We took a day off from studying Revelation yesterday.  I did look again at verses 1-4 in chapter one.  Love the prologue! 

This Sunday I begin a mini-series (2 weeks) on the top 10 things to commit to for 2012.  This Sunday we are looking at just 5 of those.  They are:

1.  Read through the entire Bible
2.  Memorize new scriptures
3.  Become a member of our church
4.  Help 1 person become a follower of Jesus
5.  Invest your life in somone else's

I think these are some great things to commit to for the New Year!  For the first one, (read through the entire Bible) Olivet Nazarene University was gracious to give me 200 Bible reading plans that tuck nicely into a Bible.  Thanks Olivet!  We will pass these out to whoever would like to commit to reading through the Bible this coming year and wants a reading plan.  They are nice reading plans and mix things up a little so you aren't doing just a straight read through. 

I'll be back back next week with more thoughts on Revelation. 

Revelation Study

Back to Revelation 1 again this morning with a good friend.  This book is certainly an amazing book and offers me a fresh vision of Jesus.  

Why does that matter? 

Because we need vision to drive us to live like Him.  Keeping a vision before, and in, one’s mind can drive the transformation process.  It’s what drives a person to run, run, and run for running a race.  Want to get in shape?  Set before yourself a vision of what your life and your body could look like in shape.  Want to become a great quarterback?  Watch last season’s Colts games when Peyton Manning was playing ;-).    Vision drives us.  Of course the Spirit does the transforming, but we certainly get to help and push the process forward to a certain degree.  

So, Revelation begins by telling us what this book is all about.  There are a couple of different ways to interpret the beginning words of this book.  

NIV 84:  ¹ The revelation of Jesus Christ

NIV 11:  ¹ The revelation from Jesus Christ

ESV:  ¹ The revelation of Jesus Christ

NLT:  ¹ This is a revelation from Jesus Christ

Obviously the words of/from are debatable to scholars and this is reflected in the different translations.  Is this a revelation of Jesus or is it from Jesus?  I’m not falling off the log for one or the other, but satisfied to say it’s both.  This book is certainly a revealing of Jesus and the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world.  It is also a revealing by Jesus.  He is the revealer of God’s plan.  The incarnation teaches us that.  Jesus tells us He has come to do the Father’s will and part of that will is to reveal the Father and His plan to us. 

Someone said we should read Revelation prayerfully.  So, I close with a prayer.         

Reveal to me Your word, Father.

Reveal to me Your Son and give me a fresh vision of Him.
My heart is open to obey and respond to You. 
Give me understanding and wisdom. 

Amen.   

Studying the book of Revelation with a friend from church this morning.  Excited!  Great things in store.  Is Revelation an ignored book in your church?  Why is it that the only ones in churches talking about Revelation are the crazy ones who seem to be just concerned about the rapture and the global wars that are soon to take place?  Is this what Revelation is concerned with?    

This morning we hung out on verse 1 (really the first part of verse 1), "The revelation of/from Jesus Christ."  My reminder in this first part of Revelation is that this book is all about Jesus as the Lamb slain.  He is the central figure of the book.  The Christians in John's day needed an encouraging message.  They needed a fresh vision of God and His kingdom to keep them going and seeking Him amidst suffering and persecution.  Revelation gives them that.  It gives them/us a fresh vision of Jesus.  I'm excited and pray that God would give me a fresh vision of Jesus. 

More details to come...   

Wow, didn’t expect to be this busy.  Since beginning my adventure as a lead pastor at Northside I’ve been on the move.  I’ve had down time, but I just haven’t had a desire to write/blog anything.  Here’s a brief update:

Stepping into a lead pastor role has been great!  I’ve loved it!  I feel I’m right where God wants me.  That is a great feeling.  A lot of challenges come with moving to a new place and starting a new job.  You have to find all new places to shop and buy groceries.  Fortunately, there are plenty of great spots (easy to get to too) to grab a burger at around here.  We have a Jimmy Johns 2 mins away. 

I recently invested in Richard Foster’s new book Sanctuary of the Soul (Journey into meditative prayer) and Scot McKnight’s The King Jesus Gospel.  I’m looking to use bits and pieces of each for upcoming sermon series.  Speaking of that, I’m really enjoyed preaching on a weekly basis.  Is it challenging?  Yes.  But I feel it is helping me mature and draw closer to God.  I’ve started a series at Northside on the church.  We are using Paul’s letter Ephesians to find out what the church is.  There have been some great discoveries for me about the church.  I’m loving what I’m learning as I live with God’s Word for this study.  We have spent the past 3 weeks in chapter 1 of Ephesians and will be moving into chapter 2 in a week.  Some rich stuff here! 

Well, I hope I can get back to a more regular groove again with blogging.  Until then, it may be sporadic. 

God bless!      

Thursday Thinking will be back on schedule this Thursday.  It’s been difficult to keep up with all the changes that have recently taken place.  Until then, here’s a brief update on my life.    

It has been a while friends! There has been a lot of newness in my life these past couple of weeks. New city. New home. New friends. New responsibilities. A lot to take in. As most of you already know, I've accepted a call to lead pastor at the Elkhart Northside Church of the Nazarene. These are wonderful people and they have been so good to us in this transition.  I’m looking forward to this journey together.    

This past Sunday was my first official Sunday as lead pastor. It felt different, but also like I was right where God wanted me to be.  My first message was on Jesus changing water into wine from John 2. Do you remember that story?  Great message to preach in a denomination that takes an abstinence approach to alcohol, huh?  My thoughts were on the deeper truth John is communicating here about Jesus’ identity.  The connections John makes to the Old Testament prophecies about the coming day of God’s salvation are amazing!  That day is described as a wedding feast with an abundant amount of wine (see Isaiah 25 and Joel 3).  It just struck me as interesting and it reveals Jesus’ identity.  It answers the question, “Who is this guy?”  The day of salvation is here.  The Messiah is among us. 

My office

Here’s the place where I spent a good majority of my time at Bluffton Nazarene; my office.  I did a lot of plotting and planning in here over the years.  I also had a good number of you come and sit in here with me for conversation.  

Well, here are a couple of pics for your viewing pleasure.      

Change

A change is coming!
   

This past Tuesday I tendered my resignation to the Bluffton First Church of the Nazarene.  It was bittersweet.  The Elkhart Northside Church of the Nazarene in Elkhart, IN has extended to us the invitation to come and be their lead pastor and we have accepted it.  You can be sure that much prayer was involved in this decision.  I have been sensing the call to preach for a little over a year now.      

I have been a part of the Bluffton Nazarene family for a little over 10 years.  I have been on staff full-time for a little over 7 years.  It has been a wonderful experience.  I started as youth pastor and 4 ½ years later made the move to discipleship/sr. adult pastor.  Kind of an interesting transition of going from teens to sr. adults.  I did discover that most of the things you can do with teens you can do with sr. adults (dodgeball not being one of them!).  It has been such a fun journey and the Bluffton Church is made up of incredible people!  We have so many good friends that we have made over these years at Bluffton.  We are very excited about their future as a church.  They are a mature bunch and will handle this transition very well.  I feel towards Bluffton the very words Paul penned in his letter to the Thessalonians,

“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” 

We have shared our lives with Bluffton and it was a great joy.  I want to thank the Bluffton Nazarene Church for their kindness and love over these years.  You have a special place in my heart and will be greatly missed.  

Sermon Prep

I'm going to be preaching the next two weeks.  So, thought I would share a pic of my notes and let you see how I prepare my messages for the delivery.  I've developed a system where I use an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper folded in half with notes on both sides.  Amounts to 4 pages.  I have it formated so I can print both sides and just fold in half like a small booklet.  I can usually fit a whole sermon on the 1 sheet.  I've had a couple of messages that I had to add extra pages to, but try to just have the 1 sheet folded in half.  Most of what I say is on this sheet, but some things like illustrations are just mentioned (they take up a little less space if I just title them and don't write them out).  Anyways, here's a look:

Help With Waiting

I think I might have figured out my blogger troubles.  Anyways, had a post ready to go last week and had trouble getting it to show up.  Well, wanted to share a few things to help you cope with the waiting as you wait.  

1. Prayer

Prayer is a huge help in a time of waiting.  Each time I find myself in a time of waiting I find myself praying.  Waiting has a way of forcing you to call upon the Lord.  Those times can enhance your prayer life if you let them too.  One of the things I’ve learned about myself during times of waiting when I’m praying is that I’m not a good prayer.  I admit I have much to learn.  So, what has helped me learn and grow as a prayer?  The Psalms.  I’ve come to really enjoy praying the psalms.  Psalm 27 is a great psalm to pray.  When you pray the psalms they teach you how to pray.  Their language is rich.  As Jesus was hanging on the cross waiting to die he prayed/called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  That is a direct quote of Psalm 22.  Jesus prayed the psalms.  Jesus used the psalms as a tool of prayer while He waited.  Use the psalms as prayers.  Commit them to memory.    

2. Stay involved in ministry

We have been commissioned by Jesus to make disciples.  We have something we can be doing right now for the Lord.  I have a sister waiting to adopt a baby.  It’s a difficult time for her and her husband.  They are just waiting and hoping for a phone call.  In the meantime they are staying involved in ministry.  They are staying connected at their church and both have sa ervant’s hearts.  Many times waiting paralyzes us.  All we can do is wait and nothing else.  Have you ever felt like that?  Do you know someone in that type of situation?  I’m glad Paul didn’t allow times of waiting to paralyze him.  While Paul was in prison he wrote and gave us Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.    

3. Know the Holy Spirit is helping you

A part of the fruit of the Spirit is patience.  God knew we would need patience and find ourselves waiting.  Since this is a fruit of the Spirit it means we don’t have to produce it in our lives.  God does!

Blogger will not let me post anymore...thoughts?

Help As You Wait Upon The Lord

The Waiting Game (part 3)

What I meant to say in the last post is that God can use waiting to build character. This is just another example of how God can work good out of a bad situation.I don't think the waiting itself does this and felt I might have miscommunicated that. Sorry! Another way God uses waiting for good is…

2. As a testimony to others of hope in Him

Word Study
The word “wait” used in our psalm can mean to:

- Put hope in, Expect, To be eager, To put trust in

This word “wait” is sometimes used synonymously with the words “trust” and “hope.” To wait is to trust. To wait is to hope. An author I recently read said, “To wait for God is the ultimate expression of trust and hope.”

Example of This
The best example of someone who believed and lived this out is found in the life of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I was thinking of His temptation in the wilderness. He was fasting and Satan came to Him and tempted Him with food. He waited. After seeing that that didn’t work he tempted Him in regards to trust in God. "Throw yourself down" and God will save you. He waited. After that didn’t work he tried offering Him all the kingdoms of the world. What does Jesus do? Jesus waits and places His hope and trust in the Lord.

There was a lady I became close friends with several years ago. She has since gone to be with the Lord after losing her battle with cancer. She was a special and awesome lady! She was a great friend to many. She was so full of hope and trust in the Lord. Even to her last minutes on her deathbed she remained hopeful in the Lord. She had to wait upon the Lord and she did it with happiness and joy. Can you wait upon the Lord like that?

I was also thinking about Jesus in the garden the night before His death. Remember that story? Do you remember Him as He was anxiously waiting? He was in prayer and he was deeply disturbed, but He found strength to pray, “Not my will, but Thine.” Reminds me of the of the song:

Not my will, but Thine; not my will, but Thine;
Not my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.
May Thy Spirit divine fill this being of mine.
Not my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.

That is the testimony of someone waiting upon the Lord. Through all of this Jesus testified to trust in the Father. His disciples saw this just by His waiting upon the Lord in different situations. They learned that God is faithful and can help us in the wait.

So, reminder of 2 ways God uses waiting for good in our lives.

1. God uses waiting to build character

2. God uses waiting as a testimony to others of our hope in Him

The Waiting Game (Part 2)

Hey, it's not Thursday, but I just couldn't wait to post a blog on waiting. ;-)

Despite what you might think, or hear others say, there are good things that happen while we wait. Waiting does a couple of good things in our lives and I want to share with you one of those things to encourage you in the Lord.

First…Waiting Builds Character

David was familiar with waiting. He had to wait on God to sort out all the mishaps and confusion with his rise to kingship. Do you remember his story? A lot of tension existed between him and King Saul. There were times when David had to literally get out of dodge, leave Jerusalem, because his life was in trouble. He had Saul’s men looking for him to kill him. During that very difficult time David learned to wait upon the Lord. David also had opportunity to speed up the waiting process. David could have ended the waiting. In 1 Samuel 24 we read that David, while hidden deep within a cave, had a perfect opportunity to kill King Saul.

Read 1 Samuel 24:1-4

David chose to wait upon the Lord. The waiting process for David built character in his life. It made him a better person. David’s men saw this opportunity as a God-given moment. Remember they said,“This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” But David said to them in verse 6,“The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.”

Think of the respect David’s men gave him that day because he chose to wait upon the Lord. Would you have been able to do that?

You see I didn’t understand waiting when God first called me into ministry. I was on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic when I answered God’s call to ministry. I didn’t think waiting would be a part of that call. I guess I thought I would answer the call to ministry and have a job preaching the next day. Little did I know that it would be 6 long years before I entered the ministry fulltime. You see God needed to build character in me because I was a character. God used that time to shape and mold me into the man He wanted me to be. He's not done either. I had to wait and I like to think that something good happened because of it.

I believe David became the greatest king Israel ever had because he was described as a man, “after God’s own heart,” but he was also a man who knew how to wait upon the Lord.

I know this is a bit of a re-hash of what I said last week, but I'm stuck on it.

The Waiting Game

Psalm 27:14 reads,

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Background
The Psalms in general deal a lot with waiting. Have you caught that as you are reading them? They deal a lot with waiting. Waiting is a theme for a lot of the Psalms. More so than any other book in the Bible. In the NIV you find these verses in the Psalms that talk about waiting on the Lord:

- Psalm 5:3
- Psalm 27:14
- Psalm 33:20
- Psalm 37:7
- Psalm 37:34
- Psalm 40:1
- Psalm 38:15
- Psalm 119:66
- Psalm 130:5
- Psalm 130:6

This is the case with the ones written by David; Israel’s shepherd-king. David was familiar with waiting. He had to wait on God to sort out all the mishaps with his rise to kingship. There was a lot of tension between him and King Saul. There were times when David had to literally get out of dodge, leave Jerusalem, because his life was in trouble. He had Saul’s men looking for him to kill him.

During that very difficult time David learned to wait upon the Lord.

David also had opportunity to speed up the waiting process. David could have ended the waiting. He had a chance, while hidden deep within a cave, to kill King Saul, but he chose to wait upon the Lord.

- Would you have been able to do that?
- How do you feel about waiting upon the Lord?
- How do you handle it?

Another great morning prayer

Another great prayer from the Psalms. This one is Psalm 27 from the ESV translation.

Psalm 27
The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.

1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

5For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

6And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!

8You have said, "Seek my face."My heart says to you,
"Your face, LORD, do I seek."

9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!

10For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.

12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

13I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

Prayer for Today

A great prayer here.

Psalm 13
For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 How long, LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

Book Review: A Walk Through The Bible

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Leslie Newbigin’s little book A Walk Through The Bible. This very easy to read book is only 79 pages and can be purchased at The House Studio or other book distributors. I strongly recommend it. I was able to sit down and read through it so quickly that I didn't even have time to add it to my shelfari bookshelf.

This book basically sums up the entire message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You are swept through each book of the Bible quickly (some are just mentioned) and given the big idea of each book and how it fits into the rest of the Bible. You get to see the big picture of the Bible. Here are the 8 chapters and what books of the Bible they cover:

1. A Unique Account (Genesis)
2. Chosen By God (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
3. Judges, kings, and prophets (Joshua through 2 Chronicles)
4. Return and Renewal (Ezra through Malachi)
5. God’s Kingdom and Jesus (Gospels and Jesus’ life)
6. Sacrifice (Gospels and death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus)
7. New life, new communities (Acts through Jude)
8. Future revelation (Revelation)

Sometimes we miss the big picture because we focus in on one book or one verse. I thought this book would be excellent Sunday School/Small group material. Every Christian should know the big picture of what the Bible is all about and the story of the Israelites. Why? Because this is our story too. We have been grafted in to this God chosen people and share their history through our faith in Jesus. So, if you want an easy to read big picture of what the Bible is all about read A Walk Through The Bible.

The Great Banquet; Are You Coming?

Just to let you know that all scriptures used on this blog from this point forward unless otherwise noted come from the NIV 2011 (Which is a great revision!).

Luke 14:15-24 is an interesting passage of scripture. Here Jesus tells a parable about a man throwing a huge banquet and inviting many guests who later turn the invitation down due to other important things.

Luke 14:15
After telling those gathered around the dinner table (see 14:1 for context) to invite those to dinner who cannot pay you back, one of the guests says, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” This line allows Jesus to throw out a parable about the feast in the kingdom of God.

Luke 14:16-17
A great banquet is set and guests, it seems, have already been invited. When it comes time for the banquet the host sends out his servant to announce that the banquet is ready.

Luke 14:18-20
At the time of the banquet several of the invited guests find excuses for why they cannot come to the banquet. You could argue that these guests are somewhat wealthy by what they are buying (land and oxen). One has bought land and needs to go and see it. One has bought five yoke of oxen and needs to inspect them. Another has just gotten married. They seem like legitimate excuses, right? Some scholars have said that only the last excuse is legitimate. They say no one would buy a field without first seeing it. No one would buy oxen without first trying them out. So, what’s going on here? Do the guests not want to attend the banquet? Even the marriage excuse is still just an excuse. Marriage could only exempt you from war, not dinner parties.

Luke 14:21-24
The servant returns to tell the master what has happened with his guests. In response the master opens up his fancy dinner party to those who were not originally invited. The master says, “Go out quickly and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” After hearing that there is still more room the master sends his servant out again to the “roads” and “country lanes” to compel more guests to come. A final statement from the master closes this parable, “I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

Application
The idea behind this parable is that the salvation Jesus’ coming brings, along with the kingdom of God He is preaching, is a lot like the master who has thrown the great banquet. Isaiah himself describes God’s salvation as a great banquet when he says, “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (Is. 25:6)

Unfortunately the leaders of Israel who the banquet was prepared for and who were invited to the banquet have come up with excuses for why they cannot attend. They are going to miss out on God’s salvation because, you could say, they are too busy with life to notice the importance of what is taking place around them.

Ever find yourself guilty of that? Ever wonder what kind of things in our day and age keep us from attending the banquet? What kind of things today so preoccupy us that we miss getting involved in what God is up to? What kind of ministry opportunities at your local church are you turning down week after week because you are too busy with those things? Is it worth it to live in such a way? In the end will you eat at the feast in the kingdom of God or will you be too busy to attend?

Loving our enemies

Just curious as to what you think of Luke 6:27-36 in lieu of this week's events?

Luke 6:27-36 (TNIV)
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Any thoughts?

The Great 50 Days

Finishing a project makes you feel good! I had the responsibility this year of coming up with, writing, and designing a 50 day devotional guide for the Easter season for our local church. I love doing this kind of thing! This is where my heart is. The title, The Great 50 Days, is a name given to the period of time starting Easter Sunday lasting until Pentecost Sunday (50 Days).

This isn’t as much of a devotional book as it is a devotional guide. A devotional book would have more reading and would have taken me way longer to complete. No, this is a devotional guide to direct a person along a certain path. Each day you are asked/directed to read a scripture, to pray in a certain way, and/or fast something. We are attempting to prepare our people’s hearts and minds for Pentecost Sunday.

Well, here’s some pics of my work.