365 Reflections

Hebrews 11:7 (The Message)  By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.        Faith is the initiation to intimacy with God.  So often we want God to first make Himself real to us, then we will act on it.  We even wait for sign to do something "for God."  We hope the sign will eleviate our out culpability in the matter should things not go so well for us after stepping out. The problem is we aren't aware that God does not act this way. He wants faith first!  He wants His children to step out in faith and act on His Word, THEN the intimacy will come.  Noah did what looked foolish for a long time.  That is how Christian belief should look for people... foolish.  We don't worry

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. I am a amazed at how often people fight the concept of tithing.  What does this passage tell us about Abel?  He offered a more acceptable sacrifice by faith.  How could it be more acceptable if, as some people like to say, it was simply by choice that God accepted his and rejected Cain's?  That is utter nonsense.  It was accepted because it was sacrificially given from the firstborn of his flocks.  Whereas Cain's was offered "in the course of time."  Can we put this to rest?  Our money says a ton about our hearts.  Where we put our treasure, there our heart will be.  And right from the beginning of life after the fall, mankind has had an issue with possessions.  That we think we actually own anything.  That we put God second in our of

What do you need to survive? Air, Water, Food, Fire, Shelter?  In that order if you watch Survivor Man. What do you need to survive if you are a scientist?  Vitamins, trace minerals, etc... What do you need to survive as a Christian?  You need other Christians. Hebrews moves right from admonishing us to encourage each other and meet together to warning us about sinning and falling away... Hebrews 10:24–27 (ESV)  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.      26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. The conjunctive word in this passage is "for"... Keep stirring each other up, keep encouraging, keep meeting togethe

Hebrews 9:28 (ESV) so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Salvation happens in three acts. We were saved when Christ called us and we responded to His grace in repentance and confession. We are being saved, i.e. sanctified and made holy by Christ's blood. We will be saved at His soon return. Are we EAGERLY waiting for Him? I think of the many things we wait for.  We can't wait to grow up.  We can't wait to go to college.  We can't wait to get out of college.  We can't wait to get our first job... second job... retire.  Whatever it is we can't wait for.  It seems as soon as we find it, we wait for something else. Are we waiting for Him to return?  The author of Hebrews talks in chapter 9 about the day of atonement.  When the high priest would once a year enter into the Holy of Holies and return from behind the curta

I know every one says this nowadays. We are hard-wired to worship something.  If not God, then something else. They have never found a culture or tribe of men where worship was not part of their make up.  Its in our DNA.  We are going to worship something that we feel gives us what we need, hope for and long for. Unfortunately we worship the wrong gods.  Idols of importance, pleasure, desire, lusts, and even ourselves.  This is the most common form of religion today - "Me-ism."  And we do things that we feel meets our needs. Jesus Christ came to set us free from me-ism.  He did.  He paid for it with His blood.  His sacrifice is the enablement for our worship to be correctly aimed at our true and only God. Hebrews 9:13–14 (NLT) Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we c

When you think of it, Christianity is a crazy thing.  It is not crazy bad, it is crazy in a good way. We worship a God we have not seen through a selection of books we believe were written by His Holy Spirit through men we do not know.  And yet, 2000 years later, we are still doing this.  In spite of medical and scientific advances we worship and believe, maybe even stronger than before.  In spite of the many many attempts to discredit this book we believe in larger numbers than ever before. Why? God has done something inside of us. And that's what Hebrews tells us: Hebrews 8:10 (ESV) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. He has not just given us a book.  He has made our hearts to resonate with Him internally.  We desire Him, we want Him, we love Him, we understand who He is and wh

Have you ever had one of those days? One of those days that just took it all out of you. Took your strengths from you. Take your stamina from you. Took your patients from you. Not that it was a bad day, but it was a draining day. It could even be a day in which you had a great battles and great victories. But no matter the win it still took its toll on your emotions and physical strength. Life has a way of doing that. I think of Abraham fighting off those five kings and rescuing his nephew Lot from his own silly choice to live near Sodom. Abraham must of been totally spent. And here is what happens. This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. (Hebrews 7:1 NLT) Melchizedek is a type of Christ. He is the king of peace and the king of righteousness. And after Abraham had fought and won the battle, Melchizedek came and blessed

You are assured of hope because of who God is a what Christ has done. Hebrews 6:19 (ESV) We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, The anchor of a ship keeps it from drifting.  Hebrews has made a big deal about not drifting.  And here its as if he's making clear that God is the one who anchors us in Himself.  We have his promise of Salvation.  Don't doubt who you are in Christ.  It is not based on your works, but Christ's finished work for you. Second, we are assured because of what Christ has done. Hebrews 6:20 (ESV) where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The word, "forerunner" in Greek refers to a small battalion of soldiers who go in and blaze a trail for the army.  Remember Christian, Christ has already made the way for you.  Just walk straight.  PRAYER: Father, help me to remember th

I don't understand people believing that once you are saved, you are always saved, no matter what. In that case, what is the book of Hebrews for?  The entire book is warning after warning from cover to cover about how we can slip away from the faith.  In chapter 6, the writer makes it clear that not only have some slipped out of the faith, they cannot be brought back. Hebrews 6:4–6 (ESV) For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. These are difficult words.  First, who wants to imagine anyone falling away from Christ?  Second, who wants to think that such a departure is final and irrevocable?  The writer makes clear these

We all struggle with prayer.  Sometimes I think we are afraid to confess it, but more often than not, we seem disappointed with prayer, disconnected from continual prayer, and lost in how prayer should work in our lives. What does Jesus model for us in prayer?  Hebrews tells us: Hebrews 5:7 (ESV) In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. This one verse is jam packed full of goodies for us who struggle to pray. First, Jesus modeled that we should pray with emotion in earnest. Don't tip toe around the throne room of God with an "if only" attitude.  Equally offensive is the "if it's not too much trouble" type prayer and the quiet whispering "maybe I want it" kind of request.  In the last chapter of Hebrews we are told to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive help and mercy! God is loo

In talking about the people of Israel, the writer of Hebrews shares their fatal flaw.  They did not act on what they heard.  God said "I give you the promised land, take it."  And they saw giants and ran the other way.  It was more than a failure, it was a disregard for the promise of God's Word.  And God takes His Word very seriously. Hebrews 4:2 (NLT) For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. God's word did not benefit them, because they did not act on it. There are a lot of Christians who are sitting idly by in the stands of God's raceway - hoping some magic spell will fall over them to make them what God wants.   This will not happen.  Yes, God wills us to will, but there are times when we are going to have to put in the effort. Notice later the writer does not dare leave us with an idea that we

Hebrews 3:12–14 (NLT) Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Be careful.  That's the theme common in Hebrews. The author evidently believes there are some who are hanging in the balance of faith and unbelief.   He says they are to make sure their own hearts are not evil and unbelieving.  We have a responsibility to our hearts.  We have to take our spiritual pulse, check our vital signs, and administer CPR sometimes. Christians... take care of yourself. So often I see in the church a perpetual infant mentality.  People want to be served.  We even design our churches for performance and spectatorshi

When I get bored sometimes I like to take my wedding ring and dangle it from finger to finger seeing how many times I can flip it between them.  It's my way of passing the time.  Of course, I'm playing with fire.  Eventually the ring flings off the tips of my fingers onto the floor, rolls fast and furiously away from me and I start to scramble for it's redemption! I share this because the Greek word used in Hebrews 2:1 carries the same meaning as what I do with my ring on occasion. Hebrews 2:1 (ESV) Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. The words "drift away" is one word in Greek.  The word " pararrhueo"  is very picturesque.  It can mean to slip off as in a ring from a finger.  This is why we have to pay attention.  Our thoughts can lead us away from the message of the Gospel. We start to let it dangle off the tip of our finger, only to suddenly realize how lost we are without it.  

The book of Hebrews is written to a church in the midst of struggle and persecution.  How do you encourage a church facing a ton of opposition?  What do you open with?  What are your first words? You point them to JESUS! The first chapter of Hebrews has to do with the Supremacy of Christ! Hebrews 1:3 (ESV) He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, There is something about Jesus that lifts us up and brings us through.  The writer spends the first 4 verses talking about the NAME of Jesus.  It is superior to the angels!  So just the mention of His name and the pronouncement of His power brings us hope in the midst of a world.   He is more than you think!  Some believe JEsus was a good man.  Some believe He was sent by God as a deliverer.  Some believe He was the voice of God.  But He is those thing

Galatians 6:14 (ESV) But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Paul finishes off Galatians with this stunning statement.  He is a man totally lost and forever found in the cross.  His achievements are nothing, his legacy surrendered to Jesus Christ.  He is completely engrossed in the life given him by the death, burial and resurrection of his Lord. He says, "far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Far be it!  In other words, I don't want anything else attached to my name than the cross of Christ.   Oh to get there.  For there and only there is the true separation from this world completed.   We struggle with our idols of desire.  What we want, what we would like to achieve, leave behind and master or acquire.  But in the end, nothing outside of Jesus matters. I think this is why Paul was used so greatly by Christ.  He

"It's none of my business" is not in the Bible. Galatians 6:1–2 (ESV) Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Paul as usual toward the end of his epistles starts to get practical.  Here he talks about those we know who are trapped in a sin.  And our job is to be spiritual EMT's to each other.   We cannot ignore someone else's faults.  I know we want to.  We want to be "nice".  We want to be "friends" who never "offend."  But the commandment of scripture implores us to reach out and touch another person who's life is under bondage to sin.   Cain was dead wrong: We are our brother's/sister's keeper. The hard part of this deal is what Paul says in verse 2.  It is that we bear one another's burdens .  It is the h

Galatians 5:5 (NLT) But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. The message in Galatians can seen upside down to us in the 21st Century.  It speaks of freedom from the law in terms foreign to us from it's original context.  We can misinterpret it to use these scriptures as a license to do what we want.  We forget that it was written to counter legalists who wanted to go back to the old code of the law rather than see people liberated from that old form of religion to new life in Christ. There is some worry in the church about "free Grace" or "cheap Grace".  That we use grace as a license to sin.  Paul makes it clear, that for those truly saved by Christ, that could never be the case.  You are changed.  Your desires are different.  You want to be righteous and instead of working toward it by religious ritual, you receive it by faith from God because of the Spirit now living within us. As

Galatians 4:15–16 (NLT) Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Any Pastor can resonate with Paul at this point.  In two of his letters in scripture, Paul has to defend his calling and Apostleship to the very local churches he started. In ministry, the honeymoon always eventually ends. Paul first arrived in Galatia because of a sickness.  They take him in and care for him.  He leads them to Christ.  But leaves on a missionary journey.  Only to find out later false teachers had come into to disrupt the flock.  And attitudes toward Paul changed dramatically.  No longer is there care and concern, now there is animosity and distrust to the point that Paul has to ask, "Have I now become your enemy?" How often that happens in the church.   But notice Paul's pastoral heart.  He doe

The difference Christ makes?  Simple.  We now can know the Father! Notice Paul's argument in Galatians 4: Galatians 4:9 (ESV) now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? Paul says how can you possibly turn back to the legalistic requirements of the law (not the heart of the law) to serve God when you have been saved by Christ?  Being saved is knowing God.  How often we try to describe being saved by what we did, who we were and what we are now.  When in fact, the Bible doesn't talk about that as much as personal knowledge of God.  "I will put my laws on their hearts" God said.  We can and do know the Father because of Christ. Christ has set us free from external formalism when approaching God.  Now we cry out "Abba Father!" (verse 6). The difference is our approach.  Do we come to God with

I love what Paul is doing in Galatians 3.  Pastorally taking his flock through the scriptures and the realities they point toward in Christ. He begins with Abraham... the covenant of faith. Then he gets to the law.  And here's where things need to be cleared up in the church - EVEN TODAY. For the law is a source of devastation or pride. I am proud when I keep it and devastated when I break it.  There is no middle ground. Churches have split because of the law.  For one person feels inevitably that their good behavior makes for a better Christian and they should tell others what to do.  And then the truth comes out and we find their secrets were worse than everyone else's. But there is another thing the law does.  The law presents a standard.  A standard for us to reach for and inevitably miss.  Isaiah Thomas said, "Everybody wants to be perfect."  And Jesus came and said, "Be perfect."  Why?  Because our inner desire to achieve will lead us to see

You don't earn God's grace. You don't earn God's acceptance. You don't earn God's forgiveness. You don't earn God's love. There is nothing you can earn from God.  Stop trying. Paul has one more thing we cannot earn from God to add to the list in Galatians 3:5. Galatians 3:5–6 (ESV) Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? The Spirit and miracles are grace gifts.  I think about how many times we try to earn "more of God" and powerful works from Him by doing better, fasting, praying more, trying harder.  Now, don't misread me, we must fast, pray, and try!  Of course it is God who calls us to WORK OUT our salvation with fear and trembling.  YET, we cannot think these things as a means to an end we want from God. It's all about faith.  Trusting in God.  Trusting that

Paul in defense of his calling and apostleship continues in Galatians: Galatians 2:7 (ESV) On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised The word that stuck out to me was this: "entrusted."  Everything about the Gospel is entrusted.  It is serious business.  God doesn't just hand this out lightly.  It is a high calling to hold to and teach and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The reason is many people are out to twist the Gospel. Some for financial gain. Some for personal recognition. Some for sinful living. Some to abuse others. Some to control and manipulate. This is why Paul calls a curse down on anyone who distorts the Gospel.  If anyone adds to justification by faith alone, let them be "anathema!" In this chapter we find the verse that set Martin Luther on fire: Galatians 2:16 (ESV) yet we know that a pers

I love this phrase from Paul in Galatians. In Chapter 2, Paul is busy defending his calling to a church he started to the people he reached with the Gospel.  He tells them about his revelation with Christ, and his journey to Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Gospel.  He talks about meeting the premier Apostles.  And this is his phrase: Galatians 2:6 (ESV) And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. I love that! "What they were makes no difference to me" and in parenthesis to boot!  Paul doesn't care what position or status or reputation people have!   Don't mistake this for a lack of honor.  Paul shows honor to the rulers and authorities of his day often in the book of Acts.  But when it comes to the Gospel... Paul does not care what credentials you have, this is what I'm going to preach because this is what Christ delivered

Galatians 1:15-16 (ESV) But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,  16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; God works in mysterious ways.  I know that's not in the bible, but it's still true for many of us.  Jesus shows up to this man named Paul.  He is the leading Hebrew scholar of his day.  He is advancing beyond his peers in Judaism and zealous for the traditions.   God sends him  to the Gentiles who know nothing of the law.  But he only got to the Gentiles because he was able to start churches through local Jewish synagogues where he proved Jesus was the Christ from the scriptures he knew so well.  Could you imagine getting into a debate with Paul?  That would be no contest!  Yet this passion and zeal was not his ultimate calling.  It was God's programming...God used his study to help Paul do what Jesus set him apart to do.

I remember my third or fourth week into vocational ministry.  I was overwhelmed with the reality of my responsibilities. I didn't feel confident enough to lead anyone having just graduated from college 4 weeks prior and landing in a growing church with the position of youth director and worship leader. It was scary.  I doubted myself.  I doubted my place. Right before a Sunday evening service at which I was to lead worship, I remember going to my desk and pulling out my Bible.  It was a moment in which I felt God speak right to me from His Word.  I wish it always happened this way, but I think my openess and my intense need had something to do with what I received that night. Where did I happen to turn? Galatians 1 The first verse was all I needed: Galatians 1:1 (ESV) Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Paul is writing to a group of churches that have not only abandoned the Gospel h

Mark 16:6–8 (ESV) And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. This is how the earliest and most reliable manuscripts end in the Gospel of Mark.  I remember thinking Matthew ended abruptly because it sent a message, the work of redemption is done, go to work telling people about it. But I think Mark ends so abruptly for a different reason.  In this Gospel, Mark is the writer, but Peter is the speaker.  Mark is most likely a collection of Peter's sermon materials.  Here's what I think... I think Peter couldn't get past verse 7 without tears of joy and most of his sermons ended with the realit

Taking away the fact that Jesus was crucified by the Divine perfect foreknowledge, plan and purpose of God, you have some lessons to learn form the arrest, trial, and crucifixion about human nature. Pilate is an interesting case study here.  With Jesus, the Son of God on one side and Barabbas the murdering insurrectionist against Rome (his Nation), Pilate releases Barabbas at the wishes of the crowd. Mark 15:15 (ESV) So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Who are you going to satisfy with your life?  The riled up crowd or God?  You seldom can do both.  In fact, most of God's people could not do both at the same time, namely, Jesus Himself.  It is no wonder He said the way was narrow and the gate was small and few find it.   Our world is okay with Jesus as one among many... But we believe He is the way the truth and the life. Your friends may be okay with Jesus being part of yo