Nothing Is Impossible

Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

Mark 10:27 NASB

I find great comfort in this verse. I think you would all agree that we live in troubled times. Our nation is in financial crisis, we're in a global war on terror and the culture seems to reach a new low every year.

While my prayer would be that our nation would turn to God and we would see a national revival, we can start a revival at home. We can seek the Lord when we face the impossible situations in our lives. Whether it's financial, relational, unhappiness or you're just plain exhausted we have the hope it doesn't have to stay in the depressed realm.

Many of you have heard this verse for years or you may have memorized, but do you recall the context it is used? Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the difficulty of rich people making into the kingdom of God. He knows their dependence of Him will be tougher because they might not see the need because they are financially independent.

Assuming your salvation is secure can we all not use the miracles of God in our lives? Judy and I have been involved in marriage ministry for over 12 years and we have seen some pretty impossible situations. We have seen couples dealing with adultery, depression and abuse and these are all Christian couples. Did you really think you would be immune to these kind of issues when you came to Christ?

But many of these couples chose to believe in a big God that they worship on Sundays to turn their impossible situation around. They chose to believe in the promise that God can turn the bad things of life and make something good out of them. I'm still amazed when I think about where they were to where they are today. It's called testiomony. Testimony to God's goodness, His faithfulness and His grace.

Are you facing what seems like an impossible situation today? Are your ready to give up? Does it look like there is no way out? Find someone you know to be strong in the Lord and run your problem by them. You'll feel better telling someone, but you could get a new perspective on the issue. Undoubtedly, they will pray for you and over you and commit your problem to the Lord.

God still does miracles today and not just medical ones. Remember the operative word in the verse above, ALL. Let's take all our problems to Him and believe in His promises and watch what happens.

Are We Hypocrites In God's Eyes?

As I endeavor to stay actively involved in the political culture through talk radio and cable news it seems I regularly hear the word hypocrite thrown around. It is usually used about someone who comes out against something and then fails in the practice himself.

Now I don't condone someone publicly stating one thing and then doing another, but I have news that shouldn't be a big revelation. WE ARE ALL HYPOCRITES. It's called being sinners. There is a segment of society that believes if they don't publicly give an opinion or state their values then they are free from being labeled a hypocrite.

To anyone who doesn't think they're not a hypocrite ask them if they strive each day to do good, to do the best job they can, lead honest lives. Now ask them if they have failed in their attempt. They answer will be yes so does that make them a hypocrite? They said they wanted to good, but instead they did wrong.

I decided to go to Websters Dictionary and to God's Word and see how hypocrite is defined and used. Websters has two definitions. 1. a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion and 2. a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. I would say the world operates under the second definition the most. It loves to point to the Ted Haggard's and Rush Limbaugh's of the world for their failures in acting in a way that says we would be better off not offering an opinion on any moral matter lest we might fail in it.

Now when people of influence offer an opinion and even offer one strongly there is no question credibility is lost. Are they being hypocritical? Yes, but it is the credibility of the person, not the message, that is damaged so we need to leave room for repentance and strive to do better the next time with the Lord's help.

What does the Lord say about being a hypocrite? Jesus makes several references when He makes an emphatic point." "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Matthew 7:5. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers ; therefore you will receive greater condemnation." Matthew 23:14

These verses go on and on and you can see in the Word that Jesus is usually talking to the scribes and Pharisees. The Greek word for hypocrite in its context is hupokrites and one of its meaning is an actor or stage player. People acting in dramas would wear masks to cover themselves to not show their true self.

This is the definition we need to be more careful not to be falling into. Are we acting all Godly on Sundays raising hands to worship Him and then dishonoring Him Monday through Saturday by the way we live out our lives. Being a Godly hypocrite is showing yourself to be more public than private. Do we publicly pray for the culture to get better and then privately view internet porn? Do we need accolades when we do ministry or are we happy to know that God knows?

We all know we fall short of God's glorious standard, but when we mess up confess up and be quick to note if others know your sin that we're not trying to change the rules or the standards. Don't fall into the trap that says, "Everyone is doing it" or "Nobody's perfect." We have a standard to follow so let's keep striving for it and not look to lower the bar or our expectations. The Lord will honor our efforts.

Amen!!

Repent

That is why the Lord says,“Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.

Joel 2:12-14a NLT

If you've noticed my verses in recent weeks they all have come from the Old Testament. My Daily Walk Bible has me going through the minor prophets and I just love it. The Old Testament is so often ignored except for the Psalms and Proverbs and maybe some old Bible stories about Moses and Daniel.

I think the criticism of the Old Testament is that God is always angry and it's full of His judgment. People love the New Testament because it's full of God's grace and His love and His mercy. If you have been avoiding the Old Testament because you think there isn't any application today or it's just made up of old stories think again.

The verse above is from the minor prophet, Joel and he preaches a message that I love. It was necessary in his day and it sure is necessary today. Repent. The people of Israel and Judah had this wonderful habit of loving God when things were good, then ignore Him, a prophet would come and preach repentance, but often the people would ignore him and then punishment or consequence would follow.

As long as there is sin there will be a need for repentance and today is no different. The sin maybe different than 5000 years ago, but the need for forgiveness is not. The difference is we have a Saviour and the Israelites could only hope and wait for him. His name is Jesus and because of his obedience we can run to God and not hide from Him. He will forgive our trespasses, but we need to confess to Him before we can receive His forgiveness.

No matter which prophet is preaching repentance, you will almost always see a reminder of God's compassion and mercy. He is not sitting up in heaven waving His finger at us saying, "Mark blew it again. He's run out of chances with me. There is no chance of him getting into my Heaven." Thankfully the Lord forgives me and you over and over and over. I do know the Lord would like us to get it and not keep repeating our mistakes so we don't continue in the same consequences.

My favorite part of the passage is the end. Did you catch it? If we repent of our sin or sins, perhaps instead of a curse we might get a blessing instead. What a turn of events. Where we might deserve punishment instead we might get a reward instead. I think that goes against any parenting book we might read. "Child breaks rules, buy him a toy and then take him to McDonalds."

Is there anything in your life you need to repent or change course of? You know you can't hide it from God anyway. I can tell you first hand that if you're not sure if you're in any sin, then ask God and He will reveal it. He pointed that out recently to me in my marriage that I wasn't doing the things I was called to as a husband. God said, "You asked and so here it is." I confessed it and we dealt with it and moved forward.

You too can move forward and receive His blessings. Praise God!!

Is It Okay To Discrimate?

dis·crim·i·nate
Pronunciation:
\dis-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt\

1 a: to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of b: distinguish , differentiate
2: to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences ; especially : to distinguish from another like object
1 a: to make a distinction b: to use good judgment
2: to make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit

I don't know why it is when I have a thought and I think it's profound and then it's affirmed somewhere else I get so excited. This happened this past week while reading the book, Vintage Jesus, by Mark Driscoll. Driscoll is a pastor of a church in the Seattle area and a friend recently turned me on to him. I link to his blog in my favorites.

I have often said that will all the talk about discrimination and how bad it is that we all discriminate in some form every day. Now granted, we mostly hear about discrimination when it comes to race and I'm not condoning that, but Driscoll in his book says that discrimination in and of itself is not such a bad thing, but often it becomes sinfully applied. His reference is to John 14:6 where Jesus says, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Part of the definition of discriminate is discernment or good judgment. We need to discriminate every day. A few questions to ponder. If a stranger was to come to your door and ask to come in would you let him? When you have a dinner party do you make sure your guest list is perfectly balanced by gender and race? If your 15-year-old daughter had a date pull up in a Porsche convertible would you let her go out with him?

The answer to these questions is probably no. Does that mean you're discriminating against people that drive nice cars and you hate strangers? Again, no because you are using good judgment and safety issues could be involved.

Here's where my view is probably a lot different than the world's. I believe God's clear distinction in the human race is that He has made us male and female. While there may be different cultural distinctions between races and sexual orientations, I see the gender difference as being clear.

Though men and women are both loved equally by Him, we are not the same. After 21 years of marriage and living with a teenage daughter, I know full well men and women don't speak the same, we don't think the same and we don't act the same. Neither is better than the other, just different.

My wife recently came back from a conference at the Honda Center called, "Women of Faith." There was probably 15,000 women in attendance because it was an event geared towards women. Were they discriminating, male-hating women because they didn't invite men? No, because it was geared for the target audience of women just as Promise Keepers is geared towards men. Now if these conferences didn't allow hispanic or African-Americans that would be a different story.

I sometimes play golf with a friend at local club that is for men only. This is a little tougher? Is this discrimination? I still say no, although a club that I couldn't bring my wife to play would not be one that I would want to join. Now a golf club is a business and I would fully support if someone wanted to open a golf club for women only.

My point here is we all need to show good judgment and discriminate in our choices and selections. We need to be careful in how we make them and that they are not based on any pre-conceived notion or stereotype. I believe safety is always a concern and we know we have to answer to the Lord for our judgements.

What about God and Christians? We always hear that we're narrow-minded and discriminating because we believe Jesus is the only way to God. When it comes to answering our critics a proper response would be that since God allows us to pick and choose who we hang out with and invite into our homes why can He not have the same luxury?

When our doorbell rings we don't usually let someone in who doesn't know the owner. It's our house and don't we make the rules? I think anything less for God in deciding who comes into heaven is a little selfish on our parts. But hear is the kicker that shows that God is anything, but discriminating.

He sends his invitation to come into His home to everyone. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, black, white or Hispanic, marital status or if your gay or straight. If we acknowledge the Owner of the Kingdom and repent of our sins we can all come in and join the celebration. I don't think that would fly in our homes if someone came to the door and said they knew who you were and really liked you and would you let them in now?

May we all discriminate with the proper discernment and remember that God is more inclusive that any organization or club could ever be. He loves everyone and He wants us all to know His Son, the One that will bring us all into His glorious presence.

The Bottom Line

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.Psalm 62:11-12 NIV

One of the many beauties of God's word is that when you hear a verse and it speaks to you it makes you want to pass it on. This is the case from the verse above. I heard this at the end of a Bible study taught by Beth Moore and the verses jumped out at me.

If you're like me at all you can be in a meeting or a long conversation with someone and you reach a point that you want it to end. And to clarify things you ask, "What's the bottom line in all this? What's my takeaway from our meeting?"

David, the writer of the psalm, had one of those moments. God's so powerful that He spoke one thing and David heard two. When it comes to the big God we serve it is so easy to get up in the questions. "God, why does this happen to this person when you should punish that person instead? God, I'm confused and you're word seems so complicated. God, why does my life seem to be such a struggle?"

David summarizes it by reminding us that our God is strong, He's loving and He rewards us for what we do. Jesus did the same thing for us when He brought the Bible down to the nitty gritty by telling us that we should "Love God and love others." Walking with Jesus and walking with others should not be that tough.

As we face tough situations and difficult people we can know that we have a powerful God on our side and that He loves us and those around us. If we make the right decision God will reward us or correct us if we don't. The rewards might come later, but often the corrections come sooner.

My bottom line for today. Do you get overwhelmed walking the Christian life? Do you get caught up too much in doctrine and miss what God wants to do in and through you? Do you fill yourself with a lot of head knowledge and forget the application?

Find a truth about God you need to hold tight to and may that be your takeaway today. That's all for now.

Roseville Couple Alters Marriage License

Judy and I love to talk politics. We love to go back and forth about the issues, the people involved in the campaigns, the cable news commentators. Sometimes, we have to scale back from the tv coverage and just switch to to home improvement shows instead. We also have many friends that tell us they hate to talk politics so they barely know it's an election year.

This year is not one of those years that we can afford to "sit this one out." Besides the all-important presidential election we have another one of those California Propositions to vote on that's about as big as it get for us. It's Proposition 8 and it's called the Marriage Amendment. It's simple, about 14 words, stating that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Can you believe that it's come to this? A union that was ordained by God in the garden between Adam and Eve has come down to a vote that must pass or we'll see another chip away at the family that we have know for, well, forever. I have an example of some people who know this firsthand and have found out the hard way that our society is changing and not for the better.

Judy has a friend who lives in Sacramento and she has a son who got married at the end of August. When the marriage license was filled out it listed Party A and Party B where it's always been groom and bride. So the groom filled in his info in the party A section, but he hand wrote in groom crossing out the party A and he crossed out party B and wrote bride where his fiancee filled in her info.

They went ahead and got married. The bride's dad is a pastor and married them, but in the last week they were notified by the state that since they altered the application there license is invalid and they are not legally married in the eyes of the state. This means she can't change her name yet or join his benefits on a health plan as his wife. Now in God's eyes they are married, but nonetheless, they still have this hurdle.

Their story has made the news in Northern California and it's in the video above. I've posted my first you tube video. Woo hoo!!!

I'm not sure the route they're going to take, but the point is this is what its come down to. Everything that we have considered normal and have taken for granted as God-ordained or common sense is being thrown out the window and we now have to fight for.

For our friends who don't like to talk politcs, its becoming a lot less about politics and lot more about righteousness. We can't afford not to be kept abreast of what's going on in Washington and Sacramento. Talking politics in a way is more like defending our faith and what we hold to be truth. God's truth.

If you're at all like me, you have to be frustrated. We vote on these "big" proposition issues when they come our way and then a few months later a judge overturns the "will of the people" and claims it's "unconstitutional." It's discouraging, but we can't give up. God calls us to not run from our culture, but rather engage it and make a difference.

We can't sit out November 4 and do nothing. We need to vote again and again for marriage the way God has laid it out. Be ready to defend your position if asked by a neighbor or a work associate and pray that God will stir in the hearts of those sitting on the fence.

Time With The Lord, It's Worth The Effort

"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

Hosea 6:3 NLT

I am such a softy for verses like this one. When I think about the fact that the creator of the universe and all its galaxies, the One who has put the oceans and mountains and trees and plants and animals in place wants to know little ole me. It's almost more than I can bear. I am that much in awe.

But doesn't God already know me if He created me? Yea, and while nothing we do surprises Him it still gives Him great comfort and great joy when we make time to get to know Him. Just think of our own children. If we have spent anytime with them as they've grown up we feel pretty comfortable that we know how they operate, how they think and feel.

I don't know how many times I'll ask my son Taylor if I pick him up from school, "How was your day? Fine," he'll reply. Sure I would like more and later on I know he'll talk my ear off and ask me about what' going on at work or what his mom and I are doing and it brings me such pleasure to interract with him.

Now I write this as we're now in the second week of school and I don't know if it's an end of summer thing, but I'm finding it hard to get going in the morning and I'm a morning person to begin with. I've had to pray a little more earnestly that the Lord would strengthen me as it's my desire to spend time with Him before I start my day. I'm thankful for the answer today as my coffee is working well at this early hour.

So how is your transition from summer to fall going? Do you now have to make adjustments to your quiet time because this "school thing" has started up again? Have you made those changes yet or have you put God on the backburner? Ask the Lord to meet with you today or tomorrow and as we get the daily planners and blackberries filled for the fall season make an appointment to spend with Jesus.

As sure as the desert goes from extreme heat to manageable, the Lord will respond to us. And how do we know that? It's in His Word. Can I get an amen for that?

Compassion Needed Everywhere

I had the opportunity to be home on Labor Day and I was astonished as I watched the coverage of Hurricane Gustav on the cable news channels. It was though the reporters were salivating at the prospect of this storm hitting the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans. There was such anticipation coming from them like Christmas had come early.

Now, why would this be? The obvious answer was the chance to see what the federal government's response would be three years after Katrina. Side note thought that came to me the other day: Do you realize that we personalize a hurricane more than babies in the womb by nature of naming these storms? You mention Katrina and everyone what you're talking about like it's a person, but the unborn is so often relegated to fetus status. Just a thought.

As I was watching all these people evacuating New Orleans I couldn't help but think about the flooding that took place in Texas earlier this year or the fires we had this year and last in California. I don't recall the outpouring of concern from the media about the loss of these people's homes.

Let's face it. If a person loses his home to fire, flood or earthquake it becomes that person's Katrina. A home lost to someone in San Diego is as devasting to someone in New Orleans. I'm ashamed to say that this country has now gone political correctness in the arena of weather. The Bible is very clear that we are to have compassion for everyone. Not just those of certain races or political parties or financial postion.

The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church. "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

I'm not against helping those in New Orleans, but God is calling us to be compassionate to all people. If we see someone in need and He calls us to help them, then help them. Our ability to comfort others comes from the Lord. The verse above says He is the source of all comfort. We are just fortunate to be a tool or instrument to be used in the process. Praise God for the opportunity!

I love this verse because it says we are not just to be consumers of compassion. God sends people our way when we need and He expects us to show compassion to others when the opportunity presents itself. Call it a "pay it forward" kind of thing. Now that doesn't mean that the person we show compassion to will necessarily be the one who comforts us later. That would trap us into thinking we're doing good deeds with a catch. May that not be our though.

We should always look to others that God puts in our path or our hearts to lend a hand. So the next time you see a family that's house is burned down or is carried away in a mudslide let's be empathetic and compassionate to their situation. Who knows, we never know when we'll need a hand ourselves.

Minimum Requirement

And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple.

Ezekiel 43:12 NLT

I love reading the Old Testament. I don't find it to be just a bunch of old stories with strange people and prophets that said and did weird things. It's not just a part of the Bible that shows God's wrath and the New Testament is His grace.

I love to find the application from every book of the major prophets to even the minor ones like Obadiah and Nahum. The passage from above is taken from Ezekiel, a major prophet, who was given many visions of things to come and the one above is a blueprint of the future temple.

When I see the word temple I don't think of the place Jewish people go for worship. I think of Paul telling the Corinithians that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to treat it as such and honor God with how we live.

The Lord was telling Ezekiel that holiness was the minimum requirement to be a part of his temple. From the building itself to the priests who ministered there to the people who came to offer their worship and sacrifices, it was all to be set apart for God.

What about us? Can we strive to make our lives from the words we use to the shows and movies we watch to the food and drink we consume to the way we treat people be done in complete holiness? Can we treat our bodies or the bodies of the people in our sphere of influence as though we were doing it unto the Lord?

I pray that we would all set our sights and our standards at the highest possible level. May we all look to not take the easy road to skate by or do just enough. Instead of using the old slogan, "What Would Jesus Do?" how about asking "Would God Approve or Would He Be Pleased?" This can be applied to our relationships, our conversations, our tv viewing and our internet surfing.

We live in such a secular society that is learning that "Big Brother" is watching now and it comes in the form of cell phone videos and You Tube and it's really coming to bite people in the rear. I see this an opportunity from the Lord for our public life to start to line up with our private life.

May we all welcome the intrusion. Or cause us to look inward to change.