Coming Attractions

I read a magazine article the other day. It was about the Inner Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland. The pictures were breathtakingly beautiful.
I'd love to go to Scotland one day.
Today at work, I was outside cleaning some equipment when I noticed a large butterfly on the ground. It was beautiful. It had a mixture of dark greens and blues in these amazing patterns.
There is so much beauty in the world. Sights that one would never get tired to seeing.
I have much difficulty in understanding how an atheist could see these things and not be moved to explore the possibility of a Creator.

Father, thank You for the beauty that you have put here for us to see. Thank You that it moves us to praise You and Your glory. Thank You that Your creation bares witness to Your very existence. And thank You for the knowledge that it is nothing compared to what is to come. You are indeed awesome!

The Beast Feast

We were having a neat conversation at church the other night. My pastor had posed some very thought provoking questions concerning Jewish dietary restrictions.

The wheels in my little head began to turn, as they sometimes do. Here's what fell out:

In Leviticus 11, God sets the rules on what kind of animals are good to eat and what kind are not. This is one section of the Law of Moses that seems to have been very strictly (or religiously) followed.

Fast forward a few thousand years, and we find Peter on a roof top having a vision. (Acts 10:9-16) God is preparing Peter for something huge. Something that Peter cannot fathom. He is perplexed by his vision. In the vision, God opens a cloth that is filled with every kind of animal. He brings forward an animal that Peter knows is on the 'unclean' list in the law. God tells him to eat it. Peter refuses. This happens three times. After Peter refused three times to eat an unclean animal, God tells Peter not to call something unclean which He has cleaned. Which, by the way, seems like a typical exchange that we would see between Peter and Jesus in his disciple days.

Something happened. Something awesome happened. Once again, God provided a way. He was bringing to fruition a promise. In Hosea 2:23, God promised that He would call to Himself a people who were not His people. (Romans 9:23) He was extending His grace, holding out the hope that is in Christ Jesus to the gentiles.

But there was that law. And there was the prohibition against associating with gentiles. They had to hear the gospel, they had to be taught. Someone had to sit down with them, associate with them....eat with them.

Gentiles were not under Jewish law. They ate whatever they wanted to. The preachers and teachers were going to have to eat what the gentiles served.

God is so awesome! He made a way. He is, after all, God. He simply released His ambassadors to the gentiles (Jews) from the dietary restrictions. Genius!

God is AWESOME!

Worth Looking Into

I recently decided to start reading through the gospels again. I figured Luke's gospel would be a good place to start.

As so often happens when we read the bible, the Holy Spirit showed me something new. I have read it so many times before, but this time, it was almost as if I were reading it for the first time. The way the angel Gabriel introduced himself to Zechariah, John the Baptist's father. "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God." Wow!
I read that in such wonder. What must it be like to stand, physically, in the presence of God? How awesome that must be! An experience that we all so long for.

The Holy Spirit then reminded me of something in my pondering. 1st Peter 1:10-12.
We, the redeemed, have experienced...are experiencing...something that the angels, who we regard as such holy and mighty beings, are longing for. We have something even more awesome!

God is AWESOME!

The Power of Prayer

Just a quick blurb about prayer...

According to so many emails I've gotten, prayers really only work if you forward them to 5 to 10 people via email. And, apparently, that's also the only way to prove that you really love God.

I can't help wondering why people who claim to be believers in Jesus Christ and who claim to know what the bible says about prayer and faith bother forwarding this garbage.

If you know me, and have me on your email list, please skip me when you forward these things. It is not only annoying, it is offensive.

That's all I have to say about that. :)

Hidden Treasure

I heard a verse in one of the Psalms recited tonight. It hit me hard.

Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

It is so important for believers in Jesus Christ to know what His word says. Not just to protect ourselves from false teachers or to learn sound doctrine, not only so that we can teach His word and disciple others. It is important because it teaches us who God is. It teaches us who our Savior is. It will help us to honor and submit to the One in whom we claim to believe and to worship.

The bible teaches us how to obey our Father. More than that, it teaches us the depths of His love for us. It renews our minds and refreshes our hearts.

It gives the Holy Spirit something to mold us with. It gives us a way to encourage and love one another, just as our wise Father told us to.

God is AWESOME!

Seven Brothers On A Mountain

On March 12, I went on a journey with six other men. A journey that made a profound impact on my life and relationships.

We went to a beautiful place with a beautiful name. The Sky Corral Ranch in Bellvue, Colorado (www.skycorral.net). It took about 25 hours to get there in a rented van. We left on March 12, 2010 and returned on March 21, 2010. It was in between these days that some important things took place.

With Jeff Oates - our fearless leader, Stanley Sanders - our great encourager and messenger to the ones who love us and awaited our return home, Anthony Sanders - the one who kept everyone smiling, Bill Reeves - the one with the experience and needed skills, Eric Lewis - the one with boundless energy and undaunted optimism, Bunny Crocker - the All-American in basketball and great ice road hero and me.

Our journey was a long one, but a fruitful one. Fruitful in many ways. We got a lot of work done and were able to help fulfill an important ministry. More importantly, we got to know one another much better. We got to make new friends and learn more about our great God.

We attended a church service there on Sunday, March 14. We sang a song about how God's glory fills the earth. As we sang of God's glory, I looked out the window. I became overwhelmed. I was unable to speak for a moment. God is indeed glorious! His creation screams out His glory. (Psalm 19:1)

While we were there, we went to the top of the mountain. The experience left a great impression on me. While the view was absolutely breath taking, it was what I learned on that day that made it so special. As I watched the guys take in the view, I realized that we were indeed brothers in a Royal Family. Our God is more than words can describe, He is...I AM.

Offended

I said something to someone today that I'm not sure I should have. I've been thinking about whether I should apologize or not. Thinking about it got the wheels in my little head turning.

As Christians, many of us seem to have our focus aimed in the wrong direction. We see how the lost behave and look down our noses at them. We act so offended and we tend to judge. These are the very people we are supposed to be ministering to. Not sitting in judgment over. (Matthew 9:10-13, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

We were the same once. In darkness, without understanding, dead in our sins.
(Romans 5:8)

It is the ones in the church, the ones who profess Christ and exhibit profane and vulgar behavior and language. The ones who warm a pew and shout amen on Sunday morning and then are indistinguishable from the world every other day. It is these who should offend us most. Not the lost. Not those still in darkness. (1 Corinthians 5:12)