Sent Ones

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'... The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me." - Luke 10:1-5, 16 ESV

The 'greet no one on the road' statement got me this morning. The disciples were to treat this like a business trip and not a vacation in that they weren't supposed to get sidetracked by social matters and not get around to talking about Christ.

They said this when they returned...

"The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!' " - Luke 10:17 ESV

There is power in this focus of being 'sent ahead of Him' like a plough is sent into the fallow ground to get it ready for seed.

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Four Men On A Mission

This morning I was reading this next passage and it was very fresh to me. I pictured four men on a road trip together. Perhaps like folks might pile into a vehicle and go on a fishing trip today. They met early and went on an adventure.

"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them." - Mark 9:2-3 ESV

Jesus, Peter, James and John. Jesus was and is God himself. James would only have a few more years on Earth. He dies soon after the Church is formed. Peter becomes a big shot. John gets imprisoned on Patmos.

Jesus was why they went. He was the friend who 'organized' the trip and He was the man they got to see in a whole new 'light'.

Here is how this account is given to us in one of the other Gospels and I'll include what happened before the trip also...

"Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?' And they answered, 'John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.' Then he said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter answered, 'The Christ of God.' And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.' And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.' Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." - Luke 9:18-31 ESV

Peter knew who Jesus was on paper but on that trip He got to see something else about this Him... this God-man... this Messiah...

Missions is a road trip with God and with other people. There is nothing like it. We see an aspect of God we won't see any other way. We get to know people in ways you can only know someone if you have travelled with them.

Summer is coming. Maybe we could go somewhere together and talk to people about Jesus. Maybe we could pray and organize a trip. Is our Church going somewhere? Could that happen? Yes. It could. God would be there with us revealing Himself to us.

Isn't this the way it has been done for thousands of years?

I don't want to just know God on paper. I want to see Him glow in a place I have never been before.

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Comparing Two Sendings

"The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town...' " - Matthew 10:2-14 ESV

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe...' " - Mark 16:15-17 ESV

I am looking this morning at these two 'sendings'.

One takes place when the disciples are first chosen and the other happens years later after Christ's resurrection.

I am looking at the first sending like an internship. It is focused. It is within the culture. Jesus is going out also and doing the same thing.

The second sending is broad. These men are going to take what they learned in that focused time and bring it into all the world. Jesus is in Heaven now. They will now lead the mission.

Structured focus is very good for new people. People learn team dynamics. Just saying things like, 'We are all going to go out in small groups and then we will meet at the fountain at 1:15pm. Stay in your groups. Pray when someone else in your group is speaking to someone. Be led but be at the meeting place on time.' is so valuable.

People need this before they 'go into all the world' and leave their familiar culture and the relative safety of familiar surroundings.

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin..." - Zechariah 4:10a NLT

Yes!

Not that the first sending was small. It was vital.

I'm praying that God would raise up leaders who have focused ministries so that others would be discipled and become leaders who want to go outside the walls and minister in far away lands.

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Gracious Today And Forever

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them." - Hebrews 13:8-9 ESV

Gracious stability...

We all want good outcomes. We want happy endings.

Jesus is going to be the same as He was. His grace, divine favor apart from performance, will ground us in that stability and strengthen us.

"But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus." - Matthew 14:26-29 ESV

I see this as a pure picture of momentary divine enablement and I marvel. Peter wasn't sure what was happening. I don't think he was sure that who he was seeing was Jesus but He knew that if Jesus was the one He was talking to that God would give him power to join Him on the water.

Peter's heart was getting established.

Grace doesn't give us the power to do the things we want to do. It convinces us we have access. We are set free. We are strengthened moment by moment because we know access will never be cut off. God will never reject us. Things may not go the way we want them to but Jesus will be consistent.

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." - John 4:35 ESV

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38 ESV

Jesus is the same and I believe He Is saying this today.

He is the same. Grace will strengthen us. There is power there when God asks us to join Him out on the water.

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He Kept Moving

So little is mentioned about Jesus' youth. We really only have the account in Matthew chapter 2 about him going to Eygpt (which parallels Isreal's adolescence as a nation) and this passage.

"And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him." - Luke 2:40 ESV

Followed by this account...

"Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.' And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." - Luke 2:41-52 ESV

Notice how verse 52 is much like verse 40. It is one of many Hebrew parallelisms used in the Gospels. You see this construction in the Psalms and Proverbs. Say something. Then contrast, reiterate or amplify it.

Jesus was like an army brat of sorts. He moved from Bethlehem to Eygpt, then Natzeret. It just made me think of the great advantage missionary children have. They are moving (or staying) only because their parents are seeking God and going where they sense they are being led. Those choices aren't always easy ones.

"...saying, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.' And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene." - Matthew 2:20-23 ESV

They go but obstacles are in their path. They choose based on what is available but that is God's will. Jesus grew in that faith environment not in spite of it. Faith provides tension that isn't comfortable and uses reason. Going but not stepped right into the fire. Also not holding back because of danger.

These passages convict me to be full of faith and moving when it is time to move.

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!' As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly." - Proverbs 26:12-16 ESV

Wow. We can be too careful and maybe we can also be too careless also. Our eyes need to be fixed on the redemptive cause.

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Disciples Or Believers

This morning I am reading passage after passage where the word 'disciple' (Mathetes - Strong's G3101) is used.

"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple... So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:27, 33 ESV

It is pretty clear that there are some groups that believe that the word disciple is synonymous with the word believer and others that don't. The passages above are the primary reason. Today, I wanted to read the other passages, especially in the book of Acts, to see for myself.

"Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:" - Acts 11:29 KJV

One trend you see clearly is that these disciples have unity. They band together to do things. Even when there are differences they go to God and work them out.

"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" - Acts 15:10 KJV

Leadership was very concerned about them and they were concerned about the leadership.

"But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him." - Acts 19:30 ESV

"I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." - Acts 20:29-30 ESV

We know that a believer is 'one' who believes. The scripture is clear on this but from the context of word usage we can see that a disciple is someone who bands together with other disciples and things get accomplished.

Missions is done by disciples.

Some believers seem to do fine on their own... others really don't. The cohesive group dynamic provides stability. The shared vision gives focus. Grace is given and received in the group. Jesus is lifted up and present in a special way.

"Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:19-20 ESV

Dying to self is not automatic. We pick up Christ's cross and self is negated. If we don't or won't it isn't going to affect our position in Christ but it sure will affect our experience. The group is where the rubber hits the road. The band of brothers and sisters is where words are spoken that come from Heaven.

If you know me you know I am very pro-Church but what I see in Acts isn't a Church dynamic per se. The Church has seeds in the Gospels and is defined in the epistles and this Greek word is only used in the Gospels and the book of Acts. These disciples become the engine of the Church. They are the core that makes things happen because God uses the life they have laid down in the group. The Church then serves the community and has an impact on the world. The Church gives God's work a name in that community so that people know where to go and find Him.

I decided I would be a disciple long ago and I reaffirm that decision again day after day. When the group I am with blesses me or rubs me the wrong way I decide again that I won't go solo. I will take up my cross and let God move me if that is what is needed. That is what I see in the scriptures. That is my model. If I am isolated by circumstances beyond my control then I won't go negative against the other disciples of Christ. I will pray and consider myself as counted among them. I will repent to God on their behalf and choose to love and serve. My Bible shows me a life like this. I have seen people live like this. Some have been loved and some hated but they lived before God as men and women of integrity. It is possible because God is in it.

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:20 ESV

Amen.

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Build An Altar In Bethel

Put away the other stuff and focus in on the right God.

"God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.' So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.' So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem." - Genesis 35:1-4 ESV

It is funny that God is saying, 'Make an altar to the God who appeared to you.' as if there are other options. God isn't saying, 'Make an altar to Me.' He is acknowledging that Jacob has other options and He is challenging Jacob to act on one of many options.

'Which God will you choose Jacob?'

Jacob chooses the God who answered him in the day of his distress. Television, movies and music don't answer you. Food, sex and vacations don't give a living response. They can be a temporary escape but they don't change a person and they can only mirror back what is in the heart. They have no power of transformation.

When Jacob ran from Esau that was the first time he really struck out on his own and left his family behind. Mom wasn't there to help him. He didn't need to worship his father's God anymore because he wasn't under his roof. He was on his own in a cold world and God met him there to show him He wasn't alone.

You may find yourself at a crossroad or a brick wall may be in your path preventing you from going forward. Stop and decide to make an altar to the correct God. Identify the idols and put them away. They only help you to waste time while you are stuck in your present location. They are not of any real use. They just distract.

"And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother." - Genesis 35:5-7 ESV

Then God opens a path for that altar to be built.

Without a mission Jacob would have never made it to Bethel. When he decided to identify the right God then God acted on Jacob's obstacles to open the path up for Jacob to make a lasting impact on the world around him.

Now Bethel has an altar that it didn't have before. Jacob had a ministry that left a mark on a place because he chose the right God and put the other ones away.

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Reading Missionary Newsletters

Missionary newsletters are interesting things to read. I read a few this morning and prayed for the people involved. Missionaries are people and like all people they have different perspectives, propensities to communicate and levels of transparency. Some letters come off as a sales pitch others a general's account of a campaign and yet others are very human accounts of day to day life and relationships.

I like reading them. All of them. They inspire me.

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' " - Mark 16:15-16 ESV

That end of that passage sounds kind of hardcore doesn't it. Those who don't believe a frail human being are condemned... really?

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." - John 3:18 ESV

Actually they are condemned already. All of us are in our natural state. Without Jesus our condemnation finds us eventually. The miracle is salvation.

Maybe because of my upbringing I'm very aware of the reality that people can tend to sell their cause. Some are aware they are doing it and others have bought something and they need to justify why they have made the investment.

Still...

I also know the power of God's word and the commission God has given all those that know Him.

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11 KJV

Are we missionaries? I say we are and if we are then we do well to believe that God is going to give results if His word is given in context.

"Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." - 1 Peter 2:10-11 ESV

If we know Jesus we are sojourners here in this world. When you walk out that door you might as well be in a foreign country. Let's live out our Heavenly culture here on Earth and see who wants to be baptized into it.

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Carving Out Spaces

I've been reading and studying this morning but my overwhelming thought is one of the territorial nature of intelligence. Man splits places up and creates spaces. This is my space and that is your space. Free people can roam here but criminals must be imprisoned there. This room is off limits. We make locks. We create elaborate doorways. Primitive cultures designate areas that belong to certain gods.

"Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, 'See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.'

And Nathan said to the king, 'Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.'

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 'Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built me a house of cedar?''

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"

In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David." - 2 Samuel 7:1-17 ESV

This is a great chapter. It seems that when David's mind shifted to giving the LORD a special place then God was able to promise David special places. God gave promises about David's offspring when David began to inquire with Nathan about 'building a house' for God. David was unique in many ways. He acted like a new testament believer in the old testament. He seemed to have insight into God's heart.

God had never asked for a house and no one ever thought to give Him one.

"As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV

A group of believers becomes a house for God when that group is bound together in a unique purpose.

David said, 'You have given me a dwelling place where I can rest. I want to know if God wants a dwelling place also or would He rather live in His tent?'

I find myself asking that question also. Missions is like house hunting with God. We look at spaces wondering and asking God if He wants to live in a certain place. It isn't going to be just a place of course. His Church is a group of people and the place is just where they are going to meet.

God has given us a home in Heaven. Is it right for Him to be a nomad on the Earth? I look at David's heart and it convicts me.

God give us that heart. Give us a reflection of the heart of a king. Make us men and women who set apart places for you. Not like a primitive villager would but like a new testament believer would. Make us gatherers not scatterers. Lead us to the people that will be stones for your home. Thank You Lord.

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Special Family Status

"Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.' But he answered them, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.' " - Luke 8:19-21 ESV

I often think of this verse if I give a missionary money because I was taught by my family that giving cash as a gift to family members was an acceptable but it was better to give a thoughtful item to non-family members. So every time I hand someone cash I think, 'You are family.'

Our family has a special place in our hearts and minds. It is a unique place. Not everyone has family. Many of us have interesting relationships with our families. There are different boundaries drawn. We are willing or unwilling to do things because people are in a different category when they are considered family.

Jesus is displaying His deity when He says, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.'

Some teach this verse this way... 'If you obey God's commands you will have special status with God. He will make concessions for you like you do for family.'

But, This verse comes to mind.

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;" - 1 Peter 1:22-23 ESV

Our first birth gave us an Earthly family but our second birth makes us children of Heaven.

Jesus was speaking prophetically about those who would mix faith with the Gospel and that good news would go deep into them and create a new person who would value what God values and function in the reality that God speaks about. At times that would come easy and at other times there would just be a sense of obedience absent from emotion.

The person who never hears the truth has only one family... the one who sometimes can't make it through the crowd to get to them because natural circumstances hinder natural love.

The person who hears the word of God and does it can love both families. Prayer transcends the crowd and all natural barriers. There is a provision for the things that drive us crazy and put wedges between brother, sister, father and mother.

A great feast is coming and God has room at His table for more family members. They are out there waiting to be found. Maybe today God will put us in front of a person who has never heard the truth and will truly hear it deep inside their soul today if it is spoken today in a fresh way.

Help us God. Help us not to be respecters of persons. Give us room in our hearts for more family members. Heal us where we need to be healed. It it easy to get wounded and hindered but we want to love with the freedom that only You can give us.

Thank You God for taking us in and giving us a special place at your table.

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Seated Together

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:4-9 ESV

Which is more miraculous? Is it the fact that we are seated with Him in Heaven or that we are seated together with Him?

Fisherman and tax collectors... together. Protestants and Catholics... together. Generations of families will finally be together. Great great grand fathers will have animated conversations with their children's children's children. All of us will be ageless.

Our differences will be nonexistent. Our relationships will be closer. There will be no skeletons in our closets. Our scars will not hinder us from trusting.

At our Church we have something called a 'rap' and during this time people can ask questions. My old friend and I were at one a few nights ago and he leaned over and commented on how he loves that people who are struggling to apply what they just heard can ask questions even if they are struggling even to get the words of the question right. A long time ago we were in many raps together with all sorts of characters. He had his young son with him at this one. Who would have thought we would get so old and responsible.

The rap is a safe place. People who are hungry for more are there. People who have seen the value of fellowship are there. Some just have no where else to go but that is fine if the one place that remains is safe and has love with answers.

On the great day when we are all seated together with God we won't have anywhere else to go either... or will we? I don't know. I imagine however no one is going to go take a smoke break out back. No one will want to miss a moment of it. When Jesus opens His mouth to say something we will be hanging on every word.

I want to bring that rap everywhere I go. I want to bring it to dark places. I want to walk into heathen living rooms and have there be an oasis of safety where love can be communicated and exchanged. Then I want to visit again only to find that the living room is not heathen anymore.

"But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' " - Matthew 19:26 ESV

Yes. Just getting us all to sit together is impossible with man but God makes a space for us to be together. It is a space filled with grace, mercy, love and answers.

Oh God! Heaven on Earth. Can it happen? Some of us have seen first hand how You unite people. Fill our spaces God. We want to sit in places with You here on Earth. We want to see people in chairs who are being loved and are being set free in safety. Your message can create these spaces. The Gospel of grace is the content that dissolves cliques and makes us all equal. Give us the stamina to linger longer. Give us the desire to meet where others are to afraid or unwilling to go. Make us missionaries right where we are and send us places. You are the One who builds Your Church but we long to see what You do planted in needy places.

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Marching Around The Walls

This morning there is a chapter in my booklet about the mission of the Church (p 20 of 'The Release of the Priesthood') and the writer talks about how outreaches like bus ministry, evangelism and Sunday school will never be a profit-making endeavors but the sacrifices of many go into the storehouses and then there is a fund that helps supply (in part) for these things and to help those in need like widows and those in desperate situations.

At one point Luke 19:10 was cited but I think this whole passage speaks volumes.

"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.'

So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.'

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.'

And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.' " - Luke 19:1-10 ESV

Whenever The Spirit names a location in the text the whole history of that location comes to mind in the context of what is happening in that moment. Jesus comes from Jericho and that was the place where Israel walked around the city for seven days (see Joshua 6). They likely did it in discomfort since all the now adult men were circumcised just before that (see Joshua 5).

Jesus walked like those men walked around Jericho. They were to walk day after day but they walked quietly until Joshua gave the signal for them to shout and when they did the angels pushed the walls to the ground.

Jesus walked the city and when He saw prudent Zacchaeus, who always turned a profit, in a tree to get a good vantage point to make his time profitable He called to him.

That man's walls came down at the sound of Jesus' gracious words and actions. Jesus threw his reputation, such as it was, out the window when He publicly announced a visit to a hated tax collectors house.

Today I leave my house to go to work and turn a profit but my going is a walk around Jericho kind of going. I'm looking for the man in the tree who climbs to see something.

God give us words of grace and sacrificial lives that take what we have and put it in to the storehouse so that we can be a part of the great works you are doing close by and on foreign soil.

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A Simple Mission Bathed In Prayer

In my reading this morning I landed on 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and a couple of concepts stuck out and ministered to me. One is the way we pray for one another and the other is the simplicity of functioning in grace toward one another.

"Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia... You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." - 2 Corinthians 1:7-8a, 11 ESV

"For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you." - 2 Corinthians 1:12 ESV

Paul shared his difficulty and asked the Corinthians to help the mission by prayer so that it would be successful. Paul refused to leave the simplicity and sincerity of grace. He would not employ worldly methods. The work was to be a work of God and not of men but still Paul asked for the 'help of prayer'.

Paul knew he could do nothing of Himself but He needed to rely on God. But, He also knew that just him alone believing was not enough either for the work to function. There are shared comforts and shared sufferings in a work of God.

I am thankful that Paul went out on the mission field. I am thankful that people built the Church where I found Christ. I am thankful for the simple clear message I hear and the people that just won't know me after the flesh.

Prayer helps in what is happening right now in the present. It is mystical but real. 'Them' becomes 'Us' when we partner in prayer.

God, Teach us to pray. Not just how to do it but to live a life of seeing and praying with discernment. Not in striving but it proactive involvement.

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Predators Are Attracted To The Spectacle

I have two themes ricocheting back and forth in my being as a pray for states in the Midwest and think of people living in the plains states. The importance of giving the word of God first place in worship and the unifying power of giving.

Seen in the light of grace both things are a mirror of grace

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV

Not just teaching but Christ centered teaching that focuses on redemption, salvation and resurrection.

"We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord... For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." - 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 9 ESV

Giving is such a beautiful thing... such a unifying thing. Grace giving is at least. When people decide of their own free will to give to a cause out of love. The generosity becomes a spectacle. Paul boasts about their lives of faith

These two areas, the spiritual power of transformation that comes to a group from preaching Christ and the compassionate giving that unifies a group, are also the places where we see predators rise up inside the assembly... false teachers and false givers.

"But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, 'This man is the power of God that is called Great.' And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic... saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God." - Acts 8:9-11, 19-21 ESV

Simon the Sorcerer saw the power of preaching and teaching and wanted it.

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:5-7 KJV

Learning, learning, learning but not learning Jesus. Mimics parroting phrases that they heard but they themselves are stones flying through darkness into the void. They may talk about grace and the Bible but really they are trying to buy favor to fill their void with intellectualism. The thing is... you can't buy the Holy Spirit.

Then there are the false givers... Ananias and Sapphira are a perfect new testament example.

"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.' " - Acts 5:1-4 ESV

True giving is only ever grace giving and true preaching is only grace preaching. These two things create a spectacle that can not be duplicated because the life of God is manifested in the midst of them.

We give by faith and listen to men who preach by faith but it isn't for us to get something. The teaching reveals what we already have. We have God and we have His love and uniquely manifested favor. Teaching shows us that. Giving happens as an outflow of that but it should never be legislated... encouraged but not legislated... individual giving uncorks us so that as we are emptied and God can fill us with freshness and corporate giving edifies those in need and propels the Gospel forward into dark places by providing a means for logistical grace. Logistical grace is much more than money of course but God uses money also.

There are false teachers and false givers but that does not discourage us or make us introspective. There always have been those elements circling the Church and looking for isolated members to prey upon. It has been that way from the beginning.  Genuine preaching and giving are still amazing things. We must use discernment and live in the real thing. The value or the real far outweighs anything else.

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Moving In The Vision

"Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever." - Isaiah 32:16-17 ESV

Sounds nice doesn't it? A place of rest. Let's look at the context of the passage.

"Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech. In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city. For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low. Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free." - Isaiah 32:9-20 ESV

A complacent mindset is our enemy. We are strangers and pilgrims on the Earth (see Heb 11:1f).

Sow beside all waters, not some of them, all of them. Go into all the world.

Mourn a little. Leave what you like to go in the vision. It is good for you.

We all crave security sometimes. We plant and things grow. But, The time comes to move forward not grasping too tightly to what we have but moving forward into the next thing.

"Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free." - Isaiah 32:20 ESV

The peace we found in the fruitful season will stay with us. It is the effect of righteousness. It is better to go and return than to over stay my welcome.

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David's Plan But Solomon's Temple

I often think of King David's desiring to build a temple for God.

"Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.'" - 2 Chronicles 6:7-9 ESV

"Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the LORD, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the LORD; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the LORD, the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan." - 1 Chronicles 28:11-19 ESV

All of 2 Chronicles chapters 2 through 4 talk about the process involved with building the temple.

"Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God." - 2 Chronicles 5:1 ESV

There was great planning and attention to detail... tender loving care and dealings with people... King Hiram of Tyre supplied the wood needed... He has supplied materials for David's house and now he would deal with his son.

"But God said to me, 'You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.' ... And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel." - 1 Chronicles 28:3, 5 ESV

We often feel that the warfare has disqualified us. We have desires to see God glorified and draw up plans to make it so. We want Him living close by in a house made by our hands.

In this instance we could say that Solomon was a picture of the new testament believer and David a picture of our natural man. Solomon had the genetic makeup of his father but where David was able to nothing but plan... Solomon had access to materials to built the temple.

Solomon is also a type of Christ Himself. This king full of wisdom.

Joseph, also a type of Christ, had no sins recorded in the scriptures. But, In many way Solomon is like us with times of darkness and disillusionment.

"Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' ... And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."" - Matthew 16:16, 18-19 ESV

Peter's confession of Christ's identity was the rock that God would build His church upon and yet the ability to bind and loose is given to us. We can say what is said in Heaven declaring what Heaven permits and restricts and Christ builds His church.

He gathers His gold and cedar from the gentile nations. People are His dwelling place and His resource at the same time.

We can live like Solomon when he wrote Ecclesiastes, a natural man full of failure and dark perspective, or we can live like a Solomon writing his great song, as a person full of faith, love and connection.

Today I will be gathering gold for God's house. Revealing Christ's identity and watching Him build the thing that has become my heart's desire... a resting place for God in people and a place where people can rest in God.

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Far Down The Road

Investment works in cycles and those cycles run a course.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:8-11 ESV

"And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.' " - Matthew 13:57 ESV

Return comes later and from farther away than we think. Many times it is not our family or people close to us that respond... it is people far away. The rain has a cycle and passes over much territory in a seemingly one way investment but it brings forth fruit 'a ways down the path' in time and space.

God's thoughts are not our thoughts. He is very patient and long suffering.

We want results quickly and in close proximity and sometimes despair if we don't get them.

This is one of them beautiful things about missions. We go far away to invest and it is there outside our culture and comfort zone where we see a greater measure of results. Of course we invest the same at home as we would far away and the fruit will come eventually in God's time but there is something special about going. God seems to move in a special way in people's hearts.

We may not pay much mind to the person close by that we are familiar with but are greatly impacted by the person who can from far away to visit us even though the message is essentially the same.

That is why it is good to see people as coming from Heaven... grace people are Heaven sent Ones... We can't be familiar with people from that far away. {smile}

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The Freshness Of Childlike Faith

"And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:2-4 ESV

This morning I was thinking about the faith of little children and the boredom of adulthood. God was so wise to have generation follow generation. Just as we become adults people start having children and then those children become adults and have more children. Those children are waves of refreshment to older generations.

Ah, But then there is the boredom of adulthood. Boredom is a form of anger really. Life isn't interesting enough. We are not interesting enough. Responsibilities can bog us down. Creativity gets stifled. Our inquisitive nature gets tired.

"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry." - 1 Samuel 15:23a ESV

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." - Hebrews 3:12 KJV

Boredom causes us to justify sinful habits and the sin that has been paid for kills us. Yes, We as justified ones die one inch at a time because our expectation is hidden from us.

Adulthood in the flesh is death. I never want to grow up and grow hard and get serious. Mature. Yes. I want to put away childish naive thinking that is incomplete and partial but faith never grows up. It never gets bored.

"Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." - Proverbs 29:18 ESV

We must have a redemptive vision. Things don't need to go the way we plan them to go but we must live in faith like little children believing God in freshness.

Grace and mercy are always looking at a new frontier. God wants to get favor to people here and people over there. Jesus is moving from town to town to meet a woman at a distant well or a tax collector in a crowded street. His meat and drink is to do His Father's will.

I want to take my possessions and play with them like child plays sitting on the ground with a little friend they made ten minutes ago. Those things are not things to be grasped unto.

I want to meet Jesus in the marketplace and go eat in a stranger's house.

A faith vision leaves no room for boredom. We need a vision bigger than we are and it is there if we hear God's voice.

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A Missionary Mindset

'And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.' - 1 John 5:20-21 ESV

Reading Acts 16 & 17 this morning again and again in a meditative way. Letting the events wash over me and seeing reactions and responses to the Gospel and learning from them. (I will put the text of the two chapters at the end of this post. )

The Gospel is a simple message but it has such a profound affect on society and individuals. It exposes mindsets and turns things that are upside down right side up making a mess at first but redeeming lives.

As I read these passages there is desire that my heart and mind would be aligned with the mindset presented by these missionaries. I don't want to live in a sophisticated version of Christianity. Faith is simple. The message is simple. God leads sending us and sometimes preventing us in interesting ways.

We are in the one who Is true. We keep ourselves from idols by living in the simplicity of a momentum with God. In each new situation there are some that react and some that respond.

Without striving I want my mind and heart to be awakened to what is possible. That means different things to different people and even different things in different seasons of a person's life.

Let the accounts of Biblical history wash over us just as the doctrines in the epistles do and transform us into people who walk by faith.

                                                            ~ o ~

"Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'

And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well,

she urged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.'

And she prevailed upon us. As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.'

And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.'

And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, 'These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.'

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, 'Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.'

And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'

And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, 'Let those men go.' And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, 'The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.'

But Paul said to them, 'They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.'

The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.'

And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.

And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, 'These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.'

And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, 'What does this babbler wish to say?'

Others said, 'He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities' - because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.'

Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, ''For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.'

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, 'We will hear you again about this.' So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.' - Acts 16 & 17 ESV

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Structure In The Wilderness And Mission in The Promised Land

Reading Psalm 90 This morning. I think a key to understanding and relating to this Psalm is seeing that it is a Psalm of Moses...

"A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!' For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" - Psalms 90:1-17 ESV

Moses is so systematic and structured... counting and measuring... affliction and work. The prayer of the man of the Law is, 'Establish the work of our hands!'. Moses lead the children of Israel through the desert as nomads... the work of their hands was never established. As soon as they got settled somewhere the  pillar of cloud moved and they had to pack up and start over somewhere else. Amazing.

When the children of Israel crossed the red sea they were saved but they wandered until they crossed over the Jordan river. The Jordan river talks about co-Crucifixion. Moses could not go with them. It could not be law and counting and structure. Now it would be Joshua. The man who had a different spirit. A taker of what was given. A warrior. Not a structured scholar but a simple believer. A man of mission. Both men are types of Christ but Christ is the substance.

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " - Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

The substance is grace. Grace had to come directly from the source. We see grace in men in the old testament... David especially... but Christ writes his words directly on our hearts. The work of our hands will never be established wandering in the wilderness... the work can and has been established by Jesus Christ... passing over Jordan and into the promised land we begin to take what God has already given us.

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