Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 1
Thessalonians 1 – 5 & 2 Thessalonians 1 – 3. Before reading I invite you to
pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs
is a link to the Bible reading plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
In our reading today we come to the
books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Thessalonica was a town in the region of
Macedonia. It is a modern day city as well in the country of Greece; again it
is in the region of Macedonia. Paul had the privilege of bringing the Gospel to
this city and establishing the church there. He writes two letters to encourage
the Christians there and also provide some teaching for areas of concern that
they had.
In the fourth chapter of his first
book, Paul praises them for the love that they have for one another, “Now about
your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves
have been taught by God to love each other.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9 NIV) The
Thessalonians were doing a good job of loving each other. This is an area of
praise from Paul. But Paul encourages them to ramp up their love another notch,
specifically to do so more and more.
I do not know how much love you have
in your heart for fellow Christians. I do not know how much love you show to
fellow Christians. Wherever your level is, will you take Paul’s encouragement
to the Thessalonians and ramp it up another notch. What a great time of the
year to do so as well with the Christmas season right around the corner.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts
17. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
One of the hypothetical questions that
seem to be discussed in American Christian circles is that of persecution. In a
lot of ways Americans have not had to experience the physical side of persecution.
We are privileged to be living in a country and a time where we are allowed to
worship freely. For the majority of our nation’s history Christianity was the
norm. Not only did that keep Christians from the persecution that others
experience around the globe, but Christians were and still are protected to
worship freely. While we are no longer the norm … Judaism, Islam, Hinduism,
Atheism, Agnosticism, and many other world religions are gaining acceptances in
America … we still have the freedom to worship God how we choose.
In our reading today we come to a
story about a man named Jason. Jason lived in Thessalonica and was a believer
in Jesus. He let Paul and Silas stay with him while they were in town. Because
of this, some Jews wanting to rid their city of the Apostle, rounded up Jason
and others and brought them before the courts. They were punished and a bond
was set, all because they were following Jesus and being kind to His followers.
When we read that story what floods
our mind. Are we detached from that story because we have never as American’s
really experienced that type of persecution? Do we read it and simply continue
on? Do we internalize it and try to imagine what it would be like? Does it
transform us in any way? If you take nothing else from today’s reading
contemplate how you would respond to a threat like Jason faced (or imagine one
even worse). How does your answer today differ than an answer you would have
given just a few years ago?
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Galatians
4-6. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
In our reading plan we have come to
the book of Galatians. This is the first book we see written by the Apostle
Paul. This however was not originally a book but a letter. Paul was the first
to carry the Gospel to the churches of Galatia … Galatia was a region not a
city. Now the church is facing some difficult times … many theological. People
have come in preaching and teaching a false doctrine of following Jesus. Not
only that, but they are still bombarded by Jews who are trying to destroy the
church. In the midst of these false teachings, they also have the Gentile
worship of their land to fight off and turn away from. There is definitely confusion
taking place.
Paul is writing to them to encourage
them and to teach them. In chapter four Paul solicits an emotion and memory
that he holds dear … “Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then?”
(Galatians 4:15 NLT) Paul reminds them of the joy and spirit they had when he
first came and preached the message of Jesus and they accepted. Somehow in
someway they have let that slip away.
As I look at the church too often I
feel the same thing has happened to many Christians. They initially found joy
in Christ and the new relationship that they begun with Him. They felt relief
from the burdens they carried around. They felt a new lease on life. They were
on fire. The spirit of God was overwhelming them in a really amazing way. But
somewhere along the way that joy evaporated.
As followers of Christ we have the
greatest reason to find joy. We have been saved through the blood of Jesus! We have
reason to be joyful to know that this world is not our home. Sure there will be
moments of frustration, worry, doubt, and struggle. But those emotions should
not dominate our lives. Our lives should be filled with joy and that joy should
radiate for all to see!
Let me ask you, be honest with yourself,
would people see joy in your heart and life through a simple encounter with you?
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from James
1 - 5. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
God has a wonderful sense of timing.
Today he showed himself to me in a powerful way. My heart is hurting right now.
I just have a mix of emotions flooding my mind. I have struggled to be
productive, to write, to listen, and to worship because my heart has been
heavy. I am not going to skirt around the truth … sometimes ministry is hard.
Sometimes I get deflated. Sometimes people can sting. Often it is a culmination
of things over a longer period of time.
Oh there are joys. The mountain tops
are amazing. Watching someone come to Jesus is the greatest joy any minister
could see and participate in. Watching people grow in Christ is just as
rewarding. Participating in the weddings and funerals of members are both
rewarding in their own ways. Being able to walk with church members in the trials
of their lives gives ministry a real sense of purpose. Being able to communicate
and teach the text of God’s Word is an immense responsibility and pleasure. I truly
love my job.
But then there are seasons where I
doubt my leadership. There are seasons when I doubt my strength. There are
seasons I look at what I have been called to and think it is way above my own
abilities and knowledge. I think these thoughts because I am serving real
people, with real desires, with real problems, with real limitations, with real
personalities, with real sin issues, and with real life happing.
Before reading today I sat down
broken. I tried reading some blogs, but they just reminded me of another area of
my life that I feel is not where I desire it to be. Thankfully that has all
happened because it took me to my prayer journal. It forced me to go to the
only place I could … to God. I sat and wrote my heart break before God. I
turned on a cover of Wrecking Ball
and God spoke to me. I then listened to Garden
by NEEDTOBREATH and worship ensued. As I wrote I poured my heart to God through
writing and another song Rest by
Carrolton. Through it all God and I connected in a way that I had put off far
too long.
And then God reminded me what trials
and difficulties are in place for. When I sat down to read, and came to the
passage I laughed. It is James 1. After his greeting James gives rather strange
advice … “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.” (James 1:24 NIV) Here I am broken, going through trial, and it all
erupts on the day we are scheduled to read this passage.
God I love you. I love your timing. I
love your comfort. I love your strength. Thank you for your amazing reminder that
you have a plan. Thank you for your reminder that you are involved in my life.
Thank you for the reminder that you are running me through the fire to mold me
and shape me into the creation you desire me to be. I know that when I walk
with you, nothing is too big, or too out of reach, because of who you are.
Thank you for the reminder that when I am hurting, I can turn to you! God I
love you.
If you cannot see the video above in your email or RSS reader click here.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts
11 & 12. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you
as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading
plan.
I am in love with an Indie Rock Band Walk Off The Earth from Burlington, Ontario,
Canada. They are incredibly talented group of musicians and vocalist. They are
well known for their YouTube videos covering some of the most popular music of
today’s current artists. Their video covers often take a song to an amazing new
level. I am blown away by the talent God has blessed them with. Their most recent
release was one of the members of the group along with two friends covering
Miley Cyrus’ newest song Wrecking Ball.
I am not a Miley fan, did not even care for the song until I listened to this
cover. The pain and emotion displayed in this song is just amazing from these
three ladies.
Through their emotion I am reminded
that there are so many people in our world whose lives have been confronted by
the proverbial wrecking ball. Maybe it was their marriage. Maybe it was their
finances. Maybe it is currently a relationship with family members. Maybe it is
a job situation. Maybe it is legal trouble. Maybe it is some kind of consequence
to sinful choices. As Christians how should we respond when people come to us
in the midst of the wrecking ball experience of life?
In our reading today we encountered a
man named Barnabas. Barnabas was not his real name, only his nickname. Barnabas
means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). The early church has nicknamed this man
by his dominate characteristic. So as the church grew, and people outside the
Jewish community started becoming Christians, it is obvious to send the
encourager to these new Christians.
We can be confident that these people
who were coming to Christ were certainly people who knew the wrecking ball of
life. They were people who more than likely worshiped the god’s of the day, not
the one true God. But soon they began worshiping the one true God and accepting
Jesus as Lord. Barnabas goes and is excited to see God working. It is here that
he begins encouraging … “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God,
he was glad and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their
hearts.” (Acts 11:23 NIV) From Barnabas we can learn a valuable lesson.
When people in our church, in our
lives, in our communities encounter the wrecking ball, often what they need
most is a little bit of Barnabas. They need encouragement. They need to be
uplifted. Let me encourage you to face the wrecking ball with encouragement to
remain faithful!
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts
9 & 10. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you
as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading
plan.
Have you ever worked on a project and
no matter what you did you were not able to be successful? You kept working and
working but nothing you did made you successful. Finally you just set the project
down and walked away. Then amazingly when you came back and picked it up you
completed the project successfully on the first try? I do not know how many
times I have done this. I remember in college I was playing a video game. For
days I worked to try and beat what turned out to be the final level. No matter
what I did I was not successful. Finally I got frustrated and stopped playing
the game for months. One day I decided to pick the game back up, went in and
completed the mission on my first try.
Why do we do this? Sometimes it’s
because we do not know any other way. Sometimes our skills just are not up to
the task at hand. Other times our knowledge might not be as great. Sometimes we
just are not ready to learn. Sometimes we need to step away, clear our minds,
and approach the problem or task with fresh eyes. Many times it is new
perspective (at least fresh perspective) that gives us the needed clarity to
complete the project.
In our reading today we find Peter,
one of the twelve, the man who had the privilege of delivering the first
presentation of the gospel message (a message where three thousand people were
baptized), and he needed a new perspective. Until chapter ten of Acts all
Christians were Jews who accepted Christ. There were some exceptions … the
Samaritans, but they were simply half bread Jews, and others who had fully converted
to Judaism. Now for the first time God is ready to extend salvation to a full
on Gentile.
So to prepare Peter, God works to give
him a new perspective. He shows the vision of the white sheet and the unclean
animals. He tells Peter to accept the messenger’s invitation. He pours out the Holy
Spirit before baptism. He does all of this to bring about new perspective; this
time a new inclusion of people into the Kingdom of God.
Is there a place in your heart where
you could use a time away to draw a new perspective? Maybe it is clothing worn
to church. Maybe it is a new heart for hurting people. Maybe it is a new look
at your marriage. Maybe it is a renewed approach to your parenting. Maybe it is
a fresh approach to worship. I do not know what your current perspective is,
but I am confident there is an area that we can all improve ours in.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts
7 & 8. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as
you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
The life of Jesus is now behind us. He
has went to the cross and resurrected. He has even left His disciples on earth
until His final return at the end of days. While He has left earth, He has not
left His disciples alone. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured
out upon mankind bringing salvation along with it. Now the church has begun.
People are being brought to a life changing relationship with Jesus. Those who
are opposed to Jesus, pulling the old power strings, are fighting back against
the church. They have now arrested Stephen.
Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin
and he is telling them the story of their ancestral history, concluding with
their deliverer from Egyptian slavery, Moses. In this retelling Stephen gave
this line after God called Moses, “So God sent back the same man his people had
previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over
us?’” (Acts 7:35 NLT). I absolutely love when something new stands out to me no
matter how many times I have read a passage … this was one of those times.
In many ways Jesus was compared to
Moses. Moses delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Jesus delivered
all of mankind from the slavery of sin. Moses was considered a prophet. Jesus
was considered a prophet. Moses gave God’s original Law. Jesus fulfilled the
Law and provided a new Law … Grace. And in another similarity Moses was
rejected by the people he came to rescue. Jesus was rejected by the people He
came to rescue.
What is wonderful is both times God won.
When God is in charge, when God is leading the way, when God is the one we
trust, we will come out victorious.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew
28 & Mark 16. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to
you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading
plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
When I was young (somewhere between five
and seven years old) I had a project I was working on and I borrowed a pair of
my father’s adjustable pliers. I do not know why but these pliers where
designed to come apart; a fact that I was not aware of. While using them they did just that; came
apart. I was petrified that I had broken the pliers. I did not ask permission
to use them, so instead of owning up to my error I took the pliers and hid them
behind a shelving unit in the basement. From the moment I hid them I began rehearsing
my story for the day when I would get caught. I have never gotten caught for my
crime (I even checked for the pliers sometime in high school and they were not
there anymore. I am assuming they were found apart, put back together with a
question as to how they ended up falling behind the shelf). However, that day I
began a practice in my life of preparing a statement for wrongs committed.
Have you ever done it in your life? You
do something wrong so you begin talking to yourself preparing your statement …
what your going to tell, how your going to tell it, what details you are going
to add (embellished or not), what details you will conveniently leave out, and
on and on. Now I do not know why you do it, but as an adult I know why I do it.
I do it because I do not think quickly on my feet. I like to be prepared. I
write an outline/manuscript of my sermons because I do not think quickly on my
feet. I was never the kid to raise my hand to answer a question, because I took
a while to process the question. My daughter is now three years old, very
perceptive, so my wife has started spelling things, and we got in an argument
because I have a hard time processing what she is spelling. My brain processes
slowly in many regards, and because of that I gave rehearsed explanations for
my crimes.
In our reading today we see that very
thing play out with the Jewish leaders. When the women go to Jesus tomb the
tomb is empty. Jesus is not there. The men who were supposed to be guarding were
doing their job but they had no power over God. Jesus resurrected. However,
this empty tomb meant possible death for these guards. What were they to do?
What were they to say? Well the Jewish leaders had their backs. They gave them a
prepared statement to go to the Roman officials with. Now this was not to
protect the guards, but to control the story.
The Jewish leaders did not want people
believing that Jesus actually resurrected. They wanted people to believe His
disciples stole the body. So they prepared and rehearsed and shared their
story. But friends, as we know, there is greater power in truth. Truth needs no
preparation. Truth needs no rehearsal. Truth needs no thought. Truth is truth,
and it will stand the test of time. That is the beauty of the Gospel. The tomb
of Jesus is empty. He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Luke
23, and John 18 & 19. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to
speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the
Bible reading plan.
The reason the Jews chanted crucify
was they felt threatened. They felt threatened by the claims Jesus made. They felt
threatened that He might mess up the power they had by causing a revolt, and
bringing the hand of Rome down even stronger. So to get rid of the threat, they
sought Jesus death. I do not believe any of this went unnoticed by Pilate.
When Jesus was placed on the cross, Pilate
had a sign simply reading … “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John
19:19 NLT) Did Pilate do this because he really believed Jesus was the King of
the Jews? I do not believe so. Did he do this because he couldn't stand what
the Jewish leaders were making him do? Possibly. Did he do this to get back at
the Jews? Absolutely. I am sure he saw these people as a problem, so just to
grind it in, he did something that made them mad.
And did it ever. Like little children
crying to their parents to make someone else change their behavior, they
objected and said … “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to “He said, I am
King of the Jews.” (John 19:21 NLT) They did not want people believing that
Jesus was their King. But they did not get their way. Pilate told them no.
What the Jews did not understand is
that what Pilate had written was the truth. Jesus was the King of the Jews. His
family tree took Him all the way back to King David. His blood line was pure
royalty, both as a descendent of David and as the Son of God. Now the King of
the Jews was about to become the savior of the world. These men who sent Jesus
to cross, who felt threatened by His claims, did what was necessary. Their fear
brought salvation to the world. For that I am thankful.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew
27 & Mark 15. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to
you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading
plan.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
It is hard to imagine crucifixion as a
good thing. Its history dates back all the way to the Assyrian Empire … the
same empire that ended up destroying the northern kingdom of Israel in 725 B.C.
It was a rather rudimentary procedure … they basically took a log, sharpened
the end, impaled a person through their stomach and then placed the log in a
hole in the ground to let the person slowly die. By the time the Romans arrived
on the scene and the Jewish leaders chanted crucify, crucifixion had become a
perfected art form, designed to cause the most excruciating death possible. Crucifixion
could take hours, or days, or even up to a week to claim the life of its victim.
With all that in our minds it is hard
to see the cross as anything but gory. So we have canceled all that out. We now
look at the cross as a decoration for our churches and our homes. We now wear crosses
on our necklaces. We now use the symbol as a marking that we belong to Christ.
Why? Because of what Christ did on the cross. Christ paid our debt on the
cross. The cross which was gory has now become a symbol of glory.
It is through Jesus that the terrible
cross became beautiful. Think about that as you listen to the words of Selah’s
song Beautiful Terrible Cross. If you cannot see the video in your RSS reader or email click here.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from John
14-17. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
In our reading today we find Jesus
discussing in great length what is about to happen to Him. While He discusses
it in great length, there is a lot of detail that was probably confusing to the
disciples. In fact it was confusing to me and I have the ability to look back
with the cross and resurrection already in mind. Regardless this is a wonderful
discussion given by Jesus that reveals His true identity and purpose on this
earth.
The discourse concludes with Jesus
offering a prayer for Himself, the disciples who made up the remaining eleven,
and all followers to come. This prayer ends with Jesus praying for us, the
followers throughout the ages. As I finished the prayer I wandered if Jesus
would look at the church today and feel sad for the state it’s in. Look back at
the words of His prayer … “May they experience such perfect unity that they
world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”
(John 17:23 NLT) Do you think the church makes Jesus proud?
I do not know the answer to that per
say, but I do not the church today is not unified. How many “brands” of Christianity
exist? How may different doctrines have split churches? How many worship wars
have wreaked havoc on congregations? How many building programs have created a
wedge between people of faith?
As a minister of a “restoration”
church it my mission to seek unity. I love the phrase, “in matters of faith
unity, in matter of opinion liberty, in all things love.” I also love the
saying, “not the only Christians but Christians only.” These remind me that no
matter what difference we may have, there is only one church and that church is
made up of all people who have found a life saving relationship with Jesus
Christ. When we begin to live like that, we begin to fulfill the prayer of
Jesus.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew
24. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you
read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.
Our reading today had the disciples
seeking clarification on a teaching of Jesus after He predicted the destruction
of the Temple. This clarification turned into a teaching on the coming days.
Now many turn this teaching of Jesus into a discussion on the last days. I am
not confident that this is a true discussion on the last days of this earth. O
certainly there are elements that point to the last days, but the majority of
the conversation points to what will happen to the disciples after the
resurrection.
There are several reasons we read into
this passage end times discussion. In a few places the text specifically talks
about the end of days. In those instances that is probably the implied
teaching. But we must be careful to only read that in those sections. Other
sections are Jesus preparing His disciples for what they will face as they
carry the message of the gospel to the world.
We must be careful when reading the
Bible to seek the author or speakers intended purpose. Too many times we come
to the Bible with our theological point of view regardless of the truth. Just
imagine if you read the Bible each time for the first time, with no
understanding of Christianity. How would that alter the way you read the Bible?
I know for me it would be transformational. Next time you sit down to read,
clear your mind and absorb the Bible with a fresh mind.
Below are my thoughts from the daily
Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew
23 & Luke 20 & 21. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to
you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading
plan.
I apologize for the lack of posts
these last few days. We have been out of town and while I have had internet
access I did not have the ability to use my laptop to post. Thank you for your
understanding.
There are many areas that people feel
uncomfortable discussing in a church setting ... sex and money tend to be two
that top the list. However, Jesus does not steer clear of either; especially
when it comes to money. Jesus was not uncomfortable with it. We only are
because we often have a warped view of money; mainly because we look at it as
ours.
One day Jesus was in the Temple with
His disciples. As He stood there watching the crowds he noticed two distinct
people. The first was a group of people. They were wealthy people. Tradition
and historical records have taught us that the money was given in such a way
that when it was placed in the offering jars a sound would ring out. The sound
indicated the level of the gifts. Through this wealthy people were able to show
off what they were giving.
The second was a single widow. This
widow came to the time of offering and dropped in two small coins. These coins
wouldn’t have made much of a racket, especially in a crowded and noisy Temple.
While the masses missed what she had done, the creator of the universe did not.
He saw more than anyone in the crowd would have seen even if they were watching
… He saw her heart.
She did not give for show. She did not
give to be honored by those around her. She didn’t give because of an
obligation. She gave because of love. Jesus indicated this much as He called to
attention her gift … “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.
For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has
given everything she has.” (Luke 21:3-4 NLT).
Our giving reflects our heart. Our
giving reflects our love of the church. Our giving reflects our love of our
God. Be honest with yourself … if you were in the Temple, what would Jesus say
about your giving?
