Day 28 was the Day of Sabbath Rest Reflection again so on to Day 29...
Exodus 1-4
Exodus 2:25 (NIV) "So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them"
When you read that sentence it you really see God being a father, rather than some man with a crown sitting on a throne in the sky. You can feel his love, his worry, you can tell he is realizing that he must do something.
Exodus 4 (back to the message version)
So God tells Moses to go and tell his people that God is going to get them out of this right, and Moses his like, yeah sure, but um, one problem, I suck at public speaking. And at first God just reminds him "Hey I gave you that mouth and I will hook you up with the words when you need em". But Moses is peeing his pants thinking about it and he gets all hyphee and actually kinda begs God to pick someone else! So God is a little...annoyed...and it actually says in the NIV that "The Lords anger burned against Moses". Now, if there is one thing I know, it's that I don't want the God who turned someone into salt, to be burning with anger against me. And better yet, it says God burned with anger, but the words he spoke next were still of love, he still offered his help to Moses and Aaron, and he did not make Moses do what he did not want to do, although I am sure he would have been happier of Moses would have manned up.
Question: Allow God to say to you, "I'll be with you". What difference does this make in your life? It makes all the difference. God being with me means that I don't have to worry. Ever. Even though I do sometimes anyways, but with God it's like I don't have to be scared, I don't have to be anxious. I am human, and I have to fight to let God have control, but I want Him with me, and I am glad he is, 24/7.
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
I pasted the whole Psalm here because it is so epic.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Whose side are you on anyways?!
Mark 13-14
"Stay with it - that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry; you'll be saved."
It's the last minute of the second half, someone from the opposite team just took you to the ground, should be a red card, but the ref didn't call it. Your head is pounding, your heart racing, your lips eager to throw out some less than kind words, the score is tied, but it feels more like you have been losing the whole game...you hear your coach "Come on, get up! I believe you! I have trained you for this!"
That's what life is like right now. We are fighting Satan's team, and it feels like we are losing, it feels like Satan is taking a lot of cheap shots and God isn't calling him out on it, it feels like we don't want to fight anymore, and then we hear God's voice, "Child, don't give up, I am here for you, I have made you for this."
It is only when we choose to block out the voice of our coach that we make mistakes. It is only when we choose to hate and give up on our team, our coach, that we lose ourselves.
There are only 2 sides in a game. Each with it's own coach. And you are either with God or against him. So which team are you on? Who's coaching your life?
Psalm 22:1-11
"Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help."
Are you asking God to stay close to you? Are you staying close to Him? Tell him you need Him, call on His power. He's been waiting to hear your voice.
"Stay with it - that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry; you'll be saved."
It's the last minute of the second half, someone from the opposite team just took you to the ground, should be a red card, but the ref didn't call it. Your head is pounding, your heart racing, your lips eager to throw out some less than kind words, the score is tied, but it feels more like you have been losing the whole game...you hear your coach "Come on, get up! I believe you! I have trained you for this!"
That's what life is like right now. We are fighting Satan's team, and it feels like we are losing, it feels like Satan is taking a lot of cheap shots and God isn't calling him out on it, it feels like we don't want to fight anymore, and then we hear God's voice, "Child, don't give up, I am here for you, I have made you for this."
It is only when we choose to block out the voice of our coach that we make mistakes. It is only when we choose to hate and give up on our team, our coach, that we lose ourselves.
There are only 2 sides in a game. Each with it's own coach. And you are either with God or against him. So which team are you on? Who's coaching your life?
Psalm 22:1-11
"Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help."
Are you asking God to stay close to you? Are you staying close to Him? Tell him you need Him, call on His power. He's been waiting to hear your voice.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Ditch Doubt
Mark 10-12
"Jesus looked him hard in the eye - and love him! He said, 'There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.' The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go."
Mark 11:12-25
Ok so basically this is what happens, Jesus realizes he is hungry and could use a snack, and he is looking around wondering what to eat, and he sees a fig tree! And thinks, man a fig would hit the spot. So he walks over to the tree, only to realize that there were no figs on the fig tree. And he is annoyed, and he curses the fig tree! And the very next day the discples and Jesus walk past the same tree and the disciples are like what! it worked?! The tree had died!! Turned into a shriveled up stick! And Jesus is like hey, thats nothing, if you want to throw a mountain in the sea, all you have to do is ditch your doubt, and command it to happen. Power of prayer, ta da. But he also adds, that prayer is for forgiveness, and we need to remember to forgive others as well as asking for our own forgiveness.
Mark 11:27
This is so great...
"Then when they were back in Jerusalem once again, as they were walking through the Temple, the high priests, religion scholars, and leaders came up and demanded, 'Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?"
This is straight out of a movie! "Can I see some identification please? Where is your badge? Who do you work for? Who let you in here?"
And then it gets better, Jesus asks them a tricky question. And he says, if you answer me, I will answer you. He asks if John was baptizing with the power of heaven or man? And they knew if they said heaven Jesus would ask why they didn't believe him, and if they said from men, the people would be mad, because they believed John was a prophet. So They don't answer. And Jesus is like well I am not answering your question then, peace.
Mark 12:44
Everyone is putting their money in the offerring plate, some people who are rich are giving lots of money, then a woman comes up and gives only 2 cents. Jesus said to his disciples, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss, she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford- she gave her all."
Will God be able to say that about me? Will he be able to say I gave my all to him?
Question: Does this Jesus resemble the Jesus you learned about as a child? Why or why not? Basically in these 2 chapters God tells off a lot of people. Tells of people for making things up, Tells off 2 of his disciples for wanting special places in heaven, Tells them off for selling things in his Temple of prayer, tells off a fig tree for not having figs, tells the priests/religious people off for killing God's son (even though they hadn't done it yet), tells off people for asking him ridiculous questions...but he also teaches us a lot in these 2 chapters. We learn that divorce was not part of Gods plan, we learn what we have to sacrifice to truly follow God, we learn that Jesus will be killed, we learn that Jesus cares enough to heal one blind man, We learn that church is not the place for business, we learn that through prayer we have LOADS of power, we learn that we should pay our taxes, and that marriage won't happen in heaven, we learn that the greatest commandment is love, and we learn that we can give money all we want, but until it hurts, until we are really sacrificing, we aren't giving that much.
Psalm 21
"Show your strength God, so no one can miss it."
"Jesus looked him hard in the eye - and love him! He said, 'There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.' The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go."
Mark 11:12-25
Ok so basically this is what happens, Jesus realizes he is hungry and could use a snack, and he is looking around wondering what to eat, and he sees a fig tree! And thinks, man a fig would hit the spot. So he walks over to the tree, only to realize that there were no figs on the fig tree. And he is annoyed, and he curses the fig tree! And the very next day the discples and Jesus walk past the same tree and the disciples are like what! it worked?! The tree had died!! Turned into a shriveled up stick! And Jesus is like hey, thats nothing, if you want to throw a mountain in the sea, all you have to do is ditch your doubt, and command it to happen. Power of prayer, ta da. But he also adds, that prayer is for forgiveness, and we need to remember to forgive others as well as asking for our own forgiveness.
Mark 11:27
This is so great...
"Then when they were back in Jerusalem once again, as they were walking through the Temple, the high priests, religion scholars, and leaders came up and demanded, 'Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?"
This is straight out of a movie! "Can I see some identification please? Where is your badge? Who do you work for? Who let you in here?"
And then it gets better, Jesus asks them a tricky question. And he says, if you answer me, I will answer you. He asks if John was baptizing with the power of heaven or man? And they knew if they said heaven Jesus would ask why they didn't believe him, and if they said from men, the people would be mad, because they believed John was a prophet. So They don't answer. And Jesus is like well I am not answering your question then, peace.
Mark 12:44
Everyone is putting their money in the offerring plate, some people who are rich are giving lots of money, then a woman comes up and gives only 2 cents. Jesus said to his disciples, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss, she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford- she gave her all."
Will God be able to say that about me? Will he be able to say I gave my all to him?
Question: Does this Jesus resemble the Jesus you learned about as a child? Why or why not? Basically in these 2 chapters God tells off a lot of people. Tells of people for making things up, Tells off 2 of his disciples for wanting special places in heaven, Tells them off for selling things in his Temple of prayer, tells off a fig tree for not having figs, tells the priests/religious people off for killing God's son (even though they hadn't done it yet), tells off people for asking him ridiculous questions...but he also teaches us a lot in these 2 chapters. We learn that divorce was not part of Gods plan, we learn what we have to sacrifice to truly follow God, we learn that Jesus will be killed, we learn that Jesus cares enough to heal one blind man, We learn that church is not the place for business, we learn that through prayer we have LOADS of power, we learn that we should pay our taxes, and that marriage won't happen in heaven, we learn that the greatest commandment is love, and we learn that we can give money all we want, but until it hurts, until we are really sacrificing, we aren't giving that much.
Psalm 21
"Show your strength God, so no one can miss it."
Friday, February 5, 2010
911 - I have an emergency
MARK 7-9
"Jesus called the crowd together again and said, 'Listen now, all of you- take this to heart. It's not what you swallow that pollutes your life;it's what you vomit-that's the real pollution."
"He went on: "it's not what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness - all these are vomit from the herat. There is the source of your pollution."
OH SNAP, MARK 8
So I never realized that Jesus mutlipied food for thousands of people twice, I mean everyone knows about the fishes and loaves story, how Jesus fed 5,000 people, but does everyone know he did it again for 4,000 people? And the discples still said to him "what do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?". Like come on guys! You have seen him do this before! But hey, are we any better? We know all the miracles God has done, and yet, we still doubt he will get us breakfast for 4 sometimes, much less 4,000.
Ahhh... and then again, the discples are on the boat, starting stuff with each other because no one remembered to bring bread, and rather than be like Hey, Jesus, um, yeah we really, totally, forgot food, can you help us out? Rather than that, they choose to argue and point fingers, they want someone to blame for their growling stomachs. And we do that, we see God helping other people, and rather than ask for that same help, we choose to argue and point fingers, we want someone to blame for our problems.
Mark 8:33-37
" For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Song: Lose my soul by Toby Mac feat Kirk Franklin
Mark 9:23
"Jesus said, 'If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen"
This verse is so powerful to me. I can hear God telling me this over and over again in life, and I think the reason I have been successful in a lot of ways in life, is that I cling to this. I cling to the truth that with God all things are possible.
"If your hand or your foot gets in God's way, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire."
Well. That's, um, pretty straight forward. Just to clarify, I don't think Jesus was talking about a literal hand or foot, but I am sure it wouldn't change the meaning much if he was. Basically if there is something in my life, like my movies, and all the time I am watching movies and buying movies and thinking about movies, and it is distracting me from God, I should get rid of my movies, because what good are my movies when I am dead?
PSALM 20
"God answer you on the day you crash..."
What a blessing. "May God answer you on the day you crash...". That would be my prayer for all of my friends and family, for everyone in this world. That when you finally hit that wall, when you finally wake up, and realize if you don't call 911, you will die, may you see that 911 has already been dialed for you, a long time ago. That God planned for this crash, that God is ready to take you away from it, to heal you, to get you back on your feet.
"Jesus called the crowd together again and said, 'Listen now, all of you- take this to heart. It's not what you swallow that pollutes your life;it's what you vomit-that's the real pollution."
"He went on: "it's not what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness - all these are vomit from the herat. There is the source of your pollution."
OH SNAP, MARK 8
So I never realized that Jesus mutlipied food for thousands of people twice, I mean everyone knows about the fishes and loaves story, how Jesus fed 5,000 people, but does everyone know he did it again for 4,000 people? And the discples still said to him "what do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?". Like come on guys! You have seen him do this before! But hey, are we any better? We know all the miracles God has done, and yet, we still doubt he will get us breakfast for 4 sometimes, much less 4,000.
Ahhh... and then again, the discples are on the boat, starting stuff with each other because no one remembered to bring bread, and rather than be like Hey, Jesus, um, yeah we really, totally, forgot food, can you help us out? Rather than that, they choose to argue and point fingers, they want someone to blame for their growling stomachs. And we do that, we see God helping other people, and rather than ask for that same help, we choose to argue and point fingers, we want someone to blame for our problems.
Mark 8:33-37
" For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Song: Lose my soul by Toby Mac feat Kirk Franklin
Mark 9:23
"Jesus said, 'If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen"
This verse is so powerful to me. I can hear God telling me this over and over again in life, and I think the reason I have been successful in a lot of ways in life, is that I cling to this. I cling to the truth that with God all things are possible.
"If your hand or your foot gets in God's way, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire."
Well. That's, um, pretty straight forward. Just to clarify, I don't think Jesus was talking about a literal hand or foot, but I am sure it wouldn't change the meaning much if he was. Basically if there is something in my life, like my movies, and all the time I am watching movies and buying movies and thinking about movies, and it is distracting me from God, I should get rid of my movies, because what good are my movies when I am dead?
PSALM 20
"God answer you on the day you crash..."
What a blessing. "May God answer you on the day you crash...". That would be my prayer for all of my friends and family, for everyone in this world. That when you finally hit that wall, when you finally wake up, and realize if you don't call 911, you will die, may you see that 911 has already been dialed for you, a long time ago. That God planned for this crash, that God is ready to take you away from it, to heal you, to get you back on your feet.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Talith Koum
Mark 4-6
" He was never without a story when he spoke..."
"Talith Koum, little girl, get up"
"(Speaking to the disciples before sending them out on their own to preach and heal) Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No appeals for special funds, keep it simple....If you're not welcomed, not listend to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."
"But he (Jesus) answered, 'You give them something to eat'"
"...He climbed a mountain to pray"
I love reading the stories of Jesus. I love to think of what it must have been like to witness His miracles. And I wonder, what can I learn from our Jesus. Stories, everyone loves a story, He used stories to reach people, we should use stories to reach people. I can learn to use Powerful, yet gentle words. Jesus, the perfection of powerful and gentle. "Lion and Lamb"... To remember how to use the Lord's power, but also, how to use his love...To remember that God can use whatever we have, whatever we are willing to dedicate to Him... To remember not to take things personally, not to let ourselves by road blocked by something so-and-so said ...To have faith that with God, we can "feed" everyone, even if we are feeling like we are running low on "food"... Why climb a mountain? Couldn't Jesus pray at the bottom of the mountain? Or is it that nature, that distant places, are sometimes important for our spiritual lives? Do we sometimes need to get away, leave the world, climb a mountain, and go to a place where it is just God and us?
Psalm 19
NIV: "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
The MSG: " God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon"
Think about how it makes you feel to watch a sunrise, a sunset? How does it make you feel to look at the stars, or to look at the shapes in the clouds? Isn't a moment of peace? Or sometimes a moment of despair, when looking upward is all we can do to make ourselves feel there is hope? To remind ourselves that there must be something bigger than us out there? Why do we love all these things going on up above is? Is it because, deep inside us, we know, we know that we belong up there? We know that God is there? God is everywhere, but the sky is something so un-touchable, somethiing we can only see, but not touch. But we can still feel it's power, we can still be in awe. We can still, whether we know it or not, see God.
" He was never without a story when he spoke..."
"Talith Koum, little girl, get up"
"(Speaking to the disciples before sending them out on their own to preach and heal) Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No appeals for special funds, keep it simple....If you're not welcomed, not listend to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."
"But he (Jesus) answered, 'You give them something to eat'"
"...He climbed a mountain to pray"
I love reading the stories of Jesus. I love to think of what it must have been like to witness His miracles. And I wonder, what can I learn from our Jesus. Stories, everyone loves a story, He used stories to reach people, we should use stories to reach people. I can learn to use Powerful, yet gentle words. Jesus, the perfection of powerful and gentle. "Lion and Lamb"... To remember how to use the Lord's power, but also, how to use his love...To remember that God can use whatever we have, whatever we are willing to dedicate to Him... To remember not to take things personally, not to let ourselves by road blocked by something so-and-so said ...To have faith that with God, we can "feed" everyone, even if we are feeling like we are running low on "food"... Why climb a mountain? Couldn't Jesus pray at the bottom of the mountain? Or is it that nature, that distant places, are sometimes important for our spiritual lives? Do we sometimes need to get away, leave the world, climb a mountain, and go to a place where it is just God and us?
Psalm 19
NIV: "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
The MSG: " God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon"
Think about how it makes you feel to watch a sunrise, a sunset? How does it make you feel to look at the stars, or to look at the shapes in the clouds? Isn't a moment of peace? Or sometimes a moment of despair, when looking upward is all we can do to make ourselves feel there is hope? To remind ourselves that there must be something bigger than us out there? Why do we love all these things going on up above is? Is it because, deep inside us, we know, we know that we belong up there? We know that God is there? God is everywhere, but the sky is something so un-touchable, somethiing we can only see, but not touch. But we can still feel it's power, we can still be in awe. We can still, whether we know it or not, see God.
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