So BIG it leaves us confused and disturbed.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There were promises and there were warnings. Clearly ancient words were spoken and recorded, prophesying, predicting what was to come – but few in the future believed. Time ebbed and flowed, dynasties and massive people groups shifted over hundreds of years, burying the truth alive in plain site. Yet one day, perfectly timed with precision, God sent Gabriel to announce the day of all days had come! Did the other angels know? Was heaven notified ahead of time? The news was never a secret, but the moment must have been highly guarded – maybe just God and Gabriel!

All history and all future would be extraordinarily changed by this annunciation – Mary, “you will.”

You will conceive.
You will give birth.
You will name him.

Then, He will be great.
He will be called.
The Lord God will give him.
And He will reign – over Israel forever and His Kingdom will never end.

All of this spoken to a humble, virtually unknown, young woman. Understandably Luke tells us Mary was “diatarassó,” thoroughly disturbed and “dialogizomai,” debated within herself – what does this all mean? Mary was completely knocked off center simply by Gabriel visiting her and complimenting her as being “highly favored with grace.”

After hearing what would take place within her young womb and who would yet to be conceived, and who that yet to be born person would become, she asked, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Gabriel simply explained this one time supernatural event that would take place within her. The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” Mary’s famous words, “I am a female servant, a “doulé,” of the Lord. May it come into being, exactly as you have said.” From disturbed and debating to resolute with the will of Almighty God!

Even though this was a one-time, never to be repeated event, God is still fulfilling promises today. There are hundreds of yet to be announced prophecies that are scheduled to happen – maybe within our lifetime! For sure, we can give ourselves permission to question how or when, but being a believer or not – what God has said will become reality. Each one of the BIG, bizarre predictions and promises found in Revelation, will happen! Through who, or by when, or how it will all come to pass – we don’t know. But like Mary, anyone who is as wise and humble as this once young virgin, will say, “I am your “doulos,” your servant, may it come to be exactly as God has said.” Be aware. Believe and be ready! We may not have regular angelic visitors, but God is still dropping earth-shaking moves around the world. And, there some really BIG events yet to come.

Prayer

Dad,
I know you are still at work, still fulfilling prophetic promises all around us. It should not surprise us nor catch us unaware. Your word tells us that when the BIG events of wrapping up this life and the creation of a new earth, people will be having “normal” days when the events of Revelation take place. I don’t want to be confused or disturbed, I want to be excited to see the return of Jesus! Come quickly Lord Jesus, Amen.

The theology of spiritual gifts.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Paul, in his second of thirteen letters to churches, wrote to the churches in Corinth around 53-54 AD. In his letter to the churches in Galatia, he writes about the “fruit of the Holy Spirit.” As we see here in Paul’s introductory remarks, he begins to lay out this understanding of spiritual gifts, given to individuals to advance the cause of Christ both in the “ecclesia,” the gathering of believers as well as the marketplace among nonbelievers.

Paul tells the church, “you’ve got every spiritual gift you need.” He also encourages them that these gifts and it will help as they eagerly wait for Jesus’ return, the “parousia,” his coming. It’s Paul’s last thought in his introduction that jumps out at me! Paul writes “for he has called or invited us into “koinónia” this deep, intimate fellowship and communal participation.” It always amazes me that God solely and supernaturally provides for us a way back to himself, through the sacrifice of his son.” And yet, God also asks us, calls us, to JOIN him in this process of salvation, of redemption both within the body of Christ (the church) and those who have not yet believed!

The spiritual gifts that Paul introduced to the church for the first time are THE ways God makes us abundantly rich, equipping us to both be disciples and make disciples. The beauty of this idea of spiritual gifts is that everyone who loves and follows Jesus has them and everyone can begin figuring out how, when and where to use them. This is what we do until Jesus returns! We lavish the love of Jesus on those around us, using the gifts he has given to love one another and be the light, mercy and grace to those who do not yet believe in him.

Paul led one of the wildness churches in the New Testament in this theology of Spiritual Gifts to prove that God can and will use anyone who humbles themselves in obedience and wonder. Do you know there are whole denominations that do not even believe these spiritual gifts are for us today? They won’t teach it, or they will spin it to mean something completely opposite of what Paul intended. These gifts are, and have always been for all believers. There were many years that church leaders and the people in the “pew” were taught that only the priests, pastors, bishops of elders could practice these gifts in the body of Christ. Sadly, there were also too many years that folks let it happen! Terms were used to separate the profession class of “clergy” and the “do as your told” class of “laity.” There are no such distinctions in the New Testament Church! We are all one body under Jesus. Those concepts of the separation of professional and common have caused great harm to Christ’s Church, His body. God help us to return to the Biblical theology of Spiritual gifts that Paul wrote about so long ago.

Prayer

​Dad,

What a joy it is to find purpose and charis, grace or gifts that you assign to us! I know the Church has had several resurgences over the past 50 years, but the average believer is still having difficulty understanding their gifts and using them in the Church and the marketplace. Why is that? Your guy Paul wrote this thousands of years ago! Is it still so controversial? Is it intimidating? Would followers of Jesus still rather leave it to “professionals” or “paid” staff to do it all? There is so much we could do if we all used these gifts you have given each of us. Help us Oh Lord! Let your Word come to life through all of Your body. Amen.

What impresses God?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭1‬-‭3‬a NLT‬‬

Basically, God tells Isaiah, “let it rip!” Tell all, tell it loud and clear. Don’t hold back anything when announcing the sins of the nation.

Immediately, God sets out to describe the comparison between how Israel sees themselves and how He sees the state of the country. God says, “look at them, don’t they act so pious!” They act like a righteous nation, sacredly adhering to the laws of God. In their confidence they pray and cozy up to God. Then in the most visible acts of spirituality, they fasted and asked, “God, why aren’t you impressed?” They were impressed with themselves and could not understand why God would not take notice of all the spiritual advancements they had made. What happened? Why such the disparity? How does God see the corporate condition of Israel’s heart? Especially when Israel sees themselves as a smashing success or at least an earnest effort to do so.

God tells the country what he is actually looking for, what makes a nation, a people, physically and spiritually superior. God looks for obedience that affects both the upper echelon of leadership to the lowest of those who were often cheated and abused and used to advance the power and wealth of Israel’s leaders.

God tells them exactly what they were actually doing. “I will tell you why! It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?”

God is certainly not against fasting, penance and prayer. Isaiah tells them “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.” It’s both and! It’s spiritual acts of humility AND physical acts of caring for the least, the needy and poor – connecting spiritual to social responsibility.

So what impresses God? Micah 6:8 tells us succinctly: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” As leaders in government, business, health, education, protective services, technology and churches, we would be wise to be both spiritually humble and socially active. To be just and merciful.

Prayer

​Dad,
There has been such a tense and active discussion about our spiritual verses social responsibility. These ancient words you spoke to Isaiah, should be just as powerful today as when they were written. Your Word is eternal! I’ll admit, both the spiritual and social behaviors are hard! They are not hard to speak of in words, but oh so difficult to practice in obedience. Help us as citizens of earth and heaven. Help us as leaders who guide others to be just and merciful. Amen.

God hears and answers.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. ‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

John answers the question many new believers often ask after praying or being led to repent and/or repeating a prayer by another. For some, the idea of a simple prayer holding such immediate and meaningful change in their life is hard to believe and understand. Of course the words are important, but God is looking and listening to our hearts! God knows the status of our need, faith and honest conversion.

John’s words here to the churches, likely in the Ephesus region, are an admonition, an encouragement to continue to follow through with faith, in “parrésia,” boldness, confidence that God is listening and active in our salvation. It is faith that pleases God, so beginning to grow and practice faith, right from the start is critical. Given those kinds of request, earnest and aligning with God’s desires (will), John is confident that God will give us what we ask for. This is good news! Not only that God hears us, but also is at work to answer those requests.

Our whole existence is an exercise and expression of faith. Jesus said, “we have not because we don’t ask.” Jesus also asked, what father doesn’t want to give good gifts? When a child asks for something they need does a good Dad trick them and give them a snake, stone or scorpion instead? No, good Dads only give good gifts! God only gives us good!

These are reminders for those who have walked with Jesus for many years or they are just starting their journey. Asking and believing for eternal life is just the beginning of a long, lasting relationship with our eternal and gracious God. Each prayer, matched with God’s answers help us grow in our faith and grow in our ability to share truth experiences with others. If these letters were written to the believers in Ephesus, this confidence, these moments of faith, plus watching God answer those requests would be quite the powerful testimony.

This is especially important in light of the city where the majority placed their lives and livelihoods in the hands of the fake god – Diana (Artemis). The cultural wars within the city would have as big as the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Except in this case, instead of a massive gathering with fire consuming the altar, the people John is writing to would be shining their light one miracle at a time.

This is another example of Jesus commanding his followers to both BE a disciple and MAKE disciples. Being a disciple is growing in faith, confidently asking God for what we need. Making disciples is sharing the good news that the one and only living God does more than just listen – God answers our requests!

Prayer

​Dad,
I knew that you heard me when I pray, when I ask for help, guidance or specific needs. John’s encouragement to the churches in Ephesus remind me that you also answer! It reminds me that you are always working in and through my life. But even more, that those answers to my prayers become a way to share with believers and unbelievers alike. To those in the church it becomes a testimony, and encourages others to pray as well. To those who are curious about you or are frustrated talking to the “universe,” useless statues or believing they are their own god. Hearing my faith stories allows them to experience truth. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers! Amen.

When coincidence is really providence.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Dr. Luke’s gospel gives us the backstory to John the Baptist’s birth, and it reads like it was a random event on some normal day. It was not random and it was anything but normal. What the temple team of priests believed to be just another appointment from an order of qualified priests to fulfill this rare and honorable service, turned out to be the beginning of a global and eternal event.

The name “Zechariah” means “Yahweh remembers.” Zech was at least in his sixties. He and his wife, Elizabeth were without children. God not only “remembered” his promise to Israel, he remembered it through the gift of a son through this childless couple! Zechariah was “chosen by lot” to go inside the temple and burn incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. It is considered a great honor. Since there were a large number of priests, no priest was allowed to serve as the officiating priest more than once in his lifetime. Sometimes the high priest himself officiated. The priests were divided into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles 24:7-18), of which Zechariah’s “division of Abijah” is eighth in the rotation. Priests and their families would live in Jerusalem or in various nearby villages, but when their division was called up for duty for a week, twice each year, the priests would come to Jerusalem to work in the Temple. Each day about 50 priests would have been on duty, with perhaps 300 on duty during a given week. As the officiating priest, it was Zechariah’s job to place incense on the heated altar and then prostrate himself in prayer. The incense represented the prayers of the people. Outside, the people were reciting this prayer during the incense offering: “May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people.” (*)

From the temple team, to the priests and all involved that day appeared to be just another day, but it wasn’t. And, what appeared to be a rare and random honor for Zechariah, was planned by God before time and the foundations of the earth existed.

The amount of incidents and activities happening at the same time around the globe are completely unknown and incalculable to us. Our perception is that these events seemingly come out of nowhere – especially when we are personally experiencing them. Yet, God in his wisdom, is not only outside of time itself, but he mysteriously experiences the past, present and future simultaneously! God has a plan and a purpose for everything. And God’s purposes are not random, not coincidence.

When we know Jesus, trust Jesus, listen to and obey Jesus – we are living IN God’s providential, purposeful life. God directs our path. When we see impossibilities, God creates new paths where none existed before. In Zechariah’s story, God interrupted Zach’s honorable, but very normal day. All of this was so overwhelming for Zechariah, that he found it easier to doubt than to believe. How many angels ever showed up before or after, in the temple, on any of their high and holy days? Answer: NONE. It was over Zach’s head, it was beyond his understanding and completely and miraculously outside of anything he had ever experienced. When God shows up, are we going to believe him and obey, or like Zechariah, question him and inform him of what he can’t do?

Prayer

Dad,
To believe in you, to trust you, to walk with you – we must embrace the supernatural. Miracles are an every moment, everyday experience with you. I am surprised that there is so much resistance to the mystery and wonder of how you work in us and through us. Is it fear that holds us back? Is it our concern of being disappointed? Or is it just a general lack of faith that comes with our fallen state? I know there is a world above and beyond the physical and spiritual boundaries we experience in this life. But more than that, I know there is the life you promised us – a life full, abundant and spectacularly more than the humdrum moments that we call normal. I have learned that you are always at work, always creating new and always engaging with humanity to reveal your grace in our brokenness. I can relate to Zechariah’s question, “How can this be?” But I am learning and leaning into the answer. It CAN BE because you are our miraculous God! Amen.

Template for a great leader.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly.” Psalms‬ ‭72‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

King David in Psalm 72 seems to pray a proclamation of true leadership, true reasons for royalty to protect, provide and preserve the kingdom. David’s prayer captures the core of what it looks like when one leads with power and wealth to wield and leverage righteousness to yield prosperity, peace and equality.

The psalm lays out the template for Solomon to be an effective and truly great king. The king should be deeply invested in the people, that they would “flourish during his reign,” that they would prosper in every way possible. Yet the king’s eye would always be attentive to “rescue the poor when they cry to him,” and “help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.” The king’s heart would constantly be leaning toward the weak and needy, obsessing with ways to “redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.” The might and authority of great kings, great leaders is to always look out for the least, lifting them from pits, lending them their own power.

We may recognize, this is how our Almighty God rules and reigns forever. God’s power and wealth have no end, His wisdom stoops toward the weak and His peace, grace and mercy are lavished on the meek and humble. Yes! This is not just a template not for kings, but for anyone who would lead others in their care! Question: How would you say David measured up to this kingly template? How about his son, Solomon. How do you think he did?

Prayer

​Dad,
We are not You, not God! However, being created in your image, we are like you. That whole idea of emulating your character and qualities, criticality shows up in how we lead others. I am not a king, nor hold any kind of political position. Yet as a pastor, I have a charge to lead in a righteous and godly manner. I believe it does mean that I get to leverage what little power and money I am given to manage, it must be distributed with an eye to the poor and a heart towards the least of these! I must lead as you have led us – with wisdom, grace and mercy. Amen.

Among the hopelessly confused.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Paul, writing to the churches in Ephesus, while Timothy was Bishop, hits hard about abandoning the “Gentile” ways. The majority of the city were Gentiles. Cities have a culture, and Ephesus was a deeply religious city. Problem was, it was zealous about the worship of Diana, god of fertility. Diana (Artemis) was the patron deity of Ephesus, Turkey, whose temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World! Her giant statue stood in front of the ginormous Greek temple, prominently placed downtown, at the corner of their market and main street. The locals, merchants and marines, all believed their livelihood depended on keeping Diana happy. The entire city was entirely idol worship.

When Paul says the Gentiles were hopelessly confused, he uses two Greek words that mean walking around in futility. The term “mataiotés” refers to the concept of vanity or futility, often used to describe the transient and purposeless nature of worldly pursuits and human endeavors apart from God. Translation – pursuing fake gods, personal ‘em betterment, and seeking higher powers eventually becomes empty and meaningless. Nasty trick, right?

Paul’s words to us futility seekers is to BEWARE. It only leads to dark, closed minds and hardened hearts. No one seeks “enlightenment” trying to pursue dark, closed minds and hearts! Paul warned that it only leaves us with no sense of shame (apalgeó: callous, to cease to feel pain, to be past feeling), living for lustful pleasure and eagerly practicing every kind of impurity. The non-God/fake god route literally yields an empty, passionless, gluttonous life! But every “Gentile” I know thinks they are the exception. They can beat the odds, they’re special. They believe they can find and live the happy fulfilled life sans the living God. And every single time they are deceived by their own arrogance and end up hopeless, yet still trying to prop up the lie that it’s working.

Paul explains that the only way to escape this Gentile-foolery is to instead, “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. And, by putting on a new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” I say to my fellow Gentiles, I beg of you – give it up. Quit trying to customize your own religion to become something or someone that is impossible to be without Jesus.

Prayer

​Dad,
Growing up in a non-religious family, there were a few who tried to better themselves through enlightenment, and some that even thought church attendance and volunteering would suffice as a path to the good life. In the end, they found their attempts to be empty when facing death. At the end of their days they desperately wanted truth and answers about the afterlife. Those things can only be found in You. Thank you for your patience and grace in our searching, our longing. May you meet each soul with mercy as they turn their hearts towards You. Amen

Jerusalem has its day.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jerusalem had, has and will have its day! God seems to really care about cities, especially Jerusalem. There are more than 300 cities mention in the Old Testament and hundreds more in the New Testament. When Robin and me had the privilege of going to Israel, I realized the importance of geography, specifically the cities where all the people of the Bible have lived. I believe that a third of our theology is found in the geography of the land of Israel. It’s hard to completely understand God’s entire story without having a grasp of the history of the region.

You actually can feel the city’s significance as you ascend into Jerusalem. Millions of people want to visit just to see, even touch a part of the history of these ancient places. Jerusalem continues to play an important role all the way through to the end of days. Revelation mentions the new Jerusalem in Rev 3:12, 21 and 2:10.

Isaiah prophetically predicted the true central, and extraordinarily eternal coming of the Messiah into this famous city. “The glory of the Lord rises and appears,” over Jerusalem and “all nations will come to your light.” The importance of cities has me thinking a lot about my own city of Los Angeles, City of the Angels. Maybe I am being too negative or critical, but LA hasn’t felt all that angelic for sometime. I am very thankful for the myriad of nonprofits and ministries that are helping the poor, the disenfranchised and the homeless, but it is tough work! Our streets of LA and the surrounding suburbs have thousands of mentally ill or desperately addicted men and women pandering and panhandling our streets everyday.

While driving down my own main street a woman crossed the street against the red light, she was not only completely naked, but she had a needle dangling from her arm as she zombie-walked to the other corner. It was crushingly sad to see her in such desperation. We need the light and love of Jesus to penetrate our dark streets of lawlessness, rage and hopelessness. My suburb city and Los Angeles need the angels of God just to bring the possibility of hope. Jerusalem will have its final days, but until then I pray that Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Austin, Detroit, Chicago and Washington DC will have the light of Christ shone down upon us.

Prayer

​Dad,
I see the brokenness within our cities and I pray. I pray that Satan would be banished from our city and that your mighty warrior angels would return to being hope, love, justice and righteousness. I want children to be able to walk their neighborhood in safety. So that single moms can shop without fear of street thugs. So that fathers would quit filling the bars and return home, spending what little money they make on the families instead of their cars, their beer and their drugs. Bring Your light into our dark streets Oh God! May your glory rise once again. Amen.

A blameless man gets blamed.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.” ‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let’s be honest, God is certainly not overly concerned about creating mystery and tension in our human experience! The book of Job is one of those proofs. Job is the oldest written book in the Bible, from an unknown author about an unknown man. Job presents more questions than it does answers, but it is a fascinating read!

We are introduced to Job in poetic storytelling fashion – “There was once a man…” But remember, this is no fairytale! He lived in the land of Uz. Where is Uz and why does it sound so similar to Oz? Uz is a bit of a mystery as well. It is believed to be ancient Edom, and was located in the northwest corner of Arabia, southeast of Israel. Today it would possibly be Uzbekistan. When was Job alive? Many scholars place Job in the patriarchal period, around the same time that Abraham lived (Genesis 11:28–29). Even though we know very little about Job, he was noted to be blameless (“tam” perfect), a man known for absolute integrity (“yashar” refers to living in accordance with God’s laws and principles, embodying integrity and righteousness). Additionally, he stayed clear of evil in his dealings with others.

Not only was he a straight up solid, honest man – he was really wealthy. Not just wealthy in the currency of the day (animal stock), but also in the amount of ranch-hands he employed. And, he and his wife had 10 kids! Wow, Mrs. Job must have been a very busy woman as well. It is noted that he was the richest guy in the region. It doesn’t take much of a stretch to realize this, the people who knew Job and saw what he had would have completely believed this guy was BLESSED by someone. I would say he was blessed by God, the creator of all things. Others, may have thought he was blessed by nonexistent little g-gods. Some may have even thought that Job was such the richly righteous guy that he was PERFECT and deserved the wealth, massive land ownership and large family. This is just the kind of setup to tell us what ended up happening to Job and it would rattle everyone’s ideology AND theology!

The story shifts from a scene on earth to a scene that takes place in the heavens. “One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.” Job‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬. Read the story for yourself, but be warned, it’s a rough ride to figure out the one thing we all want to know – WHY? Lots of Biblical scholars try to explain Job as though it were simple and clear. I have some thoughts, but I enjoy the mystery more than clarity at this stage of my life.

Prayer

​Dad,
Early on in my faith journey I learned a very important lesson. You are God, I am not. You are always right, true and just. When things don’t seem right or make sense this side of eternity, I am 100% sure that it is my human perspective that cannot see nor understand the full scope of your will and your ways while here on earth. I knew then what I am still confident about today – I live on a broken planet among broken people and we all exist in the shadows until the full light of Jesus Christ is revealed at the end of days. Amen.

Unexpected stories from extraordinary people.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke was not one of Jesus’s original 12 Apostles. So he wasn’t an apostle, but he sure acts like one. It is believed that Luke was most likely one “of the seventy,”. History tells us that Luke was a really smart guy! He was a physician, a theologian and a historian. If you see the trifecta of those skill sets you know why Luke starts his gospel, his account of the life of Jesus with such bravado. “Many people have attempted…” but I also have investigated and decided to write an accurately ordered, successively, one after another account!

According to history, Luke had not been a follower of Jesus before he died. Being biologically Jewish but culturally Greek, he had to have followed the controversial stories of Jesus admitting that He was THE Messiah. Luke became a believer, then a follower of THE WAY (a common phrase used to describe Jesus people). Luke not only journaled, he also journeyed with Paul, eventually writing the book of Acts. Luke was the best of biographers, writing one about the life of Jesus, the other the life of the early Church. It is believed that Luke wrote Acts in such a way that Paul would present the “book” to Caesar himself in Rome. Acts is a full testament of truth about the power of Jesus to transform a religious terrorist into an evangelist while watching the fulfillment of a promise of bringing salvation to the Gentiles as well.

Luke writes to Theophilus, a title given to a person of great wealth and influence. It is not clear whether this man was a High Priest in Jerusalem just after Jesus’ day, or that Theophilus was a high-ranking, influential Gentile official. Most likely the latter. Either way, Luke tells Theophilus, “you can be secure in the truth” of what you have been taught.

Secure in the truth – oh how I wish this generation would anchor themselves to the faith they were raised in, knowing that it is not a truth, it is THE truth. These facts about Jesus aren’t “my” truth nor “our” truth – it is God’s truth. These two books (Luke and Acts), written by Luke, were used to bring many people to faith in Jesus Christ, and to believe in His death and resurrection! Then help guide them to follow Jesus, obeying what he taught, doing what he did for the rest of their lives. Luke’s book are more than just stories about Jesus, they are also systems of how to live our life being a disciple and making disciples. Thank God for His living Word inspired, directed and recorded by men like Dr. Luke!

Prayer

​Dad,
The consistency and wonder of your Word just continually amazes me. Most of the men and women recorded in the Bible were just normal, if not ordinary people. However, then comes these really unique and driven people like Doctor Luke and the Apostle Paul. Thank you for working in and through all of us, making wise the simple and using the weak to speak to powerful rulers. Amen.