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That hour.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John‬ ‭12:27-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Up until last year I had no real sense of the timing of all that surrounds Holy Week. As a church we decided to focus on “The Way of the Cross” or the stations of the cross. I did a sermon series called, “Talk about it” because I had a feeling that although the majority of the world knew much more about Holy Week and Jesus journey from the Garden of Gethsemane to Golgotha because of Catholicism, that many protestants and pentecostals knew virtually nothing. I confess, that was me. I had no idea of the intensity of the last twelve hours of Jesus life before the cross, from 3 am to 3 pm.

In the garden Jesus asked God if there was a way around this “cup,” this “hour.” I had always understood Jesus’ arrest, illegal mock trials, torture, humiliation and eventually the absolute most inhumane way to die the reason Jesus was troubled about this last hour the cup of suffering. Jesus would experience all of that being completely innocent, doing nothing wrong. He would in fact experience the worst injustice of any human that ever lived! But none of that eleven hours was what Jesus was trying to avoid. He was fully aware of what that kind of suffering would be like.

If you’ve seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, you know that it was a miracle that Jesus physical body could even make it to the cross. He had been without sleep, food or water. He had been beaten so badly that his blood loss was significant. But still, none of that was the reason Christ asked to avoid THE HOUR. It’s an hour that only the Son of Man, Son of God COULD experience and feel the absolute terror of those moments. None of us, as humans, will experience that hour until after death and judgment.

The reason Jesus wanted any other way for salvation, for a fulfilled contract to be paid, for justice to be satisfied and for ultimate glory to be brought to God was a complete and total separation from God, because God cannot look upon sin. The moment that Jesus cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (My God my God why have you forsaken me?) it was because Jesus BECAME, he bore, he embodied OUR sin! And the feeling he felt had never been experienced before – a complete and ultimate separation from God. God not only turned away, he withdrew his presence that Jesus had intimately been acquainted with since conception in Mary’s womb. And in the moments of that last hour he experienced an eternity of darkness. And, in those three days of being dead, he made a trip to Hades, freeing prisoners from the place of waiting. Christ was still at work even after death!

PRAYER

Dad,
After all these years of walking with you and I am still experiencing new and deeper understanding of who you are and what you have done for US! I find myself more amazed, more grateful and more excited to see how it all ends. It makes me long for the finish line, not to escape this world’s mess, or the struggles and sin in this life, but just to finally make complete sense of ALL OF IT. We still do see with dark panes of glass and try to figure out what reality looks like through dirty glasses. Soon we will see clearly and we’ll also see you face to face! I look forward to that.

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It can be a wonderful life.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me. I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.” Proverbs‬ ‭8:17-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Wisdom is so generous! But she must be sought after and respected. It is interesting that when people think of riches or wealth, be it bitcoin or gold and silver, no one really associates it with wisdom. Wealth is more often associated with greed, manipulation and slick, smooth fast talkers bilking folks out of their hard earned money.

Wisdom says, get me and wealth will follow but it will not only come by hard work but also earned by how you treat others.

I know some wealthy people and they did not gain by i’ll-means and they are super generous. Their wealth had all the markings of hard work, smart decisions, right decisions, justice and yes – wisdom. It would be foolish to think for some moment that I should strip away their wealth and give it to someone who has not worked, not earned, not made good decisions and certainly not learned or even attempted to get close to wisdom!

This is not equality, this is moronic shortcuts to some humanistic principle of “rights.” I’ll tell about rights, wisdom says “come one come all and search for me, learn my ways, listen to me and I will lead you.” Wisdom gives the right to a great life by invitation NOT by some kind of socialistic lottery system. Why won’t some just come and learn? I have no idea! But wisdom (which by the way IS Jesus himself) doesn’t come free. It comes at a great cost to the giver (God) and the receiver (learner).

There are wealthy that are wicked for sure. And they did not gain their money or power through paths of righteousness or wisdom. Their path was stealing, manipulating, tricking and hooking the poor and the fool to gain their trust. Their path looks like casinos, lotteries and unaccountable welfare systems that rob humans of dignity and traps them into cycles of debt and dependency. Our only hope is through wisdom! And, wisdom is the first thing God gives a new believer who will continue to commit and walk with him in this journey through life. Get Jesus, get wisdom.

PRAYER:

Dad,
You are generous beyond measure in grace and wisdom. Knowledge itself starts with fearing your. And a all-in pursuit of you is a life long curiosity and education in wisdom. Thank you for the disciple and the patience to walk these paths of righteousness and justice to find wisdom and love her ways. Now looking back, wealth or the reality of having enough was absolutely a concern and often an outright fear. And, I can’t ignore the financial responsibilities that you have allowed wisdom to so carefully teach me. But I have learned that money is not the only riches that come from a godly life, a life engaging with wisdom. I also have friends, wonderful eternal friends that remind me of how truly wealthy I am. It becomes a wonderful life for sure!

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Exhausted but fulfilled.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.” Luke‬ ‭6:20-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is something uniquely holy and all together supernatural about doing God work. Jesus had an entire night of prayer, talking with God about all that was happening and all that would happen.

I’ve had a few talks with my sons and daughters. I’d say, “how’d you’re day go?” They would tell me the good and more frustrating parts of their day. These updates are often filled with highs and lows, sadness and hilarity. Then it would move on to “what’s up next?” Oftentimes it would be a list of upcoming events or plans. But sometimes it would be a conversation about dreams and aspirations – and I would drink it in like a tall glass of watermelon iced tea.

After spending a night on the hill, Jesus called his team together and gave twelve of them a group name – you’ll be called Apostles, he said – Messengers, ones sent on a mission.

THEN Jesus comes down to start his day job – healing the sick and kicking demons out of humans. Luke, the doctor, wants us to know that it was hard work, exhausting work because he says, “Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” Hmmm, and he healed everyone? An exaggeration? I doubt it.

Whew, after a night of prayer, a quick but earth-shattering pep-talk with his people and a full day of supernatural power coming out of his soul. Jesus… what? Collapses? No, he gives a summary of the day to his team. He goes over the purpose of mission, the why behind what he’s there for and the template that these newly appointed Apostles would follow later on. He gives to them the quick outline of what the crowd produced in Jesus after a hard day’s work. The beginning of the be-attitudes.

God blesses, blesses, blesses those who are: poor, hungry and crying. These are not just physical deficiencies, they are deep cravings of the soul! Jesus reminds his team, there are those walking among you who are living below the physical and spiritual poverty level. There are those lacking daily physical and spiritual nutrients and are malnourished. And there are those who are physically and spiritually broken, who wake in pain and cry all day long. Jesus is saying this is why he came. Jesus is saying, this will soon be your mission to bless by healing, feeding and consoling. It was a very full day indeed! Prayer is exhilarating, people are exhausting. Welcome to the life of every believers day.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Whoa. That’s quite a day in the life of Jesus! It rattles my reality when I think of the desperation in our culture, the deep longing and searching for relief and something to dull the pain of a purposeless life or far worse. I think of folks in failing relationships, those trapped in addictions to self medicate and perpetually seeking even a moment of peace or a second to quiet their soul. I know people in constant physical pain who wake up wishing their life, their world would change. And to realize that you BLESS those in these dark and lonely places? Well, that’s amazing. And to imagine that you’ve called me to be a messenger, an ambassador of hope? Wow, that’s powerful.

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Birthday Card Blessings

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.” Psalms‬ ‭20:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is one of these sweet easy-going prayers of blessing brought to you by King David himself. These collections of songs are an incredible legacy and constant reminder for anyone who loves life filled with both the highs of delight and also the lows of crushing disappointment.

In the past I’ve had the delight of signing birthday and anniversary cards for hundreds of people. While I was working for Royal Family KIDS, I was signing about 500 cards a year. Now, while Pastoring in Lakewood, California once again I am signing a few less, but still a lot. Every year I pick a reminder verse to write in each birthday card. I love celebrating people and when I write in their cards I think of the very best and highest ways to let them know why they are so loved.

This is one of those passages I will keep and write in cards for 2023. For 2022, I already chose Psalm 90:17 which talks about the favor of God being poured out. These verses, here in this Psalm, are just the thing we need to be reminded of on a regular basis. David’s victory banner in this case will be a birthday banner both celebrating the past and pronouncing a blessing on the future. And, may the Lord truly answer all your prayers – especially the ones that line up with what God already wants to see happen!

PRAYER:

Dad,
Life is so wildly good and unpredictable. And, it is also so hard and filled with deep disappointment. I can’t say that I like or enjoy sin, sickness, wars, division or injustice in our world. But, I can say that all the bad certainly gives perspective and balance compared to the beauty. How interesting that our freedom as human beings yields such a vast disparity between what we can behave like and what we end up behaving like towards you and each other. We all share the strongest bond of commonality as people – flesh and blood, yet we divide based on where we live, when we were born and things like wealth, power and status. We’re an interesting creation to say the least. I know one day you will make it all right, and allow us to experience the innocence of unity, wonder and love when you make our old world completely new. I look forward to that day.

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Maybe you never belonged? Ouch!

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.” 1 John‬ ‭2:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Pastor John…Apostle John, writes some pretty brutal truth in his three short letters to the Church. He’s no longer that sweet, innocent guy that leaned on Jesus’ chest at the last supper.

He’s older, wiser and has experienced the explosive growth of the early church as thousands of people believed in Christ and began gathering together for common good. He now wields truth like a well trained swordsman, and he’s deadly accurate with it. Who are these people who left? They are those who are falling away in the end times, those lured by worldly cravings or have settled to believe the lies of many antichrists. He also mentions a way that you can KNOW that things just aren’t right with you and God – it’s a compelling pull from the Holy Spirit. “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”

John ties in a hard truth about our faith, belief and certainly our behavior. If we are not in fellowship with Christ, it will undoubtedly show up that we are not in fellowship with His Church.

There are statistics flooding in about the serious decline in church attendance. And there could be a good but not great argument that church attendance alone is a horrible indication or mark of a disciple. In other words, it’s very clear that you can sit in a pew or padded chair and win all the church attendance awards possible and not grow, develop or mature as a follower of Jesus at all!

However, I can tell you this NOT being in fellowship with other believers is a sure way to fall away from Christ. I hear story after story of those who had great excuses at first but then they turned into habits, which then turned into the awkward Christmas & Easter christian. The excuses were work (i’ve gotta make a living), sports (my kids must be on a team for their social development) and just tired all the time (Sunday is my only day to…. whatever fish, camp, sleep, game, bike, run, rest).

However, when I hear the truth of what happens in their life and definitely their family is this cool-to-cold passion for Jesus. There must be some correlation between ZERO fellowship with believers and little passion for the love of their life – Jesus! Folks aren’t becoming monks to drive out to the desert to pray and fast on Sundays, they’re just dropping out of the body of Christ.

John’s warning was an “end of days” sign then and it’s certainly true today. So, even though church attendance is a bad way to gauge maturity, it’s also a great way to watch a “falling away” in progress. I would be the first one to acknowledge there have been missteps, mistakes and hurtfulness from within the church. However by now you realize that’s because we’re human – not because the gathering of God’s people is bad! Our relationship with Jesus is primary. The church is THE way for our growth and gospel witness to form us into the image of Christ. It’s where we practice our faith, learning to love, pray, worship and be challenged by hearing God’s word TOGETHER.

Christianity is a cooperative community not a solo lifestyle. I would say you shouldn’t do the believer’s walk alone. John would say you CANNOT do it alone.

PRAYER:

Dad,
My heart aches for the sins of the church in our past. The way we judged, bickered, fought and abused our authority. But I’m also broken for those who would use those hurts as an excuse to walk away from you! I pray for unity. I pray for reconciliation among the family of God. I pray for a restored fellowship of believers. I pray that we would be one, just as you are one.

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Aaron’s first official day on the job!

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water. Dress Aaron with the sacred garments and anoint him, consecrating him to serve me as a priest. Then present his sons and dress them in their tunics. Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests. With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.” Exodus‬ ‭40:12-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What a day. The level of attention to detail is astounding. God instructed Moses, talking to him of course, about exactly what he wanted and where he wanted each item to be placed. Then a whole other checklist of details for himself and the priests that would serve as hosts and mediators while in the desert and throughout all generations. This was a serious assignment.

This job came with serious consequences for error. I can almost imagine a sign posted as you approach the tabernacle reading like a safety record, “0 Deaths” while serving God this month.

Each and every detail had purpose behind it. Nothing was random and without design. It all seems to me as I read through the instructions of attending to the tabernacle, which would later transfer to the temple, it is overwhelming. But I’m sure there was slow, methodical checking and routines that made it possible. God wanted anyone that approached the place of covenant to be washed, dressed appropriately and anointed – all to be set apart, to be holy before God. None of this would have been taken lightly. It was very serious to be called to be a priest.

Here Moses mentioned the sacred garments, the uniform while on duty. It was also extremely detailed. The entire 28th chapter of Exodus covers it – “Make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful. Instruct all the skilled craftsmen whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom. Have them make garments for Aaron that will distinguish him as a priest set apart for my service.” Exodus‬ ‭28:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬.

I love the idea of a generational anointing, a blessing setting them apart for service to God and to the people. I especially like the idea that this anointing for Aaron and his sons would be forever. Does that mean that even though Jesus fulfilled all the functions and duties as the once-for-all high priest that Aaron’s progeny would still be in service though no longer as mediators? I think so! How interesting. We know from history that this priestly journey for Aaron’s kids were a very bumpy one, yet a promise is a promise – right?

I enjoy thinking about God’s attention to detail when I read through the Old Testament because it reminds me to pay attention to the details that show up in the New Testament. With God there is always a perfect WHY behind ever WHAT – we just don’t know all of them because God is both so far above and beyond us AND He’s awesomely a mysterious God as well!

PRAYER:

Dad,
I don’t know if I would have done well in the Old Testament/Covenant context. There are so many stories of extreme highs of faithfulness and horrible lows of sin and disobedience. Then there are amazing stories of heroism and great feats of faith as well as brutal, even violent behaviors of evil towards you and their own families. I think that hardest part would be keeping your laws and not being drawn way or distracted by the way other nations did things. I am certainly glad to under the law of grace as well as the covering of Jesus for my sins and failures. For that I am eternally grateful.

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Wisdom doesn’t celebrate April fools.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding.” Proverbs‬ ‭8:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Ok, today’s proverb is too perfect for the calendar! It’s April Fool’s Day. A day that used to be filled with jokes, puns, tricks and stunts you’d play on your teacher, co-worker, boss, family or friend. It should just be called “prank” day but apparently on tiktok or IG that’s everyday.

Proverbs is filled with this word fool. And, basically there are only four different Hebrew words used. In this one verse, two of them are used – kesil & pthiy. These two would be the most used words for fool and they are both the more innocent words, describing folks who are slow or simple.

Don’t misread these as critical for those born with special needs or some kind of diminished mental capacity or delays in learning. That is NOT what proverbs is about.

These fools are fools by behavior, choice, regular consistent lifestyle decisions that leaves them vulnerable by lack of learning. The fact that wisdom is BEGGING them to see, hear and make changes, reinforces the idea that they are this way because of sin, or selfish stubbornness.

The wisdom writers have wisdom personified, calling out to the “kesil” stupid, dullard, fool. And says to use good judgment. This is the word, prudence. It is interesting because this specific Hebrew word is a normally a negative word, but here it is to be used and applied POSITIVELY for the one who ALWAYS seems to be taken advantage of. There are to learn and apply some shrewdness or craftiness. Think about this. Sometimes the simple are always being mistreated unfairly because they’ve never learned the art of reading other people’s motives. They become victims of a continuous cycle because they’ve got this emotional target on their back that says “kick me.” Wisdom says, take off the sign and start paying attention to being ripped off! Quit “believing in others” to the point of sacrificing your own self worth and self respect. Get some shrewdness, LEARN to find your voice and stand up for yourself.

To the “pthiy” fool. The simple, perhaps open-minded, (when used negatively the root word, pathah, means open – like an airhead). Wisdom has some different advice, she says show some understanding – the word “bin”: to discern. For these folks who are silly (i.e. seducible) and may love playing the clown or enjoying the momentary attention that this “act” may bring. Wisdom calls out their nonsense and gives stern warning that this lifestyle is filled with heartache and they will continue to be the beneficiary of bad “luck”. It’s not bad luck, it’s just sad to see them live down to the worst of what others see and never apply themselves to change. This again is someone who constantly leans on an apparent ease of apathy, of no concerns for anything serious or consequences of inaction. Their perception of themselves and the world around them is a perpetual lie! Wisdom’s advice, start filling your head with something of substance, like knowledge or passion, or God’s word. Quit living life with a helium-filled brain!

If these two words describe you in anyway – you CAN CHANGE. Do not believe the lie that life will never get any better or that you can never be anything different. If you know a “fool,” love them, but be straight with them. Call them up to better. See their potential and constantly remind them of a future that is good. Offer help and feedback to get them unstuck and moving forward.

Have fun with the day of pranks, but please don’t play the fool.

PRAYER:

Dad,
I am so thankful for your wisdom. You are an amazing father to the fatherless and you do such a good job training us in wisdom, discernment and discipline.

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How could religion can be so off mission?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.” Luke‬ ‭6:7-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How could things have gone so far off-mission? We have the teachers of religious law and we have Jesus, completely human and God. And, they don’t agree on the correct interpretation nor the intent of God’s law. So the gospel writers give us these little “show-downs.”

Over the hundreds of years the scribes appointed by Ezra were asked to fulfill an important role on behalf of God. God never asked Ezra to assign this to a specific class of men, but it started out so simple, what could be the harm? The scribes duties were as caretakers: protect the law, the temple and the priesthood. Don’t MAKE laws or create systems to care for the temple or elevate and secure the priests to positions of power and wealth. Just help Israel keep God’s stuff in good working order.

Then over many hundreds of years through captivity and wars, and two complete cultural collapses of Judaism, the scribes took on the role of the Israeli secret police per se. They were the watchdogs of everything sacred and meaningful to the Jewish people. It is both surprising and heroic that they were successful in their pursuits and that the law, the temple system and priesthood were still in tact and operational by the time Christ is born and Israel/Judaism is still alive!

The names changed from simple scribes to Pharisees and Sadducees, but their roles had only increased in power and authority. By the time Jesus was thirty, these guys ran EVERYTHING. These “religious leaders” were now wealthy, powerful and very politically involved (too involved). I’ve written this before, but I’m kind of surprised Jesus didn’t THANK them for doing such a fantastic job protecting God’s stuff for him! They actually did keep things going!

Ah, but I’m also surprised that Jesus never had a conversation like this, “Did you guys forget who you work for?” You look and behave nothing like any of the prescribed attendants that Moses wrote about. I’m shocked that Jesus didn’t just directly tell them, “you’re supposed to work for me!”

These stories of conflict over the law and its practical application are how we know the religious leaders were OFF MISSION. The law was FOR people. God’s law was created for people, not people created for the law! Jesus question struck at the heart of the conflict about the Sabbath, “is this a day to SAVE life or DESTROY it? This question would apply to ALL of God’s laws really. Was the law created to save or destroy humans? That one is tricky. Of course it was created to save humans. However, it was also created to give us a clear standard of perfection that would prove how selfish and self-centered we really are. No one was able to keep all of the big ten. And anyone that could not keep the entire big ten would be judged and sentenced for NOT keeping ALL of them!

But, back to the story. Jesus was furious that these self-elevated scribes had so twisted God’s intention – that HEALING on the holy day would be even considered WORK! How horribly wrong could they be? As religious leaders they should have been FIRED and smoked!

Luke writes about the audacity of their complete and utter misunderstanding of their mission. They were NOT protecting they were perpetrating! And they were angry, wild with rage AT God for allowing such a flagrant disregard for all the work they done to perfect themselves. How dare God question our laws! Well now you see now what the fight was all about and who wins. Humans will always create their own laws and their own pitiful paths to perfection. Sad huh? So don’t be like that. And, don’t try to hold others to some ridiculous alternative plan to salvation. It will never work and you’ll end up working against God not for him.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Wow! I do not want my pretentious, religiosity to ever create some false system of salvation for me or anyone else. I get why the Apostles were so frustrated and angry at the regular and ongoing attempts to create these alternative doctrines trying to circumvent the mission of Jesus being the only way to salvation. No additions, no subtractions!

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Oh, we are quite contrarian aren’t we?

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” Psalms‬ ‭53:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is one of those psalms I do not like waking up to first thing in the morning.

I love David’s opening line, “only fools.” but then he goes in to describe such a miserable outlook on humans – himself and me included. This is not how I want to face my day and go out to try to do some good, make some right decisions and add to the value of God’s Kingdom somehow.

I do think about the audacity of folks who feel so smart, so sophisticated and self-aware when they declare their disbelief in God. Look around, I think to myself. Who made all this? I ask. Oh, nothing, no one, they say. So when has something come from nothing ever before, I ask. Oh, it’s only happened once and it will never happen again, they say. Is that so? Effect without cause, design without a designer? Wow. That does sound foolish. Their beginning is without purpose and their end is meaningless. Where’d they get these outlandish ideas? From a liar.

From David’s perspective God did look and find no one good. But from God’s perspective and his perfect plan, he looked and saw our humanity through one particular man, the Son of Man, and saw not only good, but righteousness, perfection. Yes, it’s quite the spectacular mystery of grace. And, yes, it’s quite frustrating to live in a world of sin and corruption while waiting for God’s endgame and total completion of his plan.

But while we wait, we get to see the unique beauty of our existence through our fractured and frosted glass of sin – like broken sea-glass that washes on the shore. We get to see the world we’ve made because of our choices – our wars, hatred, jealousy, division and incessant selfishness and self will.

Prayer:

Dad,
What a dark and dim look at ourselves without seeing us through the filter of redemption. Oh, how patient you are. How how long suffering you are with us. You see our end as well as our beginning. I am so thankful you see us, you see me through the perfection of Jesus. I am eternally grateful for your mercy and grace extended through all our human history. Our thoughts and ways are not like yours – yet. But there will come a day where all things will be made right. I look forward to that day.

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The wedding reception invites have gone out!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.” Revelation‬ ‭19:7-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​John writes about an ongoing object lesson that concludes with a grand banquet. Now, admittedly, this illustration is only fitting and even understood by those who believe in Jesus and have become comfortable comparing the body of Christ, the Church to a beautiful bride on her wedding day.

I’m not exactly sure where the beginnings of this picture show up in scripture, but I do know that John the baptist hints are just before his famous quote, “He must increase and I decrease.” John the baptist speaks as a best man at a wedding. “It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.” John was speaking of this marriage event that had started and that he, as the best man is to simply witness the vows and union. John clearly understood this was about Jesus as the groom and the church as the bride. Jesus also told of a wedding party that took place but the groom was delayed. And in that story, some of the attendants (bridesmaids) were not prepared for the extended waiting and missed the party. I’m guessing that ceremony itself was the death and resurrection of a Jesus vowing to commit, save and make the bride perfect by God’s sacrificial act.

Here in Revelation, an angel talks about the gigantic party that will be thrown after the ceremony. The final feast, the wedding feast of the Lamb. And even though these events span across several millennium, the banquet itself and its attendants are very real. The global invitations have all gone out and now it is time to see who responds by knowing when and where the event takes place. I have officiated a number of weddings. There is always a nervous anticipation and palpable energy that comes from a certain elegance, even perfection leading up to the ceremony itself. And, even in our post-wedding celebrations today there is still this “presentation of the bride and groom.”

Here, the angel makes a specific note about the bride’s dress. Isn’t that interesting that even in eternity there is a fashion statement of who’s wearing what and who designed it! This bride is wearing an absolute gorgeous material made from the good deeds of God’s holy people. The fashion statement of all times is the good, pure, holy actions of the saints of God! I get chills thinking about it. The angel declares blessed are those who are invited! And I’m sure blessed are those who make it and attend.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Wow! Some powerful and emotional events are still ahead of us to experience in your grand story of redemption. I am one that plans on attending that great feast, that grand ball to beat all banquets. I have received and accepted the invitation and I will wait with preparation and patience as you have instructed. I can’t wait to be there!