Tag Archives: action

Lent, pt. 14

Posted on by

3

To say that I am excited about this post would be an understatement.

excited

For me, this passage has been illuminated by God and I hope, in turn, that I can share that with you all.

To read the passage, go back and read Lent, pt. 13 please. That will set the stage.

To read all of Mark 5 and get the greater context, click here.

We have a woman. She is part of a large crowd and she has been subject to bleeding for twelve years. Quite an introduction!

She is in Pain. And, apparently, getting worse. For twelve years, she has been hurting. Exactly what this disease or sickness is, the bible is not clear. No matter, all we need to know is that she is pain. And again, a lot of it.

This woman’s pain is physical. But pain could also be mental, emotional, relational, or even spiritual.

Are you in pain today?

This woman’s pain pushed her to desperation. It took years for her to do something. And look what it got her. More on that in later posts.

All desperate people have something in common. They all do something.

***Are you desperate? Has your pain pushed you to a state of desperation?***

If so, what are you doing about it?

Truth is, we don’t need to wait twelve years to do something.

We can act today.

I am telling you that Jesus is right next to you. He is ready to speak or to listen. Whatever you need, He already knows it.

Tomorrow, we will take a look at what she did and why it was a Problem.

About 18 inches.

Posted on by

0

What kind of title is that!?!? Well, if you read this post, you will find out.

The Word – Vanquish

The Worth – vanquish, from dictionary.com

verb (used with object)
1. to conquer or subdue by superior force, as in battle.
2. to defeat in any contest or conflict; be victorious over: to vanquish one’s opponent in an argument.
3. to overcome or overpower: He vanquished all his fears.
  • Some days, I just don’t win. Even though I have tried, nothing seems to work. I am nowhere near being victorious.
  • There are also days of big wins. Me and God were kicking butt all day long!
All those different types of days are the facts.
Yes, I made a mistake. Fact.
I won the battle that day. Fact.
I lusted in my heart. Fact.
I fought well today. Fact.
But the truth of the matter is that God has already vanquish my foe.
Here are 3 verses from the second chapter of Colossians:
“13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made youd alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.e”
The truth is that God has already won. He beat the bad guys, took their weapons, and showed them off in a parade!
That does not change…no matter how we feel from day-to-day.
I know that this is true. It is in my head. I have read those verses dozens of times. They are stuck in my brain!
The Work – What is my part in this if God has already won?
Let the truth of God travel 18 inches. Move it from your head to your heart. Knowledge is one thing but faith (and the accompanying action) is another.
18-inches
In the movie Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, there is a short conversation between Gandalf and King Théoden. Here are the two lines that are important.
Théoden: “Dark have been my dreams of late.”
Gandalf: “Your fingers would remember their old strength better — if they grasped your sword.”
Once Théoden was free of the evil in his mind, he began to see the truth.
You and I can be victorious over the enemy if we see the truth. The truth that God has already done the vanquishing! We just need to live it out in our hearts!
So if you are not feeling the victory, take up the sword of God’s word and start swinging!

Because of P, we get Q.

Posted on by

0

Before I get into this post, please read my previous post. It is the foundation for today’s message. Here is the link, Two people, a bus, and a gift.

foundations

A through P. That marks my progress so far this year. Today is about the letter Q. This one was more difficult than most of the others. But as I typed the last post, a seed of an idea started to grow. Again, Two people, a bus, and a gift was the beginning and now it will continue.

My best friend is computer/IT guy.

I have a friend who is a medical doctor.

I have another friend who is a financial planner.

My wife is a graphic designer.

My pastor is also my mentor.

What do these people have in common? They are all qualified.

The Word – qualified

The Worth – In any type of setting where a person is receiving something, it is important that the giver is qualified.

In no way would I go to the doctor for a surgery unless I knew that he/she was trained and educated to do the procedure!

It would not make sense to take advice from someone unless they have experience and knowledge in the specific area in which I need advice.

You know what? God is qualified. 

That begs the question, “What is God qualified to do?”

The short answer is that He can do anything because He is God.

But the specific answer is that God is qualified to forgive me and you.

Hebrews 9 talks about the superior quality of Christ’s blood over the blood of goats, calves, etc. that were used in sacrificing. Reading the whole chapter would be better because of the context but I will put verse 12 here for now.

Hebrews 9:12 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”

The blood of animals was temporary. It did not last. In essence, the animal blood was not qualified to take away sin. But Jesus, who was perfect, eternal, and human, was uniquely qualified for the task of removing sin.

I like that phrase, uniquely qualified. It would be good to remember it.

The Work – Because God is passionate about loving us and Jesus is qualified to remove our sins, we don’t need to try to save ourselves! We can’t do it anyway! Our good works and the like are not qualified to save us.

What we can do is accept this truth by faith. We can rest in the knowledge that God has taken care of everything. His life can flow through us everyday!

Make and spend time with Him today. Thank Him that He is qualified!

And you know what that means? We are now qualified!

When, by faith, we accept His sacrifice, we are now seen as righteous!

We become His tool on earth for His work and His kingdom!

So go out and live purposely because you are qualified to do so!

Qualified With Green Tickmark

 

Do you believe in magic?

Posted on by

0

When my kids were young (think 4 or 5 years old), I could do magic tricks easily. Pulling quarters out of ears or making a penny disappear were standard. Throw in a few cards tricks and they would be amazed.

magic-tricks

As an adult, I enjoy a good magic show. It amazes me how these magicians can make big things disappear! How does a helicopter vanish into thin air!?!?

But all of that is just slight-of-hand or misdirection. The helicopter does not really vanish.

The Word – Magic

The Worth – God is magic. No, not Harry Potter magic or Gandalf the Grey type stuff. He really can make stuff disappear!

magician

If you have not read the post “What do you want?”, please click here. It will give you a context that will make more sense when reading this post.

In that post, I had written a line near the end;

He took action so we can take action.

Let me unpack that a little more.

2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

John 1 tells us to “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

This is God doing magic! He took away the sin of the world. He made it disappear! The action that God took was to make it possible for us to be sinless. We now can become the righteousness of God!

He loved us so much and was longing to be connected with us again. He wanted us so much that he took His son and used Him to take away our sin.

When I was 16, I got my first speeding ticket. This was 1989 so it probably was not too much of a fine. It was more embarrassing because I had three friends in the car with me!

I broke the law and deserved to pay the fine. But then my dad performed a magic trick.

He told that he would pay for the first one. He paid my ticket. That was both merciful and gracious all in one simple act.

God did a magic trick 2000 years ago. Jesus became our sin. See Isaiah 53:6

cross bridge

The Work – This part takes faith.

Understand that Jesus is the way back to God.

Jesus also took our sin upon Him.

Our part is to accept that payment. Just like my dad paying my speeding fine, we can accept this gift.

We can now live our life because of what has already been done.

Stop trying to earn salvation and enjoy the magic that God has performed!

Live to reflect your righteousness!

After all, God is not going to bring back your sin.

You are free. Go out and live it!

 

What do you want?

Posted on by

1

My kids are funny. They each get an allowance so they generally have cash on hand. If we are at a store, they might ask if they can have something. We, in turn, say to them, “Did you bring your money?” It has helped with the begging and whining that kids at so good at doing.

What makes them funny is what they really want. My daughter craves candy.

candy

And my son, a Playstation 4.

ps4

In fact, we all desire something. That is just the way we are made. So while my kids are saving their dollars for candy or a PS4, what are you desiring?

But this post is not about what we want.

The Word – longing

The Worth – More than my kids wanting their things. More than my dog wanting cheese popcorn. More than my wife and I desiring a healthy marriage or strong family. More than anything us mere mortals could possibly want is the fact that God wants us more.

He is longing to be with us. He yearns for a relationship with us. He craves our company.

Simply put, he loves us.

I chose the word longing for 3 reasons.

  1. It starts with the letter L
  2. It gives a sense of something desired but not yet obtained.
  3. It also implies that action must be taken.

God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden of Eden. He walked with them. I tend to be literal in my thinking about that scene.

What would that have looked like? Did God take a physical form? Did He speak in a regular voice?

But then the fruit was taken and eaten. The relationship was broken. And ever since then, God has been longing to walk with us again.

He desires us. Sure, we can have communion with Him now but with sin still in the picture, perfection is still not possible.

But God took action. He did something about His longing.

Desire drives decisions.

Pursuit proves passion.

He made a way for us to come back to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 gives more detail on God taking action to make things right again.

Ultimately, the rapture will occur and we will be united once again! 1 Thessalonians 4.

God loves us so much! Even as I type the words, I feel like that statement does not encompass God’s love enough! He is longing to walk and talk with us.

And because He first loved us, we can love Him in return.

He took action so we can take action.

The Work – You might ask, “How do I take action?”

Ask God for help. Read your Bible. Then act on it. Do something about what God tells you.

take-action

God loves you and the Bible tells you so. That is a fact.

Do one thing today that reflects this truth.