When did things change?

Here's something that I have always wondered and quite frankly I don't know the answer. 

Mark 7:5-8(NKJV)

5Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

6He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:      ‘This people honors Me with their lips,     But their heart is far from Me.

7    And in vain they worship Me,      Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ £

8For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—£the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

Mark 7:14-16(NKJV)

14When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 

15There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 

16If£ anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

What I've always wondered is who decides what is  a "commandment of man" and what isn't?  There are many things that are in the Bible that are no longer done.  Were those commandments of man and if so then what were they doing in the Bible?  If not then why don't we still do them?

If you look at the second highlighted part you see Jesus saying " There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man."

OK.  That goes back the whole what's in your heart issue so that makes sense and I get that.  But at the same time you had God in the OT telling the people that they couldn't eat pork and shellfish, etc.  Now you have Jesus say "Aw that doesn't matter".  So which is it?  Was God mistaken?  Did He change His mind? 

Here are a couple of other examples.  Back in the old days King David and King Solomon had multiple wives as well as concubines.   Now I have a great wife and I'm not looking for another one or anything but when did that change?  I can't find where in the Bible God all of a sudden said don't do that anymore.

In the OT the Jews were told to offer all of these different sacrifices of animals at different times and for different reasons.  Today the Jews still  celebrate the different festivals but I'm not aware of animals being sacrificed.  When did God say to stop that?

As I said above, I don't have an answer, only the question.  I think it is important that believers realize that it is normal and OK to have questions even after we are saved.  God gave us an intellect and I think He expects us to use it.  At the same time God is way smarter than we are so I don't think He is threatened by our questions. 

So how do I deal with an issue like this?  Ultimately it’s not that big of deal to me.  It is something I ponder at times but I am confident that if it is something that I really need to know the answer to here on earth then God will see that I receive that revelation when I need it.  If not then it just goes on my list of things to ask God when I get to Heaven!

Proverbs, the Ultimate Success Manual

I have always thought of Proverbs as the ultimate success manual.  There are so many great nuggets about what it takes to be successful in there.  Having just finished going through Proverb I made a point of collecting what I call Success Scriptures.  There were actually more in there but some of them got a bit repetitive. 

Let's take a look.

Proverbs 3:9-10(NKJV)

9    Honor the Lord with your possessions,      And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

10    So your barns will be filled with plenty,     And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:11-12(NKJV)

11    My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,      Nor detest His correction;

12    For whom the Lord loves He corrects,     Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 3:13-18(NKJV)

13    Happy is the man who finds wisdom,      And the man who gains understanding;

14    For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,     And her gain than fine gold.

15    She is more precious than rubies,     And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

16    Length of days is in her right hand,     In her left hand riches and honor.

17    Her ways are ways of pleasantness,     And all her paths are peace.

18    She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,     And happy are all who retain her.

Proverbs 3:27(NKJV)

27    Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,      When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

Proverbs 4:7(NKJV)

7    Wisdom is the principal thing;     Therefore get wisdom.     And in all your getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 6:10-11(NKJV)

10    A little sleep, a little slumber,     A little folding of the hands to sleep—

11    So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,     And your need like an armed man.

Proverbs 10:4-5(NKJV)

4    He who has a slack hand becomes poor,      But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5    He who gathers in summer is a wise son;     He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

Proverbs 10:9(NKJV)

9    He who walks with integrity walks securely,     But he who perverts his ways will become known.

Proverbs 10:26(NKJV)

26    As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,      So is the lazy man to those who send him.

Proverbs 11:1(NKJV)

1    Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,      But a just weight is His delight.

Proverbs 11:14(NKJV)

14    Where there is no counsel, the people fall;      But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 11:25(NKJV)

25    The generous soul will be made rich,     And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Proverbs 11:26(NKJV)

26    The people will curse him who withholds grain,     But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

Proverbs 12:1(NKJV)

1    Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,      But he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 12:11(NKJV)

11    He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread,      But he who follows frivolity is devoid of £understanding.

Proverbs 12:14(NKJV)

14    A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth,     And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

Proverbs 16:11(NKJV)

11    Honest weights and scales are the Lord’S;     All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 21:5(NKJV)

5    The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,      But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

Proverbs 22:29(NKJV)

29    Do you see a man who excels in his work?      He will stand before kings;     He will not stand before unknown men.

Proverbs 23:4(NKJV)

4    Do not overwork to be rich;      Because of your own understanding, cease!

Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)

7    For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.     “Eat and drink!” he says to you,     But his heart is not with you.

Proverbs 24:33-34(NKJV)

33    A little sleep, a little slumber,     A little folding of the hands to rest;

34    So shall your poverty come like a prowler,      And your need like an armed man.

Proverbs 26:14-15(NKJV)

14    As a door turns on its hinges,     So does the lazy man on his bed.

15    The lazy man buries his hand in the £bowl;     It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

Proverbs 27:23-24(NKJV)

23    Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,      And attend to your herds;

24    For riches are not forever,     Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

There you have it.  Great stuff.  Honor God, work hard, don't be lazy, deal fairly, plan, be diligent, pay attention to your business, excel at what you do, always be seeking new wisdom, be willing listen to correction and advice from others you respect.

That doesn't seem so hard does it?

Have a great day!

Quiet Confidence When It Doesn't Make Sense

The verse below really spoke to me today.  And once again God has taken over my keyboard.  One of the most interesting things I've noticed since starting this blog is how I will sit down thinking I'm going to write one thing and by the time I start typing, God has taken over and I am typing out something totally different. 

Here's what happened today.  On Friday I received what I felt was a bit of revelation knowledge about how I pray.  I tend to pray in generalities and shy away from specifics.  My plan was to dig into that a bit deeper and then write about it. 

Now my normal routine is to spend time in prayer, both praying and then listening, then reading my scriptures for the day, and then writing.  But sometimes I get so excited about an idea that I want to short cut the process and go straight to writing. Well today was one of those days.  Fortunately during prayer time it was like God said "Slow down kid.  You might want to think about reading the scriptures first, just in case I have other ideas".  Good plan.  And look what He brought me to.

Mark 4:35-41(NKJV)

35On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 

36Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 

37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 

38But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 

40But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How£ is it that you have no faith?” 

41And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Now we've all heard and read this one a thousand times and I'm sure that what I am about to comment on has been commented on before, but here is how it struck me today.

The disciples find themselves in a situation that if any of us found ourselves in would have probably reacted the exact same way.  I mean come on, the boat is filling up with water.  Any sane person would be freaking out a bit at this point.  But Jesus basically says "Chill, I got it under control".  

This could be referring to the storms of life.  Even in the midst of upheaval, trust in God.  He's got it under control.  If you feel that you are being guided by the Holy Spirit then go with it.  If God has revealed a vision to you, then trust in that vision, even when it doesn't make sense! 

One of the very real "of what practical use is it?" benefits of having a relationship with God is a quiet confidence, that by all outward facts may not necessarily make sense.  An old mentor of mine used to say, "The facts don't count when you have a dream!".

So if God has laid a vision on your heart, pursue it with that quiet confidence that doesn't make sense.  Trust God.  Have faith in God's vision for your life!

An Ode to Women

As I am finishing up the book of Proverbs today, one of the things that strikes me is that Proverbs can be pretty tough on women.  Especially contentious (or in todays terms  _itchy) women.  Take a look.

Proverbs 21:9(NKJV)

9    Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,      Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

Proverbs 25:24(NKJV)

24    It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,      Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

Proverbs 27:15(NKJV)

15    A continual dripping on a very rainy day      And a contentious woman are alike;

And this is just a small example.  There were several more similar to this.  That is why reading Proverbs 31 has been so refreshing.  Starting in verse 10 and going for the rest of the chapter is what I call an ode to women.  There's a lot of great stuff there although some of it doesn't apply for many people today.  Here is an example of what I mean about things that don't apply today.

Proverbs 31:14(NKJV)

14    She is like the merchant ships,     She brings her food from afar.

Now my wife brings our food from Meijer.  Sometimes she goes all the way to Sam's Club.  Does that qualify as "from afar"?

I happen to have been blessed with a really great wife and so I hope you don't mind but I'm going to highlight the verses that I think most reflect her.

Proverbs 31:10-12(NKJV)

10    Who£ can find a £virtuous wife?      For her worth is far above rubies.

11    The heart of her husband safely trusts her;     So he will have no lack of gain.

12    She does him good and not evil     All the days of her life.

Proverbs 31:20-21(NKJV)

20    She extends her hand to the poor,     Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

21    She is not afraid of snow for her household,     For all her household is clothed with scarlet.

Proverbs 31:25-31(NKJV)

25    Strength and honor are her clothing;     She shall rejoice in time to come.

26    She opens her mouth with wisdom,     And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

27    She watches over the ways of her household,     And does not eat the bread of idleness.

28    Her children rise up and call her blessed;     Her husband also, and he praises her:

29    “Many daughters have done well,     But you excel them all.”

30    Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,     But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

31    Give her of the fruit of her hands,      And let her own works praise her in the gates.

So guys, if you've been blessed with a great woman as I have, go home tonight and let her know!

God's Sense of Humor

As I've written before, I believe God has a great sense of humor and it was on display for me yesterday. 

Yesterday the title of my blog was Ever Have One of Those Days?  One of the points was to always take daily interruptions in stride.  No big deal.  My day had gotten out of wack early and I didn't get my time with God until early afternoon.  But hey, no big deal right?  Take it in stride.

Well here's God's sense of humor. 

After getting my blog posted yesterday afternoon I had a couple of things to do and then I was going to get to take a nap.  I had been working hard, had some deadlines, and had only gotten a few hours of sleep each of the past couple of nights.

One of the things I had to do before taking a nap was take a look at my van.  My wife had used it the day before and mentioned that the heater wasn't generating much heat.  Knowing that I had a 45 minute drive each way to an appointment on Thursday I figured I better take a look at it real quick.  My thoughts were either the radiator fluid was low or more probably needed a thermostat which on my van is a quick easy fix because it's right on top.  I didn't have to get dirty, heck I didn't even have to take anything else off to get at it.  Either way, quick easy fix.  No muss, no fuss, and then I get my nap.

The first thing I did was to check the radiator fluid level.  It was quite low so I thought, cool, I may really luck out and this is all that's wrong.  I go to the store and get anti-freeze.  Come home and start putting the anti-freeze in the car.  All the while, there is this little voice in the back of my head asking, "Where'd all that anti-freeze go?"  It was a puzzle because I couldn't see where any anti-freeze had been leaking on the garage floor. 

Well unfortunately I found out.  I had already poured one gallon in and was starting on the second when I heard liquid splashing on the floor of the garage.  I get down on my hands and knees to look under the van and I can see anti-freeze running down the back side of the engine and on to the floor about as fast as I'm pouring it into the radiator!

Crap!  Not only is it not going to be quick and easy, it's gonna be really dirty to fix.  I go change clothes, get the van jacked up, get under the van and find that way up on the back side of the engine in a hard to reach place (of course) there is a 3-4 inch heater hose that has burst.  Aha!  That's where all that anti-freeze  went! 

That's when I just busted up laughing.  I could just picture God up in heaven going "Dude, let's see if you really believe all that BS you just wrote!" .  "All that stuff about taking it in stride.  Plan B.  Deal with it gracefully.  How much of that do you really believe?"

Now please understand, I'm not suggesting that God is mean or anything.  My primary view of God is God the Father so I see this as a good natured little test from God the Father to see if I'm being real or not, just like we do with our kids sometimes. 

Well folks, I can promise you that what you read here is truly what I believe.  I went with the flow.  I had a smile on my face as I marveled at God's sense of humor.  I got dirty but the repair went smoothly.  I had extra heater hose hanging on the wall of my garage so I didn't even have to go to the store! 

What is the point of this story?  I don't know.  I just thought it was a good story to share to illustrate that God can be a real presence in our lives.  Not just some impersonal being out there somewhere but someone we can have a real and fun relationship with.  Get to know God.  It's fun!

Ever have one of those days?

Of course you have.  We all do.  The more important question is how do you deal with it?  Do you let it rattle you, get you all flustered and on edge, or do you go with the flow?

My son Luke and I learned to go with the flow on a trip to Europe some years ago.  Luke was playing on a travel baseball team and so we were traveling with a group of 43 13-15 year old baseball players.  We had a schedule of when to be at certain places, etc.  There were a lot of things that never ended up happening according to the schedule.  We had to resort to Plan B.  We learned to just shrug our shoulders and go Plan B, no big deal.

I've written in the past about how I try to do my Bible study in the morning, offering God the first fruits of my day, my energies, and my mental abilities.  I've long ago learned that if I start my day with God, things just seem to go better.  Now I don't mean there aren't still struggles, just that it seems easier to deal with day to day challenges when I start my day with God.

So what about those days when "stuff" just happens.  I used to feel guilty when stuff happened and I didn't get to spend my preferred time with God, and sometimes didn't get to spend any time that day with God.   I no longer feel guilty about it.  Why not?  Glad you asked.

 Here's my reasoning.  First off, I think it is a heart  issue.  Am I doing my daily reading as a "lucky charm" to ward off bad kharma, or do I truly want the interaction with God?  It's a heart issue and God can tell the difference. 

Secondly, Jesus lived on earth for 30 some years as a man so He understands "Stuff happens".  Maybe they said it differently back then "stuffeth happeneth", but I'm sure it happened to Him also.  How do I know?  Because there are many stories in the gospel of people coming to Jesus to be touched and healed at inconvenient times and He dealt with it gracefully. 

So to tie this all together, I figure that God knows my heart and knows that I truly enjoy our time together, He's not just my lucky charm.  He, through Jesus, has actually experienced "stuff happens" so He gets it.  And finally I serve a good and understanding God.  He's not sitting up in heaven waiting to play Wack A Mole on my head just because my day got a bit turned around. 

So next time your day gets a bit out of control just remember that it happened to Jesus too.  Just chill, shrug your shoulders and say Plan B. 

A New Year - A New Beginning

I don't know about you but I am really excited about this new year that we are just beginning.  It's a chance to refocus, set new goals, and get excited again about this great adventure of life.  There will be new opportunities and yes also new challenges that God will use as He guides us to fulfill the purpose He has for our lives. 

Let's talk about one of the greatest opportunities. 

Matthew 28:18-20(NKJV)

18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

19Go £therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

20teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” £Amen.

The Great Commission.  Spread the Gospel.  Make disciples of all nations.  What does the Bible say?

Matthew 9:37-38(NKJV)

37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 

38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Just how big is the potential harvest and how far do we have to go to reach the people?  That question brings me to this article.

America: Now the 3rd Largest Mission Field

Pasted from <http://www.thevoicemagazine.com/blog/breaking-news/america-now-the-3rd-largest-mission-field/>

So the answer is not far.  Our very own country is now the third largest mission field in the world.  We just need more workers.

"But I'm not good at witnessing"  "I wouldn't know what to say"  "I don't want to push my religion on others"

Here's a question?  Can you simply invite someone to church?  You don't necessarily have to have all of the answers.  It's not our job to talk people into Christ.  It's our job to extend the offer.  The rest is up to God.  That makes it easier doesn't it?

Can you invite someone to church?  Sure you can.  Have fun with it and make a difference for Christ in the coming year!