Build something

Recently, I viewed a short video presentation from Rick Warren that encouraged me about the path that God has me traveling. Rick Warren is of course the pastor who wrote what has turned out to be one of the most popular book Christian or otherwise in recent times, (The Purpose Driven life), and because of that someone who commands a significant influence in the Christian community. He made the statement in the video, “I don’t do what I do for the money, and I know that the thought is out there that pastors do, but I’ve never met any of them who have.”
For myself, I get up every morning and when my feet hit the ground I am engaged in thinking about the great things that God has allowed me to do and what can I do next that will stimulate the kingdom for God. What our church needs and what every church needs is not new and exciting programs, as valuable as they may be, but rather the burden found in Nehemiah as he looked over the ruin of his precious Jerusalem and pleaded for the vision and the resources to rebuild the place associated with the fellowship of God. How badly do we care about God, the cities that are in disrepair and the opportunities He has given us to do something great? Why not check out Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2… and then, grab a brick and let’s build something.

An Eagle’s best flight

As promised, here are the author’s final thoughts about a good strategy.
1. Our natural focus must be counteracted. What all is included in his comments?

2. Our leisure time must be guarded. No matter what we may think we’ll do, we need a plan to keep us from doing what we could do…

3. Our close companions must be screened. Good time for a friend check.

4. Our vow to God must be upheld! What about that primary vow in Romans 12:1-2?

See you Friday!

Men at Work in conflict with Greed

Hi men,
It’s Wednesday… I’m thinking about getting you ready for Friday as I plan for tonight’s Wednesday supper.

Text: Mediocrity: chapter 9:
Subject: Greed

Intro: Did you enjoy the story about Junior? Amazing stuff just beyond our grasp!

THE FOUR FACES OF GREED!
1. Greed is the excessive motivation to have more money.

2. Greed is the excessive determination to own more things

3. Greed is the excessive desire to become more famous; to make a name for ourselves.

4. Greed is the excessive desire to gain more control.

What do you think? Is he right? Do we feel the pressure in our own life?

Christmas memories

Hi men,
I thought rather than spending time in our book I might inquire about the book that is your life.

What is it about the Christmas of your childhood that most lingers in your mind as an adult?

As you have grown, what memories have you made with your family?

What us the most important aspect of Christmas for you?

Be honest now; Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear…

For example, I have great memories of being allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve.

Another memory is attending a mid-night Christmas Eve service at a church in our hometown and being captivated by the beauty and circumstances surrounding this service.

And finally, great memories of the other mindedness of my parents and the extravagance that they lavished on me… And always, they would say…”Well, we had to cut down this year…”

Ok, those are some of mine. What’s yours?

See you tomorrow… Weather allowing!

Boys to men

11.14.12
TITLE: The questions pupils ask in route to maturity
Text: John 13:36-14:31
JUMPING IN:
There are always challenges going from the “nursery” through “adolescence” and into the school of hard knocks. What do you make of their questions?

FOCUS ON THE FOUR
1. Peter’s question: Where are you going? 13:36
Answer 1:
Answer 2:

Explanations:
The previous correctives to the disciples had yielded no firm resolutions in their minds about the real nature if Christ. The lesson had been impressed upon their minds but left for the moment no viable imprint.

2. Thomas: (14:5) We do not know where you’re going?
The statement of Thomas is consistent with his demeanor. The question of Thomas may be more of an apology for not asking further questions. Is this a gentle complaint expecting the disciples to know more of what they do not?

Thomas after all delights in a gloomy outlook. Jesus’ explanation a well spring of truth that the disciples did not ask for.

Answer: the importance of people over places. ” if you know nothing of the place (where) to which I go, then concern yourselves the “Who” of the destination.
The truths:
Jesus is all you need; where truth or life, or light or reconciliation…
Look to me for your only hope and help!

3. Philip: (14:8): it is enough to see the Father
Knowing me= knowing the Father
Philip wanted to see the Father as he saw Jesus; visually present and available; an outward object of his vision.
Having been with Jesus for years, they had yet to find real rest and satisfaction in Him alone. Still craving for something beyond Him; all the while what they sought was right in front of them!

Like children who are able to quote all the AWANA verses, but are unable to give you an explanation if what they mean. They could identify all the important pieces of the puzzle but could not put them into place to form the complete picture they were seeking. The clarity had yet to descend upon the disciples that would allow them to understand all that Jesus gave them.
That in part would be the Spirit’s job.

And more…
A great disconnect between the person of Jesus and the person of God. So it’s not surprising that cults thrive today on the basis of misunderstanding of the person of Christ.

The words of Jesus about himself was personalized and powerful– touching eternal life and divinity that one can truly love.

4. And finally, Judas: (not Iscariot)14:22
How is it that you are going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world?
“We had been hoping for your coming kingdom where power and glory would be the rule, and visible to all…”
Why have you changed your plans?

And this is Jesus—
Have you yet to grasp the results of Christ’s spiritual presence?
What’s called for here is better vision! He didn’t bother with complex explanations of personal or corporeal presence. The great questions of life are best resolved by obedience and singleminded love rather than fanfare and easy answers.

Departure:
A dying legacy of peace as a rule of life.
My departure a sign of joy : “the way is hard but it is the way for Me”

Now, finally a change in mood. The supper now concluded, they must now to engage the work of the evening.
Jesus, ” let me leave the discussion as children questioning their parents, and now I must talk to you like men.

Done!

A different Spirit

A Different Spirit

DETERMINATION
If determination is the destination we’re seeking, the key may be found in Numbers 14: 20-24. where Moses records in God’s Word as a two-fold prescription concerning Caleb the Criticism conquerer:
* He possessed a different spirit
* He followed God fully

What do you make of that? Just consistent living always ready to step into the deeper waters of life.

I think we all know how Caleb’s life played out…(Joshua 14:7-12). Now, what about Joshua’s ending? I think you’ll recognize the language of determination. ( Josh 24:14-15).

IT IN FACT BECAME THEIR PASS THROUGH DEATH IN THE WILDERNESS.

I’ll let you check out the author’s observations on your own but I have some reflections of my own:
1. Since age is now before me I’m even more committed to working hard, living right, and thinking well.

2. As I watch others get ahead with more fanfare and less fortitude I must remind myself that the only opinion that matters is God’s.

3. You can force rules on people but not convictions: they are put on by children who see them worn well by parents..

I’ll leave with this from Ted E and the author–

” THE WORLD NEEDS MEN…
Who cannot be bought;
Whose word is their bond;
Who put character above wealth;
Who possess opinions and a will;
Who are larger than their vocations;
Who do not hesitate to take chances;
Who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
Who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
Who will make no compromise with wrong;
Whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires,
Who will not say they do it because everybody else does it;
Who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity;
Who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success;
Who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who can say “no ” with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says “yes”

.

When you can do this my son…

Well…

You’re getting it
Blessings
Mark

Vision by the numbers

Hi guys,
Chapter 5b
Ok you have probably been reading Numbers 13. What jumps out at you?
The author suggests a few parameters:
The background: Five givens:
1. An exodus
2. Moses’ leadership..
3. New territory was there’s to claim…
You get the picture..

And then, there are the two reports…
Reminder… What they were told to do and not told to do!

What does the author note about vision?
I’ll remind you!
”

When the majority lack vision, their shortsightedness tends to take a severe toll on those trying to lead.” Pg. 86
Or this…

“It is doubtful that the majority has ever been right”…pg. 87

The essence of vision
1. A- Attitude
2. B- Belief
3. C-Capacity
4. D- Determination
5. E- enthusiasm

How does the author end this chapter?
Compelling? You decide!

The challenges within

Cafe Bethel
2.15.12

Title: Leaving a legacy of wealth of character

Intro: the Destruction of the Starship Challenger was the result of the failure of certain critical rubber O-rings under the stress of cold and rigidity. It was inevitable that given the unrealistic schedule for Shuttle flights, and lack of the necessary precautions, that such stress points would lead to failure under the perfect storm of conditions.

Review: if we examine the whole of world history we discover a consistent, insidious,strategic, and demonic pattern of creating stress and inciting a destructive response “within”, whether this within represents the inner strongholds of a believer’s life or the inner sanctuary of fellowship and covenant support we enjoy in the local assembly. Rather than intermittent, plodding and obvious, the Devil’s strategy for our destruction is sophisticated, relentless, and subversive. Just ask our Friend “Screwtape”.

TESTING OR TEMPTING:
It is clear that throughout our lives a battle is being waged for the beachheads that drive our souls. God’s is at work in our lives and testing is part of the finishing process: ( Deut 8:2,16) Notwithstanding, the Devil is at work as well, probing us for cracks in our consistency or character, looking for a beachhead of his own. ( I Thess. 3:2-5)
Text: Nehemiah 5
Transition: the chapter breaks down along three specific themes:

THE NATURE OF THE OUTCRY
This may have been a problem simmering for some time and the combination of timetable and stress,lad combined to create this outcry.
From the wives and mothers of the abused, the cry went up…
Who was affected?
Those without land who were short of food (2)
Those with land who were forced to mortgage their property (3)
Those faced with borrowing money because of excessive taxation(4)
Those faced with selling their children into slavery (5)

The what: the complaints were delivered to their own countrymen ( maybe the more wealthy nobles and officials), who indirectly were exploiting the poorest in their midst. This, all the while the nation was asking them to defend and repopulate the country.
(Oppressed and a call to justice: Ex. 3:7; 22:22-23;Ps. 9:12; Is. 5:7)
Derek Kindner, quips of the response, [ Well], you can’t eat walls…]
One man writes,
It is estimated that the Persian king collected the equivalent of 20 million darics a year in taxes. Little of that sum was ever returned to the satrapies. It was the custom to melt down the gold and silver and to pour it into jars which were broken and the bullion stored. At Susa alone, Alexander found 9000 talents of coined gold (about 270 tons) and 40,000 of silver (1200 tons) stored up as bullion. As coined money was increasingly taken out of circulation, inflation became rampant.
Finally, Dandamayev notes,
Documents from Babylonia show that many inhabitants of this satrapy too had to mortgage their fields and orchards to get silver for payment of taxes to the king. In many cases they were unable to redeem their property, and became landless hired laborers; sometimes they were compelled to give away their children into slavery. According to some Egyptian data, the taxation was so heavy that the peasants fled the city, but we’re arrested by the monarchs and brought back by force. pg. 707

In times of economic distress, families would borrow funds using family members as collateral. The irony? At least in Mesopotamia, their families could remain together. Now, in freedom, their children were being sold out from under them and into slavery.

THE COMPREHENSIVE AND CRITICAL RESPONSE
What leaders do! Leaders must be able to enter the critical moment and respond in ways that encourage their “charge” and sustain progress .
His outcry was strategic not personal: Not “doing a mad” because his project was halted.
The Public response:
The steps back to respect and dignity:
They are to stop the present practice. This is an affront agains God: An insult to God and a blot upon our testimony: Prov. 14:31; I Peter 2: 12-15.
They are to start what will build inner character as much as outer walls.(5:10-11) Jubilee!

The Personal response:
Nehemiah: unknowingly had likely been participating in the same program, not realizing how this must have exacerbated the problem. (5:10) Shortly after the terrible Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, Lee reported to his superiors and his troops, “it was all my fault”, and submitted his resignation to Jefferson Davis.

Extra notes: The need to speak out agains social injustice: Matt. 21: 18-19; Mark 11:12-18; Luke 19:45-48; Eph. 4:26
The issue of profit: Not a prohibition of commercial loans, but rather a protection against charging the impoverished and the gain drawn out of the helplessness of ones neighbors.

”

There has always been a true elite of God’s leaders,” said John White. “They are the meek who inherit the earth. They weep and pray in secret, and defy earth and hell in public. They tremble when faced with danger, but die in their tracks rather than turn back. They are like a shepherd defending his sheep or a mother protecting her young. They sacrifice without grumbling, give without calculating, suffer without groaning. To those in their charge they say, “we live if you do well. Their price is above rubies. and Nehemiah was one of them.” pg. 125 Packer.

THE PERSONAL EXTENSION OF THE LEADER.
A statement of principle: Like Paul, Nehemiah determined that he would take the higher ground. ( I Cor. 9; 2 Thess 3;8)
A governor was expected to entertain lavishly; but as such, Nehemiah ( See vs. 18) Solomon’s daily provisions: ( I Kings 4:22-23) Compare with Nehemiah’s provisions.

PRINCIPLES FOR FURTHER STUDY:
We must be courageous enough to face our own inconsistencies and respond on the basis of truth.
We make the best decisions when we have determined the facts.
Inner character determines outward courage.

Done

Facing the Giants outside the door

2.8.12 Cafe Bethel
Theme :Good leadership
Topic: leading through tough opposition
Text: Nehemiah 4:1-23

OPENING THOUGHTS
With the building project underway, it’s naive to believe that opposition will not come. Why? Fallen world…. Other thoughts?
Not sure it’s been mentioned, but the value of knowing your enemies cannot be overstated. Who are these competitors and detractors?
SanBallot:
Of Babylonian heritage
He is a Horonite: a native of Beth-Horon:18 mi. NW of Jerusalem: daughter married the high priest: (13:28)
Elderly Governor of Samaria: 407 bc (38 yrs after Nehemiah came)
A non Jew married to a Jew
No religious interest of any kind
Driven by a quest for power and ambition
Didn’t want Nehemiah or his interests to jeopardize or destabilize his own hopes
Could not conceive any legitimate interests in Nehemiah’s work so he must be up to something: (Tebow)
Tobiah:
Married into a Jewish family
His son married into Jewish aristocracy
Too smart to ever let his faith get into the way of good business or his hope of promotion.
Geshem the Arab
More powerful than his companions: with his sons, ruled a league of Arabian tribes which took control of Moab and Edom.
A power broker of his time.

NATURE IF THE OPPOSITION
Mind games in the night: Psychological
They were interested in destroying their morale. Can you find some examples?
Why shouldn’t we take this lightly?
How does Nehemiah respond?

Response: Prayer

Principle: Practical and regular prayer keeps the job out in front of us and the power rightly behind us.
What do you make of the prayer? Ps. 139:21-22; Rev. 6:10; Luke 6:27-28

I’m going to beat you up: Physical opposition
( Mark, do you think we can take him?)
Neh. 4:8, 11
One man calls this an oracle of doom. Quite frightening:

But Nehemiah is no slouch. You undoubtedly have heard of William Carey.
He wrote, ” attempt great things for God– expect great things from God”

Response: fortification and preparation.
I love the words of the late James Boice in describing the scene. He writes,
” in military terms, Nehemiah must have known it was unlikely that his enemies would attack the city in full force, since he had the imposing authority of Artaxerxes behind him… On the other hand, Nehemiah must have known that what we might call guerrilla warfare was likely…besides he knew that anything of this nature would so demoralize the people that the work would stop and never get going again. What was Nehemiah to do? What he did was extremely wise. He dealt with the real threat … In a way that built the people’s low self-esteem and strengthened their resolve.
Nehemiah turned Jerusalem into an armed camp. When the threat became known,meh responded by posting a guard day and night (9). When the rumors of violence continued and began to have a demoralizing effect, he went further: he stopped the work vv. 13,15; (2) He armed the people (13,17,18); and (3) he arranged the people into family groups at the most exposed places along the wall (13). Dividing them into families correspond with Israel’s traditional way of fighting and heightened each person’s awareness of the stakes…
When his enemies learned of the Jew’s preparation and that their plot [ surprise attack] was frustrated, the pressure lessened and Nehemiah was able to return the workers to the walls. But he did not forget the threat. Therefore, ;1) he divided the people into 2 groups,one of which would work and the other which be in readiness to fight at any time (…vv.16-18); (2) he devised a plan for meeting an unexpected attack (vv.18-20); (3) he accelerated the pace of the building ( from the dawn until the stars came out (v.21); and (4) he kept the people in the city day and night. Boice/ Packer, pg 106

Principle: Preparing for crisis by employing the proper resources in the most likely proximity of advances the likelihood of success.

Beyond this, Nehemiah was a source of strength by…
Referring regularly to the confidence in God…(4:14,20)
Regularly enjoining the family’s ( community ) support in prayer…(4:9)
Regularly accepting the hardships that come in a truly team effort.(4:23)

It was the worst of times: Discouragement
After the newness had worn off of the initial commitment, the reality of the weight of the side arms and the weight of the burden began to show up. (4:16,18,10)
What’s needed in those moments is a continual reminder of God’s support. (4:20)(2:20)
Where do we find such encouragement beyond what “the pastor” might dispense?
Ps. 27:1-4,11,14

Lingering thoughts!

The Long Walk to Humanity

Bethel pm round table
2.5.12q
Title: The Long walk to humanity
Theme: Doctrine
Topic: Jesus/ Incarnation
Text: Is. 9:6
Big Idea: Balanced theology means a balanced view of Jesus.

WHERE WE’VE BEEN:
So far we have begun this building project by laying a good, solid foundation on which to construct our understanding of these truths that matter most. We are at work building both the structure of our understanding and the skill set necessary to fully enjoy its amenities. We entered this process with an examination of the Doctrine of The Bible, the value of the Scriptures as they impact our life’s work and activity, and a thorough understanding of God; why we should know Him and why we would want to love Him.

SEEKING TO KNOW JESUS
Jesus as the Incarnate of God: Is. 9:6
God wastes little time in affirming both the Deity of His and His humanity. In Is. 9:6, we read a verse that helps to understand the balance between deity and humanity.
A Son is given
And a Child is given to us
And then, the Apostle Paul: Romans 1:3-4

The value of example… Look no further than in the gospels:
John 2:1-11: Wedding
Matt. 8:23-27: water
John 19: Crucifixion

Challenges to the truth came early in he church’s history
Arianism: Jesus is not God
Gnosticism: Jesus cannot be human
Docetism: incarnation of Jesus only in appearance because who is Holy cannot unite with evil. Man is evil. (dokeo= to appear)

Challenges rebutted early
John the Apostle:
I John 1:1-3/ note the senses
I John 4:2-3

The church’s creeds:
Chalcedon (AD 451)
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, of reasonable (rational) soul and body; coessential with the Father according to the godhead, coessential with us, according to the manhood ; in all things like unto us without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father, according to the godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the virgin Mary,the mother of God, according to the manhood; one and the same Christ; Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one substance, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the Same Son, Only-begotten God,The Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hanging Flesh on Jesus, The eternal Son
Trans: out of the Ivory Palaces… Into a world of Woe:

And then came Jesus…Luke 2:1-8
Jim Bishop: Pg. 125
Into a world of woe! Pg. 127
To take what appears insignificant and make it Strong:
I Cor. 1:27

CONCLUSION
True story: pg 131
JESUS CHRIST–
Marked down 50%
GET HIM WHILE YOU CAN