salty fire

Matthew 17:24-27, Mark 9:38-41, Luke 9:49-50, Mark 9:42-50, Matthew 18:6-35, Mark 10:1, Matthew 19:1-2, Luke 9:51-62, Matthew 8:18-22, Luke 10:1-20, Matthew 11:20-24

Mark 9:49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (ESV)

Everyone will experience fire; either you will pass through the fire, coming out on the other side with all of the junk of this world being consumed by the fire (Believers) or you will spend the remainder of eternity in the fire because Christ was not in you.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, please make me salty.  Lord, I don't want to be caught up in this world.  Please help me mortify the flesh now so that I may experience more of your resurrection power.  I pray that your Holy Spirit will salt me with Christ.  I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

dear Brothers

Mark 9:2-13, Matthew 17:1-13, Luke 9:28-36, Mark 9:14-32, Matthew 17:14-23, Luke 9:37-45, Mark 9:33-37, Matthew 18:1-5, Luke 9:46-48

Jesus took a few of His close disciples up the hill and went supernova on 'em (Matt. 17:1-8)  Peter impulsively says, "This is awesome!  We can stay here forever!"  Sadly, that's the perspective of a lot of "churches" today - "Let's just stay inside our supernice buildings and sing our praise songs and God will be here and everyone will want to come here and it will be so good and anytime we want to experience God we can just come to this building and ..."  What a bunch of garbage!  God wants to express himself through us into the remainder of humanity!  Christ will be Lord of all!

This morning I got to fellowship with a Brother that I went to college with.  Then for lunch we got to visit with a dear couple that just got back from full-time collegiate missions in Russia.  It means so much to me to be able to share Christ with dear Brothers and Sisters; the Love of Christ is so clearly shown in the sweetness of that blessed fellowship.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the encouraging opportunities to fellowship with Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  Lord, I pray that you will continue to gain me and use me as an instrument of change to bring more Brothers and Sisters into the Lordship of Christ.  I pray this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

who is Jesus, and what should I do about it?

Mark 8:11-13, Matthew 16:1-4, Mark 8:14-21, Matthew 16:5-12, Mark 8:22-30, Matthew 16:13-20, Luke 9:18-21, John 6:60-71, Mark 8:31-9:1, Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 9:22-27

The Pharisees were jealous because Jesus was gaining popularity, and Jesus certainly didn't fit their cookie cutter mold of religious hypocrisy, so they interrogated him:

Mark 8:11...To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it."

My question is, what about all of the miracles Jesus had already performed in front of them (e.g., the guy with the crippled hand on the Sabbath)?

Jesus asked his disciples,

Matthew 16:15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

After some tough teaching, a lot of followers of Jesus left, so Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked,

John 6:67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

After Jesus rebuked Peter for scolding Jesus about His "crazy" plan to die,

Luke 9:23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Love Dare - lust is a lie, it's a counterfeit for love, it is a parasite.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah; He is the Christ.  I know that Christ has saved me from eternal damnation to an everlasting life, and I want Jesus Christ to be my Lord, my Master, at this very moment and every moment that follows.  Lord, I want to come after Christ; please help me deny the lustful flesh within me, to take up completely the death of me, and to keep on following Christ every day.  I pray this in the name of Jesus who is the Christ.  Amen.

where is my heart?

Mark  7:1-23, Matthew 15:1-20, Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:31-37, Matthew 15:29-31, Mark 8:1-10, Matthew 15:32-39

Mark 7:6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
   " 'These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.
 7They worship me in vain;
      their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." ... 18 ... "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.") 20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

How tragic to think that I have exchanged the commands of God for the traditions of men!  It is not the acts of wickedness that are the problem; they are simply consequences of the deeper problem - the condition of the heart.  I know that my heart is evil and deceitful; I need Christ to save me from myself!

On a lighter note, I'm glad to see that Jesus declared all foods 'clean' because I sure do enjoy bacon.

Love Dare - love protects, proactively guards, keeps watch against the enemy ...

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will illuminate my mind and reveal the wickedness of my heart.  O Father, would you please perform heart surgery and give me a clean and pure heart that loves and seeks you and no other?  Lord, I need  your grace; I need the grace of Calvary applied to my heart condition.  Father please deliver me from the wicked flesh within me.  Please illuminate my "worship" and point out anything that is vain or religious.  I pray that you will empower me with wisdom and discernment to guard my marriage, tooth and nail.  I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

more where that came from

Mark 6:45-56, Matthew 14:22-36, John 6:16-59

Mark 6:54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

A few observations:

1. If the Church today looked like Christ, people would see Him and recognize His presence (v. 54).
   
2. When people find a sense of hope, they will come searching for answers and healing (v. 55).  Our church should be a lighthouse to the community (and to the whole world).
3. Friends bring friends when they know something is the real deal - when they know people can find answers and healing (v. 56).
4. Jesus loves to heal physically and spiritually (v. 56).  We as His Body should emulate His operation.

Love Dare - true love is faithful; faithful love only comes from God through Christ Jesus.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I desire to be used by you.  Please flow your Holy Spirit through me to heal people around me.  I pray that your healing love, life, and light will flow through me.  I pray that people will recognize you within me, that people will be drawn to you, and that you will heal people through me.  I want to experience your good love and express your good person.  Overflow me with your goodness! May Jesus become greater in me, and may I become less in me.  I pray that the faithfulness of your love will be evident in my marriage.  I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

why don't our churches look like this today?

Mark 6:14-29, Matthew 14:1-12, Luke 9:7-9, Mark 6:12-13, Luke 9:6, Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-15

Luke 9:6 - So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

If we really have the Holy Spirit of Christ at work within us (individually and corporately), then why is the above not said of our churches?  If twelve jokers can run around with the authority of Christ and shake up the world with the Gospel and power of Christ, then why can't we?

Love Dare - let God alone be your constant source of satisfaction.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will pour out your Holy Spirit through me.  Change me into the person of Christ; I pray that my character, my will, my mind, and my heart will be transformed into the person of Christ.  Lord, please use me to share the Gospel and I pray that your power will heal those around me as I am faithfully drawing nearer to you.  May you be my sole satisfaction, and I pray that you will fill me and flow through me.  I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus asleep at the wheel

Mark 4:30-34, Matthew 13:31-35, Luke 13:18-21, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-52, Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25, Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, Luke 8:26-39

Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat and a violent storm appeared out of nowhere.  When the boat started taking on water, the disciples woke Jesus and asked him, "Don't you care that we are going to drown?"

It's sad that it doesn't take much turbulence for us to feel like Jesus is asleep at the wheel; we exclaim, "Jesus, don't you even care that I'm going to DIE?!"  The truth is, Jesus is nearest to us when it is most difficult to stand.  The truth is, Jesus is not capricious; nor is He negligent.  The truth is, Jesus is fully aware of our circumstances, and everything that we are experiencing is measured/limited in His love for us.  The truth is, He is in the boat with us the whole time.  The truth is, He allows us to experience turbulence so that we may more fully appreciate His Lordship.  As John Frame would propose, in that boat with the disciples, Christ demonstrated His three principal Lordship attributes:

1. Power - Christ's omnipotent ability
2. Authority - Christ's universal and absolute sovereignty
3. Presence - Christ's simultaneous local and omnipresent closeness
   

Consequently, when He authors faith in our hearts, we discover in Him true satisfaction, and we are willing to give up everything to gain Him - like the man who found a great treasure in a field and then sold all he had to buy that field.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, please help me seek you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength; may I give up my selfish life to gain the ZOE life of Christ.  Lord, please help me trust you in the midst of the storm - knowing that you are in control, that you do care, that you are with me the whole while, and that the purpose of the storm is to grow my faith and give me opportunity to know you more deeply.  Father, please give me grace.  I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.