commitment & diligence. I so desperately need God's help not to lose heart - when my efforts are seemingly fruitless, when it seems like I'm the only one trying, when my efforts in ministry don't turn out as I planned.

This chapter also says a lot about accountability, something that God has used in my life & has had a tremendous impact on my life. Without it I know I'd be a mess.

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load." (v. 1-5)

The gentle restoration of a brother who struggles with sin is like a refreshing breeze on a warm summer day. It's one of the most beautiful things I've experienced in my life. Sure it hurts sometimes, but the healing it brings and the work it allows God to begin in you is nothing short of amazing. Simply amazing what God can do with damaged goods. I've been so fortunate to have men in my life to keep my accountable for my actions and doing so by the word of God. I can't even put into words how much I love these brothers. Accountability is a key component to consistent righteous living and if you're reading this and don't have an accountability partner, I'd highly recommend it if you like God's blessings. The process of studying the Word together, building each other up, offering honest feedback, confession, prayer & encouragement is great for any believer and draws you closer, not only to your partner, but to God.


Please lift up a prayer for the family of Kendra's and my uncle, Nevelle Thompson who passed yesterday after a long fight with cancer. This was a man who the Lord knew and at times like these, that is such a great comfort and testimony for those of us he leaves behind. I thank God for even the little bit of time we had together here on earth & look forward to the great time we'll have in heaven.

6/25 - Galatians 5

Gal 5
I talked with my bible study group last night about these 'moments' I have where I truly am focused on God and sincerely desire to follow Him at all costs. I'll generally have this experience sometimes after church or Bible study or even while blogging. These heightened moments of spirituality, I don't think they're disingenuous by any means, but don't seem to last very long. If this were sports, you might say I'm a streaky player who experiences periods of greatness and then again periods of equal and opposite mediocrity. My challenge is: how do I translate these experiences from 'moments' into a lifestyle? I think the problem is my tendency to refocus on my wants & desires and less on God's.

Galatians 5:1: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." Christianity offers us a tremendous amount of freedom and thank God it does. This is a challenge, however, because this liberty we have can be dangerous if used incorrectly. What we eat, the clothes we wear, the entertainment we choose - none of these things get us in or out of heaven. That's not to say that these things don't have consequences and, more importantly, may not be what God wants for us. Taking part in any of our various earthly pleasures, whether inherently sinful or not, can be dangerous for this reason and can put us in conflict with the first & second commandments. Hence Paul's warning - do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. His message to the Galatians was not to be entangled with legalism because they had been convinced by a false teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation and this undermined the grace of God - the only means by which salvation is offered. No matter what our 'yoke of bondage' is, we shouldn't allow ourselves to be so easily drawn back to the things that God has called us from. Easier said than done I suppose.

I guess it comes down to relationship. There's nothing wrong with having perfect church attendance, doing community service, giving to the poor or paying tithes unless your motive is wrong. Are we trying to earn heaven points or genuinely offering ourselves as a sacrifice of gratitude to the Saviour? The fallacy of the first act (or one fallacy at least) is the tendency to stray away from it because the focus is you, not God. Honestly, I have a lot of work to do to get to the point where my actions are fully rooted in my love and gratitude for Christ. This takes an intimate relationship with God, and I pray I can get closer to Him daily so my actions will please Him. I'm not sure this blog is making as much sense as I hoped it would, but the whole point is that I want my actions to flow out of a love relationship with God & not a legalistic approach to spirituality.

6/24 - God's Mercy

The only thing that's been on my mind this morning is God's mercy. Sitting here just thinking about it, the presence of it in my life, in the lives of my friends, the fullness of His mercy is absolutely absurd. I talked to a friend yesterday who I hadn't seen in a while and as we started to catch up, we somehow got into this loop of complaining about life when he quickly put an end to my part of it by saying simple things like "at least you have a mortgage" or "that's a pretty nice car you have." Some nerve I have huh? I've been blessed far beyond what I deserve. I'm not sure what I even deserve (or maybe I'm just scared to admit it) but I know this ain't it. In spite of all I do, I wake up each morning in a house that has food in it and even a few extra rooms to hang out in. I then get to drive in a car to my job, only to leave there and return to a beautiful wife who's carrying my child. I could go on for days about the blessings in just those last two sentences. Instead I sit here on the verge of tears because not only do I not deserve it, I don't even show God the appreciation He's due for it. The verse in Lamentations 3:22-23 is so true.

I mentioned the absurdity of God's mercy earlier because honestly that's just what it feels like to me. A holy God looks at me, in spite of my sin, and deems it fitting to bless me anyway. I totally understand where Job was coming from:

"I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light. God does all these things to a man— twice, even three times to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him" (Job 33:27-30).

That brings into sharper focus for me the audacity of my sin. The spirit that says "I'm going to do what I want to do anyway" in the face of a God whose holiness and very being far surpasses the significance of our existence. Crazy to think about, even crazier to do I suppose. Let us be of a mindset of humble gratitude toward God and let it so permeate our minds that actions of gratitude and obedience flow out.

Here's a link for another blog on mercy: http://www.acts17-11.com/mercy.html

God please don't let me take your mercy for granted any longer. Let me always be aware of it and show my gratitude through righteous living. Purge me, cleanse me of anything that's not like You. Thank you for your new mercies this morning and another chance to worship you today with my life.

6/20 - Galatians 3

Well, turns out that my internet wasn't down the other day...the modem just wasn't hooked up. My technical prowess continues to impress. Then yesterday my hard drive on our desktop PC crashed so yesterday morning was spent dealing with that fiasco but thanks be to God we didn't lose any data. There's one thing I've learned from the Bible and applied to my computer skills: Jesus saves and so should I.

Galatians 3 is a great chapter to read concerning the covenant of grace vs. the Law. It can be summed up in verses 13 & 14:

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Basically our righteousness, the thing that will determine our post-earth destination, is no longer based on our adherence to the Law but through our faith in Jesus Christ. I used to have trouble with this on many levels: how can God change His mind like this? How can something He proclaimed and seemed pretty serious about now be null and void? Why would God give us a Law He knew we couldn't keep?

A brief aside: I don't think there's any problem questioning the Bible. I think the more questions we ask the more we'll come to know about God because, since the Bible is true, our questions should lead us to truth. I think we ought to test God at His word. Now I know the Bible says "Do not test the Lord your God" in multiple places (Deuteronomy 6:16, Luke 4:12) but I'm not talking about that kind of testing. In the Deuteronomy verse, it references the Israelites who 'tested' God by not trusting Him to provide for them. In Luke, Jesus was explaining to Satan that He couldn't test God by throwing himself off a mountain and 'testing' God by expecting Him to perform a miracle just for the sake of doing it. The testing I'm talking about is more along the lines of Romans 12:2, where you test the Word by putting your trust in it, forsaking the world to follow God, transforming your mind, taking action on the Word in order to experience the fruit of God's word dwelling in you.

...where was I?....oh, the questions. God did give us a law that we couldn't keep. Being a holy God, He had to demand holiness. If God is to be able to judge us in the end, He must be a perfect and righteous judge or else His judgements would be tainted. Imagine that your on trial for embezzling money and your judge turns out to be Bernie Madoff, who quickly throws you in jail. Doesn't seem very just right? A truly righteous judgement requires a truly righteous judge. If God weren't perfect it would open the room for a lot of questions & debate - is a god who we can debate with worthy of worship? Probably not. The point here is that God, being holy, made a law that required holiness. Paul points out that this Law, tough as it was, pointed out to us our need for a Saviour. It showed us what sin was and just how serious God was about us not doing it.

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor" (v. 24-25).

So God didn't change His mind because although the Law can't save us, it still serves a purpose. This chapter along with Romans 7 & 8 are great for understanding this principle. I could go on and on but probably still couldn't do it justice.

Internet down

Due to somewhat of a debacle yesterday with the Time Warner guy, I wont have internet for a while. Hopefully it will be back in a couple days. Until then keep studying & praying. Check Galatians 2:20.

God bless

6/17 - Galatians 1

Galatians 1

Ryan, an engineer (not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead) and my wife who is with me,

To the people reading this blog:

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

OK that might have been cheesy, but I love Paul's greetings at the beginnings of his letters (see v.1-3 of this chapter if you missed the joke). He always greets the churches with love and with words of encouragement and hope, something desperately needed as the church was being founded. OK, on with chapter 1.

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ" (V. 6-7)

His first charge to the Galatians is to beware threats to the faith, not from outside but from within. One of the biggest opponents of early Christianity, as evidenced by Paul's many warnings, and likely even more dangerous than the Roman government who intentionally persecuted believers, was false teachers. These people, whether intentionally or not, would add requirements, ceremonies, old standards and other "spiritual acts" to the gospel as necessary for salvation and therefore stir up confusion. These teachers, known as Judaizers, would convince people to do these acts thus undermining the doctrine of justification by faith. How unfortunate that today we face the same thing and in my opinion, our biggest problem isn't abortion, gay marriage, atheism, the youth or anything else society would have us believe - its us. Our Americanized version of Christianity - singing songs on Sunday, not cussing too much, not drinking too much, looking for more blessings from email forwards than the actual Word of God, all the while keeping our faith to ourselves and offering just enough of ourselves to get by - this is a far greater challenge for us (Ephesians 6:12).

The remainder of this chapter gives us a good history lesson about Paul who, being one of the rising stars of Judaism, literally encountered Jesus Christ and was called to preach to the Gentiles. But before he goes out to accomplish this, he spends three years and then some time with the apostles learning about the faith. After this, he experienced the fruit of his ministry - "“He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me" (v. 23-24). This is a good model for us as well - to learn about the faith and then take it to others in a knowledgeable and effective way. A wrong way to take this, I think, would be to get stuck in the mindset of "I'm not ready yet" as an excuse for not sharing your faith with others. We have an opportunity on a daily basis to get ourselves ready. Everyday we should train ourselves in His word and be prepared to share with someone (1 Peter 3:15).

6/16 - 2 Corinthians 13

2 Cor 13

The conclusion of this chapter comes with a promise from Paul that he's coming, and doing so with authority. He's been pretty serious thus far about his credentials as an apostle and in this next visit it appears he wants to solidify that, first by his own actions, then by holding them accountable for theirs. He charges them with this:

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?" (v. 5)

I think this is a good exercise for any believer: test yourself. I don't necessarily mean that you should test yourself to see whether or not you're saved - outside of a careful examination of your heart and of scripture, that could lead to dangerous thinking but I'll get back to this later. What I mean is that we should test ourselves to see how faithful and how much trust we have in God. Do we trust more in Him or in our bank accounts? (Matt 6:33) Do we use our resources to help others or hold on to them as if they're actually ours? (Luke 12:33, Psalm 24:1) Do we love or loathe reading His word? (Psalm 1:2) Do we love our spouses as we should? (Ephesians 5:22, 25). There's a long list of questions from the Bible that we could ask ourselves, and individually, we all know what those specific questions must be (those questions were mostly for me by the way) but it all boils down to this: Do I really love God?

Read Luke 8:4-15.....seriously, do it. In the Crazy Love book I keep referencing, the warning was given: Don't assume you're good soil. Test yourself. Considering our human nature, the answers to these questions may not be as positive as we'd like to think they are but the point isn't to ask ourselves if we're perfect. It's rather to ask, "How can I love God more?"

Now if in testing you find you don't have the desire to do any of these things, that test for your salvation may not be a bad idea. Romans 10:9-10 would be a good place to start and ask yourself if you're truly willing to lose everything and follow Christ. To truly let Him be the Lord of your life. I'd be more than happy to chat more about this if this is where you find yourself: rpscott02@yahoo.com.

6/15/09 - 2 Corinthians 12

Paul begins this chapter continuing to explain the boasting from the previous chapters, some of which he'd continue in this chapter. His boasts were primarily about establishing himself as a legitimate apostles so his ministry to them would not be in vain. He asked them to consider his example while he was with them - how he took no money from them, walked as he talked, and built them up with strong doctrine. He also boasted of his persecutions (2 Cor 11:7-9, 23-28).

In verses 2-5, Paul discusses a "man in Christ" who, in body or in spirit, was called up to the third heaven and heard "inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Paul then says that of this man he will boast but not of himself, except for his infirmities. OK, now this section raises a lot of questions for me and admittedly is very confusing. What is this third heaven? Who is this man in Christ? Why does Paul insist on boasting in his infirmities? Why boast at all? The study notes in my Bible provide some insight on the third heaven and the "man in Christ." The third heaven is what we know as the regular heaven we always talk about with the first two heavens being earth's atmosphere and outer space. The "man in Christ," according to the notes, is Paul referring to himself in the third person. I'm not sure I buy that, but it really doesn't add or subtract anything from the scripture.

So why does Paul need to boast in his infirmities? I think my problem with these last couple chapters has been wondering why Paul spends so much time boasting at all. Isn't he supposed to be humble? I took a look at the word boast in Greek [kauchaomai], as used here: "to glory, joy, rejoice." So it's not the selfish boasting I thought it was, but rather rejoicing and finding joy in certain things. I actually felt a lot better finding this out because I was getting annoyed by it all and wasn't really sure if that's an appropriate response to what we consider the Word of God.

Finally, Paul makes it clear to us why he boasts, and especially in persecution:

"⁷To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Now there's much speculation as to what this "thorn" was (false apostles, demons, an actual thorn, etc) but regardless, the point is still the same - the weaker I am, the stronger God can be in my life. So how could you not rejoice in hard times?

6/11 - 2 Corinthians 11

This is one of those chapters, for me, that's a bit tougher to glean an applicable life lesson from. At least at first. The chapter is so personal and seems like it should be left between Paul and the Corinthians. Paul spends this chapter, in a tirade of sarcasm, defending his apostolic credentials to the Corinthians who have been quick to follow false preachers and discredit Paul. He points out how he never has taken money from them, wasn't a burden to them while he was there, and only preached to them the gospel of Christ - all unlike the false apostles they had bought into. He tries to convince them, through his sarcastic boasting, that all the worldly qualifications of him and the false prophets are really meaningless and that the only boast even worth mentioning is that which likens him to Christ - the suffering and sacrifice (v. 30).

For me, the takeaway is that following any man is foolish and if we do look up to others spiritually, it should be looking for the Christlike characteristics in them, not the people themselves.

"¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." (v. 13-15)

So in a time where pastors are so highly regarded (I mean regarded higher than they ought to be) and when many Christians have turned their ears to a doctrine that falls easy on their ears (2 Timothy 4:3-5), I believe it's absolutely essential that we pray and be careful not to be deceived. We don't need to fear Satan but it would be wise not to underestimate his craftiness, especially when he's using people in the church as he did in Corinth.

6/10 - 2 Corinthians 10

In this chapter Paul again defends himself against accusations from false teachers that he was weak when he was with the Corinthians but bold and assertive when he was away. In the face of these claims, he had this to offer:

"³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (v. 3-6)

I think Paul rightly justifies himself here and also provides us insight into a right perspective concerning conflicts. Imagine that, after dedicating your life to evangelism and consequently being scourged, beaten & imprisoned, some random individuals show up questioning your validity as a minister. Now, in later chapters Paul would go on to defend himself and discredit the false apostles, but here he recognizes that his war is not with them. Fighting satanic falsehoods & deception with human tactics (ingenuity, worldly wisdom, clever methodologies, will power) will lead to a lost battle.

I remember back in the day watching a certain cartoon and when danger arose, a token townsperson would yell, "This is a job for Superman!" The townspeople had no intention of taking the task on themselves because they knew their tactics were useless, especially in light of a man who was more than capable to handle it. It's the same with us - there needs to be a clear recognition that when in spiritual battle, it's not us but the Word of Truth that is able to demolish anything that sets itself against God. For us to take full advantage of this truth we need God's word in us, which necessitates a regular diet of Bible study (Psalm 119:97-100).

6/9 - 2 Corinthians 9

2 Cor 9

" ⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (v. 6-7)

In our Bible study we've been dealing with this topic of giving but beyond just our tithes, but giving our time & resources as well. One thing I've been convicted of is giving up to my comfort level. I give just enough so that my finances aren't in any way compromised and for the most part I don't really feel it leave my pockets; in other words, there's no real sacrifice. Now I know this is the part where people tell me that "God doesn't desire sacrifice but mercy and a broken and contrite heart" and that "we're to be good stewards of our money" and I still believe that. I also believe in the spirit of the law whereby God is pleased with a genuine offering and an offering that cost you nothing is meaningless. In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus contrasts the widow who gave pennies to the Pharisees who gave out of their wealth and concluded that she had given far more because it costs her more. A general rule of thumb for the Christian life should be to not be found doing whatever the Pharisees did. Jesus wore these brothers out all up and down the gospels. Nobody wants that.

If we really start to get this whole eternal perspective on life, we may actually start to understand that everything we own is temporary and ultimately useless. So what better way to be a good steward of your money than to give it away to someone who needs it more? It's not going to last you very long on this earth anyway. Now I know I'm just talking now, but I pray that God will prepare my heart to give willingly, especially since He has given me so much.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." ¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

My reflection for today is this: when I stand before God, what will my response be when He says, "What did you do with what I gave you?"

6/8/09 - 2 Corinthians 8, Part 2

2 Cor 8
Starting a task may be a noteworthy thing to do, but the key element is 'follow-through.' I know this very well from sports: a jump shot, golf swing, a pitch, or bowl all require a deliberate follow-through to ensure their success. The beginning of any of these events is somewhat important but without follow-through the outcome is sure to be disastrous and, depending on how many people are watching, embarrassing. I'd consider myself an OK athlete but in my life, there's been no shortage of airballs, shanks, hit batters and gutter balls. These things are bound to happen but in most cases are a result of poor technique. How many gutter balls do we throw in life because of our inability to follow through? Paul outlines a interesting scripture here:

"¹⁰ And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; ¹¹ but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. ¹² For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have." (v. 10-12)

The Corinthians had vowed to make an offering to the poor Christians in Jerusalem and Paul took the opportunity presented by the offering of the Macedonian churches to then encourage the Corinthians to add to it. We don't know if the Corinthians at this point had lost interest of not but the point here is: finish the good work you started. Like the Corinthians, there's been many efforts I've started and have been passionate about but after some time, that passion dwindles and the hard part kicks in - the follow through.

My prayer for today is for diligence. To be able to carry on with the projects at work I've taken on, the baseball team I help coach, the good causes I support, the little things I start doing for my wife, keeping the house clean....all the things I start with an intense passion but after a while allow the fire to burn out. Keep me just as persistent in the middle or end of something as I am in the beginning. God give me the diligence of Jesus who, despite the longevity of His injustice & pain, completed His work and saved my life.

6/7 - 2 Corinthians 8, Part 1

First off, congrats to my good friends Dave & Kendahl yesterday on their marriage. Their story is so awesome and is an amazing testimony. Check it out if you get a chance http://kendahlanddave.wordpress.com/proposal-story/. I haven't told her yet but Kendahl was a major inspiration for me to start blogging.

2 Corinthians 8
When I was in Tallahassee my pastor, Pastor Reggie, had such a strong belief in daily Bible study and implored us almost on a weekly basis to do it. It made sense but at that point in my life I hadn't even considered trying to read the Bible every day. I would feel so good about reading it every so often and admittedly would even feel that I was gaining a significant amount of points in heaven for doing it. I suppose I was comparing myself to others who didn't read at all (stupid). The point of all this is, I've probably read through 2 Corinthians 3 or 4 times now and so much of this seems so new to me. I guess that each time I read it I'm more mature than the previous time and God is able to speak a new thing but through the same words. What an amazing God...

Paul begins to encourage the Corinthian church by the example of the churches in Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea):

"²Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. ³For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. ⁵And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will." (v. 2-4).

This is a tremendous encouragement for us, especially in today's economy. Macedonia was an impoverished province that had been ravished by wars and plundered by Roman authority, and yet here we find them giving above their ability. Now this just doesn't make any sense - giving more when you have so little. I'm sure, being a small Christian community at the time, their tithe & offering and 'building fund' envelopes weren't exactly overflowing and yet they gave so much. So, although we're faced with layoffs, unemployment, down markets, high gas prices and generally very little hope, could the call still be to give more? This couldn't make sense right? The only way it could is if we realize where our true treasure is, Who owns the little treasure we do have and, like the Macedonian church, give ourselves first to the Lord.

My cousin and I were talking yesterday about knowing the Word vs. believing the Word. I know the Bible is 100% true and think I even believe it. I know that Christ is my reward (Revelation 22:12) and that everything belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1). I could know these things and even preach them, but an actual belief would drive me to action. No longer holding on to the material things in life but freely giving, not to my comfort level, but like the Macedonian churches - beyond my ability, having full confidence in God my provider. I mean, what these people were doing was nonsense! Volunteering, urgently by the way, to take part in a ministry to help other poor saints in Jerusalem.

So yet again, this morning my perspective is shifted. I see some of the large churches in Cincinnati doing some amazing things with how they give back to the community, go on mission trips, give out free Bibles and do all kinds of amazing things for the kingdom. When I see this, my thought usually is "man, it's nice that they're so blessed to be able to do that. Maybe our church will get there one day." Maybe I'm undervaluing what our church does because we do a lot but we're not able to send 50 people to Africa or something like that. But in light of these Macedonians it would seem that we're able to make a huge impact and though we aren't exactly what you'd call a megachurch yet, it's so fitting that we give even more though we have so little. Not out of obligation, but because we give ourselves first to the Lord.

6/6 - 2 Corinthians 7

In chapter 7, Paul references back to the "severe letter" he sent to the Corinthians, where he dealt with them pretty directly on some issues concerning their spirituality. As he begins to now praise them for their progress, this jumped out at me this morning. Not really related to the chapter's content, but a still a takeaway:

"For indeed when we came back to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus..." (v. 5-6).

I thought about what an awesome testimony it is just to be a comfort to someone, especially in a time of need like this. In today's economy it's pretty safe to say that times are hard and there is so much need out there. As believers, if we're going to make an impact and be able to offer comfort in these times, I believe we need to first be Spirit-led. When our mind is in line with God's, our focus isn't always on our stuff and distracted, but it allows us to care about the things God cares about - people in need. And so it was with Titus, who was sent to Paul in a time of need. He had to be in a place to allow the Spirit to work in him and guide his path. Besides his mere presence being a comfort, he came bringing good news (v. 7, Isaiah 52:7). Hmm, how many people could I be a comfort to today?

6/5 - 2 Corinthians 6

Good morning. I'd like to thank you all for your prayers for my pastor yesterday and am glad to report that those prayers were answered QUICKLY!! The doctors have indicated that all tests were negative and he's at home now and resting. Glory to God. My good friend Elaine sent me this scripture yesterday: "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34: 17-18). It's one thing to read and believe scripture, it's another to experience it. I praise you Lord, this morning, for allowing us to experience Your Word. Continue to guide us in righteousness so we can experience you like this everyday!

Ok, on to the chapter. Paul pleads with the church not to take God's grace in vain and then admonishes them: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you [says the Lord]. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (v. 2). There is a time when God will be attentive, listening to sinners and responding to their repentance. The flip side is that there will be a day when, like Flava Flav said, "Yo time is up" (ok, sorry for that...its early). So in light of our time, that is dwindling away, let us not take for granted the grace God has laid before us. Everyday we wake up is a new dose of God's grace, allowing you time to get back in touch with Him. And even for us saved folks - its a chance for us to take hold of this 'abundant life' we've been promised. Tomorrow's not promised, so it can't be the day of salvation. It's right now.

For this next passage, I really don't have words for it. Verses 3 - 10 are absolutely incredible to me. They describe Paul's life and, to me, layout the profile of strong and Holy Spirit filled believer. This is one of those 'selah' moments (selah = Hebrew word meaning something like "pause and think"). Please take a minute to read this passage.

Finally, Paul calls the Corinthians to live holy lives. His main point is that they should no longer be "unequally yoked" with unbelievers. Without being on the same spiritual ground, this sort of association would be a hinderance to their relationship with God and even a stumbling block for them. Take a look at your own life - when you hang out with people who, let's just say their first prioirity isn't God, does that further your work for the kingdom? Now this passage is not calling for isolation from unbelievers. Considering Paul's evangelistic efforts in pagan places and even Jesus' constant contact with sinners, this couldn't be true. It's a call not to hang out with them in the same way you did before (to party, talk about nonsense, etc). I remember back in my days at FAMU, there were a few different crowds I hung with and I'd act differently according to the situation -with the youth group one way, with the fellas....a different way. My old pastor, Reggie, would always say that sinners would "infect you before you affect them." That put to rest the notion that I could go out to the club and be an example to my friends by how I didn't smoke and didn't drink. Silliness. If anything, it made them madder that I didn't join in the fun.

So the call is for us to "come out from among them and be separate" (v. 17). Still associate with people, but now differently - with a new heart. The call is to, by direction of the Holy Spirit, to live righteously and be distinct. Consider who we hang out with. Are we unequally yoked?

6/4 - Prayer Requests

No post today but I'd like to ask for prayer for my pastor, Gregory Chandler - he had some heart complications that caused him to be admitted to the hospital last night. He's truly a man of God & a very healthy one by the way. Please be in prayer for a speedy recovery.

One more thing - I've added a Paypal link to this blog for Whole Again International. This program was founded by my church and feeds hundreds of kids each summer through a food enrichment program. This service, which includes all day activities and two meals a day, is offered free of charge for needy Cincinnati families. My pastor (the one you just prayed for) serves as president and my wife as the chairman of the board, and they've done a great job thus far. Each year the program has grown but this year, in light of the economy, has seen a dramatic decrease in donations and grants. Please consider donating, no amount is too small (or too big if that's how you roll)

Whole Again International Donation

6/3 - 2 Corinthians 5, Part 2

At a recent bible study, a question kept circling in my mind: Is there anything that we can do for God that could really be considered radical? By radical I mean something above & beyond the call of duty. I think that's what holds me back at times. When the thought of giving some absurd amount of money (relatively speaking of course) or selling my house or switching to a much lower income career to have a greater impact....when these thoughts come to mind, I can very easily convince myself that I'm trying to do too much, it's probably not what God has called me to, or that my wife wouldn't enjoy the ramifications of such decisions. I throw my wife in there a lot, takes the pressure off of me...works pretty good actually ;-). So I'm reading a chapter this morning from Crazy Love about the lives of believers who we would consider radical. These folks were giving up everything to serve in poor countries, dedicating their lives to the homeless, adopting children, refusing salaries, witnessing in hostile areas....you get the picture. It would seem that these folks get verse 14:

"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."

Would I consider what these believers were doing to be radical? Absolutely. But I imagine that if you were to ask any of them, they'd probably say, "No. It's the least I could do. Christ died for me and the least I can do is live for Him." What a wonderful place to be. In light of all the comforts I have, I still do a lot of living for myself. This gets back to this theme of having an eternal perspective - realizing that all we have here is temporary and that spending our energy on things with longer-term (eternal) impact is far more profitable. I've got a little growing to do guys. This isn't news to me or anything, but this chapter has only further highlighted that point.

So in verse 17, Paul talks about anyone who is in Christ is a new creature and all the old things have passed away. The study notes in my bible explain: "old value systems, priorities, beliefs, loves, and plans are gone. Evil and sin are still present, but the believer sees them in a new perspective, and they no longer control him...The believer's new spiritual perception of everything is a constant reality for him, and he now lives for eternity, not temporal things." So I suppose that through this study, I can thank God for shaping in me a right perspective. Of course it won't mean much without action (James 2:20). Well, [deep breath] here we go...

6/2 - 2 Corinthians 5, Part 1

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling" (v. 1-2)

Here it is again, eternal focus. Reading the first section of this chapter, I thought about if I'm really ready to go. There's two sides at battle within me - I look forward to the day when I'll be called to my eternal house, trade in this old body for an immortal one (Phil 3:20-21) and forever be surrounded by the glory of Christ. On the other hand I look forward to the beautiful things in life - growing old with my wife, becoming a father in 6 months, growing in Christ and being a powerful witness for Him. A mere cognitive look at the proceeding two sentences would leave the first looking far more attractive, and I know it should be this way, but there's part of me that will miss these things on earth. Even the noble things in life can misdirect our focus. So I thank God for this chapter and the revelation from the Holy Spirit that the better perspective is to be "well pleased to be absent from the body and present with the Lord" (v. 8). What a day it will be!

Paul's desire to be present with the Lord did not cause him to ignore the fact that he wasn't there yet and still had work to do. His aim, whether present or absent from God, was to be well pleasing to Him (v. 9). Paul allowed this perspective to drive him to witness to others. "Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (v. 11). Being eternally focused means realizing that the hard truth is that everyone in this world is destined for an afterlife in one of two places. Knowing that in one place you'll have eternal company with God, a glorified body, a new home, etc. and that the other place....let's just say you'll have a little less (Revelation 20:11-15), how could you not tell everyone you know?

6/1 - 2 Corinthians 4

"Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God." (v. 1-2, The Message translation)

What a powerful concept to run into this morning (2 Cor 4). It was one of those Holy Spirit things where I feel like God is sitting right next to me and talking; it's so cool. My prayer yesterday and this morning before I read was that I would not be deceived as I read His Word. There are so many false teachers out there and I don't think they teach falsely on purpose (well most of them anyway), but have been deceived, fall victim to the flesh, and preach a gospel that's fitting for themselves. Since I started blogging, I want to be careful not to make the Word say what I want it to, but allow it to speak to me. So reading this verse was refreshing. My prayer still is that in whatever God speaks to me as I read, and now write, the whole truth is on display.

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body." (v. 8-10)

What true believer can't relate to this? Well, at least the negative parts of the verse. In this age, we surely feel the weight of being hard-pressed on every side, maybe not the direct persecution the early church faced, but we feel it. The world bombards us with sex, materialism, scandals, gluttony and a general "do whatever you like if you can justify it" mentality (when ABC came out with the show Dirty Sexy Money I thought, you gotta be kidding me). For us brothas, you can't watch a sporting event, or even a cooking show for that matter, without a healthy dose of sensuality being thrown in your face.

But there is hope in this verse. Hope that, in God, we are victorious. We're not crushed, destroyed, and surely not forsaken. Our suffering - the daily battles with temptations, purity, anger, abuse, etc - is the cross we bear and the evidence of Christ in us. Not that suffering in and of itself is that evidence, but the spiritual struggle and daily 'putting to death' of those things. Starting at verse 16, I see more reason for hope - having an eternal focus. This is something I struggle with as it's hard to simply look past what's in front of me and on toward the goal. "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (v. 18) If Paul had such a focus on eternity (Romans 8:17, 18, 1 Peter 1:6,7), you can understand why he was able to endure the trials he faced. His eyes were on Christ, not his current situation, and surely his reward was great. Just look at the fruit he produced. I suppose my reflection today would be, why couldn't that be me?