I am off to serve as a member of God’s team this weekend for the East Ohio Emmanuel Emmaus Walk (yes, that IS a mouthful).  I love serving with a group of guys that are all focused on God like this.

This is my third time to serve on team and this time I will be playing a new part.  In the past I’ve done music but this time I will be a table leader.  Facilitating discussion for the pilgrims at my table.  On Sunday morning I will also be giving a talk on the Body of Christ.

I’m excited and nervous about it all and would value your prayers for me, the rest of the team and those men that are making the walk.  My talk is on Sunday at approximately 10:45 am so any extra prayers for God to shine through me for about 30 minutes there would be really appreciated.

Blessings!

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

This is from Mark 7: 6-8 (NIV) when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees.

The question for us today is could Jesus say the same thing to us about the things in our lives…

Our churches…

Our homes…

Our own lives…

I know if I am being completely honest and were to make a list of the things that in my life and hold them up against this list with “God\Man” boxes beside them to indicate whether these statements describe them…way too many of them would have the “Man” box checked.

What about you?  Be honest – What does your list look like?  Are you following God or man?

I have the pleasure of getting together every Friday morning with a great group of guys for coffee, muffins and Bible study.  We are working through the Bible in a year using a reading plan from Youversion.com.

Last week we finished Exodus.  One of the things that struck me was regarding the construction of the Tabernacle.  Looking at Chapter 36 verses 2 & 3 we read:

Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.

This follows what we read at the end of Chapter 35 were we read that Bezalel had been filled with the Spirit of God and how he and Oholiab were given the ability to teach others.

I really like these verses as they are a great reminder that we ALL play a part in doing God’s work and building his Church.  The Church I’m referring to here is the Body of Christ – us as followers of Christ.

You see, Bezalel and Oholiab carried out the work of constructing the sanctuary but they couldn’t have done it without the work in gathering and the giving of supplies by ALL the Israelites.

Some of us have been given very specific gifts (like Bezalel and Oholiab) that we are to use to carry out God’s work.  ALL of us have been given something by God that he calls us to contribute to accomplish His work.

You can’t have one without the other.

1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
2 Many are saying to me, “There is no help for you in God.” (Selah)

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill. (Selah)

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! (Selah)

Psalm 3 (NRSV)

Psalm 3 is a psalm of David’s that he wrote while fleeing from his son Absalom.  Fleeing for fear of his life.

In my study and quiet time lately I keep coming back to this Psalm.  I think it speaks to me for a number of reasons. Specifically because right now I feel a little like David.  Let me tell you what I mean.

In verses 1 & 2 we see David lamenting to God about all those that are against him.  They are surrounding him and telling him that he’s all alone.  That his plans are worthless and he should just give up.

I think about things that I’ve done recently…things I am doing right now…things I want to do.  It seems like there’s always someone there to tell me why “it can’t be done”, why “it will never work”, or why it’s “too much change”.

David’s response though in verses 3 & 4 show us how to deal with the naysayers.  You see, David KNOWS who is in control, who provides his strength and who he is doing all this for.  David crys aloud to the Lord and the Lord answers him.

That’s what I need to remember as well.  That when I feel like I can’t take it anymore, when I’ve heard one too many, “You’ll never be able to do that” or “you can try – but it will never work” that I can have the faith and confidence to turn to the Lord and that HE will shield me from all of it.  That HE will give me the strength to do HIS work.

In verses 5 & 6 David knows he can go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning and that he doesn’t have to worry about anything or anyone – the Lord is there with him, sustaining him.

The New Living Translation says, “I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.”  Reminds me of the old MAD Magazine character Alfred E. Newman’s slogan, “What, me worry?”   Why should I worry about any of this when I know that the Lord is with me and watching over me.

Now, in verse 7 we see something that really hit me hard (no pun intended).  David asks the Lord to strike his enemy on the cheek and break their teeth.  He doesn’t say to strike them down, he doesn’t say to kill them…just break their teeth.  It’s not that David wasn’t capable or killing…after all that’s kind of what got him into this mess in the first place.  Rather than deal death to those speaking against him David wanted God to do one thing – shut them up.

For me this is huge.  Negative words, attitudes and actions are huge.  They can suck the life right out of me.  I can be told I’m doing a great job, I can have people tell me they really felt God speak to them after a service, I can hear a bunch of other words of affirmation…but if I have one person come up and say something negative, THAT’S what I focus on…THAT’S what I remember.

I know it’s silly.  I know that it shouldn’t bother me but it does.  I do what I do to please God, not man…but I’m also human.  So I think that David’s prayer here in verse 7 is a key for me.  I know people are not going to like everything I do, everything I say or everything I plan.  I’m not naive enough to think that.  Do I wish that were the case?  HECK YEAH!  But it’s not and will never be.  So that’s my prayer – that God would keep them quiet.  Keep it to themselves.  Now, let me just say that I really don’t want to see anyone’s teeth broken (but if God feels that’s what it takes who am I to argue).  “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” – I think that’s what David is asking God for here.

At the end of the day, the things that I do I am doing because I believe that it is what God wants me to do.  It’s easy to get discouraged and listen to the people that are speaking against me but that just needs to be another reminder to me to just turn it over to the Lord.  I said it last week, I said it this week and I will say it again – if what I am doing is God’s Will and is bathed in prayer it CAN NOT FAIL!  If what I am doing is Jeff’s will it will fall on it’s face.

My desire is to reach people with the love of Christ and to help them come into a meaningful relationship with our Lord and Savior.  As David says in verse 8, “May your blessing be on your people!”.  That’s what it’s all about – God’s blessing on God’s people.

How about you?  I would love to hear in the comments how you deal with this type of thing.

A couple of days ago I wrote about needing faith.   I think one of the reasons that this topic is hitting so hard with me is because it’s one that I struggle with.  I’ve been mulling over Chapter 6 this weekend.   The first day I read it I something struck me about the 6th verse (and there are 56 verses in the chapter).

It’s the story of Jesus going back to his hometown of Nazareth and the rejection of the people.  What struck me was verse 5 and 6a:

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them  And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”  (Mark 5:5-6 NIV)

“He could not do any miracles there”.  Of course, It wasn’t because he COULDN’T do them – look at that 6th verse, “And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”

You see, Jesus wasn’t about doing miracles to convince the skeptics.  When we see Jesus performing the miracles and healing we see that it was done for those that have faith.  Looking back at Chapter 5 we just read of a sick woman who had faith that just by touching Jesus’ garments she would be healed (Mark 5:25-34 NIV).  His words to her in verse 34 were, “Daughter, you’re faith has healed you.”

I look at my own life and I wonder if I were really put to the test which of these camps I would fall into.  Would I be alongside the woman or the town of Nazareth?  I think if I’m being honest, too often I would be with the town.

I just have a hard time “letting go and letting God” sometimes.  I want to be in control and make sure that everything is going to go exactly how I envisioned it (hmm…sounds like pride).  I believe that God is in control and that all things are possible through him, but my actions don’t always follow that.  Will God really pour out his blessings as long as I try and maintain control over things?  I don’t think so.

Lord, help me to put all of my faith in You and not in my own desires and plans.  May my actions be in line with Your Word and my heart be aligned to You.

Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”  But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. (Mark 3:11-12 NIV)

So, as I continued reading through Mark I see many instances of Jesus healing and casting out demons yet when he does this, what happens next?  He tells them not to tell who he is.

Why?

And why speak in parables?

He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ” ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ” (Mark 4:11-12 NIV)

Why not just pull out the scroll, state the facts and bring some good ol’ hellfire and brimstone – let them know what was coming if they didn’t believe in him and what he was telling them?  That would have been so easy!  He could have brought down a league of angels!

I am not a biblical scholar (so those that are – help me out) but for me, personally, it comes back to faith.  We can choose to believe that Christ was the Son of God or we can choose to believe that he was just a man.  We have to have faith that Christ was the Son of God.  Look at the response Jesus gave when the disciples asked him to increase their faith in Luke 17.

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” (Luke 17:6 NIV)

It’s easy to talk – mant of us do that really well – heck, I’ve typed out over 300 words already, but Jesus knows that in order for us to truely know him we have to work at it.  We have to sit, listen and pray.  We have to abide in him.  We have to have faith that what we read and hear is true – at least until that day comes where we stand before his throne and bow in reverence and worship.  As the passage in Luke says, even a small amount of faith will allow us to do great things for God’s glory.

What do you think?

I decided to start reading through the book of Mark again yesterday.  The plan is to read a chapter a day and blog on what God is showing me through His Word.  I would love for you all to join me and perhaps we can start a dialogue here about what God is revealing to us through His word.

As I read Chapter 1 yesterday God spoke to me in a new way concerning this scripture.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” (Mark 1:9-13 NRSV)

What I noticed for the first time was the fact that as soon as Jesus was baptized and the Spirit descended on him he was driven into the wilderness.  Not a week later, not a month or a year later - immediately!  Looking at this it’s no wonder why we hear of new Christians getting frustrated or falling away.  Once Christ takes a hold of their life it’s like Satan puts a giant bulls-eye on their chest!

One of the things we are beginning to plan for in Rittman is a new contemporary worship service in the fall.  Our prayer is that this service will reach out to a community that doesn’t know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and draw them in to begin a relationship with him. 

But here’s the thing that has been pressing on my heart lately.  The fact is that before we play one chord, sing one note, hit one drum, write one sermon or project one word on a screen we have to be sure that we have a place for these people to plug in.  We need to start planning small group ministry, home groups, connection groups, discipleship groups – whatever you want to call it. 

We need to start training people up to shepherd these people and walk with them on their journey.  Be there for when they have questions, encourage them and pick them up when they stumble or fall, pray for them and share the love of Christ with them!  We need to be praying for them NOW and for the relationships that will be formed. 

As the above verses remind us – once we are filled with the Spirit, once we accept Christ, that’s when Satan really goes to work.  Jesus had angels to wait on him, we need to be those angels for each other. 

Thoughts? Who’s with me?

So, as I mentioned last week, this past weekend I have the joy of serving on team for the Fall Men’s Walk to Emmaus.  If you aren’t familiar with this it is a three day “experience of Christian spiritual renewal and formation”.  There are lessons, singing, fellowship, small group discussion and a number of other things.  It really is an amazing experience and the best part about it is seeing God work in us, through us and in spite of us.

I served on the music team with two other fanatastic men.  If there is one thing we like to do on these weekends it’s sing – and boy did we!  I’ve got to say, there is nothing better than being in a room of 50+ men that are giving their entire selves up in worship to our God.  What was really cool for me was that the three of us were behind the men, rather than in front of them.  This allowed them to just focus on the words they were singing and the One they were singing to.

The verse that was our focus verse for the weekend was Psalm 145:6 (NKJV) – “Men will speak of your mighty acts and I will declare Your greatness”.  I really can’t put into words the amazing things that I saw God do this weekend.  He is such an amazing God and to see the way he poured His love down on everyone there was truly awesome!  Mighty acts were performed this weekend and I can’t stop thinking about His greatness.

The other thing I have to mention is the song that we used as a theme along with the verse – Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God”.  I can honestly say I will never be able to play or sing this song the same again.  Music has always been a powerful way for me to come into the throne room of God.  This weened it really hit me on Sunday when we were singing this song – how the words to this song declare in amazing ways all of the things that God is.  To be able to declare the he is a great God – man.

If you want to know more about the Walk to Emmaus please ask me.  I would love to tell you what I can, but it is really something you have to experience.  Unlike a lot of retreats you do need to be sponsered by someone that has gone on a walk previously.  If this sounds interesting abd you’d like to do this or know more let me know – the next walk is scheduled for March of 2009 and there will be another in the summer and fall of 09.

Well, do you?  I ask because I’ve started packing my lunch every day now.   Many days I pack myself Peanut Butter and Jelly.  So last week I’m making my sandwich and there’s three pieces of bread left – and two of them are the butt.  You know, that last piece that is more crust than bread.  It’s drier than the rest, doesn’t have the same texture and probably doesn’t taste as good as the rest of the loaf.  I mean, I had a brand new loaf sitting on the counter so I just pretended that those ends weren’t there, took the one slice of “real bread” and threw the ends away.

So, fast forward to this week.  Same scenario – but know I’m thinking, why am I throwing out a perfectly good piece of bread?  I mean, a bun is covered in crust, so is a roll and I like both of those.  So, this week when I got to the beginning or end of the loaf, I used the end, the heel, the butt!  And you know what – the sandwich was quite good.  It didn’t ruin the sandwich at all.  I still enjoyed the combination of smooth peanut butter and fruity jelly and it satisfied my hunger. I also didn’t waste perfectly good food (and now that Beth and I are going through Financial Peace University and focusing on getting our finances in the right place I’m looking at everything a little differently).

Then I started thinking about the Bible.  How often are we reading through it and thinking, “Yeah, this is some good stuff.  I understand this.  I can do this.  It won’t change the way I’m living my life.”  But then we get to that one part that just doesn’t work for us.  Maybe it’s the loving your neighbor or praying, or giving to the needy, clothing the naked, serving the poor.  Maybe it’s tithing?  Maybe it’s sexual sin?  Maybe it’s pride, or anger or jealousy?  How many of us try and make the God’s Word work for US rather than US working for HIM?  So, rather than praying over what we read and taking that into our heart we just kinda pretend it wasn’t there – like that end piece of bread.

The problem is, that’s NEVER been God’s intention.  The Bible is not a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure Book”!

Picture this!  Say you’re reading in Ephesians Chapter 4 starting at verse 28:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Ok, I can do that.  I don’t steal.  Then we keep reading verse 29:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Whoa!  Sorry, God.  I mean, the stealing thing I’m cool with, but I just can’t say nice things to that guy at the office.  You know what, let’s just pretend I didn’t read that verse and I’ll take the choice to skip over to Chapter 5.  Let’s see how that works for me.

We are to live our lives according to God’s Will which is given to use in God’s Word. We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe out of it.  Too many people these days are doing that for their own purposes and it’s not OK.  We need to take in the whole loaf of bread…the bread of life!

As a sort of follow-up to the post below I want to share this with you.  A few weeks back I came across Pastor Pete Wilson’s blog Without Wax (see the post on C.C. DeVille).  Pete is the pastor at CrossPoint in Nashville.  Well, I’ve begun listening to the sermon series that they have been doing over the summer called Sync and MAN is it speaking to me where I am.  If you feel like I have, stuck or stalled then go give it a listen.  I have listened to the first message twice and to the second message today and God is really putting some things on my heart.

Once you go over to the site pick the Nashville location from the drop down at the top and then you can click on the Synch logo in the lower right corner.  At the bottom of the page is a link to listen to the messages from this series.  The first one is available as a free download as well for all you mobile listeners.