Crazy Synagogue Guy pt. 1: Authority Established.
The second recorded chronological healing in the Gospels is Crazy. Seriously! Both Luke and Mark recorded this story. There must be something that the Holy Spirit wants us to grab there because He wanted us to read it at least twice. My only question is why is the crazy dude 2nd? As I stated in the “Official’s son pt.1” John 3:23 tells us Jesus had already performed many miraculous healings, so why is this one the next to be recorded? I am not going to give you a “Thus saith the Lord” reason why I think this one was chosen second; but I am going to give you my opinion. Before I go further we should read both Luke’s and Mark’s accounts.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
There are little differences in the 2 recordings of this healing. One difference is Mark states that “They went to Capernaum” and Luke says “he went down to Capernaum”. In the verses right before Mark points out that Jesus calls out His first disciples Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John. Luke covers Jesus’ birth, baptism, and genealogy but doesn’t bother with the calling out of the first four disciples. It doesn’t mean he is contradicting Mark, he just simply didn’t mention them. In Luke 4:29, just 2 verses after this story of the crazy dude, Luke finally mention the 4 disciples. Mark didn’t even bother with any of Jesus’ childhood but jumped right into the adulthood of Christ. If someone gets hung up on that difference then they are really just looking for a reason to not believe. After Jesus and his boys get into Capernaum, they stroll into the local synagogue. Synagogues were places for the local Jews to worship God and study His word. Jesus took advantage of the custom that allowed visiting teachers to participate in the worship service by invitation of the synagogue leaders. With Jesus’ fame growing, what local synagogue wouldn’t want Him to come speak?
In this entry I’m not even going to get to the “healing”, I want to first point out something I just absolutely love. Both Mark and Luke recorded it. It’s something that is stated before the crazy dude acts up. Luke states in verse 4:32 that the people at the synagogue “were amazed at his teaching”. AMAZED! The King James says “they were astonished”; that’s probably better translated, but I like “Amazed.” Mark 1:22b finishes it off with “because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” The “teachers of the law” were the ones who were supposed to have the authority. They were teaching on law. Law = Authority. But yet the teachers had no authority in their teaching on the Law or the Bible. Think about this. That crazy dude didn’t act up until he heard Jesus teach. He could have been going to that local synagogue for years. Or maybe this was his first time at the synagogue--nothing like a first impression. Nonetheless, he didn’t act up till he heard true authority speak. Luke stated that “his message had authority”. Take a few minutes and just meditate on those 4 words: “His message had authority”. His message still has the same authority today as it did back then. In another synagogue guest speaking experience--the one in Nazareth that Jesus was at just before this craziness--He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. It states: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." In the Naz synagogue experience the congregation rejected the Authority but the Cap crowd was “amazed”. We still have the same 2 choices today as those who were in the Cap and Naz synagogues: are we amazed at his authority or do we reject it? We could add a 3rd choice: do we go crazy when hearing it? And I don’t mean crazy in a good way. I’m going to choose “amazed” and let His “Authority” change me day by day.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Jimmy
Luke 24:32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
The Official’s Son Pt. 3 of 3
He didn’t even get to see the replay!
This is being written on a Saturday with College football on in the background. My teams have already played: OU got beat by Texas (AGAIN!! DRATS!!) and the Hawkeyes won big against Wisconsin (GO HAWKS). So with this last entry on the “Official’s Son,” I think it is fitting to use the following analogy. Have you ever been in the other room when the big play happened? Then on top of that, when you finally get back to the TV the replays have already been shown and they’re moving onto the next down/play/swing/whatever? I am sure that has happened to all of us. Let’s go ahead and read our text one more time and finish this thing up.
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
In the last entry I pointed out how Jesus said right to the officials face “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders …you will never believe." We know that the dad (the awesome example of being a true father) stood in there and fought for his son. Jesus followed up by saying “You may go, your son will live.” That’s when the dad took Jesus at his word and departed. Since we just read the whole story again I won’t continue with the “play by play” but do you realize the father never saw his son being healed? Sure he saw the end result (his healthy son) but he never saw the processes; he never saw the big play. Going back to the game analogy we want our team to win but what we love more is to watch them win it. The end result is what we want but the play by play is what we desire. Not only did this dad not get to see the big play he didn’t get to see the replay either. He made it back to the “TV” too late--more like a day late. Now think about what Jesus said to his face “Unless you people see…you will never believe” [emphasis mine]. WOW! This guy/dad/awesome example of fatherhood really did “Walk (all day & night) by faith not by sight” [ref 2 Cor 5:7]. Well, he had to keep his eyes open to walk back home, but still he never saw the healing take place. What brings tears to my eyes is what verse 53 says: “Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his household believed.” His whole household believed!! Now we have no real idea how big his household was. He was a “Royal Official” so we know his income was up there. We know he had at least 2 servants because of what John 4:51 says: “While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news… [emphasis mine]”. We know he had a son so that is at least 4 in the household. I am not sure what the average family size was for the area the Official was from, but I’ve heard 5 was the going rate for the number kids in a Jewish family at that time. You have to count the mother in there somewhere. I am going to take a guess and say the number in his household was 10. That’s just a guess, but no matter how many were in the household, they all believed on Jesus. Think about this: the reason why the whole household believed was not because of the son’s healing but because the father’s faith. The whole household, except the dad, saw the son get suddenly well, but it was only when the father returned that the whole household believed. What an awesome example of faith. Heb 11:1 famously states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We don’t need to see it; we just need to believe it. Going back to the my first entry on this subject, the healing and the whole household believing is all a result of this man taking Jesus at His word. John 1:1 states “In the beginning was the Word”. Let the Word be the beginning of your faith. The results will be more then what you could imagine or think.
I’m excited to start on the next recorded healing that Jesus did. It’s crazy!! I’m even more excited about “seeing” how strong our faith will grow. I want testimonies!!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
This is being written on a Saturday with College football on in the background. My teams have already played: OU got beat by Texas (AGAIN!! DRATS!!) and the Hawkeyes won big against Wisconsin (GO HAWKS). So with this last entry on the “Official’s Son,” I think it is fitting to use the following analogy. Have you ever been in the other room when the big play happened? Then on top of that, when you finally get back to the TV the replays have already been shown and they’re moving onto the next down/play/swing/whatever? I am sure that has happened to all of us. Let’s go ahead and read our text one more time and finish this thing up.
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
In the last entry I pointed out how Jesus said right to the officials face “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders …you will never believe." We know that the dad (the awesome example of being a true father) stood in there and fought for his son. Jesus followed up by saying “You may go, your son will live.” That’s when the dad took Jesus at his word and departed. Since we just read the whole story again I won’t continue with the “play by play” but do you realize the father never saw his son being healed? Sure he saw the end result (his healthy son) but he never saw the processes; he never saw the big play. Going back to the game analogy we want our team to win but what we love more is to watch them win it. The end result is what we want but the play by play is what we desire. Not only did this dad not get to see the big play he didn’t get to see the replay either. He made it back to the “TV” too late--more like a day late. Now think about what Jesus said to his face “Unless you people see…you will never believe” [emphasis mine]. WOW! This guy/dad/awesome example of fatherhood really did “Walk (all day & night) by faith not by sight” [ref 2 Cor 5:7]. Well, he had to keep his eyes open to walk back home, but still he never saw the healing take place. What brings tears to my eyes is what verse 53 says: “Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his household believed.” His whole household believed!! Now we have no real idea how big his household was. He was a “Royal Official” so we know his income was up there. We know he had at least 2 servants because of what John 4:51 says: “While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news… [emphasis mine]”. We know he had a son so that is at least 4 in the household. I am not sure what the average family size was for the area the Official was from, but I’ve heard 5 was the going rate for the number kids in a Jewish family at that time. You have to count the mother in there somewhere. I am going to take a guess and say the number in his household was 10. That’s just a guess, but no matter how many were in the household, they all believed on Jesus. Think about this: the reason why the whole household believed was not because of the son’s healing but because the father’s faith. The whole household, except the dad, saw the son get suddenly well, but it was only when the father returned that the whole household believed. What an awesome example of faith. Heb 11:1 famously states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We don’t need to see it; we just need to believe it. Going back to the my first entry on this subject, the healing and the whole household believing is all a result of this man taking Jesus at His word. John 1:1 states “In the beginning was the Word”. Let the Word be the beginning of your faith. The results will be more then what you could imagine or think.
I’m excited to start on the next recorded healing that Jesus did. It’s crazy!! I’m even more excited about “seeing” how strong our faith will grow. I want testimonies!!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Official’s Son Pt. 2 of 3
Do you really want this?!?!
The more I meditate on this passage the more I am getting out of it. I’ve really yet to dig deep into the Greek for stuff, this is all surface substance. I love the word of God. It truly is “. . .living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~ Hebrew 4:12.
Here is our text again:
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Was Jesus stretching this guy? Was Jesus really asking, “Do you really want this?” I know that sounds crazy but many times we go into prayer with a wish instead of with faith. Our prayers sound more like “God, I wish you would take this from me” instead of “I know this is possible”. James 5:16b says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” That’s the King James Version. The NIV left out the “Effectual fervent” part of that script. Here’s the Amplified “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Let’s see how this “Official’s” prayer for his son was “earnest (heartfelt, continued)”. Going back to John 4:46, The “Royal Official” (remember that title) heard that Jesus was in Galilee so he took off to meet Jesus. In verse 45 we see a bit of a crowd forming around Him for good reason; Jesus put on a awesome show. Set yourself on fire and people will watch you burn. They’d seen what He did in Jerusalem at Passover. Furthermore, Jesus is returning to the water/wine miraculous sign location. Now in the mix of all of this the “Royal Official” came walking up begging for his son’s deliverance. Jesus said something that blows me away. John 4:48 records "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." This was loud enough for the crowd to hear, but Jesus said it right to the “Royal Official’s” face! “Royal Official” = Title. This guy was important. This guy had clout. This guy didn’t have to take this from some revolutionary—especially in front of the crowd. I’m sure the crowd was well aware of this guy’s title. Instead of being offended the “Royal Official” put down his “title” and simply said (vs. 49) “Sir, come down before my child dies”. He stayed in there fighting for his son. This is vaguely similar to the Canaanite Woman story; both she and the “Royal Official” stayed in there fighting for their children. As I meditated on this passage I think I got what Jesus was really doing. He was stretching them from beyond wishful thinking into a mindset of determination; an unwavering belief that, not only could Jesus heal their children, but that Jesus would heal their children. We know that in both stories the children were healed, but do we believe the same in will happen in our own lives? Do we want to fight for our healing, our health, or do we just wish it would happen? Do we put our prayer request on our prayer chain lists more for coping reasons or because we actually believe in the power of prayer? Think on these things.
By doing this study I am not trying to get or present some new type of formula for receiving our healing. I believe we will see a similar trait in all the recorded healings of the Gospels—that trait being Just take Jesus at His Word (John 4:50). The whole point of this study is to just build faith. Romans 10:17 states “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
A Father’s fight!
As a man/dad I find this story refreshing. It’s cool to see that the first recorded healing was a father fighting for his kid’s life. Usually men get a bad rap when it comes to this part of parenting. Let’s face it women, you all usually get most of the glory in parental battles and with good reason. You’re natural fighters for your children. For 9 months you fight in pregnancy. We men are pretty cool with the whole conception and cheering you on until due day, but the birthing process is more of a battle than any man wants to take on. So you women start off parenting with a fight; it comes naturally to you. What I love in this story is that the Holy Spirit shows, through the example of the “Royal Official”, how we as men can and should battle for our families. In my next entry I’ll cover the end result of this awesome father’s battle!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The more I meditate on this passage the more I am getting out of it. I’ve really yet to dig deep into the Greek for stuff, this is all surface substance. I love the word of God. It truly is “. . .living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~ Hebrew 4:12.
Here is our text again:
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Was Jesus stretching this guy? Was Jesus really asking, “Do you really want this?” I know that sounds crazy but many times we go into prayer with a wish instead of with faith. Our prayers sound more like “God, I wish you would take this from me” instead of “I know this is possible”. James 5:16b says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” That’s the King James Version. The NIV left out the “Effectual fervent” part of that script. Here’s the Amplified “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Let’s see how this “Official’s” prayer for his son was “earnest (heartfelt, continued)”. Going back to John 4:46, The “Royal Official” (remember that title) heard that Jesus was in Galilee so he took off to meet Jesus. In verse 45 we see a bit of a crowd forming around Him for good reason; Jesus put on a awesome show. Set yourself on fire and people will watch you burn. They’d seen what He did in Jerusalem at Passover. Furthermore, Jesus is returning to the water/wine miraculous sign location. Now in the mix of all of this the “Royal Official” came walking up begging for his son’s deliverance. Jesus said something that blows me away. John 4:48 records "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." This was loud enough for the crowd to hear, but Jesus said it right to the “Royal Official’s” face! “Royal Official” = Title. This guy was important. This guy had clout. This guy didn’t have to take this from some revolutionary—especially in front of the crowd. I’m sure the crowd was well aware of this guy’s title. Instead of being offended the “Royal Official” put down his “title” and simply said (vs. 49) “Sir, come down before my child dies”. He stayed in there fighting for his son. This is vaguely similar to the Canaanite Woman story; both she and the “Royal Official” stayed in there fighting for their children. As I meditated on this passage I think I got what Jesus was really doing. He was stretching them from beyond wishful thinking into a mindset of determination; an unwavering belief that, not only could Jesus heal their children, but that Jesus would heal their children. We know that in both stories the children were healed, but do we believe the same in will happen in our own lives? Do we want to fight for our healing, our health, or do we just wish it would happen? Do we put our prayer request on our prayer chain lists more for coping reasons or because we actually believe in the power of prayer? Think on these things.
By doing this study I am not trying to get or present some new type of formula for receiving our healing. I believe we will see a similar trait in all the recorded healings of the Gospels—that trait being Just take Jesus at His Word (John 4:50). The whole point of this study is to just build faith. Romans 10:17 states “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
A Father’s fight!
As a man/dad I find this story refreshing. It’s cool to see that the first recorded healing was a father fighting for his kid’s life. Usually men get a bad rap when it comes to this part of parenting. Let’s face it women, you all usually get most of the glory in parental battles and with good reason. You’re natural fighters for your children. For 9 months you fight in pregnancy. We men are pretty cool with the whole conception and cheering you on until due day, but the birthing process is more of a battle than any man wants to take on. So you women start off parenting with a fight; it comes naturally to you. What I love in this story is that the Holy Spirit shows, through the example of the “Royal Official”, how we as men can and should battle for our families. In my next entry I’ll cover the end result of this awesome father’s battle!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Official’s Son Pt. 1 of 3
The Official’s Son Pt. 1
At His Word!
I’m starting a study on the healings that Jesus performed in the Gospels and I’m doing them in chronological order. The reason for this is to just build faith. I’m personally not facing any health dilemma. I’m really doing quite well. . .well I could stand to lose 10lbs but I’m way better off than I was 6yrs ago. I just think we all could use a better understanding of healing and who better to learn it from than the great healer Himself, Christ Jesus.
The first recorded healing that Jesus did was the healing of the Official’s son. Even though it is found in John chapter 4, it is the first chronological healing recorded (and the second miraculous sign with the first being the water/wine sign). I don’t believe, however, that it is the first healing that Jesus did because of what John 3:23 says: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” What better “miraculous signs” are there then healing people? I guess that is open for interpretation. Also, remember what John said at the end of his book: John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The “Official’s son” is the first recorded healing in the gospels for good reason. There are a few things we can learn about faith in this story. For this blog entry I am only going to bring out one of the points and I think it’s a pretty important one—the one that sticks out to me the most. Here’s the story straight from John himself.
John 4:43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
I used the NIV here because of how it translated verse 50. The Message puts verse 50 this way: “The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.” That’s alright. Look at the Amplified: “And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home.” I like that. The trusty KJV states: “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” There are many more translations but those are the main ones I bounce around in. I still like the way the NIV put it. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it sounds like something I would say. Above you can read the results of the man taking Jesus at his word. There are several more points to healing faith here and I’ll cover them in following entries. I see persistence here, also walking by faith and not by sight, but what is so striking are the 7 words found in verse 50: “The man took Jesus at his word”. Taking Jesus at His word is so KEY to our victory in faith. With all the health scares going around today from the lack of insurance, to swine flu, to flu season, blah, blah, and more blah, it’s time for us who call on Christ’s name to start taking Jesus at his word. Maybe you don’t have a sick son at home but why wait for that to start taking Jesus at his word? My wife, who is running spiritual laps around me right now, started doing something so simple but so huge. She is refusing headaches. You read that right, refusing them. If she feels one coming on she just denies it in the name of Jesus and goes on her way. Later she will remember that she refused the pain and rejoice, she never got the full blown headache. Give it a shot, start simple and work up from there. If we all do this then pretty soon we’ll stop giving hospitals so much business, well except for having babies. Maybe at that time America would really have a health insurance problem because there would no longer be a need for it. If there is no supply of sickness then there is no demand for health insurance. We can knock out the “supply” by “His Word” and in turn bring down the “demand.” Sounds impossible? John G. Lakes wouldn’t think so. Because of his “healing rooms” Spokane, Washington was labeled “the healthiest city in the world”. That was in only a short 5 year span of 1915-20. Imagine what we can do if we all walk in that kind of faith! So today start with little things like headaches and colds and take Jesus at his word. Before you know it your house will be labeled “the healthiest house in the world”.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
At His Word!
I’m starting a study on the healings that Jesus performed in the Gospels and I’m doing them in chronological order. The reason for this is to just build faith. I’m personally not facing any health dilemma. I’m really doing quite well. . .well I could stand to lose 10lbs but I’m way better off than I was 6yrs ago. I just think we all could use a better understanding of healing and who better to learn it from than the great healer Himself, Christ Jesus.
The first recorded healing that Jesus did was the healing of the Official’s son. Even though it is found in John chapter 4, it is the first chronological healing recorded (and the second miraculous sign with the first being the water/wine sign). I don’t believe, however, that it is the first healing that Jesus did because of what John 3:23 says: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” What better “miraculous signs” are there then healing people? I guess that is open for interpretation. Also, remember what John said at the end of his book: John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The “Official’s son” is the first recorded healing in the gospels for good reason. There are a few things we can learn about faith in this story. For this blog entry I am only going to bring out one of the points and I think it’s a pretty important one—the one that sticks out to me the most. Here’s the story straight from John himself.
John 4:43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
I used the NIV here because of how it translated verse 50. The Message puts verse 50 this way: “The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.” That’s alright. Look at the Amplified: “And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home.” I like that. The trusty KJV states: “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” There are many more translations but those are the main ones I bounce around in. I still like the way the NIV put it. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it sounds like something I would say. Above you can read the results of the man taking Jesus at his word. There are several more points to healing faith here and I’ll cover them in following entries. I see persistence here, also walking by faith and not by sight, but what is so striking are the 7 words found in verse 50: “The man took Jesus at his word”. Taking Jesus at His word is so KEY to our victory in faith. With all the health scares going around today from the lack of insurance, to swine flu, to flu season, blah, blah, and more blah, it’s time for us who call on Christ’s name to start taking Jesus at his word. Maybe you don’t have a sick son at home but why wait for that to start taking Jesus at his word? My wife, who is running spiritual laps around me right now, started doing something so simple but so huge. She is refusing headaches. You read that right, refusing them. If she feels one coming on she just denies it in the name of Jesus and goes on her way. Later she will remember that she refused the pain and rejoice, she never got the full blown headache. Give it a shot, start simple and work up from there. If we all do this then pretty soon we’ll stop giving hospitals so much business, well except for having babies. Maybe at that time America would really have a health insurance problem because there would no longer be a need for it. If there is no supply of sickness then there is no demand for health insurance. We can knock out the “supply” by “His Word” and in turn bring down the “demand.” Sounds impossible? John G. Lakes wouldn’t think so. Because of his “healing rooms” Spokane, Washington was labeled “the healthiest city in the world”. That was in only a short 5 year span of 1915-20. Imagine what we can do if we all walk in that kind of faith! So today start with little things like headaches and colds and take Jesus at his word. Before you know it your house will be labeled “the healthiest house in the world”.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Can a dog be spirit-led?
From when I was about 6 months old till I was 8 years old my family lived on a farm. On 3 farms actually, though not all at once. We moved around a bit. . .It seems like I am always on the move. When I was around 2 years old I wandered off into a corn field. I have no idea how I got out of the house and lost in the field. I’m the 5th of 6 kids, so it’s a good guarantee that one of us is going to get lost sometime or another. Anyway my family, as best as they could, searched the cornfield for me. The corn wasn’t fully grown but the stalks were taller than me, and with blond hair I blended right in. My family tried but could not find me. I was lost for sure. Not only was my family searching for me, but my mother had also gone to a local business and they assembled a search party to look for me. I was found later that day, but not by the search party or one of my family members — well, not by my brother, sisters, Mom, or Dad. Cookie found me. Cookie was our good ol’ farm mutt. She was named Cookie because all of her fur was black except her neck, which was white. She went into the cornfield and barked like crazy when she found me, thus making it possible for the searchers to locate us. I don’t remember much from that age but I do remember that dog. We have had A LOT of dogs, but Cookie was one of our family’s favorites. So that begs the question, can a dog be spirit-led? I say “why not?” I believe the Holy Spirit led Cookie right to me and sounded the alarm. What biblical proof do I have to back this up? There are a few Bible stories where God used animals to get his purpose fulfilled but the one that comes to mind is the fish with $$ in its mouth. Look at Matthew 17:24-26 “24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" 25 "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?" 26 "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” That fish had to listen to something to grab up a coin (the exact amount to pay 2 people's tax), not swallow it, and then be ready to get caught by Peter.
Saige is always asking me to tell her some of my childhood stories. As I tell her these stories of my life I reflect on how God fits into the picture. I know it was a dog that found me and dogs are great hunters, but Cookie was just a run-of-the-mill farm mutt with no “search and rescue” training. As I re-tell Saige this story over and over again I thank God that Cookie found me or else my life may have ended up corny. Get it? Because I was lost in a corn field. I guess that goes without explanation. So I ask you, can a dog, fish, donkey, or any other animal be Spirit-led? I think so, but I’ll let you decide. I know it’s not some deep theological dilemma, but it is something to ponder.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Saige is always asking me to tell her some of my childhood stories. As I tell her these stories of my life I reflect on how God fits into the picture. I know it was a dog that found me and dogs are great hunters, but Cookie was just a run-of-the-mill farm mutt with no “search and rescue” training. As I re-tell Saige this story over and over again I thank God that Cookie found me or else my life may have ended up corny. Get it? Because I was lost in a corn field. I guess that goes without explanation. So I ask you, can a dog, fish, donkey, or any other animal be Spirit-led? I think so, but I’ll let you decide. I know it’s not some deep theological dilemma, but it is something to ponder.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Lost In Transition
Lost in transition.
Have you ever felt lost in transition? I almost feel like I am in a perpetual stated of transition. Just when I finally feel like I’m hitting my flow it’s time for transition again. I think the worse is when we (Kesha & me) commit to a transition and a great position opens up, a position that we can’t fill because we’re in transition. I went on BibleGateway.com to find something on the subject of transition. It brought up this great article by Ron Hutchcraft. I have no idea who he is or how he is doing as a minister. I guess I could do a Wiki search but I half way trust Wikipedia as anyone can edit it. I’m just going to copy and post his article. I could try to re-write it but something would get lost. Speaking of editing I’m also going ahead and posting this without my editor's approval. Kesha is super busy and it may be weeks before she can look at it.
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"And now, in the center ring, high above the big top..." Or something like that. When we took our kids to the circus, that was how the ringmaster would introduce those stars of the big show, those death-defying artists on the high trapeze. They're amazing! I mean, they leap with perfect poise and grace from one trapeze to another until they end up safe on that platform across the arena. Now, I can imagine someone with lots of practice eventually getting used to hanging onto a trapeze. And maybe even then feeling relatively secure as soon as they reach that next bar. But it's that time between trapezes that would bother me - that does bother me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Between Trapezes."
Now, that may be where you're living right now. One phase of your life is behind you; you're counting on a new one ahead. But right now you're in one of life's great "in between" times. So were the people God was advising in our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Jeremiah 29:5 .
The Jews are in a temporary spot between two permanent spots. They started in their homeland of Israel. They'll end up back in Israel, but right now they are experiencing the "in between" of captivity in Babylon. And God gives His instructions for people who are hanging there between trapezes. Listen. "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
The message to God's ancient people may be, in essence, what He wants to say to you today. When you're in between, don't hold back. Live as if you'll be there your whole life. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Wherever you are, be all there." God says, "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place."
You may be saying, "But, Lord, this isn't where I want to be. I just want to get by until we get to our destination." Listen to this statement from verse 11 in the same chapter, Jeremiah 29 . "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It seems that God's good plans for tomorrow come out of your living wholeheartedly today.
You may very well not be where you hope you'll end up. You're between jobs or in one that's just a stopgap. Maybe you're single hoping to be married, you're living in a temporary situation or you're waiting for some breakthrough. Like the Jews of old, you're in an "in between" place. But also like them, God expects you to build there, to plant, to increase, to improve it.
And as you do, you give God the attitude He can use to bring you to His very best. If you're in between trapezes right now, remember - this is a terrible place to lose your concentration. Bloom where you're planted. Be all you can be right where you are. Make the greatest possible difference you can there. It's the best way to end up safely at the destination that you want so much.
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Back to me: "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place." I once heard a minister on the radio say “God never called us to be successful, just faithful”. None of this transition is going to matter 500 years into eternity, but the faithfulness will count for something. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite scripture. Eph 3:20 says “now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” That's almost the New Testament equivalent of Jer 29:11. I’m gonna let Him do His work as I go about doing His work, even if I feel like I'm in transition. I just want to stay faithful to Him, how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice!
jimmy
Have you ever felt lost in transition? I almost feel like I am in a perpetual stated of transition. Just when I finally feel like I’m hitting my flow it’s time for transition again. I think the worse is when we (Kesha & me) commit to a transition and a great position opens up, a position that we can’t fill because we’re in transition. I went on BibleGateway.com to find something on the subject of transition. It brought up this great article by Ron Hutchcraft. I have no idea who he is or how he is doing as a minister. I guess I could do a Wiki search but I half way trust Wikipedia as anyone can edit it. I’m just going to copy and post his article. I could try to re-write it but something would get lost. Speaking of editing I’m also going ahead and posting this without my editor's approval. Kesha is super busy and it may be weeks before she can look at it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And now, in the center ring, high above the big top..." Or something like that. When we took our kids to the circus, that was how the ringmaster would introduce those stars of the big show, those death-defying artists on the high trapeze. They're amazing! I mean, they leap with perfect poise and grace from one trapeze to another until they end up safe on that platform across the arena. Now, I can imagine someone with lots of practice eventually getting used to hanging onto a trapeze. And maybe even then feeling relatively secure as soon as they reach that next bar. But it's that time between trapezes that would bother me - that does bother me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Between Trapezes."
Now, that may be where you're living right now. One phase of your life is behind you; you're counting on a new one ahead. But right now you're in one of life's great "in between" times. So were the people God was advising in our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Jeremiah 29:5 .
The Jews are in a temporary spot between two permanent spots. They started in their homeland of Israel. They'll end up back in Israel, but right now they are experiencing the "in between" of captivity in Babylon. And God gives His instructions for people who are hanging there between trapezes. Listen. "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
The message to God's ancient people may be, in essence, what He wants to say to you today. When you're in between, don't hold back. Live as if you'll be there your whole life. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Wherever you are, be all there." God says, "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place."
You may be saying, "But, Lord, this isn't where I want to be. I just want to get by until we get to our destination." Listen to this statement from verse 11 in the same chapter, Jeremiah 29 . "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It seems that God's good plans for tomorrow come out of your living wholeheartedly today.
You may very well not be where you hope you'll end up. You're between jobs or in one that's just a stopgap. Maybe you're single hoping to be married, you're living in a temporary situation or you're waiting for some breakthrough. Like the Jews of old, you're in an "in between" place. But also like them, God expects you to build there, to plant, to increase, to improve it.
And as you do, you give God the attitude He can use to bring you to His very best. If you're in between trapezes right now, remember - this is a terrible place to lose your concentration. Bloom where you're planted. Be all you can be right where you are. Make the greatest possible difference you can there. It's the best way to end up safely at the destination that you want so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to me: "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place." I once heard a minister on the radio say “God never called us to be successful, just faithful”. None of this transition is going to matter 500 years into eternity, but the faithfulness will count for something. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite scripture. Eph 3:20 says “now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” That's almost the New Testament equivalent of Jer 29:11. I’m gonna let Him do His work as I go about doing His work, even if I feel like I'm in transition. I just want to stay faithful to Him, how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice!
jimmy
Are you one, or should we look for another?
For a few months now Kesha & I have been reading this awesome devotional. It’s called “Prescription for a Miracle” by Mark Brazee. A dear, dear friend gave it to us when we were in Tulsa just this last April. She had been reading it and actually started experiencing healing in her own life. She is a Type 1 Diabetic but because of what she has been learning in this devotional she is on the path of becoming a Type None Diabetic. Does that make sense? Her daily insulin requirement has been cut in half through her stand of faith over the past few months. In other words she is getting her healing. Needless to say, since we started reading this devo, most of my thoughts have been geared around healing. Just last night in the middle of a service a thought came to me, just like that. It was on John the Baptist’s challenging Jesus. That is found in Luke 7:18-30.
Let’s look at vs. 20 – 23
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' " 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
There is so much rich stuff in there; I think I could pull out 2 or 3 sermons out of those few scripts. But what struck me was Jesus’ answer. Vs. 22 says “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Let’s get deep about this. Jesus basically said “you want proof well then here's your proof.” Now Gal 3:26 tells us “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Now I am no savior and that is for sure, but because of my Savior I am a child of God. Mark 16:17-18 says “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Look at those last 4 words: “they will get well”. If John’s disciples came to me and asked if I was one--not “the one” but one of those that followed Him-- could I answer the way Jesus answered? I want to. Not that I am seeking signs and wonders; I don’t want to have to seek. I want them to follow me. That is how the King James put it, “to follow”. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe”. I almost want to say that “signs and wonders” will seek me out if I am a follower of Christ. James 5:16b says “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” I want both. I don’t just want the powerful and I don’t just want effective; I want both. I don’t just want a “pseudo belief” in Christ. I want the real deal. I want to answer the way Jesus answered. I want to say (New King Jimmy Style)”They See, They Walk, Cancer Gone, They Hear, The Dead are no longer, And yes, I Tell Everyone about Christ.” I don’t want this for my own glory; I want this because there are people in my town, my city, my state, my nation, my world who simply need Christ. I want to answer just like Christ, do you?
Stay blessed, It’s your choice.
Let’s look at vs. 20 – 23
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' " 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
There is so much rich stuff in there; I think I could pull out 2 or 3 sermons out of those few scripts. But what struck me was Jesus’ answer. Vs. 22 says “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Let’s get deep about this. Jesus basically said “you want proof well then here's your proof.” Now Gal 3:26 tells us “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Now I am no savior and that is for sure, but because of my Savior I am a child of God. Mark 16:17-18 says “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Look at those last 4 words: “they will get well”. If John’s disciples came to me and asked if I was one--not “the one” but one of those that followed Him-- could I answer the way Jesus answered? I want to. Not that I am seeking signs and wonders; I don’t want to have to seek. I want them to follow me. That is how the King James put it, “to follow”. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe”. I almost want to say that “signs and wonders” will seek me out if I am a follower of Christ. James 5:16b says “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” I want both. I don’t just want the powerful and I don’t just want effective; I want both. I don’t just want a “pseudo belief” in Christ. I want the real deal. I want to answer the way Jesus answered. I want to say (New King Jimmy Style)”They See, They Walk, Cancer Gone, They Hear, The Dead are no longer, And yes, I Tell Everyone about Christ.” I don’t want this for my own glory; I want this because there are people in my town, my city, my state, my nation, my world who simply need Christ. I want to answer just like Christ, do you?
Stay blessed, It’s your choice.
He is the true blessing
A little over a year ago my wife got me an IPod shuffle for my birthday. What a great present. I love my wife; she does such a great job on b-day presents for me. That is not the only reason why I love her; she’s also really, REALLY HOT! Ever since we’ve had the IPod, I’ve been downloading the books of the Bible Experience from ITunes. If you don’t know, the Bible Experience is a theatrical reading of the Bible. Zonderman pulled in a bunch of top actors to read different parts of the Bible. I love it. It is awesome! Since March ’08 I have downloaded the whole New Test and the books Genesis & Exodus. Next month will be Leviticus; can’t wait for that! The first book I started with was the Gospel of John. WOW! It was like John himself was telling me the story. I would listen to it while working out. Thank God I wrote down my reps because if not I would have been doing the same exercise for an hour. This thing was mesmerizing. As I would concentrate on what I was hearing I started to pick up on stuff in the Bible that I never took time on before. What I am about to share is one of those simple things that suddenly grabbed my attention.
We all know the story of the feeding of the 5000+. It’s found in books of John, Mark, & Matt. Since “John” was the 1st book I downloaded I’m going to run with his record of this story. John 6:1-14 is the feeding. In vrs. 15, Jesus went hiding because He knew what the 5000+ had in mind. Right after that Jesus decided to strut his stuff on the water; that’s found in verses 16-21. Now comes the key part for me. In verse 22 thru 24, the 5000+ who ate from the 5 SMALL loaves and 2 fish realized that Jesus had gone to the other side of the lake and they went searching for him. Wouldn’t you if you got that free meal? In vrs 25, the crowd caught up with Jesus and asked “Rabbi, when did you get here?” The thing that Jesus said in the verse 26 is what caught my attention; it’s something I never picked up on before. When I heard it I had to re-wind it a few times to make sure I heard what I thought I heard. Once I realized I had, I stop the IPod and started repenting for the same mistake that this crowd was guilty of. Before I go on we better read what Jesus said to the crowd. He said this: “I tell you the truth; you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” How many times have I had my fill and yet I go back to Jesus looking for my next fill. How many times have I been blessed just to turn around and ask for my next blessing? Is that what I’ve made Jesus out to be, someone who’s there to give me free hand outs? Am I guilty of that? YEAH! I am guilty of that. This sounds like an anti-faith statement but as long as we have breath we will have “needs” in our lives. Jesus didn’t die/raise again just to be our “genie in a bottle”. God knows we have needs, He said so. Before we even ask He knows our needs (Matt 6:8). The point is that Jesus is our true blessing. Jesus declared it further down in vrs 35 “I am the bread life”. Later on in John 6:53 Jesus said one of the craziest statements recorded in the Bible: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” CRAZY! John chapter 6 is one of the hardest chapters to swallow (pun intended). Verse 60 even declares that “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”. Right after this Jesus’ congregation count went from 5000+ back down to 12. If I heard that live I may have split too but the whole point is, like I said before, Jesus is the true blessing. Our needs will be met if we chase after Him, after His kingdom, He promised that. I just have a hard time relaxing in that at times. . . ok most of the time. We love to quote Philippians 4:19 (and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus) when we’re in need but the reality is that script was written to a group of believers who were seeking the Kingdom first. Look it up for yourself. Read Phil 4:10-19. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t offer prayer requests. That’s not it at all. We’re suppose to let our prayer request be made known (Phil 4:6). The problem is that we chase after the supplies instead of the chasing the supplier. That’s hard to do when the supplies given are good and perfect (James 1:17). That’s alright; as long as the Lord delays His return we will have time to perfect our “chasing the supplier” skills.
The more I read John 6 the more I want to dive in. I love the Word of God. It’s so rich. A friend of mine once said that the Word of God is so shallow that you can wade in it but so deep that you will never reach the bottom. I love that. Catch y’all next time
Stay blessed, it’s your choice!
We all know the story of the feeding of the 5000+. It’s found in books of John, Mark, & Matt. Since “John” was the 1st book I downloaded I’m going to run with his record of this story. John 6:1-14 is the feeding. In vrs. 15, Jesus went hiding because He knew what the 5000+ had in mind. Right after that Jesus decided to strut his stuff on the water; that’s found in verses 16-21. Now comes the key part for me. In verse 22 thru 24, the 5000+ who ate from the 5 SMALL loaves and 2 fish realized that Jesus had gone to the other side of the lake and they went searching for him. Wouldn’t you if you got that free meal? In vrs 25, the crowd caught up with Jesus and asked “Rabbi, when did you get here?” The thing that Jesus said in the verse 26 is what caught my attention; it’s something I never picked up on before. When I heard it I had to re-wind it a few times to make sure I heard what I thought I heard. Once I realized I had, I stop the IPod and started repenting for the same mistake that this crowd was guilty of. Before I go on we better read what Jesus said to the crowd. He said this: “I tell you the truth; you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” How many times have I had my fill and yet I go back to Jesus looking for my next fill. How many times have I been blessed just to turn around and ask for my next blessing? Is that what I’ve made Jesus out to be, someone who’s there to give me free hand outs? Am I guilty of that? YEAH! I am guilty of that. This sounds like an anti-faith statement but as long as we have breath we will have “needs” in our lives. Jesus didn’t die/raise again just to be our “genie in a bottle”. God knows we have needs, He said so. Before we even ask He knows our needs (Matt 6:8). The point is that Jesus is our true blessing. Jesus declared it further down in vrs 35 “I am the bread life”. Later on in John 6:53 Jesus said one of the craziest statements recorded in the Bible: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” CRAZY! John chapter 6 is one of the hardest chapters to swallow (pun intended). Verse 60 even declares that “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”. Right after this Jesus’ congregation count went from 5000+ back down to 12. If I heard that live I may have split too but the whole point is, like I said before, Jesus is the true blessing. Our needs will be met if we chase after Him, after His kingdom, He promised that. I just have a hard time relaxing in that at times. . . ok most of the time. We love to quote Philippians 4:19 (and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus) when we’re in need but the reality is that script was written to a group of believers who were seeking the Kingdom first. Look it up for yourself. Read Phil 4:10-19. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t offer prayer requests. That’s not it at all. We’re suppose to let our prayer request be made known (Phil 4:6). The problem is that we chase after the supplies instead of the chasing the supplier. That’s hard to do when the supplies given are good and perfect (James 1:17). That’s alright; as long as the Lord delays His return we will have time to perfect our “chasing the supplier” skills.
The more I read John 6 the more I want to dive in. I love the Word of God. It’s so rich. A friend of mine once said that the Word of God is so shallow that you can wade in it but so deep that you will never reach the bottom. I love that. Catch y’all next time
Stay blessed, it’s your choice!
The most powerful 2 scriptures in the Bible.
Debatable, maybe, but they sure do seem powerful enough. The 2 scriptures I’m talking about I mentioned in my last blog. Yep, another cliff hanger! I know some who read this (Dave) hate cliff hangers. Oh well, I gotta keep these entries short some how. Maybe one day I’ll write a book, but this is as close as I’m going to get to book writing right now. So, the most powerful 2 scriptures, they are found in the first Ephesians prayer. The full 1st prayer is Ephesians 1:17-23. Through some wise advice from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book “Faith Food Devotions” yep, I’m holding strong to my word of faith roots) Kesha & I have been taking out the “you” in the prayer and replacing it with love ones’ names. So it would go like this Eph1: “17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give {love ones’names} the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that {love ones’ names} may know him better….so on and so forth…” It’s also good to go through that prayer with your own name in there. But anyway the power packed scripts are right in the middle of that prayer. They are verses 19 & 20. I might have never caught onto this if I had not been doing this Ephesians study. My pastor in Tulsa did this Ephesians study called “Our Blueprint for Maturity”. This study is stacked. There is so much info in it, well, not just info but great and awesome info. Pastor Bob could make 20 sermons out of “Jesus Wept”. Seriously, the dude is brilliant. Anyway he really brought this point to light so the following is really from his study with a bit of “Jimmy Kick” to it. There are 5 Greek words for Power. Here they are and their meanings: 1. Dunamis – “inherent power”, 2. Energeia – “outward” or “overt power”, 3. Kratos – “ruling power”, 4. Ischus – “endowed power”, and 5. Exeusia – “authority”. The first 4 Greek “power” words are used in verse 19. Eph 1:19 "and his incomparably great [dunamis - “inherent power”] power for us who believe. That [energeia -“overt power”] power is like the working of his [kratos - “ruling power”] mighty [ischus -“endowed power”] strength.” Like Pastor Bob says, that is literally the most powerful verse in the New Testament--I would debate that it is the most powerful verse in the whole Bible. But now add verse 19 to 20. Ephesians 1: 19 "and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” That is a whole lot of power being used at one time. Like I said in the previous blog entry (cliffhanger), that was more power than what was used at creation. Psalm 8:3 tells us that God used His fingers when He created the stars and the universe. Hebrews 1:10 says that God used His hands when He molded the earth. But in the Isaiah 53 prophesy it tells us God busted out the full gun at the crucifixion. In Isaiah 53:1 it says “to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” That’s right, when it came to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, God showed the whole “gun” (arm) and guess who had tickets? Colossians 2:15 tells us that Christ spoiled principalities and powers; He made an open joke of them. Colossians 2:15 is just an awesome script, it’s the ultimate punkin' of the Devil. Going back to what the beginning of vrs 19 says, “and his incomparably great power for us who believe,” all the power that was displayed at the resurrection is for “US” who believe. More power than what was displayed at creation is for us now! WOW! We who believe have God’s gun cocked, locked, and ready to pull the trigger. Now that is awesome and that is only a part of the whole prayer. Like Pop Hagin advised, add your name or your love ones name in that prayer. Below I put the prayer but I placed my name in it. As you read it think about what it says, the bonus is since I threw my name in there you will be praying it over me. Awesome stuff!!
Eph1: “17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give JIMMY the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that JIMMY may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of JIMMY’S heart may be enlightened in order that JIMMY may know the hope to which he has called JIMMY, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for JIMMY who believes. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Eph1: “17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give JIMMY the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that JIMMY may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of JIMMY’S heart may be enlightened in order that JIMMY may know the hope to which he has called JIMMY, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for JIMMY who believes. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Only One has done that for me!
Sorry for the delay, March was one busy month. We had a family vacation to San Fran, Kesha had mock boards, mix in our anniversary and my b-day. March has to be one of my favorite months because of my b-day and anniversary. Anyway I also got to preach @ Cultivate Youth Church so that took some time away from the blog. What a blast! I absolutely love preaching God’s word. This blog is a cool outlet, but I don’t really get to see who reads it. With preaching, the crowd is right there and I can tell by their faces if it’s good or not. Anyway I’m back in the saddle and ready to bang out some “Busted Thoughts”.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Heading into Easter Weekend we are going to hear that scripture a lot. It really is an awesome statement but stop to think about it. A lot of people have laid down their lives for us. All those in the military are laying down their lives everyday for us. That really hit home the day that I swore into the Air Force. As I took that oath, I realized my life no longer belonged to me. I became the property of the U.S Government. For 8 years my life was laid down for freedom. During the Civil War my great – however long ago- great- grandfather died as a Union soldier fighting for the cause of setting my wife’s great –how ever long ago- great grandparents free from slavery. He laid his life down for someone he had never met. He laid down his life so that now, nearly 150 years later, Kesha and I are free to be married without being considered criminals. My story and my family’s story are just very small drops in a huge bucket of the stories of those who have and are laying down their lives for others. It’s always good to stop and say thanks for those actions. (Don’t respond to this blog entry thanking me for any service, I’ve already received plenty enough.) But with my next statement I want us to really think about this coming weekend. Many have laid down their lives for us, BUT ONLY ONE RAISED FROM THE DEAD FOR US. Look @ what Romans 10:9-10 says: “9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” There was a religious group combing through our neighborhood this last weekend. This time they did not stop @ my house for whatever reason but usually they invite people to come celebrate the death of Jesus but say nothing about His resurrection. Do you realize that if Jesus stayed dead we would have no life? Sure for joy He endured the cross, Heb 12:2 tells us that, but the joy was not in the cross but in the victory over death. Last time I checked the gospels during the crucifixion he never yelled out “thank you sir may I have another”. I want to celebrate His raising, His victory, our victory. The next blog I’m going to cover Ephesians 1:19-20 more deeply but for now I’m just going to scratch the surface. Here are the scripts: “19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms”. Those 2 scriptures quite possible could be the most powerful scriptures in the whole Bible. Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself, I’ll save that for the next entry. So to scratch the surface of Eph 1:19-20, more power was exerted with the resurrection of Jesus than at creation. I have to admit that sounds strange at first but listen, there was no reason for Lucifer (Satan. . . he got his new name @ the fatal fruit buffet) to try to stop Creation. There was no reason for Lucifer to try to stop Adam and Eve from being created because he, Lucifer, had not yet learned that Eve’s seed would stomp on his head. But Satan and & hell had every reason to try to stop Jesus’ resurrection. It’s with that resurrection I have life. It’s with that resurrection I have salvation. It’s with that resurrection I have eternal fellowship with God. Many thanks to those who laid down their lives for us, but THANK GOD FOR THE ONE THAT RAISED FROM THE DEAD FOR US. THANK YOU JESUS!
Side note: when you hear this weekend “Greater love has no one than this” remember Jesus laid down His own life in ABSOLUTE LOVE.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Heading into Easter Weekend we are going to hear that scripture a lot. It really is an awesome statement but stop to think about it. A lot of people have laid down their lives for us. All those in the military are laying down their lives everyday for us. That really hit home the day that I swore into the Air Force. As I took that oath, I realized my life no longer belonged to me. I became the property of the U.S Government. For 8 years my life was laid down for freedom. During the Civil War my great – however long ago- great- grandfather died as a Union soldier fighting for the cause of setting my wife’s great –how ever long ago- great grandparents free from slavery. He laid his life down for someone he had never met. He laid down his life so that now, nearly 150 years later, Kesha and I are free to be married without being considered criminals. My story and my family’s story are just very small drops in a huge bucket of the stories of those who have and are laying down their lives for others. It’s always good to stop and say thanks for those actions. (Don’t respond to this blog entry thanking me for any service, I’ve already received plenty enough.) But with my next statement I want us to really think about this coming weekend. Many have laid down their lives for us, BUT ONLY ONE RAISED FROM THE DEAD FOR US. Look @ what Romans 10:9-10 says: “9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” There was a religious group combing through our neighborhood this last weekend. This time they did not stop @ my house for whatever reason but usually they invite people to come celebrate the death of Jesus but say nothing about His resurrection. Do you realize that if Jesus stayed dead we would have no life? Sure for joy He endured the cross, Heb 12:2 tells us that, but the joy was not in the cross but in the victory over death. Last time I checked the gospels during the crucifixion he never yelled out “thank you sir may I have another”. I want to celebrate His raising, His victory, our victory. The next blog I’m going to cover Ephesians 1:19-20 more deeply but for now I’m just going to scratch the surface. Here are the scripts: “19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms”. Those 2 scriptures quite possible could be the most powerful scriptures in the whole Bible. Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself, I’ll save that for the next entry. So to scratch the surface of Eph 1:19-20, more power was exerted with the resurrection of Jesus than at creation. I have to admit that sounds strange at first but listen, there was no reason for Lucifer (Satan. . . he got his new name @ the fatal fruit buffet) to try to stop Creation. There was no reason for Lucifer to try to stop Adam and Eve from being created because he, Lucifer, had not yet learned that Eve’s seed would stomp on his head. But Satan and & hell had every reason to try to stop Jesus’ resurrection. It’s with that resurrection I have life. It’s with that resurrection I have salvation. It’s with that resurrection I have eternal fellowship with God. Many thanks to those who laid down their lives for us, but THANK GOD FOR THE ONE THAT RAISED FROM THE DEAD FOR US. THANK YOU JESUS!
Side note: when you hear this weekend “Greater love has no one than this” remember Jesus laid down His own life in ABSOLUTE LOVE.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Givin’ Them a Show! Part 2
Back to Heb 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Last time we talked about the “Great Cloud of Witnesses”. We discovered that it’s not a bunch a people sitting on cartoon clouds strumming harps but Saints like Moses, Abraham, & many more jam packed into the heavenly bleachers watching & cheering us on. That’s where the title “Givin’ Them a Show!” came in. But now comes the question “What is that show?” Did you watch the summer Olympics? Did you see Jamaica’s Usain Bolt? Many in the world tuned in to see him run. That dude is insane; he is crazy fast. He put on a show and the whole world was watching. I loved it. He was so far ahead of the others that he actually cruised into the finish line. I know everyone watched Michael Phelps, but if you didn’t see Usain run, then try to find it on YouTube. A dude that tall should not have been able to run that fast. The Olympics are long since done but our show continues. Here’s what the show is: Heb 12:1 says we’re in a race; that’s the race of life. Look at what Paul said in 2nd Tim 4:7, “I have finished the race”. What a show Paul put on for those in the nose bleed section. Paul wrote that @ the end of his life, his race was completed. The peeps who are watching in the stands, they finished their races. It’s crazy for me to think that Paul, PAUL, is now watching me run the race of life. Not only is he watching but he’s cheering me on. I’m not getting into Saint Worship here; I’m just saying there are some very powerful people in Heaven watching us do this Life Race.
Heb 12:1-2 gives us 3 keys to running/winning this Life Race properly. Yeah I know; I didn’t include verse 2 till now. Here they are together and I will underline the 3 keys. “Heb 3:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The 1st key: “throw off”. This first part really has 2 elements, but we tend to focus in on just one of them. We always focus in on the “sin that so easily entangles” but that’s second to throwing off “everything that hinders us”. Some may argue that sin hinders us but look at the script again. “Let us throw off everything that hinders AND the sin that so easily entangles” [emphasis mine]. Looks to me like they are separated. It looks like sin is not the only thing that hinders us. Look at what Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14 (another sport/race reference) “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I have heard more then a few pastors talk about this subject but it could always be restated. Your past church/life experiences (good or bad) are just that, in the past. Let them go, or like what Heb 12:1 says “throw off” those things. I had some great past church experiences, but they are in the past. I want to press forward toward the goal that God has set for me.
The 2nd key: “Run”, but that’s not alone. It’s really to “run with perseverance the race . . .” The word “perseverance” really caught my attention. Look at how the Amplified put this: “Let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.” Roller coasters are cool at amusement parks but a roller coaster Christian life style is not so amusing. Something else in the 2nd key caught my attention as well. It’s the fact that the race is marked out for us. We are not running aimlessly and we all have our own race. Usain didn’t win his gold medals on the marathon path or the bike course, but on the track made for the sprint races. Eph 2:10 tells us that God has prepared for us to do good works. In other words, he has prepared a race path marked out for us.
The 3rd key: “Fix” This is so key, no pun intended. While watching the track & field portion of the Olympics, I remember hearing the commentator state how important it was for the runner to keep looking forward. If they looked around then they would slow down. Theologians disagree on who wrote Hebrews. The popular choice is Paul, but I wonder if Peter had some input on verse 2. Remember Peter walked on water; he didn’t start to sink until he took his focus off of Jesus. Look @ Matt 14:29-30 “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" If you only read the NIV then you would wonder how Peter saw the wind. The Amplified translation states this better by saying “but when he perceived and felt the strong wind”. Now in the water walking story it never says that Peter had his physical eyes on or off of Jesus. Jesus just asked Peter why he doubted. Likewise in Heb 12:1& 2, you can’t really just fix your physical eyes on Jesus, but you can fix your faith on Him. One of my favorite phrases in the Bible is said here in Heb 12:2 “2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith”.
Throw, run, and fix. Sounds like an Olympic event. Sounds like an event I want to win the gold in.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Heb 12:1-2 gives us 3 keys to running/winning this Life Race properly. Yeah I know; I didn’t include verse 2 till now. Here they are together and I will underline the 3 keys. “Heb 3:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The 1st key: “throw off”. This first part really has 2 elements, but we tend to focus in on just one of them. We always focus in on the “sin that so easily entangles” but that’s second to throwing off “everything that hinders us”. Some may argue that sin hinders us but look at the script again. “Let us throw off everything that hinders AND the sin that so easily entangles” [emphasis mine]. Looks to me like they are separated. It looks like sin is not the only thing that hinders us. Look at what Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14 (another sport/race reference) “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I have heard more then a few pastors talk about this subject but it could always be restated. Your past church/life experiences (good or bad) are just that, in the past. Let them go, or like what Heb 12:1 says “throw off” those things. I had some great past church experiences, but they are in the past. I want to press forward toward the goal that God has set for me.
The 2nd key: “Run”, but that’s not alone. It’s really to “run with perseverance the race . . .” The word “perseverance” really caught my attention. Look at how the Amplified put this: “Let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.” Roller coasters are cool at amusement parks but a roller coaster Christian life style is not so amusing. Something else in the 2nd key caught my attention as well. It’s the fact that the race is marked out for us. We are not running aimlessly and we all have our own race. Usain didn’t win his gold medals on the marathon path or the bike course, but on the track made for the sprint races. Eph 2:10 tells us that God has prepared for us to do good works. In other words, he has prepared a race path marked out for us.
The 3rd key: “Fix” This is so key, no pun intended. While watching the track & field portion of the Olympics, I remember hearing the commentator state how important it was for the runner to keep looking forward. If they looked around then they would slow down. Theologians disagree on who wrote Hebrews. The popular choice is Paul, but I wonder if Peter had some input on verse 2. Remember Peter walked on water; he didn’t start to sink until he took his focus off of Jesus. Look @ Matt 14:29-30 “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" If you only read the NIV then you would wonder how Peter saw the wind. The Amplified translation states this better by saying “but when he perceived and felt the strong wind”. Now in the water walking story it never says that Peter had his physical eyes on or off of Jesus. Jesus just asked Peter why he doubted. Likewise in Heb 12:1& 2, you can’t really just fix your physical eyes on Jesus, but you can fix your faith on Him. One of my favorite phrases in the Bible is said here in Heb 12:2 “2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith”.
Throw, run, and fix. Sounds like an Olympic event. Sounds like an event I want to win the gold in.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Givin’ them a Show!
I was recently pulling out some old cd’s. I came across one of my favorites. Passion Revolution, songs from ONEDAY 03. There are only 2 songs on there that I can do without. All the others are awesome. Chris Tomlin’s “Take My Life” brings me to tears and a deeper urgency of commitment.
Staying on that same vein, I just finished reading “John’s Story, The Last Eyewitness” by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins. Wow, wow, I just have to say. . . WOW! What a great book. I totally felt convicted while I was reading it. Nah, not convicted, maybe driven to a greater commitment . . . that’s not really capturing my thoughts either. I never really comprehended what it would have been like for John on the isle of Patmos till I read this book. When ever I think of islands I think of the Caribbean, maybe because I’ve been there a few times. I would like to suffer for God in the Caribbean. Patmos is in the Mediterranean. I hung out in the Med for a few years when I was stationed in Italy. I’ve been to the Isle of Capri but that’s really an unredeemed story from the past so I won’t finish telling it. Back in John’s day Patmos was not a vacation haven, he wasn’t sent there to relax. Being raised in the “Word of Faith” movement I am so use to talking about going from glory to glory. In that I lose touch of the suffering that took place just to get the gospel out, the persecution that was dealt to those who penned phrases like ‘We are more than conquerors” or “resist the devil and he will flee”. I’m not volunteering to suffer or be persecuted, but I’m not backing down either. Heb 12:1 talks about the Great Cloud of Witnesses. The 1st generation church is now in that cloud. Let’s look at that scripture. Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Whenever I read that I instantly think of Peter, Paul, John, & others sitting on big puffy marshmallow clouds playing harps and looking down every once in awhile. That’s not really what Heb 12:1 is talking about. The Greek word for cloud is nephos. It does carry the meaning of cloud but it also has another meaning. In ol’Greek times the word “cloud” was used to describe what we now call “the nose bleed” section of a stadium. Heb 12:1 says we’re surrounded all the way up in the “nose bleed section” by of those who went on before us. The word surrounded is taken from the Greek word “peikeimenai”. This word means something is piled high and on all sides of us. The best of what I can compare this to is the student section of Kinnick Stadium at the University o f Iowa. In ’02 my dad came up to Iowa to visit some family. Kesha and I took him to the Iowa/Michigan game. I waited too long to buy tickets and the only seats left were in the student section. The student section is crazy!! It is packed in there tighter than tight. Plus the only way to actually see the game is to stand on the bleachers because no one in that section sits, ever! I remember a fight broke out right behind us. I instantly jumped in the middle of these 2 knuckle heads to stop it because if they continued then the whole section would have fell. You would have heard about it on the news. That’s right, I stopped a potential tragedy; I’m something of a super hero! The next year when Mom & Dad came up they made sure that I bought tickets earlier and that it was as far a possible from the student section. Ever since then, when I read Heb 12:1 I think of the student section at Kinnick Stadium, heavenly saints stacked tighter than tight, standing on the bleacher s just to see me win. I’m gonna give them a show, not for the glory of me, but for the glory of God. This next statement might sound super prideful but really give it some thought. We are better equipped and better prepared than the saints before us. We have no reason to lose. We are better equipped because of their sacrifice to get the Gospel out. We are better prepared because of the life lessons that they taught both by word and action. We have no reason to lose. We have no reason to quit. Let’s give them a show, let’s give them something to cheer for. Let’s show them that the persecution they endured was not in vain. Most of all let’s do it for the same reason they did, all for the Glory of God.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Staying on that same vein, I just finished reading “John’s Story, The Last Eyewitness” by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins. Wow, wow, I just have to say. . . WOW! What a great book. I totally felt convicted while I was reading it. Nah, not convicted, maybe driven to a greater commitment . . . that’s not really capturing my thoughts either. I never really comprehended what it would have been like for John on the isle of Patmos till I read this book. When ever I think of islands I think of the Caribbean, maybe because I’ve been there a few times. I would like to suffer for God in the Caribbean. Patmos is in the Mediterranean. I hung out in the Med for a few years when I was stationed in Italy. I’ve been to the Isle of Capri but that’s really an unredeemed story from the past so I won’t finish telling it. Back in John’s day Patmos was not a vacation haven, he wasn’t sent there to relax. Being raised in the “Word of Faith” movement I am so use to talking about going from glory to glory. In that I lose touch of the suffering that took place just to get the gospel out, the persecution that was dealt to those who penned phrases like ‘We are more than conquerors” or “resist the devil and he will flee”. I’m not volunteering to suffer or be persecuted, but I’m not backing down either. Heb 12:1 talks about the Great Cloud of Witnesses. The 1st generation church is now in that cloud. Let’s look at that scripture. Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Whenever I read that I instantly think of Peter, Paul, John, & others sitting on big puffy marshmallow clouds playing harps and looking down every once in awhile. That’s not really what Heb 12:1 is talking about. The Greek word for cloud is nephos. It does carry the meaning of cloud but it also has another meaning. In ol’Greek times the word “cloud” was used to describe what we now call “the nose bleed” section of a stadium. Heb 12:1 says we’re surrounded all the way up in the “nose bleed section” by of those who went on before us. The word surrounded is taken from the Greek word “peikeimenai”. This word means something is piled high and on all sides of us. The best of what I can compare this to is the student section of Kinnick Stadium at the University o f Iowa. In ’02 my dad came up to Iowa to visit some family. Kesha and I took him to the Iowa/Michigan game. I waited too long to buy tickets and the only seats left were in the student section. The student section is crazy!! It is packed in there tighter than tight. Plus the only way to actually see the game is to stand on the bleachers because no one in that section sits, ever! I remember a fight broke out right behind us. I instantly jumped in the middle of these 2 knuckle heads to stop it because if they continued then the whole section would have fell. You would have heard about it on the news. That’s right, I stopped a potential tragedy; I’m something of a super hero! The next year when Mom & Dad came up they made sure that I bought tickets earlier and that it was as far a possible from the student section. Ever since then, when I read Heb 12:1 I think of the student section at Kinnick Stadium, heavenly saints stacked tighter than tight, standing on the bleacher s just to see me win. I’m gonna give them a show, not for the glory of me, but for the glory of God. This next statement might sound super prideful but really give it some thought. We are better equipped and better prepared than the saints before us. We have no reason to lose. We are better equipped because of their sacrifice to get the Gospel out. We are better prepared because of the life lessons that they taught both by word and action. We have no reason to lose. We have no reason to quit. Let’s give them a show, let’s give them something to cheer for. Let’s show them that the persecution they endured was not in vain. Most of all let’s do it for the same reason they did, all for the Glory of God.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Don’t miss your moment.
Don’t miss your moment.
I am finally getting back to this blog. Life has just been plain busy. With Sasha in house now, making it thru the holidays, and an emergency trip to Tulsa I haven’t had time to get back to this blog. Kesha went back to work this week and I am proud to say that I made it out alive. I’m figuring out Sasha’s schedule and just about have it down pat. It’s pretty much: Eat, Sleep, change diaper; but you have to throw in there dealing with Saige, the dogs, dishes, and keeping the house somewhat clean. I’m just glad I made it thru the 1st week.
Our pastor, here in Birm, sent something out to all of us that shows us no matter what we don’t want to miss our moment At our church we do something called AOLs (Acts of Love). AOLs remind us to do things, well, Christ-like. I better show you what he sent out before I muck it up with to many words.
From Pastor Pat Schatzline @ www.thesummitbham.com
“I have to tell you what happened a couple of days ago as I was on a flight to CO to speak at a conference. It was an AOL moment. While sitting on the plane watching our new president being sworn in I noticed the flight attendant was missing out. He was a large African American man doing his best to watch the T.V.’s on the screens as he moved down the aisle. As he approached me towards the back of the plane time was drawing nearing for the swearing in ceremony of President Elect Obama
The plane had satellite on it so everyone was watching. Just as the flight attendant got beside me to offer a snack I took off my head phones. I asked him if he would like to lean and share a head set to not miss the moment. He smiled and leaned in and took my other ear piece. Together we watched the 30 sec. swearing in. When it was complete he looked at me with tears rolling down his face and said, “When I get off this flight I have to call my wife and tell her that a white guy and a black guy watched history in the making together.” He then said, “Wow has our nation changed.” It was such a neat moment. Folks that is what it is all about. We are one nation under God! Regardless of your political beliefs it must not be discounted what took place on Tuesday. The walls of racism fell farther to the ground! Acts of love must be our DNA! We are called to be “Body Doubles.”
Back to me:
Don’t miss your moment. Yeah we all may not agree with President Obama’s policies, and the federal funds being released back to abortion clinics does make me cringe, but let us not miss our moment to reach out. Politically speaking, when things don’t go the way that the Religious Right wants it to go, the reactions reminds me of the disciples in Luke 9:51-56. “51. As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53. but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" 55. But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56. and they went to another village.” The disciples wanted to call down fire but look at who got fired upon. Why in Luke 10, the very next chapter, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Not only did that burn in the Pharisees ears but it must have burned in the disciples ears too because they, not to long ago, were just trying to call down fire onto a Samaritan village. Maybe if Jesus was sharing that same story here in America he wouldn’t use a Samaritan as the subject of the story but a “Leftist Liberal”. I’ve heard plenty of people wanting to “call down fire” but let us not be guilty of such because it may just be us that get rebuked by our Lord.
I challenge you today to watch how you walk, how you talk. Remember the love of God leads all to repentance (Rms 2:4). [That’s another subject for another blog entry.] If you don’t agree with our current President’s policies then pray for him. Look, if God can get Daniel into Nebuchadnezzar’s ear and Joseph in 2nd command to Pharaoh then getting Godly voices into President Obama’s ears is not a problem. 1st Tim 2:1-4 instructs us to pray and how to pray for our leaders. Let me back up, it doesn’t instruct us but actually urges us to pray for our leaders. Here, just read: “1. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2. for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4. who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Look @ what verse 3 says. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior”. All I want to do lately is please and have fellowship with God. Here is a great starting point.
On a personal note, last Tuesday was a great day for the Buster household. I’ve always been proud to be an American and even gave 8 years of my life to the military for this nation, but last Tuesday I was never prouder to be called an American. It was great to see a man that looks so different than the previous presidents take the top office of this fine nation. With Kesha and me being a “mixed couple” living in the “Deep South” we see the deathly grip of racism. Martin Luther King targeted the very area that we live in as a battle field to end injustice. No, President Obama is not a savior, but he has become a symbol of hope. For my 2 little girls, walls have been broken down, walls that may have hindered their future. God bless America and may He continue to do so…
I am finally getting back to this blog. Life has just been plain busy. With Sasha in house now, making it thru the holidays, and an emergency trip to Tulsa I haven’t had time to get back to this blog. Kesha went back to work this week and I am proud to say that I made it out alive. I’m figuring out Sasha’s schedule and just about have it down pat. It’s pretty much: Eat, Sleep, change diaper; but you have to throw in there dealing with Saige, the dogs, dishes, and keeping the house somewhat clean. I’m just glad I made it thru the 1st week.
Our pastor, here in Birm, sent something out to all of us that shows us no matter what we don’t want to miss our moment At our church we do something called AOLs (Acts of Love). AOLs remind us to do things, well, Christ-like. I better show you what he sent out before I muck it up with to many words.
From Pastor Pat Schatzline @ www.thesummitbham.com
“I have to tell you what happened a couple of days ago as I was on a flight to CO to speak at a conference. It was an AOL moment. While sitting on the plane watching our new president being sworn in I noticed the flight attendant was missing out. He was a large African American man doing his best to watch the T.V.’s on the screens as he moved down the aisle. As he approached me towards the back of the plane time was drawing nearing for the swearing in ceremony of President Elect Obama
The plane had satellite on it so everyone was watching. Just as the flight attendant got beside me to offer a snack I took off my head phones. I asked him if he would like to lean and share a head set to not miss the moment. He smiled and leaned in and took my other ear piece. Together we watched the 30 sec. swearing in. When it was complete he looked at me with tears rolling down his face and said, “When I get off this flight I have to call my wife and tell her that a white guy and a black guy watched history in the making together.” He then said, “Wow has our nation changed.” It was such a neat moment. Folks that is what it is all about. We are one nation under God! Regardless of your political beliefs it must not be discounted what took place on Tuesday. The walls of racism fell farther to the ground! Acts of love must be our DNA! We are called to be “Body Doubles.”
Back to me:
Don’t miss your moment. Yeah we all may not agree with President Obama’s policies, and the federal funds being released back to abortion clinics does make me cringe, but let us not miss our moment to reach out. Politically speaking, when things don’t go the way that the Religious Right wants it to go, the reactions reminds me of the disciples in Luke 9:51-56. “51. As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53. but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" 55. But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56. and they went to another village.” The disciples wanted to call down fire but look at who got fired upon. Why in Luke 10, the very next chapter, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Not only did that burn in the Pharisees ears but it must have burned in the disciples ears too because they, not to long ago, were just trying to call down fire onto a Samaritan village. Maybe if Jesus was sharing that same story here in America he wouldn’t use a Samaritan as the subject of the story but a “Leftist Liberal”. I’ve heard plenty of people wanting to “call down fire” but let us not be guilty of such because it may just be us that get rebuked by our Lord.
I challenge you today to watch how you walk, how you talk. Remember the love of God leads all to repentance (Rms 2:4). [That’s another subject for another blog entry.] If you don’t agree with our current President’s policies then pray for him. Look, if God can get Daniel into Nebuchadnezzar’s ear and Joseph in 2nd command to Pharaoh then getting Godly voices into President Obama’s ears is not a problem. 1st Tim 2:1-4 instructs us to pray and how to pray for our leaders. Let me back up, it doesn’t instruct us but actually urges us to pray for our leaders. Here, just read: “1. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2. for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4. who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Look @ what verse 3 says. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior”. All I want to do lately is please and have fellowship with God. Here is a great starting point.
On a personal note, last Tuesday was a great day for the Buster household. I’ve always been proud to be an American and even gave 8 years of my life to the military for this nation, but last Tuesday I was never prouder to be called an American. It was great to see a man that looks so different than the previous presidents take the top office of this fine nation. With Kesha and me being a “mixed couple” living in the “Deep South” we see the deathly grip of racism. Martin Luther King targeted the very area that we live in as a battle field to end injustice. No, President Obama is not a savior, but he has become a symbol of hope. For my 2 little girls, walls have been broken down, walls that may have hindered their future. God bless America and may He continue to do so…
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