January 11, 2014 – Psalms 3 & 4 – Try Making God your Source of Strength

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Please say an extra prayer today. Nearly 20 West Side Christians and Teens are in Gatlinburg for the Tennessee Christian Teen Convention. Pray that our travels will be safe. Pray that our teens will be challenged to follow Christ more closely with their lives. Pray that our youth group will bond tighter during our time away.

What Does this Passage Say?

• Psalm 3 is a Psalm of David. David was the second King of Israel after his father-in-law Saul. David famously committed adultery with the wife of Uriah the Hittite (One of David’s Mighty Men), Bathsheba. Their son conceived in their affair died. Because of this sin God allowed disruption to take place in his family. One of the major disruptions was his son Absalom stealing the heart of the people and ousting David as king. During this time David is on the run. It is with this context David writes the words of Psalm 3.
• David has found he has many enemies, but he knows who is on his side … God. He has put trust in God and is crying out to God to lead him, sustain him, and protect him.

• Psalm 4 is another Psalm of David. We are not given much context for the writing of this Psalm. David is again going through a rough time in his life. Maybe this is when he is on the run from his father-in-law Saul. Maybe it is during a war as king. Maybe it is when he is running from Absalom. We do not know when it is, but he knows this, God again is his strength and it is God he is turning to. This song of David also calls for his countrymen, other Israelites, to call on God, to make Him number one, and live for him with their lives. David will take comfort and strength from God.

 What is this passage teaching?

• Both of these passages show us where David’s security came from. David did not find strength in his own power and ability. David did not turn to others to secure him. David in his time of need turned to God.

 How can I apply this passage to my life?

• David was a beacon of light for his countrymen. He not only challenged them to turn to God he demonstrated it in his own life. Will you take David’s challenge and turn to God? Will you take David’s challenge and draw strength from God and God alone? God protected David and brought him through many storms. God will do the same for you if you will turn to him. 

August 7 – Jeremiah 1 - 3

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 1 - 3. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Sometimes a rude awakening is what we need. Other times God speaks gently and that is enough to speak volumes to us. Sometimes it’s an entirely different approach. Today God broke my heart in the reading. God talked about how Israel and Judah both had prostituted themselves to false worship, idols and images made of wood and stone. He told them that they had no need for Him, unless something was wrong. It was in the hurting moments Israel and Judah would run wildly back to God. Sadly I have seen that play out in my own life too many times.

What really hit me is a truth that I struggle with too often. If your minister is anything like me, and I bet he is, he struggles with this too. Read these words again … “The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.” (Jeremiah 2:8 NLT) Now I cannot say I have ever turned specifically over to other objects, idols, and materials in intentional worship, but as a teacher of God’s Word, as a leader in ministry, I have certainly found myself distant from God. Sadly it is so easy to do. The Bible becomes a text book. Prayer becomes something you do and often the power of it is forgotten. And quickly distance is built between my heart and God’s, even though I am talking, teaching, and praying about Him all the time.

Please pray that God is continually renewing the fire and passion your ministers have for God. Please pray that they are seeking Him more than they are seeking anything else in this life. Please pray that their leadership in your church is based on the firm foundation that is God. If they do not do this, there is no way strength will build in your church. 

June 27 – 1 Kings 17-19

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 1 Kings 17-19. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Group Publishing Vacation Bible School 

Last week West Side conducted our annual Vacation Bible School program. We had a terrific week with many children learning about God. The theme line for the week was God Helps Us Stand Strong. Over and over again we heard the phrase Stand Strong. I have heard it so much that it slipped its way into my sermon last Sunday and it is the overall theme of my sermon this Sunday. With that thought on the brain it was easy to navigate to that idea when reading about Elijah this morning.

Elijah took many risks on behalf of God. He went to Ahab and told him that God was going to shut of the rain from the sky for three years. He went and lived in the valley until the water dried up. He boldly asked for bread from the widow. He raised her son back to life. He stood on Mount Carmel and prayed a simple prayer to God. He ordered all the prophets of Baal killed. He stood before God at Mt. Horeb. To do any of those things, to stand strong, Elijah had to know that God was standing with him.

Do you know that and do you believe that? God is standing with you and because God is standing with you … you can stand strong. When culture tells you to do one thing, but God tells you another, remember you can stand strong. When sin is inviting remember with God you can stand strong. When you want to share your faith, but are nervous, God tells you to stand strong. Elijah had the same power of God beside him that you and I have today. So Stand Strong!

May 28 – Psalms 111-118

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Psalms 111-118. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

There are so many great things to choose from our reading. Cherish the words because I am unfortunately only able to comment on one idea.

I love the attributes of God. Today the Psalmist reminds us of that by comparing against other “gods” and deities. “Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have hears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot makes a sound.” (Psalms 115 4-7 NLT) Their gods are formed by human hands, and while they have physical features, they are simply just a carving. Their gods do not hear their prayers. Their gods do not communicate to them. Their gods do not move and work in their life. Their gods are just a human creation.

But our God, the one true God is master and creator of all. “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.” (Psalms 115:3 NLT) The Psalmist reminds the nation of Israel to trust in the LORD. Over and over again we are reminded to trust in the Lord. Why? Because our God is a living God who cares deeply about us. He is not an inanimate object, he is living, breathing and strong enough for us to put our trust into him!

Little side note, as I was this post I was listening to Spotify and the song Those Who Trust by Waterdeep Worship came on. What an awesome song as I was writing the words “trust.” God reassures in some really cool ways. Here is a video of a worship band singing this song after their opening prayer.

At West Side we believe highly in prayer. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.

February 6 – Exodus 22-24

Today’s reading comes from Exodus 22-24. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Have you ever thought how it would be to find a Buick in a pyramid? I hadn’t either until I heard Jeff Walling give this illustration. Just imaging you were on an archeological dig in Egypt and you have come accost a pyramid that hadn’t been unearthed. No grave robber, no treasure hunter, no historian, no human being had entered this tomb since the Egyptians closed it up nearly thirty-five hundred years ago. You walk into the tomb, and yours are the first set of human eyes to spy all the shinning gold, the sparkling emeralds, the well-defined statues, and the 1957 Buick sedan.

You completely look over the beauty of the objects in the room as you scratch your head as you stare at this mint condition Buick sedan. You examine the room but you find no signs of anyone ever entering it in the last fifty-six years. The layers of dust on the Buick are the same as all the other objects. There are no relatively fresh tire marks. There are no doorways big enough to get that car in there. Your team later does all the carbon dating that can be performed and it dates to the time you thought the Pharaoh was buried in the tomb. This is a mystery you just cannot wrap your head around.

What you think if I told you the Bible contains many Buicks in a pyramid? The Buicks presence in the tomb makes no sense to us. In today’s reading we begin to encounter the Laws that God gave to his people to live by. Yesterday we read the Ten Commandments. Today we read about how to develop good relationships with others and what to do if we mess them up. Throughout the Laws we will read guidelines to the people that seem really odd and strange. However, with our modern science we know they were really good directives.

Take circumcision. God ordered his people to circumcise baby boys on the eighth day. Circumcision was a symbol of the covenant God struck with Abraham. But did you know the eighth day was the perfect day to circumcise. It isn’t until the eighth day that breast milk has reached its full capacity. It is on the eighth day that mom is producing all of the anti-bodies needed to protect the healing of the circumcision. That my friends is a Buick in a pyramid. It makes sense to us why God ordered it, but not to the people it was given to. They didn’t know the science behind it.

Or we can use certain foods that they were to abstain from. We know today that pork needs to be cooked more fully than other meets because it is more susceptible to bacteria and disease. They didn’t have our modern science and FDA but they had God and he knew best. He placed the Buick in the pyramid for their protection! What an awesome God we serve. While these Laws may not make sense to us today God put many of them in place to offer safety and protection to the Israelites.

At West Side we are beginning a new prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership. 

February 1 – Exodus 7-9

Today’s reading comes from Exodus 7-9. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

I love the power and might that I see in God and nowhere in the entire Bible outside of the creation story is that stronger than here in Egypt as he displays who he is. These ten plagues we see God display before Egypt all have significance to the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed in many God’s. Many of the natural wonders they attributed to the various God’s they had created … I think this is a clear indication that we were created to worship. Every civilization that has not known about the one true God has created a god or various gods to worship. We have been created to worship.

When God erupts these ten plagues on the land and people he is going straight for their various gods. He is letting Egypt know that whatever magic arts they have … it’s amazing, they were able to turn their staffs into snakes (although Aaron’s snake ate the other snakes … I love God’s sense of humor), they are able to turn water into blood, and they are able to call up frogs on the land. But they could not turn dust into gnats … God wanted them to know he was more powerful, that he was the one true God. I believe they had “magic” powers, whether bestowed upon them by God, or done through the hold Satan and his demons had on the Egyptians … Tangent ~ I guess we could theme today “Tangents” ~ Satan knows we have been created to worship so if he can get us to worship anything other than God he has found victory. He doesn’t care if it is sports, TV, Facebook, or our own created gods, whatever ranks ahead of the one true God, and salvation in Jesus Christ, that is a win for Satan.

God is ready to reveal himself to the Egyptians. The purpose of Pharaoh hardening his heart and then God hardening his heart, the purpose for this destruction, the purpose for the eventual death is for this God stated reason … “Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.” Exodus 9:13-14 NIV84. Did you get that God’s entire purpose was to reveal himself, to make his name famous and to teach the Egyptians that there is nothing greater than him.

Is that a reminder you need in your own life? Pray and ask God to reveal the level of his importance that you hold of him in your life. Seek his leadership in your life and worship him only.

At West Side we are beginning a new prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership. 

January 28 – Genesis 46-47

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 46-47. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today we see a joyous reunion between father and son and we see God’s blessing being poured out. God has been building a nation and now he is getting ready to protect the nation he has built. Joseph was in just the right place to save his growing family of brothers, their wives, their children and even grandchildren. The whole family, seventy in all is now in the land of Egypt where there is food because of the work Joseph has kept.

As we read today’s events we quickly see how long and sever this famine is. It is so severe that the people finally place themselves in bondage to Pharaoh just to remain alive and not starve. What would Joseph’s family do if they had not been in Egypt during this time? What would Joseph’s family have done if his brothers had not sold him into slavery where he ended up in Egypt in charge of life saving food? The family line may have been wiped out and the promise with Abraham not fulfilled. But that is the God we serve. God had a plan and a purpose with Abraham and his decedents. And his purpose will play out no matter what natural events happen or choices we as humans make.

This is a theme we will continually see as we read through the Bible. Time and time again it will look bleak for God’s people. But each time it does, God works it out for them. He brings them through it. All so that his son can be born and die so that all mankind can know salvation. It is neat to see these little sprinklings of hope as God works to preserve his purpose. When it looks bleak in life, remember, God is in control, and he has a purpose and plan for your life. Will you accept it?

January 5 – Job 6-9

Today’s reading comes from Job 6-9. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Job has reached the full point of misery. Everything he has been blessed with in this life except for his wife has been taken from him. His flocks and herds, his servants, his property, and worst of all his children are all gone. Even his health has been effected. As we begin our reading today we are well aware of Job’s misery.

As many of us do when tough times are upon us we question God. Job knows that he has done his best to honor God with his life. He does not understand the misery, he does not understand the hardship, and from his words, he seems that he his ready to mail his life in. His friends seem to think there is some sort of sin that has brought God’s judgment upon him. They do not know what it is … in every way they have seen Job has been noble … but in their minds there is something deep and hidden that he needs to repent of.

Job has a healthy understanding of who God is. Job’s words in chapter nine paint a beautiful picture of God the creator. They also paint a picture of God the judge. Job’s friends seem to have persuaded him to believe he is guilty for something and that the pain he is suffering is because of his guilt. The story is still developing, but Job knows that God does not reason like a man does.

Job longs for an arbitrator to reason between him and God (Job 9:22-25). Friends, Job lived without and arbitrator, but we do not have to. In Jesus we have found one who will arbitrate for us. Because God is holy and we are the furthest thing from holy, we cannot be in God’s presence. But Jesus came to become our mediator, our arbitrator, to stand before God on our behalf with our sin upon him so that we can once again walk with God. Friends, I hope you are as thankful for that as I am. No matter how tough life gets here on earth, in Christ we have hope, and friends, that is comforting in times of distress!

Lessons From a Church Builder

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Do you ever feel like you are inadequate as a minister, leader, parent, spouse? To say I wasn’t feeling that way right now would be a total lie. We are in the process of adding a second service here at West Side and there is a lot needing to be discussed to make that happen. With all that has to be done, I feel like I am in over my head and no where near prepared for this. And then in one of my email thread there is a personal comment at the end.

During a time of change like this you never know what a personal comment might entail. I recently received one that was an attack on me. Those are never fun to read. But today’s wasn’t that way. Today’s was encouraging, uplifting, and really needed. The comment basically said we are very blessed to have you, what you are doing is great, please know I am there to talk, and we are excited about watching you grow. If I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed that might go straight to my head. But in the middle of what we are experiencing that was exactly what I needed to hear.

It is amazing how God sends messages right when you need it. Yesterday I had a discussion that left me asking … “Why am I doing this?” The note I received a few weeks ago did the same things. An email I received almost a year ago really beat me down. It took me weeks to even share it with my wife. But every time God sends someone to me right when I need it. He did this for me in my first ministry so many times. There were times where I just wanted to give up. There were times when I wanted to walk away. There were times when I wanted to leave school and just mow grass. But God would send people with just the right words. I am so thankful for that. If it wasn’t for those words, I don’t know if I would continue to do this.

God sent someone several months ago. During a ministers meeting we invited a minister whose church had went from overly traditional to completely contemporary. He shared in his talk about how horrible the first six or eight years were. But he stuck through it. He had broad shoulders. He took the beatings. And now, God is richly blessing his ministry and their church. Oddly enough, those were words of encouragement.

In the email I received today, the last line really struck me. The more I have read it the more talking points I see in it. I will only share one today, and possibly others in the future. She said … “God has given West Side the awesome responsibility of seeing you grow and mature into the amazing minister you will be.” I am young. I could take that multiple ways. But I acknowledge and hope I always do and that I haven’t arrived yet. That I do have a lot of growing and maturing left in me. It is my prayer that I am always teachable. It is my prayer that I am always growing. It is my prayer that I am open to God’s guiding and leading in my life. If not, then I need to walk away, hang it up, and not bear the broad shoulders needed for this job.

Photo Courtesy of andres.thor's

He Moves in Powerful Ways

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Feel free to follow along.

God offers salvation to all that call on his name. However, at the beginning this wasn’t always clear to the early Church leaders. They had grown up in a culture that was the chosen people of God. So each time God is ready to bring a new people into his kingdom he does something big. Today’s reading (Acts 8) is full of that.

We see in today’s reading God moving in three different ways to bring new people into his kingdom. The beginning of this chapter immediately follows the stoning of Steven. We have just been introduced to Saul and we learn that he is persecuting Christians from dragging them off to prison. The Christians in Jerusalem are now scared for their lives and well being, so immediately they take off into surrounding areas.

We later see Saul/Paul as one of the greatest leaders in the Christian church. I am of the opinion that Saul’s ministry began before he was a Christian. It is because of Saul and his persecution that Christians left Jerusalem It is because of his persecution that the message of the cross began to reach people other than Jews in Jerusalem. God did something big here.

We then see Samaritans coming to Christ and being baptized in Christ name. However, at their baptism Scripture tells us that they are not given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why is that? I believe it is so God can show the Apostles that the gospel message is for all. When Peter lays his hands on the Samaritans some type of observable outpouring of the Holy Spirit takes place. God is telling Peter that he accepts the despised Samaritans into his kingdom as well.

Finally we see God send Philip to the Ethiopian Eunuch. This is a man who would have been considered a complete outsider. However, this man was a follower of the Jewish ways. Philip miraculously appears to this man and shares the gospel with him. Again God is using a powerful way to show that even this Ethiopian convert to Judaism is considered a candidate for Christianity.

In the beginning God has to show his followers that there is no longer one chosen people Now the message of the Cross is for all people who will call on his name and give their lives to him. We can be thankful for that.