Haggai 1

Verse 13: Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: "I am with you," declares the Lord.

Four small words that mean so much... I am with you.

These words can be scary and comforting at the same time.

We go places in life that we should not go and do things we should not do... and God is with us there, which is scary. I'm sure, if we really think about it, we have all taken God places that we are ashamed of.

We have great moments, days when we are at our best, when we graduate or get a promotion... and God is there.

Then we have moments when life throws us a curveball and we are overcome with anxiety... and those are the times we need God the most... and God is there.

A great philosopher once said "wherever you go, there you are" ... and God is with you.

Zephaniah 3

Verse 11-12: "I will remove from you your arrogant boasters... But I will leave within you the meek and humble."

I was watching the Celebrity Apprentice a couple weeks and one of the contestants called another contestant meek. It didn't go over well, the contestant apologized and said it was a poor choice of words.

Why do we think that being called meek is a criticism when it is a quality that God admires?

I looked up the definition for the word meek:(Merriam-Webster.com)
1. enduring injury with patience and without resentment.
2. deficient in spirit or courage.
3. not violent or strong.

For the purpose of this blog I prefer definition #1. I think that is the definition that rings true to the biblical use of the word. However, I think when the word is used in America today definition #2 would be more appropriate.

Sometimes things don't go our way and stresses pile up. It's easy to lose patience and begin resenting everything that is causing us stress. It's easy to resent God, if you want a reason you don't have to look very far.

I have a friend that has been battling a very serious form of cancer for 18 months. There were many times when things got very scary and real, times when there were more questions than answers. It would have been easy to lose hope, easy to lose faith, easy to become resentful. Now, it seems that she is well on the road to recovery. I would be lying if I didn't think her recovery had something to with her attitude.

It takes strength to to be patient and to not become resentful.

It takes strength to be meek.

Zephaniah 2

Zephaniah writes that God will destroy more lands, including Moab and Ammon. In verse 10 he tells us why "This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty."

They will be destroyed because of their pride and because they insult and mock God's people.

Have you ever made fun of someone? Have you ever mocked someone? I have.

Am I proud? Do I enjoy being better than others at certain things? Yep.

Do I deserve to be wiped off the earth? Probably.

Do I deserve to be loved by God or anyone else? Probably not.

Do I show God enough gratitude for all the blessings I have? Not a chance.

Is this blog just going to be a bunch of questions? I think so.

Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah writes that God is going to destroy the world.

In verse 2 he writes "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth."

In verse 17 he writes "I will bring such distress on all people... Their blood will be poured out like dust."

Scary words, but this never happened... We are still here.

So did God bluff?

I think God, compelled by love, changed plans. Instead of sweeping everything away from the face of the earth, He came to earth to live amongst us. Instead of getting rid of us, God joined us.

Instead of pouring out our blood, Jesus poured out his blood... In place of ours.

But we still become dust. Last night we had our Ash Wednesday service and were reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Each and every person alive has one thing in common, we are all going to die. We will all be swept off the face of the earth someday.

But that's ok, because we can leave our bodies behind when leave this world... We won't need them anymore. We won't have any use for the cancers and pains that settle in these imperfect piles of skin and bones.

God will give us new life. A life free from pain and sorrow, from greed and guilt, from debt and death.

A life of joy.

We need not fear the broom when it sweeps toward us.

Jude

Verse 22: "Be merciful to those who doubt."

I was talking to a friend last week about faith. This is a friend from outside the church that I've known since before I became a pastor. I asked him why he didn't go to church. He gave the usual response, he is busy and lazy and blah blah blah...

I followed by saying "so it has nothing to do with faith, you just have better things to do on a Sunday?"

He said "Well, I have a hard time believing, and not to offend you, but I have always thought faith was for kind of weak-minded people."

I told him that he hadn't offended me and that, I believe, the only weak-minded people are those who have stopped struggling with the mysteries of the universe. I challenged him to keep struggling with it and not to give up just because he doesn't understand. Then I confessed that I don't really understand either.

And that's ok.

Faith is not something we figure out, it is something we experience. The story we tell is a hard one to believe.

- God spoke and the world appeared. (I can do that with pizza, but it takes 30 minutes)

- The Red Sea parted for Moses. (Even if the sea parted, wouldn't everyone get stuck in the mud at the bottom of the sea?)

- Jesus was born of a virgin. (Joseph isn't the only to question that.)

- Jesus died and was raised from the dead and we are all forgiven of our sins. (Talk about a productive three day weekend.)

It is a hard story to believe, so it is understandable that people have trouble believing. This text urges us to show mercy to those who doubt instead of condemning them to hell.

I believe in God because I have experienced God, mostly through the love of others. We cannot tell the story in such a way that it makes perfect sense, but we can love.

Maybe someone will meet Jesus when they met you.

Six truths about Jesus: Truth #6 - Jesus crosses cultural boundaries

In John chapter 4 Jesus talks to a woman at a well. At first glance this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it is.

She was a woman. Men were not supposed to speak to women in public. Especially a Rabbi, which is what many people considered Jesus to be.

She was a Samaritan. Samaritans were considered half-Jews and looked down upon by the "real Jews." They were Jews that had inter-married with foreigners, they were second class citizens.

She was at the well in the middle of the day, when it was hot. No one went to the well when it was hot, she was there then so that no one would see her because she had a reputation. She was adulterous, she had many husbands and was now living with someone else.

So here is Jesus, talking to a woman with a past, a woman that was a "second class" citizen, and he is offering her new life.

I have a friend that I have invited to church on a number of occasions and have gotten the same response, "if I walk through the door the place would catch on fire." No, you are the one that Jesus wants to talk to. You are the one that Jesus wants to love. You are the sheep that the shepherd has been chasing for years.

No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, Jesus wants you.

Just because Christians can be self-righteous, judgmental hypocrites doesn't mean Jesus is.

Jesus is waiting for you.

Six truths abou Jesus: Truth #5 - Jesus is not impressed with religious people

In Mark 12 Jesus said "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and they have important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely."

In Matthew 23 Jesus also said "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."

In these two verses Jesus tells the religious leaders of the day that they are a "child of hell" and that they will be "punished most severely."

There are some things that Jesus said that we can debate over whether we are to take literally or not, like when he said to put a millstone around our neck and throw oursleves in the middle of the sea... but this is pretty hard to debate. Jesus is simply not a fan of the religious people in the gospels.

Does Jesus like us?

To answer that we have to look at why Jesus didn't like the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were all about self glorification. They like sitting in places of honor and being treated with respect, being a Pharisee was a pretty good gig. They had the best education and made a good living. They wore special clothes and people really believed what they said... They had a place of power, prestige, and influence... and like most humans would do, they abused their power, but they did it in the name of God.

I'm finding more and more that being a pastor means that I get to sit in some honorable places. Last week I attended a luncheon with the mayors of both Dallas and Fort Worth. Next week I will meet with the mayor of Southlake because I am a member of his advisory committee... I have special access to important politicians. Is Jesus talking about me?

On Tuesday I gave the prayer of invocation at the Southlake City Council meeting. There were a couple hundred people there so I gave a really good prayer, hoping that because my prayer was so awesome people would come to Abiding Grace, because we are awesome too! Is Jesus talking about me?

Being a pastor is a scary job. People look to me for my advice, thinking that it is coming from God. The problem is that sometimes my ego jumps in too.

What does God want from religious leaders?

That is a good question and I think I know part of the answer. God wants religious leaders to spread the message of love, which is shown most beautifully on the cross. God wants us to challenge people to live a more loving life, a life of service not of self-glorification. God wants us to check our egos at the door and work for the glorification of God and the kingdom of Heaven.

God wants us to be more like Jesus...

Lord knows I'm trying, because I don't want to be punished most severely.

Six truths about Jesus: Truth #4 - Jesus needed to re-charge

Mark 1:35 "In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed."

All my life I have I have been told that God is omnipotent, meaning that God has unlimited power. But Jesus did not have unlimited power when he lived on earth, he was human after all. He needed to rest and he needed to take time for himself, he needed time to re-charge his human/divine batteries.

This verse is just one example of Jesus going away by himself, but the four gospels are full of occasions when he did the same thing. Jesus realized he needed to take care of himself.

Maybe that is actually the divine in him coming out... Jesus had the ability to be totally self-aware.

Do you know what you need? Do you know what your body needs? Do you know when you need to rest or do you just push through day after day because you don't have a choice?

I have recently found that after 7-8 weeks of preaching every Sunday I need to hear someone else preach. I need to hear God speaking through someone else. I need to be re-energized by the gospel.

Are you too busy to relax or workout? Are the things on your to-do list too important?

Are they more important than the things on Jesus' to-do list?

Six truths about Jesus: Truth #3 - Jesus thinks wealth is dangerous

Matthew 19:24: Jesus said "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

First it's important to note what Jesus doesn't say, he doesn't say that wealth is evil. Wealth is not evil, but it can cause us to do evil things. (I hate to disagree with the prosperity gospel preachers, but it's hard to read this text and think that Jesus wants you to be rich.)

Wealth is dangerous.

In Mark 10 there is a rich youg ruler that comes to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor.

The young ruler walks away from Jesus because his wealth was more important. That is the danger with wealth, it becomes the most important thing in our lives.

There are so many more important things in this life than wealth, yet so many people spend their lives solely focused on accumulating as much wealth as possible. Along the way they miss out on the important things, like relationships and love.

A few weeks ago we received our giving statement for the past year. I opened and put it on the table to show my wife. It just so happened to be on the table next to a student loan bill and a credit card bill. As I looked at the three statements I noticed that if I hadn't given the money to church I could have paid off the credit card and made a dent in my student loan... I could have made my life easier, less stressful.

But I believe that God is at work at Abiding Grace. I believe that God takes our offerings and does beautiful things with them. I believe that of all my payments every month, the most important is the one that goes to our church.

What is the most important thing in your life? An easy way to answer that question is to ask what is the most important check you write every month?

Is it a check that makes your life better or a check that supports God's work?

(Sidenote: If you don't think that giving to your church is giving to God's work, then maybe you're going to the wrong church.)

(Sidenote #2: I feel like I'm writing this blog atop a soapbox. It's not my intention. I struggle with this as much as anyone... I really want my Harley back from my pre-seminary days. But I think this is what Jesus is trying to say to us. Then again, it may be a divine joke and the pearly gates are actually one giant eye of a needle.)

Six Truths About Jesus - Truth #2 Jesus Forgives

Luke 23:34: Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Jesus says this while hanging on a cross. He has nails in his wrists and in his shins. These nails were hammered in by the men who were now rolling dice to see who gets to keep Jesus' possessions after he is dead. Yet Jesus still forgives them.

I am a sinner. I have done things that Jesus has asked me not to. I have hurt others and I have held a grudge. I have been unwilling to forgive and I have been unwilling to seek forgiveness for my actions. I have ignored those in need and I have turned my eyes away from God's plan. I have done everything but hammer the nails myself.

Jesus forgave them, Jesus forgives me.

No one reading this blog hammered in the nails either. Sure, you have all sinned and have fallen short of God's law... I know most of you and most of you are really good at sinning.

Jesus forgave them, Jesus forgives you.

There is nothing we can do that Jesus won't forgive.

Six truths about Jesus: Truth #1 - Jesus is not judgmental

We finished Ephesians yesterday and I wasn't sure where to go next. I decided today to take a break from what we have been doing and blog on six truths about Jesus that the gospels tell us.

Truth #1 - Jesus is not judgmental.

In John chapter 8 the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus that had been caught committing adultery. They wanted Jesus to agree with them that she should be stoned to death for her sin.

Jesus resplied "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone."

One by one all the stones fell to the ground as they all walked away. When Jesus looked up he saw that there was no one there except the woman. He said to her "Woman, where are they? Has no one condmended you? Then neither do I."

Jesus was the only one of the group that was without sin. He was the only one that had a right to condemn her, but he didn't. Instead he told her to go and "leave your life of sin."

Jesus had a chance to be judgmental, he chose to love instead.

If she was caught in adultery again would Jesus say the same thing or would he then cast a stone? I believe he would say the same thing to her. If she fell into sin everyday for the rest of her life, Jesus would love her everyday for the rest of her life. I hope this is true, because I sin everyday.

How then can Christians be judgmental? How can Christians claim that Jesus hates gay people or republicans or democrats or any group of people you want to fill in the blank with?

Jesus hates our sin.

Jesus love us. Each and every one of us. Everday of our lives.

Ephesians 6

Verse 11: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

Some Christians don't believe in the devil. I don't know if there is a devil or not, but there is definitely a source of temptation and evil that is alive in this world. Whether that comes from inside of us or there is an actual being that just wants to ruin people's lives, I don't really know, but why would I argue with the word of God?

I do know this, the power of evil is real and needs to be fought. For the purpose of this blog let's say that the devil is real and is the source of all evil and temptation. A lot of people think that God and the devil are at war, but I don't think so. God has no equal, the devil doesn't stand a chance.

Instead, the devil attacks God's people, kind of like a terrorist. Terrorists may declare war on a country, but they don't attack the country, they show up random places and attack the people of the country. They attack the defenseless, not the military.

The devil is the same way. The devil attacks all, but is more successful and spends more time attacking the defenseless, those with no armor. That's what I think this text is about.

It's important to realize when our defenses are low and temptation is winning. I think the devil is at his best when nobody believes he exists, when nobody thinks that he is working. Actually, I think that is his biggest victory of humanity, that so few think he is real... they can't see him ruining their lives.

Evil is real, that we cannot deny, but the worst feeling is when we are the one that evil is using to achieve it's mischevious tasks... and make no mistake, if you are human evil has used you.

Sometimes you have to fight back. Sometimes you have to paint your face blue and go to war against the devil so that he does not ruin your life.

Kick the devil out and keep kicking him out.

God is on your side and no one can beat God.