upward & inward

As we prepared for baptism last Sunday, I had the privilege of talking with folks about how they came to Christ - how they experienced the Good News that only He has to offer us.  What great encouragement!  These stories remind me of how desperately we need Jesus - every day - and how thankful I am for the grace of God. I found helpful a few Scriptures that bear memorization regarding the Good News of Jesus Christ. Here they are: All have sinned Romans 3:23 Isaiah 53:6 Sin has a penalty Romans 6:23 Hebrews 9:27 Christ paid the penalty Romans 5:8 1 Peter 3:18 Must receive Christ John 1:12-13 Revelation 3:20 Salvation not by works Ephesians 2:8-9 Titus 3:5 Assurance of Salvation 1 John 5:13 John 5:24 Take some time today and prayerfully meditate on what God offers a dying world. And, if you haven't received Christ in your life, today could be the day! (NOTE: One of the blessings (and challenges) I've ha...

Still struggling with an inner ear issue, I have experienced vertigo three times in the last 6 months. The most recent, just this past Sunday.  Previously, others tried to describe this phenomena to me, but I really didn't understand until I went through it myself.  I've come to the conclusion that I wouldn't wish it on anyone. When I experience vertigo, n o matter how hard I try to "push through", I can't stop the room - the world - from spinning. Up is down, down is up, and all sides turn into themselves.   Someone else has to help me.   Depending on how bad it is, I need help to stand or to walk.  I typically require medical attention.  Simply put, I can't solve the problem on my own. Spiritual Vertigo is something similar.  It can describe a situation when what we formerly believed, and even experienced, is challenged somehow and we're left wondering, "what exactly do we believe?" One moment we're sure of what we believe, ...

Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" John 1:38a One of the most important questions we can answer as Christ's disciples is the one He asked His first disciples, "What do you want?" Have you ever thought about the question? Have you ever thought about your answer? Responding spiritually, we might answer that we want heaven. Or, to bear spiritual fruit like peace, joy, or self-control! But if pressed, we might answer that we just want our kids to get along or for the ability to have children.  Or, for our bosses to lighten up a little and extend some grace - maybe even a job that pays the bills.  Or, for a loving wife or husband. Or, to have a friend that will love us no matter what.  Or, for a loved one to be healed from cancer or another debilitating (or fatal) disease. All of these answers, if honest, are real and Christ knows them already for He knows our hearts . So, how did His disciples answer the questio...

As I read the following devotional this morning, I was reminded (again!) of the importance of remaining connected to the vine of God through prayer, the feeding upon Scripture, fellowship, and corporate worship. Although I know intimately the benefits of doing so , the most difficult to accomplish consistently is the first two.  I hope that this devotional written long ago helps you today as it has helped me. All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself. "You renew the face of the ground," was the psalmist's utterance. (Ps. 104:30) Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap freshly drawn from the earth. Neither can man's life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the body by the ...

After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. Judges 2:10-13 As I understand it, there are three primary duties of a United States citizen: Somehow serve the country, state, county, and/or city in which you live Vote in elections Serve on a jury This week, I had the opportunity to serve as a potential jury member. As with any government led activity, it was slow and tedious - and, I was glad to have followed the advice of my wife and brought something to read as I waited. While I was not seated as a juror, I did experience the jury selection process and learne...

In the psalm of the shepherd, Psalm 23, David writes that the LORD leads him down paths of righteousness for the sake of the LORD's Name, "He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name ’s sake ." This is not a request as much as it is a statement. God leads David (and all His children) in paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name. This was one of those "Ah-Ha!" moments where I was again reminded that it isn't all about us. In fact, it is rarely all about me or you. This statement demonstrates that it is, and always has been, about God. He leads us on paths of righteousness so that His Name will be honored, glorified, and given praise. The secondary result is that we are guided to live lives that are honorable, praiseworthy, and the best paths we can take for our eternity. Jesus alludes to it in Matthew 5:20 when, in His Sermon on the Mount, he says, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds...

How do you read the Bible? I know, left-to-right, top-to-bottom, page by page. Ha-ha. No, seriously. How we perceive any source of information dramatically shapes how we receive the information. For example, if I'm reading a tabloid magazine or one of those forwarded internet stories, I'm going to question the truth of the story until I have confirmation from a separate source (another publication or a place like www.snopes.com ). On the other hand, if I have grown to trust a newspaper and/or magazine or author, I may believe the story a little more readily before I look for outside confirmation. Get it? So, how do you read the Bible? I hope this description of an approach I've come to might help you provide your own answer. First, I believe that the Bible is true. Therefore, when I study the Bible, I open my eyes, ears, and mind to the Bible giving it every measure of the “benefit of the doubt.” If there is something that seems amiss, then my first a...

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God. The B-I-B-L-E. Today, I'm confessing my love for God's Word to a group of 3rd and 4th graders. While they'll probably look at me like I grew a third eye right in the middle of my forehead, I don't care. God has sent His Spirit, to use His Word, to form me (and them) into the likeness of His Son. What's not to like about that? "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word...I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:9,11 "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." 2 Tim. 3:16 "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8

I've got many Bibles in my house. My primary one pictured here is marked up and worn. It feels good to hold it and to read it. Better yet, it feels right . I even like the smell of its pages. God's Word is holy, active, real, accurate, and relevant. It is both a window and a mirror. And, no one is wanting to arrest or execute me because I own a Bible. Not so in North Korea. Read this article and consider the blessing we have to have and to study God's Word openly and in freedom.

The Bible says:  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.  Psalm 145:3 A.W. Tozer writes: The dictionary says that to admire is "to regard with wondering esteem accompanied by pleasure and delight; to look at or upon with an elevated feeling of pleasure." According to this definition, God has few admirers among Christians today. Many are they who are grateful for His goodness in providing salvation. At Thanksgiving time the churches ring with songs of gratitude that "all is safely gathered in." Testimony meetings are mostly devoted to recitations of incidents where someone got into trouble and got out again in answer to prayer. To decry this would be uncharitable and unscriptural, for there is much of the same thing in the Book of Psalms. It is good and right to render unto God thanksgiving for all His mercies to us. But God's admirers, where are they? The simple truth is that worship is elementary until it begins to...

I'm reading an older book, "America's Christian History: The Untold Story" by Gary DeMar. The book is well documented and aggregates historical records, quotes, and commentary to make a pretty solid case for the assertion that: A) most if not all states in the union were developed upon commonly understood biblical principles, B) the federal government, being a collection of these biblically based states, also reflected a reliance on God and His Scriptures. C) though a relatively recent development, the courts, text books, and media have effectively whitewashed over historical truth so that most U.S. citizens are under the delusion that God had nothing to do with the founding of this country. Here are some facts I found interesting: Words of Jefferson (3rd President) upon his memorial: God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? In deed I tremble for my coun...

From the previous 3 Digging Deeper postings we now have: * The selected text (Acts 1) * 16 Content items * An outline of 2 summarized text divisions From these, we get to create a subject sentence and a lesson aim. Subject sentence. Keeping it simple, a Subject Sentence is a complete sentence of 10 words or less whereby a reader/listener with moderate Bible knowledge will have a reasonable idea where in the Bible the text can be found. I usually mix the content summary divisions together in order to produce the subject sentence. In this example, for this text I wrote the following subject sentenct: Jesus gives last instructions and apostles choose Judas’ replacement. So, why bother? This forces us to think critically about where we are studying in the Bible and to be succinct in our descriptions. If someone asks what the lesson is about, the answer can be short, sweet, and to the point. The aim of the lesson. If you are teaching (even if it's just yourself), the aim of the lesson...

From the previous installment of this Digging Deeper series, we have 16 content items to work with from our selected scripture found in Acts 1:1-26 . The next step is to separate the 16 content items into 2-4 meaningful sections. Why do this? Helps us develop the lessons, truths, and applications with more clarity Forces us to again think through the Scriptures with a bit more rigor If we use this for teaching or leading a discussion, then we can arrange the lessons in manageable chunks. How do we describe the sections? Using as short a sentence as we can, simply summarize the story or events of the section. It's that simple. Don't get hung up on perfection. Effectiveness is sufficient. Here is how I divided the 26 verses into 2 sections: Jesus gives instructions to His disciples and is then taken up before their eyes (v1-11) Matthias is chosen by lots to replace Judas the betrayer (v12-26) Next step: The Subject Sentence and overall Aim of the lesson.

After the first step of defining the scriptures for study , the next step to digging deeper is to develop a list of content items. Here are the attributes of content items: Content items boil down the Scriptures to pure facts Must be personally meaningful to the studier No more than 20 total Try to keep the content item brief to one line - abbreviations are okay, as long as you know what they mean. Content items can cover a part of a verse or multiple verses or chapters In our example, Acts 1:1-26 , I have developed 16 items: Author refers to former book about Jesus’ works, teachings, and instructions (v1-2) After Christ’s suffering, He showed Himself to many and continued teaching (v3) Once while eating: ‘don’t leave Jerusalem; wait for gift of Holy Spirit’s baptism (v4-5) Apostles asked: are you going to restore kingdom to Jerusalem? (v6) Not 4 u 2 know; rcv pwr fm Spirit, witness in Jerusalem, Judea/Samaria, ends of earth (v7-8) Jesus taken up before their eyes and they stared at Hi...

I mentioned previously that I was going to share a Bible Study approach that I had been taught. This approach, which I had always called "homiletics" (with the result called a "homiletic"), has for years helped me prepare for preaching, leading discussions, teaching classes, and even generating a list of questions for others to review before discussions in a group setting. However, as I looked at the origins of the word, homiletics seems to be focused primarily on preparation for the delivery of a sermon (also called a homily). When viewed this way, I believe this limits the approach to just preaching as opposed to the benefits of personal application. So, as yet unnamed, I will attempt to describe this Bible Study approach simply as a way to dig deeper into the Bible in order to uncover lessons and truths before (finally) applying them in our everyday lives. To begin, we identify the scriptures we are going to study. This can be an entire book of the Bible or just ...

A buddy of mine asked in our weekly conversation for suggestions on how to be more faithful about Bible Study. For me, I told him, I tend to stay in the Bible better when I know I'll be discussing it with someone who has an expectation that I'm prepared to discuss it with him/her/them. This led to the discussion about adding a discussion point to our weekly conversations: 2 truths and an application. What is/are "2 truths and an application?" This isn't as simple as it looks. However, its simplicity lies in the expectation and focus with regard to Bible Study. While I believe strongly that the Bible is as relevant and accessible as the local newspaper, devoted Christ followers have a responsibility to look deeper to uncover the Spirit-led revelations we each need to grow "in Christ." The complexity remains in the manner in which the revelations of truth and application of them are (or aren't) accomplished. So, over the next week or two, I'll try...

Yo!

sig·nif·i·cant ADJECTIVE: 1. Having or expressing a meaning; meaningful. 2. Having or expressing a covert meaning; suggestive: a significant glance. 3. Having or likely to have a major effect; What makes you and I significant? It's so easy to "feel" insignificant. Perhaps, you're suddenly alone. There is no one present to encourage you. Or, if you've just made an unwise decision that affects those you love - and you're dealing with the shame and guilt of that decision. Or, no matter God's blessing or how good things really are, you just "feel" that way - insignificant . Please recognize that even a cursory read of the Bible reveals that our "feelings", although important, take a backseat to the truth of who God is and what He has done (and still does) with regard to how He feels about you and me. There are so many stories in the Bible where people endure hurt, shame, persecution, and even death - yet recognize their significance to God....

We're going to try for Wednesday night at the church. Hopefully, this change will accommodate more schedules. We'll be studying week 6 questions in Acts (which are on the right hand side of the blog).