February 1, 2014 – Proverbs 3 – Life giving words

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.

As we venture through the Psalms and Proverbs portion of our reading it will take on more of a devotional thought and less of the passage teaching of the New Testament study.

How do you view the Word of God? Do you see it as some historic book telling the story of God? This is a proper view of God’s Word, but not a complete view. Do you see it as a book for of rules and regulations that will help you get to heaven? This too is a correct but incomplete view. I think a full understanding of God’s Word is present in the first few chapters … “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” (Proverbs 3:1-2 NIV)

God’s Word does give us insight into His story, and it does teach us the life He calls us to live. But His Word is so much more. His word teaches us a healthy lifestyle. It teaches us that we are the caretakers of the earth. It teaches us much more than rules and regulation. And Solomon’s Words instruct us to internalize and live by the Word of God, words that give life and prosperity in Him. 

January 31, 2014 – Matthew 23 – It is for you to decide.

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.

What Does this Passage Say?

• Jesus isn’t going to go down without a final word. He knows that He is in the last week of His life. He knows that things are going to quickly turn. He knows that soon He will once again be back in Heaven in the presence of God himself. He knows that this tough world will soon be behind Him. But as He has done all along He has compassion on the people He came to save and knows they still have to live in a world that will be controlled by the Pharisees. He gives them seven warnings against the Pharisees and other various teachers of the Law. 

1. They are more concerned with how they look than honoring the Law of God.
2. They teach the Kingdom of Heaven, but don’t allow people to enter, and don’t even live it themselves
3. They do all they can to win people to God (a noble task) but then they burden him down with so many laws and restrictions that he cannot live joyfully in that kingdom.
4. They have put importance on the wrongs things, missing the right things when they value the material possessions over the words being uttered and the One being worshiped.
5. They worry about observance of the Law and beings strict about it but miss the heart of the Law; justice, mercy, and faithfulness
6. They look good on the outside but their inside is dirty with greed and power.
7. They look for a prophet and a messiah, but in reality they would reject him, just as they are about to reject the one true messiah.

• This all breaks Jesus heart. Jesus has come to save all of mankind. While that will be available to all, He knows that some, like the Pharisees will reject Him and completely turn on Him. 

What is this passage teaching?

• The teachers of the Law are to be respected but only when they are teaching the Law, not drumming up their own rules and regulations. Jesus won’t stand it anymore. They have been trying to trap Him and now He has laid out everything that He finds wrong and sinful about their ministry. He does leave them with hope, acceptance of Him and His kingdom. An acceptance we know that many of them will reject. 

How can I apply this passage to my life?

• Friends, as a minister it is my goal to only teach the truth of scripture. It is my goal and desire to relay and share the Word as I understand it. I may offer advice and wisdom as to the best ways to live out the gospel and life Jesus calls us to live, but I pray I will never demand it upon you. It is for you to decide to what level you will follow Jesus. It is for you to decide with what devotion and righteous living your life will resemble. If you are listening to a minster or involved in a church where the minister is demanding and requires a certain lifestyle, please be cautious. Please examine everything I say for yourself and base it upon your own knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. 

October 31 – Matthew 19 & Mark 10

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 19 & Mark 10. 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.

I do not write what I am about to write in a proud and boastful way, only as a teaching element. In 2007 I graduated college with a degree in Bible and Theology. I spent four academic years of my life studying the Bible. I was given tools and knowledge to better understand the Bible. In those four years I studied nearly every book of the Bible on some intimate detail level. Sadly to say, it was not until 2012 that I actually for the first time read the Bible cover to cover. I had read it all over different parts of my life, but never in an organized attempt to do so. With all that training, with all that study, and with all the times I have read the Bible, especially many sections of the Bible, you would think it would be hard to have a new understanding, especially over familiar passages.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Well in our reading today, I found an amazing truth nestled in the words of Jesus. A rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus goes over some basics and the man confirms that he has kept all of them. Jesus reminds him there is one wrong thing he has done … he has clung to his wordily wealth. When the man leaves sad and dejected, Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them … “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In facts, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24-25 NLT) From here Jesus disciples are perplexed and they struggle with the thought that no one can enter into God’s kingdom. Here is where I had a new revelation … “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” (Mark 10:27 NLT)

I have always read the camel in the eye of the needle story independently without the follow up. At least I have never connected them. In the first part Jesus is teaching that in reality, there is nothing that anyone can do to enter into the Kingdom of God. Rich men cannot buy it. Poor man cannot be pure enough. Religious men cannot do enough. There is nothing you and I can do to inherit the Kingdom of God. But that is where God steps in on this matter … “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God.” I do not know about you, but that tells me there is something God is up to.

As Christians we know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus will go to the cross … something He alludes to latter in the chapter … where He will pay the debt for our sins. A camel goes through the eye of a needle easier because there is nothing you and I do to inherit the Kingdom of God. It is the work of God in Jesus on the Cross.

Now I did not learn anything new in our reading today. I only saw for the first time this teaching Jesus used here in Mark 10 to illustrate it yet another time in scripture. Friends, no matter how many times you have read the Bible there is always something new and something different that you can draw from God’s Word. 

February 25 – Numbers 5-6

Today’s reading comes from Numbers 5-6. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

From time to time it is a good idea to step up your spiritual game. God seemed to think that as well. In our reading today we find God giving instructions on how to do that. In chapters 3 and 4 yesterday, (which I did not comment on, please forgive me) we find God giving instructions for the Levites to serve along with Aaron and his sons as the priestly helpers. While only Levites could serve at the Tabernacle, God did not want to limit service to him by tribe or even gender. He gave the Nazirite vowel to offer increased levels of service to all Israelites.

For a pre specified time period, I guess it was up to each person, they could dedicated themselves to increased spiritual service to God and to take their commitment and fellowship with God to a deeper level. The growth of their hair would be an indication to others of this vowel. The act of sustaining from fermented drink and the fruit of the vine was a spiritual discipline. Keeping away from dead bodies was a purity issue. We know of a few people who the Bible comments on living such a way … the most famous being Sampson. Some believe this was the lifestyle of John the Baptist in the New Testament.

The idea of stepping up your spiritual game should be something all Christians partake of from time to time. But let me caution you with this … do not try to do too much at one time. Take it in small steps so not to overwhelm and to help you become successful. In the past I had all these spiritual goals, but what I found is I wanted to accomplish too many and too much at one time. It’s a growth process. I wanted to get deeper in Bible study, in prayer, in personal worship, and various other areas. I would start off strong but then quickly fail miserably. So last year I set out to do the Bible study end of it. I succeeded. This year I am working on my prayer life. And it is going better. Learn what is going to work best for you as you strive to step up your spiritual game.

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.

The Beauty of Frustration

I am excited about the coming year at West Side. We have a lot of things in store for this coming year and so far an incredible line up of sermons planned. We began the year with Larry Holmes kicking off our series … “2011 Encountering Your Giftedness.” He used Rick Warren’s SHAPE principle to share that we all have spiritual gifts and that our shape defines how we use them. He did an awesome job.

Next week I have the privilege of preaching the first sermon on an individual gift, which is prophecy. This is one of those subjects that depending on the church you attend can have a different meaning. Because of that I am spending a ton of time in study. Last week I really began to dive into the study of this topic. I was speaking with our secretary and she said this topic had always been confusing to her. That left me with this response, “Had you asked me yesterday I would have given you an answer. Now after studying I am confused.”

Friends, that is the frustration of study. I have found several times that when I begin to do a thorough study of a topic or idea, before I figure it out, I get completely confused. It can be frustrating that what you thought you understood can be completely turned upside down by digging a little deeper. It makes you then begin to question other ideas, thoughts, and beliefs you may have formed off of your previous understanding. It can even open up new thoughts you never previously had.

While you may become confused, frustrated, and have things you once believed thrown out the window, there is beauty in that. You see that is what defines understanding of who God is and how you are to follow him. If you never study, but live your life according to what a preacher, Sunday School teacher, or some other person tells you, then you do not own your faith. You own your faith, you own your understanding because of your own thorough investigation of the evidence. You own your faith because you have come to a conclusion on your own merit, under your own understanding, based of what you have pieced together.

Having your understanding and faith challenged is a part of the process. The writer of Hebrews admonishes the reader to move from spiritual milk to meat. Friends, when we study, that is exactly what we are doing. And while it might be frustrating, there is beauty in it. Your faith, your understanding has become your own through the frustration. Owning your faith and understanding is beautiful.

The above image was used from a purchase made by the West Side Church of Christ from Vistaprint.com

Continual Success

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

Today’s reading (James 3) strikes at the heart of what drives many followers of Christ to sin. I love what James writes when he says … “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” If we are going to overcome sin, it begins by drawing near to God.

The times in my life where I have been tempted the most, or have even succumbed to the temptations, are the times in my life where I have been the most distant from God. These times tend to be when life is going really well. These are times when I feel like I do not need to be leaning on God as much as I should. When this happens, a separation between me and God begins to form. With my guard down, that is when temptation sinks in.

The times in my life where I have fought temptation and have conquered it in a blaze of glory have been the times where I am walking hand in hand with God. It is during these times that I have put my full strength in him. I have seen this verse play itself out in my own life. As I draw near to God, he draws near to me. Being close to the father makes it easier to resist Satan. When we resist Satan enough, he will leave us alone, because he does not want to waist his time. It is when we pull away from God that he snatches the opportunity to lure us back into our weakness.

So what period of life are you going through today? Are you near to God or far away? My desire in my life is to be continually drawing near to God. I have not achieved constant success, but it is getting better with each passing day.

Continued Growth

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side church. Please feel free to follow along.

Our growth in knowledge and understanding must never come to an end. That is very evident in today’s reading (Acts 15). Paul and Barnabas had been taking the message of the gospel to men and women who were Gentiles. One sign that a man was a Jew was his circumcision. Gentile men would not have been circumcised, and many Jewish-Christians believed that these men need to be. Because of this a council is called in Jerusalem to discuss it.

At this council you have the elders of the church in Jerusalem, the Apostles still left in Jerusalem, and even some converted men from the class of Pharisee. Here they discuss whether it is necessary for a Gentile man to be circumcised to follow Christ. After much discussion they conclude that it is not a requirement.

I think this account gives us great insight into the fact that our growth and knowledge of Scripture and God’s will never comes to a conclusion. Our lives are a constant evolution of learning and growing. If through the course of this year we were going to study Paul’s writing in order of composition, we would see a very evident evolution in Paul’s theology. Does his theology change, no, but he does grow deeper in his understanding.

So are you growing in your knowledge and understanding of who God is? Do you desire to grow deeper and understand him better? If not, why? What books, other than the Bible are you using to help you understand God a little better?