Keeping and taking care of plants is a hobby that I have picked up in the last few years and it has taught me a lot about patience. I had a small succulent a couple years back that I evidently had overwatered but I did not realize it for the longest time because externally it was as green and healthy-looking as it had always been. Then, seemingly overnight, all the leaves drooped down to the soil and revealed a black, mushy middle. It had seemed alright from the outside, but it had slowly been rotting away and dying on the inside! There are far too many people in the world who are living much like my poor dead succulent. They can compartmentalize and bottle up their problems, maintain appearances, only fight with their spouse behind closed doors, never miss a church service, use loans and credit cards to fund a life they cannot afford, and more. Unfortunately, this truth is warped into extreme cynicism and wielded as a weapon against Christianity. It is devastating to think about people who have been hurt by Christians and impugn God’s character with the claim that because His people are so flawed, then the entire paradigm of Biblical, Godly, Righteous living is farcical. However, Jesus Himself makes it clear that there is no room in the Kingdom for this type of two-facedness. In His sermon on the Mount, He uses a couple metaphors to demonstrate this point: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20) A wolf can only dress up as a sheep for so long before it becomes evident that its only intent is to do harm. A succulent that is dead inside will wilt eventually. A diseased tree may produce fruit, but the quality of that fruit will reveal that tree for what it is: bad! Jesus makes uncompromising application about this idea in the next section of His sermon, when He talks about people who do various seemingly spiritual acts in the name of Jesus, and yet when they come before Him on “that day,” He will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). This makes an interesting point about patiently waiting for truth to come to light. We live in a world where we can check someone’s references, credit history, and take their fingerprints to get an idea of who they are. Now, to be clear, these examples are helpful tools in their respective contexts, and I am by no means suggesting that we approach other people, especially brethren, cynically or assuming the worst—rather, as Paul said, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). On the other hand, however, we can take comfort in the fact that God is just and knows people’s hearts. No one will get to judgment day and pull the wool over God’s eyes. No one will get to the throne of God and pass off thistles as figs. Jehovah will always see people for who they are. However, let us not be deceived by the use of the third person here. Remember what James says about taking a long, hard look in the mirror: “Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:21-25) Growing in our maturity and wisdom as Christians is a long process, and if after some introspection we realize that we are being hearers who forgets rather than doers who act, then that is a problem to address! If we find ourselves lacking perseverance, then by the grace of God we can rely on our friends, family, brethren, and the Word of God to help us cultivate better spiritual habits. While we can use proper, righteous judgment to assess a situation or someone’s character (including our own), ultimately, people are known by their fruits, and it may take time to see what fruit is produced from a person’s character. It is important to live prudently, careful to consider what fruit we are bearing, and what fruit we are on track to bear in the future. However, we must keep in mind that it does not happen overnight. Trees can take a long time to bear good fruit, but the patience and labor will be well worth it. It can be difficult to get rid of pests or root problems when a tree has some sort of disease, and that may mean taking drastic measures for the long-term health of the tree and its fruit, but these sacrifices are vital for the long-term health of the plant. To this end, my prayer for all of us echoes Paul’s in Ephesians 3: “…that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or thing, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (vss. 16-21).

"At least I go to church on Sunday." "At least I don't drink" "At least I believe in God" Have you ever said one of these statements? Maybe you have said something similar? These statements, amongst many others, speak to a sentiment that is very common in our world today. It's this idea that I am aware of issues and problems in my life, but I can feel at peace as long as I can point to some proof of religion or "good decisions" in my life. "I may not go to church every week; I may have a drink of alcohol from time to time; I might sleep with my girlfriend a few nights a week; but at least I'm still a Christian who believes in God." When we say things like this, we are treating Christianity like its a name tag we can put on to tell people we are good without giving any thought to whether that name actually represents who we are. Is simply calling myself a Christian good enough? Is my belief in God enough to justify my salvation despite the other choices I make in my life? Is it ok for me to ignore some of the commands of God because I am "at least..." fulfilling some of the others? The answer, according to scripture, is absolutely not! "Christian" is a commitment, not a claim. In Matthew 7, Jesus says: "Not everyone who says to Me, ' Lord, Lord.' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day. 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:21-23) Did you notice whose name they were proclaiming to wear? Christ. Yet, still, Jesus informs them that He doesn't even know them and they are practicing lawlessness. In order for Jesus to know us and to allow us to be with him in eternity, we can not simply claim to be "Christian." We have to be practicing the law. FULLY. This takes a commitment from us to ensure that "Christian" isn't just the name tag we are putting on but the life we are living. These people may have said some of the same things we are talking about now: "I may not be doing everything I need to be doing, but at least I'm prophesying in your name." My body, the sacrifice. Consider the following verses: Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." With these verses in mind, what is the "least" that we can offer God? There is no good answer to that question. We are to FULLY give ALL of ourselves to God. It's all or nothing. If we choose not to give ourselves fully to him, we will be told to depart. We will be separate from him. There is no "at least.." when it comes to our salvation. If we take an approach to Christianity that we don't have to fully commit as long as we are "at least" meeting some arbitrary minimum requirement that we set, we are wasting our time, and we are destined for destruction. God deserves more than our least. Sadly, our "At least.." attitude ends up not guaranteeing that we are right with God, but instead, is a selfish justification for determining the least amount of effort that I can give to God. What is the bare minimum that I can do, to receive salvation? This is a dangerous attitude that isn't giving God the proper respect. Think about what God has done for you? He created you, the world you live in, everything you have, and on top of all of that: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." - John 3:16 He gave His son to die on a cross for us; to allow us to be with him for eternity in paradise. God didn't give us His least. He gave us everything, and yet for some strange reason, I can fool myself into thinking that spending an hour, one day a week in a church building is the best I have to offer? Once I was dead in my sins (Romans 6:23) and God gave me life through His son. I don't have to die in my sins. God is giving me eternity and in return asks that I give him the short life I live here on earth. Instead of aiming for the bare minimum to be in right standing with God, I should strive to find new and improved ways to bring Him joy each day. Considering that He created everything and sacrificed His Son for my salvation, is it really too much to give Him this short life on earth in return for eternity? It seems like the least I can do. God doesn't settle for 'at least', so why should we? Let's give Him our whole hearts, not just our minimal effort.

When we talk about how people present themselves, we can mean any number of things: how they dress, how they talk, their posture, even their hygiene and things like that. We understand that we can “present ourselves” differently in different contexts. I would not walk into a job interview wearing a hoodie and gym shorts any more than I would climb into bed at night wearing a tux and dress shoes! I have never really met any sort of celebrity or high-ranking public official, but I know that if I got the opportunity, I would have to dress appropriately for the occasion. Think about this idea in a context other than just meeting someone famous or powerful, but representing them. For example, there are very specific rules for how the British royal family is to conduct themselves in public. For diplomats, there is an extremely high level of decorum and professionalism that is expected of them when representing their homeland. Now think about it this way: how do you represent God? How do you “present yourself” before Him? In Romans 12:1-2, we read an incredible answer to how we should answer this question. Paul begins by saying “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice…” It is clear that Paul feels strongly about what he is about to say. He does not just quietly or discretely imply that we should do this, but he implores them as brothers, making his appeal on the foundation of God’s mercy! But what does this mean? In the first several chapters of Romans, Paul has talked extensively about God’s mercy. While not taken from Romans, Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:4-5 beautifully summarizes Paul’s view of God’s mercy and its implications: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” He continues, but the fundamental point is this: we were dead because of sin, but by God’s grace and mercy, we are alive again. So how does this connect back to Romans 12? Remember, it is because of this incredible mercy that we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, but Paul does not stop there. In describing how we should be as “living sacrifices,” Paul tells us to be sure our bodies are “holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” If we are created in the image of God (which we are), and desire to serve Him (which we do), then we cannot do things with our bodies that profane them! Several “profane” behaviors are laid out for us in the next chapter, when Paul says, “the night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:12-14). In other words, if we are going to present our bodies as holy, we cannot “take it easy” and be casual about sin! Our “worship” will be tainted by our sinful conduct, just as lambs and bulls in the Old Testament had blemishes at times that meant they were not able to be used in the sacrifices commanded under the Old Law. Go back to our example of meeting a celebrity or world leader, or even going on a first date with someone you are trying to impress. You would want to make sure and have fresh breath, have your hair done, make sure your clothes are not wrinkly or stained, etc. If we care that much about a date with someone we do not know, then of course we want to be even more careful how we “present ourselves” spiritually to God! Paul even gives us some specific advice for how to present ourselves better before God. We are not to be conformed but transformed! Many people have made terrible decisions using the excuse of “I’m not the only one.” It can be easy to hide behind the idea that “everyone is doing it” or “that’s just the world we live in now” or “its not that big of a deal,” and those commonly are in fact the ways the world looks at sin. However, if we want to present ourselves acceptably, we have to “transform” our mindset. Sin is not something we dabble in, play around with, or “tolerate.” As we see in the rest of Romans 12:2, this way of presenting ourselves requires testing, in order that we may “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Living a Christian life is making Christ-like decisions, even when it is difficult and unpopular. It is staying away from sin even when “everyone else is doing it.” It is going through testing, and relying on what God says is good, acceptable, and perfect, so that we can have a new and improved outlook on life. If we do these things, by the grace of God, then we will continue to successfully present ourselves as holy and acceptable living sacrifices before our Heavenly Father.

When the world talks about faith, it refers to faith as something that is diametrically opposed to reason. I had a professor in college who was talking about “faith versus reason” as if she was talking about “black versus white” or “light versus darkness.” I tried my best to push back on this false dichotomy respectfully. I explained that as a believer, while I do of course have faith, there is logic behind my faith. The faith and reason of a Christian are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually inform each other. How does a jury arrive at a conviction in a murder trial? They look at the evidence, weigh the facts, and use their best judgment. It is rare that there is video footage or photographs of the person committing the crime, but the evidence leads to an unavoidable conclusion. In a sense, though, you could say that there is always some sort of gap between the evidence and the empirical knowledge of what happened. There will always be questions unanswered. This, for any person, no matter their background or worldview, is where the universal concept of faith comes into play. It is key for the Christian to understand this important aspect of faith, because it safeguards against the claims of the masses that there is something inherently archaic and naïve about belief in God, religion, or faith in general. To see this type of belief in action, we can look to the Centurion that has an eye-opening interaction with Jesus in Matthew 8. For context, a centurion was a man in the Roman army who was over 100 men. The Roman empire was brutal in many ways, and being an officer in their military would have been a tough job. However, his position within the Roman military leads to his amazing insight into Jesus’ power as the Son of God. The issue at hand in this passage is that the Centurion has a servant who is severely sick. The Centurion is evidently well aware of who Jesus is and the signs he had done. The Centurion has built his faith in Jesus on the premise of things that he would have seen and heard and believed. He had weighed the evidence he had been presented with up to that point, and while we are not exactly sure what conclusions he had come to at this point about who Jesus was, we know he had a firm belief in Jesus’ power to heal his servant. He also had the utmost respect for Jesus as an authority figure, which is quite the compliment when a Roman military officer is talking to a Jewish carpenter’s Son. After asking that Jesus heal his servant, Jesus tells the Centurion, “I will come and heal him,” but the Centurion has a surprising response to Jesus’ offer to come to the man’s house! He responds, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:7-9). What is truly remarkable about this response is the fact that, to put it simply, the Centurion gets it! He understands faith, not because he explains what faith is in grand theological terms, but he demonstrates it in a clear, direct, and profound way. He knew what true authority looked like, not only because he was over others, but because he had others over him! We all have people in our lives we have to listen to, and depending on who we are, where we work, etc., there are always different power dynamics at play. In the Roman military, it would have been very clear who was over the Centurion and who was under him. Any violation of this hierarchy would be considered insubordination and would be dealt with harshly. By his understanding of what Jesus was capable of, it was clear to the Centurion that Jesus had more authority and power than he did. By his request of Jesus to heal his servant, we see that the Centurion had reasonably concluded that Jesus was able to heal the sick servant. His request itself is an outpouring or demonstration of that faith, and for that, Jesus “marvels” and praises the man. Jesus turns and says to the crowd around the Centurion, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” He then turns back to the Centurion himself and says, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed. And the servant was healed at that very moment” (Matthew 8:10, 13). In the end, you could rightly say that the Centurion believed “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Jesus would be able to heal his servant. He knew what power looked like, and he did not necessarily need to see it demonstrated to know it was there. God has intrinsic authority for many reasons, one of which being what He is capable of, even when we do not see that demonstrated. The Centurion knew this, and we must remember it as well. The Centurion looked at the power Jesus had and the healing his servant needed and made the only logical conclusion there was: Jesus is the Only One who can heal my servant. When we study the life of Christ, may we look at the evidence of His character, His teaching, His miracles, and His authority, and draw the only rational conclusion there is: He is the Son of God. He has power to heal, save, and resurrect. That type of power is worth listening to and being faithful to. God is faithful, and we know that for a fact. We have insurmountable evidence, just like the Centurion did. We can rationally have faith in God “beyond a reasonable doubt.” If He is faithful, then we should be to.

The word Baptism is found often in the New Testament scriptures. There’s a man by the name of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1. He’s referred to as the Baptist, not because he was a part of the Baptist church, but rather because he baptized so many people. He had a message of repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Hence, the title John the Baptist. Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others spoke about Baptism as they taught people. Questions arise when Baptism is discussed. Some questions include the following: Is baptism an immersion or a sprinking? What is the purpose of baptism? Who can be baptized? Is one saved before baptism? I want to begin by addressing, “Is baptism an immersion or a sprinkling?” Biblical baptism is “an immersion” in water. That’s shocking for a lot of people to hear. That’s because many teach that baptism is nothing more than a sprinkling in water. First, consider the word “Baptism.” The word in the language the New Testament was written in (Greek) is “baptize.” It means to immerse, submerge, to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet). Second, consider how the word is used in the Scriptures. Matthew 3:5-6 - “Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.” This was John the Baptist who was preaching a message of repentance and baptism. Notice the crowds came to the Jordan River. They came to where there was much water. Matthew 3:13-17 – “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ But Jesus answering said to him, ‘Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’ Notice the text says Jesus came up immediately from the water. That means He also went down into the water. That’s because baptism is an immersion in water. Acts 8:38: “And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.” Philip the Evangelist baptized this African man. Notice they both went down into the water. Why? Because baptism is a burial in water. They both went down, and they both came back up. Romans 6:3-4 – “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism is a burial in water whereby faith one reaches the blood of Jesus that cleanses them of their sins. Why is it then that so many teach Baptism is nothing more than a sprinkling? Many teach that because of the traditions of men, rather than following the New Testament pattern. To be pleasing and right with God, we must follow His standard. Is this shocking to you?

Do you ever feel like the world is too loud? We live in a world where there is noise everywhere all the time. I am a big culprit in this regard: even now, I just sat down to write in a coffee shop so I could focus better…my office was too quiet! Ironic, right? It is commonplace to go to a restaurant where beyond kitchen noise and conversation, there is music playing in the background and a TV on every wall! Even in our homes, the TV is on, or music is playing, or we are watching videos on our phones, or there is some other sort of noise. However, even in our world full of podcasts, streaming services, and constant background music, sometimes we may find ourselves feeling like the Grinch in the 1966 cartoon Christmas special, “that’s the one thing I hate: all the noise, noise, noise!” At any given moment, it can feel like we either can’t stand the noise or can’t stand the silence! When I was in high school, I went to a summer camp where we would have Bible studies under the stars. There was a large field where all of us campers would lay down for about an hour or so one night, looking up at the sky full of stars, while one of the counselors talked to us about the glory of God. It was incredible to be out in the middle of nowhere with no Wi-Fi connection, no phones, looking up at just how many stars there are and just how big the sky is, thinking about how vast God’s creation is. One of the essential points that was always made during these studies was that we needed to take time to spend alone with God, meditating on His glory and majesty. These counselors knew the importance both for the teenagers under their supervision and for them as adults to take time alone with God, reveling in the silence and stillness that is increasingly difficult to find. The Bible encourages this idea as well. One commonly quoted scripture in this regard is Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” What’s ironic is that in context, Psalm 46 is referring to a rebellion that takes place in Numbers 16 where a man named Korah and his family rebel against Moses, who God made leader of the nation of Israel. When we think of stillness and quiet, we probable do not think of an uprising! However, the point being made here is this: in times of strife and conflict, it is all the more important to “be still” and remember who our God is. As human beings who like to think we are in control and manufacture solutions to situations we sometimes have minimal (if any) control over, but sometimes we just need to pause, take a deep breath, and remember who God is. In other words, we need to slow down and remind ourselves that even when things are out of our control, God IS in control! This thought is also found in Exodus 14, when Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt across the Red Sea. Think back to the plagues: the Israelites really did not have to do anything at all to get out of Egypt! They just had to pack up and leave! All of the plagues were done by God to exert His authority and power over Pharaoh and the Egyptian army; a battle which culminates in the drowning of the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea as they pursue the nation of Israel. Despite what they had just seen through the plagues, the Israelites become hysterical and hopeless when they Pharaoh’s army chasing after them. When confronted with their distress, Moses reminds them, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (vss. 13-14). What the Israelites had forgotten in their short time away from the Egyptians was that God had been in control the whole time! If He had defeated Pharaoh through the plagues, He certainly could and would do it again. Picturing what happens here with Moses’ rebuke of the Israelites makes me consider situations in my life where I need to be “silent.” What battles am I trying to fight that God has already won? What habits or mindsets do I find myself stubbornly trying to go back to that God has rescued me from? In what ways am I being rebellious and need to quiet down and remember God’s glory? This week, find a quiet place. Go on a walk, sit by yourself in your room with no background music, no interruptions, no noise. In that quiet, pray to God. Tell Him what you are worried about, what you are struggling with, and what you are thankful for. Sit in the silence and the stillness and remember who He is and what He has done. All you have to do is be quiet.

There is a song we occasionally sing in our worship services called "My Father's Voice." The first line of this song reads: "I read the word of God, and then at once rejoice.” Well do you? When you read the word of God is your immediate reaction to rejoice? Because for me, that’s not entirely the case. I struggle with that. I struggle with having that excitement that causes me to run out and want to tell everyone I see what I read about. Terrible, but true. I doubt I’m the only one. In fact, for many of us, hearing this day after day, Sunday after Sunday; things change over time. Reading our Bibles sadly become one of two things: time spent in an entertaining storybook or a chore that needs to be done daily. Reality shifts and the inspired, God-breathed, scripture becomes more of “that book of rules I have to follow that I'm supposed to read at least once a day.” I don’t know about you, but I feel really uneasy about running up to someone in complete excitement and saying “hey I have this book that’s full of rules you should totally follow it!” Many people just want to know, “why do you people take this book off your shelf, open it, read it, and use it to make important life decisions?" "What is so special about this book?” How would you answer that question? Why do you guide your life by this and why would you suggest that someone else should do the same thing? Most of the time I think our “stock” answer to those questions can be “because I am a Christian and I’m supposed to.” Now that is a good answer and it is correct, let’s not overlook that. But if that’s it, I think we’re missing something. Is all of this, simply, because we’re "supposed to"? If even in the slightest, that’s our answer to the question “Why this book?” then I doubt that we rejoice at once, after reading it. Finding Enthusiasm Consider a story from Mark Chapter 7. I want to establish real quick, out front, the attitude that we are looking for. I think the story here, shows the enthusiasm that we should have with a proper respect for our Bibles. The story I'm referring to is in verse 32-36. "And they brought to [Jesus] a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. Jesus healed this man. Immediately this man can hear perfectly and he can speak as if nothing had ever been wrong. So what does Jesus tell him and everyone else there to do? "Now that you can speak....dont." Jesus did not want them to tell anyone. And then what happened? They told everyone they could. Why? Why would these people want to go to so much effort to spread this news about what Jesus did, in light of the fact that they were told to keep quiet? Because they were excited! What they had just witnessed lit them on fire, and they wanted everyone to know about it! The message that they were sharing with connected with them so strongly that they could not contain it! They had to tell people. Let's put aside the fact that these people didn't do what Jesus asked them to do, and just appreciate for a moment the absolute enthusiasm that these people felt about what they had witnessed. That is the enthusiasm we should have when reading the Bible. Because Jesus has done amazing things for us as well. The Personal Connection with Scripture Now consider this. What if Jesus came to you one day following your reading of the Bible, and said, “of everything you just read about; that I’ve done, or that God has done; DO NOT TELL ANYONE.” What would change about your actions following your reading? For me, sadly, there have been times in my life when my response would have to have been, “No problem! I wasn’t going to tell anyone anyways.” It’s because as I said earlier, this book; this God-breathed message, can become a storybook to me and can become merely a book that I am “supposed” to follow. As said earlier I think that I have just lacked an enthusiasm and a personal connection to this book and I would guess that I’m not the only one, Now, what I mean by personal connection is not that this book literally means something or teaches something different to me than it would to someone else. Instead, what I mean is making this book a reality TO ME. To understand for myself personally "Why do I, Cody, pull this book off a shelf and guide my live with it. What does it have to offer me? What does it say to me about my life? Why is it special to me? What does it mean to me?” Appreciating the Significance of Scripture I think one of the main reasons why someone might struggle to connect personally with this book, the Bible, is because they don't appreciate what scripture is and where they fit into it. 1. Consider the scope of the book The beginning of this book is God creating everything. Everything that follows page 1 only happens because God has set in motion a beginning. THE BEGINNING. This book starts from THE beginning of everything. The rest of the book points towards life after this world ends and an eternal life with NO end begins. This means that the time where this book is relevant and meaningful will not pass. It will continue to be relevant as long as there are still people left to read it. 2. Consider the main theme of the message. John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This book is a love story about God doing what needs to be done to get his true love back, which is his people. This book is God’s call to his people! Telling them of his love and expressing his desire to have them back. 3. Consider Our Role In God's Story Obviously as we said, this is God's story where he is the creator and the one expressing love to his people. 1 Timothy 2:3 - “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” I think most obviously, our role in this story, is the ones God is expressing love to. We are the object of affection in the eyes of the Creator within the greatest, longest, love story of all time! Let that sink in for a minute. 4. Consider Our Responsibility In God's Plan This book is as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, inspired by God. It Is God-breathed. But how does it get to men? Through men! God inspired men to write it down and now how does its message get to men? Us. Notice that Jesus when his time on earth was finished in Mark 16:15 said “Go out into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Jesus could have stayed to spread it and make it known. But instead, he entrusted that responsibility to the men who he left behind, and through them, he left the responsibility to us as well. That places an important responsibility on us to know our Bible. However, evangelizing is not just our responsibility.  It is our privilege. In the story we read earlier from Mark 7, Jesus asked those people not to tell anyone what they saw. Jesus hasn't placed that burden on us to hold back our enthusiasm. We get to go out and tell anyone and everyone who will listen! Therefore, rejoice! Why this book? Because It is a God breathed message of his love for me and for you and God has given me the honor of getting to share that message with the world. If I'm not rejoicing in that, then I'm missing the message.

For the past couple of years, I have held a weekly Bible class through an app called “Meet-Up.” One of our elders’ sons has a really big group on Meet-Up, which allows us to reach numerous people in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. I have led several different Bible studies pertaining to worry, the church, and one called Salvation Stories. In this study, we walked through the Book of Acts and studied the different accounts that Luke, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit provides for us.  There is a lot of confusion when it comes to what a person must do to be saved. Some say: Say a prayer and accept Jesus in your heart. However, that’s not found in any of the examples in the book of Acts. Some teach that infant baptism is necessary because people are born with sin. However, we don’t see this being taught or done in the book of Acts either. What we do see is what Jesus taught a man by the name of Nicodemus one night from John 3:3-7. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” When you read the book of Acts (which I encourage everyone to do), what you will find are people being born again! You will find men and women, Jews and Gentiles who have heard the good news of Jesus, His life, His death, and His resurrection, and who responded with obedience to His words. Let’s consider Acts 2. What we find is Peter and the other apostles in the city of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Listen to what Peter preached concerning Jesus in Acts 2:22-32. “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know – this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says of Him, ‘I saw the LORD always in my presence; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope; because you will not abandon my soul to hades, nor allow your Holy One to undergo decay. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the partriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. " Acts 2:22-32 Peter taught Jesus after His resurrection ascended into heaven and reigns in heaven, Acts 2:33-35. Then he concluded that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, Acts 2:36. Peter shared with them the good news of Jesus. Peter used Old Testament scripture that spoke of Jesus concerning His death, resurrection, and kingship. Many in the audience responded with a question in Acts 2:37. “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’”  Acts 2:37 If saying a prayer to accept Jesus in their hearts was necessary, Peter would have said it. But he didn’t. If doing nothing was necessary, Peter would have said it. But he didn’t. So, what did Peter say? Consider Acts 2:38, where he said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” What we find is that these individuals heard the good news of Jesus! They certainly believed it because they asked what they needed to do. Now, they were given Holy Spirit inspired instructions. They were to repent (to turn away from their sins). They were to be baptized (immersed in water) and the reason given was “For the forgiveness of their sins…” When they heeded these words, they would be born again as Jesus taught. About 3,000 people obeyed the words of Peter, Acts 2:41. They were saved that day by the precious blood of Jesus! This is one of many salvation stories found in the book of Acts. Have you considered these stories? Have you responded in the same manner as these people did?

Do we find ourselves 100% of the time to be fully trusting in God?  Or do we often find ourselves putting our trust in other things and searching for those things in our lives? Sometimes placing our trust in the right place can be a tricky thing. It’s not always that we don’t know to trust God, it’s just that other things come up and distract us and provide us comfort, at least for a while, and our trust begins to shift to things other than God. Has that ever been the case for you? In Judges Chapter 4, we can see this battle between trusting in God and other things. On one side of the battle, you have Deborah and Barak with their army who placed their trust fully in God. On the opposite side, you have Sisera and his army who placed their trust in the chariots and weapons they were using. Notice what we have taking place here!  There are two sides pitted against each other here, both with the attitude of “We will win because of what we have with us!” We can see the outcome of this battle in verse 15 which says that the Lord broke Sisera’s chariots and delivered the army to Barak. That story says a lot about God!  Even though, by all earthly measures, Deborah and Barak were outmatched, they still were victorious!  They show that trusting in God is obviously a much greater advantage then putting trust in chariots and weapons. Do we ever find ourselves in the same situation? Where we feel as if we are terribly outmatched. This could be at school seated across from a number of friends who disagree with us about the Bible. It could be that we feel burdened and defeated by the difficulties of this life like busy schedules and difficult work lives. Maybe we feel overtaken by evil in this country or the world because of issues like the abortion, homosexuality, or other things. Finally, maybe we find ourselves the most troubled by the battle that is being wages over the souls of mankind between God and Satan. Whatever the struggles or oppression may be, Deborah and Barak show us that placing trust in God is the way to be victorious in all battles we face. This is because God has assured victory to his people! Deborah was confident in this in vs. 14 when she proclaims before the battle that they would be victorious against the army of Sisera. We too can have the same confidence entering the battles in our lives. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow any temptation or struggle to face us that we do not have the means to escape! That is a comforting thought!  It doesn’t matter what hurdles may be in our way, God says none are too great to overcome with him on our side!  We can enter all battles, knowing that we will be victorious with God! Let’s not underestimate, however, the difficulty of what lies ahead. God never promised for easy lives. He just promised to be sure we were equipped with all we need to succeed. In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul describes the armor that God gives us in preparation for the battles we face. This armor consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit!  This is protection unlike any other! God has prepared us for victory and with him we will never lose salvation! Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

There are certain questions in life that every person struggles with at some point in their life. Questions like, “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose in life?”, or “Why is this happening to me?”, can cause us a lot of mental and emotional turmoil. There is a book of the Bible with a unique name that spends a few short but profound chapters asking God some vital questions: O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. (Habakkuk 1:2-3) Some of the biggest questions we ask in life surround our attempts to understand evil in the world. If you are a believer, you have likely had a moment where in one way or another you cried “Violence!” to God (so to speak) and felt like there was no answer. Or, if you are not a believer, maybe some of the thoughts Habakkuk is expressing here are similar to your reasons for doubting God exists at all. Part of what I love about Habakkuk is that he asks those questions openly and directly to God, and God in His wisdom and might gives an incredible response through the rest of the book. For background, Habakkuk was a prophet that spoke of the coming Babylonian captivity and the fact that in the process of enslaving Israel for seventy years, the Babylonians would destroy the city of Jerusalem. Certainly a violent period indeed. Over the course of the short book of Habakkuk though, Habakkuk was a full discourse with God about the violence he sees around him, and it is quite faith-affirming for him, and faith-affirming for us to be able to see this conversation between God and His prophet unfold. The first part of God’s response comes immediately after Habakkuk’s first complaint and can be summed up in verse five of chapter one. God says, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” This “work”, God goes on to say, is that He is raising up the Chaldeans (another name for the Babylonians) to judge the Israelites for their wickedness. See, part of Habakkuk’s initial frustration is that God’s people are acting evilly and seemingly getting away with it! This is another issue we can often relate to; as David, Job, and Jeremiah all say: “Why do the wicked prosper” (Psalm 37:1, Job 12:6, Jeremiah 12:1)? In response to this, God informs Habakkuk that the Babylonians are coming to judge God’s people and take them into captivity as a punishment for their evil. However, this is evidently not the answer Habakkuk was hoping for. He brings up a second complaint at the end of chapter one, asking God, “why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he (vs. 13)?” Once again, many people can relate to this type of complaint. But God continues to dialogue with Habakkuk on this issue. The entirety of Habakkuk 2 is in many ways, God’s discourse on His own sovereignty and justice in which He proclaims judgment on many different types of evil. He talks about drunkenness, corruption, debauchery, greed, and all kinds of other forms of wickedness in the world, all the while making it clear that He sees it, He hates it, and He will take care of it in His time. Finally, He reminds Habakkuk of His power over worthless idols, saying: What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it…? Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silent before him. (Habakkuk 2:18-20) Here, God reminds Habakkuk that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all! People will worship all sorts of frivolous things—sex, money, ego, sports, accomplishments—but only God is the Self-sufficient “I Am.” At the end of it all, Habakkuk gives his final statement on the matter: O Lord, I have heard the report of you and your work, O LORD, do I fear… In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy… I hear and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us... Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places” Sometimes, we are just too limited to understand the ways God is working. Sometimes, we cannot understand. Just like Habakkuk, even if we are terrified, we must turn to God and talk to Him. He wants to hear our complaints, even if we will not be able to understand His response. Come what may, salvation will always belong to the LORD, and we can always rejoice in knowing that even in His wrath, He will remember mercy. May we always be able say when we are confused or suffering, “GOD, the Lord, is my strength…”

Gratitude is something that is often discussed. People love it when others are grateful for the things, they have done for them. It feels great to receive a thank you card, a thank you text, or some kind of response when doing something for someone else. However, I think we have all experienced when we have done some kind of good deed, and there wasn’t any kind of acknowledgment of it. Some may feel hurt or disappointed. How do we navigate these kinds of feelings? Should we expect some kind of acknowledgement from others? What if none comes? The Bible helps us to navigate these kinds of emotions. First, let’s begin with Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. We are reminded that the good deeds we do are ultimately for the Lord. There can be a potential trap of doing things simply to receive honor or praise from others. Consider what Jesus says in Matthew 6:1-4. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4. There is potential danger for us even as we strive to do something good. God must be our ultimate reason behind what we do. And yet there is also the fact that people will see what we do. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16 In all we do, let us do it for the glory of God! There’s another story found in the gospels, that is also important for us to consider. It’s found in Luke 17 “While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master,  have mercy on us!’ When He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine – where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner? And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.’ Luke 17:11-19 I find this story fascinating. Jesus heard these men from afar. There had to be distance for those who had leprosy. Jesus responded to their request with a “Yes!” He granted them mercy. Jesus healed all ten of these men. They were given a second chance! What should have been the natural response from all ten of these men? All of them should have shown immense gratitude toward Jesus. Yet only one returned. Even Jesus was surprised at their response or should we say lack of response. As we think about doing good, think about Jesus. Only 1 out of 10 returned to Jesus to show Him how grateful they were for what He had done. Should we expect to receive more than what Jesus did? I think it’s normal to want to some kind of acknowledgment or show of appreciation. When it does happen, embrace it. However, that is not the main reason why we seek to do good toward others. We seek to do good toward others because of what God has done for us. We seek to do good toward others because our Father in heaven is good. We seek to do good toward others so that God will be glorified.

All throughout the life of Jesus, He teaches lessons in very similar ways. Jesus often uses earthly things to teach a spiritual message. When he does that, we have to be sure that we focus on the spiritual lesson to be made, not as much on the earthly aspect of things. For example, when Jesus teaches the lesson about sowing the seed to the different types of soil, it’s not a lesson in gardening. It’s a lesson about the hearts of men, and spreading the Gospel. When Jesus teaches about the unforgiving servant and the debt he owed his master, its not a lesson in finance. It's a lesson about the forgiveness and mercy we get from God and how we should extend that to others. I say all this, because I think there is a text in our Bible, that many people often go to and focus too much on the earthly portion of the teaching. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees make an attempt to catch Jesus in his own words. They ask him the question about whether it is lawful or not to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus’ response is not what they were expecting. He says, “Show me a coin for tax” in vs. 19. He asks the men, “Whose image is on this coin?” to which the men respond, “Caesar’s”. Jesus says to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” So many people turn to this text to teach that Jesus said it’s acceptable to pay taxes, and they aren’t wrong. But is that the point? As I said, Jesus’ main point or points are typically not the earthly portion of the teaching. I think there is a lesson being taught that is more important than taxes. In parallel to taxes, Jesus also says give to God the things that are God’s. How do we know what belongs to God? Here lies the connection to the earthly part of Jesus' teaching. We know what belongs to God, the same way we knew what belonged to Caesar. We knew what belonged to Caesar by what bore his image. So what belongs to God, must be something that bears his image. What might that be? In Genesis chapter 1, God tells us what has his image. In vs. 27 the text says, “God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him: male and female he created them”. We bear the image of God. Because we bear the image of God, we ought to "give to God the things that are God’s." (Vs 21). We must give ourselves to God. If we don’t pay our taxes, the IRS will come collecting, because that money belongs to the government. But more so, if we don’t give ourselves to God, he will come collecting, but he is going to take a lot more than our money. God has the power to destroy both body and soul, (Matthew 10:28), and he will, if not given what he deserves. We must give ourselves to him in a few ways: In worship: we need to devote ourselves to worshipping God. Give ourselves to him for his glory and his praise. In spirit: our hearts should be his. We should give our hearts fully to him, devoting ourselves to his work and his will. In death: we need to give ourselves to him, by giving everything up for him; everything we have been in this life. That’s what we are to do as Christians. Give every part of ourselves to God. He created us. He gave us life. We bear his image. So we belong to him. Have you given yourself to God? Do you continually give to God, all you have and all that you are?