State of the Blog

I must apologize for the lack of new content on the blog. I primarily started this blog out of convenience for my endeavor to journal my Bible reading. I was surprised, however, to find that I somehow developed a small but regular following among some friends and family. After some re-evaluation of how much time and energy I devote to the things in my life, I have decided to cease posting to this blog and accept an invitation from Ryan to be a contributor on his blog, Out of the Miry Clay. I appreciate your willingness to listen to my point of view on scripture, and invite you keep up with Ryan, Chris and I as we tackle all things Christian and try to relate them to the world. Thank you (all six or so of you!), and God bless.

Dave

John 14

14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way , and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' "

Jesus gives this famous response to Thomas' comment about not knowing how to get to where Jesus was going.

And who says guys don't ask for directions?

I read this passage (which I have read many times before), and a light bulb went off. I went back and read over what Jesus said a couple times and realized something amazing! Jesus says that the way to Him is Him! In this account is the spirit and thought behind Colossians 1:19 and the whole book of Hebrews. Christ is everything! Think about how Jesus describes Himself in this chapter:

- The Preparer of a place for His children
- The Redeemer who will come back for us
- The Destination we are bound for
- The Path to the destination
- The Truth
- The Life
- The One who introduces us to God the Father
- The Knowledge of God
- The Presence of God
- The Revelation of God
- The Glory of God
- The Agent of God's power
- The Mediator of God and man
- The Sustainer of His children

Good grief! Jesus is everything we need and (should) want! I feel like I'm using too many exclamation points, but I can't help it! I read this and I wonder why I ever have feelings of wanting more out of areas of my life. I have the ultimate source of all that is good dwelling inside me. I would do well to go to Christ and try to draw on the depths of what He is offering me. If I would just fill up more of my life with Him instead of other things, I would never feel wanting.

Lord, You are all I need. You are the fullness. Fill me with that fullness and help me seek the depths of the good gifts you have given me.

John 7:32-53

7:52a "They replied, 'Are you from Galilee too?'..."

The Pharisees rebuke Nicodemus for defending Jesus.

Prior to this outburst at Nicodemus, the Pharisees scold the men they sent to arrest Jesus by asking them if they have "also been deceived?" It struck me as comical in a sense that they hate Jesus so much that they regard anyone moved by the obvious power in His message as dolts. It really seems that the implication of their two statements is to ask "are you stupid?" Galileans unfortunately had a stereotype of being uneducated manual labor-types.

This points to a problem I have with sharing my faith. Among like minded brethren, I love discussing my faith and God's holy Word. Among unbelievers, however, I'm not as comfortable because I expect the same reaction as with the Pharisees. Mind you, I don't doubt the truth of the Bible, but I expect scoffing from those who do doubt, and in all truthfulness, I don't want a reputation of idiocy. To avoid beating around the bush, I have a pride issue. I wholeheartedly believe my faith is true saving faith, but I still care about spiritually blind people calling me stupid.

Boy, when you write it out like that... I actually do sound stupid.

So, to rectify my problem (after I repent to God), I'm going to meditate on 1 Cor. 1:18 tonight and for however long it takes to drive out this preoccupation with what my unsaved acquaintances think of me.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Who cares what they think!? They think it's stupid because they can't understand it because they don't have the Holy Spirit because they're lost! I should react to derision with pity and prayer, not shame.

Lord, help me to be quick to boast about You and Your salvation. Help me to be bold in proclaiming You and Your gospel. Draw in the hearts of the mockers and open their eyes to Your truth and glory.

2 Kings 20, 21, 22

Today's reading was done from my brand new ESV Bible. Thanks Ryan!

2 Kings 22:11 "When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes"

King Josiah hears the words of God for the first time and reacts with fear and penitence.

I did the math and found out that Josiah was 26 when this happened... the same age as me. That got me thinking; what if the Bible I was just given today was my first Bible? Well, first of all, I'll go out on a limb and assume I wouldn't be a believer. My family would probably be a mess (and might not even exist altogether!). Many areas of my life would be disgusting junk heaps. I probably wouldn't know many of the dear people I count as friends today. Yet I know I take this book for granted sometimes.

I'm not at all suggesting we do this, but I wonder how many people would have a greater appreciation for the Bible if they had to live without it for a couple months or years. Josiah instantly knew what he had been missing and reacted just as God wanted him to. With humility and a penitent heart. I'm trying to think of the last time I felt cut to the quick after reading a passage or hearing a convicting sermon... ok, it was actually quite recently.

If you're a fundamentalist like me (and I don't mean in the "suicide bomber" sense of the word), you probably struggle with the balance of making truth come before experience and emotion, yet not pushing emotions out of the picture completely. We need to come to the word completely and allow it to perform it's convicting work in us. We should use proper study and exegesis to mine truth, but when the truth slaps you in the face, take a second to stop studying and talk to God about it.

If you were "slapped" by James 1:20, pray for forgiveness for a temper that stunts your spiritual growth. If you were "slapped" by Psalm 65:1-4, praise your God for choosing you and saving you. This should be a conversation, God talks through His word, we respond through prayer and application. Don't be afraid to show some emotion!

Lord, thank You for Your Word! Let me be consumed with Your words and let them convict me and lift me up. Let me meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. Let me delight in Your statutes and not forget Your word.

John 5:1-24

5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

Jesus summarizes the gospel, emphasizing the power He yields to save.

I was thinking about passing from death into life. This isn't a reference to hell vs. heaven as much as it is a statement of the difference in the earthly life of a believer vs. an unbeliever. We have "passed" (past-tense) from death into life. What is "death" and what is "life"?

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world...in the lusts of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath" - Eph 2:1-3

"Death" is the slavery to our own sin nature. Like zombies we walk around not even hardly aware of our spiritually dilapidated state. We sin and think nothing of it, we deceive ourselves with good works that are themselves sins of pride and arrogance.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." - Eph 2:4-6

"Life" is the freedom from sin and the exultation with Christ. Despite deserving destruction, we are exalted with Christ by being joined to Him in His resurrection. The miracle of the "third day" when Christ showed His power over death is ours as we pass from "death" to "life". We are rejoined to our Creator as we had never been, but always should have been. We are given a desire to do good works for God's pleasure, not our own. We are given the Holy Spirit, God dwelling inside us to guide and mold us. We are grafted into the body of Christ, the church which gives us direction, purpose, and support. Now that's what I call life!

Don't get me wrong... heaven will be great! But when you read this passage, don't skip past it with fleeting images of pearly gates and gold pavement. Realize that Jesus is talking about the power to punch the bully of sin a deathblow and lead you to the life that God always dreamed for you.

Lord, help me to appreciate the LIFE I have now! Thank You for Your Word, the good works You prepared for me, Your Holy Spirit, Your body, and most of all for the ability to commune with You as I was made to do. Help me to ever grow closer to You.

1 Kings 10,11

11:2 "...the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, 'You shall not associate with [foreign women], nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.' Solomon held fast to these in love."

The writer summarizes the downfall of Solomon.

Chapter 10 is the pinnacle of Solomon's success. He is blessed with fullness of wisdom and riches. Everyone wants to meet him to get a piece of wisdom to treasure for themselves. The Queen of Sheba is amazed at all he possesses and gives glory to God. He made "silver as common as stones in Jerusalem" for crying out loud! It reminds me of Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" singing "If I were a rich man..."

But how quickly it all comes crashing down.

God punishes Solomon by giving him headaches in the form of enemies all around Israel, including one from his own ranks. This former servant of Solomon, Jeroboam, is also revealed to be the one who will rule over the majority of Israel after Solomon's passing, leaving only Judah under the reign of David's lineage. Stress and shame galore which is traced back to a heart led astray from God. Solomon's downfall was in diverting his affections from God to the fancies of his many wives. While this may be enough application for those of you currently hanging out with worshippers of Ashtoreth, the rest of us should dig deeper into the story for our lesson.

How did Solomon get to that position of turning from God? One would argue that he did not stand up to the machinations of his foreign wives for what he knew to be right... and that one would be correct. Another would argue he should never have taken the foreign wives in the first place... and that one would be correct too. I think the answer is in 11:2. I put forth that the beginning of the end for Solomon began before all that - Solomon's doom was that he didn't take God's word seriously. Instead of hungering for God's messages of truth, he was hungry for Hittites.

So what do I put before God's word? While my journaling has been lacking recently, I have been reading my Bible, but certainly not as often or as intensely as I (or more importantly, God) would like. I know there were times when I could have better spent my time this last week, but I didn't do what I was supposed to do... most of the time out of laziness.

I just celebrated my 26th birthday recently and was reflecting on the blessings I have that many people don't reach by 26. Five years of marriage to a wonderful wife, two awesome kids and a third on the way, a degree from the UW, and our first house. I look at all that and I see 1 Kings chapter 10, a la Dave. I don't want a chapter 11, and I don't mean in the legal sense (although that would stink, too).

Lord, help me to take Your word seriously. Help me to hunger for Your truth and to be bored with worthless pastimes. Give me the maturity to crave Your teaching like the air I breathe.

Luke 20:1-26

20:24,25 " 'Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?' They said, 'Caesar's.' And He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's' "

Jesus deftly answer's the question of those trying to trip Him up.

The thing that stood out to me that I hadn't noticed before was the word "likeness." I'm in a theology class and last week we talked about it a lot as the lesson that week was "The Image Bearers of God" and what it means to be made in the likeness of God. God said in speaking of our invention:

"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." (Gen. 1:26a)

So when I read the verse in Luke, the thought occurred to me that Jesus is saying that the denarii belong to Caesar, evidenced by the fact that his likeness is on the coin, thus his listeners shouldn't be too broken up when he wants them back. In the same way, God wants what is His. And what bears His likeness? All mankind!

I'm not sure what I really thought "render to God what is God's" before I thought about it, but this never occurred to me. I think maybe I assumed it was good works or something. But it makes more sense that Jesus is saying God wants our lives, our souls, our hearts. We should not be astonished when God wants to reclaim what was always His in the first place. This helps me to remember just who I really belong to.

Lord, help me to remember I am Your possession. Let me surrender all of myself to Your holy will. Help squash my pride from convincing me I am my own man.

Luke 18:18-43

18:27 "But He said, 'The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.' "

Prior to this verse, Jesus made an observation about the innate difficulty for rich persons to become saved. His disciples ask with desperation "who can be saved?", to which Jesus gives this response.

I think this verse is often misused to apply to ministry, healing, or whatever the reader is wanting God to accomplish, but it should be noted Jesus is specifically talking about salvation.

I just recently watched a special on CNN talking about sexual issues and how they played out in religious circles. One of the segments focused on homosexuality and ministries that aim to "cure" homosexuals. While I appreciated the presence of evangelicals devoted to ministering to gays in love, I was bothered by the whole mindset of the approach. One of the key groups involved in this segment was the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Their position is that homosexuality is mainly a result of "psychological (family, peer and social) influences" (this is a quote from their site http://www.narth.com/menus/positionstatements.html).

This framed the whole discussion on this show and everyone spoke about the "mental illness" and administrating a "cure". Only at the very end of the show when they interviewed Ken Hutcherson from Antioch Bible Church was there a mention of sin. The problem with treating gay people as victims of mental illness is that it sidesteps the real danger. These people need salvation! While the Bible does hold homosexual acts in higher contempt and shows a record on God's part of harsher punishment, from a punitive standpoint the sin is no better or worse than any other sin. Any impurity creates a rift between man and God and all have sinned. We all need Christ.

The reason this came to mind when contemplating this verse relates to my work experience at Dick's Drive-In in Seattle. I worked alongside a gay man (we'll pretend his name is Rick) and to my astonishment he asked me one day "Dave, what does the Bible say about being gay?" Talk about an open door! I told him in as clear yet loving words as I could find that the Bible teaches homosexuality is a sin. Rick told me he knew that, but that he really didn't think he could change. I told him that he was right. He couldn't. I also told Rick that I wasn't able to change my sinful self either.

But Christ was able to change me.

I assured Rick that if he gave his life to the Lord, that God would begin a work in him to rid him of all sin including being gay. It wouldn't be easy or instant, but God is always faithful to complete the good work He begins in us. I told Rick that nothing was impossible for God and that Christ could save even a gay man.

He lost his job soon after that discussion, but I frequently pray that I will meet him in heaven and find out that God used that interaction to lead Rick to the Lord. And for those reading this, if you are aware of sin in your life, be it homosexuality, lies, lust, greed, or whatever, don't despair. It is impossible for you to save yourself, but with God, it is possible. Run to him.

Lord, thank You for Your power over sin. Thank You for saving me. Wherever Rick is right now, remind him of this truth and if he hasn't already, draw his heart to Yourself.

Luke 15:11-32

15:21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' "

Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son in response to the Pharisees' disdain towards sinners.

The point of this parable is the father's reaction in that Jesus is trying to show God's desire for the return of His wayward children. But in this story, we see a picture of what our attitude should be when we are the wayward child in question.

When we repent at the moment of salvation, and the subsequent times after being saved, we are to lower ourselves and beg forgiveness. I don't think people have a problem with this with the initial repentance since the impetus of true salvation is the Holy Spirit weighing our guilt on us to drive us to God. But for someone like me who is already saved, do I humble myself as I first did to the point the prodigal son does? Do I merely say "I messed up, I'm sorry. I'll try not to do it again" or do I cry "Father, I have sinned against heaven and and in Your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called Your son." ?

There is comfort in knowing that God will never forsake me and will always take me back, but the feeling should still be there that I don't deserve it. I need to repent more promptly and with more humility and disgust of what I've done.

Lord, forgive me my sins. Every stumble is one more weight on Your Son at the cross, and I don't want any part of it. Take me back and cleanse me. Thank you for Your forgiveness.

Judges 20,21

21:3 "They said, 'Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?' "

The tribes of Israel mourn over the their recent divinely endorsed decimation of the tribe of Benjamin.

I hate death. I recognize I have not had much exposure to it compare to a lot of people, but last month I lost my cousin and today a good friend from church went to be with the Lord. His name is Gerwin; he was a faithful brother in Christ who, despite his health issues, was always smiling and offering encouragement and good humor. As I contemplated his passing today, it occurred to me that he is fine right now bumping elbows with his Creator and the prophets. It also occurred to me that Gerwin didn't suffer death, but those of us still here do.

Death is separation. I suffer Gerwin's death because I am separated from him and I hate that. I'm happy for Gerwin, sad for myself, and especially sad for his wife. And as I thought about how I hate that separation, I turned my disdain towards sin. Sin caused Gerwin's death. I don't mean Gerwin sinned and God struck him down, I mean this:

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor 15:22)

The Israelites were ordered by God to strike down Benjamin, so why were they sad? They mourned because death is not the way it is supposed to be. Because of sin, death prevails and creates divides we cannot cross. Thank goodness Christ showed his mastery over death on the third day!

But for now, I miss Gerwin. I hate death. Most of all I hate sin for introducing us to death. I do take great comfort that I will get to shake Gerwin's hand again and see him walk without pain or limping. The best thing I have taken from this experience is a deeper hatred for sin and I hope I can apply that to pushing it further and further away from me. I have a better understanding of Paul's cry:

"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24)

Lord, help me to hate sin. Help me to abhor it for what it did to me, my fellow men, and most of all You. Have fun with Gerwin, he's a real character.

Joshua 6,7

7:2 "The LORD said to Gideon, 'The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, "My own power has delivered me." ' "

God expresses His motivation in sending a small group to the battle site to ensure credit is given where it is due.

I really appreciated the juxtaposition of Gideon's attitude and God's attitude. Gideon was completely consumed with the question of how the Midianites would be defeated. He was concerned about logistics, manpower, and strategy as it related to ensuring victory. And he was quite stressed out about it.

God, on the other hand was completely consumed with the question of how He would be glorified. He was concerned about logistics, manpower, and strategy as it related to ensuring the greatest glory to His name. And He was quite confident about it.

The lesson I derive from this is not to focus on how God is going to solve a problem, but how God is going to be glorified. God is going to do what He wills to do, and nothing can stop Him. To worry about the physical outcome of a scenario is fruitless. We should, however, be concerned about God's glory. The way we approach our crises will have an impact on the magnification of our Lord's name. We need to guard our thoughts, speech, and even body language to ensure that as others see us doing our part of God's will, their reaction will be to praise God.

Personally, I'm worried about a lot of stuff right now and I need to get down to business confession my anxiety and focusing on what I'm doing to lift up the name of Jesus.

Lord, help me to be more concerned about Your glory and less concerned about my welfare. Help me to trust in Your absolute power and control over circumstances so I can be free to magnify Your name.

Luke 7:31-50

7:35 "Yet widsom is vindicated by all her children"

Jesus is displaying the foolishness of the Pharisees in their judging of John the Baptist and Jesus by meaningless standards.

I asked myself, "what are the children of wisdom?"

-Good behavior and gentle deeds (James 3:13)
-Obedience to God (Deut. 4:5-6)
-Prudence, knowledge, discretion (Prov. 8:12)
-Productivity/stability (Prov. 24:3)
-Hope (Prov. 24:14)
-Reputation for being wise (Daniel 5:14)
-Salvation (2 Tim. 3:15)

Hmm... I have some of those things, but not enough. Especially the productivity and reputation ones. But how can I get more wisdom?

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom ; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever." Psalm 111:10

Oh... Thanks, David. I knew I was named after you for a reason.

Lord, help me to fear You and only You. Help me not to fear others or social conventions. Help that fear to drive me to prayer and Your word and greater wisdom and righteousness.

Luke 7:1-30

7:8 "For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me..."

Jesus makes note of the man who understands that Jesus's power is not limited to close proximity, but that His authority allows Him to perform His works anywhere and anytime.

I was thinking here that if Jesus said "I say to you not even in Israel have I found such great faith.", I should probably look at what Jesus was looking at and try to exemplify it. So what did Jesus see?

Jesus saw:
-a man with a need
-a man who knew who to ask to meet that need
-a man who recognized the authority that sent Jesus
-a man who recognized the authority Jesus had
-a man who understood the power that came with that kind of authority

So let's see how I compare:
-I have needs
-I don't always ask the right person to meet those needs
-I recognize the authority that sent Jesus
-I understand the authority that Jesus has, but I don't always submit to it
-I don't always understand the power that comes with Jesus' authority

Two out of five... yikes. Many times some issue comes up and I ponder it for a bit, search scriptures for help, then ask one of my five or so good friends or family members that I consider excellent sources of wisdom for their input. I don't know how many times they've asked me, "have you prayed about it?" I get so wrapped up in trying to deal with my issues biblically, I completely miss the point that I'm supposed to entreat God to solve the issues Himself. I should first and foremost praying and asking for guidance and support, then going to the Word and wise, godly friends to glean the plan God has for tackling the issue.

My problem is that I haven't yet been able to beat the idea out of my head that if I mature enough, I'll be able to handle life's problems on my own. If I mature enough, eventually I figure out that I can't handle ANY of life's problems on my own and submit to God's authority over the problems right from the get-go.

Lord, help me to recognize Your authority. Help me to submit to that authority in seeking Your support and allowing You to work Your plan in my life. Please give me this great faith.

Luke 5:17-39

5:38 "But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins"

Jesus reflects on how the change he brought to the contemporary Jewish thought would require the shedding of the old systems.

I wondered as I read this if I still have any "old wineskins" or if I'm trying to sew patches onto old clothing. What would constitute old wineskins in our lives? Anything that is a remnant of the sin nature, for starters. Materialism, pride, jealousy, impatience, cynicism... but enough about me. Our regeneration can't be half-hearted. It takes major changes and daily sacrifice of self to accomplish what God desires for our lives.

Lord, help me to shed my old ways and don "new wineskins." Help me to not hold on to relics of the flesh, but to run to the new treasures of Your righteousness. Thank You for fixing what was wrong in me, continue Your work.

Joshua 1,2,3

1:5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you."

God charges Joshua with leading Israel into the promised land.

I read this passage as Joshua prepares to conquer Canaan and wondered how this could apply to me. There are some that question God's goodness to lead such a total and all-inclusive assault on a geographic location, but that ignores God's plan and the wretchedness of the inhabitants. Still, that isn't a direct application to me, since God didn't promise to my ancestors that I would own 57th street in Tacoma, and it isn't inhabited with Philistines (not completely, anyway).

Then I realized that I have been given a charge to clear out a land infested with evil that God has promised for me to find peace in. Furthermore, my conquest is to be ruthless and complete, underwritten and strengthened by God Himself. The land is my soul and the evil is my flesh. I see in the manner with which Joshua approached the land west of the Jordan a model for how we should look at our own righteousness. He was to have confidence based on the Lord's presence (1:5), to be "strong and courageous" (1:6), and to undertake the mission with obedience to God's word (1:7). This charge was not optional, but was the will of the Lord his God (1:9)!

Paul's image of the armor of God in Ephesians shows that this analogy of an all-out war is appropriate. We should have the mentality that this is a dramatic battle of good vs. evil and that there is no room for diplomacy or negotiation. So do we ever negotiate with our sin? Do we ever enter battle against sin in our lives, and come out having not wiped it out completely? The Israelites failed in this regard and remnants of a wicked population became a cancer in their community leading them astray. Is it not so with sin left unchecked in our lives?

We will never enter the "Promised Land" of a soul free from the presence of sin until we are taken home to the Lord, but we can faithfully continue the task of decimating sin and getting closer and closer to Christ-likeness. But we first need to take the mission as seriously as Joshua.

Lord, help me to be a Joshua. Help me to wipe out sin in my life. Help me to be brave, ruthless, and wholly dependant on You.

Luke 1:1-23

1:22 "But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them..."

Zacharias is punished for not believing Gabriel's message of the impending conception of John.

First of all, I apologize to anyone who reads this blog for not posting recently. I've been doing the reading, but not the journaling. I can offer no excuse except laziness, but I appreciate your prayers.

Anyway, I was thinking, "what would it be like to not be able to talk for nine months?" That would be rough, especially considering I make my living in a call center. Aside from my livelihood, I don't think I would very much enjoy not being able to talk. I couldn't react to comments, offer my opinion, or argue my thoughts to others. And that's probably the point of Zacharias' punishment. I would be surprised if Zacharias, while mute for those nine months, did not come across Proverbs 10:19 and chuckle (silently):

"When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise."

It would probably do us good to shut our mouths more often and like James tells us, be quick to hear and slow to speak. This would be especially wise when it is God who is speaking. When the Word tells us what to do, instead of being quick to make excuses or cast doubt on our ability to obey, we should listen and trust God to work it out.

Lord, help me to stop talking when I should be listening. Help me to accept that what I have to say is never as important as what You have to say. When I do speak, let them be Your words.

Mark 14:1-25

14:9,10 " 'Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.' Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them."

Jesus proclaims the legacy of the loving servant followed in the narrative by the legacy of the evil betrayer.

Nichole Nordeman's song "Legacy" is a favorite of mine (here's the music video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0S0ep-QsNI). We should be mindful of what kind of legacy we leave behind. Before you think I'm talking about focusing on immortality rather than service, hear me out. What would you want people to say about you at your funeral service? "Dave was an entrepreneur... a gifted artist... exceedingly intelligent... devoted to his family... These are all good things, but do they matter most? How about "Dave was dedicated to the Lord. The evidence of God's mercy, grace, and strength were made apparent in Dave's life." That is what we should strive for. It's OK to want people to remember you, just make sure that what they remember is Christ.

Lord, help me to leave a legacy of Your love. Help me to be a memorial for You and Your plan.

Mark 13:14-37

13:37 "What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!' "

Jesus describes the life as servants in the house of the travelling master, uncertain of the time of his return.

This brought back memories of growing up. Being at home, doing something I shouldn't, being constantly anxious that Mom or Dad might open the door at any second. Whether it was stuffing my face with the Pringles I was supposed to leave alone, or watching "Jerry Springer", which I knew wouldn't make my parents happy, the sin was not enjoyed as it was joined with immense stress.

I love my parents, and it seems sad that I would put myself in a position to not want their return. They have always loved and supported me, and life is good when they're around. Yet, I sometimes found myself hoping they wouldn't come home just yet. I wonder now, what if I instead folded the laundry in the dryer? What if I cleaned my room? What if I took all the trash out in the house? I would have been anxiously wishing them to get home earlier! I would be eager to show the good things I had done and be able to enjoy their presence even more!

It is not unlike the situation we have with our Lord. When we sin (and I know you can relate), we operate in stress, hoping no one will find out. Stupidly, we think God won't find out. If we were to honestly stop in the middle of that sin and ask ourselves "do you want Jesus to return right now?" we would say: "maybe in a couple minutes/hours/weeks". If we are in the middle of serving God, however, we would be ecstatic for His return! We would be eager to report our work and enjoy His presence. It seems so obvious, yet we often don't think of it.

Lord, help me to look to Your return by serving You now. Help me to reject sin in fear of harming Your name and being shamed at Your return. Please come soon.

Mark 13:1-13

13:2 "And Jesus said to him, 'Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.' "

Jesus reacts to a disciple's reflection on the beauty and grandeur of the temple.

I am a Husky and I'm proud of it. I don't care about collegiate sports, mind you, I am proud to be a graduate of the University of Washington. I would frequently walk from my bus stop off of Campus Drive NW, and cross the footbridge over 15th Street to get to school. I would pass the towering statue of George Washington, pass Odegaard Library, into Red Square, glance at Kane Hall, and walk around Suzzalo Library. If you have not had the privilege to tour the campus of the UW, let my explain to you that these are huge buildings that cause one to pause at their stature. I would often walk through campus and reflect on how amazing it was that so many people over the years had conspired together to coordinate efforts, time, and funds to create such a magnificent institution as the UW dedicated to educating it's guests. And I was proud to now be a part of that history.

I have to remind myself, however, that it will all burn one day, and that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I shouldn't get too attached or proud of earthly things. My citizenship is in heaven, and I should be proud to be a part of that. I still maintain that human achievement brings glory to God by virtue of the fact that He created those able to accomplish such feats. Have we ever created anything that could in turn create? But no matter what, glory must always be turned to God because without Him, nothing would exist.

Lord, help me to reserve my deepest affections for You and Your plan. Help me to appreciate the beauties of this world, but only as a picture of Your grace and mercy. Thank You for Your many blessings.

Mark 12:1-27

12:1 "And He began to speak to them in parables: 'A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.' "

Jesus uses a parable to show how God's children have mistreated His messengers and His Son in the midst of His kindness and the punishment they will receive for it.

What struck me was the "rented it out" part. I probably need a little more exegetical help to properly define just what the vineyard is in this parable, but I generally take it as the blessings of God. Of the top of my head, it could very well be the kingdom of heaven, christian ministry, or our earthly lives. As I said, I view it as the blessings of God (which pretty much encompasses all that other stuff). My point is that it is "rented" to us, we don't own it.

I know a few believers that have this idea that they deserve or they've earned the blessings of God. That is not so. This is our Father's world, and everything in it is His to give... or take away. I came away from this passage reminded not to get boastful of myself and my standing with God, but to be boastful of God Himself and how He has spent inordinate grace on a dirtbag like me.

Lord, help me to remember You are the source of every good gift. Help me to be thankful for Your blessings. Help me to use the blessings You give me to magnify Your name around me.

Mark 10:1-31

10:27 "Looking at them, Jesus said, 'With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.' "

Jesus responds to the question of "who can be saved?"

This is another verse that will frequently be taken out of context. While it is true that God can cure any sickness, or raise any amount of funds for a need, or place any political leader in office, this verse is speaking about leading a lost soul to salvation.

I needed to read this verse. I have been praying ardently for the salvation of two people I know. I have been praying daily for a couple of years now and both of them seem to be on a crash course for doom. Both have been fully exposed to the gospel, but neither seem to have the saving light within them. One may not have very long to make the decision.

It's hard, because since it's not a matter of better explaining the facts to them, there is nothing I can do but pray for a turning of the heart. Many times I have a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. "What if they don't get saved, God? Where's the glory for Your name in that?" It's an honest question that I may not get the answer to until I get to that point. Although I sincerely hope I don't have to ask that question.

But hope springs eternal in this verse. It is impossible for these two people, of their own accord, to be saved. But nothing is impossible for God! No matter how entrenched they are in their own self-focus, God can break through, shine the light of His grace and mercy on them and claim them as His own! Hallelujah, what a thought! I daydream of letting all those around me know about how God broke the heart these people and saved their lives. I really hope I see it happen; if not I know there will still be a lesson there. Whatever the case, I will continue to pray to the only one who can even do anything about it.

Lord, save these two people who weigh on my heart so much. Break the crust around their hearts and lead them to Your comfort. Reveal to them their need for a savior change their lives. Above all, let Your name be glorified.

Numbers 32,33

33:55 "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in you eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live."

The Israelites are warned to obey God's command fully or they will bear the consequences later.

What is of concern here is complete submission to God's plan for our lives. I see in this a metaphor for the life of the Christian and command to continually drive sin out of our lives. While we won't achieve perfection on this side of glory, we are to be making headway continuously in the battle against sin.

Sometimes we harbor a little corner of our heart and pretend God won't mind if we hang on to that sin. Most of the time these are bad habits that we know will take work to weed out. Rather than beseech the Lord for the strength and resources to carry out His will, we decide we'll focus on other areas and leave the bad habit alone. Maybe we'll try to fool ourselves with some rationalization that the sin isn't that bad, or isn't really sin at all!

We should heed the warning that if left unattended, that sin will become "pricks in our eyes and thorns in our sides."

Lord, help me to seek out sin in my life, repent of it, and seek Your help in preventing it from coming back. Help me to detest sin as You do. Help me to submit to Your will fully and not half-heartedly.

Mark 9:30-50

9:37 "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."

Jesus uses a child who, as a member of society, has the humblest estate of all to make a point. We must humble ourselves by serving even the humblest people to be considered great in the kingdom of God.

I was reflecting on this passage and started thinking about my Sunday School class. I teach the 2 & 3 year old class at my church. It has been an educational and sometimes frustrating experience for me as I many times struggle to bring my thought processes down to a 2 year old level so I don't leave my kids in the dust. The undeniably best part about teaching this class, however, has been bonding with the kids.

At the beginning of the year, there was one boy in particular (we'll call him "Henry") who hated being dropped off for Sunday School. He would protest, cling to his dad, and cry well after his father had left before he would calm down. As time went by, the length of time crying after being dropped off got shorter and shorter. Now Henry seems happy to come to class and has a good time from the start. The coolest thing of all is that they all recognize me and seem to like me on some level (which makes teaching them a lot easier!). I feel like they're all my nieces and nephews which has made teaching them about God so much more exciting and significant.

I feel a responsibility to make some kind of impact on their lives and minds that will help prepare them to accept Christ as their savior later. It's such an exciting prospect! I daydream about getting to heaven and talking to these kids and their Creator and being able to see how my small contribution in their lives became a part of the puzzle resulting in salvation.

So I hope any of you who have kids or interact with kids on a regular basis remember Jesus' attitude towards children. Don't brush them off as insignificant. Don't forget about them while you look for "bigger fish to fry". Take the time to teach a child about God's grace. Sit down with a kid and share how Jesus made the heavens and the earth. You'll find a renewed excitement for the Lord as you observe their wonder, and as you minister to them, you glorify Jesus, and not only Him, but the One who sent Him.

Lord, thank You for the children. Thank You for my two boys as well as the class of children You have assigned me to teach recently. Help me to take my ward seriously, and help me to minister to them faithfully. Most of all Lord, I pray that You work in the hearts of all "my kids" today to prepare them to receive salvation tomorrow.

Mark 7:14-37

7:21-22 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

Jesus expounds on how it is the sinful root of man that defiles man, not dirty hands.

Well, this would give most unbelievers fits (if they could perceive what Jesus is saying here). Let me summarize: All the bad things that happen in the world, happen because man is inherently evil. Jesus didn't say "for from within the family, out of the influences of one's parents, proceed evil thoughts, etc..." or "out of the pressures of the world..." or "out of the faulty school system..." Nope. The source is you, me, that guy you're thinking of right now, everybody.

I took a class in college entitled "The Holocaust: History and Memory". Talk about a depressing 10 weeks. One of the books we read that has caused quite a stir in the realm of Holocaust studies is "Ordinary Men" by Christopher R. Browning (HarperPerennial, 1993) . It details the exploits of Reserve Police Battalion 101, a sort of "national guard" type group brought up out of Germany to assist the Nazi SS. What makes this book so disturbing is that the men of this group were middle-class, middle-aged, and came from a variety of blue and white collar jobs. They were, for all intents and purposes, ordinary. They also murdered thousands of Jews during WWII.

There are many historians that had tried to paint the Jewish genocide as being perpetrated by a group of mentally imbalanced individuals (the Nazi party), or well-meaning pawns, forced to do the unthinkable by said imbalanced individuals. This book, however, shows no abnormal imbalance prior to the war, and no coercion to commit murder. They just did it on their own. In many cases, they seemed to enjoy it.

My problem with the book was that Browning fell short on his conclusion. He writes

"What, then, is one to conclude? Most of all, one comes away from the story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 with great unease. This story of ordinary men is not the story of all men. The reserve policemen faced choices, and most of them committed terrible deeds. But those who killed cannot be absolved by the notion that anyone in the same situation would have done as they did. For even among them, some refused to kill and others stopped killing. Human responsibility is ultimately an individual matter." (p 188)

He later goes on to state that these men acted out of an assumption of what would be best for their careers and the good of the collective. I came away with a different perspective.

I would propose that these men were put in a situation stripped of the blessing of God's law and the power of the collective conscience (which is also a gift from God). Essentially, they were put in a moral vacuum; no looming judgment, no consequences. And in a moral vacuum, they resorted to what man is inherently prone to do - evil. I do hold that anyone in the same situation (without the Holy Spirit and a regenerated heart) could and probably would start killing innocent people. This was a crystal clear case for sin nature when I read this book. Unfortunately, Browning never got that far; and when I made this point in class, I got quite a few funny looks. No one wanted to consider that these kind of evils were lurking inside them.

I hope this gives you an idea of what is in the heart of those that don't know Christ. It is as ugly as it can get, and it only filtered by centuries of moral tradition formed by God's law and his gift of conscience upon man. Take that idea and turn it into a passion to deliver the only thing that can cleanse and transform such wretchedness into pure, glorious, regenerated light... the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lord, help me to be aware of the leftover resonance of my old sin nature. Help me to reject those evils and cling to what is good. Help me to recognize just how much the hearts of the lost are mired in evil. Let that drive me to share the gospel that frees us from our own evil.

Mark 7:1-13

7:7 "But in vain do they worship Me; teaching as doctrines the precepts of men."

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for perverting and twisting the Law of God to their whim.

So I was trying to think of a common day example of this idea. What is one way that I or someone I have come in contact with have taught a "precept of man" as doctrine?

....

Ok, I got one. I don't often hear this thought verbalized, but it seems to be a common sentiment among church-goers. There are many people who decide what church to go to (or whether to attend at all) based on what they will get out of it. In other words, they ask "how will this church meet my needs?" A friend of mine actually asked us once if "our church was meeting our needs". That statement rubbed my fur the wrong way, so to speak.

The local church is a collection of believers that meet regularly to worship God and study His word. The members of that church have a responsibility to step up and meet the needs of the body, but should not have the attitude that they are attending to have their own needs met. It's like marriage, I am responsible for meeting my wife's needs and vice versa. When we start thinking about ourselves, it all goes wrong.

"Do not merely look out for you own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who... emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant" (Phil. 2:4,5,7a)

When you go to church, are you thinking "gee, I wish someone would do this or that for me", or are you thinking "what can I do for someone here?" Think about it.

Lord, help me to cling to Your word and not the pervasive thoughts and attitudes of the world. In that, help me to seek to build up and support the church as you will without concern for my own needs. Help me to trust You to take care of all my needs.

Numbers18,19,20

20:12 "But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.' "

God punishes Moses and Aaron for not taking His instruction seriously and coming up with their own plan.

How often do I try to get things done my own way? I almost blew it when we bought our first house. My wife and I found a really cute house that we really like and that we could afford. It was in really good shape, so we wouldn't have to do a whole lot of work on it.... but it was tiny. Very small. Keep in mind, we had one boy and another in utero. We felt we could make it work, but everyone we knew kept saying "that's a bad idea".

Well, we decided against it, not because we changed our minds on whether we could make it work, but because I read Proverbs 23:9 and it freaked me out. So we eventually found the house we bought and it was much bigger than the tiny house, but needed a lot more work. By the grace of God, we had the money, time and help to get it ready to live in before we moved in. It was two months of maddening work at break-neck speed, but now it's awesome. We love the house, everyone else loves the house, and without planning it, we live about 3 minutes from our best friends.

I'm not sure I want to think what it would be like living in a house 2/3 the size of this one, but I'm glad that God gives us guidelines for a reason. Just like with Moses and Aaron, God doesn't just make up rules so He can laugh at us when we fail. Had the Levite brothers obeyed God, there would have been one more foreshadowing of the coming dispensation of grace. There is an element of gracy and mercy in every instruction from the Lord. We would all do well to accept them as such.

Lord, help me to love Your law, and let nothing cause me to stumble. Help me to be freed by obedience, not enslaved by rebelliousness.

Mark 5:21-43

5:28 "For she thought, 'If I just touch His garments, I will get well.' "

The woman with the chronic bleeding problem expresses her faith in the supreme power of Jesus Christ.

This woman contrasts the other healing taking place during this passage of the dead girl. Her father asked Jesus to come to the girl to heal her, and people scoffed when Jesus nonchalantly suggested bringing her back from the dead. Do we pray to Jesus with the same conviction of the sick woman?

When we petition our God, we know cerebrally that He created the universe and can do anything, but are we really expecting the full onslaught of God's power when we ask for tall orders? Speaking of wisdom from God, James says in 1:6,7 that we need to pray with conviction or expect nothing at all. Understanding that God calls His own shots, we shouldn't be shy about praying for the Lord to heal the sick, save the lost, deliver us from perilous situations, repair broken relationships, etc... Even if it seem impossible, nothing is too much for God.

But be ready to spend time in prayer. God isn't some cosmic "suggestion box" that you can shoot a memo to and figure it will be taken care of in 7-10 business days. I've been praying for reconciliation of a person with God earnestly for the last year and a half or so. There have been a couple of nights when my heart has been so broken for this person that I have come as close as I probably will ever be to wrestling with God as Jacob did. It was intense, and I believe it was as it should be when we are driven by faith to petition the only one who can fix what ails us. And in case you're wondering, I continue to pray for this person and patiently wait to see God's plan for her.

Lord, help me to trust in Your power. I know You are above all, but I need You to be above all my fears and assumptions. Help me to contend with You earnestly when the need arises. Thank You for the privilege of prayer.

Numbers 11,12,13

13:30 "Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, 'We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.' "

Caleb shows confidence in the midst of pessimism surrounding the bad report given by the rest of the spies.

I'm not a violent person. I've never really been in a fight, and if the opportunity to participate in one came up, I would probably excuse myself post haste. That being said, I can identify with the Israelites not wanting to mix it up with the heathen giants occupying the land promised to them. The key here, however, is who promised the land to them.

God promised the land. God is the landlord and the Canaanites are the delinquent tenants that need to be evicted. The people didn't realize that when they doubted their ability to take the land, they were doubting God's ability to make good on His promises. A pretty dumb thing to doubt, indeed. Are there any promises God has made to us that we are doubting?

How about Philippians 1:6:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

God has promised to keep perfecting us until our death or rapture. Have you ever struggled with sin and said "you know, I can't change that in me... it's not that bad anyway... I'll just live with it". Maybe it's impatience, gossip, pride, hostility towards a particular person. Whatever it may be, we need to be like Caleb and not throw up the white flag because we are weak (which is true), but advance with confidence because we know God will keep His promises and is more powerful than anything.

Lord, help me to be like Caleb. Help me to draw my confidence from Your strength. Help me to be bold in the ventures You call me to.

Mark 5:1-20

5:6 "Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him"

The demon(s) inside the man from the Gerasenes is compelled to beg mercy of Jesus upon seeing Him approach.

This scene brought me back to the temptation in the wilderness. In Jesus' first interaction with an unclean spirit (Satan), He was tormented and tempted to usurp God's plan in the first two propositions made by the devil, now we see the unclean spirit tormented by Jesus' very presence. Satan presented the whole earth to Jesus and said "all these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me", now we see the unclean spirit asking permission if he could be cast into a herd of pigs. Who's got the power?

It was exciting to see this interaction play out in the middle of a ministry marked by the refusal of man to recognize Christ's true position and authority. The evilest of beings saw Christ from a distance, and immediately knew the implications. He knew who he was talking to. If only we had as much respect for Christ. Whenever we ignore the leadings of the Holy Spirit, we are telling Christ "You do not have authority over my life". How stupid is that?

Lord, help me to recognize You for who You are. You are I AM. You created me. You saved me. Help me to put You and You only on the throne of my heart.

Mark 4:1-20

4:14 "The sower sows the word"

Jesus explains the parable of the sower and the fertile and infertile ground.

What I need to remember from this passage is that we always need to sow the word. There will be all kinds of situations where the truth is not received well, or it is received and other circumstances affect the work of the truth in the listener's life. Whatever the case, the sower is to sow the word.

Sometimes I start to try to maximize my ministry by focusing on "fertile ground", but that's not my call to make. I am to sow fertile ground, rocky ground, everywhere!

Lord, help me to be indiscriminate in sharing the truth. Help me not to look for opportunities to convert, but for opportunities to share Your Word.

Mark 3:22-35

3:24 "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."

Jesus is showing the fault in the scribe's logic that one must be of Satan to cast out Satan.

Raise your hand if you've ever heard someone use this verse (or a variation of it) before. The most memorable is when George from Seinfeld yelled out "a George divided against itself cannot stand!" My observation today isn't as much about the verse itself, but how people misuse scripture. It bothers me when people deal so flippantly with something so sacred. Most people use this verse as an inspiration to unity. If you read the context, do you honestly think that's what Jesus was driving at? He is claiming His righteousness, and in a sense, His deity. It has nothing to do with unity!

The one that always burns my biscuits is the Clinton's obsession with 1 Corinthians 13:12. Bill and Hillary always use that verse to imply we can't know absolute truth. The conclusion they generally make is that there is no point debating absolute truth since we can't know it. To "see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face" speaks to knowing God dimly, but in glory knowing Him face to face. Read 1 Cor. 13, then read this: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/151/story_15194_1.html

There are so many problems in that "sermon", I don't know where to start.

Anyway, we need to be diligent to be studying our Bibles so that we can accurately handle the word of truth. This is serious stuff, and we shouldn't take it lightly

Lord, thank You for Your Word. Help me to always respect it for what it is, and to love it for the blessings it brings. Help me to crave Your Word and to use it effectively for Your purpose.

Mark 3:1-21

3:16a "And He appointed the twelve..."

Jesus chooses the famous twelve disciples to prepare for preaching and casting out of demons.

The thing my mind lingered on here was that Jesus chose who he wanted for specific purposes. Our God is deliberate. Our God is purposeful. The twelve did not choose themselves, nor did a committee vote on the appointments. They were not designated by genealogy or stature, nor were they recognized as the best suited for the job. They were appointed because Jesus chose them. That's it. We can't read anything more into it, but that Jesus had and has a plan and He follows it.

And aren't you glad? I've had plans for important things cancelled enough times to appreciate something you can count on. God made up His mind a long time ago and is just in the course of working it out. "Que sera, sera" as Doris Day would say. Our attitude, however, shouldn't be melancholy apathy, but reassuring confidence. Whatever will be, will be because God chose to do so and it is the best possible plan for the outcome of glorifying God's name. Ah... maybe that's the problem. Maybe we can't be satisfied with God's plan because it works to God's glory and not our own. There are some things in my life that I am waiting to be resolved or fixed; I know that I need to continuously ask myself if I'm impatiently waiting for a resolution that will make me happy or if I'm patiently waiting for the resolution that will happen that glorifies God.

Lord, thank You for choosing me. I didn't deserve it, but here I am. Thank You for being a God with a plan and a purpose. Please help me to serve You and play the part in Your plan that You have chosen for me.

Matthew 27:32-66

27:51 "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split."

Climactic events marking the death of Christ. The symbolism in the tearing of the veil is immense.

This is cool because we just got done reading in Leviticus about the specifications for the elements of Jewish worship, including the veil. The priests of the Jews were the liaisons to God. They presented the sacrifices and petitions of the people to God in the place where He dwelt. But even in this mediator role, there was great care taken in not going past the veil. There was separation between us and God. Now there is no more separation (or at least there doesn't need to be).

The veil was torn in two! Access to God has been granted! God came and dwelt on earth amongst us! His Spirit will indwell us if we will trust in Him! How awesome is it that God who is above all and supersedes all cares enough to transcend to us on the most intimate level? God longs to be near us. Thanks to the veil, we can understand better just how much a trip it is for God to come as close to us as he has. Let's not take it for granted.

Lord, thank You for tearing the veil. Thank You for the sacrifice that brings You to me. Let me never take for granted the unhindered access I have to You. Help me to take advantage of that access more often.

Leviticus 18,19

18:24 "Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled."

God condemns the nations of Canaan. The context is the ordinances against sexual immorality, so it seems that the land was inhabited with Sodom and Gomorrah wannabes.

I have heard some people argue against the Bible or God in general because of the conquest of the promised land. They posit that there is an inherent evil in arbitrarily choosing one particular tribe of man and giving that tribe land at the expense of the wholesale slaughter of other tribes. There is a tacit misunderstanding of the situation in this argument.

First of all, there's a problem with casting doubt on the decision making abilities of the Creator of all (including the one doubting), but we won't go into that here. There were two sides to the giving of Canaan to Israel. One was the promise of the land to Abraham. God chose Abraham's line, promised the land to his children, and that's that. We all know that the Israelites weren't perfect, so it wasn't based on their merit. It was based on God's merit. God chose to show His faithfulness by choosing a line of people for a special purpose and seeing it through.

The other side of the conquest is expressed in this verse. The people being expunged were downright evil. What the "make love, not war" crowd need to see in this chapter of the Bible is that peace is great, but God desires righteousness. And God knows that true peace will only come in righteousness. If you read chapter 18 of Leviticus and imagine a community that "by all these... have become defiled", there cannot be any peace there. As long as that type of lifestyle is permitted to exist, families will be broken, the weak will be exploited, and those that excel in an imagination rooted in evil will rule the day. Thank God He does not tolerate this kind of stuff.

It's too bad the world thinks there's nothing wrong with it. But I can keep the conquest going by spreading the gospel and letting the Holy Spirit wage war in the hearts of sinners. Let's just pray those we witness to submit rather than resist. We all know the eventual fate of the Canaanites.

Lord, thank You for Your righteousness. Help me to take Your standard of holiness much more seriously. Help me to clearly explain to those around me the truth of the blessings of Your righteousness and the curses of sin.

Matthew 27:1-31

27:29 "And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' "

Roman guards have some fun with Jesus before He is given over to the crowd for crucifixion.

The thought I had when I read this is the picture of men, kneeling to their Maker, mocking and slapping Him around, then fast-forwarding to the day of judgment when they will bow again. That second time there will be no laughing. There will be no mockery. The same One they slapped and beat will eject them into the pit of fire (assuming none of them got saved after this event... if so, I'd like to talk to that guy in heaven).

It just reminded me of 2 Peter 3 which talks about the patience of God. Here's verse 7:

"But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to slap around the only Being between me and the fires of hell. Yet so many people play around with God thinking that the absence of judgment mean He is a God of complacency or weakness. If you are one of these people, do not doubt God's righteousness and power. You will account for your choices in this life. Reading this verse made me feel like I was watching a horror movie and just waiting for the slaughter to begin. Even though I knew Jesus didn't touch a soul on His way to the cross, I cringed for when His army would swoop down and massacre these evil people. It makes me want to get down on my knees and thank God for His mercy and pray for more.

Lord, thank You for having mercy on me. I know that Your slowness to anger is an indication of Your love, not apathy. I know You could erase the whole world in fire and be justified in doing so. Thank You for sparing me.

Leviticus 15,16,17

17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement."

God gives a foreshadow of Romans 6:23

Imagine if there were two dispensations of grace. One before Christ, and one after. What would be different? Well, for one, I don't think we in the current age would appreciate the freedom from legalistic requirements as much if they never existed. But let's consider what the Law taught the world about Christ's death.

By having centuries of temple butchery, it was pounded into the children of Israel that the atonement of their sins came from the death of something. The substitutionary aspect of sacrifices was evident. Now I don't know exactly how much they understood what the real sacrifice was to be (Christ), but I'm sure that they understood that God was absolving them of their guilt through their faith and was commemorated in the death of an animal.

After all these years of marching bulls and lambs to death day after day, year after year, imagine what (should have been) the reaction would be to see Jesus, completely pure and blameless, marched up to die! The sacrifice to end all sacrifices! This is it! This is why God has been having us slaughter our cattle! To understand just how magnificent this sacrifice would be!

Unfortunately, they didn't notice right away. Let's read Hebrews 10:11,12:

"Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God."

How about that! I hope I don't take the sacrifice lightly.

Lord, thank You for Your love at the cross. Thank You for the sacrifice that took my place. Thank You for the blood that took away the penalty of my sin, takes away the power of my sin, and will some day take away the presence of my sin. You are a great and wise God.

Matthew 26:54-75

26:63a "But Jesus kept silent."

In the face of a mock trial intent on finding the slightest reason to kill Him, Jesus offered no defense.

There is a time for all things. Jesus certainly knew how to raise His voice. When He cleared the temple, you can bet people heard Him. And yet here, He remains silent. What is the difference? In the temple, Jesus was filled with zeal for the honor of His Father. He was clearing the rubbish from God's house. In His trial, however, He Himself was under attack. That is where we draw the line.

So much of the time, we get it backwards. We scream and shout when we feel we are threatened, but when we hear the Lord's name taken in vain, we pretend we didn't hear it. I won't shy away from a discussion about God and what His standards are, but I know I could use more work on shying away from defending my own rights. It's interesting to note, that when pressed, the only Christ did utter was scripture. There's a lesson for us.

Lord, help me to be zealous for Your name and meek for my own. Help me to be so absorbed in You that I won't be bothered when people attack Dave Allen.

Matthew 26:20-54

26:30 "After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Jesus concludes the first Lord's Supper by joining His disciples in a song.

Here we have the answer to the debate! It doesn't say "after singing a chorus..."

Just kidding.

This got me thinking, I wonder what Jesus' singing voice sounded like? This is significant to me since I take my singing seriously when I am involved with the church's music ministry. Well there's no way to know, but it's entirely possible... that Jesus wasn't a good singer! If he was wholly human, his voice had to crack at least once!

The point is that this wasn't some awesome musical performance ("GodChild and the Twelve Man Band!"), it was worship. Christ would have know that you don't need to sing in tune to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Worship is an attitude, not a song. When you submit to the Lord and glorify His name, you're worshipping Him. So when I'm singing, I could think less about harmonies and rhythm, and more about God.

Lord, help me to worship You in a worthy manner. Help me to focus on You and not myself. Help me to help other praise Your name in the ministries You've given me.

Matthew 26:1-19

26:13 "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."

Jesus rebukes His disciples for calling a woman's ministry to Him a "waste".

We should all have humility. If I feel I've accomplished something spectacular, I should always err on the side of keeping it to myself. Otherwise, I'll be tempted to glorify Dave instead of God.

But...

We should celebrate the great accomplishments of others. Or should I say the great accomplishments that God has done through others. In the last year or so, I've been to some events that highlighted the ministry of some great soldiers in the faith I know. It's so refreshing after being subjected to the global media constantly celebrating immorality, materialism, and plain ol' evil. So with that in mind, here are a couple of my personal spiritual heroes (in no particular order):

Roy and Elvia Sprague
My grandparents; these people are so consumed with God and so detached from the world (in the fleshly sense, not like hermits or something)! I really hope I can get to the kind of world view they have where everything is seen through the gospel.

Pastor Frank
I've now lived in Washington for about 15 years. One of the biggest constants in that time has been the preaching of Frank Emrich. And it doesn't really matter that he's been in one place that long (plenty of people do that), but it's the fact that throughout those 15 years he's remained whole-heartedly dedicated to the Word. He is one of the best resources for biblical wisdom I have.

Bob and Judi Allen
My parents; our family has been through more logistical changes than most. Houses, ministries, jobs, the size of the family... something always seems to be changing. And if you know my mom, you know she doesn't especially like change. Nevertheless, they are always a constant source of Jesus-like love and support.

Ryan Wood
I've been around Ryan pretty much since he decided to enter ministry. I've borne witness to a lot of his successes and failures. He has been instrumental in my own spiritual walk and is always on hand to encourage and challenge me.

There are plenty of other great spiritual giants I've known in my life, but you probably wouldn't keep reading if I went on. But if you know any of these people, please say a prayer and thank God for blessing you with their acquaintance. And then get to know them a little more.

Lord, thank You for the body of Your church. Thank You for the gems that are the faithful servants to Your glory. Let me look to those who effectively serve You to be my heroes instead of the heroes of the world. Please watch over these heroes of mine and continue to support them and use them for Your great purpose.

Leviticus 10,11,12

10:3 "Then Moses said to Aaron, 'It is what the LORD spoke, saying, "By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored." ' "

Aaron's sons learn to take God seriously... the hard way.

I was trying to think of a contemporary example of this situation. There's the situation surrounding Annanias and Sapphira, but I thought the Lord's Supper might be easier to relate to. I Corinthians 11:27-32 warns of what happens when we take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner.

Before every communion, I make sure to examine my heart and see if there is any unconfessed sin and deal with it prior to taking the wine and bread (or in my church's case, the grape juice and soup cracker). Now that's easy enough, because God is always available to talk to, but what if you have unconfessed sin towards another person?

There was a time when I examined myself and realized an unconfessed sin. I asked God for forgiveness but realized I need to seek forgiveness of the other person involved. I really fought with myself, and the I Corinthians verses flashed through my brain, as did this one in Leviticus and the account of the lying real estate brokers in Acts. I finally succumbed and did not take the communion elements. I was afraid of embarrassment, but I'll tell you what... I was more afraid of God. It's actually reassuring in retrospect, because I know that in a moment where the only one who would know what was going on was God, I submitted. I actually feared I might be struck dead! If you're laughing at that last sentence, read the passage in question again.

So the point is, if you ever find yourself in that position, obey God, put off the communion elements, find your brother or sister, and make it right. Then take communion. As for application for me, I'm going to try to keep growing in my respect and fear of the LORD.

Lord, help me to never forget who You are. You are I AM. You are the Creator. You are the standard for all things. I am dust. Thank You for Your grace and mercy towards we "dust-people".

Exodus 39,40

40:34 "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."

The era of the tribe of Israel being physically led by the presense of God begins.

I would be surprised if anyone journaling didn't write about this verse. To have the very presense of God in your midst! Imagine you wake up, get breakfast, lumber about your front room, look outside, see the glory of God in your front yard, wake the kids, get dressed. Yet I'm already thinking ahead to all the examples of weak faith they displayed. How could people live never more than a short walk from God's transcendent glory and get scared, complacent, or unfaithful?

But before we start exalting ourselves over these Israelites (see the last post on Matthew), let's remember the last time we demonstrated fear, apathy, or unfaithfulness. Now consider that you don't have a tabernacle with God's glory indwelling, but you know what you do have (if you're a believer)? The Holy Spirit.

Consider this: the Holy Spirit is a person of the trinity. Equal in importance in every way to God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is fully God. And the Holy Spirit is inside you and me. That's closer than the Jews had! We are the tabernacle! Let that sink in for a minute! So we have no excuse for our shortcomings. Let's make sure that we are cognizant of the indwelling deity that we are answerable to. Let that guide our thoughts, actions, and words.

Lord, help me to always remember You are nearer to me than I am to myself. Help me to be a worthy tabernacle to the cause of Your glory.

Matthew 23:23-39

23:30 "and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' "

The prophets bear judgment on their ancestors and proclaim their righteousness in claiming they would have acted differently in the same situation.

I was trying to think of examples of historical Christianity that we might look on with disdain. The Crusades or the Inquisition (although that was Catholic, if memory serves) came to mind. There's the church at Corinth (sleeping with your dad's wife!), or the Galatians reverting to works-based faith. It's easy to say "I would never..."

Or would we? People love to trash those who failed because it makes themselves look better and leaves little room to discuss their own failures. And whose to say that in 10 or 15 years, abortion will be completely marginalized and that generation will look at those of us who lived during abortion's rampage and say "we would never have allowed that to go on!" Let's pull the logs our of our own eyes before we start looking at the specks in others. Would I have stood up to the guy in Corinth messing around with his stepmom? Would I have gone to him and said "knock it off!" Or would I have just told myself "I'll pray for him"? I'm thinking of an example right now, and I'm now questioning if I've been bold enough...

Lord, help me to not assume my own righteousness, but to look to Your standard to measure myself. Help me to continue to grow in all righteousness and to be bold in confronting sin.

Matthew 23:1-22

23:5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments."

The Pharisees were emphasizing the things about them that conveyed their religious prowess to garner attention and respect.

I was trying to think if I've even done something like this and I have! I broadened my phylactery! When you say it that way, it sounds like a misdemeanor...

I took my "Bible Doctrine" textbook to work one day, and I was passing by a guy I've heard is a believer, but I don't have opportunity to talk to much. I (almost subconsciously) turned my book so that the title was on the outside and clearly visible. I realize that I was trying to invoke a reaction in his thoughts like "Wow! That guy studies Bible doctrine!" Taking biblical materials to work isn't wrong. Letting people see your desire to study the Lord isn't wrong. Having an attitude that people should be impressed with me for all that is wrong.

Lord, help me to be pure in my study of You. Help me to desire to know You, not to gain stature among men. Help me to humble myself whenever possible for Your glory.

Exodus 34,35,36

36:2 "Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful person in whom the Lord had put skill, everyone whoe heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it."

Here we see a practical example of James 1:17. Even skills and talents are from God.

I like to mess around in Photoshop fixing (or sometimes doctoring) images. I take great pleasure in it, and I'm good at it. I take pride in what I can do. I don't think that I attibute that talent to God enough however. I need to remember that every good thing given and every perfect gift is from God.

Lord, help me to remember You are the source of all things good. Help me to not take pride in myself, but in You. You are the only one deserving of praise.

Matthew 21:1-22

21:19 "Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, '...No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.' And at once the tree withered"

Jesus shows contempt towards scoundrels profiting off of worshipers, priests being jealous for earthly power, and a plant appearing to be healthy but bearing no fruit. Do you sense a metaphor?

I think a lot of times we Christians thinks we can get away with murder (figuratively speaking). We know we're bound for glory and that all our sins are forgiven so we get lax in working to root out sin in our lives. Well this story is a reminder that Jesus isn't just the "holy child, meek and mild", He has a fire in His belly! If you get His ire up, your life can be miserable. That's not to say that Jesus is an unbalanced pugilist with a short fuse. He just hates sin. And He might even hate sin more when it dwells in His children. Consider this:

- We know exactly what sin did to our Savior
- We know exactly what sin does to us
- We have been called to be holy as He is holy
- We have been given the freedom to not sin
- We have been given the power to not sin

Yet we do it anyway. And like a tree with pretty leaves but no fruit, Jesus is disgusted. Thank goodness our Lord is longsuffering! And praise God for Philippians 1:6!

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Hallelujah!

Lord, keep working on me. Help me to not be a white washed tomb. Help me to first be filled with Your Spirit and holiness, then to produce good fruit to the glory of Your name.

Exodus 25,26

25:2 "Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution."

In this verse is the fundamental rule of giving. It should be motivated from within the heart.

When I was in high school, I had a really messed up idea of what it meant to give to the Lord. I used to not give anything, then every once in a while I would cut a big check and figure that would "cover" the last couple of months. If anyone reading this does that, knock it off! The flaw in that logic is the thought that God needs your money. God doesn't need anything from us! He can work His holy will without any help from anyone. The purpose of giving is to deepen the relationship between God and I by showing God that I understand all my blessings are from Him. It also shows God that I depend on Him. My budget wouldn't be nearly as tight if I didn't give (in theory), but giving to God first puts my dependence on Him.

But I do need to guard against giving automatically. Now that my giving is regular instead of sporadic, I can tend to give without thinking. I need to make sure I am moved from the heart.

Lord, thank You for all Your blessings. Help me to give with a grateful and worshipful attitude. Thank You for the privilege of being able to take part in Your plans on earth.

Matthew 20:17-34

20:23 "He said to them, 'My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.' "

Ok, so I was thinking about this verse, started breaking it down and I think I found something pretty cool. Bear with me.

So Jesus asks the Zebedees if they are "able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" Matthew 26:39 shows this same language, and I think any commentary would agree "drink this cup" is a euphemism for "experience this suffering". Agreed? Good.

My first thought was that Jesus was saying that to sit at His right and left, the Zebedee boys would need to drink His cup, or suffer. I was confused, however when Jesus said that the seating arrangement was decided by His Father, not by Christ Himself. So what gives?

In verse 23, Jesus apparently answers two questions:

Answer 1 - "My cup you shall drink"
Answer 2 - "but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give"

Wait a minute, there was only one question, right? Verse 21 shows the mother asking "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left". Where's the second question? Jesus is answering the very assumption that they would even be in His kingdom! This is cool because Jesus takes that a lot more seriously than the Zebedee's concern of the seating in heaven. I will attempt a paraphrase here: Jesus basically said "Well, whoever is sitting to the right or left of Me isn't My call. But let's talk about you even coming to my Kingdom in the first place. If you think you're going to join Me, you better be ready to pay the price."

I found this very exciting because it makes it so much more applicable to me! I'm not going to Christ to request VIP seating, but I do want to be with Him in glory! And to that request, Jesus is telling me, "are you ready to suffer?" I better be ready to answer.

I love the Bible. No matter how much I think I've "figured out" a passage or verse, something new jumps out. Living and active, indeed.

P.S. Ryan or anyone, feel free to pick apart my logic.

Lord, help me to be ready to suffer for you. Help me to be willing to join You not only in Your glory and Your resurrection, but also in Your sufferings and trials.

Exodus 22,23,24

23:4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him"

When I read over this the first time, I didn't think much of it. But when I went over it again I realized I missed the word "enemy". I was just thinking "neighbor". It seems weird that the Pharisees were able to mess this up and come up with love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

This and the next verse go beyond the seemingly obvious notion of not harming your enemy, but actually going out of your way to help them. If you consider that your enemy is someone who in some way is opposed to your progress, success, pride, or the like, to help your enemy is almost like working against yourself. That's why it's so hard! To help your enemy is to put your own interest in last place... now where have I heard that idea before?

Lord, help me to consider the needs of others as more important than my own, even if I don't like them. And after I'm done helping them, help me to stop not liking them.

Matthew 20:1-16

20:15 "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?"

What came to mind when you read the story of the laborers in the vineyard? You know what I thought of? Mormons. Yeah, those tricky Mormons. Mormons always vex me partially because I know they're so wrong, but they act so right. Sometimes better than some Christians I know. But I had a revealing conversation with one that shows just how the Mormon faith fits them in with the rest of the sinful world.

I used to work with a devout Mormon and during one of our spirited conversations, the doctrine of who will get to heaven came up. He asked me "do you believe that if a serial rapist and murderer got saved just before being executed, he would go to heaven?" I answered "if he truly repented of his sins, called on God for forgiveness, accepted Christ as his savior and devoted his life (as short as it may be) to his new Lord... then yes!" His response was something along the lines of "I cannot fathom being a part of a religion that believes that."

It is a difficult pill to swallow! That God would allow such "scum" into His presence! But what am I? I'm the same scum! (now please don't go calling the cops, I haven't raped or murdered anyone) All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. We know these verses, but have hard time putting ourselves in the same boat as those who commit the "really bad" sins. Why is that?

Pride.

Even in the gutters of a sin-soaked world, we create a class system. And we carry that prideful sense of echelons of sin into our Christian lives, and it burns us to think that us "good" folk will have to share residence in glory with the "bad" folk. When in sin, we all look dirty to God. But here's the amazing part... when redeemed, we all look clean to God!! We are justified in His sight and scrubbed clean not by our own efforts, but by the blood of Christ. And since the cleansing power is dependant on God's immeasurable love, no sin is too big. Thank God for that!

So to my Mormon friends, I understand why you don't understand how Jesus can tell the condemned criminal "truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise". You don't understand because your faith is built on your own efforts, not the Lord's. Feel free to ask me if you want to know how your sins can be washed away by the only love that can wash away anything.

As for me, I could do well to remember those that are unsaved are not just "scum", but are lost souls and if drawn to the Lord, could likely share a room with me in glory. Maybe I should start talking to them now...

Lord, help me to remember where I came from. Thank you for saving me and help me to not take pride in my own salvation or the good works you have prepared for me.

Exodus 19,20,21

21:22,23 "If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life"

I'm not Hebrew scholar, but when I read this passage, it seems to very clearly place the value of an unborn's life at the same level as everyone else's. I don' t know that I remember someone using these verses in the abortion discussion, but it really stood out to me. Notice that it refers to a "woman with child"... Not a "woman in her third trimester", or "a woman in the process of giving birth", but a woman with child. When does a woman become "with child"? I suppose some would debater semantics, but it seems obvious that "with child" is a synonym for pregnant. And I'm pretty sure a woman is physiologically pregnant when a sperm breaks through the egg wall.

Whatever. I probably don't need to waste breath belaboring this point, I really believe that anyone who has spent even a couple of minutes thinking about this knows that life begins at conception. Furthermore, I believe they know that ending life is murder. All are born with a sin nature and are responsible for their sin. If murder is a sin (which is in today's reading as well), those that perpetuate, encourage, commit, and condone abortion are sinning and thus responsible for it.

Proving through scripture and science that unborn babies are alive shouldn't be given up on, but they're not going to get it until they have the Holy Spirit in them to tell them otherwise. Sinners will sin, it's just really sad and infuriating when it results in the death of innocents. Ryan gave a rousing sermon on this recently; I'll see if it's on our church's site and post a link to it in the comments if so.

Lord, help me to stand up in whatever capacity You give me for the lives of children. If it only be in water cooler talk, still give me boldness. Please watch over the little ones and help bring an end to the rampant murder that plagues my country.