A part of prophecy (John 12)

I'm finding that the book of John isn't very systematic. It's linear only in the sense that it talks about Jesus' life and death. I'm no Bible Scholar, so i could be wrong about that. But there is so much in john that to truly appreciate it, you have to take it in small bites. It's like he writes with the shotgun affect. He wants to get everything written down so he writes about everything.

I continued reading chapter 12. I thought I would be able to finish it today, but there was just too much to think about so i decided to stop at verse 19. I read about the triumphal entry and I was fascinated by one phrase.

" At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him".

John could be talking about a number of things here, but the one thing that comes to mind is when Jesus asked them to fetch him a donkey. At the time it may have seemed like another one of Jesus wild and crazy ideas, but looking back they realized that it was prophecy. How would that make you feel knowing that you were a part of the prophecy of the coming King of Israel.

We truly do not know the consequences of our actions. We do have the power to affect peoples lives.
I have to think on this a little more.

Who are you? (John 12:1-11)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.


There is a lot of information in this short passage. A few things I knew and remember, a few things were new to me.
I know the importance of the perfume on the feet, I've learned about that and heard about it from several sermons. The two people I want to look at this morning are Judas and Lazarus.

Judas was a dishonest man. We know this from the stories about how he betrayed Jesus. We learn here that he also stole from the treasury. It's odd that he held on to the money and not Matthew the Tax collector. Of course, they probably didn't trust Matthew because he was a tax collector and tax collectors were notorious for skimming a little off the top. So they give the money to Judas. He must have seemed trustworthy on the outside in order to be placed with such a large responsibility.
On the Outside, Judas was trustworthy; on the inside he was deceptive. He had fooled all of the other disciples and people he called friends. He did this for several years. He was doing all the right things, but inside he was corrupt.
Why are people like that? What is the benefit? Who are they trying to fool?

Lazarus on the other hand was completely different. he was Jesus' friend. "Jesus wept" over his death, but He raised him from the dead and gave him new life. Many people were coming to know Jesus because of Lazarus; and what did Lazarus do to receive such notoriety? He Died? He did nothing but die. Jesus did the work by raising him from the dead. Because of what Jesus did through Lazarus, many people were believing. Before I believed in Jesus, I was dead. I was a sinner who knew no different. I'm still a sinner, but I now know that there is a savior who can and has raised me from the dead. I trust i Him to keep me alive and He loves me just like he loved Lazarus.

Who are you?

Just a couple things... (John 11)

This morning I read about the death of Lazarus. It all happened so that Jesus could show the people his power and his obedience to God the Father.
But there are a couple of other things that I noticed this morning that I never knew...
1) I saw a different side of Thomas. The disciples were afraid to go back to Judea because the last time they were there, the Pharisees threatened to have Jesus stoned. Thomas spoke up and says "Let us also go that we may die with him". Thomas did show a courageous side.
2) God still spoke to some of the pharisees and high priests, as we learned through Caiaphas. He had prophesied that Jesus would die FOR the Jewish people and that his death would even unite the jews scattered among the nations. Not even Caiaphas was able to discern what it all meant, but he was privy to the information.

I don't understand this passage, I will have to look it up to find out the historical significance..."If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation".

I'll figure it out later...

I'm sorry, what did you say? (John 10)

I have the uncanny ability ( my wife calls it a curse ) to tune everything out when I am doing something. If I am focused, Someone could be talking right beside me and I won't be able to hear them. Really, I'm not making this up. It's as though my brain can't comprehend anything else except the task that I am doing. And, it's not as though the task is burdensome that requires all of my attention. It could be something as simple as washing dishes or typing on the computer. Everything else just disappears.
I picture the Pharisees this way. They were so focused on killing Jesus, that they no longer heard what He said. Jesus was explaining to them who He was and what he came to do in this chapter, but they were stuck on the things he said days ago.
My son is like that as well. He will come up with an idae right in the middle of a conversation. He will begin to ask questions, but I will ask him to hold that thought until I am done. It could be a minute or an hour that goes by, the moment I am done, he will ask his question. Whatever I told him during that time went right by because he was so focused on what he wanted to say.
We are like that when it comes to listening to Jesus. We are so focused on what we want that we don't hear what He tries to tell us.

How can we fix that!

Take my own advice!

I don't have anything nice to say this morning. It's like I always tell my son; If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Maybe that is me today. Maybe later, I will be able to articulate the thoughts surging through my head, but not yet. I'm not even in a bad mood!! I have just been doing too much thinking lately and I would like it to stop!
It seems like lately, all of my blogs have been short and pointless...but after all, these are the things that go on in a Christians life... might as well be honest about them.
Being a Christian man is not all peaches and cream and sunshine...right!
I'm sure I'm not done with this thought yet... but it's time I did something else...
Bear with me!

He is different then the rest. (John 7)

I am glad that I have a study Bible. Sometimes, it's not always 100% accurate, as I have found out through further study into other passages, but it is accurate enough to give me a better understanding.
I continued reading chapter 7 today. At the end of the chapter, the guards were told to arrest Jesus who was teaching in the temple. They went back to the chief priests empty handed and were asked why.
The simply said " No one has ever spoken the way this man does".

He's not like the pharisees and the chief priests. He's not like others who have attempted to teach religion or philosophy. He speaks like he knows first hand. He speaks with power and authority. He speaks with love and compassion.
hmmm

Blah...(John 7)

I didn't want to tackle chapter 6. The bread of life discourse is a complicated one to swallow. I know what it means, but try explaining it to someone who doesn't believe. It's a difficult passage. Maybe someday, i will try, but not today.
I started reading chapter 7 instead. Even though the desire is there to get into the word this morning, the desire isn't there to study it (If you can understand that).
Maybe later I will get more of that desire back, but this morning... blah.

Miracles-a-plenty (John 6: 1-24)

These are 2 really great miracles here. I mentioned them a couple days ago, but I didn't know they were so close together in the book of John. First, Jesus feeds five thousand, then he walks on water. That's cool. These are the things we are used to seeing God perform. These are the kinds of things the Israelites were looking for. But then, Jesus Hits them with the next set of versus... "I AM the bread of life"
I know, He is the bread of life, I am able to see the symbolism, but think of how everyone else felt...
More tomorrow.

You won't believe me...(John 5:31-47)

Here's the scene: Jesus is in a courtroom, facing a judge who cannot be seen. The pharisees are on one side, acting as his accusers.
The bailiff calls Jesus to the front; "place your hand upon this book and repeat after me: do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth..."
As Jesus puts his hand on the book, he looks in surprise "Hey... I wrote that", he says.
"Never mind that" the bailiff responds..say the words.
Jesus repeats, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me....umm...ME"
The pharisees quickly stand up and shout " I Object. This man can't swear to himself"
The judge, from off in the distant replies, " Sustained, We are trying to find out about the allegations that you claim to be God son."
"Ok, but you're not going to believe me anyway", Jesus responds.
The pharisees mumble in discontent.
The bailiff calls John the Baptist. After 30 minutes of grueling questions, all John can do is testify to the truth. The pharisees look at John, and figure that this man must be conspiring with Jesus. How could he possibly be testifying about Jesus being the light of the world.
Jesus then calls Moses to take the stand.
The whole crowd stands to take notice of this. Moses, the one who wrote the law. Surely He can tell us who the light is. He will finally put this man in his place.
after a few seconds of waiting, one of the pharisees shouts out " is this some kind of joke. Moses can't be here. he's been dead for thousands of years"
Suddenly, Jesus recites the words that Moses wrote: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, until it comes to whom it belongs."
"Does he think that this is written about him", cries one of the pharisees.
Jesus continues. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him."
"Surely this man is crazy, these WORDS we know, but we do not know you." reply the pharisees.
"That is the problem", whispers Jesus. " You put your faith in words written on page, but you will not see the truth that is within those words. The truth which stands before you. I do not need to testify for myself. I do this for your benefit only. I have my Heavenly father to testify for me. If you would open up your eyes and see the truth, you would be saved. By the One who wrote the words. Not Moses, but Jesus.
But you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say"
And with that, Jesus exits the courtroom.

This is my view of John 5: 31-47...

Huh, part 2 (John 5:24-30)

Onward and upward, lets continue with John chapter 5...

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Hey..this part I get. If you believe in Jesus, you will be saved...thie is the message of the Bible. We will not be condemned for our sins because Jesus has forgiven us...Yah


25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.

OK, I had to go back to the Greek for this one... When Jesus is talking about the dead in this passage, He could mean one of two things. The word Dead in Greek is Nekros, which could mean physically dead, or spiritually dead. I'm going to have to go with spiritually dead because how often do the dead listen...their dead...that means their ears don't work!

26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.

Life...this isn't the life where you wake up in the morning, stretch your arms and say "man it's good to be alive". This is LIFE, the fullness of life, the God given, God devoted kind of life. This isn't the same kind of life mentioned in verse 25, it is much more.


27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.

I think I got a glimpse here... I love glimpses... lets me know that Iam on the right track. God has given Jesus the authority to judge because He is the son of man. He is also the son of God, but who better to judge than someone who has lived and experienced life!


28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.

This gets a little more confusing. Jesus is saying that all of the dead, not just spiritual, but physical, will hear the voice of God. people that have been dead for thousands of years have now turned to ash. I know it's possible for God to reform and remake all of these dead people, He's done it before in Ezekiel. Is this one of those passages that is written in a way so that our puny minds can comprehend. I believe that the dead will hear and those that respond will be saved. The ones with righteous hearts will be saved, but those with wicked hearts will be condemned.I', going to go with that because it's hard for my puny mind to comprehend!!


30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

Finally for today, Jesus says..."Trust me" I will make sure you get a fair trial.

ouch..my brain hurts

Huh...John 5; part 1

John 5 starts out great...There's an amazing story of a man who gets healed and walks away happy. He gets in trouble for carrying his mat on the sabbath, but that's beside the point. He can walk. Hooray. Jesus is awesome.
Then I hit a brick wall.
I started reading vs 19 and on and it sounded like stereo instructions.

"plug the white wire into the slot marked tab A while holding on to the green wire
with your toes...wiggle your nose to the left and shake your neighbors dog."

I will not accept defeat... I am going to have to approach this passage with a little more time and care, because I know that it is important. It has to be, it's written in RED...

Ok...1 piece at a time...here we go...in the New Living Translation...

19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.

I get this... Jesus and the Father are close. He has learned everything from the father. They are kinda intertwined with the Trinity and all...plus everything Jesus does, He has "permission" of sorts. And, healing this man is nothing compared to the other things that we will see... (feeding 5000, walking on water, coming back from the dead..those kinds of things.)


21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.

I had to do a little research here. The Jews firmly believed that God could raise people from the dead and that He was the only one (NIV study notes). To me, it sounds like a little bit of foreshadowing. Also, Jesus is saying that He has the power to raise the dead as well. Not only the power to raise the dead, but also to give eternal life...Both of those statements would have caused an uproar amongst the people who held true to the law.


22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.


Now. Jesus is telling the people that it is the son has has been given authority to judge, and people need to honor that fact...honoring GOD is one thing, but now this man is telling the people to honor him who was sent from God. These people have never seen God in the flesh. they are used to hearing stories about the burning bush, the pillar of fire, awesome sightings of God as he showed his amazing power. Now, they are being told by a man (whom I have read wasn't that physically attractive ...but who really knows that) that they are to honor him like they would honor God.
I get the feeling that when these Rabbi's and Jewish leaders were reading the scriptures, they weren't completely getting the full picture. They had in mind what was going to happen, and they weren't going to stray from it. They were stubborn, which Jesus has said to them to their faces on several occasions.

OK...that's it for now... more tomorrow!

There is no spoon. (John 4:43-54)

Have you ever watched the Matrix? There is one scene where Neo visits the Oracle. She's talking all philosophical trying her best to convince us, the audience, that she has some sort of divine power. She says to Neo;
" I have to tell you something, but I think you already know" [Oracle]
" I'm not the ONE" [Neo]
" I hate giving good people bad news. You have the gift, but it seems like you're waiting for something" [Oracle]

Neo then goes on to win the battle and save the day, learning that he is the one. He is all confused about the events that had just happened.
Morpheus comes along and says "The oracle told you exactly what you needed to hear"

What does this have to do with John 4?
In versus 43-54, Jesus meets an official whose son is dying. Jesus tells the man "Unless you people seen miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe." Jesus then goes on to say, "Go on, your son will live"
The official believed Jesus. After all, what choice did he have. Imagine the walk home though. Did his son get better? How could Jesus have healed him from miles away? If my son dies, Who am I going to blame? ...and what did Jesus mean when he said "You will never believe? He doesn't know me? His mind would have been racing the entire time.
of course, at the end of the story, The boy lives and the official and his entire household believe. Jesus told him exactly what he needed to hear.

We don't always get the full picture when Jesus is talking to us. We only get snippits of what the future holds. We get exactly what we need for the moment. I imagine that if we were to get the whole picture, we would go absolutely mad. God has so much in store for us, but we can't rush Him. He knows how much we can handle and leaves us at that. That is good.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your paths straight.

The Samaritan Woman (John 4)

So, I read John chapter 4 and I had to stop at vs 42. So far, it started out with the Samaritan woman. She was somewhat of an immoral woman. Today's language would have something else to say about her. She's had 5 husbands and isn't married to the man she's with right now. First of all... She's a woman, and men didn't talk to woman in those days unless you were married (even then who knows), and second, she's Samaritan.
Way back in the old Testament, there was a feud between Israel and Judah. They started out as one nation, but it didn't last long. Judah became Judea and Israel became Samaria. (in a nutshell). Judea always looked down on Samaria, and from reading the Bible, it seems like they made no bones about it. you get the sense that Samaritans were second class citizens. Jesus goes and breaks all of the rules by talking to a immoral Samaritan woman (with love and compassion no less). This woman shares what she has seen and heard and many other SAMARITANS believe because of her. Then they come and hear for themselves and believe even more. Jesus stays and teaches these so called enemies of Judea for 2 more days. Unheard of!
Then, the disciples, all from Judea no doubt, see Jesus talking to and teaching Samaritans. Some of the disciples (if not all at this point) thought that Jesus was going to be the warrior king come to defeat all of Judah's enemies. What they must have thought.
Jesus often stepped outside of the box that we have placed church into. He did whatever it takes to reach a lost and dying world.

What have we done?

Time to step aside. (John 3)

We measure everything we do by how successful we are. Let's face it, if we are not successful, then what are we. Successful: Accomplishing an aim or purpose; having achieved popularity, wealth or distinction.
The opposite must also be true then...not accomplishing an aim or purpose ie; failing, stumbling, making mistakes. Not having popularity, unpopular, outcast, alone...with no money, poor, destitute...and with no distinction, ordinary, no special qualities...
What end of the spectrum would you rather be on?
When Jesus came along during John chapter 3, Johns disciples were a little jealous that Jesus was getting all of the attention. John was the man for a long time before Jesus came. People were coming to him in great numbers, being baptized in the Jordan river. All of a sudden this other guy shows up, not only baptizing, but talking about Heaven. Granted, he was the GUY John had been talking about for years, the SON OF GOD; but why didn't we get a piece of the action.
Successful...John didn't measure his life by how successful he was. His purpose was simple: to point people to Jesus; to tell people that Jesus was coming; to share with others how important Jesus would be in their lives. Once Jesus came, it was time for John to step away because John wasn't the focus...It was Jesus all along.

So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Random thoughts..nothing to do with this mornings reading.

Here's a thought; what would happen if the churches worked together. I understand the reasoning behind different denominations. There are different people with different gifts and abilities. A person will go where they feel comfortable. OK, I get it; but if the church would set aside their "minor doctrinal issues" and focus on the life Of Jesus Christ ( because after all all evangelicals have that in common), there could be a great movement.
It's strange how this idea came about.
I have been doing a lot of research on children's ministry. I have noticed one thing; everyone has a different name for their ministry (club congo; faith kids, teamkid, etc etc...)they are all doing the same thing; trying to teach kids in a safe environment. Giving it a catchy name helps the kids believe they are a part of something special.
Look at the AWANA program....hugely popular and interdenominational.
Now think of the opportunities if the churches worked together with one main focus; 1 main curriculum; one common name. Sure, the individual can put their own spin on things, but they can also come together and make a huge impact. Kids can feel like they are involved in something global.
Now turn that into every program in the church...men's ministry, women's ministry, youth ministry, the list can go on.
We can worship differently, we can pray differently, we can believe in different forms of baptism...but we can come together once and awhile and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. We can come together to make a greater impact in the community around us. We can set apart out minor differences and show the world who we really are, images of Christ.
Just think of it...instead of having 30 people from your church participating... there could be 300 people from all of the churches, making an impact, building relationships; feeling like they are a part of something big.


Just a thought...

How does Jesus draw us to Himself? (John 1; Psalm 3)

I guess, after reading this passage over the last couple of days, the one part that truly sticks out is vs 43-51. I am trying to figure out what a "true Israelite" is. That's the NIV term...there is also Israelite indeed; true descendant of our ancestor Israel; Genuine son of Israel; and real Israelite. The name Israel means "one who struggles with God" . Nathanael (the true Israelite) was also found under a fig tree, a popular place for people to go when it is hot to think, pray and study. He was described as a man who does not lie, a very truthful man with no deceit. Jesus came up to him and said" I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you" and immediately Nathanael says that "you are the Son of God"
To me it sounds like 2 things...1) Nathanael was looking for the truth. Maybe something didn't sit right with the way church was going in 30 AD. He sensed there was more to it than the Rabbis and pharisees were teaching. He wanted answers and wanted the truth. 2) there was something about Jesus that Nathanael trusted right away. maybe it was how he talked, or the way he looked or acted.
Jesus draws us to himself with the way He loves us and cares for us. We can trust Him. Nathanael Trusted him, and he was a seeker of truth.
I want to be a seeker of truth!

lessons, computers, and the book of John

So, I did read yesterday...John chapter 1 and psalm 3. I had every intention of writing in the journal afterward too...but it never came to pass. Now, almost 36 hours afterward, I forgot what I read. OK, so I would have to be stupid to forget John chapter 1. It's a pivotal point in the entire Bible. But, what I mean to say is that I didn't spend enough time in this passage to do it justice. I might be here a couple of days to get all of the meat out of it. All...that's kinda funny...ok enough meat to fill me up for the time being. My computer died a couple days ago and I have been using Tina's (more about that on the website blog) but I managed to revive it (at least for a couple more days anyway. since I didn't really have much to lose, I googled "how to fix a laptop" and followed the instructions. I had pieces here and there...I unplugged this and plugged in that...put it all back together again and the stupid thing came back on again.
Well... that was today. We didn't go to church because Tina drove to Saskatoon for the weekend, so all day long I played with the computer...rebooting, formatting, praying that every time the screen flickered it wasn't going to shut down again.
As I laid in bed last night...(oh around 1:00am), I realized how fortunate I am. I'm sure it wasn't me.. it was God reminding me...(sometimes I forget). I have three wonderful children whom I love and adore, and I think for the most part, they care for me too... and I have a wife who loves me as well. I have a heavenly Father who even through all of the mistakes I make still teaches me valuable lessons. As far as I know, I'm healthy and I have a roof over my head and food in the pantry.
I really can't say much more then that...
Back to John tonight and possibly even tomorrow.

Until later...

Well. I couldn't wait. I read the rest of Acts yesterday. I always think that the last chapter is cut short. There should be a little more. But, when it's the end...it's the end. So this morning, I will start to read the book of John. I thought maybe I should get into a little more meat. I'm still going to continue to read psalms as well. I am in chapter 3 of psalms...but it's too late in the early morning to start now... I will wait until everyone goes to school before I start reading...until later!

I wish I had answers!

I continue on, reading the book of Acts. Chapter 25 and 26 this morning, I had to stop myself from reading further. It's exciting knowing that the Bible can still have that affect on me. I know what's going to happen, yet I find myself unable to put it down. Right now, I am just reading for my enjoyment. I haven't received any profound message from the Holy Spirit, but maybe that's just it. The Bible can be read for pleasure as well. That is the joy of the Lord. He makes sure we have everything we need in his word.
I know what it's like to be discontent though. The last few months have been trying for me and my family. The "not knowing" part is very hard. The other thing that has been difficult is NOT trying to take things into my own hands. I have considered just picking up everything and moving without selling the house. I mean, I will do it if I have to and leave the house up to God and the Realtor, but in my mind, I'm just thinking of going somewhere where I can find work. Of course, Rent is stupid expensive now...it's been a long time since we rented...so how are we going to afford that...and where do we go.
ohh...where's that magic eigthball when you need it...(just kidding)
You see, I know God has a plan for us...but when I see my family struggling, I want to do something about it. My Children don't have any friends, some of them are struggling in school, besides their parents, they don't have any other Christian influences in their lives...God, am I just not seeing the big picture...or can I see the big picture but not focusing on the little everyday pictures...
I wish I had answers!

Acts 24, on to Ceasarea

Wouldn't it be interesting if they made a modern movie about the story of Paul's life. I have been reading the book of acts, and I'm getting near the end. It reads like a novel and it's hard to put it down. This weekend, I managed to read chapters 17-22 and this morning I read chapter 23. I do find it interesting how the Roman guards are treating Paul. it's like he's royalty. They are doing their best to protect him because he is a Roman citizen, but they won't hesitate to beat the Jews. When they struck Paul, he informed them He was a Roman Citizen, and they immediately felt remorse. Even when the transferred him to Caesarea, he was put in Herod's palace for protection. I find it interesting anyway!

Family Camp, Sept 3-5

We just got back from family camp at the Shekinah Retreat center. It was sponsored by the Northern Lights Baptist Association. We've been attending Cavalry Baptist Church in Moose Jaw (and Scarborough Baptist Church in Prince Albert). It was nice to see friends again and talk to people that I have seen before, but have never really met. I think the main thing that I was happy about was the sense of belonging. I was comfortable because we were all like minded individuals just sitting around having a good time. I haven't felt that way in a long time. Ever since I got here in Mossbank, I have felt like I don't belong. It's hard to communicate that to people. Tina has fit in, and has even made a few friends, but for some reason, I still feel like an outsider. My life as a Christian has always revolved around church and since I can't minister or even serve in the church here, I have felt on the outs. I have been excited going to church in Moose Jaw, because I feel needed again (not that I am doing anything). But I long for ministry. I am going a little stir crazy.

Nothing! (Acts 16)

Acts 16... I got nothing today. I have read and reread this passage quite a bit over the last few months. I think the problem is that I keep looking at the historical details and not at the words of God.
i still got nothing...If I get a chance, I will try to look at it again later!

Circumcision (Acts 16 1-5)

There is nothing new in the church now that wasn't happening 2000 years ago. Let me explain. As I start to read acts16, I come across the passage right at the very beginning of the chapter; the part where Timothy gets circumcised. Poor Timothy... I imagine it's painful as a child, but as an adult! OUCH! That's not the point though. In the previous chapter, the Jewish people were demanding that the new gentile converts be circumcised, because that's how it has always been. A group of disciples took it to the church elders where there was great debate. It was then decided that circumcision wasn't necessary. After that they sent out a letter to be read to the Jews and gentiles stating they had to live a Godly life. Now Paul finds Timothy and has him circumcised because it will be better for his ministry with the Jews. (This isn't antisemitism, this is just out of the Bible...Zondervan NIV, page 1679)
But back to today's church... many of the church elders and leaders will say it's alright to do this or that...but they still expect you to do it the way they want. I'm not trying to be bitter or angry at anything; i have seen it enough it many churches to know that this is fact in most cases. C'mon people, it isn't working the way you want it too. Think differently! People are not flying to the church in droves. Open your mind to the possibilities of a new way of doing church. I don't know what that looks like yet, but when I see it, I hope I can get on board!