Transformed Mind

Luke 4:21-30 New International Version (NIV) 21  He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22  All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23  Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24  “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25  I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26  Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27  And there were many in Israel with leprosy [ a ] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” 28...

  Valentines Day & Ash Wednesday (Feb 14), an interesting combo of holydays this year. Valentines Day of course we think of love and romance, a time to express emotions, hand out little cards, boxes of chocolates, and for some reason a fat baby with wings and a bow and arrow. Love in scripture goes deeper than some of the superficiality we get on the commercialized day of Valentine, for it proclaims, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a time of self denial, fasting, prayer, and the giving of oneself to contemplate God’s ultimate act of love that culminates on Good Friday. It’s a time to think of our own mortality. During the imposition of ashes whereby a person makes the sign of the cross on the recipients forehead you may hear the words, “All are from dust, and to dust all return.” It’s a sobering thought. And working in a hospital I really think about this quite a bit, deat...

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." - John 5:39-40  Book of Kells image Jesus here is talking to the Pharisees, the religious folk of his time and isn't too happy with their arrogant blindness. It's the equivalent of being a PhD in political science, writing articles for professional journals about current political affairs, pouring into students the knowledge you've obtained and then one day a living US president walks in and you have no idea who they are. He says, "Don't you know who I am I'm the one you've been writing articles about, those economic policies were my doing, everything that's right with this country has my fingerprints on it. My staff have been pushing my agenda for years to get things done." And nothing, you're clueless. You actually think this guy is pulling your chain ...

  So true story, I was writing this sermon, typing away on my MacBook Air on a long flight. I had my Logos Bible Software open on Ephesians 3 reading what some of the commentaries said, looking at different translations, and just trying to immerse myself in what the Apostle Paul was saying. And then… splash ! The flight attendant spilled an entire glass of water on me AND my laptop. The keyboard was soaked as well as my shirt and pants. The laptop immediately shut down. Frustrating right, when things don’t turn out the way we expect or a curve ball is thrown out of nowhere, like a glass of water falling on you. And I know for a fact I’m not  alone when it comes to being overwhelmed, stressed out, and stuck. Even among fellow Christians there is this sense of dissatisfaction,even fear; fear of the future, the unknown. There’s ISIS, the Zika Virus, politicians, racial strife, and the list goes on. Even if these  things didn’t exist I thi...

New Testament Persecution: The Stage is Set As seen in the cross of Christ, God uses the example of suffering again and again through His Son, the martyrs, and various persecutions of His children to show and point to the Way and to strengthen the body of his church.   Since both Jesus and his followers were of the Jewish faith, “Jewish religious authorities considered the new group (Christianity) to be their responsibility, and the Roman authorities generally agreed.” [1]   Because of this situation, the persecution of Christians from the time of Jesus’ death to the fire in Rome in 64 A.D. came primarily from the Jewish population. [2]   It was in a sense their problem and priority to crush this heretical blasphemous sect so that the Jews could continue to live in relative peace.   Fortunately for Christianity, persecution was a badge of honor and a necessary obstacle to overcome. As George Whitefield remarks, those “that live godly in Christ Jesus, must expec...

It just amazes me how God answers prayers in ways we never expect. We almost tend to lower our expectations because we don't think God can handle what we actually want. But He always comes through, in His timing of course. So, a few weeks ago I went through my ordination board, which is a pretty big deal. Twelve pastors/elders/scholars that went through my twenty page ordination paper with a fine tooth comb and pretty much grilled me on my theology. Anyway, I received this card and little Bible from two wonderful people that have just been a joy in my life from 9th grade to present. This is what the card said, "I'm returning your little Bible to you. The last time you were at our house before you went overseas to serve our country, you handed me this Bible and told me you 'wouldn't be needing this.' I carried it in my purse as a prayer prompt. I was not sure if you meant you had another Bible? You did not need the Lord, you did not have faith - I just pray...

This is too good to pass up. So my wife went back home to see our two nephews and one niece. Our niece, and God Daughter, is only 4 months, so she is still just a tiny thing.  Anyway, my wife gets back form the trip and receives a text from our sister-in-law.  Apparently the oldest, who is five, asked his mom when my wife and I were going to have a baby. She replied that she didn’t know because there wasn’t one in auntie’s tummy yet.  And here is the best line, his reply was, “Oh yeah, because God’s still making it!” There it is, child-like faith at its greatest and most innocent. Its statements like these that make me understand what Jesus was getting at when in Matthew 18 he says that, “ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven .” When Jesus said these things the disciples were bickering over who would be the greatest. It is the child, who humbles or understands his or her place in the grand scheme of things that ...

Hope.  This simple yet powerful word has come up quite a bit these past few days in my circle of friends and colleagues.  Struggles with relationships either ending or being strained, not knowing what the future holds for sick loved ones, and for a military acquaintance, the fear of death in a foreign land. All of these real life worries yearn and deeply cry for hope. If you’ve read my other posts this may seem redundant, but hope, true unadulterated, ever-present, and lasting hope can ONLY be found in Jesus, in his steadfast love and promise to shepherd and protect us, leading us to everlasting life with him. Psalm 23 paints a poignant picture of this hope in times of fear and uncertainty. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2         He makes me lie down in green pastures.        He leads me beside still waters. 3         He restores my soul. ...