02/27/18 - Mark 13

Feb 27, 2018 – Mark 13

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13

Don't take personal the actions of others - rise above it and follow Jesus.

If you were to be dropped into America and turn on the TV, it would not take long to gain a perspective on how Christians are viewed.  Shows like L.A. Pastors and G.C.B. would give you an immediate impression.  News covering leadership failures and moral protestors would affect your doubts, and the lack of respect for Jesus’ Name would be prevalent.  Given a little time, you would come to the conclusion that Christians were the central problem, and needed to be removed in order to live free of sin & guilt.

That perception would not be much different than what the First Century Christians faced.  Dying in the arena or on the stake, they knew people hated them and wanted them out of society.  It’s a good thing Jesus warned them that all men would hate them because of what He stood for.  Otherwise, their trust in God may have faltered in the face of persecution.

Jesus was very clear about the challenge of being a Christian.  He was more concerned about losing our faith in the face of persecution than in health, wealth or relationship issues.  So Jesus reminded them often – you will have to carry your cross… you will be hated by men… you will be persecuted … it is a narrow gate and narrow path to follow.  To encourage us, Jesus gave us two keys to overcoming persecution:

1)      Don’t take it Personal (hate you because of me) – Persecuting Christians is about Jesus, not about you.  In spite of feeling under attack, remember their battle is with God, not with you.  Taking it personal would make us angry or bitter, but seeing their fight with Jesus makes us more patient and sad for their souls. 

2)      Focus on the Next Life (firm … will be saved) – Because Eternity is now Open, our perspective is about living there, not being comfortable here.  Don’t discount the power of pursuing Eternity.  Our lives are COMPLETELY different because we believe in Heaven and trust Jesus with eternity.  We would persecute people too, if we thought this life was all there is.

Persecution has nothing to do with fairness, rightness or defensiveness.  Just ask Jesus!  It wasn’t fair that He was given all of our sins.  It wasn’t right that He went to the cross in our place.  It wasn’t logical that Jesus didn’t defend God or Himself when challenged to come down.  Yet by persevering, He overcame, and was raised from the dead to lead our way to Eternity.  Our persecution is far less severe than what Jesus endured, but our reward will be the same.

Choose today not to take these persecutions personal, and use them as triggers to look toward eternity.  We don’t need to defend God, nor do we need to avoid the struggle.  God will save us, just rise above it and follow Jesus.

02/26/18 - Mark 12

Feb 26, 2018 – Mark 12

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' Mark 12:30

He's not looking for a portion of our love... He wants all of it.

This age-old instruction from God captures the essence of every command and instruction out of His mouth.  Even loving our neighbor comes out of loving God first.  So the teachers are probably not surprised that Jesus would quote this as the number one objective of life --- even if some had anticipated he might respond with one of the 10 Commandments. 

Many people would say they love God – but here’s where it gets sticky.  Jesus uses the word ALL in every aspect of love, showing that God is not impressed with partial love, but growing love.   All of us are guilty of showing love to God in partial ways.  Some worship him every week … except for those weeks they are busy with sports or personal enjoyments.  Some obey His commandments completely … as long as it doesn’t impact their standard of living.  Some are fully involved in serving the Lord’s Kingdom … but have forgotten they are not serving for the attention or accomplishment, but serving for God’s enjoyment.  We have this tendency to offer God partial love, and feel good about it as long as it compares better than others in our network.

The measure of “all” is not found in comparing to others around us.  There will always be some who express less love than us, and others who express more love.  The measure of “all” is between you and God.  Is what you’re offering to God “all” you have to give at this moment?  Are you serving or giving or worshipping out of complete love?  Love is not just about volume or quality, it’s also about motive.

If we just started every day looking to Love God with all we have, there’s a good chance it would change the rest of our day drastically.  Not only might it change our schedules and activities, it might help us recognize the moments built into every day when God is working and wants to involve us.  It might just open the door to conversations about God with friends and family at a distance from Him.  It might just restructure our behavior to react differently – giving grace instead of judgment, providing forgiveness instead of anger, seeking His Word instead of our opinions.  Loving God is not just a momentary checkmark on our day, it means being invaded by His love every moment of the day.

Let’s just be honest.  It takes more than one lifetime to learn to love God with “all”.  There’s so much to change and unlearn.  We’ll never completely arrive this side of heaven.  God knows that, but His standard doesn’t change.  He celebrates the growth of our love, not the gap of our love.  So how is that looking these days?  Is your gap of love shrinking?  Is the growth happening?

Use today as a starting point and re-examine your love level.  Is God First in your schedule?  Is worship a priority?  Are you growing in obedience to His commands?  Is anything hindering your time with Him every day?  Don’t try to feel better by ignoring or excusing it --- choose today to Grow Your Love of God.  After all --- He wants and deserves ALL of our love, so MORE of it would be a good place to start.

02/23/18 - Mark 11

Feb 23, 2018 – Mark 11

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

Instead of praying about what you hope may happen, pray for what you believe will happen---praying should be selfless belief.

Any person of faith will eventually be asked to pray for things that seem useless.  Like praying for a dying patient to be healed.  Or praying for a lazy student’s grades to improve.  Or praying for peace on earth when tensions continue to rise.  You KNOW the prayer is possible, but you’re not sure you believe it will happen.  So in order to pray but not damage the person’s faith in God, you add the ultimate caviat to the prayer:  “If it is your will God, … ”.  (Of course, that is a cop-out, but it helps us feel better at the time.)

Jesus wasn’t worried about us ‘feeling better’ in prayer, He wanted to teach us to ‘feel powerful’ in prayer.  Power of prayer is not in praying what people want, while giving God the cop-out.  Power in prayer is about praying for what you believe, and trusting the belief to happen.  While that may seem subtle, there is great power in belief.  Belief is not about getting what we want, it’s about discerning what God wants. 

Some interpret this verse to support them praying for their desires – that if you pray and believe it will give you what you want.  But Jesus is talking about praying, not wishing.  You can wish for anything, but praying is not about us.  Praying is about God.  Praying is a conversation where God is the dominant voice and we are trying to listen & connect with Him.  Intercessory prayer is about getting so in tune with God that we capture His will and become a part of the conversation on an issue.

So in the case of a dying patient – ask God for his healing hand, but also pray for God to become present in the person’s life, and place His angels around the person.  Pray for God to give wisdom to the doctors, for the family to sense God’s presence in their pain, and for other promises from Scripture.

For the lazy student’s grades – ask God to intervene in their lives, removing every distraction and increasing their retention.  But also ask God to reward their level of hard work with appropriate grades (both for when they try hard, and when they goof off).

For peace on earth – ask God to bring peace to people’s hearts, and calm spirits to world leaders, so that hostility doesn’t erupt and people can be saved.  Pray for peace of people with God, that will bring more peace on earth to men.

Pray for what you believe will happen, instead of what makes the person feel good (or you feel good).  Certainly pray for miracles – God is a God of miracles!  But bring power to your prayers by praying out of belief.  That doesn’t mean praying for selfish results (although everyone is at least partially guilty of selfish prayers at times).  It really means praying for selfless beliefs.

02/22/18 - Mark 10

Feb 22, 2018 – Mark 10

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack...Go, sell all you have and give to the poor... Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21

The most loving thing needing said is often the hardest thing to hear.

“You have a problem with ______”. 

Hearing the statement from a trusted mentor was certainly uncomfortable.  While that blank could have been filled in with many accurate words, it’s never easy for Pete to hear any of them coming from someone whose opinion matters so much.  But that was exactly why he listened and asked questions.  Knowing the statement came from someone who loved him and desired the best for him made it safe enough to consider the advice.

How much more when Jesus looked at the rich young ruler and told him he had a problem with riches.  The Rich always struggle with riches – because they take so much time and energy to manage.  It can easily turn into a problem.  But more of a problem is the defensiveness that comes with someone confronting it.  Jesus gave the rich man truth to consider, and he walked away, missing out on the chance to follow Jesus and know the Son of God personally.

But Mark records something more than just the conversation & response.  Mark shares that Jesus preceded the comments with something crucial to every difficult conversation… Jesus looked at the man & loved him.  We have no place confronting anyone we don’t know.  Jesus looked at this man and sized him up as only Jesus can do.  He started with a relationship.  Then Jesus loved him enough to say something – knowing it was going to be difficult to hear, but the most loving thing he could share.

Jesus loves you and me enough to tell us the truth as well.  The fact is that most of us ARE RICH!  If you live in America, you would qualify as a rich young ruler.  While the prescription might be adjusted, Jesus would still tell us we have a problem.  We have a problem with sin.  We have a problem with riches.  We have a problem with obedience.  We have a problem with selfishness & pride… with unforgiveness… with devotion to God… with a host of issues. 

Jesus offers the prescription, and loves us enough to tell us.  And the end result is more freedom to follow Him.  So if you know what the problem is, now the question is whether you will do what Jesus says & follow Him, or walk away.

Love tells us what needs to be said, even if it is the hardest thing to hear.  And Love responds to truth with obedience, even if it is the hardest thing to do.   It may be uncomfortable, but maybe it’s time to listen to our Divine Mentor, and consider his advice.

Then maybe – we won’t have a problem with _________.

02/21/18 - Mark 9

Feb 21, 2018 – Mark 9

"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied. "How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." Mark 9:19

Belief is not just in Jesus doing the work for us, but in Jesus doing the work through us.

Dependence is destroying our nation – but not in how you might think. 

We take pride in America that we are an independent nation.  People “pull up their bootstraps” and get to work, conquering every obstacle, and overcoming every challenge.  We don’t want to be a burden to anyone, and try to take care of our own.  You would never call Americans a dependent people.

But take a closer look.  Those independent Americans are the same ones who depend on calculators or software to balance their checkbooks.  It’s the same group who depend on mechanics to fix their cars, need help from accountants for their taxes, trust the doctors to tell them how to get healthy, need a repairman to do their house repairs, and need teachers to help raise their kids.

You might call that leveraging specialists, but it gets far worse.  Nowadays, a majority of Americans are leveraging the government to help support them in some way.  Far too many adults have returned to their parents’ homes to live.  You can see many adults needing their kids to help them muddle through life, and our national debt is skyrocketing as we depend on other nations to help us out.

Dependence is not wrong – in fact, we ALL are dependent on God to live every day of our lives.  But when dependence becomes laziness or abdication of our effort, it becomes an abuse instead of a character quality.

Jesus came down from the mountain where He had just been transfigured, and there’s an argument between a man and the disciples about why they couldn’t heal the man’s boy.  And when it’s brought to Jesus’ attention, he gets frustrated with them.  Why is that?  Many have different opinions, but is it possible the disciples and this father had become dependent on Jesus doing everything for them, instead of allowing Jesus to work through them?  They had power – Jesus had already put His power on them some time earlier – but they didn’t have faith in that power.  Their faith was only in Jesus doing all the work, not in Jesus working through them.  Maybe that’s why Jesus is frustrated.  They preferred to be dependent on someone else doing the work instead of getting on their knees and praying for God to work through them. 

Too often, that’s still the case today.  We have the Spirit with us, and the power in us, but still want to avoid the work and prayer needed for Jesus to work through us.  We’d rather Jesus just take care of it without us.  Or that Jesus wouldn’t require us to change (repent) so that we could be His vessel to work.  If it frustrated Jesus then, there’s a good chance He is still frustrated now!

So if you’re laying around waiting for Jesus to fix it, stop that!  Get on your knees, or get off the couch, and do something.  STAY DEPENDENT – but believe in Jesus to work through you too!  You might just discover many ways God has already equipped you to do incredible things – and find yourself less dependent on the world, and more dependent on Him!

02/20/18 - Mark 8

Feb 20, 2018 – Mark 8

Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." Mark 8:29

What we believe about Jesus directly affects what we believe about ourselves.

Identity is at the core of most of our beliefs, and leads to most of our behaviors.

I had a friend who thought he was a good musician.  He played an instrument, and knew technically how to play, but struggled with timing and the feeling of the music.  In his head, he believed he was a musician, and so he devoted time to it.  He practiced, and played, and performed – but even though he thought he could play the instrument, he was not musically gifted enough to do it well.

That’s not just true for musicians.  Many aspire to be athletes, or artists, or leaders, or even speakers (and preachers), but even though they want to identify with the belief in their mind, their body and soul don’t match.   Trying to be something you are not just doesn’t work.  You may do all the right things, but it’s not who you were made to be.

On the other hand, when we figure out exactly who we were designed to be, it can open doors to incredible results.  Just look at some of the greatest athletes, artists, preachers, business leaders, parents, … you name it.  When we discover and live out our identity, it can be an incredibly productive life.  Maybe not what we wished for or imagine in our dreams, but far greater than anyone else can do in that role. 

So how do you find out who you really are?  That’s the big question!  If we can discover our identity, then we can live it out and be at our best.

Jesus asked Peter the question of identity – but not who Peter was.  He asked who Peter thought Jesus was!  Jesus’ question to Peter did two things in helping Peter discover his identity.

1)      By recognizing who Jesus is, we realize who we are NOT!  If Jesus is a great leader, or teacher, or prophet, or other good role model, then we can be as good as Jesus in something.  By reducing Jesus to something other than the Son of God – it lets us pursue false identities.  But if Jesus truly IS the Christ – then He is Lord over our lives and our identity is defined by Him.

2)      By elevating Jesus above ourselves, we are able to discover who we ARE!  Once the pride is gone from trying to be something we are not, we can quickly discover who God designed us to be.  Let’s face it – people want to ‘Be Like Mike’ because of pride.  We want for ourselves what Michael Jordan (or any other role model), achieved and gained for themselves.  But when we humbly come before the Christ, our pride is gone, and whatever He decides is a great blessing!

Right after Peter makes that declaration, Jesus tells Peter his true identity.  He’s not a fisherman any longer.  He’s the leader of the coming church movement.  But more than that, Peter is a child of the Most High God, and a friend of the Christ Himself!  Peter’s identity is no longer tied to his pride, it’s tied to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Now Peter is released to be the best Peter possible – bringing thousands into salvation, and launching the church that saves millions for generations to come.

That’s an identity worth having, and it comes from who we think Jesus is – so what’s your answer?

02/19/18 - Mark 7

Feb 19, 2018 – Mark 7

Jesus said: “What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.'  For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts & behaviors…” - Mark 7:20

Rules don't fix hearts, only God can do that.

I grew up in a house that had many rules.  Not too many (I don’t think), and not actually wrong rules, but expectations of behavior nonetheless.  One of them involved words we were not allowed to say.  You can probably guess some of them, as my parents did not like foul language or cursing.  But one that annoyed me was the rule against the “f” word.  NO – I’m not talking about TODAY’S language!   The “f” word in my house was ‘fart’.  J  There were many other ways we could say something about that body release of air – but ‘fart’ wasn’t permitted.  So we were wise enough not to use the word in our house, but I had no problem using it with friends in other environments.  Of course, that was until one time I was not paying attention and accidently slipped saying it while laughing at my brother, only to discover my mom was right behind me.  Needless to say – that didn’t turn out so good!!!

My mom was right, there are better words to use for some things, but the rule didn’t really change my heart on it.  In fact, the rule just highlighted my attention to it!  I needed the rule to learn how to behave properly, but the rule also kept me focused on wanting to use the word as well.  The purpose of the rule was to help me keep a clean mouth, but ended up exposing how easy it is to develop a dirty mouth of hot air (no pun intended!).

We need rules, but they don’t change hearts.  I support them because they help us define proper behavior so we can live together well.  But thinking that we will be able to change people through rules or laws has already been proven ineffective.  The only fix to the heart is from the Spirit of God, not from behavioral rules.  What we need is a personal relationship inside our heart with the Holy God who loves us, that changes our beliefs, so that we are excited pursuing behavior He requests. 

In our day, we see culture trying to go the other direction.  Since rules are not fixing behavior, just throw out the rules.  While that may be a logical argument (maybe?), it lacks effectiveness as well.  If the heart was unclean before knowing the standard, it will be downright evil without one.  We still need a standard – and praise God we have one in Jesus!  He is both our Standard AND our Spirit!  He can fix the heart as our Savior, and direct the behavior as our Lord.  But the only way that happens is by starting with Jesus in our hearts.

That’s why trying to teach people who don’t know Jesus how to behave is rather pointless.  They may buy the logic for some things, but the next generation will question the rules, just like I did with my mom’s rules on proper language.  What every generation needs is to meet and know Jesus first, THEN discover the behavioral expectations He has for us.  We must first be baptized into Christ before learning how to behave like Christ.  Belief drives our behavior.

So be cautious with the rules of your home.  They are necessary, but what is more needed is a relationship with the Standard & the Spirit in Jesus.  Grow that relationship in your home, and the rules will take care of themselves.

02/16/18 - Mark 6

Feb 16, 2018 – Mark 6

He said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31

The answer to busy-ness is not often sleep, but a quiet time of restoration with Jesus.

The disciples had been on a high-speed whirlwind tour around the district of Galilee.  After traveling the towns setting up Jesus for His arrival, and supporting Jesus in the miracles & crowds, they were already tired.  Then news came of the death of John the Baptist, and grief & sadness added to their exhaustion.  Jesus was overwhelmed too, and recognized their exhaustion, so He gave them the advice ALL of us have heard or said in our lifetime – “you need some rest”.  That usually means: “get some sleep, lay down, plop on the couch, watch some TV and snack on some chips”, all things to let the body physically rest.  But that’s NOT what the disciples ended up doing.  Instead, they had to row their boat and travel to find a solitary place.  And if that wasn’t enough, thousands show up and Jesus ends up teaching all day, then asks the disciples to feed this large crowd.  I thought the idea was to relax and lay under a tree – not do more work!

We say Rest and mean Sleep – but Rest is short for Restoration.  Sleep can restore our physical bodies with some energy, but often it doesn’t help give relief to our minds or souls.  Often what restores our minds is not sleep, but effective play or activity.  And what restores our souls can be sleep, but more often it involves comfort & encouragement by life-giving people.  If we’re looking for restoration, it may not be found in a bed or couch.  It may rather be found on a playground, or with a friend in a coffee shop. 

Yet busy people often complain that they need more rest – and keep growing more tired & exhausted no matter how much sleep they get.  That’s why the person who’s mind is exhausted doesn’t sleep well, because what they really need is a walk in the park or time on the fishing boat.  That’s why the person grieving is often looking for something mindless to DO, like cleaning a room or washing dishes (which is what we keep trying to TAKE AWAY FROM THEM in an effort to be helpful).

What Restoration do you need these days?  Are you exhausted physically, or is it weariness from something in your soul or mind?  What activities restore you – it may not be sleep!  Yes, physically you need rest by sleep, but emotionally & intellectually you need restoration in other ways.

All of these had one thing in common for the disciples – Jesus was there, and He knew what they needed.  Restoration came in rowing a boat, and in listening to Truth, and in feeding 1000s of people.  And following that, the disciples got to see Jesus walk on water!  I doubt they were thinking about sleeping during those miracles … but their spirits were certainly not grieving the same as before.  They discovered something … with Jesus around, you will find restoration that’s far better than just sleep.

02/15/18 - Mark 5

Feb 15, 2018 – Mark 5

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5:36

Trust the word of an eternal God over the opinion of limited men.

There’s a difference between ignorance & ignoring, but sometimes people try to hide behind one to escape the consequences of the other.

Ignorance is action without knowledge.  It’s when we make a decision based on the information we have, but the information is incomplete.  Ignorance is when we believe a reporter without checking the facts.  Ignorance is when we follow our friend’s prescription without confirming the results.  Ignorance can have consequences, but the fault lies not in the action, but in the information.

But Ignoring is action in spite of knowledge.  Ignoring has heard the information, but chooses to believe differently and take a different course of action.  Ignoring is when we hear the reporter and choose to believe a different story.  Ignoring is when we listen to our friend’s prescription and follow a different course of action.  Ignoring can also have consequences, but the fault likes in our decision, not the information.

Jesus CONSTANTLY ignored, but was never ignorant.  He rejected the world’s standard of popularity and pursued His Father.  He ignored the pressure of the Pharisees and spent time with the common people.  Jesus never let the opinions of others get in the way of God’s Truth.  That doesn’t mean Jesus ignored people, He simply ignored their opinions when it contradicted God’s direction.  Jesus was far from ignorant, but He carefully ignored many other things.

Unfortunately, the world likes to lump Christians into the “ignorance” category.  Their argument is that believers of Jesus have no clue about the truth, and lack the knowledge they have.  Much like Jesus, believers can find themselves being condemned as ignorant and uneducated. 

But that’s not who we are.  Ignorance is not the description of a committed believer, but Ignoring sure is.  If we choose to follow Jesus, we must also choose to ignore all of the arguments and expectations of the world around us when it practices behaviors that contradict God’s ways.  And YES, that includes things like accepting sexual immorality, homosexuality, abortion, drunkenness, smoking pot, cussing, going into debt, no-fault divorce, and everything else contrary to Scripture.  That doesn’t make the Christian ignorant, just ignoring.

Listen to Jesus’ words to the Jarius.  The world said his daughter was dead, but Jesus ignored them and told Jarius: “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”  The secret to overcoming worldly arguments is to push out the fear instead of pushing out obedience.  Don’t ever let the opinions of men trump your belief in the Word of God!!!  Ignore their limited opinions, and trust in the Eternal.  That’s not ignorance, it’s ignoring.

02/14/18 - Mark 4

Feb 14, 2018 – Mark 4

Others hear the word; but the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for things choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

Don't let temporary desires steal your blessing from His eternal Word.

Valentine’s Day is an annual holiday centered on love.  It’s a day in the year when many people take time to express loving sentiments to each other, often in the form of cards, gifts, flowers, a meal, or other forms of kindness.  Yet it often ends up being more about fulfilling our desires than sharing our love.  The truth is that love is less about kind expressions and more about unseen actions.  Love is not about flowers, but about brightening up a room.  It is not about chocolates, but offering sweet words when poor attitudes are present.  Love gives gifts, but not with the anticipation of response.  Love is more often seen in making a person’s lunch than buying a person dinner.  Long after Valentine’s Day is over, love will still be going strong, while the flowers will have wilted and chocolates rotted.

The Bible is a Valentine’s Day love letter to all of us from God Himself.  Every chapter is filled with God’s story to show us His love and desire for our best.  Yet so often, people hear the words and ignore them, preferring the chocolates and flowers that this world offers.  The deception of sentimentality can draw our ears and hearts away from true love toward the temporary substitute. 

That deception is our greatest challenge in America these days.  We are drawn to the chocolates & flowers of life, and ignoring the true love letter from God.   The worries and wealth are rotting God’s seed, and leaving behind a whole lot of empty lives.  Sure, it smelled & tasted great when we received them, but the flowers & chocolates are not love.  What we need is a new perspective.  What we need is true love.

I hope you enjoy Valentine’s Day this year – not because you feel loved and cherished by the gifts or experience, but because you KNOW you are loved by God Himself.  I hope you celebrate that love by offering true love to your family – the love that comes from sacrifice and service that honors God.  And if you’re married, I hope you do enjoy Valentine’s Day as a reminder of this special gift that God gave us when He created Eve for Adam.  But don’t let that be one day wrapped in sentimentality.  Let Valentine’s Day remind you to turn back to the true love that only comes from God.  Let it be a day you start a fresh longing for His Love Letter to you.  Let it be a day you rededicate yourself to the one who loves you forever.

May you be filled with the fruit of love from His Word.

02/13/18 - Mark 3

Feb 13, 2018 – Mark 3

If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Mark 3:25

The answer to our relationship problems is not in winning arguments, but eliminating divisions.

Stanford hospitals has a number of buildings, developed over the years at this incredible institution.  Two of the wings were built at the same time by different general contractors.  In the midst of the construction, it was discovered that the measurements were incorrect, and the building floors were misaligned, leaving a significant gap.  Government inspectors challenged the work and expected the contractors to tear down one of the buildings in order to make the correction.  But through negotiation, the building contractors were able to build a hallway ramp between wings so that the buildings could work.  That hallway ramp is a reminder that arguments don’t correct gaps, cooperation does.

Most arguments center around defending our positions, not seeking to eliminate gaps.  Trying to prove we are right may get our position heard, but seldom eliminates the gap between us.  If we are going to eliminate the gap, we must negotiate a ramp to connect us.  That doesn’t necessarily mean compromising truth or changing structures, but may mean figuring out how to deal with the reality and move closer together.

Jesus was being accused of satanic activity when people were being healed by His power.  While that may seem ridiculous to us, it is not beyond Satan to use miracles as a way of drawing people away from God.  But Jesus wasn’t healing to create a following for Himself, His healings were to bring glory to the Father.   Jesus wasn’t trying to divide the kingdom, His purpose was to unite it.  While the Pharisees were arguing to create a gap between themselves & Jesus, Jesus was working to close the gap between God & man. 

Relationships start with gaps.  Dating is trying to learn more about each other to reduce the gap between a guy and a girl.  Orientation is an organization’s effort to close the gap of knowledge between employees and the company.  And Jesus came to eliminate the gap between God & man.  Jesus could have won any argument, but instead He eliminated the division.

What if we approached arguments and disagreements the same way?  What if instead of trying to prove our rightness, we tried to reduce our separateness?  How about instead of trying to win the disagreement, we tried to eliminate the division?  Maybe we would discover a taste of what love is really about – eliminating the gap.

That hallway ramp in Stanford Hospitals is a constant reminder of true relationship, eliminating the separation between buildings.  The cross is also a constant reminder of true relationship, eliminating the separation between God & man.   Don’t be a divided house, build a ramp of unity.

02/12/18 - Mark 2

Feb 12, 2018 – Mark 2

“A wise person pours new wine into new wineskins." Mark 2:22

Wise people don’t make principles out of methods, they design methods out of goals.

People have this tendency to make principles out of methods.  When we do that, it creates safety for insiders of the method, but exclusion for everyone else. 

That was the point Jesus was making when He started talking about wineskins.  In Jesus’ day, grapes were harvested and juice extracted to make wine by storing it in leather skins.  These skins would be sewn together and filled with the juice, and stored until it became alcohol.  As the juice ferments, it expands, putting pressure on the seams of the wineskin.  If old wineskins were used, the seams would burst and the wine would be lost.  That’s why wise people used new wineskins for new wine.  Their strength would hold and the juice would ferment.  Yet this practice was not followed consistently.  Often less wise people would try to reuse the wineskins in order to save cost.  Sometimes it worked, other times it failed.  The principle was about wine-making, but the method was about cost-saving.  Put the method in front of the principle and you miss out on the goal.

People do the same with methods.   Organizations use old processes and wonder why customers leave for new companies.  Schools stick with textbooks and wonder why student education continues to decline.  Governments increase taxes to pay for old programs and wonder why they can’t fund new initiatives.  Churches turn music, preaching structure, programming and leadership structure into principles, and then wonder why new generations don’t embrace our church.  When methods get turned into principles, the overall goal is lost.

Jesus calls all of us to stop focusing on the methods and start focusing on the goal.  Our goal is to bring glory to God, not create security for ourselves.  Our goal is to draw others to Jesus, not spend time building up our short-lived retirements.  Yet we get so focused on the methods we miss the goal.

Take a look at your life and rethink your methods.   Are the methods driving your goals, or the goals driving your methods?   Is it time to try some new wineskins?   

Wise people don’t make principles out of methods, they design methods out of goals.

02/09/18 - Mark 1

Feb 09, 2018 – Mark 1

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Mark 1:17

Jesus may start with us in the shallow end of the pool, but He loves us too much to leave us there.

When my daughter was very young, I took her to the swimming pool in our apartment complex so that I could teach her how to swim.  She was afraid of the water, and only liked being in the shallow end where she felt in control.  I would try to get her to swim, but to no avail.  She would cry when I tried to walk her into the deeper water, and rejected any efforts to learn how to float.  I had about given up trying to teach her, until she discovered the fun of “jumping” into my arms from the side of the pool.  Once she started, she didn’t want to stop!  She would come up to the edge, grab her nose, take a deep breath, and jump into my arms – laughing and loving it, wanting me to lift her back up on the sidewalk so she could do it again.  She must have jumped into my arms at least 50 times before she realized I had been slowly inching deeper into the pool and catching her where she could not touch bottom.  The fears of the deep end were reduced by the joys of the jump.  From there, she started trying to learn how to swim, and by the end of the summer was a fish in the water!

Jesus knows that our original created purpose has been damaged by sin, leaving us in fear of what could be and should be our mission in life.  Instead, we have stayed in the shallow end of life, settling for substitutes and living for less, instead of learning how to swim in the deep end where all the fun really is.  So Jesus came and offered to all of us a new opportunity.  Instead of settling for the shallow end of life, jump into His arms and experience the joy of the jump!  Find out the amazing ability we have been given to swim in the deep end, and open up our whole world to discover what God has in mind for our lives.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we already know that God’s purposes for our lives is far deeper than this shallow stuff we settle for.  Humans settle for shallow happiness instead of jumping into deep joy.  Americans often pursue the ‘monopoly’ money that fades, instead of the riches of heaven.  We see all the time people sacrifice their true identity in Christ to stay in the shallow end of image.  And how many times have we settled for the kiddie pool of selfishness, than to launch ourselves into the loving arms of our mighty God.  Isn’t it time to stop messing around with the shallow end and jump into the deep?

That’s what Jesus offered those fisherman.  He provided them hope for a worthy life.  He offered them arms that would catch them every time they followed.  He called them to a salvation that not only provided an eternal life, but one that changed their lives now.  Jesus often starts in the shallow end, but He loves us too much to stay there.  The real fun is in the deep end!

Coming to Jesus is not just for salvation, but for being changed to support His original mission.

02/08/18 - Matt 28

Feb 8, 2018 – Matt 28

Go & tell his disciples: 'He has risen and is going ahead of you..." Matt 28:7

The resurrection isn't the last chapter, but the first in our story of faith---so let’s go make disciples.

There’s nothing worse than being at a movie or watching a TV show and the program ends with the statement: “To Be Continued”.   I remember the angst in the theater when Back to the Future II ended that way, or when the world endured a long summer after J.R. got shot.  There’s something inside humans that wants the conclusion of the story.  It’s why we like TV shows then end a basic plot in one hour of programming.  It’s also why we struggle to sleep at night when the argument isn’t finished or the project isn’t done.  We want closure.  Otherwise, something in our spirit feels unfinished.

Our desire for closure is true in everything except death.  That’s the one chapter we all prefer never gets written.  While we don’t want a show to be continued, we don’t want our lives to come to The End.  Our sense of unfairness rises when a friend suddenly faces death.  We plead with God for mercy & healing when a family member (even a pet), is found sick and in danger.  Life itself is the one book we want to see written as a trilogy instead of an episode. 

Jesus had faced The End and three days later re-wrote the last chapter with a To Be Continued ending.  Then Jesus spent the next 50 days proving His existence, encouraging the disciples’ faith, and calling them to their next season of ministry.  Jesus’ death and resurrection wasn’t the final chapter, it was the start of a new book.  It became the first chapter in OUR story of faith.  Without the resurrection, there is no book worth writing for our lives.  But WITH the resurrection, we have many chapters and volumes to author.  Matthew 28 wasn’t the end of a story, it was the beginning of a new one.  Now the central character isn’t Jesus on earth, it is the Holy Spirit’s turn to be the main character as He lives in us. 

If someone wrote a book about your spiritual journey since your commitment to Christ, what would be written?  Would it be filled with pages of stories in how God is leading?  Would it be a short To Be Continued page, waiting for more details?  Would it be The End?  Jesus came back from the dead, and the angel told Mary: Go & tell His disciples, ‘He has risen & is going ahead of you’…  Jesus is alive, his book is not over, and your book has begun.  So if you’re waiting to write your own chapters into His story, stop sitting around and go after Jesus.   Your story needs to be written, His story needs to be told, and God’s story needs to be finished. 

What will God write about your story today?  Go... make a disciple!

02/07/18 - Matt 27

Feb 7, 2018 – Matt 27

They answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Matt 27:25

We either are accountable for his blood or are saved by his blood---our choice.

Sometimes we say things meaning one thing, and don’t realize how true the words really are when looked at differently.

As Jesus faced the crowds, Pilate called out and challenged the people about their condemnation of Jesus.  He knew the pride of the leaders had sent Jesus to trial.  He knew the crowd was condemning an innocent man, and the guilt that comes with wrong verdicts.  And Pilate was keenly aware of the significance of Jesus.  So to get around the issue, Pilate washes his hands of the whole mess and lays it on the people.  Little did the people know how true their response would be:  “Let his blood fall on us.”

Their chant was an acceptance of accountability for the blood of Jesus.  Every person on earth who sins is saying the same thing when we sin.  We are choosing to take accountability for putting Jesus on the cross at every sinful thought, word or deed.  In our arrogance and pride, we choose to take the consequences in order to gain the short-term benefit of the sin.  In a sense, we are putting Jesus to death ourselves.

But days later, when Jesus was found alive and Peter called for repentance, many of those same people would ask for his blood to fall on them in a different way.  Instead of being accountable for the sin, they would cry out for forgiveness from their sin.  Little did they know that it would be the same request as before:  ‘Let His blood be on us & on our children’.  That same blood that marked their sin would now mark their forgiveness.  The sacrifice would be their salvation – all because they confessed their sins and turned their lives over to Jesus.

We have the same choice today – we can either let Jesus’ blood condemn us or save us.  His blood will be on our hands, or covering our hearts, depending on our choice in this life.  We are guilty of bloodshed through our sins, or forgiven forever through our repentance. 

Make the right choice – don’t live with blood on your hands anymore.  Live with His blood pumping through your heart.

02/06/18 - Matt 26

Feb 6, 2018 – Matt 26

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matt 26:28

It takes a sacrifice to save people – your sacrifice has an impact in the eternities of others!

I confess, sometimes it feels like the bad choices of other people get paid by me.  There are many cases of that around all of us, some deeply personal and others more common.  Like the student who cheats on a test and causes the whole class to suffer.  Or how about the baggage of past relationships being thrown in your face by the person you married.  Or sadly, how about those who have been injured or killed when a drunk driver gets behind the wheel.  It is completely unfair, and creates depressing feelings, to the point it can become unbearable at times dealing with the costs of others’ decisions.

You’ve been there too… and probably are feeling some of that same pain by now just talking about it.  Maybe you are there right now.  And many times it makes you want to quit, just throw in the towel, give up the relationships, quit the job, even dismiss our faith.  Many have even abandoned God because of the unfairness that has been thrown our way.

If you’re feeling that emotion right now, you can start to get a taste of what Jesus was feeling at His Last Supper with the disciples before going to the cross.  But instead of feeling it after the unfairness happened, He was feeling it before the persecution started.  He knew that every sin of the world was going to be thrown at Him… every cheating, every relational baggage, every drunken accident, every abuse, every arrogant behavior, everything!  And instead of quitting or throwing in the towel, Jesus took it on anyways, and offered the cup as a symbolic reminder of the blood He would give to pay the debt.

Every time something unfair happens in our life, remember how unfair it was to hang all our baggage on Jesus.  Remember every sin or failure that Jesus took on for you.  Remember the pain He endured when going to the cross for your shame and my shame.  And remember that He was willing to take it on even KNOWING it was your bad choices.  He didn’t do it because we were worthy of helping.  Jesus did it because HE wanted us in eternity with Him.

Then maybe when you face those unfair moments, instead of crying foul or getting angry, you can get through that moment by knowing your sacrifice is helping the potential eternity of another.  The incident will still be unfair, but the result will be different.  You will be pouring a drop of blood out your life to save someone – just as Jesus poured out every drop to save you.

Forgiveness is always a sacrifice, but the sacrifice is much smaller than the one paid for you.  Remember, every sacrifice has an impact on the eternity of someone. 

02/05/18 - Matt 25

Feb 5, 2018 – Matt 25

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt 25:32

The separation happens later--- good from evil, right from wrong, believers from unbelievers, saved from unsaved.

Car trips with four kids were always interesting in our family.  The 2-hour trip to see our families at holidays was often flavored with periods of tears, arguments, and discipline.  One of the lessons we learned was division … how to divide up the back seat of the car so every child had EXACTLY the same percentage of space.  No child would be happy unless we had the same amount of seat as our siblings, and we discovered one of the greatest tools of every traveling family – the imaginery border line!  In fact, we were so good at division & percentages, that we could tell when one of our counterparts ‘crossed the line into our space’.  And mom & dad would hear about it when we caught the trespasser!  Our parents’ only defense was to establish borders and create separation between us … and sometimes that even involved a short stop along the road side to establish those borders properly once & for all! L

Humans like to improve their lives through separation.  With food, we separate egg whites from the yolk and wheat germ from the grain.  With sports, we separate weight classes for competition, and separate fans in stadiums for protection.  There are borders to separate nations and spaces, as well as imaginary lines to separate kids in the back seat of cars.  We use separation as a tool for keeping political parties civil and gang members alive.  There is even separation in employment ranks and treatment plans.  If you look closely, we use separation to manage much of our lives, with the hope that it will improve them.

Not all separation is bad, many times it makes life manageable.  The problem is when we start separating things God designed to be together.  Coming up with separation lines for sins leads to judgment and pride.  Developing separation of cultural practices leads to racism.  And separating ourselves from “sinners” leads to lost souls and lostness in our own soul.  God didn’t separate believers from the world, yet in our separatist mindset, we like to draw the lines of holiness in our relationships and churches.

Don’t misunderstand.  We ARE supposed to separate our hearts from sin, and be holy, because our God is holy.  But just as Jesus didn’t separate Himself from sinners, neither are we supposed to hibernate from people who sin around us.  We must guard our hearts, but extend our hands.  We must learn how to separate ourselves from temptation, while embracing those who have fallen to temptation.  It’s God’s responsibility to decide when good is separated from evil, and believes separated from unbelievers.  Until then, our job is not to take on God’s role, but call people to join His side.

Don’t try to be God – leave the separating to Him, and stick with managing your own space.

02/02/18 - Matt 24

Feb 2, 2018 – Matt 24

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matt 24:35

Belief is our choice, but doesn't change the truth. Jesus is still Lord either way.

Belief has great power.  Believing in something can generate energy and perseverance, often producing the result of your belief.

Watching one of the great 3-point shooters in basketball, it was obvious his shooting was off during the game.  Instead of making nearly 50% of his shots, he kept missing attempt after attempt.  But that didn’t change his belief.  He believed he would start making the long-rangers, and kept shooting.  And in spit of the long drought, he ended up being correct.  As the fourth quarter progressed, this great shooter started sinking three after three, pulling his team back into the game and eventually hitting the winning shot.  Belief finally produced the outcome he expected, and his shots won the game.  

There is no doubt that God created power in belief.  Jesus even said it: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it can move mountains.”

But here’s the one problem with belief.  It doesn’t have the power to change Truth.   You can believe all you want that 2+2=5, but it won’t change the facts.  You can believe you have talent to sing, but it won’t matter if you were born tone-deaf.  And just because you believe you’re going to heaven doesn’t change the truth about your destiny.

Jesus wants us to believe the Truth, not just rely on our impressions.  He wants us to understand the power of belief works when we believe in the right things.  Jesus doesn’t just want us to have a faith, He wants us to have faith in Him.  Jesus isn’t calling us to be spiritual, He is calling us to be holy.  He doesn’t just want us to believe in heaven, He wants us to follow Him as the WAY to heaven.

Many say: “all roads lead to heaven”.  That’s a belief, but not the Truth.  The Truth is that only Jesus leads to heaven.  His Words never fade – they are the only belief that will remain forever.  So put your faith in His Words, and believe!  It’s a shot you will make and win the game of life with.

02/01/18 - Matt 23

Feb 1, 2018 – Matt 23

Some tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.  Matt 23:4

Don't just tell people what they need to do, show them and help them appropriately.

There’s an old story of a man who was walking down a dirt road carrying a heavily-loaded pack, struggling to make progress.  A farmer came along with his horse and wagon, and offered the traveler a lift.  Gratefully, the traveler accepted the offer, and joined the farmer in the back of his wagon.  They traveled for miles, and the farmer looked back noticed that the traveler still had the luggage on his back, drooping down under its weight.  The farmer suggested to the traveler: “Why don’t you drop your load?”    The traveler responded: “I’d like to, but I can’t take it off alone.”  The farmer replied: “Well I have helped you with a ride, maybe someone else can help you take the load off.”

Truth is, the traveler didn’t need a ride as much as he needed a lift.

Burdens are a funny thing.  Burdens are often visible:  we can see them on a person’s back.  Burdens are usually treatable: it’s easy to advise people they have a burden, and even tell them why the burden is back there and how it got so heavy.  But the problem is that burdens are avoidable: while we may know all about them, we aren’t willing to help people remove them from their back.  In fact, sometimes we even ADD burdens to people, and want them to figure out how to deal with them on their own.

People carry burdens.  You cannot live this life without having a few burdens in your life.  In fact, the only way to grow and mature is to learn how to handle burdens.  Burdens can create wisdom, grow strength, build character, and even fulfill purpose.  But burdens are not supposed to be carried forever, and in some cases, not carried at all.   The challenge with burdens is to get help on ours, and help those of others. 

Jesus said that “His yoke (of teaching) is easy, and His burden is light.”  Jesus also condemned the Pharisees for putting burdens onto people that they themselves couldn’t carry.  We were not designed to carry burdens alone, and we are not called to ignore the burdens of others.  When you see people with a burden, it’s okay to help them recognize how the burden got there, and teach them how to get rid of it.  But if you have the ability to support them in removing their burden, then do so!  Don’t just offer them a ride, lighten their burden. 

And remember, when you’re traveling with a burden, find a person who will lighten your burden instead of just traveling the road.   What you need is a lift more than just a ride.