J10 LIFE

"Give Community"

2009-09-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

The church was never designed to be a club that gathers together for some singing, teaching, and hand shaking (maybe even butt shaking). Either way, that's not the point. God called us to give community to those around us. He set us up to be an organization that leveraged it's resources to make an impact in the community around them. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the church that believed this. At J10 we believe the story in Acts gives us insight into one of the greatest opportunities to connect this world to God. When we give to people, it's more than just giving them money or stuff, it's giving them community. Community with GOD!

We know people want to give and there are people that need help. We also know that many people don't have the financial margin to give. J10 is encouraging you all to down size and have a fall cleaning. Imagine, if everyone went through their houses and sold everything they didn't need. We took that money and put it into an account so we could have the money to help poor and broken people. You don't have to imagine that. It's happening...

Here is the deal:

For more information and the background on this idea, go listen to the message by clicking (here) .

Leave your ideas and stories by posting a comment to this blog.

Pray continually

2009-06-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Prayer is more than a good morning to God, a thank you for the food, and a good night before you go to bed. It's about being in rhythm with God. The bible says that our spirit talks to God's spirit when we are mindful of God. Prayer is about being mindful of God (who his is, what he has done, what he can do). Below are many different kinds of prayers that were prayed in the bible. Let these be some of your thoughts on the day.

Paul’s prayers
Pray with thanksgiving Phil. 4:6
Prayed that he could visit the Romans--Romans 1:10
Prayed his hearts desire for Israel to be saved--Romans 10:1
Was Faithful in prayer --Romans 12:12
Prayer as a matter of connecting with each other and God. --1 cor. 7:5
Prayers are connected to our hearts--2 cor 9:14
Prayer is about hearts and thoughts--Eph 1:16--Phil 1:3--1 thes 1:2
Pray for the message to be spread--2 thes 3:1
Prayed for believers to have more love and knowledge and depth of insight--Phil 1:9
Prayer is about peace. Phil 4:7

Day 30 -- Wait....there is more after the fat lady sings

2009-04-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (New Living Translation)

New Bodies
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body

Mike's Thoughts:
There is a tension I have. I think it's a healthy tension but none the less, it’s a tension. If I really believed there was more to this life than what I see, and that heaven is real and a better place, then why do I want to be here so badly? Why would being dead be the worst thing in the world? We all go through it. When a baby dies we are sad, but if that baby is in heaven and is healthy, isn't that better? If a person is sick and may die, isn't that better? I know we are sad because of the loss, but at the same time there usually isn't any rejoicing that the person is in a better place. Do we ever find ourselves wanting to be in heaven? I wonder if we get the part where Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to give us confidence to know that there is more to this life. I hear non believers say "there has to be more to life than this". According to this scripture the Holy spirit is speaking to them. They didn't come up with that thought. I think that it is too easy to think about heaven and so we ignore the holy spirit and trust our natural instincts to be sad and fearful. I want to encourage you to not trust your "natural" instinct to be sad and to spend time reflecting on what heaven is and what it will be like. I want us to be more heaven minded than earthly minded. I know it's a tension but let it be a tension and not give up on how real Heaven is.

Prayer:
Thanks that we have a hope that is a guarantee. A guarantee that we can be in heaven with you one day. Thanks that you have given us the holy spirit that communicates to us that we have something bigger out there. Thanks that we have something to look forward to. Thanks that we can trust you with our eternity. --amen

Mike's Notes:
1. Our bodies and this earth are temporary.
2. God is making us new ones.
3. Not only will we not have physical pain in heaven, we won't have emotional pain as well.
4. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that there is more.
5. If we don't look forward to heaven maybe we don't feel, trust, listen, or even believe in the holy spirit.
6. We will all face Christ to be judged.

Day 29 --Love is another four letter word for Life

2009-03-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

1 John 3:11-24 (New Living Translation)

Love One Another
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

Mike's Thoughts:
There are two moments in this passage where I just stopped reading and thought, "WOW, that is powerful.” 1. When God says if you hate your brother or sister you are a murderer. 2. When God says if you don't show compassion for your brother or sister then God's love isn't in you. Honestly, when I first think about those two moments, I try to justify that fact that the passage is not literally saying what it appears to say. It seems harsh. I also try to justify how that isn’t me. My fear is that it may be me. Even though I may not hate my brother, God didn’t set the standard to just not hate, he set the standard to live on the other side of the pendulum. To give to our brothers and sisters out of what God has given to me. If we want connection with God we have to make a connection with our brothers and sisters. BTW, if you are don't have siblings you are in luck because he is talking about all of those who you call Christians, and not just those with whom you go to church.

Prayer:
God, Thanks that you defined love. Thanks that you didn't just define it in a book, but you defined in the life of Jesus. Thanks that you let me be a recipient of that love. Help me to live that love out by loving others around me. Help me to see the standard you are calling me to. Help me to see the opportunities to love other people.

Mike's Notes:
1. The message has not changed. Love one another.
2. If you hate your brother, it's as good as murder. Wow, that is powerful.
3. God has come to give us new life. If we don't love our brother we can't have that new life.
4. God has called us to a higher standard than to just not hate our brother. He has called us to love him. Jesus has given us a snapshot of what that means. He gave up his life for us.
5. The higher standard is the opposite of hate - It's love. That is seen by compassion for our fellow brothers. If you have the ability to help a brother out and you don't, then God's love isn't in you. Wow, that is powerful.

Day 28 -- Hope isn't something we do, it's something we have.

2009-03-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 1:1-11 (New Living Translation)

The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

Mike's Thoughts:
Hope is a great word. More often than not, it is a guaranteed thing in the bible. It's not a wish for things to come. When God gives you hope for eternal life, he isn't saying you can wish for it and it may come true. He is saying you are in. Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we can believe and know we have a hope of salvation. However, God still calls us to live by faith. He gives us a hope that we WILL be in heaven on day. But he calls us to live out that hope. Verses 8 and 9 give us an indication of what it means to live it out: To love him and live out that love, which is to trust him. When we do that, we will have an inexpressible joy and salvation of our souls.

Prayer:
God, thanks for loving us. Thanks for not making us wonder if we can be in heaven. Thanks for making it clear that if we trust you we WILL be in heaven with you one day. Help us to trust you. Help us to connect with you, your spirit, and your people so that we can live out that life.--amen

Day 27 -- I am a sinner...

2009-03-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

1 John 1

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Mike's Thoughts:
The past 26 readings have all been pointing to this: God wants to walk with you. John actually walked with Jesus. He was a first hand eyewitness. The rest of 1John is dedicated to how we can and should walk with God. He calls us to walk in the light. We know we can't do that perfectly, that is why Jesus came. God needs us to acknowledge that we sin. Not so he can punish us, but so we can accept God's grace. Jesus didn't just come to wash our sins. He came so that we could be connected and walk with God. Forgiveness of sins was needed so that we could do just that.

Prayer:
God, Thanks for the removal of sin from my soul. Thanks that even though my mind and body has committed sin you have removed the stain of sin from my soul. Thanks that I can connect and even walk with you. Help me to focus on walking in the light. Help me to acknowledge when I sin, and at the same time accept the forgiveness. Help me to see the life with you that I can live.--amen

Day 26 -- Taking the mystery out of life

2009-03-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:1-2

A Living Sacrifice to God
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Mike's Thoughts:
It's a question people start asking from about high school and continue asking until they retire, or even die. It's the answer that we are searching for and never seem to find. At the same time, the answer is easy. But we make it hard. We make it hard because the answer is too easy. We want the answer to be something that is tailored to us. The question is found at the end of the reading: "God's will for you". What is God's will for you? Whatever it is, the reading says it's good and pleasing and perfect. We think it's wrapped in our jobs, where we go to college, who we marry or if we will even have any of these things. God has called us to focus on something different. At the beginning he has called us to focus on giving our whole lives to God. I think we will find his will if we ask this question in every aspect of our lives: "How can I live for God in this situation?"

Prayer:
God, thanks that your will isn't a mystery. Thanks that we can know you and your will for us. Thanks that we don't have to go around wondering what you want from us. Help us to accept that your will for us is found in living for you. Help us to live for you and see where your will comes out. --amen

Day 25 –It’s over.... I win.....

2009-03-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

Romans 8

Life in the Spirit
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. God sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Mike's Thoughts:
Do you find yourself thinking about spiritual things? Or do you find yourself thinking more about the "flesh", things your body desires that aren't good for the spirit? God didn't just come to give us a home in heaven, he came to help us defeat sin. Because of sin (Adam), our bodies will die. Because of Jesus, our spirits will live. The problem with most of us, is that we act like we have this flesh side of us that always wins. We feel defeated. Jesus died so you don't have to feel that way. The question for you is, do you live by the spirit or by the flesh? We didn't earn the spirit. It was given to us by Jesus. But do we use it? Do we think about it? Do we live for it? Do we try to listen to it? Remember the spirit is in us and is a part of us like any other bodily organ. The same way we listen to our heart when we are scared, we can listen to the spirit when we are tempted by the flesh. Rather than focus on our weakness and the things we struggle with, what about focusing on the power Jesus put in us when we became Christians and were baptized and gave our lives totally over to him?

Prayer:
God, thanks for the Spirit that gives us life. Thanks that I don't have to focus on my weakness and fleshly desires. Thanks that I can live for you and not me. Help me to hear your spirit and listen to your desires for me. Help me to see the difference between what is flesh and what is spirit. --amen

Day 24 -- Beautiful contrast

2009-03-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Romans 5:12-21 (New Living Translation)

Adam and Christ Contrasted
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mike's Thoughts:
Some things go together. Peanut butter and jelly, Salt and pepper, Mike and Andria, Adam and Jesus. It's important to put Adam and Jesus together. When we put them together we get the beautiful contrast and a color picture of the significant roles they played. Through Adam, all men must die; but through Jesus, all men can live. Through Adam, all men are cursed; but through Jesus, all men are blessed. When people ask “Why did Jesus have to come to earth?” the answer is Adam. When people wonder how the life of one man could save the people, the answer is Adam. Because one man brought death, another man had to bring life.

Prayer:
God, thanks that you made up for Adam's failures. Thanks that you didn't make us live out his mistake. Thanks that we can spend eternity with you. Help us to stay focused on your love for us and how that love positions us for eternity. --amen

Day 23 --Heaven is full of sinners

2009-03-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Romans 3:9-26 (New Living Translation)

All People Are Sinners
9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous— not even one.
11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away; all have become useless.
No one does good, not a single one.”
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”

19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Christ Took Our Punishment
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Mike's Thoughts:
There are a few things God cannot do: 1. He cannot lie. 2. He cannot be around sin. The bible says that there is NO darkness in him AT ALL. No matter how good we are there is still a gap of righteous between us and God. The gap may not be that big, but there is still a gap. No matter how big or small we envision the gap to be, it's enough to where God can't be around it. But God still desires to be with us. He created us so that he can be with us. Only God could solve that tension. We couldn't do it on our own. Jesus came to fill the gap. He filled it by making us right and declaring us free of sin.

Prayer:
God, You are good and great. Your love for us is bigger than we can imagine. Thanks that you are our God. Thanks for making us right. Thanks that no matter the size of our gap, you have filled it. Thanks that you let your love for us fill the gap. Thanks that you didn't let our sin come between you and us. --amen

Day 22 –You’re in or you’re out, you’re up or you’re down

2009-03-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Romans 2:5-11 (New Living Translation)

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

Mike's Thoughts:
Many people think God is complicated. They aren't sure of what his will is, or what he wants from them. I actually think it's pretty simple. In this passage, God talks in simple, direct to the point language. 1. We will all be judged. 2. If you live for God (not perfection) you will experience his eternal life. 3. If you live for yourself you will experience his wrath. 4. Everyone will be judged the same.
Many people want to read the bible and make it say something it was never intended to say. Others will read it in light of what they have been told in the past and try to apply that to the truth they are now reading. If you read it for what it is, you will see it in a different light.

Prayer:
God, thanks for giving us your word. Thanks that we have direction to live this life and live it for you. Help us to understand it and remember it. Help us to apply it and live for it. --amen

Day 21 -- I've got the power

2009-03-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Romans 1:18-32 (New Living Translation)

God’s Anger at Sin
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Mike's Thoughts:
Simply put, God hates sin. When we become Christians, God graces us with his strength and power. However, when we decide to live in sin, he lets us. He gives us the desire of our hearts, be it good or bad. The problem is that when you walk away from God, it's hard to get reconnected with him. Not impossible, but hard. Not because of him, but because of us. This is seen in the percentage of people who turn from God's ways and never come back. Although many people do come back to God, the percentages are low. The only way to live for God is to know God. When we know God, he gives us power to live for him. When we turn form him and live for ourselves the power to live for him is gone. God is always there with open arms waiting for us, but we have to make the decision to come to him. God has revealed himself to everyone. Here, he does it through his creation. He also does it through his word.

Prayer:
God, thanks for letting us know who you are. Thanks for letting us know you in creation, your word, and the lives of other people. Thank you for the power to live our lives in you. Help us to know you and stay connected with you. When we have selfish desires, please let your spirit take over and strengthen us. --amen

Day 20 -- Gut Check

2009-03-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 5

7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Mike's Thoughts:
If you are reading this blog, please do me a favor and drop me a line letting me know. I want to provide opportunities, but at the same time, I want to make sure people are taking advantage of the opportunities.

I want to keep this simple. Look at the beginning of verse 9 (“once made perfect”). When we think of Jesus' perfection, we think of him not sinning. When we think of ourselves being like Jesus, we think about not sinning. The writer of Hebrews elevates this expectation. He is attributing being made perfect with obedience. And specifically, obedience to death. What took Jesus to the last degree of being perfect is that he would obey until death. God is calling us to obey. If you want to be like Jesus, strive to eliminate sin in your life, but don't forget about obeying God.

Prayer:
God, thanks for Jesus' perfect life. Thanks that we get to see where he obeyed you to the point of death. Thanks that he did that for us. Help us to honor that life and sacrifice by living to obey you. Please reveal your will for us, and give us your spirit of grace to pursue that will. --amen

Day 19 -- Bring it on

2009-03-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

John 18:1-11 (New Living Translation)

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

1 After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

8 “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Mike's Thoughts:
When you first read this, it is as if Jesus is being taken away and arrested. But when you read it again, you will see that he is actually giving himself up. Most of the time the story is told as if God set something in motion for the greater good of humanity and now Jesus is dealing with the repercussions. I love how Jesus didn't go fighting, he went willingly, and knowingly. To me that is the greater sacrifice. Not only did God give his only son, but his only son gave his only life. His life wasn't taken from him, he gave it.

Prayer:
God, I can't believe that your son would love us so much that he would be so willing to die. I can't believe that you would set things in motion and he would accept them and even welcome them. THANKS. Thanks for loving us so much. Help us to appreciate the depth of Jesus' love for us and his obedience to you. Help me see where in my life I can display to others that love and that obedience to you. --amen

Day 18--Now and Forever

2009-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

John 3:1-21
(New Living Translation)

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[b] 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[c] 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[e] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[f]

16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[g]”

Mike's thoughts:
Nicodemus wasn't just any man. He was the best of the best. He was the guy Jesus talked about in the last reading, that if we aren't better than him then there is no way we can get to heaven. BUT, he was unclear on what it meant to be born again. His problem is like ours. We want to understand all the W's (who, what, when, and how)-ok so there is an H in that. Jesus simply says it doesn't matter. You first have to trust him with earthly things before you can even begin to get the heavenly things. Maybe we should try to live for him with the earthly things and then the heavenly things will become clearer. So let's start there, do you give him of your T's (time, treasure, talent)? Do you trust him with your life on earth and the decisions you make here? If you do then you are in more of a position to trust him with the heavenly stuff like eternity. You can't trust God for eternity if you don't trust him for the now.

Prayer:
God thanks for what we have now. Thanks that you came to earth and lived your life. Thanks that you recorded and protected trustworthy documents that we can read and even see your life. Thanks that you have given us instructions on life while we are on this earth. Help us to trust them. Help us to not get too far ahead of ourselves and only live for heaven when you have given us great opportunities here on earth. --amen

Day 17 - The beauty of contrast is that it reveals the ugly

2009-02-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:17-20

View commentary related to this passage

Teaching about the Law

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Mike's Thoughts:
This reading requires us to slow down and consider a few things: 1. God's greatest desire is to be with us. 2. The law's purpose was to define who God was. The law was a list of commands in the Old Testament (before Jesus). The law was given not because God is a God of rules. But because God is a perfect God. It showed that God is perfect in the little things. It showed that we could never be as good as God. It was God's way to define how perfect he is and how imperfect we are. The reality is that if we could be perfect and do everything perfectly then we wouldn't need a savior to connect us to God. The law was God's way to reveal that we need a savior. The Pharisees were the teachers of the law. Even though they didn't obey it perfectly they knew it better than anyone and they obeyed it better than anyone. Jesus' point is still to show us that we are NOT perfect. If we want to get to heaven we need to be better than the Pharisees - and they are pretty good. However, even they aren't good enough. This seems to be a tall order. Read on.....

Romans 8:1-4

View commentary related to this passage

Life in the Spirit

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Mike's Thoughts:
Condemnation means that it's over. When we are condemned it's the same as when you condemn a house. It is roped off, no one is allowed to even come close to it and the next step is to bring a bulldozer and destroy it. There is no going back and no amount of repairs will help. It needs to be destroyed. When we accept Jesus as our savior we cannot be condemned. The Law couldn't save us, it could only show us how far from perfect we are. If we lived by the law we would be condemned because we couldn't live up to it's standards. Jesus came to give us a new standard - To live for him.....It's that simple. We live for him and he promises to not condemn us for not being perfect.

Prayer:
THANKS GOD!! Thanks that you showed us that we may be good people but that we don’t even compare to your goodness. Thanks that you filled the gap between us and you. Thanks that we never have to be condemned. Thanks that we don't have to be perfect. Thanks that the pressure to be perfect is off. Thanks that Jesus is perfect. Help us to live for you. Help us to put our eyes not on perfect living, but on living for you. --amen

Day 16--Jesus is a scrapper

2009-02-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

Matthew 9:1-8

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Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

1Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”

3 But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”

4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

7 And the man jumped up and went home! 8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority.

Luke 13:10-17

View commentary related to this passage

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Mike's Thoughts:
How could a man who came to bring the light have so many enemies? Remember, the light reveals the darkness. It's almost as if Jesus is picking a fight. He had to know that they would have a problem with what he was doing. Why not just do it some other time and avoid the conflict? Jesus did all of this not out of spite, but to position himself so that people would know that he isn't what they were expecting. In the first passage, he wanted them to know that it's not about healing, it's about forgiveness. He needed to demonstrate to them that if he could heal, then he could forgive sins. In the second passage, he wants them to know that the rules have changed. The new rule is love. Don't put processes over people. The old process for loving God was to obey the rules. The new process is loving people. The life Jesus came to give is much more than what most people think. Honestly, I think if we study the life of Jesus we will realize there is more to him that what we thought. Sure, we know he came to die for us, but do we know his heart and thoughts? Jesus wants to position himself through the scriptures and in our lives to show us who he is and where his heart is. Don't just read these words, but consider how he is positioning himself to reveal the truth about himself to us.

Prayer:
God, thanks for Jesus. Thanks that there is more to his story than just dying for our sins. Thanks that he walked and taught for 30 years. Thanks that we can know his heart and through that we can know your heart. Help us to see what you see. Help us to live the life you dream of us living. --amen

Day 15-- Stop and read the roses

2009-02-25T12:02:00.000-08:00

Here are thoughts from yesterday's reading. Notice #30

4) The world didn't recognize Jesus when he came. In fact, he was rejected by his own people.
5) By accepting Jesus and believing him, everyone can be born again spiritually.
6) Jesus passes on God's unfailing love and faithfulness to us.
7) Jesus reveals God to us.
8) Jesus will never be defeated by darkness.
9) Jesus is "the one"...the true light, the one that John foretold.
10) Jesus is God's one and only Son.
11) Numerous blessings have been given to us from Jesus.
12) Light was brought to everyone through Jesus' life.
13) This light (the light of Jesus) will always overcome darkness.
14) John told of the light so that everyone might believe.
15) John announced that the true light was coming.
16) Jesus made it possible for one to become a child of God.
17) Becoming a child of God results in a spiritual (not physical) rebirth.
18) Jesus is the Word of God.
19) The Word of God became human and lived with us.
20) God's unfailing love and faithfulness come through Jesus Christ.
21) God has never been seen by man.
22) God has been shown to us through Jesus.
23) God’s love (light) will always prevail over darkness (Satan).
24) Believe and accept Jesus and you will be born again. He is the only way.
25) He is persistent. Even though we reject him over and over, he is still there. Waiting.
26) Like john, we can be witnesses so that others might believe.
27) This is a world of darkness (hardship, trials) but Jesus came to us in our dark places to bring light (goodness, hope).
28) If we recognize who Jesus is and accept Him, then we are called "Children of God"
29) Jesus gives unfailing love and faithfulness which is precious to anyone who has been rejected and betrayed by other humans.
30) It's amazing how a life-altering religion can be summed up in a short passage like this.

Prayer:
Thanks for giving us such life altering passages as these. Thanks for being so clear to us about who Jesus is. Thanks that we can know you and your love for us. Help us to not just accept this love, but to live it out. --amen

Day 14--Everything you need to know.

2009-02-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

John 1:1-18 (New Living Translation)

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Mike's Thoughts:
If you were going to read one passage of scriptures every day this year, I think I would have you read this passage. In just 18 verses it explains Christianity. This is Christianity 101. I want to try something - I want to make a list of all the things we can learn from this passage about Jesus. I will start a list, then you each can reply to the email and let me know what you see. Tomorrow I will send out the list of all the observations. I guess this will show me who reads this and thinks about it. All you have to do is write one liners about the observations you see in this passage.

1. Jesus was there from the beginning.
2. Jesus is the word of God in the flesh.
3. Jesus created everything.
4. Your turn...

Prayer:
God, I am excited to be connected to you. I can't believe that you, as an all powerful God, would captivate our hearts and minds so that we could be in your presence. Thanks for loving us and saving us. Help us to see your love and passion for us. Help us to think about ways to live for you. If even in a small way, help us to be your love to the people we are around. --amen

Day 13 - There's a new sheriff in town

2009-02-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

Luke 2:1-20 (The Message)

The Birth of Jesus
1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

An Event for Everyone
8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

Mike's Thoughts:
Up to this point we have been reading from the Old Testament – basically, life before Jesus. This passage is from the New Testament – life with and after Jesus. Everything is about to change. God's passion for his people hasn't changed. The kind of king that is to lead the people is changing. The holy life God calls his people to live hasn't changed, but the way we become holy is changing. God wanting to connect with his people isn't changing. Rather, how people connect with God is changing. Over the next few weeks we will get a bird’s eye view of what has changed and what hasn't. This baby isn't just any baby, he is our connection to God. From this baby we will see NEW LIFE. I think that is why God chose a baby. He could have just sent Jesus here as a man to go through trials, temptations, and then death. But then we wouldn't have gotten the NEW LIFE perspective. This baby was on purpose.

Prayer:
God, thanks for change. Thanks that through change we get to see where we have come from, and we get to look forward to the new life. Thanks that everday we can look to Jesus and have a new life. Help us to know that we are forgiven daily. Help us to know that everday we wake up we get a new life. Help us to know you and your grace more.

Day 12-- Everything is about to change, yet it will all stay the same

2009-02-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 23
The Righteous Branch

1 "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.

2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

3 "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.

4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.

5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David [a] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

Isaiah 9:6-7

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, [a] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Zechariah 9:9-10
The Coming of Zion's King

9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Mike's Thoughts:
This is the last passage we will read in the Old Testament. From this point forward, we will see God pursue his people just as passionately as we have seen previously, but in a different way. From now on, God will use a King, but it will be a different King. I encourage you to go back and read more of the Old Testament than what we have covered in the past two weeks in order to really understand some of the specifics in these passages.

However, go back through these passages and take note of all the great things this new King is bringing:
1. A King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
2. The government will be on his shoulders.
3. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
4. Righteous and having salvation
5. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth

Things are about to change, and here is the best part: The past will help us to understand and appreciate what God is about to do. As we read from this point on, remember where we have been - God has passionately pursued his people despite their disobedience and distrust. Be sure to read yesterday's recap.

Prayer:
God, thanks that you have history. Thanks for the Old Testament and that we get to see how you pursued your people. Thanks that we can see what you have done in the past and appreciate what you will do in the future. Help us to see your hand in our lives. Guide us as we navigate our day. Let our journey be toward you and what you want for our lives. --amen

Day 11—RECAP

2009-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ezekiel 20:1-26 (The Message)

1 In the seventh year, the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of the leaders of Israel came to ask for guidance from God. They sat down before me.

2-3 Then God's Message came to me: "Son of man, talk with the leaders of Israel. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says, "Have you come to ask me questions? As sure as I am the living God, I'll not put up with questions from you. Decree of God, the Master."'

4-5 "Son of man, why don't you do it? Yes, go ahead. Hold them accountable. Confront them with the outrageous obscenities of their parents. Tell them that God, the Master, says:

5-6 "'On the day I chose Israel, I revealed myself to them in the country of Egypt, raising my hand in a solemn oath to the people of Jacob, in which I said, "I am God, your personal God." On the same day that I raised my hand in the solemn oath, I promised them that I would take them out of the country of Egypt and bring them into a country that I had searched out just for them, a country flowing with milk and honey, a jewel of a country.

7 "'At that time I told them, "Get rid of all the vile things that you've become addicted to. Don't make yourselves filthy with the Egyptian no-god idols. I alone am God, your God."

8-10 "'But they rebelled against me, wouldn't listen to a word I said. None got rid of the vile things they were addicted to. They held on to the no-gods of Egypt as if for dear life. I seriously considered inflicting my anger on them in force right there in Egypt. Then I thought better of it. I acted out of who I was, not by how I felt. And I acted in a way that would evoke honor, not blasphemy, from the nations around them, nations who had seen me reveal myself by promising to lead my people out of Egypt. And then I did it: I led them out of Egypt into the desert.

11-12 "'I gave them laws for living, showed them how to live well and obediently before me. I also gave them my weekly holy rest days, my "Sabbaths," a kind of signpost erected between me and them to show them that I, God, am in the business of making them holy.

13-17 "'But Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They didn't follow my statutes. They despised my laws for living well and obediently in the ways I had set out. And they totally desecrated my holy Sabbaths. I seriously considered unleashing my anger on them right there in the desert. But I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out. But I did lift my hand in a solemn oath there in the desert and promise them that I would not bring them into the country flowing with milk and honey that I had chosen for them, that jewel among all lands. I canceled my promise because they despised my laws for living obediently, wouldn't follow my statutes, and went ahead and desecrated my holy Sabbaths. They preferred living by their no-god idols. But I didn't go all the way: I didn't wipe them out, didn't finish them off in the desert.

18-20 "'Then I addressed myself to their children in the desert: "Don't do what your parents did. Don't take up their practices. Don't make yourselves filthy with their no-god idols. I myself am God, your God: Keep my statutes and live by my laws. Keep my Sabbaths as holy rest days, signposts between me and you, signaling that I am God, your God."

21-22 "'But the children also rebelled against me. They neither followed my statutes nor kept my laws for living upright and well. And they desecrated my Sabbaths. I seriously considered dumping my anger on them, right there in the desert. But I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out.

23-26 "'But I did lift my hand in solemn oath there in the desert, and swore that I would scatter them all over the world, disperse them every which way because they didn't keep my laws nor live by my statutes. They desecrated my Sabbaths and remained addicted to the no-god idols of their parents. Since they were determined to live bad lives, I myself gave them statutes that could not produce goodness and laws that did not produce life. I abandoned them. Filthy in the gutter, they perversely sacrificed their firstborn children in the fire. The very horror should have shocked them into recognizing that I am God.'

Mike's thoughts:
I know it seems like God is always mad. Remember, He made an oath to the Israelites, to make them his people and to always protect them and give them his blessings. He set his heart on them. Then, like a junior high girlfriend, they ripped his heart out. The part I love is how he continued to say, "I acted out of who I was, not by how I felt." That is our God. The Old Testament doesn't show a God who is angry, but a God who is passionately in love with his people. It's God's story of him pursuing them even when they don't deserve it. Remember, this is setting the stage for Jesus and the grace that comes with him.

Prayer:
God, Thanks for grace. Thanks that you act out of who you are and not how we make you feel. Thanks that you don't give us what we deserve. We confess that we are sinful people. We confess that we live for our own wants and desires. We confess that we aren't always appreciative of your grace and way of life. Please, help us to stay connected to you. Help us to be mindful of your grace and way of life. --amen

Day 10— O' that's why we do that!

2009-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 17 (The Message)

Jeremiah 17:5-10
5-6God's Message: "Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans,Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight.He's like a tumbleweed on the prairie, out of touch with the good earth.He lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing grows.

7-8"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.They're like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf,Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.

9-10"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things.I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."

Mike's thoughts:
There you have it. For the past few days we have been reading about how people follow God, but then they suddenly decide to follow their own ways. God is a great and good God. His ways are great and good. His plans for us are great and good. His love for us is great and good. But we alone are not great and good. If we place our trust in him, rather than in our fellow man or in our own hearts, we will experience his greatness and goodness. It is easy to trust in a man that we can see or our hearts that we can feel. To not trust the things we can see and feel goes against everything we have been taught since we were kids. Remember, God has designed and created us. We must trust the things we CANNOT see, touch, or feel. Trust those things you can experience when you live for them, because when you live for those things you will experience their greatness and goodness. Don't look for it or feel for it, just live for it.

Prayer:
God, thanks for your greatness and goodness. Thanks that you created us and know us better than we know ourselves. Thanks that we can experience your greatness and goodness. Help us to not trust man nor our hearts, but to trust you. Help us to live for you and trust you completely.

Day 9— Great Responsibility Brings Great Accountability

2009-02-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

1-2 Samuel said to Saul, "God sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now, listen again to what God says. This is the God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaking:

2-3 "'I'm about to get even with Amalek for ambushing Israel when Israel came up out of Egypt. Here's what you are to do: Go to war against Amalek. Put everything connected with Amalek under a holy ban. And no exceptions! This is to be total destruction—men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys—the works.'"

4-5 Saul called the army together at Telaim and prepared them to go to war—two hundred companies of infantry from Israel and another ten companies from Judah. Saul marched to Amalek City and hid in the canyon.

6 Then Saul got word to the Kenites: "Get out of here while you can. Evacuate the city right now or you'll get lumped in with the Amalekites. I'm warning you because you showed real kindness to the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." And they did. The Kenites evacuated the place.

7-9 Then Saul went after Amalek, from the canyon all the way to Shur near the Egyptian border. He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban. Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn't include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban.

10-11 Then God spoke to Samuel: "I'm sorry I ever made Saul king. He's turned his back on me. He refuses to do what I tell him."

11-12 Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night. He got up early in the morning to confront Saul but was told, "Saul's gone. He went to Carmel to set up a victory monument in his own honor, and then was headed for Gilgal." By the time Samuel caught up with him, Saul had just finished an act of worship, having used Amalekite plunder for the burnt offerings sacrificed to God.

13 As Samuel came close, Saul called out, "God's blessings on you! I accomplished God's plan to the letter!"

14 Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing—this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?"

15 "Only some Amalekite loot," said Saul. "The soldiers saved back a few of the choice cattle and sheep to offer up in sacrifice to God. But everything else we destroyed under the holy ban."

16 "Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night." Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me."

17-19 And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing— and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel. Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, 'Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.' So why did you not obey God? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with God's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?"

20-21 Saul defended himself. "What are you talking about? I did obey God. I did the job God set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban. So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to God at Gilgal—what's wrong with that?"

22-23 Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship.

Mike's thoughts:

With great responsibility comes great accountability. Many of us want the responsibility without the accountability. We want God to bless us but we don't want the responsibility. Every gift we receive from God comes with responsibility - Responsibility to use this gift for him. To bring him glory for what we have. If God is the one who decides what gifts to give, who will receive these gifts, then he also has the option to decide the accountability. What do you have that God has given you that you aren't currently using for his Glory? He calls every one of us to use everything we have for his purpose. Yes, even the blue car.

Prayer:

Thanks for every good and perfect gift. Thanks that you decided to bless us with the gift of salvation. Help us to see our responsibility to use what we have received from you for your good. Help us to recognize that everything we have is from you. Thank you in advance for the opportunities you will give us today and everyday to use our gifts to bless others. Help us to see those opportunities.

Day 8— Here we go again

2009-02-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

1 Samuel 8 (The Message)

1 Samuel 8
Rejecting God as the King
1-3When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn't take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.

4-5 Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: "Look, you're an old man, and your sons aren't following in your footsteps. Here's what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else."

6 When Samuel heard their demand—"Give us a king to rule us!"—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.

7-9 God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking. They are not rejecting you. They've rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they've been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they're doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they're in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they're likely to get from a king."

10-18 So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to answer."

19-20 But the people wouldn't listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We will have a king to rule us! Then we'll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles."

21-22 Samuel took in what they said and rehearsed it with God. God told Samuel, "Do what they say. Make them a king."

Then Samuel dismissed the men of Israel: "Go home, each of you to your own city."

Mike's Thoughts:
I love this. The history leading up to this is interesting. For now, just let this be a backdrop to which you can return later and fill in the gaps with more detail. Basically God set up a system of accountability and leading. At first, the judges obeyed God. But eventually, like every other generation before them, they strayed from God. Sound familiar? The people eventually wanted to do things their own way and they asked for a King. It makes sense on paper, but God can't be measured on paper. God's ways don't always make sense to us in the here and now. God is really giving them what they want. I love that about God - He lets people make their own decisions. Here is what God knows: When we make our own decisions and failure results, he is glorified. It's not that he wants us to fail or that he even sets us up for failure. He knows that through failure there is a good chance that we will come back to him. When people wonder why a loving God would let bad things happen, they must consider that a loving God wants to draw men to him. Those bad things may just be the means to this end.

Prayer:
God, you are good and great. You created us and the lives we have. Thanks that we can trust your systems and processes in this life. Thanks that we can go to you in prayer and know that you hear us. Thanks that when we try to take our lives back from you, that you will let us fail. Help us to see you when our lives fail. Help us to give our lives back to you daily. --amen

Day 7— Same story new people

2009-02-12T21:11:00.001-08:00

Judges 2:10-19 (The Message)

10 Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

11-15 The People of Israel did evil in God's sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte! God's anger was hot against Israel: He handed them off to plunderers who stripped them; he sold them cheap to enemies on all sides. They were helpless before their enemies. Every time they walked out the door God was with them—but for evil, just as God had said, just as he had sworn he would do. They were in a bad way.

16-17 But then God raised up judges who saved them from their plunderers. But they wouldn't listen to their judges; they prostituted themselves to other gods—worshiped them! They lost no time leaving the road walked by their parents, the road of obedience to God's commands. They refused to have anything to do with it.

18-19 When God was setting up judges for them, he would be right there with the judge: He would save them from their enemies' oppression as long as the judge was alive, for God was moved to compassion when he heard their groaning because of those who afflicted and beat them. But when the judge died, the people went right back to their old ways—but even worse than their parents!—running after other gods, serving and worshiping them. Stubborn as mules, they didn't drop a single evil practice.

Mike's Thoughts:
As you read this and other passages, remember that this is history, and is about God. The purpose of the Old Testament isn't to learn how we should live now and what we should do now. These people lived under a different law. If anything, this should help us to appreciate the grace God give us and how he responds to us now. Hang in there as you read this passage and don't be distracted by things that don't make sense to your 2009 mindset. Be patient and eventually you will see this all unfold as a part of God's story.

In this passage you see God's people treat him like they have done before and will do again - they leave him. But you will also see God bring the people back to him. We have already seen him do this, and will see him do it time and time again when the people leave him. This is the story of the Old Testament and the New Testament and of our lives. God is in search of us. If you take nothing else away from your reading of the bible, remember this message: God is passionately pursuing us. He created us and he wants to be with us. Like any good creator he loves his creation and wants us to thrive.

Prayer:
God, you are good, all knowing, and all powerful. Thanks that we can experience your grace and love for us. Thanks for how you have shown us who you are through your word. Thanks that when we don't understand everything around us, we can rest assured that in some way you are calling us to be with you. Help us to believe that, and to live that out. Help us to evaluate our lives on a daily basis, constantly remembering that our lives are about you.

--amen

Day 6— purpose gives purpose

2009-02-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (The Message)

13-15 From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love God, your God, and serve him with everything you have within you, he'll take charge of sending the rain at the right time, both autumn and spring rains, so that you'll be able to harvest your grain, your grapes, your olives. He'll make sure there's plenty of grass for your animals. You'll have plenty to eat.

16-17 But be vigilant, lest you be seduced away and end up serving and worshiping other gods and God erupts in anger and shuts down Heaven so there's no rain and nothing grows in the fields, and in no time at all you're starved out—not a trace of you left on the good land that God is giving you.

18-21 Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you'll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth.

Mike's Thoughts:
Did you see it? You may have to read the passage again. Let me give it to you: THIS is why we were created. Yes, we were created by God. But we were also created FOR God. It seems harsh, but when God says stay with me or I will wipe you out, it becomes clear that, without him, our lives have no purpose. If he is the creator, then by reason, he defines the use and maintenance of his creation. The maintenance almost sounds easy. Talk about him to your kids, but don’t just talk about him - help them see how their lives were created and defined by God. By the way, you don't need your own kids to communicate God's purpose in the lives of others – share this purpose with all kids and others whom you encounter.

Prayer:
God, you are great. You are all knowing, and all powerful. You are faithful and true. Thanks for creating us, and for defining our purpose in life. Help us grasp what it means to be created FOR you. Help us to live for that purpose, and to communicate that purpose to our kids and others that are in our circles.

Day 5— Holes in the ground or holiness in God...

2009-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Leviticus 20:7-27 (The Message)

7-8 "Set yourselves apart for a holy life. Live a holy life, because I am God, your God. Do what I tell you; live the way I tell you. I am the God who makes you holy.

9 "Any and every person who curses his father or mother must be put to death. By cursing his father or mother he is responsible for his own death.

10 "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—the wife, say, of his neighbor—both the man and the woman, the adulterer and adulteress, must be put to death.

11 "If a man has sex with his father's wife, he has violated his father. Both the man and woman must be put to death; they are responsible for their own deaths.

12 "If a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is perverse. And they are responsible for their own deaths.

13 "If a man has sex with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is abhorrent. They must be put to death; they are responsible for their own deaths.

14 "If a man marries both a woman and her mother, that's wicked. All three of them must be burned at the stake, purging the wickedness from the community.

15 "If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death and you must kill the animal.

16 "If a woman has sex with an animal, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. And they are responsible for their deaths.

17 "If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother, and they have sex, that's a disgrace. They must be publicly cut off from their people. He has violated his sister and will be held responsible.

18 "If a man sleeps with a woman during her period and has sex with her, he has uncovered her 'fountain' and she has revealed her 'fountain'—both of them must be cut off from their people.

19 "Don't have sex with your aunt on either your mother's or father's side. That violates a close relative. Both of you are held responsible.

20 "If a man has sex with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible and die childless.

21 "If a man marries his brother's wife, it's a defilement. He has shamed his brother. They will be childless.

22-23 "Do what I tell you, all my decrees and laws; live by them so that the land where I'm bringing you won't vomit you out. You simply must not live like the nations I'm driving out before you. They did all these things and I hated every minute of it.

24-26 "I've told you, remember, that you will possess their land that I'm giving to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am God, your God, who has distinguished you from the nations. So live like it: Distinguish between ritually clean and unclean animals and birds. Don't pollute yourselves with any animal or bird or crawling thing which I have marked out as unclean for you. Live holy lives before me because I, God, am holy. I have distinguished you from the nations to be my very own.

27 "A man or woman who is a medium or sorcerer among you must be put to death. You must kill them by stoning. They're responsible for their own deaths."

Mike's Thoughts:
At first glance this appears to be a list of commands that we already know, with ridiculous punishments. At second glance it's a God who desperately wants to be with the people. Unlike any other GOD, our GOD wants us to know Him personally. Go back and reread the last sentence in 22-23, all of 24-26 and 7-8, and you will see this GOD. He is holy, and he wants us to be holy in his presence. In this and in other passages that we will read, His high standards and His definition of what it means to be holy is demonstrated. It's an impossible task, but he isn't done. He wants to be with us so much, and wants us to be holy so badly that he will find a way to make it happen. Let this be a passage that helps you appreciate Jesus. Let this passage define the love God has for us when he sent Jesus to die for us. We couldn't be holy by God's standards, yet he found a way to make us holy.

Prayer:
Thanks for being HOLY. Thanks for setting the standard for holiness and upholding it. Thanks for Jesus and how he made us holy. Thanks that you have revealed your holiness in the bible. Let us know you more and appreciate what you have done for us. Please, forgive us of our sin and unholiness. Draw us to your holiness and help us to live a life of holiness. Help us to read your word and see your love for us.

Day 4 -- God is an artist that draws people to him.

2009-02-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Leviticus 5:14-19 (The Message)

Compensation-Offering
14-16 God spoke to Moses: "When a person betrays his trust and unknowingly sins by straying against any of the holy things of God, he is to bring as his penalty to God a ram without any defect from the flock, the value of the ram assessed in shekels, according to the Sanctuary shekel for a Compensation-Offering. He is to make additional compensation for the sin he has committed against any holy thing by adding twenty percent to the ram and giving it to the priest.

"Thus the priest will make atonement for him with the ram of the Compensation-Offering and he's forgiven.

17-18 "If anyone sins by breaking any of the commandments of God which must not be broken, but without being aware of it at the time, the moment he does realize his guilt he is held responsible. He is to bring to the priest a ram without any defect, assessed at the value of the Compensation-Offering.

18-19 "Thus the priest will make atonement for him for his error that he was unaware of and he's forgiven. It is a Compensation-Offering; he was surely guilty before God."

Mike’s Thoughts
As the people start to get rowdy, God shows, all the more, his desire to be with them. Remember God is perfect, not just almost or pretty much perfect. God could have set us up for failure. He could have made the law and when people broke it, he could have killed them. Instead, he created a law and when people broke it, they would be drawn to him. God wants to draw all people to him. Again, this is just the beginning, the people will get more rowdy and God will go to other extreme and creative ways to draw people to him.

Prayer
Thanks for desiring to be with us. Thanks that in spite of your perfection you made a way for us to be in your presence. Thanks that we don’t have to rely on our own actions to save us. Thanks for your word and how you show us who you are and how much you love us. Help us to know you more. Help us to read the bible in light of your love for us. --amen

It’s so easy a caveman wrote it on a tablet.

2009-02-05T04:59:00.000-08:00

Exodus 20
1-2 God spoke all these words: I am God, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery.

3 No other gods, only me.

4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I'm unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

7 No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.

8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

12 Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

13 No murder.

14 No adultery.

15 No stealing.

16 No lies about your neighbor.

17 No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's.

Mike’s thoughts:
Why does that seem just too easy? Why does it seem that living the Christian walk is much harder than that? Could it be that it's really that easy and we just made it harder? Could it be that we like harder rules because it feels like we are earning our salvation? We don’t like handouts so we go to work and we work hard to advance and out work our peers. But with God, he does all the work. Later Jesus summed all the laws and prophets up into two commands, “Love God and Love Others.” How easy is that? Remember this is in the start of the bible and as the bible goes on it doesn’t get harder, the humans get more rowdy.

Prayer:
God, thanks for not putting a list of burdensome commands on us. Thanks that your commands are about loving you and helping us have a full life. Thanks that you wired us to have our full life by loving you. Help us to embrace the fact that you didn’t call us to earn our salvation but to live it by loving you. Help us shape our motivation for living and loving to be about you and not us and our salvation.
Amen

Day 2 -- WWE, God style

2009-02-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Jacob's Dream at Bethel
Genesis 28:10-15

10-12 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it. 13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you."

Mike’s Thoughts:
This was a start of things to come. Our faith in God is based on his character and dealings with people in the past. Follow the story of Jacob and you will see a God that keeps his promise. It does not always seem that way, but in the end we see God honoring Jacob and the promise he made him. For our purpose in this reading we won’t go into details. The purpose of this reading is to get an overview of the bible. From this just know that you are a part of God’s story and this is a part of your story. God provides and keeps his promises. God has promised you a home in heaven and a life on this earth that is better than you can imagine or dream. The question for you is, will you wrestle with God to understand what that life is or will you wrestle with yourself?

Jacob Wrestles With God
Genesis 32:22-28

22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions. 24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint.26 The man said, "Let me go; it's daybreak."Jacob said, "I'm not letting you go 'til you bless me." 27 The man said, "What's your name?" He answered, "Jacob."28 The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it's Israel (God-Wrestler); you've wrestled with God and you've come through."

Mike’s thoughts:
Can you imagine wrestling with God? For many of us we have done this. We have been through tough times in our lives and had to deal with the question, “do we believe in the God of the bible and do we believe he will do what he says he will do.” For many of us we have avoided wrestling with God. We avoid it because we would rather wrestle with ourselves, so that either way we do what makes sense to us. Remember yesterday’s reading, God created “sense”. Take some time to wrestle with God in prayer, and reading his word and let that lead your life.

Prayer:
God, thank you that you can be trusted. Thank you that you revealed yourself to us in the bible. Thank you for the struggles you sent Jacob through and how you brought him face to face with you. I pray you make that kind of impact in our lives. I pray that you call us to deal with you and put us in a position to trust in you.

Day 1 -- God makes sense

2009-02-03T04:50:00.000-08:00

Gen 3:1-19
1 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'" 4-5 The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. 9 God called to the Man: "Where are you?"10 He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."11 God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
12 The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?" 13 "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

14-15 God told the serpent:
"Because you've done this, you're cursed,
cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals,
Cursed to slink on your belly
and eat dirt all your life.
I'm declaring war between you and the Woman,
between your offspring and hers.
He'll wound your head,
you'll wound his heel."
16 He told the Woman:
"I'll multiply your pains in childbirth;
you'll give birth to your babies in pain.
You'll want to please your husband,
but he'll lord it over you."
17-19 He told the Man:
"Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree
That I commanded you not to eat from,
'Don't eat from this tree,'
The very ground is cursed because of you;
getting food from the ground
Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;
you'll be working in pain all your life long.
The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,
you'll get your food the hard way,
Planting and tilling and harvesting,
sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;
you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."

Mike’s thoughts:
Was it that easy? All they had to do was to eat a piece of fruit off the tree and all this happened? It’s easy to think that, but then again, that is what Satan said to Eve, “it’s not that big of a deal.” We all can fall into this trap of thinking we know what’s better for ourselves than God. We can make “sense” out of any thing we want. The problem is, God made us and he made the “sense” that we try to make. That is the story of us. It’s us trying to figure out on our own, what make “sense” to us. Let’s remember who actually made “sense” and trust his and not ours.

Prayer:
God, thank you for making “sense”. Thank you that I don’t have to be the inventor of all things that makes or don’t make sense. Thank you, that I can rely on you and your word to direct me. Please draw me to your word every day so that I may read it and learn to trust it.

Coming Soon

2009-01-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Daily devotionals start on Monday February 2nd.

From Debbie

2008-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

ON Sunday the 30th we canceled church as we know it. We took the 1,200 it takes to rent the school, divided it among everyone that showed up, and asked them to find a way to be a blessing to people in the community. This is their stories....

This is what Nate, Kyle and I did (or attempted to do) with our money on Sunday and some follow-ups:

We had cash and a box of food. Our first trip was to a grocery store over in Sterling Park. We offered to help a family with groceries but she would not accept. Kyle and Nate chose at that point to ride around through Sterling Park over near Park View high school. We had no particular direction or plan. Kyle would just say turn right, turn left and so forth and I would follow. He asked me to stop at a house that had a single car in the driveway. We could see a shadow of someone pass the window. They had a small nativity scene in the front yard. The three of us walked to the door and rang the bell. This young Hispanic woman, probably late twenties early thirties, came to the door all bundled in a coat. I don't speak any spanish at all and she spoke very little english. I relied on Nate and Kyle's beginning spanish to get us somewhere. I told her who we were and that we had picked her house to leave the food. At first she thought we were trying to sell her something. With God's help we helped her to understand that we were GIVING her food. She thought that she should pick an item. Her face lit up when she realized that we were giving it all to her. The home was very neat and clean, sparsely furnished and really cold. As I said she was all bundled up and there were no lights or anything like TV or radio in the house. I don't know if she was trying to save energy or if she didn't have any. One thing was clear, she was pleased and the english Thank You was clear as a bell.

Met you guys at Buffalo Wings then....

From there we went to Target in Sterling with the intent of buying a gift card (which we did - that story later) As we walked in the door, Kyle overheard a woman saying to her husband "We really have to get him some shoes." Kyle decided to go tell the woman who he was and offer to buy her son's shoes. We walked with them through the store. Nate and Kyle talked to the kids and the parents. They explained what they were doing and that they just wanted to help. The woman did not accept the money. She told the boys that she thought they could find someone who could use it more. However, she asked about the church and said that she wanted to make sure that her children grew up learning to give and be aware of others.

Kyle then saw a little boy crying over a toy and went again and introduced himself to the Mom and offered to buy the little car for the boy. Once again, she did not accept, but was very interested in what they were doing. (She was trying to teach him a lesson, not that she couldn't buy it.)

We then went to the Mall to purchase to Christmas candles for three ladies in our neighborhood. One was for a lady whose husband just passed away three weeks ago. They were both in their seventies with children living out of state. She is German and still speaks with a strong accent. Her husband was the "friendly one" always waving at everybody. She is not viewed as the friendly one. She is lonely and very sad. We went to visit with the candle (totally unnecssary but warming) She was happy to have someone around. Come to find out, she is pretty friendly just old school German I guess. Nate and Kyle have pledged to help her decorate for the holidays and help out around her house with little chores. The other candle was purchased to two widowed ladies that live together down the street. We had not taken the opportunity to introduce ourselves (we just moved in 6 months ago) They were thrilled. The boys are going to help them around the house and decorate too.

Finally, the last piece was the gift card. We have next door neighbors that we had not met. We didn't even know until a few weeks ago that they had two boys. Both about the age of Nate and Kyle but both autistic. They are never outside. From neighborhood rumor (which is a nono on my list) they are afraid of the boys getting hurt or being picked on. We have now met them, they seem to be really nice people. The kids like turtles, hide and seek, and ball. The boys in the neighborhood played man hunt almost every night this summer. The Dad said his oldest son would sit at the window and watch. Nate has plans for going over to visit and play with the boys on a regular basis. Kyle wants to get them a turtle. Conclusion to be seen.

The big give

2008-12-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

ON Sunday the 30th we canceled church as we know it. We took the 1,200 it takes to rent the school, divided it among everyone that showed up, and asked them to find a way to be a blessing to people in the community. This is their stories....

From Andria Eppes:
There have been many years around Christmastime, when I have wanted to be able to do more for people in need, but haven't had the money to do what I wanted. So, I thought it would be a good idea to use this money to buy gift cards for people and explain that they could use that gift card to buy something for someone in need. That way, not only was my family blessed, and the person we gave the gift card to, but also whoever it inspired them to help. It feels so good to give and I wanted to give that feeling to other people. So, we went to Target and bought eight $10 gift cards, and the kids handed them to people while Mike explained what our church was doing and that they could use the card for themselves if they needed it, or they could use it to bless someone else. People seemed very happy to get the gift card and seemed even more excited about the idea of using it to help someone else. Although at first we got some odd looks. It's interesting just how skeptical people are when you want to give them something for free. I thought this was a great opportunity to put into action the things we talk about every Sunday.

Make Us Passionate #2

2008-09-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Scripture
Luke 10:25-27:
25Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?" 26He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"
27He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

Josh's thoughts (new student guy)
Passion is ironic. It can be used to destroy, kill, and disrupt. Passion can also be used to motivate, create, and unite. Throughout many books of the Bible, passion is used in a negative sense, in ways such as harboring lust, caring too much about possessions, worldly desires that fade with time and other negative ways that end with time. As Jesus is introduced in the Bible, he begins to shift the power that passion has. What Jesus does in the book of Luke is proclaim that in order to have eternal life, you give all of your passions, all that you are, and all that you can be to God and that you love other people as you love yourself. It’s a shift in passion. Once passions were spoken of in the negative sense and would lead you to a road of destruction and death, Christ turns it around and shows that passion, now, can be used to bring life for eternity and life for others. Christ has a way of doing that with everything. Death to life, an end to eternity, darkness to light.

The question stands: What are you passionate about?

Our Prayer
God, allow us to take a step back and find out what we are passionate about. Let us examine ourselves and find out where that passion is leading us. Help us to realize that if we are not passionate about you and loving others, than we are going to die with our bodies. Help us be passionate for something larger than us.

Make Us Passionate #1

2008-09-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Make us passionate #1

Scripture
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly , along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:14

Mike's Thoughts
God is passionate about us. His greatest desire is to be connected with us. Jesus didn't just talk about going the "extra mile" when loving people. He went the extra mile in coming to earth and dying for us. God went the extra mile in giving us grace. God didn't just give us enough grace to get by, He gave us more than we will ever use. Even thought we may never use it all, we will always take more and He will always give us more than we need. That is passion.

Our Prayer
God make us passionate. Passionate for people as you are passionate for us. Give us the energy and vision to go the extra mile with people. Surround us with others that can go the extra mile with us.

Make us Dangerous #2

2008-09-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight was amazing. I am not sure you can read the chat thread and truly appreciate what happened tonight. I want to share with you the thread and ask you to consider experiencing it for your self. We will pray every night this week at 9:00 pm. We prayed for about a half hour and it felt like about 5 minutes. I choked back the tears as I saw the heart of J10 people typed out on my computer screen. I am blow away. I feel like I just had a triple espresso.

Here is our Chat thread from tonight's prayer chat room.

> let's start out thanking God for things, such as
what he has and his character
> go!!!!!!!
> what he has done
God, thanks for saving me
guidance
[Mon Sep 22 21:15:11 EDT 2008] Andria
I thank God for the willing hearts and
hands who have come together to form J10
> Thanks for being the definition of good
Father, Thank you for your
faithfulness to us and to Your plan!
> andria we are thanking god for who he is and
what he has done
Thank you God for being so gracious
to allow us to participate in your plan for the
world.
Thanks for giving us a desire
to follow you and be in your presence
Thank you for always taking me back
thank you God for giving us You in
the form of Jesus
Thank God for being completely holy and
still loving ME
Thank you for being so strong when all I
see is weakness
> thanks for defining love through your son
Thank you for being my savior
Thank you for never letting go
Thank you for others who hold me up
Read More here

Make us Dangerous #1

2008-09-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Scripture
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Mike’s Thoughts
We have the opportunity to carry a message that is dangerous. Not dangerous because it hurts people, but because it changes people. It’s dangerous for those who have become comfortable; for those who don’t want life change. It’s dangerous because when we genuinely come into contact with it, it changes the most intimate places of our being. It changes the places we don’t let people go. We know that this kind of change leads to God and a J10 life. Here is the question we must first encounter: When we read the Bible, do we give it an honest chance to change our lives? Will we let it be what it was created to do?

Our prayer
God make us dangerous. Connect us with your bible. Meet us in the intimate places we won’t let anyone else go. Connect us with the vision for life that you have for us. Make us dangerous to our own lives so we can be dangerous to those around us. Help us to see the connection that being dangerous leads to a life with you. Help us know danger that is for our J10 life.

Wake us up #2

2008-09-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

Eph 5:1-2 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Mike's thoughts:
When it comes to asking God to wake us up, this verse goes beyond just rolling over looking at the alarm clock, and then still half asleep, getting up and stumbling across the room as you start your day out like a locomotive starting out it's journey on an uphill climb. God is asking us to be wide awake as we strive to be like Him. He isn't asking us to be perfect, He knows that isn't possible, but He is asking us to live a life of love. It's hard to live a life of love when we are focused on us. The more we focus on being like Him, the more we will clearly see and live a live of love.

Prayer
God, we want you to be known in the world. Wake us up to knowing you more. Wake us up to living a life of love. Wake us up and help us realize when we are living for ourselves and not for you. Wake us up and make us alive so others will know you. Help J10 be a church that is fully awake and alive.

Wake us up #1

2008-09-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Scripture
Ephesians 5:14 "...for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

15 "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

Mike's Thoughts
The great thing about Jesus is, when we are following Him, He will shine on us. Jesus' point in building the church is to create an environment where people are loved and encouraged. Through doing that, He is made known. Christ wants to shine on us because He knows we are his reflection. However, that can't happen if we aren't one as a church. We can't be one if we are sleeping.

Prayer
God, we pray that you wake us up. Wake us up so the church will be the image of your son. Wake us up to taking our next step in following you. Wake us up to expecting and experiencing life change. Use people around us to wake us up. Let our relationships be encouraging and at the same time, let them be truthful, so that it will ultimately bring you glory.

Make us one #5

2008-09-11T20:19:00.001-07:00

1 How wonderful and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
that was poured over Aaron's head,
that ran down his beard
and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
even life everlasting.

Elisa Johnston's thoughts:

This short psalm is totally about the coolness factor in being "one." I realize currently its hard for us to see beauty in oil running down facial hair and saturating clothing, let alone as a good analogy to make our hearts excited about being in unity. But the point is that harmony is awesome and peaceful. It is precious, not just a commodity and doesn't happen all the time. So much so that its refreshing, a breath of fresh air in our culture. Thanks to Jesus we also have life in Hevean with Him forever. Because of what Jesus has done for us let us not take lightly the other blessing He gives and challenges us to take up, the wonderful blessing of of "one."

Prayer:

God, help us to see the way you see unity. Help us to really get how beautiful it is, and how our oneness reflects your beauty to the world. Help us to not take lightly how much you have blessed us with Jesus, and through Him you gave us the gift of unity. I pray that you'll help J10 to be an example of harmony to our area. I pray that you'll help the people in our local community to also see how awesome it is that we can be one: with the same purpose, vision, acceptance and love for each other. Help us to be one and help other to see how cool you are because of us being one. Amen.

Make us one #4

2008-09-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Mike’s thoughts
We have to be one. We have no choice but to strive to be one. People’s lives are at stake and depend on us being one. There are people inside the church that need connection, love, grace, and encouragement. There isn’t enough time in the day for the pastor to adequately love everyone in the church, much less everyone in the community. I love what Paul says here in a very encouraging way, he simply says, “Keep doin’ whatcha been doin’.” Here is my question for you, “Whatcha doin’?” With all the hurt, pain, sadness, and struggles with those around you, “Whatcha doin’?” Are you in a position to encourage or even to be encouraged? If we are going to be ONE, it starts with being in a life group or other environments to encourage and be encouraged. If you want to be one with J10, send us an email and we will get you connected. (mike@j10church.com)

Our Prayer
God, make us one. Thank you for establishing the church to be a place for broken people. Thank you that we have a place where we can be loved and encouraged. Thanks you for establishing the church as a place for us to love and encourage others. Help us to live out Jesus’ prayer to be ONE. Help us to see the brokenness in others so we can be their encouragement and build them up. We pray that you build our life groups and D-groups as places where we can be love and be loved.

Make us one #3

2008-09-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

John 13:34-35
Jesus said this, “A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Mike’s Thoughts
Jesus defined love for us through his life. He has called us to a level of love that exceeds any definition that has ever been put upon the term. He didn’t just define it with finely crafted words. He defined it in real time. He didn’t define it from a distance he defined it face to face. There are many reasons Jesus came to earth, none more important than to define love. I suppose he could have came up with a different way for us to find forgiveness of sin, but that way wouldn’t have defined love the way God had in mind. It would have still had love tones, but it wouldn’t have had the deep meaningful definition of love that has lasted over 2,000 years. It wouldn’t have defined love that has motivated Christians to be a part of some of the largest relief efforts in world disasters. God’s definition of LOVE is what motivates us. It is also what defines us as Christians and makes us ONE. Are you striving to live that out? Let God’s definition of love define you and us. Let God’s definition of love make us ONE. Our J10 life is found when we live out God’s definition of love and become ONE.

Our prayer
God, make us ONE. We want to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer for us to be ONE (John 17). Thanks for establishing the definition of love for us. Thanks for not just defining love with words but with an action that surpasses all time and even reason. Thanks that he defined love by coming to earth and living among us, dealing with us, and even dying for us. Help that definition of love become our definition of love for each other. Help us love not from a distance but in relationships with each other. Help us to be ONE, not just on Sundays but during the week. Motivate our spirits, heats, minds and bodies to be together. Our prayer to be ONE isn’t just for each other; we want to be ONE so the world will know you and experience your definition of love.

Make us one #2

2008-09-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Romans 15:5-6
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mike's Thoughts
Jesus is our endurance and encouragement. The life he led and the death he faced for all of us is my motivation to endure and be encouraged in this life. It's the reason I can be thankful and still fight the difficult times and the reason I am thankful and not proud in the easy times. Our J10 life is found when we can connect with Jesus and find our endurance and encouragement. The same way Jesus provided endurance and encouragement through his death, he also provides us with unity. Unity with others who endure and are encouraged in this life. Unity that is born out of a savior who died for us and loves us. Unity not for our sake, bur for God's sake. Unity so God can be known. We are to make God known to the world. Today, let your prayers be for unity of the church so we can make God known.

Our Prayer
God, make us one. Thanks for the life you died for us to have. Thanks for the church you died to establish. Thanks for the endurance and encouragement we get through the life and death of Jesus. Thanks for the spirit of unity that comes out of the life and death of Jesus.

God, we want to be an answer to Jesus' prayer to be ONE. We want to be a group that endures and is encouraged in this life. We want to be a group that is unified in our hearts and mouths. Help us all connect with Jesus and find that endurance and encouragement.

Our prayer of unity is not for us. It's so people will know who you are. Today, as we endure and are encouraged, remind us of all the other Christians who you empower to do the same. Let there be in us, a spirit of unity.
In Jesus name, Amen

Make us one #1

2008-09-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 4:1-2
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

God,
Make us one. As we prepare for YOUR grand opening of J10, we pray that you unite us with this calling to launch a church in the greater Ashburn-Sterling area. God we thank you for the opportunity to be apart of this great church. Help us to see that J10 isn't just our church, but rather it's a gift from you to the world. Help us to be inside the church what you desire us to be outside the church.

Make us one through humility so we can be humble to the world.
Make us one through gentleness so we can be gentle to the world.
Make us one through patience so we can be patience to the world.
Make us one so through love so we can be love to the world.