Personal Development?

Are you involved in personal development? I hope so. I sure am. Been pretty busy at it lately. Here are some of the things I am currently reading…

• The Dip by Seth Godin
• Marketplace Christianity by Robert Fraser
• The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
• The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer
• The Little Gold Book of YES!Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer
• The Gospel of John by the apostle John (New International Version)
• Various sermons by Charles Spurgeon.
• Documentation for some new Software development techniques

To say the least my mind has been exploring many things. Unfortunately all at the same time! I am developing. Not sure when I will be done. I suspect not after a lifetime. That is fine. What would I do with myself if I were perfect. Ohhh, I know, I could sit around and be a Pharisee. You know, judge others, point fingers, and blow whistles. Nice job?

Personal development is exactly where I want to be in my walk with God. Paul lists the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Since none of these are high on my list of star attributes I feel some more personal development coming on.

Do you? God bless.

You Might be an Older Brother if…You Would do What?

I came across Josh Graves’ blog and had an Older Brother moment. In his blog entry “You would do What?”, he writes that an acquaintance asked him…

“Imagine this scenario. A man walks into your office completely at the end of his rope, he’s hit rock bottom. His annual salary, before losing his job, was $250k. In a span of 30 days, this man spent over $100k on alcohol, gambling, and food. That’s one hundred thousand dollars… His wife left him and took their children. He’s lost his house, cars…everything and now lives on the streets and in shelters sorting rags for $25 a week. This guy walks into your office and tells you this information, how would you respond?”

One friend at the table replied, “I’d tell him to call someone who cares.”

Ouch, that sounds just like an Older Brother. The friend may have been just kidding; however, there is just too much truth in this response to ignore. Especially for me, I relate too well with the attitude of “you got yourself into this mess, get your own self out!”

I am reminded of the attitude of the Pharisees who got angry with Jesus every time he healed or helped someone on the Sabbath day.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Luke 13:10-17

Jesus came to show us how to treat people who are suffering, unfortunate, poor, orphaned and sick. He loved the sinner. He wants us to react differently that we would naturally. He wants me to be spiritual and love others.

Thanks Josh for making me think.

God bless

Salvation: Where to look

I suppose I could elaborate but no. This says it all. The prophet Isaiah speaks the words of God. Where do you look for Salvation?

“Gather together and come;
       assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
       Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
       who pray to gods that cannot save.

Declare what is to be, present it—
       let them take counsel together.
       Who foretold this long ago,
       who declared it from the distant past?
       Was it not I, the LORD ?
       And there is no God apart from me,
       a righteous God and a Savior;
       there is none but me.

“Turn to me and be saved,
       all you ends of the earth;
       for I am God, and there is no other.

By myself I have sworn,
       my mouth has uttered in all integrity
       a word that will not be revoked:
       Before me every knee will bow;
       by me every tongue will swear.

They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone
       are righteousness and strength.’ ”
       All who have raged against him
       will come to him and be put to shame. Isaiah 45:20-24

I know everyone wants there to be more than one god. AND theologians and Bible students waver and waffle about absolute truth. BUT the LORD does not. If these are the words of God, then he clearly and plainly says, “Turn to me and be saved,…for I am God, and there is no other.”

My mind and the world does not want it to be so simple. I enjoy my traditions, the world’s traditions and comforts. I fear I am missing something. Fear? Yes, because I am an older brother I may be too stuck to change. Having spent the entirety of my life in a certain tradition and in the safety of my personal belief system, I fear in some way I have missed the point of following this God. What Idols do I cling to? What about yours?

God bless

Professing Professor – Some Good Luke Posts

I have been a little absent. Good to be back for now. In the mean time I have found a very good blog about Luke. In fact the author of the blog Professing Professor, John Mark Hicks, is the speaker that got me very interesting in my study of Luke. I was unaware of his blog. I have enjoyed reading some of the posts this last week. I suspect you will too.

His series on Luke seems to start with this post The Gospel of Luke is Stuck in My Head #1. John Mark has some deep thoughts and some interesting insights into Luke.

I will probably read through some and post some comments for you here. However, I will endever to continue my own personal study and hope it is of some benifit to you.

God bless.

A Thankful Heart

Do you have a thankful heart? Here is a good test… Sit down and write a list of all the things you want.

My Want list

• New bike
• Some bike clothes
• Digital Camera
• New Weed Eater
• A new radio
• Some new shoes
• Big Yellow Pickup Truck
• And the list goes on….

What do you have on yours? Okay now the test.

Put a mark next to each item on the list you already have. Bike check, bike clothes – check, Camera – Check, Weed Eater – check, check, check, check, check, check.

I fail. Because, I already have everything on my list, the only difference is the word NEW.

I find it very difficult to turn my wanter off. In this country I am bombarded with things to buy, all things I need desperately.

Paul warns Timothy about the love of money.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6 :6-10

To be content. That is what I desire. Contentment with thankfulness will give me peace of mind and bring me closer to God.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7

God Bless.

You Don’t Have to be a Pharisee to Go to Heaven!

No you don’t! Believe it or not, you have to be better!

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20

This is Jesus’ words from his sermon on the mount from the book of Matthew. Jesus has been talking to the crowds about what God expects from people. The Pharisees were a perfection oriented people. They were the rule keepers, perfectionists, protectors of truth, and religious police. Everyone knew if you had a question about the law you asked a Pharisee.

The people who heard this would have been panicking about Jesus’ words. To be more righteous than those considered to be religious leaders would have seemed impossible. However, there is a condition in Jesus’ words, “until everything is accomplished.” What was that. I propose that is Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Paul explains this idea exactly in his letter to the Colossians.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:9-15

Praise God he has taken care of our sin problem! Today, instead of being perfect we are made righteous. How, by being buried with him in baptism and then raised with him through faith in the power of God.

God Bless.

Eating Words

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’” Luke 4:1-4

After Jesus was baptized he went into the desert. It would not take long for me to get hungry. I would have gone crazy thinking about food. But not Jesus. He had a clear focus on what sustained him. Not me. I am distracted by life. My focus is rarely on God. I get only fleeting moments when I know I am trusting and believing right.

When Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, he was reminding himself what his experiences here on earth were for. He was also reminding himself where his faith came from.

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.  Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. Deuteronomy 8:1-9

I think Jesus could clearly see that his physical sufferings would only last a short time. He would easily pass through them into the arms of a faithful God. We have the same hope today. The same God, same promises, same hope, and the same reward. If only I would live on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God Bless.

Fathers and Children

Zechariah is in the temple, the angel of the Lord comes and Zechariah finds out he is going to be the father of John the Baptist. The angel tells him many things, here is the end of his message…

Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16-17

Of course he includes the normal message of bring people back to the Lord; however, why the message to “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children?” To me it seems a little out of place since it is followed by turning the “disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous.” This concept seems more like what God wants from us.

Well I would be wrong because I do not always see or consider important what God thinks is important. Do you? I think older brothers really struggle with this one because we are all about our religion. Consider this from James.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Here is the stretch. Who are orphans? Children without parents. Where are the parents? Dead, gone, lost, how about BUSY! Ouch, that hurts.

I believe Jesus wants us to love our children the way he loves us. More than that, he wants us to understand how much he loves us by the way we love our children. If I am selfish, do not love my children, think of myself first, stay to busy to SEE, I will miss this opportunity to learn. The Angel was dead serious about turning the hearts(love) of fathers(men) to their children(family). It is all about religion.

God Bless, Hug a child. 

Eyewitnesses

When you want to know the truth about something who do you ask? When you are thinking about visiting a location for a holiday you want to know what it is like. You would not ask the salesman on the telephone trying to book your reservations about the location, you want to ask someone who has actually vacationed there. There is no better way to get information than to speak with an eyewitness.

The New Testament writers knew this to be true. It would be one thing if the Bible were written by historians long removed from the events of the times. However, this is not the case. Luke had access to the people who witnesses to Jesus and the events surrounding his life.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4

And, the apostle John, favored and loved by Jesus, wrote of the things he saw and touched.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4

These men wrote for three reasons (I am sure there are more.)

1. That we might know the certainty of the things we have been taught <about Jesus>
2. So that we might have fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ
3. Because they were compelled out of joy and love

I am very grateful to the men and women who refused to let the truth be hidden by the passing of time and persecution. God has provided to us a very complete, comprehensive, and compelling story of His abiding love.

Are you listening?

A Prayer Tonight

Father in Heaven,

Holy is your name. You alone are worthy of my praise.
Have mercy on me Father because my sin is always before you.
Against you have I sinned. My pride and self-righteousness are evident.
My heart is far from you because of my doubt and faithlessness.
Thank you for forgiving my sin.

Father, thank you for
My family, my children, my wife. Thank you for providing my daily needs.
Because of you I have no fear or want. You have filled my cup.
Thank you for adopting me as your child. My inheritance is beyond measure.
Thank you for your Son and his love and obedience.

Create in me a clean heart, oh God.
Let me be like you in all my ways.
Show me which way you want me to go.
Fill me with your spirit and increase my wisdom.
Help me in my unbelief.

Amen